Total Drama High School Chapter 17: The Talented and Talentless, a total drama series fanfic

It only took me 2 months to write a new chapter this time! Woo!

Disclaimer: Total Drama's characters belong to their rightful owners. Anything else besides my own characters is also not owned by me.

Chris was standing in front of the high school yet again. While swinging his arms in wide gestures, he said, "Last time on Total Drama High School! Thanks to a generous sponsorship by Konami, we had a Yu-Gi-Oh card game tournament! While the action itself wasn't very exciting, Mikey managed to take home a win and immunity. But tensions were running high as Cody vowed vengeance against Mikey, upset that Emily was, as he put it, unfairly voted out. Joseph, ever the crafty one, capitalized on this opportunity and with some trickery, was able to eliminate Megan. But then to top it all off, Noah told most of the others that he had some news for them. Now that all the couples are gone, who will everyone be able to trust? Will Noah's plan blow up in his face? Will it all even matter? Find out right now on Total Drama High School!"

It was quiet on the bus ride to the school. Mikey was still upset over the elimination of the previous day. Cody, while happy over the last elimination, still was looking to avenge Emily's elimination. Bridgette and Jennifer didn't really know what to do, unsure if they could diffuse the situation. Noah was casually reading a book. Joseph and Izzy were getting a little more sleep in anticipation of an eventful challenge. While this is what it seemed to be, the truth is that most were merely acting this way to hide the truth of what happened the day before.

Yesterday

The know-it-all looked at the four people near him and said, "It's time I told you all something important."

"Something important? Ha, unless you know why Megan was eliminated, it's not important to me," Mikey scoffed.

Noah looked at the gamer and said, "I'll do you one better. I know exactly why Megan, Geoff, Trent and Emily were eliminated."

"All right, you've got my attention," Cody noted from the wall he was leaning on.

Bridgette stammered, "Y-you do?"

Jennifer looked surprised and asked, "How can you know that?"

Noah looked to the side and took a deep breath, figuring out what he was about to say. When he was sure, he turned back to look at the others and said, "You haven't figured it out yet? It's none of you, it can't be me because why would I admit it to you, and Izzy wouldn't be able to organize the eliminations."

"So you're saying that," Mikey began to say, realization dawning on him.

Cody scoffed, "Joseph was behind it? Damn, what he said to me makes way too much sense now."

"But, he's been so nice! I can't see him doing something so sinister," Jennifer exclaimed, not wanting to believe it.

Noah nodded before looking to the side and saying, "His niceness was all an act. I should know he was behind it because I've been in an alliance with him since the very beginning."

Bridgette took a step back and asked, "What?"

Mikey glared at the know-it-all and said, "So why the hell should we trust you?"

Noah raised his hands in defense and said, "Listen, just hear me out. I started the alliance way back on the second day. I was in the bottom 3 on day 1 and I wanted to have a bit of a safety net. Someone on my side, if you will. Fair enough, right? Especially considering I'm not the friendliest guy around."

Cody raised an eyebrow, "Right. So how does that lead to our girlfriends or boyfriends being eliminated?"

"I don't know what exactly caused it, but he took control. He started organizing eliminations strategically in order to get us farther into the game. I went along with it at first, because all I had to do was vote for who he wanted and I was almost guaranteed to get ahead," the know-it-all confessed.

Jennifer hesitantly asked, "Who exactly did you go along with?"

"A couple of early eliminations. William, Ezekiel, Heather, you get the idea. It wasn't until he started splitting up couples that I started to regret working with him. While there were a couple of ways to take him down, I figured the easiest was to basically backstab him. Not necessarily good per se, but the ends justify the means. So I played along as he eliminated the ones you hold dear," Noah admitted.

Bridgette narrowed her eyes and said, "Most of us would understand! You could have told us way earlier and we could have avoided all the hardship we endured."

"You think I don't know that? It was a calculated risk. Joseph said he would keep you around longer if you were emotionally unstable. And seeing how easily he manipulated some of you in the past, trying to get rid of him when there were more people would give him more chances to worm his way out of elimination," Noah retorted, before sighing, "Look, I realize that I could've potentially made a better decision, but I can't change things now. What's done is done. All I know is this is our best, and potentially only, chance of taking Joseph down."

"Okay, say we do get rid of him. What about you? Do you simply start giving it your all and win the entire thing, basically leaving us to do the dirty work of eliminating your only competition," Cody accused.

