Total Drama X: Crossed Trees
Episode 3: Gaze of the Mutant
Dang, Anne Maria may actually be familiar with this challenge because we have the McLean classic of a course that is absolutely designed to scare the heck out of the mutants that both teams have to pass around and yes, they will eliminate two people!
It will (almost) always be like that until the finale, which isn't much of a spoiler, but I just wanted to give a little bit of time to get accquainted with the characters and besides Schezo and the guy we'll be eliminating today, the eliminations will start in full force eventually!
Time to rip another contestant away to really start this thing, because a plant grown from the woes of a former contestants will be created.
Chris was standing on a slightly different Twotrees Island, albeit you wouldn't really be able to tell.
"Last time on Total Drama, we selected 50 all-new, powerful weirdos from across the very real multiverse to be on a new crummy summer camp and also Schezo, who wasn't invited. Right after getting accquainted with said camp, confessionals and the cafeteria featuring the lovely Chef, they all got their first challenge...right at the top of the cliff!"
"These 51 guys either chose to dive or chose to be 100% chicken and here's the twist, those 11 chickens got a bad cabin and the rest got to search for the keys to a livable cabin! Through trials, epic bails and random stuff showing up, Joel Biden managed to open up that livable cabin and select his team! Joel made The Screaming Ostriches and The Killer Robins were all losers, Schezo most of all for comments that you wouldn't catch murderers saying! And he was the first boot, unlucky for him!"
"Now that Mr. Biden has his team set-up and the other team actually has 25 dudes, will he actually change his fake name even if it's funny? Will the other team actually win? Will my looks get any better? The third's obvious, but for the first two...find out on TOTAL DRAMA X: CROSSED TREES!"
i don't do intros at the moment, new one coming eventually.
The Screaming Ostriches were looking good.
In the hot tub that they apparently won.
"Did you know that we'd win this?!" Matthew shouted.
"No, but I'm very grateful for how strong my team is." Daybreak said.(who is Joel Biden, the best fake name of all time.)
"Yes, I need this and all of these women with me."
"That helps, but this "hot tub's" my motivator for another victory!" Daybreak exclaimed.
These two might have known that this wouldn't fly in 2007, let alone now, as a lot of the ladies were just giving them a dirty look or had something to say.
"Don't forget that we got gifted this bath from the graciousness of our host. Don't take this hot tub for granted." Kitana said. "It only comes from all of our victories combined!"
"Yes, do not let it go to your heads." Golf Ball stated. "If this is like BFDI, then our complacency will catch up to us-"
"Shut up, golf ball, we're all chilling as a team together. Quit worrying, we've got the next challenge and Wario's gonna double time it!" Wario declared, clinking clean water with the bros.
"Alright, you've got the right attitude, this team's quite the solid block of strength and minds." Daybreak could only laugh. "Hahahaha, who's with me?"
"Dude, I'm with ya!" Shaggy was motivated.
The cheers could be heard through the two hot tubs, even if half of the team wasn't too enthused with the poorly-disguised secret agent and his one bro, Kitana and Golf Ball only being the top of the iceberg.
Shadow was relaxing on the wrong side of it, as Jane enjoying a hot soak.
"I don't think this man will last long on this show." Shadow mused. "The man's a fool and not a strong team player."
"Well, that is somewhat true, but you never know what could happen with him!" Jane Doe kept it coy. "More importantly, don't be so sour early in this game, you could actually be sent home early."
"I mean, you are right, but look at how lightly he's taking this advantageous position. He should be thinking of ways to strategise."
Jane Doe got a little bit too close to Shadow, who just stepped back.
"Talking strategy is what we're supposed to be doing." Shadow finished.
"Right, right or you could be just a little uptight. But keep on doing what you're doing, I'm sure you won't end up on that boat."
Shadow then skated away from the tub with quite the self-assured attitude, which did not go unnoticed by some people.
"What a grumpy dude, we've got a sweet hot tub!" Shaggy said.
"Yeah, but look at Jane Doe, did you not see the way she was acting?" Chuck noticed. "
"Uh, yeah, dude, she's not interested in him obviously."
"No, seriously, she's up to something."
Shaggy just scrunched his eyes, as Chuck just sighed.
*Chuck's confessional*
He shook his head.
"I've been on reality TV, I've seen a thousand reality shows and there is no way that Jane's not going to make to the final 10. And no, I'm not saying that because she's looking nice, she looks like she's got strategies on top of strategies."
*Bang's confessional*
"We have successfully combined into a winning team a few hours ago! How can we be divided so quickly!"
*Confessional cut*
The whole team was rubbing it into the group of disgruntled potential douchebags.
"Do you think we're ever going to lose this?" Anne Maria asked.
"Uh, this is Total Drama, so yes." Kitty answered.
"Hey, I'm gonna enjoy it 'til it goes away!"
"Which could be tomorrow."
Anne Maria just gave a mean look at the unimpressed Kitty.
*Anne Maria's confessional*
She was spraying her hair.
"Alright, real talk, I ain't about to come here and leave here lookin' ugly as hell, so I'm gonna unleash hell on whoever is makin' us lose that hot tub!" She declared.
*Confessional cut*
Challenge day and the hot tub had already gone.
"IT WAS RIGHT HERE!" Anne Maria shrieked. "CHRIS, GIMME THAT SHIT BACK!"
"Is that what you woke all of us up for?" Slappy said. "For an obvious observation?"
"Yeah, it helped me to look good."
"At least it wasn't yesterday, you would've been louder."
"For the record, it's around 8:30, most of us had already woken up, so you can shout to your heart's content about this hot tub." Daybreak slid into break up the situation. "Slappy, there's no need to be rude."
Anne Maria gave an "I told you so" grin towards the old squirrel.
"Fine, it's your funeral." Slappy said.
*Daybreak's confessional*
He was chillin' on the broken toilet.
"I'm solving problems like Nepal Chamberlain! Meanwhile, I bet the other team's doing terribly."
*Confessional cut*
Denji, Mikey and Jonesy were not beaming about their newly formed team thanks to their odd status and their food being total ass to go along with it, grimacing at their odder teammates.
"I just wanted to hop on a badass team, man." Jonesy said.
"It's okay, I bet we're going to outlast those guys over there anyways!" Denji shouted. "They don't have what we got."
"But we don't have team spirit."
"Was gonna say crazy powers, but we definitely have team spirit!"
"We just teamed up and I wanna say that some of these people are just giant assholes fighting over nothing. My friends have team spirit, these guys are lame."
Denji just deflated in confidence.
"Yeah, but we have-"
The three dude-balleros just saw Justice get dumped on their side of the table and right on top of their very edible food by a certain someone.
"Yeah, baby, that's what happens when you mess with the Egg-Gru himself!" Fandub Eggman shouted. "Egg-Gru's standing in the building!"
"Sorry, guys, just wanted to fight the inventor of the iPhone. Never knew he could take hits like that!" Justice shouted.
*Mikey's confessional*
His shirt was covered in the very green slop.
"Man, it wasn't a loss. This food got way closer to killing me than those other dumbasses really could, even if it ruined my damn shirt and jacket! Eggman's gonna get his ass cracked!"
*Confessional cut*
While random fights were happening on one side of the team, the other side was a little shaken by their total lack of notable killers.
"I'm not really excited to be stuck in this team, no offense to most of you guys." King said. "Mostly because I don't know why I'd get picked."
"Probably because you seem like a very feisty lady!" Shrek tried to bump her shoulder. "Listen, as long as you're in the team, you'll be good."
