Total Drama Party with the Stars Chapter 12: Ep 11: Rebuilding, a total drama series fanfic

Chris, Topher, and Lindsay stood at the city limits of Drama City.

"Last time, on Total Drama Party with the Stars!" the three began in unison.

"Some people found themselves unsure on how to do things going forward, while others lived it up at what they felt was the top of their team," Chris recapped.

"Vladimir did some damage control with Shadya after having backstabbed Ernie by throwing Brittany and Irving under the bus," Topher continued. "Hugh and Steve Jenkins reveled in their positions as swing votes, while Brittany confided in Irving about the pressures of being the only winner to play this season."

"They're all winners in my book," Lindsay smiled. "Even the ones who already got voted off!"

"They are all All-Stars for a reason," Topher backed up. "Okay, most of them are. But that's a conversation for another day."

"Cyan officiated her alliance with Bailey, Louise, Nolan, and Quentin," Chris continued. "Frita was at Isolation Park, so she was left out of the discussion on who to target next. Other than that, Dalit and Kiki solidified their unbreakable alliance, and Jean-Marie and Kun discussed Kun's insecurities about his leadership."

"Jayne also mentioned that they miss Joseph! That's very important," Lindsay added.

"Jayne's not even a contestant and Joseph's been gone forever, who cares?" Topher scoffed.

"I care!" Lindsay cried.

"Be nice, you two," Chris groaned. "Anyway, the challenge was a gross food eating challenge that pitted contestants from different teams against each other in one-on-one bouts to see who could finish first. Shockingly, no one threw up. Not even the ones who ate the cow brain."

"I've heard of brain food, but that was ridiculous!" Topher laughed.

"Wait, what's brain food?" Lindsay asked.

"I, uh... I actually don't know, I just know it's a thing," Topher admitted.

"Anyway, the Grand Gryphons took their second win of the season! Only took them, what, nine rounds?" Chris chuckled. "Upon being told by Quentin that Cyan's alliance planned on booting Dalit, Frita played the Brittany Statue she'd apparently had for a while. Not wanting her ally to go, she used her power to exempt Dalit from attending the elimination."

"And that wasn't all Quentin did at elimination," Topher smirked. "He sold out Cyan's alliance and the fact that Jean-Marie was their backup target. He even threw Bailey under the bus in order to give Jean-Marie a lifeline."

"I can't listen to this," Lindsay sniffled.

"Yes indeed, despite his efforts, Quentin was not able to prevent Jean-Marie from going home, although, to his credit, there was a tie and a revote, which was broken by a flip of Nolan's coin," Chris explained. "He contemplated using his Genesis Statue, but ultimately decided not to piss his other allies off even more."

"The Fighting Wyverns sure were fighting, that much is for sure," Topher commented.

"What do we have in store for our contestants today? And who will be the next contestant to get shackled out of the game?" Chris asked. "Only one way to find out! It's all happening right now, on Total!"

"Drama!" Topher and Lindsay continued.

"Party with the Stars!" the three concluded in unison.

The fourteen unexiled contestants met up with Chris, Topher, and Lindsay at McLean Park.

"It is definitely too early for a challenge," Hugh groaned. "This had better be a team swap or shuffle or something!"

"Who can say?" Topher teased.

"Chris can," Lindsay offered helpfully. "That's his job."

"That, it is!" Chris announced proudly. He revealed a small burlap sack from behind his back. "In this bag are several colored balls. I'm going to need each of you to take one, and keep it held in your fist until everyone gets one."

"Shouldn't we wait for Brittany to come back before doing this?" Bailey asked.

"I mean if you guys don't want any time to get to know your teammates before starting an Invincibility challenge..." Chris trailed off coyly.

This was met with assurances from several contestants that they did not want to wait.

"Yeah, thought so," Chris smirked. He offered the sack to Shadya, who stood at the very left of the group.

Shadya took the first ball her hand found and removed it from the bag. "No matter who's on my team, I will emerge victorious in the end."

"That would be a lot more reassuring if we had any kind of winning streak," Vladimir chuckled as he took his ball.

"Your input is valuable and deeply appreciated," Shadya leered acidically.

"That's why I gave it," Vladimir condescended.

"Whatever, um, happens, whoever's on my team can, um, rely on me," Kun offered.

"Both of your allies were voted out," Dalit pointed out.

"See, haha, I don't, um, have anyone else to turn to, you can rely on me, haha," Kun attempted.

It wasn't long before everyone had taken a ball.

"Alright guys, reveal your balls in three... two..." Chris began.

Topher couldn't stifle a laugh. Lindsay gave him a light smack on the chest.

"Come on, as far as balls jokes go, that one was at least above average," Topher laughed.

"Three, two, one," Chris instructed flatly.

...

The contestants revealed the colors of the balls they'd taken. Bailey, Kiki, Kun, Quentin, and Shadya had each taken a gold-colored ball. Cyan, Frita, Irving, Nolan, and Vladimir had each taken a maroon-colored ball. Dalit, Hugh, Louise, and Steve Jenkins had each taken a mint-colored ball.

"Hey, wait a minute," Steve Jenkins noticed.

"Those of you with the gold balls, you are now the new Grand Gryphons!" Chris announced.

"We meet again," Shadya said to Kun.

"Yes, I suppose we do," Kun admitted.

"Certainly an interesting setup," Bailey commented.

"At least I'm on the team that's closer to being a bird," Quentin smiled. "Unless the new team is the Harpies or something. That'd be disappointing."

"Don't use that w-! Wait, you meant the actual mythological creatures," Kiki cut herself off. "Sorry, force of habit."

"Those of you with maroon balls, you are now the new Fighting Wyverns!" Chris continued.

"Nice to meet you all," Vladimir told his teammates. "As a reminder, you may call me Vladimir. Most people do."

"We've met already... although you probably forgot about that..." Frita murmured.

"I, for one, am glad to see ginger solidarity on me new team," Irving grinned as he put his arms around Frita's and Nolan's shoulders.

"Hey, that's not fair, blue is better!" Cyan objected.

"This team definitely won't fail to entertain," Nolan chuckled.

"And those of you with mint balls..." Chris explained. "You guys, in addition to Brittany, once she comes back from Isolation Park, have made it at least this far, to the team shuffle, so I think the name of the new team should reflect how you ought to feel. You guys are now the Proud Pegasuses!"

"Pretty sure the plural is 'pegasi'," Topher pointed out.

"No matter how many times you tell me that, I'm not going to care!" Chris exasperated.

"Alright, Pegasi! Let's show the others why we're so proud!" Louise encouraged.

"Yes! We are majestic pegasi and we will win!" Dalit agreed.

"A team full of majestic pegasi absolutely fits the bill of Steve Jenkins," Steve Jenkins grinned.

"We're the Proud Pegasi," Hugh snickered.

"Alright. Fine. Proud Pegasi," Chris relented.

"I just think flying horsies are neat," Lindsay added.

"Anyway, here's how the new three-team setup is going to go," Chris informed. "Much like House Party, only the team who does the worst in the challenge will be voting someone out. The team who places second will be voting for who among them did the worst and will be sent to Isolation Park. This team will also stay in the motel instead of Blaising Tower. The first-place team will stay in Blaising Tower, get access to the O'Neal Barcade, and vote for who on their team did the best and gets penthouse privileges."

"What about the garage hangouts?" Louise brought up. "Do we just not get to visit either of them anymore?"

"Oh, uh, shoot, that's right," Chris recalled.

"What do you mean 'that's right'? Nelson brought that up in the meeting last night," Topher told him.

"Look, I'm going to be real, it didn't seem like a priority issue, and I was still hung up on all the crap he was talking about my shirt," Chris insisted. "Since you apparently remember it all, you tell them."

"I will," Topher said with a proud folding of his arms. "Whichever team gets first place will have access to the Wyverns' old garage, with the PlayStation and the drinks and stuff. Whichever team gets second gets access to the Gryphons' old garage, which didn't get rewards. The team who gets last place won't get access to either of them."

"That makes a reasonable amount of sense," Kiki accepted.

"Lots of incentive to win," Nolan agreed. "Or, at least, to not lose."

"Wait, do the old Gryphons still get to stay in Blaising Tower today?" Hugh asked.

"Yes, you guys get the room arrangements you earned in the last challenge for now," Chris explained. "The new system will be in place once the next challenge is over."

"Makes sense," Bailey accepted.

"We'll be meeting back here at the usual time for the challenge," Chris concluded. "Have fun getting to know your new teammates. Hehaha."

"See you guys then~!" Lindsay waved.

Confessional:

Quentin: Last night's elimination left me... kind of scared, I won't lie. I wasn't sure what on Earth I was going to do about a big chunk of my team, a lot of my allies, being mad at me. I'm not thrilled about being on a team with Bailey and Kiki, still, but at least I still have Kun. Hopefully, me sticking up for JM at least a little will put me in his good graces.

Cyan: This sudden team shuffle is something, that's for sure. By far the person on the new Wyverns I trust the most is Nolan, and even then, nobody can rely on his vote. And then there's Irving. (She takes a deep breath.) Then there's Irving.

Louise: You know what, even if I'm on a team with none of my old allies, I see this as an opportunity to make even more allies! Brittany always seemed really cool, although she's still in isolation right now. I guess I'll have to talk to Hugh and Steve Jenkins for now.

Shadya: I think we actually have a very capable team on paper. I've heard that Kiki and Kun don't get along very well, so if that proves to be an issue, I'll definitely have to remove one of them. But this is a team that understands the value of a focus on perseverance, and I think that will do us well.

Irving: Gyarharhar! This sure do be a team, don't it? An old enemy, a new enemy, someone who votes at random, and someone who be so defeatist that she hardly tries. The Total Drama gods must have it out for me. How's a cap'n to approach this? I be as excited to find out as ye be!

Steve Jenkins: You know what, I could do a lot worse. This is the perfect opportunity to vote out Brittany finally, plus I'm still chilling with my main ally Hugh. Louise is alright. I don't know anything about Dalit, but she seems like a lamer. It shouldn't matter too much. I'm Steve Jenkins, I can make anything work. Even socks and sandals if I really wanted. I just don't want to.

Brittany, meanwhile, wandered through Isolation Park on the search for statues.

"This place is a lot bigger than I expected it to be," Brittany thought aloud. "I guess it would have to be if they're hiding as many statues in here as they are."

She put her back into overturning a rock. Nothing looked to be underneath.

"There has to be something buried underneath here, right?" Brittany asked herself. "They wouldn't make the rock that easy to move if it wasn't hiding something. Unless that's what they want me to think. What am I going to use to dig? My hands?"

Brittany looked around the area.

"Well, better to get my hands dirty than to look for a tool and forget where I'm supposed to be digging in the first place," Brittany figured.

She began pawing at the dirt that was beneath the rock. It wasn't as loose as she'd hoped, and she wasn't able to make much progress.

"I guess I should keep looking. Either I find another suspicious spot or something I can dig with," Brittany decided. "Man, it's weird not being able to talk to anyone about the game. There's so much that could be going on right now and I'd have no idea."