"Help me take down Joseph today and I won't care if I do lose. I won't roll over and let you destroy me, but I will hold no grudges if next challenge you were all to gang up on me and eliminate me," Noah replied.

"Let's say we go through with this. What exactly do we do," Mikey asked, curious as to how this would end up.

Noah looked at everyone and said, "To be honest? Act normal. Cody, keep looking for vengeance or whatever. Mikey, act depressed. Jennifer and Bridgette, act yourselves I guess. He can't know anything is up. If he senses something is wrong, everything could go up in smoke."

"I don't know," Jennifer admitted, rubbing her arm.

"Look, I admit it, I made some bad decisions this game. But I want to own up and try to fix them. I realize it won't be easy, but I figure this is a good start. All I ask is that you trust me," Noah said, looking at the group around him.

"And you'll let us eliminate you after we eliminate Joseph," Bridgette asked, nervous.

The know-it-all nodded, "Yes. I won't hold it against you. But in all fairness I will try to win and not just give up."

Cody shrugged, "Whatever, I doubt you'll win every challenge from here on out anyways."

Noah looked at the other four around him as he asked, "So we're in agreement? You'll help me?"

"Looking back at when Emily was eliminated, it did seem like Joseph was trying to set up her elimination. I have no reason to think you're trying to trick us. I'm in," Cody noted, nodding his agreement.

Jennifer tapped her chin as she said, "It does make sense how Joseph knew who had voted for Trent if he had arranged it. All right, count me in too."

"I don't really like this, but if you guys think it's the truth, I guess I'll go along with it," Bridgette admitted, rubbing her shoulder.

Mikey looked to the side for a moment before he said, "Ah what the hell, I'm in."

"Perfect. Next time Joseph can be eliminated, we'll strike. I'll see if I can get Izzy in on it as well when it comes time to vote. And again, I'm sorry for this to happen your significant other had to be eliminated and I understand if you're angry at me. I sure as hell am angry at myself for letting him go unchecked," Noah remarked as he began to walk away. The others in the hallway looked at each other as they thought about all that was revealed.

Restroom Confessional

Jennifer: I don't know what to think to be honest. I mean, it doesn't make sense that Noah would be lying about this. But at the same time, can he really be trusted?

Cody: So if Noah was telling the truth, Joseph was behind everything. Fine by me, I still want vengeance for Emily and damn it, I'm gonna get it.

Bridgette: I'm so conflicted right now. I don't like going behind people's backs to eliminate them, but according to Noah that's what Joseph's done this entire game. I wish Geoff were here right now, he would know what to do.

Mikey: Gotta admit, I have a bit of respect for Noah considering he's taking responsibility for his mistakes. I'm still pissed off that his alliance or whatever is the reason so many of my friends are gone, but at least he's trying to fix his mistakes.

Present Time

The bus continued on in teenage-angst induced silence until it reached its destination. Upon arriving at the high school, the students disembarked the bus to see Chris waiting for them. "Morning contestants! Ready to find out what your next challenge is," Chris asked the 7 teens in front of him. There were few responses, and those that did merely grunted. Chris raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wow, what happened to you guys? Normally at least a couple of you are cheerful or whatever."

Mikey opened his mouth to answer, only to close it a moment later and shake his head. Bridgette sighed to herself in sadness while Cody rolled his eyes at the two. Jennifer spoke up, "It's been a tense couple of days."

"Whatever. Like it or not, there's a challenge today. And it is based on one of the most fundamental activities high schools have, the Talent Show! The challenge is simple, come up with an act for the second edition of the Total Drama Talent Show. However, since High School's don't make them mandatory, neither am I. In other words, today's challenge is completely optional. The only benefit to submitting an act for the talent show is that you are in the running for immunity. If you are confident with your chances of making it to the next round, then you don't have to do anything. Practice your acts if you're going to participate and be ready in a few hours. Whoever I think had the best act will win immunity," Chris announced. The teens scattered in order to practice their acts, though some people had other plans in mind.

Restroom Confessional

Noah: As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not in a good position in the game right now. Everything is riding on Joseph not winning immunity, which means I've got to try my best to keep him from winning as well. That presents the question, what could I possibly do? I'm not very talented to be honest. This will take some thinking.

Izzy: Do you think Chris will let my show off my fire juggling skills? Picked them up when I had to disguise myself at a carnival once when the RCMP was after me.

"So you're sure about this? You don't want to try to win immunity," Bridgette asked.

