Hopefully you enjoy the Chapter, even though it took us 3 Months to get it out, and 2 1/2 Months to actually begin working on it. This is an early Christmas Present, and maybe hopefully we can probably get Episode 2 someday.
Still worked on by Me, and a lot of help from Xmon323, so go check out Elemental Islands. (And Totally Legit Revenge of The Island.)
The bus rolls along, my head on my arm resting, looking outside. My last moment before the game begins. Part of me is terrified, part of me cursing myself for joining, and a third part is excited to compete still.
Looks like we're almost there… Season 3! Hopefully I can survive this one… Just watch I'll be dead in three episodes.
So, it's me vs 17 other people, I've got such great odds here. Maybe I shouldn't be so sarcastic, but in my position it's kind of hard not to be just… Annoyed with this show.
Huh… Something I'm beginning to realize is that I trail off in my thoughts from time to time. I don't mean to just space out, but I start to overthink things whenever I'm not actively doing something.
As I'm leaning against the window, I try to think more about the game, but suddenly I'm jolted into the seat directly in-front of me.
"Ow…" I'd mumble, covering my nose as I looked out the window once more. I noticed the bus had come to a complete stop, "Wait…" I'd stand, trying to peek over the seat in front of me, "Are we there already?" My question was answered when I could faintly hear Chris outside the bus, and I slinked back down into my seat.
I'd sigh, "Already back into it, huh?"
People slowly start to get off the bus, Courtney, Duncan, Heather, Gwen, Leshawna, before Chef walks over to me. "You two next," He states, pointing to me and then Lindsay. Here we go, let's give this a try. Lindsay and I step out into the sunlight to the face of Chris McLean smirking at a camera.
"Lindsay, and Beth," I hear Chris comment as I walk out, before I catch him saying "Who isn't last this time," under his breath. I wave to the camera as I walk past, it's really the only thing I can do, can I? New Season, New Me... I think that's how it goes, right?
"Owen, DJ and Harold!" Chris continues after I get a bit further away. Owen's yelps of fear get me to turn around
"SWEET STRAWBERRY PRESERVES! NOOOOOOOOO!" Chris's confused expression causes DJ to turn to him and comment,
"He's afraid of flying, remember?" Chris shrugs.
"Too ba-" Chris is suddenly cut off by Harold stepping out,
"Aerophobia, from the Latin, as opposed to Aeronausiphobia, the fear of air sickness." Okay Harold, that was very nice, but now's not really the time,
"Keep up the fascinating facts, and I'm going to aeronaiseous all over you!" Yeah, that's Noah alright. We've never really talked, maybe I can be friends with him or something, he seems like he's a lot more motivated than in Island.
"And returning favourites, Noah! Cody! And…" Chris is cut off by Ezekiel running out excitedly,
"YO! YO! YO! THIS YEAR'S WINNER IS IN THE HOUSE! Er… Bus? I mean… Runawayyyyy!" Ah yes… Ezekiel. Well, he wasn't too bad in the Island special, at least. Wonder how he'll do this time? Up next came Izzy, doing something unexpected, which has weirdly become expected, like a paradox.
"I know right? Let's fly! WHOO!" Izzy uses that moment to jump on Ezekiel's shoulders, who can't take her weight and proceeds to fall over.
"Watch out! Woahhhh!" I can really only cringe at the thud that happens, even more when Tyler and even Bridgette step out and fall on the pile as well. From the bottom of the contestant sandwich, Ezekiel asks. "Yo Chris, you forgot to introduce me!" To which Chris audibly sighs. Well if Chris' reaction's anything to go by, he's not surviving for long, Mclean's gonna make sure somehow.
"And Ezekiel." Yep, Zeke's done for. Chris however, continues, "And now to mix things up and keep it all fresh, we're adding two new competitors." Chris… We literally rode on the bus here with them, and the audience probably already knows thanks to Sierra leaking it, it isn't really a surprise to anyone.
"Wonder who's gonna come out first?" I whisper to Lindsay,
"Wait, what are their names again?" she replied, I can't help but chuckle in my head, good ol' Lindsay.
"He's an honor roll student with a diplomat for a dad and an amazing ability to charm the pants off most species. Alejandro!" Ah- alright then, wonder if he'll fall over on the pile?
Looks like that's a nope, he's helping Bridgette and Izzy up, and says "Perhaps I can assist?" Both have wildly different reactions to this which is kinda funny to me.
"Wowie!" was Izzy's
"I-I-I- have a boyfriend!" was what a very flustered Bridgette yelled out, I hope that doesn't mean a crush… I'm in no place to talk, but I'm trying to improve with this. Alejandro also leaned down to help Ezekiel and Tyler up, with both reacting as well.
"Wow eh," Ezekiel comments, while Tyler and his motormouth calls out,
"I like girls!" yep, we know you do Tyler, you didn't have to yell it out. Chris decides to introduce Sierra at this point, commenting,
"And she's a sugar-addicted super fan with sixteen Total Drama blogs," Here she co-
"Oh my gosh, I love you guys, and this is the greatest day of my life and-" she then starts to hyperventilate, I wonder how Sierra's gonna do? I mean, you can never really know with a game like this, people never thought Owen would win Island, or even that I'd win Action, we could go three for three on surprise winners. Oh, there she goes running after Cody again.
"Oh my gosh, Cody! I've dreamt of this moment. Only you weren't wearing a shirt." Cody looks quite weirded out. I mean, Cody was weird to Gwen, but Sierra's already being a lot weirder. I don't mean to overly judge people...but I can see why Cody is constantly afraid to talk to her.
"Aaaaand, cut!" the cameraman recording everything states, before Chris decides to,
"Alright everyone, follow me to our super special Total Drama Jumbo Jet!" That's what he's calling it this season eh? I mean, hopefully it isn't horrible or anything, the boat of losers was just a little slower and could break down easier. We walked to an empty section of the tarmac and saw what I can assume was our plane pull up.
Oh no…
I was able to tell right away that this plane...is probably going to fall out of the sky in minutes. It looked like it was struggling to move along the road, and the sounds it was making as well wasn't anything to be hopeful about, hoo boy.
"What the-" I'd hear Duncan say right next to me. I fully agree with that statement, what the hell is this deathtrap? As it came to a stop, I swore I heard bolts falling off of it. This isn't legal, right? There has to be some safety regulations or some-...Ah it's Chris, why do I think there would be any?
