Chris stood gleaming on the Dock of Shame. "Last time, on Total Drama Reach for the Stars! Our fifteen contestants entered into our Alien Space Laser Tag Maze where surprises abounded at every corner, including alien Chef! The teams were pretty evenly matched until Orion and Troy deceived Ren to take victory! At the elimination ceremony, both Jeremiah and Eyrik were tied at two votes each, and in the tiebreaker, it was our favorite daredevil, Jeremiah, who ended up taking the Shuttle of Failures. But unbeknownst to many, a secretive Fearsome Five alliance was formed – and, in actuality, it's just Danny's way to get vengeance! Man, I love that kid! So what will happen this time on Total! Drama! Reach for the Stars!"
*Girls' Restrooms*
Madeleine and Christy were waiting patiently in line for the showers. There were three showers, but it was the middle one exclusively that gave warm water, and currently, Lauren was hogging it. The other two showers were frigid. Christy meekly tapped on the door. "Um, Lauren, do you think you could, um, hurry up? Please?"
"As if, losers," came Lauren's retort. She laughed smugly to herself.
"But we've been waiting! You've been in there for quite a while…"
"I may be naturally beautiful, unlike you two freaks, but I do enjoy a nice warm shower. So wait your turn! Gosh!"
Maddie shrugged and grinned. "Cold showers aren't that bad! They're nothing but the next great adventure!"
Christy was forced to concede; Lauren wasn't getting out of there anytime soon. "Well, I guess."
Confessionals:
Lauren: Those girls are so easy to take advantage of. I love it.
Christy: I just wish Lauren could be traded off of our team, or something…
*Team Extraterrestrial, Boys' Cabin*
Danny lay on his top bunk, staring at the ceiling. Ren and John had already headed out to breakfast and Eyrik was gone when they'd woken up. A knock on the door was followed by Bliss walking in. "It's time for breakfast, dweeb," she said. A smile crossed her face. "Oh, how I love being mean. You have no idea how taxing it is being nice to Annaloser and Jadork!"
Danny leapt down from his bunk. "Trust me, it's all worth it. We're going to ride this through to the very end. One of us will end up winning."
"What about our Fearsome Five?" Bliss asked sarcastically, laughing. "We really shouldn't count any of them out!"
"Soon, they'll all be gone too. No need to worry at all."
"If you say so, mega loser," Bliss replied. Like it or not, she was actually starting to view Danny Peterson as something close to a friend. "Let's go get some food."
As both of them walked out of the open door, neither one noticed the person standing still on the other side.
Eyrik.
*Mess Hall*
Ori, Troy, and Kylie sat together; Troy made some horrible flirtatious comment and Orion smacked him upside the head, causing Kylie to roll her eyes and smile slyly. Mickey and Ren sat together as usual, while Jada, for a change, found herself in the company of John. Jason ate with Lauren and kept casting glances towards Bliss, who sat in close proximity to D.P. Eyrik hadn't bothered to show up, and Maddie and Christy were just arriving.
Taking a small table for two, Christy sighed. "I'm still shivering from that cold shower!"
"It wasn't sooooooooooooo bad…" Maddie replied. "I mean, if penguins can do it than so can we! Right!"
"The thing is, Maddie, we're not penguins… Let's go get some food."
Lauren noticed Jason's nervousness. "Um, Jase, what's up? Got a twitch or something?"
"Alliance? No! What are you talking about? Hehe…"
Confessionals:
Jason: Okay, I'm really not the best at secret keeping.
Lauren looked him over suspiciously. "Is there something you're not telling me, Jason, baby?" She put her hand on his calf. "Something you'd like to… share?"
Flirting. He may not be good at secrets, but Jason had buckets full of bravado. Putting on a charming smile, he caressed her face with the back of his hand and replied, "No, darling, there's nothing at all."
Rolling her eyes, Lauren removed his hand. "Whatever. At least you're pretty, sweetie."
"Thanks," Jason replied, not realizing what she'd meant.
As for Jada and John, the two were discussing the ceremony. "Listen," John started, "I just want to clear the air, alrite, Jade?"