Mikey nodded, leaning his head against the back of the library's chair, and replied, "I'm certain. I don't have any real skills, at least none that would translate well to a talent show. I mean, I'm good at Video Games, but watching someone play video games isn't exactly going to impress Chris. Besides, I'm really out of it since yesterday. Megan getting eliminated and all that, it's hard on me."

The surfer nodded, "I understand that, you know I do. I felt the same way when Geoff was eliminated. Just promise me you won't let your sadness take control of you."

"Wouldn't dream of it. I just need time to get over how unexpectedly she left. Anyways, what are you going to do for the challenge? Can't exactly surf when there's no ocean around," the gamer pointed out.

"I was going to try doing a handstand for an extended period of time again," Bridgette responded.

Mikey raised an eyebrow and said, "Again? You sure you aren't gonna puke like last time?"

"What a classy way to put it," Bridgette replied with a deadpan before shaking her head and adding, "No, I know I'll be fine this time. For starters Heather isn't here and I also won't eat anything unless I know it's safe."

"Fair enough. Well good luck in the challenge later. Of everyone left, I hope you get immunity," the gamer stated with a shrug.

Bridgette cocked her head to the side and asked, "Really? What about Jennifer or Cody?"

Mikey leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling and said, "I guess Jennifer would be my second pick. But I honestly don't know if I can trust everyone else. Sure, we're working against a common enemy, but what happens when they're gone? At least since we've been working together for a while, I know I can trust you."

"Look at it this way, just a few more challenges and you won't have to worry about trust. I'm hoping once this season ends we can put all the drama from this season behind us," Bridgette said with a slight smile.

The gamer smirked and said, "Thanks. Needed someone to talk some sense into me. Anyway, are you going to practice a little bit before the challenge?" Bridgette nodded and started doing a handstand.

Restroom Confessional

Mikey: I was serious about not knowing if I can trust everyone else. Ever since Megan was eliminated, I've had trouble being able to come up with a game plan. I'm glad today's challenge is optional, it's exactly what I need to help clear my mind.

Bridgette: As someone who knows how he feels, I can sympathize with Mikey. I just hope he can accept what happened soon. We're so close to the end that one mistake could be what gets us eliminated. And Mikey's been a good friend so I hope he does well.

Jennifer was sitting in the music room, tuning a guitar that she had found. It was her intention to play a song or two for the talent show, so she had to find an instrument that would fit the bill. She was so focused on making sure that she could find a suitable guitar that she failed to hear the door open. It wasn't until he entered her field of view that Jennifer saw Cody.

"Oh, hi Cody. You almost scared me," Jennifer greeted the other person to enter the room.

Cody looked over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't followed before he said, "Sorry. Look, I came to ask you something."

Jennifer raised an eyebrow and asked, "About what? You're not going to ask for an alliance or something are you?"

"No. But, what if Joseph wins today? We can't exactly eliminate him if he's immune," the tech geek pointed out.

"Right. What are you getting at," Jennifer asked.

Cody looked over his shoulder again before saying, "Noah told us what we have to do. Eliminate Joseph. But should he be immune, then we should eliminate Noah. He said it himself, he went along with Joseph's plans."

The performing artist looked to the side nervously, "I don't know. I mean, I know what Noah did was wrong, but wouldn't eliminating him make Joseph suspicious?"

"I won't deny that it's possible. Look, I'm just trying to figure out a backup plan if things go south. We all deserve justice for what happened to us, and the way I see it, if I can't get it one way, I'll get it a different way," Cody argued before sighing, "At least think about it, okay? It's not like we have any better options."

Jennifer thought for a moment before saying, "I'll think about it, but I won't promise anything."

"Well, that's better than nothing I suppose. Anyways, good luck in the challenge," Cody said as he began to head out.

"Wait, are you doing anything for the challenge," Jennifer asked.

The tech geek shook his head and said, "Nah, I don't have any real exciting talents. Besides, Noah wanted me to still be all brooding or whatever. I can just act pissed and say I'm not talented."

The performing artist tilted her head to the side slightly, "You mean you're not angry like yesterday? Because you were pretty extreme yesterday."

"No, I'm still upset over what happened. But now that I know how it happened, I can direct my anger at those responsible, instead of simply who I thought was responsible. Anyways, I'll let you get back to what you were doing," Cody said as he left the room, leaving Jennifer to think about what he had said.

Restroom Confessional

Jennifer: Cody has a point. We'll need a plan if Joseph wins immunity and Noah did have something to do with eliminating Trent and Emily. But at the same time, Noah wants to be the one to take Joseph down and I don't necessarily want to rob him of that opportunity. But if I don't vote for Joseph, and I don't vote for Noah, who would I vote for?