"Yeah, not worried about the team. Just some of these guys aren't exactly top fighter material."
"It's not like we picked, it's the best we got."
King and Shrek were about to agree on something, when all of a sudden a fight of magic between Mim and Boscha ended up in a weird explosion that people could not ignore.
Mostly because Boscha was covered in soot and Mim's team was still baffled.
"Why did you try to pick a fight with me?" Boscha asked. "Clearly you have some point to tell."
"Nope!" Mim beamed. "Just wanted to show off my black magic."
"It's just magic on The Boiling Isles. Realistically speaking, this isn't a good look for you." Boscha grumbled.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Mim couldn't stop laughing, as Boscha glared right at her face.
"Ignore Her, She Is Acting Like A Disney Villain!" Queen couldn't stop smiling. "Anyways, Peon-"
Queen got a fireball.
"My Apologies For Calling You Peon!"
"Well, then stop calling me that." Boscha rolled her eyes.
A good chunk of the Robins were wondering who the bozos were on their team, probably thanks to the junk that was served on their plate and the quirky characters that were opening their mouths.
"Wow, this team is terrible." Joan wasn't impressed. "Why is everyone a cartoon character?"
"I feel you, I feel like I'm in a cartoon." Lola said. "Oh my god, are we in a cartoon."
"My life's turning into a cartoon, I can give you that."
"Didn't know that we were all cartoons."
*Joan's confessional*
"I feel like she kinda looks like the rabbit that plays basketball and winks at Bugs Bunny except dumber. And maybe a little bit cooler." She wondered. "Actually scratch that, she's not cool."
*Confessional cut*
While Joan and Lola were having a girl talk, Abe and Rengoku were having a heart to heart.
"Is it kinda weird that we're teamed up with a shy guy?" Abe asked. "You know since we're real dudes and whatnot."
"Just because he does not like to show his face does not mean he's any lesser." Rengoku mused. "But he does seem to be a little bit embarrassed."
"Yeah, maybe because we're currently a losing team. If we won, he'd be super happy."
"I think we should talk to him first, he seems like a man that does not mind losing."
"Well, only one way to find out."
The two oddly jovial bro-like men were shifting towards the now sweating Coney (the Shy Guy), who was eating the slop like his life would be improved by it and he "raised" his eyebrows.
Abe and Rengoku were gonna be a handful for this guy.
"HEY, SHY GUY, HOW ARE YOU!" Abe shouted.
"Uhh, I'm good?" Coney asked.
"I bet your friends at home are quite excited for your entry!" Rengoku added on.
"Uhh umm, yeah, sure."
Coney literally zipped out of the room, making Bowser Jr. wonder something from a certain distance away.
*(Coney the) Shy Guy's confessional*
"It is actually weird how I kinda like to talk strategy and my jobs because I don't wanna talk about my life. People don't have to know about me." He said quite solemnly.
*Bowser Jr.'s confessional*
"That doesn't seem like typical Shy Guy stuff. I wonder what his problem is! He has knowledge about shows like this, he should be talking it up with everybody!"
He gasped.
"I'm gonna make it my job to find out!"
*Confessional cut*
Serena and Senku only really shared one letter to their names, but they were situated next to each other literally because of a lack of space and were quickly learning.
"I know about Pokemon."
"Wait a second, how do you know about Pokemon! It doesn't exist in your world!" Serena shouted in surprise.
"Oh, Pokemon is fictional in my world."
Senku blew Serena's mind and did have a mini-realization.
"Something tells me that the common way parallel universes work is what is happening here. Which are just parallel worlds existing independent of each other, yet sharing similar enough elements to where all of us can breathe the same air despite coming from many different realities."
Serena would have been blowing steam if she was a cartoon and Senku realised that she needed a little bit of time to understand it with his cheeky smile.
"Wow, what a conversation! I went to a parallel world with my friends." Serena just answered.
"Please tell me about it-"
"Campers, I'm disappointed that you are all awake! But I bet you're going to love this next challenge anyways!" Chris announced. "Or not, but I don't care!"
*Senku's confessional*
He had a confident smile on his face.
"As long as I'm not in the Stone World and stuck in a very bizarre competition, I will still be the same technology kid that will discover new things about this island. It is only a shame that Golf Ball is on a separate team."
*Confessional cut*
Chris and Chef were decked out in their usual duds from last episode, the latter wearing a purple shirt, red tie and white pants that showed he found fulfillment in life.
Unlike this challenge.
"Okay, how are you guys liking the new camp?" Chris asked.
Many complaints were thrown.
"Ye could teach ya cook to not make some disgusting slug food." Merida said.
"Why do our beds have bugs in them!" Baldi complained.
"Why does that tree look like it's from another world?" Golf Ball asked dully.
None were heard.
"I see that you guys like the camp! For your second challenge, I might have to indulge you in a short little backstory that's kinda related to how you guys got here!"
"Can we not-" Bowser Jr. tried to interrupt.
"Okay, so when I discovered the multiverse, I commissioned a bunch of other secret science projects to make this show super awesome and one of these was this guy over here! Plant Zeke!"
Kitty and Anne Maria rolled her eyes.
"Ezekiel or just Zeke was a dude from the first season that got booted first and technically wasn't supposed to be on World Tour! But he stuck on and turned into a pale goblin kinda guy, stole SOMEBODY's well-earned prize money before jumping into a volcano and took residence in that irradiated island! After Pahkitew Island aired, his parents sued me FOR NO REASON and long story short, can't use him or his animal loving talents anymore!"
Chris realised that he was ranting to people that didn't care.
"Made the plant version of the dude, he stole some random zirconia and now he resides in some weird cave with his plant friends! Your job is to capture that worthless zirconia and give it back to me! Winning team gets immunity, losing team loses one person! GO!"
Senku and Golf Ball perked up at the worthless comment.
Both teams went on their merry way in completely different ways and the scientists on both teams brought something up, but first.
The Screaming Ostriches were running past some trees that might have been from Namek.
"Zirconia isn't worthless! It has many scientific uses!" Golf Ball declared.
"Don't care." Anne Maria said.
"Cubic zirconia also has many uses."
"It's true, got myself some cash dat way! And then I got real diamonds, so it ain't matter!"
Golf Ball rolled his eyes at the comment, as Emmet was just walking around excited about life and teaming up with the Minecraft guy, but there were other people with much more important questions about their new team leader.
"As much as I hate to say this, why did you set us aside?" Law asked. "Not exactly a team player-type move and something that I wouldn't do."
"Yeah, I would definitely leave you behind!" Madam Mim piped up.
"Shut up." Law muttered.
"It's because a lot of us would probably either defend each other to further one guy or would try to help our friend, not to mention we do not know each other." Daybreak explained. "Now that we're a team, I'm not gonna do that stuff."
Law had a quick thought about it, but Coco wanted to add her own two cents.
"So expecting any of us to sacrifice for each other when there has been no teams set and we're currently strangers is-"
"Coco, I already get it, you did not need to piggyback off Joel for that." Law said. "Still a questionable move."
"Yeah, but let's keep on searching!" Daybreak declared. "Onto our special fake diamond and our fight with the plant beasts!"
Jane and Shadow looked at each other with a decent amount of doubt, as Matthew Patel was actually giving a lot of thought.
*Jane's confessional*
She chuckled.
"Aw, it's actually cute how people think that he won't leave them behind for his own gain. Mostly because he's the type of criminal to do stuff like that."
*Matthew's confessional*
One of his hipster demon chicks was rubbing his shoulders.
