DISCLAIMER:
Chapter 10 released. The storm enrages. What will happen with the challenge? And more important, what will happen with the twins? Find right now.
And remember to leave a review if you enjoy the story so far. That not only help me know what you are thinking but encourages me to do my best in the next episodes. Or at least mark it as a favorite ;). Now before the chapter, let me answers the last chapter reviews.
guest: Yep, I'm quite proud of that cliffhanger. Let's see what happens as the storm arises.
gman5846: Yep, some Duncan and Courtney moments. I wonder if you, dear readers, already know what the question that Courtney wanted to ask him is.
guest: Yep Aleheather is a mystery still to be revealed. I hope Heather gets his revenge.
Total Drama belongs to Fresh TV, their creators, and associates companies. I don't own anything from the properties used in this fic.
Are this also a sucky outdoors? Part 3
We are in the middle of the third challenge. Both teams have to stay one night in the woods and come back to the cabins in the morning. During the night, a big storm is covering the island. And while the foxes took shelter in a cave, the ferrets were divided, looking for a place to sleep.
And as the storm strikes furiously, another storm was about to start in a cliff's cave near the lake.
A thunder resounded through the cave as the twins asked, at the same time. "What are you doing here?"
"Amy, are you crying?" said Sammy, worried about her sister.
"Of course not! It's only the storm. And you? Are you crying? You look awful, I mean more than usual," replied Amy, trying to change the subject.
Sammy sat in the ground, leaning against the stone wall, sighing. "Don't be silly. We are twins, we have the same awful face."
"What? That's nonsense. I am the most beautiful of us," said Amy sitting in the same way as her sister, in front of her.
"Why? Because of your mole? C'mon Amy, at least when we are alone, try to be honest. It will not kill you," replied Sammy rolling her eyes.
Amy frowned, shivering a little and folding her arms. "It's not a mole! It's a beauty mark."
"Yes, yes, how many times we had this discussion?" asked the younger sister, burying her face on her arms.
"And? Will you tell me what happened? Why were you crying?" asked Amy, trying to ignore the cold.
Sammy raised her head, glaring at her sister. "What happened? The same thing that has been ruining my whole life. YOU happened."
"Excuse me? This time I didn't have anything to do with whatever petty problem you had," said the older sister, rolling her eyes.
"YOU eliminated Jasmine, my best friend. And now you are scheming with other guys to get me, and playing with my feelings. That's low even for you," replied Sammy, who was about to cry again.
Amy put a hand over her chest, looking at Sammy's eyes. "Don't go all victim on me again. You were plotting with that giant to eliminate ME, your OWN sister."
"YES, I wanted to eliminate you because you are always doing things like this. Why is that you always want to make me suffer?" said Sammy putting her hand over her chest in the same way, keeping her eyes fixed on her sister.
"Again, you are the only one suffering. Oh poor baby Samey, nobody suffers but you," replied Amy mocking her sister.
"See, there, you always ignore my feelings and treat me like your personal maid, sorry I mean your personal slave. At least a maid would not be awakened in the night," said Sammy standing up.
Amy also stood up. "I only force you to do the chores because I am the older one. It's my right."
"Are you hearing yourself? Do you really believe that only for being born 17 minutes earlier, you have the right to control ME and MY life?" said Sammy stomping her foot on the ground.
"Not only for that, but you are also slow and clumsy. I only make you do things because, otherwise, you will take hours thinking about what to do next," said Amy also stomping her foot on the ground.
"Yes, I take my time to make decisions because you always had something to say about what I chose! If it was too cheap, or if it was too ugly, or if it was too sweet. In the end, I was afraid of choosing because you would aways scold me or mock me for my decisions," Sammy tried to don't cry looking at her tormentor in the eyes.
"STOP BLAMING ME! You are the one that made my life miserable. I was always the hard-headed, the mean, nobody praised me for my achievements. It was always Sammy the smart one, Sammy the kind one, when the truth was that you were always just a second Amy. A SAMEY," Amy frown and clenched her teeth as the storm worsened.
The sound of thunder caused a brief pause in their argument.
"What are you talking about? I always did what you asked. I have always supported you and fulfilled all your whims, and you say you acted that way because I had better grades in 3 subjects? You make my life a living hell because you were jealous of me?" Sammy was shocked. She cannot believe what Amy was saying.
"I was NOT jealous! I would never be jealous of you. I am the better twin, the original, the older one. You only bested me using tricks, playing the victim card, and hearing all that poison your Aussie friend told you," said Amy, tears rolling from her face.
"Jasmine only taught me to stand by myself against you because you destroy me and my self-esteem. You are no better than me, you never were, you only make me believe that. I am not a second rate Amy, I am a precious first-rate Sammy. Why is that you are the only one that doesn't realize it?" said Sammy, also crying.
Amy laughed, scowling at her sister, "Hehe, Do you really think you are my equal? SHOW IT, once and for all, in this lousy island. Whoever goes farther in the season is the better twin."
