Chapter 20
Bridgette was less miserable for the next few days even though she most got the cold shoulder from LeShawna but she was back to friendly terms with DJ and Lindsay and even was able to talk to Ezekiel without getting mad at him. Ezekiel made sure he never said anything that sounded sexist so he wouldn't get booted off again. They along with Team C were still in the Economy Class as the plane headed for their next destination.
"Aw man, this is like the second time we've been stuck here. Economy Class sucks!" Tyler groaned.
"So true my friend." Alejandro replied, sitting next to the jock.
"I don't mind. I once sat slept in a cave full of wolves." Izzy looked to her right when she heard a snoring sound. "Oh, look at Big O. His fear of flying is so adorable."
Owen was tied up, lying on his back while letting a loud snoring sound as he slept. A bit of turbulence made him roll onto the ground and showing that Noah had been trapped under him.
"Finally! Thanks for not noticing I was missing all night! What am I, Tyler?" Noah groaned.
"Hey!" Tyler exclaimed.
Team Victory was sitting in the corner, far from the other team.
"Man, we seem to be having a hard time winning, eh?" Ezekiel asked.
"Got that right, Zeke." DJ nodded. "We're haven't been getting a lot of 'victory' in the last few challenges have we?"
"Enough down talk you, guys." Lindsay spoke up. "We aren't quitters, we're fighters and we're winners!" She stood up and proclaimed it to the whole class.
"Girls got fire in her eyes!" LeShawna said, praising Lindsay's positive attitude.
"Yeah, and I can make up for screwing up last time!" Bridgette stood up.
"And I can make up for my curse!" DJ stood alongside her.
"And I can...uh...be better at sounding cool, eh!" Ezekiel said, standing alongside them.
"Thanks for the help, Lindsay!" Bridgette said.
"No problem!"
Xxx
Confessional: Lindsay
"I packed a season's supply of lip gloss and I barely finished one tube. No way am I going home yet."
Xxx
"Ah, First Class is perfect." Heather sighed as an intern gave her a shoulder massage. "What is that perfect smell?"
"Victory?" Gwen asked, lounging on a chair.
"I thought it was the smell of her own vomit." Elliot was eating some cereal for breakfast. "I thought they'd never get the smell out."
"On the bright side their colds all went down." Dawn was meditating on her chair. "Good thing we didn't get caught in the snow ball, huh Gwen?"
"I would have gotten us over the finish line long before that snow ball if Heather hadn't been whipping me." Courtney glared at the Queen Bee from the bar. "And if Duncan had bothered to help me, his girlfriend."
"You were able to tough it out. But hey, if you want me to make it up to you I'll help you vote Heather off first chance we get." Duncan got a can of soda.
"Gladly, can I whip her off?"
Xxx
Confessional: Heather
"Whip me off? Ha, not if I can prove my worth to the team. Courtney may have Duncan and Gothy's got her own group of weirdoes but I can still manipulate Sierra and Cody into slavishly obeying me or whatever works. In the meantime I need to keep an eye on Alejandro, the biggest threat outside of this team. If he keeps on manipulating everyone else it's a matter of time before he becomes too much of a threat."
Xxx
"This'll warm you up in no time." Sierra was rubbing Cody's legs with her bare hands. "And from now on, whenever you get cold feet you'll think of me."
"Ugh, no kidding." Cody groaned.
"Hey buddies." Heather walked over to them. "Have I said enough how much I value your friendship?"
"You've only spoken to me like three times ever, including this one." Cody said, casting a suspicious look.
"Well I value your friendship too, Heather. Hug?" Sierra spread her arms.
"I think just saying it is enough." Heather held up her hands.
"Why not? You are both good friends now; one hug shouldn't too much to ask." Elliot grinned. "Come on, Heather show everyone how nice you become now! Unless you're...pretending to be their friend."
"She's got a point, Heather. Don't really good friends give each other hugs from time to time?" Gwen joined in.
"This I got to see." Duncan chuckled.
"Uh..." Heather looked around and saw that everyone was watching her. "Oh..."
She spread out her hands nervously and with a forced smile as Sierra squealed and hugged her.
"Wow, she did it." Gwen looked at Elliot and pulled out a five dollar bill. "Here's your money."
"Thanks! You're the best!" Elliot took the money.
Xxx
Confessional: Elliot
"It's obvious that Heather would bond with Sierra considering she's Chris's favourite because how much she sucks up to him. You'd think she'd have a crush on Chris instead."
Xxx
Chris called everyone into the cargo area where he had a large life boat that was big enough to fit everyone inside.
