Battle for Resolving the Fate of the Universe (and also Dream Island Again)

Episode 15 - Reaching Dangerously Close to Insanity

Needle was sitting by herself on the hilltop, wanting to be all alone, as she usually did.

It was a rather calm morning, with not even the slightest hint of the wind blowing being picked up by her ears. There were no foreseeable threats, at least those that could be seen, and any normal person would be at ease, were it not for the fact that those sorts of people were now dead. Despite how the scene looked, however, Needle just couldn't help but feel rather uncomfortable, even though she knew that there wasn't anything out to hurt her here. And why was that? It was a quiet, tranquil scene. And there lies the problem: perhaps it was *too* quiet for her liking. In a world that seemed to constantly run on pain and misery, such moments seemed foreign, even though the world was now more barren than ever. A lack of action meant that Needle had nothing to focus her attention on, nothing to prevent her from remembering the past. The horrible, terrible past. Every time Needle closed her eyes, she could see it: the horrific betrayal, the exile, the punishment, and the abandoning. She was left all on her own, barely hanging on to her life, destined to die. What did she do to deserve this? What did *anyone* do to deserve this, for that matter? She tried her best to recall anything that could make them worthy of such punishment, but nothing ever came up. There just wasn't any reason, no justification for them being forced to participate in a (metaphorically) bloody battle which turned them against each other.

She didn't have to think about that for too long, however. She'd hear something coming up from behind her, and would quickly turn around to face it. She'd sigh a quiet sigh of relief as she saw that it was just Book making her way up the hill as well. They weren't exactly *friends*, per se. It felt like they could never really attain that level, but it was close enough. Book would sit down next to her, and would take a deep breath before addressing her. "Hey." Book greeted her. Needle would be stunned for a moment or so, before waving back at her. "...Hey." She'd reply. "...What brings you here?" She asked. "*Those* two are going on about nonsense again." Book replied. Neon and the soldier had been doing nothing but keeping to themselves for much of the past few hours. They were always talking about plans to reconnect with the remnants of GD Inc, gathering what they had left in order to remain a formidable force in the post-apocalyptic world. At least, that's what Book believed they were discussing. They kept themselves quiet, of course. She scoffed. "They're both so *weird*, aren't they?" She asked. Needle shrugged. "Who knows?" She asked back. "I barely know the guy. In fact..." She frowned. "...I don't think I really *know* anyone. Not who they really are, anyway." Needle looked down on the ground, and would remain silent for a little while.

Book raised an eyebrow. "...You've told us about that before." She remarked. "...You've told us about how you were betrayed, abandoned, that sort of stuff. Yet you never really go too deep into that." Needle nodded slightly. "And why would I want to?" She asked rhetorically. "It was a..." She sighed. "Terrible part of my life." Book frowned. "It can't be *that* bad." She remarked. "I mean, no offense to you, but worse things have happened to others." She sighed as well. "We all lost a whole lot more than just our friends. Some of us even lost... ourselves." She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "...I dunno. I'm... lost for words. I know a lot of things, but I never really figured out how to truly express myself. Like, my *actual* self." Needle looked at her. "...I understand." She replied. She then paused for another moment before sighing once more. "...I suppose I *should* tell the whole story, however." She remarked. "...I know what *he* said, but I feel like I won't really get the help I need if I don't tell anyone about *everything*." Book raised an eyebrow. "Everything?" She asked. "It already felt like you've said everything. You were forced to compete against your friends, and you were betrayed by the one you loved most, right?" Needle nodded. "...Yeah." She replied. "...But that wasn't all."

Needle sighed. "...There was... another thing." She continued. "After everything that happened, I *had* to confront the one that made them, that made *him*, betray me." Book nodded. "That's... understandable." She remarked. "Was it an organization of sorts? Maybe I can-" "No." Needle shook her head. "...It was just one person, from what I can recall." She sighed. "...Pin." She muttered. She felt like she was uttering the most horrendous curse by just saying that one syllable. Book raised an eyebrow. "What?" She asked. "...Pin." Needle said again, more confidently this time. "She was a terrible person, and was great at it." She scoffed. "She took pride in being a great leader, and was able to convince others of it. She was everything I wasn't, and when I went against her..." She sighed again, shaking her head. "...Why am I..." She muttered to herself again. Book wanted to inquire further about Pin, but gears were already turning in her head. She'd remain silent, digging through her memories, of the tumultuous past few weeks. The past was all sorts of things, most of them being incoherent. It paradoxically felt like an eternity while only whizzing by in a few days, it was calm yet chaotic, good yet so incredibly bad. Much like everything else in this world, as stated many times before, it just... didn't make all that much sense, and it only frustrated those trying to understand it.

