The Yoyle City Science Museum. A place of innovation, creation, and inspiration. At least, that's what it used to be, when the geniuses of the city lived there thousands of years ago. Now, it was mostly a broken down relic, showing off its (oddly still mostly-working) exhibits to nobody. In addition, it was the location of several different disasters, all somehow related to the same general group of anthropomorphic objects.

Well, not yet, anyways. Most of those would happen in the years to come.

But one would happen soon.

2009 A.B. (~11 years ago), Earth

A violet spark fizzled into existence. It widened, taking the shape of something tall. Limbs formed, then their normal colors returned, revealing the figure to be a human. At the same time, two other purple lines next to them opened up. One changed into another humanoid form, but the other was a little wider, considerably shorter, and much rounder; definitely not humanoid.

The purple aura around them faded with a soft pop, and they blinked in confusion for a moment before gathering their bearings. One of the humans stepped off the platform they were transported onto, out from underneath an archway, and looked around at their surroundings. The famous Yoyle City Science Museum... they 'said,' mentally projecting the words into their companion's minds. I've only seen this place in pictures. Are you sure we're allowed to be here, Seekayaitch?

Positive. Seekayaitch, the other human, admired the exhibits on display as well.

I don't know...

Essaitch, we'll be fine. The COA has been a lot more lax about letting people onto historical planets lately.

Essaitch smiled. Alright.

"I am excited to finally learn more about human history!" said the third being, who resembled a giant ping-pong ball. "Blocky kept trying to 'prank' me by telling me that the cartoons you showed us were actually historical documentaries. I mean, how dumb does he think I am?"

I may have to have a word with Blocky about that, 'grumbled' Seekayaitch.

"As long as I can actually learn from a reliable source, I will be fine."

Essaitch pulled out a thick purple book, with the title Goikian History labeled in gold lettering on the cover. Well, P-Ball, this history text is about as reliable as you can get. Any specific chapters you want us to cover, C?

C waggled his hand. The chapters about humanity's later years on Earth would probably be best — namely, the ones about Yoyle City — but since this "history lesson" isn't very formal, you can cover any other topics that you or Ball would like. He stepped over to the telepod's control panel and started up the teleportation sequence. Anyway, Emwhyaitch and I should be back in a few hours, once we've refueled and resupplied everything that needs to be. You two have fun.

"We will!" Ping-Pong Ball replied, already anticipating absorbing the wealth of knowledge from Essaitch's textbook.

Oh, and one last thing. C stepped onto the telepod's pedestal as the light in its archway began to glow green and met both of their eyes. Essaitch, don't step outside the building. Ball, you can head outside a little if you want, but make sure to stay within Essaitch's sight. This city is like a maze, and if you wander off and get lost, Essaitch won't be able to follow you.

Essaitch nodded. Don't worry, C. I still remember that nursery rhyme from first grade that they drilled into our heads. "Never go near Yoyleland's toxic purple grass..."

"...else your next breath may be your last," C finished. I always thought that was a little... morbid. But, just checking. The telepod archway's light blinked purple, and with one final wave, Seekayaitch vanished in a cloud of violet embers.

Right after he was completely gone, Essaitch turned to Ball. Would you like to see something really cool?

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Ball's mouth dropped open when she reached the bottom of the stairwell. "Woah," she stated simply, almost breathless. "Look... look at all this science treasure!"

It's incredible, isn't it? Essaitch smiled as she watched Ball gaze around the room in wonder. A secret passageway, leading to a secret basement room underneath the science museum... I've always wanted to go here. The area was hexagonal, and pretty small, but chock-full of various devices and... actually, you know what? I've described this place enough in the past two chapters. You readers already probably know which room I'm referring to.

"Can... may I inspect some of these more closely?"

The human nodded. Look, but don't touch.

While the globule stepped towards the nearest shelf, Essaitch quietly unzipped the small fanny pack around her waist and pulled out a small box. She removed the top; inside, nestled within some protective fabric, was a single syringe filled with a reddish-grey substance. (Experiment 262,) she reminded herself, careful to not project her thoughts over to Ball. An untested serum created by her and the Aitchtwins, its purpose was to split an object into two forms; a good side and a bad side. The twins were conflicted on whether or not to use it on one of their 20 anthropomorphic creations, due to the risk of it hurting them.

However, Essaitch wasn't so torn. While she was good friends with the other two humans, and respected most of their decisions with what to do with the objects (as they were their creations and not hers), she was a little frustrated at them for this. Why create something and then not use it? Was that not the point of science? And science was the reason that Essaitch had agreed to their offer to help them work with the objects in the first place. So, when they weren't watching, she'd snuck the serum into her pack for later use.

"What's that?" asked a voice, jolting the human out of her thoughts. She'd nearly forgotten Ball was there; the grey orb was eying her box curiously.

Picking up the syringe, Essaitch smiled. "An experiment."

Approximately 45 minutes later

A violet spark fizzled into existence. It widened, taking the shape of... wait, I've used that description before, haven't I? I'll just skip over it this time.

Emwhyaitch and Seekayaitch materialized underneath the telepod's archway, emerging onto the science museum's second floor. This had better actually be urgent, Emwhyaitch 'said,' stepping off the platform first. Essaitch didn't sound very distressed over the communicator.

I thought she sounded slightly angry, replied Seekayaitch. But at what, I couldn't possibly imagine.

She said she and Ball were on the first floor, correct?