"Take a seat, grab a handle, and I'll tell you where we're going." Chris said, once everyone was in the boat.
"Oh, sweet boat guide, right Lindsay?" Tyler asked the girl next to him.
"Um, sure, Dave is it?" Lindsay barely even glanced at him, preferring to stare at Alejandro.
Tyler could only frown in disappointment.
"Why are you wearing a life jacket?" Noah asked, noticing what Chris was wearing.
"Cause there are eighteen of you and only one valuable me. Hit it Chef!" Chris shouted.
A door beneath the boat opened up and it fell through with everybody screaming, except Chris. The boat landed in water with a large splash and Chris turned the motor on.
"Welcome to New York City!" Chris announced.
The boat stopped at the island with the Statue of Liberty to show Chris was telling the truth.
Xxx
Confessional: Lindsay
"New York? New York? Do you know how many stores there are here? I'm going to buy like ten season's worth of lip gloss without even trying! (Lindsay squeals)
Xxx
The cast was gathered in front of the Statue of Liberty as Chris began to explain. "Your first challenge is a carriage race to Central Park which I like to call Liberty or Death!" Chris ran a finger across his neck as a sign.
"Death is right. Keep up with the lame names and everyone will choose death to get away from you." Elliot commented. "Can I get a 'hell yeah, burn' from somebody, please?"
"Hell yeah, burn eh!"
"Thanks Zeke."
"Oh!" Owen clapped his hands. "I've always dreamed of riding a horse drawn carriage!"
"Don't even think about making me the horse, Heather!" Courtney glared at the girl next to her.
"Slow down, conclusion jumpers. It's a baby carriage race." Chris replied.
"So where are the carriages?" LeShawna asked.
"Stupid question." Elliot and Gwen said.
"Yeah, about that." Chris pointed up. "Hope you brought your climbing gloves."
They looked up to see three carriages hanging off the pointed ends of Statue of Liberty's crown. Nearly everyone groaned and complained when they saw what they had to do, except one person.
"LOL, Chris I think your mischievous spirit makes the game." Sierra said dreamily.
"Thank you, Sierra it's nice to be appreciated." Chris replied, appreciating the praise.
"Oh, appreciated? I love you!" Sierra walked up to Chris who started to get annoyed with her. "I always did, even back to when you were making those horrible movies about talking cats!"
"Uh..."Chris looked a little surprised while everyone else snickered.
"I was even going to call my first fan club the 'Christians' but that name was already taken." Sierra finished.
"Thank God for that." Elliot whispered, actually tracing a cross over her front with one hand.
Chris pattered Sierra on the head twice and then pushed her back, annoyed with her weird behavior. Alejandro smirked as he watched this.
"Okay, less chatter, more splatter-er, climbing. More climbing, we'll leave the splatter to fate." Chris said. "Any who, once you reach Lady Liberty's crown pull up your rope to being your team up faster. Once everybody's up, your team grabs the correct carriage of the spike, races back down to your boat, and follows the buoys to your next exciting destination: Central Park."
"So when do we go shopping?" Lindsay asked.
"You don't." Chris replied flatly.
"NO!" Lindsay got on her knees and shrieked.
Birds flew out of the trees and a couple nearby tourists looked over at the group when they heard Lindsay.
"She sounds like her puppy was run over." Elliot whispered.
"In this case, probably." Gwen whispered back.
Chris led the teams to the base of three ropes with different colors on the ground representing each team. Team C started with Alejandro as the first to climb followed by Izzy.
"Look! I'm a rabid monkey!" Izzy laughed. "Aye ya ya ya!"
Noah and Owen were next with Tyler as the last person on Team C to climb.
"Okay, how about ladies go first, eh?" Ezekiel asked, hoping to get on his team's good side with polite manners.
"DJ first and then you, home school." LeShawna pushed the rope to DJ.
DJ grabbed the rope but yelped and pulled his hand back. "What are these made of?!"
"Steel wool, strong and rough. Just like the Big Apple!" Chris smiled.
DJ started climbing, helping every time he climbed higher. Ezekiel was next followed Bridgette, Lindsay, and LeShawna as the last. Team Amazon had a little trouble deciding how to climb, no surprise huh?
"Why don't I go first and make sure it's safe for you ladies?" Cody asked with a smile on his face.
"You sure you can handle it?" Elliot asked smirking. "Wouldn't be nice if you slipped and fell."
"How about I go first?" Gwen offered.
"I know exactly how we should climb!" Courtney exclaimed.
"You're not going to suggest that we belay again, are you? Cause that worked so well in Egypt." Duncan said with sarcasm on the last sentence.
