Crosshot: Thank you! I had a lot of fun including all those bits. In regards to Izzy mentioning initiation, we're all better off for not knowing.

FallenAngel1517: Welcome aboard! I haven't been getting these episodes out as fast as I would like, but I'm happy that the quality is holding up.

VickyT36: Yeah, they were long overdue for some form of punishment.

SideshowJazz1: Yeah, I probably could have left out the elevator altogether. Oh well. Mike and Zoey being on different teams is new territory, so we'll have to see how it goes for them.

AnonBrowser: Mike is pretty easygoing when it comes to things not involving his disorder, so he might handle this swap okay. Yeah, Chris and Chef needed payback since they've gone a while without getting some. I see that I'm not the only one who noticed the Mario and Princess Peach comparison, though I wouldn't call Mario overweight. Thanks for enjoying the episode even though the outcome was predictable. And yeah, one of the things canon could have done better was giving the previous casts cameos on Pahkitew Island like they did with the original cast in ROTI. When the Beardo CD came up, that screamed Zoey for me.

IGwilledCheeseI: All I will say about your predictions is they are possible as I'm still figuring out the post-merge.

Acosta perez jose ramiro: Yeah, Chris and Chef were due for pain.

OmniUIShaggyOverexaggerated: Yeah, Chris and Chef needed some payback. Dawn and Scott needed to be split up so they could reset their focus, or they might have possibly killed each other. Glad you like the other changes to the dynamics too.

LazloVader9943: Going in, I knew there was no way I was going to let Dakota get mutated when she had done nothing to deserve it. Amy on the other hand...

Derick Lindsey: I actually considered evening the teams at four members each, but eventually decided against it. Cameos galore! For Chris's lack of action on the Sam situation, I'm thinking he had to keep to a schedule and didn't have time to go through all the footage, and once he got his stuff back, he didn't care if he had the right suspect. Interesting predictions for the future. And yeah, writing Dawn being savage was fun.

Shiranai Atsune: Glad you felt that way about the last episode. Let's hope you feel the same way about this one!

That British Guy: I believe otherwise.

Witchinmoonlight: Yeah, had to have a lot of Manitoba to make up for his late entrance. Chris has been cheap from day one, so him reusing traps is nothing new. I didn't like the toilet either, but it was the only way to make the episode flow smoothly. For Dawn and Scott, they were at a stalemate but still ready to throw hands. Unless you have a flashlight in a cave, it is going to get dark real quick. And yeah, Dakota's subplot with Chris and Chef was my favorite part of writing the episode. Will Chris eventually realize things? Nah, he's too self-absorbed to think about other people. A lot of considerations were made when thinking about the team swap, but I can safely say Jo moving teams never came up. Time will tell if Dawn finally figures it out, and yes, Chris is still a butthole for burning a good buffet.

SilentSinger948: Everybody has their weak points. Heights are difficult for me, like Devin on Ridonculous Race said 'I'm not scared of heights, I'm scared of falling, big difference'. Izzy knows more than she lets on with her shenanigans. Dawn and Scott were at a stalemate when it was the two of them; Dawn knew Scott was bad, and Scott couldn't sabotage her since it was only them. We'll see about Mike and Zoey.

Bruno14: I recognize your username, so I think you may have reviewed before. If not, welcome! The difference between teams has been worse before. Team Victory only had one person while Team Chris and Team Amazon had five people near the middle of World Tour. Yeah, none of the challenges before were dark enough for Bric's fear to come into play until now. Dawn knows Scott is bad news after Sam's shady exit, but she does not have solid evidence on him. Mike's ability to channel his alternate identities more effectively is like Frozen's message that fear will lead to less control and love will lead to more control. Glad you liked Dakota's subplot; it was my favorite thing from the episode to write. Yep, Dakota is getting a second chance just like in canon.

Luna: Glad you enjoyed everything. I hope you like this next episode too.

Knight: I know, but I couldn't help poking fun at canon's continuity issues, like how the special claimed that the island was not real and an episode of Action claimed that they could take a bus to the island.

Xtremexavier15: We'll see about that.

Now that reviews have been replied to, I am going to remind everyone that Cast Swap has a TVTropes page. If you can think of any additions or improvements to make to the page, go ahead and add them.

Time to sneak around with babies! ...That sounds wrong somehow.


Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama, or anything within the franchise. I only own a DVD of season one and some shirts.

Episode 8- Three Zones and a Baby

"Last time on Total Drama, players had a ball," Chris narrated over footage from the previous episode of the teams getting into the orbs and rolling into the pit, "that quickly rolled into a pit everyone had to escape." The footage switched to Brick's multiple panic attacks. "Brick faced his fear of the dark and wet his pants, Dawn and Scott butted heads, and Dakota ruined my laundry." The last two events were shown in clips of Dawn and Scott frequently arguing in the tunnels, and then Chris was seen confronting Dakota about his closet full of pink shirts. The footage changed to the elimination ceremony. "Because nobody finished the challenge right, nobody was eliminated, but I busted out some McLean heartbreak and made Scott and Mike swap teams." The mentioned two boys were shown joining their new teams. "And Dakota was put back in the game so she couldn't ruin any more of my stuff." The heiress was then shown rejoining her original team.

