Long time no see! Sorry for the delay in posting this, it's been pretty slow-going over here. I'm still technically not done my current chapter, and unfortunately I just can't seem to find the motivation to complete it. That's not to say I'm going to stop writing entirely, no sir. It just means that it still might be a while for the next chapter to come out. I'm lucky I have backup chapters to upload, but they're starting to run out… Well, we'll see what happens in the near future.

My interests work in chunks: I'll be super into something and motivated to write and create for that, but after a few months of doing it my interest disappears from it and I move on to something else. That's currently what's happening to this story, and Total Drama in general. Luckily, TD is one of my interests that keeps coming back after a while, so there's no way that this story will go uncompleted. Like I mentioned, it just might take a little while for that to actually happen.

Anywho, I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy the chapter!


Chapter 9: Blowing Chunks for Juggy Chunks

She was walking through the woods, completely lost and no idea where she was headed. She wasn't worried, though, this was normal on the island. She admired the trees swaying in the wind and the birds fluttering through the air and the cute rabbits hopping around the berry bushes. She took a blueberry from one and happily munched on it, and continued on her walk to who knew where.

Then, she saw them - a figure in the distance, also walking but away from her. She thought she recognized them, so she tried calling out to them. But there was no reply, and they only continued to walk on ahead and out of view. She didn't know why she got the cold shoulder, so she ran after them.

Past the trees, through the winding paths, and into a cave she went, trying to find the person. It quickly became dark and cold, and she hoped she'd find them soon so they could get out and go back to camp.

Another few feet, and the person reappeared. She was facing away, her pink blouse and skirt contrasting heavily with the red on her arm. She approached and went to call out, but stopped and looked harder. What she thought was a sleeve actually turned out to be blood, dripping to the cave floor, leaving a small puddle in its wake. She called out again, but not only did the figure not answer, she went further in.

She ran after, until she suddenly hit a rock wall. She tried to turn around, but the exit was gone. She was locked in a pitch-black underground cave with no way out, no light source, no one to save her. She cried out again, this time for anyone, anyone at all, to take her away from here. But no one came.

She pounded on the walls, trying to find a way out, until the wall slid open and revealed another path. She took off at a sprint, and it wasn't long until another person passed by. This one was in red with hair the color of the sun, and it hurt her to look at her. She disappeared into the darkness, and though the pain receded she knew she had to go after her.

She ran again, her lungs aching, until she hit another wall. But this one was different. It was warm. And furry. And was looking at her with hunger in its eyes.

The wall roared in her face, and she tried to leave but found herself rooted to the spot. She couldn't move, only scream for help, scream in fear, in terror of being eaten. But the wall had other plans. Instead of clawing her and ripping her apart, it fell on her, pinning her to the ground and cutting off her airways. Her shrieking never stopped, but her voice could no longer be heard, and she could barely breathe under its mass. She tried shaking, kicking, anything to get out of there, to be free, to be done with this and go home already. It was too much to handle, she just wanted to get away from it all and not have to worry about anything ever again.

And then she woke up.

Sammy flew upright, gasping for breath and with a scream on her lips. She looked around to make sure of where she was, to ensure that it had only been a horribly vivid nightmare and nothing more. She was in her bed, in the treehouse, this time sleeping on the other end so that she didn't jolt up and smack her forehead against one of the supports. Apparently, it worked, but that was literally at the back of her mind for the moment.

She was sweating and greedily taking in air, and why wouldn't she? That dream was way too real, almost like she actually couldn't breathe, and it was a painful reminder of what had happened yesterday. Just like with bears, she highly doubted she'd be able to look at any pile of snow the same way ever again. Not without feeling sick to her stomach.

She wanted to curl up into a ball and cry and vent out her fears and feelings. But she didn't get a chance to, on account of Scarlett sticking her head into Sammy's bunk out of nowhere.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked without any warning. Sammy, her nerves already through the roof, shrieked once more, jumped slightly, and struck the crown of her head on the bunk above her. She clutched it in pain as Scarlett looked on. "That looked like it hurt."

"No crap it hurt!" Sammy spat at her. She pushed her way off the bed, passed the brainiac and stormed out onto the balcony. Her emotions were getting the best of her, she knew that, and she figured she'd need to get a bit of air to calm herself down. The night air cooled her off, and she breathed deeply to try and get herself under control.

Unfortunately for her, Scarlett followed her. "I assume you had a nightmare?"

"Yes, I had a nightmare," Sammy said tersely. She really didn't want to have to deal with her right now, so she left it at that and leaned against the railing. Scarlett thankfully read the room and remained quiet as Sammy worked to bring herself back to neutral.

It took a bit of work - she tended to remember her dreams more easily than others, which wasn't always good. And it didn't help that this one was full of painful memories of what had recently happened.

I come to Total Drama and the thing I'm taking away from it most is even more trauma. Jeez. I should really consider seeing a therapist when I'm home. Something tells me it's just going to get worse without one.

Soon enough, her breathing returned to normal. She stood from the rail and wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm okay now."

"No, you're not," Scarlett immediately pointed out.

Sammy kept the groan to herself. "And why do you say that?"

"Because one does not wake up from a nightmare screaming bloody murder and just 'get over it'." She approached the railing and leaned her back against it. "I'm really not much of a psychologist, despite studying the subject. But I've been told I'm a good listener. So, if there's anything you want to get off your chest, I'm willing to hear you out."

Sammy eyed her warily. This was the same girl who caused the electrocution of Ella, who apparently went behind her own friend's back to eliminate them. If Sammy were to tell her anything about what she was going through, chances were she'd just use that to her advantage. "Thank you for the offer," Sammy said, "but I'll take my chances elsewhere."

Scarlett shrugged without missing a beat. "No skin off my back."

That said, she didn't leave her alone. Sammy had half a mind to just go back to sleep, to get ready for tomorrow, but she really didn't want to dream again. Then again… maybe I'll get an answer. "I have a question," she said after a moment's silence.

"And what would that be?"

"Why did you help Max shock Ella? During the water jousting challenge."

