Happy Holidays readers! Enjoy the chapter!
"Previously on Total Drama Rosewood Manor: Our two teams put their faith in their teammates and face their fears of the unknown in our version of Blind Man's Bluff. The Silver Scorpions continue to go downhill as Charlotte is the next to take the ride on the Train. But eberything is not what it seems, Toshiko seems to believe her brother Kaz is somehow rigging the votes. I mean... she's right but we'll never tell! But can the Scorpions win the challenge or will their numbers continue to drop? But that still isn't the end! This house continues to creep me and Chef out as we have footage of Shawn walking into the basement and somehow teleporting into his room over half an hour later. Thank goodness Chef is a registered priest... Can we get this issue with the house solved? Find out right here on Total. Drama. Rosewood Manor!
Shawn woke up the next morning thanks to Chris' usual shenanigans, Chef was still making breakfast so everyone had some time to themselves. He felt as though what hapoened during the night was a dream but the journal placed on the dresser was very real. He stares at it for a bit, not sure if he should open it. Shawn had placed the note that came with it right next to the journal.
'Find him...'
Shawn broke out into a bit of cold sweat as he slowly opened the book and began reading the first entry.
'October 17, 1860.
My family and I ventured into the city today, my father and uncle were discussing work involving something known as a railroad system. I found the topic to be rather confusing so I had left them to enter a local restaurant and do a bit of dining in the meantime. As I was about go enter, a young gentleman had caught my attention. We did not get a chance to speak as his father had completed his business with my father and uncle, who all appear to be working together.
My father suggested we dine at the restaurant, I had finished my food first as usual, my father always said that despite being a proper lady I had the stomach of a man! I was given permission to wait outside as they finished their meals, though I now wish I was not granted permission as Henry Gallagher approached me again. For very nearly a year he has been asking for my hand in marriage, each tine I had refused. Father and Uncle however were able to finish their meals and take me home, I have never felt more thankful for their presence. Something about Henry's presence around me makes me feel uncomfortable. I hope I can return to the town soon and meet with the boy I had seen, hopefully Henry does not intrude next time.'
Shawn flipped through a few more entries of the journal but they were simply details of Angela's home life which was rather typical for the time. The only things that caught Shawn's eye was the fact that Angela was apparently a big eater, though she was still rather thin. He was about to read the entry for October 20th 1860 but Chef announced that breakfast was ready.
*confessional*
Shawn: This whole... thing that's haloening with this book and whatever happened to ke last night is just too weird for words. I don't think I can do this alone but would anyone believe something like this?
*end confessional*
The two teams sat in the dining room eating their breakfast, Chef had left the mess hall, leaving the teens to themselves.
"Everyone, there is something important I want to talk to you about." Toshiko whispered, careful not to let the other team hear her.
"Is this about your brother?" Jason asked.
"Yes. I understand if you have any doubts about his behavior but I can assure you that he is planning something." Toshiko responded.
"How can you be so sure?" January asked.
"Because he's been a delinquent for years. I don't know what sparked his change but in a game like this I know he'll strive to be something akin to the oyabun of his team." Toshiko explained.
"The what?" Josh asked.
"Think of it as something like a gang boss." Kenji explained.
"Attention teams, please meet me in the foyer immediately for today's challenge!" Chris announced.
Everyone was rounded up in the foyer, Shawn couldn't help but stare at the portrait of Angela that hung on the wall. Despite it being an inanimate object, he could almost feel the painting watching him.
"Alright, today I'm feeling generous so this challenge will be simple. Now Total Drama All-Stars was always a... controversial season, but one challenge in specifically was rather dull: the monument challenge took way too long to complete and was relatively simple. But today, we're going to re-do the challenge and make it better!" Chris explained. "You'll be building two monuments based off of world famous landmarks, the parts of each monument are scattered all over the manor and possibly the outside areas as well, this does include the graveyard. However there are no restrictions as to who can find what part for either team. This means that someone can find a part that the other team needs and can hide it if necessary. Don't get smart though, there are electronic shockers that will shock you if you hold onto a part for too long."
"So where do we build this thing?" Hester asked.
"Anywhere it'll fit. Both monuments are about as tall as I am so you can build it wherever, I'll he in the control room so I'll see everything that goes on. Also there are five pieces Your challenge begins... Now!"
