Whaddap famsquads and squadfams. Its ya boi Knifez with another TDG chapter. I know we've only had like two eliminations in the past five chapters, but now it's smooth sailing one elimination per chapter until the next Rest Day! Swearzies!

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Remember to vote on the poll for who returns at the merge! First place in the poll returns! 4 chapters left to vote!

WHOA! Did you know that this fic has a TV Tropes page?! That's so freakin' cool! If any of you guys are familiar with the site and want to add some Tropes, that would be amazing! I had no idea until just now that it existed! To whoever created it, thank you so much!

Now, let's get it on!

"Sha-bam! Lightning is ready to own it in today's challenge!"

The door's of the Mess Hall burst open, revealing an exuberant and excited Lightning. The jock had his hands on his hips and a victorious smile on his face as a triumphant tune played in the background.

"Out of the way, Jockstrap!" The triumphant tune hit a record scratch as Jo shoved Lightning to the ground, "you're blocking the way!" She added, stepping over his groaning body.

Noah followed the two into the Mess Hall, being careful to avoid stepping on Lightning. "You know, you'd do well to share Lightning's enthusiasm." He scolded, frowning at Jo.

"Yeah!" Lightning added, hopping to his feet. "Cause if we lose again, you're goin' sha-bye-bye!"

Jo just sneered at the two, plopping down at the Alpha table with a grunt. "Please, I plan on carrying this team all the way to the merge, and there's nothing you two dunderheads can do to stop me!"

Noah sat across from her, while Lightning took a seat to his immediate right. "Look, Jo," he said, trying to be diplomatic, "we're not going to try and lose, okay? The only reason we lost so much was because of what Zoey did to Lightning. Now that she's gone, we should be okay. With my brain and Lightning's brawn, and your combination of both," he leaned back in his chair and smirked, "I don't see how we lose another challenge."

Jo just scoffed at him, "what Zoey did to Lightning? That's rich."

"Let me guess, Zoey told you it was me that orchestrated everything," Noah rolled his eyes. "Typical Zoey, huh?" He asked Lightning.

"You can't let her fool you, dude," Lightning warned the jockette, "she's crafty!"

Jo looked like she wanted to yell at them, but ultimately just put her chin in her hand and sighed. "Y'know what, Lightning? I hate you too much to expend the effort of showing you the truth."

"Thank you!" Lightning beamed, "that's the nicest thing you've ever said to him!"

Noah and Jo, despite their animosity, exchanged a bewildered look.

(Confessional: Lightning.)

"First Zoey said it was Noah, now Jo says it too," Lightning ponders, "but Lightning don't believe them! Noah has his back, and they gotta stick together. Besides, he kinda reminds Lightning of Smart Guy!" The jock trails off, his face scrunched up in concentration, "though Smart Guy was kinda sneaky at times, too. Hm…"

(End Confessional: Lightning.)

(Confessional: Jo.)

"Well, the fact that Zoey got kicked off pretty much just screwed me," Jo complains, "I just gotta keep my head down and do my best in challenges until the merge hits or Chris condenses the teams into two. I don't think there is any way I can break up the dynamic dumbasses that are Lightning and Noah."

(End Confessional: Jo.)

Jasmine, Shawn and Sammy were walking through the woods, chatting and laughing with each other. A lovely, lilting tune played, and the day was sunny and warm.

"Say," Jasmine said, looking around. "Where's Owen, babe? He usually joins us on these morning strolls."

Shawn stripped a blueberry bush of its berries and popped a couple into his mouth. "I dunno," he answered, "I didn't see him when I got up."

"Who knows what he gets up to," Sammy said idly, squatting down to pluck a flower from the ground.

"So, you gonna come visit me after the season?" Jasmine asked her friend. "I'd love to show you Australia!"

"Oh, that would be awesome!" Sammy gasped, straightening up with the flower. "I'd love to come visit you!"

"Yeah, we're going to be looking for a place together," Shawn smiled, wrapping an arm around his much taller girlfriend. "And you know, if you ever want a change of scenery…"

"Oh em gee, that would be so much fun!" Sammy said excitedly, "You guys really wouldn't mind living with me?"

"Of course not!" Jasmine told her warmly, "I reckon we'd get into quite the shenanigans the three of us, and that'd be excellent!"

"Australia is a pretty decent spot to live in when the apocalypse happens, since it's so big and the population is so little," Shawn told them sagely, "plus it's cut off from the rest of the world. Sure, it's not as good as Madagascar or Greenland, but it'll do!"

The three continued to walk through the woods.

"So, are you guys feelings safe?" Sammy asked the two. "I mean, Owen and Izzy used to date, right? Then they smooched. If they get back together, that would probably force a tie on your team…"

Shawn and Jasmine exchanged a look. "Yeah, I'm not too worried," Jasmine said honestly, "Owen and Izzy ain't a couple a' Joey's, sure enough…but I think we can take 'em.'

Her boyfriend nodded his agreement, "yeah! But we've been killing it in challenges, so I'm not too worried."

"You totally have been," Sammy said, her tone envious, "you guys are so kick butt."

"It's not like you've been idle, though, eh?" Shawn said, crossing his arms and nodding sagely. "Jazz tells me you've been up to all sorts of cool stuff."

Sammy flushed a little. "W-well," she stammered, "I mean, not really."

"Don't discredit yourself," Jasmine urged her, "I'm still in awe of that balloon trick you pulled to take down the Alphas. And look at the effect! They've completely fallen apart!"

"Yeah, just don't try and of that stuff on us," Shawn joked, lightly nudging Sammy in the ribs with his elbow, to which she giggled.

(Confessional: Sammy.)

"Shawn and Jasmine are just the best," Sammy gushed, clasping her hands to her chest fondly, "I'm having so much fun on Total Drama this time around! I've made friends with Gwen and Bridgette, I have old friends too, and the best part is…no Amy!" She separates her hands and throws them over her head in victory.

(End Confessional: Sammy.)

Duncan and Beardo, the two latest risers of the boys, were the last in the boys trailer. The two were getting ready for the day and attempting to wake themselves up fully.

"I wonder what the challenge is going to be today…" Duncan yawned, eyes on the mirror and fingers covered in gel as he slicked his signature mohawk back.

Beardo ran a comb through his afro, getting it to it's desired poofyness. "Your guess is as good as mine," he admitted, "I just hope it ain't something super scary like the last challenge."

Duncan rose an eyebrow, turning to stare at Beardo through the mirror. "C'mon, man. Last challenge was kinda intense, but it wasn't that scary."

Beardo imitated a buzzer, much like the ones heard on the infamous Talent Shows that were broadcasted on TV. "Speak for yourself, man! You weren't alone!"

Duncan mulled that over for a few minutes. "Y'know what? That's fair," he admitted. Done with his mohawk, he wiped the remaining gel off his fingers and onto Noah's pillow.

Next to be imitated was an alert noise, just like the one in the Metal Gear Solid games. "Hey, man!" He scolded, "that's not nice!"

"Have you met me?" Duncan laughed. "And relax. It's non-scented and will come out in the wash. Besides, he deserves it. He's a scrawny know-it-all."

Beardo couldn't exactly counter that statement, so he just returned to combing his hair.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and both Beardo and Duncan looked at each other, confused.

"Uh…come in?" Duncan called. In a lower voice, he asked Beardo, "who the hell knocks on the trailers?"

Beardo just shrugged. The door opened, and Bridgette popped her head into the trailer.

"Malibu?" Duncan blinked, "what's up?" Bridgette walked in with Gwen in tow. "Pasty, too? Everything ok?"

"We're just looking for Sammy," Gwen told him, looking around the boys trailer. "Man, this place is a mess."

