It was early morning. At the boys' side of the Bass cabin, everyone was sound asleep, though Scott was muttering. "Land shark!" he muttered. "Get away!" A horn playing Reveille blasted through the silence, jolting all the guys awake. "My ears!" Sam, in a blue pajama set, cried out as he held his hands over his ears.
"I'm up, Pa!" Austin, in green shorts and a white tank top, hollered.
"What's going on?!" Scott, in a white tank top and red pants, asked everyone.
"Outta my way!" Austin crashed into the other guys, landing them in a big jumble on the floor. The sound was coming from Brick's alarm clock. He switched it off after tying the laces of his boots. "Rise and shine, soldiers!" he told his teammates as he jogged out.
Confessional: Sam (Killer Bass)
"Man, my ears haven't rung like that since I played Guitar Band 9 on maximum rockness." He pulled out his GameGuy and started to play it.
Confessional: Austin (Killer Bass)
"I'm used to getting up at the crack of dawn and all, but I'm used to a rooster doing the job, not a stupid alarm clock!"
Confessional: Scott (Killer Bass)
He was holding Brick's alarm clock. "Show you what I'm gonna do to Brick." He punched the clock and dropped it in the toilet. Suddenly, the clock went off. "What the-?" Sewage water sprayed in his face.
End Confessionals
"Hi, guys!" Destiny greeted as she walked in. She had on a blue-and-purple swirled dress with a black shirt with a rock band's name in maroon slipped over the dress and pink slippers on her feet. "I heard you boys were having a party, so I wanted to join."
"Party!" Geoff cheered.
"It's not exactly a party, sweetheart," Duncan told Destiny.
"Cool shirt," Beardo told her.
"Thanks," Destiny replied. "Can't believe I found it at my local thrift store." She then heard some snoring. "Seriously?" Duncan wondered. "Who could be asleep after all that?" He saw that Greg, in yellow pants and a shirt with the chemical symbol for chloroform, was sound asleep in his bed. "That is some serious snoozing," Geoff admitted.
"Greggy sleeps like a rock," Destiny told the guys. "But don't worry-" She dashed out, then returned with her guitar and an amplifier. "I'll wake him up." She began to play at a loud volume, making Duncan, Scott, Sam and Austin cover their ears. "Whoo-hoo!" Geoff hollered. "Wicked tunes, Destiny!"
"I'm up, Desi!" Greg finally shouted as he rolled out of bed. "I'm up! Let me get my glasses on!"
"You can stop playing now," Sam told Destiny.
"Aw, really?" Destiny asked, disappointed. "But this is one of my jams!"
"What song were you playing, dudette?" Geoff asked her.
"Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. It's the song that started grunge music."
"Well, I think you'd be an awesome performer at my bud's parties!"
"You hear that, Greggy? I got my first gig! I got my first gig!"
"I'm ecstatic," Greg replied. "Now has anyone seen my glasses? I think I misplaced them."
"Did you lose them, Nerdy?" Duncan teased.
"Don't be mean!" Destiny told him. She went to Greg, who was blindly crawling around, crashing into the wall. "Don't worry, Greggy," she told him. "We'll find them. Until then, I could help you out."
"You mean be his eyes?" Sam wondered.
"Uh, I can't be an eye. That's, like, super gross."
"Look at this," Duncan taunted. "Nerdy and Diva sitting in a tree, K-I-S-" Destiny whacked him with her guitar, making him sail out the door just as Courtney was walking by. "What did that ogre do this time?" she asked the guys.
"He made Desi mad," Greg calmly replied.
"Well, try to control her some. She woke everyone else up with her music! At least get her some headphones."
Confessional: Destiny (Killer Bass)
"Maybe Courtney has a point. Lucky for me, Be-ar-do gave me a spare set to have." She held up a pair of purple headphones. "So swiller, huh?"
End Confessional
In the boys' side of the Gophers' cabin, Cameron was writing something down in his notebook while Cody was toying with a top and Trent was searching his bed for something. "Looking for something?" Cameron asked.
"Yeah," Trent replied. "I really need to find that bag of mine. It's really important to me."
"Didn't Dave and Sky give it back already?" Cody asked. This made Trent freeze up. "Dave and Sky?" he repeated.
"They said they found it and was wondering who it belonged to," Cody answered. "They were gonna return it this morning. I guess they haven't gotten to it yet."
"Uh, thanks for telling me this. I'd better get it back, then." Trent dashed outside. "I wonder what's in that bag," Cody told Cameron.
"This is fascinating!" Cameron gasped as he continued to write.
"What are you writing?"
"I've documented the different dialogues and actions of the guys here, and it's like some are walking psychology textbooks. And it's a total page-turner!"
"Uh, great." Meanwhile, Dawn was collecting firewood in a garbage bag when Brick walked over. "Morning, fellow teammate," he greeted. "Need assistance chopping wood?"
"You don't have to help just because you were teased a lot as a child," Dawn answered.
"Wha-who told you that?!"
"It's right there in your aura. Between your bladder control issues and your need to be dominated."
"I don't need to be dominated! I'm large and in charge!" A shrill whistle cut through. "Ten hut!" Jo shouted.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Brick saluted as he held a log, making him fall over. Jo, holding a whistle, stood over him. "Playing patty-cake with your teammates, G.I. Joke?" she taunted.
"You almost lost one of your best soldiers!" Brick whipped back as he got to his feet. "You need to shape up or we'll ship you out!"
