(A.N.) I'm glad people like this challenge—it's probably my favorite so far, as well! Anyways, here's to the thrilling conclusion.
The "thrilling conclusion" is brought to you by: zero continuity with how I spell Chris's last name. Heh…
Before each snippet/scene, there's a bold note in parentheses. This is just in case you forget what each camper is doing…there are a lot of challenges, so I figured this might be useful. Or not.
On a completely irrelevant note, I highly recommend The Marriage of True Minds by Stephen Evans. It's the funniest book I've read in a long time; it's rather sweet, as well. Go buy it. Like, right now.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
The camera rested on a very nice view of Wawanakwa Lake. The sun started to peak out of the dark, gloomy clouds, making the calm water sparkle. Not long after, the spectacle was interrupted when Chris rode into view on a speedboat, disrupting what little serenity Wawanakwa had. He grinned at the camera and waved, and started talking—although he had to shout a bit over the sound of the motor.
"Hello, viewers!" He greeted. "Yes, we're not quite done with this episode yet…we've still got a ways to go. However, I thought you guys might need a quick recap, just so you know what the campers are going up against, in case you forgot…!" As he went through each camper's strange predicament, the camera switched to a brief shot of their situations.
"Mo, Glisa, and Sienna are trying to escape from being dumped into a tank of either sharks or electric eels!
"Rosetta, Jess, Jack, and Lola are going through a series of spy-related obstacles. Currently, they're trying to make it past a laser maze!
"To be perfectly honest, we still aren't very sure what Zane and Riley are doing…
"Damion, Bren, Lacey, and Logan are traversing through a dark and creepy sewer maze, underneath Camp Wawanakwa!
"Long and Chelsea are engaged in a heart-pounding paintball shoot-out!
"Arlen and Aaron? Well, they're currently…incapacitated, and at the mercy of a mysterious gray person…
"And as for Kit-Kat, Seth, and Zarya…" Chris's grin grew, and he sped away, past the view of the camera. Not long after, another speed boat pulled up to view. Seth was steering and Kit-Kat was holding a giant butterfly and eyeing it with major uncertainty.
"Get back here, evil-doer!" Seth exclaimed indignantly, as he increased the speed of his boat substantially. Their boat sped away, and a new boat rode up as well. Zarya, who was driving a boat by herself, eyed the camera, gave a sarcastic, half-hearted wave, and followed after the two speedboats ahead.
()()()()()()()()()()()()
(The paintball shoot-out)
Long kept low and kept quiet as he made his way towards the mess hall. He kept his paint gun ready, and kept his ears open. With all the other campers seemingly off the island, any little noise made him whip his gun around and point its barrel at the source. (This, however, frightened many a innocent squirrel.)
He racked his brain, trying to think of everything he knew about Chelsea, but the list was limited. He was pretty certain she was somewhat crazy, and impulsive, so he had a bad feeling this "shoot-out" game was gonna be a long, unpleasant one. Well, unpleasant for one of them, at least.
Long decided to make a base out of the mess hall. He managed to reach his destination without any trouble from Chelsea. Hesitantly, he opened the door, ready to shoot if need be. There were no gunshots and no cries of "Say hello to my little friend!", so Long deemed it safe.
He had an idea, although it was more on the defensive side. If he could wait here and hide, Chelsea would eventually come in, having searched the island for him. From his hiding spot, he could land a few hits…and the game would be over.
He searched the room, surveying the possibilities…then focused his gaze, and smirked.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(The mysterious boat party)
Riley nibbled on a piece of shrimp, eyeing the inhabitants of the ship's party with curiosity. Nothing looked too terribly out of the ordinary, so she was thankful Kenny was assigned to give her instructions.
"So, here's the deal," Kenny explained. "There are two people in this party that have some very valuable information."
"What information?" Riley questioned.
"They know the combo to a safe. There are two safes, one can be accessed through that door," he pointed towards a door on one side of the room, "and one can be accessed through that door," he pointed towards a door on the opposite side of the first. "The combo works to both safes, it doesn't matter which one you choose. There are two safes because there are two of you."
"But wait," Riley interrupted. "Isn't the object of this to get the combo before Zane does?"
Kenny hesitated. "Yes and no."
Riley smirked, leaned against the wall, and crossed her arms. "Now there's a vague answer if I've ever heard one." Kenny rolled his eyes, and elaborated.
"This party is made up of many different people," he began. "All of them are from the same season, but we all have different roles in this. Effie and I are here to instruct you and Zane on what's going on. Most of the campers here don't know what's going on. Two of the campers know the safe's combo. But some of the campers…they know there's a safe, but they don't know the combo to it.
"Those campers will be waiting to see if you can find the combo. If you do, and they realize it, they'll follow you to the safe, let you open the safe for them…and then take you down." Kenny paused, dramatically.
"How do I find the combo in the first place?" Riley questioned. "I doubt I can just go around, asking people if they know the combo."
"Unfortunately, you're right," Kenny laughed. "You have to be subtle. The people who know the combo can't tell you directly…but they'll try to help you. Just go around the party, and keep your eyes and ears open. If you find the combo…be very, very cool about it."
"Wouldn't I tip off the people who want the combo when I left through the doors?"
"They don't know where the safe is," Kenny replied. "So if you pull it off correctly, they might just think you're going to the bathroom or something."
"What do I do once I get the 'loot'?" Riley asked.
"Then, you run back to the room you entered in," Kenny answered. "Someone's already installed a getaway boat that's hanging from the outside of the boat. Once you jump into the getaway boat, you can get away from here!"
Riley massaged her forehead. "This is complicated."
"That, I can agree on you with…" Kenny mused. He spaced off into the distance, and then widened his eyes when a young Latino woman approached them. "Leti! Hi!"
Leti widened her eyes too, broke out into a huge grin, and proceeded to tackle-hug Kenny to the ground.
"Oh my God!" She squealed, hugging Kenny to the point of oxygen deprivation, "you're in a tux! You even have a bowtie! You're like a waiter…a waiter that's so freaking cute it's unbearable!"
Riley awkwardly backed away as Leti continued, in great lengths, to declare how incredibly gosh darn cute Kenny was. "I'll leave you two alone…"
()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Escaping from the cage)
"I don't want to die…!" Glisa whimpered, pacing around the cage in distress. The cage had made progress—not substantial progress, but progress nonetheless—closer to the sharks. "Dis is not how I thought it would end!"
"How'd you think it would end?" Mo couldn't help but question.
"I'm not sure on da specifics…it involved explosives and a sock monkey named Sancho…"
Mo sighed. "Personally, I had a feeling I might meet my maker on this show."
Glisa and Mo had looked over the cage many times over for any sort of means of escape, but there didn't appear to be any.
"Chris wouldn't leave us without a way out, though," Mo muttered. "Right?"
Glisa shrugged. "With Chris, how can you be sure?"
Mo slunk back down into a sitting position, and then blinked a few times as a thought came to him. "Wait…" he displayed his wrist to Glisa, showing her the watch that he was wearing.
"Huh…" Glisa tilted her head. "Oh, yeah! Didn't you say dat da watch was not yours?"
Mo nodded, and began inspecting the watch more closely. "Maybe this really is here for a reason…"
Glisa knelt down to observe the watch as well. "So people can be sure of our time of death?" Mo smirked at this, but shook his head, as he began fiddling with the watch's knobs. Suddenly, something shot out of the side of the watch—whizzing just an inch away from Glisa's ear.
"Ay!" She wailed, covering her ear and shrinking away from Mo. "Watch where you aim dat!" The two stayed where they were, shocked for a moment, and then slowly walked over to see what the watch had spat out.
Mo picked the mysterious object off of the ground. "It looks like a tiny harpoon…but what would we need it for?"
