"Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Total Drama Virtual Party!" Topher greeted from outside the testing building. "In our last episode, deals were being made left and right between our final three, with everyone offering mutual promises to take each other to the final two if they won the challenge. The challenge in question was a cluster of mini-challenges, with the first person to four wins winning final Invincibility and a guaranteed spot in the final two! Jynxie was the winner of said challenge, and, when faced with a choice between game-long rival Dunstan, and massive threat Irving, she chose Irving to take the fall. Now we're down to two! Kacey 'Jynxie' Willard! A loud, in-your-face punk girl who goes her own way and calls no man 'sir'. Jynxie's managed to play the middle since the game begun, and worked her way through the dynamics of the players around her, with some shady business on her part near the end. Dunstan Peterson! A loud and proud hall monitor who enforces the rules back home and... to a lesser extent, in the game. Due to his abrasive adherence towards the rules, Dunstan had a rocky start, but, through his honest-to-a-fault nature, he managed to make just enough friends to help get him through the game, even getting his enemies to trust him enough to not vote him out. These two have naturally been butting heads from the beginning, and it's all led up to this! One of these two will walk away from their feud a million dollars richer! Who's it going to be? And what will it take for them to win it all? Find out, right here, on Total! Drama! Virtual Party!"
Dunstan and Jynxie at breakfast together; a noticeably nicer meal than what they'd been served throughout the rest of the game.
"Have they been giving us shitty coffee on purpose all this time?" Jynxie asked. "This stuff's actually good!"
"Perhaps it was meant for whoever ended up with the 'better meals' advantage!" Dunstan mentioned.
"Oh, right, that thing Joseph had for the couple days he was here," Jynxie recalled. "Man, fuck him for getting like actual food when we just got microwaveable dinners and shit! I would have voted him out, too!"
"You won the only other day-to-day advantage in the game!" Dunstan pointed out. "And that bed of yours looks awfully comfortable if I do say so myself!"
"If it was anybody but you, I'd assume that innuendo was on purpose," Jynxie smirked. "But yeah, what was up with those advantages? There were only, like, two."
"Perhaps there were more and we simply didn't find any of the others!" Dunstan suggested. "There was at least one door that remained locked throughout the entirety of the game! Perhaps we could have won a private bathroom!"
"Fuck, I just assumed that was Topher's room!" Jynxie gasped. "A private bathroom would have been tight as fuck!"
"I concur! Having a coed communal restroom with showers is unwelcome in a polite environment!" Dunstan insisted.
"Yeah, for once, I agree with you," Jynxie winced. "Eh, at least we won't have to deal with it anymore after today."
"What a full two weeks this has been!" Dunstan nodded. "It's strange to think that it's about to end!"
"Yeah, as much fun as it's all been, I'm ready to go back to my actual bed and take a nap for like three days straight," Jynxie chuckled.
"And I cannot wait to return to my desk and get started on my summer homework!" Dunstan agreed.
"It never is something normal with you, is it?" Jynxie asked.
"Sleeping for three days straight is not normal!" Dunstan accused.
"Oh my god, I was joking!" Jynxie told him. "Is the concept of humor really so foreign to you?"
"Maintaining peace and order in the halls is a duty which has no room for goofs or japes of any sort!" Dunstan said firmly.
Confessional:
Jynxie: Man, it's still weird to think that the game is already almost over. Honestly, whether I win or not, I'd say it was hella worth it, though! I made some tight friends, had a ton of fun in the challenges and shit... I'm still definitely going to win, though! Make no mistake!
Dunstan: It has been a long and difficult journey, and it has all culminated into this! I will show Kacey once and for all that maintaining an orderly and rule-abiding lifestyle will result in victory throughout life, starting with this final challenge!
Jynxie: If you asked me at the start of the game if I thought I'd make it to the end, then fuck yeah, I knew I'd make it to the end! As the game went on, though, and I got swapped to another team, and lost Cyan and Lilith, I wasn't so sure. I think by the time we hit the final four, I got my confidence back that I'd make it to the finale! And I did! Fuck yeah!
Dunstan: Making it to the end was always my goal, but I knew going in that it would not be an easy goal to attain! Especially with how... not good with people I can be. I think it was equal parts luck and skill that kept me in the game this long, and I will certainly not squander it by lying down and accepting second place!
Jynxie: I couldn't ask for a better person to be up against for this final round! Dunstan's been on my nerves from the beginning, so now I get to take him down in glorious fashion! It's, like, cinematic, or some shit.
Dunstan: Kacey would not be my first choice of people to be competing against in the finale, but I suppose that she is preferable to the likes of Irving, Lilith, or Felix! Not by much, mind you, but I will count the positives that there are!
Jynxie: When I win, I'm going to put the prize money towards, like, a stable future. Get myself an apartment and furniture and shit so I can be, like, financially good while I'm looking for a job. At least until I join a successful rock band and get all the cash money!
Dunstan: College, college, college! College gets expensive, and a million dollars will most definitely aid me in my endeavors towards success! I'm thinking of pursuing a criminal justice major!
The final two met up with Topher in the VR room.
"Alright, you two. It's time for you guys' final challenge!" Topher announced proudly. "Let's get into those VR pods so we can crown a winner!"
"May the best player win," Dunstan told Jynxie.
"I will," Jynxie smirked.
The two entered their respective VR pods, and felt their consciousness begin to fade.
When the finalists came to, they found themselves sitting in desks in a classroom.
"What the hell?" Jynxie asked.
"Ah, my home turf!" Dunstan boasted.
"Welcome, finalists, to your final challenge!" Topher's voice announced. "Your goal here is simple. All yr'uoe gniog to hvae to do is epacse form the soohcl bunidlig."
"Yo, Topher! I think you're cutting out!" Jynxie called out.
"You may or may not fnid smoe frdneily fecas anolg the wya," Topher's voice continued. "Or you may fnid smoe plpoee who htae yuor gtus and wnat you to leso. Who can sya? All I can say for srue is taht esipacng w'not be as esay as it sodnus. The fsrit posren to epacse form the buidling wlil win Tatol Dmara Viutral Pytra! Altevitanrely, if you dei, yuor openopnt wnis by deluaft. Good lkcu!"
"So from what I gathered, all we have to do is escape!" Dunstan realized. He ran for the door to the building and yanked on it, but it would not open. "It appears to be locked!"
"No shit, Sherlock," Jynxie responded.
She approached a small machine on the wall next to the door, which had a glowing red light and a numerical keypad input.
"Looks like we need the password or something," Jynxie pointed out.
"...I would have figured that out if you had given me a second!" Dunstan insisted. "I'd wager the password is somewhere in this room!"
"Yeah, you do that," Jynxie snickered under her breath as she turned around and approached the opposite wall. "I'll just be breaking down the windows and-"
Jynxie looked at the windows to find that they were covered by metal plates. She scowled.
Dunstan, meanwhile, tugged on the drawers to the teacher's desk, but those were locked as well.
"No good..." Dunstan grumbled. He grabbed the mouse that went to the desktop computer atop the desk and moved it back and forth, yielding no results. "There must be some reason for this desk to exist! And this computer! Otherwise they wouldn't have included them!"
Jynxie rapidly searched through the cubbies of each desk. All of them were empty except for two: the desks where Dunstan and Jynxie had sat at the start of the challenge. These desks contained folded-up pieces of paper.
"What did you find?!" Dunstan inquired.
"Fuck off and find your own clues!" Jynxie snapped.
"Neither of us will be any closer to escaping if we don't work together!" Dunstan pointed out. "Besides, as soon as you escape, I can escape, too! The faster we get out of this room, the sooner you'll get your chance to defeat me!"
"Damn it, even if I know you're just messing with me, I can't argue with that," Jynxie decided as she gave Dunstan one of the pieces of paper.
The two opened their papers at the same time. Jynxie's read "2: Square, Circle, Triangle". Dunstan's read "1: Diamond, Circle, Diamond".
"What the hell?" Jynxie asked.
"It may make sense to us later," Dunstan guessed. "Is there anything else we haven't checked?"
"What about this backpack over here?" Jynxie ventured as she unzipped the bag's multiple pouches. The only thing inside was a cable. "Any idea what this is for?"
"...Of course! The teacher's computer!" Dunstan realized as he swiped the cord from Jynxie's hands.
"Hey!" Jynxie objected as Dunstan ran up to the computer.
Dunstan plugged the cable into the computer box and the wall, and pressed the power button. Sure enough, the computer turned on, and the monitor displayed four shapes: a circle, a diamond, a square, and a triangle. Both teens immediately looked at the papers from earlier.
"This must be the order we have to click on these shapes!" Dunstan narrated.
"Because nobody could have figured that out without that insight," Jynxie snarked.
Dunstan clicked on the shapes in order: diamond, circle, diamond, square, circle, triangle. Upon clicking on the triangle, the drawers on the teacher's desk made an unlocking sound. Jynxie immediately opened the one on the bottom, revealing a flashlight.
After grabbing the flashlight, Jynxie opened the drawer on top, which was empty, although the bottom surface of the drawer did not match the rest of the wood desk. Rather, it was pitch black, with a mess of 1s and 0s in an array across it.
"What might the flashlight be for?!" Dunstan asked.
"Eh, I dunno," Jynxie answered as she shut the drawer and turned the flashlight on. "Let's just shine it wherever and see what happens."
Jynxie shined the flashlight over the students' desks and the walls. Shining the light on the metal plates that covered the windows revealed five glowing numbers: 7.
Dunstan immediately ran for the device next to the exit door and input the numbers. With an upbeat beep, the light on the device turned green, and the door unlocked. Dunstan immediately ran out of the door.
"Hey! No fair!" Jynxie shouted as she ran out the door.
Confessional:
Dunstan: This is the final challenge, and I haven't any time to lose! The team effort began and ended in that first room! I have a game to win!
Dunstan and Jynxie arrived at the foyer of the school at roughly the same time. There were two exit doors: one with Dunstan's name above it, the other, Jynxie's name. On each door were five round recesses.
"It looks like we'll need five spheres of some sort in order to complete this challenge!" Dunstan noted.
"Cool, you keep narrating the obvious, I'll go win the challenge!" Jynxie teased as she ran off.
"Not if I win it first!" Dunstan countered as he ran off in the opposite direction.
Confessional:
Jynxie: This challenge is going to be easy peasy! Just look through some school for some balls? I'll be done before lunchtime!
As Jynxie ran through the halls of the school, she bumped into somebody, knocking both of them to the floor.
"Geez! Watch where you're going!" Jynxie grimaced.
"Sorry, ma'am, I'll be sure to be less reckless in the future," Zelda droned.
"Who the hell are you?" Jynxie asked.
"Someone you probably don't want to make an enemy of," Zelda leered. "You're Jynxie, I presume? Wanda told me about what you did to get her eliminated."
"Ohhhhh, right, you're Wanda's sister, aren't you?" Jynxie realized.
"I would say 'most people call me Zelda', but honestly, I think more people have, in fact, referred to me as 'Wanda's sister'," Zelda remarked. "Anyway, from what I understand, you need five colored balls to escape, right? I know where the red ball is."
"Wait, actually?!" Jynxie gasped. "Where is it, yo?!"
"I don't really hold any obligation to tell you," Zelda said simply. "I've known you for maybe three minutes and you're already probably in like my bottom three out of every contestant in this game."
With that, Zelda began to walk off.
"There's probably someone else out there who knows where to find a red ball," Zelda looked behind and mentioned. "So don't keep bothering me about it."
"Fine! I don't need you!" Jynxie insisted as she ran off in the opposite direction.
Confessional:
Zelda: Truth be told, I was the one who signed up for Total Drama initially. Wanda just decided to sign up because she thought it'd be fun to be in it together. So yeah, me leaving much sooner when I'm the one who actually wanted to be here kind of blew. I figured that, if Wanda won, it'd cushion the blow a bit, and for a while I honestly thought she could. Until, of course, Jynxie had to go and pull what she did. So yeah, I'm not exactly a fan of hers.
Dunstan ran through a different hall.
"Come on, there must be somewhere of note..." Dunstan muttered to himself.
"Hey, Dunstan!" a voice called.
Dunstan skidded to a halt and turned to find Gunther jogging up from a perpendicular hallway.
"Running in the halls, eh?" Gunther joked. "You must be desperate to win."
"My pride is on the line!" Dunstan explained. "I cannot let Kacey win! Besides, this is a virtual school, so I can be a bit more flexible about this than normal!"
"Understandable," Gunther nodded. "Anyway, each of the eliminated players know where to find one of the five orbs you're going to need to win. The green one is at the gym."
"I see! I cannot thank you enough for this hint!" Dunstan beamed.
"Here, I'll show you which way it is," Gunther beckoned as he turned around and returned to the hall from whence he came. Dunstan followed the sword collector.
"It's been a while since we've really had the chance to work together in a challenge!" Dunstan noted.
"Yeah, not since the zombie challenge," Gunther nodded. "Which just makes me eager to help you kick some ass. Just say the word, and I'll put my sword to good use."
"If you're referring to killing off Kacey to win the challenge by default, then no dice!" Dunstan declined. "I wish to win this challenge the way it was intended to be won!"
"Haha, you're something else," Gunther chuckled.
The two boys arrived at the gym and entered it. As soon as the doors shut behind them, a clicking sound was heard. Dunstan turned around to find a device next to the doors which was similar to the one next to the door of the classroom he had escaped from.
"I see..." Dunstan said as he rubbed his chin.
"I was not aware that that would happen," Gunther noted. He examined the device. "Looks like a card reader. Guess we'll have to find a card key or something on top of the green orb."
"Let us not waste any time!" Dunstan decided.
Confessional:
Gunther: After Irving swapped off of the Snakes, Dunstan was the only person I could really trust for a while there. I'm happy to help him win. Things have gotten better between me and Vanessa and Wanda, for the record, but honestly, the sooner I can leave that whole debacle in the past, the better.
Jynxie continued searching through the halls of the school.
"Why is this place so damn big?!" Jynxie griped.
"It wouldn't be a challenge if it wasn't," Cosette mentioned as she approached Jynxie. "I take it you're lost?"
"I found Wanda's sister, but she was no help," Jynxie grumbled. "What about you? Do you know where I can find one of these magic balls?"
"Actually, I do," Cosette confirmed. "The purple one is in the principal's office."
"Oh, sweet!" Jynxie grinned. "...Where's the principal's office?"
"I actually appeared right in front of it when the challenge began," Cosette explained. "Here, follow me!"
"Hell yeah!" Jynxie agreed as she and Cosette ran off towards the theater room.
"Man, it feels good to be doing something again!" Cosette cheered.
"Fuck, yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it? How's it been?" Jynxie asked.
"Torturous," Cosette admitted. "Once my cage crashed into... I guess the ground? I didn't feel anything, since you become invulnerable to pain or death once you've been voted out. But there was also absolutely nothing to do. Since all of it was just a virtual recreation of consciousness, nobody got tired, so sleep wasn't an option, and nobody got hungry or thirsty, so no food or drink. All we had to do was just talk to each other, and needless to say, it took a while for anything to get interesting."
"...Sounds rough," Jynxie nodded.
"I will be so happy to leave the virtual world forever once this is all over," Cosette sighed. "But for now, I have an objective! I will do what I can to help you win."
"Really? Even after I kind of accidentally screwed you out of the game?" Jynxie asked.
"No worse than Felix, Joseph, or Lilith did," Cosette answered. "They're the ones who actually voted for me. Besides, focusing on grudges is no good. You should see how Nils is doing. ...Actually, no, you shouldn't."
"Honestly I've never wanted anything to do with Nils," Jynxie dismissed.
The girls arrived at the principal's office.
"This is the place!" Cosette announced.
"Awesome! You know where the thing is, or is it in plain sight, or...?" Jynxie asked.
