Episode 2: The Dreadmill
"We're just about ready to start round three of our big competition." SSBFreak said. "The Sweeper brushed aside half the remaining contestants, but we only have room in the Wipeout Zone for four people, so two more people will have to go."
"That's right. We've got six people left, but we only need four." Tinyrocket said. "We have two females left: Sarah Nade and Jasmine, as well as our oldest remaining player, Otto Scratchnsniff. The rest of round three is made up of testosterone: Pilot Launchpad McQuack, ladies man Larry Butz and mercenary Wolf O'Donnel."
"Two of these six people will have to go down one way or another before we can advance." SSBFreak explained. "Time to welcome…"
A large conveyor belt was shown in a clearing. Three foam barriers were seen hanging over it like doors.
"…The Dreadmill."
"Here's how it works. Contestants will go one at a time and will try to cross from one end of the giant treadmill to the other, moving through the three barriers in the way." Tinyrocket said. "The object is to cross the Dreadmill is as little time as possible and the four fastest times move onto the Wipeout Zone."
"Should the contestants fall off the Dreadmill, it will be a costly climb back up onto it, although the contestants will be pleased to know that the Dreadmill slows down each time they fall off it."
"We're about ready to start, so let's see who's up first..."
Wolf was seen standing just off the Dreadmill, decked in safety pads and a helmet. He took the time to adjust the gloves he had been given.
"Looks like it's Wolf O'Donnell, arguably the most-athletic person remaining."
"This should be a piece of cake for him, then. Shall we start?"
"Let's."
The horn blared and the timer started counting down. Wolf quickly stepped onto the quick-moving treadmill and underestimated the speed it was going at. Wolf quickly slipped and fell onto the treadmill, which ejected him into a pit of flour.
"And Wolf starts things off with a fall on his face!"
"That'll add time to his counter, but the Dreadmill will slow down a bit after that. Let's see if it helps him."
Wolf climbed back up onto the side of the Dreadmill, which had now slowed down a bit. Wolf jumped on again and managed to keep up with it. Wolf ran forward and reached down, grabbing the handle of the first door flap.
"Wolf's making steady progress. He's at the first door."
Wolf tried to lift the flap up and run underneath it, but he lost his footing doing so and he fell on his face again. Wolf was once again tossed into the flour pit.
"And Wolf goes down again!"
"If he wants to post a respectable time, he needs to pull out all the stops."
Wolf, looking a little worn out, climbed onto the conveyor belt again and jumped on. Easily keeping up with the Dreadmill this time, Wolf grabbed the first door handle again and lifted the flap up, running underneath it.
"Okay. It's looking good so far. Wolf's made it through the first door."
Wolf felt himself falling back, so he started running faster. He quickly grabbed the handle of the second door and pulled it back, desperately trying to get underneath it without falling down. It took a lot of effort, but Wolf managed to get underneath the second door.
"Wolf's through the second door. One more door and then it's just a simple step onto the finish platform."
"If he doesn't screw up…"
Wolf pressed on and grabbed the handle of the third door. Wasting no time, Wolf lifted the door and rushed underneath it, not stopping until his feet stepped off the far end of the Dreadmill, onto the red square at the end.
Wolf O'Donnell – 2:31:24
"And Wolf posts a good time of just over two and a half minutes!"
"Good time, but not unbeatable. Let's see who's next…"
Scratchnsniff stood at the beginning of the Dreadmill, looking at the fast-moving treadmill anxiously.
"It's our oldest remaining player, Otto Scratchnsniff."
"Can he beat the time posted by Wolf?...I sincerely doubt it, but let's find out anyway!"
The horn blared and Scratchnsniff stepped onto the treadmill. He promptly slipped and landed on his back, flying into the flour pit.
"And the good doctor starts his round just as well as Wolf started his!"
"But the belt slows down, so maybe it'll help him…"
Scratchnsniff quickly climbed up onto the side of the belt again and stepped on, slipping off just as quickly without looking like he tried.
"He went off again! But…It looks like he's doing it on purpose now…"
"It's a sound strategy, you know. He's slowing down the Dreadmill to a reasonable level without wasting too much of his energy."
Climbing up onto the Dreadmill a third time, Scratchnsniff once again purposefully fell off, landing in the flour pit a third time.
"He goes down a third time! By now, I don't think Scratchnsniff has any chance at beating Wolf's time."
"But by now, the Dreadmill's running at a relatively-slow pace. If Scratchnsniff can do this in one go, he'll still have a good time."
Scratchnsniff jumped onto the Dreadmill and sprinted forward, easily grabbing the handle of the first door. Scrambling underneath the flap, Scratchnsniff reached for the second handle, but missed his mark and tripped on the conveyor belt. Scratchnsniff landed on his face and was swept into the flour pit again.