Confessional:

Brittany: Hugh, Irving, and I decided to vote for me as the worst because I volunteered for it. I wanted to search for statues, and they didn't seem to have any issue with that. They certainly made it an ordeal to find these things. I guess there's a chance that they've all been found already, which would stink, but I might as well look because I don't know for sure. It's not like there's much else I could be doing.

The marquee at Hatchet's Diner read 'We bought too many pigs' feet. Enjoy!' Kun, Quentin, and Shadya shared a table for breakfast.

"Let me be the first to extend my welcome to the Grand Gryphons," Shadya told her new teammates. "I can only hope you two will be better teammates than what I've been dealing with all game so far."

"I, um, I like to think so," Kun told her. "And I hope that we can work together this time, rather than against each other."

"You understand that this means that I will be in charge, yes?" Shadya informed him.

"Our prior placements speak volumes. You, um, know what you're doing more than I do," Kun told her.

"I'd like to work with you guys, too, if that's possible," Quentin offered.

"Of course. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't hoping to include you," Kun told him. "You stood up for Jean-Marie, and that also speaks, um, volumes."

"I am willing to work with you as well," Shadya told Quentin.

"Glad to hear it," Quentin smiled.

"If I may ask, um, Shadya, what is your prior relationship with Bailey?" Kun inquired.

"Unsure. She claimed to be willing to work with me, but she was clearly close with people who did not want to work with me," Shadya explained.

"Well, she was a big part in JM going last night," Quentin frowned. "So she didn't leave the best impression on us."

"And Kiki, um, has actively worked against me the entire game," Kun added.

"I worked with her for a while, but I don't know how much I want to keep that up," Quentin admitted. "She and Bailey looked like they were getting closer."

"Bailey is, um, frighteningly well-connected," Kun posited. "I think she's the person I'm the most worried about in this game in general."

"Being on two teams even before the team shuffle does give her an immense advantage," Shadya conceded. "I'd rather not lose in the first place, but if it comes down to it, I think we have a clear option."

"Nice," Quentin grinned. "Here's to new beginnings!"

"Uh, hear hear," Kun agreed.

"Yeah, hear hear, et cetera," Shadya halfheartedly echoed.

Confessional:

Quentin: Bailey really burned me last night, and the others are right in that she's probably got friends on both original teams at this point. I'm glad that Kun and Shadya are both willing to work with me. Assuming no more statues come into play, we should be good! Haha...

Shadya: It's wonderful to finally have allies who are actually willing to listen to me this season. Everyone on the original Gryphons was too self-obsessed to work together effectively, but these Wyvern men understand the value in following who is clearly their most capable teammate. I'll lead by example and show everyone why I can so confidently call myself human perfection. (She cracks her knuckles.)

Kun: I've been thinking a lot about my insistence for trying to lead others and how, um, recklessly I've been going about that. I think I should, um, hold it back, maybe learn from watching, and I know Shadya, um, knows what she's doing. I'm content to follow her lead.

Cyan and Nolan met up in Nolan's motel room. Cyan sat on the bed as Nolan played solitaire.

"It's one thing after another with this game, isn't it?" Cyan fretted.

"That's Total Drama," Nolan told her. "I do intend to stick by you, however you want to take this. We've got a few options, here."

"Our new team is Frita, Vladimir, and... Irving," Cyan recalled.

"Your past with Irving still runs deep, it sounds like," Nolan noted.

"The way he hounded Vanessa just to make her feel bad about voting me out was sickening," Cyan grimaced.

"He is a pretty big threat. If you want to try and talk to Frita and Vladimir and get them to vote for him, I can think of worse courses of action," Nolan figured.

"I will need both of them, won't I?" Cyan sighed. "I know I don't need to tell you that your dice twist really makes things a lot harder than they need to be."

"That's the idea," Nolan smirked. "It's Total Drama on hard mode, so to speak. The game's hard enough as it is, but this makes it even more of a challenge to overcome. I think it's fun. Besides, what's the harm in getting both of them to listen to you in the first place? More allies is a good thing, right?"

"I don't know if I want to work with Vladimir," Cyan hummed. "I overheard him being called Vladimir back before he was making that public, and he threatened me in order to keep my mouth shut."

"Well, it's him or Irving," Nolan restated. "Tell you what: I can talk to whichever of the two you feel better about working with, and you can talk to Frita."

"Honestly, I still don't even feel great about Frita after her and Quentin blowing up the plan last night, but beggars can't be choosers right now," Cyan admitted.

"I can't imagine she'd rather side with Irving or Vladimir than with us," Nolan said. "We've reached out to her before. Vladimir's voted her out before."

"That is true," Cyan agreed. She clapped her hands together. "We can do this! We will do this, or I'll dye my hair red!"

"That's a confidence I like to hear!" Nolan grinned. "Now, the question here is: who's the ideal target? Irving or Vladimir?"

"I honestly think Irving is the bigger threat to us, but Vladimir might be easier to get votes against," Cyan thought aloud. "But then, can we trust Irving to vote with us? But then, can we trust Vladimir to vote with us?"

"Shall we flip a coin to decide?" Nolan offered.

"You and your gambling," Cyan tutted.

"I'm just offering to help you make a decision," Nolan frowned. "You seemed to be into it before. I taught you all about tarot solitaire."

Cyan didn't have an answer.

Confessional:

Cyan: This team shuffle didn't go optimally for me, but sometimes you just have to be able to roll with the punches! What's the worst that can happen? Don't answer that, nobody answer that, I want to stay optimistic!

Nolan: People definitely seem to be a lot sourer on my dice twist this time around. I get it, I really do, but I won't just stop doing it because the others don't like it. That's all just part of the dice challenge, as far as I'm concerned. My desire to help Cyan is genuine, and I'll do it as best as I can, but as far as my vote goes... even I don't know. We'll see what happens.

Louise found Hugh at McLean Park.

"Hey, new teamie!" Louise called as she ran up to him.

"Huh? Oh, Louise," Hugh recognized. "What's up?"

"I mean, I just wanted to introduce myself, maybe get to know you a bit," Louise figured. "We're teammates now, so it's important that we can trust each other going forward."

"Even if we have to vote someone out?" Hugh chuckled darkly.

"We can worry about that later. No sense in throwing people under the bus before we even know anything about each other," Louise offered.

"Alright, I guess catch me up on how things have gone for you in the game so far," Hugh requested. "Joseph and Jean-Marie weren't the two I expected to go first from your team, not going to lie."

"I actually don't think either of them were necessarily the intended targets going in," Louise admitted. "Okay, JM kind of was, kind of wasn't. It was going to be Dalit, but Frita played a statue that made Dalit skip the ceremony entirely, and JM was the backup target."

"I imagine Dalit's pretty pissed about that," Hugh chuckled.

"Honestly, of all the people for me to be on the same team," Louise agreed. "That's why I'm interested in reaching out to you. I'm willing to work with you if it means taking out someone who probably wants us both gone."

"I never talked much to Dalit, but she's dating Ephraim, which is probably the worst possible taste out of everyone from Alpha Party," Hugh grimaced. "He's probably told her a lot of shit about me, so yeah, she probably does want me gone now that you mention it."

'What about your team? Bailey never told me much about it," Louise admitted.

"My team? Not too much to say," Hugh responded. "Shadya would have gone home next. Big threat and all, you know."

"Makes sense," Louise figured. "How about Brittany and Steve Jenkins? Is there anything to worry about with them?"

"I mean, Steve Jenkins started gunning for Brittany pretty hard near the start of the game, so there might be some beef between them still," Hugh explained. "It's hard to say for sure without Brittany here."

"Either way, I'm willing to work with you," Louise reiterated. "Name a target. I'm there. Unless that target is me. I wouldn't be as on board with that."

"Tch. Totally unreasonable," Hugh remarked. "How am I supposed to trust you if you're going to just deviate from the plan like that?"

"I am known for my manipulative gameplay," Louise played along.

Confessional:

Louise: I think I'd honestly be fine with voting out anyone on this team, including Hugh if I hear better offers from Brittany or Steve Jenkins. I just need to figure out how to maneuver myself so I can get by until the merge. Hugh seemed open to working with me, but he's also kind of a snake, so I'm not going to put all my eggs in that basket.

Hugh: It really says something about this team that Louise saw me as the first person she could turn to. I guess Brittany's still in Isolation right now, but still. Whatever the case, right now I just need to keep myself and my allies safe. Er, I mean, I need to keep myself safe by keeping my allies safe. I'll drop my allies in a second if I have to! I just don't have to right now.

Bailey and Kiki met up in the nicer garage hangout.

"Is this really the best place to meet up?" Bailey asked. "Most of our new team hails from the original Wyverns. They can still walk in on us. As can original Wyverns from other teams."

"It was never a big concern before, and I don't see it being one now," Kiki said. "If all else fails, we can change the topic. For now, I want you to know that I have your back. You helped me get rid of Jean-Marie even before Frita saved Dalit. That's huge."

"What concerns me is how vehemently Quentin wished to aid Jean-Marie," Bailey thought aloud.

"Yeah, those two were always friendly, but never allies as far as I knew," Kiki agreed. "Either way, the question is whether we can trust him or not, and right now I'm leaning towards not."

"If not him, we'd have to put our trust in Kun or Shadya," Bailey outlined. "And I can't imagine Kun is someone we can rely on, nor want to."

"I couldn't agree more," Kiki confirmed. "That means we should talk to Shadya about working with us. You mentioned that she trusted you before I pulled you over to my team, right?"

"I believe she trusted me, but to be perfectly honest, I never fully intended to work with her, and Ernie knew that. He probably told her," Bailey admitted.

"Well, it's more than Kun or Quentin have with her. I think we can still use that to our advantage," Kiki figured.

"That is true," Bailey conceded. "Do you think there's anything we can salvage with Quentin, just in case?"

"I can try, but there's no guarantee," Kiki told her. "Frankly, I'm not in any rush to help him after he nearly blew up the plan. Although the fact that he didn't play his Genesis Statue... confuses me. It sounded like he was going to and then chickened out."

"I was wondering what that outburst was about," Bailey hummed.

"Did... Did we not tell you about the Genesis Statue?" Kiki blinked. "I'd thought we had, sorry about that. Yeah, he has a statue that works pretty much like how they did in Alpha Party, except I think you have to play it before the votes are revealed."

"That's concerning," Bailey noted. "And could change things. If he plays that, then, even if we have a majority against him, he could still vote one of us out."

"I was going to suggest just sticking with Kun as a target, but even if we do get rid of him, that just confirms that Quentin would play his statue next, and then one of us definitely goes home."

"We could divert his attention to Shadya as a target. We've worked with him before and she has not," Bailey suggested.

"Let's talk to Shadya and Quentin before making any hard plans," Kiki decided. "The best-laid plans, and all that."

"Agreed," Bailey nodded.

Confessional:

Bailey: Nobody on this team is somebody I see myself making long-term plans with, but Kiki is willing to work with me, at least for now, so I'll work with her, at least for now. This game can go in all sorts of directions, and it pays to stick with whatever security you can.

Kiki: It figures that, even when the teams get shuffled, I still end up with Kun and Quentin. I think I've proven in the past, though, that I can overcome bad odds, even for just one round, by saying the right things to the right people.

