Alright, time for the Final 9 to become…the Final Eight!

As of now the poll on my profile is OFFICIALLY closed. The winner returns at the merge…whenever that may be! Will it be this chapter? Next chapter? The chapter after that! Guess you'll just have to find out.

The nine remaining campers had just finished eating breakfast and were now standing around outside the Mess Hall.

Team Nuclear was definitely still a little awkward. Only Gwen, Duncan, and newcomer Bridgette remained on the team. Bridgette's peace-maker quest had made small amounts of progress, but Gwen and Duncan were definitely still pretty chilly with each other.

Team Alpha kept the same mindset they had created ever since Jo had been swapped onto their team: Just don't lose. Lightning, Noah and Jo had managed a hot streak, not losing a challenge in a while thanks to their good combination of brains and brawn. Jo knew they had to keep this up, as the alliance between Lightning and Noah was not likely to be broken.

Team Oddball was as confident as ever. Despite losing two members right off the bat in Anne Maria and Brick, they had won the most challenges, only stumbling in the cooking challenge that saw newcomer Izzy eliminated in an intense tiebreaker.

Now, the teams were eyeing each other, waiting for Chris to arrive. Jo, ever pleasant, decide this was the perfect time to talk a little trash.

"I wonder who's gonna be getting the boot today?" She said with a laugh. "Will Team Nuclear kick off Bridgette? Or is Fatso finally get ousted by the freaky survivalist couple?"

Duncan glared at the boisterous, obnoxious woman. "Maybe you'll finally get the boot. And this time there won't be a swap-twist to save your butt." He smirked as Jo glared back at him.

"Ooh, burn," Bridgette giggled.

"Oh yeah?" Jo smirked, "say, didn't you get voted out second? The only reason you're even still here is because Brick decided he was too good for this show! Without that, you'd be at home sulking right now!" She laughed in his face.

"She's got you there," Noah exchanged a smirk with Lightning, always glad to see Duncan get pegged down a notch.

"Shut up, dork," Duncan told Noah. He ran a hand through his black mohawk. "And while Jo may have a point, may I remind everyone that she sucks?"

Noah snorted, "he's got you there, Jo." His smirk never left his face, "you do suck."

Jo responded by shoving Noah to the ground.

Shawn, Jasmine and Owen watched the other two teams bicker and squabble. Owen, ever positive, reached out and wrapped Shawn and Jasmine in a rib-crushing hug.

"Aww," the big lug cooed, "I'm so glad we never have to worry about squabbling with each other! We're just a big happy family!"

While Shawn looked like his breath was being forced from his lungs, Jasmine seemed relatively unbothered by the tight hug. "Yeah, we're good pals," she told Owen with a smile.

"Can't…breathe…" Shawn choked out.

Noah watched the trio hugging, a melancholic look on his face.

(Confessional: Noah.)

"That used to be me getting my abdomen pulverized," Noah sighs, looking sadly at the ground. "Never thought I'd miss those hugs…" he shakes his head and gives the camera a determined stare. "Alright, I have to make things right with Owen today."

(End Confessional: Noah.)

(Confessional: Jo.)

"Ugh, can this stupid merge just get here already?" Jo complains, "I've got a sweet alliance waiting for me, but I'm still worried that Team Alpha is gonna lose the challenge and then I'll be gone!" She pulls out a crumpled piece of paper; the immunity clue from the previous day. "Then I got this, and thought I would be okay with an idol, but it's a stinking clue that makes no sense!"

(End Confessional: Jo.)

Finally, Chris joined the nine campers outside the Mess Hall.

"Greetings, Final 9!" He greeted them, "a big ol' congratulations to all of you for making to the top half of this competition! This seasons has truly been the toughest yet." He looked out at them all proudly, "you all came to play this season, and it shows! The producers predict the best ratings since Total Drama World Tour, which is awesome!"

"Woohoo, baby!" Owen cheered, "bringing in the ratings!"

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Owen," Chris told him warmly. "Now, as you know…we are halfway through the competition, and there are an equal number of people on each team. Anyone care to guess what that means?"

"Ooh," Jasmine whispered to Shawn, an excited grin on her face, "it must be the merge!"

"Is it the merge?" Bridgette asked hopefully.

Chris laughed. "Wrong! We are NOT merging today!"

The campers all let out sounds of disappointment.

"Damn," Duncan snapped his fingers, "can't we just merge so I can keep my perfect record intact?"

Gwen heard this and rolled her eyes. "Writers pet…" she mumbled to herself.

Chris finished up his laughing and quickly put his host-face back on. "Now, as I was saying….each team has three campers left, which is the perfect situation for an epic Relay Race!"

"Ooh, a Relay Race!" Shawn cheered, exchanging a confident look with Jasmine. "Bring it!"

"Oh, it will be brung, Shawn." Chris assured him. A whiteboard was rolled on-screen, which showed a map of the island. "There are THREE parts of this challenge. One member of each team will run down to the beach and grab a canoe. Then, you'll paddle across to Boney Island! Once there, you must travel to the cave that our Final 6 from Total Drama Island did, and return a cursed item to it's depths!"

"Sweet," Gwen smirked, "I remember where that cave is."

"You do?" Duncan asked, "good, because I have no clue."

"That's not fair!" Lightning exclaimed.

"Yeah," Noah agreed, "the other teams have people that were there for that challenge, Chris. None of us know where that cave is!"

"Oh, really?" Chris asked with mock surprise. "Wow!" He rubbed his stubble, "How do you kids say it nowadays? Tough tooties?"

"I hate you." Noah grumbled.

Chris just blew a raspberry at the bookworm before continuing on with his explanation. "Once you are done depositing your cursed object, you must run back to your canoe, and paddle back to the Dock of Shame! There, you'll tag in your teammate!"

The camera switched to the Dock of Shame, which showed three ATV's on it. As usual, there was one for each team color. "The person selected for this party just drive a loop around Wawanakwa, collecting five flags of their teams color on the way. Each flag is accompanied by a dirt jump, so be careful not to wipe out and hurt yourself! After you get all five flags and complete your loop, run into the Mess Hall and tag the last person. The last person must run to the top of the 1,000ft cliff, and hang glide through a ring to grab a key. After that, they need to hang glide another five hundred feet to a floating dock out in the ocean. There, they use the key to unlock a chest, which holds a Chris Statue of their teams color. First two teams to free their Chris Statues win immunity. Last one is sending someone home."

"Do we get to pick who runs each leg?" Gwen asked the host.

Chris nodded. "Yup, I'll give you guys two minutes to decide, then it's go time!"

The camera switched quickly to Team Oddball.

"This is an easy one," Shawn said to Jasmine and Owen. "Owen, you remember where the cave is, right?"

Owen quickly saluted, "Yes sir! It's ingrained into my head like the recipe to my mom's turkey and fluff sandwich!"

Jasmine looked a little grossed out by the thought of such a sandwich, but quickly turned to Shawn. "I've got loads of experience on ATV's from back in Australia. I'll take that!"

"Perfect," Shawn nodded, "since out of the three of us, my physique is best suited for the hang gliding." He held his hand out. "We're gonna rock this!"

The camera cut to a close up of their hands as they did a team high-five.

The scene switched to Team Nuclear.

"Alright, Gwen's on the Boney Island," Duncan confirmed, then looked at Bridgette. "I think I should be on the ATV. I've been driving stuff like that for years. I can rock that part."

