KirbyStar: Duncan and Dawn is an interesting duo that I'm glad you seem to enjoy.
Sirstupidity (Great name): Thank you. Honestly that review really made my day.
Infinity Wizard: Awesome review, as usual. I enjoyed writing the final act, so I'm glad you liked it.
.16: Not bad? NOT BAD?! More like, uh, amazing! (I'm obviously kidding, I hope you enjoy the rest of my chapters)
Knifez: Great to hear from you! I liked writing Heather and Alejandro, but I wasn't sure what else I could do with either of them. I hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Remember to leave a review of this chapter, and other ones, once you're done reading it.
"Last time on Total Drama Acti...I mean Legends. On an abandoned film set, these competitors went all out in some epic Sci-fi challenges. Sanders impressed in both of her rounds, winning for her team in the end. Noah tasked Owen with doing his dirty work, which the Big Man did not enjoy. Owen finally realized that his 'little buddy' was just a 'big bully' and told him off. Not only that, but Noah turned his whole team against himself by tossing Jasmine's prize into a fire. On the other side, Duncan tried to fix his relationship with Gwen again. Unfortunately, it completely backfired in his face in a big way. No matter what he does, the dude just keeps digging his grave even deeper." Chris chuckled. "The Bobcats lost the challenge for the third time in a row and had to send someone home. And after his…'girlfriend' was eliminated last episode, Alejandro was deemed a liability by his own alliance and sent packing."
Chris walked onto the stage from the last challenge. "Heather's gone, Alejandro's gone, but Noah's still here. Maybe not for long though. Find out what his fate will be, right here, on Total...Drama...Legends!"
Duncan had been laying in his bed, thinking to himself. His interaction with Gwen and Courtney from the other day was still on his mind. It bothered him still, and he had no idea how he could fix it. But his conversation with Sanders from that night was also on his mind. It wasn't much of a talk though. All Duncan did was recap what happened, and Sanders would occasionally nod or add an unimportant comment. But the strangest part of it all, was that Duncan did feel better. He couldn't explain it, but he thought it was nice to have someone that listened to him. Even if it was a cop.
The Ex-Con looked at the other bed across from him. On the bottom bunk sat a very disheveled Noah. They were the only two in their trailer. The Brainiac just lay on his bed, looking at the top of the bunk. He had bags under his eyes and looked almost dead inside. He hadn't said a single word since Owen yelled at him and declared their friendship over. He barely got any sleep and hadn't even bothered to change into his pajamas.
Duncan looked at him, almost feeling pity for the guy. He finally decided to say something. "Are you just gonna lay there all day?"
Noah didn't respond or even acknowledge Duncan's existence. The Ex-Con continued to stare. Finally, Noah put both his hands on his face and rubbed his eyes. He sighed.
"I might as well," He mumbled. "My team hates me, so it probably doesn't even matter if I show up for today's challenge."
Duncan raised an eyebrow. "What exactly happened anyway?"
Noah moved his head to look at the Ex-Con and raised an eyebrow "How do you not know?"
Duncan was so distracted by the redness in Noah's eyes that he didn't answer. The door opened to their trailer and Owen walked in. When he saw his green haired friend, he smiled. "Hey, Duncan."
Duncan looked confused. Owen didn't even acknowledge Noah when he walked in. He looked over at Noah, who was now sitting up. He wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. The Ex-Con looked back at Owen. "I'm doing alright, Owen. All things considered." He mumbled that last part to himself.
Owen kept his smile. "Well I hope your day gets even better." With that, the Big Guy turned around and headed towards the door.
He didn't bother to say anything to Noah as he left. The Brainiac took a breath like he wanted to say something, but stopped. Owen walked out without any interruptions. Once he was gone, Noah sighed and went back to laying down. Duncan watched on, baffled by what just happened.
Jasmine was sitting on one of the beds, with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She looked miserable. After she witnessed her DVD getting burned and destroyed from last night, she ran into the trailer, crying her eyes out. Most of the girls spent the night trying to comfort the bawling Aussie. She had explained what happened to them and they took pity. She had run out of tears at this point, but was still very upset.
Everyone, except Jo and Amy, were in the girls trailer, trying to make Jasmine feel better. Gwen, who was sitting next to her, rubbed her hand across Jasmine's back.
Samey was standing across from her friend. She desperately wanted to comfort Jasmine, but had remembered their talk when they first arrived at the film lot. So in order to raise no suspicion, she didn't do anything.
"I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, Jazz." Gwen said, sympathetically.
"Thanks" came the glum reply. "But, it's my fault for not thinking something like that would happen. Especially with that worm being around." She gritted her teeth as she referenced Noah.
