Episode 10: There's No Wetter Place
Author's note: Just a quick note because of a comment I got on the last chapter. Characters ages in this are left intentionally somewhat ambiguous, to the point where they can basically be separated into two categories: kids and teens. Their specific ages within those ranges aren't important unless I actually bring them up. With that said, they have knowledge and skills they've acquired up to the end of their respective shows, and are at the peak of their powers. If that contradicts what I've just said, the simple answer to that is "don't think too much about it". Okay, onto the fic.
The camera focuses on Chris at the end of the Dock of Shame. "Last time on Total Drama Island." The scene cuts to flashbacks of the previous episode. "The contestants got to play video games, because I'm nice like that. Except that I'm not, and they had to play them in real life. Shoving them into balls so they can get smacked around, make them dodge traffic, get cancelled because I dressed them in offensive ghost costumes according to Danny, it was a great time. Even better, Tulip and Mandy got into a fight. Frequently. We are going to make a killing in the ratings. Anyway, all that fighting made Team Checkmate lose, and even though she still had three Immunity Idols, they still voted for Mandy, who immediately used another one and sent Tulip home instead." The camera cuts back to Chris. "What horrors do I have instore for our contestants this time? Only one way to find out, and that's right here, on Total. Drama. Island."
Intro song plays.
Ben, Dexter, and Steven had gathered on the beach, sure that no-one else was around. "Okay guys, we need to talk about how we're going to handle Mandy," said Ben.
"What can we do about her?" asked Steven. "She still has two Invincibility Idols. We just have to hope if we lose, she doesn't use them to get us eliminated."
"The problem isn't the Idols so much as her alliances," said Dexter. "She seems to have Jessica and Buttercup on her side, so any vote against her is basically guaranteed to get one of us eliminated. At best we tie the vote, go to a tiebreaker, win, she uses an Idol, and we go home anyway. That leave her with an Idol and a numbers advantage."
"That's exactly it Dexter," said Ben. "We don't have a reliable way to get rid of her unless we can get rid of someone in her group."
"I'm surprised she even has anyone on her side," said Steven. "With how mean she is, it's a wonder those two are even willing to work with her."
"Hmm…" thought Dexter. "I wonder…do you think she actually cares about Buttercup and Jessica?"
"What do you mean?" asked Steven.
"Like, does she actually care if either of those two makes it to the finale with her?" asked Dexter. "Or are they just a convenience for her, to stop her losing any more Idols?"
"I think I get what you're saying," said Ben. "If one of them gets in her way of winning, would she drop them without a second thought?"
"She doesn't seem like the sort who'd care what happens to others, as long as she gets what she wants," said Steven. "Maybe we can do something with that."
"You're wrong," said someone from behind a rock, causing them all to jump. They turned around to see Jessica come out of her hiding spot. "Mandy wouldn't do that."
"Jessica, uh, hi," said Steven, clearly still surprised about her appearance. "Look, about Mandy…"
"I know Mandy seems a bit mean…" started Jessica.
"That's putting it mildly," muttered Dexter.
"…but there's no way she would turn on one of her friends," said Jessica. "She just wouldn't do that."
"Jessica, you've seen the way she treats people," said Ben. "You can't seriously think she's going to be willing to keep you and Buttercup around the whole time. The first opportunity she has, she'll turn on you."
"No…no…" said Jessica. "She wouldn't…"
"I think we all know she would," said Steven.
"LIAR!" yelled Jessica. "You're lying…"
"Jessica…" started Steven, hoping to comfort her.
"Contestants, meet me out the front of the Mess Hall," said Chris over the loudspeakers. "Or don't. It depends if you want to let your team down in the next challenge or not."
"Hey, dingbats, get up here," yelled Mandy from the campground. "We have a challenge to do."
"What we you even talking about down there?" asked Buttercup.
"Oh, hey Mandy, my best friend," said Jessica, climbing back up to the campground to join her. "Hey, random question: you weren't thinking of ever eliminating me, were you?"
"Help me win and we're fine," said Mandy, already walking towards the meeting point.
"See?" said Jessica, sticking her tongue out at the boys as she left with her.
"She's so being manipulated," said Steven.
"Yep," agreed Dexter, as they set off to go see what today's challenge was.
Meanwhile…
"I'm telling you, there's something going on between Luz and Korra," said Lincoln.
"Look, I'm not saying you're wrong," said Danny. "But are you sure this isn't just your rivalry making you see something bad about her?"
"No, I swear, they seem to have something going on," said Lincoln.
"Don't they both have girlfriends at home?" asked Jenny.
"Yeah, surely they're not both going to be unfaithful to their partners," said Eliza.
"Guys, look, if I'm right…" started Lincoln.
"And that's a pretty big if," said Eliza.
"…then she could try and throw challenges if it involves doing something to Luz," said Lincoln.
"Or it could make Power Mouse team-up with us," said Jenny. "You know what? For the sake of argument, I'll keep an eye on it too, since I'm a neutral party to this."
"Thank you," said Lincoln. "That should prove that I…"
"That you're what?" asked Korra, joining them outside the Mess Hall.
"That I…uh…" started Lincoln.
"You know what? It doesn't matter, you're probably wrong anyway," said Korra, waiting for Chris to get there, as Team Power Mouse arrived.
"Alright Team, are we ready for this?" asked Kevin.
"Born ready," said Luz. "I got pockets full of glyphs and a hankering to use them."
"I've been meaning to ask," said Dipper. "How does your magic work? Most of the time when someone has some kind of magic, they can do it themselves, but you need your glyphs?"
"Yeah, where I come from, you need a special bile sac to be able to cast magic naturally," said Luz.
"Um, gross," said Kim.
"Yeah, but I found out you can use magic if you're in close enough proximity to titan blood," said Luz. "That's why I carry around this vial of it with me."
"I hope the titan wasn't too mad about you taking their blood," said Mikey.
