Chapter 7: Phobia Factor
Reviews:
Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: Thanks! Yes, yes it was. I figured it was time for Mike to tell his secret. I didn't really like that it was treated as such a big secret in canon. Aiden may have a little while longer to go before he gets eliminated, but I wouldn't take a full-on hate sink to the halfway mark. I'm not TotalDramafan14, after all. I didn't really want to make Leonard genuinely delusional, especially given that I don't think he is in canon, but either way, if he was, I would feel compelled to explore it, and I wouldn't know where to begin. The Jurassic Park thing is actually a reference to Random Drama Pahkitew Island. Sammy is definitely not the only bullying victim on her team, though she has arguably had it the worst. Given that Sierra has never met or heard of Cody before the show in this universe, I figured I'd need an alternative explanation for why her hair is purple. And judging by the way they fight, Topher and Sierra are both clearly not over each other. Will do!
dm4487: I'm 100% sure Leonard only auditioned for Total Drama because he wanted to be on TV, not because he was actually trying to win. I'm honestly surprised that you find it shocking, given that Beardo is one of only four TD males to not be confirmed as being into girls. I do think that might be funny. Thanks!
QueenAzulaThinksYourWorthless: Yeah, Leonard is pretty much just comic relief/cannon fodder. Thanks!
DSX62415: Yeah, he did. And thanks for the suggestion. Oh, and you spotted the Red vs. Blue reference in the chapter, didn't you?
perfectlove990: I hadn't noticed, but yeah, so far, I've eliminated four Gen 3 campers and two Gen 2 campers. But don't take that as meaning the OGs are safe. I will say, on average, the competitors with the absolute worst gameplay on the show were in Gen 2 and Gen 3. All of the Gen 1 campers at least, you know, tried.
Hotstreak's crossover stories: Thanks!
Knight: I may do just that. The episode is a few chapters away, though.
Guest: I was wondering how long it would take for someone to point out the similarities between the three, given that my idea for Aiden was "Matthew trying to emulate Natasha." And though it will take time, he will eventually crash and burn, and it will be spectacular.
insertnamehere21: Jo's hair looks pretty orange to me. Maybe not Scott or Izzy levels of orange, but orange nonetheless. I admit to making a mistake with Noah's sweater, but let's just assume he chose to wear his beige sweater instead of his red one for the first day because of the butterfly effect.
insertnamehere21 again: Ezekiel hasn't completely given up his beliefs, but he'll keep his mouth shut and judge for himself in case Scott is right. As for Scott, there is a reason I chose him to call Ezekiel out. Yes, Leonard and Max would be easy votes but Heather does still want to win challenges, and if her alliance is too obvious, they'll be targets come the merge. Heather wants to be in control, and Amy is an obstacle to that. Glad you like Brick/Sammy. I had no ideas for Staci, sorry.
insertnamehere21 yet again: Heather isn't stupid. She knows which twin is going to last, and which one she can control. I may have returning campers later, so Sugar might get a second chance.
insertnamehere21 a fourth time: In a 13-episode season, Scott would be glad to let Ezekiel make his sexist statements, but in a 52-episode season, he needs allies, and Ezekiel trusts him now. And I see him as a combination of the aspects of Courtney and Duncan that serve them best in the game, at least in Revenge of the Island. So, yeah, messing with Courtney like Duncan did in canon would be in character.
insertnamehere21 one last time: One of Dawn's biggest character flaws is that she has no concept of privacy. And that's canon, not something I made up. Glad you liked the bit with Max and Sierra, I was pretty proud of that one.
The episode opened on the Gophers at the campfire pit, having just kicked off Leonard. They were sitting around the fire, roasting their marshmallows.
The other three teams all came and sat with them. Tyler said, "Hey, I just wanted to say sorry for you losing Leonard."
"It's fine. None of us were expecting him to last much longer, not even him," Jasmine said.
"Still, it was almost me. I thought I was going home for sure. I'm, like, terrified of chickens."
"I get it. Spiders just freak me out," Leshawna explained.
"I'm with you on that. Something with that many legs has to be evil, right?" Cameron said.
Confessional: Scarlett
"And with that, everyone just started talking about their worst fears! Harold admitted to being afraid of being ambushed by ninjas, Justin and Topher are both afraid of losing their looks, Heather is afraid of sumo wrestlers, Beth admitted her mortal fear is being covered in bugs, and even Eva confessed to being afraid of bats! I myself did not disclose any of my actual fears, knowing Chris will undoubtedly use this for a challenge."