Cody: I hope Jennifer comes to her senses. It's obvious that if Joseph wins immunity, we can't vote for him. So voting for Noah would be the best option. I mean, who else would we vote for, Izzy?

Noah and Joseph were in the computer lab from the last challenge, working on their acts. "So Noah, what exactly are you going to do," Joseph asked.

Noah was reading a screen as he said, "I'm putting my love of reading to use. I'm going to recite some Shakespeare."

The overachiever raised an eyebrow, "You really think you're gonna win with that act?"

"No, but I have to at least try. I know my place in the game right now. I've got few friends and if the final challenges are more mentally based, I'm a huge threat," the know-it-all replied.

Joseph shook his head and said, "Noah, don't you remember what we agreed upon, way back at the beginning of the game? We would be the final two. Trust me when I say that we can easily make it that far. With so many of our competitors emotionally compromised, all it takes is a little whisper in the ear that someone voted off someone else and we're through to another round. And with so few people left, most of the time I technically won't be lying."

Noah looked over from his screen and asked, "Are you really sure you want to do that? I mean, I want to win as much as everyone else, but don't you feel guilty manipulating these people?"

"I won't lie, the things I've done make me feel guilty. But I'm also a realist. You don't win games like this by pure chance. Nobody took Owen seriously season 1 and Duncan made tough choices during season 2. So yeah, I feel bad, but if I want to win, I have to live with my choices," Joseph lamented.

"But if you feel bad about it, why are you doing it? Why exactly do you want to win," Noah asked.

The overachiever looked over his shoulder at his ally and said, "Aside from winning the prize, I can tell you that I have another reason for having to win. I'm afraid that I can't tell you what that is though. Even if you are my most trusted ally in this competition, we all have secrets that we must keep."

Noah raised an eyebrow and responded, "I guess I understand. So what exactly are you doing for this challenge?"

"That's the question of the day my friend. I could do one of a couple things. Though since I haven't exactly gotten a chance to play an instrument this season, I'm leaning toward that. I was thinking maybe a performance on the drums. While I may be more skilled at guitar and bass, I have a feeling Jennifer will do that, and I don't want to run the risk of repeating an act. Chris will no doubt mark us down for repeating acts," Joseph explained.

"Well, whatever it is you decide to do, good luck," Noah replied, going back to reading the Shakespeare passage he was reading.

Restroom Confessional

Joseph: I really wish Jennifer weren't here for this challenge. If I play guitar, I could probably win this challenge. But I know if she's here, that's what she's going to do, so I'll concede that to her. Besides, I'm confident enough in my drumming ability that I don't mind.

Noah: Dammit, he's making me feel guilty, even if he doesn't know it yet. But it's too late to second guess myself. Everyone else has suffered too much to go back now. So what if he has a reason for what he's doing? If he won't even tell me why he's doing this, I can't keep him around.

It was several hours after the start of the challenge and the majority of the contestants were backstage. Sitting in the audience was Chris, Mikey and Cody. "So what, you guys aren't taking part," Chris asked the pair of contestants sitting with him.

"No, I'm just really out of it today. With Megan being eliminated yesterday, I'm kind of lost. I need to gather my thoughts and just try to get myself back into it," Mikey said with a sigh.

"I told you you would know what this feels like. You have nobody to blame but yourself," Cody replied, a grin on his face.

Mikey frowned and said, "Alright, you got your revenge or whatever, can you stop being a dick already? I get you're mad but this isn't like you at all dude."

Cody shrugged, "Whatever. Anyways, I don't have any real exciting talents, so that's why I'm not competing."

"Suit yourself dudes," Chris said with a shrug before pulling out a megaphone and saying, "Alright, we're gonna get started with this challenge! Aside from a request from someone to go first, I'm gonna call you all up randomly! So Bridgette, you wanted to go first, come on out here!"

Bridgette walked to the middle of the stage and approached the microphone, "The reason why I wanted to go first is because I'm going to be showing off my talent in the background. Like in season 1, I'm going to be doing a handstand for an extended period of time."

"That's a bold move. Didn't that fail horribly back then, with you puking all over everyone," Chris asked, grinning at the memory.

Bridgette frowned, "Yes, it did back then. But nobody sabotaged me today so I'm confident that it'll go better than last time."

The host shrugged, "Well, whenever you're ready."

