Thanks for your continued patience, readers! Not too much longer now before this story reaches the finale!
Chris looked much more at ease as he prepared himself for the intro. The sky was clear as the sun began to rise.
"Last time on Total Drama Rosewood Manor, we experienced what can only be described as the most bizarre experience in Total Drama history. The network's lawyers have informed me that it's best if I don't explain most of it for my own sanity and because of some of the events that were shown. But what I can say is that due to an injury he sustained during the challenge, Edward had to be removed from the competition, technically finishing in fifth place. However, he wasn't the only one to come out of this whole ordeal without taking some kind of damage as Nanette was forced to cut her hair after having most of it burned. Thankfully, Andi, Shawn and Adrian managed to walk away without much injury, psychological scarring notwithstanding. Regardless, we're down to the final four, and after today's episode, we'll be down to our final three! Will Nanette really be okay after what happened and will she really be playing with nothing left to lose? Can Andi somehow continue to scrape by with competition that is as intense as it is now? Will Adrian continue to remain solely focused on the game and make it to the next challenge? And will Shawn and Nanette hook up this late into the game? I have no idea, but then again I had no idea about any of the craziness that went on during this season so anything can happen here on Total Drama Rosewood Manor!
Nanette stretched as she got out of bed, grabbing a comb to tidy up her hair into the golden curls she was so proud of... until she remembered the events of that night. Part of her still couldn't believe all of that but little by little it settled in, just like the fact that her hair was now short...
Still, it wasn't the end of the world, she perked up a bit at the fact that her main adversary in this game was officially out of her life. But having her main target and getting to the final four made her take some time to truly think about what was ahead of her; competition was stiff, and she would have to play as seriously as she did against Edward if she wanted to win.
Down below in the dining room, Shawn joined Andi and Adrian at the empty table they usually sat at. The former looked around for a moment, taking in the emptiness of the room and the silence that it brought alongside it.
"Sure is, uh... quiet." Shawn said before chuckling a bit.
"Considering how far we've come, it's only natural that it's like this."
"Yeah, final four." Andi added, looking between the two boys anxiously. "Go us!"
*confessionals*
Andi: I know I should be more excited about being in the final four, and I definitely am, don't get me wrong! But I'm super nervous, especially since I have to go up against Nanette and Adrian, both of them are intense players. Shawn's pretty much been the only one keeping me sane.
Shawn: This whole season has been such an insane trip, what happened a few nights ago was like an onion; peel off one layer and get another underneath... or maybe it was like having a ton of puzzle pieces and finally finding the ones that make everything finally fit together? I don't know, analogies are hard...
Nanette: I'm still not fully accustomed to my short hair but I know I'll get used to it in time. I can't believe I'm saying this though but I actually can't wait for the challenge today. It's something that's at least somewhat normal compared to everything we've seen and it gives me a chance to really give it everything I have in this game!
Adrian: Just us four. After everything that's happened on this show, I think I can safely call the others companions. But I have to save that for after the show, I can't lose focus now, not when I'm so close to the end. Nanette says she's going to put everything she has into these last challenges and I will hold her to that. As for Shawn and Andi, I'm not sure if they'll be able to keep up but underestimating them now would be a grave mistake.
*end confessionals*
The four continued to sit in silence as they awaited breakfast, but it never came... Growing increasingly impatient, Nanette stormed over to the kitchen.
"Chef, it's time for breakfast, I know we went through a very stressful time recently but that's not excuse to-"
As the young lady opened the door, she found the kitchen completely empty, the stove was shut off everything was undisturbed.
"...starve us..."
The other three teens followed her and noticed the empty room.
"Are you telling me that we've been waiting for nothing?" Shawn asked aloud.
"Not exactly!" Chris announced as he entered the dining room, his normal confident smile plastered on his face. "Sorry about the lack of breakfast, but it's time we got back to business. So I'd like you to take a seat for a moment."
The four teens sat back down at the table, all on the same side so they could watch the host.