The Bats scattered to find each part while the Scorpions huddled together to agree on where they should build their monument.
"Where should we build this thing, we need to decide now so we don't screw up later." Andi said.
"I say we build it here, keep things simple." Ben suggested.
"Honestly, that's not a bad idea." January responded.
"Ok, we have a plan, let's move!" Jason said prompting the team to scatter as well.
Nanette and Marlene searched the roof for any pieces but ultimately up short and found nothing.
"Ugh, nothing's here!" Karlene whined.
"We need to think about where Chris would put the pieces we need. He's crafty." Nanette stated.
The two girls sat and thought for a moment before something whispered to them.
"Downstairs."
The two girl's faces went slightly pale. The voice was one they had never heard before, definitely male. It sounded like a whisper but ut was loud enough for the girls to hear it.
Without thinking the girls ran from the roof in panic.
*confessionals*
Karlene: Who was that?!
Nanette: That was definitely not anyone we know, I don't believe in ghosts but there is definitely something weong happening in the manor perhaps I should... Oh... Damn heartburn...
*end confessionals*
Edward and Adrian searched the library, silent as they searched. They did eventually find the first piece they had been searching for though it was rather well hidden as it resembled an everyday object. The only reason the boys found it was because it's tecture was different than every object in the room.
The part resembled some sort of pedestal, there were even two small indentations in the center of the part where feet sould go.
"It's some sort of statue." Adrian observed.
"Question is, what statue is it? Sooner we find out what it is the sooner we can put it together." Edwars added. "I'm going to look outside."
Edwars quickly headed towards the backyard, his pace made Adrian somewhat suspicious. Why was Ed rushing? Did he have something to do or someone to see?
Meanwhile, Chef was in the kitchen, washing the dishes. He was whistling the thene song of the show to himself as the door to the storage room behind him slowly creaked open. The same red figure that was seen several times before slowly made its way out of the back room and towards Chef, it was silent and moved somewhat like a stereotypical zombie.
When it was directly behind Chef, it opened its mouth, letting its broken jaw drop. It let out a croak which Chef was unable to hear past his whistling.
When Chef finished drying off the last plate, the apparition placed its hand on Chef, causing him to collapse on the floor. In the split seconds that passed before Chef hit the floor, he saw the apparition clear as day. It looked like a badlg burned man, its skin nearly pure red as its jaw hung open. It wore a suit that looked over one hundred years old.
When Chef did hit the floor, he closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again the apparition was gone. He believed it was one of the teens messing with him and he tried to get back up but he found that he couldn't move his upper body. Chef struggled to move his arms or head but he couldn't. He felt something push his upper body down.
"CHRIS! ... CHELSEA!" He called out, but he was met with no answer. Knowing that he had to do something, he tried to move his legs and thankfully the were still functional. He tried to force himself back to his feet using his legs but that didn't work. All Chef could do was push himself around using his legs.
It took a lot of effort but Chef eventually pushed himself to the door leading into the foyer but since he couldn't use his hands to reach the doorknob, he was trapped. He then began to hear a sickening croaking noise coming from the back room where the red figure came from. The door, which had only been ajar when the figure first appeared, was now wide open. Chef would see the glowing face if the figure, its mouth now closed and a look of hate in its eyes, which reflected with the light of what looked like fire, but there were no flames in the room it stood in.
Chef began to scream as loudly as he could. The door to the dining room opened and Andi entered. The red figure vanished as the door opened.
"Chef, are you alright?!" Andi asked as she tried helping the man to his feet. She couldn't lift him but she just figured this was due to the fact that Chef was a rather large man. Chef looked back at the room, the red figure was now replaced with a white face. Chef didn't the same sense of fear and panic he got with the red figure, he was still afraid but he also felt rather sad when seeing it.
The face itself looked upset, it suddenly spead towards Chef faster than he could react and faster than Andi could see. The pressure on Chef's torso was relieved and he was able to stand again.
"Chef?" Andi said in concern.
"Yeah... Yeah I'm good. Thanks for helping me kid. Look, since you helped me I'll help you back, there's a piece of one if those monuments under the Bats' table." Chef replied.
