Chapter 14: Only One Can Remain


Reviews:

LovelyLuly: I was working off of memory. I also got Noah's sweater color wrong. Still, 49 out of 51 isn't so bad, right?

DSX62415: True. Ezekiel could have it a lot worse.

Knifez:

(1): Yes, AU where none of the actual seasons ever happened. And don't worry about Aiden. He's not a self-insert in the least, as I'm sure you've figured out by the time you read this.

(2): In retrospect, I wish I had cut Staci first and then had Alejandro and Justin convince their team to get rid of Dave second, but it's too late for that now. I like making references, but I'll try not to have so many that it gets annoying. I'll make the chapters longer if possible.

(3): I've explained this a few times already. Scott's strategy from ROTI would have been unsustainable here because of the four teams. If he wanted any kind of power in the game, he would need allies, and Ezekiel is dumb enough to do what he says. I get not really liking Scott and Rodney as cousins, but I don't have a problem with it, and I can't change it now.

(4): Well, glad you're starting to like it more. I'm sorry about the layout, I didn't like it much myself, but I was just finding writing the action frustrating. I understand that's no excuse, and promise it won't happen again. I tried a few different ideas in rough drafts, but they all ended up getting Tyler eliminated, and I didn't want that yet.

(5): Mike wasn't a theater nerd in canon, but Mike had no personality in canon. I wanted to give him something, okay? I agree, Sugar escaping elimination would have been implausible. Thanks, glad to hear.

(6): Shenanigans good, contrived eliminations bad. Suspension of disbelief is not there to be abused. I can't change what I've already published, but I'll try to work on having most of the characters have something to do, to at least acknowledge their existence.

(7): I did get the idea from TSRI. I guess I could have done more, but who else would I eliminate? I like Tyler a fair bit myself, but he's not as easy to write as he looks, especially in non-physical challenges. Finally, someone acknowledged that joke! I was rather proud of that one.

(8): Soon enough. I didn't think I'd need Anne. I know the challenge was a bit of a clusterfrick, but really, how could it not be?

(9): Obviously, Scarlett couldn't build a phone on-camera because outside communication is forbidden and Scarlett doesn't know yet that Chris gives no fricks about the rules. But I'm glad you like that Lindsay and Tyler are getting plot.

(10): I don't blame you. He doesn't have much going for him.

(11): Going to work on that. But you have to admit, many of the absolute worst competitors in Total Drama were from Gen 3.

(12): Soon. Did you not really have much to say about these last few chapters, or...

(13): I'm not a huge fan of Zeke either. Unfortunately he usually is written as either a total buffoon or an unrealistically competent powerhouse, and he doesn't wear either role well. I've only really seen him well-written twice: Total Shuffled World Tour and (for as much shade as I can throw at TotalDramaFan14) Random Drama Revenge of the Island. Indeed they are.

Gucci Mane LaFlare: Thanks, I was a bit worried. I don't care for Ezekiel but he's not the worst. Glad you're enjoying.

QueenAzulaThinksYourWorthless: I agree with you on Ezekiel. He's not especially talented, and kind of clueless. Maybe he could be relevant if an antagonist decided to string him along for his vote, but that didn't happen. I'm going to disagree with you on JaShawn, but I don't really have a rebuttal. I might just be biased in favor of my OTP.

TaitanoRules555: I've read it. Yeah, it's good.

Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: Exactly. You'll have to wait and see what Scott will do, though.

LovelyLuly again: I won't answer that due to spoilers. I'll do my best on what romances I have.

MugenSocks: Yeah, that's something I have to work on. I'm not so good at refusing to answer questions.


Teams:

Gophers: B, Beardo, Beth, Brick, Dawn, Duncan, Ella, Heather, Jasmine, Sammy

Bass: Courtney, DJ, Lindsay, Mike, Sam, Scarlett, Scott, Topher, Tyler

Moose: Aiden, Cameron, Cody, Eva, Harold, Leshawna, Lightning, Noah, Owen, Shawn

Badgers: Alejandro, Bridgette, Geoff, Gwen, Justin, Katie, Sadie, Sierra, Sky, Trent, Zoey


The episode opened on Topher practicing his hosting skills in the forest. "And tensions are high on the Bass team," he recapped. "With the recent elimination of Ezekiel, Scarlett's alliance showed their hand. Finding themselves within the minority, what will—oh, hey, Scott!" the wannabe host said as he saw the farmer approach him. "You didn't hear any of that, did you? Because I was just practicing my hosting skills, and—"

"Save it," Scott said. "I already knew about Scarlett's alliance. It's what, her, you, Mike, Lindsay, and Tyler?"

