Ỉ̷̯̰͔̙̏́̌̑͘t̶̡̼̱̦̱̜̿̽ ̶̡̫̠̩̖̇̈́̈i̵͉̹̠̫̺̇͋̍̃͊̽͂͘͠ͅs̷̖̹̐̂̄̆͊̀̑͝ ̸̨̯̰̦̪̱͖͈͑͂̔̍̿̕̕͝ͅt̷̰͇̮̰̼̊͐̅i̸̛͉͈͚̫̪̝̠̬͝m̷̨̜̦̣̣̯͎̘̀̇̆͋͜͝e̸͙̩̝͓̼̅̏̋͐.̶̰͈͎̟̞͒.̷̨̈̔̿̆̅͘͜.̵̡̺͕̗͖̈̆̀̋̂͛̒̍̾
Chris sat in the office that he and Chef occupied since the season began, Chef stood with a camera in front of him and a serious look on his face, matching the one Chris wore. After taking a second to collect himself, rub his temples and take a deep breath, he signaled for Chef to turn on the camera.
"Hello, my name is Chris McLean, obviously... Ugh, cut!"
A few minutes passed before Chris seemed ready to redo his recording.
"Hi, Total Drama fans! Chris McLean here!... No, now I sound too happy..."
"Greetings, viewers! ... Ugh, 'greetings'?! Who the hell starts off a video saying 'greetings'?!"
"Look man." Chef piped up. "Just give it to 'em straight. No gimmicks or fancy openings. Say what needs to be said and be done with it!"
"Right... It's just that I'm still trying to process what exactly happened and how to even say it."
"I get it. But the network said that this footage still has to go out and that this is something that everyone needs to see to know what's happened."
"Alright. Let's take five and get this done."
Once five more minutes passed, Chris looked much more focused and once again signaled for Chef to begin recording.
"Hello Total Drama fans, Chris McLean here with a very important message regarding this episode. Now, Total Drama as a whole has always had moments that have been dramatic, shocking, and even paranormal in some instances. However, this most recent episode has been what we can only describe as... well, we can't even properly describe it as anything other than an anomaly. We've sent this footage over to the best paranormal investigators and videographers we could find to determine it's authenticity. Because of this we are able to determine that everything that you are about to see is one hundred percent authentic. Now before we show you this episode of Total Drama Rosewood Manor, we'd like to issue a disclaimer: The following video may contain material that may be shocking or disturbing to viewers. Your discretion is advised!"
Chef cut the camera and gave Chris a thumbs up, allowing the host to sigh in relief.
"Alright, let's send this to the network!" Chef replied.
"Cool..." Chris replied "I need a freaking drink..."
As Chef sent the footage to the network, Chelsea checked the computer that Chris and Chef used throughout the season.
'Ok, so what the hell happened after we split up...'
Chelsea played the video from the beginning, showing Chris in front of the manor as per usual, ready to start the intro...
"Last time on Total Drama Rosewood Manor; our final six had a moment to slow down from the fast paced action of the game for a nice and wholesome board game! Hehe, if only it were that simple! With a challenge with as many random factors as a board game, it was difficult to predict what would happen. What we could predict though, was that harsh words would continue to fly between Nanette and Edward, their hatred for each other is quickly boiling over and one of them might end up getting burned! Adrian continues to remain as focused as humanly possible on winning. Speaking of winning, Shawn surprised even me by getting first place in the challenge and securing a spot in the final five. But while Shawn was able to safely get by, the same can't exactly be said for Andi, who seems as if she's only barely managing to hold herself together! But with all challenges thus far, someone has to lose, and that someone was Kenji, who was the closest person so far to eliminate Edward. So close, but not close enough! We're left with only five contestants and the finale is quickly approaching! What what what what what WHAT WHAT WHAT WWWWWW############################### kind of challenge awaits our contestants this time time time time time time time time? Find out right here on Total. Drama. Rosewood Manor! might end up getting burned
burned
b-u-r-n-e-d
B-U-R-N-E-D
B̴͔͕̌ ̷̘̓̈́̕͝Ụ̵͕̠͔̕ ̶͈̬́̇̂Ȑ̵͚̤̰̞̦͌͒̍͊ ̴͍͇̳̾̓N̷̺̙̠͆́͐̀͜ ̷̤̠͙̖̝́͑Ê̸̙̅͊̃ ̷͙̀D̶̤̖̱̥̈́!"
Edward exited his room, his eyes looked completely dead as they stared a hole into anything and everything in front of him. His movements looked unnatural and almost robotic to a certain degree as he closed his door and made his way into the foyer. The moonlight that once illuminated the bright halls was almost completely covered by the harsh black clouds of the sky, with just enough light to shine inside and reveal a clock that hung in the hallway, revealing the time to be 3:04 a.m..
The young man's steps down the stairs made a solid thump with every step he descended. Just as he approached the door to the basement, the office door opened and an irate Chris peeked out from inside the room, holding a flashlight in his hands.
"Hey..." Chris whined groggily. "What are you doing?!"
The host shined his flashlight on Edward, who ignored the man as he took another step towards the basement. Now thoroughly annoyed, Chris walked over to the contestant and placed a hand on his shoulder. As soon as he touched the boy, several visions of the past and the paranormal events that had occurred throughout the season flashed through his head, including with the spirit of Henry assaulting Edward earlier in the evening and ending with a vision of the boiler down in the basement, on the verge of exploding with flames erupting from it and the mechanical parts enlarged and and burning red. Once the visions had passed, Chris let out a cry of pain at both the visions and the sudden burning sensation in his hand. As he released his hand from Edward's shoulder, the boy collapsed onto the floor, his eyes returning to normal. Chelsea, Chef and the rest of the final five hurried over to the foyer in a rush, Chef turned the lights on and gasped.
"Chris! What happened?!" Chef asked in shock at the sight in front of him.
"Is this some kind of challenge?" Andi asked.
"It better not be!" Nanette replied. "I was in the middle of my beauty sleep and it should be illegal for us to have a challenge at three in the morning!"
Before Chef had a chance to snap at the teens, the lights shut off despite nobody being near them, the only remaining light being from Chris' flashlight which slowly turned to face the door to the basement. The door to which suddenly slammed open and the sound of a man's cackling laugh pierced through the air.
"The boiler..." Chris groaned, rubbing his burned hand. "I don't know what happened but I think something's up with the boiler..."
"Don't worry Chris, I'll take care of it!" Chef assured.
"You kids go with him." Chris added. "This isn't a challenge, I promise. But I don't know if Chef can handle this job alone. Pretty positive that we've mentioned this before but Chef and I never explored the basement at all before this season began so we have no idea what's down there; ghosts or no ghosts. But we do have the blueprints to the house so we have a general idea of where the boiler is, Chef knows the way so just follow him."
"I'll see if I can take care of Chris' burn and whatever happened to Eddie." Chelsea said.
