"Last time on Total Drama Island. Quentin…STOLE MY JOB! But for real, last episode was a disservice to fashion as our two newly shuffled-or blended- teams hunted in the woods for a suitable model for all of their creative designs. The Rats proved that too many chefs in the kitchen doesn't make a banquet while the Maggots proved that everyone has leadership policies, a little too many leadership policies if you ask me. Leshawna and Sammy judged that the Rats had the worst fashion project for their model and thus the new Rats had their first appointment at the campfire. Surprisingly, behind the scenes scheming ensured that Lightning and Jaiden would participate in our first ever Total Drama Tiebreaker! It was rough, it was tough, it was rumble and it was tumble! Lightning won and sent home the resident optimist in a heart wrenching goodbye. Eleven campers remain, find out who is going next on Total, Drama, Revenge of the Island!"

Theme song

The contestants walked back to the cabin under the cover of darkness. They funneled through the backdoor and started off their nightly routines. "Hey Brightning, nice win back there," Jo called out.

"Thanks dude!" Lightning called out in false enthusiasm. "But know this, I ain't going back, because we're in the sha-winner zone!"

"Hah, not if I can help it!" Jo taunted. Jo turned upstairs to the bathrooms while Lightning remained downstairs, the other campers swarming around him.

Confessional, Lightning

Tonight, me, Quentin, and DJ voted out Jaiden. And then I sent her home. What the fuck is sha-wrong with me? I gotta compete for her and for myself now. We aren't gonna lose but if we do, I think I can sha-turn the votes on Gwen. Lightning lost one ally so his other allies need to be safe.

Lightning snapped himself out of his small funk before walking into the kitchen. He opened the cabinets to prepare something small for the night when he suddenly became aware of Mike sitting at the counter with Dawn. He pursed his lips and tore open a small packet of drink before mixing it and sliding it to Mike. "Here you go bud, thanks for not picking a side. I'll make one for you too, fairy girl," Lightning offered.

Mike and Dawn gave Lightning a small smile and worked him into their conversation.

Violet worked her way up the stairs before she suddenly ducked into the bathroom. Breathing heavily she splashed her face with water and started drying her face.

Confessional, Violet

Jaiden?! Voting her out isn't optimal game theory for any of the rats! It would have been in Quentin and LIghtning and DJ's best interest to keep their fellow rats tighter knowing that anything could happen to them! Okay…well, no one is optimal…no one is optimal…so I just have to smooth out my strategy. Gwen and Lindsay- I can still get on my side. Dawn… If I can cut her it'd be better but by default I think she should stay. That leaves Jo and you have to keep your friends close but your enemies closer…. Which means I have to talk to Jo.

The next morning Lindsay woke up to the smell of roasting ham and either pancakes or waffles. "Wow DJ's started early," she commented. She walked out of the hall and made her way downstairs, noticing Quentin at DJ's side working to activate some of the kitchen supplies at DJ's command. "Hi guys!" Lindsay perked.

"Lindsay!" Quentin turned in surprise, knocking over a small cup in shock. "You're up early."

"I smelled what DJ was cooking, it smelt sooo goood," Lindsay drolled. "Has DJ been teaching you to cook?"

"As a matter of fact-"

"I have," DJ interrupted with a smile. "He doesn't know what's in my momma's spice but he's the one who recommended the waffles for today. I was gonna go elaborate with pancake designs but I wanted to save our energy for today and besides Gwen I don't think any one of us would enjoy eating each other's heads."

"You can do that?" Lindsay tilted her head. "Next time you cook, could you make pancakes of our heads?"

"Yeah definitely," DJ smiled.

Lightning looked at the conversation between Lindsay and DJ as he held a banana in his hand. He took a bite out of it before setting it on the table, turning around to see Quentin drinking a hot drink of something. "Wow, what's in that coffee? That smells different."

"Hot cocoa," Quentin replied offhandedly. "I like coffee as much as the next guy but I wanted to change it today. DJ did sprinkle some cinnamon in it so maybe that's what you're smelling."

Lightning and Quentin finished their small bits of nourishment and turned to each other. "So Lightning was thinking," Lightning started. "If we lose again we have to keep the majority of the rats on our team, don't you think so?"

"Yeah that makes sense, so you wanna go for Gwen?" Quentin dropped his voice, making sure that Gwen wasn't looking.

"Sha-sure, but I was also thinking about Lindsay. I know you had that friendship going on on Tyler's behalf but who cares about that sha-jock when he isn't even here?"

"Call it an obligation but I kind of do. Lindsay and I have had a lot of fun conversations. I just get along better with her than with Gwen. SHe could be easier to talk to during the merge."

Lightning fixed his sleeve. "All I'm asking is that we get out sha-Lindsay since Lightning thinks that Lindsay might be more willing to flip back to Violet and Carson and B and Jo."

"Jo was on our team," Quentin raised an eyebrow.

"Well you know what I mean. I think Mike would get along better with Gwen if we do get into that big mega team at the end like last season. I don't know if you know but Mike is a bit of an oddball and so is Gwen. They could connect much better," Lightning advocated.

"You've really thought this through," Quentin half smiled. "Look, I'll consider it, you've convinced me to do that, but let's focus on winning at least."

"Sha-yeah!" Lightning triumphantly jumped on the table, only to slip on a napkin and tumble to the floor.

Confessional, Quentin

Lindsay is more malleable than Gwen. I'm gonna say that outright. I wasn't lying when I said that I like Lindsay as a friend but it seems like Lightning wants to keep Gwen so he can cozy up to Mike.

Confessional, Lightning

(He rubs his head) Sha-Lightning aint used to working out his strategizing muscles but you can bet I'm gonna be as swole as the rest of my body!

"Violet, you trust me, yes?" Dawn asked the gamer girl. They sat together on the steps of their cabin getting ready for the challenge, Violet by getting some warm up video games and Dawn meditating.

"Of course Dawn, you're great!" Violet replied putting down her device.

"What do you think of Jo?" Dawn asked as the pair stared over to the jockette doing her morning warm ups for challenges. She was currently doing her reps of pushups.

"Strong, really good in challenges, seems focused on the win. I mean overall a good teammate…" Violet started.

"But…"

"Strong headed, angered easily, and gets on everyone's nerves."

"Yeah. I feel like for her sake and our sake, she needs to go rather soon."

"I can agree with that, but what would happen with Mike and their original group, what would they think?" Violet questioned, looking worriedly at some of the other campers.

"I think that based on auras, Jo hasn't made many friends on this island sadly. And I truly do feel bad for her," Dawn mused aloud. "She does consider Lightning a friend…however that manifests…"

"Manifests what? Jock delusion?" Violet jokes.

Dawn paused and shot Violet a questionable look before continuing, "No, rather manifests a more mean Lightning. Despite his airheadedness he's been pretty nice all things considered."

"Yeah him and Mike seemed like decent buddies and they seem like complete opposites when it comes to personality." Violet paused as Dawn stared almost emptily at her. "It is something to keep in mind regarding Mike, but he seems so scattered he doesn't seem like someone that could be a threat later."

"Yeah, and his aura is a little all over the place," Dawn replied.

"Uh huh…."

Confessional, Violet

I still have no idea what any of that was… either her obfuscation stat was too high or my perception check was too low.

"Gwen, are we in a bad spot?" Lindsay asked the goth chick.

The pair were getting ready inside their cabin doing their makeup while everyone else was out to breakfast.

"Yeah I think so, Lindsay," Gwen said brushing and cleaning up her blue and black hair, Lindsay looked downtrodden at Gwen's statement. "But we shouldn't give up, I'm sure we could try and get DJ or Lightning to flip on Quentin."

Lindsay perked up a bit to that, "But why Quaxly? Why not I don't know… Thunder?"

"Cause I don't think the boys would turn on DJ or Lightning, but they may turn on Quentin since he strong armed last round a bit," Gwen explained, her eyebrow twitching a bit as Lindsay fumbled around with some bright sparkly lip gloss.

"Wouldn't it just be better if we just win the challenge though?" Lindsay asked.

"Well yes… but there's no guarantee that we do win."

"But we've got three strong boys on our team."

"We still lost last time, it just doesn't hurt to be prepared," Gwen stated clearly getting a bit agitated.

"Uh huh. Well Gwuncan I'll see you around, I totes believe that we're going to win and make it to tomorrow!" Lindsay cheered.

"Yeah…"

Confessional, Gwen

Lindsay is gone next if we go back to the ceremony. I'm just trying to make sure she feels safe, at this point I need to save myself, and Lindsay just annoys me anyways.

"Getting a morning jog in Lightning?" DJ asked his teammate as he sat down at a tree stump taking in the scenery as Lightning on his morning jog passed the animal lover.

"Yep, Sha-Lightning always gotta be Sha-Ready for anything!" Lightning replied, "What're you doing?"

"I'm just meditating before the challenge," DJ replied.

"Meditating?"

"It helps calm one's nerves and relaxes you in high stress situations."

"Sha-Lightning should try that sometime."

"It's worth it…" DJ paused. "Sorry Jaiden went home last night man."

"Don't worry man I'm not mad at you. You got left with no choice. Quentin is who I'm more mad at."

"Why?"

"Sha-Lightning is pretty sure he led the vote."

"Yeah… so like are you just wary of him or…?"

"Wary for sha-sure. But Sha-Lightning thinks getting rid of another girl is smarter than we consider booting Quentin."