"I already told you, none is better than the other. We are identical," said Sammy, trying to make her sister listen to reason.
"Oh? You preach about how you are my equal, but when you have to prove it, you get frightened. Typical Samey," said Amy mocking her sister.
Sammy expression darkened, and then she offered her hand to her older sister."I will make you eat those words. And when I win, you will stop calling me Samey."
"Keep dreaming, Samey," said Amy, shaking her sister's hand.
None of them said a word about Topher. Both were sure that the other had stolen him from her, even Amy, who at first was only interested in him on a whim.
Then both sisters felt cold water at her ankles.
"No way-" said Sammy as the sisters realized that the cave was flooding.
While this happened, the other ferrets had their own problems. Lilly was following Max, not sure what the supervillain was thinking.
"Max, maybe we should go back with the others. It's already dark and raining," suggested Lilly in a low and sad tone.
Max was looking to a strange contraption on his hand that looked like a smartphone made of trash. "Silence! My new invention is working. With this, we can find it. AHA!" said the small man, taking a rock and hitting a tree with it as if it was a hammer.
"You said the same thing, the past 10 times. Please, I am freezing," said Lilly, whimpering.
But Max ignored her, hitting the tree with such strength, that part of the bark fell off. Inside it, there was a set of intricate machinery.
Max laughed while smiling sinisterly. "GWA-HA-HA-HA, I knew it. EVIL always succeeds. Look at this, minion. This is an artificial tree. It is connected directly to the main computer on the island. With this, I can take control of it and achieve my revenge."
"But they said that the computer cannot be hacked. And even if it could, we don't have the equipment, *achoo*," said Lilly, her sneeze so low and short that was almost inaudible.
"That's what a normal person thinks, but not an EVIL genius. Look at this. With my EVIL invention, I can connect at the main comput- arghh" Max said, connecting his contraption to the tree. But as soon it was connected, he was shocked, blue electric arcs passing through his body.
"MAX!" shouted Lilly, grabbing the evil genius. But the redhead also got shocked. Now both were wincing, with blue arcs passing on their bodies and their hair standing on their end.
At the same time, in the control room of the island, the power went off for a moment.
"What is happening?" said Logan, one of the interns, looking frightened at the screens.
"Maybe a lightning fall over one of the artificial trees or rocks. I told Mr. McLean we should stop the challenge." said another intern.
Logan looked at him with wide eyes. "Steve is too late for that. But it seems like the system is ok. Should we call Mr. Hatchet, just to be sure?"
All the interns in the room gulped. But the prospect of paying for the supercomputer was scarier than to deal with the co-host of the show.
"Let's call him. Logan, you do it," answered Steve, the rest of the interns nodding at the same time.
The young intern looked at them with wide eyes. "Why me?"
"Because you had the idea. Now, hurry up." Replied the older intern.
Logan gulped and pressed the button to open the line to Chef's room. This would not be pretty.
Back to the surface, a person jumped from a nearby tree, and using a fallen branch, separated Max from the tree. He and Lilly falling to the ground.
"Thank you, you saved us, Charlotte?" said Lilly, her hair still standing, like an 80's pop star.
"You were late! But anyway, thank you. It was unnecessary because I was about to save us myself. But you did a good job," said Max, his hair in a purple afro.
Charlotte picked up the small contraption and looked at it with curiosity. "What you were saying is true? This item can grant us access to the main computer?"
"Of course. I may be EVIL, but even EVIL had standards, and I never lie," said Max looking again at his invention.
"Then let me join your party. I may not seem like it, but I am a real-life high-level hacker," said Charlotte smirking evilly.
Max hesitated for a moment, but having another minion that knew her way with computers was not a bad idea. "Ok, here, I will allow you to use it for a moment."
Charlotte quickly took the contraption and accessed the main computer. She couldn't access the main features, like the videos, but she could make a map of the other artificial trees and rocks so they could access the computer from different points on the island.
"Now I just had to-" the gamer was looking at the screen when it went black, "what happened?"
"I think you had enough fun for now," said Max glaring at her. "Do you believe I would let you had my EVIL invention without having some way to control it? Now let's go, the storm is getting worse."
Charlotte stood up, glaring at the villain, "But we just access it. We can use it to find who vote for Jasmine."
"Nonsense! I am the genius here, and I had decided that I have enough of this cold water falling over me, Achoo!" said Max, glaring back at the gamer before sneezing.
Lilly embraced herself, soaked and shivering. "Please, Charlotte. Max is right. Let's go back before all of us get sick."
"Ok, let's go back," said Charlotte, snapping her fingers, she was so close.
Confessional: Max
Max was laughing hysterically inside the confessional. "Gwa-ha-ha, I can't believe it. It worked. *Ahum*, I mean, of course, it worked. I made it myself, after all. Now I have just to wait until we can control the island, and I will have my vengeance. I can almost taste it, and it tastes sweet, like waffles." The supervillain then slurped and smile. "Mmmm, waffles."
