And Part II is up! Thank you to everyone who left a review. I'll answer a quick question before we start.
Is this connected to my series (Total Drama Legends)? No.
Caitlin and Jen are both characters from another FreshTV show, 6teen. Emma M. is from Stoked. Check them out if you're interested.
Now on with the chapter.
The Ridonculous Race logo flashed onto the screen. "Welcome back to the Re-Ridonculing." Don announced. "Last time we were introduced to all eighteen teams. Their first task was to race to the Centre Block Parliament Building in Ottawa, Ontario. The order in which they reached the top determined how much of an advantage they would receive in the next part of the challenge."
The screen flashed again, revealing a plane in the air. "The first flight is already in the air, carrying the first six teams. Flight number two is close to departing, but the last remaining six teams are gathering dust waiting for their plane." Another flash revealed Don, sitting in the first class of plane number one, looking annoyed. "Where is that intern? He was supposed to be here with my drink an hour ago." He faced the camera and grinned. "When we land in Cairo, the competitors will face extreme temperatures, like they've never believed. But who will burn up and get cut from the competition? Find out right here on…The Ridonculous Race…" the camera zoomed in on Don's signature grin. "...the Re-Ridonculing!"
Don's voice continued as a plane was shown flying through the air. "A flight from Ottawa to Cairo is a nearly thirteen hour journey," A quick flash of white revealed the inside of flight one. Mother and Son were shown leaning all the way back on their seats with mud masks and cucumbers over their eyes. "Some are using this time to relax," Another cut showed the Sisters sitting across from the Dynamic Drama Duo. "Others are using this time to strategize." Heather had a devilish grin on her face, while Alejandro just looked bored.
Confessional (Dynamic Drama Duo): "This feels like a dream come true," Heather grinned. "I've always had to deal with chumps, but never have I had such a wide variety of chumps."
"I still don't get why we couldn't sit somewhere more private…" Alejandro sighed.
The diva gave a devious look. "I have a plan and it involves a lot of people going home. If it works, I can guarantee you that you'll get all the alone time you want…as long as you don't screw anything up."
The latino perked up at this. "Yes, ma'am."
Meanwhile, another team was struggling to get on the same page. Scarlett sat, irritated, in her seat. Noticeably, her partner wasn't by her side.
The redheaded crazy girl suddenly popped out from one of the overhead bins. "Look what I found, Scarlett." She went back into the bin and put her hands out. She had two black socks over her hands, like she was doing a puppet show.
"Hey, you." She spoke in a gruff voice as she moved her hand, as if one of the socks was a character. "I told you never to show your face here again."
Izzy then spoke for the other hand. "And I told you," This voice was very nasaley. "That if you didn't give me back my socks, you'd wind up in the back of a dryer machine."
Back to the first hand. "Why you-"
"Elizabeth!" Scarlett snapped. "I need you to focus."
Izzy's head popped out. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?"
The psychotic genius sighed and calmed herself. "Fine…Izzy. Can you please sit down so we can discuss our strategy?"
The wild redhead smiled and swung herself into the seat. "Alright. If we're landing in Egypt, the challenge is most likely something related to the Pyramids. Most of the teams already on the flight will be difficult to take down. The Dynamic Drama Duo will especially be-" Scarlett stopped. Izzy was no longer sitting next to her.
Seconds later, she heard a steadily growing noise and a snack cart rolled by, with her partner on top of it. "I am awaited in Valhalla!" She screamed, as the cart sped away. Scarlett could only ball her fists in fury, as a crashing sound was heard in the distance.
A few rows ahead, The Survivalists were having a slight problem.
Jasmine was in a state of panic, as she gripped tightly to the arm rests. "Are you okay?" Zoey asked.
The Aussie shook her head. "Being on a plane is basically like being trapped in a metal tube."
"Right…your claustrophobia." Zoey thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "How about this? Close your eyes and try pretending you're somewhere else."
"Ok, ok…" Jasmine took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Alright, I'm…with Shawn and…we're…in his zombie bunker…that's just as tight of a space as this plane that I'm on is." Her eyes tightened. "No, no, don't think like that. Ok, now I'm…in the flower shop and…I'm watering the flowers and…they grow too big and completely engulf me." Her eyes sprang open. "I just made it worse!" She brought her knees up and hugged her legs. Her teeth were chattering.
Zoey looked at her partner with pity.
"Come on, we won't be in Cairo for a while. You can go talk to him."
Emma shook her head. "I can't. Right now, he's probably using this time to prepare for the next challenge. If I go see him, I'm just going to throw him off his game."
Kitty rolled her eyes. "I know for a fact you want to see him. Stop torturing yourself and just do it."
"Of course I want to see him, but I-"
"Am I interrupting something?"
Kitty and Emma turned to see the latter's boyfriend standing next to their seats. Emma immediately got flustered. Noah grinned. "Were you talking about little ol' me?"
The older sister blushed. "Well, you see- we were- I- We were technically talking about you, but it was more about the competition and that we should focus more on the challenge and not on how incredibly hypnotic your eyes are whenever I stare into them-" Emma immediately covered her mouth and went red again. Kitty and Noah just laughed.
From the other side, Heather watched. A devilish grin appeared on her face. She turned back to her partner. "And it looks like that's my cue to leave." She got out of her seat and headed to the rows in the back.
"I'll miss you." Alejandro called, but Heather was already out of earshot. Or maybe she was just ignoring him.
The camera cut to the teams on flight two. Mary had a clear look of annoyance, while her partner was very apologetic.
"Look, Mary." Ellody said. "The prospect of being able to witness such wondrous artifacts in person got me excited, but I recognize that it also set us back. But, can you really blame me for wanting to expand my horizons?"
The taller genius didn't say anything at first. But, eventually, she sighed. "I suppose I can't." She turned to face her. "Just don't turn it into a routine. The distance between our two planes won't be a tremendous setback, so we can cover the ground after we land."
Ellody smiled. "My prediction for the challenge location is rather obvious. If we're landing in Cairo, we're most likely going to be dealing with pyramids. I once did a presentation on Khufu, one of the ancient Egyptian monarchs, and it's fascinating about what went into making the Great Pyramid." She chuckled. "Now that we're getting the chance to see it I-" She noticed Mary's disapproving glare. "I…guess I'll just have to read up on it…after the race is over." She smiled sheepishly.
Mary nodded approvingly.
"Hey, uh… Ella?" Gwen said.
"Yes, Gwen?" The princess responded.
"I was just wondering…what made you freeze up back at the Peace Tower? I mean, it didn't lose us the challenge or anything, but…I've never seen you do anything like that before. You're usually so happy…like, all the time."
Ella sighed. "You remember Pahkitew? The season I competed in?"
Her cousin groaned. "Unfortunately, yes. It was so unfair the way Chris eliminated you. But, what does that have to do with what happened?"
"There was this boy named Dave. During one of the challenges, I ended up getting electrocuted…" A smile crept along her face.
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Why are you smiling? That sounds terrible."
"Because…Dave helped me out and gave me my shoe." She sighed happily. "It was something out of Cinderella." She was like that for a few seconds, before it fell.
"You had a crush on him, didn't you?" Gwen said knowingly.
Ella nodded. "But, he didn't feel the same. So…seeing him again brought back a lot of bad memories."
"I see…" Gwen said, unsure how to continue.
Her cousin noticed this and gave a small smile. "It's ok, Gwen. I'll get over it eventually. Let's just focus on the race for now." Before Gwen could answer, Ella turned away, looked out her window and started softly humming to herself. She didn't see her cousin frown.
