Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDI 11c: Drafty

"Pin! Pin!"

The thumbtack in question was in the middle of doing regular, ordinary team leader stuff when Firey suddenly arrived at the scene; his agitated, anxious tone completely took her right out of it. "What's going on?" She'd ask. "I found something. Something big!" Firey explained. "Well, stop beating around the bush and just tell." "Yeah." Tennis Ball chimed in, being there as well. "You should learn to be more brief; you never know when the hosts could show up and ruin things. "Alright, alright." Firey sighed. "So, I was running around; you know, my usual. Gotta keep my legs in good shape, gotta make sure I'm still as fast as I can. Then, uh, I catch that dumb jerk Coiny and his other pals fighting each other!" "What? That's crazy!" Pin remarked. "Yeah, that *is* pretty big." Tennis Ball nodded in agreement. "If their team's now falling apart, then maybe we can finally-" "That's not what I wanted to talk about, though." Firey interjected. "I mean, it *was* pretty fun; spent quite a while just watching them hit each other with some weird long stick things. I laughed a lot when Coiny got hurt." Pin grumbled. "*Well*?" She'd take a step forward. "What *was* this thing you found?" "I'm getting to it! Sheesh!" Firey folded his arms.

"So that was pretty funny, and I couldn't help but smile knowing that other people are starting to know the truth; I knew it was clear as day from day one, but it took so, *so* long for all the others to figure it out! Like, there was this one time where I teased him for trying to hide his true feelings towards-" "Just *get* to the *POINT*!" Pin shouted. Firey sighed. "Okay, okay." He'd scoff. "So, like, after I had my fun, I kept on running around. Eventually, I found this massive new structure!" "What's it look like?" Tennis Ball asked. "It was just this... giant set of stairs." Firey explained. "Like, *really* big. Goes up right into the sky. Couldn't see the end of it. I tried running up it, trying to find the top, but it just kept on going and going; I ended up going back down since I thought I was gonna trip and fall right off!" "Can you take us there? Like, right now?" Pin asked. "We don't know when the next challenge is gonna start, so we gotta get moving ASAP." Firey took a deep breath. "*Seriously*? I already spent the last of my energy..." He'd sigh. "Alright. Let's go."

Getting to the stairs in question only took a few minutes or so. Pin and Tennis Ball were then able to truly grasp the sheer scale of the thing; indeed, it just... shot up into the sky. A gray stairway leading up to the great firmament. "Woah." Pin took a step back, almost feeling intimidated by it. "These stairs are just... here? That's crazy." "Hm." Tennis Ball, on the other hand, took a step closer. "I wonder where they lead." He'd think out loud. "I mean, they *have* to be here for a reason, right? Maybe they lead to somewhere, or are part of some greater structure, or-"

"Well, in order for the next contest to start, all of you must climb them."

The three of them would be surprised to see the Announcer standing right behind them when they turned around, along with all the other contestants, which were presumably dragged all the way here. "What? That's crazy!" Pin exclaimed. "You're expecting us to climb all *that*?" "Even *I* couldn't climb up that." Firey added. "And I'm the fastest guy I know!" Coiny scoffed. "You aren't *that* fast." He'd reply. "I know someone who's, like, *way* faster." "Oh, really?" Firey folded his arms. "Why don't you tell me all about them, then?"

Coiny blinked.

"People, people. Calm down." The speaker box interjected. "Get climbing." "Did *you* build this, speaker thing?" Tennis Ball asked. "I mean, considering that it's part of the challenge-" "What does it matter to you?" The machine interrupted. "What matters is that it is there." "It's just a simple question." TB replied. "I mean, why stairs? Why not an elevator?" "Why are you trying to delay the climbing of the stairs?" The Announcer asked. "Do you not want to do it because you are so big and clumsy?"

Ellipsis.

"Well, we're not gonna be done with this until we actually do it!" Leafy exclaimed. "C'mon, guys. Let's get climbing!" The rest of the Grapes followed suit, not having much else to do; all the Namers would do the same, though they'd keep their distance. Eventually, the Cherries would find themselves effectively pressured to do it. Pin sighed. "Yeah, let's just go." She'd make her way over. "We don't wanna be last *again*, do we?" Firey sighed. "*Fine*." Eventually, all the contestants would be on their way upward.