"I see."

Confessional, DJ

Hmm. Lightning isn't exactly wrong about Quentin. But I'd rather my friends not target each other this early.

Confessional, Lightning

Quentin is a slippery snake I can sha-feel it

"Attention campers, please report to the front of the cabin. Our cameos will lead you to the challenge site," Chris announced on the loudspeakers.

First to finish her morning meal, Gwen quickly got her hair straightened out and stepped down the stairs, waiting for whichever cameo would show up. Some two minutes later, carrying a pennant on a tiny pole, the first cameo turned the corner. "Hi, I know it's weird to see me in this intern gear, but we gotta pull out for our girl Dakota," Tem King of Total Drama Island stepped around the corner.

Gwen gave the preppy girl no response even as Violet joined her on the steps. "Tem? It's so nice to meet you!" Violet cheered. "A lot of people said you had no presence but you had some great background antics that I wished the camera men focused on a lot more."

"I'm…contractually obliged to say glad," Tem smiled. "You all must have been living nicely these past couple of weeks. I'm really really jealous."

Violet nodded eagerly while the rest of the campers made it out to meet the first of two cameos for the episode. Once everyone had gathered around they started their long march to the challenge site. "Do you think the challenge is going to be in the mines?" Lindsay asked DJ earnestly.

"I don't think this island is big enough for mines," DJ replied.

"No, it's big enough," Carson interjected. "Last season Scott won hide and seek when he fell into them. Something about a waterfall or something."

"Why would this island have a mine? I haven't seen any pretty jewels or gemstones or anything else of value," Lindsay asked. "That seems kind of foolish."

"In any case you'd be right," Gwen said. "I guess the mine was the reason why this island was so cheap in the first place."

"It must not have been a good mine if the island was cheap," Lindsay pointed out.

The contestants finished their meandering conversation as Tem dropped the contestants off with Chris. "Is this the end of my cameo?" Tem asked Chris.

"Nah, you'll be at the finish line waving the checkered flag. And then that's it." Tem eagerly clapped her hands and started to explain the rules when Chris clamped his hand over her mouth. "That means that's it and we'll see you at the finish line."

"Well," Tem brushed herself off. "Thank you. Good luck everyone!"

The campers said goodbye to the city girl as they continued their walk. "Today Campers, we are going to the most obscure of Wawanakwa locales, the mines! And yes, we did establish the mines last season, that's how Scott won his game of hide and seek."

Several of the skeptical campers, the fans among them, nodded their heads in begrudging agreement as yes, it was established the previous season. "Yeah these mines haven't done much for us. The old miners on this island must have been thorough," Chris added in a small aside. "This time around, the mine is now home to radioactive waste, mutants of unusual sizes, and dangers around every corner! Which is why, under my authority as prehistoric consultant to Polytechnique Montreal and McMaster University, that we close off one of the major entrances. That'll be today's challenge."

"You have authority?" Jo skeptically asked.

"Actually Chris isn't lying about that," Dawn spoke up. "He has a masters in Prehistoric Studies in the modern era, with a special emphasis on the wooly beaver population."

"Thank you Dawn for actually believing me," Chris smugly grinned. "The wooly beavers have set up a small camp in the mines and based on my readings it isn't safe for them, especially because we're encroaching on the land of the…."

Chris looked at the campers as they waited boredly. "Come on, that was supposed to build up suspense!"

"You could have had a drumroll," DJ pointed out.

"...Fine," Chris reluctantly obliged. An emptied radioactive oil drum rolled into sight before crashing into a rock. "THE SASQUATCHANAKWA!"

"Humina huh?" "Sasqua-" "Did you just say a slur?" "Quack?" "Where did that come from?" "Whatwhatinakwa?"

"THE SASQUATCHANAKWA!" A television rolled in from offscreen as Chris turned it on. DJ and Violet flinched as the face of hulking monster, gritting its teeth and baring fangs at the camera, took up most of the screen. Chris zoomed the image out to reveal its imposing, daunting, and muscular furry frame. "This purple sasquatch is a native of camp wawanakwa. Last season we weren't able to get our contracts up but thanks to Mister Milton's experience and lawyers we were finally able to get his contracts in for this episode!"

"Yeah Dakota mentioned something about that guy last-" Carson started, only to be interrupted with a surprise confessional.

Confessional, Chris

The sasquatchanakwa's contract only extends beyond this episode. Which is why we cut Carson's meaningless conversation out.

After Chris and Carson finished an infringing conversation the host continued his spiel. "Now, the original plan for the episode was that you'd spend as much time in the episode with our permanent Wawanakwa resident but…"

"I AM THE LIZARD QUEEN!" Dakota cheered as she wandered into frame, a towel wrapped around her shoulders and a bag trailing at her feet.

"Yeah Mister Milton's team gave us the guidelines for time spent in the mine. They said 60 minutes was fine but Dakota spent 45 and looked at her," Chris said as the other contestants backed away from Dakota. "You'll be wearing-"

"BOW DOWN BEFORE ME!" Dakota procured her t-shirt cannon from the bag she was holding and fired a t-shirt into Chris. Laughing maniacally she turned to the contestants as they all ducked behind a rock. Dakota again wandered off screen with a loud cackle.

"Dakota is out of commission for at least two episodes, which is why Tem had to escort you here. Anyways our second cameo was supposed to set up something with the sasquatchanakwa but…"

Chris hit a button on the tv screen to reveal an annoyed sasquatchanakwa listening to the next cameo nagging them on and on and on. "I mean you don't even have a coaster? Do you know what water does to your marble? It erodes!"

"Dave?" Violet asked.

"Correct. Now, the sasquatchanakwa and he…well we aren't having a good odd couple moment with them that's for sure…" the camera suddenly switched to show Dave being held upside down. "All of you will have to wear these nifty bracelets that will show you your radioactive tolerance. Some areas are not as radioactive as others but the timer will go off after forty-five minutes. At that time you're essentially as good as dead. Wear these packs too, if you don't wear them you'll be penalized. Rescue Dave, drop the bags where we need them to, and get outside to Tem on the other side. And Maggots, you won last time so you get a flashlight."

"That seems like a lot of information to process," Quentin turned to DJ.

"It seems simple enough, I guess we just have to rescue…rescue…rescue…uh oh…"

"Come on DJ, we'll stick together, okay?"

"Yeah," DJ smiled.

Confessional, Quentin

DJ didn't do so hot the last time we were in a…slasher situation. And for that matter I didn't either. We're sticking together this time. I don't wanna lose my number one guy out there.

Gwen helped Violet adjust her straps such that the bag fit snugly on her back. "Hey get away from our team," Jo interrupted, trying to shoo Gwen off. "We don't need your ratty hands sabotaging us."

"Excuse me for trying to do something to get my mind off of this tunnel," Gwen snarled, stomping off to join Lindsay and the other rats.

Confessional, Violet

There goes the dialogue prompt again. I want to keep Jo on my side overall so that if she does win she can help us be safe. But her pushing away gwen? That's kind of low.

"Gwen was just helping me Jo, you don't need to defend me," Violet turned to Jo.

"I could have adjusted it for you, here, she didn't even do it right," Jo suddenly fixed the straps on Violet's back.

The bag fell to the ground in an unceremonious cloud of dust. Violet turned to Jo with a blank look. "Come on, it's not that bad," Jo tried to defend. "Look, I'll do it again and I'll tie it up."

Dawn stared at the cave opening with wide eyes as she seemed to mumble a soft prayer. "Dawn?" Mike suddenly appeared at her side. Dawn jumped and caught her breath.

"Not everyday I get jumpscared like that," Dawn mentioned. "Confusion is in your aura, more than usual."

"I umm, I forgot what I was going to say, I dissociated again," Mike scratched the back of his head. "You're good at these aura things. How did you get so good?"

"My dad took me out in the woods for his spiritual trips. And my mom keeps up to date on all the research. She's unironically a big fan of Chris and his work towards the wooly beavers. If only that same grace can be extended to us."

Mike and Dawn shared a small laugh. "But just tell me what you remember and I'll fill you in," Dawn contributed.

The camera panned to Lightning fixing his back as he stood next to B. "This is gonna be a piece of sha-cake. Don't you think so, my brainy brother?"

B shrugged as he weighed the bright orange backpack in his hand. He held a device to it that suddenly began beeping. It sparked and B dropped it before quickly tossing dirt over it. "Sha-damn that can't be good."

B shared a small glance with Lightning before putting his finger to his lips. "Sha-sure?"

Confessional, Lightning

I don't even know what sha-secret I'm supposed to be holding? Does B like Violet?

Carson turned on the flashlight and aimed it down the tunnel. "Campers on your marks, campers on your ready…go!"

The campers essentially followed the sole trail down the mines barely passing a glance at the splintering hallways and crevasses before coming to a screeching halt before an elevator shaft. "How many of us can fit down there?" Carson worriedly asked his team.

"Come on, we gotta get down there before the rats!" Jo urged, pushing all of her team into the rickety elevator. She muscled her way to the front of the elevator and closed the gate, barely not crushing Lightning's hand. "Sorry, we're full, you'll have to wait for the next one."

B hotwired an electric box on the side of the elevator before he gave them all a thumbs up. The rats helplessly watched as the elevator slowly creaked downward. "Can this thing go any faster?" Violet nervously asked.

