Chapter Five - Fireballs Away

"Last time on Total Drama Arcade," Chris begins. "With the help of four people I like to call Dolph, PJ, Kavren and Chelsey, the four teams competed in the classic arcade game, Dance Dance Revolution. Except, they were shot with BB guns, and I don't think that's in the original game." Chris shrugs and then continues. "Enrico was up first, but the dude failed harder than Reuben. Gavin was next, but his 'bending' didn't help him one bit. Mariah and her servants, I mean, alliance members, tried to sabotage Tiffany when it was her turn by making PJ angry, but even though they succeeded, Tiffany dodged all of PJ's attacks and lasted the whole song. Can anyone say 'Mary-Sue'? Mariah was up next, but when she dissed Dolph's trusty steed, Nyan Cat, the dude flipped out, and used the heavy artillery. She only lasted 22 seconds, and so she sent her team to the elimination ceremony. Eddie, or should I say Edwin, was eliminated for being a nuisance, and it was revealed that his 'your mom' charade was just an act. What secrets will be revealed today? Will Zoey understand Q's warnings? Does Skyla have eyes for someone else? Probably not. Find out the answer to these questions and more on today's episode of Total. Drama. Arcade!"

The contestants are shown in the mess hall, eating bagels and apple juice that may or may not have some toenails in it. Zoey examines the bagel, and then takes a bite. Her eyes widen, and she drops the bagel on the floor. She then grabs the apple juice to scarf down the horrible taste, only to realize how bad it tastes as well. She grabs Q's hat and vomits inside it. Q glares at Zoey in pure disgust.

Brendan picks up Zoey's fallen bagel and swallows it whole. He giggles and pushes her apple juice onto her shirt, making a large stain, and then runs away before she can do anything.

Chris snickers as the contestants glare at him. "How is everyone liking their breakfast? Chef ran out of some supplies, so he had to improvise, but I think it tastes just fine, don't you think?"

"You know, you're not as bad as people say, McLean," Natasha says. "You're much, much worse."

Kathie is shown typing something on her phone. "Status update - Like oh my glarb," Kathie says out loud as she types. "I totes gawts to meet the TDRev charry's on the last challenge! Lol, wish me luck today, xox."

Herbert raises an eyebrow and looks up from his food. "Wow, Kathie, you have horrible grammar. I love correct grammar and such, so I think I can help you. Two weeks of vigorous grammar lessons could really improve your language skills, and, you know, make you not type like a preteen girl on Tumblr."

"Shut up," Kathie says nonchalantly. Herbert frowns and then looks at his food. He smirks, and throws his bagel at Kathie. She shrieks as it hits her directly in the face, and he giggles mischievously. "Bullseye."

Rex is hidden under a table, hiding from Skyla who is looking for him with a crowbar. Mariah sees Rex and raises an eyebrow. "Should I ask why you're under the table, or do I not need to know?"

Rex frowns. "It's Skyla, she started beatin' me wit' a crowbar this mornin', I think she's tryin' kill me or somethin'. Man, I really wish she'd get eliminated already." Mariah pats his back to comfort him, only for Skyla to see this. She runs over to the table, while shouting Rex's name loudly, flips the table upside down, and starts to hit Rex with the crowbar. Mariah walks away from the scene slowly.

Rex (CONF): Oi, Skyla is really annoyin' me. Nex' time we lose, she's outta' here. Mariah's gonn' vote with me, and Q will probably do th' same. I'm not an antagonist or anythin' but I can't stand her, y'know?

Jim casually smiles at Q, showing almost no emotion. He stares at Q for a while, until Q notices this. Jim stares at him him for a few more seconds, and then speaks. "Wonderful weather we're having, huh."

Q shrugs. "I suppose so. I'm not really a weather expert."

Jim smiles nonchalantly. "Yup." Q raises an eyebrow, and nods his head gradually. He then walks away slowly, and by the time Q is off-screen, Jim is still smiling at... nothing, really.

