Alternate Battle for Dream Island

ABFDIA 22b: Free

It was a person. A *different* person.

Ever since the start of the Battle for Dream Island, ever since they first set foot on this particular abandoned corner of Goiky, ever since they came to be, the only people they were familiar with were themselves... and *them*. The twenty or so living objects first saw each other quite a long while ago, and they've been the only people any of them have ever heard of or interacted with. *Ever*. There was the Announcer, sure, but he was mostly just... *there*, not really interacting with anyone, not really. He was the one pulling the strings on the competition, and he was there for basically each and every single day, but he wasn't really... *there*. The speaker box preferred to be in the background, the mastermind plotting things behind the scenes. It's not like they even wanted to get to know him, anyway; given what they've all been through after they met him, he didn't seem to be any good. There was *also* those two new folks, Barf Bag and Taco. Most of them didn't really know much about them, however, even after all this time spent knowing about their existence. Many of them had been languishing in the PRISON for *ages* by the time they showed up, and when they were finally released to visit Dream Island alongside them, the... *unfortunate* incident occurred, the one that stranded them here.

Seeing this strange, green, *new* object standing before him, speaking in a voice that was unique and distinct from all the others, Firey felt like he was staring at something impossible, something that really shouldn't exist. He had gotten used to the fact that he was living with his fellow contestants, presumably for the rest of time. Some were bad, some were *really* bad, and some were Coiny, but they were the only ones he could expect, the only ones he could get. They may have had their differences, their disputes, their grudges, but at the end of the day, they've stuck together. They've remained right where they were, they continued associating with each other, they endured through the Battle for Dream Island. It was... *nice*, in a strange, twisted sort of way. So what if they were stuck in those vast green fields for the rest of time? So what if all they had to look forward to was yet more competing? At the very least, they had each other.

Firey kept on standing there, completely and utterly flabbergasted. For all of his life, he talked to people that he knew, people that he could understand and comprehend, with goals and motivations that were a bit comprehensible. This, *this*, this was completely new territory. Unknown, untouched. What should he be doing? What should he be *saying*? The obvious thing to ask is who they were, *what* they were, what they were doing, and so on. But even as he opened his mouth, the words refused to come out. There were just too many ideas, too many questions to ask. It was too difficult to pick *just* one. Well, actually, maybe there *was* one he'd like answered, something that's been.

"Do you know a way out of here?"

Flower's sudden interjection snapped the flame out of it; turning around in surprise, he'd see that the others had followed him in. Their curiosity was just too great, the call to adventure too tempting. "I second that." Snowball chimed in as well. "That's how that word's used, right?"

"Oh!" The stranger gasped. "There's... more of you. You're not gonna hurt me, are you? I can-" "O-Of course not!" Firey interrupted. "All we want is just... a way out. Like they said." "Ah." The unknown fellow nodded. "I've been there. The first few times I went here, I ended up getting lost myself; wasted a few days every time looking for the exit." They'd chuckle. "But I've grown smarter since then. I've been mapping things out as best as I could, marked out a few exits and how to get there. I can take you guys along, if you'd like."

The flame and the others looked at each other for a few moments; the inferno would then turn his attention back to the newcomer. Well, *they're* the newcomers, it seemed; you know what I mean. "...One moment." The inferno then gestured the rest to follow, hiding them behind a convenient corner.