Vladimir found Frita eating breakfast by herself and sat down across from her.

"Long time no see. It's nice to meet again," Vladimir smiled.

"You forgot all about me until this season happened and you know it," Frita accused.

"Not true. You were the first person I ever voted out. You don't forget that," Vladimir chuckled. "In all honesty, my only issue with you was that you weren't contributing as much in challenges as the others. I never got to know you personally, and I'd like to remedy that."

"Why?" Frita doubted.

"If we're going to be teammates again, then we should get along, right?" Vladimir figured.

"So you can vote me out the instant you realize that I'm a waste of your time and effort because everyone else on the team is more useful than me?" Frita pressed.

"Hahaha. Let's get one thing straight: nobody is more worthy of being voted out than Irving," Vladimir said point-blank. "I can see that you're someone who doesn't like to mince words, so I'll be straight with you: I want Irving gone. Not only is he unreliable, but he's a threat, someone with allies who will steamroll the merge if he isn't dealt with."

"So you're just using me and probably Cyan to further your goals?" Frita asked.

"I mean, if you want to look at it that pessimistically, that's essentially what having friends and allies in this game boils down to," Vladimir figured. "I get that you don't want to be hurt by investing yourself in a friendship only for that friend to reject you later on, so you tend to push others away. Believe me, if anyone understands the value of keeping others at arms' length, it's me. But I want to make it known that I have no reason to push you away. I know you've probably heard that before, and I know you probably don't trust me, but I'm putting this offer out there. I don't need an answer right away; take the time to think about your other options."

"My other option being 'work with Cyan and Irving' instead of 'work with Cyan and you'," Frita scoffed. "Unless you really want to work with Irving and you've been BSing me this whole time."

"I assure you that's not the case," Vladimir promised. "I guess it's just as up to Cyan as it is to you, but judging by how Virtual Party went down, I don't know how inclined Cyan would be to work with Irving."

"...If the three of us work together, then even if Nolan votes the same as Irving by chance, then we have the majority no matter what," Frita conceded. "Unless a statue gets in the way."

"That is a concern, but it's not one we can really plan around," Vladimir admitted.

"Why didn't you just say that from the beginning instead of pretending like you wanted to be my friend?" Frita frowned.

"I do a lot of pretending," Vladimir acknowledged. "I'll let you decide if me offering to be your friend was also pretending. Friendship is a mutual thing, after all."

"Believe me, I know from experience how not-the-case that can be," Frita winced. "Tell me something about the real you, and I might believe you."

"Alright," Vladimir chuckled. "The real me, underneath all these layers, really, really likes K-pop."

"...Really?" Frita asked skeptically.

"Sure do," Vladimir told her.

"Ugh, I still can't tell if you're BSing me or not," Frita groaned.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Vladimir chuckled.

Confessional:

Frita: I know Vladimir's just trying to manipulate me into trusting him. He is right about Cyan probably wanting to vote out Irving, and since Nolan's practically a non-factor, it'd be up to the three of us to get rid of him. I guess as long as it isn't me... I'm willing to stick around as long as I can. It's not like I'll get many other chances to do something like this.

Vladimir: By my estimation, Frita's the least trusting person in this game, so if I want her to trust and work with me, and I do, I need to make clear to her that I don't intend to string her along. How true that is is... to be determined. She wasn't my initial choice of a target back on Team Beer, either. Things can change, and it's important to keep an eye out for those things.

Dalit found Steve Jenkins admiring himself in a full-length mirror at the clothes warehouse.

"What are you doing here?" Dalit asked.

"This is the only place I could find with a tall mirror," Steve Jenkins explained. "As amazing as I know I am, it helps to give myself a hard reminder of that fact everyone once in a while. What are you doing here?"

"Looking through the clothes. I want to see if there's anything cute," Dalit explained.

"Well, I am right here," Steve Jenkins winked.

"I have a boyfriend," Dalit leered.

"That wasn't an offer, but alright," Steve Jenkins shrugged. "We're on the same team now, right?"

"I think so," Dalit nodded. "The Pegasi?"

"That's right. Welcome aboard the Steve Jenkins train," Steve Jenkins offered.

"No one person owns this team. That's not what a team is," Dalit told him.

"See, but you're forgetting one important thing," Steve Jenkins claimed. "I'm Steve Jenkins. The rules don't apply to me. I just follow the ones I think are worth following, to stay humble."

"It's not working," Dalit said point-blank.

"You're just saying that because you're taken and you're trying to trick your brain into not thinking I'm the best because you want to stay faithful," Steve Jenkins dismissed. "Which is admirable, but you're still saying some hurtful things to me."

"That was on purpose," Dalit said.

"Jealousy isn't a good look on anybody. I know from experience because lots of people are jealous of me on the daily," Steve Jenkins claimed. "I mean, I get where they're coming from, but you've got to have self-control with these things. Everyone wishes they were me, you know? It's easy to get carried away when voicing that."

"Do you really believe everything you're always saying?" Dalit asked.

"Steve Jenkins is a lot of things, but a liar is not one of them," Steve Jenkins said. "People look up to me. What kind of example would I be setting if I condoned dishonesty?"

"What kind of example are you setting by being arrogant?" Dalit scoffed.

"It's called charisma. It gets people inspired," Steve Jenkins scoffed back.

"Inspired to jump into a canyon, maybe," Dalit said.

"Look, if you're just going to be rude, then you can go away," Steve Jenkins glared.

"I was here first!" Dalit claimed.

"No you weren't!" Steve Jenkins argued.

"...Wait, I wasn't," Dalit recalled. "Tch. Fine."

Dalit made her leave.

Confessional:

Dalit: I think... I think I hate Steve Jenkins so much that all my anger burns me out right away. I can't even be aggressive with him because he's just tiring. Nobody is owed anything on a silver platter, no matter what! I don't know why he thinks he's better than everyone, but he's not!

Steve Jenkins: I guess, after meeting Dalit, I can't say I'm surprised she was voted out first the last time she played. She's just mean. Doesn't she know who she's talking to, here? You'd think she'd at least be nicer to me because I'm Steve Jenkins. Some people, man.

Kiki met up with Kun at the table outside the motel.

"I hope you have a good pitch," Kun frowned. "Voting out my two closest allies didn't exactly make you someone I'm inclined to trust."

"What if I start by telling you that Quentin has a statue?" Kiki offered. "The Genesis Statue. If you play it after the votes are cast but before they're revealed, you can nullify all votes for one person of your choosing."

"And you want me to, um, help you get rid of it because you don't trust Quentin anymore?" Kun guessed.

"Listen, Quentin's officially a wild card at this point," Kiki reasoned. "You might be inclined to trust him because he was in Jean-Marie's corner last night, but that's because he was friends with Jean-Marie. Without that factor, can you trust him to stick with you?"

"If it, um, worries you enough that you're trying to talk me out of potentially working with him, then maybe I can trust him," Kun retorted.

Kiki sighed. "Listen, Kun. I know we've had our differences, and it's made it hard to trust each other. Neither of us ever wanted that, I know we didn't. The team shuffle is an opportunity to remedy that."

"...I want Bailey gone," Kun informed her. "She was on both teams before the, um, shuffle even happened. She's well-connected. We don't know how many friends or allies she's got from the, um, original Gryphons."

"You sure it doesn't have anything to do with her throwing Jean-Marie under the bus?" Kiki asked.

"That, um, certainly isn't making me want to vote her out any less," Kun conceded. "But anyway, if you really, truly want my trust, then vote for Bailey at the first opportunity."

"Even with Shadya on this team, you still insist on being the leader, huh?" Kiki noted.

"Shadya's actually on board with it," Kun informed her.

"Is that what she told you?" Kiki challenged. "And you just trusted her?"

"I, er, um..." Kun stammered. "Shadya's, um, a very straightforward person, I don't know if she's the lying type..."

"Unless that's what she wants you to think," Kiki added.

"Unless that's what you want me to think!" Kun panicked. "That's the thing, Kiki: You've already gone behind my back. Shadya hasn't."

"That doesn't mean I will again, and that doesn't mean she won't!" Kiki exasperated.

"Look, um, the bottom line is: Bailey needs to go," Kun maintained. "Are you willing to do what it takes to vote her out?"

"She's the only person I can trust on this team, apparently," Kiki declined. "I wasn't even supposed to try and work you over, you know. I told Bailey I'd talk to Quentin first. I see the potential for us to work together."

"I saw it, too. I reached out to you at the start of the game for a reason," Kun told her. "But I see more potential to work with others, now."

"Who? The wildcard and the woman who literally believes she's perfect?" Kiki doubted. "Do you really expect them to listen or adhere to anything you have to say?"

Kun sighed and looked to the ground.

"All I'm asking is that you help me get rid of Quentin's statue," Kiki reiterated. "It'll be one less thing for you to worry about."

"...I may be able to do that," Kun conceded. "But know that, um, this will mean Bailey goes home."

"Not if you vote for Shadya," Kiki told him.

"That's not a promise I can guarantee I'd keep," Kun responded.

Confessional:

Kiki: The way I see it, if we tell Quentin the votes are against him, then, regardless of if they are or not, we can get him to play his statue. Then we can take advantage of that and vote out Kun. ...At this point, I don't know if Kun and I are ever going to be able to trust each other, albeit not for lack of trying on my part.

Kun: I feel like both Kiki and I, um, strive for control, both in and out of the game. That's definitely admirable, and I know she'll be successful in life, but for the purposes of my game right now, I can't see myself working with her. Shadya's much the same, um, granted, but Kiki's voted out my two closest allies, so, um, I know whom I'd rather work with.

Cyan ate lunch by herself when Irving sat across from her.

"No! I don't want to hear whatever it is you have to say," Cyan declined.

"Cyan, lass, I beg of ye," Irving frowned. "It's been years. I be a new pirate."

"I sincerely doubt that," Cyan said flatly. "A sea slug can't change its spots."

"Keh. Points for picking a blue animal and a sea animal," Irving complimented.

"Damn, I was just trying for a blue animal," Cyan grumbled. "Just give me your phony deal and get out of my hair, alright?"

"As much as I wish I was in any position to be lying to ye, sadly that be not the case," Irving shook his head. "Look at our team. Even if I wasn't working against Vladimir, which I do be, ye original Wyverns outnumber us."

"Don't pretend like Nolan's a factor," Cyan accused.

"For all I know, he could be faking the dice thing. Sounds like something I'd do," Irving shrugged. "What worries me is that Vladimir could, and likely do be, take advantage of his past connection with that lass Frita."

"What connection? The one where he voted her out the first chance he got?" Cyan doubted.

"Has he spoken to ye yet?" Irving asked.

"It's a big city. He probably just hasn't found the opportunity to," Cyan stated.

"He be familiar to her. Even with a different appearance, that still counts for something," Irving claimed.

"Great. So that means I can just work with Vladimir and Frita to vote you out," Cyan told him.

"And then what?" Irving chuckled. "Are ye really willing to put your game up to a two versus two tie again? Especially one with Nolan?"

"You're putting a lot of stock into this hypothetical and unlikely relationship," Cyan pointed out. "That tells me that you're definitely up to something. Probably planning something with Vladimir."

"Such as?" Irving pressed.

