Total Drama Uncharted
Episode 5: Swiss Abyss
-o0o-o0o-
"Last time on Total Drama Uncharted," began Chris McLean, confidently winking as he rested inside his luxurious airborne hot tub. "We got down and dirty in the middle of a hot jungle boogie!" he chuckled. "Alright, fine, we went to Vietnam and threw the teams into the jungle. After a quick stint through the tunnels and across a majestic river, the contestants found themselves in an old fishing village, where they competed in a series of physical battles against each other. Needless to say, there were more than a few twists and turns. Some dominated, while others got dominated in our most dramatic, most entertaining challenge yet. Heather concocted a plan to distract Alejandro after pretending to fight Leshawna, which revealed the fact that they might care about each other just a little. Meanwhile, Courtney and Gwen bonded a little bit over their mutual interest in watching Duncan get dunked like a donut, and Gwen and Trent shared some heartfelt moments on the Bears' wicked reward trip down the river of Tam Coc. The Lions got the other end of it, and the duos of Bridgette and Eva and Geoff and Alejandro were pinned against each other. Ultimately, it was Eva who got the boot once Izzy was left out of the vote and Geoff and Alejandro managed to convince the swing vote, Lindsay, to side with them. The strategy is picking up more than ever before, and so is the entertainment factor! Make sure to tune into this episode to see who will find themselves on the bottom and who will make their way to the top. All this and more to be found in this chilling episode of - Total! Drama! Uncharted!"
The familiar, run out theme song so commonly associated with the show began its runtime, complete with new visuals to accommodate for the new season and its fresh locales. All 24 original contestants could be seen partaking in their usual antics within the clips, all the way to its fateful end, when it faded to black and allowed the cameras to focus on the game once more.
The plane was relatively quiet, as some campers were still asleep during the earlier hours of the morning. Everyone was on board again, as the Bears had returned from their sublime reward in the previous days. It was now day fifteen, over two weeks since the competitors were reunited.
The airborne vehicle was hushed as it sailed through the sky, enveloped in an atmosphere filled to the brim with clouds and unrelenting fog. Despite the gloom, the cloudy sky aided in fabricating a sense of calm and peace.
That was until a wave of turbulence knocked most everyone off their feet, including Leshawna by the dormitories, who sat up and began rubbing her forehead.
"I'm starting to get sick of this."
"You and me both," DJ agreed, getting to his feet.
Heather was also swept by the plane's rocking rhythms as she fell over in the common room, forced onto all fours once Alejandro seemingly showed up out of nowhere.
"Need a lift?" he inquired.
"Not from you," snapped Heather, standing up instantaneously.
"Suit yourself. I will be here if you need me."
"As if I'd need you," Heather continued, pointing a finger into his face with a slight scowl on hers. "I'm fine on my own for now."
"For now, you say?"
"Yes. Now, if you don't mind, I would greatly appreciate it if you would shut your mouth."
"That's awfully rude, Heather," Alejandro joked as she turned around.
"I hate you."
"Do you? I've always felt a certain kinship."
"And I've always felt that," she stumbled. "That… you should leave me alone." At that, Heather awkwardly shuffled her feet in the opposite direction and walked off.
"She'll be back," Alejandro smirked into the camera's eye.
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Confessional: Heather
"Okay, I am having a really hard time trusting Alejandro right about now," she explained, hands on her hips and a wishful expression on her face. "I'm still somewhere between wanting to kick him off like, now, and wanting to keep him around as an ally. Anyway, I'm sure he still has feelings for me, so I might be able to use that to my advantage," she giggled menacingly.
-o0o-o0o-
Meanwhile, in the dining quarters, Lindsay ate her breakfast calmly, alone and content at her table. Tyler came jogging into her nearby vicinity, nearly tripping on his own feet in the process until he took a tacitly reserved seat for him across from her.
"Got you a cookie," Tyler stated, handing Lindsay one covered with chocolate chips.
"Thank you," she responded, kissing him on the cheek.
In that moment, Noah passed by the two, with Owen and Duncan not far on his tail. "Imagine having a girlfriend," quipped Noah.
"Shut up, man," Tyler replied. Owen laughed as he and his company departed.
Duncan diverged and set on a different path than Noah and Owen, sitting across from Gwen, who was busy indulging in a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee.
"What's up?" Duncan kicked off.
"Not much," answered Gwen. "You?"
"Eh," he joked. "Trying not to go insane."
"For real. How are things on the Vipers?"
"Let me ask you a question," Duncan proposed. "What do you think things are like?"
"I think Heather and Courtney are driving you up the walls."
"Bingo."
As the two lightheartedly conversed, Trent proceeded to skirt passed their table, giving a two-fingered salute in Gwen's direction and smiling.
"See you at the challenge."
"Right back at you," grinned Gwen.
"He seems normal nowadays," Duncan jabbed.
"Thank God," Gwen continued. "I guess the break did him some good."
At last, out of nowhere, the loudspeaker blared. Chris' voice boomed throughout the plane's affluent interior, alerting everyone to its presence as contestants like Harold, Sierra, and Justin could be seen attentively listening. Chef also began making his way out of the cockpit and into the common area.
"Attention, campers!" Chris shouted. "I'd advise everyone to prepare for landing! We're flying over the Swiss Alps!"
"The Alps?" Harold asked in the common room as Chef waddled through. "Didn't we already go there?"
"Shut up and take this, kid," Chef demanded, shoving a parachute into Harold's arms. "Everyone get to the elimination room!"
-o0o-o0o-
Moments later, the campers all gathered in the aforementioned elimination area as they anxiously awaited orders. The plane was depicted flying over the Alps as their mountainous peaks towered over the surrounding clouds. Chris was at the podium he grew so accustomed to, speaking to everyone, with Chef beside him.
