The maze was an oddly suitable metaphor for Marshmallow's feelings. The high green walls were impossible to climb over; they could only be waded through, branches hitting one's face all the while. When you spoke, it was like the sound was eaten up by the thick leaves. Laced among the leaves, invisible but inevitably there, were cameras, their cold lenses trained on their every movement. Any turn could be the wrong one, and one to lose the challenge for the team.

It was an uncomfortable metaphor for how MePhone thought of them, too; usually, only labrats would go through them.

"So, Marshmallow, uhh... what'd you want to talk to me about?"

"Just thinking about Apple, how I don't know when someone's using me or not."

Paintbrush sighed with annoyance. "Is Apple bothering you again? Ugh... what'd she do this time?"

'It's an ironic use of the present tense. It's been seven months since that night at the hotel.'

"Uhm... mmm... I'm not sure... It was just... so sudden..."

'l, and I still haven't... really talked about it.' That was what Marsh would have said, if Paintbrush hadn't put up a hand. "Hold on. Where, where is that coming from?"

"Hold on. Where, where is that coming from?" Paintbrush stepped through the hedge. "Lightbulb, what IS this?"

"Sorry! We just felt like this would be a... one note conversation." That was Fan. Lightbulb laughed and high-fived him.

Paintbrush sighed and stepped back through the hedge. "Well, look. You thought you knew her, but now you know for a fact she was just taking advantage of your popularity right?" Paintbrush smiled.

"Uhh... Actually..."

The sounds on the other side of the hedge crescendoed.

"Wha-" Paintbrush growled, then grinned. "Just a second, Marshmallow..." Paintbrush walked backwards through the hedge to address the sound. This time, Marsh tried to climb up the hedge. It took a lot of scrabbling for a foothold, but she managed to get a fair way up. Praise be for lightweight objects.

"What will Marshmallow talk about next?! Let's spin the wheel!"

"FAN! What are you doing?!"

"Uhh, analyzing your character interactions?"

Someone gave her a boost from below; she glanced down to see Microphone climb up. Then she regarded the scene below. There was fire. Paintbrush was shouting.

There was bright red wheel with Apple's name on every slice.

'Is this really what I sound like? I didn't think I spoke about it THAT much...'

"I. HATE. YOU!"

"Uhh... are they okay over there?"

"Ugh!" Marsh hopped off the hedge. "All I did was ask about Apple using me, and this craziness happens." 'Is there ANYONE around here who listens to feelings?'

"Well... maybe it isn't so bad if someone uses you. If... if it benefits you as well... right?"

"I see your point there, not that I agree with it, of course." Paintbrush stepped back in. "In fact, NOBODY should agree with it, because it's a TERRIBLE POINT! C'mon, Marsh. We're leaving."

XXX

Several months later, she decided to get a second opinion. Never before had Marsh approached Fan outside of a challenge. He always seemed a bit... weird, honestly. Sure, he came to her a few times before to ask her questions in between the earlier episodes, and every single one had been awkward.

He and Test Tube were sitting in front of a vending machine, crowded around Fan's phone. Test Tube looked a bit traumatized. "Ummm... Guys?"

They looked up. Fan grinned. "Hi Marshmallow! You're not here to yell at us for Paintbrush, are you?"

"Umm. Well. I guess I wanted your help with something." 'Quit sounding so awkward. You're making it weird!'

"Me helping you?! Is this the return of the time machine?!"

"N-not at all." 'That'd honestly be such a good solution, too... It's too bad I really don't feel like reliving these past months.' "I just wanted to see your phone for a minute."

"Ohhh, you do? I'll totally help! Let me just close a few things..."

Fan swiped upward on the screen for about ten seconds. Marsh counted fifteen swipes. "Here you go!"

His home screen was a season one cast photo. Neither Apple nor Bow were in it. (That was probably for the best.)

The interface was different from Marsh's own MePhone 3G at home, and she hadn't touched a phone since being on the show. Still, she easily navigated the video app and pulled up episode six.

