Total Drama Cultivated Will Chapter 6: Living to the Fuel-est, a total drama series fanfic

It's reply time, and I'm out of...yeah I got nothing. Here they come.

lordgemini- Last episode was really to kick off as many plotlines as possible, and the final few will be starting off here. There's so many because I don't plan on the school's secret being a secret all season. They have to find out eventually.

Guest 1138- I also never had to do a vertical rope, but it is a common gym class trope in a bunch of movies and shows, so I went with it. I tried to add a lot more surprise elements because between the original Karon trilogy, there was only one episode that wasn't an elimination episode out of the total of 64 episodes. With a smaller and newer cast, I figured I could use one here to give everyone some more time.

Alright, let's see what happens today!

Episode 6: Living to the Fuel-est

The two hosts were in the control room, waiting to get started. "I want info, and you need to hand it over now," Chef demanded. "This shady business has gone on for quite too long." He stared down Susan, who was trying to avoid eye contact at all costs.

"I did say you might be useful," Susan said in defeat, "so I'll let you in on something. If you really want to see what's happening tonight, we can go to the basement after it gets dark, but you have to meet me there."

"No," Chef responded firmly, "I want to use whatever freaky method you use to get to the school so fast. You have to at least tell me." He continued to use his intimidating stare on Susan. He looked around for a second, and saw they weren't alone. "Also, the cameras are here, do your thing."

Susan shook her head. "You'll meet me there. I don't trust anyone else with my methods just yet." Once she cleared that out of the way, she turned to the cameras. "Last time on Cultivated Will, we took a break for the competitor's minds. After three days of riddles and puzzles, they were finally pushed to their physical limits. A ten part obstacle course proved to be easy for some, while others struggled beyond reason." The first clips that played out were of Claire dancing on the balance beam, Carter scaling up the rope, and Peter flopping on the first obstacle. "Nathan resorted to childish bullying tactics, and Abigail resorted to...something to stop him." The next clips were Nathan's shocked face as Kris climbed the shocked wire emotionlessly and Abigail throwing the rope around while he was on it. "In the end, the Screeching Parrots lost due to Ben failing to punch through the wall in time, and they faced their second elimination."

Susan smirked. "But, we kept him, because he's interesting to us. He's now on the Goldfish, where he'll have to deal with a whole new pile of concerns and tricks to try and escape the team he just fought for the other day." The scene returned to Susan. "Who will drop today? Will Ben survive? Find out today on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!"

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.]

The sun was still setting as the four members of the investigation group made it to the school. They all sat on the edge of the woods, peering at the building from a safe distance. "Remember the plan," Brenna said, now much more composed than before. "We need to get through as fast as we can, but there's a ton of info that we might need to learn about, so don't rush through it."

The four of them broke into the school for the third time now, and quickly tried to figure out what things looked like. Once again, the school was shifted around. Last night as the cafeteria was in the front, there was now a library at the front of the school's lobby. "We need to find a staircase," Kris concluded, "one that goes down."

The team looked around for a while, but eventually Celine spotted the staircase. "This is it!" she shouted out to them, "let's go!" The four quietly went down to the basement, which was just as dark as the first time the Parrots were down there. "How are we supposed to see anything?" Celine said nervously, trying to find a wall of something to grab onto.

"There should be a lit area somewhere down this way," Ben said slowly, "follow my voice." He kept thinking back to the time where he blocked Nathan's grab. He shocked himself more than anyone else at that moment, but he had only been able to deliver that kind of force once after that. Now that he's failed to do it again, he was stuck on a new team.

Once the four hit the lit area, they were surprised by what they saw. "I guess we were in a challenge," Brenna said slowly, "because we missed all this stuff here..." All around them were documents and blueprints. It would be a while before they were able to get through all of it enough.

Ben grabbed one of the documents. "Portal Room, Test Five," he read out loud. "I didn't think that things like portals actually existed." He kept reading through it. "But, this doesn't look fake or like we were supposed to find it." He suddenly became very nervous and started stepping away. "M-maybe we should go back."

Celine shook her head. "And miss out on all this info? I don't think we should go back any time soon." She picked up something that resembled a map. "Look!" she said excitedly, "this was the layout of the school on the first night we mapped it!" She paused to stare at it in shock a bit longer. "So it's really all been moving around."

Kris was reading through a different document on the table. "This one's a smaller...portal thing," she said slowly, trying to figure it out. She checked around the room when she saw the exact device sitting on a bench. "This is it." She grabbed a small screw that was sitting next to her, and after turning on the machine, put it through. The screw popped out over the ceiling and dropped down to the floor. "I take it Ingress Academy was a lot more than just a school," she muttered, "what do you think, Brenna?"

Brenna was fixated on the blueprint she had in her hand. "This is a working portal gun," she muttered to herself, "but it's nowhere to be seen around here." She sulked a bit, as it was something she was actually interested in. Then, all of them paused as they heard a noise come from above them. "What was that?" The group listened for a bit more. "It sounds like it's coming down here!"

"Then let's hide in the dark and get out of here!" Celine quickly decided, grabbing Kris and bringing them back from the direction they came. Ben and Brenna also quickly ran into the darker area of the basement. Once they were there, they used the limited vision they had to try and hide behind something.

