I have definitely reused one of these witty reply introductions at some point and never noticed it. So there, here's no line at all. Just a reply.

lordgemini- Yup, we're getting close to the middle of the game, so there will be a couple surprises along the way, and there does have to be a double elimination somewhere if a two-person finale is to happen. I definitely understand the frustration with Carter, though. He's gone in the absolute wrong direction about it, and that seems to be the way Peter stays in the game. I guess we'll have to see if that changes.

Alright, let's get into today's update.

Episode 9: Trivial Travesties

Susan was on the phone with someone, trying to convince the person on the other end of something. "You have to understand they are still prototypes, but we've had no issues yet." After a few seconds, she got a response. "Right, I understand that too. How about this? You need somewhere for you to run your business, so I think you ought to consider this offer." She listened for a few seconds longer before cutting off the other line. "If it was about money for you then you would have said that, I know for a fact that you can't-" she jumped up as she heard Chef enter the control room. "I'll call you back, but there are no issues." She put the phone down frantically. "I wasn't doing anything."

"Best lie detector, worst liar," Chef said in a frustrated tone. "I can't believe anyone in Switzerland trusted you with their work." He sighed. "Alright, that doesn't matter. You're up."

"Yes, sir," Susan said, giving the cook a fake salute to mock him. "Last time on Total Drama Cultivated Will, we took a world tour, which was a new and original concept for the show. The challenges involved diving into thick ponds, cold rooms, more cold rooms, and bull riding." The first clips to open up the show were of Sharron flying off the bull, Abigail hugging Nathan to make him all wet, and Kris and Celine cooking pork in the middle of the walk-in freezer. "We saw some stellar performances from the Parrots, but the Goldfish left a lot to be desired." The next clips were of Nathan's jump across the pit to reach the drawbridge and Jacob dominating the actual puzzle. "In the end, the Parrots won in a total victory, and the Goldfish sent home Nolan, who slept through his entire demise. Hopefully he knows he's of the show."

"We have our top ten!" Susan announced. "Nine more and we have a winner. What challenges will we put them through today? Who will be the star of each team? What will become of Peter's targets? Find out today on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!" She smirked to herself. "I'm mazing at these now."

"Still not amazing at lying," Chef muttered to himself.

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.]

"Alright," Brenna said to the other three PIG members in the basement. "Portal Stabilization, Test Number Eight." Brenna was now wearing a white lab coat and safety goggles over her traditional red dress shirt and black pants. She had a blue liquid in her hand, and added it into the cup of Portal Juice, as they have been officially calling it. The new mixture steamed a bit, causing Brenna to look a little uneasy. "Well, here goes nothing."

She loaded up the portal gun with the new mixture, and sent an apple through the portal that it created. The apple seemed okay through the transition, and upon hitting the ground, the apple landed perfectly fine. "That seemed to be a success," Kris said, "despite how eerily the mixture was actually created." She went over to pick up the apple, but as soon as she touched it, the fruit exploded. "I take it back," Kris mentioned, her face now charred from the explosion, "it needs more work."

Brenna let out a dejected sigh. "Don't give up yet," Ben reassured her, "we have so much time to figure this out still. I'll stay right here until you get it, I promise." Brenna smiled at the pushover's optimism as she loaded up a ninth test, scribbling out some parts of her formula and replacing it with other things.

"What do you think Dr. Hazel's using this for?" Celine asked them. "She brought an incomplete project with her, and she definitely did not want to let this wait around. She wanted it ready for something." She paused. "Do you think she did something while we went into town? Chef was the only one nearby."

A few of them realized that the day in town was more odd than they thought. "I noticed something too," Ben mentioned. "There were some of the contestants that disappeared at some point throughout the day. Nolan disappeared when Peter was gone, and Nathan was also missing for a bit."

"Well, we can't ask Nolan anymore," Kris reminded them, "we sort of voted him out tonight. I mean, it was a smart decision, but it doesn't help us now. Nathan is someone we could ask, but do any of us actually know him that well?"

Brenna quickly stepped in. "We shouldn't press on him," she said quickly. "He's not very cooperative, and...when Nala tried to ask him questions, well...it didn't go well for her." She let out a disappointed sigh. "But I overheard Susan saying one day that she was concerned that this portal stuff would fall into the wrong hands. We don't actually know who that is though. They might not even be on the show."

"We don't have an answer then," Celine said dejectedly. "But, we do have a deadline then. We need these tests done as fast as possible. The sooner Susan can wrap up her gig down here and get back to just doing normal hosting, the better. Let's pick up the pace!" Everyone scrambled back to work, hoping that one of their tests would work out that night.

Celine: "To be honest, I don't remember why I agreed to get involved with this whole portal group. Maybe it was something about Kris, but I also really have never done something this...undercover before. It's stressful. But, I want to try and get answers, so maybe at some point I'll try and ask Nathan something. Hm. Maybe I'm just curious."

In the morning, Brenna woke up to an empty room. She was used to Sharron being out of bed early, but it was odd that the room was fully empty. She quickly got herself ready and started to walk down to breakfast. As she opened the door, she saw someone walking nearby, a short boy with glasses.

