Episode 3: Revenge of the Phobia
"Last time on Total Drama: The Mentorship! The campers had to jump off the cliff. Most made it out okay. While others had a bit more of revealing experience (the camera flashes to Ai without her skirt on). The spoiled princess got booted from her kingdom, and our unhappy camper shows a bit of a dark side (camera flashes to Patrick making an alliance with Heather). Who will go home next? Who will survive this uphill challenge? Who's going to fix this dock? Find out all this and more on TOTAL. DRAMA. THE MENTORSHIP!"
Ai was sitting outside the Team Athens cabin, reading yet another big book. Or so it would appear to anyone just looking at her. In reality, she was watching her teammate, Ben, who was sitting on the other staircase leading to the male side of the cabin by himself. She couldn't help herself from being curious about him, since he didn't talk much.
Meantime, Phillip was watching from the bushes with Justin, his mentor. "Remember, you have to use your good looks. Give her the killer smile. No girl can resist a perfect smile." Justin said. Phillip gave a nod.
Ai was just about to get up and go over to Ben, when Phillip blocked her way. "Ah, good morning, Ai. What are you up to on this lovely morning? Still reading that book I see." He gave her a flashy bright smile, but she lowered her book protectively against her body, ignoring his smile.
"It's… It's a new one actually." Ai said nervously, trying to walk around him.
"You know, Ai," Phillip started, grabbing her arm and having her sit back down again, "all the girls watching on television right now would love to be in your shoes."
"Oh my shoes are nothing special. Just a simple size 8 sneaker really. They could get them anywhere, Phillip. Now please pardon me…"
Phillip just laughed and put her back down again. "No, I meant they want to be you. With my charming good looks, my perfect body, my wit and brains… And you by my side!"
Ai had a horrified look on her face.
Ai: I amon a quest to find my true love. But heis definitely not it. I'm not looking for a guy based on looks. My love has to have a good heart.
"I'm sorry Phillip. But I don't think that I want to jump into things right now." Ai said simply, and walked away.
Phillip was in shock as Justin walked next to him. Justin gave a sympathetic whistle. "We need to work on this." he said.
"She will be my girlfriend! I know she likes me, but something is holding her back." Phillip ranted. He turned away from where Ai went, as Stella and Vivian had come out of their cabin. He gave them the same smile he gave to Ai, and both girls fainted from the hotness.
Justin was not sure. But he was determined to get Phillip far within this game… by any means necessary…
The mess hall was now open for breakfast, if one would call the poor quality food as breakfast. It was a bowl of gruel, which was thick and pasty, and almost impossible to swallow.
Ben was sitting outside the mess hall with his bowl. He just wanted some peace and quiet away from Phillip and the arguments that frequently broke out between the mentors. He tried to get a spoonful of gruel, but his spoon was quickly stuck fast within it, and wouldn't pry free. His attention was so stuck on the breakfast, that he didn't notice Ai sitting near him.
"So who is your favorite?"
Ben blinked in surprise. She was looking at him expectantly, but she somehow managed to gracefully scoop up bits of gruel, dip it into her tomato juice, and eat it. "W-what?"
"Mine is Dusklight Twinkle, with his Sword of Shininess and the Elements of Glitter." Ai continued between mouthfuls, referring to the now popular television show, Pretty Little Pony. "So, who is yours?"
"Rainbow Blast… She's got the strongest storyline, apart from Dusklight. She finally found out that the Rainbow of Brightness is actually a literal thing and not a figurative thing." Ben said.
"Oh, so you enjoy the warrior storyline huh? I like the magic storyline best." Ai said, giving a smile, which then turned to a small frown. "I noticed that you never stay in the mess hall during meal times. Maybe once this whole week you did. Do you always have to go outside?"
"I'm not exactly comfortable with loud noises. Do you like being in that crowded mess hall?" Ben asked, trying to feel out why she had come to talk to him at all.
Ai hesitated. She had come outside to avoid dealing with Phillip. "Well today I came out because I was looking for you. That and Phillip was talking about an uncomfortable subject that I'd rather not get involved with."