End confessional
"My worst fear? Probably velociraptors. If they were ever resurrected, they could pose a huge threat to humans," Scarlett said.
"Flying, man. That's some crazy stuff," Owen disclosed. Izzy added, "I would never go up in a plane."
"Walking in a minefield. In heels." Lindsay said.
"Bad haircuts," Katie and Sadie said as one.
"Oh, can I change mine? That's way scarier than a minefield," Lindsay said.
"That, or a bad dye job. Not that it's easy to cut this," Anne Maria said, knocking on her hairdo, which made a metallic noise.
"Ever since a cruel joke my brother played on me, I have been terrified of corpses," Alejandro added.
"Corpses aren't so scary. It's when they turn into zombies is when you should be scared," Shawn replied.
"Well, I'm extremely claustrophobic. Caves, cells, any sort of tight spaces, that's what causes me to freak out," Jasmine said.
"I fear nothing!" Max declared. When everyone looked at him skeptically, he conceded, "Okay, I fear one thing. Avalanches." The other campers accepted this, as it wasn't an unreasonable fear.
"I'm scared of hail. It's small, but deadly, dude," Geoff admitted.
"Being left alone in the woods," Bridgette said.
"I'm scared of a lot of things," said DJ. "But snakes are probably my biggest fear. They're so...scaly, and...slithery." He shivered.
"My worst fear? I guess...Being buried alive." Gwen said.
Brick looked uncomfortable, then confessed, "I'm afraid of the dark. Have been, ever since I was a little kid."
Duncan laughed at him, saying, "You're scared of the dark? Man, that is so lame!"
Sammy glared at him, and said defensively, "Hey, if Brick is scared of the dark, then he's scared of the dark. There's nothing wrong with that."
Duncan asked snidely, "Well, what are you scared of?"
Sammy answered, "I'm scared of goats. What about you? What are you scared of?"
Duncan noticed everyone else's silence, and reluctantly answered, "Celine Dion music store standees."
This prompted a laugh from Scott, who said, "Cardboard cutouts? That's even lamer than being scared of the dark!"
Duncan said defensively, "Well, what are you scared of?"
Scott said, "Sharks. You know, something that could actually kill me?" Duncan bristled at Scott's taunting, but in order to cut the potential argument off, Dawn said, "Well, assuming we're not talking about deep existential fears such as Heather's fear of feeling vulnerable or Alejandro's fear of never measuring up to his brother Josè," (this prompted a "Hey!" from the former and a growl from the latter), "B is afraid of losing the use of his hands, and I am afraid of robots."
Duncan said, "Hmm. I would have thought it would be public speaking, given that he never talks."
Beardo chimed in, "No, that's my fear. I don't think B even can talk."
Aiden added, "I'm scared of swimming in sewage. Ugh."
Noah said, "I would say, 'being surrounded by total nutcases,' but I'm here now, so...clowns?"
Trent said, "I feel you, dude. I hate mimes. Like, a lot."
Jo paused, but eventually admitted, "Wearing a dress. In public."
Lightning nodded. "I get ya, dude. Wearing a dress in public has got to be in any dude's top five biggest fears." Jo bristled at Lightning mistaking her for a boy.
Lightning then thought for a moment, then said, "Failing my classes and getting sha-taken off the football team."
Noah looked at him. "You mean you don't usually fail your classes?"
Lightning looked indignant. "Hey! Lightning know he's not the best student, but I can sha-get by with a C average when I study hard and give it 110 percent!" Noah raised his hands placatingly.
Cody said, "Well, I'm scared of defusing a time bomb under pressure."
"As opposed to defusing a time bomb with no pressure?" Noah asked sarcastically. Cody replied, "You know what I mean."
Sam admitted, "I'm scared of being stranded out in the wilderness. I've played some wilderness survival games, sure, but I don't know how much that would really help. Those games take some creative liberties."
Ezekiel ventured, "Snow. I'm scared a' snow. Once, I was on a trip to the mountains with my family, and I got stuck in the snow. I was scared I was gonna freeze, eh."
Zoey thought, then said, "Bears."
Sky thought for a moment, and then said, "I'm scared of roaches. They're just so...disgusting."
Rodney said, "Uh...I'm with DJ. Probably snakes. They're scary."