"First and foremost, congratulations on getting this far. You're the final four contestants left on what has been the most bizarre and dramatic season this show has seen. Now, even though you've been given a break given the events of what happened, we can't let you off easy forever and it's time to get back to the challenges, and we're doing it now! Bring it in, Chef!"
Chef carefully brought in a very long cart of wine glasses full with red liquid of various shades and visible levels of viscosity. Chelsea followed the man in looking bored out of her mind.
"To get back into the swing of things, we'll have a challenge that's relatively simple, yet not easy in the slightest. Within one of these glasses is a golden ball, which you must find in order to win. But to find that ball, you have to drink the contents of the glass we give you. Speaking of the glasses, they're filled with a variety of liquids that we might have tampered with, but some of them are completely normal. Others could even be some of the grossest and weirdest stuff we could feasibly put in a glass. You'll each pick a glass and drink it until one of you finds it. Any questions?"
"Just one." Nanette called out. "These aren't toxic or alcoholic, right?"
"Not at all." Chris answered. "We've dealt with enough potential lawsuits as is. But the ones we did tamper with could be something normal spiked with hot sauce or one of Chef's creations, or it could be something completely normal like grape juice. You just have to pick your poison!"
*confessionals*
Adrian: A luck based challenge, very clever. This may be rough since I won't have much control over what happens.
Nanette: This is it, the first challenge with an all new Nanette!
Shawn: I have a good feeling about this one! With it being all luck, I may have an actual chance to win!
Andi: Knowing my luck, I'll get something gross first...
Chelsea: Well, back to business as usual... As freaky as the whole ghost stuff was, it at least gave me something to do...
Chris: I had to do something that was simple, gotta test the waters and all that. Plus it helps us save up a bit for the finale and the lawsuits that are definitely coming...
Chef: Ehehehe! One of those cups has my Mississippi Queen with just a little bit more red food coloring in it. Can't wait to see the face of whoever drinks it!
*end confessionals*
"Let the challenge begin!" Chris announced. "Final four, you may pick your drinks!"
The four each grabbed a glass, Shawn hesitating a bit and Andi visibly shaking as they each took one. As they drank, they each had differing reactions; Andi looked relived as she finished her drink, Shawn was pleasantly surprised, Nanette looked a bit disgusted and Adrian didn't react at all.
"Shirley temple, nice!" Shawn said cheerfully.
"If I can keep getting grape juice, I'm happy." Andi added.
"What... is this?" Nanette asked. "It's like... salty water."
"That must be the water we mixed with red food coloring. Not sure why, but turning it red adds a little bit of a salty flavor to it."
With a frown, Nanette drank the rest of the salty water, shuddering as she finished.
"Off to a decent start. But you've got a long way to go before we reach the end!"
The final four each took another glass and drank them with a bit less hesitation this time. Adrian was the first to finish, but he looked annoyed.
"Do I even want to ask why ketchup was included?" He asked.
"At least ketchup is at least somewhat palatable depending on who you ask." Nanette gagged after finishing her drink. "Is this fake blood?!"
"Haha, someone actually got it!" Chris clung on to Chef, holding his sides in laughter. "Told you putting in those gag drinks would be gold."
"That explains the medicine I drank in the last round..."
"And there's plenty more where those two came from!"
Andi and Shawn kept to themselves, the cherry and cranberry-apple juice they had might sour the situation...
"Well, if this is all that's going to happen, I'm heading out." Chelsea said, leaving the room.
"While you're out can you make sure everything's set up for the next challenge?"
"You mean there's more after this?!" Shawn asked.
"Nah, I mean for the semifinals. That one's gonna be awesome!"
"Great... looking forward to it..." Andi sighed to herself.
*confessionals*
Nanette: If I know Chris, and I'm confident that I do, that semifinal challenge is going to be some sort of hard physical challenge.
Shawn: Great, now I'm excited for the next challenge...
Adrian: McLean can hype up this next challenge all he wants, I still intend to win that challenge!
