Total Drama Survival Chapter 7, a total drama series fanfic

I owe you all not just an apology, but also an explanation.

I've been absent, not just from Fan Fiction, but also from Deviant Art and in general the little Total Drama world that I have created for myself. I fell out of the loop with the series in general as well as the fact that I've simply grown up. I'm entering college next year and I've been ultra-busy with holding 3 jobs (lifeguard, newspaper writer, and intern for a radio show). I've battled through my own challenges, rivalries, romances, breakups, and even metaphorical Chris McLeans. Time's been hard to come by, but I'll press on. This is no longer about Total Drama. It's no longer a dopey Fan Fiction written by an aspiring, wannabe novelist. This is about finishing something: doing something I'm passionate about: writing and creating. This is about the fans who have been waiting for me to finish my Total Drama Fan Fiction trilogy. That being said:

It's time to go back to Kumba Island. For good this time. Until we finish.

Before we begin, I have to say something about Drake: it's a goal of mine to make all of my villains progressively more evil. Amy from high seas was manipulative and a little sadistic, so I wanted to have a villain that makes her look like a saint. Enter Drake, a sadistic psychopath that makes Chris McLean himself look like a choir boy. And you won't believe next season's villain...Now, let's here those six words you've all been waiting for:

Last time on Total Drama Survival:

I messed with the contestants' minds by making them think a psychopath assassin was chasing them around the island! Doesn't that sound like fun?

Speaking of psychopaths, the cold-blooded hothead Drake took my challenge a little too seriously and actually attempted to kill Melvin! That would've been grounds for disqualification...if I cared!

But thanks to his critical condition, Melvin chose to forfeit the contest. Damn shame...not! Will anybody else leave the contest due to injuries? I sure hope so! That would be hilarious! Anyway, you shouldn't be anywhere else but right here watching Total! Drama! SURVIVAL!

Chapter 7: Cirque de Jerk

Since Chris was feeling generous, he let both teams sleep in the spa hotel.

It had been a sleepless night...or what was left of it. The chase of the assassin ended at about 1:00 in the morning. While all the contestants were exhausted, all of them were too scared to sleep.

"I can't believe you got to kiss your crush!" Jessica said to Allie, "I watched the feed from the cameras. You were, like, so smooth! You've got to teach me how to do that!"

"Um..." Allie started, "Well, it helps when you think you're gonna die and you have nothing to lose," she said.

"I suppose," Jessica said, "I'm so bad with this kind of stuff though."

"It's ok," Allie said, "I know the feeling, but you're going to have to be brave at some point and tell him your feelings."

"I know," Jessica shrugged, "the day's gonna start soon. You think Chris's gonna give us a challenge?"

"Probably," Allie grumbled, "insensitive jerk."

Jessica nodded.

There was a knocking on the door.

"It's probably just Dennis," Allie rolled her eyes, "he's just gonna come and hit on me. Don't let him in."

There was another knocking on the door.

"Just ignore him, he'll go away," Jessica assured her friend.

The knocking sounded again.

"None of us want to talk to you right now, Dennis!" Jessica yelled at the door, "get lost!"

"I am not Dennis," said the voice on the other side of the door.

"Oh," Allie said, blushing, "sorry Daiskue," come in.

The martial arts master entered the room.

"What's up?" Allie asked.

"The ceiling?" Daiskue asked, puzzled.

"It's an idiom," Allie said.

"Oh, I apologize," Daiskue said, "I do not speak English as a first language."

"Whoa," Allie said, "I didn't know that! We have so much to learn about each other now that we're dating."

"That is what I wanted to discuss with you," Daiskue said firmly.

"Um...I'll leave," Jessica said, attempting to avoid awkwardness.

Jessica left the room in the hotel in search of her other teammates. She walked down the hall and ran into Draden.

"This is my chance," she thought, "this is finally it! It's time to-" thud! She walked into Draden's body.

"Sorry," Draden said.

"Um..." Jessica giggled, mentally screaming at herself for freezing up, "it's...it's ok."

