Dana and Aaron gathered themselves outside the hotel, where they were standing right near a rather large starting line. Off to the side, Ivy was wearing a black and white, checkered short skirt, as well as a black and white, checkered tube top to match it. Her face had turned bright red as she crossed her arms over her chest, holding two starting flags in her hands, which were drooping down. "D-do I really gotta wear this stuff, man? I mean, it just makes me look…pathetic."
"I zink you look very nice, Miss Ivy, zough zhe whole idea vas Dana's. Somezing about vanting the challenge to have more realism and immersion." Aaron shrugged his shoulders, soon glancing over to see that Dana was tinkering with some motorcycles…twelve of them to be exact. "Zis is going to be quite zhe chaotic challenge. Do you really zink all zhe contestants can handle it so soon after zhe last one?"
"Bah, it's been two whole days! If anyone is still frazzled from that mess, that's on them. In any case, this is gonna set a new standard for action-packed challenges here on my show, I swear it!" Dana had her goggles over her eyes, a blowtorch in one hand and a wrench in the other, giggling like a mad scientist. "In any case, let's roll through the intro so we can get on to the fun stuff! Last time on Total Drama: Scrap Island, the two teams were scattered and dumped off in the middle of the forest…deep within the nature zone. The weather was crappy and the attitudes were snappy, thanks to everyone losing all their technology and any way to contact their teammates. The challenge was simple enough: find the rest of your team and escape the forest together…but with the thunderstorm raging the whole time, it was definitely more difficult than it could've been. We also discovered a new form of rock-paper-scissors with Teddy, Brittany, and Valerie! Mitzy tried to woo Margaret out of her alliance with Caleb, and Calvin found a new secret agent buddy to help him through his travels, a quirky little robot that he conveniently named BroBot! Vernon tried to smooch our intern, and failed, thanks to his agent teammate, and Buck set himself on a warpath to get revenge on Zane, who he mistakenly thought was the person sending him the pictures! When Caleb and Fridge used the dangerous spider idol on Yves, Zane was found in an awkward position by the distressed hillbilly, and it only took the two of their votes to send the ultimate strategy player packing! It really is a shame that Yves waited until after Buck chased away a friend to tell him that she was lying. I wonder how that went down? There's only one way to find out…and it's right here, on Total Drama: Scrap Island!"
The camera suddenly flew into the sky, being struck by a massive chunk of debris and knocking it back to the ground, only to be picked up by a cute, blue and silver striped robot with one wheel that it used to move.
"Dear mom and dad, I'm doing fine," the robot pointed the camera at Theodore at a cafeteria table, pounding down energy drinks like a champ, his eyes twitching from the caffeine while Larida looked concerned for his health.
"You guys are on my mind," at a nearby table, Ronnie was arm wrestling Mitchell, winning easily and slamming him straight through the table, causing Celeste to run over and start screaming at the powerhouse.
"You asked me what I wanted to be and I think the answer's plain to see," the robot wheeled its way out of the cafeteria, showing a junkyard with Vernon scribbling something down in silence and Ivy looking over his shoulder to peek at it, until Blaster popped out of one of the garbage piles, scaring him and making his papers fly off into the sky.
"I wanna be famous!" Vernon ran after his papers, leaving Ivy behind in confusion, eventually passing by Margaret and Daniel as they were making out while surrounded by four intense looking mafia thugs, one who spotted the camera and chased after it.
"I wanna live close to the sun," the robot wheeled away from the mafia goon, passing by Zane and Bunny, the latter who was bugging the boy by holding a mic up to his face, which he tried to shove away.
"So pack your bags, cause I've already won," Fridge carried Caleb on his shoulders across from Aaron, who had Dana on his own shoulders, the two up top slapping at each other as the robot passed by.
"Everything to prove, nothing in my way, I'll get there one day," as the robot continued to roll around, it finally made its way out of the junkyard and to the remnants of Cali-Tokyo, where Buck was attempting to profess his love to Yves, who was all flustered by the gesture.
"I wanna be famous!" Nearby, atop a pile of rubble, Brittany was making fun of Valerie, who let out a sigh and pushed her off the pile and onto the ground.
"Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na," near the pile, there were some barrels of toxic waste, which inspired Mitzy, who scribbled something down on a blank sheet while Alice was absolutely appalled by the sight.
"I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!" CJ was being chased by a massive and terrifying robot with six legs and two clawed arms, which then noticed the robot with the camera and chased after it, causing it to drop the camera.
"I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!" The camera feed cut to the aftermath stage, showing Calvin trying to kiss Max, who, out of embarrassment, belched right in his face.
The two were soon shoved aside by Capone, who rolled his eyes at them, while Sunny, next to him, waved happily to the camera with a huge smile on her face. Maggie popped up between the two of them, an acoustic guitar around her back, hugging them both tightly and snickering while the camera panned out to show the whole cast sitting in the risers, with the little robot sitting next to Caleb, and Franchesco standing off to the side with a glare fixed on Maggie.
The day was still quite young, with the sun glimmering high in the sky. Dana and Aaron had worked up quite a sweat, having been tinkering with those motorcycles all morning. Luckily for them, they were just about finished with their duties…which only left one more responsibility for them. Dana dusted herself off, pulling her goggles up to reveal that they had left an impression around her eyes. "Yikes…I can still feel the goggles on my face. How long has it been since we started setting up for the challenge?"
"Ah…vat time did ve come out here? Six in zhe morning, ja?" Aaron looked down at his phone screen, getting the time from it. "It's…noon. On zhe dot, actually."
"Wowza! We really have been working for six hours? We'd better get this thing on the road!" The girl reached into her pocket, pulling out a walkie talkie of sorts, one which had a singular button on it. She pressed the button, which turned on the loud speakers that were scattered throughout the hotel. "Hey, survivors! I know you guys are all awake in there! Get your phannies out in front of the hotel so we can do challenge stuff!" She took her finger off the button, tucking the walkie back into her pocket and crossing her arms as she waited for her contestants. One by one, they came out through the front door, each of them a bit intrigued by the array of motorcycles that was set up.