"We're rolling again!" The cameraman behind us calls out.
"Excuse me, but I'd like to express some concerns about the safety of our plane." Courtney said, understandably concerned about stepping in something Chris possibly built in an hour. This is one of the few times that I actually agree with what Courtney is saying,
"Yeah, what she said." I'd speak up next, "I don't wanna step into whatever THAT is."
"Relax! It's perfectly safe." Chris assured, putting a hand up to try and calm us down.
"Chris, there are boards of wood nailed to the plane." I deadpanned, pointing to the boards stuck just above the tires, presumably covering some sort of hole.
He'd smirk, "Quite the handy work I'd say so myself-" Before he could even finish his sentence, a side panel of the plane would completely fall off, showcasing a raccoon chasing a rat, both of them would scurry on soon after. Chris didn't seem too bothered by this, as he barely even reacted.
"Now boarding." Oh great, I won a ticket straight to the afterlife.
Now, if you thought Owen was freaking out a lot before at just the mention of flying. Well, now he's going insane just looking at what he's about to fly in, and I don't blame him one bit. "No! I can't ride in that! Call the United Nations! Call a cab! Call my mom! No! I'm not doing this! I'm out! This is unethical!"
Yeah! This is unethical! How can Chris expect us to compete in that thing!? This is awful! As I'm lost in thought and prepare to raise my hand to agree, I get my answer I was gonna give when Chris HITS OWEN ON THE HEAD WITH A FRYING PAN! So, I guess we're just going to be held hostage in there while we're also competing in the challenges!? What is Chris' issue? Wait, why am I even asking that, it's Chris!
"Anybody else got a problem with it?" Chris asks, not sounding crazy or anything, but obviously due to what he just did, it's already been like a minute and Chris already feels like, 20 times crazier than the last seasons, I hear the others around me saying,
"No!"
"Love it!"
"Dibs on the window seat!"
I quickly jumped in with, "Excited to board!" Chris smirks at each of us and then turns to address the audience. So, at any point I can expect for the plane to drop out of the air and for me to pass away in a fiery explosion? Why did I agree to this again?
"Woooooooorld Toooooooooooour!" Chris suddenly calls out. Hang on a sec, did he just sing it? Wait, didn't he mention something like that before?
My mind flashes back to earlier, when we were on the bus while it's driving us here, Chris stands up and mentions to us, "Alright people, you better sing badly out there, people love reality TV with crappy singing voices!" I thought he was just joking, a very bad, weird joke, but still! I'm guessing everyone else assumed so too and so we all just looked at each other confused.
"Alright everyone, on the plane now!" Chris calls out, pointing on board. We all start doing as he says and walk towards the entrance. I turn to Lindsay,
"Can you believe Chris is actually making us sing?" I ask, in all honesty I'm not really upset about the singing, even if I don't really do it that well, I love to do it, I mean, it is what I did for my audition tape.
"Yay!" Lindsay says while happily clapping twice, "I'm excited, it's so nice that Chip's letting us sing!"
"I am to an extent too in all honesty," I tell her, "Also Chris, not Chip,"
"Oh! Thanks Beth!" It's nice that she fully knows my name by now, really the only other one that's even this lucky is Tyler, and judging by when we got on the bus she's forgotten who he is, only the name. By this point we enter a room that looks like a dining area. The biggest thing I can notice is that some of the seats literally look like garbage cans, while others look like stumps.
"Singing? Really? I thought Chris was joking about that?" Courtney asks.
"I thought we all thought that." I admit, shrugging.
"Well, I don't have a problem with it!" Courtney happily states.
"Yeah, 'cause you like singing." Leshawna replies curtly,
"Well, I don't! Girls sing. Little birdies sing." He then sarcastically laughs, "Duncan's do not sing."
"Think I'll get to beatbox?" Harold asks to nobody in particular, Duncan jumps in straight away and replies,
"I'll beat you if you try."
"Why are you doing this to us?" Heather complains.
"Singing reality shows are huge and the worse the singing, the higher the ratings, which is why on this show, there will be no vocal coaches or rehearsals or warning!" Great, I'll get the chalkboard, who wants to use their nails? Everyone else seems to share my sentiment and a large amount of complaining happens as a result.
"Anywho," Chris yells above everyone, "This is the dining area where you'll enjoy in-flight meals." With every meal I've had on this show, that doesn't sound good at all. Gruel for all of us!
"Not for long eh, prepare to lose to the Zeke!" Ezekiel chimed in, with way too much enthusiasm for what he just said.
Gwen sighed, "Okay, SO not trying to be mean here, but-" she'd say. I think she's about to say something mean. "You do remember you got voted out first last time, right?" She mentioned...which is true actually, so maybe not that mean.
"Word, and I spent every minute since making sure that don't happen again." Ezekiel replied, "I'm stronger, faster, smarter-"
"Chattier. Blabbier. Can't shut-up-eir." Chris remarked, cutting off Zeke so he'd stop talking. Honestly, Gwen is right, and I feel at this pace Ezekiel probably won't be surviving for too long again. Though I do hope he isn't first out again, that would really suck.
"Now zip it and let me finish the tour so we can get this bird in flight!" Chris would exclaim, which made Ezekiel just shrink back. I feel bad for him.
"Is there a ladies room?" LeShawna asked.
Chris grinned, "Just through there." He pointed behind him, as Leshawna began to walk in said direction.
"Good! 'Cause I gotta make a deposit."
"While she does that, may I introduce you into the next room please." Chris motioned for us to follow him through another curtain, mental bet to myself, it's 100 times worse than before.
As we funneled into the next room, the first thing I noticed was...well, it looked horrific. The top compartments looked all beaten up, there is a clothesline with a shirt on it in here? I don't even know why that's there. Then there is a leak coming from God knows where. If you thought the outside looked terrible, boy howdy, the inside doesn't look any better. But hey, I won my bet!
Before Chris said anything though, Leshawna returns, and she does NOT look happy at all.
"That was fast." I spoke to her, trying to figure out why she looked so pissed. "Wait..." I quickly realized something, "Don't tell me the bathroom is-"
"The confessional?" Leshawna finished the statement for me, knowing what I was asking about. "YEP, Sure is."
"Ugh..." I groaned, knowing that privacy is no longer a thing this time. "Again?"
Chris didn't seem to care all too much about our complaints, as he'd move onto talking about this area. "Losing teams will enjoy luxurious economy class accommodations between destinations." Chris explained, letting us gaze at the sights of trash.