Confessional (Gwen): "I…don't remember a lot from Ella's season. Who was Dave again? Was he the guy who dressed as a wizard? I didn't see anyone like that, so probably not." She looked back at Ella, who was still staring out the window. "I hope she really is over him. I don't want to let boy troubles get in the way of me winning…again."
Harold was just coming back from the bathroom and overheard some of what the Cousins had said. It gave him an idea. Duncan didn't pay him much mind when he sat down. "...so Duncan…about what happened at the Tower-"
"Not interested, poindexter." Duncan responded, shutting his eyes and leaning back in his seat.
Harold ignored him. "What made you freeze up like that? Were you trying to learn more about the history of it? Like how it has fifty-three bells on the inside or that-"
"Yeah, sure." Duncan said dully. "Whatever makes you sleep at night."
The dweeb glared. "You know, you don't have to-" Then a thought struck him. "Wait, were you distracted when you saw Court-"
A hand shot out and grabbed Harold by his collar. Duncan pulled him closer. He had opened his eyes and was staring daggers at his partner. "Finish that sentence and I'll throw you out the plane." He whispered darkly. He looked at him for a few seconds, before pushing him away and going back to sleep.
Harold fixed his collar and looked at his partner.
Confessional (Harold): "So, yeah. It's totally obvious Duncan still has a crush on Courtney again. I should know. I took a mind reading course at Magic Steve's Magic Camp and I can basically tell what anyone is thinking. Watch." He put his index fingers on his forehead and shut his eyes tightly. "Duncan's now thinking about…the final level on Galaxy Strikers and…good places to get sixty four sided dice and-" He opened his eyes. "Oh, wait. That's me."
"Back at the airport," Don explained. "The remaining six teams are still anxiously waiting for their flight."
Blaineley was standing at the front desk, glaring at the receptionist. "Listen, you need to give me my own private plane. I can't be seen flying in coach."
"Ma'am." the receptionist explained. "That's not how this works. I can't just give you your own plane. Besides, if you're in a race, don't you need your partner to be with you?"
The blonde gossiper scoffed. "She can catch up to me. It doesn't matter if we get there at the same time. Now are you going to give me my plane or not?"
From a few feet away, Blaineley's partner was talking with the Surfer Girls. "Alright, Emma. This is your first time being on a reality tv show like this, right?"
"Yup." The red-headed surfer nodded. "But I'm not worried, I've got a pro for a partner." She nudged Bridgette lightly on the arm. The blonde surfer chuckled.
Sierra quickly typed into her phone and turned to her former fellow Total Drama contestant. "And Bridgette, everyone wants to know, what's the next step for you and Geoff?"
"Well…" Bridgette blushed and couldn't help but smile. "We're already past the proposal." She put up her hand, revealing a silver ring on her finger. "So now we're just preparing for the big day. I've been trying to convince Emma to let us use the Surfer's Paradise Resort to host it."
Emma M. rolled her eyes. "And I told you that the only way for that to happen is if Bummer officiates it. I'm doing you a favor."
"If it means Brody doesn't have to do it, I honestly don't care. He literally told me he'd do the whole thing on a donkey, so I'll take an uptight resort manager over that."
"Trust me, you really-"
"Can you believe this?" Bridgette and Emma M. looked up, while Sierra just sighed without even turning to see who it was. Blaineley walked up to them. "This airport is a joke. I guess it's too unreasonable to ask for my own plane. I'm a celebrity and I deserve to be treated like one." She then noticed who Sierra was with. "Oh, and if it isn't the wannabe co-host and…" She took one look at Emma M. "And who are you?"
Before either of the Surfers could answer, Sierra got out of her seat. "Blaineley. I'm trying to get an interview from-"
"An interview!?" The blonde spluttered. "With these two? One's a nobody and the other is slightly less of a nobody."
"Stop sabotaging my content!"
The two Gossipers started arguing, while the Surfer Girls watched on, unsure how to handle the situation.
Nearby, Tyler was doing push-ups on the airport floor. He had a look of pure determination plastered on his face. His partner watched on.
LeShawna cleared her throat. "Listen, Tyler, about what happened on the Peace Tower-"
Tyler cut her off, "That was an accident! I gotta push myself as hard as I can!" He let out a grunt of effort from a push-up, then continued. "It's the sports code, go big or go home! Winners don't win by not putting in enough effort."
"Yeah, and how much has that helped us before?" LeShawna mumbled under her breath. "Look, all I'm saying is maybe don't push yourself so hard that you end up getting hurt. Because that won't help matters."
"Don't worry, LeShawna," Tyler responded, still doing push-ups, "You don't need to worry about me. I'm durable. With my athletic skills and your brains, we'll be winners in no- OW!"
A heel suddenly appeared and landed right on Tyler's hand. The jock winced, fell to the floor and clutched his hand.
Lindsay stumbled, before realizing what just happened. "OMG! I'm so sorry!"
"I'm fine!" Tyler said, putting his attention on his throbbing hand, "It's nothing to worry ab-"
Tyler's words caught in his throat the moment he saw who it was. Lindsay had the same reaction. In an awkward moment, the jock's eyes met with the bombshell's, and things went dead silent between all three racers.
After a while, Lindsay slowly turned away. "I've…I've got to go…" With that, she ran off.
LeShawna was insanely confused over what just happened. "What was that all about?" She asked Tyler.
Her partner got to his feet, still feeling the pain from his hand getting stepped on. However, it didn't seem like it was bothering him like it was before. "It's nothing." He said quietly, taking his seat.
Neither said a word after that.
Speaking of not speaking, Devin was fast asleep on a chair in the waiting room. He had no idea that Stephanie was giving him a frustrated glare.
Confessional (Stephanie): She sighed. "I don't get what's up with him. With Ryan, I know what I'm dealing with. We argue a lot, but that's just how we motivate each other." She looked back at her partner, who was still snoozing away. "I've been trying to get him focused since this Race started, but he just won't listen. I need to find a way to get him to crack, or neither of us are going to last much longer."
The Gal Pals were near the receptionist's desk. As Jen was busy reading a tourist's guide to Cairo, Caitlin awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Jen, I'm really sorry if I held you back or anything," sighed Caitlin, "Is there anything I can do to-"
"Don't worry about it, Cait," Jen cut her off, "It's okay. I get that you aren't always gonna be prepared for stuff like this. Just remember, I'll be here to help you."
"B-but we were in last place!" whimpered Caitlin, "I don't want to drag you down any…" Her eyes began fogging up with tears, "If I end up being the reason we get eliminated, I'll…"
Jen hugged her before she could break down, "Don't blame yourself, okay? I was just as slow as you were. We're not going home just yet. And even if we are, I won't blame you for anything that happens."
Caitlin perked up a little, wiping the tears out of her eyes, "…Okay. Thanks, Jen." She then closed her eyes suddenly.
Jen raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"I'm just imagining Sebastian being here. He'd know how to motivate me."
Jen's smile fell after hearing this. But once she saw Caitlin open her eyes again, it quickly returned. "Yeah…I'm sure he does." she giggled. When her blonde friend turned away, the athlete frowned once more.
Confessional (Gal Pals): Jen was still upset, but Caitlin hadn't noticed. "Sebastian and I met a few months before we joined the Race. We hit it off almost immediately."
"You definitely hit something…" Jen mumbled.
Caitlin still wasn't listening. "I was thinking about joining the show with him, but his mom got sick the week before."