"Ok," the muscular teen said, "I'd better get going. I'm really hungry and I'm guessing there'll be a challenge today."

"No, don't go!" Jessica blurted out.

"Hmm?" Draden quirked an eyebrow.

"Um..."Jessica stuttered, "I mean...do you want to sit together?"

"Sure," Draden shrugged his muscular shoulders, "where do you want to sit?"

"Um..." Jessica said, pointing, "how about there?"

"You're pointing at the door," Draden noted.

"Oh," she blushed and giggled again, "um...I'll just go where you're going."

On the other side of the room, Thomas sat alone, nibbling on some waffles.

"So," Peyton walked up to the paranoid boy, "just wanted to tell you that you were great in the last challenge."

"Um...thanks," Thomas replied.

"Do you feel a little safer around us?" Peyton asked.

"Um...safe?" Thomas asked, "I...I haven't felt safe in years."

"Was there a time you ever felt safe?" Peyton inquired.

"Um...once, but that was a long time ago."

"Want to talk about what happened?"

"It was a long time ago," Thomas explained, "I didn't live here. I lived in the United States. Um...Kentucky to be exact and I remember my dad was in the war. I don't remember who we were fighting. It was a long time ago. So my father, when he left to go to the war, I was...uh...about three. I...uh...don't remember much. My dad was on and off tours for about three years. When he finally came back, he...he wasn't the same dad that left me. His eyes, I remember when I was little, they were bright and full of life. When he came back...they were blank and...um...what's the word?"

"Aloof?" Peyton suggested.

"Yeah, that's it, they were aloof," Thomas said, "He thought we were under attack. He would often say things like 'they're coming' and 'we're not safe.' My mom told me he would have fits in his sleep, and I saw him breaking down and going into some sort of trance. He would have fits...think he was back in the war. Kept saying 'we're all doomed' and stuff of the like."

"And it's these things he said that caused your paranoia?"

"No, he explained the war in great detail to me. I was six. He detailed the bombs flying over his head, the bullets, how he was consistently under attack. I was six. It traumatized me. When I was seven, my dad had a fit where he thought I was a terrorist. I think it was then that my mom sent me to live with my aunt in Canada, but by then, the damage was done."

Peyton noticed Thomas tearing up. [1]

"It's alright," Peyton told him after some time, "I don't know about anyone else, but I guarantee you can trust me."

"Thanks," Thomas's mouth turned into a slight smile, "um...I'm sorry I kind of acted like an idiot earlier in the game. Um...I get kind of nervous around new people."

"It's alright," Peyton assured, "don't worry."

"You're a good friend," Thomas said.

Meanwhile, at another table, Angie was poking and prodding Gregory, who had fallen asleep in front of his cereal bowl. He looked very weird, with the spoon still in his hand.

"He sure can sleep," Sophia observed, "I wonder if he's narcoleptic."

"I don't think so," Angie said, "he's just really lazy," she giggled.

She looked at Sophia, who merely had a blank expression on her face.

"Do you ever laugh?" Angie asked.

"Occasionally," Sophia shrugged, "I'm just not a very emotive person."

Just then, Allie burst into the room. Tears streamed down her face.

What happened?" Jessica was quick to her friend.

"I simply told her," Daiskue said, walking in the room, "that I do not wish to date her simply because I prefer to focus solely on the competition."

"In those exact words?" Jessica asked.

"Brevity is both a strength and a weakness of mine," Daiskue said.

"Really?" Jessica's blue eyes lit in fury, "you couldn't read her feelings better

"Feelings are things that I do not understand. They cloud reality and judgment," Daiskue said, "she will get over it."

Just then, The contestants heard a screech followed by Chris's obnoxiously cheery voice, "good morning campers! Hope you all slept well! It's time to see everyone get injured! Meet me in the big tent in fifteen minutes or suffer the consequences!"

IN FRONT OF THE BIG TENT

"So," Chris said as the eighteen contestants met him in front of the big tent, "I've been kind of bored this season...nothing interesting happening, besides the injuries, which have been awesome!"

This earned a few glares from the contestants.

