"Last time, on Total Drama Revenge of the Film Lot..." Chris began the recap, standing on a grandiose stage with a black suit and top hat on. "Snow still fell, and there was big game to be hunted! The teams had to embark into the frozen forest to hunt down as many mutant critters as they could, and two of the teams sure did that! The Munchers were consistent catchers on all fronts, and seemed to be holding the lead! Although Toby pulled a win for the Award Winners by luring a pack of wolves into their cage! The Critics completely bombed in the challenge, with Trixie's thievery failing, Flaky getting shot, and Jack's paranoia causing him to destroy the only chance they had at winning! He of course got the boot for that after Trixie turned on him, although will she be able to manage with that ally gone? And just how will the Critics press on without their captain? Find out right here, on Total, Drama, Reeeeeeevenge of the Film Lot!"
Intro Sequence:
The rock tune of I Wanna Be Famous started up, with high-grade film cameras popping out of different places. First out of the chimney of a trailer, then out the window of a soundstage, a toxic waste barrel after that, and finally a sewer manhole before a movie clapper came in and closed, letting the full shot begin.
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doing fine, you guys are on my mind
The camera zoomed onto the film lot, passing by Chris in a dingy golf cart being pushed by Irene, Elroy, Oliver, and Ted, while Virgil was stuck to the cart itself. Going past several soundstages, the camera weaved between a few movie backdrops, before going up the large hill that led to the soap opera sets on top. The shot then dove down into a pool of water below where King was swimming inside. He saw Fang swim up behind him, so he turned around and punched him right in the face, sending the mutant shark flying up.
You asked me what I wanted to be, and I think the answer is plain to see
Flynn was above the water, now in a soundstage, commandeering a pirate ship floating on it while Delanie copied his behavior. Fang landed on their ship though, forcing both of them to dive off of it. Trixie had watched the two jump down, smirking at their misfortune.
I wanna beeeeeee famous!
The shot now panned out of this soundstage, passing up Kahlin running out of one of the dressing booths, with Sasquatchanakwa right behind him. Jack was looking over some outfits on a rack, although Lilac jumped out from behind some of the clothes, showing her teeth and scaring him.
I wanna live close to the sun
Beck was relaxing on a lounge chair on a beach set, his hands behind his head. He winked at the camera, while Flaky and Bonnie were ogling at him from behind a bush.
So pack your bags cuz I've already won
Panning to the right and into the makeup trailer confessional, Kylie was doing her makeup, applying lipstick at the moment. Trina walked inside, carrying a basket of different foundation. Kylie looked them over, then shooed Trina away.
Everything to prove, nothing in my way, I'll get there one day
Klaas and Vergil were in a boxing ring together, both of them glaring at each other. Vergil threw a punch, as did Klaas, with their fists colliding as they did so. Both of them fell back because of this, although Esteban was quick to run in and help them up.
Cuz I wanna beeeeeee famous!
Toby and Luis were in the kitchen with Chef, with Athena preparing some kind of soup. She seemed to be having trouble with it though, so Toby walked over to help her out. Maxine was watching this from a monitor in Chris's office, then pressed a button to try and blow up the kitchen.
Na na na nana, nananana, nananana
This blew up a different set though, where Thomas, Nanashi, and Jim were inside. A bear had taken the brunt of the explosion though, and it let out a roar at the three of them. Jim pointed at the other two and ran off with a guilty look, although Thomas ran away as well, leaving Nanashi to get chased by the bear.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!
Diamond and Melissa were sitting at the outdoor theater on the benches when Jim and Thomas ran by. They didn't pay much mind to it though, but Freddy popped up from behind them both with a puppet mask on, startling them both. Diamond laughed, while Melissa rolled her eyes.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!
A flash from the outdoor projector transitioned to the Aftermath studio, where Donna was sitting in between Geoff and Bridgette. Mittens the monkey hopped up from behind the couch, scowling at the aftermath hosts. This confused both, with the shot then zooming out to show the rest of the contestants sitting in the peanut gallery benches, whistling along with the last notes of the intro while the season logo was shown on a TV above.
After the intro, the episode began on the two trailers, with the weather back to normal. Inside the girls' trailer, Flaky woke up a bit into the morning, rubbing her eyes as she looked around. "W-What happened yesterday? I feel like last n-night was a blur." Flaky asked the other girls as she got out of bed.
Trina was sitting at the table at the end of the trailer, just writing when Flaky woke up. "Oh! You're awake ma'am! I was actually hoping to speak to you." Trina greeted Flaky, waving for her to come sit with her.
Flaky looked around, relieved to see that Bonnie was still asleep. Trixie was brushing her teeth, and Athena was just sitting on her bed playing with Rhonda, while the other girls had already left for the morning. Flaky just slipped on her hoodie like always and walked over to the table, sitting across from Trina. "M-Me? What's up? D-Do you k-know what happened l-last night?" Flaky again asked.
"We voted off Jack, I'll tell you that." Trixie butted in, mouth full of toothpaste.
Trina nodded, closing her notebook and focusing on Flaky now. "Yesterday, someone shot you with a tranquilizer dart during the challenge, and once you woke up, you were pretty woozy for the rest of the day. Someone clearly doesn't like that you returned ma'am." Trina explained to her.
"B-But why? I didn't d-do anything to anyone! Oh n-no... who is out to get m-me then!?" Flaky began to panic right away, hugging her legs.
"I wish I had the answer ma'am, but no one confessed to it. But you can't let it get to you either. Just keep your guard up and don't go trusting people blindly now, it feels like a bunch of people are scheming now!" Trina advised, glancing at Trixie for a moment.
Flaky nodded, then pulled out her Gameguy Advanced to calm herself down. "Y-Yeah... I guess I missed out on e-everyone making a-alliances and s-stuff. But w-why are you helping me? W-We're not on the same t-team." Flaky questioned Trina.
Trina nodded, then reached across the table and put her hands on Flaky's. "I wouldn't just ignore someone in need of help ma'am. I guess I've worked in politics for too long, I just have to help people whenever I can. Little guys like you, like us, we're underdogs, and after what happened to you the first time, I'd hate to see you get robbed again." Trina explained, giving Flaky a more serious look.
"Pff. Not like she needs help from another team. I know a cross team alliance when I see it. Scram Flaky." Trixie butted in again, shooting Trina a look.
"She was shot yesterday. I think a little comforting is in order ma'am." Trina told Trixie, surprised to be accused like that.
"Don't care. She has her own team for that. Don't you have a captain to suck up to?" Trixie still tried to just get her to leave, to which Trina just sighed and got out of her seat.
"I should tend to Ms. Delanie's needs yes, thank you for reminding me ma'am. Good luck in the challenge today both of you!" Trina waved to them, then opened her notebook back up as she left.
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Trixie-
Trixie facepalmed, groaning for a moment. "If you can't tell already, I'm in between a rock and a hard place right now. Jack was my get out of jail free card, but I don't think I even got out of the cell with that. Trina means well, but the last thing I need is Flaky feeling better about herself. That fear that everyone is out to get her though? I could use that..."
-Confessional: Victorious Award Winners: Trina-
Trina was writing in her notebook, furrowing her brow. "The merge is typically at the halfway point of the competition. Which with Flaky's return, means that 13 eliminations would be halfway through. We've been through 11. Two more, then Toby and I are in the clear! I'm risking a lot, taking him along with me, but I might never even have to betray Delanie if we can just avoid losing for two more challenges. Toby almost let himself get mauled by wolves yesterday, and that sort of made something click with me. I haven't been doing nearly enough to repay his kindness!"
-End Confessional-
Over in the guys' trailer, Kahlin was sitting at the round table tying his shoes while Thomas was reading the book that Bonnie had gifted to him. Flynn got his hat on, now ready for the day as he walked to the trailer door. "Oy Thomie, you grabbin' breakfast?" Flynn asked Thomas.
Thomas looked up from his book, then shook his head. "Not at the moment. Thank you." Thomas declined politely.
Flynn sighed, then nodded. "Aye then. See ya scallywags later then!" Flynn waved to both Thomas and Kahlin, then walked out the door.
Kahlin watched Flynn leave, then turned to Thomas. "Gonna guess by your swift no and his sigh that you two are playing a game of tug o war on your team right now?" Kahlin asked Thomas.
"Tug o war?" Thomas repeated, his eyes back in his book.
Kahlin chuckled, then nodded. "Yeah, tug o war! Like you're down to 5, and that's an odd number. So if you're going to lose again, everyone is looking to pull 2 votes to their side to come out on top! Just how the game works. And it seems like Hook there wanted to pull you to his side." Kahlin explained casually.
"Perhaps. We eliminated Jack last night. There was and still is a lack of order within our team. As the Hawaiians say, poino kekahi. Anyone is doomed." Thomas replied, still not looking at Kahlin.
"Ah ah, if that's how you see it, then you must be out of the loop! Flynn and probably some others are already 5 steps ahead of you. Think of it like a game of baseball. You put your best fielder in the shortstop. Now you may ask, 'that's not one of the bases, why would you do that?'. Well, the shortstop is the swing position, people don't expect it to be crucial, but if you put your best fielder there, then you've basically guaranteed two bases. Now, your bases are the votes. And your other teammates are the fielders. Why put your time into someone you know is gonna side with you, or put your best fielder on a base. No, you scoop up the swing vote and knock out two in one! You make yourself safer and ensure your target is gone!" Kahlin explained thoroughly, although Thomas looked a bit lost.
"You could have just said to focus on the swing vote." Thomas commented bluntly.
"I know I know, I just like to gush about baseball sometimes! Anyway, guess you don't really care what I have to say, you and Beck got that in common! Lemme know how sitting and doing nothing goes, works pretty well for him! Gonna go get some breakfast now!" Kahlin cheerfully waved goodbye, then left the trailer.
On the other side of the trailer, Jim and Klaas were glaring at each other as they got ready. "So. We're thinking the same thing I'm guessing?" Klaas asked Jim coldly.
"Seems so." Jim responded just as coldly.
Klaas chuckled, fixing up his hair. "Y'know, it's kind of funny that it's come to this. Over a week ago we were about to have a pretty sweet alliance. Now one of us will be leaving very soon." Klaas remarked.
