The cold breeze made Leafy shiver.
Ever since her peculiar encounter with Pin, she had felt rather... Different. Pin had always been a rather controversial person ever since the competition, and any mentions of her were generally in hush whispers. And as far as she knew, she was probably the only one that had ever seen Pin ever since the end of the previous competition. It was rather obvious why she'd choose her, out of all people, to suddenly appear in front of after so long. Her and Pin had had a rather long and uncomfortable history. Much like a seesaw which alternated every few seconds in active play, their relationship had gone from being close friends, to hidden enemies, then back again, over and over. It was rather uncomfortable for her, and Pin knew it. But as everyone came to know, it didn't matter to her anymore if her actions made anyone feel discomfort, even if those very people were her friends. She had changed over the course of the competition, and very clearly for the worse. But her attitude towards Leafy was particularly special. Pin was usually either fierce and angry, or friendly and affectionate (in the case of a certain someone). But for Leafy, she had seen both sides of the coin. Pin had very clearly shown disdain for her in several instances, for she wanted to side with all her other friends instead of with her. But paradoxically, she also wanted her to remain friends, presumably so she had more chances to sway her to her side.
Leafy grumbled as she continued along her way, still following the road, of course. She thought about all the friends that she had made, those that she felt like she betrayed, and those that she had to leave behind. She sighed. When did her life suddenly become so hard? More importantly, *why*? Did Triangles appearance have something to do with it? Perhaps. Before then, she was able to maintain friendly relationships with all the others and still live to see another day. Everyone knew that she was friends with everyone, even those that they hated the most, yet people somehow remained perfectly fine with that arrangement. It was quite a strange state of affairs, but it was better to just live with it, rather than losing a possible ally when conflict arose. But when conflict did indeed come, and Triangle split them up into two for the sake of the competition, the whole system seemed to just... Break apart. The whole conflict shtick certainly played a role in ripping them apart, but Leafy thought that after all the time they had spent being fully together, after the countless days and nights spent hanging out and playing around, that their friendships wouldn't just immediately snap in two like a small twig as soon as there was a slight bit of pressure. Suddenly, the two teams which used to be together would turn on each other, focusing on themselves rather than the whole, and it descended into a whole bunch of fighting and bickering, playing right into Triangles hand.
She wanted to think more about that situation, but her attention would suddenly be drawn to a sudden roadblock. A whole bunch of fallen trees were strewn about the road, blocking the way to progress further. Leafy walked over to it, wanting to investigate this rather peculiar issue. She looked to her left, and saw that the path of devastation stopped as soon as it reached the road. She looked to the right, and saw the path of devastation continue on, forming a rather strange path towards the source. Leafy thought about it for a moment. The solution was rather obvious: just simply go around the damage. It was a detour that barely took a minute. She'd then be back on her way, and she could pretend as if that roadblock never existed. But as she stared on into the path of fallen trunks, her curiosity quickly got the better of her. After all, why *would* there be a sudden trail of destruction which then also stopped suddenly? There were a whole lot of theories, yet there clearly needed to be more digging around in order to pick a likely candidate. Leafy also felt a slight hint of pain as she saw all the fallen trees. Trees had leaves, of course, and so Leafy could reasonably imagine being one of the leaves in the tree, living a normal life of photosynthesis and other natural processes, before suddenly having your life cut short by some unknown force beyond your control.
No. She *had* to get to the bottom of this. These things don't just happen for no particular reason. She began following the trail, avoiding clumps of branches and looking for clues along the way. It meandered along like a calm river, somewhat straight but bending slightly. After a few minutes, she eventually made it to what seemed like the source of the problem. The trail led her to a fenced-off area, with a massive gaping hole in it right where the trail began. From that information, she could infer that whatever caused the whole mess probably came from whatever was inside the fence. As she entered the area, she saw tracks on the dirt that definitely didn't belong to any creature she knew of. There were two of them, which indicated that the creature was standing up, but what confused her is that the supposed 'footprints' appeared in way more frequent intervals than they'd normally be, with only a few inches between each print. This led her to believe that it was some strange creature with two thin feet, which walked ever so slowly yet could deal a ton of damage. It was rather strange to think about, but all the evidence led to that being the case. She then followed the footprints back to *their* source, which led to what it seemed like its home: a massive white building that seemed to be long-abandoned. Perhaps the creatures had used the building as its nest, for its former occupants were now long gone, but something suddenly scared it off, causing it to go on a rampage throughout the forest. Leafys theory grew stranger with the evidence she was gathering, but as long as it fit everything together neatly, it'd do for now.