"Okay, but where are the beds?" Lindsay questions, somewhat worried, I feel like the answer's right in front of us, but it's probably better to get confirmation anyways, maybe Chris's gonna bring in some mattresses or something from our first location? Who am I kidding? Of course he won't.
"Owen, care to demonstrate?" Chris turns to the big guy, who is strapped into one of the seats asleep,
"Plane… No…" The big guy snores out, I feel really bad for him, he was so excited going in, Chris obviously didn't do the race around the world thing to mess with Owen specifically, well maybe he did, but still, Chris is taking big pleasure in torturing him. Also, I just realized, Izzy was scared of flying too, looks like she got over that then, good for her!
"That does not look comfortable," Heather states, eyebrow raised, I hate agreeing with Heather and Courtney so much. Seriously, this makes me feel like I'm right back in Heather's alliance again, agreeing with each thing she did because at least she was a new friend.
"No comfort for losers. Safety harnesses and an emergency exit. But no comfort here, here, or here." Chris comments pointing to several different locations around the room. Alright, so either I want to get out straight away, or win every single challenge so I can avoid this room. Hang on a sec, I wonder what the actual winner area is.
Sierra then starts to laugh, saying "OMG, Chris, I am just LOL." I feel like she's just trying to get on Chris's good side.
"We should hit the winner's compartment, eh? 'Cause I ain't never gonna sit back here. Ha, never!" Ezekiel's REALLY pushing his luck here, I can see Chris getting more and more annoyed by what he's saying, knowing Chris he's probably going to push him out of the game early again, this time without a vote off.
"Is 'never' your policy on mouthwash too, home school?" I hear Noah snark. I give the air a sniff and honestly, it didn't really smell that bad, maybe I'm just used to the stuff I feed my pet pig Big Bertha before she rolls in the mud, but I notice Lindsay look with a grossed-out face after smelling so I could just be better at taking bad smells.
"Okay, we're going this way," Chris states, pointing through the entrance we just came through. We follow him out into another room and WOW, it looks incredible! Reclining seats, a drinks bar and are they buttons to alert people to come here!? This place looks INCREDIBLE!
"This is the first-class cabin, the domain of each week's winners!"
"Now this is the accommodation ladies deserve." Alejandro smoothly stated. I had barely even seen him move over to Lindsay and I, but I was briefly taken out of my gaze by him. I began to feel myself blush. Oh god, not again-
"They get ladies in first class too?" Lindsay questioned, which instantly took me out of my stupor. I was going to correct her, but she'd find it out herself. "Oh, me! You meant me."
"I think-" I almost blurted out, before immediately shutting myself up. I almost said I think he meant me, and that would've been bad for both of us. "I...think It's nice in here." I slowly repeated, awkwardly chuckling at my attempt at a save. Lindsay sure didn't notice, but Alejandro smirked slightly, almost making me melt at his gaze.
"I uh-"
"Lindsay! I can do a handspring!" Tyler would suddenly shout. Hopefully that doesn't mean what I think he's about to-oh, it is. Tyler tried to do a handspring, but when attempting to flip to get back onto his feet, he overdid it and just face planted into the floor.
Lindsay cringed slightly as his failure, "Oh my gosh! Poor-" She then paused, "Oh, I'm blanking on his name-" Oh my god Lindsay, it's your boyfriend for goodness sake, how do you just forget that?
"Oh! Oh! I know, Alejandro." She mistakenly said, as I sighed.
"That's my name." Alejandro corrected, still continuing to be smooth. I can't lie, it's hard not to fall for him like this.
"And what a nice name...Alejandro..." Lindsay, no. Even I can tell she's getting brought in by his charm too, even though...it was also happening to me to an extent. "I could say it all day..."
"Please do." He said, making Lindsay giggle. Having enough of watching this,
"His name is Tyler." I finally reminded Lindsay, as it looked like she was broken from her usual stupor.
"No silly, his name is Alejandro." Lindsay playfully replied, as I just groaned and almost facepalmed.
"Not him. Him!" I pointed down at Tyler, who is only now getting back up onto his feet. I want to make sure Lindsay knows that she has a boyfriend so I can keep Alejandro-Whoa! Where was that going?
Come on me! I was already unfaithful one time, I can't just do it a second time! I need to think about Brady or something, uh, okay, do I still have that image from Action? I look around to both see if I have it or at the very least to just get away. I then look over and notice something interesting.
I walk over at the same time as Cody, and we both open up to see a room that's EVEN BETTER THAN THIS! It looks so good!
"Woah… Where are we now? A grand piano? Wood burning pizza oven? Four-person hot tub with LED light show and dancing waters?" Cody pretty much says what my thoughts were,
"What do I have to do to win this?" I ask as Harold also looks in.
"My fair Leshawna would love the hot tub!" was his comment. Maybe I should take a note every time Harold mentions Leshawna, actually, I don't know if I'll be able to note so many of them. Chris runs up to all three of us and closes the entrance up with unprecedented speed.
"Easy tiger. These are my quarters, and they're off limits! Clear?"
"Crystal." Harold and I say in unison. Cooking a pizza would be good during the season, but uh… As much as I'm not sure about the plane, I still do want to win that million, so I'm going to leave it be for at least a bit.
"Oh Chris, I heart your limits!" Sierra jumps in. Part of me feels like she's playing some big trick on everyone to make herself seem like less of a threat while also doing a ploy to get Chris to love her, which in all honesty, is a very smart move.
After a few seconds of staring right at the three of us, Chris starts back up, "And that's pretty much it. I skipped the cargo hold and gally, but I'm sure you'll find those exciting destinations later when I 'Accidentally' lock you in them. Grumbling is heard from several people, before it's replaced by a large rumble, as the plane starts to move.
Bridgette falls onto Alejandro's arms, asking, "Is the earth moving?" with a shocked blush on her face.
"Nope, but we are!" Izzy replies, excited, Chris then quickly comments,
"One more thing, I'm sure you all remember a little something called the elimination ceremony?" He then points ahead, "Takes place in there my friends!" Chris then leads us all over, saying, "Hey Zeke, why don't you come up front for this shot? You'll get the camera time,"
"Oh yeah eh, time for the ZEKE!" Ezekiel happily yells, running in front… I think I know what's about to happen.