"Nah, King was fine with it," said Luz. "He even sent me this good luck video." Luz reached into her pocket, and pulled out her phone, before pressing play on a video.
"Is this on?" asked the furry creature on the screen. "Okay, um. Hey Luz, good luck in your world's weird camp competition thing. And you'd better win, otherwise getting this owie on my finger wasn't worth it." To emphasize his point, King held up a finger that had a Band-Aid on it. "So, get out there and kick some butt."
The video ended, and Luz put the phone away. "So, what do you think?" asked Luz, before noticing Dipper seemed to be frozen. "Um, Dip? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just…reliving an unfortunate memory," said Dipper, recovering from the shock. "His voice just sounded a little too much like someone I wish I didn't know."
"Aww, that sucks," said Luz, giving him a hug. "King is such a sweetie, I would love for you to meet him."
"…maybe once I've had some therapy for…that other thing," said Dipper, shuddering at the memory.
"Aww, have I already traumatised you before the challenge has even begun?" asked Chris, coming out from the Mess Hall with Chef, carrying a bunch of boxes between them.
"What are those?" asked Kim. "And why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like the answer?"
"Yeah, why do you have a bad feeling about them?" asked Chris. "Because these are actually rewards for all of you."
"For what?" asked Dipper, a note of suspicion in his voice.
"For outlasting a third of the competition," said Chris. "I contacted each of your families, and asked them to send you something that might help you win."
"You actually did something nice?" asked Jessica.
"Don't sound so shocked," said Chris. "Chef, start handing out the boxes."
"Alright then, Magic Girl, you're first," said Chef, handing Luz a box.
"Okay everyone, this will probably set the tone for what we can expect," said Luz, opening the box. She peered in, and gasped in shock. "Oh my God…"
"What? What is it?" asked Kevin.
"STRINGBEAN!" cried Luz, as a small snake-like creature jumped out of the box and wrapped itself around her neck. "Aww, I missed you too buddy."
"I take it that's a good thing then?" asked Korra.
"Oh yeah, we're getting good stuff," said Luz.
"Speak for yourself," said Danny. "Dad just sent me a Fenton Thermos."
"And what's wrong with that?" asked Dipper.
"It's only good for catching ghosts," said Danny. "And guess who the only ghost here is."
"What if there's a ghost in there that can be used to help you?" asked Jenny.
"I suppose that's possible," said Danny, opening the thermos. A flash of blue erupted from it, and suddenly there was a ghostly figure floating before them.
"I AM THE BOX GHOST!" cried the ghost. "And I am going to…WHOA WHOA WHOOOOA!" The Box Ghost tried to grab hold of something, only to get sucked back into the thermos.
"Nope," said Danny.
"Aww, Asami sent me her gloves," said Korra, opening her box.
"Just some kind of sweet memento from your lover?" asked Lincoln. "That you're definitely not thinking of cheating on."
"Huh? Oh, yeah," said Korra. "They also do this." Korra put one of the gloves on, and held it to Lincoln's face. Immediately, an electric shock went through Lincoln's body, before he collapsed to the ground.
"Dee Dee…" Dexter growled angrily.
"What's wrong Dexter?" asked Steven.
"I was sent my Porto-Lab," said Dexter. "But look at how it arrived." Dexter opened the box, to reveal a pile of twisted metal and damaged machinery.
"Aww, man, that sucks," said Steven. "Do you want to put it in my cheeseburger backpack for safekeeping?"
"No, it's fine," said Dexter. "I'll just have to deal with fixing this later." Dexter grumbled as he took the box back to the Checkmate cabin.
"So, what did you get Kim?" asked Kevin.
"This," said Kim, taking her gift out of its box.
"A…hairdryer?" asked Kevin, as Kim pressed a button on it, revealing a grappling hook coming out of it. "Oh, that makes more sense for you."
"Looks like Mabel had the same idea as you," said Dipper, holding up his own one.
"So what did you get Kevin?" asked Kim.
"Probably one of the gadgets we confiscated from a villain," said Kevin, as Chef handed him his box.
"Supervillain gadgets?" asked Kim, a note of concern in her voice.
"Relax, we don't use them," said Kevin. "They're more like, mementos, you know? Of everyone me and Gretel have beaten. And Hamster. And Fred on occasion. Anyway, what did they…oh…" Kevin picked up the piece of paper in the box. "'Dear Kevin, me, Hamster, and Fred wish you the very best while you're on TV.' Gee, thanks Gretel, but I could really use…" Suddenly there was a purple blur in front of Kevin's face, and suddenly there was an extra sentence on the paper. "'P.S. Look in the box when you finish reading this sentence." Kevin looked down to see a fading purple blur, and sitting in the box was Tchotchke Jones's shrinking ray. "Aww, thanks Gretel."
"Are you really gonna just let his sister fly away after dropping off his present late?" asked Chef.
"Eh, since he's just a regular human, this helps level the playing field a bit," said Chris. "I'm going to allow it."
"Loud, this one's for you," said Chef, picking Lincoln off the ground from where Korra left him and shoving a box into his hands.
"Well, might as well see what I got," said Lincoln, opening the box. Inside was a bottle, with a note attached. "'Dear Lincoln, since I heard you were up against an impressive line-up of superhuman competitors, I figured I should help you even the odds by giving you a super-strength formula. I would have sent you an intelligence formula, but this one was ready first, and I also don't know if I can improve you enough to put you on par with your competition.' Gee, thanks Lisa. 'Anyway, I haven't tested this formula yet, but I'm sure it's fine.' Wow, really? Thanks Lisa."
"If it makes you feel better, I can detect that it isn't poisonous," said Jenny.
"Would you like to test that theory?" asked Lincoln.
"I'm guessing that it will only work on organic material," said Jenny.
"…I wonder if I can convince Korra to drink it…" pondered Lincoln out loud.