"Don't call me Jade," Jada replied, staring at him with daggers in her eyes.
"Point taken, ma'am. But, uh, I just needed to tell you that it was me who voted for you at the ceremony." John gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry."
Jada stared at him for a few seconds. "Okay… why."
"I saw you kissing my mate, Jeremiah. And, well, I knew it wasn't good. I couldn't vote for him, so I figured my best vote was for you. Sorry. Nothing personal."
"Well, Johnny boy, your honesty does mean much to me."
"It does?"
"Nope. But as long as we're 'clearing the air' as you put it, I voted out Miah."
John stared at her dramatically, aghast. "You vixen! How could you!"
"Because he kissed me…"
"Seems a bit dramatic to blame a vote based off of a kiss…" Jada raised her eyebrow. "Well, okay, sure. But Jeremiah is still a strong asset! I'm shocked at your actions Jada Q. Kazoo. Bamboozled, in fact."
"That isn't my name."
"It could be."
"I think we're done here."
Mickey appeared crestfallen over at her table. Ren put his arm around here. "What's wrong?"
"It's just, if such a strong player as Miah could've been voted off so soon… where does that leave us?"
"It leaves us at a position to try and protect ourselves," Ren replied wisely. "We can't just go blindly voting… we need to look out for each other."
Mickey smiled and pecked him on the lips. "I'm glad I have you."
Back over with Maddie and Christy, the topic was still on Lauren. "You know," Christy started, "I just wish we could trade Lauren to the other team, or something. It'd make things so much easier."
Chris then popped up behind her. "Trade teams, you say?"
"AAH!"
"Well, that's exactly what's going to happen!"
Everyone turned to face him. A team switch? That certainly could only mean trouble. "What do you mean, Chris?" Danny called over.
Chris gave him a toothy grin. "I am glad you asked, Danny! Here's the new policy we're introducing this season – if you end up in the Bottom Two of an elimination ceremony, and survive, you'll be offered the opportunity to trade a member of your team for a member of the opposing team. So Eyrik, would you like to make a trade?"
Eyrik stood up and shook his head.
"When'd he get here?" John asked, confused.
"He wasn't in here a few minutes ago," Jason pointed out.
"Silence!" Chris shouted. Turning to Eyrik with a devilish smile, he asked, "So, Eyrik, trade or no trade?" he thought for a moment.
A small nod of the head was a reply. Yes.
"Well, who and for who?" Chris asked the enigma.
Eyrik thought it over for a few seconds before pointing at Bliss. "Hey!" she exclaimed. Eyrik inwardly took pleasure at seeing Danny Peterson's face pale.
Eyrik then pointed at Kylie. "Me?" she asked, surprised. She'd expected him to take one of the boys, but not her.
Confessionals:
Bliss: Ugh. This really isn't good. Now I'm on the same team as Lauren and Crazy Maddie! No fun! But there is my alliance to look forward to.
Kylie: I think Eyrik is up to something. I'm going to miss my old team, but it's awesome to be with Annalisia and Jada again.
Rosa than entered the mess hall. "It's time for the challenge, everyone," she said with a perky smile.
No one looked enthusiastic.
Chris cleared his throat and took center stage. "It's time for the challenge, everyone!" he exclaimed. Everyone then started whooping and cheering.
"You planned this out with them, didn't you," Rosa angrily said, glaring at the host. "Anyways, we've got a really awesome challenge planned for you guys! Please follow me outside!"
As the contestants filed out, Danny reached out to grab Bliss' arm. "What is it, Petersuck?" the queen bee asked.
"Prioritize," was his simple response, and he followed the others out, leaving Bliss alone.
She stamped her foot on the ground. "Can you ever speak clearly!"
Outside were fourteen strange-looking contraptions. "What are these for?" Kylie called over to Rosa as all fourteen stood in front of an individual machine.
"These are our McLean brand Motion Sickness Simulators!" Rosa exclaimed. Chris mocked her speaking behind her back. "Each one of you contestants will strap yourself into these machines, which will then start spinning in circles, taking you upside down, sideways, diagonal – you name it. The first seven of you to throw up will be eliminated, while the remaining seven will remain to compete in the next stage of this competition. Understand?"
