Disclaimer: Total Drama and it's associated characters are the property of Fresh TV. Please support the official release.
Author Note: Surprise! I'm not dead, nor have I discontinued this story or anything. More details will be below but I did want to say its good to be back.
Picking up immediately where he had left off, Chris spread his arms and said, "Welcome back to the climactic two-part season finale of Total Drama High School! When we left off, Jennifer and Bridgette had both completed the tenth challenge in the massive recap challenge, with Jessie's go kart challenge posing little challenge to either girl. As such, Noah was eliminated, leaving him just short of the opportunity to win it all. So with only ten challenges left, which of our blonde-haired contestants will come out on top? You'll just have to watch to find out! Right here on the finale of Total! Drama! High School!
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: Yes! Noah's finally out! It took a bit longer than it should have, if you ask me, but at least it happened. I may have forgiven him for what he did, but that doesn't mean I thought he deserved to win, so at least I don't have to worry about that happening.
Bridgette: I can't believe that I'm in the final two. I thought it was a miracle I made it as far as I did season one, and now to surpass that and actually have a chance at winning? If you had told me this would happen before the season started I wouldn't have believed you.
The two girls were moving at a brisk pace to the cafeteria, where their next challenge awaited. The pair agreed that they would go together, at least to start. Once the next challenge started, they would get serious again and compete against each other. The two were idly chatting and before either knew it, they were at the cafeteria. The two looked at each other and nodded, before they pushed open the doors at the same time and entered. Inside waiting for them were Gwen and Danny.
"Good morning. Congrats on beating Noah," Danny greeted the two.
"That's right, you two were eliminated at the same time. Everything since then has been such a blur that I forgot it was a double elimination," Bridgette noted.
Gwen nodded and said, "And while I'm not entirely happy about how I was eliminated, it seems like everything worked out in the end. I mean, Joseph, Courtney and Noah are all out, and they were really the only ones I didn't want to win."
"Didn't you and Courtney make up," Danny questioned.
"We promised to be civil with each other. And after the way she treated me this season, I think I'm allowed to have wanted her to lose," Gwen replied.
The honorable teen nodded, "Fair enough."
"I don't mean to be rude, but could we find out about our challenge? Bridgette and I still have a long day ahead of us," Jennifer interjected.
"Of course, how inconsiderate of me. I'll get to it quickly, if you recall we were eliminated in the cooking challenge. Well your challenge is to cook us breakfast. Originally whoever got here first would get to pick who to cook for, but since you two got here at the same time, we can't do that," Danny explained.
"We could flip a coin to see who gets to pick," Bridgette suggested.
Gwen shrugged and said, "Works for me. I've got one right here."
"You call it. You finished the last challenge first," Bridgette said to Jennifer.
Gwen flipped the coin into the air and Jennifer called out, "Tails!"
The goth caught the coin and opened her hand to reveal that it was Tails. "Well Jennifer, who are you going to pick," Gwen asked, looking up from the coin in her hand.
"I'll pick you, Gwen," the performing artist said as she walked over to the goth.
"Guess I'm cooking for you," Bridgette said as she went over to Danny.
Gwen nodded and said, "Jennifer, you're going to make an omelet for me. I'm not that picky about it, but some vegetables and a type of meat in it would be nice."
"Sure thing! Any preference on toast," Jennifer asked, eager to cook again.
Gwen's eyes widened slightly in surprise and she said, "I have no idea what's back there to be honest. Surprise me."
Meanwhile Danny was placing his order with Bridgette, "I don't have any real preference of the three, just so long as it isn't plain."
"So like stuffed waffles or pancakes or topped French toast," Bridgette asked.
The martial artist nodded, "That's right. And again, I have no real preference between the three, so feel free to make whichever is easiest for you." With the two girls briefed, they went into the kitchen to quickly prepare the food.
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: Not to sound too cocky, but this should be a snap. Cooking's one of my hobbies back home so I should be able to whip up something good real quick.
Bridgette: Well I guess this isn't too bad. I mean, I could have to be making steak or something. At least I have experience cooking breakfast foods.
The two girls were partway through cooking their meals when they met by the cooking supplies to grab some more food. "How's it going? You almost done with this challenge," Jennifer asked.
Bridgette nodded and said, "Just about. I just need to finish my dish and add something sweet as a topping. I'm thinking strawberries."
The performing artist nodded and said, "That sounds pretty good. I need some fruit myself to finish my side dish."
"Is it a fruit salad? Because I could go for one right about now," Bridgette asked.
"It is. If I've got any left over, I'll send it your way," Jennifer confirmed before adding, "I'm not exactly sure how to bring this up, so I'm just going to say it. I'm going to be giving it my all to win, and I hope you do the same."
Bridgette turned to Jennifer and said, "Of course I'm going to try my hardest. Why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know, just an odd feeling I had. We were working together for so long to beat Noah that I was afraid that once he was gone you weren't going to take things as seriously."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure that if you win, you earn that victory. I might not be the strongest or the smartest, but I'll still give it my all."
Jennifer smiled and said, "Thanks. It was silly of me to think any differently. Well, I should be getting back to my food."
"Don't worry about it. And yeah, I should be getting back too," Bridgette said as both girls returned to their food.
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: I don't know what I was doing, bringing that up. I guess I was just afraid that Bridgette wouldn't take me seriously as a competitor.
Bridgette: I get why Jennifer was concerned, we're friends after all. But ever since Chris said this was the last challenge, I've been thinking about how I'm actually close to winning it all. Even as the number of people left kept dropping, I didn't really think that I could make the finale. But now that I'm here, of course I'm going to be serious about this.
Both Bridgette and Jennifer had finished cooking their meals and were currently bringing them out to their judges. "Wow, you guys finished at the same time? You do know that there can only be one winner, right," Gwen said, a snarky tone in her voice.
"Well maybe you should have made your challenge more of a direct competition," Jennifer shot back, a playful grin on her face.
"You can't fault us too much. There's only so much that we could do with the limitations of our challenge," Danny pointed out before he said, "Now not to rush you but Chris made us skip breakfast for this challenge, so I'm starving." As if to respond to the honorable teen, his stomach growled in agreement.
Bridgette giggled and said, "He's right, let's get going."
Jennifer brought a covered dish over to Gwen and said, "I made a fairly traditional Western omelet with a little bit of spicy sausage mixed in. Just a little bit to add a kick though, I didn't want to overdo it. And there's also some sourdough toast and a small fruit salad."
"Wow, you went all out. I'm glad you picked me," Gwen said with a laugh as she began to eat.
Bridgette, meanwhile had brought over her dish, "So I made a plate of French toast topped with strawberries, with maple syrup to accompany it. I also made some hash brown potatoes and there's a little bit of vegetarian sausage. I hope you don't mind that it's not real sausage."
"Does it taste like regular sausage," Danny asked.
"According to the packaging, yes. I wouldn't know though," Bridgette admitted.
Danny shrugged and said, "Works for me. I don't care what it's made of, I just care how it tastes." The honorable teen then began to eat as well.
It was quiet for a few minutes as the two judges ate and Jennifer and Bridgette stood around awkwardly. After a couple of minutes, Danny looked up and said, "Wait, did we not tell you where to go next? My apologies, Courtney is waiting for you in the gym."
Bridgette and Jennifer nodded and the pair headed over to the gym. Upon entering the pair was greeted by not just Courtney, but two other people as well.
"Geoff," Bridgette happily exclaimed.
"BRIDGE," Geoff shouted, seemingly even happier. The two ran at each other and hugged and kissed each other, happy to be reunited.
Jennifer, while happy as well, was able to control herself a bit better as she walked over to Trent and hugged him. "So this is twice now that I've run into you. Why do I feel like it won't be the last," Jennifer said, a grin on her face.
Trent had a sly smirk on his face as he said, "Who knows, you may see me again before the challenge is over."
"Okay, I know you guys are glad to see each other, but we do have a challenge to get to. And then several more after mine. I'll cut to the chase. If you don't remember I was eliminated in the prom challenge. While I could have you do another dance, I want to make it a bit more refined. You'll be doing a tango with your boyfriend. You don't have to do any fancy moves, but you will need to do a decently long dance. I have some guides on the floor to show you what the steps are in case you don't know what they are. And that's about it. Any questions," Courtney explained. Bridgette and Geoff were still embracing each other, kind of oblivious to what was going on.
Jennifer raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything to her opponent. Instead, the performing artist said, "Will you stop us once our dancing has been sufficient?"
"That's right," Courtney confirmed with a nod.
"All I needed to hear. Let's go Trent," Jennifer nearly dragged her boyfriend over to the instructional mats on the ground.
Bridgette finally let go of Geoff and turned to Courtney, asking, "So what's our challenge?" Courtney sighed, as this was going to be a long day.
Restroom Confessional
Bridgette: Okay maybe I got a little caught up in my reunion with Geoff. Can you blame me though? I seriously love the guy.
Jennifer: Maybe it's a little dishonest, but I'm not going to let an opportunity to get a lead slip by. Bridgette may be one of my best friends, but at the end of the day, one of us still has to lose, and I would rather it not be me.
Trent and Jennifer were following the guide that Courtney had left, but it was clear that Trent was struggling more than Jennifer. "I'm surprised you're having trouble with this Trent," Jennifer remarked.
"Well I've never tangoed before, so I'm diving into it head first," the musician replied.
Jennifer tilted her head and asked, "Wait, you've never done a tango before? But you've been popular with girls for years, surely you've gone to a formal dance or two before this."
"I have, but normally I get tapped to provide entertainment. Nothing like live music after all," Trent stated, before asking, "So when did you learn how to dance like this?"
The performing artist giggled and said, "This is going to shock you, but it was for a play. It was a romantic play and the climax of the show had a formal dance part, so I had to learn the steps for the role."
"Well then it's a good thing I've got someone to teach me," Trent chuckled as the two continued to dance.
Geoff and Bridgette meanwhile were having a bit more trouble, as Geoff on a couple of occasions miss stepped and caused the pair to lose what momentum they had. As the party obsessed teen missed yet another step, he said, "Sorry Bridge, I know I'm not very good at this."
"Don't worry Geoff, Courtney said it didn't have to be perfect. Besides, better we get the practice in now for when we have our proms, right," Bridgette reassured her boyfriend with a smile.