Ai: See, I have a fear of dogs. When I was younger, I was chased by a giant German Shepherd who wasn't on a leash. The owner said he was just being friendly. But can someone please explain why he was barking and baring his teeth at me?
Ben gave a small smile and for a moment both looked back at their breakfast. Ben's spoon was now stuck into the gruel like cement. Ai had eaten most of hers, and dumped the rest of her tomato juice into it.
"Why'd you do that?" Ben asked in surprise.
"It adds flavor and softens the gruel. It actually doesn't taste so bad, once you add some nutrition to it." she said, giving a smile.
"Attention all campers, attention all campers, this is your fantastic host, Chris McLean speaking. Meet me at the amp theater in ten minutes!" There was a long and ear splitting period of feedback until Leroy finally came outside and threw a rock at the speakers, effectively silencing them.
"Alrighty campers, today you're going to go on a nature hike with your team. There are challenges spread throughout each path, and everyone has to do at least one. Those who can't do it, have to sit out the rest of the challenge. The first team to arrive back wins and the losing team has to go to the campfire ceremony." Chris said, holding up a pointer to show the different paths that were set for the campers.
Jenn: So far, we are on a winning streak. I intend to keep it that way! By any means necessary!
Jenn raised a hand. "Um, Chris, since we all know you're a generous and kind host, and we won the last challenge, surely we must get some sort of advantage in this?"
"Fortunately for you, Jenn, you'll be happy to know that because of the elimination ceremony last week, you and Team Rome have the same number of people competing. That's your advantage. Hehe…"
Jenn: Well, it was worth a try.
Patrick: What is that girl up to? I know a good actress when I see one. She is definitely trouble. Heather did warn me that Jennifer seemed like a strong competitor.
Both teams took their path. Team Rome's path was painted gold, Team Athen's path was painted silver.
The path was up an incline, but smooth and the sun was shining. Patrick was hanging back at the rear of the line, right behind Leroy. He tapped Leroy on the shoulder. "Leroy, can we talk a moment?"
"Sure, what's up Patrick?"
"You seem like a good friend and a strong competitor. Do you want to go to the final two with me? I need to bring someone with me, so the final act of this show will be epic and grand! Can you accept me casting you into that role?"
Leroy raised an eyebrow.
Leroy: What's with all the acting stuff? It's like he was raised to be Shakespeare. But, all that aside, it would be nice to have someone to help me get to the final two, and if Patrick can be that person, then so be it. It's his loss really.
"Well, alright Patrick. No harm in saying yes to an epic finale." Leroy said, and the two shook hands.
What the two boys failed to notice was Vivian overhearing the whole thing. She felt very uncomfortable knowing that Patrick and Leroy were going to try to get rid of everyone else on the team.
Vivian: Dawn warned me of evil being on my team. I didn't realize that our two strongest players would be it…
Soon, they arrived at a clearing, where Owen was waiting. "Hey guys! I can't believe you got here so fast! You guys are awesome!"
"What are you doing here, Owen? You're not involved in this challenge." Riley asked, picking up a picnic basket which was by Owen's feet.
"Chris forgot to give this to you guys, so he asked me to deliver it." Owen then noticed Leroy. "Hey Leo! Isn't this great? Now we can hang out at this challenge just like best buddies! Leo? Leo? Leo?"
Leroy's eye twitched with fury at having his name messed up. He then swiped the picnic basket out of Riley's hands and proceeded to open it up and empty its contents. He then gasped and dropped a container full of cockroaches. "This isn't lunch, Owen!"
Crystal and Stella started to scream and started to run out of the clearing to avoid the cockroaches that were working their way towards the edge of the clearing.
But Leroy was immobilized with fear. The lid finally burst open and hundreds of roaches ran around, their feelers rubbing at his feet. A piece of paper fell out with them, and Patrick picked it up. "It says that this is the first challenge, specifically for Leroy… who's afraid of bugs?"
Riley and Owen laughed. In a moment Patrick joined in.
Riley: What kind of guy is afraid of roaches? Seriously, it's our role in nature to squash bugs, he has nothing to fear.
