Let's get with those replies!

lordgemini- Leo was a lot more fun to write than I thought he would be, so I'm glad he went out here and not any earlier, and I'm also glad someone liked him. Now that those three are gone, pretty much everyone left is a big player, so today is going to be interesting for sure.

Guest 1138- Yeah, honestly if I had to redo it I would have made the robots bigger and cooler, and made the fight more of part of the challenge. But I needed it like that to set up a bunch of plot lines, so at least something came out of it.

Thirteen to go, already a quarter done...

Episode 5: Welcome to the Jungle Gym

Chef and Susan are pacing around the control room. "Well, I went over the bus footage," Chef said carefully, "most of them, especially that mean kid, are very much onto you about your little secrets." He put up part of the footage. "I really didn't have in mind, 'board the windows' up, I meant you need to cool it."

"You're going to have to be okay with the business I conduct for now," Susan insisted, "I should be able to finish stabilizing the school within a few nights, and since those kids haven't noticed the repercussions of that, I don't see a need to be concerned yet."

Chef gasped. "Stabilize? Repercussions?" He was very much concerned about hat business his co-host may be conducting around here. "I want to know what you're doing. You can't hide it from me."

"I suppose your expertise couldn't hurt," Susan said condescendingly, "but I need to start the episode." In an instant, she dropped the shady talk and faced the camera. "Last time on Total Drama Cultivated Will, we fought in iron suits, well, some of them did." A few clips played of the fighters dueling it out, and Celine being knocked cleanly out of the ring. "The others focused on design and gathering, which led to some troubles." More clips played of Peter and Leo arguing, along with Abigail hurling a small cactus into Jacob's hands. "The teams were pushed to their ends, but the Parrots won out." The clip of Ben delivering the final hit was displayed. "Ben showed that he was more than his size, while Leo showed that he really wasn't, and paid the price for it." The final clip was of Leo being sent home, being carried by Chef to the bus.

"We're down another player, and we'll lose another today," Susan continued, the camera back on her in the control room. "Who will rise to the top today? Who's determination is the greatest? Find out today on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!" She let out a heavy sigh. "See? Perfect."

Chef sighed as well. "You only did well because you knew we were pressuring you about the shady business. You wouldn't have otherwise." Susan let out a huff, trying to ignore the cook.

Intro

[An instrumental began, and cameras began popping out in different places, the first being out of a painting in one of the school's hallways. Another camera emerged through a dormitory dresser, bringing some random articles of clothing along with it. A third camera popped out of the top of the school, where a bell would normally exist. The camera began flying around, and eventually entered the school itself through the front doors.]

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doing fine

[In the main lobby of the school, Susan was seen frantically walking around the area, clipboard in hand, talking into a communication piece on her ear. She was barking orders loudly as she walked.]

You guys are on my mind

[The camera moved over to the art room, where Nala was seen designing a dress that was suspended from a hanger. She seemed very satisfied with her work, until Nathan had walked in the room. The boy scoffed at it before laughing violently and walking away, causing Nala to feel discouraged.]

You asked me what I wanted to be, and I think the answer is plain to see

[In a classroom, Peter had taken up almost the entire white board doing a math problem, and he was trying to explain it to Claire, who was evidently not paying attention. Instead, she focused exclusively on him, giving him a look of infatuation. Peter didn't notice this at all and continued explaining the math problem.]

I wanna be famous

[Carter was in the gym, using various punching bags, and as the camera settled on him, he gave out a good punch that launched the bag off of the chain. Carter only celebrated for a second, until an arrow whizzed by him, causing him to turn back and see Sharron, who was smirking at him. The two broke into a sprint after the arrow, and they were very close together as they did that.]

I wanna live close to the sun

[In a dark location. Brenna was conducting tests on some large contraption. She had notes littered all over the table. She appeared very worn out, until Ben ran up to her, out of breath, holding out a cupcake. Brenna accepted the gift and smiled at the boy.]

Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won

[In the dormitories, Leo was on top of Nolan's bunk trying desperately to wake him up. There were tons of different pots and pans around him, and as Leo reached down to grab an even bigger pot, it proved to by too heavy and caused him to fall.]

Everything to prove, nothing in my way

[In the kitchen, Chef and Celine were in the middle of a cook-off, with Celine looking extremely composed as Chef scrambled around for things on his table. Kris watched the two from afar, and while it looked like she was interested her eyes gave off something else.]

I'll get there one day, 'cause I wanna be famous

[Gianna was seen in the hallway talking on a tricked-out phone with someone, until the phone shocked her. She began tweaking it around a lot until it started working again, and continued talking with the person on the other line. As she walked through the halls, George had tried to stop her, but she ran right into him, and didn't stop walking even after he fell over.]

Na na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na na na na

[In the band room, Abigail was messing around on a paino, with a trombone out next to her. Jacob approached her to try and say something, but was stopped by a bucket of water falling on his head, drenching him. Jacob flicked some water off of his head, visibly mad, as Abigail cackled to herself. The two then began fighting with each other.]

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous

[The camera flew down a set of stairs, and an apple flew through various different doorways. Brenna caught the apple, bit out of it, and threw it back in. The bite mark showed that it was the same apple as it flew through many different locations. A small, worn-out sign behind her read 'Ingress Academy']

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous! *whistling*

[In the auditorium, Celine and Kris leaned close to each other, until one of Peter's markers dropped on top of Kris. The two swiftly turned back, Celine looking angry while Kris remained calm. The camera zoomed out to everyone, whistling the theme as Susan snapped her fingers, causing the lights to go out.]