"Getting me and Frita to split our votes so you and Vladimir can have an easy majority against whichever of us you please, probably me," Cyan figured.

"Gah, I wish I'd thought of that! That be a great plan!" Irving smacked his forehead.

"Whatever, Irving," Cyan sighed.

"It would be a great plan if I could trust Vladimir worth a damn. But I can't," Irving reiterated.

"And I can't trust you. So good day," Cyan told him.

"Suit yourself," Irving decided as he took his tray of food and stood up. "But me quarters always be open."

"Your what?!" Cyan gasped.

"Yeah, that came out wrong, I could tell as soon as I said it," Irving admitted. "I be willing to work with ye, is what I be saying."

Irving left and sat at a different booth.

"Mhm," Cyan emoted skeptically.

Confessional:

Cyan: I'd rather put my game in Lilith's hands than Irving's, that's how little I can trust that man. The actual nerve of him approaching me like he wants to work together. And, yeah, shockingly, I don't think Frita's going to turn to a guy she shared a team with years ago for two days as her new closest ally when I've known her for a week and a half and we're already kind of aligned.

Irving: If anyone on this team be the one to help me take down Vladimir, it be Cyan. Obviously, she has every right to resent how I was able to get rid of her last time, but that be all in the past, aye? This be a new game, with new opportunities. Mainly opportunities involving helping me out. Ye reckon I could get Nolan to tip things in a pirate's favor?

Louise entered the clothes warehouse to find Steve Jenkins still there, still admiring himself in the mirror.

"Hey, Steve Jenkins! Long time no see," Louise greeted.

"If it isn't Gretchen's arch-nemesis," Steve Jenkins hummed.

"To be fair, Gretchen had like seven arch-nemesi," Louise chuckled.

"Is that actually the plural?" Steve Jenkins wondered.

"If we're the Pegasi, then it checks out, I think," Louise offered. "You still keep in touch with her, then?"

"Of course. She's one of the only people who isn't deeply intimidated by the thought of talking to yours truly," Steve Jenkins said. "It's a problem that's caused a lot of folks to stop messaging me."

"That sucks, man," Louise told him. "But hey, I'm willing to talk to you right now. How's the game been going for you?"

"Ah, you know how it is," Steve Jenkins told her. "A bunch of lamers have tried to get me eliminated, but I, being Steve Jenkins, laugh in the face of their feeble attempts against me! Not literally, because it's important to encourage people when they're trying to do something they're not good at."

"I hear that," Louise chuckled. "As a PE teacher, I get a lot of kids who don't want to try because they don't think they're cut out for sports. Maybe they're not, but I always tell them that they'll never get better if they don't keep trying and learning from their mistakes."

"But anyway, what's important is that Steve Jenkins abides," Steve Jenkins said proudly. "Hey, how did you know I was here, anyway? Are you secretly a Steve Jenkins fangirl? What about what's-his-face?"

"Elmer? I'm still happily married to him," Louise informed. "Dalit told me you were here. It sounded more like a warning than anything, but I thought it'd be neat to catch up."

"Yeah, Dalit's mean," Steve Jenkins grumbled. "Not thrilled to be on a team with her."

"She can be a handful, for sure," Louise giggled. "What are your takes on Brittany and Hugh?"

"Hugh's tight. Probably my best ally in this game, honestly," Steve Jenkins relayed. "Brittany, I've wanted gone from the start, and nothing's happened, so that's kind of annoying."

"What's Brittany's deal?" Louise asked.

"She already won? Why should we keep her around when someone else finally has another shot to win?" Steve Jenkins pointed out.

"Well, if you're willing to vote her out, I'm not against that idea," Louise told him.

"Heh. Shuffle Party really did have the best players," Steve Jenkins grinned.

"You know it!" Louise agreed.

Confessional:

Louise: With Steve Jenkins, you just kind of have to go along with what he says and tell him what he wants to hear, and he'll be pretty open to listening. I'm not against voting for Brittany if that's where the votes fall, but I would like to hear her side of it all before making any promises.

Steve Jenkins: Gretchen always told me Louise was super fake, but she seems alright to me. And if there's one thing that nobody can do, it's trick Steve Jenkins. And hey, it sounds like we've got the votes against Brittany now! That'll be one less person in between Steve Jenkins and sweet, sweet victory!

The contestants met up with Chris, Topher, and Lindsay at McLean Park.

"We now reintroduce Brittany from Isolation Park!" Chris announced as he gestured towards the woman approaching.

"Hey guys, I- ...Did you guys change the teams without me?" Brittany asked as she noticed the different groups of people standing together.

"Yep! Brittany, go join up with Dalit, Hugh, Louise, and Steve Jenkins. Welcome to the Proud Pegasi," Chris instructed.

"Alrighty then," Brittany accepted, still taken aback a bit. She approached her new team. "Hey, guys. Nice to meet you, ladies."

"Welcome to the winning team!" Louise beamed as she took Brittany's hand for a powerful handshake.

"Let's do our best," Dalit nodded.

"I looked it up, by the way. Brain food is exactly what it sounds like: food that helps your brain work better," Topher brought up. "Stuff with specific vitamins or antioxidants or something."

"Where did that come from?" Kiki asked.

"That was from the recap, none of them were there for that," Chris told Topher.

"I learned something new today, though, so that's cool!" Lindsay smiled.

"Learning is important," Kun agreed.

"Ye know what else be important? Winning! What be the challenge, Chris?" Irving requested.

"Excellent question!" Chris affirmed. "Everyone, follow me to the museum!"

"We have a museum?" Nolan asked.

"There are a lot of buildings nobody has entered. For all we know, we could have a butler cafe," Shadya stated.

"That's oddly specific," Vladimir chuckled.

"It's an example. Let's proceed to the challenge," Shadya suggested.

"Do we have a butler cafe?" Lindsay asked Topher quietly as everyone followed Chris.

"What, and ruin the surprise?" Topher responded.

Confessional:

Quentin: I wonder what kind of museum we have here. Cornell University has a museum of ornithology, and I've always wanted to go there, but I doubt this is going to be anything like that. I'd settle for just one bird exhibit, even if it's probably about stuff I already know. I just like seeing birds get the appreciation they deserve. Birds are neat.

Nolan: I still don't have a great read on my team. I trust Cyan of course, but that's about it. I had a lot more wiggle room before the team shuffle, but I can't afford to be so relaxed anymore. I think it's safe to say that the game's officially begun.

Dalit: I must make sure we win! I don't have any friends on this new team, so if we lose, I'm probably getting voted. I can't let that happen!

The contestants and hosts stood in the foyer of a museum.

"Welcome, scholars, to the Drama City Museum of Total Drama!" Chris announced.

"How dramatic," Brittany commented.

"And speaking of dramatic, we have one of our most dramatic players here to help explain the challenge!" Topher gestured.

"What's up motherfuckerrrrrrrrrrrrs!" came a shout from behind a painting.

A fist broke through the painting, causing it to fall to the floor. Out of the hole came Jynxie.

"Oh, hey!" Cyan smiled.

"I'm still mad at whoever voted Lilith out!" Jynxie accused several players. "This show is supposed to be fun, goddammit!"

"I resent the implications that I be unfun, lass!" Irving shot back.

"Well, ya are!" Jynxie told him. "Anyway, back to the challenge!"

"What kind of challenge could take place in a museum?" Bailey wondered aloud.

"Sounds like someone doesn't remember every challenge the show's ever had," Topher condescended.

"Most people don't," Kiki scoffed.

"And that's why I got a hosting job on this show, and most people didn't," Topher boasted.

"I don't remember most of the challenges this show has had," Lindsay mentioned.

"A! Ny! Way!" Jynxie clapped to regain attention. "There used to be these three big marble sculptures of some of Chris's overrated favorite contestants, but that other producer guy paid me to smash them!"

"First of all, I had sculptures made of all our past winners, and secondly, those things were expensive, what the hell Nelson?!" Chris butted in.

"And now you guys get to go through the trouble of looking for the pieces and putting them together again," Jynxie told the contestants. "Anyway, I smashed the three lamest winners: those nerds Cameron, Genesis, and Dunstan."

"I always knew ye'd smash Dunstan one of these days," Irving chuckled.

"Son of a..." Jynxie groaned. "Anyway, each team will have one particular sculpture to put together." She began reading from a cue card. "The, uh... The Gryphons will get Genesis, the Wyverns will get Dunstan, and the Pegasi will get Cameron."

"Whoever finishes their sculpture first gets Invincibility, access to all the cool buildings, and one of you gets the penthouse," Chris reminded the contestants. "The team that gets second gets Invincibility, the lame garage hangout, and will have to vote one of you to Isolation Park. The last-place team gets to vote someone out of the game. Hehaha."

"Claims of our garage hangout's lameness are grossly exaggerated," Shadya claimed.

"I don't know, yours doesn't have a PlayStation," Jyxnie shrugged.

"You don't get to go to either of them," Chris scolded.

"Aww," Jynxie frowned.

Confessional:

Bailey: A museum full of Total Drama, huh? I wonder what kind of exhibits this place may hold. There's a lot that goes into each season, and I think it'll be neat to see what kinds of things the show has accrued over time. There's a lot of history to be had, here.

Frita: If these sculptures can be so easily put back together, I wonder if I could get away with breaking more of them... Later, of course. Even I'm not dumb enough to ignore a challenge.

Hugh: Ugh, Genesis was a total nerd. I totally would have been the big villain of Alpha Party if not for her! At least I get my second chance to claim the title that's rightfully mine! Her sculpture can lay in pieces - make room for mine!

The teams had all decided to split up in order to cover more ground. Shadya, Cyan, and Brittany had all made their way to a room with several pictures of moments featuring past winners of the show. There were also large, noticeable marble effigies of the show's winners, all labeled by name at each base: Owen Brennan, Duncan Waldorf, Alejandro Burromuerto, Cameron Wilkins, Mike Marconi, Sky Jourdain, David Kendall, Brittany Hardwick, Genesis Morales, Dunstan Peterson, and Godfrey Wakeman. As Jynxie had claimed, the spots where the Cameron, Genesis, and Dunstan sculptures once stood were empty.

Brittany stood slack-jawed as she looked at her own sculpture.

"First time seeing art of yourself?" Shadya guessed. "I remember my first time."

"I was not expecting anyone to have made an entire expensive statue of me," Brittany sputtered. "It... It looks just like me. Wow, I..."

"These are very nice, aren't they?" Cyan agreed.

"Feel free to marvel at them for as long as you wish," Shadya told the other two.

"Nice try," Cyan giggled before continuing to scan the area.

"Uh, r-right!" Brittany snapped out of her awe. "Would they hide pieces in the room where we're supposed to put them?"

"That's for you to decide," Shadya told her.

"This entirely new team setup is going to take some getting used to. Especially since I wasn't there when the new teams were decided," Brittany winced.

"You're smart. You'll figure it out," Shadya brushed off.

She began taking pictures of Genesis off of the walls.

"Ooh, that's smart," Cyan noticed. She began taking pictures of Dunstan off of the walls.

Brittany gave Shadya a look of discomfort before taking down pictures of Cameron.

