Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDI 3b: Outsmarting

Though he'd done the journey about 2,763 times by this point, the descent into the factory still unnerved Tennis Ball; it was most likely the lack of railings, he hypothesized.

Usually, he'd be going down with his good *associate*, the one that actually owned the place and paid the bills. Sometimes they'd be hauling samples inside, sometimes they'd be coercing someone else to follow them, and *every* time they were looking to do whatever science or research tickled their fancy that particular day. But not today; it was clear from things starting to gather dust that GB hadn't been there in a good while, ever since she started hosting the competition with that weird speaker box thing. Maybe she just hadn't had the time, maybe she has, but she only went to pick up a few things before going right back up. Who knows, really; despite them continuing to talk regularly despite their mismatched schedules, that was the *one* thing he hadn't managed to talk to her about.

After quickly weaving his way around the maze of metal and machinery, accidentally bumping into a thing or two along the way, he'd come across a shelf with all the things he'd been looking for, the things he needed; He and Pin were talking a while back about the Battle for Dream Island, and they agreed that they needed some sort of *advantage*, anything to continue their winning streak over the Grapes. Anything that would refine and sharpen their skills while not *technically* being cheating: exercise equipment, encyclopedias, everything else the clumsy Tennis Ball could get his hands (well, feet) on.

"TB?"

Tennis Ball nearly stumbled and fell to the ground due to that sudden voice. "Oh! Uh... Golf Ball." He'd nervously chuckle. "What's up?" Golf Ball raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing here?" She'd ask. "Well, isn't it obvious?" Tennis Ball quipped; GB wasn't all too keen on laughing, though. "Answer the question." She'd respond flatly. TB sighed. "Just picking up a few things for the future." He'd answer. "Even though there's the whole *thing* going on, that doesn't mean my- well, *our* research is done." Golf Ball looked at the stuff he'd piled up and nodded. "I suppose. I'm here to do the exact same thing, anyway." She'd go ahead and do just that; if Tennis Ball were to be asked, he'd reckon that the Announcer needed her help on something or other.

"So..." Tennis Ball tried to start up some conversation, anything to make this whole thing less... off. "What's it like, being a co-host?" Golf Ball took a moment to respond, pushing a stepladder to reach a thing on the top shelf. "...It's alright, I guess." She'd mutter, looking through all the gadgets and gizmos. "On one hand, it's nice to finally be respected; having that speaker box on my side, and having everyone want to stay on his good side to win that island, everyone's actually been listening to what I say." Tennis Ball raised an eyebrow. "It's a *he*?" He'd ask. "I always thought it was a... well, *it*." "Thought so too." Golf Ball remarked. "That's what he says, though." She'd pause to properly hook the thing she needed with her foot, then take it down to the ground.

"How about you, huh?" GB asked. "How's the Battle for Dream Island?" "Well, it's..." TB hesitated. "Great! Definitely the best competition I've been in." Golf Ball nodded. "Good to know I'm doing a good job." She'd fiddle with the device in her feet. "Tell me about you and the Squishy Cherries." "Well, we've been doing *great*." Tennis Ball began. "We've won every challenge so far, and we intend to keep that up." Golf Ball nodded. "I noticed." She'd remark. "How are things with your teammates?" "It's great too." The clumsy tennis ball replied. "Me and Pin have been managing the team well; though there's been a few hiccups here and there, it's nothing we couldn't shrug off."

Golf Ball paused. "Pin?" She'd turn to TB. "I know she was the one that chose the teams, of course, but how come you two wound up becoming co-leaders?" "I found it pretty strange too." Tennis Ball remarked. "But during the thing with the balance beam, we and Leafy ended up on an alliance since we all had similar ideas about Dream Island. Since then, it's stuck." "What ideas?" Golf Ball asked. "From what I recall, all she ever talks about is how everyone should stand up for themselves." "Well, yeah." Tennis Ball nodded. "She believes Dream Island should be a place where *everyone* can be happy, regardless of what they're like. She also thinks that the competition is a great way to, like, wake everyone up. Introduce them to things that they prefer avoiding." Golf Ball stared at him, a strange look on her face. "Hm." She'd then turn away, letting things simmer for a bit.

"Alright, uh..." GB turned to TB again. "You mind doing me a favor? Assuming you're not busy with your..." She'd glance at the equipment Tennis Ball had. "Experiments." "Of course not!" TB smiled. "I can squeeze it in. What's up?" "Just, uh..." Golf Ball anxiously looked around the room, then focused back on him. "Get as much info on that speaker box as you can, alright?" Tennis Ball raised an eyebrow. "But don't you spend time with that thing every single day?" "Well, yeah." Golf Ball nodded. "But I think that's *precisely* why he acts so differently around me. Despite being his co-host, he's just *refusing* to tell me certain things." Tennis Ball nodded in kind. "But, like, what if he finds out about how we're-" "Then get Pin to do it." Golf Ball interrupted. "Or someone else in your team. You're team leader as well, right?" TB frowned. "Well, *technically* I am, but-" "Then do that." Golf Ball flatly interjected. "Can you do that, or not?"