"Hah!" Drake agreed, "injuries are hilarious, aren't they?"

"If they're so funny," Draden said, "how about I give you a couple?" He grabbed him by the collar of his ragged shirt.

"Uh...no...that's ok," Drake said, "um...you're not still mad about Melvin are you?"

"You tried to kill him yesterday," Draden snarled.

"Yeah, but...you know...I...I thought it was him or me!"

"I know exactly what happened," Draden glared at the bully.

"Hey!" Chris said, "remember me? The host? The guy who's supposed to be getting all the attention here?"

The contestants rolled their eyes, except for Draden, who still had his focused on Drake.

"Anyways, as I said, I'm bored. I crave entertainment, so today, you guys will be putting on a show for my amusement! Here's how the challenge works: each team will put on a circus. Each team will make the greatest show on Kumba island! Each team is responsible for a three-act show. You can use whatever talents you have, but please, no clowns!"

"What's the matter?" Ted sneered, "have a problem with clowns?"

"I don't have a problem with them, but-" Chris's cell phone rang, "hold on a second, I got myself a text."

Chris opened his text and promptly screamed, throwing the phone like it was going to explode. It was a picture of Krusty the Klown from the Simpsons. The contestants laughed as Chris recoiled in fear.

"Looks like the clown is scared of his own kind!" Ted said to the host.

"Shut up wise-ass!" Chris directed, making Ted and the contestants laugh harder.

"Look, you have one hour to get all your acts together before you have to perform. Get going!"

The teams split up to discuss their acts

TERRIFYING TIGERS

"Alright, so does anyone have any special talents?" Peyton asked the team.

"What makes you leader?" Claire snarled.

"What's wrong, Claire?" Peyton asked.

"You let it leak that Ted and I are dating! I trusted you and you let me down!"

"What?" Lucas asked, "you're dating Ted? Isn't he on another team?"

Claire face-palmed.

"Anyways,"Peyton said, trying not to let Claire bother her, "does anybody have any talents?"

"I play a mean guitar!" Manny said.

"Ok," Peyton said, "good start, but that's not a circus act."

"I could play the guitar on a motorcycle while balancing on a ball!" Manny offered, wanting to star in the show.

"You can do that?" Peyton asked.

"Well, I've never tried before, but I'm sure I could if I wanted to!"

"Um," Peyton said, trying to be nice, "let's call that plan b."

"Is blowing secrets a talent?" Claire scoffed, "because you're very good at doing that!"

"I'll wrestle a gator!" Jared said with determination.

"Are you sure?" Peyton raised an eyebrow, "that seems kind of dangerous."

"Nah...it's totally dangerous, but also totally fun!" Jared grinned intensely.

"Don't do it!" Kellie implored, "I'd never be able to bear it if you got an arm ripped off or something!"

"It's alright, I'm a trained professional!" Jared said.

CONFESSIONAL: JARED

"Man, mate! I know Kellie's worried about me, but it seems like she's kind of holding me back in the contest. I hope she's not gonna do this for the rest of the game!"

CONFESSIONAL: KELLIE

"Ugh! What's gonna make that guy crack? If he keeps acing challenges like this, the team will keep him in as a strong player! And then, when we merge, he'll be a big threat! I need to get rid of him before that!"

END CONFESSIONALS

"I know what I'm gonna do!" Sydney said, "I'll just ride a unicycle on a tightrope while juggling chainsaws!"

"Um...can you really do that?" Peyton's eyes went wide.

"Of course! This one time I was in a play where I played a circus performer and to study my role, I went to circus training camp for like a month and learned all sorts of neat tricks!"

"Ok," Peyton said, "just one more act now."

Nobody spoke up.

"No need to shout all at once," Peyton said.

Silence still.

"I can date Ted," Claire said, "but everyone already knows that, don't they Peyton?"

"I told you it wasn't me!" Peyton pleaded to Claire.

"We've been over this," Claire rolled her eyes, "You're the only one besides Ted and I who knows. I didn't tell anyone and I'm keeping it secret for Ted, so it's highly unlikely he spilled the beans, so that leaves you!"

