Author's Note

Welcome back! Despite a few worries about how I'd end up resolving the second part of next episode's challenge, I managed to basically complete the chapter in a satisfactory fashion - all I have left is about a minute at the very end, which will be simple enough to complete on Saturday. But, of course, you'll have to wait a week to get more details on that front - we both know what you came here for!

But as always, the reviews must come first:

Knifez: Yeah, I know lol. I swear I didn't do that on purpose though. And wow, thanks for the praise on the chapter! For Dawn, I'll admit I've been trying to make her a tad more...human, I guess? I mean, we barely saw her in canon, and she's certainly been around the others long enough to maybe have them rub off on her a little. That aside, thanks for the analysis and review!

Ddynamo: Not much to say other than that your opinions are always interesting to here!

bruno14: Thanks! I'm glad you liked, well, everything you mentioned. But especially the scene with Dawn and her father!

Zak Saturday: Thanks, on both accounts! I was worried nobody would pay attention to the unused friends/relatives.

Madison Wooten: Well, uh, I hope you have your pants ready then!

FOWLKON: Ohohoho, I'm afraid you'll have to wait various amounts of time to find out the answers to those questions of yours.

acosta perez jose ramiro: Yup, that's just what I was going for with her! Of course, the challenge wouldn't really have worked had she gone into knowing the books were fake, but that's kind of besides the point.

Ali6132: Sorry, but no more hints about World Tour for a very long time. I'm glad you liked the pairings with those three, as well as Dawn's father. And believe me, I can't wait to unleash the full Scarlett myself.

BuckJohnson: Please don't worry about not reviewing every chapter. I'm glad you've liked the story so far, and that I've surprised you a few times, but I'm not willing to reveal anything about next season's cast right now.

80jj: Thanks! And yeah, Leshawna's crying was really pointless from an IC perspective since she could have easily convinced the others that since she'd won the challenge for them, she should get the reward. It was really just a means of causing drama, and I'm glad I didn't have to resort to a similar stunt.

I. M. Poik: Not much to say to all those interesting thoughts, other than that I've put a lot of thought into how I'm going to introduce the two WT newbies. It isn't finalized yet, but I think it'll go over well.

Identification: I'm glad you liked it! An interesting idea for Dawn's best friend. Not sure I would have used it had I thought of it myself, but a good idea nonetheless.

Call Me Ishmael: Wow, lots of interesting analysis and opinions that I can't really comment on right now. Still, thanks for sharing!

The Beautiful Kayla Storm: Thanks for the review, though I won't promise anything.

OMAC001: Well, I hope you like how things turn out!

Guest 9: I can't really see her helping much. She'd probably just tell you to go to a doctor.

Cole D. soul: I'm glad you liked it! And honestly, calling her 'Sammy' just seemed right from the beginning. It was obviously what she wanted to be called, and who would use her abusive sister's nickname for her anyway? Other than that, not much I can say that hasn't already been said.

Star Saber21: Thanks, as always!

StayOuttaMyShed: First of all, thank you so much for reviewing last season as well! I really looked forward to reading all of your reactions. Of course, I can't really answer your questions without giving things away, so you'll just have to wait and see how things turn out. I hope you continue to enjoy this fic!

And that's done with for the week! Last thing to do before start is remind folks of the remaining contestants:

Screaming Gaffers - Scarlett, Lightning, Beth, Sammy, Beardo

Killer Grips - Jo, DJ, Dawn, B, Topher

Not like it's changed since last time. But there's an elimination week, and a scream-inducing challenge I hope you're all ready and waiting for!

- Fangren


Episode 9 – The Sand Witch Project

"Last time, on Total! Drama! Action!" The recap began immediately, cutting from the ambulance dropping off the covered stretcher, Sammy ascending from the slime vat holding an arm, and Lightning belching in Scarlett's face.

"A girl with vision," Chris said over shots of Dawn smiling, pleading with the others shortly after Lightning had been quarantined, and laughing lightly as she walked over to the quarantined DJ. "Vision that took her past everyday thinking. But when the chips were down," Topher was shown puking while he argued with the swollen-lipped Beth, "and even when the chips came back up again," Scarlett and Dawn were shown bursting through the double doors, "she was the only one who could rescue them." The 'infected' castmates were shown lying on stretchers, and Scarlett was shown making a dash for the portable toilet.

"Searching for the cure to the disease that was afflicting her dearest friends." A sweaty Jo was shown sitting up on her stretcher and speaking angrily to Dawn, and Lightning was shown running around the room in his plastic bubble. "A challenge was won," the other castmates were shown happily realizing they weren't sick, "a cure found," the canister Dawn had brought was revealed to be itching powder and laxatives.

"But, will the secrets she-" the host continued over a shot of the Grips being presented with their reward, and subsequently choosing Dawn to receive it. He began to munch and crunch on something, though, so the rest of his sentence was completely muddled and unintelligible. The recap footage ended and the shot cut to Chris sitting on the amphitheater bleachers with a back of popcorn at his side.

"Hey, what can I say?" he told the camera as it zoomed in on him. "Gross disease movies make me crave a little corn!" He picked up his snack and smiled. "But, it's time to put the snacks away, kiddies," he tossed the bag over his shoulder, "because after this totally terrifying episode," he waggled his fingers spookily before the scene cut to a nighttime shot of him walking past a portable toilet near the cast trailers, "there won't be a stomach left unturned!" A horrible growling noise came from inside the toilet that made the host flinch, but he recovered his composure quickly and walked over to a nearby campfire. "Hold on to your buckets, it's time for some Total! Drama! Action!"

xxx

(Fade to Opening Theme)

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;

You guys are on my mind!

Ya asked me what I wanted to be,

And now I think the answer is plain to see!

I wanna be...famous!

I wanna live close to the sun!

Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!

Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;

I'll get there one day.

'Cause I wanna be...famous!

(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

(Fade to Episode)

xxx

The episode opened with a distance shot of Beth and Beardo exiting the craft services tent, each holding a small basket of sandwich wedges.

"I can't believe how many of these were leftover after lunch!" Beth gushed as the shot zoomed in and she tossed one of the sandwiches into her mouth.

"Yeah," Beardo said after quickly sucking his fingertips, "DJ really made a ton of these egg salad sandwiches. I hope he didn't have plans for 'em!" He quickly ate another sandwich out of his basket.

"Haha, right," Beth laughed for a moment before the two stopped in their tracks. "Looks like he has other things to worry about though." She said with a stifled giggle before the camera panned to the left – past Jo and Lightning arm wrestling at one end of a picnic table, and Dawn, Sammy, and B sitting at the other end, and Topher sunbathing in front of the cast trailers, to show DJ slumped down on the ground. He was fast asleep, snoring and clutching a plush dog.