"Oh, Matthew, you could make a way better leader than him." The chick
"I don't know this guy, maybe he could be a pretty cool guy. But I do want to be team leader or be his number two, because those guys last long!" Matthew mused in the confessional.
*Confessional cut*
As for the Killer Robins, the team spirit was there indeed, but it was definitely misplaced in the case of some of the guys.
"What up, Boscha, how are you feeling?" Abe asked. "I know that you wanted to dive but couldn't because you were too scared."
"I thought it was because the water in her world was boiling." Joan corrected her potential boyfriend.
"Oops, sorry, forgot about that!"
"I accept your apology, now can you please help us on the search?"
Abe was currently staring at a tree.
"Yeah, I can do that!"
Joan and Boscha were stuck together, both begrudgingly because their team leader thought it was a wise idea to put two contentious figures with each other.
"That is right, if we could all search for these plant beings together, we will achieve great things! They could be demons that eat people and I will put them down!" Rengoku shouted.
"Exactly, yeah!" Denji exclaimed, not realising that he counted.
"And we all shall set our hearts ablaze! Are you guys with me!"
"YEAH!"
A lot of the team were on board with him right away, despite not all of them being excited for this guy who couldn't dive down a massive cliff into sharks.
"I don't know about this dude." Roxanne insulted. "The man could not dive and the suddenly he's our team leader."
"Well, he has the attitude and his sword is spewing fire." Cuphead said.
"Yeah, but-WHAT?!"
Rengoku's sword was almost doing that, but it was definitely a little less noticeable than the fiery aura around him that wasn't quite real.
*Cuphead's confessional*
"Maybe the robot doesn't see how much offa badass that guy seems to be, plus that guy's a samu-rah!"
He got a cheeky smile on his face.
"Even if he's chicken!"
*Confessional cut*
Back to the robins that were casually sprinting northwest, they were all in Rengoku's same positively expressive energy to get somewhere, even when they ended up back at the swamp that looked a little different and it was not where the trees were.
It was what they were.
"Well, this is new." King gawked.
"Mate, what kind of island is this!" 2D shouted.
The trees were distinctly more grey, as in they looked like they came from a rubber hose cartoon palette-wise.
"It's a crazy island, but we should not stop for any sights!" Rengoku shouted. "We should proceed ahead and be aware of any weird demons."
"Right, there totally isn't a weird demon here." 2D commented.
"Or they could be hiding in ways that only a Hashira could understand!"
The team just kept on going, not caring about the monochrome film swamp that they were definitely treading past that contained a few animals that people wouldn't normally tread around.
"Wait, aren't there usually crocodiles in swamps?" Joan asked.
"Yes, but we could beat all of them so easily that we'll wear them as clothes!" Lord Dominator shouted.
"And then what, we'll ruin the environment!"
"Please, I will only wear them when the enemy team sees us. Which will be all of the time."
Joan couldn't be more tired of this epic conversation, but lo and behold, the predator of about every fictional tropical location, the legendary crocodile was slowly chasing them.
Two, maybe three of them even!
"Crocodiles-" Blanka called out.
"Keep on going, we will never stop!" Rengoku shouted. "But that is indeed, one of those crocodiles."
"Uwo! You do not mess with crocodiles! They will mess with you, much more and-"
Rengoku looked confused at one that bore its teeth.
"This is a crocodile."
"It actually does look pretty scary, but it seems harmless."
A good chunk of the teams' dumber or evil-er members (Cuphead, Fandub Eggman, Lord Dominator and Denji) had already leapt on top of the jungle predator to beat it all up and the crocodile looked infinitely worse by the end of the six-second beatdown.
Rengoku and Blanka were obviously mortified.
*Blanka's confessional*
"UWOOOOOOOO! My friends are gonna die, because those crocodiles will be stomped on. Don't they know that crocodiles do not like being stepped on!"
*Confessional cut*
"What, we fought those crocodiles and won!" Denji shouted.
"But I'm pretty sure that they were not doing anything." Abe said. "They could just lonely little crocs."
Almost all of the team kept on going, knowing the ramifications of stomping on black and white crocodiles.
"You know, dude, they could be guys biting our butts to death."
"Like in the movies, but those are movies!" Abe shrugged.
"Really? Crocodiles do that stuff in real life." Denji ended the argument.
Blanka felt like he had his heart torn out, as Shrek sighed.
"UWOOOOOOOOO!"
"Don't worry about them, they'll be fine." Shrek told him.
"Our team's gonna die to all of the animals!" Blanka cried.
"I think they'll be fine, eh, I wonder how they're doing."
Shrek and Blanka quickly caught up to the now chaotic team, the Killer Robins were making some odd progress in this rubberhouse-esque jungle, albeit they also saw another weird sight.
They immediately sprinted to see a-
"A wall of crocodiles?!" Rengoku yelped.
"Yeah, that's what they are!" Vladi(lena) called out. "We need to find a strategy to deal with this impossible obstacle."
"Maybe they are demon-controlled!"
"I do not find it likely!"
*Fandub Eggman's confessional*
The science guy had a few holes in him.
"Aye, bruh, all I'm thinking about while I'm thinking of cooking up some crocodile meat? How are the alliances going to pop up because I want to be in one of them as the top guy and not just follow some idiot's orders!"
*Confessional cut*
The whole team was anticipating the wall's next move, ready to send some moves their way and pray that the black and white jungle ended after a short while.
"While these Killer Robins are stuck between a crocodile and a black and white place..."
"...the Screaming Ostriches might be living up to their name when they hit their wacky obstacle of the day!"
"AHHHHHHH!"
"Stop screaming, it's actually annoying." Ashley managed to shush Lola.
"No, look, it's all pretty cold!" Lola called out.
"I have been to some icy locations, it's not that bad!" Coco Bandicoot exclaimed.
Unsurprisingly, it was a patch of hilariously cold forest, complete with ice level-type platforms and things that could look like Goombas if you squint at them hard enough.
"Men, the terrain may be a little perilous, but we will not let the other team take the lead!" Daybreak shouted. "So how do we actually navigate this icy course?"
"It's not an easy feat, since most of us haven't dealt with a place kinda like this." Coco said. "But all we could do is slip and slide through this ice paradise."
"Doesn't look like much of a paradise."
"Well, let's go."
Coco then skated through the slippery ground below the coniferous canopies that seemed to be a little more linear than it reasonably made sense and the rest of the team looked at her.
"You heard the weasel kid, try and get your skates on!"
Daybreak actually tried to follow her and ended up sliding onto his butt, but a lot of the players followed his example and didn't care about looking like fools.
"I don't have skates, what am I supposed to do!" Golf Ball called.
"Maybe the real skates were on our feet all along!" Lola shouted.
The whole team was stuck in the very linear, very pit filled ice cold forest that Coco could swear was from some place.
*Coco's confessional*
The bandicoot had a leak of realization.
"Why is this place something like Crash went through and what exactly is Chris planning?!"
*Confessional cut*
Shadow, Coco, Kagero and Bang were easily navigating and probably were the only ones that were coming out of this thing unscathed, but you know that's how we do not roll around here.
Daybreak, Slappy and Madam Mim, through three entirely different means, were also following them but not without a bear flopping on top of them and Madam Mim turning into a similar bear.
"Hehehehe, I'm a better bear than you!"
The polar bear looked at her.
"Listen, you betta not be doing anythin' stupid." Slappy warned.
"Silence, squirrel, I know all of my strengths!"
The polar bear then went down on her, as Slappy and Daybreak could only stare at the questionable sight and then see an explosion of magic happen.
