Hey guys! Time for the next episode! Don't worry, this one won't be a two parter, though it might be a little lengthy. I'm really trying to write the best STORY I can, and not just have it be a methodic, episodic comp fic where it's just: Wake up, breakfast challenge, post challenge stuff, elimination, post elimination stuff. I really want to give most of the characters a good story and make you guys give a shit about their arcs!

As for the poll, I will reveal the top 3 choice who will definitely be in the peanut gallery because my God are they far ahead of the rest of the others. The first three are:

1st place in the poll: Courtney

2nd place in the poll: Geoff

3rd place in the poll: Dawn

HOWEVER: 7th-14th place are separated by only TWO votes! Remember, only 10 people get in, so make sure you are voting because that one vote might tip that person in to the peanut gallery!

Now, without further ado, let's get on with the show!

The camera panned over the night sky. It lowered onto the elimination ceremony, where Chris had just left the shambles that were Team Nuclear. Only Beardo and Jo remained, as Gwen, Scott and Sammy had ran off. Duncan had stormed off as well, albeit in a different direction, and Jo and Beardo watched Chris leave before turning to look at each other.

"Should…should we go after them?" Beardo asked, looking at the way Sammy, Gwen and Scott had gone.

Jo, however, was looking the way Duncan had stormed off. She slapped Beardo on the back. "Nah, let Gwen sulk. We might be able to turn this whole situation in our favor. C'mon." She began to walk off towards the Rec Center, where Duncan had gone to. Beardo shot her retreating back a confused look, but ultimately followed her down the path after her.

Beardo mimicked a screeching car. "Hold the phone," he told Jo as he caught up to her, "are we going after Duncan?"

"Yup."

"Why? He was just a total jerk to Gwen!"

"Eh, Gwen had it coming," Jo said brusquely, "but that's not the point. The point is that they obviously hatched some sort of plan to get Duncan out."

"Them being…?"

"Gwen, Sammy and Scott, obviously!" Jo rolled her eyes, "Scott all but proved it when he went scurrying off after Gwen and Sammy just now. Normally he isn't that obvious. Maybe he's losing his touch…" The two approached the Rec Center and looked up at it. "What we need to do is get Duncan on our side to give us even numbers with them... otherwise the next time we lose, it's one of us going home."

"If by one of us, you mean Duncan, then sure," Beardo said.

Jo smacked the back of his head, making him wince, "after Duncan, dipstick! They'll just pick off you and me! Me first, probably! We'll need to force a tie the next time we lose," They began to enter the Rec Center, "and if we get enough time, I might be able to convince Sammy that Scott's the bigger threat. We all know how slimy he is."

The two entered the Rec Center to see Duncan playing pool by himself, still scowling. He looked up at the noise of them entering and his scowl deepened. "Great," he said, "what do you two want?"

"Don't be so defensive, buddy-friend!" Jo chirped, her voice sickly sweet as she approached Duncan. Beardo shot the jockette a disturbed look. "We're just here to see how you're holding up, slugger-chief!"

"I'm fine," Duncan said, also looking disturbed at Jo's words. "Just leave me alone." Jo approached the pool table and picked up a cue and opened her mouth, but the delinquent interrupted her before she could say anything. "And stop with the gushy talk. It's creepy and disturbing."

Jo closed her mouth and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said, "look. I bet you're pissed and I think if we can work together you can get even."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Duncan asked, not sounding particularly interested.

Beardo walked over to the couch and sat down, miming a falling tree as he did so.

"We didn't vote for you," Jo explained, bending down with the cue to smack a ball into the pocket.

"Wow, means so much," Duncan scoffed. "Want me to get down and kiss your shoes?"

"Stop being a jerk," Beardo said, a little annoyed by Duncan's attitude, "we're offering you a way out of being first boot from the team…again."

Both Jo and Duncan looked a little surprised by the beatboxers blunt words. "Whatever," Duncan said, "sure, I'll stick with you guys for now so there's equal numbers against the others. Then, Gwen and I can duke it out in the tiebreaker."

Jo slammed another ball into the pocket, "sounds good to me." She popped the final ball in. "Well that's all I came here for, smell ya later Duncan." She put the cue down and began walking towards the door.

From the couch, Beardo got up to join her. They left.

Duncan watched the door close, and once he was alone he let his anger fade and the sadness show.

(Confessional: Beardo.)

"I don't know if putting Gwen up against Duncan would be best for our game," Beardo admits, "Sammy would probably stand the least chance against Duncan. Duncan's probably going for Gwen though no matter what reasoning we put in front of him." He shakes his fluffy head, "that dude needs to chill."

(End Confessional: Beardo.)

Over in the bathrooms, Sammy and Scott were outside a stall which Gwen had locked herself in.

"Is it okay for me to be in here?" Scott whispered to Sammy, looking around, "this is the girls bathroom."

Sammy shushed him with a hand, "it's fine!" She put her ear to the stall and knocked on the door gently. "Gwen? Come on out, you can talk to us!"

No response.

Sammy turned to glare at Scott. "Help me console her! She's obviously very upset!"

Scott looked very uncomfortable, "uh, consoling isn't really my forte…" Sammy gave him a disappointed look, and Scott sighed miserably. "Ugh, fine. Get out of my way." He walked over to the stall and rapped his knuckles on the door, much less gently than Sammy had. "There there, Gwen," he said, his dry voice not really conveying the proper emotion, "It's going to be okay. Don't cry."

The latch unlocked and the door flung open, smacking Scott in the face. "Ow!"

Gwen stood there, slightly annoyed. "I am not crying." She told the bruised Scott. "I just feel like dirt."

Scott held his purple nose, "man, why is everyone trashing dirt today?!"

Sammy put a sympathetic hand on Gwen's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Gwen. Duncan was way outta line."

Gwen sighed and leaned against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting on her butt. She brought her knees up to her chest and crossed her arms over them. Her face and tone were glum. "That's the thing," she told Sammy, "I don't think he was. I messed up."

Sammy settled her self on the bathroom floor next to Gwen. "Well if you messed up, I messed up even bigger. I'm the one that basically pulled that plan off. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Gwen said quickly, "you didn't know I was having second thoughts."

"Wait," Scott said as he sat down next to Sammy, "you're the one that pulled off that little Duncan-boot?"

Sammy smiled, a little bashful, "yeah, kinda…"

Scott looked impressed, but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to Gwen. "Look, she's right. Duncan was out of line. He's coasted through in his past seasons, y'know? He's never gotten backstabbed or whatever. He just had a tantrum."

"It's different than that, though," Gwen said, "he and I have…history."

"I know," Scott shrugged, "but this is a game. You guys aren't dating anymore, so what does he have to be mad about?" He stood up and offered a hand to each of the girls. "Now c'mon, this floor is gross, and coming from me that's saying something."

The two girls grabbed a hand and Scott hoisted them to their feet.

"You're right," Sammy said with a smile at Scott, "let's get some sleep. Tomorrow's a new day. We can deal with Duncan then."

The next morning, Shawn and Jasmine were out early, going for a stroll in the morning woods.

"I wonder what happened last night with Team Nuclear," Shawn pondered, his hand entwined with Jasmine as they walked.