"And there we are," Shadya smiled as she found an indent behind one of the pictures which housed the marble Genesis head.

She placed the sculpture piece on the pedestal labeled with Genesis' name and left the room to find more pieces.

"Aha!" "Yes!"

Cyan's and Brittany's exclamations of joy sounded simultaneous as they both found what they were looking for in similar crevices that held their own objectives. They both moved their respective sculpture heads to their spots and each went to different rooms.

Confessional:

Shadya: There is very little incentive to help those on other teams in any way in this game. Avoiding negative relations is never a bad thing, granted, but in the context of a challenge, I see no reason to put my team's victory in jeopardy for the sake of being polite. That's simply not how you win the game.

Brittany: Yeah, I still don't even remember entirely who's on my new team. I just know I'm the Proud Pegasi now? I think Hugh and Steve Jenkins are on my team, and... Dalit and Louse? Or was it Kiki? I'll figure it out, but right now it's still kind of a shock how suddenly things changed. I don't need Shadya talking down to me about it. She had all morning to get used to it.

Cyan: You know, it occurs to me that, even if we do find all the pieces, how are we going to actually put them back together? So I'm going to stop worrying about pieces and look for some glue or putty or something. I'll leave the other pieces to my teammates.

Quentin, Nolan, and Dalit all found themselves in a room showcasing pictures of non-traditional, dramatic, or otherwise memorable eliminations.

"Yep, here's the me section," Nolan noted as he looked at pictures showing his and Mac's original eliminations. "I still have my original die from House Party. Maybe I'll donate it after this season."

"They've still got the original statues from Alpha Party here," Quentin noted as he and Dalit looked at the wooden Chris heads in a glass display.

"One of those was supposed to be mine," Dalit growled as she looked at the pink-painted ones. "It should be my sculpture in pieces right now!"

"Jynxie specifically destroyed the nerdiest winners. If you were there, she'd probably move on to Godfrey or Mike," Nolan guessed.

"It is my right to be destroyed just like anyone else!" Dalit insisted.

"In that case, you could always throw the challenge. We'd destroy you pretty quickly," Nolan snickered.

"That is not happening, buster!" Dalit insisted.

As the two bantered, Quentin found what looked to be a woman's right arm made of marble hiding behind a display case showing two golden cubes. He glanced at Dalit and Nolan to make sure they didn't see him before taking the arm and running off with it.

"Hey! Get back here! What did you find?!" Dalit demanded.

"If I had to guess, a piece of his team's sculpture," Nolan answered.

"That was a retardical question," Dalit sighed.

"You mean 'rhetorical'?" Nolan laughed.

"לך קפוץ מבניין," Dalit retorted.

"...I see," Nolan conceded. "Where was Quentin before he ran off?"

"Over here, I think," Dalit looked behind the golden cube display case, which didn't have anything else to find.

"Maybe the others are behind different display cases," Nolan thought to himself.

He looked behind the display case showing a can of soda to find what looked to be a man's right arm made of marble.

"Bingo," Nolan grinned.

He took the arm and ran.

"Hey! Come on!" Dalit complained, looking up from a display case that held a wooden Topher head.

Confessional:

Dalit: I don't get it. Bijou always told me that people are nicer to people who look and dress better, but not many people are nice to me, even though I'm the best dresser here! ...Ephraim also told me that yelling at people makes me unap- unapple- hard to come to. But it's not my fault everyone's making me so mad!

Quentin: It's actually kind of hard to know for sure if what I took is really Genesis's arm, but if you think about how Genesis, Dunstan, and Cameron all have different body types, I think it's at least a fair assumption that the one I took is the right one. I'm optimistic.

Nolan: You know, if you really think about it, Dalit and Jean-Marie could have just gone off on each other in whatever non-English languages they speak, and the other wouldn't truly know what they were saying. It probably wouldn't accomplish anything, but it'd be fun to watch.

Kiki, Irving, and Louise had all gone to a room adorned with pictures of challenges from throughout Total Drama's history, and several highlights and pieces of memorabilia involving said challenges.

"Come on, come on, come on..." Irving scanned all the pictures.

"Shockingly, I don't think you're going to find an entire piece of a sculpture by looking at flat pictures," Kiki commented.

"Screw that! I be looking for pictures of me!" Irving laughed. "How about that time I fought an ancient golem or manipulated the water in the air around me? Hell, the sky pirate challenge!"

"I hope they're putting that VR machine to good use. I'm still kind of salty I never got to try it," Louise tsked as she inspected one of the pods for Virtual Party's VR machine. Nothing was inside.

"That thing seemed like a lawsuit waiting to happen. I'm surprised nothing went awry with it," Kiki winced.

"Who can say nothing did?" Irving told her solemnly. "Every passing day, memories of me past be leaving me behind... I can't even remember where I went to lunch for me tenth birthday!"

"It sounds like you're just getting older and discarding unnecessary specific memories," Kiki said flatly.

"But that was the big one-oh!" Irving cried. "The day I became a preteen, lass!"

"That is a big deal to kids," Louise agreed.

"But you're not a kid anymore!" Kiki exasperated. She took a deep breath. "I'm going to focus on the challenge."

"Let me know if ye find anything!" Irving requested.

"I know you know that's not going to happen," Kiki told him as she looked through some canoes.

She found a marble arm that looked too muscular to belong to Genesis.

"Oh, hey, ye helped me out after all!" Irving beamed. "Ye be a good lass, Kiki."

He swiped the arm and ran out of the room.

"Give me a break..." Kiki groaned.

"Looks like Irving found something," Brittany remarked as she entered the room.

"Oh, Brittany! Help me look for something?" Louise requested.

"That's what I'm here for. I already found the head," Brittany relayed.

"It's not in the VR pod or the canoes," Louise explained. "And we know there's something in this room because Kiki just helped Irving."

"I didn't help him on purpose!" Kiki exasperated.

Confessional:

Louise: Brittany's the only person on my team I haven't really had the chance to talk to, yet, and it's best to reach out early. It shows people that you really want to connect with them, and I think Brittany is someone who could make for a great ally. So working together in the challenge is good by me!

Kiki: Challenges seemed like they had more focus before House Party. With House Party, it made sense, because it was all put together by Hatchet, who, frankly, didn't know what he was doing a lot of the time, but afterward, the trend kept up. I guess it allowed for more insight into what the players were thinking, which, as an aspiring therapist, appeals to me, so I can't call this a bad thing.

Irving: This challenge be pretty easy so far! It almost distracts me from the impending despair of forgetting your childhood entirely and being forced to dedicate your entire headspace to adult responsibilities in order to continue to thrive. ...What was I talking about again? Gyarharhar!

Bailey, Vladimir, and Hugh had made it to a room dedicated to the runners-up of the show's history, with pictures of highlight moments featuring each player lining the walls. In lieu of big, fancy sculptures, there was a single large Renaissance-esque painting featuring Gwen, Beth, Heather, Lightning, Zoey, Shawn, Franklin, River, Amelie, Jynxie, and Wisdom.

"Why is there a room dedicated to the second placers?" Hugh sneered. "Seems like a waste of resources if you ask me."

"I don't know, but this is a very nice painting," Vladimir smiled.

He glanced at the plaque next to the work, which read 'First Losers, by CJ Gallagher'.

"That CJ?" Bailey asked in disbelief as she looked at the plaque as well. "I'm surprised she wants anything to do with this show."

"They probably paid her a fuckton. Artists will do anything for money," Hugh claimed.

"She's a very talented painter, I'll give her that..." Bailey admitted as she focused her attention on Franklin.

"I love how they made this old-looking-ass painting and didn't even put Warwick in there even though he was also a finalist," Hugh snickered.

"I think Cody technically was, too," Vladimir noted.

"Let's see, if I'm looking for pieces of Genesis' sculpture, then..." Bailey thought aloud.

She moved to the closest picture of Amelie and took it off the wall, to reveal nothing but a solid wall behind it. She found the next-closest picture and took it down.

"What are you doing?" Hugh laughed at her.

"Focusing on the challenge," Vladimir figured. "I probably ought to do the same."

"I-I was totally focused!" Hugh insisted as Vladimir began taking Jynxie pictures off the wall.

Hugh found the closest Lightning picture and took it off the wall. Sure enough, there was a scrawny marble leg within.

"Hey hey, nice!" Hugh sneered smugly. He recklessly tossed the picture behind him and took the leg. "Later, artards!" He ran off.

"Are you serious?" Bailey sighed.

"Sometimes life gives you lemons," Vladimir chuckled as he took down another picture with nothing behind it.

Bailey looked at the large painting again. "You're right about that..."

Confessional:

Bailey: Seeing all these pictures of Franklin serves as a reminder of why I'm doing all this. Franklin's only crime was being born to the wrong people. It's up to me to win this game so I can pay his bail. So I can save him from his unfair circumstances!

Hugh: Cameron's sculpture has to be the smallest and lightest because he was probably the smallest and lightest winner, so the Pegasi have a bit of an advantage, here. I definitely don't envy the losers on the Wyverns who have to work with tall, athletic Dunstan. Or hell, the Gryphons having to deal with Genesis's big head. Heheheh.

Vladimir: Even those who do not win have their own story to tell, their own reason for being. I catch myself thinking every now and again about how River started out so angry and confrontational and eventually got to a point where he was willing to throw his game away to save Reese from danger. I don't know if I would have done the same.

Kun, Frita, and Steve Jenkins ended up in an exhibit dedicated to the various locales at which the show had taken place over the years, complete with a large model of Camp Wawanakwa and other, smaller models of the other locations.

"Wawanakwa was overrated. The Tuhinga Islands were where it was at," Steve Jenkins claimed.

"It was, um, exciting to look forward to each new island and how the game would change," Kun agreed. "That said, there's something comfortable and familiar about Camp Wawanakwa that I, um, appreciate."

"I didn't get to see much of the island where I played," Frita sighed. "I spent more time in that mountain castle than in the game."

"Yeah, well whose fault was that?" Steve Jenkins dismissed.

"I didn't say it wasn't my fault, I was just... trying to talk to people... I should have known better..." Frita choked up.

"There is no shame in, um, stepping outside your comfort zone," Kun consoled.

"Then why do I feel ashamed every waking moment of my life?" Frita asked.

"Don't know. Can't relate," Steve Jenkins shrugged.

"Kun. What are you doing?" Shadya asked as she jogged into the room.

"Oh, um, darn, I got distracted, huh?" Kun realized.

"I already found the head. Is there anything here?" Shadya asked.

"I... just got here..." Kun admitted.

Shadya sighed. "If we look together, we can speed things up."

"I get that a lot," Steve Jenkins boasted.

"What does that even mean?" Frita asked.

"If you have to ask, you'll never know," Steve Jenkins told her.

"Sounds about right..." Frita sighed.

She looked to see Kun and Shadya looking frantically behind displays and pictures and slowly moved to do the same.

"Yeah, I guess I ought to put in some effort, at least a little. For the challenge," Steve Jenkins said to no one in particular before looking behind the Pahkitew Island display.

"I believe this is what we're looking for," Shadya stated as she showed Kun a marble leg that she found behind a picture of Camp Wawanakwa at night.