"Can we stop this fighting and focus on the challenge?" Thomas whined.

"No! I just want Peyton to apologize!" Claire said, "it's just been excuses from her all day. People make mistakes. I can forgive mistakes, but if you just deny it, I..." Claire sighed.

"No time for this!" Kellie snapped, "Cry on your own time, but don't waste mine!

"I'll do some magic tricks," Lucas offered, trying to ease the tension.

"Are you any good?" Peyton asked dubiously.

"Yeah," the overweight teen replied, "I got a magic set when I was seven. I remember how to do...something."

"Fine," Peyton face palmed, secretly hoping the other two acts would be enough to secure the win.

LETHAL LIONS

"I know one thing," Jessica said to her team, "and that's that someone here could put on a killer strong man act!"

"Couldn't agree more," Drake sneered, kissing his muscles.

"Nah," she was talking about me," Dennis thumped his chest.

"Did you see what I did to Melvin," Drake snarled in Dennis's face, "I'll finish the job with you, assw-agh!"

"What was that?" Draden picked up the bully with one hand.

"Nothing!" Drake panicked.

"Really," Draden narrowed his eyes, "Because I could've sworn you said something."

"I'm sorry!" Drake whined.

"I don't believe you."

Darden tossed the bully up into the air. He fell on his face with a dull thud.

The rest of the Lions looked at Draden.

"Fine," Draden said, "I'll be the strong man. We have two more acts we have to fill out. What else are we doing?"

"I have a bike back home," Dennis said, "I could do some wicked motorcycle tricks."

"Ok, good!" Draden said, "what else?"

"I don't know," Daiskue said, "if doing martial arts is considered a circus act."

"Possibly," Ted said, but let's see if anyone else can do anything. Allie?"

Allie hung her head miserably.

"Nothing? No talents? Oh well. I was expecting more."

"Are you an idiot?" Jessica scolded Ted, "can't you see she's having her own problems right now?"

"Yes," Ted said, "and those problems are getting in the way of us winning."

"Is winning everything to you?" Jessica said, "can't you see that there are more important things than winning?"

"There really aren't," Ted snapped, "not on this island, at least. You see, unless we win, we have to send somebody home. And I have no problem sending home the girl who refused to do her part because she's 'heartbroken' or whatever."

"Do feelings mean anything to you?" Jessica narrowed her eyes, "obviously, Allie is going through a tough time right now!"

"Feelings are a human product," Ted snarled, "and I refuse to lose this contest because of 'feelings.'"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jessica shrieked.

"A lot," Ted sneered, "but that's not gonna help with the challenge, now is it?"

"All you care about is the challenge!" Jessica pleaded, "But you need to realize there's a human element to this game!"

"What are we going to do as our final act?" Ted turned his back to Jessica.

Many shrugs from the Lethal Lions.

Ted face-palmed, "Do I have to do everything around here?"

"I could beat people up," Drake said, "Chris would really like that!" he cackled.

Ted clenched his fists and sighed, "Fine," he said, if it'll win the challenge, I don't care.

"Are you insane?" Draden reprimanded his friend, "You're going to let Drake beat a guy up?"

"No," Drake said, "I'll beat up multiple people. That would be more fun for Chris and me!"

"Ok," Draden said, "You can start with me!" he said.

"Uhhh..." Drake stammered, "Why you? You're not hurting anybody! I mean not like Allie..."

"You're going to beat up a girl?" Draden snarled, getting in Drake's face, "You're a pathetic little piece of sh*t, you know that?"

"Um...yeah!" Drake started to sweat, terrified.

"So who are we having as our third act?" Ted asked, super annoyed.

"Fifteen minutes left!" Chris's voice announced to the team.

"Come on guys! Give me an act! Somebody!" Ted begged his team, "Sophia, you look fairly athletic, you can do something, right?"

"Um..." Sophia said.

"Great!" Ted replied, you're walking the tightrope.

"Umm..."

"Contestants! Time to perform for me!" Chris happily said.

The contestants gathered at the circus tent in front of Chris, who was dressed in a nice black suit with a top hat.