Kris and Celine were now by the meeting spot, in the bushes. They had beaten their Parrot co-workers to the spot that night. "You have to tell me," Celine said, "I don't want to see you that disheveled ever again." There was a sense of concern and urgency in her voice.

The deadpan took a few more breaths, eventually calming down enough. "It's true that I'm normally able to face danger head on," she admitted, "but no one really sees what comes after that." She sighed. "Truth is, my emotions aren't really delayed, but I tend not to feel things besides stress and fear, and it's not until after I realize how much danger I was in do I really let it get to me. I've gotten better at hiding it, but sometimes I still break down."

Celine looked heartbroken after hearing that. "Kris, no one's asking you to be fearless all the time," she said calmly, sitting down next to her. The whole gesture caused Kris to blush. "But there are people here for you, okay? I'm more than willing to always help you out, and I'm sure even Brenna or Ben would be more than happy to assist you."

Kris sighed. "Um...thank you. I don't know how well you're able to tell, but...this helped a lot." The deadpan mustered out a smile, before switching her head in the other direction. "Um, I think they're coming."

Celine quickly stood up, to reveal that sure enough, Brenna and Ben were walking over to them at that moment. "Hey, guys," she said to them quickly to try and get them moving. "Should we go now?"

"Sounds good to me," Brenna agreed, getting ready to head over to the school. "Remember, once we confirm that the school doesn't match the map, we go back. We have to drop suspicion." The other three nodded and began the trek over.

After some time walking, the four of them reached the entrance again. "It's still so weird that the school is so close," Ben muttered to himself. "I don't get it." They continued onward, going into the school to see what they could find.

Once they entered, it was clear things were different. The cafeteria, which was normally down the right side of the first floor, was now directly at the entrance, right in front of them. "Well, I suppose that's a wrap," Kris said bluntly, now much calmer than she was before. "I guess we go back."

"What's causing this?" Celine asked them all, "I mean, do you guys think that whatever's going on here is related to Miss Hazel?" She put her hand up to her chin. "I mean, it's no secret she acts suspiciously all the time."

Brenna was still busy staring at the cafeteria that was in front of them. "It won't be easy to question her," she said carefully. "Our best bet is to force her to slip up, but even that will be hard."

Kris raised her hand. "Then I should do it," she said, volunteering herself. "Out of everyone, I'm the least likely to ask a question." Everyone exchanged glances around her. "There's no reason I can't be self-aware," she defended. With that out of the way, the investigation group left for the night, getting to bed at a reasonable time too.

Brenna: "Things are coming together slowly," she said, "and as far as Kris and Celine, they seem involved enough to be loyal to the group. Kris still strikes me as odd, but I'm sure I'm overthinking things. I'm just glad Ben's here, otherwise I'd feel so alienated."

Kris: "Making Susan slip shouldn't be hard," she said to herself slowly, "but if she sees through it, we're done. I don't see it as too stressful, though. Not yet." She shook her head. "But, Celine still saw me when I was...recovering. I trust her to keep that to herself, but I still don't feel great about that. I was almost voted off, after all."

In the morning, in 1B, Nathan opened his eyes, and saw that is was daytime already. He got up to start his day, but was caught off guard when he smacked his head on the ceiling. "What the-" he started, rubbing his head before checking the ceiling. "This is like, five feet lower than before!"

Jacob, who had the other top bunk, got up perfectly fine, and when he looked over, he was surprised. "How odd," he mused, "your ceiling over you bed is about five and a half feet lower." He then widened his eyes. "Hold on a second, I've seen that kind of trickery before, it's happened to me!" He turned to Nathan. "I'm afraid you've fallen victim to one of Abigail's schemes."

Nathan grimaced as he slid down to the floor, careful not to his his head again. "How on Earth did she- that's annoying," he muttered, "does it have to do with me being mean to Natalie or whoever it is?" he asked himself. "That girl was trying to pity me!"

"I presume not," Jacob told him. "A prank from Abigail means she considers you a friend or a good person, so I wouldn't worry too much about it." He smiled to himself. "After all, I would know. But, I do recommend you keep your guard up as you go forth from here." He smirked. "And, if you would be so inclined, you should reconsider that alliance as well."

Nathan huffed. "With you, I think not still, but it's looking like a better idea." He stared down the band president. "You need to leave so I can think it over," he ordered, "and you don't want to know what happens if you don't listen to me."

Jacob finally got it through his head. "I...suppose there's no reason for me to not obey just this once," he said loosely, "I will take my leave. I will see you at breakfast shortly." He left quickly, clearly scared of the insolent's threat.

Once he was out of the room, Nathan turned to Ben. "We're in an alliance already," he said to the pushover, who was cowering in his bed as much as he could. "If we add him in, it's almost half the team. You gotta promise me that you won't cross me, yeah?" Ben nodded wildly. "Good, if we lose, we vote for Nala, regardless of what happens."

The woods were calmer than normal today as Carter showed up for his usual talk with the other team leader. "You didn't bring the sleeping boy?" Sharron asked curiously as Carter got over to her.

"Not today," he said casually. "I decided to take some of your...ideas to heart yesterday. I think my team likes me a bit better. So, because of that I am going to also try and keep Nolan on my good side."

"Of course they like you better," Sharron said as-a-matter-of-factly, "you actually are listening to them now." She got up to the rocks again and started aiming her bow at the water, clearly trying to catch seconds. "I was thinking of trying something else out, since my strategy yesterday went so well."

Carter was interested in what she had to say, but for a different reason. "Why do you keep helping me?" he asked the archer, who didn't even turn to look at him, "You realize keeping me in the dark or not giving advice would be crucial to winning more challenges."

