Finn and Mordecai stared at each other without a word. Then, moving as fast as he could, Finn tried to grab Mordecai's DS- only for Mordecai to back away and stuff it in his pocket.
"Not so fast," Mordecai smiled, "don't think you're getting out of it that easy."
Finn glared at Mordecai, but said nothing.
"Look, I'll make this simple," Mordecai smirked, "we both want to stay in the game, right? But I also want something else."
"And what might that be?" Finn growled.
"To get closer to Quinn," Mordecai smiled, "I mean... because she's a strong competitor! Whatever, look, Quinn is a girl who appreciates things like brutality and cunning, and that's where YOU come in."
"Of course it is."
"She's made a lot of enemies on the show, but none more than Lucky, Johnny and Veronica. I want you to handle them the same way you handled Duncan," Mordecai said smugly, "I don't care how you do it. Just make sure you hurt them and that they're out of the game. Not only will I win Quinn over, but I'll be three steps closer to one million dollars."
"And if I don't, you'll show the photos, is that right?" Finn asked.
"Yep," Mordecai nodded, "you're gonna be my personal slave and do whatever I say. Hey, if you're lucky and prove to be REALLY useful, maybe I'll bring you to the merge."
"...fine," Finn muttered, "I'll do your dirty work for you."
"Good. I'm glad we came to an agreement," Mordecai said, leaning against the railing, "oh, and if I somehow end up on the chopping block one of these nights, I'll leak the photos then, too."
Mordecai gave a content sigh.
"You know, it's funny," Mordecai told Finn, "up until you messed up, I thought I was going to have to settle on just 'getting by' for the entire game. I had an entire plan laid out- but this is so much easier. Once I get Quinn on my side, we'll take control of the game no problem."
"I'm sure."
"Well, that's all for now, slave," Mordecai smirked, "you can go to bed."
With that, Mordecai walked off, leaving Finn alone, fuming.
CONFESSIONAL: Finn
Nobody pulls this kind of thing with me and gets away with it. NOBODY. If Mordecai thinks he's going to get the girl, the money, and a happy ending, he's wrong. He's cocky. He'll make a mistake. And when he does, I'm going to make him wish he had just stayed in whatever put of muck he crawled out of.
CONFESSIONAL: Mordecai
My plan's perfect. With Finn doing whatever I want, it won't be long before those three jerks are gone, and I win Quinn over. Then, her and I can use Finn to do whatever we want... We'll have to end the season early because of medical eliminations!
END CONFESSIONALS
Down in the clubhouse, things were significantly more cheery. The Vault Hunters were all relaxing and chatting amongst themselves- until Ella walked in with a plate of cookies.
"Hello everyone!" She beamed, "As an offer of friendship, I've prepared for all of you cookies and a song!"
Ella set the cookies down on a nearby counter, and cleared her throat.
"Hop boy," Lucky sighed, turning to Veronica, "you want to just take the cookies and go?"
Veronica nodded, and Lucky snatched the plate before leaving with her just as Ella started her song.
"Friendship is caring,
So I've brought cookies for sharing,
I don't want to seem overbearing,
As we embark on adventures most daring!"
Ella gave a twirl before smiling and looking at everyone expectantly- although she was disappointed to see they had just gone back to their previous business.
"Aww," she pouted.
Justin, however, walked over to her, smiling and clapping.
"Great song Ella," he beamed, "I can tell you're going to be a great addition to the team."
"Oh, that's very kind of you to say," Ella smiled.
"Well, it's true. You know, you've got a pretty great voice."
"Thank you," Ella blushed, "but... No one else seemed to think so."
"Oh, don't worry about them," Justin chuckled, "they just got back from a pretty rough challenge. I mean, you can't blame them for being a bit tired, can you?"
Ella smiled and shook her head.
"Right," Justin nodded, "well, why don't you get settled in? I'm gonna call it a night and get ready for bed, but I'll be seeing you around."
Justin waved, and headed for the door.
"Of course!" Ella waved, "Sleep well!"
Ella sighed as she watched Justin walk away, and then her eyes wandered over to the counter.
"Hey- where'd the cookies go?"
CONFESSIONAL: Justin
This is great. Ella probably already has a crush on me- I mean, who can blame her?- but I can use that to my advantage. She needs a Prince Charming to sweep her off her feet, and I need a trustworthy helper. Noah's a bit suspicious of me lately, but he'll come around.
END CONFESSIONAL
As soon as Justin was in his room, he got changed and went into the bathroom to wash up. He started to brush his teeth, humming to himself a bit as he looked in the mirror. He was startled when the lights in his room suddenly. Went out.