"She didn't get sick…" Jen said through gritted teeth. "He was lying to you. He went to Vancouver, his mom lives in Ontario."
Caitlin turned to her friend. "What was that, Jen?"
Jen jumped. "I uh…I…" She coughed into her fist and forced a smile. "I'm sure Sebastian is cheering you on!"
Whatever suspicions the blonde was having were put away. She looked at the camera and waved. "Hi, Sebby!"
"Flight one is less than an hour away from landing. Right now, teams are preparing themselves for whatever awaits them." The camera cut to Jasmine, still in the midst of freaking out. "Some more than others."
The Aussie gripped her seat tightly. She was sweating and her eyes darted all around. "How long has this flight been going? I was counting sheep and I lost count at seven hundred and seventy four. It didn't change anything." She started breathing rapidly. "Who thought putting people inside a metal tube was a good idea?!"
Zoey, at this point, was getting frustrated. "Alright, Jasmine. I'm sorry to have to do this, but…" She reached her hand behind her partner's neck and pinched it.
Jasmine jolted upright for a moment, then her head slouched onto her shoulder. She then started snoring. With the plane having gotten significantly quieter, Zoey let out a sigh of relief.
A few rows back, Courtney was mulling to herself. Without Noah, she couldn't discuss any strategies or nag him profusely.
"Courtney, so good to see you."
The CIT didn't even need to look up to see who it was. "What do you want, Heather?" She snarled.
The Diva was standing next to her, with a clearly fake smile. "Can't I say hi to my former Amazon teammate?"
Courtney just rolled her eyes. "I've known you for too long to know that when you give me a face like that, you have something planned. So stop pretending you don't have an ulterior motive and just say it."
Heather held her smile for a few seconds, but soon dropped it. "Fine. I figured I should tell you this." She leaned closer to the CIT. "I saw Duncan at the Peace Tower…"
"Do you think I really care about what that idiot thinks?"
"I know you don't." She paused deliberately. "But when you and Noah walked past us, everyone followed you…except him." She stopped again. Now Courtney was curious and Heather knew it. "He seemed very…distracted about something. And I don't think it takes a genius to figure out what it was…or should I say, who it was." Without another word, Heather slithered out of sight.
Courtney didn't say anything. A lot was running through her mind.
The camera cut to the plane heading touching down on the ground. "Plane number one has finally landed at its destination…" The camera cut to a blue and white flag, followed by a picture of a gorgeous cityscape, with a pyramid in the backdrop. Don popped up in front of the photo soon after. "...Cairo, Egypt. Not to be confused with Cairo, Illinois. Home to some of the most wondrous statues in the world, including the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids."
Another flash revealed the front of the airport, with most of the teams running out of the entrance. Don was seen standing next to a tiny statue of himself. "Like in every challenge, teams will have to find the Don Box in order to proceed onto the next section of the race."
The first team to arrive were the Dynamic Drama Duo. Heather pressed the button, swiped it and handed it to her partner. "Make yourself useful and read it."
Alejandro rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smirk. He held the ticket up. "It looks like an All-In. Up and down, not side to side. Climb to the top, then take a ride."
"What moron came up with that title?" Heather said.
Another cut revealed Don standing in front of a Pyramid. He looked annoyed. "Hey! I'll have you know, I...uh…the…producers, yes the producers, put a lot of effort into making those and they deserve the proper respect." He cleared his throat. "Anyways, an All-In, as the name implies, means both members of each team must take part in the challenge. In this case, teams will climb to the top of the pyramid I'm standing in front of and make their way to the bottom on the other side." The camera panned over, revealing a large array of orange ATVs. "Once they do that, teams will then choose a vehicle and race towards the carpet of completion in the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. Teams must arrive together, with their buggies."
Most of the teams from flight one went looking for a taxi. However, one was already lagging behind. Zoey struggled towards the Don Box. It was especially difficult because she was carrying her knocked out partner on her back.
"Maybe that wasn't such a good idea." Zoey wheezed.
Noah and Courtney quickly found a cab and got in.
"Sorry you have to go through this, dude." Noah said to the driver. He sat back and waited for the barrage of demands to begin. But, nothing happened. The Brainiac turned and saw Courtney, not even looking up. She was clearly deep in thought. Noah, surprised by his partner's sudden mood change (but also not wanting to waste this opportunity of peace), figured he should take over. "Umm…Pyramid of Giza please." He said to the cabbie.
His taxi took off, as did the others.
The camera cut to a plane in the air. "While the first set of teams are already on their way towards the Pyramid," Don narrated. "Flights two and three have yet to touch down."
Inside, The Fashion Friends were talking to each other.
"Does Egypt have any good lip gloss brands?" Lindsay asked. "I mean, I don't think they'd just use sand, would they?"
Beth wasn't sure how to answer, so just shrugged. The blonde turned away, but stopped when she saw something. Tyler was heading down the aisle towards her. She froze up. Her ex-boyfriend caught a glimpse of her, but tried to act like he didn't. He forced himself to look down at the ground, as he quickened his pace. Lindsay, meanwhile, turned her head towards Beth until Tyler had passed them. The blonde's friend gave a pitying look.
"Flight number two has landed and the teams are already looking to catch up." Don said, as it cut to the teams from the second flight exiting the airport.
Sky went to press the button but Chris pushed her aside. "Out of my way! If I'm gonna get some kind of authority, it better be this." He snatched the card and quickly read it. "What?! He's doing a pyramid challenge?! Where teams have to climb over it?! He's just copying the stuff I did in World Tour. That lousy, self-entitled, lazy, good for nothing, scumbag-
Chef suddenly appeared and grabbed his co-host by the shoulder. "Quit yapping! I got us a taxi." He yanked Chris away.
Sky dusted herself off and grabbed the next ticket, "Sugar, we have to get a taxi to…Sugar?"
Her partner walked out of the airport, wearing a hat that looked like a pyramid.
Confessional (Pahkitew Pros): "My goal is to get a souvenir in every country we visit. Now I look like one of those falafels from the old times." Sugar said, still with her hat on.
"Pharaohs…" Sky corrected, with a sigh. "And can you please focus on trying to win?"
The pageant queen scoffed. "Oh, I don't have to worry about that. I mean, who's gonna stop me?"
"You mean us, right?"
"No, me."
The olympian let out a loud sigh.
Inside one of the taxis, the Opposite Friends were dealing with an issue.
"What on earth are you wearing?" Dave asked. Shawn was revealed to be wearing a shiny metal hat. "And more importantly, where do you get it?"
"I always keep a spare batch in my vest." Shawn said. "And, to answer your first question, it's a tinfoil hat. And because I already know what you're going to say, it's to protect my mind from being brainwashed."
His partner rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me. You believe aliens built the pyramids?"
Shawn suddenly burst into laughter. "Aliens?! Are you kidding me? Do you actually think those things are real?" He continued laughing, which weirded Dave out. Once he settled, Shawn continued. "I know the Egyptians made them, that's a no brainer. I'm wearing this because the government built mind control devices and stored them inside the pyramids."
"Why would they…" Dave trailed off, knowing he wouldn't get anywhere. Instead, he looked outside the window. Another taxi drove past them. It was carrying the Pahkitew Pros. As soon as Dave saw Sky, he gasped. "Wait, was Sky on the same flight as us?"
Shawn nodded. "Oh yeah, she was." He thought for a moment. "Row E, a few rows back." The germaphobe shrieked and slouched in his chair to avoid his ex-girlfriend seeing him. Sky didn't seem to notice, as the taxi sped up.