Scarlett blinked, almost as if she were trying to remember actually doing that. "What, that? That wasn't anything more than a ploy to get Max out of the game."

A myriad of questions piled into Sammy's head. "Why'd you target Ella, then?"

She pursed her lips in thought. "I don't believe there was a specific target. She just happened to be next up to bat, so to speak. Had Sky went, or yourself, or anyone else, they would've been on the receiving end instead."

"Huh." That still doesn't make me feel better. "And so you used that to… what, get the rest of the team mad at Max?"

"Exactly. I knew the shock of it, pardon the pun, would work everyone up. And it did wonders."

It was a good pun, but Sammy wasn't laughing. "Wasn't he your friend, though?"

But then it was Scarlett who started chuckling. "'Friend'? Please. Far from it. He was an annoyance that latched onto me since day one. He droned on and on about how 'evil' he was and dared to call me his sidekick of all things. He needed to go, and I simply got rid of him."

"And you roped Amy and Topher into it, too?"

She looked at Sammy with a critical eye. "You were talking with one of them?"

"Well, yeah. You expect your sister to get eliminated one day, and you start to wonder why you're still seeing her the next."

"Hm, fair enough. Yes, I had Amy and Topher help. Your sister was more than eager to shift everyone else's eyes off of her after she lost to you. And all Topher needed was a little buttering up, and he was puddy in the palm of my hand." She readjusted her glasses. "Figuratively speaking, of course."

If Sammy thought about it, she'd say that that was probably one of the few times any real scheming had been done during the season so far. Every elimination up to now had been based on people's poor performances, or someone's sacrifice for their team in Beardo's case. And Sammy was okay with that, it made trusting her friends that much easier. But Scarlett was more than just a humble librarian-type, it seemed, and was willing to work with someone only to stab them in the back not long after. She was someone Sammy needed to watch out for. Even more so than her sister.

Which was just weird to think about.

"So in the end Ella was nothing but a pawn for you to use," Sammy found herself saying.

Scarlett shrugged. "Technically speaking, yes. As was said, it could've been anyone. Besides, I have no ill will towards the girl. I honestly find her singing to be lovely. A shame that McLean said nix to that."

At least there was something they could agree on. "Yeah. It really is."

They were silent for another little while, and Sammy was just about to get up to leave when Scarlett spoke again. "You're awfully smitten with her, aren't you?"

Sammy only groaned and rubbed her hands over her eyes. "Seriously, does everyone know?!"

"I'm afraid you aren't really hiding your attraction to her all that well. If Ella herself hasn't figured it out by now, I'd be truly surprised." Sammy could only offer up another stressed-out groan to that, which didn't go over Scarlett's head. "By the sounds of it, I'd say you're worried about her reaction."

"Her's, Mom's, and just about every member of the audience's."

"Hm." Scarlett seemed to mull something over, and looked back at Sammy. "Far be it for me to give you advice, but why bother worrying about what other people care? If you like someone of the same sex as you, and other people find that bothersome, that's their problem, is it not? Why waste time fretting over people's opinions that are unlikely to change?"

Sammy looked Scarlett square in the eye. "Because unlike you - uh, probably - I've lived my life always expecting the worst out of people. Amy was my tormentor since as far back as I can remember, and she belittled me for every single thing I did and humiliated me in front of others constantly. And now when this stupid show airs and people find out about how I like girls, it's going to be exactly like that, but coming from every direction instead. It wouldn't just be insults, either, it could get seriously violent if people get worked up enough. And don't pretend you don't know what it can be like for a person who isn't strictly straight. Especially when that person is on international TV." She scoffed. "Something tells me they're going to edit out every interaction Ella and I have in some countries this show airs in. Just you watch."

Silence reigned once more, and Sammy couldn't help but think about the negatives of everything happening now. Parts of her were beginning to wish that she had just stayed at home, or even got voted off early, if only so that she could avoid the consequences of falling for someone while on TV. If I did, it wouldn't have led me to become friends with any of these guys… And I probably would've still been Amy's miserable little servant. But if that was the case, at least Ella wouldn't be singled out just by association. It'll probably be for the best if I just-

"Screw them."

Sammy, so lost in her thoughts, almost didn't hear Scarlett's whisper. "W-What?"

"Screw them," she repeated loudly. "I can't say I can relate, as I have no interest in romance, but I do know that nothing good ever comes from people trying to get you to conform to their ideals. Is that not what you've been attempting to do this whole time with your sister?"

Sammy frowned. "W-Well, I mean, yeah, I guess. But there's a difference between one person and, like, a few million."

"And so you're suggesting that you're willing to go back to how you were before, simply to please a few people? You won't even attempt to do this for yourself, after suffering at the hands of Amy all this time? For god's sake, girl, grow a spine."

Sammy grit her teeth and turned fully towards the redhead. "It's not that easy, you know!"

Scarlett narrowed her eyes and said simply. "So?"

Such a straightforward answer caused Sammy to falter.

"Who said anything about this being easy? No, it will not be, and it likely will not get easier. But are you seriously suggesting that you're going to give up because you have to put in some work? Besides," she began approaching her, but Sammy stood her ground, "I'm almost 100% certain that Ella does indeed reciprocate your feelings."

Her eyes went wide. "S-Seriously? Are you sure?"

"Ask anyone else on the island and they'll tell you the same, I assure you."

Sammy's mind went into overdrive. If Ella does actually like me, then maybe, possibly, we actually have a chance?! Or, wait, hang on… is this just Scarlett trying to mess me up? She sounds genuine, but… this is Scarlett! Who knows what she really has planned! …That said, it is true that a lot of the others are noticing it. Shawn, Topher, even Chef of all people… Maybe she's telling me the truth? Maybe… Maybe Ella really does have feelings for me too?

"So?"

Sammy looked back up. "So?"

Scarlett's hands were on her hips, and it almost felt like she was towering over Sammy. "Are you going to just sit there and whine and let other people dictate what you can and can't do, who you can and can't like, for the rest of your life? Or are you going to take control of your own destiny, and live life the way you want to live it?"