The camera suddenly panned up to show that one of the three carrying cables was about to snap. It slowly became undone and spiraled, knocking out rock and other dust in the air. Before it finally snapped the other wire snapped with a loud crash and sent the Maggots down the rather large shaft.

Confessional, Violet

…the trope is tempting fate right? I don't go on that website whatsoever, it can't be good for my mental health, but I know enough about the media to know that…yeah…

The rats watched in awe as the other wire snapped shortly after, leaving a lone wire in the middle of the top of the elevator. "Umm, that doesn't look too stable," Lindsay helpfully pointed out.

Quentin peered over the side. "The elevator is still stable, all things considered. Any way we can pull it up and try to slowly go down?"

"Let's just climb the rope," Lightning suggested. "Come on, we're all athletes here, we should have this in gym class!"

"Easier said than done," Gwen sighed."Maybe there's a breezier, wider way to go down? I already don't like this place as it is."

"Me neither," DJ said reassuringly. "Maybe one of the forks we could have taken opens up more. Unless there's… there's….things…"

"Well as long as we stick together we should be good right Pj?" Lindsay mentioned.

"We're all going to the same area anyways, racing through after rescuing Dave, and we don't even know where the dude is," Quentin started. "So my proposal is-"

Before Quentin could finish his plan a light rumbling could be heard through the cavern, almost knocking all of them onto their asses. "What was that?" Quentin looked to Lightning.

Lightning opened his mouth to respond before the floor suddenly opened underneath them, causing all to fall down parallel to the elevator shaft in a recently opened sinkhole. The gobsmacked Maggots next to them pushed B to the back where he hid his tools and hastily hid the evidence of tinkering with the ceiling lights. The lights flickered and Carson again turned the flashlight on. "Are you all okay?" he asked.

"GET ME OUT OF THIS STUPID STUPID PIECE OF SHIT PLACE!" Gwen shouted from the bottom of the dog pile the Rats ended up in. "WHERE'S THE FUCKING EXIT?!"

B helplessly pointed up at the ceiling the Rats fell through as the rats got themselves sorted out. "I can see why Chris wanted to close this place," Violet mentioned. "I guess now we're in a dungeon crawler. Or if you prefer an RPG with dungeon crawling elements. I guess our two parties are going to have to be one."

"Chris said there was a finish line right?" Mike spoke up.

"Can vouch for that," DJ agreed, sticking close to the group. A rock dropped causing a loud echo and DJ flinched.

"So it's pretty linear," Mike noted.

"Not procedurally generated," Violet nodded in understanding. "I guess we all stick together."

"Better hand that flashlight to someone taller," Quentin told Carson. "DJ probably needs it-"

"Hey Private, that's our reward," Jo spoke up. "We decide what we want to do with it. And since our lord Weeb is holding it he can head in front."

Carson angled the light in front of him to a dark and narrow hallway. "Anyone have the time on them?" Carson nervously asked. No response. "Right, let's just get going then."

The campers proceeded, Carson at the front, Mike and Violet behind, DJ, Gwen, and Quentin behind them, Dawn and B behind the trio of rats, Jo and Lindsay behind them, and Lightning taking up the rear.

Confessional, Chris

…right, as you can tell this portion of the episode wasn't the..best… (sigh) Look, they walked for ten minutes with stupid pointless chatter until this next development. Thanks for your patience. Trust me, it hurt me more watching the original footage.

The confessional passed quickly and the contestants soon arrived in front of a giant clearing with shelves on either side of them before that opened up in front of a chasm. "Is this island even safe enough for something big like this?" Lindsay worriedly asked, pausing to hear the echo of her voice. "Who was that?!"

"That's just your echo, genius," Gwen mentioned. "Hey, there's some crates over there. Do you think they could help?"

"Might as well see," Carson said offhandedly, walking to the crates with B right behind him.

Dawn touched her hand to the ground before suddenly jumping up. "CARSON WAIT!"

Failing to heed her warning Carson took a step forward and fell through a crack that appeared in the ground. Before he fully fell through he tossed the light to B, which he barely caught before it slipped out onto the ground, reducing the once bright light to a flickering mess. "HENDERSON!" Lindsay said as she rushed forward. Quentin jumped to stop her as B gingerly made his way back.

"How'd you figure that out?" DJ asked Dawn.

"The vibrations…feel them," Dawn said cryptically. DJ knelt down and placed his hand on the ground much like Dawn did before. "Everyone and everything vibrates. Just feel it when B comes back. This ground is dangerous! We shouldn't move."

The contestants paused as they waited for B to get to a sturdier ground. B grabbed his trench coat protectively as he pointed to something just over Dawn's head. Everyone turned around to see him pointing to a set of rails and minecarts on those rails. "Minecarts?" Lightning asked.

"Better than nothing," Jo mentioned. "Come on, let's get them open. Unless the fairy thinks we should still stay like toadstools."

"That's safer, just watch for falling rocks. Oh, and I'm getting the aura that you'll have a good day over your head."

Satisfied, Jo walked forward with a confident swagger, only stopping when she walked straight into a low hanging shelf. The assorted amount of trash revealed a birthday card that said 'You're having a good day now! I love you!'

"Well it certainly ISN'T A GOOD DAY!" Jo snapped as she kicked over the random treasure chest that exploded into a shower of clothes, trash, dirt, and artifacts. "Unless you can do anything useful-"

"Oh don't you worry about your pretty little head. I'll have it done quicker than it takes a road runner to run three clicks of an emu's nest," 'Mike' voiced. He stepped forward into the flickering light of the broken flashlight to unveil that he was currently in a nice white trilby.

"Mickey?" Lindsay inquired. "Where'd you get the hat?"

"Ain't no problem worse than losing our prime minister in the ocean," 'Mike' continued. "And the names Manitoba Smith little sheila."

"What?" Lindsay looked to Dawn. Dawn's eyes widened as she, Lindsay, and Lightning shared uneasy glances. "Oh….."

"Listen here Mikey, I don't care if you're head is bashed, but you gotta-"

"Oh you're a spicy little wicker," Manitoba continued. "Feistier than one of the geezers in the buckwild. But you see what we have here is a series of good day mining carts straight from Uncle Tazmania."

"Don't tell me you expect us to understand this," Quentin groaned. "If you can't get it working just back away and we can get B on them."

"Big porter back there? No worries, I've got it done faster than a kangaroo can get it in a click of a kookaburra's koala's tongue."

Confessional, Lindsay

I thought Mickey was only with Savrina and Vincent…who the heck is Newfoundland Tanner?

Confessional, Lightning

So that's what Mikey meant! Makes a lot of sense now.

In a shorter increment of time that Manitoba explained Mike got the train of six minecarts into a mobile position. "Ladies first, but if you're scared don't worry you can just grab onto a rando to make sure you ain't scared," Manitoba mentioned.

Confessional, Dawn

As far as I know Manitoba's aura is more well intentioned and helpful…but microaggressive and debatably offensive. Here's hoping Mike can break through this spell.

"Hop in everyone," Jo begrudgingly ordered.

With a bit of clatter the teams divided themselves into three minecarts. Jo, LIghtning, and LIndsay took the frontmost minecart as Manitoba held the cart steady for the others. B pulled out a step stool for Violet and Dawn to clamor into the second minecart despite Dawn's objections to be with Manitoba. DJ, Gwen, and Quentin held up the rear as they all looked around nervously.

"I hate the idea of going deeper in the mines," Gwen said nervously. "Who knows what-"

"I don't wanna think about it either," DJ mumbled nervously. He stood opposite Quentin on the furthest end of the minecart. "Is it better to be in the back or the front?"

"Who knows," Quentin brushed off. "If it bothers you too much just keep your head down." Quentin held his thumb up as Manitoba joined the trio in the front.

"All aboard!" Lindsay called out with a light giggle. "This train's ready to go deep into the mines! Right, New Brunswick?"

"Don't know if you've spent too much time munching on euca's but you've got the right good spirit," Manitoba readily agreed, somehow.

All of a sudden Manitoba procured a lasso from the bottom of a minecart, tossing it first to B and then to Quentin, who held onto it steadfast. "HERE WE GO!" Manitoba cried out, pulling harshly and causing all the carts to roll forward. The sound of the rickety tracks echoed loudly as the campers started to scream.

Many feet below a wooly beaver sat at their computer station, pulling up the latest Rykota blog and updating it as it wore a Ry-kota shirt. It looked at the rykota diorama before adjusting a Ryan doll made of sticks and wax such that it held a dakota doll of scraps and rocks.

Satisfied at its handiwork, it went back to writing, only to hear Carson fall through the ceiling and destroy the diorama. "Where am I?" Carson bemoaned. "B? Violet?"

The wooly beaver turned to him. "You're not B or violet…or even Dawn… where is she?"Carson rubbed his eyes and took a gander around the room. "Ryan? Dakota?"

The wooly beaver nodded earnestly before suddenly adopting a mean face. Carson stared at what he landed on. "Oh… I'm so sorry…" he responded awkwardly. With hesitation in his step Carson slowly stood up, keenly aware of the growling beast in front of him. "Wait! If you kill me, that'd make Ryan so unhappy, in fact…it might make him too depressed to even date Dakota!"

The beaver tilted its head. "Yeah! I'm his best friend!"

Carson and the beaver blinked. The camera suddenly shifted outside the exit as CArson left, pursued by the growling and screaming wooly beaver.

