Princess Zoey could not believe what she had just heard. So she asked Dawn to confirm it.
"She said Toronto, as in the place where Trent, Cody, and Gwen all used to live before all... this! Toronto is where you're suggesting we go?"
Dawn nodded in confirmation.
"Yes. I feel strongly that one of the eight Spirit Marbles that you will need to complete your quest is located there."
"Perhaps we may find a clue or two as to which ones we need there as well," Cameron added, as he thought out loud.
"Then it's off to Toronto. We just need to resupply and possibly upgrade our armor and weapons."
Vizzy inserted herself into the conversation, wrapping an arm around the back of Zoey's neck to reach over to her left shoulder.
"Allow me to offer my services! Hyuck!"
Total Drama: That's the Spirit!
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
Slowly but surely, we're getting to the end. Although there's still a number of classic characters yet to debut and that I'll have to rush into these final chapters, the last two 'new school' characters are taking the stage at last!
Enjoy, and make sure you come back next week for the thrilling two-episode finale!
Disclaimer: The characters of the 'Total Drama' series belong to Fresh TV, Inc., Teletoon, and Cartoon Network, not me. Any songs used are property of the respective owners and such, except when noted as parody.
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Total Drama: That's the Spirit!
Episode 11 [37]: This is Toronto? (12.10.12)
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20 minutes later, inside the local branch of Izzy's Backwater Emporium...
Cameron was in the process of handing over his laser rifle to Vizzy to be upgraded. Brick was browsing the armor section of the store, while Zoey was at the weapons counter. Mike was in the potions aisle, already gathering the ones they needed to replace the ones they had just used. Once he was set, he wandered around to talk to his party members. First was Cameron.
"I can't believe I'm getting an upgrade! Now I'll finally be useful in battle!"
Mike gave Cameron a pat on the back.
"Good job, buddy!"
He then wandered over to the armor section. Before chatting with Brick, though, he found something interesting.
"A two-piece bikini and it's on sale! I wonder if I should buy it for the princess."
He decided to ask Brick about it. But all he said was...
"Make sure we get and equip the latest armor, sir! We must be prepared for what's to come!"
Seeing Brick was of no help, Mike decided on what armor to purchase for the group. In the end, he followed his friend's advice and passed on the bikini. He headed over to Zoey, who was perusing the weapons.
"For some reason," she told him, "I just don't think I'm comfortable using a laser rifle anymore. Perhaps I should consider using something else?"
A look at the weapons on display showed that, available for sale, was a two-handed sword, a baseball bat, a paper fan, a dagger, and an archery bow. Mike selected the bat and showed it to Zoey.
"I suppose," she said, "but I'm not much of a swinger."
Dawn's voice filled the air above them.
[Purchase this weapon? Yes/No
No.]
Mike put it back. He then selected the paper fan. Zoey was very hesitant about being presented it.
"Uh... really?"
[Purchase this weapon? Yes/No
No.]
Mike returned that to the shelf. His next choice was to select the archery bow.
"I've never used a bow... but for some reason, it's calling out to me."
[Purchase this weapon? Yes/No
Yes.]
"Thanks!" Zoey said afterwards.
Mike went into the menu and equipped Zoey with the bow.
"Make sure to sell weapons and armor that are no longer useful," the princess reminded Mike. "You can use the money from it to buy other things you might need."
Heeding her advice, Mike did the same for everyone else in the party, including himself. Once he was done, he went to the counter to checkout. After Vizzy totaled everything up, she had something extra to give the group.
"For spending so much at Vizzy's shop, Vizzy'd like to give you a free gift!"
She handed Mike a pink jelly bean in a small, five-inch cylindrical jar.
[Party received Gift Item!]
"Once you open the jar, Vizzy recommends you eat the contents right away."
But Mike had not only already opened it, but he had already tossed the jelly bean into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.
"Say what now?"
"Wait, Mike!" Zoey warned. "Haven't your experiences with jelly beans been a little... off?"
"Third time's the charm! I'm sure nothing bad will happen!"
After leaving the shop, the party headed out of town, along the path that would lead them down to Toronto. But just as they were about to step over the border...
[Zoey!]
They all froze upon hearing Dawn's voice. All four of them turned their heads one way and then another as they tried to find her.