Everyone nodded. "It seems kinda gross," Christy whispered to Maddie, who merely shrugged and grinned.
During this, Kylie made her way over to Eyrik. She was still confused to his motives. "Why'd you pick me?" she whispered. The two locked eyes and then Eyrik quickly flicked his vision over to Jason. Kylie understood – both had a mutual hatred towards him. "Orion says I should cool off my grudge on him," Kylie muttered. Eyrik met her eyes again before turning back to Rosa.
"Now, in case you don't understand," Chris began.
"What are you doing?" Rosa interrupted. She hadn't been informed of anything like this to be going on.
Chris pushed her away and ignored her question. "Please welcome back a classic Total Drama competitor to demonstrate – Geoff!"
The tall, energetic party boy arrived on the scene with his hat and a big grin. "What's up, dudes and dudettes! The Geoffster is back!"
Everyone was happy to see him. As Geoff made his way down the line of teens, shaking hands and hugging when it was appropriate, Orion was mildly starstruck. "Dude, you're awesome," he managed to get out.
The two shook hands. "Thanks, man!" Geoff replied. "Nice hat, by the way!"
As Geoff walked off, Troy rolled his eyes. "Get over the man-crush."
Once the introductions were finished, Chris helped Geoff strap himself into one of the machines. "Stand clear!" Chris announced. "You do not want to get caught in his vomit rocket."
"Woohoo!" Geoff exclaimed as the machine began spinning. "This is kinda totally freaking awesome! Feels like a giant party rush! WHOO! Getting kinda dizzy though… wow, this sure is moving… pretty fast… Nope! This is still so much fun! Except… I'm nauseous… Chris, man! Chris! Stop the ride! Stop the ride, dude!" Chris shook his head maliciously, and then Geoff puked. As he was still spinning around, the puke cascaded all over him, the ground, and the machine. It was good that the others had backed away.
"Now it's time for you guys to go!" Rosa called out as she helped Geoff get out of his machine.
Everyone rushed into theirs, and it ended up that Bliss was stuck with the one Geoff had been in. It was covered in puke. "Nope. No way. Sorry, guys, I know I'm nice now and everything, but just no."
Her team yelled at her to get into the machine but she refused to budge. "Whatever," Chris said. "Time to begin!"
Some people were having trouble holding in their breakfasts. "Oi! My insides are going to soon become my very, very outsides!" John exclaimed. Talking to Maddie next to him, he said, "How you holdin' up, dear?"
"I LOVE THIS! FASTER!" she exclaimed, laughing manically.
"I can respect that," Geoff said, bumping knuckles with Chris.
Ren became the first to throw up. Chef appeared out of nowhere with a buzzer and yelled, "JERKY MAGGOT! OUT!"
Ren dismounted from his machine, grumbling, when Christy's puke coated the back of his head. "Sorry," she said shyly as Chef rang his buzzer.
"Last Place Maggot, OUT!"
A few seconds later, Jada puked, and John followed right after. "I'm as dizzy as a bee," the Brit commented as he dismounted, and then collapsed onto the ground.
"Sarcastic Maggot and British Maggot! OUT!"
"How you holding up?" Ori called over to Troy.
In response, Troy threw up very much. Lauren followed soon after.
"Ninja Maggot, Snooty Maggot! ELIMINATED! End of Part One!"
As the seven very dizzy, very sick contestants that survived – Madeleine, Orion, Jason, Kylie, Danny, Eyrik, and Annalisia – dismounted, Geoff turned grinning to Chris. "Awesome, so what's Part Two? How do I demonstrate?"
"Well, Geoff," Chris explained, walking him down to the Dock of Shame and up the Stairs of Loserdom, "First, you get into this here shuttle." As Geoff boarded the Shuttle of Failures, Chris pushed a button on a remote control that sent the shuttle flaring away with Geoff screeching.