Andi: I wonder if any of the others are freaking out as much as I am.
*end confessionals*
Chelsea entered the library with a wary expression on her face as she looked around, not exactly sure of what she was looking for in the first place. As she grabbed a book and was about to begin reading, she looked around the room again, wary that there may have been an uninvited guest somewhere. Even as she began reading, she found that she couldn't focus on her book and was constantly looking around and over her shoulder. This sense of paranoia finally took over Chelsea as she began to scour the entire library for any paranormal activity, but ultimately found nothing...
*confessional*
Chelsea: Okay, I know I said we're going back to business as usual, but I just can't shake the feeling that these ghosts or whatever they were didn't just suddenly leave. I don't know... maybe I'll check out the area and see if I find anything weird.
*end confessional*
After taking the time to search the whole library from essentially top to bottom, Chelsea gave a heavy sigh and looked out the window. Everything looked normal outside as birds flew by without a care in the world. That was when Chelsea perked up, an idea coming to her as she headed out of the library and towards the backyard.
Andi cringed as she finished the last of her drink, shuddering a bit as she nudged her glass away.
"I don't know what that was and I don't want to know!" She said in disgust.
"Well it was probably better than flat strawberry soda." Shawn said in disappointment.
"Or lukewarm tea." Nanette added, equally disappointed. Adrian stayed quiet and stoic as he also finished his drink.
"Well, looks like you're having fun." Chris said, handing the four their next drinks. "Looks like Chef is excited about this next round!"
The teens glanced at Chef, who had a bigger smirk than before as he watched the teens, specifically Adrian. The four slowly began to drink, with Adrian immediately stopping as soon as he tasted the substance in the glass before slowly looking over at Chef, who was beside himself with laughter. Chris laughed just as hard as Adrian shook his head and continued to drink as he covered his nose.
"Hahaha, ah man, I was waiting to see who got Chef's mystery meat!" Chris laughed. He began to laugh even harder as Shawn began to cough fan himself as he finished his drink, the girls however seemed to finish their drinks with little difficulty or issue.
"Hey, I told you that some of these would be weird! If you want the million, you're going to have to earn it!"
Chef passed the final four their next set, Adrian did not hesitate to chug it down as fast as he could. As soon as the last drop was gone, he glared at the two men with fierce eyes. Nanette looked satisfied with her drink, though it looked like it wasn't completely liquid.
"I'm fairly certain that was applesauce." She said. "With just a hint of strawberry."
After watching Adrian chug whatever was in his glass, Shawn tried to emulate him before immediately stopping as soon as he tasted his drink.
"Ugh! What is that?! It's like... liquid salt!"
"Ahaha! That's more of that red water from earlier. We added more salt to one of them though, that must be it!"
Shawn gulped and shuddered as he tried drinking the salty liquid as fast as he could. Andi finished her drink and looked curiously at the empty glass as she set it down.
"I don't know what that was but it tasted funny. It was kind of like-"
Andi's head suddenly hit the table as her body went limp.
"And there's the knockout juice we made! Don't worry, she'll be just fine, she'll just be asleep for at least ten minutes. But in the meantime, you three can move on."
*confessionals*
Shawn: Man that water was nasty! I might avoid salt for a while... I guess you can say I'm pretty salty!
Adrian: Chris and Chef can throw whatever they want at me, but I will not lose!
Nanette: While I am concerned for Andromita's well-being, I can't pass up this opportunity to win. One of my opponents is down so that gives me a better chance to win!
*end confessionals*
With a hint of hesitation in her step and her breathing becoming just a tad bit more quick, Chelsea entered the cemetery further away from the manor. Aside from the expected morbidity of being in a graveyard, nothing truly seemed off. Nothing wrong with the graves, no sudden noises or voices aside from the natural ambient noises of the forest that surrounded her.
After walking around the tombstones a bit, Chelsea's nerves began to settle a bit as the warm air washed over her. That was when she noticed something that caught her eye.