Ella said, "Poison apples. Or poisoned anything, really. Curses are also a scary thought." She then broke into a short song:
"Perhaps you will have a juicy treat,
Something juicy, red, and sweet,
But if the treat is not so sweet,
You'll end up being put to sleep."
Sierra thought for a moment, then said, "All of Chris's old work being erased. But that'll never happen."
Courtney said, "Well, I'm not afraid of anything."
Topher countered, "Didn't you panic at the sight of green jelly back at the tuck shop?" This prompted laughter from some of the others, such as Duncan, Jo, and Justin. Courtney's face reddened.
With Mike being the only one who hadn't admitted his fear, everyone looked at him.
Confessional: Mike
"I didn't want to tell them my actual worst fear. And I'm not telling you, either."
End confessional
"I mean, there's the normal stuff like axe murderers," the lanky boy finally said. Everyone seemed to accept this, but Duncan still looked at him suspiciously.
"I'm sure I know you from somewhere," he said.
"I don't know. I don't recognize you," Mike replied. "But maybe I have seen you before. All punks look the same to me."
"Well, I'm off to bed," Heather said. The campers dispersed to their cabins after that.
The next morning, the campers were all at breakfast. Some, like Owen, Brick, and Scott, were eating enthusiastically. Most were just picking at their breakfast.
"Campers!" Chris called upon entering. "Prepare to face your worst fears!"
Confessional: Scarlett
"I knew it."
End confessional
"Heather, time to go to the theater! It's sumo time!" At this, Heather choked on her orange juice and spat it all over Max, who happened to be sitting across from her.
Confessional: Max
"How dare Chris surprise Heather like that when he knew she had orange juice in her mouth? He will pay for my dry cleaning!"
Chris's voice, from outside: "No I won't!"
End confessional
"Max, Ezekiel, you, me, the mountain, a few tons of snow," Chris continued. Max and Ezekiel both gasped.
Lindsay raised her hand. "Wait, how did they know those were your worst fears?"
Gwen facepalmed. "Because we told them?"
Lindsay and Tyler looked at each other, confused. Sam clarified, "At the campfire last night. Bad move, huh?"
Lindsay stood up. "Wait. They were listening to us?"
Scott scoffed. "It's a reality show, genius. They're always listening to us!"
Lindsay clearly felt violated by this. "But that's, like, eavesdropping!"
"Get used to it," Courtney deadpanned.
After the campers were rounded up and taken outside, they prepared to face their fears one by one. Watching the atrocious tub of worms, most of the campers looked ready to puke. Izzy picked one of the worms out of the tub and slurped it down, causing Cameron to actually puke.
Confessional: Cameron
"Izzy is terrifying, even more so than Eva. Maybe I should have cited her as my worst fear last night."
End confessional
Beth hesitantly climbed into the kiddie pool and submerged herself fully in the worms. After a few seconds, she poked her head back out, to the applause of the others.
"And Beth sets the bar way up there!" Chris shouted as a counter displayed the Gophers' score rising from 0/12 to 1/12.
The scene cut to Lindsay, Katie, Sadie, and Anne Maria in a dressing room. Chris and Chef held four brown, badly cut wigs over their actual hair. Putting the wigs on Lindsay and the BFFFLs was easy, but Anne Maria's wig wouldn't stretch over her pouf of steel.
"Okay, time for plan B," Chris said.
The scene cut to outside the dressing room, which Anne Maria exited, fuming. Her hair had been dyed green with pink polka dots. "Not a word," she said to the others.
Out of another dressing room came Justin and Topher, both wearing even uglier wigs, with horrible makeup and fake yellow teeth. Topher also had a fake hunch on his back, while Justin had a temporary tattoo of Danny DeVito on his left cheek. The girls' eyes widened at the sight. However, everyone's eyes got even wider when they saw Jo exit another dressing room in a frilly pink dress, seething with rage.
Harold was in the communal washrooms, reading a comic book. Suddenly, four ninjas came in through the skylight that kept the washrooms lit. They surrounded Harold and adopted fighting stances.
Harold, seemingly unsurprised, pulled out a set of nunchucks from his pocket. He swung them around quickly, clearly showing off. Two of the ninjas closer to him backed off.
Suddenly, Harold's nunchucks hit him in the head and he was knocked out. The ninjas looked at each other, bewildered.
The camera zoomed out to show Chris watching on a screen. "He didn't defeat the ninjas," Chris said, "but he also didn't run away, so I'll give him the point." The Moose's score went up to 1/13.