"I dunno," Jasmine told him, "I'm hoping if I see Sammy I can get the details from her." She frowned and sighed, "I can't believe we lost another teammate. We won the challenge."

"It's weird that Chris wouldn't put Duncan on our team," Shawn agreed, "but I mean, it's not like Brick wouldn't have been next if we lost," he gave Jasmine a curious look, "right?"

"Right," Jasmine admitted, "speaking of, what do you think the chances are Bridgette tries to get Owen to turn against us to force a tie next time we lose?"

Shawn thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "I dunno. He and I are friends, but so are he and Bridgette. I'm not too worried about it though, as I don't think there's much either of them could do in a tiebreaker to threaten us." He smiled at Jasmine, "we are pretty kick-butt."

Jasmine chuckled and snorted, "that we are."

Lightning was running through the words, getting a nice pre-challenge workout done. He seemed to be at peace, and wasn't even breaking a sweat as he sprinted through the foliage. He paused beneath a tree and stopped to take in his surroundings. He then turned to the camera.

"Man, Lightning's in a sticky situation," Lightning told the camera, "he's not that dumb. He knows that Shortie probably has a bit of a crush on Lightning," the jock shook his head, "but he's not sure he's ready for that kinda commitment, especially in a competition! Sure, she's cute and tough and pretty much everything Lightning looks for in a lady…but…" he shakes his head. "Lightning just doesn't think it's the right time. Hopefully she understands." He continues his run and breaks into a clearing, but stops when he sees two girls facing each other.

"Bring it on," Izzy cackled, "you haven't had anywhere near enough training to defeat me yet!"

"Don't underestimate me!" Zoey yelled from across the clearing. "This time will be different!"

Izzy stuck out her dominant hand and gestured the classic 'bring it'.

Zoey smirked, and assumed a defensive stance. "Oh I don't think so. You can have the honor or first strike."

Izzy obliged, and Lightning watched from the sidelines as the two girls began to duke it out. Neither girls as aware of the jock's presence.

It seemed Zoey had improved, because this time it was her that was slowly gaining ground and momentum on Izzy. Izzy went for a spinning round house kick, but Zoey ducked underneath it and swept Izzy's solo standing leg out from under her. The crazy girl was able to catch herself in a handstand, but left herself open to a palm strike, which she took right in the stomach.

"Sha-damn!" Lightning called out, unable to help himself. "Nice moves, girl!"

"What?" Startled, Zoey looked over to Lightning in surprise, which proved to be a costly mistake. It let Izzy recover and back away.

"Lightning, we're busy!" Zoey snapped to him, "get out of here!"

"Don't get distracted, Missy!" Izzy cackled, darting in and full-body tackling Zoey to the ground. Zoey struggled valiantly, but Izzy was an expert at holding people down. Exhausted and panting, Zoey finally gave in.

"Okay, okay, you win," the Indie Girl gasped, going still.

Izzy hopped off the girl and pulled her to her feet. "Better, but you still stuffer from one major weakness!"

Zoey put her hands on her knees, panting. She shot Lightning an annoyed look before returning her attention to Izzy, "oh yeah? What's that?"

"You get distracted! And once you knew there were people watching you, you became way too easy to overpower!" Izzy plopped down onto the ground and took up a zen mediation pose. Her voice dropped and became questionably stereotypical. "Zoey-san, in order to master duh-arts, you must first conquer your inner demons. Do not let others perception of you affect you." She bowed her head, and a gong rang.

Suddenly, Chris's voice was blasted all over camp. "Hey! Izzy. Stop being culturally insensitive!"

Izzy cackled and yelled to the sky, "Don't be a wuss, Chris! I was just quoting a movie!"

"Sure you were. Anyways, meet at the Mess Hall for a quick breakfast, because the challenge is starting soon!"

Izzy clapped her hands together. "Ooh, yay! Let's go, guys!"

(Confessional: Zoey.)

"Ugh," Zoey sighed. "Of course Lightning had to burst in an ruin my fight with Izzy. I know he probably didn't do it on purpose but…" she struggles for words, and finally lets out a grunt of frustration and smacks her knees with her hands. "He just bothers me, okay?" She rests her elbow on her knees and puts her chin in her hands. "I just don't like him, and you know what? I think that's okay! I'm allowed to not like people!"

(End Confessional: Zoey.)

The sixteen campers were all finishing up their meals in the Mess Hall when Chris entered. "Good morning, campers!"

The first thing everyone noticed was that he was dressed in a very dorky suit. It was all black, with neon rainbow striped racing across it. It looked electronic, because the colors of the rainbow fluctuated.

"Nice suit," Rodney snickered.

Chris gave him the side eye, but didn't respond. "Okay guys, it's time for your next challenge. You ready to hear it?"

"Aw yeah, baby!" Owen hooted, "let's get going with it already!"

"All in good time, buddy," Chris told him patiently. "Now, before we get into the rules, I need you to head to your trailers. On your beds you'll find one of these bad boys," he gestured to the suit. "Put it on and meet back here in 5 minutes." He clapped his hands. "Go!"

"Outta my way, outta my way!" Jo barked, shoving past Noah and knocking the boy over into the table.

"My spine," the bookworm said dully, crumpled on the floor.

Rodney hoisted him to his feet and brushed him off roughly. "You'll be fine, eh, now let's get moving!"

The camera focused on the two boys as they headed towards their trailer. Once in, Rodney looked down at his bed. "Wow, I can't believe they got clothes big enough for me," He observed. "Normally I have to get all my clothes custom made!"

"Fascinating," Noah drawled, grabbing his suit and heading towards the door. "I'm gonna change in the bathroom."

Owen had no such reservations. He dropped his drawers and shredded his shirt with an excited whoop. "Yeah baby," he donned the suit in a flash, "time to kick some freakin' butt!"

Shawn too had no problem stripping to his boxers in front of the other males. Neither did Lightning. When the uber-jock noticed Beardo looking uncomfortable, he gave him an encouraging pat on the back. "Don't sweat it, big guy! It's just like a locker room!"

"I always hated locker rooms," Noah said snidely, opening the cabin door. He caught Beardo's eye and held the door. Beardo understood the way out he was being given and gave the egghead a grateful look as he walked out the door.

"Thanks for that," Beardo told Noah as the two walked to the bathrooms.

"No problem," Noah told him, "believe it or not, I get not wanting to strip to my skivvies in front of a bunch of dudes." His eyes pulled into a scowl, "despite what all the rumors might still say."

Beardo looked a little surprised, "you mean the rumors about you being gay? Those still exist?" He made a crazy spring sound, "I mean, you kinda have a girlfriend!"

"Puh. Tell me about it. I guess I'm just still a little bitter," Noah said. The two arrived and entered the bathroom. They took a separate stall, but continued to talk. "Life was pretty tough after that ear kiss," Noah continued as he tossed his sweater-vest over the stall.

"Yeah, I know all about being teased," Beardo said, "me and my girlfriend back home ain't exactly the most popular."

"Oh? Why's that?" Noah asked.

"I come from a pretty 'hood' area," Beardo said, pulling on the suit. He started beatboxing a heavy rap beat as if to emphasize. "My girlfriend is an upper-middle class white girl. You can connect the dots from there."

Noah winced in sympathy, though Beardo couldn't see it. "Yikes."