"I didn't actually check," Cosette admitted. "I just went looking for someone to tell as soon as the challenge started."
"Makes sense," Jynxie figured as she and Cosette entered the room.
The door locked behind the girls. Next to the door was a device similar to the ones in the classroom and the gym. This one had four colored buttons: green, pink, red, and blue.
"Great, so we have to find the ball and the right combination to get out," Jynxie griped.
"No matter the obstacle, I'm on the case!" Cosette beamed.
"Honestly, I bet all the rooms are like this, so let's go nuts!" Jynxie decided.
Confessional:
Cosette: I would have helped either of the finalists, frankly, since I never really got to know either of them that well, but they both seemed to like me well enough? At least that's the impression I got. Either way, I'm excited to finally be able to do something again! And this challenge actually seems pretty fun, so it's a win for me no matter what happens in the end.
Dunstan and Gunther began searching the gym for the green ball and a means of escape.
"It occurs to me that finding a specific ball in a gymnasium might prove difficult!" Dunstan commented. "It is already a room filled with balls!"
"Maybe, but we'll never get anywhere if we don't start somewhere," Gunther figured.
"A good philosophy to apply anywhere in life!" Dunstan agreed.
Dunstan scanned the room. There were a few racks containing a variety of several sports balls each in one corner of the room, in front of a door. In the other corner of the room were a few lockers. The lines of a basketball court decorated the floor, and basketball hoops hung on opposite walls of the long room. A scoreboard hung on the wall opposite the entrance.
"This all seems pretty straightforward to me," Gunther thought aloud. "The scoreboard is on, so I think we might have to shoot some hoops and get the score up on it."
"Perhaps," Dunstan agreed as he approached the racks of balls.
He wheeled the racks out of the way of the door and opened it. The dimly-lit supply closet held many weights and other training equipment, and parts of the interior of the room seemed to randomly be replaced with black spaces filled with various numbers. The room also had a piece of paper on the floor. Dunstan picked it up and read it.
"'Circle = SB H 20, Rectangle = VB A 21'," Dunstan read. "...I do not get it!"
"Well, if I had to guess, the circle is the green ball, and the rectangle is the key card we need to get out of here," Gunther figured as he peeked over Dunstan's shoulder to look at the paper.
"Hmm, yes..." Dunstan thought aloud. "And if you are correct about needing to score points on the scoreboard... That's it!"
Dunstan looked at the racks of sports balls again. One of them held soccer balls, while another held volleyballs.
"SB might mean soccer balls, while VB could mean volleyballs!" Dunstan declared. He glanced at the scoreboard. "H could refer to Home, and A could refer to Away! If I'm correct, we'll need to use soccer balls to score 20 points in the Home basket, and volleyballs to score 21 points in the Away basket! And then we'll receive what we need!"
"Makes about as much sense as anything," Gunther figured as he picked up a soccer ball. "By the way, what the hell's up with that supply closet?"
The boys glanced back inside the room. The black-and-numbered spaces flickered erratically.
"Must be a glitch!" Dunstan decided. "I doubt it is anything to worry about! Let us focus on the challenge at hand!"
"R-Right," Gunther agreed.
Dunstan wheeled the rack of volleyballs over to the 3-point line of the basketball court and began shooting baskets, gradually bringing his score up. Gunther wheeled the soccer balls to a spot closer to his own basket and began racking up points of his own. Right after Dunstan scored his seventh three-pointer, a small trapdoor in the hoop's backboard opened and dropped a key.
"Aha!" Dunstan grinned as he ran up to the key and retrieved it. "Now, what might this key unlock?"
"What in here is locked?" Gunther asked as he shot and scored another basket.
"...The lockers! Of course!" Dunstan realized as he slapped himself on the forehead.
He ran up to the lockers in the corner of the room. He inserted his key into one of them, but it did not open. He tried the one next to it, and it unlocked. Inside the locker was a key card.
"Yes! I have found the key card!" Dunstan announced.
"Awesome. I just need to finish off these baskets and we can hopefully get that green orb," Gunther responded.
"Allow me to help!" Dunstan offered as he ran up to join Gunther with the soccer balls. "It is my challenge to win, after all!"
"Fair enough," Gunther nodded.
It wasn't long before the two scored 20 points, and another key fell from the other backboard. Dunstan picked it up immediately and used it to unlock the other locker, which, sure enough, contained a green sphere.
"Yes! Let us commence!" Dunstan declared as he pocketed the green sphere and ran up to the key card reader.
He swiped the card, and the light on the device turned green. He opened the door and exited, with Gunther following suit. As soon as the door shut behind Gunther, it exploded into a black, glitchy mess of numbers, pixels of basic colors, and strings of code.
"Yeah, that's not creepy as hell," Gunther remarked.
Confessional:
Dunstan: I am unsure if this simulation is simply unfinished, or going glitchy for atmospheric effect, but either way, I should steer clear of these holes in the virtual reality! Lord only knows what sort of dangers may entail from interacting with such things! Sending your consciousness to a virtual avatar is risky enough!
Jynxie and Cosette began their search through the principal's office.
"Geez, even during summer vacation, I can't escape the principal's office," Jynxie smirked cheekily.
"Let's not waste any time!" Cosette encouraged.
On the other side of the room was a mahogany desk with a rolling chair and computer setup. In front of the desk was a cheap-looking couch. A file cabinet had been placed in the back corner, and on the leftmost wall was a door. The window, like in the classroom, was blocked off with a metal plate.
"This shouldn't be too tough," Jynxie figured. "Let's check the computer first."
Jynxie sat at the computer, which was powered on and asking for a password.
"I'll check in here," Cosette said as she opened the perpendicular door.
Jynxie approached what was revealed to be a supply closet. Supplies were scarce, and glitchy holes in the virtualization peppered the room. On the floor was a large kitchen knife.
"Ooh, shiny sharp thingy!" Jynxie said with glee as she picked up the utensil.
"What good is a knife going to do us?" Cosette asked.
"Maybe if we stab the computer with it, the ball is inside there," Jynxie answered.
"I shouldn't have to explain why that's a bad idea," Cosette said as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You're no fun," Jynxie pouted.
"Do you want to electrocute yourself and forfeit the game?" Cosette asked skeptically.
"Oh, fuck, you're right!" Jynxie realized. "I thought you just meant, like, the computer would stop working."
"We're wasting time," Cosette reiterated. "I'll keep searching in here. You should check the file cabinet."
"Eh, fine," Jynxie agreed as she walked towards the file cabinet, stabbing the knife into the couch. Jynxie made a face as she stabbed the couch, and stopped in her tracks. "What the?"
Jynxie removed the knife and stabbed the couch again. The knife went in effortlessly, as if the couch was hollow. Jynxie sliced downward, opening a gash into the couch. She pried it open and found a small key within.
"Holy shit! Stabbing something actually worked!" Jynxie beamed.
"What did you do?" Cosette asked exasperatedly as she peeked outside the closet.
"I found a key inside the couch," Jynxie said proudly.
She walked up to the file cabinet, which had locks on each drawer, and inserted the key into one. Sure enough, it unlocked, revealing the purple orb within.
"Oh fuck yeah!" Jynxie cheered. "I found the purple orb!"
"That was fast," Cosette noted. "Is there anything else?"
"Not in this drawer. Let me check the other ones," Jynxie answered as she pocketed the purple orb.
Jynxie opened the second drawer, which held a single piece of paper which read "J-7".
"I found a paper that says 'J-7'!" Jynxie called out to Cosette. "Is that significant to the supply closet in any way?"
"I'm starting to think nothing is significant to this closet except for the knife," Cosette admitted.
"Hm," Jynxie responded as she opened the third drawer. This one contained fourteen folders, each labeled with the name of a Total Drama Virtual Party contestant. "Whoa, neat!" Jynxie exclaimed as she grabbed the folder labeled with her name, which had a letter H on the cover. The papers inside contained all sorts of information about Jynxie, such as height, weight, hometown, and blood type. The last few pages contained a transcript of a pre-game interview she had partaken in.
"What's in the folder?" Cosette asked as she approached Jynxie.
"All sorts of shit about me," Jynxie answered. "Some kind of profile."
"Why does it have an H on the folder?" Cosette asked.
"I dunno," Jynxie answered. "Hey, wanna see what kind of dirt Dunstan's folder has?"
"Not particularly," Cosette answered.
Jynxie, of course, had already grabbed Dunstan's folder, which had a C on the cover.
"Hmmm..." Cosette thought to herself as she approached the drawer and flipped through each folder.
The folders were sorted alphabetically by each contestant's first name. Cosette's folder had an A on the cover, Cyan's had a B, and Felix's had a D.
"Hey, what was it you asked me about before? J-4?" Cosette asked.
"I dunno. It was in the second drawer," Jynxie responded. "Haha! Dunstan actually confirmed in his interview that he has never, in fact, gotten laid. And he sounds so proud of it!"
Cosette confirmed that J-7 was on the paper in the second drawer, and returned to the profile folders until she found the one with the letter J on the cover: Nils's folder.
"Whose folder is that?" Jynxie asked.
"Nils," Cosette told her. "I bet the J is significant here. Let's check page 7."
"Ooh, good idea," Jynxie agreed as she tossed Dunstan's folder aside.
The girls laid Nils's folder on the principal's desk and flipped to page 7, which contained part of his interview transcript.
"The guy sounds obsessed with perfection," Jynxie commented.
"You don't know the half of it," Cosette remarked.
"He even admits that the password to his computer is 'Perfection', What a melvin!" Jynxie laughed. "What kind of idiot admits his computer password?"
After a second, the girls shared a knowing glance before Jynxie leapt into the principal's chair and typed "Perfection" into the password input window. This granted her access to the desktop, where only a single window was open. The window showed several letters in a sequence: G.
"What do you think these mean?" Jynxie asked.
"It's the same four letters in some kind of sequence," Cosette stated.
"Wait a minute..." Jynxie realized. She ran up to the lock mechanism by the exit door. "Green, pink, red, blue... Cosette! Read me the letters!"
"G, G, B, B, P, R, P, R, R, B, G," Cosette read.
Jynxie pressed the green, green, blue, blue, pink, red, pink, red, red, blue, and green buttons in order. With a click, the door unlocked, and the light on the input device turned green.
"We're out of here, baby!" Jynxie announced.
"Awesome! Let's get going!" Cosette smiled as she ran up to the door. "We've still got more balls to find."
"Heh. You can say that again," Jynxie snickered.
Confessional:
Jynxie: I've got to admit, I probably wouldn't have figured half of that shit out if Cosette wasn't there to help. Maybe that's why the others are all here with us: in case Dunstan or I can't figure shit out on our own and need another perspective or something. It probably wouldn't make for good TV if both finalists just got stuck on some dumb puzzle for like an hour.
Dunstan and Gunther searched through the halls.
"Are there any allies among us?!" Dunstan called. "Who wishes to assist me in my endeavors towards victory?!"
"You're going to tire yourself out if you keep shouting like that while running," Gunther commented.
"Nonsense! It is a hall monitor's job to shout while running!" Dunstan denied. "How else am I to stop ne'er-do-wells who attempt to escape the long arm of the law?!"
"Incapacitate them before they get the chance to run," Nils answered as he appeared behind Dunstan and Gunther.
"Gah!" Dunstan jumped. "Where did you come from?!"
"I saw you run past and opted to join you," Nils answered. "Any ally of Gunther's is an ally of mine."
"Yeah..." Gunther mumbled.
"Dunstan! Is that you?" Cyan asked as she jogged up to the three.
"Ah, Cyan! Long time, no see!" Dunstan greeted happily. "Care to join my increasingly large team of crusaders for victory?!"
"Er, is that Nils?" Cyan asked.
"I have nothing to gain from harming you," Nils answered simply. "At least not at the moment."
"You'll be fine," Gunther assured her as he grabbed the hilt of his sword.
"You know what? Sure, I'll help!" Cyan answered. "Oh, if you're still looking for a blue sphere, there's one in the cafeteria! I'll show you!"
"I appreciate the help!" Dunstan smiled. "Let us head for the cafeteria!"
Dunstan followed Cyan's lead. Before Nils could join them, Gunther stopped him.
"What are you planning?" Gunther asked.
"I am planning to do my part to aid in the victor's victory, whoever that victor may be," Nils answered.
"I know that you know that everyone in here can be harmed," Gunther mentioned. "But that also applies to you, and I have nothing to lose from cutting you down on the spot if need be."
Nils glowered at Gunther before running off towards where Dunstan and Cyan had run off to. Gunther sighed before running after him.
Confessional:
Gunther: The only reason I worked with Nils before is because I knew that no good would come from stirring the pot. But now that it's the finale, there is no pot to be stirred. At least as far as Nils is concerned. Or, I guess... I guess he can stir the... Forget the pot metaphor! You know what I mean!
Cyan: I always hated the "I like these people but I already kind of have an alliance and need to vote somebody out so I can't work with everyone" position I found myself in during the game. Dunstan and I worked together back on day 3, but that was about the extent of it, so it'll be interesting working with him here.
As Jynxie and Cosette left the principal's office, the door behind them blew up into a glitchy mess.
"Oh, geez," Jynxie commented.
"Hey, Jynxie, Cosette!" Felix called out as he and Vanessa ran up to the girls.
"Of all the people," Cosette muttered disdainfully as she eyed Felix.
"Hey, you guys!" Jynxie grinned.
"How have you been?" Vanessa asked cheerily.
"Ask me again after I've won," Jynxie smirked.
"Oh, right, that reminds me," Felix remembered. "If you're looking for a yellow sphere, I get the feeling there's one in the theater room."
"So far I only have purple, so that works!" Jynxie responded. "Where's the theater room?"
"I don't know where it is, sadly," Felix admitted.
"Didn't you show up there at the very start of the challenge?" Cosette asked skeptically.
"I'm not sure. I didn't check behind me," Felix answered.
"Because I started the challenge in front of the principal's office, which is where I led Jynxie to the purple sphere," Cosette continued.
"Hey, let's not fight," Vanessa frowned. "Felix, could you lead us to where you started the challenge? Maybe that's where the theater room is."
"I have an idea of where it is," Felix confirmed.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Jynxie urged excitedly.
As Felix and Jynxie ran ahead, Cosette and Vanessa trailed behind them a bit.
"Hey, I know you don't like him - for understandable reasons - but he's not such a bad guy," Vanessa told Cosette.
"I can't even look at him without feeling dirty," Cosette shuddered. "And barely anyone shares that sentiment! Just about everyone else is either cool with it or just doesn't care. I should not be alone in this."
"If he put on clothes, would you give him a chance?" Vanessa asked.
"Even if he did, I probably wouldn't at this point," Cosette answered. "Now stop trying to get me and Felix to get along. It will never happen, and you're just sticking your nose into people's business where it isn't wanted."
"...I see," Vanessa frowned.
Confessional:
Cosette: I've mentioned before how I simply cannot deal with Felix's constant nudity for myriad reasons. For whatever reason, ever since she was voted out, Vanessa's been trying to get me to be Felix's friend. I am anti-nudism, and Felix doesn't like that about me. Which is fine. We don't have to like each other!
Vanessa: I know I'm prying, but I just hate to see people not getting along because they have different lifestyles. I've always believed that people can get along in spite of their differences or disagreements. So it bothers me that Cosette refuses to try and get along with Felix. I can't help it!
Dunstan's group arrived at the cafeteria.
"Here we are!" Cyan announced. "Now, I haven't been inside, so I don't actually know where the sphere is."
"I cannot blame you for that!" Dunstan assured her. "From what I understand, each sphere is hidden behind a few puzzles!"
The foursome entered the room, and the doors locked behind them. True to form, there was an input device beside the doors - this one with a vertical slot.
"Is this a coin slot?" Gunther inquired.
