This is probably one of the longest chapters I've ever written. Cool, huh? Disclaimer: I own naught.
"Good morning campers!" Chris cheerfully remarked as the…is it 13? I think so…lets see…started with 16, voted off 3…so yeah, thirteen. The thirteen campers stood in a row awaiting their next torment.
"Today, our challenge is…to survive the Carnival of Doom!"
There were a few startled responses, and a couple of unknowing blinks, as the group waited for an explanation.
"The whole carnival ground has been drenched with water for so long that you will be walking in ankle-deep mud the whole time, and you must ride one ride, which is the first ride you happen to lay eyes on…even if it look like they're about to break down. And, in my hands, I have a box of random stereotypical traits you find at a carnival. You MUST act exactly like it tells you during the whole ride, or you will be disqualified. The team that has the least number of disqualifications wins the challenge. The losers must vote somebody off tonight. Come get your traits."
Sonic heroically reached into the bag and grabbed a paper. He looked at it and his jaw dropped. "Be completely bored and unimpressed with the whole thing, even if it's awesome?" he read. "You mean I have to act like SHADOW!"
"Looks that way, dude," Chris admitted.
Sonic's face showed that he wasn't really looking forward to this next challenge. One by one, the others came forward and picked their papers from the bag.
Amy and Mephiles were ordered to scream like little girls on every ride. Tails and Metal Sonic were told to draw attention to themselves whenever possible. Shadow and Knuckles drew a card stating that they had to make smart-aleck remarks about each ride.
"So…" Shadow narrowed his eyes and glared a Chris. "You're saying I have to act like Sonic and Sonic has to act like me?"
"That's what the card said," Chris confirmed.
"Are you sure this drawing isn't rigged?"
Bean also got a 'stay bored and be unimpressed' card.
"Well, we just lost," Mephiles muttered.
Ix, Scourge, and Espio got a card that said they were supposed to beg for mercy and swear that they would never get on another ride again for as long as they live if they get off of this one alive.
Eggman eagerly grabbed the last card and looked at it. An uncomprehending look crossed his face and he read, "Yodel opera? Who the daisy yodels opera on an amusement ride?"
"Apparently, you do," Chris said, looking into the bag and getting one last card out. "What do you know, a leftover yodel opera card. I guess we put in one too many begging for mercy ones, huh?"
Suddenly, Mario appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the leftover card from Chris' hand, and ran off into the woods, waving the paper and yodeling opera at the top of his lungs.
"Uh-huh…" Chris said. "Well, we're getting our amusement rides set up on the other side of the island, show up here in a half an hour to start the challenge."
Grumbling about the unfair stereotypes they were supposed to portray, the campers stalked off to the barracks.
*Toilet Cam*
Amy's POV A Screamer
"This is SO unfair. I mean, screaming my lungs out like a little girl? Honestly, that is such a demeaning image. I'm a strong, independent woman, not a scared little kid!"
Mephiles' POV (A Screamer)
"Yeah, like I'm gonna scream like a little girl. While we're at it, why don't we all watch a Chick Flick and I can sob my eyes out?"
Espio's POV (A beggar for his life)
"This is both demeaning and pointless."
Ix's POV (A beggar for his life)
"I'm glad I drew begging and pleading. I was going to do that anyway."
Scourge's POV (A beggar for his life)
"I'm not sure I know how to beg for my life. I guess I could try to remember what everyone says when they meet me…"
Tail's POV (An attention grabber)
"I'm really nervous. I really don't like grabbing any spotlight. The thought of people staring at me gives me the creeps."
Metal Sonic's POV (An attention grabber)
"This will be easy. I've found that going on rampages and trying to kill Sonic is a sure-fire attention grabber."
Bean's POV (A grumpy, unimpressed guy)
"Ooh, this toilet is SO shiny!" Bean hugged the toilet and the security dude had to drag him out before he started licking it. (Ew.)
Sonic's POV (A grumpy, unimpressed guy)
Sonic crossed his arms and glared at the camera. "Look at me, I'm Shadow. I hate everybody and everything." After his speech, Sonic started laughing hysterically.
