Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama or any of its characters. The Total Drama Series and all of its characters are the property of FreshTV and the parent company of the Total Drama television show.
To Reviewer Serious Comedian: I'm glad to hear you're loving the story! Honestly, an in-depth review like you wrote is what gives me the energy to keep writing. Cody x Eva is not confirmed for the story yet (Don't want to give anything away ;), but I'm glad that you're liking those interactions as well as Cody's stuff with Gwen and with Trent. Lightning is one of my favorite comedy-reliefs, so I love writing his scenes too. Noah vs Justin and Courtney is probably the part that I'm most excited to flesh out as we continue. As for Alejandro and Scott, you'll just have to wait and see. I can assure you that something interesting is going on there.
To Reviewer Gucci: Don't worry, you'll find out who the saboteur was soon enough! Leshawna and Ezekiel weren't originally supposed to be such a big part of the last chapter, but I liked it so much that I decided to prolong it for the plot. I think it worked out well. Courtney and Noah was definitely a conflict that I thought would serve the plot and be hilarious lol. I think it was my favorite scene so far. As for Scott and Zoey, I really wanted to bring that conflict back, as I think it's really entertaining.
To Reviewer Guest: Your theory might be right...or it might be wrong ;) I'll let you decide. It's a nice guess, though. I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying Eva's development, and also that you like how Cody was last chapter. Justin is having some moral complications, but we'll see where that goes. As for Noah's plan, I'm glad you liked it. Writing Lightning and Noah together was fun.
To Reviewer MasterArtist: Thanks for reviewing! Your question is a bit complicated, as I can't tell you if Mal will be appearing in the story. It would either give you false hope or ruin any surprises. My suggestion is that you read the reviews for last chapter and see one of the reviewer's theories on that. My hands are tied ;) I do hope you'll continue reading and telling me what you think, though. I'm glad that you're liking my direction with Alejandro too, as I know that it might be a bit controversial with some fans who liked him canonically.
Day 5 Part 2: Who's Got The Power?
(The Eastern Beach of Camp Wawanakwa)
Chris McLean gave his trademark TV smile as he laid comfortably on his foldout beach chair, "Welcome back viewers! For those just tuning in, the campers are playing pirates right now. Their goal is to sink the opposing ship on Wawanakwa harbor! And so far, the Screaming Bears are actually winning, fairly this time! But I'll stop blabbering and let you see the action for yourself! I see something good about to happen!"
The host pointed at the monitor in front of him, and the camera zeroed in on it, fading into the scenes happening on both pirate ships.
(The Screaming Bears' Ship: The Brig)
An echoing scratching noise could be heard all throughout the lower ship decks, cascading down the wooden hallways that were otherwise eerily silent.
The camera swept into the brig to see Heather scowling slightly and handily filing away at her nails with a large metallic nail-file. She was leaning up against one of the cell doors, "actively" guarding the area from any invaders from the other team. She took a quick look around as she heard a pitter-patter nearby, but quickly dismissed it. It was probably just a rat or something, and there was no way she was going to go looking for trouble.
CONFESSIONAL:
Heather: "So I did get lucky enough to be away from all of the team drama, which was nice. The less time I spend hearing about Justin's 'beauty' or Courtney's claim to leadership, the better. And maybe they'll get on each others' nerves so much that I'm left off of the chopping block."
She then crossed her arms distastefully, "My strategy right now is to avoid stepping on anyone's toes. Which, unfortunately, means I need to play nice with the dumbest of people."
"Captain on the sha-bridge!"
Heather swung her head annoyedly at the door entrance across from her as Lightning came marching in, his head held up egotistically and his cheap captain hat clasped tightly around his head. She put a strained smile on her face as she put her nail-file away.
"Hey there captain. What are you doing over here? I thought we were going to stay on opposite sides of the lower deck to cover more ground?" Heather gritted her teeth roughly behind her smile.
"Captain Lightning just came to check on you. What is your report?"
Heather growled silently, "My report, my dear captain, is that literally nothing is going on down here. No casualties, yet." She saluted him mockingly. He grinned in satisfaction at her before walking back through the doorway.
"Sha-great! Keep up the great wor—WHAT IS THAT?!"
Heather's head flew to the doorway where Lightning had previously been standing. She heard the faint sound of rustling around and Lightning screaming for a few moments before things got a lot quieter.
Should she go and check on him? Honestly, she wasn't sure it was worth the aggravation of having to listen to that obnoxious voice again.
That was when she heard the sound of footsteps fast-approaching the brig. Heather brought her nail-file out swiftly and held it like a sword in case it was someone from the other team.
Her worries evaporated when Lightning came trudging back into the room, Gwen slung uncomfortably over his shoulder.
"Oh c'mon, surely we can work something out?"
"Lightning doesn't listen to invaders! Open the door!"
Heather blanked for a moment before realizing that Lightning was directing his statement at her. She quickly stepped toward the nearest brig cell and held the door open.
Lightning tossed Gwen into the cell roughly as Heather closed the door swiftly and locked it. Lightning brushed his hands proudly against each other as he studied Gwen.
"Keep a watch on the prisoner. Captain Lightning is going to go see if anyone came with her." He nodded at Heather authoritatively and then briskly walked out of the room. Heather scowled at the doorway once he was out of sight,
"So I can see that you're high up on the pecking order this year, Heather."
Heather glanced behind her at Gwen, who was gripping the wooden bars of her cell. The queen bee scoffed as she sat down on a cheap wooden chair and locked eyes with the goth, "Captain idiot back there is technically in-charge right now, but they'll soon learn that I always have leverage in this game. Also, how could I ever turn down a request to lock you up?" Heather now sported an evil smirk.
Gwen puffed, "Just the same as before. And here I was thinking that being the "hero" in World Tour had changed you."
Heather's eyes widened and she walked over to the cell angrily, "Don't mention that to me. Do you hear me?! All of that for what? Nothing. I lost the money and I lost...nothing else." She looked distinctly uncomfortable after this last part.
Gwen's eyes lit up and she smirked, putting her hands on her hips, "Ahhhhhh, I see what this is all about. What, are you bitter that you gave up Alejandro for the money, just to lose the money too?"
The goth now rolled her eyes, "You could've just found him after the show and apologized. That is, if it meant anything to you."
Heather winced briefly, the barbed words tearing into her. Remembering who she was talking to, though, her eyebrows narrowed as she gripped the bars of Gwen's cell.
"Who are you to lecture me on romance? From what I remember, you not only screwed up with Trent, but you also betrayed Courtney for Duncan," Heather's nose crinkled with disgust at the mention of the punk.
Gwen's face turned defiant at the thought of her rival lecturing her, "I did what I had to do. Trent was being really obsessive and he was actively making the game unfair. I didn't feel right letting that go on."
Heather turned her nose up, "Yeah, maybe that's true, but I couldn't help but notice that you left out the whole Courtney thing in your little rebuttal."
Gwen crossed her arms, "As if I would ever talk about that with you. What would you even know about it? You tried to steal Trent from me back in season 1."
"Oh please. I only kissed Trent for strategic advantage. And you and I weren't friends at the time. It's hardly the same thing at all, and you know it."
"Let me guess, "it wasn't anything personal"? You say that all of the time, just to have an excuse for all of the horrible stuff you do."
Heather pursed her lips, "You still don't understand. A million dollars is worth all of that. People can get over things, but I can't win the money by being nice. That's just how life works, Gwen." Heather mocked the goth by using a tone one would use to explain something to a child."
Gwen slouched to the back of her cell and laid down against the uncomfortable wooden wall, "We don't have anything to talk about. Just leave me alone, Heather."
Heather strutted back to her chair, her back now turned to Gwen. "Hmmph, not like it matters much to me. But I was on Team Amazon too, and I wouldn't betray a true friend like that for some guy."
Gwen had a conflicted look on her face as she tried to get into a comfortable position.
CONFESSIONAL:
Gwen: She looked solemnly at the camera. "Alright, so maybe Heather has a point, even if she is an utter witch. What I did was messed up."
The goth sighed heavily and looked regretfully forward. "I've wanted to apologize for it, but Courtney won't listen to me for more than a few moments. I just really don't know what to do." She hung her head down.