The shot zoomed out to show Beth and Beardo approaching the group, then cut in to Lightning growing excited when he saw them. "Hey, is that more lunch?" he asked, standing up from his seat just as Jo forced his arm down. "Toss one over to Lightning!" Beth and Beardo looked at each other, then shrugged. Beardo threw one of his sandwiches to the uber-jock, who caught it happily and shoved it into his mouth.

The moment he sat down, the sound of a fart echoed through the air. Jo was the first to start laughing at him, but was soon joined by most of the others, and an embarrassed Lightning looked around to see Beardo with his hands over his mouth.

xxx

"That brother better watch his back," Lightning angrily told the confessional camera, leaning forward and thrusting a finger at it. "Ain't nobody makes a fool outta Lightning and gets away with it!"

xxx

The footage cut back to Jo eating one of the sandwiches, still laughing. "Calm down," she said to the pouting uber-jock across from her, "or you'll really let one rip!" She finished her sandwich and smiled. "Man, I think these are even better than they were at lunch!"

"Yeah," Sammy agreed as the camera panned over to her, B, and Dawn eating as well. "Thanks for sharing these, you two!"

"No problem!" Beth said. "Now watch this!" A fast-paced and hectic tune began as she did a front handspring, landed, then jumped into the air, twirled a few times, and landed in splits. "I call this the Egg Salad Fireworks," she said as she did her routine. She stood up from her splits, took out a few sandwiches from behind her back, and called out "Drumroll!" Beardo obliged and the background music faded off as Beth tossed her snacks into the air, and caught them all into her open mouth. She took a bow with her cheeks bulging.

Beardo, Sammy, Dawn, and B applauded politely. "That was lovely," Dawn said. "It's too bad DJ's too tired to watch, though."

"Yeah..." Sammy added as the camera panned over to the sleeping giant, zooming in on him as a ripple effect transitioned the scene.

/

It was a dark and stormy night on the film lot, and a rat scurried by past the craft services tent before lightning flashed and the camera zoomed in on the light coming from the kitchen window. A few jarringly tense notes played as the shot focused on a kitchen knife in DJ's hand before the music softened out and the knife was used to spread egg salad on a slice of bread. Cheese and lettuce were added next, followed by another slice of bread, and DJ was showing looking at the sandwich with a smile on his face – a stack of similar sandwiches was on the counter nearby.

"Those look really good, DJ," Sammy said, leaning out from behind the gentle giant. "But don't you think you should be getting to bed soon?" Another flash of lightning came from outside.

"Nah, I wanna finish these sandwiches for tomorrow," he told her with a smile. "Although I guess I can take a little break." They drew close together, and kissed.

"You know, we really should tell Dawn and the others about, uh, us," Sammy said.

"Yeah, I don't like lyin' to her either," DJ said with a frown. "But I also don't want people thinkin' we're tryin' to cheat by helpin' each other out. Especially after all that stuff with Chef."

Sammy frowned. "Yeah, I see your point. Guess there's no choice but to wait." She shrugged helplessly, and kissed DJ again.

The footage rippled back to the present.

/

DJ was still snoring peacefully as the camera panned away from him, back to the picnic table where Beth and Beardo had joined most of the others.

"So, what're you guys doing?" Beth asked as Dawn shuffled a deck of cards.

"Oh, since we don't think there's gonna be a challenge today," Sammy explained, "Dawn's been doing tarot readings for all of us. It's been really cool hearing about our fortunes." She looked back at her friend as B nodded beside her.

"Oh, it's really no big deal," the mystic said with a light blush. "Just something I thought I'd share with my friends."

"Pfft, it's not like it's even real," Jo scoffed as she and Lightning were shown to have resumed their arm wrestling.

"Are you just mad because the 'Death' card came up for you?" Sammy asked cautiously.

"No!" the jock-ette sputtered. "I don't care what that card means, I'm not gonna die and I'm definitely not changing!"

Sammy and Beth giggled as the camera moved back to the larger group. "So," Beardo said, "what's my fortune?"

"Let's find out!" Dawn told him happily as she finished shuffling her deck. She passed it over to the beatboxer who gave it a few shuffles as well, then cut it and slid it back to the fortune-teller. She closed her eyes, and slowly began to place three cards face-up on the table in front of her. She then opened her eyes, raised her eyebrows, and said "Oh my..."

"What?" Beardo asked, looking suspiciously at the cards that had been placed on the table. "This, uh, 'Wheel of Fortune' a big deal or something?" He tapped the card on the right with his finger.

Dawn blinked at him. "Well, possibly. It basically means that you can't change what happens." Beardo raised an eyebrow and looked at Beth as Dawn continued. "I'm more worried about the 'Queen of Swords'," she said as she pointed to the card in the middle, between the 'Wheel of Fortune' and the 'Seven of Wands'. "There's a female presence in your life that you should be wary of," the blonde said. "If they haven't appeared yet, they will soon."

Beardo furrowed his brow and made an ominous and creepy whistle.

The background music became tense as the loudspeakers squealed on. "Attention Total Drama victims!" Chris announced dramatically. "Please meet me in the northeast corner of the studio-palooza! Bring lozenges!" he added over a shot of Beth chewing and swallowing one of her sandwiches while looking up nervously. "The screaming is gonna hurt!"

"Huh, I guess there really is a challenge," Beth said as she looked at the others around her.

/

The footage cut to a view of Scarlett and Lightning through a small monitor looking unamused. "We've walked all the way out here," the brainiac said, "so why hasn't Chris arrived yet?" The camera pulled out to show that the monitor was part of a larger recording device pointed at the Gaffers, who along with the Grips had assembled at an open-air set in what looked to be the middle of nowhere.

"He probably just wants to make a dramatic entrance," Topher suggested, leaning against a light in the middle of the shot. "You know how Chris is."

As if on cue, a familiar shout came from above that startled the handsome boy. He and the other castmates looked up in time to see none other than the host falling back-first from above, a small square of red just barely visible on the bottom of his shirt. He landed just below the screen with appropriately dramatic music and a burst of something thick and red that splattered the horrified contestants.

The camera cut to a tilted shot of Chris McLean impaled on the same light which Topher had just been leaning up against. All of the castmates screamed save Beth, who was shown sort of gasping as she tried to scream but failed.

Topher waved his hand in front of his Idol's blank eyes. "Oh no, that was too dramatic!" he said in shock and panic.

"Nah, I think it was just right!" Chris said, suddenly sitting up with a grin and a shrug.

"Darn," Jo spoke up, "and here I was thinking we were finally rid of you."

