"Last time on Total Drama Level Up: 33 brand new competitors arrived at the abandoned movie lot from Total Drama Action to participate in a season all about video games! They were divided into three teams, the Red Mushrooms, the Blue Bombers, and the Yellow Ghosts. After getting acquainted with each other during a short tour of the movie lot, they all competed in the first challenge of the season. It was anyone's game at first, but it was the Red Mushrooms that pulled ahead and took the first win. Meanwhile, Nathan and Morella ran into some bear trouble, giving the Blue Bombers enough time to not come in last. The two of them both found themselves in the danger zone at the first ever Gilded Joystick ceremony, but it was nervous Nathan that found himself being the first unlucky winner of a ride on the Sling of Shame. 32 players remain! How will everyone settle into their teams? What relationships and rivalries will form? And who will be the next to ride the Sling of Shame? Tune in for THE most dramatic Gilded Joystick ceremony yet, right here on TOTAL... DRAMA... LEVEL UP!"
*** Opening Credits ***
The Blue Bombers and Red Mushrooms were walking to the trailers, the Yellow Ghosts absent as they were busy voting someone off. Everyone on the Red Mushrooms were happy and excited, while the Blue Bombers looked jealous and irritated.
"Looks like we got some sore losers," Zane commented after catching Lexi glaring at the team.
"You guys got lucky," Piper said. "We had to deal with Chef and the Ghosts had to deal with bears! All you guys had to deal with was Sam. It was hardly fair."
Mandy chuckled. "Sure, blame the challenge."
"Hey, she's right," Ryan cut in. "If you guys would have got stuck with our challenge, you all would probably be sending someone home right now instead of the Ghosts."
"Sure we would," Lukas sarcastically replied. "I'm with Zane on this one, you guys are just being sore losers."
Garrett narrowed his eyes at Lukas. "Don't call us losers."
Lukas laughed and stepped closer to him. "What are you gonna do about it?"
"You wanna piece of Garrett?" Garrett replied, raising his voice. "Come and get it!"
The two started to get in each other's faces, forcing Alice to get between them.
"Guys, come on, we shouldn't do this on the first night," she said.
"Yeah, we should all just be glad that we didn't have to vote someone off," Billy added, placing a comforting hand on Garrett's shoulder. "We should be celebrating!"
"He's right," Lincoln agreed, trying to ease Lukas away from Garrett. "We should all just go and get settled in."
Lukas and Garrett shot each other one last glare before silently returning to their teams and continuing to the trailers. Eventually, both teams arrived, with the Red Mushrooms wasting no time to eagerly run into the winner's trailer.
"So, which trailer are we taking?" Rowley asked, receiving unsure shrugs from his teammates.
"We can just take this one," Riley replied as she walked up to the one closer to the winner's trailer. "I mean, it doesn't really make a difference. They're pretty much the same."
The other Blue Bomber members exchanged nods and joined Riley at the trailer. Meanwhile, the Red Mushroom were standing in awe inside their own trailer. The inside was decked out in similar fashion to the spa hotel from the All Stars season. Everything appeared fancy, from the carpet to the curtains. A large staircase led up to the top floor where the bedrooms were. On the ground floor was a spa room, a living room room that came with a huge television, and a dinning room where an elderly butler stood next to the large circular table fit to seat 11 people.
"Whoa," Liam whispered as he nearly tripped walking through the door.
"This... place... is... AWESOME," Taylor cheered, running throughout the rooms and taking the whole thing in.
"We're gonna be living like kings tonight," Xilier added as she inspected an expensive looking vase in the living room.
"Ehh... it's acceptable," Kyle commented as he curiously eyed his surroundings. "It pales in comparison to my own living conditions."
"Does your place have a butler?" Alice asked as she motioned to the man standing in the dinning room.
"Multiple," Kyle replied. "My family is quite wealthy."
Many of the teens took a break from gaping at the trailer to give Kyle a confused stare. Lee Lee seemed to be particularly perplexed.
"Hold up," Lee Lee said, narrowing her eyes. "You're already rich?"
Kyle grew a smug smile and nodded in response.
"Then why the heck are you on the show?" Mandy asked.
"Uh, duh, to get richer! You can never have enough money."
The others all exchanged irritated and confused glances. Kyle ignored these and quietly made his way up the stairs to check out the upper floor. Andrea, yet to say a word since the challenge earlier, watched him with a raised eyebrow.
*** Confessional: Andrea ***
"The others on my team are... questionable. The girl that believes in vampires, the rude biker guy, the girl with the tatoos, and now that rich kid. I certainly wouldn't want any of them as role models for those watching at home. I consider it my mission to eradicate any and all freaks and bad influences from this competition. But if I'm going to make it happen, I will require help. Help from team mates that are normal."
*** In the winner's trailer ***
Zane was curiously looking over the cabinet under the TV, which was completely filled with various video games. Unlike the confessional booth, there were also consoles to go with the games, allowing the contestants to actually play the games while they stayed at the trailer.
"This place just gets better and better," Zane said to himself with a grin while trying to pick out something to play first. Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. He turned around to see Andrea looking him over. "Uh, can I help you?"
"You... seem normal," Andrea slowly replied, not taking her eyes off of Zane as she seemed to inspect him.
"Thanks?" Zane replied in a confused tone.
"If I am to purify this game and make it better for the impressionable minds watching," Andrea continued, "I need someone to help me deal with all the freaks on the show."
Zane's perplexed look turned to one of surprised realization. "Oh. You mean you want to start an alliance with me?"
Andrea nodded and finally took her eyes off of him to look around at the other team mates running around the trailer. "Many of the people on our team have the potential to negatively influence the viewers. I won't stand for that. Looking at you, I see someone who is intelligent and normal. A positive influence."
"Ya know, you could have just straight up asked if I wanted to be in an alliance with you," Zane replied in a slightly uneasy tone. "Would have saved you the breath. But either way, I'm down. You gonna add anyone else to the alliance?"
