It was the next night. Dawn, in a purple pajama set, was meditating on her bed when a firefly flew in. "What's that, little one?" she asked it as she cupped it in her hand and held it by her ear. "Evil is lurking? Let me guess: Chris?" An air horn cut through the silent night. "Run!" Chris shouted. "Run for your lives!" Everyone darted out of the cabins to find Chris, wearing a pair of earmuffs, and Dakota, now in intern clothes and blowing an air horn, outside. Chris motioned Dakota to stop. "Thanks, intern!" he shouted as he removed his earmuffs.
"Huh?!" Dakota shouted, now half-deaf.
Confessional: Dakota
"So after Chris agreed to let me stay, he put a restraining order on the paparazzi! So now I'm stuck here for no reason! And now he's making me, like, work! So not cool!"
End Confessional
"Hi, Dakota!" Sam told her as he waved.
"Huh?" Dakota asked. "Speak up!" Chris pushed a monitor towards her, knocking her over. "Challenge time!" he announced.
"Now?" Brick asked, nervous. "In the middle of the night? When it's all, you know, dark?" The rest of the Killer Bass gave him an odd look.
Confessional: Brick (Killer Bass)
"Ever since I was born, I hated the dark, with the creaks and the 'Who's that?' and the 'Get away!'" The lights suddenly got switched off, making him scream. The sound of a running liquid was heard.
End Confessional
"Your challenge!" Chris announced. "A scavenger hunt for three creepy souvenirs. Your locations: a haunted forest, a scary pet cemetery, and an extra spooktastic cave. First team to each location gets a special clue, but watch out for booby traps. I really went to town on them. So move fast and stick together. You'll be penalized for each player you lose."
"What's that big spider for?" Leshawna gulped.
"Oh, yeah. There's some kind of gigantic mutated spider sort of running around loose on the island." This made everyone start to panic. "What's on the loose?!" Dakota shouted, still half-deaf.
"A gigantic mutated spider!" Sam shouted in her ear.
"Where?" Cameron asked, frightened. "Where?!" He hid behind Leshawna, who froze in fear.
Confessional: Cameron and Leshawna (Screaming Gophers)
"We both have a severe case of arachnophobia," Cameron explained.
"I don't blame you, String Bean," Leshawna told him. "Spiders are just creepy. I mean, anything with that many legs can't be good." A spider came down on the duo, making them bolt out of the outhouse. Right outside, Echo was laughing as he held a fishing pole with a spider on the line.
End Confessional
"There's nothing to fear but mortal terror itself," Chris told the campers. "Talk soon." He blew his air horn, and everyone raced off. "Get to work, lackey," he told Dakota.
"What?!" she replied. As the moon rose higher, the Gophers were the first to reach the first landmark. "Whoo!" Lightning cheered. "First! That's right!"
"Welcome to the haunted forest," Chris announced over the loudspeakers. "Your clue can be found at the base of this tree."
"Lightning will get it!" He reached in the base of the tree and cried out in pain. "In a bear trap," Chris finished as Lightning pulled out the bear trap, which snared his hand. He gave a sheet of paper to Mike. "Read the clue, Scrawny Guy," he told him, making Mike glare at him.
"Well, well, well," Jo mocked as she and her team walked towards them. "What do we have here?"
"Find your own paper, stinky Bass!" Heather shot back.
"Come on," Jo told her teammates. "Let those runts have their clue. Let's go. I have a plan" The Bass ran off. "So what's your big plan?" Courtney asked once they were a good distance away from the Gophers.
"Find a place to hide so we can follow those maggots and their clue to our first souvenir."
"Jo, that's cheating!" Phoebe protested. "We can't do that!"
"No one said it wasn't allowed," Austin argued.
"But-"
"It seems to be our only option," Alejandro told her.
"Into those bushes!" Jo ordered. All of the Killer Bass crammed into some thorny bushes, though Phoebe was reluctant to do so.
Confessional: Phoebe (Killer Bass)
"I wish Jo could've listened to me. One should never cheat in order to win!"
End Confessional
"Shush!" Jo warned everyone as the Gophers passed them. "Hurry up and read the clue, Mike!" Heather told him.
"I'm getting to it!" Mike replied. He noticed a part of Harold's shoe sticking out from a thorny bush.
Confessional: Mike (Screaming Gophers)
"Nice try, Killer Bass. Two can play that game.
End Confessional
"'Inside a knot is a nest,'" Mike read. "'Your souvenir lies with a pest. Find Polaris to travel southwest.' Polaris is there, so southwest should be that way. Just follow my lead." The Gophers followed them southwest. "They're getting away!" Jo told the Bass hidden in the bushes. They struggled to move out of the thorny bushes. Brick poked his head out and nervously looked around. He saw a dozen pairs of eyes staring at him, and he got spooked. He grabbed his teammates in his bush and ran off in the direction of the Gophers. "Let's follow him!" Alejandro told his teammates in his bush. He grabbed them and followed the others.
"Something doesn't feel right about this," Gwen wondered as she ran. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"Quit fussing, Weird Goth Girl," Heather complained. "This is the right way, and-"
"Where's Heather at?" Beth asked as she looked around.
"Quiet!" Mike warned as he and Heather, who was muffling due to Mike covering her mouth with his hand, were up in a tree. "Find a place to hide. Quick!"
"Why?" Cameron asked.
"Trust me. Just hurry!" Everyone dove into a hiding place. The bushes holding the Killer Bass ran by the hidden Gophers. "Move it, Drippy!" Jo ordered.
"Great work," Jasmine told Mike once the Bass were out of earshot. "The Bass took the lead!"
"No, they didn't," Mike confidently told her.
"We just saw them run past us!" Heather argued.
"Then you might wanna take a closer look at this." He passed the clue to her. "So?" she asked. "They're still ahead."
"No," Cameron noticed as he looked at the clue. "The paper says to head northwest. The Bass are heading the wrong way!"
"You mislead the Bass by relaying false information so they would overhear and go in the opposite direction?" Scarlett wondered.
"Yeah," Mike slowly replied. "We'd better hurry, though. It won't be long before the Bass find out they've been hoodwinked." He looked at his teammates. "Where did Echo go to?"
"How should I know?" Sol snapped, sounding annoyed. "Let's go already."