Mo handed the mini harpoon to Glisa, who looked at it with curiosity.
After a moment, she giggled. "Got any miniature whales?"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Also escaping from a cage)
Sienna peered down to the electric eel tank, for the umpteenth time.
"Are those things lethal?" She wondered to herself.
"Wanna test it out?" Chef questioned, chuckling, over the intercom. Sienna rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to start a swearing streak. Chris, after his brief instructions, had left (to 'murder' Chef and get chased by Seth, Kit-Kat, and Zarya). Sienna had not been expecting Chef to start pitching in to her situation as well.
"Great," she muttered. "One idiot leaves and another replaces him. It's like the panel of judges on American Idol…"
"You're not doing yourself any good by being snappy, girly!" Chef warned.
"I'm in a freaking cage!" Sienna exploded, flailing her arms around herself. "I'll be as snappy as I want to be, damn it!"
"Fine then! Have it your way! I won't help you!" Chef growled. Aggravated, Sienna sighed, closed her eyes, and put her palm to her forehead.
"Why," she began, "would you want to help me?"
"I don't want to help you…" Chef grumbled. "But we did say we were gonna be fair this challenge."
"Definitely a change in pace," Sienna remarked.
"Shaddup! Chris said the heroes would be at an advantage for one mini-challenge, and a disadvantage for another. Kit-Kat and Seth are working together, so that's the advantage. However, Glisa and Mo are in the same cage, so they're working together as well. However, both of them have to successfully escape…and, to make it more of a disadvantage, they don't get me to guide their sorry butts out of that place!"
"Well…" Sienna paused. "Thanks, I guess. How helpful do you get to be?"
"Err…somewhere between 'kind of' and 'sort-of-but-not-really'!" Chef replied. "So for now, I'll leave you with this hint…and see how you're faring in five minutes!"
"What's the hint?" Sienna decided to ask the obvious question.
In response, oddly enough, was Chris. But…it sounded like a recording. Sienna realized it was a playback of something Chris had said earlier, presumably to Glisa and Mo.
"Once the cage touches water, then it'll fall apart, leaving you two to in the shark pool," Chris's recording cackled.
Sienna pondered this, as she put her purse down on the ground and paced around the cage some more. "Hm…"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Trekking through the sewer maze)
"I'm pretty sure we've been here before," Logan complained, as he and Lacey rounded another corner. Lacey rolled her eyes, shining the flashlight around the two's surroundings.
"What," she questioned, sarcastically, "do you recognize the mold on the walls?"
Logan, at a loss for a retort, blew a raspberry at the nonconformist. The two had been bantering for the majority of the journey, but when it came to verbal insults it was rather clear who the victor was.
"Oh, hey," Logan noted. "That's new."
"What is it?" Lacey asked. Logan pointed to an inscription on the wall, written in crude handwriting: "CC WUZ HERE."
"Who's CC?" Logan wondered.
Lacey shrugged. "Maybe it stands for something. Come on, let's keep moving."
(Confession Cam: We 'wuz' nowhere. Honestly!)
Logan—"Seriously! What does CC stand for? It's been all day and I still haven't thought of anything!"
()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Moving through the sewers, as well)
"Man, this water is freezing!" Damion exclaimed, frowning as he and Bren moved forwards, into a drop-off that made the water climb a few inches higher than their ankles. He lifted his leg out of the water and shook it for a moment.
Bren sighed. "Sorry, we're gonna have to tough it out for…however long this maze is. I wonder if it covers the whole island?"
Damion groaned. "I sure hope not. I think I'm close to losing all feeling in my legs…at least I won't feel the cold, anymore." Bren chuckled.
"If you get hypothermia, I promise I'll carry you to the exit," Bren declared.
Damion grinned. "I appreciate that." The two froze in fear, though, when the flashlight flickered off and stayed off.
Bren could hear a sloshing noise, but he figured it was Damion hopping up and down in distress.
"Oh my God we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna diiiiiieeee…" Damion was chanting. Bren decided to take a very direct approach, and began hitting the flashlight. Eventually, the flashlight flicked on again. Bren waved it around a bit, and thankfully, the flashlight stayed on. The two boys sighed in relief.
Bren moved it to their intended path, but then his face fell when he saw two giant reptilian creatures advancing towards the duo. Turns out they were the sloshing noise he had heard.
"Crocodiles?" Damion squeaked.
Bren shook his head. "Alligators…"
Damion took a nervous step back. "At this point, does it matter?"
()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Getting the safe combo)
Zane had gone through the same instructions that Riley had (although his informative session had involved much more hugging and spontaneous rants than he cared for). He now was wandering the party, unsure what to do.
He ended up taking a seat at a table that faced a nearby stage. Some musical comedy routine was going on—Zane was having trouble focusing on it, but at the moment there was some man with a pillow stuffed down his shirt singing "I Will Survive", and occasionally jumping onto innocent diners' tables to dance. (1)
Seeing this, Zane decided to stay a safe distance away.
He sat there for a few minutes, and then jumped in surprise when a few newcomers took seats with him.
There was a young man with short, messy black hair, and brown eyes. The other newcomer was a girl with long, dark brown hair, and red streaks.
"I'm Charity," the girl introduced herself, with a grin. "And this is Allister," she added, gesturing to the boy sitting next to her. "You're Zane, right?"
Zane nodded. "Nice to meet you two."
Allister's expression remained somewhat apathetic. "Likewise…look…we were wondering if you could tell us what's going on."
"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Zane lied.
Charity rolled her eyes, showily. "Oh, come off it. You and Miss Riley are wandering around this party with outfits that look like they came from the discount bin at a Halloween shop!" Charity laughed. "And why are you wearing sunglasses indoors? It's looks rather…ridiculous."
Zane couldn't help but chuckle, thinking of Riley warning him to 'not diss the stunna shades'.
"Hm…" Zane looked away from the two, for a moment. "I mean, you guys surely know there's a challenge going on, right?"
Allister nodded. "Of course. But nobody bothered to tell us what you and Riley would be trying to do here. We don't like being kept in the dark."
"In a figurative sense, of course," Charity piped up. Grinning, she added, "Gothic stereotypes and whatnot."
"Are you even allowed to ask?" Zane questioned.
"Err…" Uncomfortably, Charity cleared her throat. "Not…really."
"Sorry, then," Zane apologized, standing up, and scooting his chair back. "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything. But inadvertently, you just helped me, so thank you for that." With that said, Zane walked away from the two, now knowing that neither of them knew the combo.
Charity and Allister exchanged glances, and Charity turned her head towards Zane.
"…you're welcome?" Charity replied awkwardly.
All the while, a pair of eyes watched Zane's every move…
()()()()()()()()()()()
(Catching Chris)
Seth allowed the boat to drift to a stop, and he and Kit-Kat jumped onto a nearby dock that jutted out into the water. Not far behind was Zarya, who arrived to the scene only moments after Kit-Kat and Seth ran off towards where they were certain they had seen Chris.
"This lake is bigger than I thought!" Seth said to Kit-Kat. "That boat ride took quite a while, at least, a lot longer than I thought it would…"
"This might get difficult," Kit-Kat murmured. The two of them were running to the top of a steep hill. "If there are more woods at the end of this hill, then we might be wandering around for a while."
Seth nodded. "True. We shouldn't assume the worst, though…"
The two arrived to the top of the hill, then, and gaped at what they saw.
It was a small town, bustling with life. Kit-Kat and Seth were all too aware of how easily Chris could slip in the masses of cars, buildings, and people.
"So…" Kit-Kat began, nervously, "where should we begin?"
Hopelessly, Seth gave the town a sweeping glance, and then smiled a little bit. "How about the bakery?"
Kit-Kat shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
The two went off.