"Perhaps," Andrea said as she looked from Lee Lee to Liam. "I'll need to further observe the others before deciding if they're normal or not."
"Yeah, you have fun with that," Zane replied before returning to the video games.
*** Confessional: Zane ***
"Something is... off about that girl. She seems like she's got a screw loose or something. Regardless, it's good to go ahead and get an alliance going now. You can never have too many numbers on your side. Andrea seems like she can at least hold her own in challenges. As long as I keep an eye on her, I'll be fine."
*** In the winner's trailer ***
Upstairs, Lukas was getting settled in to one of the bedrooms. Each bedroom was huge, with comfy looking king sized beds and fluffy pillows awaiting the players for bed time. All bedrooms had two beds except for one room, which only had a single bed. Kyle had already claimed this room, so Lukas took the first room he found with both beds empty. While he was relaxing on his bed, Lincoln poked his head in.
"You, uh, mind if I take the other bed?" Lincoln hesitantly asked after receiving an annoyed glare from Lukas. However, Lukas eventually shrugged and lazily motioned to the other bed.
"It's all yours."
Lincoln grinned and eagerly made his way over to the empty bed. After enjoying the cosiness for a bit, he sat up and cleared his throat.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot today," Lincoln said. "I was, uh, hoping there's no hard feelings about the whole 'cute' comment. I'm just all about the shipping when it comes to this show."
Lukas chuckled. "It's fine, dude. Just don't let it happen again."
"Cool, cool," Lincoln replied. "I was hoping we could put that behind us and be friends."
Upon hearing that word, Lukas raised an eyebrow and looked at Lincoln curiously. "Now I don't know about that. I don't exactly make friends easy. If you want to be in an alliance or something, then I'm down with that."
"Hey, alliance is fine too," Lincoln replied with a smirk. "We'll get to the friend part later."
"Don't push your luck, man," Lukas shot at him with a serious stare. "Alliance is it."
Lincoln nodded. "Right. Just alliance. Got ya."
*** Confessional: Lukas ***
"There's no way that dweeb will get me to ever call him a 'friend.' I just need an alliance member is all."
*** Confessional: Lincoln ***
"We're totally gonna end up being friends."
*** Outside the cabins ***
The Yellow Ghosts, minus Nathan, were finally making it to the trailers. Most were disgruntled and annoyed over having to be the first team to eliminate someone, while Morella just seemed happy to still be in the game.
"Cheer up, guys," Morella said with a smile. "We'll do better next time and win!"
The others smiled back.
"She's right," Kusa said. "This challenge didn't go our way, but the next challenge is a new day. We can bounce back from this easily."
"I'm with you guys," John added. "We'll show those other two teams what we're really made of."
As the others began joining in to voice their agreement, Lance and Jacque both took the opportunity of the others not watching to look over their team. Lance raised an eyebrow and Jacque rubbed his chin in thought. Both tried to get a read on everybody, thinking over who they could trust and who could be a threat, or even a liability to the team. The two gazes met, and both were suddenly narrowing their eyes at the other.
"Watcha looking at there, slick?" Lance asked in a whisper.
"I could ask you the same," Jacque replied in a similar hushed tone. As the two refused to take their eyes off the other, Lance grew a smirk while Jacque continued curiously watching him.
*** Confessional: Lance ***
"Looks like I wasn't the only one sizing up our teammates. Interesting. Might have to watch out for that Jacque guy."
*** In the Blue Bomber's trailer ***
Inside the girl's portion of the trailer, Lexi was peeking out the window. She grinned as she watched the Yellow Ghosts approach their trailer.
"Looks like they got rid of the jumpy bloke," Lexi commented as she left the window and returned to her bunk under Piper's.
"No surprise there," Rowan added from the only single bed where she was brushing her hair. "Can't risk having a liability like that on your team."
"Absolutely," Piper agreed while nodding. "If someone pulled that crap on our team, we'd vote them off in an instant."
On the other side of the room at Iris and Riley's bunk, Iris gulped and cowered into her bed. Above her, Riley was relaxing.
"Poor kid probably couldn't help it," Riley said after sitting up to face the others. "I mean, accidents happen."
"Yeah," Iris quietly agreed. "Sometimes people deserve a second chance."
Lexi chuckled. "What, so they can screw things up for their team a second time?"
"Whether someone can help it or not is irrelevant," Piper added, arms folded and expression serious. "If someone loses a challenge for their team, they should be eliminated."
"Especially if it's some weirdo that freaks out over the smallest things," Rowan replied.
Riley and Iris were quiet while the other three went back to talking to each other. Iris looked nervously around the room until Riley jumped down and joined her on the bottom bed.
"Not the nicest lot of girls we could have got stuck with," Riley whispered. Iris silently nodded in response. "Hey, so I was thinking... you wanna start an alliance?"
Iris went wide eyed. "An alliance? W-With me?"
"Sure," Riley replied. "I mean, you're the only other girl here that doesn't seem like a jerk. Other people are probably starting alliances now, so we may as well start early too."
Iris nervously peeked over at the others to confirm that they weren't listening to them.
"OK, I'm in," Iris replied with a nod.
Riley smiled. "Awesome! I can only imagine what alliances are forming with the boys next door."
Meanwhile, on the boy's side of the Blue Bomber trailer, everyone was scattered around doing their own thing. Aden was quietly reading a book on his bed, while Trevor sat on the bed above him and watched in amusement as Garrett did pushups on the floor and Ryan inspected himself with a handheld mirror in the bunk beds opposite of them. At the final bunk, Rowley hopped down from the top bed and stuck his arm out to Billy.
"It's a pleasure being bunk mates with ya," Rowley said with a smile. Billy smiled back and went to shake Rowley's hand. When his hand made contact, however, he was met with a sudden jolt of electricity, making him jump back and yelp. Trevor and Rowley burst out in laughter.