Geoff tipped his cowboy hat down slightly and said, "Yeah but I don't want to be the reason you lose."
The surfer took her hands off of Geoff, breaking their tango stance for a moment as she plucked his hat from his head and placing it on her own, before saying, "Hey, relax, I've got time to make up the ground. Just take a deep breath and we'll keep at it. Besides, Jennifer doesn't have a lead on me yet."
As if tempting fate, Courtney spoke up, "Alright Jennifer, I've seen enough. You can move on to the next challenge out at the track."
"Alright! I hate to leave you like this Trent, but I've got a challenge to win," Jennifer called out.
Trent kissed her forehead and said, "Go on. I'll still be here when all is said and done."
"Right," the performing artist said as she left the room.
Geoff grabbed ahold of Bridgette, surprising the surfer, and said, "Alright Bridge, I can do this, I'm sure of it." Bridgette smiled and nodded as the two began to dance once more.
Restroom Confessional
Bridgette: Geoff's a real sweetheart. The way he seemed to get serious when Jennifer went on to the next challenge was really touching. I know he wants me to win, but I don't think I've ever seen him serious like this.
(Track)
Jennifer made it to the track where she saw Nicholas standing there, talking to Jessie. The mechanic saw the performing artist approach and waved her over. "So we meet again," Nicholas joked as Jennifer got within earshot.
She giggled and said, "I guess so. What's my challenge?"
"Getting right to the point eh? I can respect that," Nicholas said with a nod before jerking a thumb over his shoulder and adding, "So you'll have to run a booby-trapped obstacle course on the track. Nothing too dangerous to worry about as I got rid of the explosions, but I may have added a couple other things to keep you on your toes. Just complete it and you'll move on."
"That's it? Seems a little simple," Jennifer asked.
Nicholas shrugged his shoulders, "Well I can't exactly make it a race, there's only two of you. I mean I guess I could have made it timed, but I was busy with some other stuff last night, so it is what it is. Although I would hurry up, I think I see Bridgette in the distance."
The performing artist's eyes widened, "She caught up so soon? Guess I better get going."
"Good luck, you may need it," the mechanic said as Jennifer got near the starting line on the ground.
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: I didn't think Bridgette would catch up so quickly. I guess she and Geoff were able to do enough dancing quicker than I though. Oh well, I expect it'll be close to the very end anyway.
Bridgette had been instructed on the challenge and had reported to the starting line. Upon Nicholas giving her a signal to start, she started to take off down the track. The first obstacle in her path was an oil slick. However, unlike the last time this course was used, the slick covered the entire width of the track, making going around impossible. Bridgette tentatively took a step forward, unsure how slippery the surface was. As she touched her foot down, she felt it move slightly, but not enough to cause much concern, so long as she took things carefully. Taking care to actually lift her feet when making steps, Bridgette proceeded to make her way across the three large oil slicks.
Jennifer meanwhile had just completed the second obstacle, a conveyor belt that continually moved her backwards, slowing her down, and was now facing down the third. There was a long structure built that went down the next part of the track with what looked like punching bags hanging from it on chains. That in of itself wasn't an issue, but the punching bags were swinging back and forth, a couple almost violently so.
Jennifer looked at what the punching bags were hanging from and noted aloud, "Hmm. Looks like they might also move along a track or something. I guess that means there's no easy way to time this. It might be best to brute force my way through and hope I don't get hit too hard." Jennifer nodded to herself before glancing over her shoulder at where Bridgette was, noting that the surfer was about a third of the way across the conveyor belt.
Jennifer took a deep breath before she started quickly moving forward, trying to keep one of her shoulders in front of her to take most of the impact of the punching bags. As she moved through the course, she got bashed by numerous sandbags, first on her right side, then two on her left. When she was about to reach the end of this part of the course, one came up behind her and hit her particularly hard, taking the wind out of her as she fell to the ground.
"Okay, ouch," Jennifer said with grit teeth as she pulled herself back up, noting that she was just about at the end of this part of the course. Looking back, she saw Bridgette was at the start of this obstacle now. Trying to ignore the pain from falling, Jennifer pressed onwards to the final obstacle, another conveyor belt, this time with hurdles on it. "Okay, how does that even work," Jennifer incredulously asked. She shook her head as she started working on clearing the obstacle.
Restroom Confessional
Nicholas: That last obstacle I'm real proud of. It took a bit of tinkering to get it to come out right, but I'm glad I got it to work. As for the inspiration, well without Bridgette around, Geoff has been hanging out with me and the other day we grabbed some of the others and played Mario Party all day. One thing led to another and here we are.
Jennifer had finally managed to finish the last obstacle, stumbling her way back to Nicholas. The mechanic grinned and said, "How did you like it?"
"I don't even know how you managed to make that last obstacle work," Jennifer stated.
"Ha! Engineering work and a little luck. But that's not why you're here. You want to know where the next challenge is. Your next challenge will be in the auditorium. Luckily, it won't be nearly as intense as this one," Nicholas noted.
Jennifer nodded and ran off. Nicholas nodded to himself and pulled a yo-yo out of his pocket, playing with it for a couple of minutes before Bridgette staggered over. The mechanic looked at the surfer and with concern in his voice asked, "Hey are you alright? You need medical attention or anything?"
"I'm fine. I've been through worse," Bridgette said before adding, "Seriously, I'll be fine."
"Well alright, since I imagine you want to catch up, your next challenge is in the auditorium. And word of advice, don't get too distracted," Nicholas said with a nod.
"Thanks, I'll do my best," Bridgette said with a nod of her own.
(Auditorium)
Geoff was playing around with the settings on what looked like a karaoke machine when he heard the door open. He turned around and his face fell ever so slightly when he saw it was Jennifer. The performing artist approached him and he said, "'Sup brah. You ready for this challenge?"
"Let's go," Jennifer nodded.
"All right. So what's going to happen is you're going to hit random on this karaoke machine and whatever song comes up is the one you have to sing. There's a couple of laptops backstage to help you learn the lyrics When you're ready, come back out and sing it. If you pass, I'll tell you where to go next. If you don't do well enough, you get a new song and you try again," Geoff explained.
Jennifer shook her head and said, "Seems simple enough."
The party lover gestured to the machine and said, "Well then, feel free to find out what song you get."
Jennifer pressed the random button and song titles flashed by quickly for a few moments before it stopped on "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd.
"Huh. I don't remember putting that on the list. Oh well, guess that's what you're singing. Luckily, it's the short version and not the like twenty minute one," Geoff said with a shrug.
The performing artist looked shocked and said, "There's a twenty minute version of that song?"
"Yeah, a lot of their songs are like that for some reason," the party guy said with a nod.
"Well even with the shorter version, I should get started," Jennifer said as she went backstage to learn her lines.
Geoff waited around for a couple more minutes before the door to the auditorium opened again and Bridgette walked in. Geoff ran up to his girlfriend and hugged her, lifting her off her feet and spinning her for a second as he said, "Hey Bridgette, ready for your challenge babe?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," the surfer commented.
"Don't worry, it's not so bad. It's basically like karaoke like we do at those restaurants sometimes. Except you don't get to pick your song. Want to see what you get," Geoff said, carrying his girlfriend to the front of the auditorium.
Bridgette got back onto the ground and said, "Yeah, let's see how lucky I get."
Geoff nodded and pressed the random button on the machine and the list started to flash by quickly before it stopped on "Killer Queen" by Queen. "Ooh, nice. I know it's a bit out of your comfort zone, but I'm sure you'll do fine," Geoff said as he kissed Bridgette on the forehead.
"Thanks. Guess I better go backstage to learn the song," Bridgette said as she went backstage.
Geoff wondered aloud, "I wonder what I would get if I hit random." He did so and the song titles flashed by quickly before stopping on "Knocking on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan. Geoff blinked before remarking, "Good thing I'm not in the challenge."
Restroom Confessional
Bridgette: Okay, so I'm a bit behind, but it's nothing I can't recover from. All I need is for one of the challenges to give Jennifer a hard time and we should be able to get on even ground again.
It took more than a few minutes, but eventually Jennifer came back onto the stage. Geoff noted this and asked, "Ready to sing?"
"I think so," Jennifer replied with a nod. It was at this moment that Bridgette also came back onto the stage.
"Sorry Bridge, but I gotta be fair, Jennifer was ready first so she gets to go first," Geoff said.
"It's alright, I didn't expect any unfair treatment," the surfer remarked.
"Okay, well then, take it away Jennifer," Geoff said as the performing artist approached the mic.
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught in the crossfire of childhood and stardom, blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter, come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision, rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!
Nobody knows where you are, how near or how far.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Pile on many more layers and I'll be joining you there.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
And we'll bask in the shadow of yesterday's triumph,
sail on the steel breeze.
Come on you boy child, you winner and loser,
come on you miner for truth and delusion, and shine
Once Jennifer stopped singing, she looked at Geoff, who seemed to be deep in thought. However he eventually nodded and said, "Sorry about that. I was told to add some suspense. Anyway, you're good to go. Your next challenge is in the art department."
"Alright. See you there Bridgette," Jennifer nodded before leaving the room.
"Alright babe, don't waste any time. Let's get started," Geoff addressed Bridgette. "
R-right," the surfer said before approaching the mic.
She keeps Moët et Chandon
In her pretty cabinet
'Let them eat cake,' she says
Just like Marie Antoinette
A built-in remedy
For Kruschev and Kennedy
At anytime an invitation
You can't decline
Caviar and cigarettes
Well versed in etiquette
Extraordinarily nice
She's a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime
Recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
Wanna try?
To avoid complications
She never kept the same address
In conversation
She spoke just like a baroness
Met a man from China
Went down to Geisha Minah
Then again incidentally
If you're that way inclined
Perfume came naturally from Paris
For cars she couldn't care less
Fastidious and precise
She's a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime
Drop of a hat she's as willing as
Playful as a pussy cat
Then momentarily out of action
Temporarily out of gas
To absolutely drive you wild, wild..
She's all out to get you
She's a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime
Recommended at the price
Insatiable an appetite
Wanna try?
You wanna try...
Unlike last time, Geoff didn't waste any time and said, "You're good to go. I know you can do it babe."
