A/N: For those of you who don't read Explore Party, as I mentioned in my author's notes in that fic, I got a job recently, but since then I've actually been laid off (it was just a temp thing and my time ended. No big.)
"Welcome back to Total Drama Alpha Party!" Chris said to the camera from the Dock of Shame.
"Hiiii," Lindsay said with a wave.
"In the last episode, we played the island's largest game of hide and seek to date," Chris recapped.
"I thought this was a recreation of Wawanakwa," Lindsay said. "Wouldn't that mean it'd be the island's only game of hide and seek to date?"
"Okay, you are the last person who needs to be smart-mouthing me," Chris leered. "Anyway, on the Boldface side of things, Ursula wasn't too happy about Osric's elimination and began to seek revenge on Genesis for stabbing him in the back. Phoenix tried to take advantage of this by offering Ursula a spot on his alliance, but she has yet to give a final answer."
"Also Naomi is trying to stop Ursula and Genesis from fighting," Lindsay added.
"Meanwhile, with the Italics, Jasper was officially added into the alliance of Amelie, Ephraim, Hugh, and Mondo, with the intent to take out the tight Quentin/Tori/Vardaman trio," Chris continued. "Which might have worked had Ephraim not threatened Hugh, because Hugh managed to convince Jasper to flip on that alliance and vote Ephraim out."
"Ephraim got eliminated, but he told Mondo that he could look after Amelie," Lindsay said. "She may need it since she doesn't quite trust Jasper anymore."
"What will-"
"Wait!" Lindsay interrupted. "We almost forgot the most important part!"
Chris sighed. "You tell them. I don't care."
"Quentin and Tori are a couple now!" Lindsay clapped.
"Fascinating," Chris said flatly. "What will Amelie and Mondo do now that they're on the bottom? Where do Jasper's loyalties lie, if he has any at all? Will Quentin and Tori become a threat in the eyes of their teammates for being a couple?"
"Will Ursula join up with Phoenix?" Lindsay asked. "Will Fauna score any points of the POC? Will Isidora continue to lie low?"
"Find out, right here, on Total!"
"Drama!" Lindsay added.
"ALPHA PARTY!" the two finished.
Amelie sat across from Jasper during breakfasttime.
"Ah! Morning, Amelie!" Jasper greeted.
"Why did you vote for Ephraim?" Amelie asked distantly.
"What? I didn't vote for Ephraim," Jasper said innocently. "What gave you that idea?"
"Don't lie to me, Jasper," Amelie frowned. "Ephraim left without a tie. That means that he got the most votes. That would mean that everyone other than him, me, and Mondo would have to vote for him. So why did you vote for Ephraim?"
"Ooh. So confrontational~" Jasper giggled. "If you must know, he went around threatening people. I didn't want someone like that around."
"He wouldn't do that," Amelie denied.
"Then why would Hugh vote for him?" Jasper asked. "He's the one Ephraim threatened because he was messing with your or something. I just didn't want all this conflict on our team."
"Then why didn't you vote for Hugh?!" Amelie cried.
"Ephraim was a bigger threat," Jasper said nonchalantly. "He would have killed us all in the merge. I didn't want that."
Amelie sighed.
"This is a complicated game, babe," Jasper told her empathetically. "It wasn't the nicest move, but it was the best move, at least from my perspective."
"What about my perspective?" Amelie frowned.
"If you want things to go your way, then you should make them go your way," Jasper shrugged. "It's the hard truth of this game."
"Well... maybe I will!" Amelie pouted angrily as she stood up and walked away.
Confessional:
Amelie: I don't have Ephraim by my side anymore, and I now know that Jasper doesn't have my best interest in mind either. It's just me and Mondo right now. But what can I do to fix that? I'm not exactly Queen Social Game here.
Jasper: Tch. I thought Amelie would stick by me after Ephraim left, but I guess she figured me out. Great. Still, she is salvageable, and even if she wasn't, I'm sure I could just stick with Hugh and that alliance of three and vote her out anyway.
Phoenix found Ursula sitting on a tombstone alone in the pet cemetery.
"Thought I'd find you here," Phoenix said.
"Alright, fine!" Ursula snapped.
"...Huh?" Phoenix asked.
"I'll join your alliance," Ursula said. "I'm going to win this for Osric, and an alliance is probably the best way to go."
"Glad to hear it," Phoenix said with a slight smile.
"Oh my word, you actually showed human feelings," Ursula said, surprised. "Did that come with the 4.0 update?"
Phoenix chuckled at this. "You're pretty funny."
"Hey, I'm taken, buster," Ursula smirked.
"I wasn't trying to flirt. Just paying a compliment," Phoenix said. "I refuse to allow my emotions to play a part in this game, so even if I did feel that way about you, you wouldn't know."
"Ooh, so you could have a crush on someone here and I wouldn't even know," Ursula chuckled.
"I could," Phoenix said.
"I'm going to find out who she is and tell everyone," Ursula chuckled. "Actually, no, I'm just going to tell every girl that you like her and watch the fireworks."
"Please don't," Phoenix said. "That could throw the entire team's dynamics off."
"Haha. You don't care if I embarrass you, but if I mess with the game all of a sudden you're worried," Ursula pointed out.
"I've been a fan of this show from the beginning," Phoenix said. "I don't want to squander my only chance at winning it."
"Eh, All-Stars is a thing probably," Ursula shrugged.
"I'm flattered that you think I might qualify for that," Phoenix said with a small smile.
"Your emotion's showing again. Better be careful," Ursula snickered.
Confessional:
Ursula: Eh, I kinda get where Phoenix is coming from, but strategy isn't everything in this game. I wouldn't care half as much about going home if not for the friends I've made and the fun I'm having. Unless strategy is the only thing he's programmed to find fun, which is entirely possible.
Phoenix: Well, with Ursula now a part of the alliance, I can rest easy. Next time the vote happens, things should happen my way.
Quentin awoke from his top bunk, stretched, and hopped off. In his daze, however, he forgot to land on his feet, and fell prostrate onto the floor, right in front of Vardaman, who had been sitting on his own bed.
"Quentin! You alright?" Vardaman gasped.
"I'm more than alright," Quentin said dopily. "I feel like I could take off and soar with the birds."
"What's got you so happy?" Vardaman asked.
"I've got a girlfriend," Quentin beamed as he stood up.
"Well I'll be. Good for you. Who is it?" Vardaman smiled.
"Tori," Quentin blushed.
"Y'know, I always thought you two would make a cute couple," Vardaman said. "Good for y'all."
"I haven't felt this good for as long as I can remember," Quentin smiled. "You should get a girlfriend too."