Sharron let go of her drawn bow and fired another arrow into the water. She jumped down and pulled it out of the bottom of the river, revealing she had caught another two fish. "It'd be boring if I just gave you the win," she said, "I mean, I helped you yesterday and you still lost." She tossed the fish over her fire. "Anyway, my new idea is to delegate a second-in-command. Someone who can actually keep up and manage things that I can't. So, it'd need to be a polar opposite that I can tolerate."

Carter put his hand to his chin. "That's not a bad idea. I suppose if I had to pick, I'd let Peter take some control. After all, he's proved himself more than useful. I just hope that luck doesn't run out once we hit a physical challenge." He turned to the archer, who was halfway done another sandwich. "What about you?"

"Nala," Sharron said without hesitation. "She's the only one besides me who can even try to keep a grip on Nathan, and I can't get rid of him, because other than apparently Ben, I have no muscle on my team."

Carter raised an eyebrow at the pushover's name. "That boy peaks my interests, I'll admit," Carter said. "Perhaps if you needed more muscle I could offer Celine in a trade." Sharron stared at him with disappointment. "Oh, right, they're people too. I suppose I could talk it over with her first."

In the dining area, the area was a bit more filled, as the investigation group members were not sleeping through the meal this time. Nolan poked away at a few of his eggs on his plate. "Peter, you were the last one back last night," he noticed, "did your chess match really take so long?"

"Not quite," Peter said dully, "and for the record, you were asleep when I came back." Nolan was shocked to hear that, but not nearly shocked enough. "Anyway, she didn't seem as interested in the game as much as someone to talk to, but I could be very wrong on that."

Kris took a sip of juice. "If I had to be honest, she doesn't seem to interested in someone to talk to, rather someone to use." She took another sip without looking up. "If you want to know how I know that, it's because I've seen it before, actually, it's happened to me before." Celine looked confused and sympathetic as she said that, but Kris clearly didn't mind sharing too much.

Right at that moment, Claire bounced over to them, the last to arrive at the table besides Carter. "Good morning, everyone!" she cheered happily, she quickly grabbed some breakfast and sat down directly next to Peter. "Good morning," she said again to the mathematician, in a much more intense and playful tone.

"Uh, good morning," Peter responded with a hint of confusion. "I take it you slept well." Claire nodded. "That's excellent, because we're going to be in a tough position today. We're down a player again." He had much more determination behind him now. "We can't be walked over because we messed up a few times."

"Excellent thinking," Carter said, walking over to them. Everyone was surprised to actually see their leader appear at breakfast. "I've done some thinking myself, and I want someone to be able to handle aspects of leadership that I struggle with, so I want Peter to be a second-in-command. You should treat him just as well as you treat me."

"I can treat him even better than that," Claire said with a laugh. "But, where's this coming from? You always seem to disappear, then come back with some grand new idea." Carter turned his face away for a second. "Where do you go? C'mon, tell us!"

Carter let out a huff. "That's really not important," he insisted, quickly gaining his composure back. "Peter, are you up for the role?" The mathematician nodded. "Excellent, thank you."

Peter: "I have mixed feelings about today's meal," he said analytically. "On one hand, the most skeptical person in the game sees me as someone he can trust, which I'd consider a moral win. On the other hand, Nolan noticed something while 'sleeping'." He put that phrase in air quotes. "Does he have more up his sleeve than I thought?"

Nolan: He groaned as he put his head up against the door. "This is why I don't make conversation," he said with an annoyed tone, "now Peter thinks there's something fishy about me. Of course I can notice things while I'm sleeping, I wouldn't be able to only be awake four hours a day if I couldn't. I was just a bit interested in how whatever he was doing with Claire went." He paused. "Although, he was quick to jump to that conclusion..."

At that moment, Susan and Chef had walked in, and saw that everyone was there already. "We're all here?" Susan said, checking around. "Well then, let's keep moving. On the bus." Most of them had given up in arguing with the host, and got on to the bus of boarded windows, not letting them see outside.

"Parrots, I'd love to meet as a group on the way up," Sharron told her team, most of them rolling their eyes as she said that. "This is important, so I'm not asking lightly."

Once they got on the bus, the Parrots all grouped up near the front. "So, pairs worked out well," the archer told her team, "so I want to try making our team even stronger. I can't do everything on my own, so we should have someone else also manage the team with me."

"Of course the pairs worked well," Jacob said, "after all, Abigail and I are a natural team. But, if you need someone else in the management department, I'm more than happy to-"

"Not you," Sharron said bluntly, causing the band president to frown. Sharron turned to Nala next. "I think you'd be the best option. Your overall cheerful demeanor could only help us."

Nala hesitated, completely shocked that she was the one picked out of nowhere. "Um, I'm not really sure how I became the best option, but I'll try my best, that's for sure!" Nathan let out a huff next to her. "I-if everyone else is okay with it."

"That don't have to be," Sharron insisted, putting her hand on Nala's shoulder. "You just be the best you, and we'll be winning in no time." Once she said that, they heard the bus parking, which meant they had make it. "Now let's show them what teamwork looks like."

The team had once again walked to the gymnasium. "I know you've tried to cover up every single weird situation that we've been in so far," Nathan said venomously, "but this is the third different pathway to the gym we've taken. Of course, now that I've said that, next challenge probably won't be there."

Susan raised an eyebrow at the insolent before gripping her clipboard tightly. "I can assure you there's nothing peculiar about the walks through the school." Her voice appeared much more frantic than normal. "But, if you need to know, next challenge was already scheduled to not happen in the gymnasium." She stared Nathan down. "But I think you ought to be much less skeptical about the show giving you one million dollars."

