Before this chapter starts, there's something I want to clear up. During the challenge, Eyrik did not intentionally attempt to make Danny choke. It was an accident. He took pleasure in it, nevertheless, because the two were enemies. Eyrik wouldn't sabotage his team on purpose just for revenge.
Later that night, a grinning Chris stood at his regular Campfire Ceremony post. Team StarKid was gathered together in front of him; Orion and Troy sat together, with Maddie and Ren together a little bit off. Lauren sat by herself, and Jason sat next to Bliss.
"Welcome boys -"
"And girls!" Troy interrupted.
Chris shot him a glare before continuing. "So, you guys lost this challenge. It's your second time at the Campfire Ceremony, but don't worry. There's no reward challenge to save you this time. It's elimination time, Team StarKid!"
Confessions:
Jason: I wish he would just get on with it! I tried to make a big move this time. I hope it paid off…
Bliss: All's going according to plan. Ren will be on his way home, courteous of the Fearsome Five.
"So who's ready to get eliminated?" Chris called out with a grin.
"Ugh. Just get on with it, McLean," Lauren called out, rolling her eyes.
Chris shot her an annoyed look before continuing. "This season, if or when you're voted off, you must walk down the Dock of Shame, climb the Stairs of Loserdom, and board the Shuttle of Failures, where you will promptly be flown off of this island. As in forever." He let them sink it in for a few seconds.
"Now when I call your name," he started. Seeing Troy about to interrupt him, he threw a rock at the ninja, who expertly knocked it out of the air.
"You will be safe, blah blah, marshmallows, yum yum, bottom two, elimination elimination. About sums it up, right, chums?" As Chris threw another rock at Troy, Orion smacked him across the head and called him a jackass, causing Chris to throw a rock at him for language.
Regaining composure, Chris grinned again. "All righties! Safe from elimination… mister ego, Troy!"
Troy grinned, bumped fists with Ori, and then did a flip in the air to retrieve his marshmallow.
"Show-off…" Chris mumbled. Turning back to the contestants, he continued. "Also safe is… Mad-e-leine!"
"Yay! SAFETY!" she exclaimed, tightly embracing a surprised Ren before running up to get her marshmallow.
"And Miss Bliss is safe too!"
"Obviously," Bliss purred, tickling Jason's chin to go get her marshmallow.
Chris turned to the four remaining contestants – Jason, Lauren, Orion, and Ren. "All four of you left sitting have received at least one vote. The next contestant safe is… Orion!"
Orion grinned and turned back to his teammates. He exchanged a glance with Jason, who shrugged and gave a grim grin before taking his marshmallow.
Confessions:
Orion: Jason and I may be mortal enemies, but I think we've got one thing in common. We both want to prove ourselves.
"And also safe is Jason the brawn!" Chris exclaimed.
Jason grinned and took his marshmallow. Merging with the other contestants, he turned around to face the two still sitting down – Ren and Lauren.
Chris stared at both Ren and Lauren. Both had been in the hot seat before; Lauren was sitting calm and unimpressed, while Ren was beginning to fume about being in the bottom for the second time in a row. "Ren! You're the new guy on the team, and even though you were one of the people to deliver a win during the challenge, your attitude is a major turn-off and your strength makes you a threat. Lauren! In this challenge, you really messed up, and you're kind of a huge bitch, but you've proven in the past to be a strong supporting member of the team previously. The contestant who is safe is…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Confessions:
Troy: Um… I'm a little bit concerned by these dots everywhere…
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Ren."
Ren grinned smugly and stood up. Mock saluting Lauren, he walked over to get his marshmallow from Chris.
"Lauren! You've officially been e-lim-i-nat-ed!"
Lauren sat there unmoving, slightly scaring the others. She slowly stood up and faced the others. "You… you… you IDIOTS! You absolute losers! How is this even possible? You NEED ME! You're nothing without ME! HOW!"
Bliss suspiciously eyed her teammates. "Yes, how indeed…"
Confessions:
Bliss: Okay, I'm not a mathematician or anything, but four members of an alliance were on a seven-person team, and that's a majority, right? But somehow Ren is still in this game. Oh, someone is so in trouble…
Lauren, still ranting, refused to go down the Dock of Shame, so Chef Hatchet had to come out. He lifted her over his shoulder and hefted her down the Dock of Shame, up the Stairs of Loserdom, and threw her into the Shuttle of Failures. Right before takeoff, Lauren saw Jason waving at her and shrieked as the shuttle flew off, her high-pitched screams fading off into the distance.