"It's the magic of cinema, boys and girls!" Chris declared, ignoring the jock-ette's comment. "I'm absolutely, perfectly, Chris-ily fine!" He took the top of the light off his body, revealing that, in fact, he hadn't been impaled at all. "Wanna see how it's done?"

"NO!" every contestant except B shouted, and even then the ever-silent young man glared angrily at the host.

Chris explained anyway, and blood appeared to pour down over the camera turning the whole screen red before the shot zoomed out to show the red was all inside a small square packet similar to what had been on the host's shirt. "Our cracker-jack effects team seals fake blood into a thin membrane of plastic," Chris said before the shot of him falling was shown again, "called a 'squib'." A top-down view of the fall appeared on the top half of the screen that showed the host smiling, while a yellow-and-black silhouette scene on the bottom depicted two interns carrying a mattress to the landing sight.

"This baby bursts on impact," the host said as the screen was splattered red again, which dripped away to show footage of the mattress being lowered into a hole in the ground behind the light, Chris falling down into it with a burst of blood before the ground the light was on descended into the ground and a platform with Chris on the fake light rose to take its place. "An old-fashioned optical illusion helps sell that I get impaled!" the host said as another silhouetted scene slid in from the right showing the fall from a side-view, with the quick change of platforms and lights.

"Just get on with it already," Jo groaned.

"Wow, Beth," Sammy told her shorter teammate, "I can't believe you didn't scream when he fell!"

"I did on the inside," Beth said. "I just can't do it on the outside."

Sammy's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"When I was ten," Beth explained to the cheerleader and Beardo, who had been standing nearby, "and they were doing my tonsillectomy, there was a freak accident and the doctor's earring fell into my throat." She pointed at her throat and shrugged. "Can't scream worth a darn!"

Beardo gave an impressed whistle and said "Dang!"

"I know, right?" Beth nodded.

"Time for today's totally terrifying, blood-curdling, Horror Movie Challenge!" Chris announced with appropriately dramatic hand gestures before starting to walk around in front of the castmates.

"Didn't we already do this last season?" Jo asked. "I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything since I dominated that one."

"Don't you worry," Chris told her as he continued, "this one's gonna be different. But to figure out which team gets which challenge, we're having a Scream-Off! Think of every great horror movie you've ever seen. They all have one thing in common: fantastic screaming from actors. And," he added as he walked back past the Gaffers and lingered in front of Topher, "the killers that snuff them." The pretty boy looked nervously shocked, but Chris paid him no heed. "Each team, pick a serial killer," he told the castmates. "The rest of you will be the screamers. If your serial killer can make you scream the loudest, your team wins!"

A roaring chainsaw swiped down across the screen, accompanied by a sudden but dramatic twist to the background music as the screen was splattered red again.

/

The 'blood' effect drained away, transitioning the scene to Scarlett addressing the other Screaming Gaffers outside the numbered studios. "Keeping in mind that whoever is chosen will have to be realistically intimidating, does anybody want to volunteer?"

"You're kiddin', right?" Lightning said as he immediately raised his hand. "Lightning always intimidates people with his physicality and athletic, uh, prowess."

"Umm...," Sammy said softly, looking at Beth and hesitantly raising her hand.

She was cut off by a piercing stock scream sound effect from Beardo. "Dude, just let me do it," the hairy boy offered. "You want realistic intimidation, then look no further!" He smirked confidently at the uber-jock.

"Well...," Sammy said again, cautiously but not as softly as before. Beth and Scarlett gave her questioning looks.

"You need more than some sound effects to be scary," Lightning retorted.

"Can I just say something?" Sammy said, finally loud enough to get the attention of Lightning and Beardo. "Shouldn't Beth be the one who does it? Since, you know, she can't actually be one of the screamers."

Scarlett tapped her chin in thought. "Hmmm...you make a good point."

xxx

"I'm not really sure if I'll be able to scare the others," Beth pondered in the make-up trailer. "Especially since they'll be expecting me. Maybe I should think of some scary things to say when I pop up?" She tapped her chin in thought.

xxx

"Considering we'll be rated on our screaming ability," Scarlett told the others, "it does put us at less of a disadvantage if we delegate the 'serial killer' role to Beth."

"Aww come on, you can't expect Lightning to be scared of this creampuff!" the uber-jock protested, motioning to Beth who glared at him.

"I don't expect you to be scared of any of us," Scarlett told him. "Nor do I think any of us will be scary enough for three people's screams to outperform four of the Grips. As such, as team captain I have decided to delegate the role to Beth."

Lightning grumbled and scowled and looked away, but said nothing.

/

"Okay, just so we're clear on this, I'm the one doing the scaring," Jo told her four teammates with a hockey mask in her hand. "Unless anyone has a problem with that?"

"No problems here!" Dawn said with a smile.

"Yeah," DJ added, "I didn't wanna do it anyway. Momma says scaring people isn't gentlemanly."

"As much as I wouldn't mind being able to shield my face," Topher said, quickly swiping the mask from the jock-ette and holding it in front of him, "you are the most intimidating member of the team."

Jo scowled, and grabbed the mask back. "And what about you, Silent Treatment?" she asked B. The silent boy shrugged calmly and gave her a finger pistol. "Good," the jock-ette said before rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, what about you? You're not gonna have trouble screaming, are you?"

B shook his head, then drew in a deep breath and gave a short, loud holler that briefly stunned Jo. "Okay then," she smirked, "looks like that's settled!"

/

The footage skipped ahead to night, showing a close-up of Topher walking and sniffing somewhere around a wooded part of the film lot. "Jeez, I thought I was over this cold!" he whined as he wiped a bit of snot away from his nose. "I can't be expected to act like this!"

"Chill out, man," Beardo said as the shot pulled back to show the beatboxer wandering around the woods as well. "Not like people haven't seen you with a runny nose before."

"Alright, Topher and Beardo," Chris announced as the shot pulled out yet again to show the host sitting in a director's chair just off what was revealed to be an indoor forest set. "Prepare yourselves for your killers to enter!" The viewpoint shifted in front as he continued excitedly. "And then, I want huge, massive, ginormous screams! We'll be measuring the volume on our Scream-o-Meter!" He pointed above him as a bright green volume icon appeared; a stock screaming sound effect was played that caused the volume meter to rise from left to right, green to yellow to red.

"Lights!" Chris commanded, a dramatic note playing as a stage light was shown turning on. "Camera!" he pointed to his right, and a camera was shown popping up and turning on to another dramatic note. "Action!" A film slate was held in front of the camera filming Chris and clapped.

/

Topher was shown in the distance with his back towards the camera just before a hockey mask was put 'on' over the shot. The camera moved forward a few steps towards some bushes as tense music built in the background, and the viewpoint shifted to show what was obviously a masked Jo watching her teammate from hiding.