As the four waited quietly, the sound turned into footsteps, and loud ones too. The slamming of a heel was apparent, and there was a heavier set of footsteps behind that one. "You better not have down here what I think it is," the heavier footsteps said, "I said when I left that I wanted no part of that team!"

The footsteps with the heels let out a huff. "Well, you had some say in my selection, yeah? Why didn't you just tell the producers that you wouldn't let me on? If you really didn't want this, you would have stopped me long before now." The body that held those footsteps finally stepped into the light, and it was now apparent that those heels belonged to Susan Hazel herself, with Chef following right behind. "Admit it," the host said with a smirk, "you're curious."

"I'd call it more concerned than curious," Chef answered angrily. "Now, show me what destructive things you have down here. I want an inventory so I know what to be wary of before it goes berserk in a challenge." He began pacing around the room, eventually picking up the screw that Kris had put through the portal off the floor. "And, for my own sanity, keep the place clean, will ya?"

Susan quickly peered around her own area. "Hm, I must have locked it up." She pulled a key out from under her clipboard and opened a cabinet that was close by. When she pulled it out, the actual portal gun that Brenna saw the blueprints for was sitting in her hands. "You asked how I get there and back so quickly? This is how." Chef himself looked shocked at what it was. "I don't let anyone else use it because it's not fully stable yet. I don't want to risk letting anyone else injure themselves with it."

Chef took it from her hands. "Why on Earth are you keeping this here?" He was struggling himself to get ahold of all this. "Look, I know that Ingress Academy is a front, and I figured that it had been cleared out from all of...that, too." He was staring at the portal gun. "What's your plan anyway? Couldn't you have just come here on your own time? What was the point in getting the hosting gig?"

Susan took the portal gun back and locked it away. "You don't get to know all the answers yet. You asked to see, and now you've seen. Can we go? Tomorrow's challenge is going to be a busy one for both of us." Chef wasn't satisfied with the answers he got, but he knew there was no more interrogating coming from him at that point. He nodded. "Good. let's go back then." As the two of them left, Susan eyed up the map that Celine was holding earlier, and also took a look at the screw Kris had moved. She eyed that up as well, before shrugging it off and leaving with the cook.

Once they were all certain they were gone, Ben let out a sigh of relief. "That was way too close," he said, "I wish we left when I wanted too, though." He let out another sigh. "Okay, well, we should probably stay clear of here for a few days. I don't think we want to risk it when we came so far."

Brenna nodded. "I agree, we should keep some distance." As they all emerged from the basement, there was finally enough light to see each other, and it quickly reminded Brenna of what the teams were like. "Actually, before we go," she suggested, "we should make a code for ourselves. Now that we have a clear goal, I propose that we hide under the guise of the PIG." She got only blank stares in response. "Portal Investigation Group."

"It's certainly a good code," Celine agreed, "I'm in on that." Ben nodded in agreement as well, while Kris simply stood there emotionlessly, which caught Celine's attention. "You guys start heading back," she insisted, "Kris and I will catch up." Once Ben and Brenna had left, she turned to Kris. "Okay, you're alone now, let it out if you have to."

Almost in an instant, Kris dropped to the floor and began trying to catch her breath. "Thank...you," she said in between breaths, holding onto Celine's arm for support, "how did...you know?" After a few seconds, the stress of hiding for so long had washed over, and she was able to stand up normally. She quickly got off of Celine's arm when she realized where she was, the night hiding her blush.

"It was the same when Leo got voted off," Celine told her, "I noticed you're almost perfectly stoic right before you're about to crack." She paused. "I'm sorry if I'm overstepping, I know you didn't want me to-"

She was cut off by Kris bringing her into a hug. "Thank you," she said again, "it...it feels good having someone care that much."

Kris: "I didn't even know I had some sort of cue for whenever I'm about to break down," she said slowly. "To be honest I used to think Celine was just pitying me because I looked sad all the time, but I think there's definitely something special about her." She paused as she started to blush again. "Don't tell anyone I said that."

As the sun rose up on the new day, room 2B was now filled with confusion. "So...let me get this straight," Carter said to Ben, who had randomly appeared in the room overnight, "you've been moved to our team instead of being voted off?"

"That's right," Ben said, "well, I think it is." He was busy being terrified of the face in front of him to really think straight. This was the person who tore through yesterday's challenge like a piece of paper. "Um, did you need something?" he eventually mustered out.

Carter was interested at the new development. His wish was granted. "If you're interested," Carter replied, trying to stay open with the new teammate, "I'm out to get breakfast. Are you interested?" Ben paused. Why would he ask such an easy question with such confusion? "It's not at the dining hall," Carter clarified.

Ben thought about it, but he was far too nervous to actually go with him. "I think I'll pass," he said slowly, getting up to leave. "I'll meet the rest of the team, s-since I've met you already." Once he was done talking, he bolted out the door at an alarming speed.

Carter watched as the boy left. "Huh, wonder what's got him all worked up?" he asked himself, before standing up to leave. "Well, I better get going, I don't want to be late for my meal either."