Suddenly, the lights begin to flicker, and eventually burn out. Six candles light up, and Alyxandra is shown floating in the air, with her eyes pale white. "Roses are black, violets are violence. I'll tie you up to the rack, and gag you with my silence." She then shouts something in a different language, and the candles burn out.

The lights quickly and unexpectedly turn on, and the contestants are confused as Alyxandra eats her bagel as if nothing happened. When she notices everyone looking at her, she shrugs her shoulders. Natasha shakes her head. "Anyone who told you to be yourself couldn't have given you any worse advice."

The camera then shows Zoey listening to music, and dancing in her seat, as Enrico takes pictures of her bottom. He giggles to himself, puts the camera in his pocket, and walks back to his seat.

"Hm..." says Lloyd, jotting stuff down in his notebook. "Enrico, such a pervert. All you do is hang with Herbert. Can't you just think clean for once? 'Cause maybe then you won't be such a dunce. You only talk about one girl, and believe me you're only making her hurl. You should grow up a li'l bit, all you like are girls and sh–"

Enrico glares at him. Zoey takes her headphones off, and Enrico smiles. "Yo, Zoey, you do somethin' to you' hair? Looks very beautiful." Zoey looks surprised that Enrico gave her a authentic compliment, but then smiles happily. "Wow, you actually complimented me. Thanks, Enrico, I appreciate it."

Enrico genuinely smiles. "I'm goin' bang you later."

Zoey sighs. "Of course."

Zoey (CONF): I honestly do not know how our team has yet to lose a single challenge. I mean, all Herbert and Kathie do is fight with each other, and do I even need to explain Enrico? I honestly think without me, this team would crash and burn harder than Survivor: Redemption Island. (sighs)

"The air was thick with a terrible smell, everyone in the car going through Hell," Q loudly exclaims. "Everyone jumping, just like my heart. I sighed and grimaced - why'd my friend have to fart?"

Chris clears his throat. "Listen up gamers, your challenge will begin in ten minutes, and get ready to destroy some flying rocks." The scene changes to the contestants in a dark room with strong air currents that push them back and forth. "Today's challenge will be based off of the popular arcade game, Asteroids. The objective of Asteroids is to score as many points as possible by destroying asteroids and flying saucers. The player controls a triangular-shaped ship that can rotate left and right, fire shots straight forward, and thrust forward. The player can also send their ship into hyperspace, causing it to disappear and reappear in a random location on the screen, with the risk of self-destructing or appearing on top of an asteroid."

Natasha yawns and Chris glares at her. "What, is this too boring for you? Should I stop talking?"

"No, no, no, please, continue," Natasha snidely says. "I always yawn when I'm interested. I would love to hear you some more, I get goosebumps when I listen to you speak."

Chris continues. "Each team will take turns riding a spaceship. The spaceship has special parts inside that use the air currents around it to make it fly, which is why this room is like super duper windy. You know the deal, the team that destroys the most asteroids wins the challenge. It's simple. Destroy or be destroyed."

"Um," Gavin says with a cringe. "Are you sure our 'spaceships' are safe? You use interns to test stuff out before you make us use it, right? It looks like it's hanging by a thread."

Chris shakes his head. "No no, don't worry, we tested it out with interns beforehand, and only four of them didn't make it out alive. It's usually like nine or ten. You only have like a 20 percent chance of living, but that's higher than any other challenge we've done! You should be grateful."

"Oh," Gavin says with a gulp. Chris thinks for a minute and then continues. "First up is Team Zoey is Really, Really, Really, Really Hot. Use the control panel inside to control the ship. Use the red button to shoot lasers at the asteroids, and use the blue button to hyperspace through the air. You can only go through hyperspace three times, so be sure to use it when you really need it."

"Hm," Enrico says. "Seems legit."

The team goes inside the bootleg spaceship, and Chris unties the rope that's holding it. When he does so, the spaceship shoots up into the air, and starts to hover. Zoey grabs the control panel. "I'm in charge of the ship. Kathie, I need you to tell me when there's an asteroid about to hit us, and the direction."

