Someone's knocking. It's...the reply!

lordgemini- Nala only had good intentions, and that's a sad part of it for sure. There's a lot of mystery around the PIG right now, and that is all going to start picking up and building again. As for The Underground, like I said, that'll be something that you have to hold off on until next season!

After today we're halfway through the season. Here we go!

Episode 8: The World Turned Upside Down

Susan and Chef were back in the control room. "I knew that challenge was way too good to be something you actually thought of," Chef complained, angry at himself for not noticing it sooner. "Why are you dealing with those people in the first place?"

The host turned away from him. "They're not bad people," she insisted, "they do bad things sometimes, sure, but their motives are unnervingly pure. Besides, it was beneficial for the show as well. We got the site, and the publicity."

The cook sighed and shook his head. "You're going toofar. That stuff's not ready and you're tryin' to sell it. If it goes berserk during the show we're as good as a fish out of water." He sighed. "Well, there's one spot we could go-"

"That's all I need to hear! Susan decided eagerly. "Say no more, we're going with this plan." Before Chef had a chance, she jumped right into the intro. "Last time on Total Drama Cultivated Will, we renovated and created art! The two teams made sculptures and had to sell their creations to total strangers." The first clips that played were Jacob and Abigail bickering over the feathers, while Carter struggled carving out the bottle that Celine had found. "The art portion was quite the scenario, with both teams both working so well while creating something so horrible." The next clips were Peter manipulating a kid and Nathan's encounter. "Due to some odd circumstances that I plan on ignoring, the Goldfish won out, and it was all thanks to Peter's craftiness, which Nolan now knows about. That's a shame." The next clips were Nolan catching Peter in the act, and Nala and Jacob being forced into the tiebreaker.

"With a tie in the votes, Nala and Jacob battled it out, and due to some poor planning on our part, Jacob easily secured the win." The final clip was of Nala leaving and Nathan smirking at her departure. "With only eleven contestants left, things are getting heated. Who will win today? Who's going to drown in the ocean of this game? Find out today on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!" Her confidence from Chef's statement allowed her to easily deliver the intro strongly. "Perfect, again."

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 wasn't 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 piano, 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 PIG met up in the kitchen again to discuss their next course of action. "We don't have a lot of time, and the school will probably be locked again," Brenna instructed them, "but I've been doing a lot of thinking about that portal gun, the thing Susan needs to stabilize the most. I think we can run a few tests on it tonight and figure out what needs to be fixed."

"It's certainly a good idea," Celine agreed hesitantly, "but what's with the rush? I didn't expect to go back so soon. I really don't want to be found out, that's way too much tension for me to handle."

Ben gulped before speaking up. "We have nothing to be afraid of. If the school is locked then we know we're in the clear. We just have to find a way in." He put his hand up to his chin to try and think of a solution.

Brenna hesitated before interjecting. "I have a way in. It was something I...noticed when I was coming back one night...with you guys, of course." She felt the guilt of lying to them eating away at her, but she had to keep a straight face about it.

"Alright," Kris decided, walking out of the kitchen by herself. "Are we going to go, or are we just going to talk about going?" Everyone exchanged uneasy glances before eventually following her out of the kitchen.

Brenna: "The best case scenario," she explained with her head down, trying not to make eye contact with anything at all, "we stabilize that portal gun tonight and I can burn my copy I have. Worst case scenario...we put the school into premature chaos in the middle of the night, getting all four of us kicked off the show and the only people I have left being eternally mad at me." She sighed. "This better work."

The school was indeed locked when they showed up, and that meant that the hosts had already left for the night. "This way," Brenna told them, finding the part of the school that housed the cafeteria. One of the windows was pushed open slightly, likely from the time Brenna escaped the school on her own. The four of them slipped in and quietly made their way downstairs to try and access the portal gun.

Just as expected, it was locked in the cabinet that they saw it in. "How are we supposed to break through that lock?" Celine asked, trying to fiddle with it in case it was already loose.

Kris got up right next to her and pulled out a hair pin and began picking the lock. "I got it," she told them with confidence, "I've picked my way out of countless locks before, this one's no different." Celine was once again caught off guard by the way she was effortlessly dealing with the lock. Within a few minutes, the lock was off. "Have at it," the deadpan told Brenna.

The logician steadily took the portal gun from the holder. "Okay, right." She looked at what she now had in her hands: Susan's prime tool, her pride and joy. She had to make sure nothing bad happened to this thing while it was in their possession. "From what I gathered, we need to do something in the portal serum that's used to create these spaces. But, tonight we should just test it, see what's actually unstable about it."

Celine tossed an apple towards Brenna, and Brenna shot a portal at the ceiling and then one at the table nearby. Once the apple hit the table, it jumped through the portal and fell out through the opening in the ceiling. "That worked," Ben said with a hint of uncertainty. He walked over to the apple on the ground and noticed it was now dissolved and simmering. "Oh, never mind," he added.

"Something's either too acidic in there or too basic," Brenna concluded. "We need to find something that can let us test that. Something with high acidity and see if that makes it through." Ben found a battery lying around, and put it through the same portals that were put out before. The battery went through the same path as the apple, and the battery also found itself dissolved and broken.