Knuckles' POV (A smart-aleck)
"I assumed if I did nothing, they'd kick me off, but it doesn't appear to be working."
Shadow's POV (A smart-aleck)
"Wassup, I'm Sonic! I'm a bonehead faker! I have no brain! Watch me prove it!" Shadow said, having heard Sonic's previous Toilet Cam and also feeling frustrated at his current role. Now that he'd made his speech, he crossed his arms and glared at the camera, silently ordering it to leave.
Eggman's POV (A yodeler of opera)
"YODEL Opera? What the hey? I mean, honestly, who yodels opera?"
Mario's POV (A Yodeler of opera)
"I am a world-a renown-a opera-a yodeler-a," The plumber said proudly. "You gotta get-a your gut-a in it-a."
"Hey, fool! What are you doing in there?" Chef's voice came from outside the toilet, along with someone pounding on the door. Mario screamed like a little girl and jumped into the toilet. A noise like the kind you hear when he goes into those green pipes was heard, and he disappeared as Chef broke the door down. "You're paying for that, fool!" Chef yelled into the toilet, pointing at the broken door.
Black Doom's POV (Was not assigned a task)
"I hid under the kitchen table so I wouldn't have to take part in the challenge. Carnival rides creep me out."
Total number of heroes participating: 6. Total number of villains participating: 6. Total number of Marios participating: 1.
Half an hour later, the 12 participating contestants, (Mario is nowhere to be found) entered the makeshift amusement park. As promised, there is sloppy, ankle-deep mud everywhere.
"Ew," Amy said, lifting her foot. "This is disgusting!"
"OK, Campers," Chris said, appearing out of nowhere. "Everyone team up in pairs of two, and get on your ride. On your marks, get set, go!"
Everyone found a partner and started to look for their amusement ride.
Sonic and Shadow teamed up, both determined to 1. find ways to make the other crack and 2. not crack themselves. They were going to stay in their assigned characters if it killed them, because they sure as heck weren't going to be outdone by the faker! (Who the faker was, depended on who you asked.)
The two found a ride known as the Scorpion. It had two arm like things that wheeled around a large metal pole with a picture of a scorpion on it. Each arm had four 'finger-like' things on it, each finger thingy having a seat. The thing was designed to lift you about ten feet off the ground and spin you around as fast as it could.
Sonic and Shadow got onto the ride and sat down. The guy who started the ride appeared. "Switch places," he ordered, and the two obeyed.
"You're not doing this so he'll squish me in the turns, are you?" Shadow asked.
The guy gave them both evil glares as he locked them in. "I hope you puke your brains out," he spat, turning to leave.
"If I do, I'm aiming it at you, pal!" Shadow yelled towards him. Sonic rolled his eyes and stared off into the distance, looking completely bored.
The ride started, and as the seats lifted to their appropriate height, the whole ride creaked as if it was straining to lift their weight. Shadow's eyes widened and he turned to Sonic, chuckling nervously. "Uh…I don't think this ride wants us on it, do you?"
With an amazing amount of superhuman restraint, Sonic yawned into his hand and looked like he was going to fall asleep. "Whatever," he muttered.
Shadow stuck his tongue out at Sonic. "Gloomy Gus," he teased. The ride started picking up speed, spinning in circles and swinging towards and away from its metal center.
Shadow found that he'd been positioned so that every time it was going towards the metal center, he was staring at the painted on scorpion. He noticed with discomfort that he came very close to the scorpion each time. The fact that the ride continued to squeal like a stuck pig didn't help.
Shadow turned to Sonic and said, "I swear, if that Scorpion is the last thing I ever see, I'm going to kill Chris."
Sonic might have given Shadow a small, barely visible smirk, but one couldn't really tell.
Shadow continued running his mouth. "The way I see it, we have two choices. One, the thing we break off near the ground and are crushed by the giant scorpion picture. The other is we break off in the air and go sailing off into the distance to be burned up in the sun. Either way, we die. Only difference is, one gives us good air time. Which would you prefer?"
"Humph," Was Sonic's preference.
Shadow raised his eyes. "Bah, humbug to you too, Son."