"Oh! Scratchnsniff was on a roll, but now he's gotta do it all again!"
"And it looks like that last attempt took a lot out of him!"
Scratchnsniff jumped onto the belt again, easily passing underneath the first door flap since the belt was moving slower than ever. Scratchnsniff reached down for the second handle and managed to get it this time.
"Okay. Scratchnsniff had better luck with his second attempt."
"Let's see if he can finish it this time."
Clearing the second door, Scratchnsniff grabbed the third handle and pulled the flap up, providing him with enough room to fly underneath and jump off the treadmill, ending his run.
Otto Scratchnsniff – 6:32:11
"And with a time of six and a half minutes, Scratchnsniff's going to have to wait it out while four more people go and try to beat his time."
Sarah stood just off the Dreadmill. The rocker girl knocked on her helmet a couple of times to test it.
"It's Sarah Nade up next. She's beating Wolf before on the Sweeper, so let's see if she can do it again."
The horn blared and Sarah jumped on the treadmill, purposefully tripping herself and flying into the flour pit.
"Looks like Sarah's got the same strategy as Scratchnsniff. Do you think it'll pay off for her?"
"It depends on how many times she does it…"
Sarah wasted no time in getting back onto the Dreadmill, but instead of falling a second time, she attempted to run. Sarah quickly dove at the handle of the first flap and grabbed it, but because it was stationary, Sarah was pulled to her feet as she was dragged back. Sarah raced underneath the flap and continued.
"Oh! Interesting technique Sarah has there."
"That may be so, but it's also risky, because she only gets one shot before getting thrown back into the flour pit."
Sarah raced at the second handle and dove at it like she did with the first, but she missed her target and landed on her face. Sarah was dragged back and thrown into the flour pit again.
"Way to go, man. You jinxed her."
"Hey, I'm just stating facts."
"Either way, Sarah will have to try that again if she wants to catch up to Wolf."
Sarah shook her head and breathed hard a few times before leaping onto the Dreadmill again and racing at the first door. She passed through it as easily as the previous attempt.
"Sarah's caught up to her previous attempt. Hopefully, she can do better this time."
"Don't jinx her again!"
Sarah leapt at the second handle again, but caught it this time and raced underneath the flap. Sarah picked up the pace as she was starting to tire out as she grabbed the handle of the third door. Lifting up the flap, Sarah flew underneath it and leapt off the Dreadmill.
Sarah Nade – 3:10:42
"She did it! Not enough to beat Wolf's time, but with a time of just over three minutes, Sarah crushed Scratchnsniff's time!"
"Because there are only three people left and he's in the lead, this means that Wolf is guaranteed a spot in the Wipeout Zone, regardless of the results."
"However, Sarah and Scratchnsniff are on the bubble. Let's see how the remaining three players do…"
Larry took a couple of deep breaths as he prepared to start his run.
"Up next is Larry Butz, our self-proclaimed ladies' man. Will he beat out Wolf and Sarah?
"Only one way to find out."
The horn blared again and Larry jumped onto the conveyor belt, only to fall on his face and get ejected into the flour pit instantly.
"I think everyone's underestimating the initial speed of the Dreadmill today."
"Ya THINK?"
Larry climbed up onto the Dreadmill again. He looked back and forth between the treadmill and the flour pit again before jumping on and purposefully falling into the pit.
"Larry let himself fall in again! This could put a damper on his time!"
"Remember that Sarah only did that on purpose once, while Scratchnsniff did it three times."
"Larry's got a rough road ahead of him, so he needs to step it up now."
Larry jumped onto the conveyor belt, managing to stay on. He ran in place for a few seconds before picking up the pace and grabbing the first handle. Larry ran forward, pushing the flap up and running underneath it.
"He's off to a good start."
"But he's only a third of the way through."
Larry grabbed the second handle and ran underneath the second flap, but as he was running, he tripped and landed on his face. Larry hit the conveyor belt and was dragged all the way back to the beginning, getting thrown into the flour pit.
"Oh! Larry's in the flour again!"
"He was doing so well, even. Now he's got to do it all again and the clock's still ticking."
"If he's not completely spent after that attempt, I'd be surprised."
Larry climbed up onto the Dreadmill platform, indeed looking fatigued. Taking a couple of breaths, Larry jumped onto the Dreadmill and started running. Because of the slower speed, Larry was easily able to run through the first door flap.
"Okay. That's one."
Larry grabbed the second handle and ran underneath the door flap, making sure he didn't trip like he did before.
"That's two. Larry has now passed where he fell previously."
"Only one more to go."
Larry grabbed the third door handle and, with one last burst of energy, flew through the door flap and landed on the finishing area, off the treadmill altogether. Larry breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had finished.
