Episode 13: The Haunted Mansion
A/N: Sorry that this was posted so late! But at least I was able keep my promise! Happy Halloween everyone! Not sure how soon the next episode will be posted, but should be soon! Will Ai get her karma at last? Read on and find out!
Final 4:
Ai, Hana, Phillip, Leroy
Gwen, who was standing on the Dock of Shame, let out an aggravated sigh as the camera zoomed in on her. "Against my will, the network is forcing me to host the challenge this week. So, in order to make this more tolerable for everyone, I am making the challenge easy and straight forward. Last episode, Ai managed to keep Vivian from singing, automatically having her eliminated." Gwen paused, smirking at the camera. "But let's see if my pupil will manage to invoke her bad karma on this episode of Total Drama: The Mentorship."
Leroy: I wasn't able to sleep last night. Vivian... I miss you, and your freaky ability to blow stuff up. How can I focus on the game now? -there is the sound of banging on the outhouse-
Ai: Are you done in there yet?
Leroy: Yeah, looks like focus won't be possible...
Ai: I do feel bad about yesterday. I know what I did was wrong. But no one is entitled to a happy ending on this show! So now it's a matter of waiting to see what comes up next.
Hana: I don't think anyone noticed but we are at the final four! I am so psyched. I bet I even have a chance to win!
Ai: Final four? Who cares? It won't be long before we have a final three, and then two. Happy moments are not destined to last.
It was around dinner time now, and as the final four contestants made their way to the mess hall, Phillip, Ai and Hana couldn't help but notice all of the Halloween themed decorations being put up around the building. "It's a bit early for Halloween, isn't it?" Ai commented to no one in particular.
"It is, but you'll appreciate this when you hear about tonight's challenge." came Gwen's voice from out of nowhere. Everyone looked around (except for Leroy, who was walking head down and eyes shut), trying to find her. He bumped into the back of Phillip, who blinked but then gave Leroy an understanding smile. "In the mess hall, you will find four lists, for a scavenger hunt in my personal design, the Haunted Mansion."
"Haunted mansion?" Hana asked nervously.
"We have been here for thirteen weeks and I haven't seen any mansions." Ai muttered.
"That's because it's new, and is located at the back of the haunted forest." Gwen's voice explained. "The person with the most found items by sunrise wins immunity."
Ai was the first to dash off into the mess hall, followed by Hana and Phillip. "What's her hurry?" Hana asked him.
"Fair Ai is very determined to keep herself in this game." Phillip said, holding the door open for Hana, as Ai had slammed the door behind her.
" 'Fair Ai'? Are you falling for her again?" Hana said, teasingly elbowing him.
Phillip didn't answer; he just gave a smile of knowing.
Ai had already gotten her list and was looking it over. "Jar of mummy dust... Lizard food... Book of costume spells?"
"Glass slipper... Disembodied brain?! Yuck!" Hana cried out.
"Spider eggs, copy of the Bloodbath movie trilogy books... Heather's caveman wig..." Phillip paused and made a face. "Who in their proper mind wrote this list of creepy crawly horrors?"
"Who cares what we think of the list? We have to try finding as many as we can." Ai said. "Listen, I'm going to run ahead and make sure everything is, uh, safe. You two can follow me, if you want." Ai smirked and ran out of the mess hall.
Ai: I'm having a hard time figuring out who to has to go next. Leroy is somewhat of a wild card, only because he made it this far, yet hasn't done anything specific. Hana is the closest I have to a friend, and, well… I'm hesitating over what to do with her. She's also very popular, which could be used against me. And Phillip is, well, Phillip. How do I know what's best to do?
Hana and Phillip shrugged and followed close behind. As they left, Leroy had finally made his way into the hall. An intern, who had just finished hanging up a skeleton, tapped at her wrist watch, indicating that he needed to hurry up to catch up to the others.
"Yeah, yeah, I got the message." Leroy muttered, picking up the list. He sighed and tucked it away without reading it over. He hurried on out after Hana and Phillip, who were still within range of the forest clearing.