"Don't say that," Courtney, who was standing in front of Jasmine, spoke up. "You did nothing wrong. No one would have thought that Noah was capable of doing something like that."
"There is definitely a menace to his aura." Dawn spoke up, from an upper bunk.
The rest of the girls looked at her, with confused expressions. Zoey broke the silence.
"Honestly, I didn't think Owen would be part of something like that. He seemed like a nice guy. At least in season one."
"He's a nice guy," Macarthur added. "In fact he's an awesome guy, but he and Noah are tight. Like me and Courtney."
Courtney rolled her eyes at this.
"Regardless," Sanders said, "next chance we get, we're voting out Noah. No question."
Gwen and Courtney looked at the cadet and nodded. Jasmine looked up slightly, and gave a small smile. All eyes shifted over to Macarthur, who seemed to still be processing her answer.
"Well...I mean the show needs as much drama as possible and with this whole Noah turning evil thing going on, I think that-" She stopped herself, when she noticed all the glares directed her way. She quickly changed her tone. "Oh, yeah definitely. Noah's going next."
Jasmine looked up at everyone and smiled. "Thanks, mates." she said quietly.
Just outside the girls trailer, Amy and Jo were talking to each other.
"Now with Alejandro gone, you're the only one I can trust." Jo said
Amy was slightly surprised by this. "What about Scott?"
The Jockette narrowed her eyes. "I never trusted him to begin with. But he's useful to us. At least for now." She paused, considering her next choice of words. Amy waited for a response. She finally got one. Jo looked at the Twin. "Who do you think we should eliminate?"
Amy was taken aback. She didn't think Jo would ever ask that to her. She pretended to think of something. She then looked back and smiled devilishly.
"I think my sister should be the one going home next."
Jo didn't respond at first. In truth, she thought eliminating Duncan or Zoey next would make more sense. But she also knew how much Amy wanted to get rid of Samey, and how trustworthy she was becoming. She looked down at her alliance teammate and shrugged. "Fine. Next ceremony, we'll vote off your sister."
Amy was stunned that Jo had actually listened to her. She grinned again as Jo walked away.
Confessional (Amy): She cackled out a laugh. "I can't believe it. I'm playing Jo like a...like a…" she tried gathering her thoughts. "I don't know...what's the fancy version of a violin called?"
Static
Zoey had just exited her trailer. She looked up and saw Duncan, sitting on a picnic table. She perked up and walked up to him. "Hey" she called. Duncan looked up. Once Zoey was in front of her teammate, she remembered just how much Duncan had been through. "How are you holding up?" She carefully asked
Duncan sighed, and looked down. "I've been better. Yesterday's...mistake is something I'm trying to forget. Hopefully I can still make up for it."
Zoey gave a sympathetic smile, happy to see Duncan being so optimistic. However, she sighed and gave a downcast look. "Duncan...I think you need to take a break." The Ex-Con looked up, surprised by what she meant. Zoey went on. "So far, everything you've done, whether you listened to me or not, has resulted in disaster."
The stubborn bad boy crossed his arms. "Not everything was bad." he mumbled.
Zoey raised an eyebrow and started counting with her fingers. "So far you've slammed Gwen's face into a metal floor, given her an exploding watermelon, you said she looked like an angel (which was cute, but probably inappropriate) and you insulted her friend in front of her face."
Duncan didn't look at Zoey. He didn't want to believe what Zoey said, but she made a good point. So far, nothing had gone in Duncan's favor, and the thing that almost did work, failed dramatically in the end. Reluctantly, he looked up at his teammate. "Fine. I'll stop trying to get back with Gwen." He paused, and pointed at Zoey. "For now."
Zoey smiled and gave him a pat on the arm. Duncan rolled his eyes, but returned the smile. But his thoughts then trailed off. He was staring at something. Zoey noticed this and turned to the direction he was looking.
Scott was walking out from behind the guys trailer. He had a mischievous look on his face. It quickly changed when he saw that Zoey and Duncan were looking at him. Trying not to raise suspicion, he idled himself next to the two.
"How's it going, teamies?" he said, slyly.
Zoey raised an eyebrow at him, while Duncan remained stone faced.
"What were you doing back there?" The Ex-con asked bluntly.
"Oh you know, just getting away from all the drama. Stretching the legs. Trying to get out more, ya know?" The Redhead and the Ex-con weren't convinced. Scott figured the same thing and decided to walk away. "Just stay out of my way, and both of you will have nothing to worry about."