Back with the contestants, Rosa dismissed the seven who'd been eliminated. "Go cool off, guys!" she said, and they grumbled away. Turning to the remaining seven, very dizzy, she explained, "Now, here's where it's fun!" She led them over to seven stumps. "Each of you must stand on one of these stumps, and while you're still dizzy, these stumps will be shifting up and down, up and down. The remaining two contestants will advance on to the third and final portion of the challenge."
All seven woozily boarded. Kylie looked a bit nervous, and Orion shot her a thumbs up. Jason nearly fell off before the challenge even began, causing Annalisia to laugh.
"And… begin!"
It was hard enough for the seven of them to stand still without falling – except for Madeleine, that is. She seemed perfectly unfazed by the previous portion of the challenge and was doing exceptionally well, to Rosa's and Chris' surprise. As soon as the stumps started moving up and down, Orion tumbled backwards and collapsed on his back.
"Musical Maggot! OUT! Hehe."
"My spine," he moaned and then passed out. Maddie looked down at her fallen teammate before shrugging, obviously not concerned.
With the others, Eyrik was faring reasonably well, concentration and focus on his mind. If I lose, what's to stop Danny from trying to come after me again? He thought.
Speaking of Danny, he wasn't doing well in the challenge at all.
Confessionals:
Danny: I tried my best, but this challenge was just brutal. Vin, if you're watching, I wish you were doing this with me. You'd be a pro. I'm avenging us both, man!
Danny shrugged and fell off of his stump, on his hands and knees on the ground. Eyrik lost his balance next, keeling over and sputtering. This challenge really was brutal.
"Normal Maggot, Quiet Maggot! OUT!" The two mag-eh, contestants- locked eyes with each other and it was very clear that both viewed the other as an enemy. Danny grinned and waved before passing out.
Only four were left now – Jason, Maddie, Mickey, and Kylie. Jason then threw up all over the still-unconscious Orion and fell off of his stump. It was now between the girls.
"Extremely Attractive Maggot! OUT!"
Confessionals:
Jason: Why does he continually call me attractive…
John: Ha! I love how someone else is on the receiving end of Chef's creepiness, mwahaha!
Orion: He threw up on me? C'MON! Have some class, man!
"Keep it up, Mickey!" came encouragement from Jada as she woozily stumbled over, curious as to how the competition was still going. Mickey shook her head and yelled, "I tried!" before being forced to jump off of her stump, running over to Chris, puking on him, and cowering on the ground.
"Pranky maggot, OUT! End of Part Two!"
"Nice job, girls," came Rosa's nice words as Kylie and Maddie, the only remaining contestants, dismounted from their stumps.
The two girls, and friends, smiled at each other. "May the best woman win!" Kylie exclaimed. She staggered and almost fell, and Maddie caught her.
"Better hang in there! Wouldn't wanna go up against a sickie!"
Confessionals:
Kylie: One thing I know I'll miss about Team StarKid? Maddie.
Madeleine: This challenge is so much fun! I can't wait to see what Part Three is. Part Three, Part Three, A loss now would sting like a bee!
Rosa, Chris, and Chef led the two remaining contestants to the final part of the challenge. Rosa smiled and gestured to a booth with a mechanical arm sticking out of it; the end of the arm contained a pod with one side for Madeleine, and one side for Kylie. "For this challenge," Rosa began, "Both of you will enter into a side of pod, and we'll spin you around and around continually, getting faster and faster with each rotation. The first person to throw up will be eliminated. Sound good?"
Kylie and Maddie locked eyes and smiled. "FUN!" Maddie exclaimed.
"I'm so ready for this," Kylie replied.
"Load them up!" Chris exclaimed giddily. This was the kind of torture he could really get behind.
John showed up to offer support to Maddie. "Even though we're on opposite teams, love," he began, taking her hands in his, "I fully wish you the best of luck." After a quick kiss, John walked away; as he passed Kylie, he said, "Please, please win."
Confessionals:
John: Sure, I want Maddie to do well, but I also want to win! Winning is fun, mates!
Both girls got into their pods and Chris pressed a button in the booth, starting up the contraption. "This isn't so bad," Kylie noted. The velocity continued to speed up, faster, and faster, and faster.