The camera pans over to Kathie and Herbert having a slap-fight. Kathie grabs Herbert's hair, causing him to shriek. She pulls on it, making him scream louder. Zoey sighs. "Nevermind."

Kathie (CONF): I guess fighting with Herbert wasn't the best decision, but that boy irritates me in ways that I can not explain. Ugh, what would Sharissa do, what would Sharissa do... Herbert (CONF): Kathie keeps starting fights with me for no reason, I mean, I get it, vandalizing that wiki was a bad thing to do, but the girl really scares me. I deserve some sympathy.

"Yo, Zoe," Enrico says with an eyebrow raised. "What about me, beautiful? What can I do?" Zoey thinks for a minute. "You can just stand there." Enrico glares at her.

Suddenly, an asteroid crashes onto the side of their spaceship. Lloyd sees another asteroid heading towards them, and shouts for Zoey to shoot at it with a laser. Zoey sits there in shock, and the asteroid approaches. Enrico sees this, quickly reaches for the red button that shoots the laser, and presses it.

Zoey sighs a breath of relief. "Thanks, Enrico."

Enrico (CONF): She so wants me.

The asteroid that was previously shot splits into three smaller pieces, and Zoey shoots all three remaining pieces. The camera pans over to Chris and the contestants, where Alyxandra is reciting a poem that she made. The contestants look afraid as she speaks. "Infection; eating away at the beloved-enraged pain rages within the confinements of the mind-bleed into the cup, wash the wounds with holy water-torn from the mountains, spread over the unclean. Engage the pitiful and rip the blood soaked insides out as the bodies litter your open streets, cries to the heavens end in death-dead fills carts, halls turn to mud soaked pits, overflowing with the discarded, masks cover the truth of the people-cannot escape the fate of everything."

Mariah raises her eyebrows in fear. "Alyx, stop it, you're scaring us."

Alyxandra's eyes roll to the back of her head and she continues. "Crooked nail piercing us against the crimson flow of civilisation-dying to be apart of something we can never be-never hold onto, suffocate to live and to die we grasp the freedom of the blade, abominations flowing through our fingers-what is black is coloured within us, unrenewable DNA-agitated souls feeding on the gulping breathes we take, reality fades here- this plane destroyed with our dying thoughts, through the looking glass we live, suffocating on our own thoughts-can this be what we dream of? Blood rushes between fingers-skewered guts splayed in front of us-friends slain and enemies bleed-you believe to die, shattered prey lies between us, taste the sweet inflamed faith-dripping with the sins of the filthy-can we see what hides beneath when we cannot see what we are?"

The camera alters to Team Zoey is Really, Really, Really, Really shooting lasers. Lloyd smiles and begins rapping. "Destroying, toying, annoying, deploying, dodgin' an asteroid, so perfect like an android, scaring them rocks like a arachnoid, don't you get hit, we wouldn't want you to get a hemorrhoid."

"Word," Enrico adds.

"Guys," Zoey says. "I don't see any asteroids in sight, I think we may have destroyed them all. I think we're supposed to land now, but Chris hasn't said anything, so I don't know." As if on cue, hundreds of asteroids fly next to their spaceship, leaving them unable to move to the side. Hundreds of asteroids then fly above them and below them, rendering the team unable to move without being hit by an asteroid.

"Argh," Lloyd shouts. "What do we do, what do we do!?"

Kathie frantically leans in and presses the blue hyperspace button, causing the team to disappear and reappear outside of the asteroid paradox. Zoey sighs a breath of relief, but an asteroid appears out of nowhere and hits the team on the front of their spaceship, causing them to plummet towards the ground. They crash, and Chris laughs at their injuries. "Ooo, looks like you guys lose. You destroyed a total of one hundred asteroids, so let's see if the Skee Balls can beat that. Balls of Skee-ing, get your butts in there." The Skee Balls get inside their spaceship, and Chris cuts the rope, immediately sending them hurtling towards the air.