On the other side, the foxes were unaware of their rivals' problems, trying to rest inside the cave behind the waterfall.
Duncan was carving a piece of wood. Half of them were either sitting on the floor or on some rock while the others were sleeping. Then Alejandro sat next to him.
"What are you doing?" asked Alejandro, looking at the still shapeless piece of wood.
"Carving duh?" replied Duncan mocking the Spaniard. He knew that Alejandro was not really interested in what he was doing. "I have to do it when the midget is not looking, or she goes all ballistic."
"Haha, that was mean," Alejandro laughed, "and tell me, what are you carving?"
Duncan smirked, "I don't know, I am still deciding."
"You are carving it without being sure what you will make?" said Alejandro surprised.
"I will decide when I have to decide it, some things don't need to be rushed," said Duncan carving some more wood from the piece.
Alejandro found the conversation amusing and decided to tease him. "And what if, when you, at last, make the decision, is already too late, and you cannot go back?"
"Its' never too late to go back. Maybe it will never be as good as it could be, but it will be the better paperweight it can be," said Duncan sticking out his tongue and showing the piercing on it.
"I will never understand you, bromigo." Alejandro said, smiling. "And tell me, did you thought about my offer? Are you in our alliance?"
Duncan smirked again, rising his unibrow. "Wow! Are you telling me that here, with all this witness? You are losing your touch," he then began to tap his chin lightly with his blade.
"Don't be dramatic. With this storm, nobody can hear us, even if we shout. Look at Cody, he is jumping and waving at us like crazy, and we didn't hear a sound of what he is saying." The Spaniard said, facing in the direction of the brunette boy.
At that instant, both men looked at Cody. He and the others that were awake were trying to get their attention, and it seemed important. After a moment, Alejandro and Duncan rushed to the entrance of the cave. Once they were there, the problem was obvious.
"I told you guys, the cave is flooding," said Cody. With the heavy rain, the river overflowed and began to enter the cave.
Alejandro crouched and put a hand on the cold water. "Well, it's not rising too fast. We may have an hour before the water reaches the campfire and the ones sleeping. We can let them rest until then."
"There is no risk in getting drown, right?" asked Zoey looking nervous at Mike, who was sleeping.
"No, it's rising slowly, and it will never fill the cave. But the storm is so heavy that we will be soaked to the bones before we can reach another shelter," replied Alejandro looking at the sky with a serious expression.
Lindsay covered her mouth with both hands, his blue eyes wide. "Oh no, I cannot get my hair all wet so soon. It will ruin my hair tips."
"Linds, I think your hair should be the least of your worries right now," said Beth going back a few steps.
The blond girl smiled and hugged her friend, now much calmer. "Really? Phew, thanks to Beth, you know how to cheer me up."
Cody put the fox medallion around his neck, "Well, then let go near the campfire, we must enjoy the fire while we can."
All the awaken foxes went into the cave, it was past 1:00 in the morning, and the storm was not calming down.
At the ferret's side, Jay was under a rock overhang, trying to warm himself.
"Stupid rain, stupid island, stupid Sammy running away. I am all wet, brrrr, I only hope it ends soon," complain the skater, sitting near some herbs.
"I wish I had a mantle or something. These plants are too small to make anything with them," said the blond man, ripping some herbs. But when he pulled them, he found something hiding beneath them.
"What is this? Does it truly is?" Jay picked the wooden figurine, "Is it! I can't believe it, it's an immunity idol! Haha, it seems my luck is not over yet," said Jay, then he covered his mouth, it would be bad if someone else discovered that he found the idol.
"Look, here we can protect us from the rain," said Charlotte, running under the overhang, she then looked at the skater, surprised. "Look if it's Jay."
The blond guy hid the idol under his shirt and greeted Max, Lilly, and Charlotte. They were as soaked as him. "Hello, I think you also didn't found a place to use as a shelter?"
"Shelter? HA! We were no- mmfff mmf MFFFF!" said Max, before Charlotte covered his mouth to interrupt him.
"No, we don't have luck. Do you know where are the others?" asked Charlotte, as Lilly rubbed his hands, trying to warm them.
Jay shrugged. "I don't know, maybe they are still looking for shelter."
"That's strange, at least some should have come back already," said Charlotte, she had a bad feeling about this.
Then another person ran under the overhang. It was Sky, also soaked, looking around worried.
"Sorry, have you seen Amy?" asked the Cree girl, taking a moment to recover her breath.
"Which one was Amy again, the evil one, or the useless one?" said Max putting a hand on his chin.
"It is the one with the beauty mark," said Charlotte ignoring the supervillain, "and sorry, we haven't seen her."
"Me neither," said Jay, pressing his lips together.