Peter noticed Brenna the instant she left the room and walked over to her. "Oh, perfect timing!" he told her eccentrically. "I've been looking for you." Brenna nervously took a step back as he pulled out a torn sleeve that was the exact shade as the shirt she had on. "Ah, so this is yours then. I don't know if we've actually properly met. I'm Peter."

"Brenna," the logician said nervously. She grabbed the torn part of her sleeve and quickly began to turn around and head into her room, but Peter was standing right there. He would certainly notice her simply turning around.

"I had an inquiry," Peter said in his nervous tone. "I was walking around last night and I heard a loud commotion in the kitchen. Do you think we'll be cooking today? If so, you ought to be careful, we have this excellent cook on our team, and-"

Brenna quickly jumped in and cut him off. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she lied as she took a few more steps in her room. "I thought the kitchen was off-limits. Why would I have any need to know what's going on in there?" She slammed the door shut and hid in her room until she was certain that Peter had left.

The mathematician smirked as the door shut. He walked away and made a note on his white board. "How odd," he said to himself. "I never actually accused her of being in there, I didn't even mention that was the room I found that piece of her shirt in." He chuckled to himself as he went down to eat.

The lounge was relatively empty again this morning, and Abigail was messing around on the piano again. After a fun day of messing with Nathan the day before, she had realized she was low on prank recourses. "I should have bought some at the flea market," she said to herself, "they wouldn't care if I was gone for a bit." She stopped as the heard a door close behind her. "Why did you come again?" she asked the person behind her.

"You know I wouldn't do it unless it was urgent," Jacob countered, "I understand you value this time in the morning. There is nothing to scoff at related to music." He walked over to her. "As you know, I've recently been promoted to second in command by our leader, Sharron."

"I'm aware," Abigail said with an annoyed look on her face, "you couldn't stop blabbing about it last night, so I'm pretty sure the whole country knows that you were 'promoted'. So, why are you here?"

Jacob's traditional bright smile turned to be more condescending. "Well, as they say, 'uneasy is the one who wears the crown'. I must admit I am not the most certain that I won't be turned on. So, I'm coming for your help and to give you a chance at closure." Abigail was now interested. "In the event of a loss, I will have to make a swift decision to keep my position so I can focus on advancing next. That requires the removal of anyone who stands a chance at becoming a second in my place."

"So...Brenna," Abigail stated, "but you don't really have to worry about her. I know she's smart, but I don't think she's super on board with the team." Jacob didn't respond, which made Abigail realize she was wrong. "Oh...Nathan. You want me to vote for him to avenge Nala." Jacob smiled and nodded. "Enticing, but that would mean I'd have to listen to you. Pass."

Jacob frowned, but it was visible in his eyes that the frown was not sincere. "Oh, that's a shame," he muttered to himself. "I do suppose there are other threats to my position, so I will have to go through another outlet and contain a different threat." He left the room, leaving Abigail to glare at the band president as he walked out with an arrogant smirk on his face.

Jacob: "I have entered a win-win situation," he gloated. "Should Abigail refuse, I go back to Nathan and have him orchestrate Abigail's removal. Should she eventually come around, then I remove another powerful foe. Then, I take whoever is left, remove Sharron, and claim my position as leader." He beamed with pride at his strategy. "But, since we are friends, I will allow Abigail to think it over for the day. She may come around to the right choice."

Out in the woods, a loud sound was heard as a boulder crashed into the river. As it landed, the boulder shattered in the spot where the impact occurred, breaking off a bunch of chunks. At the top of the riverbank, Ben let out a few deep breaths. "How...how was that?" he asked, out of breath.

"I thought it was impressive," Sharron admitted as she cooked the three of them breakfast. "I sure feel dumb for sending you over to the Goldish instead of someone like Jacob." She paused for a second and let out a gasp. "Right, Jacob wanted to meet to go over...administrative actions? I don't know, he's taking this leader thing way too seriously." She quickly packed up and left the two of them there.

Carter nodded proudly. "You even did this one on your own. You keep this up, you're going to be a danger in the merge and onward." He turned to him. "But know that while we're working together now, once the merge hits, I destroy you first. You're definitely the biggest threat to my success."

"I'm um, honored," Ben said in a confused tone. He wasn't sure why he was the best person in the game. It didn't make sense to him at all. But, he decided to go with it.

Just then, Sharron returned. "Looks like my meeting isn't happening today," she explained to them. "Actually, I'm here to get you. Susan and Chef are waiting for us, they just put out the announcement."

"That's earlier than normal," Carter pointed out. "I bet she has something deadly planned for us today. I don't care the other challenges were tame, I don't trust that woman." He let out a huff and walked off, leaving the two of them to be confused by his actions.

Ben: "On the one hand, I'm super happy that I can utilize my strength a bit more," he said, "but I also have no clue why he's so distant. He trusts no one except for Peter, but for some reason I feel like that's the one guy we shouldn't trust. He's the smartest one, sure, but the way he carries himself seems...I don't know, fake? Does that make sense?" He sighed. "Probably not."

In the control room, Susan was pacing the area around Chef in desperation. "You're certain that the lab was different than you left it?" Chef asked her, slightly concerned about the recent news Susan had brought him.