Edward began to stir and slowly wake up, rubbing his head in pain.
"Ugh... what the hell happened?" He asked.
"We're goin' down in the basement and checkin' on the boiler." Chef answered, shaking Edward back to his senses. "You're coming with us."
"Great..." Edward groaned.
*confessionals*
Nanette: And here I thought that we might finally go for a while without hearing Edward's grating voice... Oh well, on the bright side, we might be able to get more information about both this house and whatever is going on with this manor mystery.
Shawn: This is definitely not a good morning!
Andi: I really don't have a good feeling about what might happen...
Adrian: I think Chris was telling the truth when he said this wasn't a challenge. I don't believe he would purposefully harm himself to show us the challenge. He might try to scare us using a dummy or using Chelsea, Chef, or another intern as an example, but not himself. Plus the potential lawsuit of purposefully injuring Edward, as much as we dislike him.
Edward: The last thing I remember was being in my room, I think. Then this... thing just lunged at me... ...em ta degnul tsuj gniht ...siht nehT .kniht I ,moor ym ni gnieb saw rebmemer I gniht tsal ehT :drawdE
Chris: Note to self: do background checks for every location I plan on visiting for television or otherwise. Hmm. Also, be sure to wear gloves whenever touching contestants, just in case.
Chef: Alright, got some holy water, bible, backup bible, five rosaries and a crucifix just in case. I ain't gonna get possessed or nothing down there!
Chelsea: Why couldn't this happen in the morning...
*end confessionals*
The teens stood behind Chef, who donned his priest robes and held a flashlight in his hands. Nobody was sure if it was nerves or the still steadily increasing heat, but beads of sweat rolled down everyone's faces. Chelsea and Chris headed back into the office, the latter opening a mini-fridge and procuring an ice pack which he used to cool down his hand.
"Good luck." Chris said, the stern look on his face told the others that if there was any time he was being sincere, it was now.
With one last deep breath, Chef began to descend into the pitch blackness of the basement, the five teens following close behind. As Chris returned to the office, he felt his head begin to hurt for just a moment, though a quick shake of his head brushed off the discomfort. Once he finished though, he was shocked and confused when he saw... Camp Wawanaka?
'But... This can't be?' Chris thought. 'This place sunk after the All-Stars season...'
Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a cameraman ready to record him, after looking around for a moment, he realized he was on an all too familiar Dock and he remembered everything! He was supposed to film the intro to the hottest new reality tv show that was supposed to take place at this summer camp in Muskoka, Ontario!
"Yo!" He began. "We're coming at you live from Camp Wawanakwa, somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario, I'm your host, Chris McLean, dropping season one of the hottest new reality show on television, right now!"
Chelsea looked at Chris in complete bafflement. They weren't at Wawanakwa, obviously. Then the memories of Chris' strange actions earlier in the seasons came flooding back to her.
'Now Chris is acting crazy again. That's just perfect...' Chelsea thought to herself. 'If I'm going to have to put up with this then I'm gonna need a drink...'
Chelsea looked into Chris' mini-fridge; nothing but fancy wines, tomato juice, and sparkling water that Chelsea had no interest in drinking. As she headed out to the kitchen, she managed to catch a glimpse of a pale, feminine looking figure head down into the basement, closing the door gently behind her. Immediately after seeing the figure, another figure ran out of the dining room, this one being the same blood red figure that attacked Edward, quickly noting Chelsea and then lunging at her.
The moment it touched her, Chelsea felt a wave of intense heat wash over her as she felt completely numb. She shut her eyes as her body collapsed onto the floor in a heap, however she couldn't hear it over the sound fire crackling in her ears. She wanted to move and just get this night over with, but her heart almost stopped when she found herself unable to move her body or even open her eyes. Chelsea was thankful that she could at least breathe...
Chelsea paused the recording, shuddering as she was able to get a proper look at what happened to her.
*confessional*
Chelsea: I don't ever want to talk about what happened tonight. The only reason I'm watching this recording is because Chris didn't really give me a full rundown of what happened. But seeing this and remembering how I felt as it was happening; it was the most terrifying experience of my life!
*end confessional*
Chef continued to guide the six teens through the initial hallway of the basement, they hadn't run into anything just yet but the feeling that they were being observed lingered in the air.
"So how far away is this boiler, Chef?" Adrian asked.
"Not too far, this basement is set up strangely at first glance but it's not impossible to manage. This hallway has a bunch of different rooms and each room is either some sort of storage room, or it's part of a secret passageway that leads all around the house, some of these go into a few of the bedrooms too!" Chef explained.
"So you could've gone into our rooms at any point?!" Andi said in shock.
"Not exactly, according to the blueprints, a lot of those secret exits are just that: exits. They aren't meant to open from the basement and if you somehow found one, it was opened from the bedroom."
Though nobody was able to see it, since Chef held the group's only flashlight, Andi's face went pale and her mouth went dry as the memory of the first time she found a hidden passage came to her.
"Why keep all of this a secret from us? I mean, I know Chris kind of went over it during our second day but you two seemed so adamant about not using the basement at all." Shawn asked.
"To be honest, I thought this place was super creepy from the start! Aside from that, the lights down here don't work, even though we tried putting in fresh bulbs. Plus Chris mentioned that each of these rooms is empty or locked so in case that one of you kids ever wandered down here somehow, you wouldn't get lost or hurt. But we're heading down to the end of the hallway here, that's the door that heads to the boiler room." Chef explained. "Chris wanted to try thinking of a challenge down here, specifically one that makes use of those secret passages, but he couldn't think of a good one. Plus every time one of the interns tried setting it up, they'd end up getting scared and running off."
"Hmph, wimps." Edward scoffed, earning a sneer from Nanette that he would not have been able to see anyway.
The six of them walked up to the door that stood at the end of the hallway, simply looking at it allowed a wave of apprehension to wash all over them. As Chef opened the door, the only thing the gang could see was absolute darkness, even shining their flashlights into the pitch black space proved ineffective. Hesitantly, they all stepped through and closed the door behind them, once it was shut, the darkness dissipated like smoke.
"What the actual hell?!" Shawn called out, unable to fathom how they all somehow managed to get onto the roof. A slight breeze blew, alleviating the increasing level of heat that none of them expected to feel all the way up there. Despite the expected light that the moon would have provided, the sky seemed as pitch black as the basement with the trees surrounding the manor being barely visible.
"But, we were just in the basement?!" Nanette called out. "We went downstairs and then forward through the hallway! This shouldn't be possible!"
"Well we ain't got time to question it!" Chef said sternly. "Let's head back down."
The six of them hurried back into the house, the doorway now bringing them into the Elimination Station...
"What the hell..." Adrian cursed silently.
"It's like the house itself is trying to keep us out of the boiler room." Andi gulped.
"Don't say things like that!" Shawn pleaded. "This is already insane enough, I don't want to even think of the possibility of this house itself being alive!"