"But each team member lost results in a penalty," Scarlett pointed out.
"I may not like Echo," Mike argued, "But we can't leave her behind. Sol and I will find her. Everyone else should head towards the next location."
"Got it, Captain!" Owen saluted. "Onward!" He and the others ran northwest while Sol and Mike stayed behind. "You okay, dude?" Mike asked him. "This isn't like you."
"Mr. Macho getting soft on us, huh?" Sol mocked.
"I'm just looking out for my team. Hey, I don't remember your eyes being that color." Sol's eyes changed from black to a bright purple. "So?" Sol asked.
"Well, it's-" Mike's thoughts were interrupted by Luna, who jumped into their group. "What are you doing here?!" Mike exclaimed.
"I wanted to do something other than running around like a headless chicken," Luna replied. "Ooh, making someone a headless chicken would be FUN! Like Sleepy Hollow!"
"One, it's not a headless chicken in Sleepy Hollow and two, you're not doing that! You couldn't!"
"Yes, I could! I know how to make these!" Luna held up a vial of purple liquid.
Confessional: Luna (Killer Bass)
"I happen to be an expert maker of hexes, jinxes, and different potions. I got it from my kooky grandpa. Hi, Grandpa Leroy! He taught me how to turn people into other things and give them all sorts of bad luck. One time, I made Solstice into a black cat! It was so much fun!" She giggled.
End Confessional
"Looks like grape punch," Mike told Luna. "Now leave us alone. We have a teammate to find."
"It's not grape punch!" Luna argued. "I'll show you!" She tossed the bottle on the ground in front of Mike, making him cough. "Ooh, the purple one gives you fangs!" Luna squealed. "I wonder if Solstice would like some."
"No thanks," Sol answered. "I'm outta here." He ran off, leaving Mike alone with Luna. "What about finding Echo?!" Mike shouted.
"You do it!"
"Thanks for the help!" Mike snapped. He noticed Luna had vanished. "And Crazy Girl is gone. Wait. Did she say...?" He ran over to a small puddle to look at his reflection and screamed when he saw the fangs in his mouth. "Mike?" a voice called out. Mike quickly covered his mouth as he turned to see Zoey, Gwen, Trent, Leshawna and Cameron over him. "You okay?" Zoey asked.
"Yeah," Mike quickly told her. "Uh, just a toothache. Why are you guys here?"
"Your girlfriend was getting worried about you," Leshawna answered.
"Girlfriend?" Mike repeated, blushing. "What do you mean?"
"It's no longer a secret that you have a crush on Zoey," Cameron answered. "And with that spider running around, we needed to stick together."
"But what about-?"
"We'll find Echo, Mike," Gwen told him. "But for now, you'd better join the others." The group walked back to the other Gophers. Unknown to them, Echo was only a few feet away, hiding behind a tree.
Confessional: Echo (Screaming Gophers)
"Everything is going smoothly. Those dolts think something nabbed me. But while no one was looking, I sneaked off from the group. And this will make sure Solstice loses tonight." She held up a doll that looked like Sol. "That dimwit Luna isn't the only one that knows a little dark magic now. I've watched her control dorky Harold with one of these, and I learned from her."
End Confessional
Meanwhile, the Bass were running southwest. "Inside a knot is a nest," Sam repeated from memory. "Duncan, do you remember the other part?" He noticed Duncan was gone. "Duncan?"
"He's vanished!" Sugar gasped. "Was he some sort of magician?"
"Austin and Tyler are gone, too!" Harold realized.
"Oh, well," Jo scoffed. "We call off the search party and keep going."
"But that's against the cadet code!" Brick cried out. "Never leave a man behind!"
"They left us. That means they're AWOL. Now move it, G.I. Joke! Onward and southward!"
"If this is Duncan's idea of a sick joke," Courtney angrily muttered, "I'm gonna-"
"Wait a minute," Shawn realized as he skid to a stop, "We're going in circles!"
"I thought we were running in a straight line," Destiny replied.
"What Shawn meant was that we've been here before," Alejandro explained. "But how is that possible?"
"Unless the information Mike read off was inaccurate," Greg reasoned.
"What now?" Sugar asked.
"The details were misleading?" Sugar still gave Greg a blank stare. "Mike lied about where to go," Greg grumbled with annoyance.
"Your cheating ended up costing us greatly!" Phoebe told Jo. "Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'Cheaters never win'? Because they don't!"
"I'm team leader!" Jo snapped back. "And we would still be at the start if we followed your command, Miss Goody-Goody!"
"At least we wouldn't have played dirty! No. More. Cheating! Or your butt will be hurled off next."
"Fine, we'll play it your way, Wonder Wuss!" Phoebe just glared at her before taking a breath. "We'd better retrace our steps," she told her team. "Then, we'll look for any signs on where the Gophers headed off to. We can do this, guys! Let's hustle!" The Killer Bass ran back, but Sky and Dave slipped away. "We have to talk," Sky began. "About what we found the other night..."
"You think it was a prank?" Dave asked. "I hope it was a prank. The thought of that being real..." He shuddered.
"That stuff was artificial blood. I remember my dad using that stuff like people turned into vampires. In fact, I remember that container being the one my dad gave to that kid three years back!"
"You mean that kid's here?! But wasn't he, uh, vicious and stuff?"
"Not exactly, but finding that stuff buried like that is a bad sign."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll do my best to explain. You see, vampires can become vegetarians, but they can't just quit cold turkey. When vampires are deprived from blood for too long, they go nuts once they see or smell it again. We need to find out who this is and return the thermoses to him before people get hurt."
"And how do we do that? Whoever owns that isn't going to cop up to it. You were reluctant, remember?"
"That's why we're going to observe the others before we start asking questions." Sky handed Dave a walkie-talkie. "You go find the Screaming Gophers and keep an eye on them. I'll do the same with the Killer Bass."
"Why are you sticking with our team?" Dave asked.
"Because if I try to follow the other team, Shawn will notice I'm gone, and we'll have another problem on our hands."
"Where's Sky at?!" Shawn shouted from a distance. "I'd bet she's draining someone dry!"
"See what I mean?" Sky told Dave. "Hurry!"
"You got it, Sky!" he replied as he ran off.