The two looked at eachother. They were thinking of going to the spot that Scott came from, when…
"Attention, competitors." Chris' voice boomed over the intercom. Zoey and Duncan looked up. "I need everyone on the blacktop in five minutes. We're about to start today's challenge. I hope everyone brings their A-game because this will be the last day before we switch the genre again." The intercom went silent.
Zoey and Duncan looked back at each other. They both shrugged and headed towards the challenge destination. Some of the other competitors were exiting the trailers too. Except one.
Confessional (Duncan): "Don't think I trust that Farmer Boy for one second. He's hiding something." He paused, thinking. "But I think it's better that I keep my distance with him. At least until I catch him off guard."
Static
Pretty soon, the competitors were gathered around the blacktop entrance. But, this time, Chris and Chef weren't there. The competitors looked around, confused. The challenge set was ready, but no one was there.
"Where are those bozos?" Jo asked
"Probably getting ready to surprise us with some ridiculous entrance." Gwen quipped
"What dress do you think Chef will be wearing this time?" Owen added
The Goth and the Big Guy shared a laugh, then a high five.
Confessional (Gwen): "I'm really glad Owen stood up for himself. He deserves way better than that toxic worm."
Static
Duncan looked over at Gwen in his 'totally not creepy way.' But then he remembered his talk with Zoey and thought better of it. He looked in a different direction. Problem was his gaze landed on Sanders, who was already staring at the Bad Boy. Quickly, the two went wide eyed and looked at the ground.
Off in the distance, trumpet music could be heard. The competitors looked around, wondering where the source was coming from. It sounded like it was getting closer. Everyone kept looking in all directions, until Samey noticed something.
"Look" she said, pointing in the direction of the storage buildings.
Everyone turned and were surprised by what they saw.
In the distance, Chris and Chef were jogging towards them. Chris was wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey sweatpants, as well as a headband. Chef was behind him, wearing red boxing gloves, no shirt, candian flag boxing shorts and boots. An intern was running next to them, trying to keep up, raising a boombox over his head. Chris punched at the air as he ran. When he finally reached the competitors, he raised his fists in the air and jumped around, like he was celebrating. The competitors couldn't believe it.
Chef stood to the side, with the heavy breathing intern, who shut off the music. When Chris finished jumping, he faced the competitors and unzipped his sweatshirt, revealing his usual getup.
"I hope you're ready for today's challenge, competitors." He announced. "Because this game is gonna make you crap lightning and barf thunder." He paused, realizing he may have said it wrong. He shook it off. "Today's challenge will focus on the classic sports movie clique of the training montage!" The competitors weren't very interested, or at least weren't showing it.
"Now then, let's-" His enthusiastic attitude changed to annoyance. He looked at the Shark Cowboys. "This is the third time with you guys. Keep better track of your teammates."
The Shark Cowboys were confused.
"But we're already here," Macarthur noted. Sanders waved to make sure Chris saw her too.
The Host pinched his nose. "I'm not talking about you two. I'm talking about-"
Chef tapped Chris on the arm. The host looked at him, then to where Chef was pointing. Chris smiled.
"Ah, there's everyone's favorite buzzkill."
Noah had finally gotten out of bed. Well, not under his own power. Two interns, one who was blonde and fairly buff, wearing a white tank top and another skinnier black haired one, were lifting the Brainiac by his armpits and had taken him to the challenge location. Noah had an absolute dead expression on his face. He didn't even care that his feet weren't even on the ground. The intern dropped him on his feet and Noah slunked over towards his team. He was met with angry glares. Owen, on the other hand, seemed to show sympathy, but didn't say anything.
Chris went on and showed the challenge. "This challenge is called The Relay Rumble! This will consist of three team challenges." He eyed the competitors. "So for this game, since we have seven people on both teams, three people will compete in the first challenge, and two teams will play the second and third, respectively. Once you pass the first challenge, you must run to the second challenge and, once you complete that, well...you know. If you beat the third challenge, you'll have won the game."
The competitors looked at each other, wondering what the challenges would be.
"The first challenge will be...the Speed Bag." The set up was a simple speed bag attached to two poles. "Three competitors must consistently punch the speed bag for thirty seconds each. If it stops, then you'll have to start over. Finish that challenge and you'll go to...The Pushups Challenge." The setup was just a yellow circle. "Two players have the option of both doing 30 one-handed pushups without stopping or thirty pushups, with one of you on the other's back." Jo seemed to like this idea. Owen wasn't as sure.
Confessional (Owen): He sighed. "Believe it or not, I can't really do a lot of pushups." He paused and smiled. "Now if the challenge was eating C'up'cakes, then we'd have no issue." He giggled at his attempt at a pun.