(The Screaming Bears' Ship: Upper Deck)
Trent hid on the vacant part of the ship, concealed behind a barrel as he pondered what he could even do here. Gwen had been captured by Lightning just a few minutes after they had crawled into the ship, and the musician had been forced to hide on the upper deck to avoid facing a similar fate.
It was such a shame. Here was an opportunity to bond with Gwen handed on a platter to him by his good friend Cody, and it had been wrecked right at the start. That was just his luck, he lamented.
But what could he really do alone? Sure, Lightning wasn't up here, but he was facing 4-on-1 odds in any fight or attempt to sabotage. Trent wasn't sure if everyone knew this, but he wasn't the most muscular contestant on this show, or the most impressive.
His eyes drifted slowly to a wooden sword that he had picked up on the lower deck. It had been on a weapons rack, but he couldn't honestly claim to be good at sword-fighting.
He sighed as he tried to think of a plan.
CONFESSIONAL:
Trent: "Yeah, I'm pretty much screwed, so I might as well give it my all. At the least, I could buy my team some time to take the ship out with our cannon. I'm not going to be dead-weight here," the musician held a determined look in his eyes.
Up on the navigation and steering deck, Courtney and Noah were finally having a civil conversation.
Or, at the least, a more civil conversation than they were having before.
"Hmmm, law school? You know, I might like talking to you more if you weren't such a loudmouth."
Courtney, being used to these softball insults by now, just rolled her eyes as she held the wheel.
"Oh please. Anyone would be a loudmouth to you. You barely take the initiative to stand, let alone be passionate about things."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "You know, I would almost be offended by that if I cared at all what others thought of me. I, like you, Ms. Perfect, am going to law school once I'm free of this dumb show. That doesn't mean that I have to scream at people and be pissy all the time."
Courtney's mouth curled into an angry frown. "I don't do that! I'm completely capable of being nice and polite! Just ask anyone!"
"Maybe I'll ask Gwen, eh? Or perhaps Harold, or literally anyone else in the universe. Acting like a child is one thing, but trying to pretend that you don't is even dumber." Noah kept his gaze measured and his voice neutral as he lazily sat on a chair, the map rolled up next to him.
Courtney growled quietly. "I'll show you. I'll show the whole world."
Noah's eyes softened and he looked a bit confused as he tried to process what that meant. He was about to retort when something interrupted him.
Suddenly, a distinct shout pierced the air, startling both of them.
"Niiiiiiine!"
The sound could be heard by Harold and Justin as well, both of them crouched next to their ship's cannon. They both hopped onto their feet as the sound reached them.
Justin immediately began panicking, grabbing handfuls of his hair with a scared look. "Ahhhhh! We're being attacked by Nazis! I'll catch the ugliness! Quick, Harold, shield me!" Justin jumped onto Harold in a cradling position as his eyes darted all around.
Noah's voice sarcastically echoed forward to answer him. "Nah, Courtney's still up here!"
Harold's knees buckled under Justin's weight, "Gosh! Nazis don't ride on pirate ships; they ride in submarines! At least be historically accurate." The nerd dropped Justin onto the deck with a scowl.
Justin scrambled over to a nearby weapons' rack and grabbed a wooden sword as he glanced upward. "God! I know that we don't talk that often, but ruining me now would be like ruining your own perfect sculpture!"
Harold ran over to the rack as well, grabbing a wooden sword and doing some dramatic air-moves with it, "I shall wield this in defense of our ship! Come now, my companion!"
Courtney rushed over to the rack now, shoving Harold to the ground and grabbing two swords for herself. She rolled her eyes as she pointed up to the top of the ship's mast, "You idiots! The shout came from up there!"
Harold and Justin both looked up at the ship's mast to see Trent, a pirate hat on his head, standing proudly at the top of it with a wooden sword. He smiled cockily down at them and saluted them. "Hey guys! The ship looks great from up here! I think you should hire a decorator though! It's all the same color!"
Harold growled as he got back up, holding his sword out threateningly, in a fashion that one would grip a katana. "How dare you insult the classic style and design of our noble vessel. I'll show you what-for, invader!" The nerd ran toward the mast and jumped onto it, trying to climb. He succeeded for a few seconds before abruptly slipping right back down to the bottom. A crack could be heard as he slammed against the deck.
"Owwww! My tush!"
Justin, realizing that he looked like a spaz before, rolled his eyes and tried to look cool. He grabbed his sword firmly and pushed Harold aside. "Watch a real professional at work, Harold! I've had to climb many-a fire exits back in the cities." The male model wrapped his hands around the mast and began climbing.
"You've climbed into peoples' houses?'
"No! Of course not! I meant that I climbed them to escape from paparazzi!"
Noah observed this all wearily, not moving a muscle. He saw no reason to waste any energy trying to climb all the way up when Trent would probably just slide down anyway. It was a classic troll move.
He was content on watching from the sidelines until Courtney shoved a wooden sword into his arms roughly, giving him a measured glance. He stared right back at her with a cocked eyebrow. "What do you expect me to do with this?"
The pretentious CIT scowled, holding both of her swords like lethal weapons. "I expect you to help out, lazy bones! You really think any law university is going to accept you if you never do anything?"
Noah looked thoughtful for a few seconds before nodding. Courtney rolled her eyes and ran over to stand at the bottom of the mast in case Trent slid down.
Noah's eyes darted back and forth as he saw Harold, Justin, and Courtney crowding the mast. He glanced briefly down at the wooden sword that Courtney had shoved into his arms before gulping and shouting, "Hey guys, I'm going to call the captain up here!"
The bookworm sighed in relief as he rushed over to the doorway leading down into the ship. He would leave the inevitable swordfight to the others. Wouldn't want to butt in on their fun and all that.
He cupped his hands around his mouth, "Oh captain! My captain! Rise up and hear the bells!"
After waiting a few moments afterward, he tried again.
"Hey captain! We need some assistance up here!"
Immediately loud thumping could be heard from inside of the ship. Noah pressed his head up against the door moments before Lightning burst through it, slamming the bookworm into the wall.
"Don't worry troops! Captain Lightning is here to save you!" He let out a battle cry as he rushed over the deck toward the mast. The door swung closed as he did so, revealing a bitter-looking Noah who was laying on the ground beside it.
"I'll be sending my medical bills to you, captain!"
The things I put up with for this show, honestly," he muttered to himself quietly as he watched the action.
Justin began sweating a bit as he neared the top of the mast. The model panted a bit before looking up at Trent, who looked down at him from the top.
"Just give up already, Trent! I'm about to get up there, and when I do—"
Trent shot him a mischievous smirk as he gripped the ropes attached to the ship's sail, his wooden sword in-hand as he slouched.
Justin scowled, his eyes growing dark, "You're really going to be that much of a jerk? I climbed all the way up here! A true friend would let me capture him!"
Trent shrugged at him sympathetically, "Sorry Justin, but I figure this makes us even for how many times your sleeping fan has woken me up on tours."
"You know that I need that to keep my skin all silky smooth!"
Trent jumped just as Justin's hand gripped the top of the mast, the musician's hands gripping the sail's rope tightly as he drug his wooden sword across the flimsy sheet. The sail ripped right down the middle as he flew downward across the ship. Lightning ran to intercept him in the middle of the deck, his arms held up high and his chest puffed out, "C'mon! The Lightning can take it!"
As it turned out, The Lightning could not take it.
Trent's eyes closed tightly in slight fear as he sped up with momentum, crashing directly into Lightning as the sail dragged behind him. Trent opened his eyes soon afterward, marveling as he looked down at himself.
"Really? I'm not hurt!" He cheered as he stood up, his wooden sword in-hand.
Lightning groaned from beneath him, laying on his stomach and sprawled out upon the deck, the ripped sail on top of the bottom portion of his body.
"Now you're right where Lightning wants you. Sha-bam," Lightning said weakly, before passing out mere seconds later. Trent shot him an odd look before turning around as he heard a noise.
"Well, well...well. We meet again on the battlefield."
Trent rolled his eyes, "You don't have to be so dramatic, Harold. Let's just get to the fighting." He drew his wooden sword and held it in a fighting stance. Nearby, Justin crashed into the ground painfully, having fallen off of the top of the mast.