Beardo chuckled, "yeah, pretty much sums it up."

The two exited the stalls at the same time, clad in the suits, and headed out. Their clothes were left hanging on the stall to be collected later after the challenge.

"Here's a piece of advice," Noah offered, "if there's one thing I've learned being the youngest of nine siblings in a strict household, it's that you can't give a damn what other people think. Do what makes you happy."

Beardo smiled slightly as the Mess Hall came into view. "I know. I have no friends back home and spend pretty much all my time alone since Rebecca and I do long-distance, but she," he sighs happily, "she makes it worth it."

The two entered the Mess Hall. Since they were the last ones in, Chris clapped his hands together as they sat.

"Alright," the host with the most said excitedly, "now that you're all dressed for the occasion, it's time to give you guys your weapons!"

Jo grinned, "come again?"

Chris pulled out a metal rod about eight inches long. On it was a big red button.

Jo's grin faded slightly, "that doesn't look like much of a weapon…" she put a hand under her chin thoughtfully, "I guess if you smash someone enough with it."

"Take it easy, Morning Breath," Chris told her, pressing the big red button.

With an epic noise, a cylindrical beam of light appeared out of one end of the rod. It was bright orange and extended about three feet.

"No way!" Sky gasped, "is that a light-"

"This!" Chris interrupted quickly, "is a laser sword."

"Uh, earth to Chris, lightsabers aren't real." Scott said with a roll of his eyes.

"This laser sword," Chris emphasized, "is a hundred percent fully functional…if you're wearing one of these fancy suits!" All he received were blank looks, so he decided to elaborate. "Owen my man, if you wouldn't mind coming up here!"

Owen nervously stood up and headed towards the host, eyeing the laser sword with apprehension.

"If hit with the laser sword while wearing one of these suits, you will experience complete numbness in the affected area. Observe." Chris swung the laser sword at Owen's legs. The light passed right through the fat boy as if he weren't even there, but Owen's legs wobbled and he collapsed to the ground. Notably, the black and rainbow stripes of the suit turned white where the affected area was.

"My legs!" Owen screamed, "they're gone! The pain! Oh my god no, the pain!"

All the campers gasped and looked on in horror. Chris, however, was unamused. "Owen, there's no pain. You can't feel your legs because the special suit you have on has weighed them down to the point where you can't use them. See?" He pulled out a remote and pressed a button. The whiteness on Owen's suit turned back to it's normal black and rainbow stripes and Owen sprung to his feet, looking like a million bucks.

"I can walk again?" he gasped, "I can walk again! It's a miracle! Oh thank you, kind host!" He threw himself on Chris, who sidestepped out of the way. Owen tripped over a chair and bit the floor.

"Back to your seat, Owen," Chris said as if nothing had happened. "Now, Team Nuclear, you guys get these orange blades." He pulled out five other metal rods, deactivated the one he was holding, and began tossing them to the members of team Nuclear.

"Oddballs, you get purple ones." Bridgette, Owen, Shawn and Jasmine all received laser swords as well.

"And finally Team Alpha gets gold ones!"

"Aw yeah, baby!" Lightning cheered, activating his sword and swinging it around carelessly.

Zoey ducked under a careless strike and glared at the jock. "Watch it, Lightning! You could hurt one of us!"

"Don't worry, Zoey," Chris told her, "friendly fire is disabled. Hear that, Duncan?"

Duncan rolled his eyes and chose not to respond.

"Now, let's move onto the actual rules of the challenge. You all will head into the woods, alone. You might be in teams, but this is a solo challenge. If you run into someone in your team, you must immediately separate. No talking, no contact, no NOTHING. If this rule is judged to be broken there will be harsh penalties for the offending team."

"So how do we win already?" Sky asked, impatient.

"You win by being the last team standing. Hunt down each other and duel with your laser swords. When you're deemed too damaged to continue, the suit will shut down and you will be dragged to the floor."

"How much damage is too damaged to continue?" Jasmine asked.

"A straight blow to the chest or body will be probably enough," Chris told them, "you can probably get by with a limb or two gone, though you'll be severely handicapped. Also, you cannot leave the woods. If no team has won by sundown, the team with the least amount of players will send someone home. If there's still a tie then, then any team with the lowest numbers will be sending someone home!"

"You're bluffing," Izzy cackled, "no way you're sending three of us home at once!"

"We don't want to," Chris assured her, "but we also really don't want any sort of tie. We'll do it if it has to be done, but ultimately it's up to you guys. I wouldn't recommend hiding, or you might incur the wrath of your teammates for sending you all to an unneeded elimination ceremony."

Silence settled over the campers at this.

(Confessional: Chris.)

Chris smirks, "who needs ridiculously dangerous challenges when you can terrify the pants off of them with cold, unmoving logic?" He laughs loudly.

(End Confessional: Chris.)

(Confessional: Shawn & Jasmine)

Shawn and Jasmine are sitting next to each other, both looking confident.

"This challenge was made for us!" Jasmine boasts.

Shawn smirks, "yeah, the other teams don't stand a chance!"

The two high-five.

(End Confessional: Shawn & Jasmine.)

"Now, does anyone have any questions?" Chris asked.

No one did.

"Alright, head into the woods. Fifteen minutes from now, you'll hear a gong ring. That's when you can start dueling. Remember, you have to be alone and stay alone!"

Bridgette gulped.

"Now get moving!"

The campers all ran out the Mess Hall, laser swords activated, and began scattering into the woods.

Chris walked to the doors of the Mess Hall and watched them go. "This is gonna be good," he chuckled to Chef as the cook joined him. "Almost wished I had put Duncan on the Oddballs to duke it out."

"Seems like a missed opportunity," Chef agreed, "but I'm sure you have your reasons."

"Oh believe me, I do."

Bridgette crept along through the forest. The sun shone brightly down and the woods really didn't seem all that spooky, but the surfer girl still looked uneasy.

"My fear of being alone in the woods has settled slightly since I was a kid," Bridgette explained to the camera, "but I still can't help but worry that some bear of Sasquatch is gonna leap out and pulverize me."

As if on cue, a bush beside her rustled. Bridgette yelped and backed up, but the culprit quickly revealed herself.

"Whoa, easy Bridgette!" Gwen said, stepping out of the foliage with a wry smile. "It's just me."

Bridgette smacked her hand to her forehead, "Jeez, Gwen! You scared me!" She seemed to realize they were on opposite teams and quickly leveled her laser sword, "guess we gotta duke it out, huh?"

"I don't think so, actually," Gwen said, "the fifteen minutes aren't up yet."

Bridgette blinked. "Oh, yeah." She lowered her sword and deactivated it. "Hey, how're you holding up by the way?"

Gwen shrugged half-heartedly, "I've been better. Last night was tough."

Bridgette put a sympathetic hand on Gwen's shoulder. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Attention campers! The fifteen minutes is now up! You may begin pulverizing each other!"

Gwen looked up at the voice and then back at Bridgette, her wry smile returning. "Y'know, I actually think that would help. I've already chatted with some of my teammates about it, but they don't go way back like we do. First, though…" she ignited her laser sword and swished it around. "I think we have a fight to begin."

Bridgette smirked and ignited her sword too. "Alright then. After the challenge? The Rec Center?"