Static.
Chris pointed to the last challenge. It was a homemade wooden fence that stretched about 10 feet. There was a long pile of dirt under it that was clearly dug up from somewhere else. "The final challenge will be...Paint the Fence. The goal is to...well...paint the fence." He chuckled. "Once that's done, you'll win and your team will be safe from elimination. The losing team sends someone home." He looked at the Bobcats. "You guys must be nervous. You gonna continue the losing streak?" He laughed, while the Bobcats looked unsure, but determined. "Now that that's settled. Everyone get to your places."
Macarthur was pumped. She did some ghost boxing, getting ready for her challenge: The Speed Bag. Gwen watched her, impressed by her commitment. But her face frowned when she looked at the other person competing.
Noah.
The Brainiac did not look like he was ready to do anything, let alone punch the speed bag. Gwen glared at him, as Macarthur walked up.
"You guys ready? How do you wanna do the order?"
Gwen didn't look away from Noah. "I think Wormy, over here, should get it over with first, that way..." She looked at Macarthur "...the two of us can get through it easier and move to the next challenge." Macarthur nodded and the two slapped hands together. Noah watched on, still visibly weary.
Confessional (Noah): "What answers do you want? I just got called out by my...now ex-best friend on national TV. As far as I'm concerned, I can't possibly sink any lower."
Static.
Scott watched from the other side. He had seen the Cowboys and how they were shaping up to be. He grinned and turned to his other teammates.
"I think we've got this in the bag."
Samey and Zoey looked at him. Samey gave a nervous smile, but Zoey was in thought. She was still thinking about Scott's mysterious actions from earlier today. But she figured it wasn't a good idea to talk about it now.
Samey's gaze darted between her two teammates. She looked antsy. "So um…" Both Scott and Zoey suddenly turned their heads in her direction, which startled Samey. She regained her composure though. "...which order do...you guys want to do the speed bag...because I'm fine with going...whenever...just wanna check with you guys." She gave an awkward smile, and an even more awkward thumbs up.
Zoey and Scott just looked at each other, confused.
Owen stood next to a fairly long wooden fence. He nervously looked over at his partner. Of all the people Owen could've possibly been paired with, Chris, of course, paired him with Jasmine.
The Aussie looked away from the Big Guy, arms crossed. She was pretending Owen wasn't there. And Owen understood her bitterness towards him. But at the same time, he wanted to make amends with her.
"Listen...Jasmine..." He started, but that was as far as he got.
"Just focus on the challenge and don't talk to me." Came the abrupt reply.
Owen blinked. He thought of saying something else, but he didn't think it was a good time.
Back the first challenge location, Chris was about to signal the start. Scott, Samey and Zoey readied themselves. Gwen and Macarthur did the same. Noah...just stood with his hands in his pockets.
"Alright, competitors...the challenge begins...NOW!"
Zoey immediately started rapidly punching the speed bag. A timer started on the top of the structure and counted down from thirty. Scott and Samey eagerly waited for her to finish.
Noah hadn't started. He simply stared at the bag, with an emotionless expression.
"What are you doing?!" cried Gwen
"Punch it!" Macarthur added
Noah kept staring, until raising a fist and giving the speed bag an unenthusiastic punch. It swung, and the counter went from 30 to 29. Gwen and Macarthur waited for more, but nothing happened. Noah simply gave up after the first punch and the counter went back to 30. The Cadet and the Goth looked at each other, realizing their situation.
Jo watched with interest, as she saw her team doing the challenge. But she couldn't help but notice the glare she was receiving from behind her. Annoyed, she turned around and looked down.
"What?" she said, coldly.
Dawn glared back at the Jockette. "I think you know why I'm upset." Dawn firmly replied.
Jo rolled her eyes. "Hey, I had no idea what...vileness was inside Heather's...aroma."
"It's aura," Dawn raised her voice. "And you only did that so you could get rid of her. You didn't care in any way how it affected me."
Jo smirked. "Well shouldn't you be happy you don't have to be around that she-devil anymore?"
Dawn continued to glare, but didn't say anything. After a few moments, her glare faltered into a look of sadness. Jo noticed this, and groaned. She turned back around.
"Ok fine, as long as it gets you to shut up, I'm sorry. I didn't think about how it would affect you and I'm sorry for that." She said this as blandly and unsympathetically as she possibly could.
Dawn went back to glaring, but when she realized that Jo's 'apology' was probably the best she was getting, she decided not to dwell on it any further. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Jo rolled her eyes once again.