"Motorcycles? Hehe, how fitting, for a badass like me!" Caleb pointed to himself with his thumb, a proud grin on his face. "I assume that I'm getting that ass-kicking one with the flame patterns all over it, correct?"
"Uh…vell, not exactly," Aaron awkwardly glanced at the one motorcycle that was entirely pink, with sparkles and glitter bedazzling it.
"It's not important what motorcycle goes to who, we've got a bunch more important things to talk about. As of today, I've officially grown bored of the teams. Caleb practically owns the Dingos, and the Squirrels just kinda lose everything." Dana glared at the remaining five members of the Squirrels, with Teddy and Brittany looking down at the ground in shame while Valerie shrugged her shoulders. Yves sighed and looked off to the side, while Buck seemed to be…actually very well rested. He chuckled a bit at the host's contempt for the team, simply waving it off.
"Well, guess that sorta thing is gonna happen on a team as wacky as this one, go figure!" The hillbilly seemed a bit too…normal, all things considered. It was almost as if he had completely forgotten about what Yves had done. "So, yer trying to tell us that…"
"Yeah, that's right. We're busting the teams up for good…we're in the merge stage, where it's truly everyone for themselves in this apocalyptic wonderland!" Dana cackled like a madwoman while the two former teams shared some concerned glances between each other. "That also means that this is the first challenge of the season in which you will all be working alone to complete it! Of course, we have to get things kicked off with a high point, so it's gonna be intense. Can any one of you folks tell me what the safest form of travel is in an apocalyptic scenario?"
"Oh, oh, I know this one!" Mitzy raised her hand excitedly, bouncing up and down where she stood, hardly able to contain her answer. "If I remember from the ZomBoy comics, it's a bicycle! Easy to maintain, easy to ride, and super quiet!"
"Correctamundo, comic geek!" Dana clapped her hands together while Mitzy beamed at the praise, not thinking of being called a geek as an insult. "Which is great, but at the same time, bikes would take too long to complete the challenge we have set up for you guys…so you're all gonna be riding motorcycles instead! Now, the challenge, what could it possibly be? Well, it's one massive circuit! You'll all have to ride your motorcycles across the entire island, only stopping at the five checkpoints available! There are stamps at each checkpoint that are required to finish the challenge, so just make sure that you stamp each one on your bike while you're at the checkpoints."
"Hot dang! Yer having us go full circle 'round the island like some sort of Tour De France? Gotta say, sounds like a whole lot of fun, kinda wish CJ was still 'round to get on with this challenge! Better luck next time, am I right?" Buck nudged Teddy with his elbow, getting a concerned look back from the streamer.
"Dude, are you okay? Like…you're kinda freaking me out." Buck frowned slightly at the comment, but only for a brief moment. He waved it off, going back to being his smiling, happy self.
"Once you have gotten each of your stamps, your goal is to return here, to the start-slash-finish line. The checkpoints are in each of the following spots: the junkyard, the middle of the desert, the water tower, the middle of the forest, and the no man's land. Note: radiation isn't clear in no man's land! In the forest, you'll find hazmat suits, which you can wear to safely traverse the area." Dana snapped her fingers, ushering Aaron to start tossing out sets of keys to each of the contestants. "Ivy, our lovely flag girl, will wave the flags to get the race started, but you got a few minutes to get acquainted with your motorcycles, 'kay? Oh, how could I forget the most important part of the challenge? We won't be voting tonight…the person that falls in last place will be directly eliminated from the game!"
The contestants gasped at the announcement, each now wary of each other. "This is just like that challenge from the first season, all over again!" Margaret shook her head disapprovingly at the host. "But I suppose it'll be fine…so long as you don't pull any shady crap, like Chris did back during that challenge."
"Trust me, this is an 'eleven people pass the finish, one does not' sort of elimination. With that out of the way, I'll let you all get ready for the fun to begin!" The host giggled before scooting off to the side, where her and Aaron had a table set up for them, one which had lemonade and cookies on it.
Confessional
"We're no longer in a team stage, eh? I guess this means bad things for that alliance of mine…hm…what should my next move be?" Margaret tapped her chin as she thought about her allies. "If there is anyone that the group will sack for their own safety, it's gonna be me. I mean, Fridge is the muscle, Bunny is great at getting intel, and Brittany is Caleb's favorite. If anything, the twerp probably fears me, so he'll try to get rid of me sooner than later. I'll have to show him that I'm a force to be reckoned with."
"Ugh, do I look like I know anything about riding motorcycles? I prefer the more extravagant forms of travel, like jet skis!" Brittany snickered as she reached into her pocket, pulling her mushroom idol out. "It's alright, though! If I'm in any danger, I've got the key to eliminate someone of my choice, right here!"
Confessional End
Vernon moseyed on over to his plain-looking, black motorcycle, running his hand over the paint on it briefly before pulling it back, due to the heat from the sun. "Sitting on this is gonna be a real pain in the ass…"
"Literally!" Ivy scooted over to the boy, now wearing a lilac colored jacket over her tube top to make her look a tad more decent then she did prior. He smiled as he saw her, blushing, since he remembered how she was dressed underneath the jacket. "Yeah, yeah, I know I look like a total joke right now. Still can't believe I let Dana talk me into wearing this skimpy thing."
"Well, I thought it looked pretty good on you…"
"Yeah, of course you'd say that." Ivy shook her head at the boy, who blushed even brighter than before. She giggled a bit, seeing him react like this was always a treat. "You're so unbelievably easy to fluster, you know that?"
"A-as if you're any more stonefaced than I am! I'm willing to bet that you'd be blushing brighter than an apple if you saw me wearing that!" Vernon seemed a bit too proud to announce that, and it only got Ivy to laugh even louder. "I-I mean, if I was wearing some speedo or something!"
"Yeah, I guess I can give you that much. Though I was pretty sure you'd be steering clear of anything that even slightly helps you show off that 'nice vhistle' of yours." The songwriter blushed brighter than ever before, soon shooting a glare off to Aaron, who was minding his own business off to the side. "In any case, you should probably worry about getting ready for the challenge. It's gonna be starting any minute now…and I'd rather not see you get eliminated because you got too distracted."