"But...I...you have a better idea!" Courtney scowled.
"Not really, just wondering when we actually start moving." Duncan shrugged.
"I think Sierra should decide." Heather suggested.
"OMG!" Sierra exclaimed shocked. "I thought I knew everything about everyone on this show. You're really nice, Heather."
Xxx
Confessional: Sierra
"Of course I know Heather is playing me! I've seen every episode like fifteen times, hello?! I'm playing Heather!"
Xxx
Duncan was the first to climb followed by Gwen and Courtney.
"There's no way I am losing this challenge! Faster!" Heather shouted beneath them.
"Somebody call the pharmacist, I think Heather's medication is wearing off!" Elliot called out from beneath Heather.
This earned laughter from not just the rest of Team Amazon but the other team members who heard her.
"Elliot, that's not nice!" Dawn scolded, climbing up the rope beneath Elliot.
At the bottom of the rope Sierra offered the rope to Cody. "After you, I insist."
Cody grabbed the rope and started climbing but stopped when he heard a sigh under him.
"Best view in New York City!" Sierra sighed.
Cody sighed in frustration and went back to climbing. Gwen in the meantime concentrated on climbing all the way up.
'This brings back a few memories.' Gwen thought.
'Memories like climbing something similar in the Maze pocket dimension in the back of Kurt's store?' Andromeda asked a hint of amusement in her voice.
'Something like that.' Gwen looked to see Duncan had already climbed to the top and started pulling the rope up.
Gwen made it up and helped Duncan pull the rest of the team up.
Chris groaned for no apparent reason. "Let's go! I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I gotta pee!"
Sierra finally made it to the top, showing that Team Amazon was the first make win the first challenge. Seeing the carriage for Team Amazon Heather stepped forward. "I'll get the carriage, which is something a really valuable teammate would do!"
'Am I the only who's surprised?' Gwen looked at the others and saw their surprised looks. 'Nope.'
'She's afraid that if this team loses she'll be voted off.' Andromeda replied.
'So she's taking the risk for the team.' Gwen smirked. 'I see through you, Heather.'
Sierra's voice made her turn around and saw her speaking to Chris. "Hey, Chris! Know what? I own every one of your TV show appearances on DVD, even your cooking show! 'Keep it Plain With Chris McLean!' Your recipe for white rice is so great. It's totally unfair that you got canceled after only one episode!"
'Seriously?' Gwen thought, a chuckle escaping her mouth.
Everyone else laughed at the idea of Chris on a cooking show.
"I...was...going...through a phase." Chris replied, looking very embarrassed.
Luckily for Chris Heather ran her carriage down to her team. "Ta Da! Like I said, valuable!"
"Team Amazon takes the lead!" Chris happily announced.
"So how exactly do we get down, Chef McLean?" Elliot asked earning snickers from the entire cast.
"Fireman's pole!" Chris scowled, hoping that Elliot would get hurt on the way down. "It's only a thirty story drop!"
When they looked down the hole most of Team Amazon had nervous looks on their faces.
"Uh, Ladies first?" Cody asked nervously.
Heather, Courtney, and Sierra babbled nervously, thinking of excuses to not slide down the poll.
"Please, you ladies too afraid? I could do this with just my feet." Duncan grabbed the poll and slid down the hole. "WHOOOO-HOOOOO!" There was silence for a moment before he called out. "Well come on, we don't have all day!"
"Well, somebody's got to do it." Gwen sighed. "Here I go."
She took the poll and slid down, screaming all the way.
'I don't remember this in the training!' Gwen thought.
'But something Kurt should add.' Andromeda commented.
'Oh no, don't you dare...' Gwen was cut as she crashed into the ground.
She hit the ground with a painful thud and fell over. Duncan chuckled and stood over her. "You dead?"
"I'm okay!" Gwen called up to her team.
"You might want to work on the landing." Duncan offered her a hand.
"We're not all pros at this stuff like you." Gwen groaned as Duncan helped her up.
"Hope you're better at running because Sergeant Screechy will get mad if we fall behind." Duncan smirked.
"Just try not to fall behind." Gwen grinned.
They took off towards the boats just as Courtney slid down the poll. She watched as they both ran off towards the boats and glared. Gwen and Duncan paid no attention to that, running down to the dock and jumping onto their team's boat.
"I was first! I call the wheel!" Gwen grabbed the wheel.
"Don't trust me?" Duncan asked with mock hurt.
"Oh, is poor Dunky going to cry?" Gwen replied, sounding like a mother fussing over her baby and putting up an innocent face that made her look almost...cute.