It was true. Clothes from all the different guys were strewn all over the floor. Empty snack boxes and beer bottles crowded the large table. The small sink in the corner had a bunch of half-clean dishes in it.

"Well, none of us are exactly neat freaks," Beardo pointed out, "but it ain't too bad in here."

Bridgette pinched her nose. "Yeah…right…"

"We haven't seen Sammy," Duncan said, a little distastefully, "why the hell would she come hang out here, anyways?"

"Well we checked all the other buildings," Gwen explained, now looking a little worried, "this was the last place we hadn't checked."

"Ain't she friends with Shawn and Jasmine?" Beardo told the girls, "maybe she's out on an early morning stroll with them?"

The two girls looked at each other and then back at Beardo. "Oh yeah, good point," Gwen admitted.

"Shawn, Jasmine and Owen used to go for early walks all the time!" Bridgette slapped her forehead, "I can't believe I forgot…" the surfer let out a loud groan, "man, I need some coffee…"

Beardo finished with his hair and tossed his comb back onto his bed. He walked over to the two girls and 'ding-ding''d at them.

"Yeah, let's get some breakfast," Duncan agreed.

"Man, this is nice…"

"It sure is, Big-O!"

Owen and Izzy were currently sitting on the top of the 1,000ft cliff, lying in the shaggy grass and relaxing.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen the sun rise before," Owen admitted, "especially with such a pretty girl like you, Izzy!"

"Aww," Izzy cooed, leaning into Owen's husky frame, "that's so sweet!"

Owen wrapped an arm around his long-time crush. "It was so worth getting up at the crack of dawn, literally!"

The camera zoomed in on his face to reveal huge bags beneath the tubby boy's eyes. A quick pan to Izzy showed that she shared the same fate, and a jarring tune played as the ugly bags were emphasized.

"So, did you give any more thought on us being a couple?" Owen asked boldly, a bit of nervousness still in his voice.

"Aren't you the impatient one?" Izzy teased.

Owen giggled a little, looking off to the side, "hey, I've been waiting years! I'm tired of it!" He defended himself.

"Well, Izzy did do something thinking on it…" the crazy redhead told him slowly. "And I think that…it'd be awesome to try our relationship again!"

Owen jumped to his feet, sending Izzy sprawling. The fiery girl grinned up at Owen as he broke into a happy dance. "Yeah-heh-heh, sweet!" He cheered. "This is awesome!"

Izzy hopped to her feet and leapt onto Owen's shoulders, planting a big wet kiss on the top of his head. "Alright, Owen! I'm hungry! Let's get some breakfast!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Once everyone had met up and began eating their eggs and toast in the Mess Hall, Chris entered with his usual cheery attitude.

"Morning, campers!" He greeted them, "finish up your food, because it's time for the challenge!"

Owen began shoveling his food into his face, but was missing quite a bit. Shawn and Jasmine noticed this when Jasmine got nailed in the face by a clump of scrambled eggs.

"You alright, mate?" Jasmine asked, slightly annoyed as she wiped bits of egg of her face.

"Yeah," Shawn added, noting the bags under his eyes, "you don't look so good."

"Aw, I'm just great!" Owen assured his teammates warmly, "I'm just a little tired, that's all!"

"Yeah!" Izzy added, currently molding her eggs into a startlingly accurate sculpture of Chef's head. "Owen and I saw the sunset this morning! It was beautiful!"

"It really was," Owen agreed, but it was clear due to his starry-eyed stare that he was talking about Izzy. This did not go unnoticed by the other couple on the team. Shawn and Jasmine exchanged a look, and the zombie nut turned to his tubby friend.

"Oh, that sounds…romantic!" Shawn said pointedly.

Owen fished a piece of egg out from one of the bags under his eyes and popped it into his mouth, making Jasmine's face go green. "It was super romantic," Owen said, not taking his eyes off his new-but-old girlfriend.

"So are you two officially back together?" Jasmine asked.

The two nodded happily. "We're gonna give it another go!" Izzy said.

Shawn looked genuinely happy for the two, "I'm glad to hear that, you two!" He said warmly, throwing an arm around his buddies shoulder.

"Yeah…super," Jasmine agreed, her smile obviously forced.

Meanwhile, the Alphas were finishing up their meal.

"Alright!" Jo barked, "whatever this challenge is, we're gonna kill it today, okay?!"

"Aye-aye, captain!" Noah drawled, exchanging a smirk with Lightning.

"Why are you trying to boss us around, Jo?" Lightning asked with a frown, "where's the logic on being such a jerk?"

Jo's palm smacked onto her own face, and then whipped out and smacked Lightning in the face, making him yelp. "Because, Jockstrap!" She snapped, "I know I'm gonna get the boot if this sorry excuse for a team loses again. So, I don't have to worry about playing nice with you two buffoons. Instead, I'm gonna drive you two into the dirt, making sure we're always one step ahead of the other guys." She jerked her thumb over to the Oddballs. "Especially them! They've won every single challenge since they lost the first one! Except for the one we all lost, of course."

Noah and Lightning looked over to the four Oddballs. Shawn and Jasmine were chatting with Owen while Izzy was beating up the egg-Chef head.

"Please," Lightning scoffed, "they're just a bunch of chumps!"

"I'm with the Mullet on this one, actually," Noah said, scowling specifically at the Pahktiew Island couple. "Owen and Izzy are threatening enough, but-" he was interrupted by Lightning, who started laughing hysterically.

"Sha-please!" Lightning chuckled, "that fat guy, threatening? Don't get me wrong, Lightning understands that the crazy nutso has skills, but that tubby dude is about as threatening as a puppy!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Lightning is right," Jo agreed, shooting Lightning a repulsed look. It was returned in full by the jock. "Lardball over there didn't even make it on All-Stars. Sure, he won the first season because of some dumb luck, but other wise? Meh."

"Don't underestimate him," Noah warned, "appearances can be deceiving, and Owen is more than capable of pulling his own weight. Didn't you guys watch seasons 2 and 3?"

Lightning shook his head no, but Jo had watched every episode of Total Drama before auditioning. "I saw Owen disappear for half the season and then manage to make the Final 3 because Chris made him play dirty," Jo said dismissively, "then he got dumped by Alejandro the moment that eel could be rid of him." She crossed her arms, eyeing the fat boy critically from a distance, "Like I said, not impressed."

Noah felt the defensiveness flare up inside his chest as his instinct to defend his best friend bloomed into being. "Fine then, go ahead and underestimate him. It totally won't come back to bite you in the butt later."

"What do you care?" Jo shot back, "are you two even friends anymore? Didn't you oust his girl?"

"His girl?" Noah repeated, "they aren't together."

Lightning scoffed, "Look again, man."

Noah turned his seat to look at Owen and Izzy again, just as Izzy snuggled into his shoulder and Owen kissed her forehead. The bookworm's mouth dropped open. "They got back together!" He whispered loudly, a rare grin forming on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, it's great. Makes me all warm and fuzzy…" Jo said sarcastically, pretending to gag. "But as I was saying, Shawn and Jasmine are two of the most skilled players to every play the game, and Jasmine especially is pretty ruthless." She punched her palm. "We gotta cut their winning streak down to size!"

(Confessional: Jasmine.)

Jasmine doesn't look too pleased. "With Owen and Izzy back together, that complicates Shawn and my's safety," she grumbles, "before, it would've been easier to convince Owen to vote for Izzy in a 3-1, but now that they're together that isn't going to happen. Which means we have a tiebreaker on our hands next time we lose. Shawn's not too worried, but he's all well and safe since it's gonna be me that is getting put in the tiebreaker. No way Owen would let Shawn go, and Shawn probably feels the same way." She shakes her head. "I mean regardless, I'm not too nervous. I can take Izzy."