Andi seemed confused as to why Chef helped her out since she was completely unaware if what Chef just went through. She collected the piece that Chef pointed out, it was shaped sinilarly to a dollop of whipped cream.
*confessionals*
Andi: What was up with Chef back there? Is he feeling alright?
Chef: WHAT IN THE GOOD NAME OF THE LORD WAS THAT?!
*end confessionals*
While Andi went on to look for the next part of her team's monument, Chef went to the control room where Chris was.
"Chris! Why didn't you help me back there man?!" Chef said, still recovering from his panic.
"What are you talking about?" Chris responded in genuine confusion.
"Check the footage!" Chef said. Chris rewound the footage on the cameras of the kitchen, dining room, and kitchen storage room about five minutes. Everything proceeded as normal until the door opened. Chef finished cleaning the last plate and then the footage just... stopped. The still image of Chef standing at the sink didn't change until Andi opened the door, just as she did earlier. The storage room door was now wide open but the face wasn't there. The footage froze again but came back quickly afterwards, with the three rooms empty. The footage of Chef heading to the control room wasn't even available, as though it didn't happen.
"Ok, it definitely isn't the cameras. I just had them tested and checked this morning before we started filming this episode going on right now. If those cameras started glitching then every camera in this place is messed up." Chris stated.
"But they ain't broken." Chef said as he rewound the footage of the dining room to breakfast time, everything was normal. "See, the kids are eating."
"This house is getting weirder and weirder. On one hand I kinda like it and want to see where it goes from here. On the other hand this could potentially be extremely dangerous and psychologically damaging." Chris explained. "We can't leave either, the network is forcing us to stay for the whole season."
"Well... I guess I gotta do what I gotta do..." Chef sighed as he took out a Bible and a bottle of holy water from a drawer. He took a deep breath and headed back into the kitchen.
*confessional*
Chef: When I saw that red thing, I felt like I was staring into the eyes of a demon.
*end confessional*
Time passed. The Scorpions found more pieces of their monument and began to put it together as they brought more pieces. January found another piece that resembled the one Andi found in the kitchen and affixed to the monument which was now revealed to he the Taj Mahal.
With January's piece, the Scorpions now had four of the five pieces they needed. After putting on her piece, January left to go find the last one, Kazuki and Emma then both arrived in the foyer, where they had left their pieces. The two saw that the Scorpions only needed one more piece while with their two pieces, the Bats only had three.
"It's three to four, we need to hurry. Emma, I know you're a smart girl, can you put these pieces together for me?" Kaz said.
"O-oh! Um... Yeah I should be able to do that!" Emma responded, her face slowly turning bright red.
Emma's piece was a left arm which she connected to Kaz's piece which looked like a man's body, though it had no head and the right arm was still missing. As Emma put the pieces together, Kaz stealthily removed a piece of the Scorpion's monument...
"Emma, I'm going after the other pieces, I'll be back soon, alright? I'm counting on you!" Kaz said as he hurried to go hide the Scorpion's piece. Emma blushed harder at what Kaz said and she smiled to herself.
Clara cautiously looked around the graveyard for her team's monument piece. Everything was quiet until...
"Hey!"
Clara jumped but blushed in embarrassment when she saw that it was only Kenji.
"Ugh! Don't scare me like that!" She growled, pushing Kenji back lightly.
"Heh, sorry. I was just looking around here for a piece of mt team's monument, but it looks like it isnt here."
"Well at least it's you and not that guy, Ben. Something about him just doesn't feel right." Clara said, leaning back against an old, empty coffin she thought was a tree.
"Well if you don't like him very much then how do you feel about me?" Kenji asked with a bit of a smirk.
Clara blushed a little and was about to answer when the coffin she was leaning on broke, causing it to fall over and her to fall inside. Her blood ran cold when she felt a hand grope her butt, prompting her to quickly jump to her feet and look at what touched her. Kenji went forward to see what touched her. He removed the broken wooden pieces and revealed an arm of a statue. Clara cautiously took hold of it and sighed in relief when she found out it was ceramic, like her team's monument.
"Well at least you found something." Kenji said. "If it's ok with you, maybe we should go back to the manor together. Unless you want another statue piece touching your butt."
Clara rolled her eyes with a smirk, she knew he was joking but the graveyard unsettled her so she agreed to go back with Kenji.