The rest of Team Amazon jumped onto the boat with Sierra holding the carriage.
"Nice of you guys to join us." Duncan commented.
Gwen turned on the ignition and the boat left the dock at full speed. Unfortunately Cody fell off the back of the boat from the sudden burst of speed.
"CODY!" Sierra screamed.
"GWEN, TURN AROUND!" Elliot and Dawn shouted.
Gwen glanced over her shoulder and saw Cody in the water. "Oh boy."
She turned the boat around just as Cody climbed onto the yellow boat. However Team Victory jumped onto the boat and hit the accelerator, leaving Cody back in the water. He looked back to see Team C getting into their boat and waved at them, hoping they would give him a lift. Unfortunately they drove right past him leaving him alone.
"Great, we've gone from first place to last. Nice work, Gwen." Heather grumbled.
"Yeah, my fault that Cody couldn't hold on." Gwen rolled her eyes as she brought the boat up next to Cody. "Next time grab something and don't let go."
Sierra grabbed Cody and pulled him out of the water. Gwen made the boat do a U-Turn and tried to catch up to the others.
"So any idea how we're getting to Central Park?" Gwen asked. "It's in the middle of Manhattan."
"Take a look!" Elliot pointed at another buoy up ahead.
They drove past it into...
"The sewer? Ugh! Sometimes I hate Chris!" Heather groaned disgusted by the smell. "Ok, all times!"
A growl was heard somewhere in the dark sewer.
"What was that?" Cody asked fearfully. "Was that an alligator?"
"There's no such things as alligators in the sewers, that's an urban myth." Courtney replied.
Unfortunately Courtney was wrong as a giant alligator attempted to Team C's boat but narrowly missed. It turned around to chase them when Team Amazon's boat went over its head, propelling them forward and landing a short distance ahead of it. Angered the alligator chased after them, snapping at their boat.
"STEP ON IT GWEN!" Duncan, Heather, and Elliot shouted.
Gwen pushed the level up to top speed, speeding towards the exit like a race car. It blasted out of the sewer like a rocket and went so fast it flew over the other boats crashed into the dock and drove onto dry land before crashing on the ground and tipping over. Team Amazon fell over, piling on each other with the carriage on top, the only thing that was safe and uninjured.
"WHOA-OH-OH! NASTY!" Chris commented when all the boats made it, wearing a gasmask. "That's the kind of smell that never comes out. Oh, and someone should get to work on fixing the dock."
"Stupid show." Chef grumbled.
"Chris, you are such a brilliant commander." Sierra said as Team Amazon picked themselves up and walked over to what remained of the dock. "That's why you always stood out in your boy band."
"Whoa-oh-oh! Chris was in a boy band?" Owen asked.
"Seems like the kind of guy." Elliot commented.
"Indeed, and possibly an ad for shampoo commercials." Dawn said.
"Moving on!" Chris panicked, trying to drop the subject but Sierra kept on talking.
"He did one shampoo commercial but back in the 80s he was in a band." Sierra replied. "Making trouble is easy to do but making you love me is painful!"
Chris's left eye twitched as she finished.
"No way, he was in Fame Town!?" Gwen asked, shocked before starting to laugh."That was the most awful boy band ever!"
"I know!" Elliot laughed.
Xxx
Confessional: DJ
(Laughs uncontrollably)
Xxx
Confessional: Owen
(Laughs uncontrollably)
Xxx
Confessional: Courtney
(Laughs uncontrollably)
Xxx
Confessional: Chef
(Laughs uncontrollably)
Xxx
Everyone was laughing at Chris, even Dawn who tried to keep her laughter down, restricting it to giggling but it was hard. Chris scowled, starting to get really annoyed with Sierra.
"I really admire the way you never let any mockery get to you. I'll have to include that in your obituary, I already have a draft. Want to hear? Chris McLean was born in 1978..." Sierra started.
"THAT'S IT! ZIP IT PERMENTALLY!" Chris snapped.
Heather growled, realizing that Sierra had just thrown away any chance of manipulating Chris in her favor and in Heather's favor by being Sierra's friend. She looked to see Alejandro smirking and it all clicked.
"Looks to me like your new friend might have just gone from best friend to useless weird girl." Elliot smirked at Heather.
"Should have seen that one coming, huh Heather?" Gwen whispered, earning a glare at Heather.
The teams all gathered together and Chris was happy that Sierra was now quiet and he finally could continue the challenge. "All right, welcome to the second part of the challenge, Bobbing for Big Apples, NYC style. Here's how it's going down, each team must push their carriage along the path to Central Park's fabled Turtle Pond. There each team will bob for some very special apples, using only their mouths, no hands. Once they get it to shore, the rest of the team must load it into their carriages, and race to the finish line at the center of Central park. And what's a baby carriage without a baby?"
