A/N: Chapter Two! In this chapter, we will divide the players into their teams and begin their first mission in Delfino!

Thanks to those who reviewed!

Also, I wrote this chapter forever ago and never updated because of Winter Break business (I was barely home) and then settling into second semester. But now *dramatic pose* I am back!

Now for the shout-outs!

Yoshpa Kong: Thanks Yoshpa! Haven't seen you around in some time D: Anyway, I keep changing my UN because I can't decide x.x But thanks for the review! I agree, a lot of people hate Flurrie, but I'm glad we both like her! Noki is also just so cute :3

UltimateCCC: Thanks for always being such a loyal reviewer of my work no matter what! We'll see what happens, but I won't say if your guess is right or not ;D

Freek Sheet: Ahhh thank you so much! I didn't know people liked my humor x.x And I remember that too! It was my first fic and you reviewed! You da best :D

Yin Writer: Thank you so much :3 It means the world to me that you enjoy my comedic side! Princess Shroob is so lovely and great, and Partners in Time is so good…I just had to include her. Also, your review reminds me of that…eeep, sorry! I'll make the preparations soon! I mean it!

The DreamStakes!

"Welcome back!" Twila cheered, her blue and midnight robes flowing around. The injured contestants had just recently been returned to the game from the local hospital, and things could finally get under way.

"Now before we begin our first mission, let's split the…" Brighton began to explain the episode's content when he was rudely interrupted.

"I dare say!" Flurrie cried. "It is quite rude of you to kick me off the stairs!" She waved an annoyed hand at Wario. Arching an eyebrow, the trickster smirked. He said nothing in reply, for he was too busy concocting a grim scheme to make sure Flurrie met her demise.

"You shoved me, lassie!" Zess T. roared, getting in Kammy Koopa's face. The Magikoopa in purple looked appalled.

"It is you who made me pull out my back!" Kammy pointed at the chef. "You owe me a hefty amount of coins in medical bills!"

"Well ya owe me a hefty sum a coins in casino bills!" Don Pianta cried, jabbing a finger in Wario's protruding stomach.

"Everyone! Calm down!" Twila roared in annoyance. "Remember why we're here? One of you is going to forget all about those allowances and fines…because the winner of this game will receive a check for 1,000,000 Coins!"

"Ohoho!" Brighton laughed. "That's not all!"

"More money?" MC Ballyhoo asked. "Whoa! What a catastrophe!"

"Could you like…stop?" Wendy asked him. The over-enthused host turned player was getting on her nerves quite a bit.

"You see," Brighton explained, "every episode is broken into three parts. First, we have a prize challenge! The winner, or winners, will receive the amount of coins allocated for that prize challenge. Those coins will go into your very own vault!"

"We have vaults!?" Kolorado asked. "How smashing, I say!"

"If you win a prize challenge, the money you win from it will be yours to keep!" Twila announced. "This means more than just the grand winner can win coins!"

"However," Brighton continued, his voice growing dark, which seemed contrasting to his sunny disposition. "The more prizes you rack up, the more of a target you become!"

Bowser: Bahaha! Of course I'm the first to use this confessional thing! I'm King Bowser Koopa, after all! Oh, I can't wait to see the look on Mario's face when I trounce him for good! I'm going to win this game and buy out the Mushroom Kingdom! Bahaha!

"So what's the second part?" Yoshi asked, blowing off his fingertips. He seemed a bit uninterested.

"Glad you asked!" Twila gave the camera a thumbs-up. "The second part is the immunity challenge! Whichever team wins immunity will be exempt from having to vote someone out of the game!"

"Once you're voted out, that's it!" Brighton supplied.

"So, before we explain the third part, let's divide into teams!" Twila cried. "I'm going to pull two names out of this bag," she said, lifting up a small velvet pouch, "and they will be the team captains. We'll do a schoolyard pick to decide the teams."

Birdo: A schoolyard pick!? I was always picked last…

Mario: A schoolyard pick!? I was always picked first, Mariohohoho!

"The team captains are…," Twila announced, removing the first name. "Lakilester."

"Sick…man…dude…cool," Lakilester said, munching on a bag of potato chips.

"Splendid…," Brighton commented. "The second captain is…Mario!"

"Mariohoho!" Mario cried in jubilation.

"Lakilester picks first," Twila said. The spacy Lakitu looked over the other contestants. His eyes lit up.

"Mario!" He said.

"Erm…ugh, he's the other team captain," Brighton tried to explain.

"Really?" Lakilester asked. "Bummer dude. Alright, let me see…I'll pick…the koopa with the cool mustache."