Leroy: Okay, I have to start focusing on the scavenger hunt... I miss you Vivian! Why did you have to be automatically eliminated?
Elsewhere, Ai had wound her way past the vampire bat cave and past the mysteriously restored squirrel grove. It wasn't long before she found herself on a cobblestone path that wasn't there a few days ago.
Ai: And that's when it occurred to me that someone must have restored the computer system from the first season on Pahkitew Island... I always thought that the Total Drama Action and Total Drama Island set-up should have been questionable.
Following up the cobblestones, Ai soon found herself face-to-face with a dark and forbidding structure, towering into the sky, which had, out of nowhere, turned dark and stormy. The wooden porch was rotten, with insects peeking out from holes. Ai gulped. "Well, the only way to win is to go in..."
Ai walked onto the rotten porch as Phillip and Hana came up along the path. "I don't like the looks of this place..." Hana whimpered.
"Neither do I. But fair Ai seems to be okay..."
But Phillip never had a chance to finish. Ai got to the top step and suddenly fell through a hole in the floor, screaming loudly. "Ai!" Hana and Phillip cried out together, running up to where she disappeared. They peered into the hole, unable to find Ai in the darkness.
"Ai? Are you okay?" Hana called.
"Lovely Ai? Speak to us!" Phillip called in.
"Ugh, I think I fell in something..." came the groan."Ugh, it's hot and sticky too..."
"Don't worry Ai, we'll find a way to get you out!" Phillip yelled in.
Ai stood up, and she reached out, trying to wade her way out of the mysterious sticky substance. It wasn't long before Ai reached what felt like a doorknob. "Wait, I think I found a way out. You two go on, I'll meet you guys upstairs."
Hana and Phillip then hurried into the mansion, which was darker inside than outside. Hana held up her smartphone, proving a bright enough light to at least navigate the foyer. "I can't imagine how deep this mansion must be." Hana whispered.
"Let's find Ai and then get on with the challenge." Phillip said, as they entered the main room, which had many doors and two stairways. Hana held up her phone, scanning the room with the light, until she found on a table four flashlights. She grabbed the green one for herself and the yellow one for Phillip and the purple one for Ai. She handed Phillip the yellow one, and they both turned them on, fully illuminating the room.
"Ai is below us, so we best try the downstairs." Hana said. There was suddenly a faint sound, like a child's laugh. "What was that?"
"I don't know..." Phillip said. He stepped towards the down staircase. "You stay here, sweet Hana. I will rescue fair Ai."
Hana weakly nodded, hugging the flashlights closer to herself. Phillip went downstairs, which was only darker and deeper. "Ai? Ai, are you here?"
There was a moaning sound, which sounded a lot like Ai. Phillip stole at his nerves, and continued down the hallway. The walls had mirrors, and Phillip did his best to not look at his reflections. He then reached the end of the hall, where apart from a statue of a woman, nothing was there. Phillip took a brief look, and observed that it was Hana, looking as though she were running from something...
"Phillip...?" came a soft voice, breaking Phillip's concentration on the statue of Hana.
"Ai?" Phillip called back. "Ai, I hear you, but I cannot see you."
"Phillip~" came a sing-song voice, still sounding like Ai. Phillip started banging at the walls, trying to find a hidden door. He found it unexpectedly, and stumbled through, the door rotating shut behind him. At the same moment, Ai, covered in glowing green ooze, came from a hidden door from the other wall. "Hello? Could have sworn I heard something..."
Ai walked past a mirror and groaned. "Just look at me... What is this stuff? I can really use a shower right now."
Elsewhere, Phillip found himself in what could only be labeled as a torture chamber. He cringed at the sight of a stretching device, a table with chloroform, and machines with probing devices. "The designer of this castle could really use a lesson in sunshine and rainbows!"
"Phillip... Where are you?" came the voice again, this time much louder.
"Lovely Ai! I am close! I cannot stop here." Phillip said, heading towards the only available door. This door leading to an up staircase. He climbed up, and reached another door. This room was empty, apart from a single stool, which had a recording device laying on it. "What is this?" Phillip picked it up, and paused the recording. "I have been tricked!" As the realization dawned on him, the door mysteriously closed by itself, trapping Phillip in the darkness.