"Yeesh, you were about to murdered." Daybreak could only comment.
"Let's just go, this seems like a bandicoot place."
"Yes."
Madam Mim stormed off, as the other two followed close behind.
*Daybreak's confessional*
"What does she mean bandicoot place? I'm pretty sure they're in Oceanalia!"
*Confessional cut*
As for the rest, it was the most wonderful time of the year to quote one of the most magical songs ever, Jane quite literally sliding down a path with Kitana by her wayside.
Steve and Emmet actually managed to get the vehicle that they used for the last challenge back to pick up Golf Ball, right before they were chased by an oddly placed wall of snow.
Which went a little worse they braked to stop crashing into a wall, leaving them buried in snow.
Merida was only shivering, but kept on trawling on the snow before seeing that Chuck had filled into a random pool of water and Kitty had pushed him out of there.
Lola kept on slipping forward, as Law tried to pull her off her slip and slide path...and then these two went on a ride of their own, going downhill at speed.
Anne Maria was a little too busy coughing up the ozone layer to expand and a polar bear to regret breathing.
"Yeah, dat's right, you betta-"
Too bad she got added to the trio's wild, wild ride sliding down a hill towards some more normal forest which meant something for all of them.
"NOT THE MUD!" Anne Maria shouted.
"Oh my god, mud!" Lola was excited for some reason.
Marshall Law took the brunt of the mud bath, though not without the two ladies taking a few mud stains.
"It's okay, ladies, they'll wash off eventually." Law reassured. "Eventually."
*Emmet's confessional*
He was smiling, even when he had to shake off a decent amount of the snow.
"Wow, it really looks like I had the only one that had fun in that random patch of snow-covered paradise! Everyone was slipping and sliding with frowns. with frowns!"
*Confessional cut*
Shadow and the like were just waiting for the rest of the Ostriches to catch up with them, seeing all of them slowly clamber out of the mini-winter paradise that seemingly bore a resemblance to one contestant's location.
"Well, that was a chore." Coco said. "Though this place kinda seems like something I'd go through."
"I don't disagree. This place was not here last night." Shadow agreed.
"Yeah..."
Coco was in thought about it, but Shadow had the experience to know what it is.
"Well, there's most of our daring team." Jane spoke up. "Mister Biden, how are you feelin-"
"Let's go on ahead, I feel terrible. This win will make up for it!" Daybreak declared.
"Good point." Shadow said. "I bet the other team has already gone through their obstacle."
"For sure~!"
The colder members of the Ostriches were in agreement on one thing, that the Robins would have probably been ahead and the rest of them actually managed to gather back pretty quickly.
"And that is everyone." Daybreak said. "Something tells me that we need everybody together if we're going to win."
"Well, duh, this is Total Drama!" Coco shouted.
"While the Ostriches have stopped screaming about the snow..."
"...the Robins aren't excited to deal with all of the 1930s crocodiles."
Queen and King were trying to beat down the animated wall of mean reptiles, but they were not getting anywhere.
"Teammates, These Crocs Are A Little Bit Crazy!" Queen called out.
"Uh, everyone could tell you that, Queen."
Roxanne swung her keytar towards a crocodile who dodged it.
"These guys act like some old-school cartoon!"
"Yep, I Already Know About Those True Facts!"
Bowser Jr. and Shy Guy were looking at each other, wondering why these guys were trying to be controlled opposition, since they were part of the rubber hose madness that took the whole team to even make dents in them.
Boscha was preparing a pretty strong fireball, but there was Rengoku, the most important of the two potential team leaders that had a flaming sword, that pushed himself forwards with his Fire Breathing and combined with the witch's fire ring, uhhhh-
Roxanne instantly blocked the explosions for a decent chunk of the team and the crocodiles that were caught in the resulting explosion was covered in soot and coughing.
Boscha and Rengoku looked at each other.
"What were you doing?!" Boscha shouted. "I had it!"
"I actually tried to help, sorry that I overdid it a little." Rengoku apologised. "But these guys wouldn't go down without a little help."
"A little too much help, obviously. Shrek did ask me to deal with it."
"And it might not have been enough."
"Really-"
Boscha and Rengoku saw the crocodiles literally walk away with suitcases and Shrek walk up to the two of them with good smiles, even if half of the team were half-covered in soot.
"Aye, it all worked out, right?" Shrek asked.
"Right, we shall move on ahead." Rengoku affirmed. "Thank you, Miss Boscha, for the help-"
Boscha was already going on ahead, as the team quickly caught up with her angered pace and the clear divide between the rubber hose canopies and the regular woods were so obvious that it was like a river between worlds.
Which Bowser Jr. and Shy Guy were taking a look at.
*Bowser Jr's confessional*
He was actually excited.
"I don't know he's acting like this is some normal island, those crocodiles looked like those cartoons that Bowser cries about missing!" He said. "Hahaha, I'm looking forward to the madness!"
*Confessional cut*
2D and King weren't exactly as odd as the leading trio of Rengoku, Shrek and Boscha, who were a little...disunited and even after the firebomb, there was a vibe about the Robins that weren't too positive.
"Why did she just do that?!" Roxanne shouted.
"Because it's awesome and that was one hell of a combo!" Justice squealed. "I couldn't look at that, but the sound of it-"
"-It worked, but it's not the greatest move."
The three dudes and a certain villain were a little too quiet for their own good.
*Lord Dominator's confessional*
She was looking around, having a oddly measured look.
"There's actually a very good reason why I'm here, but I'm keeping it under wraps or I'm gonna get kicked out! But first, observing the competition is what bad guys do and being the bad guy's my job."
She could only beamed.
"My alliance will be a thing!"
*Confessional cut*
'
"Oooh, the Ostriches do have a head-start in the cave dive, but be warned, there's some crazy stuff in there!"
The Ostriches were walking into a special cave and once everyone was together, they noticed the signs that had a few quirks to them, as if they were stuck onto them to pass a safety test.
"Oh hell no, you couldn't pay me a million dollars to go in there!" Anne Maria grumbled.
"I would pay Mister MacLean those dollars to make this place my house!" Mim cackled in glee.
"Shut up, crazy witch."
"Enough, you two, we need to be a united front." Daybreak stepped right in front of them.
Daybreak slowly walked right in front of the Screaming Ostriches and stretched his arms out before whistling his whole team to his attention.
"Listen up, Screaming Ostriches, we may be a team that are almost a united front of fellas on a mission to take on wins, but those Robins have so many strong people that if they realise their potential, we will go on a losing streak never seen before! Together, we can be kinda strong, especially with Shadow and Jane Doe around."
The claps were not plentiful, but they were definitely scattered.
"Good speech, man!" Shaggy cheered.
"You definitely tried." Wario stated. "Wario would've done better."
"Then let's proceed!"
These Ostriches were slowly moving through the not so descript cave, the massive group deciding to stick together out of sheer pragmatism, the very few lights not working to waft away the uncomfortable atmosphere.
"Stay close. There may be traps here." Kitana spoke up.
"Good point!" Daybreak co-opted the obvious. "This show always has traps."
"That is what I said." Kitana sighed.
The whole team was about to get sprung by one...or maybe it was just a bunch of green-ish bats that swarmed the Ostriches, but everyone was definitely fighting them...
...minus a "few" people that went ahead to "support" their team efforts, which was a little hard to notice when more bats swarmed more of the team.
Shadow, Jane Doe, Mim, Daybreak, Kagero and Bang all managed to get out of the swarm and someone had to announce it.
