Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDI 4c: Split Tooth

"Okay, people, gather around."

The contestants did exactly what the Announcer asked. "Before we move on to the next contest, there's two things we want to bring up first: first off, the Squashy Grapes have lost three contests in a row, and thus have become much smaller compared to the Squishy Cherries; second, there are only 15 of you left. As a result, we have decided to split up the teams once again. You will now be three teams of five. For fairness, we will let you all decide how to split up. Get to it."

"Well, we're definitely sticking together, right?" Pin asked. "Well, duh." Tennis Ball nodded in agreement. "Our team's doing just fine." "Yup!" Bubble chimed in. "Definitely; but since we have to shrink a bit, I suggest we get rid of that dumb jerk Coiny-" "Already on it!" Coiny shouted. "I've just about had enough of you, anyway! Finally I can show you guys what a real team looks like; with me in charge, there's nothing-" "Uh, excuse me?" Pencil interrupted. "Who said anything about *you* being in charge?" "Well, I split off first!" Coiny replied. "So-" "So what?" Pencil scoffed. "Both of you are wrong!" Flower intervened. "Obviously *I'm* gonna be the team leader, because I'm the best!" As the three continued bickering, Pin would let out a deep sigh. "Good riddance, really."

"Since we're the smaller team, we *obviously* gotta stick together!" Leafy exclaimed, and the other Grapes joined in on mild agreement. "That sounds great and all, but I gotta remind you that we're supposed to be a team of five now; right now, we're six, so someone's gotta go." "But I don't want any of you to go!" Leafy frowned. "You guys have been the best team I've ever had." "We're, like, the *only* team you've had." Match brought up. "Yeah, well, that's what the speaker says." Pen shrugged. "I suggest we let go of Woody; he isn't really pulling his weight, and is more of a..." Just then, that block of balsa would start screaming. "Yeah, that." Pen concluded. "I, like, agree." Match nodded. "Remember when he, like, screamed while we were looking for Teardrop? That was, like, annoying." "He was just trying to help!" Leafy exclaimed. "Maybe, maybe." Match humored her. "But, like, what's the alternative? Are you gonna go ahead and, like, kick one of *us* out?" Match glared at her, and Pen and Ice Cube did the same.

Leafy frowned. "I guess you're right..." She sighed. "I'll tell him the news." She'd walk up to Woody. "What's, like, the point in telling him, though?" Match quipped.

"Alright, we need one more to cap it all off." Coiny explained. "Who's it gonna be?" "Wait, really?" Pencil grew angry. "You're *actually* gonna keep Woody around? What gives?" "Well, it's not like anyone else is gonna take him." Coiny remarked. "So, who?" "We *obviously* gotta get Match." Pencil answered. "We've been separated for far, *far* too long." Coiny scoffed. "No way. If we're gonna take anyone from the Grapes, it's gotta be Pen. He seems like he actually knows a thing or two." "Actually, you can't take another Grape, because they're already at five." The Announcer interrupted. "The Cherries still have six; go take one of them instead." Coiny sighed. "You know what? Let's get Rocky. His vomit might come in handy, and he gave me a Win Token that one time." "Yuck!" Pencil exclaimed. "You can't take him!" Spongy suddenly stepped in. "And who's gonna stop me, exactly? You?" Coiny picked the rock up. "Besides, you wanna join us, right?" Rocky said absolutely nothing. "Sounds like it!"

"Okay, the teams have been restructured." The Announcer announced. "Name-choosing time." "Well, all of us have been the Squishy Cherries this entire time, and I'm the one that put the team together, so let's just stay the Squishy Cherries." Everyone who had remained a Cherry nodded in agreement. "We should do the exact same; we're still the Squashy Grapes, no matter what happens!" Leafy exclaimed, and no one bothered to voice any of their complaints. "Well, I initially wanted to be anything *but* the Squishy Cherries, but I figured we could show *them* who's boss!" Coiny explained. "So we're *also* gonna be the Squishy Cherries!" "No, you can't!" Pin exclaimed. "We're *already* the Squishy Cherries. You *have* to be another name!" "Hm?" The Announcer turned to them. "Alright, the new team's name is Another Name." "*WHAT*?" Coiny was horrified, and so was Pencil. "We didn't even-"

"*Moving* on..." Golf Ball interrupted. "*Also* because you're the final 15, I thought you guys deserved a little reward for sticking around." "Ooh!" Firey exclaimed. "A reward? I love rewards!" "Here's a cake of my own recipe with 15 slices, one for each of you." Golf Ball gestured towards a cake everyone swore wasn't there before. "Dig in!" Everyone went and did so, feeling at least somewhat interested on what it could possibly taste like; one could tell immediately, however, that it was a terrible cake made out of some unknown scientific process, barely edible and *definitely* disgusting. Match spat it out. "Yuck! That was, like, terrible!" She'd exclaim. "Well, let's see if you can do any better." The Announcer interjected. Because the fifth challenge is all about food; cooking it, and eating it."