A flash transition ended the footage and displayed Chris in real time. "That was yesterday, this is today, and someone will blast away!" Chris patted the Cannon of Shame affectionately. "So hip-hip-hooray for Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"

(cue intro)


When the intro finished, the show faded back in on the Confused Bears' treehouse. Inside the boys' room, Mike was shown stirring awake in a bottom bunk. He made to sit upright, but bonked his head on the underside of the bunk above him.

"Ow!" He yelped, rubbing at his head. He gasped and switched to Chester.

"Confound it! Who puts a bed above a bed?" The elderly identity complained. Another gasp and Mike returned as quickly as Chester appeared.

Mike finished rubbing his head and glanced around the room. "Oh yeah, the team swap happened last night. I forgot about that." Sliding out of bed, he walked out to the balcony and the camera view changed to over his shoulder so the audience could see what Mike was staring at- the rising sun over Pahkitew Island. "Gotta say, the Bears got a nice view up here. Wish we had thought of a treehouse."

Dakota emerged from the girls' side of the treehouse, wearing her original pink top and dark pink pants instead of the intern uniform she had been sporting the past few episodes. "I know, right? This reminds me of the penthouse suite back home."

"Morning! Dakota, right? Lucky that you got to change clothes," Mike said in greeting as she joined him at the balcony.

"That's me," Dakota grinned brightly at him, striking a pose. "Dakota Milton- heiress of the Milton hotel chain! And yeah, I'm super glad to be out of those tacky intern clothes." She frowned momentarily, staring at him. "You're… Matt? Sorry, I was only on this team for two days before and was an intern for the last few."

"Mike, actually, but don't worry. You were close, and I get it. We hardly saw each other until now."

Dawn's voice was suddenly heard from below. "Oh good! You're both awake!" The two contestants glanced down at the ground, where Dawn stood with a basket full of freshly picked food. "I brought breakfast!"


(Confessional- Dawn)

"My team has gotten quite the changes," the moonchild remarked, sitting on the outhouse toilet in her usual lotus position. "Dakota is back, and Scott has been exchanged for Mike and his alternate identities. Now that Scott's murky aura has been purged from the team's structure, hopefully we'll have better fortune moving forward from here."


Over at the Floating Salmon's campsite, Cameron was scribbling on his notepad as he sat on one of the stone seats situated in front of the team shelter. He looked up as Scott emerged from the boys' side, stretching, yawning, and scratching his backside.

"I don't know if the hay beds were better than the bunk beds in the treehouse, or not," Scott said offhandedly.

Cameron waved at him. "Good morning, Scott. Welcome to the Floating Salmon!"

"Thanks," Scott replied, taking a seat on one of the other rocks. He looked around. "So, where's everybody else?"

Cameron ticked off his fingers. "Jo went on her morning jog, Brick took Zoey to gather breakfast, and I stayed here so you wouldn't wake up alone."

"Gotcha." Scott rubbed his chin thoughtfully.


(Confessional- Scott)

"Now that I'm on a new team, I need to know what I'm up against so I can continue my sabotage the right way. Jo definitely wouldn't give out that info from what I've seen of her, but Brick, Zoey, or Cameron might. Since Brick and Zoey aren't around, Cameron might be the only chance I have without anybody else getting suspicious," Scott explained, tossing a rock repeatedly against the outhouse wall. He misjudged his toss on his last one, and the rock landed forcefully on his groin.


"So, you seem like an observant guy and I'm at a disadvantage being the new guy and all. Mind catching me up?" Scott asked, leaning in Cameron's direction intently.

Cameron nodded brightly. "No problem! I would want someone to do the same for me." Flipping through his notepad, he turned it around to show Scott. On the page was a drawing of the Floating Salmon's heads before the swap. The bubble boy pointed to each head as he spoke. "Brick was team captain initially, but has since deferred leadership to Jo. Jo is acting as team captain, and has shown fondness for picking on me due to my lack of physical strength. Thankfully, Mike and Zoey have been kinder in that regard. They're my friends."

Scott examined the page critically. "I see. Question, suppose Sam wasn't caught out as a thief and you guys had your ceremony, who would you have voted off?"

The bubble boy thought back to that other day. "I'd have to say Jo. Like I said, she's been bullying me, and neither Mike or Zoey liked that, so we all planned to vote her out."

Scott hummed at that answer. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted.

"We're back!" Zoey announced, her and Brick walking into the campsite with baskets of food.

"We managed to find some bananas for you, Cameron. You mentioned needing some potassium?" Brick checked, holding up a banana from his haul.

Cameron flipped his notepad back to his current page, smiling at his teammates. "That's great! Thanks!"

Before he or Scott could stand up to get some food, the loudspeaker turned on. "Attention my soon-to-be victims! Your fate awaits at the grand clearing. Last one there eats a rotten egg!"

"Whether an egg is rotten or not, protein is protein." Scott shrugged, standing from his rock. "Let's hit it, new team!" He jogged past Brick and Zoey.

"But he said the last one there!" Zoey reminded him, confused by his enthusiasm over a rotten egg. She shared a weird look with Brick, and both food gatherers quickly tucked their haul away inside the shelter before hurrying after Scott with Cameron.

A flash cut showed Dawn, Dakota, and Mike racing to the meeting area. Mike and Dawn were ahead of Dakota, the heiress seemingly having a hard time keeping up with them.

"I so do not miss intern chores," Dakota panted, "but I do not like getting sweaty like this either."


(Confessional- Dakota)

The heiress checked her complexion in a hand mirror. "All complaints aside, I really am happy to be back in the game. Interning was not going to get me my spinoff, and I don't want to waste my second chance by giving a weak performance. I'm going to try really hard today so Dawn and Mike don't have a reason to vote me off."