"Tree!" Sky warned but Dave had already crashed into it. Meanwhile, Mike and the others had rejoined the Gophers. "Hey, where's Lindsay, Beth and Topher?" Zoey asked the others when she noticed them missing.
"Who cares?" Sol told her. "They're pretty useless anyway."
"What is with that attitude?" Leshawna asked him.
"And this is coming from the big-butted loudmouth?"
"Do not tell me you just called me that!" Leshawna was about to go after Sol, but Mike held her back by grabbing her arm. "Easy!" he warned her. "We need to find that souvenir. The others will be coming soon!"
"Okay!" Leshawna replied. "Just let go of my wrist before you break it off!"
Confessional: Leshawna (Screaming Gophers)
She was rubbing her swollen wrist. "Man, that scrawny boy sure has a grip! I mean, look at my wrist. It's the color of a blueberry! And what is with that attitude of Sol's? He's getting as bad as Heather. If we lose, we need to boot him off."
Confessional: Mike (Screaming Gophers)
"I am much stronger than I look. The fact that I can crush rocks with my bare hands without even trying is a pretty startling thought. And that's only one of my problems. I have the giant mutant spider; leech Trent; villains Heather, Echo, Amy and Alejandro; and worse of all, this!" He pointed to his teeth, showing a small pair of fangs. "I don't think the others noticed it, thank goodness, but it worries me. I don't know what Luna's bottle did, but it's not good. It's taking all my willpower not to panic!"
End Confessionals
"I think I see where the souvenir might be!" Sierra called out. "Look at that tree. It has our team colors on it!" She pointed to a tree that had green and red paint on it. "Let's send our most expendable player there," Jasmine suggested. She grabbed Cameron and tossed him at the tree. "Get that souvenir!" she told him.
"You didn't have to toss the poor guy," Trent told her.
"He's the most expendable. Anyone else would've done the same."
"No, they would not," Helga told Jasmine. "People not 'expendable'. Your attitude stink like yak butt!"
"It's called a winning attitude. Get used to it!"
Confessional: Helga (Screaming Gophers)
"Giant Girl really bossy! I may be bossy, but I do not throw people! At least, not on purpose."
Confessional: Jasmine (Screaming Gophers)
"Of course I should be this team's leader. I have both Heather's strategic mind and Helga's ways of intimidating others with just an appearance. Chris might as well hand that check for a million big ones to me already, 'cause no one can top me."
End Confessionals
"I found a key!" Cameron exclaimed after searching the knot. "Ah! Giant arachnid!" He tried to shake off a tiny spider on his arm. He dropped the key, making it land in front of Gwen, Leshawna and Trent. "Nice work," Trent told him.
Confessional: Gwen (Screaming Gophers)
"The way Trent always encourages others is a little touching. I suppose not all the people here are too bad. They actually might be...tolerable."
Confessional: Trent (Screaming Gophers)
"Okay, Gwen has got to be the coolest girl here! I just wish I could fix things so what happened during the camping challenge didn't happen. Have you ever done something that you know was wrong, but you had to do because if you didn't, something worse might've happened? Yeah." He sighed. "And I think Mike knows about the whole ordeal. Fortunately, I don't think he brought it up, but I still want to be on good terms with everyone. I don't know what to do to make things go back to the way they were!"
End Confessionals
As Trent bent down to get the key, Gwen and Leshawna were grabbed by some webs and pulled away. "Do you think this key might open something later, Gwen?" Trent asked as he got back up. "Whoa, where's Gwen?"
"It's like she vanished," Owen commented.
"Ooh, maybe Gwen was a ghost or something," Izzy told him. "Wouldn't that be cool? She could just float up to us and go 'BOO!' and we would all freak out. That would be totally awesome!"
"I don't see Leshawna, Lightning or Scarlett, either," Leonard noticed. "The dreadful arachnid of Wawanakwa must have captured them. We must away so we can save them!"
"Can it, Merlin Wannabe!" Sol snapped at him. "I say we just keep moving." He noticed Trent running around, screaming for Gwen. "Besides, Elvis here can find those other weirdos on our team."
"Maybe I should stick with him," Mike suggested. "I mean, he can't just wander around like that. He could get lost."
"Fine," Heather told him. "But if the Bass come by, we won't save you from getting killed."
"Good luck, Mike," Zoey told him as the rest of the team headed off.
Confessional: Mike (Screaming Gophers)
"Finally! I was looking for an excuse to get away from the others. Don't get me wrong; most of my team is fine to hang around. But I just needed a little distance. I'm starting to think Luna's potion-making is the real deal." He pointed to his ears, which were now furry. "Look at this! I can't keep this up for too much longer. I just need some distance from everyone else." He put a paper bag over his head. "It's better this way."
End Confessional
The Killer Bass soon reached the tree. "So," Courtney began, "who's going to get the souvenir?"
"Our most expendable person should," Jo explained.
"No one's expendable," Brick told her.
"Brick's right," Phoebe agreed. "And to prove it, I'll get the souvenir." She climbed up the tree. She screamed in fright as an eye stared at her from the tree knot and a bunch of blue tentacles came out of the tree. The tentacles grabbed Phoebe, DJ, Bridgette and Geoff. "Let us down, please!" Phoebe begged to the tree. It only tightened its grip on her and the others. "Back off, Treezilla!" Shawn told it as he climbed up it and socked it in the eye, releasing its grip on the others. However, a web grabbed them before they hit the ground, pulling them away. "Got the key!" Shawn shouted as he hopped back down.
"And the others?" Greg asked. "Where are they?"
"Who cares?" Jo told him as she took the key from Shawn. "We're still in this." The tree hissed at the rest of the Bass, making them flinch. "Squid tree's wanting another round with me?" Shawn mocked at it. "Bring it!" He noticed Destiny just standing there with her guitar. "What are you going to do? Play it a song?"
"Yes," Destiny replied, not noticing the sarcasm. She began to play a tune. "How weak," Jo commented.
"She wouldn't last five minutes in the zombie apocalypse," Shawn told her. However, the two went wide-eyed when they saw the squid tree moving its tentacles to the music. "What are you doing, Songbird?" Jo asked Destiny.
"Playing Blue Oyster Cult's '(Don't Fear) the Reaper'," Destiny calmly replied. She turned to the squid tree. "Glad to see you liked it. We'll be leaving now, so you'll be left alone now." The squid tree waved at her before receding.
