(A/N: So, before we start, I just want you guys to know I may vanish soon. I'm fine, before any of you ask- but it turns out my computer is NOT fine. Lately I've been getting one or two disc read errors on boot, which isn't a great sign. For those of you who aren't too computer savvy, basically it looks like my current hard drive is on a timer. How long is that timer? Well... not really sure. When your hard drive starts to go, it can be a matter of days, week, months- technically, it could last me another year or so. I won't really know when it'll kick the bucket until it actually does. That saiiiiid, my birthday is around the corner. I'm gonna try and hold off until then in case I get a little extra birthday dough, then upgrade to an SSD. So if I go quiet at some point, just PM me. I'll be able to access my inbox on my phone, but... I'm not going to try and update the story on mobile XD. Sorry, I think that would murder my thumbs. But yeah! Just wanted to throw that out there in case my hard drive cruds out and I'm unable to update for a couple of weeks. Some more announcements to come at the end of the chapter... but for now? It's finally time for the first elimination of the season. All downhill from here. Maybe uphill? Matter of perspective. Enjoy!)
Andy and Simon dove.
The surface of the water broke, splashing the contestants surrounding the pond, chilling them to the bone as the two boys disappeared beneath the surface of the water. Their silhouettes became fainter, and fainter, before disappearing from sight altogether, at the mercy of whatever waited beneath the waves. Shelbi and Gael had hardly scratched the surface on their go, after all, so other than knowing Franz lurked somewhere below the surface, they were going in blind.
Felicity peered over at the pond, still a bit shaky from the close encounter the competitors had all shared. "I hope Andy is okay down there. Who knows what else could be in the water..."
Mitsy scoffed, eyes rolling. "All I know is Simon better come back with one of those rings, or he can just drown for all I care."
Felicity let out a gasp. "Mitsy!"
"Oh, what. I'm kidding," the blonde scowled. "...mostly."
CONFESSIONAL: ANDY
So, scores tied up at nothing, and I'm the first person from my team to go. Well... first to have a chance, anyway. First challenge of the game where there's elimination, so... yeah. You could say I was feeling the pressure. Just a little. You know.
CONFESSIONAL: SIMON
Pressure? Nahhh. I guess you could say it's pretty smooth sail... nooo, that one doesn't work. I need to think of more water-related puns. Okay, NOW I'm feeling the pressure.
END CONFESSIONAL
The two boys swam past the one point markers easily- not even thinking of going for the small fry. It was the first go, and Andy especially wanted to make it count with an early lead. As they made their way down, though, they began to notice outlines snaking through the water, wriggling and thrashing toward them. Eels. Andy grimaced, swimming away from one, only for another to brush against his back, sending a shock through his body. He twitched and jerked, kicking around, Simon noticing this from across the pond. Instead of going through the eels, Simon stuck to the wall, grabbing the five point ring and swimming back toward the surface. Andy began to cough and splutter. Running out of air, he kicked his feet rapidly toward his team's rings, earning a few more shocks in the process. He reached out, grabbing desperately... finally wrapping his fingers around one of the rings. He yanked it off, clutching it tightly as he made toward the surface, gasping in relief as he emerged. He began to cough a bit, hands beginning to reach down to help him out of the water.
"You alright man?" Kyle asked, pulling him up on land. "Ouch... you've got a lot marks on your body."
Andy looked down- sure enough, there were several red, suspiciously eel-shaped blotches covering his skin. "Electric eels," he responded, shuddering. "Careful down there."
"Aw, you shouldn't have told them," Simon hummed, handing his ring to Chris as Andy did the same. "it would have been such a SHOCK!"
A few of the competitors groaned, Chris included. "That was bad, Simon, and I'll thank you to leave the wisecracks to me," the host grunt. He took the rings, looking them over. "Well well well, looks like we're still tied- five and five, Ducks and Ferrets! I didn't see that coming, but it looks like that means things will stay interesting for a little longer."
"Sorry about that," Andy sighed, turning toward his team. "Wanted to go for a ten, but I took a couple shocks and had to come back up."
"Eh, no es gran cosa." Kyle shrugged it off with an absent smile. "Still tied up, and you did let us know what was down there. I'd say that's kind of a win."
"Well... some of what was down there," Felicity gulped, looking more than a tad nervous.
Chris looked over at the girl, snickering to himself. "Scared? You totally should be- especially since you're up next!" There was a note of sadistic glee in his voice as he waved Felicity toward the pond. "Felicity, Maxine, you two are up! Time to show your teams what you're made of. Hopefully, it's not... chicken. Bok-bok!"
Felicity, frowned, looking away, but Maxine just smiled, patting her stomach. "Well, I dunno. You are what you eat, right?" she said. "And I do eat a lot of chicken! And steak. And burgers. Hotdogs. And pies, cakes, eggs-"
"Yeah, yeah, already regretting the remark," the host sighed, shaking his head. "On three. One... two... GO!"
Maxine leapt into the water, seemingly without hesitation. Felicity, however, remained glued to the spot.
"Uh, Felicity? I said GO." Chris tapped his foot, annoyed. "Am I gonna have to push you in?"
"I... I..." Felicity stammered, staring into the water.
Ingrid slowly reached out, placing a hand on Felicity's shoulder. "Hey, it'll be fine. Just grab one of the first rings or something. You won't even see that robot-crocodile thing."
Felicity turned to Ingrid, still looking unsure. "Do you really think so? Won't the team be mad if I don't g-get a lot of p-points?"