"This is bad," Nala said in a panic in 1A, pacing back and forth on the bottom of the room. "They're allying up to get rid of me!" She kept pacing back and forth, leaving Brenna and Abigail to sit there and watch. "I'm as good as gone next time!"

"Relax," Abigail said as she bounced a ball around on top of her bed, "knowing Jacob, he'll try and take control of the alliance and they'll fight too much to actually do anything. Besides, it's only two votes. We have more than that." She looked over to Brenna. "Right?"

Brenna was not in the mood for speaking. "Yeah, I guess," she said, trying to hold back her sadness. "I think I'm going to go down to breakfast now." She got up slowly and made her way out, hoping that they wouldn't follow.

The other two who remained exchanged glances. "Maybe we need to do that kinda thing too," Abigail suggested, "Y'know, team up, make it an official alliance." She sighed. "I think the competition's already getting to people. I can only focus on one person at a time."

Nala flopped onto her bed. "I'm just so nervous," she admitted, "Nathan's mad at me, and I have no idea why. Like, I know he's a mean person and all but he seems to specifically be mad at me." She turned to the prankster. "What do you think?"

"I think I'm getting to him slowly," she said. "He was definitely mad with me yesterday, which is a start. I keep that up for a few more days, he gets used to it, then boom, suddenly I'm friends with him and I make him be friends with you too." She smiled eagerly. "Sound fun?" Nala couldn't help but just give a skeptical look.

Nala: "I appreciate everything Abigail's trying to do for me," she said as she looked around the closet nervously, "but at some point doesn't that system fail? Like, why would they instantly become friends? And why doesn't it work on Jacob?" She sighed. "She's a confusing girl."

Abigail: "Phase one is always rough," she admitted as she bounced her ball around in the closet. "I mean, yeah, I'm pretty much bullying him at this point. But, eventually those painful looks will turn into smiles. I'm sure of it."

Out in the woods, Carter finally arrived. "What time do you even get out here?" he asked Sharron, who was already eating. "I like to think I get up early but this is nuts." He was cut off when she tossed him a sandwich. "What's this?" he asked, "is it poison?"

Sharron rolled her eyes at the untrusting boy. "You really don't trust me yet?" she asked, causing Carter to shake his head. "I made you food and you don't trust me. Unbelievable. Why do you even come out here?"

Carter stared at the sandwich for a bit longer before eventually giving in and taking a bite. "I need somewhere to eat breakfast in peace," he explained. After a few seconds, the taste of the early morning fish hit him. "It's good," he added. "Anyway, I can't stay long, I need to meet with Peter this morning. He did some note-taking during yesterday's challenge, since I was occupied with winning it."

"You're real full of yourself for someone who I just cooked for," Sharron countered, "but don't plan on letting that stay for long. I'm winning today, because Susan already said the challenge isn't in the gym. What are your strong suits outside of that room?" Carter paused for a second to think, but he blanked. "Bingo. I have much better rounded skills. Sure, I can't punch through a wall, but we'll never need to do that again."

"I still have the numbers on you," Carter pointed out, "and with Ben on my side now, I've got seven to your six." He then remembered his new teammate. "You know, things are going really well for me," he pointed out, "I wanted Ben on my team, and it's like the impossible happened. I'm sure they're just trying to get my hopes up, but I appreciate the luck for now." He finished his sandwich and stood up. "Well, I have to go. Busy morning for me."

Sharron watched as he ran off back to the dorms. "I'm still going to win," she said confidently. She took out her bow, and aimed an arrow right at a tree. Once that first arrow stuck, she pulled out a second arrow, and shot it right through the first arrow. "I'm skilled too, you just watch yourself."

Peter was waiting in an empty hallway for Carter. "I don't see the reason to meet in such a secluded space," he said nervously, "I mean, if we were to add more people into the mix I'd feel more confident about-"

"Just tell me what you figured out," Carter said impatiently. "I really need to win today. There's no reason we shouldn't."

"R-right," Peter responded, pulling out the white board he had scribbled on yesterday. "Um, Nolan tried yesterday, which was a first, but he was still out early. Technically subtracting Nathan from the mix would have exponentially increased his performance, but that's not certain." He pointed at another spot. "Kris and Celine are likely forming an alliance together. There's no reason two people so different need to hang out so frequently."

Carter grumbled. "How did you deduce that from a single challenge?" he asked suspiciously, "I mean, sure do see what you mean, but I didn't think you of all people were paying too much attention around everywhere else."

"With all due respect," Peter answered, "if I don't pay attention then I might go next. It's more of a matter of adding to my own safety limit." Carter passed it off for now. "Anyway, besides them, Claire is the only one I can't seem to figure out, but she's definitely not a threat. I think she'll listen to you if that's what your concerned about."

Carter looked over the board himself, but couldn't read much of the mathematician's egregious handwriting. "So...I guess then Nolan's an obvious choice to eliminate next. He'd only drag the team down."

Peter shook his head. "I would like to see if he improves," he admitted. "Hopefully we win today and don't have to put any of this to use. I get uneasy carrying this giant white board around with a bunch of notes on it."