"Oh man, the hand buzzer." Trevor wiped away a tear. "That's classic."
"An oldie but a goodie," Rowley replied with a grin before helping Billy up with his other hand. "Never gets old."
Billy chuckled. "Alright, ya got me. That was a good one, man."
While the two shared a laugh, Garrett jumped up from his workout.
"Man, if that dreadlocked dude gets in my face again, he's in for a world of hurt."
"Uh huh, uh huh," Ryan commented in a bored tone, clearly not paying attention while he looked over his teeth in the mirror.
"I mean, nobody calls me OR my teammates a loser," Garrett continued, never losing a bit of energy. "They don't know who they're messing with!"
Aden seemed to be tuning out everything else happening in the trailer while he read. Trevor, taking notice of this, poked his head down and flashed a smile at his fellow Blue Bombers member.
"You're awfully quiet," Trevor mused, causing Aden to momentarily look up from his book.
"Well, I mean, we just got here," Aden replied in a low voice. "I don't exactly know anyone here yet."
"Yeah, but this is the best time to get things rolling," Trevor said while jumping down from his bed and joining Aden on the bottom bunk. "Getting to know people, forming alliances, learning about everyone's strengths and weaknesses. The good stuff!"
Aden raised an eyebrow and curiously looked around the room at the others as they continued with the things they were doing, unaware of the conversation going on between Aden and Trevor.
"You have a point. Still, it's late and we just got done with our first challenge. I'll have plenty of time to get to know people later."
"That's the kind of mindset of a guy who gets eliminated," Trevor replied with a chuckle. Aden narrowed his eyes at him.
"Is that some kind of threat?" Aden curiously asked.
"Huh? No. Nah, not a threat." Trevor grinned. "Actually, it's the opposite. I was thinking you and I could get to know each other and form an alliance. After all, they seem like they've already began forming pairs of their own."
Aden relaxed and took another look at the others. Billy and Rowley were having some sort of conversation, while Garrett was continuing to talk with Ryan pretending to listen.
"I don't know about that," Aden replied. "But an alliance could be beneficial for the both of us. We'd need more people, though. Probably someone from the girls."
"Naturally," Trevor said as he got up to return to his bed on top. "But for now I think we should team up. Have each other's backs."
"Sounds good to me," Aden replied. "You seem like a nice guy."
Trevor grinned once again. "You too, buddy."
*** Confessional: Trevor ***
"Poor kid. He has no idea what he just got himself into. You could almost say he made a deal with the devil. Of course, he doesn't know it yet. But he'll find out eventually. They'll ALL find out eventually."
Trevor closed out the confessional with a sinister laugh.
*** In the Yellow Ghost's Trailer ***
The boys had just entered their room of the trailer and were still getting settled in. There were three bunk beds to fit six people, but with Nathan gone one of the beds would be empty. Jacque offered to take the bunk with the empty bed, to which no one objected.
"This isn't too bad," Caleb commented as he and John claimed one of the bunks. "Way better than how some of the guys on the show made their living conditions sound."
"Those guys had to sleep in caves and crummy summer camp cabins," John replied while claiming the top bed. "Season two wasn't exactly well known for the poor living conditions that the other seasons had. This place is actually pretty cozy."
"Yeah, but that winner's trailer would have been way better," Jacque pointed out. "Those Mushroom guys are probably living the good life over there."
"Not for long they aren't," Lance replied while he and Kusa took the remaining pair of beds, with Kusa taking the top one. "That place has our name written all over it. We'll cream them and the Bombers next challenge and snag that place for ourselves."
"Plus that would mean we don't have to vote someone off, which is always a good thing," Kusa added.
As the guys got settled into their new living conditions, John peeked out the window and looked at the other cabins.
"What do you think they've been up to in the time we've been gone?" John asked. Kusa and Caleb shrugged.
"I guarantee that at least 4 or 5 alliances have formed amongst the two teams," Lance replied with a serious look on his face. "The girls might even be forming one right now, too."
"You really think so?" Caleb asked, shocked. "I mean, we've hardly had any time to get adjusted."
"This early in the game is an ideal time to start alliances," Jacque replied with a nod. "I'm sure at least one of them is trying to start one."
Over in the girl's side of the trailer, Morella was confirming exactly as Lance and Jacque had said, as she bounced up and down in the middle of the room. She and Clara now shared a bunk bed, while Annara and Ellie shared the other. Deborah took the single bed.
"I'm telling you guys, we should totes form a girl's alliance," Morella excitedly yelled while clapping. "It would be the best!"
The other girls looked around at each other, all with unsure expressions.
"Don't you think it's a little early for that?" Deborah asked.
"Plus, five people is pretty big for an alliance this early," Annara added. "Things could go wrong."
"And I certainly don't want to go behind the boys backs like that," Clara said with a smile.
"Oooh, I know why that is!" Morella giggled and skipped over to Clara's bunk, somehow immediately dropping and moving on from her alliance idea. "I saw the looks you were giving that Caleb guy!"
The other girls quickly became curious and all turned their attention to Clara, who was now a bright red.
"He just seems like a nice guy is all," she shyly replied.
Morella had a huge smile as she squealed in excitement. "We have our first showmance on our hands, girls!" Suddenly, Morella turned her attention to Ellie and smiled even wider. "And I think I can predict what showmance number two will be."
Realizing that Morella was looking at her, Ellie's eyes went wide and she looked around nervously. "W-What are you talking about?"
"Don't think I didn't see the looks you were giving Jacque on the trolley earlier," Morella replied. "You're totally crushing on him!"
It was now time for the girls to once again all turn their attention, this time to Ellie. She began stammering before composing herself.
"I hardly even know him," Ellie finally said. "I'm just really shy is all. There's no crushes going on anywhere, I promise!"