"R-right, thanks." Vernon gulped nervously as he climbed on top of his bike with Ivy heading to the center of the starting line. Each of the others were getting on their own motorcycles as well, each being a different color. Caleb, of course, had gotten the glittery pink bike, much to his dismay, while Fridge was happily seated on the black bike that had the flame patterns all over it. Margaret had one that was painted like the Italian flag, with pizza-like wheels that only seemed to tick her off beyond belief. Yves' motorcycle was sleek and white, almost translucent where the paint was, like a ghost. Valerie's bike was quite shorter than the rest, with a really high front wheel that made it appear…actually, quite menacing. The paint job made the bike itself look militaristic, with it's forest green and brown camo patterns. Buck's bike appeared to be a plain, old red motorcycle at a glance, but as he pressed a button near the handles, the bike seemed to extend out odd, yet helpful attachments, such as one robo-arm that had a rag in its hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. Bunny's motorcycle was the same tan color of her oversized sweater, and it had camera lenses patterning the side, each seeming to flash every so often to take a picture. Mitzy's bike was a bit larger than the other bikes that were around, and the paint seemed to have some sort of cotton candy texture to it, with the cyan and pink colors to match her highlighted hair. It was definitely a comfortable marshmallow seat. Teddy's motorcycle was perfectly befitting for the stylish king he was, coming in the turquoise color to match his attire, with a ribbon along the side that read "#WorstToFirst!" Brittany's bike was the most appealing to look at, having a nice white and pink pattern going along the surface of it. Then, there was Calvin, whose bike was dark ink in color with a few qhite question mark patterns along it. In front of the agent, there was a small basket, where BroBot was seated, wearing a tiny motorcycle helmet to match his pal.
"Alright, racers, I hope you're ready for a Tour De France that doesn't put you to sleep! Ivy, get in gear to start the show!" Dana shouted from off to the side, where she was still seated with Aaron at that table.
"Eh, you got it, boss." Ivy nodded over to Dana from where she was standing, soon looking back at the twelve contestants that had gotten in gear. Each motorcycle's engine was revving intensely as they waited for her to start the race. "Alright…on your mark…get set…race!" The girl waved her flags down, urging the group to start speeding off past her, with Margaret nearly running her over.
Confessional
"Racing, racing…can't say I really was ever a fan of the Borza Horizon games…much less Gario Kart." Teddy scratched at the stubble on his chin with one hand, scrolling through his Winstagram page with the other. "Hm…maybe I need a shave? Should I do Bald for Dollars again? …Nah, they got enough #TeddyBearHair from me already."
"My 'training' has brought about situations where I've needed to ride motorcycles…eh? Am I licensed for that kinda stuff?" Calvin glanced down at BroBot, who was beeping at him with a concerned look in its robotic gaze. "Don't be silly, Agent BroBot! Us agents are licensed to commandeer any type of vehicle that we may need…you know, to chase down criminals and the like."
"This bike is truly a villainous ploy put in place by Dana! Marshmallow seats? Come one now!" Mitzy crossed her arms and shook her head at the camera. "Obviously, she wants me to fall asleep on this bike so that the evil denizens of this island have less competition!"
Confessional End
Buck took an early lead to the race, a grin on his face as the wind blew his hair back wildly. He was headed straight for the first checkpoint that was mentioned, the junkyard. "Heh, it's about time I really got my head in the game! I mean, a literal island made of scrap and junk is basically a tropical paradise for mahself!" The innovative boy glanced over his shoulder to see that the competition wasn't too far back, but not particularly close either. "Huh, guess I musta dozed off or something…I remember being a bit further ahead of them last time I looked back. Heh, if Yves was next ta me, she wouldn't have let me-..." The grin fizzled out from the boy's face, being replaced by an utterly lukewarm look. He shook his head and looked back at the road ahead of him, seeing the first stamp station. "Hot dang, I'm already at pit stop number one!"
Buck skidded his bike to a halt, right next to the stamp station, hopping off for the briefest second possible to slap the stamper against the side of his bike. He brushed his nose with his thumb, bearing that proud grin of his again before hopping right back onto his bike. As he started to speed off into the distance, Brittany came to the stamp station, an irritated look on her face. "Ugh! That bumpkin is too fast on that stupid bike! How am I ever gonna splash him with this if he's too busy speeding around like some sort of street racer?" The rich girl glanced down at the mushroom idol, which was right in her jacket pocket. She let out a brief sigh before jumping off of the bike to grab the stamper and get her first stamp all set. She was quick to head off after the country boy, but by that point, the rest of the contestants were hopping off their bikes in droves.
"Excuse me! The to-be King of the World needs to be first in line to stamp his bike!" Caleb grumbled as he pushed through the crowd, reaching to grab the stamper, only for someone else to snatch it and hold it above his head. "Hey, you give that here, you bitch!"
"Eh? I'd watch that tongue of yours…that is, if you wanna keep it in your mouth." Margaret made a throat cutting gesture with the stamper before stamping her bike and dropping it into the abnormally short boy's hands. She snickered as she got back onto her stereotypical bike, racing off while he glared at her.
Confessional
"That bitch, Margaret, is playing a dangerous game! Everyone of my allies knows how much I hate being teased…it's fucking despicable! If she wants to play that dumbshit game, I guess I'll have an easy choice to expend her to extend my own game life." Caleb rubbed his grubby little hands together, a maniacal smirk upon his child-like face. "Mmm, yes…it would've been Fridge, but at least he's a loyal lapdog!"
Confessional End
One by one, the contestants were stamping their bike, getting one fifth of the challenge done. In the back of the line, there was Calvin, whose bike's weight was almost double the others, considering the fact that he was toting around a robot with him. "Last place!? Surely this can't be right!"
"Beep boop boo woop!" BroBot waved its little arms, doing a series of robo-gestures to try and speak to the boy. He scratched at his chin as he pieced together each gesture, eventually coming up with a faint idea of what it may be.