"Ummmm... Hello?" He called out hesitantly.
The lights suddenly came back on, and when they did, a woman was standing behind Justin in the mirror. He let out a frightened yelp, and then she was gone. Shaking, Justin fumbled for the door handle, and immediately bolted outside.
CONFESSIONAL: Priscylla
I learned one or two interesting things last challenge. Heather seems to be afraid of the dark, the big baby, and Justin is at least familiar with that old Bloody Mary legend. As vain as he is, it would be a fun excercise to condition a fear of mirrors into him... So I'll have that to work on, too.
END CONFESSIONAL
Meanwhile, Mark was running around the ship, frantically trying to find Point.
"Point? POINT!" He panicked, "Where are you?!"
Mark rounded a corner, nearly slamming into Heather.
"Oh, hey there Mark," she smirked, "funny bumping into you here."
"Don't have time for this," Mark muttered, pushing past her.
"Where are you off to in such a rush?" Heather called out in a mocking tone, "You trying to find something?"
Mark froze, and turned around slowly.
"What makes you say that?" He asked.
"Oh, nothing," Heather shrugged, "you just look like you've lost something, oh, hey! I know! Where's your little ferret friend?"
"You had something to do with this, didn't you?" Mark demanded.
"To do with what?" Heather scoffed, "You losing track of that rodent? He probably wandered overboard, the mangy little fleabag. Good riddance."
Heather shrugged, and waved.
"Well, I have to get going," she smiled, "see you around."
CONFESSIONAL: Heather
Good. I've got Mark where I want him. Hopefully he'll be voted off soon, but in the mean time I've got bigger fish to fry. Alejandro's little alliance is down to three people, so if I can capitalize now I can take all of them out before the merge. What's worrying me is the hero team- I can't control who gets eliminated there, and if Justin or Noah makes it to the merge I could have trouble.
CONFESSIONAL: Mark
Heather must have had something to do with Point dissapearing. I can't prove it, but it does add up... And once I get him back, Heather is gonna pay.
END CONFESSIONAL
Several days passed, and the twenty-one contestants were gathered together as the boat pulled up to a port.
"Okay guys," Julie started, "after our last challenge in Alcatraz, I thought we could use a change of pace. So, we sailed back down to Los Angeles, and we'll shortly be boarding a bus to Hollywood!"
A few of the contestants were excited, but Justin just shrugged.
"See it enough times, and it loses the charm," he said nonchalantly.
"Dude," Julie frowned, "TWO movies! Look, anyway, instead of wandering around an old prison, we'll be doing an America's Got Talent based talent show challenge. Each team has twenty minutes to pick four acts, which will be performed in front of a LIVE audience, and judged by our three special guests."
"Wait, a live audience?" Bridgette gulped, "We've never had to do anything in front of an audience before..."
"Sure you have," Julie responded, "millions of people watch this show."
"Right... But we don't have to perform in front of them," Bridgette muttered.
"What difference does it make?" Katie shrugged, "We're getting embarrassed either way. Does it matter if it's now or later?"
"Look, just go ahead and pick what acts you'll be performing," Julie instructed, "you have twenty minutes starting now."
Julie walked off, and the contestants began strategizing.
"Okay. I guess we'll start the obvious way- anyone have any talents they want to perform?" Cody asked.
"I'd LOVE to sing a song!" Ella smiled.
"Big shocker there," Noah muttered.
"Well, I'm not so bad a singer myself- why don't we do a duet?" Justin suggested.
"Of course- a splendid idea!" Ella nodded.
"Okay, Justin and Ella duet, that's one," Cody said.
"Unless you count my video-gaming kickassery as talent show worthy, I'm out," Veronica muttered.
"Hey, what about bear wrestling?" Tyler smiled.
"...bear wrestling?" Cody asked.
"Yeah! Remember back in season one when I totally whooped that bear after the merge?" Tyler said, smiling triumphantly and puffing his chest out a little, "I could do it again. The judges would love it!"
"...fine," Cody agreed, "but only because we don't have too much to go on. Um... I could try stand up comedy, at least that way we'd have a good variety going."
"Sure, go for it," Tyler smiled.
"Um... I have an idea. I have some equipment left over from an old experiment- I could use it to make a sort of laser light show," Miri explained, "it'd be unorthodox, but..."
"But, it's better than nothing. We've got our final act," Cody smiled.
Over on the other side of the ship, the villains were having less luck. Alejandro had mentioned he had once helped with a magic show, so that was accepted, but they were brought to a halt when Izzy insisted she tame a lion using a ball of yarn.