Bridgette smiled, "Thanks Geoff. I'll do my best. Art department, right?"
"You got it. Good luck," Geoff said with a wave as Bridgette left the auditorium.
After a few moments, Trent came out from backstage, along with Cody. The tech geek looked between the two and said, "You guys ready to help me set up my challenge?"
"Let's do it little dude," Geoff nodded.
"Yeah, we need to act quick. Who knows how long it will take to get set up," Trent agreed.
"I think we'll be fine. But we should hurry. We need to make sure we aren't seen by them if they're going between challenges," Cody said as the three began to get to work.
(Art Department)
Bridgette entered the area and saw a set of tables set up in a circle, with Emily in the middle of them. Jennifer was already sitting at one of the tables, working on drawing something. "Hey Bridgette. My challenge is pretty simple. You just need to make a sketch of me. If you're happy with it show me and I'll either tell you where to go next or you have to keep working on it," the dancer greeted.
The surfer nodded and said, "Seems simple enough." She went over to one of the tables, which had a variety of drawing tools on it, and began to work on her sketch of the dancer.
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: I'm kind of glad for a more relaxing challenge. After how hectic a few of the last couple have been, I need a breather. I can't let myself get too comfortable though. However slight it is, I currently have the lead and I don't want to lose it.
It was quiet for a few minutes before Bridgette spoke up, "Emily, can you take a look at this?"
The dancer got up from her stool in the center of the tables and made her way to the surfer before studying the sketch for a moment. "It's not good enough yet, but it's close. I'm sure with another minute or two it'll be sufficient," Emily said before moving to get back to her position in the center of the room.
Before she was able to assume her pose once more, Jennifer said, "Before you get too comfortable, can you give me a bit of critique?"
The dancer nodded and made her way over to the performing artist, studying the sketch for a few moments. Emily then nodded and said, "Looks good enough for me. Your next challenge will be in the computer lab. Good luck!"
Jennifer gave a slight cheer and quickly left the room. Emily turned around and asked, "Are you all set for the moment or do you want me to pose again?"
"Neither actually. If it's alright with you, can you wait over here until I make my adjustments," Bridgette asked.
The dancer nodded and said, "No problem."
The room was quiet save for the sound of pencil on paper for another minute or so before Bridgette asked, "Alright, how is it now?"
Emily glanced at the paper for a moment before she stated, "I think this is good enough to let you move on. You remember where to go, right?"
"The computer lab, right," the surfer asked.
Emily nodded and said, "You got it. Good luck!" Bridgette waved as she left the room.
(Computer Lab)
Jennifer entered the room to see both Megan and Mikey there, the average girl sitting on the gamer's lap. "Am I interrupting," Jennifer asked in an amused tone, her eyebrow raised.
Megan's face reddened with a deep blush as she tried to stammer out an excuse. Mikey chuckled and said, "Despite Megan's reaction here, you didn't interrupt anything. We were just talking. Though I suppose I should let her explain her challenge."
Megan quickly got to her feet and said, "R-right. My challenge will be a Yu-Gi-Oh duel. You win, you move on. If you lose you try again."
Mikey yawned a bit before adding, "I should say that there's a handful of pre-made decks and you'll get one at random. Also since you got here first, you get your choice of opponent. Either Megan or me."
"Well no offense to you Mikey, but I'm ahead so I would rather play Megan. I have a feeling she'll be easier to beat," Jennifer said.
Megan giggled and said, "I have a feeling Mikey will be fine with that. Between helping me with this challenge and preparing his own, he didn't get much sleep last night."
"Yeah, I'm probably going to close my eyes for a few seconds until Bridgette gets here. She's probably not far behind you," Mikey remarked as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. True to his prediction, not a minute or two later the door opened yet again and Bridgette walked in. Mikey opened his eyes and stifled a yawn as he said, "Hey Bridgette. I'm helping Megan out with this one."
The surfer nodded and said, "Okay. What do I have to do?"
"It's simple. We're given random decks and have to play each other. You go on once you beat me. And if you lose, if Megan is free then you can challenge her instead," the gamer explained.
"That's it? No other special rules," Bridgette asked.
Mikey shook his head, "Nope. This challenge is long enough for you guys without any other special rules added in. So shall we begin?"
"I guess," Bridgette remarked as she went over to a computer with Mikey following behind her.
Restroom Confessional
Bridgette: I'm a bit worried that the gap between Jennifer and I is going to widen. Mikey knows more about this game than Megan, so I'm at a disadvantage. The only thing going for me is that we get random cards, so maybe I'll luck out and get strong ones. If only I knew what cards were strong.
Jennifer and Megan were nearing the end of their duel. Jennifer had ended up with a deck centered around a group of cards called Six Samurai while Megan had cards based on a group of machine monsters called Vehicroids. Jennifer drew a card and said, "Okay, since I have two Six Samurai monsters, I can special summon my Great Shogun Shien from my hand. Then I activate my Breakthrough trap. If a six samurai destroys a monster by battle, all my other samurai can attack you directly. So my Six Samurai Zanji will attack your Patroid and my Shogun Shien and Six Samurai Irou will attack you directly to end the game."
"Well played. I guess you can move on. Your next challenge is going to be back in the auditorium. Hopefully Joseph won't be too much of a dick," Megan remarked.
"Ugh, he's next? Just my luck," Jennifer lamented before getting up and leaving the room.
Bridgette noted this as she turned her attention back to her game. She was using an Ancient Gear deck while Mikey was stuck with a deck based around Dark World monsters. "I play Card Destruction, forcing us to discard our entire hands and then draw as many cards as we discarded. And thanks to them being discarded, I can summon my king and queen of Dark World and use them to attack your Ancient Gear Knight and you directly," Mikey noted as he made his move.
Bridgette looked at her cards a moment and said, "Okay, let's see if I do this right. I use polymerization to fuse four Ancient Gear monsters into Chaos Ancient Gear Giant. Then I use Power Bond on it to double its attack. Then since it can attack all your monsters, I'll attack your king and queen to end the duel I think."
The gamer chuckled and said, "You did certainly end the duel. Congrats. Your next challenge is in the auditorium. Good luck, you're my top pick to win."
"Thanks, but unless there's a miracle, I don't think I'll be able to overtake Jennifer," Bridgette sighed.
"Hey, have a little faith. I think you have what it takes," Mikey said with a smile before he yawned again.
"Thanks," the surfer said as she got up and left the room.
Mikey turned his head to look at his girlfriend, "Hey Megan, I want to go over my challenge with you one more time, because I seriously don't think I'll be able to stay awake until the end."
"Sure thing Mike," Megan said with a smile as she walked over and hugged the gamer.
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: The end is so close, only four more challenges! I hope I have what it takes to keep my lead. I would hate to lose it so close to the end. Though if it happens it happens, can't really do anything about it. At least it's Bridgette in the finals with me.
(Auditorium)
Bridgette approached the entrance to the auditorium and could hear a loud racket coming from the room. Entering the room, she could see that it was a drum set, being played by Jennifer while Joseph sat in the audience. Jennifer's playing of the drums lasted only a few more seconds before she stopped playing. Joseph stood up and said, "While it wasn't bad, per se, it wasn't good enough either. The length of the solo could use some work as well as the variety of drums played. I'd ask you to give it another shot now, but it's only fair that Bridgette should have a turn, isn't that right?"
"How did you know I was here," Bridgette questioned.
"I hate to brag, but I'm slightly psychic. Didn't use my powers during the competition because it wouldn't have been fair," Joseph said with a straight face as he turned around. After a few seconds he cracked up laughing and said, "Oh my god I tried to keep a straight face but you should have seen the look on your face! No, I saw the light from the hallway when you opened the door. Anyways, since I'm sure you want me to be out of your hair as soon as possible, I'll make it quick. I'm sure you remember my talent was playing the drums, yes? Well show me what you've got and play a solo. Judged by me, of course. And I was told not to be petty and hold you up just to spite you."
The surfer had a bit of a shocked look on her face and asked, "You aren't upset with us?"
"Oh no, I'm still upset. But there's nothing I can do about it now. And seeing as I honestly couldn't care less about who wins at this point, there's no point to have a grudge right now. But the next season I'm in, oh man you had better watch out," Joseph replied with a chuckle before adding, "Anyways, you want a crack at this or no? Because if you aren't ready, I'll just let Jennifer have another chance."
"No, no, I'll give it a shot. Better to try and fail than not try at all, right," Bridgette said, shaking her hands in front of her.
"Heh, that's the spirit. Well then, the stage is yours," Joseph said, gesturing to the stage.
As Bridgette walked forward, she remembered the advice that Joseph had given Jennifer as she walked in. The surfer took a seat at the drum set and asked, "Is there going to be like a beat or something or am I just winging it?"
"A slight beat will lead you on. How you wish to proceed from there is up to you," Joseph answered as he gestured to someone backstage. A moment later a slow yet steady beat began to play.
Bridgette took a deep breath before she began to play the drums. She had never had practice before yet she had to do it all the same. Taking Joseph's advice into account, she played a variety of drums, including the cymbals. While her performance wasn't very erratic, the interspersing of the different drum beats made it flow well. After what felt like an eternity, but was really just under a minute and a half, Bridgette stopped playing.
She turned to Joseph and asked, "So how was that?"
"In general or in relation to the challenge? I jest, of course you only care about how it was for the challenge. I suppose it was passable. Not fantastic by any means, but good enough for you to move on. Your next challenge will be in the gym. Good luck," Joseph remarked in a bored manner.
Bridgette nodded and quickly left the room. Joseph turned his attention to Jennifer, who still stood on the side of the stage, and said, "Well now, think you can do well enough to pass now?"
"You bet I am! I hope you're ready for me to rock your socks off," Jennifer triumphantly exclaimed as she sat at the drums and started a beat of her own before starting to play.
Restroom Confessional
Bridgette: I'm surprised that I beat Jennifer in a music challenge of all things. I mean, as far as I know she only knows how to play the guitar, so maybe we were on even terms. But she's still a musician and I managed to beat her!"
(Gym)
Bridgette entered the room to find that the virtual reality machine was once again set up, with the beds and headsets from before replaced with about a dozen of more self-contained pods hooked up to it. Getting closer to the center of the room, she made out that ten of them were occupied by Tyler, Lindsay, Harold, Eva, Katie, Sadie, Beth, Justin, Duncan and Owen. Bridgette shivered slightly as she looked at their emotionless faces with their eyes closed. She looked away, starting to get rather unpleasant memories about her time in the virtual world, or rather, her death in the virtual world.