"It was a hunch at first," Susan admitted, "but I noticed an extreme lack of chemicals lying around this morning. And, when I checked the cafeteria's trash can, there were several...mutilated apples in the trash. Someone has been going there and messing with my stuff!" After shouting, she let out a sigh. "And, whoever used the portal gun has also proved that it is still dangerous."

"You've been working on that for ages," Chef lamented. "If you need to finish it that badly, I can help you, but it's gotta wait 'till this season's over. I'm not putting my job on the line so you can also put your job on the line. Too risky." He pointed to the door. "You have a big challenge planned for today, so make sure those kids get messed up by it."

"Right," Susan agreed, stepping out of the room. The two of them walked upstairs where everyone was already waiting for them. "Sorry for the delay," Susan apologized to the final ten as she got up to them. "We will be boarding the bus shortly. Please get on and be ready for today's challenge." As they got moving onto the bus, Susan studied the group to try and figure out who was behind messing with the portal gun.

Chef put a hand on the host's shoulder. "Stop worrying about it," he insisted, "I highly doubt it's one of them. The only two that would actually be smart enough to mess with it are Brenna and Peter, and Brenna's too nervous to do anything and Peter spends all his time scheming. You have nothing to worry about." Susan conceded and got ready to transition to the school and meet the cast there.

Kris stared absent-mindedly out the window, trying to ignore the game she was stuck in for a little bit. "You okay?" she heard from behind her. Kris turned her head to see Celine sitting next to her. "You seem very concerned about something."

The deadpan let out a sigh. "I'm concerned about the PIG," she stated blankly. "We're four kids in a basement running tests. We're going to have to stop playing with the chemicals at some point and start playing the game again, and I don't think that's really something I'm ready for yet."

"Me neither," Celine admitted. "Even if everything goes perfectly, eventually the four of us have to try and beat each other, and then the two of us will have to turn on each other." The master chef shook her head. "This is what I hate about reality shows. Nothing good can last, because they're always trying to tear people apart."

"That just makes the bonds that happen even better," Kris said to Celine, looking right into her eyes. The two girls blushed for a second before Kris turned away into the window again. "Sorry, that was lame." She had returned to her standard expressionless self. Celine couldn't help but let out a giggle.

Over with the Parrots, Jacob was carrying with him a sheet of paper. "I've done some careful analysis of the team," he told Sharron confidently, "and I have listed them out in terms of usefulness based on overall performance and prowess, as well as accounting in luck." He handed the sheet of paper over to the archer. "You'll want to have a look at this and reevaluate the pair system that you have set up."

"...Thanks," Sharron told him passive-aggressively. She took a look at the roster, where the usefulness order was listed as Jacob, herself, Abigail, Brenna, Nathan. "You have yourself listed at the top," she pointed out, "and Nathan is at the bottom? I don't follow."

Jacob gave her a calm smile. "His attitude is nothing but a poor piece of morale on the team. We'd be able to win more than one challenge in a row if we were able to work in a more positive environment." He stared right into her eyes. "Surely you think it's a good idea to make everyone here happy, right?"

Sharron groaned at the loaded question Jacob had just asked her. "Of course," she said, "but while your management style works for...whatever you actually use it for, you need to understand that what we're doing works."

"Does it?" Jacob questioned. "If I were leader, I would much rather be in a position where I can ensure a constant victory, and should we fail, we know exactly what to do to remedy that the next time."

"We won't lose today," Sharron insisted, shoving the paper back in his face. Jacob peeled the paper off of his face to reveal a distrusting look. "You're that confident, huh? I'll cut you a deal. I lose today, you can be leader."

Jacob's eyes instantly lit up. "An excellent counteroffer," he exclaimed excitedly, "this not only gives you a chance to prove your worth as a leader, but as my future subordinate. I promise not to sabotage today, but should your leadership fail, it is not my fault." He shook the archer's hand as quickly as he could, solidifying their bet.

Sharron: "The teams are getting smaller," she said analytically, "worst case scenario, he leads a maximum of what, one challenge? But, my understanding is that Jacob has very much outstayed his welcome. With Abigail and Brenna he can go if we lose. There is no reason for me to have any concern about this."

As the teams filed into the lobby, Chef took them up to the second floor, into what appeared to be a literature classroom. "We figured reading would be either too hard or too boring for you all," he told them, "so we are using this reading classroom for its other purpose, holding extracurricular activities." A few of the contestants raised their eyebrows in interest at the challenge for the day.

"That's right," Susan explained, "now, one of the most common clubs you will find here is the academic team. This is a group of people who go out of their way to learn the most obscure and useless facts ever. Today, we will test you abilities to answer very tough questions just like them, but unlike a team, you will compete individually for your team." A few whispers were heard around the room. Carter smirked to himself at the opportunity, Abigail let out a sigh of relief, and Nathan smiled to himself.

"The first round will work like this," Susan kept going. "Each team will send one person up at a time, and they will go through a gauntlet of five questions. A winner will be declared between the two, and then that team gets a point. The first team to three points wins the first round."

Chef pointed at the two chairs in the center. "The players will sit there, and everyone else will get to watch." He then gave them a dark smile. "And, you don't get to decide as a team. I'm picking the people who I want up here." A few people groaned and gasped as he delivered that news. "Alright. Round one, you gotta know about the past three seasons and their competitors." He scanned the room. "Abigail and Ben, you two are up first!"

