Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDI 4b: Sweetening the Deal

Leafy was walking around all by herself.

It'd been a while since she'd done this; she hadn't had a chance to do so since the whole Battle for Dream Island began, and she figured that it was long, *long* overdue. She needed some time and space for herself, away from the commotion of her team and the competition; there was nothing but her, the vast green fields, the open blue sky, and the breeze constantly blowing. She kept on walking and walking, trying her hardest to clear her head and only think about what's immediately there, only about what she can see and hear. For the slightest moments, if she thought about it *really* hard, it was almost as if nothing had ever happened; it was almost as if everything was just fine, and she had nothing to worry about.

"Hey! Hey!"

But it never could last.

Pin stopped just short of crashing into her, pausing to catch her breath. Leafy turned to her, somewhat anxious. "How..." She'd frown slightly, though would try her hardest to hide it. "How'd you find me?" She'd ask. Pin raised a hand for a moment as she continued to recover. "I figured you'd be around here." Pin smiled, as if that explained anything. "I heard about what happened during Cake at Stake; I just wanted to-" "Pin, be straight with me here." Leafy interrupted, and an awkward silence filled the air. "What are we, *exactly*?" Pin couldn't muster a response for far, far longer than she'd like to admit. "...We're friends, aren't we?" She'd continue to fix her smile. "An alliance, even. We're on the same page." "Really." Leafy responded flatly. "And yet you've completely crushed us in..." She'd briefly count with her fingers. "...Three contests, now. You guys just keep on winning and winning, without even thinking. Of us... Of me."

Pin became somewhat flustered, unable to look Leafy in the eye. "Leafy..." She'd scratch her head. "I-i thought I already made things clear; only *one* of us can win." She'd take a deep breath. "We're working towards the same goal, it's just that we're on opposite teams. You should just be working on-" "You don't have to be so *rude* about it, you know?" Leafy interrupted. "It hurts every time I have to say who gets to stay and who gets kicked out, knowing I can't do anything about it. Maybe let us win for once, for a change?" Pin frowned. "Leafy-" "It just hurts, is all." Leafy went on. "I try so hard to be a friend to my teammates, and yet when we have to sacrifice them one by one..." She was just on the verge of tearing up.

Pin was just about to respond, but would end up hesitating on the last moment; perhaps she *had* taken things a bit too far. Perhaps the thrill of the competition had gotten to her, just like it had gotten to everyone. Dream Island was just *so* alluring. So tempting. A convenient escape from all of life's problems, and all you had to do was *win*.

But life isn't all about victory.

"Leafy..." Pin sat down beside her. "You know better than anyone just who exactly we're dealing with. I mean, you're the one that ended up with Blocky and his friends; I thought for *sure* you'd be done for." Leafy glared at her. "That's..." She'd frown. "Not exactly supportive." Pin sighed. "Fact is, they're a bother, right? And I've got bothers of my own; just like you, half of my team just completely refuses to listen, always thinking that they somehow know better." It infuriated her just thinking about it. "And the only way I know they could even *remotely* be swayed is if I started pulling my weight. Started acting more assertively, more aggressively."

The thumbtack looked at the leaf. "I know it hurts; you'll probably say that I don't know just how much..." She'd sigh. "And you're probably right. I'm not wearing your shoes, and I can't ever truly know how it feels like, even though we're both team leaders." She'd paused. "But if it makes it even *slightly* less painful: just know that everything I'm doing, everything *we're* doing, it's not out of any actual hatred towards you, or anything." She'd pause to briefly consider her next words. "We're just dealing with what gets thrown at us as best as we can. We're making do. We're doing the best that we can, with what we're given." She'd pause on more time. "I figure you'd know a thing or two about that, especially now."

Leafy still felt uncertain, unnerved. Pin could sense that all too easily; countless times of standing up for others had sharpened her senses. "You *really* wanted Blocky to stick around, huh?" Leafy sniffled, sitting down herself. "I just thought I could help him." She'd explain. "I thought, with him under my wing, I could help him come around and realize what he was doing wrong. I didn't..." She took a deep breath. "I didn't want to do what I ended up doing, but he left me no choice. And now, wherever he is, he probably hates me *more* for it."

Pin looked at her again, the leaf just barely keeping tears back; her eyes remained fixated on that, but perhaps for different reasons than one would expect. "Sometimes, people are just a lost cause." She'd start. "No amount of love and affection will get them to change who they are because they were just... raised differently." She'd frown slightly. "I mean, look at you. Look at your *eye*. Can you *really* say with a straight face that you want to be with that person? That they can be redeemed?" Leafy felt uncomfortable, trying her hardest to hide that still-present reminder.

Pin sighed. "I *hated* bringing that up again, but it's clear that you needed to remember." She'd pause. "Sometimes - *most* of the time, even - there just aren't any solutions that'll please everyone. Someone will always find reasons to disagree, reasons to fight, reasons to harm. Leafy, you just gotta accept that." She'd give her a light pat on the shoulder. "You did all that you could. You gave it your best shot. That's all that matters." The thumbtack continued. "Nobody could've done it any better." She took one final pause. "If it *really* pains you every time you look back, then use that as motivation to keep going, keep doing what you're doing. Show to yourself that you've improved as a person since then, and don't just spend all your time wallowing in your misery." Once again, the two would lock eyes. "You and I both know you can do better than that; there's a life out there to enjoy, so *enjoy* it."