Topher sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Now I don't have to keep it a secret."

Scott said, "Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Sure, Scarlett has a majority alliance. But do you really think her alliance will get you very far? Mike, Lindsay, and especially Tyler are all pretty useless in challenges, so even after you get rid of the four of us, there's a good chance you guys could lose again. And you seem like the smartest and most capable of Scarlett's minions, so guess who she'll turn on first. Courtney, DJ, Sam, and I are in an alliance, and if you would join ours, we'd appreciate it."

Topher looked thoughtful. "I know she'll probably betray me. But wouldn't I be in the same situation with your alliance?"

Scott decided not to lie. "Probably. But we're a lot better in challenges than they are. The five of us could probably make the merge together without too much trouble, and once that happens, you can find some new allies."

Topher stroked his chin. "I'll think about it, okay? I don't want to make any promises right now."

Scott smiled. "You do that. Oh, and don't tell Scarlett we know."


Confessional: Topher

"Hmm. Scott could potentially be useful. Besides, just having Scarlett corner the rest of her team probably won't be that good for ratings. If I want to prove I can be a host like Chris, I need to cause more drama than just being in a successful alliance. I…I think I have an idea. It's risky, but if it works, it could be my ticket to the finale."

End confessional


Shortly after their conversation in the woods, Scott and Topher made their ways back to camp separately. And just in time too. "Attention, campers!" Chris's voice came over the loudspeaker. "It's challenge time! Report to the Bay of Dismay to see what it is!"

"Great name, Chris!" Sierra shouted.

"Yes, it sounds like it will be great for ratings!" Topher agreed loudly.

Chris smiled at the praise he was receiving from the two. "I know."

As the campers were all walking to the Bay of Dismay, Heather pulled Brick aside. "If we lose today, are you okay with voting out Duncan?" she asked.

Brick frowned and nodded. "I would honestly be okay with that. I think our teamwork would be better without him."

Heather smiled. "I agree."


Confessional: Heather

"My alliance members aren't really able to compete that well with the people outside my alliance on my team right now if it comes down to it. I need a guarantee that if we lose, I won't be the one losing an alliance member. And Brick and Duncan hate each other, so that might just be what I need."

End confessional


Once they reached the Bay of Dismay, Chris addressed the campers again. "Okay, so, originally, I had this pre-challenge planned; where you would all have to own up to a bunch of embarrassing facts about yourselves, and if you didn't own up, your team would be dunked in the water. But I eventually just edited that idea a bit, then turned it into its own challenge. So, we're skipping straight to part two. The Mad Skills Obstacle Course Relay Race!" The camera panned over to show a large obstacle course with ten sections.

"Boo-yah!" Harold said, grinning as he pumped his fist. "This challenge basically has me written all over it. 'Mad Skills' is basically my middle name. Well, actually, it's Norbert, Cheever, and Doris, but still."

Chris gave him a look. "The relay race begins with a mad dash from the Kick Start," he said as the camera showed a quartet of giant rubber boots that were connected to poles on either sides by enormous axles. "Forget coffee, if these babies don't get you goin', nothin' will. Oh, and for this one, you'll be wearing goggles that obscure your vision. Just this one, though, because the budget ran out."

Then the camera showed a large pit of mud. "Then there's the slow, sticky run through Mudslide Canyon. Hope you don't mind getting dirty!"

After that, the camera showed a grid of moving lasers. "After that, there's the race against time that is the Laser Blast Run. Hope you're good at dodging, 'cause those things hurt." As if on cue, a bird flew into one of the lasers, then got zapped, causing all its feathers to fall out. The bird fell to the ground, and then tried to run away. A hand came out from under the obstacle course, and grabbed the bird. Maniacal laughter could be heard from underneath.

After that, it showed a zip line over the bay. "The zip line comes next. Fairly straightforward, but whatever. Just don't fall, or you have the choice of going back to try again, or swimming through the rest of the bay."

The next obstacle consisted of logs set up to roll on their sides, with air cannons firing dodgeballs across the space between them. "And because we still have the dodgeballs, Cannonball Alley got set up. I wanted wrecking balls like on the Wii Fit Plus minigame, but we could only afford two, so I got half a dozen air cannons instead."