Confessionals:
Kylie: Maybe I spoke too soon…
"ADVENTURE!" Maddie exclaimed happily. She loved this. It was the kind of deranged fun that she could really get behind.
Several minutes passed and Kylie was turning a violent shade of green while Maddie kept going singing I Want to Hold Your Hand. "Man, and I thought Izzy was messed up!" Chef exclaimed.
Around a minute later, Kylie threw up all over her side of the pod. "Short Maggot! OUT!" Chef exclaimed. The buzzer sounded and the pod slowed down to a halt.
Maddie eagerly leapt out and jumped into Chef's arms. "Say the words, Jude!"
"Crazy Maggot! VICTORY!" Chef exclaimed. "And my name is not Jude."
"Team StarKid wins once again!" Rosa exclaimed. Madeleine, the only one who was both still around and conscious, jumped for joy repeatedly.
*Team StarKid, Boys' Side*
"You fucking threw up on me!"
"You can't fucking play guitar!"
Orion and Jason had been going back and forth like this. Troy interfered.
"Both of you shut the fuck up! We fucking won! That's all that fucking matters, right!"
Orion and Jason reluctantly nodded. "Fucking moron," Orion muttered, causing Jason to punch him in the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Fucking jackass!"
"NO CURSING!" Chris exclaimed, popping into the cabin in a puff of purple smoke, causing all the boys to back away in terror and Orion to leap into Troy's arms.
*Team StarKid, Girls' Side*
Maddie pranced around the cabin, happy over winning the challenge for the team. Lauren glared as Christy brought Bliss into the cabin. "You can take Kylie's old bed, I guess…"
"Thank you! You are ever so kind!" Bliss said, simply oozing with kindness.
"Are you on some weird medication or something? Because there's a pool going on…"
"I just can't wait to be king!" Maddie exclaimed, doing the worm across the floor.
Lauren stared in confusion before turning her attention back to Bliss. "Slip up one time, Bitch, and you will be gone. G-O-N-E."
"Your spelling is so proficient!" Bliss said so happily. Lauren fumed.
Confessional:
Bliss: *gagging for a good 10 minutes*
*Team Extraterrestrial, Boys' Side*
The whole team had gathered to discuss the team's performance. Kylie lay down on a bed, barely able to focus; Annalisia, Eyrik, and Danny were all somewhat out of it as well, with Annalisia sitting next to Jada on a bed and Eyrik and Danny standing in opposite corners of the room. Ren stood off by himself, and John stood close to Danny.
Ren angrily punched the wall in frustration. "Twice in a row?" he asked furiously.
"We tried our best," Mickey said gently.
"Our best wasn't good enough!" Ren snapped at her. Seeing the hurt on her face, he muttered, "Sorry."
"Well, still, someone's got to be eliminated, mates," John pointed out, trying to get the conversation back on topic. "And that someone could be anybody, really."
Confessionals:
John: By someone I mean Jada.
"Let's vote out the newbie. She's got ties to the other team. Probably a traitor, too," Ren started with total conviction. "Just waiting to sell us out to all of those people on the other team."
Kylie, her fists shaking in anger, slowly rose to a sitting position. "Don't even start, bub. Who was the first one out this challenge? Which one of us almost won? You and me, respectively. You're such a big poser. As if I'd ever partner with someone like Jason? God. Get over yourself. You're such a rat fink."
"Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"
"I think I am!" Kylie fired back.
"STOP IT!" Mickey exclaimed. Her friend and her boyfriend. Why were they fighting?
"You've made her upset now," Ren growled.
"No, Ren! Stop it! Shit man, stop starting fights!" Mickey shouted, storming out of the cabin. Ren shot one last glare at Kylie before hurrying after his girlfriend, still leaving five people in the room.
"I'm this close to voting out Mr. Sunshine, if he wasn't such a physical asset," Kylie muttered.
Danny shrugged. "I don't know. There's plenty of options. Jada, John, Ren, all three lost out in that first round. And there are some people that we just can't trust on this team, some people who you never really know what they're feeling, or thinking."