"I dunno, hang gliding is pretty scary…" Bridgette said nervously. "I'm not exactly the most coordinated person…"

Duncan sighed obnoxiously and slapped a hand to his face.

Gwen crossed her arms and glared at him, waiting for him to start whining or berating the surfer…

"Fine," he told her, "I'll do the hang gliding if you really don't want to…but don't screw up the ATV!"

Bridgette looked heavily relieved. "Phew! Thanks, Duncan." Her face grew determined. "Don't worry, I won't let you down!"

"Alright, let's do this, then!" Duncan said with his signature smirk. "Kick butt, guys!" He jogged off towards the Mess Hall.

Gwen watched him go, slightly surprised.

Bridgette noticed her friends face. "You okay, Gwen?"

"Huh?" Gwen looked to Bridgette quickly, "oh, yeah. I'm cool. Wish me luck on Boney Island."

Bridgette shuddered, "good luck! I'll never forgive that place for permanently scarring Geoff's leg…"

As Gwen jogged off towards the Beach and Bridgette the Dock of Shame, the camera finally rested on Team Alpha.

"Well it's pretty obvious that twig-arms should handle the ATV." Jo said, lifting up one of Noah's thin arms. "I can't see him rowing fast or holding on to a hang glider." She looked at Lightning. "As much as it makes me wanna barf up my breakfast, you'd probably paddle and run faster on Boney Island." She smirked at the big jock, "unless you're afraid of a little curse?"

Lightning just scoffed, "as IF! No curse is strong enough to beat the Lightning! He'll do it."

"Good, I'll hang glide then. Move out, maggots!"

(Confessional: Jo.)

"Getting Lightning to suffer through Boney Island?" Jo scoffs, "piece of cake. Normally I'm not one to flatter someone into doing anything," she gives the camera a serious look, "but that place is cursed, okay? I do not mess with curses."

(End Confessional: Jo.)

(Confessional: Gwen.)

"Wow, Duncan was way cooler with that than I thought he'd be," Gwen admits, "guess he really has grown up a little."

(End Confessional: Gwen.)

(Confessional: Owen.)

"I've got a really good feeling about this challenge," Owen says happily. "I hope we merge soon so I don't have to worry about getting eliminated as much." He giggles, "I know I'm eliminated if we lose, but I'm okay with it-mostly." He taps his fingers together, "Shawn and Jasmine are my friends, and I want them to be able to kick butt together as a couple." He grins, "besides, I can go hang out with Izzy if I leave. It's a win-win!"

(End Confessional: Owen.)

Once all the campers had run to their respective starting points, Chris walked down to the beach where Owen, Gwen and Lightning were waiting.

"Alright, campers. Ready to receive your cursed item?"

"Lightning was born ready!" Lightning said as he bent down to kiss his biceps, "he doesn't believe in any of that curse crap. Sha-bring it!"

Gwen rolled her eyes at the jock.

"Alright, it's your funeral," Chris grinned. He pulled out three tiki totems and hurled one at each person. "There you go, enjoy the curse vibes!" He then pulled out an airhorn. "Your challenge starts….now!" He blasted the airhorn.

Owen, Lightning and Gwen quickly turned and began dragging their canoes into the water. Except for one.

"Sha-easy!" Lightning boasted, lifting up the canoe with one hand and sprinting into the wake. He blazed by Gwen and Owen, who gave the sprinting boy a shocked look. Lightning tossed his canoe into the water and leapt into the air, doing a front flip before landing in the canoe with a cheer. He reached into the bottom fo the canoe, grabbed two paddles, and began to zoom off towards Boney Island.

Gwen and Owen exchanged alarmed looks, then doubled their efforts to get the canoes in the water.

The camera cut ahead to Lighting, who was making abnormally good progress in the water. The paddles cut through the water with ease, and Lightning was humming confidently as he worked.

"This challenge is a breeze for the Lightning!" He bragged, "ain't no curse gonna mess up his game! He's got this in the sha-bag!"

Something suddenly hit the boat, nearly capsizing it. "Whoa!" Lightning screamed, dropping both paddles into the water as he grabbed the side of the boat to stabilize himself. "Wait!" He looked over the side as the paddles sunk to the ground. "Paddles! Come back! Lightning needs you!"

But the paddles did not listen, and Lightning straightened and looked around, annoyed. "Now what?"

The camera panned back a decent bit to show Owen and Gwen rowing furiously, only yards apart. Gwen had a slight lead over the larger boy, but it was marginal.

"You're goin' down, Gwen!" Owen called jovially.

Gwen looked back at him and smirked. "We'll see about that!" Suddenly, a loud caw came from behind her. The goth turned to see a massive seagull swooping down at her. "Ahhh!" She screamed, ducking down to avoid the large bird.

Owen, from his canoe, gasped. "Gwen! Hold on, I'll help!" He paddled furiously over to her as the seagull turned around and came back for a second swoop. Gwen ducked down to avoid it again, but there was no need for that.

THWACK!

Owen's paddle whistled over Gwen's head, slamming into the seagull and knocking it into the water. It thrashed and squawked for a second before it righted itself and threw a middle feather Owen's way.

"Phew!" Owen wiped his sweaty forehead and looked at Gwen with concern. "You okay, Gwen?"

Gwen gave the seagull a middle finger right back before turning back to Owen. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks, Owen!" She smiled at him, "you didn't have to do that, y'know."

"Oh c'mon, who wouldn't save their pal from a bloodthirsty seagull?" Owen said with a chuckle. He shot her a grin, "but that won't stop me from leaving you in the dust!" He quickly began to paddle forward, but a large tentacle shot out of the water and slammed into the canoe. The force of it was so great that it sent Owen careening out of the water and towards the beaches of Boney Island.

Fortunately for the screaming Owen, the idol was tucked safely in his pocket. Unfortunately for him, the splinters of his destroyed canoe sank to the depths of the sea.

Gwen watched Owen sail in the air, jaw dropped. She began paddling furiously, eventually coming up on a still stranded Lightning.

"Yo, Goth girl! Be a homie and toss Lightning a paddle!" The jock pleaded to Gwen. "He lost his!"

Gwen looked down at the bottom of the canoe, where the spare paddle was. "Uhhh, sorry, Lightning!" She said, "I lost one of mine too, and I need this one!"

Lightning slapped his face with his hand. "Sha-damn! What kind of dummy loses a paddle?!"

"What kind of dummy loses two paddles?" Gwen retorted, breezing by the stagnant Lightning with a smirk.

Lightning opened his mouth angrily to argue, but realized she had a point. His look of annoyance quickly turned to one of glee, though. "Got it! He'll just push the canoe!" He leapt out of his canoe, got behind it, and began to swim towards shore.

Even with the extra labor, he was still faster than Gwen, and quickly zoomed past her.

(Confessional: Gwen.)

"Ugh." Gwen blows some hair out of her face." How is someone so strong yet so stupid?" She huffs, crossing her arms. "I can't even tell if the guy is a threat or not. He's just as likely to beast a challenge as he is to accidentally vote himself off! He's an enigma!"

(End Confessional: Gwen.)

(Confessional: Lightning.)

Lightning grins and gives his bicep a quick smooch. "Lightning don't need a paddle. Lightning is a paddle!"

(End Confessional: Lightning.)

The camera showed the sandy beaches of Boney Island, tranquil and peaceful….