"Like we'll lose to them." Jo pointed at Cameron, who was looking at a book. "'How to do a push-up,'" he read. "'Step One: lie on the ground. Step Two: push up.'" He tried to repeat the action, but he only fell back to the ground. Jo laughed at the sight. "How pathetic," she said. "Those maggots are all wimps."
"No, they're not," Brick argued. "They are our competition."
"Besides," Dawn suddenly put in, "The Gophers have some strong people, too."
"Really?" Jo scoffed, not believing her. "Who?" A crash cut them short. "Watch where you're going!" Heather shouted from the cabins.
"You were running into me!" Mike shouted back to her. "And I suggest the Queen of Mean switch her witch switch off!"
"At least I'm not some filthy, fish-breathed freakshow!"
Brick, Dawn and Jo heard some blows and shouts, then saw Heather sailing past them and crashing into a rock. "I hate that kid," she grumbled as she slid down.
Confessional: Heather (Screaming Gophers)
"It was totally his fault for trying to mess with me. He's going down."
Confessional: Mike (Screaming Gophers)
"Heather better watch her step. You don't want to cross me or my friends, because when I fight, I don't hold back punches."
End Confessionals
Meanwhile, Sky and Dave were walking through the woods. "You sure this is a good idea?" Dave asked Sky.
"We don't have any other options," Sky replied as she carried the black bag.
"So, what's the plan again?"
"We leave this bag over here, and wait for Trent to pick it up."
"And we're doing this why?"
"It's a bit of a safety net. I mean, would you like to talk to a vampire deprived of blood for who knows how long?" Dave gulped. "I thought so, too," Sky continued. "Now that I think about it, I remembered something about him."
"Really?" Dave asked her. "What is it?"
"Remember when I mentioned that vampires each have a certain power? Now I'm not certain about it, but I believe Trent might have shape-shifting abilities."
"You mean he could change into anything?!"
"No, but he could turn into anything resembling an animal. It's actually the most common power to have. Why do you think all the movies show them changing into bats?" They soon saw something flying in the sky. It looked like a large lizard with scaly bat wings. "Another weird mutant, huh?" Dave nudged to Sky.
"Not exactly," Sky told him. She looked up at the creature. "Down here!" she shouted. "Looking for this?" She held up the black bag, and the creature landed in front of her. "Look," Sky told Dave. She pointed at the creature's blood red eyes. "I get it," Dave replied as he walked up to the creature, to Sky's confusion.
"What are you doing?" Sky asked him.
"You told me who this was," Dave replied as he stood next to the creature. "He's harmless."
"Did you seriously forget what we just talked about?!"
"Relax. I got this." Dave turned to the creature and poked it in the nose. "You don't scare me one bit," he told it. The creature hissed at him, its fangs glistening at him. "On second thought," Dave gulped, "Maybe I am scared." He began to back up before he began to run away. "Sorry, Sky!" he shouted as he dashed off.
"Seriously," Sky muttered once Dave was out of sight. "He let his pride get to him." She turned to the creature. "You can relax, Trent. I was just returning this." She held up the bag and passed it off. The creature suddenly began to change. In a few seconds, Trent was standing where the creature stood. "Uh, thanks," he slowly told her. "But how-?"
"I saw what was in the bag," Sky explained, "And once I knew who it belonged to, I just put two and two together. Plus, it helps that I've seen you before."
"Really? When?"
"Three years ago. My dad and I came over to your place a week after you got bit and turned, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember now. My folks were pretty freaked out when your dad told them about what happened."
"Not as freaked out as your neighbor after he cut himself."
"Yeah, that was pretty bad. You know, I didn't think anybody could quite understand just what I'm dealing with."
"It's probably because I can relate to it more. Speaking of which..." Sky passed the bag to Trent. "You need to keep this a little closer with you," she told him. "We don't any troubles on our plates, right?"
"Right," Trent agreed, taking the bag. Sky noticed the sadness flickering in his eyes. "Did something happen?" she asked him.
"Sky!" Dave shouted from the distance.
"That sounds like my cue to leave," Trent told Sky. "Sorry about the rough reception I gave your friend." He changed into a large rat and scurried off with the bag. Dave ran up to Sky a few moments later. "Glad to see you stood by me," Sky bitterly told him.
"I'm sorry for running out on you," Dave panted. "It was just...I was getting scared and-"
"Next time you see something like that, don't try to anger it. Come on. We'd better hurry back before someone notices that we've been gone a while." The duo ran back to the cabins. At the cabins, Phoebe was straightening the beds up while Destiny was tuning her guitar. "Hey, Destiny?" Phoebe asked her. "I was wondering if you could play some music to pass the time."
"Of course!" Destiny replied. "I think I have your style of jams on Greggy's MP3 player I borrowed." She searched her bag, but she suddenly went wide-eyed. Her scream echoed throughout the cabin. "What's with the panicking?" Sam asked as he and Greg looked through the doorway.
"Someone stole me and Greggy's jams!" Destiny wailed.
"Gee, that is so worth panicking over," Sam blandly replied.
"I know, right?!" Destiny panicked, not noticing the sarcasm. "I just can't live without music!" She began to cry. "Don't worry, Desi," Greg assured her. "We'll find them."
"Thanks, Greggy. Hey, those don't look like your glasses." Greg had a pair of black glasses instead of his usual yellow ones. "This is temporary," he explained. "Cam lent me a pair until I find my old ones." He stuck his head out the doorway. "Thanks, Cam!"