"It, um, should be," Kun nodded. "Thanks for the help."

"I'll put it at the statue's base. You keep looking elsewhere," Shadya instructed.

"R-Right!" Kun complied.

The two ran off. Not long after, Frita found a leg of her own behind a picture of the school where Virtual Party's finale took place. She took it and speed-walked out of the room.

"Hey, no fair, how come you guys found your pieces already?!" Steve Jenkins objected. "Kun wouldn't have found it without Shady's help!" he called out.

Confessional:

Kun: Shadya really is cut out to be a leader, huh? I clearly have a lot to, um, learn. But, um, that's what making mistakes is for, so, um, I'll keep doing what I can, and seeing what she can do, too.

Frita: I wish my teammates would help me... or at least not leave me alone with Steve Jenkins. I should just do what I can to ignore everyone else and try to get the challenge over with. Dealing with others right now would just get exhausting.

Steve Jenkins: Having a smaller team stinks, because it means there are less people willing to help Steve Jenkins out when he's in a pinch. Not that I need help necessarily, it's just demoralizing to not have people in my corner when we've got Shady bailing Kun out like that. That's all.

Over in the foyer, where the hosts stayed, Godfrey approached Jynxie, who was sitting on a chair.

"You called for me?" Godfrey asked.

"Yes! Yes yes yes!" Jynxie confirmed. "So, you know that pile of spare parts that the players made those robot butlers with? Is there enough to make another?"

"Well, those weren't spare parts necessarily. That's my and Ginger's personal collection of parts that we donated for the contestants to use in that challenge," Godfrey explained. "Everything that's left, we're taking back."

"But is there enough to make another?" Jynxie pressed.

"Are you curious about getting into robotics?" Godfrey asked.

"You could... say that." Jynxie bit her lip.

"Ah. You're one of those," Godfrey tsked.

"At least introduce me to Greg if you won't make a new, hotter robot!" Jynxie pleaded.

"Seems like you two are having fun," Brittany giggled as she began looking around the area.

"I will be, very soon," Jynxie grinned cattishly. "Greg likes girls, right Brittany?"

"I haven't thought to ask," Brittany answered. "Nor have I really spoken to him that much. I haven't spent much time in Blaising Tower."

"So that's where he is!" Jynxie realized. "Later, nerds! I'm off to get laid!"

Jynxie cackled as she ran out of the building.

"Hey, wait!" Chris objected.

"She doesn't have anything else she really needs to do," Topher told him. "Let her go."

"I don't want her setting any precedents," Chris said.

"Jynxie's a lot of things, but I don't think 'influential' is one of them," Topher laughed.

"Hey guys, I'm thinking of getting a nose piercing," Lindsay said as she approached the two, looking at her phone. "What do you guys think?"

She showed them pictures of nose piercings on her phone.

"Wait a month to see if you still feel that way by then," Chris told her.

"I had one for a little while," Brittany offered on her way out of the room, holding a marble torso. "It was more trouble to deal with than it was cute, at least for me. If you change your mind on it, it'll heal in a couple of months."

"Ooh! I think I'll do it!" Lindsay decided.

"So, Jynxie doesn't actually have access to Blaising Tower, right?" Godfrey asked.

"She shouldn't," Chris said.

"Unless she breaks a window or something," Topher chuckled.

...

Godfrey ran out of the building.

Confessional:

Brittany: Louise and I found Cameron's arm back at the challenge exhibit, so once I showed her where to put it, we decided to split up again to cover more ground. Sweet gal. I'm glad we ended up on the same team - she seems like a good teammate to have.

Cyan found her way to an exhibit showcasing the different teams throughout the show's history, with bigger, more elaborate exhibits for more successful teams like Team Amazon and Team Flame.

"Ooh, is this a teams exhibit?" Cyan smiled excitedly. She began scanning the area. "Pixel Peacocks, Pixel Peacocks, Pixel Peacocks... There we are!"

She ran up to a spot that had a picture of Dunstan, Jynxie, Lilith, Cyan, Joseph, Felix, and Cosette posing together.

"My afro was cute, maybe I should wear it like that again," Cyan thought aloud. "Anyway, the challenge! Where to begin looking?"

She paced back and forth.

"Oh wait, probably behind the pictures, duh," Cyan realized.

She took down the Pixel Peacocks' picture but found nothing behind it but a stucco wall. Her face twisted in confusion.

"Haha, look at us," Kun noted as he inspected a picture of Hildegard, Rhiannon, Liberty, Kirkland, Tegan, and himself. "What a mess we turned out to be."

"Fans like messy," Cyan told him. "All my friends said the Knights of Goodness were their favorite team in Shuffle Party. They were my favorite, too, but I was also biased because you guys' logo was blue."

Cyan found the Mutant Maggots' display and noticed a picture of Cameron, Zoey, Jo, Mike, Anne Maria, and Brick. She took it off the wall, to find nothing of use behind it.

"Maybe there's something behind the giant fake diamond?" Kun suggested.

"You don't need to help me anymore, you know," Cyan reminded him. "We're on different teams now."

"I just, um, wanted you to know that I don't want to hold any grudge for voting out... both of my allies," Kun told her.

"Step aside, artards! I've got a challenge to win!" Hugh ordered as he ran into the room.

"The diamond, you said?" Cyan asked Kun quietly.

The two looked behind the display case and found a squeeze-tube of putty.

"This must be what we need to fix the sculptures," Cyan whispered to Kun. "I'll hold onto this. If you can't find another tube, I'll let you have it once I'm done with it."

"I, um, appreciate that," Kun smiled.

"Try the Heroic Hamsters and Killer Boldface. Keep in mind whose sculptures we're putting back together," Cyan reminded him.

She ran out of the room.

"Damn it, what'd she find?" Hugh demanded.

"I think she, um, gave up on finding anything," Kun lied.

"Quitters never win," Hugh sneered.

"That is true," Kun agreed. He added under his breath. "But what does that imply when you've, um, lost so many challenges?"

Confessional:

Cyan: Honestly, I don't know why Kun wants to forgive me so quickly when I left him out to dry really bad, but I'll be happy to do him a solid if he wants to do me one. Screwing him over was more of an unfortunate side effect of voting out his allies than anything; I have nothing against him, personally.

Kun: Even if others end up hurting you, it doesn't pay to, um, stay mad at them. I'll admit, I haven't been the best about that in the past, mostly when it came to Hildegard, but I like to think I've, um, grown out of that. Kiki... is complicated. I want to trust her, but I just... It's complicated.

Hugh: It was weird as hell seeing that picture of the Screaming Italics in there. I haven't thought about so many of those people in years. Like, she was on my team, and I'll still forget Kelsey existed. I wish I could forget Ephraim existed, that son of a bitch.

Kiki had found the arm she was looking for and arrived at the Hall of Winners to put the piece on Genesis' pedestal.

"We're making pretty good time," Kiki told herself as she looked at the pile of pieces on her team's pedestal. She looked at the other two. "The others are doing pretty well, though. Can't afford to slack off."

Nolan arrived with the torso piece and placed it on Dunstan's pedestal.

"Hey! Where'd you find the torso?" Kiki requested.

"Somewhere in this very museum," Nolan smirked. "I wonder if you can find it."

"Come on, House Party, work with me here, please," Kiki pleaded.

"Sorry," Nolan told her. "That's the tragedy of a team shuffle. Would you be so quick to help me if the roles were reversed?

"Ugh," Kiki grumbled, realizing she probably wouldn't.

"Best of luck, Kiki," Nolan offered as he tipped his hat and ran off.

"Yeah, thanks," Kiki said flatly before running off in her own direction.

Not long after, Dalit and Steve Jenkins arrived with the arm and leg they had found, respectively.

"That's what's up!" Steve Jenkins cheered as the two put their pieces on the pedestal.

"What else do we still need?" Dalit asked as she inspected the pieces.

Cameron's head, torso, both arms, and both legs had been recovered.

"It looks like we have everything!" Steve Jenkins realized. "Quick, we need to put everything together!"

"How?!" Dalit asked.

"I don't know, there has to be some way," Steve Jenkins claimed.

He took the head and torso and fitted them together. They did not stick together, and the head fell off the neck and onto the floor.

"Be careful! Don't break the head even more!" Dalit scolded.

"Uh, I know what I'm doing. I'm Steve Jenkins, in case you somehow forgot," Steve Jenkins told her.

"You clearly do not know what you're doing!" Dalit objected.

"Don't be jealous because you didn't think of it first," Steve Jenkins scoffed.

"They didn't even stick together!" Dalit snapped.

"They will. We just have to keep trying," Steve Jenkins insisted as he tried putting the pieces together again.

Confessional:

Kiki: Bailey really is the only person I can rely on at this point, isn't she? I'm on a team with three of my previous teammates, and yet here we are. Normally that'd be fine - I'm a strong woman - but strength in numbers is very important in this game. I need to figure out how to work this.

Nolan: I don't think Kiki actually spoke to me a single time during the entirety of House Party. Granted, she had her mental health issues she was dealing with, and there's nothing wrong with that, but her pretending like we have a House Party connection struck me as kind of funny. Hell, I can't think of a meaningful conversation we've had this season, and we were on the same team until just now.

Dalit: Okay, so maybe Steve Jenkins doesn't always burn me out. He was just being dumb at that point! Clearly it wasn't working. Why would he keep trying? Because his dumb ego? Put it aside and let us figure out what to do!

Steve Jenkins: Listen, I've met a lot of jealous lamers in my day. That happens when you're Steve Jenkins. But Dalit's just aggressive. We all want to be the one who's responsible for the team's win, but I was here first, so step off! Maybe you'll get your chance later.

Bailey and Vladimir arrived with the leg each of them needed for their sculptures.

"Looks like we have all the pieces we need," Vladimir said. He turned to Bailey. "How is your team doing?"

"You can clearly figure that out at a glance. You tell me," Bailey responded.

"Not well enough to boast about, then?" Vladimir guessed.

"I've never been the type to boast," Bailey frowned.

"I suppose," Vladimir conceded.

"Vladimir! How close are we to getting all the pieces?" Cyan asked as she ran into the room with the tube of putty in hand.

"We have all the pieces. We just need to figure out how to put them all together," Vladimir told her.

"You mean like this?" Cyan winked as she showed him the tube.

"Haha. Perhaps indeed like that," Vladimir smiled.

Bailey took notice of this and left to find a putty tube of her own.

"Hey! Cyan found something!" Dalit called out.

"Meaning in her life due to the existence of Steve Jenkins? You're kind of late on that one," Steve Jenkins said.

"I'll hold them off," Vladimir told Cyan. He turned to the Proud Pegasi. "Say, Dalit, did you know that Steve Jenkins really doesn't like that top you're wearing?"

"Of course he doesn't! He doesn't know one thing about fashion!" Dalit scoffed.

"Uh, buhscuse me?!" Steve Jenkins objected. "You have to understand who I am at this point. Steve Jenkins is fashion!"

By this point, Cyan had started putting the pieces of the sculpture together. She and Vladimir shared a glance.

"Teddy Fresh is an established and popular brand by an Israeli woman," Dalit explained. "It's not my fault you aren't cultured enough to know."