Harold did a karate pose and held his wooden sword in the air, "That's what's wrong with action movies these days, though. All-action and no suspense or wit. That's why the movie industry is slowly declining from their old style of originality."
Trent charged the nerd, their swords clashing as they began battling in quite a nerdy fashion.
(The Killer Sharks' Ship)
Manitoba Smith fiddled with the cannon's exterior, measuring the rope attached to it near the back before giving his teammates a thumbs up.
"It should be good for the go now!"
Eva was quick to push the explorer out of the way, inspecting the cannon with her eyes really quickly before shoving a cannonball inside, "Alright then! We need to get to firing before we lose! Homeschool, light the fuse!"
Ezekiel looked extremely startled at his name being called. He scrambled over to the cannon beside Eva and took out one of the matches from the box. He tried in vain to light it on his pants several times.
Each time the prairie boy struck the match against himself, Cody grew slightly more sympathetic. After the fourth try, the tech geek walked over, grabbed the match from the surprised Ezekiel, and lit it quickly off of the ship's side. He looked at Eva for confirmation. The fitness buff grunted in affirmation, and Cody quickly lit the cannon's match. It seemed to sizzle for a moment before some loud sounds could be heard coming from inside of it.
Cody's eyes widened, "Everyone hit the deck!"
Everyone around dropped immediately, except for Ezekiel, who just looked confused.
"Hit the deck? Is that some sort 'a slang that The Zeke doesn't kno'ow, eh?"
"Shut up and get down, Zeke!" Leshawna's left arm shot up, yanking on Ezekiel's toque and pulling him down to the ground.
The cannon exploded just a few seconds afterwards, falling into the water below and taking out a sizable chunk of the deck with it.
Everyone stood up as they heard the cannon plop into the water, going over to look over the edge of where it had used to be.
Eva glared at Manitoba Smith, crossing her arms and scowling, "So it's 'good for the go', eh?"
The explorer turned his head to look at the others with a neutral face. When he noticed the others glaring at him now, he just sheepishly smiled, "Well hey, at least I tried."
CONFESSIONAL:
"Mike": He chuckled darkly, the dark circles under his eyes pronounced and his pirate hat tipped down over his forehead, "How unfortunate of an accident that was back there. I mean, who could've known that the cannon would just blow up like that, eh?" His voice sounded noticeably deeper than usual and his Australian accent was mysteriously gone.
(The Screaming Bears' Ship)
Justin groaned in pain as he laid uncomfortably at the bottom of the ship's mast, crushed into the wooden deck. His limbs were all tangled up with each other. Jeez, beauty wasn't meant to do such daredevil stunts. If only his team understood that, but alas, most of them knew nothing of beauty.
He strained to sit up and untangle himself before a mocha-colored hand extended toward him. His blue eyes widened in shock as his blurred vision caught sight of a figure in front of him. No, it couldn't be.
"Mom? Is that you?"
"No, you idiot. We're not related, and thank god for that."
Justin's confused eyes focused on the figure as he began connecting who it was based on the voice.
Justin looked up surprisingly at her, taking her hand as she helped him up, "You're helping me instead of attacking Trent? I'm pleasantly surprised."
Courtney looked somewhat offended as she helped the model up into a standing position, "Hey now, I can be nice. I'm nice all of the time."
Justin rolled his eyes, "Yeah, and French is a great language too. Good one, Courtney."
Courtney smacked him on the head roughly. He groaned and massaged the spot that she had hit, "What the heck! What was that for?"
Courtney growled at him as she picked both of her swords back up from the ground, "For being a jerk. Didn't your mother ever teach you to not insult a lady?"
Justin silently had the thought, as he looked at her, that she was definitely not a lady. But he knew he couldn't say that out loud if he wanted to stay alive. Those swords might be wooden, but he didn't doubt that Courtney could find a way to kill him with them if she put her mind to it.
"O-of course, my fellow alliance member. I'm terribly sorry for being rude."
Courtney grunted, "Whatever. Just get your head in the game. We need to take care of Trent, and Harold is way too weak to do it alone."
Nearby, Noah watched as Trent and Harold geekily clashed wooden swords. God, they were being so dramatic. It might've even looked cool if Trent wasn't counting the number of strikes he made out loud and if Harold wasn't going in slow-motion when he got hit.
He walked over to where Lightning was passed out on the deck, hesitantly poking the athlete with the tip of his wooden sword.
"Hey Lightning, get up. Harold could use some help over there. You know, the braindead and physically strong kind."
Lightning didn't answer. His body continued to lay there like a sack of potatoes. Noah looked over to the camera solemnly, "But I with mournful dread, walk the deck my captain lies, fallen cold and dead."
Courtney ran by the bookworm at this moment, "Stop reciting poetry and come help! We kind of have a challenge to win and we can't fire the cannon until Trent is taken care of!"
Noah rolled his eyes, "And what do you expect me to do? Use my head?"
"It's hopeless, Trent. I have the high ground."
Trent's eyes darted around desperately. Harold had indeed backed the musician into a corner. Now, his only choices were either to be captured or to flee from the top deck, which would allow the Bears to fire cannonballs again. Neither option looked great if he wanted to win today.
That was when his eyes caught sight of the various objects around him. Sure, it wasn't too sportsmanlike, but these were street rules as far as he was concerned.
Trent quickly picked up a large guitar that rested just inside of the doors leading to the lower decks and quickly slapped Harold across the face with it. The nerd held his head in pain and dropped his sword.
"Gosh, you hit me with a guitar? How cowardly is that?!"
Trent winced as he watched Harold crawl painfully on the ground. He flipped the guitar in his hand, "What can I say? The guitar will always be my main weapon. And a true warrior adapts to his environment."
Harold held his head, "Yeah, I guess that's fair. You've beaten me in fair battle. I won't attack you again."
Trent stepped forward, "In that case, let me help you up," he held out his hand for his friend, and Harold gladly accepted it. Trent pulled the nerd to his feet.
Harold regarded the musician with a look of respect, "I've gotta say, I liked your moves. Let me guess, fencing lessons?"
Trent rubbed his head, "Actually, lightsaber fights when I was a kid. Pretty much the same thing."
Harold nodded, "Ah, I can respect that."
In the blink of an eye, however, this peaceful moment of camaraderie was broken.
"Get out of the way, Harold! Let a real woman show you how to do it!" Harold was shoved to the wall behind them as someone else approached.
"Please call 9-1-1! She's gone insane!"
Courtney stepped threateningly toward Trent, holding a large weapon in her hands as she swung it at the surprised musician.
Trent just stood there as she swung at him. He wasn't as much surprised at her aggression as he was at her weapon!
Courtney was wielding Noah like she would a giant sword!
"Let's see you come back from this, music boy!" Noah collided with Trent as both boys crumpled painfully in a heap on the ground. Courtney put her hands on her hips and looked satisfied as she gazed down at them.
"Sorry Trent. You know how the game is. And congrats Noah, you've finally proven your worth in a physical challenge." With that, she began walking back onto the top deck, already shouting at Justin to help her load the cannons.
CONFESSIONAL:
Noah: The bookworm scowled at the camera, "Yep, there goes my sympathy for Courtney. She must be bipolar with how often she switches moods."
Harold: He looked petrified, "Yeah, maybe I need to butter Courtney up a bit before I try to outright apologize."
Trent: The musician laughed, "I guess you could call me, 'The Guitar Hero'."
He chuckled to himself for a few seconds before looking at the camera, "Yeah, I'll get out of here now."
(Onshore)
Chris leaned forward in his chair, his face incredulous as he watched all of this last scene take place on the monitor in front of him.
He turned to Chef, his mouth gaping open, "Did you see that, Chef!? Did ya? Did ya?"
Chef scowled, "Of course I saw it! I'm not doing anything else!" The big man sneakily slipped his Bluetooth headphones back into his pocket alongside his iPod.
"I just knew that bringing Courtney back would be a big ratings hit! She's really bringing the pain today! It's odd actually; I expected her to be more violent when Duncan was still here. I guess that Noah and Harold get under her skin more." The host scratched his chin in thought.
Chef scoffed, "That? That was nothing compared to the swordfights that I had in the Army."