Chris was waiting at a checkered starting line, his trusty monitor by his side. The Floating Salmon had already arrived, and they were waiting for the Confused Bears to make their appearance. Chris was about to check his watch when the three campers finally showed up, Dakota being the last one.

"And Dakota arrives last," Chris noted, "so she gets to eat the rotten egg."

Dakota pouted at him. "Seriously? I'm already eating food picked off bushes. Now I have to eat spoiled food too?"

"Lucky for you," Chris replied, "it's already in Scott's stomach."

Scott patted his belly. "Back on the farm, we don't consider anything spoiled, just not as fresh." His stomach gurgled and he let out a nasty burp. A viewer could almost see the green wisps of rotten food escape from his mouth.

Brick, Zoey, Cameron, and Jo all gagged. Brick and Zoey covered their noses with their arms while Cameron and Jo pulled up the collars of their hoodies.

"Is it too late to ask for Anime Hair back? At least we know he's got some sense of hygiene," Jo commented a bit nasally.

"Listen up, campers!" Chris called for attention again. "Today's challenge is called 'Hush or Die'! The teams have to race through three separate and unique danger zones. Three zones have one thing in common though- the noisier, the greater the danger becomes!" Turning on his monitor, he showed footage of the first zone, which had a pride of lions sleeping lethargically throughout. "Area One is called The Lion's Lunch. You gotta sneak through a field of sleeping lions. Wake one up, and you're lunch!"

Brick, no longer covering his nose along with his teammates, raised a finger. "But they're sleeping, so…"

Chris interrupted him to continue his explanation. "Oh, and there are rattlesnakes too." As if to confirm his statement, footage of a rattlesnake hissing among the lions was shown.

Brick retracted his finger and whimpered. "Oh. That's bad."

Dawn raised a hand. "Um, a rattlesnake's poison is deadly."

"Our snakes' venom has been slightly diluted, so you'll only feel like you're going to die," Chris answered as if the response would comfort the teens. The monitor showed the next area, which seemed empty of wildlife compared to the previous one. "If you make it out of that zone alive, maybe you'll die in area two- The Pasta Blaster! Make a noise in zone two, blindfolded Chef will blast you with pasta." Chef was shown stationed on a cliff overlooking the section, a blindfold was tied over his eyes, his increasingly familiar pasta blaster on one shoulder and cans of his spaghetti around his feet. A bird offscreen tweeted, and Chef fired a round at it. The bird was shown getting stuck to a tree by a large glob of pasta and sauce.

"That seems less lethal than the lions and the rattlesnakes," Mike was heard saying.

"True," Chris agreed with his usual cheeky smile, "unless the burning hot noodles cause you to scream and wake up the carnivorous Pasta Bear, forcing your team to untangle you before you're eaten alive."

Mike nodded at that additional information. "Yeah, that could kill someone."

Chris's monitor transitioned to the final leg of the challenge, a field coated in snow. "The last phase of the challenge is crossing The Avalanche Zone!"

Scott walked over and leaned on the monitor, an arrogant smirk on his face. "Avalanche Zone? Geez, you must be getting old if you're getting as uncreative as that."

Chris pulled out his walkie talkie. "Chef, give me a shot ten o' clock, seventy-three degrees high please."

The devious guy only had a few moments to look at Chris in confusion before a glob of pasta and sauce flew at him dead center.

"Ow!" Scott complained, flopping onto the ground from the impact. He sat up, pasta and sauce dripping from various parts of his body, glaring at the host. "Throw a tantrum like a baby, why don't you?"

"Oh, you haven't even seen a tantrum," Chris retorted smugly, "which I don't do because I am a mature adult. But Scott makes a good point about age. At this point in your lives, you're all young and agile, so to make this challenge tougher, everyone will have to carry a special something through the entire challenge. Everyone say 'Thanks, Scott!'"

As one, the other seven campers scowled in the devious guy's direction. "Thanks, Scott!" He had enough sense to look appropriately told off.

Once Scott was humiliated enough, Chris held up his walkie talkie again. "Release the babies!"

The contestants gasped as a large shadow hovered over them. The camera panned up to show the intern with braces and the red-haired intern in a hot air balloon. Tied below the balloon basket were eight sleeping babies of different ethnicities in pastel-colored blankets. The braces intern pulled a cord that dropped the babies from the basket.


(Confessional- Zoey)

"This can't be legal!" the indie chick exclaimed, eyes wide.


Each teen caught a baby, Dakota being the last one. The heiress was alarmed by the young child now in her protection.

"Are you kidding me? I've never babysat before!" She complained quietly but urgently. The baby in her arms started to stir and cry at her panic.

Chris shushed Dakota from where he stood. "They're sleeping. You wake up a lion with a crying baby, and it's not going to be a party."

Aware of the danger the noise presented, Dakota struggled to recall what her nannies would do. "Um, sleepy time is still on. Back to sleep, little guy, or girl, whichever it is." She whispered to the child as she rocked it like an amateur, but her actions seemed to do the trick since the baby fell back to blissful sleep. Dakota sighed in relief that she was successful.

Her teammates had watched her effort, and both gave her a thumbs-up and a smile.

"Nice job, Dakota," Dawn praised.