And of course, it all came back to the very beginning. With a resolute nod, Sammy confidently said, "Yeah… Yeah! I'm not going to be held back by anyone anymore! Doesn't matter if it's just one person, or tons of them! I live for myself, and no one is ever going to tell me how to do that!"

She felt invigorated, energized and ready to tackle anything. Scarlett was right - who cares if other people didn't like her preference in partners? Who cares if people don't like her orientation? She wasn't living for them. She wasn't living for anyone but herself. She had spent this entire game trying to do that, and she was so close to slipping back into her old habits. But not anymore. She was going to redefine what it meant to be herself, and she wasn't going to let anyone stop her.

And maybe, hopefully, Ella would be there with her when that happened.

"I need to confess."

Scarlett quirked a brow. "Pardon?"

With stars in her eyes and a plan in her head, Sammy made for the rope ladder. "I need to confess to Ella that I like her! I've been holding it in for too long!"

She was stopped short by a hand on her shoulder. "Hold your metaphorical horses. That's all well and good, but it's no later than 12:30 in the morning at the moment. Perhaps wait until she's awake before saying anything? It will likely get you a better response."

Wow I feel like an idiot again. "Y-You're right. I got ahead of myself there."

"Evidently."

The two of them retreated back into the treehouse, with Sammy sitting on her bunk and Scarlett climbing back up into hers.

"Why did you give me advice, anyway?" Sammy found herself asking after a moment.

"Simple," Scarlett said. "I can't stand weakness, and I wanted to stomp it out of you."

Sammy laughed a bit. "Wow. That is simple." She paused for a second before adding, "I still don't like you, you know."

Scarlett, without missing a beat, replied, "I'm aware. I'm not looking for your friendship."

"Good." She fell back onto her bed and closed her eyes. "Good." She found herself slowly drifting back to sleep, intent on getting the full rest she desperately needed before the day's challenge…

…Or she would have, if Chris didn't blare the airhorn and announced that the challenge was actually about to begin.


Sammy yawned loudly as she, Scarlett, and the freshly-woken Jasmine trekked through the dark of the woods. She hadn't been feeling the effects of being awake at this hour when she was having her 'conversation' with Scarlett, but now that her adrenaline was disappearing she was craving her bed and pillow all the more now.

"Can't believe I forgot all about the night-time challenge," Jasmine grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"And I can't believe it's happening so late this time around," Sammy replied. "Didn't the last two seasons have theirs earlier in the game than this?"

"I believe it's irrelevant when they occur," Scarlett said. "I simply do not appreciate them happening at all. Cognitive function is dependent on REM sleep. If one hasn't gotten the proper amount of rest, they are unable to perform to the best of their ability."

"That's probably why he has them in the first place," Jasmine said. "More of a chance for us to muck it up."

"I had figured that was the reasoning."

The meeting area was thankfully not very far from camp, so the trio of Salmons were the first to arrive. About five minutes later, the four remaining Bears showed up, in various states of drowsiness. Shawn was basically fully awake, what with him being a night owl, while the rest of them were dragging themselves by the feet to get to the area. When their eyes met, Sammy eagerly waved at Ella, unable to contain her excitement. Ella smiled warmly and waved back, though she yawned right after. It was rather amusing and adorable to watch.

"What gives?" Sky asked the host sleepily. It looked like she was about to pass out standing up. "Why are we here so early?"

With a groan, Amy added, "I need my beauty sleep… This has to, like, be illegal somewhere, right?"

"Wrong!" Chris said. He was standing in front of a giant red curtain, and for the life of her Sammy couldn't pick out what was behind it. "Ladies… and Shawn. There's a special reason I've called you all here. It's time to merge the teams." He grinned widely. "Consider yourselves merged!"

There was barely any fanfare to it, Sammy automatically figured Chris had something up his sleeve - he wouldn't just leave it at that. Before she could ask anything, however, Ella stepped in front of the crowd. "If you're merging the teams now, what was the point of shuffling them up two days ago? It seems rather pointless, doesn't it?"

"That was a special punishment given to you because none of you finished that particular challenge," Chris explained. "Doesn't matter now anyway! That's in the past, and we are here in the now! Ready to celebrate getting halfway to the end with a midnight merger meal!"

"A meal?" Sammy asked, her head perking up. Her stomach hungered for proper food, but her mind was giving off warning bells left and right.

"This doesn't sit right with me," Jasmine said. "Since when have you done anything nice?"

The charade was quickly dropped. "Alright, alright. The lawyers called and told us that feeding only one team one meal a day is technically 'starvation'. So, this is a legally-forced team merger celebration dinner."

As he said that last line, the curtain rose, and presented everyone with a sight Sammy hadn't been expecting to see at all. A long dining table, the length you'd find in a mansion, was seated in front of them with seven extravagant chairs behind it and several grandiose candelabra on top of it. There were chandeliers hanging from a ceiling, which also housed several lit candles. It looked incredibly expensive and actually ripped from a house of royalty.

In fact, it was to the point where Sammy forgot her senses and her hunger took over. If the decorations are this fancy… what's the food gonna be like?! Finally, we get to eat actual food! She, along with everyone else present, hollered at the news of a meal and the space they'd be eating it in. She was positive that nothing was going to go wrong with this, and they'd be able to play the next challenge on a full stomach.

That is, until Chris presented what the food actually was. Sammy really needed to remember who they were dealing with here.

"Juggy Chunks?!" Amy yelled in disgust when Chef opened the silver platter. "I've never even heard of this gunk before!"

"I feel like I'm going to barf just looking at it," Ella muttered, her arms tightly around her stomach.

"Yeah, we kinda went way over budget with the scenery," Chris explained. "So we had to skimp on the meal. It was gonna be freshly cooked pizza, bison burgers, and sweet potato fries, among other things. But this is the best we could get with what we had left!"

"Where did you even get that stuff?" Shawn asked. "The bottom of the ocean?!" The green foam and the oddly-colored meat-looking-things in the mugs certainly did look like you wouldn't find it anywhere normal.