She looked for clues to figure out any more details about the creature, as well as what could've possibly scared it off, but found nothing else. She did several rounds around the perimeter of the fence, and found nothing else that could be a lead. No holes in the fence, and no second trail of destruction. Although this generally caused an investigation to stop due to a lack of evidence, for Leafy, it simply ruled out some theories. She knew her way around nature more than most, what with being a leaf and all, and so she could come up with other reasons why the creature was scared off that didn't include another creature scaring it. Perhaps it was just terrified of a storm, or some other natural disaster. As she thought about it further, however, she began to recall a particular moment from the previous competition that caused tremendous amounts of pain for everyone involved. Could it be that it also affected whatever this creature was?
Leafy shook her head. She didn't want to contemplate that time. It couldn't possibly be it.
But with all other options having been exhausted, there was only one lead left, and that was the derelict building which the creature called its home. Leafy would find the nearest open window and jump in, wanting to continue the investigation as soon as possible. The inside was obviously dark and scary, since it was a rather generic abandoned building in the middle of nowhere. It was the obvious setting for a horror movie. She began exploring, keeping herself close to the windows so that she could still see her way around with what little sunlight shined into the building. The place was much like a maze, with many winding hallways and corridors, and rooms that were nothing but dead ends. She investigated a few of them, taking and looking at a few trinkets that were strewn about them, but found no further evidence as to what had happened to the place, or what the creature did while it was there. She sighed in disappointment with each and every room she ransacked, for they all yielded no further information other than what she knew. The gadgets were obviously interesting, but that's none of her concern. She *needed* to get to the bottom of this mystery. She continued on until it got dark, at which point there wasn't enough light to do any more investigating, forcing her to exit the building. She was angered due to the lack of evidence she had found. A complete waste of time, she thought.
As she went through all that she did in her mind, however, something began itching at the back of her mind. Some rather... Unappetizing memories. She swore that she had never been in the building at any moment in her life, from what she could remember. But that was the crucial part. *From what she could remember*. She sat down by the fence, now even more puzzled by the whole mystery. She remembered that in some instances as she dug through the rooms, she decided to face her fears and venture further into the building, with nothing but what she could barely see to guide her. She thought she'd stumble a whole bunch along the way, but to her surprise. She somehow managed to make her way around the place in near-complete darkness, though the rooms still remained off-limits. In one instance, she managed to make her way around the place for several minutes, until she quickly realized how dumb it was to wander into such a dark place and proceeded to head out of there. The fact that she seemed to have a map of the place in her head, despite having never been in it in her life, was obviously confusing to her. Was there something that she used to know, yet forgot some time before now? Was it a hidden memory that she kept repressed, with it only coming back in full force now that she was at the scene of the crime? Leafy frowned, now being rather anxious. What made this place so familiar to her?
-
"We're recording!"
One of the employees that were manning gave a thumbs-up. They, along with several others, were filming a pseudo-interview with their test subjects. It had been a while since testing had begun, and so their superiors wanted to see if they had had any good results since then. After all, there wasn't any point in funding fruitless endeavors, especially when money was now tight.