"Oh! A shopping carriage?" Owen asked.
"An empty carriage and someone should call 911?" Elliot asked.
"It was rhetorical question." Chris replied annoyed that he was being interrupted.
"Oh Chris that is so..." Sierra started with her annoying fan girl voice again.
"Zip it!" Chris angrily cut her off.
Alejandro winked at Heather who glared back at him.
"One team member of each team must ride in the carriage and stay there, all the way to the finish line." Chris continued.
"Cody!" All of Team Amazon except Cody himself said at the same time, not giving him the chance to vote.
"I'll do it." Noah volunteered for his team.
"Ooh! I'll do it for Team Victory! I love it when people call me baby!"
"Make a mental note of that bro." Noah whispered to Tyler.
Tyler checked his pockets. "I don't have a pen."
"They are perfect for each other." Elliot whispered earning a smirk from Gwen and a frown from Dawn.
"Feel free to take whatever path you want, but no short cuts off the path. Oh and a little traveling music please!" Chris said as a bell chimed.
"It's always been my dream of mine to dance in New York City!" Courtney exclaimed, looking the most excited.
"So we're really doing this music part every single time?" LeShawna asked, one of the people who'd rather not sing.
"Fun huh?" Chris asked happily.
"About as fun listening to you." Duncan unhappily answered.
"Now move it! We only have permit to cordon off this section of the park for another hour!"
Music started playing and Courtney was the first to start.
Courtney: What's not to love about New York City?
The taxis honk out a New York ditty!
The crime is high!
The pigeons fly!
What's not to love about New York?
Owen: The lights are brighter!
The fun is funner!
The bagels are bagel-er,
And the bums are bummer!
The dirt and grime make every alley shine!
What's not to love about New York? Oops!
Dawn: The streets are dirtier
The air is smokier
Green house gases fly
And more trees die
Indeed, what is not to love about New York?
"You tell them, Dawn!" Bridgette cheered.
Lindsay: The stores, and the fashion!
Big shows where stars cash in!
It's crazy, 'cause the city never sleeps!
"Dance break!"DJ said as he and LeShawna both started to dance.
"For the love of dance stop!" Lindsay shouted.
Team Amazon: Subway trains, and the hustle-bustle!
Team Amazon and Team Victory: Cappuccinos while the mobsters tussle!
Owen: And pretzel stands for all us pretzel fans!
Owen drops a pair of pretzels on Noah's arm.
Noah: Whoa, hot, hot, hot!
Owen: What's not to love?
Owen and Lindsay: What's not to love?
Everyone: What's not to love about New York?!
Xxx
Confessional: Gwen
"One of the dirtiest cities with a very high crime rate. I'm not feeling the love right now."
Xxx
Confessional: Bridgette
"This city is one example of how we're abusing the environment, exactly like Dawn said."
Xxx
Even though they took different paths all three times arrived at the so called turtle pond at the very same time. Chris and Chef were standing on a large rock at the center of the pond so they could observe all the teams.
"The other teams are here too? I thought we got the shortest path!" LeShawna exclaimed.
"Maybe, but your dancing took the longest to recover from!" Lindsay pointed out.
"Those are some big apples, eh?!" Ezekiel asked.
"I got to get me a seed so I can grow a tree that makes these apples!" Elliot grinned.
"Remember, no hands!" Chris spoke up.
"I totally got this, guys!" Tyler ran for the pond and jumped right in.
Unfortunately his so called dive turned into a very painful looking belly flop, sinking into the water with a pained look.
"At this rate he's going to end up in the hospital." Elliot flinched.
"No kidding." Gwen nodded.
"I got this!" Bridgette ran and jumped into the pond, performing a perfect dive unlike Tyler.
"Go Bridge!" LeShawna cheered.
"Yeah, get the apple, eh!" Ezekiel said.
"Quick we need someone to jump in!" Courtney panicked as the other teams started.
"I got it!" Elliot jumped in, performing a cannonball instead of a dive.
"I could have tried, even though last year I broke my leg in the egg and spoon race at the Chris McLane fan club picnic."
"There's a Chris fan club picnic?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"It's awesome! There like six of us..."
"Oh shut up!" Heather shouted, not in the mood.
Sierra stepped back, surprised by Heather's temper. Heather herself was beyond annoyed with Sierra for getting on Chris's bad side and costing her an advantage and the stalker kept on talking! If things were not worse yet it was about to as Alejandro walked over with his charming grin. "Central Park is so romantic, don't you find?"