Confessional: Destiny (Killer Bass)
"I love playing different songs on my guitar. I can play nearly any song from memory. My biggest fan...okay, my only fan, is Greggy. He's so supportive of me, even doing duets with me. He's so sweet!"
Confessional: Jo (Killer Bass)
"Seriously, what is wrong with these people?! First, Wonder Wuss insists on 'playing fair', then Zombie Nut attacks that mutant tree, only to have Miss Diva calm it down with her music! This team has more weirdos than I know what to do with!
End Confessionals
"Great that we got the key and all," Sam told his teammates, "but we lost eight people already!"
"Ten if you count Bloodsucker and her henchman," Shawn muttered.
"Very funny, Shawn," Sky sarcastically told them, to his surprise. "Need I remind you that I'm a vegetarian?!"
"Where's Dave at?" Greg asked her.
"We got separated a while back. I think that spider thing got him."
"We'd better keep going," Harold told Sky. "I'm sure he and others will turn up." Meanwhile, the rest of the Gophers were running ahead when they spotted Dave wandering around. "What brings you here, lost traveler?" Leonard asked him.
"Me and Sky were looking for the souvenir when we got lost," Dave explained. "Gee, I hope that spider didn't get to her and my team."
"Maybe it would be best if you stick with us," Zoey suggested. "If that's okay with you guys."
"It has to be a trick," Jasmine decided. "No dice."
"But-"
"You know what I think?" Heather put in. "I think, as team leader, that my friend Sierra should decide."
"Really?" Sierra squealed. "Wow! I thought I knew everything about everyone here! You're really nice, Heather."
Confessional: Heather (Screaming Gophers)
"With this, Sierra's loyalty to me will be strengthened. A win for me."
Confessional: Sierra (Screaming Gophers)
"I know Heather's playing me! I've researched her, like, fifteen times over! I'm playing Heather."
End Confessionals
"I think Dave can join us," Sierra began.
"Thank you so much, Sierra!" Dave told her.
"After you empty your pockets," Sierra finished.
"Smart thinking," Heather told her. "You heard her, Nerd-Face. Empty them." Dave just gulped.
Confessional: Dave (Killer Bass)
"This is bad. If the others find the walkie-talkie Sky gave me, they'll think I'm a spy! Which, technically, is true...but not to win the game! But if I don't comply, it'll be just as bad. It's like choosing between getting doused with icky slime or filthy mud." He shuddered.
End Confessional
Dave emptied his pockets, showing a bottle of hand sanitizer, lint, and the walkie-talkie. "So, you are a spy!" Jasmine accused him. "I knew you couldn't be trusted!"
"A walkie-talkie doesn't mean anything," Cody told her.
"It means he was going to tell the others about where to find the other souvenirs."
"No, I wasn't!" Dave defended.
"And why should we believe Nerd-Face here?" Sol lashed back.
"Because I wasn't gonna! If you want to, you can remove the batteries and force me to stick with you. That way, I can't tell my team anything."
"Sounds fair to me," Zoey said. "What do you guys think?" Jasmine opened up the walkie-talkie and removed the batteries. "Stick with us or you're a dead man," she warned Dave.
"Okay," he gulped back.
Confessional: Dave (Killer Bass)
"This is exactly what I wanted. I can keep an eye on the Gophers, then report back to Sky after the challenge is done. I hope she doesn't get too worried, though."
End Confessional
"Hurry up!" Heather told her team. "We need to beat those-" She stepped on a weird clump of dirt, which exploded underneath her. It propelled her onto another clump of dirt, causing a chain reaction. "Thanks for clearing the way," Jo taunted as she and the other Killer Bass passed her. The Gophers joined the charred Heather. "Are you okay?" Ella asked.
"I think I can taste my liver," Heather moaned. As their teammates passed them, a web shot at them, dragging them away. Soon, the Killer Bass were the first to reach the pet cemetery. "Welcome to the Wawanakwa Pet Cemetery!" Chris announced over the loudspeakers.
"First place!" Jo cheered. She pushed Harold ahead. "Go find the clue, String Bean." Harold opened a coffin that had numbers inside it. The three sixes and the eighteen were written in red. "Three sixes is known to be a bad omen," he told his team.
"Fan out and look for numbers!"
"You mean by ourselves?" Brick stuttered. A second later, he was nervously looking around when he stumbled into an open grave. "Help!" he screamed. "Too dark! Too dark!"
"Brick, take my hand," Jo told him. She pulled him up. "So dark," Brick muttered. "So dark."
"Pull. Yourself. Together," Jo told him as she slapped him until he was bruised. He noticed the others were staring at the wet spot on his pants. "It-it was wet down there and I landed on my crotch," he tried to explain. "I gotta dry off." He went over to another area and grabbed some leaves to dry himself with. "You okay, Brick?" Dawn asked him as he tried to dry his pants.
"What do you think?" he replied. "Come on, dry." Unknown to them, someone was watching with their infrared eyes. "Dry!" Soon, the Bass heard Brick's screams. "Brick?" Greg wondered. They ran to where he was. "He was here a second ago."
"Did something happen to him?" Beardo wondered.
"Ah, well," Jo scoffed. "Two words: Dead. Weight."
"Hey," Anne-Maria argued, "Brick may not be attractive in any way, but he's still a person."
"Phoebe was right about you," Courtney realized.
"Just as bad as Eva," Sam agreed.
"It's a winning attitude!" Jo told them. "And you'd better get used to it!" Meanwhile, the Gophers had reached the cemetery. "Look at some of those graves," Owen pointed out. "There's one with a fish, a parrot, a dog-"
"Dog?" Helga gulped, shaking in fear. Rodney noticed her frightened look and tried to comfort her. "You don't like dogs, huh?" he asked her. "I don't, either."
"Hold me," she asked him, holding out her arms.
"Sure thing." Helga held onto Rodney, making his face turn red. "Just imagine me as a teddy bear," he squeaked.
Confessional: Rodney (Screaming Gophers)
"She hugged me! It was out of fear, but it's still a hug!"