"You're saying that you should be on the side of the bike, agent? I don't know if you can keep up with the speed of a full-on motorcycle, little buddy!" Calvin patted BroBot on the head, only for the robot to let out a staticy sigh before bursting off into the distance with the speed of a racecar. The agent found himself utterly shocked by his partner's speed. "H-hey! Wait up for me, Agent BroBot!" Swiftly, Calvin grabbed the stamper from the station, pressing it up against the side of his bike before tossing it right back to the station and jumping back into the race, speeding off after BroBot.
Back at the starting line, the hosts were watching the race's progress on a little TV while drinking lemonade. "Hm…looks like everybody made it past the first checkpoint already. Buck's in the lead, and Calvin is tailing the rest of the group." Dana took a big sip through her bendy straw before glancing over at Aaron. "Who do you think is gonna win this one? I'm betting on a crazy comeback from the Agent."
"Hm…I zink zat Bunny is going to vin zis one. In hindsight, we maybe shouldn't have given her zose flash lenses on zhe side of her bike." Aaron looked back at Dana with a hint of concern, though she seemed to be entirely nonchalant about it. He then switched his glance over to Ivy, who was strumming on her bass guitar off to the side. "And vich one do you zink vill vin zhe race, Miss Ivy?"
"Eh? Probably Vernon…" The girl continued to strum along on her instrument, slightly blushing as she played.
Confessional
"Okay, maybe I've got a bit of a crush on the guy…he's just super genuine!" Ivy rubbed her arm, still blushing a bit. "...What? Come on, it couldn't have been that obvious! …Alright, I get it, I'm a simp."
Confessional End
The racers were well on their way to the second of the five stamp stations, that being the one in the middle of the desert. All things considered, this one was the furthest than the rest of the checkpoints. The desert was incredibly dense compared to the rest of the island, and the checkpoint could be…well, anywhere in the endless sea of sand. Buck was still in the lead, with Brittany not far behind him. The rest were more or less bunched up in a group, each of them scanning the area for that station. Valerie found herself riding alongside Bunny, someone who was a bit too extreme for her tastes. She looked over at the blogger, noticing the camera lenses on the side of her bike. "Why'd they give her a defense system? I want a defense system…where's my giant sword that cuts Brittany's head off? So not fair…"
Valerie seemed to be getting herself angrier and angrier as she thought about Bunny and her cameras, her face growing red while she pressed her foot down harder on the gas. She started to go faster and faster, astonishing Bunny, who figured everyone was already at their max speed. "Wah!? Why does the sad lady get to go that fast!?" The reporter pressed down as hard as she could on her gas pedal, not going any faster in the slightest. "Come on, you stupid bike! Faster, faster!"
Fridge pulled up near Bunny, noticing that her bike was making some rather aggressive rumbling sounds from its engine. "Wow, Rabbit, your bike roars like a dinosaur! That's really cool! I thought my bike did that for a second, but it was just my tummy…I didn't get all my normal post-workout calories in today." The football player's gut rumbled violently, rivaling the engine noises that Bunny was making. It wasn't long before her engine gave out and her bike came to a sudden stop, sending her cascading into the distance. Fridge gasped at the sight, picking up his speed as best as he could, eventually getting up close to her and catching her with one arm. "Are you okay, Rabbit?"
"Uwah…I thought I was about to become a Bunny Sand Witch there! Urk…why do I feel like I should leave the pun game to some other contestant that I've never met before?" The reporter shook her head before smiling up at Fridge. "You're my hero, Fridge!" The massive boy smiled back at Bunny for a brief moment before realizing that she was puckering her lips to kiss him. He blushed brightly, soon turning around to drive back to her bike and depositing her onto its seat.
"T-there you go, Rabbit! Get back in the race, before some tortoise beats you and they make a story about it!" The football player went back to driving his bike, leaving Bunny in his dust, only bringing a scowl to her face.
Confessional
"Why does that giant hunk of a man keep rejecting my offers of love? We would be the most attractive couple from this show, perfect for tabloid gossip and the like!" Bunny pouted, crossing her arms firmly and sticking her tongue out at the camera. "Doesn't matter…Bunny always gets her way, whether anyone has anything to say about it or not! Urk, that sounds gross…Bunny will rethink the way she says things and maybe not talk in third person ever again!"
Confessional End
Buck finally managed to spot the second of the five stamp stations, which he happily stopped at to mark his bike before speeding along again, Brittany just missing him by a few seconds. "Gah! That stupid…ugh! Curse you for making Buck's bike so good compared to this crapfest I'm riding along on!" The rich girl was, yet again, the second of the twelve contestants to stamp her bike. She got back on her bike as she finished up, allowing the rest of the contestants to see the station and stop at it. This time, Calvin was more towards the head of the group, with Bunny in dead last, since her engine had stalled.
"Heck yeayuh! TeddyBearNation is gonna flip when they see how crazy good I'm doing in this challenge!" Teddy winked to an invisible camera as he stamped his bike with the second stamp, soon being shoved to the sand by an irritated Caleb. The shrimpy boy reached to grab the stamper, only for it to be snatched away, yet again. He glanced to the side to see Mitzy standing there, furrowing her brow.
"What? What do you want?" The chess player's eyebrow twitched as he grew more and more irritated with everyone taking the stamps away from him.
"You need to apologize to Teddy…no doubt he's going to have grains of sand in his shoes for the next few weeks because of you. Besides, shoving isn't nice." The heroic girl closed her eyes and grasped the stamper tightly in her hand, not allowing the boy to grab it. With a sigh, he punched his tiny fist into her knee, causing her to reel forward in sudden pain, dropping the stamper, which he grabbed and stamped his bike with before speeding off after the other contestants. "You fiend! You'll be brought to- ack- justice for that!"
Confessional
"You know, getting shoved into the sand by the little Hillsbury Dough Kid is a bit embarrassing, but I think I would pay to watch him and Captain Sparkle fight each other in the octagon. Hm…tickets for one hundred bucks, exclusive interview segment for an additional one hundred! Heh, we'll even have the fight end in a draw so less people win on their bets and we get to keep more of the money!" Teddy grinned at his brilliance, soon looking back at the camera as if it were judging him. "Hey, don't hate me cause I know how to hype up a fight!"