"Whatever, I know you've been messing with Sierra's head so back off or you'll wish you had!" Heather pointed at Alejandro's face.
"My wish doesn't involve backing off." Alejandro kept flirting.
"Just go play with your stupid team and leave us alone!" Heather snapped.
"You're beautiful when you play hard to get." Alejandro commented but stepped back when Heather growled. "I'm going!"
Heather looked to Team C's carriage with the sleeping Noah and got an idea. "You bet you are, right out of the game!"
She grabbed the carriage while the others were not looking and wheeled it over to a woman with her own baby carriage. The woman didn't notice Heather switching the carriages and moved the baby carriage back to Team C while Noah stayed with the baby.
"You did not just do that?" Heather jumped when she turned and saw Gwen standing behind her. "You do realize that what you just did can be seen as kidnapping?"
"It's no big deal, when they find out they have the wrong carriage they'll find the mother and give the kid back." Heather defended herself.
"If she's still in the park and doesn't look down to see her baby change hair, skin, and eye color and grew into a smart ass teen." Gwen glared.
"Look, nothing bad is going to happen to the kid but we need to win here!" Heather harshly whispered. "Don't say a word."
"Fine, but if that kid is hurt you'll be wishing that you're the one to get kicked off next!" Gwen whispered back, giving Heather a scary glare and the Queen Bee nodded.
She may be mean but she'd never hurt little kids, she does have a soul despite what everybody else thinks!
"AH!" Both girls looked back to the pond when they heard Tyler scream.
He was the first to reach an apple but it was guarded by angry snapping turtles and started attacking him. Alejandro had watched Gwen speak with Heather and turned back to the carriage, seeing that a real baby was there instead of Noah.
Xxx
Confessional: Alejandro.
"Very clever, Heather, but I see through you."
Xxx
"It's called turtle pond for a reason bro!" Chris laughed.
Back on shore Duncan winced at Tyler's situation. "Reminds me of that time with snapping turtles in the first season, not a good time."
"Like you and the Turtle Puck Shots?" Gwen walked over with a smirk. "Just when was there ever a good time on that stupid island?"
"Well...there was meeting you, Courtney and few other good times." Duncan thought it over after moment of silence.
"You are so sweet, Duncan!" Courtney hugged him which Duncan returned with a smile.
"Get a room." Gwen chuckled and turned back to the pond.
"Like you and Trent were any better?" Duncan asked.
Gwen had a small frown at the mention of Trent, remembering how their relationship ended but turned back to Duncan with a smirk. "Maybe, but still we don't need to see it. Remember kids watch this show."
"Ah, let them learn!" Duncan laughed.
Courtney glared, annoyed how they were talked and interacted while Duncan ignored her. Back to the pond while Tyler was fending off the turtles Bridgette had reached her own apple and grabbed it with her teeth. She swam backwards, dragging the apple with her. Elliot reached her own apple just a second later but instead of using her mouth she swam under it and onto the other side.
She kicked under it with both of her feet and sent the apple flying over Bridgette and landed a few feet from the edge of the pond. Elliot swam towards the apple, moving faster than Bridgette because she had to drag her apple with her teeth.
"Come on Elly!" Dawn cheered.
"Use those legs of yours!" Gwen joined in.
"Tyler, use your head, quickly!" Alejandro yelled.
Taking his teammate's advice Tyler started head butting his apple, making it move down the pond past Bridgette.
"Swim, Elly!" Cody yelled.
"Don't you think I know that?" Elliot asked, swimming as fast as she could.
Suddenly a large turtle came out of the water in front of her, snapping angrily in front of her and cutting her from her apple.
"Oh come on!" Elliot groaned.
'Gwen, that's not an ordinary turtle!' Andromeda said telepathically.
'I know, I see it too.' Gwen could see a bright aura surrounding the turtle. 'It's a spirit in the form of a turtle!'
Spirits often had the power to shape shift into any form they wanted, some even resembling ordinary animals while others would resemble mythical monsters. As if on command all the group's surroundings turned blue signalling that a Dimension Seal Method had been activated.
'Not again.' Gwen gritted her teeth. 'Who keeps doing that?'
The turtle growled and tried to bite her but now that they were safe Elliot was able to call on her Avatar powers. She swam under the water, seeing more turtles almost as large as the one in front of her. She started to glow blue as the turtle in front of her opened its mouth to bite her and just as it opened its mouth a lance glowing white appeared in Elliot's hand and she thrust it forward through the turtle's head. It chocked and dissolved a second later but the other turtles tried to swarm her.