Sky looked around for a moment, and then looked again at the skater. "Jay, where is Sammy? She was with you."
The blond guy blanched, and then rubbed his neck. "I- I don't know. We got separated in the woods. And it began to rain."
"Did you abandoned her in the woods?" asked the Sky, astonished.
"Of course not! I looked for her and couldn't find her, so I tried to come back and look for help." Replied Jay, biting his lip.
The gymnast didn't believe him but didn't have time to waste, she prepared to go to look for them again. "Anyway, if either of the twins come here, please let us know, ok?"
"If Amy is lost, please, let me help to look for her," said Lilly, standing up and putting a hand over her chest. "She is my friend."
"I will join the party too, we are a team after all," said Charlotte, standing up as well and walking toward them.
Max sat on a dry spot on the ground and looked at them, lowering his eyebrows. "Sorry, I am too tired to look for her, and EVIL gets sick too easily. I will wait here in case they come back."
"Ouch, I hurt my ankle before. So even when I want, I can't go with you," said Jay kneeling and holding his right ankle.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes at him. "You didn't mention that you hurt your ankle before."
"I didn't want to worry you," replied Jay showing a sheepishly smile.
"Well, let's go," said Sky, as the three girls went under the rain and into the woods again.
Meanwhile, in the cliff near the lake, the situation was dire.
"How can the damn lake overflow so quickly?" said Amy shivering and with the water up to her thighs.
"I don't know. Maybe it is because it is an artificial island?" replied Sammy, also shivering. "We have to get out of here before the water rises more."
"With the storm? Are you crazy?" replied Amy glaring at Sammy.
"Do you prefer to stay here and drown?" asked Sammy, glaring back at her sister.
Amy nodded and began to walk to the exit of the cave. "Let's get out of here."
The sisters came out of the cave. The lake's water was covering the cliff quickly. Even if they didn't drown, they would freeze to death if they stayed there.
They tried to climb back the rock, but it was too slippery to hold on it, it was futile.
"HEY! SOMEONE HELP US," shouted Amy, but her voice was stifled by the storm.
Sammy bitted her thumb nervously. "It useless, they can't hear us."
"Then what should we do? Wait for the water to rise more?" said Amy, glaring at her sister.
"A human tower! Like in the practices. If I stand on your shoulders. I can reach the top, then I can help you to climb out," said Sammy smiling.
"Great idea, now crouch so I can step on your shoulders," said Amy, pointing at the ground.
Sammy glared at her sister. "NO! if I help you, you will leave me here to die."
"What? Are you crazy Samey? Do you really believe I will let you die here?" asked Amy, her eyes wide.
"Completely sure! So I stand in your shoulder, or we stay here," said Sammy, looking fiercely at her sister.
Amy blanched and gulped, then she crouched, "I cannot believe you, Samey. Ok, go on and step on my shoulders."
Sammy stepped on her sister's shoulder. They had done this routine many times in the cheerleading squad, but the twins were the top of the tower. Even then, Amy was strong enough to support her sister.
The twin's tower staggered, they were hit by the waves formed in the lake, the storm, and the wind.
"Can you hurry? You are too heavy," said Amy trying to stay still.
"Sorry, I am doing what I can," replied Sammy stretching her arm as far as she could.
And then, after another lightning, Sammy reached the top.
"I did it," shouted the younger sister triumphantly, climbing to the top.
"Great, you are awesome, now help me," said Amy in a snarky tone, standing in her toes.
Sammy lay on the rock, stretching her hand toward her sister."Stop complaining and hold my hand."
The younger sister tried time and again to grab her sister's hand, and after some anguishing tries, she held her. The sisters look at each other eyes, and for the first time since forever, they smile at each other.
But their happiness was short-lived, a wave hit Amy before she could climb out, and she slippered from her sister's grasp. Sammy looking at her sister's terrorized eyes before the waters swallowed her.
"AMY!" shouted Sammy, trying to jump after her, but someone held her.
"Are you crazy? You cannot jump there," said Dramaman at the struggling twin. Next to him was another man who was looking for the twins.
"Amy is in there! She will drown if I don't save her," replied a distressed Sammy.
The other man gulped. It was raining, it was a long fall into the lake, and it was dark. But there was not a moment to lose, forgetting his fears he took a deep breath.
"Calm down Sammy, I will save your sister," said Brick before jumping into the darkness to look for Amy.
On the foxes' side, the water was coming close to the campfire. It was still 2 or 3 hours before the sunrise, but the water would engulf the campfire in 5 or 10 minutes.
"Despierta mi reina, ya es hora de que te levantes[1]," whispered Alejandro to Heather, she smiled and open her eyes.
"Good morning," said Heather smiling tenderly, before realizing what was happening. Then her eyes went wide, and she started to shout. "What the hell are you doing? You creep," she also began to try to kick him.
"Sorry, sorry, I was just joking," said the Spaniard, running away.