Kris stared blankly at the host. "So where would we go instead? The basement?" Susan stopped dead in her tracks, which the other members of the investigation group quickly took note of. "I don't mean to pry but your actions scream secrecy."

Susan was gripping her clipboard so tightly that it was a surprise her fingers didn't go through it. "I assure you there's no need for anyone to be in the basement!" she said briskly. "In fact, it's off-limits in general."

Nathan smirked, seeing another chance to rile the host up. "I hate to break it to you, then," he said trying to hold back a laugh, "but we've been there already." Susan buried her head in the clipboard, with her sunglasses saving her entire composure as the boy kept speaking. "Yeah, you're about three days too late on that rule."

Abigail smacked the insolent on the back on his head. "That's not something you tell her as soon as she says that!" she yelled at him. She refocused her attention on the host. "We're sorry for our past uh...rule breaking, but to be fair, we're not really sure how we got down there in the first place." She leaned back over to Nathan. "Stay quiet about you moving."

"Enough!" Chef said, stopping the chaos. "I've got the challenge today, so you're targeting the wrong person. Break into teams, pronto!" Everyone quickly scattered into their even sides, the seven Parrots on the left and the six Goldfish on the right. "Take a look around you. Today's gonna break you all."

The gymnasium was stacked with many different gym class objects, such as a climbing rope, tires, and dodgeballs all over the place. "You got ten obstacles to get through," he told them all, "and you're gonna need to be able to do 'em all!" He sneered at them. "You fail once, you're out. No mercy from us today." A few people began to look more nervous than normal, specifically Nala, Peter, and Ben.

Chef pointed over at the first two obstacles, with the first being a set of tires, followed by a rope climb with a wall on it. "You may recall those two from our fifth season. That first one's got all sorts of danger within the tires, so you gotta watch your step. Next up, the wire wall." The wall was significantly longer than its season five counterpart, with eight wires instead of four. "We added some new surprises, just because we might have too many of you trying to scale it at once."

The next two obstacles he gestured at included a trampoline jump and a balance beam. "Next up you gotta jump off that trampoline to the next platform, you miss and you're in the drink." Everyone looked down and saw a pool of water right before the landing spot. "Up fourth is a balance beam. Pay attention to the wind now." A few gusts blew past the balance beam as an example.

Susan finally had enough composure to get explaining on some of the challenge. "Obstacle five is specifically meant to test your upper body strength." The obstacle she looked over to was another rope, but this one was hanging directly from the ceiling, and was about twenty feet up. "This ought to separate those who are strong from those who aren't. Obstacle six then pushes your limits." The sixth obstacle was at the top of the rope, and it was a zipline. "Your coordination will be a necessity when landing." The obstacle in question required landing front he zipline onto a blue platform with an 'X' on it. Everywhere around it was red.

"What's the red around that platform?" Celine asked hesitantly. She noticed that a lot of it was glimmering, but it didn't look particularly hot or cold. "It looks...sticky almost."

"That's the idea," Chef confirmed. "We don't trust you kids enough to not just cheat on the zipline, so you're gonna have to stick it or be stuck." A few of the teens gasped at the tight rule.

"Obstacle seven is admittedly luck-based," Susan told the cast, pointing at a singular ladder. "You need to go back up to the top of the gym and make it safely to the top. However, some of the rungs on the ladder are not worth grabbing. You of course won't know that until you actually grab on." She then pointed at the next obstacle, which was a rope right at the top of the ladder. "Obstacle eight requires you to balance again, but with no wind, we're relying on fear and adrenaline to knock you off this one."

Chef pointed at the final two. "Nine's dangerous. You're gonna have to navigate down a rock wall, but not all of the rocks are sturdy, and most of them aren't." A few people looked quite concerned. "So, if you have two people left by now, you may sacrifice one to serve as a safe belay for the other. This is the only obstacle that allows for two ways to cross." He then pointed to the last one. "Finally, you gotta punch through the wall or scale it, but punching might be easier and safer." The wall in question was nearly thirty feet high.

Susan began taking notes on her clipboard. "You will all go at the same time, and there will be no turn-taking. The first team with a member through the wall wins invincibility. Any questions?" Despite the long explanation, no one really budged. "You have two minutes starting now to quickly discuss any team strategy. Once the buzzer rings, it's up to you to get going." She proceeded to start walking toward the gym's press box to start watching the challenge with Chef. "Good luck. It may be helpful."

Carter: He's laughing to himself, almost hysterically. "It's like they hand-crafted a challenge for me," he boasted. "I've already punched through a door thicker than that final wall on this show. I just hope the rest of my team is up for it, because they may not be." He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'm not going to rely on them anyway."

Nathan: "This one won't be hard," he said with a sneer, leaning up against the closet's wall. "Admittedly, we'll probably have to do something about the inevitable chaos of the beginning, nothing a few trips and pushes won't handle though."

Nala: "Of course my first challenge as Assistant Leader is a physical one," the cosplayer whined, putting her head against the back of the closet. "I just hope Sharron knew that I'd be bad in these situations, because this is about the opposite of my best."

"I have a suggestion," Peter said aside to Carter. The untrusting boy turned his head to meet the mathematician's. "You probably guessed, but I will not do well here." Carter nodded. "So, I want to drop out early and do some observing. That way I can tell you who's really multiplying their efforts." Carter raised an eyebrow. "I know it's a risk subtracting a player instantly but it may pay off in the long run when the stakes go up exponentially."

