Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDI 6d: Power of Five

"For the seventh contest, the teams temporarily will temporarily be temporarily formed, temporarily, within the teams. Temporarily."

"What? That's crazy!" Pin exclaimed. "Yes, it is." The Announcer replied. "Be very surprised. Ha. Ha." "Yeah, like, totally." Match sarcastically remarked. "Totally. I'm *totally* surprised. Totally. But, like, *why*?" "Because I said so." The speaker box answered. "Team captains, pick two members of your larger team to be part of your smaller team."

"Well, that's easy enough." Pin remarked. "I'll pick Tennis Ball, since he's been a good member of our team. And then... Firey, since he's useful for a lot of things. "Yeah!" Firey exclaimed. "You made a good choice!"

"Grape time." The Announcer announced. "Where's Leafy?" "Like, yeah." Match nodded. "Where is she? I haven't seen her, like, all day." "Well, since you spoke first, I guess you're temporarily the team leader. Temporarily." The machine thingy replied. "Pick two members of your team to temporarily be part of your smaller team." "Well, like, I *gotta* have Icy on my side." Match answered. "Pals gotta, like, stick together." "Yeah!" Ice Cube went to her side gleefully. "And I'd pick Leafy too, but... She's still, like, not here; I'll go with TD, I guess." Teardrop would reluctantly go to them.

"Now for Another Name." The speaker box turned to them. "Um, which one of you is the team leader?" Coiny raised his hand. "Well, it's *definitely*-" "It's me!" Pencil interrupted. "I won our little challenge, I'm the team leader!" "Okay, Pencil." The Announcer confirmed. "Grr!" Coiny tried to slap her, but to no avail. "Haha!" Firey laughed at the coin creature. "Pick two, then." "Hm. Tough choice." Pencil remarked. "How about... Eraser and Flower?" "Aw, what?" Eraser was quick to complain, with Flower not too far behind. "Yeah, I already don't like it." Pencil remarked. "But you guys are gonna be even more obnoxious if you're on some other team; at least here you're *somewhat* on my side." "Just because you picked us, *DOESN'T* mean we're following you!" Flower shouted. Coiny scoffed. "See how you like it."

"Wait!" Tennis Ball interrupted. "With these three teams, that means there's only *two* people left on each original team; for there to be equally-sized teams, at least one of the teams is gonna have to be split apart between the other two!" "Yes, that's true." The Announcer remarked. "I suggest that each remaining team be made up of one member from each remaining team. It's fairer that way." "Good idea." The speaker box replied. "But no; Namers, you lost last time, so you'll be split up between the other two." "Aw, c'mon!" Coiny shouted in frustration. "Rocky, since you were originally in the Cherries, you go to them." "Yay!" Spongy exclaimed. "But, loike, Roicky's dead." Bubble remarked. "Oi haven't seen him in a whoile." "And Coiny goes to the remaining Grapes." The speaker box continued. "But I was *also* a Cherry." Coiny replied. "Not that I'd wanna join them, but-" "Shush, sheesh." The Announcer interrupted.

-

"So, what will you five teams be doing? There will be three islands; you will go through all of them in sequence."

All five mini-teams were now inexplicably on the shore; don't ask questions, they will go unanswered. The contestants weren't keen on asking them, anyway. "Is one of them Dream Island?" Pen asked. "'Cause that would be *something* I'd really like to-" "No." The Announcer immediately crushed those hopes and... you get it. "None of the islands are Dream Island. So, the first team that gets to the end all get Win Tokens, and the voting will only be on the three members of the last team to arrive." The speaker box then turned towards the water. "So, yeah. To start, cross that balance beam to get to island one."

Firey, Pin, and Tennis Ball immediately got to it before anyone else. "We're in first!" Firey exclaimed. "We are *so* gonna win this!" "Don't get too confident." Pin remarked. "There's still an entire contest ahead of us."

The other teams then made their way over to the balance beam shortly afterwards, save for one. "Alright, c'mon." Pencil gestured towards the beam. "Let's get to it." "No way!" Flower shouted. "I'm not taking orders from someone like you!" "Yeah." Eraser folded his arms. "No way." Pencil squinted at him in particular. "You *chose* to be on this team." She'd remind him. "*And*?" Eraser responded in a condescending tone; Pencil sighed and made her way to the balance beam on her own. "Fine, don't follow me. Whatever. I'll just remind you all that the last team that gets to the end is up for elimination, and I'll *definitely* be voting for you guys." Flower gasped. "You *wouldn't*!" "I would." Pencil replied. "You think I won't? Why not try and stop me?" "GRR!" Flower shouted; Eraser was similarly outraged, and they'd both end up climbing up the balance beam after all.

