Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDIA 13a: Catch Up

Nothing around here but the sand, the sea, the sky, and the sound of Tennis Ball's breathing.

Time passed. Time shifted. Time *blurred*. There was nothing to do, nothing to think, nothing but continuing the journey to Dream Island. One step, then the next, then the one after that, then the following one. It was all so... *boring*. Incredibly, excruciatingly, painfully boring.

How can that be? He knew full well what he was doing; he was making the bold, perilous journey to the island in order to mark it out on his mental map, to know how to get there again in the future, when Golf Ball's plans finally spring into action and further her ever-nebulous goals. He was doing this while aware of the fact that outside forces were likely observing and monitoring his every move, making plans to put an end to their act of rebellion and further their own enigmatic, mysterious ends. This stuff should be *exciting*. An adventure. Something to be written about in a good book, or whatever.

But in the actual day-to-day, stuck in the sea of tedious minutiae, it was just *exhausting*. His legs were bound to give way at any moment, his body could tip over and send him rolling in no time, he could just pass out in exhaustion and... die, perhaps. Whichever way the dice rolls, however good or bad their fate may be, it all seemed to tend towards one general direction: more of... this. More of the same.

Ain't it funny? Ain't it hilarious? Naive, clueless, they joined the Battle for Dream Island solely because they wanted to look for fun and excitement in their life, for the possibility of *something* beyond standing around a grassy field all day. Now, all the novelty has worn off. The old status quo was just replaced with a newer one. They were back to the same old, constantly going around in circles, repeating the same lines of thought over and over, just rewording it in a *slightly* different way to make it *slightly* unique.

Most of the time, he didn't even bother to look straight ahead, to whatever (or whoever) may be in store for him. He turned his head (well, his entire body) towards the massive body of water beside him. The Goiky Canal. Or a place that reminded him of it, anyway; it's all water, at the end of the day.

He remembered that that was one of the many, *many* things that he and Golf Ball planned to investigate in the future. One day, they just accepted that the place was called the Goiky Canal, and they never really thought about *why* that is. 'Goiky' is clearly a proper name, given by somebody for this specific region for some reason. What does it mean? What's its etymology? They've also found 'canal' in several of their dictionaries; a canal is an artificial channel of water created for any number of purposes. *Artificial*. Somebody made this. This vast blue horizon, built to a scale that's just *unthinkable* to them. Why was it built? When? By who? So many questions, so little time.

So little time, indeed.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Tennis Ball would see Dream Island emerge and draw nearer. He kept on walking and walking until stopping at a point he felt to be on the threshold of safety, someplace where he can see them just fine, but they might not see him amidst the green grass.

Going through his backpack again, he'd take a few moments to awkwardly and clumsily set up his telescope. Looking through, the island looked... *fine*. Well, of course it would. You shouldn't show weakness, *ever*. That's just common sense. All the buildings were still standing, the sole bridge connecting them to freedom was intact, and everyone *seemed* to be out and about, going through their daily routine. Probably. Maybe. They were still little more than tiny specks from this distance, even with the aid of mechanical marvels. They could be out on patrol for all he knows, going around in circles, waiting for an attack from any angle.

TB stood there for a little while, completely still and silent. He weighed his options. What're the odds that going up to the gates wouldn't result in his immediate demise? Was it worth the risk? He *was* connected to Golf Ball, but... was he *really*? She was a co-host, and he was a contestant. He was subjected to just as much oppression, repression, and suppression as the rest of them. Just because they were friends, doesn't mean that he was given any favors. Even now, after everything was said and done, those scars still haven't quite healed.