"That would make sense. It's like a vending machine, like in a cafeteria," Cyan agreed. "But what's it for?"
"It's likely a lock that can only be opened with the right coin," Nils told her.
"That is exactly correct!" Dunstan affirmed. "Now! Let us find both the blue sphere and a coin that we can use to buy our way out!"
The cafeteria was relatively small for a cafeteria; about the same size as the room where the contestants would eat outside of challenges. There were two table-benches - one of which with numbers 1-6 at each placement, the other of which had numbers 7-12; a lunch line with several divided lunch trays of different colors stacked by it, and several posters on the walls with pictures of food.
"Where on earth might they hide the blue sphere or coin?!" Dunstan asked.
"You mentioned puzzles, right?" Nils asked. "First we must determine what puzzles there are to solve."
"Ooh, there's a button here at the end of the lunch line!" Cyan announced. "Should I press it?"
"I see no reason not to," Gunther answered. "I doubt it's unsafe."
With an unsure look, Cyan pressed the button. The numbered areas of each table glowed red for a few seconds before dimming once again.
"Obviously the numbers are important!" Dunstan figured. "But how?"
Gunther scrutinized one of the posters on the wall, which was divided diagonally into two sections. One section had a periwinkle background and had a picture of carrots on it, while the other had a blue background and had a picture of steak on it. There was small text below the pictures of food.
"'Cosette's Baby Carrots!' and 'Robby's Filet Mignon!'" Gunther read. "You think this is significant?"
"Do all of them refer to contestants?" Nils asked as he looked at another poster: a tan-and-pink poster with a picture of a hot dog and a picture of cookies respectively. "'Felix's Hot Dog!' and 'Wanda's Sugar Cookies!'"
"I found mine!" Cyan announced as she glanced at a cyan-and-yellow poster. "'Cyan's Blueberry Pie!' and "Vanessa's Peach Cup!'"
The contestants read over the rest of the posters: a green-and-purple poster featuring "Zelda's Jalapeno Bread!" and "Lilith's Oolong Tea!", an orange-and-brown poster showcasing "Nils's Black Coffee!" and "Irving's Scurvy-Busting Lemons!", and an olive-and-red poster advertising "Joseph's Nacho Chips!" and "Gunther's Pineapple Pizza!"
"Hey, why am I stuck with pineapple pizza?" Gunther griped.
"I cannot help but notice that Kacey and I do not get our own food!" Dunstan pointed out.
"Probably because you're the final two," Cyan figured.
"What does that have to do with it?" Gunther asked.
"...I don't know," Cyan pouted.
"The numbers on the tables go from 1 to 12..." Nils thought aloud. "And there are twelve foods being advertised."
"...The trays!" Dunstan realized as he grabbed some of the differently-colored trays. "It looks like each tray matches up with the background of one of the foods!"
"Hey, you're right!" Cyan realized.
"I'd bet you anything that the numbers correlate with the order in which everyone was voted out!" Dunstan guessed as he looked at the trays he had grabbed. He placed the green tray on placement 2, the yellow tray on placement 8, and the blue tray on placement 10. "Press the button again!"
Gunther, who had stood nearest to the button, pressed it. The spaces glowed red again, except for the spaces which had trays on them, which glowed green.
"Of course!" Dunstan said proudly. "Zelda's food is advertised with a green background, and she was the second voted out, so the green tray goes to placement number 2! Vanessa's yellow tray goes on placement 8 because she was voted out eighth! And so on!"
Dunstan and Nils grabbed the rest of the trays and put them in their respective locations: periwinkle to placement 1, tan to placement 3, orange to placement 4, olive to placement 5, cyan to placement 6, red to placement 7, purple to placement 9, pink to placement 11, and brown to placement 12.
"Press the button again!" Nils ordered Gunther.
Gunther rolled his eyes as he pressed the button again. Every space turned green, and a secret door beneath the lunch line opened up.
"Hey! Check this out!" Cyan said excitedly as she looked inside the secret compartment, which had glitchy spots all over the inside. "It's the blue ball!"
"Excellent!" Dunstan congratulated. "Is there anything else?"
"Yeah, this sheet of paper," Cyan answered as she took the contents out of the secret compartment. She handed Dunstan the blue ball, which he pocketed, as she read from the paper. "A serving of fruit is good for the soul, but sugar is good for the taste. Both these things have a positive role, and together are certainly no waste."
"Is that a damn poem?" Gunther scoffed.
"It must be a clue leading us towards the coin we need to get out of here," Nils told him.
"Well, I figured that, but it's still cheesy as hell," Gunther responded.
"It's fruity, not cheesy," Cyan joked.
"Either way, I believe I know where our means of escape lies!" Dunstan declared as he ran up to the cyan-and-yellow poster and tore it off of the wall.
"Ah! My poster!" Cyan gasped.
Where the poster once hung was a large blue coin sporting Topher's face, taped to the wall.
"Eureka!" Dunstan shouted as he pried the coin off of the wall and discarded the tape. "The poster with foods containing fruit and sugar! Where else?!"
He ran up to the lock device and inserted the coin into the slot, where it fit perfectly. The light on the device turned green, and the doors clicked.
"Let us waste no time!" Dunstan told the others as he pushed the doors open and the four ran through them.
Confessional:
Dunstan: I must say, figuring out these puzzles is more fun than I would have expected! Perhaps I should look into escape rooms sometime! That's what we're doing, right? More or less?
Cyan: Okay, but can I have a copy of that poster for my room? Pretty please? I just think it's really neat for some reason. Only... it's also partially yellow, and that would clash with the entire rest of my room. You know what, it's not worth it, I changed my mind.
Jynxie's group arrived at the theater room.
"See? I told you I'd find it," Felix said.
"Let's just get this shit done," Jynxie said as she entered the theater room.
Felix, Vanessa, and Cosette followed behind her. The door locked behind them. The input device next to the door had a large, X-shaped hole in it.
"How fun!" Vanessa smiled.
The theater room had a small elevated stage at the front of the room and several racks of costumes near the back of the room. Several mannequins stood upright on the stage. A bookshelf stood opposite the entrance/exit door, and the windows, as usual, were blocked off.
"Ooh, costumes~" Cosette said excitedly. "Have I ever mentioned that I have an interest in fashion and outfits and stuff?"
"I think that might actually be the only thing I know about you," Jynxie answered.
"It would have come up if I wasn't voted out first," Cosette said huffily.
"We probably have to dress the mannequins up," Felix figured.
"Yeah, but how?" Jynxie asked. "We're going to need some sort of clue."
"There's something here on the bookshelf," Vanessa informed the others. She picked up a piece of paper from atop the bookcase. "1. An edgy young man contemplating suicide. 2. An ambitious woman proving herself to truly be in charge. 3. A famous literary and cinematic villain turned protagonist. 4. A Broadway legend - or perhaps an operatic legend. 5. A greaser looking for more than a summer fling. 6. The queen of fairies doting on her adoptive child."
"If I had to guess, we probably need to match the right costumes to the right mannequins," Cosette said as she looked at the mannequins, which each had a number between 1 and 6 where the face would be.
"I don't know dick about theater. How am I supposed to know any of these?" Jynxie asked.
"Well, I happen to know a thing or two," Vanessa said.
"Me, too!" Cosette offered.
"If all else fails, it looks like the books here might help," Jynxie figured as she looked at the play scripts and theater encyclopedias in the bookshelf."
"These six all sound pretty easy if you ask me," Vanessa said. "The first one is probably Hamlet."
"Wait, when the hell did Hamlet talk about suicide?" Jynxie asked.
"That's... That's what 'to be or not to be' means," Cosette told her.
"How the hell did I miss that?" Jynxie asked. "Alright, how are the costumes sorted?"
"It looks like alphabetically by play name," Felix said as he emerged from the costume racks in a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, black jeans, and black shoes.
"Felix, what are you doing?" Cosette asked.
"Well, we need to be able to work together if we want to help Jynxie win, right?" Felix explained. "And that includes you and me. I figured I'd make it easier on you."
"What about all that about how you feel wrong wearing clothes?" Cosette asked.
"I mean, I've made you uncomfortable with my nudity for the better part of about two weeks," Felix figured. "It's the least I can do for one challenge, right?"
"Felix..." Cosette shook her head in disbelief with a slight smile. "Take that off."
"I don't understand," Felix frowned.
"I appreciate the gesture, but..." Cosette began.
"You've gotten used to the nudity?" Felix guessed.
"No, that's the Danny Zuko outfit we're going to need for mannequin number 5," Cosette told him.
"...Oh," Felix blushed. "I thought it looked cool."
Vanessa squealed excitedly, while Jynxie looked at Felix and Cosette impatiently.
"Can we just list what we need so we can grab them and Felix can wear something else if he wants?" Jynxie urged.
"Oh, right!" Cosette agreed. "Vanessa, what are we going to need?"
"Oh, um..." Vanessa scanned over the list. "If I'm correct, we're going to need Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Elphaba, The Phantom, Danny Zuko, and I'm not sure about the last one."
"What's the hint?" Cosette asked as Felix and Jynxie began searching through the costume racks for the costumes mentioned. "'The queen of fairies, doting on her adoptive child.' That'd be Titania, from A Midsummer Night's Dream."
"I don't remember an adoptive child," Vanessa said.
"Yeah, it's the whole reason she and Oberon are fighting," Cosette said matter-of-factly.
"Nerd," Jynxie muttered before she held two costumes aloft. "Hey, I found Hamlet and Lady Macbeth!"
"I found The Phantom and Elphaba!" Felix announced. "And Danny, I guess."
The two rushed up to the mannequins on the stage and began dressing them with the costumes they had grabbed. Vanessa ran into the costume racks and picked out the Titania costume. The three of them had dressed each mannequin fairly quickly.
"Now what?" Felix asked.
"There's a button over here," Jynxie mentioned as she found a button on the floor in the back corner of the stage. "Let's press it!"
Jynxie stomped on the button, and the mannequins all struck a pose. The numbers on each of their faces turned green, and a trapdoor on the stage flung open.
"Hey, the yellow sphere is in here," Felix noted.
"Nice!" Jynxie grinned as she picked up the yellow orb, which was surrounded by glitchy areas on the walls and floor of the trapdoor compartment. "But how are we going to get out of here?"
"Oh, true, we still need to find that X-shape thing," Vanessa remembered. "But what else is there to do in here? We already did the thing with the mannequins."
"Maybe the books have some info," Felix guessed. "Outside of just 'theater for dummies'."
"Ew, reading?" Jynxie grimaced.
"Maybe there's some significance in what plays were represented by the costumes," Vanessa guessed as she scanned over the bookcase.
"Hey, Felix," Cosette said as she approached the nudist.
"Huh? What's up?" Felix asked.
He turned to see Cosette holding up a coat hanger with a black leather jacket, light blue t-shirt, blue jeans, black boots, and round sunglasses.
"The coat hanger says 'Kenickie'," Cosette said. "I think he's another greaser from Grease. The outfit is similar enough to what you wanted."
"You're too much," Felix chuckled as he accepted the coat hanger. "I'll go, uh, get dressed," he said as he retreated to behind the costume racks.
"Let's see..." Vanessa said to herself as she skimmed the titles of the books in the bookshelf. "Oh! Here's Hamlet. And A Midsummer Night's Dream. And Unscrew The Rod Off The Correct Costume Rack. And Wicked. And-"
"Wait, what was that third one?" Jynxie asked.
"I don't know. I've never heard of this one," Vanessa admitted as she took the Unscrew The Rod Off The Correct Costume Rack book out of the shelf and began to flip through it. The pages were blank. "I'm going to sound like an idiot, but I get the feeling that this is a hint and not an actual play."
"You think? Let's get unscrewing!" Jynxie said eagerly.
The two ran for the costume racks, just as Felix had emerged from behind them, now in a greaser outfit.
"This feels so weird," Felix admitted.
"You know what?" Cosette began. "...You look cute."
"O-Oh," Felix blushed. "The natural human form is better of course, but I'm grateful for the compliment."
"Which one do you think is the right one?" Jynxie asked Vanessa as the girls looked through the costume racks.
"Maybe the rack with costumes for plays that start with U," Vanessa suggested. "Since the title of the book began with U."
"Works for me," Jynxie shrugged as she began throwing Urban Cowboy costumes off of a nearby rack. Once the rod was empty, Jynxie began unscrewing it off of the support beams, and, once she freed it, several small bars that formed an X shape snapped out of the end of the rod.
"There it is!" Vanessa announced.
"Alright, losers, let's go!" Jynxie cheered as she ran up to the lock device and jammed the X-shaped contraption into the X-shaped hole. The light on the device turned green. Jynxie flung the door open and the foursome ran out of the room.
Confessional:
Jynxie: Well that took way longer than it needed to. Hopefully Dunstan's taking longer with the puzzles than I am. Maybe nobody's told him where to find any balls because he kept yelling at them for running in the halls. Keheheh. Tell me it couldn't happen.
Felix: I guess a part of me sees why clothes appeal to most people as a way of expressing yourself, but I've always believed that you don't really need clothes to do that, the same way you don't necessarily need makeup or a fancy hairdo. Still, it was a nice ego boost knowing that I don't look too bad wearing them.
As soon as Dunstan's group exited the cafeteria and the doors closed behind them, the doors burst into a glitchy mess.
"Yikes!" Cyan jumped.
"I think all of the escape rooms do that once you've finished them," Gunther told her.
"Indeed!" Dunstan confirmed. "Likely as a way to mark which places have already been searched and completed!"
"I suppose this would mean that same-colored orbs can be found in multiple rooms," Nils thought aloud. "Since, if that was the only room with a blue orb, Jynxie could now no longer get one."
"What's this I hear about Jynxie being unable to retrieve a blue orb?" Robby asked as he approached the group.
"Sadly, I am unsure if this is the case or not!" Dunstan told the rich boy. "Do you wish to join us?!"
"As much as I would love to have nothing to do with Gunther or Nils, I would much rather make sure Jynxie loses," Robby smirked. "As one final vengeance to her for voting me out, I will tell you where the red orb is: the science room."
"Excellent!" Dunstan nodded. "Would you care to lead us there? And we could use your help solving whatever puzzles are inside as well!"
"I may as well," Robby said smarmily. "I've got nothing better to do right now."
"There is literally nothing else you could be doing right now, you pompous waste of space," Nils grunted.
"A pompous waste of space who placed fifth," Robby mentioned smugly. "What did you place again? Twelfth? It's been so long since you lost the game that I don't even remember."
Nils glowered at Robby, but did not respond.
"Anyway, the science room is this way," Robby told Dunstan. "Come, all!"
Robby led the foursome towards the science room.
"Of all the people to join us, right?" Gunther remarked to Nils.
"Robby is nothing, has always been nothing, and will always be nothing," Nils said simply. "I will not lose sleep over the delusions of a sheep."
"You know it's a good idea because it rhymes," Cyan giggled.
Eventually, the four made it to the science room.
"Well, here we are," Robby declared.
"You three head in. I wish to speak with Robby alone," Nils told Dunstan, Gunther, and Cyan.
"Do you really think I can trust you with-?" Gunther began.
"We will join you shortly. I simply wish to talk with him," Nils repeated.
"We can't waste any time!" Cyan urged. "Let's just go!"
Dunstan and Cyan entered the science room. The door clicked behind them.
"...Oh," Dunstan simply said.
Outside the science room, Gunther, Nils, and Robby remained.
"Gunther, what part of 'I wish to speak with Robby alone' was unclear?" Nils asked.
"The part where you claimed that's all you wanted to do," Gunther snarked as he folded his arms.
Nils sighed before grabbing Gunther's head and snapping his neck, fizzling him out of the simulation instantly.
"Shouldn't have gotten in my way," Nils spat.
"What the hell?!" Robby gasped.