Chris pulled out his air horn, horrifying the campers with the possibility he was going to wake up the babies and endanger them all immediately, but the host gave a quick honk of the horn and whispered, "And, go!"


A flash forward showed Team Maskwak sneaking through the Lion's Lunch zone. Dawn and Mike snuck around with ease, while Dakota, who never had to do any sneaking around in her life, accidentally stepped on and cracked a stray bone. The rattlesnakes hissed and rattled at the noise while one of the lions blinked awake for a moment before falling back asleep.

"Dakota," Mike warned from where he and Dawn froze in a panic.

"Sorry," Dakota whispered back.


Elsewhere, Brick cautiously stepped over a slumbering rattlesnake. Once he cleared it, he breathed a sigh of relief before an arm yanked him behind some bushes and a tree. He let out a quiet yelp.

The arm turned out to belong to Scott, who was hidden with Jo.

"We don't have much time," Scott began to say, looking over his shoulder then returning his attention to his two teammates. "Look, I know as the new guy on the team, I am sunk if we lose. That's why I want to align with the two of you."

Jo raised an eyebrow at him. "Give me one good reason why I should team up with you. I work alone, freckles."

"Because Cameron told me that if Sam leaving hadn't happened, you would have been the one to go." Brick and Jo gasped at the reveal. "He, Mike, and Zoey were going to vote for you, and since three on a team of five would have been the majority, you wouldn't be here right now."

Jo growled, holding her baby with one arm so she could clench one hand into a fist. "Those little… I oughta…"

"Chris is going to announce the merge any day now, and if he, Mike, and Zoey all get to that point, they'll run the game together. Which is why if we lose today, the three of us need to vote off Zoey or Cameron. The team still has five players, so the three of us would be the majority, and if we got out one of them before the merge, we'll have the numbers to run the game."

Jo smirked as she thought over Scott's proposal. "I do like being in charge. Count me in. Baby Boots?"

Brick thought for a moment, frowning. "I don't like the idea of turning against our friends like this, but if it's the only way to move ahead, okay."

Scott grinned slyly. "Perfect. You two go on ahead. I'm going to try to slow the other team down. Just because we rule the vote now doesn't mean letting the other team win."

"I like your thinking, Dirty Dustin. Come on, Needy Nightlight." Jo gestured for Brick to follow her, and the pair continued towards the next area.


(Confessional- Brick)

"We haven't had to do a vote in a while, so I'm not sure how ready I am to vote off great teammates like Zoey or Cameron. I get that Total Drama is that kind of game, but it's harder when you're actually playing it." Brick rubbed the back of his neck, attempting to reassure himself.


Once they were gone, Scott picked up a rock. "Now to make sure we lose so we can have that vote." He chucked it over the bush, and watched as it woke up a rattlesnake that proceeded to bite Cameron in the butt.

Cameron thought quick enough to smother his screams with one hand while he ran around, trying to shake it off.

"That should slow us down," Scott snickered, ducking behind the bushes so he wouldn't be seen enjoying Cameron's trouble. He moved to go in the same direction that Brick and Jo had gone, but he only got a few steps before he heard a noise and looked back. He scrunched his brow. "Wasn't there a tree there a few minutes ago?" Struggling to recall, he eventually shrugged. "Meh."

As Scott went to catch up with Brick and Jo, Zoey noticed Cameron's predicament and rushed over to help him. Once she pulled the snake off his butt, Cameron gave her a silent, thankful smile.


(Confessional- Cameron)

The bubble boy was standing in the confessional instead of sitting like usual. "Ugh, I can't even sit down like this. I know it wasn't me who disturbed the rattlesnake, so it had to be someone else. Whoever it was, that was a ruthless thing to do."


Dawn and Mike were making good progress through the zone while Dakota lagged behind, being overly cautious of every step she took since cracking the bone before. Dawn glanced back at her female teammate then looked up at Mike.

"Are you going to tell Dakota about your alternate identities?" Dawn asked softly.

Mike hemmed and hawed over the question. "I don't know. Maybe? It's just that we've only been on the same team for half a day. Sure, it was nice sharing that with the Salmon, but by that point we had been a team for three days so we had time to get to know each other."

"I think you should. Your aura has been more at peace than it was at the start. Sharing your secret with Dakota makes one less person to hide it from," Dawn advised.

Mike spared a glance over his shoulder at Dakota.


(Confessional- Mike)

"Dawn has a point," Mike admitted. "It's been less stressful for me in the game since I revealed my disorder to my team, my original team I mean. Dakota seems really nice, and she doesn't look like she would judge me for something beyond my control. The thing is I don't know when the right time would be. Maybe I should tell her if we lose, like I did before with my first team."


Cameron and Zoey managed to catch up with Scott, Brick, and Jo, so they were all now traveling as a group.

"How much farther do we have to go?" Zoey inquired to her team.

"I thought I saw the marker up ahead, so it shouldn't be too long now. We just need to get past… this lion…" Brick trailed off upon seeing one final lion in the zone close to the trail they were using.

Scott checked behind them and saw the Confused Bears trailing far back. He had to stall somehow. A peek down at the baby he was carrying gave him an idea.

"Oh gross!" He said aloud, startling his team and the babies. "Did someone's baby take a dump?"

The lion woke up and snarled at them. The team gasped in horror, and nobody noticed Brick's shorts quickly becoming damp.


(Confessional- Scott)

The devious guy whittled at a chunk of wood. "I had to stall. My old team was so far behind us, a baby could have crawled to the finish line and the baby would have gotten there first."