Chris walks in and points to an open door onto the runway, stating, "If you don't receive a barf bag full of airline issue peanuts," he then holds up said peanuts, which look gross, I guess that's why they're called barf bags though.
"I got a peanut allergy yo! Er, more of a sensitivity,"
"You will be forced to take the Drop of Shame," A slightly more annoyed Chris comments, pointing at the door, Ezekiel in his infinite wisdom, continues on with.
"Okay, I just don't like-"
"Kinda like this!" Chris looking like he's had more than enough comments before he grabs Zeke by the collar and THROWS HIM OUT! We're lucky that we're on the ground, he could have been killed without a parachute in the air!
Ezekiel to his credit, continued to chase after the plane, yelling out "Hey! Aw good one eh! Now slow down and let my bling back in!
"All eliminations are final bro!" Chris comments as he waves, and if Izzy's told me anything, eliminations are not final in this show. As Chris turns to walk away though, I look out and I swear I can see Ezekiel somehow managing to grab on the landing gear right before the plane became airborne and was getting pulled up back into the plane. I blink a couple times and he just disappeared. Was I hallucinating?
"And so, THAT is all," Chris states, "Talk amongst yourself while we're flying to our first place, should be about 11 hours." Chris then walks away so we can all talk. I decided to sit and wait, maybe I'll chat with someone, but I kind of want to just sit and think for a bit.
After I sit down, I say to myself, "What am I going to even do?" I wasn't even wanting an answer, but suddenly who should walk over but DJ, who sits across from me sighing.
"Every second, we're getting closer to adventure and further from mama." Considering he's sitting right across from me; I pat his shoulder to comfort him.
"It'll be alright," I start, "Imagine going back home to your mother and having the million dollars! It'd be great for both of you!"
"Yeah, I guess so, I just hope she's doing alright,"
"Yeah, I get it, mom and dad say the farm's a lot harder to work on while I'm in the game. I get the chicken eggs and feed the pigs. Mom tells me they sometimes forget for half an hour or so!" DJ's face turns into a grimace.
"Thanks Beth, I guess I should at least try to compete then." He still looks sad, but I guess he isn't going to quit or anything, maybe.
Out of the corner of my ear I can hear Sierra saying facts about Cody to his face. I wonder if Sierra's got any other contestants she fangirls over?
A bell would chime suddenly, "What was that?" I ask, which is quickly answered by Chris, dancing in wearing a bowler hat and suit. Ah, singing stuff.
"Whenever you hear that friendly little bell, it's musical number time! So, let's hear it." Looking around, people are seeming panicked, and yeah, I get that fully,
"But… What are we supposed to sing!?" Courtney calls out
"You have to make it up as you go. Wouldn't be challenging otherwise, would it?" And with that, Chris goes. Everyone's talking over one another, not knowing what to do, when suddenly,
"Everyone!" Courtney yells, shutting us all up, "I'll start, just follow after me!"
"Alright sure," I replied, shrugging, Courtney opens her mouth and began to sing as she said.
"Up! Up! Up! Up!" Courtney starts, quickly getting a new singer with each word, first Izzy, then Sierra and finally Lindsay.
"Sing! Sing! Sing! Sing!" Harold begins, being added on by Cody, DJ and Tyler.
"We're Flying!" The girls, now joined by Bridgette, Heather, Leshawna and I belt out.
"And singing!" The guys, joined by Alejandro and Noah add in.
"We're flying and singing!" All of the previous singers call out, before Lindsay, Bridgette and I run over towards the first-class area. I hear Sierra and Cody singing. If Chris is forcing us to sing under threat of something like elimination, I might be already safe, but he probably us to all do it in smaller groups or something.
Bridgette, Lindsay and I all take our spots near a few couches before we begin to sing,
"Come fly with us!" Bridgette sings standing on it.
"Come fly with us!" Lindsay and I synchronize, and who would turn up but Alejandro. Of… Of course, it's- it's him.
"It's a pleasure and an honor and a must." His comment causes Bridgette and Lindsay start to chuckle while I simply look away, a blush forming. I can't just let him distract me in the game, AH! I need to stop thinking about him!
Taking a few fast steps out, I walk towards dining area, managing to make it back for Courtney to say "Haven't you always wanted to? It can't just be meeeeeeeeeeee!"
After a bit of an awkward silence, a few people start to look at Gwen and Duncan. "What's up with them?" I ask Harold.
"They aren't singing," Harold shrugs.
"Huh, alright then."
"Come fly with us, Come sing with us" Sierra, Cody, DJ and I all sing, getting completely yelled over with.
"NO!" Chris suddenly walks by with a copy of the contract,
"Would anyone care for a copy of the season three rules? Because in order to escape instant elimination…"
"Aaaaall contestants, must sing in each show!" Bridgette cuts Chris off and snatches the contract away, causing him to glare at her.
"Duncan do it, LETS GO!" Courtney yells into his face, I don't really think he's going to accept her just yelling into his face.
"Gwen sing it, DON'T GO!" Cody then adds on, I mean, instead of anger it's desperation. His crush is showing, really badly.
"Well… I don't want to go home," Gwen ponders, before sighing. "COME FLY WITH US! COME FLY WITH US! COOOOOME AND FLYYYYYY WITH USSSSSSS!" I can see how much it pained her.
"Your singing isn't that bad," I say to her, Gwen simply rolls her eyes and looks away,
"Duncan please?" Courtney asks, using the same desperation Cody used against Gwen. Duncan also sighs in annoyance.
"THIIIIIIIIIS SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!" He actually sung, wow, good for him.
"Yeah!" We all yell out in comradery, or at least I guess it's comradery.
You know, I really agree with that last line Duncan added, singing is fun, but this kind of does suck. I've also realized I suck at coming up with lyrics on the spot, but really, what does Chris expect from us? Oh right, failure.
Hang on a second, I didn't see Owen during the entire song? Huh… Weird.
I exhale slightly, deciding to take a seat as we wait to land. I can at least try to look on the bright side, or sleep a little to pass the time. We don't have to sing anymore for today so that's one decent thing… But that is just one compared to possibly many bad, so that isn't much. Man, I'm bad at thinking about the good things.
I'm broken out of my thoughts by someone taking a seat directly in front of me, someone who I expected the least to have wanted to sit with me.
Heather.
She crossed her arms, but I didn't notice that much disdain in her face for me this time around. I held back my need to glare, as I'm mostly confused right now, so I don't want to ruin anything before it starts.