"I somehow don't think that would be a good idea," said Jenny. "Now, let's see what mum sent me." Jenny opened her box, to reveal a toolkit and some other bits and piece. "'Jenny, since I can't be there to perform any necessary maintenance on you, you'll have to do your own. I've sent everything you might need. - Nora Wakeman. P.S. Sheldon wants me to add that he says hi'. Aww, how sweet."
"For Jessica," said Chef, handing her a box she immediately opened.
"Small Uncle," cried Jessica, hugging the doll tightly.
"For Alien Boy," said Chef, handing Ben his box.
"My Plumber Badge?" asked Ben, pulling it out of the box. "I suppose I can find a use for this."
"For the Punchy Girl," said Chef, handing Buttercup her box.
"The Head of Anubis?" asked Buttercup, picking up the note in the box. "'Dear Buttercup, Mojo Jojo just tried to steal this AGAIN, so we figured it was better to just send it to you, since apparently security on that island camp you're on is better than that of the Townsville Museum.' Wait, really?"
Meanwhile, just off the coast of the island…
"Darn those Powerpuff Girls," said Mojo Jojo, rowing towards Camp Wawanakwa. "That Head of Anubis will be mine, for I am Mojo Jojo, and that is the name of the one that should have…" Before he could finish that thought, he noticed a red dot in his boat. "What is this? A red dot? Why is there a red dot in my…" The thought of what the dot could be suddenly hit him, and he looked up to see a heavily armed boat full of security staring down at him. "Oh, uh, hi, I am Mojo Jojo, and I will just be taking something that was wrongly sent to your island and be…" The security guards on the boat all took aim at the monkey.
Back on the island, there's an explosion in the distance that no-one paid any attention to, as Chef's about to hand out the remaining gifts.
"Hey Chef, why'd you refer to me and Buttercup by nicknames, but Jessica by her actual name?" asked Ben.
"Because she's cute and you ain't," said Chef.
"Fine by me," said Buttercup with a shrug.
"Okay, now, your turn," said Chef, shoving a box into Mikey's hands. "Enjoy."
"Let's see here…" said Mikey, opening the box. "Is this…Gretchen's Galileo?" Mikey pulled out a note in the box and started reading. "'Dear Mikey, I figured you could use your own Galileo if you get stuck during a challenge, possibly helping you or your team to victory. - Gretchen'. Thank you Gretchen."
"And now the Animal Girl," said Chef, giving Eliza her gift.
"Well, let's see what I got…" said Eliza, opening it up. "Pies?" Eliza stared at the gift in confusion, before reading the note.
"'Dearest Eliza, me and your mother decided that, if you're having trouble finding the sasquatch in that area, that maybe these pies that contain sasquatch food might lure it out. It's mostly fruit and berries, with a little bit of salmon to add to the aroma'." Eliza sniffed a couple of times, before gagging. "You weren't kidding about that, dad. 'Anyway, hopefully we'll hear from you soon, love dad'. I should probably let him know what happened with the sasquatch."
Meanwhile…
Inside the collapsed cave, the sasquatch sniffed the air, and growled in anger. "Oh, that *beep* kid is just mocking me now, isn't she?" said the sasquatch, before trying to move more of the rocks in the way of the opening.
Back with the contestants…
"And finally, we have Mandy," said Chris, handing her a very tall box. "I hope it's what I think it is."
"Why? Do you know what it is?" asked Mandy.
"Well, I have an inkling…" started Chris, as Mandy opened the box. "And it's just as beautiful in real life as it was in the video."
"IS THAT A *beep* SCYTHE?!" asked Ben. "Why would you let her have that?"
"What? Can't a girl have nice things?" asked Mandy, swinging the scythe casually.
"Before we continue Mandy, you may want to read the note that came with this," said Chris, handing it to her.
"'Dear Mandy, blah blah blah, use responsibly, this isn't a toy, blah blah blah, phenomenal cosmic power'," said Mandy, screwing up the letter and throwing it away. "Who wants to see how sharp this thing is?"
"Maybe it's not a good idea to play with that," said Chris. "Because today's challenge involves swimming in the shark infested water."
"That sounds like the perfect reason to keep playing with it," said Mandy.
"Mandy…" started Chris.
"…fine," said Mandy with a huff. "This had better be good though."
"Okay everyone, to the beach," said Chris, marching off towards the beach.
"Why didn't you just make us meet you there in the first place?" asked Danny.
"Because otherwise I'd have had to carry all your stuff there. Duh," said Chris.
"Why wouldn't you just make the interns or Chef do it, like normal?" asked Lincoln.
"Because I respect Chef just barely enough to not make him do that, and the interns unionised," said Chris. "But don't worry, we have some more coming. Ones we won't tell about the union."
"Is that legal?" asked Kevin.
"Do I care?" asked Chris.
"Uh, Chris? Challenge," said Chef.
"Oh, right, we should talk about what you'll be doing," said Chris. "Well, you can see here there are some platforms for each of you, each with a big board on them." Chris indicated behind him to the three big platforms floating in the water. "Under the water there are some puzzle pieces that make a picture of your team's logo. All you have to do is complete it, and you win. Or finish it last, and send someone home. You know how this works."
"And the shark infested water thing…" started Jessica.
"Is because there are sharks down there," said Chris. "You know how I roll."
"And in terms of safety equipment?" asked Dipper.
"Why would you bother asking that? You know he'd never…" started Lincoln.
"Now, I have provided safety equipment," said Chris.
"…huh, never mind," said Lincoln.
"It's underwater too," said Chris.
"…never mind my never mind," said Lincoln with a sigh.
"Also, all of you have to retrieve and place at least one puzzle piece each," said Chris. "Because of course I'm not going to let you send the superpowered teammates down there to retrieve them and let the non-superpowered among you do the easy part."
"Well, it was nice knowing you all," said Jessica, clearly nervous.