Elliot was surrounded by a pale white sphere that blocked the turtles and instantly knew Dawn was protecting her. Above the water Dawn spread her arms out unleashing a white wave. "Shining Judgement!"
It swept through the pond and the turtles were hit, instantly the turtles became docile and non-hostile. Elliot looked around as the turtles swam away from her. The barrier around her vanished along with her lance as she powered down and swam back up to the surface.
"Elliot, are you okay?" Gwen pulled her out of the water.
"I'm fine, a little annoyed that happened though." Elliot shrugged. "The spirit that attacked me is gone, I took it out."
"And didn't consider we could get some answer from it." Gwen shook her head.
"I'll remember that the next time you're in danger." Elliot scowled.
"Please don't fight." Dawn grabbed their shoulders. "Once again the Dimension Seal Method was cast but not by any of us."
"I believe I have a theory to that." A voice said from behind them.
They looked to see an elderly man walking towards the pond.
"The Dealer?" Gwen asked.
"A pleasure to see you again, young Gwendolyn." The Dealer smiled pleasantly at her. "I have been hearing of your exploits since our last meeting and I heard you were heading to New York."
"You cast the Dimension Seal?" Gwen asked.
"This time, I did. I sensed that Elliot here would be in danger from the misfit hiding in the pond." The Dealer looked at the turtle pond. "A ruffian I believe that was hired by the Stalker in the Stars."
"What do you mean this time?" Elliot asked. "You mean didn't do it back in Egypt or in the Yukon?"
"I'm afraid not that was the work of another Avatar." The Dealer shook his head. "One who has not been heard of for almost a few centuries."
"A few centuries?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, as you know Avatars are able to live longer than ordinary humans and some to this day became Avatars during the times of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages were some of your conflicts with rogue spirits was at its worst." The Dealer explained. "Two days ago I received a request to come here to watch you and make sure you were safe during your challenge."
"Any idea who it is?" Gwen asked.
"The signature on the note I received was the symbol of an Avatar who commanded the very Earth itself, the Avatar of the Mouth of the Towering Mountain."
All three Avatars gasped and were left speechless.
"The Mouth of the Towering Mountain? As in the Spirit whose power over the Earth was so great that an entire army facing his Avatar was swallowed by a huge mouth in the ground the size of a small country?!" Elliot exclaimed.
"I heard of him, Kurt and Andromeda told me stories when I started my Avatar training." Gwen said. "He was one of the strongest Avatars during the Dark Ages."
"And vanished, never heard from again until now. Many assumed he died while others say he went on to become one with the Earth itself and a few more rumors say that he went into a period of isolation for reasons no one knows." The Dealer explained. "However the note was indeed the same signature he left in his battles."
"If it is him why now? I doubt that Nebula and even the Red Marauder would grab his attention when there have been spirits and demons just as bad." Luna said.
"If he is casting the Dimension Seal Methods when there is an attack he must be close by." Andromeda said.
"Now I am little worried." Gwen gulped. "An Avatar like him nearby, Nebula having an Avatar, and Carlos hunting this Red Marauder, just what the hell is this leading to?"
"I don't know young Gwen but you must be careful. A lot questions are being asked and there are very few answers." The Dealer turned around and started to walk away. "Keep a close eye on everyone, young Avatars and be careful."
Gwen could only share an uneasy look with Dawn and Elliot before turning back the pond and return everything the way it was before the Method was cast. The blue veil vanished and everything returned to normal as Elliot swam towards her apple. However Tyler was just ahead of her as kicked her apple and Alejandro grabbed his team's apple.
"To the finish line!" Team C took off with 'their' baby carriage.
Elliot kicked the apple out of the pond and Heather picked it up just as Bridgette reached the shore. Heather threw the apple onto Cody while LeShawna grabbed the apple and gave it to Lindsay.
"Let's go! We can still beat them, they aren't that far ahead!" LeShawna and the rest of Team Victory chased after Team C along with Team Amazon.
Gwen didn't know how but somehow Chris and Chef beat them to the finish line and unfortunately this time Team Chris came in first place with Team Victory just ahead of Team Amazon.
"And Team Chris wins!" Chris announced.
"Wait, that's not their real carriage!" Heather shouted.
"Are you sure? I think we all know what Noah looks like." Alejandro turned the carriage to show everyone a sleeping Noah.
"Wha...But..." Heather stammered.
"Congratulations on Team Chris Is So So Hot on finally winning and gaining a reward with Team Victory coming in second." Chris grinned. "Team Amazon, your first loss this season and unfortunately your first elimination."