"...When I *did* confront her..." Needle sighed. She didn't like remembering this particular part of the story, much like anyone who has lived through a traumatic moment in their lives wouldn't want to go through it once again. It was natural, but pretty much everyone knows that the first step to recovery is letting people know what has happened. "...When I faced her, she was different." Book frowned. "Different?" She asked. "I knew what she was like, but..." Needle continued. "...but I was still surprised. I was *really* surprised." Tears would start forming in her eyes, as the very thought of what had occurred between she and her after that flash of white, permanently etched into her memory, was *truly* horrific. "She had these... powers, of sorts." Needle continued. "Powers that I still barely understand. She tortured me for what seemed like forever, always tossing me around like I was..." She sniffled. "...like I was garbage. And when she finally decided that she was done, that she had other things to do, she..." She'd instinctively close her eyes, as if someone was trying to rip them out, much like what had happened to her before. "...She left me out in the middle of nowhere, leaving me to die." She'd let a single tear flow down, wanting to keep her composure. No point crying about it now, she thought.

Meanwhile, Book remained silent, sifting through the thoughts in her head. "...You..." She began forming those thoughts into words. "...You said she was called Pin?" She asked. Needle nodded slightly. "...Yes." She replied. Book fell silent once again. She went through her memories once again. Those few moments before the world quite literally collapsed around her. They were just on the brink of victory, of finally achieving a way to destroy their sworn enemies once and for all, only to fall short, to fail catastrophically at the very moment they *didn't* want it to happen. Those moments kept playing in her head during every single moment that she wasn't actively trying to push it out of her memory, like an annoying tune you heard once that was catchy enough to stick to your mind. It constantly reminded her of all the loss, the pain that came with such a complete and total defeat. The betrayal, the abandoning...

Book blinked. She had suspected it all beforehand, yet was never quite able to put it all together. She never had the time, since just before she could uncover the great conspiracy, there would be something that would ruin her focus and cause everything to be lost into the fog once again. But now, that fog seemed to have almost cleared up entirely, and the truth, however faint it may have been, was now seemingly as clear as day. Book had always thought that she and Needle were alike: they both had a tumultuous past, both had their friends abandon them, their lovers turn on them, and were beaten and broken until they could barely fight any longer, and yet they recovered. It felt like a story that had already been told before, a song that sounds *just* like one they've heard before, yet there was just one key difference that made them unique, even though they were virtually the same. She almost had it before, and she truly had it now. As she had combed through every single detail of all that had occurred before the collapse, she spotted it: the person that Coiny betrayed her for, the one that ruined it all, the one that cheated her out of a victory she so desperately deserved... She was shaped like a pin. She *was* a pin. She *was* Pin. It hit her: it wasn't that Needle and Book's stories were identical, they were the *exact same*. It was the same symphony of their destruction, right up to the last, bitter note.

Book shuddered. Had she been fighting the wrong enemy? She had always thought that GD Inc was her real enemy, but now, it didn't seem so clear. While that tyrannical company did cause many bad things to her, it was never with *her* specifically in mind. They were a global conglomerate. Of *course* they didn't really care about the ups and downs of a single person's life. While it was *an* enemy, it was no longer *the* enemy. GD Inc never tried to personally hunt her down specifically, but this Pin figure had. To Book, she had directly attacked her, aimed exactly at her heart, and focused it on her alone. She had done it to her, and she had done it to Needle as well. Book shook her head as the whole thing unraveled before her. This couldn't make any sense. It just couldn't! How could the same exact story play out twice? How could history just repeat itself like that? It didn't make sense for the universe to just act like that! To her, there were only two ways this could play out: either there was a far grander conspiracy that was beyond them and GD Inc, something bigger that constantly tugged at the strings of reality, submerging them in misery without a mere thought for their sanity; or she had never recovered from her descent into depression at all, and none of what was happening was real.