"Aw, I dunno," Vardaman said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think I know any of the girls well enough for the both of us to want to date each other."
"Well, you should go meet some," Quentin urged. "Amelie's still on our team, and there's a couple girls on the other team who seem really nice."
"Well Naomi told me Ursula's taken," Vardaman mentioned.
"You're talking to Naomi, huh?" Quentin asked. "See, you're already on the right track."
"Well, she is real cute, but I don't know her all that well, on account of us bein' on different teams n' all," Vardaman admitted.
"Well hey, you have time," Quentin said. "Since Hugh's on our side now, we have the majority, so you're in no danger of going home."
"I suppose so," Vardaman nodded. "Of course, Hugh has no place in our alliance. After all, he turned on his old alliance to vote with us. Can't trust someone who does that."
"Agreed," Quentin nodded. "Anyway, see you later."
"See ya," Vardaman said with a tip of his hat.
Confessional:
Vardaman: I'll be honest, I'm a bit surprised things worked out for us last night. No one from our alliance was in the bottom two. Maybe the others found out that Hugh was tryin' to play sneaky n' tried to vote him out. And yet, we had a clear majority. Guess that means Jasper voted for Ephraim too. Jasper's always been a tricky critter, but I probably couldn't bring it up to anyone without bein' intolerant somehow.
Quentin: You know what? Life is good. Maybe I'm not sapping everyone's luck right now. Maybe I just had it all stored up for the big moment where I got an awesome girlfriend. Though, if that's the case, what's up with Lester, Xingrong, and Kelsey going so early? Eh, Tori and Vardaman are still here, so I guess that's all that matters right now. No offense to those eliminated of course.
Fauna and Genesis both sat on their respective beds in the girls' cabin. Fauna read an issue of Ebony, while Genesis played a game on her phone.
"They need to make the people in this magazine look darker," Fauna mumbled. "It's not like white people read it. They won't care."
"May I ask a question?" Genesis texted.
"Sure. What is it?" Fauna asked.
"Where did this all start?" Genesis texted. "Your hatred towards white people?"
"Oh, as long as I can remember," Fauna said. "Even as a little girl, I was always annoyed at how many white people they had on TV compared to the number of black people. Yeah, I watched Kenan and Kel and The Proud Family and those shows, but even those still had a bunch of white people."
"Well, they make up the majority of the population in Canada," Genesis texted. "It'd be a bit weird if there wasn't at least one white person."
"Well I long for a world that has no white people," Fauna said. "Never before have I seen a group of people who's more selfish, condescending, and privileged than white people. Eugh."
"I've never noticed it getting that bad," Genesis texted with a shrug.
"Which is weird, because you're Hispanic and disabled. You'd think all the able-bodied white people would do whatever they could to make your life a living hell," Fauna thought aloud.
"Surprisingly, it hasn't been an issue," Genesis texted.
"You sound just like my cousin," Fauna said.
"Your cousin?" Genesis texted.
"Yeah, my cousin Marissa," Fauna explained. "We live real close to each other and go to the same school, so I see her a lot. She hangs out with these white people and plays white people games and says that she sees no problem with it. It's disgusting."
"What exactly are 'white people games'?" Genesis texted with a raised eyebrow.
"Those nerd games where you get all this paper and dice and pretend you're going on an adventure," Fauna explained. "She's all 'You can make your character black', but that's not the point! The point is that she's hanging out with these white people like there isn't a fucking problem!"
"Have you had bad experiences with white people?" Genesis texted.
"Yes, though apparently I'm the only one," Fauna spat. "Outside of my friends on Tumblr, of course. I don't know where I'd be without them."
Confessional:
Genesis: (She types into her phone. The phone speaks.) She'd probably be a lot quieter and more tolerable without them, but what do I know?
Fauna: Thankfully, Tumblr is a safe space where I can be free from the oppression of white people and practice free speech without people accusing me of "racism". Hello! Reverse racism does not exist! How hard is that to understand?!
Mondo found Hugh sitting on his own at Mt. Looming Tragedy.
"Hugh," Mondo said sternly.
"Ugh, what do you want?" Hugh whined. "And how did you find me?"
"I asked around," Mondo answered. "Mind telling me why the hell you turned on Ephraim?"
"Um, because I hate him?" Hugh answered snidely.
"What the hell happened to our alliance?!" Mondo snapped.
"Please. We both knew that you were never going to keep me around after the get-along gang joined up with us," Hugh scoffed.
"We were going to vote for Tori," Mondo pointed out.
"But I don't hate Tori. I only mildly dislike her," Hugh responded. "Meanwhile, I had an opportunity to vote out Ephraim, so I took it."
"What did Ephraim ever do to you?" Mondo growled.
"Let's see, he was constantly on my ass when I never did anything to him, always telling me what to do, always telling me who I can and can't talk to, oh, and he threatened to get me voted off," Hugh listed. "Besides, you turned on Kelsey, and her worst crime was being bossy. Who the hell are you talk?"
Mondo opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Yeah, so stop the with self-righteous 'how dare you not do as I say' attitude," Hugh continued. "At least Kelsey had the decency to ask everyone else what they thought before making a decision. You just tell me 'this is what we're doing, so stay out of the way'. Well, I'm out of your way now. No need to worry about me being that dumbass spare vote you thought I was. Because I don't vote on your behalf anymore."
Mondo remained speechless.
Confessional:
Mondo: I can't believe this... I won't allow this! I'm not just going to let Hugh of all people kick me in the ass and be the cause of my downfall.
Hugh: Singlehandedly taking down the big strong leader of a majority alliance? Talk about major bad boy cred. I've taken out his most trusted ally, and I'm thinking he'll be next. That statue of his might be concerning, but I'll find a way around it.
Zarardo found Isidora sitting on her rock and reading.
"Ah, good morning, Isidora," Zarardo greeted.
"Yo," Isidora said half-heartedly, not looking away from her book.
"It's been a while since we've really talked," Zarardo pointed out. "A bit odd since we're in two alliances together."
"Eh, I don't talk to a lot of people. Don't take it personally," Isidora shrugged.
"Of course not," Zarardo said. "Actually, I'm here to discuss our relationship."
"Excuse me?" Isidora asked with a raised eyebrow as she finally looked at Zarardo.
"Like I said, the two of us are both in two different alliances together," Zarardo said. "It's clear that there's no avoiding each other. What say we make a final two deal?"
"Is that your way of hitting on me?" Isidora asked.
"No. I mean an actual final two deal," Zarardo said flatly. "No obligations to Warwick or Phoenix. Just the two of us running the game from the background. What do you say?"
"Yeah, it still sounds like you're hitting on me," Isidora said. "And I'm not interested."