Confessional, Carson

SUE ME OKAY! How the actual fuck was I supposed to know that Carryan was the dominant ship competing with Rykota and how the actual heck was I supposed to know that the beaver was a diehard Rykota shipper?!

"HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS IT'S ABOUT TO GET WINDIER THAN A ROADRUNNER'S BACK FOOT!" Manitoba called out high above.

The caravan of minecarts swerved into and out of each other as they navigated the rickety tracks with a collectively greener skin tone. Manitoba held his whip out for B to grab but the silent genius was slowly losing his grip. Dawn took the approach of remaining low while Violet cautiously peered out of the minecart. DJ and Quentin held each other steady as their minecart started to wobble uncontrollably. Gwen leaned over the edge and threw up, the vomit passing by in a blur of green and yellow.

"HOLD ON EVERYONE!" Jo called out, suddenly nervous at the sight of an incoming roadblock. Manitoba whipped his head around to see a stalactite had split the tracks in half. Thinkinquickly, the adventurer let go of the whip and sent B's minecart surging backwards, colliding into the minecart in the back.

Violet nearly flew off as Quentin held out a hand to grab her while the carts precariously rolled over the remains of what was hopefully a fake human. Quentin barely had the time to grip onto DJ's large arms before the minecarts again collided. Quentin lost his grip and he and Violet flew off the tracks, backpacks fading in the ground.

"VIOLET! QUENTIN!" Gwen weakly called out.

"WE'VE GOT BIGGER PROBLEMS AHEAD!" Jo called out.

The campers remaining on the tracks looked helplessly as the track suddenly ended and all the campers went flying off in different directions. "That…was…" Jo mumbled.

"Awesome?" Lindsay asked, weary.

"You said it girl," Jo gave the dumb blond a high five. "Wasn't that the right cream puff? Cream puff?"

Jo and Lindsay looked around their vicinity. "Thunder, Manitoba," Jo noticed. "Where'd the other losers go?"

"Crikey," Manitoba stood up, dusting himself off. "Worse than a Tasmanian devil in a wind turbine. Looks like we lost the others. But we march on like soldiers! No flashlight but I've got a keener for direction."

"Keep it in your pants bro," Lightning chided. "I'm sure the others are safe."

Separated by a pile of rocks Dawn rubbed her head ever so daintily. "What tea was it that I needed to drink again?"

Suddenly aware of the wall in front of her she noticed that a cool blast of air came from the top of the fifteen foot pile. "B!" she called out, trying to rush to the top, only to realize that the boulders at the base were too big for her to climb. Searching for an opening she peered through the cracks and saw the silent genius rather limp on the ground. "Oh my goodness, I'll search for help!"

She looked around, realized she was alone, and steadied herself. "There are auras out there, however faint, and there's a good aura…there's a good aura…there's a good aura…" She suddenly heard the sounds of a loud scream and ran in the opposite direction.

The camera suddenly changed to show that the screamer was DJ, who was only visible by the eyes in the darkness of the room. "DJ!" a voice called out.

"Gwen?" DJ asked nervously. "Where-"

"You fell on me!" Gwen said. "Ugh, somehow we got the flashlight.. Not sure how that works…."

Gwen slapped the device hard as the room suddenly illuminated. DJ breathed a sigh of relief before going right back to screaming. "Come on… I don't like this either…"Gwen started almost sympathetically. "But we have to stick it together as we go deep down into these…tight…compressed…."

"Wanna scream together?" DJ asked Gwen.

"Sure…"

DJ and Gwen's screams echoed through the vast caverns trailed by the light of a camera. Past several fallen rocks and twisted pieces of radioactive steel Quentin rubbed his head. "Is that Gwen?"

"And that's DJ," Violet contributed. "That hit me harder than those minecarts in Donkey Kong…"

"I thought that was just climbing on rafters," Quentin added. "But that's besides the point. We need to get back to our teams, find Dave, and get out of here."

"Okay, I guess we're working together Quentin," Violet mentioned. "So Quentin, any plans?"

"I'm used to climbing outdoors or in an air conditioned gym. Not with these backpacks and these stupid radioactive beepers," Quentin snarked. "We're separated by this big boulder wall. We're not equipped to climb it, come on, let's go that way."

Quentin pointed off to the right to an opening in the cave walls. "I can see some sort of faint light there. Could be radioactive waste, could be a production light, or something else."

"As good an idea as any," Violet shrugged. "I can see why you're the leader of the Rats."

"You really think I'm the leader?" Quentin asked with a slight smile. "I try my best now that Jo's gone."

"Okay let's go then!" Violet eagerly chirped.

Confessional, Violet

Ego is a stat you can inflate and others are not as susceptible. I think I selected the correct dialogue choice to get Quentin's pretty little head ready.

Further in the mines Manitoba threw a rock down an unidentified corridor and waited for the echo. After ten seconds the rock hit a mass. What followed was a loud roar that shook Manitoba off of his feet. "What a monster!" Manitoba exclaimed. "I'm willing to bet that that foe is much bigger than any wallaby with rabies on their pretty white teeth."

"...can you speak an English that we all understand?!" Jo frustratedly asked. "Better yet, tell us if we go down that or something else?"

"Women," Manitoba rolled his eyes. "Can't live with them, can't live without them. That goes for my missues too."

Manitoba pointed to Lindsay and the perky blond ran up to the adventurer. "Sasatchewan don't you think that we should go down that path because it's the way that leads to the monster we're supposed to hunt?"

"Why didn't you speak up sooner? There is a brain in your head! Of course we need to pursue a threat like a kangaroo pursues a tourist in khaki pants. Good on ya Lindsay!"

Lindsay clapped her hands before the two of them ran down the tunnel, leaving Lightning and Jo looking through the tunnel as they disappeared into the tunnel. "I'm out of ideas but I think Manitoba is onto something…or Mike… I still don't get that dude."

"Something something about zones," Lightning brushed off. "I think we should follow them so that they don't die."

"Okay if you insist," Jo sighed.

"Come on man, you have a bigger heart than that!" Lightning exclaimed. "I can see it in your eyes, we're all sha-friends despite this sha-contest dude!"

"I'm not a dude," Jo turned to LIghtning accusingly before a beep came from their badges.

"Your badge! It's orange!" Lightning worriedly pointed to Jo's armband.

"Yeah…so's your's!" Jo stuttered.

"Aw man," Lightning whined. "This ain't fair, Lightning never kissed a super bowl ring!" He fell on the ground almost defeated.

"And I never kissed a guy," Jo groaned.

"Oh come on dude, you're totally gonna get that, and I'm totally gonna get my SUPER BOWL RING!" Lightning suddenly sprung up before sprinting further into the mine.

Jo stared down the tunnel before Lightning suddenly came back, chased by a hoard of three mutant bats and their dozens of babies. Jo ducked as Lightning ran into a stalagmite. "Sha-Mommy," Lightning stumbled into an open pit, screaming as he fell on the way.

"Well, nowhere to go but down," Jo sighed. The camera followed her fall as she became a shrinking dot before she collided down the sides.

Confessional, Lightning

Jo is gonna get that kiss with Quentin and I'm gonna get that kiss with the super bowl ring!

Confessional, Jo

He knows I'm a girl, right?

Violet held her hand close against the wall while following Quentin closely behind. "Still in front Quentin?" VIolet asked.

"Yes," Quentin replied. "Still behind VI?"

"Yes," Violet parroted back. The two continued in awkward silence before they suddenly heard a massive thud from behind them.

"Violet?" Quentin asked, turning around hesitantly.

"Here…" Violet called out warily. She rushed forward and bumped into Quentin. "Good you're still in front…. Could I go in front of you?"

"As narrow as this place is? It's hard to move…" Quentin rationalized.

Another thud came from in front of them. "Then again maybe you'd be able to navigate the front easier…"

The two stopped in the middle of the corridor. The footsteps in front of them became closer and closer with a louder and louder huff. "Do you hear breathing?" Violet whispered.

"Yes," Quentin whispered back. "Shut up."

The two held their breaths as they heard the footsteps in front of them grow ever and ever louder. AS they held each other tightly they suddenly were knocked to the ground. "Oww…" the owner of the footsteps bemoaned.

"Carson?" Violet asked.

"Where'd you go?" Quentin asked the recovering track jock.

"I just lost the beaver a couple yards thataway, let's go back," Carson declared, out of breath. "Never, never get in between shipping wars."

"That's why I don't read fanfiction," Violet mentioned. "I didn't think you'd run into a beaver."

"Neither did I," Carson mentioned. "Quentin? How'd you end up with Violet?"

"Long story, but we have to keep moving where YOU came from," Quentin mentioned.

Before Carson could inquire the walls started to shake. "RUN!" Violet shouted.

The three of them ran through the claustrophobic line before the vibrations became louder and louder and louder. With Carson in the lead and Quentin just about behind him, Violet couldn't quite keep up. "Oh I need a stamina boost right about now!" VIolet griped. Her hoodie caught on a fallen rope and knocked her to the ground as the footsteps became louder and louder.

Far ahead Quentin and Carson were left with no choice but to keep running as Violet was taken away by a giant purple hand. Just as Carson saw the light he tripped over his own two feet, spiraling to the ground in a heap. Quentin couldn't dodge the poor jock in time and was knocked into a wall, knocked out, and out of commission, right on top of Carson.