Taxis started pulling up to the Pyramid of Giza. "Most of the teams from flight one have arrived at the Pyramid and are looking to start the challenge." Don said.
Courtney had already gotten the ticket. "If we're climbing, we should probably-"
"Let me guess. Belay?" The brainiac said, rolling his eyes. A thought suddenly struck the CIT and she went wide eyed. Noah shrugged and walked by. "Alright, if you insist. Just letting you know, I'm not a strong climber, so I won't-"
"Actually!" Courtney grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "I…I'll go first and…help you up each step. It might be harder, but…we will be safer this way." Quickly she got up the first block and reached her hand out to Noah. The brainiac wasn't sure how to respond, but didn't question it. He was just glad she hadn't
The last plane had finally landed. Teams dispersed, hailed their taxis and sped off towards the Pyramid of Giza.
"We are not running to the Pyramid this time!" Emma M. called to her partner.
The Gossipers were already in theirs, but it wasn't an ideal situation. Through bad timing, or just bad luck, both the Gossipers and the Fashion Friends had ended up in the same taxi. It was cramped, but some were trying to make the best of it.
"So," Sierra said with her phone out. "Are there any guys you have eyes on, now that you're single?"
Lindsay frowned. "I…I don't really want to answer that question."
"Ok, then can I ask who was the first to break things off between you two."
The blonde fashionista flushed red. "I already said I don't want to talk about it."
"Just ask her about her new shoes," Beth advised from the other end of the cab. "She loves talking about them."
Before Sierra could respond, her partner groaned from in between them. "It's already bad enough to be wedged in here, but do you have to make it worse?"
"You're already doing a good enough job at that…" Sierra mumbled. She then turned her attention to the other Fashion Friend. "What about you, Beth? Are you and Brady still going strong or-" Blaineley suddenly shifted to the side, in an attempt to make room. She bumped into her partner, cutting her off. But, not only that, she accidently pushed her hard into the door, which unlatched and opened. Sierra fell out and tumbled out and onto the sand.
Back in the taxi, Blaineley pulled the door shut and leaned back. "Now, that's more like it."
Beth and Lindsay watched on in horror.
"Now on the road, teams from flight three are using this ample time to prepare for the challenge."
Tyler looked out his window. "Man, being in Egypt again is kinda cool. It's like I'm back in World Tour."
LeShawna cringed. "Not for me."
The jock turned to her. "Why not?"
"Four words. Team Victory…and Alejandro."
"Right…that makes sense. You guys sucked." Tyler saw the daggers being stared at him and realized his poor choice of words. He decided to say nothing more.
Back at the airport, Devin had just entered a taxi. "You coming?" He said to his partner.
Stephanie was still waiting on the outside. "Pfft, of course I am, I just…" She thought for a moment. "I wanted that seat."
"Oh, I can scoot over, if you want."
The diva grunted. "No. I…I meant I wanted the whole back to myself."
Without a word, Devin got out of the car. "That's fine. I'll take the front."
"No! Just…" Stephanie stomped her foot down and rubbed her hands over her face. "Whatever. Just get in."
Devin shrugged, as his partner grumbled her way in.
Taxis started pulling up in front of the Pyramid. The Hosts were the first to get out.
"See!" Chris said, pointing forwards. "He stole my idea. It involves a pyramid and climbing over it. Not to mention, we're in freaking Egypt!"
Chef rolled his eyes as they went to do the challenge.
The Geniuses eyed the monument in front of them. "Wow." Ellody gasped. "I've only read about the Great Pyramids in books, but to see it in person, it's…it's…"
"...too tall." Mary finished.
"What?"
The skinny genius pointed at the Pyramid. "Most of the teams are already halfway up the pyramid. Comparing our physical prowess with the others does not bode positive results."
"So what do you suggest?" Ellody asked.
Mary studied the other teams and thought to herself. "If we can't go over the Pyramid, we should change our trajectory and go around." Ellody's jaw dropped, but Mary continued. "I understand we'll be facing a penalty, but as long as we don't place last, we'll be fine. Judging by my calculations, Don wouldn't give us a gargantuan penalty. There's too many people already in the game."
Ellody tried processing the plan. "But…the Pyramid and its historical significance. We're literally standing in front of the wonders of the world and…" She noticed Mary giving her a disapproving glare. The dark haired genius sighed. "Understood." The two then took off around the Pyramid.
Nearby Zoey was desperately trying to pull the still knocked out Jasmine out of the taxi, while also trying not to drop her on the sand. A few seconds later, another taxi arrived.
Dave stepped out of it. "Hey. Notice how I'm not wearing one of those ridiculous hats and I don't feel any different."
"Well, of course it's not going to work now." Shawn responded. "They know that I know what they're up to, so they don't want to use their mind control device with a witness around." He then noticed Zoey dragging Jasmine along. He raised an eyebrow and went over.
"Where are you going?" Dave called
Shawn ignored him. "What happened to her?" He said to Zoey.
The indie chick was out of breath. "My fault. I…I was tired of her constant rambling and I…"
"...knocked her out?" Shawn finished. "I get that. We don't travel a lot, but she always wants me to calm her down when we're in a tight space. Honestly, I think she'll appreciate it. Lay her down." Zoey was confused, but placed her partner on the sand. Shawn reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass vial. He unplugged the cork and held the jar up to his girlfriend's nose.
"So…you just carry around a thing of smelling salts with you?" Zoey pondered.
"You never know." Shawn shrugged.
A second later, Jasmine's eyes slowly opened. "Oh…what happened?" She looked around at her surroundings. When she saw Shawn with the vial, she put it all together. She turned to her partner. "Oh man, sorry about that. It's hard for me to relax when I'm on a plane."
Zoey was surprised. "You're…you're not mad I knocked you out?"
The Aussie got off the ground and dusted herself off. "Nah. Totally understand. Now let's get moving. What do we need to do?" Zoey quickly explained the challenge. Jasmine nodded, then went up to her boyfriend. "Thanks, babe." She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.
Shawn blushed as she watched the Survivalists run off. Dave walked up to him. "What the heck was that all about? You just helped the other team."
"Yeah, I know. Now we gotta get moving ourselves." With that, Shawn grabbed Dave's wrist and practically pulled him towards the challenge.
Not far ahead, Courtney and Noah were making steady progress up the Pyramid. The Brainiac, however, still had an uneasy feeling.
Confessional (Noah): "Did I blink and end up in a universe where Courtney isn't a nagging sociopath? I mean, I'm not complaining, but…it's weird."
Mary and Ellody had just made it to the other side of the Pyramid and jumped onto the ATV. Mary revved the engine and it sped away. "Looks like the Geniuses are taking an…interesting approach to the challenge, but it has landed them in the lead…for now." The camera flashed, showing Don standing next to the carpet of completion. "However, I may have neglected something. While the competitors must cross the finish with the ATV, not all of them have a full tank of gas. Some are full, but the others only have half a tank. But I'm sure the Geniuses are smart enough to have figured that out."
Another flash of light revealed Mary and Ellody on their ATV as it went slower…and slower, until it sputtered to a stop. "What's going on?" Ellody asked.
Before Mary could answer, another ATV sped by.
"We're in the lead, chica." Alejandro called.
Heather scoffed. "Don't act so surprised."
Back at the Pyramid, Mother and Son were steadily making progress to the top. DJ had a look of slight discomfort on his face.