"Really? Do you trust me so little?" Zarardo asked.
"Yes," Isidora said bluntly.
"I see..." Zarardo said. "Fine. We don't need to form a final two deal, but don't say I never offered to help you."
Confessional:
Isidora: I don't need Zarardo's help here. Okay, I might, but agreeing to take him to the final two would be foolish. Final twos in Total Drama are always physical challenges, and not only is he the strongest person on our team, but I'm the weakest person probably in the game. Besides, like I said, I always found him kind of shifty.
Zarardo: (He is playing with his Fushigi ball.) Offering Isidora a final two deal was merely a formality. I thought she'd go for it given how poor she is at this game in general and could use the extra security, but if she doesn't want it, then that's her loss. I certainly don't need her help.
Vardaman found Tori in the kitchen, fixing herself a meal.
"Mornin', Tori," Vardaman smiled with a tip of his hat.
"Good morning yourself, Vardaman," Tori smiled back.
"I see someone's happy," Vardaman winked. "Don't reckon it has anythin' to do with Quentin?"
"He told you, did he?" Tori blushed. "Yes, Quentin and I are in a relationship now. But I refuse to let it distract me from my goal of getting stronger. I can't slouch, lest I lose the strength to protect him."
"Well that sounds mighty admirable of you," Vardaman told her. "I wish nothin' but the best for you both."
"I appreciate that," Tori smiled. "By the way, do we have a plan of who to eliminate next?"
"I ain't sure," Vardaman admitted. "I want Jasper gone, but I don't think that'd necessarily be easy."
"Well, Quentin and I are always on your side, and I don't see anyone else being opposed to the idea either," Tori said.
"Of course, it may be best to get rid of Mondo's statue now while we still can," Vardaman added.
"Perhaps we could convince Mondo to vote for Jasper, and then we take out his statue," Tori suggested.
"...Victoria Hotate, you are a genius!" Vardaman complimented.
"I was tested, and I am not, in fact, a genius," Tori told him. "Still, I'd rather not be seen as smart. Being smart and strong would make me too big of a threat."
"I gotcha," Vardaman nodded.
Confessional:
Vardaman: Wait, does that mean I'm a threat? Well, I don't think I've gotten any votes in a while, so I don't seem to be in any danger. Course, you shouldn't really think that way in this game, 'cause you never know for sure. Ah well. Tori's got a good plan, n' I look forward to seein' it in action.
Tori: I told Vardaman about my life before becoming strong, how I was a gangly nerd, but I didn't tell him why I changed my ways. He's nice, but I don't trust him the way I do Quentin.
Warwick sat on a chair at the top of the thousand-foot cliff when Naomi made her way to the top.
"Gasp! What are you doing here?" Warwick asked.
"Well, I haven't practiced skating in a while, even though I keep falling over, so I figured I'd make up for it by doing some EX-TREME! practice," Naomi explained. "I'm gonna skate down the cliff and off the Dock of Shame, trying not to crash into anything along the way. More importantly, why do you have a chair here?"
"I ordered Zarardo to construct me a throne for my domain," Warwick bragged.
"It looks like one of the chairs they keep backstage at the amphitheatre," Naomi pointed out.
"Well no idea is truly original!" Warwick insisted.
"Does that mean you stole the idea to become king of your own country from someone else?" Naomi asked.
"Of course not!" Warwick said, flabbergasted.
"I'm confused," Naomi admitted.
"That's because you're a whelp!" Warwick huffed.
"I'm not a whelp! You're a whelp!" Naomi cried.
"No, you're a whelp!" Warwick insisted.
"Nay, for thou art a whelp!" Naomi insisted.
"How dare you use my royalty against me!" Warwick cried.
"Forsooth, thou art truly the whelpiest of whelps," Naomi grinned. "Thine sole name blisters our tongues from sheer whelp-osity!"
"Now you just sound like Xingrong," Warwick pouted.
"I dunno, all I know is I heard someone say that once and thought it sounded cool," Naomi shrugged. "Minus the whelp part. That was the extra little Naomi spin I put on it."
"Oh go skate down a cliff," Warwick said dismissively.
"Maaaaaaaaybe I will!" Naomi said as she did just that. On her way down, she tripped on a pebble and tumbled down the cliff.
Confessional:
Warwick: I can deal with Fauna's racism, and I can even look past Genesis trying to get me eliminated, but Naomi is reaching Xingrong levels of pissing me off! Perhaps I'll just have to do to her what I did to Xingrong. Ohohohoho!
Naomi: (She has band-aids all over her face, arms, and legs.) On the plus side, I got to spend a lot of extra time with Vardaman because of this.
Amelie and Mondo met up on the Dock of Shame.
"I talked to Jasper," Amelie told Mondo. "He pretty much admitted that he voted for Ephraim."
"I talked to Hugh," Mondo told Amelie. "He pretty much told me to get lost and to go screw myself."
"And we can't do anything about it," Amelie frowned.
"I don't know," Mondo said. "Do you think the other three would take us in if we asked?"
"Quentin, Tori, and Vardaman?" Amelie asked.
"Yeah. Do you think, if we asked them to, they'd vote for Hugh or Jasper alongside us?" Mondo asked.
"It's possible..." Amelie thought aloud. "But what if they say no? We have been against them for a while. They probably don't trust us."
"Well, we'll never know unless we try," Mondo said. "Besides, it's our only option at this point."
"I guess..." Amelie said. "Oh, we're screwed, aren't we?"
"No, we can do this," Mondo assured her. "I managed to find my way into the majority before, and I can do it again."
"I guess..." Amelie said.
"Hey. Ephraim would want you to stay strong and keep going," Mondo told her. "I've actually noticed quite an improvement from you since day one. Before, you'd barely talk to anyone besides Ephraim, and now here you are, discussing strategy with me. I have faith that you can keep it up."
Amelie smiled. "Thank you," she said. "I needed that."
"No problem," Mondo smiled back. "So, any thoughts on anything?"
"Asking the other three sounds good," Amelie nodded. "Actually, one thing I've always meant to ask you: is Mondo short for something?"
"Haha, no, but it is a nickname," Mondo told her. "My real name is Marcus, so I'm not breaking any alphabet rules or anything, but the guys on the team always called me Mondo for, uh, reasons that they only know from the locker room."
"Oh!" Amelie reacted, her face turning bright red.
"Yeah..." Mondo chuckled. "So, is Amelie short for something, or...?"
"No, that's my name," Amelie told him.
"I always thought it was short for Amelina or something," Mondo chuckled.
"No, no," Amelie giggled. "It's like 'Amelia', but with an E at the end instead of an A."