"Alright." I decided to bite on it, "What's the catch?"
"What?" She only raised a brow.
"Why are you sitting over here with me?" I continued to question, sceptical at literally anything Heather does. I swore I saw her eye twitch, but she just took a deep exhale before leaning slightly closer.
"I might have underestimated you slightly." She admitted, "You did well enough to win Action, so I commend you on that. And Lindsay too…" Heather would glance over at her, noticing that she's over talking to Alejandro. She appeared to glare a little, "...Less so with Lindsay, her voting herself out is the dumbest thing I've ever seen in my life."
I nodded slightly, "Yeah…" I'd mumble. That is honestly true. I still don't know how she let that happen, I wonder what could've happened if she never did that.
"So I'll just say this, watch your back, especially with him." She stood up right after finishing what she was saying, and walked off. It only took a second to realize who she was talking about, and that was Alejandro.
"Hm." I got up from my seat a few seconds later, where was the confessional again? After walking around a little bit, I finally found it. And yes… It certainly is in the bathroom again… Of course, Leshawna wouldn't have lied, obviously.
"I honestly...have no idea what that was." I said to the camera, scratching my head after. "Heather being nice? She's got to be planning something…. Maybe she wants to drag me and Lindsay into an alliance again?" I'd scoff at that thought, "As if I'd join her again." Though I crossed my arms for confirmation, I was still a bit conflicted. She did say something true, but that doesn't off-set what she's done to me in the past.
I'd leave the confessional soon after, not wanting to spend any more time there, for fear I might let something slip. This new season is already throwing curveballs at me, huh.
Instead of being a loner, maybe I should go find someone else to talk to?
I look around, seeing if I can chat with anyone, Lindsay's looking at Alejandro, Tyler's talking with DJ and Harold. Hmm, who's left? I keep looking, but I can only see one who isn't talking… Duncan, who's just got his head on the bench, groaning. Courtney's somewhere else, probably complaining about how a CIT shouldn't have to deal with stuff like this.
I walk over and say, "So, hi Duncan, how's it going?" Duncan just continues to groan in annoyance, not even looking up while replying,
"Stupid game, stupid Chris, stupid singing,"
"Are you still annoyed by the singing?"
"Shut up," Duncan replies, "Get outta my face!"
"I get it Duncan, but let's keep going in the game! We can't just quit the game right after we start!" Duncan simply replies by raising one side of his unibrow in thought,
"Hm," Duncan comments, seemingly thinking, however he still looks down and says, "Screw off!"
I'd roll my eyes, "Fine." Is all I would say, before leaving it there and walking away. I don't want to start something unnecessary. I'd huff, feeling slightly annoyed at just being waved off. He's always so, I don't know. I have no idea what Courtney sees in him, honestly.
Guess it's time to just relax or sleep, nobody seems to have anything major. Between sleeping, relaxing and chatting with Lindsay, nothing much happens. Eventually, while sat on the floor, I hear a sudden voice from over the P.A. Chef.
"We're here. Now get your sorry asses out of the plane!" Wow, thanks Chef. No deboarding process or nothing? Just leave?
I mean, I'm not going to complain about it though, boarding and deboarding a Plane are up there on the list of things that can be a drag to do.
I'm one of the first ones to step out of the plane, my first step in another country in this game.
First thing I noticed when stepping out of the plane...It's hot, and I mean VERY hot. Now, I usually can withstand it, as back on the farm even when It's hot outside, I can work through it. But this? All I did was take a step out of the plane, and I can already feel the heat. Well, of course I can, it's hot, but It's TOO HOT IS WHAT I'M SAYING.
AH, it feels like I've got a heat stroke already!
And then here comes Chris, just relaxing as he's carried by Interns. Is that a drink he's holding? And does he have to be dressed as a pharoh? "You guys ready for a little fun? Huh?" He then took a sip of whatever was in that glass. He's just teasing us at this point isn't he.
"Wow, It's a scorcher out here." Chris remarked, taking another sip of his drink. Just rub it in, why don't you? He then motioned behind him to the Pyramid in the distance. "I call today's challenge, Pyramid Over-Under."
"An eleven-hour flight, Chef's in-flight cuisine, a forced musical number, NOW we've got a challenge?" Leshawna listed off, letting her irritation be known. All of what she said was true, after everything so far, we still have to do the challenge now? In this heat?
Suddenly, Harold bursts out of the cargo hold, looking worried. He's also wearing… An Aluminum foil hat? It seems like he's feeling the heat already,
"It's like we're being cooked in a giant oven!"
"It might help if you weren't dressed like a giant baked potato," Leshawna replies.
"Aluminum foil means the aliens can't read your brains. It's a real problem in this area." Wait? What? Aliens? What's Harold on about?
CLANG!
I wouldn't be allowed to think about it much longer, as Chris slams two cymbals together, stopping all of our conversations.
"Man, that is satisfying." Course it would be for him. "Pyramid Over-Under means you choose how you'll get to the finish line. Either over, or under the pyramid. Got it?" Sounded simple enough, so I nodded along with the rest of them. But I have a slight feeling he's not telling us something that'll make this 5x harder than it actually seems. Guess I'll figure that out sooner than later.
"Ready! Set-" Before Chris could even send us off, someone yelled to stop him,and I recognized that voice.
"Wait up yo!" It was Ezekiel, who had finally shown up again despite being thrown out of the plane earlier today. "You guys! Wait up!" He continued to exclaim as he slid past the startling line. Guess it wasn't a hallucination.
"Was wondering when he'd show up again…" I said to myself, wondering if anyone else saw him get back on.
"I told you I wasn't going to lose this time, eh?" Zeke said, as Chris had a look that was less than happy to see him back.
"Didn't we leave you in like Halifax, or Whitehorse, or…whatever?" Chris asked, wondering how exactly Ezekiel was here right now.
"It's called landing gear homie, I climbed it, and hid with the cargo."
"Impressive! But, you're still out." Yikes.
"No way!" He denied it, "I'm in it to win it! Word!" He also needs to stop saying that as well…
With an eyeroll, Chris just shrugged, I guess he's had enough of messing with Ezekiel at this point, which would be shocking for someone like Chris. "Hey, it's your funeral." He said, picking up the cymbals he dropped.
"Set…GO!" Without further interruptions from anyone else…or Ezekiel, Chris slammed the cymbals together, narrowly missing Zeke's head as he moved back just in time before losing his hearing probably.