"..."
Chris looked at Chef strangely for a minute or two, "... Soooooooo...you worried about the kids getting too hurt out there?"
Chef returned Chris's stare before they both began cracking up in laughter.
"You really had me for a moment there, Chris!"
"I know, I know! I'm a huge crack-up, I've been told!"
The intern from earlier, who was currently pouring a bucket full of chum into the water, just looked at the two men strangely. Why, oh why, couldn't he have taken that job on the cruise ship?
CONFESSIONAL:
Chris: The host scratched his head in confusion, "Do I just not know anything? Since when does the Canadian Army use swords?! Is Chef pulling my leg? What is going on?!"
(The Killer Sharks' Ship)
Alejandro gripped Lindsay's wrist tightly as he led the blonde back to the brig.
"You put up a good fight, chica, but sadly—"
An alarm blared on throughout the entire ship, interrupting him abruptly.
"Hello campers! Guess whooooooo?!"
There was a few seconds of silence. Alejandro rolled his eyes and Lindsay pursed her lips.
"...That's right! It's me! Chris McLean!"
"I'm here to declare a winner of our little challenge! Meet me on the boat that isn't sinking and we'll start the follow-up challenge!"
Alejandro sighed in relief, still leading Lindsay toward the brig, "Alright, we won the challenge then. Mind coming with me to free Scott?"
Lindsay giggled, "No problem, Alejandro. Maybe Zoey is down there. She'll be soooo sad that we couldn't protect the movies."
Alejandro chuckled, "It wasn't that kind of piracy, Lindsay. You know, you never fail to amuse me."
Lindsay beamed at him, "Thanks!"
They reached the brig after a few more minutes of walking, only to find that Zoey was indeed there. Beside her was a giant hole in the ship. Water was gushing in by every passing moment.
Zoey flinched as she turned around and saw Alejandro and Lindsay standing there, "Sorry."
Alejandro sighed heavily and released Lindsay, "Well, it seems like my team didn't win after all. Let me just go and free Scott."
The Latino walked over to Scott's cell to see him playing with a silver bucket. He raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"
As soon as the key turned and the door drifted open, Scott ran out of the cell, his eyes wide, "FREEEEE! It's been soo long since I was free!"
Zoey rolled her eyes, "Oh please. It hasn't been long at all."
Scott put a hand to his ear, "I'm sorry, Alejandro, do you hear that? It sounded like an annoying buzzing sound."
Zoey scoffed angrily and kicked Scott right in the crotch. Lindsay flinched, as did Alejandro. Scott, on the other hand, fell to the ground and began groaning in pain.
"Hey Alejandro, what kicked me? I didn't see anything nearby," Scott gasped out, trying to continue the joke.
Alejandro cautiously walked over to help the farm boy up, "Yeah, you're definitely the winner here."
(The Screaming Bears' Ship)
"Alright! We have our winners! Judging by which ship we're currently standing on, I'm sure I don't have to tell you who the winners are."
The Killer Sharks groaned disappointedly.
"But I'll do it anyway! The Screaming Bears clearly won! I mean, it wasn't even close!"
The Screaming Bears broke into wild cheers, especially Lightning. The Killer Sharks just stared at the wooden deck below.
"Sha-yeah! Lightning led his team to victory! Sha-bam!"
Chris clapped his hands together with a big grin. Chef Hatchet also laughed from behind the host.
Chris turned to Chef, "You hear that enthusiasm, Chef? I think Lightning is the perfect candidate to begin the follow-up challenge!"
Chef laughed insanely, which prompted some of the campers to give fearful looks to each other. All of Lightning's confidence seemed to evaporate in an instant as he gulped loudly.
Chef smirked widely at them all after he stopped laughing, "I definitely think that he'll do, Chris. Want me to get him into position?"
Chris nodded. Chef walked sinisterly over to Lightning. The athlete took a battle stance, but Chef just scoffed and tossed him over his shoulder like a ragdoll. The other watched as Lightning protested.
"C'mon man! Put me down! Maybe the Lightning can give you an autograph?!"
Chef scowled and plopped the athlete down on the narrow plank that hung flimsily on the side of the ship. The plank rocked up and down a bit as Lightning clung to it on all fours.
Chris smiled and pulled out a megaphone, "Alright campers! The follow-up challenge is a trivia challenge about prior Total Drama seasons! All in pirate style! I'll ask each of you a series of questions, and you'll have to answer them correctly to win and get off of the plank. Get one wrong, and you'll be thrown overboard, matey!"
He now took out a small yellow notecard and cleared his throat, "Ahem, Lightning, what was the name of the first person eliminated in Total Drama Revenge of the Island? Arrgh, give me the name I need."
The camera panned over to Noah, who rolled his eyes, "And there's the Pirates of the Caribbean reference. Should've known it was coming."
Lightning clung to the plank for dear life, "What a stupid sha-question! Lightning would never remember the name of such a big loser!"
Chris looked unimpressed as he glanced up at the athlete, "I'll give you one hint: she was on your team. Ring any bells?"
Lightning looked thoughtful for a moment, "...Jerry?"
Chris grinned evilly. Chef shared the same expression as he stared back at the host. Chris quickly gave the cook a nod and Chef pulled a large bazooka out of his back pocket, aiming it directly at Lightning.
Lightning screamed bloody murder as Chef pulled the trigger. Immediately, three jellyfish soared through the air and smacked right into Lightning. The tentacles tangled around him as he was fell off of the ship's plank and into the water.
Chris rushed over to the side and peered down at where he had fallen, "You gotta pee on it, bro! Also, don't bother climbing back up! Losers have to swim back!"
Many sets of eyes around him widened.
"Wait, we have to swim back to shore if we lose?" Gwen did not look enthusiastic about this new rule, but she also didn't look surprised.
Chris smiled and closed his eyes, "Ah, Gwen. You should've expected that by now. Do I look boring to you?"
Gwen smirked and crossed her arms, "You certainly don't look interesting. Tell me, when was the last date you went on?"
People awwed at the burn. Chris's face turned red.
"And our next volunteer to walk the plank is Gwen! Chef, get Gwen over there, will you?"
Chef scooped Gwen up, carried her over, and tossed her out onto the plank.
The goth scowled as she worked hard to maintain her balance, "Me and my big mouth."
Chris grinned and read aloud a question from a new notecard, this one blue, "Gwen, who was the first camper eliminated in Total Drama Island?"
Gwen thought about it for a moment, "Ezekiel."
Chris stomped his foot, "Dangit, I thought you would've forgotten."
"Second question! how many episodes did Chef take over my job in Total Drama Island?"
"Easy. Twice. The boot-camp episode and the race through the woods with Sasquatchenakwa. I could never forget that." She cringed visibly at the memory of being chased by the giant ape all over the island and through that dark cave.
Chris gritted his teeth, "That is correct. But this third one is a doozy now!"
"Who did Courtney flirt with to get back at Duncan in Total Drama World Tour?"
Courtney scowled at the question over in the pack of contestants. Gwen answered quickly, "Tyler."
"To clarify, there was no attraction there!"
Chris rolled his eyes, "Yeah, suuuuure, Courtney. Suuuuure."
He narrowly dodged a pirate hat a second later, "Hey!"
Courtney just whistled innocently with her hands clasped behind her back. Her head, however, was no longer covered by a pirate hat.
Chris glared at her before glancing back at his notecard, "Alright Gwen! Let's see you get this one! How many contestants were there in Total Drama Action?"
Gwen looked to be counting in her head, her lips moving silently. She seemed to be muttering to herself.
Chris waited patiently for a minute before she finally answered, "15! Final answer." She smirked at him with her hands on her hips.
Chris smirked evilly, "I'm afraid that you're wrong. Owen, Justin, you, Beth, Lindsay, Courtney, Harold, Trent, Duncan, Bridgette, Geoff, DJ, Leshawna, Heather, Izzy, annnnnnd E-Scope."
Gwen threw her hands up, "What?! You're counting Izzy's weird alter-ego?! This is rigged!"
Chris shook his head, "Gwen, Gwen. You've gotta learn to be a good sport. Chef, help her walk the plank."