"Alright," began Chris. "Ladies and gentlemen - and Owen - I present to you our first revisited location, the Alps!"
"I refuse to go back there," Courtney expressed.
"No one cares, Courtney," retorted Chris before receiving a malicious glare. "We're flying over the mountains as we speak, and since we don't have an adequate landing zone, you guys are gonna have to jump!" he concluded, throwing a parachute at Justin, who caught it successfully.
"Wait a second," Harold spoke up. "There are only ten parachutes. Doesn't that mean-"
"Yes, Harold. Yes it does," Chris explained. "And since I'm the best host ever, I'm letting you guys choose who you pair up with. Make sure you get used to it, 'cause this might not be the last time one of you has to jump out of a plane today!" he chuckled. "Get to it!"
"Hey, Sierra," Cody piped up as the competitors clamored. "Wanna jump with me?"
"I've wanted nothing more," she enthusiastically replied, slinging an arm around Cody.
Alejandro, meanwhile, approached Heather in a much calmer fashion, holding up his parachute silently as he implied a desired partnership. She grimaced and responded unfavorably.
"I am not jumping with you."
"Who else is gonna go with you?"
"You are so…" Heather stammered. "Ugh! Fine."
Lindsay, among the ruckus, clutched a parachute as she eyed her surroundings aimlessly. She had her finger upon her chin as she looked out to no avail. At last, Tyler showed up as the two smiled and strapped on a parachute.
Other partnerships were easily formed, such as Bridgette and Geoff, who maintained their perennial optimism whilst preparing to leap from the plane.
"Let's do this!" Geoff bellowed, high fiving Bridgette.
"Should be fun," added Bridgette.
DJ and Ezekiel also paired up once DJ noticed Ezekiel was without a partner of his own, offering to jump with him. Gwen and Trent were another pair, eagerly readying to leave as teammates.
Izzy and Justin were an unexpected pair, to say the least. Neither had expected to jump together until Izzy suddenly climbed upon Justin's shoulders and exclaimed, "You're coming with me, pretty boy!"
"Uh-oh," Justin murmured worriedly.
Owen and Noah high-fived as Owen excitedly hollered, "Let's do this, buddy!"
"I don't know," Noah ruminated. "Remember what happened last time?"
The show then abruptly switched scenes, traveling back in time to Total Drama World Tour's trip to London and detailing Owen and Noah's descent. The two landed straight onto a double decker bus, screaming in terror along the way and finishing with Noah's crushed skeleton sandwiched between Owen and the bus. As quickly as they had left, the show's present endeavors returned.
"It can't be that bad," Owen rationalized in his trademark buoyancy.
Duncan and Courtney were the only ones left without partners, meaning they were forced to endure the suffering that accompanied hanging out with the other.
"No way," said Courtney. "Go alone, Duncan. I'll just jump without a parachute."
"Aww," Duncan mocked. "You'd really give me the parachute?"
Without a word, Courtney glared at Duncan and stripped his hands of the parachute, taking it herself. She continued to stare for a couple more seconds before folding.
"Fine," she sighed. "Why do you care anyway?"
"Well, if we lost a teammate…" Duncan quipped, haughtily grinning.
"Looks like everyone's got a partner," Chris observed. "Chef!"
Chef proceeded to aggressively kick the door open with precious little warning, which was subsequently followed by a deafening gust of frigid wind blasting into the plane and chilling the campers to their bones.
"Move, turkeys, move!"
One by one, each pair began to jump out of the plane, which was hovering over mountains enveloped in thick sheets of pure white snow. Heather and Alejandro were seen landing gracefully with their parachute unraveled behind them. Harold and Leshawna and Justin and Izzy could also be made out landing successfully.
DJ and Ezekiel also landed on their feet, Ezekiel in front. After one or two seconds of stumbling and nearly falling, he managed to keep his feet together and remain in a standing position for the first time since his descent into madness.
"No way!" DJ cried, beaming as Ezekiel took a legitimate step.
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: DJ
"Is this what a proud mama moment feels like?" DJ joked, his arms crossed and a smile on his face.
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Ezekiel
Ezekiel sat upright on the confessional booth's toilet with his arms uniformly at his sides as he winked. He then proceeded to stand up and raise his arms in the air, taking a flexing position as he emphasized what little muscle he had. Even so, he knew he had the right to boast.
-o0o-o0o-
Owen and Noah were unlucky enough to encounter a painful landing. The camera extensively focused on the two plummeting through the air as Noah's attempt to activate the parachute failed.
"Why do we always get the crappy ones?" Noah screamed, dragging out his words.
As a direct result of their parachute's failure, Owen and Noah crashed into a snow-covered hill, with Noah faceplanting straight into it.
"Another happy landing," Owen smiled. Noah simply grumbled a muffled grumble.
Falling into the Alps in elegant fashion, more of the teams were shown landing with ease. They landed on a relatively large, flat patch of snow beside a rocky cliffside, which led up to one of the higher mountains with a steep slope. Gwen and Trent landed without much of a struggle, as well as Geoff and Bridgette. Another triumphant pair was Cody and Sierra, who soon took off their shared parachute. Their luck proved to run out as Duncan and Courtney landed straight on top of them.
"Thanks for breaking my fall, Dorkahontas," teased Duncan.
"Get off!" Sierra demanded, fiercely pushing Duncan and Courtney as she rose to her feet, walking towards the pair.
"Duncan, get the parachute off!" Courtney shrieked as the two struggled.
"I'm trying!"
Sadly, the attempt was in vain, as Sierra tackled both Duncan and Courtney, who remained strapped to each other through the parachute. Not wishing to get pummeled, all three began to fight, creating a cartoonish jumble of a brawl.
In the meantime, Lindsay and Tyler were the final team to land, floating softly onto the ice.
"Alright!" Tyler celebrated. "No harm done!"