Fifth was a close-up of a large, red, butt-shaped apparatus that was moving up and down. "And after that, the bouncy agony of Double Trouble!" The camera zoomed out to show that there were five of the contraptions in each lane.

Seventh was a foam path with a rotating x-shaped foam-padded bar next to it. "You have to be quick and time it right in order to avoid being knocked off by the Sweeper Spinner! I love this show."

Eighth was a wall with several holes in it, out of which boxing gloves came out. "Next we have the Wall of Punches! With extra concussion power!"

After that, a climbing wall covered in grease. "Up next is the Wall of Greasy Slipperiness! Guaranteed to cause at least a few falls, or double your money back! Well, the producers' money, anyways."

Finally, the camera showed an artificial waterfall with a ladder inside. "Finally, you have the Waterfall Climb. Try not to get swept away! Or do, either works for me."

The camera went back to Chris. "This time you actually get to decide who does what obstacle. Oh, and since the Badger and Bass teams don't have ten people exactly, the Badgers will have two people pair up for an obstacle, and the Bass will have one person do two obstacles. It can be any person and any two obstacles; they don't have to be consecutive."

Scarlett decided to take charge of her team. "It is clear that some of the obstacles will take more athleticism to conquer than others. Therefore, I am suggesting Topher do the Kick Start, DJ the mud run, Mike the lasers, myself the zip line, Courtney the cannons, Lindsay the bouncers, Sam the Sweeper, Tyler the Wall of Punches, and..."

"I'll take the last two myself," Scott finished.

"Who does she think she is?" Courtney whispered to him after they walked a short distance away from Scarlett.

"Yeah, I know," replied Scott. "But just go with it for now. If we lose this challenge, we're screwed."


Confessional: Courtney

"Now that I know she's the enemy, having to play nice with Scarlett makes my blood boil."

End confessional


Alejandro asked his teammates, "Does anyone wish to be partnered up for this challenge?"

Katie and Sadie volunteered. "Ooh! We wanna be partnered up!"

Alejandro said, "Excellent. Now, would you be willing to perform the mud run? It seems like the most conducive to having two people perform it."

Katie, shocked, said, "Ew, no! We don't wanna get mud all over our clothes!"

"You do realize all the obstacles except the zip line and the waterfall are over mud, right?" Gwen deadpanned. "You're probably going to get muddy either way."

Sadie said, "But we should at least get a chance not to get muddy!"

Alejandro sighed. "Okay. We can have Trent begin with the Kick Start, Justin can cross Mudslide Canyon, Zoey can take the Laser Blast Run, Bridgette gets the zip line, Sky shall perform the cannon log roll, Gwen will take the bouncers, Katie and Sadie may handle the Sweeper Spinner, Geoff the Wall of Punches, Sierra the Wall of Greasy Slipperiness, and I shall perform the Waterfall Climb. How does that suit?"

Justin shrugged. "The mud will probably be good for my skin anyway."


The challenge began with a pre-shot of who would perform which obstacle. "First up at the Kick Start it's Beardo versus Topher versus Cameron versus Trent," Chris said via voice-over. "Then it's B, DJ, Leshawna, and Justin racing through the mud."

"After that, it's Samey versus Mike versus Harold versus Zoey," the shot showed the four with varying degrees of nervousness, "versus the lasers."

"Then we have Ella, Scarlett, Cody, and Bridgette on the zip line," the host continued. Cody walked up to Scarlett, making a terrible attempt to be smooth.

"Hey, I don't think we've gotten a chance to talk," he said to her. "We should really get to know each other better, perhaps...over a romantic dinner?"

She gave him a blank look. "I have no use for romance."

He hesitated for a moment, and said, "Not the romantic type? That's okay. I can do romantic or casual."

She brushed him off. "Your advances are neither wanted nor reciprocated."