"No problem!" Cameron shouted back from his cabin. He turned back to Leonard, Lightning, and Owen. "They seem nice, don't they?" he asked them.
"They do," Owen told him. "Once I win the million, I'll host the biggest party and invite everyone here!"
"That does sound nice," Leonard replied, though he was distracted by something.
"Is something wrong?" Cameron asked him.
"I am sensing a darkness surrounding both teams. If we do not act, it will destroy the little purity that is left here!"
"That sounds bad," Owen said as he and Cameron went wide-eyed.
"Sha-please," Lightning put in. "Who cares about some dark place?" His stomach rumbled. "Time to refuel." He grabbed a bucket and opened the lid, but gave a look of surprise when he peered inside. He let out a scream that shook the cabin. "Sounds like someone put a wailing curse on you," Leonard told him as he got back to his feet.
"Lightning's been robbed!" Lightning told the guys.
"What did they take? Your armor or your weapons?"
"My protein!" Lightning showed them that his bucket was empty, save for a scooper. "Scoopie?" he murmured as he grabbed it. "I will find the person that did this. Lightning swears it!" At the main lodge, nearly everyone was gathered for breakfast, which was an assortment of meat and an apple. "Hi, Sugar!" Ella greeted, to her disdain. "Would you like an apple?"
Confessional: Sugar (Killer Bass)
"Man-o-war! That girl could bug the stink off a donkey! But I'm onto her 'nice-girl' performance. She ain't winnin' this pageant!"
End Confessional
"I know what you're planning!" Sugar told Ella. "You're getting me to lower my guard! Well, that ain't happening!" She snatched Ella's plate and began to eat. "Glad you enjoy it, Sugar!" she replied.
"Should we tell her-?" Cameron began to ask but Mike silenced him. "No point trying to burst her bubblegum-colored bubble," he told him.
"Wise thoughts," Leonard agreed as he patted Mike's arm. "Isn't that-?"
"Get your hand off my arm before I fling you off myself." Leonard noticed his hand on Mike's arm, which was bandaged from his wrist to halfway up his upper arm. "My apologies," he replied as he pulled his hand away. "I was not aware you were injured."
"What happened?" Zoey asked, concerned.
"I lost my footing while climbing a tree and I landed on my arm," Mike explained. "Nothing to make a fuss over." Unknown to them, Alejandro was watching them.
Confessional: Alejandro (Killer Bass)
"As a master manipulator, I know how to tell the perfect lie, along with spotting a lie. Mike is an adept climber, so it makes no sense that he would lose his footing. I wonder why he's hiding the real cause of his injury."
End Confessional
Chef served Lightning and Phoebe some breakfast. "There's protein in this, right?" Lightning asked, making Chef growl.
"Your chi looks shrunken," Dawn told him.
"Chi? Which muscle is chi? Never mind. Gimme that!" He snatched her plate of food and began to eat as he walked away. "Don't fret, teammate," Phoebe told her as she passed her plate of food to her. "I'm not gonna let you starve."
"Attention, campers!" Chris announced through the loudspeakers. "Breakfast is cutting into precious time that you could spend getting injured. Grab your swimsuits and meet me at the dock. Pronto." Most of the campers groaned at this. "You have ten seconds to exit the mess hall before I release...the raccoon."
"The raccoon?" Anne-Maria scoffed.
"Like I should be scared of a pathetic puffball," Heather said.
"Still, we should go," Zoey told them. "If that's okay with you." She nervously walked out. "She does make a point," Mike agreed. He turned to Cameron and Owen. "Let's go."
"It's just a little raccoon," Owen argued. Mike grabbed him and Cameron by their shirts. "It wasn't a question," he told them. "Come on!" He dragged the boys outside. "What a bunch of chickens," Scott teased. "A raccoon." He and the others laughed until a huge crate was lowered down. A fist knocked out the door, revealing a huge, growling raccoon. Everyone screamed before dashing out. Lightning and Sugar were wheeling out some food from the kitchen. "Where y'all going?" Lightning asked them.
"Who cares?" Sugar countered. "More for the rest of us!" As they ate, they didn't notice the raccoon's shadow looming over them.
"So," Mike said to Heather after everyone was outside. "You didn't want to be around the 'pathetic puffball'?"
"That thing was fifteen feet tall!" Heather argued.
"What's wrong with you?!" Courtney told Chris. "That thing could've killed us!"
"Nah," Chris chuckled. "Only if you got between him and food. And it looks like both teams are missing a player."
"Missing a player?" Cody asked.
"He's right," Mike replied. "Anyone seen Bolt Breath or Queen of the Pigs?" The raccoon's roar and Lightning's screams caught everyone's attention. Soon, Lightning was sailing out the window while Sugar strutted out the door with her food. "You'd better not touch my food again!" she shouted.
"Uh, never mind," Mike quickly said. Soon, everyone, except for Austin, were in their swimsuits. "All right," Chris told them. "To help get this challenge underway, I've got two of my interns here." Dakota and another intern were paddling a canoe over. The intern had dark skin, brown hair, green eyes, and a yellow polo shirt under his intern clothes. "I'll get to helping," he stuttered. "Since you asked. A demonstration, right?"
"No demo needed, Bryan," Chris told him. "Just chum the waters with Dakota and try not to get eaten."
"What's in this?" Dakota wondered as she held up a bucket full of green slop.
"Just the leftovers from the camp that are a decade old."
"Gross!" Dakota moved the bucket away, making some slop splatter on the canoe. Fang chomped on that end, making the interns cower in fear. "So scary!" Bryan squeaked.
