Coward's Gamble

Putting herself in a situation that forced her to defend her position left Marle's skin crawling. Her cheeks would flush red and sweaty. As if she had dunked her hands in a bucket of ice water, they would shudder, the bones beneath her pale skin frozen solid.

She was a being who never had to face such indignity. As the Will of the Worlds, she never experienced conflict firsthand. She had witnessed it on a plethora of worlds, but they always ended with smiles and laughter. To Marle, skirmishes were like plays. They had a beginning, middle, and end. While there were tribulations along the journey, justice and goodness always prevailed.

Marle applauded and fawned over the heroes of the Puyo Puyo and Tetris dimensions. They were unique among the known universes. Each of them maintained specific quirks and dynamic personalities. Their humor was unparalleled, and Marle laughed until her sides ached. She daydreamed about battling them, her duties slipping from her mind, and she immersed herself in fantasies as the long hours stretched infinitely.

But while she imagined conversations with them, she was tethered to her realm, unable to leave, unable to hear a differing opinion from anyone else. Her world was an endless white space. Quadrilateral objects filled the air. A gentle, consolatory breeze blew in from nowhere, and occasionally, a spark of electricity ran through the sky. Her voice echoed into the abyss where no one answered. Marle existed, but not a single being in the billions of worlds acknowledged her.

Squares was born to cure her loneliness. Marle loved him, and he loved her. They entertained each other, and she taught him everything she could about battling. She provided him a sense of purpose. While he adhered to order, she ensured fun spread through the worlds, and together, they maintained an absolute equilibrium in the galaxies.

It was fine for a long time, but Marle should have realized the gap between them was widening in hindsight. Squares asked questions she never considered. He was not satisfied with her responses. He wanted explanations, proper reasoning to enhance the logic surrounding Marle's desire to meet with what he deemed parasites.

When she felt the air turning heavy, Marle did everything in her power to quell her own mental strain. She averted his stern gaze. She fled to clear her thoughts. She battled him with a smile that strained her cheeks.

If the rift between them took a physical form, then Marle would have been gazing down a dark, almost endless chasm.

"Marle," Squares called, rubbing his palms together, "can we talk?"

Marle nibbled on her lower lip. A crease formed in her brow, her stomach flipping as she heard him approach. She sucked in a breath, and she wanted to believe it was the wind that made goosebumps appear on her bare arms.

Pivoting on her heels, Marle cocked her head at her brother. "Squares! Of course. You can ask me anything," she said, smiling.

Squares leaned on one of the countless floating rectangles. Marle pulled over one for herself and hopped on to it. She crossed her legs and arched her back, her spine cracking as she stretched.

She sighed, shoulders slumping. "Ah, there's nothing like a good-"

"I still don't understand your perspective," he interjected, gripping his hip.

Marle's face fell. Her cheeks scorched almost instantaneously. Her mouth fell open, moving without speaking. Marle felt a chill race down her back, and she knew it was not from the wind.

"I just want to understand," Squares said, his tone strained. His lips creased into a thin line, eyes crinkling. "I have to maintain order. You must maintain fun. These are the rules that apply throughout the dimensions." He stepped closer, his expression tightening when Marle lowered her head. "I feel like we're at an impasse. Why do you want to bend those rules that you set up in the first place?"

His words rang heavy like a gong clanging in Marle's ears. Every word he spoke beat into her brain. She brought her fist to her chest, her fist trembling. Her blood chilled in her veins, pulsing at a snail's pace in her chest.

She wanted this conversation to end before it could truly begin. If she suddenly requested a battle, then Squares would acquiesce. She had done that time and time again, nipping any potential arguments in the bud before they could flourish and take root.

But tension had already spread its vines throughout their immaculate garden. Turning a blind eye to them, if she ever felt her boot threaten to become entangled, she simply leaped away as far as she could.

"If you could explain yourself, then I'd understand," Squares entreated, clasping his gloved hands together. A hoarse laugh split through his teeth. "Wait, let me tell you my perspective again. I think that will help you."

"Squares," she crooned, but she couldn't raise it to a proper volume.

"When those worlds merged, it threatened dimensional collapse. Their desires to see each other again is creating another potential calamity," Squares stated.

"Is that really so wrong? They are friends," Marle murmured. She managed to meet his eyes for a second before lowering them to his knees.

"Well, yes." Squares blinked, taken aback. "They shouldn't have retained those memories. While the original incident was not their fault, they're creating a new problem for us because they could do it all over again. Dimensional collapse, Marle, remember that."

Marle raked her fingers through her curly, blonde locks. She huffed out a sigh, her molars hitting as her jaw clenched. Hearing him so thoroughly explain his point of view agitated her.

"So, what do you have to say? I can't understand why this is stressing you out," Squares said with such finality that Marle winced. "Marle, please, talk to me so I can understand."

"They're friends," Marle repeated, "and it's natural for their hearts to cry out for each other."

Squares' face twisted in an expression that chilled Marle to the bone. He stood rigid, his hands grasping nothing but air. He pressed his palm to his face, a shaky breath leaving him. Stress creased his expression into something anguished and confused, and Marle only watched.

Time was endless in their domain. They could have been gazing at each other for hours. Even though it was only seconds, it felt like the hands on the clock ticked at the slowest pace possible.

"I suppose this isn't going anywhere," he muttered, closing his eyes.

Relief illuminated her face. The sigh she exhaled came from the bottom of her lungs. Marle approached him with her arms stretched out wide, her heartbeat thundering in her ears as she regained control over it.

"Which means we should have a battle!" she exclaimed, grasping his hands. She squeezed them, hoping to reassure him. "Let's clear our minds, okay? We'll play Tetris this time."

"If that's what you want," Squares said, the corner of his lip lifting.

"It's what we want," Marle insisted, releasing him as the boards appeared. "A fun and orderly battle, right?"

"Yeah, sure, a fun and orderly battle," he said, stepping over to his board, "whatever that means, not that you'll explain it."

She pretended she didn't hear him. The battle she enjoyed had finally begun. The one where she had to choose her words carefully and pick apart his argument was over. Only the sound of rotating blocks filled the silence.

Marle willed her heart to stay whole. She imagined friends surrounding them as they dueled. Plentiful companions, each of them exuberant and kind, cheered for them. A girl with hair in thick coils and a boy in a violet jumpsuit applauded them, and Marle wanted nothing more for them to join in their fun.

Marle smiled. One day, her wishes would come true. Surrounded by the ones she observed for months, it would have been the greatest fun imaginable.

Squares would come to his senses eventually. He always did. This was only a momentary squabble, and they could return to their happy days.

But like all unresolved tribulations, they came at a cost when he stole her freedom to fulfill her dream for a fleeting moment.