"Of course not!" Kyle assured her. "Just do your best, and-"
The touching moment came to an abrupt close, however, when Chris casually shoved Felicity into the water. She let out a surprised yelp, falling beneath the surface, the Ducks turning and glaring at Chris.
"Come on man! What was that for?" Andy scowled.
"Pfft. You guys are supposed to be the DARING Ducks, not the... um... I dunno, what starts with 'd' and means cowardly?" Chris scratched his head, struggling to think of a word.
"Diffident?" Peter offered, adjusting his glasses.
Chris shook his head. "Peter, stop making words up."
Peter frowned. "But, I didn't-"
Chris crossed his arms, annoyed. "Okay then, Mr. Weisenheimer. If you're just going to give me nonsense words, then why don't we just change your team name to the Diffident Ducks for the rest of the season, then?"
"Uh... well, that isn't really necessary-" Peter tried, but Chris quickly spoke over him.
"No no, Mr. Team Captain. Diffident Ducks it is!" The host rolled his eyes, giving an exaggerated sigh. "Pfft. You kids and your made up words."
Down in the water, things were... surprisingly unbalanced. Slowly but steadily, Maxine was making her way deep down, passing the one point, then the five point rings, managing to avoid the eels, and steadily approaching the ten point rings... but her mind was going even beyond that.
CONFESSIONAL: MAXINE
Now, you might think I'm a bad swimmer just because of my weight... buuuut all that experience in competitive eating has really helped me in holding my breath! I might not be the most graceful, but I can totally make it down to the ninety point rings, you watch!
END CONFESSIONAL
Further and further down, the ten point rings were finally coming into view for Maxine. It almost seemed like it would be easy, until she caught something making a beeline for her out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head, eyes widening- a barracuda torpedoing toward her. She tried to scramble away, darting toward the rings, then off to the side, but unable to move quick enough. The barracuda's mouth opened impossibly wide, sinking its teeth into her leg. She let out a yelp, water flowing into her mouth, coughing and gagging as she hurried up toward the surface, the barracuda holding on firmly.
Back near the top, Felicity was just swimming down, heart thumping in her chest. She tried to force herself to calm down, wondering if she could maybe make it to the five point ring, when she saw a large shadow swim up past her. She flailed backward, quickly grabbing a one point ring, and retreating to the surface. Felicity emerged at the same time as Maxine; the key difference being, while Andy and Ingrid were ready and waiting to help Felicity up, Maxine frantically climbed up on the ground, shaking her leg wildly.
"Off off off off off!" she cried, the barracuda flopping around, before releasing, falling back into the water and swimming beneath the murk. Maxine held up her leg, looking it over. Thankfully, the thing hadn't broken skin, but it was still a throbbing red. "Owwwww! What was that thing?!"
Chris grinned, looking remarkably pleased with himself. "Oh, I have no idea! We just spent like, four or five figures to send people out into the ocean, have them find fish with teeth and dump them in this pond! Pretty great, right?"
Maxine huffed, standing up. "No! I wasn't even able to get a ring after that thing got a hold of me..."
"Um.. I got a ring!" Felicity spoke up, handing Chris her's.
"Well... I'm surprised again," Chris admit, taking the ring. "...only worth one point, but better than nothing, I guess. That means Felicity just took the lead for the Diffident Ducks, with a six-five lead!"
Felicity looked stunned. "Wait... I did? I got the lead?"
"You did! See, we told you it wouldn't be so bad," Ingrid smiled.
Maxine sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Oh man... sorry guys," she mumbled, heading toward the back of the line.
"Ah, no worries!" Leon told her. "You were only the third up, and only a one point lead! Plenty of time to recover!"
Miriam rolled her eyes, giving Leon a disapproving look. "Right, because that's what we need on our team. More zeroes."
"Hey- I did my best," Maxine frowned. "The lead isn't too bad, we can still win this."
"We don't need excuses," Miriam countered. "We need points. Just go sit down and I'll show you how its done."
Maxine huffed, about to retort, but Miriam had already headed off, approaching the pond at the same time as Kyle. Maxine shook her head, grumbling a bit, about to hang out at the back of the line when she noticed Gael sitting on a log nearby.
"Hey!" she greeted cheerily, taking a spot next to him. "Mind if I join you?"
"Oh, um, I guess not," Gael agreed, sliding to the other side of the log, though he sounded hesitant. Despite having ample room, Maxine choose to sit right by him, anyway.
"Looks like we both came up short, huh?" she remarked. "Well, its not a big deal. Our team is still pretty good, I bet we can manage to win!"
Gael shrugged, quiet for a while. "Maybe."
Maxine raised an eyebrow, a bit taken back by his shyness. "What? Don't think we can manage?"
"Well, maybe," Gael said again, despondent. "We'll just have to wait and see. But if we can't do it, then..."
Maxine nodded. "You think one of us might be sent home, huh? Yeah. That's what I was worried about too... but cheer up! It's not over until it's over, right?"
Gael shrugged. Maxine frowned, before continuing. "Well... until then, hey. Maybe us losers can keep each other company!"
CONFESSIONAL: GAEL
I'm not feeling great about my stay here, so far. I've come up short in each of the challenges so far, and... truth is, I came here to meet people, but I'm having a hard time doing that too. It's just... hard socializing. Especially after a loss like that. I really have to get my head back in things. If I stick around, I guess.