End Confessional
Scott was holding the key and looking around some coffins. "Find the souvenir," he muttered, "Hide the souvenir, lose the game..." He opened a coffin and screamed when he saw Fang hiding in one. He quickly closed it, then ran away. Fang soon gave chase. "This grave smells like French fries," Sam noticed as he looked in. Scott accidentally knocked him in as he ran from Fang. "You okay, Sam?" Sky asked as she and Sugar ran over.
"Smells like a free meal!" Sugar squealed. A web soon caught the girls and they screamed as they were pulled away. Meanwhile, Scott was still running from Fang when he noticed a pile of dirt. He jumped over it, but Fang tripped over it and landed in an open grave. "Sucker!" Scott taunted.
Dakota was holding a bucket of grease as she walked by the open grave Sam was in. She gave a look of disgust as she dumped it in. "Hey!" Sam shouted.
"Sam?" Dakota wondered.
"Dakota! How's it going?"
"Sorry about the booby trap. Chris made me fill it with kitchen grease."
"That's what must be attracting these giant maggots." A bunch of maggots crawled into the grave. "Hey, that tickles!" Sam giggled. "Ah! Hey, that doesn't! Ah!"
"Why do I feel so...squirmy?" Dakota wondered. "I feel like...apologizing? If this is what it means to feel bad for someone, I don't like it. I'm out!" She walked off. "Wait!" Sam begged. "A little help?" Chris was watching the scene from a monitor and laughing. "Looks like they won't make it to the spooky cave," he told Chef, "Let alone the finish line!"
(cue commercial)
Destiny, Greg and Beardo were cautiously walking through the graveyard. "I hope we can find the souvenir soon," Beardo told them.
"The numbers Harold found must have some significance," Greg reasoned. He and Beardo stopped walking, but Destiny continued on until she crashed into Mike, still wearing a paper bag over his head. "Hi there!" she told him. "Fancy meeting you here. Um, what's with the bag?"
"Uh, bad breath," Mike quickly told her.
"I totally understand. One time, I had this garlic bread that was really strong, and it took, like, a bunch of mouthwash to get the smell out." Destiny and Mike got to their feet. They heard some screams. "Sounds like the twins and Trent!" Mike gasped. "That spider must've grabbed them with his bare hands!"
"Speaking of hands," Destiny told him as he grabbed one of his hands, "You need a manicure. Don't worry; you just need to file those nails a little." She pulled out a nail file, but Mike pulled his hand back. "No thanks," he told her.
"Desi!" Greg shouted as he and Beardo ran up to them. "We heard screaming." He noticed Mike's hands. "Are those-?" he began but Mike hid his hands behind his back. "You okay?" Greg asked him.
"I'm fine!" he snapped. "Shouldn't you be with your team?"
"He makes a point," Destiny pointed out. "Bye, Mike!" As Destiny, Beardo and Greg walked off, Greg noticed Mike quickly dash away.
Confessional: Greg (Killer Bass)
"I think this challenge is messing with my head! I could've sworn that Mike had claws on his hands. And he was in a hurry to leave."
"Greggy?" Destiny asked him. "You seem bawfully stressed out. Maybe I could give you a make-over!" Greg went wide-eyed at this. "Desi!" he told her as he blushed. "Just don't make me try any clothes on like you did at your fairy princess party you held at your tenth birthday!" Scott, Alejandro, Shawn, Courtney, and Jo were laughing outside, making Greg's blush harder. "I am not going to hear the end of this." He put his head in his lap.
End Confessional
Owen was walking around when he stumbled over a grave. "Find something, Butterball?" Sol taunted.
"I found that," he answered. "Hey, look at that date. 'June 6, 1806'. I'm no algebra expert, but isn't that six, six, eighteen, six?"
"Look likes you are useful." Sol didn't notice Helga and Rodney glaring at them.
Confessional: Helga (Screaming Gophers)
"That man completely zhestokiy. Hope he leave soon. Very soon."
End Confessional
The other Gophers, minus Mike, gathered at the grave. "Six, six, eighteen, six!" Cameron read off. "Owen, you found it!"
"And there's a keyhole!" Rodney noticed. "Like Cameron said, nice work!"
"Use key!" Helga told him. Rodney placed the key in the hole and turned it, but a spring-loaded coffin flung him and Helga away. "Good-bye, stupid love birds," Sol scoffed. Cameron opened the coffin up. "Flashlights!" he gasped as he grabbed them. "These will come in handy."
"Should we grab Helga and Rodney?" Cody asked.
"They'll just get in the way," Jasmine told him. "Everyone, get moving!" As the others searched, Jasmine punched the coffin back into place. However, she didn't notice Sam spying on her. "Caw! Caw!" he called out from behind a tree. He made some more noises as the rest of the Killer Bass came up. Scott slapped him as he blew a raspberry. "What the heck are you doing?" he wondered.
"Uh, I was making animal calls to signal you guys," Sam answered. "Is it me or are Sugar, Sky, and Harold missing?"
"Just tell us why you were making those noises!" Jo demanded.
"Right. The Gophers found the souvenirs in the tombstone over there."
"Nice work," Scott sarcastically said as he walked over.
"But be careful when you use that key, 'cause-"
"Zip it, Game Jockey! Just stand there and be quiet." Sam only shrugged as Scott triggered the trap and was flung away. "Tried to warn you, bro," Sam told him with a satisfied grin.
Meanwhile, Rodney and Helga were recovering from the trap. "Head hurts," Helga moaned as she opened her eyes. She let out a small gasp at the sight she saw. Right by her, she saw a wolf with dark brown fur, glowing yellow eyes, razor-sharp claws and fangs, and a medallion with a paw print on it hanging around its neck.
Confessional: Helga (Screaming Gophers)
"Helga terrified of dogs! With their big teeth...and their sharp claws...and those glowing eyes..." She heard a barking noise outside, and she bolted out, crashing through the door. Echo was giggling as she watched her flee. "Too easy," she sneered.
End Confessional
"Are you okay, Helga?" Rodney asked the frozen girl. He gasped when he saw the wolf growling at them.
Confessional: Rodney (Screaming Gophers)
"I am absolutely scared at dogs ever since one went after my and my brother. But standing still, frozen in terror, wasn't gonna help Helga. So I had to be brave. For Helga."