"Sounds like a plan," Gwen said, lunging forward.

Bridgette intercepted the goth's broad overhead slice with her own blade, and sparks showered around them. Bridgette pushed the goth back, surprising her slightly, and slide out in a wide arc. Gwen only just managed to duck, and the blade passed through her hair.

"You've gotten strong," Gwen observed.

Bridgette smirked, "Professional Surfing keeps you in pretty good shape. Good enough shape to take you down!"

"Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?" Gwen joked.

The two began to duel in earnest, with no time for quips or snarky remarks. Gwen had more technical skill and dexterity, and Bridgette edged it out in brute strength. They fought for a couple minutes until Gwen struck the first blow. Her Orange blade sliced through Bridgette's dominant elbow, and the suit turned white from the elbow down to her wrist. Bridgette's laser sword clattered to the ground and shut off.

"Crap!" Bridgette dove for her sword, but tripped and fell onto the ground.

Gwen stood over her triumphantly, "You may have gotten stronger, but it looks like you're yet to stop being so clumsy."

Bridgette gave her a good-natured glare. "Do what you must."

Gwen pushed the tip of the laser sword through Bridgette's chest and the entire suit turned white. Her body thumped to the ground completely.

"Good fight," Gwen told her, bending down and patting the surfer on the shoulder. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Sounds good!" Bridgette said. Gwen walked off and the surfer seemed to realize she was alone again…immobile. She gulped. "Oh, crap!"

Rodney thumped though the woods, being about as subtle as dump truck.

So far, he thought his time on the island had been going pretty well. Much better than Pahkitew, at least. He's been able to keep his crushes under control, and was contributing to his team, which was very strong. If he could just keep his head down and not attract too much unwanted attention, he might have a good shot at making the merge.

He also had a strategy for this challenge. He was a big guy, so speed was definitely not his forte. If possible, he was going to use his massive reach and physical prowess to literally push people away and daze them. He wasn't sure if it was against the rules, but he figured if Chris didn't explicitly say he couldn't do it, he probably didn't care.

He continued walking for a little while longer before noticing his shoelace was untied. He bent down to tie it just as a purple laser sword whistled above his head.

Shawn, who had just swung by on a vine, gave a disgruntled sigh and disembarked, shoulder rolling onto the ground. "Man you are lucky!" The zombie boy complained, "half a second later and you would've been zombie chow!"

Rodney pulled his laser sword and ignited it, the shimmery blade casting a golden light on the farm boy's face. "Shawn," he said, a little nervous, "not exactly the person I wanted to run into."

Shawn smirked at the compliment. "Just don't take what's about to happen personally, okay big guy? We can't afford to lose another member."

"And don't think I'm gonna be a pushover," Rodney said, beginning to lumber towards Shawn, "if anything, I'll push you over!" He reached out with his empty hand instead of his sword hand, taking Shawn off guard.

Shawn was fast, though, and his laser sword sliced right through Rodney's arm at the elbow. Unfortunately for Shawn, it wasn't a real lightsaber, so Rodney's arm was still very much attached, and the numb appendage smacked him right in the chest. "Ow!" Shawn was thrown back a couple feet and sprawled in the dirt.

Rodney hefted his sword with a grin, "guess brawn beats brains this time, Shawn!"

Shawn, from his place on the ground, could only point down at Rodney's feet. "Your shoe's untied, bro."

"Huh? I know." Rodney looked down, which proved to be a very costly mistake. Quick as a flash, Shawn grabbed his laser sword and, still on the ground, hurled it like a javelin at Rodney. It sailed straight and true, nailing Rodney in the face. His entire suit whited and he crashed to the ground, nearly unearthing a nearby sapling.

Rodney swore. "Damn! Nice play, Shawn! I'm such an idiot…"

Shawn got to his feet and dusted off his orange vest. "Don't sweat it, man. I took a gamble with that throw. If I missed, I was toast. You pack a serious punch."

With that, he left the crumpled farm boy behind.

(Confessional: Shawn.)

Shawn crosses his arms and shoots the camera a stern look. "Not only can we not afford to lose another player, but there's no way I'm gonna be stuck in the woods and not be able to move! You might as well stick a little sign on me that says 'Zombie all you can eat buffet!' Hah, no thanks!"

(End Confessional: Shawn.)

"I really had to run into you?" Noah sighed, looking at the sadistic Jo with annoyance.

"Sorry string bean," Jo said, not sounding very sorry at all. "If you wanna just get down into a comfortable position, it might save you some achy bones."

Noah ignited his sword, "nice try. I'm not gonna completely give up. I'm just gonna do really bad and then complain a lot."

"Hey, it's your funeral."

And that it was. Noah was able to parry Jo's first swing, but the jockette kicked dirt in his eyes and sliced him across the neck while he was coughing. The bookworm his the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"That was a cheap shot!" Noah whined, spitting dirt out of his mouth.

"Oh please," Jo put her foot on his chest like he was some kind of game trophy, "I just accelerated the inevitable."

A twig snapped, and Jo whirled around just in time to intercept Sky's laser sword with her own. Gold and orange sparks shattered the peaceful air.

Sky, wasting no time, pulled her sword back and went low, aiming for a leg gash. She had to back out of the strike when Jo spun the sword in her hand and stabbed downward, gripping the blade like a dagger.

Sky backflipped out of reach as Jo flipped the sword back into it's rightful position and swung out in a wide arc, her movements as fluid as water.

"Y'know, for someone with such an abrasive personality, you're actually pretty graceful." Sky noted.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Jo told her.

"Ugh," Noah said from the ground, "Chris was right, you do have morning breath."

Jo glared down at the bookworm. "Shut up! I do not have morning-whoa!" She suddenly became completely numb and hit the ground, landing right on top of Noah.

Sky stood over them, twirling her laser sword. "Don't let yourself get distracted," she chided.

Jo looked like she couldn't decide whether to be impressed or enraged. "You…you're fast." She finally grumbled. "You also suck."

Sky smiled appreciatively, making a mental note to thank Noah later for the distraction, and left the two bodies.

"You are such a loser, by the way." Jo told Noah, who was still crunched underneath her. "You get your butt kicked by me and then distract me to get me taken down? Who's got the low blows now?"

Noah tried to respond, but since his face was mashed into the dirt with Jo on top of him, it just came out as a muffle "Blerrrmph."

Duncan had briefly bumped into Sammy, but the two had ignored each other and quickly went in opposite directions. He had heard some fighting nearby, but couldn't be bothered to investigate. The truth was, despite his ranting last night, his heart wasn't really in the game anymore.

He had come back to try and make things right with Gwen. It had stunk when she told him she wasn't into him anymore, but he understood it and respected it. He was fine with just being friends. Really, he was. But, looking back, Gwen had seemed like she was only saying it to make him feel better, as if she truly didn't want anything to do with him. He didn't want to believe it, though.

Then things started to look up. They were joking around, and things were almost like old times. The doubt had faded from his mind, and he believed they really could be friends.

Until he was voted out.

Duncan cursed under his breath, but it lacked it's usual venom. It would've been one thing if Gwen had told him straight off the bat that she really didn't seem them being friends. It would've crushed him, but at least he could respect honesty. This betrayal left a bad taste in his mouth for one reason, and it was a reason he didn't want to admit.