"I thought you said this was an award!" Courtney protested.
"I did but because of what happened last episode it was neither elimination nor an award. But this episode it's both!"
Team Amazon groaned, after all their hard work they still came in last place.
Xxx
The plane was back in the air and Team Amazon found themselves in the cafe, preparing to vote for one of their own. Gwen was on her way to the confessional when Heather grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into the cargo section. Gwen pushed her away but stopped when she saw who it was.
"What do you want?" Gwen scowled.
"To convince you to vote off Sierra." Heather replied.
"And lose a chance to get rid of you?" Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Why ask me to vote for Sierra?"
"Because now that Sierra has pretty much run her mouth too much; Chris hates her, she's no good. She could have been Chris's pet and gave us an advantage through the whole season." Heather explained.
"By 'us' you mean you." Gwen guessed. "And plus you need someone vote with you because Courtney and Duncan will vote for you along with Sierra likely if she has seen the show. Odds aren't in your favor."
"There...is that." Heather admitted.
"But you want me to help you and I might be able convince Dawn and Elliot to vote for Sierra making four votes against, five if I ask Cody to vote for her." Gwen smirked. "This is almost too good to pass up."
"Look, I know we have had a...rocky history there is someone you must be on the lookout for." Heather said.
"Alejandro?"
Heather's eyebrows shot up. "How...how'd you know?"
"He tricked Bridgette into trying cheat on Geoff with him on live TV back in the Yukon, that's one big clue." Gwen scowled. "LeShawna and Lindsay seem pretty taken with him and didn't believe Bridgette, mostly because they were mad that she might have hurt Geoff."
"He tried to kiss Bridgette?!" Heather gasped and then growled. "That schmuck!"
"For once I agree with you." Gwen nodded, thinking that Heather was mad that Alejandro tried to kiss Bridgette rather than tricking Bridgette into cheating on Geoff.
"That's why you need me, someone who can see through all his tricks!" Heather exclaimed. "An alliance would be perfect against him."
"An alliance would be good...but who said that you'd be in it." Gwen grinned. "Dawn and Elliot are my friends, they might vote with me along with Cody and Duncan. I think we might be fine without you, unless you give me a reason to keep you on."
"...All right, how about I agree to support you throughout the rest of the season even after the merge?" Heather asked, almost sounding desperate. "All the way to the finale?"
Gwen had a thoughtful look on her face. "No matter how much I screw up?"
"If the same goes for me than yeah." Heather nodded.
Gwen had a finger on her chin as she thought it over. "All right, but only because Sierra didn't do anything to help today. Deal?"
"Deal." They both shook hands and walked out of the cargo room.
Xxx
"Amazon, welcome to your first elimination ceremony." Chris walked in the Elimination Hall with Team Amazon on the stand. "I have a bag of peanuts that shows who will stay. The first goes to Gwen, Courtney, and Duncan."
He tossed them at the first three who caught them.
"Next up, Elliot, Dawn, and Cody."
This left Heather and Sierra.
"And the final barf bag goes to..."
Heather had a desperate look on her face while Sierra was chattering her teeth.
"...Heather."
"What?!" Sierra, Duncan, and Courtney said as Heather caught the bag.
"I know, I was surprised too." Chris commented. "But Sierra is out!"
"You guys like Heather more than me!" Sierra cried.
"How could she have more votes than Heather!? We all voted for her!" Courtney said.
"Apparently not." Chris said as Chef walked over and gave Sierra a parachute.
Sierra cried as she walked towards the exit, earning some looks of pity from some of Team Amazon.
"Sierra, listen!" Cody ran up to her. "It's not that we like Heather more than you...It's just I think you're more likeable not on this show."
"Really?"Sierra asked with a hopeful look.
"Is that why you voted for her?" Chris asked.
"YOU DID WHAT!?" Sierra screamed.
"CHRIS!" Cody and Gwen shouted angrily.
"Freedom of speech dudes." Chris shrugged.
"Cody, how...how could...you?" Sierra sobbed.
"Well...I...I...you were...just...so," Cody stammered.
"All touching and all but we're out of time." Chris tapped his watched.
Sierra looked her team and sobbed before turning and jumped out of the plane, letting out a very loud cry.
'Crap.' Gwen looked around and shared a guilty look with Elliot and Dawn for what happened. 'I know what we did was so we could stay and look out for everyone, but...'
'Everyone makes a hard choice sooner or later.' Andromeda whispered. 'Try to remember that now that she is gone she is safe.'
'Safe, more than I can say for the rest of us.'