(End Confessional: Jasmine.)

(Confessional: Noah.)

Noah is smiling to the camera. "I'm so happy that Owen was able to get back with the girl of his dreams! And he didn't even need my help!" The smile slips from his lips. "I want to apologize to him, but I'm just too guilty and scared to approach him about it." He sighs loudly, "ugh, why can't he just approach me about it?"

(End Confessional: Noah.)

"Hey, I said finish your meals, not start yapping with each other!" Chris pouted, "let's go! Everyone meet me outside the Tuck Shoppe…pronto!" He turned on his heel and strode out of the Mess Hall, leaving the twelve campers to quickly shovel in the last bits of their meals before heading for the challenge destination. Once there, Chris emerged from the Tuck Shoppe, snacking on a bag of beef jerky. "Finally," he moaned, his mouth full, "I was waiting forever!"

"It was like 5 minutes, you big baby!" Jo said dismissively, "just tell us what the challenge is!"

Chris tossed the beef jerky to Owen, who happily caught and began mowing through it. "Right, right," the host brushed jerky crumbs off his hands and put them on his hips, glancing over the remaining young adults. "Okay, so this challenge is timed. You have five hours to complete this. The challenge is in two parts. You'll split yourselves up into two groups, and one group will take each part of the challenge. Understood?"

"Yes," Jasmine said impatiently, "now what's the challenge?"

"It's an homage to a classic Total Drama Island challenge," Chris said excitedly. He turned to Izzy, Owen, Gwen and Duncan. "I'm sure you four remember the awesome animal tracking challenge!"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Gwen groaned.

"It wasn't all bad," Duncan said with a grin, "remember when Izzy shot Heather in the butt with a dart?"

"Remember when you cleaned the bathrooms with my toothbrush?" Gwen shot back. That shut Duncan up.

"Good times," Izzy said wistfully. "So we have to track down an animal?"

"Yes and no," Chris told her, "the first part of the challenge is solving three riddles. The riddles will take you all over the island, and when you complete a riddle you'll get one piece of a puzzle. The full puzzle will show you what animal you have to track. Then you have to trap the animal and bring it back to the Mess Hall. First team to do so wins a reward! Second team back gets no reward but is safe! Last place boots someone." The host stretched his arms over his head. "Any questions?" There was silence, as the challenge was pretty straightforward. "Ok, split up!" Chris pulled out an airhorn, "in three minutes you'll hear this, and then its go time!"

The teams all huddled with each other.

"Oh-ho, the Naturalist is so ready to tackle this!" Owen cheered, "let me track!"

"I should track, too," Jasmine said, "I'm extremely good at it." She looked at Shawn and Izzy, "you think you two can handle the riddles?"

Shawn nodded. "Easy peasy," he said confidently.

Izzy yawned and rubbed at the bags under her eyes with her knuckles. "Y-y-yeaah," she yawned again, "leave it to us!"

"Good, it's settled. Let's keep the winning streak going." Jasmine smirked.

Over by the Alphas, things were a little more turbulent.

"Alright, Brainiac," Jo said, glaring down at Noah. "You're on riddle duty. Take Lightning with you incase you have to do anything physical. I'll handle the animal."

"You sure, Jo?" Lightning asked, "it might be better for Lightning to have your back in case the animal is tough."

"Yeah," Noah added, "do you have any experience capturing animals?"

"I have three little cousins," Jo told the two boys, and they exchanged looks of shock. "I'll be fine," she assured them. "Just get the riddles done and get 'em done fast. Got it?"

The two nodded.

"Alright, I'll track the animal. Who wants to tackle the riddles?" Duncan asked the four other members of Team Nuclear.

"Uh…who made you leader?" Sammy asked, a touch nervous.

"No one," Duncan told her shortly, "I'm just trash at riddles. Trust me, it's for the best."

"Well, I'm pretty good at them," Gwen offered.

"My sounds might help us attract the animal once we know what we're dealing with," Beardo pointed out. "I'll go with Duncan."

"I'll do riddles," Bridgette said quickly, "I'm still not great with being out in the woods alone…"

The two duos looked to Sammy. "Well, where do you think you can help most?" Gwen asked with a friendly smile.

"Um…" The girl looked between Beardo and Duncan and Gwen and Bridgette. She definitely knew where she wanted to go. "I'll help with the riddles," Sammy said quickly.

The Nuclears nodded. "Alright, let's kick some ass, guys." Duncan stated, cracking his knuckles.

"Alright, do you have your groups everyone?" Chris yelled out. "Riddle-doers, step forward!"

Sammy, Bridgette, Gwen, Noah, Lightning, Shawn and Izzy stepped forward, ready to receive their first clue.

"The rest of you just sit tight in the Mess Hall until your team can deliver the full puzzle to you," Chris instructed Jo, Duncan, Beardo, Owen and Jasmine. The five walked off towards the Mess Hall.

"You should try and take a nap, mate," Jasmine advised, worried for Owen. "You're gonna need to be well rested if we have to track down a critter."

"The Naturalist hardly needs any rest," Owen told her confidently. This confidence was ruined by the fact that his eyes were shut, and the moment they all entered the Mess Hall he collapsed onto the ground, snoring.

Jasmine caught the eye of Beardo, who raised an eyebrow at the situation. "Don't ask," Jasmine sighed.

Back outside, Chris tossed each team a laminated plaque. These were caught by Gwen, Noah and Izzy.

"C'mon!" Noah said quickly, "we don't want the others to overhear us!"

"One step ahead of you, bro!" Lightning said, scooping Noah up and throwing him over his shoulder. The two jogged out of sight.

Shawn and Izzy looked down at the map, and Izzy instantly snapped her fingers. "We gotta find Zeke's old throne room!" Izzy said, "that's where he took Anne Maria when he kidnapped her!"

"You're right!" Shawn agreed, "but didn't Chris and Chef blow up the mine? How are we supposed to get in?"

Izzy let out a dark chuckle, "oh-ho, my friend…leave it to me!"

Shawn gulped.

The camera cut to an intense tune as Lightning ran through the woods, Noah still over his shoulder. "So where are we going?" He asked the bookworm.

"Remember the mine you guys had to go to in your first season?" Noah asked, "that's where we have to go."

"Wow, you solved that already? Lightning's impressed." Lightning said, still not breaking a sweat even though he was full-sprinting while carrying Noah.

"Please," Noah scoffed, "these riddles are childs play. Though I must say, I'm not surprised that Chris couldn't come up with anything more creative or challenging."

(Confessional: Chris.)

Chris glares at the camera. "Hey! I can so come up with harder riddles!" His glare fades and an arrogant grin replaces it, "I just know that all these moronic kids would moan and whine about how it was too hard, so I decided to take it a bit easy on them." His smugness fades and he glances off to the side, suddenly insecure, "uh. yeah…that's what it is…"

(End Confessional: Chris.)

Bridgette, Sammy and Gwen had their heads together. Literally, they were all staring down at the riddle, curious as to what it meant.

"An eliminated contestant was once took…" Sammy repeated. "Does that mean an eliminated contestant was once taken there?"

"I think so," Bridgette said, "so that rules out the Pahkitew Island guys since they never were on Wawanakwa before this season."

"So that leaves Brick, Scott, and Anne Maria, right?" Sammy continued. She turned to Gwen, who's eyes were closed as she thought. "What do you think, Gwen?"

"I think that Chris is a jerk," Gwen grumbled, opening her eyes. "Come on, we're off to the mine."

Speaking of the mine, the first team had arrived at the exploded entrance. Lightning skidded to a halt, dropping Noah roughly onto the ground and doing a victory dance. "Aw yeah, first team here! First place is as good as ours!" He kissed his biceps. "Sha-acing!"