…That is, until a shriek pierced the air, and a large shadow loomed over the sand.

"AAAAAAAAH-OOMPH!" Like a meteor felled to Earth, Owen hit the sand with considerable oomph. Fortunately, the beach was pretty loosely packed, but he still created a crater with his considerable mass.

His hands were shown at the edge of the self-made pit as he heaved himself up out of it. Despite his face being covered in sand-burns, he seemed to be mostly okay. Once he was out of the pit, he quickly did a once-over on his body, surprise filling his face.

"I'm okay?" He gasped, a smile opening up on his face, "I'm OKAY! Hahaha, yeah, baby!" He whipped the idol out of his pocket and tossed it into the air and caught it. "Let's get you back home, cursed tiki idol!" He quickly turned nervous and looked around in fear, "before the pterodactyl thingies come…" He hoofed it into the woods.

Shortly after Owen had disappeared from view, Lightning swam onto shore. The moment he could stand on the sandy bottom, he lifted the canoe out of the water and chucked it onto the beach. In a flash, he was on dry land. "Hmm, now where the heck is this sha-dang cave?" He noticed an Owen-built path through the jungle foliage, and a cocky smirk formed on his face. He quickly followed it.

"Lightning knows that Tubby knows where it is, so he'll just track him!" He explained to the camera with a grin. "Sha-easy!"

After a few minutes of running, Lightning saw the large blue 0 that was the back of Owen's shirt. The fat boy had stopped in his tracks, about thirty yards from the cave. The jock was about to blow by Owen, but Owen reached an arm out and stopped Lightning from progressing.

"What gives, dude?" Lightning tore his arm away from Owen, glaring at him, "let Lightning through!"

"Uhh," Owen pointed ahead, and Lightning followed his finger. There, he saw why Owen had stopped.

There, between the two boys and the cave mouth, were a half dozen huge, carnivorous wooly beavers. And they had their beady eyes zoned in on Lightning and Owen.

"Oh," Lightning gulped, "Lightning sees."

There was some rustling behind the two, and a panting Gwen emerged from the undergrowth.

"Goth girl?" Lightning smacked his forehead, "but Lightning left you in the dust! How'd you get here so quick?"

"Guess the path Geoff and I took last time was faster," Gwen smirked, before noticing the beavers. "Oh crap."

"Crap indeed," Owen said nervously. "Maybe the Naturalist could talk them down?"

"Man, screw that!" Lightning took a step forward, "Lightning ain't got time for that!" Much to the surprise of the two TDI finalists, he bull-rushed the beavers.

Owen clutched his head in panic. "Lightning, stop! You'll die!"

"Ain't no thang, for Light-o-nang!" Lightning boasted. Hunched over like a running back, arm ahead of him, he slammed into the first beaver, sending it flying back towards the cave.

The beavers growled at him and dogpiled him, but Lightning dodged out of the way, uppercutting one into unconsciousness as he did so. "Haha, stupid buck-teeth dogs! You ain't squat!"

Owen and Gwen watched on in utter shock as Lightning single-handedly took down the beaver pack. They were still frozen in shock as Lightning subdued the last one, hurled his idol into the cave mouth, then walked back towards them, dusting his hands off.

"You're sha-welcome," he added, flexing his biceps.

Owen and Gwen shook themselves out of their shock, and quickly ran to the cave and threw their idols into it.

Lightning had started sprinting ahead, and turned back to blow them a raspberry. "You two are two slow! You'll never catch the Lightning! He's fast as…" he faltered, still sprinting, and a quick look of confusion passed over his face, "uh…Lightning! Yeah!" He went to blow another raspberry, but was cut off when he smashed headfirst right into a tree. "Durr…doyyy!" He hit the ground in a pained grunt.

Owen and Gwen ran past the dazed boy.

"Maybe you should watch where you're going, next time!" Gwen laughed.

"Aw, I hope he's okay…" Owen sighed.

(Confessional: Lightning.)

Lightning is still loopy. "Durrr…hey there shiny thing," he taps the camera lens, "tell Lightning…is he sha-gorgeous?" He falls over, out of view, and giggles maniacally.

(End Confessional: Lightning.)

Gwen and Owen ran up on the beach.

"Oh no!" Owen yelped, "I don't have a canoe!"

"Just take Lightning's," Gwen shrugged, pointing to the second empty canoe.

Owen let out his high-pitched gasp, "Holy Lobster Mac and Cheese with extra cheddar and maybe even a little bit of bacon crumbles on top! I can't do that, Gwen!" Owen shook his head, "that's too mean!"

Gwen began to push her canoe into the water. "I dunno if you have much choice, Owen," she told him.

Owen jogged up to her. "What if I go with you?" He asked hopefully.

Gwen looked a little awkward, "I dunno. How would that look to my team?"

"Aw c'mon, it'll help us both out!" Owen persisted, "I'll help you paddle so we get there twice as fast!" He flexed his flabby arms, "Besides, its not like we're fighting for last place! Lightning is still behind us!"

Gwen looked at his earnest, shining face and felt her resolve crumble. "Okay, fine. Hop in!"

"Woohoo!" Owen leapt into the canoe, nearly capsizing it. "Let's paddle like it's 1999!"

(Confessional: Gwen.)

"If it was any other person besides Owen, I would've told them to get lost," Gwen tells the camera with a wry smile. "But it's just so hard to say no to him! He's too sweet!"

(End Confessional: Gwen.)

(Confessional: Owen.)

"Gwen is just so awesome," Owen says happily. "That was so nice of her to let me hitch a ride! I definitely owe her one!"

(End Confessional: Owen.)

Noah, Jasmine and Bridgette were currently on the Dock of Shame, waiting for their respective teammates to arrive by canoe so they could hop on the ATV's and get rolling.

"Ugh, where are they?" Jasmine asked, tapping her foot impatiently against the Dock. "They should be here by now."

"They probably got hindered by some curse voodoo," Bridgette guessed.

"Hey, I think I see a canoe!" Noah, who had been squinting out over the water, suddenly pointed into the distance. Bridgette and Jasmine quickly joined him.

Sure enough, a canoe came into view.

"Are…are Owen and Gwen both in it?" Jasmine asked, tipping her hat back in confusion. "Crikey…."

"Ugh, where the heck is Lightning then!?" Noah glared out over the water again, hoping to see the other canoe.

Within a few minutes, Owen and Gwen had paddled their canoe to the Dock, and clambered onto the Dock of Shame.

Gwen ran up and tagged Bridgette. "Let's go, Bridgette!" She encouraged her friend, "you got this!"

Bridgette nodded, her face full of determination, and ran over to the orange ATV. She hopped on, started it, and sped off towards the marked start of the loop.

"C'mon, mate!" Jasmine told the slower Owen, reaching a hand out, "we gotta get moving!"

Owen jogged over and high-fived Jasmine. "Woohoo! Go get 'em Jasmine!"

Jasmine smirked and nodded. She hopped onto the RV, graceful as a tiger, and sped off after Bridgette.

That left Gwen, Owen and Noah on the Dock.

"Dare I ask what happened to Lightning?" Noah asked the two.

"He had his trash-talking session interrupted by a tree trunk," Gwen smirked. "Last I saw, he was drooling and giggling on the ground."

Noah sighed, but quickly perked up. His eyes darted to Owen, who was awkwardly poking the Dock with his foot, and then turned to Gwen. "Gwen, you mind if I have a moment with Gwen before Lightning gets back?"