"Well… that certainly was dramatic!" Chris said with a grin. "Back to your cabins, pipsqueaks!"
As they headed off, Orion whispered to Jason, "You've made your big move, biceps. Time to see how it plays out."
Confessions:
Orion: I may or may not have had a hand in this elimination, but nobody has to know that…
As the musician and the ninja decided to race back to the cabins, Ren approached Jason and growled into his ear. "I know about your plot, idiot. And I can assure you things aren't going to go your way."
Ren hurried off. The next to approach Jason was Madeleine. "And the snooty bitch, voted off in a tricky glitch…" she sang, skipping off.
"I sure am popular today," Jason grumbled as Bliss approached him.
Rubbing his arm seductively, she purred, "So, Jase, honey… how do you figure this happened?"
"I… I don't know," Jason said quickly, starting to sweat.
"Seems like a bit of a… secret," she whispered, blowing on his neck.
"NO MA'AM THERE IS NO SECRET NOTHING HAPPENED GOOD NIGHT SLEEP TIGHT," he shouted, hurrying off to the cabins, leaving Bliss in the dust.
Confessions:
Jason: Man, I really suck at secrets!
Bliss: He knows what happened-I mean its obvious-and I'm going to find out if it's the last thing that I do.
*Cabins*
Eyrik was off hiding on the roof of the cabins, and Danny sat on the steps to the cabins. Annalisia, Jada, Kylie, and Christy lay on the ground together, watching the stars.
Troy came running up, throwing his fists into the air and wooping loudly. "I'm Number One! I'm Number One!"
Orion came wheezing behind him. "Why are you so… fast?" he gasped, collapsing on the ground. Kylie and Christy laughed.
"Who got voted out?" Annalisia asked, standing up. Before Troy could answer, Danny hurried over and yanked Troy by the arm and dragged him into his cabin.
"I want a full recap," he shouted as he closed the door.
Annalisia stomped her foot. "Curse you, D.P!"
Ren and Madeleine arrived next. Jason came thundering behind them, almost knocking them down. "Watch where you're going, brickhouse," Ren growled.
"SORRY THERE ARE NO SECRETS I AM TIRED GOOD NIGHT WORLD ZZZ SNORE," Jason spoke loudly as he shut the door to his cabin. Everyone watched him for a few minutes. Kylie broke the tension.
"Those damn boys," she muttered, causing the others to laugh.
"So it was either Bliss or Lauren," Christy pointed out.
Jada crossed her fingers excitedly. "Please, oh please, let it be both…"
Bliss walked up at that moment and everyone clapped in mock joy. "And the bitch is back!" Jada said sarcastically.
"Bliss! Recap! Now!" Danny shouted before Bliss could retort. She blew some fake kisses and hurried in.
"Curse you, D.P!" Jada exclaimed, mocking Annalisia.
Eyrik, unknown to anyone, had stood up and watched the events unfold. What role does Troy have in this? He thought to himself.
*Team Extraterrestrial, Boys' Cabin*
Danny stood pacing while Troy and Bliss sat on the bunk. They nervously exchanged a look.
"Alright, story time. Why is Ren still here? And how'd Lauren get eliminated?"
Troy shrugged. "Hey, man, I voted for Ren as per the plan. Thrilled Lauren is gone, though."
"Me too," Bliss added. "Thrilled."
"But how?" Danny stressed. "Statistically, it's an impossibility. Four votes against Ren – that can't even be matched."
Bliss snorted. "Ask Jason."
"What do you mean?"
"Well," Bliss started, "I asked him about it and he got all loud like he always does when he's hiding something. So if he voted for Lauren, that leaves three votes against four. End of discussion."
Danny was unconvinced. "Nope, Lauren wouldn't have voted for herself. That would leave 3-3-1, a tie. Something doesn't add up." Danny shook his head for a few minutes. "Tell me again how it went down. Did Chris mention anything about the votes?"
"He did," Troy remembered. "Orion, Jason, Lauren, and Ren were down, and Chris said they all received at least one vote."
"From this we can assume Lauren voted for Orion. They've been enemies for a long time, so that covers her one vote. You two are confirmed to have voted for Ren, so that leaves four votes left. Ren didn't vote for himself, so let's assume he voted for Jason. And that leaves three votes for Lauren."