"Keep the cave open, you never know what else could happen in here!" Daybreak shouted.
"Are you just going to leave our team like that?" Bang scolded. "You never know-"
"For what it's with, the agent's right. We need to keep moving." Shadow said, as Bang had a thought about it. "We can regroup later."
"If something happens, who knows what else they could be doing?"
Kagero and Jane were not even impressed with the still sadistic witch that was trying to not cackle.
*Kagero's confessional*
She sighed.
"As someone who has dealt with the consequences of a war between two countries, Mim feels like someone that would send people to her death because it amused her. I'll keep an eye on her."
*Confessional cut*
The Robins were notably behind and half-burnt, but they were definitely making up for last time and the school class masquerading as a massive group continued into the caves without that much fear.
Senku and Serena, of all duos, were stuck together like glue for one reason.
"Well, that was a whole new experience." Serena said. "But what did those crocodiles do?"
"They would not let us go without missing a limb, regular crocodiles do that and it is very likely that they're not working under regular laws of physics." Senku explained. "They're predators, Serena."
"Oh...wait, can't you catch them."
"Catch them how, in case you didn't know, they are not Pokemon, not even close!"
"Well, maybe they could be-"
"Shut your dang mouths, shit's crawling in the caves like a cave crawler!" Fandub Eggman screamed.
The whole team wisely stopped and it was good timing, too.
A whole other swarm of botanical bats almost got the drop of them, Rengoku and Boscha prepared to blow them all up, right before the swarm flew into caves on both sides of the swarm.
"Bruh, that was some bullshit." Fandub Eggman said.
"Hooray for you, Eggman!" Rengoku called out. "Let's continue."
It wasn't really that interesting for a short while after that, as the team didn't get separated from a special obstacle and hoo boy, they were going to need that.
Because another set of botanical animals came up out of nowhere, albeit more so assisting their master out of sheer fear rather than being made of chlorophyll and leaves, jumping from the ceiling to make their entrance clear.
"BEARS...on the ceiling!" Blanka called out.
"Easy peasy, lemme handle this!" Bowser Jr. jumped out. "I got a car and a paintbrush."
"UWOOOHHH!"
Blanka was screaming his heart out, shocking some of the bears and uhh, they were just mad that their fur was straighter and more prickly.
"Bears' mad!"
"Yep, they are!" Bowser Jr was masked up. "Hey, bozos!"
Rengoku and Boscha were currently trying to do something, when Bowser Jr. and Blanka did a team up move that was practically out of nowhere, thanks to some random paint and a little bit of electric charge.
That stuff blew up those bears and left them crying like an anime fan on prom night, leaving the team dumbfounded at the sheer power that was on display.
"That was stupid." Boscha commented.
"You're just jealous of the future king!" Bowser Jr. bragged. "Jungle boy here and me definitely planned it."
"It doesn't matter, but that was quite impressive!" Rengoku exclaimed.
Blanka knew better in that it was spontaneous and that he didn't need to say that it was off the cuff.
"You're welcome, anyways."
Rengoku and Bowser Jr. shook hands, as Boscha rolled her eyes at the kid's display of sheer skills and power, unwilling to admit that it was rather cool.
*Boscha's confessional*
She had a smug grin after all.
"Maybe my team isn't so useless after all, even if the human dragged me into this somehow."
*Confessional cut*
The Killer Robins were starting to live up to their name and Vladilena was definitely trying her best to help even if her mood was a little dour.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" Baldi asked.
"Somewhat useless." Vladilena admitted. "Not really in a bad position, but my skills aren't conducive to this challenge."
"Really, I think our team's doing pretty good for one that lost."
"That is good, but I'm worried that I might get booted out for not showing off my prowess."
"Why? If you're smart enough to realise that, you definitely could help out in a challenge!"
Lena somewhat perked up, finally gaining the attentive-ness she bring to the battlefield and her fellow squadron back home.
"Thank you."
Both teams were finally seeing each other, although it was not in the best of conditions for at least one of them considering that the fraction of the team that was there wasn't the best of the best.
"HELLO, SCREAMING OSTRICHES!" Rengoku screamed.
"You could join the team with that scream, wow." Jane was taken aback.
"How are you doing on this fine day?"
"Most of the team are in an unknown part of these caves, thanks to mister Biden over there!" Jane had a coy smile. "And Madam Mim's waiting to do something goofy."
"Good, our team is whole and ready to take down all of the plant animals."
Daybreak, Shadow, Boscha and Mikey (whose real name's Manjiro) were trying to pull these two away from revealing all of their future plans...and then the lights turned on to reveal a huge well-lit cavern, albeit it was lit like a film set.
Plant animals as far as the eyes could see, which were more so just the scraps of Pahkitew Island's robots covered up with the real nature that they looked like plant animals.
And in the distance, Plant Zeke and his fake diamond had a major spotlight on him with a sneer that showed he knew something that the contestants don't.
"Okay, maybe I haven't revealed everything to you. But you just need to get that zirconia, bet you wish that you had your whole team, Ostriches!"
"Well, it's not as important as you misleading us." Shadow stated. "What's your endgame?"
"To make a fun challenge, duh!"
The main members of the Ostriches weren't excited to take down the crowd of half-broken robots that were still moving like actual animals, unlike Cuphead and the like.
"Finally, something ta shoot!" Cuphead shouted. "Stand up, guys, we're going to smash some robots!"
That being said, Shadow was infinitely ahead of the young cup, smashing one of the many half-plant, half-old parts animals with sheer precision and Cuphead, went gunning on those.
"Listen, everybody, we've got numbers on those losers on the other side, whatever kind of stupid ability you got, just use them!" Boscha commanded.
"They are not stupid!" Rengoku told her.
Shrek was throwing a few strongman punches, even smashing one of them with a hard clap and then Blanka shocked a few of them out of submission, leaving Abe and Joan to kick some barely working robot ass.
Blanka rolled out to leave a small trail of carnage, Cuphead was shooting a few peashooters, Roxanne was kicking her own kind without hesitation and Zhu Bajie was about to get mentioned.
"Machines of madness..."
"Yeah, bro, whatever you say!" Jonesy mocked the pig.
Zhu Bajie then transformed into a giant boar, almost instantly.
"Stand back, fellow comrades in arms!" Bajie declared.
"He is right at this very specific moment!" Rengoku shouted. "Please stand back!"
Everyone, Boscha included, knew that the game had changed, as the godly pig charged as a godly boar crushing technology that was several centuries separated.
So much so that Madam Mim looked at him with sheer fascination.
"Hold on, he is not the only one who can transform into a boar!" Mim shouted.
"Hey, you don't need to transform! I'm glad you can do that-" Daybreak started.
"Let her do it, those Ostriches are much closer and you know, she's been waiting in action!" Jane whispered in Daybreak's ear. "We need an advantage."
"Sure, but she already did." Daybreak observed.
"SHE WHAT NOW!" Bang screamed.
Yeah, Madam Mim was a boar and ready to take down the only other person that could change shape, giving Bajie a little bit of his own medicine.
*Mim's confessional*
Her smile was ridiculously happy.
"First it's Merlin and then it's this Chinese fool! Luckily, I started transforming mysel before either of them even started that type of madness, haha, my team will be proud of my magic!" She looked real smug.
*Bajie's confessional*
In contrast, he wasn't really cackling.
"She's decided to take me on with dark magic similar to my own abilities...in this cave of instability and one mad man! Sure, I'll play along."
*Confessional cut*
Mim and Bajie were having their own gigantic brawl and it was obvious that the Ostriches didn't have that big of a lead, the Robins having their whole group get on forward.