"Don't be stupid, we're probably just too tired to pay attention to where we're going. It is almost four in the morning after all..." Edward stated, he walked over to the door going back, his flashlight suddenly turning off.
"Stupid cheap piece of crap..." He cursed. "Hey, Chef, can I get some light over here?"
Edward was only met with the sound of silence, the other four teens began looking around in an increasing panic looking for their guardian, only to find that he had vanished completely.
"Oh that is just perfect!" Edward groaned.
"I don't like this..." Andi quivered.
"Well if we're down one person then we'll have to stick together." Adrian stated. "This house is sending us into seemingly random locations, if there is a pattern then we have to find it."
"And if there isn't?" Nanette asked.
"Then we'll just have to keep moving forward."
*confessionals*
Andi: If this is some kind of joke, then it stopped being funny a long time ago! How did I even get in here?! The last thing I remember was leaving the Station from the door there and ending up in here!
Shawn: I have a really, really bad feeling about this! I ended up in the hallway after we all left the Station and I'm surprised that this door actually worked! But I feel like someone I know is here. I can't explain it, but I just have this sinking feeling in my stomach that just won't go away!
Nanette: Ugh! This is all so confusing! After Chef was separated from the rest of us, we all just unintentionally split up right after. I walked into the library and was just bombarded by a wave of heat! My hair is even starting to get frizzy! This is the worst!
Edward?: Angela... Angela... Why did it have to come to this? You could have just left that fool and married me like we were destined to...
Adrian: I can't think of any reason why we're suddenly appearing in random rooms like this! I... I don't know what to do! I tried to handle everything in this game rationally and with a plan. But... this is just too much! I'm... frightened.
*end confessionals*
Chris' delusions appeared to be continuing, with the host now imagining himself on an island different from Wawanackwa. The island he was seeing looked more rugged compared to the former, with no campsite but a very big secret only he, his production team, and the network knew about. With his usual hosting smile, he began to speak:
"Welcome, Total Drama fans! Put on some clean undies, cuz, things are about to get wild! Hehehe! Fourteen spanking new contestants and a totally brand new location; A Cree island located in western Canada. As you might recall, during our Heroes vs. Villains finale, someone, and I prefer to remain nameless, accidentally destroyed our old island. So this is where we landed! No shacks, no showers, no hotels, no hot tubs. The only things we managed to save were the outhouse confessional and all the horrible butt smells that live in it. It'll be the roughiest roughing it that's ever been roughed on Total Drama. So, buckle up! This is Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"
As Chris continued reliving the past seasons in his delusions, Chelsea remained in the foyer, collapsed and unable to move. Her panic of seeing nothing in front of her changed into something just as horrific in her eyes: despite her being surrounded by nothing and silence surrounding her, Chelsea could hear the sounds of an inferno all around her. Even though her eyes were clenched shut, the clear image of a burning corpse in front of her was forced onto her eyes. The fact that she was still unable to move made this experience all the more terrifying for her.
Despite how much she wanted to scream, shake, cry, nothing happened. She was forced to lay there and watch this burned person. They weren't even dying either. This individual wasn't moving, just laying there like she was. Dead.
As if things could not possibly get any worse, Chelsea began to something: some sort of sinking feeling all over the front of her body. It was almost as if she was sinking into quicksand but... whatever she was sinking to felt solid...
Chef clutched his religious artifacts as he walked through the pitch darkness that surrounded him. He wasn't sure what exactly happened but once he left the roof, he found himself walking through a seemingly endless void. No matter where he pointed his flashlight, he could only ever see about a foot in front of him. The floor was the same as the basement hallway but there were no walls. Nothing was stopping him from changing direction, not like it mattered since nothing seemed to really lead anywhere...
However, even if he couldn't see much, he could certainly hear a lot. What Chef Hatchet was hearing scared him more than anything he could have expected, not because it was some sort of demonic phantom voice trying to lead him somewhere, but because he could recognize the voice, or rather voices. He could hear his military son talking to him, though he couldn't make out exactly what he was saying as he could hear his mother calling out to him as well. He could also recognize another male voice laughing, that of his brother... How and why he was able to hear them both confused and terrified the man but suddenly, everything went silent for a solid minute before he began to hear his own voice...
He recognized it as when one of the production cameras was unintentionally left rolling before the first season began, recording Chef bemoaning his career choice and how he should have become an accountant. In hindsight, while being a tv star did have its ups and downs, he grew to love what he did, appreciating his friendship with Chris, newfound growing friendship with Chelsea, and even the good memories and moments he had of every previous season beforehand.
Once his own voice faded away, Chef could see a door slowly growing nearer. Once he opened it, a bright light momentarily blinded him as he slowly moved forward, letting the light envelop him...
Andi continued walking through an empty field of darkness just as Chef was, her hand trembling as she held onto her malfunctioning flashlight. Even if the light was working, she likely wouldn't have been able to see more than a few feet in front of her anyway. The eerie silence surrounding her didn't help, not even her footsteps made any sort of sound as she pressed on.
With a slight yelp, Andi then tripped over herself, bumping into something as she tumbled.
"Ow!" She heard a male voice say.
"Shawn?" Andi gasped in shock.
"Andi?" Another female voice called out, a slight bit of blonde hair reflecting some of the wayward light that came from Andi's flashlight.
"Nanette?" Shawn asked.
"Shawn?" Adrian added, approaching the trio.
"Edward?" Andi questioned, her composure returning to her.
"Are we done with the roll call?" Edward growled, stepping out from the darkness.
"Rude tone aside, at least we're all still in one piece." Nanette stated, helping Andi to her feet while Adrian helped up Shawn.
"What about Chef?" Shawn questioned.
"We'll have to continue without him, if we meet up with him on the way then that helps." Adrian answered.
"But how are we going to get to the boiler room?" Edward asked. "I mean where are we even?"
"I hate to say it, but I have to agree with Edward." Andi said. "We can barely see in front of us, our flashlights are bugging out, and it doesn't even look like we're in the basement anymore!"
"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing." Adrian stated. Nanette looked around to see if there was any sort of way out, Shawn tried shaking his flashlight to try getting it to work again when he suddenly felt a finger tap on his left shoulder. Shawn gulped in fear before turning his head and seeing the figure of Angela's spirit, her eyes hollow and skin pure white in contrast to her pitch black hair. a deep gash going from her left eye to her mouth. She gave Shawn what appeared to be a smile though the young man couldn't exactly tell, especially since she vanished into a mist as soon as he saw her, revealing a door in her wake.
"Um... guys?" Shawn said, still trying to comprehend what he just saw. Once the others saw the door, they felt at least slightly more at ease.
"Nice work, Shawn!" Adrian praised. "Now, let's hope we can stick together this time."
Chris paced around his room, looking as though he was mentally trying to comprehend something.
"So you're telling me that after everything that happened on Pahkitew Island, a new season is in development and the island has a weather control device?!"