Ai managed to make her way upstairs to the main room. By now she was unaware that she was no longer in need of a flashlight, because she was now glowing green. Hana, who was still waiting for Phillip to return, spotted this. Ai spotted Hana and waved. Hana, unaware it was Ai, screamed and ran to the second level. "What was all that about?" Ai asked. By now Leroy had made his way into the room. He screamed too and hurried into another hallway. "Seriously!"
Leroy: I don't know what kind of monster that was, but glowing green is so not cool!
Leroy soon found himself in the kitchen. Checking to make sure the glowing green monster was not following him, he then decided to look over his list for the first time. "Mummy dust? Spider eggs? Is Gwen being serious?" He opened up a cabinet at random, and was just about to shut it when he spotted the book of costume spells. "Oh. Well then."
Leroy then headed out of the kitchen and back into the main room. Luckily, the coast was clear, as Ai had gone upstairs to in hopes of finding a working shower to clean off the goo. Leroy stumbled around and found the last flashlight, and using it, searched the room. "There has to be something in this room too." He said. His light suddenly touched upon a statue that seemed out of place. Going up to inspect, he found it was of Phillip, with an expression of terror. "This place is giving me the creeps... I really wish Vivian was with me."
Upstairs, Hana finally gave up running, out of breath. She heard the stairway creak with the approach of someone.
Hana: It's not easy to run with ten inch heels! You'd think Gwen would know that when letting that green monster into the place for the challenge!
Hana dashed into a doorway, and found herself staring at another staircase. "Of course." Hana muttered as she hustled up the stairs.
On the second floor, Ai went from door to door, hoping to find a master bedroom with a bathroom. She grinned when she finally found one. "I just hope the shower works..."
Gwen: So, I'm watching all of this from the motherboard computer room. And all I can think of is: has anyone here ever watched a horror movie? Never shower alone! Never go off alone! And never go off alone and show signs of weakness!
Ai tested the shower, and found it working perfectly well. Delighted, she grabbed a towel, stepped behind a shower curtain, and tossed her clothes off. She had started washing, when she realized she had forgotten soap. She stuck her head out and spotted a soap bottle on the other side of the room. She groaned as she stepped out, her feet touching the ice cold floor, and, wrapped in her towel was when she spotted...
"What the?!" Ai burst out, pointing to two pale figures, one which looked like Ben, the other like Vivian. Ai blushed and wrapped the towel around herself tighter. "What are you doing here?"
The figures did not speak. They merely pointed at her, and Ai felt the temperature of the room drop quickly, causing her to shiver more. The one that looked Vivian laughed. "What are you laughing at?" Ai demanded.
The figure of Ben then pointed at the mirror. Ai blinked and stepped in front of it and gasped. She was still glowing green, but this was the first time she realized it. "N-n-no... No! That's not me! That's what you want me to think and see!" Ai cried out defiantly.
The figures laughed anyway at her suffering. Ai felt tears starting to form. "Stop it!"
"The mighty Ai, reduced to crying in a towel!" Came Vivian's voice.
"What standard do you have for that?" Ben's voice asked mockingly.
Ai crumpled to the floor, crying and shivering. She never noticed when the figures disappeared, and for a few minutes, she had forgotten about the challenge and that she needed to hurry with her showering and finding an item on the list.
Gwen: Ah, gotta love the hologram projector and the fact that this computer has recorded everything every challenger has ever said. I was afraid it wouldn't be convincing but apparently it was. I hope Ai learned her lesson.
Upstairs, Hana found herself on a third level, and there was only one door. She nervously looked around, and she suddenly found a statue of Ai, wearing a towel and looking up in fear. This statue was smaller than the others, so Hana curiously took it off the table it was placed on. "Curiouser and curiouser!" She said. When the eyes suddenly glowed bright red, Hana quickly put it back down, and in fear, went to the door she was originally aiming for. When she opened it, she was very surprised to see Phillip hugging himself and shaking on the floor while the recording of Ai's voice still playing. "Phillip! Phillip, snap out of it!"