Peter: "Carter trust me for some odd reason," he said, "but all I really did was win a chess game. I didn't tell him what I found out about Nolan, because I sort of want to take care of him myself, you know, finally do something worthwhile." He sighed. "But he's been trying harder since I discovered his secret. Maybe he's trying to eliminate me. Oh no...that would be bad."

Everyone was now finally back at the dorms, where Susan and Chef were waiting for them. "Did everyone sleep well?" Susan asked nicely, but she appeared to be gripping her clipboard tighter than usual. She scanned the thirteen contestants to see if anyone looked sleepier than normal, but there was no success. "Well, today we will be doing a very fun challenge, and it's very different from the one yesterday." A few sighs of relief could be heard. "Alright, now on the bus!"

As they began boarding, Chef turned to Susan. "You're nervous for today's challenge," he pointed out. "You don't need to be worried, these kids ain't that smart. Just remember, nothing gets past Dr. Susan Hazel." Susan took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Also, I want to take the portal gun today."

Susan tensed up for a second, but she realized no one was actually there at the moment. "Fine, but only because you know about it. I don't plan on letting this become a common item everyone knows about until it's stable. You realize there's a huge risk every time I use it, right?" Chef simply nodded. "Fine, but I don't want to hear complaining if you get hurt." The two went through the portal that it created, heading to the school to meet the kids before they arrvied.

Once the bus parked, the cast got off, only to see both Susan and Chef waiting for them. "This has gone too far," Nathan said, "I could handle Shady Lady doing that but I thought better of you Chef." Chef ignored the boy's attack. "Whatever, your silence won't last forever."

Susan snapped her fingers to get their attention. "Right, now you all can follow me. We will be going to the chemistry lab today." A few people cheered, but not nearly as much as the physical challenges have brought out.

On the walk over, Ben leaned over to Celine and Kris. "Why did Chef take it?" he asked them quietly, "I thought that he didn't want to go through, and that Susan wouldn't let him. That thing is dangerous, right?"

"Today's challenge is chemistry focused," Kris explained, "which means there will be tons of science talk. I think we can get more out of her by asking lots of arbitrary questions." She let out a huff. "I'll handle that again, it shouldn't be any harder than last time."

Celine watched Susan carefully, but she couldn't find the portal gun attached to her anywhere. "Better question is how is it gone?" The other two also inspected Susan and found nothing on her. "They didn't have enough time to get all the way down the basement between the bus ride. Unless they showed up down there? This is confusing."

Behind them, Brenna watched in silence as the three conversed. She wouldn't be able to talk to them because that would get the attention of the others, so she could only just stand and watch. Sharron noticed that Brenna was dejected and made her way over to her. "You good?" She eventually caught her staring at Ben, which caused Sharron to guilt up a bit. "If you're down, stick with me today. Since both our partner pairs are broken, it couldn't hurt, right?"

"Right," Brenna said slowly, trying to not draw any more attention than she was probably already getting. She put her head a bit higher and followed everyone else to the chemistry lab.

Once everyone entered, Susan began checking her clipboard before finally facing everyone who was in front of her. "Today's challenge is quite the opposite to yesterday's," Susan told them all, "instead of using physical strength and skill to get places, you will be using your brainpower to not only get yourself places, but also to destroy the other team's chances." A few people looked concerned at the word 'destroy'.

Susan snapped her fingers, and two white boards rolled themselves out to either side of the room. "You will work as a group to mix three chemicals to make a fuel. For extra challenge, the labels have been removed from each chemical. Any combination of the three will make a proper kart fuel, but some combinations will get your car to be faster or to have more durability." She snapped her fingers again and three containers, one red, one blue, and one green, popped out on the tables.

Nala slowly raised her hand. "What's with the words...destroy and durability? What are we going to be doing after this?" She sounded extremely nervous and tried not to overwhelm herself with the idea of what might be happening.

Susan pointed at the karts. "Once your fuel is made, you will also be required to construct a flamethrower, which will be used in the race. At the race itself, each team will have one driver in a fireproof suit, and you will need to beat the other racer as best as you can. These drivers are going to be chosen randomly." A few people looked around nervously, hoping to not be picked when the time came.

Chef finally entered the lab as well. "Are they all set up?" Susan nodded confidently. "Good. These karts are mine, but if they get destroyed, so be it. You better try your best, because you won't be as lucky as Ben ever again." Everyone's attention fell on the pushover, who tried to block out his face. "Get to it."

The Parrots quickly gather up as Sharron rallied them together. "Alright, we're down already," she told them, "but we're not out. Stick to your pairs, I'll work with Brenna today." She turned to the logician. "I think it's safe to say you're the smartest here," she explained, "we're gonna need you."

Abigail raised her hand. "Look, I know I ask every time, but please take me away from him." She pointed at Jacob who simply turned the other way. "I know you want to try and foster...I don't really know, but I actually can confirm from prior experience that he's a lousy lab partner." She pleaded to Sharron again. "Please."

Jacob scoffed. "The science we learned in school won't help us here anyway. And I was a fine lab partner. You ought to know that someone is so engaged in other commitments that he could not make it to class a few times!"