Gwen's eyes widened as Chef pulled his jellyfish-bazooka out again and put his finger on the trigger. She just managed to jump into the water below as the jellyfish soared across the plank.
Chris sighed and snapped his fingers, "Darn, I was really looking forward to seeing her get pegged. Oh well, next!"
A montage ensued of various contestants standing uneasily on the flimsy wooden plank. Some clips played of them reluctantly giving answers to Chris before getting hit in the face with jellyfish and plunging into the waters below. The most prominent one was of Harold rambling about something before Chef shot him out of mere irritation. Harold was helped back up to the ship's deck because he had answered everything correctly despite his rambling.
The camera focused on Chris directly now as he clapped his hands cheerfully, "Alright! You're up last, Noah!
"Great. I'm so excited," Noah remarked dully as he stood on the wooden plank.
Chris fished out a notecard and began reading from it, "What was the name of Team Amazon's camel in Total Drama World Tour?"
Noah looked unimpressed as he crossed his arms, "Ruby."
Chris looked surprised before reading another, "Alright then. What did my cousin Jerd say to you and Alejandro in Newfoundland in Total Drama World Tour?"
Noah rolled his eyes, "The worst thing that you can have in your head is no teeth. What a dumb saying, really."
Chris looked defensive, "Hey now! It's an amazing language and place. After all, they produced moi." The host motioned to himself proudly.
"Next question please."
"Alright, man. Don't be getting all eager on me now. Who did Team Chris stretch on the torture rack in London during Total Drama World Tour?"
Noah didn't even blink, "Easy. We stretched Tyler. Did it myself. Are all of these questions going to be from Total Drama World Tour?"
Chris smirked, "Hey, it's not my fault that you didn't make the cut for Action. It's also not my fault that you got eliminated in the fourth episode of Total Drama Island."
Noah narrowed his eyes. Chris looked delighted to have finally gotten a reaction out of him.
"Total Drama's know-it-all has emotions?! Who knew?!"
He calmed down a few seconds later and gazed at his notecard once more, "Alright. You want a question from another season? Fine."
"Who was the only contestant of Total Drama Island to stitch and design her own clothes?"
Noah bit his lip and looked to be deep in thought. Chris went ahead and motioned for Chef to get the bazooka ready.
"Hmmmmm, a nice try, to be sure. I would almost be fooled if I didn't know that it was Katie."
Chris looked positively shocked, "How did you know that?! I picked that one specifically to get you eliminated!"
Noah smirked as he slowly stepped off of the plank and back onto the ship's deck, "What can I say? Katie and Sadie both annoyed me relentlessly at the Playa. There's only so much that a guy can just tune out."
Chris looked steamed, but turned to face the camera anyway, "Alright then, we have our winners. For the Screaming Bears, both Noah and Harold win tonight's reward! You two both have won access to the luxury bathroom trailer won by the Killer Sharks in the first episode! Isn't that great?!"
Noah shrugged. Harold didn't look particularly happy either.
"You just made that the reward because you ran out of ideas, right?"
Chris looked as if he had just been struck, "I'm wounded! I made that the reward because you campers messed up last challenge, making me move this follow-up to today! Reallllly inconvenienced me."
Harold looked like he wanted to say something else, but Chris beat him to the punch, "As much as I would love to listen to one of your lectures Harold, we're kinda low on time here! The winners of immunity in tonight's ceremony are, surprisingly, Scott and Eva!"
Chris motioned to the Killer Sharks still onboard the ship, only to squint as he noticed something.
"Hey, wait a moment...I threw you overboard earlier, didn't I?"
Ezekiel, the person he was talking to, just puffed his chest up proudly as all eyes fell on him.
"Word, but I've got great reflexes, homes. I grabbed onto one 'a the cannon holes below and climbed back in."
Chris smiled, "Impressive. Very impressive."
"N-now hold on now! Put The Zeke down, eh!"
Chris wore a satisfied smirk on his face as Chef carried Ezekiel swiftly over to the side of the ship, looking ready to toss the prairie boy overboard. Ezekiel's hands were tied together with thick rope, as were his feet.
"You heard Ezekiel, Chef. Put him down." Chris began laughing as Chef flexed his arms to toss the homeschooler.
"Hey, wait a minute! Homeschool will drown if you throw him while he's hogtied!" Eva got up in Chris's face with an angry look.
Noah interjected here, "Eva is, surprisingly, correct. You can't throw him like that. That is, unless you want a lawsuit from the prairie. I hear the courts are really fair over there." Sarcasm was dripping plainly from his voice.
Harold put a hand up, "Yeah, the average human density is lower than that of water. Even if Ezekiel managed to survive falling into a volcano, thus defying all scientific logic, even Houdini couldn't escape this."
Chris looked annoyed now as he turned to Scott, "What, you aren't going to lecture me too?"
Scott noticed all eyes turning to him immediately. The farm boy looked sheepish, "Uh, yeah, what they said."
Chris rolled his eyes and then smiled, "Don't worry everyone! My superior mind has come up with a solution that accounts for all of what you said!"
Noah, Scott, Harold, and Eva all shared glances as they wondered what the host's sadistic mind had cooked up to keep Ezekiel from climbing back aboard.
Ezekiel just looked cheerful in Chef's large arms, "Hooray! The Zeke gets t'a stay!"
"Pfft, that's the last time I defend you, Homeschool."
Noah couldn't help but agree as his arms reluctantly paddled through the waters of Wawanakwa Harbor, extremely weak and extremely unfit to be making such a long swimming journey.
The bookworm scowled as he remembered the smirk on Chris's face as he ordered Chef to throw all of them overboard. He had known that he couldn't evade Chef, so he had quickly accepted his fate and gotten dunked into the cold and mysterious waters.
Eva and Harold had tried to fight back. Scott had tried to run. It had all been hopeless; one after another, they joined him in the water. Ezekiel, still tied up, had been tossed overboard afterwards. Chris had yelled down that he was their responsibility. Eva had, of course, been the one to agree to carry him as they swam to shore.
His train of thought was broken by Harold joining into Eva's complaining, "Yeah, maybe you could've just accepted your fate. I mean, gosh! Now I'm all wet. I could get hypothermia for all you know."
Ezekiel at least looked somewhat regretful, "I'm sorry for your hypo'othermia, Harold. The Zeke was just wanting a clean ride back. I can't swim, homes."
Harold huffed in irritation, "Well I don't have it now. But I might have had it."
Eva breathed loudly in apparent strain at swimming for bother herself and Ezekiel, "Stop complaining, Harold. Only I get to complain here. Unless you want to carry Homeschool."
"Gosh, Eva, I thought you agreed to be nicer to me after you pushed me out of that window at the Playa?"
"That agreement stands as long as you don't annoy me."
Noah chuckled amusedly, which was quite uncharacteristic when he was on the show, "You two play nice, you hear? I'm not your babysitter while we're in the competition."
"You calling me a baby, egghead?" Eva cocked an eyebrow as she swam.
Noah stayed quiet, which caused Eva to throw Ezekiel over to him. Noah barely had the time to react as the homeschooler fell onto him and into his stick-thin arms. The bookworm just sighed in regret, "I guess I should've known better than to poke the bear."
Ezekiel smiled up at him, "Yo'o."
Scott swam up next to Noah at that moment and grabbed the homeschooler. Noah cocked an eyebrow as the farm boy grinned at him, "Ah, that Zeke, eh? What a character."
Noah, Harold, and Eva all stared at him for a few seconds before continuing on their way. Scott just smirked and began swimming.
"Thanks for the save, homie! The Zeke was worried that No'oah was gonna drop him, eh!"
CONFESSIONAL:
Scott: He smirked proudly as he pointed to the top of his head, "I'm gonna get in on that social dynamic to make people less likely to vote for me. Never hurts to have a backup plan. I could use all the help I can get. After all, lots of people here hate me for no reason!"
He shrugged, "Luckily I am a master of subtlety."
Harold: Harold sighed, "That Ezekiel is always screwing up. I feel sorry for him, at least when I'm not annoyed by him."
He rubbed his chin in thought, "Hmmm, maybe he needs a good sensei to help him out. I could offer my services!"
Noah: He had his arms crossed, "Yeah, I see what Scott is trying to do, trying to butter us up. It's quite pathetic really."