The camera cut to Chef putting B's hands in casts, so he wouldn't be able to use them. "You just gotta keep 'em on 'til dinner," Chef said. "If you wanna chicken out, come to the infirmary."
B closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded. "You can do it, B," Dawn encouraged.
"Now it's your turn," Chris said to Dawn, bringing out a very cheap-looking robot. "Just one hug and you get the point."
Dawn's eyes widened, and she began to shiver.
Confessional: Dawn
"I told my team on the camping trip that your aura is like your emotional history, or highlights of it at least. I can't perfectly predict someone's behavior from it, but it does give me insight into what others want. But robots don't have emotions, meaning they don't have auras. So if a robot wanted to kill me, I wouldn't see it coming. You can understand how that would make me paranoid, right?"
End confessional
Dawn hid behind B, looking like she was on the verge of a panic attack. B hugged her as best he could with the casts on his hands, and she clung to his jacket.
"Yeah, I don't think we're getting anywhere with this. Let's move on," Chris decided.
Cameron and Leshawna peered down at the tarantula in the box Dakota was holding. "You just have to pet it, and you get a point," Chris said. The tarantula crawled to the edge of the box, and looked up at Leshawna. The homegirl screamed and ran away.
Cameron, hand shaking, reminded himself, "It's not poisonous, it's not poisonous, it's not poisonous." He stretched his hand out and petted the tarantula. His hand stopped shaking as he did, and he said, "Huh, she's not that bad, really."
Izzy then picked up the tarantula, and placed it on her face. When it started running around, she laughed.
Confessional: Cameron
"I think I'm over my arachnophobia. But now I'm terrified of Izzy."
End confessional
The scene cut to a derelict-looking airplane. Chef gestured for Owen and Izzy to get in, which they reluctantly did. Chef then entered the plane himself, and took off. Owen screamed.
At the theater, Heather was in a makeshift fighting ring, with a sumo wrestler facing her. She trembled, and when the sumo charged she curled into a ball with her arms over her head. The sumo tripped over her and fell out of the ring.
"And Heather earns the Gophers their second point!" Chris announced, as the Gophers' counter read 2/12.
The scene cut to Sam sitting out in the woods. "It's no big deal, Samuelson," he told himself. "It's just six hours out in the middle of nowhere. Bridgette's doing it too."
The scene cut to Bridgette, in the same situation in a different location, also trying to console herself. "It's just six hours. Besides, it's not really that bad out here, right?"
"Next up, Scarlett!" Chris called. Scarlett's face went pale. She entered the plexiglass gym from before, where there was a cage-like structure in the center, and a second cage on the end. The first was empty, but the second contained velociraptors.
"Where did you get velociraptors?!" Scarlett screamed, terrified.
"I have my ways," the host replied.
"Dude, aren't raptors supposed to be bigger and less feathery?" Tyler asked.
Noah shook his head. "Someone's been watching too much Jurassic Park," he said.
"Exactly. Actual raptors were smaller and feathered, as evidenced by—" Harold started, but Chris cut him off. "No one cares, Harold!"
"Fine. Gosh!"
"Scarlett, if you stay in your cage for five minutes, your team gets a point." Chris continued.
"You can't be serious! I-I lied about..." Scarlett began, but Chris cut her off. "You made your bed. Now go lie in it."
Confessional: Scarlett
"I chose velociraptors as my fear because I was under the impression that they were extinct! But apparently not! Where the [bleep] did Chris find living raptors anyway?"
End confessional
Scarlett reluctantly walked over to the cage and locked herself within. A few seconds later, the raptors were trying to get her out of the cage, with no luck.
Chris looked at Cody, who was looking at a bomb set on several trash cans. "Okay, so you have ten minutes to defuse this garbage bomb. Here are the bomb schematics. Starting…now!" He handed Cody a blueprint, and the timer on the bomb began counting down. He then started to walk away.
"You're not gonna stay and watch?" Cody asked.
"No! That's a live bomb, dude!" Chris said. Cody cringed.
Gwen and Trent were standing near a hole in the beach, with a coffin-like glass container next to Gwen. "I can't do this," Gwen panicked.
"It's okay. You have enough air for an hour, and you only need to last five minutes," Trent consoled her. "Besides," he held up a walkie-talkie, "I'll be with you the entire time." Reluctantly, Gwen climbed into the container, which two of the interns, Dakota and a guy with spiky brown hair, lowered into the hole. They then buried the container.