"This is really bad," Zoey said, cradling her baby in a protective hold.

"You got that right," Scott remarked, glancing at her. "How are we supposed to change a baby without supplies?" He pretended to finally notice the lion. "And you were referring to the lion."

A pause symbol appeared over Team Kinosewak as the lion rose onto its paws to confront them. The camera zoomed out to show Chris sitting at a desk with his monitor, the confrontation frozen.

"Will Team Kinosewak be eliminated from the challenge," Chris narrated, "and existence right now? Or will they somehow escape the kings of the jungle?" He leaned closer to the monitor. "And will Brick's shorts ever dry out? We're all going to find out soon here on Total Drama: Pahkitew Island!"

Then the show faded to commercial.


When the show faded back in from the break, the confrontation was seen from over Zoey's shoulder briefly before returning to the regular view.

"So, do we run? Or what do we do?" Zoey asked, looking between her teammates frantically.

"No! Listen to me," Cameron spoke up quickly, "Jo, give your baby to Zoey then climb on Brick's shoulders. We have to look bigger than the lion."

"Hey, I'm supposed to give the orders around here," Jo snapped, annoyed at the order.

"Just do it!" Cameron pleaded, clinging close to Zoey as they both held their babies.

Jo rolled her eyes. "Fine. Pigtails, catch." She tossed her baby over, and climbed up on Brick's shoulders. She flailed her arms and started making loud noises.

"Oh! I see," Brick caught onto her actions quickly and approached the lion, waving his free arm and joining Jo in screaming at the lion.

Thankfully, the lion seemed intimidated by their display and backed off.

"It worked!" Zoey exclaimed happily, her and Cameron relaxing.

"Uh yeah, great I guess," Scott half-heartedly joined the cheering.


(Confessional- Cameron)

Still standing instead of sitting, Cameron proudly boasted, "I studied a variety of animals before I came out here, just in case the season took place somewhere that wasn't an island. That was a good call to make."


Jo got down from Brick's shoulders, taking her baby back from Zoey, and happened to notice his shorts. She snorted, "There's your problem, New Red. Captain Crybaby here wet his pants."

Scott, Zoey, and Cameron saw what she pointed out, and the former attempted not to snicker while the latter two cringed in disgust.

Looking down at his shorts, Brick covered the wet spot with his free hand. "Some people pee in a dangerous situation. I'm going to go find some leaves to try and clean up. You go on ahead." He hurried off the trail just as Mike and Dawn arrived.

"What's going on here?" Mike asked.

"We nearly got eaten by a lion, and Brick wet his pants," Scott answered snidely. "I'm not sure who's the baby here, the ones we're carrying, or our teammate."

Jo barked out a laugh. "Hah! Nice zing."

Dawn shook her head. "Don't be too hard on Brick. He just has bladder control issues like your inability to remember names so you just make up nicknames to save face."

"Hey! Who told you that?" Jo demanded, turning angry.

"Nobody needed to. It's there in your aura."

Her cheeks burning red with embarrassment, Jo spun on her heel and stomped away. "Move it, Salmon. We got two more zones to cross."

Cameron and Scott moved to follow, but Zoey hung back. She stared warmly at Mike.

"Nice to see you made it past the lions and the rattlesnakes. I was worried for you," she said.

Mike blushed at her comment. "Same for you. I guess now we have to worry about a bear."

"Hey, we've already dealt with a bear twice before. What's one more time?"

"Zoey, let's go!" Cameron called back.

"Coming!" Zoey replied. She turned towards Mike once more. "Good luck getting through." Giving him a one-armed hug, she jogged to catch up.

Mike sighed blissfully, inwardly melting from Zoey's touch. "She's amazing…"

"Yes," Dawn agreed, "she's wonderful for you."

Brick stumbled back onto the path, his crotch somewhat dry. "Hey, wait up!"

Chris paused the footage again. "Since all of Team Kinosewak made it through The Lion's Lunch, they're ready for the Pasta Blaster!"

Chef was then briefly shown loading a can of his pasta into the blaster.

Zoey cringed at Chef's imposing appearance. "I'm guessing this isn't going to be like that movie where the cats kiss over spaghetti."

"Yeah, normally I like my mom's," Cameron agreed before wincing, "I have a feeling I'm not going to like Chef's."


(Confessional- Zoey)

"On the bright side, I'm mostly wearing red so whatever sauce gets in my hair will blend in. Right?" She joked weakly.


"At least this time there aren't lions and rattlesnakes every few feet." Brick observed. "It looks like we have a lot more room to maneuver here."

Jo grinned at him. "Good catch. Everybody, fan out. We're sitting ducks if we're in a cluster like this."

The team spread out in different directions, putting them and their babies in different spaces on the trail.

In a display of athletic ability, Zoey dove behind a bush then darted behind a tree. She peeked out from behind the tree to check the coast was clear, then made a dash for her next hiding place only to stop once she heard a honk under her foot. Lifting up her foot, she saw a bicycle horn lying on the ground.

"Did I forget to tell you that the field is full of booby traps? My bad!" Chris cheekily announced over the loudspeakers.

Chef fired his pasta blaster and Zoey only had a moment to scream before she was pasted to a tree with pasta and sauce. Her instincts made sure she was holding the baby above her head when she got hit so it wouldn't be hurt. Zoey struggled to get loose, but a growl made her freeze.