Morella raised and eyebrow and leaned in close, as if trying to figure out if Ellie was lying by watching her expression. After getting nose to nose with Ellie, she finally stood back and smiled again.
"If you say so," Morella said, before smiling at Clara. "But she's totally crushing. You and Caleb will be so cute together! I wonder what the fans will call it? Calra? Clareb? Both of your names start with C, so it's kind of confusing."
Deborah and Annara exchanged a look of confusion while Morella continued to ramble.
*** Confessional: Deborah ***
"Morella seems super nice, but she's also SUPER hyper. Like, I don't think that girl has calmed down even a little since the Gilded Joystick ceremony. I would be happy to avoid elimination too, but she just goes on and on and on!"
*** Outside the trailers ***
It was early in the morning after the first day of the new season. Everyone was comfortably asleep in their beds in the Blue Bombers and Yellow Ghosts trailers. Most of the Red Mushrooms were in their beds. Kyle was in his own room, while the other rooms were shared. Lukas and Lincoln, Xilier and Lee Lee, Andrea and Taylor, and finally Alice and Mandy. Zane and Liam shared the final room, but they had instead fallen asleep in the large living room after staying up to play video games. Chris stood outside the trailers with a grin on his face and an air horn in his hand. Chef stood next to him and chuckled before exchanging a nod with the host. Chris held the horn up and blasted it, forcing all the players to immediately wake up.
"Good morning, players!" Chris laughed as the various teens reluctantly began filing out of their trailers. "Who's ready for the next challenge?"
"Already?" Lee Lee asked. "The first one was yesterday!"
"And the second one is today," Chris retorted with a smug grin. "Of course, you guys get breakfast before things begin. The challenge won't be for another couple of hours."
"Then why did you wake us up early?" Piper asked, with various other teens nodding in agreement.
"Because I can." Chris and Chef laughed as they walked off, leaving the campers to glare at him.
*** Confessional: Jacque ***
"I'm starting to see why the old contestants didn't like Chris very much."
*** Outside the challenge site ***
With breakfast ate and hours passed, the players all joined Chris outside one of the large buildings on the movie lot for their challenge. Chef was nowhere to be seen.
"Alright, everyone have a good breakfast?" Chris asked, receiving bored nods from a few contestants. "Good! Because for two of you, it'll be your first and last breakfast here on the show!"
"Two?" various different teens asked simultaneously. Everyone looked puzzled and shocked.
"That's right, two," Chris replied. "You see, with such a large cast and only 26 episodes to a season, decisions had to be made to make this season work. One decision was that double eliminations would have to be a factor. So, until the merge, every other challenge will end in a double elimination!"
Everyone gasped. Nervous glances were exchanged as the realization of elimination being twice as likely every other challenge dawned upon the players.
"Of course, this is just yet another reason to try and be the winning team of the day," Chris continued. "The winning team not only wins the winners trailer, but also becomes the only team of the day to not vote someone off! The other two teams won't be so lucky."
"So two teams are voting someone off tonight?" John asked, receiving a nod from Chris.
"Just another reason to win. Now, on to the challenge itself." Chris motioned to the building behind him, signifying that it would indeed house the challenge of the day. "Our video game genre of the day is a classic. Arguably the most important genre there is! It's just as popular today as it was when it started, so it has truly stood the test of time. I speak, of course, about platformers!"
Chris led the competitors into the building as he said this, revealing a huge room filled with various floating platforms suspended by rope. The platforms were various different colors, and platforms of the same color seemed to form a path to a door in the walls. There was 10 different platform paths spread across the entire room, some varying in length and difficulty due to different spacings between platforms.
"The objective is a video game staple," Chris said. "Rescue the princess!"
On cue, Chris was suddenly joined by Lindsay, who appeared from behind the teens wearing a pink dress and a tiara instead of her usual outfit. She smiled and waved at the others, while some of the guys gaped at her looks.
"You all know Lindsay," Chris said. "A fan favorite veteran of Total Drama!"
"I'm a fan's favorite?" Lindsay asked. "Which fan?"
Chris facepalmed and snapped his fingers. Chef then appeared, dressed as a menacing turtle monster with a spiked shell and red hair. He grabbed Lindsay and walked off with her.
"The objective is to save the princess, Lindsay, from the evil monster, Chef. Simple enough?"
The players nodded.
"Good," Chris replied with a grin. "Now, on to how you'll do that. This is a platforming challenge, so you're going to have to pick as a team which of these platform paths you want to traverse. At the end of each is a door, which will lead you to a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel will either be Chef guarding Lindsay, or an intern telling you to go back. Obviously, only one path leads to Chef. Of course, once you finally find Chef, you still need to make it past him to rescue Lindsay, so just making it to Chef doesn't mean you win."
Everyone took another look around the room, trying to somehow figure out which path was the correct one. Some were shorter than others, so they couldn't be it. Unless that's what Chris wanted them to think?
"This is gonna be a fun challenge," Chris mused before letting out a chuckle. "Begin!"
Rather than take off, everybody stood still, looking around at the various paths.
"We should start with the shorter paths since they'll be the easier ones," Liam suggested, making Mandy raise an eyebrow.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to get the longer paths out of the way now?" she asked.
"Actually, he has a point," Alice piped in. "If Chef is in one of the shorter paths, then we win this quick. If he isn't, then we haven't wasted much time checking them. Short paths are the way to go."
The other Red Mushroom members nodded their heads in agreement.
"Guess we have a plan," Andrea said before pointing at the shortest path, a green one low to the ground. "Lets move."
The Mushrooms ran off, leaving the other two teams still puzzled at the start.
"Well if they're taking the short paths, we should take the long paths," Piper suggested, earning some confused looks from her teammates.
"That sounds tiring," Ryan replied. "Why not do what they're doing and try the short paths first?"