End Confessional
Rodney scooped up Helga bridal-style and ran from the wolf, who quickly gave chase. He soon tripped on a tombstone, sending her flying until she crashed into another tombstone. The wolf went after her, but Rodney held it back by grabbing its tail. "Leave her alone!" he told it. The wolf only slashed at him with its claws, making Rodney let go and hold his arm in pain. The wolf closed in to Helga, making her whimper in fright. "Hello?" Dave suddenly called out, catching the wolf's attention. Dave and Leonard walked over to see the wounded Rodney, the frightened Helga, and the growling wolf walking towards the boys. "What is that?" Dave gulped.
"Flee here!" Leonard told him as he pulled out his staff. "This foe is beneath you!"
"What now?"
"I shall vanquish this foe." He began a chant as the wolf came closer. As the wolf leapt at him to attack, Leonard blasted a bright beam at it, making it whimper in pain. It soon passed out. "Your evil shall no longer rule here!" Leonard confidently told the fallen wolf. He saw the shaken Helga clutching Rodney tightly. "No more dog," she muttered with fright. "No more dog."
Confessional: Helga (Screaming Gophers)
"Okay. Call Helga coward. But dog nearly ate Helga up! I owe Ginger Boy since he helped me with dog."
End Confessional
"Impressive, Leonard," Rodney said as he wrapped a bandage around his wounded arm. "But we'd better go before that...thing comes to." As they ran off, Rodney dropped the bandage roll. "Once we find the others," Leonard declared, "Victory shall belong to the Screaming Gophers!" A web snagged him and Dave and pulled them away. "Help!" Helga called out as she and Rodney continued to run.
"Hello?" Zoey called out as she wandered over. She then saw the wounded wolf lying on the ground. "Oh, the poor thing!" she gasped. "I'd better help you a bit." She noticed the roll of bandage Rodney dropped and grabbed it.
Confessional: Zoey (Screaming Gophers)
"I'm not huge on animals like Ella and Dawn are, but I had to help that dog-wolf thing out. I wonder what happened to it."
End Confessional
Zoey finished bandaging the wolf's paw. "There you go," she told it. "Your paw's all better, Wolfie. Uh, do you mind if I call you that? Because if not, then-"
"Zoey!" Cameron's voice called out.
"Um, I have to leave. Get better soon, Wolfie." Zoey ran off just as the wolf opened its eyes. "Hey, Cam," Zoey told Cameron as she ran over to him. "Where are the others?"
"Max, Jasmine, Owen and Izzy were captured by the spider!" Cameron exclaimed. "And I saw it carrying away Shawn, Alejandro and Courtney, as well! We have to find the others and stick together."
"Good plan, Cam." The duo searched for their teammates when they found Sierra kissing Cody. "Come on, guys!" Cameron told them. "We need to find the others!" Sierra continued to kiss Cody. "Would you stop?!" Cameron shouted. "We need to focus!" He covered his mouth as Sierra stopped kissing.
Confessional: Cameron (Screaming Gophers)
"Whoa, I've never actually raised my voice before. Wow, it actually felt kinda good." He then puked.
End Confessional
"Sorry about that," Sierra apologized as she dropped Cody. "I guess I got caught up in the moment with my Cody-kins."
"Thank you!" Cody breathed out.
Confessional: Cody (Screaming Gophers)
He was cleaning his ear when he pulled out a pink wad. "Is this her gum?! EWWW!"
End Confessional
Jo, Scott, Sam and Destiny had reached the mouth of the cave. "Welcome to your final destination!" Chris announced over the loudspeakers. "Your clue can be found down this dark cave into nothingness. Good luck. You're gonna need it!"
"Let's head on!" Jo decided.
"Where's Greggy and Be-ar-do?" Destiny asked with worry.
"Anne-Maria's missing, too!" Sam realized.
"Who cares about those wimps?" Scott told them. Destiny quickly bashed him on the head with her guitar. "You, me and Sam are gonna look for them," she told Scott. "Everyone else can, you know, go on ahead."
"Fine," Jo decided as she walked in. She turned on her flashlight, shining the light on a skeleton with a note in its chest. "Here's the clue," she said. "'By hook or by crook, the end is near if you look.' Who wrote these, William Shakesp-" A web suddenly latched around her, binding her and covering her eyes. "Hey! How dare you!" The web pulled her away. "No!"
"Looks like we found the cave," Cameron told Cody, Sierra, Rodney, Helga, Sol and Zoey as they walked in.
"Hey, guys," Sam greeted as he, Scott and Destiny ran back. "Hey, I'd thought Jo would wait for us!"
"Jo's flashlight!" Destiny exclaimed as she picked it up. "This is bawful! First, Greggy and Be-ar-do, my two best friends, are gone, and now Jo's vanished!" She began to cry. "How could things get any worse?!" A snarling noise caught their attention. "What is that?" Sam wondered. "Fang?"
"Vicious dog is back!" Helga screamed in fright as she held onto Rodney for dear life.
"And, boy, is he mad!" Rodney agreed, quaking in terror. The others turned to see the wolf from earlier, now with a bandaged paw, growling at them. "Run into the cave!" Cody told everyone. Helga and Rodney dashed in without hesitation, with Sam, Scott, Destiny, Cameron and Sierra following him. "Hurry up before that thing eats you, Zoey!" Cody warned her.
"I don't think Wolfie will do that," Zoey told him as she walked towards the wolf. It kept growling until Zoey rubbed its wounded paw. It then whimpered like a lost puppy. "Poor thing needs to rest his paw," Zoey told Cody. "Besides, I think Wolfie likes me staying by him."
"Wolfie?" Cody asked, confused.
"That's what I'm calling him," Zoey replied as she knelt down to the wolf. "If that's okay with you," she told the wolf. It just laid down next to her. "How did you do that?" Cody wondered.
"CODY!" Sierra shouted from the cave.
"Uh, gotta go. I'll tell the others you're keeping 'Wolfie' busy, okay?" Cody ran after the others as Zoey hugged the wolf. He soon found the other Gophers. "I'm so glad you're safe!" Sierra squealed as she gave Cody a tight hug.
"But where's Zoey?" Cameron asked.
"Keeping that dog busy," Cody muffled. "She said to go on without her."
"Fine by me," Sol shrugged. "Her funeral." He gasped when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find a frightened Echo by his side. "And when did this doll-face decide to join us?"