Coincidentally, Sierra crashed straight into him for a brief moment after his ill-timed statement, knocking he and Lindsay to the floor as Chris and Chef landed, utilizing separate parachutes. Chef was dressed in a stereotypical outfit for a German female, complete with leggings, a braided blonde wig, a red skirt, and red heels.
"Hallo, meine kinder!" Chris greeted.
"Kinder?" a confused Lindsay asked. "We're not five."
Harold elucidated, "Kinder is actually German for children."
"Harold, I was gonna say that," said Chris monotonically. Harold pretended to zip his mouth shut as Chris responded, "Danke."
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Harold
"I didn't know Chris was multilingual," explained Harold, casually sitting in the confessional booth, his arms by his sides. "I myself can speak four languages; English, French, German, and a little bit of Egyptian. It's not that hard, actually. Free online translators really helped me through my French and German classes."
-o0o-o0o-
"Your challenge this time around is pretty similar to last time," Chris expounded until he locked eyes with Sierra, Duncan, and Courtney, who carried on grappling.
As Chris cleared his throat authoritatively, Chef stepped into the fray and picked up Sierra by her hair, as well as picking up Duncan and Courtney by their parachute.
"Ow!" Sierra cracked. "Can you let us go now?"
"Nein, mein wiener schnitzel!" barked Chef, his voice immediately assuming power despite his outlandish outfit.
"Nice one, Chef," continued Chris. "Okay, time for the rules! First up, you guys will have to climb the cliff we're standing next to. We've marked a designated area for each team. The first team to get to the top of the cliff will win an advantage in part two of the challenge."
"With no climbing gear?" Justin inquired, the teams filing into their section of the challenge.
"Nope."
"Can anyone here free-form climb?" Gwen asked her team.
"I'm not so bad," Trent answered.
"Cool."
As the two smiled at one another within the Bears' circle, Duncan eyed them with a relatively neutral expression from a distance. The Vipers didn't notice his actions, save for Heather.
"Jealous?" she pressed.
"No," replied Duncan. "She can talk to whoever she wants."
"You'll regret thinking like that when those two get together," Heather taunted. "I'd be quaking in my boots if I were you."
"Nice try, peaches."
"Oh, by the way," Chris intervened, snickering. "We've rigged the cliffside with obstacles, so you guys might wanna watch out for those." As the competitors groaned, Chris continued with, "Wow, you guys are way too entitled."
Chris sounded the air horn, signaling the optimal time for the competitors to begin climbing the cliff. All three teams started to ascend, aiding each other whenever the inescapable opportunity presented itself.
The Bears were the first to get the spotlight, with DJ giving Justin a lift onto a higher section of the cliff, which was marked by a relatively spacious ledge. It wasn't massive, but it was enough to support the team of seven.
"Grab my hand, guys!" Justin beckoned, reaching down.
One by one, the Bears grabbed Justin's hand and ascended, starting with DJ and ending with Cody. The entire team found themselves on top of the ledge, left with no place left to go.
"What now?" Cody inquired.
Suddenly, an explosion rung out just over his head, creating a sizeable hole in the mountain, characterized by its colossal gathering of dust particles and lining of black ash.
"Up there!" DJ proposed.
The Lions, meanwhile, saw a perceptible advantage due to their significantly smaller numbers. All five were able to climb the cliff without legitimate difficulty, passing the other two struggling teams.
A similar explosion occurred on the Lion's side of the cliff, knocking Lindsay off balance and nearly sending her tumbling down. With a shriek, she began to fall, but her hand was caught by Bridgette, who reacted within a split second.
"Careful," advised Bridgette.
"Thanks, Bridgette," added Lindsay, regaining her footing.
"Come on, guys!" Izzy intervened from above. "I see the top!"
The Vipers were still stuck at the bottom, arguing and quarreling about which method was superior in ensuring they would achieve victory.
"We need to make an organized climbing formation," Courtney suggested. "How many times do I have to tell you guys?"
"Too many," Noah mumbled.
"I'd love to stay here and chat," Leshawna sarcastically continued. "But the other teams are actually moving."
"Agreed," said Tyler. "Let's get a move on!"
"No way!" argued Courtney. "I just want what's best for us."
"If you did, then you would've stopped talking a few minutes ago," Harold remarked. "Now, if you don't mind, my mad skills and I will meet you at the top," he added as he grasped the rock formation.
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Courtney
"Man," Courtney scoffed, her arms crossed in a display of visibly irritated body language. "I'm so sick of none of them listening to me. I know I haven't been the nicest person in later seasons, but I'm really trying to put the team first." Courtney proceeded to heave a hefty sigh. "It's alright, Courtney. You can do this."
-o0o-o0o-
The camera zoomed out, depicting all three teams clambering and racing to the top of the cliff. All three were relatively close, proving to be effective rivals for one another as they scaled the rocky cliffside. Explosions rung out and stones crumbled as each competitor was shown climbing.
At long last, the show skipped ahead as Geoff grasped the top of the cliff, zooming in on his relieved face.
"We made it, guys," he told his team below.
The Lions filed onto the top of the cliff, soon followed by the other two teams, who were bitter in their defeat.
"Congrats, guys," Chris referred to the Lions. "Alright, here's the deal. In front of us are a whole bunch of scrap piles filled with whatever useless junk Chef could find. It's your job to rummage through the junk and find whatever crap you can to build a vehicle. The vehicle you decide to build is entirely up to you, but it's gotta be durable enough to make it down this mountain. As an added benefit for winning the first part of the challenge, the Lions have exclusive access to some more efficient materials. The first team to successfully get to the base of this mountain will win the challenge and a special reward."
"You mean this is a reward challenge?" Lindsay gaped. "Maybe one of us won't get eliminated this time!"
"Don't get your hopes up," Chris mumbled, an expressionless glare on his face. "Your challenge starts… Now!"