Two tombstones placed next to each other. The text on them was a bit faded and hard to read but Chelsea could easily see what it was meant to say...
'Anthony Bartholomew Rosewood: Esteemed businessman, proud father and husband. May his bloodline live in triumph in spite of the tragedy that has befallen him. In Loving Memory: 1847-1887'
'Angela Genevieve Galloway-Rosewood: A gentle woman with a fierce heart, wonderful mother and wife. May her miracle children thrive and keep her and the her husband in their memory: 1848-1887'
Looking at the two graves made Chelsea feel something that was indescribable. The closest thing she could actually call it would be... peace? Yeah.. peace felt like an alright word for this situation. But Chelsea didn't exactly feel satisfied yet, there was one last thing that she felt like she had to see before she was convinced that the ghosts were gone.
"Urgh... What happened?"
Andi slowly sat back up, rubbing her head in pain as she saw Shawn recoil in disgust at his drink as soon as he tasted it.
"Gross, what is that?!" He gagged.
"Grapefruit juice! The worst of all fruit juices!" Chris answered before turning to Andi. "Well good morning sunshine! Now that you're awake you can catch up!"
Once the realization set in, Andi couldn't help but sigh as she was handed her next drink. While it tasted rather bad, at least this drink didn't knock her unconscious. Adrian looked rather satisfied with his drink while Nanette stared at hers in complete confusion.
"Chris... what am I looking at?"
"Hmm... I think that one's the 'gamer juice' Chef and I made as a joke."
"'Gamer Juice'?" Shawn coughed, the taste of grapefruit juice still lingering in his throat.
"Yeah, it's a mix of that one soda that's always having those video game tie-ins and crushed nacho chips."
Nanette's look of bewilderment, disgust, and horror went from the drink to Chris, the short-haired girl stared at the host with unblinking eyes for five full seconds before looking back at her drink and slowly raising it to her lips. The second the cursed liquid entered her mouth, Nanette began to choke and her eyes began to water.
"Sweet lord in heaven!" She screamed. "What possessed you to make this?!"
Chris was in hysterics at the girl's screams as the other teens looked on in horror. Eventually Nanette calmed down and covered her nose as she downed her drink as quickly as she could.
"Ahahahaha, that is sick!" Chris laughed.
"Just... bring me my next drink..." The young woman shuddered.
*confessionals*
Adrian: I see Nanette was serious about putting more effort into the game. Good. I want to beat the others at their best.
Shawn: Who had the bright idea of coming up with that?! I may not be the most down-to-earth guy, but even I wouldn't think of something that crazy.
Andi: Eww eww eww eww EWW! That looked so gross!
Nanette: I'm off soda and chips forever...
Chef: I don't blame her for reacting that way. It felt wrong making it.
Chris: Oh man, I would have just walked away! I gotta admit, these kids are tough!
*end confessionals*
The beating of her heart was heavy enough to where Chelsea thought it would burst right out of her chest. She wasn't even sure why either but just looking at the door to the basement brought back all the memories of that night. She never saw what happened in the basement with her own eyes since she was too busy getting acquainted with the floor.
Shutting her eyes tightly, Chelsea finally opened the door to the basement and waited a moment in anticipation before slowly opening one eye. The path leading into the basement was dark but not pitch black as it felt before. Taking her first steps into downstairs, she closed the door and turned on a flashlight that she brought which did help, but her eyes were able to adjust a bit to the darkness.
Moving forward, the feelings of anticipation and anxiety petered out ever so slightly as she looked around the basement floor. It was a rather plain looking hallway with several doors on both sides. Despite her apprehension regarding the doors, the hallway itself didn't give Chelsea any sort of strange feeling. No hairs standing on end, no cold chills or hot flashes, no sounds coming from nowhere, just the sound of her footsteps and the creaking of the door when it opened. As she opened one of the doors, the only thing she saw on the other side was a ladder leading upwards. At first she was confused and understandably nervous upon seeing it, but then she remembered some of the previous challenges and Chris explaining how the manor had a few trap doors and hidden passageways scattered around.