Chris laughed over the voice-over. "Ouch, things are getting painful already, and the relay race hasn't even started yet! But anyway, after that, Courtney, Jasmine, Sky, and Lightning face each other in Cannonball Alley," the shot showed the Courtney and Jasmine looking at each other with narrowed eyes, and Lightning and Sky engaging in friendly trash-talk, "Gwen, Noah, Lindsay, and Beth will take on Double Trouble," Beth and Noah looked at the apparati warily while Lindsay studied a compact mirror and Gwen ignored the three, "Owen, Dawn, Sam, and Katie and Sadie will battle the Sweeper Spinner," the camera showed Dawn looking disinterested, Sam thumb-wrestling Owen and beating him badly, and Katie and Sadie gossiping, "Heather, Tyler, Aiden, and Geoff will fight the Wall of Punches," the four were shown looking nervously at the wall, "Duncan, Shawn, Sierra, and Scott will scale the Wall of Greasy Slipperiness," the four were shown stretching and getting ready to climb, "And then Scott will continue to the Waterfall Climb to face Brick, Eva, and Alejandro," the host finished, and the three others mentioned were shown staring and the ladders within the artificial waterfall.

The interns handed out batons to the first four. The boots then all came down at once. Topher and Trent both dodged, and Cameron yelped and dropped to the ground, leaving the boot to pass over him. Beardo wasn't so lucky. The boot hit him, and he dropped into the gap between the platforms. "And Beardo gets the boot!" Chris announced.

"Hey, I did all right!" Cameron said and ran forward, but he ran into the gap by mistake.

"Topher gets his team the early lead with a flawless start!" Topher narrated as he and Trent jumped over the gap. "And he makes a flawless pass to DJ!" He passed the baton to DJ. Trent also passed Justin the baton. Both DJ and Justin both started moving through the mud, DJ noticeably faster than Justin. Trent shouted at the latter, "Can't you run any faster? Are those muscles just for show?"

Justin shouted back, "Of course! I'm a model, not an athlete!"

Cameron and Beardo both got out of the mud when DJ was about three-quarters of the way through, and Justin was only about one-quarter of the way through. They both passed the batons on quickly, and B and Leshawna both jumped into the mud quickly and started powering through as quickly as possible.

DJ quickly climbed onto the platform where Mike was waiting and passed off the baton. Mike took it, and looked at the laser grid. "I can do this, I can do this," he told himself. Then he gasped. "Wrong! Only one person can do zis! Up now is Svetlana, champion gymnast!" Svetlana then started expertly making "her" way through the lasers, but then paused. "Manitoba was correct. Something eez not right. But I do not know vhat."

"Focus, Svetlana!" DJ shouted as B and Leshawna climbed out of the mud. Justin was still only about halfway there. Seeing them hand off their batons to Sammy and Harold, Svetlana immediately resumed making her way through the laser grid. Harold and Sammy both followed after her. Harold made his way through the lasers fairly quickly, while Sammy moved at a more sedate pace.

Svetlana successfully made her way to Scarlett and handed off the baton, then gasped and turned back into Mike. Scarlett accepted the baton, and zipped down on the zip line. Cody followed a few seconds later, when Harold handed the baton off to him.

Justin finally climbed up to where Zoey was waiting, and handed her the baton. "Take it," he panted. Chris announced, "And Justin finally makes it past his obstacle," seemingly just to rub salt into the wound.


Confessional: Justin

"Honestly, what was Alejandro thinking, giving me an obstacle that would require actual physical strength? Well, at least I was right. This mud really is good for my skin."

End confessional


Zoey took the baton, and quickly started making her way through the lasers.

Scarlett and Cody both made it to the opposite side of the bay without incident, and handed off their batons to Courtney and Lightning. Both immediately started on the log rolls, with Lightning taking the lead over Courtney. He probably would have reached the other side fairly easily if not for a dodgeball fired at him. When he saw it coming at him, he caught it rather than dodging, which caused him to lose his balance and fall. "Sha-whoa!" he shouted, surprised at losing his balance.

Courtney also was hit by a dodgeball from one of the cannons further away from her. "Great, I have to watch both sides? This day is just getting better and better," she spat bitterly.

Zoey and Sammy both got out around the same time. They handed their batons off to Ella and Bridgette, who both grabbed the zip line T-bars and went after the other two.

Lightning and Courtney went to try again, more carefully this time. Both of them moved more slowly this time, but they both managed to dodge the balls being shot at them. They made it to the other side just as Bridgette reached the platform.

Bridgette passed off the baton just as Ella arrived. Sky, learning from Courtney and Lightning's mistakes, started making her way across the log roll, watching all of the cannons carefully. Jasmine followed close behind.