Not a second later, Zarya arrived to the top of the hill, and watched Seth and Kit-Kat take off. She glanced at the town for a while, then focused on a sign in the distance…and sprinted off as well.
She had a feeling she was going to regret what she was about to do.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Going through the laser maze)
"You're doing great!" Jess shouted, so abruptly that Rosetta nearly fell over.
"Jeez!" Rosetta gasped, a hair's breadth from her nose getting acquainted with a laser. "Warn me before you decide to go cheerleader on me!"
"Sorry!" Jess apologized. "Just making sure you're motivated!" Rosetta was about three-fourths across the maze, and Jess was watching and making commentary that amused, distracted, and at many points, annoyed Rosetta.
"So what do you think these lasers do?" Rosetta questioned, as she limboed under one laser and tip-toed over another. "Trigger an alarm or chop off an appendage?"
"Well, I'm rooting for the former," Jess called out, "but personally, I'd recommend not touching one!"
"Thanks for the advice!" Rosetta called back, sarcastically. After a minute or two, she reached the end, towards the arrow that was behind a ladder that led to their next destination. "Oh, phew…"
"What is it?" Jess asked.
"I thought this might be the case…" Rosetta mused. "This arrow, it's another button. I think if I push it the lasers will turn off and you can walk right through to the other side of this room."
"You think…?" Jess repeated, uncertainly.
Rosetta shrugged. "Well, I don't know. It could just as easily make this room explode or release the hounds or something."
"Well if those are the stakes…let's give it a shot!" Jess cheered. Rosetta smirked, and pushed the button. The lasers flicked off, and the lights turned on.
"Come on," Rosetta instructed, waving Jess over to the ladder that would lead them up to the next level. "Time for round two…"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Also in the laser maze)
"Jeez, you're slow…" Lola muttered, as Jack struggled over a particularly difficult part of the maze.
"Now that's just hypocritical," Jack complained, as he gingerly navigated forwards. "At least I'm going through this damn maze!"
"From the looks of it, you're the only one who needs to," Lola pointed out, calmly. "The way mazes like these work is that one button turns the lasers on, and another, on the opposite end of the room, turns them off. That giant, glaring arrow is almost certainly the button."
Jack gave her a curious expression. "How do you know that?"
Lola shrugged, innocently. "You don't get to my status without knowing some things."
"How incredibly vague," Jack noted, dryly. "It's refreshing, really."
"Unorthodox, even," Lola agreed, grinning widely, now. "I like to think I bring something new to the show."
Jack gave her a surprised look, and raised his eyebrow, cautiously. "Are you seriously poking fun at yourself?"
Lola waved him off, dismissively. "Don't get used to it. Chop-chop, now, move your sorry butt to the end of the maze, already."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Held captive by the mysterious gray person)
Arlen continued staring at the identity-revealed 'gray person' with disbelief.
"What are you doing here," he questioned, "…Laura?"
Laura chuckled, and began circling the two.
"I'm here for the challenge, of course," she replied. "And I didn't come alone…" A second person, also clothed in gray, walked up to Arlen and Aaron and removed his/her/its mask as well.
"Hey guys!" Demi greeted cheerfully. "Sorry about the tied-up thing…"
Aaron gave Arlen a speculative look. "This is probably the weirdest duo of villains ever…" He turned his gaze towards the two ladies. "Why are you two working together?"
"Like Laura said, it's part of the challenge," Demi replied. "The whole gray-outfit thing is actually a reference to Spy vs. Spy. But, that's irrelevant. I'm sure you want to hear what the challenge is." The two boys nodded. "Alright, then. In a moment here we're going to leave and a recording is going to say…err…something. A piece of information, we're not sure what it is.
"When we return," Demi continued, "we're going to 'interrogate' you guys in order to have you spill your guts."
"What?" Arlen yelped, alarmed.
"It's a figure of speech," Laura pointed out, rolling her eyes. "The first person to slip up loses the challenge."
"So…they're giving us information to keep secret?" Aaron affirmed. "Err…why?"
"Because clearly," Laura replied, "you two know nothing."
Arlen couldn't help but give the girls a sly grin. "I can't help but wonder what your interrogation methods might be…"
Laura narrowed her eyes. "Don't even think about it, Casanova."
"Personally," Arlen added, still grinning, "in a situation like this…I think you could refer to me as Bond."
"James Bond," Aaron added, laughing to himself. "So…why you two for the interrogation?"
"It's nothing personal," Demi assured him. Laura scoffed.
"It's completely personal," she corrected Demi. "These guys voted us off. This our regulated revenge, per se."
"I didn't even vote for you, though!" Arlen exclaimed in objection. "You were too hot!"
"Flattery won't work!" Demi warned, but then groaned and slapped her forehead once she saw Laura grinning at Arlen, alluringly.
"Won't it, Laura?" Demi continued, monotonously. Laura jumped up, and took a step back.
"Riiight," she said, nodding slowly. "Not at all. Nope."
"I'm sure," Arlen continued, hopefully, "between two dashing gentlemen and two beautiful women…we can work something out, right?" Demi chuckled darkly, and began to lead Laura out of the room.
"Sorry, Arlen…" the Goth called out, as they disappeared around the corner. "This interrogation is happening."
"Damn," Arlen grumbled to himself.
"I wonder what that valuable piece of information might be," Aaron mused. Soon after, a recording began to ring out through the room they were in.
"Greetings, hopeless victims!" Unsurprisingly, the voice was Chris's.
"What an unpleasant way to put it," observed Aaron.
"Listen closely, you two. You're actually going to get the same piece of information, so the first one to reveal the secret will lose. Here's the secret…and let me assure, you," Chris began chuckling, evilly. "It's a BIG one…"
Arlen and Aaron widened their eyes as Chris's recorded voice told them a rather surprising piece of information.
(Confession Cam: Here's all, and yet absolutely nothing…)
Aaron—"Okay! I did not expect that."
Arlen—"Holy Jesus on a pogo stick. The others…they aren't gonna like that."
()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Paintball shootout)
The door to the mess hall creaked open as Chelsea sneaked in, her gun held closely to her body. The island was a ghost town; Chelsea had scoured every inch of the place…except for in here. Unless Long was moving continually on the run, it was clear that this was his hiding place.
Chelsea whipped around the seemingly deserted mess hall, grinning maniacally. "I know you're in here, Long…olly olly oxen free…"
She wheeled around violently when she heard the sound of feet dropping behind her—only to see Long pointed the barrel of his paintball gun right at her.
"Drop the gun," Long warned.
Chelsea looked up, surprised. "You were hiding in the rafters? Gotta act like a crazy girl to catch a crazy girl, I suppose…"
Long nodded at this, but then grew serious again, as he repeated, "Drop the gun, Chelsea…"
Chelsea pondered this for an unusually long amount of time before responding. "No."
The two campers stood there, in the middle of the mess hall, pointing guns at each other for a very long amount of time, neither of them willing to start shooting.
"It seems we've reached an impasse…" Chelsea noted.
"Are you two going to start shooting each other anytime soon?" The cameraman asked.
"Doesn't look like it…" Long replied, his eyes not leaving Chelsea's trigger finger.
"Is it okay if I get a snack, then?" Questioned the cameraman, hopefully.
"Sure thing," Chelsea replied, jerking her head sideways, towards the kitchen. "The door should be unlocked."
"Thanks." The cameraman scurried off. "I'll be back in ten minutes!"
"Sounds like a plan," Long agreed.
The two campers continued staring each other down.
()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Escaping from the cage)
"Mo! Look at dis!" Glisa exclaimed, waving Mo over to the side of the cage she was standing on. On the ground near the shark tank was a large red button with a square on it. "Dat button might stop da cage from hitting the water!"