"Don't worry Jessica, one of us will go down first and bring some safety equipment back with us," said Steven.
"Alright, any questions that I can refuse to answer?" asked Chris.
"If you're going to refuse to answer them, then why ask if…" started Eliza.
"Great, your challenge begins now," said Chris, blasting his airhorn.
"Okay team, who's going down first?" asked Dexter.
"Can I do it?" asked Buttercup. "I've been itching for something to punch."
"I was gonna volunteer to go first, since I have a shield to protect myself from the sharks," said Steven.
"And I've got a few aquatic aliens to choose from," said Ben, looking through the Omnitrix for one. "Though I reckon Ripjaws is all I'll need."
"You could all go," said Mandy. "Chris didn't mention anything about only one of us going down at a time."
"That I didn't," said Chris. "Because I'm hoping for a situation where one of you has to choose between saving your teammate from a shark and a puzzle piece. For the drama which will bring in the ratings, of course."
"Naturally," said Mandy. "Now, you three get going, and we'll get to the platform."
"…I don't like agreeing with you, but you're right," said Steven, putting up his shield and rolling it into the water. He was soon followed by Ben, who had turned into Ripjaws, and Buttercup, who had just flown in as is.
"Huh, didn't think you'd support them like that," said Dexter.
"I'm just hoping they get eaten down there," said Mandy.
"Ah, there it is," said Dexter.
"You don't actually want them hurt, do you?" asked Jessica. Mandy just turned around to look at the board they had to fill. "Mandy?" Mandy continued to ignore her. "…eh, she probably doesn't want to hurt them."
"You might be deluded," said Dexter, getting a glare from Jessica.
Meanwhile…
"Luz, you don't happen to have some kind of underwater breathing glyph, do you?" asked Dipper.
"Nope, sorry," said Luz. "I could try and figure one out, but that could take some time."
"How much time?" asked Kim.
"More time than we have in the challenge," said Luz.
"I guess we need a Plan B then," said Mikey. "Does anyone think they can swim faster than a shark?"
"They're sharks, they have swimming down to an art," said Dipper.
"Well, we need to send someone down, at the very least to get the protective equipment," said Kevin. "I'm willing to volunteer…"
"The hell you are," said Kim. "I can at least defend myself. I'll go."
"Okay, but what about having someone as a distraction?" asked Kevin. "Didn't you say that's how you normally do missions?"
"That is true…" said Kim out loud. "Okay, but please be careful."
Confession Cam: Dipper
"Is there something going on between those two? There shouldn't, since Kim's got Ron back home, and Kevin's got a thing for someone named Hiromi. But the way they talk to each other, I start to wonder."
Meanwhile…
"Okay, so we agree: Korra goes for a puzzle piece, and I go for safety equipment," said Danny. "Since we think the safety gear will be more heavily guarded, and I can go invisible to get it without alerting anything."
"That seems probable," said Eliza. "Meanwhile, I'll see if I can tame the sharks with my patented shark-taming technique."
"Can you teach that to any of us?" asked Lincoln.
"That's not how this…uh…technique works, unfortunately," said Eliza, kneeling down next to the water.
"Actually, Jenny, how are you with water?" asked Korra.
"Not great," said Jenny. "A quick dip won't do much to me, but being underwater for a prolonged period of time can damage my circuits."
"Great…" said Danny. "Okay, you'll go down first wearing the safety stuff, then either Eliza or Lincoln, just so you don't have to go in the water more than necessary."
"Sounds good," said Jenny, as Danny and Korra dived into the water. There was a flash of light as Danny changed into his ghost form, and then a small splash as Korra bent the water around her, then nothing. "So…what do we do in the meantime?"
"Just wait, I guess," said Lincoln.
Under the water…
"Whoa, there's a lot of stuff down here," said Danny, still swimming next to Korra. "Like, way more than just puzzle pieces. And it all seems to be garbage."
"Yeah, because I didn't want it to be too easy," said Chris via a TV screen that popped up nearby.
"Doesn't this count as polluting the ocean?" asked Korra.
"Only if the Environmental Department find out," said Chris.
"Isn't this being broadcast on international TV?" asked Danny.
Chris stared at him in stunned silence. "Ah, crap," he said. "Chef, get down there and start cleaning up."
"I told you it was a bad idea," said Chef, putting on a scuba suit. "But did you listen? No, you just like making the challenges harder." The TV cut off as Chef jumped into the water.
"So, now what?" Korra asked Danny. "I mean, I can water bend to clear a bunch of this stuff away, but if anything we're looking for is in the middle of a pile, that's not going to help us much if it stays buried."
"Not to mention you'll probably just stir up some of the sand at the bottom," said Danny. "Unfortunately, that might be our only option unless you feel like very slowly moving every single piece of garbage."
"Ugh, that's gonna suck," said Korra. "Okay, make me intangible, I'm gonna swirl things around, tell me if you see anything."
"Will your powers even work if you're intangible?" asked Danny.
"We're about to find out," said Korra, as Danny grabbed her shoulders and made her intangible like him. Korra began moving her arms in a rhythmic way, and soon enough some of the things in the water began to shift around. "Hey, it does work. Good to know."
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the water…
Kim and Kevin were diving as low as they could. Kevin suddenly felt the water start to move, and noticed the whirlpool from the direction of Team Golden Lion's space. Kevin tried to signal to Kim, but she was too preoccupied trying to move a piece of garbage on top of a puzzle piece. Kevin swam up to her to try and either help her or move her, only for a shark to swim between them, grinning wickedly.
Meanwhile, Kim finally got the puzzle piece free, only to turn around and see Kevin trying to stop the shark from eating him. Kim swung the puzzle piece at the shark, getting it away from Kevin, right as the three of them got sucked into the whirlpool. The three of them were spun around and around, when Kim managed to get to a point where she could fire her grappling hook and fired at her team's platform. Grabbing Kevin, she retracted it as quick as she could, getting them to safety.