"Izzy, that's way too dangerous!" Bridgette exclaimed.
"Not to mention phenomenally stupid," Quinn muttered.
"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Izzy insisted, "Besides, I know what I'm doing!"
"If you say so," Alejandro muttered, "I suppose if she does succeed, we stand to gain quite a bit. Now, what else are we doing?"
"Since I'm already known for being an actor, how about I do some Blake Spear?" Mordecai smirked.
"You mean Shakespeare?" Bridgette frowned.
"Him too."
"I don't see why not. Anyone else?" Alejandro asked.
"Duh. We aren't going to win without my ballet dancing," Heather scoffed.
"I guess we could use a dancer," Alejandro agreed, "okay, Heather. Ballet it is."
"Okay, you guys done?" Julie asked, motioning for the teams to regroup.
Alejandro and Cody nodded, and stepped forward.
"Ella and Justin are singing a duet, Miri is doing a light show, Tyler is wrestling a bear, and I'm doing stand up comedy," Cody told her.
Julie jotted the acts down, and turned to Alejandro.
"Mordecai will be performing Shakespeare, Heather is doing ballet, I'll be doing a magic show... And Izzy will be taking a lion. With yarn," Alejandro sighed.
Julie raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless wrote it all down.
"Okay," she said, "I'll phone all this in- our bus is pulling up now. You guys go ahead, I'll only be a minute."
The contestants all began to head for the bus, except one. Mark, unseen by everyone else, slipped below deck...
~o.0.o~
When the contestants finally arrived at their destination, a large theater, they were greeted by hordes of cheering fans- the most ravenous of which was a purple haired girl who tried to leap out at them, but was quickly contained by security. Everyone was quickly escorted inside, where they walked past rows of empty seats and on to a large stage. On the stage they found something interesting- one wheel decorated with the faces of the hero team, and one wheel decorate with the faces of the villain team.
"What are these for?" Bridgette frowned.
"Glad you asked," Julie smiled, "because therein lays tonight's twist- you won't actually be performing the acts you chose!"
Many of the contestants gasped or looked around in confusion.
"Let me elaborate... You see, I have written down the acts your team has chosen. And while your team while still perform the same acts, the wheel will decide who does what. Instead of Alejandro putting on a magic show for example, I'll spin the wheel, and whoever lands on it will take his place."
Everyone immediately turned, and either glared at Izzy or Tyler.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Julie asked, "Villains first.. Let's start with our Lion Tamer, shall we?"
Julie spun the wheel- which landed on Katie.
Katie clenched her fists, and sighed.
"Izzy," she muttered, "someday very soon I'm going to kill you."
"Aww, don't worry!" Izzy told her, "It isn't that hard, I'll give you some pointers before the show!"
"Next up," Julie continued, "we'll have the magic show."
Julie spun the wheel again, landing on Luna, who gulped and took a step back. Next up was the Shakespearean performance, which ended up being Bridgette. That left the ballet...
"And let's see who our dancer is, hm?" Julie asked, spinning the wheel, "Looks like... Well well, ALEJANDRO!"
Alejandro let out a groan, and face palmed.
"Aww, Al," Bridgette giggled, "are you going to wear a pink tutu and everything?"
CONFESSIONAL: Alejandro
First the Halloween challenge last year, now this. What's with this show and making me cross-dress?
END CONFESSIONAL
"Okay Vault Hunters, your turn. Let's see who our stand-up comedian is... Noah!"
"Great," Noah muttered, "just what I needed."
Next up was the laser light show, who ended up being Johnny.
"Oh come on," he groaned, "I don't know anything about that stuff!"
"Sorry Johnny," Julie shrugged, "but if it makes you feel better, this next person has to fight a bear."
Julie spun the wheel... Only for it to land on Deborah.
CONFESSIONAL: Deborah
To all the coworkers who signed me up for this show in the first place- this is how I die. I hope you're happy.
END CONFESSIONAL
Deborah glared at Tyler, who smiled sheepishly and scratched his head.
"Uh, sorry," he chuckled.
"Great," Deborah sighed, her eye twitching slightly, "I might die here, but at least Tyler's sorry."
"That didn't sound very sincere."
"IT WASN'T!"
"Okay, knock it off," Julie cut in, "okay, last up we have our duet. First person is... I'll be damned."
Despite the slim chances, the wheel spun and spun before landing... On Ella. The girl gave a cheer, while Julie looked a little puzzle.
"Well, alright," she shrugged, "if the mighty spinning wheel commands it. And the second half of our duet is Lucky!"
Lucky's eyes widened.
"Oh, fuck me."