Both Gwen and Owen gave him a confused look, but Gwen shrugged it off pretty quick. "Sure, whatever. I need to go find some sage to burn off any curse vibes anyways." She shot a smile at Owen and waved at the two boys. "See ya."

Owen waved to Gwen before turning to Noah. "So…heheh…what did you wanna talk about, Noah?"

Noah sighed and scratched the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "Well, I want to apologize…about two things actually."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Two things?" He held up two fingers, then wiggled one, "well I think I can guess one of the things…what's the other?"

"The other is for taking so long to apologize for the first thing," Noah explained. "I should've come to you right away when we voted Izzy off of Team Alpha, but I was too caught up in the game…and too uncomfortable to know what to say." He looked at his long-time friend. "But I'm really sorry, Owen. I never should have put our friendship and your happiness second to this game." He hung his head, a rare sign of genuine sadness from the normally cynic man, "I hope you can forgive me."

Owen was silent for a second, and Noah continued to stare sadly at the ground. The big guy was looking surprised, but a smile quickly grew over his face.

"Oh, Noah, I could never stay mad at you!" He howled, happy tears brimming in his eyes. He reached out and wrapped the smaller boy in his signature rib-breaking hug.

For once, Noah didn't complain, and although his grin was pained, he grinned nonetheless as Owen squeezed the life out of him. Once he was released, he smiled at the other boy, waiting for him to continue.

"I was really sad and upset at first," Owen told him seriously, "but it's not like she actually left the game…" he trailed off, "and y'know, I understand why you did it."

That took Noah by surprise. "You do?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah, I know you really wanna win this time around. You have a good alliance with Lightning, huh?"

Noah blinked, shocked by his friends perceptivity. "Uhh…yeah, actually." He looked around even though they were alone, "but let's keep that between you and me."

Owen winked at him. "Of course! But yeah, you couldn't vote Lightning out. I know you would've voted Zoey out if you could, but she was immune."

"In a heartbeat!" Noah assured him truthfully. "But I still regret it."

"Don't," Owen told him firmly, once again leaving Noah surprised. "Maybe if she was gone for good after that you could regret it…but look at it this way! You voted her onto my team, which is really how we got back together so quick!" He beamed at Noah, "in a way, I should be thanking you!"

Noah just chuckled dryly, "I don't know how you stay so positive, Owen."

Owen looked a little bashful, "aw, shucks," he giggled. "Let's hang out tonight! I missed talking with my little buddy!"

"I missed you too," Noah grinned. He elbowed his friend in the ribs lightly, "you'll have to fill me in on all the juicy details with you and Iz."

Owen's giggle was a tad naughty, "oh, I will…"

"Sha-BAM!"

The two were broken from their conversation by Lightning's sudden yell. There he was, paddling the canoe back from behind.

"Finally!" Noah ran to the edge of the Dock and reached out a hand to be tagged. "Hurry up, Lightning! We're so behind already!"

Lightning abandoned the canoe and zoomed over to Noah, slapping the boy's hand. "Sha-get goin!" Lightning told him.

Noah didn't need to be told twice.

"Good luck, little buddy!" Owen called, waving to Noah as he zoomed off on the ATV.

Lightning hoisted himself up onto the Dock and shook like a dog, spraying water all over an unamused Owen.

(Confessional: Noah.)

"Ugh, that's a load off my mind," Noah gives the camera a happy smile. "I'm really glad I was able to patch things up with Owen." He pumps his fist, "I feel like I can do anything! We're so far behind on the challenge, I'll have to go 'balls to the wall' to catch up." He rolls his eyes, still smiling, "which isn't really my style…but I'll make it work."

(End Confessional: Noah.)

Jasmine zoomed over a dirt jump, easily reaching out and grabbing the third flag. The ATV bounced back onto the ground, but Jasmine got it under control with ease. She zoned in on Bridgette's back.

The two were neck and neck, but Jasmine was having a surprisingly hard time overtaking the surfer. Every time she tried to get around her, Bridgette just veered in front of Jasmine and cut her off.

Jasmine would've slung some friendly banter towards her old teammate, but the noise from the ATV's ensured that no one would hear her.

She chanced a glance behind her as she sped along the course. There was still so sign of Noah or his ATV, which was good. They were just over half done with the lap, and with any luck Noah would still be sulking on the Dock when she got back.

Before she knew it jump number 4 was coming up, and she watched Bridgette go over it and grab the flag. Unlike the other three jumps, though, Bridgette's ATV wobbled harshly upon landing, and she spun out a little.

"Eeek!" Bridgette slammed on the brakes to avoid spinning out any further, and this allowed Jasmine to hit the jump and grab her flag while also getting ahead of Bridgette. After a quick glance to make sure Bridgette wasn't harmed, the Australian zoomed ahead.

It took Bridgette only a couple seconds to get back in business, but as she sped off she saw something in her rearview mirror. She gasped.

Noah, pedal to the metal, was shooting towards her. He had a confident grin on his face that looked odd on his usually stoic face.

Jasmine and Bridgette had only been going about 60-80% on the accelerator to maintain control, especially though the jumps, but Bridgette watched in shock as Noah, at full acceleration, FLEW over the jump and grabbed the flag. He hit the ground, still full acceleration, and cruised past Bridgette.

"Oh crap!" Now realizing she was in last place, Bridgette tried to up her own acceleration. However, the ATV started to shake and wobble, and she quickly decelerated a bit.

(Confessional: Bridgette.)

"I figured taking it slower was better than going to fast and wiping out," Bridgette tells the camera worriedly, "if I wrecked the ATV, then we'd lose for sure."

(End Confessional: Bridgette.)

Soon after passing Bridgette, a still-flying Noah zoomed by Jasmine, and the Oddball yelped in surprise.

"Bloody hell!" She cursed, hitting her own acceleration with much less fear than Bridgette had. She quickly got right next to Noah, and the two shot each other a competitive look as jump #5 quickly approached.

"You ain't hitting this jump first, mate!" Jasmine bellowed over the noise.

"Fine!" Noah bellowed back. Just before the jump, he slammed on the breaks, taking Jasmine off guard. This break in concentration caused her to hit the jump at a funny angle, and although she was able to grab the flag, she landed at too awkward an angle to keep the ATV upright, and it rolled over. Jasmine went skidding into the dirt, her flags scattering.

Noah accelerated over the jump, then hit the breaks right next to Jasmine. "I'd ask if you were okay," he told her, "but I know it'll take more than a fall off a bike to keep you down." He gave her a mocking salute, then sped off.

A groaning Jasmine held her head as she stood up. "Oh no…the ATV better not be busted…" she walked over to it and yanked it back onto its tires. Then, she collected her flags and sat herself back on it.

Bridgette drove past, sparing the girl a confused glance but not bothering to stop.

"C'mon…c'mon…" Jasmine tried to start the ATV, but it was giving her trouble. "You piece of junk!" She punched the steering wheel, and the engine revved to life. Relief flooded her face, and she drove off after Bridgette and Noah.

(Confessional: Jasmine.)

"I don't like that Noah," Jasmine confesses, "he's a wily little bugger."

(End Confessional: Jasmine.)

Duncan, Jo and Shawn were sitting in the Mess Hall. No one had said much, and a slightly tense silence filled all corners of the Hall.