"Yeah. If you didn't make such a bone headed decision, we'd be set and Vergil would still be here. Never gonna understand what made you act so stupidly." Jim agreed, still angered by the fact.
Klaas shrugged, smirking at Jim. "What can I say? I love to keep things random. And I came out of that way better than you did. It weighs the odds in my favor, which I'm not the biggest fan of, but I think I'll take those odds in this case." Klaas explained, further upsetting Jim.
"You'll take those odds!? You think it's fun having to turn nothing into something!? You turned traitor and are still reaping the rewards for it!" Jim now yelled at Klaas.
"I'd say so. Trying to win with your hand sounds like a good challenge. You can keep calm dude, it's just a game after all." Klaas told Jim, holding up both hands.
"JUST A GAME!? Oh you're just asking for it!" Jim clenched both fists, while Klaas just kept a sly smirk.
Toby saw the situation escalating and walked over to the pair though. "What's all the howlin' about? Sounds like a pack of-" Luis began to interject, before Toby received the brunt of Jim's anger through his fist to his stomach.
Klaas briefly gasped, before just standing up. "Yeah, I'll take my leave now. Pretty sure I'll be safer around Chris." Klaas joked, then left the cabin while Jim processed what he just did.
"That... smug bastard..." Jim cursed, still having both fists clenched while Toby writhed in pain on the floor and Socrates checked up on him.
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Klaas-
Klaas let out a huge sigh of relief, fiddling around with the dice Nanashi had gave him. "Thank god Toby was there to take the hit for me. I needed to get Jim riled up just so swinging Melissa to my side would be a bit easier. He's taking the game pretty seriously, so what better way to anger him than to act like it's nothing? I know the feeling too well, losing because your opponent makes random moves since they aren't taking a card game seriously. I know Jim will hate me once this is all said and done, but I have no hard feelings for the guy."
-End Confessional-
Trixie stepped out of the girls' trailer after getting ready, now on her way to get some breakfast. Although Delanie and Melissa were waiting for her outside, already confusing her. "Huh? What are you two doing out here?" she asked them.
"Can you believe she's still here?" Delanie asked Melissa.
Melissa nodded her head, glaring at Trixie. "I already knew she'd be safe, even after shooting her own teammate. She plays dirty, so of course she gets her captain booted instead." Melissa replied.
Trixie rolled her eyes, placing a palm on her chest. "Ugh, I didn't shoot Flaky. You think I wanted to get rid of Jack? Dude was pretty loyal to me. Were you just waiting here to harass me?" Trixie asked them in an annoyed tone.
"Oh that's rich coming from you! We were just waiting to let you know that now that you got rid of your captain, we'll be watching you extra closely! Jack was an upstanding captain, but you? You're nothing but a cheat and schemer!" Delanie warned Trixie, then turned to walk away.
"Yeah, and the cross team stuff always happens because of your team. Don't try to pull anything, or we'll put you in your place." Melissa threatened Trixie, then left with Delanie.
Bonnie and Athena stepped out of the trailer after that, having heard the commotion. "Heard some chicks yelling, did I miss a cat fight?" Bonnie asked.
"No, just Melissa and Delanie making a big deal out of nothing. Those two are so uppity, makes me sick." Trixie answered with a groan.
"Eh, they're hot. Doesn't bother me." Bonnie disagreed, then jogged ahead to catch up with Melissa.
Athena watched them leave, then looked to Trixie. "Was it really nothing..." Athena asked Trixie.
"They still think I shot Flaky, and they're mad Jack is gone. Nothing that should concern you." Trixie answered simply.
"Oh... I was still wondering who did, if you didn't." Athena pondered, just talking monotone as usual.
"Mhmm! It doesn't make a lot of sense if you ask me!" Rhonda added.
"Well I don't know, maybe Kahlin. You can trust me though. Like I said yesterday, if I do something dirty, it's for the good of the team. I would never hurt anyone on our team, so you're lucky there." Trixie assured Athena.
Athena hesitated, tilting her head. "I guess that would make sense... I believed you last night, so I voted for Jack. Because... we're friends right..." Athena asked, a little sheepishly.
"Of course! I'm your friend, and the only person you can trust here. You remind me a bit of myself from a younger age, so I understand how you feel completely. I'll help keep you in the game if you help me stay in, as friends." Trixie told her with a smile.
"Thanks Trixie..." Athena gave Trixie a quick hug in thanks after hearing that confirmation, then walked ahead to go get breakfast.
-Confessional: Victorious Award Winners: Delanie-
Delanie laughed for a moment, resting an arm on the vanity. "Oh Melissa, I can just talk about sports and playing fair, and now she's my bestie. I've probably played dirtier than Trixie, but she doesn't have to know that. All she has to know is that I'm her friend and that she can vote with me once the merge comes. Kylie was a bust, but this one I'll make sure goes perfectly."
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Trixie-
Trixie snickered, having her arms crossed as she smirked at the camera. "Man Athena is easy. Just butter her up a bit and she's all yours. I was nowhere near as much of a loser as she is when I was younger, that's just fluff to keep her on my side. I need to keep her isolated from the rest of the team though, I'm the only one who can be that loser's friend. If she starts to feel even closer with me, I might just have my next get out of jail free card on hand!"
-End Confessional-
Inside the craft services tent, Nanashi and Kahlin were chatting with each other over breakfast, with Trina and Beck doing the same. "Huh, I didn't take you for the traveling type sir!" Trina remarked to Beck.
Beck nodded his head. "Yeah, I've thought about it more while we've been here. I'm bored where I'm at, might as well find some place more interesting if I can. If I don't win, I can just wait a bit until my acting gigs net me enough to travel. Either way, I probably won't be in Canada or L.A. come next year." Beck elaborated, catching a side eye from Kahlin.
"Right, good for you sir! You seem to have things worked out for yourself!" Trina complimented him, writing in her notepad.
Beck nodded, although he still didn't smile. "Yeah, it's great I guess. What about you? You've probably got more going on than I do." Beck asked her, glancing at the entrance to the tent to see if Delanie was coming.
Upon being asked, Trina flipped to another page in her notepad. "Quite a lot in fact sir! This kind of money could beyond jumpstart my political career, much further than my father. I want to be at the top, in the room where it happens you know? And my first order of business would be every anti-bullying legislature in the book. It's a real problem, at least in Halifax's public schools, it's damaging to the youth and something should be done about it!" Trina explained to Beck, going over just a portion of the page she was on.
"Heh, bullying in L.A. schools is pretty bad too, but we all just kinda get used to it. Just don't be a wimp or obnoxious, it's not that hard." Beck commented, having a small chuckle about it.
"Not everyone can control that sir. Both of those terms are subjective. Not everyone has it as easy as you do." Trina pointed out, before getting up and walking away with her tray.
Beck was a little confused that she just and left like that, but Delanie soon entered and sat down across from him, so he didn't give it much thought. "What took you so long?" Beck asked her.
"Just setting us up for the merge. You'll see what I mean later." Delanie talked normally to Beck.
"Alright... the merge isn't here though. Don't see why you're so gung-ho about this." Beck pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"It'll be here soon. If you just wait for it, you won't be ready at all. It's like auditioning for a role without ever reading your lines. You should start caring more about the game too!" Delanie explained, then pointed at him.
Beck just shrugged, then ate some of his gray slop. "I'll think about it." Beck dully replied.
-Confessional: Victorious Award Winners: Beck-
Beck sat straight up this time with his arms crossed. "I'm glad Delanie trusts me enough to tell me about her plans and actually talk to me normally now, but I'm not the superstar game player she probably thinks I am. Is it that much to ask to just chill without getting into much trouble?"
-End Confessional-
Flaky was sitting by herself while she ate, as Flynn was chatting with Athena and Trixie was silently eating with Thomas. She had her Gameguy Advance out, playing some Woyo Woyo with one hand and eating with the other. She occasionally glanced at the others talking, growing more worried each time.
Are Kahlin and Nanashi plotting against me?
What if Klaas and Jim try to boot me again!?
Oh no no... they shot me last time, what if they do even worse today?
The rest of my team won't try anything right?
What about Delanie? She was pretty bossy when I was here, is she out to get me!?
They might all be!
"Hey Flaky."
Flaky let out a shriek and nearly fell backward in her seat, completely startled out of her fearful daze. Bonnie was standing right behind her, just having a creepy gaze as she looked down at her. "W-What do you w-want Bonnie?" Flaky stammered, slipping her Gameguy into her pocket.
Bonnie saw Flaky get startled again and frowned, so she took a step back. "To... apologize." Bonnie answered, although her expression didn't change too much.
"A-Apologize? Wait, this i-is some k-kind of trick i-isn't it! The Munchers s-sent you to t-tease me!" Flaky right away accused Bonnie.
Bonnie shook her head though, putting her hands behind her back. "No. The way you told me off yesterday, it just... got me thinking. I think you're really cute, but... I just kinda didn't think of how you felt at all. Forcing that kiss when you got back, that was wrong too. I don't want things to keep being sour between us, so I'm just letting you know I'll be behaving differently." Bonnie explained, looking down at the ground for a moment.
Flaky raised an eyebrow as she processed this. "W-Well... I d-don't really believe y-you. I s-saw the episodes, you w-were really i-invasive with K-Kylie. I m-mean... I get it... b-but you went too f-far. In the hot s-springs too, you went further than my h-husbando with that s-stunt." Flaky cited, staying skeptical.
"I know you have like no reason to trust me, but I'm just saying what I'm gonna do from now on. So there. If you do come around though, I'd love to talk about that husbando of yours." Bonnie stated, then winked at Flaky.
"I'll g-give it a chance. J-Just leave me alone p-please." Flaky told her, then got her Gameguy back out to play. Bonnie just nodded, then walked back to the Munchers' table.
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Bonnie-
Bonnie had a small smile on her face, taking a relieved breath. "No one sent me to make things up with Flaky, but, it wasn't just Flaky telling me off that made me want to set things right. I weirded Jim out when talking to him about her, and normally I don't really mind when that happens. But seeing how hard he's working to stay in the game and he sorta cares about me, I guess I feel like I have to do my part so I don't let him down? That goes beyond being normal around Melissa. It's nice to be cared about, and if being normalish around Flaky gets her to care about me, then that I shall do."