"That's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know," Chris answered. "Anywho, everyone step on up and take a seat!"

Everyone looked at each other warily, but they all did as he asked. Ella sidled up to her and looped her arm through Sammy's. "Guess we're together again, now."

"Yeah, totally," Sammy agreed. "You don't know how happy I am that we both made it to the merge. I…" Don't say it now. After the challenge, that's the best time. "I really missed you."

"I missed you, too. A lot." The butterflies were starting up again as she took in Ella's happy smile. "C'mon, let's sit down."

They did so, with Sammy near the center of the table. On her left was Scarlett and then Amy, and her right had Ella, Sky, Shawn and Jasmine, in that order. Everyone was eyeing the Juggy Chunk drinks suspiciously as Chef placed one in front of everyone.

"We'll be using this fabulous dinner as a pre-challenge," Chris said. "The first person who finishes their mug of Juggy Chunks will receive immunity, and be safe from elimination! Everyone, grab your chunks! The pre-challenge begins… now!"

He punctuated the start of it with his airhorn, but barely anyone picked up their mugs. "This is repulsive!" Jasmine shouted. "Are you sure this is safe for us to eat?!"

"Mostly sure!" Chris answered. "At the very least, it shouldn't kill you!"

"That's really not reassuring," Sky replied.

"I'm not all that fond of the way they're… bubbling," Ella said, squinting at her mug. "Is that normal?"

"I… I don't know." Sammy said to her. The meat looked like it came from at least ten different animals, and who even knew what that foam was… And the smell was so bad, it made her want to rip her nose off of her face to stop smelling it. "Something tells me this was made in a run-down laboratory rather than in a kitchen."

"I can't," Amy suddenly said, shoving the drink away from her face. "I just… I can't. I refuse to put this literal crap anywhere near my mouth. Forget the stupid immunity, I'm sitting this one out."

"I…" Ella likewise pushed hers away. "I have to agree. This looks like something you shouldn't eat, and I really don't want to throw up again tonight." She gave Sammy a sorrowful look. "Sorry."

"Hey, don't apologize," Sammy said. "There's nothing wrong with backing out."

"I suppose."

Despite her saying that, Sammy fully intended on drinking this thing. Or eating it. Or both. She didn't come this far in the game and in her own development to say no to a challenge. No matter how disgusting it actually was.

First though, she wanted to gauge who was currently drinking. And no, this was not stalling. This was… watching the competition. Since they were all merged now, she needed to keep an eye on everyone. Even if she considered some of them friends. And sincerely doubted she'd ever have to use any of this info against them.

Definitely not stalling.

Jasmine was slowly picking at hers, taking sips every now and then but not fully committing to it. Even from the little she'd drank, she already looked sick of it. Shawn was in the same boat as Amy and Ella and had pushed his away, refusing to drink it. Sky was taking quick sips and belching every time she did so, just how it was when she was drinking from the water jug a few days ago. And Scarlett was glaring right into her mug; though she did try and take a big gulp, she quickly gave it up and tossed the cup aside.

"Eating challenges are not my thing," she groaned, and instead chose to put her head down on the table.

Now that Topher was no longer around, Scarlett's elimination was Sammy's top priority. Yes, it was true that Scarlett gave her advice earlier, but that didn't mean she had any good will towards her. She was going to pay for hurting Ella, and Sammy would see to it.

In the midst of all this, she idly wondered when her crosshairs had left Amy and moved on to other people. Oddly, she wasn't too concerned with that.

"You're not drinking either?" Ella asked her curiously.

"Oh, uh, just sizing up the competition, I guess," Sammy stammered. "I'm definitely not stalling." She intended to drink, she really did, but it was… so icky… and it looked like one bit of meat was growing something…

"There's nothing wrong with backing out, you know," Ella told her. With a smile she added, "Someone wise once told me that."

Sammy rolled her eyes at the joke. "Gosh, I wonder who that is."

"I wonder indeed."

"Be that as it may, I still want to say I did something," she said as she stared down into the drink. "Even if it's just a sip."

Ella hummed in worry. "I guess a sip wouldn't hurt too badly…"

"Alright, I'm about to do it." Sammy gripped her cup with both hands, prayed for the best but fully expected the worst, and said, "Bottoms up." She brought the cup to her lips and tossed it up, intending to drink only a little. But much more of it ended up in her mouth than expected, and she nearly choked on it going down her windpipe.

It… tasted soggy. The meat was spongy and chewy at the same time. The foam reminded her of spoiled egg salads, and it flared in her nostrils as she did her best to chew it up. Even that was a challenge, as the stuff got caught in her teeth and stuck to the sides of her mouth, forcing her to scrape it off with her tongue. Swallowing it proved the most difficult of it all, as her body did not want to be ingesting it. It was perhaps the most disgusting thing Sammy had ever drank and/or eaten, and one gulp was too much for her.

Swallowing just once, she coughed and turned to the side, and spat up anything else that was in her mouth. "Oh god," she managed to croak out between coughs. "This is nasty!"

She felt Ella's hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. "Easy there. Just let it out."

"Trying," Sammy said. "It's like… stuck in my teeth."

Ella made a noise of revulsion. "Urgh. That is nasty."

"Yeah, maybe you're better off staying away from it." With a bit more effort, she managed to get the majority of the stuff out of her mouth, but the taste wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Resigning herself to her fate, she sat back in her admittedly comfortable chair and did her best to ignore it. Which was really tough considering the stuff was still right in front of her. "Amy's right, forget immunity. I shouldn't have even touched that mug."

"Well, now you'll remember for next time," Ella said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"The next time I have to drink Juggy Chunks?" Sammy scoffed playfully. "If I ever have to drink this stuff again, it'll be too soon."

Ella leaned over to her to whisper. "I remember the earlier seasons had some pretty bad food, but nothing like this. Do you think there's a reason why we're being fed this?"