"Challenge part one," Chris explained. "Each team must get a pair of water skis in an underwater mission. Or drown trying. One victim, I mean, camper, will snag the skis in an old-school diving suit and float them to the surface while the rest of their team pumps oxygen. First team to surface their skis wins and gets an advantage in part two."
"Listen up, rats!" Jo ordered her team. "I'm diving."
"What are you saying?!" Anne-Maria lashed back. "None of us can do it?" Jo placed the helmet on Dave's head, making him fall over. "She makes a solid point," he moaned.
"Still," Phoebe spoke up, "We should leave this to the team. Any other volunteers?"
"I'll do it!" Sugar decided as she grabbed the suit. "Ain't nobody but me is winning this thing!"
"But-"
"Don't bother arguing," Courtney told Phoebe. "Besides, the only ones that volunteered were Jo and Sugar."
"Fine," Jo decided. "We'll let Pageant Queen do it. The rest of you get to pumping, and don't make me use my whistle." She went towards the whistle around her neck, only to find it missing. "All right, who took my whistle?"
"So, how do we decide who dives?" Owen asked. "Do we draw straws?"
"May I do it?" Ella volunteered. "I would love to help you guys out more!"
"Fine," Heather sighed. "It saves us an argument, I suppose." As Ella began to suit up, Sugar glared at her.
Confessional: Sugar (Killer Bass)
"No way is that prissy, goody-goody Ella winning! I'll make sure of that!"
Confessional: Echo (Screaming Gophers)
"Oh, my. Why is Sugar so angry at Ella all of a sudden?" The scene flashed back to Echo reading something out of the book she stole. "With a burning inferno blazing and growing inside," she read, "Let Sugar's blind fury lead to her demise!" The book flashed red for a moment. She closed the book.
"Fury spell. I do not need to lose again, so I might as well get some of those worthless Bass out of the way. This game is mine." She gave an evil laugh.
End Confessionals
"Ready?" Chris asked Ella and Sugar once they were all suited up. Sugar glared at Ella, while Ella only gave a polite wave. "Go!" Chris announced. The girls were soon underwater. They saw the skis and raced over. Up on the dock, Sam was panting while he pumped air for Sugar. "Tired already, Soft Serve?" Scott teased.
"Move aside!" Jo barked. Sam stepped aside. "I'll show you how to pump air!" She began to pump, not even breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, Mike was pumping air for Ella while Zoey talked to him. "I still can't believe Sol's gone," she told him. "And I was starting to think he was a nice guy."
"Something's off about that," Mike told her.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure exactly, but I could just see it in his eyes. He wasn't himself. It's a stretch, but do you think someone was...controlling him?"
"Like a robot?"
"Sorta. Look, I don't know if I'm right, but you'd better be on guard. I'd hate for you or your friends to suffer due to someone else."
"Thanks for the heads-up."
Confessional: Zoey (Screaming Gophers)
"Mike's actually really nice. I don't get the whole tough guy act, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Right?"
End Confessional
Brick and Dawn were busy collecting shells and putting them in Dawn's bag when they noticed their team talking. "This is taking forever," Scott grumbled. "I gotta whittle something. Wait-where's my lucky shark tooth? Someone snatched it! Like Nerdy's glasses, Diva's MP3 player, Jocko's protein, and Man Lady's whistle. I think Brick took it."
"Hey!" Phoebe defended. "Don't go accusing people until you have proof."
"Besides," Anne-Maria put in, "He couldn't steal a TV in a riot."
"Think about it," Scott told the girls. "Haven't you seen one of these shows before? The people that act nice turn out to be the bad guys in the end."
"As if. There's no proof that-hey, where's my hairbrush? Oh, that is it. Brick's getting a beatdown." Echo tapped her shoulder. "What is it, Pasty?" Anne-Maria bitterly asked. Echo whispered in her ear. "She said what?! I'll take care of this myself." She stormed over to Zoey and Mike. "Hey, Red!" Anne-Maria shouted. "What's with all the back-talk to me?!"
"What do you mean?" Zoey asked, confused.
"Echo told me you were saying all those mean things about me!"
"I didn't! Echo, why would you lie about that?!"
"I didn't mean to lie," Echo squeaked. "But I heard you and Mike mumbling something, and I assumed the worst! I'm sorry, Zoey!" She cried some.
"See, Anne-Maria?" Zoey told her as she laid her hand on her shoulder. "It was just a mistake." She lifted her hand up. "Yeesh. Are you wearing orange paint?"
"Oh, no," Anne-Maria steamed. "NO ONE disrespects the tan!" She shoved Zoey, making her bump into Mike. He splashed into the water. "Mike?" Zoey called out. Mike held his breath and began to swim up, but stopped when he saw a stream of bubbles rising up. Sugar was still running towards the skis when Fang tugged on her air tube. "Not me!" she shouted. "Her!" Fang turned to Ella and growled, letting Sugar escape. "Hi, Fang!" Ella greeted. She waved at him, making Fang calm down. She suddenly let out a gasp and put a hand over her mouth. She gently tugged on her air tube to let her team know she was running low on air. "More air!" Jasmine ordered when she noticed the tube.
"I'm trying!" Beth told her as she pumped. Ella kept tugging and her cheeks turned blue from lack of oxygen. As she passed out, Mike swam next to her and undid her suit. He noticed Sugar was holding her team's skis and she swam up. She soon surfaced. "The Bass win part one!" Chris announced. The Bass cheered while the Gophers moaned. "Where's Ella and Mike?" Zoey asked, worried.