Mhm.

The duo walked down the stairwell leading to the ground floor together. Alright, where are-

They both froze in their tracks. Essaitch stood to the left of the staircase, holding her right arm with her left. A bit of blood was dripping from one of her arms. A long, wooden club with metal spikes on the end leaned against the wall behind her. The secret passageway underneath the dodecahedron's pedestal was still open. "Ohmygosh!" C exclaimed, rushing over to the woman. "Are you alright? What in the world happened?"

SHE happened, replied Essaitch, pointing. The twins turned and gasped when they saw the battered body of Ball lying between two pairs of vases. Shards of a fifth vase and clumps of dirt lay scattered across the ground around her. "Oh... my god..." whispered Em in disbelief. "How..."

P-Ball attacked me. So I defended myself.

"But why would she..."

She held up the empty syringe that previously held Experiment 262. The brothers gasped. "E-Essaitch..." C stuttered, "you.. why? What..." He was still at a loss for words.

Em's face hardened. He grabbed Essaitch's uninjured arm. That can wait a few minutes. First, we're going to get you fixed up. After that, we need to recover Ping-Pong Ball and make sure she's not traumatized for life. Then. He stared Essaitch dead in the eyes, who stared back, unafraid. You're going to tell us EVERYTHING.

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

Approximately an hour later

How's Ping Pong doing? Emwhyaitch asked as Seekayaitch returned.

C sighed. Not great. Leafy and Tennis Ball are trying to comfort her, but... she's still freaked out. I'm not sure she even completely trusted me. I'm really worried for her. He paused. How's... SHE... doing?

Both humans glanced at the door of Emwhyaitch's bedroom. Since Essaitch's room on the ship wasn't able to be remotely locked from the bridge like the brothers' could be, Em had volunteered to keep her in his room until they figured out what the hell they were going to do with her.

Hard to tell, came the reply. She hasn't made much noise since being put in there.

They were silent for a moment. C slid down to a sitting position on the floor. Oh, Em. What are we going to do? He 'sounded' defeated.

Well... I... have a possible idea-slash-punishment, but... you're probably not... going to like it.

...I'm all ears.

Em hesitated before voicing his plan to C. He was right. C didn't like it. But after another day of deliberating, he eventually agreed to it. He couldn't see many other options.

The plan did not go to plan. The twins sat at their dining room table the next day, their heads hung low. The mood was heavy and oppressive. Neither of them wanted to say anything.

"...why..." Seekayaitch finally spoke aloud. "Why... did we think... that would work."

Emwhyaitch took a shaky breath. "I... I thought t-that... no. I WASN'T thinking. I was just... hoping that... the recovery would work. I hoped we... f-figured out immortality. But the memory void..."

"She's gone," C whispered.

They both went silent. C put his hands to his head, numb.

Finally, C stood up. His face was stony. Alright. We have to cover this up.

Em looked up at him in surprise. "Huh?"

You heard me. We can't let this get out. You know what the punishment is for... He couldn't bring himself to say it. ...this... is, right?

Solemnly, Em nodded. Then you understand, C continued. He began to pace slightly. In the future, we'll have to minimize our contact with other species in order to avoid suspicion. But for now, our bigger problem is the objects. He stopped. There's no easy way to say this, but I think we have to wipe their memories.

"What?!" Em exclaimed again, shooting up from his chair. "Seekayaitch-"

Hear me out! C interrupted. If none of the objects can remember us, then they can't incriminate us. And we can't store the excess memories in the memory void, either — we have to COMPLETELY remove the memories in their entirety. So that they can't somehow be discovered.

But what about Ping-Pong Ball? questioned Em. Trauma like that doesn't go away so easily. Even if we removed those memories, her body may remember something.

C thought about it for a moment. We could... try transferring her consciousness to another object.

Can we even DO that?

Maybe. If I remember correctly, after an object's body is created from the egg's energy, it takes a couple of hours for their consciousness to fully develop to the point where it can actually be considered sentient. So if we create a new object, then we could reprogram the void machine to recover Ball's consciousness into this new object while it's just an empty shell, then destroy her old body afterwards.

I suppose... it COULD work, in theory. But... Em raised his hands. Just for the sake of argument, I'll assume that we're going along with this for the moment. What would we even DO with the objects after erasing their memories?

An idea popped into C's head. Do you remember that idea we had, some months ago? When we were watching Total Drama Island with all of the objects?

...you're not serious.

I am. There's a large, nearly empty plain in Goiky, just south of the Goiky Canal. After their memories are gone, we could transport the objects down there and... I don't know. Build a mechanical object to host a game show. It could deal with all the filming and sets and everything. We'd just have to program it with some contest ideas, and let its AI come up with the rest.

Em went quiet for a full minute as he pondered everything. Look... C continued. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, sitting down again. We're... in a tough spot right now. And I don't like this solution, either. But it's the only one I can see. If you can think of a better way out...

Closing his eyes, Em shook his head. No. I... don't have any alternatives.

Then it's settled.

...I suppose. Although... what object should be transfer Ball's consciousness into?

Well, she's currently a ping-pong ball, so... Seekayaitch quickly went through objects that were similar to a ping-pong ball in his head. How about a golf ball?

ok the first bit of that last section might definitely be confusing; if you don't remember what exactly C and Em did, it's stated in "IDFB 14c" of IDFB: Continued

(and if you're still confused after that, just drop a comment asking about it and I'll explain)