"What…the heck…was that?" gasped Kevin, practically collapsing from exhaustion.
"Based on where it's coming from, I'd say it's Korra water-bending," said Dipper.
"What? No, Korra wouldn't do that," said Luz, getting looks from her teammates. "I mean, she wouldn't go out of her way to hurt others."
"Luz, she's the competition. She might do something to try and stop the other teams," said Kim, before turning her attention to Kevin.
"NO! She wouldn't…" started Luz, realising that her team were giving her suspicious looks. "Uh…"
"Luz, is there something going on between you and Korra?" asked Dipper.
"What? No…" said Luz, hoping she sounded reassuring. "Of course there's nothing between us. We're both very happy with our own girlfriends. I mean, I've spoken to her a few times, and she's kinda cool and everything, but there's nothing between…"
"Luz, you overexplaining that there's nothing between you and Korra is making us think there is something," said Dipper.
"Yeah? Well, it's not like you're complaining about Kim and Kevin being together," snapped Luz. "Look, they're kissing right now."
"Actually, I think it's because Kevin's not breathing," said Mikey. "Kim's just giving him the Kiss of Life, right Kim?"
"Huh?" said Kim, suddenly looking up. "Oh, uh, yeah."
"Yeah, that's what it was," said Kevin, sitting up. "And now I'm all good and…hey, Kim, you should put that puzzle piece up."
"Huh?" asked Kim. "Oh, yeah, right."
Confession Cam: Kevin
"I swear, I was passed out…at least at the start. Not that I objected to it continuing afterwards, but…oh, jeez. Hiromi, I swear, I'm still into you, things are just…complicated…we'll talk when I get back, I swear."
Confession Cam: Kim
"Ron, I swear, I just thought Kevin was passed out. Can you blame me? After what had just happened, and him just collapsing like that, I was just really worried that…am I making myself sound worse? I really just wanted to make sure he was okay."
Meanwhile…
"Hey everyone, I found a puzzle piece," said Steven, coming up from the water.
"Great, pop it up on the board," said Jessica, as he got back onto their platform.
A moment later, Buttercup burst up from under the water. "I didn't find anything down there under all the garbage, but I did punch a shark," she said.
"Well, it's something at least," said Mandy. "Hey, where's Alien Boy?"
"I think he was looking for the safety equipment," said Buttercup, as something burst from the water behind her.
"Okay guys, I have good news and I have bad news," said Ripjaws. "The good news is: I got the safety gear."
"Great. Hand it over and one of us will get another piece," said Mandy.
"That's the bad news," said Ripjaws, throwing the safety gear onto the platform.
"What the…a high visibility vest, a hard hat, and steel capped boots?" asked Dexter.
"Hey, I never said what the safety gear was for," said Chris.
Dexter sighed in frustration. "Should have seen it coming. And yet, I'm still surprised," he said. "Look, he even gave us bear repellent."
"Uh, actually, that's just from the garbage," said Chris. "I mean, you can use it if you want, but I don't know that it'll help much."
"Pfft, like this'll be useful," said Jessica, throwing it away.
"HEY! Don't throw your garbage over here," yelled Luz from her team's platform.
"Great, now what do we do?" asked Steven.
"Well, five of us still need to get a puzzle piece, and it won't be getting any safer down there," said Dexter. "Ben, can you take each of us without powers down to the bottom, find us a piece, and get us back up?"
There was a sudden beeping sound, and suddenly Ben was Ben again. "Not for a little while I'm afraid," he said.
Dexter groaned in annoyance. "Okay, Buttercup? Steven? Can you guys…"
"Sure, since I'm already done, I'll just take everyone down there," said Steven. "Of course, we have no idea where any of the other pieces are, and there's only so much air in my bubble, and we still have to avoid sharks on top of that…"
"This is gonna suck, isn't it?" asked Ben.
Meanwhile…
"Okay, so we now know how Chris wanted to screw with us this challenge," said Danny, hauling up the safety gear. "On the plus side, we also have two puzzle pieces."
"Based on the size of the pieces, and the size of the board, I'd say there's nine in total," said Jenny.
"The problem is, we still need to figure out how to get Jenny in and out of the water to do a puzzle piece without her rusting away," said Lincoln.
"Also you and Eliza need to go down and get one," said Danny. "Where is she, by the way?"
"Okay guys, I have bad news," said Eliza. "The sharks don't want to play nice, because a certain someone…" At this point, Eliza glared at Mandy. "…is still on the island."
"Well, it's not like we can do anything about that," said Korra.
"I know, but they can't accept that," said Eliza.
"Because you can talk to them apparently," said Lincoln.
"I never said that," said Eliza quickly. "Anyway, the fact of that matter is, those sharks are kind of annoyed."
"Great, one more problem to deal with," said Danny. "Ideas?"
"Well, we'll have to be the ones ferrying people up and down through the water," said Korra. "We just need to find the other pieces so we can go down and up as quick as possible."
"I'm gonna go intangible and try and find the other pieces," said Danny. "I'll get them somewhere visible, then you just have to get someone to pick them up."
"Sounds like a plan," said Korra, as Danny turned intangible and flew into the water. "Okay Lincoln, you're first."
"Why me?" asked Lincoln.
"Because we might as well get this unpleasantness out of the way early, so me and Danny can deal with the rest of this challenge," said Korra. "Now, get over here."
"Wait, we don't know if Danny's…" protested Lincoln, as Korra grabbed him and dragged him under the water.
"They're gonna die, aren't they?" asked Eliza.
"Probably," said Jenny.
Meanwhile…
"Okay Dipper, we're going down there," said Luz, grabbing an invisibility glyph. "You know the drill, hold your breath as long as possible."
"I don't know how long that'll be though," said Dipper. "Remember, we're underwater doing some extensive exercise, we're probably going to need to breathe sooner rather than later."