"What's the matter, pumpkin?" Momma asked.
The Animal Lover sighed. "Being in Egypt just reminds me of my animal curse. It was easily the worst period of my life."
Momma gave a sympathetic smile. "If there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that you ain't cursed. No son of mine would ever willingly hurt an animal. All that curse nonsense is in your head."
DJ smiled. "Thanks, Momma." He was about to put his hand on the next block. "That really-" He stopped. He noticed, just in time, that his hand was inches away from crushing a scorpion. The big guy pulled it away and let out a sigh of relief. "That was close."
"See!" Momma exclaimed. "That curse was all in your head." She gently scooped the scorpion in hand and moved it out of the way. However, as soon as she turned her attention to climbing again, her purse swung and smacked into the arachnid.
It flew down and landed on Chris' face. It stung him right between the eyes and the host let out a scream and fell backwards.
The Rivals had just made it to the other side and were about to get onto an ATV. Harold jumped in front.
"Alright, let's get moving." Harold said, jumping on behind. But they didn't do anything. The geek gave his partner a puzzled look. "Are you going to move or…" Without a word, Duncan got off the vehicle and walked over to another. "You obviously spent too much time in the sun. Y'know, I may need to examine you at some point. For all we know, you could've been bitten by the black desert cobra. Or maybe an Egyptian cobra. They're native to this country and very poisonous. Luckily, I have a badge in poison extraction and can legally-"
"Hey, Dorks R' Us. Can it!" Duncan snapped. He was now sitting on a different ATV. "Get on this one."
Harold was puzzled. "Why? What makes it better than this one?"
"Trust me, it is. I know cars and I know someone's rigged them. Now get on before that cobra gets you!"
The geek jumped and ran over to the other ATV. "W-where?" Duncan suddenly burst into laughter and revved the engine. Harold, realizing what just happened, was not amused.
Up ahead, the Psycho High IQs were struggling through the desert. Well…one of them was.
Scarlett was pushing the ATV along the road. Izzy was sitting comfortably on the seat, with a wide grin.
Confessional (Psycho High IQs): Izzy still had her smirk. "Scarlett was real confident that we picked the right ATV. She was like 'oh, my name is Scarlett and I know everything about everything, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk."
Her partner crossed her arms, "It was a simple miscalculation. Knowing which all-terrain vehicles have a full tank and which don't is not a valuable skill."
"Yeah…but you still got it wrong." Izzy chuckled, while her partner grumbled.
Scarlett was still struggling to push the ATV, while Izzy hummed to herself. The evil genius eventually stopped to catch her breath. That's when she noticed something. She had stopped right next to a zoo. An idea popped into her head. She turned to her partner and gave a playful look.
"Eliza- Izzy. Do you want to play a game?" The crazed redhead sat up and nodded vigorously. Scarlett grinned. "It's a little game I like to call 'Scarlett Says.'" She pointed at the zoo. "Scarlett says, get us something that can take us to the finish."
Izzy gasped dramatically. The gears started turning and a huge smile slowly crept along her face.
"Has anyone actually seen him?" Don huffed into his earpiece. "We hired this guy for a reason and yet he can't bring me my drink? Where did you-" Don stopped his complaining, when he heard a noise. He quickly put her hand down and changed back to host mode. "And it looks like our first team has arrived." Alejandro and Heather parked right on the carpet of completion and got off their ATVs. "The Dynamic Drama Duo, congratulations. You're the first team to finish."
Heather took off her helmet. "Get used to saying that."
Alejandro then took off his helmet. Once he did, he flipped his hair out dramatically. Heather stared at him for a few seconds. Alejandro noticed and wiggled his eyebrows at her. The diva flushed red and quickly turned away.
"How touching." Don said drolly. "Anyways, I have good news for you. Since this is Ridonculous Race's second season, we have to up everything. So, for this season, the first place finishers of every race will receive a prize." The Drama Duo were happy with this. "So, I'll give you two choices and you'll have to decide which one you want. So I offer you an advantage in the next challenge or-"
"Doesn't matter what the other thing is, we'll take-"
"What is the second option?" Alejandro interrupted, much to Heather's annoyance.
"An all-expense paid shopping spree of one of Cairo's wonderful bazaar's. Buy whatever you want and it'll be shipped straight to your home."
Heather rolled her eyes. "Doesn't matter. Like I said, we're taking-"
"We chose the shopping spree!" Alejandro said excitedly.
"What!?"
Don clapped his hands together. "Excellent. You have until we start the next leg of the race." With that, he walked away.
Alejandro smirked. He was completely unaware of his partner, gnashing her teeth.
Back at the Pyramid, teams were still struggling to make the climb.
"Just…one…more…" Tyler struggled to reach for the next block. When he finally reached it, he pulled himself up and looked at the view. The jock had made it to the top and was immensely proud.
Leshawna crawled behind him. "Alright, we're not too far behind. It's downhill from here, so it should be easier."
Tyler scoffed. "The easy way? We don't do anything the easy way." He took his first step down. But as soon as his foot touched the stone, a piece of it cracked. The sudden change in balance caused Tyler to slip and tumble towards the bottom. His face hit nearly every block of stone before he reached the bottom. He landed face first onto the sand.
Leshawna rolled her eyes. By this point, she was used to it. "I gotta admit though," She shrugged. "The dude did get down there faster than I could've." She started carefully maneuvering herself down the Pyramid.
As soon as she was out of sight, the Opposite Friends had arrived at the top. "Can we take a break?" Dave panted. "We're not in last place, so I doubt it'll hurt us if we stop."
"Fine." Shawn said begrudgingly. "But, make it short. We're way too close to mind control devices and I'm not sure my tinfoil hat will be enough."
The germaphobe said nothing.
"Man, we're so far behind."
Dave's eyes suddenly shot open. Reluctantly, he turned and, sure enough, Sky was standing right next to him. She hadn't noticed him immediately, but did after he looked at her. "Oh…hey…Dave."
There was an awkward silence. "Hey…S-Sky."
Neither said another word to each other. Maybe they might've had it not been for… "Can you believe aliens built these things?!" Sugar suddenly barged her way to the top. In the process, she had bumped into the former lovebirds. Sky was able to stop herself, but Dave wasn't as lucky. His foot slipped off the rock and he went rolling down the Pyramid, like Tyler had before.
Speaking of, he was nearly crushed by the Normal Guy had Leshawna not pulled him out of the way, just in time.
Shawn and the Pahkitew Pros made their way down shortly after. Sky winced at the sight of Dave's mangled body, but didn't speak. She and her partner went to get an ATV.
"Can you believe how misinformed some people are?" Shawn said, as he watched the other team drive off. Dave just let out a muffled groan in response.
From the top, Ella was watching them. She had seen everything and, needless to say, was absolutely mortified.
"Sisters, second place." Don announced.
Kitty and Emma high-fived. "That's how a veteran team does it!" Emma said proudly.
"Yeah, you focused too much on the challenge and we could barely use any footage with you." Don mumbled, then looked up. "And not far behind are the Know-It-Alls."
The duo stepped onto the carpet of completion. Noah smirked when he saw his girlfriend. "In some cases, running behind you isn't always a bad thing." He wiggled his eyebrows and looked down slightly.
Emma blushed and gave him a light push. "Noah!" The Sisters and Noah laughed. Then Emma saw Courtney. She cleared her throat and walked up to her. "Now, I really hope you're treating my Noah with the respect he deserves. Because if you aren't I'll-" Emma stopped. Courtney walked right past her, completely silent and eyes firmly planted on the ground.