The five mini-teams quickly tried to get across the balance beam; most of them would manage to do so just fine, with the exception of Bubble and Spongy. "Out of my way!" Flower quickly popped Bubble with a single poke. "I need my space!" She'd then push Spongy into the water. Meanwhile, Coiny and Pen were just about to get to the first island when the Announcer would suddenly appear to stop them. "Go get Leafy." He'd order. "Are you *kidding*?" Coiny complained. "Yeah, she's still dead!" Pen added. "And we'll have to go push past them!" He'd point towards Eraser, Flower, and Pencil, who were rapidly approaching. "No pushing." The speaker box replied. "Swim back; if you don't I'll eliminate you." "That's just ridiculous!" Coiny stared at the box threateningly. "Why do we have to do this?" "A team has to stick together." The speaker box replied. Pen sighed. "Stop trying to argue with that thing." He'd then jump into the water, with Coiny reluctant to follow.

The teams that didn't get sabotaged would end up safely on the first island. "On Island One, there are thirty or so safes." The Announcer explained. "Each of the safe's combination is written on its bottom; five of the safes have the rafts and paddles that teams will need in order to get to Island Two."

"Okay, let's get started!" Pin said to her teammates. "Push!" They'd do just that (well, Tennis Ball not so much), tipping the safe over to reveal the code; Pin then went to open it up. "4, 3, 2." It swung open, revealing... disappointment. "It's a teddy bear." Tennis Ball remarked.

"10, 3, 6!" Match's team opened their first safe as well. "An egg?" The matchstick was bewildered. "What good's an egg?"

"Alright, since you guys *don't* want to be around me, go pick out a safe and open it up." Pencil ordered. "Make yourself useful for once." "Fine!" Eraser shouted. "But not because you told me to do it!" Flower was the first to open one, revealing a potted flower. "Useless!" She'd shout. "It's not even as beautiful as me!" Eraser opened one as well, revealing a baseball cap. "Grr!" He'd groan.

Bubble hastily rushed back to Spongy after being recovered. "Alroight, Oi'm back!" She'd exclaim. "Let's go!" Spongy frowned. "But, Rocky-" "He'll just have to catch up! We're falling behoind!" Spongy would reluctantly follow her, and they'd end up getting blocked by the Announcer as well. "Go get Rocky." Bubble frowned. "But-" "A team has to stick together." The speaker box interjected. Spongy sighed. "See?"

Coiny and Pen were awkwardly waiting around, seeing if Leafy would suddenly show up through random chance. "So, uh..." Coiny tried to strike up a conversation. "How's it going?"

Pin's team opened up another safe, which *finally* revealed their ticket out of there. "Great!" Pin exclaimed. "We've got our raft! Let's get going!" "Hang on, who's gonna be paddling?" Firey asked. "I can't get close to the water; it's my poison!" "I'll paddle, obviously." Pin replied. "But *someone* else has to!" Tennis Ball sighed. "I'll do it; I'm pretty good with my legs." With that issue out of the way, they ever so slowly made their way to the second island. "I thought you said you could do it?" Firey asked. "We're going so slowly!" "I'm doing it better than you, anyway." Tennis Ball replied.

While Match's team continued facing bad luck with the safes, Pencil's team would manage to find their raft. "Found it!" Eraser shouted. "Time for me to get out of here!" "You mean time for *us* to get out of here." Pencil interrupted. "No way!" Eraser complained. "Stay out of my raft!" "You're gonna need someone else to paddle it." Pencil replied. "And there's no way you'll get *Flower* to do it." Eraser glanced at Flower, who was already *very* clearly not keen on the opportunity. "Ugh!" He'd reluctantly let the two come aboard, and they'd start making their way to the second island.

Pencil's team would be the first to make it to the second island. "Island Two has ten keys hanging from poles." The speaker box explained. "Teams will climb up building blocks to snatch a key and move on." "Alright, you know the drill." Pencil remarked. "Get your own key and let's meet back up after." They'd then do just that.

Pin's team would finally arrive on the second island. "Build!" Pin exclaimed. "Let's build!" Pin and Firey would do that, while Tennis Ball would do all the thinking on the side to make sure their stacking was optimal. Eraser would notice this, and a funny little idea started forming in his head; he'd get down from his stack, make his way over to theirs, and bring it down with a swift kick. "HEY!" Tennis Ball shouted, but it was too late. Firey and Pin would end up tumbling down, much to Eraser's joy.

Match's team would *finally* get their raft after what must've been the 2,763rd safe. "That's it!" She'd exclaim. "Yeah!" Ice Cube replied. "Let's go!" Match and Teardrop would then get to paddling.

Eraser was continuing to mess with the Cherries when Pencil made her way over to him. "We got a key." She'd report. "Stop that nonsense and let's go." "Aw!" Eraser groaned. "It was just getting good!" They'd all reluctantly get back on their raft and make their way to the third island.