"Well, that's our answer, right?" Celine asked them. "We should get out of here before it is too late." The PIG scrambled to put everything back exactly where they found it, retracting the portals and putting the gun back in its cabinet. Ben ran down from the cafeteria with an apple and a battery and replaced the ones they accidentally destroyed.

Back at the dorms, Abigail was in room 1A alone. Normally she had Nala to speak with, but now she was gone. Sure, it was upsetting to lose a friend, but she knew it wasn't Nala's fault. She wasn't trying to pity him, but she wanted him to feel as happy as the rest of them. Her train of thought was interrupted by someone unusual entering the room. "It's not like you to be this upset about something," Sharron told her. "I figured you'd be upset, so I came to find you."

Abigail let out a sad sigh. "I know no one believes me," she told her team leader, "but I have made people nicer like that before. I just don't know why it didn't work at all on Nathan." She put her hands on her face, visibly upset with herself.

"I believe you," Sharron told her in a comforting tone. "No one would go to that length if they didn't think it would work. Nala's elimination wasn't your fault. To be honest, I might be partly to blame too. I gave him an unrealistic expectation of how the team would treat him. The best we can do from this is move on."

Sharron patted the musical prankster's back. "Come on, we need you to be that bubbly girl I saw in the principal's office that first day." This time, Sharron sighed. "I know I don't really show up a lot for you guys outside of challenges, since I'm normally hanging outside, but if you need someone to talk to, just let me know."

"I trust you," Abigail said with a smile. "Thanks for this. I needed it." She jumped off the bed to try and gaze out the peephole in the door. "So...what are we going to do about it?" she asked once she verified no one was outside listening. "About that bratty boy, I mean."

"Well," Sharron decided. "Nathan's days are numbered. He'll pay for getting rid of the sweetest player on the show. But until then, I'll turn a blind eye to anything you might do to him. Don't try to convert him, just go all out."

Abigail gave off a cheerful and excited smile. "All out?" she asked again for clarification. Sharron nodded. "Well, if you say sooo..."

Abigail: "Sharron's right," she said confidently. "I need to stop moping around. Everyone gets to fail once or twice, I'm no different. But, until he's gone I'll make sure that brutish thug hates every minute he's on the show."

In the morning, Room 1B was a very different setting. The two boys of the Parrots were sitting in silence. Both were awake, and it seemed like they were waiting for one of them to speak first. To no one's surprise, Jacob was the first to break the silence. "So today, you'll repay that favor you owe me," the band president ordered.

"What favor?" Nathan asked, confused. "Aren't we allied? You vote to my will, end of story. I don't have anything to pay you." Despite the person he hated the most being gone now, he still had his bitter attitude.

Jacob let out a condescending chuckle. "I don't think we were quite on the same page then," he told the insolent, feigning innocence. "I was under the impression that now I had helped you with Nala, you would now vote for someone of my choice. I believe we ought to eliminate Abigail when we get the chance." He paced around the room slowly, as almost to gain some sort of leverage by doing so.

Nathan let out a scoff. He was far too busy to get involved with their petty squabbling. "And what exactly would that accomplish?" he asked the band president with a scowl on his face. "You get to say you beat her? Don't get me wrong, I hate that girl's guts, but we should be focusing on eliminating weak players, which means you and Brenna."

"A shocking twist!" Jacob retorted, "you really were going to double-cross me. But, I'm much more interested in how exactly you swayed that smart girl's vote our way. You must have either threatened her or blackmailed you with something." He leaned in toward Nathan, who had turned his head away in annoyance.

Nathan remembered what he had done the night before. "I forgot what I did," he obviously lied. "I took care of it, and it doesn't matter anymore. Just know we can't count on her vote anymore." He turned to Jacob and stared him down. "So remember something. You'll work with me, or you'll pay the price."

Jacob: "I knew that brute was far too foolish to keep up with me," he boasted, confidently leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. "With Nala gone, the second-in-command has opened up. I have to try my absolute hardest to obtain that stepping stone to the top. But, should we fail, I need to get rid of the biggest obstacle in my path, and that would be my long lost friend."

Down in the kitchen, a pan burst into flames, causing the two cooks behind it to start coughing. "I've never seen anything like that before," Celine said in between coughs. The pan fire quickly died down, but there was still a ton of stuff around them that was charred. "How did you manage that?"

"Blatant ineptness," Kris said dryly. "But I guess it's impressive I lit a grilled cheese on fire." She flipped the one edge of it, and while the flip was successful, the deadpan cringed at the other side of the sandwich. "And...this one's burnt to a crisp as well." She took it off the pan and placed it in a pile with several other charred bricks that were probably grilled cheese attempts. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You're using too much heat," Celine instructed. "Turn your flame down a bit, so the bread doesn't cook as fast, but there's still plenty of time for the cheese to melt down." Kris adjusted the burner and tried again. "Don't give up, we have a ton of time before the challenge."