"Ohhh, that makes sense," Mondo nodded. "I always mentally spelled it like Emily but with an A instead of an E."
"I can see why that'd make sense," Amelie chuckled.
Confessional:
Amelie: Mondo's actually really fun to talk to. Though now I know why he's called Mondo, I feel a bit dirty calling him that. Maybe I'll just call him Marcus from now on.
Mondo: While I'm not sure Amelie would open up to me so easily if I wasn't friends with Ephraim, I'm glad she and I are starting to trust each other, because it's us against the world right now. Though, I do have to notice that she became friends with both me and Jasper, two gay guys. Almost makes me wonder about Ephraim. Probably not, but you never know.
Warwick approached Isidora, who had continued to read on her rock.
"Isidora!" Warwick greeted.
Isidora sighed. "Yes?" she asked.
"I have decided that we should be rid of Naomi as soon as possible!" Warwick declared.
"Cool. Go tell Zarardo," Isidora said dismissively.
"Wait! I am not finished," Warwick pouted.
"Yes?" Isidora sighed.
"I have decided that you should, in fact, be my queen," Warwick said.
"I thought I was your princess," Isidora pointed out.
"Yes, but I'll need a queen if I want my royal family to continue on for generations to come, and since you seem pretty smart, our children will be geniuses! You know, if, uh, that's okay with you, and all."
"Sure," Isidora said.
"Really?" Warwick asked, astonished.
"Yeah," Isidora said. "When's the wedding?"
"Uhhhh..." Warwick trailed off. "We can decide together, fiancee of mine!"
"I don't know my schedule off the top of my head," Isidora said. "I'll IM you after the game is over."
"I look forward to it!" Warwick said. "The day that you become Queen Isidora the First will go down in history!"
"Cool," Isidora said half-heartedly.
Confessional:
Isidora: Obviously I'm not going to marry him because I'm never going to see him again after this game. But, of course, if he thinks I'm his fiancee, he's never going to vote me out, and will probably be more inclined to listen to what I have to say. I don't really have any super-loyal allies, so having Warwick be unconditionally loyal to me is a start.
Warwick: Yes! Not only do I have someone else to vote for Naomi, but now I have a smart and attractive future wife! A second-in-command to help govern the fine nation of... whatever it'll be called.
Quentin and Tori went to their usual spot in the forest where Tori worked out. Today she lifted a heavy log above her head.
"That's really impressive," Quentin complimented. "How long have you been able to do that?"
"A log of this size? Probably at least a year," Tori answered.
"Whoaaaaa," Quentin said in awe. "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Well, I can't do long division in my head," Tori chuckled.
"I used to be able to, but my teacher got mad at me and made me stop," Quentin admitted.
"Why would your teacher get mad at you for doing long division in your head?" Tori asked.
"I dunno," Quentin shrugged. "I guess she cared more about the way I did it than the fact that I did it at all."
"That's ridiculous," Tori said. "If there are two ways to reach the exact same result, and one is easier and faster than the other, why not go with the easier and faster way?"
"...Whoa," Quentin said. "I never really thought about it like that."
"You just accepted that you shouldn't do it because your teacher said not to?" Tori asked.
"I mean, she's the teacher for a reason," Quentin shrugged. "Plus, I'm kind of a bird brain sometimes, so I trust the judgment of others more than myself usually."
"You shouldn't think so little of yourself," Tori told Quentin.
"I guess not," Quentin said. "After all, I won you over, didn't I? You're, like, way out of my league."
"Funny. I thought the exact same thing about you," Tori smirked.
"Aw, geez," Quentin blushed. "You're too sweet."
"You're the nicest person I've ever met, Quentin," Tori said. "If anyone here is sweet, it is you."
"If we keep it up, we'll be arguing all day over who's sweeter," Quentin chuckled.
"I doubt it. I could write an entire essay on why you're sweeter," Tori smiled.
"Alright, you win," Quentin chuckled.
Confessional:
Quentin: Tori's just an awesome person. I barely talked to her before Kelsey roped the both of us into an alliance, but I have to say, I'm glad Kelsey did that. I hope her ankle's feeling better.
Tori: I must wonder if Vardaman will become a third wheel in our alliance now that Quentin and I are dating. I won't deny that, if I was forced to eliminate one of them, I'd pick Vardaman, and I think Quentin will feel the same way. I guess we'll just have to avoid any situation in which we'd have to pick between each other.
Genesis stood in the bathroom while her phone was plugged into a charger which was plugged into an electrical outlet. Just then, Naomi skated in.
"Oh! Hey! Genesis!" Naomi greeted.
Genesis gave Naomi a small wave.
"I still can't believe they have outlets in here but not in the cabins," Naomi said.
Genesis shrugged.
"Hey, can we talk about something?" Naomi asked. "Can you talk while your phone is charging?"
Genesis picked her phone up and began to type into it.
"What do you want to talk about?" Genesis texted.
"Osric," Naomi said.
"What about him?" Genesis texted with a look that reflected suspicion towards Naomi.
"Why did you feel like you had to vote for him?" Naomi asked. "Yesterday you said that you did what you thought you had to do, but why did you think you had to vote for Osric?"
"Did Ursula tell you to ask me this?" Genesis texted.
"No, this is me asking you," Naomi said. "We're in the Super Secret Duo together, but that doesn't mean we should keep secrets from each other, right?"
"I didn't have much faith in Osric, Ursula, or Zarardo," Genesis texted. "I knew I could trust you because of our final two deal, but I wasn't sure about the others. So I decided to join up with Fauna, Phoenix, and Yolonda as a backup. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to think I was betraying you, and I couldn't ask them to let you join because of how Fauna is with white people."
"I see..." Naomi said. "Thanks for the explanation."
"Do you still trust me?" Genesis texted.
"I do, but I also trust Ursula," Naomi said. "I just wish you two could trust each other."
"I don't see that happening," Genesis texted. "Same with Zarardo, though he was barely a presence in our alliance."
"I wish I knew about you not trusting the others," Naomi frowned. "I could try to help and this all could have been avoided."
"Well, what's done is done," Genesis texted.
"Attention, campers!" Chris's voice rang over the PA system. "It's time for your next challenge! Report to the mess hall, asap!"
"Guess we'd better go," Naomi said.
Genesis nodded as she left her phone to charge.
Confessional:
Naomi: One thing I've learned is that communication is everything in this game. I guess that's not easy for Genesis, which is why I'm impressed that she's done as well as she has. Then again, she is really smart too.