Vivian was now fumbling in her pockets, and she pulled out a handful of rotten food that she saved for such purposes, as Dawn had suggested. Upon placing it down, the roaches were immediately attracted to that. She gave a smile to Leroy. She wanted to stick around as long as possible, so she assumed that kindness would be the right tool to use. Leroy gave a sigh of relief and took the paper from Patrick. The challenge was to squash at least three roaches. Now that they were distracted, he was able to do so with his fear no longer holding him back.
Overhead, a helicopter appeared, with Chris and Chef inside. "Excellently done Leroy. One point towards Team Rome!"
Chris then dropped a different picnic basket, this one actually containing lunch… specifically dry old ham and cheese sandwiches. Owen was then picked up by the helicopter by a giant plunger and taken away. "Darn it, I wanted some of Chef's yummy food!"
Leroy: Can someone please explain how I got stuck with Owen? –he facepalms–
Team Rome ate what was edible and moved on along the golden pathway. The incline had leveled out, but the thicker forests made it seem unfriendly. Vivian began to feel very uncomfortable. It seemed to her that the trees were getting closer and closer, surrounding her, trying to trap her in.
Vivian: I'll admit it, I'm claustrophobic. So being in those trees did not make me feel good about this hike…
"Guys… My claustrophobia is kicking in." Vivian whimpered when the trees now forced them to walk in a single file. She then nearly cried when she heard an animal screeching in the background.
"I thought you were one of those tree-huggers." Riley pointed out.
"W-well you were wrong!" Vivian stammered. "I enjoy gardening and making hybrid flowers! I'm n-not one for forests and the wilderness."
Stella took Vivian's hand. "Come on, we'll go through this and do it together."
That made Vivian relax, until they came to a fork in the road. Both paths were painted gold. "Now which way do we go?" Crystal sighed. She went towards the bigger, wider path to inspect it. Riley went up to a sign, which was conveniently nailed to a human-size fork placed where the roadway split.
"It says that the smaller path is for Vivian to take alone. The rest of us can travel up the bigger pathway."
Vivian went pale. She did not want to go in that narrower, darker path all by herself.
"We'll wait for you on the other side of the grove, Vivian." Crystal said. "We won't go any further until you come through."
"Come on Vivian, you have to do this." Leroy said, trying not to sound annoyed. "We can't afford to lose again. Athens is probably way ahead of us from all this time we're killing."
Vivian sighed and slowly made her way through the grove.
The rest of Team Rome made it in very little time, and they waited at the next clearing, hoping that Vivian would come out of the woods soon. But Vivian was going at a snail's pace, jumping at every sound and leaf crunch. At last, she called out "I can't do it!" and she curled up in fetal position against a tree stump. In her eyes, the tree branches were reaching out to grab her, even though in reality they were nowhere near her.
Chris and Chef reappeared in the helicopter. "Well, looks like Martha Stewart just failed you guys. She'll be stuck in the woods until the challenge is over."
Patrick: Even the crappiest of actors have a chance at the Raspberry Awards. Thus I think it's safe to say that Vivian will stay if things go my way. And believe me, things always go my way.
Elsewhere, along the silver path, Team Athens was making its way along a more twisted path, led by Jenn. Close behind her was Ai, reading a book as she was walking. Behind Ai was Ben, who was watching in somewhat of amazement that Ai seemed to know exactly where she was going, despite her nose being in a book, and her eyes avidly reading the small words. From what he could make out, it looked like a book on the subject of romance.
Hana and Raymond were in the middle of the line, the two walking side by side. Phillip was bringing up the rear, the animals of the forest following him, for even they were attracted to him.
"Come on guys, hurry up!" Jenn called as the first clearing came into view. She didn't bother to wait for them though, and found Dawn waiting there. Dawn was meditating and in a deep trance, not even looking up at Jenn, until Jenn said: "What are you doing here?"
"I am here to help with your team's first challenge today." Dawn replied, her eyes still closed as she spoke. "Ai must come to see me."