Kris tried again, and this time it went a bit better. "I don't think I'm really cut out for this," she admitted, flipping the one side after a few minutes. To her surprise, the side was a perfect golden color. "Alright, that was lucky, I guess." After a few more minutes, she took it off, and the other side was just as good. "That's also just lucky."

Celine took a bit out of it. "Wow, this is really good." She smiled at the deadpan. "You didn't think you could do it, but this is something I'd be scared of if I was still cooking competitively."

Kris raised an eyebrow. "Right, I was meaning to ask about that. Claire mentioned you did some...cooking show? I don't remember you on it, since I probably didn't watch reality TV whenever Claire thought it was an appropriate age, but you seemed super secretive about it."

"I...I did," Celine confessed, "It was such a messy time for my family. When I won, we were bombarded with a bunch of requests for photo shoots, interviews, all while I was still getting ready for kindergarten. They didn't want me, they wanted my reputation, and looking back on it...that hurt a lot."

"Wow," Kris said, trying to think of something better than 'wow' to say. She had no idea Celine hated the TV industry so much. "But, you're here now, and I'm grateful for that, but isn't this also going to hurt you if you win?"

Celine shook her head. "Not as much. At least here I can win because I'm a decent enough person, and that will mean something. Plus, there's a lot more money attached to this than that other show." She paused for a second. "Overall, this was a good decision for me. It feels good to put all of that behind me a bit."

"That's good," Kris replied again, trying to think of something decent, and once again falling flat.

Kris: "I suppose the cat's out of the bag at this point," Kris decided, putting her arms up in the air. "I like Celine. For some reason, she just...makes me feel, well, anything at all, which is a victory in its own. But I have no idea if she feels the same way or just really likes cooking a lot. I'm normally blunt enough to just ask, but...I don't want to."

Celine: "Don't get me wrong," she said, also putting her hands up in the air, "I like cooking, and that was really a much better sandwich than I was anticipating. But Kris has my attention, more than she really should. I don't share that story with anyone, and I'm just super concerned that if I tell her how I feel it'll turn into just an alliance or even worse, a relationship we have to defend against other people trying to catch me in all this...for lack of a better word, drama." She sighed. "I just hope it all eventually works out."

Ben had reached the outskirts of the woods, and he saw Carter on his way out as well. Carter nearly dropped his bag he had with him when he saw someone else on the path to where he normally went. "What are you doing here?" he asked with a hint of concern and a hint of anger.

The pushover rapidly shook his head and waved his hands in defense. "No! I-I'm not trying to! You just suggested that if I wanted to um, train or something, I should find you." He sheepishly backed off. "Is now not a good time?"

"It's fine," Carter relented, getting his footing again. "I didn't actually expect you to take me up on that offer. I don't want to actually put you through a gauntlet of training. You're more than strong enough. I just need you to do it all the time."

Ben hesitated. "I-I can't do that," he stammered, disappointed in himself, "It's not that I get tired, but sometimes I just don't have the stamina to do it, but not physical stamina, like, I don't know..."

"Calm down," the untrusting boy said in the most comforting tone he could. "Look..." he paused for a second like he was going to make a decision, eventually sighing. "Come with me to a place I normally go. We're going to make you face something you've been avoiding."

The two of them walked for a bit, and eventually were in sight of the river. Sharron was already there, a fire going, and fish cooking. She was incredibly surprised to see Ben there, and she braced herself a bit for an uneasy conversation. "You were going on yesterday about being secretive," she taunted Carter as he approached closer, "now you've gone and brought that one to us."

"I know what I said," he responded with a huff. "The kid approached me and wanted help, so I'm helping him as a leader should." His words seemed more confident now that Ben was there in front of him. "Have you two talked since the team swap?" The two of them shook their heads. "Well, now's your chance."

Sharron and Ben looked at each other with a uneasy aura around them, and finally Sharron broke the silence. "It wasn't personal," she defended, "we needed to pick someone, and you were kind of our last hope."

"It's fine," Ben said with a shrug. "I'm over it. I made some friends on my team, like..." he trailed off, trying not to mention the two other members of the PIG from his team, "Peter."

"Ugh, that's a crafty kid," Sharron pointed out. "I'd be scared of him. Out of all my skills, he excels at all my weaknesses, which is terrifying for me." She smirked. "But, I don't plan on losing this game to some scrawny kid."

Ben nodded. "Right...me too, I guess." He turned to Carter. "What was that supposed to do? I don't feel any stronger." He walked over to a rather large rock and attempted to pick it up, but nothing happened besides Ben tripping over himself.

"You lack confidence still," Carter said bluntly. "You need to be certain that that rock is lift-able." He walked over to it, and after a grunt of two, picked up the large rock himself. "Once you're certain of something," he tossed the rock up a bit, letting it drop to the ground, "it becomes easy."

Ben stared at the rock, which was now a bit deeper in the ground. "Oh, come on," Sharron said with a groan, "I watched you block an attack from Nathan on the first day, and if he's actually that scary, he's stronger than that rock."

The pushover walked over to the rock again. "It's easy," he told himself. He grabbed it, and it became a bit easier to lift. He wasn't getting anywhere with it yet, but it was getting there. "Yeah, I'm doing it!" He finally got the rock off the ground, but did not hold it over his head like Carter did. After setting it down, he let out a satisfied sigh. "I've never done something that tough without stressing myself out."