"Hey, Pen!" Leafy suddenly appeared to greet him. "H-Huh?" The writing utensil was caught off-guard by her appearance. "*Finally*!" Coiny shouted. "Where have you been? We've been waiting for *forever*!" "Oh, Golf Ball just recovered me." Leafy explained. "I got burned by Firey a while back, and-" She'd then notice who was talking to her. "Coiny? Since when did *you* care about me?" "Uh..." Coiny scratched his head. "Long story." Pen replied. "Part of the contest; speaking of..." He'd grab her by the arm and start making their way over to the balance beam. "Oh noio!" Bubble panicked. "We're the only ones left!" "Hmph." Spongy wasn't too concerned about it, though.

Pencil's team would arrive on the third island. "On Island Three, there's a building with a locked door." The Announcer explained. "The key that the team snatched from Island Two might unlock the door; however, only five of the ten keys unlock the door. If the key doesn't work, the team must go back and snatch another key." Eraser went to unlock the door, only to find that the key's one of those that didn't work. "Grr!" He'd slap Pencil. "It doesn't work! You wasted our time!" The other writing utensil briefly considered slapping back, but now wasn't the time for violence. "Stop whining, we gotta go back!" And then they did.

"Uh oh!" Tennis Ball noticed them approaching. "They're coming back!" "What? That's crazy!" Pin exclaimed. "Oh no!" Firey shouted. "Not again!" "Forget the stack, guys!" Tennis Ball continued. "Just try climbing the pole!" "I'll try!" Firey made the daring jump to the pole. "Oh no, it's slippery!" He'd panic.

Match's team then arrived on the second island. "They're already, like, hard at work!" Match exclaimed. "We gotta get to it!" Teardrop went over to one of the poles and touched it, finding it to be slippery; she'd then hold onto it tight, remaining still for a few seconds. "Wha?" Ice Cube was bewildered. "TD, what are you, like, doing?" Match was similarly confused. "We gotta get going!" All of a sudden, Teardrop would race up the pole and grab the key, landing back on the ground on her feet. "Woah!" Match exclaimed. "You can, like, do that? How?" Teardrop simply shrugged, and they'd move on to the third island.

Coiny's team went through the first island unremarkably, then arrived at the commotion of the second island; pressed for time, however, they didn't really care and quickly got to stacking. Meanwhile, Eraser was harassing the other cherries while Firey struggled mightily with climbing the pole. Finally, he'd manage to grab it, then would immediately fall down to the floor. "Got it!" He'd shout. "Let's get outta here!"

Match's team arrived on the third island; Teardrop would go to unlock the door, and to their complete surprise, it'd work. "Hey!" Match exclaimed. "It's, like, that speaker thing!" "Ice Cube, Match, Teardrop. You're the first team to finish." The Announcer announced. "You each get a Win Token. Leave." "Woo!" Match was ecstatic as she received her Win Token. "High-five!" She'd offer one to Teardrop, who was initially reluctant, but ultimately gave her a half-hearted one. "You too, Icy!" Ice Cube was more excited, responding by meeting her hand with her foot; their celebrations were cut short, however, as they got launched away with a spring.

Pin's team once again arrived at the third island, only to be met with more disappointment. "It *still* doesn't work!" She'd exclaim. "*Really*?" Firey groaned. "I'm starting to *hate* going on that raft!"

"Got another key." Pencil explained briefly. "Let's go." They'd do so without complaint; they were very much keen on just getting this over with at this point. They'd get to the third island, and they'd successfully unlock the door. "You're team two." The Announcer announced. "Leave." They'd be launched away with similar (lack of) fanfare.

"It's Firey!" Coiny would see Pin's team coming back from his high vantage point. "Gotta get the key before he does!" He'd start jumping as high as he could, managing to snatch the key at his highest jump before slipping and falling down the stack. "Got it." He'd groan. "Great job! I guess." Leafy remarked. "Let's go!" "I *guess*?" Coiny raised an eyebrow. On to island three they went, and they'd be the third team to successfully finish the challenge. And they're a team of three, too. Three's all around. "Team three." The Announcer announced, and they too would be sent away.

"We gotta go quick!" Pin exclaimed. "We'll be dead last at this rate!" Firey immediately hopped on a pole and started climbing, having gotten more adept at it during his first ordeal; they'd get another key before too long and would make it to the third island, where they'd *finally* manage to unlock the door. "Firey, Pin, Tennis Ball. You're team four, so you're all safe." The speaker box announced. "Leave." Pin would briefly express relief before being quickly sent away.

Time passed, minutes turned to hours, you get the drill. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous." The machine remarked; a few seconds later, Bubble and Spongy were surprised to find the Announcer in their midst. "Bubbly, Rocky, Spongy." "Whot did you call me?" Bubble asked. "You are the fifth and last team." The speaker box continued. "And not only that, you did not even manage to make it to Island Three. One of you will be eliminated." "Oh noio!" Bubble exclaimed.

-

For the first time in a long while, the Tiny Loser Chamber was silent.

Snowball sat alone amidst all the inanimate loaves of bread, along with... *something* that *definitely* isn't a loaf of bread. "...I don't even know if I *want* to escape at this point." He'd mutter to himself.