Total Drama Infinite 3

by MemeKing the Third

We are back once again, babyyy! Chris has concocted his most crazy season yet, featuring faces old and new. Mysteries, adventure, romance, and a crap ton of insanity can be found in Infinite's craziest installment yet. Who will win it all?

4. Come Here, Fishy Fishy

Episode 4: Come Here, Fishy Fishy

Happy holidays, everyone. Hope you're all ready for some more nonsense. I know it's been a rough year for us all, but hopefully I can put a smile on your face with this gift: My last chapter of the year, and it's a big one.

1602jaw: Fair enough. Not much had changed other than polishing things up. Everything from here on out is uncharted territory.

TheMasterKat: Aqua was useful in her own Aqua way, I'll give her that. But poor Chuck. Just bad luck for his gun to jam.

FlameFireZero X: Huh, interesting suggestion. While I've got quite a few future challenges figured out now, I'll keep this one in mind. Thanks a bunch.

Guest: I agree. Personalized eliminations are a fun twist this time around.

G-Man 2.0: I know it must suck, but I really like what we have now. And yes, it's quite humorous our resident farm boy unintentionally mistakes a fellow teammate as the opposite gender.

Happiness Studios: Glad you dig Yastor, as well as Ford being introduced to the story. Considering everything they've been through, an expert on the multiverse like him is a big boon for the show.

Chillsummer: Very interesting prediction. Who knows what's in store for Max this time? Hopefully he won't be blindsided again.

UnknownKnight: Yeah, maybe they should…

PineCoop: More than friends you say? Ha ha ha….you just wait and see what I'm cooking for them.

NondescriptNorbert: Glad you've enjoyed what's basically version 2.0 of this fic, man. Now that we're all caught up after going back to complete Bon Voyage, it should be smooth sailing from here.

StaticShock01: Better late than never showing up, I say. I appreciate your congratulations for me finishing Bon Voyage. Glad I could finish telling that story. And don't worry, what you said makes sense. Message received.

MetalThingajigs: Very much appreciated. Your waiting is over now!

YiakiosHerbal: Hey, glad to see someone new hopping on the train. Enjoy the ride, my friend.

Luckyhill2: I think we all know who it is at this point.

2Redman05: Yes it is. We are really cooking now!

ThelastCyberKnight: Congrats on catching up, man. You're in for a hell of a season this time, I tell ya h'what.

Now then, onto the show!

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"Last time on TDI3, our group of multiversal oddballs sought to prove their worth. And by that, I mean jumping head first into a volcano for keys. Some like Zeke and Kronk, played through the pain. Others like Max, got crafty and creative to bolster their chance at victory. Ultimately, it came down to Aqua and Chuck, fighting it out for the win. Thanks to some luck, and Chuck's incompetence, the Weirdos took the win, and Chuck was unsurprisingly the first camper of the season to be eliminated."

"With one poor sap down, that leaves thirty one left. Which one of them will take the plunge, and beat it next? Find out on today's episode of Total Drama Infinite 3!"

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It had been two days since the last challenge. Things had been rather peaceful during that time.

We see several of the Weirdos around the spa hotel's dining table, enjoying breakfast.

"Ahh, now I can get used to this." Oscar said, enjoying a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. "Winning never felt so good."

"You said it, chum." Zeke said as he plopped down in the seat next to him. The prince starts hooking himself up with food. "We keep doing as well as we did the other day, we'll be living like kings all season."

"Hopefully." Kaiba said with his usual smugness. "As long as we don't have anyone on this team to screw things up like the other team did."

"Kata knows what he's doing when managing a team." Spinel explained. "I know full well to trust his intuition. Take it from someone who's been on the same as him more than once."

"Heeeeeeeey!" The voice of Aqua slurred across the room. Unsurprisingly, the goddess was drunk, barely managing to lift her head off the table. "I helped too, you know!"

"Oh my fucking god, are you drunk again?!" Miu complained. "And this early?! Terry must have a looooot of patience dealing with you."

"Shut your mouth, slut!" Aqua weakly slurs. "I'll kick your…..ass!"

"Calling me a slut, huh? That's funny, considering you go commando, walking around with your bare ass exposed."

"Tha's not true! Stop yer slander!!"

"Did you seriously hear how dumb that is?!" Miu asked Chie.

Chie was a bit preoccupied with chowing down her breakfast, which was filled with nothing but a smorgasbord of ham, bacon, and sausage.

"Can't talk right now! This carnivore is in the zone!"

"Good morning, everyone~!" Charlie trills as she enters the room and sees the chaos in front of her. "Er…I'll go put on a pot of coffee." Charlie said. "That should sober her up."

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"Sweet salty christ, I just can't with Aqua." Miu said. "Even if she was sober, she still wouldn't realize how stupid that sounds. She's a trainwreck in the morning, that's for damn sure. Five o'clock somewhere in the world I suppose. Next time we lose, I won't be surprised if they boot her."

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We see Tatsumaki enter the room, and yawn as she pours herself some coffee.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." Spinel said. "You alright? You're missing all the fun."

"I was tired because I spent all night on that idol." Tatsumaki huffed. "And don't bother asking me if I found it anyway. Still got a ways to go. If I'd known my efforts last night would be fruitless, I'd have used that time to sleep. I am not a morning person."

"Didn't have to be such a sourpuss about it." Spinel pouts.

"Getting back to the meat and potatoes of it, where is the big guy?" Lobo asked. "Katakuri, I think his name was.

"I believe he said he was getting his breakfast to go." Charlie explained.

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Out in the woods, Katakuri sits peacefully on a stump, enjoying a donut that's too large for a normal person.

"Mmm, so tasty!" He said like an excited child. "Has the right amount of crunch to it as well!"

His body quickly tensed up, as his Observation Haki picked up the presence of someone. Once he realized who it was, his body relaxed.

"Ah, it's just you, Wendy." He holds the big box of donuts to her. "Would you care for one? They're a special batch I brought from home."

"No thanks." Wendy politely declined. "I'm not hungry."

"You sure? I should have one that's more your size-"

He tensed up again, sensing another presence nearby. Wendy knew what was going on, and tried to diffuse the situation.

"It's fine! She means no harm! You can come out now!"

Coming out from behind a tree was none other than Luz.

"Yo."

"Oh." Katakuri said as he relaxed again. "You're Luz, right? Sorry about that. I'm constantly steeling myself in case there's danger."

"Oh, it's fine, big guy." Luz assured. "Totally get it. Though for someone who looks so serious, you do love singing about donuts."

"So then……what brings you guys here?"

"I was hoping we could train together again." Wendy explained. "Just like old times. I can tell you've gotten a lot stronger, and I'm always up for self improvement."

"Honestly, child." Carla huffed. "You're plenty strong as it is."

"I know. But I was hoping we could just hang out together like we used to."

"That's perfectly fine." Katakuri tells her. "We didn't have a lot of time for that last season. And before this one, I was going through a lot of crap back home. If that's all you want, I can't say no to you."

He emphasized this by patting Wendy on the head.

"Thank you, big bro." Wendy said. "And if it's not too much to ask, you wouldn't mind training Luz alongside me, would you?"

Katakuri was surprised to hear that. He wasn't one hundred percent on the idea. Even though Luz and Wendy appeared to be good friends, he doesn't train just anybody. Wendy was the rare exception.

"I don't know about that, Wendy." He says hesitantly. "I don't just do that for anyone."

This answer disappointed Wendy.

"Oh……I see." Wendy said glumly.

"I totally get it." Luz said nonchalantly. "Wendy talked so much about you, and I thought I had a chance to get stronger."

Katakuri raises a curious eyebrow. "Is that so? What did she say, then?"

The young witch looks over at Wendy and quickly winks before answering. "She said you're an effective leader, great family man, and all around an inspiration to those around you. She said she couldn't have gotten this strong if not for you."

Katakuri ponders this for a moment. "You know, I know what you're trying to do, flattering me. But you've convinced me. Besides, any friend of Wendy's is a friend of mine."

Luz's eyes light up. "Wait…….do you mean-"

"I do. You've got a strong head on your shoulders. So it's settled. You'll be my second student. Just be warned it's not going to be easy."

Both girls cheer and high five.

"Thanks, Katakuri!" Wendy said.

"You won't be disappointed!" Luz asks. "I'll be a master of magic and Haki!...Once I know how that works." She said sheepishly. "Wouldn't be the first time a cool old person took me on as a student."

"I'm not that old…" Katakuri mutters.

"Can she call you bro, too?" Wendy asked.

"Let's not get too ahead of things, child." Carla tells her.

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Katakuri is seen chuckling to himself.

"If she's anything like Wendy, then I shouldn't be worried."

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"Who would've thought?" Luz said. "I go from studying under an owl lady, to becoming the student to a pirate. All it takes is a little buttering up."

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Meanwhile, the rest of the Maniacs were all gathered in the cabin, having a meeting of their own, spearheaded by Geralt, Edgeworth, and Percy.

"Everyone's here, right?" Geralt asked.

"Uh…..I think we're missing a couple of people." Entrapta said as she looked around.

"Yeah, Luz and Wendy." Ruby brings up. I haven't seen them at all today. I hope they're alright."

"Then I suppose we'll have to do this without them." Edgeworth sighed. "I'd have rather had everyone here, but it can't be helped, I suppose."

"Cut the small talk, pal." Mao said. "Why'd you guys call us all here? I've got evil places to be, and evil things to do."

"The answer is simple, Mao." Edgeworth answers. "Our performance in the last challenge was rather….. lackluster, to say the least."

"That's not our fault!" Waluigi complained. "Chuck was the reason we lost! And now he's gone!"

"While that may be true, there's something we're still lacking: coordination."

"What are you getting at?" Ryu asked. "Are you saying we ain't?!"

"We have the skills necessary to win." Geralt explained. "But we lack the coordination and organization to bring out our full potential."

"In our defense, take a look at the other team." Gwen explained. "That Katakuri guy seems like a natural born leader. He seems like he knows what he's doing."

"But take a look at the rest of them." Mao counters. "The rest are either full of themselves, weaklings, or have plenty of other flaws."

"Hey, at least cut my friends some slack." Deadpool said. "Spinel and Peacock are pretty good competition too."

"Regardless, we're currently the underdogs right now." Percy tells them. "And is it not typical for the underdogs to make a comeback?"

"Fair point." Kronk said.

"If we can be better coordinated as a team, then we have the potential to be unstoppable."

"I really hope we manage to win." Gwen said, holding a bowl of breakfast. "I'd kill to get some decent food around here. The other team is probably eating like kings as we speak."

"Yeah…. breakfast this morning was…not the best." Bernadetta said awkwardly. She remembers the events of that morning as we're treated to a flashback.

Bernadetta was seen standing in line for breakfast, nervously deep in thought.

"You got this, Bernie." She thinks. "When it's your turn, just ask it: May I have some salt? May I have some salt? May I have some salt…"

She continues mentally repeating as Edgeworth, who was in front of her, received his food.

"Next!" Chef barks.

Bernadetta approaches Chef hesitantly. Despite getting somewhat better at socializing, Chef's imposing frame and the look he was giving her as he scooped food onto her tray was quite overwhelming for her.

"Well?!" Chef asked gruffly. "You gonna move, or do you want something?!"

"Um…" Bernadetta stuttered. "May I have some sa-" Suddenly, her brain kind of froze. She could only nervously stutter. "Sa…..sa….sa….sa…."

Bernadetta then quickly runs out of the building at blinding speed, leaving Chef confused.

"I'M SORRYYYYYYY!"

She keeps running without a destination in sight. She ran so fast that she even left a Bernie shaped hole through a wall in Yastor's shack.

"Dammit….not again!"

"That had literally nothing to do with the quality of the food." Mao points out.

"No….but it was still an awful experience." Bernadetta defends.

"If we manage to win challenges, then that shall be a thing of the past." Kronk says optimistically.

"Those Weirdos may have had the brief taste of victory…" Mao cackles. "But we will stomp them into utter oblivion from here on out! MUHAHAHAHA!"

"Easier said than done." Cinder muttered, giving those like Ruby and Bernadetta, who she deemed as weaklings, the stink eye. The latter shuddered as she realized she was being looked at.

"W……. what's with that look?!" Bernadetta nervously asked. "Are you plotting against me?!"

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"Not in particular." Cinder said. "People like that are the most fun to get a rise out of. A poor, anxious soul like that is fun to torment."

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"Last time I competed, my insistence on working alone was what did me in." Geralt said. "Since then, I've reflected a lot on that. We need to be united as a group if we're to succeed. I can't sit back and always do my own thing anymore."

As he finished talking, the PA system outside went off.

"Challenge time, people!" Chris announced. "Meet at the docks in ten minutes!"

"Well, guess it's time to put my lesson to the test." Geralt finished.