"Stop letting fear be you guide," Carter told him firmly. "Use confidence instead." The three sat in silence for a second. "And, I'm confident we'll be late, so we need to head back soon."

Susan and Chef were already waiting for the three of them as they returned. "Good, we have everyone now," she said, promptly walking out the door. "Today's challenge will be difficult for you all, so get ready to move. You'll need both teamwork and smarts to win today's challenge."

Everyone loaded onto the bus, and began their usual chatter. Peter however, sat way further back than anyone else, simply watching all the commotion go down instead. The first thing he noticed was that Carter sat alone again. The boy had nothing going for him besides leadership. But, since he was such a useful attribute to the team, eliminating him would be useless now.

Kris and Celine continued to flirt with each other. Peter knew that, after lying to Claire about being oblivious to it, he knew. He wanted to make sure he had both their votes in his pocket soon, but that would have to wait for another time.

He then fixed his attention on Nolan. The boy was asleep in the seat across from him, but there was a scowl on his face, like he was upset about something. Peter only watched him for a second, but heard the nap enthusiast mutter "manipulate...child..."

Peter realized it. Nolan was actually onto him. That was the exact opposite of what he wanted. How did Nolan catch him? It wasn't what he wanted, but he had no choice but to do something about it now. He went over to the seat and smirked as he shook Nolan awake. "We should be arriving at the school soon, you ought to get up."

Nolan let out an exhausted groan. "This bus ride is exactly enough time for a proper REM cycle of sleep. You disturbing me now has broken that." His blunt attitude had not changed despite his grogginess. Maybe speaking while sleeping was something he was used to.

"Oh!" Peter said in embarrassment, "my mistake, please, take as much time as you need to." Nolan squinted for a second before attempting to fall back asleep in time, but within a few minutes they had arrived at the school. "Ah, well, time to leave." Peter got up innocently and began walking off the bus with the rest of the cast.

Peter: "Nolan's love of sleep is not something to be underestimated," Peter explained. "I just have to do a few things to multiply his own weaknesses. I did it to Claire by keeping her interested in me. Nolan will be easier. The longer he sleeps, the less he blabs."

Nolan: "He did that on purpose," Nolan said with a fierce look. "I'd love to tell my team to vote him off but I'm not in great standing with them. Hopefully at least one of them will listen."

The two teams met up in the lobby of the school, and this time, there was no central room, but the lobby had two large circular tables on either end. "Today's challenge is one of difficulty," Susan told them. "You will be running a race around the world, but all in the confines of Ingress Academy.

"Each team sends two at a time," Chef instructed them. "You go through the school and find one of the puzzle rooms, bringing back pieces for the puzzle. From there one of the team members will put the pieces of the puzzle together. You are all required to participate in this, but the puzzler cannot leave the main area."

"You'll have five minutes to decide who will start as a runner and who will be your team's puzzler," Susan explained. "Make a careful decision here, because as you know, someone goes home if you lose today."

Jacob quickly stepped forward in the Parrots' area. "I assure you, Sharron," the band president insisted, "if you assign me to those trivial cardboard pieces, you'll like what you see, maybe even enough to...promote me."

The gesture was so wild it was enough for Nathan to let out a snicker, but Sharron was actually considering it. "Actually, I have different plans for the pair-ups today, so that works perfectly." She turned to the other three members. "I will run with Brenna, so Abigail and Nathan, I want you two to stick together today."

The insolent groaned at his pairing, while Abigail gave him a cheerful bop on the head. "Come on, it'll be fun!" she insisted, "but if you're going to be grumpy the whole time I'll act on that!" She began fiddling with her bag to try and find something suitable for Nathan.

The Goldfish were watching each other, hoping someone would budge on the option of doing the puzzle. Eventually, Ben stepped forward. "I can do it," he said confidently, "this will be easy for me." Peter raised an eyebrow at the pushover's unusually confident statement.

"Perfect," Carter decided. "Peter and I can rotate with Nolan, and Celine and Kris can pair up. Any objections?" Nolan looked like he wanted to say something, but he was very much outdone by the sea of nods around him. "Excellent, that was fast."

"Time is up!" Susan announced. "You can find your pieces in any order you'd like, but the puzzle must be complete for a win. Send up the first pairs." Sharron and Brenna went up first for the Parrots, while Carter and Nolan went first. "Go!" The four of them were off, and each of them instantly went off in different directions, trying to find a room.

Very quickly, Brenna and Sharron came up on a room that was in the back of the cafeteria. "It's freezing in here," Sharron mentioned, trying to look around. The room they were in was coated in a thin layer of snow on the ground, and the walls were stacked with foods.

"That's because you're in the walk-in freezer!" Chef told them, twirling a butcher's knife in his hands as he spoke to them. "Your challenge is to cook something hot despite the intense cold. Welcome to the Antarctica room."