Book aggressively shook her head. "No, no, NO!" She screamed. She'd catch Needle by surprise, who had been quietly reflecting on what she had just said. She hadn't talked all that much about what had happened to her, after all, and so she wanted to make sure that what she said did make sense. "W-What?" Needle asked. "What's wrong?" Book looked at her, and Needle froze. Even though she and her looked very different, it felt like she was staring at a mirror: Book had the same desperate look in her eyes, one that desperately pleaded with whoever was out there to finally have mercy upon her, to let her poor soul rest once and for all, and to rid her of her sorrow. The resemblance was simply uncanny. Needle blinked, and Book blinked back at her. Book sighed and closed her eyes. She'd count to 10 in a hushed whisper, then opened them once again. Needle was still there, much to her dismay, and she'd sigh one more time. "I..." Book knew many words, yet she couldn't find the exact one to describe what she felt. "...I need to go." She continued. Needle raised an eyebrow. "...You mind-" Book quickly got up. "I just remembered I need to go train with Puffball." She quickly ran back down the hill, leaving Needle confused. To her, it just happened all of a sudden, without any rhyme or reason.

And perhaps it did.

-

Neon and the soldier were still talking to each other when Book opened the door, with about as much force as one would when slamming it shut. All eyes then quickly turned to her as they were immediately confused. Book had left the base perfectly calm, and it didn't seem like there was anything out there that could possibly cause her to become so outraged. Unless Needle argued with her, of course, but that *obviously* couldn't happen. Book didn't care about her dramatic entrance, however, and she would simply make her way over to Puffball, who still hadn't recovered from the initial shock by the time she started speaking. "Puffball, we..." Her sentence immediately turned into a deep sigh. "We..." She breathed. She couldn't focus. Her mind was embroiled in a constant battle of trying to keep her focus away from the truth: the bitter, terrible truth. Neon approached her, even though he knew with all his heart that that was a terrible idea. "Uh... You doing alright?" He asked her. Book turned to him and nodded. "Yeah! Yeah!" She exclaimed. "I'm fine! Never better!" She'd then start laughing, much like how an insane person would. Neon wasn't all too fazed, however, and would proceed to do something that any rational person would do in this situation: he'd hit her hard with his hand, without any sort of hesitation.

Puffball immediately hovered and approached him, ready to strike him back, but waited for Book to give the command in order to give him time to explain himself. By the time Book had recovered from the shock, however, she decided *not* to hit him back, much to her surprise. "Ow..." She groaned. She looked back at Neon, and saw the soldier was staring at them, looking perplexed. "What was *that* for?" She asked. Neon frowned and stared at his palm, which was now glowing a rather deep red from the impact. He'd hide his hand behind his back and bowed respectfully. "S-Sorry." He quickly apologized. "That was just my instincts kicking in." Book raised an eyebrow. "...Instincts?" She asked. "You were acting insane, and so I did what I was trained to do when I encountered someone insane: smack some sense into them." Book looked at Puffball, who was still in her aggressive stance. "...Puffball?" Puffball turned to look at her. "Yeah?" She replied. Book sighed. "Stand down. What he did was justified." Puffball would then quickly retreat, landing back on the ground. "...I..." Book felt her cheek, which was now a bit red as well. Nothing time couldn't fix, however. "...I don't know what came over me." She replied. She'd try to recall what had happened beforehand, trying to figure out what caused her to go...

Wait, what *was* she talking about?

Book nodded. "I-I'm okay now." She continued. "S-Sorry." Neon chuckled. "No need to apologize." He remarked. "I know that the isolationist lifestyle isn't for everyone. Most people tend to crack every once in a while." He sighed. "...I would know." He muttered to himself. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about something." Book raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" She asked. "Well, since we've already gone west..." Neon could barely get into his sentence before Book would frown. "You want us to go east, right?" She asked. Neon frowned as well. "...*South* east." Neon clarified. "Me and my friend over here decided that we wanted to check on the GD Inc facilities in the Sahara." He raised an eyebrow. "...Are we not going to avoid what you're so troubled about out there?" Book shook her head. "Uh... No. It's fine." She remarked. "Yeah. It's not in that direction." Neon nodded. "Great." He replied. "I *do* want to ease you up into going there, however. One can't just avoid their fears forever, you know." Book frowned. "Yeah... right." She nodded. "Anyways, as you probably know, the Sahara is a *massive* desert, and going there by foot would be pain and suffering the whole way through." Neon continued. "I was just wondering if you could take us there. You know, with Puffy over there." He'd gesture towards Puffball, who would be angered. "*Don't* call me Puffy." She'd say.