"You said you'd rather not work with me and Gunther?" Nils asked as he grabbed Robby's head and snapped his neck, fizzling him out. "Now you don't have to."
Nils tugged on the handle to the science room door, only to find that it was locked.
"Damn..." Nils grunted.
Confessional:
Robby: Damn Nils! The moment you let your guard down with him is the moment he's got you in horrible pain. Funny how placing so much higher than someone will make you cocky and feel like you're above them. Bloody brute still knows how to hurt someone. (He rubs his neck.)
Nils: I knew Robby was going to get very annoying very quickly, which would throw myself and everyone else off of their A-game and slow down progress. There was a practical reason for offing him. Also, it was incredibly satisfying. I do wish Gunther hadn't forced himself into it, though. He could have been useful.
As soon as Jynxie's group left the theater room, it, of course, burst into a glitchy mess.
"Okay, seriously, what the fuck is wrong with this simulation?" Jynxie asked.
"Yeah, I can't help but think this is unsafe," Cosette winced.
"I dare someone to touch it," Jynxie snickered.
"Maybe later," Vanessa said. "I know where you can find the green orb."
"Oh, shit, that's right!" Jynxie remembered.
"It's at the pool!" Vanessa announced.
"Right after I get dressed, too," Felix joked.
"No one's making you wear that but yourself," Cosette reminded him.
"Who cares? Vanessa, where's the pool at?" Jynxie asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's over this way," Vanessa declared as she ran off.
"To the pool!" Jynxie announced.
"Got any room for one more?" Irving asked as he ran up to the group.
"Makes sense that a pirate would be drawn to water," Felix chuckled.
"I mean, yeah, if you want to help, then go for it," Jynxie told him.
"Keheheh... Yes, 'help'," Irving laughed darkly.
He immediately pushed Cosette towards the glitchy mess that was once the door to the theater room. Cosette squealed in pain before fizzling out.
"Irving! What was that for?!" Vanessa snapped.
"Never trust a pirate, lass," Irving shrugged. "Need I remind ye: Jynxie be the reason I be not competing in this challenge myself. I figure that if I can't win the challenge, I may as well have some fun with it and sabotage the landlubbers who can."
"Come on, guys, let's go!" Vanessa suggested urgently as she ran off, with Jynxie joining her.
Irving attempted to give chase, but Felix stood in his way.
"Oho, ye wish to face me, lad?" Irving asked. "There be nothing stopping me from sending ye to Davy Jones' Locker as well."
"On the contrary," Felix said as he forcefully removed his sunglasses. "There's me."
"Gyarharhar! Let's dance!" Irving laughed.
Felix threw his sunglasses at Irving's face.
"Gah!" Irving flinched.
Felix charged at Irving and began pushing him towards the glitchy zone. Irving regained his composure long enough to twist his body and send Felix stumbling backwards into the staticky mess himself. Irving took a few steps back, while Felix shouted in pain before fizzling out.
"Ye should have known better than to mess with me, lad," Irving chuckled before heading in the direction Jynxie and Vanessa had gone.
Confessional:
Cosette: What the heck was that?! I'd heard horror stories about Irving being some kind of evil mastermind, but I didn't think he was violent. Especially when killing people isn't going to help him in any way! He's already out of the game. What does he have to gain?
Irving: Of course, I still be a bit sore about how last night went down, but this isn't all for the sake of revenge. Like I said, I be doing this all for fun. If I can't play the villain through strategy anymore, I'll do the next best thing and do as a pirate does: kill everyone in me way! It's all virtual, anyway. They'll be fine. Gyarharhar!
Dunstan and Cyan took a look at the lock device by the science room door. This one had a touchpad with nine blank squares in a 3x3 array and a rectangle with the word "Submit" beneath the array. Dunstan experimentally touched one of the blank squares, which now displayed the Cyber Snakes logo. He touched it again, and it now displayed the Pixel Peacocks logo. He touched it a third time, and it changed to the blue Topher coin from the cafeteria. He touched it a fourth time, and the square was blank once again.
"Interesting," Dunstan thought aloud. "Well, Cyan, looks like it's up to you and me to find our way out of here!"
"We don't need those boys. We're plenty smart on our own!" Cyan encouraged.
The two looked around the room. To their right was a work table featuring several glass test tubes and beakers, with a shelf above the table which had several gallon-containers of differently-colored liquids. To their left was another work table with several dissection tools on it, and a shelf above which had several preservation jars full of deceased animals. Directly in front of them was a bizarre-looking machine. The windows were covered with metal plates.
"I do wish they had just made the windows unbreakable instead of just covering them!" Dunstan huffed. "It makes things needlessly dreary!"
"I think this place would be creepy regardless of how well-lit it was," Cyan shuddered as she glanced at the preservation jars.
"Now, what's our goal here?" Dunstan asked.
"What about this thing?" Cyan asked as she examined the strange machine.
The machine had a screen with a vertical indent beneath it, about the right size to hold a beaker. The screen read "#D8BFD8"
"'Date boyfriend date'?" Cyan read. "Is that a new hashtag I should know about?"
"I believe this is hex code!" Dunstan told her. "Every color visible to the human eye has one! They're used for computers to find the exact color one might need!"
"What color is 'date boyfriend date'?" Cyan asked. "Is it blue?!"
"I am not sure!" Dunstan admitted. "Perhaps searching the room further will yield the answer we seek!"
"Maybe it's over here with the colored liquids," Cyan suggested as she went over to the chemist's table.
Upon closer inspection, the shelf of colored liquids had four containers: one with red liquid, one with yellow liquid, one with blue liquid, and one with white liquid.
"I'll bet you anything that we must mix these together to yield whatever color that hex code represents!" Dunstan figured. "But which color do we need?"
"Maybe the other table has some sort of hint," Cyan guessed.
Dunstan tentatively approached the biologist's table. Upon closer inspection, the specimens in the preservation jars included a squid, a shark, a frog, a snake, a pig, and a duck.
"I didn't know sharks came that small," Cyan commented.
"Is there anything here that might help?" Dunstan asked rhetorically as he looked at the dissection tools. "Gah! Every second wasted is a second Kacey could be going faster than I am!"
"Well, let's think about this," Cyan said. "What colors can we make with those four colors?"
"We could use just a base color, or we could use any combination of two, three, or all four colors!" Dunstan answered. "Are you suggesting we just keep experimenting until we get it right?! That seems incredibly time-consuming!"
"I'll start doing that," Cyan offered as she went back to the chemist's table. "You should keep looking for any sort of hint."
"If you say so..." Dunstan agreed.
Dunstan grabbed the jar with the duck in it. He looked closely at its contents, rotating the jar to get an in-depth look. In doing so, he noticed a letter D on the lid of the jar.
"What's this?" Dunstan asked himself.
He set the duck jar down and took the one with the squid. It had a letter F on the lid. Dunstan took the rest of the jars off of the shelf. The shark's jar had a letter B, the frog's jar had a number 8, the snake's jar had a letter D, and the pig's jar had a number 8.
"The same characters as the hex code!" Dunstan realized.
"Have you found something?" Cyan asked as she placed a beaker filled with blue liquid in the machine's indent. After scanning the beaker, the machine beeped.
"I may have! Let me try something!" Dunstan told her.
Dunstan arranged the duck, frog, shark, squid, snake, and pig on the shelf in that order. Nothing happened. Dunstan swapped the places of the duck and snake, and the frog and pig. All of a sudden, a lavender-colored light began to shine over the biologist's table.
"Lavender?" Dunstan asked. "...Cyan! Try mixing red, blue, and white!"
"Got it!" Cyan agreed as she poured the three colored liquids in a beaker in roughly equal doses.
Cyan took a small spoon and mixed the concoction together, resulting in a lavender-colored liquid. She placed it in the machine's scanner, and, after scanning the liquid, the machine gave a dinging sound. A compartment near the bottom of the machine opened, revealing the red ball within, surrounded by glitchy patches.
"Excellent!" Dunstan smiled as he grabbed and pocketed the ball. "Now, how will we find out way out of here?!"
The screen on the machine then changed to one word in large letters: BEAK.
"Beak?" Cyan asked. "Like the ones birds have?"
Dunstan grabbed the jar containing the duck and placed it in the machine's scanner. The machine scanned the jar, and beeped negatively.
"What will we do?" Cyan asked. She took notice of a tiny slip of paper in the secret compartment. She grabbed it and read it. "'The item you'll need should fit in a petri dish'," she read.
"...I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means," Dunstan blanched.
"What do you think it means?" Cyan asked.
Dunstan took hold of the scalpel on the biologist's table.
"...You do that, I'll go hide in the corner and not watch you!" Cyan said nauseously.
Dunstan took the duck jar out of the scanner and unscrewed the lid.
"Eugh... How is one meant to remove a duck's bill anyway?!" Dunstan questioned.
"Wait a minute, did you say 'bill'?" Cyan asked from the corner of the room.
"Yes! That is what ducks have, is it not?!" Dunstan answered.
"Are you sure that's what you need?" Cyan asked.
"The duck is the only bird here!" Dunstan pointed out. "Nothing else here has a beak!"
"Didn't you ever have to dissect a squid for biology class?" Cyan asked. "Squids have beaks."
"I, er, opted out of the dissection, I must confess," Dunstan admitted.
"Lucky. I didn't have that option," Cyan pouted.
Dunstan put the lid back on the duck jar and grabbed the squid jar instead. He opened it, removed the squid, and placed the animal on the table.
"Squids have beaks, huh?" Dunstan muttered as he took the scalpel and made a long incision along the squid. "Cyan! Do you remember where the beak is?!"
"It's at the center of where the tentacles start," Cyan answered.
Dunstan shuddered as he made additional cuts near that area. He used forceps to extract the beak from the squid and place it in a petri dish.
"I feel like I'm going to be sick!" Dunstan cringed as he brought the petri dish to the scanner.
The machine scanned the contents of the petri dish, and, with a ding, the screen changed to a display similar to the touchpad lock. The top-left square showed a Pixel Peacocks logo, while the middle and bottom-left squares showed Cyber Snakes logos.
"Thank goodness! The correct input to get out of here!" Dunstan announced.
"Yeah, the sooner we get out of there, the better," Cyan agreed.
Dunstan input the exit key into the lock machine. The light turned green, and the door unlocked. Dunstan and Cyan wasted no time bolting out of the room.
Confessional:
Dunstan: I'm not proud to admit that things like that make me squeamish, but everyone has their weaknesses! At least it's over and done, and I'm about halfway done with the challenge! I don't know how well Kacey is doing, so all I can do is keep going until one of us wins!
Jynxie and Vanessa finally arrived at the pool. The door locked behind them as they entered the large room, and next to the door was a lock device with a card reader.
"Fuck yeah!" Jynxie cheered. "I love swimming."
"Really?" Vanessa asked interestedly.
The girls looked around the pool room. Aside from the large pool taking up a lot of the room, there were also lockers in the back, and a set of two doors off to the side labeled "Changing Rooms", one with a simple stick figure on the door, the other with a stick figure wearing a dress.
"There isn't much in here to look at," Vanessa noted.
"There's probably shit in the changing rooms," Jynxie pointed out. "You go on the men's room. I'll take the women's."
"Er, okay," Vanessa agreed.
The two girls headed for the different changing rooms. In the women's changing room were seven lockers, each with the name of one of the female contestants on the door. On the back wall was a rectangular picture of a pixel octopus that had one of its eyes crossed out with black marker.
"Oh, shit, we get our own lockers? Neat," Jynxie smiled as she located her locker and opened it.
Within the locker was a purple two-piece swimsuit.
"I guess it wouldn't be the pool room if I didn't have to swim at some point," Jynxie figured. "Hey, I don't know where the cameras are supposed to be, but, uh, fuck off!" she shouted as she removed her jacket.
Meanwhile, Vanessa had gone to the men's changing room. There were seven lockers each bearing the name of a male contestant on the doors. On the back wall was a rectangular panel with some writing on it. Vanessa approached the panel.
"'1. Felix's placement in the game. 2. The total number of votes cast in this game. 3. The total number of votes nullified.'" Vanessa read. "The first one is 12, of course, but I'm not sure about the rest. Is there anything else in here?"
Vanessa experimentally opened up some of the lockers, which all contained swim trunks of various colors. Felix's contained a pad and pencil, as well as glitchy spots on the inner walls of the locker.
"How bizarre," Vanessa thought aloud. "I wonder if Jynxie's found anything."
"Yo, Vanessa, you find anything?" Jynxie asked as she entered the room, now wearing the swimsuit she'd found.
"Not really," Vanessa admitted. "I found this thing here on the wall, but I'm not sure what it's for."
Jynxie read over the message. "Ew, math?" Jynxie winced. "Well, I'm going to go check the pool. I've got a feeling I know where I'm supposed to go look."
"Okay. I'm going to try and figure out this vote nonsense," Vanessa told her as she picked up the pad and pencil from Felix's locker.
Jynxie returned to the main pool area and looked down at the bottom of the pool. There was a tile mosaic that formed the same picture as the pixel octopus in the women's changing room.
"Bingo!" Jynxie smirked.
She dove down to the bottom of the pool and swam over to the octopus's eye that had been crossed out in the picture. She pried the tile off, revealing a small nook with a small key. Jynxie took the key and surfaced.
"Five bucks says this goes to those lockers over there," Jynxie said to no one in particular as she glanced at the two lockers in the back of the pool room.
She exited the pool and made her way to the lockers. The key opened the leftmost locker, which had a combination-lock safe and a piece of paper within. Jynxie took the piece of paper and read it.
"Geez. 'The second key you need is in the possession of the person who received the fewest votes in the game.'" Jynxie read. "Well fuck, it's only me and Vanessa here, and I doubt either of us got the least votes."
"Maybe it's referring to the lockers in the changing rooms," Vanessa offered as she approached the scene.
"Oh, Vanessa. You figure out the math shit?" Jynxie asked.
"I have!" Vanessa nodded. She glanced at the combination-lock safe. "Oh, this is perfect! I bet what I just figured out was the combination for this safe!"
"Who do you think got the fewest votes in the game?" Jynxie asked.
"If I had to guess, I'd say Wanda," Vanessa told her.
"Wanda, sweet, I'll go check her locker," Jynxie said as she ran back to the changing rooms.
"Now let's see..." Vanessa said as she fiddled with the combination lock. The safe did not open. "Huh. Maybe I was off by one in one of my calculations. I made sure to include revotes..."
Vanessa continued to attempt combinations, but to no avail.
Jynxie made it to Wanda's locker, and found nothing but a black-and-pink swimsuit inside.
"Come on, where is whatever I'm looking for?" Jynxie grunted as she picked up the swimsuit and shook it, hoping something would fall out. "Unless what I need is the swimsuit. Fuck. Hey cameras! I'm changing again! Get lost!"
Vanessa, after multiple attempts, finally managed to crack the safe open.
"Yes!" Vanessa clapped. "Okay, what's inside?"
Vanessa opened the safe's lid all the way to find the green orb inside.
"Excellent!" Vanessa cheered. "Now we just need to find a way out of here."
Vanessa took the first key that Jynxie had used to open the leftmost locker and inserted it into the rightmost locker, but to no avail.
"Hm, I bet the key we need is in the locker of the person with the fewest votes," Vanessa thought aloud.
"Fuck, really?" Jynxie asked as she approached Vanessa.
"Why did you change suits?" Vanessa asked.
"Because this is all that was in Wanda's locker," Jynxie answered. "You said to check there, so maybe I need it for something. I dunno."
"It looks a bit big on you," Vanessa giggled.
"Wanda's taller than me, okay?!" Jynxie said indignantly.
"Wanda might not have been the right locker," Vanessa figured.
"Well who could have gotten less votes than her?" Jynxie asked.
"Cyan? ...No, Joseph!" Vanessa realized. "He didn't get any votes in your first two eliminations, did he?"