"Smashing!" Kolorado shouted. "I'll prove my worth, my boy!" The seasoned explorer sashayed over to join Lakilester. He looked positively radiant at being picked first.

"Mario, it's your turn," Brighton announced.

"Let's-a-go with…Princess Peach!" Mario declared, shocking no one.

"Oh? Did I get picked?" Peach asked. She joined Mario, kissing his cheek. From afar, a fire blazed in Pauline's eyes.

"I'll take the super hot chick," Lakilester said next. Birdo smiled confidently, joining his side.

"I meant Rosalina…you nightmare-lookin' thing," Lakilester said to Birdo. Heartbroken, the pink horror sobbed on the floor. Rosalina happily joined Lakilester's team.

Peach whispered something to Mario. One the sidelines, Toadsworth looked panicked. He waved his cane about.

"I pick-a-Toadsworth!" Mario said, delighting the old aide.

"By my Great Aunt's glasses! Thanks Mario!" Toadsworth cheered, joining the Princess and the plumber.

Toadsworth: Well tickle me pink! I just had to be on the same team as the princess! These islanders are a bit rough, y'know? I have to ensure her safety above everything!

Team Lakilester – Lakilester, Kolorado, Rosalina

Team Mario – Mario, Peach, Toadsworth

"How about Bowser," Lakilester said with a laugh. "That dude packs a whallop."

Both Kolorado and Rosalina looked shocked, but the King of the Koopas let out a blast of searing flames. With a maniacal cackle, the reptilian monarch joined Team Lakilester.

"We'll go with Yoshi!" Mario said, selecting the king of overratedness. The green dinosaur skipped over to Mario's team, happy to be with some of his friends.

"Good call, Mario," Yoshi said. "We're indestructible now that I'm here!"

"Dude…you know what would be funny?" Lakilester asked Kolorado. The explorer swallowed uneasily.

"I'll pick Noki," Lakilester said, giggling. No one got the joke he was making. Noki, unsure if being picked by the Lakitu was a good thing, was at least happy she wasn't picked last.

Noki: No one knows who I am…which might hurt me. But…at least I wasn't picked last! I was sure no one would pick me…

After counseling his team, Mario selected the fiery cook, Zess T.

"Yeah baby!" Zess T. roared.

Team Lakilester – Lakilester, Kolorado, Rosalina, Bowser, Noki

Team Mario – Mario, Peach, Toadsworth, Yoshi, Zess T.

Ten had been picked, and ten remained. Lakilester looked out of it, so Kolorado picked the next team member.

"The Don shall do!" Kolorado cried.

"Dis is good, eh?" Don Pianta asked his new team. "Thanks a bundle."

"Madame Flurrie!" Mario waved. The actress winked at the hero in red, making gushing faces. Uneasy…Mario wasn't so sure if he had made a good choice.

Flurrie: Mario is my sweetie! I've known him for years, dahling. He's just such a dreamy hunk of Italian cheese…

"Bring that chump Wario over here," Don Pianta said, glowering down at the corpulent schemer. "I've got a bone ta pick wit' dis knucklehead."

Pulling at his collar, Wario made his way to join Lakilester's team.

"I guess we'll take Birdo," Mario sighed. "She'll be an easy first vote."

"W-what!?" Birdo cried, still crying on the ground. "T-this…this is so unfair."

Team Lakilester – Lakilester, Kolorado, Rosalina, Bowser, Noki, Don Pianta, Wario

Team Mario – Mario, Peach, Toadsworth, Yoshi, Zess T., Flurrie, Birdo

Pauline looked rather upset and not having been picked yet. Boo had expected this…no one knew his potential just yet. Ballyhoo was busy suffering from an overinflated complex while Wendy cleaned her nails. No one wanted to deal with the evil Princess Shroob, and Kammy Koopa pined to be with Lord Bowser.

Lakilester was busy trying to catch some seagulls, so Don Pianta and Kolorado were sorting out the picks.

"Boo," Kolorado said with a nod. "He seems a good enough chap!"

Boo joined their team, shaking hands with Kolorado.

"Dang it…," Mario muttered. He was planning on choosing Boo this turn. So instead, he picked MC Ballyhoo.

"Whoa!" Ballyhoo cried, that being the only word in his vocabulary.

"Kammy!" Bowser cried. The Magikoopa let out a breath of relief. She was teamed up with Bowser. Looking hurt, Wendy couldn't believe her father had taken his aide over his own daughter.