Chris was met with silence as his look of confusion turned into one of excitement.
"That is AWESOME! Think of the possibilities! So, you said that this season is going to have a completely new cast?"
More silence, Chris made the motion of signing something, presumably a contract and then exclaimed his excitement. He walked away for a moment before stopping and standing in place for two solid minutes. Not moving, not blinking. Suddenly, he turned and faced the monitors with his usual grin.
"Hello viewing world! As you all know, my name is Chris McLean! For this new season of Total Drama, I've taken the game to a brand new island with brand new surprises! Welcome to Rankor Island! I'll cut right to the chase and answer the question you're all probably asking. Which of our previous contestants are coming back for a new season? As for the answer... none of them! We've got twenty new contestants who will duke it out for a chance to win a million dollars! The contestants and the place might be new but the game remains the same! And here our competitors come now!"
When it looked as if Chris' delusions and ramblings of previous seasons were going to continue, he looked into his vanity mirror, which stood next to his mini fridge, and saw himself. His expression changed from shock to confusion to suspicion as he saw his reflection step out of the mirror and look him right in the eyes with a dark look. Chris pondered if this was how all of the contestants saw him.
Chef found himself in what looked like a classroom of a daycare at night, his clothes were also changed to a pair of beige slacks, a salmon colored dress shirt and a pink tie. Toys were neatly put away and drawings were dotted around parts of the room. The man tried opening the door to the room but it was locked. The complete silence made Chef break out into a cold sweat as he looked around the room. Upon closer inspection, Chef saw that the drawings were made by some of the previous contestants... at least that's what they resembled.
Chef recognized most of the names on the drawings: Duncan, Izzy, Owen, Gwen, Courtney, etc.. The only name he didn't recognize was Jude, Total Drama never had a contestant named Jude, at least as far as Chef could remember, that's why he always had little nicknames he gave most of them.
Suddenly, the darkness that bled into the classroom from the outside and the hallway completely shifted into a blank white emptiness that obscured everything past it like a fog. Around the classroom, shadows that resembled preschool-aged children ran around the classroom, with one larger shadow resembling himself watching over them. The only sound that he could hear were the sound of children laughing and the song "The Bear Went Over the Mountain" playing over what sounded like a broken music box.
The shock of everything happening so quickly in front of him left the man stunned and scared. He wasn't sure if it was the fear taking over him or just his own way of trying to calm himself down but Chef Hatchet curled himself up into a fetal position, covered his eyes and sang along to the song as best as he could.
"The bear went over the mountain...
The bear went over the mountain...
The bear went over the mountain...
...And I don't remember this song..."
Chelsea remained in the foyer, still stuck to the floor. The numbness that had encapsulated her before began to fade as she could feel the wooden floor and carpet over it. She was scared to open her eyes, not wanting to suddenly see something she didn't want to which, with how this house was, was entirely possible. What made things worse is how she truly realized her situation and what was happening to her.
She was sinking into the floor.
She could practically feel hear heart beating out of her chest as her body slowly phased through the floor. The questions she was asking herself wasn't helping but it didn't really matter as she was essentially having a panic attack. No matter how much she wanted to bury her face in her hands, she was still unable to move, even if her body wasn't numb.
'Where am I going to land? If I could move and open my eyes, would that do anything? Can anyone help? Is this happening to the others? How is this even happening in the first place? Am I going to be okay?'
Chelsea paused the video again to wipe her face and take a few deep breaths.
After taking a moment to calm herself down, she resumed the video, thankful that the scene cut to something else and thankful her ordeal would be over.
The five contestants entered the door that appeared before them, which brought them into a hallway full of rotting wood, embers of what appeared to be a distant flame lighting up the hall slightly though none of the teens could identify where exactly the light came from.
"What the hell?" Edward cursed. "How are we back outside again?!"
"At this point I don't think questioning anything that goes on is worth it." Adrian commented.
"Wait... do you guys hear that?" Andi asked. The teens stopped talking and began to listen for whatever Andi heard. Slowly but surely, they began to hear what sounded like a woman shouting something, followed by the sound of six gunshots and glass shattering...
Not wanting to risk getting shot, the teens hurried over to the end of the hall, another door awaiting them at the end of it.
As they approached the door, the floor beneath them gave way, causing everyone except for Edward to fall into an empty void below them. Edward stopped in front of the chasm, careful not to fall in. He then scoffed at the other teens and began to look for another way across before the rotting wood of the hallway ignited, burning the wood below Edward and causing him to fall as well.
Somehow, he was able to catch up with the other falling teens, with Nanette, Andi, and Shawn screaming in terror while Adrian himself looked panicked. The girls looked at Shawn, who was still screaming before looking at Edward, who also started to scream.
The teens looked at Adrian, who looked to be on the verge of joining them before looking back at Edward, who suddenly took on the appearance of a hellishly burnt corpse, his screams now sounding like gagging. This, rightfully, caused all of the others to scream in mortal terror. They looked at each other as if trying to validate what they all saw, turning back to Edward and seeing that he was somehow returned to normal.
*confessionals*
"W-What? How did I get here?! None of this is making any sense anymore!" -Shawn
"What is even going on?!" -Nanette
"If this is karma for anything I ever did then I'm sorry!" -Andi
"Why... Just, why?!" -Adrian
¿pɹɐʍpƎ- ¿noʎ oʇ sᴉɥʇ op ǝɯ ǝʞɐɯ noʎ pᴉp ʎɥʍ 'ɐlǝƃu∀
*end confessionals*
Chris stared at his mirror clone with an unreadable look on his face. One would normally assume that the host would be delighted to finally have a clone of himself, but he simple looked at it hesitantly, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head. Suddenly his cell phone began to ring, the host turned his back on the clone and answered.
"Hello?" The clone asked, using his own cell phone and turned away from the real Chris.
"Hello?"
"Who's this?"
"Who's this?"
"I'm asking the questions, I called you."
"No, I called you, and you sound like the ugliest son of a gun I've ever heard!"
"You sound like the physical manifestation of some loser's inner demons!"
"Well you sound like some total spazz's inability to confront the reality of his past actions!"
"If I ever get your stinky mug in my line of sight, I swear to Chekov, I'll rock your clock off!"
"Well I'm going to be the bigger man and hang up firs-" Chris was cut off when the call was suddenly ended. "Ugh, darn it!"
The two Chris' turned again to face each other, both looking very annoyed.
"Listen, we don't cotton to freaks around here. Scram, weirdo!"
"Oh yeah, I don't polycotton to coping tropes, even my own. So why don't you split?"
"Looks like I already did. You're the sad figment of my twisted psyche's tragic dividend. You're the un-me. I'm the real me! You wannabe me!"
"Kiddo, I was the real me when you were still in my short-pants."
"Hate to break it to you, but I wore them first. Me bequeathed thee, the psychopathological hand-you-downs."
"So you're the one who stained them?"