-End Confessional-
Toby stumbled into the craft services tent, still clutching his stomach with one hand. "Toby? What's wrong?" Trina right away asked him as he stumbled in.
"Ugh... I took a punch to the-" Toby was about to answer, but Chris walked in and pushed him to the ground without a second, then looked to the rest of the cast. "Good morning castmates! Who's ready for today's challenge? There's plenty of strings attached, but I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!" Chris greeted the players, snickering afterward.
"No matter how many times you try it, telling us we'll have a good time will never work." Trixie remarked, rolling her eyes.
Chris walked over to Trixie, then pulled out a puppet of a green frog. "Come on Trixie! Are you suuuure you won't have fun? Because today's genre is puppet shows! From the ABCs to the 123s, you've all probably watched a few puppet shows!" Chris announced the genre of the challenge, which right away caught Toby and Athena's attention.
"Great, education stuff? We're not in the second grade." Jim commented, not too enthralled by the genre.
Delanie shook her head, then placed a hand on her chest. "I for one am looking forward to this genre. We may not be the target audience, but cheering people up and educating kids is even more fun that being the audience." Delanie stated calmly, almost in a stoner tone.
Toby pulled himself back up and walked over to the table where Delanie and Beck were sitting at and sat across from them, happy to hear Delanie's words. "I'm glad you understand it! It's like Christmas, the best part is giving. There's always going to be kids who could use just a bit more happiness in their life." Toby agreed with her.
"Nya-huh! The best jewels you can have around your neck are the arms of happy children! Always wonpurrful making their days better!" Luis added cheerfully.
"Great... the one time he's actually going to be asset..." Melissa mumbled to herself, being reminded of his skill with Luis.
"I'm glad some of you are already engaged! Meet me in studio 3 for today's challenge! Need you all there in 5 minutes, mwahaha!" Chris did a dracula impression at the end, although only Toby laughed. He was more upset at this than the silence, so he just stormed out of the tent.
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Athena-
Athena held up Rhonda with one hand, using her other hand to move a paw and make her wave. "I'm not too familiar with puppetry, but I have a few days more practice than almost everyone else here..." Athena noted, before a small smile got on her face. "I think I'll be of use today."
-End Confessional-
Inside of studio 3, the teams were gathered right by the entrance, standing on the road pavement that lined the floor. The studio was fairly large, full of building facades that looked like an exaggerated version of a metropolitan city. "This is just like Sesame Street!" Toby exclaimed as his eyes darted around the studio.
"This just in, we found the oldest sesame street fan, topping the previous record of 6 years old." Beck joked, to which most of the cast laughed with him.
Socrates patted Toby on the shoulder while the others laughed, and Chris soon walked up to the teams, still carrying his frog puppet. "Hello castmates, so, you're probably wondering how I can make this fun for you all!" Chris greeted the cast, already instilling worry.
"Gonna guess Big Bird will try and kill us during the challenge or something?" Nanashi asked, giggling a little.
Chris shook his head, then held up his puppet to talk. "We'd get drowned in legal fees if we tried to use Big Bird, so no. For part one of today's challenge, you'll be choosing what puppet you want to use in the second!" Chris stated, with Chef wheeling in a cart full of different puppets from the back entrance and leaving it at the other end of the street, 300 feet away from where the teams were currently standing.
On the cart were various animal puppets, some more raggedy than others, along with some more horror-esque puppets for Halloween, as well as puppets of people from varying occupations. "As you can see, all of the puppets you can choose from are at the other end of the street! You'll have to race down and grab whichever one you want to use! Anyone who doesn't have a puppet cannot advance to the next round! And you've only got 3 minutes to make it there!" Chris explained, snickering as he stepped onto the sidewalk of the street, leaning against one of the facades.
"What's the catch then laddie? Get on with it alreadeye! Are ye gonna at shoot us? Or is there landmines in the floor or somethin'?" Flynn asked Chris impatiently, already knowing there was more.
Chris shook his head, then pressed a button on the facade that made the curtain opposite to the buildings rise up. "Today's episode will be filmed in front of a live studio audience! Along with some unalive killer robots! They'll be hurling all kinds of goofy objects at you just like in these kinds of children shows. These might just slow you down, or take you out of commission entirely! " Chris informed them, gesturing to the audience facing the street set.
The audience was filled with a bunch of little kids, excited to be watching the show, while there were several mechanical catapults dispersed among them. "S-So many p-people..." Flaky muttered, getting more tense seeing all the kids watching.
"Hi kids! How are you all doing today! I'm Carmen, and I hope you've all been doing great so far!" Delanie waved to the kids excitedly.
"Hi Carmen!" all of the kids greeted her back with just as much excitement.
"Who's ready to watch us try this challenge!" Delanie asked them.
"We are! We are!" the kids responded collectively, now irking Chris.
Chris shot Delanie a glance, now walking away from the facade and to safety. "Hey! I'm the host here! I say when we begin!" Chris reminded her angrily.
...
...
...
"You can begin!" Chris began the challenge, prompting everyone to take off down the street to race to the cart of puppets.
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Jim-
Jim had a fierce look in his eyes, furrowing his brows. "I need to make sure that I make it to round 2, and Klaas doesn't! Melissa votes for liabilities, and if he's the only one that doesn't make it to round 2, then boom, that's the third vote secured to send him packing! He doesn't get to act coy with me and get away with it!"
-End Confessional-
"Alright Munchers, stick together!" Melissa ordered, leading her team as they ran down the street.
"And be one big target? I'll go just a bit ahead!" Kahlin told her, then jogged past her.
Bonnie gave a thumbs up, although she was at the back of the pack. "He's got a point." she agreed with him.
Nanashi looked toward the audience, seeing the catapults whirring to life and winding their mechanical arms back to launch their payload. "We'll just have to get lucky and not get targeted!" Nanashi commented, unable to tell where they would throw.
The Critics were right alongside the Munchers, albeit a bit more scattered. The kids began to clap in the audience, and light booms could be heard as the catapults fired. Thomas saw a watermelon headed right his way, so he simply tightened his hand and slapped it away, letting it fall apart on the ground. "Woah, a quick deflect from Thomas!" Chris narrated.
Flynn had taken his hat off and was holding it in front of the side of his face that was facing the audience. Despite this, a rubber chicken that had been hurled at him at high speed hit his shoulder and knocked him off balance. "Argh! How ye be makin' these dinky things hurt!?" Flynn let out, while the rubber chicken squealed from the impact on the ground.
Delanie and Beck were running side by side, both having their hands over their heads to protect themselves. "I don't remember this happening in kid shows!" Beck remarked, grunting as a pie splattered on his leg.
Delanie had a gleeful smile still, not at all concerned. "Well kids, things are getting a bit hectic up here!" Delanie told the audience, laughing a little.
"Go Carmen! You can do it!" the kids cheered Delanie on, who relished in the attention and ran faster.
As soon as Delanie went ahead of Beck though, Kahlin strafed over to Beck and held his leg out, tripping the mechanic without a second thought. "Hey Beck, wanna have a chat during this- oops! Sorry 'bout that!" Kahlin apologized cheerfully, then just kept on running.
Beck pushed himself up, grumbling to himself as he watched Kahlin leave him behind. As he did so, one of the doors to the facades opened, and a bunch of cafeteria milk cartons went flying out at the stationary Beck. "Great... there goes this change of clothes..." Beck complained as his shirt and pants were covered in chocolate milk.
Trina ran past Beck as he laid on the ground, but Toby stopped when he saw him. "Beck! Do you need help? Take my hand!" Toby offered help, hiding Luis underneath his shirt at the moment to protect him.
"I think I'll take the barrage of projectiles. Delanie is already in puppet mode anyway, we'll probably win." Beck turned him down.
"But it'd be good if we all made it to the second ro-OW!" Toby was cut off as he was hit in the back of the head by a bowling ball, falling down next to Beck.
Beck just kept his arms crossed over his head still, laying as flat as possible. "Eh. Don't really care about winning here. Not like I'm at risk of leaving." Beck disagreed, letting out a yawn.
Toby rubbed the back of his head, frowning at Beck as he pulled himself back up. "Some of us do care, so please take the game more seriously next time. Stay safe Beck!" Toby wished Beck, then hurried off.
-Confessional: Victorious Award Winners: Beck-
Beck rolled his eyes, still covered in chocolate milk. "Why is everyone so pressed about taking the game seriously? It's what they say it is, a game. People act like someone is gonna die if I check out for a challenge."
-End Confessional-
As the Critics ran further down the street, Trixie had been splattered with ice cream and Athena had a small bruise from a trash can that hit her, while the other 3 were still unscathed. "We're like halfway there, just tough it out people!" Trixie commanded, wiping the ice cream from her head.
Thomas was right beside her, still protecting himself with ease. That was until he felt his glasses buzz. "Hmph. Change of plans." Thomas whispered to Trixie, before tripping and tackling her to the ground during his fall.
"What the- get off!" Trixie demanded, trying to push Thomas off of her, but she was unable to even come close to overpowering him.
"We've been pinged for a mission. So we shall be losing this first part. Athena is much more versed in puppets, our presence is not necessary for this challenge." Thomas informed her, letting a stop sign him in the head. He then closed his eyes after being hit, just laying on top of Trixie as if the stop sign knocked him out.
Trixie didn't protest further, just cursing under her breath as she watched the other 3 run by. "W-We'll try and c-cover for y-you!" Flaky assured Trixie as she passed by.
As soon as she did that though, the catapults now locked onto her since Trixie and Thomas were down. Several potted cacti were hurled at the three Critics, forcing them all to protect themselves. "Brace yerselves!" Flynn told the other two, still using his hat as a makeshift shield.
Athena hesitated, but ultimately just used Rhonda as a shield in front of her face. Flaky didn't have anything, so she just pulled her hood over her head. The hat, the puppet, and the gamer all were repeatedly pricked by the cacti, with Flaky and Athena being knocked down by the pots as well. "Oof." Athena let out dully as she fell, before standing right back up and running.
The pots weren't nearly as bad as other projectiles hurled at them, so Flaky was able to get back up as well. "Oh c-come on!" Flaky let out, eyes widening further in fear when she saw an anvil flying toward them.