Confessional: Sugar (Killer Bass)
"Who cares about that scrawny guy? But I took care of that goody-goody princess. Ella is G-A-W-N, gone!"
End Confessional
Mike and Ella surfaced, coughing and spluttering. "Mike!" Zoey breathed. "Ella! What happened to you guys?"
"I'm sorry I didn't get the skis," Ella said between coughs. "But I was running out of air. If Mike hadn't gotten me out when he did..."
"I wasn't going to let anyone drown on my watch," Mike replied.
"Looks like you got some good in you after all," Leshawna told him, making Mike scoff. Ella gave him a hug. "My hero!" she gushed. Mike moaned at this.
Confessional: Ella (Screaming Gophers)
"That was a true fairy tale moment. I have found my prince."
Confessional: Mike (Screaming Gophers)
"Never imagine I'd have Bubblegum at my heels, but I can't really do anything about it now. My main concern is how she almost drowned. Someone made a small slice in her air tube, meaning the air wasn't going to her. And I'm guessing the culprit is Sugar! She's the only one that has a reason to target her!"
End Confessionals
"Hello, team," Brick said as he and Dawn returned.
"Hello, stealer," Scott sneered. Phoebe nudged him in the arm. "Yes, sir," Brick replied. "We are stealing victory from those Gophers."
"The Bass are the first to grab their water skis," Chris announced. "Their reward: a McLean brand speedboat to use in part two of the challenge." Most of the Bass cheered when the boat pulled up. "And for the Gophers," Chris continued. "A totally leaky dinghy." The Gophers groaned as the dinghy slowly pulled up. "It's my fault we lost," Ella sighed. "I'm sorry, everyone."
"Suckers!" Sugar taunted. "Aw, yeah!" She began to dance. "I'm awesome, you're not! I'm awesome, you're not!"
"Sugar!" Phoebe scolded. "Do not gloat!"
"Part two of the challenge," Chris announced. "A death-defying water-ski race! The goal: be the first to ring four bells on these four totally harmless buoys." As Bryan and Dakota paddled by a buoy, it exploded, sending Dakota onto another buoy. "Rude!" she cried out.
"Make that three bells," Chris corrected. Bryan screamed as he landed on the dock. "See? You totally got to demo."
"Thank you," Bryan weakly coughed out. Unknown to everyone else, he had a vengeful glare in his eyes.
"Gee," Dave muttered with sarcasm. "How fun."
"It doesn't look fun to me," Destiny told him, unaware of the sarcasm. Dave could only sigh.
(cue commercial)
"To recap," Chris began, "the Killer Bass got dibs on a sweet speedboat, which they'll need. Meanwhile, the Screaming Gophers are stuck dodging water mines in a leaky dinghy that couldn't float in a kiddie pool."
"Burn!" Tyler teased.
"Do we need aloe for that?" Destiny asked, confused.
"Desi kinda flunked grammar class a few times," Greg whispered to Tyler.
"Choose three to ski," Chris continued, "one to drive, and one to operate your gull cannon."
"Gull cannon?" Dawn gulped.
"You heard me." Chris pressed a button, and each boat now had a cannon loaded with gulls. "First person shooter!" Sam exclaimed. "Cool!"
"Sounds like a weapon I'd need for the zombie apocalypse," Shawn decided. He did some poses, but unknown to him, Dave was mimicking him. "Those walking corpses are tricky to beat, since they're impervious to flames. But a blast from that gull cannon would slice their heads clean off!" Shawn stopped talking when he heard some of his teammates giggling. Dave stopped mimicking and gave an innocent whistle. "It's not a laughing matter!" Shawn scolded.
"Of course not," Dave replied with a small smirk.
"Each team gets three chances to shoot the bells or the other team," Chris explained. "Especially the other team."
"This seagull looks abnormal," Cameron pointed out as he got closer to them.
"Oh, that's not a seagull. These babies are half seagull, half rattlesnake. All with paralyzing venom." The mutant seagull let out a cry, making Cameron run off. "Whichever team rings the most bells wins."
"Is it okay if I drive?" Ella asked her teammates. "I want to make up for not getting the skis."
"Fine by us," Leshawna told her.
"I'm gunning!" Jasmine told Heather.
"No, I am!" Heather argued back. As the duo argued, the others discussed who would be skiing. "We should pick our best people to ski, right?" Cameron put in.
"Uh, I think I might be too heavy to ski," Owen put in.
"So, who's gonna do it?" Cody asked. "We can't all stay behind."
"No way am I going out there where I could blow up," Gwen decided.
"You make a good point," Trent agreed, making her blush. Mike scowled, then he grabbed Trent and Rodney by the arm and dragged them over to the boat. "You two," he told them. "With me. We'll ski. End of discussion."
"Are you sure about-?" Rodney began to ask.
"It wasn't a question," Mike told him as he glared at him. He turned to Heather and Jasmine. "Did you two decide on who's gunning?"
"She is!" Heather and Jasmine told him as they pointed at the other.
"ENOUGH!" Helga shouted. "I will do it!" She stomped over to Mike. "Give!" she told him as she pointed to Rodney.
"What for?" Mike asked.
"NOW!" Helga demanded. She forcefully grabbed Mike's bandaged arm, making him wince. "Fine," he gave in. Helga carried Rodney off, to his amusement, while Mike dragged Trent with his good arm.