"Aside from torturing us? There probably isn't a reason." Sammy hummed and sent a glare towards Chris, which he didn't see. "Didn't the lawyers say he was supposed to actually give us food? Won't… this stuff make him get in trouble?"

"If he gets in trouble, that probably means we will get treated to actual food," Ella pointed out. "So… I'm hoping he gets in trouble."

"I absolutely agree with you. Not just because I want actual food, but because he frickin-" She burped loudly. "-deserves it. Oh wow, excuse me." She burped again, covering her mouth with a fist. "Okay. The chunks are not agreeing with my stomach."

"Oh, dear," Ella said. She backed away just a bit, which was honestly more than fair. "That doesn't sound very good."

"I…" Her stomach gurgled a little, and she sheepishly covered it. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I only had a bit of it."

"Hmm," Ella mused. "If you say so."

"DONE!" With a slam of the mug, Sky shouted in frustration. "It's gone! It's all gone!" She had a Juggy Chunks mustache and beard combo, and she looked ready to kill a man. "And let me tell you, that was the worst thing I've ever eaten in my entire life! And I ate a butterfly once!"

Ella gasped sharply, a hand flying to her chest. "Sky!"

She looked over, but her irritation didn't go anywhere. "Not on purpose!"

"Sky wins the pre-challenge!" Chris announced. "And thus, wins immunity!"

Everyone groaned in defeat, and in discomfort in Sammy's case, but the news of her victory didn't make Sky feel any better. "I swear, if I don't win this stupid show after downing an entire glass of this crap, I am going to be so pissed!"

"Sky, mate, you're already pissed," Jasmine said to her, a pained look on her face. "Turn it down a notch, you're gonna pop a blood vessel being that mad."

"I don't care at this point!" she said. "I'm a vegetarian! I shouldn't have to eat this stuff!"

"Then why did you?" Shawn asked.

"Because I wanted the immunity! Obviously! And now I've gone against everything I've believed in!"

"I mean, that's as good a reason as any," Sammy pointed out, and frowned. "Actually it's, like, the only reason."

"Alright, enough yapping, we have a show to film," Chris interrupted, and directed everyone to stand in front of the table. Sky was on one side at the far end, while the rest of the players were at the other. "It's time to introduce our nighttime challenge! Hide and Group Seek!"

"Hide and seek?" Amy asked. "Seriously?"

"Yep!" Chris placed a hand on Sky's shoulder, who looked very visibly uncomfortable by it. He proceeded to detail the challenge: the others are given a ten minute head start to hide, at which point Sky starts looking and has two hours to track them down and tag them. Anyone tagged by Sky joins her group of hunters, and will have to stay with her for the rest of the challenge. Whoever gets caught is up for elimination - anyone not tagged by then gets immunity like her.

Sky, having finally started to calm down, nodded in response and shook Chris's hand off her. "This shouldn't be a problem."

"Good to hear. Any questions before we start?"

"Is there a boundary keeping us from going too far?" Jasmine asked. "I doubt Sky'll be able to look around the entire island in two hours, even if she ends up getting help."

"Good question," Chris said. "Yes, we're currently at the edge of the game area, and you'll have about the same amount of room as you did during the balloon challenge early last week. Going out of bounds nets you a warning, and remaining outside for too long gets you disqualified. Any other questions?"

"I have one," Scarlett raised her hand. "What happens in the off chance that Sky fails to catch anyone? I'd like to think that not everyone would get immunity."

"We've prepared for that situation. If the two hours is reached and no one's caught, the playing area gets drastically smaller and you'll have less space to move around. At which point, the game will end when Sky catches her first victim, and that person gets automatically taken out."

"Hmm. I see. Thank you."

"Anyone else?" No one else had anything. "Alright! Game time is now! Hiders, get to hiding!" He sounded the airhorn, and the six campers took off.

Jasmine and Shawn went in similar directions, while Scarlett and Amy took off on their own. Amy spent a second looking back at Sammy, but said nothing as she went into the forest.

Ella was still with her however, which made Sammy's heart flutter with anticipation, but she had to remind herself again to wait. Though she was flattered Ella wanted to stick together, however, she was reminded of the time she had last teamed up with someone in a challenge like this." So, where will we hide?" Ella asked her, doing her best to keep up. "Sky is probably the fastest runner out of all of us, so we'll need somewhere good if we want to stay out of her sights. A tree might be nice, one with lots of leaves to keep us hidden. What do you think?"

"Um, about that," Sammy started. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but it might be safest for us to split up for this. I don't want to accidentally get you tagged or anything."

Ella paused, but she didn't let that deter her. "Didn't I say before I'd be there to save you if you were in trouble?"

"I thought that was for- urrrrp. Uh, oops." Wow. Classy. Nicely done, Samantha. "Excuse me, sorry. I thought that was for like, actually dangerous stuff like… you know, bears."

"I mean, yeah, of course it's for that. But I also meant it in regards to the game itself. You want to win, right?"

Sammy's original goal for joining Total Drama was to get away from her sister, and back then the money was honestly a distant third, after that and making a couple of friends. Now that she felt she was pretty good in the case of goals number one and two… "Well, sure, I guess. At this point I might as well try."

"Then I'll help you," she said simply. "If you need me to give you that push that gets you to the finale, then I'll push you as hard as I can. Okay?"

That's super sweet and thoughtful of her. But… "Then I'm going to do the same for you."

"Oh?" She asked. She didn't seem too surprised by this.

"Yeah, obviously. I can't have you helping me in the game without me helping you. That wouldn't be fair."

Ella giggled, lightly and high-pitched. It made Sammy's heart speed up even more. "No, you're right. It wouldn't be, would it?"

"Yeah. So how about- Oh!" An idea came to her, and Sammy skidded to a halt, prompting Ella to do the same. "How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" she repeated. "What kind?"

"Like… we help each other get to the finale," she said. "I watch your back, you watch mine. Sort of like-"

"An alliance?" Ella asked. Her eyes were sparkling at the thought.

Sammy grinned. "Yeah, exactly! Especially now that we're all merged. I'm not saying the others are going to gang up on us, but it is technically every person for themselves. We're nearing the end of the game now, so we'll need to think carefully about what we do from here on out."

