Work Text:
Flask darted around the desk in their lab, checking in on various scientific tools and equipment they had set up. Mantle watched idly, ready to spring into action whenever he was needed to grab something or help when Flask needed him.
He didn’t exactly understand what Flask was trying to achieve, but after helping Flask out so many times, he could form guesses on what certain elements of the experiment did.
“Mantle, top shelf, four across,” Flask stated, not even bothering to turn around as they checked out their experiments from different angles.
Mantle did as he was told, and stood on his tip toes to reach the top shelf. It wasn’t too high up for an average sized object, but he and Flask were on the smaller size, so they had invested in some storage racks that expanded further horizontally rather than vertically.
As he blindly felt around the shelf, he strained his legs. It was starting to feel uncomfortable, but he still couldn’t see the contents of the top shelf. He retracted his arm before outstretching the other, feeling the equipment and containers one by one. He counted the fourth content of the shelf and picked it up.
“Got it!” Mantle called, rushing over to the desk. He opened the container before placing it down next to Flask’s other equipment.
“Thanks.”
Mantle smiled and took a closer peek at the experiment as Flask looked through some of their tools. It appeared to be some sort of bright-coloured liquid heated over a Bunsen burner. It dissipated into gas within the confines of its test tube.
“So… what is this experiment for?” Mantle asked, curiously watching as Flask pick up a pipette.
“Theoretically, it should allow any two objects to body swap for twenty-four hours upon inhaling a small amount of the gas. All I have to do now is make sure the gas is confined to this room at most. This is what this liquid is for,” They responded as they plunged the pipette into the liquid and filled it.
“If it were to breach this room, I won’t be able to control what objects are swapped,” Flask further explained as they carefully handled the pipette.
The scientist then went onto squeezing out the contents of the pipette into the now opened test tube.
The liquid started to fizz and bubble before them, the level started to rise dangerously close to the top.
“... You did pick up the right container, right?”
“I, uh… couldn’t see.”
Suddenly, the test tube burst, a thick cloud of gas quickly filling the room and escaping through any cracks or crevices. Flask and Mantle were quick to cover their mouths, but by that time, they were too late.
In a blink of an eye, they were already somewhere completely different.
“H-Huh…?” Flask murmured, looking around the environment. They felt… off. A bit taller, maybe? And a lot heavier.
“Screwdriver? Wait, what am I doing here?” A voice called out. Flask looked around before spotting Dr. Syringe, standing awkwardly and confused.
“Who are you calling-”
Flask stopped themselves. That wasn’t their voice.
“Oh. Oh, no. I’ve swapped with that fatuous Screwdriver…” They irritatedly mumbled before turning to the other object in the room, “That must mean you’re swapped with someone else, ‘Dr. Syringe’.”
“Dr. Syringe? I’m Bubble Tea.”
Bubble Tea seemed confused at his voice, too, giving a small cough to make sure he didn’t have anything in his throat.
“And I’m Flask. You’ve swapped bodies with Dr. Syringe. Look in a mirror if you’re unsure, genius.”
Flask wasn’t sure if Screwdriver had any mirrors around, they definitely didn’t want to look at their ugly mug if they were them… well… they knew what they meant. Either way, they dug around Screwdriver’s drawers and pulled out a hand mirror, handing it to Bubble Tea.
“Oh, wow… So, is there anyway to turn us back?” He asked.
“Should be over in a day. For now, let’s just inform the others, so they don’t get up to anything stupid.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Bubble Tea beamed, “I’ll go tell Dr. Syringe and whoever swapped with Energy Drink.”
Before Flask could say anything, he was off. They sighed, but walked out of the room after him none-the-less. They didn’t really want to talk to Screwdriver, but they certainly didn’t want them doing anything reckless in their body, either.
As they descended the stairs, they heard two objects talking to each other. Surely Screwdriver in their body and whatever object was in Mantle’s.
“Uh, no, absolutely not! You’re the scientist- or inventor, whatever, you fix it!” An angry sounding Mantle yelled out.