Team Lakilester – Lakilester, Kolorado, Rosalina, Bowser, Noki, Don Pianta, Wario, Boo, Kammy Koopa

Team Mario – Mario, Peach, Toadsworth, Yoshi, Zess T., Flurrie, Birdo, MC Ballyhoo

"Princess Shroob…I guess?" Mario said randomly, picking the alien queen. With a cackle, the galactic villain joined their team.

Princess Shroob: I'm going to use these coins to fuel a space cannon that will destroy all of the Mushroom Kingdom! Oh…wait, did I say that out loud? I meant…I'm going to donate it all to charity! Yes!

"Come here, Wendy!" Bowser said with open arms, trying to appease his daughter. She brushed him off, looking rather cross.

"I guess that means we get Pauline," Mario said rather boringly. Pauline, looking more upset than Wendy, tried to mask her pleasure. She had wanted to be on Mario's team.

"So it's decided!" Brighton cried. "The teams are set! But first, you need team names! Lakilester's Team is…Team Dolphin!"

"While Mario's Team is…Team Manta!"

Team Dolphin – Lakilester, Kolorado, Rosalina, Bowser, Noki, Don Pianta, Wario, Boo, Kammy Koopa, Wendy

Team Manta – Mario, Peach, Toadsworth, Yoshi, Zess T., Flurrie, Birdo, MC Ballyhoo, Princess Shroob, Pauline

"Now that that is decided, let's get to our first prize challenge!" Twila declared. "Gather round now while I explain the rules!"

Everyone listened intently, save Yoshi was off learning fluent Piantanese with the locales and Princess Shroob who was examining a curious specimen of native flora.

"For this game, you all must pair up with someone on your team," Twila said, beginning her explanation. "Once you pair up with someone, you must locate the Delfino Crate House! From there, the rules will explain themselves!"

"Pair up, eh?" Boo asked, eyeing his potential partners.

Boo: The pickings are preeeety slim if you ask me…

"Well princess," Mario said, giving Peach a smile. "Partner up with me?"

"Oh, you just read my mind!" Peach said with a swoon, angering the neighboring Pauline. Grabbing Birdo, who just happened to be standing next to her, Pauline whispered a vicious line.

"Partner up with me or eat my shoe," Pauline said with a snarl.

"Well I'll eat just about anything with this outrageous mouth of mine!" Birdo said with an oblivious chuckle, pointing to vacuum like object she had for a mouth.

"You're just disgusting," Pauline said with a gag.

Meanwhile, Zess T. and Kammy Koopa had long since separated. Finding comradery with Toadsworth, the famous chef was cooking up a bit of an alliance.

Zess T.: Age certainly plays a factor in this game! I must align with those I can vibe with, as the young'uns would say!

"Eh wot?" Toadsworth asked the chef. "I must overseer the princess!"

"Come on, you lug," Zess T. snapped, dragging the minister away from his duties.

"I dare say!" Toadsworth hollered as he was man-handled by the cook.

Soon, one by one, everyone began to couple up. Wendy worked with her father, obviously. Having taken the second-in-command position, Kolorado found it as his duty to watch over the ditzy Lakilester.

"Tallyho!" Kolorado cried, waving down the floating Lakitu with frenzied arms. His moustache bobbed up and down with worry as the cloud sprite floated farther and farther away.

The teams soon fell into place as follows…

Team Manta: Mario and Peach, Pauline and Birdo, Flurrie and Princess Shroob, Zess T. and Toadsworth, Yoshi and MC Ballyhoo

Team Dolphin: Bowser and Wendy, Kolorado and Lakilester, Noki and Boo, Kammy Koopa and Wario, Don Pianta and Rosalina

"Just so you know," Brighton said with a knowing wink, "from here on out….when we do a team challenge, this is the person you'll be paired with if available!"

"Mamma Mia!" Mario exclaimed, hugging Peach. Toadsworth gulped as Zess T. gave him a mischievous wink. Bowser and Wendy seem excited as well.

Everyone else…well, they all looked like they'd rather line up and plunge themselves off the airstrip and into the water.

"Alright!" Twila cheered. "Remember. Get to the Crate House…three, two, one….go!"

She waved her arm, a trail of star dust lighting their way. With a resounding burst forward, the contestants all lunged forth into Delfino Plaza. They'd all get to Delfino Crate House…

Or at least they'd try.

Thank you so much for the wait! I've settled into the second semester now and have got a routine of things going, so back to writing I go! Thanks for the wait again, I know I'm not that great at being timely XD

So please, read, review, favorite, follow! It means the world to me! Thanks again!

-AdmiralBobbery