"Because Chef being in a short path would be too easy," Piper said. "Chris loves to torture us. We need to put in the effort and tackle the big paths now before we run out of energy in case one of them is the correct path."
A brief moment of silence followed. Eventually, Rowan shrugged. "Meh. Beats standing around here."
"Big paths it is," Billy yelled in a cheery tone before jogging off to the largest path, a long blue one that nearly led into the roof. The others followed closely behind. This left only the Yellow Ghosts at the start."
"So what should we do?" Annara asked. "Big paths or small paths?"
The teens looked around. The Red Mushrooms were all easily jumping from platform to platform, almost at their first door. The Blue Bombers were struggling to make it to just the second platform as the gap was significantly bigger than the ones on the shorter paths.
"How about the medium paths?" Kusa suggested, gesturing at an orange path that was decently longer than the green path, but also decently shorter than the blue one. The gaps were even in the middle, larger than the green platforms gaps, but shorter than the red gaps as well.
"Good enough for me," Lance replied, with others nodding in agreement. "No time to waste!"
The Ghosts ran off to the orange path, effectively beginning the challenge for everyone.
Meanwhile, the Red Mushroom were running down their first tunnel. Eventually they reached the end, where an intern with a ponytail and braces waited for them.
"Sorry, but your princess is in another tunnel," she nervously said, awkwardly looking at the camera.
Xilier sighed. "Yeah, I guess that would have been too easy."
"Come on guys, we gotta keep moving." Taylor was already bolting for the door, eager to continue the challenge. "We'll take the next shortest path next!"
The others looked at each other and shrugged. They all ran to catch up to Taylor. As they exited the door and slammed it behind them, the noise startled Iris bad enough to nearly make her fall from her platform, only for Riley to stop her stumble.
"Looks like the shortest path was a bust," Aden commented before jumping up to the next platform. Piper had a proud smirk on her face.
"We still got a long ways to climb," Trevor yelled while helping Rowan across a large gap to the next platform. "We gotta go, people!"
While the Bombers continued their slow climb up the largest path, the Ghosts were making relatively quick work of the orange path. They had just passed the halfway point when the Mushrooms began their run up their next short path, this one full of white platforms.
"We can do this, guys," Caleb cheered as they all jumped from platform to platform one at a time, with Morella happily leading the pack and Ellie at the rear. "I gotta good feeling about this challenge!"
*** Confessional: Clara ***
"Trying to keep morale high while we're in the middle of a challenge? O… M… G! He is the best!"
*** At the challenge site ***
"Looks like we're almost there," John commented as they approached the door above them. "How at the others doing?"
Deborah looked back to see the Ghosts closing the door behind them as the finished traversing the white path.
"Yellow Ghosts just entered their second tunnel," she replied.
"Wow," an impressed Ellie said. "They're making short work of their paths."
"Which means we'll just have to be faster!" Morella let out an excited squee and clapped before quickly jumping platform to platform and reaching the door. "Lets go, guys!"
The others nodded and quickly jumped up the remaining platforms. Soon enough, they were all inside the tunnel. As they closed the door, the Bombers finally reached the halfway point of their path.
Meanwhile, the Yellow Ghosts all ran down their second tunnel, but were once again greeted by an intern at the end.
"Sorry," the scrawny glasses wearing guy said. "You princess is in another tunnel."
"I'm starting to think that short paths weren't a great idea," Lukas commented as he glared at the intern.
"Of course they weren't, you buffoon," Kyle added with his arms folded and eyes narrowed at Liam. "This peasant should have never been trusted!"
"I don't see you coming up with any better ideas, hot shot," Lee Lee barked out while starring daggers at Kyle. The two began arguing and Lincoln had to get between the two to prevent physical contact.
"Our team is falling apart," Taylor yelled in an over the top voice before cartoonishly crying on the floor in the fetal position.
"We can't panic now, guys," Mandy said as Kyle and Lee Lee continued bickering. "The vampires will never be defeated that way!"
Zane watched the spectacle of his teammates arguing, crying, and yelling in confusion. Andrea stood beside him and nodded her head in dissapointment.
"See what I mean?" Andrea said. "Bad influences."
"They're definitely crazy, I'll give you that much," Zane replied.
Eventually Alice was able to calmly talk Taylor back into a happy mood, while Lukas and Xilier held back Kyle and Lee Lee respactively.
"Guys, we gotta keep moving and focus on the challenge," Lincoln commented as things finally began to calm down. "We can argue and insult each other when we're chilling in the winner's trailer for the second time in a row!"
Everyone looked around in silence. Even Kyle and Lee Lee exchanged a look that signified that they'd put the argument behind them for the challenge.
"Yeah, you're right, sorry about that," Lee Lee sincierly replied.
Kyle didn't have a reply but he nodded, prompting the others to finally run out and leave the tunnel. As they exited, they saw the Yellow Ghosts making good progress up a brown path that was slightly larger than their earlier one.
"What took them so long?" Jacque asked as he watched them run down their path so that they could start the next smallest path, a black one.
"Don't know, don't care," Lance replied as they passed the halfway point of their path. "But we got a challenge to win."
As the players continued jumping from platform to platform, the Blue Bombers finally made it to the top of their path.
"That… sucked," Rowley said between exhausted breaths.
"No time to slow down," Piper said as she swung open the door. "Chef could be waiting for us at the end."
The others reluctantly followed Piper into the tunnel, which eventually led them to an overweight intern wearing a hat. He certainly wasn't Chef or Lindsay.
"Sorry, but your princess is in another tunnel."
"After all that we get nothing?" Ryan yelled, stomping his foot. "That's stupid!"
"I-If it makes you feel any better, Chris put slides up here for the larger paths so you don't have to waste too much time jumping back down the platforms," the intern cowardly replied as he pointed at a nearby slide that led to the bottom of the building.
"Well hey, it beats jumping down," Billy replied in an upbeat tone, trying to keep the mood on the team good. "We taking the next biggest path once we get down there?"