"Whoever found it, browned it!"
"You'd like me to be you, wouldn't me? But it's too late, you snoze, you lose."
"You sleeped, you weeped!"
"You nap-puh, you get slap-puh!"
"You slumber, a cucumber!"
"You catch up on some zed's, you get out of my head's!"
"You slumber, ham-BURG I DON'T WANNA TALK 'BOUT NOTHIN' ELSE"
"Listen, this psyche is not big enough for two metaphysical seekers."
"You couldn't seek your way out of a cardboard bag!"
"Yeah, I know, 'cause it would be an egg!"
"OOH! This guy might be better than me..."
"You're right! I am better than me!"
"Look buddy, know when you're defeated. Accept your defecation."
"No thanks, I'm full, 'cause I eat pansies like you for breakfast!"
"Look at you, you look so superficial, you probably judge things by their physical appearance!"
"Oh yeah? Your mom's so shallow, she probably thinks this quip is about her!"
"You're about as deep as a bowl of soup, and your tongue is about as sharp as a soup spoon!"
"Hey, say what you want about me, but lay off the soup..."
"If you love soup so much, why don't you marry soup?"
"Because I'm already married, to justice!"
"Yeah, only a blind girl would marry you."
"I know everything you're gonna-"
"Say, and I know everything you're gonna-"
"Don't."
"Oh yeah? Well when God was passing out insight, you thought he said that when God was passing out holy prophets, you thought he said oily faucets, because your mouth has diarrhea... of the mouth... faucet!"
"Are you so dumb, you'd even answer rhetorical questions?"
"I don't know, do you?"
"We can play this game all night!"
"First of all, it's daytime! And this is no game."
"Checkmate!"
"Oh! So you admit you're checking me out, and you wanna mate!"
"You got a license to sell hot dogs, big guy?"
"No, they wouldn't give it to me. Because when I was filling out my application, my Johnson was sticking out!"
"Oh yeah? You only got one corn dog? Let me see it!"
"See with your eyes, not with your mouth!"
"I'll call your bluff. I'll see your bratwurst with your mouth and I raise you with my hand."
"Ante up!"
"Oooh! Dammit!"
"What's wrong?"
"I crapped out, but I'm tough, I can suck it up. Huoourgh!"
Both Chris grabbed a can of tomato juice from the minifridge and aimed it at each other.
"Ok! Count of three, we fire! Weiner take all!"
"One... Two... Three!"
*confessional*
Chelsea: What in the ever loving name of hell was that?! Why did I watch this?! I think I just lost ten brain cells just watching that!
*end confessional*
Chef gathered the courage to start walking around the room, avoiding the gaze of the shadow children around him. Unfortunately for him, the children pried his hands away from his eyes when he tried to cover them, forcing the man to look at the shadows. He reached for the crucifix he wore around his neck but silently gasped as he found it was gone. A chill ran up his spine when they spoke.
"Hɪᴅᴇ ᴀɴᴅ Sᴇᴇᴋ!" They whispered in his ear.
Suddenly, the ghost children vanished, the door swung open and the sound of laughter permeated through the halls. Chef expected the doorway to send him to another random location, he could almost feel his heart sink into his stomach when this wasn't the case, leaving Chef to wander around in the misty void...
Adrian opened his eyes and sat up, his head spinning. It took a moment for him to regain himself and look around, the others being in just as much of a daze. After taking a moment to look around and let his vision finally come back to him, Adrian was able to see that they were all back in the hallway leading to the boiler room.
"Eugh, didn't we already go through here?!" Edward moaned.
"Is it even worth questioning how this is happening anymore?" Nanette wondered.
"Pretty sure we all asked that at some point." Shawn chimed in.
Everyone's attention turned to Andi, who moaned in discomfort as she tried to stand. Nanette gasped upon seeing her, with the boys looking just as surprised. Her face looked pale and she was drenched in sweat, her hair dye was melting off, which revealed her natural brown hair underneath.
"Woah, you alright, Andi?" Shawn asked.
"Am I alright? Are you guys alright?! You all look as pale as ghosts!"
The other teens looked at one another to find that Andi was correct, they all appeared to look paler and spots of their clothes were soaked in sweat, much to Nanette's disgust.
"Oh no, this most certainly will not do! We need to get this over with so that I may take a shower!" The French girl urged, once she took a few steps forward she suddenly stopped and clutched her head in pain. Adrian watched this happen and realized what was going on.
"Heat stroke." He said, earning a confused look from Shawn and Andi. "These are symptoms of heat stroke. The temperature must have increased dramatically if we're suffering from this in the middle of the night like this."
A red glow began to emanate from the door at the end of the hall, the light pulsated in what appeared to be waves coming from nowhere.
"Bingo. That must be the boiler room." Edward noted.
"Correct." Adrian confirmed. "It's also hot enough to create a heat haze. With us being in this shape, getting in close could be dangerous."
"But what else can we do? What happens if we just give up?" Shawn asked.
Before anyone could even answer, the group heard the sound of a very soft groan coming towards them, the five teens faced the direction of the noise and saw a white face heading towards them. With no time to react, the face collided with each of them, giving them flashes of the manor, though it looked much older than how it was now. The vision then changed to that of the boiler, also looking much different, with several pipes bursting and billowing out steam, smoke, and flames in multiple directions. From above, they could hear voices they didn't recognize, shouting and screaming in both anger and terror. The voices were suddenly cut off by the sound of gunshots, glass breaking and then finally... The manor exploding.
The visions stopped, Andi felt a little bit cooler after she was snapped back to her senses. She turned to the others, seeing that they also had a bit more color to their faces.
"It doesn't matter how dangerous it is, we have a job to do!" She announced. The five teens ran through the hall to the boiler room, just as soon as they were getting close to the door, the hallway stretched backwards, increasing the teens distance to their objective. The doors that littered the hall simultaneously slammed open, blood red hands and faces stretching out of them to try to grab the teens, except for Edward though none of the others seemed to notice.
When the gang was just about five feet away from the door again, the floor beneath all five of them broke in a square shape. The piece of the floor landed on some sort of viscous liquid, with the teens landing on the makeshift raft. Their raft appeared to be being forced down a canal of what appeared to be a mix of blood and mud. Once the initial shock of what just happened wore off, Adrian addressed the others, his tone noticeably shaky.
"I-is everyone alright?" He asked.
"Aside from my heart beating out of my chest, yes." Nanette answered, the other three agreeing with Nanette and also voicing their safety. Suddenly, the liquid they were riding on began to bubble ferociously, the bubbles popped, releasing various forms of insects that buzzed around the teens, the red and brown pattern of the insects was difficult to identify at first, but once Andi did, she screamed and began to panic.
"BEES!" She shouted. "WHY ARE THERE BEES?!"
The sudden increase in volume irritated and unsettled Edward, who slowly shuffled away.