"Alright, contestants!" Chris announced, "It's time to perform amazing stunts for my amusement! But before we begin, let me introduce you to our judges! First off, it's our very own animal whisperer and safety inspector Dawn!"

Dawn waved at the crowd of contestants.

"Next, the winner of the last season, Total Drama High Seas, Sammy!"

Sammy waved and smiled. Ted smiled back and the blonde cheerleader blushed. Claire didn't notice.

"And finally, from the Ridonculous Race, the show that I didn't get to host, so I'm back here on another crappy island with more teenagers-"

"Get to the point!" Ted snarled.

"Anyways," Chris said, "Give it up for Tom."

The scraggly man with glasses waved in a very feminine way.

"Dawn, Sammy and Tom will be judging your performances," Chris said, "After each performance, you will be given a score from one to ten by each judge. A perfect score would be 90, but good luck achieving that, because I told the judges to be extra picky!"

The contestants all exchanged nervous looks.

"I'm used to being picky," Tom said, "It won't be too difficult. By the way, Chris, maybe you should invest in a shorter top hat. The one you're wearing is so 19th century."

"Whatever, dude," Chris rolled his eyes.

Ted sneered, "Abe Lincoln called! He wants his hat back!"

Chris began to get a little annoyed, "Ok! Let's start the challenge! I'm thinking of a number between one and a hundred."

"I didn't even know you could count that high," Ted snickered, earning some laughs and gasps from the group.

"ZIP IT!" Chris shouted, "I'm the host here! There will be penalties for the next team to talk! Anyways, I'm thinking of a number between one and a hundred! What is it?"

Nobody answered.

"I said I'm thinking of a number between one and a hundred! What is it?"

Still no answer.

Chris face-palmed, "You guys can talk now."

"Is it seventy-six?" Sydney asked.

"What?!" Chris exclaimed, "But how? How did you know that?"

"I played a psychic in a play once," Sydney shrugged, "To research the role, I took lessons from a real psychic."

"You're insane," Chris said, "But you're right, so your team goes first! First off is the incredible Jared! For Jared's act, he's going to do something extremely dangerous! I hope he gets injured! Haha!" Chris cackled.

Jared stood up in the center of the ring. He cracked his knuckles.

"Now!" Chris announced, "Unleash the beast!" A door opened to the side and out came a giant crocodile, over twelve feet long, "I know you wrote you were going to wrestle an alligator, but all we could find on this island was a crocodile."

"Cake," Jared sneered.

"Crocodiles kill an average of 3000 people a year," Chris announced, "Will Jared become part of that statistic? Find out after the break!

COMMERCIAL BREAK:

Rich Moneyman stood in front of his bee farm.

"Hey! Rich Moneyman here with a special TV offer! Today only, you can get two bee farms for the price of only one! I'm not desperate to sell my goods! Honest! These bee farms are great and to prove it, I got an entomologist to tell you all about it! A strong, muscular man with a tight green shirt appeared in the shot. He looked a lot like Justin from Total Drama, but he had a mustache.

"I'm not really an entomologist," the man said.

"You are for this commercial," Rich whispered.

"Um...then, yeah, I like the bee farm," the man said, "Is that good?"

"Yes," Rich sighed, "We've done a hundred seventeen takes and I realize it's not going to be any better. You can go take your paycheck now!"

"Man, Rich," the Justin look-alike said, "You're awfully touchy today. Just because you endorsed a bad product and are hard-pressed for cash doesn't mean you have to take it out on me," Justin (sorry, the mustache entomologist) said as he walked out of the shot.

NOW BACK TO THE SHOW

Jared stared down the crocodile. The crocodile stared back. Jared narrowed his eyes at the monster. The monster opened its mouth, revealing 80 cone-shaped teeth.

CONFESSIONAL: JARED

"In fighting, you never attack first. You wait for the opponent to move and counter hard."