It was just so…Courtney of her. He could easily picture Courtney in place of Gwen, manipulating him and being nice to him while scheming to get him eliminated as soon as possible. The initial thing that had attracted him to Gwen was how much of a straight shooter she was, so this betrayal just hurt him all the more.

He swore again.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Duncan looked up to see Izzy perched in a tree.

"Not really," Duncan said, igniting his orange blade.

Izzy remained up in the tree. "Izzy heard what happened at the campfire last night. She came back and eavesdropped."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "Are we going to fight or not?"

Izzy didn't move. "Izzy thinks you need to apologize."

"I don't need advice from a psycho like you," Duncan snapped, his temper flaring, "now are we going to fight or what?"

Izzy shook her head. "Nope." She began climbing higher into the tree. "You're about to have your hands full. Good luck!" With that, she disappeared into the leaves.

Duncan watched the spot where she had left, gnashing his teeth. "What the hell did she mean by having my hands full?"

A voice spoke behind him. "I reckon she was talking about me."

Duncan turned to see Jasmine standing, sword blazing, twenty yards away.

"Great," Duncan grumbled, swirling his sword through the air. "Screw it!" He charged the hulking Australian and brought down a deadly, whistling strike towards her neck.

Jasmine intercepted and pivoted, spinning around Duncan and getting behind the punk in one fluid motion. Duncan's eyes widened as Jasmine hefted her sword and swung at his unprotected back.

But Duncan wasn't one to be taken out so easily. Half gambling, half approximating, Duncan thrust his sword arm behind his back blindly, hoping to intercept the blade. It worked, and the sparks showered both of them.

"Nice move," Jasmine told the punk, separating the swords and shoving Duncan off balance with her shoulder.

Duncan stumbled back but kept his footing. He took a more defensive stance, not wanting to get countered so brutally again. "C'mon then, you big Ozzie chicken," he taunted, "or can you only play defense?"

Jasmine snorted, not rising to Duncan's bait. "You're gonna have to do better than that for trash talk, mate. That's some first grade stuff."

Duncan laughed, keeping his cool as well. "Whatever, you psycho giantess. You gonna attack or not?"

Jasmine shrugged, "guess I could," and lunged at the punk. Her reach far outclassed his with her toned, ebony arms and Duncan found himself giving ground up again and again.

"If it's any consolation," Jasmine offered as she slashed at the punk, "it's not that you're bad at this…I'm just better!" She finally cornered the punk.

"If I'm going down, you're coming with me!" Duncan said, making a last ditch, full bodied lunge at the Australian.

Jasmine's sword pierced his chest, but the momentum of Duncan's body kept his sword falling towards her. It pierced through the shoulder of her sword arm, and she dropped her sword.

Duncan, who was now in a heap on the ground, was facing away from Jasmine. "Did it work?" He asked curiously, unable to turn and see for himself.

"Well, you severed my sword arm," Jasmine said, "but I'm still kicking."

"Damn," Duncan sighed.

"You got balls, mate. I'll give you that."

"And don't you forget it!" Even Duncan knew it sounded weak.

Jasmine rolled her eyes and bent down to pick up her sword with her non-dominant hand. She left.

(Confessional: Jasmine.)

"That fight should've been much tougher than it was," Jasmine confessed, "I think Duncan's still reeling from whatever happened last night." She pounds her fist into her palm. "I've got to talk to Sammy after the challenge and figure out what happened!"

(End Confessional: Jasmine.)

Scott and Owen were currently in the middle of a duel. At the beginning of the fight, Scott was fairly confident he had just secured himself an easy elimination. Five minutes and a numb leg later, Scott was thinking he had underestimated the fat boy.

Owen, while a little sweaty, was uninjured. Scott wobbled on his lone good leg, desperately slashing and hacking in Owen's direction in an increasingly futile effort to keep the boy at bay.

"The Naturalist-turned-Predator observes the wounded prey in front of him," Owen said grimly, keeping his distance. "This newfound Predator knows that it is only a matter of time before the prey collapses." He bent down and picked up a small pebble. With a quick flick, the pebble sailed forward and nailed Scott on the nose, and that was all it took to send the farm boy tumbling to the ground. His laser sword flew from his hand, and Scott was left defenseless.

"C'mon," Scott whined as Owen approached him.

"The Predator knows that the prey is in his final moments," Owen began to narrate, but he was quickly cut off by Scott.

"For the love of Dirt," Scott whined, "just put me out of my misery! Enough with the bizarre narration!"

Owen blinked. "Whatever you say, dude." He brought his laser sword down in a vicious slash.

Alarms begin to blare, scaring the crap out of the two boys. Owen looked around, startled, but couldn't tell where the noise was coming from.

The alarm noises masked the rustle of bushes as Beardo emerged, sword ignited. He struck at Owen, who turned around just in time to slash Beardo in the gut. Both boys hit the dirt.

"Wow! Nice play, man!" Owen said amiably.

Beardo grinned, "thanks, man."

Shawn and Izzy were in the midst of a ferocious duel. They had been fighting for quite a while, but both looked unbothered.

"You're good," Izzy said.

"So are you," Shawn conceded.

"I'm better."

Shawn parried her strike and slashed at her head, but missed. "Nope."

"Yup."

"Nope."

"Yup."

"Nope."

"Yup."

Each word was met with a parry of their swords.

"Nope."

"Yup."

"Nope."

"Yup."

"Yup."

"Nope!"

Shawn grinned, "nope, you say? I'm glad we agree!"

Izzy gasped. "You did not just Bugs Bunny me!" She threw down her sword instantly and fell to her knees. "I have been outplayed. I accept defeat." She bowed her head, "every warrior knows that getting Bugs Bunny'd is a one hit-KO."

Shawn sliced through her neck. "Glad we can agree on that one too."

Lightning was winning the fight, but that wasn't too surprising given Jasmine was forced to use her non-dominant hand. He was gaining ground quickly, so Jasmine had to think of something.

Lightning wasn't giving her time to think, though. He whirled and swung and thrashed his sword, a blinding swirl of gold.

Jasmine took a deep breath, calming herself. She needed to find an opening. Sensing one, she jabbed her sword into the flurry of limbs that was Lightning, but he parried it easily and sliced her other shoulder, and her sword dropped to the earth.

"Crap," Jasmine said as Lightning shoved his laser sword through her neck. She hit the ground.

"Aw yeah, don't tussle with the Lightning!" Lightning smirked, "Sha-Victory! You just got…Hey!"

An orange blade protruded from his chest, and he frowned down at it. He dropped to the ground.

Sammy cheekily peeked down at him. "Sorry Lighting, I just couldn't help myself…you were…HEY!"

A gold blade sprouted through her chest too, and she slumped.

"Sorry Sammy," Sky apologized, "Nothing personal." Her eyes widened. "Hey!"

She slumped to the ground too, and Gwen stood over her, grinning.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" Jasmine blinked.

"A chain of cutthroatness," Sky pouted. "Darn it, Gwen!"

Gwen swung her sword around, "That's a pile of bodies," she observed, her tone snarky, "anyway, who's left?"

Zoey leapt out of the trees, landing gracefully and igniting her sword. She painted quite the intimidating picture, wreathed in gold light from her own sword.