Mariah grabs the control panel and puts her hand on the laster button. "Guys, I'll control the spaceship. I hope you guys don't care. No one else wants to do it, right?"

Rex frowns. "Aw, I kinda wanted to control th' spaceship... but I guess you's could do it."

Rex (CONF): I think I... migh' like Mariah. Could you blame me? She's th' only girl besides' Skyla, and she's really pretty, even if she is like five feet tall. Aw crap, she has a boyfrien', right? Mariah (CONF): You think I haven't seen the way Rex looks at me? I know he has a little thing for me, and I can totally use that to my advantage. (giggles mischievously)

Skyla frowns. "Rexie-lexie should control our spaceship, he can most definitely handle it. Also, your arms are too scrawny and are not capable of controlling such a ship." Mariah rolls her eyes and Rex frowns.

"I told you's not to call me that, Skyla," Rex shouts. "My name's Rex, sheesh. Stop with th' nicknames."

Mariah swallows her pride and forces a smile. "No, no, Rex, Skyla is right, you should control the ship. Plus, your arms are really buff and strong, so you can totally handle it." Rex blushes, which Skyla notices. Skyla slaps Mariah. "Back off, girlfriend, he's mine. I had him first."

Q clears his throat. "Um, guys? Are you done bickering, there's an asteroid headed for us, and Rex needs to shoot at it. Guys? Are you listening? Vamos lá, qualquer um? Qualquer um?"

Mariah forces a smile. "You're right, Skyla, you're right once again. You're always right. Yep, always. Okay, Rex, now I know you can totally help our team win this, so start controlling the ship."

Q clears his throat again and speak louder. "Uh, guys? This is really important, it's about to hit us. Sérieusement, les gars, arrêter de se battre et d'écouter pendant une seconde."

Skyla rolls her eyes. "Whatever, Mariah. You're just totally jealous of me and Rexie. You cannot handle my Rexie, he's too good for you. You're not even in the same ballpark as him." Mariah frowns and gets ready to fight with Skyla, but Rex tries to break the two up by pushing them away from each other.

"GUYS," Q shouts. Skyla, Rex, and Mariah look at Q, and Q points to an asteroid that's heading towards them. Skyla shrieks and faints, and Rex makes a quick turn, pushing everyone to the side of the spaceship.

Another asteroid approaches, and Rex shoots at it, and shoots the smaller pieces. He sighs a breath of relief, but a gigantic asteroid quickly approaches them, and before Rex can try to shoot at it, it hits them directly, causing them to fall down to the rest of the contestants.

"Well," Chris says. "You only destroyed four asteroids. You guys are pathetic, you know that? Whac-a-Moles, you guys are next. You have to beat Team Zoey's score, a total of one hundred asteroids."

Rex (CONF): Hey, I guess going to elimination won't be so bad, at least I'll be able to get rid of Skyla, y'know? Yeah, yeah, that won't be so bad. I'm actually looking forward to it! (smiles)

The Whac-a-Moles get inside their spaceship, and Chris cuts the rope, sending them flying into the air. Caterina starts giggling. "This makes me feel like Superman, ahahaha."

Friday starts to sing. "That familiar voice, it speaks to me, tells me everything is gonna be okay. It's meant to, meant to be. Sun is out, and the darkness fades, got my headphones on and I'm under, in a dream but I'm wide awake. Woah-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh."

Alyxandra puts her hand on her heart and starts chanting. "Beauty beyond the hopes of man, this pure creature is the fairest in the land, only to be tamed by that of a maiden, but never to be touched by men. As the girl's hand rests on the creature's nose, she watches in amazement as the horn glows. The mare then got to her knees, the girl just couldn't believe. Slowly she got on the mare's back, comfort was nothing the Unicorn could lack. The mare galloped through the trees, the girl had never felt so free."

"That poem reminds me of unicorns, omg," Caterina responds. "I love them. I want to be a unicorn so bad."