Even if Rengoku and Shadow were really the only ones trying to snatch the gem and got to witness first hand Plant Zeke's ability of vines that could entangle even the toughest warriors.
Except Mim because she changed back.
"Guess what, the team couldn't even match one of me!" Mim boasted.
"Keep talking like that, see how far you're going to go!"
Whoops, so did Bajie, but Plant Zeke was fast on swapping his six vines onto the transforming duo along with Rengoku, Shadow, Cuphead and Queen.
"Oh My Circuits, There Is Drama Going Down In Front of Me!" Queen shouted.
"I agree." Abe agreed. "They must have been ex-girlfriends!"
Queen looked at him like he was stupid.
Bajie and Mim were back to their hilariously pointless brawl, as the witch was smashing up the cave structure in the meantime, while Bajie kept on being evasive as heck.
Boscha knew the obvious opportunity, but you know, cave smashing.
*Kagero's confessional*
She didn't look impressed.
"If her battle ends in the cave collapsing, then we are voting her out. It would be so obvious that it'd be impossible to even get an alliance."
*Confessional cut*
The rest of the Ostriches were in a desperate sprint to catch up with the six that was in the zirconia atrium, having gone down a slightly different path that ended up in a much longer diversion.
"I'm hearing exactly what I expected!" Chuck shouted. "Bunch of assholes shouting."
"Really, that doesn't seem too charitable to our team!" Emmet said. "They're good guys."
"Talking about both teams."
"Still wrong, but we're on the right track finally!"
Not even that long away, the rest of the Ostriches could actually see that Mim and Bajie were having a bit of a scuffle and that Boscha was indeed lighting up Plant Zeke.
"STOP FIGHTING THE PIG GUY, MIM, WE GOT YA BACK!" Mirko shouted.
"Shut up, team!" Mim shouted. "I'm trying to prove someone wrong."
"NO-ONE CARES, JUST LET US GET THE ZIRCONIA!" Chuck screamed. "GODDAMN!"
And the cave started to shift around them, albeit in a kind of weird way, with random rocks just blocking the path between Chuck's massive group and the six that was trying to snatch the zirconia from the Killer Robins' hands.
But it was obvious, two of the paths were blocked.
"And the Ostriches have become two teams thanks to Mim and Bajie's epic battle!"
"Wow, what a witch." Merida said.
"Hey, at least there's still an open cave, we can go there!" Emmet called out.
"Good call! Stupid witch isn't going to cost us this damn challenge!" Chuck shouted.
The group of seventeen were well on their way to getting into the zirconia atrium and there were two ladies that were left behind in the rubble having been separated further from the majority of the Ostriches and the seven in the atrium.
"Can I vote for the old witch lady?" Kitty asked.
"No, she's quirky and...stuff." Katie could barely justify her reasoning. "And Biden guy did leave us behind."
"He didn't cause a cave in and I swear was kinda near the zirconia!"
Katie Mitchell had a quick think about it.
"But she was fighting the other shapeshifting guy for the team. I think."
Kitty and Katie were also trying to find their own way.
*Kitty's confessional*
She was so exasperated.
"I'm pretty sure that there's more Bidens than just the prez and his sons, but his name is kinda fake. I'd still have a thousand of him rather than the annoying crazy witch that could have lost us the challenge!"
*Confessional cut*
Shadow, Kagero, Daybreak, Bang and Jane were actually in the middle of retrieving the fake diamond that happened to roll towards the Robins and Plant Zeke was still getting flamed by Boscha.
The zirconia rolled through Mim's attempt to stomp on it and it became an all out brawl between Shadow's crew and the Killer Robins, Cruella somehow getting the shiny thing.
"Protect me, you ridiculously useful team!" Cruella shouted.
"Ya heard the Disney villain, ya ain't getting it that easy!" 2D cried.
"Uh, yes he will-"
2D got knocked out by Shadow, as King decided to go kick-to-kick with the ultimate lifeform.
"And the Killer Robins have their fake diamond, but Shadow from the Ostriches is literally kicking those Robins for that!"
"For a little hedgehog, you're one feisty fighter." King noted.
Shadow kept it silent, as the two were matched kick for kick, punch for another kick and Cruella finally managed to get some assistance from the Shy Guy of all things, who didn't care to ask.
"Hey, you better thank me!" Cruella warned Coney.
Coney kept silent, as King got joined by Blanka in deterring Shadow the Hedgehog and it wasn't like the rest of the Robins weren't working over time.
Daybreak was practically being held like a baby by Shrek, Mim was pinned under a boulder thanks to all of Bajie's tactics of "make the egoistical knock themselves out", but Kagero and Bang was trying to clear out all of the rocks that were dumped easily.
Jane was also helping with the rock thang.
"Guys, what are you doing!" Daybreak shouted.
"Having a little fun 'o course." Shrek shrugged.
"Kagero, Bang, keep on clearing those rocks! Shadow and Jane, keep those Robins in check-" Daybreak got the wind sucked outta him.
Shrek had won that round.
*Jane's confessional*
"You know, me and Mim were going to have this nice prank on our team if we won! What form would it take, that's for you to find out..." She had a coy smile. "...not exactly happy that she might cause our loss."
*Confessional cut*
The Robins were actually making their great escape, even if it was somewhat impeded by parts of the cave being strewn with fallen debris from Mim rocking and rolling it.
The formerly losing team was booking it, Shrek included and soon enough, even Bajie was out of that atrium full of Plant Zeke's vengeful minions, leaving the Ostrich Six (that's what I'm calling the people that actually got into the cave) having to do the hard job of pulling rocks out of weird places.
Mim's rock got lifted up.
"Finally, where were you when I was winning against Bajie?!" Mim screamed.
"Trying to actually gather the rest of the team, who you separated with your needless battle." Kagero answered. "Be more careful."
"Shut up, that Bajie fool couldn't compare to me."
"...You have got to be kidding me." Shadow said.
Kitty and Katie finally ran in, making it the Ostrich Eight.
"What happened?!" Kitty screamed at Mim.
"None of your business-"
"She sabotaged us by fighting Bajie and being an idiot about it." Jane told her.
"That checks out." Kitty said. "Madam, you better hope that we can win this!"
Mim was practically embarrassed, leaving Shadow to do one more thing with his yellow emerald that he stashed somewhere probably.
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
"Oooh and it looks like the Robins somehow managed to get out of Plant Zeke's weird caves, zirconia in hand and game in the bag! But wait, there's a few Screaming Ostriches coming through some random flash!"
The Killer Robins were a united unit outside of the cave, finding a gate that went down a unique path that didn't have any extradimensional threats or anything else, just grass, trees and dirt pretending to be a road.
"Whoa, we'll make it!" Jonesy shouted. "Nothing's impossible when you work as a team."
"Yes, doesn't mean I have to cosy up with humans." Boscha answered.
Jonesy looked at her all seductively, Boscha giving a bothered look back.
"You like me, right?"
"No. I like women." Boscha held a fireball in her hands.
*Jonesy's confessional*
"Just because we don't like each other, doesn't mean I'm going to hate on her for being a lesbian. Hey, guys, back at home, I respect gays and lesbians, how about that?!"
*Confessional cut*
Boscha quickly caught up to the front with Rengoku, who could sense something going on...mostly eight people that got teleported by that yellow flash from the Chaos Emerald.
They were from the other team.
"Uhh, what the fuck are you doing here, Shadow?" Fandub Eggman shouted.
"Taking back what's mine!"