END CONFESSIONAL
Back at the pond, both Miriam and Kyle were in place, awaiting their turn.
"Everybody ready?" Chris asked.
Kyle turned to Miriam, cracking a smile. "Hey, good luck."
Miriam just rolled her eyes.
"And... one... two... THREE!" Chris shouted.
The two dove into the water gracefully, more so than the previous contestants had- both having something of an athletic background. They easily swam past the one point mark. Then the five point. Then ten point was approaching. As they made their way past the eels, they noticed the barracuda darting through the water. It seemed unsure about which of them to go after, both slipping past as a result, well on their way to the next rungs.
On the surface, Chris checked his watch. "Huh. They've both been down there a while. They might be on their way to discovering the next surprise."
A malicious grin spread across his lips, laughing to himself as he leaned over to peer into the water. "That's right... the mi-"
Of course, the two competitors heard none of this, not aware of any more impending obstacles. Right as they reached the rings, they saw them. Floating in the water, lurking, waiting; more terrible than anything they could imagine.
Underwater mimes.
Kyle and Miriam exchanged a glance, each as confused as the other. The mimes shared no such confusion. There were three of them in total; dressed in your typical striped mime garb, with a water tank on their back and a breather on their face, their pant seemingly water proof. The three gestured quickly, almost conversationally toward each other. The marine mummers shared a nod, turning to the two contestants. They reached for their hips, and, horrifyingly, withdrew harpoon guns, taking aim. That was all Kyle and Miriam needed to incentivise a break toward the surface.
The two emerged with a gasp, pulling themselves up on land as the mimes poked their heads out; their hollow, creepy, but probably human eyes laser focused on the two.
For once, though, Chris seemed as disturbed as the contestants. "GREAT BALLS OF FIRE WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE THOSE?"
An intern, small and weaselly, approached Chris, nerves as plain on his face as his eyes were. "Uh... the underwater-mimes you requested, s-s-sir-"
"MIMES?! Underwater MIMES?!" Chris demanded. "I said MINES, you idiot! Why in the world would I ask for underwater MIMES?! That's unnatural and doesn't make any sense!"
He snatched the clipboard from the intern's head, whacking him over the head with it. "Get out of here, shoo, get lost! You're fired!"
The intern held up his hands defensively, before turning, and running off. Chris groaned, turning to the two. "Okay, just... what do we have here, ten and ten?" He asked, still clearly perturbed. "Well... alright. Still close, but it looks like the Ducks maintain a one point lead- sixteen to fifteen!"
Each competitor headed back to their respective line- Kyle receiving high fives from Andy and Ingrid, Miriam simply giving her team a cocky smile.
"That's how its done," she said confidently.
Mitsy scoffed, brushing hair out of her eyes. "So what. You're not that big of a deal just because you got us ten points, you know."
Miriam paused on her way to the back of the line, turning to face Mitsy. "What? Think you can manage the same?"
"And in half the time," Mitsy shot back, removing her glasses. "Hey, Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman. Hold these."
Mitsy shoved her sunglasses in Ash's hand before he could protest, confidently strutting up to the pond. "Anything you can do, I can do better."
Adam stepped up beside her, taking a breath. "Okay. I'm ready! If mimes are the worst that's down there, then this shouldn't be too hard!"
Chris looked between the two. "And... go!" He threw an arm up, the two leaping in, Mitsy displaying surprising form.
The blonde moved gracefully through the water, diving deep down, eclipsing Adam with ease as she eluded the eels. The barracuda wasn't quite so easy- the thing biting and snapping at her heels, Mitsy losing her composure a bit as she flopped and kicked at the fish, reaching toward the ten point rod. Adam, reaching the five point, thought about trying to go further- but thought twice when he saw the mimes emerge, all focused on Mitsy. The blonde noticed too, just in time, spinning around and rapidly paddling toward the surface, Adam way ahead of her. The mimes swam after, her saving grace being that they still wore their normal clothes, weighing them down in the water.
Adam pulled himself up on grass, shaking the water off, Mitsy appearing not long after.
"Ugh... freaky clowns," she scoffed, clambering up. "That's right, no one help me or anything!"
"Well, you did say anything I could do, you could do better, right?" Miriam retort. "So why would you need my help?"
Ash sighed, holding out a hand. "Probably gonna regret getting involved in this, but... here, I'll help. Let's just... try not to bite each other's heads off. Here- your glasses, too."
Mitsy took his hand, using it to pull herself up. She snatched up her glasses, giving a quick, "thanks" before tossing her ring at Chris.
CONFESSIONAL: MITSY
What? I happen to LOVE swimming in my spare time. You don't get a good beach body without actually using it, you know!
END CONFESSIONAL
"Here... sorry guys," Adam murmured, handing Chris his ring. "I wanted to go for more, but, once the mimes showed up I didn't want to risk it."
"Well well, five and ten- looks like the Ferrets broke through, taking the lead!" Chris announced. "Looks like we're twenty-five to twenty-one, Ferrets!"
"Well, that isn't too bad of a lead," Peter shrugged. "Ingrid, you're up next. Do you think you can do this?"
Ingrid eyed over the pond, seriously considering the question. "Well... we have eels, a barracuda thing, mimes, and a robo-alligator. Unless... well, unless it turns into a Crocnado, I think I'll be okay."