The music peaked as she jumped into the open with a roar, grabbing Topher by the shoulders when he turned around and shaking him vigorously. The pretty boy's voice raised as he began to scream, but it was cut off by a sudden sneeze.

Jo stopped shaking him to look down at her shirt, which had been sneezed on. "Seriously?" she asked in annoyance, only to get a sheepish shrug from her teammate who gave another, much less enthusiastic scream.

The Scream-o-Meter only registered a few bars.

/

"Okay, here goes nothin'," Beth muttered to herself as she put on her mask and ducked behind a bush. Another tense tune played as the shot pulled out to show Beardo wandering around with his back to where his friend was lurking. He turned slightly, and Beth scurried over to another bush. The hairy boy heard the rustling she made, but didn't catch her when he looked back. Shrugging to himself, he walked over towards the bush and lingered with his back to it.

"BOO!" Beth yelled, popping up from behind him with a menacing pose. Beardo jumped and gave a short scream, then looked back over his shoulder. Beth growled at him, and he screamed louder.

The Scream-o-Meter made it all the way to red.

"With a solid 55 on the Scream-o-Meter," Chris announced as the shot cut back, showing Topher and Jo still standing nearby, "let's notch one up for Beth, Beardo, and the Screaming Gaffers!"

/

The scene changed to a portable toilet set up in a smaller indoor forest set. "Wow," Sammy said as the camera cut inside, "I can't believe they're filming us in here." The shot zoomed out slightly, showing that she was, indeed, sitting on the toilet. "I hope they don't expect us to, umm, pee or anything."

/

A flash took the scene to B's turn alone in the portable toilet. He looked somewhat nervous as his eyes wandered around the small room, the background music staying low as the silent boy waited. He twiddled his thumbs, and batted the end of the toilet paper dangling out of the dispenser a bit, then shrugged helplessly at the camera. He whistled a single note, and Jo burst through the door suddenly and violently, yelling something unintelligible. B screamed loudly.

/

Another flash, and this time Beth was shown bursting through the toilet, causing Sammy to yelp. "Grrr, " the diminutive killer growled, "I'm gonna chop you up and feed you to, umm, a sheep!"

Sammy paused, and narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why a sheep?"

"A-aren't you scared of them?" Beth asked nervously.

"No," the nice twin frowned, "Amy's afraid of sheep. I'm afraid of goats."

"Oh," Beth said awkwardly.

/

The scene cut back to B and Jo, the silent guy still screaming and the Scream-o-Meter reading in the red. The screaming ended abruptly with a light fart from B, who quickly closed his mouth and blushed.

"Hah," Jo said with a snort and a chuckle that earned her a glare from her teammate, "looks like I scared you big time!" She sniffed the air, then backed out of the toilet and closed the door.

/

"So, uhh...," Sammy said awkwardly.

"Oh, right," Beth said before clearing her throat. "Grrr! I'm gonna chop you up and feed you to a goat!" she declared in a menacing fashion.

Sammy just stared blankly at her for a moment. "Sorry," she said, "I'm just not feeling it."

"Awww," Beth said, slumping down. "I really thought I had it!"

"At least you tried," Sammy told her, putting a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Trying to use my phobia was a good idea! You just, umm, got it mixed up." Beth looked at the cheerleader and sighed again.

The shot cut back outside the portable toilet as Chris walked into view in front of it. "And that's round two to Jo, B, and the Killer Grips," he announced, "with a stink-raising 75 on the Scream-o-Meter!"

/

The footage flashed ahead to another set, this time a couch in what appeared to be a small cottage in the woods. Dawn and DJ were sitting on it together with scripts in their hands, while Chris stood a few feet away. "Alright guys," he told the two, "this is the tiebreaker scene. You're gonna have to act your faces off!"

"Shouldn't be too bad," DJ said nervously as he skimmed his script.

"Oh, certainly," Dawn began to agree as she read as well. She stopped suddenly, eyes wide and face red. "Oh my..."

DJ squeaked. "Chris, man, do we really gotta make out?" he asked the host with a blush of his own, pointing at part of the script.

"Uh-huh!" the host nodded with an impish smile.

"Oh! R-right, yeah," the gentle giant stammered. He awkwardly turned his head towards his teammate, who had done the same without either realizing it. As soon as they locked eyes their blushes intensified, and they quickly looked away.

The camera panned to Chris, who rolled his eyes and shook his head.

/

Scarlett and Lightning were on the couch for the Gaffers, the camera focusing on the brainiac as she scanned the papers in her hand. Her eyebrows shot up and she cringed, dropping the papers as she shuddered. "No," she stated. "I absolutely refuse to perform any displays of intimacy with Lightning."

"Girl, you ain't exactly Lightning's sha-type yourself," the uber-jock shot at her.

Chris poked the top of his head up from behind the couch, looked between the two stubborn teens, and raised himself even further with a grin on his face. "Don't forget, kiddies," he told them, "it's a million bucks!" He ducked back behind the couch again.

Scarlett shuddered again, then shot a look of disgust at her partner. Lightning looked back with equal unease, but nevertheless the two leaned towards each other with their eyes clenched shut and puckered up. Their lips only barely touched before they recoiled in mutual disgust.

"Blecch," Lightning said as he spat a few times on the ground while the redhead beside him rubbed her sleeve against her mouth, "that was nasty!"

As they groaned and spat, a gleaming butcher's knife rose up from behind the couch. Beth jumped up suddenly, landing on top of the couch and growling "I'm gonna chop you into little teriyaki bits!"

Neither of her teammates gave any signs of noticing.

/

"It's, umm, not like it means anything," Dawn said as the footage cut back to her and DJ, both still blushing. "I mean, it is just a scene after all."

"Yeah," DJ said nervously, "you're right. It's just a scene. It's not like we're dating or anything."

"Right...," Dawn said softly as she and DJ turned back to face each other. They took each took a deep breath and slowly leaned towards each other, eyes closed and lips puckered up. Neither noticed the shadow of a knife-wielding figure fall on them.

/

Beth looked between her teammates who were still recovering from their kiss, shrugged at the camera, and jumped back behind the couch. She stood hidden only for a second, before jumping back out and yelling "I'm gonna tear you limb from limb!"

Lightning and Scarlett looked at her blankly. "Huh? Oh yeah," Lightning muttered before screaming in a halfhearted fashion.

"Right," Scarlett murmured before unleashing a deadpan scream of her own. Together, they barely topped Topher's score on the Scream-o-Meter.

/

As Dawn and DJ began to gingerly make-out, the background music spiked dramatically as Jo rushed towards them, screaming and brandishing her knife wildly.