After all was said and done, Leafy and Pin ended up staring off into the vast world beyond them; it was well into the afternoon, and who knew how long it'd take until the Announcer came back with yet another challenge for them to do. The two of them just spent a few minutes taking it all in; all around them was the beautiful, pristine landscape that they'd all been taking for granted all this time. All that world, and they were just cooped up in their little corner of it.

"What if we just escaped?" Leafy asked; Pin turned to her, confused. "Hm?" "We just ran away. Right now." Leafy continued. "No more of this Battle nonsense. We could live a life on our own, without anyone telling us what to do, anyone to hurt us."

Pin would be lying if she said she didn't consider it, but ultimately she came to her senses. "Would you be able to live with leaving everyone else behind, though?"

Leafy remained silent.

-

Pen hadn't even managed to dig halfway through his slice of cake; to be perfectly honest, he didn't want it.

Match came by a little while earlier and tried her hardest to console him about what happened; he just wasn't having it, however, and she ended up leaving, feeling dejected. Inside plenty of thoughts were stirring in his head, each one conflicting with each other and making every waking moment a living nightmare.

Blocky was his friend, no one could deny that; they and those other two had been pals for as long as he could remember, always causing chaos and mayhem wherever they went. But lately - no one knows why, perhaps it's all the stress - he'd given it some time to think and started seeing the whole thing through a fresh pair of eyes, eyes that just wouldn't pop out of their sockets. He thought of the cube as his friend, but how did he know for certain that the feeling was mutual? The more he thought about it, what with all the pranks that sometimes targeted him, and the constant rallying to make fun of someone or somebody else, he felt like Blocky didn't see him with as much regard as how the writing utensil saw the hexahedron. Pen felt like a pawn, more like; one constantly moved about the proverbial board, serving as cannon fodder, an expendable minion, to play out Blocky's schemes. Now that he thought about it, when was the last time the four of them had ever hung out for anything other than pranks or discussing pranks? This was a lot to take in, especially after

"Hey, uh... Pen?"

Leafy tapped his shoulder, which almost made him recoil in fear. Slowly he'd turn towards her, half-expecting a wide smile that'd make the plant seem eerie, but was surprised to see a gentle frown of genuine concern. "...Now's not really the best time." Pen sighed. "I'm kinda having... a moment." Leafy nodded. "I understand." She'd get up from the seated position she was already in. "Just wanted to say something real quick, if you don't mind." "Well, make it quick." Pen tried to act nonchalant.

Leafy took a deep breath. "I *know* how much Blocky meant to you. You guys were good friends, and-" "No need to remind me." Pen interrupted flatly. Leafy's frown grew worse, but she knew perfectly well. "I just wanted to make sure you understood why that had to happen; that I *really* didn't want it to, but we kinda had no other option." Pen sighed. "I know, I know." "First, you guys left us behind instead of looking for Teardrop, even though it was *extremely* important. Then the whole cheating thing..." Pen nodded, pretending to pay attention.

The writing utensil gave it some more thought. "Can I admit something, real quick?" He'd cautiously ask; Leafy's frown was quick to turn upside-down. "O-Of course!" She'd exclaim. "You can tell me anything." Pen nodded once more. "I... I really wanted to convince him of how helpful you guys could be." He'd explain. "I mean, he said so himself; extra sets of hands means extra help with what we're doing. But he *just* didn't quite get the whole depth of that." He'd pause. "That's why I agreed to the whole cheating thing; I wanted to stay on his good side, have us stick around for long enough, more than enough time to show him just how much *better* things can be if we swallowed our pride and gave kindness a chance for once." He'd frown. "And now he's gone, and now... I don't really know what to do."

Leafy thought about it for a moment, a plan quickly forming in her head. "You know what you *could* do?" She'd ask. "Hm?" Pen looked at her. "You could win Dream Island." Leafy continued. "Do the one thing they *really* wanted to do." Pen had doubts. "You'd *let* me win Dream Island?" He'd ask, bewildered. "Well, of course!" Leafy smiled. "We're teammates, after all; if one of us wins, we all win. Just as long as you let us in, right?" The two would awkwardly chuckle. "When you and Blocky inevitably meet again someday, just make sure to tell him just what it took to get there. Tell him that it took only a little bit of kindness to go a long way."

Pen thought about the concept, and found it quite tempting. There was just one minor snag, though. "What if he doesn't buy it?" He'd ask. "I mean, you saw what happened before he got the boot; he was angry, *furious*. Especially after he realized what I did. What if he just doesn't listen? What if we're no longer friends?" Leafy was unsure of how to answer that for a moment; that really *was* a valid point, one that didn't have any clear ways out. Eventually, though, she'd come up with some sort of response.

"You'll have better friends, anyway."