Bridgette nodded and walked to the back of the stage, where she started doing her handstand. Chris looked at the list of contestants and asked, "Hey, who do you think should go first?"

"You're asking me? I don't know," Mikey admitted.

Cody shrugged, "How about Joseph?"

"Works for me," the host said before raising his megaphone, "Alright, Joseph, you're up!"

The overachiever walked to the microphone and said, "I'm going to be performing a drum solo. If you'll just give me a minute or two to bring my drums onto the stage, I'll get started." Chris nodded and the overachiever worked to get the drums set up. His complete setup included a bass drum, a pair of snare drums and a couple of cymbals.

Once he was set up, he gave a thumbs up to someone off screen, who started to play some music. Joseph tapped his drum sticks together a couple of times before he started actually playing the drums. It was clear from the moment he started to play the drums that Joseph was getting into it, as his playing and movements increased as the song went on. By the time the end of the song rolled around, Joseph was rocking out, doing some serious headbanging. With one final crash of the cymbals, Joseph was done with his performance.

Mikey and Cody clapped and he waved to show his appreciation before taking his drum set off of the center of the stage. As he was doing this, Chris asked, "So, who should go next?"

Cody quickly spoke up, "How about Noah?"

"Sounds good," Chris said before raising the megaphone, "Hey Noah! You're up next!"

As the trio waited for Joseph to finish cleaning up the stage, Mikey sent an odd glance at Cody.

Restroom Confessional

Mikey: Cody was awfully quick to suggest Noah go next. I wonder what's up with that.

Cody: Knowing Jennifer is our best bet at stopping Joseph, I had an idea. Space out the musical performances and they'll seem a little more unique. Knowing Chris, having 2 songs played in a row would probably bore him.

Joseph: I forgot how much fun it was to play the drums. I've been playing the guitar so much recently that I've been neglecting to play the drums actually.

Noah walked onto the stage wearing clothes that looked like they originated from the 1600's and holding a fake skull. Approaching the microphone, the know-it-all said, "I'm going to be reciting a famous speech from Shakespeare."

"Finally putting all those books to use eh," Chris asked to Mikey and Cody, as Noah was too far away to hear.

Noah closed his eyes for a moment before raising the arm holding the skull and saying, "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen? Now get you to my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come; make her laugh at that."

When Noah finished, there was silence before Chris said, "All right, that's all. I'm not scoring you guys and I'm announcing the winner after everyone goes." Noah shrugged and walked off stage, no doubt to change back into his normal clothes.

"All right, now who goes next? Mikey, who should go next," Chris asked.

"You want me to pick," Mikey asked before sighing and saying, "Alright, Jennifer I guess. Knowing Izzy she's going to break something so we might as well have her go last so everything doesn't get messed up."

"Fair enough," Chris nodded, before raising the megaphone, "Jennifer, you're up!"

Restroom Confessional

Jennifer: All right, time for me to give it my all! If they thought my singing was good, just wait. When I play guitar and sing, I'm told I'm completely incredible, so this should be in the bag.

Noah: I contemplated using the "To be or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet, but that's the one everyone knows. Or at least, they know the beginning to it. Either way, it seemed cliché, hence why I used the second most famous soliloquy from Hamlet.

The performing artist walked onto the stage, holding a guitar. She moved a chair near the microphone on the stage and sat down, moving the microphone to where she could talk into it. She double checked the strings to make sure they were playing the right notes and then said, "I'm going to be singing a song and playing my guitar. To be more specific, I'm singing the country version of the Bon Jovi song 'Who Says You Can't Go Home'. I hope you enjoy it." The song started and Jennifer started to play the guitar perfectly, singing all the while.

I spent twenty years tryin' to get out of this place
I was looking for something I couldn't replace
I was running away from the only thing I've ever known

And like a blind dog without a bone
I was a gypsy lost in the twilight zone
I hijacked a rainbow and crashed into a pot of gold

I've been there, done that, I ain't looking back
The seeds I've sown, saving dimes, spending too much time on the telephone
Who says you can't go home?

Who says you can't go home?
There's only one place that call me one of their own
Just a hometown boy, born a rollin' stone
Who says you can't go home?

Who says you can't go back?
Been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left I wanna go
Who says you can't go home?
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright

I went as far as I could, I tried to find a new face
There isn't one of these lines that I would erase
I left a million miles of memories on that road
And every step I take, I know that I'm not alone
You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home
These are my streets, the only life I've ever known,
Who says you can't go home?