She got her teammates' attention immediately, and they began to scream in fear and panic. It was enough to put the Scream-o-Meter all the way in the red, and while Dawn stopped shortly DJ continued on until he passed out and fell forward off the couch.

"Well, looks to me like Jo the Killer and the Killer Grips have won this one," Chris announced as he walked onto the set with a motion towards the Meter at the top of the screen, "seeing as they buried the needle. Join us after the break to see if DJ is still alive," he said with a point to the fainted brickhouse, whom Dawn and Jo were looking at with shock and concern. "DJ!" Chris called lightly. "Come in, DJ!"

(Fade to Commercial and Back)

The footage came back with a bottom-up shot of the other nine campers looking down in a circle; counterclockwise from a gap at the top of the screen were B, Scarlett, Beth, Dawn, Beardo at the bottom, Sammy, Jo, Topher, and Lightning.

"Oh, I really hope he's okay!" Dawn and Sammy said at the same time, giving each other an odd look afterward.

"Hey, I think he's sayin' somethin'" Beardo said before the viewpoint moved to a close-up of the unconscious brickhouse.

"Momma...?" he murmured before the scene shifted to the gentle giant sitting in a field of clouds, a harp playing gently in the background. He perked up and put his hand to his brow as he looked into the distance, and from behind an older black woman was shown. She was somewhat fat and dressed in reds and purples, with long wavy hair and feathers and flowers in her hat. "Momma!" DJ cried, his voice echoing slightly. "I'm here! Momma!" He began running towards the figure with a happy smile on his face.

The figure turned around, revealing the face that had been on one of the reward pictures in the previous episode, although she was now crossing her arms and looking disappointed. "It's me, Momma!" DJ called out in a worried tone. "It's Poopie-doo! Your little Devon Joseph Poopie-doo!"

Momma shook her head and tutted. "Son, I didn't raise you to play with girls' hearts! You gotta be honest with yourself, and them!" She grabbed her son by the shoulders, and began to shake him lightly.

The scene cut back to the set, where DJ had been propped back up on the couch and Dawn and Sammy had gently shook him awake. He gasped, and looked around in confusion. "What happened? Where am I?"

"Don't worry, DJ," Dawn said as she hugged her friend and the viewpoint moved to behind the couch,, "you're safe."

"Yeah," Sammy added with a hug of her own and a brief but pointed look at Dawn, "you're right here with...us."

A throat was cleared behind Sammy, and the camera panned to the left slightly as she looked back to see Scarlett standing with an unamused and expectant look on her face. Sammy blushed, and separated herself from her friend.

"Now that that's over with," Scarlett said as the two young women walked over towards the rest of their team, the cheerleader still looking back, "we can regroup as a team." Sammy laughed nervously. "Fortunately for us, this wasn't the immunity challenge."

"Yeah," Lightning said, "cause this team barely even screamed!"

Beardo made buzzer sound. "Hold on, Beth and me did our part, you two barely screamed and lost the tiebreaker for us." Lightning scowled at him.

"Moving right along," Chris interrupted as the camera pulled out to show the full cast. "it's time to pack up those overnight bags, Gaffer losers!" The camera focused on the five in question. "You and your sleeping bags are spending the night in the dining hall!" All five of them slumped in disappointment. "Winner Grips, back to the comfort of the trailers for a little R&R! I'll see you there in half an hour." He snapped his fingers and pointed at them with a grin.

/

The scene flashed over to the craft services tent, the lights within already on. Beardo was heard making a variety of spooky noises, and the camera cut inside. "Man, we gotta spend the night in here?" the hairy beatboxer said with a chuckle. "It's not really scary when you think about all the meals we've had in this place."

"Yeah," Beth added. "I wonder if there are any leftovers in the kitchen?"

"Guys!" Chris called from off-camera. "You mind joining us here?" A creepy tune began as the shot moved onto the host on a stool in the middle of the tent, the other three Gaffers seated on the floor around him as Beth and Beardo walked up.

"I'm about to tell you why this film lot was abandoned and closed!" he told the teens in a low voice.

"Because it wasn't built to code?" Scarlett deadpanned.

"Hush, my child," Chris told her. "This film lot is perfectly safe! On this plane. But in the other dimension...," he trailed off, picking up a flashlight and shining it dramatically up from under his chin, making Beth, Beardo, and Sammy's eyes widen. "Juanita Rentacop, a dedicated security guard who worked here for twenty-five loyal years, until her mysterious death," he told them slowly. "Right here...," the music built quickly and sharply as the camera pulled back and he stood up and pointed at the ground. "ON THIS VERY SPOT!" Even Scarlett and Lightning flinched slightly from his sudden exclamation.

"Now," Chris continued as he looked from Gaffer to Gaffer, "her desperate and uneasy spirit walks the lot." He tilted his flashlight towards the wall and doorway, shadows of the bare tree branches falling on the outside of the tent. "No one has ever managed to spend a whole night in this craft service tent!"

"Because it collapsed around them?" Scarlett asked in a dry and unimpressed tone.

"'Cause," Chris told her as he returned the light to under his chin and the background music rose again, "of the HAUNTING!" he leaned away from her and turned off his flashlight. "Your task," he said with a grin in the center of the group, "spend the whole night here, without leaving this tent. If even one of you manages to do so," he began to walk off to a table near the kitchen, "your team gets invincibility, and nobody goes home."

"Track any psychic phenomenon using these ghost meters," the host said as the camera zoomed in on a trio of handheld electronic devices resting on the table along with a ouija board. "And just in case," he added as Beth walked over to him, holding out his flashlight before clutching it to his chest and handing the girl a tiny keychain flashlight instead.

"Gee, thanks," Beth said as she held up the light and turned it on, completely unimpressed.

/

A flash took the scene to the campfire in front of the cast trailers, where the five Grips awaited an approaching Chris McLean. "The Screaming Gaffers are sitting in the craft services tent like sitting ducks," he told them as the camera panned from his close-up to uncertain DJ and confident Jo, then excited Topher and smirking B. "Your task is to make like special effects gurus, and frighten the pants off them!" He laughed, then told a skeptical Dawn "Or at least scare them enough to get them out of the tent before sunrise."

"Scare them?" Dawn asked. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"That's up to you guys," Chris answered. "But if you get them out, your team wins invincibility and nobody goes home. Oh," he added as an afterthought, "just so you know, I told them some cockamamie story about a security guard who died on set." He chuckled, then walked away.

"How we gonna pull this off?" DJ asked his teammates with a slightly worried look.