Confessional End
Yves stamped her bike with the second stamper, soon getting on her ghostly bike before heading back on the trail. She still had a miserable look on her face, one much more miserable than her usual. She could only think back to what happened after the previous elimination…
…
…
"...What?" Buck's happy-go-lucky appearance was entirely replaced with an odd mix of confusion and sadness. He wasn't entirely certain what emotion he was feeling, but hearing Yves say what she said was…unsettling. "I-I don't think I'm really understanding what yer getting at…that's a joke, right?"
"...Not a joke…he didn't do anything. He hasn't been targeting me…if anything, he's been trying to help me out…a lot, actually." Yves looked down at the ground while Buck's arms dropped from her shoulders to his sides. "I really wanted to tell you before, but I just…couldn't…I couldn't do it. I lied…and I lied about Daniel…he never did anything to lose the first challenge for our team. I just thought…well, that you would get out if I didn't do anything. And I only slapped Zane the other day because…w-well…I didn't think he would be very helpful for you, while you're like this."
"...Well, that's a relief!" Buck had a smile on his face, though he refused to look Yves in the eye. She was entirely confused, she didn't expect a reaction such as this one.
"A relief? What's a relief?"
"Well, knowing that ya used me! Ya had me go against two people that, to be frank, didn't deserve a lick of that kind of trouble!" Yves gained a mix of shock and sadness to her face, hearing Buck say those words. "Ya know, it really makes me think like I've been doing the whole wrong thing! Guess that's the tough end of being in a relationship…well, not like we're in one anymore anyways."
"B-Buck?" Yves tried to speak up, though the country boy wasn't having any of it. He stood from his seat, headed right for the exit of the colosseum before turning around to look back at her.
"That really kinda hurts…and I'm not sure why. I'm used to folks thinking I ain't so bright, thinking they can use me for their own benefit and whatnot." Buck shrugged his shoulders as he turned back around, not a hint of sadness to be seen on his expression. "Guess I really am the dumb one for letting it happen to me from someone like yerself. It makes for a great lesson in humility, I s'pose."
…
…
…
The dancer winced, as if she was struck by a stray bullet that was whirring by. The thoughts were too painful, and they caused her to start slowing down, soon allowing the rest of the contestants to pass her by. She was tailing the rest of the competition at this point, not that she could help it.
Confessional
"...I did some bad things…a lot of bad things. I swear, I meant the best of it…" Yves looked down at her feet, refusing to look directly at the camera. "...Did I?"
Confessional End
The next pit stop was the water tower, a sight that the group remembered well. It was still mainly destroyed, considering that attack that Chris hosted on the show. Oh, Ronnie, why did he have to go and make a deal with the Devil like that? Again, Buck was the first contestant to reach the stamp station, which was directly underneath the water tower. Normally, he would park right up next to the station to stamp as quick as he could, but with the structure of the tower, it was impossible to drive under it. He had to get off the bike just at the perimeter, ducking under a bar to reach the station. "Dadgummit, course there had to be at least one tricky station. It don't matter, I'm still having a real blast with this challenge!"
"And that blast is about to be a full on explosion!" The country boy looked up from the station, stamper in hand, to see Brittany parking her bike right next to his. She had an excited look on her face, something he didn't understand all too well.
"Uh…yeah, whatever ya say, rich girl!" Buck raised his fist up and let out a "woop woop," soon ducking back under the bar to head to his bike and stamp it. As he did, he turned to face her, extending his arm with the stamp in in. "Here ya go, yer probably gonna need that!"
"Aw, how sweet! Oh, I know what we should do! We should trade!" Brittany held her hand out to the boy, grabbing the stamper with her other hand and stamping her bike. Without thinking about it, the boy grabbed whatever it was that she was offering him. He looked down at his hands to see the mushroom idol, cap popped right off, with its liquid contents pouring all over his hands. "'Hope ya enjoy it, pardner!'" The nasty rich girl cackled maniacally before hopping right back onto her bike, stamping it and dropping the stamp to the grass before speeding off and leaving the boy behind her.
"W-what in the- why did she- ah!" Buck did his best to scrub the hallucinogen off of his hands, soon jumping back onto his motorcycle to continue the race. His heart rate was speeding up incredibly, not knowing what was to come from the idol. Back at the host's table, Dana and Aaron were gasping in shock, having nearly forgotten that the girl even had the idol to begin with.
"S-she used the mushroom idol! On Buck!" Dana had mixed emotions about this…she wasn't too fond of Brittany's attitude, but it was a pretty big play to pull off at a time like this. She would hate to admit it, but she was downright impressed with the girl.
"Oh, heavens…zat poor boy is about to experience some vacky hallucinations. By zhe way, vat are zhe hallucinations supposed to be like for people?" Aaron had a curious look on his face, never seeing the idol's effects in action.
"Ah, well, it kinda ranges. We tested it on a whole bunch of employees back at the Industries, each of them had some different experience. I think, the more jovial you are, the sillier they tend to be. At the same time, the more upset you are, they will start to be dreadful and nasty. So, knowing Buck…oh dear…" The two hosts went silent for a moment, each of them nervously looking back to the screen.
Confessional
"W-well…Buck's a big boy, right? He can handle some scary hallucinations, no issue! …Right?" Dana chuckled nervously, a bit worried for the boy, considering how upset he truly must've been at that given time.
Confessional End
More and more contestants were getting their stamp count added to at the water tower, with Yves still in the back of the line. Vernon strolled up to the stamp station, a bit astonished to see that the stamper wasn't actually there. "Eh? Why would anyone hide that damn thing…? Eh, whatever." The songwriter sighed as he glanced around, soon noticing the stamper sitting in the grass, where Brittany had dropped it. He started to rush towards it, forgetting about the bar under the water tower, and hitting his head right on it, soon falling flat to the grass while everyone else found the stamper. Each of the contestants started stamping their bikes, leaving the poor boy in their dust as they pressed on towards the forest.