"Well that's…certainly convenient," Mo commented, slowly. "Think we can hit it from here? Will this," he held up the mini harpoon, "actually do anything to it?"
"It's worth a shot," Glisa replied. She paused for a moment. "Aye…darn those unintentional puns…!"
Mo lifted his watch and twisted the knob that had shot out the first harpoon. Another harpoon went flying out of the side, and managed to hit a shark on the head (it bounced off it, harmlessly).
Glisa watched the spectacle with mingled worry and amusement. "Did dat shark just flip you off…?"
Flustered, Mo took off the watch and handed it to Glisa. "You try it!"
Glisa shrugged. "Algo seguro!" She aimed the watch best as she could, and turned the knob. A mini harpoon went sailing between the bars of the jail and out a nearby window and far, far away.
Glisa awkwardly set the watch down. "Dat's not as easy as it looks, hombre…"
Mo gave her a helpless look. "What do we do now?"
Glisa gave him an equally as hopeless look. "We're twisted!"
Mo gave her a funny look. "You mean 'screwed'?"
"And screwed, yes! Dat too!"
()()()()()()()()()()()
(Escaping from the cage)
Sienna wrung her hands as she paced around the cage. She stopped at the door of the cage and rattled it, experimentally. It didn't budge, but this wasn't a surprise. She could see the huge lock on the other side.
"The cage will fall apart once it hits water…" She repeated to herself. She eyed the cage that was clearly made out of metal, and sighed to herself about 'nonsensical cartoon physics'. Then, epiphany struck her like a keyboard to the head.
"Yo, Chef!" She shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Am I supposed to break off part of the cage with water, by any chance?"
"Finally!" Chef groaned, sounding groggy. "Took ya long enough…"
"Okay, but…" Sienna chuckled, awkwardly. "I'm still stuck. Where do I get water? Besides the water in the tank, because I don't think I'll like it down there," she hinted, heavily sarcastic.
"Gotta brainstorm, girly…" Chef yawned.
"I could do a rain dance," Sienna offered, still very sardonic.
"Wrong," Chef sighed.
"Start a fire?"
"Interesting idea…but you don't have any matches and this place doesn't have a sprinkler system for fires."
"Okay, then. Got any…water balloons around here?"
"No. You're getting warmer."
Sienna rubbed the side of her head. "Water…guns? Is there a water gun in here…?" She searched around, but saw nothing. "Oh, come on. There are only so many places you can hide a…" she stopped talking, frowned, and knelt down next to her purse. "Don't tell me…" she looted through it for a moment, and pulled out a nicely-sized water gun. "You went through my purse?"
"To give ya the damn gun!" Chef grumbled in response. Sienna flipped through her wallet, experimentally, and gnashed her teeth together.
"I'm missing twenty bucks!"
"The…ah…eels must've eaten it…"
"Oh can it, Hatchet," Sienna growled, as she raised the water gun and aimed it at the door. "Let's hope this works…" she got up, very close to the door, and pressed the trigger, releasing a steady shot of water. It hit the lock, and the lock broke off from the door and fell. After spraying the door, and kicking it, it detached from the cage and fell too.
"Great," Sienna sighed, as she stood in the gap where the door had been. She was still at least fifty feet from the ground. "What do I do now…?"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Getting the safe combo)
A very unhappy Riley slunk down into a seat on a green felt table. She had gotten no sign of the combo—or maybe she had, and she didn't even notice. The night was definitely not going well.
"Rough challenge, mon?" Asked an ex-camper who was sitting at the table. He was a friendly looking guy with black skin, dreadlocks, brown eyes, a wide grin, and a T-shirt with jeans.
Riley chuckled. "You have no idea…"
Another ex-camper—a ponytail-wearing brunette with brown eyes, a pink sweatshirt, and a smirk—raised an eyebrow at the comment. "Ah, don't be so sure. Don't forget, we've gone through this, too. The unnecessary drama…"
"The ridiculous challenges," the Jamaican added.
"The dodge balls…" sighed another, who was shuffling a deck of cards. He was a bespectacled, awkward looking fellow, with pale skin, spiky brown hair, and hazel eyes.
"Dodge balls?" Riley repeated, confusedly.
"Touchy subject," laughed an auburn-haired girl sitting next to the Jamaican. She had big blue eyes and looked just as friendly as the Jamaican she sat next to.
"So, what're we playing?" Riley questioned.
"Now, we're playing five-card draw," the one shuffling the deck replied. "We just finished playing blackjack…"
"Easy enough," Riley mused.
"By the way," the brunette girl spoke up. "My name's Ashlynn. He," she pointed to the Jamaican, "is Marley Thomas…but somehow everybody ended up calling him Thomas. She," she pointed to the redhead, "is Rachel. And he," she put an arm around the shuffler, making the latter blush profusely, "is Raphael!"
"Nice to meet you guys," Riley replied, pleasantly. "I'm Riley. Hence the…really large sign out front…" she cleared her throat, uneasily.
The five of them continued chatting as Raphael passed out the cards.
"Oh, by the way," Rachel spoke up. "This might make it less…interesting, but we're not betting money, if that's all right with you."
"Perfectly fine by me," Riley assured her. "I haven't got a penny to my name. I used to have forty-two cents to my name…but we had this stash for Chris Bingo today, and…I'm…not…making any sense. Shutting up now." She swiped up her cards but then frowned. "Err, Raphael? Sorry, but you accidentally only passed me four cards…"
The cards she had in her hand right now were, to put it lightly, complete crap. She had a king of spades, a queen of hearts, a three of diamonds, and a two of clubs.
Riley blinked a few times, and then smiled brightly at Raphael.
"Oh, sorry," Raphael apologized. He passed her another card from the top of the deck. "There you go." Riley picked the card up, and Thomas placed his (imaginary) bet, Rachel called it, and Riley set down her cards.
"I fold," she sighed, as she pushed back from her table. "I'm gonna go get something to eat…" All the while, her mind was running wildly: King and queen: face cards. So the first two numbers are 10. Then 3 and 2. 32. The combo must be 10-10-32.
Back at the poker table, Ashlynn nodded and winked at Raphael.
"That was clever, mon," Thomas noted, smiling in approval.
"Wait," Raphael questioned, "I thought you guys weren't supposed to know about…"
"The two giant safes placed in dead sight through those doors?" Rachel questioned. "Yes…we saw them. Don't worry; we're not after them, though. That's up to…" she chuckled. "Well, you know who…"
Ashlynn pivoted in her wheeling chair, appraising Raphael with mock seriousness, and slapped her hand of cards down onto the table. "Now explain to me how you pulled off that card trick," she gestured towards Riley's hand of cards, "but you passed me the biggest load of crap..."
"Heh…" Raphael laughed nervously, as he began gathering up the cards—even the ones that were still in Rachel and Thomas's hands, much to their confusion. "How about a game of Go Fish…?"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Through the sewer maze)
"This is starting to get a little frustrating," Lacey muttered to herself. She and Logan had yet to find the exit and Lacey's patience (both with the situation and with Logan himself) was starting to dwindle.
"I thought Chef said there'd be surprises down here," Logan complained. "This challenge is so freaking boring…"
"I don't think it's supposed to be all that terribly exciting," Lacey replied, half-heartedly. "I'm pretty sure they designed it just to bug the crap out of us, test our patience and—"
"This challenge is pissing me off!" Logan exploded, cutting Lacey off. "I'm ready to just…frickin'…tear something apart!"
Lacey suddenly froze in her tracks, and chuckled nervously. "How about some crocodiles?" Far in the distance, large reptiles were beginning to make their way towards the two of them.
"Alligators!" corrected a faraway voice. Lacey squinted, and saw that Damion and Bren were running away from the alligators.