Bonnie being at the back of the Muncher pack was nearby, and when she heard Flaky, she looked and saw what was coming toward them. She glanced at the rest of her team, then at Flaky again, then sighed. "Get down." Bonnie told Flaky as she ran toward her and pushed her aside.
The anvil meant for Flaky clocked Bonnie in the stomach, sending her to ground in a heap. "B-Bonnie!? W-What are you-"
"Just go. We'll talk later." Bonnie told Flaky, then wheezed as she tried to push the anvil off of her. No good.
Flaky just nodded, then kept running down the street, having a confused smile on her face. Melissa looked back and saw Bonnie, having a confused frown. "What was that about?" Melissa questioned, furrowing her brows.
"Bonnie being dead weight again." Klaas remarked right away, running right behind her.
Jim elbowed Klaas as he said this, but the gambler didn't return the gesture. "Woah Jim! What was that elbow for!?" Klaas let out dramatically, now shifting Melissa's focus, while Nanashi seemed to know exactly what was going on.
"You know exactly what! You're trying to-" SPLAT. A bunch of bananas burst on Jim's face while he was distracted by Klaas, nearly making him fall over.
Klaas and Nanashi both laughed at this, although Jim just got more heated up, scowling at Klaas. "DON'T LAUGH!" Jim yelled at Klaas, before kicking him in the leg and letting him fall to the ground instantly.
"JIM! What was that!?" Melissa now yelled, appalled by his actions.
Nanashi stopped to help Klaas up, while Jim and Melissa kept running. "You don't know how much of a scuzz bucket he's been lately. He had that coming." Jim told her seriously, although Melissa still wasn't taking it.
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Melissa-
Melissa groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose with one hand. "Infighting... I figured we would have had this problem earlier in the season when we weren't closer together. I'm used to this kind of thing on the track team, but it's not as big of a deal since that's just over team morale. This infighting here could cost me a million dollars!"
-End Confessional-
Kahlin was the first to reach the cart of puppets at the end of the street, right away grabbing one that resembled a blue alligator, albeit looking much more friendly. "First place to me, not that it matters, but still cool!" Kahlin complimented himself, looking over the alligator puppet.
Delanie wasn't far behind him, reaching into the cart and grabbing a mailman puppet. "Looks like I made it everyone!" Delanie declared to the audience, receiving applause from the kids in response.
"30 seconds left everyone!" Chris announced, looking at his watch to see how much time they had left.
Melissa and Jim showed up at the same time right after that, with the athlete grabbing a cheetah puppet and Jim grabbing a red dog puppet. "If Klaas and Nanashi don't make it, we're going to have a serious talk." Melissa warned Jim, glaring at him, while he was just watching Klaas and Nanashi now running to the cart, about 50 feet away.
"Got yourself in some heat Jimmy?" Kahlin asked, overhearing Melissa.
"Not now." Jim replied, his voice full of venom at the moment.
Flynn and Athena arrived together, with Flynn right away grabbing a pirate puppet while Athena opted to not grab any puppet, just starting to pluck the thorns out of Rhonda. "Oy, things ain't lookin' too good for our team." Flynn commented, seeing Thomas unconscious on top of a struggling Trixie while Flaky was a little bit away still.
Trina arrived next, grabbing a sheep puppet from the cart and sliding it onto her right hand. "Aww! This one is so fluffy!" Trina exclaimed, squeezing the plush wool on the sheep puppet.
Flaky and Toby arrived at the same time, with Toby now pulling Luis out of his shirt since they were safe, while Flaky grabbed a green bear puppet. "Look at all these puppet friends! Can't wait to meet all of nya!" Luis waved to everyone as he saw all the puppets in their hands.
"Oh you made it Toby! I was worried stopping for Beck would have cost too much time." Trina said in relief, walking up to him.
Toby nodded, looking over at Beck still taking cover on the street. "Yeah, he didn't seem that worried about making it." Toby stated dismally.
"Looks like it's the three of us then!" Delanie chimed in, walking up to the pair with a gleeful smile.
Nanashi and Jim were now just feet away from the cart when Chris's watch timer went off. "And that's time! Anyone without a puppet is out of the challenge!" Chris announced, with the curtain now coming down and the catapults turning off.
As soon as they heard the announcement, both Nanashi and Klaas just grabbed whatever was on top of the cart. That being a pumpkin and firefighter puppet respectively. "See? They made it, you can drop the angry look now." Jim told Melissa, which did alleviate some of her anger.
Chris walked down the street, which was much darker now that the curtain was down. "Looks like Beck, Trixie, Bonnie, and Thomas are out! The rest of you, I hope you're ready for part 2!" Chris went over who was out, which them all promptly standing up now that the coast was clear.
"I'm going to go get a shower..." Beck muttered, walking to the exit of the studio.
"I'll stay and watch, could be fun." Bonnie said, walking over to stand with her team.
Thomas just started to walk to the exit of the studio without a word, and Trixie followed him. "Yeah, I could use some time off too. Hate being around kids." Trixie hastily agreed with Beck, leaving with Thomas.
-Confessional: Victorious Award Winners: Beck-
Beck still had the chocolate milk all over him, letting out a sigh of relief. "Glad I get some time off to clean up. Plus I don't have to be around the others now. They're all so obsessed with winning, it's crazy. Like, we're only playing for a million. My current contract could probably get a million for everyone and then some. And that's just one show."
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Athena-
Athena had now gotten all the cactus thorns out of Rhonda, having a small smile on her face. "I have to take care of Rhonda. My mother never got me gifts, she says that luxury comes after you're successful. If we're all getting puppets for this challenge to put on a show, I already came up with a routine to do with Rhonda. I think the kids will really love it."
-End Confessionals-
With the out players dismissed, Chris now focused on the remaining 11. "Onto part 2! With the puppets you guys have selected, you'll be creating puppet shows for the kids in the audience! Whichever team gets the worst response from the audience will be sending someone home!" Chris announced what the challenge was, getting Toby, Athena, and Delanie excited.
Toby raised a hand right away, an eager smile on his face. "Ooh! Will there any additional props we can use? Or perhaps we can arrange the building facades?" Toby asked, already having a million thoughts going through his head.
Chris just shrugged his shoulders in response. "Anything on the set is fair game! Since they lost the least amount of players, the Munchers will be going first, the Award Winners go second, and the Critics will be going last! You have 30 minutes to get make your plans, and there will be 5 minutes between rounds to redecorate your set and let the audience settle down." Chris further explained the challenge.
"And how long do we get to perform?" Nanashi asked, thinking up some ideas.
"As long as you need, but remember that these are little kids and they have terrible attention spans, so don't hog the stage! Now, get planning!" Chris answered, then began the second part of the challenge.
Since Trixie and Thomas were gone, Flynn cleared his throat as he looked to the two girls on the team. "Aye lassies, so it just be the three of us! Before we begin actually, I have something to propose to the lot of ye specifically!" Flynn began, wiping off his hat at the moment.
"W-What is it?" Flaky asked, looking up at him.
Flynn looked at the other teams, then lowered his voice a little. "Y'all ain't liking how Trixie has been behavin' these last few days, and neither do I. Thomas is doing his own thing be seemin', so I say the three of us make an alliance against Trixie, and it keeps us all safe too. We just lost our captain, and I ain't lookin' to have Trixie runnin' things around here." Flynn proposed.
"An alliance? Sure." Athena agreed right away.
Flaky was about to immediately agree as well, but she closed her mouth and paused for a moment. "Umm... d-does it have to b-be an alliance? I'll t-think about it, b-but I don't really like how an a-alliance sounds." Flaky asked, now only considering it.
"Alliance, a team-up, whatever ye wanna call it. But the three of us gotta stick together." Flynn replied firmly.
"Okay... I'll g-get back to y-you later. Can we plan o-our show n-now?" Flaky requested, a bit uncomfortably.
Flynn nodded, putting his hat back on. "Of course lil' lass, let's get brainstormin'!" Flynn moved on to the challenge now, smirking from beneath his beard.
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Flynn-
Flynn rested both legs on the vanity, sitting with his legs crossed. "Trixie was a smart lass to take out lil' Flaky last challenge, it'd have been a tie if she didn't, and Jack wouldn't have walked the plank if they actually did a tiebreaker. Thomas wasn't keen on joinin' me, but the lassies are thankfully more open to it. Hope we don't have to actually act on any of this though, votin' on 5 is pretty scary!"
-End Confessional-
In Soundstage 15, Thomas and Trixie climbed down the ladder in their secret hatch, finding that Brava and Nikolai were already waiting for them. "Took you long enough." Nikolai commented, a bit annoyed.
"Pff, you called for us in the middle of a challenge, you're lucky we were even able to get out of there in the first place!" Trixie replied, annoyed that they were annoyed.
Thomas made a hushing gesture to her, shaking his head. "Not now." Thomas warned her.
Trixie took the warning and stayed quiet after that, while Brava now stepped toward the pair. "We called you here because we found a perfect moment to strike." Brava told them, putting her hands behind her back.
"When." Thomas asked, listening closely.
"I used my connections to reach the producers, I will be making a 'cameo' in a future episode that will allow private close proximity to Chris during production of said episode. You just have to stay in the game until then, and we'll be able to smoothly act out our plan." Brava explained to them.
"Still don't get why you don't just ask for an autograph or something and deal with this now. Saw that in a movie once." Trixie pointed out.
Brava shot her a look, and Nikolai gave her one that made her shut up again. "We don't leave loose ends, that's how our agency works. During my backstage time with Chris, Nikolai will get Chef and the interns separated from him. There will be no witnesses, and it will be backstage rather than on air, so the public will only know it as a mysterious death. We already have evidence to plant and set it up as his own actions due to his messy divorce and lost time with his daughter. A story the public can believe." Brava elaborated, with Nikolai holding up a briefcase filled with said 'evidence'.
"Briefing understood. Was there anything else concerning us?" Thomas asked Brava.
Brava nodded, then pulled out three photographs of suited men with sunglasses on. "Yes. Because of how the network scheduled my guest appearance, we won't be able to act for a while. Chris still being alive for this long as has caused others to take up the contract, so you two will deal with these men. They'll be arriving today, and must be disposed of." Brava informed them.
"Why can't you guys do that? You're like, the assassins." Trixie asked them.