They had cleared one of the testing chambers specifically for the interviews. They set up a few lights so that the subjects were well-lit, as well as several cameras for... Recording, of course. Lastly, a single stool was set up for the subjects to sit down in. Recording had been going on throughout the entire day, as they wanted to ensure that it looked as good as it could possibly be. The employees wanted to ensure that their higher-ups felt the same way about the subjects as they did. All eyes then turned to the current test subject in question, a red and gray object. "What's your name?" One of the other employees, who was holding a notebook filled with the questions to ask, would ask. The subject remained silent for a moment, obviously being camera-shy. "Uh..." They began. "My name is Experimental Subject 13. ES-13 for short." The employees off-screen nodded. "Do you have a nickname?" The employee asked. The subject raised an eyebrow, confused. "Nickname?" They'd ask. "You know, uh..." The employee took a moment. "...What would you call yourself, if given the chance?" He'd finally ask. The subject thought about it for a minute. For their entire life, they only ever had the name ES-13. It was the name given to them by the employees. All the subjects had the same name, with differing numbers. For the first time in their life, they were finally being allowed to choose something for once, that being their name. "You did say I was based off a pin, right?" They'd ask. The employee nodded.
"Then I'm Pin."
The employees simply nodded in understanding. "Why are you here..." The employee paused. "...Pin?" He'd ask. Pin thought about it again. They- no, *she* didn't really know why she was in this strange place. Her first memory was of her suddenly being awoken in a bed, already being inside. As far as she knew, she had always been here. "I..." She scratched her head. "...I can't tell. I just appeared here one day." The employee was visibly displeased with that answer. "No, I meant..." He sighed. Perhaps he was just being too vague. "Why are you being interviewed today?" He asked. "Oh, uh..." Pin blushed slightly in embarrassment. She quickly recalled her memories up to then. "You wanted to interview me in order to gather data for your experiment and testing report for your superiors. That was your exact words." The employee smiled and nodded. "Especially well done, Pin." Pin smiled back. "Thank you." She replied. "Now, would you like to show us your abilities?" The employee continued. 'Ability' is the term they used to affectionately refer to the powers they had, mainly being able to shoot miniature versions of themselves out of their hands. They've always been told that they were special, and that they were bound to change the world, but they never explained any more than that. Pin nodded. "...Sure thing." She replied.
She opened up her palms and deeply concentrated on them. It was particularly difficult to use her abilities without pins rapidly shooting out of her hands like water coming out of a faucet. She began to sweat nervously, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of the employees. She knew very well what had happened to those who failed to meet their expectations. Despite the fear of failure, however it still took her about a minute or so of concentration to get two small pins to appear, one in each palm. She opened her eyes, pleased that she had managed it. The employees promptly applauded, though it was hard to tell if their excitement was genuine. She waited for the applause to pass before she continued. "That's my ability. Making pins appear out of my hands." The employee nodded. "Do you know how that could be used?" He asked. Pin nodded back. "The ability to summon sharp projectiles with virtually no thought whatsoever has a wide variety of applications, especially for military and defensive purposes." "Sounds like your copying off the text of the report." The employee remarked. "Hah!" Pin blushed slightly. "What can I say? I have a stellar memory! Just one of the attributes required for a heroic leader like me!" As she was a more 'useful' object, being sharp and deadly and all that, she had been promised a loose leadership role in overseeing the other subjects if she behaved herself.
*If she behaved herself*.
Also because she was sharp and deadly, Pin was scrutinized much more than her peers. After all, if she was mismanaged, she could potentially cause a whole lot of casualties, which, for a conglomerate like GD Inc, is a scandal you *certainly* don't want to have. She'd constantly be reprimanded for even the slightest infraction, citing how important it was that the employees, her included, followed the safety procedures. It was a verbal reprimand at best, and at worst... Well, GD Inc had a lot of things at their disposal when it came to punishment. Solitary confinement, humiliation, even electrocution in one particular instance. She thought it was fair, since she had nearly fatally wounded an employee by accident in order to be electrocuted, but despite it all, she still held anger towards her supervisors. Of course she would. No sane person would just shrug off being literally tortured and think that those sorts of things just *happen*. That would be crazy talk, although crazy talk is far from the craziest thing that happened in the 30th century. But Pin would obviously not know of the world around her. In her eyes, what GD Inc did, although justified, was extremely harsh. What was just mild anger at first quickly became severe as the number of times she got punished quickly climbed into the double digits. She knew deep inside that one day, GD Inc would have to pay. Not just for her misery, but for those of the others.