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Not too long after the announcement, everyone gathered together at the docks for today's challenge, where Chris, Chef, and the interns were waiting for them. Behind Chris, there sat two large objects floating on the water, covered by equally large tarps.

"Oh gee, wonder what fresh hell this is gonna be." Max said sarcastically as he looked at the tarps.

"Do you always have something to say?" Chris sighed.

"Yep. Deal with it. I'm a cynical smartass, and that ain't changing anytime soon."

"So, what have you got planned for us today?" Ryu asked.

"You guys are going to get your sea legs today." Chris explains. "You're all sailing out to undertake a rather…different kind of challenge. A challenge to slay a sea beast!"

"Okay, stop the presses!" Deadpool interjects. "That is already too fucking hype! Does that mean we get to release the Kraken?! And then we-"

"Would you please shut your annoying mouth and let the host explain, you chatty, cancer riddled lunatic?" Kaiba calmly retorts.

"Ouch. What the fuck happened to defcons 4, 3, and 2?!" Deadpool pouts.

"Did I stutter?"

Charlie quickly interrupts, hoping to prevent a fight. "SO, Chris….care to elaborate more on this "sea beast" you mentioned earlier?"

"Thank you for reminding me." Chris tells her. "This creature is a beast that's been terrorizing the Great Lakes for quite some time."

"How did that happen?" Geralt asked.

Chris nervously rubs the back of his neck. "Well, about that…. apparently it was originally a fish that got…mutated…"

"Another ramification of letting people dump chemical waste on the island in the past, I take it?" Edgeworth says, sternly glaring at the host.

"Hey, I served my sentence, so don't you or Percy give me that look! Anyway, Balzafyre was originally kept at the Fun Zone on Boney Island, but he got out months ago. His mere presence is messing with the ecosystem, so the producers insisted we deal with him as quickly as possible."

"To the surprise of absolutely nobody." Mae quips.

"Oh, his name's Balzafyre?!" Charlie asked. "Sounds like the song! You know, the one that goes "Goodness gracious, great balls of fire!'"

"Wait…" Oscar said worriedly. "You're not joking about a mutant sea monster out there, and we have to kill it?!"

"Do you not remember we were bungee jumping into a volcano literally a few days ago?" Tastumaki huffed. "Honestly, you need to adapt quickly if you wanna survive this show."

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"First and foremost, I for one would like the record to show that I, Oscar Proud, was not scared." Oscar declared. "That was just a bit of pre challenge jitters. I'll prove to them I'm more than capable of winning today, that's for sure."

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Kaiba chuckles to himself.

"Ha, Proud is totally out of his league. Total Drama is only for the best, not pathetic little babies. It'll be hilarious watching this pathetic man crash and burn."

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"If we're gonna go out and do this we're gonna need a boat." Waluigi points out.

"Exactly what I was getting to, Waluigi." Chris said. "You'll need a mode of transportation. On boat it'll take you all about a day to reach him, so….ta-da!"

Chris pulls down the tarps, revealing two rather run down looking pirate ships. While they weren't in terrible condition per se, they were vandalized to hell and back with graffiti. The cast didn't really know how to respond.

"Look, these were the best ones we could find." Chris sighs. "They work just as perfectly as any other ship."

"Really takes me back." Ryu says, feeling quite nostalgic. "Back on Bon Voyage, we were sailing all over the place."

"Yes, yes, that Don guy's show was fun and all for some of you." Chris said with disinterest. "Too bad his hosting could never compare to your's truly. Getting back on topic, both teams will take their ship to Balzafyre, slay him, and return. This challenge will take a couple of days to finish, so I made sure the staff stocked your ships with enough provisions to last you the entire challenge."

"Plenty of food is stocked up for your hungry little bellies." Ginyu assures. "If you get lost out there, no food could probably be a death sentence. However, getting lost won't be a problem. Men, please give them their maps and compasses!"

His subordinates hand each team a map and compass. Upon further inspection, the map was of the general Great Lakes area, having an X on the approximate spot of Balzafyre's location.

"Hmm….seems simple enough, I suppose." Katakuri said. "Shall we go ahead and set out?"

"One more thing before you do." Chris answers.

"Of fucking course…" Miu groans.

"In light of past events, we decided our staff needed a little "extra manpower," so to speak. Allow me to introduce the newest member of our staff. Put your hands together for scientist, paranormal investigator, and interdimensional fugitive, Stanford Pines!"

Ford appears from behind Barrett, and waves to the cast. "Greetings, competitors. It's both a pleasure and an honor to finally meet you all in person."

"Well now, a new face amongst your rat pack of a crew, McLean?" Kaiba snarks.

Ford ignores Kaiba's jab, continuing to introduce himself. "You can just call me Ford if you want. With me here, I'll make sure to keep you all protected if any outside threats try to interfere in the game, multiversal or not."

"I'd say we're pretty handy at dealing with that kinda stuff ourselves." Miu says. "But at least it's nice to have someone lighten the load….and another genius to boot."

Entrapta uses her hair to quickly approach Ford, circling him as she happily was observing him without a care in the world.

"Oh wow, another bright mind for me to convene with, that is so amazing! Ooh, do you have six fingers instead of five?! Fascinating…."

Entrapta lets out a painful shriek as Cinder stretches out her Grimm arm and yanks Entrapta by her twin tails.

"This man literally just introduced himself, and you're already getting all up in his face! That's weird!"

"Oh no, Entrapta isn't bothering me one bit." Assures Ford. "What's life without a little bit of weird thrown in? I should know."

"You already know everyone's names?" Zeke asked.

"Of course. I made sure to read up on everyone's files before formally meeting you all. Of course you won't learn as much from reading than from getting to meet the real deal in person. This show has done a beautiful thing by bringing people from so many different worlds together. I'm hoping to learn a lot from all of you."

"Well then, you're in luck." Chris tells him. "For this challenge, you get to sail with them, as will the rest of my staff, sans the Ginyu Force. I need them here to help work on the next challenge."

"Hold up, we're going, too?!" Barrett interjects.

"Yes. Not to help in the challenge, but to bond a bit with these guys…As well as maybe get your sea legs while you're at it."

"Jokes on you, I already do have them, being a shark and all." Gura says.

"Wait…..what kind of shark species are you?" Ruby wonders.

"A Gura Shark."

"Still, looking forward to getting a little break." Barrett says, with Korone and Kirbo cheering in agreement.

"Just pick a team you want to sail with, and you'll all be on your way." Chris informs.

The discussion is interrupted as Yastor runs up to them, a handmade wooden fishing pole in his hand.

"Hey, mind if I tag along too?!" Yastor asks excitedly. "I wanna catch some tasty fish!"

"Sorry, but I said the interns would be going with the players." Chris said smugly. "Not freeloading hippie warriors."

Yastor pouts, clearly a bit disappointed. Ford notices the man, and approaches the hero with a handshake.

"Yastor Vahlboom…." Ford marvels. "Legendary hero, and leader of the Star OPs. I've heard the legends, but never expected to ever put a face to the name."

Yastor was a bit taken aback, but returned the gesture. "Well now…looks like someone has already done their homework. Is my name really that well known across the multiverse?"

"Ha!" Deadpool interrupts. "Across the Multiverse, he says. Readers, go read it right now! Or change the channel, whatever medium you're consuming this show with. Static's out here busting his ass writing way more words than Meme ever could."

"Well, Ford wasn't lying about the weird part." Mae jokes.

"Some even say your existence was an urban legend." Ford continues. "That's how big you are. Is it really true that your world lies outside the Cluster?!"

"Whoa now, that's quite a loaded question." Yastor says quickly. "I'm not feeling in the mood to divulge the details of my life to these guys quite yet. When I'm feeling good and ready, I will. Man, you're starting to sound a lot like Tilly, only with less screws loose."

"Very well. I'll respect your decision." Ford tells him. "Still, I'm hoping we can get along."

"Wait, if I'm not going, then where am I supposed to fish?!" Yastor suddenly remembered.

"Uhh…..you're on an island." Chris reminds him. "Surrounded by water. Y'know, the stuff you fish from."

"Oh…..right."

"Um…is that all?" Ryu asked. "Because I'm eager to get out and get this done. Never met a fish I couldn't filet."

"You all got ten minutes to make any last minute preparations." Chris answered. "You know, bring anything else you might need, stock up on snacks….write your wills, heh heh."

"He's joking, right?!" Oscar asked. "Please tell me he's joking!"

"Oh, you poor sweet summer child…" Deadpool said.

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"What an absolute joke." Kaiba scoffed. "If you're gonna wet yourself over an oversized fish, then you clearly aren't fit to cut it in Total Drama. It'd be best to weed out the squeaky wheels on our team before it starts becoming harder for us to win."

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"HAHAHAHA! I've just come up with the perfect plan to hopefully nab us another win!" Miu said proudly. "But I've gotta keep it on the down low from my team at the moment if this is gonna work. Ooh, the look on their faces will be priceless. Orgasmic, even! Hahahaha!"

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"Next chance I get, I absolutely must have a chat with that Ford fellow." Entrapta says excitedly. "I'd love to hear about any of the creatures or tech he's seen on his travels, and maybe bend the ear for some of my research! This is gonna be exciting!"

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After a little bit of deliberation, Ford, Gura, and Kirbo decided to sail with the Weirdos. Meanwhile, Barrett, Red, and Korone sail with the Maniacs. With preparations made as best as possible, both ships sail away in similar yet different directions.

We now direct our attention to the Weirdos' ship, inside the lounge room.

STREEEEEEEEETCH

Spinel lets out a confused "Whoa…" as she feels Ford stretching out her face a bit, only to let go.

BOI-OI-OI-OI-OING

Spinel laughs and claps as her head snaps back to normal. "Ha ha, that tickles, mister!"

Fascinating…" Ford mutters as he jots some notes down in a notebook. "I've encountered some Gems on my travels, but I've never met one like you. You're quite the rarity."

Spinel stretches her neck over to Tastumaki, who was sitting nearby whilst flipping through an old comic book left on the ship.

"Did you hear him, Tornado?" Spinel said smugly. "I'm quite the rarity!"

"You're quite the something, alright." The esper mutters as she flips through the book with a bored expression on her face. "Ugh, this is so boring! If it's gonna take a day for us to reach this fish, what the hell am I supposed to do to pass the time?!"

"Sounds to me like you're quite the restless lass." Zeke says, preparing to head outside. With him, he carried some wooden fishing poles. "We've only been out on the water for a couple hours."

"I don't even like taking days off from my profession as a hero." Tatsumaki admits. "All this free time is for slackers."

"Have to disagree with you there!" Peacock says. She proceeds to pull out of seemingly hammerspace, a gigantic flat screen TV that towered over all of them. Everyone left in the room was left shocked.

"Just how did you manage to do that?!" Kaiba exclaimed. "What sort of mechanical, or dare I say it, magical means did you have to do that?!"

Peacock shrugs as she pulls out a sofa and remote the same way she did the TV. "That's just how I was fixed up. You see, I'm what they like to call an 'Anti-Skullgirl weapon.' There's a lot of things I'd like to keep up my sleeves. 'Cause let me tell ya, I hate nosy schmucks.

"Hey, I know just what will cheer you up!" Aqua says to Tatsumaki. She hands the hero an unopened bottle of liquor. "Have some of this, and you'll feel a lot more relaxed. The time will just fly right by!"

Tatsumaki lets out a tired sigh, and takes the bottle. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but why not?" She cracks it open and starts to chug some of it down. "Speaking of, where'd you get this stuff? This surely didn't come from the hotel."

"The ship has a fully stocked cellar, too!" Aqua said excitedly, pulling out three more bottles she kept in her blouse. "That Ginyu Force was extremely generous with stocking us up. Lots of food, and even more drinks!"

"If you're not gonna watch this, PIPE DOWN!" Peacock snaps. "I've got an Annie marathon coming on, and no way I'm missing it!"

"I wanted to find someone to play against in Duel Monsters, but it seems this rat pack has other plans." Kaiba sighs.

"Perhaps I could interest you in another game." Ford proposes. He pulls out a rather large game box. "How about indulging in the tabletop RPG, Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons?! It's a great way to pass the time!"

Kaiba raises a curious eyebrow, but smirks at the proposition. "Heh, sounds like something similar we've got in my world. Very well then, old man. You've piqued my interest. Anybody else care to participate?"

"Love to, chums. But I'm gonna do some fishing. Pandy's waiting for me."

"No thanks." Spinel said. "I wanna watch TV with my new friend!" The gem gestures towards Peacock, who was already laughing at her program, popcorn in hand.

Tatsumaki shrugs, and joins Ford and Kaiba. "Well, if I'm gonna sit around and drink to pass the time, I might as well indulge in your all's stupid game, too."

"Excellent, the more the merrier!" Ford beams.