"I'm driving!" Austin exclaimed as he hopped into the speedboat.
"Shotgun!" Scott called out as he got behind the gull cannon.
"Why do you get to shoot the gulls?" Jo complained.
"Been shooting kitchen rats with my pappy since I was six."
"Don't argue, Jo," Phoebe told her. "Brick, Dawn and I will ski." Chris blew his air horn to start. Austin gunned it, dragging the Bass skiers behind him. Ella started the boat, and it moved slowly ahead, making the Gopher skiers land in the water. "We've got this in the bag!" Austin hollered. "Those puny maggots won't catch up!"
"Yeah," Scott agreed without enthusiasm, "Great." The Gopher skiers soon surfaced out of the water, with Fang on their tail. "Faster, Ella!" Rodney shouted to her.
"I'm afraid it doesn't go any faster!" Ella shouted back.
"Someone didn't saber-tooth our boat, did they?" Rodney asked.
"Don't you mean sabotage?" Trent corrected.
"And we should listen to the leech here?" Mike snapped back.
"I don't get why you're upset with me."
"You know exactly why!"
"Can I say something?" Rodney put in.
"What is it?" Mike snapped. Rodney pointed Fang out, who was right behind them. "I have enough problems without you!" Mike told the mutant shark. "Beat it, Tuna Breath!" He punched Fang in the nose with his bandaged arm. "Nice one, Mike!" Rodney told him.
"Thanks," Mike squeaked out, wincing from the pain. "Ow!" The Bass's boat sped ahead while the Gophers' boat trailed behind. "Let's take out competition!" Helga shouted as she aimed the gull cannon at the other boat.
"But that's mean!" Ella argued. "Besides, we only have three gulls."
"We need two bells for win. One bird at others will not hurt us."
"But Helga-" Helga ignored Ella and shot a gull, hitting Austin in the back. "I've been hit!" he exclaimed. "Little...stinker..." He soon succumbed to the gull's venom and passed out. "Sweet," Scott muttered. "Look out for those reeds!" Their boat ran into some reeds. The Bass teammates that were watching from the docks moaned at this. "Aw, rats!" Heather mocked.
"There's a bell!" Trent told Helga. She aimed the gull cannon, but a gull already rang the bell on the buoy, making it explode. "Good job, Helga!" Rodney told her.
"That was not me!" Helga told him. Phoebe, Brick and Dawn cheered as their boat zoomed past. "Yeah," Scott agreed. "Great." Unknown to the others, he was scowling. "Stupid gun," he muttered. "That shot should've been way off."
"We're losing!" Helga exclaimed.
"But anything," Rodney gushed to her. "We can, flowers covered with snow, and victory!"
"Did Ginger Boy get hit with gull?"
Austin was still in a daze from the gull's bite. "You think you need to pull over?" Scott asked him. He let out a gasp. "Look out!"
"Get away from me, you big jerk!" Dakota told Fang as she hit him with her bucket full of slop. The Bass boat passed by her, taking the bucket with them. "Hey!" she called out. Austin had the bucket over his head. "Yummy," he slurred. "Chow time." He slumped over, accidentally turning the boat off. As they slowed, Dawn, Brick and Phoebe crashed into the boat. "We're ahead again!" Ella cheered as the Gopher boat sped past. "Hooray! And look! Another bell!"
"Careful, Ella!" Trent warned her. The boat was drifting towards some rocks. Ella turned to avoid the rocks, but the skiers weren't so lucky. They were knocked around, and Mike was flung off. "Hit the bell!" Rodney told him. Mike hit the bell with his hands before flipping off and landing on Rodney's head. "Nice one!" Trent told him as the buoy exploded.
"You're too kind," Mike bitterly replied as he held his bandaged arm.
"The Gophers are ahead!" Brick told his teammates. "And we lost our skis!"
"Blame the cowboy," Scott told him. "He stopped for chum." Austin was still snoring like a bear.
"Don't point the finger at anyone, Scott!" Phoebe scolded. "Besides, we still have a shot. Just look on the bright side. There is a bright side, right? Right?!"
"Everyone calm down," Dawn said. "I have a plan. Phoebe, you drive."
"Will do, teammate!"
"Brick, we'll have to ski with Austin."
"Affirmative!" Brick saluted.
"Scott, don't you dare fire any more of those defenseless gulls."
"Promise," Scott told Dawn. He fired a gull, making her scowl. "Starting now," he told her. Soon, Phoebe was driving the boat while Brick and Dawn were skiing on top of Austin. "Good strategy, Dawn!" Brick told her.
"The Bass are back in the race!" Trent exclaimed. He, Mike and Rodney started to wobble. "Careful!" Mike scolded.
"It's not me!" Trent replied. "Are you trying to blame everything on me? What is your deal?!"
"What's the deal?! The deal is that you're a traitor!" As Mike slammed his fist down, Rodney let out a cry of pain. "Calm down!" he told the boys. Helga let out a gasp when she heard Rodney's cry. She scowled before firing a gull at Mike, hitting him in the arm. "What was that for?!" he cried out as he tried to pry the gull off.
"For hurting teammate!" Helga exclaimed. "Now let me shoot you off of him!" She tried to fire another gull, but the gun jammed up. "Work!" she told it as she slammed her fist on it. It soon blew up, covering her in feathers. "Helga!" Rodney exclaimed with worry.
"And those poor gulls!" Ella cried out as she turned her head. "Is everyone okay?"
"Valuny!" Helga coughed out.