"These are just three of the ones who took up the contract. A trio similar to ours. My brother and I will be handling a few others. This contract is too high value for us to lose to another agency, and especially one that will handle this much more sloppily." Brava answered.
Trixie didn't further question who the other targets were, and Thomas was already used to this kind of thing. "Where is this trio then?" Thomas now asked, briefly giving Trixie a worried look.
"The outdoor set you used last challenge. It would seem they took up hiding there for now since Chris wouldn't film in the same place back to back. I would move out now before they act." Brava gave them their location, then dismissed them.
"Understood. We'll deal with them now." Thomas replied, then swiftly walked over to the ladder to leave.
Trixie followed right behind him, briefly glancing back to see the icy stares Brava and Nikolai were giving her. "Tough crowd..." Trixie muttered to herself as she climbed up the ladder.
Back inside of studio 3, the Award Winners were pretty enthusiastically mapping out their routine. "So yeah, by the end of this, Jenny will have learned a lot more about how the mail system works and how things get to her house so quickly! Kids always love learning how the world around them works, so this should go perfectly." Toby finished explaining their routine to Trina and Delanie, who both were fine with it.
"Sounds great Toby! I'm sure the kids will just love it! Postman Henry has plenty to share on the topic." Delanie agreed on the skit, giving a thumbs up with her spare hand.
"Now I wish I got the postman puppet, I actually know quite a lot about our country's mail system sir." Trina giggled a little, still petting her puppet.
Toby chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm not sure if the kids are quite ready for your technical knowledge yet, haha. Besides, Jenny is adorable, the kids will love her." Toby told Trina, pointing at her sheep puppet.
Luis nodded in agreement. "Mhmm! You're one cute sheep Jenny! Would love hang out with you sometime, you're the real cat's pawjamas!" Luis complimented the puppet as well.
Trina used her other hand to have her puppet wave back, to which Luis got a little embarrassed and lowered his top hat over his face for a moment. "Wow sir, I never really noticed how talented you are with your puppet's movement until I tried to use a puppet myself!" Trina complimented Toby back, since Toby's other hand was going anywhere near Luis.
"Yeah, what's the secret? The way you talk too, that puppet might as well be its own creature!" Delanie asked, very curious to Toby's methods.
Toby rubbed the back of his head, also getting embarrassed. "I'm not really talented just yet. I've put in lots and lots of practice, but you should have seen my grandfather, he taught me everything to know about puppeteering, he's the one who gave me Luis after all. Luis has been my best friend for a decade now, so we're pretty in tune!" Toby answered, dismissing the compliment.
"Nyeah! Toby is getting there though! With every show, we get just a bit closer!" Luis added proudly.
"So we just rehearse our skit together until it's our turn?" Delanie asked the two, since they weren't up first.
Trina and Toby nodded. "Yeah, rehearsals it is ma'am! We'll try to keep this to about 5 minutes, an average child in the audience's demographic will start to lose interest beyond that." Trina stated, before just sitting down on the ground to get comfy while they rehearsed. Delanie and Toby sat down as well, and the three went along with their skit, with Delanie's postman entering the scene first.
-Confessional: Victorious Award Winners: Trina-
Trina had a big smile, writing in her notebook. "This was the best case scenario honestly. Delanie and Toby are bonding through this persona of Delanie's, which is helpful again thankfully. If things stay rocky between Beck and Delanie, I think Toby might be able to edge his way into her favor today!"
-End Confessional-
Over with the Munchers, Klaas was going over a routine he could do with his firefighter puppet. "So that's when my puppet comes through the door of the building with Jim's and Nanashi's! And the day is saved!" Klaas finished going over the plot.
"Sounds solid. Kids love firefighters and police surprisingly, so they'll enjoy this." Kahlin commented.
Jim shook his head though, clenching a fist. "Why do I have to be one of the ones that gets rescued? I have a dog puppet, he can just as well handle this as well as yours!" Jim protested.
"Because it's a fireman? I mean dogs are cute and they help fire departments, but Klaas literally has a firefighter!" Nanashi rebutted.
Jim groaned, then looked to Kahlin and Melissa. "Then why not just have the dog puppet help out? Makes more sense for it to help than a cheetah or alligator." Jim suggested.
"Because Melissa's cheetah is the one that gets the fire department in the first place. And uh..." Klaas paused, while Kahlin just listened to both sides with a grin.
"You've got nothing! You just want to take control and take the spotlight! I've seen this ruse so many times in showbiz, that's why you wanted a firefighter rescue!" Jim accused Klaas, shaking a fist at Klaas.
Klaas frowned back at Jim, crossing his arms. "Really getting sick of this bit today Jim. How else do we even include a firefighter puppet?" Klaas still kept calm, further irritating Jim.
"I mean, we don't have to use every puppet. My alligator doesn't have much flexibility either." Kahlin pointed out.
Melissa took note, then looked to Jim. "Okay, so how would you write our scene Jim? We don't have much time here before we're up." Melissa questioned him, raising an eyebrow.
Jim held up his puppet and other hand defensively. "My ideas are much simpler, but I say we do this how you want to do it. You're the captain after all. You wouldn't let Klaas take that role from you right?" Jim passed the planning role to her, which now irritated Klaas.
"I guess that's fair. I'll take into account what everyone has and come up with something at least most of us can take part in." Melissa went with the suggestion, then got up to go think on her own.
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Melissa-
Melissa sighed, having a hand on her forehead. "This infighting is really dampening the team. I'm glad Kahlin and Nanashi at least are staying positive, but Jim just keeps poking at Klaas for no reason. He's a great asset in challenges though, so I can't fault him that much, I'm not in the boys' trailer after all. I just wish they were more open to communicating their differences with me so we can sort this all out."
-End Confessional-
Flynn and Flaky were doing some planning over their routine together, while Athena was mostly just listening. "So your army bear and my pirate have a feud with each other over Athena's raccoon? Not sure how well we can do a fight scene lassie." Flynn wasn't a huge fan of Flaky's idea, disappointing her a little bit.
"Oh... o-okay. I j-just don't know h-how else we c-can work a p-pirate into our r-routine." Flaky stated, scratching her head, causing dandruff to fly everywhere.
"Kids love pirates, it ain't gotta make perfect sense anyway. Maybe the pirate teaches your bear about the ocean?" Flynn suggested something simpler.
Flaky thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I h-hope that works, I'll j-just have my p-puppet be curious then. Y-You can handle the l-lesson." Flaky went with the idea, not having anything better.
Athena looked between the two of them, then raised her spare hand. "Maybe I can do this solo. We don't have to use everyone." Athena proposed.
"Solo? I appreciate the bravery lass, but I don't think that gonna go well." Flynn told her, very skeptical of her going solo.
"I have a whole routine planned. I've been thinking about it for a while. I want to perform it." Athena stated, still monotone as usual.
Flaky and Flynn shared a glance, then at Athena again. "I d-don't think that's a g-good idea. S-Sorry Athena, but maybe you c-can show us s-some other time?" Flaky shot the idea down as well.
Athena frowned, then shook her head. "I really want to show you guys though. The kids will love it too. Rhonda and I are going to just talk about-"
"Lass, you don't have the energy to keep the kids engaged, they'll get bored. Sorry, but we'll handle this one." Flynn shot her down again, cutting her off.
Athena's expression didn't change, and she just slowly nodded. "Okay." she conceded, then walked away from them.
Flaky and Flynn began to rehearse their skit while Athena walked away, which Toby noticed right off the bat as Athena walked by them to sit down behind one of the facades. "I have my lines down, you two can keep practicing without me, there's something I need to check on." Toby quickly told Trina and Delanie, standing up and following Athena.
"Sounds good Toby! Hopefully we'll be as ready as you are!" Delanie let him leave happily, then just continued to practice with Trina.
Toby walked behind the building facade of a bank, then was shocked to find Athena crying behind the facade, hugging her hugs while Rhonda had been thrown on the floor. "Athena? What's wrong?" Toby asked, taking a knee in front of her.
"No one believes in me... they never have... this is just like back home..." Athena began, wiping away her tears as she looked at Toby.
"What are you talking about? Your team? I'm sure they believe in you, you're just as special as they are." Toby questioned, trying to offer a comforting smile.
"No they don't! They keep trying to vote me off! I was in the bottom with Freddy, then with Kylie, even last night someone voted for me! I had a whole routine planned with me and Rhonda, but they won't even let me explain it, they don't even want me to perform!" Athena burst with frustration, more tears coming.
Toby and Luis shared a worried look, with Luis now reaching over to pat her on the shoulder. "Athena, they just don't understand how talented you are! You do just purrfect with Rhonda, better than anyone else on your team can with their puppets!" Luis comforted Athena while patting her.
Athena slapped Luis away though, burying her face in her knees. "No! You're trying to be nice, but it doesn't change anything! They still won't give me a chance! I want to go home! No one here would miss me anyway!" Athena further vented, while Toby rubbed Luis to alleviate the slap.
Toby paused for a bit, thinking of what to say here. Socrates looked saddened as well, crawling down from Toby to comfort Athena. Toby then sat down next to her, resting his back against the facade. "Athena... I can't say I completely understand how you feel, but... I can try. Before I met Luis and really learned how to do my acts, no one really believed in me either." Toby told her.
"R-Really?" Athena asked, looking up from her knees.
"Mhmm. Trust me, people thought me playing with puppets was dumb. Even people close to me. It hurt, but do you know what I did?" Toby continued, keeping a smile.
"What did you do to them?" Athena questioned.
"Nothing. I just kept trying. Getting better and better at puppeteering. I got more tips from my grandpa, put on shows for all my friends. I proved them wrong. And I know Flynn and Flaky don't believe in you right now, but you just have to get out there and show them you can do it. Be bold, be confident. I know you can." Toby answered, patting Athena on the back.
"Be fierce! Like a ferocious tiger!" Luis added, making a small roar.
Athena giggled, wiping some more of the tears. "Thanks Toby. You too Luis. I needed that. I'll go convince Flaky and Flynn to let me perform. Like a tiger." Athena thanked Toby, then got up and walked out from behind the facade after picking Rhonda back up.
Toby was glad to see her giggle, high-fiving Luis as she walked away. "Can't wait to see Rhonda perform soon. You left out a lot of details though, nice handling that story!" Luis complimented Toby.