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Above deck sat the bridge of the ship, where the helm sat. The Nomad looked in a good mood as he was steering the ship. Nearby sat Max, Mae, Rodney, and Chie, all sitting on the nearby railing.

"Think you'll be good handling the helm, Silent Treatment?" Mae asks.

The Nomad nods, and gives an assuring thumbs up.

"He and I agreed we'd take shifts sailing this thing." Rodney informs. "I mean, it's the nice thing to do at least."

Chie gives an annoyed grunt as she is looking over the map. "What the hell is this?! This map is so freaking confusing! I think we're going the wrong way."

Rodney takes a look at the map, and quickly flips it.

"It's actually upside down."

"Oh…" Chie said awkwardly. "Now I feel kinda stupid…"

"Hey, it's just an honest mistake."

"Looks like someone's off map duty." Max jokes. "They may not look like it, but I'd say leave the navigating to brickhouse and the scarecrow."

"Um….thanks?" Rodney awkwardly responds to the somewhat backhanded compliment.

"Hey, kids!" Oscar says as he walks up to them. "Hope you're all not getting into any trouble."

"Uh, correction. I'm the only adult here." Mae points out.

"Is there something you needed, Oscar?" Chie asked.

Oscar clears his throat, and straightens up a bit. "First off, let me inform you that unless you're a grown up, I would prefer it if you referred to me as Mr. Proud."

"Yeah, no. Fuck that." Max said bluntly. "We still kinda just met, and you want us to call you Mr. as some sign of respect."

"Excuse me?!" Oscar scoffed.

"News flash, respect is earned, old man. Not given."

Rodney quickly gets in between them, trying to deescalate the whole situation so it doesn't turn ugly.

"So, Mr. Proud…..what was it you wanted?"

"Oh, right." Oscar takes out a small Tupperware container. "Didn't get the chance to ask this morning, but how would you kids like to try a new Proud Snacks recipe I whipped up this morning?"

"I'll pass." Mae deadpans. "I ain't eating one after last time. Besides, my doctor said I need to cut toxins out of my diet."

"Oh, c'mon!" Oscar practically begs. "They're steak flavored, if that entices any of you."

Chie's ears practically perk up at the mention of her favorite food.

"Did you just say steak?! Because sign me up!"

"Uh, Chie….I don't think that's a good idea." Max said worriedly.

"Hey, I didn't get to try one before." Chie explains. "Besides, anything that tastes like steak can't possibly be a trick."

"Your funeral." Mae says.

Chie pops one of those snacks in her mouth, and after some chewing, she begins to vocally gag and choke.

"Welp, we warned you." Max said sarcastically.

Chie drops to her knees, clutching her neck as her face begins to turn blue.

"I don't think humans are supposed to turn that color." Mae says.

"This isn't the time for jokes! He needs our help!" Rodney said panickedly.

The big guy rushes into action, and performs the heimlich maneuver on Chie. After a few good pushes, she successfully coughed up the food….and proceeds to vomit a little bit on the floor.

"So, uh….." Oscar said nervously. "What'd you think? Did they light up your taste buds, or what?"

"You….son of a bitch…." Chie angrily mutters. "You taint the good name of steak….and nearly kill me with it…. THAT'S THE WORST THING I'VE EVER TASTED!"

Chie responds with a swift yet powerful kick, hitting Oscar right in his family jewels. Oscar cries out as he drops to the ground.

"OWOWOWOWWWWWW! YOU HIT ME! YOU SERIOUSLY JUST HIT ME!"

"And next time, I'll send you flying into orbit!" Chie huffed. "Literally!"

"Your palate is simply too unrefined to appreciate my culinary creations!" Oscar weakly retorts.

"Get real! I could totally cook way better than that! I'll even do it later, whaddya say to that?!"

Oscar finally manages to pick himself back up and dust himself off.

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, Drake Bell." He says mockingly. "But you don't look like the culinary type. Or the intelligent type. Heck, can't even pull off being cute when you stand there looking like an angry bull."

Do you want the horns?!" Chie growled. She emphasizes her point by pawing at the ground with her foot like a bill ready to charge.

"Um, I'm just gonna leave now!" Oscar squeaked. "But just a heads up: One of these days, your recklessness and your kicks is gonna come back to bite you!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, snack man…"

Oscar limps away, while Mae, Max, and the Nomad are left speechless.

"Well, that went from zero to a hundred real fast." Max said.

"Sorry I flew off the handle like that." Chie sighs. "He just really pissed me off with his high and mighty talk. You guys weren't kidding about them being bad."

"If you really wanna show him up, then maybe put your money where your mouth is and cook up something amazing. You can't be worse than him."

Chie determinedly pumps her fist. "Then it's settled! Dinner tonight is on me! I'll whip up a feast that'll knock everyone off their feet! Until then, time to get some training in." She looks over at Rodney. "Wanna join, big guy? Thought I'd extend the offer, considering you saved my skin there."

"Wait, seriously?" Rodney asked. "You want me to train with you? What kind of training?"

"Oh, you know, just a little bit of keeping in shape and practicing my moves. It helps having a partner to do that with. This is your first time, so let's start off with some jogging….sound good?"

"Sure, that sounds like it could be fun."

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"Last time I competed, I didn't really get the chance to bond with anybody." Rodney says regretfully. "My head was in the clouds too much getting all lovey dovey. I'm not planning on making that mistake again. And I'd say I'm bonding way more with my teammates than last time. Even if I don't win, I hope to prove myself at the very least. I may not look it, but I do have skills. Just hope I get the chance to use them."

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"Pff, what does Oscar know anyway?!" Chie huffed. "He needs to man up and quit being a baby. If you're gonna act like a big shot, at least have some bite to back up the bark. He also didn't have to go and insult my intelligence or my looks. Low blow, dude…"

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We now see Max and Mae walking together across the ship, observing the fish leaping out of the water. At least until Mae breaks the silence.

"So kid, what are you planning this time?" She asked.

Max gives her a confused look. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. You're one hell of a schemer, kid. You've always got some sly and sneaky plan up your sleeve. I'm sure you've thought of a strategy to get further in the game."

Max's confused expression turns into a sly grin.

"Heh, quite observant, Mae. At the moment, I don't have anything concrete. But if you want, we could join forces, maybe get a couple of allies to tag along with us."

"Hmm…. honestly, kinda smart." Mae admits. "More allies means more coordinated voting. Any choices on who else could join?"

Max thinks this over. "Honestly, perhaps tomboy and brickhouse wouldn't be bad choices to start. They're no Nikki or Neil, but they could be useful. Plus, they seem kinda chill. Well, Rodney does, anyway."

Mae nods slowly. "Gotcha, gotcha…I don't really consider myself the strategic type, but I really wanna try to win. So I'm totally in. Only as long as you don't stab me in the back like in the Amazon."

"Hey, as long as you don't try to do the same thing, you and I are thick as thieves."

The two shake on it. No sly looks, no crossing fingers, none of that. Both were dead serious in their agreement.

"Hey, did you also notice brickhouse refer to Chie as a 'he?'" Max asked.

"You're quite observant, kid. I honestly wouldn't have noticed that. I was more focused on the fact one of our teammates almost killed another one of our teammates."

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"And I mean it this time." Max says. "Mae and I may not have started out on good terms, but we really patched things up. If it came down to it, I'd seriously take her to the final two with me."

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"I honestly believe the kid this time." Mae admits. "Yeah, he's a cynical snarky brat, but who isn't at some point? We're even, so I see no reason to backstab the kid. He's the brains of this operation, and if I had to face anyone in the finale, it'd be him."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Oscar is seen walking towards the side of the ship, and sees Zeke quietly fishing, with Pandoria watching him very close by.

"Maybe hanging out with these two will be nowhere near as bad as those kids." Oscar thinks to himself.

"Whoooo!" Zeke said triumphantly. "Pandy! I got a bite! I think it's a big one!"

As Zeke struggles to reel his catch in, Oscar walks up to them.

"Hey there….mind if I join?"

"Not at all, chum!" Zeke grunts. "Grab a pole and pop a squat! Hurgh…..this one's a real stubborn prick…."

Oscar does as instructed. He grabs the other fishing pole and sits next to Zeke.

"At least you're kind enough to show a humble guy like me some kindness." Oscar said gratefully.

"No problem, mate." Zeke says, still trying to reel it in. "The more the merrier!"

"I think you got him now!" Pandoria says.

"Hoo boy! This one's a real tricky bugger! Just…..a bit more…..HI-YAH!" With one last mighty pull, Zeke finally reels up his catch. Although Zeke's heart practically falls into his stomach as soon as he sees what it is.

It was once again the mutant shark Fang, now sporting a snazzy eye patch.

"Pandy……" Zeke said nervously. "Is that the same shark we saw in that maze the other day?"

"I-I think it is, my prince…." Pandy responds, just as scared as her driver.

"Is that thing real?!" Oscar cried.

Fang looks at Zeke and waves evilly at him. Just as he's about to attack them, a loud yawn could be heard behind them.

"Geez, I was enjoying a little shark nap, till you boneheads ruined it." Gura groans.

As soon as Fang saw Gura, his attention immediately went to her. He quickly approaches her, with a pen and piece of paper in hand. (How the paper didn't get wet is anybody's guess)

"Hmm?" Gura inspects the shark and his belongings. "What? You want my autograph? You a fan of mine?"

Fanf nods quickly.

"Hey, it's always nice to meet a chumbud." Gura said as she happily signed the paper. "Not surprising that even sharks are fans of this shark."

Once he gets the autograph back, Fang proceeds to leave. But not before shooting Zeke an "I've got my eye on you" gesture before jumping back into the water.

"Well that was….something."

"Don't know what that was all about, but I'm gonna go look for snacks." Gura said. "Ciao!"

"Something tells me that's not the last we'll see of that punk." Zeke said grimly. He quickly switches to his more cheery self. "But if that happens, Pandy and I can handle it no problem."

"You seem to know a lot, pal." Oscar says.

"Of course! Pandy, Turters, and I have traveled far and wide. Seen many things…I may not look like it, but I've gained a lot of wisdom on my travels. Stick by us Proud, and perhaps that wisdom and experience will rub off on you as well."

"At least you're one of the few reasonable people here." Oscar says with relief. "I think this is gonna be the start of a great friendship."

Zeke casually leans on the guard rail, nodding in agreement. "They'll be telling legends of us! Proud the Powerful and the Zekenator! A dynamic duo whose name will reach even the heav-AGH!

The guard rail he was leaning on suddenly gave in, and Zeke cried out as he fell into the water.

Pandoria looks down below and inhales sharply. "Yep, that shark is after him again."

"Aren't you gonna help him?!" Oscar said worriedly.

"He'll be fine, I think." Pandoria assures. "This kinda stuff happens all the time."

Suddenly, Kirbo flies past them on his Warp Star, and quickly pulls Zeke out of the water.

"I could have handled that myself, but thanks anyway, chum."

"Poyo!" Kirbo responds, though no one could understand him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"And I mean it!" Zeke says. "That fish would have been mincemeat if that little pink guy hadn't saved me."

"You'd honestly be dead already if I wasn't around to keep you in check." Pandoria says cheekily. "Just last week, I had to remind you to put on pants."

"Well, I uh…..was tired that day." Zeke defends. "It just slipped my mind, Pandy!"

"Uh-huh…"

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"Alrighty, I think that takes care of the cleaning." Charlie said proudly. "The bedroom is all neat and tidy for everyone. Thanks for the help!"

"You know it's no problem." Katakuri assures her. "Even if the sleeping situation doesn't look quite…"

He looks at the room in its entirety. While it was spacious, it had no beds. Instead, a bunch of hammocks were hung up in the room.

"... unorthodox…"

"Well, beggars can't be choosers, sweetie." Charlie says optimistically. "Still, these things might be too small for you."

"It's fine, I'll just sleep on the floor. I'm sure some of the others need it more than me."

"Are you worried?" Charlie asked.

Katakuri knew Charlie could read him like a book, despite his often stoic demeanor.

"Is it that obvious?" He says.

"I know you're still trying to get used to this new team. I remember how you were struggling to handle the Wolves last season. But I think we're off to a great start. This team is shaping up to be a team of MVPs if you ask me."

Their little chat was interrupted as they heard the food slam open, revealing it to be Lobo.

"Oh, did you need something, Lobo?" Charlie asked.

"Yer gonna want to round up the rest of this rat pack and call a meeting, little lady." Lobo informs. "Because one of us is nowhere to be found."

"WHAT?!"

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Over on the Maniacs' ship inside the lounge room, we see Wendy chugging down an odd purple liquid from an ornate looking bottle.

"Hope this helps, Wendy." Geralt tells her. "I dabble in a bit of alchemy myself, so this potion should help alleviate your motion sickness for the time being."

"Are you sure it's safe for her to drink?" Carla asked skeptically.

"I'll be honest, these aren't really meant for human consumption." Geralt admits. "But I figure being a Dragon Slayer is different enough that it should be safe.