The silence was eventually broken by the noise of an ATV driving past the Mess Hall, causing all three to perk up.

"Someone must be almost done!" Shawn noted.

"Wow, really?" Jo said sarcastically, "thanks for the narration, Captain Obvious!"

Shawn frowned, but didn't reply. Sure enough, a couple minutes later a panting Noah burst through the Mess Hall. He pumped his fist.

"From last to first, let's go!"

Jo looked surprised, but accepted his outstretched hand for the tag. "Nice work, Shrimpy. We got this challenge in the bag." She smirked at Duncan and Shawn. "See you suckers later!" She sprinted out of the Mess Hall.

"How far were the others behind you?" Duncan asked Noah.

"No clue," Noah shrugged, a little winded still from his sprint from the Dock of Shame to the Mess Hall. He pulled out a chair and sat down. "Not too far."

As if on cue, two more ATV's were heard zooming by the Mess Hall, and it wasn't long until Bridgette burst in. She ran up and tagged Duncan.

Jasmine, with her long legs, had made up good ground on the race from the Dock to the Hall, and nearly ran into Duncan as he left.

"Yes!" Shawn cheered at the sight of his girlfriend. She tagged him, and he bent down to smooch his cheek. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" Jasmine grinned, ushering him out, "now go! You got this, babe!"

Shawn nodded and ran out after Duncan and Jo.

Jasmine huffed as she took a seat at one of the tables.

"Wow, Noah, I didn't know you were such a whiz on ATV's," Bridgette complimented, "you really caught up nicely."

"I didn't know either," Noah admitted, "but I knew I had to take a risk and be fast if I wanted to catch up after how bad Lightning blew the first part."

"Well done," Jasmine conceded.

Noah looked a little surprised, "thanks."

The camera cut to Jo, who was currently in the lead on the sprint up the 1,000ft cliff.

"Haha!" She wasn't even breaking a sweat on the uphill run. "This is a piece of cake! The other team's don't stand a chance!"

"That's what you think!" Came a voice from above her, and Jo quickly looked up in alarm.

Shawn was swinging from branch to branch in the trees, using his momentum to eat up ground faster than Jo.

Jo wasn't deterred, and pointed ahead as she ran. "Tough break, Shawn, but you're about to be out of trees!"

"Huh?" Shawn looked ahead and gasped. He stopped just in time, almost having leapt from the last tree before the clearing at the top of the cliff and plummeting to the ground. There was still a good few hundred yards up the cliff, but with no trees to use to his advantage, he'd certainly lose ground against the speedier Jo.

"Buh-bye!" She taunted. Shawn grumbled to himself as he wasted time climbing down the tree.

A little farther back, Duncan ran for all he was worth. He was no slouch, but Shawn and especially Jo were faster than he was, and it was annoying him greatly.

"It's alright, you'll just kick their stupid butts on the stupid hang glider," he told himself as he panted. He reached the clearing of the trees, and saw Shawn a little ways ahead of him. "Aha! Almost there!"

Sure enough, Jo had just reached the apex of the cliff. There, three hang gliders rested on the ground…though something was very apparent at first glance.

"These things look shoddy as all hell!" Jo noted, skidding to a halt and examining one of the gliders in alarm.

It was true…the gliders did not look particularly well put together, and were very reminiscent of the glider Harold and made in 'Total Drama Drama Drama Drama Island'. "There's no way I can hang glide this for 500 yards! Chris is out of his frekken mind!"

"Don't worry, Jo!" Chris suddenly appeared behind Jo, and the girl yelped in alarm. "If you can't make it the full stretch to the platform, you can just swim!" He winked at her, "just make sure you get the key, or you'll have to swim ALL the way back to the beach, and then run all the way back up here to try again!"

"Well that's basically a death sentence in this challenge," Jo grumbled.

"Yes, yes it is." Chris chuckled. "But the gliders will stay together easier as long as you keep it perfectly level. If you can avoid tilting the glider at all, you'll be in decent shape." He winked at her, "just a little tip."

Jo sighed and grabbed the nearest glider. By then, Shawn was in sight, and Duncan not too far behind him. "Well, guess I gotta go for it!" She held on and ran towards the cliff, no hesitation in her face. With a half-angry, half-terrified yell, she leapt off the cliff.

Twenty or so yards off the cliff's edge, three drones each held up a key and hoop. The drones had their respective team's logo painted on, and Jo did her best to steer her glider towards the Alpha one.

A piece of the glider broke off as Jo neared the loop, but she was just able to get through the hoop. "This glider is crap!" She yelled, letting go of the glider completely and just making sure to grab the key.

"Aha!" She yelled, clasping the metal key in her hands before gulping, realizing it was now a free fall into the chilly water. "Crap!" With a scream, she plummeted towards the water.

Chris looked over the edge and whistled. "And while Jo does get the key, she barely gets through the hoop before losing the glider! That could prove costly for Team Alpha!"

Shawn was next to the gliders, and he too noticed the shoddiness of his vehicle. "Uh, Chris? Are these things safe?"

"No. No they are not," Chris told him simply. "Good luck!"

Shawn gulped, but then an idea seemed to catch his mind. He reached into his pockets and rummaged around for a second before pulling out a small bottle of glue. "Any rules against tampering with the gliders?" He asked Chris.

"Hey, as long as its your own glider, it's fine," Chris shrugged, "just don't touch the other one."

"Heh," Shawn smirked, "wasn't planning on it." He began adding glue to the joints of the glider. "This is gonna be easy!" With a woot, he grabbed the glider and jumped over the edge. With much more control than Jo had, he flew through the hoop and grabbed his key. Then, he began gliding towards the platform in the middle of the water.

From down below, a swimming Jo saw the shadow of Shawn pass over and cursed.

Duncan finally arrived, and wasted no time in grabbing a glider and jumping off. He too managed to grab a key, and was having a little more success keeping his glider than Jo had. Soon he passed a swimming Jo, who was now starting to panic.

"No!" She shouted, doubling her efforts to swim towards the platform.

It wasn't too long, however, before Duncan's glider began to fall apart in earnest, and he careened into the water. He surfaced with a spray of water, and began swimming towards the platform himself.

Shawn was far ahead of the others and just about to approach the platform. Due to the glue, his glider had been successful so far in keeping him at a high height, so the zombie survivalist was currently figuring out how to dismount safely from such a high height. Unfortunately for him, the glue wasn't enough to fully keep all the joints secure. With a gasp, the left-most join came undone. The glider tilted heavily towards the left, taking him off course from the platform.

"Oh no!" Shawn tried to re-correct, with little luck. Making a split-second decision, he let go of the glider, angling his body towards the platform.

Jo and Duncan watched from the water as Shawn dropped like a stone towards the platform.

"Oh no," Duncan realized, eyes wide. "He's going to hit the platform!"

Duncan was right. Shawn's plan to compensate for the glider veering off course worked a little too well, and instead of landing near the platform…he landed feet first ON the platform.

A sharp crack was heard as Shawn hit the platform. To his credit, he tucked and rolled, but still let out a howl of pain. His momentum carried him off the side of the platform, and he hit the water with a scream. With another yell of pain, he resurfaced and scrambled onto the Dock, his hands immediately going to his right ankle, which was twisted completely to the side.

Even through the pain, he searched his pockets for the key…but couldn't find it.