Just then, the rest of the team made their way into the clearing. Jenn brushed past Ai, muttering that she needed to see Dawn. Ai was confused, but closed her book at last and went over to the short, blonde girl. Dawn then gave a whistle, and some bushes began to rustle. "All you need to do Ai, is pet this animal to win some points for your team… Although I am concerned because your aura is incompatible…"
"Incompatible to what…?" But Ai didn't have to wait long, as a friendly "yip yip" barking noise was heard. She nearly jumped as a small, wide-eyed puppy came out from the clearing. "G-get that thing away from me!" Ai cried. "Don't let it near me!"
Jenn: Ai is my ally. She's the only one with most of her brain cells intact. I'm trying my hardest to overlook the fact that she's afraid of puppies.
Phillip went over and scooped up the dog, bashing its poor head when he pet it. "Fear not, Ai. For I shall prove to you that this little bloodhound is harmless and you can pet it easily."
At this, the dog growled and bit very sharp teeth into Phillip's arm. Phillip screamed and started running around the clearing, trying to shake the puppy off.
"Yeah… Looks like we're going to be here a while." Jenn muttered.
Finally, the dog let go of Phillip. Dawn gave it over to Ai, who nervously held it away from her body. It was wagging its tail, and started to lick her face. Annoyed, Ai went and pet the puppy.
"See! I knew I could get you over your fear of dogs." Phillip said, rubbing his injured arm.
The dog growled in a threatening way at him and he backed off.
Ai: –she is now petting the dog– good boy! Who's a good boy? –the dog is happy and rolling over on her lap excitedly–
The helicopter with Chris and Chef come overhead, using the plunger to pick up Dawn. "And a point goes to Team Athens! Nicely done!" Chris said, as Chef flew the helicopter elsewhere to drop off Dawn.
Jenn gave Ai a high-five. "Nicely done. Now let's hurry up and finish this challenge already."
They made good progress along the path, now getting ahead of Team Rome. They now came to the second clearing, which was full of various people. Jenn went pale as she got a good view of these people. "Fundamentalist Christians!" she hissed.
"Why would they be here?" Hana asked.
No one on the team was willing to admit fear, until one walked up to Jenn, to hand her a piece of paper. Jenn swatted the paper away and turned away from them. Ben picked up the paper and had a look of surprise. "This challenge is for Jenn. She has to say hello to all ten Fundamentalist Christians."
Jenn did not want to do this, but she knew for the sake of winning, merely saying 'hello' could not be so hard or bad. She went up to the first one in line, the one who tried to give her the paper. She quickly muttered hello to all ten, and Chris came back on the helicopter with Chef, awarding another point, and announcing that Team Athens was in the lead with 2-1 score.
Team Rome had fallen behind thanks to Vivian. They had to hurry off to the next clearing. Waiting there was a man who looked like a theater critic. He demanded that Patrick do a performance based on The Tiger King play. Patrick did so, but the critic gave him a horrible review. Patrick found that he couldn't bring himself to move on, and another point towards victory was lost.
Stella had to deal with watching an episode of primetime drama television, which she managed to tolerate. Team Rome won their second point.
Crystal had to get her picture taken with a clown. She managed to keep herself together for a successful picture but the moment the point was earned, she burst into tears from the stress. Leroy was only relieved that they had three points now.
Riley, like his mentor before him, had a fear of ninjas. But unlike Harold, whom had decided to use his nun-chucks for self-defense, he had what looked like the neuralizer from the Men in Blue series, which he pulled out and flashed the light upon them. The ninjas forgot why they were even there and not back in Japan, and disappeared into the dark forest. The fourth and last available point was then given to Team Rome.
Team Athens, however, was not so successful. Ben had to take a path that led through a pitch black cave. He got stuck halfway, and never came through the other side. Ai wanted to go back and look for him, but Jenn wouldn't allow it. Whenever they stopped, Ai would look back nervously, only for Jenn to remind her that they had to keep going, and they could worry about the losers later.