"You look like that one Bruno Mars video that was trying to look cheesy and dated on purpose," Steve Jenkins retorted.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Quentin joked as he arrived with the torso his team needed.

"Steve Jenkins is dumb and ignorant," Dalit said.

"Oh, I didn't realize it was Opposite Day, hold on," Steve Jenkins snarked. "Dalit is my favorite teammate, and I'm glad to be working with her."

"Thank you," Dalit smiled smugly. "The feeling is not the same from me though."

"Uh... I don't want you guys to stop fighting," Quentin attempted. "I know it... is my business because we're... not on different teams? This is hard."

"I don't think it's really Opposite Day, sweetie," Cyan told him.

"Thank goodness," Quentin sighed in relief.

Confessional:

Bailey: I'm kicking myself a little for not realizing until now that we would need something adhesive to hold the pieces together. In hindsight, it should have been obvious. I suppose it's better to realize late than never. Hopefully, we can still pull this off.

Vladimir: There's nothing stopping the others from sabotaging us as we try to put Dunstan back together, so I need to be the something that does stop people. Dalit and Steve Jenkins are easy to distract, but I'll have to stay focused if I want to make sure things continue to go smoothly for us.

As Dalit and Steve Jenkins argued, with Quentin attempting to mediate, Cyan was able to finish piecing the Dunstan sculpture back together and stand it up on its pedestal.

"Congratulations, Fighting Wyverns! You guys win Invincibility!" Chris announced through a PA system. "There's still enough safety for one more team. Who's it going to be?"

"What?!" Dalit and Steve Jenkins gasped in unison.

"Steve Jenkins, you idiot! I pointed out Cyan having the thing and you distracted me!" Dalit blamed.

"I do tend to have that effect on people," Steve Jenkins bragged.

"Is that the only tube?" Vladimir asked Cyan quietly.

"I'm not sure. I didn't check to see if there were more hidden around the room," Cyan admitted.

"Well, we don't need ours anymore. Make of that what you will," Vladimir chuckled.

"I'm... not sure what you mean by that, but okay," Cyan told him, unsettled. She looked at her putty tube. "Uh, hey everyone! Go get it!"

She tossed the tube across the room.

Quentin's eyes lit up and he chased after the tube, catching it before it hit the floor.

"Hey! That's ours!" Steve Jenkins shouted.

He ran up to Quentin and tried wrenching the tube out of his hands. Quentin put up a resistance, and the two men struggled to keep control of the putty.

"Hey. I'm told we won?" Nolan mentioned as he, Frita, and Irving all arrived on the scene.

"We did," Cyan confirmed.

"Nice job, the both of ye," Irving complimented Cyan and Vladimir. "Ye'll make fine additions to me crew yet!"

"Your crew?" Cyan doubted.

"I thought I was already part of your crew," Vladimir pouted.

"Give it up, Quentin!" Dalit demanded as she joined in on the tussle for the putty tube.

"But I want to win," Quentin frowned.

"I deserve to win!" Dalit and Steve Jenkins shouted in unison. They gave each other an annoyed side-eye but did not break focus from the struggle.

"Sorry guys, but I can't just give up," Quentin told them through clenched teeth.

"Sure you can," Steve Jenkins told him. "In fact, I'm kind of confused that you still haven't. I'm Steve Jenkins, it's not like you can surpass me."

"Lots of people surpassed you last time you played," Dalit snickered.

"You got last place!" Steve Jenkins objected.

Kun arrived at the scene and took immediate notice of the struggle for the putty tube.

"Oh, um, I thought you were going to let me have it when you were done," Kun mentioned to Cyan.

"You weren't here, and they were going to steal it from me anyway," Cyan said apologetically. "Steve Jenkins probably could have done it. He's about my height and definitely stronger."

"I suppose that's fair," Kun hummed disappointedly.

He walked up to the three vying for the tube, unsure of how to approach them further.

Confessional:

Frita: I thought I heard something about Cyan promising the adhesive to Kun after we won, but I don't know for sure if I heard right, and even if that is the case, what could I do about it? The last thing I need is to start unnecessary drama when I'm already on thin ice.

Kun: I should probably stop trusting Cyan in general. Not just because she keeps, um, letting me down, but because she's no longer on my team. I need to focus on the group that I have say over.

"So both the other teams have all their pieces, they just need to put them together?" Nolan asked.

"That's correct," Vladimir confirmed.

"And this is the only tube of putty, as well as the only way to put them together?" Nolan continued.

"As far as we know," Cyan confirmed.

"What do you want to bet that the Grand Gryphons end up taking it?" Nolan offered.

"Not a chance, lad! What good be Quentin if Kun can't help, and he be up against two people?" Irving doubted.

"Those two people are always arguing, though, and Quentin's held out for this long," Nolan added.

"What be your wager?" Irving asked Nolan.

"We'll be voting someone to get penthouse privileges, right?" Nolan figured. "Loser has to vote for the winner in that vote."

"Deal!" Irving agreed.

"Enough!" came a booming voice from across the room.

Those who were vying for the putty tube immediately jumped in startled response, relaxing their clutch on the item and sending it flying. The source of the voice, Shadya, caught the tube without having to take a single step.

"No fair! Give that back!" Dalit shouted.

"No," Shadya asserted.

"If you think you can just swipe victory from Steve Jenkins, you've got another thing coming!" Steve Jenkins declared as he rolled up his sleeves.

"Hey, um, Steve Jenkins, you run a vlog, right?" Kun mentioned. "How's your view count these days?"

"Oh, I'm going to get a huge spike in subscribers once the public finds out I'm back on Total Drama," Steve Jenkins said proudly. "It's kind of plateaued at the moment, but to be fair, I've been busy preparing for the game, so I haven't had as much time to dedicate to doing cool things to vlog about. Not that there are things I do that aren't cool, but-"

"Steve Jenkins! Shut up and help!" Dalit scolded.

Shadya had already begun sticking the pieces of the Genesis sculpture together. Dalit growled frustratedly.

"What's going on?" Brittany asked as she ran in.

"We're losing because the other team has the sticky glue!" Dalit informed her.

"We can't take it back?" Brittany asked.

"Do you want to try and fight Shadya alone?!" Dalit scoffed.

"And Steve Jenkins?" Brittany asked.

"I heard my name," Steve Jenkins acknowledged.

"Are you able to at least try and take the glue from Shadya?" Brittany asked.

"Come on, I know you know that I can do anything," Steve Jenkins claimed.

"Then... could you do it?" Brittany requested.

"Do what?" Steve Jenkins asked.

"Take the glue from Shadya," Brittany repeated, annoyed.

"Oh yeah!" Steve Jenkins realized. "Hey, Shady!"

"No," Shadya said firmly.

"Anyway, what were you saying about your Twitter beef?" Kun asked Steve Jenkins.

"Oh my god, the absolute jealous lamer!" Steve Jenkins ranted.

"Steve Jenkins!" Dalit shouted.

"And we have our second place winners!" Chris's voice announced. "Congratulations to the Grand Gryphons!"

Indeed, Shadya had finished reassembling the Genesis sculpture and stood it back up on its pedestal.

"Good job, Shadya," Kun complimented.

"I just did what I needed to win the challenge. Nothing more," Shadya dismissed.

"Well, it really helped us out," Quentin smiled.

"I hate everything!" Dalit shouted as she stormed out of the room.

"Hey, Dalit, listen, it's alright," Brittany attempted as she followed after her.

Confessional:

Shadya: This feels like the return to form that I've needed. My team understands what a benefit it is to have me as a teammate, and they don't try to get in my way of success just because they want to feel important. As it always should have been. I would have preferred first place, but it's better than last place.

Brittany: I was searching all over the place for more pieces or something to put the sculpture together, and I think Hugh and Louise must have been, too. I'm not looking forward to attending elimination with a team I've spent such little time with, but, after what I just witnessed, I think I should be able to get by.

Chris, Topher, and Lindsay met up with the teams in the Hall of Winners. Cameron's sculpture was still in pieces on the pedestal.

"He was probably the show's worst winner anyway," Hugh chuckled.

"That's not nice!" Lindsay objected.

"You're also forgetting Mike exists," Topher brought up.

"I think we'd all like to," Kiki grimaced.

"Are hosts allowed to just say that?" Cyan blinked at Topher.

"Congrats to the Fighting Wyverns and the Grand Gryphons!" Chris announced. "You guys have won Invincibility and the various other rewards that come with your respective placements. Stick around for the Best/Worst vote."

"Or, at this point, the Best Vote and the Worst Vote, since you're only voting for one now," Topher added.

"Proud Pegasi, way to break in the new team, there," Chris remarked. "Follow me to Elimination Station. One of you gets to spend the night far away from Drama City. And the rest of the season, for that matter. Hehaha."

Brittany, Dalit, Hugh, Louise, and Steve Jenkins followed Chris out of the museum.

"Okie dokie, winning teams! Let's get to that vote!" Topher clapped as Lindsay handed out pens and sheets of paper.

"'Okie dokie'?" Nolan laughed.

"Yes. I said what I said," Topher doubled down.

"Remember, the Gryphons are choosing who goes to Isolation Park, and the Wyverns are choosing who gets the penthouse!" Lindsay piped up.

The contestants all cast their votes, and the votes were tallied.

"Alright, let's start with the Best vote as always," Topher began. "The person the Fighting Wyverns chose to get penthouse access is..."

...

"Cyan, congratulations!"

"Really?" Cyan asked in pleasantly surprised disbelief. "I was sure everyone would vote for Nolan because of his bet with Irving."

"You clinched us the win. You earned it," Vladimir told her.

"Well thanks," Cyan beamed. "I appreciate it."

"As for who got the Worst vote, Grand Gryphons, that person is..." Topher trailed off.

...

"Shadya."

"Shadya won us the challenge, how did she get chosen as the worst?!" Kiki denied.

"I didn't get us first place," Shadya said simply. "I must atone."

"Follow me to Isolation Park, please," Lindsay requested of Shadya. "On the plus side, we hid a bunch of new statues in there!"

"Is that so?" Shadya thought aloud. She turned to her team. "I will see you all tomorrow," she told them before following Lindsay.

"That's all we've got for you guys. Feel free to just hang out for now!" Topher told the others.

Confessional:

Irving: Yeah, I didn't honor me bet with Nolan at all. Partly because I didn't expect him to honor it either, since he only votes by a dice roll, and partly because I wanted to give a good gesture to Cyan, to help her trust me a bit more. Ye gotta think about these things, ye do.

Quentin: Shadya really wanted to go to Isolation Park, so she asked me and Kun to vote for her. I guess she wanted to look for statues, which, fair enough. If anyone can tough the elements and stay sharp enough to find a statue, it's Tori. Shadya! Did I say Tori? Wow, that was... That was an unfortunate slip.

Votes:

Best:

Cyan - Frita, Irving, Vladimir

Nolan - Cyan

Vladimir - Nolan

Worst:

Shadya - Kun, Quentin, Shadya

Bailey - Bailey, Kiki

The five members of the Proud Pegasi had arrived at the underground room in Elimination Station. Each of them stood at a lectern facing one another, while Chris stood in an elevated seat nearby.