-

"Okay, so the remaining 15 of you will each bake a cake. I'll be one judge." The speaker box continued. "Snowball, a previously eliminated contestant, will be our second. And the magical die of judgment will be our third." Pen looked at the die in question. "Hang on." He'd stare at it, confused. "Isn't that just a normal die?" "Well, maybe." The Announcer quickly went past that. "So yeah, your scores will be out of 26. Here are some ingredients." The talking box thing looked towards a brand-new pile of said ingredients. "There are no recipes for you to follow, and you may use any flavors you like. The contestant that makes the best cake receives a Win Token. Go."

Tennis Ball went up to Pin. "What're you making?" He'd ask. "I'm making a cake that looks like Snowball." Pin explained. "It's got two advantages: one, I'll *definitely* get 10 points from SB for this. Second, I won't have to waste much time decorating it; it's just gonna be all white." "Well, I guess that's a good strategy." Tennis Ball remarked. "You could say it's a *nice* strategy, that'll make a nice cake. Which rhymes with rice cake!" He'd then present the aforementioned rice cake, which he'd already prepared and completed in record time. Pin looked at it, then at the clumsy Tennis Ball. "Right. You do you."

"Hoi, Foirey!" Bubble greeted the flame, who was already baking his own cake using himself. "Maybe Oi can have a piece of your coike for myself, since we're in a team and all." "We *are* teammates, sure." Firey replied. "But that doesn't mean you can just have others do the work for you." "Huh?" Bubble frowned. "Whoi not?" "You gotta learn how to do things yourself, otherwise you won't get anywhere." Firey explained. "You might end up like that dumb Coiny." "I HEARD THAT!" Coiny shouted in the distance. "But I'm fragoile!" Bubble exclaimed. "I moight pop whoile making my coike!" "Well, this is just a good opportunity to learn." Firey remarked. "You can take the time to figure out how to *not* do that." "I also don't even know how!" Bubble continued. "I think Spongy does." Firey shrugged. "Ask him."

"Uh, how are we gonna make a cake without any recipes?" Pen asked. "No need to worry, friends!" Leafy exclaimed. "I know how to make a cake; I'll just make one big one for all of us, just to show how dedicated I am to befriending you guys!" "Like, really?" Match smiled. "Well, that's, like, a relief." "Yeah!" Ice Cube exclaimed. Leafy then noticed Bubble walking around, feeling helpless. "I'll also give some to Bubble; that way, the other teams don't feel like we're enemies!" "Hang on, what?" Pen and Teardrop would voice (well, maybe not in the case of the latter) their concerns; the writing utensil raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna *help* the other teams?" "It's not *that* much help." Leafy explained. "I'll only give to one of them; that way, it's still up to them if they wanna win." She'd then turn to Woody. "He can have some too!"

"So?" Pencil asked Coiny. "So what?" The coin creature asked back. "It's our first contest as a team." The other writing utensil continued. "How are you gonna *totally* show that you're better than Pin?" "Well, uh..." Coiny scratched his head, then picked up a handful of dirt from the ground. "This is my cake." Pencil raised an eyebrow. "*Seriously*?" She'd chuckle. "*That's* the best you can do?" "Well, I'm sorry, alright?" Coiny grew furious. "I don't know how to bake a cake! I bet you don't know either! Tell me, then; how are *you* gonna prove you're better than me?" "Well, it's so easy!" Pencil looked at the ingredients before her. "I'm just gonna, uh..." She'd scratch her head. "Er..." She'd then pick up a pile of dirt as well.

Time passed, and eventually everyone finished up on baking their cakes. "Boop. Judging time." The Announcer announced. "Let's go in alphabetical order, so Bubble is up." Bubble would then present her cake to the speaker box. "Hm." He'd briefly analyze it with whatever instruments he had on hand. "Normal strawberry cake. Taste test." A knife-shaped mechanical arm then sliced the cake and brought half of it into the Announcer, where it'd just vanish into the unknown. "Hm. Pretty good. Eight out of ten." Meanwhile, Snowball would show up. "*Finally*, I'm out of that terrible place! If I was there any longer, I would've gone *insane*! Grr!" He'd end up stomping on the cake by accident. "Huh?" The pile of snow would look at his foot. "That cake looks terrible! Zero!" He'd then awkwardly glance around, then poked some of the remains with his finger and tasted it. "Well, maybe one pity point; there's *something*, at least." "And the die." The Announcer continued; the magical die of judgment would be rolled, landing on a two. Bubble would end up getting 11 points out of a possible 26.

"Coiny's turn." Coiny would confidently place the dirt on the ground. "It's, uh... baked dirt!" He'd exclaim. "Um, well, dirt is unsafe, so I won't eat it." The speaker box explained. "I'm sorry, but dirt will get a two." Snowball then looked at the dirt. "Well, I'll admit that's what I would've done." He'd remark. "Pretty clever; I'll give it an eight." The die was then rolled and landed on a three, meaning Coiny netted 13 points. "OMBB!" Bubble exclaimed. "Dirt got a better score than moine?" "it's okay." Match replied. "You just bake at, like, a sub-dirt level."