"Excuse me?"
"Look out!" Trent warned her. "Rocks!" They soon crashed into some rocks. The boys were all moaning while they laid on the rocks. Helga was still coughing up feathers while Ella was sprawled out on another rock. The Bass boat sped past them. "Those poor, naked gulls!" Dawn cried out. "This is worse than that class field trip to the chicken nugget factory!"
"Scott, Phoebe!" Brick shouted to them. "There's the last bell!"
"I just knew we had a chance!" Phoebe exclaimed with joy. Scott had a nervous look.
Confessional: Scott (Killer Bass)
"No way can we win! Winning will ruin my plan! So I gots to be smart."
Confessional: Sugar (Killer Bass)
"Seeing them Gophers crash was the best moment of my life! It's like winning a pie-eating contest, and then watching someone you hate get hurt! Whoo!"
End Confessionals
Scott fired a gull at Phoebe, hitting her in the back. She soon slumped over. "Oh, my gosh!" Scott feigned. "Phoebe's unconscious somehow!"
"Scott, grab the wheel!" Brick exclaimed.
"I can't. I'm the gunner." They sped out of control.
"Nice driving," Mike scolded to Ella.
"There's no point in scolding her, Mike!" Trent told him.
"You're one to talk, leech!" The two glared at each other. "Should we stop that?" Rodney asked Helga and Ella as he backed away from the boys.
"I see last bell!" Helga exclaimed as she pointed to the mine. "But we have no ammunition."
"I could help!" Ella volunteered. "It's the least I can do."
"Prepare to be gull, printsessa!" Helga told her. She grabbed her and tossed her over to the bell. Rodney just stared at her. "What?" Helga asked him. "She did say she want to help."
"Strong and snow," Rodney gushed. "With flowers and water...gulls pink and blue..."
"Are you sure gull did not hit you?" The Bass boat hit a rock, making everyone crash and making Austin sail towards the bell. Ella and Austin screamed before crashing into each other and landing on top of the mine. "No explosion?" Chris wondered as he looked at the scene through his binoculars. "Not cool."
"I hope the others are okay," Zoey said with worry. A loud BOOM caught everyone's attention. "Sha-boom!" Lightning called out.
"YAY!" Luna exclaimed. "Now THAT'S a KABOOM!"
"You crazy, girl?" Leshawna asked her.
"Solstice sometimes ask me that, too. Small world." Soon, the Gophers gathered around Ella, who was on a stretcher. She held up her injured leg and arm. "Look, guys," she told her teammates. "Now Mike and I match. Isn't that sweet?"
"I'm just glad it wasn't worse," Cameron told her. "Speaking of which, where is Mike and the others?"
"Did we win?" Rodney asked as he carried Helga to shore. "Feathers," he explained.
"Gophers win," Chris announced, "Bass lose. I'll see their butts at the campfire tonight." The Gophers cheered at this. "Pobeda!" Helga cheered before coughing up feathers. "It taste like bird."
"We won!" Trent cheered. "Yes!"
"Be lucky we won," Mike told him, "Or I...I..." He slumped over. "Mike?" Zoey called out with worry.
"One of the gulls got to him," Ella explained to her. She hopped over to the gull still stuck on his arm. "Mister Gull, could you please let go of my friend?" The gull released its jaw and flew over to her. "Thank you," she told it.
"We lost?" Phoebe wondered. "Aw, man. But how did that gull get to me?"
"Helga had a lucky shot, I guess," Scott lied.
"Helga?" Dawn asked, her voice lined with bitterness. "Or the guy who shot at kitchen rats with his pappy?"
Confessional: Dawn (Killer Bass)
"Helga's gun was jammed. The gull that hit Phoebe could only have come from our boat! I swear by the great Earth Mother I will expose Scott for the traitor that he is!"
End Confessional
Unknown to her, as she stormed out, Scott was right behind her. "Or will you?" he sneered. Back at the Bass cabin, some of the guys were wondering who to boot. "I say we boot Dawn," Scott argued. "She wouldn't let me fire gulls at the Gophers."
"I don't know," Sam replied. "Brick's the one stealing from everyone."
"Didn't know Soggy McGee was a thief," Duncan commented. "Kinda impressive."
"What are you guys talking about?" Dawn asked as she, Brick, Geoff and Bridgette walked in.
"Nothing!" Sam quickly told them.
"Nothing," Austin slurred from his bed.
"Dawn," Scott told her as he held up a black bag, "You left this on the boat. Whoops." He dropped the bag, showing a bunch of loaves of bread. "What the-?" Scott wondered.
"Where are your shells and wood you collected?" Brick asked her.
"I bet Scott stole them!" Dawn accused.
"It couldn't be Scott," Bridgette explained. "He was robbed, too."
"This thief business is bumming this bummer stuff even more," Geoff put in. "Don't worry, dudette. We'll catch the thief." Everyone but Scott walked over to the girls' side. "Any idea who you're voting for?" Courtney asked as they walked in.
"Not yet," Bridgette admitted. "It's just hard to imagine a thief here."
"I know," Destiny agreed. "Thief, you'd better give our stuff back, or else!"
"Like the thief's just gonna come in here and admit who he is," Courtney told her. "It-" Everyone noticed Mike walking in and carrying some big, pink bags. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked. "I was just helping Sugar out with her stuff."
"That's nice of you, Mike," Phoebe told him. "Uh, do you need help with that?"
