Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDI 6b: Three of Power

Pen went up to Match.

"Hey, uh..." He'd scratch his head. "Any word on Leafy yet? I've been wanting to ask her a few things." Match shook her head. "Still nothing." She'd respond. "I had to, like, turn away Pin as well; she was also asking about, like, where she was." Pen nodded and was about to turn to leave, only for something to bug him. "Wait, you've been talking to Pin?" Match raised an eyebrow. "Well, it was more, like, *she* talked to me." She clarified. "No idea why, but-" "But they're on the other team!" Pen interrupted. "What did you tell them? Did you tell them that we're missing our team leader?" "Well, like, it's not like we've lost her forever." Match replied. "Those that die eventually, like, come back. Like Bubble." She'd pause for a moment. "Yes, I did tell her. But, like, what's the harm in that?" "You don't just *tell* our enemies that we're currently weak!" Pen continued. "Now they know to focus on us, to get us while we're down." Match scoffed. "If anything, like, the Cherries are gonna focus on taking down the Namers; they're, like, the *way* easier target." She replied. "Pencil told me about how they're constantly, like, arguing over who's in charge, what they do..." She'd trail off. "...Besides, what, like, makes them enemies?" Pen rolled his eyes. "...They're on another team?" "So, like, what?" Match asked. "That shouldn't change anything at all about, like, how you treat them."

"But we still don't know what happens to those that get eliminated." Pen went on. "Do we *really* wanna risk that?" Match sighed. "I'm sure your friends are, like, just fine. You don't have to worry about them." She'd assure him. "You've got, like, your own things to worry about. Like staying in this competition." "That *is* what I'm worried about." Pen interjected. "That's why I'm so concerned that you're just willing to tell Pin all these things about our team." Match remained silent for a moment, tapping her foot. "Speaking of Pin..." She'd start again. "I heard them, like, talking about you while I was up and about eavesdropping." Pen raised an eyebrow. "What'd they say?" He'd ask. "Well, like, they thought you were a bit strange." Match answered. "Something about, like, how you were acting out of character. I think they said they should, like, keep an eye on you." Pen wasn't amused. "...Those are the people you talked to about Leafy being gone." Match remained silent for a moment before continuing. "I dunno what they're, like, talking about; to me, it looks like you've been the exact, like, same." Pen let out a deep sigh.

"Out of character *how*?" Pen asked. "Well, like, they were talking about how you defended Teardrop during Cake at Stake." Match explained. "They said you were, like, very smart during that; they didn't really think of you as being... that." Pen frowned. "Well, that's just rude of them." He'd remark. "Especially Pin. Isn't she-" "Well, like, I think they were more... baffled, than rude; I picked up on the tone of their voice." Match continued. "I didn't understand much of, like, the words they use, but I think they thought that you acting like that was, like, indicative of... something." Match shrugged. "Or something. Like, they think something's wrong." Pen was baffled. "Something's wrong?" He'd grumble. "W-What could *possibly* be wrong with me defending Teardrop? It's just common sense." Match smirked. "Well, like, I *also* didn't think you had common sense; you were friends with, like, Blocky after all." Pen wasn't too particularly happy about that either. "What's *that* supposed to mean?" He'd ask. "Didn't you say that you wanted to be friends with me? Why'd you-" "Well, like, yeah." Match interrupted. "Of course; all that's in, like, the past." She'd chuckle. "But I gotta admit that, like, I can see where they're coming from; this whole competition thing has, like, changed you a bit. I haven't seen you pull a prank in, like, quite a while."

"Well..." Pen trailed off; it was just then when he'd realize that Match had gone and completely changed what the conversation was about. He hadn't even spared a moment to get to the original topic on hand. He'd shake his head. "Look, when you see Leafy, can you tell her to come talk to me?" He'd ask. "Uh... Sure." Match nodded. "What should I, like, say? What do you wanna talk to her about?" "About..." Pen struggled with putting it to words. "My place in all of this. This team. This competition. It's been bugging me." Match smiled. "Let me guess: that puzzle, like, really got you frustrated at the world, huh?" Pen raised an eyebrow. "How could you tell?" "I've been, like, experiencing it too." Match explained. "The other night, I was supposed to, like, listen in on the other teams; see what they're doing and such. But I ended up, like, trying to solve that thing until sunrise." "It *really* is a tricky one, huh?" Pen remarked. "You'd think it'd be simple, only for it to..." He'd snap out of it. "Just tell Leafy I wanna talk to her, alright?" Match chuckled. "Alright, alright. I'll make sure to, like, do that." Pen nodded. "Thanks. I'm gonna go now; I got some... stuff to take care of." And with that, he'd quickly leave.

Match, now all on her own once again, got back to thinking about a recurring thing that entered everyone's heads every once in a while: what would they do once they won Dream Island? What would they do with it? Who would they let in? Who would they exclude? Everyone remaining was well and truly invested in the competition now, and part of that is planning for the inevitable. To be quite honest with herself, she isn't actually quite sure about who would get to enjoy the island with her; she always swears that she has a tentative list somewhere in her head, but as soon as she thinks about it for more than two seconds, she realizes that she can't really imagine anyone but herself having fun. Her teammates, her friends, they were all nice, but...