Gavin (CONF): I have to say, I don't really like my team. Caterina is really ditzy, and pretty useless too. All Friday does is sing her songs, and Alyxandra kinda freaks me out. I wish Zoey was on my team.

Gavin grabs the control panel. "I'll control the spaceship, you guys watch out for any asteroids and be sure to tell me if there's any headed in our direction—"

"Gavin," Alyxandra shouts. "Look ahead." Sure enough, a large asteroid is hurtling towards the team. Gavin screams and unintentionally hits the hyperspace button, and teleports to another area. He sighs a breath of relief and Caterina thinks for a minute. "Is it true that sweat and pee are like... cousins?"

Suddenly, an asteroid hits the side of their spaceship, followed by multiple hits by other asteroids. Gavin gets angry and begins shooting the asteroids with the laser beams. A montage is then shown of Gavin shooting any asteroid that he sees and laughing maniacally as he does so.

Gavin (CONF): Okay, I may have gone a little too far.

Gavin accidentally presses the blue hyperspace button in his fit of rage, and the team is teleported to a random location. He shrugs it off, and continues to destroy asteroids. Friday notices this and says, "Um, Gavin, you realized you wasted our second hyperspace, right? We only have one left."

Gavin shrugs. "Whatever, we're doing fine." Sure enough, Gavin accidentally presses the blue hyperspace button again. Alyxandra facepalms. "Ugh, nice going, Gavin. Just hope we don't have to use it."

Caterina nods. "Yeah, nice going Garret. So, um, anyways, I get nervous when my brother eats things that aren't food. Seriously, I think he ate my charm bracelet." Gavin dodges a large asteroid, causing everyone to fall on the floor. Unexpectidly, many asteroids start to hit the team's spaceship, and Gavin hits the blue hyperspace button, even though the team has already hit it three times, the limit.

"Gavin," Friday shouts. "Water you doing, we already used up the hyperspace!"

Gavin shrugs. "We could at least try." However, the Whac-a-Moles then hear a low beeping sound. Some of the contestants raise an eyebrow, when suddenly, the spaceship abruptly explodes, sending the Whac-a-Moles flying towards the other contestants. They hit their faces on the pavement and Chris chuckles.

"Wow, who knew Gavin was so bad at steering," Chris chuckles. "You guys destroyed a total of one hundred and one asteroids, which beats Team Zoey is Really, Really, Really, Really Hot by one point." Chris laughs. "You guys must feel like crap. Crane Machines, you guys are up, so get your sorry tooshies into your ship."

The Crane Machines, one by one, enter the ship. Natasha is about to enter first, but Tiffany pushes her to the side, and walks in front. "You're a peasant, you should go last."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "Whoa, who peed in your coffee?"

The contestants finish going inside the spaceship, and the scene changes to the Crane Machines flying in the air. Tiffany grabs the control panel. "I'm controlling, after all, I'm a natural born leader."

"I bet you get bullied a lot," Natasha sympathizes.

Tiffany raises an eyebrow. "Oh shut up, you don't know anything about me. I'll have you know, I won the talent show in Junior High, and I was given the title of Prom Queen. I am the most popular girl in my school, and definitely the hottest. So no, I don't get bullied a lot, you drag queen."

"Pardon me," Natasha says, "but you're obviously mistaking me for someone who gives a damn." Suddenly, Brendan begins shouting and hooting and jumping up and down. He points to the front of the spaceship, but Tiffany doesn't bother to notice his warnings. Jim sees what Brendan is pointing to, and widens his eyes.

"Wow, that is a large looking asteroid," Jim acknowledges. "It's really pretty, too. I bet all the other asteroids are jealous of it's humongous size. I bet the asteroid has a rival too, who gets chosen last during basketball, and who probably hates him for being the best. I like this asteroid. It's pretty, and I like it a lot."