Who says you can't go home?
There's only one place that call me one of their own
Just a hometown boy, born a rollin' stone
Who says you can't go home?

Who says you can't go back?
Been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left I wanna go
Who says you can't go home?

I've been there, done that, I ain't looking back
It's been a long, long road, feels like I've never left
That's how the story goes

It doesn't matter where you are, doesn't matter where you go
If it's a million miles away or just a mile up the road
Take it in, take it with you when you go
Who says you can't go home?

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Who says you can't go home?
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Who says you can't go home?
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright, it's alright
Who says you can't go home?

The song ended and Jennifer breathed a deep sigh of relief; performing always did make her feel more at ease. Mikey and Cody both clapped for her performance while Chris looked like he wanted to.

Raising his megaphone, Chris said, "Thank you Jennifer. Once everyone presents their acts, I'll decide who wins. And speaking of everyone, Izzy, you're the last one up, get out here!"

As Jennifer grabbed her guitar and walked offstage, the crazy redhead bounded up to the microphone. "Would you rather I juggle chainsaws or torches," Izzy innocently asked.

In the audience, Mikey whipped his head around and said, "Go with the chainsaws. Less chance of damage that way. Even if it were on and she dropped it, better than if she dropped something that is on fire."

"I have to agree. Putting Izzy and fire together means a bad day for the rest of us," Cody said, just as unnerved that Izzy would suggest such a thing.

"No worries guys, I may like flashy stuff but I'm not stupid," Chris assured the two before saying into the microphone, "I would rather you juggle the chainsaws. No offense, but I don't want to risk lighting this place on fire if you were to screw up."

"Gotcha, makes total sense. Be right back," Izzy excitedly said as she went backstage to get the chainsaws.

"I'm surprised how well she took that," Cody noted.

Mikey raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you agreed with me. I thought you wanted me to suffer or something."

The tech geek glanced over at the gamer and asked, "Tell me, how do you feel right now?"

"Honestly? Sad and confused. My girlfriend was eliminated yesterday and I can't comprehend why," Mikey answered.

"Then you feel the same way I do. As far as I'm concerned, we're even," Cody noted, turning his attention back to the stage, "Besides, as much as I want vengeance for Emily, I don't want anyone to be injured because of it." Mikey thought about this for a moment before turning his head and sighing.

Restroom Confessional

Cody: Everything I said back there was true. Even if Joseph were gone and we could act how we wanted to, my answer would have been the same. My girlfriend was eliminated somehow and I felt almost betrayed. Now Mikey feels the same way. As I said, we're even now.

Izzy walked back onto the stage carrying three chainsaws. Behind her, Bridgette's eyes widened slightly in worry, as the surfer was still doing her handstand. Izzy set two of them down and started up one of the chainsaws. As she put it down, she picked up another one and started that one too. The third and final chainsaw followed suit. When all three were on, Izzy started juggling two of them, throwing them higher up as she went. Once they reached their maximum height, Izzy tossed the third one up to her hands with her foot, introducing the third chainsaw to the mix.

Izzy kept this up for about two minutes before she said, "Now to do this with my eyes closed!" The crazy redhead closed her eyes and continued to juggle. Because of this, she was oblivious to the fact that the chainsaws were getting out of alignment. Bridgette noticed this and stopped doing her handstand, running offstage just in time to avoid what happened next.

Since Izzy's eyes were closed, she didn't realize that she would not be able to catch one of the chainsaws. It ended up falling blade-first onto the stage and into the stage, as the blade embedded itself into the stage's floor. The crash that resulted distracted the crazy girl and she dropped the other two, with similar results. Izzy looked around her at the chainsaws lodged in the floor of the stage and then looked into the audience where Chris was sitting. She smiled and then bowed before walking offstage.

Chris looked on at the damages and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering, "Thank goodness this place is being torn down once the season ends. I would not want to pay the bill to fix that."

"So is that it? What happens now," Mikey asked, turning to look at the host.

Chris raised his megaphone and said, "Would all the performers please report to the stage so I can state the results? Thank you."

Cody glanced at the host and asked, "So how tough a decision was this?"

"Oh, it was easy. The winner was the best by a mile," Chris explained, waiting for the 5 performers to appear on stage. Once there, he nodded and said, "All right, I'll be honest with you. This wasn't a hard decision to make. Jennifer wins immunity due to a combination of her singing and guitar skills. Elimination's in a half hour, so don't be late!" From his position on the stage, Noah looked at Cody and Mikey, a knowing expression on his face.