Confessionals:
Danny: I'm trying to stir up as many options as I possibly can. Without Bliss on the team, I've got no direct allies. Tossing the cards around is my best option at staying in the game. How is it that in a Fearsome Five alliance, there's only one member on my team?
"Maybe it should be Jada," John sighed. "She helped vote out Miah! That was a big mistake in my book."
"And you," Jada pointed out, "Were busy encouraging your girlfriend before the challenge! Ren said there was a traitor, but I think it's you!"
"Don't get your knickers in a bunch now, misses!"
"What do those words mean!"
The two glared angrily at each other. Danny attempted to break the tension. "So, um, how about them Mets?"
Eyrik stared at him mysteriously before quickly leaving the room. Having no allies in the cabin, and having an inkling that Eyrik might be of some help to her, Kylie went after him, leaving a strange trio of John, Jada, and Danny in the cabin.
"What the bloody hell are Mets?" John asked in confusion.
*The Woods. You Know, the Kind With the Trees and Stuff.*
Mickey ran through the trees with tears in her eyes. She eventually ground to a halt, and sat down with her face in her knees, crying.
Ren approached her. "Hey," he muttered.
"Come to be more of a fucking jerk?" Chris appeared in a cloud of purple smoke but Annalisia turned on him and yelled, "NOT NOW MCLEAN!" Chris sulked off, muttering things like, "My show… damn teens… all I want… purple smoke… cursing…"
Ren sat down next to her. "I'm sorry. Really. It's just I'm so damn frustrated."
"We all are, Ren! But turning on everyone isn't going to get us anywhere. That much I know."
"Kylie didn't make it easier."
"Kylie is a different case."
"Oh yeah? Why?"
"Because I'm not dating her! I'm dating you!" Ren didn't have a good reply to that, so Mickey went on. "We're in this relationship together, and things just aren't going to work out if you keep snapping at me and yelling at everyone and just picking fights everywhere. It can't go on this way."
Ren looked Annalisia in the eyes. "What is this? An ultimatum? Change, or… or what?"
"Or maybe we're through." Annalisia dried her eyes and walked away, leaving an angry and confused Ren behind.
*Outside the Team Extraterrestrial Cabin*
Kylie came outside and looked around, trying to find where Eyrik had went. Taking a few steps forward she turned around, and there he was on top of the cabin.
"How'd you get up there so fast?" she called up. As usual, he didn't answer. "Whatever. I was hoping we could talk." The enigma swiftly leapt down, landing almost directly in front of her. "Flashy," she muttered. "So, who are you voting for? Mickey? Ren? Jada?" He shook his head for all three.
"John?" He shook his head again. "Me?" Another shake. That only left one. "Danny?" He nodded. "Um, why?"
Eyrik shrugged, and Kylie interpreted this to mean, I don't really trust him. "Well, hey, I've got no allegiances or anything. Maybe I'll back you up. I still haven't decided if I want to spare Ren yet."
She looked into the woods, and when she turned around again, the enigma was gone.
Confessionals:
Annalisia: I really want things to work with Ren. I just… I just don't know…
Kylie: I normally don't like or trust boys. But Eyrik doesn't seem like a boy, he seems more like… I don't know. It's hard to explain.
John: I want to vote for Jada, but is that right? Is that best? WWLD – What Would Lennon Do?
Ren: I really hate ultimatums. Damn it…
Troy: Insert interesting plot twist here.
Team StarKid: Bliss, Christy, Jason, Lauren, Madeleine, Orion, Troy
Team Extraterrestrial: Annalisia, Danny, Eyrik, Jada, John, Kylie, Ren
Eliminated: Jeremiah
Team Extraterrestrial – you know who you are! – send in your votes ASAP please. Things are getting very dramatic here, and very fast! Especially Troy. That last confessional is full of drama, right? RIGHT? SAY THAT WE'RE RIGHT! Ok...ok...we're calm...*deep breath*
And lets give a round of applause to Geoff! Our very first challenge testing veteran! :D Which veterans would you like to have mentioned through the course of the story? ^_^