"I'm so glad I found you!" Echo told him. "I'd gotten a bit lost when I saw this beautiful flower by the grass. And when I heard the screaming, I ran as fast as I could. I took shelter in the mouth of this cave. Oh, I'm so glad you guys are here!" She gave Sol a hug. "Gee, how touching," he sarcastically told her.
"Look over there!" Cameron pointed out. He shined his flashlight towards a skull-shaped rock with hooks sticking out of it. "Those looks must be the last souvenir. Wonder what they're for."
"Watch out!" Sierra warned him. A web wrapped around Cameron and pulled him up to a huge spider. He screamed as the spider flung him into a huge web filled with the others. "Who landed here now?" Jo asked, unable to see. "Couch Potato? Freckle-Face? Geekazoid? Don't leave me hanging."
"It's just me," Cameron replied. "String Bean."
"Wow. You lasted longer than I expected."
"I think that's a compliment," Phoebe told him.
"Really?" Cameron asked.
"At this point, you have to take what you get when it comes to Jo." Scott, Destiny and Sam ran up to the free Gophers. "Hey, there's the souvenirs!" Sam exclaimed. "Hey, there's our teammates! Hey, a gigantic spider! This is so cool, my head is spinning. I think I'm over-stimulated."
"This swiller stuff's giving me a headache," Destiny agreed. "I need to sit down." She and Sam walked off. "Not so fast-" Scott warned but Sol tripped him, making the Bass trio crash into each other. A web was soon wrapped around them. "Definitely over-stimulated," Sam muttered.
"Hey!" Greg called out to them. "Get your grimy phalanges off of Desi!"
"No, it's not like that!" Sam defended. "Besides, my eyes are for Dakota, not Destiny."
"But eyes would be, like, a really gross gift for a girl like Dakota," Destiny told him. Scott only snickered at this. "What's so funny, Dirt Boy?!" Destiny snapped. She struggled to get free, hurting the boys tied up in the process.
"You'll get us down, won't you?" Beth asked her teammates.
"What matters is that I win," Sol replied. "Go get the hook, big guy." Rodney walked over to the skull rock. "He friend of Helga!" Helga told Sol. "And if you-" The spider hissed at them. It wrapped another web around Cody and Sierra and dragged them to the big web. "Help!" Helga cried out.
"I'm coming, Helga!" Rodney called out as he ran back.
"No!" Sol protested. "Get the hook, not the schnook!"
"What about us?!" Max told him. "I demand that somebody DO SOMETHING!" The spider closed in on them. Cameron gave a nervous look, then suddenly, he broke free and began attacking the spider.
Confessional: Cameron (Screaming Gophers)
"Ah, adrenaline. Nature's super-strength formula. Someone should really bottle it."
End Confessional
"Almost..." Phoebe strained. She soon came loose and fell onto Brick. "We're free!" she exclaimed.
"Hang on, men," Brick told his team. "We're coming to get you!"
"No!" Jo called out. "Get the hook, Dampy Pants!"
"I need to rescue my teammates!"
"No, you need to win. Somebody has to."
"But my code! I can't just leave you behind."
"Cut and run, soldier. That's an order."
"But-"
"I'd hate to interrupt," Phoebe said, "but let's go into action!" She passed Brick a pocket knife. "You with me, cadet?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Brick saluted. "Let's grab our teammates!" They ran and started to cut the webs off the Killer Bass. "What are you blockheads doing?!" Jo exclaimed.
"First, we're going to cut everyone on our team free," Phoebe explained, "Then we're going to all run and grab a hook."
Confessional: Jo (Killer Bass)
"Okay, I'll give that superhero nut a point for using my own words against me."
End Confessional
"If you want something done right," Sol grumbled as he walked over to the hooks, "you have to do it yourself."
"Can I come?" Echo asked.
"Fine, your goody-goody butt can come." Sol grabbed a hook, then ran over to a zip line. "Let go of Helga," Helga told Rodney as they walked over. "My legs can work."
"Shouldn't we get the others?" Rodney asked.
Confessional: Echo (Screaming Gophers)
"We need to lose so Solstice gets kicked off. That means leaving those dimwit Gophers. And I know how to do it without incriminating myself."
End Confessional
"Aw, I think I see a cute dog over there," Echo gushed. At the mention of the word 'dog', Rodney and Helga panicked, making them crash into Sol and Echo as they zip-lined down. "Looks like we're done for," Jo remarked as Brick and the other Bass came to the hooks. "If you had just gone ahead, we've won!"
"Luna's not here!" Brick realized.
"There's no time! Move!" The Killer Bass all grabbed hooks and slid down the zip line. Cameron was still attacking the spider. "Stop being such a bully!" he told it. "You can't hurt me anymore!" The web the spider was hanging on came loose, causing a cave-in. Soon, everyone still in the web was free. "You saved our butts!" Leshawna cheered to Cameron. However, Cameron was walking over to the spider. He was surprised to see tubes and plush. In that rubble was Luna. "Boo!" she told him before giggling.
Confessional: Luna (Killer Bass)
"Being a spider was so much FUN! Seeing everyone all scared, like I was 'Hiss' and they were all 'Ah!' and then Cameron went KAPOW to me! It was so cool!" She giggled.
Confessional: Cameron (Screaming Gophers)
"Turns out it was just Luna in a spider costume." A spider landed on his finger. "Thankfully, it cured me of my arachnophobia, though I'm terrified of Luna now."
End Confessional
Rodney and Helga screamed as they, Echo, Sol, and the Killer Bass slid down the zip line and crashed down on the ground. Echo's doll slipped out of her hands and broke, releasing a puff of purple smoke. "No!" she gasped.
"What happened?" Sol wondered, free from the trance.
"Looks like we're safe," Phoebe breathed. "But why do I smell pee?"
"Uh, I don't smell anything," Brick fibbed. Chris walked over to them. "Well, well, both teams made it to the finish line," he commented. "Some wetter than others."
"That cave was leaky," Brick told him.
"Whatever. Be lucky that today's winners are...the Bass!"
"Really?"
"How is that possible?" Phoebe wondered. "Those four arrived first."
"What she said," Echo agreed.
"Remember when I said stick together 'cause there'd be a penalty for each player lost?" Chris explained to her. "Yeah, only four out of twenty-six arrived for the Gophers. Bass only lost one, so the Bass totally win!" The Bass cheered, save for Scott.