-
Pin and the rest of the 15-odd subjects were taking a break from their daily testing.
In order to make it not seem unethical, the subjects were allowed a few hours in the afternoon, besides their meals, to just hang out around the facility and talk to both other subjects and employees. Since the subjects were rather easy to contain, they were allowed to just roam about the facility, as long as they didn't enter any private or secure areas. For those few hours, they were treated just like any other visitor of the facility. They could use the lounges, eat at the cafeteria (although they already do so during their meals), and play friendly sports matches with the employees. It was rather lax treatment for a facility, but of course, they make up for it with punishing them severely for pushing their luck or breaking the rules.
Pin was just relaxing that afternoon, with her back resting on the fence. She had been watching the male subjects play against several employees in a friendly game of... Whatever sport it was that included a ball. Knowledge of sport wasn't really given to subjects who didn't want it. They had a whole lot of fun, of course. The subjects were goofing off after a hard day of experimentation, and the employees were goofing off after a hard day of watching the experimentation. It was the perfect storm of fun and excitement for everyone involved. Some other subjects had been watching the game as well, but they left as soon as it was over. As far as Pin knew, it was now just her in this particular area of the facility, with the others probably being elsewhere. She decided to just sit back and stay there for the remainder of her break, since the tests on her were particularly more strenuous than the ones on the more docile subjects. As she did so, she watched as the security cameras swung on their pivots, and the guards walked around their usual circuits. She had been watching them move about not for any particular reason, and most certainly not any malicious ones. It was just a neat little thing to keep her eyes on, something to draw her attention and prevent her from being bored. But as she did so, she inadvertently memorized the usual cycle of the cameras and the guards, and, most importantly, when none of them had their eyes on this particular area.
Pin got up and turned to face the fence. Beyond it, the vast forest stood, so close, yet so far. Going outside the fence was *especially* forbidden at all times, the punishment for doing so being far worse than what Pin was used to. Their concerns were justified yet again: how would *you* feel if an important friend of yours suddenly disappeared, never to be seen again? Scaling the fence, even as a joke, constituted an escape attempt, even if employees were watching you to ensure you'd climb back inside immediately after. They had been told time and time again that climbing over the fence was one of the worst offenses of all, and was one of the few that they wouldn't be forgiven for. As much as it had been drilled into their heads that it was a bad idea, however, Pin was still rather tempted to just walk up to it and... Go for it. The fence wasn't really all that tall: it was only several Pins high. With her strength, she could probably easily climb around 20 of those fences. The more she thought about the prospect of going out there and exploring the outside world, the more she became tempted by it. There was still about an hour left before they had to report back for a few final tests. It was more than enough time to go out and frolic for a bit before coming back. She could already imagine herself walking among the trees, taking in the fresh air, listening to the sound of the branches swaying and the leaves rustling, of the birds singing and the calls of the other local wildlife, though she hadn't heard it for quite a while now. It was relaxing. It was calming. And it was exactly what she needed right now.
Pin carefully watched as the cycle began. The cameras usually spun around every minute or so, while each round of the guards took around four minutes. There were always two sets of guards doing patrols, such that the cameras kept their eyes on an area for three minutes for every five, while the guards would do so for the remaining two. The guards have been getting sloppy with their work, however, and so the cycles didn't actually line up as expected. The guards tended to go slower in their patrols, while the cameras didn't spin every minute exactly. It was always somewhere within the range of 60 seconds, it wasn't always perfect. As such, there was a momentary period of time, lasting for a different amount of time depending on how attentive the guards were that day, that there were absolutely no security personnel keeping their eyes on a specific area. Pin watched carefully as the cameras moved about, while listening in to the footsteps of the guards. She'd wait patiently for that momentary period of blindness to happen, hoping that it'd happen within the hour she had left. Fortunately for her, that moment would indeed arrive. The cameras looked away from her, and there were no guards in sight. She quickly got up and began moving, climbing up the fence incredibly quickly. It still took her around a minute or so to get away from the sight of the guards, because she still hesitated when dropping to the other side. By the time the cameras were back, and the guards had finally arrived, they saw absolutely no one around. Anyone who reviewed the camera footage would simply think that Pin had left the area during that time.