Book took a moment to think about it. Her mind was still recovering from that hit, and so it took her a while to weigh out her options. Of course, searching through GD Inc facilities could yield all sorts of knowledge, but it was the *Sahara*. As stated before, it was a vast and hot desert with nothing for miles on end but endless sand and suffering, save for the occasional GD Inc base, of course. If Neon wanted to, he could just simply abandon them in the middle of the desert, leaving them to endlessly wander there without any sort of help. That *would* make things easier for GD Inc, after all, and his loyalties were still in that direction. Book sighed. "...Can I see your map?" She asked. "Uh... Sure." Neon would grab the rolled-up map from the table and give it to her. "You know, you could've asked earlier." Neon remarked. "I noticed you trying to look over my shoulder while I was working on it. I was willing to share the details with you if you asked, since I'm stuck here with you." Book nodded. "...Sorry. I *really* didn't want to ask. It would be rather... awkward." She sighed and turned to Puffball. She'd walk over to her and whisper to her as she was unrolling the map. She'd circle a bit of the coastline on the map. "If they try to take you here, abandon them immediately and come back." She'd whisper. "Got it." Puffball 'whispered' back, although her voice was still loud and her accent was still obvious.

Book then rolled the map back up, and walked back to Neon. "Here you go." She'd give the map back. "Alright, she'll take you to where you need to go. Don't push it, though. She's still a bit... mad." Neon nodded. "I noticed." He remarked. "Don't worry about it, though. Thanks to how fast she's going, this should only take us a few hours or so. The Sahara bases are small, since you can't exactly sustain a large installation in the middle of a desert." Book nodded. "Right." She replied. "Just be back before sunset, okay?" Neon nodded back. "Yep. It gets hard to figure out where you're going in a desert, especially if it's dark and you can't see anything." He'd then turn to the soldier. "Come on, let's go." They'd then proceed to make their way out, and Puffball would reluctantly follow suit. Just before they actually left, however, Puffball would look back at her. "Wait, you're not coming?" She asked. Neon then turned back as well. "Yeah, you aren't?" He asked. "Uh..." Book nodded. "...Yeah. I have some... unfinished business to take care of." Neon nodded. "...Right. Won't question it." He replied. "Puffball will still take care of you if you misbehave, though. Isn't that right?" Book asked. "Yep." Puffball replied. With that, the three of them would leave, respectfully closing the door as they did so.

-

Neon and the soldier *did* return before the sun set, much to her surprise.

They'd enter the base as they continued to discuss what they found, as well as where they're going to search in the future. Puffball quickly went to Book. "What were you doing?" She asked as she floated beside her. "I..." Book shuddered. "...I just needed some time by myself." She replied. "Get my stuff together, clean up the base a bit, you know?" Puffball nodded slightly before resting on the ground again. Book then turned to Neon. "So, what did you find?" She asked. "The bases were abandoned, of course." Neon replied. "People aren't too keen on being all on their own in a massive desert. Much of the ground vehicles had been taken, presumably in some sort of hasty escape." He paused for a moment to breathe. "Most of the bases are still intact, which makes sense, because they were supposed to be a secret. Barely anything was taken, probably just by the soldiers stationed there in order to use them as supplies." He took another breath. "Besides that, there isn't all that much to report on. It's the same as all the other bases. Though one thing to note is that there's still a few fighter jets on one of the bases. Given enough time, I could probably fix them up and take them for a ride." He'd chuckle. "Then we won't need to rely on you for transportation. Maybe we'll be going east after all." Book grumbled.