"Andi! Andi, it's alright!" Nanette said, trying to calm her friend down. Though she would also begin to scream when a large paw slammed onto the raft, the face of a large rat rose out of the liquid and looked at the posh girl right in her eyes.
The two girls screamed together, prompting Edward to cover his ears and begin screaming himself as he curled into a fetal position. Shawn approached Adrian with a look of panic.
"Adrian! What... what are we gonna do?!" He asked, trying to speak over the three screaming teenagers. Adrian began panting in horror as he looked at the chaos around him.
"I don't know..." He said softly, Shawn barely able to hear him as Adrian began to weep. "I just don't know anymore."
"W-what?! But you always have a plan! It's not over yet, right? The girls are losing it and Edward's useless right now! You're the only one left I can trust!"
Shawn wasn't sure if the heat stroke was coming back to him, but his head began to spin. He thought he could see Adrian lifting his head up and looking at him right in the eyes. Suddenly, this vision of Adrian grinned sinisterly as he grabbed at his own face and began to pull it apart, revealing the burned face of Henry. The vengeful spirit began to cackle wickedly as Shawn backed away and began screaming with the rest of the teens.
Chelsea tried to cry out as all that remained of her in the foyer was just a portion of her right arm and the right side of her face. Tears rolled down her face as she was only able to audibly cry out in sheer terror.
The thought of what might happen to her next occupied the entirety of her mind, and the fact that the answer was soon approaching horrified her, especially since she was still unable to actually see what would happen.
She eventually gained the courage to force her right eye to open, now being able to see her that she was indeed sinking into the floor. She wasn't sure how she could do it or even where her mouth was but she began to scream louder than she ever had before as the last of her body sank into the floor.
*confessional*
Chelsea: When I fell, I thought that was it for me. Never really thought I'd hear myself say this but... I'm thankful to be alive right now!
*end confessional*
Chef continued through the misty halls of the preschool, clutching his fire extinguisher as though it were a security blanket. The man was unable to tell how long he was there, it couldn't have been realistically more than ten minutes but it felt like an eternity.
Eventually, Chef came across a door that was slightly open, he couldn't tell where it went but every other door he tried was locked. If there was any way out of this hell-hole, it could have been through here. At least that was what Chef thought.
Chef slammed the door behind him, and in an instant, the white mist faded and allowed the darkness to take over again. Chef looked around and saw that he was in the graveyard that was close to the manor. His fear from earlier just evolved into a full blown horror. With a few hesitant steps forward, Chef eventually made his way to a solitary grave that simply said as follows: Here Lies Angela Rosewood.
The ground in front of the grave began to rustle and rise, not wanting to deal with what was coming, Chef ran in the opposite direction, another door greeting him. He twisted the knob but his heart almost stopped when it refused to open.
"No... no no no NO NO NO!" Chef shouted as he tried to force the door open, looking back to see the pale figure of a woman slowly floating towards him. Chef could see her pitch black hair clearly along with the gash that went from her left eye to her mouth. But what unsettled him the most was the six bullet wounds in her abdomen, still bleeding...
The man began to pant as he tried forcing his body to break the door down. He could feel a cold hand rest on his left shoulder. Despite what he knew what was behind him, all the fear that Chef had seemed to fade, though he still felt panicked. The woman's arm, now with a fair skin tone, turned the knob of the door and opened it calmly. With his barrier now gone, Chef barged through into a bright light that engulfed him and the woman, who followed him through the door.
Chris sat down in his office, alone now. The host looked forward with a blank look on his face. While it began rather softly, he began to sing...
"It's your flag, It's your flag...
It's your flag in the sky, It's your flag...
You are waiting, for the day when the flag comes...
And that day is coming...
It's yours, It's yours...
It's your flag, in the sky!
It's the big-gest flag, in the sky!
And it's ours!
And we want, nothing more, than to make, it our own!
And we're PROUD!
And we're PROUD!
And we're PROUD, of the FLAG!
SALUTE THE FLAG!
SALUTE THE FLAG!
SALUTE THE FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP!
IT'S OUR FLAG ON TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN TOP!"
Chris then finished his song with a salute as he stood up on his feet, audibly crying a little...
The five teens continued on their traumatic raft, the monstrous animals and visions finally leaving them and allowing the teens to slowly, but surely, recuperate.
"No more... No more!" Andi cried.
"It's okay." Nanette said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I think they're all gone..." She then noticed Shawn, rocking back and forth and whimpering.
"Shawn?" She asked, slowly placing a hand on his shoulder. The boy looked at her with eyes akin to that of a puppy.
"Nanette?" Shawn replied, looking over at the others, still reeling a little. Adrian sat in the center, cross-legged with his head in his hands, Edward sat in the corner with his back to everyone and Andi wiped her face, looking around to make sure their attackers were truly gone. "It's gonna be okay, right? You guys aren't going to hurt me?"
Nanette's embraced Shawn and patted his head.
"We're not going to hurt you. You're going to be alright and we'll get through this."
Shawn hugged the blonde girl, sniffling a little bit.
"I don't want to go back to Steve..." He whimpered.
"Steve? Who is-" Nanette stopped herself, sighing and continuing to console the preppy boy. "Steve won't bother you anymore..."
Andi slowly approached Edward, believing that even if they weren't friends, he still needed some support after what they just experienced.
"Um... Edward?" She asked.
"Don't talk to me." He replied bluntly. "Please, just let me enjoy the silence... please..."
Respecting his plea, Andi instead headed over to Adrian, who still sat in silence.
"Adrian, are you okay?"
"No." He said simply. "I lost control of everything. I thought I always had a plan for whatever came my way, be it in this game or in life. But I lost that control, and I let myself get freaked out because of that."
"Hey, don't beat yourself up! None of us could control what just happened! I don't think even Chris really knew about any of this. None of us really had a plan going into this, or even going into the game at all! But you, you're one of the toughest people I've ever met! I may not be the best with words but what I'm trying to say is that even if we don't really know what we're doing with our lives, even if we're scared of what might happen, if we take it as it comes and do our best with the cards we're dealt, then maybe we can make the best of it. I hope what I'm saying makes sense..."
Adrian smirked and lifted his head.
"I think I get what you're trying to say. Thank you, Andi."
The klutzy girl smiled at her friend, though the sentiment was short lived as Shawn spoke up with a look of realization.
"Um, guys, is this thing getting faster?!" He called out. Just as he pointed out, the teens noticed that the speed of the liquid they were riding on was indeed increasing, the darkness surrounding them changed into a swirl of flames in the pattern of a column, almost giving the appearance of a hellish river raft carnival ride.
A wall of flame rushed towards the column, with nowhere to go, the teens tried protecting themselves as best as they could, with Shawn trying to use his arms to block it. When the flames didn't seem to harm him, Shawn uncovered himself and looked around. Everything seemed to have changed. It felt... off.
The teens all looked like they were made of cloth? At least that's how Shawn would describe it. The others looked just as confused. All five of them looked confused as they turned to each other.