"Yeah, but hopefully by then we'll be past the sharks and finding a piece," said Luz. "Plus, it gives the others time to make some more glyphs for us."
"Does the circle have to be perfect?" asked Kevin, trying to copy the glyph Luz had left them to copy.
"Do these little symbols have to be in these specific locations?" asked Kim.
"I drew a happy face in mine," said Mikey.
"…in hindsight, not one of my better decisions," said Luz. "Well, here we go." Luz and Dipper took a deep breath, before jumping into the water as Luz touched the glyph.
The two swam as far down as they could, dodging sometimes within inches of a nearby shark, before getting close to the bottom of the water. Dipper pointed at a pile of garbage to their right, where a puzzle piece was sticking out from the pile.
Luz nodded, and starting trying to pull it out with one hand, while the other was holding Dipper's. Dipper did the same, and together they began to move the puzzle piece from under the garbage.
Above them, one of the sharks noticed the piece moving without anyone being nearby. The shark swam down to investigate, but there was very clearly no-one there. Th shark edged closer, only to nudge something invisible. Almost immediately, there was a bunch of bubbles come out of nowhere, followed by two children suddenly becoming visible. The shark was momentarily surprised, but then grinned wickedly at how close his next meal was.
Dipper, who had let out his breath when the shark touched him, immediately began swimming to the surface, while Luz, who had somehow managed to keep holding her breath, grabbed out another glyph, and slapped her hand to it just as the shark was about to bite her. The shark's teeth were about half an inch from her neck when it froze solid, allowing Luz to calmly push it away. She then grabbed out another glyph, placed it underneath the puzzle piece, and activated it. A huge vine shot up from the ground, allowing Luz to grab the puzzle piece as it got dislodged, and Dipper as they shot towards the surface.
Once back on the surface, Dipper collapsed on the platform. "Okay, this challenge is definitely going to kill someone," he said.
"Look on the bright side: now I know I can freeze the sharks to make them no longer a threat," said Luz.
"Good plan," said Chris. "Except this is tropical water."
"What are you talking about? This is Canada," said Kim. "We're closer to the Arctic than the tropics."
"Yeah, but I specifically imported this water from off the coast of Jamaica," said Chris. "Therefore it should be warmer, and that means…"
"I keep telling you Chris, that's not how that works," said Chef, throwing a couple of bags of trash into a dumpster, before diving again.
"Eh, what does he know about science?" asked Chris. "Anyway, you're welcome to keep trying that, but it'll be in vain."
"Eh, we'll take our chances," said Kevin. "Luz, you up for another dive once you place that piece?"
"Are you sure you're ready for another dive after last time?" asked Luz, finding where her piece went.
"Well, I need to do it eventually anyway," said Kevin. "Why not now?"
"You could continue to rest," said Kim. "I mean, Mikey hasn't gone down yet. And Dipper needs to get a piece. And I could always…"
"Kim…" said Kevin. "I'll be fine. Luz is with me. If anyone's going to stop me getting eaten, it's her."
"Just…be careful, okay?" said Kim.
"I wi…" started Kevin, before getting cut off by Kim kissing him. "…uh…wow…"
"About time you two did that," said Luz, as Kim blushed. "Alright, we'll be back soon." And with that, Luz and Kevin held their breath as Luz tapped another invisibility glyph, causing the two to disappear, followed by a splash.
"Don't you have a boyfriend back home?" asked Mikey.
"And wouldn't being with someone here cause an unnecessary shift in power dynamic?" asked Dipper.
"Look, can we worry about that later?" asked Kim. "Besides, I'm more concerned about what's going on between Luz and Korra."
"Oh good, I'm not the only one to notice that," said Dipper.
"What do you mean?" asked Mikey. "It can't be the same thing as you and Kevin, surely. They're both girls."
"…do you want to tell him or should I?" asked Kim.
"I don't think he needs to know," said Dipper.
"Needs to know what?" asked Mikey. "Whatever it is, I'm sure I can handle it."
Confession Cam: Mikey
"I think my team underestimates me because I'm the youngest. But I'm sure I can handle just as much as they can."
Meanwhile…
"Well, amazingly we're over the halfway mark," said Mandy. "But three of us still need to get pieces on the board."
"Good news, the Omnitrix is ready again," said Ben.
"Good, take me down there so I can get a piece," ordered Mandy. "And you'd better be gentle, or you won't like what happens to you."
"…how about I take someone else then?" asked Ben. "Dexter, are you ready?"
"I don't need your help," said Dexter, standing next to a robot. "With my newest invention, I can traverse the deepest depths of the ocean with no trouble."
"That's good, because it's only like fifteen feet deep here," said Jessica.
"And when you're done with it, someone else can use it," said Mandy.
"Do you really think you can handle such a complicated piece of machinery?" asked Dexter, getting into his robot.
"You could teach me," said Mandy.
"I could," said Dexter. "Well, bye." And with that, Dexter jumped into the water without another word.
"Maybe he'll do it when he gets back up," said Jessica. "I mean, he still needs to find a piece anyway."
"He'll also want to come back up if he needs this," said Mandy, holding up a screw.
"Does he need that?" asked Ben.
"We're about to find out," said Mandy.
Under the water, Dexter continued to sink towards the ocean floor. "Computer, begin scanning for puzzle pieces," he said.
"Scanning nearby piles of waste for puzzle pieces," said Computer. There was a whirring sound as it continued scanning, before making a quick being sound. "Four pieces detected." On the screen in front of Dexter, the locations of the last four pieces were shown compared to where he was.
"Excellent," said Dexter. "Computer, prepare for extraction. Leave three of them somewhere visible, and take the other to the surface."
"Dexter, a defect has been detected in the right arm," said Computer. "Would you like to begin maintenance?"
"Why would I do maintenance now? I'm underwater and surrounded by sharks," said Dexter, watching the sharks circling him trying to figure out how to get to him through the metal. "Begin extraction."
