Episode 2: The Contestants
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The cameras started rolling to show a bird's-eye view of a huge obstacle course. The camera did a couple of fly-bys before switching shots to inside a booth, where two hosts were. One was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and pants, and the other was wearing a tank top, swim trunks and a pair of shades.
The one dressed more normally raised an eyebrow. "Uh…This isn't what I meant by 'More appropriate' wear as opposed to those suits, SSBFreak." Tinyrocket explained.
"NOW you tell me." SSBFreak sighed as he removed his shades. "We seriously need to get a better system going, here…"
"Looks like you're the only one with that problem."
"Guys…We're rolling." The cameraman pointed out.
Quickly snapping to attention, SSBFreak spoke first. "Hello and welcome to Wipeout: Crossover Challenge!" He greeted. "I'm SSBFreak, here with Tinyrocket."
"Today, twenty-four ordinary people will compete on the biggest obstacle course ever assembled for a chance to win fifty thousand dollars!" Tinyrocket added.
"But to get anywhere close to that prize, they have to complete our qualifiers as fast as they can." SSBFreak added. "The fastest twelve times will advance closer to the prize, while the other twelve will have to sit it out and wait for our next show."
"Let's go out to our reporter, Orange Sora, whom is out on the field with our twenty-four lucky hopefuls." Tinyrocket suggested. "What've you got for us today, OS?"
The camera went outside to show twenty-four contestants of different genders and races standing on a field, cheering. Everyone was wearing shorts and a shirt with life vests to prepare them for the upcoming obstacle course. At the front of the crowd was the third host and reporter, Orange Sora, whom was dressed casually like Tinyrocket.
"Thanks guys, and good swim trunks, SSB." Orange Sora said with a smirk. "I'm here with our group of hopefuls, whom will soon tackle the qualifiers one at a time to see which twelve will move on." Going to one of the people in the crowd, Orange Sora held out his microphone. "Tell us a bit about yourself."
Contestant 1: Tiny Kong
Age: 17
Series: Donkey Kong Country
A tall, teenage monkey cheered excitedly as her twin ponytail bobbed up and down as she jumped. "I'm so excited! I can't believe I'm actually doing this!" Tiny said. "I'm really going to try to get a fast time here and get closer to the prize, because that means that I'd be able to show off to my big sister Dixie! I've got the determination and the motive, so bring it on!"
Contestant 2: Otto Scratchnsniff
Age: 53
Series: Animaniacs
A bald man gave a nervous chuckle as he cleaned his glasses off. "Vell, vhat can I say? Zhose Varners rubbed off on me und made me vant to be on zhis show." Scratchnsniff pointed out. "I don't know how vell I vould be able to do viff my age, but I may end up surprisingk myself und complete viff a good time…"
Contestant 3: Brady Culture
Age: 32
Series: Sam & Max
The tall and lanky man with an afro laughed. "This will be perfect! With me appearing on this show, my face will be known to more and more people!" Brady said excitedly. "Maybe this is the big break I'm looking for that will launch my career again! This will just make me try harder, so you people had batter watch out!"
Contestant 4: Knuckles Nadine
Age: 23
Series: Black & Bruised
Plucking a reed of hay from her mouth, the orange-haired cowgirl gave a chuckle. "My strategy coming into this here obstacle course? Try to do everything while calm and collected. That may help me." Nadine shrugged. "A bonus to winning would be that this added airtime here will definitely allow me to promote my new album that I'm working on."
Contestant 5: Vector the Crocodile
Age: 21
Series: Sonic the Hedgehog
The green crocodile had, for once, opted to leave his treasured headphones at home (he didn't want them getting dirty). "The big prize at the end is sure to be enough to cover a few of the bills that the Chaotix Detective Agency has racked up over the years." Vector pondered. "If I can keep my head together and do this fast, I may have a chance at winning!"
Contestant 6: Lexaeus
Age: Unknown
Series: Kingdom Hearts
His arms folded, the brown-haired nobody shrugged. "I'm still not sure why I'm here. Demyx said that I could use a little 'fun' in my existence, so I decided to join and see what this was all about." Lexaeus pointed out. "I may be physically strong, but I'm not very athletic. Hopefully, I'll be able to get through and see what I'm made of."
Contestant 7: Coco Bandicoot
Age: 16
Series: Crash Bandicoot
The female bandicoot did a few stretches to get herself ready. "I'm ready! I'm ready to show everyone that I'm more than just a computer geek!" Coco said energetically. "Heck, why should Crash get all the fun? I'll prove today that I'm just as athletic and agile as he is and plow through that obstacle course in record time!"
Contestant 8: Bubsy Bobcat
Age: Unknown
Series: Bubsy
The short, brown bobcat cracked his knuckles with a smirk on his face. "People may not remember me, but I was a pretty big name back in the day. Now that I've dropped out of the radar, I think this show could give me a little face time." Bubsy pointed out. "I may not have seen work in a while, but I've still got the skills I had years ago!"
Contestant 9: Anne
Age: 27
Series: Suikoden 3
A tan-skinned woman with long, blonde hair smiled to the camera. "People look at me and don't expect much. What they don't know is that I'm stronger than I look and can out-drink all of the
biggest drunks at Budehuc with no problem." Anne admitted. "If that doesn't tell you I'm tough and capable of something like an obstacle course, I don't know what will."
Contestant 10: Waluigi
Age: Unknown
Series: Mario
The tall, lanky, purple-clad plumber let out a laugh. "This show is perfect for me! I'm a great athlete and can run circles around that overweight brother of mine. With my long legs, I can cover a lot of ground and jump high!" Waluigi said. "I'm in this to win it, so everyone had better get ready to watch me show them how it's done!"