"It was nice to catch up with Eva and Homeschool for a few minutes, even if my arms are dead-tired now."
(The Killer Sharks' Cabin: Boys Side)
Mike sighed heavily as he flopped back onto his mattress. He didn't even care that his other cabin-mates had walked in with him. He was disappointed by his performance.
Ezekiel noticed this as he relaxed on his bunk. The prairie boy raised an eyebrow at the depressed behavior, "What's feedin' ya, Mike?"
Scott sighed as he dug through his pack, "The term is 'eating you', Zeke. And isn't it pretty obvious what's bothering Mike? He screwed up terribly in the challenge today."
Mike could be heard sighing as Alejandro narrowed his eyes at the farm boy, "I don't seem to remember you being much of a help either, Scott."
Scott looked defensive, "Well maybe if somebody didn't lock me up like some sort of armadillo, I might've shown my heroics."
Ezekiel nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure that Scott coulda fixed the cannon, eh!"
Scott rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Y-yeah, I totally could've done that! In fact, it was good luck for the other team that I was caged. They wouldn't have stood a chance!" He banged his elbow against the wall behind him to accent his point, only for the inertia to cause him to fall off of his bed and onto the ground.
"Owwww!"
Alejandro rolled his eyes and approached Mike's bed. The skinny boy was actively staring at the ceiling.
The Latino now looked concerned, "Mike, are you alright? You should know that we don't blame you for Manitoba Smith's total ineptitude."
Mike didn't move, but his brown eyes moved to meet the Latino's green ones, "Doesn't matter. I'm probably going to get voted out tonight, without having finished one challenge for myself."
Alejandro rubbed his arm, his eyes going first to Ezekiel, who looked sympathetic, and then to Scott, who was nursing his arm and crawling back onto his bed.
His green eyes glinted, "No, you won't be getting voted off tonight. Not if we work together."
Ezekiel cocked an eyebrow at the Latino and Mike suddenly sat up into a sitting position, gazing at Alejandro in wonderment.
"What do you mean?" The boy had an extremely hopeful tone seeping into his voice.
Alejandro smiled cockily, putting his hands on his hips as he walked into the middle of the room, "If the four of us vote together, we could probably save you, Mike. After all, it's unlikely that anyone will get 5 votes."
Scott began paying attention here, and he did not look amused, "Woah, woah, woah. Hold on a second. Why would I help to save Mike? What's in it for me?"
Mike glared at him and Alejandro's eyes shot the farm boy quickly, his gaze turning dark and threatening.
Scott got the message. He muttered some things to himself and then pumped his fist in the air with a mockingly cheerful tone, "You know, I've always liked Mike. A lot. Of coooouuuurse I'll help out."
Alejandro nodded and turned his sights to Ezekiel, who looked to be mulling it over.
After a few seconds of silence, Ezekiel perked up, holding an index finger up, "I've gotta go'o t'a the bathroom, homies."
Patient expressions turned annoyed that he had gotten their hopes up as the prairie boy walked out of the cabin with his hands in his hoodie pockets.
Outside, two figures peered into the back-window of the cabin, having been eavesdropping on the whole conversation.
Justin smirked as he took his sights away from the window, "Great. Now all I have to do is plant an idea in Ezekiel's head, and I can easily get Gwen out of here tonight!"
Lindsay, who was crouched next to him on the ground, just gave him a confused look, "But I thought that we were going to surprise them and invite them to our cook-out?"
Justin turned toward her with a raised eyebrow, staring wordlessly at her for a few seconds before realization struck him. He slapped his face with his left hand and sighed in exasperation, "Lindsay, I already told you that a 'stake-out' does not involve actual steaks!"
Lindsay tilted her head to the side, her blue eyes giving him a questioning look, "But then, what are you, Trent, Harold, and Cody doing with all that food from the kitchen?"
The male model sighed and turned his body completely to face her. His hands formed teaching gestures, as if he was talking to a small child.
"We're having a party for OUR band. As in, only us. Not these guys."
Lindsay began nodding and her eyes lit up, "Oh, I understand."
Justin sighed in relief, "Great, now I'm going to intercept Ezeki—"
"Can I come to the party?"
Justin facepalmed.
CONFESSIONAL:
Ezekiel: The prairie boy rubbed the top of his toque thoughtfully, "I do'on't kno'ow who t'a vo'ote off, eh. The Zeke is finally getting to like some 'a his teammates! If o'only their was something good t'a go'o off 'a.
Suddenly, a deep whispering voice could be heard right outside of the confession cam, "Zeeeeeke. Zeeeeeke. Can you hear meeee?"
Ezekiel's eyes widened as he began glancing frantically around inside of the confession cam, "Where is that coming from, eh?"
The voice returned, sounding gleeful now, "Oh, uhhhhh, I'm in your head...yeah, I'm your conscience and stuff."
Ezekiel looked somewhat confused, "L-like Pino'occhio'o, eh?"
"...Yeah, exactly like Pinocchio. Look, I've come to tell you that you should Gwen off tonight."
Ezekiel furrowed his brows, "Why, eh? The Zeke doesn't have nothin' 'gainst Gwen, yo'o."
The voice sounded somewhat annoyed now, "Just think, she has Duncan waiting for her at the resort. It would actually be a favor. After all, she doesn't seem to like it much here."
Ezekiel rubbed his chin, nodding slightly, "Yeah, I guess you're right, eh. Thanks for the tip!"
An evil laugh could be heard, "Always happy to help."
Ezekiel nodded as he stood up and put his hand on the doorknob, "Hey conscience?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's talk again, eh. The Zeke has trouble makin' decisions all the time, homes."
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before the voice answered, "Uhhhh, alright. Whatever it takes to get you to vote for Gwen."
(Outside of The Killer Sharks Cabin)
Noah tapped his foot patiently against the wooden porch beneath him as he turned the page of one of his books and read the next page very slowly.
He had been exiled out here while Harold and Justin got his cabin ready for the Drama Brothers party tonight. They had promptly asked Noah and Lightning to leave until the party was over. The bookworm had quickly taken the hint and left early. He had taken refuge in front of the Killer Sharks cabin, using the inside light and quiet to catch up on some light reading. They would be headed to the elimination ceremony soon anyway, so things would be even more quiet for a small amount of time.
His peace and quiet, however, was soon interrupted by humming that only seemed to grow louder by the second.
The bookworm narrowed his eyes and lifted his head, his gaze scanning the area around the cabin. Sure enough, Ezekiel was approaching.
Noah's face returned to a neutral look as he greeted the other boy, "Hey there, Homeschool. What trouble are you getting to?"
Ezekiel just looked plain confused, "Trouble? The Zeke just went t'a the confession cam, eh."
Noah rolled his eyes, "Already writing new rap lyrics? I'll pass on the free performance."
Ezekiel shook his head, "Nah, The Zeke hasn't written any new material in awhile, yo'o. I was just thinking abo'out who t'a vo'ote for tonight, eh."
Noah looked interested now. He shut his book and braced his chin against one of his arms, "Oh, really? Who, pray tell?"
The homeschool glanced around to make sure that nobody else could hear him before leaning in uncomfortably close to Noah. The egghead flinched away a bit.
"Gwen, eh. My conscience helped me decide back there. Talked me into'o it and everything!"
Noah fanned his left hand around his face in disgust, "Yuck. You still don't use mouthwash, do you, Homeschool?"
Ezekiel shrugged and walked toward his cabin door. He opened it and glanced at Noah one more time before walking in, waving at him.
"Later, homes."
Noah rolled his eyes before slipping into the other side of the Killer Sharks cabin. He needed to fix this problem right away.
CONFESSIONAL:
Noah: He had his arms crossed as he scowled at the camera, "So I knew that Alejandro was probably behind it. I mean, I've seen him cozying up to Homeschool lately. Homeschool is just too clueless and naïve to realize it."
He now smirked, "But the eel loses this round, if I'm correct. I told Gwen and Leshawna all about it. Now they've got their sights set on Alegonedro. I told them to convince Cody, Trent, and Eva to vote for him too. The eel should be gone in a few hours."