CONFESSIONAL: INGRID
So my friends signed me up for this show so I could show how cool goths are. I guess if I won this challenge for my team, that would probably work, but I don't know if I could make it all the way down to the bottom. Hmm. I think three mimes are worth about the same as a killer crocodile anyway by movie logic, so... outswimming them should probably do the trick anyway.
CONFESSIONAL: ASH
Annnnd my turn. Time to show them why they need to keep the crippled guy around.
END CONFESSIONAL
"And... go!"
Ingrid and Ash went. Ingrid jumped in with all the grace of a rock, while Ash gave a sort of half-dive, buckling slightly as he pushed off. When he was in the water, however, he swam quickly and with ease, passing the initial obstacles, while Ingrid floundered a bit near the top. She tried to follow him down into the depths, but received a few nasty shocks from the eels in response to her efforts; causing her to retreat back toward the surface.
Before Ash had even reached the ten point rings, the mimes had taken notice of him, swimming toward the young man expertly. He knew he couldn't leave empty handed, though, pressing onward... and that was when he got lucky. As the mimes approached, so did the barracuda; and thankfully, the fish focused on them more than Ash. The mimes began to panic, scattering in each direction, perhaps not seeing the turn of events... Ash quickly spinning around and heading up toward the surface, ring in hand.
The two came up at around the same time, each holding a ring... Ingrid looking a little worse for wear, her make up running down her face, dying the water around her.
Felicity let out a surprised gasp, before squinting, looking Ingrid over. "Wait... is that you Ingrid? I thought you were one of those monster mimes!"
"Just me," Ingrid sighed, rubbing her eyes. "I kind of forgot about the whole underwater thing... maybe I'll have to go with waterproof make up if we do this again."
"Definitely," Felicity giggled. "Well, its not so bad! At least you got a ring, right?"
Ingrid nodded, handing hers to Chris; five points.
"Five points, not bad. Ash?" The host turned to the blonde expectantly.
"Right here," Ash nod, handing him a ten point.
"Five and ten? That means the Ferrets stay in the lead with a score of thirty five, while the Ducks hang back with a score of twenty-six!" Chris announced. "Things are heating up- Ducks, you guys either have to REALLY step up your game, or hope that the Ferrets whiff the next few rounds if you want to recover. Only three pairs left!"
"Nice going, Ash!" Leon grinned, the two exchanging a high five as he walked up to the pond.
"Thanks!" Ash smiled, "Good luck out there, man."
Instead of making his way to where the rest of his team was waiting though, he moved past them, sneaking away. Miriam watched him go, eyes narrowing suspiciously, before following after.
When she caught up to him, Ash was sitting on a rock at the edge of the forest. He let out slow, steady breaths as he stretched his leg, wincing a little bit each time.
"Hey. You," Miriam spoke, coming to a stop a few yards from him, arms crossed. "What are you doing out here?"
Ash looked up, surprised- unaware he had been followed. "Who, me? Just needed a breather."
"Uh huh. From what." Miriam demanded. "For someone who has to walk around with a cane, you seemed to do okay during that challenge. Are you faking?"
"Faking?" Ash seemed more perplexed than offended. "Why would I be faking?"
"For sympathy. Obviously." She rolled her eyes. "You seem in good shape, you obviously swam fine, you were cleared to compete. So answer the question. Are you faking?"
"No, no..." he sighed, looking away. "Look, its... its really not a big deal. I used to play football at my school, alright? One game, it was just a freak thing. I got... well, my leg broke pretty bad. It never really healed quite right, and it took a lot of rehab to get where I am now. I can get around okay. I mean, I can go jogging with you right now if you wanted me to- I just can't go for a marathon."
He gave her a somewhat sad smile before continuing. "I can still go. It's just, after a while the pain starts to kick in. That's why I use the cane."
"Uh huh." Miriam looked him over, unsure if he was lying or not. "So... what. You're just stuck like that then?"
Ash shrugged, looking a bit unsure himself. "Well... there's surgery for it. But that's... look, I'm okay. I won't hold the team back or anything. Unless we do have to run a marathon. Then maybe you should bench me for that one."
He gave her a smile, but she just shook her head. "So long as you can keep up. The minute you don't, though, we're leaving you behind," Miriam told him, blunt.
CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM
I don't care about his sob story. There's enough of them in the world and I hear them all the time. All I care about is whether or not he can get it done. Today, he did. Tomorrow, we'll see.
CONFESSIONAL: ASH
Friendly girl. But you know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it's almost like she doesn't like me very much.
END CONFESSIONAL:
Aaron hesitantly made his way to the pond, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."
Leon smiled, giving his opponent a wave. "Aaron! This should be a fun challenge, right?"
"Fun?" Aaron murmured. "I don't know about that. I'm not really a great diver. Or swimmer. Or athlete..."
"Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure you'll do fine!" Leon assured him... Rosella watching the two from a distance.
CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA
Leon and Aaron are facing each other in the challenge... it must be some kind of fate, mustn't it? Well, I know who I'm rooting for. Aaron has made his feelings quite clear already.
END CONFESSIONAL
Leon and Aaron's turn was a quick one. Almost as soon as they had entered the water, they had exited, each holding with them a ring- even if Aaron did look noticeably disappointed. Chris stepped forward, examining the two.
"Well, looks like Aaron scored five points, and Leon scored ten!" he took the rings from each, tossing them in the small pile that had been forming nearby. "Starting to notice a pattern here- and that pattern isn't looking good for the Ducks! The ferrets maintain their lead, and the scores are now forty-five to thirty-one. With two turns left, the different- I mean, Diffident Ducks are gonna have to pull out something big, and do it fast!"