Neon then turned to the soldier. "Get the stuff, will you?" The soldier would then grab his backpack and pull out a few things from it. It was mostly just standard GD Inc equipment, but the most important ones were by far the most surprising out of the whole lot: they had picked up two guns, with a presumed third still hidden in the backpack, probably for the soldier. The soldier would hand them over to Neon, who would give one of them to Book. "For you." He'd say. "It's already loaded, but there's still a whole bunch of ammunition in the backpack, if you want any." Book took a moment to get a good grasp on the gun, since it had been a while since she got her hands on one. Firearms were generally useless without their ammunition, and ammunition was generally in short supply after the factories making them 'mysteriously' stopped working. While she and her group used to have a bunch of them in order to stay safe, they gradually threw them out as they ran out of bullets to use, since without them, they were nothing more but makeshift clubs. "GD Inc standard issue." Book remarked. "Military-grade. Though virtually everything is these days." Neon nodded. "You *were* part of GD Inc back then, no?" Book nodded back. "Yeah. What I saw there was why I turned against it." She remarked. "You were part of the armed forces?" Neon asked. Book shook her head. "No. Just read up a lot on GD Inc weaponry. One must know the enemy, after all."

After inspecting the gun for a while, Book would aim it at the table of trinkets and shoot at it, sending a whole bunch of them flying and catching everybody by surprise. After the shock settled down, Neon would look at Book, who would simply shrug. "They were mostly useless, anyway." She remarked. "Makes for good target practice." Neon nodded. "Uh... Sure." He remarked. "Perhaps we can do it outside, though." Book nodded back at him as he approached her again. "...That *does* make me reconsider giving that to you." Neon remarked. "Hm." Book would pause for a moment before continuing. "...Speaking of, why *did* you give this to me? Seems like..." She'd then point it at him. "...a bad idea, no?" Neon scoffed. "Oh, I know." He remarked. He'd then point his gun at her. "I know full well what I'm doing." This awkward standoff would go on for a few seconds before Neon would chuckle and put his gun away, with Book doing the same shortly after, although she wasn't as entertained by it. "But seriously." Neon continued. "I don't think that I'm working towards betraying you, or anything." He sighed. "...I mean, I probably will when the time comes, since, you know..." Book rolled her eyes and sighed. "But until then, we *are* allies, no?" Neon asked. "Allies are supposed to work together, and they aren't supposed to leave each other behind. I'll share everything I know, and you'll share yours, correct?"

Book would be reluctant to respond to that with any sort of positivity. This arrangement was still the most awkward thing ever, but it was beneficial. She'd awkwardly nod. "Uh... Yeah." She replied. "...I wouldn't call each other 'allies', though." She remarked. "What do you suggest, then?" Neon asked. "Partners? Temporary supporters? *Friends*, perhaps?" There'd be awkward silence for a moment or so. "...Neither." Book replied.

-

GD entered the house.

He had just returned from a discussion with a few members of the loosely-formed 'government' of the settlement about the terms of their partnership, as well as what both sides wanted out of the deal. In exchange for GD and Triangle giving the information they wanted about the mysterious incidents going on, they'd continue to keep them as residents, even after they give all the information they have. As part of said agreement, it was agreed upon that they'd take them to the site of the other competition ASAP, just in order to verify that what they were saying was actually true. They were complete strangers to them, and so they'd obviously not take what they just said as fact. GD would search the house for Triangle, and would find him laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, barely moving. "...Hey, Tri?" He'd grab his attention. Triangle would quickly get up. "Hm?" He'd raise an eyebrow. "...I'm back." GD replied. Triangle nodded. "I noticed." He stood up and approached him. "What'd you say to them?" He asked. "I told them what I knew, and now you're going to take them to-" "Woah, woah, woah." Triangle interjected. "Who said *I'm* taking them there?" He asked. GD raised an eyebrow. "...I just did. We-" "Again. You *didn't* ask me if I agreed to this?" Triangle interrupted. "You can't just keep pulling me back in. I'm nearly at my wits' end, here."