“For the last time, I have no idea what Flask did. So, calm it, Gavel.”
Flask stepped through the open door to the lab, clearing their throat to announce their presence.
“Unfortunately, you’re stuck like this for a day. Get over it already.”
“YOU! What’s the big idea?!” Screwdriver demanded, taking a step towards them. Flask mentally noted how strange of an experience it was to see them being yelled at by themselves.
“Accidents happen. If it bothers you so bad, you fix it.” Flask walked past them to inspect the experiment.
“Hey, it bothers other people too! I can’t stay like this for a whole day!” Gavel exclaimed, but sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, “although having arms is pretty nice.”
“Wow, you’re so lucky,” Screwdriver mumbled sarcastically. Flask rolled their eyes. Although being taller was nice, it would have definitely been useful to have swapped with someone with arms.
“Wait- so… if both of you have swapped, does this mean-”
Mantle had no idea what he was doing.
Or, where he was for that matter. He gathered that he must have body swapped with someone, but who?
No arms. Mantle noted. Heavy, too.
He took another look at his surroundings. He appeared to be in some sort of mock courtroom, although it was entirely empty.
Mantle glanced at a nearby clock. It was 5pm.
By this point, he was confident that he was swapped with Gavel, but now he had more questions.
How was he meant to get back to Flask? He had no idea how far away Gavel’s college was to where everyone else lived.
Mantle suddenly had an epiphany.
Oh! I could call them!
He had made sure to memorise Flask’s number in case of an emergency, and as far as he was concerned, this was an emergency. Now the question was… where would he find a phone?
Mantle started to make his way to the looming doors of the courtroom. While he could wait around for the effect to wear off, he was still worried how Flask was holding up.
Gosh, he was exhausted, but he was nearly there! He needed to alert Dr. Syringe and not-Energy Drink to what was happening. What if they were worried? Confused? Panicking? Bubble Tea couldn’t allow that! What kind of a friend would he be if he didn’t tell them as soon as possible?
Panting, he rested a hand on the space next to the door of his room.
Deep breaths, Bubble Tea. He reminded himself. You need to stay calm and composed for everyone’s sake!
Taking one last deep breath, he grabbed the handle of the door and opened it.
“I’m here! There’s no need to panic, it was just-”
“One of Flask’s experiments going wrong? We had gathered that,” Dr. Syringe spoke calmly, putting a hand on her hip, “it has been around twenty minutes since it happened.”
How long was he running up those stairs for? It did feel like an eternity.
“Oh.”
“Oh-em-gee, Bubble Tea, is that you?”
Bubble Tea was, to put it simply, taken aback by that string of words in Energy Drink’s voice. It was the most excited he had sounded so far in his life, and probably the last time he would sound as if he wasn’t running on one-hour sleep.
“Frappé? But yes, it’s me,” Bubble Tea replied, laughing nervously, “they really need to install an elevator here…”
“You should totes add some new decor in your room, I know where to get these cute tapestries that would look absolutely gorge on this spot here.” She held her hands out, framing a blank spot on the wall by making two ‘L’ shapes with her fingers.
“Thanks, Frappé, but uh… I’m not looking to redecorate right now.” Bubble Tea chuckled and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
Frappé grinned and placed a hand on her hip, “Well, just call me if you need advice!”
“Noted, so… what should we do whilst we wait for this effect to ware off?”
“Do you know where Screwdriver is?” Dr. Syringe interjected, “If I could speak with them, we might be able to resolve this without having to wait.”
“Oh! Flask was in their body, so they should be in Flask’s! They’re probably still in Flask’s lab,” Bubble Tea responded. Dr. Syringe nodded and walked past him.
“I’ll be in contact with you two if we discover anything.”
“Bye!” Frappé waved enthusiastically as Dr. Syringe began descending the stairs. Bubble Tea let out a sigh.
“Well… I guess we could go and find Energy Drink. Where were you before the swap, Frappé?”
“Oh! I was getting lunch with Lamp, Sushi and Lip Balm! Lamp found this adorbs café on the other side of town.”