[I'm communicating with you telepathically.]
"Oh, right!" Zoey shouted. "What's up, Dawn? Is everything okay?"
[I just want to thank you all once more for rescuing me from Scott. Pardon my language, but he's a no-goodnik!]
"Are you sure you're okay with us leaving? We can stick around for a few days if you want."
[That won't be necessary. Scott has considered me a lost cause. He's already in search of a new concubine to replace me. Besides, time is of the essence! You must find all of the required Spirit Marbles before it is too late.]
"Too late?" Mike queried. "What happens if we take too long?"
[I... I'm not sure. But it cannot be anything good for your chi. Or your body.]
"Pfft... you're a lot of help!"
[While I'm recovering here, I'll try to do some research while keeping an eye out for anyone who might be trying to stop you. Good luck!]
With that, Mike now could communicate with Dawn anytime he wanted. The party left the Town of Cold, resuming their journey.
They made their way down from the Chilly Corona Chasm area, battling any creatures that would dare try to impede their progress. Somewhere along the way...
[Zoey leveled up!]
And a little later...
[Brick leveled up!]
And later still, following a battle with a wolf...
[The enemy seems to have left behind something important.
Party received Marble 12 - Noah!]
"I wonder how an animal ended up with a Spirit Marble..." thought Zoey.
After two long days of travel, the party of heroes arrived in Toronto. To their surprise, though, the town was eerily quiet.
"This... this is Toronto?"
Zoey was unsure if they were actually in the right place, given how devoid of life the place was. A glance around at many of the buildings in town showed that they were starting to deteriorate. The damage was only minor, though, suggesting that it was not too long ago that there had been life residing here. It had been long enough, though, that big, long weeds were plentiful across every lawn.
Mike led them through the town, trying to figure out why it had been abandoned. Most of the house on the main street had been left unlocked, so they went inside each of them to scavenge for clues. In one instance, they found a page from a diary, left lying on the floor.
"What's this?" asked Mike.
Zoey picked it up and started reading the words on it aloud.
"'That lucky girl is supposed to be returning home today. And rumor is that she's bringing home a boyfriend! Even better is that he's one of the boys that she's been traveling with. I'm sure that'll make her father happy.'"
They took the page with them, even though the entry did not seem to be relevant to their quest. They continued on. In another house, they found another diary entry. But given this had different handwriting, it was apparent that it was not written by the same person as the first. Again, Zoey read it aloud for the others to hear.
"'I can't believe the big day's finally here! I'm getting married this afternoon! At least, I hope to. The local weather nut is calling for a high chance of thunderstorms today. My parents and I spent everything we had on this wedding! If it gets rained out...'"
The entry ended there.
"Hold on," Mike spoke up. "Princess, remember when you told us about the day everyone disappeared? Do you recall there being a wedding?"
Zoey thought for a second before responding.
"Not particularly. But I know enough of the legend to safely assume there was one on that day."
They pocketed the diary entry and continued on. Eventually, they arrived at the bride-to-be's house.
"Could it be?" questioned Cameron. "Is this Gwen's house?"
There was a note taped to the front door. Mike read it aloud.
"'Dear Gwen. You are FORBIDDEN to step foot in this house until you marry that ruffian! Love, Gwen's Dad.' Good guess, Cam!"
They went in. While the others confined their search to the living room, Mike went all around the house. It appeared that they would not find anything of note until Mike went into Gwen's bedroom. He touched an object that had been left on the dresser.
[Mike has found Gwen's ?.]
"MIKE!"
Zoey marched into the room, smacking Mike's hand so that he would release his grip on the object.
"Don't touch that! What's wrong with you?"
"Okay, okay! Yeesh!"
Zoey left. Mike continued searching the room. He eventually came across Gwen's diary.
"GUYS!"
The others ran into the room.
"I found Gwen's diary! But... it's locked."
Brick spoke up. "As wrong as it is to break into another person's diary, there might be information pertinent to what may have happened that day. Sir, we must open it."
"But wouldn't that be wrong?"
Princess Zoey snatched it from Mike. Before the guys knew it, she had picked the lock with a hairpin. Mike was appalled.
"ZOEY! How could you?"
"Diplomatic immunity!"
