Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDIA 1c: Yeah, Why?

Even though they were now on Dream Island, they *just* couldn't escape from all the tedium.

The moment Pen took his first step on its green grass, the Announcer immediately came by and ordered him to follow. Part of him wanted to snap, to tell the speaker box to just go away, to let them finally enjoy the many amenities the island had to offer. The competition was over, wasn't it? They were no longer under his metallic thumb. He won, he owned Dream Island, he now called the shots. It's as simple as that. He already had plenty of ideas in mind as to what he wanted to say to that assemblage of junk, a furious tirade complaining about all the pain and suffering they've had to go through in order to get even a taste of comfort. All the memories of all the pains and hindrances that had struck him reopened old wounds, and there was absolutely *nothing* he wanted to do more than to give that box a strong kick or two and tell him what he thinks for once, instead of just silently tolerating the pain for a second longer.

And yet... he wouldn't. Watching the box hop away towards that unknown destination, he knew with absolute certainty that he could now do whatever he wished, whenever he wanted it, and without anybody (anybody relevant, anyway) complaining how it was wrong or something. And yet he didn't. He had everything, but he could do nothing.

And so, the writing utensil would end up following the Announcer. The route taken was rather circuitous, going through all the major landmarks of Dream Island before finally seeming to go anywhere. Pen remained silent for most of the way, just taking it all in. He *owned* all of this. This was *his* island. His prize for suffering through so much. He couldn't enjoy that feeling for long, however; the rage still simmering deep down from inside, he had a few questions he wanted answered.

"Okay, *why* am I following you?" He'd ask. "Don't you remember?" The speaker box replied. "I own this island. Technically, I still do; I still have all the paperwork and documentation confirming that everything here belongs to me." "*What*?" Pen was flabbergasted. "Don't I own Dream Island now? Didn't I win it?" "Yes. You did." The box answered. "That's why I want you to follow me. I have already prepared the documents that will officialize the transfer of the island to you. All you need to do is sign your name."

The one with the cap remained silent for a little bit, feeling a headache coming on; he already had to deal with *so* much, and now he had to think about all this... this... *nonsense*? "And *why* do I need to do this?" He'd ask further. "Why can't you just say 'Hey, you own the island now' and finally leave us alone?" "Well, it's just a formality." The Announcer responded. "I understand that things like this are not common to you and the others, but to me it is. We all take this very seriously, and so we expect you to do the same." The writing utensil frowned. "And what makes you think I'll do that?" He'd query. "After everything you've made us go through?" "Well, you did go through it, didn't you?"

Ellipsis.

After a few more twists and turns, the path they went on would lead them into an underground passage. Very quickly, he'd stop feeling the cool ocean breeze, the warm sunlight on his skin, and the general comfortable atmosphere of the luxurious island. All that would be replaced with near-total darkness, cold and stale air, and a permeating miasma of depression. The sooner he got out of that place, the better. But it *just* kept going. Further and further down the depths they went, past increasingly-foreign machinery and devices whose purpose were completely unknown. Perhaps unknowable. He could make a few guesses as to what end they were the means for; Dream Island had a lot of features, and so there *definitely* had to be something behind the scenes to make it work. But *this* much?

It got Pen thinking some more. "Quite a lot of work went into this island, huh?" "Yes." The Announcer answered. "A lot of the budget went into creating this island. We made sure that it would be the best island it can be, to really make it something people will fight over." "And yet we didn't get to see it until now." The writing utensil remarked. "Hm." The awkward silence resumed for a bit. "If that's the case, then that makes me wonder why you even want to give it up. Especially in such a fashion."