Sharron shook her head. "I need your synergy," she argued, "it's too good to pass up. You two handle the flamethrower, yeah?" Jacob instantly stopped bickering with Abigail and turned to nod, while Abigail gave in after a few seconds of groaning. Sharron then turned to Nathan and Nala. "You two work on fuel with us. I think combined we can really win this."

Over with the Goldfish, Carter was staring at the chemicals. "This...isn't something I'm familiar with," he admitted, trying to make something out of it or at least have a plan. He saw the Parrots already getting to work. "I can handle the flamethrower on my own," he said, "but I'll have Ben do it with me." Ben jumped, but calmed down quickly. He turned to Peter. "You lead the charge on the fuel. Can you guys all manage that?"

"Easy," Kris agreed, "we'll make something, don't be concerned if it blows up. We're not professionals." Carter slowly nodded as she walked over to the chemicals. "I have a decent idea of what to do as well, I think," she said as she carefully messed with the three bottles. "We want something that will go fast but also be controllable."

Nolan grabbed the fuel tank that was lying on the ground. "This is probably how much we get," he said as he began looking at it. "We can only put so much of everything in here, so we need to limit ourselves." He grabbed the green bottle and felt it. "...Yeah, I'm lost. Time to turn in."

Claire also let out a loud yawn as Nolan curled up in a corner to sleep. "Oh, Peter," she called out playfully, "any ideas? You've definitely got an edge over all of us combined, right?" She leaned over to him and gave him her best smile.

Peter also seemed to be struggling with this. "This makes no sense," he complained, "it's even negative sense! How do they expect the formulas we know to work out if we have no idea what these chemicals are?" He began checking out the red bottle. "We don't have time to use proper science to figure this out." He then turned to see Kris already putting some of the blue and green chemical together. "Do you get this?"

"A bit," Kris said, "each of these is probably some stat for the fuel, you know, like speed or control or...durability?" She paused to think about it. "Yeah, she used that word. But, it does make me wonder what Susan did to make sure all of these chemicals work out."

Celine got it. "Red is probably speed, since it's like fire...fire's fast. Green would probably be durability, and blue is left with control, if we go with that." It was baseless, but it was better than nothing. "But did Susan work in chemistry? I thought she was a guidance counselor."

"Susan sure knows a lot about this stuff for being so secretive," Nathan grumbled to himself as he messed around aimlessly with different chemicals. "What's her deal?" Bored, he got up from the table and walked himself over to her. "So, where'd you learn about this?" he asked her, "I want to know it so I know how these colors work."

Susan shook her head as Chef sat menacingly next to her. "That's not your concern," she said quickly in an attempt to dismiss him, "Chef and I don't have any background in chemistry, so you shouldn't ask any more about that. We don't know."

Nathan smirked. "Gotcha. You think I wouldn't watch the other seasons to prep for this one?" He looked right at Chef. "He used to be in Switzerland in a giant chem lab. That means you have a background in it too!" Susan's grip on her clipboard tightened even more. "And now you're trying to keep a composure. What, you thought I was stupid? I'm just allegedly mean."

When Nathan returned to the table, he went to Nala. "Starving artist," he told her, the cosplayer frowning at the return of that nickname, "you know colors, probably. Figure out how they relate to Susan."

Nala hesitated, trying to hold back tears from the way Nathan was treating her. "Uh...I don't know, but I did hear you up there. It's possible she was with him too." She pointed at the red bottle. "So we should use the most of this. And, red is the closest of the three to brown, which matches the hue of her suit."

Abigail perked up from hearing that conversation. "Miss Hazel, I had a question about your job in Switzerland." Susan was about to respond normally when she stopped herself. Abigail laughed to herself as she accidentally swung around the flamethrower she was working on, smacking Jacob in the face. "Yup, alright, it's confirmed, Susan's from the same lab, which means there really is freaky stuff going on here."

Brenna kept quiet and just followed what Nala was deciding. She wanted to add in more, but the last thing she wanted to do was expose the PIG. "What about the other two colors?" she asked Nala, how do we go about them?" The question stumped the cosplayer, who sat for a while to think about it.

Brenna: "It's so hard to focus today," she said with a sigh, leaning up against the wall of the closet with her head. "I should be really good at this challenge, but between being so lost on everything with the PIG and not really having any friends on my own team, I'm just worried that if we lose I'm next, and like Chef said, not everyone will be as lucky as Ben."

Nala: "I really want to get to the bottom of why Nathan's so mean to me," she said sadly. "If he calls me Starving Artist one more time I might cry in front of him, and then he'll be even meaner. They say the meanest people have the roughest lives, but he's so closed off and he won't share anything."

Over with the Parrot's second group, Jacob was struggling to do anything. "This kind of dirty work is hardly acceptable for someone of my stature," he complained, trying not to get any more grease on him than there already was. "How does Sharron expect us to build a working flamethrower within the time period?"

Abigail grabbed some oil that was next to her, and put it in a container. "I've built flamethrowers before," she reminded him, "I used it for the senior prank literally three months ago." She used the aerosol spray next to her with a lighter, and a spurt of fire came out. "There, now we just need to make it fit in the main thing."