Shawn too emerged from the trees, albeit on the opposite side of the clearing as Zoey. The sun beat down on them.

Gwen looked between Zoey and Shawn.

(Confessional: Gwen.)

"I didn't like my odds against either Zoey or Shawn," Gwen admits, "so I decided that teaming up with one against the other might be my best shot, and then I could backstab my ally."

The Confessional door opens and Chris sticks his head in. "Gwennyth! You should be ashamed! That is so sneaky and low. Maybe Duncan was right, you are the new Heather!"

"Shut up, Chris!" Gwen snapped, and Chris runs out of the Confessional, giggling like a schoolboy.

(End Confessional: Gwen.)

Gwen locked eyes with Zoey, and the goth shot her shot.

"I'm thinking Shawn's gonna be a pretty tough person to beat. What say we take their team down another player?"

Zoey smiled, "Sounds good to me, girl."

The two turned their swords towards Shawn. To the zombie boy's credit, he only looked alarmed for a second before his face set back into steely resolve. He whirled his purple blade around, eventually settling in the classic "bring it" kung fu pose.

Gwen and Zoey charged.

Any who thought it would be a quick battle was quickly proven wrong. Shawn slipped past Gwen's first attack and charged Zoey before she could get her own attack off. The redhead was quick enough to parry, but she was caught off guard.

Shawn moved in for the figurative kill, but a whistling from behind him told him that Gwen had turned and swung again. He crouched, and Gwen's horizontal swing almost cut Zoey, who had to leap back to avoid it. Without missing a beat, Shawn leapt up and did a 180, sending not his sword, but a flying kick at the surprised Gwen. She caught it on the handle of her blade, absorbing most of the shock, but was sent stumbling back.

Shawn recovered his breath, his eyes darting between the two girls.

"You're good, Shawn," Zoey confessed, also recovering. Behind her, Gwen scrambled to her feet. "Real good."

Shawn didn't respond, instead opting to go on the offensive.

Bodies twirled and twisted. Swords swirled and hacked. Sparks flew everywhere, but the girls couldn't touch Shawn. He ducked under Zoey's swing and parried Gwen's at the same time, before sweeping Zoey's legs out from under her and stabbing downwards. The blade would've gone right through Zoey's chest, but Gwen intercepted just in time.

Shawn grunted in annoyance, slowly beginning to overpower the goth. That was all the time Zoey needed to recover, though. "Now!" Zoey shouted.

Gwen ducked, and Zoey leapt at Shawn with blinding speed. Her blade was two feet from his surprised face. One foot. Six inches.

Sparks flew. Zoey hadn't been fast enough, and Shawn had been able to block the blade from entering his chest, though he did lose his non-dominant arm in the process.

"Playtimes over!" Shawn snarled, kicking at Zoey's wrist. Zoey's sword clattered to the ground and Shawn swung at her midriff.

More sparks. Once again, Gwen had managed to parry the blade.

Zoey backed off to retrieve her sword, and Gwen went full offensive on the survivalist. She was outmatched, though, and Shawn was done playing around. In the time it took for Zoey to retrieve her sword, Shawn had parried Gwen's strike, knocked her sword from her grip with another well placed kick, and slid between her legs, drawing his sword up in a high vertical jab as he did. The blade passed from crotch to neck through Gwen, and the goth hit the dirt.

Zoey turned, her sword back in hand. Shawn hadn't missed a beat, and used the momentum from his slide to hurl himself at Zoey. He had been a little too aggressive, though, and Zoey was fast enough to block and counter. Shawn cursed as her blade sliced his last remaining arm, and his sword clattered to the ground.

Zoey took a step back, breathing heavily. Shawn had no more arms to use, he was unarmed literally and figuratively.

"Good fight, Shawn." She smiled.

Shawn still had a couple of tricks up his sleeve. Much to Zoey's confusion, he turned and kicked his dropped sword away from them. The blade sailed end over end and landed in the grass twenty yards away. Without pause, he turned and sprinted toward it.

"Hey! Get back here!" Zoey called, beginning to sprint after the nut.

Shawn, his face tight with concentration, approached his fallen blade and dug his foot under it. He lifted it up with his foot and it flew into the air. Taking a deep breath, he let out a warrior cry and jumped. He spun his body in the air, crashing his foot into the metal handle and spin kicking the sword right towards the still sprinting Zoey.

Zoey, in mid run, was too surprised to do anything, and could only collapse as the blade sliced her midriff. "No way!"

All the suits unlocked, and everyone could move again.

"Let's freakin' GO, man!" Shawn howled, pumping his fist in victory. He was quickly glomped by Jasmine, who planted a big wet kiss on his lips.

"Holy crap, Shawn, that's just unfair," Sky shook her head, a bittersweet smile on her face.

"Team Oddball wins the challenge!" Chris announced, "team Alpha gets not first, not last purgatory, and Team Nuclear is sending someone home. But first, I need you guys to meet me back at the Mess Hall."

(Confessional: Zoey.)

Zoey looks disappointed, "man! What a move by Shawn!" Her disappointment melts off her face, "we didn't lose though, so I guess its not a total loss!"

(End Confessional: Zoey.)

(Confessional: Jasmine.)

Jasmine fans herself with her hat, "Oh man," she says dreamily, "what a guy…"

(End Confessional: Jasmine.)

(Confessional: Shawn.)

Shawn's face is covered in kiss marks. "Yeah, that felt pretty good." He pulls out a mirror and looks at the kiss marks. "I just wish these were all from Jasmine. Owen was pretty stoked we won too." He gives the camera a look.

(End Confessional: Shawn.)

The campers were back at the Mess Hall with Chris. "Team Nuclear, you are today's losers."

Gwen and Duncan looked especially sullen at this.

"Now, given the…unique events of last night, I've decided to implement a little twist!"

"Oh great," Jo grumbled.

"One of you will have the chance to win immunity!"

Duncan and Gwen looked up at this, while the rest of the members of the team, i.e. the ones that weren't on the chopping block, looked nervous.

"What, c'mon!" Scott complained, "why only now are you doing this?"

"Because I can, Scott," The host said calmly, "I call these Post-Challenge-Prizes, or PCP for short. They'll happen here and there throughout the season, and the prizes you can win won't always be immunity. It might be material goods, or a phone call home. You get the idea."

"Or an all-you-can-buy pass at the Tuck Shoppe!" Owen drooled.

"Be warned," Chris said solemnly, "there is also a negative consequence to winning this power."

"I'll take whatever consequence there is," Duncan said, "as long as I'm safe. What's the challenge?"

Chris pointed to the Mess Hall. "You're all in your suits. It's a free for all. Last one standing wins. Team Alpha and Oddball, you guys wait outside on this one."

The six Nuclear's leapt away from each other as the other teens left.

"When does it start?" Jo snarled.

"About thirty seconds ago," Chris smirked.

Duncan reacted fastest, sprinting forward and taking out Beardo, who had been too busy watching Scott.

Meanwhile, Jo and Gwen began engaging in a heated duel, and Scott and Duncan began to brawl as well.

Gwen, tired from her previous fight with Shawn and already at a physical disadvantage, found herself overwhelmed and defeated fairly quickly.