She quickly hid behind the trees as the guards finally arrived, coming and going without knowing what had just happened. As they disappeared back into the facility, she'd slowly make her way further into the forest, making sure that she still knew where the facility was. If she was gone for too long, people would start becoming suspicious. Eventually, the sounds of the discordant melody that was the day-to-day business of the facility faded into the ambiance of the forest, as if it was a long-forgotten dream. Pin finally took a breath of fresh air, knowing that it was highly unlikely that anyone was around the area to catch her. Now more free to explore to her hearts content, she began frolicking in the woods, just as she imagined it. She ran until she became exhausted, rested in the shade of a tree, then climbed it as well. At its top, she saw the boundless canopy of the forest, stretching to the horizon. There was also the facility in the distance, sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the beautiful nature. Pin frowned, thinking about her friends, subject and employee alike, who remained stuck there out of obligation. She wondered if she could one day free them from the shackles of monotonous facility life, and allow them to enjoy what the world had to offer as well.
She continued wandering about, simultaneously both staying close to the facility and keeping her distance. She admired the endless sea of identical trees, for it was surely better than staring at the same white walls every day. Eventually, however, she'd hear the sound of a stream running along in the distance. She quickly turned her attention to it, running towards it to see what was going on over there. She'd never seen a body of water before, and so she was naturally curious. When she got there, she saw that it was a stream just like any other: a small channel of water surrounded by all the greenery around them. She got incredibly close to it, mystified by the flowing water. It was quite a calming sight, and was exactly what she needed to finally sit back and relax. She rested her back on a tree and just watched as the stream flowed along, picking up a few miniscule particles of soil along the way. As she sat there, she realized how dirty her feet had become due to spending so much time in the woods, and would wash it off with the water. She'd be careful not to accidentally slip and fall into the water, as it'd take a while to dry off, and it was hard to keep track of how much time she had left. She did it carefully, submerging one foot into the water first, then placing it back on the ground before submerging the other foot. As she did it, she carefully kept her balance on her grounded foot. But while she was washing her other foot, the sudden appearance of the reflection of another person caused her to fall into the stream anyway.
She took a minute to get up from the stream, recovering from the initial shock and impact. As she rose up from the water, she saw the person in question just standing there: a human wearing a cloak. His face seemed to be smeared with blood, which was probably why he was wearing the cloak. They just stared at each other for a moment, with Pin being stunned by the man's sudden appearance. "Who...". She began, yet struggled to finish due to the shock. "...Who are you?" She asked. The man seemed to smile, with itbeing visible despite the cover of the cloak. "It matters not who I am." He replies, his voice sending shivers down Pins spine, if she did have one. "What does is who *you* are, and what you will do in the future." Pin raised an eyebrow, confused. "How are you, Pin?" He'd ask. Pins eyes widened, now in even more shock than before. "How did you know my name?" She became flustered. "A-Are you an employee in the facility? If so, you shouldn't be here! You shouldn't be able to find me!" The man chuckled. "No, I'm not. But I do know you shouldn't be here either." He crouched down to look at her directly. He continued. "You're quite the rebellious one, aren't you? Not doing as you're told, even though you're being promised power." Pin frowned. "They're..." She hesitated for a moment. Why was she talking to this person? She should be running away right now, yet every nerve in her body urged her to stay put and listen to what he had to say.