"Uh oh," Chris teased, "here comes Pasta Bear!"

"Bubbles and New Red, unstick Old Red. Commander Whiz, scare the lion tactic!" Jo barked out as the team reconvened to help out Zoey. Cameron and Scott went to work removing clump after clump from around Zoey while Jo hopped back up on Brick's shoulders.

Pasta Bear, which was just Bling Bear with a blindfold over its eyes like Chef, ran past Brick and Jo without acknowledging them.

"Did I forget to tell you that Pasta Bear is running entirely on smell? My bad!" Chris added, though he didn't sound apologetic.

"Isn't that just the bear again?" Jo checked, an eyebrow raised in scrutiny.

"Hurry, guys!" Brick warned their other teammates, who worked faster to get Zoey unstuck.


Back at zone one, Dakota arrived at the marker separating the two areas.

"I made it! Sorry it took me so long," she said to Mike and Dawn, who were waiting at the marker for her.

"It's great that you got through safely, Dakota," Dawn said, "but where's your baby?"

Dakota looked down at her hands. "My what?" She looked back at the zone they just passed through, and saw her baby resting on top of a rattlesnake, which was resting on top of a resting lion. "Wha- how?"


(Confessional- Dakota)

"I've never babysat a kid before," Dakota reminded the audience. "I'm an only child, hello! And even if I wasn't, watching other kids would have been the nanny's job."


Mike passed his baby to Dakota. "Here. I've got it." He jogged back.

"Will this be the end of Mike's short life?" Chris narrated as Mike snuck through all the sleeping hazards. "Saying 'I hope so' seems wrong…"

Dawn and Dakota gasped as Mike neared the baby.

Mike bit his lip, carefully creeping up to the lion. He reached out and steadily removed the baby from its perch on top of the rattlesnake. Once he held the baby close, he swerved back through the zone to his teammates. He smiled upon doing so. "I did it! And I did it all as Mike!"

"That was amazing, Mike," Dawn said as he and Dakota exchanged babies.

"Yeah, that was great," Dakota added, though she looked confused. "What do you mean 'as Mike', though?"

Catching his slip-up, Mike struggled for a reply. "Oh, um, tell you later? We need to get moving." Jogging ahead, he grabbed Dakota's free arm as he passed her and pulled her along while Dawn ran behind them.

"Team Maskwak are into zone two!" Chris updated over the loudspeakers. "But do they have what it takes to catch up to Kinosewak?" On his monitor, Zoey was shown getting chased by Pasta Bear, clumps of pasta and sauce stuck to her hair. "Unless Kinosewak can figure out their problem soon, I'd say yes."

"Does anyone have an idea? I'd love to hear one right now," Zoey called to her team, who was ahead of her.

Before anybody could come up with one, they and their babies were suddenly vaulted into the air by a springboard booby trap disguised as ground. Zoey and Pasta Bear had been behind far enough to easily get around it.

Scott and Brick fell into a bush while Jo landed in front of it on her feet after somersaulting to gain control of her positioning. Cameron could be heard screaming, and landed in Jo's arms. The bubble boy brightened at the save, only for Jo to unceremoniously drop him so she could catch the babies. She caught one with her left arm, another with her right arm, a third with her head, and quickly spun around to catch the last one with her hood.

"Uh, a little help?" Jo requested, struggling to balance the three on her arms and head. Cameron hopped back onto his feet and took his from on top of her head. Scott and Brick emerged from the bush, the former taking his baby from Jo's hood and the latter from her left arm.

Brick looked around and paled. "Oh no, we're back at the start of the zone!"

"Double time it, fish filets!" Jo commanded and the four raced to catch back up to Zoey.

After a bit of running, it was clear that Team Maskwak had a lead on them that was not shrinking.

"We have to do something to slow them down," Scott whispered once they got deeper into the zone.

As they ran, Jo spotted the bicycle horn that Zoey had stepped on. Using her foot to pick it up without stopping, she caught it mid-air with one hand and chucked it up towards Team Maskwak.

Dawn let out a yelp as the horn collided with the back of her head and honked momentarily.

The slight honk was enough for Chef, who fired an accurate shot towards the front-running team. Dawn was hit, sticking her and her baby to the nearest tree. The baby awoke from the momentum and giggled as if it thought being hit by pasta was fun.

Pasta Bear stopped chasing Zoey when it smelled fresh pasta and turned back towards Dawn.

"If you ask me, I'd say dessert came early," Scott jeered, smirking at his former teammate. Dawn leered at him in return.


(Confessional- Dawn)

"I hope he attracts enough negative energy to his new team that they lose," Dawn said solemnly, arms crossed in a pout.


Mike, who had been leading his team in the run, gasped when he glanced back and saw what happened to Dawn. "Dakota, keep going. I'm going to help Dawn."

Dakota gave him a bewildered stare as they stopped for Mike to turn back. "What? By myself?"

"Just go! You can keep our lead, and we'll catch up!" Mike handed her his baby and hurried back to help Dawn.

"Two babies?" Dakota complained, looking between the infants in her arms. "So not cool." There was a vibrating noise, and she set down the baby she just received to dig in her pocket. She pulled out her cellphone. "Finally, some bars."


(Confessional- Dakota)

"So, while I returned my intern uniform and changed back into my own clothes, I may have found my phone that Chris confiscated," the heiress revealed, holding up her recovered phone. "I was hoping to get in contact with Daddy or the family lawyers to help Sam, but they haven't gotten back to me yet."