"Yep," Piper said sternly. "Chef's in one of the bigger paths. It would make the most sense."
"Then lets go, people, we're burning daylight!" Riley ran up to the slide and quickly slid down. Billy and Iris followed closely behind, eventually followed by the others. Once they reached the bottom, they got to climb the red path, the second biggest batch of platforms.
*** Confessional: Piper ***
"The team was already getting tired, but I was confident in my methods. Chef had to be in one of the big paths. He had to be."
*** At the challenge site ***
After a bit of time, with the path being decently longer than their previous two, the Mushrooms made it to their third tunnel. They ran down the path as fast as they could… only to find yet another intern, this one a tall girl with short hair.
"Sorry, but your-"
"Princess is in another tunnel, yeah yeah, we get it," Zane said in an annoyed tone.
"Crap, we're running out of paths to take," Xilier added. "How many is there left?"
"Well the Bombers and Ghosts each completed one, with the Ghosts about to complete their second," Alice thought out loud. "So assuming that one is a dud, that's six paths taken, with the Bombers on their way to a seventh."
"Three paths left," Liam added. "We, uh, still taking the smallest one?"
"May as well," Andrea replied. "We should try and get there before the Ghosts do."
As the Red Mushrooms exited the door, they saw the Yellow Ghosts do the same at the top of the brown path. Glares were exchanged between the two teams as they ran down their platforms simultaneously. The shorter black path gave the Mushroom the advantage, however, Liam tripped near the bottom and had to be helped up before they ran to the yellow platforms.
*** Confessional: Liam ***
"Yeah, my clumsiness can get the better of me sometimes. I'm sure it won't be too much of a problem."
*** At the challenge site ***
While the members of the Mushrooms team jogged up their path, the Ghosts made it to the bottom. Many of them were out of breath and they took a quick break to compose themselves. They looked at the final two paths, a pink one and a purple one. The purple path was slightly bigger with wider gaps between the platforms. They then looked up and saw the Blue Bombers very slowly making it up the red path due to nearly everyone on the team being exhausted.
"Well… which one?" Deborah asked while catching her breath.
"The pink path is a little quicker," Kusa pointed out. "Maybe that one?"
"Yeah, but if it turns out to be another intern, then the Bombers or Mushrooms definitely win," John added.
"Nothing is definite," Annara replied. "Besides, there's no way to tell which path is correct. It's a risk we have to take."
At that, the others nodded and took off on the pink path, carefully jumping from one platform to another. Up on the red path, Iris nervously looked back at the other two teams.
"They're both about to go through another path," she observed. "Only the purple one remains."
"Surely the last path to be picked won't be the correct one," Rowley replied as he jumped to his next platform and stopped to catch his breath. "That would be too convenient."
"Don't jinx it, you idiot," Rowan hissed as she jumped up another platform. "I am SO tired of these platforms."
"No time to rest, guys, we're almost there," Piper pointed out as she looked up at the door. The team, however, looked beat.
"The gaps are way too big on these stupid things," Lexi complained as she jumped up to the platform Piper was on. "Chris is a bloody git for making us do this challenge."
"Yeah, the likelihood of someone getting injured is way too high," Aden added. "Doesn't he care about our safety?"
*** Confessional: Chris ***
"Oh, yes! The safety of the competitors on my show are always a top priority."
Chris burst out in laughter, laughing so hard that he was nearly in tears before the confessional ended.
*** At the challenge site ***
As the three teams chugged through their respective paths, the Red Mushrooms were the first team to finally reach a door. The team quickly raced down the path and were greeted by none other than an intern. The tall, shaggy haired dude was about to open his mouth when Lukas shushed him before he could speak.
"Don't even say the line, dude," Lukas said, making the intern nervously nod in response.
"One path left to take," Taylor happily said with a grin. "That's gotta be the right one!"
"If it isn't, then the Bombers or Ghosts basically win," Mandy replied. "But it's worth a shot!"
The teammates wasted no time in leaving the tunnel and running back down their path, jumping from platform to platform as quick as they could. The Blue Bombers and Yellow Ghosts all took note of this, acknowledging that one of their paths had to be the winner. The Mushrooms started up the purple path as fast as they could, jumping from platform to platform. Because this was their first path with large gaps between platforms, they weren't nearly as tired and the other teams. They were already well past the halfway point when the Ghosts made it to the top of the pink platform. When their tunnel came to an end, they were greeted by a tall intern with hair covering his eyes.
"Sorry, but your princess is in another tunnel."
"Oh no," Ellie said as she worriedly looked at the others. "Does that mean we lose again?"
"Not necessarily," Caleb replied with a smile. "Remember, Chris said that Chef needs to be beaten before a team can win. Whoever gets to Chef might have trouble with him. We still have a chance!"
"Caleb is right," Clara agreed as she inched closer to Caleb. "We can't give up yet!"
"You guys can, uh, take the slide down if you want," the intern lazily pipped in while pointing at a nearby slide. The others looked at it and shrugged, quickly taking it down to the ground floor.
"The Bombers are almost to the top," John commented as he watched Piper reach the top of the red path, waiting for the rest of her team.
"I say we wait at the bottom of the purple path and wait to see if they come down," Jacque suggested. "If they do, we can get a good head start on them and try to catch up to the Mushrooms. If they don't come out, we can go up their path while the Mushrooms finish with this one."
"Sounds good," Annara replied. "Are we all agreed?"
Nods were exchanged and the Yellow Ghosts patiently stood at the bottom of the purple path as they watched the Blue Bombers finally enter their second door. A couple of minutes passed before they saw the team slide down to the floor, some of them yelling in anger.
"Red was a bust," Lance yelled before immediately turning and jumping up the platforms. The rest of this team was close behind. While they started up the path, the Mushrooms had made it to the top. Everyone but Alice had entered and she saw the approaching team before she closed the door.