"The cave is flooding, so we need to wake you up before the water reaches the camp," explained Zoey, then she looked smiling at the clouds. "But it seems that the storm, at last, is dying out."
"Well, it was a good call anyway. Even if the storm stops now, the cave will keep flooding and will at least reach the campfire," said Courtney, stepping back from the water.
Cody rubbed his chin. "We can wait over the rocks here and there, but without the campfire, it will be a cold night." He then embraced himself, shivering.
"We can sit on groups to warm each other," propose Courtney.
"Naked?" asked Duncan quickly, waggling his eyebrows.
"Of course NOT you brute," said Courtney blushing, "Even with clothes, we produce enough heat to endure until the sunrise."
"Well, I will stay with Cody," said Heather, grabbing Cody's arm, the brunette boy grinning.
"Then I will sit with Beth," said Alejandro, winking at the girl with glasses.
Beth blushed. "I don't know, after all, Linds-"
But the athlete interrupted her. "Don't worry. The Lightning can sha-take care of her, Shabam!"
Beth smiled shyly at the Spaniard. "Well, then I will take your offer."
"Hey, wait a minute, we are eleven, so we need a group of three," said Courtney, panicking because she knew where this was going.
Zoey smiled and winked at the L.I.T. "No problem. Dawn, Mike, and I can group together, right, Dawn?" the redhead then looked enthusiastically to the moonchild.
Dawn moved her mouth, she didn't want to leave Courtney with that savage, but she also couldn't betray Zoey's expectations.
"Ok, let's go," answered the moonchild, giving Courtney an apologetic stare.
Courtney covered her face with her hand, as she heard him.
"Well, it seems it's you and me together again," said Duncan smirking
The Latin girl glared at him and whispered in a harsh tone. "Ok, but if you try anything, and I mean anything, I will kick you into the cold water."
"Understood," said Duncan mocking a salute.
The groups sat or lay together on different points across the cave. Some slept, the rest whispered to don't wake the others. Courtney was lying with Duncan pressing his chest against her back. This was the kind of situation she wanted to avoid.
"You reek of tobacco?" whispered Courtney, smelling the mix tobacco and lotion coming from him.
The delinquent smirked. "Hehe, what can I said. Guilty as charged."
"I thought you give up smoking," she said. When they began dating, Duncan always said he would give up smoking, and finally, after winning the million, he did.
"I got back while in prison," he answered in a neutral voice.
Courtney never thought about it, so without thinking much about it, asked him. "How it was, being in prison?"
Duncan took a deep breath. "Take the worse place you can think. Jail is three times worse than that. In that place, life worths nothing," his voice was trembling as he remembered his stay.
That moment Courtney realized what he meant about being in real prison. She couldn't imagine how harsh it was for him.
"I'm sorry you have to go through that," said Courtney. Even if she hates him (because she hates him, right?), she didn't wish him something like that.
"Don't worry, I just reap what I sow. And it helped me to grow, and to realize a lot of things I would never see if I didn't fall there," Duncan said, his voice back to normal.
A part of her, the more emotional and nostalgic, wanted to ask him about it, but her more rational took control.
"I'm glad you are better now," she said, pushing the other thoughts into a corner of her mind.
None of them said another word before Duncan fell asleep. Courtney instead stayed awake, wondering about how much she still knew the man that was next to her.
It was cold, all his body felt numb, but the worse of all, it was dark. There was something in the darkness that petrify Brick, the feeling of panic overwhelmed him. It was so bad that he can't sleep at night if he doesn't have a light.
But he can't think about it right now. One of his teammates will die if he didn't act, so he acted. Never leave a man behind, this was his code. Even if he wanted to cry right now, there was no time.
The cadet forced his body to move. He couldn't fail her, nor her sister, but especially he couldn't fail himself. He cannot give up against his own weakness. Even if he felt his heart would stop at any moment.
Sammy and Dramaman watched at the lake, anxious. If Sammy wasn't being held, she would jump herself into the cold waters. The wind and the storm stopped, but neither of them realized it.
Then the silence was cut by a shout. "I FOUND HER, I FOUND HER, AND SHE IS STILL BREATHING," shouted Brick, swimming with the other twin in his arms. This time he fought the darkness and won.
Shawn was looking for the twins and was the first to reach Brick after he shouted. With his help Brick, and Amy reached the shore.
Shawn helped the cadet with the unconscious twin. "Are you ok?"
"Yes, but please look over her. She is freezing," said Brick, leaving Amy to the conspiranoic while he sat on the ground, exhausted physically and emotionally.
From the cliff, Sammy and Dramaman rushed to them. The younger twin quickly kneeled beside her sister as the masked man went to check on Brick. Shawn was examining Amy, she didn't have external injuries.
Sammy took her sister's hand. She may be obnoxious and mean, but she was her sister. Even if she sometimes wished for Amy to disappear, she never really mean it.