As Chelsea continued to check more and more doors, she found either more passageways or closets, nothing really paranormal or out of the ordinary for the manor. As she finally reached the door at the end of the hall that lead into the boiler room, more memories flashed to her. Once she finally fell through the floor, she landed in that room and blacked out for a while.
With one more deep breath, Chelsea struck up the nerve to finally open the door and look inside, the first thing she saw was a newer heating system that appeared to be recently installed. This one looked much more advanced and unlikely to burst or break down, at least not anytime soon. Between it and Chelsea dangled a piece of string from the ceiling. It didn't appear to be connected to the machine so Chelsea softly tugged on it, turning on the lights in the room. Just like the boiler, the lights appeared to be new as well as it illuminated the entire room.
Everything was now organized neatly around the room with cables secure on the walls away from any potential dangers. The room was mostly empty save for a cabinet and shelf for tools with a manual for the new heating system on it. The atmosphere of the room as a whole looked so much more... safe. The only thing Chelsea didn't recognize was a pathway on the other side of the door she came in from. It was short and there was a light creeping in from the end of it.
Feeling her mouth turn dry again, Chelsea turned the lights off and followed the path. Her heartbeat slowly went back to normal as she reached the end of the path and pushed open a door that lead her out of the basement and to the side of the manor, allowing the sunlight to wash over her again.
*confessional*
Chelsea: I guess things really are back to normal. At least we can breathe easier and sleep at night.
*end confessional*
"How have you guys still not found it yet?!" Chris asked.
"I'd like to see you do this..." Shawn replied, finishing off a rather thick and viscous liquid.
"Hmm... nah! But look on the bright side, you've almost finished all the drinks here so one of you is bound to win the challenge in the next round or two."
"It's about time!" Nanette groaned as she and the other teens all took their next drink. The second Shawn tasted his, he couldn't help but do a spit take.
"What the heck is this?! Is it... kitchen grease?" He shouted.
"Most likely, I did see Chef cleaning the stove earlier this morning, so that's probably what that is."
Shawn shuddered in disgust as Nanette and Adrian both managed to finish their drinks without any sort of difficulty, the former even looked pleased with what she had. The only person who didn't drink was Andi, who looked unnerved after watching Shawn's reaction.
With her eyes shutting tight, Andi downed her drink and immediately regretted it as she felt her lips go numb and her tongue felt like it had just set itself ablaze. She wanted to scream in pain but she couldn't, not because of the pain but instead because something was blocking her throat, leaving her to choke weakly. Her face was already ruby red but with her hands moving to her throat, the others could tell what was happening. Adrian reacted first and readied himself and Andi for the Heimlich Maneuver. With one good squeeze, Adrian managed to dislodge the object blocking Andi's windpipe. Once she could breathe again, the first thing Andi did was scream in pain as the burning in her mouth and throat still persisted.
"WATER, MILK, ICE, ANYTHING!" She screamed as she bolted into the kitchen. As the teens watched her, Chris took a napkin and cleaned off the object that Andi was choking on, revealing it to be the golden ball they had been searching for.
"We have our winner!" Chris announced, laughing ever so slightly. "Chef, what is that?"
"Some leftover Mississippi Queen! I put it in there just to make sure these kids get a taste of what's coming next!"
"Well, now that we have our winner, the rest of you better get ready for because one of you is taking the midnight train going anywhere!"
*confessionals*
Shawn: Well that's one way for a challenge to end...
Adrian: I should have known that the target was in the worst option.
Nanette: I'm glad Andi is alright... relatively speaking. But this is what I was nervous about, there really isn't any telling how this elimination will play out.
Andi: IT BURNS!
*end confessionals*
Nanette, Adrian and Shawn were in the library reading, there really wasn't much to do anymore with only the four of them left in the game.