"Hey Bridgette," Izzy called out, causing the blonde to look back and forth. "Up here silly," Izzy's voice came from above the surfer.
Looking up, Izzy was sitting on top of the large central body of the virtual reality machine that all of the pods and other machinery was hooked up to. "Should you be sitting up there," Bridgette asked.
"No, she should not," a stern voice came from behind as Nicholas walked in, "I leave for two minutes to use the bathroom, and you climb up on top of that like a cat."
"My doctor thinks I'm part cat. Or at least that's what my family told me the one time they took me to the vet," Izzy nonchalantly added before jumping down to the ground.
"So uh, why does it look different," Bridgette asked, more so to Nicholas than to Izzy.
"Turns out while the machine works perfectly fine with the beds, there's an added layer of security when using these pods. Keeps you from getting disconnected while in the virtual world, which normally is fine but there is a very slight chance of something going wrong. But that apparently was like one in a million chance of happening," Nicholas explained.
Bridgette looked shocked and said, "That's not exactly reassuring."
Nicholas grumbled, "I would agree with you, but it seems like Chris didn't at the time. But apparently yesterday these pods were delivered so now it's safer."
"I hope so," Bridgette murmured before turning to Izzy and asked, "What do I have to do?"
"So last time we fought the monsters, this time you will be the monsters! Those ten are going to be spread out among a large area in five different robots. Your goal is to destroy one of them. Once you do, you'll leave the virtual world and I'll tell you your next challenge," Izzy explained, rocking back and forth on her feet.
"Okay I guess. Might as well get going," Bridgette said hesitantly before approaching one of the unoccupied pods.
"Don't worry Bridgette, I'm manning things on this end. You're in good hands," Nicholas said with a reassuring smile as Bridgette entered her pod and he started the virtual world uplink. Bridgette closed her eyes as she fell unconscious and the virtual world took her.
(Virtual World)
Bridgette opened her eyes to see herself standing far above the surface of the water. The sky was starting to darken as it was currently just after sunset but otherwise the sky was clear. From her perspective, things looked like the cockpit of one of the robots, with a digital hud displaying her abilities as well as a map with the locations of the five robots she could target. As she looked down, she could see she had a reptilian body covered in scales. "Okay, this is going to be interesting," she remarked to nobody in particular. Noticing Katie and Sadie's robot was closest to her, she dove under the water to ambush her prey.
(Virtual World, Other location)
Jennifer spawned into the world a short amount of time after Bridgette had, and took a moment to analyze her surroundings. Noticing that she was close to Katie and Sadie's location, she turned her head to look that way and saw several bright flashes on the horizon, no doubt the weapons from the robot. "Hmm. If I'm crafty enough I can sneak up on them while they're distracted and steal the kill. I don't want to do that to Bridgette, but I want to win," Jennifer thought aloud. After a moment to think, she nodded and started to move in on the location of Kate and Sadie.
Bridgette leapt up from the water, swiping at the mech in front of her with her claws. Despite it being what should have been a sneak attack, Katie and Sadie were able to effortlessly avoid the attack. Bridgette, knowing both her speed and the speed of the robots, became aggressive, lashing out with multiple quick strikes. However, like the sneak attack before it, Katie and Sadie were able to avoid every attack thrown their way. Bridgette tilted her head in confusion, but then had little time to react as Katie and Sadie's mech threw a spiked fist into her stomach, doing some damage but not being enough to kill her. Their assault continued however, as Bridgette was hit by a rapid barrage of punches. The attack ended with an overhead smash with both hands into Bridgette's head, killing her.
As her monster form fizzled out of existence with an explosion of pixelated polygons, Katie and Sadie's mech turned and caught one of Jennifer's hands mid-strike. Jennifer's monster form widened its eyes in shock as Katie and Sadie swung their other spiked fist at the shoulder of the hand that was caught. Jennifer tried to pull away, which ended up doing more harm than good, as it left the shoulder more exposed. The spiked fist connected, doing lots of damage to the joint. With a quick pull of their other arm, Katie and Sadie ripped the arm clean off, before using it to bludgeon Jennifer. The battle was over before it even began as Jennifer's monster form was defeated and exploded into pixelated polygons.
Bridgette spawned into the world in a new position and as she got her bearings, she noticed that she had an entirely different body. Most notable about this new body were the sharp blade-like bones that extended out of her arms at where her elbows would be. Looking at the map she could see, she took off toward Tyler and Lindsay, who were closest to her.
Jennifer, like Bridgette, had respawned and had a new body as well. Taking note of her surroundings, she was closest to Katie and Sadie, but she hesitated to attack. 'If I remember this challenge right, we did better when we were working in sync with our partner. No wonder Katie and Sadie wiped the floor with me, they're so in sync they may as well be the same person. So which group would have the hardest time working together?' Jennifer scanned the map momentarily before locating her target. They were the farthest from her, but she had no doubt that they would be the easiest to defeat. Nodding to herself, she dove underwater and started to swim to her target.
"Hang on Linds, we're not out of this yet," Tyler shouted. The pair had fended off a couple of attacks from the monster assailing them, but hadn't made any headway toward defeating it.
"R-right," the blonde shakily said as she tried to follow Tyler's example. This caused the mech to have delayed movements, but it was still able to more or less keep up with the monster attacking them.
The pair raised their arms to block a strike aimed at their head, after which point Tyler asked, "Okay, where did it go? It was just here."
"Maybe it went back into the water," Lindsay asked as she slightly leaned forward, trying to look down below the mech.
"Maybe. I'm not liking this though. It feels like-," Tyler was cut off as their mech was stabbed from behind with a large blade-like bone. The two pilots were unharmed, but it was clear that their mech was injured. As the monster dove back into the water, the pair shared a worried glance with each other.
"Dammit Eva! I need you to trust me on this! The whole part of this challenge is right up my alley! Gosh," Harold exclaimed as he tried to survey their surroundings.
"And I'm telling you dweebzilla, we don't need any of your nerd crap if we have strength on our side. And unless I'm wrong, several thousand tons of metal is nothing but strength," Eva growled back.
The lanky nerd shook his head and said, "But we're fighting aquatic monsters. They have the advantage. All the strength in the world won't help if they get the jump on us."
"Oh yeah? Well what if-," Eva was cut off mid-retort as the mech was tackled from behind, sending it careening into the water. "Okay screw it, firing everything," Eva said as the pair managed to turn their mech over and get into a crouched position.
"Everything? But we've got nuclear powered weapons, and if Godzilla has taught me anything, it's that giant monsters plus more radiation is a bad thing," Harold remarked.
An explosion could suddenly be seen in the distance and Eva barked back, "Well unless you want to end up like that, then we need to go all out!"
The pair managed to stand and held their arms up, revealing several cannons and other guns. After a moment they started to fire, peppering the monster with blasts of energy, smoke obscuring their view as a result. Harold lowered his arms and said, "Give it a rest, gosh! We need to let the smoke clear."
"Hmph. Fine," Eva grunted as she crossed her arms.
Slowly the smoke cleared to show the monster not only still standing, but taller than before and glowing slightly. "I told you this was a bad idea," Harold shouted as the monster opened its mouth, firing a blast of radiation back at the mech, completely obliterating the cockpit.
Jennifer opened her eyes as her pod opened, allowing her to exit the machine. While she was in the simulation, a substantial crowd had formed in the gym. As those who were already in the virtual world were beginning to stir, Cody walked over and said, "Nice one Jennifer. You just missed Bridgette I'm afraid. So I'll be quick. For your next challenge, Trent is hidden somewhere in the school and you have to find him. To make things easier, he's not in a location related to him, nor is he in any of the places we were hidden in for the original version of this challenge. So that eliminates the pool room, the instrument storage of the music room, the computer lab, the meeting room in the library and the supply closet by the cooking classroom. Obviously any other place related to him is out, but I can only name those five specific locations."
"Okay, seems simple enough. Does he know where the challenge after that is," the performing artist asked.
The tech geek shook his head and said, "Nope. Once you find him, bring him back here and you'll be briefed on your final challenge."
Jennifer nodded and pumped her fist, "Alright, I can do this! Wish me luck!"
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: Okay, not gonna lie, being able to be a giant monster was pretty damn cool! Hopefully if the virtual reality challenges come back for future seasons, there will be more that give us more unrealistic things to be.
(Chemistry Lab)
Bridgette entered the chemistry lab and quickly scanned the area, going as far as to make a pass around the room. She even peered under the lab tables as she went. Once she got back to the front of the room, she thought aloud, "Where could Geoff be? If the place he's hidden isn't related to him, that doesn't exactly leave a lot of possibilities. Maybe he's in the woodshop or the art room? It's gotta be somewhere big like that, searching each classroom one by one would take so long."
"Do you always talk to yourself," a snarky voice asked.
The surfer whirled around and said, "Noah! What are you doing here?"
The know-it-all shrugged and said, "I was taking a walk around the building before going to the final challenge location. I heard you talking and decided to investigate. Anyways, you have a challenge to get back to. I'll see you at the end." Noah walked away and waved a single hand above his head.
Bridgette nodded to herself and said, "He's right. I should get going."
(Woodshop)
Jennifer looked around the large room quickly, intent on finding Trent quickly as every second counted right now. Spending no more than a few seconds to scan the classroom portion of the area, Jennifer continued onto the shop part of the room. Looking around at the tables with power tools, she moved through the rather open area to the large double doors leading to the wood supplies.
Opening one of the doors, the performing artist peeked inside, only to be greeted by Duncan and Geoff. The two appeared to be in the middle of a conversation that was cut short when the door opened. Jennifer sheepishly grinned and said, "Whoops, sorry wrong door."
"Heh, looks like we're not done here yet, eh Geoff," Duncan asked as he nudged the party guy.
"Yeah guess so," Geoff agreed.
The rest of what was said was lost to Jennifer as she had closed the door and was making her way back to the hallway. The performing artist opened the door and came face to face to Bridgette. "Hey Jennifer, any luck," Bridgette asked.