An annoyed Noah picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. "Great. How are we supposed to get in?"

Lightning looked at he blocked entrance. "Sha-easy! Lightning will just move all the rocks out the way!"

"Dude, there's like 100 rocks there," Noah sighed, "no way you'll be able to move them all in time."

"That's what you think!" Lightning rebutted, bending down and beginning to hurl rocks outta the way. "Lightning will be done in two seconds flat! Just you watch!"

"Riiight," Noah drawled. He looked around the area. "There's gotta be another way in here." He walked behind the exploded entrance and began to poke around. There was nothing of note around the area save for some rocks and other shrubs. "Ugh."

"Alright, if I remember correctly it's just over here," Gwen said, moving through the woods with Bridgette and Sammy right behind her. "A clearing with some rocks…it's right…aha! Yes! Right over here!"

The three emerged into a small clearing that was empty save for some rocks.

"Uhh, what exactly are we looking at here?" Bridgette asked, turning to her friend with a raised eyebrow.

"Get down here and help me move these rocks," Gwen told them, kneeling down next to one of the large stones and beginning to push. She was quickly joined by Sammy and Bridgette and the three slowly slid the rock away, revealing a deep hole. "I can't believe I have to go back down there again," Gwen said hollowly, biting her lip.

"You'll be fine," Sammy said warmly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We've got your back." Behind the twin, Bridgette gave Gwen a thumbs up.

Gwen took a deep breath. "Alright, let's do it!" With a terrified yell, she leapt down the hole, Bridgette and Sammy right behind her.

Moments after they disappeared into the ground, Shawn and Izzy ran into the clearing. They saw the open hole and Izzy ran to the edge, inhaling deeply. "Team Nuclear beat us here," she growled, "we'll have to go through another hole!" She turned around and kicked a nearby rock, moving it an uncovering the hole beneath it. "C'mon, we don't got no time to lose!" She bellowed, diving head first down.

Shawn looked down the hole. "Oh jeez, I hope there's no zombies down there," he muttered nervously. He gripped his hat and jumped down, hollering as he fell.

(Confessional: Izzy.)

Izzy is covered in dirt and beaming. "Woo! What a rush!"

(End Confessional: Izzy.)

Noah was still looking for another entrance to the mine. He was getting more and more frustrated at not being able to find anything, but that changed when he heard a shout from back where he left Lightning. After a quick jog, he was greeted with the sight of Lightning kissing his biceps and a small hole opened up in the exploded mine entrance. The bookworm looked around at the big hunks of rock scattered around the clearing. "Holy crap, Lightning!"

"Told you he could do it!" Lightning boasted, "now c'mon! We got a riddle to solve!"

Noah nodded and the two ran into the mine. However, the two ran into an immediate and severe problem.

"Sha-damn! Lightning can't see a darn thing in here!"

"Yeah, no crap," Noah face-palmed. "We should go see if the Tuck Shoppe has flashlights or something."

"Screw that!" Was Lightning's response, "we ain't got time for that!" He grabbed for Noah in the dark, managing to grab his head. He lifted the screeching bookworm over his shoulder head first. "Alright!" Lightning got into the standard quarterback rush position. "We're plowing forward! Let's go!"

"No-no-no-noooo!" Noah cried, his voice getting quieter as the two ran deeper into the mine.

Shawn and Izzy were heading down a tunnel. They had used Shawn's lighter to ignite a piece of wood and now had a makeshift torch.

"So where exactly was this room?" The survivalist asked, looking around nervously, "because the less time I have to spend in these narrow caverns the better. We're practically sitting ducks down here."

"Should just be around this corner." Izzy said, pointing up ahead. Sure enough, the tunnel turned right and they could see light up ahead. They zipped around said corner and emerged into the spacious cavern where Ezekiel had once brought Anne Maria years prior. A few stage lights were set up, pointing down at an old wooden table. On the table were three envelopes, one with each team logo on it. Shawn and Izzy ran over to it, and swiped the envelope with the purple crazy-smiley face on it.

"Got it!" Izzy cheered, "alright, let's scram!"

The two ran back the way they had just come. As soon as they disappeared, the Nuclear girls arrived through another entrance. Notably, Gwen was looking pretty rattled, but the three ran over to the table and grabbed their envelope. Sammy grabbed the envelope with the orange explosion on it and decided to open it there.

"An iconic Total Drama Island couple had development here. Then, it was never seen again." Bridgette read aloud, peering over Sammy's shoulder.

"Total Drama Island, huh?" Sammy repeated, frowning down at the riddle. "Well that's…um…you and Geoff, Owen and Izzy…Gwen and Trent…Lindsay and Tyler…" she scratched her head. "Anyone else? Does Harold and LeShawna count?"

"Not if you ask LeShawna," Bridgette chuckled at the absent Harold's expense.

"Duncan and Courtney, too," Gwen supplied helpfully, unaware of the bitterness in her tone. Sammy seemed to take no notice of this, but Bridgette raised her eyebrows.

"Oh right!" Sammy smacked her forehead. "They're like the best Total Drama Couple ever. I loved watching them on TV."

Gwen rolled her eyes, "sure, if cliche good girl bad boy couples are your cup of tea"

Sammy flushed a little. "That's a tea I would drink," she admitted.

"Everyone's entitled to their preferences, Gwen," Bridgette told her friend with a teasing smile. The surfer turned to the her fellow blonde, "so that's why you think Scott is cute, huh?"

Sammy's flushed face darkened a couple more shades. "Let's not bring that up," she said with an anxious smile. "That was just a passing thing, really."

"Whatever you say," Gwen said, her bitterness forgotten as she threw and arm around her friend. "Now let's get the hell out of this cave. We can figure out where we have to go on the way out."

The three nodded, but were startled when the solid wall next to them began to rumble.

Gwen approached the rumbling wall curiously. "What the heck…?"

"I don't know if I'd get close, Gwen," Sammy said nervously.

"Why, what could possible be-WHOA!" The wall exploded, revealing a panting Lightning and a bruised and battered Noah.

"We made it!" Lightning cheered. "First place, baby! First…" his enthusiasm died faster than Noah's hopes and dreams as a child when he saw Team Nuclear right in front of him. Gwen was on the ground now, covered in bits of rock and rubbing her sore head.

"Ugh, you use my head as a battering ram for ten minutes and we're still not in first?" Noah whined, rubbing his lumpy head as the two girls helped Gwen to her feet.

"How did you even carve that tunnel?" Bridgette asked, peering down the tunnel in shock.

Lightning dropped Noah onto the ground and kissed his biceps. "Girl, how do you think?"

"Um…I don't know, that's why I asked." Bridgette pointed out.

"Nevermind that!" Sammy said, "I see light at the end of Lightning's tunnel! It leads right out! C'mon!"

"Easy escape? I'm down!" Gwen said with a happy grin. The three ran off down the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Noah had dragged himself up off the ground and limped his way over to the table. "Last place, of course the Oddballs got here first," he complained. He opened the envelope and read it. "C'mon," he told Lightning, "we have to go to the boathouse."

Lightning scooped up Noah again. "You got it!"

The shot cut to the boathouse. The door was closed and a serene tune played. A little birdie fluttered past the door, when it was suddenly kicked open from the inside, smacking the bird against the wall with a surprised tweet.

Shawn and Izzy stood in the doorway, triumphantly holding their next envelope. "First place!" Izzy hooted, waggling the envelope over her head.

The door finally closed, revealing the very pissed off, very disheveled bird. It growled at the two, who were unaware of its presence.

"Alright, let's open this baby up," Izzy continued, opening it up.

"Izzy, look out!" Shawn cried.