Lightning passed the baton to Noah, who jumped onto the bouncer. He made it three bouncers before he fell off. When Lindsay took the baton, she studied the bouncers and waited for a few seconds, watching Noah's attempt. Then she jumped onto one of them, then kept jumping, making it to the other side without incident. "And Lindsay surprisingly makes it to the other side," Chris commented, surprised.


Confessional: Lindsay

"It wasn't that hard. I just had to go straight forward at the right speed."

End confessional


Just as Sky and Jasmine were almost across the log roll, Noah tried again. He landed painfully on his stomach on the first bulb, then on his back on the second, then on his stomach on the third, then on his back on the fourth, then on his stomach on the fifth, then on his back on the platform. "That was painful," he commented.

Lindsay passed Sam the baton, and he started running across the narrow bridge that the Sweeper Spinner guarded. When he saw it coming his way, he said, "Okay, it's just like the game. Wait for it to get close, and...jump!" He tried to jump over the Spinner's arm, but he tripped over it, and tumbled from the platform into the mud below.

Gwen managed to get past Double Trouble without incident, but Beth wasn't so lucky. She tried crossing the bouncers, but she lost her balance and fell. "Ooh, and it looks like Beth is struggling!" Chris announced. "That could cost her team!"

Owen tried the Sweeper next. He tried to cross before the arm could sweep him off, but the arm did end up reaching him. However, it failed to push him off as it did Sam. "Hey, I'm too heavy for it to handle!" he shouted. "Awesome!" He powered forwards, actually pushing the arm of the Sweeper back. "And Owen's bulk proves too much for the Sweeper Spinner, getting his team the lead!" Chris announced. Beth angrily sighed, and tried her obstacle again, again failing.

Gwen passed the baton to Katie and Sadie, who began on their obstacle. When the arm came towards them, Katie managed to duck under it. Sadie wasn't so lucky, and she fell. Katie noticed she was still holding the baton, and shouted, "I'll be back for you, Sadie!" But Chris interrupted he over the intercom. "Uh uh uh, everyone who starts on an obstacle has to finish!" Katie paused, and the arm knocked her into the mud as well.

Owen passed the baton to Aiden, who started on the Wall of Punches. Almost immediately, he got hit by several of the boxing gloves popping out of the wall. "Ooh! And that's why that obstacle is my favorite!" Chris announced.

Sam tried again, this time ducking under the arm when it came towards him. He did successfully make it past the obstacle, and handed the baton off to Tyler.

Katie and Sadie tried again. This time, they were both successful in ducking under the arm. Katie stood up and said, "Yes! We did it!"

"We did it? Yay, we did it!" Sadie responded. They hugged...only to be swept into the mud again by another arm of the spinner.

Aiden was making his way across the Wall of Punches, getting battered pretty hard. He was able to take it for the most part, until a boxing glove hit him in the groin, and he screamed and let go.


Confessional: Aiden

"Well, I'm aesexual, so I guess I wasn't using that anyway?"

End confessional


Beth finally made it across Double Trouble, and handed the baton to Dawn. "And Beth finally makes it past her obstacle," Chris announced over the loudspeaker. "But given the Bass and Moose team's leads, it might have already cost her team the win."

Dawn commented, "That's not really helpful, Chris." She passed the wannabe twins climbing back onto the platform to try again, and made it past the Sweeper quickly and without incident.

Tyler started on the Wall of Punches. Like Aiden, he received several blows from the Wall. However, unlike the quiet teen, he didn't get knocked off by the boxing gloves. He managed to hold onto the wall, and made it to the other side. "And Tyler, of all people, manages to recover the lead for his team," Chris announced. "Color me surprised."

Scott took the baton, and began on the Wall of Greasy Slipperiness. It visibly took a great deal of difficulty, but he was doing it.

Heather began on the Wall of Punches next, still getting punched several times but not having as bad a time of it as the two pain magnets who preceded her. She managed to make it to Duncan battered, but without collapsing. He took the baton and began the climb, visibly not doing as well as Scott.

"Give up, tough guy!" Scott shouted back. "I've been wrestling greased pigs in tournaments for years! I might not be as good at it as my sister Albertha, but I can deal with grease a lot easier than some middle-class punk!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I..." Duncan slipped and fell back to the ground. "Maybe focus on climbing, Duncan, not trash talk," Chris said over the speaker.

Aiden tried the Wall of Punches again. He got beaten badly by the boxing gloves again, and he fell again. "Ooh, tough luck, Aiden!" Chris announced. "That's gonna be sore for days!"