"Just yell for me if you panic, and I'll dig you up," Trent told Gwen over the walkie-talkie.
Across the beach, Courtney and Scott were looking at a different glass container, this one holding a shark. Scott was clearly scared, and didn't want to touch the shark.
"It's okay, Scott. It's not gonna hurt you," Courtney encouraged.
"You don't know that," Scott replied, terrified out of his wits.
"Your fear of sharks, it's really bad, isn't it?" Courtney asked.
The dirt farmer nodded, saying, "Remember the cliff dive? If Rodney hadn't picked me up and jumped like that, I wouldn't have jumped."
Courtney thought for a moment, then offered, "I could do it with you if it made it easier."
She took his hand, then placed it on the shark. He petted the shark warily, then pulled back his hand.
"Good enough for a point!" Chris announced, and the Bass's counter went up to 1/11. "And Scarlett made it the full five minutes, so that's two points for the Bass!" The counter went up to 2/11, with Scarlett approaching, muttering curses under her breath.
Rodney saw the whole exchange, and his eyes widened.
Confessional: Rodney
"Courtney...likes Scott?" Rodney began to grin excitedly, his former crush on Courtney completely forgotten. "Scott finally has a girlfriend! I'm so happy!"
End confessional
Back with Trent and Gwen, Gwen asked Trent to tell her about his fear of mimes to take her mind off of being buried. Trent began his story.
"When I was four, my mom took me to this carnival to see the elephants. I was stoked."
"Yeah?"
"I was so busy watching them that I lost her for a minute. I called out for her, but all I saw was this creepy black-and-white face pretending to be me. I screamed and tried to run, but every time I turned around, he was there, doing his creepy fake scream-and-run routine." A gloved hand tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to see a mime standing behind him. He screamed, dropped the walkie-talkie, and ran.
"Trent? Trent?" Gwen asked, receiving no answer.
The mime chased Trent past the Bass. Tyler said, "Just tell him to leave you alone, bro!" Trent stopped and panted. The mime stopped too, and pretended to climb over a wall.
"There's no wall, man! Quit being creepy!" Trent said, running out onto the dock. The mime kept "climbing." Trent hyperventilated, then jumped off the dock into the water.
The mime looked down at Trent. Trent saw that the mime hadn't jumped after him, and pumped his fist. "Woo-hoo! What's the matter, mime? Can't swim?"
To his horror, the mime took a deep breath and prepared to dive. "Stop!" Trent called. "Uh, your makeup will run." The mime nodded sadly, admitting defeat. Trent cheered, "Take that, you makeup-wearing freak!"
"Nicely played, Trent," Chris told him, as the Badgers' point counter went up to 1/11.
"I guess. Have you ever felt like you were forgetting something?" Trent asked.
"Yeah. Usually I just ignore the feeling 'til it goes away," the host replied. "I'd better go check on Cody. He's probably buried in garbage by now."
"Bury? Oh no! Gwen!" Trent panicked and ran back to where Gwen was buried, and began digging her up.
After he dug her out, the Badgers' counter went to 2/11.
Bridgette walked aimlessly around after playing a game of tic-tac-toe with herself. "Only three hours and forty-five minutes left to go! I know you're trying to freak me out, producers. It won't work," she said.
The scene cut to Shawn and Alejandro, who were in the woods. Suddenly, they heard groaning. They looked behind them to see a horde of zombies. Both freaked out at the sight, Shawn screaming, "Zombies!" Shawn climbed a tree, while Alejandro ran away.
The zombies climbed after Shawn, who said, "They can climb? Everything I know is wrong!" He then kicked the zombie closest to him. The zombie said, "Ow!"
"Wait, zombies don't talk," Shawn said. "And they don't feel pain, either." He pulled on the zombie's head, and the mask came off, revealing Dakota.
"Dakota?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah, it's me. Guess you win a point," Dakota said, the score showing the Moose's score going up to 3/13.
Chef's plane landed, and Owen jumped out, obviously happy to be on solid ground. Izzy followed, saying, "I think I'm over my fear of flying now." Chef got out of the plane too, and as the three of them walked away, the plane fell apart. However, the Moose's score went up to 5/13.
The camera cut to the foot of the mountain, where Ezekiel and Max were standing. Ezekiel steeled himself and gave a thumbs-up. Max gave one too, more hesitantly.
Confessional: Max
"I wasn't about to let that simpleton outshine me!"