The three watched her in bewilderment. "What's up with her?" Kitty asked.
Noah shrugged. "She's quiet, at least. Though I don't know if that's a good thing."
Don stared. Scarlett proudly stood in front of him. Behind her was a very tired looking rhino. Izzy was laying on its back. A rope was attached to the animal's horn and it was pulling the ATV behind it.
"I don't know if that's legal." Don said, still shocked.
"The rules stated that we need to cross with our vehicle." Scarlett pointed. "Both myself and my partner-"
"-and Reginald!" Izzy said, pointing at the rhino.
"-and our all-terrain vehicle have made it across. I fail to see what's so perplexing about that."
"No, no, I get that. You're in third place. Congrats. I mean, I don't know if this…" He gestured at the rhino. "...is legal. Like, I'm pretty sure there are laws against what I'm seeing."
Scarlett rolled her eyes. Izzy got off the animal and the two walked off.
They hadn't been gone long, when Don heard heavy breathing. He saw Mary and Ellody pushing along their ATV. Both were red in the face and sweating bullets.
"We…we've arrived." Ellody said.
"Geniuses!" Don welcomed. "Congratulations on coming in fourth…" He paused. "...is what I would say, if you weren't getting a penalty."
"Oh…right." Mary panted. "The penalty. An irrelevance. We'll take it. There's still plenty of teams who haven't finished."
Don chuckled. "Don't say that just yet. Because you're stuck here for the next ninety minutes." A buzzing sound rang out and the red digital clock that showed one hour and thirty minutes appeared.
Ellody gasped. "Wait, what? That's an absurd amount of time. There's already so many teams here, why such a monstrous penalty?"
"You guys skipped the challenge." Don answered plainly. "Honestly, ninety minutes seems pretty generous."
The shorter genius glared at her partner, who was conveniently looking the other way.
The camera cut back to the Pyramid, where the Fashion Friends and Gal Pals were climbing together. Lindsay and Caitlin were further ahead and engrossed in conversation.
"So, you're one of the top customers at the Khaki Barn?" Lindsay gasped in astonishment, "Even nearly filled out your very own Khaki Card?"
"Oh yeah, totally!" Caitlin giggled in response, "Though…I kind of lost it in some big fake-number fiasco with my boyfriend at the time. That wasn't fun."
"Bummer," Lindsay mumbled, "I've always wanted to fill out my own Khaki Card!" She giggled, "Maybe you could give me a few pointers for some major Khaki shoppage!"
Caitlin gave the dumb blonde a high-five, "Totally! Anything to help a fellow shopper!"
Both girls let out an ear-piercing squeal of girlish delight. A few feet behind them, Jen and Beth were watching the two girls.
Jen smiled, but Beth rolled her eyes, "Umm…Lindsay? We kinda need to concentrate here."
"Oh, sorry. Caitlin is just such a smart shopper."
The Naive Blonde couldn't help but blush red. "Thanks."
"Hey, I've been her best friend for years now," Jen nudged Beth, "And I can tell you that Lindsay is totally right. Caitlin's the best shopper I know!"
"That's great and all, but this is a competition, guys." huffed Beth, continuing to climb. "Come on, Lindsay."
Lindsay complied, and put her concentration back upon climbing the pyramid when suddenly she heard Caitlin add, "Did you know I'm also the number one most frequent customer at the Galleria Huntington's?"
"Really!?" Lindsay squealed, only to be interrupted by Beth clearing her throat loudly. "Sorry."
At the bottom of the Pyramid, Blaineley impatiently tapped her foot. A taxi pulled up behind her. Out stepped a very exhausted looking Sierra. A nagging sound followed.
"...and we're practically in last place because you had to pick her up." Stephanie belted. "And another thing-"
"Good luck in the race." Devin said to Sierra. "We gotta get going now." He grabbed his partner's wrist and they ran towards the Pyramid.
Sierra waved, then sighed. "I don't know how Devin deals with her. She's so loud and bossy, it almost reminds me of-"
"Yeah, yeah whatever." Blaineley waved her hand. "In case you haven't realized, we're practically in last place with them. No thanks to you."
"You pushed me out of the taxi, how is that my fault?"
"When I want a little more room, I want a little more room. Now, chop, chop. We have some climbing to do."
Sierra raised an eyebrow. "So I'm not gonna have to carry you this time?"
"If you carry me up there, my dress is just gonna get dusty." She reached down to her feet. "But you are gonna have to carry my shoes. No way am I doing this in heels." She unlatched her shoes and hastily handed them to Sierra.
The superfan wasn't a fan of the idea, but Blaineley had already walked off.
Confessional (Sierra): "I guess carrying shoes is better than carrying that…" She looked back to make sure her partner wasn't around. "I probably shouldn't finish that sentence."
Tyler and Leshawna were pushing along their ATV, when they heard a sound. Both turned to see another team pitifully spluttering towards them.
"Why are you slowing down?" Bridgette asked
Emma M. grunted. "It's not me. We're out of gas."
The ATV soon came to a stop. The blonde surfer sighed. "No way a show like this would cheap out on gas. We probably picked one with only half a tank." She then looked up, and smiled. "Hey, Leshawna!"
The ponytailed-girl smirked and walked over. "What's up, girlfriend!" The two shared in a small hug. "How's it going? How's Geoff?"
"Great and great. He's really excited about the wedding." Bridgette then looked towards her partner. "By the way, this is my friend Emma. She's a surfer like me."
Tyler perked up at this. "A surfer?" He smirked confidently. "Y'know? I used to surf all the time. I was pretty good at it too."
Leshawna rolled her eyes, but Emma M. was enamored. "Really?! I was a terrible surfer…and still kinda am. Ya got any tips for me?"
"Oh…" Tyler's confidence suddenly took a dip. He struggled to think of something to say. "Umm…bend your knees and…use your arms?"
Bridgette and Leshawna both gave puzzled looks at their former fellow Total Drama contestant. Tyler, on the other hand, didn't seem all that confident in his answer.
"Alright, bend my knees, use my arms. Got it." Emma M. nodded.
The jock sighed in relief.
A few seconds later, DJ and Momma sped past them. They had run out of gas but because DJ was pushing the ATV, with Momma sitting at the front, it wasn't much of an issue.
"The Survivalists have finished," Don announced. "And not far behind them are the Rivals." He turned to the duo. "Sixth place. Gotta say, I was not expecting you to do this well."
"Well, luckily you got a guy who knows his way around sabotaging cars." Duncan boasted, shooting a thumb at his chest.
"Yeah," Harold added. "Thanks to Duncan's nerdiness, we actually did pretty well."
The ex-con glared at his partner. "That doesn't make me a nerd, doofus."
"Of course, it does. You're passionate about something and enjoy showing others your many mad skills."
Duncan just scoffed, but didn't say anything. The two walked off. A few seconds later, another team arrived at the carpet.
"Pahkitew Pros." Don acknowledged. "Seventh place."
Sky grunted and stamped her foot. "Seventh?! Seriously!?"
"Hey, it ain't so bad." Sugar comforted. "We're not in last place."
"Yeah, that makes me feel soooo much better." Her partner grumbled.
"Reminds me of a certain pair of ice dancers," Don looked up. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you did better than this team. Opposite Friends, eighth place."