"I don't think so," Jynxie answered.
"Because he only got two the night he went home!" Vanessa realized.
"Cool. You check his locker, I'm going to go change back into actual clothes," Jynxie suggested.
"Sounds good!" Vanessa agreed as the girls set off for the changing rooms.
As Vanessa entered the men's changing room, she made a beeline towards Joseph's locker. Inside was a pair of dark-green-and-tan swim shorts with pockets. Vanessa took the shorts and rummaged through the pockets. Sure enough, there was a small key within, similar to the one Jynxie used to open the locker containing the safe.
The girls ran back to the pool room lockers simultaneously. Vanessa opened the second locker, revealing a card key inside.
"Hell yeah!" Jynxie cheered. "Now we just need to find the green ball."
"Oh, it's right here," Vanessa said as she took it from the nearby safe.
"Oh, shit, yeah, that would make sense," Jynxie chuckled as she accepted the ball and card key from Vanessa. "But hey, that's three now! Let's get a move on!"
The girls made for the exit door.
Confessional:
Jynxie: I swear to fuck, if my nudes get leaked, I'm suing this show for all it's worth. And I'm going to be able to afford a good lawyer real soon.
Dunstan and Cyan exited the science room, only to find nobody on the other side. The door burst into a glitchy mess.
"What happened to the boys?" Cyan asked.
"Nothing good, I'd bet," Dunstan tsked. "I knew they should have just come with us to the science room!"
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now," Cyan told him. "Let's keep looking throughout the school. Either we'll find somewhere or we'll find someone who can lead us somewhere."
"Truer words have never been spoken!" Dunstan agreed. "Let us commence!"
Dunstan and Cyan ran ahead.
"Gunther mentioned to me back on the Cyber Snakes that Robby hated Nils!" Dunstan mentioned. "He also mentioned that Nils has violent tendencies!"
"I can confirm both of those," Cyan shuddered. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Robby and Nils tried to kill each other, and Gunther got involved."
"But surely one of them would survive the bout, correct?!" Dunstan figured. "In that case, where is the surviving party?!"
"Maybe he ran away so as to not look suspicious," Cyan guessed.
"I suppose we can rule out Gunther surviving then," Dunstan sighed. "We trust each other! I know he would not abandon me like this!"
"You bastard!" a voice shouted from around the corner.
Dunstan and Cyan skidded to a stop to see Joseph confronting Irving.
"Gyarharhar! 'Tis but a challenge, lad," Irving reasoned. "Cosette and Felix will be alive and well after it's all over."
"That's still no excuse!" Joseph shouted. "Taking advantage of people's trust like that just to hurt them is inexcusable! A major violation of the bro code!"
"Joseph! Irving!" Dunstan called out as he and Cyan ran up to the young men.
"Dunstan! Cyan!" Joseph greeted. "Stay back! Irving's killing people out of the challenge just for the fun of it."
"Gahhhh, well it certainly be less fun when ye give away the surprise," Irving bemoaned.
Joseph decked Irving in the face, knocking the pirate to the floor.
"Dunstan! Follow me!" Joseph instructed.
Joseph ran off. After a second's hesitation, Dunstan and Cyan ran after him.
"Hyarrrr... Son of a bitch hits hard," Irving grunted as he stood up. "Shite, where did they go?"
Joseph, Dunstan, and Cyan had already gone far away from Irving.
"Where are you taking us?" Dunstan asked.
"The nurse's office," Joseph explained. "I'm not sure how, but I get the feeling that some sort of purple ball you need for the challenge is in there."
"That's one of the two I don't have yet!" Dunstan smiled. "You're a lifesaver, Joseph!"
"Bros save their bros from danger," Joseph nodded. "And one thing I learned quickly after being voted out is that Irving is no bro."
"Amen," Cyan winced.
Confessional:
Joseph: Even though he never really saw eye-to-eye with my original bro Felix, Dunstan is someone that I can count on to stick by the bro code, for the most part. So yeah, I'm proud to call Dunstan my bro, and bros always help bros in need.
Jynxie and Vanessa exited the pool area. The doors behind them became a glitchy mess.
"No sign of Felix," Vanessa pointed out. "Do you think Irving got him, too?"
"At the risk of sounding like I don't care, we already got the yellow sphere from his suggestion," Jynxie pointed out. "So whether he's still alive or not doesn't matter. We need to focus on the challenge."
"Er, okay, but where should we go now?" Vanessa asked.
"Obviously everyone who's been voted out knows where to find one of these things," Jynxie pointed out. "So we should keep looking around until we find someone who knows where the last two spheres are. Like Lilith, where the hell is that girl?"
"I suppose you're right," Vanessa agreed.
Jynxie ran down the hall in some random direction. Vanessa quickly followed her.
"How close do you think Dunstan is to winning?" Jynxie asked.
"Huh? I'm not sure," Vanessa answered. "Why do you ask?"
"I dunno. I just want to think that he's way behind me," Jynxie figured. "Or way ahead of me, so I can get that extra burst of motivation to kick some more ass!"
"If you want my honest opinion, I'd guess that he's at least a little ahead of you," Vanessa guessed. "He probably doesn't have four spheres, but he's probably at his fourth room by now."
"Fuck! We should get a move on!" Jynxie gasped as she ran even faster.
"H-Hey! Wait up!" Vanessa cried.
"Come on, catch u-OOF!"
Jynxie was interrupted when she ran into someone, knocking both of them to the floor.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to spark some kind of sexual tension with the constant 'crashing into someone to kickstart a romance' cliche," Zelda droned.
"Fuck off, you're the one constantly getting in my way!" Jynxie shouted defensively.
"Hey, let's not fight!" Vanessa cried. "Zelda, do you know where Jynxie can find any colored spheres?"
"Maybe," Zelda said.
"Well come on, where?!" Jynxie urged.
"Again, I have no obligation to help you," Zelda leered.
"We'll get out of your hair as soon as you just tell us," Vanessa frowned.
"...Alright, here's the deal," Zelda said. "I'm bored as hell, so I'm going to take you to the computer lab. There's a red sphere there that you're going to need. Don't ask how I know either of those things. I just do."
"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go!" Jynxie ordered.
"Jynxie, please try to be less demanding from Zelda," Vanessa suggested. She turned to Zelda. "She's grateful for your help, I promise."
"Whatever," Zelda said as she rolled her eyes. She left for the computer lab, gesturing for Jynxie and Vanessa to follow her.
Confessional:
Zelda: Honestly, anything to get this over with sooner is fine in my books. I don't really care that much about who wins. Yeah, Jynxie sucks, but from what little time I spent with Dunstan, he doesn't seem all that much better. I know Wanda likes him, but I do not share all of Wanda's opinions. At all.
Dunstan, Cyan, and Joseph entered the nurse's office, and the door shut behind the three. The lock device by the door had the same green, pink, red, and blue buttons as the one in the principal's office.
"This room seems relatively smaller than the rest!" Dunstan noted. "Hopefully this means an easier time!"
Indeed, the only things in the room were a cabinet, a patient's bed, a life-sized anatomy doll, and a desk with a chair and computer.
"Where should we start?" Joseph asked.
"Always check the computer!" Dunstan decided as he sat down in front of the desk and moved the mouse. The computer was at the password input screen. "We need a password! Where shall we find one?!"
"What's in here?" Cyan asked as she opened the cabinet door.
Several bottles of pills, syrups, and salves lined the top shelves of the cabinet. Several glitchy spots flickered within the cabinet.
"Medicine, huh?" Joseph asked. "Wait, did one of us get infected? Did we all?!"
"I doubt it," Cyan giggled.
"Well who else could the medicine be for?" Joseph asked.
"What about him?!" Dunstan suggested as he pointed at the anatomy doll.
"You think?" Joseph asked. "I guess his mouth is open, so maybe."
"What does he need, though?" Cyan asked.
"Hey, what's this?" Joseph asked as he bent down and found a piece of paper on the bottom shelf of the medicine cabinet. He read it silently.
"What is it?!" Dunstan inquired.
"It looks like some sort of interview," Joseph answered. "'What is the biggest thing driving you to win?' 'To finally surpass my sister in something. She's always been better than me at everything, and every time I try to find something new, she picks up on it and beats me in that, too. If I win Total Drama, then I can have at least one victory over her; publicly broadcast, no less.'"
"Sounds like Zelda," Cyan noted.
"Yeah," Joseph nodded. "But what is this doing here?"
"Does the transcript contain anything that might serve as a hint?!" Dunstan asked.
"I'll keep reading. You guys keep looking around the room," Joseph suggested.
"Alright!" Dunstan and Cyan agreed in unison.
Cyan continued to look through the medicine cabinet, while Dunstan opened the drawers to the computer desk. The bottom drawer contained several files within them. Dunstan took the first file and opened it. The first page showed a picture of Cosette.
"'Name: Cosette Spencer. Date of Birth: January 2nd, 1999. Blood Type: AB+...'" Dunstan read. He flipped through the rest of the pages, all detailing information about Cosette.
"Is that some kind of profile?" Joseph asked.
"It appears so!" Dunstan answered. "I wonder..."
Dunstan returned Cosette's profile to the drawer and took the last folder in the drawer. He opened it and read the first page.
"'Name: Zelda Jiminez. Date of Birth: November 13th, 2000...'" Dunstan read. "This might be what we need! Cyan, any luck on your end?!"
"Not so far," Cyan admitted. "None of the medicines really stand out from one another. None of them are even blue. They're all alphabetized, though, so that's neat."
Dunstan hastily flipped through the pages of Zelda's profile. The first page of her interview was missing.
"Joseph, can I see that paper you found?!" Dunstan asked.
"Oh, uh, sure," Joseph agreed as he handed Dunstan the interview paper.
Dunstan put the paper in its rightful place.
"Hmm, I had thought this would do something," Dunstan thought aloud.
Dunstan's eyes wandered to the opposite page.
"Wait a minute..." Dunstan began. "'Medications: Asujolline pills.' Cyan! Are there any Asujolline pills in the cabinet?!"
"I think so," Cyan said as she looked at the top shelf of the cabinet. "Yes, there are!"
"Feed one to the anatomy dummy!" Dunstan commanded.
"Alright!" Cyan agreed as she took the bottle of pills and slipped a pill into the dummy's mouth.
After a second, the dummy's heart broke in two.
"Ack! You killed it!" Joseph gasped.
"Wait, no, I think there's something inside," Cyan pointed out.
Cyan pried the pieces of the plastic heart apart, and, sure enough, inside was the purple sphere.
"Dun dun da-duuuuuuun!" Cyan proclaimed as she held the sphere aloft.
"Excellent!" Dunstan complimented as he accepted the sphere from Cyan and pocketed it. "Now we just need some sort of clue on how to get out of here! I bet the computer has something, if we could only figure out the password!"
"This bed hasn't seen any use yet," Cyan mentioned as she approached the patient's bed. "It's got to be here for a reason."
"Hey, wait a minute," Joseph said as he read the bottle of Asujolline pills. "It doesn't say anything about these being for your heart. They're for your stomach."
"Do you think we need heart medicine to break open the stomach?" Cyan proposed.
"Maybe," Joseph thought aloud. "Cyan, do you remember seeing any heart medicine?"
"I do, actually!" Cyan remembered. "It's a blue syrup, that's how I remember! What was it called...?"
"Cragmityl?" Joseph guessed as he took a bottle of blue syrup from the cabinet.
"That's the one!" Cyan confirmed.
Joseph opened the bottle of Cragmityl and poured a little of it in the small plastic cup that had rested atop the cap. He poured the contents down the anatomy doll's mouth, and, after a second, the doll's stomach unhinged, revealing a knife within.
"What on earth is a sharp utensil doing inside a nurse's office?!" Dunstan objected. "Sharp objects are not welcome in a safe environment!"
Joseph took the knife and glanced at the bed. Upon closer inspection, there were two stains on the plastic cover: a smaller one on the upper-right, and a larger one near the middle.
"You know what?" Joseph smiled. "These stains kind of remind me of... yeah!"
Joseph stabbed the knife into the smaller stain. He tore the new stab hole open wider, revealing a slip of paper within.
"Yep," Joseph nodded. "The heart and the stomach. If the sphere is in the heart of the doll, then a clue is in the heart of... the bed, I guess."
"Well? What's it say?!" Dunstan inquired.
"Oh, right," Joseph remembered. "'Password Reminder: Nurse's Aide's Birthday. MM/DD/YYYY'."
"Who's the nurse's aide?" Cyan asked.
"If I had to guess, one of us," Dunstan figured. "As in, one of the fourteen contestants who are apparently the only ones that attend this school!"
"It's got to be Vanessa," Joseph figured.
Dunstan took Vanessa's profile from the desk drawer and opened it.
"'Vanessa McKinnon. Date of Birth: March 14th, 2000.'" Dunstan read.
Dunstan quickly typed "03/14/2000" into the password window. This changed the screen to display a string of letters: " R".
"What the hell?" Joseph asked as he peeked at the screen over Dunstan's shoulder.
"Could this be...?" Dunstan glanced at the lock device. "Green, red, blue, pink... Yes! This is the way out!"
"Alright!" Cyan cheered.
"Read me the colors, bro," Joseph requested as he walked up to the input device.
"Green, red, blue, pink, green, pink, blue, red, pink, green, red," Dunstan responded.
Joseph pressed the respective buttons as Dunstan read. With the last button pressed, the light turned green, and the click of the door unlocking could be heard.
"We're home free!" Joseph cheered.
"Excellent! Let us go!" Dunstan declared as he opened the exit door.
Confessional:
Dunstan: Only one sphere left to go! I have to say, I'm feeling fairly good about my chances here! Cyan and Joseph are easy to work with, and fairly capable, too, if I do say so myself! First place is on the horizon!
Cyan: It's sort of weird that they just had all this information about everyone readily available for anyone who wanted to read it. Then again, some of it may have just been fabricated for a challenge. Zelda never mentioned any stomach issues or needing pills for anything. Who can say? (She shrugs.)
Zelda had just led Jynxie and Vanessa inside the computer lab.
"Alright, here we are," Zelda said as the door shut behind her. "Now I'm going to-" she stopped when she heard the click of the door locking. "Tell me that isn't what I think was."
"Yeah, the doors lock themselves and you need to find some way to satisfy this thing on top of finding the colored balls," Jynxie told her as she pointed to the lock device, this one with the same touch grid that the science room had.
Vanessa touched the squares experimentally. "It looks like we'll need the right symbols in the right places," she told the other two girls.
"Great," Zelda sighed.
"Come on, Zelda. It's not that bad," Vanessa encouraged. "Like you said, if you help us out here, it'll all be over with faster."
Within the computer lab, predictably enough, were two rows of several desks with computers, with one computer desk at the end. Some were powered on, some were powered off, some were on a password screen. There was a large whiteboard with glitchy spots on the wall closest to the door. One of the computers had the words "Begin Here!" displayed on the monitor.
"Well that's helpful," Zelda remarked as the three approached the latter computer.
Jynxie clicked the mouse, but nothing happened.
"What the hell?" Jynxie winced. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Is it plugged in?" Zelda asked flatly.
"What?" Jynxie asked.
"Is the mouse plugged in to the computer?" Zelda reiterated.
"I mean, I can't imagine it isn't," Jynxie said as she tugged on the mouse for effect, only to bring the entire cable out in front of the three.
"Nice catch, Zelda!" Vanessa encouraged.
"That's, like, basic knowledge, but okay," Zelda mumbled.
"Where do I plug this into?" Jynxie asked as she inspected the monitor.
"You know what, for the sake of getting this over with faster, just leave the computer maintenance to me," Zelda decided as she took the mouse from Jynxie.
"Cool. Works for me," Jynxie grinned.
Zelda plugged the mouse into the back of the computer, set it back on the mouse pad, and clicked it. This changed the message on the screen.