Jennifer sighed and said, "Nope. Hoping that Trent might be in the art department." Jennifer then crossed the hallway and opened the double doors, entering the art department. Bridgette stood there for a moment, lips pursed in thought, before she decided to enter the woodshop.
Restroom Confessional
Bridgette: I don't want to think Jennifer lied to me, but it wouldn't hurt to look just in case. Besides, now that it's just me and her, I wouldn't blame her if she did. Truth be told I would be tempted if I were in that situation.
Jennifer was about halfway through the art department, her search still fruitless. The area was essentially a big loop, so she wasn't letting her lack of results get her down. She made her way over to where there was once an oven for baking various types of clays and potteries. Nearby there was a door that led to a separate room that, back when the school was still in use, was used as a cooler for things that exited the oven as well as somewhere that painted items could dry.
On the floor near the door there was a couple of metal cooling racks, likely left there when the building was bought for the season. Jennifer looked at the racks suspiciously for a moment before going over to the door and opening it. "Hey, I was waiting for you to show up," Trent remarked as he got up from the small card table that was in the small room.
"Well I guess you two need to head back to the gym now. I'll clean this up and then meet you there," Beth remarked from her seat on the opposite side of the table before adding, "It was nice to catch up Trent."
"It was nice. I'd offer to help you out, but I don't want to keep Jennifer waiting and she needs me," the musician said.
Beth giggled and waved him off, saying, "Don't worry, I've got this under control. Just go help her win."
"Right," Trent said with a nod before turning to Jennifer who was already outside of the room. He quirked an eyebrow and said with a smirk, "Impatient?"
"It's not like there's a huge cash prize on the line or anything like that," Jennifer said with a roll of her eyes and a playful grin on her face, "Now come on! I got a challenge to win!"
(Gym)
Bridgette entered the gym, Geoff right behind her, and the surfer saw an interesting sight. The virtual reality machine was still set up, with Megan sitting on the bleachers nearby, Mikey sound asleep resting his head in her lap. The rest of the bleachers were split into two sides, each with a banner with one of the finalist's names hanging from the wall.
Sitting beneath Bridgette's section was Gwen, Leshawna, DJ, Courtney, Ezekiel, Joseph, Rebecca and Noah.
Sitting beneath Jennifer's section was Cody, Emily, William, Julie, Danny, Izzy, Heather, Nicholas, Alexander and Jessie.
Megan waved Bridgette over and said, "Congrats Bridgette, you're on the last challenge! You'll be going back in the virtual reality machine. Mikey spent most of the night working on a couple dozen fight scenarios. They're mostly one on one fights and you need to win three. If you get defeated in battle, a new one will start after a moment. Otherwise, that's it. Whoever wins three fights first will win. Since you got here first, you have the advantage, but you shouldn't get complacent."
"Alright, you got this babe. I'll see you when you win," Geoff said as he kissed Bridgette's forehead before moving over to sit in her section of the bleachers.
Bridgette approached the virtual reality pods while Nicholas moved over to the controls. "Good luck Bridgette. I may be rooting for Jennifer, but at this point I think whoever wins will be worthy," Nicholas said as he fiddled with the controls a moment.
"Thanks. I just hope I won't be traumatized if I die in this," the surfer nervously stated as she got into one of the pods.
The mechanic offered a smile and said, "Don't worry too much. I did some testing with Mikey this morning. It's less realistic than the Pacific Rim simulation, if that makes sense."
Restroom Confessional
Jennifer: It's time for the final challenge. Well, the final challenge in the final challenge. Whatever it is, I'm sure I can take it! Bridgette's ahead of me, so it all comes down to if I can finish it faster.
(Virtual World)
Bridgette awoke in the middle of a massive, grassy plain. She stood up and got her bearings as she felt something heavy on her back. Reaching behind her, she grabbed a large, golden longsword and brought it in front of her. The surfer looked at her clothes and she saw her attire now consisted of a relatively simple blue cloth shirt with gold trim as well as beige pants and boots. A red cape also billowed behind her. "This sword seems really light. And yet it looks like it should weigh a lot," Bridgette mused.
After a short moment, a bright flash of light occurred in front of Bridgette roughly fifty feet away. A figure clad in imposing, pure black armor stepped out of the light, wielding a sword similar to Bridgette's. "I've finally found you. The one who wields the twin to my blade Alondite. My former master could not give me the duel I desired. Hopefully you can do what he could not. En garde," The Black Knight said before charging forward at a surprising speed.
Bridgette was taken aback at how fast her opponent was, and barely raised her sword to block the strike. The amount of force in the strike pushed Bridgette back several feet and she asked, "Are you sure we can't just talk about this?"
The Black Knight leveled their gaze and said, "Talk? You are not worthy of that blade you possess. Prepare yourself."
Bridgette jumped to the side to avoid a vertical strike from the knight. The knight was too quick however and turned to Bridgette, bringing his sword down toward her. Like before, she was barely able to raise her sword to block the attack, merely holding the sword up hoping to withstand the assault.
After a few attacks, the onslaught stopped and the Black Knight quickly lifted Bridgette up by her shirt, before throwing her a short distance away. "May the goddess have mercy on your soul," The Black Knight stated before swinging his sword, launching a beam of energy at Bridgette's downed form.
In a similar, yet also somewhat different field, Jennifer awoke in the virtual world. She glanced down at her attire and she was wearing a strange type of armor across her entire body that resembled chainmail but it was also somewhat futuristic. A cape flowed behind her in the wind and a large battleax rested in her hands. "This feels familiar, but I'm not sure from where. This ax feels way easier to swing than it should be though," Jennifer remarked.
A short distance away, a dark portal opened and out stepped a tall, imposing alien with purple skin wearing gold armor and wielding a double-bladed longsword. As the portal closed behind the figure, it stated, "The universe requires balance. Dealing with you will barely make a difference, but I don't need the stones to do it."
Jennifer blinked a moment before realization dawned on her, "Wait, this is one of those Avengers things, right? I've seen a couple of those movies and I think this guy was in it."
"What are you babbling about? I suppose it doesn't matter, I'll deal with you in a snap," the alien stated before charging forward, throwing its blade at Jennifer in such a way that it spun in the air, not unlike a boomerang.
Jennifer ran towards it, diving and rolling underneath it before standing back up, "Not so smart are you? Now you're defenseless!"
The creature merely smirked as unbeknownst to the performing artist, the blade started coming back to him like a boomerang, striking Jennifer on the return trip. Luckily for her, she managed to get hit by the blade at the hilt, and the wind was merely knocked out of her. "Now you realize, even when unarmed, I'm never truly unarmed," the titan said, catching his weapon as it returned to him.
Jennifer grunted as she got to her feet and readied her weapon, charging forward again. Thanos began to rush toward the performing artist, meeting her in the middle of the field, their weapons clashing. Jennifer was very quickly outmatched, her ax being pushed back toward her. She acted quickly, swinging the weapon to the side to deflect the large sword. The performing artist used the momentum and spun around, continuing the swing.
As the ax continued to swing it started the crackle with electricity. Thanos stepped back to avoid the swing, but the lightning shot out from the ax, shocking him. He spun his sword around in his hands for a moment as he remarked, "A nifty trick. Unfortunately that won't be enough to save you!" The mad titan threw his weapon at Jennifer again, who used her ax to deflect the weapon.
She was distracted though, and failed to notice the titan grabbing her and ripping the ax from her hands before tossing the girl across the ground like a rag doll. Thanos weighed the weapon in his hands for a moment before remarking, "Fascinating. This has the same craftsmanship as the Gauntlet. A weapon worthy of being wielded by me." He raised it skyward before sending lightning flying toward Jennifer.
VR Confessional
Bridgette: I have no idea what I'm doing with this challenge. Mikey made it, so I guess everything is like video games and sci-fi and stuff?
Jennifer: Okay, that was a lot tougher than I was expecting. I need to step up my game and start fighting smartly if I want to win.
Bridgette respawned in the middle of a metal corridor. Blinking lights were scattered across numerous panels on the walls and the area was kept dimly lit. The surfer glanced down and noticed that she was dressed in a simple brown robe, a metal baton hanging from her waist. Approaching footsteps got her attention as a handful of guards in white armor blocked the hallway, pointing guns at her. Bridgette raised her hands in surrender before a voice from behind the guards said, "Stand aside, I will deal with this one myself."
The guards immediately stepped aside letting a tall figure dressed head to toe in black armor come to the front as a black cape billowed behind him. The figure grabbed a baton similar to Bridgette's from his waist, hitting a button on it causing a red laser to form a blade extending from the base.
Seeing this, Bridgette grabbed hers and mimicked the action, causing a blue beam to extend out. She held it in a defensive stance close to her body as Darth Vader slowly approached. As soon as he got in range, he swung horizontally, Bridgette bringing her lightsaber over to block the strike. Her opponent tried a few other slow, easily telegraphed strikes, with the surfer blocking them each time.
Jumping back to get a breather, Bridgette went on the offensive, rushing Darth Vader with numerous strikes. Despite his slow speed, he was able to block and parry all of the attacks aimed at him. "It seems that we're evenly matched, at least when it comes to swordplay," Darth Vader remarked.
"Well I've got a trick or two up my sleeve," Bridgette said before slicing at the wall panels.
Whether she had a feeling it would work or she just got lucky, the power in the area they were in shut off. The surfer quickly turned off her weapon, leaving only Vader's red lightsaber to illuminate the area. Bridgette quickly scampered around her opponent, who was slowly turning toward her. She kept moving even after getting behind her opponent, literally running circles around him because she had a feeling that even in the dark, he had a general idea of where she was.
After circling Darth Vader a couple of times, she ended up behind him as the lights in the corridor turned back on. "You will not be able to run again. I will find you," Darth Vader remarked.
He felt something press into his back and Bridgette said, "Who said I'm running?" She then turned her lightsaber on and swung side to side horizontally, cutting the Sith Lord in half. Though the simulation lacked much gore, Bridgette threw her weapon to the side and grabbed her knees, muttering, "I can't believe I just did that."
Meanwhile, Jennifer respawned in the middle of what appeared to be a small town square. Numerous buildings surrounded her and as she gazed around she noticed a large complex that appeared to be part cathedral and part castle nearby. She took a moment to look over her current appearance. She was dressed in a black semi-armored top that allowed for some mobility while being rigid enough to offer her some protection, alongside black shorts and leggings. Other pieces of miscellaneous armor were also on her, as well as a coat-like article that rested just on her shoulders, as her arms didn't go into the sleeves.