"And what better way to up our chances than to work together, right?" Ella smiled widely and grinned. "In that case… of course! I'd love to be your alliance partner."

"Woo-hoo!" Sammy pumped her fists into the air. "You won't regret this! I swear!"

"No, I most certainly won't." Ella tipped her head to the side and put a finger to her chin. "That said… If one of us does win, what do you say about splitting the money?"

"You mean like, 50-50?" Sammy asked, and received a nod in return. "Sure! 500,000 is more than enough for me anyway."

"Then it's settled! We'll stick together from here on out!"

Ella held out her right hand, and Sammy took it in her own. A shake, and the deal was made. My first official alliance… This is perfect! The competition is tough, but with Ella and I working together I think the chances of one of us getting to the finale is pretty good. Hopefully.

"Now, we should keep moving before Sky starts after us." Ella started to run again.

Sammy was right behind her. "You got it-" And that's when the pain hit her. Not sharp pain, but the pain one gets after overeating. Or the kind that comes around when the food wants to go back up. "Hrk- H-Hang on, I've got stomach cramps. Ooh, those Juggy Chunks are fighting back with a vengeance."

Ella stopped and turned around, her face was full of worry. "Are you good to keep going? Or should we find a place here and rest? I'm okay with either, as long as we're well-hidden."

"I-I think I'll be good to go," Sammy said. "Maybe. P-Probably. Let's just try running and if it gets worse I'll let you know."

"Well… Okay, but don't hesitate to tell me, alright?"

"Yeah, of c-course."

They took off together, but this time at a much slower pace. They were unsuccessful in finding a decent hiding spot by the time Chris blew his airhorn again, unfortunately, so their plan changed to being constantly on the move to try and outpace Sky. It wasn't the best on her stomach, but Sammy was glad that she was working together with Ella again, even if at first she was hesitant about it.

If only she hadn't eaten those lousy Juggy Chunks.


"S-Stop. Stop, please. I-I don't- I don't feel… Something's wr-wrong."

Sammy leaned against the nearest tree and groaned in pain. They'd been on the move for about half an hour, and her stomach hadn't let up at all since it started hurting. It was slowly but surely becoming unbearable, and chances were she'd be spewing her guts in a bush soon.

Ella was at her side at a moment's notice, though she wasn't sure what to do. Her hands were trying to find somewhere to be put - her shoulders, her back, or somewhere similar - but she kept backing off as well, almost like she wanted to be nowhere near her when Sammy began spewing. "Just- Just take deep breaths. Stay calm."

"I-I'm trying but it hurts." She did her best to control her breathing, but nothing was working. "Ella, it hur- it hurts."

"Oh dear," she whispered. "Oh dear oh dear oh dear. What do I do?" She stood up and looked around, almost like she was hoping to see someone, but she let out a frustrated growl and knelt back down. "W-What do you feel? How bad is it, on a scale of one to ten?"

"I feel… pain," Sammy stammered out. "I don't know how to explain it. I-It's just… really, really bad stomach pains. On a s-scale, probably an eight. I've n-never felt anything like thi-this before."

"And this only started after eating the Juggy Chunks, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And… you feel like you might throw up?"

"Ohhh yeah."

Her mouth formed a thin line and she nodded. "I think you're suffering from food poisoning."

"F-Food poisoning?!" Sammy nearly screamed. "I-I've never been- I've-" Her breathing was doing the exact opposite of slowing down. "Ella, I'm s-scared. I don't- I don't want- I can't-"

"Sammy," she was saying, desperately holding her shoulders to keep her still. "Sammy, just, please, calm down! You're going to be fine! Food poisoning doesn't kill you! It hurts, yes, but it only lasts for a little while!"

Sammy looked up at her - or at least, she tried. Her vision was sort of… swimming. "How long is 'a li-little while'?" she asked.

"A few hours, give or take?" Ella answered. "M… Maybe a day or two. But not very often!"

"A day or two?! I-I don't even want to be like this for a few ho-hours!" All this yelling and stress was definitely not doing anything to help, but she had gone past the point of trying to calm down. "Why does stuff like th-this keep happening?! Almost every one of these st-stupid challenges have been s-so painful!" Sammy normally managed to keep these feelings under wraps, as they wouldn't do anything or lead to anywhere. It was a mindset she developed after Amy shut down her complaints one too many times, but now those feelings of anger and frustration were just pouring out. "It's just been one thing after another! I-I figured I'd need therapy just f-for Amy's crap, but here?! With the bears, and the c-cave ins and the avalanches?! I think I've only just been getting worse! I had a r-really bad nightmare about all of that before waking up, a-and I'm really not over it yet!"

"A nightmare…?" Ella gave Sammy one of the most sympathetic looks she'd ever seen. "Oh, Sammy, that must've been horrible…"

"It… It was. Not t-to mention you getting electrocuted scared the bejesus out of me. I can still hear you screaming in my head, you kn-know."

"Oh… Oh, god. I'm so sorry."

"It's- It's not your fault."

"I know it's not, but still."

It was getting to the point where most simple movements just straight up hurt - her breathing became irregular and sharp, and she was clutching at her stomach something fierce, as if that would take the pain away. It didn't, really. "Sometimes I just want to go ho-home."

"Go home?" Ella repeated. "But…"

"Ye-yeah. This is starting to become too much for me. I-I mean… They've already poisoned us. What are they gonna d-do next, blow the island up? They're already hiding secrets on here, who- urgh, who knows what else they have up their sl-sleeves…"

"You don't… really mean that, do you?" Ella asked. "About going home?"

It was only then that Sammy saw the hurt look on Ella's face, and realized what she was saying. And after I just made an alliance with her… She must think I'm flaking on her. "Oh… Oh, no no. I don't. Not really. I mean, I do, but I-I'm just… I'm just so, so frustrated at everything r-right now." Another wave of pain decided to spring up at that moment, and Sammy growled and slammed a fist against the tree. "And these stomach pains aren't helping!"