Confessional (Jo): She slammed her hands on the table. "Don't think that meant anything. As the leader of this team, I need everyone to focus. Dawn might not be that strong, but she's useful. I need her around if we want to win this."
Static
Sanders and Courtney watched the punching challenge from the yellow circle. Macarthur was holding Noah's arms from behind and, like a puppet, making him punch the speed bag. The Brainiac didn't seem to care about being used like a ragdoll. Sanders couldn't help but laugh. Courtney eyed her.
"I don't know what you find so funny. Because of him, we're probably gonna lose this." Sanders rolled her eyes, but Courtney wasn't done. "I'm just surprised your partner is actually trying to win this."
Sanders stopped laughing and turned to Courtney, annoyed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Courtney shrugged. "I'm just saying that your partner causes a lot more harm than good." She cringed and held her head. "I'm still feeling dizzy from the Sci-fi challenge."
Sanders put her fists to her hips. "Ok, Macarthur might be…" She paused and looked to the partner in question. Macarthur was yelling at the now unresponsive Noah, who had slunked down onto the ground, still not caring about anything. Sanders looked back at Courtney. "Ok, she can be very reckless." She admitted, leading to Courtney's smirk. "But, when it comes to the game, Macarthur gives it her all. Remember the tiebreaker from the roller derby challenge, or how she jumped over the entire first section of the challenge back in, L.A."
Courtney didn't respond. Sanders just nodded and turned back to watching their team. Confessional (Sanders): "No way am I letting anyone talk bad about my partner behind her back. After getting my arm broken because of her, the only one who gets to talk smack about her...is me."
Static
Scott was the last to go for his challenge. The counter was going down, as he rapidly punched the speed bag. Macarthur watched this, in a panic. She turned back to her teammates. Noah was standing up, but still hadn't bothered to do anything.
"Ok" she said to Gwen. "We're falling behind, but I think if we do the challenge first, then Noah can finish it."
"If he actually does it." Gwen looked at Noah.
The Brainiac looked back at the glares he was receiving and sighed. "Fine. I'll do it. Might as well go out swinging."
Gwen lined up to the speed bag, with Macarthur behind her, and started punching. The counter started going down. But at that moment, a buzzer went off near them. Macarthur turned to see the Vengeful Bobcats running towards the next challenge. She was starting to panic, but eagerly awaited the speed bag. After a short bit of time, Gwen finished and Macarthur immediately went into it, nailing the bag with punch after punch. The thirty seconds flew by, and Noah stood next to it. This time, he was actually trying.
"30...29...28…"
It wasn't much, and Noah's expression hadn't changed. He was still thinking about what Owen said to him.
"25...24...23.."
Noah cringed, thinking about the words that Owen left him. No longer my little buddy.
"20...19...18"
You made Jasmine feel so inferior about herself
"16...17...15..."
Noah shut his eyes, trying to ignore the voices. Some of his punches missed the bag. Gwen and Macarthur were confused.
"13...12...11…"
Now the two onlookers were wondering if Noah could actually do it. But The Brainiac wasn't fully concentrating. He was too angry, too upset and too miserable. His punches got more and more aggressive. Finally, he had enough. He pulled back and smacked the bag with one big punch. But then he stopped back.
The counter ticked down. "4...3...2…" Macarthur and Gwen watched with bated breath.
"30." The counter restarted. No buzzer. No celebration. The two other Cowboys were gobsmacked.
"What was that? You had it." Cried Macarthur.
"I don't care." Came the bitter reply. Noah stepped back and sat on the ground. Gwen and the Cadet looked at eachother. Now what?
Owen and Jasmine still hadn't said a word to each other. Owen just stood there, twiddling his thumbs. He wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what to say. Or how to say it. He looked at the Aussie, who still had her back to him.
But, at this point, Owen figured he didn't have much to lose, so he took a deep breath.
"Jasmine, I just wanted to say…"
Jasmine turned, looking annoyed, she was about to shout something at Owen, when…
"I'm sorry."
The Aussie froze. Owen waited for her to make a move. Thankfully for him, she didn't. Owen figured it was safe to continue.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you and the DVD. I'm sorry for how Noah has been treating you, and I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier." He turned away. "I don't want to be friends with Noah if he's gonna act that way." He paused, considering his next words. Hesitantly, he turned back to face Jasmine. "Honestly, I was really looking forward to meeting you after I saw your season. You and Shawn were...really cool." He grinned. "Ya know? I know a few things about being a survivalist…" He chuckled, but stopped when he noticed Jasmine's expression.