"You said you were already in the fraveyard right before I came, right?" Clara asked.
"Yup. But like I said I didn't find anything I needed. The only thing I found was a sign." Kenji reolied.
"A sign?"
"Yup, a wooden sign in front of an old tombstone. It had the words 'Six will do...' on it."
As soon as Kenji quoted the sign, Clara had a vision. Images of the manor flashed before her eyes, though these images were when the Anthony and Angela were still alive. As she saw these images, she heard Angela's voice but she sounded much older.
"Then you'll have to go through me!"
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"Do it! Shoot me!"
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"Use the bullets to slay the one you say you loved!"
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"Six will do!"
Clara was snapped back to reality by Kenji offering to hold the door into the manor for her. The two went back to their team's monuments, Clara put her piece into the monument putting her team ahead by one piece after Kaz stole a piece from the Scorpions.
"I could've sworn we had four pieces..." Kenji noted.
"Guess you miscounted." Clara said, she recognized her team's monument as the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil. The only piece still missing was the head.
"Maybe you're right, I guess I have to keep looking.
Kaz was looking for a place to hide the Scorpion's piece, he was beginning to panic as he was sure someone would catch him. His fears were quelled when he did find someone, but the person he found was Ben.
"Oh, it's just you." Kaz said.
"Yeah, it's just me..." Ben replied, still unsure about Kaz after he was choked by him.
"Look, take this and if anyone asks, you just found it somewhere." Kaz said, giving Ben the piece he stole. Ben shrugged his shoulders, took the piece and walked away.
*confessional*
Kazuki: Even if I couldn't find a good place to hide that thing, I at least stalled them long enough for the rest of my team.
*end confessional*
Everyone regrouped in the foyer, Ben had returned the missing piece to where it belonged, tue teams were tied at four pieces each. Josh and Marlene were the only two teens not with the others.
Josh ran towards the rest of his team as he came out of the library witht the last piece. Karlene also had the last piece her team needed as she was about to run down the stairs when she tripped and let go of head of the monument.
Time seemed to slow down as the head of the statue flew through the air. It bounced alonv the stairs, becoming deformed when it reached the bottom, looking like a familiar host. Hester grabbed the head and put it on the monument at the exact same time Josh placed the final piece onto the monument for his team.
"And we have a tie! Now for me to judge a winner, I have to see how well you built your monuments." Chris said. He saw the statue of Christ that the Bats had built but the deformations caused by Karlene dropping it made the head look nearly exactly like Chris.
"It... It's beautiful!" Chris said with a tear in his eye. "The Bats win!"
"You're kidding..." Kenji said.
"Nope! I'm keeping this by the way." Chris said as he took the statue into the control room.
The alliance regrouped in the basement, discussing who had to leave next.
"Look, Toshiko is getting suspicious about you. She has to go before she finds out about our alliance!" Ben exclaimed.
Kaz fell silent, he knew that Ben was right but to him it felt wrong to sabotage her like this.
"Fine..." He sighed.
"So we all agree then. I suppose the meeting is adjourned." Edward said.
As the three boys left the basement, they failed to notice Toshiko watching them upstairs as they left.
Andi was alone in the library, taking a seat so she could read Anthony's journal in peace.
'December 17, 1860
It has been a rather long time since I had last written in this journal, though it was mostly due to me helping Father with his work. I have been meeting with Angela whenever we both had free time. Henry occaisonally did try to harass us but he never stayed for very long. It has been nearly two full months since I had first met Angela, and it may be too early to be saying this but I wish to tell her of my feelings during the Winter Solstice. Whenever I am with her I feel some sort of warmth within my bosom, my heart feels as though it will explode! I pray that she returns my feelings.'
Andi was a bit surprised that the entry was so short conpared to the ones beforehand, but she thought it was rather cute how lovestruck Anthony was.
"Hey Andi!" A voice called out, it was January, who startled Andi with her voice as the room was so silent beforehand.
"Oh, hey Jan. What's up?" Andi replied, calming down.
"I was just going to tell you that dinner was ready but it looks like you're a bit busy here." She chuckled. "What're you reading?"
"It's the journal of the man who use to own this place... Can I tell you something? Its kind of weird though."
"Andi, my name is January, I think I can handle weird!" January responded, the girls shared a laugh before Andi became serious.