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Lindsay
"Being away from the show for a couple seasons totally made me forget how mean Chris is," Lindsay described, throwing her arms into the air. "Maybe he just needs a girlfriend," she inferred, shrugging.
-o0o-o0o-
A few moments were passed on by the show, which instead unveiled the sheer magnitude of the location. The teams were on top of the tallest mountain in their nearby proximity, its peak decorated by glorious piles of building materials and other miscellaneous items. There were portable heaters strewn throughout the junkyard and the snow was nearby invisible due to the numerous stacks of materials, which surrounded the competitors as they scavenged through them.
Owen was seen on top of a mountain of wood, reaching down in attempt to grasp something, but slipping and tumbling down onto the snow in the process. Izzy leapt directly into one of the many heaps of items, emerging in naught but two seconds holding a mountain goat that she studied concerningly. Noah, who was beside her, simply looked at her and scratched the back of his head with a stupefied stare. Gwen, meanwhile, reached into a wooden box and reflexively retracted her hand, which was in pain as a result of coming into contact with a mousetrap.
The mindless montage concluded as DJ appeared into frame, hauling a wheelbarrow through the snow, sprinting past Alejandro and Leshawna in his endeavors.
As he met up with a few of the Bears, namely Trent, Cody, and Sierra, DJ exclaimed, "This could be useful!"
"Nice going, man," Trent congratulated him with a high five.
"We could use this to carry other materials," Cody explained. "That'd get us a huge lead."
"Why didn't you say so?" questioned Sierra. "Get in, Cody."
Cody began to climb into the wheelbarrow, which was just large enough to support his weight, as Trent intervened.
"You're really going along with this?" he asked.
"Why would I turn down a free ride?" Cody responded as Sierra got behind him and started to push the wheelbarrow away from Trent and DJ, reaching more scrap piles.
They continued to run for quite a while until Sierra piped up, "See anything useful?"
"Not yet," replied Cody.
"I'll go ahead."
Sierra ran ahead, prompting the Vipers to assume the spotlight. Heather and Leshawna were glaring maliciously at one another while Owen and Tyler stood beside them, fiddling awkwardly with their thumbs.
"You've got to cooperate," Leshawna barked.
"And you've got to stop assuming that you know everything," retaliated Heather.
"It's not my fault your ideas suck!"
"Oh, please," Heather scoffed. "You wouldn't even be here if I didn't carry you guys on my back all this time."
"Will you guys quit it?" Tyler bellowed deafeningly. "We haven't even won a challenge yet, man. All I want is for us to not fight every five minutes."
"You said it," Owen agreed.
"Sounds good to me," said Leshawna, turning away from Heather and crossing her arms.
"Fine," her adversary added as Tyler and Owen began to rummage through the endless mounds of knick-knacks.
Duncan strolled into the scene nonchalantly, carrying a decent amount of wood with both his arms. "What the hell did I just miss?"
"The usual," answered Leshawna, with Heather rolling her eyes.
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Leshawna
Leshawna crossed her arms in the bathroom, rambling. "When that's the usual, I don't know how it's possible that we still haven't eliminated someone."
-o0o-o0o-
The Leaping Lions were grouped together, with all five of them in close proximity to one another. In the lavish pile that the winners received full access to, Izzy was seen hunting through sturdy wood and exquisite tools that would provide them with a well-built vehicle. Despite this, she decided to skip on the boring stuff and came out holding something else.
"Cool!" Izzy yelled. "A TV!"
"A TV?" Alejandro asked, pulling his head out of a nearby scrap pile and looking up to see Izzy holding a large, boxy television. "How is that gonna help us?"
"Oh, it won't," admitted Izzy, laughing. "I just wanna watch stuff. Anyone have a remote?"
Alejandro facepalmed while Geoff responded with, "I'll let you know if I find one. I'm gonna go find some wood. Make sure to get some good stuff, dudes!"
"I'll get tools," Bridgette declared.
After a couple seconds of Izzy and Lindsay, who joined the party, fumbling around with the TV and its incomprehensible amount of knobs, an audible cry came from Geoff off-screen. "Heads up!"
The remote was thrown into frame, landing directly onto Lindsay's nose and being caught by Izzy, who turned on the TV. The Total Drama theme song began to play.
Chris and Chef eyed the two from above, perched on a commodious mound of snow.
"Needs some spice," Chris suggested.
"Order up," Chef murmured, snickering and brandishing an axe from what appeared to be his pants.
He threw the axe at full speed and with impeccably flawless aim, causing it to smash the TV in a tornado of glass that narrowly avoided human contact. The device fell forwards in a slow, stable movement.
"It was almost my part!" shouted Lindsay.
"You never said we weren't allowed to watch TV!" Izzy rebutted.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again," started Chris. "I could not care less. Neither could Chef. He doesn't care either."
Chef shook his head, prompting Izzy to declare war. "Come here, Cheffy," she demanded menacingly, pointing a finger in his direction.
Chris leaned into his co-host's ear and whispered, "Good luck, dude," before darting away in comical fashion.
Izzy leapt and reached Chef's level, preparing herself by assuming a karate position. She was locked onto him with an intimidating glare, met by his own gaze, which was perpetuated by his narrow brown eyes.
She let out a deafening screech, sprinting in Chef's direction and engaging in a fist fight. The two of them swiftly exchanged blows with no clear victor. Izzy's shots were deflected by Chef, and Chef's blows were dodged by the evasive teenager. The fighting continued for nearly an entire minute before the camera switched scenes, implying that the brawl remained rampant.
Owen and Harold were inspecting a pile that seemed to contain nothing useful, with the former burying his entire body inside it.
"Is there anything good in this crap?" Harold questioned.