Tennis Ball thought about it for a little while, periodically glancing at his pile of stuff and Golf Ball. Finally, he'd nod. "Alright, sure." Golf Ball nodded as well. "Write down everything you can, or tell me all about it." She'd order. "Can do!" Tennis Ball exclaimed; Golf Ball didn't care too much, and would start the long process of dragging her things back up to the surface. Tennis Ball would end up doing the same not long after.

-

"We need to talk, *bud*."

Blocky and Pen had been looking for the mythical place where the supposed TLC had been taking place; for obvious reasons, they were interested in making sure everyone was just fine and taken care of. They ended up wandering quite a good distance away from everyone else, far enough that people likely wouldn't hear them scream, so the hexahedron figured that now was a good time to address the elephant in the room.

"Huh?" Pen turned to the cube. "What do you mean?" "Oh, you know what I mean." Blocky folded his arms; the writing utensil raised an eyebrow. "No, really." He'd reply. "I don't get it." "Let me jog your memory, then." Blocky took a threatening step forward, but didn't follow up on that after much consideration. "Cake at Stake?" Pen was still flabbergasted. "Okay, *what*?" He'd get irritated. "I didn't even do anything wrong during that! I was on your side, I voted for Teardrop, I did what you said!" "Yeah, yeah, sure." Blocky scoffed. "But it sure did seem like you hesitated just a *tiny* bit." Pen scoffed back. "No, I didn't." He replied. "I didn't flinch!" "What was it that you said?" Blocky rhetorically asked. "You hated to say it?" Pen groaned. "*Oh*. That." He'd look at Blocky, trying his hardest to look calm. "I thought you'd be smart enough to pick up on that." Blocky raised an eyebrow. "Pick up on-" "I just said that to calm everyone else down." Pen explained. "You've been making enemies out of them, despite the fact that they've..." He'd hesitate slightly. "...got potential to help us out." "Well, duh!" Blocky interjected. "Why do you think that is? See how it's just us here?" "And why do you think *that* is?" Pen interrupted. "They think you're an enemy, they think you're nothing but trouble, so they're doing all that they can to cut you down to size."

The cube was about to retaliate, but Pen had anticipated that. "I *know* how that sounds, yeah." He'd continue. "You don't wanna even *tolerate* them considering what they've done. But just *think* about it." Pen took a step forward. "Think back to when we had to build a boat and sail it; we got them to basically build the entire thing for us, and we were able to sail off without them!" Blocky couldn't help but smile a little while thinking back to that. "if we wanna do that again, if we wanna keep using them to get ahead in the competition, we *gotta* pretend that they're our friends. We just gotta." Blocky grumbled. "Well, when you put it like that..." He'd sigh. "I suppose that's fair." "See?" Pen smiled. "I knew you'd get that. Now, let's get back to finding the others; the sun's gonna be down before you know it." Blocky nodded in agreement. "You go look over there." Pen pointed in a random direction. "I'll look that way." He'd point in another direction. "Then we'll meet back up and see if we found anything." Blocky was quick to go off to do just that; Pen would wait around for a moment, catching his breath as he watched the cube disappear behind a hill.

Then he started running.

-

"So, like, yeah."

Match was just finishing up on telling Leafy and Ice Cube a story about something that'd happened to her recently; the leaf was very much interested in what she had to say. "Huh." She'd remark. "That's certainly something interesting; to think that someone like him could-"

Pen would suddenly appear, running up to them and stopping just short of crashing; he'd take a moment to catch his breath, during which all three of them awkwardly stared. "Uh... Hey, Pen!" Leafy waved at him. "What a coincidence; we were just talking about you." Match tried to hush her, though it was already too late. "Huh?" Pen raised an eyebrow as he calmed down. "Oh, like, *no*." Match sighed. "Look, like, Pence-Pence told me about what you two were, like, getting up to." "Getting up to?" Pen was shocked. "Well, uh-" "And she wants me to, like, get to know you and, like, befriend you." Match went on. "Normally I'd be, like, no way. But considering what's been, like, going on..." She'd frown. "For now, sure." Ice Cube nodded in agreement.

"Oh, uh..." Pen promptly shook his head. "Look, I'll just be brief about this: I wanna be on your side." Leafy feigned a gasp. "Well, that's a surprise..." She remarked. "Why?" Match raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have, like, Blocky to keep you company?" "Well, lately he's been..." Pen seethed. "I've been a victim of a few of his pranks recently, and now he's taking this competition, uh... a bit too seriously." He'd pause for a moment to breathe. "And so I'm starting to agree with what you said, Leafy; I think he should tone it down a little, realize his situation, and start acting more seriously. More... friendly." He'd then glance at everyone. "And I think you guys could help convince him."

Leafy and Match glanced at each other for a little bit, pondering the offer. "Well, of *course* I'd be happy to accept another friend." The leaf finally decided. "There's just one thing, though: how can we know for sure that you're *really* on our side? How do we know this isn't a prank?" Pen frowned. "Well... how do you think I can prove it?" He'd anxiously look around; Leafy thought about it for a moment before answering. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." She'd nod. "For now, just don't try to sabotage us, alright? We're all on the same team, working towards the same goal; you shouldn't ruin our day just because we're *supposedly* some threat." She'd look at Pen. "How about that?" Pen remained silent for a moment, unnerved slightly.

"Alright."