Restroom Confessional

Noah: Alright, it's time. I don't like what I'm about to do, but it's too late to have second thoughts. Everyone knows the plan. I thought about asking Izzy to help, but I'm afraid she'll let something slip. This isn't going to be easy, but it has to be done.

After the challenge ended, Joseph found Noah backstage, putting his costume back where he found it. "Noah, glad I was able to find you. Listen, it's time for us to strike," Joseph noted.

Noah looked over, a slightly confused look on his face, "What are you talking about?"

The overachiever smiled, "I'm not surprised you forgot. Remember what Courtney had told me? That she was working with Mikey behind my back? Well now it's time for us to eliminate him. The votes can be swayed in our favor in such a way now that our last threat can be eliminated."

"I see. You want me to get Izzy in on it," the know-it-all asked.

Joseph nodded, "If you could. I'll talk to Cody about it."

Noah turned his attention back to the clothes and said, "You'd better hurry up then. Elimination's going to happen soon."

"I could say the same to you," Joseph remarked as he left.

Noah waited until the door Joseph exited with closed before he said, "I know you're there Izzy, you can come out now."

Izzy dropped down from the ceiling and asked, "Do you really want me to vote for Mikey?"

"What, no questions about me being in an alliance with Joseph," Noah countered.

"Nah, I figured that out a long time ago. It didn't really matter to me," the crazy girl replied.

Noah shook his head before saying, "In any case, no I don't want you to vote for Mikey. I would rather you vote for Joseph."

Izzy tilted her head to the side and asked, "But isn't he your ally? Why would you want me to vote for him?"

"I'm feeling guilty of the things I've done in this alliance. I've already told the others what I've done. And while they may not forgive me anytime soon, eliminating Joseph is a good way to start," the know-it-all explained.

"Then I'll vote for him too! Noah is Izzy's friend and if this will help him, Izzy will do it," Izzy said with a smile.

Noah was silent for a moment before a slight smile appeared on his face, "Thanks Izzy."

Restroom Confessional

Noah: And now everyone knows what I've done. Izzy was more than willing to help me once I explained the situation. Well, it's now or never. I vote for Joseph.

Joseph: Well Courtney, you tried to set up a counter measure against me, I'll give you that. I'll bet you figured that the friendliest person would be the hardest to eliminate. But when you slipped up and told me about it, you sealed his fate. It was tough to get to this point, but we're here nonetheless. I vote for Mikey.

The chainsaws had been removed from the stage (though the holes in the floor were still present) and Chris was standing at the podium. "Welcome back to elimination! As you should all know by now, there are 6 passes but 7 of you. The person who does not receive a pass must immediately walk the hall of shame and board the bus of losers. Of course the first pass goes to our immunity winner Jennifer," Chris said as the performing artist claimed her pass.

Chris looked over the contestants and said, "There's no saying who will lose, but Bridgette and Cody are not going home yet." Cody and Bridgette got their passes and stood over by Jennifer. "Four people left. I bet you all wonder who it could be. Well, Noah and Izzy are safe for another day," the host said as the know-it-all and crazy girl got their passes as well, leaving Joseph and Mikey behind.

Joseph raised an eyebrow in curiosity as to being in the bottom two while Mikey sighed in defeat. Chris looked between the two rookies and said, "This is the final pass of the night. It goes to…"

…

"Mikey. Joseph, you have been eliminated," Chris said with a nod as the gamer breathed a sigh of relief.

"Really. Well now this is a surprise. If I may ask, how close was the vote," Joseph asked as he stood up.

Chris shook his head and said, "Can't tell you dude. If the others want to tell you, they can. I can't."

"It was a landslide. We all voted for you," a voice from the group of contestants said.

Joseph turned in surprise to see that it was Noah who had said it, surrounded by the others. "Noah, I, I thought we were friends," Joseph said, feigning innocence.

Noah shook his head, "I've already told them everything. The alliance, the eliminations, all of it. I made a mistake aligning myself with you and now I'm trying to make things right. You might not want to be friends with me anymore, and I understand completely, but I couldn't live with myself before."

Joseph's gaze turned darker, "So you betrayed me, is that it? You realize that by doing this, you're done for right? There's no way they'll keep you around after what you confessed to."

"I'm aware of that. And I've told them they can eliminate me, with no hard feelings. This wasn't an easy decision for me to make," Noah replied.