"'Your goal here is to figure out which of the computers in the lab corresponds with the fourteen students at this school'," Jynxie read.
"'For each one you get correct, you will receive a new hint'," Zelda continued.
"'We'll start with an easy one: this computer belongs to someone who gained safety through an Invincibility Cube'," Vanessa finished. An input box appeared below the text. "That can only be Irving or Robby."
Jynxie typed "Irving" into the input. The computer beeped in response.
"'Incorrect. Please wait 30 seconds before trying again'," Jynxie read from the screen. "What the fuck?!"
"It's probably to keep us from just guessing over and over until we get it right," Zelda figured.
Jynxie clicked on the greyed-out input box over and over, but to no avail.
"Well, now we know for sure that the correct answer here is 'Robby'," Vanessa assured her.
"Yeah, but now we have to wait, which is in, like, my top ten least favorite things to do," Jynxie grumbled.
"Let's get these computers that aren't turned on working while we wait," Zelda suggested.
"I'll keep an eye on the timer," Vanessa offered.
"I don't know how computers work," Jynxie winced.
"If something doesn't work, just tell me," Zelda sighed as she turned on one of the powered-off machines.
Jynxie pressed the power button on one of the turned-off machines. It did not turn on. "Zeeeeeeeeldaaaaaaa!" Jynxie called.
"Is it plugged in?!" Zelda responded, annoyed.
Jynxie checked the power cable, which was not plugged in. She silently plugged it in and pressed the power button, which activated the computer. She slinked back over to the computer Vanessa sat at.
"Is it almost ready?" Jynxie asked.
The timer had, in fact, just ran out.
"Yes!" Vanessa answered. She swiftly typed Robby's name into the input. This changed the message on the screen.
"'No student is sitting next to someone from the same starting team'," Jynxie read. "That's not very helpful."
"No, I think it's really helpful," Vanessa offered. "Who from the Pixel Peacocks would Robby sit next to? Who wouldn't he sit next to?"
"He probably wouldn't sit next to me or Lilith," Jynxie chuckled. "Maybe not Dunstan, either."
"See, that narrows things down!" Vanessa assured her. "That just leaves Cyan, Joseph, Cosette, and Felix."
"I guess," Jynxie figured.
"Here, let's try Cyan on both computers next to this one," Vanessa suggested.
"That way we're guaranteed to get it wrong on at least one of them," Jynxie pointed out.
"But it'll rule her out completely on both of them in that case," Vanessa figured. "And if it's right on one of them, then awesome!"
"Whatever," Jynxie figured.
Both girls typed Cyan's name into the computers next to Robby's.
"I'm in!" Vanessa announced.
"Oh, sweet!" Jynxie grinned. "Hey, Zelda! How are things?!"
"All of them are on except for this one," Zelda said from behind the end computer. "I'm doing what I can to see what the issue is."
"'The students who swapped teams are sitting across from each other'," Vanessa read.
"Well that's hardly helpful. We don't know where any of those computers are," Jynxie griped.
"But it does narrow things down," Vanessa pointed out. "This way we know that none of you, me, Irving, or Dunstan are sitting across from Robby or Cyan."
"Eh, I guess," Jynxie figured. "Should we try someone else next to Robby?"
"Go for it. I'll try and guess who from the Snakes might sit next to Cyan," Vanessa smiled.
Vanessa went to the computer next to Cyan's and typed her own name in. The computer beeped, showing Vanessa's guess to be incorrect.
Jynxie, meanwhile, moved to the other computer next to Robby's, which was eligible once again, and typed Cosette's name in. This granted her access.
"Oh shit, I'm in!" Jynxie announced. "This is Cosette's!"
"Awesome!" Vanessa cheered as she came over to Cosette's computer. "So Robby is sitting between Cyan and Cosette."
"'With one exception, every student is sitting across from someone of the same gender'," Jynxie read. "Shit, that narrows things down a lot."
"Cosette or Cyan can only sit across from Wanda, Zelda, or Lilith," Vanessa nodded. "And Robby can only sit across from Irving, Gunther, Felix, or Joseph."
"Unless one of them are the exception," Jynxie pointed out.
"Let's try Zelda's name across from Cyan and Cosette and see what happens!" Vanessa decided.
"Maybe my own computer will give me better luck than this one," Zelda sighed from behind the end computer. "This thing just refuses to work."
"Here, Zelda, you type your name at this computer here," Vanessa suggested from behind the computer that sat across from Cosette's. "I'll see if I can list the hints."
Vanessa ran up to the large whiteboard, took a dry-erase marker, and began to write down the hints already provided.
Jynxie and Zelda, meanwhile, typed Zelda's names into the computers across from Cyan's and Cosette's computers.
"Oh, hey, it worked," Zelda said from behind Cosette's computer.
"Fuck yeah!" Jynxie cheered.
"'No student is sitting across from someone from the same starting team'," Zelda read from her computer.
"That's super helpful!" Vanessa beamed as she began writing that hint on the board. "With everything else we know, I think we can figure out the rest from here!"
"For real?!" Jynxie asked excitedly.
"Well, look at it this way," Vanessa said as she began drawing a diagram of the desks.
? ? ? Cyan Robby Cosette ?
? ? ? ? ? Zelda ?
"Cyan can only be sitting across from a girl on the Cyber Snakes," Vanessa explained. "It can't be Zelda because we know where Zelda is sitting, and it can't be me because I'm sitting across from Jynxie. We just don't know where. That only leaves Wanda."
Vanessa erased the question mark below Cyan's name and wrote Wanda's name.
? ? ? Cyan Robby Cosette ?
? ? ? Wanda ? Zelda ?
"What about the exception?" Zelda pointed out. "You keep forgetting the exception to the 'across from the same gender' rule."
"Hmm, true," Vanessa winced. "That also means that Cyan could be sitting across from Gunther or Nils. But Wanda is a lot more likely.
"I'll try Wanda's name. The timer just ran out," Jynxie said as she typed Wanda's name into the input. "Yes! It worked!"
"Awesome!" Vanessa cheered. "What hint does it give?"
"There is none," Jynxie tsked. "But then, you may be right about figuring shit out from here."
"I'll try, I don't know, Joseph across from Robby's computer, then," Zelda decided. She did as she said, and it granted access. "Yep. This is Joseph's."
"Six down, eight to go," Vanessa smiled as she added Joseph's name beneath Robby's on her diagram.
"How about these ones next to Cosette and Zelda?" Jynxie asked.
"Cosette can only be sitting next to Vanessa, Nils, Irving, or Gunther," Zelda listed. "And I can only be sitting next to Jynxie, Dunstan, Felix, or Lilith."
"Here, you try my name next to yours. I'll try Irving next to Cosette," Jynxie suggested.
"Alright," Zelda agreed.
The girls input the names they said they would.
"Yep, this is yours," Zelda told Jynxie.
"Which means that I am sitting across from Vanessa," Jynxie nodded. "Since Irving did not work here."
Vanessa quickly adjusted her diagram.
? ? ? Cyan Robby Cosette, Vanessa
? ? ? Wanda Joseph Zelda Jynxie
"That means that Dunstan and Irving 100% sitting across from each other," Jynxie noted.
"And the exception can only be Gunther and Lilith, or Nils and Lilith," Zelda pointed out. "Since Lilith is the last girl on the Pixel Peacocks."
"Here, you type Irving into the one next to Cyan," Zelda suggested. "I'll type Lilith next to Wanda."
"Works for me," Jynxie agreed.
The girls did as they said.
"Irving is next to Cyan!" Jynxie announced.
"And, logically, that means Dunstan is next to Wanda, rather than Lilith," Zelda added.
"Don't forget that I'm technically not logged in," Vanessa pointed out as she fixed her diagram.
? ? Irving Cyan Robby Cosette, Vanessa
? ? Dunstan Wanda Joseph Zelda Jynxie
"I'm on it!" Jynxie announced as she ran up to Vanessa's computer and typed her name in.
"I'll try Gunther next to Dunstan," Zelda mentioned. She did as she said, and was granted access. "Gunther is next to Dunstan!"
"And by process of elimination, Nils is next to whoever is across from Gunther," Vanessa figured as she adjusted her diagram.
Nils Felix/Lilith Irving Cyan Robby Cosette, Vanessa
Felix/Lilith Gunther Dunstan Wanda Joseph Zelda Jynxie
Jynxie had just finished logging Dunstan in after the timer for his computer had expired. "Sweet! We've got this!" she exclaimed with a fist pump.
Zelda had moved to Nils's computer and successfully logged him in.
"Alright, we've got a 50/50 shot here," Zelda told Jynxie as the two sat at the final two computers. "I'll type Felix, you type Lilith. Either we're both right, or we're both wrong."
"Alright!" Jynxie agreed.
The two did as they said, and both were granted access.
"Yes! We did it!" Jynxie cheered.
"There's something here on my monitor," Zelda said.
Jynxie and Vanessa ran up to Felix's computer, which showcased the code to the lock device: a Pixel Peacocks logo in the top square, a Topher logo in the left square, and a Topher logo in the bottom square.
"I think that's the exit key!" Vanessa cheered.
"But what about the red sphere?" Jynxie asked. "We kind of need that."
"Oh, right," Vanessa remembered. "But where could it be?"
Zelda glanced at the end computer, the one that would not turn on.
"Hey, Jynxie. You want to break something?" Zelda smirked.
"Uh, is the sky blue?" Jynxie grinned.
"Five bucks says the red sphere is inside this monitor," Zelda said as she tapped the top of the the end computer's monitor.
"Let's go!" Jynxie whooped as she tore the cables out of the monitor, lifted it up, and threw it on the ground. Sure enough, among the busted remains of the monitor was the red sphere.
"What an odd way of doing things," Vanessa commented.
"Either way, we can go, right?" Zelda asked impatiently.
"We just need to get that exit code in this thingy and we're golden," Jynxie said as she pocketed the red sphere and approached the lock device.
Confessional:
Jynxie: I'm almost there! Just one more of these dumb puzzle rooms and that million dollars is mine! And, again, I've got to say, I'm glad I've got these other guys to help me out. I would not have figured any of that shit out on my own. (She chuckles.)
Vanessa: Hehe. Zelda doesn't want to admit it, but I'll bet she had fun figuring out the puzzle with us.
As Dunstan, Cyan, and Joseph left the nurse's office and the door burst into a glitchy mess, the glitchy aspects began to seep into the surrounding walls.
"Holy crap!" Joseph jumped. "It's spreading!"
"We had best hurry!" Dunstan urged. "I only need one more sphere! We can do this!"
"There can't be many more places that aren't all bugged out," Cyan figured. "Let's begin searching and see what comes up."
"Agreed!" Dunstan nodded as he ran ahead. Cyan and Joseph followed behind him.
The group ran past several rooms that had already been enveloped in dark, fuzzy spaces full of code, 1s, and 0s.
"This school is not that large!" Dunstan complained.
"Have you even run into Jynxie since the start of the challenge?" Cyan inquired.
"Er, no," Dunstan admitted.
"Hey, isn't that Wanda?" Joseph asked as he pointed off to the side. "Hey, Wanda!"
Sure enough, Wanda had been standing in a perpendicular hallway. She turned around.
"Dunstan! Joseph! Cyan!" Wanda cheered as she ran up to the three. "I've been looking everywhere for you, Dunstan!"
"Likewise!" Dunstan responded. "Do you happen to know where I might find a colored orb?! Preferably not green, blue, red, or purple!"
"As a matter of fact, I do!" Wanda confirmed. "There's a yellow one in the music room."
"Do you remember where it is?" Joseph asked.
"Er, I have a basic idea," Wanda answered. "I've been searching for Dunstan for a while. I've wandered off quite a bit. But I'll do what I can!"
"That's all I can ask for!" Dunstan smiled. "Lead away, Wanda!"
"Alright! Watch and be transported to... this way, I guess!" Wanda declared as she ran back towards the hall from where she came.
The others glanced at each other before following the young magician.
Confessional:
Wanda: It took until the end of the challenge, but I can finally do my part in helping Dunstan win! It wouldn't be the end of the world if Jynxie won, but he was a loyal ally and friend ever since we merged. And she... kind of wasn't.
Joseph: I've got to admit, it's nice not having to stress about taking charge in a challenge for once. Especially because I low-key have no idea what I'm doing here. (He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck.)
Jynxie, Vanessa, and Zelda left the computer room. The door burst into a glitchy mess, and it began spreading.
"Oh, is that why the doors keep getting messed up?" Zelda winced.
"Yeah, but it was never spreading before!" Jynxie gasped. "We need to hoof it, now!"
"Where?" Vanessa asked. "You still need one more sphere, right?
"Find a door that isn't glitchy, I guess," Zelda suggested.
"Makes sense to me!" Jynxie decided as she ran off.
"H-Hey! Wait for us!" Vanessa called as she and Zelda gave chase.
"No time to lose! Any second wasted is a second Dunstan could have over me!" Jynxie declared.
The girls ran through the halls, looking desperately for a door that hadn't been enveloped in malfunction.
"Come on come on come on!" Jynxie shouted.
"Wait, is that Lilith?" Vanessa asked.
Sure enough, Lilith stood perfectly still in front of a nearby door that was not glitched out. She had a wide smile on her face.
"Lilith!" Jynxie beamed. "Where the hell have you been all this time?"
"Right here," Lilith answered.
"You... You know you didn't have to stand here the whole time, right?" Zelda asked.
"Mweeheeheeheeheehee..." Lilith laughed.
"Whatever. Is there a blue sphere somewhere in this room behind you by any chance?" Jynxie asked.
"Yep. How did you know?" Lilith responded.
"Call it a hunch," Jynxie dismissed. "Come on, let's head in!"
Jynxie and the other girls all made their way inside.
Confessional:
Lilith: Mweeheehee... so it's down to Jynxie and Dunstan. Imagine the unrest they must feel. The stakes of finally defeating the one you hate so much... or lose to them yourself. What I wouldn't give to have faced Irving in such a way~ Imagine losing to me of all people.
Zelda: I think Lilith might be at the top of the list of people I'm glad I never shared a team with. Honestly, though, it's so close that it's hard to say for sure. I'm not one to kinkshame - okay, that's a lie - but she needs to keep her obsession with making others uncomfortable in her pants.
Dunstan and his crew arrived outside the music room.
"Tada! We have arrived!" Wanda announced proudly.
"Excellent!" Dunstan grinned. "Thank you so much, Wanda!"
"What are we waiting for? Let's go in," Joseph coaxed.
"Agreed!" Dunstan agreed as he opened the door and ran in. His friends followed close behind.
The door shut behind them. The lock device had the same X-shaped hole as the one from the theater room.
"Music isn't really my forte," Joseph noted. "Hopefully I can be of some help here."
"Ha! Forte! I get the joke!" Dunstan laughed.
"...That's a joke?" Joseph whispered to Wanda, who shrugged in response.
"Hey, wasn't Cyan with us before?" Wanda asked.
Dunstan and Joseph looked around to find that Cyan was not with them,
"She was! And now she is not!" Dunstan gasped.
"She was with us when we got here, right?" Joseph asked.
"To be honest, I was so excited to get into this final room that I did not pay attention," Dunstan admitted. "Which reminds me! We shouldn't get hung up on Cyan's whereabouts! We have a yellow sphere to find and a challenge to win!"
The three looked around the music room, which naturally had all sorts of musical instruments of all kinds lying around, as well as a book of sheet music on a music stand.
"Okay, so, what are we supposed to do in here?" Wanda asked.
"We must solve puzzles to locate the whereabouts of not only the colored sphere, but a way to unlock the door!" Dunstan answered. "If the puzzle in here requires playing an instrument, fear not, for I have taken a beginner's piano class this last school year!"
"Will that be enough?" Joseph asked.