"Yeah, she doesn't need to know that. She just needs to know that she can do whatever she wants if she sets her mind to it. I don't care what anyone else has told her..." Toby trailed off, looking at Luis with a vacant stare, before just hugging him.
11 years ago...
A six year old Toby ran down the stairs in a dingy house, having a rabbit puppet on one hand and a turtle puppet on the other. "Mom! Dad! I have a new play to show you guys!" Toby shouted as he hurried down.
In the barely painted or decorated brown living room, Toby's mom was brushing her long brown hair while looking at a hand mirror. "Oh you do sweetie? That's great! I'd love to see it!" she replied joyfully, lowering her mirror and looking his way. She was dressed in a plain white shirt and jeans, nothing fancy.
Toby got a big smile, then looked around. "What about Dad? Isn't work over for him already?" Toby asked his mom, tilting his head.
Eleanor sighed when he asked the question, looking to the door. "Tobers... I didn't want to have to tell you this, but your father won't be coming home. He didn't go on a business trip this past week either. He's... gone." Eleanor stated, wincing a little.
"W-What? But... but he promised I could show him my next puppet show as soon as he got home! Can you call him and ask when he's coming home? Pretty please! I know dad wouldn't break a promise like that! I'm just as good as Grandpa now, tell him that, then he'll come here in like 10 seconds! I worked really really hard on it, it'll be super good!" Toby pleaded, pointing to the home phone.
Eleanor got up, taking a deep breath as she walked over to the phone. She grabbed the landline and dialed a phone number, putting it on speaker as it began to ring. Toby got a big smile again as it rang, standing beside his mother as he waited for his father to answer.
20 seconds later, a voice picked up, delighting Toby. "What the hell do you want Eleanor!? I said we were done! DONE! What part of your moronic brain doesn't understand that!?" the voice on the other end yelled, quickly crushing that delight.
"Bernard! Toby can hear you! You can't talk like that! He just wanted to know if you can visit!" Eleanor scolded him, putting her hands over Toby's ears for a moment.
"Fine. What's he want now?" Bernard asked, his voice very gravelly.
"I have a new puppet show for you! Grandpa showed me a new trick to make it look like they're talking instead of me, it's gonna be so cool! When are you gonna come back home?" Toby exclaimed, still hopeful as he waited for answer.
There was a pause, followed by Bernard clearing his throat. "You see Eleanor? This shit is why I left. Your son wants to show us his pussy puppet shows, he never wanted to go hunting or fishing, just all this pansy bullshit! We used to have fun Eleanor. Movies, sex, heroin, we did whatever we wanted! But you decided to hold onto that mistake, and our lives ended! No matter what I tried, you wouldn't let me end this, since he's our 'bLeSsInG'! Bullshit he is, he took away everything we enjoyed! We couldn't afford jack shit, just look at the house! If he wants to know why I'm not coming home, then he can blame himself! Just him! Thank god I'm out of there, I never have to see another shitty puppet show aga-"
Eleanor hung up the phone, while Toby was left speechless. "Toby, he... he didn't mean any of that okay? He's just having a rough time, he'll be back soon to say sorry. I'll get him to come back. He was probably drinking again." Eleanor tried to assure Toby, wrapping him up in a hug.
As expected, tears filled Toby's face, and he pushed Eleanor away, then threw his puppets on the floor and began to stomp on them, sobbing uncontrollably. "He hates me! It's all my fault! ALL! MY! FAULT! He could still be here right now!" Toby yelled.
"Toby no... it isn't your fault. None of this is, you're just a boy, your dad just wants you to be like his buddies at the bar, that's not fair of him." Eleanor tried to assure him, also tearing up.
"It is! It is my fault! Everything is!" Toby continued to yell, punching himself repeatedly as he continued to cry.
Eleanor went to try and hug him and comfort him again, but Toby just ran to the front door, pulling it open. "Toby! You can't go outside! It's dark out!" Eleanor warned him, reaching to close the door.
Toby was already outside though, running as tears streamed down his face. "I'm going to grandpa's! He'll make me the best puppet shower ever! Then dad will have to come back!" Toby yelled as he ran, with Eleanor just sighing as she watched him leave.
"Toby! What are you doing back here sir?" Trina called to Toby, finding him behind the facade.
Toby snapped out of his daze, still hugging Luis. "Just... thinking. Can we change the topic of our routine?" Toby requested.
"Yeah, you're the puppet guy after all sir! Come on, we'll go over it with miss Delanie!" Trina gestured for him to follow her, then walked away.
Toby took a deep breath, then stood up and wiped a single tear from his eye. "Thank you Luis..." Toby whispered, then smiled again as he stepped out from behind the facade.
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Athena-
Athena cleaned up her dried tears, looking confident for once. "Toby believes in me, and that's all that matters. Flaky and Flynn don't want me to perform, but I'll show them I can do it. I'll win the challenge for us all by myself. Just watch."
-End Confessional-
Chris's watch went off again, and he blew his airhorn. "Alright teams, your prep time is up! Time for the performances! Munchers, send whoever is performing onto the stage!" Chris announced, with Oliver dimming the lights of the studio while Ted and Irene aimed spotlights at the set.
All 5 of the Munchers walked on stage, having already arranged the facades that they needed for the skit. The five of them stood in front of a normal apartment building, situated next to a fire station. The curtains rose, and the kids in the audience were already excited. "Hello kids! We're the Muncher Pals! And we've got a great show for you!" Melissa greeted the audience, doing big waves.
"So let's get to it!" Kahlin added, prompting Jim, Klaas, and Melissa to all run behind the fire station facade.
With just Kahlin and Nanashi on stage now, the two had their puppets face each other while they looked to the audience. "Hello Patty Pumpkin!" Kahlin greeted Nanashi's puppet, waving the hand on his alligator puppet with his other hand.
"Hi Arnie Alligator! What are you doing today?" Nanashi greeted his puppet, waving back.
"Oh you know, just going for a stroll!" Arnie answered, with Kahlin now making the puppet waddle like it was walking.
Nanashi had hers waddle alongside Kahlin's, nodding in response. "Oh sweet! I sure hope nothing goes wrong today!" Patty told him, then hummed along as the two went for a stroll.
A fire alarm then went off, catching the two's attention. "Woah! What's that!?" Arnie let out, looking where the fire alarm was coming from.
It was behind the apartment facade, where Jim and Melissa's puppets were now reaching through the windows. "Help us! The building is on fire!" Melissa shouted, waving her cheetah around.
"Oh isn't there someone that can save us!?" Jim let out indignantly, waving his puppet around.
A hush had fallen among the kids, watching in anticipation to see what would happen next.
"What are we going to do!?" Patty asked in panic.
"I know! I'll call the fire department! Beep boop beep boop!" Arnie declared, then imitated a phone dial.
"The fire department? What's that?" Patty asked curiously, dropping the panicked tone.
Arnie pointed to the fire station next to the apartment, which the spotlight then shone on. "The fire department is a place anyone can call whenever there's a fire of any kind! It can really help in a pinch! Like right now!" Arnie explained.
Once he finished explaining, Klaas walked out from behind the facade with his fireman puppet, waving to the kids. "Thanks for calling Arnie! It's firefighting time!" Klaas thanked Kahlin's puppet, then turned to the apartments.
Melissa and Jim's puppets went back to flailing again, and Klaas ran over to the front of the apartments, using a finger from his spare hand and began waving it around. "Pssssh! Psssh! I'm shooting water all over the building!" Klaas shouted as he waved his finger.
After a few seconds, Melissa and Jim's puppets began to cheer. "Yay! You did it! The fire is out!" Melissa cheered, using her other hand to make her cheetah pump a paw in the air.
"Yeah. We're saved." Jim added, now having his puppet go away from the window before walking out the door.
Melissa followed Jim, and the two had their puppets wave to the firefighter. "Perfect! You're both saved!" Klaas exclaimed proudly.
Nanashi's puppet nodded, then turned to face the audience. "See kids, whenever there's a fire, be sure to call 911 if there's ever a fire, the firefighters will come and save the day!" Patty reminded them.
The five Munchers then took their bow, while the kids and Bonnie in the audience all clapped for the performance. "Thank you! Thank you! Make sure to say we were your favorite!" Kahlin urged them as the curtain came down.
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Melissa-
Melissa sighed with relief, then put her hands on her hips. "Easiest solution to infighting? Just put some distance. Klaas's idea was already perfect for that since it kept Jim and him far apart. Plus, kids love firefighters. I don't know if we can top whatever puppetmaster Toby has in store, but we should be pretty cozy with our performance."
-End Confessional-
The trio of Award Winners were already pushing around the set pieces, with Toby working extra hard to get everything ready within the five minutes. "Okay, let's move that arch there, and that's where you'll walk in from Delanie." Toby instructed with a smile while he pushed a lemonade stand in front of the apartment facade.
"Are you sure you don't want the kids to see you sir? I thought you always put on shows for kids." Trina asked Toby, doing as he instructed and moving the arch in front of an alleyway while Delanie was tossing stuffing all around the set.
"When it's just Luis and I yes, but when there are other characters at play, it's better if I'm out of the way." Toby answered, stopping his pushing once he was satisfied with the placement.
"And I don't even need my puppet for this?" Delanie asked, having put her mailman puppet away.
Toby nodded, giving her a thumbs up as he sat down behind the lemonade stand. "Yup! Just go with the lines we just practiced and this'll all go perfectly, you have them remembered right?" Toby asked just to be safe.
"Of course! I always memorize my lines, wouldn't want to disappoint the kids!" Delanie replied, giving a thumbs up back.
"Okay Award Winners, prep time is up, time to get the show going!" Chris announced, prompting Delanie and Trina to run out of view while the curtain rose.
When the curtains rose, the kids saw Luis at the lemonade stand by himself, waving around. "Lemonade! 25 cents! It's purrty sweet!" Luis called out to no one.
Luis then looked toward the audience, waving to them excitedly. "Oh paw-don me! Didn't see you there! I'm Luis! Meow are you all doing today?" Luis asked the audience.
"Good!" the kids collectively responded.
Luis nodded, then rested a paw on his cheek. "That's purrfect! I'm doing good too, I'm selling lemonade today to get myself a new yarn ball! I might even be able to get a blue one! Someone stole my last one, it makes me kind of mad! But I'm happy now!" Luis explained to the audience, then hummed to himself as he waited for a customer.