Brenna began scanning the area for foods that would make sense to cook, while Sharron got going on trying to get a heat source going. "The Antarctica room..." Sharron muttered, "of course, each room's a continent, that's why there's seven of them." She flicked a few matches, but to no avail. Eventually one sparked, and the fire got going.

"Here's something!" Brenna told her, running back with a thin piece of meat. The two quickly got cooking and making something come together. Within a few minutes, the thin meat was cooked, and they brought it to Chef.

The cook took a bite out of it. It didn't taste great, but it was hot and ready. "Decent enough," he decided, handing the girls a bag of puzzle pieces. "You gotta go back first to make sure your puzzler gets it."

The two Parrot girls began running back. "You've been gone a lot recently," Sharron mentioned as they made their way back to the lobby. "Hanging with Ben, or were you somewhere else?"

"I...I haven't been anywhere," she said quickly, trying to not lose her breath while also lying. "I'm around just as much as anyone else." She realized Sharron didn't really believe her. "Um, just don't ask anymore, please."

Nolan and Carter reached a different room than the Antarctica one, and a very different room at that. There was blazing heat, artificial sunlight, and a caged lion besides them. "Welcome to the greenhouse," Susan told them, "or as we are using it today, the Africa room."

"There has not been a greenhouse in this school all season," Carter reminded her, "you think you'll pull one over us by having it exist now?" He let out a huff. "Just tell us what the challenge is."

"We have a shipment from another continent," Susan said as she reached into a hidden box and pulled out the meat that was just in the Antarctica room. "Your job is to feed this hungry lion this hot piece of meat." She handed it over to them.

"Easy," Nolan muttered, grabbing the meat and dully handing it over to the lion to eat. The lion also disproved of the taste, but it didn't matter, as he finished it regardless. Carter looked surprised that Nolan actually tried.

The two grabbed their piece bag and started heading back. "Peter's a danger," Nolan told Carter bluntly. "You need to not let yourself get manipulated by him. I watched him manipulate a child at the market yesterday." Carter raised an eyebrow at the nap enthusiast before ignoring the statement.

Carter: "It's obvious what's happened," he explained. "Nolan realized he's next to go if he loses, and he's decided to pin a loss on whoever he presumes the weakest link is. That's also why he's trying so hard today. Not hard to figure that out."

The next two pairs went off as the first two got back at roughly the same time. Abigail and Nathan were running down the hallway until they eventually came up to another room. They couldn't see much of it, because most of the door's window was covered in thick greenery. "No funny business," Nathan scolded the prankster before they went in. Abigail hummed to herself, ignoring the insolent.

The two barged into the next room, and Chef was already waiting for them there, with no trace that he had crawled through the intense shrubbery of the room. Once they got out of the storm of nature, they encountered an oasis filled with a small pond and flowers. "Welcome to the South America room, formerly known as the greenhouse."

"I didn't know we had a greenhouse," Abigail mentioned. "...cool. Anyway, what do we do? And what's with all the water? Are we gonna go diving?" Her constant barrage of questions didn't Chef a chance to actually answer them.

Chef let out a yell to try and shut her up. "Can it, crazy lady!" he shouted at her, causing Abigail to stop talking. "This one's easy. Your bag is at the bottom of that pond. One of you will have to dive down there and get it." Before he said anything else, Abigail jumped into the pond and began swimming down.

Nathan didn't care, since he didn't have to do anything now. But, he was still bored. "So...anything interesting happening lately at this wretched school?" he asked the cook. Chef didn't look back at him, probably to hide what he was dealing with in terms of Susan. After a minute or so, Abigail popped out of the water, waving the bag in her hands. She tossed the bag to Nathan, who instinctively caught it, then brought him in for a hug. "Get off me!" he shouted at her, "you're all wet!"

"And now you are too!" she cheered with excitement. "Come on, I know you wanted to at least have a little fun here. Now it looks like you tired, you big grump!" she cackled to herself as Nathan, now fuming walked back with her to the lobby.

Kris and Celine entered what was a very hot room, but the area around it was surrounded by dry rocks, cacti, and a few small dangerous-looking animals roaming around. Susan was waiting for them this time. "Welcome to the Australia room," she told them, "your challenge here is to catch a small animal and bring it to me. If it jumps out of your hands before it reaches me, then you need to start over."

The two went over to a small scorpion and tried to get close to it. "We should back it into a corner," Celine suggested. The two gathered around it and quickly pushed the scorpion back to a point where it couldn't run anymore.

"I got it," Kris told Celine dully. She reached forward once she was close enough and picked up the scorpion. In an act of defense, the scorpion latched down on the deadpan's hand. "Huh," she mused, walking over to Susan with it still firmly in her hands. "It stung me but I'll manage."

Susan hesitantly took the animal off their hands and released it back in the room. "Right...well, here's you piece bag, good luck on the scorpion sting and all that." Kris and Celine left the room to head back and the deadpan took a look down at her hand. It swelled a bit, but it didn't hurt at all.

Brenna and Sharron were back up, and this time they had reached a new room. This one had green grass surrounding the edges, but the middle consisted of a sandy part with a mechanical bull in the middle. "Welcome to the North America room," Susan greeted them, despite having just been in the Australia room a second ago. "Since we blew the budget on the other animals in the other rooms, this one will be easier. Texas is home to many bulls such as this one. Select someone to do it."