Carter let out a huff. "To be honest, I didn't trust you'd make it past the second obstacle. There's not much of a problem being useful in other ways." He began to walk away, but turned back for a quick second. "If anyone asks, I did not just complement your idea, especially don't tell that blabbing friend of yours." He looked over in Claire's direction. Peter nodded slowly as his leader stepped away to start the course.

Over with the Parrots, a few of them were already raring to go at the front, but some of the others looked a bit apprehensive. "This cannot possibly be safe," Jacob protested, "they seriously expect us to risk our pride to get through some obstacle course?"

"Are you willing to risk anything else?" Sharron told him from behind, causing the boy to jump. "If you try, I can't really blame you for doing poorly, but I'll make sure to send my co-leader to keep an eye on you." Jacob let out a huff and went to the front of the course, while Sharron gestured for Nala to stand near Jacob, which she did.

Chef's voice boomed from the press box. "Remember, you fail once, and you're out of it! Once you're out, go sit on the bleachers. Go!" He hit a buzzer, and the buzzer typically used for a basketball game echoed around the entire gymnasium, signaling for everyone to get moving.

The first obstacle was not hard for many people. Tires in general did not pose too much of a challenge, and twelve people made it across. Peter, who had purposefully stepped in a suspicious-looking tire, let his foot get caught, making him fall. "No!" he yelled out. "Forgive me, team, but it seems we'll be down another player."

Claire let out almost a screech the instant Peter went down. "No! Peter, my love! I'll win for you!" With no response, Peter already began getting up and headed for the bleachers. "Oh, come on," she muttered, "pick up on something!" She continued her way toward the second obstacle, with the eight ropes.

"This one is safe," Nathan said confidently, grabbing one of the ropes in the middle. "I at least remember seeing that in the show." He reached out to grab the fifth rope from the left, and sure enough, it stuck properly, allowing him to keep going. He then got to the top first. "Heh, what a nuisance all these people are."

Celine inspected the licorice rope. "As long as I'm fast enough," she said to herself, rushing up the rope. The tension in the rope was giving way quickly, but she didn't give up. Right when the rope snapped, she grabbed the ledge and pulled herself up. "And that gets rid of a rope. Awesome." She kept moving, not paying attention to Nathan, who was still standing on top of the platform of the ropes.

Nolan, who was actually trying it looked like, grabbed the electric wire rope, and began climbing. "Let's make this quick," Nathan said with a smirk, stomping on the wire from the top. The wire dished out a few shocks throughout the entire thing. Shocking Nolan and sending him to the ground. Peter watched that interaction go down, carefully taking notes on his white board.

Nathan proceeded to find another electric rope, this one having a few eels on it. Despite the fact that it was far too dangerous to use, Kris was climbing up it anyway. "This one will be even easier," he boasted, stomping on the next rope. The electric eels all dropped to the ground, while the rope gave out a shock. Much to his own surprise, Kris didn't even bat an eye, and she simply kept climbing up the rope. "What the-" he started, before having his arm grabbed and yanked down off the platform. "Hey!" he shouted.

"You really need to not do that," Abigail said playfully, as she prepped herself to jump to the next platform "leave the practical jokes to me, okay?" Nathan fumed. "Oh, please, drop the mean guy act. You're not scaring me, Nate."

"It's not an act," Nathan countered, grabbing Abigail's arm this time. "And the name's Nathan. I was given the whole name, you're gonna use the whole name!" He pushed Abigail off the platform, forcing her to do the trampoline jump anyway.

Abigail flew through the air, and from the extra force she had gotten, she landed safely over the pool, being able to advance. "Nice shot!" Abigail said excitedly, "you really are a nice dude!" Nathan fumed and kept moving on with the course, trying to avoid Abigail at all costs.

At obstacle three, Nala prepped to jump, but she was too light to make it across. "Man!" she complained, "my dress is all wet now!" She quickly got out of the water and rushed to dry it off. "There's gonna be some serious damage to this if we let this keep going!"

Kris jumped and suffered the same fate of not being heavy enough to make it over. She splashed in the water, causing her to be out of the challenge as well. "Oh well," she said dully before getting out and sitting over at the bleachers.

Abigail: "Shame Nala's out so early," she said with a playful tone. "I wanted to see her reactions when I messed with the N-dog a few more times. He'll laugh it off eventually, I'm certain of it."

At this point, everyone else had hit obstacle four, the windy balance beam. "This isn't going well," Carter said to himself, "there's only three of us left, and while I trust Celine enough, I do not trust her." He looked over to Claire, who was bouncing lightly on the balance beam. She made it across, but not without a few stumbles and a near fall.

"Having troubles?" Sharron taunted lightly at the untrusting boy as she got ahead of him on the beam. "I thought this was one of the easier ones." She quickly bolted across the beam, not having any trouble at all with the obstacle. Feeling threatened by the taunt, Carter charged ahead and did the same.

"Consistent wind speed," Brenna muttered to herself. "It would be the most logical to lean right while running across, to counteract any strong wind." She began running, and while she stumbled a bit, she also made it. Nathan quickly followed suit and got across. Finally, Celine, Ben, Jacob, and Abigail all successfully made it across the beam, leaving all nine left in the competition to finish the course.

The fifth obstacle marked the halfway mark, but required a large climb up a vertical rope with nothing but upper body strength. "This will be another joke," Carter said smugly, grabbing the rope and beginning to climb up it. His speed was great, but he noticed Sharron now right below him. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked with an annoyed tone.

"Trying to win a challenge," she argued, "aren't you? You do seem to be quite busy nagging and boasting, yeah?" Despite their arguments, both made it to the top of the obstacle without an issue.

Brenna was on the rope, but she slipped about a quarter way up. "I'm officially out of energy," she lamented, colliding with the ground. "I suppose that means I'll take my leave for the day." She got herself up and made her way over to the bleachers.