"No!" He yelled, quickly dragging himself to the side of the platform and looking down into the water. "The key fell out of my pocket when I hit the water!"

Jo finally reached the platform, and scrambled onto it. She grabbed her key and quickly unlocked her box, pulling out the gold Chris Idol.

"Let's go!" She screamed, hurling the idol on the ground. She then noticed Shawn, more specifically his sideways foot. She paled. "Holy shit, Shawn! What happened."

"I hit the platform," Shawn panted, still staring down at the water. "I lost the key in the water…" he shook his head, "even if I could see it, I can't swim with my foot like this." He hung his head. "It's hopeless."

Jo weighed her options. She turned and saw Duncan swimming toward the platform. "I'll tell you what, zombie boy. As a sign of good faith, I'll look for this key for you." She walked past Shawn to the edge of the platform and prepared to dive in. "Take it as sign of good faith for our alliance come the merge."

Shawn looked at her in awe. "You'd do that for me?!"

"Meh, if you guys lose you boot Owen, and he could help us. Bridgette, on the other hand? Not so much." The jockette shot an evil grin back at Duncan, who was slowly but steadily making progress towards the platform. "I can't make any promises, but I'll try and find the stupid key." She jumped into the Dock.

Shawn tried to ignore the stabbing pain in his ankle, and instead switched from looking at the arriving Duncan to the water where Jo had just disappeared under. "C'mon…c'mon…!" He muttered.

When Duncan was about twenty yards from the platform, Jo surfaced. She gasped for air, and Shawn looked hopefully at her.

Her grim look told him all he needed to know. "Let me check again," she prepared to dive, but Shawn's voice stopped her.

"Don't bother," he sighed, and they both heard Duncan clamber onto the Dock.

"Damn, did we lose?" Duncan, the last one on the platform, looked at the two others and raised an eyebrow. "You enjoying you swim, Jo?"

"Shut it, Duncan!" She snapped.

It was then that Duncan noticed only one open box. Realization dawned on his face "Wait…did you lose the key, Shawn?" He laughed, but the laugh died instantly when he saw Shawn's ankle. "Whoa…damn." He walked over and unlocked is box. "You okay, dude?"

"Fine," Shawn said through gritted teeth. Now that the adrenaline was starting to fade, the pain was coming on full force.

Duncan withdrew his orange Chris Idol and grinned at it. "Let's go!"

Chris suddenly arrived on his speedboat. "And despite being first to arrive on the platform, Shawn blows it for Team Oddball and they lose! How on earth did…" he trailed off when he saw Shawn's injury. "Yikes! Everyone get on, we need to get Shawn to medical ASAP!"

Jo jumped up on the platform, and with Duncnan's help they carried Shawn onto the boat and gently laid him down.

"Ewww," Chris gagged, looking very much like he wanted to look away from Shawn's twisted ankle. "Why can't I look away!? That is sooooo nasty!"

Shawn just glared at him. "Yeah, I'm in quite a lot of pain here," he told him bluntly. "Can we get a move on?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, let's go!"

(Confessional: Duncan.)

"Wow, it sucks that Shawn busted up his ankle like that," Duncan admits, "but man am I glad we didn't lose! It would've sucked having to cut Bridgette before she could help me with Gwen."

(End Confessional: Duncan.)

Lightning, Noah, Bridgette, Gwen, Owen and Jasmine were waiting on the Dock of Shame, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the others and consequently the results of the challenge.

The six were surprised to see Chef arrive with a stretcher. The cook had a grim look on his face.

"What the hell?" Gwen eyed the stretcher, "wait, did someone get hurt?"

"Dunno," Chef said shortly, "Chris just radio'd me and told me to be on the dock with a stretcher."

Gwen bit her lip anxiously, returning her gaze to the water.

Bridgette noticed her friends anxiety and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry," she said quietly, "I'm sure Duncan's fine."

Gwen gave her a strange look. "Huh? I don't care about Duncan." She seemed to realize what she said, "Uh, not that I hope he's hurt or anything…" she trailed off, thankful that Bridgette didn't press the matter any further.

Soon enough, the boat containing Chris, Jo, Duncan and Shawn arrived. It was immiedatley evident who was hurt when Jo and Duncan helped Shawn out of the boat.

Jasmine let out a terrified gasp when she saw his foot. She rushed to the front, accidentally knocking Noah, Bridgette and Gwen off the Dock in her haste. "Shawn!" She shrieked, running up to him. "Bloody hell! Are you okay!?"

Shawn was a little pale, but he tried to put his best smile on for his girlfriend. "Hey Jazz. I'm so sorry. We lost the challenge…"

"I don't give a rats ass about that," Jasmine said dismissively, cupping his face in her hands and staring intently at him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine," Shawn said with a weak chuckle, "just landed on the platform from about thirty feet up and busted my ankle up…" He dropped the facade and hung his head, "I totally blew it."

Owen arrived next to Jasmine and looked at his bud in worry. "Shawn!"

"Hey Owen," Shawn greeted, but was cut off as Chef burst between Jasmine and Owen, nearly sending them off the Dock themselves.

"Move it or lose it!" Chef shouted, "we gotta get Scruffy Boy to the medical tent and get his ankle set right away!"

"I'll get the other side of the stretcher," Jasmine said quickly, and Chef nodded his approval. Once they were ready, Jo and Duncan lowered Shawn gently onto the stretcher.

"Lead the way, and quickly!" Jasmine barked at Chef. The two took off deeper into camp.

All the others looked a little shaken. Seeing one of the strongest competitors on the island weak and in pain like that was pretty jarring.

"So…not to be that guy, but I'm pretty sure I heard Shawn say he lost." Noah finally piped up. "Is that true."

Chris gave his head a quick shake, transitioning back into his hostly tone. "That is correct, my old assistant. Team Alpha came in first, with Team Nuclear coming second. Team Oddball, you're voting someone out tonight.

Noah, Gwen, Duncan and Bridgette all shot a sad look at Owen, who was looking bummed. The big oaf took notice. "Don't worry about me guys," he quickly assured them, still glum. "I'm just sad Shawn got hurt."

Bridgette walked up to him and gave him a hug.

In the medical tent, Jasmine watched over a resting Shawn, who had been given some strong painkillers for his ankle. Chef had splinted and casted his ankle, which was now wrapped in white bandages.

"He's lucky it wasn't a compound fracture, or he mighta needed surgery," Chef said gruffly.

"Will he be okay?" Jasmine asked, her throat tight as she looked down at the sleeping Shawn.

"Give him a month or two and he'll be walking on it just fine," Chef told her. "So long as he takes it easy and doesn't damage it any further."

At that moment, Chris entered the medical tent. "How is he?" He asked Chef. The big cook filled him in on his status.

A thought struck Jasmine, and she suddenly looked sickened. She strode over to the two men and picked Chris up by his shirt, bringing him close to her face. She looked more panicked than angry, but still painted an intimidating picture as she loomed over Chris. "Will Shawn have to withdraw because of his injury?"

"Uh, can you put me down, Jasmine?" Chris asked her. "You're kinda freaking me out here…"

Jasmine seemed to realized that Chris's feet were dangling six inches off the ground, and sheepishly returned him to his feet. "Eh-heh," she chuckled, "sorry about that…"

Chris brushed himself off, "I don't see any reason why Shawn should have to withdraw. If he thinks he can compete with a bum foot, that's on him. If he does decide to continue, he won't be given any special privileges, though."