GD sighed. "...Look, I'm sorry, alright?" He scratched his head. "...I just don't understand why you've had this sudden change of character." Triangle raised an eyebrow again. "What change of character?" He asked. GD looked at him and sighed again. "...Just a few days ago, you were saying that we were going to keep on fighting, regardless of the odds, and now..." "I already explained that." Triangle interjected. "I've come to realize that that plan was suicide, and I'd much prefer to keep my life, thank you very much." GD rolled his eyes. "Look, again, I'm sorry." He repeated. "I *definitely* should've asked you." Triangle folded his arms. "And yet you didn't." He replied. GD groaned. "Look, we're both pretty upset by this situation, alright?" He asked. "But you *gotta* come with them, at least just this once." Triangle squinted at him. "And why should I do that, exactly?" He asked. GD sighed once again. "I wouldn't force you to do this if I didn't have to." He remarked. "But while I was at the meeting, a few of them couldn't stop staring and whispering about how weird I looked." He paused for a minute to breathe. "As much as I've gotten used to that, if I have the opportunity to make them stop, I'll *always* take it. I want you to go with them so that they don't feel uneasy, while I'll hang around here and try to make them more accustomed to my... existence."

Triangle sighed. "It's always about you, isn't it?" He asked. GD nodded. "Pretty much." He replied. "I mean, I'm a dimension-hopper with a weird appearance and strange tendencies. When is it *never* about me?" He'd gesture towards the door. "They're already waiting outside. I assume that you still know the directions." Triangle sighed again. "...Alright. Sure." He shrugged in defeat. "I'll see you in a few." He walked out the door and into the great outdoors, where everything is still cloudy and depressing. He'd step out and would immediately see Liy and Stapy there, alongside a few others, waiting outside with a vehicle of sorts. Given a quick look, he figured that it was a military vehicle of sorts, but any sort of markings which identified which faction or kind it was had already been lost to time or forcefully removed. Liy would approach him, casually pointing the gun at him as if that *wasn't* a threat. "Alright, get in." She'd say to him. "And for the record, we're *only* doing this because we're being forced to." Triangle nodded. "Great. You still hate me." He replied. "Good to know, because the feeling's mutual." One of the members inside the vehicle would shout at Liy. "Come on!" They'd shout. Triangle reckoned that the character was a girl, given the voice. "Lighten up a little! We're going on an *adventure*!" Liy grumbled. "You getting on or not?" She asked.

Before too long, they were now on their way. Some familiar faces were there: Liy was on the driver's seat, and several people that GD had pointed out before were also seated. Triangle would remain silent as they continued to drive through the barren landscape, while all the others were talking to each other about all sorts of things that were beyond him. Probably about the settlement, he presumed. Over time, as he'd switch between listening in to their conversations and trying to pass the time, they'd learn their names: the one with the feminine voice from before was Bottle, and the others were Pie, Pillow, and Remote. Besides that, he didn't really bother to learn more about them, other than the fact that they were *extremely* annoying. After eventually making their way back onto the road after an hour of the absolute worst driving in history, they'd get on it and, after being told which turn to make by Triangle (in the first and only word he'd ever speak in this trip), would be on their way to the living quarters. The journey would go on through much of the afternoon, and it would mostly consist of much the same boring driving as before. Triangle continued to say nothing, and everyone else continued to keep on talking, much to his dismay.

Night was already well underway by the time they got to the living quarters. After a bit of delay due to arguing over whether or not they should continue (since they *really* didn't want to be ordered around by Triangle and GD), they eventually stopped at around half a mile or so from the living quarters at Triangle's request. "Why are we stopping, exactly?" Liy asked. "To keep our distance, *obviously*." Triangle remarked. "I've gotten to know these guys, and if there's one thing that they all share, it's that they *hate* unexpected newcomers. We'll make the rest of the journey by foot." Liy grumbled, but since disobeying him probably meant they'd get berated upon returning, she'd reluctantly comply. Triangle would be the first to get out, wanting to immediately get out of there and stretch his arms after being nearly-frozen during the torturous voyage. Although he'd consider running and making his escape, he figured that that would only make his situation worse than it already was, since that'd make him even more isolated. Once the others had prepared themselves for a possible battle, they'd turn to Triangle. "Are we going, or what?" Liy asked. Triangle groaned. "...Right. You're still here." He nodded. "Yep. Come on. We literally don't have all day."