"I remember that," Jacob said, visibly annoyed, "your lack of attention nearly burnt down the school. What do you have to say about that?" He took off the piece of the lighter that sparked the flame and placed it inside their main frame.

Abigail laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. How was I supposed to know that Mrs. Frean's hair was actually real? She even told us it was a wig several times. I know she was crazy, but come on!" She laughed as she thought about the fun memories.

"Well, that was a day I spent less time rehearsing thanks to your three hour 'fire drill' you caused," Jacob explained. "You could have deliberately sabotaged my future!" He paused for a second. "Sorry, I shouldn't scream like that to such a close friend."

The prankster rolled her eyes as she loaded the oil into the frame, completing the flamethrower. "We're still not friends," she reminded him aiming the flamethrower right at him. Unable to tell if she was bluffing or not, Jacob panicked and ran off.

The Goldfish's team was going well. "Hold that," Carter said, trying to fasten on something to the flamethrower. "Ours needs to be more secure than theirs, because otherwise we'll collapse. I don't want that to happen. We have an advantage now thanks to you." He glanced over at the fuel group. "I hope they're focusing just as much as we are."

Ben was holding onto the bar as Carter fastened on a tank of oil to use as the ammo, trying to keep it steady as possible. At some point, it slipped, making Ben lose his footing for a second. "S-sorry!" he quickly apologized, "I didn't mean to-"

Carter cut him off. "What're you about?" he asked curiously. "You're able to overwhelm the entire competition at several times, but normally you can't. I want to know how it comes out."

Ben hesitated. "I-I uh...I don't actually know," he admitted. "It's not like some superpower, I actually am that strong I think, but most of the time I lack...something. I don't know." He shook his head in disappointment that he couldn't answer Carter's question.

"Confidence," Carter told him, causing Ben to perk up. "I'm sure if you were more sure of yourself you could be a powerhouse." He paused for a few seconds, like he was deciding whether or not to ask something. "Okay, here's the deal. You should come wit me tomorrow morning," he said, "we're going to train." He then finished the last part of the flamethrower. "And we're done. Awesome."

"Time is up!" Susan called out. "Load you kart and get ready for the drive of your life!" It seems they were just in time.

Ben: "Carter's expecting a lot from me still," he said nervously. "If I flop at this training tomorrow, then I'm going to be voted off for sure. I can't let that happen. The PIG needs me." He stopped talking. "Don't say that part."

With both karts fueled up and ready, all that was left was to assign drivers. "Alright," Chef told them all, "drivers aren't random per se, but we do want to see these two slackers put more in for their team, so here's their chance." He started with the Goldfish. "Sleepy kid, you're in." Nolan wandered over to the kart and sat down, falling asleep again instantly. "And, trumpet boy, you're in." Jacob was astonished that we was deemed the slacker.

Jacob's concerns also reached the flamethrower. "That does look quite heavy," he admitted. "Perhaps if I used it at the beginning, it would lower the weight." He then realized what he had to do again. "How am I the slacker of the team? I am a beacon of leadership and the paragon of excellence!"

Abigail sighed. It was another situation with him that she'd have to undo herself. "Jacob," she asked condescendingly. "Why don't you tell about how you hold your trumpet when you march? And see if any of that applies to-"

She was already cut off by the band president's excited tone. "One must hold their instrument so the bell faces five to ten degrees above the line of the horizon, and regardless of how weak one's arms are they must hold that position unless otherwise instructed to-" he then realized what was happening. "Ah, I see. Thank you, friend." Abigail gagged.

Sharron laughed. "This is why I keep you two together," she told the prankster. "I already have him to deal with," she explained looking at Nathan, "so it's best if someone else handles the other trouble on our team." Abigail sighed, understanding her role. "Thank you."

"Okay," Susan announced, "it's time for you to get ready! You have one lap to do, and the first person to cross the finish line wins invincibility for their team. Go!" Nolan and Jacob both drove off, the two of them trying to get a feel for driving before actually trying to attack the other.

Nolan got the hang of it first and sped ahead. "Sorry," he told Jacob as he positioned the flamethrower, "but my neck is probably on the line, so I have to win." He set off a shot, and the flamethrower worked, firing a giant flame right into Jacob's face. The fireproof suit was truly a lifesaver.

Jacob tried to steer around it, but things were going bad. He was losing speed and distance from Nolan, because their car was faster. Upon the first turn, he steered, and his steering was significantly better. By the time they were halfway around the school Jacob had caught up. He finally picked up the flamethrower and pointed it down at the gas tank instead of at Nolan. "Never flinching, eyes forward, and never, ever, drop," he told himself. He launched the flames out, and Nolan tried to speed ahead of it, but it didn't matter.

Nolan's car exploded, launching him off into the school's wall. "Well, I guess now I can sleep in peace," he muttered, accepting the loss and taking another nap. Jacob drove the rest of the course, easily completing it now that the obstacles were gone.

"Well," Chef muttered, "that was fast. I guess the Parrots win today. You are all safe." The Parrots cheered, even Brenna had at least a bit of a smile on her face knowing she'd be safe. "Goldfish, we'll see you tonight at the elimination."