Jasmine let out a sigh of relief.

"…Jazz?"

All of Chris, Chef and Jasmine quickly turned to Shawn, who was now stirring.

"I'm here, babe," Jasmine rushed to the side of his bed, and grabbed one of his hands with both of her own. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," Shawn told her, a silly grin on his face. "In fact, I daresay I feel goooooooooooood…."

At Jasmine's confused look, Chef chuckled dryly. "Looks like the painkillers haven't worn off completely.

"Look at you," Shawn continued, his tone a little sappy as he looked up at Jasmine through woozy eyes, "Wow, I love you so much."

Chef and Chris erupted into giggles, but were quickly silenced by Jasmine's glare. When she turned back to Shawn, her eyes were full of warmth. "I love you too, Shawn. I'm here for you."

Shawn giggled like a little boy. "Did you hear thaaaat?" He called to Chris and Chef. "She loves me too! Am I the luckiest guy or what?"

"Yes Shawn, you're so lucky," Chris chuckled, rolling his eyes. He looked at Chef. "Okay, is everything under control here?" At Chef's nod, he shot Jasmine and Shawn finger guns. "Alright then, I'll see you guys at the elimination ceremony after dinner." He took his leave.

By now, Shawn's mind was starting to clear a little, and he looked over at Chef. "Chef? Can I have minute with Jasmine?"

Chef nodded and left too, leaving just the power couple in the medical tent.

"Chris says you don't have to withdraw," Jasmine told him quickly. "You can still compete."

Shawn chuckled at this, leaving Jasmine confused. "What's so funny."

The chuckle died on his lips, and Shawn shot her a curious look. "What, you don't expect me to compete like this, do you?"

Jasmine raised her eyebrows. "Uh, yes. Yes I do."

"No way," Shawn shook his head, "I can't be running around with one leg. I'll be free zombie chow!"

"Shawn," Jasmine said, trying to find a delicate way to say what she wanted to say, "that…it's…I'll protect you from anything, okay? You can't quit."

"I don't want to quit," Shawn assured her. "But I think you and Owen should vote me out tonight."

Jasmine was silent, the shock on her face evident. It passed though, and when she spoke her tone booked no compromise.

"Not happening. I'm not voting for you. Never."

"Be reasonable, Jazz," Shawn told her, "look, I don't want to gimp along, sucking at every challenge because I'll be on crutches."

"Then quit," she told him harshly, "I'm not voting for you. How could you even ask me to do that?!"

He could see the angry tears threatening to spill over her lashes as she glared at him, and sighed.

"Look," Jasmine continued, "we can do this. Let's vote out Owen tonight. The merge has GOT to be soon. If I have to carry you on my back for another team challenge, I will. Once the merge arrives, we can use our alliance with Jo to keep us safe. It won't matter if you can't do well in challenges."

Shawn chewed this over, and Jasmine watched his face hopefully. To her dismay, he still shook his head. "I know my body, Jazz, and Chef gave me the rundown before he doped me up on painkillers. If I want to heal properly and quickly, I gotta take it easy." He gave her a sympathetic smile, "I know it sucks for you, but we both know what's for the best…"

Jasmine was silent, and the tears finally began to spill. "It's just not fair," she said in a trembling voice. "We were…we were going to go to the end together. For real this time."

Shawn looked a little misty-eyed himself at his girlfriends sadness. "I know," he said, "I'm sorry I messed up."

She quickly shook her head. "No, you don't need to apologize. Stuff happens…" she sniffled, "it just…it just sucks."

"Yes, it does," Shawn agreed. He scooted over so his casted ankle was hanging over the side of the bed. He pat the empty space next to him. "Now come snuggle with me."

Jasmine quickly obliged, and wrapped him in her arms. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks, and every once in a while a sob wracked her body. Shawn rubbed one of her arms affectionately.

"It'll be okay, Jazz," he assured her.

All the other campers besides Shawn and Jasmine were in the Rec Center. They were all seated on the four couches that faced each other near the TV's.

Bridgette and Gwen were on one. Jo was reclining on one by herself. Noah and Owen were on the third, and Lightning and Duncan sat on the last. Each and every one of them had a beer in hand.

Seeing Shawn get injured like that was pretty sobering, and there was a startling lack of competitiveness or friction in the room as they sat in silence. For the time being, they were just seven young adults that had just seen one of their own get hurt.

"So…is nobody gonna say anything?" Jo finally piped up, never afraid of speaking her mind. "Because I don't know what to say."

"I think we're all in that same boat." Bridgette sighed.

"I wonder if he'll have to leave because of his ankle," Noah wondered.

Duncan took a sip of his beer, "I doubt it. Kid's tough, he'll want to stick it out."

Gwen and Jo nodded their agreement.

Silence blanketed them once again.

Dinner came, but Shawn and Jasmine were still absent.

"I feel kinda bad for the lardball," Jo said to her teammates, watching as Owen sat alone at his table and poked at his food half-heartedly. "And I never feel bad for anyone!"

"He's not even eating," Lightning noted. "Maybe we should invite him to sit with us?"

Noah looked surprised at his teammates. "Wow. I was gonna ask him, but I figured you two would yell at me for 'fraternizing with the enemy'."

"Nah, it's his last meal here on the island," Jo waved a hand, "I don't care if he eats with us."

"Yeah!" Lightning stood up and waved to Owen. "Hey Tubby! Come eat with us! You shouldn't be all by your lonesome over there!"

"Aww, thanks guys!" Owen got up and headed over to Team Alpha's table.

"Least we can do, knowing you're getting kicked to the curb tonight," Jo said bluntly.

"It's not so bad," Owen shrugged. "I get to go meet up with Izzy."

"We'll have to have that chat some other time," Noah told his friend sadly. "The afternoon kind of got away from us…"

"Don't worry, I'll fill you in next time we hang out!" Owen assured him happily.

"Lightning misses his girlfriend," Lightning sighed, now also poking at his food halfheartedly.

Noah and Jo exchanged a look. Lightning hadn't mentioned Sky in a while, but it was clear he was feeling sentimental now.

"Don't worry, Lightning," Noah tried to be reassuring, "she'll be there waiting for you. She was really into you."

The corner's of Lightning's mouth picked up. "Yeah, you're right."

"Blech," Jo stood up with her tray. "I thought I could stomach all this mushy crap, but I was wrong. I need a shower after all that."

"Aw, c'mon, Jo!" Owen called after her, "open your heart to friendship and happiness!"

"Right," Jo rolled her eyes as she dumped her tray at the Chef's counter. "Let me start my diet of sunshine and rainbows while I'm at it."

Owen smacked his forehead, "you've eaten sunshine and rainbows?! What do they taste like?!"

Jo facepalmed.

Jasmine and Shawn were still snuggled up, dozing, when Chris entered the Medical Tent.

"Wake up, guys!" He clapped his hands, "it's time for the elimination ceremony! Be there in five minutes." He pointed to the side of their bed. "Chef left some crutches for you, Shawn." He took his leave.

"Welp, let's go get this over with," Shawn sighed. He straightened himself and grabbed the crutches. "Yuck," he stuck his tongue out, "I hate not being fully mobile."

"I don't like it either," Jasmine said sadly. The two walked out of the Medical Tent and towards the elimination area. "By the way, I'm still not voting for you. If you're serious about leaving, you'll have to vote for yourself."