END CONFESSIONAL

The crocodile charged at its next meal, mouth open, but Jared jumped over the massive reptile. He turned around and grabbed its tail. The crocodile thrashed around attempting to shake off the Australian, but he was relentless and didn't let go. He managed to pick up the crocodile by the tail and slam it to the floor with a loud thud that shook the tent and made the contestants cringe. The crocodile snapped at Jared's arm and tried to roll and sever it, but Jared pried the beast's jaws open. That was when Jared realized his chance. With the crocodile vulnerable on its belly, Jared held down the monster. It thrashed and flailed around, but Jared kept it down for three seconds, winning the match.

"That was disappointing," Chris said, "I would've hoped the crocodile would at least bite your arm off, but let's see what the judges think."

"Oh my God," Tom said, "I can't believe it! Khaki will be in after I'm done writing about this performance. Nine!"

Jared beamed.

"Wow," Sammy said, "I can't believe what I just saw, that's a nine for me."

Jared cockily tipped his hat to the blonde cheerleader.

"Why did you hurt an animal in an attempt to prove your manliness?" Dawn asked Jared.

"Oh, he volunteered," Jared shrugged, "He's a member of the crocodilian MMA. He's fine."

"You sure?" Dawn asked skeptically.

"Oh yeah," Jared said, "He's not attacking me now, is he?"

"He's passed out," Dawn noticed.

"He'll be ok," Jared shrugged.

"I'm giving it a two," Dawn said.

"Aw, bummer, mate," Jared said.

"That is a total of twenty points!" Chris announced, "Not bad for Jared! Time for the Tigers' next act! Sydney! Sydney will be riding a unicycle on a tightrope while juggling chainsaws. What? Wait a second? You're really going to do that?"

Sydney eagerly nodded, "It's ok, I've done it a couple times! I promise!"

"Ok, Chris said, "Get on the unicycle on the tightrope and start juggling the chainsaws."

Sydney juggled the chainsaws and balanced on the unicycle atop the tightrope. She did it easily with Chris and the small crowd of contestants and judges watching the spectacle in disbelief.

"Not bad," Chris complimented the young actress, but is it enough for the judges?

"I absolutely adore that red top!" Tom exclaimed, "Is that a Vivaldi? Absolutely beautiful! Can I observe it closer?"

Tom approached Sydney and took the top in his hand, "100% pure silk. Is this limited edition?"

"Erm...I...I believe so," Sydney replied, "I don't know, is it?"

"Yes. It is," Tom said, "There were only 10 of those made before Vivaldi cut the line entirely!"

"Really?" Sydney asked, "I bought it for about 40 bucks online."

"The thing is that Luigi Vivaldi cut this line right before his other line's success. So many people have the cheaper knock-offs made after and these particular tops are often mislabeled and sold for much less than the actual value," Tom said, still captivated by the top.

"What's the actual value?" Sydney asked.

"Five hundred thousand, easily. Maybe six," Tom replied.

Sydney's eyes went wide, "Five hundred thousand dollars? Are you kidding me?"

"Maybe six," Tom repeated.

"What?" Sydney was amazed, "Seriously?"

"Yep, easily," Tom said.

"Um," Chris said, impatiently, "this is nice and all, but can I have your score?"

"Oh, yeah," Tom said sheepishly, "Eight."

"Nine," Sammy said.

"I give it nine as well," Dawn told Sydney.

"Twenty-four points!" Chris said, "Not bad! Not bad at all! Up next, Lucas's magic act!"

CONFESSIONAL: SYDNEY

"Five hundred thousand dollars? Are you kidding me? That's half of the cash prize for this season. That's more than enough for me to travel to America for my Broadway audition. Do I even need to continue with this competition? Should I forfeit at this point? I need to think..."

END CONFESSIONAL

"It's time!" Chris announced, "for the Terrifying Tigers' Final performance! The amazing, magical Lucas!"

"It is time," Lucas said, "For the amazing LUCAS! Prepare to be amazed!"

Lucas took out a deck of cards, "See this card?" Lucas held up an ace of spades, "Watch as I turn this ace of spades into...wait for it...a different card."

Lucas put the card into the deck and shuffled it well. Then he pulled out another card, the king of hearts.