"Blondie and Side-pony are practically afraid of their own shadows," Jo said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Hard to say with the others," Topher added, "but it shouldn't be too hard to scare them. In fact, I think-"

"Got it!" Jo declared with a snap of her fingers that interrupted her teammate. "Let's go, we have work to do." Topher glared at her in annoyance while DJ, Dawn, and B shared a shrug and followed the jock-ette away from the trailers.

/

The footage skipped ahead and cut to the kitchen, where Dawn and DJ were tiptoeing quietly around. The gentle giant opened the refrigerator just enough to stick his arm in, while the mystic carefully peaked into a cupboard. A split-screen showed them each retrieving a small bottle before closing their respective doors, then smiling at each other. The camera zoomed in on the open window, then cut outside just as the two thieves rejoined their teammates behind the tent with a mixing bowl and spoon joining the bottles they'd pilfered.

"Good job," Jo whispered to them as she stuck a fish hook into a pillow. "Now get to work on that fake blood, I've almost got our 'ghost' ready." She draped a white sheet over the pillow, held it up, and smiled.

/

Lightning, Beardo, Sammy, and Beth were shown playing cards at the table nearest the closed-up meal counter inside the tent, while Scarlett sat at the other end with the ghost detectors they'd been given.

"So, Beardo, are you worried about the fortune Dawn gave you earlier?" Sammy asked as she put a card from her hand down on the table. "I mean, that security guard's ghost could be the female presence she was warning you about."

Beardo laughed nervously while Lightning rolled his eyes next to him and played a card of his own. "Nah, that story was probably just made up, like Scarlett said," Beardo replied as the camera panned back across to the girls as Beth noticed something behind her and began to wheeze out a failed scream. "Nothin' to worry about if there's no ghost hauntin' this place."

Beth wheeze-screamed again, and her teammates looked at her oddly. "Somethin' wrong?" Beardo asked as his wide-eyed friend finally pointed to the air behind her. A few deep notes played as the shot cut to the pillow-ghost, swaying on a fishing line and dripping with something red.

"It's the ghost!" Beardo yelled as Sammy and Lightning screamed, and along with Beth dashed towards the exit.

"Not it isn't," Scarlett declared forcefully, not taking her eyes off the ghost detector she'd apparently taken apart. Her teammates stopped in their tracks to look over at her fearfully.

xxx

"This challenge is insultingly easy," Scarlett told the confessional camera. "The combination of an unfamiliar location and an obviously fake 'mystery death'," she rolled her eyes and made air quotes, "is designed to make us fear the consequences of staying the night. Naturally, the Grips will have been given the task of playing the ghost, not like they'll succeed in scaring us away with my guidance." She finished her confessional by adjusting her glasses and smiling smugly at the camera.

xxx

With an unimpressed look on her face and a drumroll in the background, Scarlett approached the hanging ghost. Her teammates flinched and gasped as she grabbed hold of the sheet and threw it off, revealing the red-soaked pillow beneath it.

"Oh my gosh!" Beth declared. "It's just a trick!"

/

The scene cut back outside, where the Grips turned away from the window they'd been watching from.

"Uggh, why didn't I realize?" Jo growled in a low voice, palming her face in frustration. "Of course Miss Know-it-all isn't gonna believe in ghosts!"

"What the heck are we gonna do now?" DJ asked.

"Hey hey," Topher interrupted with a grin, "come on! I think you're all getting ahead of yourselves. Jo's plan was a good start, but it wasn't believable enough. We just need to work more with what Chris told them!"

"And I suppose you have an idea how to do that?" Jo asked skeptically.

"Sure do," Topher smiled.

/

Back in the craft services tent, the Gaffers had resumed their card game. The focus was put on Sammy as she scanned her five-card hand, then placed them down with a smile. "I'm pretty sure I just won," she said happily.

Lightning leaned over to look at her cards, then groaned. "Sha-dang, how the heck did you win that? You musta cheated, it's the only way someone like you could beat sha-Lightning."

"You want me to play some sad music for the pitiful dude who hasn't won a hand yet?" Beardo said with a chuckle and a smirk before miming and mimicking a violin being played.

Lightning scowled at him and stood up, but as he did so the lights in the tent shut off. "Oh no," Beth whispered frightfully as she and the other Gaffers were shown looking around in confusion.

The scene moved outside, to where B and Dawn were standing by a power box. B had already pulled the main switch down, and shot a smirk and finger pistol towards Dawn, who nodded back and took out a walkie talkie. "Power has been cut," she whispered into it. "How are things on your end?"

As the Gaffers looked around their tent in mild confusion, the camera panned to Topher watching them just outside a window. "Blackout confirmed," he whispered into a walkie talkie of his own. "Proceed with the main attraction!"

"Understood," Dawn replied before turning to B and exchanging a nod.

/

"This is most likely the others trying to scare us," Scarlett said with a sigh as she walked over to her teammates. "Although given the state of the film lot, I won't exclude the possibility of an actual electrical failure."

Sammy opened her mouth, but before she could say anything an odd, scratchy moaning began around them. The camera cut back to B and Dawn, the blonde holding a megaphone and producing the moans as B rubbed a bare tree branch against the tent wall beside her.

Inside the tent, Sammy gasped. "It's the real ghost!" she exclaimed, pointing up as the viewpoint shifted around to reveal a feminine form dressed in a security guard's uniform swaying in the air above them, her hat conveniently lowered over her eyes. She was obviously in a makeshift harness, and the camera followed the rope attached to her up to the rafters of the tent where DJ was shown clinging to a beam with the other end of the line in one hand and a walkie talkie in the other.

"Ghost Cop is on the prowl," he whispered. "Here comes the show!"

The scratching and moaning still going, the 'ghost' began to speak in a low and half-moaning voice of her own. "I am the ghost of Juanita Rentacop, and you shall pay for disturbing this spot! Beginning with...," she said slowly, raising a finger that made all the Gaffers but Scarlett look on in fear, "YOU!"

She pointed straight at Beardo, who flinched and screamed. "The tarot cards were right!" he exclaimed. "There really is a girl out to get me! I gotta get outta here!" Before Scarlett or their trembling teammates could say anything, the hairy boy ran screaming out of the tent.

"In that case," the 'ghost' said with a savage grin, "how about YOU!" she thrust her finger at Beth, who jumped in fear.

"I'm too young to die!" Beth said before she ran out, wheeze-screaming in fear.

"Lightning thinks it's time to go," the athlete said nervously.

"Right," Sammy said. Both turned to run, but Scarlett grabbed them by their shoulders and pulled them back.

"Nobody is going anywhere," she hissed. "That's clearly just Jo!" Her voice rose as she spoke, and she pointed an accusing finger at the 'ghost'.

Jo lifted her hat and revealed her stunned face. "Abort!" she hissed above her. "Abort!"