They'd start making the journey towards the living quarters, with Triangle in front, keeping his distance from them. The reason for this wasn't *just* because he wanted to be as far apart from them as possible, as much as that sounds like the case. Shortly before they stopped, he felt like something weird was going on at the living quarters. By far the most obvious signal of this being the case was the fact that all the lights were *off*. Triangle could barely tell that it was even there since it was so dark out, and it wasn't just because he was forced to look for it from the back seat. Although it was expected that they'd turn the lights off while sleeping, that was usually only the case for the cabins, since that was where they slept. They usually didn't bother to turn off the lights in the other buildings, leaving a faint light that could still be seen from a distance. There wasn't any of that in this case, however. Triangle presumed that something had gone terribly wrong there: it had either been abandoned or destroyed by some unknown force. Whatever the case really was, either it was an attack on it, or it being deserted, or the inhabitants wanting to save power, it was still out of the ordinary. As such, Triangle felt like they should approach the situation with caution, and so they did.

Triangle would play a little game of sorts in order to distract his mind. He'd continue to eavesdrop on the others while he kept his distance, maintaining a careful balance of being far enough from them, but not too far as to no longer be able to hear their conversation. As much as he didn't want to associate with them, he paradoxically still wanted to get to know them, since, as stated before, one should get to know their enemy- or, in this case, their mutual temporary ally. Before too long, however, they'd spot the campers that continued to stand just outside the living quarters. Upon seeing them, Triangle immediately signalled them to stop moving. He turned to them and they'd look at each other in awkward silence for a moment or so. "...We're here." He'd whisper to the group. "Be *extra* careful." Liy and the others would nod, tightly clutching their weapons. Triangle would slowly approach the campers, not wanting to make even the slightest sound as he did so. As he made his way over to the camper he used to call his home, he'd mutter to himself. "It's been a while..." He'd say. "Let's hope whoever's been here hasn't stolen anything." He'd gently open the door and see that barely anything had changed. There were clear signs that people had been here before, but they hadn't taken too much stuff.

Triangle would carefully squeeze through the tight gap and would start to turn on all of the equipment, which were miraculously still operational. As each screen came to life and started displaying the progress of their diagnostic checks, Triangle continued muttering to himself, presumably asking whoever's watching to simply pretend he wasn't there. As the equipment finally came to life, he'd immediately do a few things: initiate the backup generator, run a scan of the immediate area, and reach for one of his spare weapons (that he kept hidden in one of the drawers, just in case). As the equipment proceeded with the scan, Triangle would step outside and would look at the others. Some of them had already taken their flashlights and were wandering about, while the others remained together. He'd continue to frantically look around, alternating between looking at the screens and the outside. As the equipment continued to gather data, Triangle would check to make sure that any foreign entities weren't sneaking up on them. "Come on, come on, come on..." Triangle muttered to himself. "Why on *Earth* does this have to feel like a cheesy horror movie?" He cursed himself for agreeing to come here. Why did he have to subject himself to *these* people? At that moment, dying in a ditch seemed to look a bit more appealing.

Eventually, the scan would finally finish, and the data gathered would be displayed in several neat little graphs. Triangle would closely inspect them as best as he could, being barely able to lean in to get a closer look. Even from a distance, however, the results were... worrying. The chaotic energy readings for the past few days had been perfectly normal, up until... a few hours ago. Triangle didn't believe it at first, and he instinctively reached for his eyes, as if he wanted to adjust his glasses, but he stopped himself before he accidentally poked his eyes. Instead, he decided to run another scan, hoping to whoever was up there that the previous results were just a glitch of sorts. As the second scan began running, Liy would suddenly enter the premises. "You know about this place, right?" She asked. Triangle reluctantly nodded. "Uh... Yeah." He replied. "Is the fence supposed to be electric? None of us really want to... test it out." Triangle thought about it for a moment, looking back through his memories for a few seconds before responding. "...It can be, yeah." He answered. "But while I was there, there wasn't electricity running through it." Liy simply nodded and left shortly afterwards. Triangle would return to looking back at the screens to check the progress of the can.