"Well done, we will take charge from here on," said a deep voice behind them.
Lighting up the night was a helicopter. Various interns put blankets over Sammy, Shawn, Dramaman, and Brick, as another two take Amy and put her on a stretcher. Chef, who was the man in charge, continued giving orders.
Sammy glared at him."Why are you so late? She could have died."
"You ungrateful child. You were supposed to look for shelter. It's not our fault you ended in the middle of the storm. But as soon as we notice you were in actual danger, we come here, weren't we?" answered Chef in a stern voice.
The interns took out some towels and more blankets, giving them to the campers, as Chef continued explaining. "We will take your damn sister to the infirmary. She will be fine, I gave you my word. And we will leave you these blankets and towels, so you and the others don't get pneumonia-"
"Please, let me go with her," said another girl before Sammy could pronounce that words. It was Lilly. She just arrived with Topher, Sky, and Charlotte.
"No way. You are in the middle of a challenge. This twin will be exempt from the last part, but the rest of you have to finish it," said Chef, pushing Lilly away from him.
"Also you can't make any mention of the accident in the show. This footage will not be present on the final edit of the episode, and if you insist, you will be eliminated as it's worded in your contract," said Chef to the eight ferrets who were there.
Shawn stood up, glaring, and pointing at Chef. "That's unfair. You are only trying to hide the truth."
"Believe whatever you want, but you have been warned," replied Chef, going away, but before boarding the aircraft, he turned to them once again.
"And soldier, even if this is never aired, I want to tell you that you are the finest man I have ever seen in this damn show. I don't know why the hell you accepted to be here, but be proud of yourself," said Chef saluting, Brick stood up quickly and return the salute.
The helicopter left, Shawn gave blankets to Sky, Charlotte, Lilly, and Topher.
"Let's go back, maybe we can sleep a little before the sunrise," said Shawn walking in the front.
Topher, worried, walked to Sammy, "Are you ok?"
"Please, leave me alone," said Sammy in a harsh tone, not wanting to talk with anyone. Topher only lowered his head, ashamed.
Brick walked to Dramaman and whispered to him, "Sorry to bother you, but can you hold my hand while we go back? I get a little nervous in the darkness," said the cadet rubbing his neck.
The wrestler took a deep breath and, after hesitating, offer the cadet a hand. His gloves were wet and cold, but Brick was grateful to his friend for his support.
Confessional: Sammy
"I can't believe all that happened. I always thought that I would be happy if Amy dies. But after she almost died, I was terrified. I don't know how to feel. I wish that Jasmine was here. I need her advice," said Sammy holding her arms.
Confessional: Topher
"Of course, Sammy hates me. After all, it was my fault what happened to Amy. I wished to help them and make her happy, but I failed her. It seems I am worthless after all," said Topher chuckling sadly.
It was the sunrise, Courtney's biological clock woke her. Since a child, she always waked up 5 minutes before the alarm, and on her summer camps, she learned that this trick also worked at sunrise.
She took a moment to register what was happening. Duncan was hugging her, it was an old, familiar, and painful memory. Her body reminded his warmth perfectly. But Heather was right, it may be all a plan to use her and betray her again. She needed time before deciding if she can trust him.
Even then, she got off him carefully and began to awake the others.
"C'mon foxes wake up. We have to go to the totem and return to the cabins before the ferrets, or we are sending someone home. So hurry and get up," said Courtney in a loud voice.
Alejandro, Dawn, Beth, and Mike stood up immediately, as they were already awake, the rest began to stand up and stretch tiredly.
Heather yawned, covering her mouth. "Ahum! There was not a better way to wake us up."
"C'mon, there is no time to waste. I don't want to lose after sleeping on a cave," said Courtney, clapping.
"Yesterday Cody and I found something at the totem, maybe we don't have to go back," said Alejandro pointing at Cody, who have the fox medallion on his neck. "We think that it may be the proof we needed to present as we return to the goal."
"Mmm, I am not sure. Wouldn't it be safer to go back and check the totem before returning?" said Zoey, trying to help.
"We are in the way between the camp and the totem, if we go directly we will gain some time," said Cody, who also believes the medallion was the reason to go back into the camp.
Courtney stood silent for a moment, and then decided the more cautious course of action. "Yes, but the instructions said explicitly to go back. I think we should."
"Well, then let's vote. Who is in favor to go directly to the goal," said Alejandro as he, Cody, Heather, and Lightning, raised their hands.
"An who wants to go back to the totem?" said Courtney, she, Duncan, Dawn, Zoey, Mike, Beth, Lindsay, and Lightning raised their hands.
"Lightning? You have to choose one side." Said Alejandro glaring at the jock.
"Then Lightning vote second with sha-Lindsay," said the jock smiling at her.
"Then it's decided, let's go," said Courtney raising her hand.