"I'm sorry again about my condition." Wendy says. "But I refuse to let myself be a burden to you guys."

Geralt smirks at her resolve. "Heh, you're quite a resilient one, kid. No wonder you've already won a season. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go take care of lookout duty. If there's trouble, I'll be the first to know."

"Thanks again!" Wendy says as Geralt leaves.

A moment later, Ruby enters the room, carrying a tea kettle and some cups.

"I just finished making some tea, if you guys want any."

Wendy claps her hands together. "Ooh, that sounds good! Thank you, Ruby!"

"Oh, it's nothing." Ruby assures. "Like Geralt, I'm doing my part in trying to help the whole team out. He did have a point this morning."

"A point about what?" Carla asked.

"Oh, right. You guys weren't there for the team meeting this morning."

"Wait, we missed a meeting?!" Luz exclaimed.

"It's alright, nobody was mad." Ruby tells them. "He just said we need a lot more coordination, that's all."

"Then it's settled!" Wendy tells them. "If that's what it takes to start winning challenges, then we're just gonna have to do better than that. And I know we can do better."

The three girls throw out a fist bump, but the moment was interrupted by another voice.

"Seafaring log, hour 3. Fellow teammates seem to be uniting in solidarity just as instructed by teammate Geralt earlier…"

"Uh…..do you mind?" Wendy kindly asked. "We were kinda in the middle of something."

"Oh, sorry." Entrapta says, exiting from underneath a table. "Just looking for something to do. There's hardly any tech aboard this vessel worth looking into. Most interesting thing I saw all day was a barrel moving on its own."

"Um….okay, then." Luz said awkwardly.

"But I can see now that you all are busy with your own stuff, so I'll gladly get out of your hair. Bye!"

As soon as Entrapta leaves, Wendy breaks the silence.

"Well, she seems….interesting. Are all great minds…. eccentric…..ooooohhh." Wendy gives out a low moan as her eyes begin to grow heavy. Her body slowly shifts from side to side.

"Wendy….are you okay?" Ruby asked, noticing something was wrong with her friend.

"Just feeling…..hot…." Wendy musters to say.

"Your forehead's burning…" Luz said grimly as she felt it. "Maybe you should sit dow-"

THUD!!

Wendy suddenly collapsed, and the whole room erupted into a frenzy.

"Wendy!" Carla cried.

"Aw crud, this is bad!" Luz panicked.

"Try and gently set her on that sofa over there." Ruby ordered, trying her best to remain calm. "I'll see if I can find a first aid kit."

Carla and Luz do as instructed, lifting Wendy up and softly laying her down on the couch. Her head was still burning up, her breathing was fast and shallow. Her body felt limp yet heavy.

"Think we should alert the others about this?" Carla asked Luz. "In all honesty, I'm on the fence about this…"

"I'm….not sure." Luz says hesitantly. "I don't know if it'd be the best idea at the moment. That'll put everyone into a frenzy, and it'll probably make her condition worse, and then-"

Carla quickly slaps the witch across the face.

"Pull yourself together, child! Wendy needs us, and the last thing she needs is for us to be freaking out all over the place!"

Luz calmly collects herself, and takes a deep breath. "You're right. Sorry about that."

"Okay, I found the first aid kit!" Ruby said as she returned. "First thing's first is-"

The door creaks open, and the three of them freeze in shock as they see it was Geralt.

"Apologies, but I left one of my weapons in here. I-hmm? Did I miss something?"

He inspects the scene until his eyes fall upon a sickly looking Wendy.

"I knew giving her that potion would be risky…"

"Is she going to be okay?" Ruby asked.

Geralt walks up to the mage, and quickly feels her forehead. He looks at inside her mouth, and inspects for anything out of the ordinary.

"It's nothing life threatening, that's for sure." Geralt says with relief. "The medicine must have given her a bad fever. She should be fine as long as she gets proper rest and care."

"Then leave it to us!" Luz assures him. "Ruby and I will look after her for the trip. I mean, if that's alright with Ruby."

"It's not a problem." Ruby responds.

"I still feel awful for this happening." Geralt admits.

"Don't be, you meant well." Luz tells the Witcher.

"Very well. Still, I must take some responsibility. I'll notify the others, but let them know you two have this under control. Last thing I'd want is everyone spending the whole challenge fretting over her."

"Exactly our sentiment." Carla says.

"Then I leave her in your hands. Just keep me updated on her condition if anything changes, alright?"

Ruby gives Geralt a salute. "We promise."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gwen could be seen walking across the ship in a rush, her attention focused solely on her phone as she tried to get a signal.

"Dang it…nothing." She sighed. "I seriously hate this show sometimes."

Just as she turns around to find another place to get a signal, she accidentally crashes into someone else as the air is filled with a flurry of papers

"ACK! OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO!"

Once Gwen could finally see, she saw Bernadetta, who was on her knees as she scrambled to pick up the scattered manuscripts.

"I'm sorry, let me help you pick those up." Gwen said.

"No no, I got it!" Bernadetta said, sounding a bit more anxious than usual.

Gwen still helps, picking up a piece that appeared like a cover.

"The Absurd Adventures of Noblewomen Violet: Into the Mayhem of the Multiverse." Gwen reads aloud. Suddenly, she remembered where she heard the title. "This doesn't look like a fanfiction of the story-wait…."

"Aw crap…" Bernadetta mutters.

"You're Bernice Valentine, author of the original Absurd Adventures of Noblewomen Violet, aren't you?!" Gwen said with a smug look.

"I've been found out…" Bernadetta says defeatedly. "Yes, it's me….."

"Well I'll be." Gwen admits. "I didn't think you were a talented writer. Pretty sure this was a New York Times bestseller for weeks after it came out. Didn't think I'd ever meet the author."

"Wait…. you've already read it?"

"Yep. Even did a report on it for my college English class last semester. Passed with flying colors by the way."

"I was hoping nobody else would find this out." Bernadetta admits. "Anna told me that the pseudonym I chose would give it away…"

"Why are you getting so defensive about it?" Gwen asked. "I said I liked it."

"I just don't want all that attention on me. I know the book sold really well, and I'm glad people really like it, but the last thing I'd want is to be bombarded by potential fans. I'd rather be famous yet anonymous."

"I doubt it'll get that bad." Gwen assures. "Wait….did you also do all the illustrations?"

Bernadetta nods. "I did. You have an eye for art or something?"

"Yes, actually. It's honestly the kind of career I'm working towards at the moment. So it's actually kind of refreshing to meet someone else like that."

"Well, you know, I'm self taught, nothing special…" Bernadetta says awkwardly.

"Take a lesson from someone who almost won in the past. You might be downplaying your own skills, but you'd be surprised at the type of people who've won in the past. Way before all this 'other worlds' crap."

"So Chris has really put you through a lot, huh?" Bernadetta guessed. "I already don't like him.

"You don't know the half of it." Gwen sighs. "There's more times he's put our lives at risk for views and sick kicks than I can count. And unfortunately, I seem to be one of his favorite victims. If it makes you feel any better, did you know last time I competed I made a portrait of him out of bear crap?"

Bernadetta begins to burst out laughing.

"Oh goddess….he must've been really steamed!" She wheezed.

"Got eliminated for it too." Gwen continues. "Imagine how insecure and petty you have to be to lash out like that."

"Maybe I should have you make one of my father sometime." Bernadetta jokes. "Like Chris, it'll really capture his shittiness!"

The two share a good laugh for a moment.

"What? Got some bad blood between you and your dad?" Gwen asked.

"You don't know the half of it."

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"Okay, first you tame my pet plant, and now you're laughing about the poop picture?!" Chris snapped. "Oooooh, I'm gonna have so much fun screwing with this Varley chick!"

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"If I'm being honest, I thought this girl was an eccentric weirdo." Gwen admits. "But she's alright in my book. In a group like this, it's hard to pinpoint someone as remotely normal. Total Drama really has changed since I left. Still, it's good to find common ground with some people at least."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Elsewhere on the ship, we see what appeared to be an average barrel, just sitting there….until it wasn't.

The thing suddenly sprouted legs, as it tiptoed for a few steps before stopping again. The top of the barrel peers open as a pair of eyes scan the area.

"Good, good….no one here. Time to do my spy thing…"

The top is suddenly ripped off, revealing that the one in the barrel was none other than Miu.

"Hey! Who the fuck-gulp…."

She looks up, seeing she's surrounded. Looking down at her were Mao, Percy, Edgeworth, Kronk, Ryu, Waluigi, and Deadpool.

"Well now….looks like a rat snuck into our base…." Deadpool said ominously.

"Of freaking course, it's Miu." Waluigi groaned. "Who else would it be?!"

"Looks like Entrapta's little tip about a moving barrel wasn't a load of horse shit after all." Ryu points out. "Thought she was making that up."

"Looks we have a stowaway problem now." Edgeworth sighed.

"Actually, it's now a hostage situation." Cinder says sinisterly. "She was spying on us!"

"Miu….is this true?" Percy asked.

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"Fan-fucking-tastic!" Miu snapped. "Of course I'd be ratted out by the autistic chick! Yes, I was spying, okay?! But I did it with good intentions! I was trying to spy on them, then relay any useful info back to the team. I even brought a walkie talkie and everything! Even slipped the other one on one of my teammates! And of fucking course I get caught before I could actually accomplish something with this plan!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back on the Weirdos' ship, the whole team gathered together in the lounge room.

"As you have all noticed, one of us appears to be missing." Charlie begins.

"No shit, princess. It's little miss pervert who's disappeared." Lobo retorts.

"I was wondering why things were quieter than usual." Mae adds. "Not that I'm complaining of course."

"You don't think we could have left her behind on accident, do you?" Rodney hypothesized.

"I hope that's the case…" Katakuri admits. "Sometimes that girl can be quite unpredictable. And that's coming from someone who's known Wade for a while now."

"Honestly, I don't think this is the kind of thing you just get left behind from." Tatsumaki says apathetically, still drinking a bottle of alcohol. "If you ask me, she's up to something."

"Oh come on, Miu wouldn't be up to something." Charlie assures. "Besides, if she was she would run it by us first."

She suddenly feels something vibrating in her pocket. She reaches inside and pulls out some odd looking homemade walkie talkie.

"What the…..I don't remember packing this. Where'd it come from?"

It vibrates again, this time with a low static noise buzzing.

"I think I hear someone's voice!" Aqua said.

They all listen closely as the voice becomes much clearer through the static.

"...Hello? Helloooooo?"

"Wait…" Zeke said, "Is that…?

"WOULD SOMEBODY PICK UP THE GODDAMN PHONE?!" The voice snapped.

"Miu? Miu, is that you?" Katakuri asked.

"Yes, it's me!" She responded. "About time you guys picked up!"

"Miu, where exactly are you?" Charlie asked.

Miu laughs nervously "Yeah….funny thing about that…"

We immediately cut back over to the Maniacs' ship, and see that Miu is restrained in a chair outside, with Waluigi and Ryu tying her up. Meanwhile , Mao was holding the walkie talkie up to Miu.

"I tried to gain intel on the other team, got caught, and now I'm captured." She quickly finishes.

"WHAT?!" The whole team exclaimed.

"Are you out of your mind, lass?!" Zeke cried.

"Miu, what were you thinking?!" Katakuri snapped. "You went off on your own and said nothing?!"

"Well that was because I knew you guys would say no if I did bring it up!" Miu defends. "I'd rather get no answer than get a no!"

"Tsk tsk tsk…" Aqua says, shaking her head. "I tried to warn you guys about her….I warned you…"

"Is that Aqua?! Because if so, you can tell that bitch to go get fucked!"

"Now is not the time for this!" Charlie pleads. "Just stay put, and we'll-"

She's unable to finish the message as Mao crushes Miu's only way of communicating with her team.

"Oops, did I do that?" Mao said smugly. "MUHAHAHAHA! You're completely cut off, you human scum! Sorry not sorry!"

"You little turd! I worked hard on that!"

"Exactly why it was so satisfying to destroy! MUHAHAHAHA!"

Mao walks away, still laughing dramatically.

"Okay, I think that last knot should do it." Ryu said.

"Aw, but I want the ropes just a little harder, daddy~!" Miu moans. "Just a little more, I'm almost there~!"

Ryu had to step back and do a double take. "Whoa whoa whoa, what the hell's your deal?! Are you…. getting off on this?!"

"You really shouldn't be surprised, pal." Waluigi tells the shaman. "Waluigi's rather numb to it at this point, but when it comes to dealing with Miu, you have to deal with….her Miu-ness…"

"Even Panty was nowhere near this depraved." Ryu mutters.

"If you don't wanna hear anymore, you'd best better let me go!" Miu warns. "Tell you what, pompadour. I'll shut the fuck up if you let me go. Everybody wins!"