"Huh?" Izzy turned towards Shawn just in time to get a bird to the face. The girl hit the ground, the bird pecking at her face. "Ow-ow-ow! Get it off."

Quick as a flash, Shawn made a grab for the bird. The bird, however was ready. Faster than the human eye, it appeared to teleport behind Shawn. It's beak glinted in the sunlight as Shawn first gasped, then gulped.

"Tweetin tweetenell, twid" The bird chirped, before pecking at the back of Shawn's neck with true ferocity.

"Ow! Get it off, get it off!" Shawn yelped, covering his head with his arms as he ran around in panic.

The Nuclear girls arrived on the scene, looking shocked at the sight of Izzy and Shawn getting their tuckus's kicked by a bird.

"Just ignore it," Gwen advised, jogging into the boathouse and coming out with her own envelope, "and let's get the heck out of here!"

Not thirty seconds after the Nuclear girls disappeared, Lightning and Noah arrived on the scene.

"That's enough!" Izzy snapped, darting an arm out an grabbing the bird around the middle. She brought it up to her face, snarling at it. If a bird could gulp, it would have.

"Say hello to Big Bird for me, you son of a bitch." Izzy drew back her foot and punted the bird high into the air. It disappeared into the sky with a twinkle.

Shawn wiped the sweat off his brow. "Nice kick," he panted. His relief quickly turned to alarm when Lightning sprinted past the two, envelope in hand.

"From first place to last!" Izzy snapped, tearing open the envelope, "it's official, I HATE birds!" She looked down at the riddle. "You're garbage," she read aloud, "that's it. That's the whole clue." She looked to Shawn, "uhh, I'm kinda stumped with this one."

Shawn looked confused too, "Are there dumpsters or something? Maybe we should check there?"

"To the Mess Hall!" Izzy hooted. "Andelae andelae!"

(Confessional: Izzy.)

"Oh ho, I wasn't that scared of the bird," Izzy gloats. "I was just playing it up for the cameras! It was super satisfying to punt that little feather ball into next year, though." Suddenly, the bird crashes through the window of the Confessional, glaring at the redhead. Izzy gasps and assumes a defensive stance, but the bird just twitters and tweets at her. Izzy relaxes, a little perplexed. "Big Bird says hi back?" She looks at the camera, confused. The Confessional door opens, and a yellow, feathery arm reaches in-frame and grabs Izzy by the neck. "Oh," Izzy chokes out, "Hi, Big Bird!"

The little bird looks smugly at the camera.

(End Confessional: Izzy.)

"Hey, we beat the girls here!" Lightning cheered, arriving at the dumpsters behind the Mess Hall with Noah still on his back.

"Okay, where's the clue?" Noah asked.

"What are those?" Lightning pointed to three barrels.

Next to the dumpster were three different colored barrels. One was purple, one was orange, and one was gold. Each one had a bunch of wires interconnected within the barrel, and a timer device was located on the lid of the barrel.

"Oh no," Noah groaned, "don't tell me the last piece is in a stink bomb?"

"Uh, do you know how to defuse a bomb?" Lightning asked nervously. Sure enough, the timer on the gold barrel had just started counting down from five minutes.

Noah pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closed in thought. "I don't," he admitted, "but I guess I'll just have to wing it."

"Or we could do this," Lightning suggested, He walked up to the barrel and put both his hands on the lid, making Noah gasp.

"Don't try to open it! That'll trigger the bomb!"

"Lightning ain't opening it," he grunted, drawing his foot back. With a mighty kick, he punctured the side of the barrel, causing a bunch of foul smelling gunk to splurt out. Lightning leapt over the barrel and Noah ducked to avoid the nasty stream. Once the stream had subsided, Lightning picked the barrel up and shook it, getting rid of the last of the gunk. With a sickly plop, the last envelope fell to the ground, and Lightning hurled the empty barrel into the undergrowth.

Noah watched this in awe, "wow…good stuff, Lightning."

"Lightning knows," the jock boasted, picking up the envelope. He ripped it open and pulled out the last clue. "Alright, let's put this together and figure out which kinda animal Jo has to get."

Noah pulled the other two clues out of his pocket, and the three put them together to see the picture of the animal. "A rabbit?"

"Looks like a bunny," Lightning agreed. "Jo should have this no problem!"

"Let's hope so," Noah grumbled.

Just then, Bridgette, Gwen and Sammy showed up. Noah and Lightning quickly went in the back door before they could ask any questions. The three girls surveyed the orange bomb.

"I've got no idea how to defuse a bomb," Sammy shrieked, gripping her head. "How the heck does he expect anyone to do that?"

"We cant use wait out the five minute timer," Bridgette pointed out, looking at the timer on top of the bomb, "We'll just hide and wait for it to explode, then grab the clue!"

As if on cue, a still battered Shawn and Izzy ran up to the bomb. After a quick glance, Shawn wordlessly plucked two wires from the bomb, and the timer fizzled out. The bomb defused, he opened the barrel and plunged his hand into the goop, coming out with the envelope.

"We don't have time to waste," Gwen told her teammates, "now go hide! I'll try and defuse it. If I fail, it'll still blow up right away and we'll get the clue."

"Oh ehm gee, you are so much braver than I am," Sammy gushed, already running for cover.

"You got this, Gwen!" Bridgette cheered, right on Sammy's heels.

Gwen looked at the bomb, trepidation engraved on every line in her face. "Alright," she said through grit teeth, "let's get it over with…like ripping a bandaid off." With a mighty tug, she picked two wires at random and yanked them.

KA-BOOM!

Every inch of Gwen was soaked in horrid smelling garbage-liquid. The goth coughed out a mouthful of the gunk and peeled the envelope off her face. "Ugh. Gross!"

Bridgette and Sammy re-emerged, their hands over their noses. "Gwen!" Sammy called, her voice odd due to the pinched nose, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Gwen replied, "just in desperate need of a shower." She handed the envelope to Bridgette, who had the other two pieces. "Hand it off to the boys. I need to go take a four hour shower."

"You got it," Bridgette nodded, grabbing the envelope.

(Confessional: Gwen.)

Gwen is still covered in the gunk, and she looks visibly annoyed. "Y'know, I think I understand where Cody's fear comes from now."

(End Confessional: Gwen.)

Jo had already taken off in search of her bunny when Shawn and Izzy entered the Mess Hall. They both immediately tripped over the snoring Owen, who was startled awake when Izzy kicked him in the face on the way down.

"Good work, babe," Jasmine said, picking her boyfriend up off the ground and setting him on his feet. "What's the critter we gotta get?"

"It's a raccoon," Shawn said, handing Jasmine the completed clue. "Good luck, you two,"

A drowsy Owen yawned, his bags now gone from under his eyes. "Alright, Jasmine! Let's rock this!"

"Indeed, c'mon!" The two ran from the Mess Hall.

A few moments later, Team Nuclear arrived, sans Gwen.

"Where's Gwen?" Duncan asked immediately.

"She got hit by a stink bomb so she hit the showers," Bridgette explained, "now you have to go find us a duck. Quickly!"

"Or should we say Quackly!" Sammy joked, making Bridgette and Beardo chuckle.

"A duck? Sweet," Beardo said with a smile, "duck calls are easy. We should be able to attract one in no time."

"Alright, we're in last place so we have to step it up." Duncan told Beardo, "so let's go!"

The two ran out, leaving Bridgette, Sammy, Noah, Lightning, Shawn and Izzy in the Mess Hall. The six just kind of looked at one another, curious as to what their next move was.

"Uh, can we just go now?" Shawn asked the room at large. "Or do we have to stay here?"