Phillip didn't answer at first, until she turned off the recording. "Hana? Oh Hana, it's you!"
"What happened Phillip?"
Phillip stood up and grabbed the recorder. "Well, clearly someone forced Ai against her will into making these recordings and used it to break my heart!"
Hana, being the accepting person that she was, nodded and gently hugged Phillip. "Oh Phillip, I am so sorry!"
"No need to be sorry, Hana! You must help me instead! We must turn our focus into finding the one hurting Ai!" Phillip said, standing proudly.
"But what about the challenge?" Hana asked timidly.
"Ai first, challenge after!" Phillip said, stomping back where Hana had come from.
Hana wanted to warn Phillip about the glowing green monster, but she kept silent. She wasn't sure that Phillip would listen to her at this point anyway.
Downstairs, Ai finally stopped crying and finished her shower. "I may be green, but I am certainly not a monster!" She snorted in defiance. Ai wasn't sure what that green ooze was, but at least it wasn't altering her any further... When she finished showering, she smiled in the mirror. She was no longer green, looking back as her normal self, apart from her red contacts. This made her smile. "See? I'm not a monster. That was just a trick mirror… Right?"
She dressed and stepped into the master bedroom again. She decided to start searching for items. After doing a very quick search of the bedroom, she stepped into the hallway. But because she didn't search under the bed, she failed to notice the tiny statue of Leroy, who, like the one of Hana, was running in terror from something.
Ai stepped into the hallway, just as Phillip and Hana arrived from upstairs. "Ai!" They both cried out. Phillip hugged her tightly. Ai groaned as he did.
"How did you end up here? We thought you'd be downstairs." Hana asked when Phillip finally put her down.
"I saw you downstairs, you screamed when you saw me." Ai said accusingly. "I know I was covered in green goo, but still... Anyway, I came up here to shower."
"Ai, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you..." Hana said sadly.
"Well, who else could it have been? One of those pale figures perhaps?" Ai retorted. She headed towards the stairs.
"Pale figures?" Hana asked.
"Like the two that appeared while I showered. Anyway, come on, let's find some items on our lists. We have to make sure Leroy doesn't win." Ai said.
Hana remembered the statue of Ai that she had seen upstairs. "That statue!" She cried out.
"What statue?" Phillip asked.
"I found one of Ai upstairs. She was sitting, in a towel, screaming in fear of something." Hana explained as they followed Ai.
"Come to think of it, I saw one of you Hana." Phillip said. "You were running in fear of something."
"Then it was all a set up." Hana said suddenly. It was becoming clear that someone took a big risk making everything happen step by step to make those statues accurate. "Gwen knew what would happen."
"If that's the case, we have to throw her for a loop." Ai said. "Leroy doesn't know this information. We won't tell him anything and let his course run. We shall hide for the rest of the night."
"But how will we find our items?" Hana asked nervously. They had to do something for the challenge after all.
Ai suddenly held up a hand to silence them. She could see Leroy in the main room, carrying one of the items. "We'll take it from him, that's how. If only one of us had an item, we could all safely get rid of Leroy."
What Ai didn't remember was that Gwen was watching everything.
Gwen: Yeah, I can see I have to try to help karma along here further. But… wait until Ai finds out what that green ooze was!
Leroy made his way out of the main room and into another side room. He was unnerved at the silence, and though he didn't want to admit it, he was starting to miss the others. One of the floorboards creaked under him, and he jumped in fright. He turned around, sweeping his flashlight around, thinking someone was behind him. Seeing nothing, he turned forward again, and nearly screamed. "Vivian? Is that you?"
It sure looked like her, if she could float and was pale and could chill the air.
Leroy: But this is Vivian we are talking. With her powers, maybe she developed astral projection!
"I am here to warn you, Leroy." came Vivian's voice. "She will stop at nothing to win."
Leroy had a hunch he knew who she meant.