"Ahh, I thought you might look at this at some point, heh heh." Fan grinned slyly. "I take it you're looking for this?" Fan slid the video slider to the betrayal scene. Marsh glared at him and pushed the 'play' button.

It was surreal watching it with the different camera angles. But it had all the looks of being genuine. Apple really had said all those things, that she was joking about being her friend.

But, then again, Marsh had already known that.

"There are tons of fan theories about that scene," Fan said with a touch of pride, throwing an arm around Test Tube, who awkwardly stared. "I've made some of them myself. Wanna hear them?"

Wordlessly, Marsh handed the phone back to Fan. "No thanks."

"Y'know, I think I could come up with a scientific explanation of my own," Test Tube finally spoke. "Can I write it on your blog?"

'What I didn't realize at the time...'

"Have at it!"

'...Was that she really seemed confused there for a moment. Ooooh, now I'm even less certain!'

XXX

"Why did she give me the blankets? Why did she say all those horrible things? She can't even spell her own name; is she some Taco-level mastermind?!"

Marsh sat on her stomach at the dock coming off the lake. She stared down at her reflection in the still water below, a faithful reflection of a lost girl.

She really wished she held onto the phone for a bit longer, maybe even heard about those theories.

"Is any of this even real?"

"You're the only one who can answer that."

Marsh screamed and flipped onto her back. Knife was standing there, arms crossed. He looked unimpressed. "Kn-Knife?!"

To Marsh's surprise, Knife didn't call her a soft object or throw her into the lake. Instead he sat down beside her. (Marsh still dug her fingers into the crack between the boards, just in case.) "...You know, I didn't think you could get any more pathetic. But it turns out that, even this season, you've hardly even won any challenges for your team. It makes sense that you'd be the first one to get depressed about something that's just a game."

"Is it really just a game?" Marsh bitterly hung her feet over the dock. "We've been stuck as pawns in MePhone's 'games' for almost six years now. It's a game that's taken us six years of our lives."

Knife hummed. "We may all be going in circles, but you're the only one going in circles with yourself."

'...Huh?'

"Ever since whatever happened in episode six, you've been driving yourself to insanity by asking a lot of questions you don't know the answers to. You fail to see that you can answer them."

Marsh blinked. Knife looked tired. "It's a change of pace from Fan freaking out about the pattern being broken, but it's just as annoying."

"...Wow, you're really honest." Deadpan came into her tone. "What makes you such an authority, anyway?"

"Nothing except a penchant for observation," Knife replied. "I've observed you not winning any challenge for your team. You've gone from being a lonely kid in season one to having friends, but you don't know who's actually your friend."

"I know that you're not," Marsh suddenly exclaimed, then dug her fingers deeper.

Knife rolled his eyes. "I never intended to be. But seriously, you have a sharp opportunity here. You can break out of your personal cycle and the one MePhone has us stuck in at the same time."

'Break out of MePhone's cycle? B-but that'd mean-!' Marsh's jaw dropped at the mere suggestion.

"You know what I'm talking about. There are people you can ask directly about the situation who were there. Most of the time it's not this easy of a fix. Whether you believe the answer? That doesn't matter. Just get the closure you need."

"...Why do you care?"

Knife ignored the inquiry, so they were left in silence. In that time, Marsh finally stopped gripping the dock, and instead turned to face the lake beside Knife, her hands lying loosely at her sides.

The new idea was dangerous. It was something that nobody had ever done before. It could totally backfire in her face, and ruin the last friendship she had with an actually living contestant... Could it be worth it?

'Bow could listen to me, and she won't think of the game like Paintbrush will...'

"...You're not actually that mean, are you." It was a statement, not a question.

"I just happened to be crossing by." He held up a fist. "I'll chuck you into the lake if you think I mean something by it!"

Marsh tensed, but pretty quickly Knife lowered it and rolled his eyes.

Could it really be the answer she was looking for?

She found she could hardly wait. It wasn't even three days later when Marsh snuck off in the dead of night, destined to learn an ugly truth...