Peter fidgeted nervously, running a hand through his hair. "Okay... so this isn't looking good. Their team is a lot more athletic than ours. I don't know how well I'll be able to do on my own turn. If we lose..."
"Hey, come on- we can't give up!" Andy protest. "I mean, there's the ninety point ring, remember? No one has gone for it yet, but there's still a chance."
"No one's gone for it because it's too risky," Peter retort. "Out-swimming eels and mimes and a big fish are all one thing, but Franz himself is controlling that alligator. It's much easier to go for the safe points than come up with nothing."
Stephanie cut in, clearing her throat. "Then we can't play safe anymore- I'll go for the ninety points!"
"See? That's what I'm talking about," Andy smiled.
"Stephanie, are you sure? We wouldn't blame you for not wanting to swim all the way down there..." Felicity muttered, giving her a look of concern.
"Totally! I got this!" Stephanie nod her head excitedly, turning to Peter. "Look, you picked me for the team first. I gotta show you guys I earned that!"
Kyle gave a shrug. "No harm in trying right? If she doesn't, we might lose anyway. I say go for it."
Stephanie grinned. "Exactly! If I can do it, we're practically guaranteed a win!"
"Unless they get a ninety point ring too," Ingrid pointed out. "Maya seems pretty athletic... Oh, sorry. We're supposed to be supportive now, right? Well, I think you have a pretty good shot at it. Unless your make up starts running really badly. That didn't go well for me."
"Well, alright. Give it your best shot, Stephanie," Peter told her, still sounding a bit uncertain.
CONFESSIONAL: PETER
Honestly, I'm a bit nervous. If Stephanie doesn't pull it off, swimming isn't really my strong suit. I was hoping today would be puzzle or... something requiring brains. This won't be a good first impression on my team.
CONFESSIONAL: KYLE
You know what, I think we did alright. Our team might not have been a good match for this challenge but, all things considered, that doesn't mean we're a bad team. Even if we lose, there's always next time. El mundo gira.
CONFESSIONAL: SHELBI
This reminds Shelbi of when her family would go hunting! Sometimes in a pack you're kicked out if you don't hunt well enough. So this is sort of the same thing! But Shelbi hasn't been kicked out of her pack before... Shelbi hopes this won't be the first time.
CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE
This is it, my time to shine. I've gotta make up for last challenge here. I've gotta show why I deserve that first round pick, and why I should stick around!
END CONFESSIONALS
As the Ducks had their own team session, Rosella was staring at the water, before turning to Leon, her mind racing.
CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA
This is my chance to get Leon to really notice me. I have to show him what I'm worth during this challenge!
END CONFESSIONAL
"Leon... it's my turn up," Rosella began. "If I get into trouble down there, you'll pull me up, right?"
"Hmm? Uh... of course!" Leon agreed, though... he wasn't really sure why, specifically, he was being asked. "As I said, always ready to help a teammate in need!"
Rosella smiled warmly, before cautiously stepping up beside Stephanie.
"Are you both ready?" Chris asked. "Don't care- GO!"
Before the girls had a chance to respond, the host simply shoved both in. Both girls dropped in, Rosella flailing a bit- attempting to get a handle on her surroundings, but failing when she took a sting from a passing eel- then another sting, and another. Stephanie, however, turned and bolted down, determined- managing to evade the eels, and then the barracuda. Time came again for the mimes, the trio fumbling after her as she swam down, down. She was getting close; she passed the ten point marker easily, staring into the murky abyss as she went even further. When the ninety point ring finally came into view, so two did a pair of glowing eyes. The pond floor seemed to shift and move, coming alive as she drew closer. She reached out, grabbing for the ring- and when she did, the crocodile opened its mouth, bubbles floating up around her. She quickly snatched up the ring, turning back toward the surface. To her surprise, the mimes were right behind her, grinning at her approach- until they saw the monster swimming after her. The mimes quickly ditched their harpoons, even taking off their air tanks to swim faster, making for the surface like their lives depended on it... which may or may not have been the case.
Stephanie paddled faster, and faster, clutching the ring dearly. Her chest began to tighten, running out of breath, but she had come that far and wasn't about to fail now. The crocodile opened its mouth, the barracuda swimming off, scared away, soon enough, the eels all doing the same. It snapped its jaws closed, nearly catching Stephanie, missing perhaps by half a hair. Now a little panicked, Stephanie flailed her arms wildly. Closer and closer she came, light shining down through the surface of the waves...
Rosella gasped in relief as Leon pulled her out of the water, the girl having arrived at the surface of the bonding, arms reaching and flailing. She hadn't managed to grab a ring; caught off guard by Chris' initial push, and then again by the eels, she was forced to return empty handed.
"No worries, I have you!" Leon assured her, lifting her up onto the ground, and patting her back. "Just like I said!"
Rosella looked up at Leon, her face a deep red. "Leon... you saved me..." she sighed happily.
"Saved? Well, I wouldn't go that far," he shrugged. "I'm sure you would have been fine, but, happy to help-"
He was silenced when Rosella wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tightly.
"Uh... you're welcome?" he blinked, confused.
More confused, however, was Aaron- watching the two from across the pond, head tilt.
"That's... odd," he murmured to himself.
"What is?" Ingrid asked curiously, craning her head to take a look.