She also noticed for the first time a strange tan sword made out of a solid, yet non-metal material. The performing artist examined the strange, key-like notches on one side of the sword for a moment before the impact of several flaming boulders on the nearby buildings got her attention. Looking in the direction they came from, she saw that part of the town was now ablaze.
After a moment, a figure stepped out of the flames. Though masked by the fire raging around them, it appeared to be a knight on horseback wielding a large scythe. As they approached, Jennifer noted that their helmet had large horns and the shoulders of the armor were spiked as well. Suddenly, their eyes lit up bright red and a menacing voice spoke, "You are not my prey today. Leave now, and you may live to see another day."
Jennifer stood her ground and said, "I can't just stand by and let you destroy this city."
"So be it. Seems I'll get to have some fun after all," the Death Knight spoke before charging forward on his horse. Jennifer steeled herself as he approached, bracing for a swing of the scythe.
As the knight swung his scythe diagonally downward, Jennifer swung her sword in response. As she swung her weapon, the blade suddenly split and extended, becoming whip-like in the process. Jennifer's eyes widened in surprise while the Death Knight stopped mid-swing, shocked by the development. "So you have one of the Relics. Yet you don't seem to know its full potential. I have to end you now," the armored knight gravely stated.
Jennifer swung her sword, bringing it back to its original position, and retorted, "And I have to stop you now, before I lose any more time!"
"I know not the nonsense you speak," the Death Knight stated before charging forward once more. Jennifer tried to turn her sword into a whip again as she attempted to parry the strike again, but the weapon remained a sword as she swung.
Striking nothing but air, the performing artist could only look on in shock as the Death Knight's attack swung true. Getting cut by the scythe, Jennifer was knocked into the air by the powerful strike, landing several feet away. She slowly staggered to her feet, hearing a voice in her mind as she did so, "Are you really about to let him trample all over you? You possess the Sword of the Creator! You wield more power in a fraction of your weapon than he possesses in his entire being! Now, I for some reason can't intervene to save you if he is about to kill you, but so long as you focus on that Relic you have, you should have no issue using its full power!"
"What? Who," Jennifer murmured as she reclaimed her weapon.
"Normally I would love to figure out why you can hear me now, but unfortunately we do not have the luxury of time. Focus your efforts on that brute with the scythe," the voice said again before gradually fading from Jennifer's mind. As the voice faded, Jennifer could feel a burst of energy coming to her, allowing her to stand tall against her opponent.
"Not many could withstand a single strike from me. You will be exceptionally fun prey," The Death Knight uttered before he began to charge forward again.
Jennifer took a deep breath to steady herself before she swung her sword, her eyes burning with conviction. The blade split into the whip once more as she swung, ultimately wrapping itself around the shaft of the scythe. Quickly pulling her hands back, Jennifer was able to rip the Death Knight's weapon from his hands, throwing it behind her as her sword returned to its normal form.
"I cannot believe this. I refuse to believe this," the Death Knight shouted, fear evident in his voice despite his mask preventing emotion from showing.
"Well here is something to believe in," Jennifer shouted out as she leapt into the air before bringing her sword down in a devastating strike against the masked knight's shoulder, sending him to the ground. The performing artist was silent for a moment as she looked at her now-still opponent.
"Well done," the voice in Jennifer's mind returned, "I wish I could guide you further but sadly I cannot. It is most curious, it almost feels as if your very being is being pulled away from me. I suppose it is for the best however, you need to give this borrowed body back to who it belongs to. Farewell and good luck in your endeavors." As the voice bid farewell, Jennifer was surrounded by a blinding light.
VR Confessional
Bridgette: I know it's not real and neither was my enemy, but it still didn't feel right, killing him. Hopefully my other opponents will be more like monsters or something. Somehow that feels better to me.
Jennifer: I have no idea what was up with that voice in my head. Was that part of the simulation Mikey programmed? It has to be, right? And yet, something about it felt different.
As the challenge raged on, the losers were discussing what was happening in the virtual world. Large screens were currently showing what was happening in the simulation, so the eliminated contestants could watch and follow along with the action. Over at Bridgette's section, her supporters were watching her fight a large demonic being. The surfer was wearing some type of futuristic power armor and she was equipped with multiple firearms.
"Ugh, this challenge in particular is so violent. Are we sure Mikey came up with this," Courtney griped.
Gwen, who happened to be sitting nearby, scoffed and said, "I for one think the current challenge Bridgette has is awesome, though it definitely is not her style. Man, what I wouldn't give to be ripping and tearing those demons up instead."
The CIT shook her head and said, "You would like something gory and disgusting like this."
"Enough, the both of you. Y'all said you would get along, don't make me make you get along," Leshawna scolded the pair, a slight tone of anger in her voice.
"I said I would be civil with Gwen," Courtney grumbed.
"Expecting those two to get along is a fool's errand. You should know better Leshawna," Joseph, who was also nearby, stated before adding, "And for the record, the scenario Bridgette is in currently is definitely based on a video game, so I can believe Mikey added it. I may not play games as much as he does, but I indulge myself from time to time."
"What are you doing here Joseph," Gwen asked, irritated.
The overachiever nodded his head toward Leshawna and said, "Leshawna here won't let me out of her sight. She still thinks I'm up to no good. But honestly I don't care what happens at this point."
Gwen shook her head and said, "No, I mean why are you here, in Bridgette's section?"
"I was wondering that myself. Believe me, there are tons of things I would rather do than be on babysitter duty," Leshawna added.
"Hey, you chose to watch me like a hawk. I never asked for it. Anyway, to answer your question Gwen, as I said I don't care who wins anymore. But I had to pick a side and Bridgette passed my challenge first. Seemed better than flipping a coin at least," Joseph shrugged. The overachiever burst out laughing as on the screen a small cluster of demons died to a grenade, sending limbs and gore everywhere, including on Bridgette, causing the surfer girl to freak out and ultimately was defeated by the leader of the demons she was fighting. "Alright, I know I'm technically rooting for her, but that was awesome! I'm almost more mad I missed out on getting to try this VR stuff than I am about losing! Almost," Joseph commented.
Courtney shook her head and said, "I can't believe you right now."
Meanwhile, over at Jennifer's section, a group was watching the next opponent Jennifer was fighting. The performing artist was armed with a pair of weapons that resembled Harold's Num-Yo's, but instead of ending in yo-yo's, they ended in metal balls. Unlike her other battles so far, her attire was her normal outfit, with the addition of a purple and orange headband wrapped around her forehead. She was facing a tall humanoid that appeared to be from the Aztec Empire, and he was adorned with what looked like ceremonial jewelry.
As one group of her supporters watched Jennifer try to break through her opponent's defense, Alexander spoke up, "Man, if I had known at the start of this thing that there would be virtual reality challenges, I might have put in more effort."
"Seriously? Didn't know that's all it would take," Trent remarked.
"Heh, well I might be exaggerating a bit. But it still would have been sweet to give it a try. Too bad my strategy didn't end up working out," the slacker chuckled.
"Strategy? Don't make me laugh," Heather, who was a short distance away, scoffed, "What possible strategy did you think being lazy would entail?"
"It was quite simple really. My plan was to try and be unremarkable to start and slide by under the radar. With some of the more, let's say unique, personalities in store, I figured not stepping on any toes could get me through to the merge. Suffice to say, I may have overdone it on the unremarkable part, as I came across as useless," Alexander explained.
"Ha, silly Alex, everyone knows being unique is a benefit on this show! Look at me, I've made it far twice, and even the one time I didn't I still made it pretty far," Izzy exclaimed, popping up out of nowhere.
"You know, that's probably why I didn't make it very far. All things considered, I'm kind of similar to you. I'm excitable, full of energy, maybe a little crazy. Only real difference is I'm a dude. Doubling up hurt my chances," William added as he also came out of nowhere.
"Gah! Where do you freaks keep coming from," Heather shrieked.
"I mean, personally I'm from just outside Calgary," William shrugged.
Izzy mimed shooting a gun and said, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."
"Forget it, I'm getting away from you weirdos," Heather stated as she stood up.
"Why are you on Jennifer's side? You aren't planning on trying to kiss me again once she gets out are you," Trent accused.
Heather stopped and glanced over her shoulder and said, "Believe me when I say that was different, you two weren't together yet. For all the things I've done, that is one line I won't cross. As for why I'm here, she's toughened up without you. That resolve is something I can respect."
As the queen bee continued to walk away, Alexander spoke up, "You still never gave your opinion on my strategy!"
A crunching sound came from William as he said, "It might not mean much coming from me because I didn't do much better than you did, but I thought it was a pretty solid plan."
Trent, Alexander and Izzy turned to look at him and saw he had a bucket of popcorn that he was now eating. "Where did you," Trent started to ask, flabbergasted.
"Can't have a big finale without popcorn, right? You guys want some," William offered.
"Oh man, you have got to tell me how you did that! Food conjuring is one of the things Izzy's tried to master for years," the crazy redhead excited stated before adding, "Imagine if I could surprise Owen with food at any time!"
"Hey guys, quiet down for a sec, looks like this battle's almost done," Alexander stated, looking at the screens once more. Despite Jennifer's best efforts, her opponent had a power to create powerful winds that he used to slam her into a wall, which if it hadn't killed her, a rock fell from the ceiling of the chamber they were in and landed on Jennifer, defeating her.
Trent sighed as Alexander pat him on the back, saying, "Don't worry man, I'm sure she's got the next two. I've been keeping tabs on the other side, they're still tied."
"Thanks, that helps. I was hoping this was the chance for her to take the lead though," Trent sighed again.
Another group of Bridgette's supporters were in a small group, passing time until the challenge ended. Bridgette started a new challenge, where she was again in a suit of futuristic battle armor, but this time the set was blue and unlike the helmet on the last set, this one didn't cover her face. She was facing off against a mad scientist that used a blue and gold flying saucer as a weapon.
"Okay, so like I get most of these being based on video games, I mean Mikey is a gamer and all, but couldn't more have been based on like anime or comics or something? He's kind of a nerd in general, and people shouldn't be defined by a single hobby or passion they have," Rebecca commented.