Veronica began laughing hysterically, and didn't stop even when Lucky shot a glare her way.
"What?" She snickered, "Come on, it's hilarious!"
"Okay, everyone!" Julie announced, "You have two hours to get prepared backstage. Then people are going to start filling these seats, and you'll have to perform, ready or not. Get going, and good luck!"
~o.0.o~
Once everyone was backstage, most of the performers began to panic. Being shoved out of your comfort zone was one thing, but when messing up at it meant elimination or serious injury, that was something else altogether.
Bridgette was sitting down on a chair, going over her lines when Alejandro (who was wearing pink spandex) sat down next to her. He had to suppress a smirk as she looked at him, and cleared her throat.
"So, are you ready for your performance?" She asked.
"What do you think?" He sighed.
"I don't know. Pink looks pretty good on you, you should wear it more often."
"You aren't helping."
Bridgette smiled, and shook her head.
"Relax, you'll be fine," she told him, "besides, there are three other acts, one of which involves Katie being mauled by a lion, so I think you're safe from elimination if we lose."
"I hope so. I'd hate to be booted off so early again," Alejandro muttered.
He shook his head, and asked, "so what are you doing for your piece?"
"I'm doing a monologue from Hamlet," Bridgette told him, "would you mind helping me rehearse?"
Alejandro smiled, and looked over at her.
"Of course."
CONFESSIONAL: Bridgette
Okay, he may have started off terrible- not that I haven't made mistakes- but he genuinely seems to have changed. Things should be weird between us, but we get along really well. As much as some people might think... I don't think he's trying to manipulate me, either.
END CONFESSIONAL
Lucky sighed as he poured over a list of songs, fidgeting a bit.
"Okay, there's a lot to choose from," he said, "so let's pick something that's quick and easy."
"We should do something heartfelt and romantic," Ella suggested.
"...yyyeah, I was more thinking 'House of the Rising Sun', or some Creedence Clearwater Revival," Lucky frowned, "I don't really do romance."
"Oh, but the judges will love it!" Ella assured him, "And what's sweeter than a song about love?"
Lucky stared blankly at her for a minute, before sighing and flipping through the list.
"Don't look so glum," Ella smiled, "this a wonderful opportunity to bond through song!"
"Yeah, I don't know about all that, princess," Lucky muttered, "what I do know is that last season, I spent most of the time being set up by other contestants and suffering horrible injuries. I would greatly prefer that to singing live in front of thousands of people."
"You don't like singing?" Ella gasped. The words were spoken with an almost comedic sadness, like the idea someone could not enjoy singing had never occurred to Ella."
"I have no problem with it," he shrugged, "my first job when I moved to Louisiana was working as a roadie for a karaoke joint downtown. Sometimes I'd go up and sing on stage if I was drunk enough... good times."
Lucky smiled, and then shook his head.
"But this ain't that."
At that moment, Justin came over and greeted Ella.
"Hey there, gorgeous," he smirked, "how are you doing?"
"Oh, hello Justin," she giggled, "we're fine. We were just deciding on a song."
"How about some David Bowie?" Justin suggested.
"Yeah, we'll take it into consideration," Lucky said, rolling his eyes.
Jousting ignored him, staying focused on Ella.
"You know, it's a shame I couldn't be out there singing with you," Justin winked, "looks like you'll have to win this on your own, huh?"
Lucky glared at Justin, shaking his head.
CONFESSIONAL: Lucky
I don't know what Justin's problem is, not that I've ever trusted the sleaze bag. What concerns me is that everyone else DOES, especially Ella.
END CONFESSIONAL
"Well, I'll be seeing you around," Justin yawned, "I've got to go talk to Noah about something- I'll be watching you sing!"
"Okay- goodbye, Justin!" Ella waved.
Justin gave a wink before turning away, shoving Lucky aside as he left.
"Prick," Lucky muttered.
~o.0.o~
Deborah was pacing backstage nervously, occasionally stopping to cast a quick glance around.
"Nervous, huh?" Johnny asked, walking up behind her.
"Nervous? No, I'm only fighting a bear. I'm totally fine."
"Nothing's gonna happen- I don't think the new host would let it. Just keep your head down until you can figure a way out of it."
Finn watched the exchange from a distance, thinking to himself. Mordecai, who was standing nearby, folded his arms and scoffed.
"Don't forget our... arrangement," Mordecai told him.
"I haven't," Finn snapped, "I'm just thinking about how it'll all go down."
At that moment, several interns wheeled past two cages- one containing a lion, the other a bear.
"If it makes you feel any better, I'll probably end up setting myself on fire with those lasers," Johnny joked.