Dakota sighed, checking the phone and putting it back in her pocket. "No, Dakota. You can look at it later. You're in a challenge. No distractions."

"Thanks for stopping for us, Princess Phone Call," Jo quipped as she and her teammates ran by her. "How nice of you."

"Hey! Get back here!" Dakota demanded, scooping up Mike's baby and running after the enemy.

Dawn grew increasingly frantic as Mike pulled chunk after chunk away from her trap. "It's getting closer!"

"I know, I know," Mike said, tearing away as much as he could as fast as possible. He finally reached the last bit, but it was stuck hard to Dawn. Pulling with all his might, he got it unstuck and sent it flying away from them, convincing Pasta Bear to turn in a different direction. The two campers sighed in relief.


"Looks like Team Kinosewak is going to cross second finish line first," Chris updated over the loudspeakers as the Floating Salmon entered The Avalanche Zone.

The team shared high-fives between each other. Zoey was about to give Cameron his last high-five when his knees wobbled and he fell to the ground.

"Cameron! Are you alright?" Zoey asked, bending over him in concern.

"I don't think so," Cameron replied, laying in the snow with his baby sleeping on his belly. "Remember that rattlesnake that bit me? I think it left my limbs numb."

Jo shot him an incredulous stare. "Wha- seriously?"


(Confessional- Jo)

"Of course," Jo rolled her eyes in annoyance, "of everyone on the team to get bit by one of those oversized worms with fangs, it had to be Pencil Neck."


Chris greeted the team in person at the third zone, wearing his snow parka he often wore in World Tour when the cast visited arctic climates. Brick had Cameron piggybacking on him while Zoey carried Cameron's baby for him.

"Congratulations, Team Kinosewak," Chris whispered, "still in the lead and one more zone to go. First, I need you to hand in your babies." The red-haired intern jogged into view with a baby carriage.

"Why?" Zoey inquired, handing her and Cameron's babies over.

Chris pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Lawyers called Chef and said something about 'danger' and 'babies' and 'lawsuits' and blah blah blah."

"At least none of them pooped," Scott commented as the rest of the team gave back their babies. "Though Brick did pee his pants a little."

"Can we please not mention that?" Brick whined, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

Once they all handed in their babies, they were allowed to proceed. While walking through the area, Cameron couldn't help examining their surroundings.

"Okay, seriously, why haven't we seen this part of the island before? Nothing about the island suggests this snow is geographically correct," he said, frustrated. "It's like it came out of nowhere."

"Nope, always been here," Chris corrected him with a point of his finger. "Maybe you aren't as observant as you think."

Mike and Dawn caught up to Dakota, and they entered the third zone together. They noticed the baby carriage and the intern by the sign, and handed off their delicate cargo without thinking twice.

Dakota shivered, wrapping her arms around her midsection. "Snow? Seriously? Ugh, I would kill to have my Rarity brand winter jacket right now."

"Just hang in there, team. We're almost there," Dawn encouraged, shaking less than her two teammates due to her sweater.

Mike pointed ahead of them. "Look, it's the other team and they're walking slow. If we move at a faster pace, we can catch up to them."

"Let's hurry," Dawn agreed.

The three entered the zone, walking at a brisker pace than their opponents were.

"And Team Maskwak has finally entered The Avalanche Zone, but with the lead Team Kinosewak has, they'll be hard to catch," Chris updated over the loudspeakers, speaking in a whisper so as not to disturb the snow.


A flash cut a few minutes later, the Confused Bears were still behind the Floating Salmon, but they were closing the gap. There was just one problem.

"They're getting close to the finish line," Mike observed softly to his team. "Even with walking fast to catch up with them, we won't make it in time."

"There has to be a way to slow them down," Dawn mused, thinking to herself.

The camera panned to Dakota, who was looking thoughtful as well. After a moment, she gasped.

"Hold the phone," she said quietly, digging into her pocket again. "My phone!"

Dawn and Mike glanced at her. "Dakota, what are you-?" Mike murmured.

Dakota smiled at her phone before staring at her reflection in it. "Sorry, Sam. If I can't get you back in, I can at least try to win." Tapping on it a few times, she threw it with all her strength.

Her phone sailed through the air and straight into Jo's hood.

Jo felt something land in her hood, and reached back to pull it out. "What the?"

Dakota's phone began ringing obnoxiously loud. Clumps of snow began to fall around Team Kinosewak.

The avalanche was starting.

"No!" Brick, Cameron, and Zoey cried out while Jo stared at the phone in horror and Scott smirked wickedly when he was sure no one was looking at him.

The whole drift fell down on top of them, blocking them from sight. Soon after the avalanche stopped, Team Maskwak slid down the other side, the girls using Mike as a sled due to his tall, slim body.

"And it's Maskwak for the win!" Chris announced when they slid across the final finish line.

Dakota and Dawn got off Mike, who stood up afterwards.

Dakota clapped her hands together happily. "We did it! My first win!"

"And it's all because of you," Mike said, smiling at her. Then he frowned in sympathy. "Sorry about your phone."

Dakota shrugged. "It's just a phone. I'm rich; I can buy another one."

The three of them shared a hug.

Meanwhile, the other team dug themselves out of the avalanche, groaning.

"As for Kinosewak," Chris added over the loudspeaker, "someone will be leaving tonight. No abrupt change in plans, no eliminated dinner, one of you."