"You seem like the kind of person that just loves to hear themselves talk." Ryu said defiantly. "I know your type! And I'm not going to cave in that easily! Now that we have you tied up, it's time to empty your pockets. Just in case you're carrying anything potentially dangerous."

"Yeah, your choice in fashion is already a health hazard!" Miu taunts. "If you're not gonna budge, I can do this all day."

Miu begins emptying the contents of her pockets on the floor. There was a taser, breath mints, condoms, a cute anime keychain, a bag of Proud Snacks, and a weird little bottle that looked like 5 Hour Energy.

"Ew, why do you have these?!" Waluigi gags as he picks up the bag of snacks. "Didn't we all agree that they suck?!"

"I didn't have them for eating, Walu-idiot!" Miu said. "I had this idea for a new kind of eco-friendly pesticide, and those snacks were going to be the main ingredient."

"And what's this?" Ryu says as he picks up the small bottle. "An energy drink? Well, might as well have some of this. You're not gonna need it, and I'm kinda thirsty."

"Don't drink that!" Waluigi snapped.

But it was too late, as Ryu was already chugging it down.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Ryu asked when he finished.

"You really shouldn't have drank that…" Waluigi said grimly.

"W-wait, what happened?!" Ryu cried, beginning to panic. "Did I drink poison?! Am I gonna die?! Tell Bernie I love her!"

"Calm down, man." Tokageroh complains. "This girl came here to spy on us, not poison us."

"Listen to your ghost, buddy. It's not poison." Miu tells him. "All you drank was a home brewed truth serum."

"A truth serum?!" Ryu said worriedly. "Does it work?!"

"I dunno." Miu admits. "It's merely a prototype. I kept it in that small bottle so it'd be easy to carry around. I'm not even 100% sure if it really works."

"Okay….then try to ask me something I normally wouldn't say to anyone." Ryu says nervously. "And please keep it something not embarrassing."

"Does Bernie ever peg you?" Miu asks right out of the gate.

"S-sometimes." Ryu said with a flushed face and a goofy grin…until he realized what he just said. "I mean, what the hell, Miu?!"

"Ha! Fucking knew it…." Miu laughs proudly. "Well, we can skip question 2 since we know you're familiar with the terms "mommy" and "good boy", you subby little bitch. It's kinda cute, honestly."

Ryu was busy sticking his fingers in his mouth so he could get that serum out of his body. He successfully does, throwing up on the ground a bit in the process.

"God….that was awful…." Ryu said weakly. "You're the worst…"

"If it makes you feel any better, telling secrets is one hell of a way to break the ice." Miu says. "I'm frankly glad we could all learn a little bit about each other. You learned I like being tied up, and I learned how much you really love your girl."

"Shut up!" Ryu snapped. "That was a low blow! You listen here, girl! I'm gonna be making sure you don't try to escape. But if you say one more thing to me like that…" he gets up real close in her face. "Then we're going to use you as our anchor! Do I make myself clear?!" He threatens.

Miu has to think this over. "Okay, picturing that, picturing that, picturing that….nope, not arousing. Your threat has been made clear."

Good!"

"Well, uh…" Waluigi awkwardly proceeds to walk away. "Waluigi's just gonna walk away before he gets dragged into this nonsense."

"Just tell Kronk and Bernie I won't be able to help them with dinner." Ryu asks. "Gotta keep an eye on her."

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"I think it was safe to say that at that point my plan was an absolute dumpster fire." Miu admits. "No way I was getting out then. They even made sure to keep anything metal away from me. Smart bastards…"

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The Weirdos listened in on Miu's message before it cut out.

"Well that's not good." Mae deadpans.

"I can't believe she went and did something so reckless." Katakuri angrily states.

"A clever idea on paper, but sloppy execution." Kaiba said smugly.

"Oh, like you could do better?!" Oscar retorts.

"Hmph…better than you at least, snack man."

"If it's any consolation, at least we know where she is." Charlie says optimistically. "She's with the other team, she's safe,-"

"More or less." Lobo adds.

"Yes. We know she's with them. For the moment, I don't think there's any need to worry."

"When we see her again, I'm going to really let her have an earful." Katakuri mutters.

Well, meeting adjourned, I suppose." Max says.

Suddenly, Ford bursts into the room, carrying a large blaster of some kind.

"Did you find who it was who abducted her?!" He asked.

"Relax, she's not abducted." Zeke assures. "At least not in the way we should worry about. At least not worth getting up in arms."

Ford understands, and lowers his weapon. "Ah, I see. Apologies for literally jumping the gun like that. Decades of dimension traveling have put me in situations where bearing arms is the go to move."

"It's alright, we all make mistakes." Charlie assures. "Now then, I think our next item on the docket is working on dinner. It's getting to be around that time."

"I'm already on it." Chie tells her.

"Oh, this'll be absolute gold." Oscar chuckles.

"Don't be so quick to dismiss her culinary skills, Proud." Kaiba scoffs. "I've already heard how awful yours is."

"You wanna talk to me like that, rich boy?!" Oscar responds.

"HEY!" Peacock shouts from across the room, still watching her show. "Trying to watch cartoons over here! Keep disturbing it, and I'm gonna give y'all a reason to scream, bubs!"

"Okay, I think it's best we do as she said and disperse." Charlie said nervously. "Chie, go ahead and get dinner started. Kaiba, please be nice to Oscar."

Oscar sticks his tongue out smugly at Kaiba, with the duelist simply rolling his eyes.

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"Oh sure, take his side, princess." Kaiba says mockingly. "That'll work out well for you in the end."

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"Judging by the map, I'd say we should be at his location tomorrow afternoon if we go at the speed we're going." Percy says while steering the ship.

"That's good." Edgeworth tells her. "Mind if I take a look at the map for a moment?"

"Of course."

Just as Percy is about to, she doesn't see Miles anymore. The person standing in his spot was none other than Light, grinning maliciously at her.

"No!" She cries, falling on her back in shock.

"Are you alright, miss?"

Edgeworth stretches out his hand to lift her up. As Percy looks back up, she still sees Light.

"What's wrong, officer?" Light asked mockingly. "Too afraid to let someone help you up?! It's okay……you can trust me…."

"Stay away from me you backstabbing demon!" Percy hissed, drawing her sword at Edgeworth.

"Backstabbing?!" Edgeworth said, almost offended. "What has gotten into you?!"

Percy blinks a few times, and sees that Light was gone now. It was just Miles, still offering to help her up.

"Y-you're right…" She says awkwardly. She sheathes her sword and takes his offer. "I deeply apologize for how I just conducted myself."

"Just what was it that got into you?!" Edgeworth asked. "Something clearly bothered you."

Percy sighed. "I suppose it wouldn't do any benefit to keep this to myself, but I guess I'll tell you. Ever since I last competed, I've been seeing….him, every so often."

"Who is this 'him?'" Edgeworth wonders.

"It's Light." Percy admits. "I thought I'd already moved past him…but he still haunts my thoughts sometimes. One moment I could be minding my own business, and the next I see him leering at me….telling me my justice is flawed…reveling in how much of a fool I was to trust him."

Edgeworth, who had been listening quietly and attentively, nods in understanding. "I see….I didn't know he had gotten to you that much. While I'd never really interacted with him, I understand fully the type of slimy individual he is. I've prosecuted many like him, who think they know better than the law."

"Ah, that's right…I forgot that prosecuting is your profession." Percy chuckles.

"Although to be honest…I at one point was someone who used my profession for less than savory means, like Yagami." Edgeworth admits.

"What?"

"Back then, all I cared about was getting a guilty verdict….no matter what it took. But one man opened my eyes, and reminded me why I became a prosecutor in the first place."

"Which is?" Percy asked.

"To find the truth. That's why I do what I do. Anytime you feel like you're losing confidence in your job, just remember that. As long you keep trying to find the truth, you're doing right by justice."

"I don't understand…why are you telling me this?"

"Because you told me something about yourself." Edgeworth says bluntly. "I felt I should return the favor to make you feel better. Does that help?"

"I….I think…" Percy says, still unsure. "I wouldn't be surprised if I still see him mocking me, even beyond the grave."

"These things take time, like a lot of things in life. I even still have things I'm still working through. But that's for another time. Even I was able to help even just a little bit, at least I helped. Even if my hands will never truly be clean of the things I did, I can assure you that I'm to be trusted. Whether you think I am not "

"Hey…." Deadpool said, suddenly right in both of their faces. "You two should kiss."

"OH MY GOODNESS!"

"WADE, COULD YOU NOT RIGHT NOW?!"

"But I'm soooooo fucking borrrrrrrrrred!" Deadpool moans. "Since my closest friend here and newest friend here are on a boat who knows how far away, I'm struggling to find something to do. I was heckling Miu there for a bit, but that got bored pretty damn quickly. So I tried shipping you two together, even if realistically you two are not the romantic types."

"Is that all you came here for?" Percy asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. Dinner's ready if you two are interested. I'm still full from lunch, so let me take over for you guys.

"Said lunch was nothing but a shopping bag filled with microwave chimichangas." Edgeworth mutters as they leave.

"And it was delicious!"

As they head down, Edgeworth could be heard yelling.

"Who the hell vomited on the poop deck?!"

Then Red's voice could be heard.

"If he's mad now, wait until he sees what I left on the vomit deck."

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Katakuri walks a bit weakly, hunger overtaking all current thoughts.

"Guh…..so….hungry….how much longer is that girl going to be?!..."

He suddenly hears an explosion, and sees some fire coming from outside the kitchen.

"What the hell?! That can't be a good sign…"

He quickly makes a beeline for the kitchen. As soon as he opens the door, he's met with a plume of smoke hitting him head on.

"What's going on in here?!" He coughs.

The smoke clears, showing Chie holding a really large pot filled with…. something.

"Oh, Katakuri, it's just you." Chie said casually. "Guess the smell enticed you. I heard you're a big eater like yours truly.

"Chie…." Katakuri said nervously while pointing at the pot. "What is….that?!"

The food inside the pot had the consistency of sludge or slime, a purple, hazy miasma emanating from it.

"Oh, it's my special homemade curry, Satonaka Style!" Chie said proudly. "Care to try the first bite?!"

Katakuri looks down at the "curry", and starts to grow more concerned. "This is supposed to be curry? And….you…made this?"

Chie nods. "Yep. Just try for yourself. It tastes better than it looks. Anyone can cook….but only the fearless create."

"...Did you watch Ratatouille last night?" Katakuri asks.

"That little rat is funny."

Katakuri tries to take her world for it, and grabs a spoon. He scoops up some of the sludge, and just looks at it for a moment. Very briefly, he peers into the future, and saw…something unpleasant. He looks back at Chie, who's watching him with hope and anticipation in her eyes. He looks back at his spoon, takes a deep breath….and eats it.

The taste, the texture, it was all awful…perhaps even worse than anything he's ever eaten. Once he swallowed it, everything went black.

THUD

Katakuri dropped to the ground like a lead weight. His eyes were blank, his mouth foaming. Chie begins to panic and freak out.

"AHHHHHHH! HE COLLAPSED! WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I DO?!"

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"Crap crap crap! I messed up big time!" Chie panics. "I know my cooking has been criticized in the past, but I thought I had this down now! I might have just killed one of our teammates!"

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The commotion alerted more of the team. Charlie, Oscar, Spinel, Max, Mae, the Nomad, and Lobo enter the room.

"I heard a noise! What happened?!" Charlie cried. She scans the room and sees her boyfriend unconscious and foaming at the mouth on the floor. "AHHH! What happened to you?!"

As Charlie is trying to tend to him, Oscar looks at the nervously sweating Chie…only to look at the pot of curry.

"Well well well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to put two and two together." Oscar said smugly. "I think Drake Bell over there poisoned him with…. whatever that's supposed to be…"

"I-it's curry…" Chie squeaked.

"Curry?! That's a dang health hazard! And here you were criticizing my snacks earlier!"

Max looks in the pantry, and his heart sinks into his stomach.

"What happened to all the food?! There's nothing left!"

"About that…" Chie said nervously. "I kept messing it up, so I ended up using everything…"

"That was nearly three days worth of food down the drain!" Oscar cried. "And you used all of it?! You're an absolute bonehead!"

"Now's not the time to be proving a point." Charlie said worriedly. "Guys, help me carry him."

They all carry him into the lounge room, where Peacock was still watching cartoons on the sofa.

"Mind getting up, kid?" Lobo asked. "We got a bit of an emergency here."

Peacock groans as she turns off the TV. "Awright, who's big idea was it to-oh…he's not looking very good."

"Which is why we need the couch right now." Max said. "Geez, this guy's heavy…"

They set the pirate gently on the couch. He still appeared to be breathing, but his face was looking pale. All he could do was let out groans and grunts.

"Somebody get the first aid kit, please!" Charlie orders.

Oscar looks over at Chie. "You heard the woman. Go get it!"