Kris frowned at the now exploded kart. "So maybe dumping everything into speed was a poor choice, assuming that's actually what the colors meant." Meanwhile, Peter had finally come back, having been absent from the race itself. He had the three bottles with him and a frown on his face. "What?"

The mathematician looked distressed. "You know how we spent ages trying to figure out these chemicals?" A few of them nodded. "Well, it turns out they were all the same! I just did an analysis on them! How annoying."

Carter shrugged. "Well, you guys did your best with what you had. That means the difference in speed was due to how light our flamethrower was compared to theirs." He turned to Nolan, "which leaves you, the driver."

"Yep," Nolan admitted, "but that was kind of out of my control. I also think I had a faulty kart." His defense didn't seem to go over well with the team. "I also have no reason to lie to you, but alright."

Nolan: He was groggy from the challenge, leaning up against the wall of the closet. "So...there's a good chance I go for absolutely no reason," he said. "That's a shame, but I do want to try and confirm something before I'm gone. Hopefully I get more time than just tonight, but I don't see that happening."

Back at the dining hall, the Parrots were celebrating their victory as a team. "Today went well," Sharron said, "I admit we won with a bit of luck, but that won't stop us from winning more, yeah?" She turned to Jacob. "Well done on the course. Please continue to actually pull your weight, and we'll bear your attitude."

Jacob scoffed. "My performance up to now has been nothing short of perfect. You ought to learn your place before I usurp you for good." He chuckled. "Of course, only because I think I'd do such a better job at bringing us victory."

"That's enough, Jacob," Nala insisted, "I think that you need to remember everyone played their role today. Even Nathan did a lot by getting that info out of Susan." She turned to him and tried to act proud. "You did great."

Nathan scoffed at her. "If you're going to continue to try and pity me, you're going to pay for it!" There was a clear venom in his voice, and he sounded even more angry than normal. "I'm leaving. Do not follow me." He glared right at Nala who looked like she was about to cry again.

"I don't get it," she said when he left. "Who doesn't want someone to be nice to them?" She turned to Abigail. "When is your thing gonna start working? I don't want to have to deal with him acting like this much longer."

Abigail hesitated. "Um...I don't know. I figured something would at least look different. Maybe he's a little dense." She shrugged. "I can handle dense. Actually, I'm quite experience with it. But, I only want to try one more time. I've never failed before, so you can rely on me." Her voice was a bit shakier, but the confidence was still there.

Over with the Goldfish, things were tenser than normal. Nolan, Carter, and Ben all weren't even there, leaving Kris, Celine, Peter, and Claire. "I can't believe all of those chemicals were like, all the same," Claire complained, hoping to relate more with Peter. "We put in so much work only to get nothing out of it. We could have had more people on a better weapon."

Peter nodded. "It's a shame, but for now we unfortunately have to vote someone else off." He looked around to make sure no one else was there. "But, Nolan also multiplied the team's chances of winning today by zero. If we subtract him from the team, then we can keep winning, probably."

An announcement came over the speakers at that moment. Susan's voice came through he dining hall. "Attention, Swift Goldfish. It's time for you to choose someone to eliminate from the game. Remember no more second chances."

Claire bounced up first. "I suppose we need to go then," she said playfully. "Well, as long as this vote is easy." She skipped away, and Celine soon got up and followed after her.

Kris turned to Peter. "I didn't know you would be able to make out those chemicals so fast," she said with praise as she also got up to go vote. "I think I'm pretty good with chemistry but I wouldn't be able to do it at that speed."

Peter laughed. "Oh, it was nothing," he said. "Well, it was, and it actually was pretty tedious, but if it gives us a better perspective of the team then I'd love to do it for our sake. After all, I am technically the co-leader." He paused. "Oh, also-"

Carter: "I'm hesitant about today's vote," he admitted. "With no clear fault, the default would be to blame the leader, aka me. I know I'm probably just being paranoid again but I can't shake the feeling that this vote isn't going to go the way I want it to. I don't sit well with my choice, but it's the right one."

Claire: "It's awesome having two votes," she said to herself, "I mean, with Peter I'm essentially a double vote and the best person here. That's why I was the queen in the chess challenge." She gagged. "I hate that I know how that game works now."

Nolan: "Why even bother?" he muttered. "Well, I guess I can try, but it won't be worth my time."

The seven Goldfish had gathered in the lobby of the dormitory, where Susan and Chef were waiting for them, and the Bus of Shame could be seen outside, the windows still boarded up. "Good evening," Susan greeted them with the six erasers in her hand. "After a break from all the mental challenges, we figured that going back to another one would be nice and easy for you guys. I guess it wasn't."

"You call flamethrowers and exploding cars easy?" Nolan said with concern. "Switzerland must have really been rough for you." Susan clenched up. She hated that the place she used to work at had been exposed. It didn't matter to her now that she was gone, but she had other secrets she wanted to keep.

Susan quickly regained her composure. "Let's just move on. Tonight you all voted, and I'm here to share those results with you. Remember, if you receive a Chef Hatchet-styled eraser, you are safe for the night. If you do not, then you will be instantly sent to the Bus of Shame and sent home. No coming back, not anymore." Ben cowered a little bit. He hated that they kept bringing that up.