"It's, uh, still pretty quiet..."
"Hey."
The three teens looked up to see Chelsea walking towards them.
"Where did you go?" Adrian asked.
"I went to go check out the manor. I wasn't exactly sure if those ghosts were gone after that night."
"Well we haven't experienced anything strange since then." Nanette stated.
"Neither have I, but I just had to be sure, so I looked everywhere."
"Did you find anything?" Shawn asked.
"Nope. Nothing. Even the boiler room looks normal now."
"You went all the way down there?" Adrian questioned. "I'd imagine that nobody would want to go there."
"I really didn't. Figured I'd have a heart attack if anything actually was down there but thankfully everything checks out. New boiler, new lights, everything's pretty clean down there too."
"So what was the deal with those ghosts anyway?" Shawn asked.
"Hold on, where's Andi? I feel like she should be here too."
"She's in the infirmary." Adrian answered. "She won the challenge but she had to drink Chef's Mississippi Queen to do it. Chris says she'll be fine but she'll need to take it easy for a bit."
"It's fine though, one of us will tell her everything after the elimination." Nanette said. "As for the ghosts, based on everything we've learned it looks like that creep Henry stalked and harassed Angela and Anthony Rosewood for several years over an obsession with Angela. Eventually he snapped, attacking Anthony and shooting Angela, all the while, this manor's original boiler system exploded, which set the remaining parts of the house on fire and killed both Henry and Anthony. Angela was already fatally wounded when the police finally arrived but at least one of the Rosewood's children survived."
Once Nanette finished her explanation, the sound of papers falling caught their attention. The teens all hurried over to the source of the noise and found what appeared to be a newspaper on the floor. As Adrian picked it up, the four of them were able to get a good look at the headline...
'Trouble at the Rosewood Manor'
The story essentially confirmed everything Nanette had just said but was able to confirm one more thing:
'Despite the tragic events, the infant son of the Rosewood family as well as the unborn child Angela was bearing both miraculously survived the ordeal and are in the care of Angela Rosewood's family.'
"So both kids made it." Shawn sighed in relief with Nanette doing the same. Chelsea picked up another paper that had fallen, her face changing to one of shock and a mix of other emotions that appeared to be indescribable.
"Um, guys... look." She said, showing the three what was actually not a newspaper, but rather a list of names that appeared to be in the form of a family tree. Angela and Anthony's names were visible along with the names of their children. According to the family tree, the Rosewood family would eventually go on to have a daughter. This daughter would eventually marry a man and have children with this man. What made the collective jaws of the teens drop was the last name of the man this daughter married and the name of the current member of the family. The name of the person that currently owned the manor; Chris McLean.
*confessionals*
Adrian: Chris owning this manor actually explains why this season is here of all places, but the fact that he's actually the descendant of this family is... it's a surprise to say the least.
Shawn: Say WHAAAAAT!
Nanette: Chris McLean is a descendant of the Rosewood family. All this time I thought him or the network just bought out this place.
Chelsea: Part of me wishes we kept this place haunted for Chris.
Chris: I honestly had no idea I owned this place and that my ancestors use to own this place. The network just said that they didn't have to pay for this place and i just figured we'd use this place for a season to save some money for my hair gel funds!
*end confessionals*
As the sun began to set, the final four returned to the Elimination Station, a sense of apprehension hanging in the air as Chris arrived with the three marshmallows.
"Good evening final four. Today, we went back to business and had a bit of a fun challenge. Well... fun for me anyway. Haha! But we're here now because you four are going to go down to three. Since Andi won the challenge, she's got immunity and gets a pass to the semifinals. As for the rest of you, it's time to make your votes."
*confessionals*
Andi: When I was in the infirmary I got an idea, I don't know if it'll work but I think it's worth a try, especially since I am in the final three now so I figured I should at least try to play a little sneaky.
Adrian: I would say Nanette and I are the biggest targets as we are the ones who have been playing the most seriously, but I do not intend to lose now.