"She was the reason I was eliminated after all."
Leroy felt himself cringing outwardly, but on the inside he felt his rage building up. He gripped that book tightly.
"Protect that book and don't let her win! You have to win this for us!"
"Don't worry Vivi! I'll win for us both and prove that love will conquer all!" Leroy shouted.
Ai: Congratulations Leroy. I mean, I wanted you out sooner or later anyway, but when I heard that, you sealed your fate as going home next. Love? Conquer all? Come on, what is this? The 1950s? True love doesn't exist anymore.
Ai looked at Hana and Phillip and made a face of disgust.
"I agree! Communing with the dead is quite gross!" Phillip said.
Ai facepalmed, and Hana could only giggle.
"I have an idea as to how to get Jenkins to give us that book." Phillip said, sounding quite triumphant. "To the kitchen!"
Ai groaned. "Oh joy. What pray tell did you have in mind?"
"Oh heck no! Nope. Not doing it." Hana said, once Phillip explained in the kitchen. He was in the pantry, overjoyed at finding a sack of flour. "This costume is too expensive to ruin!"
"A black tutu, a crown that barely stays on your head, and fishnet sleeves and leggings are expensive?" Ai challenged with a smirk.
"It is when you import from Japan!" Hana then took off her heels and held them up in Ai's face. "Especially these!"
"It won't work if you don't do it, my singing butterfly." Phillip said, opening the sac.
"For a change, I agree with prince charming here. It's a good plan. You go out, act like a zombie. Phillip runs in, makes a scene. Leroy, confused, will be off guard. I swipe the book, me and Hana leave." Ai said. "If I play the zombie, he'll be onto us."
Hana sighed. "I guess we have no choice. Look, the sky is starting to lighten."
Leroy made his way back to the main room. So far, if Ai was up to something, she was being really quiet about it.
"Ugh..."
Leroy stood up, alert at once. It didn't sound like Ai though. That's when Hana came in, stark white and moaning like crazy. "Jenkins! Run, get away! Ai did something to Hana!" Came Phillip's voice.
Leroy trusted Phillip, and turned to run away. But then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted that Hana's heels were clean, with powder dripping off of her legs. "Huh?" Worse, he felt a tug at his book. He turned to see Ai trying to grab the book right from his arms. "Vivian was right! You set this up!"
"You caught me red-handed, but I can't take credit for the plot idea." Ai said. She then pushed Leroy and swiped the book. Leroy tackled her, ready to wrestle her for it. "Heads up, Phillip!"
Phillip grabbed the book as she tossed it to him. He then tossed it to Hana. By now, Leroy had gotten off of Ai, and headed for Hana who was again struggling to run in heels. She tossed it to Phillip. Leroy lunged for it, but Phillip was faster and passed it back to Hana.
"I'm clear Hana!" Ai called. Hana tossed it. Leroy tried to intercept. Ai tied as well. Leroy grabbed it first and a second later, Ai's hand joined his. Both had iron grips and refused to let go.
"And it is now morning! Challenge over!" came Gwen's voice.
Ai and Leroy glared at each other darkly until Gwen walked in, looking around at the mess caused by the flour, but apart from that she seemed relatively satisfied. "Congrats you guys, especially you Hana. You managed to see through my set up and made things much more interesting."
"But who won?" Leroy asked.
"Well, since technically you found the book, Leroy, it's your victory." Gwen said. Ai let go of the book and folded her arms. "Also, Ai, that ooze you fell in? That was apparently nuclear waste."
Ai and the others had a look of horror.
Ai: Nuclear waste? You mean my hair is going to fall out and I'm going to become Dakota 2.0? Noooooo!
Leroy: Wow, I almost feel sorry for her. But that's karma.
Gwen smiled, despite herself. Karma could be a true pain. "But luckily you showered when you did and apart from your hair now turning silver in certain spots, I see nothing wrong..."
"Nothing wrong? I'm a freak!" Ai said with tears, gripping at her hair, noticing the silver spots starting to form. "No one on Earth will ever love me now!"