"As you wish," said Computer, swimming towards the first garbage pile and digging into it, before finding a puzzle piece and throwing it towards the ground. Immediately, Dexter piloted the robot towards the next pile.
The sharks, fascinated by the machine, got closer, trying to decide if it was worth trying to get this human, or look for another one. One shark got close to the robot's right arm, where something seemed to be off. A small spark shot out of a hole, zapping the shark's nose. The shark yelped, and backed off. As it turned away, its tail knocked the arm, causing it to slightly detach from the shoulder.
The other sharks, noticing this, got a bit closer to investigate the damage themselves, only to move back as Dexter headed off towards the third puzzle piece. While he began extracting it, the sharks got closer, then one started chewing on the damaged part of the right arm. Dexter briefly stopped removing the next puzzle piece to flick the shark on the nose, causing it to back off. However, the others sharks saw the damage that had been done, and when Dexter moved on to the final piece, several of the sharks got ready to attack.
"Why are these sharks so persistent?" asked Dexter, as the final piece was uncovered. "Oh well, we're about to head up anyway. Computer, prepare to surface."
"Dexter, severe damage to the right arm detected," said Computer. "It would be advisable to…"
"Yeah, yeah, just resurface," said Dexter dismissively. "I'll deal with the problem once I'm back on the surface." Suddenly there was a loud crunching sound, and the robot's right arm floating past the robot's cockpit. "…uh oh…"
"Dexter, the right arm has been…" started Computer.
"I'm aware," said Dexter. "Computer, grab the puzzle piece and resurface now."
"Dexter, huge oil leak from the…" started Computer.
"You know what? I'll do it myself," said Dexter, taking control of the machine. Alarms started blaring in the robot, while sharks kept nipping at the damaged section, but Dexter remained focused on getting to the surface. As the robot made it back onto Team Checkmate's platform, it broke apart, as Dexter dived from it and ran to the puzzle board, placing his piece.
"Hmm, looking at this, I'd say you did need this," said Mandy, examining the wreckage of the robot while holding the screw.
"YOU sabotaged it?" asked Dexter, furious. "Why would you do that?"
"You didn't let me pilot the robot," said Mandy.
"I would have," said Dexter. "I even got the puzzle pieces into a much easier position so you wouldn't have to do as much work."
"Huh…I guess you're right," said Mandy. "Oops."
"That's all you have to say for yourself? Oops?" asked Steven.
"Well what else do you want me to say or do? It's not like I'm going home today, even if we lose," said Mandy with a shrug. "I'm still very much immune."
"Mandy, they're still going to vote for you, you know," said Jessica. "And then you'll only have one immunity idol left."
"I'm aware," said Mandy. "Guess I'll just have to find today's one."
"Hey guys, I found the immunity idol," said Danny, holding it above his head to show everyone.
"Okay, time-out," said Mandy. "If the idol was in Golden Lion's section, how were the other teams supposed to get it?"
"That's a good question," said Chris. "Danny, why don't you tell everyone where you got that."
"It was just tied around one of the shark's necks," said Danny. "He never even saw me take it."
"How did you manage to get it there?" asked Kim.
"Uhh…" said Chris.
Meanwhile…
Inside one of the sharks, someone is heard screaming in terror, as the shark burps up a bloodied arm.
Back on the surface…
"Hmm, looks like I'll be down to one idol if we lose this," said Mandy. "Might as well start thinking about which of you I'd get rid of if that happens."
"You're only talking about the boys, right?" asked Jessica. "Like, me and Buttercup are on your side. You wouldn't get rid of your friends."
"You're right, I wouldn't," said Mandy.
"Yep, I knew it," said Jessica confidently.
"The question is: do I consider you a friend?" asked Mandy.
"Which you do," said Jessica. Mandy walked off without a word. "You do, right? Right? Mandy?"
Confession Cam: Jessica
"I'm totally Mandy's friend. She just has a hard time showing it. That's all."
"Okay, you," said Mandy, pointing at Ben. "Take me down there so I can grab a puzzle piece, unless you want me to vote you out next."
"I have a name you know," said Ben. "And since I don't like you, you realise I could drag you down there very violently and half-drown you before you come back up?"
"Good point," said Mandy. "You do that to Jessica then, and Buttercup will take me down there."
"Wait, why do I get the violent shake-up?" asked Jessica.
"Plus, it's only you I have a problem with. I wouldn't do that to Jessica," said Ben.
"Plus, we're coming last right now," said Buttercup. "So…bye." Without another word, Buttercup grabbed Mandy and flew under the water.
"So you're gonna take me down there as that Ripjaws thing, right?" asked Jessica.
"Well, he is my strongest swimmer," said Ben, adjusting the Omnitrix. "Here we go." Ben hit the button on the watch, and…
"Really? It gives me this one? Now?" asked Ben, who was now in the form of a blob-like yellow alien wearing green underpants.
"What…is that?" asked Steven, staring at Ben in disgust.
"Literally The Worst," said Ben, clearly frustrated. "Steven, could you take Jessica?"
"Hey, it can't be that bad," said Jessica. "Surely this form has some kind of useful power."
"It's completely impervious to damage," said Ben.
"See? That's not so…" started Jessica.
"But not impervious to pain," said Ben. "Also it can drown, so…yeah."
"…Steven, help me get a puzzle piece," said Jessica. "And quick, it looks like the other teams are getting further ahead of us."
"I'm on it," said Steven, forming a bubble shield around the two of them before jumping into the water.
Later…
"It's gonna come down to the wire," said Chris. "Power Mouse and Golden Lion have eight pieces each, but Checkmate have two people under the water, and easily accessible pieces. In fact…" Right at that moment, Mandy and Buttercup resurfaced, with Mandy quickly placing her piece on the board. "That's seven for Checkmate, with Buttercup already diving for the final piece. This could be anyone's…"
"Ghost Boy just placed the final piece for his team," said Chef.