"Welcome to the inaugural elimination ceremony for the Proud Pegasi, boys and girls!" Chris laughed. "You guys have thirty minutes to cast your vote for which of your teammates you want to go home. During that time, feel free to discuss your plans or ideas with others. Who knows, it just might amount to something. But keep in mind that once you've voted, that's it, it's locked in and you can't change it. Have fun!"

"Well, this wasn't what I'd hoped my first team meeting would be like, but hey guys," Brittany joked.

"Hey!" Louise greeted back.

"Well, I think this vote is an obvious," Dalit began. "Steve Jenkins is why we lost!"

"You and I both know that's impossible!" Steve Jenkins denied.

"Look, you're both artards!" Hugh snapped. "But the fact of the matter is, Dalit's the artard I don't know, so I'm leaning towards just dropping her."

"That's not fair! I'm not the one who lost the challenge!" Dalit cried.

"Look, neither of you was able to get the putty from the other team, that's nobody's fault," Brittany mediated. "Arguing about who lost us the challenge isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Hugh is blaming me and says he'll vote me!" Dalit objected.

"I want to vote for you because I barely know you and you're annoying," Hugh told her.

"How do you barely know me? We are from the same season," Dalit pointed out.

"Yeah, and I was voted out like a month later than you were, and by the time I was, you were already balls-deep with my least-favorite person in the game," Hugh scoffed.

"So this is personal because you're enemies with Ephraim?" Dalit scoffed back.

"Please. How petty do you think I am?" Hugh sneered.

"We all saw Alpha Party, Hugh. We know how petty you are," Brittany told him.

"As much as I want Dalit gone, and believe me, I do, I don't think we should vote for her just yet," Steve Jenkins said.

He cast his vote, and the light on his lectern turned from blue to red.

"You voted already?!" Louise gasped.

"Yes, because I've got conviction on this one," Steve Jenkins said. "Brittany is the second-biggest threat in the game behind me, and she's already won this game. It's time for someone else to have their chance."

"Are you shitting me?" Hugh groaned. "You're still on this?! Even after you and Dalit were at each other's throats all day?"

"By that logic, wouldn't it make more sense to vote for you, if you're such a bigger threat than I am?" Brittany grunted.

"But I never won this game," Steve Jenkins reiterated. "You did. You had your shot at glory on this show."

"I don't think I'm even the biggest fan-favorite in this room," Brittany exasperated.

"It's true," Chris boasted as he admired himself in a hand mirror.

The five of them gave Chris a weird look before returning to their discussion.

"I mean, obviously you're not, but you got the million dollars and the big W," Steve Jenkins told Brittany. "Who are you to try and take this opportunity from the rest of us?"

"I could really use a million dollars..." Dalit admitted.

"Dalit, are you going to side with Steve Jenkins of all people?" Brittany doubted.

"Of course not!" Dalit denied.

"Listen, we all want to win. That's why we're here, playing the game," Louise brought up. "Ideally, we're going to be voting everyone else out at some point."

"Yeah, so there's no point in enforcing your one-sided jealousy crush on Brittany when there's someone who's actively holding us back," Hugh told Steve Jenkins.

"I'm telling you guys, if we let Brittany stick around, she's just going to slip through the cracks and win again!" Steve Jenkins insisted. "We can vote out Dalit literally anytime we want."

"Or we could vote you out now!" Dalit shouted.

She cast her vote.

"You guys are reasonable. You're good to vote Dalit, right?" Hugh asked Brittany and Louise.

"I mean, Dalit isn't currently pushing to get me eliminated," Brittany pointed out. "That's a pretty huge factor for me."

"Steve Jenkins, you idiot, why did you have to cast your vote right out of the gate?!" Hugh scolded.

"To let people know I'm serious about this," Steve Jenkins declared. "When Steve Jenkins shows conviction in something, people know it's the absolute truth."

"I saw your vlog. You promote ice-chewing, and I can't abide by that," Louise pointed out.

"It's the most satisfying thing you'll ever do on a Saturday when you've got the flu!" Steve Jenkins insisted.

"It's awful for your teeth," Louise told him.

"Lots of things people do every day are bad for them. Let people have that little bit of pleasure," Steve Jenkins sighed.

"Steve Jenkins supports doing meth!" Dalit accused.

"I didn't say that!" Steve Jenkins shouted.

Brittany cast her vote.

"I said I don't support meth!" Steve Jenkins insisted.

"I don't think you did, but you do support voting me out," Brittany said.

"I swear..." Hugh groaned.

"What? It's perfectly reasonable to vote for someone who's going to vote you out!" Brittany insisted.

"Listen guys, this may be the only chance you'll ever get to vote Brittany out," Steve Jenkins claimed. "You should take it!"

"And what if I have a statue?" Brittany challenged.

"Huh?" Steve Jenkins blinked.

"What if I have a statue that completely messes with your plans?" Brittany asked.

"You're lying," Steve Jenkins denied.

"Prove it," Dalit snickered. "She was at the park all morning. She could."

"If she had one, why would she tell us?" Steve Jenkins asked.

"This isn't really going anywhere," Louise admitted. "I'm just going to cast my vote. I think I've come to a decision."

She cast her vote.

Hugh cast his vote. "Fuck it."

"And that's everyone!" Chris announced. "I'll read the votes. The person with the most votes against them will take that Shackle of Shame up to the Van of Losers and on a one-way trip to Loserville."

"Like the musical?" Hugh asked.

His teammates all gave him a confused look.

"What, do none of you have younger sisters?!" Hugh snapped.

"Anywayyyyy..." Chris redirected. "First vote... Steve Jenkins."

"Lamer," Steve Jenkins dismissed.

"Second vote... Brittany."

"I can't even joke about being shocked anymore," Brittany said.

"Third vote... Steve Jenkins."

"Tch," Steve Jenkins reacted.

"The fourth and fifth votes are for the same person," Chris prefaced. "And that person is..."

...

"Steve Jenkins!"

"There's no way!" Steve Jenkins denied. "I'm Steve Jenkins! You can't just vote me out pre-merge like I'm some kind of liability!"

"I thought you wanted to get rid of the big threats," Brittany condescended. "And, by your own admission, you're the biggest threat, right?"

"He can't be if we could vote him out that easily!" Dalit laughed. "A real threat would stay even though they're a threat."

"Yeah, exactly, which means Brittany's a threat and you're all stupid for keeping her in the game!" Steve Jenkins insisted.

"Please, even if I was voted out, you'd claim it's because you're the best and nobody would ever hear the end of it," Brittany tsked. "Even more than usual, I mean."

"And what the hell, Hugh, I thought we were cool!" Steve Jenkins accused.

"You shot yourself in the foot, man, I wasn't just going to not vote for you when that's clearly where the majority was," Hugh told him.

"Well excuse me for playing the game!" Steve Jenkins grunted indignantly.

"Any last words for Steve Jenkins before he leaves the game for good?" Chris asked.

"I have one," Dalit said. She then made a raspberry noise at him.

"...Yeah, what is it?" Steve Jenkins asked.

Dalit smacked her own forehead. "You really are an idiot."

"That was five words. Could an idiot count that?" Steve Jenkins said smugly.

"Probably," Brittany answered.

"Whatever, man. Get me away from these lamers," Steve Jenkins requested.

"Can do!" Chris allowed.

The ceiling opened up, allowing for the Shackle of Shame to come down and grab Steve Jenkins by the waist, carrying him above ground. He flashed middle fingers to Brittany and Dalit on the way up, until he was out of sight, at which point, the ceiling closed again.

"This team seems like kind of a mess," Chris commented. "Some messes are easier to clean up than others. Will wiping Steve Jenkins off the team be enough? We'll see. That's all I have for you guys. Feel free to go."

Confessional:

Hugh: Son of a bitch... I was in such a great position, with two of my closest allies on this team, but Steve Jenkins just had to throw Brittany under the bus. I guess I still have Brittany, and Louise seems alright. This still sucks.

Louise: Sure, I don't really trust Dalit either, and I would have been fine voting for her, but Brittany's someone I want to work with in this game, and if she wants Steve Jenkins gone, that's good by me, too. Like I told Hugh this morning, I went into this being open to options. I guess it paid off for me, considering I came to this team with no allies.

Chris, Topher, and Lindsay all stood outside the limits of Drama City.

"By the way, whatever happened to Jynxie?" Topher asked.

"Godfrey successfully got her to not break any windows, but we had to pry her away from Greg," Chris told him.

"I hope things work out for them," Lindsay smiled.

"That makes one of you," Chris remarked. "Anyway, with brand-new teams vying for Invincibility, brand-new statues to be found at Isolation Park, and brand-new challenges to overcome, the game keeps on going!"

"Right you are, Chris, and I, for one, am excited to see what happens next," Topher agreed.

"If I had to guess, someone's going to get voted out," Lindsay offered.

"Who knows? Maybe someone will crack under the pressure and quit. It's happened before," Chris posited.

"In an all-stars season? I should hope not," Topher commented.

"Anyway, the Proud Pegasi had a pretty straightforward vote, but how will things go for them down the line?" Chris asked. "And will the dynamics that the other teams have established so far remain strong, or will something big shake them up? Tough to say."

"You know what else is tough to say?" Lindsay brought up. "Supercalifrog- Supercalimari- Superco-"

"I know which word you mean," Chris assured her. "All this and more, next time, on Total!"

"Drama!" Topher and Lindsay added.

"Party with the Stars!" all three finished in unison.

Votes:

Brittany - Steve Jenkins

Dalit - Steve Jenkins

Hugh - Steve Jenkins

Louise - Steve Jenkins

Steve Jenkins - Brittany

Grand Gryphons:

Bailey - The Pragmatic Poet

Kiki - The Strategic Hipster

Kun - The Awkward Team Leader

Quentin - The Lucky Ornithologist

Shadya - The Genius Athlete

Fighting Wyverns:

Cyan - The Sweet Madame Blue

Frita - The Morbid Artist

Irving - The Chaotic Pirate

Nolan - The Wildcard Gambler

Vladimir - The Untrustworthy Impostor

Proud Pegasi:

Brittany - The Loyal Bombshell

Dalit - The Social Media Model

Hugh - The Head Villain

Louise - The Friendly PE Teacher

15th: Steve Jenkins - The Vlog Icon

Eliminated Pre-Shuffle:

16th: Jean-Marie - The Homeless Frenchman

17th: Ernie - The Lazy Law Student

18th: Joseph - The True Bro

19th: Isidora - The Asocial Bookworm

20th: Lilith - The Harbinger of Unrest

A/N: Haha, yep. In an inverse of his arc from Shuffle Party, I actually wanted Steve Jenkins to make the merge going into this, and I did have fun with him this season, believe me, but I felt that there was only so much I could do with him without him either getting stale or changing in a way that isn't really Steve Jenkins. I included Steve Jenkins in this season because he was a popular joke character, and that's all I ever wanted him to be. I feel like he served his purpose well, but at this point, I didn't have any real plot ideas for him, and I didn't want him to detract from the people for whom I did have plot ideas.

I hope you guys aren't too disappointed that Steve Jenkins has gone early, but I also hope you guys enjoyed him while he was here. Let me know what you guys thought about him!