"Maybe we should find someone," Ella suggested, standing once more. "Someone on the crew, and they can take you to the infirmary again and get you looked at."

"I guess." Moving seemed to be too much trouble though. In fact, as she tried to push herself to stand up straight, her center of gravity decided to give out completely, and she fell over onto her side. "Ow."

"Oh no," Ella gasped lightly, flying to Sammy's aid. "Are you alright?"

"I dunno," she replied. Try as she might, she couldn't properly focus her eyes on Ella. "Everything's all… w-wobbly."

Ella whined in frustration. She took Sammy's hands and attempted to pull her to her feet. "C-Come on, we can't stay here. I'll support you as best I can, okay? Just… please stand up."

"But the ground is so c-comfortable," Sammy moaned. "And moving d-doesn't hurt as bad."

"Yes, okay, but if we stay here we're likely to get-" She glanced up, did a double take, and sighed. "…caught."

Curious to what she was looking at, Sammy rolled herself over and squinted into the darkness. It was very tough to make out, what with everything being blurry and her vision refusing to stay still, but she was just able to see a bright beige patch amongst the dark trees and bushes.

"Wh-What is it?" Sammy asked. "I can't tell."

"Sky found us," Ella bemoaned. "Though… she's certainly taking her time getting here."

"Oh." Even in her current state of body and mind, she knew there was still work to be done. And despite her complaints, she knew she couldn't just quit, not after agreeing to see this to the end. Sammy tried to get up, but no matter how much she forced herself she could only manage to sit on her butt. "That's not good."

"It's not, no."

"Here, h-help me up." Ella took her hand and pulled her to her feet, though Sammy needed to use her as support. "W-We need to go."

"I'm guessing you can't walk very well if you fell over that easily," Ella noted. "It'll be slow going, but…" She looked over her shoulder at Sky. Sammy did so as well, and noted that even in her haze she could tell Sky hadn't covered much of the ground between them. "We should be fine. I think Sky's feeling the same effect as you."

"Y-Yeah. Actually, it might b-be worse for her since she drank all of her chunks…"

"Oh, that's true… I wish we could help her as well. But I'm guessing Chris wouldn't halt the game for something even as bad as this."

"That is so something he would d-do. Or wouldn't do. Or something." Ella hoisted Sammy's arm over her shoulders and grabbed her waist with her other arm, and slowly the two set off away from Sky. As Ella had said, they were unable to move very fast, and because she was unable to turn her head around Sammy could only hope they were keeping just out of their hunter's reach.

But moving ended up being a problem in and of itself - each and every step caused her stomach to cry out in pain. Her spinning head wasn't helping matters either, and her condition made it infinitely more difficult for Ella to maneuver down the path.

It was beginning to get to the point where everything combined made concentrating on the matter at hand nearly impossible, and soon Sammy was only registering everything as a blur.

At one point she broke free from Ella, ran into the bushes and threw up. It was gross and painful and left her mouth tasting like outdated hamburgers, but Ella helped her regain her feet and they pressed forward. When she looked back, though, there were no bushes to be found. Weird, but her mind quickly went elsewhere.

Unfortunately, that delay allowed Sky the time to catch up to them and, also unfortunately, tag them. Sammy wasn't able to remember if anything was said between them, but in the end she and Ella followed Sky wherever she chose to go.

Jasmine appeared at… some point. Sammy took one step faster to try and chase after her but immediately decided that was a bad idea when she threw up once more.

There was… something about a tree… And Shawn was there too. Probably trying to climb the tree? She wasn't sure if it was him, or herself.

And then, not too long later, Sammy remembered feeling weightless, and then pain, and then nothing.


She awoke to the sounds of beeping, a sharp pain in her stomach, an aching pain all over, and the uncomfortable feeling that this wasn't the first time this happened.

With a groan she pushed herself up and clutched at both her gut and her head. "Oww…" she moaned, and looked at her surroundings. As she thought, she was back in the infirmary, in the exact same bed as yesterday. "Great," she huffed. "Another disastrous challenge that definitely won't haunt me for the rest of my life."

"Oh good, you're up," Chef said to her when he noticed her rising. He was sitting at the desk writing something down. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I ran into a wall," Sammy answered bitterly. "And then the wall punched me in the gut."

Chef chuckled and walked over to her. "Yeah, falling from a tree with food poisoning would feel like that."

Her head sharply turned to him. "I fell from a tree? I guess that explains the pain, but what… What happened, anyway? I can't remember anything up after a certain point…" She was still half-asleep and her head was still foggy, so it made trying to recall anything tough.

"I didn't catch everything, so I'm not the one to ask. But if I were you, I'd save the stories til later." He started another quick examination of her, which she didn't put up a fuss about.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"That's not my place to say."

Sammy only grunted in response.

Probably to make her more annoyed, Chef just laughed. "That said, Ella's just outside, so you may want to speak with her."

After the examination, Chef gave her the okay to leave. She still felt a little off, but nowhere near as bad as before. Opening the flap to the tent, she noticed that it was still nighttime out. If she had to guess, it was probably somewhere around four in the morning… though she had no way of really knowing.

True to Chef's word, Ella was outside. But instead of standing around and waiting, she was sitting down against a tree and her head in her chest, sound asleep and lightly breathing. She's such a peaceful sleeper, even when sitting at a tree… What I wouldn't give for that.

The last thing Sammy wanted to do was to interrupt her rest, but something told her that sleeping like that wasn't going to do her any favors.

"Psst, Ella," she whispered, gently shaking her shoulder. "You should wake up."

It didn't take too much jostling to get her to wake up. Her eyelids fluttered open, like the wings of a butterfly, and she looked tiredly up at Sammy. "Oh… Good morning."

"Morning, sleepy head," Sammy laughed.

She offered to help Ella to her feet, which she accepted. Shaking her head to rid herself of the cobwebs, she asked her, "How are you feeling?"

"I've had better days, but I'm much better than yesterday," Sammy said. "Didn't need to stay in there nearly as long."