"Bitch, it's ours-"
Fandub Eggman got the crotch kick of a lifetime, as Bang, Kagero, Jane, Kitty, Katie, Daybreak and Mim were ready to cause some trouble by standing in the way of the Robins' easy victory.
"Uh, yeah, bigger problem, you don't have your whole team." Boscha snorted.
"Maybe they're just lying, but I never heard of a rule for that." Mim boasted. "I will bring that diamond."
"Yeah, you try and do that."
"I will!"
Boscha and Mim were locked in a witches' duel that, once again, was working against the old shape shifting witch and aside from Mim getting flamed, there was better stuff happening.
Rengoku was actually keeping up with Bang and Kagero, albeit struggling against the two ninjas, even with his great sword skills...Daybreak was getting stared down by Shrek.
"Listen, ogre, I know martial arts!" Daybreak pleaded. "You never know how much they hurt."
"Really? Why are ya backing away, then?" Shrek asked.
"Because they need a little-"
Daybreak did a strong choke hold onto Shrek, albeit not without getting himself lifted off the ground.
"I GOT YOU NOW!"
Mim got stuck in some magma, Dominator's speciality.
"Where were you last battle?!" Boscha complained.
"Trying to be useful." Lord Dominator spoke up. "Well, that's one down."
Shadow quickly noticed that Kitty and Katie weren't really able to do anything and Jane was practically getting swamped by the dude trio of Denji, Cuphead and Mikey.
Rengoku did actually get taken down, Bang and Kagero having stolen the zirconia from the Robins.
"And the Ostriches have their zirconia, but they might be missing a few things. The Killer Robins are making their killer chase!"
"Don't let them get away with the zirconia!" Shadow told the ninjas.
"No need to tell us, it's what we do!" Bang declared.
Jane quickly joined them before getting caught by Dominator's magma trap, the supervillain taking her to get ahead of the ninjas, along with the rest of the Robins.
It was one hedgehog and a lady ninja against the massive bunch of Killer Robins trying to run ahead of them.
*Shadow's confessional*
He shook his head in anger.
"I can't believe I have to do this in the second challenge of this show. Biden or whatever agent was sent cost us this challenge."
*Daybreak's confessional*
His shock couldn't be more pronounced.
"Mim literally cost us the challenge, but I did get to witness the power of this serious little hedgehog." He said. "Not much of a downside."
*Confessional cut*
"CHAOS CONTROL!"
Shadow then managed to freeze time for everyone.
Everything.
Everywhere.
And used it to snatch the zirconia from Abe with a surprisingly good hold and had to skate ahead, before he unfroze time with his two teammates managing to keep up with him.
...
...
Those Robins definitely noticed Shadow's "teleport steal" and some of them were impressed and some of them were in sheer awe, specifically a certain scientist, the teen clone man and a Pokemon trainer.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Abe shouted.
"Well, the game shouldn't be over yet, I'm ten billion percent sure that there is some twist coming up!" Senku said. "And that's quite the ability."
"Dude can teleport." Abe said.
Serena was understandably not pleased with the teleport.
"Come on, is Shadow not a Pokemon?" Serena asked. "Did he just Teleport without saying it?"
"Yeah."
...
Shadow, Bang, Kagero and Jane finally got back to the starting line, white science gem in hand and they all saw that Chris had quite the grin on his face.
"You have the gem, but you don't have the team! Shadow and the rest, you've gotta pull all of your Ostriches together!" Chris announced. "By the way, Killer Robins."
"What's up?" Rengoku asked.
"If you get the gem from Shadow's hands, you win."
"Oh, is that it?"
Shadow passed the gem to Bang, who easily caught it.
"Rengoku, you'll have to get it past me-" Bang taunted.
Bang did not have it for much more, as Fandub Eggman pulled that thing out of the Ninja's hands with a pincher and all of the Killer Robins had managed to arrive.
Even if Daybreak was getting carried by Shrek.
"Great job, Eggman." Rengoku praised.
"Annnnnd, now that every one of the Killer Robins' here, they get their first immunity! No more losses, no more mockery and no more choking Shrek out, Mister Biden!"
Daybreak got shaken off.
"The Killer Robins have immunity, edible food and that sweet, sweet hot tub! The Screaming Ostriches just have somebody to boot off."
"Hey, he did try his best!" Shrek praised. "You're a strong man, uh, Joel."
"Thank you." Daybreak said. "Us team captains have to be pretty strong."
"You left your team to get separated by that crazy Madam Mim. You must be stupid." Boscha told the agent. "Or just dumb."
"Hey, I wasn't expecting Mim to self-sabotage us because of her pride, speaking of which..."
Mim got most of the glares from the other seven Screaming Ostriches that had left the cave with her, minus Jane Doe, who just rolled her eyes and sighed.
The old witch gulped.
"Say your prayers because that's all you'll be doing." Shadow said.
"Aw, nice movie quote!" Jane cooed. "You better have a good alibi."
"Shut up, ninnies, I'm more powerful than all of you combined!" Mim complained. "That Bajie distracted me."
"You took his bait and it wasn't even a good one. Nothing more, nothing less." Jane answered, as Shadow nodded.
*Jane's confessional*
She was mad chillin in the confessional.
"Well, so much for the Mim prank team-up. I had something cooking, now I've just gotta find another person to help prank some of my teammates."
*Katie's confessional*
"I can't vote for her. She's just too funny to eliminate this early, even if she deserves it...that being Joel did leave us to the bats. Pretty bad move, if you say."
*Shaggy's confessional*
He was desperately shaking off some random bats that had followed him from the cave.
"ZOINKS!"
*Confessional cut*
Finally, all of the Screaming Ostriches had been picked up by Chef and teleporting truck, whose smoke was a little too hot to be comfortable.
"I gotta cool this thing down. Ostriches, you lost, you gotta boot somebody." Chef called out. "Some of you'll be looking sorry out here."
The Killer Robins were enjoying their food, their victory and their teamwork, none of which the Ostriches had and none were much less so than Madam Mim.
She even transformed herself into a more alluring form, just for even a convincing attempt, which worked in God's ways.
"Hello, you look like a new woman, Mim!" Bajie said. "Listen, I've been up to the Celestial Palaces and you look like the best of them."
"Why thank you, but I'm convincing my team that I am worth saving!" Mim shouted. "You know, being the Great Madam Mim!"
"Let me teach you the tricks."
Bajie whispered into Mim's ear.
"Humble yourself and don't get caught up in petty bickering!"
Mim got spooked back into her regular frumpy form, as Bajie had a good laugh at her expense, rolling around on the tealish green grass where the tall pom-pom esque resides for today.
"I will admit that you have good tricks." Mim huffed. "But you did get me eliminated."
"You provoked me into a shapeshifting match, you've got yourself to blame."
Bajie then walked away to find whatever hot babes were on the Killer Robins, as Madam Mim knew that her goose was cooked.
But somebody else was watching for one specific reason.
*Jane's confessional*
"This is my favourite part of these shows, just looking around all of the drama that you don't get to see on the television. Maybe it'll get me something interesting."
*Confessional cut*
The campfire, surprisingly, was the same except the pink paint was starting to peel off in places due to Chris' neglect and the team that inhabited the seats of the camp.
"Screaming Ostriches, you guys were nearly about to win and then some unfortunate events happened inside your team! Haha, the best kind of loss!"
Anne Maria could only look at Madam Mim, as did most of the team.