"Guys, this is the right path," she yelled up to her teammates. "But the Ghosts are on our tail and the Bombers will be along eventually. We need to finish this-"
She cut herself off as she and the others came to a stop at a point in the tunnel. The plain black tunnel turned into a narrow bridge suspended above a small pit. The walls of the pit were painted to look like fire for visual effect. At the other end of the bridge stood a grinning Chef, with Lindsay close behind him.
"Hey guys," Lindsay cheerfully yelled. "You all did totally awesome!"
"Oh, they ain't done yet," Chef said with a chuckle. He grabbed a nearby burlap sack and poured the contents on to the bridge. What came out were dozens of angry looking snapping turtles. "I want y'all maggots to meet my minions!"
"Minions?" Liam asked. As if in response, Chef then pulled out a hockey stick and whacked one of the turtles, sending the creature flying straight into Liam. It bit down on the poor teen's arm, causing him to run around and scream.
"Make it past me to win," Chef reminded the others before laughing and hitting more snapping turtles at them. Everyone bobbed and weaved out of the way, running in terror as they tried to avoid the pain. Liam required help from Xilier to remove the turtle from his arm.
"How is this supposed to work?" Lincoln asked as he ducked out of the way from an incoming turtle. "We can't get close to him without getting a turtle to the face!"
"We take him down like how we'd take down a blood sucking freak!" Mandy pulled off one of her shoes and stood in place with determination. "Bring it on, Chef! You're nothing compared to Dracula!"
Chef raised an eyebrow but shrugged and hit a turtle Mandy's way. She smirked and when the turtle got to her, she smacked it back with her shoe, sending it hurtling at Chef. He wasn't able to react in time and the turtle bit down on his nose, making Chef run around in pain and fall straight into the pit. There was a brief moment of silence, followed by cheers.
"No time to celebrate," Andrea said as she ran across the bridge. "We need to win first."
The others stopped cheering and quickly made their way across the bridge, hopping over any stray turtles that remained on the course. Everything seemed to be in the bag for the Mushrooms when everyone but Liam had crossed the bridge. However, just as Liam was about to reach the end with his team, an untied shoelace caused him to trip and fall into the pit with Chef, who was still trying to get the turtle off of his face.
"Oh crap," Zane commented as Taylor rushed to the edge of the pit and reached her hand down.
"Liam, take my hand," Taylor dramatically yelled as Liam sat up and rubbed his head.
"Ugh, what happened?" Liam asked as he seemed to not know where he was.
As the other members of the Red Mushrooms yelled for Liam to get up, a loud commotion suddenly came from down the tunnel. Everyone looked up in shock as the members of the Yellow Ghosts ran down the bridge at top speeds and all managed to make it to the end.
"And the Yellow Ghosts win," Chris yelled, revealing himself as he came from behind a hidden door. Lindsay giggled and clapped in amusement.
"That was soooo much fun," Lindsay merrily said. "Can I be a princess for another episode?"
"Hold on, we were the first team to make it to Lindsay," Andrea pointed out. "We even beat Chef."
"True, but you needed the whole team to make it to Lindsay," Chris replied with a grin. "The Ghosts did that first."
As Chris said this, Liam was finally being helped up by Taylor. He said nothing as he nervously looked around at his disappointed teammates.
"So yeah, Yellow Ghosts win," Chris continued. "Red Mushrooms, you and the Blue Bombers are voting someone off tonight. See you then!"
Chris and Lindsay walked off, leaving the Yellow Ghosts to celebrate and the Red Mushrooms to sulk. As they did this, another commotion came from elsewhere in the tunnel and the Blue Bombers finally made it to the end of the bridge. They came to a stop and looked at the other teams, crestfallen.
"I think we were too late," Garrett said.
Piper sighed. "Oh, shut up."
*** Inside the winner's trailer ***
With the team about to lose the trailer to the Yellow Ghosts, the Mushrooms were enjoying their last moments for the time being in their trailer. Unfortunately, with Kyle making the butler bring him various foods and Liam taking a nap in his room, the last moments were spent on a debate in the living room on who to vote off.
"I'm telling you, we need to vote off Kyle," Lee Lee said, keeping her voice low enough for him to not hear in the other room. "He's rude, he isn't exactly the most useful in challenges, and worst of all, he's already rich!"
"Sure, he's a piece of crap to come on this show when we could all use the money way more than him," Lukas replied, leaning back on the couch with his arms folded. "But he ain't the one who lost us the challenge today."
"Liam's plan to use the shorter paths first ended up being beneficial to us," Alice pointed out. "Plus, he's such a nice kid. We should give him another chance."
"Another chance could mean another challenge lost because of his carelessness," Andrea replied. "We vote off Liam. Kyle will be dealt with when he is the one who loses us a challenge."
Zane nodded his head in agreement. "I gotta go with them. I mean, yeah, the guy is nice and all, we played a bunch of video games last night and he was pretty cool during it, but this is a competition. We gotta think about what's best for the team as a whole."
"He's got a point," Mandy said, shrugging as Lee Lee gave her a frustrated stare. "I'm just saying."
"Yeah, but Kyle's attitude isn't doing the team any favors either," Xilier replied.
"Also a good point," Mandy admitted with a sigh.
"Whatever happens, happens," Taylor said with a bright smile. "As long as we aren't voting someone off again next challenge, I'll be happy!"
Lincoln grinned. "I think that's something we can all agree on."
Nods and smiles were exchanged before the teens got up and left for the elimination ceremony.
*** Gilded Joystick Ceremony ***
Chris and Chef smiled as 22 teens all stood next to the seats, prepared to vote off one of their own teammates.
"Well well well, looks like each team will be down to 10 after tonight," Chris commented as he eyed the nervous teens. "I think the Red Mushrooms will have the more interesting voting, so how about we do the Blue Bombers first! Come on up, kids."