Sky sighed. "That doesn't-" She froze. Quickly she turned around, glancing up and down at an uncomfortably familiar face, Dave. "Hi…"
There was an awkward moment of silence with the vest-wearing boy twitching and forcibly looking away. He flicked his head back towards her, "Uh…hi." Another awkward silence followed, without a word, Dave turned away from Sky and walked off. The Olympian also looked in a different direction
Nearby, the Geniuses were getting nervous. "Our odds of winning are depleting at an astronomical rate!" Ellody said, pacing around apprehensively.
Mary stood next to her, trying to remain calm, but clearly looking nervous.
An ATV was zooming across the desert, with Gossipers riding it. Blaineley was at the front, while Sierra sat behind it.
Confessional (Gossipers): "I'm honestly surprised." Sierra started. "I didn't think you'd want to drive the ATV. I was certain you'd make me do it."
"It's not that I wanted to do it." Blaineley grumbled. "You slowed us down so much, I knew it was up to me to put us back in the front."
Sierra raised an eyebrow. "Wait, but I haven't-"
"Oh, excuses, excuses. I sometimes don't understand how you made it into the final four in World Tour."
Sierra narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything.
Up ahead, the Hosts were making steady progress in their ATV. Chris was trying desperately not to fall off due to how much space his partner was taking up.
"Remind me, again." He said. "Why didn't you let me drive?"
Chef grunted. "Would you really prefer being wedged between me and the ATV?"
Chris stayed silent, which gave Chef his answer.
Coming up behind them were the Gossipers. Blaineley spotted the duo and started speeding up.
"What are you doing?" Sierra asked, nearly falling off.
"Something that should've been done a long time ago…" She revved the engine again as she darted towards the Hosts.
Chris looked back, just in time. "Punch it, Chef! That crazy blonde is on our tail."
Chef glanced behind him and saw what was coming towards them. He turned the handles and the ATV took off. Blaineley suddenly lost control and she swayed.
The back and forth movement caused Sierra to bump around. It became too much and she fell off the side and onto the ground. She rolled for a few seconds. She spat out some sand and got a feel for her surroundings. One thing became apparent.
Blaineley was gone.
"Ninth to the Mother and Son, tenth to the Cousins, eleventh to the Surfer Girls, twelfth to The TV All-Stars, and thirteenth to The Gal Pals!" Don narrated, images of the teams popping up on screen. It cut back to the chill zone, "and here comes team fourteen now!"
The Hosts rolled onto the carpet. Chris immediately got off and went up to the current host. "Don't look so surprised, Don. I know you were probably expecting us to come in last."
"What? Of course not." Don said cynically. "I'm not at all surprised that you're not eliminated first. Especially when all your opponents are younger, smarter, faster, more experienced and all have better hair than you do."
"What does hair have to do with doing well in a race?" Chef asked.
"Wow, Chef. I was not expecting you to get offended by a hair joke." He purposely paused, with a cheeky grin. "Actually, nevermind. I understand."
The Hosts grumbled and walked off. "He is totally gonna sabotage us at some point." Chris whispered.
Don overheard him. "He wishes." He said to the camera. "Four teams remain. Who's going home in our first leg of the race?" He looked around. "And where is that intern with my drink? If he doesn't show up soon, I'll…well, I can't fire him, but I'll…give him a stern talking to is what I'll do, yeah. That'll show him."
Sierra had been trudging along the desert. Her hair was messed up and her clothes were dusty. But despite that, she didn't seem in that bad of a mood. She turned when a loud nagging noise rang out.
"What are you doing!? Why are you slowing down?!"
"I'm not. The thing must be out of gas."
"I told you I should've driven."
"I don't see how that would've made a difference. We'd still be out of gas."
Devin and Stephanie rolled up to the Gossiper, before coming to a complete stop.
"Great." The Diva groaned. "Looks like our chances of winning just went from unlikely to sucktastic."
Devin was about to respond, but he saw Sierra standing nearby. "Oh, hey Sierra. Where's your partner?"
Sierra sighed. "She went on without me. I got knocked off and I don't think she realized."
"Well, why aren't you running to catch up? It is a race, after all."
"Yeah," Stephanie chimed in. "No matter how annoying, slow and physically incapable your partner is, you shouldn't just give up." She was looking at Devin when she said this.
"Exactly," Devin added. "Now, we gotta go. Not many people are left." He turned to his partner. "Do you want me to push or should we both do it?"
"Well, since you're so smart, why don't you decide?"
"Alright. If we both push, we should get there quicker." He got to the back of his ATV. "Ready?"
Stephanie went to the side and put her hands on the handle bars. "Whatever."
The duo headed off, leaving the lone Gossiper behind. She thought to herself about what Devin had said. She was in a race so…why wasn't she running?
The next ATV showed up at the Carpet of Completion.
Don smirked. "Well, if it isn't the poor man's Chris."
Blaineley got off and rolled her eyes. "Sure you aren't looking in a mirror, Donnie?"
The host wasn't phased. "I don't think so, but I'm pretty sure we just lost three thousand viewers simply by you being on screen." Blaineley grumbled, while Don laughed. Then he noticed something. "Aren't you missing someone?"
The blonde gossiper glared. "Haha, very funny. Were you expecting me to arrive with the grim reaper to take me away?"
"Well, I was expecting you to arrive with…your partner."
"What?" Blaineley turned around. Sure enough, Sierra was nowhere in sight. "That little…whatever. I'm still here, so it doesn't matter."
"Actually, it does. I need both teammates present in order for it to count."
Blaineley scoffed. "I have enough talent between the two of us that it shouldn't matter. It isn't my fault that my partner decided to bail."
"Don't blame her…" Don mumbled to himself. Before Blaineley could respond, Don tilted his head. "Well, as fun as this was, Mildred, I still have a job to do." He pushed Blaineley to the side, as a familiar nagging sound came into earshot.
"Push…harder!"
"We're almost…there."
"We've probably already lost because of you."
Devin looked up, noticing they were right in front of the host. "Wait, we're here."
"Devin and Stephanie." Don welcomed. "Firstly, thank you for not running me over and, secondly, congrats on not coming in last. You're the fifteenth team to arrive."
"Really?! Fifteenth?!" Stephanie grunted. "Why am I stuck with such a lousy excuse for a partner?"
"Hey, at least it isn't last." Devin said optimistically.
The Diva walked off, while Don pondered. "Y'know? I need a team name for you guys."
"Didn't we already have one?" Devin asked
"Nope." He then pulled out a clipboard and a pencil. He erased something, then quickly filled something in. "Devin and Stephanie. Congratulations. Your new team name is officially…The Best Haters!"
Devin raised an eyebrow. "Best Haters? I mean, I get it because it's combining our old team names, and I guess it makes a little more sense than Best Daters…"
"So, what's the problem?"
"Well…we don't hate each other."
An ear piercingly loud scream echoed from off-screen. Don looked over, knowingly. "Yeah, it's all gumdrops and ice cream over there." Devin shrugged and walked off. Don then turned to the Geniuses. "And then there were three…or two and a half, I guess. You have twenty minutes remaining on your penalty. Still sure skipping the challenge was a good idea?"
Ellody and Mary cast nervous glances, as they watched the countdown timer slowly go down.
Meanwhile, Sierra was still walking along the road towards her destination. But despite the fact that she was practically in last place, she wasn't in any hurry. She was deep in thought and wasn't sure how to do it. Maybe writing in her blog would help.