Scott vs Duncan was a little more even, but it was clear Duncan wanted it more. After a vicious slash sent Scott's sword tumbling away, the punk put him out of his misery.

Jo and Duncan turned on each other, snarling.

"Remember what we talked about?" Duncan said, pointing his sword accusingly at the jockette, "Let me have this!"

"No way," Jo snapped, "our deal still stands, but if you win, that target gets shifted to me, and I can't have that."

Duncan ground his teeth, but couldn't fault her logic. "Fine. Best swordsman wins?"

"Don't mind if I do."

Sparks flew. Jo had the edge physically, but Duncan was playing dirty. Really dirty. Like, kick a chair into the stomach of your opponent dirty.

Jo collapsed on the ground, coughing and hacking. "You little cheat!" She grumbled, "that hurt!"

Duncan brought his sword down on the jockette, but she parried just in time. He kicked her sword out of her hand, ignoring the numbness of the leg, and put her out of her misery too.

"Sorry," he said, "that was dirty even for me, but I need this. I need it bad." He turned to Chris. "So, I'm safe, right?"

"Not exactly," came a voice right behind him. Sammy's blade protruded through Duncan's chest, and he collapsed.

"Sammy wins immunity tonight!" Chris announced as all the suits came back online, allowing the members of Team Nuclear to move again.

"Ugh! Shit!" Duncan yelled, pounding his fist on the table. He whirled on Jo. "I thought you took her down?!"

"I thought you did!" Jo protested.

Scott clapped Sammy on the back. "Nice going!"

Chris scowled, "um, I wasn't finished! Sammy win's immunity from tonight's vote…but she also cannot vote!"

The news settled over them. Gwen was the first to realize what this meant, and she gasped. Scott blanched from next to Sammy, who had covered her mouth with her hands.

Jo started laughing, and Duncan relaxed. Only Beardo looked confused.

"Uh," he asked the punk, "what does that mean, exactly?"

"It mean's it's now me, you and Jo versus just Scott and Gwen in the voting." Duncan said, a smirk beginning to form on his face. "In other words…we win."

The other campers came back in and began to settle down for lunch.

(Confessional: Sammy.)

Sammy buries her head in her hands. "First I jump the gun on the Duncan plan, now I screw over Gwen! I'm a horrible friend!" She begins to sob.

(End Confessional: Sammy.)

(Confessional: Gwen.)

Gwen looks nauseous, but also determined. "It will not end like this," she says, but it sounds like she's trying to convince herself.

(End Confessional: Gwen.)

(Confessional: Scott.)

Scott sighs, "looks like Gwen's screwed. The votes were supposed to be 3-3 with me, Gwen and Sammy voting for Duncan, and Jo, Beard and Duncan presumably voting for Gwen. Now that Sammy can't vote, it's going to be a 2-3." He shakes his head, "but if it has to be one of us, I'm glad it's Gwen." He's silent for a moment before flushing slightly. "Not because Sammy's pretty or anything. Cause she's not." His flush intensifies, and he flees the Confessional.

(End Confessional: Scott.)

Some hours later, Duncan was walking towards the bathrooms. The sun was beginning it's descent. He entered and did his business. He had just stepped out, meaning to head to the Rec Center to play Owen in a game of pool when a teal blur slammed into him, pushing him back into the bathroom.

"What the hell? Gwen?" Duncan was a little too surprised to be angry. Gwen looked like a mess. She was paler than usual, her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were slightly red. Her mascara remained intact so she had not cried yet, but she looked close. "What are you doing? Are you-"

"No!" She snapped at him, "you don't talk. You listen!" Her tone bit at him like a knife and he found himself stunned into silence. She began to pace back and forth, running her hands through her hair. She was silent for a good ten seconds.

"I came back…I came back to prove that I could play this game without tying myself to a guy," she finally croaked out, still pacing. Duncan had to remind himself very hard that he was still mad at her. She finally stopped pacing and turned to look at Duncan. "I know what I did to you yesterday was messed up, Duncan. Really, I do, and I'm sorry." She bit her lip to keep it from trembling and hung her head. She was defeated. "But I can't go home like this, Duncan." Her voice got a little wobbly. "Sent home because of boy problems…again."

"You created those boy problems yourself," Duncan said before he could stop himself. He regretted the words instantly, but Gwen remained defeated.

"I know," She said miserably, "I know I did. But please, Duncan." She finally looked back up at him. Unshed tears shined in her eyes. "Please. Don't vote me off. I'm not trying to pull any strategy. You don't owe me anything, and I can't blame you if you do kick me off. I probably deserve it…but I'm still asking you not to."

Duncan's jaw worked. A million different scenarios flashed thorough his mind, but he just couldn't drum up the same rage he felt the previous night. Right now was a perfect opportunity to agree with Gwen, the vote her out anyways, just like what she did to him. He cursed himself with every foul word he could because he knew. He knew he couldn't do it. He was too damn soft.

"Fine."

Gwen's eyes widened, but she too seemed to realize what he had just thought, and she quickly looked miserable again, "look, if you're just going to try and re-backstab me, can we not do that? Just be honest."

"I am being honest," Duncan said, annoyed. He leaned against the wall of the bathroom and crossed his arms, disgusted with himself. "Fine. I'll convince Jo and Beardo. Okay? You happy now?"

Gwen dabbed at her eyes, thankful no tears had escaped. She looked more confused than happy. "Why?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Don't pick at that thread," Duncan warned. "I don't know either. But if I do this, you vote with me every time we lose until the merge, if we make it that far. Okay?" Gwen opened her mouth, but Duncan kept going, "I mean it. No BS."

Gwen nodded. "Fine. That's fair."

Duncan rubbed his face roughly with one of his hands. "Are we done here?"

"I…I guess so," Gwen said uncomfortably. "…thanks, Duncan."

"Don't thank me," Duncan said, "this is an asset to my game. I'll be on top now if I do this. I'll run this team."

"Okay…well I'll leave now." Gwen said, heading for the door. She had one foot out when Duncan called to her.

"I shouldn't have called you a bitch."

Gwen stopped. It wasn't an apology, but it was an admittance of wrongdoing. All things considered, it seemed fair enough.

"No," she agreed, "and I shouldn't have backstabbed you." She left, daring to feel hopeful.

(Confessional: Duncan.)

Duncan has his face buried in his hands. "You're pathetic, Duncan," he groaned, annoyed. "And weak."

(End Confessional: Duncan.)

Dinner came and went, with nothing much of note happening after Gwen and Duncan's confrontation. Duncan had told Jo and Beardo about the plan, and neither had too many qualms about it.

Things on Team Oddball had been celebratory, and morale was fairly high on Team Alpha too.

As the teams finished up their meal, Chris called Team Nuclear down to the elimination area.

"Who do you have going?" Noah whispered to Lightning.

"Probably Gwen." Lightning whispered back.

"I hope not," Zoey frowned, "she's my friend."

Over at Team Oddball's table, Bridgette was tense.

"What's the matter, Bridgette?" Owen asked, concerned.

"Gwen and I were supposed to talk about what happened last night, but we didn't get the chance, and now she might be going home," Bridgette told him sadly, "I hope she's not mad at me."

Owen looked uncomfortable, "Man, that team is a real mess, huh? Not like us! We're all best pals!" He raised his glass of water in a toast. "To Team Oddball!"