After Aiden fell, Geoff was next on the Wall of Punches. He did get punched by a lot of boxing gloves, but managed to make it across without being hurt too badly. He passed the baton to Sierra, who made an equally unsuccessful attempt to Duncan's to climb the Wall of Greasy Slipperiness.

As Scott was almost at the top, Aiden finally made it past his obstacle, bruised and battered. He collapsed onto the platform. "I'm just gonna take that..." Shawn said as he took the baton from Aiden's hand, then he started climbing. He easily passed Duncan and Sierra, and his speed rattled Scott. The farmer scrambled to the top and fell headfirst down the other side.

"Dude, you have got to be more careful!" Shawn admonished loudly enough for Scott to hear. "What if there had been a zombie on the other side?"

"And let me guess, you're so good at climbing greasy walls because that might come up in a zombie apocalypse?" Duncan asked snidely.

"Never know what you'll have to do while covered in grease to protect your brains," Shawn said.

On the other side of the wall, Courtney and DJ, who had run to where Scott had fallen, were examining his fallen form. "I think he's concussed," Courtney told DJ.

"Then that means...I'm gonna have to do the last obstacle," DJ said. He grabbed the baton from Scott's hand and ran to the base of the artificial waterfall. He took a deep breath and began to climb.

Shawn made it over the wall a few seconds later, and passed the baton to Eva. "And it looks like this is gonna be a close one!" Chris announced. "DJ has the lead, but can he stay ahead of Eva?"

DJ and Eva both frantically raced up the waterfall ladders. DJ was moving fast, but Eva was slowly closing the gap. Duncan eventually made it over the wall, but nobody cared at this point. The only thing that mattered was whether DJ or Eva would reach the top first. Eventually one camper crossed the finish line only half a second before the other, and the winner was...

DJ!


Confessional: DJ

"I think I'm finally over my fear of water."

End confessional


"And the Bass win!" Chris announced. "To the winners go the spoils," he continued as Dakota brought out what looked like a gift basket. "McLean brand soap, shampoo, and conditioner. Guaranteed to wash off the stink!" A pleasant tune played in the background. "Oh, and Chef? Get Scott to the infirmary." Chef obliged, picking up Scott and carrying him over his shoulder. "Do we need to take Aiden to the infirmary too?" he asked.

Aiden got back up. "I'm fine," he said.

Chris finished, "I will see the other three teams at elimination."


Justin, Katie, Sadie, and Alejandro were talking in an isolated group. "So, we agree on who to vote for?" Justin asked the others.

"Si, mi amigo," Alejandro replied. "I'll vote with you." Katie and Sadie nodded in agreement, starry-eyed.

Justin smiled. "If we're lucky, the vote will be divided enough that the four of us will be enough."


Confessional: Aiden

"Today was not pleasant. Mike's team won, and mine is going to elimination. Some curse," he scoffed. "But I do get to test out my strategy now." He wrote something on a piece of paper. "As long as I keep them guessing, I can have those window lickers on my team vote however I want." He punctuated his sentence with a flourish of his pen.

End confessional


Harold, Cody, Noah, and Cameron reentered their cabin for privacy. "So, who do you guys think we should vote for?" Cody asked.

Harold said, "Aiden did take the longest to get past his obstacle, so it seems logical to...what's this?" He picked up a piece of paper from his bunk. "'Vote for Eva or I snitch on your alliance?' Who could have found out?"

Cameron said, "Hmm. We should probably obey the note until we know who sent it. We do need to keep our alliance secret, after all, or we'll be voted out for sure. But once we find out who it was, we can eliminate them."

"All right," Noah agreed. "We vote out Eva tonight, although challenges will be a lot harder without her."


Outside, Heather asked Brick, "Are you still on board with voting out Duncan?"

Brick nodded. "I think it would be better for our team in the long run."

Heather nodded. "Good. I'll see if there's anyone else I can get to vote with us."


Confessional: Heather

"I doubt any of my other teammates will want to vote out Duncan over Beth, my alliance notwithstanding. But I can keep Beth in the game in another way."

End confessional


Heather found Duncan carving a skull onto the cabin wall. "Okay, so, Duncan? I want to talk to you. In private," she offered.

"Sorry, you've got a great body, but not worth losing a shot at five mil," Duncan said sarcastically.

"Ew, gross! No, not like that!" Heather protested.