"For all of the people who don't know how the classic Campfire Ceremony goes, you guys will vote for each other and as the other team knows, whoever is safe gets the marshmallow that allows to stay another day! Who doesn't get the marshmallow is eliminated and rides the Speedboat of Losers to never return, ever!"
Anna Maria wanted to say something, but she just wanted to boot the "elephant" in the room and Chef had his pieces to say.
"Shaggy, you got spooked and lost track of your team! Some people think you might be wuss!"
"Gee, sure, but I did try to help out my team!" Shaggy shouted.
"Slappy Squirrel, you were a giant pain in the butt. Some of your teammate think that's a problem."
"This show's a giant pain in the butt, but the witch's a bigger problem." Slappy quipped. "You know-"
"Anne Maria, you've been on many reality shows! That could make you a threat."
Anne Maria looked at her team.
"They ain't as smart as they look!"
"Uh, Madam Mim, you made the cave drop on your team thanks to bajie. People don't like that." Chef was a little fearful.
Madam Mim couldn't exactly say it.
*Madam Mim - (Currently looking for pork)*
"Hey, that Bajie managed to distract me with fancy tricks that did not fool this witch at all!" She fumed. "
*Confessional cut*
...
...
"These people have no votes!" Chris said.
"Golf Ball!"
"Steve."
"Emmet."
"Woo!"
"Don't get too excited! Shadow."
"Jane Doe!"
"Mister Joel Biden."
"Marshall Law."
"Kitana."
"Katie Mitchell!"
"Kitty!"
"Kagero."
"Mirko AKA Miss Usagiyama!"
"Bang Shishigami!"
"Chuck Greene."
"Merida!"
"Glendale!"
"Ashley."
"Coco Bandicoot!"
"Matthew Patel and Wario!"
These two were enjoying their awkward marshmallow along with the other 18.
"Now the rest of you have votes and one of you have several times more than the rest of them combined!"
Anna Maria and Slappy both gave each other the side-eye, Shaggy narrowed his eyes and Lola still smiled.
"Lola, you've only got one vote!"
"Aw dang, wasn't expecting to be eliminated so quickly."
"You're still in! So is Shaggy, also with one vote!"
Lola and Shaggy appreciated their 'mallows.
...
...
...
"Slappy Squirrel, you were mean enough to get two votes."
"Phew, that's a relief." Slappy remarked. "Better watch out, people who sent their votes my way."
"It comes down to Anna Maria and Madam Mim! One of you have two votes, one of you has eighteen!"
Madam Mim could only grumble in her seat, as Anna Maria looked quite pleased.
...
...
...
...
"Anna Maria!"
"WHAT THE-"
She got bonked with the marshmallow.
"You've got two votes, enjoy your stay. Madam Mim, you've earned eighteen votes, which is literally three times as much as everyone else combined! Your clock's run out!"
"Ah, phooey, you people do not know when to appreciate a witch! I was trying to play the game!" Mim complained. "Whoever voted for me, I leave with the curse of not having me on your team...and me watching it fall apart when this airs with my witches' brew!"
She laughed.
"Enough already, just go home." Merida muttered. "Last time I deal with a witch."
"Yeah!" Kitty added.
Madam Mim had a walk down the new Dock of Shame and she had to catch the speedboat of losers.
*Mim's elimination confessional*
"Hahaha, well, I was not the first one to be eliminated so you lost the bet, Merlin! You have to admit that my magic and my skills have more worth than an summer ant because if you don't...your apprentice becomes a toad!"
She had a hearty laugh.
"It looks like my dream of watching this team fall will come true!"
*Confessional cut*
Mim sped off into the night on the Speedboat of Losers and then did a dramatic teleport when the cameras were just about to go out of her view.
"For a show called Total Drama, that wasn't very dramatic since Mim was a little obvious! We'll have a more dramatic elimination and will there be an actual alliance? Or just more hints of strategy? Probably both, right here on TOTAL DRAMA X: CROSSED TREES!"
Cruella wasn't waiting around for whoever would answer her and Lady Dominator's call in the wee hours of the night for nothing, understanding the game now.
"Why did you call me at this time, I was making myself beautiful." Dominator remarked.
"Because as an apparent villain, letting myself get eliminated by a bunch of puppy lovers on this team is a fate that I'm not letting myself get into." Cruella explained. "So, this alliance is just an assurance that we will not get eliminated."
"Glad you understand how a bad guy does things."
"Thank you."
These two did not have to wait for too long for Boscha was carefully looking around the place for potential special prizes.
"Ah, Boscha, darling, I'm so glad that you'd get yourself into this alliance of women." Cruella greeted the tired witch. "It's a simple proposition, you vote with us, we protect you for those damned puppy-lovers and together, we will sail to the final six, maybe."
"Why not the final three?" Dominator asked. "I could dominate this game."
"Patience! Some of them are too strong to not suss out our game." Cruella said. "Not to mention, us two would not have the most reliable reputation with our looks alone, while you're a team leader on this sweet team of ours."
"Actually, Cruella, you're half right. Just because I'm joining this alliance doesn't mean I'll revoke my right to be the team leader, but why did you recruit me?"
"Well, ask him."
"Ask who?"
Wario seemingly popped up out of nowhere, practically being gone all chapter.
"Hold on, is that someone from the other team?" Boscha asked. "Someone that stinks, by the way!"
"Yes. He actually proposed it to us and we couldn't say no!" Dominator beamed. "Even if he reeks."
"What that's-a Wario's manly musk! Anyways, welcome to this alliance, Boscha of those Robins." Wario spoke up. "As the originator of this alliance, you people should respect me and my smell."
"What does your smell have to do with anything?" Boscha asked.
"Nothing. Wario's your eyes and ears to the social dynamics of that other team and a potential other recruit as well, the ladies told me you'd be a good pick!"
Boscha then all of a sudden got a foreboding chill out of nowhere.
"If you're wondering what that feeling is, it's just the stench of victory!" Wario proclaimed.
"Fine, I'll join your group of wannabe villains! Just letting you know that I might call a few shots around here." Boscha called out.
"WHA?!"
"Told you, Wario, she is no fool." Cruella wasn't pleased.
One villainous alliance was made, a classic in these Total Drama fanfictions.
*Boscha's confessional*
"Why do I have this gnawing feeling that it'll end up blowing up in my face? But making this alliance is what winners do and as the Grugby captain back at home, moves like this are what's needed for victories."
She looked surprisingly unsure.
"But I'm not sure if they're the right people to be in this alliance with."
*Dominator's confessional*
Her joviality was definitely hiding something.
"Hahahaha, it's actually kinda funny. I do need to be here, but once again, my reasons are a little too weird to just reveal without major consequences. Hmph, bad guys always finish last."
*Confessional cut*
Jane then peeked out of a somewhat distant tree, having listen to the whole thing.
"So much information to keep under wraps and an alliance to join. Looks like my season's about to get a whole lot more fun."
To be continued in Episode 4, where it's about the island gets a little bit greener, the plays are about to get a little bit meaner and the chests get a little bit wood-ier.
I was running out of -er suffixes, lemme have this one and to be fair, it'd only make sense for Madam Mim to be the second boot thanks to her general nature.
Like she's an old lady edgelord to properly sum it up, she likes bad things and being alone and stuff, da da da, she actively rejected the alliance that would have saved her because she was a proud witch and look where that got her.
Not far, really.
Oh, look, a villainous alliance with the Heather-esque lady being the unsure one, that doesn't sound too surprising and although Jane might have all the info she needs, in canon she'd wear another disguise to join their crew.
This time, though, the disguise isn't really cosmetic, but a mental one really.