Pin sighed. "They're just being so strict." She replied. "They tell me and the others to do a whole bunch of difficult tasks, and they barely give us anything in return." She kicked a mound of wet soil that had settled in the stream in frustration. "What's the point of power if I have to sacrifice so much?" The man seemed to frown, even though his smile remained perfectly still. "The point of power *is* the power." He replied. "The authority to command and control everyone below you. It brings a person great joy to have power: a feeling that is unrivaled. Nothing else comes close." He paused for a moment to breathe. "But indeed, what detracts people from seizing power for themselves is the sacrifice. One cannot gain power for free, of course. That is the way of things in this world." He stared deeply into her, as if he was contemplating something. "But fear not, little one. Things are about to change very soon. I will see to it that it does." Pin became unnerved. "...What do you mean?" She asked. "Everyone in this world has been corrupted by the sacrifices for power." The man replied. "They become a shadow of their former selves. Beaten. Broken. Taking on titles of great power without the will to use it effectively." He sighed. "I was one of them. I used to be a broken man. But then, like you, I took a walk to take in all the nature, and..." He took a deep breath. "I heard it."
"Heard what?" Pin asked. The man then gestured to her to remain silent, which she would do with reluctance. "Don't you hear it?" The man asked. Pins eyebrow raised further. "Hear-" The man then immediately told her to quiet down once again, forcing Pin to play along. What she heard was... The lack of things to hear. There was the running of the stream, the swaying of the branches, the rustling of the leaves, and the sound of them breathing. But there was absolutely nothing noteworthy: nothing that stood out to Pin. She folded her arms in frustration. "I don't hear it. I don't hear anything." She'd say. The man's smile seemed to widen, yet it remained fixed. "Exactly." He nodded. He got up, for the crouching was starting to wear him out. "You hear absolutely nothing. No more struggle, no more pain, no more of the monotony of life and death. There is no more chaos, no more agony. There is only..." He took another deep death. "...Peace." Pin was, of course, puzzled. "Yeah... I don't get it." She'd say. The man shook his head. "Figures." He replied. "Despite all you have endured, part of you still believes that the sacrifice is necessary. That chaos is needed." He looked at her along. "No matter. You'll eventually see what I mean when the time comes. I'll see to it as well." His smile continued to appear to widen, yet it remained as fixed as it always had been. "You'll suffer even more than you already have. You'll feel the sacrifice, every single thing taken away from you. You'll see your allies turn on you, and your enemies becoming harsher. You'll be beaten, bruised, and broken. And then..." He took a final breath. "You'll come crawling back to me."
The man then turned to leave. "I'll see you around, little one." He'd say as he disappeared into the forest. Pin would chase after him, but as soon as she blinked, he could no longer be seen. She became confused, bewildered, puzzled, and quite possibly traumatized. There that man was, promising great pain upon her without any explanation, and then he disappeared without another word. Should she be afraid? Should she defend herself? She looked at her hands, incredibly capable, and yet incredibly weak. She didn't know what to do, yet also knew what to do. It was a wild hurricane of thoughts and emotions, and she was in no way capable of processing it at that moment. All that made sense to her was that she wanted to get out of there immediately. Perhaps the employees did have some reason to stay inside. She ran back towards the fence, gradually slowing down to make sure she wouldn't be heard. She waited for the cameras to turn away at the right time, and she'd quickly scale the fence, landing on the other side before the cameras turned back. She looked at the nearby clock. There was still a few minutes left before the final round of testing was to begin. The tests were bound to clear her mind and get herself out of the hole she had dug herself into. As the cameras swung back into place, they saw Pin making her way back to the testing areas. To the security personnel of the facility, Pin hadn't done anything whatsoever.
Pin knew, however, that she had changed.
-
After the final round of tests, the subjects were escorted to the cafeteria to eat dinner. In order to make them feel more at home, the employees also ate at the same time, allowing them to hang out even more. After eating, the subjects would be granted another hour to roam the facility and hang out with others before being sent back to their cells.