"Nevermind, it's between Checkmate and Power Mouse for who gets to send someone home," said Chris. "Good thing Jessica and Steven have just come back up, and…oh no, Jessica slipped on her way to the board."
"And even worse, here comes Luz with Power Mouse's last piece," said Chef, looking at the underwater monitors.
"Yeah, I know," said Chris. "That's why I unleashed Scuba Bear."
"You gave a bear scuba gear?" asked Chef. "Why?"
"Because they can't breathe underwater normally, duh," said Chris. "Jeez, I thought that would be obvious."
"Yeah, but isn't that a type of animal cruelty?" asked Chef.
"Only if PETA find out about it," said Chris.
"International TV, remember?" said Chef.
Chris sighed. "Well, whatever, too late now," said Chris. "Unless you wanna…"
"Nuh uh," said Chef.
"Fair enough," said Chris, going back to watching the challenge.
Meanwhile, Luz was swimming as fast as she could to the surface, when she was blocked by an unlikely sight: a grizzly bear wearing scuba gear. Luz swam back a bit, trying to put some distance between herself and the bear, as the bear swam closer. Suddenly, Luz remembered that Team Checkmate had thrown away a can of bear repellent earlier. Luz grabbed it out of her pocket, and sprayed it directly into the bear's face. The bear spluttered and coughed, before swimming away as Luz got back to the surface.
"And the final piece is…in," said Luz, shoving her piece into the last slot. Luz looked over at the other two team's platforms, only to see their puzzles were done too. "Please tell me that I got that in in time."
"I'm not sure," said Kevin. "Jessica was putting her piece in at about the same time as you, I couldn't tell who was first."
"Don't worry, we're going over the slow-motion replay," said Chris, pulling up a TV playing side-by-side footage of Power Mouse and Checkmate's boards. "Now, let's see what we have here…okay, so Buttercup got her piece in, bringing it to eight pieces each. And now we see Jessica and Luz running for the boards…" At this, Chris played the footage at a slow-motion crawl. "Jessica's slightly in front, but Luz is bigger and has a longer stride, and…she's in front, and…there it is. Luz got it in first, followed by Jessica three eighths of a nanosecond later. Which means Team Checkmate gets to send yet another teammate home."
"Aww, dang it," said Jessica. "But at least it was a very close loss, instead of being absolutely creamed, right guys?"
"Didn't you trip and fall at the end there?" asked Mandy. "Thereby costing precious seconds that could have saved us?"
"Yeah, but…" started Jessica, as Mandy started walking away. "Mandy? You're not mad about it, are you? Mandy?" As the rest of her team started heading back for the camp, Jessica grabbed Steven's hand. "She's not going to vote for me, is she? She wouldn't, right?"
"Jessica, I don't want to lie to you, but…" said Steven. "Uh…I don't know how to finish this sentence in a positive way." At that, Steven walked away to join the rest of the team.
Confession Cam: Jessica
"Nah, there's no way Mandy's planning to kick me out. She just wouldn't…would she?"
Later, at the Elimination Ceremony…
"Okay Team Checkmate, two in a row for you guys. I'll assume you know how this works, but because the network pays me big money to make this as tense as possible, I suppose I'd better do that. Six of you sit before me, but I only have five marshmallows. If you receive a marshmallow, you are safe. For now. The one that doesn't receive a marshmallow will be walking down the Dock of Shame, boarding the Boat of Losers, and they will never be returning. Ever. Anyway, the following people are safe." As Chris read each name, he threw them a marshmallow. "Steven. Buttercup. Dexter. And Ben." The camera focused on an unsurprised Mandy, and a horrified Jessica.
"Okay, who voted for me?" asked Jessica. "Because I voted for Dexter, and there's no way that my BFF Mandy would…"
"Wouldn't I?" asked Mandy, shutting Jessica up. "I mean, you did mess up the challenge for us."
"Wait…but…I thought…" said Jessica, stunned at the revelation.
"Hold on, wouldn't that mean Jessica and Dexter have an equal number of votes?" asked Ben.
"Yeah…about that…" said Buttercup. "I was following Mandy's lead, and…"
"You WHAT?!" yelled Jessica. "But that means…"
"Yep," said Chris. "Three votes to Mandy, two to Jessica, one to Dexter. But since Mandy's immune…"
"Mandy, how could you?" asked Jessica, tears in her eyes.
"You do know this is a competition, right?" asked Mandy. "And all of us want to win. I can't be having anyone think they're safe."
"Wait, does that mean I'm not safe either?" asked Buttercup.
"It depends how useful you are," said Mandy.
"Sorry Jessica," said Steven. "We tried to warn you."
"I know," said Jessica dejectedly. "Do me a favour though?"
"Sure, what is it?" asked Steven.
"Kick. Her. Butt," said Jessica, as Chef carried her to the Boat of Losers.
"Will do," said Steven. Mandy snorted in disbelief at the comment.
Aboard the Boat of Losers, Jessica hugged Small Uncle, who burst to life at that moment. "Hey Jessica, why are you so glum?" he asked.
"I lost, Small Uncle," said Jessica.
"Really? Aww, that stinks," said Small Uncle. "Still, you did your best, right?"
"Yeah, I did," said Jessica.
"And you had fun too, right?" asked Small Uncle.
"I guess I did," said Jessica.
"And did you make some new friends?" asked Small Uncle.
"A couple, I think," said Jessica.
"Well then, it was all worth it, right?" asked Small Uncle.
"Yeah, I suppose it was," said Jessica, hugging him closer. "Thanks Small Uncle."
"Anytime Jessica," said Small Uncle, hugging her back.
Back on the island…
"Well, that was certainly a dramatic conclusion," said Chris. "How can we top this? You're gonna have to find out next time, on Total. Drama. Island."