"You never know, I can think of a few people who'd love to meet you... But anyway, the challenge is over so someone besides Leroy is going home. Meet me at the campfire tonight." Gwen then walked away, with Leroy behind her. Poor Ai stood lifelessly with Phillip and Hana trying to comfort her... Ai then pushed them away.
"I'm over it already." She muttered, trying to mask the emotional pain she was feeling. "I'm fine. At least I'm not bald or growing or something."
"Who are we going to vote for though?" Hana asked nervously. She was now extremely worried about Ai, because more stress was the last thing Ai needed.
Ai shrugged. "For whomever you think has to go."
"Okay, so after a whole night of horrors, I am sure that you want to get on with the voting." Gwen said, giving a small smile. The final four nodded, Leroy being the only one smiling. Gwen tossed him his marshmallow. "You guys know the drill. Can't vote for Leroy, anyone else is fair game."
Leroy: Okay, so I think that the vote comes down to popularity, since I'm the one who got immunity. I hope it's a popularity contest, because then Ai, my biggest threat, has no power. But is it smart to leave that up to chance?
Phillip: Since I cannot vote off Jenkins, my voting choice should be very obvious. One of the lovely ladies is going to have to leave.
Hana: I wanted to vote off Leroy, but since I can't...
Ai: Leroy was the best choice. But since I can't touch him, it comes down to who has the most popularity… -she holds up a mirror, and frowned at the increasing patches of silver in her hair- I'm a freak… Popularity isn't going to be on my side anytime soon.
"So, let's get this over with." Gwen said when everyone finished voting. She gazed at the campers. Leroy was the most at ease, and rightfully so. Ai was sulking, with her arms folded across her chest. She looked more annoyed as Phillip flashed her a charming smile. Hana was the only one who seemed nervous.
Gwen finally picked up a marshmallow, and held it up, almost teasingly. She tossed it to Ai. Ironically, Ai got no votes at all, which was the complete shocker. Ai looked surprised and touched at the marshmallow in her hands. Gwen could only suppose Ai knew she had gotten what she deserved for being so rotten. Immunity was the only thing to going to help her move forward during the semifinals at this point.
Hana and Phillip looked at each other. They knew there would be no coming back anymore. There would be no Aftermath to redeem them. This was it. Gwen held up the last marshmallow. Hana started biting her nails, while Phillip grabbed Ai's hand roughly for comfort. Ai growled, but to her credit, she didn't push him away.
"This was a three to one vote..." Gwen started. "So it's pretty clear cut... The person going home is..."
..
..
..
..
The marshmallow was then tossed to Phillip. Hana had a look of heartbreak, and started sniffling. "But... Why?"
No one was able to look at Hana in the eye. Gwen didn't speak either, at least at first. As she opened her mouth to finally break the silence, Ai stood up. "Popularity, Hana. Let's face it, we all wanted Leroy out. But we can't vote him, so it comes down to who is too popular... And you're the most popular…"
Phillip nodded. Leroy didn't make any reaction, apart from glaring at Ai. But Hana smiled after a moment of processing it. She hugged Ai, and after a moment, Ai hugged back. Hana then walked down the dock, and gulped at the sight of the Whirlpool. Going down once was hard enough, but going down knowing how hard the impact of the water was made it worse. "Well, Raymond, I guess you'll be seeing me sooner than we thought." She muttered. She took a breath and jumped in.
Gwen sighed. "Well, thank goodness that's finally over."
Ai: Once again, I face another night of guilt, voting off the closest friend I made here. But, hey, at least this time, it wasn't solely my fault or the result of one my actions... I mean, Hana made herself popular, so it's her fault... Right? ...Right?
"Well, we are now up to the final three. I can't imagine what type of challenge Owen will come up with... But, not my concern! I'm done with my job." Gwen was about to walk off the dock, when an intern pushed her back in front of the camera. "Do I have to?" The intern nodded. "Ugh, fine. Tune in next time for TOTAL. DRAMA. THE MENTORSHIP!" After a quick cough, Gwen glared at the intern and pushed the camera away.