A brief look of regret passed over his face, "I couldn't save Owen from Alejandro. And I couldn't save Duncan from Justin and Courtney. I will save Gwen tonight."
(The Killer Sharks' Cabin: Boys Side)
"Alright, so who are we going to vote for?"
Scott looked wearily at Alejandro, who had just asked the question to the entire room. He was laying comfortably on his bed. Alejandro was standing in the middle of the room, and Ezekiel and Mike were likewise laying on their own beds as they listened.
"How about Leshawna? Last I checked, she was the reason why our cannon exploded earlier," Scott put out there with some snark.
Alejandro pursed his lips. "I agree that she messed up quite badly. Perhaps it would be a good time to get rid of her."
Ezekiel's eyes widened. "No! The Zeke just began talking t'a Leshawna. She's a cool cat, eh. I won't vo'ote her off."
Scott scowled. "Alright then, Zeke, who do you think we should vote for?"
Ezekiel smiled proudly. "The Zeke thinks that we should vote off Gwen, eh. She got captured at the beginning 'a the challenge and she would have Duncan waiting for her at the Playa, yo'o."
Alejandro tapped his chin in thought and glanced at Scott. Scott returned the look.
"I think it's a good idea."
Everyone turned their eyes to Mike, who had been silent up until that moment.
Mike wriggled a bit under the gazes. "Think about it? Gwen didn't really do anything today, and she would have her boyfriend waiting for her. It wouldn't be a bad thing to vote for her."
Alejandro nodded and Scott just shrugged. Ezekiel smiled.
"Alright then, eh. Let's go'o! The Zeke survives another ceremo'ony! Word!"
CONFESSIONAL:
Scott: The farm boy rolled his eyes, "God, I wish that Ezekiel would drop the slang. It would make it a lot easier to work with him."
Mike: He sat awkwardly in front of the camera, "I'm a bit skeptical of working with Scott, but Alejandro has been really helpful so far. I mean, without Cam here, it's been really hard to keep things together."
He looked down. "Heck, maybe I just need to get to know him and Ezekiel. I mean, they're helping me out tonight. That's gotta count for something."
Cody: The tech geek scratched the top of his head with a conflicted expression on his face. "So Gwen wants me to vote for Alejandro...but he's an okay guy now. And I need him for operation cheer-up Heather!"
He slouched down. "I guess I'm going to have to vote for Mike. I mean, Manitoba messed up a lot earlier, and he really got Eva worked up. Maybe she'll calm down if he goes?"
Trent: "So Gwen and Leshawna approached me, asking me to vote for Alejandro. I don't have anything against the guy, but hey, I didn't have anyone else in mind." The musician shrugged.
(The Campfire Pit)
Chris looked disappointed as he walked up to his signature podium by the campfire, a silver plate with 8 marshmallows on it in his right hand.
"Alright, I must say that I was quite disappointed with your performance out there today, Sharks. I mean, you not only blew up your own cannon, but you also got sabotaged by Zoey and Lindsay! I mean, just really disgraceful," Chris shook his head with a frown as some of the Sharks began looking sheepish, especially Leshawna.
"Which is why one of your sorry butts will be sent home tonight for the second time in a row."
The host now learned forward with a smirk, "Now, I'm sure I don't have to explain the process to you all."
Some of the campers began looking hopeful.
"But, as I know how much all of you love this part of the show, I'm going to do it anyway."
Audible groans could be heard all around, even from behind Chris. The host whirled around to see Chef standing there. The burly cook quickly began looking around and whistling.
"Chef?! How could you?! I thought we were friends, dude!"
Chef looked at him with a frown. "That wasn't me."
Chris put his hands on his hips. "Is that really all you're going to say?"
Chef remained silent.
Chris pursed his lips and turned back around to face the Sharks, but not before shooting another suspicious glare at Chef.
"Ahem. Got a bit side-tracked there. As I was saying, whoever's name I do not call will be eliminated, take a walk down the Dock of Shame, and finally take a ride on the Boat of Losers."
He shot a dramatic look at the camera, "Which means you can't come back."
"Eveeeerrrrrrrrrrrr."
He glanced at the Sharks for a few moments before smiling at them and nodding his head gratefully, "Good. I see that you've all learned to respect your superiors. Maybe I'll dunk you kids in jellyfish waters more often in the future."
Eva scowled. "I would prefer it if you didn't."
Chris laughed. "Ha! You act like this is a democracy. Democracies are laaaame."
He seemed to realize what he said just a little too late. "Except for Canada, of course! Which I love!"
Gwen smirked. "Nice save there."
Chris smiled proudly, holding his head up high. "Why thank you, Gwen. I try."
The Sharks all rolled their eyes at his ego.
Chris opened his eyes now, holding the first marshmallow of the night in his right hand. He gave a one-sided smirk to the Sharks.
"Alright, so Scott and Eva both won immunity! They are both safe!" The host tossed a marshmallow to Scott and then one to Eva. Both of them caught their marshmallows and got up to walk over to the podium.
"Yeah baby! The Scottmeister is safe again!" Scott pumped his fist as he walked past Chris. Chris rolled his eyes and stuck his foot out. The farm boy promptly tripped over it, falling to the ground. He shot a quick glare at Chris as he got up and brushed himself off. Some of his teammates muffled their laughter. Eva didn't however, prompting Scott to shoot her a nasty glare.
"Cody, Ezekiel. You are both safe."
The two boys in question caught their marshmallows and joined Scott and Eva. Cody shot a sly grin to Eva, causing her to turn away from him. He frowned and Ezekiel sent him an encouraging thumbs up.
"Yikes! Cody gets shot down again! Who could've predicted that," Chris snarked off before turning his gaze back to the Sharks who were still sitting on their log seats.
"Trent, you are safe today because you are the only one to actually give a good performance. Congrats man."
Trent caught his marshmallow with a large smile as he went up to the podium and high-fived Cody and Ezekiel. He even high-fived Scott.
Chris looked rather displeased now. "Leshawna, despite screwing up majorly and arguably performing the worst out of anyone here, you are safe. That's cool, I guess."
Leshawna looked really happy as she caught her marshmallow. She winked at Gwen and walked over to the crowd of safe contestants. Ezekiel shot her a smile, as did Eva, Cody, and Trent.
Chris now examined the second-to-last marshmallow closely. "This marshmallow goes to someone who contributed very little today, and who was basically not even in the challenge at all. Honestly, I don't think you deserve it, but hey," he shrugged his shoulders, "I can't vote here. It's really a bit tyrannical to me. Maybe I'll talk to the producers about that for next season as part of my contract."
Gwen, Alejandro, and Mike all looked hopeful that this marshmallow would go to them. After all, the description matched all three of them at least a bit.
Chris looked back at the three with a smile. "And this marshmallow goes to..."
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The suspense was thick in the air as the campfire cracked in the afternoon breeze. Chris shot a smirk to Alejandro and Gwen as he said, "Mike."
Mike looked conflicted as he caught the marshmallow. He honestly didn't think he really deserved it. But he slunked over to join his other safe teammates anyway. Trent clapped him sympathetically on the back.
Chris now took the last marshmallow off of his silver platter, glancing between Gwen and Alejandro evilly, "Now, campers, this is the last marshmallow of the night. Whoever doesn't receive it will be gone, permanently. Which means you lose your shot at winning 5 million dollars and you also lose the chance to make amends for bad stuff that you've done."
Gwen and Alejandro both looked extremely worried now, gripping their log seats fearfully.
Chris's white smile glinted in the moonlight as he bounced the marshmallow into the air and then back into his hand, "It's really such a shame that one of you will be going. I like you, Alejandro. And I like to torture you, Gwen."
"But there can only be one winner here."
Gwen and Alejandro exchanged glances before turning back to Chris. The host looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the suspense.
"The last marshmallow goes to..."
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"..."
"Alejandro."
Gwen's eyes widened exponentially as Alejandro gladly caught his marshmallow.
"R-really? Me?" She glanced at her teammates. Some of them looked a bit sheepish.
Leshawna, on the other hand, looked horrified. As Alejandro walked up the join the safe Sharks, she stopped him with a hand to his chest.
"Now hold on here! Leshawna knows that you're behind this, you snake!"