“On the other side of town? That doesn’t make much sense…” Bubble Tea mumbled, “I’ll tell Flask after, let’s try calling them.”
Frappé nodded and got out Energy Drink’s phone, before pausing.
“Um… crazy question, but… do you know Energy Drink’s password?”
Energy Drink raised an eyebrow at the group of objects bickering in front of him. He was too tired for this, and they were starting to get loud.
“Can you three keep it down? You’re starting to make a scene.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Next time I’ll figure out what being armless is like quicker,” Sushi rolled her eyes and motioned over towards Lamp, “it’s hard to not make a scene when you can see yourself looking at you.”
“Ah, am I making you uncomfortable Lamp…? Sorry…”
“You’re good, Sushi. Has not-Lip Balm spoken yet?” Lamp responded, looking over towards Lip Balm. Since the swap happened, the object hadn’t spoken, hiding a muffled laugh.
“Not yet… It could be a few people who’d do something like this.” Sushi huffed and crossed her new arms.
Energy Drink spoke up again, “Isn’t it just C-”
“Hehehe! Pranked!”
“Hi, Coin Roll.” Lamp said and gave a small laugh, “figures that you didn’t seem to care very much about the swap.”
Coin Roll smiled brightly, “It was too good of an opportunity, hehe!”
“Right. So-”
Energy Drink practically jumped at the sound of Frappé’s ringtone. He scrambled to get the phone out, seeing that he was receiving a call from, well… himself.
“Hello?”
“Oh, Energy Drink! It’s Bubble Tea and Frappé here. You don’t happen to be with… Sushi, Lamp and Lip Balm do you?”
“Uh…” Energy Drink looked over to the group, specifically Coin Roll, “... kinda. What’s going on?”
“Something Flask did!” Frappé called somewhat distantly.
“Yeah. It’ll wear off in twenty-four hours. Do you think you four could meet us back at the apartments?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks, and if you can, let any others know? Bye!”
“Bye.”
And with that, Energy Drink ended the call, and looked to the other three, who were looking at him with curiosity.
“So, what’s going on?” Lamp asked, smiling smugly, “what did Bubble Tea tell you?”
Energy Drink rolled his eyes. Lamp was right that Bubble Tea called him, of course, and that’s what made it irritating.
“Flask did this, it’ll wear off in a day, and meet him and Frappé at the apartments. Oh, and tell any others we come across,” Energy Drink listed, standing up.
The others followed suit, leaving the half drunken drinks on the table.
“Oh, that’s right. Coin Roll,” Sushi turned to her, who was wiggling her fingers in curiosity, “were you with anyone?”
“Yep!” Coin Roll crossed her arms, giving a small huff, “we were in the middle of a gaming tournament, too! Now I won’t know who won.”
“... Huh?” Lip Balm looked around, confused. Where was she? Why wouldn’t she feel her arms? They looked around, noticing the pile of dropped controllers on the floor, the TV in front of her, and the other group of objects in the room.
Is this Coin Roll’s room?
“W-What’s going on?!” Bomb asked, directed at the other three objects in the room. He looked down at his hands, confusion clear on his face.
“I’m not equipped to answer that question,” Winey responded, zer face deadpan.
“Ugh. Great. I don’t have a clue what’s going on either, but can you tone it down? You’re gonna give me a headache,” Tickety mumbled.
“No one knows? I’m so confused…” Bomb frowned, still checking out his hands, “why do I have arms now?”
“You’ve always had arms, genius… Is anyone other than Bomb going insane?” Tickety asked, directed at Winey and Lip Balm.
Winey was about to answer before Bomb spoke up again.
“Bomb? I’m Chocolatey.”
“Well, you certainly look like Bomb to me,” Tickety responded.
“Oh… wait… Who am I?” Lip Balm asked.
Winey was the first to respond, “You are Coin Roll.”
“Okay… well… I’m Lip Balm, so…”
“So… Tickety and Winey aren’t Tickety and Winey either?” Chocolatey finished their thought. Lip Balm nodded, and turned to the two of them.