Genesis: (She types into her phone. The phone speaks.) Naomi's a sweet girl, and I definitely intend to take her to the endgame, if for no other reason than her loyalty to me. I know she's aligned with Ursula, but Ursula is targeting me, so I need to nip that problem in the bud. It may end up coming down to her choosing between me and Ursula, and I have faith that she'll keep me over the girl who literally scared the piss out of her once.
The fifteen contestants met up at the mess hall, where Chris and Lindsay awaited.
"Welcome, campers, to today's challenge," Chris grinned. "What we have for you today is a TD classic: the Brunch of Disgustingness."
"How iron-rich is this brunch?" Isidora asked.
"I dunno. It's not supposed to be healthy for you," Chris shrugged.
"I did make sure it's all vegetarian-safe, though," Lindsay chirped.
"I don't think any of us are vegetarians," Ursula pointed out.
"Anyway, today's Brunch will be different from Brunches past," Chris said. "Here's how it's going to work." He gestured at the table layout. The tables had been rearranged so that they were on either side of a podium. "Seven of you from each team will sit at your team's table. The first course will be given to the person sitting farthest away from the table. If you don't think you can finish your course, you can pass it to the person next to you that is closer to the podium. You cannot pass your meal back farther away to to podium, only closer. There are seven courses, and everyone will eat one course. Every round, the person furthest from the podium who has still not eaten will get the course, meaning once you've eaten a plate of food, that's it. You're done with the challenge, and you'll have to rely on your teammates from then on. You will be scored by overall time. The team whose combined time between all seven courses is lower will win Invincibility. Any questions?"
"What happens if you start on a meal, but decide you don't want to finish it? Can you pass it closer to the podium?" Mondo asked.
"Nope. Once you've started, you can't stop until you've finished your plate," Chris grinned.
"Sounds like strategy is important for this one," Vardaman said.
"By the way, who on the Boldface is sitting out?" Chris asked. "Can't be Naomi since she was the last one on her team to sit out."
Everyone's eyes turned to Isidora.
"Eh, it's just food. I'll live," Isidora shrugged.
"I'll sit out of this one," Phoenix said. "I get nauseated pretty easily, I'm afraid."
"That reminds me, what's the policy on throwing up?" Fauna asked. "We don't have to eat our own vomit for it to count, do we?"
"That would have been the case, had Zappy McPrudeyface here not objected to that," Chris huffed.
"No, if you throw up, then you just have to finish whatever you haven't eaten, and you'll get an extra fifteen seconds added to your overall time," Lindsay explained.
"Fifteen seconds each time you throw up, or just the first time?" Quentin asked.
"Just the first time," Lindsay answered.
"Anything else?" Chris asked.
Silence.
"Great. Take your spots so we can get this game started!" Chris announced.
Confessional:
Genesis: (She types into her phone. The phone speaks.) I don't have a particularly weak stomach, but I ended up farthest from the podium. I guess everyone else was confident in their own abilities.
Warwick: I have a stomach of steel. I probably won't even need a cup-bearer when I'm king. I could probably take any poison they try to send my way.
Ursula: I've gotten sick eating too much candy a lot in the past. I know my limits, so I chose to sit far from the podium, but not the farthest, because I don't want to look weak either.
Jasper: I'm a picky eater, so I sat far away from the podium so I could keep passing on my meals. I'll have to eat eventually, but at least I'll get to pick what I eat.
Amelie: I'm a bit wary with what they might serve. It could be something completely inedible, like rocks, or just a foreign delicacy that we in Canada don't normally eat, like bull testicles. Not to be stereotypical, but maybe being raised by a Chinese father and Vietnamese mother could help me in this challenge. Asian countries are known to eat some pretty crazy things by Western standards.
Hugh: I chose the very middle spot because while I don't want to look weak, I don't want to overestimate my own abilities either.
The contestants took their seats at the tables. For the Italics, from furthest to closest to the podium, were Jasper, Amelie, Quentin, Hugh, Mondo, Tori, and Vardaman. For the Boldface were Genesis, Naomi, Ursula, Isidora, Fauna, Zarardo, and Warwick.
"Alright, we have our positions," Chris said. "Lindsay! Bring us the first dish!"
Lindsay emerged from the kitchen with two covered platters. The covers each had a number 1 painted on them. She put them in front of Genesis and Jasper.
"Campers, reveal your plates!" Chris announced.
Genesis and Jasper took the covers off of their platters to see bowls full of what looked to be rice.
"Course one: maggots!" Chris beamed.
"I thought Chef Hatchet called people maggots," Quentin said.
"No, no, this bowl is full of actual fly larvae," Chris chuckled.
Genesis and Jasper both looked at their bowls with disturbed faces.
"The dishes only get grosser as the challenge goes on, Jasper," Hugh said. "Just suck it up. You know, like you usually do."
Mondo smacked Hugh on the back of the head.
"Do we at least get spoons?" Jasper asked.
"You must be mistaking me for someone who would give you spoons," Chris remarked. Lindsay set off his shock collar.
Genesis and Jasper each picked up their bowls and brought them to their faces to drink the contents.
"You got this, Genny!" Naomi encouraged.
"'Genny'?" Ursula asked with a raised eyebrow.
"She's still my friend, okay?" Naomi frowned.
"Eugh! Nasty!" Jasper whined as he set his unfinished bowl down.
Genesis shuddered as she set her unfinished bowl down.
"Don't let the POC down!" Fauna told Genesis.
"You can do it, Jasper," Quentin smiled.
Genesis picked her bowl up and slurped up the rest of the maggots. She set her bowl down, trying not to throw up.
Jasper, noticing Genesis' lead, followed suit, finishing a few seconds after her.
"And that's the round!" Chris announced. "Time for the second course. Lindsay!"
Confessional:
Genesis: (She types into her phone. The phone speaks.) That was disgusting, but in the grand scheme of things, it's probably the least disgusting thing I could have eaten. If I know Chris, and I think I do, it'll only get worse from here.
Jasper: That was seriously gross. I was this close to puking, I swear.
Lindsay brought covered platters with the number 2 painted on them and set them in front of Amelie and Naomi.
"Reveal your plates!" Chris commanded.
Amelie and Naomi removed the covers from their platters to reveal a plate of green, pod-looking plants.
"Here we have the buds of the Brassica oleracea plants," Chris said. "Better known as the scourge of children everywhere, Brussels sprouts!"
"Ewwwwwwwwww!" Naomi whined.
"What? Brussels sprouts are good," Phoenix told her.
"Are not!" Naomi said as she passed her plate to Ursula.
"Gross, I don't want them," Ursula scowled as she passed her plate to Isidora.
As this happened, Amelie had passed her plate to Quentin, who passed the plate to Hugh, who passed the plate to Mondo.
"I like Brussels sprouts," Mondo said.