"I don't know, dude," replied Owen, who was quickly thrust outside with a yelp and knocked onto his rear end. "I think something's alive in there!"
Harold crouched down next to Owen and observed the hole made in the heap of junk, but the attempt to help was proven in vain as a rabid mountain goat leapt out and kicked Owen in the face, miraculously launching him through the air and marking Harold as its next target, tackling him.
Izzy and Chef continued to fight, but an unpredicted interruption declared Chef the winner as Owen crashed directly into Izzy, sending the both of them to the snowy ground far below.
"Hm," Chef smugly grumbled, standing alone.
"Sorry, Izz," groaned Owen, apparently stomaching plenty of pain.
"That was awesome!"
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Izzy
"For the record, I just wanna say that I would've totally beaten Chef if that goat wasn't there," Izzy exclaimed in her usual enthusiastic mannerisms. "He may have won the battle, but I will win the war. Mostly 'cause Chef doesn't know that I found his secret diary. Did you know that he's supposed to get married soon?"
-o0o-o0o-
The focus shifted back to the hill of snow inhabited by Chef, where a had grasped the edge. Chris pulled himself back up, now free of any chance of being involved in an unwanted skirmish.
"Let's see what the others are up to, shall we?" he queried.
Next, Cody gained the spotlight. He was walking alone with a satisfied look on his face, carrying to large beams of sturdy wood. Suddenly, chuckling occurred off-screen, with Cody attempting to find its source.
Chris and Chef remained at the top of the snowy mound, with Chef crafting a large, hard snowball. He dropped it right in front of Cody so as to elaborately mess with him and hopefully inflict a small amount of pain.
"Ah!" Cody yelped, looking up. The snowball spiraled down on top of him, resulting in him raising one of his wooden beams and instinctively swatted the snowball as if it was a baseball.
Outside of the camera's eye, Duncan was hit with the projectile. The camera panned towards him as he was knocked to the floor, rubbing his head in pain. Tyler was beside him, lifting a large wheel.
"Do you mind, dude?" Duncan scowled, with Cody nearby.
"Yeah," said Tyler. "Nice going, bro."
Cody began to anxiously shuffle backwards, hastening to abstain from conflict, but Duncan had other plans, getting onto his feet and rushing towards the boy.
"Come here, pipsqueak!"
The two engaged in a fast-paced chase while Chris and Chef picked up a fierce mountain goat, larger than the others found in the mountains. They launched it in Duncan's direction.
Chef announced the action, excitedly stating, "Fresh from the Alps!"
The goat landed directly on top of Duncan while Cody calmly walked away and giggled at the delinquent's misfortune.
"That's payback for you, man."
The two hosts guffawed hysterically while Duncan wrestled with the goat. Soon, he managed to find his feet and picked the goat up in a manner that neutralized its piercing bite.
"Here's yours!" yelled Duncan, throwing the mountain goat at Cody with full force, resulting in yet another scuffle.
As Cody fought with the goat, calling out in pain when bitten, Sierra was shown rummaging through scraps. She stuck her head out of a pile and looked up into the air, ardently sniffing it.
"Cody!" she concluded, running towards the fray.
Sierra suddenly appeared beside Cody, lifting up the mountain goat and simply throwing it away from the two of them without thought as to her aim.
The goat seemed magnetically attracted to Tyler, who was on top of a large mountain of junk, digging through it with one hand. The creature hit him directly in the face, resulting in a screaming Tyler tumbling down to the ground.
"Wow," he muttered. "Not even a scratch."
Right on cue, the goat leapt down and crashed into Tyler before darting off, resulting in him lying on the floor. Immediately following the crash, a tire found itself loose from the pile and fell from the very top to the very bottom, striking Tyler in his coconuts.
"Aw, damn it!" he shrieked with a shrill voice.
While he sat up and clutched the area affected by the tire, Sierra and Duncan came crashing through, engaged in yet another unflinching grapple. They covered lots of ground, eventually ending up near the cliff's edge, where Sierra let go of Duncan and left him hanging on an unstable stone.
"Hey, Sierra?" Duncan called as she began walking in the opposite direction. "A little help here?"
"Sorry, Duncan," she finalized.
"Look, I won't mess with you and Cody anymore. I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted, but I've got a challenge to win."
Sierra was gone in the next few seconds, and Duncan grumbled, "Piece of shit."
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Cody
Cody sat in the booth with his arm scratching the back of his head, a coy grin on his face. "It's really cool that Sierra helped me out back there. You know, even accounting for all the creepy stalker stuff she does, she's actually pretty nice."
-o0o-o0o-
The stone crumbled for a few seconds as he scrambled to attain safety, but the effort was unsuccessful and Duncan began to fall before he was suddenly rescued by a hand, accompanied with a sharp female gasp.
Courtney pulled him up.
"You're welcome," Courtney said, a slight bearance of hesitancy accompanying her.
"And here I thought you didn't care about me, princess."
"I don't," she snapped.
"Then why'd you save me?"
"Well, if we lost a teammate…" Courtney replied.
Duncan smiled and waited a moment before he chuckled. "Well done, Courtney."
A smile of Courtney's own appeared for the first time in ages, and the two exchanged grins for a couple of seconds before Courtney rapidly shook her head, with that showing of happiness evaporating.
"Stop it. What if Gwen sees you?"
"Why? We're not doing anything."
While Courtney was thinking of what to say, staring off into space, Gwen's voice chimed in from nearby, audible from behind the two of them.
"Yeah, about that."
"What's up, babe?" Duncan asked as she walked into their huddle.
"Can we talk for a sec, Courtney?"
"Uh," Courtney pondered. "Sure."
She then looked at Duncan, who shrugged and walked off without a word. Courtney stood up and met Gwen's eyes.
"Okay, first of all-" Gwen began.
"I'm not dating Duncan."