Pin grabbed her tray, as well as some food, and sat down at an empty table. She had gotten used to being completely alone by then. Word spreads quickly around the facility, and when they heard of Pins numerous violations of the regulations, they feared even breathing the same air as her. Hanging around known violators of facility rules generally made you also guilty by association. If you hung out around them before they were reprimanded, you would be questioned if you were an accomplice, even if you had a perfectly clear track record. Pin didn't care at all about her being lonely, however. It gave her time to reflect on what she had done throughout the day, as well as what to do in the future in order to be better. Today, however, she *definitely* didn't feel like reflecting on anything. As she ate her food, she looked around the cafeteria, which was packed with both employees and subjects. While some were still getting their food, most had already sat down and started eating. Most of the employees generally hung around in the same tables, eating together and talking about all the work they had done for the day. The tables the subjects occupied were mainly divided into groups, much like school cliques, with a few employees who wanted to hang out with them rarely appearing as well. There were the rowdy boys, the cool girls, the not-so-cool ones, and Pin.
As she continued eating, her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to Coiny, a fellow subject. They barely ever talked, given Pins reputation, but what little interaction they did have caused her to feel funny. He always performed well in the physical exams, and he was always a sight to behold whenever he played in sports. As Pin was more trained in leadership skills and all that intellectual nonsense, she could possibly be the brawn to her brains. She blushed slightly as he watched him talk, presumably boasting about how well he did at a recent game. Her gaze would drift, however, and she would see Needle sitting next to him. Ugh, *Needle*. Like Pin, she was being trained to eventually become one of their leaders. But unlike Pin, she was actually doing *well*. She didn't have the tendencies of breaking rules, always did perfectly fine in the tests, and usually spent most of her free time reading what little romance novels the employees managed to smuggle into the facility. Given her future role, most people tended to act nicely around her. And because Coiny tended to be a rule-breaker as well, he and Needle had become particularly close to each other. Perhaps a bit *too* close. Pin felt the anger building up in her as she finished eating, the last mouthful of food feeling like a scoop of sand and glass shards as she swallowed.
Pin decided that she was going to try her hand in getting close to Coiny, and what better way to do so than by acting cool as well? She got up from her table and walked over to them, showing up to the party uninvited. "Hey, guys!" She'd greet them. Given that conflict wasn't allowed in the facility, they had to try their best to remain nice. Coiny turned to her with a fixed smile in his face. "Uh..." He scratched his head. "Hey, Pin! How's, uh... How's it going?" He asked. "Oh, I'm doing fine." Pin smiled. She glanced at Needle for a moment, who was unaware of what she was about to pull. "Hey, uh... Coiny?" "Hm?" He'd raise an eyebrow. "I found something cool while I was exploring. Can I show it to you during our break tomorrow? Trust me. It'll be great." Coiny thought about it. "Uh..." He turned to Needle. "What do you think?" He asked. Needle then glared at Pin, obviously being suspicious. "As long as it's nothing bad, I'm fine with it." She'd nod. "Can I come, just to be sure?" Pin began to sweat. "Uh... I don't think so. It's about sport, so I don't think you'd like it too much." Needle scoffed. "Fine. But if it *is* something bad, I'll see to it that you'll get *reprimanded*." Pin frowned. "Not exactly a threat to me. Do you know how many times I've been reprimanded?" Needle sighed. "Whatever." She then looked away. Coiny looked back at Pin and nodded. "Sure thing! Sounds great!" Pin smiled again. "Great! Meet me at the sports yard tomorrow. Seeya!" She'd wave at him as he left, and Coiny would do the same.
That worked out better than expected.