Sonic turned and glared at Shadow. "Don't call me Son," he warned.
Shadow grinned, knowing he'd found a nerve. "You got it, Son."
Sonic scowled at him.
Meanwhile, Knuckles, Mephiles, Amy, and Bean all found themselves waiting to get on the 'Ring of Fire,' something like a complete roller coaster loop with no other track. The man who was getting them on the ride buckled them in, then said, "I have one rule on this ride: If something goes wrong, scream really loudly so I can get out of the way in time." Then he went to the box and turned the ride on, laughing like a maniac.
Amy was so freaked out by the guy that she was screaming long before they completed the first loop. However, Mephiles was silent.
"Shouldn't you scream?" Knuckles asked, as he was sitting beside the Dark.
"So?" Mephiles asked. "I don't scream. Shouldn't you be heckling?"
"So?" Knuckles repeated. "I don't heckle."
"WHEEEEEEEE!" Bean squealed, even though he wasn't supposed to be having fun.
Villains disqualified: 2
Heroes disqualified: 1
Still elsewhere, Eggman and Tails were waiting to get on the Scrambler. Tails was so terrified of his role of drawing attention to himself, that when the guy who started the ride opened the gate and motioned him to get on, he panicked and ran away. He spent the rest of the night hiding in the kitchen in the table next to the one Black Doom was using to hide in.
Eggman, however, got on the ride and, his face turning a deep magenta, loudly yodeled the opera 'Carmen' throughout the entire ride.
Villains disqualified: 2
Heroes disqualified: 2
Espio, Scourge, Ix, and Metal Sonic all got on their own ride: an Extreme Ferris Wheel thing that had two wheels that revolved around each other. Scourge and Espio got on one, and Ix and Metal Sonic got on the other.
As soon as the ride kicked into motion, Ix freaked out. "I'm going to die!" he yelled. "Dear Lord, save me! If I ever get off of this alive, I'm never getting on another one again!"
Scourge and Espio could fully see the hysterical Ix from their own seats.
"Uh-uh," Scourge said. "If that's what Chris wanted us to do, I'm not doing it!"
Espio nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Metal Sonic was about to get started on his own challenge, when the panicking Ix's arm reached over and accidentally hit his shutdown button. Metal Sonic powered down, and therefore didn't get to complete his challenge.
Villains disqualified: 4
Heroes disqualified: 3
While this was happening, Mario eagerly waited in line at a ride called the Gravitron, when Chef noticed him, grabbed him by his overall straps, and kicked him into the Boat of Losers, so Mario never got to complete his challenge either.
Villains disqualified: 4
Heroes disqualified: 3
Marios disqualified: 1
"Heroes win the challenge!" Chris said, appearing out of nowhere. "Villains, I'll see you at the elimination round tonight."
*Toilet Cam*
Eggman's POV
"You mean I yodeled opera and we STILL lost?"
Ix's POV
"Where was Black Doom during this?"
The camera flashed to Black Doom, who was peeking out from the kitchen table. "Is it safe to come out yet?" he asked.
That night, the seven villains were around the Elimination Campfire. Again, Chris gave the boring speech again and started naming names. "Eggman," was the first one called.
Eggman grinned and took a marshmallow.
"Ix."
Ix took a marshmallow eagerly.
"Metal Sonic."
Metal Sonic was still off-line, so Chris threw the marshmallow at him. It hit him in the face and he fell over.
"Mephiles."
Mephiles took a marshmallow.
"Scourge."
Scourge grabbed his marshmallow.
"Two of you left. One more marshmallow."
Black Doom looked nervous, and Bean was admiring the shiny toilet handle he'd stolen while in the Toilet Cam.
"The last marshmallow of the night goes to…Bean."
Black Doom gasped.
"That's what you get for ditching us, you traitor!" Eggman yelled. The villains booed and threw rocks at the evil alien as he ran down the Dock of Shame and dove into the Boat of Losers.
Chris watched the drama and turned back to the camera. "And another one bites the dust! Who will be next? Find out next time on Total Sonic Island!"
Told you it was long. RR, please.