Chef stuck his head out from under one of the tables, making the others cry out in surprise. "Sit your butts here until the challenge is over!" He barked, retreating back under the table.

"Were you just sitting under their this whole time?" Bridgette raised an eyebrow.

"This is my fort," Chef said defensively, "and none of you are allowed in!"

Izzy cracked her knuckles and an ominous tune began to play. "Challenge accepted."

The scene switched to Jo running through the forest. A determined tune played as she yelled out into the woods. "Here, bunny bunny! Where the hell are you? I need to capture you so I can win!"

Predictably, no rabbit responded nor appeared.

"Ugh, this sucks!" She continued to jog around before an idea struck her. "Wait a second, rabbits like food, right? I need some fruit!"

She headed out of the forest and towards the Tuck Shoppe. On the way, she passed Jasmine and Owen, and the camera turned to focus on them as they ran into the forest.

"Huh, I wonder what she's running from?" Jasmine asked, looking over her shoulder back at the sprinting Jo. "It doesn't look like she has an animal."

"The Naturalist thinks it unwise to care about the other teams right now," Owen panted, a little out of breath from the running. "The Naturalist believes that we have to focus on finding a pesky raccoon to win the challenge."

"You're right," Jasmine agreed, "but raccoons aren't native to Australia so I don't have a ton of experience with them. Do you know where they'd be hanging out?"

"The Naturalist knows they like garbage, and are hungry, tubby little creatures." Owen said quickly, "so we should probably start our search at the dumpsters an pan out from there."

"Wait!" Jasmine skidded to a halt and Owen crashed right into her, sending them both to the ground with a painful groan. "Oi, get off me!"

Owen quickly scrambled off the hulking woman. "Sorry," he apologized, "the Naturalist doesn't exactly have the best stopping power due to his…inertia."

"It's fine," Jasmine brushed him off, "but look at these!" She bent down and examined some droppings on the ground. "Reckon these are from the little buggers we're hunting?"

"Only one way to find out!" Owen said, swiping a couple of pellets and holding them up to eye level. "Hmm…these could be raccoon droppings…but…" he popped the pellets into his mouth, which made Jasmine dry heave. Owen chewed them thoughtfully, before choking and spitting them out of his mouth. After hacking and heaving for a good fifteen seconds, he recovered and his stoic 'Naturalist' expression returned to his face. "The Naturalist thinks thats poo for sure," he confirmed.

"Err…right," Jasmine said, "well, theres some footprints here as well. Let's track 'em down."

"Good call!"

Duncan and Beardo were crouched on the edge of the lake, shrouded in reeds. Duncan had run back to the boathouse to grab a net and two were waiting for an unsuspecting duck to get close to them.

"I see some out in the water," Duncan pointed out onto the lake, "but we'd never get close enough before they took off."

"Leave it to me," Beardo smirked. He put his hands to his lips and imitated a frighteningly accurate duck call. Even from their position on the edge of the lake, they could see the ducks turn towards them.

"I think it's working, keep it up!" Duncan whispered.

Beardo nodded and resumed his calls.

Intense music started to play as the camera cut to Jo, exiting the Tuck Shoppe with a handful of blueberries. She high-tailed it back into the woods until she came to an area which she deemed acceptable. She scattered the blueberries onto the ground, then climbed a tree. It was time to wait.

"C'mon, stupid bunny, look at all those delicious berries!" She said from up in the tree.

A cut back to Team Oddball showed Jasmine and Owen coming across a decently sized burrow in the ground. "This is it!" Owen said, "but how do we know if there are any in there, and how do we get them out if they are?"

"Leave it to me," Jasmine said determinedly, "I got this. Just gimme your shirt."

"Sure thing, you got it, no problem…wait, what?" Owen blinked, "my what-now?"

"Your shirt, mate!" Jasmine said impatiently, "I need to wrap my paw in it before I go sticking it down there. I don't want to get all shredded up, eh?"

"Right, that makes sense," Owen agreed. He quickly took off his tent-sized shirt and handed it to his teammate.

Jasmine accepted it with a nod of thanks and quickly wrapped her arm in it. With a grunt, she laid down on her stomach and thrust her shirt-covered arm down the burrow. After a few seconds of silence, growling and shrieking could be heard from the burrow, and Jasmine flinched as she withdrew her arm. On the end was one very pissed off raccoon, it's teeth chomped firmly into Owen's shirt.

"Nice work, Jasmine!" Owen whooped. He grabbed the raccoon by the scruff of it's neck, causing it to go limp and sleepy, and began to run back towards the Mess Hall. "Let's go!"

Jasmine nodded and ran after him.

"Why aren't these stupid ducks coming?" Duncan growled, "they obviously hear us!"

"I dunno," Beardo said, just as puzzled. "Should we swim out there and try and grab one?"

"I don't see another option," Duncan sighed, quickly wading into the chilly water. He winced and shivered. "We're running out of time. Knowing Stevette Irwin, she's probably all done with the challenge by now."

Beardo nodded and clambered in after Duncan, much less stealthy than the punk. "Alright, let's get this duck quick!"

Back with Jo, the girl was starting to get very, very impatient as time continued to tick on. However, mercifully, a bunny finally hopped into the clearing. It bent down and sniffed at one of the berries, and Jo decided it was time to strike. With a small grunt, she leapt off the branch, planning to land on the bunny and catch it. The bunny seemed too smart, however, and merely hopped a little to it's right. Jo faceplanted into the ground.

"Ugh…ow!" Jo glared up at the bunny, who was staring curiously at Jo, looking ready to bolt. "Listen here, bunny! I need you to win this challenge, so how about you and I strike a little deal."

The bunny slowly lost it's fearful look and replaced it with one of intrigue.

"A business-bunny, eh? You and I are gonna get along just fine," Jo smirked, pushing herself into a sitting position and dusting off her dirt-covered face. "Look, you like berries, right? All I need you to do is come with me to the Mess Hall real quick, and I'll get you all the berries you can eat. Sound like a plan?"

The bunny seemed a little skeptical.

"Look, I've got no reason to lie. But if you don't come with me, I'm gonna get my ass voted off tonight, and then it's no berries for you. You really wanna take that gamble?"

That seemed to be good enough for the bunny, and it hopped over to Jo, waiting to be scooped up.

"Yes!" Jo whooped, gathering the bunny up in her arms. "Alright, let's do this!" She began sprinting for the Mess Hall and surprising speed, and the poor rabbits ears were left dangling in the wind as Jo ran. Soon enough, the Mess Hall was in sight, and Jo burst through the doors, holding the bunny triumphantly over her head. "First place!" She boasted "eat…it…" her eyes widened as she took in the shirtless Owen and the grinning Jasmine.

"Sorry, Shelia," Jasmine didn't sound very sorry at all, "but ya snooze, ya lose."

"Jo," Chris said, rising from his seat at one of the tables. "You are the…second team back! Team Alpha ends up in not winner, not loser territory!"

Jo sighed, dropping the bunny onto the table, where it sniffed at Shawn curiously. "Good enough for me," Jo said, "I'll take it."

"That means Team Oddball wins, and Team Nuclear are the big time losers," Chris continued. "Speaking of…where are Duncan and Beardo?"

"This isn't working!" Beardo choked, taking in copious amount of water as he thrashed and wrestled with a duck.

"Give him the old one-two!" Duncan encouraged from a few yards away. "Subdue his ass!" He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see four other ducks glaring at him. Duncan gulped and looked to the camera. "Yeah…this is gonna bite." The ducks all jumped him, and he screamed in terror.

Chris approached the edge of the lake, megaphone in hand. "Attention Duncan and Beardo!" He screamed through it, "you guys lost, big time! You can come out now!"