Confessional: Heather
"I have to teach Courtney some tricks, if we just went directly and won, perfect, if not, we could have voted Alejandro off for proposing it. Now we are going back, and if we lose because of it, she will be eliminated, not mattering who much our alliance tries to protect her," said Heather tossing her braid.
On the Ferrets' side, Sammy and the others brought the blankets and towels to the overhang. Nobody talked about what happened, only Lilly explained to Max about Amy's being already at the cabins after he insisted on asking about his minion.
Brick was the first to wake up, it was sometime after the sunrise. The cadet hesitated but waked up everyone. If they kept sleeping, they would lose the challenge.
The ferrets soon stood up and took their belongings, leaving the blankets on the overhang so the interns could take them back. All were tired, but Sammy was the one in worse shape.
"Well, let's go then. Lilly, Shawn, please guide us," said Brick, the conspiranoic and Lilly began to use the map and compass to return to the cabins.
"Hey, dudes! Amy is still not here," said Jay while walking at the end of the group.
"She went ahead," explained Topher, without looking at the skater.
"Oh!" exclamed Jay shrugging.
Charlotte then narrowed her eyes at him. "And you? How is your ankle?"
"Oh, great, good as new," he replied, jumping on his left foot.
"I thought you hurt your right ankle," said Charlotte, smirking.
"Nope, it was always the left one. Now hurry up, we don't want to reach the goal after the foxes," said Jay, walking quickly ahead of her.
Charlotte shook her head, she was getting tired of the blond guy attitude, but right now, there were more important things to do.
Both teams began the race to the goal. The foxes had the advantage because they wake up earlier, but going back to the totem made them lose that advantage. Worst of all, in the totem, they found a note telling to bring the amulet back. Courtney, visibly nervous, guide them as fast as she could.
The ferrets advanced quickly across the woods. Brick carrying Sammy to help them move faster, something that Jay will not forgive him soon. Shawn took the map from Lilly to go faster.
Both teams tried their best to advance from the different points in the woods, stepping on the mud formed in last night storm, helping the slower members to advance quicker, but in the end, one crossed first the finish line.
"And the Ferrets come in first, congratulations," said Chris grinning, the fan's team celebrating and cheering.
The foxes came some moments later, looking with concerned expression at the ferrets.
"I told you we shouldn't go back," said Alejandro folding his arms. Courtney covered her mouth. She was in big troubles.
"Foxes, you are second. Usually, I would tell you to meet me at the campfire tonight, but first, please each team give me their medallions," said Chris gesturing both teams to give him something.
"Medallion?" asked Brick with a surprised expression.
Cody took out the medallion and gave it to the host, "Here, take it."
"Ok, this is a comeback, without the medallion your team loses. The foxes are the true winners," said Chris in a melodious voice.
After a moment that takes to register what happened, the foxes began to cheer as the ferrets looked upset at their opponents.
"Well, see you at tonight ceremony again," said Chris smiling at the Ferrets.
Amy was again at the cliff, stretching to take Sammy's hand, and just when she reached it, her sister let her hand go, leaving her to fall in the lake.
The older twin woke up at the infirmary, she was sweating, a warm hand holding hers.
"What are you doing here, Samey?" asked Amy frowning.
"Samey just went away a moment ago. I am Lilly," said the redhead smiling. "Do you want me to call her back?"
Amy rubbed her eyes. "No, I'm right. Where is this place?"
"It's the infirmary, they brought you here after the accident. Did you forgot about it?" asked Lilly looking worried at Amy.
"I remember," Amy shuddered as she remembered her dream. "I remember someone taking me out the water. It was like a giant. Just when I was falling asleep, he took me and talked to me."
Lilly stood up and served the twin a cup of tea. "It was Mister Brick, he took you out of the lake."
"What? The cadet saved me, why? I mean, he could have died," said Amy, she definitely would not jump to save a stranger, team or no team.
"I think it is better if you ask him later when you thank him," said Lilly smiling, giving her the cup. "Take this, it's camomille. It's tasty and good for the body."
"Thanks," said Amy drinking, she had a lot on her mind right now.
And then Max and Charlotte entered the infirmary.
"It seems that you are awake my minion. I am so glad, EVIL needs all his forces united," said Max trying to express his happiness to see her awake.
"Yes, yes. I'm fine," said Amy, not sure what Charlotte was doing here.
Max folded his arms. "For the vote tonight. I think we should vote Topher."
"Why him?" asked Amy, trying to appear that she didn't care.
"Because he is always mocking me, and he is trying to take my place as leader of the group," said Max, nodding.
"That is not a good strategy, Topher is a good player, we should vote for Jay, he is a leech," said Charlotte, folding her arms.
"Minion, you dare to go against your master? We should vote Topher," said Max frowning and raising his finger.
The e-gamer rolled her eyes and whispered to him. "Remember who can use your device, Evil genius. Without me, you will not achieve your vengeance."
"You, you, mph! Do what you want!" said Max going out of the infirmary.