"Urgh…stupid water tower and its stupid busted up structural base…" Vernon slowly pulled himself up to his feet, lightly dusting himself off as he walked towards the stamper, grabbing it from the grass and firmly stamping his bike for the third time. He wasn't fond of being in last place, but he was confident that he would get back to the bulk of the group soon enough. He jumped onto his bike, starting the engine up again before speeding off towards the others.
Confessional
"Great, I got this nasty shiner on my forehead." Vernon rubbed his swollen forehead with his hand, wincing slightly from the pain. "You don't think Ivy's gonna think I'm ugly because of this, right? Ah! I mean…uh…nothing! Nothing at all!"
Confessional End
Brittany hummed a pleasant little tune as she ventured at the head of the group, all too excited with how her plan went down. She hadn't seen Buck in a good while, so she wasn't too sure how he was being affected by her idol. As she drove into the forest, disappearing from the sight of the rest of the contestants, Buck followed, still in a close second place. He was determined, for once, to get back to the head of the group, and it almost seemed like the idol hadn't done anything to him yet. "Alright, alright, deep breaths…maybe I wiped that goop off mahself fast enough to nullify those darn hallucinations or something. It's better not to think about it…I don't wanna be stressing out over this when I've got such a fun challenge at hand!"
The country boy regained his grin, soon forgetting that Brittany had even pulled that stunt as he trailed along through the forest, searching for the next stamp station. Droves of contestants followed the two group leaders in suit, each looking for stamp number four in the dark, murky forest. Teddy was playing music from his bike's stereo, which none of the other bikes had. He jammed out to his tunes, oblivious to the fact that he was currently in a forest…full of wildlife…wildlife that wasn't too thrilled with his loud hipster music. "Aw man, I sure do love me some Subtle Impala! Crank it up…wait, no! Turn it down! Don't want this episode getting copyright claimed!"
The YouTuber reached down to fiddle with the volume of the music, only for an angry squirrel to leap out from a tree, latching onto his face and scratching at him in a fury. "Ack! Not the face! I need it to make better thumbnails for my reaction videos!" Teddy continued to scream and wail while more and more of the contestants passed him by, soon putting him in last place, something he was all too familiar with from his Mega Mechas days. He reached up to grab the squirrel, soon chucking it into the distance and revealing the scratch marks all abundant on his face. "Man, you made me drop off the trending page! Count your days, squirrel! My stans will cancel you by tomorrow!"
Not too far ahead of the boy, there was Mitzy, who was riding alongside Margaret. "That Caleb is so…ugh! I don't understand how you two were able to get along for your alliance so well. He's just so…evil!" Mitzy's leg was still in a bit of pain from the punch that the boy had delivered to her knee.
"Getting along? We weren't ever getting along, I was strictly doing business with the kid, and I still am, for the time being. Business is booming, so there's no chance I drop out while I'm turning a high profit." The mobster smirked as she kept on driving, clearly not unnerved by Caleb and his obnoxious behavior.
"But that's just…why would you wanna work with a bad guy, like him? Couldn't you do business with people that are a bit more…I don't know, morally correct?" The superhero writer cocked an eyebrow at her former teammate, who didn't seem to care too much about what she was asking.
"I suppose I could've, but I'm a realist. I'm no goody two shoes, and I'm certainly not evil. My plans and yours simply don't align…because all I care about is making my way to the top." Margaret chuckled before suddenly swerving through a mud puddle, splashing Mitzy and coating her entirely with the stuff. The comic artist gasped as Margaret sped on past her.
"Y-you! That was super evil!" Mitzy was quick to gas up her motorcycle as much as she could, the bad day she was having fueling her desire for justice to come out on top.
Confessional
"So much for Margaret turning the page on her evil nature! I seriously can't believe she did that…boy, I really do have my work cut out for me, don't I?" Mitzy groaned as she wiped mud off of her face and clothing.
"Eh, it was kinda funny, and she was kinda annoying me with her blabber. Look, I've done some…rather dirty deeds in the past. Justice and evil are numb subjects to me at this point." Margaret shrugged as she sat in the confessional, hardly worried about what she had done to Mitzy.
Confessional End
Brittany was the first to come to the fourth stamp station, proudly stamping her bike before noticing the twelve hazmat suits that were available to the contestants. She noticed that each of them had a name sewn into the chest, soon picking out the one that had her name on it and tossing it on. "Uck…if Dana lacks anything, its style. These things are so gaudy…good thing I only need it for the last part of this challenge. Well, time to-"
"Aha, fourth stamp down, and I'm ready to rush on ahead!" Buck proudly reached past the rich girl, grabbing his hazmat suit and donning it before running right back to his bike, entirely ignoring her.
"What!? How are you not tripping like crazy right now!?" Brittany started to run back towards her bike as Buck pressed on ahead, still ignoring her very existence. "Ugh! That idol was such a ripoff, Dana! How am I supposed to get Buck eliminated if it doesn't do anything to him!?" The rich girl got back on her bike, rushing after the boy while the rest of the contestants reached the stamp station. One of the first to get there was Calvin, who was trailing behind BroBot, considering just how fast the robot was capable of going.
"Geez, agent, you really are something else with that wheel of yours!" The agent fanatic jumped off of his bike, grabbing the stamp from the station and stamping his bike while BroBot's mechanical eyes wandered throughout the forest. It was hard to say why, but the little bot seemed to be rather upset about the whole place, as if haunting memories were floating back into its core memory. Calvin placed his hand on the robot's shoulder, bringing its glance back to meet his smile, which was behind the mask of his hazmat suit, which he just put on. "Hey there, agent…I know we just got you out of this place. The memories are fresh…being lost is always scary. Don't you worry, though! I would never leave another agent behind! There's no chance I'll let you get lost again, that's a promise!"
"Beep bop bo boop beep?" BroBot beeped a series of beeps to its partner, who nodded back to answer its question. "Boowwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeep!" The little robot happily bounced up and down on its wheel while Calvin got back on his bike. The duo started off towards the fifth and final stamp station, ready to bring this challenge to its ultimate close.