Bliss rolled her eyes. "Wow, you sure are a genius!"
Confessions:
Troy: What is it with everyone being so smart and good at problem-solving. I swear, if D.P. calls me Watson…
"Three votes?" Troy asked confused. "Um, Jason, Madeleine, and…"
Danny faced them with a grim expression on his face. "Orion."
*Outside*
Ren had gone into his cabin; Maddie, Bliss, Christy, Jada, and Mickey had all went to sleep as well, leaving just Ori and Kylie awake.
Ori was pointing out some constellations to her. "How do you know all of these?" Kylie asked him. "You don't seem like someone who spent time behind a telescope."
Ori chickled. "Ren taught them to me last season. Most of these are ones he made up himself. He's a pretty cool guy underneath all the anger."
"And also a Class-A jerk," Kylie added begrudgingly.
"Well, sometimes."
Kylie sighed. "Listen, boy. I don't know why, but I'm beginning to think you aren't pond scum like pretty much every other guy."
"Thanks, I feel all tingly inside."
Kylie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You're better than Jason, at any rate."
Orion sighed. "Hey, I'm not going to defend him or anything, but the guy has his moments."
"He really doesn't. He just hurt me so bad, you know? Hard to trust guys now."
"I know, Kylie. I know."
They lay there for a few minutes before Kylie yawned. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night." As she stood up, she stumbled and fell. Orion tried to catch her but she fell on top of him, and suddenly their faces were inches away from each other's. Kylie blushed.
A few seconds later, Orion asked, "So, uh, how long you planning on staying there?"
Her face a bright shade of red, Kylie quickly got up and raced into her cabin. "Night!" she shouted.
*Team StarKid, Boys' Cabin*
"Back off, loser," Jason said as Ren approached him.
"No way, man of steel," Ren replied, grinning savagely. "There's something going on here. You're going to tell me what it is. Savvy?"
Jason sweated furiously. "No, man, seriously! I have no idea what you're talking about! NO IDEA!"
Ren reared up his fist. "Okay, Jason, I believe you. But my fist here is going to need some convincing."
Jason clutched Ren's fist in his own hand. "Sorry, buddy, but that's not happening."
Troy then walked in to the cabin, whistling. "Hey, guys!" he called out. Looking at the situation before him, be slowly walked out.
Ren sighed and shoved Jason out of the way. "We're not through with this, got it, pretty boy?"
"As if," Jason retorted.
Troy then walked in to the cabin, whistling. "Hey, guys!" he called out. "Awesome! No more awkwardness! Love it!"
"Go to sleep, ninja nerd," both Ren and Jason shouted angrily.
*Team Extraterrestrial, Boys' Cabin*
Danny had sent Bliss and Troy out, and Eyrik hadn't returned, leaving him alone.
"Orion and Jason… both of you have made some big mistakes. Sorry, guys. It's time to cut you loose."
Well, that closes another chapter! I know most of you will be thrilled to see Lauren leave, but personally I'm going to miss her a bit. Oh, well. Anyways, the next chapter is going to be the first day off, so look forward to that! There's many tricks, surprises, and shocks in the future, so stay tuned!
Votes:
Bliss: It's Fearsome Five time, darlings! Good-bye, jerky Ren!
Jason: It's time for me to prove myself and make a big move! Last season, I came here for the babes, but now, I'm here to win. First step – sorry, babe, but I'm voting for Lauren.
Lauren: I'm voting for that arrogant musician jerk Orion. Adios, loser!
Madeleine: Lalala, I vote for Lauren, hehe! She messed with Christy so bye-bye!
Orion: I hate to betray the alliance, but hey, I'm not voting off Ren. So I vote for Lauren.
Ren: Hmph. I know they're up to something. But I'd rather see Jason gone.
Troy: Woohoo! Fearsome Five strikes! Peace out, Ren, you'll be missed, dude!
Shuttle of Failures:
Lauren: No! Those losers! And Jason?! Of all people, Jason?! He masterminded my elimination? Gah! They'll never win a challenge without me. But it's whatever. All those losers are going down! I was blindsided, I'm big enough to admit it. Angry Ren was right, something's up. That jerk better do something to avenge me…
Sorry it took so long to get this up TT_TT school, school work, blah blah blah...welp, next chappie is the Aftermath ^_^ yaaay~