"Not really," Deborah said, forcing a smile, "but thanks anyway."
Finn smiled as he stood back and nodded a little.
"I do believe I have my solution," he smirked.
"Good," Mordecai nodded, "in that case, not only will we have the clubhouse tonight, but it looks like the Vault Hunters will have a triple elimination."
Mordecai smiled.
"It's just a shame I didn't get to show off my acting slills," he continued, "I'm sure all of the judges would have given me tens, hands down."
"Right," Finn muttered, "well, I have work to do."
Finn gave Mordecai one last glare before turning and leaving, schemes of what he was about to do playing out in his head.
~o.0.o~
A while passed, and it was finally time for the talent show. Julie gathered everyone on the stage, where they were greeted by applause from the capacity crowd- as well as a very familiar face.
"Hey guys," Blaineley smirked, "Nice to see you again."
"BLAINELEY?" Justin exclaimed, "What are you doing here? You tried to kill us, you should be in prison!"
"Actually," Milton smiled, appearing next to her, "I bailed her out. She's going to be helping me with a new project I'll be unveiling tonight- along with an old friend of yours."
Milton gestured to Geoff, who was standing nearby.
"Hey dudes!" He greeted, "Super cool to see you all again!"
"Milton, Blaineley, and Geoff are going to be the ones judging your performances," Julie explained, "they'll each individually give you a score out of ten, allowing you to get a maximum of thirty. At the end of the show, we'll tally your scores, and whichever team has the highest, wins. The losing team will send someone home."
Milton, Blaineley, and Geoff all took their seats.
"So, which team will be going first?" Milton asked.
"Enclave, you're up first," Julie nodded, "Vault Hunters, since you won last challenge, you get a little extra time to prepare."
"Thank god," Deborah sighed in relief.
"Enclave, as for you..." Julie cleared her throat.
"Luna will be up first, then Bridgette, then Katie, and we'll end with Alejandro."
Luna's face flushed, and she looked around, worried.
"Relax, I saw you practicing," Bridgette smiled, "you have a good routine- you'll be fine!"
"If you say so," Luna muttered.
"Well, go get ready," Julie told them, "Luna, honey, you're on in five."
Luna gulped and immediately rushed off to get ready, the other competitors following suit. As they did, Milton straightened his suit, and took center stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "welcome to our very first episode to take place in front of a LIVE crowd!"
Everyone cheered, and Milton raised a hand for them to stop.
"Now, tonight isn't only special because it's live- there's a reason Geoff and Blaineley are with me!" Milton boomed, "Because tonight, I'll be unveiling a BRAND NEW REALITY SHOW during our commercial break!"
Once more, the audience erupted into cheers and applause.
"Yes, yes," Milton smiled, "I'm amazing, I know. But more on that when it's time- for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the performances put on by your favorite Camp TV contestants!"
Milton bowed quickly, before taking his seat between Geoff and Blaineley again. Julie took his place at the center of the stage, and smiled.
"Ladies and Gentleman, your first act- Luna!"
The curtains were pulled open, and Luna took a shaky step onto the stage, and looked around at the massive audience. She was dressed in a typical stage magician's garb- a cape, too hat and the like.
"Um," she gulped, clearing her throat a bit, "l-ladies and gentleman, watch and be amazed at my magic show!"
Luna pulled out a wand and waved it, causing a bouquet of tulips to spring from the tip.
The audience applauded, while Milton yawned a bit.
"Tulips, please," he scoffed, "if she got roses, THAT would be something..."
Luna frowned, and threw the bouquet out to the audience before continuing. She performed several tricks- a few illusions, card tricks, and of course, pulling a rabbit from her hat. Or, at least that's what she meant to do. What she ACTUALLY ended up doing was puling out several assorted fruits and vegetables, much to her and the audience's confusion. When she was finally done, she bowed, an looked at the judge's expectantly.
"That was a bland as bland gets," Milton scoffed, "you're getting a three."
"It wasn't too bad," Blainely shrugfed, "it wasn't too good, either. Five."
"Well, I liked your show," Geoff cut in, "you looked a little nervous, but hey, overall I'd give you a seven."
"Luna, your final score is... Fifteen!" Julie announced.
Dissapointed, Luna walked backstage, while Bridgette took her place.
"Now time for Bridgette and her Shakespearean monologue!" Julie announced.
~o.0.o~
Mark ran a hand through his hair as he frantically searched Heather's room.
"I can't believe it- he HAS to be here! Where else would he be?"