She pulled out her phone and began typing. Hey, guys. It's your number one superfan here. I figured I should let you know where I am in the race. I don't think I'm doing too well right now. I haven't seen any racers since Devin and Stephanie passed me. I actually saw them after… she paused, considering her next words. …Blaineley knocked me off our ATV. I don't think she meant to do it, but I doubt she's coming back for me. She stopped again, putting her phone down.
Confessional (Sierra): "Do I really want to keep doing this?" She said, "I agreed to do the show so I could get more material for my blog, but I barely have anything." A twinge of anger flickered in her eye. "And Blaineley's been…awful to deal with. Had I known she would've been my partner I-" The superfan froze.
"While I can't compliment your overall performance," Don said. "I can congratulate you for not coming in last." Lindsay and Beth hugged each other, followed by a squeal in delight. Don winced. "Yes, celebrate your mediocrity."
The Fashion Friends walked off, passing the Geniuses and Blaineley, who was nonchalantly filing her nails. Only five minutes remained for the duo's penalty.
"I don't see her." Ellody noted.
"Perhaps our chances are still alive." Mary added. "Maybe my strategy wasn't such a blunder as you had thought."
Her partner glared, but was cut off by the gossiper. "She's probably sprinting here right now. After all, anyone should be grateful to have a partner like me."
Ellody and Mary shared puzzled looks, before something caught their eyes. They gasped, which Blaineley did not react to.
Sierra was in sight and walking towards the carpet.
"Gadzooks!" the Geniuses yelled.
"Don't know what you're so worried about," Blaineley interrupted, still not looking up from her nails. "You won't be having to deal with a mediocre partner for the rest of the season."
Sierra heard this and glared. She also started slowing her pace.
Don noticed. "Well, looks like Sierra isn't in any rush to finish."
"You're right about that," Blaineley added again. "She doesn't know how good she has it. Otherwise she'd have shown up hours ago."
Once more, Sierra slowed down. She was only twenty-five feet away from the carpet. Ellody and Mary were perplexed, as was the host. "Blaineley, you might want to look at this."
The blonde gossiper groaned and finally took notice of her partner. However, she quickly went back to filing. "It's about time. Now hurry up. We'll have a talk about your insubordination later."
Sierra had enough. With a huff, she stopped…directly in front of the carpet.
That got her partner's attention, but she remained unimpressed. "Oh, what's the matter? Can't take a joke? Now go on and step forward and I might be able to convince the producers to let you stay in first class with me on our next flight." Sierra didn't budge. "I don't know what point you're trying to make, but it's not a good one." Still, her partner remained where she was. Blaineley glanced at the countdown clock and got nervous. There were only thirty seconds left. "Ok, very funny. We're all laughing. It's a great joke. Now get to the punchline, before-" Sweat started dripping down her forehead and her voice stammered. "J-J-Just cross it already! I can't come in last place on a show like this. My reputation is already hanging on by a thread!"
Mary and Ellody went wide-eyed, as they realized what Sierra was doing. The tall gossiper remained stoic and crossed her arms. By now, Blaineley was practically begging. "Alright, if you finish the race now, I'll…I'll give you a free interview with me. I know so much about so many people, it's not even funny."
"Five seconds remaining…" Don cut in. "Five…"
"Wait, hold on!"
"Four…"
"You can't do this to me!"
"Three…"
"What'll it take for you to move!?"
"Two…"
"I…I…"
"One…"
"Damnit, Sierra! Just take another step, before-"
A buzzing sound rang out. Without wasting a second, Ellody and Mary stepped onto the carpet of completion. "Saved by the buzzer." Don announced. "Geniuses, you're seventeenth." The duo sighed in relief.
"Looks like my hypothesis was correct." Mary bragged, which resulted in a glare from her partner.
Blaineley fell to her knees and crumbled into the sand. Sierra took a deep breath and exhaled. Don walked up to her. "Sierra, it is with the deepest regret that I tell you you're eliminated from the Race."
Despite her disappointment, the gossiper managed a smile.
The host then turned to her partner. "And Blaineley…"
The blonde gossiper feebly turned around. Don pointed at her and burst into a fit of laughter. Blaineley went red with anger, stood up and stomped towards her former partner. "What is the meaning of this!? Why would you throw away an opportunity like this, and for what? To prove a point? To humiliate me? To-" Without saying a word, Sierra walked forward, away from her partner. "Hey! Don't you ignore me. I'm Blaineley. I put Total Drama on the map. I'm terrific. Blainerific, even! I'm-"
The shot faded into a montage of the Gossipers during the Race. Sierra started the speech. "I am a little bummed to be the first eliminated. I was really looking forward to competing again, but I'm also proud of myself. If it means not having to deal with an annoying partner, I don't regret a thing."
"Me, annoying?" Blaineley's voice spluttered. "Try having to deal with a useless partner who's proud that she just blew a shot at a million dollars." She received no response as the shot faded back to the team, as they walked off, with the Pyramids in the background. "Oh, the silent treatment again? Alright, big deal. I can do the same thing." Silence followed between the two…for about five seconds. "Stop ignoring me!"
Don chuckled, back at the carpet. "What fun." He turned to the camera. "One team down, seventeen to go. Now that the show has gotten seventy five percent more bearable with Mildred gone, we can get things rolling again. Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of…The Ridonculous Race…the Re-"
A tall, tan blue haired guy with a purple shirt walked in, carrying a half full glass of milk. "Here's your drink, Mr. Donculous." He said lackadaisically.
Don took one look at the drink, then to the guy. He scowled. "Damnit, Jonesy! That's not even what I asked for-"
The camera quickly cut to black.
Now, people who have known me for a while, know that I don't like Sierra. And before anyone accuses me of bias, let me remind you that this is a group project. I came late into it, when the elimination order had already been decided. I can only hope you at least enjoyed her character arc (especially with humiliating Mildred too).
Getting to write a lot of these scenes makes me realize how much fun some of these dynamics are. I never expected that Stephanie and Devin would be one of my favorite teams to write for. But what about you? What teams are you enjoying so fair? And who do you think is going next? Where will our next destination be? Find out next time! Also, Jonesy (also from 6teen) is Don's new intern. What hijinks will he bring to the table?
Take care and have a good one!
Final placement:
1st: Dynamic Drama Duo
2nd: Sisters
3rd: Know-It-Alls
4th: Psycho High IQs
5th: Survivalists
6th: Rivals
7th: Pahkitew Pros
8th: Opposite Friends
9th: Mother and Son
10th: Cousins
11th: Surfer Girls
12th: Reality TV All-Stars
13th: Gal Pals
14th: Hosts
15th: Stephanie and Devin (Now the Best Haters)
16th: Fashion Friends
17th: Geniuses (penalty)
18th: Gossipers (eliminated)
Teams Remaining: Survivalists (Zoey & Jasmine), Opposite Friends (Shawn & Dave), Fashion Friends (Beth & Lindsay), Cousins (Gwen & Ella), Reality TV All-Stars (Tyler & Leshawna), Hosts (Chris & Chef), Mother & Son (DJ & Momma), Surfer Girls (Bridgette & Emma M.), Psycho High IQs (Izzy & Scarlett), Pahkitew Pros (Sugar & Sky), Gal Pals (Jen & Caitlin), Dynamic Drama Duo (Heather & Alejandro), The Sisters (Kitty & Emma), The Best Haters (Stephanie & Devin), The Geniuses (Ellody & Mary), The Know-It-Alls (Noah & Courtney) and The Rivals (Duncan & Harold).
Elimination Order:
18th: The Gossipers (Sierra & Blaineley)