"Oh crap," Lacey muttered. "Let's go—we've got to help them!" She took of running towards the scene, not waiting for Logan's reply.
"Not very villainous," Logan grumbled, but shrugged, as he followed. "Can't pass off the opportunity to kick the crap out of something, though…"
Lacey arrived to the two heroes and began running with them as soon as a thought occurred to her.
"Does that bop-them-on-the-nose thing really work?" She questioned the two boys, awkwardly.
(Confession Cam: Wait…what season are we on…?)
Harold—(Gives the camera a thumbs up.) "It vanquishes all foes!"
()()()()()()()()()
"I can't really think of a better idea!" Bren shouted between gasps of breath for air.
"Besides running, you mean?" Damion questioned.
"Yeah," Bren groaned.
"Alright, then," Lacey said firmly. She wheeled around, and began running backwards for a bit. "Here's the plan—"
"LEEEEEROY JEEEEENKINS!" Logan howled, flying through the air and tackling one of the alligators. A variety of noises ensued, and in seconds, the alligator was scurrying away in fear. Logan whooped and punched a fist in the air.
The second alligator had gotten close to the Lacey-Bren-Damion trio, and Lacey gritted her teeth together, brandishing her flashlight, until…
Something went whizzing through the air, and hit the alligator straight on the nose. It deflected off of it without any harm, but the alligator ran away, bawling.
"What the heck just happened?" Lacey questioned. Receiving no answer, she walked over to the object that had hit the alligator. She held it up, and her confusion only grew. "A mini harpoon…?"
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Back at the cage)
"Hey, I think dat shot was closer!" Glisa exclaimed, still messing with the watch. Nearby, Mo sat with his face buried in his hands.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Catching Chris)
"I'm serious," Seth laughed, as he and Kit-Kat brushed through the streets of the small town they were in. "The guy saved his own life by body-surfing in molasses…" (2)
"A flood of molasses, though?" Kit-Kat chuckled. "That has got to be a horrible way to go! You'd think you'd be able to get away from something that moves so slow…"
"I guess if you have enough of anything it'll move pretty fast," Seth mused. Suddenly, Seth stopped in the middle of the street.
"What's up?" Kit-Kat questioned, stopping as well.
"Hear that noise?" Seth questioned. Kit-Kat frowned, focusing as well. "It sounds like…" Kit-Kat heard it now, too, a deep rumbling in the distance. Seth turned around, and widened his eyes in terror. "Oh, God. Fan girls."
A squealing mass of teenagers began rampaging down the street, straight towards Kit-Kat and Seth. The two campers yelped, and ran to the sidewalk, out of the wake of the pre-teen madness. The teens were wearing shirts with Chris McLean on them, holding signs, and shouting some nonsensical fan-girl-ish gibberish.
What shocked and confused Kit-Kat and Seth even more was the person being carried by all these people, all the while shouting instructions and carrying a megaphone.
"Is that…?" Kit-Kat began.
"I think it is…" Seth agreed, nodding, wide-eyed.
"Yes, ladies, Chris McLean is somewhere in this town!" Zarya announced from the shoulders of the fan-girls. "And, if you find him…I've heard that he's also giving away the number to Duncan's cell phone!" This riled the girls up even more and they continued their maddening rampage down the street.
Kit-Kat and Seth exchanged glances, and then sprinted after the mob.
()()()()()()()()()()()
(The interrogation)
Laura and Demi re-entered the room, circling the two boys with malevolent grins.
"Demi, c'mon, now," Aaron pleaded, nervously. "You don't really consider yourself the villainous type, do you?"
Demi stopped in her tracks, and shrugged.
"Not really," she admitted, "but this sounded like too much fun to pass up."
"Ah, but you've already given away your biggest secret…" Arlen noted, eerily.
Laura crossed her arms. "And, dare I ask, what is our 'biggest secret'?"
Arlen smirked, looking triumphant. "You told us you can't hurt us already! You took away the whole scary-ish part of an interrogation!"
Laura frowned, glancing at Demi. "I thought he was supposed to be the stupid one."
"Oh, we have other things planned," Demi commented. She walked to a corner of the room and flung a burlap sack over her shoulder.
"Ooh, presents!" Aaron exclaimed, excitedly.
Demi dropped the sack in front of the two and pulled out a water gun.
Arlen raised an eyebrow. "A water gun?" Demi responded to that by shooting the gun at him, firing a (surprisingly strong) stream of water at him that made him splutter. After about ten seconds of that Demi stopped firing and Arlen shivered.
"Okay," he noted, "that was…irritating…but not all that—" Demi pressed the trigger again and Arlen continued spluttering.
Laura grinned. "This is fun."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Going past the laser maze)
"Aaaand…here goes spy cliché numero dos…" Rosetta observed, as she and Jess disappeared up the hole in the ceiling. "The escape through the air vents." She and Jess scurried up the hole in the ceiling and began crawling through the limited space the air vents gave them.
"It's kinda funny," Jess mused, as they continued crawling. "The air vent thing is so freaking cliché, and apparently the vents wouldn't be able to hold up a grown man, anyways. Not to mention, the air vents are always so conveniently placed whenever a hero is trapped…" she chuckled to herself.
"I wouldn't recommend talking about the fallibility of an air vent," Rosetta warned.
"Why is that?" Jess asked.
"Because whenever someone talks about how something doesn't work, it starts to not work. In our case, we would probably fall through the air vent."
The two girls, worried, stopped crawling for a moment.
Much to Rosetta's surprise, they didn't fall.
"There's a first…" she murmured to herself.
The two girls resumed their escapade, and Jess finally couldn't resist the temptation to ask the question that had been on her mind for a long portion of the challenge:
"Rosetta…did you and Riley break up?"
Rosetta stopped crawling, but continued after a moment.
"Yeah," she said, after a long time of silent traversing. "We did. We met sometime before the campfire ceremony. It…it didn't go well."
"I'm…I'm sorry, Rosetta," Jess apologized.
"No, it's fine," Rosetta said quickly, her tone very assuring. "I don't…I shouldn't be with Riley, he's not nice. He's smart and egotistical…a really bad combination. The bad outweighs the good. He's just not good for me."
"Well, good for you!" Jess told Rosetta, pleasantly. "If he's not good for you then you shouldn't be with him. Simple as that. But breakups…they can be hard. How do you feel?"
Rosetta held up a hand and flexed her fingers. "With these babies."
Jess rolled her eyes. "I'm serious."
Rosetta laughed. "I'm really not that bad…a little cynical—as you may have noticed—but…I'm feeling better, actually. Thanks Jess."
Jess grinned. "Glad to help."
The two girls reached an area in the vent in which the vent went straight up, as opposed to the inclines that they had crawled up before. The vent was quite a bit wider here, so the two girls could actually stand up in the area.
"How do you propose we handle this?" Jess questioned, appraising the new scenario that faced them.
"We could do it the Emperor's New Groove way," Rosetta suggested. "Press our backs together and slowly walk up."
"Would that really work?" Jess asked.
Rosetta gave her a look. "We just climbed through an air vent—"
Jess waved a hand, dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, I realized that was stupid. Never mind. Let's do this thing."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Also in an air vent)
"I hope the path here is straight-forward," Jack commented. "This would probably be the worst place to have a maze." (The campers in the sewer were suddenly annoyed with Jack, although they weren't sure why.)
"I just hope that this is the last part of the challenge for us," Lola groaned.
"No offense—but you haven't had to do much this challenge," Jack pointed out. "You've walked across a room."
"Shut up or I'll tell the villains how excellent you are with cartwheels."
"My mom signed me up for that gymnastics class, okay?"
A rumbling noise suddenly interrupted the two. It was relatively quiet at first, but then multiplied in intensity, substantially.