"What happened?"

Match turned to Ice Cube. "Still no word on Leafy." She'd respond. "I'd tell you if I knew."

-

Another Name *finally* decided that enough was enough.

Coiny, Flower, and Pencil marched straight up to the Announcer, who was busy going through a checklist that he immediately hid once he saw them coming. "Cake at Stake is over." He'd say. "Don't you know? Get back to-" "I know." Coiny interrupted. "Can we use that balance beam?" "Hm?" The speaker box looked confused. Well, maybe; can the Announcer actually show confusion? "What balance beam?" "Uh, the one you used during the first contest." Pencil answered. "The one we had to balance on, decided the teams." "Well, why should I let you?" The gray box asked. "C'mon." Coiny folded his arms. "It's not like you're using it, anyway." "What if I am?" The Announcer asked. "You never know when-" "LET US USE IT!" Flower shouted. "Okay. Fine. Sheesh."

-

"Alright, time to settle this."

The three of them took a while to make their way up to the balance beam; the Announcer was already barely willing to give them this one thing, so having him send them over was out of the question. "Whoever manages to stay on this the longest will be the team leader." Coiny continued. "Got that?" "Alright." Pencil nodded. "Sounds fair enough-"

"Outta my way-" All in the span of a single moment, Flower would try to push Coiny off, only for the coin creature to turn around, kick her in the leg, then promptly try to push her off himself, which was a lot more successful. "Definitely not *her*, right?" Pencil chuckled. "Yep." The amusement didn't last for long, though. "So, uh..." She'd fold her arms. "Are we gonna fight like that, or..." "I won't try to push you off if *you* won't try to push *me* off." Coiny interrupted. "Clean and fair fight; whoever wins, we'll respect the result." Pencil raised an eyebrow. "Clean and fair? Really?" "What, you *want* to fight?" Coiny would assume a more threatening stance, though all it'd do was make it harder for the writing utensil to hold back her laughter. "Just find it hard to believe that you'd actually stick to it." The coin grumbled. "I'll prove it!" He'd shout. "I'll stand on one end of the beam, you on the other; the moment any of us try to fight, we'll know." Pencil nodded. "Alright, alright. Fair enough." She'd turn to make her way to her end, though she'd look back once every other step to make sure Coiny was doing the same thing. Strangely enough, Coiny was true to his word and they were eventually both standing comfortably on their ends of the balance beam.

For the longest time, there would be nothing but the waves crashing against the supports and the sound of them breathing. There was plenty of room for them to do all sorts of activities; Pencil paced around while Coiny did a variety of dances. They'd count to a hundred, then count to a hundred more. They'd stand, they'd sit, they'd lay down, and they'd do any number of other poses. Turns out that the balance beam wasn't really *all* that dangerous; you don't need to exert a lot of conscious effort to remain on board. The only thing that really made it risky last time, the only thing that threatened their balance, was the fact that there were a dozen or so objects that were specifically ordered to stop you from balancing. When it's just you and one other, it's quite easy to stay on without even really thinking about it. Minutes passed, then perhaps hours; it's a bit hard to keep track of time when you don't have a watch, or a clock, or anything else.

Eventually Coiny found himself doing nothing but staring up at the sky, watching the clouds drift and morph into all sorts of shapes. The sun was still high up in the sky, and it was going to take quite a while for it to become night; he could keep it up all day, really. Besides keeping his ears focused to make sure Pencil wasn't sneaking up on him, he did nothing but... think.

Think. It's been an awfully long time since he'd done that.

The situation they're in was *really* absurd, isn't it? Even before the speaker thing came down from the sky and brought them all into this competition, they were already spending their days in that green field, doing not much of significance besides talking and pulling pranks on others. Was that really living? Was that all they were satisfied with? The more he actually thought about it, the more he thought about all those days of idly lying on the grass and thinking about nothing in particular, the more he felt like it had all been a waste. Absolutely nothing had been stopping him from wandering off, away from that dumb jerk Firey and all the others. Absolutely nothing had been stopping him from going off into the unknown parts of the world, making a name for himself somewhere new, and perhaps discovering something else to do with his life. But despite all of that, he'd been in Goiky for as long as he could remember. He'd always felt content. He'd always felt like everything was fine, that nothing was amiss, that nothing was missing.

Nothing was missing.

Missing.

There were twenty of them. There'd always been twenty of them. He'd counted exactly twenty many times during all the times they were bored. When the speaker box came, they were suddenly nineteen. One short.

What on Earth is

Coiny suddenly awoke; he'd end up accidentally overstretching a bit too much and would cause himself to plummet right off the balance beam and straight into the water. He'd quickly rush to make his way back up to the surface, so focused on preventing himself from drowning, and it'd take him a bit of time to realize what this meant.

Coiny looked up and saw Pencil looking back at him. "THAT DOESN'T COUNT!"