Shawn then noticed that his legs felt strange, as he looked down, he noticed that his legs were covered by his shirt. As he lifted it up, he saw what looked like an arm, but like everything else it was just... off, somehow. Then the sudden shock of what he was seeing got to him.
"I'M A FOREARM FROM THE WAIST DOWN!" He screamed. The remaining four teens joined him in screaming in horror as they saw the forearm, then finding they their lower bodies were also changed into strange looking forearms.
In their panic, another wall of flame washed over them, returning them all back to normal and landing them in front of the boiler room door.
As soon as the panic faded, Adrian pushed the door open, revealing the bloated boiler system. Flames spurted from the front of it, with surrounding pipes going into the ceiling and walls around it looking bloated and engorged. A gauge that was situated on the front had it's dial on the highest setting, a convenient warning label next to it warning to not let the system overheat.
"Great, we found it, what now?" Edward asked.
Adrian looked at the machine before finding their target.
"There!" He said, pointing to a lever situated on the left side of the boiler. Shawn hurried over to pull it, but he was stopped when the figure of Henry stepped out from behind the boiler, flames erupting out of it when he appeared, lighting up the room in a harsh red glow.
Almost as soon as he appeared, Shawn stepped back in shock as the demonic entity rushed at Edward, entering his body. Edward's eyes took on a more darker appearance as he lunged at Shawn, wrapping his hands around his neck. The other teens tried to stop the possessed teenager, but the flames of the boiler erupted again and blocked their path.
Adrian then felt a cold chill as he could feel his body moving on his own. The girls noticing that his eyes now changed to a sky blue color. Adrian, or rather, whatever took over his body, dove through the flames and tackled Henry off of Shawn. The two began to throw punches at each other, despite Adrian being more physically fit than Edward, the two looked to be evenly matched.
Shawn tried to catch his breath but the smoke in the room made it nearly impossible. The two girls were forced to watch the boys fight, unable to advance due to the flames. Andi eyes the boiler, which was now swelling to a dangerous size.
Just as she was about to scream again, the air in the room completely changed. The figure of a woman floated over to the two boys. As she did, a flash of light enveloped everything...
The five teens found themselves back in the upper hallway of the manor, where their bedrooms were. However the hall was engulfed in flames and a man's shouting voice filled their ears. The only other sound being that of heavy rain from the outside.
"It didn't have to be this way! You could have chosen me and everything would have been perfect!"
The teens saw Henry, aiming a revolver at Angela, who's back was against a window. What horrified the teens the most was that Angela appeared to be pregnant. The woman's knees buckled slightly as her water broke...
"All these years and you still don't understand that I do not love you! I never have and I chose a man that I do love and that I am happy with!"
"It's always been about that fool, Anthony, hasn't it! His wealth means nothing and will amount to nothing! I'll erase him and his legacy if it means us being together!"
"You're insane!" Angela spat. "Destroying his legacy? Does that mean killing the child he and I have?! What of the child of ours that I carry with me now?! Are you going to shoot it and kill me too?! Do it then! Destroy his legacy and the woman you claim to love along with it. That gun is a revolver, is it not? Then put its bullets in me! Six will do!"
"Angela..."
Before either of them could say anything else, Anthony tackled Henry. The former's head bleeding profusely as he pounded Henry's head with his fists. Henry unintentionally began to fire his gun as he was being assaulted. The gun fired six times in total, each shot hitting Angela in the abdomen, the force also knocking her out of the window from the second story and onto the ground below, allowing the rain that poured outside to enter and soak the floor, having no effect on the flames.
Anthony stopped punching Henry and looked at the window his wife had fallen out of.
"No... no... NO!" He repeated before screaming incoherently as he resumed hammering Henry's face with his fists.
The teens could only watch as everything unfolded in front of them, the sound of an explosion coming from below them suddenly grabbed their attention. The explosion caused flames to burst out from the basement, resulting in more explosions from the kitchen that sparked a chain reaction. From the outside of the manor, the sounds of horses running over to the manor could be heard after the initial shock faded, being attracted by the sounds of gunshots from the nearby town. They hurried inside to save anyone inside and salvage any property upon seeing the flames. Despite the police officers looking right at them, they didn't appear to actually see the teens, who didn't know how to react to any of what they were seeing.
"Any luck, men?" One of the officers asked, he wore a uniform with a gold star on it, as opposed to his comrades.
"Many of the books have been burned, though we found enough that can be preserved." One replied.
"The man of the home, a Mister Anthony Rosewood, was found. Though he was, unfortunately, caught in the explosion and was killed. The remains of another person, one we can assume to be a man, based on the size of the body, were found next to Mr. Rosewood."
The sound of thunder boomed throughout the area, overpowering the sounds of the inferno. Following it was a flash of lightning and a rainfall that finally put out the flames, and leaving a smoky haze behind. With the sounds of the flames now gone, a new sound caught the attention of the officers: crying. Crying from a room that appeared to miraculously suffer little damage from both the explosions and the flames.
Hurrying over, the men found the source of the crying: an infant boy, a bit of soot on his face but otherwise unharmed.
"This boy..." The sheriff stated. "This is Rosewood's son, isn't it? Thank God, he survived!"
"Sir, we've found something!" An officer called from outside the remains of the manor. The officers hurried over to their associate and found Angela, who's appearance was horrifying. After her fall, the broken glass from the window slashed her face open from her left eye all the way to her mouth. The blood from her facial wound and bullet wounds mixed with the mud that formed from the rain, which began to cascade across the land like a dark blanket trying to cover up the tragedy of what occurred, this mixture seemed to stain Angela's hair, turning it into a sickly black.
Bearing through the pain as much as she could, Angela opened her eye weakly. As she looked at the officers around her and listened to the sound of her crying child, her face went paler than it already was with horror.
"M-Mrs. Rosewood..." the Sheriff began. "I... I'm sorry, but your husband is dead..."
"My babies..." Angela croaked. "Are my babies alright...?"
"Your son is alive!" Another officer replied, clasping the woman's hand, weeping at the sight in front of him. A second crying voice stunned everyone as a newborn infant rustled through the mud before one of the men cut it's umbilical cord and used a handkerchief to clean the child.
"Is it a boy... or a girl?" Angela asked weakly, coughing up blood. The sheriff studied the newborn before making his confirmation.
"It's a beautiful baby girl!" The sheriff replied, placing the newborn in her mother's arms.
With her last breaths, Angela smiled at her daughter. Despite the circumstances, the baby girl was no longer crying.
"Clara... I will name her Clara... Please, make sure my children stay safe..."
The officers assured the woman the woman's plea with their lives as they wrapped both children in warm clothes, a small group of the officers taking them to a safe place while a second group gathered the remains of the deceased couple and buried them in a small grove close to the manor...
The teens were suddenly snapped back to where they had been before their vision of the past. Edward and Adrian were standing in a daze, both rubbing their heads in pain while Shawn had passed out from the lack of oxygen.