The prankster and the pushover stepped up to their respective seats. "Sorry about the brutal beatdown you're about to get," Abigail bragged as she flexed her hands, "I'm pretty much an expert of those guys." Ben couldn't help but be upset by her taunt.

The screen rolled down from above them and a scoreboard showed up, while the middle part of the screen began randomly picking a question. Eventually, it settled on one, and displayed it for the two of them.

Question 1: What does Alexa do for money?

Abigail's mouth fell to the floor. "Wh-what's that?" she asked. "I thought it was gonna be like, 'who won this season?', not something obscure like this!" She thought about it for a second before answering, "aftermath host?"

Susan clicked a button, and Abigail was hit with an electric shock. "Apologies," Susan said as Abigail finished being zapped. "We still have a show to run, so expect that for every wrong answer. The stakes are extremely high today." She turned to Ben. "For your complete silence, you earned your first point to try and beat her." The scoreboard flipped to one for Ben. "Alexa works as a model due to her...uncannily straight hair." She sighed. "We should not have let those kids write their own questions."

Question 2: How many siblings does Gretchen have?

Abigail slammed her hand down. "Alright, I know this one for sure!" she said, "She has two, one is from her adopted family and the other is Angie!" The scoreboard lit up her side, making it one to one. "Yes!"

Ben took the shock this time. "You gotta be fast if you wanna keep your vitals in tact," Chef told them. "Anyway, yeah, that's right. She has two older sisters, one of them is Angie, her...gal pal from the sub." Chef let out the sigh this time. "Of course I get stuck readin' that one."

Question 3: What is Helio's top bench weight?

"Helio's strong," Ben said to himself, "I remember that, but it's not smart to just guess a number." he thought to himself. "He was barely able to lift up that harpoon..." Eventually, he raised his hand. "350 pounds?"

Ben was swiftly met with a shock. "Should have stayed quiet like you were thinking," Susan lamented. "So, that puts it at two to one, Parrots for the first round. Helio's top lifting weight is actually more than that, 418 was his cap in a competition just two months ago. How you were supposed to know that...I'm not sure. These aren't supposed to be easy."

Abigail: "You remember Sierra, right?" Abigail said as she lightly bounced up and down in the closet. "Well, she actually keeps the blogs updated about all of the new contestants too." She put a finger up to her chin. "I wonder what she'll say about me? Anyway, that's how I know some of this stuff. Anyone who's checked that out has a big advantage."

Question 4: Who was the third different contestant in the past three seasons to purposefully eliminate themselves?

Ben quickly put his hand down. "This is easy," he told Chef proudly. "You said different, so while Flora technically has done it twice, she only counts one time. That means that the first was Flora, the second was Angie, and that means the third was Norm."

With the lack of a shock, the scoreboard went up to a tied score again. "Correct," Chef told him, "Norm wanted a question that made you think outside the box a bit, so this was an impressive answer."

Question 5: What job does Sheldon's uncle have?

"His uncle?" Abigail asked, "Oh, I know he mentioned it, but I don't remember what the episode was..." she thought for a second while Ben willingly stayed silent. "Oh, it was the photo challenge, and he was the one who kept them in the game, so his uncle was probably a photographer."

Abigail endured her third shock of the game. "Not quite," Susan explained, as the two on the Goldfish's side turned to a three. "Sheldon won the challenge by bringing Chris McLean a piece of gold, which is a tactic he had learned from his uncle, a professional gold miner." She turned to the rest of the room. "That means the first overall point goes to the Goldfish. Next up, Nathan and Celine!"

Celine: "I know an okay amount, I guess," she said nervously. "Truthfully, I didn't watch the other seasons. Like I said, I'm not a fan of reality TV, so that really wasn't my go-to. I hope this isn't a wipeout."

"Try not to get intimidated by me," Nathan bragged as he sat down across from the master chef. "I may look way too good to know this stuff, but I studied those seasons like crazy to win this. You have no shot."

"Your looks?" Celine asked, staring blankly at the boy. "Do you know anything about me?" Nathan responded with nothing but an arrogant shrug. "Alright, well, hi, I'm Celine, I like girls." Nathan's eyes went wide for a second, before simply nodding and turning his head away in embarrassment. Susan cleared her throat to get their attention, and once they were quiet the first question came down for them.

Question 1: What is the name of Iris's former sister?

Nathan instantly slammed his hand down. "That's quite a dark way to put it," he pointed out, "using the word 'former' like that, but whatever." He turned to Susan confidently, "It's Anna."

The lack of a shock for Nathan meant a shock for Celine, and the Parrots earned the first point for the round. "That's right," Susan said, "unfortunately, she lost her in a...actually, let's not go into that. Next question."

Question 2: Ethan has six siblings, where does he rank on that in terms of age?

Once again, Nathan did not give Celine even a chance to try and think about it and instantly slammed his hand down. "Trick question," he countered, "Counting Quaoar, Ethan has seven siblings, and Quaoar is very much the youngest, which makes Ethan the second youngest." He was countered by a shock. "Hey, what gives? That's right!"