"Chris," Rodney told him, "It stinks that we lost, but you could've at least warned us about that mutant mutt!"
"Weird," Chris replied. "Last time I checked, there were no dogs here, mutated or otherwise."
"But we saw-" Luna's squeal cut through his thoughts. She slid down with her fake spider arms and crashed into Brick. "Yeah!" she screamed. "Wasn't this night perfect? I got to scare everyone with my spider costume, and even make a dog with my potion." As she rambled on, Sol could only stare in shock.
Confessional: Sol (Screaming Gophers)
"I'm...ashamed to be related to her!"
End Confessional
"So this lunatic reason why monstrous beast went after Helga and Ginger Boy?" Helga angrily asked.
"Yeah," Luna excitingly answered. "Want me to make another dog?" Helga and Rodney pounced on her and began a dusty brawl. "As much as I would like to see this go on," Chris said, "I need to see the Gophers at the bonfire in ten."
Confessional: Leshawna (Screaming Gophers)
"Duh! I know who to boot off."
Confessional: Beth (Screaming Gophers)
"He wouldn't even help us!"
Confessional: Cameron (Screaming Gophers)
"This is only because I can't vote for Luna. Besides, her craziness might be genetic."
Confessional: Echo (Screaming Gophers)
"And good-bye to Solstice." She gave an evil laugh.
Confessional: Sol (Screaming Gophers)
"Something feels off about what happened tonight. I'm going to vote for Echo. I don't trust that painted-on cheeriness one bit."
Confessional: Mike (Screaming Gophers)
He was holding a bag of ice to his head. "My memory of what happened tonight is pretty fuzzy. But what I do remember is that Sol wasn't acting himself. Something's off about that. My vote's for Echo."
End Confessionals
At the bonfire ceremony, all the Screaming Gophers were seated. Owen, Trent, Gwen, Sierra, Cody, Sol, Echo, Rodney, Helga, Cameron, Beth and Lightning were in the back while Heather, Lindsay, Izzy, Max, Scarlett, Amy, Samey, Jasmine, Topher, Leonard, Ella, Zoey and Mike were in the front row. "You've all made your decision," Chris began. "The following people are safe." He tossed a marshmallow to each name. "Leshawna...Cameron...Cody...Owen...Izzy...Gwen...Trent...Max...Ella...Scarlett...Heather...Sierra... Lindsay...Topher...Amy and Samey...Jasmine...Lightning...Zoey...Leonard...Rodney...Helga...Beth...and Mike." Soon, only one marshmallow was left. Sol looked confident while Echo was nervous. "The final marshmallow goes to..."
"..."
"...Echo."
"Are you serious?!" Sol exclaimed as Echo caught the last marshmallow. "I am a good ally to have!" Suddenly, he pieced everything together. "That psychopath set me up!" He tried to go after Echo but Chef pulled him away and flung him onto the Boat of Losers. "ECHO!" he shouted. "SHE'S EVIL! PURE EVIL!" However, his warning fell on deaf ears since everyone was too far away.
Back at the cabins, Sky and Dave were talking. "Any luck?" Sky asked as she held the bag.
"No," Dave sighed. "Jasmine caught on fast after she saw me, then removed the batteries in the walkie-talkie. And we got separated afterwards. You?"
"Not any better. But we have to keep trying. It's not like an opportunity is just gonna walk up to us."
"What are you guys talking about?" Cody suddenly asked as he walked up to them. He noticed the bag Sky was holding. "Hey, that looks like the bag Trent was looking for."
"That belongs to Trent?" Dave asked.
"We were wondering who it belonged to," Sky told Cody. "It's a good thing we found it."
"But you said-" Sky punched Dave in the arm to silence him. "Is it okay if we return it to him tomorrow morning?" Sky asked Cody.
"I'm sure it would be fine," Cody replied. "Night, guys." Dave waited for him to walk off before speaking. "What was that for?" he asked Sky.
"Sorry about that," Sky told him. "But I'm guessing Trent asked anyone that found it to not look inside. Looks like we know what we're doing tomorrow."
Meanwhile, in a small, dimly-lit cave, Echo was toying with some dolls that looked like the other campers. "'I'm so evil,'" she mocked in Max's voice while holding the Max doll. "'If only I was good at it.'" She then picked up a doll that looked like Gwen. "'I don't like people, but I have a huge crush on Music Boy.'" She scowled as she picked up a doll that looked like Mike. "'I know you're evil. I put ants in your bed. I'll stop you.'" She crushed the wooden doll in her hand. "You'll go down," Echo told the doll. "I'll make sure of it." She opened a book that read Dark Magic and Voodoo: Beginner's Edition. On the inside, it read in the front cover, If Lost, Return to Luna Monique Beauregard and Solstice Beauregard. It had a note scribbled underneath that said Just me! My sister belongs in a padded room! Sol. "Let's see what chaos I can cook up," Echo wondered as she began to read.
I'm sorry it took so long to update this story, but I was busy with some other things like my other story and doing some catching up on reading and other stuff. Anyway, onto the story. I know I didn't get everyone a scene, but with forty plus people here, it's kind of tricky. But I did touch more on people that didn't get as much focus earlier, such as Jo and a few others I'm drawing a blank on.
So, Sky and Dave are in-the-know about who owns those jars. Things will heat up soon in an unexpected way. Remember how Sky said that every vampire has a special power? You'll see it come up soon.
Now there's a new mystery. Wolfie is introduced here. (I bet you know just who Wolfie is if you read my previous story, but I'll keep the suspense here.) How will this do with the others? Wait and see.
And I've saved the best part for last: Echo. Looks like she got ahold of Sol and Luna's book of dark magic. And in case you didn't see how dangerous Echo was in my TDPI rewrite, all I can say is that Echo plus dark magic is a bad combination. VERY bad.
The next challenge will be the water-skiing challenge from season four, and you'll be surprised at who gets the boot next. Until next time, this is Dunsparce519 saying enjoy and have a good day.
P.S. The song that Destiny was playing is Blue Oyster Cult's (Don't Fear) The Reaper. Thought I point that out here.
P.P.S. I made a reference to 'Gravity Falls' here. Can you guess where? (Bonus point if you can guess the episode it came from!)