"That's not a good noise…" Jack noted, slowly.
And indeed it wasn't.
The air vent began to fall apart, and Jack and Lola screamed as the crashed to the ground.
"Ugh…" Jack groaned, clutching his head as he sat upright. The two of them were back to the first level—the room that the laser maze had been in. He turned his head to see Lola still lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Jack ran to her side and helped her up. "Lola! Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," the queen bee muttered, as she brushed herself off. "Don't do that, it creeps me out."
"Uh…I'm not the one who made the air vents commit suicide."
"That's not what I meant!" Lola exploded. Jack gave her a quizzical look.
"Err…you mean…don't be nice?"
"Yes. It creeps me out."
Jack was about to respond, but a robotic voice suddenly boomed over the room.
"Challenge over. Loser = very yes," it announced. (3)
Lola raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna assume that means we lost…"
"Probably," Jack sighed. "Rosetta and Jess must've reached the top before us. Let's head back and hope the others are doing well…"
()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Getting the combo)
Zane was not doing well.
His 'white-spy' pal, Riley, was no where to be seen—and it wasn't too hard to deduct that she had figured out the combo. So he was stuck in a room with slightly-psychotic ex-campers, desperate to get the combo to a safe that held…something.
Quite the lovely time.
Sighing, he walked up to the bar and ordered a Coke.
"How many would you like, good sir?" asked the bartender, a friendly, laid-back looking guy with black hair and brown eyes.
"Just one, please," Zane replied, resting his chin in his hand. "But keep them coming…'
"Ten cokes, you said?" asked the bartender (whose name—just throwing it out there—was Kevin).
"No…" Zane said slowly, raising an eyebrow. "One for now."
"Ten?" Kevin repeated.
"One!" Zane shot back, somewhat annoyed, now.
"Thirty-two?"
"Well, thirty-two plus ten is the meaning of life but that's…really irrelevant," Zane muttered. "I'll just be going." The loner walked up and stormed away, until a small, but unmistakable smile broke out on his face.
10-10-32, huh? Let's try this out…
()()()()()()()()()()()
(Catching Chris)
Chris McLean chuckled, leaning back in his chair as he happily relaxed on the patio of a restaurant near the beach. He figured he'd have a long time before…
The air became suddenly still, and Chris raised an eyebrow.
He knew that rumbling noise all too well…
"Oh, crap," Chris muttered, jumping up and nearly falling out of his chair. "Fan girls…" he could hear the screaming above the rumbling now, and it was too late for Chris. The girls arrived to the scene and tackled Chris to the ground before he had a chance to run.
Zarya peered at Chris. "Does this count as you being 'caught'?"
"Yes!" Chris shouted. "Just get them away from here!"
Zarya raised an eyebrow, and Chris quickly added:
"Please!"
Zarya smirked, then, and brandished her megaphone. "Gladly."
We'd rather not repeat the things Zarya shouted through the megaphone—but it definitely got the fan girls away from the scene.
After the rather frightening cursing streak, a breathless Kit-Kat and Seth arrived to the two of them.
"Too late?" Kit-Kat guessed.
Chris nodded.
"Darn it!" Seth sighed, and then—"OW!" he knelt down and grabbed the object that had struck him in the head. "Where on Earth did a tiny harpoon come from?"
()()()()()()()()()()()
(Escaping from the cage)
"Let's…let's just try something else," Mo suggested, half-heartedly, as he struggled to pull the watch away from Glisa who was still shooting harpoons with a rather frightening determination.
Another accidental harpoon was shot, and it landed on the far side of the cage. Mo walked over and picked it up, and went to the door. He reached his hand outside the gaps of the bars, and stuck the harpoon in the lock's keyhole. He fiddled around with it for a bit, until the lock broke off and fell into the water.
Mo kicked the door and it fell off as well. "C'mon, we have to jump!" They were frighteningly close to the water. Glisa nodded, and the two held their breath, took a few steps back, and jumped…
They managed to land on the concrete surrounding the tank—and they were only a few inches away from landing in the tank itself. Despite this success, a huge, buzzing noise rang out.
"Sorry!" said Chef, through the intercom. "Y'all were too dang slow! Sienna already escaped her cage…a long time ago!"
"What?" Mo questioned, in disbelief. "But…how?"
(Hey, it's a flashback!)
Sienna gritted her teeth. She was still too far up to jump, but she didn't want to wait too long. Glisa and Mo could escape any second.
"Hey, Chef…" Sienna called out, cautiously, as she stood in the gap of the cage where the door once was. "Are you watching this as well as listening?"
"Yeah, yeah…" Chef mumbled, sounding tired.
Sienna raised an eyebrow, and slowly walked back towards her purse. "If you close the top of the tank and lower the cage, I'll give you twenty bucks." All the while, she waved the bill in the air.
"Hm…" Chef sounded tempted.
"Aaaand…" Sienna added, quickly. "And I'll add…err…" she continued looting through her purse. "Raspberry lip balm?"
"DEAL!" Chef shouted, so abruptly that Sienna jumped in surprise. The tank closed and Sienna was flung down so quickly, she didn't have time to ponder on how very, very odd that just was.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Opening the safe!)
Riley crept down the long hallway that was behind the door she had gone through. At the very end of it, a fat gray safe sat, with the Total Drama Island logo stamped onto it. Smiling triumphantly, Riley quickened her pace, excited at the chance at victory.
Once she reached the safe, she knelt down and entered the combo. She wrapped her hands around the safe's handle, and pulled. To her relief and excitement, the safe opened up with ease. To her confusion, there was nothing but an envelope in the safe.
"Ah ah ah…" A voice warned, chuckling darkly, from behind her. Shocked, Riley whipped her head around.
Riley blinked, slowly, and her expression grew perplexed.
"Courtney?" The gamer questioned.
The newcomer groaned, stomping her foot. "I'm not Courtney! I'm her twin sister, Doerenda! Doe for short," the brunette added, smiling cheerfully.
Riley tilted her head, slowly standing up and sneaking the envelope in her back pocket, stealthily. "You were the winner from your season!"
"Yeah, I was!" Doe replied, grinning. "That was pretty freaking cool. But, ah…you're gonna need to hand over that envelope…or else!"
Riley raised an eyebrow. "Or else what?"
Doe hesitated. "I didn't really get that far."
"Huh," Riley mused. An awkward silence reigned, and then Riley desperately took off running, only to have Doe lightly stick out a foot and have Riley trip over it.
"Well that was anticlimactic," Riley observed.
"Yeah, I don't suppose—" Doe began, but Riley scampered up again and continued running towards the door, and Doe continued running after her. "Get back here!"
Riley burst through the door, to the party outside. As a last ditch effort, she tossed the fedora towards Doe's face, but her aim was a tad off and she only managed to land it on Kenny's head—who looked at it with mild amusement.
"Whoo!" Riley cheered, throwing her arms up at the sight of where the hat landed. "Fifty points—oh crap," she groaned, as Doe continued towards her.
"I didn't want to do this, but…" Doe sighed wistfully, as she reached for something behind her back.
A bright red dodge ball.
Riley raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"
Doe grinned. "What can I say? We were a 'slapstick' sort of season."
Riley ducked as the dodge ball sailed towards her, only to rebound off of the wall and hit the unfortunate Raphael in the head. From the table he was sitting at it, Ashlynn gave him a sympathetic look.
"You okay?" She asked him.
Raphael kept his forehead plastered to the tabletop. "I'll be better when that joke finally dies."
"Sorry dude," Thomas chuckled. "We're beating that dead horse."
"We're beatin' it good," Rachel added, nodding, wide-eyed.