"They're good in iron," Isidora said. "As someone with an iron deficiency, I feel like eating these is my best bet."
The two teens began eating their plates of Brussels sprouts.
"I probably would have eaten those," Tori thought aloud.
"Me too, but what can you do?" Vardaman shrugged. "'Sides, we're sitting near the middle for a reason. We ain't picky."
"True," Tori said.
"Well I am," Warwick said from his side of the podium. "I can't stand vegetables."
"I noticed," Tori said bluntly as she glanced at Warwick's gut.
"If you're picky, why sit near the middle where you can't give up your plate?" Vardaman asked.
"It's supposed to be food we don't like, so I'll be suffering either way," Warwick said. "Plus, I have a strong stomach."
"Fair enough," Vardaman said.
"Done!" Mondo announced.
"Seriously?!" Isidora asked, her plate still half-full.
"Pick up the pace!" Fauna shouted.
"Oh, I was just going slow for the hell of it, but since you insisted..." Isidora remarked.
"Do we get our next course already?" Hugh asked.
"No, wait for Isidora to finish," Chris said. "It's not costing you any time."
"Tch," Hugh responded.
After about thirty seconds, Isidora finished her plate of Brussels sprouts.
"Done," Isidora said.
"That's the round!" Chris announced. "Lindsay, course three, if you'd be so kind."
Confessional:
Isidora: I never said I liked Brussels sprouts, but eh, it's better than maggots.
Mondo: I'll be honest, I found the sprouts a bit undercooked, but I still enjoyed them nonetheless.
Lindsay set covered platters with the number 3 painted on them in front of Amelie and Naomi.
"Reveal the plates!" Chris smiled.
Amelie and Naomi lifted the platters to reveal what looked to be a Chinese take-out box.
"Oh, this shouldn't be so bad," Amelie smiled.
"'Should' being the key word here," Chris chuckled.
The girls opened the flaps of their respective boxes, and their noses instantly wrinkled.
"Month-old leftover chow mein!" Chris announced.
"Nope," Naomi said as she passed her plate over to Ursula.
"I'll pass too," Amelie said as she passed her plate to Quentin.
The campers continued to pass their plates until they ended up in front of Tori and Warwick, who began eating.
"This might not be so bad if not for the lack of utensils," Tori remarked.
"Speak for yourself," Warwick chuckled. "It's gross, but I'm not going to lose my lunch over it."
"That makes one of us," Phoenix shuddered as he threw up in his mouth a little.
"This is quite easy for Your Majesty, no?" Zarardo asked.
"Too easy," Warwick grinned.
"How are you holding up?" Quentin asked Tori.
"I'm managing," Tori said. "It tastes horrendous, but then that's the point of the challenge."
"Done!" Warwick announced.
"And I as well," Tori said shortly after.
Chris paused.
"Well?" Fauna asked.
"Just waiting to see if they lose their lunch," Chris said.
"I don't plan to," Tori said.
"I feel nothing," Warwick boasted.
"Alrighty then. Lindsay, course four," Chris said.
Confessional:
Tori: I'll admit, I had to work to keep it down, but I wasn't going to risk costing my team the challenge.
Warwick: Hmm... did Chris save that Chinese for a month solely for this challenge, or did he just happen to have it on hand and decided to put it to use? The great mysteries of life.
Lindsay set covered platters with the number 4 on them in front of Amelie and Naomi.
"Reveal the plates, girls," Chris ordered.
Amelie and Naomi removed the covers from their platters to reveal what looked to be a clear-and-black egg.
"Is this a century egg?" Amelie asked.
"Correctamundo, Amelie," Chris said. "For those who don't know, a century egg is a fowl egg that has been preserved in clay for months until the yolk turns black and the whites turn clear."
"Why is this a thing?" Naomi asked as she passed her plate to Ursula, who passed the plate to Fauna.
"I've had these before. They're a Chinese delicacy," Amelie said as she took a bite. "I actually kind of like them."
"Well I'm not going to be disrespectful of other cultures, so I'm going to eat it," Fauna insisted as she stuffed the entire egg in her mouth, only to make a face upon tasting it.
"It's an acquired taste," Amelie said between bites.
"I'm impressed," Jasper winked.
"You sure you can do this, Fauna?" Zarardo asked.
"I love it! It tastes great!" Fauna insisted with her mouth full.
"Your eyes are watering," Zarardo pointed out.
"I'm deeply moved by how good it tastes!" Fauna cried.
"All done," Amelie said as she finished the egg.
Fauna forced herself to swallow the egg, which resulted in her throwing it back up on her plate.
Genesis cringed in response to this.
"I'm calling that the end of the round," Chris said. "Lindsay, time for course five!"
Confessional:
Amelie: I didn't expect to do so well in this challenge. I guess I got lucky, huh?
Fauna: For the record, me throwing up was because of how sick I got thinking that Chris is appropriating Chinese culture by feeding us these eggs. It wasn't that I thought the egg tasted bad. I'm not racist.
Lindsay placed the number 5 platters in front of Naomi and Quentin.
"Reveal your plates!" Chris commanded.
The two took their platters off to reveal a smooth rock on each plate, roughly the size of a standard belt buckle.
"I got a rock," Quentin said.
"Yup. Nothing expired or bitter, just plain old river rocks," Chris chuckled.
Both campers passed their plate to the next person, which happened to be Hugh and Ursula.
"Pfft. I can do this," Hugh boasted.
"I'll do it, in the spirit of Charlie Brown and all the rocks he got for Halloween," Ursula decided. "...So, are you supposed to chew this, or what?"
Hugh put the whole rock in his mouth and forced himself to swallow it. Ursula noticed this and followed suit.
"This doesn't seem very safe," Lindsay said.
"Eh, they're fine," Chris shrugged.
Just then, Hugh began coughing violently and hunching over.
"He's chokin'!" Vardaman shouted as he stood up, ran up behind Hugh, and performed the Heimlich maneuver on him. Eventually, the rock flew out of Hugh's mouth and across the room.
"Are you alright?" Vardaman asked.
"I just choked on a rock. What do you think, artard?" Hugh responded.
"How are you holding up?" Naomi asked Ursula.
Ursula forced a smile as she gave Naomi a thumbs-up.
"Do I have to try and eat this again?" Hugh asked.
"You threw it back up, so no," Chris said.
"Done!" Ursula announced as she took a deep breath.
"Well done," Chris said. "Lindsay, course six if you'll please."
Confessional:
Hugh: Well, that's not going to earn me any bad boy cred, but hey, at least I tried.
Ursula: I just swallowed an entire rock. How long do rocks stay in your digestion? If I end up hospitalized for this, I swear...