Once Brenna dropped out, Claire took a crack at the rope. "This will be a cake walk, I've chased guys in more dangerous places than this!" She began climbing up, and quite quickly too.

Nathan grumbled as he watched her climb. "Let's not let this drag out," he said, "I'm dealing with her now." He grabbed the bottom of the rope and swung it as hard as he could, causing Claire to swing all over the place, and eventually causing her to fall from about two thirds of the way up.

Claire slammed onto the ground with a groan, but got up with enough time to chastise to insolent. "How rude!" she complained as she walked off. "You should know better than to hurt a lady like that!" She shot Nathan a death glare that he swiftly returned. Nathan simply rolled his eyes and made his way up the rope.

As he climbed, he felt the rope swing again, and he struggled to keep his balance. Eventually he let go, sliding down a few feet. He looked down to notice that Abigail was the one who had messed with his climb. "Sorry, I didn't think you'd let your guard down!" she said, trying to suppress a laugh. Nathan finished his climb as the prankster quickly followed suit.

Jacob stood at the bottom still, facing the rope with a hint of determination in his eyes. He was now the last one down there, as everyone else had gotten through. "I won't let my team down," he said proudly, "as their leader, I have no choice but to succeed!" Sharron rolled her eyes as she watched him from the upper platform.

Jacob: "Sharron continues to underestimate and doubt my abilities," he said with a sneer. "Quite frankly, I'm not too sure yet what has her high and mighty in that leadership role, but I'll make sure that I take it from her with this rope performance!" He chuckled to himself. "I meant it when I told her I'd destroy her. Her days are numbered."

Surprising everyone, Jacob actually managed to reach the top platform of the fifth obstacle. "Nice going," Sharron said nicely to him, "we've still got a huge lead now. Just don't screw it up, because we're gonna need everyone to beat Carter." Carter had grabbed onto the zipline first, perfectly landing on the 'X' and making it to the next obstacle.

Nathan was about to grab the zipline next, before seeing Abigail behind him. "You go first this time," he demanded, "I'm not being 'duped' by you again, if you even call it sabotaging your own team that."

"Oh, come on," she said lightly, "you didn't fall! I'd never sabotage the team, I just wanted you to laugh for once, you big grumpy oaf!" She grabbed onto the zipline, and began sliding, laughing to herself. "Hehe, oaf." Eventually the laughter got the best of her, causing her to let go and fall onto the red sticky platform. "Oh." Nathan smirked from above as he passed the obstacle and moved on.

Celine and Ben went next, the two of them also succeeding. Once everyone was clear but Sharron and Jacob, the band president smirked. "You can go first," he insisted, "I'd love for the spotlight to be on me again." Sharron rolled her eyes again and quickly did obstacle six with little issue. Jacob then grabbed on. "I may be exhausted from that climb, but this is nothing!" He began swinging down until his grip eventually gave out, landing himself just short of the platform.

"You have to be kidding me," Abigail muttered, seeing that she was now stuck in the sticky stuff with her least favorite teammate. "Please go be a failure somewhere else." She tried moving herself to get out. "What's in this stuff? I gotta get out of here!"

At the seventh obstacle, Carter still had a clear lead, and as he climbed, he was even able to dodge the rungs of the ladder that were snapping as he grabbed them, making the climb very easy. "Do you have anything that works?" He asked the press box, "because this is getting pretty easy."

"Don't let him get away with that, you two," Sharron said to Ben and Nathan, "let's catch him, now!" The three of them all started climbing at once, and Sharron also made it up with no issue, as did Ben. Nathan, however, grabbed onto the very last rung with a lot of force, causing it to snap and send him all the way down. "Or, just us two."

Nathan landed with an angry expression. "I didn't deserve that," he said furiously, walking over to the bleachers. He did feel a bit better as he saw Abigail suffering where she failed the course at.

Celine was the final person to attempt obstacle seven, and while she got far, a rung also snapped for her, causing her to drop to the ground. Her descent was much more graceful than Nathan's, and she walked off calmly back to her seat. "Of course," Carter muttered to himself, "as expected, I'm the only one left."

With only three left, the two Parrots and Carter were faced with obstacle eight, the aerial balance beam. Despite the way it was hyped up, all three of them effortlessly crossed it. "Note to self," Susan said in the press box, scribbling away. "Fear doesn't work on the kids, we have to try something else."

"You have something else to try?" Chef asked his co-host, who didn't say anything back, causing the cook to look very alarmed at what Susan might have planned for the cast.

Obstacle nine put the Parrots in a unique position. "I have to be realistic," Sharron said solemnly. "I've had a ton of fun against Carter today, but there's no way I'm punching through that wall and he isn't. She turned to Ben. "Can you do it if I get you down this wall safely?"

Ben hesitated. "Me? But I'm not very strong." Sharron gave him a look of disbelief. "Well, I am, but I don't know how to use it well." Sharron didn't back off. "O-okay, I'll give it a shot, I guess." As Carter started moving down quickly, Ben was able to catch up but being lowered down by Sharron, and by the time the two of them his the final obstacle, they were perfectly tied.

The tenth obstacle, the huge wall, was far too tall to climb over. Carter wasted no time, and punched right at the wall at full force. "Huh," he muttered, as the wall didn't shatter all the way. Instead, he put a dent about halfway through. "That's a sturdy wall."