Chef shook his head. "Nope, according to the card we got from Ethan himself, Quaoar is listed as older. despite all of that, the number of siblings doesn't matter in the end, because he claimed he was the youngest."

"That doesn't-" Nathan started to complain. "You have to be pulling my leg!" He put his head on the desk, upset that his days of preparation had made him mess up something he should have gotten.

Susan interjected between them before either of the two could be more in each other's face. "Step back," she ordered the two of them, "maybe you should bring that up with him," she told Chef quietly, but Chef shook his head. "You know, I think you're hiding something. Chef still just shook his head. "Whatever, let's move on."

Question 3: What two objects does Luna carry with her at all times?

Nathan didn't lose enough motivation to stop playing, and seemed even more fired up now. "Child's play," he boasted to the room. "She carries invisible rope and a grappling hook so she can trick people. Not saying I saw through it, but I'm smart enough to realize psychics don't exist."

Celine took another shock, which put Nathan ahead of her by a point. "Correct," Susan said, impressed that Nathan actually knew all this stuff. "In order to maintain her psychic facade, Luna carries those objects around and uses them to mimic teleportation and levitation."

Question 4: How many cell phones does Hannah have?

Celine was about to answer the question, and she started to put her hand down, but Nathan beat her to it, and immediately turned to Susan. "Sixteen phones," he answered confidently, "which is fifteen more than you were planning on saying," he added, looking right at Celine with a smirk. Celine sighed as the scoreboard turned to three points for Nathan, and the master chef was shocked again.

Chef nodded. "That's correct, she recently acquired a new one about seven months ago, and we have word that she plans on buying the new phone that comes out in a few weeks." He looked at the scoreboard. "Well, that was pretty fast. Nathan wins this round with a nearly clean sweep, and we are tied at one all. Both teams still need two points to win. next up, Kris and Jacob."

"I've seen you before," Kris said hazily as she stared deeply at Jacob. "I don't remember exactly what from, but I definitely know you from somewhere." Jacob wretched back for a second before adjusting himself to a proper posture again. Kris looked out of the corner of her eye and noticed Chef glaring at her. "Apologies," she said, "I'm ready to start."

Question 1: What country is Juan originally from?

Jacob quickly put his hand up to answer. "How easy," he groaned, "I was hoping we would have an actual challenge. He was born in Canada, but speaks in the Ecuadorian dialect of Spanish." Kris took a shock that she completely shrugged off, and Jacob beamed as the first point came up. Sharron stared at him with confusion. "Don't look surprised," he boasted, "I do my research."

"That's right," Susan told them, "Juan is from Canada like the most of you, but he learned a specific dialect of Spanish to attempt to blend in as a native speaker of the language. It never got him to the merge, but it did get him on the show."

Question 2: Paul attended school with two members of this season's cast. Name them.

Kris beat Jacob out this time, because Jacob hadn't responded at all. Jacob was staring into the crowd to figure out who it was. "Abigail and Jacob," Kris answered dully, before watching Jacob take the shock. "I knew I recognized you. You were in Paul's fear trial, but with a tuba. Also, you were the only two who knew each other."

"Impossible!" Jacob declared, fixing his hair after the shock got to him. "There is no way that I would be playing anything except a trumpet, paragon of the ensemble! And I would certainly recognize a member of my school on a season of the biggest reality show on television!"

Chef cut him off from complaining any further. "Tough luck, but she's right, and you were there. Honestly, I thought that would've been a free point for ya. Oh well." Chef shrugged as he got the next question ready.

Jacob: He continued to mess with his hair that was ruined from the electric shock. "It doesn't matter if I do not negotiate outside my social group at school," he said with a scoff, "no one else is in my career path. I have no need for them."

Question 3: Kayla plays three sports. What are they?

This time, Jacob beat Kris out, with a fierce look of determination on his face. He smirked as he got ready to answer. "Volleyball, Soccer, and Field Hockey," he answered calmly. Once the answer was given out, he earned a point and Kris took another shock, which she received effortlessly.

Susan pulled out the card. "That's correct," she said, "Kayla spends her year dominating at everything she does." She squinted at the card to make sure she had read it correctly. "I'm not sure how that can be factually proven."

Question 4: Name one of Chad's personal hobbies.

The two of them shot their hands out at the same time, but Kris narrowly outdid Jacob this time. "He enjoys hunting," she explained as Jacob sighed, knowing the answer was right. The scoreboard updated, and the two were now tied.

"That's correct," Chef told them, "Other correct answers would have been ice hockey, working out at the gym, screaming at loud volumes, and...long walks on the beach." He scoffed. "Whack job." Jacob ate the shock, and began the tiresome process of fixing his hair again. "Well, the lea goes to whatever kid gets this next one, don't screw up."

Question 5: Daniel got the same score on every test in high school. What was that score?

The two were silent for a while. It was obvious neither of them knew the answer. Jacob stared at Kris to try and get her to move first, but Kris resisted to the point of unnerving Jacob. "Fine, I'll make a shot at it," he decided. "Ninety five."

"You're overestimating a bit, aren't you?" Susan commented as Jacob got shocked. Kris let out a sigh of relief as the final point went to her. "Daniel scored exactly seventy five percent on every test he took, which is, as you know, the average. The Goldfish now have two points, which means one more and they win it all. Parrots, you'll have to win both of the next rounds to win today's challenge. Up next, Carter and Sharron. We've been waiting for this one."