"Firey." The flame went over. "Mine's chocolate!" He'd exclaim. "You baked without the oven?" The Announcer remarked. "That's an automatic 10 for effort." "Meh, wouldn't really say so." Snowball replied. "I pick two." "And the die picks one." The Announcer concluded; Firey got a total of 13 points, equalling Coiny's score and upsetting both of them.

"Flower." Everyone gets the routine by this point. "This is just a random mix of ingredients." The speaker box commented. "You can't blame me!" Flower shouted. "None of us know how to bake a cake!" "That's your fault." The Announcer continued. "One point for putting in the bare minimum." "Two, for pity." Snowball added. The die then lands on a three; Flower gets six points.

"Ice Cube." Yep. "Strawberry again?" The machine thingy commented. "Same as Bubble; I'll give it a seven this time, because it's the same." Snowball then tasted it. "Okay, I guess. Four." The die then lands on a two; Ice Cube gets 13 points.

"Leafy." Uhuh. "Strawberry again?" The Announcer looked at the leaf. "This is starting to get irritating, so you get a four." Leafy frowned. "But I was the first to make the-" "Shush!" Snowball interrupted. "I'm trying to remember another number." He'd concentrate *really* hard for a few seconds. "...Four. I haven't used that one, right?" The die is then rolled. "Wow! The die says 15." The Announcer announced; Leafy gets 23 points.

And it went on and on for the other contestants. Match and Pen had strawberry cakes of their own, and the judges weren't all too amused by that point; they got nine and four points, respectively. The second time dirt was used - from Pencil this time - also caused it to wear out its welcome, and she'd get three points. The Announcer was impressed by how Pin managed to make a cake shaped like Snowball, but funnily enough the ball of snow himself wasn't too impressed by the cake that looked like a big white mound; she got 12 points. Rocky had just vomited into a bowl and presented it as his cake, and after a series of unexplainable events, he got 22 points. Spongy, surprisingly enough, got 15 points for his efforts. Teardrop had anticipated that people would grow tired of strawberry cakes and had baked a different one on her own; she'd get 20 points for originality, only at the cost of Leafy being mildly upset. Nobody was impressed by Tennis Ball's rice cake, and he'd only get 15 points. Finally, Woody had yet *another* strawberry cake, which he only got two points for.

"Okay, we are done; let's compare." The Announcer announced. A nearby screen then sorted all the scores from highest to lowest, which readers won't get the luxury of seeing. "As Leafy has the highest score with her strawberry cake, she gets a Win Token." "Yeah!" Leafy exclaimed. "Okay, now let's organize by team to see who won." The speaker box continued; The Squishy Cherries had a total of 66 points out of the possible 130, the Squashy Grapes had 69, and Another Name had 46.

"So the Grapes win this half of the contest, and they are guaranteed to not be up for elimination." The Announcer announced; the Squashy Grapes would cheer, being the first time ever that they'd won. "Finally!" Pen exclaimed. "In the second half, the remaining two teams will eat a hundred chocolate balls; the slowest team loses and will be up for elimination." Tennis Ball raised a foot. "Hang on, it feels like there's a better way to-" "Start eating."

The two teams immediately got to eating, having been deprived of a good meal for... who knows how long, really. In the end, Another Name would manage to finish just a second before the Squishy Cherries could. "Well, Another Name won this part, so one of the Cherries goes home."

"HAH!" Coiny would laugh and mock the defeated Cherries, then turned to Pencil. "See? What did I tell you? We'd prove that we're better, one way or another."

-

"One, two, *THREE*!"

Finally, with the Power of Three, the roof of their metal prison would finally start to budge. Blocky, being at the top, would push with all of his might, bringing him to the verge of passing out; just as he was about to, the slightest sight of the world beyond would give him the strength to finish the job. With one final burst, he'd manage to lift it up and give him enough time to just barely squeeze through before it closed shut again.

"OH NO!" Eraser shouted, his voice muffled with a metal wall in-between them. "BLOCKY, GET US OUT!" Snowball shouted as well. "I WILL!" Blocky would respond. "I'LL JUST GET SOME HELP!" Without another word, he'd quickly run off to get away from that terrible place, not wanting to see it for another moment.

...It couldn't hurt, though. Right?

Blocky would stop after a little bit and would look back at the place that had held them for so long; it was just... a metal box, standing on its own in the middle of nowhere. That was it. The cube was rather perplexed, but before he could think about it for more than two seconds, his legs would suddenly be frozen solid, unable to move due to some mysterious force. Just as he registered what was happening, he'd suddenly be pulled straight back into the Tiny Loser Chamber, hitting its walls with a loud crash and becoming stuck to it. The prankster struggled to break free from this new obstacle, but it was no use; as he continued, his efforts quickly came to an end when he heard a familiar voice.

"I was starting to wonder if one of you was gonna try that."