“Alright, who are you guys?”
“I am Phone,” Winey’s voice responded, leaving only Tickety.
“Pickle Jar. And great, if we’ve swapped bodies with others, I want no part of it. Figure out how to revert it.”
“Hm… we could ask someone like Dr. Syringe, maybe…?” Lip Balm suggested and looked to the other three, “but then again, we should talk to whoever we’ve swapped with.”
“Yeah… I’m a bit anxious with Bomb in my body,” Chocolatey agreed, awkwardly playing with its hands.
“Whatever. As long as this gets solved as soon as possible.”
Screwdriver was scavenging their lab for anything that could help fix this. Dr. Syringe had also come down, working on a serum while Gavel and Flask sat nearby. As Screwdriver passed them to make their way to a box of supplies, they made sure to make a comment about their annoyance.
“You’re really a pain sometimes.”
“Accidents happen - be glad I’m not committing crimes in your body,” Flask responded and rolled their eyes. They didn’t want to be stuck in this body for a day as much as any other object in the room.
“I’m sure this is still considered malpractice, but whatever,” Screwdriver mumbled, searching the box.
Flask scoffed and mumbled to themselves. Gavel let out a sigh of annoyance.
“You could at least co-operate. I don’t want to be stuck like this for as long as I need to.”
Screwdriver continued to search through the box, until the loud chime of a ringtone rung out. As Screwdriver got the phone out and answered, Flask perked up at the voice on the other side of the phone, calling out loud and clear to not need to be on speaker.
“Flask, I’m lost! I don’t know this area.”
“Gav-wait… Mantle?” Screwdriver asked and glanced over to Flask, who stood up. They walked over to where Screwdriver was. They didn’t say anything, but they handed the phone to Flask, focusing on their work once more.
“It’s Flask here, do you know where you are?” They asked.
Gavel walked over to them, “He should be around my college area. I could tell him directions and which bus to get?” He suggested, Flask handed the phone to him.
As they walked back to sit down, they let out a small sigh. How did Gavel even manage to swap with Mantle in the first place? He wasn’t even near the gas. Something wasn’t adding up to their hypothesis.
“Flask?”
They almost jumped, but turned around to face Dr. Syringe.
“What is it?”
“Do you know if Phone is involved in the swap?”
“Hm. He should be. He would still act as if he were in his own body, so to speak,” Flask explained, “anything to do with his mental processes would be carried over.”
“Um?”
Winey had no idea how ze got there, but ze found zemselves in the middle of an argument between Crowny and Domino. Literally, too. Perhaps is she wasn’t there, the two would be at each other’s throats. Winey couldn’t make out what the two were yelling about, but figured it was something they were blaming each other for.
“How about we chill out for a moment, hmm? What are you guys even arguing about?” Ze asked, watching the two curiously.
“What do you mean?! You’ve been here the entire time. But, look at us!” Domino exclaimed, crossing her arms.
“Uh… Oh, dear… Did you… grow taller?” Winey asked cupping zer chin.
“I guess technically, but no! I’m in this ugly body, and I could sob right now.”
“‘Ugly’?! You’re one to talk!” Crowny pointed to herself.
The two began to incoherently bicker once more until Winey placed a hand on both of them.
“I still don’t get it, but arguing isn’t going to help!” Winey chimed before smiling, “you two should learn to get along.”
“Phone, are you okay? You’re more expressive than usual,” Crowny asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Phone is here?” Winey asked and looked around, “I don’t see him.”
“Alright, that’s more telling than anything…” Crowny mumbled, “he must have been swapped, too.”
“Ugh. This is too confusing. I want this over with, immediately.”
“Swapped?” Winey asked, still confused.
“We’re all body swapped right now. I’ve had the displeasure of swapping bodies with her, and you’ve swapped with Phone, whoever you are.”
“Ohh, I get it! So you’re actually Domino. I’m Winey!”