Carter: "No, I didn't watch the past seasons," he admitted, "but even if I have, they would have altered them to hide the actual truth. That's why some people are struggling with the easy questions. This will not be fun."

Question 1: How many detentions has Kara gotten?

Sharron immediately jumped at the end of the question, slamming her hand down. "One," she answered confidently, "and it was for breaking a school vent that she was convinced was broken by a...I don't really remember that part, but it's one."

Carter took the shock with little more than a wince, and shook his head. "Yeah, no chance of me getting that one," he muttered, "this will probably be a clean sweep." Sharron smirked, happy to take the easy win.

"You got it," Susan said, "it was a detention for conducting an unauthorized investigation on the choir room electric system, actually. She escaped through the vents and broke one. Anyway, you're up one-nothing, Sharron."

Question 2: Within his time on the show, how many girls did Jonathan fail to woo?

Carter began trying to determine what would be a safe guess, but Sharron was already ahead of him. "Two," she said, "first Madison, then Kayla. Sky was a success, so it does not count." She earned another point, causing Carter to take another shock. He didn't wince this time, as he had been used to it.

"Right," Chef said, "Man, that first one was hard to watch. I'm glad that girl got eliminated early that season. She had way too much to deal with. He pulled out the next card. Anyway, the next questions about her, so get ready."

Question 3: In Madison's head, there were two big threats to her relationship with Ethan. What were they, and when?

Carter leaned back in his chair. For him, the question was simply too specific, and he had given up on it. "Easy," Sharron said, ready to answer. "The first was Jonathan himself in their first season, then in the submarine, she had imagined that Eden was trying to get close to Ethan, but it was merely a temporary alliance that Eden herself betrayed Ethan on two episodes later."

With that, Carter braced himself and absorbed the last shock, and Sharron got herself to three points. "Nice specifics," Chef said to the archer. "Well, that's our first clean sweep of the game, and Sharron has brought it back for the parrots. That means it's down to the intelligence powerhouses, Brenna and Peter."

Peter: "This is not what I was hoping for," he lamented. "I was hoping that the paranoid Carter would carefully study up on anyone he'd ever have a chance of competing against, but his strategies led him in the other direction." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose it's up to me to win today's challenge. Luckily, I have the perfect way of doing it."

As the two sat down, Peter leaned in to Brenna's ear. "Be careful," he warned her as he narrowed his eyes. "Every word you say leads me closer to figuring out what you do at night in the kitchen." Brenna gasped and cowered back in her seat. "Sorry about that, Miss Hazel," Peter apologized, "I'm ready to begin."

Question 1: True or False: Sarah competes on a national level in swimming.

Peter waited a second to see if Brenna would react, but she seemed frozen in fear from what he said. He checked behind him, but no one seemed to notice her odd behavior. Eventually, he put his hand up to answer. "False," he said calmly, "she competes at the state level only."

Brenna let out a small yelp as she was shocked, but it was clear she was trying to stay as quiet as possible. Peter smirked to himself as he earned the first point. "That's right," Susan told him, "although we are getting word she might reach a national level this year."

Question 2: How many mountains in total has Randall climbed?

Once again, Peter waited to try and get Brenna to do something, but she had once again elected to not react to the question. "I got it," Peter said dryly, hoping he could at least get something out of her. "Four different mountains, but he has done multiple climbs on all of them."

The answer was right, and Brenna took on another shock, only wincing this time, much to Peter's sadness. The mathematician earned his second point. "You're close, runt," Chef told Peter, "but you're right on that answer. That means you need one more to pull out a win."

Question 3: What instrument does Angie play?

"Instrument?" Peter said in a confused tone. "I don't recall her playing one..." He sighed. He was actually stumped. Brenna was still not moving, so he had no choice but to chance a guess. "Is it a trick question? Does she not play one?"

Peter let out a yell as he got shocked, and Brenna got a point on the board. She smiled a bit at that result, and was happy she didn't pull out a total failure. "Nope," Susan said, "Angie actually plays the guitar and the drums. I wouldn't have guessed it either. Well, here's possibly the last question."

Question 4: In Luna's berserk episode of Total Drama Submerged, we saw a person from an alternate timeline that was that Flora's boyfriend. What was his name?

The mathematician smirked at the logician. "Game, set, and match," he said confidently. "The name of that person was Duke." Brenna winced at her final shock, and Peter smiled to himself as the point total went to three.

Chef nodded. "You got it," he told him, "and that means you won both the round, and the challenge." He turned to everyone. "The Swift Goldfish have won this one out today!" Some of the Goldfish cheered and hailed Peter as he came back, but Ben remained off to the side. He had noticed something was off about Brenna during that. "Remember, Parrots," Chef told them, "we told you the stakes would be high today, so get ready for a big elimination tonight." A few grumbles were heard from the losing team.

Back at the dormitory, the Parrots were eating dinner in a tense silence. "What do you think he meant by a big elimination?" Abigail asked the team. "Last time she said that, Ben wasn't eliminated, but sent over to the Goldfish. Do you think she'll do that again?"