Larry Butz – 3:20:04
"Oh! Larry got real close to beating Sarah's time, but he didn't do it! That guarantees Sarah a place in the Wipeout Zone!"
"Larry is now on the bubble with Dr. Scratchnsniff. Will either of the two remaining players do better and oust them from the competition?"
Launchpad stood just off the Dreadmill, scratching his head as he thought of ways he could do the challenge.
"Attempting the challenge next is Launchpad McQuack. Let's see how he fares."
The horn blared again and Launchpad leapt onto the Dreadmill. He tried to run with it as best as he could, but couldn't hold on very long and was thrown into the flour pit.
"Launchpad starts off as well as the others, but because he actually tried to run with the belt for a bit, he's already behind the others."
"Hopefully, he can make up for it."
Launchpad climbed to the top of the platform again and tried to run on the Dreadmill. Seeing that he was able to run easier now, he ran at the first door and reached for the handle. However, his legs slipped out from under him and the pilot landed on his face again before getting thrown off the conveyor belt.
"And there he goes again. The belt moves a lot faster than it seems, as everyone today has been finding out the hard way."
Launchpad attempted the Dreadmill a third time and was able to grab hold of the first handle. Launchpad crossed under the first door, but didn't get much further before tripping. The pilot scrambled to get to his feet before the belt got him too far back, but was unable to do anything and was ejected once again.
"Oh! Launchpad's down again!"
"The clock has already passed Wolf's time. If Launchpad wants a chance at beating Sarah and Larry, he needs a flawless run."
Stepping onto the Dreadmill again, Launchpad raced forward, easily passing the first door. The slower speed helped Launchpad reach the second door, which he grabbed with a little effort and struggling. It took energy, but Launchpad was able to pass by underneath the second door.
"The clock's counting and it's already passed Sarah's time. Can Launchpad finish with a time faster than Larry's?"
Launchpad raced as hard as he could and slowly managed to reach the third door. Grabbing the handle, Launchpad pressed forward, although it looked like he was really struggling to do it. Finally, Launchpad managed to reach the end of the Dreadmill and stepped onto the finishing platform.
Launchpad McQuack – 3:45:19
"It's not good enough! Launchpad put up a great effort, but it wasn't enough to beat Larry's time!"
"This not only sends Larry to the Wipeout Zone, but it eliminates Dr. Scratchnsniff! Only one person remains and she's standing between Launchpad and the Wipeout Zone."
Jasmine stood at the start of the Dreadmill, looking determined and ready to take the challenge on.
"Jasmine's the sixth and last contestant to go. All she needs to do to make it to the Wipeout Zone is beat Launchpad's time."
"Can she do it? Let's see…"
The horn blared again. Jasmine, somehow knowing that she wouldn't be able to keep up, stepped onto the Dreadmill and allowed herself to be carried into the pit of flour.
"It looks like Jasmine's got a familiar strategy in mind."
"But the main question is if it will work for her."
Jasmine quickly got up and wasted no time in getting to the Dreadmill again. She wasted even less time in allowing another fall, letting herself get thrown into the flour pit again.
"That's two."
"Jasmine may want to get moving now. Two was all Larry needed."
Jasmine got up and approached the Dreadmill, but again allowed herself to be carried off a third time. Even through this, she still looked like she hadn't lost energy.
"Hey! Jasmine just got thrown a third time!"
"This isn't good. Jasmine needs a near-perfect run if she wants a chance."
Jasmine got up again and leapt onto the conveyor belt without a second thought. Running easier with the slower speed, Jasmine easily caught up to the first door and dashed underneath it.
"Jasmine passes the first of the three doors."
Not losing any steam, Jasmine reached the second door. Grabbing the handle, Jasmine raced under it as well.
"Jasmine's through the second door! She won't beat Larry, but can she do it fast enough to beat Launchpad?"
Jasmine, not wasting any time, grabbed the handle on the third door and flew underneath it, coming to a full stop on the end platform.
Jasmine – 3:36:24
"She did it! Jasmine beat out Launchpad to take the fourth and final spot in the Wipeout Zone!" SSBFreak announced.
"To do a quick recap, here's how our Wipeout Zone looks…" Tinyrocket said.
1 – Wolf O'Donnell – 2:31:24
2 – Sarah Nade – 3:10:42
3 – Larry Butz – 3:20:04
4 – Jasmine – 3:36:24
(Out)
5 – Launchpad McQuack – 3:45:19
6 – Otto Scratchnsniff – 6:32:11
"We've cut the field of twenty-four to only four, but only one can win that prize." SSBFreak said.
"They all want it, but in order to win, they have one more obstacle in their path." Tinyocket said.
The camera showed a huge obstacle course over a pool at night.
"It's called the Wipeout Zone."