Brenna watched the bull carefully, backing away from it. "Sorry," she said, "I'm not good at things like that." She gestured for Sharron to go forward instead while keeping her distance and apologizing again. "Sorry."

"No problem," Sharron said calmly, "I've killed real animals twice this size." She got up onto the bull and it began moving. "I just have to hold on, right? Where's the danger?" Then, the bull got faster and faster, spinning in multiple directions and eventually hurling Sharron off. "Ugh, my mistake, that was tough."

Susan handed them the pieces anyway. "Not to worry, you've beaten the challenge. Head back and send the next pair somewhere else." The two exchanged a happy glance before heading back, Sharron a bit dizzier than before.

Brenna: "I'm glad I'm with Sharron today," she said hopefully. "If I was with Nathan, I'm sure he'd mention the whole...thing from yesterday, and while I'm sure Abigail is a nice person, I don't know her too well." She sighed. "I really just don't click with my team at all."

Carter and Peter arrived in a different cold room than the Antarctica room. There was a sliver of grass visible above the floor's snow, and the walls were covered in thick snow. "Is this the Antarctica room?" Peter asked, carefully looking around.

"Not quite," Chef told them, "it's the Asia room. Russia is home to some of the coldest locations, covering parts of the arctic circle. You'll be doing something intense and freezing. Build an igloo."

The two boys got to work quickly. Peter struggled to lift up some of the chunks of ice that were lying around, but he could move them short distances. That left Carter to run around and fetch the ice blocks for him. "I think I messed up," Peter lamented as Carter handed him an ice block.

"How so?" Carter asked, stopping his collection to see if Peter had messed something up with the igloo. From what he could see, there was not anything wrong with it, but he kept searching until Peter eventually waved him off.

Peter let out a sigh. "I told Nolan this morning that he was going to have to step up his game if he wanted to actually stay in the game, since he's the burden of the team at the moment. I think he thought like I was manipulating him or something, but it was just an honest warning."

"He did tell me to watch my back around you," Carter admitted with a chuckle, "but, I don't trust that kid one bit, so it's likely he's trying to throw you under the bus, since you're weaker than him physically. It's his best option." He put the final blocks on the igloo. "All done." They were handed the next bag of pieces. "Let's go, and don't worry about that kid." Peter smirked to himself as they left.

Nathan and Abigail arrived at another new room, and they were impressed at the area. It had been converted to a medieval setting, where Susan waited for them on the other end of a drawbridge. "Good afternoon," she greeted them formally, waving to them. "Europe is home to the largest collection of castles in the world, and we expect that you'll be able to find a way into this one for you bag."

The drawbridge began to raise up slowly, and the two watched as it went up. "Man," Abigail said, snapping her fingers. "I was kinda hoping we'd be able to just walk across. That'd be fun, I think."

Nathan, on the other hand, didn't pay attention to the girl next to her at all. He dashed forward, and started trying to reach the drawbridge before it got too high. The insolent was able to grab onto the edge, but he was now dangling and the bridge was still retracting itself. Nathan looked down to see that the bottom of the moat below him was not visible. "Come on," he muttered, scrambling to climb over the retracting edge.

"Just jump back!" Abigail suggested. "I'm sure you think you can do it, but I'd rather not tell Sharron you fell to your death while doing something very stupid." She watched nervously as the boy continued to struggle.

"You want me to give up?" Nathan countered, "That's rich. I'll show you what a winner looks like!" He pulled himself all the way up, and just before the drawbridge finished retracting itself, he got over it, and landed in front of Susan on both feet. "Hand it over."

Susan shrugged. "Sure," she said, stepping away from the edge. "You still have to get back from here, and had you built your own bridge, that would have been a lot faster."

Nathan watched the gap, and saw that there wasn't an easy way back for him. "I'll...figure it out," he muttered in defeat.

It was now Kris and Celine's turn. The two entered the first snowy room, and Chef was waiting for them. "What a coincidence," Chef said as the two entered. "Welcome to the Antarctica room. You need to gather up ingredients to make a food dish that's hot. If it ain't hot, you don't get a bag."

"I don't want to waste time," Kris decided, "you cook, I'll get stuff for you." Celine nodded as the master chef began working on setting up a fire. In a few minutes, Kris returned with some pork, and Celine began cooking it as fast as she could.

Celine sighed. "It's been a while since I cooked for a competition," she lamented, "always thought my product was worse because of it." She held the meat over the flame for a bit longer, before tossing it over to Chef. "It's ready!"

Chef fumbled with the hot meat in his hands for a second. "Girl, that's fresh from a fire!" he scolded. After a few seconds he took a bite. "Certainly tasted better than the others," he told them, handing over the bag. "Have fun."

When Abigail and Nathan returned, the prankster beamed the bag at Jacob's head. "Another one!" she shouted as the bag smacked him in the face. She cackled to herself as the boy grimaced in pain.