She didn't look angry. More like, she was processing something. Owen held his breath, really hoping he could lighten the mood. The Aussie sighed and, to Owen's delight, smiled.
"It's alright, Owen." She paused, thinking of what else to say. She laughed. "I remember how you kept calling yourself 'the naturalist.' I thought it was...pretty cool."
Owen's smile widened, as Jasmine went on. "You and Izzy were also my favorite couple from that season."
Owen smirked, relieved to have gotten on Jasmine's good side. The two continued talking.
Duncan and Amy stood next to their fence. Neither had said a word to each other. They just stood in silence, waiting for their teammates.
Duncan eventually turned to the Twin. Amy realized he was staring at her, and looked back at him.
The Ex-Con nodded. "Sup."
Amy wasn't sure how to respond at first. But decided to return the nod. "Hey." she responded.
Then Duncan went back to staring out into the distance, as did Amy.
Neither said anything else to each other after that.
At this point, Macarthur was slamming Noah's head repeatedly against the speed bag. Like before, the Brainiac didn't seem to care. Problem was, the counter wasn't going down. Eventually, The Cadet gave up. Noah turned and sat back down.
Chris walked up. "What is going on over here? Why are you guys so far behind?"
Gwen looked annoyed. "Blame him." She pointed at Noah.
Chris smirked and walked up to Noah. "Finally realized what it's like to be the most hated person on the show, eh?" Noah didn't respond, so Chris continued. "In any case, I'll give you a chance. Noah, if you do this challenge, then you'll be able to move on."
Gwen interjected. "Why can't either of us do it?"
Chris raised his hand up. "Because I want to see Noah do it. I've already seen both of you go through it. So it's all up to Mr No Friends, over here."
Noah still didn't respond. Chris walked away, leaving Macarthur and Gwen to think about their chances of winning.
"13...14...14…16..."
Scott, Samey and Zoey had just made it over and were watching the pushup challenge. Since the competitors had two ways to complete the challenge, Jo had decided to do the pushups...with Dawn on her back. At first, The Jockette had no issue with it, but as she went on, she started to strain.
"...17...18...how much do you weigh?...19..." she panted.
Dawn didn't respond, as she sat, lotus position, on Jo. When she realized she wasn't getting an answer, The Jockette went back to focusing on her pushups.
Confessional (Jo): She looked annoyed, and sighed. "Ok. I guess that's what I deserve after scarring That...Weirdo. Or whatever."
Static
Back at the Speed Bag challenge, nothing was happening. Gwen was holding her head, trying to think of a way to fix anything. Macarthur was pacing around. Noah was still sitting down, his arms wrapped around his knees. After a while, Macarthur finally stopped pacing and raised her arms in an annoyed manner.
"Well, there goes our winning streak." she groaned.
Gwen looked back at Noah. "I don't really see the big deal. Now we have the chance to eliminate him."
Macarthur nodded in agreement. Noah sighed.
Confessional (Noah): "I thought I could get further if I stopped focusing on making friends. I thought having an edge would give me a better shot at winning." He gave an uncomfortable pause. "Turns out, I'm a loser either way."
Static
"I can't believe someone like him would actually land a girlfriend." Gwen noted. Noah slightly looked up at this. Macarthur nodded and added…
"If he still has a girlfriend after this."
Suddenly, Noah's head shot up. Gwen and Macarthur were surprised at this, and waited for something to happen. Slowly, as if he was being possessed, Noah stood up. He didn't move a muscle. His two teammates looked on. Had Noah gotten his second wind? Were they about to finally complete this challenge? Could they turn the whole thing around and win the entire thing?
No.
At that moment, without a word, Noah bolted away in the direction of the other challenges. Gwen and Macarthur had no time to stop him. Chris had just walked in. He watched the Brainiac run away. He turned to the other two.
"Did he finally do the challenge?" he asked.
Macarthur and Gwen did not have an answer.
Courtney and Sanders were sitting around, wondering what was taking their teammates so long. Dawn and Jo had already finished their challenge and went on to the next. After a few more seconds of waiting, they heard running steps coming their way.
"Well it's about time…" Courtney started, standing up. She turned and noticed Noah running towards her. "Maybe we can actually-"
Noah ran right past the two. Both turned and watched Noah run towards the last challenge area. Both looked at eachother, unsure of what to say.
Noah, who had never run a mile in his life, was getting tired. But despite that, he kept moving. He needed to do something. Something really important. He finally came to a stop, and tried to catch his breath. He looked up, slightly surprised by what he saw.
Owen and Jasmine were talking and laughing. This surprised the Brainiac, but he also remembered how Owen had denounced him. Just seeing the two laughing with each other made him feel even worse.