"That's a really great ootlook to have, eh. I'm lucky I'm homeschooled, I would never escape that dumb sexist comment if I went to public school," Ezekiel added.
The otaku pursed her lips and asked, "And how do we know you've changed since then?"
"I figured Eva nearly choking the life oot of me wuld have been enuf, eh. But being homeschooled, yoo don't get a lot of interaction ootside the house. So my dad would do all the heavy lifting at home, figuratively and literally, eh. I just assumed it was the same everywhere. For everything this shoo' has done, it opened my eyes to that eh," the homeschooled teen admitted, before turning to the three guys nearby and said, "You guys think I've changed, right?"
"Definitely. Nobody's perfect in this world, but we can all make steps to better ourselves. I've seen you change for the better firsthand Zeke," DJ said with a nod.
"Can't say I really noticed. Though to be fair I don't think we ever really interacted much, ever," Noah said as he leaned his head past DJ's large frame, "By the way, thanks for sticking with me right now. I know Joseph said he doesn't care anymore, but there's something about him that makes me think he'll snap at me at any moment. Having a couple of big guys like you and Geoff here makes me think he'll at least be deterred."
Said party guy finally broke his gaze from the screen when he heard his name, "I heard my name. What's going on?"
"I was just saying thanks for basically being a bodyguard for me," Noah stated.
"Oh, yeah no problem little dude," Geoff said before adding, "Sorry, I'm a bit distracted right now."
"Hey no worries man, I totally get it," DJ said with a nod and a smile.
Ezekiel nodded too and said, "Same here. You want her to win moor than the rest of us combined."
"Say, why do you guys want Bridgette to win? I mean, with Geoff it's obvious, but what about the rest of you," Rebecca asked before adding, "Oh, I should probably say my reason first to not be rude, huh? I mean, I didn't really talk to either of them much, but Jennifer seemed to be weirded out by me more, so here I am."
"Bridgette and I go way back to the first season. We got along really well then and became good friends. And friends support each other, especially in times like this," DJ said with a smile.
Noah shrugged, "Between Jennifer and Bridgette, I would rather had faced Bridgette as a final opponent if I had made it that far."
"Oh, I never knew Jennifer that well, eh. I mean, I guess I didn't knoo' Bridgette that well either, but we were on the same team on TDI, as shoort lived as that was," Ezekiel answered.
"Whatever your reasons, thanks for believing in her. I know it means a lot to her," Geoff said. Just then, the flying saucer Bridgette was fighting exploded and the mad scientist fell to the ground, begging for mercy. Unbeknownst to Bridgette, the screen displayed a "Victory!" as the scenario ended and things turned white for her.
Meanwhile, a different group of people were seated in Jennifer's section. Her latest battle had begun in a large, elegant throne room with large stained glass windows on either side of the fancy chair sitting in the middle of the wall opposite the entrance. The performing artist was dressed in leather armor that covered most of her body and she was armed with a multitude of medieval styled weapons, most notably a large whip that ended in a small spiked ball. She was currently facing down a well dressed man with pitch black hair that was sitting on the throne, sipping what appeared to be a red wine.
Nicholas and Jessie were talking in hushed whispers for a moment before the mechanic sighed and nodded, getting out of his seat at the controls of the VR machine and walking over to Danny, who was watching the screens with a bit of a curious interest. "Yo Danny, you got a second," Nicholas greeted.
"Hm? Nicholas, what can I do for you," the martial artist replied.
Nicholas awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I just want to apologize for trying so hard to get you eliminated. It's one thing to disagree with you, eliminating you is a different thing entirely."
Danny shrugged and said, "While I appreciate and accept your apology, it's quite alright. All you did was play the game, rather honestly too, with a couple key exceptions."
"Wait, you aren't mad? There was like a half a million prize or something you lost out on," the mechanic responded, surprised.
"I mean, as much as I would have liked to win, going in I mentally prepared myself on how unlikely that was. At the end of the day, only one person can win. And it won't be someone like Heather or Joseph, so I can live with that. And like I said, you didn't do anything underhanded to get the votes against me, you just asked some friends for some favors," Danny calmly replied, "That said, I hope next time we're both in a season you won't try and get rid of me immediately. I'm looking forward to being rivals and maybe even showing you my way of doing things isn't as bad as you think."
"I never said your way of thinking was bad, it's just not my style," Nicholas chuckled, "But I look forward to competing against you too. I won't get you out immediately as long as you don't get me out immediately."
"Deal," Danny grinned as he put his hand out for a handshake.
The mechanic shook the martial artist's hand and said, "Now to wait for another season with the two of us."
"Call it a hunch, but I don't think it will be as long as you think," Danny said as he glanced back at one of the nearby screens.
"Well, this was a good chat, but I need to get back to the controls. No idea when either of the finalists will finish and while I don't think anything will go wrong, you can never be too careful," Nicholas said as he walked back to Jessie.
"That wasn't so hard, was it," Jessie asked as he approached.
"I guess not. Still felt kind of weird though," Nicholas acknowledged.
The quiet girl got out of the seat and gave the mechanic a quick peck on the lips and said, "Well I'll you focus on your work. I'll go talk to the others a little more."
"Have fun," Nicholas remarked as he sat back down at the controls for the virtual reality machine.
Jessie walked over to the bleachers and sat down near Julie, Cody and Emily, who were talking with Megan, a still snoozing Mikey still resting in her lap. "So he took your advice it seems," Julie said as the quiet girl approached.
"You mean your advice. It was your idea to have him apologize to Danny," Jessie replied as she sat down.
"Well I think it was a good idea. Danny may have been okay with it now, but it could have festered and developed into something worse if nothing was done," Emily added.
Cody tapped his chin and said, "You know, it's kind of incredible that given everything that's happened, there's very little feuds and rivalries going into any future seasons. It's mostly going to be people mad at Heather, Joseph and Noah. Maybe at Courtney a little bit too."
"Well there's a couple smaller feuds I can think of. Like no matter how much they say they'll try to get along, I feel like Gwen and Courtney will always be at odds," Megan remarked before looking down at Mikey and saying, "I feel like Mikey won't ever really be on good terms with Izzy either."
"Can't say I blame him. She's been directly responsible for him getting injured at least twice on this show," Julie chimed in, "I don't mind her, she's nice enough, but a little too much for me. So I would see where he was coming from."
"Too bad Chris didn't take this season into account when it came time to determine the cast for the next one. You know how much he loves drama, does he really think Noah and Heather can carry enough for an entire season," Jessie asked to nobody in particular.
"Well there are those two other new people. That Alejandro guy seems nice enough, but that Sierra girl really gives me the creeps," Cody said with a shiver, "Can I just say I'm glad that the first real fan of mine that I met is normal."
"Aw, you flatter me," Emily giggled before kissing the tech geek's cheek, "I'm not all that comfortable being away from you for so long while she's there though. Not because I think you'll leave me or anything, but because I have no idea what she'll do."
"You saw the last aftermath, she was able to rough up Alejandro, and he looks like he's pretty strong," Megan remarked.
Cody sighed and said, "Guess I'm not catching a break then."
Suddenly, there was a large explosion on the screen as Jennifer threw a bottle of some liquid at her opponent, causing him to combust into flames. This caught the attention of the group as they watched the performing artist throw a strange-shaped boomerang and followed it up with a strike with the spiked ball of her whip. All these attacks made her opponent recoil in pain before he burned away to nothing, a "Victory!" being displayed on the screen.
"One more win and Jennifer's got this," Jessie remarked.
Julie nodded and said, "I think Bridgette also just got her second win."
"Well it seems like someone could win at any moment," Megan mused, "Guess I better wake Mikey up. I feel like he wouldn't want to miss the end."
A bright light surrounded Bridgette as her newest battle scenario loaded. When the light faded, she appeared to be in a medieval castle. She looked down at her attire and saw a simple light blue tunic and beige pants. She could feel the weight of a sheathed sword as well as a metal shield on her back. As she looked down, the end of her hat, which resembled a Christmas stocking but in the same blue as her tunic, fell in front of her face. The surfer stood back up and brushed the tip of her hat to the side, looking around her surroundings a bit more.
Before she was able to get a good look however, behind her someone was starting to play an organ. Turning around, she noticed a tall, dark-skinned, red-haired man sitting at the instrument. After he finished playing the organ, he stood and turned to face her. "You may possess Courage, but I have Power. And Wisdom is locked away. Once I defeat you, I will possess the power of the Golden Goddesses, and conquer this land as its new ruler," the man stated.
A blue ball of light with wings flew out from behind Bridgette and said, "Watch out! I'm the fairy Navi, and that is Ganondorf. He's a powerful warrior and sorcerer." Bridgette gulped and drew her sword, taking a defensive stance, knowing this would not be an easy battle.
A bright light surrounded Jennifer as she spawned into her latest battle. She felt a heavy suit of red and yellow power armor surrounding her as she gazed around her surroundings through the green tinted visor of her armor. She was in a dimly lit circular room, standing on a wide bridge that spanned the length of it. Walking over to the edge of the bridge, she glanced over the side and saw the bottom part of the room had a layer of water resting in it, though it was somewhat far down.
Backing away from the edge, Jennifer scanned the room, looking for something that could be her enemy. After a moment, she heard what could best be described as a buckling sound, as if something was straining against the metal that surrounded her. The performing artist looked around, paying particular attention to the metal span in the center of the room. The buckling suddenly gave way as a loud sounds of metal tearing was heard above Jennifer.
Looking up, she saw a large mass falling toward her, causing her to jump back as her eyes widened in shock. Fragments of the metal wall above her fell both onto the bridge and into the water below as something large landed on the bridge. Standing to its full height, a purple dragon-like creature let out a monstrous roar at Jennifer as she raised her right arm, which ended in a cannon. The performing artist grit her teeth, knowing that victory would not come easy here.
Bridgette swung her sword, reflecting the ball of energy that was quickly approaching her back to her opponent. She normally would not have thought to do this, but her companion fairy gave her a hint after she had taken some damage. Ganondorf reflected the attack back, causing Bridgette to strike again, sending the projectile back to its owner once more. This took the Gerudo by surprise and he was struck by the orb. He fell to the ground but was exuding some type of energy that prevented Bridgette from approaching.