"To team Oddball!" The rest responded.

The six members of Team Nuclear sat on the stumps. The night was a little windy, so the shadows cast by the fire were long and eerie.

Chris stood behind his usual oil barrel, holding a tray with five marshmallows on it. "Deja vu, eh guys?" He said, smirking. "What's gonna be the outcome this time? Think you're toast again, Duncan?"

"Doubt it," Duncan grunted.

"Well, let's see," Chris said, "the first marshmallow goes o Sammy, our invincibility winner."

Sammy caught her marshmallow with a sad look at Gwen.

"Jo and Beardo, you two are also safe."

He looked between Gwen, Duncan and Scott. "The penultimate marshmallow goes to…Gwen!"

Scott, Sammy and Gwen gasped as Gwen caught her marshmallow. Gwen looked as shocked as the others. She tried to catch Duncan's eye, but he was pointedly evading her gaze.

Scott had turned the color of spoiled milk. "Oh come on," he groaned, glaring at Gwen, "you were actually able to strike a deal with them?!"

Gwen didn't answer.

"Duncan, Scott, this is the final marshmallow. It goes to…Duncan."

Scott groaned again as Duncan caught his marshmallow. "Foiled by a twist," the redneck complained, "what a bunch of bull."

"I'm sorry, Scott," Gwen offered, "but I had to try and save myself."

Scott still looked annoyed, but he shrugged Gwen's apology off. "Whatever, I get it. I woulda done the same thing." He ran his hands through his hair and picked up his luggage, which had been brought to him. "First boot from the team," he grumbled, "what a gip."

"Aw, we'll miss you, Scott," Sammy said sadly, giving him a hug, which he hesitantly returned.

"Kick some butt, okay?" He told her, his eyes a little proud, "you've got the makings of a great schemer yet. Don't let the guilt overpower you, and you could just walk outta here with some money."

Sammy's eyes twinkled, "we'll see."

"Scotty-boy, time to walk." Chris told him.

Scott nodded and headed down the dock. When it arrived, he stepped on and turned to his team, who waved at him. He gave them the finger, and the boat sped off.

"Team Nuclear, you may go," Chris told them, and the five teens walked off.

Jo and Beardo walked ahead of the group, whispering to themselves. Gwen and Duncan split off quickly, each going their own separate ways. Sammy walked towards the trailer, conflicted. Part of her was happy Gwen got to stay, but another part couldn't help but be a little bummed Scott was gone.

"Oi!"

Sammy looked up to see Jasmine smiling down at her.

"You almost ran into me, Sammy! Everything okay?"

Sammy sighed, "Hey Jasmine. Yeah, Gwen go to stay, which is great."

"Who left?"

"Scott."

"Oh, that slime ball, eh? Good riddance, am I right?"

Sammy shrugged uncomfortably, "he wasn't all bad."

Jasmine was savvy enough to sense her tone and dropped the subject. "Hey, I was meaning to ask, what the heck happened last night?"

The two walked over to the trailer area and sat down at one of the picnic tables. Each table had a gas lantern on it, so Jasmine cranked one on, submerging them in cozy light.

Sammy told Jasmine all he grizzly details of what had happened after the other two teams left the previous night.

"Wow," Jasmine let out a low whistle, "seems like they both have a screw loose. Talk about a toxic situation."

Sammy nodded miserably, "and it's all my fault."

Jasmine put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Sammy," she said seriously, "it is not your fault."

Sammy didn't look convinced. "But Jasmine, if I hadn't been so pushy, we wouldn't have had the meltdown, and Scott would still be here, and our team wouldn't be falling to pieces!" She tucked her knees up to her chest. "Duncan and Gwen probably made a deal with Jo and Beardo, which means I'm on the outs," she sniffled, "again."

Jasmine scooted over to Sammy and gave her a hug. "Don't worry," she told her, "just try and make it work until the merge. Shawn and I will have your back then. You're a smart gal, Sammy. "

Sammy gave Jasmine a watery smile, "yeah, maybe I am."

"There ya go!" Jasmine ruffled her hair, "now let's get some sleep. LEt's make sure Team Alpha finally loses someone next time, eh?"

"I like the sound of that!"

Chris grinned at the camera from the elimination area. "What a tense day! Things are sure to get more explosive, especially when our campers get their hands on some alcohol! Tune in next time for another dramatic episode of Total! Drama! Generations!"

Boat of Losers Clip:

"So you're telling me we're going to the Playa?" Scott asked Chef, excited.

Chef nodded.

Scott pumped his fist, "alright! And there's Aftermaths."

"That's what I said," Chef said, annoyed. "I wasn't lying."

Scott began to rub his hands together, plans and scenarios running through his mind. A sketchy grin formed on his face, "Something tells me this season hasn't seen the last of ol' Scotty Boy...NYAHAHAH!" As he laughed, some salt water from the wake of the boat flew down his throat, and he began to cough and hack. "Bluegheughgehackheehkcehac!"

Voting Confessionals:

Beardo: Man, what a wild ride today has been. Apparently Duncan made a deal with Gwen, so now Scott has to go home. Fine by me.

Duncan: I hope I don't regret this...I vote for Scott.

Gwen: *She has her fingers crossed* I vote for Scott...c'mon Duncan...please pull through!

Jo: Meh. Scott, Gwen, whatever. I could honestly care less who goes home, so bye bye, Scott!

Scott: Looks like Gwen's a goner, but I don't really care. Sammy and I together can do some damage. I vote for Duncan.

Votes:

Scott - 4 votes: (Beardo, Duncan, Gwen, Jo).

Duncan - 1 vote: (Scott).

Team Alpha: Zoey, Lightning, Sky, Rodney, Izzy, Noah.

Team Oddball: Jasmine, Shawn, Bridgette, Owen.

Team Nuclear: Gwen, Duncan, Jo, Sammy, Beardo.

Eliminated: Anne Maria, Brick, Scott.

Reasoning for Elimination:

Ahh, Scott. Such a great character. Unfortunately this cast has so few fodder picks that some of the better characters have to bounce early, as is the case with Scott. He was essentially blindsided by the cesspool of drama on Team Nuclear, which is a shame for him since he started the episode in such a good spot. Initially he was going to be eliminated second on the basis that no one trusted him, but after the meltdown of Gwuncan I felt that the only way to boot him early would be a blindside with Gwen saving her own ass. Though I have to say...Scott's presence in the story is by no means finished, and I might just have to agree with the dirtbag when he says we might not have seen the last of him...

Welp, this chapter took longer than I wanted to get out, but at least it's here now! I'm hoping to have anohter chapter up in a couple of weeks.

THIS NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE FIRST REST DAY...no challenge, no elimination. Just plot and character furthering and development...oh and alcohol. Lots of alcohol...

I know this chapter, and the story so far, has focused pretty heavily on Team Nuclear, Gwen and Duncan in particular. No, this will not be the same throughout the entire story. They just have a lot of muck to get out of the way early on, but other characters and teams will get the limelight as the story progresses!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed!

- Did Scott deserve to get booted?

- What will everyone do on their day off?

- Who will be the first to puke their guts out from drinking too much?

Please don't forget to review! It is the life blood that keeps my writing spirit thriving. Love you guys, ciao!