End confessional
A large amount of artificial snow came down and swept both boys off their feet. Ezekiel got up, climbing out of the snow. Ella helped Max up. Max shouted, "Ha! As if your snow could defeat e-vil!"
Ella decided to make a snow angel. She began to sing:
"Snow in the summer is a nice surprise,
It's so fun to play in the snow and the ice
You've conquered your fears, now before it must go
We can have lots of fun in the snow!"
Ezekiel, not listening, sprinted away. Max, however, shrugged and made a snow angel too.
A counter showed the Bass's score go up to 3/11, and the Gophers' to 2/12. Suddenly an explosion was heard. "And that would be Cody's garbage bomb," Chris said dismissively.
The scene cut to the theater, where Beardo was preparing to read his speech, which was the Shakespeare oration that Noah performed in the talent show. Beardo started out diffidently, but gradually got more confident as he read. Beth and Ella cheered loudly for him.
The Gophers got their point, bringing their team's score to 3.
The scene cut to Aiden running away from the septic tank, vomiting profusely. Chef shook his head.
Jasmine and Brick were in a cramped, dark cave, needing to stay inside for five minutes.
"So...what's the story with you being afraid of cramped spaces?" Brick asked.
"Well, it has to do with my height," his amazonian teammate answered. "I've had to deal with cramped spaces more often than I'd like, and I've become really uncomfortable with them. What about you? Why are you scared of the dark?"
"I don't really want to talk about that."
"Okay, what do you want to talk about?"
"Who do you think we should vote out if we lose?"
"Probably Max. He doesn't seem that bright."
"Makes sense. Although I don't like Duncan very much. He's lazy, and not at all a team player."
"I can see that you two don't get along, but Duncan at least has some skill, even though he's a [bleep]."
"The stereotype of Australians cursing a lot. Is that accurate?"
"Oh, mate, it's as bloody accurate as can be. [bleep] is a term of endearment where I'm from."
Brick's eyes widened momentarily, leaving the assumption that whatever curse word Jasmine used was a big one in Canada.
"Oh, hey, look. Our five minutes are up," he said, looking at the digital timer Chris gave them. As they exited the cave, the Gophers' score went up to 5.
Next was Lightning, who was given a test that said, "This test is worth 90% of your grade." Below that, it was all in Russian. Lightning gulped.
Geoff was running across the beach, being pelted by hailstones from a miniature cloud. Chris moved the joystick on his controller, laughing. "You have to stand still!"
The seven victims of Chris's dressing room were all noticeably displeased with their predicaments, especially Topher when Sierra said, "Now your outside matches your inside!" However, it was Anne Maria who cracked in the end, and she washed off her hair dye.
"If we lose because of you, I will make sure you get the boot," Jo threatened.
"Relax. We ain't gonna lose," Anne Maria said.
Confessional: Anne Maria
"Yeah, I wanna win the five million, but not at the expense of my looks! All this," she gestured to herself, "is worth a billion, easy."
Confessional: Jo
"Tan-in-a-can thinks she's all that, but she's going to sabotage herself with her attitude. I wouldn't have a problem with her being dead weight, but she's dead weight on my team."
End confessional
Noah was standing a few feet away from a clown. "Just shake his hand and take a balloon from him," Chris encouraged.
Noah sighed, knowing he had no choice. He walked slowly up to the clown, shook his hand, and let him tie a balloon around his wrist.
"See? That wasn't so hard, now, was it?" Chris asked, in a tone that might be used when talking to a small child.
"I hate you," Noah replied, deadpan as ever.
The scene cut to Eva. Chef held up a bat for her to pet. She screamed and ran away.
Confessional: Eva
"I just really don't like bats, okay? Once, when I was six, I went exploring in a cave, and I got lost. And there were all these bats...so many bats…"
End confessional
Jo shook her head sadly. "I really expected more from Eva."
Topher shook his head. "Some people just can't take the pressure."
Sam was sitting out in the wilderness, feeling pretty good about himself. "There's nothing scary out here," he said to himself. "I just have to last one more hour. After that, level complete!"
As if on cue, Cody, still covered in garbage, emerged from the woods, scaring Sam. "Shawn was right! There are zombies here!" the gamer screamed, and ran away as fast as he could.
Zoey stood behind Chris, and said, "You're sure the bear is trained not to attack?"
The host reassured her, "Absolutely. Just pet him, and you complete your challenge."
