Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDI 25b: Return of the Enthusiasm

For a moment, there was nothing but pure silence.

How long had it been since this torture and agony started? Since they decided to join in on the Battle for Dream Island due to a split-second decision, an impulse that would decide their lives for the next... who knows? Everything, *everything*, had been a blur since. Whatever had come before was now long gone, reduced to nothing but a distant memory.

Besides, what even *did* they do in the past? Frolic in the fields all day? Please.

All the twenty contestants that were standing there at that very moment each had a thousand words to say regarding the competition, the object of their fixation, all their attention and desire. Maybe they had fun, finally having some variety to their actions and doings besides causing mischief or talking about whatever they fancied. Maybe they hated it with every fiber of their being, either because it distanced them from their closest friends, or kept them stuck in a prison for the crime of daring to be something more. Maybe they just didn't care, maybe they wanted for it to all be over. For the most part, that *was* what they wanted, yeah.

But they never thought that dream would actually come to pass. Every single day they were ever so slightly closer to the end, and yet it always felt like they were ever so slightly farther as well. Whenever they felt like they were *finally* going somewhere, there was always something or other to kill the mood and bring everyone down. With each and every contestant that got eliminated, someone else would rejoin. When it finally looked like things were reaching their conclusion, some new curveball would be thrown out of nowhere to keep everyone on their toes.

Eventually, they just all silently agreed to... let it happen. The Battle for Dream Island continued, and they'd be taken along for the ride. That's just life, isn't it? Nothing but a series of inconveniences and obstacles people just have to get over and move on from. Perhaps it'd end *eventually*, at some distant point in the future, but there was no point in rebelling against it. One could try, but that was about it. One could leave, but that also meant leaving your friends behind, leaving *everything* behind. The Battle was a chore, but learning to forget always seemed to be an even bigger one.

And so, they persisted. The competition dragged on, the days kept passing, time kept on ticking. The Battle for Dream Island just became yet another part of their everyday life, another challenge they have to get up in the morning for. There were more contests thrown their way, there were less people to hang out with with each passing episode, there was a continuing, lingering feeling of dread with every passing moment. But all that was here to stay, no complaining about it. All they could do was... proceed. Accept that this was just their life now, and move on towards a new future.

And then, when everyone least expected it, it all ended.

-

It took a moment for Pen to fully register what just happened.

The moment the start of that final contest was announced, he just immediately went for it. All his effort, energy, and dedication went straight towards just *doing* the thing. Not a single thought was spared in actually remembering it. He was just completely over the competition at that point; he wanted the island, sure, but the anticipation was killing him, just like it'd been suffocating everyone else. Everyone wanted it to end. Everyone wanted to go home. Well, what home did they have left? What place did they have that *wasn't* ruined with the memories of all this anguish, all this anger, all this competition?

He stared for a moment at the two halves of his necktie, still clutching on tight to them like they were the only things still tethering him to life. Well, perhaps they were, after all. Besides that, in those brief moments he couldn't sense *anything*. His vision blurred, his body went numb, his ears started ringing. It felt like he was mere inches away from death, having used up all his remaining energy in a single bold, decisive action.