Tiffany raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Natasha rolls her eyes and forcefully turns Tiffany's head to the side, showing her the gigantic asteroid approaching. Tiffany screams and doesn't have time to move the spaceship, and the asteroid breaks through the glass of the spaceship, and hits Tiffany, which pushes her to the back of the spaceship. Brendan gets scared and begins to shout like an orangutan. He runs to the asteroid, and using only brute force, Brendan punches the asteroid and breaks it into several pieces. He swats the pieces away.

Brendan then grabs the control panel and starts to destroy numerous asteroids. Natasha smirks and looks at Tiffany. "Looks like Brendan's a better pilot than you, and he barely knows English."

Tiffany glares at her. "Oh, shut up, Natasha. If you were in my shoes, you would know that I am an amazing pilot, thanks to my dad. In fact, I'm amazing at many things, including martial arts. You know, things that a low-class citizen like yourself wouldn't know. Hmhmhm, there's no denying that I'm the best there is."

Natasha nods her head slowly, showing how bored she is of listening to Tiffany speak. "I'd like to see things from your point of view, but I can't seem to get my head that far up your ass."

Jim giggles. "Burn."

The camera changes to Chris and the contestants. Mariah pokes Caterina and Zoey on their shoulder, and motions for them to follow her. The three of them make it to a secluded area, and Mariah talks. "Okay you guys, I've made up a couple of rules for alliance. You have to follow it. It's not a choice. Okay?"

Caterina and Zoey nod. Mariah smiles. "Good. Okay, first rule. I'm the leader of this alliance, which means that I make all final decisions. I started the alliance, so it's only fair, right? Okay, good."

Zoey thinks for a minute. "We still have a say on who goes, right? If not, then I don't think the rule is that fair. I mean, I get that you're the alliance leader, but we're part of this alliance too, we deserve a say."

Mariah scoffs. "Of course you have a say, like you said, it wouldn't be fair. However, if I really want someone to be eliminated, it will be final. You're welcome to try and change my mind, but I'm pretty stubborn."

Zoey nods. "Alright, that's cool I guess."

Mariah smiles. "Okay, good. Second rule. We can use other people as votes if we need to, but that's it. No new alliance members. We made this mistake with Ashlee, and it cost us big time. If we have another member, and they get eliminated by the other contestants, it'll be a huge blow to our alliance. If we only use a person for a vote, however, we can easily replace them. Plus, only three people will make it to the semi-finals, we can't have four members. Maybe I'm wrong - maybe we'll need a new member later on, but we're fine for now."

Caterina nods. "Wow, that's so smart, Mariah. It reminds me when my brother stuffed his pasta inside a pillow, and he got away with it for a year until it started to rot and stink up the house."

Mariah raises an eyebrow. "Anyways, one more rule. Do not ever talk back to me or question my methods. I am the leader of this alliance, you guys need to have full faith in me and trust me. Okay? Okay."

Zoey raises an eyebrow. "Uh, I don't know about that last one, Mariah."

Mariah forces a smile. "Oh, okay, that's cool. I could always replace you with someone else who's okay with our alliance rules. I'm taking you guys to the final three, it's a privilege, and I could always give it to someone who really, really wants it. Your choice, Zoey. I would just hate to kick you out. "

Zoey sighs. "Nevermind, the rule is fine."

Mariah smiles. "Great."

Mariah (CONF): Cat's too stupid to question me, but Zoey on the other hand is way too smart for my liking. She's really naive though, so I'll keep her around. She's safe - for now. Zoey (CONF): Hm, Mariah's being a little too over controlling. I don't really want to leave the alliance, since I know she'll keep me safe, but I really wish she'd change the rules. Matter of fact, why do we even need rules?

The camera transitions to a montage of Brendan dancing to Brianna Queers' hit song, "I Wanna Leave." He dances to the chorus and as an asteroid approaches, he doesn't stop his dancing, but rather hits the laser button with his elbow and continues dancing to the song. Jim gasps at the sight.