"Diploma-how does that give you permission to..."
"The last entry!" shouted the princess, shushing Mike. "And it's dated the day of the incident."
Zoey cleared her throat, and then started reading...
Gwen was sitting in bed, writing in her diary on the morning of her wedding. She narrated aloud.
[Well, today's the big day. I'm finally getting married. I must be the third-happiest person in the world right now, which is a new record for me. The other two? My dad - who actually let me come back home after hearing of my engagement - and, of course, Cody, my husband-to-be. Yeah, never thought I'd ever put Cody and husband-to-be in the same sentence, but there you go.
I rarely smile, but my face will definitely be, uck, beaming at the ceremony. Beaming... a word I'd never use in reference to myself. At least that was the plan. Something Izzy told me yesterday after the rehearsal has me worried...]
The day before...
Gwen was seen talking to a couple of her bridesmaids. She then saw Izzy coming towards her, out of the corner of her eye.
"That will be all, you two. See you at the party!"
The two young women thanked Gwen, and then departed. The bride-to-be then turned to Izzy.
"Thanks for offering to preside over the ceremony."
Izzy handed Gwen a document. The latter girl nearly lost it after realizing what it was.
"A license to perform marriage ceremonies! Did... did you just get it today?"
"Izzy says that test was hard. But Izzy got just enough right to pass! It usually takes Izzy three or four tries to pass a licensing test, so for Izzy to get great marks on the first attempt is something special!"
"You mean if you hadn't passed... IZZY!"
"No worries! Izzy knows this is a special day for you and Cody. Izzy promises not to ruin your special day. That being said, Izzy must warn you NOTto get married tomorrow!"
"Not to get married?"
Izzy nodded. "Izzy has seen the future, and it is not pretty. Izzy believes that after the ceremony, at the precise moment that Cody carries you over the threshold of your front door, the two of you will disappear from this world! As will Izzy, and Trent, and Duncan, and Sierra, and... Izzy! Wait, did Izzy already say Izzy? Oh, yeah, of course Izzy did!"
"Izzy, what are you talking about?"
"There will be this big flash of white light that comes and whisks all of us away! We will all be trapped in some parallel dimension between here and the afterlife, unable to do anything until we are freed by a member of the planet's ruling monarch family and her party of soldiers from another universe, who crash land on this planet after escaping from enemy capture."
Gwen did not seem enthused by that prediction.
"As delightfully morbid as that sounds, that's way too specific of a threat to consider cancelling the wedding."
Izzy shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh well! Don't say Izzy didn't warn you!"
With that, Izzy left.
Back in Gwen's room...
[Izzy doesn't exactly have all of her ducks in a row, if you know what I mean. That being said... after sleeping on it, I'm beginning to believe her prediction might come true. But that's silly! Do I really believe some mysterious force is so determined to prevent my marriage and subsequent honeymoon with Cody - and a third time, words I thought I'd never use together - that we'd all be ripped from the fabric of existence?]
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Gwen's mom and Bridgette both entered the room without waiting for an answer.
"It's time to go to the chapel, dear," Gwen's mom told her.
Bridgette squealed. "C'mon! I can't wait to be your maid-of-honor!"
[Well, it's time. If all goes well, diary, tomorrow I'll be so giddy and out-of-character as I regale you with the tale of my first night as a married woman!]
Gwen closed and locked her diary, and then followed her mom and Bridgette out of the room.
Present time...
"Izzy's prediction came true," concluded Zoey. "She saw it coming!"
"If she saw it coming," wondered Mike, "then why did she not try to do anything to stop it? She's just as useless as Dawn!"
[I heard that! Zoey, if you would please!]
Princess Zoey nodded, and then slapped Mike in the back of the head.
"HEY! You can't do proxy backslaps!"
"Well," Cameron cut in, getting the conversation back on topic. "We now know the incident happened. But we still don't know why."
Mike pulled out the case full of Spirit Marbles and retrieved Izzy's. He held it up in front of his face, at eye level, and examined it.
"If only there was some way to summon Izzy outside of battle. Perhaps then, we could ask if she knows why."
[Party received Gwen's Diary!]
"I don't think we're going to find any more answers here," Zoey thought aloud. "Let's go."
The party left.