He had searched everywhere he could think of. Quinn's room, Katie's room, the storage- he had even checked the kitchen to make sure Point had wandered in in search of food an gotten lost. There was no one else on the Enclave who disliked the two enough to try something like this, and obviously it wasn't someone on his own team... Heather HAD to be behind it. But where WAS Point?
Mark looked up at the clock, and frowned. There was no way he could help his team with the challenge at this rate- but Point was more important.
Sighing, Mark left Heather's room, closing the door behind him. Point had to be somewhere on board... Right?
Mark clenched his fist, and began to check the other rooms.
~o.0.o~
Back in the theater, Bridgette had just finished her performance.
"Emotional, powerful, and unflinching," Milton nodded, "and not to mention- boring. Six out of ten."
"That gave me chills, honey!" Blaineley smirked, "Nine out of ten."
"For once, I agree with Blaineley," Geoff nodded, "great job, I'm giving you a nine!"
"Great job, Bridgette- that gives you a total score of twenty-four!" Julie smiled.
Bridgette gave a bow, and walked backstage.
Next up was Katie. The girl walked out on stage, looking understandably angry, and multiple interns brought out the lion, handed Katie her ball of yarn, and then got the hell out of there. The lion gave a roar, and took a step towards Katie, who gulped and backed away.
"Here kitty- nice kitty!" Katie whimpered, holding up the yarn.
The lion growled, and smacked it out of her hand. Katie immediately screamed and ran backstage, the lion following after her.
"Looks like Katie is being torn apart as we speak... Ten out of ten!" Milton smiled.
"That is pretty funny," Blaineley agreed, "I'll give it a seven."
"What?! You guys are crazy- I'm giving her a three!" Geoff frowned.
Julie peaked behind the curtain, before turning back to everyone else.
"Well, it looks like our interns were successfully able to sedate the lion," she announced, "so, uh, Alejandro, you're up next!"
Alejandro walked out in his ballet outfit, looking depressed.
"This is degrading," he muttered to himself.
Classical music began to play over the speakers, and Alejandro heaved a sigh before he began to dance along to it, stepping and twirling with the rhythm. The audience roared in laughter, and the judges themselves could barely keep straight faces. After a few minutes passed, Alejandro finally finished up, and stood on the stage with a. Blank of expression.
"That must have been so humiliating- ten out of ten!" Milton laughed.
"Ten- out of ten!" Blaineley said, still laughing.
"Great comedy routine, bro!" Geoff clapped, "Ten out of ten!"
"Wait- that's a perfect score," Alejandro said, shocked.
"Yep- you got a full thirty points!" Julie congratulated him.
A smile spread across Alejandro's face, and he walked backstage. Milton straightened his tie, and walked up next to Julie.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed our first for performances," he said, "but now- time to unveil my little project: Reality Rush season one!"
A huge television screen descended down, and began playing.
"Sixteen competitors..." The commercial began.
The camera panned over the silhouettes of sixteen people.
"Two co-hosts..."
The camera switched to a shot of Geoff and Blainely glaring at each other.
"And one million dollar train!"
There is a shot of a railway station- a train flies by, too fast for the camera to get a clear shot of.
"From the visionary who brought you 'Celebrity Smackdown', 'Milton's Millionaire's' and 'Camp TV'..."
The camera pans over to Milton, with a huge grin on his face.
"No teams. No hope. And no hold's barred... Reality Rush: the Million Dollar Express! Coming this Friday."
The commercial ended, and Milton smiled at the audience.
"Oh yes, you heard right- no teams! This isn't your average reality show. What other twists do we have in store? You'll have to watch to find out! Now, back to show, eh? Who's up next, Julie?"
"Next up, we have Noah performing stand up comedy!"
As Noah walked out from behind the curtain, Milton took his seat. Noah looked at the crowd, and sighed, pulling out a stool.
"Hoo boy... how's everyone doing tonight?"
~o.0.o~
"Awesome," Lucky sighed, "we're on next, and we still haven't picked a song. I'm racking my brain, but I can't-"
"You're thinking too hard- just relax, it'll come to you!"
Lucky sighed, and took a deep breath.
"Okay, I got it! How about 'Vienna' by Billy Joel?" Lucky suggested.
At this, Ella smiled and nodded.
"That's a wonderful idea!" She exclaimed.
Applause could be heard from outside, and Noah walked through the curtain.
"How'd it go?" Lucky asked.
"Perfect score," Noah shrugged, "and all I did was make fun of the audience for half an hour."
Through the curtain, the three could just barely make out the sound of Julie calling Lucky and Ella's names.
"Oh! We're on!" Ella smiled.
"Well, ring-a-ding," Lucky muttered, "let's get this overwith."