I literally only took 1 step before stopping, thinking about what I should actually do for this challenge. While Noah, Cody, Harold, Owen, DJ, Izzy, and Leshawna rushed into the Pyramid, I'd turn to Lindsay,
"Hey, should we go over, or under?" I asked, to which Lindsay isn't even facing my direction, and appears to have not heard me. "Lindsay." I repeated…still no answer. "Lindsay!" I then exclaimed, but not yet at the yelling point. Having enough, I'd peak over her shoulder, trying to figure out what she was fixated on.
It was Alejandro.
I quickly pried my eyes away from him, instead looking ahead into the pyramid. I did not want to fall under what spell he had again. "Lindsay! We're going under." I said, taking Lindsay's hand and going into a jogging pace as we headed under the Pyramid. I could swear when I grabbed Lindsay's arm, I saw Alejandro raise his eyebrow. No way I was going above, too hot for that, and he's there. Lindsay didn't even seem to mind being dragged along as she continued to stare at Alejandro before leaving eyesight. Tyler better thank me for this sometime.
"Hey! Wait up!" Speaking of Tyler, there he was, chasing after us. We didn't even get that far in, and thankfully we weren't even behind, though a couple of people were going into 1 of 3 different paths-Oh, there it is. He never told us there were different paths.
"Come on Harold." I heard Leshawna say, wandering down the middle path. I guess we're not going to be heading down that one.
"So which way are we heading?" Lindsay asked. At least she's no longer fixated on looking at Alejandro now and can focus on the challenge.
"Oh! I know!" Tyler immediately stepped up. He then pointed to the left-most path. "Let's go this way!" See, I'm not trying to be mean thinking this, but Tyler is one of the last people I'd ever follow into doing something, right above Heather.
"Um-" I attempted to say something to possibly reconsider, but Tyler had already sprinted into the path by the time I did so. "Ah…" I sighed, watching as Lindsay went and followed him. Guess this is how It's going to go. I decided not to drag my feet any longer and went after them.
As we ran, I would try to get Tyler to slow down just slightly. "Be careful Tyler, we don't know what traps Chris could have lying aro-" I barely was able to get the message out before I heard a tile creak.
"Lindsay! Duck!" I shouted, speeding up to catch Lindsay. Even though I told her to duck, she had a 50/50 shot of not actually doing it, so just to be safe I just dragged her down with me. It was a good thing I did, as seconds later spears shot out of the walls, soaring over our heads.
"Duck? WHOA!" Tyler turned around just in time to see spears flying directly at him, and with surprising reaction time he ducked in the nick of time. With him out of the way, I was able to see two others ahead of us…
Sierra and Heather? Not a duo I thought I'd ever see together. With the way Sierra has acted, especially towards Cody, there is no way that Heather can ACTUALLY put up with her, she has to be playing some type of game.
"Gah!" Heather exclaimed, knocking Sierra over in the process of getting out of the way of the spears. Whether she did that to save her, or that was accidental, I probably will never figure it out.
It looks like Heather noticed us at the same time I saw her, "What are you doing here?" We both say at the same time, quickly following with, "Uh, getting through the pyramid?" again, in unison. This is weird! "Stop saying what I'm saying!" And guess what, we said it at the same time!
"Which one of you did that?" Heather questioned, finally putting an end to our struggles.
I sighed, instead speaking to Tyler this time, "I tried to warn you." Speaking on that warning, Chris must have a lot of faith in us to not get skewered by those spears. Heather appeared annoyed, but didn't say anything towards Tyler. Now, I'm pretty sure if it was either me or Lindsay, she would've had something to say. We all finally picked ourselves off the ground, and I made sure to tell everyone, especially Tyler,
"Watch your step, some of the tiles are traps." I said as Heather would only scoff.
"Yeah, we know that already." Heather snarked.
I'd roll my eyes, not wanting to respond to that. "Come on Lindsay, let's go, we're wasting time."
Hearing that, Heather swiftly turned around, "She's right, we've got to move Sierra." I'm guessing she doesn't want to finish behind me or something, which I wouldn't put it past her. They're still ahead of us, but I don't know if it'll turn into a race-
"Don't worry, we'll catch em!" Tyler declared with enthusiasm. Oh… I guess it is.
"Be careful with your steps Tyler." I made sure to repeat, as he'd nod.
"Got it." He replied, still at walking speed. Soon enough, he began to jog. Then Heather started to jog as well, and Sierra would follow her lead. Not wanting to fall behind, Lindsay and I jogged as well. And then Tyler started to run… It might just be the heat, but I feel way more tired than usual.
I'm sure Tyler's intentions are good, but sometimes he just does things, and they don't exactly end well most of the time. Running while making sure not to step on a wrong title is not only stressful, but very tiring, especially for someone like me.
It honestly felt like we've been running around in circles for like, an hour or so, not escaping the pyramid in any way. Got to love that, thanks Tyler.
Through all the sounds of our dashing, I heard Sierra's loud gasp as she spotted something in the distance. I was able to look past everyone and it was…Cody?
By some otherworldly force, Sierra gained a burst of speed at the sight of Cody…who was stuck to the walls of the pyramid thanks to a few spears. How was he this far ahead? I have no clue.
Even with how far away I am, I can still see Cody's face shift to fear at the sight of Sierra. "OMG CODYKINS!" she yells, grabbing the spear and harshly pulling it off, throwing it on the ground before pulling Cody into a hug.
Meanwhile Tyler just ran past that ordeal, steadfast on beating everyone else currently here. No surprise that Heather did so as well, but she actually paused to stop and turn back,
"Sierra?"
"EEEEEEEE! My Codykins!" Sierra yells before she runs ahead with Cody still in her hands, knocking Heather over in the process.
"Ugh!" Heather groaned as she got back onto her feet. Though Sierra bowling over her allowed us to catch up a bit, we were still behind the rest at this point. As we continued to run, I briefly saw something out of the corner of my eye appear from the shadows. It looked like a mummy? My mind must be playing tricks on me thanks to how hot it is even inside the pyramid.
"Beth? What was that…" Lindsay questioned, as I could clearly hear the fear rise in her voice. So, she saw it too huh? So that WAS real.
"Nothing! Just keep running." I told her. I did not want to stop, and I didn't want to check to see if it was a real one either.