Jacob shook his head. "Miss Hazel made it clear that such an opportunity would not occur again. I'd hedge my bets on a double elimination, which would be a big blow to this team's morale." He smirked. "Sharron, speaking of that, would you mind sharing what you and I agreed on this morning?"

Sharron narrowed her eyes at him. "Sure," she said passive-aggressively, "after ranking your usefulness, Jacob and I agreed that he could take over the team should I lead us to another loss." Nathan grunted and Abigail let out a moan. "But, you've gotta survive this double elimination. Do you think you can manage?"

Jacob looked a bit less confident but kept his composure, "There's...no reason I shouldn't. But, I'm glad you're going to agree to those terms." He stood up and began to walk away. "I will be taking my leave now. Should you have a need for your new leader, I will be around."

Once he left, Abigail also suspiciously got up. "I'm getting up now too," she said quickly, skipping away. "Um, I'm not following him though." She bolted out the door in the opposite direction of where Jacob was going.

Over with the Goldfish, Carter was finally eating with his team. "We managed another win," he said proudly, "and it seems tonight will be tough for them. I think we could all make the merge if we really tried hard enough."

"The merge," Celine lamented, "the only place filled with more betrayal than where we are now. I wish there was a way that we could just compete to win every challenge, like make all of them sudden death."

"I wouldn't mind that," Ben said with a small smile. "I think I might do a little better that way. I've already been voted off once before." Once he finished talking, he looked over at Peter, who was happily snacking on his dinner. He shook his head, trying to shrug off what he was thinking. Behind him, Abigail could be seen now running in the direction Jacob left, trying to hide herself.

Abigail: "I hate that I'm going to listen to that brat," she said with a groan, "but he's freakishly survived every single bottom two he's been in. If that happens again, I sort of want to be on his good side. I'm not saying I'm not already, since he's convinced we're friends, but it can't hurt to make sure."

Up in the lounge, Abigail opened the door, and saw Jacob playing a very complex piece on the piano. After several minutes, he stopped, stood up, and scoffed at the piano. "Ugh, not a moment longer!" he shouted, "Did they tune that thing or am I going to exist in this tone-deaf purgatory forever?" As he shouted, he noticed Abigail standing in front of him. "Well, this is a surprise. So tell me, what's the plan?"

"You have my word that I'll vote with you tonight," she said in a defeated tone. Jacob began to say something extremely cocky but she cut him off. "For the first vote only. If your double elimination theory is right, I'm sending you out of here, because to be fully honest, I like Sharron a lot more than I like you, and she's a better leader."

"I get you're frustrated," Jacob said with a smile, "but there's no need to lash out like that. But, thank you. I cannot wait to see what happens as we join forces. Here's hoping the merge doesn't force us to destroy each other."

Abigail scoffed. "If anything, I'm going to be the one who beats you. Do you think that with your attitude you seriously have a chance of winning this thing?" She turned her head away from him. "That mouth of yours is going to be your downfall. I'll make sure of it myself."

Jacob laughed. "Oh, I surely hope you have the stomach to do that. Be careful, we might be friends, but when the merge hits I will have no choice but to destroy you." He walked out with a smirk on his face. "Oh, but try not to look so sickened when I mention our friendship. That...it hurts."

As he left the lounge, someone else walked in. "So you're really voting out Nathan first?" Sharron asked as she came in. "That's a shock. I didn't think you had it in you to do that."

Abigail sighed as she plopped onto the couch. "Am I making the right choice?" she asked the archer, "I want to do this for Nala's sake, but that means I'm giving Jacob exactly what he wants. I mean, I can always vote him out after the first elimination, but that will be tough with one less person on the team."

"Or, it could be easier," Sharron reminded her. "Look, it's your game, I'm not going to try and tell you how to play it, but maybe you can look at this as a different opportunity." Abigail raised an eyebrow at the archer. "You want to try your conversion thing again? If it really works, it should definitely work on the person you have known the longest."

"He's irredeemable," Abigail responded bluntly. "I have no reason to try and take out the little goodness he has in him. The best we can do for the team is vote him off." Sharron stared at her with a disapproving look. "Do...do you really think I should?"

Sharron nodded. "I think this is your chance to prove yourself to everyone, including yourself. Nala said that you have a way of seeing everyone's innate goodness. I believe that, but I want everyone else to believe it too. So, my last order as your team leader is to make sure that the new one is a good person, regardless of what happens tonight."

"Alright," Abigail said with a deep breath. "I'll give it my best shot."

An announcement cut the two off from any further discussion. "There will be an elimination held tonight for the Parrots, please come down to the lobby at once." The two girls got up and prepared themselves to seal their fates.

Nathan: "No one's talked to me about a vote," he said with a grimace on his face. "I know what that means. I'll just have to pick the safe option. At least he knew I was going to betray him."

Sharron: "I don't know what I'm going with tonight," she admitted. "But, I want to try and keep my leader spot, for the sake of the team, so, goodbye, Jacob. It...it kind of is personal."

Jacob: "What a fun night I've had," he said confidently as he cast his vote. "This will be one of the easiest eliminations I've had to date. My placement in this game is far more solid than they think."