"Good luck," Noah yawned as the two walked out to the stage.
They were met by a fair amount of applause, and Lucky smiled at Julie.
"Hey there, sweetheart-"
"Save it," Julie told him, rolling her eyes, "what are you two singing?"
"We'll be singing 'Vienna' by Billy Joel," Lucky shrugged.
At this, Milton began to laugh.
"Sorry, were you under the impression you got to pick?" He smirked, "No, the two of you will be singing 'Get Down Tonight' by KC and the Sunshine Band."
"...what?" Lucky asked.
"You heard me," Milton snickered as the music began to play, "or I could just eliminate both of you now."
Lucky sighed, and the two began to sing.
~o.0.o~
Johnny was hard at work trying to figure out his act, when Finn walked over to him.
"Hey there Johnny," he asked innocently, "what are you up to?"
"Try in' to figure this out," Johnny mumbled, looking up at him, "it's a bit hard when there's a grizzly bear stuffed in a cage behind me."
Finn glanced over, and saw the bear was indeed locked up nearby.
"I could see how that would be," Finn agreed, "say, one of the girls was looking for you... I forget her name. Brown hair? She said you should meet her by the stage."
"Look, I'm on next," Johnny frowned, "I really need to focus on-"
"Oh, it'll only take a minute," Finn assured him.
Johnny sighed.
"Alright, fine. This better be important."
The cowboy got to his feet, and walked off. Finn went to work immediatley, sabotaging the light show as best he could. After that, he looked around and found a nearby brick. Lifting it up, he walked over, and smashed the lock on the bear cage. Once he was done, he immediately turned and ran. Johnny wandered back a few seconds later, looking a little annoyed.
"No one was- hello?"
Seeing Finn was gone, Johnny shook his head and went back to work.
~o.0.o~
Back on stage, Lucky and Ella had just finished singing.
"Wow, that looked embarrassing," Milton smiled, "but because you sang my favorite song, I'll give you an eight."
"You know, I'll be honest, I stopped paying attention," Blaineley admitted, "but Milton likes it, so I'll give you an eight too."
"Righteous," Geoff smiled, "nine out of ten."
"Ella and Lucky, the two of you manage to take home twenty five points!" Julie announced.
Ella cheered, and extended her arms for a hug, causing Lucky to back away slowly.
"Everyone, give it up for our two singers," Julie said, "next up, Johnny!"
Lucky and Ella walked back through the curtain, where Justin was waiting.
"Great job Ella," he said, "I'm pretty impressed- there's no way the other team stands a chance with your score... want to go grab a soda?"
"I'd love to," Ella smiled.
"Good- come on."
Lucky rolled his eyes as the two walked away, and headed over to where Johnny was.
"Okay, Johnny-boy. Your turn."
"Great," Johnny sighed, "let me just-"
There was a slight clicking sound before one of the projector's Johnny was using exploded into flame. The flame caught on to Johnnyms clothes, causing him to let out a yelp and stagger backwards. This also served to startle the bear into an uproar who- now that the lock was weakened- easily broke open the door to his cage.
"Shit- Johnny, run!" Lucky exclaimed.
The bear let out a roar, standing on it's hind legs and swatting Johnny aside before charging forward and doing the same thing to Lucky. By now, everyone else had been alerted, and those who had arrived on the scene were now frightened to see a bear charging at them.
CONFESSIONAL: Finn
You see, if I sabotaged Lucky, Veronica and Johnny separately, someone would catch on that a member of the Enclave is trying to sabotage the Vault Hunters. If a bear goes crazy and ruins the entire show, now that's just bad luck.
END CONFESSIONAL
Several interns tried to stopped the beast, but either chickened out or were thrown to the side. Alejandro tried to step up, and was reward with a large slash across the chest. By now, most of the competitors had turned and ran, but it wasn't long before the bear singled one out- Cody. The geek's eyes widened as he watched the bear lunge across the room and pounce on top of him. Meanwhile, the fire from Johnny's failed light show had caught and spread to the stage curtains. The sprinkler system immediatley went off, dousing the flames, but by this point it was pandemonium. The audience was leaving in droves, competitors were trying to find safety, and interns were trying to find tranquilizers. And there was Cody, of course, who was in the process of being torn to ribbons.
"SOMEONE HELP!" Cody called out.
To his surprise, it was Izzy who stepped up.
"Don't worry!" The redhead called, "Izzy is here!"
The bear turned to see what was interrupting its meal, and Izzy pulled out a small strand of yarn, and began to wave it back and forth. The bear lost it's menacing demeanor, seemingly hypnotized as Izzy led it back to its cage and locked it in.