Meanwhile, as Riley attempted to stand up again, Doe jumped down and snatched the envelope out of her pocket.
"Yes!" The brunette cheered, and then apologetically, "Sorry, Riley…but yes! I got it!" And she ran away, cackling her head off.
Riley sighed, and looked towards Kenny. "Can I have my fedora back?" The fedora sailed towards her and landed on her head, sliding down over her eyes. "Thanks."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Opening the safe, too)
Zane couldn't help but hurry the 'opening' process as soon as he heard the commotion from outside the door. He swung the safe door open and snatched the envelope…only to hear the sound of footsteps approaching.
He turned around.
"Effie," Zane said, surprised. "You're…betraying me?"
Effie laughed insanely. "Betrayal is a necessity of all spy movies, my bespectacled buddy! I'm just fulfilling the status quo, here!"
Zane gave her an inquisitive look. "But your stereotype for the show…aren't the 'crazy' ones supposed to go against the flow?"
Effie regarded this, before replying, "I'm fulfilling a minority, really. Villains are in short supply!"
Zane had no angles left to hit. "You're…a trifle insane."
Effie winked. "More than that, my friend. Now…prepare to face the wrath of Trogdor, kumquats, and guyliner…all combined!" As Zane wondered what those things might have in common, Effie began reaching for something in her pocket, but her evil expression grew panicked when she couldn't find the thing she was searching for.
Zane smiled coldly. "I thought it might come to this, Effie. When you tackled me in our first meeting, this fell out of your oversized pockets." He pulled out a Nerf gun and wielded it just about as threateningly as someone could wield a Nerf gun.
"'Oversized pockets' is a funny phrase…" Effie giggled, and then, anguished, "You took my Nerf gun?" Zane nodded, triumphantly. "Too bad for you…" Effie reached behind her and pulled out what was probably the biggest freaking Nerf gun Zane had ever seen. "I always come prepared!"
Zane looked from his tiny gun, to hers, back to his again…and then ran like hell down the hallway. Flailing his arms like a madman, he burst through the door and ran through the party room while the other ex-campers just sighed at having to go through a chase scene again.
Effie emerged from the door not long after, shooting her Nerf gun, hollering, and chasing after Zane. Zane ran through the party scene, and pushed open the door that had led to where he and Riley entered. He peered through the window and grew fearful when he didn't see any boat miraculously attached to the window.
"Yo, Zane!" Riley called out, from the water. Zane lowered his gaze and saw that Riley was already on the boat. "Jump!"
Zane clambered through, about to do so, when Effie soon burst through the doorway, firing shots at Zane. A burst of fire flew over Zane's head, and Zane screamed in pure terror as a shower of sparks fell on his head. He proceeded to fall into the lake, only to be hoisted in the boat by Riley.
Zane looked back up towards the window, where Effie stuck her head out.
"What kind of Nerf gun was that?" Zane screamed.
Effie grinned. "I modified it myself!"
Riley began driving the boat away before Effie could say anything else.
"That was…quite a challenge," Riley remarked.
Zane slapped his forehead. "I dislike those people."
"Well, at least now we get to go back to our season's annoying campers," Riley reminded him cheerfully. "So what's in the envelope from the safe?" Zane took the envelope out and opened it. Inside, there was a letter.
"Stock tip," Zane read, "buy TJ Maxx." Riley and Zane exchanged glances, and then Zane sighed and tossed the stock tip over his shoulder.
"Well, it might be a while before we find Camp Wawanakwa," Riley laughed. "C'mon, we can do some bonding on the trip back."
Zane raised an eyebrow. "And what might that entail?"
"Like…err…" Riley hesitated. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Zane licked his finger and snuffed out a lock of hair that was still smoldering. "Alive."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
As Zane and Riley arrived to the Wawanakwa shore, other boats were arriving as well. One with Chris, one with Kit-Kat and Seth, one with Zarya, one with Jess and Rosetta, and one with Jack and Lola.
"Where did all these speedboats come from?" Seth wondered aloud, as he and Kit-Kat hopped out of the boat.
"I always did wonder about the source of Chris's…junk," Kit-Kat agreed. She turned towards Rosetta and Jess. "How'd your challenge go?"
"We won!" Jess replied, giving them a thumbs up.
"We fell down three stories!" Jack added, with mock enthusiasm.
"I lost," Riley sighed as she walked up to Seth and Kit-Kat.
"Ah, it's okay," Seth assured her. "If it's any consolation…we did too." He paused. "On second thought, I guess that's not a very reassuring thing to say…"
Zane and Zarya looked at each other briefly, but did nothing to acknowledge each other.
"So, how are the other challenges going, Chris?" Lola asked.
"Let's find out!" Chris replied. He clapped his hands together. "Field trip!"
They didn't walk three steps forwards when Arlen and a glum-looking Aaron marched towards them.
"Aaron blabbed," Arlen announced.
"Blabbed what?" Riley asked.
"The secret," Aaron whimpered.
Seth looked at Chris. "What secret?"
"The secret," Chris chuckled ominously.
Seth frowned. "That tells me nothing."
"So how'd you blab the secret?" Lola asked Aaron, with a certain degree of cynicism.
"Laura was gonna kill Mr. Snufflegums!" Aaron wailed.
"Mr. Snufflegums?" Rosetta echoed.
"His teddy-bear," Arlen elaborated. (4)
"This conversation is irritating me," Zarya muttered.
"Wait, wait, wait," Jess cut in. "Laura's here?"
"And Demi," Arlen added.
"Why are they here?" Zane questioned.
Chris cut in. "Okay, this ridiculously fast-paced conversation is over. We've got to keep moving to see…" He didn't get to finish, seeing as Bren and Damion began running towards the campers as well.
"Oh thank God, a win," Riley groaned in relief.
"Lacey and Logan are still in the sewer," Bren announced as soon as they walked into view.
Rosetta widened her eyes. "You sent them in the sewers?"
"With crocodiles," Damion added, tiredly.
"Alligators," Bren corrected weakly.
"Nobody cares," Damion groaned.
"So that's that…" Chris said slowly.
"What about Logan and Lacey?" Bren asked. "Shouldn't we help them get out?"
"Chef will help them," Chris yawned. "Anyways…let's go see how Mo, Glisa, and Sienna are doing." Chris waited, and then rolled his eyes. "Okay, I guess they're too lazy to walk up to us!"
"They're in the mess hall," Aaron piped up. "Arlen and I saw them when we were passing by…they're with Long and Chelsea."
The campers walked on, all looking at each other, knowing that the results of these two groups would determine who would win…and who would send somebody home tonight.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
"Holy cow…" Rosetta said slowly, as soon as the campers arrived to the mess hall. "This is...um…"
"Colorful," Jack suggested.
"Yeah," Rosetta agreed. "Colorful…"
Pink and purple paint covered every inch of the mess hall, all over the walls, floors, and benches. Sienna, Glisa, and Mo were sitting down, eating their dinner quite casually. Chelsea was lying on the ground, groaning to herself and also covered in paint. A cameraman—also covered in paint—was rocking in the fetal position, in the corner.
Long was still standing, albeit with some difficulty.
"Long gets a win for the heroes…" Chris announced, awkwardly. Uncharacteristically, Long threw his arms up and whooped, and proceeded to pass out on the floor.
"Who won with you guys?" Jess questioned the three escapees, nervously.
Sienna smirked and raised her hand, and Jess cursed.
"Well, well!" Chris chuckled. "Looks like the villains got rid of their losing streak…and the heroes are gonna be the ones to send someone home tonight! But we've got a surprise for you…the nineteen campers from Riley and Zane's challenge will be the ones casting the votes."
"WHAT?" Riley exploded. "Those guys…they're—they're insane!"
Chris grinned. "Exactly!"