"Tada!" Lucas exclaimed, "I turned the ace of spades into the king of hearts!"

"Is that it?" Chris yawned.

"Yes! Aren't you amazed!" Lucas asked the host and the judges.

"Not really," Chris said, "Any of you guys?" Chris asked the judges.

"No," Tom said, "I'll give it a one."

"One," Sammy said, "Sorry, but Sydney and Jared were just tough acts to follow."

"I give it a one as well," Dawn said, "I am deeply sorry, Lucas."

"Can't you comprehend magic? Or is it too complex for your mortal eyes?" Lucas asked.

"You get a 3, Lucas," Chris said, "Personally, I would've given you less."

"This is an abomination!" Lucas shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you won't stand for it," Chris said, "You can't believe it, this will not be the end, I get it, now it's the lions' turn to perform. The first of which will be Draden the strong man!"

Six interns brought in a massive log.

Draden rubbed his hands together. He picked up the log and lifted it in the air in a perfect dead lift. Then he released a hand and held the log aloft with just one hand. Then he dropped it on the ground.

"Nice!" Chris congratulated the strong young man, "What do the judges think?"

"Very strong!" Tom said, "I liked it! Seven!"

"Wow," Sammy said, "How much did that log weigh?"

"About 200 kilos," Chris said.

"That's crazy," Sammy told Chris, "I'll give it an eight."

"I too give it an eight," Dawn said.

"That's 23 points!" Chris announced, "Not bad! But can the Lions beat the Tigers' 47? We'll see if Sophia can do it?"

CONFESSIONAL: SOPHIA

"I don't know if I could walk the tightrope, but I did know I had to try. Nobody else would volunteer, so that makes me better than them, right?" She smiles.

END CONFESSIONAL

Sophia showed a twinge of nervousness on her normally calm face as she attempted to walk across the thin rope. She moved carefully with one foot in front of the other on the rope. She couldn't fail. She just couldn't. She kept her eyes closed so she couldn't see the small crowd beneath that was surely judging her. She was about halfway there. Both teams were thinking very different things. The Lions were praying that she would successfully cross the rope as the Tigers wanted her to fall off, but most hoped she would not get injured in the process. When Sophia successfully crossed the rope, the Lions all applauded and the Tigers began to worry.

"I would give it a seven, but your sweatshirt screams last season, so I'm docking one and giving you a six," Tom said.

"It was good," Sammy said, "but not riding a unicycle while juggling chainsaws good. I give it a six."

"I will give you an eight," Dawn said.

"Twenty points in all!" Chris said, "Forty-three points for the team! All Dennis needs to do is get five points and his team wins!"

"Cake," Dennis sneered.

"Are you sure?" Kellie asked Dennis, "You know about all the motorcycle accidents, right?"

"Um, no," Dennis said.

CONFESSIONAL: KELLIE

"So, Jared's not going to work out, at least not yet, and to be honest, we need him on the team, so I'll work on him after the merge. Meanwhile, it's time to get my hands on some Lion men...rawr!"

END CONFESSIONALS

"Oh, yeah," Kellie snuggled up to Dennis, with a sinister grin across her femme fatale face, "And, well, I'd hate to see anything happen to that precious face, and I know you would, as well."

"Um..."Dennis said, "Usually I'm the one that flirts with the girls."

"Oh, I know," Kellie said, "And I have to say, I love a man who takes things into his own hands."

"Um..." The shorter boy repeated, at a loss for words for the first time.

"Listen, I would hate for anything to happen to you, Dennis," Kellie crooned.

"Um. I have to do it," Dennis said, "I'll get voted off otherwise."

"There are other people to vote off. Much better choices than you," Kellie said, "There's Gregory who's always half-asleep, Drake, who nobody likes, and so many others. I'll make sure one of them goes home."

"But we'll have to sleep outside," Dennis said. I don't want to sleep outside.

"You won't," Kellie said with certainty, "You'll sleep with me in the spa-hotel."

"Um..." Dennis said, "Ok, I...I won't do it."

"Sometime today Dennis?" Chris asked the crowd of contestants.