"Oh, um... I guess it's nothing," Aaron remarked, rubbing his neck. "It's just, Rosella was a little... weird around me the other day, but, she's kinda acting... even weirder to Leon."
Aaron didn't have too much time to contemplate this, however. A second later, Stephanie leapt up from the water, landing on the grass and pulling herself to her feet. "OH GOSH PLEASE TELL ME IT CAN'T GO ON LAND!"
A single "wha-" escaped Ingrid's lips, before her question was preemptively answered, the crocodile's head shooting out from the pond, spraying the contestants. A few screamed in surprise, the crocodile giving a hiss, jaw unhinging slightly.
"Almost got you that time. Almost," Franz taunted, before slowly slinking back into the water.
"Annnnd that thing is no less horrifying the second time," Andy gulped. "...wait. Does that mean...?"
Stephanie was too winded to answer immediately, doubled over and catching her breath- before she shot her arm out, the ninety-point ring clutched in her hand.
"And Stephanie sneaks out the lead for the Ducks!" Chris declared, a bit surprised himself. "With Stephanie grabbing ninety points and Rosella grabbing zero, that means the Ducks lead with one hundred and twenty one points, to just forty five points for the Ferrets! That's a... uh... subtract the forty..."
"A seventy six point lead!" Peter finished, a wide grin spreading across his face. "That means... that means we've won!"
The Ducks all cheered, laughing and exchanging high fives, Stephanie grinning as she received fist bump after fist bump after pat on the back.
"You did it!"
"Great work!"
"Buen trabajo!"
"Waiiiiit a minute!" Chris interrupted. "That's all well and good, but even a big lead like that doesn't mean you've won! There's still one ninety point ring left... and it just so happens there's one turn left. Captain versus captain, Peter versus Maya."
Maya's eyes widened, the cowgirl shrinking a bit as everyone turned to look at her.
"So, no pressure or anything," Chris grinned. "But it's allllll up to you, Maya. If you can snag the ninety point ring, then it doesn't matter what score Peter gets. The Ferrets will win the game. Buuuuut... anything less than that, and you'll lose. And that'll reflect pre-tty badly on the team captain... wouldn't you say...?"
Maya gulped, eyes darting around nervously.
CONFESSIONAL: MAYA
Ha ha... not nervous... at all.. ha... ha ha ha...
CONFESSIONAL: STEPHANIE
Boom! I'm back, baby!
END CONFESSIONALS
The two team captains approached the pond, Maya staring down into the water, having to keep herself from shaking. They were just fish, right? And a crocodile. Nothing to be scared of. Nothing at all.
"Hey, Maya!" Stephanie called from the sidelines. "You were totally right- this was exciting! Knock 'em dead!"
"Aha... yeah..." Maya groaned, not even looking over to see Stephanie.
"On your marks!" Chris began. "Get set... GO!"
Peter leapt in immediately, Maya hesitating, knees buckling a bit, before Chris simply gave her a push anyway. Maya kicked and punched as she landed in the water, startled, beginning to get her bearings... that is until she saw the eels. They seemed to avoid her, for now, but that didn't stop Maya from closing her eyes and paddling downward blindly. She slowly cracked her eyes open, trying to see where she was. She passed the one point ring. Then the five point. She began to smile, regaining her confidence. This wasn't so bad. She could do this.
The ten point ring came. Then it went. Faster she went, emboldened by her success. The ninety point ring came into view. She could do this. Closer and closer it came, Maya reaching out a hand. She could do it! Just a little further!
Then, something grabbed her leg. Maya's eyes widened. She let out a shrill cry- or tried, water quickly filling her mouth. Coughing and choking, she closed her eyes shut tight, spun around, and made for land. She swam upward as fast as a child bolted from their desk on the last day of school. She breathed a gasp of relief when she finally emerged, feeling the warm air hit her skin. She desperately clawed her way back on land, eager to get out.
"Somethin' got me!" she exclaimed, Ash and Leon helping her up, the cowgirl leaping away from the water. She looked back over her shoulder, panting, waiting to see if anything had followed her... but only Peter emerged, short of breath, sluggishly climbing his way out.
"Ah... sorry guys..." he apologized, Ingrid handing him his glasses. "It was t-tough, but I didn't grab a ring... I think one of those mimes got a hold of me..."
"It's no big deal," Ingrid told him, shrugging her shoulders. "What did Maya get?"
"Hm. Good question," Chris smirked, turning to the Ferrets. "What DID Maya get?"
The cowgirl hesitated, looking away, her face turning hot, before she finally opened up her empty hands.
"Nothin'," she muttered, her voice low.
"Nothing plus nothing makes nothing- so the score stays the same! The Diffident Ducks win with a score of one-hundred and twenty-one points!" Chris announced.
The Ducks cheered, Ingrid and Felicity hugging as Kyle and Andy exchanged high fives, even Shelbi gave a celebratory howl.
"Does that mean we get to go back to being the Daring Ducks?" Peter asked, sliding his glasses back on.
Chris waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, don't count on it. But what it does mean, is that Ferrets- you WILL be sending someone home at elimination tonight!"
It was hard for the nine teens to not look disappointed, having come so close only for victory to be snatched away at the last moment.
"Well... we tried our best, didn't we?" Leon asked, trying to stay positive.
"Our best? Our best wasn't good enough!" Miriam grunt. "All that for nothing!"
"Ferrets! Follow me!" Chris beckoned, beginning to head toward the beach. "Ducks, you have the rest of the night off, enjoy it! Or don't. I don't care."