"I seriously think this house is haunted. I know ghosts are one of those things where you need really good evidence to believe they exist but with everything that's happened in this house to me, Clara, and Adrian, it really seems like there's something in this house besides us." Andi explained.
"Hmm... Well I don't know how I can help but I'll try to do what I can." January replied.
"Well I appreciate it." Andi's stomach began to growl. "Well I guess we better go get dinner."
Time passed, the Scorpions took their places at the train station for what seemed like the millionth time.
"Back again, Scorpions! I'm honestly getting concerned, I think you guys are losing members as fast as the Toxic Rats!"
"May we get on with the ceremony, please?" Toshiko asked.
"Fine. First person safe is Josh."
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"Andi."
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"January."
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"Jason."
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"Kenji. So were down to only Ben and Toshiko." Chris said. Toshiko gave Ben a nasty glare. Ben looked rather surprised, the way she glared at him seemed to tell him that she knew of the alliance. "The final marshmallow of the night goes to..."
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"Ben."
Despite being eliminated, Toshiko didn't seem upset. Kenji, however, was...
"Sister..." He said.
"[Don't be upset, it's fine. I promise.]" Toshiko said in Japanese. "You all need to keep a close eye on Ben. He's talking with Kazuki and Edward. I saw them!" Toshiko called out before Chef nudged her onto the Train of Shame.
"Time to go, kid." Chef said. The train began to ride off into the night.
"Ooh, things are getting good! Can the Bats keep up their winning streak? Is Ben screwed? What in the name of hell is going on with this manor?! Find out next time on Total Drama Rosewood Manor!" Chris signed off. As the cameras stopped rolling, Chris turned to Chef, who was heading back upstairs.
"Hey Chef, you said earlier that you were going to mow the front lawn. Hope you don't mind that I left the mower put front for you. I can mow part of the backyard for you." Chris said.
"Thanks man, I appreciate it." Chef replied.
While the Scorpions were voting, Shawn was reading the next entry of Angela's journal.
'December 21, 1860
Anthony asked me to he in a romantic relationship with him. We have only been conversing with each other for about two months but I have never felt happier. The more we spoke to each other the more I saw that he was kind, gentlemanly, intelligent, and hardworking. Even when Henry would bother us during our time together, Anthony kept as much of a level head as possible. I hope this is the beginning of something beautiful.'
As Shawn continued reading, Clara went back to her room after brushing her teeth and found something rather unsettling...
She had put the rose that appeared on her dresser days ago into a small vase. Now however it was out of the case and back onto her dresser, but what made her unsettled was the fact that it was completely burned. It didn't turn to ash, but several spots were charred black. Seeing that the rose could no longer be worth keeping and not wanting to go outside at this hour, Clara went to throw the rose away, but when she touchdd the dead plant, she had to step back in horror.
She felt a hot flash when she touched the rose and suddenly her head felt heavy... Clara then collapsed headfirst into the floor just like Chef did earlier in the day. As much as she struggled she couldn't lift her head. From the corner of her eye, she saw the same red apparition open the door and approach her.
Her blood ran cold as the red figure approached her. Another figure followed the red one, this one had a shadow-like body with a white face with hollow eyes. The shadow figure appeared to hit the red figure, distracting it long enough for Clara to regain mobility and run away. She ran into the girl's restroom, washed her face with water and looked in the mirror. Her reflection was not her... It looksd exactly like Angela, though she was fully grown and looked as she did in the paintings.
Clara was startled by the spirit of Angela but she didn't feel threatened by Angela, who spoke to Clara, her voice was calm but serious.
"He wants to hurt you. Your face resembles mine at your age. One boy among those here has my journal, find him."
Angela's spirit disappeared, leaving Clara staring at her reflection and her thoughts. After a while she reluctantly returned to her room and thankfully it was normal. The burned rose was gone. As she climbed into bed and feel asleep rather quickly.
While everyone waa asleep, the red figure appeared ine last time. This time however it appeared in front if the manor, taking hold of the lawnmower and moving it around the front lawn, not turning the machine on. It moved around the yard, eventually dropping the mower in the grass and disappearing back into the basement...
Thank you all so much for your patience with this chapter! Hopefully it was a good one that left you excited for what's to come. Happy new year!