Zoey nervously walked up to a bear held on a leash by Chef, and patted its fur. The bear sniffed her, then gently licked her hand.
"Aww. You're just like a gigantic dog, aren't you," Zoey said to the bear. "If only the other bears on this island were this tame."
The Badgers' counter went up to 4/11.
Rodney held a tan snake in his hand. "You're sure it's not poisonous," he said to the host.
"You're thinking of Crotalus viridis, the Prairie Rattlesnake," Harold told him. "That is Hypsiglena torquata, the Night Snake. It's quite harmless."
Confessional: Scarlett
"I have a theory that Rodney has a developmental disorder, though I cannot be sure which one at this stage. I could use it to manipulate him, but he appears loyal to Scott, meaning I cannot assure myself of his loyalty. I think it best that he gets eliminated soon, though perhaps not immediately."
End confessional
DJ cringed at the sight of the snake. It blinked at him, and he screamed. "it blinked at me!"
"Aww. It means she likes you," Lindsay said."
"Hey, if I can conquer my fear, you can conquer your fear too," Rodney offered.
DJ steeled himself, and picked up the snake. The Bass counter went to 5/11.
Duncan was facing a Celine Dion standee. "Just one hug, and your team gets the point," Chris told him.
Duncan looked at the standee, and cringed. "I can't do it," he said.
Chris said, "And Duncan fails his challenge. Weak, man."
Lightning hesitantly turned in his test. It was, quite frankly, a disaster, and Chris wrote "F" at the top. He then said, "You get the point."
The Moose's counter went up to 4. Lightning sighed in relief.
Ella looked at what looked like a green apple in her hand uncertainly. "Because we couldn't actually poison you, we went with this," Chris told her. "That is a manchineel fruit, sometimes known as the manzana de muerta, or 'apple of death.' Don't worry, it won't kill you. All the same, after you take your bite, spit it out. It's going to be so much worse if you swallow it."
Ella took a deep breath, then took a bite of the fruit. She immediately spat it out, then showed her mouth to the camera, showing that it was swollen.
"Point number 9 for the Gophers! Now go report to the infirmary."
Sammy crawled out of the pen full of goats, having earned the Gophers their ninth point. "Good job, Samey!" Chris said. "Unfortunately, I don't think we're making any progress with Tyler, here."
The camera panned over to show Tyler curled up into a ball, shaking, trying not to look at the hen near him.
Mike backed up to the wall, Chef standing in front of him, holding an axe and wearing a hockey mask. He shouted, "I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do here!"
"Hm, good point. There doesn't really seem to be an objective here," the host said thoughtfully. "Tell you what, because you were able to think straight enough to realize that, I'll give you the point, okay?"
"Works for me," Mike said. The Bass counter went up to 6.
Chris announced, "Now, for Sky's challenge." Dakota held up a box of roaches. "You have to stand still and let them crawl all over you!"
Sky gulped, but let Dakota dump the box of roaches on her. Dakota ran to the communal washrooms, where retching noises could be heard.
"Okay, we have two campers left," Chris announced. "Courtney an Sierra. I would now like to announce that B, Topher, Lindsay, Katie, Sadie, Jo, and Justin may now have their accessories removed. That's three points for the Badgers, two for the Bass, one for the Moose, and one for the Gophers, bringing the totals to 8.5, 8, 8, and 9, respectively.
"Thank you!" Jo shouted, leaving to go get her sweatshirt and sweatpants back. B headed in a different direction to go to the infirmary to get his casts removed.
Lindsay, Katie, and Sadie all removed their wigs. "I, like, totally forgot how pretty you guys looked!" Lindsay said.
"Aww! Thanks! You look so pretty too!" Katie and Sadie replied.
Justin removed the fake teeth and the wig, and began removing the temporary tattoo from his face. He said to Topher, "I, like, totally forgot how pretty I looked!"
"I feel you, man. I feel you," Topher replied as he did the same thing.
Courtney looked down from the high dive, into a pool of green gelatin. She gulped. "This cannot be safe. I could seriously die doing this."
"Yes, there have been many fatalities ascribed to diving into pools of green jelly," Noah snarked.
"Really?" Lindsay asked him.
"No," Noah said, annoyed she hadn't picked up on his sarcasm.
"Oh. Well, then don't tell lies like that," Lindsay said.
Noah rolled his eyes.
Sensing Courtney's weakness, Gwen said, "Oh, that is just cruel. It's probably warm by now. Warm, jiggly, bouncy, snotty, ugh!"