"I...I don't know if I can do it. It's a little dangerous," Dennis said.

"Yeah, that's the point," Chris said.

"I...I can't," Dennis said, hanging his head.

"You can't?" Chris parroted.

"No, Chris. I can't," Dennis finalized.

"Well," Chris said, "Then the Lethal Lions lost this challenge. Meet me at the campground. Somebody is going home!"

CUT TO THE CAMPFIRE

Chris lit his tiki torch in the roaring campfire, "You all know the drill. If I light your tiki torch, you are still in the competition. If your tiki torch is not lit, you are out. The following contestants are out:

Allie,

Angie,

Ted,

Gregory,

Draden,

Jessica,

Sophia,

Drake, Dennis, you both got votes today, but our final decision is:"

"Wait a second," Drake snarled, "How did I get any votes?"

"You tried to kill a guy yesterday," Chris said, "Anyhow, tonight's big loser is...

…

"Dennis."

"What? She told me she'd make sure I wouldn't get eliminated!" Dennis complained.

"I don't know who 'she' is, but she hasn't helped you here," Chris said, "Time to take the toss of shame!"

"Wait!" Sydney ran up to the campfire, "I'm forfeiting the competition. I'm ready to go."

"Really?" Chris asked, "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"This," Sydney pointed to her top, "five hundred thousand dollars of pure silk. I have no need for the competition anymore."

"Is that your final decision?" Asked the host.

"Yes," Sydney said.

"Alright, let's get you two loaded into the Toss of Shame!"

CUT TO THE TOSS OF SHAME

"Any last words, kiddos?" Chris asked.

"Yeah!" Dennis said, "Screw you Kellie!"

The two's screams lit up the night.

Sammy ran up to the dock where the Lions saw off one of their teammates.

"Hey!" Sammy told the team, "Is Ted around?"

"I am guessing he is at the lake," Daiskue told the girl.

"Ok, thanks!" Sammy said.

AT THE LAKE

"Hey, Ted," Sammy said to the cutthroat boy.

"Oh, hey," Ted said.

"What's up," Claire asked.

"Um. I just wanted to thank you Ted," Sammy said.

"For?" Ted raised an eyebrow.

"You stood up for me."

"When?"

"During High Seas. Chris was being mean and you helped me out. Remember?"

"I remember something of the like," Ted thought back a ways.

"Well, I just want to say thank you. Self-esteem wise, I used to struggle. I used to struggle a lot. But I thought about you and Bridgette and Courtney and how confident you all are. You might not know it, but when I got home, you've indirectly helped me. I felt better and more comfortable at home and you've helped out with that," the cheerleader explained.

"Any time," Ted smiled and stood up, "How's Amy been?"

"Amy hasn't been talking to me at all," Sammy said, "She's been very quiet in school. She hasn't been talking to the others very much, either. I've heard around that she's waiting until college starts next year and plans to reinvent herself around new people."

"But she hasn't been giving you problems?" Claire asked.

"No. But I wish she'd open up to me. I think she's a little bit afraid of me to be honest," Sammy went on, "I don't think she realizes that I love and care about her, but it's ok. I know we'll get along someday."

"I'm glad," Ted said, "and I'm proud of you."

Sammy hugged Ted, surprising him. Once he comprehended what happened, he still didn't return the hug, feeling the need to be cool in front of Claire. Sammy hugged Claire as well, but the perfectionist girl returned the affection.

"The boat taking us home is here," Sammy said, "I hope we see each other again."

"Yeah," Ted said, "Me too."

"You're such a sweetheart," Claire elbowed Ted playfully.

"Shut up," Ted reprimanded his girl.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Eliminated:

24th: Daniel

23rd: Tori

22nd: Emma

21st: Hanna

20th: Eric

19th: Melvin

18th: Dennis

17th: Sydney

Remaining Lions: Draden, Drake, Allie, Ted, Daiskue, Jessica, Gregory, Angie, Sophia,

Remaining Tigers: Peyton, Thomas, Manny, Kellie, Jared, Lucas,