Shawn nodded.

Eventually, the two arrived at the elimination area where Chris, Owen and a crackling fire were waiting for them.

"Shawn!" Owen said happily, glad to see his friend. "How ya feeling, man?"

"Alright, I guess," Shawn shrugged. He settled himself on a stump. "By the way Owen, Jasmine and I talked, and we agree to vote me off tonight."

"What?!" Owen clasped the sides of his face in shock. "No way! You can't get split up!"

Shawn chuckled dryly, "I don't think I have much of a choice. I can't compete the way I want to like this, and I want to make sure I heal properly." He looked at his friend. "Just do me a favor and vote for me, okay?"

Owen looked a little conflicted, but ultimately nodded his head. "Alright…"

"Team Oddball, welcome to the elimination ceremony." Chris told the three. "Not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting to see you guys again. I thought you could stick it out through the rest of the pre-merge."

"So did I," Shawn said unhappily, "but here we are."

"Since it'll be a pain in the butt for Shawn to get to the Confessional and there's only three of you, I'll just have you guys vote out loud, here," Chris told them. "Owen, you're up first."

Owen shot Shawn an unhappy glance. "I vote for…Shawn. Even though I really don't want to…"

Shawn smiled at him and shot him a thumbs up.

Chris turned to Jasmine, an expectant look on his face.

Jasmine took a deep breath. "I vote for…Owen." She turned to face him, "sorry mate, it's nothing personal. I just can't bring myself to vote for Shawn."

Owen gave her a warm smile. "Completely gotcha," he shot her a thumbs up.

"Alright Shawn," Chris turned to the injured boy. "It's up to you to break the tie," he scratched his chin, "or cause a tie…if you somehow decided to vote for Jasmine." He chuckled, "but that would probably take the cake for most shocking vote ever."

"Yeah, no way am I voting for Jasmine," Shawn confirmed with a smile. "I vote for…" he hesitated,

"…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Myself."

Jasmine let out a little moan of sadness, and Chris nodded his head solemnly.

"It's official." He pulled out two marshmallows from behind his back. "One marshmallow for Jasmine, and one for Owen." He tossed the two their treats. "Shawn, you're out."

Shawn took a deep breath, then lifted himself to his feet with his crutches. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Jasmine had tears in her eyes again as she approached him. She leaned in for a kiss, but right before their lips connected someone interrupted them

"Wait!"

The two turned to see the other six campers approached them.

"Did Shawn get the boot?" Duncan asked them.

"Yeah, I'm gone." Shawn told the group.

"Looks like you were right," Jo told Noah.

"Naturally," was the bookworms' arrogant reply.

Duncan held up a Sharpie. "When Noah floated the idea that maybe you'd wanna get eliminated, we decided to all sign your cast!"

"Yeah!" Lightning added. "When Lightning broke his arm in football practice, his whole grade signed his cast and it made Lightning feel way better!"

"Aw, you guys don't have to do that!" Shawn said modestly.

"Just shut up and let us draw on your cast," Jo said dismissively.

Duncan went first, and scribbled something on his cast. One by one, the others not on Team Oddball wrote on the cast. Once the last person was done, they waved goodbye to Shawn.

"Bye, Shawn!" Bridgette called.

"Get better soon!" Gwen added.

"Thanks guys," Shawn waved them off, and Duncan tossed the Sharpie to Owen so he and Jasmine could sign it too. Once the other six had dispersed, Owen approached him and uncapped the Sharpie. He bent down and carefully wrote a message on the cast.

"I'm gonna miss you, dude." Owen told him sadly. He reached out and wrapped the survivalist in a surprisingly gentle hug. "Sorry we couldn't kick butt till the end together."

Shawn smiled and returned the hug. "I'll miss you too. You and Jasmine watch each others backs, okay?"

They separated and Owen gave him a thumbs up. "The Naturalist gives his word!" He took a step back so Jasmine could say goodbye.

This time their kiss was interrupted, and lasted a good ten seconds.

"I had my turn to win," Shawn told her, "now its your turn. You can do this."

Jasmine nodded, "I know. I won't let you down."

"It's not about letting me down. I already know you can win. I just want to make sure you know too."

Jasmine grinned at him and took the Sharpie from Owen. "You always know just what to say," she teased him.

They kissed one last time.

"I'll get the luggage for you," Jasmine told him.

Owen waved one last time as the two walked down the Dock towards the Boat. Jasmine easily lifted Shawn off the Dock and onto the Boat, making sure she was gentle with him. She placed his bags in after him and bent down to give him one last kiss.

Once the separated, the Boat drove away, and both Shawn and Jasmine did their best to keep the tears in as they grew further from each other.

Owen and Chris watched as Jasmine sat at the end of the Dock, still looking over the water at the faint outline of the boat. Owen wiped a tear from his eye and sniffled loudly.

"There there," A smiling Chris pat Owen on the shoulder. "It'll be okay," he quickly moved his hand from Owen's shoulder to his face, pushing the Fatboy out of frame. "Now quit hogging my camera space." He turned to face the camera. "In a dramatic twist, Shawn gets injured and eliminated! What do we have in store for the Final 8 next? Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Generations!

Boat of Losers Clip:

Shawn dabbed at his eyes as Wawanakwa faded from view.

"Pull yourself together, man," he told himself, "you'll see her again, and soon." He shifted around on his crutches, then took a seat on the bench. "Alright, I just need to go quarantine in my bunker until my ankle heals. I can't risk any shufflers nabbing me in my weakened state," his paranoid gaze scanned the horizon, "they probably sense my weakness already..."

"You ain't goin' to no bunker, kid!" Chef snapped from the drivers cabin. "It's to the Playa with you!"

"Playa?" Shawn asked, confused.

"Yeah, the Playa!"

"...Are you gonna elaborate on what that is?"

"Nope."

Shawn gave the camera an annoyed look. "Okay then..."

Voting Confessionals Unavailable.

/

Votes:

Shawn - 2 votes (Owen, Shawn).

Owen - 1 vote (Jasmine).

Team Alpha: Lightning, Noah, Jo.

Team Oddball: Jasmine, Owen.

Team Nuclear: Gwen, Duncan, Bridgette.

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

Reasoning for Elimination:

Ah, Shawn. I knew when I included him and Jasmine in this cast I wanted them to dominate the pre-merge together. Originally, he was going to be the first merge boot and sacrifice himself for Jasmine (who would've been 'voted off' on the first merge challenge after Shawn won immunity and the others wanted to break up the power couple). But, after some tweaks, I decided on him going here. Yeah, some might see an injury boot as a cop-out, but I had to break them up and there's no way that Shazmine would vote each other out normally. Even here I didn't have them vote for each other, but had Shawn vote for himself instead. He was one of my favorite characters to write for in this story as a badass competitor. It was a borderline gimmick how he was practically good at everything: From dueling with lightsabers, to trivia, to poker. I hope I did him justice to all his fans! I know I'll miss him :(.

Welp, that's that done! Next chapter we have the Aftermath! I'm actually so pumped to write it. So much juicy goodness to delve into...

- Do you think Shawn was done justice with his elimination?

- Are you guys pumped for the Aftermath, or are they just more filler chapters that you don't care about as much?

- How many do you think will return in total for the merge, and who would you guess they would be?

Alright, I'm back to work so I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully before Valentines day! Thanks for reading, Ciao :)!