"You're making a mistake Noah. We could have gone all the way to the finals. But because of your guilt, you made the wrong decision. I hope you're happy with yourself, traitor," Joseph stated, a dark look in his eyes before he walked away. It was silent for a moment as Noah looked to the ground, trying to figure out if he made the right call.

"Don't listen to him. You did the right thing," Bridgette stated.

"I guess," the know-it-all muttered.

Mikey mentioned, "For what it's worth, I respect you for having the courage to admit what you did and to try and fix it. I still think it's fair that you be eliminated for all that you've done, but after that, I think we can be on good terms."

"I agree. It takes some balls to do what you did. And while you can't get away scot-free, eliminating you is punishment enough, given the circumstances," Cody said with a nod.

"Look at the bright side, that jerk is gone, so we don't have anything to worry about anymore," Jennifer pointed out.

Noah sighed, "Yeah, I know. I just still feel guilty over what I've done."

"Again, telling us was the right thing. Don't worry about it. I'm sure once this season ends and it all blows over, we'll forgive you," Bridgette said.

Izzy nodded quickly before asking, "It'll be okay Noah. Group Hug?" Noah, Cody and Mikey all awkwardly tried to get out of it, leading the group of teens to share a laugh.

Bus Confessional

Joseph: The nerve of Noah. And to think that we were going to go all the way to the end and split the prize. Despite all the lies I've told and people I've manipulated, I planned to uphold that agreement I made with him. The fact that Noah outsmarted me to get me eliminated makes me absolutely furious. I can only take comfort in knowing that he's doomed as well. If I had to pick someone left to win, I guess I would go with Izzy. Despite her voting for me as well, she went along with my plans more than a couple of times, so I suppose in a way I'm thankful for her help.

Chris was still crouching on the stage, examining the holes in the floor left by Izzy's chainsaws. "I'm so glad they're tearing this place down once we're done here," Chris muttered before standing up to begin his outro. Raising his arms, he said, "And in a surprising betrayal by Noah, Joseph has been eliminated! Will Noah still feel guilty for what he's done? Will Cody or Mikey be back to their normal selves? Will one of the girls become a new antagonist? Yeah, that last one isn't likely. Either way, find out the answers to all these questions as well as the most dramatic elimination yet! Next time on Total Drama High School!

Votes

Joseph (6) – Noah, Bridgette, Cody, Jennifer, Mikey, Izzy

Mikey (1) - Joseph

Eliminated: Leshawna, Alexander, DJ, Rebecca, William, Ezekiel, Julie, Heather, Trent, Jessie, Danny, Gwen, Courtney, Nicholas, Geoff, Emily, Megan, Joseph

Contestants Remaining: Noah, Bridgette, Cody, Jennifer, Mikey, Izzy (6 Remaining)

Fun Fact!

Initially, Joseph was going to make the final 4, but as the idea to have Noah work against him developed, I moved his elimination forward to make Noah's plan more believable. Don't worry, that didn't impact any important reveals (like his reasoning for why he did what he did), they're still going to be revealed on schedule. There's still a little more to Joseph's story that you're going to have to wait a little bit longer for.

On a different note, it was kind of fun to write for Joseph, as he's different from the normal TD antagonists. Instead of being nasty (Heather, Scott) or using looks to manipulate girls (Justin, Alejandro), Joseph was much more tactical. He used his brains to outwit his opponents, letting him create plans to manipulate the votes to his advantage. Too bad for all his thinking he neglected to consider every possible situation; he might have been able to see what Noah was doing before it was too late for him.

So how's that for an eventful chapter? Noah's plan finally came to fruition and the main antagonist is eliminated. And as I noted way at the top of the chapter, this one took much less time to write (something I'm going to try to replicate over the summer, perhaps even a little faster). This chapter might seem on the short side, which is entirely possible as the chapters are going to become gradually smaller as less people remain in the competition. The idea for this challenge was a spur of the moment idea, which led to the mash of ideas presented above. Between another song and Noah reading Shakespeare, this was one of the less original ideas, but I feel like it worked. As for the next chapter, I hope to get it out relatively soon. While no game changing moments occur like this chapter, it'll help set up some stuff for the future. Plus I really like the challenge idea, so there's that. Well that just about wraps this up, leave a review if you would be so kind, check out my other stories that I haven't touched in who knows how long if you haven't yet, and have a nice day. Until Next Time!

Next Time: Another Sponsored Challenge. The mysterious machine Chris wants to test. These two are connected, but how? And what will that mean for the challenge?