"I can't imagine they'd include a challenge that the average layperson could not perform!" Dunstan figured.
"That makes sense," Wanda decided. "But where should we start?"
"How about this?" Dunstan asked as he took the book of sheet music from the music stand. "Perhaps there's a song in here that needs to be played!"
"How would you know which one?" Joseph asked.
Dunstan looked through the table of contents.
"Ah! There's a song here called 'Sweet Victory'!" Dunstan noted as he flipped to the respective page.
"I'm looking at the instruments here, and the piano is the only one with a book on how to play it," Wanda pointed out.
"Ha! As if I'll need it!" Dunstan boasted. "This is excellent, though! How fortunate that this challenge is based on something I already have experience in!"
Dunstan sat down at the piano, tossed the instructional book to the side, and flipped the sheet music book open to the 'Sweet Victory' page. Dunstan's face fell when he actually looked at the sheet music.
"What's up?" Joseph asked.
"This song is... a touch more advanced than I am used to," Dunstan admitted.
"Are you sure it's the right one?" Wanda asked.
"Er, one of you look through the book for other songs I might need to play," Dunstan requested as he searched for the instructional book. "I will, er, brush up on my piano skills!"
Joseph took the sheet music book from the piano stand.
"Is it me, or is Dunstan being a bit pushy?" Wanda whispered to Joseph as he flipped through it.
"Have you met Dunstan?" Joseph chuckled as Dunstan began his piano warm ups. "Besides, it's the finale, and he could win this whole game. I'd probably be pushy, too."
"Boys," Wanda huffed.
"Don't be a hoe," Joseph frowned.
"Any luck?!" Dunstan asked.
"Not so much," Joseph admitted. "Are you sure you can't play this song?"
"It would take several attempts!" Dunstan answered. "Why don't the two of you look for any X-shaped key we might be able to use to leave the room when we are finished?!"
"Sounds good," Joseph nodded as he returned the sheet music book to the piano.
Dunstan began his attempts to play 'Sweet Victory' while Joseph and Wanda began messing with the other instruments lying around.
Confessional:
Dunstan: This is my final orb! Everything rests on this! ...I knew I should have practiced more after the school year ended!
Jynxie and her crew had just entered what looked to be a school store, with all sorts of school supplies, snacks, and drinks lining the shelves behind the counter.
"Oh, sweet, free food!" Jynxie exclaimed.
"Shouldn't you be focused on winning?" Vanessa asked.
"Oh, right, that too," Jynxie remembered.
She glanced at the lock device, which had a coin slot like in the cafeteria.
"How fitting that you need to pay to get out of the store," Zelda commented.
"Is that not what life is?" Lilith asked. "Simply paying? Always payin'. Always pain... Mweeheehee..."
"Please say something normal," Zelda told Vanessa.
"Maybe we should check the cash register for the right coin," Vanessa suggested.
"Oh, shit, you're right," Jynxie agreed. "What about that last sphere, though?"
"It is trapped in a sea of worthless nothings and the embodiments of failure," Lilith answered.
"That's great, but I need a real answer here," Jynxie huffed.
"She's right, actually," Vanessa said as she approached the quarter toy machine that Lilith had been staring at. Sure enough, the blue sphere could be seen among the small toy capsules inside, surrounded by glitchy spots.
"Is that a gacha machine?" Zelda asked.
"A what?" Jynxie asked.
"A gacha machine. Like, gachapon," Zelda explained. "Those little toy machines you might find at the front of a restaurant next to a gumball machine."
"Is that what they're called?" Jynxie asked. "Whatever. What's more pressing here is that this sounds hella luck-based!"
"Well, there's no point in wasting time," Vanessa decided as she went behind the counter and opened the cash register. "There are a lot of quarters in here. You might as well get started."
"What about the coin slot on the wall there?" Zelda asked as she pointed her eyes at the lock device.
"This slot is far too big to accept any of our currency," Lilith noted as she stroked the lock device.
Vanessa dropped a handful of quarters in Jynxie's hand. "You keep trying for the blue sphere," she suggested. "The rest of us will look for a big coin to fit in the lock device."
"How come I have to do the boring shit?" Jynxie griped. "Zelda, you do it!"
"Why me?" Zelda winced.
"Because we're not that close and I have the least to lose from making you do it," Jynxie chuckled.
"Or I could just refuse," Zelda scoffed. "Remember that part where I don't particularly care for you and am only here now because I have nothing else to do?"
"Girls, girls!" Vanessa interjected. "I'll try the toy machine. Both of you can look for a big coin."
"Aww. I liked seeing them fight," Lilith pouted as Jynxie handed Vanessa the handful of quarters back.
"Now, let's see..." Vanessa muttered to herself as she put a coin in the toy machine and turned the crank. A toy capsule popped out.
"Hey, do you think if I eat these chips in here, it'll make me feel less hungry in the real world?" Jynxie asked as she broke open a bag of chips. "Do you think I'll, like, gain weight because my body is adapting to what my brain thinks happened?"
"Why don't you eat all the chips in the store and find out?" Zelda snarked.
"Hey, for all we know, the big coin we need could be in a bag of chips, and I'm not about to let these chips go to waste!" Jynxie insisted.
"They aren't real. You aren't wasting anything other than time," Zelda said. She took a bag of chips, opened it, and dumped its contents on the floor.
"No! That's my favorite flavor!" Jynxie cried as she leapt to the floor and ate the chips directly off the floor.
"How pitiful..." Lilith giggled.
"You're the opposite of helpful, you know that?" Zelda told Lilith.
"Aw, thanks~" Lilith cooed.
Confessional:
Jynxie: Gotta love salt and vinegar. I mean, I get where Zelda's coming from, but if I let myself get too stressed out about everything, it'll just get to my head and I won't be able to focus. Might as well have some fun with it.
Dunstan had just finished playing "Sweet Victory" perfectly. The top of the piano opened up.
"Eureka!" Dunstan cheered as he looked inside the piano. Sure enough, the yellow sphere was inside, surrounded by glitchy spots. "I found the final sphere!"
"Hell yeah!" Joseph cheered.
Wanda had unscrewed the top off the music stand which had held the sheet music book. Several small bars that formed an X shape snapped out of the end of the rod.
"I think I found the way out!" Wanda announced.
"Yes! Excellent job, Wanda!" Dunstan complimented as he pocketed the yellow sphere. "Would you do the honors?"
Wanda nodded excitedly as she picked up the dismantled music stand and stuck the X-shaped end into the lock device. The light on the device turned green, and the door clicked.
"Onward!" Dunstan urged as he flung open the door and ran out.
"Let's go!" Joseph cheered as he and Wanda followed Dunstan out.
Confessional:
Wanda: Alakazam, Dunstan! You can do it!
Vanessa kept dully putting quarters into the toy machine and coming up with toy capsules.
"Hey, V. You want some chips?" Jynxie offered.
"That'd be nice," Vanessa admitted. "Are there those sun-dried tomato Sun Chips?"
"Yeah, actually," Jynxie confirmed as she tossed Vanessa a bag.
"Thanks," Vanessa smiled. She broke open the bag and found that, in addition to the chips, a large blue coin sat in the bag. "Hey, Lilith! Do you think this coin is big enough to get us out of here?"
"Huh?" Lilith asked as if a trance was broken. Vanessa handed her the coin. "So it is. What do you know?"
"Any luck with the gacha machine?" Zelda asked Vanessa.
Vanessa glanced at the floor below her, which was covered in capsules. "It's about halfway empty," she answered.
"You got this, V!" Jynxie encouraged. "You know what? Take a break and eat some chips. I'll take over."
"Aw, really? Thanks," Vanessa smiled.
Jynxie took a handful of quarters from the cash register and rapidly began sticking them in the machine's coin slot and cranking out capsule after capsule, until the blue sphere came out.
"I got it!" Jynxie announced.
"Finally. Let's get out of here," Zelda groaned.
Lilith put the blue Topher coin into the lock device. The light on the device turned green and the door clicked.
"Last one there's a Dunstan!" Jynxie shouted as she opened the door and ran straight out.
"H-Hey! Wait up!" Vanessa cried as she and Lilith ran out.
Zelda stayed behind and took a soda from the drinks fridge.
Confessional:
Zelda: Yeah, that's about enough time around people for this girl. Alone time is underrated.
As soon as the doors to both the music room and the school store shut, they both burst into glitchy messes that began seeping into the floor and even the open space of the hallways.
"Holy shit!" Joseph gasped as he noticed the glitches encroaching on Dunstan's group.
"I cannot die! Not now!" Dunstan declared.
"Hocus pocus!" Wanda shouted as she looked back and pointed her wand at the wave of glitch. Nothing happened.
Just then, Nils appeared from a perpendicular hall and shoved Wanda over, leaving her to get enveloped in the glitch.
"Nils!" Joseph shouted confrontationally.
"Where have you been?!" Dunstan snapped as he looked behind him.
Nils wordlessly ran up to Joseph and kicked him in the shin, causing Joseph to stop and clutch his leg in pain, leaving him to get swallowed by the glitch as well.
"Nils! What are you doing?!" Dunstan cried.
Nils ran up closer to Dunstan, prompting the hall monitor to run even faster. It wasn't long before he reached the front hall, alongside Jynxie and Irving. The wave of glitch ended, leaving the four of them trapped.
"So... it comes down to this," Nils stated.
Irving stood in front of the recessed doors with a proud grin and his arms crossed.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Irving?" Jynxie shouted. "First you kill Cosette and Felix for no reason, then you kill Vanessa and Lilith for no reason, and now this!"
"Gyarharhar! Ye want to know?" Irving laughed. "Truth is, Nils and I have been working together from the start of the challenge."
"If you'll recall, though you may not since his announcement was so glitchy, Topher said that the person to exit the building first will win the challenge," Nils explained. "He did not specify that this person had to be one of the two of you."
"Har! Yep!" Irving added. "And of course, it's all led up to this! The two of ye kindly got all the spheres already, and we've already offed all of your allies who might help ye."
"Of course, we couldn't kill either of you, because that would end the challenge outright with the one we didn't kill winning," Nils continued. "But we can still hurt you. As much as deemed necessary."
"Fuck that shit!" Jynxie objected as she blocked an incoming punch from Nils. "Even if you're right and you would win if you got out first, I'm not going to let you!"
"Bullying is not, has never been, and will never be welcome in a school environment!" Dunstan shouted as he punched Nils square in the face, causing the perfectionist to stumble backwards.
"Holy shit! You can punch!" Jynxie complimented.
"If you think he can punch, you haven't seen anything yet!" Nils snapped.
Irving appeared from behind Dunstan and grabbed hold of him, leaving the hall monitor unable to move. Nils decked Jynxie across the face, sending her stumbling to the floor.
Nils began fishing through Dunstan's pockets for his five spheres.
"Never took ye for the type to look for what's in another man's pants," Irving joked.
"Never speak again," Nils glowered.
"Cease this at once!" Dunstan ordered as he struggled to break free from Irving's clutches.
Jynxie stood up and shoved Nils away.
"I may not be able to kill you if I want to win, but I can still break every bone in your body!" Nils shouted.
"Keh. He thinks he's going to win," Irving whispered to Dunstan.
"Er, hey Nils! Irving just told me he plans on double-crossing you!" Dunstan accused. "Yes, he said he would kill you as soon as you successfully took five spheres, and he plans to use them himself!"
"He be stretching the truth!" Irving insisted.
"Oh, no, I never doubted for a second that Irving planned on double-crossing me," Nils said calmly. "But I can and will kill him as soon as I deem it necessary."
"Har! Ye wish, lad!" Irving laughed.
"Have you not seen before what I am capable of?" Nils scoffed. "What I did to Cyan in the sky pirate challenge? What I did to Vanessa after the sky pirate challenge?"
"Picking on scrawny lasses doesn't mean a thing," Irving dismissed. "Best a real man in a fight and I might take ye seriously."
"Do you not think I can?" Nils scoffed.
"Have at ye, lad!" Irving declared as he dropped Dunstan and put up his dukes.
Dunstan and Jynxie glanced at each other, confused. They both ran straight for the recessed door and began putting their spheres in the recesses.
"I'm winning this!" Jynxie bragged.
"No you are not!" Nils snapped as he ran up to the final two.
Irving tackled him into the wall of glitch, fizzling them both out. Irving gave the final two a knowing smirk before he was gone completely.
One recessed door opened immediately before another, and the finalists both escaped immediately to a sunny courtyard.
"We- We made it!" Dunstan smiled.
"But who won?" Jynxie asked.
"Congratulations on surviving the glitched-out school building!" Topher's voice announced.
The final two fizzled out of the simulation.
The eliminated contestants all watched the goings-on of the challenge from around a monitor in the VR room.
"Wait, who won?" Robby asked. "I demand answers!"
"As do I," Nils seethed at Irving.
Joseph immediately grabbed onto Nils the same way Irving had to Dunstan.
"I was only in it for the fun of it all," Irving shrugged. "As if I was going to let ye win, or rob one of the finalists of the win they rightfully earned."
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Topher greeted as he entered the VR room. "May I present to you... the winner of Total Drama Virtual Party!"
One of the finalists' VR pods had opened.
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"What happened?" Dunstan asked as he stretched his muscles.
Dunstan was met with various cheers from the eliminated contestants.
"Congratulations, Dunstan!" Topher announced as he put a hand on the hall monitor's shoulder. "You are the winner of Total Drama Virtual Party!"
"I-I am?!" Dunstan gasped. "I... I don't know what to say!"
"You did it, man!" Joseph cheered.
"Great job," Gunther nodded.
"I knew you could do it!" Wanda whooped.
Jynxie's VR pod opened, and she stepped out.
"What the hell happened? Who won?" Jynxie asked.
"Jynxie, I'm sorry to say, you have not won Total Drama Virtual Party," Topher told the punk.
"What?! Fuck!" Jynxie shouted.
"You still got 2nd. That's pretty good," Vanessa told Jynxie.
"Better than the rest of us, at least," Felix chuckled jokingly.
"Eh, true," Jynxie acknowledged.
"It was a valiant effort, Kacey!" Dunstan congratulated as he extended his hand for a shake. "I can think of no better opponent throughout the game than yourself."
Jynxie paused before smiling and accepting Dunstan's handshake.
"Never change, you obnoxious son of a bitch," Jynxie grinned genuinely.
Jynxie pulled Dunstan into a friendly hug, which he returned. Wanda squealed excitedly.
"And with that, the game has finally ended," Topher told the fourteen contestants. "You guys will have an hour to gather your belongings and mingle before the bus gets here and you get to go home. So enjoy yourselves."
"Or not," Lilith smiled sweetly.
Confessional:
Dunstan: I can't believe it! I actually won! Frankly, I didn't expect to make the merge, let alone win the entire game! I... Just wow. For once, I am speechless! Perhaps that was Kacey's plan all along to shut me up. (He laughs.)
Jynxie: Yeah, it sucks that I lost, especially to Dunstan of all people, but honestly, this game was hella fun, and getting 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at either. I'm a little bitter, but I'll get over it eventually. Gotta focus on the fun parts, right?
Dunstan began meticulously organizing the contents of his duffel bag in the sleeping room when Joseph walked in.
"Dunstan! Bro!" Joseph cheered as he ran up to Dunstan and gave him a huge hug.
"Joseph! I could not have won without your help!" Dunstan smiled. "You have my eternal gratitude!"
"Naw, man, that was all you," Joseph grinned. "We didn't even get to play the game together that much. Damn team swap, man."
"It is unfortunate, to be sure!" Dunstan agreed. "Although, had I not swapped teams, I may have gone home before the merge, so for me, it was a blessing in disguise, of sorts!"
"Not for me," Joseph joked. "But seriously, man, congrats. Believe it or not, you were the favorite to win among the losers."