"Oooh! Is that a conga line? I always like to do the snake dance!" Someone behind me exclaimed. I quickly snapped around to see the thing chasing us with it's arms outstretched. It kind of sounded like Izzy, but I can't be thinking about that right now-
"Lindsay, it's chasing us!" I'd exclaim, picking up the pace.
"AHHHHHHH!" Lindsay didn't even turn around to see for herself before screeching her head off. In these close quarters the yell bounced off the walls so much it started to make my ears ring.
"Just keep running!" I tried to yell over her constant screams, though I have no idea if she can actually hear me or not. While this train of running for different reasons continued on, I was finally able to see the light at the end of the pyramid tunnel. Freedom! But I don't think mummies are like vampires, where if exposed to sunlight they just evaporate.
Tyler was ahead of us all and out first, then Sierra and Cody…or, would it be Cody and then Sierra? Ah whatever, either way is fine, then Heather, Lindsay, and finally I escape the Pyramid last to…
Worse heat than before…perfect.
"Aww yeah! Fir-aw…." Tyler was in the middle of saying as he exited, right before realizing, no…he was in-fact not first. Actually, he was about the 8th I'd come to realize.
"Oh, I'm so happy we found you." Sierra said, referring to Cody, who she still has yet to put down. "Heather, aren't you so happy?" She then asked. I think I know the answer to this one.
"I'm so happy, I could scream." Heather responded. I don't know if I've ever seen Heather legitimately happy, of course when not making others' lives worse, otherwise I don't think so. As Lindsay and I finished, looking around it looks like DJ, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna and Alejandro are on one mat, and Noah and Owen are on a second one.
All of us run across the finish line and then fall onto a pile of bodies. Deja vu much? Izzy seemingly noticed the pile and called out "Woo Hoo!" Before jumping onto the pile herself. Chris looks genuinely surprised, but quickly goes back to his trademark smirk.
"Alright," Chris started, "Let's see, Tyler, Sierra, Cody, you go to team two. The rest of you, team three!"
Three teams? That's new. So, it looks like it's me, Lindsay, Izzy and… Heather? Just great. I already know me and her are going to run into problems real fast. Izzy is…fine, I guess? I mean, I don't think I've talked to her all too much, and I kind of did vote her out before in Action… Twice. At least Lindsay's with me, maybe we can get Heather out even earlier than last time.
All in all, I guess I can work with this team. Who's left to finish? Gwen, Duncan and… Courtney? Oh, come on. Do I really have to deal with Courtney too? Hang on a second, that's seven people compared to the other team's five? I mean, I'm not complaining, I'm just surprised.
Oh, I think I'm forgetting uh…Ezekiel. That is if Chris is even going to let him back in. Wow, 8 people potentially.
"In Egyptian-"
"No one cares Harold." Chris swiftly cut him off. I'm guessing he had been doing that for a while.
Cody manages to break out of his hug with Sierra, falling flat on the ground in the process and calling out "Where's Gwen?" He then looks up and sees Sierra smiling with her eye twitching at the same time. "N-n-not like I care, I'm just curious." Poor Cody.
"I wanted more of you in there still, but ah well," Chris then grabs his megaphone out, calling out to the remaining people "Oh kiiiiiiiids!" he then presses a button on the megaphone, causing the musical chime to play. Another song?
"We're singing again?" I ask.
"Not quite," Chris states before he goes back to his megaphone, "Recognize that sound? It's time for whoever's not finished yet to give us a little musical reprise!" This is going to be interesting.
Duncan yells out loud enough for everyone to hear, "YOU SAID ONE SONG PER EPISODE!" Hoo boy let's see where this goes.
"Yeah, and this is a reprise! Not a new song. So, if you don't sing, you're out! Now let's hear it!" Of course Chris would do something like this.
"You know what!?" Duncan states, furious, "No." He then starts to stomp down, dragging Courtney and Gwen, who it looks like were tied to him down with him. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Three hours of these two squawking on this stupid pyramid in this stupid heat, and you want me to sing? Forget it!" Wait, it's been three hours? It only really felt like it's been like, one.
"Dude, you have a contract," Our loveable host replies, here it is, maybe I should do another game or something, every time Chris mentions contracts, I take a mental note, that's two or so. By this point, Duncan has somehow made it over to Chris and pokes him in the chest.
"Eat it, McLean! If you need me, I'll be in the plane waiting for a ride home because I'm out. Done. I quit." Courtney and Gwen both gasp as Duncan uses his knife to cut himself loose from Gwen and Courtney as he walks away.
D-Duncan's… Out? He's… Not competing anymore?
"What just happened?" I ask, this feels fake, did Chris tell Duncan to do this or something? This is so weird. My question was quickly followed by one from Lindsay,
"Wait, is Dillan going to be on our team?" That breaks me out of my shocked silence,
"I… Don't think so."
Wait, does this mean that I got further in the game than Duncan? I've wanted to but… Not like this. We got along in the last finale, but I wanted to outlast him this time, as in, not in the finale with me. Technically yeah, I made it further, but Duncan makes me worried. He got 4th and then 2nd, that's a massive threat whether you like it or not.
"Fine, Gwen, Courtney, Team Three." Chris complains, pointing at the two girls and then my team. They walk over.
"Six people?" Leshawna asks, "That's team-"
"Talata, or three in Egyptian!" Harold quickly jumps in and says, Leshawna seemingly ignores him and continues,
"Why do they have an extra member?"
"They need all the help they can get," Chris replied, folding his arms.
"Too bad!" Leshawna says, "They came last! They shouldn't have more than first place!" Chris is about to reply, however Noah and Owen suddenly yell,
"IT'S THE MUMMY!" We all look over and a few of us scream or yell in fear, including me and Lindsay, who cling to each other.
That is until that mummy pulls the wraps off, revealing Ezekiel, who says "Thanks for all the help ya KNOBS!"
Ezekiel? I almost completely forgot he was here. He's managed to make it through the challenge though, so good job to him. Will Chris let him back in though?
"Look," Chris says, turning back to Leshawna, "It's five for you, five for them and six for team three. Deal with it."
"Come on, guy. After all this, you gotta let me back in the game!" Ezekiel has run up to Chris at this point, begging on his knees.
"Look!" Leshawna states, facepalming, "We'll take Zeke."
"What?" Bridgette replies, "Remember season 1?"