"What?! Why me?!" Chie said defensively.

"Because this is all your fault, young lady!"

"Has this man learned nothing from earlier?!" Max said in disbelief.

"Yeah, kinda ridiculous." Mae adds. "History repeats itself."

"Hey, I had good intentions behind it!" Chie defends.

"Get real! That crap you made is the farthest thing from good intentions!" Oscar retorts. "At least my snacks didn't incapacitate what's basically the closest thing to a leader on this team!"

"Oh, you're still moaning about those snacks?! Those things are not fit for consumption!"

"Better than your…..your Mystery Food X!"

"Guys, please!" Charlie pleads. "He needs our help!"

"You know what? I'll go get it." Mae says casually.

Unfortunately for them, Chie and Oscar were still arguing. Until Oscar is suddenly hit in the head with a frying pan.

"Would you all keep it down, for heaven's sake?!" Tatsumaki angrily slurred as she entered the room. Her face was looking a bit flushed, clearly now full blown drunk.

"That's it, I'm gonna have a little chat with Aqua later about giving her alcohol…" Charlie says as she's tending to Katakuri.

It was then that Kaiba, Zeke, Pandoria, and Aqua enter the room

"What happened?" Kaiba asked. "I thought I heard the sound of metal hitting numbskull." He looks down to see Oscar moaning in agony. "Huh…I guess I did."

"Screw you, Asian Wizard Kelly…" Oscar groans in pain.

Zeke winces at the sight of Katakuri. "Oof, looks like the big guy's not doing too hot."

"Here you go, Char." Mae says as she returns with the first aid kit.

"Ah, thanks a bunch, Mae."

"What did we miss?" Aqua asked.

"If what I saw in the kitchen is to be believed, it appears our dear Katakuri must've eaten something they disagreed with him." Kaiba said.

"Yeah, that one's actually on me." Chie said sheepishly.

"Is that so? That's hard to believe. I'd expect such a culinary catastrophe from Proud of all people."

"What do you have against me, rich boy?!" Oscar whined.

"Sorry if you're so easy to get a rise out of." Kaiba said. "It's Wheeler 2.0 over here."

Before Oscar could say something back, he grunts painfully as Chie lands a hard kick in his gut.

"That was for insulting me again!"

"How dare you…" Oscar growled. The snack maker slaps Chie across her face.

"You can't hit me, I'm a girl!" She snapped.

"Huh, could've fooled me." Oscar snarked.

"You know, you-"

Chie is interrupted as Peacock smashes a chair over her head.

"You guys ruined my Annie marathon!" The cyborg cried. "Now that warrants a beat down!"

"Stay out of this, kid!" Oscar said. "This is between me, her, and rich boy!"

"Oh, a wise guy, eh?!"

Peacock pulls out a small cannon and fires it. Oscar swiftly dodges, but the cannonball hits Zeke instead.

"Oof, driver down…" Zeke grunts as he collapsed.

"Hey! Don't you dare hurt my prince!" Pandoria snapped. She takes out something that looked like a hilt or wand. Electricity fires from it, but it ends up hitting Aqua.

"Hey! I didn't even do anything! Now you're gonna get it!"

"Oooooh, I smell a fight!" Lobo said excitedly. He cracks his knuckles with gleeful anticipation.

"Don't escalate this crud, pasty!" Kaiba warns.

Lobo responds by decking Kaiba in the face. From there, all hell broke loose as a fight suddenly broke out. Chie, Oscar, Kaiba, Aqua, Tatsumaki, Lobo, and Peacock began to fight each other.

"I've seen war! I'm not afraid to die!" Peacock cackles. "Come join me, Spinny!"

"Okay!" Spinel says.

"Don't join in." Max sighs.

"But it looks like so much fuuuuuuun!" Spinel pouts. She ignores further protests and joins into the scrap.

"Guys, please stop fighting…." Charlie says quietly. Her attempts to uphold the peace were utterly ruined. All she could do was try and treat Katakuri. The Nomad was by her side, putting her back as he tried to console her.

"Man, I'm at a complete loss of what to do, in all honesty." Max says to Mae.

"Well, at least Chie wasn't wrong." Mae jokes. "Her food did knock someone off their feet. So what do we do about these guys?"

"Eh, they'll tire themselves out." Max says assuredly. "Probably."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the Maniacs were having a lively evening around the table. A gourmet feast of everyone's favorite foods was spread out.

"This is sooooooooo good!" Luz gushes.

"You guys really outdid yourselves with this one." Percy congratulates. "I'd forgotten the comforts of a banquet such as this."

"What do I always say?" Ryu says proudly. "A home cooked meal is like a big hug from mom."

"Which is why I made sure to make you your favorite, sushi roll.~" Bernadetta says sweetly as she sets his plate down, which was loaded with hot dogs.

"Aw, you remembered." Ryu said happily. "You're the absolute best, Bernie Bear."

"You've impressed me, humans." Mao said. "Why, this probably even told the meals my butler would make me."

"And they even made tiny food!" Entrapta said as she ate.

"Yeah, that one was kind of an odd request, but I'm happy to fulfill it." Kronk said. He finishes making a plate and takes it over to the still restrained Miu, who Ryu brought in there with them.

"What are you doing?" Miu asked.

"Just because you're our prisoner doesn't mean you go hungry." Kronk tells her. "I can't untie you for obvious reasons, so open up the airplane."

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"Was I fed like a baby? Yes." Miu admits. "Was the food good?" She begins to sob. "It was the best damn shit I've ever eaten…"

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"So girls, how's poor Wendy holding up?" Barrett asked. "She looked absolutely horrible earlier."

"She's sleeping at the moment." Ruby answered. "So far, things have been going well. We've been making sure to care for her."

"Carla hasn't even left Wendy's side the whole time." Luz adds. "Her and Wendy's Dragonite are keeping an eye on her at the moment…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We now move back to Wendy, who was quietly sleeping at this time. Carla and her Dragonite Icarus were watching over her. Despite how peaceful she looked, they still couldn't help but worry.

Dragonite lets out a low whine.

"I'm worried about her, too." Carla sighs. "At least those girls have been trying their best to help her."

They hear a sleepy groan as Wendy shuffles a bit.

"C….Carla?" Wendy said weakly.

"Don't worry, child. I'm here." Carla assures her. "How are you feeling?"

"Still like crud…" Wendy moans. "But a little better….I think I just need some more sleep, and I think I'll break this fever."

"That's a relief." Carla said. "I know Ruby and Luz have been busting their behinds to take care of you."

"Is that so…?" Wendy asked groggily. "Today has just been a bit of a blur for me. I'm glad I have them to rely on. They're such good friends."

"Yes…. even I have no fear in trusting them." Carla adds.

"When this challenge is said and done…and when I'm feeling better…" Wendy begins. "Maybe the three of us should form an alliance of our own…"

Carla thinks this over. "Hmm…..perhaps that's not a bad idea. But for the moment, I'd suggest you get some more rest. It's already getting late, and we should be arriving at that monster's location tomorrow."

Wendy nods, and begins to doze off. But before she falls asleep, she says one last thing.

"I hope big bro is doing better than I am right now…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Katakuri is still lying unconscious on the couch, groaning in pain, his body feeling weak and limp. All around him, most of his team was sitting there in silence. The room was completely trashed, and nearly everyone looked bruised and battered from their fighting.

Once Charlie finishes giving him more stomach medicine, she turns around and sees the disaster before her.

"Well, it looks like everyone has….got it all out of their systems…" Charlie says awkwardly.

None of them were in a cherry mood. They were all tired, bored, in pain, and most of all….hungry.

"The TV is destroyed…" Peacock whines.

"Yeah, that's my bad." Lobo said.

"I'm so hungry…" Aqua groaned.

"And that one's my bad…" Chie says. "I'm starving…I feel like I'm gonna wither away…"

"Okay, I know everything looks bad." Charlie says.

"Understatement of the century, princess." Kaiba snarks.

"We have literally nothing to eat!" Max complained.

"That's not true!" Aqua said. "We still have a fully locked liquor cellar!"

"Some of us aren't old enough to drink! And how's that gonna fill our bellies?!"

"Things are looking rather bleak…" Zeke says defeatedly. "Maybe we should just cut our losses and return to the island."

The door slams open, and it's shown to be Rodney.

"Guys, I think I may have found a solution to our food problem!"

"You did?!" Chie asked.

"Wonder how you pulled that off." Oscar said in disbelief. "What, is there a restaurant floating out on the water?! Hahahaha!"

The whole team heads up above deck, where the interns were already looking at something in the distance.

"Huh…..what is that?" Mae said as she tried to get a better look. "Please be tacos…"

As the team gets a better look, they see a large sign showing golden arches.

"Is that a McDonald's out on the open water?!" Lobo exclaimed.

"Congrats for getting something right for once, Proud." Kaiba says.

"For once?!"

"Man, having to eat must be hard on some humans." Spinel remarks.

"Starvation is one of the most painful ways for a person to die." Ford informs. "Although my travels have shown that is far from the worst way to almost die."

"Holy crap, look!" Max points out.

As they sail further, they see the restaurant…actually floating on the water thanks to wooden rafts. It even has a functioning drive thru, or in this case, a sail thru.

"Well I'll be damned." Zeke marvels. "I mean, I think this is a good thing. We don't have places to eat like this in my world."

"It's a miracle…" Charlie said. "You really saved our skins, Rodney."

"Hallelujah, not all hope is lost, kid!" Oscar cried.

"Yeah, you're an absolute lifesaver!" Chie said as she began to drool.

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"Wow, I'm not used to being praised so much by people that aren't my family." Rodney admits. "Despite things looking bad for us, I had to help everyone out. I don't wanna sound like I'm getting a big head or anything, but I'm pretty good at leading and helping everyone back home. But to be fair, I don't think a restaurant on the water was on my bingo card…"

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"So….did everyone bring money for food?" Aqua asked hopefully.

"What, did Terry not give you enough spending money?" Max asked.

"No! I just…. already blew through what I came here with."

"Ha! Then it's my time to shine!" Kaiba said. He pulls out a credit card, and flashes it at everyone like one of his precious Duel Monsters. "Dinner is on me tonight, everyone."

(A few minutes later…)

"Hello, welcome to McDonald's. Will you be using our mobile app today?!" The voice on the other side asked in the drive thru.

"No, that won't be necessary." Kaiba responds."

"What can I get for you?"

Kaiba looks at the menu in disgust. All the food here is far from the rich and high quality food he was used to eating on a regular basis. It's just a shame that their other options for food basically boiled down to Proud Snacks or Mystery Food X. Not the time to be picky.

"Okay, can I get two McChicken sandwiches, and a Diet Coke?" Kaiba starts. "And a….." he looks back at his team. "What do you guys want?"

"NUGGETS!" Peacock cried.

"We'll get to you!" Kaiba sternly.

"Poyo!" Kirbo answers.

"Filet O' Fish!" Gura said.

"Just a black coffee for me, thank you." Ford says.

"Can I do ten Big Macs?" Chie asked.

"You are not eating ten Big Macs!" Oscar scolded.

"Hey, don't judge! I'm hungry!"

"Can I do a McDLT?" Lobo asked.

"Lobo, I already told you that they don't make those anymore." Charlie calmly explains.

"But they have all the ingredients for it already!"

"I'd love a Shamrock Shake if they still got any of those." Mae says.

"It's September, Mae!" Tatsumaki snapped.

"Are you still drinking?!" Oscar exclaimed.

"This bottle is the only thing keeping me from twisting you into a pretzel!" The esper threatens.

Before Kaiba could say anything, he heard a ship honking their horn behind them in line.

"Just hold on, alright?!" Kaiba snapped to the sailor behind them.

"Hurry your asses up!" The guy claps back.

"Well sorry, there's a lot of us! It's a big order, alright?!"

"What time do they stop serving breakfast?" Charlie asked. Katakuri could be heard audibly groaning in the background. "Better get him some apple pies while we're at it."

"It's evening time, they don't have breakfast!" Oscar whined.

"Do they have beer?" Aqua asked.

Kaiba had this look of abject disbelief as he ordered their food, even holding that expression when he watched everyone eat. Even though they hadn't eaten anything nearly all day, the whole group were eating like savages. Food was flying everywhere as everyone was pigging out. He'd never even seen people eat like this back at the orphanage.

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"This entire team is probably hopeless." Kaiba sighs. "Our most competent member is sick, and this pack of wolves eats like they've never seen food before. Weeding out all the squeaky wheels will be more difficult than I thought. Though Proud sticks out as one of the squeakiest."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Night falls, as we see Maniacs all sleeping in their hammocks. Luz, Ruby, and Carla were all passed out in the lounge room with Wendy. Ryu had fell asleep while watching Miu, while Geralt sat in the ship's crow's nest while keeping watch. The Witcher was dozing in and out of his night watch as he struggled to stay awake.