The ducks stopped their pummeling of the two boys, which gave them enough time to shove them off of him and swim away. Once they finally got shore, they let out relieved breaths.

"I think I almost died," Beardo whimpered, coughing out a mouthful of water.

"If you'll follow me back to the Mess Hall, you two," Chris requested, turning on his heel an heading off. A sopping Beardo and Duncan followed.

Once they returned, the shot cut to the teams all sitting at their respective tables. Shawn and Izzy were still disheveled from their bird assault, and Owen was shirtless. Duncan and Beardo were soaked and covered in feathers, and Gwen was still damp from her shower. Noah was all bruised up from being used as a battering ram, and Jo was covered in dirt from her tree leap.

"Man, you guys look like crap," Chris observed.

"Gee, thanks…" Sammy muttered.

"I still don't understand why my," Beardo imitated his duck call again, "didn't work!"

Over on the Oddballs, Shawn perked up. "Dude, do that again?"

Beardo seemed a bit confused by the odd request, but repeated the noise.

Shawn chuckled. "Dude, that's a mating call. It's not mating season for ducks, that's why they didn't come!"

"Oh." Beardo blinked, "that makes sense! Whoops, sorry team…"

Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Now, the winners of the challenge, and the ones to collect the juicy reward…are Team Oddball…again!" Chris announced. The two couples cheered and hugged their significant others. "Your reward is…a helicopter ride to the mainland for a fancy dinner at a five-star restaurant!"

Owen immediately started blubbering. "Say it ain't so, Chris!"

"Oh, it's so," Chris confirmed. "You dirty peasants will first be flown to a high-end tailor so you can appropriate clothing for such an occasion. Then, a five course meal awaits you! Then, a night at the movies! After that, it's back here for sleep!"

Bridgette let out a small moan of envy. "That sounds amazing!"

"It really does…" Sammy sighed. "I could do for some luxury."

"When do we leave?" Jasmine asked.

"Right away!" As if on cue, the noise of helicopter could be heard in the distance, quickly getting closer. "Out you go!"

The members of Team Oddball quickly filed out of the Mess Hall, waiting for the helicopter to touch down on the grass outside the Hall.

"As for Trio Alpha, you guys squeaked out safety," Chris told them, "you guys can go."

Jo, Lightning and Noah nodded and headed for the door. "Nice work," Noah told Jo, to which she haughtily replied: "I know."

"That leaves you losers," Chris continued, looking out over the five members of Team Nuclear. "One of you is getting your butt kicked off the island. I'll see you guys after dinner."

The team got up to leave, but Duncan pulled Gwen aside. "Hey," he said quietly as the rest of the team filed out, "we need to talk."

Gwen gave him a curious look.

An unusual fast-forward right to the elimination ceremony showed all five members of Team Nuclear sitting on the logs at the fire pit. The fire was blazing merrily, a sharp contrast to the mood of the team.

Duncan and Gwen both had incredibly sour and angry expressions on their face. Bridgette had noticed this and was looking a bit uncomfortable. Beardo and Sammy seemed more relaxed and stoic.

"Whoa-hoa," Chris chuckled, "man, there is some weird vibes going on here right now, let me tell you. I'll definitely have to go back and watch the footage to see what happened."

"Just get on with the ceremony," Duncan snapped.

Chris held his hands up with a cheeky grin. "Alright alright, calm your mohawk, dude." He held up a marshmallow. "The first marshmallow goes to Gwen."

Gwen's anger didn't fade, but she caught them marshmallow.

"Bridgette, you're also safe," Chris tossed the surfer a marshmallow. "Duncan, you too." Duncan caught his marshmallow.

"Sammy, Beardo, this is the final marshmallow of the night," Chris explained, "whoever doesn't get it is toast. No butter included, capisce?"

Both Sammy and Beardo looked pretty calm, though Beardo had more of an air of acceptance to him.

"The final marshmallow goes to…

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Beardo!"

"What?!" Sammy gasped.

Beardo was wide-eyed and didn't even try to catch the marshmallow. It ended up stuck in his afro. He imitated a scratching record,"Wait…I'm with her…say what?"

"You heard me," Chris dusted his hands off, "Sammy, you got the most votes. You're out."

Sammy looked utterly thunderstruck. She turned to her team. "What…I don't understand…" she said, her lip starting to tremble.

Duncan looked pretty indifferent, though still angry. Bridgette seemed surprised too. That left Gwen, who was glaring at Duncan so venomously that her lip had curled up in a snarl. The pieces fell into place for the twin.

"Gwen…" she asked, mouth agape, "did you vote for me!?"

"I had no choice," Gwen spat, still glaring at Duncan. "I made a deal to vote with Duncan every ceremony until the merge. And apparently he thought you should go home even though Beardo screwed up with his mating call." Her venomous glare faltered for a second, and she shot a quick look at the gaping Beardo, "uh…no offense, Beardo."

"None taken!" Replied the surprised beatboxer, "I thought I was going home too, but I was at peace with it!"

"I thought we were friends, Gwen!" Sammy said, angry tears starting to form in her eyes. "How could you betray me like that?!"

"I told you I didn't have a choice," Gwen told Sammy, her tone going from angry to sad as she looked at the hurt Sammy. "I'm sorry."

"You did have a choice!" Sammy spluttered, "you could've…you could have just NOT voted with him!"

"I"m not going back on my word," Gwen told her sadly, "I'm not Heather. The only reason I'm here is because Duncan," she turned to hiss at the punk, "voted Scott out over me because of our deal. But don't worry, I'm going to make him very sorry he did that."

Duncan had the decency to look a little guilty, but when he spoke his tone was apathetic. "Get over yourself, Gwen. Don't try and pretend like you and Sammy were super close. Beardo's a good dude, and in case you didn't realize I have the power here and don't want him to go."

"I didn't forget, you asshole," Gwen spat, "that's why I voted for Sammy, didn't I?" She shook her head, "you'e unbelievable, you know that? Just when I think you've changed, you pull some scummy move like this."

"It's not scummy!" Duncan defended himself. "Beardo is my friend, and Sammy over here," he thrust a finger at the angry Sammy, "was the reason I got booted from this team in the first place! Of course I want her gone!"

"He makes a good point," Chris whispered to Chef, who had shown up with popcorn.

"Maybe," Chef agreed, "still a douche, though."

"It's why we love him,'" Chris sighed, stuffing his face with more corn.

Gwen wrenched her glare from Duncan and turned to Sammy, letting her sadness show. "I'm really sorry about this, Sammy. You didn't deserve this."

"You know what, you're right!" Sammy said hotly, "I didn't deserve this! I…I understand your difficult situation, but I would never put some deal with an enemy before my friends!"

Gwen looked down at the ground, ashamed. "Then you really don't understand my situation…"

"I'm really sorry, Sammy," Beardo offered, a little shocked to still be in the game. "I really thought it was me going home."

Sammy turned to look at the beatboxer, and her angry expression faltered. "No, don't be sorry. You deserve to be here too, even if you messed up today." She turned to glare at Duncan and Gwen. "Unlike these schemers!"

"I wasn't scheming," Gwen continued desperately, "I had no choice!" The two locked eyes for a second, before Sammy ultimately looked away.

"I disagree," she finally said, most of her anger gone. Just sadness was left. "Goodbye, Gwen…"

Beardo stood up and offered the nice twin a hug which she accepted. "You better win for me, okay?" She told him, "I believe in you!"

The beatboxer gave her a thumbs up. "You got it, girl." He said sadly.

Bridgette hugged Sammy too, "sorry you had to go out like this," the surfer said sympathetically, "but I do think the situation is more complex than you understand. Believe me when I say Gwen hated doing this."