Seth elbowed Aaron. "Was this the secret?"
"I wish…" Aaron whimpered.
"Chris," Rosetta spoke up. "Not to totally screw myself over here, but I was in the season with these guys. Aren't they going to be a tad…biased?"
"Nah," Chris replied, waving his hand dismissively. "You didn't stick around long; I doubt they like you that much."
Rosetta raised an eyebrow. "Well. Never mind, then."
"Report the bonfire in thirty minutes, heroes! One of you will be saying goodbye…tonight!"
()()()()()()()()()()()()
The eleven heroes grimaced as they sat on the various stumps and seats around them. Nobody had an inkling who might be going home…which was making the whole night hopelessly stressful.
"When I call your name," Chris began, "you'll get a marshmallow. If you don't receive a marshmallow, you'll go to the Dock of Shame, board the Boat of Losers, and never come back…ever!" He paused, and then yelped as something hit him in the eye! "Ow! What was that?"
"A mini harpoon," Mo responded, half-heartedly.
"Sorry!" Glisa apologized, nervously hiding the watch behind her back. Chris rolled his eyes.
"Let's begin…!
"First off, Riley…Seth…Damion…Bren…Rosetta…Glisa…Long…Kit-Kat…Jess…"
Aaron and Mo glanced at each other, while the rest of the campers waited in nerve-wracked silence. Chris waved the marshmallow, tauntingly.
"The final marshmallow goes to…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Aaron."
He caught it, letting a sigh of relief out, and Mo bent his head and slowly walked down the Dock of Shame. The three alliance members couldn't help but smile at each other.
Shocked, Damion watched Mo leave.
(Confession Cam: Warning…someone actually says something smart)
Damion—"It's crazy how fast someone can leave on this show. And you don't even get to say goodbye…" (Still looking in shock, he shakes his head, slowly.) "I guess sometimes you don't get to finish the story sometimes. Or you don't get the ending you want…it's impossible to tell the future, so when it comes to me and Mo…well, who knows?" (He smiles.) "We'll just have to wait and see."
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Confession Cam: Again, what season are we on? AKA: the votes of the has-beens, AKA: a lot of really dumb inside jokes)
Satine—"I…I didn't even get a cameo on the ship…" (Whimpers.) "I guess I vote for Mo…he seems rather underhanded."
Allister—(Sighs.) "Aaron."
Leti—"I vote for Long! He's quiet. Too quiet…" (She looks around, suspiciously.)
Jade—(Looks up, annoyed.) "What's the point of this? These people don't even know who we—argh, whatever. I vote for Aaron."
Kevin—"Dude, I totally get where Aaron comes from, so I vote for Long because the dude is a downer."
Thomas—"I vote for Mo, because that dude is messing up the mojo, mon!" (He pauses.) "Mo…mojo…" (He snickers.)
Raphael—"Twenty-one voters? I'm…interested…to see how this will go. I'm not sure what this is accomplishing for us, besides creating enemies. Even more enemies. I'll vote for Mo…if nothing else, to bring some peace to this drama-filled season."
Effie—"DUDE! That was like, the most freaking awesome challenge ever!" (She leans back and cackles, kicking her feet in the air.) "Ooh, I wish I had it on tape! But I have it on international TV, so…that works too! Anyways, I vote for Riley, since she lost against my apprentice!"
Kenny—"Very intriguing turnout this season. I'm a little insulted that none of us qualified…but no no, it's fine, it's fine." (He clears his throat.) "I'll vote for Mo."
Ashlynn—"Not the best day I've had. Although it was really nice to see Raphael again…" (She blushes, but recovers quickly and continues.) "I'm gonna vote for Mo." (She pauses.) "Boy, does this bring back memories…I feel like I need to take a shower." (She shivers and exits the Confession Cam.)
Rachel—"I feel guilty voting for these campers, although I've been watching this season. I feel like I know them well enough to say that…I need to vote for Mo."
What's-his-face—"I vote for Rosetta." (He suddenly pauses, and glares at the camera.) "Any my NAME is JOHN, damn it!"
Hunter—"Whoo…sweet challenge, man! I'm gonna vote for Kit-Kat! And I really don't know why…"
Charity—"On a completely irrelevant note…what would happen if there was a tie for who was voted off?" (Ponders this momentarily.) "Ah, never mind. I know Allister is voting for Aaron, but I like the crazy dude! In fact, there's really nobody I want to vote off…" (She shrugs.) "Hell, I'll vote off the bear."
Doe—"Oh ho…Riley, you put up a fight, but you can't win against Doerenda! Because I…have freckles! I like you…I have a feeling you'll be causing havoc in future challenges! At least, I hope so, the show isn't fun otherwise! Anywho, I'm gonna vote for Seth, because people tend to do better once their beau gone. Sorry, Kevin. You're still the coolest person in the history of persons, though! Without a doubt!"
Warren—(Is sleeping.)
Joel—"I didn't even want to come back here, damn it. I'll vote for…oh hell, I don't care. I vote for Aaron, 'cause his name comes first the alphabet."
Leo—"Oooh, what's THIS button do?" (He pushes a button and the camera turns off.)
Alice—"Bloody hell, did Joel vote for Aaron? What a…hrr, he'll pay, I promise, mates! Anyways, I'll vote for Mo! Good luck with the season, everyone!"
Final tally:
Mo—Seven votes
Aaron—Three votes
Long—Two votes
Riley—One vote
Rosetta—One vote
Kit-Kat-One vote
Seth—One vote
The bear—One vote
Rest: Invalid
()()()()()()()()()()()()()
"Twenty bucks if you drop me off on the other side of Camp Wawanakwa," Mo offered Chef, as the Boat of Losers put-put-putted away.
"Deal," Chef grunted, who was making quite a profit today. Mo handed him the bill, and grinned widely.
Not long after:
Logan wandered around near the forest, finally free from the sewer, only to be sidetracked by a familiar raven-haired girl.
"Oh, hey," Logan said, surprised.
"Hey, Logan," said Monique, smiling pleasantly. "Quite a shame…Mo was voted off, as you may have heard, but that's of no consequence to me. Anyways, I just thought you might want to know that Jack is starting to get closer to the other villains…I'd recommend eliminating him soon. And fast. And after…after…you can start targeting the heroes."
Logan nodded, and grinned. "Sure thing. Hey, you know what's weird? Something about you and Mo…" Monique froze, horrified at what Logan might've actually figured out. "Something similar…" Logan snapped his fingers together. "That's it!"
"What's it?" asked Monique, nervously.
"You guys…" Logan began. "Both have names that start with the letter 'M'!"
Monique relaxed. "Yup," she agreed. "We sure do…"
Eliminated list: Laura, Demi, Isaac, Riley F, Mo
(A.N.) Holy frighteningly fast updates, Batman!
Okay, so this was…faster than usual…but I definitely knew where this was going so the only thing left in the way was…well…actually writing it. The next chapter will not come out so quickly, I can assure you of that.
Anyways, some things to ponder…
What's the secret?
What havoc will Monique cause?
And will Zane EVER discover who his saboteur is? And did he actually make a friend this challenge?
All this and more…later…
(1) I went to show like this. Safe to say, I was never the same again...
(2) Google it. I am absolutely serious.
(3) Homestarrunner reference.
(4) If Aaron doesn't have a teddy-bear named Mr. Snufflegums, then he SHOULD.
So, that's all. I don't own the majority of the campers (sorry I'm too lazy to name their owners).
By the way...it's time to play match-maker! Who do you think Jack should end up with, if anybody? And should Riley and Rosetta get back together?
I thank you for reading, and I apologize to Black Cat of Arda for booting Mo...even if he's not quite 'off' the island yet. Heh.
Okay, NOW that's all.