Ben, who just watched Carter fail, got even more nervous. He tried to swing at the wall, but he could only put a small dent in the wall before Carter was warmed up enough for another swing at it. Striking right where his dent was before, he got through the wall and crossed the finish line before Ben even had a chance to realize it was too late. An announcement sounded from the press box and the buzzer went off again. "That concludes today's challenge!" Susan told them, "the Goldfish have won today's challenge. Parrots, that means you will face elimination with me."

Carter: "To say I carried my team today would be an understatement," he said bluntly. "I took on the last three obstacles without anyone else, and I hope they realize that there was a reason I was put in charge." He shrugged. "At least Sharron made me try a little bit."

On the bus ride back, the investigation group was sitting in the back. "So, we definitely confirmed our suspicions," Celine decided, opening up the conversation, "I mean, the amount Susan tensed up at the basement specifically. Plus, now that Nathan mentioned it, you guys did appear out of nowhere that first challenge."

"I agree," Brenna decided, "and we'll need a lot of time to figure out what's going on down there, so we need to go right there after we eliminate someone." She sighed. "I don't think meeting by those bushes will work again, especially since it might still be a little bit bright out still if we leave that early."

"The kitchen will suffice," Kris said nonchalantly. "Chef doesn't go in there after elimination, so we shouldn't have a problem getting in." She then noticed that Ben was even quieter than normal today. "Um, what's up with you?"

Ben sighed. "I'm glad you guys are still going to do this once I'm gone," he said with a sigh. "I don't think I'm making it past tonight." He paused for a second. "I screw up too much, and I let Sharron down. She trusted me to win that and you didn't."

Brenna shook her head. "I don't think the team would vote you out for that. Besides, between Nathan and Jacob, you don't have a thing to worry about." She put an arm on his shoulder, causing him to look up in shock, before retreating to the seat again.

Nathan entered room 1B, which only had Jacob in it at the moment. "Alright, doofus," he said to the band president, who perked up and ironically responded to that, "I'm in. Your annoying friend has convinced me that an alliance is crucial, but I make the rules." He held up his hand and started counting. "First, we get rid of Nala, then we remove Abigail from the picture."

Jacob huffed. "I think not. Quite frankly, my path would be much easier to leader without Nala, but we need to remove Abigail from the game before her." Nathan tried to speak up but he was interrupted. "But before any of that, we need a safe place to discuss this. I suggest right in here."

Nathan laughed mockingly. "You remember that there's someone else in here, right? This isn't exactly the safest spot in the dorms." Jacob winked at him, which gave Nathan the realization. "Oh, that's what you're thinking?"

"It would be as easy as a C Major etude," Jacob responded, flexing his musical knowledge which made Nathan roll his eyes. "He failed us today, so it is a perfect excuse to vote him off and keep ourselves hidden."

"You're quite the conniving rascal," Nathan said in an attempt to compliment. "I'll keep that in mind when you inevitably betray me later down the road." He mocked Jacob's voice. "You'll say something along the lines of, 'I'll destroy you!'" The two stopped when they heard laughing outside the door. "We have company."

"Allow me to handle her," Jacob said with a groan. He walked toward the door and cracked it open, to see no one nearby. Once he opened the door fully, a bucket of water collapsed on top of him. "How dare you!" he shouted, in his full angered tone. "I won't stand for this!" The cackling only got louder, and Jacob only got more wet.

Dinner was now a tense time, especially on the Parrots, but Sharron was missing that night. "Leave it to the leader to not show up to one of the most important meals we're gonna have," Nathan commented slyly, "she's lucky someone else screwed up more today." Ben cowered into his seat again, trying to hide from everyone.

"Hey, don't be so negative," Nala ordered from the insolent. Nathan scoffed as she tried to defend Ben. "Why can't we just vote like normal? Everyone failed today, it isn't just his fault." She stared right at him. "You really have to be nicer or...or I'll vote you out!"

Nathan couldn't help but laugh at such an empty threat. "You and what army?" he said with a sneer. "Face it, it's smart to just kill the tension now. There's no need to hide secrets." Jacob smirked slightly as he figured out what Nathan was getting at. He wanted to divert attention from their alliance.

"I'm more concerned about where Sharron is," Jacob said, "is it not the role of the leader to be a source of motivation moving forward in such a hard time? She's hardly equipped for that job." He turned around to see if he could see her, but he still couldn't. "Whatever she is doing couldn't possibly more important than giving her team the attention it deserves."

Carter was sitting silently over at the Goldfish table, when he spontaneously stood up, and began walking out. "Don't follow me," he told his team as he began to get out of the dorm as quickly as he could.

"Is anyone else like, super confused about where he runs off to?" Claire asked loudly. "I mean, he leaves all the time, and something happens while he's gone that makes him have these ideas. Isn't that like, dangerous?"

Peter shook his head. "He puts his faith in us, we should do the same." Claire quickly dropped the argument once he said that. "We should just be happy we're safe tonight, and we should probably thank Carter for helping us out."

Carter was in the woods, walking around. "I should have expected to find you here," he said, seeing Sharron sitting alone on the rock by the river. "You really don't need to put yourself down that much for losing one challenge."

Sharron shook her head. "I'm not mad we lost," she said firmly, "but I am mad at myself for a decision I'm going to make." Carter sat attentively to listen. "Is it wrong to put your faith in someone and not be at fault for them messing up?"

It was a tough question for Carter, but he shook his head. "There's no need to think that deeply. You should vote for whoever's going to make your game the hardest. That's what I do." He turned to her. "Does that help? I'm concerned it doesn't."

Sharron giggled. "No, it does," she insisted, "you don't have to to such lengths just because I suggested you act like a human being." Carter's face turned a bit red. "I'll cut you a deal. If we both merge, how about an alliance? I think we'd pretty much be unstoppable."