Carson strained to remove himself from Quentin even as he tied his own shoes. Pushing against Quentin's chest, he finally was able to move when Quentin suddenly rose off of him. Carson breathed heavily only to scream in horror as he realized that the Sasquatchanakwa was right above him.

Confessional, Violet

…some video games have a karma meter…and Quentin and Carson definitely filled theirs up!

Confessional, Quentin

So I don't do well in horror, sue me!

Confessional, Carson

Man, if I was just a little faster….and if I didn't diss Rykota…which I DEFINITELY DIDN'T DO!

Confessional, Wooly Beaver

Arms crossed it glowers at the camera. It holds up a small badge of Ryan and Dakota together with a heart on it and puts it on its chest. Don't mess with Rykota.

DJ and Gwen stopped their screaming just in time to hear the echoes of the Sasquatch's successful captures of Violet, Quentin, and Carson. "Okay," Gwen took a deep breath. "We need to move. We're not doing any good."

"Where?" DJ squeaked.

"Anywhere but here. Maybe we'll find some of the others, if they haven't… if they haven't found their way out already." Their train of thought suddenly crashed when they took a sudden glance to their badges. "Orange, I don't like that color."

"Me neither!" DJ concurred. "Where to?"

"I don't know, but let's just get to the objective," Gwen stiffened.

"I like the way you're thinking," DJ nervously smiled. "We need to stick together unless…"

"Yeah let's stop that thought right there buddy," Gwen interrupted. "From what I remember the tracks were heading down that way," she pointed offhandedly.

"Okay," DJ said, looking down the direction. "You go ahead."

"Oh no, shouldn't a gentleman be the first to clear the way for a lady?"

"But the gentleman is holding the traditions of the ever important ladies first like my momma always said."

"This is getting nowhere, like we are," Gwen shook her head. She took DJ by the arms and started to step. "We're going together,right deej?"

"...right," DJ locked his jaw. The two rats took a step together in the direction Gwen pointed, bold but afraid, careful but shaking, nervous but brave.

In another part of the cave B finally stirred to life again. It had been what? Ten minutes since Dawn left? He put his hand to his head before trying to look around his coat. A lot of his supplies had fallen out during the collision. He grabbed some of what remained, a battery, some wires, a magnifying glass, and made it into a respectable flashlight. Breathing in relief he stood up, catching his coat against a rock. Grunting, he pulled the coat against the rock, causing it to fall down with a tumultuous crash.

Elsewhere Lightning whipped his head around in response to the crash. "Oh man, I don't wanna meet the monster that sha-shook that up!" He sat up and shooed away a bat that had followed him and Jo while they were sitting to catch their breath.

"Come on, you're telling me that you can't take care of that thing?" Jo replied.

"Maybe it's on a sha-contract that allows it to get a t-shirt cannon. Or something worse."

"What could be worse than a t-shirt cannon? Better question, why is a t-shirt cannon so dangerous?" Jo asked.

"Man, you really have to work on the delivery of your questions," Lightning replied.

The two of them suddenly entered a large room with a vat of giant acid and radioactive sludge. Above it, Dave was in a cage playing with a ball. The rubber ball fell out of the cage and Dave looked at it forlorn as he suddenly became bored. "That was easy," Jo mentioned.

Dave, noticing Jo and LIghtning's presence, suddenly stood up, rattling the cage. "GET ME OUT OF THIS CRAZY THING! I NEED TO GET AHOLD OF MY SOAP AND REFER THAT STUPID HAIRY BEAST FOR SOME KIND OF -"

"Shut up!" Violet called out from offscreen. The camera suddenly panned to show Quentin, Violet, and Carson in a similar sized cage that was already getting rather cramped for the three of them. "You'll bring him back if you aren't careful!"

"That purple teddy bear?" Jo asked, unaware that LIghtning had been yanked offscreen behind her. "He doesn't seem so tough, just a nice fluffy friend if that's what you wanna call him."

Carson gesticulated wildly as Jo continued her rant. "I guess that radioactive waste is getting to you, weeb," Jo rolled her eyes before stepping further and further into the room. "We're still orange so we've gotta be-HEY!"

After the sounds of a scuffle, rufflign paper, dripping water, and the clank of a steel door, the camera came back into focus to show Jo in the cage holding several tufts of purple hair. "I could have done much more! Why'd you open the gate?!" She questioned Quentin.

Quentin rubbed his head aimlessly. "You would have slammed your head against the bars," he said bluntly before slumping over, crushing Carson's feet to his anger. "Sorry."

Jo's scream of frustration was soon eclipsed by the roar of the sasquatchanakwa. It looked at Dave and gave the entire cage he was in a spin. Dave rushed to the edge and threw up over the Sasquatch and into the giant vat of acid. The sasquatch backed up only to sniff the radioactive sludge with a cheeky smile on its face. It looked at the camera with an equally mischievous smile.

Back somewhere in the mines Dawn felt the vibration of the ground before taking several steps forward. "B?" she called out worriedly. Hearing no response she started to run in the other direction, taking close attention to her now orange badge.

In another part of the mines DJ and Gwen continued their aimless walk with not much happening. "This is a far cry from the world above," Gwen mentioned. "I'm not really liking this…"

"Come on Gwen," DJ reassured. "Let's just focus on what's in front of us. I don't think we'd be able to go much further if we focus on where we are as opposed to where we're going."

"Did you read that off of a fortune cookie?" Gwen asked.

"Nah, my mom did though. Actually it was on a placard of this one chinese restaurant," Dj said nostalgically. "I always loved that restaurant, even after it was renovated into a buffet."

"Buffets are surprisingly nice," Gwen mentioned. "My mom would treat me and my brothers to that after we passed some hard tests."

"Some re-"

"Shut up," Gwen suddenly put her hand over DJ's face, pushing him against the walls of the mine. She put her other hand over her face as they closed their eyes.

DJ willed his eyes not to open as they heard the thundering footsteps of what seemed to be a biped walking in front of them. Almost willing herself to be smaller, Gwen pressed herself against DJ as they tried to avoid whatever was walking in front of them. AFter another few minutes had passed, the creatures around them moved without much more than a small breeze. Gwen dropped her hand from DJ's mouth and the two opened their eyes. DJ stared at Gwen, Gwen stared at DJ, and the two nodded.

Confessional, DJ/Gwen

What was that?!

Further in the mines Manitoba heard the sound of dripping water and beckoned Lindsay to get closer to him. The two peeled their eyes as they looked around for any signs of life. "A part of me thinks-"

"Quiet missus," Manitoba held his hand up. "Now you see these marks on the ground here? A real beauty from the old days. You see these footprints are from the Cantankerous Hamstrous Licius, better known as the ancient fanged spiders. They had nine legs rather than eight. But they always went deeper. Which is where we must venture."

"But shouldn't we-"

"Who's the wilderness expert here? Exactly. Come on, be a dear and follow the actual expert and don't be a dorba."

"But we need to get to Daveed!" Lindsay whined as she trailed Manitoba.

Confessional, Lindsay

…Queensland is really getting on my nerves…but more importantly what's a dorba?

Dawn put her hand on the wall and followed a trail. "Right hand rule, please hold true," she mumbled to herself as the camera followed her through several different passageways, none bringing her any closer to Dave or Sasquatchanakwa.

Accelerating to a sprint, she started running down a random corridor, stopping in front of a strange shrine in the way. She grabbed a box that seemed to vibrate as she walked up to it before she suddenly flung it open. "EW!" she squealed, tossing the contents, what looked to be several photos of Chris in provocative press photos for one of his movies. The box flew another direction as she noticed a rather shiny crystal. "Cubic Zirconium?"

She bent over to investigate the crystal only to be interrupted with a rather angry tap. "Yes?" She asked without looking.

The camera suddenly wiped to her in the cage with Jo, Lightning, Violet, Quentin, and Carson. "Where'd you get the rock?" Jo asked.

"It's nothing valuable. But at least it looks pretty," she handed the crystal to Jo.

"Ain't that a diamond?" Lightning asked.

Confessional, Dawn

That shrine was strange… I'm starting to think Chris wanted to hide more than just the radioactive waste down there. I pity the poor animals who find the photos next.

B looked around the mines with his rudimentary flashlight. He looked at his meter to see it was still orange before he sighed in relief. He continued his way down the mines as he dragged his coat behind him, causing some dust to stir at his feet. He adjusted his hat without much thought before he walked down a rather nondescript hallway.

In a nearby hallway DJ knocked on the wall rather lightly. "What are you doing?" Gwen asked.

"I'm trying to follow Dawn's advice. We don't have much to go off of," DJ shrugged. "Everyone has an idea, gotta listen to them. Unless you have your own ideas."

Gwen thought for a moment. "As a matter of fact…I don't." She rapped her knuckles against one wall before knocking it again in the same general area where DJ was knocking. "Seems somewhat lighter but I can't tell to the best of my ability."

"Me neither," DJ shrugged.

The two of them walked down another corridor before DJ suddenly leapt in the air. "What did I step on?" he meekly asked Gwen.

Gwen bent down where DJ was pointing, cowering all the while. Sparing a momentary glance to her right she became aware of a tiny hole surrounded by what looked to be blue fairy lights. She suddenly took a breath and felt woozy. "What is… eugh…" Gwen smelled. "I can't tell you but it smells like wooly beaver dandruff and pee!"