The losing team groaned some more as the challenge faded out.


When the show faded back in, it was night on Pahkitew Island and the elimination area was lit by torches.

All five members of the Floating Salmon were wrapped in full-body blankets as they held the ceremony. Brick, Jo, Cameron, and Zoey filled the first row from left to right. Scott, playing the role of new member of the team and outsider, sat in the back row.

"You guys have had a really lucky streak," Chris said, standing before the team. "Only lost one member while the other team lost four, had one of your sorry butts saved by the exposure of a thief, and experienced a draw which didn't send anybody home. Tonight, your streak ends. Just to remind you since you probably forgot, if you get a marshmallow, you are safe. The one who doesn't get one is getting shot out of our cannon." He picked up the plate of marshmallows from the oil drum podium beside him.

"Brick, wet your pants while actual babies did not need a diaper change," Chris remarked while tossing him a marshmallow.

"Stop bringing that up!" Brick tossed his hands in the air defensively, moving them quick to catch the sugary treat.

"Scott, you're the newbie but somehow safe," Chris flicked one in his direction.

"Lucky I guess," Scott said with a shrug.

"Zoey, still flirting with Mike even though he's now on the other team," the host continued.

Zoey blinked, taken aback as she caught her immunity. "Flirting? I wasn't flirting with him. Was I?" She glanced around to see if anyone would confirm for her.

"Alright, last marshmallow! It could go to Cameron, who's been acting as his team's brain this whole time. Or, it could go to Jo, who's been team captain since day two." Cameron was shown gulping worriedly while Jo raised a challenging eyebrow at Chris. "The last marshmallow goes to…"

"…Jo!" Chris threw it over to her.

"What?" Cameron's eyes went wide, standing up. His rattlesnake bite had apparently been treated. "Why me?"

Jo pretended to think about it, waving her marshmallow around. "Gee. Let's think, Bubbles. You tried to get me out first."

Cameron stared at her in horror. "How'd you know about that?"

Jo smirked at him. "You just told me." She tossed her marshmallow in her mouth for emphasis.


(Confessional- Jo)

"I considered ratting New Red out, but he was pretty useful today so I'll see how much more I can squeeze out of him before I get him in the cannon too," the jockette explained, leaning against one wall of the outhouse. "Gotta say watching the little twerp squirm was fun."


Believing Jo, Cameron smacked his forehead with his hand.

Zoey stood from her seat. "Sorry that you have to go, Cam. For what it's worth, I didn't vote for you."

"Thanks, Zoey," he smiled at her and gave her a hug. "Say bye to Mike for me?"

"Sure!"

Unbeknownst to either of them, Mike was watching the ceremony from the shadows of a tree.

"Oh Cam…" he said sympathetically, a frown on his face.

A flip transition showed a few minutes later when Cameron was loaded into the cannon with a helmet on his head.

"For my first big adventure outside of my bubble, I liked it. It was crazy and it was dangerous, but I enjoyed it," Cameron stated with a fond smile. "I didn't expect to finish first, but at least I didn't finish last."

"Aw, such sweet final words. I hate them," Chris said, activating the Cannon of Shame.

"I don't like cannonnnnnns!" Cameron shouted as he disappeared into the night sky.

Chris raised a hand to his ear. "You hear that? That's the sound of an inexperienced kid getting a crushing reality check." Turning to the camera, he switched gears. "Tune in next time for more pain on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"

The show faded on the usual distant view of the island.

(End credits)


Cameron- 8th

Sam- 9th

Lightning- 10th

B- 11th

Anne Maria- 12th

Dakota- RETURNED

Staci- 13th

And so the other finalist from this cast has been eliminated. In my original draft, Cameron was going to be eliminated next episode due to food poisoning from the Juggy Chunks, but I eventually realized that would have been the same as his All-Stars elimination which I hated. Him being eliminated here is one of the reasons why Scott was switched with Mike in the team swap. By switching Mike with Scott, the power dynamic of the Floating Salmon shifted and put Scott in a strong enough position for the merge. Cameron's elimination uses his canon mistake of saying too much to Scott, like he was tricked into revealing Mike's disorder. I hate doing this to him because he's one of my favorites from the ROTI cast, but I can't favor him over the story.

Despite my dislike for Topher being eliminated on this episode in canon, I liked the challenge. I'm rather fond of cartoon babies, mostly because they are able to contribute to a story's plot more than real babies. I found it a little odd that they had to hand the babies in two thirds of the way through, but that's a personal nitpick of mine. In my effort to treat Dakota better than canon did, I had her play a critical role in winning this one to show that she's taking the game more seriously than before. Knowing Sam could not return to the game since she had already done that, I had to find a way to conclude the Sam situation, and that's when I realized the only way to do that was to have Dakota lose contact with the outside world more severely. Doing so established that she was willing to make hard choices for her spot in the game, and it allowed me to end the challenge the same way canon did- with a cellphone.

This will be my last episode uploaded this year. 2020 has been a wild ride, and I am very eager to see it end. Hopefully next year will be better for everyone. A friendly reminder to all my fellow cartoon fans to support Infinity Train on HBO Max so it can get a fourth season and more. Be sure to support The Owl House and DuckTales on Disney platforms too. DuckTales shockingly will not be receiving a fourth season despite its strong following, and I implore everyone to help change that. RenewDuckTales and RenewInfinityTrain!

Review in the box below, and remember reviews are awesome! Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!