"Well, it's something," Leshawna follows up with, Chris shrugs before stating,
"If it stops both of you from complaining, it works for me, though only cause we're down a man thanks to Duncan McQuittypants." Chris then points to Ezekiel, "Go ahead and join team one."
"Awe yeah!" Zeke exclaimed. Guess he's actually back in again, hopefully he isn't first out like last time. I know what he said in Island...but people can change, right?
"I believe we can make it work," Alejandro jumps in, "I must say Leshawna, good job doing what you believe is right."
"Gee, thanks Alejandro," I can swear I can see the smallest blush appearing on Leshawna's face.
"So… About them having six and not us?" Cody starts to question before Chris glares right at him, "It's all good," Cody throws his hands up.
"Okay, teams! Talk amongst yourselves and determine a team name. You have three minutes while I enjoy this ice cream cone." How does he even have an ice cream cone?
"Any ideas?" I ask the other girls. Personally, I don't really have a team name I can think of, so hopefully someone else has a good one.
"Team Mascara!" I hear Lindsay reply with. Should've expected something like that from Lindsay.
"Team Nuclear Hellfire!" Izzy calls out, causing us to all look at her in shock.
"How about… Not that," Heather replies.
"Alright, Team Fallout!" She immediately followed up with.
"No…" We all reply. What's with Izzy coming up with names based on nuclear weapon attacks?
"Oh! Team Rolling Thunder! Izzy continued to spout in the background of the conversation.
"Look, we're a team of women, how about Team Amazon?" Courtney states. She raises a good point, Amazonian women and all that,
"Hmm, good idea," Heather replies, "I'm fine with that,
"Yeah, me too," I reply.
"Sure," Gwen states shrugging, "I don't dislike it, that works." Looks like that's four out of six.
"Uhhhh, alrighty!" Lindsay adds, shrugging.
"TEAM VICTORY!" We all turn around to see Team 1 calling out their new name.
"I would have liked Team Fallout… But okay!" Izzy is really weird.
"So we all agree?" Heather says, "Cool."
"TEAM AMAZON!" We all yell, throwing our arms into the air. However, while they all say that Courtney also throws a foot up and accidentally kicks me in the stomach, winding me and causing me to double over wheezing.
"Okay that's two teams, Team 2, what is it? Take too long and you're going to be Team 2." This causes all of the guys to quickly start arguing,
"Team number one and number two..." Tyler comments.
"No, why would we name it that?" Noah responds.
"Team Buffet!" Owen followed.
"Come on Owen, take this seriously," Noah then adds in.
I then look over to Sierra, separate from everyone else, who thinks for a moment before saying.
"Team Chris is Really, Really, Really, Really, Hot!"
"Wait what?" The guys all respond confused before Chris smiles widely and says,
"No changes!" Chris quickly states, causing the new Team Chris to groan and sigh, except for Sierra. Okay, seriously, Sierra is playing us all right? She's sucking up to Chris to get him on her side, right? I have to watch out for her.
"All right, best team name ever!" The host states, breaking me out of my stupor. "And here are your rewards. Team Amazon, you win a camel."
The camel suddenly runs out towards us, knocking Lindsay over as it arrives and Courtney gasps.
"HA HA!" Izzy laughs out, "THIS IS PERFECT!" Climbing on the Camel and stopping it from attacking by… Talking to it?
"Wh-" Heather starts to reply while confused before Chris suddenly speaks over everyone,
"Team Chris is Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Hot, wins a goat!"
"There's only four really's," Noah quickly states, Chris being Chris, ignores his comment.
"And Team Victory, here you go." Chris hands the other six-person team… A stick? Alright then. That's a weird reward.
"So, the guys who come in last get an extra member and a camel and we get a stick?"
Chris then says, "All we be explained if I feel like it. Next time right here on Total. Drama. WORRRRRRLD TOOOOOOOOOUR!" After he finishes a member of the camera crew calls out "Aaaaand Cut!"
"Okay kids, stay here, we're just taking a break for a minute or two before we get to the next challenge."
So this is World Tour so far… I'm on a team with Courtney and Heather, Duncan's first out, and we have to babysit a camel. And this is only episode 1. This season is going to be… Weird. Turning to Lindsay after she got hit by the camel, I ask, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she says, dazed. "Where's Tyler? Iwannasayhitotyler," after speeding through the sentence she then falls over. Courtney then kneels over and smacks Lindsay in the face to wake her up.
"Get up!" She yells, waking Lindsay up. "I'm not losing the challenge because of you!"
"Calm down Courtney," Gwen comments. Lindsay then sits up.
"YOU CALM DOWN!" The CIT then yells.
Well, this team is dysfunctional, and that does not bode well at all. Just watch, we're all going to go home one after another. In all seriousness I'd probably say the pecking order for the team would be Heather, then Courtney, Then Izzy, after that Gwen, and I hope I can win a tiebreaker against Lindsay. I hope that doesn't come to pass though.
"Okay campers, we'll be rolling again in 30 seconds, look good out there!" Chris states coming back into view.
Well, I'm going around the world, hopefully I do decently. This raises the most important question of all though.
What did I get myself into?
Team Victory: Alejandro, Bridgette, DJ, Harold, Leshawna, Ezekiel
Team Chris is Really, Really, Really, Really, Hot: Cody, Noah, Owen, Sierra, Tyler
Team Amazon: Beth, Courtney, Gwen, Heather, Izzy, Lindsay
18th: Duncan
Xmon323's Co-authors Note: Heyo everyone, mr co-author here! So… It's been a little while. Sorry about that! But here we are.
If you want to know about the team explanation, then it's kind of simple. With Beth taking Lindsay under the pyramid rather than over, Alejandro and Bridgette both get to be on Team 1/Victory with DJ, Leshawna and Harold. And since Tyler had to make everything a race, Sierra, Cody and Tyler made it to the finish line faster than Beth, Lindsay, Heather and Izzy and thus got on Team 2/Chris. Zeke then joined Team 1 because yeah of course he's going to, that wasn't really up to change like in Canon.
I hope the song was decently executed, Beth can't hear everything, so she wasn't going to be able to make it to the other scenes. It was like the last major scene written.
Aside from that, hopefully none of the characters got too butchered here. I had fun writing the chapter.
SoSincity Authors note: When we actually worked together it was mostly fast. But when you have two people who have their own stories, and procrastinate those as well, it doesn't end well when you attempt to make an entirely new story.
Duncan still quits because Beth isn't a Mary Sue and can't change that.