"Wooly beaver pee?" DJ worriedly asked. "Does that mean we're near them?"

"I can't answer," Gwen mentioned. "But look, we have to stick together. Let's not go in that direction then. We'll go…down that…corridor."

"Hey, I know it looks tight, but…. I'll go first," DJ mentioned. "And we can back into each other if we see something…something bad. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

Confessional, Gwen

Yeah claustrophobia stinks, but DJ's been helping me through these mines. Good thing right?

Confessional, DJ

I know I'm scared of a lot, but the moment I make someone else nervous, that's the moment I become a villain. And Momma didn't raise no villain. She did raise someone who used better grammar than that though, so I apologize momma, but those mines are scary!

Still following the trail of spider tracks LIndsay began to breathe heavily. "Tazmania can we slow down? My heels aren't equipped for the running we're doing."

"Nonsense Sheila," Manitoba called back. "We've hardly gone five clicks of an Auckland rail! We've got more if we wanna find those scallywags." Manitoba turned left into a corridor as Lindsay reluctantly followed.

The blond huffed loudly, kicking up some dirt, as she looked up at the ceiling, tracing a small crack that appeared that slowly grew as she followed Manitoba. Confused, she picked up her pace, aware of the dripping water from above, and the dust that followed as she continued her way down. Her eyes widened as she suddenly heard something move. Adjusting her eyes, she spotted Manitoba looking through a hole in the wall, bent over with his hand going through. "GET YOUR HAND OUT GOLD COAST!" She screamed.

Manitoba barely had time to get his hand out as Lindsay tackled him out of the way of a falling stalactite. The fedora fell off his head with little warning as the two of them looked at the massive stalactite where Manitoba was. "What was-" Mike gasped.

Lindsay and Mike ducked their heads as a small wooly beaver fell through the gaps, carrying a backpack on its back, before it hopped over them three times. THe beaver went another direction while the two recovered. "Where are we?" Mike asked Lindsay.

"Aren't you New South Wales? Or are you Mike now?" Lindsay prodded.

Mike's eyes widened. "Manitoba?!"

"Yeah that was it," Lindsay mentioned.

"Oh no," Mike sighed, curling his knees up to his chest. "That's…that's…that's…."

"One of them?" Lindsay asked.

Mike nodded meekly. "We need to get out of here. Where are we?"

"Still in the mines," Lindsay shook her head. "I was following Manipedi because he seemed like he-"

"Right…" Mike mentioned. "We need to find…Dave? And the others?"

"That's about right," Lindsay said. "Let's just go forward where that beaver thingy wanted to go. Before turning around. I'll throw this dusty hat away, it's not a good color on you."

"No, let's keep it, I hate to say it but Manitoba might be the more helpful of…of me."

"Got it," Lindsay perkily said, helping Mike up. The two ran down the hallway.

Confessional, Lindsay

I still don't get it, but I think I'm starting to understand. I don't want Mike to go home just because of the Gold Coast.

Confessional, Mike

Hard to believe that the cheerleader who I was never on a team with turns out to be an ally… I've got a lot to tell Dawn after this.

B thumped hard against a cave wall, trying to dislodge a giant boulder that blocked his path. The wind emanated from the other side just as he finally thumped loudly. "OUT OF THE WAY!" A familiar voice shouted.

B ducked his head through the opening recently made from the boulder to see DJ and Gwen pushed up against the wall. "You really should shout timber or something," Gwen mentioned. "Nice to see you're still alive B."

"Yeah!" DJ squeaked out. "Where'd you wind up?"

B shrugged his shoulders, pantomiming his fall down several tunnels and what looked to be other exciting but ultimately meaningless adventures. "Sounds like we had the same path, right B?" Gwen offered.

B smiled.

"Okay three of us together, and I think I see another opening…" DJ held his breath. "And we're-"

"Uh-oh, that just changed in front of our eyes…" Gwen pointed to their badges. "Red, we have to dive into there otherwise we have…how much less time?"

B flashed his opened palm three times. "Fifteen minutes? That's more than I thought. I guess Chris lied to us for a reason," Dj mentioned.

"Well if our badges turn black then…we're not good jack? Is that how the saying goes?"

Confessional, B

He looks through a recovered dictionary, a recovered urban dictionary, flipping through the pages. He suddenly throws the dictionary away. Whatever he found…. It wasn't the saying 'if our badges turn black then we are not good jack'.

DJ, Gwen, and B persisted through the opening, realizing that they were in a large cavern that seemed to be home to the mutant. "Hide!" they suddenly heard one of the captives shout. SEveral yards away, Quentin was frantically waving at them to duck behind several stalagmites. The loud footsteps only hurried them into their hiding place.

At the other side of the cavern two pairs of feet suddenly ran through the largest of several openings arranged in a line. Both bent over, panting, before they suddenly looked around. "Is this his-" Lindsay started to ask.

"Yes!" Quentin shouted. "Get hiding, it could be coming back any time soon!"

The sound of much larger footsteps caused those waiting in the cages to suddenly flinch. Mike and Lindsay dived behind a rock as they meekly peeked to see as much of the cave as possible. The giant wall of purple that was the Sasquatchanakwa sauntered in rather angrily. Too many teenagers, the stupid wooly beavers, and the cameras… Why did he ever agree to this?

"YOU STUPID MUTT GET US OUT OF HERE!" Dave shouted angrily. "I NEED A SHOWER AND YOU DO TOO!"

"CAN YOU SHUT UP DAVE?!" Jo shouted from her cage. Dave entered into a one sided shouting match with a lot of the other contestants while the uncaptured ones plotted.

"Man…it's hard to say but I think I need to be in the right headspace for this…" Mike mentioned to Lindsay. "Hey, can I have that hat? I might wanna use it."

"But I thought you didn't like New Zealand."

"When the others are in danger.." Mike whispered, ducking down as the sasquatch roared loudly.

On the other side of the cave B took off his jacket, pointing to some materials that Gwen and DJ took note of wholeheartedly. "So form the wire in the shape of a key," Gwen started.

"Use your tarp and the rocks as a way to make tension over the giant vat of radioactive waste," DJ continued.

"And that's how we rescue Dave?" both completed.

B nodded. He pointed to a rogue minecart and the tracks that led to a different tunnel. "So you're going to use the minecarts," DJ started.

"On those rails," Gwen continued.

"And that's how we get out of here but you need time!" Both said excitedly. "Sounds like a plan."

The three put their fists together and made a sudden break, taking care not to alert the sasquatch.

The other duo had crept their way to the cave when the sasquatch walked over to his closet and pulled out several copies of the clothes from the previous season's contestants. It grabbed one of Marilyn's highlights and dyed one of its streaks lime green. "Violet," Lindsay whispered, getting the attention of the gamer girl. "We're here. What do we need?"

Violet crawled in the cage closer to Lindsay. "Get us out! These arguments are more painful to my ears than badly emulated songs!"

Mike leaned closer to the cage as he looked around the room. "I have to do it, Lindsay," he said reluctantly. "If we're the only two here then we need to do something. Just try to keep everyone else calm."

"Got it," LIndsay nodded. The two exchanged a small fist bump before Mike ran to the center of the cavern, putting on his fedora.

"WHOA!" Manitoba shouted, garnering the attention of the sasquatch, Dave, and the other contestants. "AIN'T YOU AN UGLY RANDO! WE'VE GOTTA TIE YOU UP NICE AND TIGHT LIKE A PIECE OF TWINE!" Suddenly obtaining a whip he cracked the air around him. "TIME TO DO THE AUSTRALIAN NAE NAE!"

"While he's distracted DJ!" Gwen called out, grabbing rocks from a nearby collapsed wall.

DJ skirted the edges, careful not to get in the way of Manitoba and the Sasquatch's shrinking circle. He looked at Quentin in the cage and gave them a reassuring glance. Lightning and Quentin gave him a thumbs up as DJ collected the rocks that blocked their cage door. He ran to Gwen and dumped them in front of the vat. "You go work on the wires and I'll set up the tarp."

Gwen nodded swiftly as she darted around the tarp covered radioactive barrel. DJ tested the tarp with another rock to see that it didn't fall. Satisfied, he climbed on the tarp with an uneasy step, jumping at the last minute to gear up enough swing to get Dave's door loose. "ABOUT TIME! THANKS SO MUCH!" Dave shouted.

"Don't thank me yet," DJ nervously retorted. He opened the door and the door whacked Dave in the forehead. "The tarp held me, it'll hold you, just run towards the minecart."

Dave jumped on the tarp before clumsily running away, throwing a rock at the sasquatch as he ran away. "OI!" Manitoba called out. "Thanks for the distraction you muddy Gronk!"

The Sasquatch turned to see DJ diving away from the collapsing tarp and ran away. He turned from Manitoba as Manitoba whipped his legs. The sasquatch turned again only to find his foot caught. With one pull the sasquatch fell against the ground. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction Lindsay tossed Manitoba some rope and the fake Australian was able to tie the sasquatch by one hand to a stalagmite.

"That's all we need!" Lindsay said, whipping the hat off of Manitoba, who gasped.

"Where are-"

"NO TIME!" Lindsay shouted, grabbing Mike as they followed Dave down a tunnel.

Gwen grabbed the wire from her pockets as the captives backed up in the cage. She put it into the keyhole without much effort and the lock fell to the ground. She grabbed the bars of the door and tried to pry it open but it was hard. "I need help!" She called out.