Carter shook his head quickly. "No shot," he said, "I'm not really an alliance person. I...find it difficult to team with someone who will have no choice but to turn on me later." Sharron sighed. "It's not personal." Sharron sighed again.

Sharron: "That flopped," she admitted. "Both the challenge today and the alliance proposal." She paused for a second. "And before you ask, it was strategic. No one would see such an alliance coming, but for some reason either Carter doesn't see it like that. Oh well."

At the lobby of the dorms, the seven remaining members of the Screeching Parrots were gathered to vote. Susan stepped into the room and stood in front of the couches where they were waiting for her. "Tough day today," she said to them almost condescendingly, "you guys were so close."

"I blame Carter," Abigail said in defeat. "That man is a machine. If he wasn't such a jerkwad I'd think he had a chance at winning this. But anyway, no one here really messed up. It was a collective failure."

Susan nodded. "An interesting theory. Let's see if your votes match up to that." She got out the six Chef erasers that would keep them in the game. "Remember, if you grab a Chef Hatchet-styled eraser, you get to stay in the game. Otherwise, you'll be sent to the Bus of Shame."

"Brenna and Abigail, you two are safe." The logician and the prankster grabbed their erasers and sat down, satisfied. "Nathan, you're also safe." Nathan stood up proudly and swiped the eraser out of Susan's hand, smirking at his team as he sat down.

Nala frowned for a second when she saw that the insolent remained in the game, but perked up when she heard her name. "Nala, you're also safe for tonight." Nala smiled as she got up to grab her eraser. "Sharron you're also still in the game." Sharron let out a sigh of relief as she grabbed hers.

That left two more people. Jacob looked very not concerned at his placement, but Ben had a look of despair about him. "Jacob, while your efforts were great today, your attitude was not," Susan reminded him. "This may be your hint to get a clue." Jacob scoffed and turned away. "Ben, you were set up to win, but you failed when your team needed it the most."

Ben sighed. "Please, let's just get this over with."

Susan grabbed the final eraser. "The loser tonight is...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Ben," Susan said, as Jacob smiled and snatched his eraser with haste. "Ben, you have received the most votes tonight, and your team has voted you off." Ben let out a sigh and began to walk out. "But, I did tell everyone that tonight the stakes would be high."

"You never mentioned that, Hazel," Nathan sneered, "you just assumed we knew that, which we did."

Susan held up a finger to him before he could go on. "Firstly, you may address me as Susan or Miss Hazel, not Hazel." She sighed. "Secondly, tonight the stakes are even higher. Not only is the loser off of your team for good, but they'll also be transferred over to the Goldfish to fight against you." Everyone gasped, and Ben was in shock. "Ben, you are still safe."

Meanwhile, over in the corner, Brenna looked upset.

Brenna: "This is not what I thought would happen," she lamented, burying her hands in her face. "Now I have to go against him, and the investigation team is now unbalanced." She sighed. "I just feel so alone now, but that's fine I guess. It wouldn't make sense for me to make friends with these people, right?"

In the kitchen, Celine was quite busy. She had about ten different pots out, and she was cooking up a storm. "They weren't kidding when they said this was fair use," she said excitedly, "I haven't had this much time to cook for a few days." She grabbed a spoonful of the pot in front of her. "More paprika," she said to herself, changing a number on the piece of paper next to her as she added more of the spice.

Kris entered from the back entrance to the kitchen, and noticed all the lights on. "Is someone here?" She called out. Celine heard the voice and quickly scrambled to put things away, but it was too late, as Kris had already shown up right in front of her. "Sorry, did I spook you?"

"No," Celine said, catching her breath, "I just wanted to get some time cooking." She looked around. "Are the other two done?" Her question was answered as Ben and Brenna entered the kitchen. The two of them both looked pretty shaken up. "Oh, are you guys okay?"

"Fine," Brenna responded quickly. "We should get going. Tonight could be very long." She quickly tried to hurry everyone to get them out of there as quickly as possible.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Celine asked again, "you guys don't look too great right now." She quickly began putting all her pots and ingredients away to get ready to leave. "Who did you guys lose?"

"Me," Ben said slowly. "I...I'm on your team now." Brenna buried her face again as she heard the line.

"It's just a team swap," Chef grunted in the control room, watching the most recent confessional from Brenna. "I don't get why they're so worked up about it."

Susan huffed. "Aren't you supposed to be the one who understands them?" she countered. Chef shook his head. "What do you mean you aren't? What am I supposed to be doing, then?"

"Closing the episode," Chef retorted.

Susan's eyes widened. She had missed the cue again. "Um, no elimination today, but things are just as dangerous! How will Ben's movement change the game? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!" Her entire delivery was so fast it was hard to hear. "Perfect." Chef simply rolled his eyes. She had a long way to go still.

Teams:

Screeching Parrots: Abigail, Brenna, Jacob, Nala, Nathan, Sharron

Swift Goldfish: Ben, Carter, Celine, Claire, Kris, Nolan, Peter

Eliminated: Gianna, George, Leo

And so no one gets eliminated tonight, and the Goldfish get a new member! I hinted at this a lot that Ben was going to change teams, and now it's time to see what happens when he's with this new group. Also, this gives everyone left in the cast an additional episode to develop, which is why this happened so early.

Today's challenge was based on Physical Education class, as one could have guessed, with obstacle five being the infamous vertical rope. I think everyone found a good role in the challenge today, and things overall went super well. We'll see how things play out next time.

If you enjoyed today's chapter, be sure to review, or even smash that favorite button. I love seeing your theories or just who's reading so anything you provide is good motivation! See you all next time!