After a few seconds, Owen finally noticed that Noah was there. He stopped laughing immediately. Jasmine noticed him too, and stopped laughing as well, instead choosing to glare.
Noah was still trying to catch his breath. "I wanted to say something...just give me a second for...my lungs to recover."
Owen gave a look of pity. "Noah, I don't know what you're doing but-"
"I'm sorry!" Noah shouted, catching the Aussie and the Big Guy off guard. "I'm sorry for everything I've done. The way I've acted, the things I've said. When I signed up for this season, I thought I could actually win it, if I...if I acted like a jerk." He paused, letting Owen think about what he was saying. "And…" He practically choked at what he was going to say next. "And I thought about Emma and what she would think of me. I don't want to lose her, and I don't want to lose you, Owen. Not for something like this." The Big Guy had no idea what to say, so Noah turned to Jasmine. He sighed. "And I'm sorry for what I've done and said to you too, Jasmine. You didn't deserve any of that, and I'm sorry. I know it's not much, but it's all I have right now."
Owen was left stunned, but Jasmine wasn't phased. She changed her look slightly, maybe in an effort to give Noah a chance, but otherwise, didn't look any less bitter. With another sigh, Noah looked up and gave a more confident look. "Now I'm gonna get our team back in this race."
He turned, confidently, he took a step. Then another. Then another. And he had just reached his fourth step, when…
"That's game!" shouted Chris.
Noah stopped suddenly. He turned to his left and was shocked to realize that Chris was right. Duncan and Amy had just finished painting their fence and their team was celebrating, finally breaking their losing streak. The Host looked over at the losing team.
"What took you guys so long?" He cackled and walked away. "I'll see you everyone tonight. I'm sure you'll have no issue deciding who to vote for."
Noah gulped and turned. The rest of his team had made their way over, not looking happy at their loss.
Confessional (Noah): "Probably should've made that apology speech a little earlier." He sighed. "Well at least I can finally say I outlasted Heather and Alejandro, so I guess that's something." He chuckled a little, but it quickly faded to another sad sigh.
Static
Later, at the craft service tent, Jasmine, Gwen, Macarthur, Courtney and Sanders were sitting at the table, chatting.
"So we all know who we're voting for, right?" Gwen asked.
Her fellow teammates nodded in agreement.
"He's going down." Sanders added.
The five of them were happy and confident, but were interrupted by someone walking in. Owen had just walked through the tent. Jasmine greeted him and pulled out the chair next to her.
"Hey, Big Man. Take a seat right here."
But Owen didn't take that seat. He didn't sit at all. He stood at the head of the table, with a serious expression on his face. The others were confused.
"Owen, are you alright?" asked Gwen
Owen didn't immediately respond, leaving his teammates even more confused. Finally he sighed.
"I need to talk to you guys about something." And he started to explain what he meant.
Later that night, Jo was hanging outside the trailers, waiting for someone. Eventually, that person showed up.
"Scott" she called.
Scott walked up to his teammate, wondering what she wanted.
"I need to ask something."
The Country Boy put his arms behind his head and nodded, signaling Jo to continue.
"After Alejandro's elimination, I need to know something." She paused. "Can I trust that you'll be loyal to the alliance, until the end?"
Scott blinked, then laughed. But he stopped when he noticed the sternness to Jo's face. But he kept a cheeky grin.
"Would I ever betray you, Jo?" He said, mischievously. Jo gave him a look. Scott then raised his hands up. "Kidding. Look, I'll be honest. I'm about as trustworthy as a snake in quicksand. But I'm not stupid. I know this alliance can take us to the finale. No way am I going to turn on you when there's so many…" he looked around at his teammates in both trailers. "...people that are smart enough to realize that I'm a threat. So, yes, you can trust me...for now, at least." He ended that last statement very ominously.
Jo glared at Scott, clearly mad that he implied that he would betray her. But, at the same time, it seemed like a very honest answer from the Farmer Boy. Without another word, she turned and headed into her trailer. Scott grinned.
Confessional (Scott): He didn't say anything for a bit. But he reached for something under the table. And he pulled out...The Chris McLean Invincibility statue. He laughed. "Of course, Jo doesn't trust me. I wouldn't trust me. But that doesn't matter as long as I have this." He picked up the statue and held it for the camera. "Next chance I get...well, let's just say some things are gonna go wrong, and Jo is getting a one way ticket out of the game...courtesy of me. But right now, I gotta hide this thing again. Can't let anyone know that I have it on me."
Static.