They made their way to the edge of town, where they found the original Izzy's Backwater Emporium. It was not open, though, and the building was a wreck. So much so in comparison to the other buildings in town. Part of the roof was gone, as was the neon-lighted sign that used to rest atop it. The front door was hanging off of its hinges and all of the windows had been haphazardly boarded up.
"I'm not sure it's safe to go inside," said Zoey, in hesitation.
Mike decided to lead them all in anyway.
The inside of the store was in as bad a shape as the outside. The wallpaper was peeling, the countertops were falling apart, debris from the fallen roof was scattered about, and the shelves were pretty barren. All of the good stuff was gone, and what little goods remained were either damaged beyond use or had long past their expiration date for consumption.
"What do you think happened here?" asked Cameron.
"Perhaps it has something to do with the abandonment of the town," theorized Brick. "Maybe in the midst of fleeing, the store was raided bone dry by the townspeople."
Zoey knelt down and picked up a piece of roof off of the ground.
"Whatever forced the populace to descend into every-man-for-themselves mode, something bad must've happened. Something worse than Gwen and the others disappearing from this world."
"But what?" Mike wondered.
Mike grabbed his head and screamed in anger.
"ARGH! Why do we keep getting questions that we can't find answers to?"
Suddenly, without warning, they heard a laser rifle being fired. And it was coming from outside.
"YOU!"
The four quickly ducked down and then made their way to the window. The shout had come from not one, but two people! Once at the window, Mike dared to take a peek through the gap in the boards that had been nailed to the now-paneless window.
Mike gasped upon seeing a male and a female arguing with each other. To his right was the male, Corporal Lightning, who was dressed in a red McLean Empire uniform.
"What you doing here, guy? Lightning's trying to bag himself a few fugitives of war!"
To Mike's left was the female, Corporal Jo, who was wearing a blue Hatchet Republic uniform.
"She's one of us!" Mike thought to himself.
"I have business with those AWOLers in there! Deserting their posts the way they did! That's high treason!"
"Lightning was here first!"
"No, I was!"
"Why don't we have a duel? Loser leaves; winner gets to do what he wants with those dweebs in there?"
"Fair enough... if you think you can take me!"
Mike gasped in astonishment as both officers pulled out a Spirit Marble to duel with. Jo's had the number '23' on it, while Lightning had number '24.' Seeing this, Mike ducked back down behind the windowsill.
"What's going on out there?" asked Cameron.
"It's a duel between one of McLean's officers and one of ours!" replied Mike.
"We should go help our comrade, sir," suggested Brick.
"Negative! One, I don't know who she is, and two, she's under orders to capture us! Supreme Commander Hatchet believes we've gone AWOL!"
Brick gasped. "If that's the case, if she apprehends us and brings us back to the mothership, we could be court-martialed!"
"We can't let that happen!" Cameron cried. "I have no record to speak of, so a court-martial would look very, very bad!"
"I agree," Mike said. "Our best bet is to sneak out the back and hope, whilst in the heat of battle, they don't notice our retreat. Do you agree, Princess Zoey?"
He turned to see what she would say. There was one problem... she was not there.
"AS THE RULER OF THIS WORLD, I ORDER YOU TO STAND DOWN THIS INSTANT!"
Mike ran his palm down his face.
"Please don't tell me she went outside to confront them."
Cameron was looking through the gaps in the boards. He saw that Zoey was, indeed, outside.
"She went outside to confront them."
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL ME THAT!"
The three guys rushed out of the building.
Both Lightning and Jo had ceased battling to see what Zoey was yammering about.
"I am Princess Zoey, the reigning monarch of the planet Wawanakwa! This planet is neutral territory. That means that anyone associated with either the United Forces of the McLean Empire or the Hatchet Republic can step on our soil to perform any act of war!"
"What are you blabbing about?" questioned Jo. "You gave up your neutrality when those deserters allied with you!"
Zoey wondered what Jo was talking about until she turned around and saw the guys run out.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Mike and Zoey asked each other, simultaneously.
"You're harboring Republic soldiers?" growled Lightning. "Lightning believes you aren't neutral any more, Princess!"
Both officers started walking towards the foursome, each with the intent of capturing the group by any means necessary.
*** To be continued... ***