"Oh my," Jim says. "Brendan is spectacular. It amazes me how every aspect of his movement is so precise, so perfect. The grace that he is able to show in his dancing takes my breath away. His toes are pointed, his arms are extended, his flexibility is at its best. Most people might see his dance as mere entertainment, nothing special. But to me, I cannot fathom the hard work and effort it took for him to be able to get to where he is now. I only hope that one day, I can become as good as him. I really do."

"Um, dude," Natasha says. Jim looks at her, and Natasha points to Brendan shaking his butt. Jim sees a blinking light next to the control panel. He raises an eyebrow, and then walks closer to it. "Um, guys?" Natasha and Tiffany look at Jim. Jim bites his lower lip. "We're almost out of fuel."

Tiffany widens her eyes. "Holy shi-"

But before Tiffany can finish her sentence, the spaceship runs out of gas and hurtles towards the ground. Tiffany gives a scream that pierces the other contestants ears. Jim keeps repeating 'we're gonna die,' while Natasha and Brendan give the two a look of absolute pity. Natasha sighs. "You guys are pathetic."

The spaceship crashes into the ground and Chris laughs. "You guys, I forgot to tell you, you only have a half gallon of fuel. Budget cuts, y'know? Anywho, Brendan destroyed a total of 9,100 asteroids. For each hyperspace that you didn't use, you get three hundred extra points. Since you guys didn't use any of the hyperspaces, that's nine hundred extra points, which means that you guys have a astounding total of 10,000."

The Crane Machines cheer, and pick up Brendan. They begin to chant, 'Bren-dan, Bren-dan, Bren-dan." Brendan smiles and blushes. "Thanks you guys, I appreciate it."

The contestants stop chanting and look at Brendan in confusion. "Oh, whoops." Brendan then spits on Chris, begins to hoot and punch his chest in victory. The Crane Machines shrug and continue to chant.

"Not so fast," Chris says with a smirk. "Our scoreboards are only capable of holding four digits, and 10,000 is five digits. Because of this, on our scoreboard, you guys got a big fat zero. So, you guys lose and will be sending someone on the Boat of Losers! Quite the twist, huh?"

Natasha sighs. "You cannot be serious."

Chris shakes his head. "Does it look like I'm kidding? Whac-a-Moles, you guys are the winners of today's challenge. Team Zoey is Really, Really, Really, Really Hot comes in second place, and is closely followed by the Skee-Balls. Then, the Crane Machines come in dead last and will be eliminating someone tonight."

Natasha (CONF): I'm not all that mad about losing the challenge, because I know that I won't be eliminated. I think Tiffany is trying to stay under the radar, and she's the only one who would try to vote me off.

As Rex is walking back to his dorm, he bumps into Mariah. Rex apologizes and Mariah smiles. "Eh, it's not a problem. You got a minute, though? I gotta ask you something."

Rex nods. "Fo' you, I'll always have time."

Mariah blushes. "Yeah. So, I was wondering if you wanted to be in an alliance with me? I really trust you, and I think you would be a loyal ally. We could vote together, and if you want, we could eliminate Skyla."

Rex thinks for a minute. "I dunno, Mariah. Don'chu have an alliance wit' those two girlie-girls o' somethin'? Wouldn't it kinda be goin' behind their backs if you have another alliance wit' me?"

Mariah scoffs. "No, no, don't be silly. I don't have an alliance with anyone at all. Sure, I might have asked people to vote with me, but I don't really have a prominent group or anything. In fact, you're the only person I've asked to be in an alliance with. I really trust you, Rex. So, what do you say?"

Rex nods. "Well, in that case, I'm in."

"Thanks," Mariah smiles. She hugs Rex and kisses him on the cheek. As she runs back to her dorm, Rex blushes and drools. The camera pans over to Skyla who listened to the whole conversation. She starts to cry hysterically, and she runs away from the scene in tears.

Skyla (CONF): (cries hysterically and blows nose in a tissue)

Rex (CONF): Skyla can neva' find out about my alliance wit' Mariah - she'll kill me!