Raymond was afraid of being discovered as a wimp, so Chris had set up tripwire for him. When he tripped, it was discovered that he had Pretty Little Pony underwear. Everyone but Ai laughed at him; the very thought that a muscle jock who dedicated every moment of his being to pumping weights and becoming incredibly powerful would still have time to like Pretty Little Pony! Raymond told them to shut up, it was a gift from his mother, and that he could wear and like whatever he wanted. That gave Team Athens the third point. They only needed one more point to get to the tie-breaker challenge, two for a direct victory.
Phillip, out of nowhere, had mud dumped onto him, running his good looks. Hana and Jenn were horrified and Phillip was even more so. He screamed like a little girl and said he could not move on while being so dirty, for he was afraid of being seen like this. Internally, Jenn wanted to be angry. Now they would never win!
Hana was the last challenge for Team Athens. At the last clearing, she had to perform in front of a crowd of people, none of whom seemed thrilled at being there. She gulped as she was pushed onto the stage by Jenn. The violin that Hana kept in her part of the cabin was left on the stage, and she picked it up, and nervously prepared it. "Come on hurry up!" Jenn ranted on. She wanted to hurry up and get the tie-breaker already. But, once all was ready, Hana just merely stared at the crowd, who continued to stare coldly at her. She began to sweat and then finally came the crying. Hana was very good at performing on the Internet with videos, because she didn't have to have a direct audience. But live performances were horrifying to her.
Chris then flew overhead. "Well, it would seem that Team Rome has won! They got four points and made it out of the woods! So looks like I'll be seeing you at the campfire ceremony tonight!"
"Welcome, Team Athens, to your first campfire ceremony. Marshmallows will be given to those who are safe. And for the loser, they must take the Whirlpool of Looserdom and can never come back. Ever."
Chris said, as he struggled to open a bag of marshmallows. When he did, they exploded all over him, causing him to growl as he pulled the goo out of his perfectly styled hair.
Ai, meantime, was sitting next to Ben. "What happened to you? You were gone in that cave forever!"
"I fell into a hole in the floor, and it was too dark to find my way out." Ben explained. He then gave a shudder. "I hope I never have to go back into that cave again. But what happened to your dog?"
Ai gave a sympathetic smile but then smiled. "Oh, I decided to keep Tomato. He makes a very good guard dog when Phillip's around. He's back at the cabin now."
"Now is the time that someone's fate has been decided. I have reviewed the votes, and…"
"Just get it over with already!" Jenn interrupted.
"Alright, Little Miss I'm-More-Important-Than-The-Host-Of-The-Show. Cool your skirt." Marshmallows were tossed to Jenn, Ai and Raymond. Hana, Ben and Phillip all looked at each other, nervously. No one wanted to go home, but they knew that they were the reason that the team had lost. Ben was then tossed a marshmallow. Ai gave a smile as he let off a sigh of relief.
Ai: I'm glad Ben's going to stick around… He's probably the only guy that understands me somewhat. I hope we can be friends… Maybe more… Wait did I just say that? –she then tries to wrestle the tape out of the camera but fails as the camera turns static for a moment–
Chris gave a smirk. "With a vote of 4 to 2, the person taking the Whirlpool of Looserdom is…."
Hana and Phillip looked at Chris with pleading eyes. Chris narrowed his eyes and looked between them both. Then Phillip was tossed the last marshmallow. "…Is Hana!"
Hana gasped in surprise and looked unhappily at Raymond, who gave her a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. Trent, her mentor, walked over from the peanut gallery, and walked with her to the Whirlpool of Looserdom.
"Bye guys. Good luck." Hana said as she took a jump with all of her equipment.
In the female part of the cabin, Jenn and Ai were alone. Jenn decided that she needed a proper alliance now, before it was too late. She knew Ai did not vote with her, and probably never would so long as Phillip was around. She needed to change that, and fast. Or else she knew her temper would get her kicked off next…
"Hehe, so it would seem that the weakest links have finally all been eliminated. Who will go home next? Who will have yet another embarrassing moment? Find out next time, on TOTAL. DRAMA. THE MENTORSHIP." Chris said, as the cameras faded out to the credits.