"Whew!" She laughed, "you guys are just lucky the trick works on tigers AND bears!... Hey, you guys don't look so good."
Johnny gave a groan in response, trying to put pressure on his wounds. Lucky was slumped up against the wall, unconscious after slamming his head, and Alejandro was curled up, a bit out of it. Cody was the worst by far, covered from head to toe slash marks- and this was to say nothing of the interns who won't be named or ever mentioned again.
"Alejandro!" Bridgette cried, rushing over to him, "Are you okay?"
"Fine," be wheezed, "never... never better!"
"I've called an ambulence- someone get a first aid kit, stat!" Julie ordered.
"I'll get it!" Margo ordered before rushing back.
Mordecai and Finn watched from a distance, a smile on the former's face.
"Nice work," Mordecai said, "I won't have you eliminated... yet. But we still have a lot to do."
Mordecai patted Finn on the back.
"Now go get me a drink."
~o.0.o~
Back on board, Mark was about to give up when he heard a whimper come from one of the rooms.
"Point?" Mark gasped, "Hang on!"
Point whimpered again, and Mark looked around. Which room was it coming from? Point let out a bark, and Mark froze. That sounded like-
"-Margo's room?" Mark frowned.
Mark walked over, and slowly opened Margo's door. His eyes immediatley widened when he saw Point.
"Point- what happened to you?!"
Quinn, who was watching from down the hall, smiled.
CONFESSIONAL: Quinn
Once I saw Mark was trying to sneak away, I knew I had to hang back to. I figured he's go looking for Point, and he would find him in Katie's room. That wouldn't do- so I waited until Mark was on the other side of the ship, and moved Point to some other poor sap's room.
END CONFESSIONAL
~o.0.o~
A few hours passed, and Julie had everyone gathered outside the theater- with the exception of Cody, Alejandro, Lucky and Johnny.
"Okay, I'm not sure HOW what just happened back there happened, but I am so sorry," Julie sighed, "after consulting with medical professionals, it is my regret to inform you that Cody has been medically eliminated. His wounds were too severe for him to keep going. As for the others, they're at the hospital now. After being treated, they'll be released sometime tonight or tomorrow, so we'll be staying in the city until then."
"Thank goodness they're okay," Veronica sighed.
"Since the challenge was a fiasco, I'm allowing anyone to use the clubhouse this time," Julie said, "again, I apologize wholeheartedly."
CONFESSIONAL: Justin
This is perfect. It's a shame to see Cody go, but now, I can take control of our team. With Ella here, I have someone willing to do whatever I want, whenever I want- it's just a matter of clearing up some loose ends before the merge, and I'll be unstoppable!
CONFESSIONAL: Heather
With Mark thrown off his game and Lucky and Johnny injured, there's no way the Vault Hunters will bounce back soon. Once I'm in control of my team, and Justin and Noah are gone, nothing will stand between me and the million!
CONFESSIONAL: Mordecai
Cody's gone, huh? I guess that works. There's always next time for everyone else. I'm about to take this show by storm!
CONFESSIONAL: Finn
Mordecai thinks he's so clever. But Mark my words, what's happened here tonight is nothing compared to what I'll do to him. After he's gone, I'll be free to do whatever I want to WHOEVER I want.
NO ONE IS SAFE.
END CONFESSIONALS
(A/N: Before I begin talking, show of hands, who's surprised to see an update this soon? Thought so. Anyway, this was an interesting chapter to write, but I'd like to focus on Milton's advertisement. Reality Rush: The Million Dollar Express is a spin-off story I'll be working on with Technow, and it will be released sometime very soon. It features sixteen brand new competitors, and explores other areas of the Camp TV universe, such as Milton's backstory, celebrity life, and... you'll also learn why it isn't a good idea to ride trains in this world. Although Geoff and Blaineley ARE the hosts, those aren't the only familiar faces you'll see. Several contestants who just couldn't let go of the spotlight will appear as interns, and a certain reality-star will make a return appearance as a contestant. You'll see ghost hunters, a health freak, an evil mastermind, a morally ambiguous mastermind, and some schmuck in a fancy suit who THINKS he's a mastermind. Overall, it'll be a fun time, and a new look at CTV as a whole- and withTechnow helping out, it'll be even better. One more announcement before I go. Episode nine of this season is going to be my "one hundredth episode spectacular". I'm planning on doing something extra special for it, but in addition, There will be another Q&A segment for the cast. If you have questions, send 'em in! That's gonna do it for me today, folks, happy holidays, and I hope you enjoyed!)