Chris led the Ferrets to a boardwalk not far off from where the contestants had arrived on the island. There was a simple set up- a few rows of chairs in front of a Franz statue, a photobooth right beside it.
"So this-" Chris began, though he wasn't allowed to finish. A sharp crack cut him off, Franz beginning to speak.
"-is the elimination booth," the other host finished. "Each night, to cast your votes, you'll slip into that photo booth, and enter your vote into the machine. That'll feed the results to me directly, who will then announce the results while Chris hands out rewards to those who are safe."
"Wait, what? Why do you get to read the results?" Chris demanded. "That's my thing! you're stealing my thing!"
"Yeeeep. My thing now!" Franz smirked. "So. You guys have thirty minutes to talk, think about it, do whatever- then, you'll come back here, cast your votes, and SOMEONE will be sent home!"
CONFESSIONAL: ROSELLA
Oh, I couldn't bear to be sent home! Not when Leon is finally beginning to notice me!
CONFESSIONAL: LEON
Well, you can't win them all. I don't know who to vote for though- it's such a tough decision!
CONFESSIONAL: SIMON
Yeaaaah, I'd much rather a kissing booth than an elimination booth. Especially with some of the chicks on my team, amirite?
CONFESSIONAL: ASH
I dunno. It's a hard call. I don't really want to send anyone home- I may have to flip a coin.
CONFESSIONAL: MAXINE
Uh oh. I was one of the people not to score out there... I just hope I get another chance.
CONFESSIONAL: MITSY
Hmph. I can count the amount of people on these team who AREN'T totally useless on one hand. The easier question would be, who DON'T I want to vote for.
CONFESSIONAL: GAEL
Well, this isn't where I wanted to be. I hope I'm not the first gone, but... I guess I'll have to wait and see.
CONFESSIONAL: MIRIAM
Great. The first elimination of the season, and its my team. I'm not thrilled, but I'll have to make sure we're all whipped into shape for the next challenge. As for who to send off- even though I can't make two votes, I think I know who to go with.
CONFESSIONAL: MAYA
Welp. I'm dead.
END CONFESSIONALS
Back at camp, Shelbi was sniffing around the boy's cabin, Adam behind her.
"So this is where you found the entrance to the den?" he asked, a flashlight in hand.
"Uh huh! Shelbi found it... right... here!" she led him to the back of the boy's room, where he could see a large hole dug into the earth. "Definitely one of the nicer dens Shelbi has been in!" the girl said happily. "Perfect size for her! Shelbi bets it was here for a while, though! She couldn't smell anyone down there!"
"Thanks!" Adam smiled, turning on the flashlight. "Do you... mind if I investigate this place a bit?"
"Sure," Shelbi shrugged. "Shelbi doesn't think she'll sleep under here much longer, anyway. Not with people falling on to her from the ceiling!"
"Right... well, I'll only be quick. I just wanted a look around..." Adam murmured, moving toward the hole when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Adam? What are you doing?" Kyle asked, pulling him back a bit. He and Andy were standing behind him, quizzical looks on their faces.
"Oh, Kyle!" Adam let out a relieved sigh, a bit startled. "Well... I got curious. I just wanted to poke around in that den Andy found. Err, fell into. See what was in there."
"Uh... I don't know about that," Andy frowned. "After this morning, I think I'd rather stay well away from there."
"Really? I think it would be fun. Mind if I tag along?" Kyle asked Adam. "I love abandoned places like that. Even if it was just an animal den. Creepier the better."
"Yeah, sure!" Adam nod. "It's probably safer with more people, anyway."
"Oh. Well, um... if you're going," Andy cleared his throat, looking at Kyle. "I guess I can tag along too."
"Good! Like the three amigos," Kyle mused, giving Adam a pat on the back. "Would you mind going first, since you have the flashlight?"
"Sure! One second... just let me find my footing," Adam murmured. He hesitantly began to climb into the hole, taking a bit to get his footing. "Heh... look at us! Like Mystery Inc," he joked- before immediately slipping into the dark abyss, plummeting out of sight.
"Adam? Are you okay?" Andy called, leaning in. "Ahh, I knew this was a bad idea..."
There was a moment of silence, before the den lit up. "I'm okay!" Adam called. "Just a... bit of a knock on my head. It's all empty down here! Come on down!"
Kyle shrugged, before sitting on the ground, sliding after Adam- Andy following suit a moment later.
"Don't worry! Shelbi will sit and stand guard!" the girl offered cheerfully, sitting attentively by the entrance.
The three boys found themselves in a large, circular room, barely big enough to fit the three, finding themselves in close quarters.
"Hey... you mind moving over a bit?" Andy grunt, "It's kind of tight in here..."
"Don't worry... think I found a tunnel," Adam said, shining his light into a small burrow. "Let me check it out..."
He climbed down, beginning to shuffle through the tunnel, shining his light into the other room.
"See anything?" Kyle called, looking around. "...you know, its weird. Doesn't seem like this place was made by an animal."
"Uh, guys?" Adam called from the next room. "Think you might want to see this..."
Kyle and Andy exchanged a glance, before ducking into the tunnel, following after Adam. It was a short crawl before they found themselves in the next chamber, Adam motioning to the wall across from him, silent.
"Alright, we're here," Andy grunt, pulling himself out. "What did you... woah."