Suddenly a spectral image of a regal-looking woman wielding a bow appeared next to Bridgette. Without speaking a word, the woman nocked an arrow made of pure light and fired it at the King of Evil. The arrow flew true, striking the Dark Lord and knocking him to the ground. The woman locked eyes with Bridgette and nodded before disappearing. Taking a deep breath, she approached Ganondorf, who was starting to struggle to his feet, both fighters intent on ending this.
Jennifer dove to the side, avoiding a claw swipe as she fired a couple of blasts from her cannon. As her helmet's computer had told her, her adversary was Ridley, the captain of a group of Space Pirates. Though she had the range advantage, despite his large size Ridley was quite fast, leading to a back and forth battle. Jennifer fired another volley of weak shots at the large, dragon-like alien, but it took her by surprise by charging straight through them and grabbing her. Using its large wings, Ridley launched into the air, holding Jennifer in its tight grip.
The alien flew around the room, scraping the performing artist along the walls of the circular room. Jennifer managed to, despite the pain and confusion, aim her cannon at her foe. Changing the configuration, she launched a trio of small explosive missiles at close range. This caused Ridley to drop her, the pair falling into the bottom of the room. Jennifer was the first to stand, the water reaching just past her ankles, and she began to ready her suit's strongest weapons. Her opponent also started to get to its feet and the two began to stare each other down, knowing that the battle was nearing its end.
Back in the gymnasium, things were getting hectic. Cheers were erupting from both sets of bleachers whenever one of the final two landed a powerful attack. Mikey, who was finally awake, was talking to Nicholas, who was still seated at the controls. Now that the gamer was awake, Megan had moved over to Bridgette's section to support her friend. "So I'm curious, how do you get them out of the simulation," Mikey asked.
"Honestly? I have no idea," Nicholas replied with a shrug, "As far as I know the machine handles all that. The only things I do from this end is send them in and monitor for any error messages or warning signs. Didn't you figure that out when making this challenge?"
The gamer shook his head, "No, I was too busy making the scenarios. Since they were going to be shuffled randomly, I couldn't put in some sort of exit method."
"So then how do we get them out," Nicholas asked quietly, a slight panic in his voice.
"Relax, there was some guy from the company that made this here to adapt what I made for the machine. He no doubt put in the escape mechanism. They got out earlier, didn't they," Mikey asked.
The mechanic nodded, "You're right. Plus I have to imagine that it's a big company that made this and they would get sued to hell and back if people couldn't leave."
Mikey smirked, "Heh. Imagine that, a game that you can't leave once you get into it."
"I'm sure some of the original contestants would say that's Total Drama," Nicholas snickered.
This got a laugh out of Mikey as well as Chris hurriedly entered the gymnasium, "I'm not too late for the big finish, am I? Makeup took their sweet time touching up my hair."
"You are the only person I know that spends that much time on their hair," Nicholas grumbled to himself.
Mikey chuckled to himself before answering, "Nope, they're still going. Luckily neither of us missed the end."
"Why would you have missed the end? Weren't you here," Chris asked.
"I may have been taking a quick power nap," Mikey admitted, scratching the back of his head, "Though to be fair, I spent much of last night getting this challenge ready."
"Eh, no concern of mine what you do when they're in the middle of things. You got them started, that's all that matters. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare the victory celebration," Chris said as he started to walk away.
"You want to tell him that you were asleep when they got here and Megan explained the challenge," Nicholas asked.
Mikey shook his head and said, "Nah, what he doesn't know, won't hurt him."
Chris meanwhile, had taken his place between both sets of bleachers. He pulled out a walkie talkie and said, "Duncan, Owen, you guys ready up top?"
After a moment, Duncan's voice replied, "Yeah, we're both set up here."
Looking up to a second, smaller set of bleachers located on a second floor balcony that overlooked the gym, he said, "Good. Duncan I trust you to get it right, but Owen, you know to see who wins before pulling your string right?"
"Of course I know that Chris! But um, you might want to turn around. I think somebody's about to win," Owen's voice said through the radio.
Chris spun around to see that on both sets of screens the finalists were approaching the end of their duel with their foe. The feed on all the screens then suddenly cut out. Chris blinked and said, "What's going on?"
"Hey, what gives," Alexander shouted.
Courtney scoffed and said, "Couldn't afford good equipment could you Chris?"
"Guys! Hold on a second," Mikey shouted as he moved to the center of the room, "This was me. Truth is, there's a delay in what happens in VR and what we see, so I made it so if it was close like this the feed would cut out to increase the suspense. Figured it would make for a better show that way."
"Well it's what I would have done, so good call. Does this mean we have a winner," Chris asked.
"Looks like someone got disconnected," Nicholas piped up from the controls.
The noise in the gym fell to hushed whispers as everyone watched as slowly, one of the two pods opened up and its occupant slowly got out of it, holding their head as they did. "Presenting the winner of Total Drama High School," Chris announced as the victor looked around, "Bridgette!"
Cheers erupted from her supporters, with none of them being louder than Geoff. Confetti rained down from the upper balcony as the party guy raced over to the surfer girl and picked her up in a tight hug, spinning her around. "Wait, I won? I really won," Bridgette asked, the surprise washing over her.
"Come on, would I lie to you," Chris asked.
"Do you really want people to answer that question," Noah asked from the bleachers.
Chris shrugged and said, "Check the other pods, Jennifer is still out, though not for much longer I would guess."
True enough, Jennifer's pod opened at that moment and the performing artist slowly stumbled out. She blinked a couple of times to get her eyes adjusted to the light before she saw the scene before her. She let out a sigh and said, "Guess that means Bridgette won then?"
"That is correct. Jennifer, you finish the competition in second place," Chris said with a nod.
"Well, I've said it before, I'll say it again. If I was to lose, I'm glad it was to you Bridgette," Jennifer said as she walked over and extended her hand for a handshake.
Geoff finally put Bridgette down, who looked at the hand for a second before opting to hug the performing artist instead. The two separated after a moment as Bridgette's supporters came over to congratulate her.
As a number of Jennifer's supporters also went to congratulate Bridgette, the performing artist sat down on the bleachers, a somber look on her face. "I really thought I could have done it," Jennifer lamented.
"You may not have won the competition, but you do have me. I just hope I'm a good enough consolation prize," a voice said from behind Jennifer.
"Trent! I know I just saw you, but it still feels like its been too long," the performing artist said as she turned around to hug her boyfriend, "And you're better than any cash prize. I always knew that as long as I had you, I would be a winner. Still, it kind of stings to be so close to the end, just to lose."
"Yeah, that's true, but there's always next time, right? Chris loves to bring people back. I figure the next time you're up, you'll be a force to be reckoned with," Trent said as he embraced his girlfriend.
Chris moved over away from all of the commotion and got ready to do his outro, "And so, after a long day filled with challenges that were a blast from the past season, we finally have our winner! Bridgette just barely edged out a win over Jennifer and leaves here the Total Drama High School champion! As for what's next? Well I've got a few plans up my sleeve. So you better prepare for the next exhilarating season of Total Drama! This is Chris MacLean, signing out!" As he finished his outro, the host was then hit with a concentrated ball of confetti, with the camera panning up slightly to show Duncan and Owen high-fiving.
Final Results!
24th: Leshawna
23rd: Alexander
22nd: DJ
21st: Rebecca
20th: William
19th: Ezekiel
18th: Julie
17th: Heather
16th: Trent
15th: Jessie
14th (tie): Danny
14th (tie):Gwen
12th: Courtney
11th: Nicholas
10th: Geoff
9th: Emily
8th: Megan
7th: Joseph
6th: Izzy
5th: Cody
4th: Mikey
3rd: Noah
2nd: Jennifer
1st: Bridgette
Fun Facts!
Jennifer was probably one of my favorite characters to write in this story, and one of the only end game characters that I feel had a good arc. There were a number of characters that made it near the end that didn't have much of a character arc (our winner Bridgette included), but Jennifer and Noah I think are stand out examples of decent character arcs (Not that they necessarily need to, canon never really did, but it does make for a better story). At least I like to think so. I guess that's to be expected when something like this is written over the course of a decade (Also holy shit, I've been working on this story for nearly a decade, makes me feel real old). Up until the very end I kept thinking of changing my mind and making Jennifer the winner instead of Bridgette, but ultimately I decided against it. Still I really like Jennifer's development from lovestruck girl to depressed girl to determined girl, and I think of all my OC's, she's the highlight.
Bridgette was always intended to be the winner, from way back when I started working on this. I always liked her character in canon and let some of that bias work its way into here. Though there was a subtle hint to her winning way back in the pre-merge. She never was up for elimination until the merge hit, and even then she never received any votes. Was it unrealistic? Maybe. Not exactly my best work in writing, but as I mentioned I've grown a lot in writing over the last decade. My one regret is that in the challenges from Geoff's elimination leading up to the finale is I should have played more with her being a bit insecure over her abilities. Then again, one could say that's what got her here in the first place, as everyone would want an easy opponent at the end.
So just over two and a quarter years. That's how long it took me to write this. I feel a bit guilty for saying last time that I hoped to get this one done quickly. The sad part was like over half of this chapter was done then, and I've just been sitting on it until recently. But between harsh overtime at work for much of last year and a bit of a block when it came to working on some of this, it wasn't easy to get in the writing mood. Guess that's one good thing about the whole situation in the world right now, with nowhere to go, I was able to get the writing juices flowing again. Is that terrible to say?
But man, I hope I delivered. That final challenge in the final challenge could be a chapter in of itself. I had a lot of fun with it, that's for sure. But there you have it, Bridgette has taken victory, leaving Jennifer to finish in second but not empty handed. As for what happens next, well this story's not done yet. There's still a final aftermath that needs to happen. I can only hope I won't take too long to finish it. It will also act as an epilogue of sorts. I still want to write a sequel to this, I have so many ideas for new challenges and the fallout from this season, plus my plans for the various contestants. My plan is a massive undertaking and I don't know if I'll be able to rise to the challenge, but I certainly want to try. But there will be more details on that in the next chapter. Until Next Time!
Next Time: The final Aftermath of the show is held, this time hosted by a pair of mystery hosts! Plus some other surprise guests! And what's next for Total Drama!