DJ walked behind her and grabbed the door, pushing heavily until it collapsed in on itself. Gwen and DJ backed away from the others as they trampled through the bars. "Everyone accounted for?" DJ asked Quentin, the last to head out.

"Yeah," Quentin said, out of breath. "Let's get out of here!"

Confessional, Quentin

I knew DJ had it in him to rescue us! When he rescued us I was almost swooning, I did kind of expect him to carry me out but I understand that he was tired. Would have been nice though.

Confessional, Jo

…I could have done that

Confessional, Violet

Very interesting that Mike was able to do what he did…almost like a persona or tulpa…or even a stand

The contestants caught up to Dave, B, Mike, and Lindsay as they waited some 15 feet away from a minecart. "Wait!" Dave shouted. "Chris said we have to drop the bags here! And drop them along the minecart."

"Why?" Lightning asked.

The sasquatch roared. "No time for questions!" Jo shouted. "Get in the cart!"

The contestants climbed into the minecart as B hit the side. They sped off, dropping off bags along the way. The minecarts led them down the mines and into a lower level where the bright sun was greeting them. "Let's run! Get out of here! Run!" The few campers who didn't remove their bags dropped them at a large exit where Tem and a random intern were outlining a vague line. "RUN!" Tem called, as DJ, Gwen, and Dave crossed the finish line first. Dave cowered behind TEm as the bombs began to prematurely explode in the cave.

Jo, Lightning, B, and CArson winced as the first bits of the cave started to collapse right by them. B rolled off to the side to make room for Quentin, Dawn, and Lindsay. Last to run out were Violet and Mike, the latter of whom was carrying the fedora he had worn throughout the challenge. Purple fur still dirtied the accessory and Mike held onto it with a tight grip as the last of the explosions knocked the exit down.

"Well," Chris coughed, fanning the dirt away.

"I AM DAKOTAZOID!" Dakota suddenly came into frame, paper spikes dotting her bare skin, a gaudy neon green skullcap on her head, and fake vampire fangs on her teeth. "FEAR ME FOR I WILL WRESTLE YOU INTO THE DEPTHS OF CAKE!"

Chef grabbed Dakota and wheeled her off screen in a wheelchair. "BEWARE THE ME!" the contestants heard Dakota cackle.

"That makes the winners, DJ and Gwen! The Rats successfully brought out the other cameo of the episode! Dave…you okay?"

The campers looked at Dave suddenly kissing the ground, rolling in the dust, and cackling. "I think he spent too long in the mines," Chris looked at Chef. "We…need to get him checked out."

"That we do," Chef shrugged, carrying Dave in his arms as he began to squeak like a mouse.

"Alright! Don't steal my job Tem," Chris glowered. "The Rats win the episode and they're immune! New Maggots, send someone home tonight! And take a shower to get as much of the waste off of yourselves."

Confessional, Lindsay

I hope the others on Mike's team realizes he wasn't a threat. He actually helped them with Australian Capital Territory Blacksmith. And you know what, I feel good now. They shouldn't target Mike and my new rat teammates shouldn't target me because me, Gwen, and DJ were the ones who saved Sparky and Quentin from Sasquatchanakwa.

After Challenge

As the two teams walked away from the challenge Jo walked over and next to Mike and began whispering to him. "Look string bean, with our own team cannibalizing we've gotta find a way to stick it out here, because we're easy pickings for the other four."

"Yeah I know that. But how do you propose we stay?" Mike asked, glancing around nervously at the other campers walking with them.

"We gotta find a crack within them. The weeb seems skittish and the gamer seems off in her own world half the time, we could start there, they may be able to give us something useful," Jo said, eyeing Carson and Violet who were both ahead of them.

"We need four votes, so we need to flip two of them,"

"I don't think that'll be as hard as we think. Since we lost one of our own, they may feel better about cutting one of their own."

"I guess. They also could have established an alliance since they've been to the elimination ceremony a few times."

"But that could also mean they may not like each other for the same reason."

"We've got our work cut out for us."

Confessional, Jo

I don't fully trust Mike. Nor is he in my long term plans but if the gangly nerd and I survive this I'll need his allegiance

Confessional, Mike

Jo is a massive wild card. I can never tell where her loyalties lie. Hopefully they're with me- And I want her to be with me because we were on the same team!- but she's definitely a selfish player

Carson and B had met in their normal meeting spot in the mess hall, B had pulled out two items, one a ball to represent Jo, and a comb to represent Mike.

"I think it's clear we gotta vote out one of Jo or Mike here, and increase our numbers lead, any initial thoughts?" Carson asked his hefty friend.

B pushed forward the comb, and wrote on a piece of paper Mike is way more scattered, Jo can help us win challenges and she isn't liked.

"A valid point. But if we let Jo into the merge we're asking for her to win out, she's too good at challenges."

B nodded and agreed, and pushed the two together.

"They do likely have an alliance together, although maybe tentative. It's possible they had one on their old team as well."

B nodded in response and pushed forward the ball.

"Jo was probably the leader of it too, she couldn't not be the leader of anything. If she was anything other than that I'd be surprised."

B nodded, "In that case maybe we go for Jo, I know Mike is wishy washy but Jo is by far scarier long term, and likely has some sort of alliance and is likely the head of it, probably best she goes."

Confessional, Carson

I need B in this game. B and I are very much on the same wavelength with strategy and I both think we're a little underestimated due to appearances. Hopefully that keeps up. Cause we'll likely be merging soon, and the more allies I have the better.

Confessional, B

B gives a shrug and pulls out a soccer ball and a sharp pin and pokes it into the ball popping it

As Carson walked out Dawn walked and looked at the table, "Jo?" She asked

B gave a nod towards Carson and then a nod yes.

"I'm not opposed. Between the two, I think Mike has more to accomplish on this island, Jo I think her time is up. She's becoming more of a nuisance than anything." B nodded in agreement and then pulled out a Goku head.

"I like Carson, but he's going to put himself into trouble with his paranoia. I think once we merge we need to keep an eye on him."

B nodded and then pulled out a controller.

"Despite my aura reading abilities I can't get a read on her. Although I fear something is… changing inside of her. More selfish than anything. But I'm not sure what."

B stood up from the table grabbing his trinkets and putting them in his pocket. Dawn walked with him out the door where Dawn managed to catch a glance at a pair sneaking around the building.

Confessional, Dawn

Jo just has such a negative aura and she's probably going to cause the downfall of a beloved cast member. And like Sierra I don't think Jo staying any longer would be good for her

"Explain to me again why voting out our own team members when we have the numbers makes any sense?" Carson said to Violet as they spoke behind the cabin hidden from the sight of the other campers. Through a window Dave could be seen demanding another shot of sanitizer that he suddenly chugged down.

"Because Dawn has a high emotional intelligence and charisma stat. Look at how she and Mike are. And even after she goes we still hold numbers three to two." Violet said.

"Okay but why? B certainly won't go for it and we look like utter buffoons to Gwen and Lindsay."

"But the merge is close, last season it was at thirteen we're about to be down to ten after this. You can't think having someone like Dawn at the merge who can literally read your mind is a good idea."

"I mean no, but I don't think it's a good idea to take out someone who is on our side."

Dave took another shot of sanitizer before he left the kitchen, arms flailing wildly.

"Is she really though? She betrayed Sierra at the drop of a hat, and she's probably going to be more loyal to B or Gwen in the long run."

"Okay but we all betrayed Sierra at the drop of a hat, and Jo can easily just win every immunity challenge."

"With DJ, Lighting, and Quentin all still in there's no way she can win consistently."

"You have a point there."

"I know, just think it over, Dawn going is one thousand percent the right move."

Confessional, Carson

…Okay… She's definitely onto something. Whether she's right I'm not entirely sure.

Confessional, Violet

I want this game to be fluid, last season the best players played without team lines in mind. I want to play the same way. So it's time I create a flip onto Dawn. I just need Carson's vote and he's a very squirrelly player, and if he flips his relationship with B is gone

Carson jogged away from Violet searching for his top ally, eventually locating him in the porch of their cabin and Carson sat down next to him in a panic.

"We got a situation B, Violet wants to flip the vote onto Dawn."

B was taken aback he didn't think Violet would flip let alone this early. B pondered for a second then pulled out a small football and pointed at it and gave a thumbs up.

"You still think we should vote for Jo?" B nodded in response. "But if we don't Violet, wouldn't we have to get Mike and I don't think he'd go for it."

B pulled out a comb representing Mike and bashed the ball and comb together.

"They don't like each other?"

B shook his head no in confirmation.

"But wouldn't Mike think that not taking a chance in a tie breaker with Jo and Dawn is worth the risk?"

B wrote on a notepad saying, "Mike wants to play with the people he likes, not the ones he doesn't. Him and Jo don't seem to be the best of friends, I think we can use that."

"That's a fair point. Let's regroup in a little bit and see what we come up with."

Confessional, B

Wide eyed, B took out a weekly calendar, highlighting Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. WTF indeed.

Confessional, Carson

I have no idea what to do. Ugh I hate this position. B needed to know I needed him in the loop. But I don't want to lose my chance to take out Jo OR Dawn because they're both threats and could easily skate by later for one reason or another

"Look you two I can save you, I just need you guys to vote together with me on Dawn. Carson is considering it. But worst case Jo you'll be going against Dawn in the tie," Violet stated to Mike and Jo laying out the plan for them, as they sat quietly away behind a line of trees in the forest away from anyone that may get suspicious.