Sammy turned to look at Gwen, who was looking at the ground. "She did have a choice," Sammy said firmly, her eyes sad and watery in the firelight. She wiped some unshed tears from her eyes and turned to glare at Duncan. "You're a real jerk, you know that?"

"Whatever, sweetheart," Duncan rolled his eyes, "welcome to Total Drama."

"That's rich coming from someone who had a tantrum when he got voted off!"

"And this is the payback for that," Duncan shot back. He waved his hand dismissively at her, "say hi to Scott for me, will you?"

Sammy just stamped her foot in annoyance, her nice disposition rendering her unable to come up with biting remarks on the fly. She grabbed her luggage and began to walk the Dock. She climbed aboard, and it sped off into the night.

"Wow," Chris commented, looking at the shreds of Team Nuclear. Gwen and Duncan were glaring at each other, and Beardo and Bridgette were looking as awkward as they possibly could be. "Duncan, you kind of put Gwen in a 'Heather if you do, Heather if you don't' situation, huh? Ouch."

"She's the one that accepted the deal, Chris," Duncan told him, "I'm guilt free." However, his tone suggested something different.

"You are REPULSIVE!" Gwen shouted, rising to her feet to yell at Duncan, "I don't know what I ever saw in you!" Tears started to spill from her lashes, and she fled the scene before anyone could see.

"Gwen, wait!" Bridgette called after the girl, but the goth didn't slow down. Bridgette turned to give Duncan a disappointed look before following after her.

That left just Beardo and Duncan at the fire. Duncan's expression was cool and frosty, but it was clear from his body language that he was deeply uncomfortable.

"Duncan…you did that for me? Why? I ain't worth this mess," Beardo said to him. "Like…you still got feelings for Gwen, and you just ruined that big time."

Duncan shook his head. "There was never a chance to begin with," he told Beardo, "I don't understand what the big goddamn deal is. It's Total Drama, and Sammy literally spearheaded my elimination earlier in the season. Now I get back at her, and suddenly I'm Satan!" He scoffed and shook his head, anger quickly taking over the guilt as his main emotion. "What a joke!" He turned to glare at Beardo, "and you're my friend, dude. That's why I saved you. I like hanging out with you, so I didn't want you to go home. That's all there really is to it. Don't say you're not worth it, that's messed up."

Beardo was silent for a second, and couldn't help the beaming smile that took over his face. He walked over to the punk and put a hand on his shoulder. "Duncan…that means more than you could ever know, man," he said, getting a bit choked up. "Thanks."

"Yeah, whatever," Duncan said gruffly. "I think I'm going to go for a walk. Try and clear my head."

Beardo nodded, "alright, man. Catch ya later."

Duncan nodded, and walked off into the dark forest.

Chris walked over to the chubby beatboxer and threw an arm around him. "Wow, dude! What a shocker, huh?"

"You're telling me," Beardo agreed. "I thought that-agh!" He was cut off as Chris pushed him to the ground.

"It was rhetorical question man, I'm just signing off the episode," he told the prone boy dryly before returning his attention to the camera. "How will Jasmine and Shawn react when they come back from their dinner to find their good friend gone? Will Duncan and Gwen even be able to salvage being civil to each other now? And how screwed is Jo next time Team Alpha loses? Find out, next time, on Total! Drama Generations!"

"My spine…" Beardo groaned.

Boat of Losers Clip:

A defeated Sammy looked sadly over the water as the boat sped through the night. With a mighty sigh, she turned to look at the camera. "Y'know, part of me understands Gwen's situation, and understands that she did what she thought she had to do..." her sadness gives way to annoyance, "but the other part of me, the part that wants me to stand up for myself, thinks its a load of crap! I was nothing but nice and a loyal friend to her, and she votes me off because her ex-boyfriend tells her to? I'm sorry, but that's just uncool..." the annoyance faded from both her face and tone, and the sadness was quick to replace it. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to Shawn and Jasmine..."

The boat eventually made it to the Playa Des Losers, and Sammy disembarked with her luggage. She was greeted by a familiar face on the Dock.

"Let me guess," Scott drawled, "backstabbed?"

Sammy sighed, "yes..."

"Tsk-tsk, I was worried that was gonna happen," Scott sighed, walking over to the blonde and taking her luggage for her. "C'mon, I did some snooping and found out some interesting stuff. I need to prepare you...just in case..."

Sammy gave him a curious look.

Voting Confessionals:

Beardo: I had a good run, but I think I'm gone tonight. I don't think Duncan's voting for me, and says I should vote Sammy. I don't think it'll matter, but ok...

Bridgette: Sorry, Beardo! You're a good guy, but your calling didn't help us today! Besides, I'm better friends with everyone else.

Duncan: Payback is a nightmare, Sammy. It's time you learned that!

Gwen: I can't believe I'm saying this...but I vote for Sammy. Damn you, Duncan...

Sammy: Sorry Beardo, you're a sweet guy...but us girls are sticking together, and I don't think Gwen wants Duncan gone just yet!

Votes:

Sammy - 3 votes (Beardo, Duncan, Gwen).

Beardo - 2 votes (Bridgette, Sammy).

Team Alpha: Lightning, Noah, Jo.

Team Oddball: Jasmine, Shawn, Owen, Izzy.

Team Nuclear: Gwen, Duncan, Beardo, Bridgette.

Eliminated: Anne Maria, Brick, Scott, Sky, Rodney, Zoey, Sammy.

Reasoning for Elimination:

Okay okay okay...put your pitchforks down! I know Sammy was pretty popular in this story, what with her psuedo-villainy being teased and her being more strategic...but she's gone now. I'm hoping this was a surprise to a bunch of you, since most of my readers seemed to think Beardo would be the next logical boot from Team Nuclear. But...her antics in getting Duncan booted coupled with Duncan and Beardo's newfound friendship ultimately led to Duncan forcing Gwen to vote her friend out!

I'm sure the most controversial aspect would be if Gwen would actually adhere to Duncan's deal and not just vote him off...but after her antics in TDA she really wants to be a straight shooter, so that's my reasoning for her going along with it here. She is going to be fucking pissed at Duncan, and they're newfound friendship just got nuked...pun intended.

But yeah, Sammy was a fun character to write. In the very first elimination draft I had her being the eight person booted. Then she was the last boot before the merge, then she was the ninth person eliminated. Eventually, though, it was tweaked enough to where she ended up 7th gone. Im sorry to her fans...but if it's any consolation...it looks like Scott and Sammy are cooking something up at the Playa...or at least Scott is, and he's filling Sammy in on it. We'll see plenty more of our favorite twin in the next Aftermath.

So...that happened! Duncan saves his buddy, but ends up blowing up his new friendship with Gwen. Was it worth it for him? Guess we'll find out...

I hope none of you are too upset with the elimination. Sammy was definitely a bit of a red herring, seeming like she was going to get more villainous over time and likely make the merge. She will play an important role in the next Aftermath, though.

So, some questions for you guys...

- Do you want me to open the next chapter up with a flashback to Duncan and Gwen's conversation? I didn't write it in this one because I wanted it to be a surprise. Adding it to the beginning of next chapter (Which otherwise will open on the Oddball double date) will provide some extra context and depth to the new hatred between Duncan and Gwen, but I don't feel it's entirely neccesary. I will totally add it though if you guys want to see it. Just let me know.

- As I asked in Chapter 4, are you guys Team Duncan or Team Gwen? Was Duncan a dick for making Gwen vote off Sammy? Or was he justified in saving his friend and getting back at the person who orchestrated his elimination?

- Will the rough-around-the-edges Team Oddball be able to behave themselves at a fancy restaurant?

Well, I'll try and get the next chapter out two Mondays from now. Many thanks to all my readers, you guys are the best :D

Ciao!