Nanette: I don't want to lose right as I say I want to give this game one-hundred and ten percent. That would just be embarrassing! But at this point it isn't exactly in my control.
Shawn: Oh man I am freaking out, this is nerve-wracking!
*end confessionals*
As Shawn cast his vote, the four sat in silence for a moment before Chris tallied the results, grinning to himself as he looked them over.
"Well, this is certainly an interesting set of votes. But to start, since Andi has invincibility, she gets the first marshmallow. But as for the rest of you, I just want to say that I love situations like this, we have a three way tie!"
"WHAT?!" The teens all exclaimed.
"Hehehe, not exactly, we do have a definitive lose, but here's the thing. You three all voted for each other, so the only vote that remained is Andi's. So the one who's going home tonight is..."
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"Shawn."
"Wait, hold on." Nanette called out. "How did it end up as a three way tie?"
"Why don't you explain, Shawn?" Chris said. "I'm sure you understand the reason." Shawn rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he looked at Nanette.
"Well, you said you were going to give it your all so I kinda decided I would to, and I figured since you were a threat I kinda... voted for you."
Their eyes met and Shawn almost looked away from Nanette's shocked face before she did something that surprised him; she smiled.
"I understand." She said. "You played the game and I can't fault you for that. It's a shame that it just wasn't the safest play."
"Yeah... I guess it wasn't." Shawn replied. The two shared a quick hug before the young man stepped onto the train and was sent off into the evening sun.
"Alright." Chris began. "Andi, Nanette, and Adrian; congratulations on making it to the semifinal round. Expect the next challenge to be a lot tougher than this one. Now go on and get some rest, you'll need it."
Once the final three exited the station, Chris turned back to the camera and readied himself for the outro.
"And with Shawn's departure we're down to three. The finale is so close we can practically taste it! But who will our two finalists be and what sort of challenge is coming next? You'll just have to wait and see on the next dramatic episode of Total Drama Rosewood Manor!"
"So that's what you were doing?" Andi asked.
"Yup, and it looks like this place really is ghost free, too." Chelsea explained.
"Well I guess that makes our lives a bit easier."
"Not completely." Adrian said. "What made you vote for Shawn over Nanette or me?"
"S-sorry, I'm afraid that's a secret."
"I see. I suppose that means you're playing as hard as we are then."
"I guess we shouldn't count you out then!" Nanette added.
"I guess not. Well, I'm going to bed, see you all in the morning."
"Good night." Nanette called out. She was about to head to her room as well before Adrian stopped her.
"Before you go, with Andi's sneaky play she could be more of a threat than we realized. Not to the extent of Edward, mind you, but still a threat."
"Are you implying that we should work together to take her down?"
"Not strictly, but I say this to warn you that we shouldn't count her out."
Nanette looked right in Adrian's eyes before turning to the direction of Andi's room for a moment before turning back.
"Right." Was all she said before walking away, with Adrian leaving soon after and leaving Chelsea alone to herself.
*confessionals*
Nanette: Adrian may be right, maybe Andi is playing to win more than I may be expecting... Or maybe Adrian is just saying that to get into my head. I suppose the best thing to do right now is just go with my gut feeling.
Adrian: If I'm correct in my assumption about Andi then that means she may try something in the next challenge. If I'm wrong then I may get Nanette to lose focus and throw her off her game. It may be a bit underhanded, but I did not come this far to lose now. But that doesn't mean I'll resort to anything Edward did or violence, especially against two women.
Andi: Oh man, oh man, oh man, I only voted for Shawn because I figured that since Nanette and Adrian are such strong players that they'd forget about me and take themselves down!
Chelsea: Man am I glad I'm not in the game right now.
*end confessionals*
Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter. I know it was shorter than the previous ones, but because of finals, my work outside of this site, and other factors I'm kept away from writing this story. Thankfully with my break coming up soon I hope to finally finish this story sooner rather than later. Until then I hope you'll look forward to the semifinal round.