Floating above them were the spirits of Angela, Anthony, and Henry. Aside from the crackling of the flames and the billowing steam, everything was more or less silent until Angela spoke to Henry's spirit in a calm, yet powerful voice.
"I will never love you."
The evil spirit hung its head for a moment before turning to look at Edward, who was still dazed. Before he had a chance to make a move for the boy, Anthony's ghost grabbed Henry and forced it into the inferno of the boiler. The two spirits faded away as the girls' attention shifted to the boiler, which was now causing the room to shake with it's instability. The two hurried over to the boiler when Chelsea suddenly fell through the floor and in front of the two, accidentally causing Andi to trip and fall into Nanette, who also began to fall, though she was able to grab onto Edward. The latter colliding with the boiler face first while the chemicals that allowed Nanette's hair to maintain it's shape caused her hair to light up like a roman candle.
The screaming brought Adrian back to his senses, he looked around the room and saw Andi, Chelsea, and Shawn all unconscious from their ordeals, Nanette's hair on fire and Edward's face severely burnt. Chef then barged into the room and saw the teens, Adrian ran for the lever and pulled it with all his might while Chef used his fire extinguisher on the two ignited teenagers.
Once the lever was pulled, a blast of steam erupted from an unused pipe which filled up the room but quickly faded. The air of the room instantly felt less dangerous once the steam cleared.
"Is it over?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah... yeah, I think it is..." Chef replied. Nanette began to cry hysterically as she touched her burnt hair. The pain of his burns caused Edward to join Andi and Chelsea in unconsciousness.
With their job now done, Chef hoisted the girls up and carried them over his shoulders while Adrian carried Edward, Nanette sniffled as she followed the two out of the basement.
Hours later, Chris called Adrian, Andi and Shawn over to the Elimination Station. However, he had no marshmallows with him and a very serious look on his face.
"Well... This was certainly an... eventful night. Like I said before, this wasn't a challenge, so I didn't have you come here to cast any votes. But I do have a very serous announcement to make. First and foremost, I want to sincerely thank you for solving the issue with the boiler, it means a lot more to me than you might expect, and as thanks, I'll have Chef give you guys some good food for a while. But as you may have seen, two of you didn't walk out of this who ordeal... completely unscathed. Thankfully, Nanette isn't seriously injured, but I can't say the same for Edward. Contact with that boiler gave him third degree burns on his face and hands. He'll be fine after a few months, but due to the extent of his injuries, he'll be removed from the game for his physical health. Chef and I have spoken to Nanette and she's agreed to remain in the game. So, congratulations, you've officially made it to the final four! I think we can all say we wished it was under less depressing circumstances, but the let's try to get through this season with some more positivity, alright? For now though, I think you've earned the rest of the day off. Do whatever you need to do to relax after everything, and thank you again for your help."
Some medical personnel arrived with Edward's still unconscious body, boarding the train that arrived shortly after Chris' explanation.
"Get him the help he needs, boys! There's more doctors at the Station of Failure!"
The three teens watched as Edward was sent away on the train, what should have been a great moment for them seemed hollow due to the circumstances. But with their job done, the teens stood up and left to try to relax after their experience.
"Well." Chris began. "I guess I'll have a lot of explaining to do for the network. But with Edward's departure we're left with four contestants remaining in the game. Will Nanette be willing to keep playing? Are we going to have any more paranormal events happen? Will we get sued for anything that happened tonight? I certainly hope not! But only time will tell as we wait and see if there will be another episode of Total Drama Rosewood Manor!"
As the teens were heading back to their rooms, they encountered Nanette, who was waiting for them. Her hair had to be cut and was now in a neck-length bob hairstyle, the contrast between it and her previously lower-back length golden curls was rather jarring. The displeased look on her face made that especially poignant.
"Hey." She greeted.
"Hey, Nanette..." Andi replied.
"Y-your hair-" Shawn began but Nanette simply raised her hand to silence him.
"I know. I don't consider myself as cruel as she is, but if there is anything that Heather and I have in common, it's the fact that we'd rather not have our hair cut. But now, here I am, with the curls that I was once so proud of, all gone..."
"B-but you still look great!" Shawn interjected, the blonde girl couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, that really does mean a lot. When I looked at myself after having my hair cut, I thought a lot about everything that's happened since this game began. I spent a large chunk of it just trying to get rid of Edward. I heard that he's been removed from the game from his injuries and while I'm glad he's gone, I realized that I could have spent a lot of that time focusing on the game instead. Now I finally have that chance."
"What are you saying?" Andi asked, her anxiety rising again.
"I'm saying that while I've grown to see all of you as valued friends, as good of friends as January and Karlene even, there's still a lot at stake and we're still competing against each other."
Adrian gave Nanette a stern look that she returned right back to him.
"I don't have anything to lose anymore, and I intend to fight as hard as I can, right to the bitter end! I know each of you will do the same!"
"I intend to." Adrian responded before walking away. "Chris said that for today we can take it easy, so I expect everyone to be at their best for the next challenge."
"Um... Nanette?" Andi asked. "You're not going to-"
"Start playing like Edward, or similarly to how he and his alliance acted? No. But I intend to hold nothing back, and if you want to make it to the end, I suggest you do the same."
"Right..." Andi said, before also walking away.
Shawn simply looked at Nanette, in awe at how different she was in terms of both appearance and attitude. Regardless, he walked over to her and hugged her.
"I never got a chance to properly thank you for... What happened back there."
Nanette returned the hug and smiled at the boy.
"Even if I'm playing for keeps now, I want you to know that I'm still the same Nanette. And maybe when this game is over, you'd like to do something?"
"Something?" He asked.
"Yeah... Something." She giggled before leaving Shawn to his imagination with a blush growing on his face.
The recording finally ended, allowing Chelsea to fully absorb everything that she watched. Chef walked in and saw the girl.
"Hey, you alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, just wanted to really see everything that happened."
"At this point, it's best not to worry about it. We haven't seen or felt anything bad happen since then, it's only been a couple of hours but even a little bit of peace helps. We got guys fixing the boiler and they haven't seen anything either so that's a good sign."
"Let's hope so. I'm gonna need a lot of therapy once this show is over."
"You and me both!" Chef laughed. "Come on, it's late and I know you'd like to get some shuteye."
"Yeah, definitely." Chelsea grinned, leaving the computer and heading off to bed.
Thank you all so much for your patience with this chapter, especially since it's one of the longest chapters that I've ever written on this site and the longest of this story so far! I hope it was everything you expected the climax of this story to be. Here's hoping some of the dialogue and themes in this chapter don't mean I have to bump the rating of this story to M...
Regardless, I hope you're excited with the next chapter, we're very close to the finale!
(A/N: After a bit of creative inspiration, I've come back to add a little bit more to this chapter, wish I thought of it earlier in all honesty...)