Confessional
"Agents don't leave other agents behind, no matter what! You can be annoying, you can be dumb, you can be downright useless, but when you're an agent, you're family!" Calvin saluted the camera, a proud look on his face. "Agent BroBot has a good heart…well, a good motherboard! I wouldn't dream of leaving him in such a dreary place again!"
Confessional End
Most of the contestants had already gotten their fourth stamp, leaving just Teddy, who was trailing right behind the rest of the group. He sighed, getting off of his bike to stamp it before turning to look at the hazmat suits that were available to him…only seeing one. It had his name, alright…on a scrap that was ripped up on the ground. The whole suit had been tattered to bits by a mob of angry squirrels, one of them being the very squirrel that caused his facial injuries before. "Ah! You squirrels, you can't do that! What if I get turned into a radioactive monster man!? …On second thought, that would be a great way for me to get more views!" The YouTuber happily jumped back onto his motorcycle, no hazmat suit present, and sped after the rest of the group, hankering for a dose of radiation.
While he drove through the twisted turns of the forest, he failed to realize that he had strayed from the regular path that the rest of the contestants were taking to get to the next stamp station. There was an awful lot of brush in the way of the path that he had taken, and leaves from the trees obscured his vision. "Hey man! TeddyBearNation can't get a million views in two hours if you don't let him upload! Stop demonetizing me and let me through already!" The YouTuber pressed on his gas harder, bursting through the brush and coming out on the other side of the forest…directly ahead of the rest of the contestants.
"Huh!?" Brittany was shocked to see the boy well ahead of her, and she gritted her teeth behind her hazmat helmet. "You goon, how did you manage to pass me!? Ugh, it doesn't matter, I just have to make it to the end before at least one other person. Who cares about winning this one?" She tried to lose a bit of her anger, but seeing Teddy in the lead was still a sore sight.
Confessional
"Stupid Teddy, always getting in the way of everything I'm trying to do…if only Valerie weren't around to defend him everytime I do or say anything about him!" Brittany tugged on the ends of her hair, utterly irritated by the boy and his insane simp. "No matter…it doesn't look like I'll be losing this one, so there is nothing to worry about."
Confessional End
Buck was a bit confused to see that Teddy was ahead of him, but it didn't seem to bother him all too much. He gave his bike a bit more gas, still happily driving about, trying his best to enjoy the challenge. "Well, only one more stamp to go! It's in the no man's land, right?" Buck stared on ahead, noticing the signs that read "Caution: Radioactive Waste Present!" "Hm, guess that'd be this place…looks pretty barren…huh? Why is Teddy not wearing a suit?"
Teddy was the first to pass into the no man's land, the barren wasteland that it was. He let the radioactive winds blow through his hair, a grin on his face. "Man, I wonder what kind of mutant I'll turn out to be! I hope some super cool dinosaur guy or something, that would be sick!" It was hard to notice at first, but the scratches from the squirrel that were abundant on the YouTuber's face were disappearing, one by one. Eventually, his face was basically brand new, not a speck or smudge on it. "You know, suddenly I feel impervious! I dunno what that's all-"
A big crash rung out as a boulder knocked Teddy clean off of his bike, seeming to crush him entirely. Buck came skidding to a halt on his own bike as he saw the boulder resting on top of the YouTuber, his legs just barely peeking out from under it. The already traumatized boy was utterly horrified by the sight, not sure what to do. There was silence for the moment…until the boulder suddenly lifted off of the ground. There, Teddy stood, not a single scratch on him, balancing the massive boulder on one single finger. "Can't believe how bad the wilderness is out to get me, today. Really is some crazy stuff."
Buck's jaw dropped as he watched Teddy toss the boulder off into the distance like it was nothing. The boy dusted himself off before he noticed the stamp station, which was pretty close by. He ran over to it, grabbing the fifth stamp to complete his bike's tattoo collection. "There we go! It's a shame I didn't get mutated or anything, though…oh well! Better luck next time!" The YouTuber got right back on his bike, tossing the stamper back to Buck before driving off, headed back to the start of the race.
"What in tarnation…oof!" Buck winced as the stamp hit him right in the gut. He grabbed at it before it fell to the ground, soon stamping the last stamp onto his bike. "Well…as long as he's alright, I guess. Just gotta make my way back to the starting line right now!" The southern boy shook his head before starting after Teddy, still not a single instance of those hallucinations that were mentioned before. At this point, he had entirely forgotten about them.
Confessional
"I guess Teddy is like some sort of superhuman now…which is pretty cool, and definitely fitting for a guy like him. His skin is like steel, or something." Buck rubbed the back of his head, a little bit jealous of the boy. "Wonder if he's gonna be alright, well, physically at least. I bet he'll be fine, dude's a trooper."
"Man, I was really hoping that I would get some super power or something! Oh well, that's fine. Doesn't bug me…nah, it totally bugs me. What the heck, Dana? Where are my mutant superpowers!" Teddy shook the camera violently, accidentally crushing it with his powerful hands.
Confessional End
The contestants kept on trucking to the final stamp station of the challenge, each of them ready to get this whole thing finished with. They came in a particular order: Brittany, Caleb, Yves, Margaret, Vernon, Calvin and BroBot, Fridge, Bunny, Mitzy, and Valerie, who was in dead last place. It seemed like her determination was draining a bit, although it was unclear what exactly was causing this. She got off of her bike as she reached the final stamp station, grabbing the stamper and pressing it against the side of her militaristic bike. She let out a sigh before tossing the stamper away. "Great…now I'm going to lose the challenge…woe is me, woe is me…my life is so horrible…"
The girl shook her head as she got back onto her bike, her sad look replaced with one that was more annoyed. "No, that's what the old me would say here…gotta keep your head up and have a good game plan to make it to the end of this thing. If I could pull anything from Zane's teaching, it was that." The girl started to speed towards the rest of the cast, determined to pull herself out of last place so she could make it further in the game. "Come on, Val…you can beat these losers in this easy challenge."
Confessional
"Zane was really smart…which was cool. I guess I could've listened to him a bit more, but I went and did some stuff he wouldn't really approve of…guess it's my fault he's gone." Valerie shrugged her shoulders before ever so slightly smiling at the camera. "Woops."