Charlotte then looked at the twin. "And Amy, what will you do?"
"I will vote for Samey. She needs to go," said Amy, looking at the door, frowning.
"Seriously? I mean, I know why you are voting her, but Jay and Max are voting Topher, and I am voting Jay. If we keep dividing our vote, the one expelled from the game will be the one your sister group chose," said Charlotte, looking at the twin's eyes.
"Ok, let's vote then for Jay then," said Amy, nodding. "Now let me rest some more before the ceremony. I am tired."
Lilly and Charlotte left the infirmary. Amy cursed her luck, it seems that she will have to wait before eliminating Samey.
The 11 remaining ferrets are sitting at the campsite, Chris holding a tray with 10 marshmallows. In the back, the 11 remaining foxes were watching the ceremony.
"Why are the foxes here?" asked Amy, glaring at them.
"They are here for certain circumstances, but please ignore them. Right now, they are just the peanut gallery," said Chris smiling mischievously.
"Today challenge was a non-elimination challenge?" said Sky, her eyes sparkling.
"Eh? No, of course not, our public decided that reward challenges are boring, so in this season, there are only elimination ones. They are the masters after all," said Chris showing his Tyranny of the masses button.
"Now please, go and vote. We are really curious to see who receives more votes tonight," added Chris chuckling.
Vote confessional: Amy
"Well, sorry boy, you outlived your usefulness," said Amy pressing the button, shrugging.
Vote confessional: Brick
"This time, I will do the right thing," said Brick pushing the pad with a stern expression.
Vote confessional: Jay
"Bye-bye dude. It's time to show you who is the best man here," said Jay smiling, pulsing the button.
"Well campers, you made your choice, I must say it surprised me, but anyway, it's your decision," said Chris in a solemn voice, before laughing, "or not!"
"As we said, there are 7 challenges in which the less popular will go out. And this is the first one, and DAM says that the least popular ferret is..."
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"Max."
All the 22 campers blanched, this was so sudden, so unfair. Only the laugh of Chris interrupted the silence.
"This is not a democracy, is Tyranny of the masses. So goodbye Max, I will not miss you," said Chris, waving at the supervillain.
"This is not fair. It's an outrage, an insult, you cannot do this to the EVIL. I was so close McLean. I will have my revenge, just wait," protested Max shouting, as Chef took and put on him the vest of failure.
"Also, it's impossible that someone with my EVIL charisma is the least popular on the show. This has to be a mistake. I demand a recount, this must be a fraud," kept shouting Max, as Chef lift him so the Chopper of Shame could take him away.
Then the supervillain looked at Charlotte, smirking and waving at him.
"That's it, YOU," Max eyes went wide and looked at Charlotte like a maniac, "you betrayed me to take my invention. You did this, RIGHT? This was the biggest mistake of your life. You are now in my blacklist, I will have my revenge sooner or later, and you have no id-," Max, keep shouting while the chopper of shame took him away.
Chris looked at the chopper as it went away. "Wow, once he starts, he never shuts."
"And now before you go, today we have another event. The first of the team switches. From now on, the most popular ferret is a fox, and the least popular fox will be demoted to ferret," said the host opening his arms.
Shawn glared at him. "So, they are demoted to our team?"
"Of course, they are the favorites after all," answered Chris, chuckling, "well, from now on, Brick, you are a fox, and Mike, you are a ferret," said Chris folding his arms and pointing with his hands at opposite directions.
"No, you can do this, Brick is our friend," said Sammy. She, Amy, Dramaman, and Topher visibly affected.
"I cannot leave Zoey, we are always together," said Mike, hugging his distressed girlfriend.
"Sorry, but these are the rules. So please change cabins tonight and say goodbye to your former teammates now enemies," said Chris, smirking.
"And that's all from today's episode, will Mike and Zoey survive on different teams? What will happen with Brick now that he is AGAIN, the new guy on the team? And which twin will win that bet that never existed? Find the answers to this and more questions on the next exciting episode of Total Drama: Tyranny of the Masses.
Author Notes:
[1] Despierta mi reina, ya es hora de que te levantes = wake up my queen, it's time to get up.
Well, it's over. This episode was an emotional roller coaster, and I hope you enjoy reading it as I enjoyed writing it.
And about Max elimination. Is part of this season gimmick. Even then, I wanted it to feel unfair, even outrageous. I don't know if I was successful or not.
Votes:
Topher: 5
Jay:6
Immunity idols left: 3
D.A.M. Eliminations left: 6
Favorite Foxes: Alejandro, Beth, Cody, Courtney, Dawn, Duncan, Heather, Lightning, Lindsay, Mike, Zoey.
Fan Ferrets: Amy, Brick, Charlotte, Dramaman, Jay, Lilly, Sammy, Shawn, Sky, Topher
Eliminated: Cameron, Jasmine, Max.
As always, thanks for reading and I hope you like it.