"Pay her no heed! She's simply trying to influence your mind!" Scarlett called.
"Yeah! You can do it, Courtney!" her team called.
"If you lose for us, you're going home!" Scarlett shouted.
"Here, come on down! I know you can do it!" Scott shouted. He scooped out a handful and ate it. "Oh, that's so good. You should come down and have some! It's delicious!"
Courtney looked at Scott, took a deep breath, and jumped. She landed a few feet away from him, and started making for the side of the pool immediately.
"And that is 9 points for the Bass!" Chris announced. "Now, Sierra must complete her challenge to reach nine points for her team to get first place, by a margin of their half-point bonus."
"Love this challenge, Chris," Topher said. "Let's get to Sierra's challenge. I can't wait to see her fail."
"Good idea, Topher," Chris said. "Finally, we have Sierra's challenge. You have to watch as I burn every one of the old projects I regret doing. And no trying to save any of them, you hear?"
The camera shifted to a pile of old movies, CDs, and Chris McLean paraphernalia. Chris lit a poster of himself on fire, and the camera focused on the resulting fire for a few seconds before someone yelled "Stop!"
It was Chris. "Even if the projects sucked, I can't just let so much stuff with my face on it burn! Sierra, help me!"
"Do I get the point?" Sierra asked.
"Yes! Now help me save these!" Chris shouted. The Moose groaned, knowing they had lost.
"I didn't really expect anything from Stage Fright, String Bean, or Choking Hazard," Jo said to Eva and Leshawna, "but I thought you two were tougher than this! I guess not, though."
Lightning added, "Lightning thinks all five of you should get the boot."
Aiden looked at Anne Maria and rolled his eyes. Anne Maria said, "I know, right? What are they gettin' so worked up over?" She either didn't notice Jo and Lightning glaring at her, or didn't care.
The scene cut to the campfire ceremony, where all of the Moose members who had completed their challenges were holding marshmallows. "Anne Maria, Cody, Eva, and LeShawna, you four did not complete your challenges. The next two marshmallows go to Eva, Leshawna, and...Aiden."
He then held up the last marshmallow. "Cody, Anne Maria, this is the final marshmallow of the evening. Whoever does not get this marshmallow must walk the Dock of Shame, board the Boat of Losers, and never return. The final marshmallow goes to..."
"Cody."
Cody sighed with relief. Anne Maria stood up. "Fine, fine. I'm too good for this dump anyways." She then walked down the dock, and boarded the boat, which sailed away. Chris turned back to the twelve remaining members of the Moose team, and said, "The rest of you are safe. For tonight."
Author's note:
Gophers: Succeeded: 9 (B, Sammy, Brick, Jasmine, Max, Ella, Beardo, Beth, Heather), Failed: 2 (Duncan, Dawn)
Bass: Succeeded: 9 (Scott, Rodney, Scarlett, Ezekiel, Topher, DJ, Lindsay, Mike, Courtney), Failed: 2 (Sam, Tyler)
Moose: Succeeded: 8 (Shawn, Lightning, Jo, Cameron, Owen, Noah, Izzy, Harold), Failed: 5 (Cody, Eva, Anne Maria, Leshawna, Aiden)
Badgers: Succeeded: 9 (Trent, Gwen, Bridgette, Sky, Zoey, Justin, Katie, Sadie, Sierra), Failed: 2 (Alejandro, Geoff), +1/2 point bonus
I know the counters were not reliable this episode. Just chalk it up to Chris being bad at math.
Thoughts on Anne Maria? I don't hate her, I just don't care about her. I had no ideas of what to do with her outside of a possible rivalry with Sugar, who is gone now, so I got rid of her.
This is not one of my favorite episodes in canon. Tyler's elimination is the main reason for that, as while Courtney still had some plot remaining, there's no way her team would realistically have kept her over Tyler when not only was her fear more pathetic, but she lost an opportunity to single-handedly give her team the win.
The non-canon fears for this chapter are a mix of references to other fanfics, such as Scarlett's "fear" (reference to Total Drama Redemption). If you can spot all of the referential fears, I'll give you a shoutout in the next episode.
Elimination order:
52: Dave, the Germaphobe
51: Staci, the Compulsive Liar
50: Dakota, the Fame-monger
49: Sugar, the Pageant Queen
48: Amy, the Evil Twin
47: Leonard, the LARPer
46: Anne Maria, the Jersey Shore Reject