At the elimination ceremony, it opened with the usual intro. Chris walked out onto the stage and grinned at the Shark Cowboys. Noah sat glumly at the bottom bench, away from the rest of his teammates. He was certain they were glaring at him, or smirking at the thought of him being eliminated.
But, they weren't doing either of those things.
Gwen, Courtney and the Cadets all cast unsure looks at Owen, who simply nodded as a response.
Chris started. "Well, I don't feel there's any need for me to drag this out any further...since we all know who's going home." He glanced at Noah, who rolled his eyes. "But we still must do what we usually do. Everyone, cast your votes."
Noah, Jasmine and Owen all tapped their devices quickly. The other four didn't look as certain, but eventually cast their votes too.
A hand reached out from off-screen with a letter. Chris grabbed it and started to open it. "Well, Noah, you might as well get moving now because I don't really see the point in-" At that moment, Chris opened the letter and had looked at the results. He completely froze. Noah had just stood up, and walked towards the waiting Lame-O-sine.
"Very funny, Chris. I get it. It's hilarious. I'm glad my world wide embarrassment makes you happy." He quipped sadly.
Chris finally broke out of his trance. "Not so fast, Noah." The Brainiac stopped and looked at the host. "According to the results, the person going home tonight is…"
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"Owen."
At that announcement, Noah went wide eyed. "What!?" Chris turned the note, revealing that Owen had received five votes. "That's gotta be a glitch or something." He turned to his teammates. "There's no way you guys voted for Owen when you had the chance to vote for me….right?"
Noah watched his fellow Cowboys glance guilty expressions at each other. He couldn't believe it. He was about to say something, when Gwen spoke up.
"It wasn't our idea." she said, pointing at Owen.
Noah looked at him, noticing his smiling expression, as he walked down the bleachers.
"B-But why? Why would you do that? You were furious at what I did."
Owen kept his smile, as he walked up to the Brainiac. "You're right, I was." He looked back at his now ex-teammates. "But after what you did earlier today, I thought about something." His gaze landed on Jasmine, who was the only one who looked angry at what just happened. He then looked back at Noah. "I thought that after you apologized, that was the moment you realized what you were doing. And why it was wrong." He paused, leaving Noah even more baffled. "And I know you're not a villain, or a bully. So I wanted to give you a chance to redeem yourself. To your team. And to Jasmine. So I convinced them to vote for me."
Noah's mouth was still agape at what just happened. He didn't even react when Owen hugged him goodbye. He then proudly walked off, towards the Lame-o-sine, waving at the rest of his team. Noah watched him enter and be taken off, out of the game. He looked back at his teammates. Most didn't seem to care that Noah was still around. The Brainiac walked up to Jasmine.
"I know it probably doesn't mean much now, but I'm gonna do what Owen said. I'll make up for everything I did and said. I swear."
To Noah's surprise though, Jasmine scoffed and stood up. "Like I believe a word you say." She got right in Noah's face and pointed a finger at him. "I didn't vote for Owen. I voted for you. And I did that because I know he was just a pawn in your cruel game. As far as I'm concerned, you should be the one going home. Don't expect me to forgive you for anything you said. Next chance I get, you're out of this game."
With that, Jasmine walked off the bleachers, as did the rest of the team, leaving Noah to think about what he was gonna do now. He had a lot of work to do.
Meanwhile, Chris looked at the camera, still gobsmacked by what just happened. "Talk about an eventful elimination ceremony. Owen's gone. Even I can't believe it. I don't know about you, but I wanna know what will happen...next time on...Total...Drama...L...egends!"
Wow. Just wow. What did you guys think of this chapter, especially the ending? I absolutely loved writing this one and I'm really excited for the next. Owen actually wasn't my original plan to vote off. Originally, it was supposed to be Noah. But the more I thought about it, I didn't really have much else planned for Owen...until much later. Noah, at least, can continue his storyline with Jasmine, but in a much different direction. The challenge I have in mind for the next chapter should be fun to write. But another thrilling chapter comes to a conclusion. I'll see y'all next time...whenever that will be.
Peace be with ya.
Also if anyone's curious, the chapter title is a reference to the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Vengeful Bobcats: Amy, Samey, Duncan, Scott, Dawn, Zoey and Jo
Shark Cowboys: Gwen, Courtney, Macarthur, Sanders, Noah and Jasmine
Placement:
22nd: Sierra
21st: Lightning
20th: Tyler
19th: Leshawna
18th: Mike
17th: Cody
16th: Heather
15th: Alejandro
14th: Owen
Votes:
Owen: Gwen, Courtney, Sanders, Macarthur, Owen
Noah: Noah, Jasmine