Lindsay set platters with the number 6 on them in front of Naomi and Quentin.
"Reveal your plates!" Chris commanded.
Naomi and Quentin removed the covers from their platters to reveal a cupcake on each platter.
"Cupcakes?! Sweet!" Naomi cheered.
"Yup. Just a cupcake," Chris said. "No tricks here."
"Why don't I trust you when you say no tricks here?" Mondo asked.
"Why Mondo, I'm hurt," Chris said in faux offense.
"Vardaman can have it," Quentin smiled as he passed the cupcake to Vardaman. "He saved Hugh's life, so I feel like he deserves it more than I do."
"Uh, thanks," Vardaman said as Quentin handed him the platter. He eyed the cupcake suspiciously.
"I wouldn't mind a cupcake," Naomi said. "I'm keeping this one."
"Good luck with that," Zarardo said. "It could be spiked with jalapenos or something."
"Only one way to find out," Naomi said as she and Vardaman began eating their cupcakes.
"Mmm, this is really good," Naomi said with her mouth full.
"It's real sweet, but not disgustin'," Vardaman commented.
"So, wait, there's nothing wrong with it?" Phoenix asked.
"Like I said, no tricks here," Chris said.
"So Naomi hands all these gross dishes to us, and gets rewarded with a cupcake?" Isidora asked. "That's fair."
"You were all supposed to assume that the dishes would get gradually grosser and that those who make the later rounds would eat the grossest dish," Chris said. "This was supposed to be a reward for sticking it out for so long."
"Well I'm done," Naomi said.
"Me too," Vardaman said.
"Alright then. Lindsay, fetch course seven!" Chris commanded.
Confessional:
Naomi: Honestly it never even occurred to me that the dishes might get grosser. Dodged a bullet there, huh?
Vardaman: Sure was nice of Quentin to let me have the cupcake. I put myself closest to the podium 'cause I figured I could eat just about anythin', so I hope Quentin didn't accidentally force himself to eat the grossest dish.
Lindsay set platter number seven in front of Quentin and Zarardo.
"Gentlemen... reveal your plates," Chris said sinisterly.
Quentin and Zarardo removed the covers to their platters to reveal a small brain on each of them.
"I've heard of brain food, but this is ridiculous," Zarardo chuckled.
"What we have here are pig brains," Chris said. "Bon appetit."
Zarardo shrugged as he picked it up and took a bite. Quentin hesitated, but soon followed suit.
"It's down to the wire here, folks. Anything can happen," Chris said.
"How's it taste?" Isidora asked.
"Strange, though I can't tell if it's in a good or bad way," Zarardo answered.
"What he said," Quentin agreed.
The two boys continued to eat their pig brains as everyone watched on.
"Will we get a time penalty if someone who isn't eating throws up?" Jasper asked.
"Yes," Chris said simply.
"Even if I'm not in the challenge?" Phoenix asked.
"You're fine," Chris said. "You're sitting out, so you won't affect the challenge in any way."
"Cool. I'll be in the washrooms then," Phoenix said as he dashed out of the mess hall.
"Lucky," Jasper grumbled.
"Done!" Quentin and Zarardo said in unison.
"Great. I've been keeping track of each team's times, so I have the results right now, as a matter of fact," Chris said. "And, with an overall time of seven minutes and thirty-two seconds, after penalties are taken into account, the winning team is..."
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"The Screaming Italics!" Chris announced.
"Nice job, team," Mondo smiled.
"Killer Boldface, it's back to elimination for you," Chris said. "I'll see you guys then."
Confessional:
Hugh: Heh, I didn't even swallow that rock and my team still won. It's gotta suck to be Ursula right now.
Genesis: (She types into her phone. The phone speaks.) I'm 100% positive that I'm a target right now, so I have to think of some way to make it out of this alive. But what?
Zarardo: I wonder where the votes will fall today. Personally, I'm hoping for Fauna to go home, but with Osric out of the alliance, that might be difficult.
Ursula: This should be an easy vote. Just get the alliance to vote for Genesis. Four of us plus Warwick probably should be enough.
Genesis met up with Fauna in the mess hall.
"Well, my phone is charged, so now we can talk," Genesis texted.
"Well, it's basically Isidora, Naomi, or Warwick at this point," Fauna said. "Also, just so you know, I offered Zarardo a position in this alliance, and he said yes, though I ain't sure how loyal he'll actually be."
"Now that I think about it, he was an original member of Osric's alliance back when I was in that," Genesis texted. "And I know he hangs out with Isidora and Warwick a lot."
"So we'll vote for Naomi then," Fauna said.
"I actually trust Naomi," Genesis texted. "Though now that I think about it, I don't think I trust Zarardo very much."
"We can't vote for Zarardo. He's a person of color," Fauna said.
"Think about it, Fauna. None of the white people on our team are remotely threatening," Genesis texted. "But if Zarardo really is aligned with this many people, he could be a real problem. You said yourself that you don't trust him."
"It's the principle of the thing," Fauna said. "Why would I take away a POC's right to win when I could do the same to a white person?"
"Because this POC could take away your right to win in an instant," Genesis texted. "He's sneaky, and I don't like it."
"Then we can take him out later," Fauna said.
"There might not be a later!" Genesis texted.
"We're voting for a white person and that's final!" Fauna insisted.
Confessional:
Genesis: (She types into her phone. The phone speaks. She looks distressed.) Fuana dosnt sem to be graspoing the siuation here. Ths cold be the difference betwen one of us going ors atying. Is she readly going to let something as pett as rae make a difference here?
Fauna: We're this close to getting rid of all the white people on this team. Why would I stop that momentum now? Now we just need to get all these extra votes, and we can get rid of Naomi or whoever.
Ursula stood outside of a bathroom stall, where Phoenix was.
"You didn't even eat anything and you got sick. That's impressive," Ursula chuckled.
"Eugh, nobody's perfect," Phoenix responded.
"We're still voting for Genesis, right?" Ursula asked.
"As far as I know," Phoenix said. "I should probably tell Isidora and Zarardo that you're with us now."
"Do they still not know?" Ursula asked. "Yeah, that might be good for them to know."
"At least we can finally get Genesis out," Phoenix said.
"What's your beef with her?" Ursula asked. "She voted out my boyfriend, but what do you have against her?"
"I just don't like how everyone's ignored how big of a threat she is for so long," Phoenix said. "At least people seem to be aware of this now. And now we can take her out."
"Wouldn't that make you a threat, for taking out a threat?" Ursula chuckled.
"Maybe, but the less people know that, the better," Phoenix said.
Phoenix threw up in the toilet once again.
"Need me to hold your hair back?" Ursula chuckled.