As Sharron and Brenna got ready to go he stuck his hand out. "Don't go," he told them, "we have all the bags." A few of them looked at each other uneasily as Carter and Nolan went off to scan the school for another room. He showed them the puzzle. "In three rooms we already got three fourths of the puzzle completed, and this bag is the same size. We're done."

"Just know it's on you if we lose," Sharron told him, relaxing for a second, "are you really going to shoulder that burden?" Jacob shot her a confident smirk as he began working on the last fourth of the puzzle. He took a quick peek over to Ben's side, who was not even halfway done.

Jacob finished up within a few more minutes, and smiled in pride at his work. "I have no need to shoulder a loss. I've done more than enough." He smiled proudly as the rest of his team realized that the band president had once again carried them.

"That's the end of the challenge," Susan said, stepping out to greet them. "The Screeching Parrots have taken the victory today for finishing the puzzle first. That means the Goldfish are heading to elimination." The Goldfish that were there sighed in defeat.

Carter and Nolan soon made it back to the lobby where everyone else was. "That was unfortunate," Carter said to his team with a hand on his head. "Let's figure it out later."

Peter: "Alright," he said confidently, "step one is done, but today's loss isn't Nolan's fault, it's Ben's. I need to make sure he goes out anyway. Normally, this is where the schemers would go and rally up votes." He smirked. "But, instead, I will do nothing. I will simply pay Nolan a visit and make sure he doesn't interfere. Everything else will get added to the equation in time."

Back in room 2B, Peter entered the room while Nolan was sitting alone in it. "I didn't think the hosts would trick us like that," Peter lamented as he walked in. "They said a race around the world, but we only needed four continents. If only Ben was faster at that puzzle."

Nolan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're planning on voting for Ben? That's not what I thought you'd do." He flopped onto his bed. "I figured that you would set up a vote against me, you know, since you're currently gunning for me."

Peter stepped back in shock. "M-me?" he feigned, "I don't really have the knack for some kind of strategy like that. If it helps you feel better, I'll stay right here until we have to go for elimination. I don't want there to be any mistrust between us." He smiled at him. "You can stay and watch me the whole time."

Nolan nodded carefully. "You know, anyone would normally say that you're going way overboard to prove your innocence, but I'll take you up on that offer." He pushed a dresser in front of the door so Peter wouldn't be able to get out. "I'm going to take a nap." Nolan fell asleep again, and Peter was left on his own bed, fiddling with his white board marker.

Down in the dining hall, the Parrots were all together, eating a celebratory dinner. "Then, he was like, 'nhgh, I'll find a way back'," Abigail said, causing everyone at the table but Nathan to laugh, as she told them about his jump onto the drawbridge.

"It was the fastest method across," Nathan defended, "not to mention you stood there and did nothing the whole time." He let out a huff. "You're lucky you were the one who dove in the South America room."

Jacob chuckled. "I appreciate this friendly banter," he mused, "but I do think some business is in order. It doesn't quite matter as to who did what in the rooms, since I and my masterful puzzle abilities got us here now." He turned to Sharron. "Something like that is surely worthy of being at least a second-in-command for you. If not, you may consider relinquishing your position entirely."

Sharron rolled her eyes. Despite all the laughable words that came out of his mouth, he was absolutely serious in what he said. "Uh..." she hesitated, having to deal with Jacob's icy stare the whole time. Maybe this was better for the team. "...sure, you can have Nala's position." Abigail dropped her jaw as Jacob beamed with pride.

"You won't regret this decision," Jacob stated proudly. "On my honor, I will lead and guide this team to victory. As the paragon of virtue and and excellence, we will never see the dark of the elimination room- did you say Nala's position?"

"Yep," Sharron told him. "Second. To me. Please don't make me regret this decision."

"It's a start," Jacob said to himself.

Jacob: The band president did his best to keep his composure. "I'm not upset Sharron elected to put me in a lower position than her," he lied, trying to stay calm. "After all, it is a competition. It's only natural she'd want to be in a more prominent position. Before I properly usurp her, I'll keep my contenders at bay."

Back up in 2B, Peter and Nolan were sitting in silence. The nap enthusiast was still asleep while Peter paced around the room quietly. "Goldfish," Susan called out to them, "it is time for you to come to elimination. Please make sure you vote and then be ready for your fate to be decided."

Peter got up from his bed and watched the sleeping Nolan for a while. "Almost there," he said, "I just need to find a way to keep him asleep." He grabbed all of the pillows from the room and wrapped them around his head. "Good luck ever waking up," he said.

After some more time, the door opened from the other side, and Carter entered the room. "You two are late," he said, before staring down at the dresser that was in the way. "What's going on?"

"Nolan pushed it up in front so I couldn't leave," Peter explained. "He wanted to save himself and he was concerned I'd try to warn you about what he wanted to do." He sighed. "Sorry for the trouble."

Carter pushed the dresser out of the way and opened up the doorway. "Ugh, it's not a problem, just help me wake the kid up and get him to elimination. I doubt that he'll have to be a problem much longer."

"No!" Peter cried out. "Um, I just don't want him to have a shot at trying to stop your plan. So...let's keep him asleep." Carter let out a shrug as he picked up the nap enthusiast and carried him down to the lobby.