Up in the rafters, DJ's eyes went wide as he began to pull up. At ground level, Lightning and Sammy watched in bewilderment as the 'ghost' began to ascend, her own harried moaning still joined by what was coming from outside. Scarlett kept her gaze locked on the other girl, her unimpressed frown giving way to a smug smirk.

/

The footage skipped ahead, showing Jo and DJ panting on the ground but with the rest of their team.

"Well that was a bust," Jo growled, slamming her fist into the ground. "How are we supposed to scare that girl if she keeps seeing through everything?"

"She is the problem, isn't she...," Topher mused.

"Scarlett is too grounded in the need for evidence to be scared by the supernatural," Dawn explained. "If she isn't certain something is a danger to her, she won't be afraid of it."

"So what," Jo said as she got back on her feet, "we need to actually put them in danger in order to win the challenge?"

"We can't do that," DJ protested, "Sammy's still in there with her!"

"So?" Jo asked incredulously. "She's our enemy right now. And if we can't get her, Lightning, and Scarlett outta that tent, then one of us is gonna be going home."

"But I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to her!" DJ said. "She's my...," he stopped himself as he noticed the half-way expectant looks of his teammates, the words of his dream-Momma echoing in the background. "...she's my girlfriend," he said with a slump and a sigh. Dawn gasped, while Topher and B merely looked surprised.

"Girlfriend?" Jo spat. "She's on the other team! This is a competition! You can't-" she was cut off by a hand on her shoulder. She looked over to see B shaking his head, and the background music became low but dramatic as the silent genius walked over to DJ, paused, and gave the boy a thumbs up.

Ignoring the looks he was receiving from his teammates, B cracked his knuckles and walked off.

/

Back inside, Lightning and Sammy had become seated on the floor as Scarlett walked back and forth in front of them.

"And that is why ghosts and similar paranormal phenomena do not exist," she told them. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," the two droned tiredly in response.

"If you see anything that appears to be a ghost or paranormal phenomena tonight, you are seeing a hoax perpetrated by the Killers Grips," Scarlett told them. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," Lightning and Sammy droned again, not looking at each other.

"Good," Scarlett told them. "Keep that in mind, and we will win this challenge without issue."

The music spiked, and a support beam fell behind her. It landed with a loud crash, causing the startled young woman to jump forward and her glasses to go slightly askew.

"What just happened?" she asked in a panic, turning around to see the beam on the ground. Her gaze and the camera both panned up, showing a clear gap in the rafters above.

"Does this count as a supernatural phenomenon?" Sammy asked fearfully before a second spike in the music signaled another support beam falling down on the table next to her, breaking it and causing her to shriek and dash towards Scarlett. It, too, left a noticeable gap in the main structure, and the camera panned up quickly enough to catch B shimmying through the rafters just out of sight.

A third support fell in the same fashion as the others, and it was Lightning's turn to jump and holler. "Lightning doesn't like this!"

Two more supports fell, both missing the three contestants by wide margins, and the camera cut up to B as he wiped the sweat from his brow then climbed towards the kitchen boundary without a sound. Once there, he gave one of the rafters a hard kick, then dived down and out of sight to the room beyond.

"This place is unstable!" Scarlett shouted as the structure around them shuddered and groaned.

"I-I think it's falling!" Sammy cried out, pointing a trembling finger at one of the central support rods which was leaning towards them.

"Every man for himself!" Lightning yelled, running for the exit. Sammy, now screaming, followed shortly after.

The camera focused on Scarlett as she grit her teeth, eyes watching the craft services tent as it fell around her. Her eyes briefly flashed red as she snarled in frustration, and moments later the camera cut outside as she ran out and the dining portion of the tent collapsed behind her. The dramatic background music rose briefly for the collapse, and petered out pitifully afterwards.

She regrouped with the other members of her team, Beth and Beardo looking particularly shocked. "Hah!" came the barking laughter of Jo, the camera panning over to show her still in the security guard outfit and with the other four Grips with her. "Looks like you five couldn't stay where you were." B held up a screwdriver and wiggled it, a confident smirk on his face.

Scarlett growled and stamped her foot, then stormed off. Lightning gaped briefly, then scowled and walked away as well. Sammy, Beth, and Beardo were left to look at each other uneasily.

/

The footage faded straight into the opening sequence of the Gilded Chris Awards, followed by a flash to a long-distance shot of the amphitheater as the host approached his podium. The five losing teens were shown voting, with the trio of Beardo, Beth, and Sammy in an upper row while Scarlett and Lightning sat in front.

"And now, fraidy cat Gaffers," Chris said as Sammy shot a quick smile at the pair sitting next to her and cast the final vote and the camera switched over to the host's close-up, "it's time to announce who will not win a Gilded Chris this week. Who deserves to go home bitterly disappointed, tears in their eyes?" A few soft notes had already played as the smiling host motioned to his left, a pillar with several golden awards on it rising up from below the stage along with an envelope which Chris quickly snatched up.

"And! The Gilded Chrises go to...," he announced as the Gaffers were seen sitting anxiously. "Samey, Beth, Scarlett!" One by one, the three girls caught the awards that were tossed to them. "Still on the chopping block, Lightning and Beardo!" The camera panned from one boy to the other, each one looking suddenly nervous as the background music began to rise in pitch and tension.

"Hey, why is Lightning gettin' sha-votes?" the uber-jock asked angrily.

"'Cause nobody on the team really likes you, brother," Beardo answered. "The real question is why am I gettin' voted for?"

"'Cause you were the first to chicken outta the challenge!" Lightning told him. "Plus, you've been annoyin' Lightning all day."

"Pfft, figures," Beardo muttered.

"And, the final Gilded Chris goes to," Chris announced as the music began to peak and the two boys were shown in a split-screen, the beatboxer looking more confident than the athlete, "Lightning."

The music took a sudden, loud twist as everyone excepted Scarlett gasped, and the brainiac smirked very slightly.

Beardo imitated the sound of a record being rewound as he stood up. "You care to repeat that?"

"Sorry dude," Chris said with an unapologetic smile, "but you're out."

"But...but how? Why?" Beth stammered.

"Yeah, the three of us were gonna vote for Lightning together!" Sammy said.

"Sorry, ladies," Chris shrugged, "but our voting machines just don't lie! Only two people voted for Lightning, the other three voted for Beardo."

Beardo gaped and looked over at Sammy. "It was you! It had to have been! I know Beth would never vote for me!"

"Sammy, how could you?" Beth asked in astonishment. "I thought we were friends! Heck, you were the one who wanted to get rid of Lightning since he's been a jerk to you the most!"