The 11 Blue Bombers took their seat on the stands. They reached under their seats and pulled out the voting devices that displayed all of their faces.
"We're running low on time here, so get to voting!"
As Chris asked, everyone cast their votes. Chef then stood next to Chris with the first platter of Gilded Joysticks.
"Gilded Joysticks go to Lexi, Aden, Billy, Ryan, Trevor, Rowan, Riley, Garrett, and Rowley!"
Everyone called gladly grabbed their joysticks, leaving only Piper and Iris without one. Iris was shaking nervously like a leaf while Piper seemed confident.
"Interesting bottom two," Chris said with a chuckle. "Final Joystick goes to… Iris!"
Piper and Iris both gasped as Chris tossed the final symbol of immunity to Iris.
"Why the heck did you guys vote me off?" Piper demanded, equally furious and shocked.
"Your plan screwed us in the challenge," Garrett said bluntly.
"Plus, didn't you say someone should be eliminated no matter what if they lose the challenge for their team?" Riley asked.
"Not when it's me!" Piper stomped the ground. "I can't believe this!"
Chef dragged Piper off and quickly placed her into the Sling of Shame. He pulled back and sent her flying through the sky. The teens were shocked at the spectacle, but Chris wanted to move things along.
"Yeah, yeah, she'll be fine, don't worry. The dude from yesterday that took the Sling of Shame only had a few cuts and bruises. Bring up the Red Mushrooms!"
Slowly, the Blue Bombers left the seats and were replaced by the Red Mushrooms. They took their voting devices, which now displayed the faces of their team.
"This should be interesting," Chris mused. "Vote!"
Once voting was done, Chef returned to the stage with more Gilded Joysticks. Chris grinned as he looked over the team.
"Votes were close on this one," he said as he held the first joystick. "I think you all know who the bottom two is, so I won't waste your time. Xilier, Lincoln, Alice, Zane, Mandy, Taylor, Lukas, Lee Lee, and Andrea! All of you are safe."
All eyes were on Liam and Kyle. Kyle seemed bored and annoyed, while Liam was nervously looking between Kyle and the Gilded Joystick.
"Liam, your clumsy mistake cost your team the challenge," Chris said as he held the final joystick. "Kyle, nobody on your team seems to like you. That's never a good thing when trying to avoid elimination."
Kyle eyed his teammates curiously and simply shrugged.
"Well, only one of you can stay in the game. The final Gilded Joystick goes to...
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… Kyle!"
Kyle smugly smirked and grabbed his joystick.
Liam hung his head in shame. "Sorry, guys. Didn't mean to screw up the challenge."
"It's alright, little guy," Chris said from the stage. "If it makes you feel any better, you don't have to take the Sling of Shame."
"Really?" Liam asked, his expression growing slightly relieved.
"Nope! Take him away, Chef!"
Chef chuckled and grabbed Liam. He was placed in the giant slingshot and was quickly pulled back and flung through the sky, his yells echoing as he flew.
"And so 33 because 30," Chris said as he grinned at the 20 teens before him. "The rest of you are safe… for now. Return to your trailers. Red Mushrooms, you get to sleep in the trailer that the Yellow Ghosts had last night. Won't that be fun?"
Glares from the Red Mushrooms were pointed at Chris as the players walked off. Chris chuckled and faced the camera.
"And so concludes are first ever double elimination! We're gonna have a few more of those and they're sure to be entertaining every time! Will more alliances form throughout the teams? Can the Yellow Ghosts get a win streak going? And who will be the next to ride the Sling of Shame? Tune in for all of that and more, next time on TOTAL… DRAMA… LEVEL UP!"
Votes:
Iris: Piper
Piper: Iris, Lexi, Rowan, Riley, Trevor, Aden, Garrett, Ryan, Rowley, Billy
Kyle: Liam, Lee Lee, Alice, Taylor, Xilier
Liam: Kyle, Lukas, Lincoln, Andrea, Zane, Mandy
Remaining Contestants:
Red Mushrooms: (Lukas, Lincoln), (Andrea, Zane), Mandy, Lee Lee, Kyle, Xilier, Taylor, Alice
Blue Bombers: (Riley, Iris), (Trevor, Aden), Garrett, Rowley, Rowan, Lexi, Ryan, Billy
Yellow Ghosts: John, Deborah, Clara, Morella, Lance, Caleb, Ellie, Jacque, Annara, Kusa
31st: Liam
32nd: Piper
33rd: Nathan
Author's Note:
Sorry for taking so long on this. I've been flooded with school, work, and holiday stuff all keeping me busy. At least the chapter was a big one! Consider it my Christmas present to you. Although, in that case, it would probably be considered a crappy present for the people who submitted Liam and Piper. Sorry, guys. They'll return for the aftermaths. And the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to get out. Heck, I might even squeeze it out before the new year. No promises, though.
Two things to note about the bold section above these author's notes. First, per request, I've added a section to show how the votes go in each elimination. I even edited the previous chapter to show who voted Nathan and who voted Morella. Second, I've borrowed something from aspiringAnimator's story "The Fifty State Roundup," which you should totally go read if you have the time. Established alliances will be marked with parenthesis. This is to help readers keep up with the various story lines since we have so many characters to keep up with.
One last thing. At first I wanted to reference more franchises this episode with the genre being platformers, but there's so many great iconic platformers out there that all the references could have become a huge mess. Instead, I just went with the basic. Super Mario Bros and that's it. I'll try to reference more games in some future genres, whether it be the title or in the chapter itself. Video game references are obviously going to be a reoccurring thing in this story. Readers probably already figured that out when the team names became references to Mario, Mega Man, and Pac-Man, and the last challenge had references to Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, and… Pac-Man. Again. So that's all for this chapter, folks. Let me know what you thought in the reviews. Too many words? Some characters not getting enough screen time? Some getting too much screen time? Tell me all.