“So… Phone is in your body. Great, he was useful for fuelling my arguments…” Crowny mumbled, still glaring at Domino, “how about a truce? You don’t do anything weird in my body, and I won’t either.”
“Fine. We should probably find the others, I doubt we’re the only ones that swapped,” Domino suggested.
“See, you guys are getting along a lot better now you aren’t yelling at each other!” Winey smiled, “and look on the bright side, you can see what it’s like to be each other for a bit!”
“Great…” Crowny mumbled sarcastically.
Down at Screwdriver’s lab, things were starting to calm down a bit as the air filled with concentration. Even Gavel was being quiet, which Flask was grateful for. They didn’t need even more arguments today. They occasionally helped - but only towards Dr. Syringe. It was petty, they knew, but they’d rather be dead than to co-operate with that asinine Screwdriver. Overall, it was peaceful, and a decent environment to work in.
Until - of course - they were interrupted by the loud slam of the door. One small object stomped in, another trailing behind casually. The two radiated polar energies of not only each other, but the bodies they inhabited.
“Can someone tell me what is going on!?”
Gavel stifled a laugh, “Wow, Chocolatey, I’ve never seen you this mad before.”
“You-”
“-I’m not the one to particularly worry about stuff, but…” Pickle Jar’s voice spoke up other the angered form of Chocolatey, stepping in front of them, “I would like to know what’s happening.”
“We’re working on a fix, remain calm until it’s done,” Screwdriver called from the other side of the room.
“Remain calm!?”
“Yes, that is what they said, Bomb,” Dr. Syringe said, not taking an eye off of her work, “it really shouldn’t be long.”
“How’d you-”
“Gavel has a list of whose swapped with who based on whose called us.”
“Plus it’s pretty obvious,” Gavel added.
Bomb was about to speak up again before more objects filtered out into the room. The group of Chocolatey, Phone, Pickle Jar and Lip Balm entered the room, just behind Tickety and Bomb.
“Ah… Energy Drink was right, there are a lot of people here,” Lip Balm mumbled, glancing at the other objects already in the room.
In the back of the room, Screwdriver and Dr. Syringe were whispering to each other, suddenly Dr. Syringe called over to Flask. They grumbled to themselves, but walked over to the duo as the others talked over each other.
“What do you want?” They barked.
“The antidote should be done now, and we need to test it. I don’t want to spend a single extra moment in your body.”
Flask scoffed, “Fine. What do you need me to do?”
“It would be unwise to use another gas, so it’s a liquid. Just drink it together as soon as possible,” Dr. Syringe spoke, handing them a small beaker of liquid.
Flask took it with their foot, and Screwdriver did the same. Dr. Syringe counted down for the two of them, as they nervously prepared to drink the strange liquid.
The taste on their tongue was bitter. They closed their eyes, focusing on something that wasn't the repulsive flavour.
And when they opened their eyes again, all they immediately realised that it had worked. They glanced over to their side, and sure enough, Screwdriver, in their own body, looked back.
"Thank god. I'm leaving now, tell Mantle I'm in my lab," Flask blankly stated, turning to walk off. They felt a hand on their shoulder, and looked back at Dr. Syringe.
"I request that you... watch your experiments closely so that this doesn't happen again. We're still unsure if it's only the twenty objects we know that swapped."
"Yes. That reminds me, I have to research why some objects were swapped with others far away, and some living here didn't swap at all..." Flask murmured. They took note of a comment Dr. Syringe made about her wife being unaffected, despite living with her in the apartments. Gavel, Lamp, Sushi, Lip Balm and Frappé had been outside when it happened. Flask was still unsure what it exactly meant, but they were at least glad to not receive a phone call from their landlord. They wouldn't admit it, but Skeleton Key unnerved them. It seemed to be a common opinion.
“We’ll stay here to make sure everyone who has swapped is back to their original bodies. Take care.”
“Alright,” Flask mumbled, walking away.
As they walked out of the lab, they passed more and more objects. Some had questions, others had concerns. Flask didn’t stay for too long talking.
They had research to do.