"I-I swear, it wasn't me!" Sammy said, waving her hands in front of her defensively.

"Actually, Samey," Chris interrupted, gaining the attention of all five of the teens, "it turns out we have a little footage showing just who you voted for." He motioned towards the camera, which cut to static.

xxx

The earlier clip of the Gaffers voting was replayed without the sound. Just as Sammy smiled at Beth and Beardo the viewpoint rotated to an over-the-shoulder camera which showed the screen of Sammy's voting device. As usual, pictures of the five were scrolling across the screen alongside checkboxes, and Sammy's finger was shown hovering over a picture of Lightning.

However, her screen seemed to go blank for a second just as her finger pressed down on where the uber-jock's checkbox had just been. When its picture came back, the footage paused to show that she had, in fact, voted for Beardo instead.

xxx

"Oh...oh my gosh, I am so sorry," Sammy said, leaning towards Beardo. "You have to believe me, it was an accident!"

Beardo looked down at her and frowned. "Whatever," he said with a hint of bitterness. "It wouldn't surprise me if you were the one that fortune was warnin' me about." Sammy hung her head sadly, and the hairy young man turned a softer gaze towards the other girl. "You stay strong, Beth," he told her, "I know you got what it takes to go all the way to the top. Make me and the boyfriend of yours proud."

Beth sniffed and wiped away a tear. "I will!" she said, giving her friend one last hug before Beardo turned and walked down the bleachers towards the Walk of Shame, making a sort of hip-hop funeral dirge as he went.

/

The background music became reverent as Beardo stepped into the waiting limo with a sad wave. Chris walked up to it just as the door slammed shut and it drove off, leaving the host standing at the end of the red carpet with a vague smile on his face.

"Well folks," he told the camera, "looks like the Gaffers have just lost their coolest member. Or most annoying, depending on who you ask," he added after tapping his chin in thought for a bit. He shrugged, then continued. "Hopefully they'll be more careful about who they vote for in the future. More importantly," he said, continuing in a sing-song voice as his grin broadened and a school bus pulled up, "guess who's back!"

As the camera zoomed in on the bottom of the opening door, a few deep notes signaled a change in the background music to the more dramatic score used for ending scenes. A pair of black shoes and olive pants stepped into view and off the bus, the music become tenser and eerier as the camera slowly panned up. A white apron, a muscular black-skinned frame in a pale yellow-green shirt, the extra-large neck and the deep scowl on that familiar face.

"Welcome back, Chef!" Chris said joyfully as the shot pulled back out, the hulking cook stepped onto the red carpet, and the bus sped off. "It's great to finally have you back, you have no idea how much it sucked not having you around. I hope the producers weren't too hard on you?"

Chef looked at the host and snorted. "Well, they sure made me learn my lesson," he said, his voice and expression growing dark and vicious. "But, uh, I don't think I'm gonna make the same mistake again." A few dark notes played as he cackled slowly and cracked his fists.

"Good to hear it," Chris told him in a smooth tone. "You should probably know that the kids did a number on the craft services tent while you were out. You, uh, might wanna get started fixing it."

Chef's eyes widened. "Not my kitchen!" he growled before sprinting off down the red carpet, leaving a grinning Chris alone.

"Ahh, I really missed the big lug," the host said, shaking his head and walking back up the red carpet at a leisurely pace. "How will the remaining cast mates deal with Chef's return? I get to find out soon, but you'll have to wait for the next Total," the shot pulled back as the host paused about halfway up the carpet. "Drama," another pull-back showed Chef charging towards the bleachers where the four Gaffers still sat. "Action!" He began to laugh as the camera pulled back just a little bit more.

"WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT MESSIN' WITH MY KITCHEN?!" Chef yelled as Beth, Sammy, Lightning, and Scarlett scattered, all screaming to the best of their ability, Beth's wheezing included.

(Fade to Credits)

/

/

/

[Bonus Clip]

Beardo was beatboxing as the scene faded into him in the limo's back seat. An deep, angry, and unintelligible scream from outside cut him off, and he looked out his rolled-up window with a brief look of confusion.

"Huh, wonder what that was about," he said after turning back to the camera. "Whatever, I guess it doesn't change the fact that I got the boot again, and to someone I thought I could count on, just like last time."

He sighed, and beatboxed again for a few seconds. "Although, it did kinda look like an accident. Plus, Sammy never really got along that well with Lightning, so I don't think she'd work with him an' Scarlett to get rid of me. Maybe I was bein' too hard on her?" He slumped back in his seat and crossed his arms, making a sound of a ticking clock as his eyes wandered. After a moment he began to ring like an alarm bell, and hit the top of his head to 'stop' himself.

"You know what? Even if it was a mistake, I still got a right to be mad at her. I mean, she cost me a million bucks!" He leaned back in his seat and put his hand behind his head. "Will I forgive her?" he asked the camera. "Maybe. Depends on how sorry she really is. Until then, nothin' for me to do but sit back and enjoy the show."

He began to beatbox again, and the scene faded out.


Author's Note - Post Script

Well, there you have it! Sorry Beardo, but as a few people realized, you didn't have much going for you in terms of plot. I did consider maybe trying to ship him with B a bit, and while that could have been interesting on its own there's already a lot going on, I think, and another ship wouldn't ultimately be what I wanted for this fic right now. He wasn't doing much otherwise, so he was a good choice to go home here.

Oh, and Chef is finally back! I knew I wanted him to come back around the time that DJ left in canon, but I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be during this episode or the next. But since I ended up needing something to fill the last scene after Beardo's departure, I figured why not bring Chef back? Hopefully it was the right choice.

As for the challenge, I was a tad uncertain going in who was gonna end up in the tent for the night. Both teams had someone obvious that would see through the ghosts (Dawn would have played that role for the Grips), so it ultimately came down to how I wanted the first challenge to play out. Specifically, once I decided it would be Dawn/DJ and Scarlett/Lightning for the tiebreaker round, it was obvious what I would have to do.

And then we have B cutting the knot, as it were. Chris did say it was up to them how to scare the Gaffers, after all. Plus, DJ finally owned up to his team that he's been dating Sammy! This episode had lots of threads to be developed further down the line, I think. I hope you're all looking forward to what I have to show you in the coming weeks and months!

Last thing I wanna say is that Total Drama Rebirth should be updating in a few hours. If you haven't checked out my other story yet, feel free to do so! And if you're already a fan, then rejoice!

Until next time!

- Fangren


Appendix: TSA Eliminated Contestants

Geoff - (Tied for 14th Place)

Bridgette - (Tied for 14th Place)

Shawn - (13th Place)

Alejandro - (12th Place)

Sierra - (11th Place)

Beardo - (10th Place)