Alejandro looked at her sympathetically, "Now, now chica, I assure you that I didn't do anything under-handed. Our teammates just agreed that Gwen's performance today was sub-par. We had to vote somebody off."
Leshawna looked back to the others, her gaze measuring them up, "Is this true?!"
All of them looked uncomfortable at being put on the spot.
Gwen walked up and put a consoling hand on Leshawna's shoulder. Leshawna turned to look at her friend with sad eyes.
"It's alright, Leshawna. They're right that I didn't do anything today. At least I'll get to see Duncan sooner rather than later."
Leshawna gazed at her. "I'm going to miss you."
Gwen smiled at her. "And I'm going to miss you too." The goth hugged her and then whispered to her, "By the way, could you pick the whole Cody thing up while I'm gone? It doesn't look like I'll be that big of a help anymore."
Leshawna smiled sadly. "Of course I will. Leave it to Leshawna!"
Gwen chuckled a bit before moving on to the rest of her team. She shook Cody's hand, as well as Trent's. She nodded at Eva and the others. "Well guys, I'm sorry for today. I hope you can get the Bears tomorrow."
"We're gonna miss you Gwen."
"Don't have too much fun at the Playa now, ya hear?"
Gwen laughed lightly as she walked down the Dock of Shame, playing over the day's events in her mind as she approached the Boat of Losers. She sighed and muttered to herself. "Well, there goes apologizing to Courtney for now, I guess."
Chef spoke up from the driver's seat on the Boat of Losers. "Look at the bright side, soldier. Apologizing in-person can get testy. Now you can do it by letter or something! Much easier." The cook nodded at her as she leaned against the boat's railing, glancing at the moon as the boat took off from the dock, heading toward the Playa des Losers.
The Sharks watched the Boat of Losers take off into the night before heading back toward their cabin as a group.
Leshawna glared at Alejandro and took the lead, still shocked at her friend's elimination.
Alejandro, however, ignored this and decided to spend some time with another one of his teammates. He placed a sympathetic hand on Mike's shoulder as they approached the Sharks' cabin.
"I hope that you're feeling alright, amigo. I know how hard it must be for you to just wake up at the end of a challenge and then almost get voted off."
Mike glanced at him from the side with a neutral expression before giving a slight smile, "Hey, thanks man. I really appreciate that. I just wish that I could stay completely in-control for just one challenge, I mean, I've gotten votes in both ceremonies so far!"
Alejandro responded with a smile of his own, "I can try to help you with that, if you want. I would be happy to help a teammate in need."
Noah, who was lounging in a chair on the porch of the Killer Sharks' cabin until the Drama Brothers party would be over, shot a suspicious look at Alejandro as the team entered their cabin.
CONFESSIONAL:
Noah: The egghead crossed his arms and looked neutrally at the camera as always, "Yeah, it seems clear to me that Alejerkdro is on the move. Everyone else might be fooled by this new attitude, but I can see it for what it is: a sham. It's exactly what he did before for crying out loud!" Noah waved his hands in the air exasperatedly.
"The problem is that I have virtually no way to do anything about it until the merge. In that time, he'll have already gained the trust of all of the Sharks!"
He sighed, "Well, if this game was easy, I would've won it by now, I guess."
(Behind the Bushes Next to the Campfire)
The Boat of Losers could be seen sailing away from the island, the waves cascading behind it as it kept to a steady pace.
Justin turned to face his left, looking quite bored, "Are you satisfied now? It's done."
The camera pans over to reveal the person with him is Courtney. She smirked and held her hand up for a high-five, "Yes I am! You did a fantastic job, partner!"
Justin raised an eyebrow at her uncharacteristic kindness and excitement, but high-fived her anyway.
CONFESSIONAL:
Justin: He looked quite confused, "So, does Courtney like me now or is she just excited about eliminating Gwen? Or does she still hate me and is trying to lure me into a false sense of security?"
He put a hand on his forehead in fatigue, "She's way too confusing of an ally. Honestly, I wish that I had the foresight to make good decisions."
Courtney: She beamed at the camera, "Finally! They're both finally gone! Now all I have to worry about is the minor problem of Harold!"
She looked thoughtful for a moment, "I feel on top of the world right now. Is this how it feels to be drunk?"
Justin scrambled up the porch stairs to the Screaming Bears cabin, bursting through one of the sets of doors in a hurry.
"Hey guys, I'm sorry that I'm a bit late. I had something important to do-"
"AHHHHHHHHHH! JUSTIN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?!"
Justin's eyes shot open and adrenaline took over his body. He quickly jumped outside of the room and shut the door behind him swiftly.
He held his chest to feel his heart beating at one thousand miles per hour.
After he regained his composure, he rolled his eyes and muttered to himself, "What an idiot. I go into this cabin every day and I couldn't remember which side was which."
He took a deep breath and turned the knob of the cabin's other door. Inside, he was greeted by bright lights, loud music, and bunches of food and drinks.
Cody was the first to notice his arrival. The tech geek was fiddling with his phone, which presumably was where the music was coming from.
"Justin! My man! Glad to see you arrived just on time!"
Justin's smile immediately turned into a scowl as he approached one of the bunks and flopped down onto it, "Oh c'mon. Give me a break. I had something to do. I got here as quickly as I could."
Harold, who was currently leafing through his backpack and pulling out board games and packs of cards now joined the conversation, "What were you doing, eh? You're never late. Let me guess, girl problems?"
Trent turned up behind Justin, slapping the model on the back playfully, "That sounds about right. Good to see you made it, dude."
The others began laughing and making jokes about Justin's past escapades with the ladies as he sat there with an annoyed look on his face.
"You have no idea," he muttered quietly to himself.
Chris stood out at the dock, the moon beaming down onto him as he waved at the camera with a wide grin.
"So that was Episode 5! We saw betrayal, we saw screw-uppery, and we saw Gwen get tossed!"
The host rubbed his chin, "Hmmm, first Duncan, and now Gwen. It's almost like there is a pattern there."
The host then broke into a mischievous grin as he threw his arms upward, "But who cares! Someone mysteriously sabotaged the Sharks! Eva nearly killed Manitoba! Trent, in a surprise twist, proved to be the best pirate of all, and Heather proved to have a heart buried deep deep inside of that Grinch chest of hers!"
His grin turned into a one-sided smirk as he chuckled, "And just when everyone thought that Alejandro was a goner, it turned out that enough people were Alefondro of him to save his bacon!"
He laughed at his own joke before winking, "You like what I did there? I called him Alefondro!"
"What will our next over-the-top challenge will be? And who will try to prove their gumption? Will Mike stop screwing up? Will Noah finally find success in an elimination ceremony? Who knows, but we'll be there to film it all for your entertainment!"
"Find out next time on TOTAL. DRAMA. WARS!"
Votes:
Alejandro: Gwen
Ezekiel: Gwen
Mike: Gwen
Scott: Gwen
Leshawna: Alejandro
Gwen: Alejandro
Trent: Alejandro
Cody: Mike
Eva: Mike
Vote Tally:
Gwen: 4 Votes
Alejandro: 3 Votes
Mike: 2 Votes
The Killer Sharks: Alejandro, Scott, Cody, Trent, Ezekiel, Mike, Leshawna, and Eva
The Screaming Bears: Lightning, Heather, Zoey, Courtney, Justin, Noah, Lindsay, and Harold
Elimination Order: Jo, Duncan, Brick, Gwen, ?
That's the end of chapter 9! I really hope you enjoyed it, because I sure enjoyed writing it!
Any thoughts on this chapter?
Gwen was, of course, eliminated because I felt like her character has been focused on enough in past seasons and because I felt like the other characters have more potential to be interesting. Sorry to all of my Gwen fans! At least she's back at the playa with Duncan now, though :) (Even though I personally like her with Trent more myself)
I felt like this one was more of a focus on the Screaming Bears to make up for me giving them less of the spotlight for the past two chapters. All of the drama near the end was pre-planned a while ago, but I needed to fit it around the challenge.
So, here are some questions for anyone who might want to review: (You totally should, by the way.)
How far will Justin's influence go?
Are you liking the conflicts so far? Are you liking the antagonists?
How shocked were you that Gwen was eliminated?
This is WhatTheHeck23 signing off!