Contestant 11: Ratchet
Age: 20
Series: Ratchet & Clank
The furry lombax flashed a smile before he started talking. "I may be one of the shortest contestants today, but that doesn't mean that I can't do well here. I'm fast, athletic and pretty strong." Ratchet pointed out. "I want to prove that you don't have to be tall to be good at an obstacle course, and I think I have a good chance at doing that."
Contestant 12: Antonio Gustor
Age: 35
Series: F-Zero
The tall human, the only one wearing a helmet (he wasn't about to take it off), smirked and folded his arms. "I may be used to driving around in an F-Zero racer as opposed to something like this, but I still have what it takes." Antonio assured. "And that prize money will be enough to help me survive long enough to take out Goroh!"
Contestant 13: Malon Romani
Age: 19
Series: Legend of Zelda
The redhead farm girl brushed some of her hair out of her eyes. "People look at me and see a simple girl that works on a farm, but you tend to get pretty strong and athletic when you do as much heavy lifting as I do." Malon pointed out. "I can tell that I'm still not the most athletic person here, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to get a fast time here."
Contestant 14: Taz
Age: Unknown
Series: Looney Tunes
A short, brown Tasmanian devil looked around at all the competition with strange glares. "Taz short, but Taz tough! Track here look tough, but Taz tougher!" Taz said, eager to get started. "People think Taz stupid, but Taz smart and fast! Taz go fast and make people eat dust!"
Contestant 15: Sie Kensou
Age: 20
Series: King of Fighters
The young, brunette psychic flashed a peace sign as he grinned. "When you train as much as I do, you often feel the need for a little fun. I think this will do quite nicely." Kensou said. "And with that prize money at the end, you can bet that everyone's going to try their hardest, so I need to step up my game if I want to advance any further."
Contestant 16: Launchpad McQuack
Age: 28
Series: Darkwing Duck
Standing as one of the tallest contestants, the white duck placed his hands on his hips. "DW keeps telling me that I need to stay in top form, so this show seemed like something that could help me with that problem." Launchpad noted with a shrug. "I have to admit that I feel a bit overwhelmed with these people, but if I focus, I'll be fine."
Contestant 17: Homestar Runner
Age: Unknown
Series: Homestar Runner
With a stupid look on his face, the white, armless athlete simply talked into the camera. "Stwong Bad awways tewws me ta jump in a lake, so when I heawd about this show, I decided ta join and see what Stwong Bad was tawking about." Homestar said before giving a long pause. To add effect, crickets started chirping. "Uh…Um…Twick or tweat!"
Contestant 18: Wolf O'Donnell
Age: 25
Series: Star Fox
His arms folded, the gray wolf gave the camera a serious look with his cybernetic eye. "This obstacle course looks like it will be very challenging, and that's just how I like courses like this." Wolf explained. "Something like this is right up my alley, so I can tell you right now that I'll be a very serious contender on that course."
Contestant 19: Murray
Age: 23
Series: Sly Cooper
The big, pink hippo threw a few punches to ready himself. "If I want to help the gang more, I need to stay in shape, and this obstacle course is the best thing that can show me how in shape I really am!" Murray explained. "I'm definitely not athletic, but I've got a lot of determination and that could help me in the long run for this course."
Contestant 20: Ashelin
Age: 25
Series: Jak & Daxter
The redhead she-elf smirked as she placed her hands on her hips. "I've definitely got athletic abilities, so this should be no problem for someone like me." Ashelin pointed out. "I hope I can do well here, because the rest of my team is going to be on other episodes and I want to show them all how something like this is done properly."
Contestant 21: Heavy
Age: Unknown
Series: Team Fortress 2
Towering over everyone else, the huge, bald Russian gave a laugh. "The others in my team think that I cannot do an obstacle course like this because of my veight. Vell, haff I got a surprise for them!" Heavy laughed. "I vouldn't have made it onto my team in the first place eef I vasn't good at things like this! This could be very fun!"
Contestant 22: Jasmine
Age: 17
Series: Viewtiful Joe
Clearly excited to be on the show, the redhead girl jumped a few times. "This is going to be a blast! I always wanted to do something like this, and now I'm finally going to get the chance!" Jasmie said excitedly. "It's time to show that brother of mine, Joe, that I'm the better athlete by dominating that obstacle course! Watch out, because I'm in it to win it!"
Contestant 23: Sarah Nade
Age: 24
Series: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
The blonde rocker girl cheered and did a double 'rock on' sign with her hands. "This is gonna be awesome! A sweet show like this is TOTALLY something I would do! I'm super-pumped and ready to take that monster on with full force, man!" Sarah cheered. "Boss Carmen may get annoyed with me and my mannerisms, but wait till I win the grand prize!"
Contestant 24: Larry Butz
Age: 26
Series: Phoenix Wright
A thin human at medium height, the brown-haired man smirked and winked. "What brings me here? Aside from the cash, a chance to show my face on TV! Maybe this will get some girls to like me after I've had such horrible luck with the ladies!" Larry pointed out. "I just hope I don't make a fool of myself here, because that would royally suck…"
"One of these twenty-four contestants will walk away fifty thousand dollars richer, and everyone's looking pretty excited!" Orange Sora said as he walked away from the group. "But in order to move onto the next round, we need to cut the field in half. So let's get this show underway as we start…The Preliminaries!"
Cheering loudly, the crowd of contestants turned and made their way to the start of the four-part obstacle course to start the day.