"Do we know what the tie breaker challenge would be?" Jo asked.

"Based on what the other team said, it's something very physical which you should be able to win."

"Alright that's good. And if Carson comes with us we vote B next?" Jo asked.

"Correct."

"How committed do you think Carson is?"

"Not very right now, but he's very paranoid all the time. I'm sure he'll flip to save his skin if he knows it's tying."

"And you'd go with us and our allies after this?" Mike asked.

"Yep, in return you guys stick with me when it gets down to it, I'll be your pocket vote."

"Sounds perfect, we can run this game together, and this is a massive move and shakeup, especially after Jaiden went last round," Mike stated, crossing his arms smirking.

"One hundred percent, and I don't want to stay complacent on team lines either, besides those three are not the greatest to play with."

Confessional, Jo

Violet you're so dumb for flipping but thank you anyways

Confessional, Mike

Thank you Total Drama Gods!

"Look Mike I know Violet talked to you about taking out Dawn, what're you thinking about it?" Carson asked the lanky boy as they walked through the forest down a rocky and gravel path that was off the main dirt road that they used to get to challenges.

Mike caught off guard by the sudden bluntness, stuttered a bit before saying, "I-I, uh, yeah she did. I mean it's not me or Jo, so I feel like I kinda have to go there."

"I understand that, is Violet going there for sure?"

"Yeah she is. She seems pretty set on it, and no real reason to play Jo or I here."

"No there really isn't. Is there any way I could convince you to vote for Jo here? I know you guys don't really get along."

"If I do that though I look terrible to the guys on the other side," Mike replied.

"But the votes aren't revealed, it'd be easy to pretend like you didn't vote her out."

"I don't have the heart to do that, it's just not worth it."

"I don't want to vote out Dawn though,"

Mike tripped and fell on a rock leaving small scrapes on his hands and knees, "Are you okay Mike?" Carson asked, worried about his fellow camper.

"I'm fine whippersnapper, and quit your yapping, I'm going to do what I said I'd do and that's that," 'Mike' said storming off away from Carson.

Confessions, Carson

What's his deal?

Confessional, Mike Chester

Back in my day we were honest and loyal to each other, no backstabbing and definitely no lying. This goes against all of my morals.

Elimination Ceremony

"Welcome Maggots to your first elimination ceremony as a team. You guys flopped hard on this challenge, and considering Jaiden went home last episode, I think that shows that even with a majority no one's spot is safe," Chris stated. B's eyebrows perked up hearing that. "With that being said let's get started."

"Would you get on with it butt chin, some of us would like to know if we're sleeping on a bed or with the fishies tonight," Jo eye rolled at the now annoyed host.

"Fine… way to ruin the suspense Jo…" Chris paused for a bit glaring at the jockette before continuing with the show. "First off with no votes casted for them…. Carson, you are safe…. As is Violet." The nerd duo high fives and walked over and grabbed their marshmallows.

"Mike…. You are also safe as the only other person to not get any votes."

B eyes widened in horror and Dawn shot a look towards Jo as Jo sat confidently, a smirk on her face. "As for the three of you, you all received some votes tonight. I'm sure some of you are worried considering that there should be a four to two majority on this team. That being said… B you are safe." B sighed a breath of relief standing up and grabbing his delicious morsel.

"Jo your personality is especially grating and many have expressed that concern despite that your challenge prowess has kept you around, whereas Dawn your personality tends to creep others out despite you being relatively liked." Chris paused.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"However tonight the eighth person voted out is… Dawn."

B's eyes were wide with shock and he stared directly at Violet and Carson with disappointment. Like a disappointed father looking at his son behind jail bars. Jo and Mike were ecstatic although Mike was far more reticent even with his smile that he hid behind his hand. Jo was more boastful jumping up and down and pumping her fists "Yeah that's how you do it! That's how you make a blindside!"

Violet stared at Jo with an eye roll, although annoyed with Jo's actions she gave a knowing smirk as she glanced at B who was still giving her a glare. Carson was staring at his feet, almost ashamed at what he had done, although a closer look at his face showed a small smile peering under the long hair.

Dawn just looked at the chaos erupting at her elimination, shook her head in dismay, gave a quick hug to B, before making her way to the dock of shame. Where she was met with Dakota and Chef. "Perhaps this show just wasn't ready to accept that a green and clean environment where people can learn and become better, is a better place to be," Dawn exclaimed to the taller blonde intern.

"I feel you girl, but you know what has to be done," Dakota replied.

"I know." Dawn climbed into the catapult and perhaps in an act of mercy, Dakota quickly pulled the lever sending Dawn off before climbing into a boat to go pick her up.

Final Confessional, Dawn

I suppose this time it wasn't in the cards to make it to the end. Mother nature gives and father time takes. I do not foresee any negative ill intent from Mike. His development is going to be something to look out for but this time I shall look from the sidelines. There's something about Jo, Carson, and Violet that is dangerous. B's aura is more open than either three of them so I can sense no ill intent from him. This vote may have been confusing but I can reassure myself that I fought the good fight.

Scenes from the next episode

"Woohoo, lightning wins the superbowl. Sha yeah…" Lightning mumbled in his sleep, grabbing onto Gwen's boots possessively. "Sha yeah…"

Gwen bent down and wrestled the boot out of his hand, losing her balance and falling into the lake with a big splash. "UGH!" she shouted, grabbing onto the end of the raft frustratedly. He held up her boot to see that Lightning had his fingerprints all over.

Confessional, Mike

(Clad in a fedora, is actually Manitoba) WEll you can bet your Australian dollars that tonight we're serving up a big old batch of blindside butter beans!

Stepping in between Fang and Jo as they started snarling at each other, Violet ducked between them and gave the shark a giant uppercut. "HEAVEN SLAYING DRAGON FIST!"

"CELINE DION!" Jo shouted triumphantly.

"I get what you mean with bygones and bygones," Carson said to B. "But you understand why our game had to be like that right?"

B looked at Carson.

"Come on, give me something!" Carson threw his hands in the air.

Violet walked in between the two 'conversing' boys with a tray of drinks. "Hot chocolate?" she asked.

Both boys took a mug and drank it, staring at each other harshly.

"GOOD MORNING WAWANAKWA!" Chris shouted from above in a helicopter. "It wouldn't be a total drama season without us forcibly removing you from your beds!"

"Why'd you even do this?" Gwen bemoaned.

"Yeah, what was the reason?" Jo asked.

"You'll find out," Chris dismissed. "But today your goal is simple: race back, and rescue!"

"Another one?" LIghtning asked.

"Why do you need us to rescue cameos anyways?" LIndsay asked.

"Because that's the challenge!"

Elimination Votes

B: (He breathes into his hands before he pulls out a cup of coffee. Or rather, a cup of Jo)

Carson: Violet has a point, I can relate to the jocks more, and Jo says she and Mike can vouch for me. That's why Dawn is going now.

Dawn: I worry that Mike's personality will be tested. Above all else I want him to be happy, and force this tie. I don't have a good feeling about voting for Jo, but I have to hope for a random tiebreaker that benefits me.

Jo: I can beat all of them in a tie breaker and now that I have that track tryhard and that vapid videogamer on my side for this vote we can safely vote for Dawn, that fairy.

Mike: Ohhh…. I don't like this… this feels like a dream that I can't wake up on. I need to think but I can't but I can't hear my-UGH THIS IS SO (Gasp) Clearly we need to grow a spine. We're voting B, what kind of name is that anyway? Back in my day names had at least 4 letters. All the good people had 4 letters but the best had seven. C-H-E-S-T-E-R makes seven (gasp) Umm, I guess a vote was cast? I guess I'm going to go.

Violet: When the game becomes individual, which will be soon, you need to win the physical game more than the mental game. The Maggots may have the brains, but Jo and the Rats have the brawn. I need to ally with the Brawn, so I'm voting Dawn.

Review Responses

Supersonicheroes: (Rj here) We'll have to see how Jo's strategies are going to play out this episode. Lightning was definitely the main character of the episode as best as I can say. Glad you enjoyed the tiebreaker.

(Trygve): Well Jo got saved here we'll see if her strategy allows her to last long term or not but Lightning is def taking a more focal point as a person than in other stories.

Lord Gemini: (Rj here) Not every episode is gonna be the best but I'm glad that the 2 member team switch grew on you. I'm glad you were able to find the fun moments even with the long and repetitive actions.

(Trygve): The swap was meant to bring in some new interactions especially since every episode had the same players interacting last season. We wanted to change it up and create new and exciting ideas. The vote last round was more of an honor thing/showing that no one is exactly perfect in strategy either

Guester: (Rj here) Thanks for dropping in, we'll see if there will be a double elimination.

(Trygve): Could be a double Could not be we'll see

Eliminations

18th: Staci 8-1

17th: Max 7-1

16th: Owen 4-3-2

15th: Tyler 5-3

14th: Carmen 5-2

13th: Sierra 6-1

12th: Jaiden 3-3 (lost tiebreaker)

11th: Dawn 3-2-1

Teams

Toxic Rats: DJ, Quentin, Lindsay, Gwen, Lightning (5 Remaining)

Mutant Maggots: Carson, Violet, Mike, Jo, B (5 Remaining)