One to Five quietly made their way to Room 3, where they recalled the Terrible Twos were last. The sounds only became louder as they approached. Right next to the door labeled '3', something else could be overheard, and One recognised it immediately.

The whirring of the NMM, the shrill humming of its beam.

One reached for the doorknob, anxious. "Here goes."

She turned her hand and opened the door ever so gently, leaving an inch-wide gap between it and the doorframe. She and her friends peeked inside squinting.

What they saw wasn't surprising after all that happened, but still unnerving.

On the left side of the room, the Terrible Twos were tied together back-to-back, looking like they were about to fall asleep— except for the occasional twitching.

The NMM was beaming straight at them manned by Octonaughty, on the opposite corner of the room. Strangely, there were barely any specks of Number Magic travelling up the beam.

There weren't any at all.

"Look," Five whispered, "the timer on the NMM says it's been running for a little over a minute.. doesn't it do one block per second? Isn't a minute way too long for the Terrible Twos?"

One looked and, sure enough, the timer read '1 min 9 sec'. "No wonder they look so.. drained."

"To be fair, we didn't teach them how it works."

"Three, shut—" Four shushed, only to be interrupted by Octonaughty's nasally voice.

"I just know you two still have Number Magic in you..! You're not done, so keep quiet."

Octonaughty stepped out of view as the Twos' shouting became quieter. One moved slightly to the left to see him, only to see a shelf of Number Magic bottles and.. "Wait, is that the What-Iffer?"

Trapped in a clear forcefield-looking cube, the What-Iffer motionlessly laid at the bottom, resembling a gray ball more than anything. His glow was completely gone.

One was stunned. Seeing the Terrible Twos and the What-Iffer in such terrible conditions brought on by Octonaughty, something in her snapped.

"Wow," Three quietly exclaimed. "I couldn't even recognise him at first glance."

One clenched her fists. "We have to get them out of here."

"W- Okay, but how?" Five shrugged.

"Two, Three, and Four, tackle Octonaughty and take the NMM back if you can. Five, try to free the What-Iffer. I'll save the Twos."

"Sounds good to me," Five nodded. Two, Three, and Four were slightly more nervous, but got in position nonetheless.

"On the count of three," the juggler barely glowed. "One.. two.. three!"

The door burst open as One to Five rushed in. Heart pounding with adrenaline, One attempted pulling the ropes apart, to no avail. She glanced around her— Two with the deactivated NMM, Four and Three trying to hold Octonaughty off, Five banging her hand against the What-Iffer's prison. There was nothing sharp she could use to cut the rope. She had no other choice.

"One, one scissor!" One said hurriedly. Immediately, she felt a wave of fatigue wash over her as the scissor materialized. Ignoring the feeling, she grabbed the scissor and cut the rope in several places. The Purple-Masked Two opened his eyes. "One..?"

"Yes, it's me. We have to get out of here."

"You're saving us?" He asked weakly. One nodded.

Pulling the Twos by their arms as they regained their strength, she looked around.

Five had no success and Two had the NMM secured, but Four and Three looked like they couldn't prevent Octonaughty from reaching the Number Magic shelf anymore. "Everyone, run for it!" Four shouted.

Not needing to be told twice, One to Five and the Terrible Twos dashed into the hallway, with Octonaughty close behind. All the Twos in the group kept falling behind, Two with the NMM and the Terribles looking weak as ever. Five motioned to Four, and together they dragged the Twos closer to the best of their ability.

"Get back here, all of you!" Octonaughty screamed. "Don't wait until I use Number Magic to get you!"

"We're not giving up that easily. Guess what, we took some from you too!" Three took out a bottle of Number Magic and opened it, smirking. "What if there was a wall between us and Octonaughty?"

The Number Magic in the bottle faded away as a brick wall formed behind them. Hearing a loud thud, Three raised a fist in the air while the group took a left turn at a fork, getting farther from both Octonaughty and the exit. "Nice one, Three!" One exclaimed. "But we need to get to an exit, and quick!"

"Oh, I only took one bottle from him! If only I took more.."

The Purple-Masked Two spoke up from behind the group, still sounding less lively than usual. "My amigo and I know our way around here, and there's one more way to get to the exit. We'll lead you to it— it's the least we can do."

"Go ahead!"

They took left or right turns according to the Twos' instructions, and soon enough, they could all see the exit ahead, with the brick wall behind them. They skidded to a halt, some anxiously looking around, as the Terrible Twos collapsed onto the cold floor in exhaustion.

"W-where's Octonaughty?" Two asked, his voice trembling.

"I don't know, but we have to get out of here! This is our chance!" One grabbed the doorknob and held the door open, letting everyone pass.

Well, she tried. She pulled on the knob again with all her strength, but it wouldn't budge. "It's locked?!"

"What if a wall was behind me?"

Everyone turned to see Octonaughty standing where they had entered, an empty bottle in-hand, a sack full of Magic bottles in another two hands, and a wall behind his back.

"Did you really think I'd leave the exit unlocked? Not a very smart move, isn't it.. just like how none of you chose to check the ceiling when you entered this area!" He taunted, slowly approaching. In turn, they began retreating backward.

"Octonaughty! Stop this nonsense and l-let us out!" Four blurted.

"Why? So you can turn everything back to normal and forget about me again?!"

"Since when did we forget about you?"

"Stop pretending you don't know what I mean! After this, no-one will forget about me."

One felt the brick wall behind her as everyone else bumped into it as well—they were cornered. Octonaughty reached into the sack he carried to retrieve a bottle of Number Magic..

... when suddenly, the exit door swung off it's hinges and onto the floor with a loud crash, revealing Six to Ten standing outside.

"We're here to help! Ah, looks like I still have some luck left after all. My guess was right!"

"W-wha-?" One stuttered, relieved.

"YOU..! Oh, well. More Magic for me, then!"

"Bring it on!" Called Octoblock. "You're outnumbered, twelve to one!"

The smaller numbers began ganging up on Octonaughty and seizing his limbs, making it harder for him to move. The bigger numbers gave him direct punches and hits to the face, and the Terrible Twos guarded the NMM and sack, watching the chaos unfold. Octonaughty tried to escape, but with no success.

"Agh! Stop that!"

"Nope!" Six replied, delivering another painful blow to his side.

"Wait, guys!" Nine called from across her. "He's got a bottle of Number Magic in his hand!"

"Which hand?!" One asked.

"I couldn't— oh my math, it's gone, where did—?" Nine panicked until Octonaughty cut him off, holding the open bottle high above his head as it began shimmering.

"What if One to Ten and the Terrible Twos were in a cage?"