"Uh, yeah," Gwen stuttered. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know it won't really solve anything, but kissing Duncan was a real dick move."
"Why are you apologizing now?" Courtney questioned in a mild manner.
"I don't know," answered Gwen. "I just feel like Duncan and I are kind of drifting apart, so might as well."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "He's great, but I'm not sure it was meant to last. Look, I'm telling you all this emotional crap because I trust you, Courtney."
"Apology accepted," Courtney grinned. "What about Trent?"
"What about him?"
"I don't know. You've been seeming kind of… into him lately."
Gwen giggled and said, "Yeah, we've kinda been hitting it off. I think that might be putting Duncan off a little bit. I've gotta talk to him soon."
"I think he's just a bit worried," Courtney explained. "You know, with the two of you being on separate teams?"
"Probably," Gwen agreed. "The truth is, I've been worrying about the same thing."
"About him being on another team?"
"Well, yeah, but something more specific," explicated Gwen. "You."
Courtney gulped. "Gwen, I swear to God I am not doing anything with Duncan right now."
"Relax," Gwen laughed. "I know you're not like that. I just wanted to say I kinda know how you felt back then. Always being… on edge."
"Good," Courtney sighed, relieved. "If it helps, I'm sorry, too. I got a little hotheaded for a while."
"Hey, it's cool with me."
"Okay, nice."
"Friends?" Gwen asked, holding her hand out.
"Friends," replied Courtney, shaking Gwen's hand and proceeding to engage in a wholehearted embrace.
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Gwen
"Never in a million years did I think that would happen," Gwen stated, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah, it was partly just so she wouldn't kick my ass anymore, but I really do want to patch things up with Courtney for good. My run on this show's been a total mess for way too long, especially with this whole relationship drama. I just want it to go back to normal."
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Courtney
Courtney sat straight as an arrow, grinning as well and remarking, "I knew she had a heart!"
-o0o-o0o-
Returning to the challenge, Justin was pictured hammering a nail into the wooden body of the Bears' transportation device. He, Ezekiel, and Trent were the only ones present at the scene as he completed his endeavors, sighing and wiping his forehead, which was drenched in sweat. Upon zooming out, the vehicle could easily be deciphered as a sturdy wooden boat, like an enlargened canoe.
"I think we're done, man," Justin piped up.
"Nice going," Trent responded, with Ezekiel giving a lighthearted growl and a wholehearted thumbs up. "It looks like we're ahead, too."
Justin leapt down from the top of the relatively compact boat with help from Trent's extended hand, all while every other member of their team joined them, aside from Gwen.
"This looks great, guys," DJ complimented, graciously grinning.
"There's no way we'll lose," concluded Justin.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sierra chimed in. "Let's go!"
"Where's Gwen?" Trent asked, looking around for the aforementioned teammate.
She soon joined the rest of the team and apologized. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting."
"You're good," Justin assured her. "Victory, here we come!"
As the Ballistic Bears celebrated their wooden boat and all of its nuances coming to fruition by exchanging ecstatic high fives, the Leaping Lions were nearby completing construction on their vehicle.
It appeared to resemble a large wooden bowl, but incorporated elements of a sailboat with its towering mast in the center, topped with a large yellow flag to represent their unrivaled sense of team pride. In addition, the external material was significantly stronger than that of the other teams as a direct result of their access to superior equipment. The vehicle was boasted tremendously pleasant aesthetics. Every team member was standing beside it.
"Oh, yeah," Geoff began. "That is nice."
"Aww!" Lindsay beamed. "It's so cute!"
"Nice work, amigo," Alejandro acknowledged, shaking Geoff's hand.
"It looks like a giant cereal bowl!" Izzy proclaimed.
"Hm," Bridgette mumbled. "Not too far off. Good job, team."
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Bridgette
"You know, I really think we could be the team to beat," Bridgette delineated. "We are the smallest right now, but we work together. That's what matters."
-o0o-o0o-
The teams prepared to descend and embark on their journey to the base of the mountain, but the Vicious Vipers were not basking in the same success. The entire team, with the exception of Courtney, was working on their transportation mechanism.
To say the least, the final product was pathetic. It was essentially a large, flat wooden toboggan. There were flimsy safety rails on each side that barely clung onto the central body. Nails visibly stuck out and appeared insecure. Topping it all off, it was ugly and crooked. Gaps were noticeable in between wooden beams, and although it was sizeable enough to carry the team, it didn't appear to be able to legitimately support more than one or two people.
Various team members, including Noah and Leshawna, were working on attaching more wood to the transportation device and planned to hammer in more nails to ensure security. In the meantime, Heather proved how prolific she was at providing nonsensical orders.
"Move it, people!" Heather commanded. "The other teams are already going down the hill, and we aren't even close! And where is Courtney?"
"We don't know," Leshawna answered. "She ran off a while ago, remember?"
Courtney then proceeded to show up, rushing into the parade of Vipers and eagerly commencing construction. "Sorry!"
"It's about time," Noah monotonically told her.
"Yeah, I wish I could say the same," Owen added on, clutching his stomach with both hands as it rumbled ferociously.
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Noah
"My older cousin is a doctor," Noah shared, bearing his perennial look of boredom and disinterest, his arms crossed. "He doesn't watch the show, so every time I tell him about my 300 pound friend named Owen who generates more greenhouse gasses than a power plant, he thinks I'm lying. Man, is he missing out."
-o0o-o0o-
"We can't be that behind," Harold claimed.
At the same time, the other two teams were visible behind the Vipers. They were all riding their vehicles and preparing to descend. The Bears were the first to officially complete the building portion of the challenge, seen when their canoe slowly tipped at the slope's angle and darted down. The Lions soon followed in their glorified sailboat.
"Yeah!" Lindsay wailed, her arms in the air and a massive smile coating her face.
The Vipers stared at the other teams until a few seconds after they had begun their expedition.