Delanie then walked on set, clenching her fists angrily. "I can't believe all this, she didn't even clean it up!" Delanie complained, gesturing to all the fluff on the set.
Luis got a little confused, looking up at Delanie. "What's the matter Carmen? Did something get dirty?" Luis asked her.
Delanie shook her head, crossing her arms. "Even worse! Jenny Sheeple has left her wool all over the place, leaving me to clean it all up now!" Delanie answered bitterly.
"Oh no! I was wondering what that all was! Why would she do that?" Luis pondered curiously.
"I ran into her earlier, it was a complete accident, but then she got scared and ran off, leaving all of this mess behind! Now I have to clean it up, wouldn't want our street to be dirty!" Delanie elaborated, then began to pick up a few pieces of fluff from the ground.
Luis tilted his head, watching her pick up the fluff. "Well you sound pretty upset. Did she say she was sorry?" Luis asked, noticing her tone.
Delanie nodded her head, then angrily tossed the fluff she just picked up. "No! And I just don't know what to do!" Delanie yelled, glaring at the ground.
Luis paused for a bit, letting Delanie's frustration soak in. "Oh Carmen..." Luis began, when piano notes from offstage began to play, being from Trina.
What do you do, what the mad that you feel, when you feel so mad you could bite?
Luis began to sing to Delanie, keeping it in a lighthearted tone. Delanie perked up from her glare at the ground, now looking at Luis.
When the whole wide world feels oh so wrong, and nothing you do feels very right?
Luis continued to sing, now having the kids following along with the melody.
What do you do? Do you punch a bag? Do you pound some clay or some dough?
Delanie now asked Luis, singing along with him to the same rhythm, although she still sounded a little sad.
Do you round up friends for a game of tag? Or see how fast you go?
Delanie further asked, with Luis mulling over her questions.
You can stop when you want to, can stop when you wish, can stop stop stop anytime!
Luis now told her, waving both paws to the tune of the song.
What a good feeling, to feel like this, and know that the feeling is really mine!
Delanie's tone now became a bit more cheery, waving her hands to the tune as well.
Know that there's something, deep inside, that helps us become what we can!
Luis and Delanie now sang in unison together, while the kids in the audience waved their hands the same way they were.
For a girl can be someday a woman, and a boy can be someday, a man!
The two finished the song, both of them laughing together for a moment. "Thank you Luis, I already feel much better!" Delanie thanked Luis cheerfully.
"Thank you too Carmen, I'm happy to see you're feeling better. Do you think you're ready to forgive Jenny?" Luis asked her.
"Forgive? Now what does that mean?" Delanie asked, now a little confused.
Luis faced the audience now, taking off his top hat. "Do you know what that means?.. to forgive?" Luis asked the kids.
"No." "What is it?" "Maybe?" it was collectively no from the audience.
Luis took in their answers during a pause, holding his hat close his chest. "It's a decision we make. To release a person from the feelings of anger we have at them. It's strange, but sometimes... it's hardest of all to forgive someone we love." Luis explained to the audience, his voice briefly getting shaky.
Luis then looked at Delanie again. "Carmen, I know you're friends with Jenny, so it must have hurt that she didn't say sorry right?" Luis asked her.
Delanie nodded her head. "Yeah, it sure did. Feels like she doesn't even care about the mess she made!" Delanie answered.
From behind a bush standee, Trina's sheep puppet popped up from behind, waving to Delanie with Trina's other hand. "Hi Carmen... umm... sorry for running off early. I just got scared that you would be mad at me." Jenny apologized sheepishly.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not mad anymore, Luis helped with that! And he taught me something else too!" Delanie assured her.
"What is it?" Jenny asked, relieved she wasn't mad.
"To forgive you! Being mad doesn't help much, and you said were sorry, so I forgive you!" Delanie told her, while Luis clapped his paws.
"Oh thank you Carmen! Can I help you clean up the mess I made?" Jenny thanked Delanie gratefully.
"Of course! We'll all work together!" Delanie answered.
Luis put his hat back on, nodding his head. "Yup! Then once we're done, we can all have some lemonade!" Luis added, making the other two cheer.
Delanie then began to pick up the fluff, while Luis and Jenny picked up pieces near their spots without showing their puppeteers as the curtain came down.
-Confessional: Victorious Award Winners: Delanie-
Delanie chuckled, then flipped her hair confidently. "I've done children's television before, although I gotta say, Toby put that all together in just a few minutes and ran with it. Trina only got a few lines because of the last minute change, but an actress of my caliber of course handled it just fine. He's more professional than any of the children network suits in Hollywood. I'll be sure to have my manager take notes."
-End Confessional-
Last up was the Film Critics, although before Flaky and Flynn began to redecorate everything, Athena marched up to the two of them. "Hey." she greeted them bluntly.
"Athena? What is it lassie?" Flynn asked her.
"I want to perform the routine. By myself. I have it planned out, and I'll win us the challenge." Athena stated firmly.
Flynn shook his head right away. "Now Athena, we already went over this, ye can't-"
"I said I'm doing it. I have more practice with puppets. Rhonda and I can handle this. Just clear the set." Athena cut Flynn off this time.
Flynn gave Flaky a look, who just shrugged. "I'm f-fine with it. Being on s-stage isn't m-my thing anyway..." Flaky commented.
Seeing as Flaky was cool with, Flynn gave a thumbs up. "Alright lassie, you win, our bets are on ye now!" Flynn told Athena, before Flaky cleaned up the fluff that the Award Winners left behind while Flynn moved the lemonade stand and the arch off set.
As Flaky picked up the fluff, Trina approached her, helping pick it up. "Oh h-hey Trina. W-What are you d-doing?" Flaky greeted her, surprised she was helping.
"Our team made the mess, might as well help out ma'am! How are things going with your team Now that Trixie is out of the challenge?" Trina asked her as she helped.
"G-Good. Flynn actually made an a-alliance with Athena and a-asked me to b-be in it. I j-just don't know if I should t-take it." Flaky answered, explaining her situation.
Trina's eyes widened a little, then nodded her head repeatedly. "Definitely take it ma'am. Just remember that you can't trust them. They'll drop you at a moment's notice if it fits them, like Trixie's alliance with Jack, or Klaas with Vergil." Trina reminded her.
Flaky got a confident look, then nodded back. "Y-Yeah... I guess it's b-better to be w-with them than against them for n-now. I'll t-take it. Thanks Trina." Flaky thanked Trina, now having all the pieces of fluff in the hands of the two of them.
Trina took the fluff pieces from Flaky, winking at her. "Of course, always happy to help ma'am! Like I said, us little guys gotta stick together!" Trina took the thanks, then walked off.
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Flaky-
Flaky had her Gameguy out, although she wasn't super invested. "I w-wish I talked to T-Trina more when I was h-here the first time. She's r-really nice... she's the only o-one here who m-makes me f-feel safe besides T-Toby, but I still h-haven't talked to h-him since I g-got back. Everyone here is o-out to get m-me, but I can trust T-Trina!"
-End Confessional-
"Alright Film Critics, your performance is a go!" Chris announced, with the curtain then rising for the kids to see Athena sitting by herself on a chair, holding up Rhonda beside her.
Athena had her blank expression as always, worrying Toby as he watched from behind the edge of the curtain, more intently than Flynn or Flaky. "Hi everyone. I'm Athena." Athena greeted the kids dully.
"And I'm Rhonda!" Rhonda greeted the kids much more excitedly, entirely contrasting Athena's tone
Rhonda was much better received by the kids, who waved back at her. "Hi Rhonda!" they all greeted her back.
Athena looked to Rhonda, raising an eyebrow. "Hey Rhonda... how come everyone waved to you like that? Do they not like me?" Athena asked Rhonda.
Rhonda thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't think it's that. You always look sad, maybe it just scares people off? Nya don't make it easy for people to be friendly with you." Rhonda pointed out.
"Huh. I'm not scary to you all am I?" Athena asked the kids.
One kid raised a hand, and Athena pointed to him. "A little..." the kid answered, offput by Athena's blankness.
Athena sighed, then Rhonda patted her back. "See? You just need to frown less and be a bit more passionate! Be fierce! Like a tiger!" Rhonda encouraged her.
"Like a tiger? How does that sound?" Athena asked the kids.
"RAWR!" the kids all answered for her, impressing Rhonda.
"Woah! Looks like we have some fierce friends in the audience!" Rhonda remarked.
Athena nodded in agreement. "I guess I can give it a try then." Athena said, having seen all the kids roar.
Athena then cleared her throat, before letting out a tiger roar herself. While it wasn't as energetic as the children, it was still much more expressive than anything she had said. "That's more like it! Look at you go!" Rhonda praised Athena.
Athena smiled, then looked to the kids again. "Was that better everyone?" she asked the audience.
"Yeah!" they collectively answered, making Athena's smile grow.
"Would you all want to be my friend?" Athena then asked them.
"Sure!" "We'll be your friend Athena!" the kids now were much more receptive to the idea, pleasing both.
"Seems you've made some fast friends, and all you had to do was be expressive!" Rhonda exclaimed proudly.
Athena nodded, then stood up from the chair. "Well I hope I can play with all you friends soon then. Bye for now." Athena told them, then took a bow before the curtain came down.
-Confessional: Toxic Film Critics: Athena-
Athena rubbed the back of her head, setting Rhonda down on the vanity. "I kinda just repeated what Toby told me. With how all of them reacted... I guess he's right. I think I'll be able to make better friends with my team now..."
-End Confessional-
With all the performances over, a few minutes went by before Chris had everyone gathered behind the curtain. "Good performances across the board! We asked the kids what they thought and they loved pretty much all the performances, but they're stupid kids so that's to be expected. Jingling keys in front of them keeps them entertained." Chris backhandedly complimented the teams.
"So which team won aye?" Flynn asked Chris.
Chris held a finger to his lip for a moment, then looked between the three. "The question of the hour! By a long shot... the winner of today's challenge was..."
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"The Victorious Award Winners! Shocker, I know." Chris announced, although no one was really surprised.
"Great job team, we killed it today!" Delanie cheered, wrapping the other two up in a hug.