The second scan finished, and, unfortunately for him, the results were much the same as before: normal readings until a *massive* spike in the hours preceding their arrival. Triangle became increasingly worried, although he still held on to the hope that the equipment was just faulty as a result of recent events. Before he could begin running another diagnostics check on the equipment, however, an ear-piercing scream would be heard throughout the living quarters, surprising everyone. Triangle immediately headed out to see what was up, and would see Bottle, who had been roaming around the place, running back towards the group. Triangle was about to approach the group to ask what was up, but Liy would take the words out of his mouth. "What's wrong?" She'd ask Bottle. "I... I saw something!" Bottle replied. "Yes, but what?" Liy asked her again. "I... Uh..." Before she could say what it was, however, they'd start to hear a faint rumbling in the distance. He'd instinctively look around for a place to hide in, but as soon as he looked up, he saw a massive spacecraft approaching in the distance. As it drew nearer, a faint green light began to light up the place, indicating that they had been spotted. Without wasting another moment, Triangle quickly rushed to the group, panicking. "DISPERSE! *DISPERSE*!" He'd yell.

-

Pin was walking along a corridor, holding on to a set of keys.

It was rather hard to get used to living in Dream Island. It was supposed to be this island of luxury, but it sure didn't feel like that. Although the place still felt like it was brand new, the atmosphere made it seem like it had already run its course, and they were now exploring its gutted-out corpse. The buildings seemed to paradoxically be both filled and empty, pristine and gathering dust. Perhaps it was just the lack of people roaming about that gave off that atmosphere, or perhaps it was the constant swarm of depressing clouds that perpetually circled the island. But whatever it was, it constantly made Pin feel uneasy. She was all too familiar with the feeling of being helplessly and desperately alone. She had been like that for much of her life. She didn't have a direction in life, she didn't know what to do, and she didn't know how to impose her totally wise and helpful leadership on everyone. But the competition, and the help she received along the way, finally gave her a sense of purpose. She had a road laid out for her to follow, and at its end, she could see it: a world where she and everyone she cared for can forever live in peace with everyone else in the world. She had to sacrifice plenty of things to make it this far, and there were times she wished she could take it back, but she was too far gone now. It was all or nothing.

She eventually made it to her destination: one of the hotel buildings luxurious and spacious rooms. It was just one of at least a few hundred, with each one hopefully becoming home to one of her friends. Assuming she had any by the time this was all over, anyway. For now, however, there wasn't a friendly face inside. Pin sighed to herself as she looked through the keys, looking for the one which unlocked the door. Her boss could've gotten anyone else to do this, yet they were all in missions at the moment. It was just her and him in this remote isle, just like at the start. She finally found the specific key, and as soon as the others stopped jingling about, it gave way to silence. Well, it wasn't *complete* silence, of course. There was the sound of the wind blowing, Pin's breathing, and... the whimpering of the person locked inside the room. Pin sighed one final time as she inserted the key into the keyhole, and muttered something to herself in order to distract her from the ever-increasing protests from the hostage as they saw the door open. "No! Oh noio! Please!" Pin shook her head, ignoring the cries for help as she stepped inside. After closing the door behind her, the two of them would stare at each other, with neither of them daring to take a step closer.

Pin took a deep breath. "Bubble..." She'd be the first to move, slowly approaching her. Bubble would naturally respond with moving away from her, knowing full well what usually happens when someone enters the room. "Don't hurt me!" Bubble shouted. Pin took another breath. "...I'm not going to hurt you. Come on." She assured her. "...As long as you behave, that is." She glanced at the windows, which had been boarded up after the previous... incident. "I'm just here to check up on you. Should only take a few minutes, if all goes well." Pin made her way over to the fridge. She opened it and took a look at the food inside. It was mostly just military-esque rations, made to survive for long periods of time without refrigeration. She looked at Bubble again. "You haven't been eating well." She remarked. Bubble groaned. "Oh, noio..." She whimpered. "How am I supposed to eat? You guys keep-" Pin sighed. "You should be about halfway done with these by now." She remarked. "You should be showing signs of being comfortable here, of no longer feeling fear or paranoia." Pin took a deep breath. "...Now, you know that just can't do." She'd hide a hand behind her back, a signal for something which Bubble dreaded. "Oh noio!" She exclaimed. "Please, don't!" Once Pin showed her hand again, a normal-sized pin was now in it. As she slowly approached her, Bubble began to cry. "Whoi are you doing this?"

Pin looked at her directly in the eye, with a smile on her face that didn't show a hint of friendliness. "...This is for the greater good."