The five Parrots arrived in the lobby for the elimination. Abigail and Sharron sat on the main sofa up front, while Jacob and Nathan sat off to the side, and Brenna sat behind them all, trying to stay out of sight. Susan eventually approached them, with four erasers with her. "Let's begin," she said to them. "Like I said, the stakes were high today, and I can assure you, this will be a very different team after tonight, regardless of how it goes."

Susan tossed out the first eraser. "First up for safety are Sharron and Abigail." The two girls smiled as the grabbed their erasers, happy to stay in the game another round. "To be honest, you two have done well up to this point, and you're the only ones who don't have a reason to go home."

"That bein' said," Chef went on, "you three have a lot of reasons." He turned to Brenna first. "I don't know what happened to you today, but you did literally nothing in the challenge, even when we electrocuted you, you did nothing. That's a bit off, not gonna lie." He grabbed an eraser from Susan and threw it over to her. "But, I guess there were bigger fish to fry. You're safe." Brenna let out a sigh of relief as she grabbed it.

The two remaining boys glared at each other. Nathan looked fierce, like he wanted to kill Jacob, but Jacob maintained his condescending smirk. "You two are very close tonight," Susan said. "You both have held lousy attitudes that have driven your team into the ground on multiple occasions, and causing them unnecessary stress. But, one of you is relieved of that problem today. Tonight's loser is...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Nathan." Nathan scowled as Jacob held his smirk out, catching the final eraser of the night. "Your team has decided that it is time for you to go to the Bus of Shame, and drive off forever."

Nathan got up and sighed. "Meh, whatever," he said, "I played as hard as I could, and I didn't have to act all fake while I was here." He stared directly at Jacob as he said that. "But, I guess playing an honest game is actually the wrong approach. So be it. I'm sure I'm gonna get a mouthful when I get home regardless."

Once Nathan left the building, Susan turned to them. "Your decision making is not finished quite yet," Susan told them. "I heard some of the speculation, but tonight you will not be having a double elimination. Instead, you will be voting for one member of your team to join the Goldfish. That is why the stakes are so high. You will have to put someone from your team on something double the size of what you will have left." She waved them off. "Well, get voting."

Abigail: "First vote, check," she said. "But now whoever is here stays in the game. Well, I guess some peace and quiet couldn't hurt, especially since we'll have an all-girls team then!"

Brenna: "I don't think I'm going to vote the way they think I will," she said nervously. "But this is the right decision. Not just for me...but for all the friends I've made this season."

Chef grabbed the votes and looked them over. "Huh," he muttered, "well, I wasn't expecting this, but we have a result. Firstly, Abigail and Sharron, you once again got no votes against you, so you'll be staying here." The two high-fived, excited to stay together. He then turned to Brenna and Jacob. "Interestingly enough, each of you earned two votes. But, since we have a tie, we're going to move the person who wanted to leave this team and voted for themselves."

Susan pointed at the moved Parrot. "Brenna, that's you. From here on out, you will be a Goldfish. Head up now to move your things, and make it quick please." Brenna nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the other three. "Well, I don't like getting involved in the personal relationships of the players," Susan added on, looking at Sharron, Abigail, and Jacob, "but Sharron...good luck."

Brenna: "That was close," she said as she let out a relieved sigh. "Now this is even better, since the whole PIG is grouped up. I think we're really close to a breakthrough on that as well." She smiled. "Things are finally looking up for me, but it'd be illogical to not keep my expectations in check. Carter will be a tough leader to work with and Peter...I need to do something."

Sharron: "I didn't expect this when I started this game," she admitted, shaking her head as she sat in the closet. "I'm now the official, but not the unofficial leader of a team that consists of only me, and two people who act like an old married couple with perfect synergy. I guess that means I'm their swing vote now. I better make it count."

"What a busy day," Susan groaned as she and Chef stepped into the control room. "But we seriously need to get to the bottom of what's going on in that basement. In three days, if something doesn't turn up, we spend the night there." Chef groaned. "I'm the host, so you have to do what I say."

"You gotta close the episode," Chef countered. "You have forgotten that every single time, 'host'."

Susan reddened a bit. "Right, on it." She turned to the camera. "We are down to nine, and things could not be more intense! Who will drop next? Can the Parrots handle being outnumbered one to two? Who will Peter strike next? Find out, maybe, next time, on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!" She smirked. "I may forget, but my finishers are flawless."

"Sure," Chef said in a fake tone, trying to do work on a computer. "Sure."

Teams:

Screeching Parrots: Abigail, Jacob, Sharron

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

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

That's right, we've had another team transfer, and all members of the PIG are now on the Goldfish. Amazing how the plot and competition line up so perfectly. To be honest that was not planned, the PIG plotline was developed much after the team swaps were, so it was very coincidental.

Nathan was a very interesting character to write, because he has so much depth to him that is intentionally kept under wraps to make him a more mysterious person. But, as we learned last week, he'll be back next season, so expect to see more of him.

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 Leo and Sarah.

How did you like the trivia theme today? Did you learn some new things about the original Karon cast? What was up with the question about Ethan? Not all things are to be solved yet, but next chapter's a big one, so get ready. But until then, be sure to leave a review telling me what you thought, and I will see you next time!