"I'm good," Phoenix said. "You don't have to stay here. I won't die or anything."
"Eh, if you insist," Ursula shrugged.
Confessional:
Ursula: Genesis should have known better than to mess with the girl who messes with people for fun. You never provoke the kid who likes slasher movies, because maybe they'll turn out to be a slasher. That's just a metaphor of course, but you know.
Phoenix: Guess I can't go around controlling the vote this time around. I'll probably be better by tomorrow, but if this is how I was without even participating in the challenge, I shudder to think what might have happened had I competed.
Isidora and Zarardo met up on the top of the thousand-foot cliff.
"When was the last time that all three of us managed to be up here at the same time?" Isidora asked.
"I'm not sure, but since it's just the two of us, we can have a real talk about who to vote," Zarardo said.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I think voting with our alliance is the safest bet," Isidora said. "I know Phoenix wants either Fauna or Genesis gone."
"I'd prefer if Fauna left, personally," Zarardo said. "I think we can swing the votes against Fauna."
"I'd be fine with that," Isidora shrugged. "I'm pretty sure she wants me dead. No, not eliminated. Dead."
"Sounds good to me," Zarardo said. "And of course, Warwick has the mental capacity of a flea, so he'll do whatever we say."
"Exactly," Isidora smirked.
"Fauna it is," Zarardo grinned as he suddenly had his Fushigi ball and began to play with it. "Should be fun to watch her reaction."
"Agreed," Isidora said.
Confessional:
Isidora: Now, of course, we just need to find Phoenix and tell him about voting for Fauna. Maybe we can get Ursula in on it too. I don't know. I'm not super confident in this vote, but what happens happens, I guess.
Zarardo: Phoenix should have realized what he was getting into when he chose to include me and Isidora in his alliance. Now that Osric's gone, we outnumber him two to one, so really, it's more like he's a part of our alliance instead of the other way around.
Warwick stood at the end of the Dock of Shame, gazing at the horizon.
"Someday, I shall rule a kingdom of my own, and when I do, I will make sure my castle overlooks a lake as gorgeous as this," Warwick told himself.
Warwick took in the sights when Naomi crashed into him from behind, knocking the both of them in the water.
"Naomi! You whelp!" Warwick cried.
"Sorry. Like I said, I wanted to skate from the top of the cliff to here," Naomi said. "Isidora and Zarardo were up there, actually. Aren't they your friends?"
"Mind your own business!" Warwick snapped.
Confessional:
Warwick: It's important that the smart people of this world procreate, otherwise we end up with people like Naomi still in existence. In my future kingdom, we will only allow the smartest people we can!
Naomi: I didn't even crash until Warwick came along. Improvement!
The eight members of the Killer Boldface met up at the bonfire pit. Chris was there, holding a platter of marshmallows.
"Welcome back to elimination, most lethal of thick typefaces," Chris grinned. "You know how it is. You get a marshmallow, you're safe. If not, you're eliminated. Now, marshmallows go to..."
"Isidora."
"Phoenix."
"Ursula."
"Warwick."
"Naomi."
"Genesis."
Fauna and Zarardo glanced at each other in disbelief.
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"Fauna," Chris finally said as he tossed Fauna her marshmallow.
Zarardo chuckled in disbelief, resentment on his face.
"What?!" Warwick snapped. "Who would dare to vote out my most trusted advisor?!"
"The majority, apparently," Zarardo chuckled. "I can't believe this... who turned against me?"
"Obviously I'm not going to reveal who voted for whom, but if anyone wants to see Zarardo off, you can follow us to the Dock of Shame. Everyone else can head to bed."
Zarardo, Warwick, and Chris all came to the Dock of Shame.
"Not even Isidora would come to see me off," Zarardo scoffed. "I bet she turned on me."
"She would never do that," Warwick frowned. "I trust her completely, and I know she wouldn't do anything that would go against the good of the kingdom."
"Right," Zarardo chuckled. "I still can't believe I've been voted out. Why on Earth would they vote for me?"
"Again, it's not my place to say," Chris said as he took a remote control from his pocket and pressed a button. After a few seconds, the Elevator of Losers came up from the water and opened its doors. "Warwick, you two can head to bed now. Any last words, Zarardo?"
"Only that this disappearing act is the trickiest I've ever seen," Zarardo said. "How could they get me to disappear like this?"
"Let it be known that I will get my revenge!" Warwick declared as he left the dock.
Zarardo entered the Elevator of Losers.
"Zarardo, you have finished the game in 15th place," Chris said.
Zarardo said nothing.
"Going down!" Chris announced as he pressed the button on the remote control again. The doors to the Elevator shut, and it went back down underwater. "A magician never reveals his secrets, but it looks like Zarardo didn't have to to become a target."
"I thought he'd make it a lot farther to be honest," Lindsay admitted.
"With Zarardo's elimination, does this mean that there's something up someone else's sleeve?" Chris asked. "And will Warwick really avenge the loss of his advisor?"
"What will the Screaming Isosceles team's dynamics end up being like?" Lindsay asked. "And who will be the next one voted off of the game?"
"I can hardly wait to find out myself," Chris beamed.
"The answers, next time!" Lindsay announced.
"On Total!" Chris announced.
"Drama!" Lindsay added.
"ALPHA PARTY!" they both finished.
Votes:
Isidora: I vote for Fauna. Now that she's finally vulnerable, I don't have to worry about this backfiring against me.
Zarardo: My vote goes to Fauna, the dead-on-arrival early boot who lasted much too long.
Genesis: (She types into her phone. The phone speaks.) It took some convincing, but I think I finally got Fauna to maybe vote for Zarardo. Here's hoping this works.
Naomi: Genesis wants us to vote for Zarardo even though he was in our alliance. I guess he never talked to me much, so I don't have much of a problem with it.
Phoenix: I assume the vote is still for Genesis, so that's who I'm voting for.
Ursula: Good riddance, Genesis. Tell Osric I said hi, won't you?
Fauna: Ugh... I can't believe I'm doing this, but Genesis is right. Zarardo is a traitor to the POC by working with the whities, and he's practically a white person himself. It's not easy, but... I vote for Zarardo.
Warwick: I vote for Naomi! I cannot stand her whelpishness any longer!
A/N: So, Zarardo... I think he managed to be the most passive threat I've ever written. As far as villains go, he didn't make any big moves or plot very often, he just aligned with whoever he could and used the knowledge that no one would vote for him as an excuse to lie low and not look like a threat. I might even have worked had he not tried to fool Fauna. I'll admit the way he left was a bit of a cop-out, but this was pretty much the most realistic way I could have eliminated him, since this is where his story ends.