Chris is shown at the roof of the arcade. It is during the night, and there is a makeshift campfire in front of five stumps where the contestants are sitting. A port-potty is used as the voting booth, and stairs lead back down to the main arcade. "This season, if you manage to not get eliminated, you'll get a special gold coin. It's chocolate, so feel free to eat it. However, if you're the loser," Chris opens up a gray padlocked box, "You get this special "Game Over" pass, which basically means you can't come back. Ever. You must ride the Spin of Shame, and get thrown onto the Boat of Losers. The following players are safe for another day. Brendan. Natasha."

Brendan grabs his gold coin and throws it at Tiffany, who glares at him. Natasha has a smug look on her face as she lets her gold coin fall to the floor. Chris clears his throat and sighs.

"Tiffany and Jim," Chris begins. "Tiffany, you really showed your arrogant side during the challenge, and you somehow manages to tick off almost every person on the team. Jim, you're just useless and kinda creepy. You both deserve to go, but only one person will be riding the Boat of Losers. And that person is...

Jim. Time to go, kiddo." Chris throws the remaining gold coin at Tiffany, who eats it with a smirk. Jim nods his head, shrugs his shoulders and then gets up with no emotion.

"Nice weather we're having," Jim says with a smile as he is walking. He walks over to the Spin of Shame, and gets spun around multiple times. Instead of throwing up, however, he maintains his smile. He is thrown onto the Boat of Losers, and shouts, 'whee-eee-eee' as he gets thrown. The contestants look on in confusion.

"Okaaay," Chris clears his throat. "So that wasn't the most dramatic elimination ceremony."

Brendan (CONF): (stares at camera blankly)

Natasha (CONF): Well, it seems that we're the worst team so far. I mean, three people? Seriously? It's not a surprise though, our team sucks big time.

Tiffany (CONF): Chris is dead to me, with all his little tricks and scams. We should have totally won today. He'll be hearing from my father!

The Crane Machines get up and exit the roof to go back to their dorm. As Natasha is walking, Gavin stops her. She raises an eyebrow and Gavin clears his throat. "Uh, Natasha? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Natasha sighs, and then rolls her eyes. "I'm busy now. Can I ignore you something other time?" Gavin clasps his hands together and whispers 'please'. Natasha sighs. "Fine, talk to me."

Gavin smiles and then sighs. He rubs the back of his head nervously and hesitates to speak. "So, well, I hope this won't be a potentially awkward situation, but I was kind of wondering if you might possibly wanted to be in an alliance with, y'know, me? If you want, we could even invite someone else of your choice."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "An alliance? I mean, depends - who are we targeting first?"

Gavin shrugs. "Whoever you want. I didn't really have anyone in mind, I just wanted to be in an alliance with someone, and you seemed like the best choice. What do you say?"

Natasha smirks. "That's what I like to hear. I don't like people who are too overcontrolling. Deal, I guess we're in an alliance. I guess we could maybe target Tiffany first, she's a horrible person."

Suddenly, Natasha and Gavin hear someone walking towards them. They turn around, only to see Q come out of the shadows with a smile on his face. "If you guys are gonna be in an alliance together, I wanna join too. Q-sic man needs some backup, and everyone on my team is probably gonna vote me off."

Natasha sighs. "Gavin?"

Gavin shrugs. "I think for a good alliance to work, it has to have three people. So, yeah, Q should join our alliance. I don't think he'll tell a soul about us, and he seems really loyal. You're in, Q."

Q smiles. "Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don't let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious."

Natasha raises an eyebrow. "You're gonna need to stop that, though. Or else I'll start calling you Alyxandra."

The camera pans over to Chris. He smiles. "What is Mariah up to? Will she ditch Cat and Zoey for Rex? Will Skyla be heartbroken and try to sabotage their alliance? Will Natasha, Gavin and Q be able to run the game now that Mariah and her alliance are trying to stay under the radar? And will my teeth get any whiter? Find out next time on... Total. Drama. Arcade!"