Kris: "Ben messed up the most today, but there's no chance I actually vote for him. So...this is the next best option." She shrugged as she put down her vote and left the closet.

Carter: "What a messy day," Carter lamented, "from the challenge loss to even this vote, the team's on more edge than I'd like it to be. Well, best I can do is stop the one who doesn't try at all."

The six Goldfish were now sitting in the lobby as Susan and Chef came into the room. Nolan was asleep on the couch, and Carter, Ben, and Peter sat to the right of him, while Kris and Celine were over on the left. "Tough day for all of you," Susan reminded them. "Tough challenge, and in the end you were bested by some kid who's consistently been in their team's bottom two."

Susan held up the first two erasers. "Remember, if you don't get a Chef Hatchet-styled eraser, you will be sent to the Bus of Shame and will be sent home. Please remember the danger you all are in. This is for a spot in the top ten, so don't blow it." She called out the first two names. "Carter and Kris, you two are safe." The skeptic and the deadpan caught their erasers, satisfied for the day.

The next eraser recipient was called out. "Celine, you're also safe." Celine smiled as she got her eraser, satisfied that her and Kris were both still in the game. That left Peter, Ben, and Nolan. Peter seemed confident that he would stay, while Ben looked terrified that he'd go. Nolan was still asleep. "Peter," Susan called out. The mathematician smirked to himself and grabbed his eraser.

Susan looked at the last two. "That leaves two. Ben, you're a good kid, but you blew it today when your team depended on you the most, potentially shattering their trust forever. Or not." Ben nervously cowered into the seat cushion. "Nolan, not sure if you can actually hear me, but your consistent lack of effort is the reason you find yourself here." Nolan was still asleep, and didn't respond at all.

The host held up the final eraser. "You two have both been down here before, but it is the end of the road for one of you. Tonight, the person who will be instantly sent to the Bus of Shame is...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Nolan." Ben let out a very audible sigh as he caught the final eraser of the night. Celine and Kris also looked relived that he stayed in the game, and behind a pillar in the back, Brenna had been watching all of it, and also let out a sigh of relief before darting off.

The nap enthusiast remained asleep despite his elimination. Carter let out a frustrated sigh. "I'll carry the dude to the bus," he decided, getting up. "I don't really have time for him to deliver some wake-up monologue." The skeptic took Nolan and carried him off to the bus, as Peter smiled at another success.

Peter: "How do I know that my plan was flawless?" he asked, "because I didn't even vote for Nolan. In order to create a sense of realism, I voted for Ben, who failed the challenge today. That meant that as long as Carter trusts me, nothing stands in my way."

As Peter walked through the halls of the dormitory, he felt very satisfied with his work. He went out in the lobby to see if anyone was still around, and heard a commotion from somewhere. Upon looking around further, he saw a light that was flowing out of the kitchen. "There's no way Chef cooks food this late," he said to himself.

The mathematician peered into the dining hall, and when he heard the commotion die down a bit, he tried calling out. "Um...hello?" he asked nervously. He then heard a large amount of shuffling and action happening in the back of the kitchen. "Um...I'm coming in." When he entered the kitchen, there was no one in there, which meant whatever was moving around was now gone. But, as he looked around he managed to find a strand of brown hair that was left on a counter.

On top of that, the boy also found a small ripped part of a shirt. There was a small part of the sleeve of a red dress shirt that was lying on the ground in front of him. "I don't recognize this," Peter said to himself, thinking about the people he knew. "Oh, wait a second...I've got it now." He put his hand to his chin. "We hardly know each other, Brenna. What on Earth could you be planning?"

"Do we know what Brenna's planning?" Susan asked, trying to review some footage, "because I know we're lazy at looking over material that goes into the episodes, and McLean had eyes everywhere, but I'm not him."

Chef shook his head. "Your poor work ethic has met up to mine," he admitted. "Well, one of them will probably leave soon, but it won't be that small nerdy kid. He didn't even vote for his target tonight and still got him."

"I'm aware," Susan mentioned, "and all the more reason to keep him on high alert until we find out what he's trying to do." She then turned to the camera to close out the episode. "But, Nolan is gone! We now have our top ten. Who will drop next? Who will go all the way? Will I find new questions to ask at the end of an episode? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!"

Teams:

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

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

Eliminated: Gianna, George, Leo, Claire, Nala, Nolan

With that, Nolan is out of the game. The dude was honestly not made to go far, and he did his job perfectly. He was supposed to be someone who would oppose Peter and fall instantly because of it. Now, Peter's sights are going to shift somewhere else. You'll have to see what happens to him.

Today's challenge was the geography challenge. I did my best to highlight some important aspect of every continent, but with some like Antarctica, it's hard to really go with anything besides 'cold'. But, regardless, I hope it was enjoyable.

Additionally, Now that we are halfway done the season, I want to announce two characters per update that will be competing in next season, Total Drama Power Peak. The two I'm confirming for this week are Chad and Nathan.

So, was your prediction right? Who do you think will go next? Let me know what you guys think in the reviews, and I will see you next time!