Staring back at them was a large mural of Franz, staring back at them with a wide grin across his face. On the floor was a bedroll, old and filthy, surrounded by empty bottles of water and small Franz plushes. Written under the mural in chalk were four words, hastily scribbled.
"Traue dem Frettchen nicht".
Half an hour passed. The Fancy Ferrets waited at the elimination area, sat patiently before Chris finally arrived.
"Alright, campers, looks like the votes-" he began, but predictably, Franz cut him off.
"-have been cast!" the mascot continued. "So, I'll read off the names of the people who are safe. Everyone who I list well get an over-sized, rainbow ferret lollipop. Just a heads up, we actually found those in some moldy boxes when we got here, so, you know. Maybe just... toss them in the garbage. But without further ado... the first person safe is...
Ash.
Also safe tonight, Leon."
The two boys smiled, exchanging a high five as they received their lollipops.
"Mitsy and Miriam, you two are also safe for the time being, surprising as it is. I guess it isn't a popularity contest after all."
The two girls shot each other a nasty glare, snatching up their rewards.
"Also surprisingly... Simon is safe."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he huffed, Chris dropping the candy by his feet.
"Annnd, unsurprisingly, that leaves the four people who failed to score," Franz hummed. "Am I surprised that this is how it ended up? No, not at all. But I'll give you four a second to soak up the tension."
Maya, Gael, Maxine and Rosella all looked around at each other.
"Uh... we're ready," Gael muttered, taking a deep breath.
"I don't care if you're ready," Franz snapped. "I said we were taking a second to soak up the tension!... We good? Tension soaked? Okay. So, of you, first safe is... Rosella."
Rosella gasped, so surprised that she missed the treat Chris tossed at her. "Yes! I'm safe!"
"Also safe... is Maya."
Maya let out a loud gasp of relief. "Oh thank goodness, I... I, I mean... yee-haw! I knew I'd be safe!" she grinned, standing up and snatching her candy away from Chris. "I did it, woo!"
"Gael. Maxine." Franz cleared his throat, the two campers sharing a nervous glance. "I can't say I didn't see this coming- mostly because I knew the results as of twenty minutes ago. But only one of you gets to stay here. And that person is...
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"...SURPRISE! No elimination tonight! You both get to stay!" Franz announced.
Both let out gasps of relief. "REALLY?" Maxine asked, a smiled crossing her lips.
Franz just laughed. "No, yanking your chain! For real this time, Gael, you are SAFE! Maxine... time for you to go home!"
Gael caught his candy, stunned. "Wait... are you guys sure?"
Maxine stood up, sighing. "First gone... well, I just hope for your guys sake there isn't an eating challenge next."
"Right this way to the Dock of Shame," Chris offered with a smirk, extending an arm to gesture to the nearby boardwalk. "Where you'll be riding... him!"
On queue, the whale that had surprised the contestants on their initial arrival emerged from the water, opening its mouth wide.
"Wait... I have to ride in THAT?" Maxine asked, gulping.
"We assure you it's perfectly safe," Franz told her. "...probably. Look, it just swims you away a little bit for show, there's another boat right over there."
Maxine let out a sigh. "Well... if this is it... bye guys. Thanks for letting me be on Total Drama," she muttered, heading toward the dock. She stopped in front of the whale, contemplating, before Chris snuck up from behind, pushing her in, the animatronic's jaws snapping shut before disappearing under the water.
"You know, I was in a bad mood- but that made it all worth it!" the host grinned.
Shortly after, the Ferrets were beginning to trickle back to camp, talking amongst themselves as they made for the dining room. From the trees, a figure watched them; Peter. He scowled to himself, pushing his glasses up on his nose, before scribbling something in his book.
CONFESSIONAL: PETER
I wasn't so sure it would, but my plan worked like a charm. Low visibility in the pond, plus the mimes swimming around meant no one could really pin sabotage on me... and I barely had to do anything at all! I grabbed Maya's foot and she swam off screaming! I knew I couldn't beat Maya... so all I had to do was make sure she didn't beat me. Shame about Maxine though. See, I have this competition formulated perfectly. I thought Maya blowing the last round with that attitude of hers would be enough to get her sent home, taking them down one of their strongest players. Ah, well... there's always next time. Heheheh.
END CONFESSIONAL
To Be Continued...
(A/N: Duhn duhn duhnnn! Well, that's it for this episode folks, hope you enjoyed! Like I said though, couple of quick announcements. On my profile, I have a poll up. Last time I mentioned I wasn't intending so many two-part episodes, but the responses I got via PM and review were positive toward the notion. so, I put up a poll asking officially what you guys would prefer; frequent, smaller chapters- around 5k words- or less frequent, larger chapters, anything around or more than 10k words? This chapter alone, if one part, would have been something like 13k, 14k words, so I'm just curious as to what you guys prefer. Longer waits for a complete product, or quicker, more digestible episodes. AFTER this poll, however, over the weekend I'm going to put up a character popularity poll. I know, I know. Very early into the competition for that, right? Well, that's kinda the point. I was thinking of doing a popularity poll now, and one at the very end, to see what characters changed and became more- or less- popular over time. This is sorta a... first impressions poll? This ties into the very end, where I thought it would be fun to do some "end of season" awards. Just listing off a few statistics, like most popular character, most improved in terms of popularity, favorite episode, favorite couple, etc. But, as for now, gonna take a break from writing and enjoy down time. Hopefully the next episode will be up in a week, perhaps too. Either way, hope you guys enjoyed- I'm off to play some ESO!)