"Gosh!" Harold yelled.
"How are we gonna catch up to them now?" proposed Tyler.
"We should quit," Noah suggested. "Why waste the energy?"
Courtney sighed heavily. "Looks like one of us is going home."
As the team clamored, debating the correct strategy to employ so as to either avoid elimination or come to terms with their impending defeat, Duncan leaned into Courtney's ear and spoke calmly, one notch above a whisper.
"The Courtney I know wouldn't give up," he stated.
The girl looked up and smiled at Duncan, responding after a few seconds. "No, she wouldn't."
While the Vipers spoke, the other two teams were extraordinarily preoccupied with keeping death or seriously heinous injury at arm's length. They were neck and neck, overtaking each other for mere milliseconds before being overtaken themselves.
"Keep going!" DJ called from the back of the Bears' boat. "We're gonna win!"
As if fate was against the idea, the vehicle immediately crashed into a rock, but in a defiance of physics' basic laws, it began to fly into the air as the team was launched into the stratosphere.
Bridgette looked around from inside the Lions' magnificent brainchild, spotting the flying boat above them.
"Is that the Bears?" Bridgette pondered.
Geoff squinted from beside her and peered into the air. "Huh… I think so."
At last, the Vipers decided it was time for them to enter the fray. They were positioned at the very peak of the mountain, their unanimously revered toboggan hanging over the edge.
Heather gave a sharp shriek from the front, holding onto one of the railings for dear life as the mode of transportation nearly began its descent. "If we die, it's Tyler's fault!"
"What?" Tyler asked, stupefied. "What did I do?"
"We have to blame someone!"
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Tyler
"Man," Tyler began, sitting with crossed arms. "Even though no one really takes me seriously, I've gotta say that it's great to be back. If no one expects anything out of me, then I can't disappoint them! It's a perfect strategy, and I barely even have to put up an act! I'm in it to win it."
-o0o-o0o-
Instantaneously, the toboggan gave way to the inevitably authoritative qualities of gravity's pull, beginning its way down the mountain and straight towards a myriad of obstacles.
"Holy crap!" Owen cried, covering his eyes with both his hands and simultaneously crushing Leshawna in his binding grip, the two holding onto each other in an effort to remain on the hayride they were forced to endure.
The Bears could still be seen flying through the air in their luxurious canoe. Ezekiel was sitting in the front, perched on the upper edge of the vessel and pointing towards the ground frantically. Cody had somehow ended up outside of the canoe, holding onto its very back edges as he screamed desperately.
Lindsay was looking up at them, enamored with their death-defying antics and locking her eyes on them with an eternal stare.
Her stare was interrupted, however, as Alejandro pointed ahead and began to give crucial directions.
"Left!" Alejandro beckoned from the back.
Lindsay broke from her fascinated inspection, confused as she always was. "What?"
"Go left!" continued Alejandro.
Izzy, who was in the front, simply jumped with force to her left, causing the entire vessel to shift directions and narrowly avoid a fatal collision with a massive rock sticking out of the mountain. A goat was standing on top of the rock and let out a lengthy flame from its open mouth, which would have hit Geoff if not for a carefully timed evasion.
"Good work, Izzy!" Geoff celebrated, high fiving his teammate.
Afterwards, the team crossed the finish line, accompanied by a stupendous wave of tumultuous cheers and celebration. Geoff and Bridgette hugged zealously, and everyone relished in each others' presence with a well-earned victory.
"First place!" Bridgette announced.
"Yes," Chris confirmed, dressed in his comfortably warm snow jacket. "Good job."
"How come you get a jacket?" Geoff interrogated, currently crossing his arms and shivering. "There aren't any heaters down here."
"Because I'm the host," replied Chris.
"That… isn't fair," Lindsay added in between shivers.
"Hey," Chef intervened, somehow at the bottom alongside Chris after his stint at the top of the mountain. "You guys hear something?"
Explosions rung out immediately after Chef concluded his remark, and sequenced flashes of orange lights could be deciphered. In the next few seconds, members of the Bears began to fall from the sky, and Justin, Gwen, and Ezekiel found themselves in front of the finish line. The canoe was gliding down the mountain, dodging rocks, trees, and mines with the rest of the team inside.
Justin slowly approached Chris, rubbing his head, which was visibly scratched and in pain. "Are we safe?" he asked.
"Nope," answered Chris, putting on shades in accordance with another series of bright flashes, the explosions effortlessly reflected in his stylish accessory. "Gotta get your whole team across, dude."
"Ow! That smarts!" Owen's voice yelled from on the astoundingly steep slope. He was seen rubbing his nose, which had been stricken by a stray branch.
"Here they come now!" Chris informed the rest.
The Vipers had effectively caught up to the Bears, whose boat had yet to cross the finish line. In trade for their lack of safety, lack of effort, and all-around poor design, the vehicle provided adequate speed in comparison to the other teams' larger creations.
"When did they get here?" Trent asked DJ.
"Who knows, man?" added DJ, grasping the canoe's front edge and doing his best to turn right, just scathing past a tree. "The only thing that matters is us crossing that finish line."
The vessel passed by another tree, and Sierra stood up just as it slid underneath it. She raised her arms and snapped one of its branches off, grasping it as if it was a sword.
Sierra then proceeded to stand on the edge of the canoe, pointing her weapon towards the Vipers and screaming, "En garde!"
"Sierra, are you crazy?" Cody inquired loudly, shouting to allow his voice to be heard.
"Of course not!" she responded.
"Steer away from her," Harold told Tyler, who was now manning the front of the sled.
"Yes, sir!" Tyler gladly followed.
He leaned to the right with force as Sierra jabbed at the Vipers, causing her to lurch forward and lose balance. She then slammed straight into the front of their toboggan, launching her forward and out of sight.