Confessional End
The race was in its last leg, and competition was getting really tense…except for one soul. There was Buck, who seemed to be in a state where he couldn't be bothered to get tense. His eyes were spiraling around and around, in a motion that he couldn't quite control, and his bike had come to complete halt. He was just sitting in the middle of the desert, watching the world around him. He stared up ahead at the one bike that was ahead of his, sweating intensely as he saw not a person, but one of the security robots from the original Cali-Tokyo driving it. He remembered the painful zaps that those bots were capable of, and the very sight of them made him curl up in fear.
Another bike whirred right by him, this one with a rather angry harpy on it. The harpy looked faintly like Brittany, but it was a bit hard for him to tell, it was all a blur. "I-I…w-what's going on here?" He managed to get himself off of his bike, turning around to see a horrific sight that would haunt him for decades to come. More of these creatures seemed to be headed right for him, each vile and horrific in their own ways. There was an evil leprechaun, one that was pointing a knife right at the poor, hallucinating boy before passing him by. He leapt back out of fear, stumbling over his bike and falling to the ground.
Soon after, a wailing ghost screamed a horrible screech at him, though she passed him by as well. His heart was racing violently and his face had gone pale as the apparition shrieked at him. The next monster was a zombie, one dressed like a horrific Italian mobster. It had a tommy gun in its hands, which it used to shoot the ground around Buck before passing him. It was followed by an indescribable blob of music notes, which howled a horrendous tune that made no rhythmic sense from any perspective. The next monster was two monster heads that shared the same body, one human head, one robotic. It was a shocking sight, and each of these creatures was just getting worse than the last.
The next monster passed Buck by, this one being a giant that cut through the clouds with its massive height. It could've crushed him by accident, and there was nothing he could do to defend himself. The giant was followed by an anthropomorphic rabbit, one which was barking nasty noises at Buck before its eyes shone like headlights, blinding him for a brief moment. One more monster came his way, this one being a monster that was constructed out of candy, like some sort of golem…only each piece of candy was rotten to the core. The country boy clasped his hand on his chest, breathing heavily as he tried to forget the horrible creatures he had just seen.
"Yo, what are you doing?" Valerie snapped her fingers right in front of Buck's face, though he didn't seem to notice. She took a good look at him, seeing his spiraling eyes. "Oh…looks like someone used that mushroom idol. Heh, I say somebody like I don't know that Brittany had it. Looks like she got you pretty good…that's so ironic."
"I-ironic?" Buck snapped up to see Valerie staring down at him, though he was mainly just glad to see that it wasn't another monster. "V-Val, what are you-"
"Don't call me Val like we're friends, you piece of shit." The girl glared down at her former teammate, who immediately shut up as he stared at her in fear. "You think you're just a dandy guy that minds his own damn business…you piss me off, you know that? You and that Brittany…god, I can't stand either of you. You've got the looks, you've got the brains, you've got the popularity…where's mine, huh? Why do you two shits get to have the world handed to you, while I get left in the dust?"
"I-I don't…the world wasn't-"
"Don't argue with me, you two-bit protagonist. 'Oh, but I saw some scary stuff!' Do you know what its like to be tormented and tortured by every single person you've ever met in school? Your own family, even? No? Bet you don't…you saved Dana's life, congratulations…oh, you thought you killed a guy, but he lived just fine. Seriously, just watch the other seasons of the show…dude showed face up in space."
"H-he did?" Buck glanced around, still seeing more horrific sights around him, though anything was better than looking at Valerie. She was utterly terrifying at the moment.
"Yeah, he did. Oh, let's not forget that girlfriend of yours…ex, now. Seriously, she was worried about you enough to sabotage people to keep you in the game. You dumped her for that…seriously, you're so ungrateful of what you got. That's why you two sicken me…you always want something different than the great you already have." Valerie scoffed at the boy, showing just how irritated she was with him. "Yeah, sure, I could've saved Zane from getting eliminated…but with Brittany running rampant, how could I not vote for her? She does the same damn thing you do…you're disgustingly a perfect match. You both want something else…and all I want…is to be you."
Buck's heart sank into his stomach as he heard Valerie say those words. She shook her head at him before heading right back over to her bike and getting back on it. "Whatever…one of you is all gone now. That's one of three nuisances that I need to get rid of before…well, frankly, before I win the game. Adios, Buck." Without another word, Valerie sped off into the distance, leaving Buck behind.
Confessional
Valerie smirked down at her tablet, drawing an "x" over part of the screen before showing it to the camera. There were three pictures on it, one of Buck, one of Brittany, and one of Teddy, with the Buck one being crossed off. "Only so much more to do to win…having a strategy really does help with this kind of thing."
Confessional End
The group of twelve met back at the Colosseum of Shame, with the hosts, of course…though they had to restrain Buck in a straitjacket to keep him from running away. "Buck, I'm sorry to say, but you remember the rules of the race…last place gets out, no matter what. You did a good job while you were around, but your time is up." The boy was unable to utter a single word in response to Dana, he was still in complete and utter shock. The two hosts nodded to each other before dropping him right onto the Trampoline of Losers, which sent him flying away into the distance. A single tear dropped down Yves' face as she watched him disappear, while Valerie simply stood in the corner of the colosseum, grinning to herself.
Author's Notes:
*Oh no! The other finalist from the first season is out! Truth be told, this has been a long one coming. Buck making it to the merge is honestly a feat in itself, dude was super messed up from what happened in the last season. Yves surely didn't help much in that department. Unfortunately, Brittany just didn't want him to be around any longer, so she went and did her little sabotage. We'll get to see him more in the next aftermath, though! Hopefully he'll be doing a bit better, then.
*Sorry it has been a while since the last update, some bad stuff has been happening to me at work. I just needed some time to think to myself, unfortunately that made it so I couldn't write much of anything. Sorry again.
*Placements: No Placement - Chris; 22nd - Daniel; 21st - Larida; 20th - Mitchell; 19th - Alice; 18th - Blaster; 17th - Max; 16th - CJ; 15th - Ronnie; 14th - Celeste; 13th - Zane; 12th - Buck