Miu was looking around the now quiet deck. Everyone was basically asleep, and she was planning her escape.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This plan was a complete bust." Miu said. "Since the whole thing went to shit, I figured I should find a way off their ship and back to my teammates. I just had to be sneaky."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After so much effort, Miu was able to successfully cut the ropes off thanks to the plastic knife she kept from dinner.

"That's step one out of the way." She tells herself. "Now I need to find myself a dinghy and find my team."

As she begins to leave, she suddenly hears the snoring of Ryu startling her. The shaman shifts a little bit, and Miu could see that Bernadetta had somehow snuck up and was snuggled up right next to her boyfriend while they slept.

"Again, I fucking knew it with those two." Miu said quietly as she tiptoed around the ship.

She keeps quietly searching until she sees a small boat for emergency exits seen dangling over the water.

"I had a dog and his name was bingo!" The inventor said triumphantly.

"Just where do you think you're going?" A voice asked. Miu nearly felt her soul leave her body as she realized she was caught. "And at this time of night, no less."

Miu shakily turns around, realizing she was caught by Cinder, Mao, and Entrapta.

"No seriously, where are you going?" Entrapta reiterated.

"Someone's trying to jump ship, it seems." Cinder answered smugly.

"Leaving so soon?" Mao asked mockingly.

"Keep your voices down!" Miu quietly hissed. "But she is right, I'm outta this shithole. Mind keeping this between us?"

"Why should we?" Mao asked. "On the one hand, letting you go would be doing something nice, which I hate. Besides…" He pulls out some tools as he begins to breathe heavily, his glasses fogging up. "I haven't done any experimentation or body modifications in a hot minute!"

"I say we let her go." Cinder decides.

"Oh, okay. I thought that's what we're already doing." Entrapta says.

"Are you out of your mind?" Mao says in disbelief. "We could snitch on this chick!"

"I know what I said." Cinder said assuredly. "Besides, think of the chaos that'll erupt when the others find out she's gone. Isn't that alternative entertaining?"

Mao thinks it over for a moment. "Hmm… perhaps you're right. Delightfully devilish, why didn't I think of that?!"

"So…..you guys are just letting me go?" Miu asked.

"That's right." Cinder tells her. "Consider it a thanks from me for taking down that pompous bitch, Coyle."

"And you won't say a thing to anyone about this?" Miu makes sure.

"Our lips our sealed. We didn't see nor hear anything. We were asleep just like everyone else. So get going before I change my mind."

"Wow….thanks…"

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"Cinder, of all people, doing me a solid…" Miu muses. "Maybe she's cleaned up her act after all. Either way, I can't believe I basically got away with it."

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"That girl's absence was sure to cause quite a storm come morning." Cinder chuckles. "Doing something nice just this once is all apart of my plan. And that plan requires multiple smaller plans for that to work."

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The next day was found to be dark and stormy compared to how bright and sunny it was the day before.

Nearly all of the Weirdos were staying dry inside the lounge room.

"We should be near Balzafyre's location!" Kaiba says as he slams the map down in front of everyone. "No matter what we encounter, I expect all of you to be ready to fight."

"Hold on, who died and put you in charge?!" Aqua asked.

"Since our unofficial leader in incapacitated, and since hardly any of you are qualified to be in any leadership position, I've taken the liberty."

"Please don't fight about it, guys." Charlie tells them. "I would, but someone needs to look after Katakuri. As for Tornado…"

Tatsumaki was passed out on the floor, deep asleep.

"I blame you for that one." Max tells Aqua.

"That's fair."

"I might need some help out here!" Rodney called from above deck. His voice was sounding a bit shaky. "This storm is kicking up something fierce!"

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"I am so, so, so sorry!" Ryu pleads. The shaman was bowing down on his hands and knees in forgiveness in front of the entire team. "I don't know how she got away!"

"That's strange." Geralt mutters. "I was on watch duty….how did that girl give me the slip?"

"Maybe she turned into a bar of soap?" Deadpool jokes. "You know, since she 'gave you the slip?'" The angry looks from some of his teammates made the message clear to the merc. "You know what, you're right. This is no time for a Sonic reference. Maybe later."

"That girl is always the crafty one." Cinder remarks. "Wouldn't surprise me if she had any tricks up her sleeve we neglected to check for."

"I knew I should have been more thorough." Ryu says bitterly. "I wasn't looking through anything else she had after the truth serum."

Wendy suddenly jolts awake, much to the team's surprise.

"Wendy! You're alright!" Ruby said with relief.

"Wait….is she?" Bernadetta asked skeptically.

"I…..I feel better, thanks to you guys." Wendy deadpans.

"Well, you surely don't sound like it." Gwen says. "Is something wrong?"

"I smell him." Wendy says grimly.

"Give me a break! This ship doesn't have any showers!" Waluigi said defensively.

"It's not you guys……I meant to say I sense him. Balzafyre"

"Really?!" Geralt exclaimed. "You can sense him?!"

"My Observation Haki is picking up something malicious."

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"I'm impressed she managed to find him before even I could." Geralt remarks. "I really should give this girl much more credit."

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"Then everyone who can fight, man your battle stations." Geralt orders. "There's no telling what we're going up against."

"Okay….here we go…" Bernadetta says as she inhales nervously. "I hope we finish this quickly."

"MUHAHAHAHA! That fish is gonna be tonight's dinner on our victory lap back home!" Mao cackles.

The Maniacs all rush outside into the rain. The ship was shaking around violently due to the rough currents. The rain was pouring down so hard it was hard to make out anything.

"Do you still smell him?!" Edgeworth asked.

"I do!" Wendy answers. "But….I smell something else, too. It's familiar….."

"Hey, guys, look over there!" Luz says. "I think that's the other team!"

As if on cue, the Weirdos' ship appeared in full view.

"Ahoy there, scallywags!" Peacock called out.

"Relinquish our teammate, or walk the plank!" Spinel adds.

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that girl has already jumped ship and got away." Kronk says.

"What?!" Oscar cried. "Then where did she go?!"

"Guys…?!" Rodney squeaked. "You might wanna take a look at this…"

Everyone looks ahead of them. Through the storm, they could see a red pair of eyes towering over them.

"Holy crap, that's really high up!" Tokageroh said worriedly. "How big is this guy?!"

"It's even bigger than Gjira…" Wendy mutters.

"Have confidence!" Korone tells them

As if things couldn't get worse, more pairs of red eyes open. Now there was five pairs of equally crimson red eyes glaring down at them.

"No confidence." Korone says.

"T-That can't be right…" Percy said in shock. "We were told there was only one creature…"

The rain began to clear around the creature, and nobody could believe what they were saying.

"Good god…." Ford said ominously.

Towering over everyone were five long identical necks. Each head had glowing red eyes, huge fangs that couldn't fit in their mouths, and fishy frills around their heads. The creatures gave off a high pitched roar that shook the water and the sky. Everyone was absolutely terrified. All they could do was stand there, almost paralyzed with fear.

"GIANT SEA MONSTERS!" Everyone screamed in unison.

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Katakuri's eyes suddenly open, much to Charlie's relief.

"What's going on?!" He asked.

"You're finally back up!" Charlie said tearfully. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, more or less. My Haki is sensing something bad. Really bad."

They suddenly hear the roaring outside.

"Let's go!" He tells her.

They run outside and see what everyone else is seeing.

"You're finally up! Thank God you're still alive!" Chie says. "So glad I didn't kill you!"

"What the hell?! Chris said there was only one sea monster!" Charlie exclaimed. "Not five!"

"That's weird ..I'm not sensing multiple presences." Katakuri says.

"What are you getting at?!" Kaiba asked.

"Is it the same for you, Wendy?!" Geralt asked.

Wendy nods. "There's no doubt about it. There aren't multiple creatures…."

"... They're all the same creature, just multiple heads!" Katakuri says. "Which makes me wonder how big this creature really is…"

"Seriously?!" Zeke says. "Well then, that'll make this somewhat easier. So what, we just cut off the heads or something?"

"Haven't you heard of the Hydra in Greek Mythology, Shellhead?" Kaiba explains. "You cut off one head, two more will take its place."

"But it's a fish, not a dragon!" Chie brings up.

"Mutant fish, remember?" Max reminds them. "Wouldn't surprise me if that thing could fire lasers."

One of the heads opens its mouth, as a blue ball of energy starts forming in its mouth.

"W-what's it doing?" Aqua asked nervously.

Katakuri peers into the future for a moment, but even he saw there was no way to prevent what was about to happen.

"Everyone, listen closely!" Katakuri orders. "Jump into the water, right now!"

"Are you crazy?! You remember that you can't swim, right?!"

"Just trust me!"

The energy ball begins to grow bigger in the creature's mouth.

"You heard the man!" Lobo said whilst hoisting the still asleep Tatsumaki over his shoulder. "Abandon ship!"

The Weirdos all do as instructed and jump into the water. Balzafyre fires out a massive energy beam from his mouth, completely obliterating their ship.

"Holy crap, he wasn't kidding…." Mae said. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes."

"What was it like?" Max asked.

"Awesome."

"C'mon somebody help me get those guys out of the water!" Kronk pleads.

"Please hurry!" Charlie says she tries to keep Katakuri afloat. His body was feeling weaker and unable to move in the water. "He physically can't swim!"

Geralt and Percy Rush into action, throwing rope over the ship for the Weirdos to grab onto.

"Hurry, citizens!" Percy urges with the utmost urgency. "There's no telling when that creature will begin the second salvo!"

"I-I think he's about to fire again!" Bernadetta cried.

All five heads open their mouths and prepare to fire at the Maniacs' ship.

"Okay, I think that's the last one!" Geralt said as he helps the Nomad onto the ship.

"This is bad…" bad Wendy whimpers.

"I doubt we're gonna avoid this one…" Edgeworth said with uncertainty.

Geralt prepares to ready a magic barrier, but someone flies past him and towards the monster. It was shown to be Mao, sword in hand as he flies towards Balzafyre.

"What is that kid doing?!" Cinder angrily exclaimed.

"Is he insane?!" Gwen adds.

The heads all fire their beams at the demon honor's student, and Mao swiftly slices through them all in a single swing. Everyone was left stunned as they were witnessing what Mao did.

"Not bad….but I've seen stronger from my old man!" Mao brags as he lands on one of the heads. "But what's an oversized aquarium attraction compared to the future Overlord of the Netherworld! MUHAHAHAHA!"

He pulls out the bag of snacks Miu brought with her from his pocket.

"What's he doing up there?!" Chie said.

"What's he doing with my snacks?!" Oscar cried.

"You know, I could just vaporize you right here!" Mao states. "But Iruma did say she was experimenting to use this crap as a pest killer……so let a fellow bright mind carry out the experiment to the very end by killing this pest!" He uses his strength to pry the jaws of the beast open.

"WELCOME TO DEATH ROW! ENJOY YOUR FINAL MEAL, COURTESY OF MOI! MUHAHAHAHA!"

Mao chucks the bag into his mouth and hops off his, backflipping back into the ship with perfect poise.

"What were you thinking, kid?!" Ryu exclaimed.

"Relax, just give it a moment." Mao says assuredly. "In three….two….one…."

The creature begins to roar again, only this time it sounded more pained. Everyone watches as the creature's heads begin to sway back and forth.

"What's happening to it?" Pandoria asks.

"If my hypothesis is correct, that thing should drop in a matter of moments from being poisoned." Mao proposes.

"Poison?!" Oscar said, feeling offended. "Listen here, brat. They're just an acquired taste is all! There is no way my snacks will kill something like-"

Balzafyre let's out an agonizing final groan as all the heads drop to the water, the rest of the creature sinking below the depths as it slowly died. Everyone stood there in shock, while Oscar looked absolutely devastated. As the creature sank more, the rain began to disappear, leaving it as sunny as it was the previous day.

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"What did I tell you?! Look who just won it for their team!" Mao brags. "Another win for the Infamous Demon Honor's Student! MUHAHAHAHA!"

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"I don't know what's more lethal…" Mae begins. "Oscar's snacks or Chie's cooking. One bite, and you say goodnight. Hey, that would probably work as a catchy jingle."

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"Is….is he really done for?" Barrett wonders. "Because if so, then mission fucking accomplished!"

"My word…" Ford marvels. "Turns out I didn't give you all enough credit. The people who beat Gjira and Chubzworth shouldn't have had anything to worry about here."

"In our defense, that thing caught us off guard." Max pointed out. "Plus I don't think anybody expected that thing could capsize an entire ship with one breath!"

Zeke goes over to Oscar and gives the man a pat on the back. "Ah, don't feel bad, chum. In a way, you kinda contributed to his demise."

"Pff, you don't see people praising the people who made bullets over the one who fired the gun." Kaiba arrogantly scoffed. "As much as I hate to admit it, this was their victory, none of ours…"

"Just let me have this, rich boy!" Oscar complained.