"Then what?" Duncan asked.

"Okay, tonight, there will be four votes for Beth, one for you, your vote, and four votes for whoever I say to vote out. Either I can make you go to a tiebreaker and risk losing..." she trailed off.

"Or?" Duncan said.

"You and I could work together to get rid of someone else."

Duncan thought for a moment. "How do I know you won't just vote me out anyway?"

Heather said, "You and I could literally vote together. As in, at the same time, in the confessional together."

Duncan looked thoughtful. "All right. Deal. Who are we voting for?"


At the Campfire Ceremony, Chris adressed the members of all three teams present. "Usually at these ceremonies, I pass out a bunch of marshmallows to build tension. But tonight, that would take too long. So, I'm just going to name our three losers tonight, and watch to see your expressions!" He laughed. "Tonight's losers are...

"Gwen, Dawn, and Eva."

"What?" many of the campers exclaimed. Eva glared at her teammates. "What? How dare you? I'll tear you all limb from limb!" She lunged at the nearest of her teammates, who just so happened to be Owen, and punched him in the gut. She then fell over with several tranquilizer darts in her butt.

"But, why? Justin, Katie, and Sadie were the ones who messed up." Gwen asked.

"I guess someone's going after threats early," Chris replied. "Any last words before taking the Cruise of Lose?"

"I have several," Dawn said.

Chris raised his eyebrows. "This should be good. Go on."

"B, I wish you the best of luck," she said to B, who still looked shocked. "Brick, Duncan, your rivalry will tear your team apart if you don't do something about it," she said to the two unibrowed boys. They both looked down in shame.

"Lightning, you must learn to keep your pride in check or it will lead you to ruin, as it did with Jo," she said to Lightning. "Sierra, your continued mutual bitterness with Topher is not healthy for either of you. Nor is your obsession with Chris. He's not worth it."

"O-kay, that's enough," Chris interrupted her. "Chef, take them away."

"But I didn't get to tell them who the traitors on their teams were!" Dawn protested.

"Too late," Chris said. Chef dragged the three eliminated girls onto the Boat of Losers.

"Listen, friends! The traitors are—" Dawn tried to warn the others, but was cut off by the boat's horn. Chris turned to the remaining campers.

"The rest of you are safe. For tonight."


Confessional: Ella

"Am I cursed to have to vote out each of my teammates just as we're becoming friends?"

End confessional


I imagine I've just made some people very upset. While I think you might be fairly willing to forgive me for eliminating Eva, Gwen and Dawn are a different story. They're both fan favorites, and I recognize that there's a reason for that. But before you start calling me an unredeemable monster in the reviews section, let me explain why I chose to eliminate them. Then you can call me an unredeemable monster.

I eliminated Gwen because she and Trent together were a big threat, and between the two of them, Gwen has received more focus in both canon and fanon. I wanted a chance to focus on Trent without Gwen, or any other love interest, around.

Similarly, Dawn is a big threat to antagonists because of her empathic abilities, and while several stories have been written where B and Dawn are close, they all seem to end with B getting eliminated and Dawn having to keep going without him. See: Total Drama: Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty and Random Drama Pahkitew Island. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but I wanted to try something different and have Dawn eliminated first, leaving B to keep going without her. Due to the fact that he doesn't talk, B rarely gets much development, but I think it's possible to develop him without having him talk, and I want to try.

I'm just going to confirm four returning campers at the halfway point before you all decide to kill me.

As for my thoughts on the three in canon:

Eva is very justified as an early boot for someone so strong, but she does have a lot of untapped potential.

Dawn is essentially a gimmick character, but her gimmick is a very good one. And unlike a lot of other gimmick characters like Justin or Staci, she does have a great deal of development potential. I just decided to focus on B instead because he gets less fanon focus.

Gwen was great in Island, but over time I started liking her less and less. I do still like her, inasmuch as I can like any character who made the All-Stars merge not named Scott, but overall I think I would have been happier if she had gotten to keep the check from Island and not return to the show.

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

45: Izzy, the Psycho Hose Beast (still out there?)

44: Rodney, the Lovesick Farm Boy

43: Max, the Super-Villain Wannabe

42: Jo, the Take-No-Prisoners Jockette

41: Ezekiel, the Homeschooled Guy

38 (Tie): Gwen, the Loner

38 (Tie): Dawn, the Outcast

38 (Tie): Eva, the Hothead