"Alright!" Harold cheered, high fiving Tyler. "Threat neutralized!"
In celebration, the Vipers, specifically those in front changing directions, became too preoccupied with their temporal victory that they had neglected to pay attention to an oncoming oil slick, which led to a large landmine.
The team traveled through the oil slick as the toboggan began to spin uncontrollably, successfully completing at least four or five donuts before colliding with the mine, sending it into the air.
"Pull ahead!" Cody advised the Bears, who all leaned forward to gain speed and overtake their adversaries.
"What about Sierra?" queried Trent.
"She's probably waiting for us," DJ concluded.
The Vipers had finally landed, with sharp cries of pain audible from their position. They were behind and had fallen into last place, but the fight was not over, even in the last few yards.
The two teams were neck and neck. Once the Vipers pulled ahead, the Bears reclaimed their position. They passed each other a few times as the suspense built up. Only a few seconds remained before one team would claim safety.
At last, the Sierra-less Bears crossed the finish line only moments before the Vipers. They sat anxiously and scanned the environment to find their missing member, but were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, the Vipers nearly reached the finish line. Within milliseconds, Sierra popped her head out of the snow in front of the team's vehicle. She screamed and was struck by the toboggan, catapulted in front of the finish line at nearly the same time as the Vipers, winning by a nose.
Everyone was silent as Chris spoke up.
"Wow," he muttered.
"Wow, indeed," agreed Chef in his German female costume.
The Vipers and Bears were all groaning in pain and bearing uncomfortable expressions. DJ threw up inside of the canoe, while Heather stepped off of the toboggan with dizzy, uncoordinated steps.
"First of all," Chris began. "That… was awesome! What a photo finish! At the end of the day, though, only one team can win, and today, the Leaping Lions win!"
"Yes!" Geoff cheered, high fiving Alejandro.
"As a reward," continued Chris. "You guys get to spend two nights in a local vacation home, which has access to an outdoor fireplace, enough bedrooms to fit an entire school bus full of kids, a game room, and some wicked snow activities."
-o0o-o0o-
Confessional: Alejandro
"Yet another three days in the game," smirked Alejandro with a devious flare. "With the target on my back, I'm grateful for every second I get in that plane. Take it from me. Everything you do out here can bite you in the end, and I need to make sure that never happens to me."
-o0o-o0o-
"Do we get extra points for the landing?" Owen presented in a last ditch effort to maintain a place in the game.
"Okay, the landing was awesome," admitted Chris. "But you're still in last place."
"Aw, man," Noah sulked. "So much for keeping the whole team intact."
"Yeah, you won't have to worry about that," Chris ensured them, chortling. "Today is a reward challenge only, which means you guys are all safe - for now."
"Awesome!" Harold celebrated, pumping his fist into the air.
"I'm warning you, though. The next time the Vipers lose, regardless of whether or not it's an elimination challenge, one of you will be voted off. We don't want another Team Amazon this time around. Turns out the fans really don't like it when one team only loses during reward challenges and gets through the whole competition without voting someone out."
"Sounds good to me," Leshawna sighed, remarkably relieved.
As the teams cleared out, Chris and Chef remained in the snowy Alps, comfortably dressed and living out their dream.
"A job well done, my man," beamed Chris.
"Amen, brother," Chef replied, giving his co-host a hearty fist bump.
-o0o-o0o-
The challenge's completion unfolded during the waning hours of the afternoon, with competitors settling back into the plane and breathing a substantial sigh of relief in the absence of elimination.
Cameras picked up on the game once again in its more subtle moments. It was evening in Switzerland, with snowy mountains towering over the muted orange atmosphere.
Perched in the mountains was a quaint home with three stories. A car pulled into its icy, isolated driveway, which was integrated well into the surrounding nature. Geoff stepped out of the driver's seat and Alejandro out of the passenger's seat. The other three members of the Leaping Lions came out from the back, neither of them bearing luggage.
The five of them looked up at their reward, which was the opulent vacation home, breathing heavily in stark relief following victory and remaining in awe at its glory.
After exchanging smiles with cherishable, smooth music playing in the background, the team silently entered their temporary home while others in the plane moped in their noticeably reward-free environment.
They set down their suitcases in the living room, which was complete with three spacious sofas, a flat screen TV, and an ample amount of food provided by the producers.
"What a beauty, eh?" Geoff kicked off.
"I know, right?" concurred Lindsay.
A montage ensued following the ephemeral exchange of words, detailing the experiences of the team as they reveled in the reward they were granted. The collage of clips was rather fleeting, yet poignant.
The five team members were depicted playing cards in the living room, with Izzy slamming her cards onto the table and cheering fervently while the others paid her with a bag of chips. Outside the house was an enormous backyard, which Alejandro used to operate the grill and provide the team with a hearty serving of sustenance.
Finally, as the evening faded into the night and the moon crept over the horizon, the Lions gathered at a balcony stationed at the third floor. They all sat around a table and gave toasts with their glasses while admiring the heavenly alluring view.
"To victory," Bridgette began.
The rest of the team repeated the phrase and partook in the customary practice of bumping glasses and affirming the toast before drinking.
Afterwards, all fell silent. The moon radiated its wistful blue light, coinciding with the white glow of the mountains in the night. Fireworks sounded and exploded in the distance, manufacturing enchanting patterns and creating a captivating exhibition, presumably as an accompaniment to the reward. All was well.
The camera zoomed out to capture the enticing atmosphere of the glowing mountains, as well as the Lions sitting around their quaint table on the balcony. They were laughing and savoring the break in the competition, giving another toast.
Afterwards, Lindsay had knocked over her cup, spilling its contents on her clothes, resulting in roaring laughter among her accomplices. There was no hope in any attempt to clean the accident up. She was drinking soda. So it goes.
-o0o-o0o-