"Really?" Dunstan asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, bro. Cosette wanted you to win, Gunther wanted you to win, so did Vanessa, Robby, Wanda, Irving... and me of course."
"Huh. I am not used to being popular in any capacity!" Dunstan noted. "Laying down the stalwart law of the academy halls does not make one many friends!"
"Well, revel in it, bro," Joseph encouraged. "And hell, maybe you'll get more popular back home now that you've been on Total Drama, not to mention won it."
"Perhaps," Dunstan thought aloud. "Whether or not this is the case is irrelevant to me! Maintaining order is my top priority! I've shirked my duties far too much in this game! I cannot allow myself to go soft!"
"Come on, you've got to admit that it was cool making friends and stuff, though, right?" Joseph asked. "Making memories and all that? Gotta enjoy yourself while you're young, bro."
"...Perhaps," Dunstan smiled. "You may be right. Perhaps I should allow myself some room for sociality alongside my hall monitor duties."
"That's what I like to hear, bro," Joseph encouraged. "You've only live once, right?"
"Correct!" Dunstan agreed. "And I shall make the most of it!"
"Yeah!" Joseph cheered as he shared a fist-bump with Dunstan.
Jynxie had been sitting at one of the tables in the dining room with a cup of coffee. Cyan sat across from her.
"Hey. You're not looking very blue," Cyan noted.
"I am kind of blue," Jynxie admitted. "Losing sucks."
"...Oh, right, blue means 'sad' for everyone else," Cyan remembered. "Sorry you lost. That's no fun."
"I mean, the challenge was pretty fun considering it was just puzzles and shit," Jynxie admitted. "I dunno, I just kind of hyped up winning this thing in my head too much. I'll get over it eventually, but the wound's still fresh, you know?"
"Losing definitely hurts," Cyan agreed. "I'm still not completely past what Irving did to get me voted out. So feeling a little upset is natural. Especially up against Dunstan, I know how much you didn't like him."
"Honestly? The fact that I lost to him specifically is, like, the least of it," Jynxie admitted. "I don't hate him as much as I did when we last talked."
"Really?" Cyan asked, interested.
"Maybe I just got numb to him or something, or maybe he really did just get better. I dunno," Jynxie continued. "But after spending the entire game with his ass, I had other things to focus on than just getting annoyed by Dunstan. Don't tell Wanda I said any of that, by the way. She'd never let me hear the end of it."
"My lips are sealed," Cyan giggled. "But hey, at the end of the day, you had fun in this game, right?"
"Oh, yeah, totally," Jynxie grinned. "This game was hella sick. I'd do it again in a heartbeat." She paused. "Man, I don't know how you did that, but I'm feeling a lot better. Thanks, Cyan."
"Anything to help you feel a bit more blue. Or less blue. Whatever works for you," Cyan smiled back.
Wanda and Zelda were in the bathroom, collecting their toiletries.
"Man, I can't believe it's all over," Wanda thought aloud. "It feels like just yesterday that we all rode in here in that truck."
"Maybe for you, who had been eliminated for a couple days," Zelda commented. "I was stuck in there for about two weeks. It felt like at least a year since we began for me."
"Sorry about that," Wanda frowned. "I know you were really looking forward to playing."
"I wasn't looking forward to it that much," Zelda insisted unconvincingly.
"Please. It was pretty much the only thing you would talk about at dinner," Wanda teased.
"That's because I don't have much to say at dinner in the first place," Zelda mentioned. "I don't lead an interesting life. It's a miracle I even got accepted for the show at all."
"Zelda..." Wanda frowned. "If I could, I would swap placements with you in a heartbeat."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zelda winced.
"I only signed up because I thought it'd be fun to get into something you were into," Wanda explained. "You're always such a private person, and I want to know my sister more than that, you know? And yet you got voted out early, and I made it so far. That doesn't feel fair."
"That's just how I am," Zelda said. "A private person, I mean. I don't need to have a ton of friends or talk to people a whole lot."
"Then why did you sign up for a social game?" Wanda asked curiously.
"Look, this conversation is over," Zelda leered. "My business is my business, and your business is your business. Let's just mind each other's businesses, alright?"
"Does... Does that mean you don't want to be my lovely assistant anymore?" Wanda frowned, tears in her eyes.
Zelda tossed her hat to Wanda before leaving the room.
Irving studied his VR pod in the VR room.
"If I could just take a look at the hardware..." Irving muttered as he tried prying the casing open.
"You will never get it open," Lilith told him. "You will never unlock the secrets you seek so. You will never get to profit off of it. You will never be anything more than the poor boy you are since every potential employer has it on record that you steal regularly."
"Awfully rich coming from a kid who's so screwy in the head that the only prom date she'll end up with will be in a straightjacket and probably wants to eat your neck," Irving retorted. "From a kid who knows she'll never offer anything to this world and obsesses over dying young and making others feel worse so ye don't feel like the most pathetic person in the room. Which is ironic because ye always will be. I could put ye in a room with the entire Revenge of the Island cast and ye would still be the most pathetic person in that room. How's that for unrest, kid?"
Lilith stared at Irving blankly.
"Finally shut her up," Irving chuckled quietly to himself.
"...Say that again," Lilith droned.
"Ye heard me the first time, kid," Irving dismissed. "Go bother Gunther or something."
"~Say it again, please~" Lilith moaned.
"Excuse me?" Irving winced.
"I've never felt such unrest in my life," Lilith blushed. "Tell me everything that's terrible about me. I want to feel like walking garbage!"
"And I'm sure there are other similar freaks like ye on the internet who are willing to oblige, but I am not, so piss off," Irving spat.
Lilith mewled.
"Ye know what, methinks I'm going to go pack up me bags," Irving decided. "Why don't ye stay here and feel abandoned or something?"
Lilith began breathing heavily.
"Good god," Irving gagged under his breath as he left the room.
Gunther found Vanessa strolling through one of the common rooms.
"Oh, Vanessa!" Gunther stopped her as he ran up to her.
"Hm? Gunther? What's up?" Vanessa asked.
"Before we probably never see each other again, I just wanted to thank you for being so understanding about everything," Gunther said. "I can't think of anyone else who would so readily forgive me for siding with Nils after he almost killed you."
"It's okay, Gunther, really," Vanessa giggled. "This is the sixth or seventh time you've brought it up."
"It's just... I don't know. I was going to say there's no closure here, but getting voted off before you feels right enough, at least to me," Gunther said. "I guess I just don't understand. How do you do that? How do you just stay so positive all the time?"
"I guess I've just always tried to see the good in everything," Vanessa answered. "I don't always succeed, believe me. You should have seen me on the Pixel Peacocks. Not my finest hours."
"It's not that I try to be not positive. I guess that just comes naturally to me, too," Gunther thought aloud.
"I know you're not a bad person, Gunther," Vanessa smiled. "Please don't beat yourself up about this. All is forgiven."
After a pause, Gunther removed his sword and sheath from his body, got down on one knee, and presented it to Vanessa with his head bowed.
"Gunther! No, I could never..." Vanessa gasped.
"I've got plenty more at home," Gunther told her as he lifted his head to look her in the eyes. He stood up and placed the sheath around Vanessa's torso. "I'm not taking it back."
"Gunther, this is kind of awkward," Vanessa admitted.
"...I've always been kind of an awkward person, I suppose," Gunther said. "If it really makes you that uncomfortable, you don't have to take it."
"If it's all the same, I'd rather not," Vanessa admitted as she removed the sheath and returned it to Gunther.
Silence.
"Well, see you around," Vanessa smiled awkwardly as she left the room. "That was so weird..." she muttered.
As soon as Vanessa left the room, Gunther began facepalming.
"You idiot!" Gunther scolded himself.
Nils stood in the entrance room, staring at the entrance/exit door to the testing facility.
"Can't wait to leave, eh?" Robby asked as he approached Nils.
"This game has been nothing but a symbol of failure," Nils spat.
"Yes, well, perhaps if you hadn't been so keen on scare tactics and violence to get your way, you may have lasted longer," Robby condescended.
"Need I remind you that I can snap your arms in half now that we're not in the abyss anymore?" Nils glowered.
"See?! Right there!" Robby pointed out. "Whenever you feel threatened, you resort to hurting people and threats thereof rather than actual discourse or proof that the other party is wrong. Do you know what that says? That says that you know that you have nothing on the other party and that-"
Robby was cut off when Nils grabbed him and slammed him against the door.
"Care to keep going?" Nils growled.
"How does it feel?" Robby smirked through the pain. "How does it feel knowing you have nothing on that scared boy you had in your pocket those first four days? How does it feel knowing that, once nobody feels threatened by you, then you become the scared boy?"
Nils slammed Robby against the door again.
"Hey, Nils!" Topher interrupted as he ran into the room. "The game is over, and any rules allowing acts of violence to slide are no longer in place. This is your only warning. Just thought I'd let you know. Laters!" Topher winked and made finger guns as he left the room again.
After a pause, Nils opened the entrance/exit door.
"Don't come looking for me," Nils told Robby.
"I won't," Robby replied smugly. The door shut as Nils left. "...Hey, wait a minute! What does that mean?"
Robby opened the door to find Nils running towards the horizon into the barren landscape.
"H-Hey! Topher!" Robby called as he ran for the door Topher had just gone through.
Cosette sat alone in one of the common rooms, writing something in a notebook.
"What'cha got there?" Felix asked as he approached her.
"My diary," Cosette answered. "I've got a lot to write about in here. I haven't had the chance to write in it for a long time."
Cosette looked up to find Felix wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks.
"I asked Dunstan if I could borrow some of his clothes. He was more than happy to oblige," Felix explained.
"You've finally seen the light, huh?" Cosette asked.
"Haha. Don't get me wrong, this still feels kind of gross," Felix answered. "Nudity will always feel more comfortable to me. That's just how I was raised, you know? Nudity is good, clothes suck. I never really questioned it."
"So why start wearing them now?" Cosette asked.
"Well, I'm out in public, aren't I?" Felix asked. "It's only polite. When I'm back at the nudist community, I won't wear clothes, but during those times when I'm not, I can bite the bullet."
"'Bite the bullet'. You're ridiculous," Cosette giggled.
"And hey, you mentioned being into fashion and stuff, right?" Felix asked. "What do you think my color is? People on TV are always like 'That's soooo not your color, girlfriend'. What would you say my color is?"
Cosette burst into laughter. "Never use that voice again," she chortled. "Honestly, it's hard to tell without having seen you modeling any clothes. Maybe one of these days I'll have to take you clothes shopping?"
"No kidding?" Felix blushed. "I'd definitely love for you to take me clothes shopping sometime. And those are words I never thought would come out of my mouth."
"You just want to spend time with me that much, huh?" Cosette teased.
"Hey, you're the one who offered," Felix teased back.
The two shared a laugh.
Topher sat in his office on the phone.
"Yes, one of our contestants, one Nils Hart-Goodman, has fled the facility," Topher explained. "Yes, we're in the Okanagan. Excellent, thank you so much!"
Topher hung up the phone.
"God, I knew he'd be a risk to cast, but this is ridiculous," Topher told himself. He began pulling at his hair. "I knew I should have left the door locked until it was time to go! Mr. Lynch is going to have my head for this. I'm so fired."
Topher checked his watch.
"Well, I'll leave Nils up to the RCMP for now," Topher said. He pressed a button on his desk and spoke into a microphone. "Attention, contestants! Your hour to pack and mingle has passed! Meet up in the entrance room!"
The fourteen contestants, sans Nils, all filed into the bus parked outside the testing facility.
"I cannot believe Nils fled into the desert!" Dunstan mentioned as the bus began driving off.
"What a loony," Jynxie commented.
"Goodbye, Total Drama!" Irving called to the testing facility.
"We had a magical time!" Wanda called.
"You two are aware that it cannot hear you, yes?" Robby asked flatly.
"Are you aware that Irving was the mastermind of the game and not you?" Lilith asked Robby.
"Hey, let's be nice," Vanessa suggested. "Let's let our final memories of the game be positive ones!"
"I think we all had our ups and down, but overall, I wouldn't trade this opportunity for the world," Gunther said.
"I couldn't agree more," Cyan nodded. "It really blue my expectations out of the water!"
"Aw, that was so bad," Joseph laughed. "But yeah, what a kick-ass experience! Good times and great bros!"
"And all those virtual worlds," Felix added. "Who else can say they got to experience that?"
"You guys are so sappy," Zelda sighed. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't grateful for the opportunity."
"Here's to the future, guys!" Cosette cheered. "We've got our whole lives ahead of us! Let's make the most of them!"
This was met with cheers of agreement and happiness.
The bus drove off into the horizon as the sun set over the desert and the VR machine testing facility, putting an end to Total Drama Virtual Party.
Winner:
Dunstan - The Hall Monitor
Runner-Up:
Jynxie - The Uber Punk
Eliminated Post-Merge:
Irving - The Cutthroat Pirate
Wanda - The Chipper Magician
Robby - The Weaselly Briber
Lilith - The Ghost Obsessor
Vanessa - The Bringer of Happiness
Eliminated Premerge:
Gunther - The Sword Collector
Cyan - The Blue Enthusiast
Joseph - The Bro Code
Nils - The Stone-Cold Heartless
Felix - The Nudist
Zelda - The Snarky Magician's Assistant
Cosette - The Small Bean
A/N: And that's the end of my fourth story, wow! How on earth did that happen? It's been quite a ride, and while it was never my favorite story to write, Total Drama Virtual Party may have my favorite overall cast of the four completed stories in my ouvre, and I'm glad I wrote it.
Now, Dunstan. Dunstan was certainly a very fun character to write, and one that I'm glad was as well-received as he was. Dunstan was a character who I feel could have gone horribly wrong if I wasn't careful with him, but I don't think I ever heard any readers speak ill of Dunstan, and when people began telling me he was their favorite of the season, I knew I'd chosen the right winner.
In typical Asujoll fashion, though, Dunstan's plot wasn't what I had initially conceived for him. He was always meant to start off annoying his teammates and to some extent the reader, but as the game picked up, he was always meant to stay as kind of over-the-top comic relief, which he definitely kept shades of late into the game, but I just can't let someone make the endgame without them playing the game at least a little, unless they returned from going home premerge or something. I wanted Dunstan to always be the lesser evil, or for people to trust the devil they know over the devil they don't, so to speak, to the point where others underestimate him and he makes his way to the end. Not quite the Josh Martinez parallel I had envisioned, but I think Dunstan did what I wanted him to, and I think he was a fun and unique winner to add to my lineup.
Now, Jynxie. Jynxie was not always meant to be the finalist, as I think I've mentioned before. My initial choice for 2nd place was actually Wanda, and Jynxie was going to be the fifth boot. Then, as I wrote the story, I considered making Cyan the runner-up, then Lilith (yes, really), and then Jynxie. When it got down to brass tacks, I did consider giving Wanda that final two spot again, but frankly I just couldn't pass up on the chance to have a gamelong rivalry duke it out in the finale, something that I feel like you don't see enough of in reality games, fictional or otherwise.
Now, obviously Jynxie was a very loud, abrasive, in-your-face person, but then, so was Dunstan. The thing with Jynxie, though, is that she didn't really develop as much as Dunstan did, and she tended to be more malicious, whereas Dunstan simply forced what he thought was good much too hard. Was this all in an attempt to finally break the streak of my runners-up being more well-liked by readers than my winners? I'll let you decide. But either way, though I thought she had a fun and unique presence that I definitely enjoyed writing, I'd argue that Jynxie did not need to win this season, whether you liked her or not.
So what now? Well, in case you've forgotten (or just don't pay attention to me and/or this is your first Asujoll joint, etc.) I have a full-sized 26-episode season going on that's already two episodes in: Total Drama Shuffle Party. Right now my plans entail finishing that, and after that, I'm thinking All-Stars, baby! So stay tuned!