"Perhaps I will once you enter a better profession, because this one is definitely not for you."

"Why I oughta…."

"Oooooh…" Tatsumaki groans as she finally wakes up. "My head is pounding…"

"You get used to it." Aqua tells her.

"Now that that's all over with, I'm ready to finally head back." Geralt says. "Who's with me?"

The Weirdos all vocally agree. They all looked and felt like shit after all the stuff they went through in this challenge.

"Please tell me you guys still have food." Katakuri says as his stomach audibly growls. "I'm absolutely starving."

"Heh, I think we got you guys covered…" Kronk says optimistically.

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"Well, it looks like we lost the challenge." Kaiba said perfectly. "I already know who I'm voting for, but I wish I could personally vote for three or four people.

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The return trip back to the island was a rather quiet one. Some of the Weirdos were doing their best not to interact with certain members of their team, while the Maniacs tried to be amicable and hospitable to the other team. After another day or so, the ship finally returns to the island, with Chris, Chef, and Miu waiting for them at the dock.

"Ahoy, campers! That was quite the show you all put on!" Chris congratulates.

"Yeah, a shit show." Max says cynically as they all get off.

"Miu, why are you here?!" Katakuri angrily asked. "Last we heard, you escaped! What you did was absolutely stupid!"

"Hey, I tried to find my way back to you guys!" Miu said defensively. "I don't know how, but I somehow winded up back here before ever finding you guys."

"How can we trust you then if you're going to go AWOL with reckless plans that put yourself and us in danger?!" Aqua points out.

The Weirdos all glare at Miu, and the inventor's bravado immediately turns into embarrassment.

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"Yeah, I might be fucked." Miu admits worriedly. "If what I heard is true, I'm hoping the others screwed up even worse than I did. Hopefully Chie and/or Oscar fucked up even worse. But I'm actually kinda worried…"

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"Okay, so things could've gone…better, for our team." Charlie says awkwardly. "But I think our team needs a little bit of bonding to iron out all the….kinks, so to speak."

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"I take it that my actions give our team the win?" Mao says.

"Indeed it does, Mao!" Chris announces. "The Maniacs won the challenge!"

The Maniacs all celebrate with jubilation.

"Aw yeah…. c'mon, hotel!" Deadpool said excitedly.

"Actually, your reward this time isn't a stay at the spa hotel." Chris explains.

"Aw, what?!"

"We've prepared a special reward for you guys on this one. You guys get a special getaway for the whole weekend, courtesy of a familiar face to some of you."

"Who?" Ryu asked.

"That would be me, pal."

Walking onto the scene was a familiar gnome, rocking his familiar ponytail, beret, purple outfit, and lute.

"Scanlan?!" Percy said. "It's been far too long since we last saw each other."

"Looking scrumptious as ever, Miss King." Scanlan said. "Same could be said for a couple of these new faces. But now's not the time for flirting. You guys are heading back with me to my special little getaway from the everyday. Follow me."

The Maniacs follow Scanlan elsewhere, while the Weirdos watch in jealous disappointment.

"It's a shame, I've been to his pad already." Chris tells the Weirdos. "All the booze and chicken you could ever want."

"Booze?!" Aqua cries in disappointment.

"Chicken?!" Chie says, equally devastated.

"And he's a bard, so they're probably getting a musical number or two." Chris adds.

"And musical numbers?!" Charlie cried.

"Yep. Won't be the last time I throw out a special reward like that, so try harder from here on out. I'll be seeing your butts at elimination tonight."

Katakuri then runs over to the side of the dock and throws up.

"I may not entirely be back to one hundred percent quite yet…" he groans.

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Scanlan and the rest of the Weirdos are seen entering through a bright glowing door. Once on the other side, they find themselves face to face with a large mansion. They were currently inside a spacious foyer, complete with statues, a huge fountain, and gold record tracks lined on the wall. The sound of drums could be heard as small, purple, corporeal creatures wearing sunglasses we're moving all around the place.

"Wow…" Ruby said with excitement.

"Now I know what you're thinking, the place is a little small, but I'm a big believer in humble beginnings." Scanlan says.

"Humble?!" Cinder scoffs.

"This is actually amazing!" Wendy gushed.

"Wait, where's the rest of your team?" Ryu wonders.

"We all went our separate ways some time ago." Scanlan answers. "Got some father daughter time to catch up on myself, but I thought I'd be generous and offer my abode to you guys for a bit. A party that never stops, fit for all ages!"

"Wow….I didn't know you were a wizard." Kronk says naively as he looks at everything with stars in his eyes.

"Just what exactly is this place?" Bernadetta asks.

"And where the heck is that music coming from?!" Waluigi wonders.

The purple creatures all pick up instruments as Scanlan picks up his lute.

"All your questions shall be answered…in song~!"

Chateau Shorthalt: Meme-Verse Version

Entrapta suddenly finds herself in a steampunk-esque workshop. Deadpool ends up in a fighting arena, while Bernadetta finds herself in a serene forest flowing with lots of flora. And the three liked what they saw.

Scanlan: Entrapta gets a workshop to make gadgets and gizmos, Deadpool, here's your fighting pit!

Deadpool: (As many weapons fall into his arms) Oh hell yeah! Bring it on! Nice~

Scanlan: And Bernie gets a greenhouse to tend to her flytraps, and maybe grow me some spice!

"Um, this all seems kinda shady, and too good to be true." Gwen admits.

"We can argue how legit this all is...or, we can celebrate you winning your first challenge!" Scanlan says

(Chateau!)

Scanlan: Don't you want it?!

(Chateau!)

I know you need it!

(Chateau)

Kick back and join me at the Chateau Shorthalt!

(Chateau!)

The creatures start handing the grownups stuff to drink as the room transforms into a dance floor. The Maniacs decide they've been through a lot the past couple of days, so it's now time to party.

Scanlan: A banging nightclub!

(Chateau!)

We got a hot tub!

(Chateau!)

Come and join me at the Chateau Shorthalt!

Deadpool is seen looking longingly at a portrait as the music suddenly turns a bit somber. The picture had Spinel and Peacock on it.

Deadpool: I wonder if I'll ever get a chance...to enjoy it with them?

Kronk: Hey man, you coming?

The music begins picking back up again as we hit the final verse.

(Chateau!)

Geralt: (Holding up pints of ale) All you can drink!

(Chateau)

Ryu: (Steps into a rather shady looking room…) That's a WHOLE lotta kink…

(Chateau!)

Scanlan: A room for you and you and you and you and you and you!

(Chateau Shorthalt!)

Edgeworth: Even things I'd like?

The look on Edgeworth's face lights up like a child as the purple creatures present him a chess board, a tea set, and Steel Samurai merchandise.

Scanlan: Of Course!

(Chateau!)

Luz sees an epic portrait of her riding a horse into battle, wearing full blown witch regalia.

Luz: Guys look! I'm on a horse!

(Chateau!)

Scanlan: Come on and join me at the Chateau Shorthalt!

The Maniacs were all running towards the pool, already changed into their swim attire. They each jump in, one after the other. Ryu striking a cool pose, Mao blowing a raspberry at the screen, Bernie hiding her face while she jumps in, even Carla turning into her human form as she leapt into the air.

(Chateau, chateau, chateau, chateau, chateau...)

Scanlan: What happens in the Chateau stays in the Chateau!

Kronk jumps in last with a big cannonball, sending everybody flying as Waluigi's face slams into the camera.

SHORTHALT!

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Night falls upon the island, as a familiar bonfire burns brightly. The Weirdos all sat at elimination, most feeling nervous for one reason or another.

"Tsk tsk tsk. You all had such a great start." Chris tells them. "What happened?"

"Do I even need to spell it out?!" Kaiba said, glaring at a few of his teammates. "Just get it over with and make with the marshmallows."

"Alright, alright. No need to be so impatient. The following players are safe…"

"Charlie…"

"Tatsumaki…"

"Rodney…"

"Peacock…"

"Nomad…"

"Zeke…"

"Mae…"

"Katakuri…"

"Max…"

"Lobo…"

"Aqua…"

"Spinel…"

"And Kaiba…"

This leaves Chie, Oscar, and Miu, who have yet to receive a marshmallow.

"You three goofed up big time here." Chris explains. "Chie, you used up all the food reserves to create what's basically a biohazard. Stick to kung fu."

"I didn't mean to poison him…" Chie said meekly.

"Miu, you abandoned your team to follow on your own recon mission that went down the crapper immediately."

"I had good intentions, alright?!" Miu snapped.

"Now, time to see who lives to play another day!"

"Hey! Why am I on the chopping block?!" Oscar asked.

"Hard to say." Chris says. "I'd say it's for a multitude of reasons, such as getting on some of your team's bad side. Anyway, the next marshmallow goes to Chie."

Chie let out a big relieved sigh as she is tossed her reward. Oscar and Miu look absolutely terrified as they realize it's down to just them. Miu is crossing her fingers for luck while Oscar nervously bites his nails.

"The last marshmallow goes to…."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"...Oscar! Miu, you're out."

"Ha! In your face, girl!" Oscar tells Miu as he gets his marshmallow.

"Aw fuck." Miu groans. "Yeah, I kinda saw this coming. From second place to second boot…fucking unbelievable. At least I still have that internship I got after last season with a highly respected roboticist."

"You kinda saw it coming?" Mae snorts.

"Well, if I'm out of here, might as well say a couple things before I go." Miu points at Aqua. "Aqua, you already know I hate you, so I'll keep this brief. Fuck you, and I give you three episodes before these guys boot you off. And lastly, just wanted to let you all know Ryu is a little subby hubby who likes to be dominated by his meek, precious Bernie Bear…..peace out, bitches. Iruma out."

Chris follows Miu to the Dock of Shame.

"Alright, so how am I getting the fuck outta here?!" Miu asks.

"Like this." Chris says maliciously as he pulls out a small remote. "Say hello to the Iron Iruma Sayonara!"

"The wha-"

She cries out as the pieces of the Iron Man like suit she created last season attach themselves to her.

"Well, at least I have protection!" Miu jokes. "Wait….why can't I move?!"

"Ready for blast off!" Chris cackles as he presses another button.

The rocket boosters on her legs turn on as the suit flies away into the horizon…but not before flying wildly in several directions until it flew in the right direction.

"Huh…..gotta work out some of the kinks in this thing." Chris said. "Pun not intended."

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Most of the Weirdos had gone their separate ways that night. As Katakuri was heading to bed, he's suddenly pulled aside by Chie.

"Alright, what is your deal, kid?" Katakuri asked a bit impatiently.

"I really wanted to apologize to you." Chie begins. "I didn't mean to almost kill you. I was just trying to make something for the whole team to enjoy. Guess I still need lots of practice. I know I messed up, but I can try even harder to do better."

Katakuri sighs, understanding how genuine she was being about this.

"Relax, I'm not going to dwell on this. I understand you meant well. Even if I knew what was gonna happen, I didn't want to crush your dreams."

"My dreams?" Chie asked. "Being a chef isn't my dream. Wait…you saw the future….you knew what was gonna happen, and you still ate it! Were you trying to spare my feelings?"

"Perhaps." The pirate chuckles. "So then, what is your dream?"

"I'm gonna be a cop!" She answers proudly. "I wanna protect my small town back home, and the people there I care deeply about."

"A cop, huh?" Katakuri muses. "Sounds interesting. It's always admirable to have a dream."

"I love my town, and the people in it. That's why I came onto this show…to figure out how to get stronger so I can make my dream a reality."

Katakuri crosses his arms, thinking something over.

"Umm….are you okay…sir?" She asked.

"You've got guts, kid. And plenty of moxie to go with it. I too know what it's like to want to protect what's dearest to you." Katakuri tells her. "I may not be the martial artist master you were looking for like some past competitors…but if you stick with me, I'll make sure you get stronger."

Chie was still a bit confused. "W-what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'd like for you to become my newest student."

Chie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Despite feeling like she screwed up the challenge for her team, she was absolutely ecstatic to hear Katakuri offer her a position to train her and hone her skills.

"You want me to be WHAT?!" She happily responds.

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Welp, there's our final chapter for the year. Can't wait to see what the crew gets up to in 2025. After so long, we're back. Thought I'd come back with a hearty sized chapter as my gift to you guys. A lot of stuff went down here.

Here, we say goodbye to Miu, which honestly isn't much of a shock. She at least had an excellent run last season, and even came close to winning. Meanwhile, looks like the seeds are being set for storylines here as we meet new faces and….well, try to bond with each other.

Next time, our favorite Avalanche duo of Barrett and Red are hosting a game of Family Feud. Who will answer correctly, and who will XXX? Find out in the next episode.

Until then, happy holidays, and here's to a year that's hopefully better than this last one. This is MemeKing, signing off.