Susan picked up the first eraser. "Celine, you're safe for tonight." Celine grabbed her eraser with joy and calmly sat back down. "Kris, you are also safe." Kris nonchalantly snatched her eraser from Susan's hand and plopped back down.

"Carter," Susan said next. The untrusting boy was surprised that he wasn't lower, as he had been preparing for the worst. "Peter." Peter happily bounced up and grabbed his eraser as well, leaving only three left without one.

Susan held up the penultimate safety symbol. "Ben." Ben was in complete shock that he managed to stay, and quickly got up to grab it before Susan could change her mind.

That left Claire and Nolan. "Nolan," Susan explained, "you cost your team the challenge today through your lack of aim and general poor demeanor. Claire, some people find you annoying, and they want that gone."

Claire stood up and gasped. "Me? I bet nobody here finds me annoying!" she claimed, "You can count on that!" She sat down with a huff, trying to look to Peter for some sort of consolation.

Susan held up the final eraser. "Tonight, the loser is...

...

...Claire." A few gasps were heard around the room, most notably from Peter and Claire herself. Nolan was also shocked and had to do a double take to make sure he was actually awake for the moment. "Claire, the Bus of Shame awaits."

Claire was in utter shock. "B-but why me? I thought I was doing a good job!" She frowned. "Can I at least have someone walk me out? I don't want to be all lonely and stuff." Susan shrugged, as did Chef. "Yay! Peter, wanna go?"

Peter nodded. "I suppose I should. We were pretty close." The two of them began walking out, leaving the other five to think about what happened. Something that wasn't supposed to happen happened.

Out in front of the dorms, Claire and Peter were out by the bus. "It's such a shame I lost," Claire said to herself. "But that means so many people voted for me, and I thought the vote was going to be easy!"

Peter shook his head. "It didn't make sense to me either," he admitted, "but now Nolan's still in the game when we thought for sure he was a goner." He frowned. "This is going be a tough problem to solve."

Claire nodded. "Well, good luck to you." She paused for a second and hesitated. "W-well, I guess now's a good time to tell you as any now that I'm out. I'm sorry about this, but I was kinda sorta playing you for your vote. It wasn't personal, just, you were the only one leaving yourself open enough."

Peter nodded. "Actually I knew that." He paused for a second as well. "There is something I want to tell you though." Claire turned to him to hear him out, but saw Peter's face housed a dark grin. "I'm the one who got the votes to get you out." Claire gasped. "Everyone here's another number," Peter explained. "Add on a few votes here, subtract threats there, multiply my vulnerability so even the most untrusting person can be my friend. The game's over already, and there's nothing anyone can do." He sauntered off. "Well, on the bus with you."

Once Peter came back inside, Celine asked a question. "How is she doing?" she asked with a bit of concern. "Did she admit everything?" She herself actually wanted to know the answer.

Peter nodded slowly. "I didn't expect her to, but she did. I was still surprised, even though I was suspecting it a bit. It hurts to be messed with, but I suppose that's the way of the game."

Carter patted him on the shoulder. "Eyes up, kid. You did yourself a favor by doing that. I noticed it a bit myself. I'm just surprised so many other people managed to catch on." Peter nodded and thanked him, and they all walked off, leaving Peter to smirk at their backs.

"Yeah?" Kris answered, "I'm listening." She really didn't want to out of her way for the scrawny boy, but some things happen, and any advantage is an advantage.

Peter hesitated again. "I'm concerned Claire is playing me for my vote. You mentioned it a day ago and it's been stuck in my head since. I'm not really familiar with love or all that so what did you think? And, if she is, would you mind switching your vote? I'm sure Carter won't approve but this is more of a personal decision."

Kris hesitated. As far as he was concerned, she's had no experience with love either. How was she supposed to know what to do? "I still think she is," Kris decided. "And between you and me, I have an additional vote I can try for, but it's a stretch." She nodded. "I'll be sure to ask for that favor at some point."

"Thank you," Peter said with a happy tone, "and don't worry about that favor. I'll make sure it's done."

Chef and Susan were watching the footage. "Woah," Chef said, "I didn't expect the tiny kid to be some schemer, who would have guessed it? And he got rid of Claire too, which exposed her entire plan."

Susan was just as surprised. "I suppose there a few things I can't predict, but how long will he be able to stay hidden? With Carter on his side it's bound to be for a while, but he has to slip up eventually." Susan turned to the camera. "Well, we've lost another one, and there are only twelve left. Who's going next? What will we test them on next? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!"

Teams:

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

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

Eliminated: Gianna, George, Leo, Claire

Claire is officially out of the game, and we have our villain! Unlike previous seasons where I try and bounce it between two for some ambiguity, I will confirm it, Peter is the villain of the season. Lucky for him, while I'm exposing that now, it isn't exposed to anyone left in the game.

I pumped this chapter out in a week, which is incredible for me, but don't expect that to happen again. I'm just as shocked as you are. Anyway, we're closer to the end than you think. This is a sixteen episode season, so there are only ten episodes left after this one. Theorycraft with that however you will.

Anyway, if you were surprised today, or you want to predict who's going next, or you just want to say hi, be sure to review! That's all for now, see you next time!