"I got it. I just-WHOA!" He tripped, and the contents of the bag spilled out, showing some shells, wood, a shark tooth, some protein powder, a whistle, glasses, a MP3 player, and a hairbrush. "Scott's shark tooth!" Bridgette exclaimed. "Jo's whistle!"
"My music!" Destiny exclaimed as she made a grab for it. "I missed you!"
"Don't break my glasses, Desi!" Greg warned her.
"What's all the shouting for?!" Sugar exclaimed as she and Scott joined the others. She noticed everyone's eyes were on her. "What?"
"Sugar..." Brick started as he held up one of her bags, "You're a thief?!"
Confessional: Scott (Killer Bass)
He was whittling a piece of wood with his shark tooth. "I don't get it. All that junk was suppose to be in that bag. I should know because I stole all that stuff. Threw my shark tooth in there, too. I was gonna pin it on Brick but Dawn the junk collector got too smart for her own good. Someone's messing with me, and I ain't having it. There's only room for one smart guy here." Brick's alarm clock went off, making sewage water spray Scott.
End Confessional
"Listen up, fishies!" Sugar told her teammates. "I didn't steal nothing! Ella framed me!"
"Forget that!" Anne-Maria told her as she held up her hairbrush. "You're getting a beat-down!"
"Not before I do!" Destiny told her. Jo blew her whistle to stop them. "This one's mine!" she ordered them.
"Ladies, please!" Greg begged. "Since we found out who the thief is, the best course of action is to boot the thief tonight at the elimination ceremony. Everyone agree?"
"Are we sure Sugar's the thief?" Austin asked. "She seems so sweet."
"You may disagree, but the evidence doesn't lie."
"Obviously, this is a Bass problem," Mike told them, "So if you don't mind, I'll be leaving." Unknown to everyone, he was smirking as he left the cabin.
Confessional: Mike (Screaming Gophers)
"Please. Sugar couldn't steal a golf ball without getting caught." The scene flashed back to Mike watching a figure put all the stolen goods in Dawn's trash bag. "I saw someone messing with that stuff earlier," Mike explained, "So I swapped the bag with one filled with a few loaves of bread I've gotten from Chef's kitchen. I then placed the stuff in Sugar's stuff. And it wasn't an accident I tripped so all that junk spilled out."
"Would you consider it sabotage? You could argue that. Did Sugar deserve it? Of course she did! She almost caused Ella to drown! No way is that going unpunished! Revenge is blind to mercy."
End Confessional
At the bonfire ceremony, the Bass were all seated. Courtney, Phoebe, DJ, Sam, Geoff, Bridgette, Harold, Luna, Sky, Dave and Austin were in the back row while Shawn, Duncan, Brick, Jo, Destiny, Greg, Beardo, Tyler, Luna, Alejandro, Scott, Dawn and Sugar were in the front row. "After an episode bursting with betrayal," Chris began, "it's the Bass who have backstabbed the best. Following campers are momentarily safe." He tossed a marshmallow to each name. "Courtney...Bridgette...Alejandro...Harold...Sky...Dave...Greg... Destiny...Brick...Tyler...Geoff...Duncan...Beardo...Sam...DJ...Phoebe...Luna...Shawn...Jo...and the artist formerly known as Bucket Head." He tossed a marshmallow that landed in Austin's hat. Scott, Dawn and Sugar eyed the last two marshmallows. "And tonight's big loser is..." Scott and Dawn glared at each other while Sugar glared at the plate.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Just give it already!" Sugar yelled out.
"Sugar!" Chris announced.
"What?!" Sugar, Dawn and Scott exclaimed as Dawn and Scott caught the last two marshmallows.
Confessional: Sugar (Killer Bass)
"How could I get the boot?! I am a pageant queen! I should be in the finals! That no-good Ella's behind this! I just know it!"
Confessional: Austin (Killer Bass)
"Aw, cow patties! Sugar's gone! And she was so close to that stack of money, too!"
End Confessionals
"I don't get why I'm in this stupid thing!" Sugar cried out as she sat in the Hurl of Shame. "What about that boat?"
"I wanna get my money's worth," Chris explained as he walked over to the lever. Sugar then saw Mike walking over to her. "Goodbye," he told her. "Thief."
"How'd you-?" Sugar wondered. "You set me up!"
"Fire away!" Sugar screamed as she was hurled off. "Good riddance," Mike muttered.
At the bonfire, Echo was roasting a marshmallow when Bryan came up behind her and started straightening up the area. "I'm surprised to see a guy like you under McLean's heel," she told him without batting an eye.
"I didn't know it would be this bad," Bryan squeaked.
"You can cut the act, shrimp. It won't help if you deny it."
"And it'll be awfully suspicious if the Gophers find a book of spells in your possession," Bryan replied, losing his meek personality. "Anything else that you want to add?"
"No," Echo sighed. "I know better than to push my luck. Just keep your mouth shut, okay?"
"Promise, Little Miss Sunshine."
Sorry it took a while, but I finally got another chapter out! I decided to boot Sugar instead of Dawn because one, I wanted a good change to canon and this seemed like the best chapter to do it in, and two, because I simply didn't see any more plot for Sugar. I'm sure a lot of you saw Sugar going soon, but I bet you didn't see the how coming, did you?
I'd like to thank LaCuevademisgustos for letting me use his OC here, and something tells me this isn't the last we'll see of him.
The next challenge will be from Pahkitew Island, which might be a bit odd to you, but I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Until next time, this is Dunsparce519 saying enjoy and have a good day.