-
Tomorrow eventually arrived. Pin was already back at the fence, waiting for Coiny to arrive. She grew anxious, half-expecting him to not show up, causing her to be humiliated. To her surprise, however, he would show up not long after. "Coiny!" She waved at him. "You actually came!" "Of course!" Coiny replied. "I didn't want to get on your bad side, of course." He walked up to her. "So, what was it that you wanted to show me?" He asked. "Oh, I'll show you soon." Pin smiled. "Don't worry!" They then spent a while just talking about how life had been, all while Pin paid close attention to the cameras and the guards. Eventually, the stars would finally seem to arrive, prompting her to finally take action. "Hey, Coiny?" Pin said. "Hm?" Coiny replied. "How good do you think you are at climbing?" Pin asked. Coiny raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" He asked back. "Oh... No reason." Pin waited for the seconds to tick down until the cameras looked away. She counted down in her head, hoping that Coiny wouldn't just report her right away for what she was about to do, and would instead follow her. After what felt like an eternity, the cameras would finally spin away. "Now!" Pin shouted. She'd quickly get up and scale the fence before Coiny realized what was going on. "Huh?" He'd turn around and see Pin, already on the other side. She smiled. "Come on!" Coiny hesitated for a moment, fearing being reprimanded along with her, but he was probably already guilty for being next to her when it happened. He'd then quickly scale the fence as well, landing less gracefully than Pin. They'd then quickly run to the forest, disappearing from view before the cameras looked back.
Pin continued to run, and Coiny would reluctantly follow. They'd eventually make their way over to the stream, as Pin had memorized where it was. They finally stopped running as soon as they saw it. Coiny turned to Pin, fearing for his life. "Pin, don't you know what you just did?" He asked. "We're done for!" Pin scoffed. "Oh, relax. Will you? I've done this once before. I know what I'm doing." She then rested her back on a tree. Coiny sighed. "Fine. But if we get caught when we go back, I'm throwing you under the bus." Pin chuckled. "I doubt it." Coiny then sat next to her in the shade of the tree. They spent the next several minutes just relaxing and calming themselves down, having just ran like crazy. "Isn't it beautiful out here, Coiny?" Pin asked. "Uh..." Coiny scratched her head. "I guess?" He replied. "And to think they're keeping this from us." Pin continued. "I mean, just look at it!" Yet more awkward silence followed. Pin blushed slightly. She was now alone, with the person she liked the most, with no one else around for at least a kilometer or so. She didn't think she'd get this far, yet here she was. She sighed and turned to Coiny. "Hey, Coiny?" "Yeah?" Coiny replied. "Can I... Can I confess something to you?" Pin asked. Coiny reluctantly nodded. "...Sure." Pin sighed again. "...The reason I did this was because... I wanted to impress you." Coiny raised an eyebrow, blushing as well. "What?" He couldn't quite believe it. "Why?" He asked. Pin smiled. "I dunno. Must be the way you seem to handle all this. You're just as carefree as I am, maybe even more so, and I guess I was just... Captivated." She sighed. "I know how dumb it sounds, so it's alright if you don't forgive me for it."
Coiny took a moment to take it all in. He also had quite a few bottled-up feelings for her as well, but kept it inside to save his life. Since no one was around, however, he felt like he could now confess as well. "Pin..." He sighed. "You won't believe this, but..." His blush deepened. "I was trying to impress you as well." Pin quickly turned to face him. "W-What?" She couldn't believe it either. "Why would you want to impress me, of all people?" She asked. Coiny sighed again. "It's kinda dumb as well but... I was impressed by how you continued bending the rules, despite the constant punishments you receive." He smiled. "The fact that you continue doing what you want to do, despite the consequence, makes you a true leader. And that's why I look up to you." They stared at each other for a moment, both of them being flustered. "So..." Pin could barely speak. This was going far, *far* better than she had expected. "...That makes two of us?" Coiny chuckled. "Yeah, I guess." They then both laughed. For just a moment or so, they were two carefree spirits, having finally found their time in the sun, their time together.
-
At Pins mark, her and Coiny would scale the fence once more. They'd land gracefully, getting up and walking off before the cameras turned back. As they left, they were confident that no one had seen them, that they had managed to escape and come back without anyone noticing.
But someone did notice.
Hiding behind a corner, Needle watched the two of them leave, very much displeased by what she just saw.
YOU ARE READING
Battle for Some Actual Peace and Quiet for Once
Fiksi PenggemarThe Battle for Dream Island is now over, yet the memory of it still haunts them. Part 2/3 of the BFTMTMAADI Trilogy, a BFDI Fanfiction series. Logo made by @catsanddogs3333. Everything else made by me. Battle for Dream Island made by jacknjellify.
