Total Drama World Tour: Miranda's Way (Alternate Version)

Chapter 19: "The Me No One Else Sees"

"So, Niagara Falls is pretty awesome, eh?"

"It almost killed us!" Heather glared.

"Like I said, awesome! The Falls are the jewel in Canada's crown, and one of the top ten natural wonders in the world. It's also known for its fabulous casino, which is where we'll be heading for the first part of the challenge!"

Upon hearing this, the once angered faces of the contestants lit up with excitement.

"Oh, man! Seriously?!"

But unfortunately for them, that excitement didn't last, as they ended up on a large stage, rather than a casino.

"Seriously?" Duncan muttered.

"Since you're all under gambling age, we had to move the challenge from the gambling floor to the far less exciting casino concert hall."

The only one who wasn't totally bummed by this was Miranda, who practically had stars in her eyes as they entered the concert hall. Riveria Theatre was a place she'd always wanted to see a show, it was one of the most beautiful venues she'd ever seen. The intricate details of the borders of the stage, the gorgeous, red velvet curtains, the dark wood on the stage floor, the twinkling chandelier framing the entire hall...It was something out of a fantasy to her. She would've sold her soul to sing in the breathtaking room, faces packed into every seat, up to the balcony and the sky boxes.

"Have you ever seen something so breathtaking...?" she swooned, making Alejandro grin sweetly.

"Ooh! I wonder if anyone is performing!" Owen exclaimed.

"You're in luck, Owen, my man! Turns out, you all will be! Each of you will be performing a song of your choice with the specific guidelines I give you. Your performance will determine who you'll be working with for this challenge."

"Why would we need to do that? We're already in teams." Courtney asked.

"Not anymore, because as of right now, there are no more teams!"

Courtney and Heather cheered. "Yes!"

The second Miranda heard this, she felt her body tense up. She'd been dreading this day since the beginning. Now, if she made a mistake, everyone could go after her. She no longer had the safety net of her teammates to fall back on.

Alejandro, on the other hand, was quite pleased that he could finally work alone without carrying others. He graciously shook hands with Duncan and Owen.

"Well, gentlemen, it's been an honor. I trust our brotherhood can continue in some manner?"

"Of course, man!" Duncan grinned.

"Oh, sure! We're buddies all the way to the end. Right, Dunc?" Owen agreed cheerfully.

Alejandro soon made his way to Miranda and grabbed onto her hand, without saying a word. But she didn't need him to say anything, she just gripped his hand tighter for stability.

"Since we are in the honeymoon capital of the world, I thought it'd be cool to drop some arranged marriages on you~" Chris chuckled.

Sierra squealed loudly as her dream was quite literally being fulfilled. Cody couldn't help but cower with anxiousness.

"I want each of you to sing the most romantic love song you can think of and perform it here on this very stage. Just so you can all get the singing requirement out of the way early. We'll have way grueling challenges for you later. First, we'll have the girls sing, then the boys. The rankings at the end will determine who your partner will be for today's set of challenges. You have ten minutes to brainstorm."