Now that the obvious news was out of the way, Chris looked to the other two teams. "Puppet guy wins the puppet challenge, to be expected. But who was the least favorite? Well that team was..."
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"The Mutant Movie Munchers! You guys are sending someone home!... Finally!" Chris announced, making Athena sigh with relief while Flaky offered her a high five.
Melissa groaned, while the rest of the team were just bothered. "Seriously!? We had such a good winning streak!" Melissa complained.
"Yes seriously. I'll see you lot at the award ceremony tonight! The rest of you can go tell Beck, Trixie, and Thomas that you're safe for the night." Chris dismissed the other teams.
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Klaas-
Klaas snickered to himself, having his arms crossed. "Now the next phase of the plan goes into action..."
-End Confessional-
While all the teams headed back to the trailers, Flaky walked over to Bonnie, who as just walking behind the rest of her team. "Hey B-Bonnie." Flaky greeted her meekly.
Flaky looked down at the gamer, smirking. "What's up." Bonnie greeted her back casually.
"J-Just wanted to s-say thanks for t-taking the f-fall for me in the c-challenge. W-Why did you do t-that?" Flaky thanked Bonnie, avoiding eye contact.
Bonnie shrugged, enjoying Flaky's shyness. "Dunno. Felt I owed you for how I treated you. Like I said earlier, just letting my actions speak for me." Bonnie answered nonchalantly.
"A-Alright... thanks then. D-Do you think y-you'll be voted off tonight?" Flaky questioned Bonnie, just a little concerned.
"Nah. I'm good." Bonnie responded right away, then just kept walking.
Closer to the trailers, Jim caught up to Melissa, had blown off some steam by jogging to the trailers. "Hey Melissa!" Jim called to her.
Melissa stopped in her tracks, then looked back at Jim. "What do you want?" Melissa asked him sternly.
"It's about tonight's vote. Nanashi is the weak link, so you're down to vote for her right?" Jim asked her to confirm.
Wrong question. Melissa curled up both fists, glaring at Jim. "This is all you ever talk to me about! For like the entire past week you just complain about Nanashi and now you've been making things worse striking up conflict with Klaas! And you know what!? Nanashi has been doing just fine!" Melissa snapped at Jim.
"Wait what? But Nanashi-"
"Nanashi is perfectly fine, I'm tired of hearing you nitpick everything. You're just like Vergil, both of you just want to play dirty and get rid of people you don't like! Tell you what, I'll vote how I want to, and you vote how you want to! I'm not just a vote for you to control!" Melissa scolded him, then stormed off, leaving Jim dumbfounded.
"What just happened... nonono... I needed that vote!" Jim cursed under his breath, eyes widening in panic.
Back with the rest of the Munchers, Klaas saw from afar Melissa yelling at Jim and storming off, then looked to Nanashi. "Knew that would happen. Turned Jim into a time bomb with her, and now it's blown up." Klaas told Nanashi.
"You read his hand and now he's wept huh? What now?" Nanashi complimented Klaas, giving him a playful elbow.
Klaas scratched his chin, then thought of something. "Make sure Kahlin is voting Jim specifically. We don't need this going to a tie. Jim is gonna be fighting for his life in one. You're closer to Kahlin than I am, so I'll let you handle it." Klaas instructed, to which Nanashi nodded and hurried back to Kahlin walking by himself.
Kahlin had his hands behind his head, whistling the tune of the song from the Award Winners' puppet show. "Hiii Kahlin! Can we talk?" Nanashi asked him.
Kahlin raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Is about the vote?" Kahlin asked her.
Nanashi nodded, gesturing to the trailers. "Jim was being really mean to Klaas and threw Melissa off her game, so we're voting for him tonight. Are you fine with that?" Nanashi asked him.
Kahlin thought for a moment, then chuckled. "Consider my vote finalized."
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Bonnie-
Bonnie fiddled with her hair, looking bored. "Kinda glad I didn't make it to the second part of the challenge. Seems all the drama happened while I was gone. Guess that means I'm in the clear too."
-Confessional: Mutant Movie Munchers: Melissa-
Melissa glared at the camera, having her arms crossed. "I'm done trying to talk friendly strategy with people, clearly they all have plans of their own that they want to shoehorn me into! Not me though, I vote for the good of the team!"
-End Confessionals-
Grandiose music played after the confessionals, showing a highlight reel of all of Chris's best moments and expressions from throughout the series. Fireworks could be heard, and the reel panned out to show a giant Gilded Chris in the center of it all. Fireworks went off behind the statue and the music got louder, signaling that the award ceremony was about to start.
The six members of the Mutant Movie Munchers were gathered in the stands, sitting spread out for the most part. Jim sat in front with his arms crossed, Melissa and Kahlin sat together behind him, Klaas and Nanashi sat close together in the third row, while Bonnie leaned back against the second and third row away from the others. "Man! You guys almost went half a season without a ceremony! That's impressive!" Chris greeted them, walking onto the award stage in his blue suit.
"Not impressive that we're here..." Melissa muttered.
"Yeah Chris, wouldn't really call it great since we'll be tied with the Critics in teammates." Kahlin pointed out with a smirk.
"Just how it goes!" Chris replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So, in case you Munchers forgot, use the voting devices beneath your seats and cast your votes! If you don't get a Gilded Chris award, you're outta here!" Chris briefed them on the rules, then let them vote.
Jim firmly voted, as did Melissa, while Kahlin did a little twirl with his finger before placing his vote. Bonnie voted casually, while Klaas and Nanashi shared a wink before placing their votes. "Aaaaand the votes are in!" Chris announced, with the result being printed out.
Chef ripped the printout from the oversized printer, then handed it over to Chris. "Okay! The Gilded Chrises go to..."
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"Klaas."
Klaas raised an eyebrow, a little surprised to be safe immediately, but nonetheless accepted his award.
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"Melissa."
Melissa caught her award plainly, although it didn't do anything to help her bad mood.
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"Kahlin."
Kahlin caught his award with his old blue hat, still wearing his Blue Jays hat. He then flipped the award into his hand from the hat.
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"Bonnie."
Bonnie's creepy expression didn't change at all, just holding up a hand to catch her award.
That left the bottom two, having very different outlooks. Nanashi looked worried, clutching Klaas's hand, while Jim's eyes were wide in fear, crossing his fingers beneath his crossed arms for luck. "Jim, Nanashi, both of you had a pretty good time on your team's winning streak, but one of you is leaving tonight, and that's it!" Chris told them both.
Nanashi looked worried for only a bit longer, before switching to a smile. "Yep, guess that'll be it! Whatever happens happens! Ooh the excitement of these votes is palpable!" Nanashi let out.
Jim said nothing, just eyeing the final Gilded Chris on the tray on the podium. "Silent and scared huh Jimmy?" Kahlin remarked, chuckling a little.
Chris held the final Gilded Chris, looking between the bottom two. "Well, the final Gilded Chris goes to..."
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Klaas held Nanashi's hand tightly, but Nanashi still just carried an excited smile. Jim began to sweat nervously, going over a bunch of scenarios in his head.
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"Jim!"
Klaas gasped as the final Gilded Chris was tossed to Jim, while Jim let out a huge sigh of relief. "No way! Quick recount, now!" Klaas demanded.
"It was a 3-2-1 vote, Nanashi had the majority here. So she's outta here!" Chris answered, flipping around the vote printout.
Nanashi didn't look bothered though, still smiling at Klaas. "It's okay, this was eventually bound to happen! Guess our opponents had an ace up their sleeve!" Nanashi told Klaas, before getting up to head to the Walk of Shame.
"Wait, I'll walk you out!" Klaas called to her, getting up as well.
Cutting to the Lame-O-Sine, Nanashi and Klaas walked down the red carpet right up to it, Klaas still looking upset. "Hey, why the long face?" Nanashi asked Klaas.
"I just... I just didn't want to lose you so soon. It's going to be tough without you." Klaas answered, rubbing his arm.
Nanashi still smiled though, then gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Hey! This isn't the end of us! Whether you win or lose, we'll still be together! That's the joy of losing, we'll get to reunite even sooner! But hey, don't go giving up because I'm not there! Just do your best for me okay?" Nanashi assured him.
Klaas cheered up a little, then gave Nanashi a kiss back. "Yeah, you're right. Jim may have booted you, but we still have each other in and out of the show, that's more than any million dollars can buy. Wish me luck!" Klaas agreed.
"Yeah, best of luck! Bye Klaas! Thanks for making this my best summer yet!" Nanashi wished Klaas goodbye, before getting inside the Lame-O-Sine and it promptly speeding off.
Chris walked up to the empty street now, putting a hand on Klaas's shoulder. "And off goes a Muncher at long last! Will Klaas manage against his girlfriend? Will Jim seize control of the team with less opposition? Just where did Trixie and Thomas go? And is it the dawn of a new era for Athena? Find out these and more next time, on Total, Drama, Reeeeeeeeevenge of the Film Lot!" Chris concluded the episode, while Klaas just gave him an awkward look.
Teams Remaining:
Mutant Movie Munchers: Melissa, Kahlin, Bonnie, Klaas, Jim
Victorious Award Winners: Delanie, Beck, Trina, Toby
Toxic Film Critics: Trixie, Thomas, Athena, Flynn, Flaky
Placements:
15th: Nanashi
16th: Jack
17th: Esteban
18th: Kylie
19th: King
20th: Freddy
21st: Lilac
22nd: Vergil
23rd: Diamond
24th: Maxine
25th: Donna
Author's Note:
Aaaaaaagh... I finally had the Munchers lose. It was a team dynamic I loved writing and wish I could have preserved all the way to the merge, but it would have been a little ridiculous if they just didn't lose for half the season. Nanashi's story was pretty much over as of the Christmas episode, having come to appreciate more things and forming her relationship with Klaas, so now it's time for Klaas to grow on his own and manage without her joyful support! Thank you Epifanio Therion for sending her in, I don't think many would consider her gimmick of loving losing to be a big plotline maker, but when I had two gamblers in the cast, I just knew I could explore both of them. Sunshiny characters like her that carry deep burdens are some of my favorite, and Nanashi was no different. Part of me wanted her to merge, but you'll all probably see why she wouldn't have really fit in the merge storyline of this season. I hope you enjoyed this one, and I'll see you all next time!