"That's good," Ella said. Her demeanor was a touch more subdued than normal, and her face was set in determination. "Because we have a problem."

Sammy swallowed. "Oh. That's, uh, not good. What's the issue?"

Ella sighed and rubbed her hands together nervously. "They only told this to the ones who didn't need their stomachs pumped, so you wouldn't-"

"Wait, stomachs pumped?" She unconsciously covered her gut. "You mean that happened to me? What the heck?"

"It was to get all of the expired Juggy Chunks out of you." She leaned in to her and whispered, "Apparently they went bad back in the 1970s!"

"And we ate them?! Jesus Christ. No wonder we had food poisoning…" She looked at her stomach, to see if there were any incisions she wasn't aware of. "How do you even…? You know what, never mind, unimportant. You said we had a problem?"

"Yes, well… More like two. Do you want the bad news, or… the worse news?"

Sammy frowned. "I'm not liking my options."

"Trust me, I don't like them as much as you."

She pushed the heels of her hands into her eyes and moaned. "Okay. Give me the bad news."

Ella looked up at the sky, specifically at the moon hanging overhead, and said, "If my guess is right… we only have about 30 minutes before we must be done voting."

Sammy's eyebrows shot up. "Wh- 30 minutes?! Normally we get the whole afternoon and evening! What gives?"

Ella shrugged. "I asked that same thing, and Chris told us he wants to get the elimination done before sunrise." She glared off to the side. "I doubt he'd let something as 'insignificant' as half the contestants in the infirmary slow that down."

"Ugh, that's so like him," Sammy groaned. "Crap… okay. Let's walk and talk, we need to find the confessional and in this maze of an island, it could literally be anywhere."

She set out to walk, but Ella grabbed her hand to hold her in place. "Wait. You need to hear the last bit now."

Sammy saw the look on her face, and didn't argue. Ella did not look happy. "What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

Her mouth drew down at the sides. "You're not going to like it. Out of all seven of us… there are only three people up for elimination."

"What?!" Sammy's thought process shut down entirely; she could barely believe what she was hearing. "Seriously? I figured Sky would've done a better job than that at finding people!"

"You'd think that, but the Juggy Chunks affected her the worst," Ella explained. "It's no surprise, really. I remember she was barely able to walk. It would've been impossible for her to catch everyone with how slow she was going… And since we all had to stick as a group, I couldn't go running off after anyone, so almost no one was caught…"

That sentence caused the realization to click in Sammy's head. "So… we're two of the ones up for elimination…"

"Yeah…"

"But then… who's number three?" She hoped against hope that it was either Scarlett or Amy, but she could tell from Ella's expression that it wasn't going to be that easy.

With a heavy sigh, Ella wrapped her arms around herself. "Shawn."

"Shawn? Oh, no… No no no…" This whole situation was perhaps the worst case scenario for everything that could've gone wrong. Not only were Scarlett and Amy safe from being voted out, it was going to come down between two of her friends and herself… "Where were Scarlett and Amy hiding, if Sky couldn't find them?"

"Amy said that she was hiding up a tree," Ella said. "Given how many trees there were in the area, I'm not surprised that she wasn't caught. We couldn't have checked all of them, not in the condition you two were."

Sammy clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Of course she manages to do good when it most inconveniences us… That's so like Amy."

"As for Scarlett, I'm not sure. I haven't seen her since she was taken in for treatment." Ella glanced over to the tent. "Is there anyone else in there?"

"I'm not sure, I didn't really look," Sammy answered. Truthfully, she was a bit too preoccupied thinking about the elimination to worry about that. "This has got to be the worst thing that could happen, though. The only people I'm allowed to vote for are myself and two of my best friends… And one of them I helped get together with his current girlfriend! Ugh, what am I supposed to do?"

There was a pause between them. "What you should do…" Ella said slowly, thinking her words out. "…Is play the game."

Sammy looked to her in surprise. "What?"

"Play the game. We have to vote for someone tonight. I don't think Shawn is going to offer to take himself out, so… we don't really have a choice."

She wasn't wrong about that, Sammy realized. It still sucked, though.

"I mean… that's what we agreed on, right?" Ella continued. She almost seemed to shrink in on herself. "Unless you really want to go home…"

"Wh- Ah! No no! That…" Argh, curse my Juggy Chunk'd brain! I didn't want to say that! "Okay, look, these last few days have been really tough on me and yes, there's a part of me that wants to go home so I don't have to deal with this anymore. But!" She took a hold of Ella's shoulders, and she looked into Sammy's eyes. "I said I'd do my best to get one or both of us to the finale, and I plan on doing that! I'll shove my annoyance at the show aside for now to focus on getting us both through! So please don't think I've given up on us, okay?"

Ella's eyes were wide and blinking rapidly, and Sammy could've sworn there was a bit of color to her face, not that she could see well in the dark. She didn't answer for a few moments, and it lasted for long enough that Sammy was starting to think she had said something wrong, as usual. When she finally spoke, however, it was so quiet Sammy almost missed it.

"On… us?"

Sammy's own words sunk in after a moment, and she instantly decided it would be best if she crawled in a hole and died. "I- I mean- I, uh-"

Wait, no! her mind desperately called out to her. This is your chance! You're with her, alone - this is the perfect opportunity! Tell her how you feel! And don't you dare chicken out!

"I-I-" Sammy did everything in her power to control her breathing. It wasn't really helping, but it would have to do. Working up as much nerve as she could, Sammy looked the girl in front of her right in the eyes. "Ella, listen, I have to tell you something. Something super important."

Ella's eyes instantly started glowing. Deep browns filled with love and life drew her in, and she found it almost impossible to look away. Without turning her gaze away herself, Ella took Sammy's hands off her shoulders and held them in her own hands, somewhat clumsily. "Y-Yes!" she said rather quickly. Ella cleared her throat and took a breath. "Um… I mean, what is it?" Even though she spoke more softly, there was still an eagerness to her voice.

You see? She's been waiting for this too! She feels the same way! You have to do it! Don't mess it up!

This was the moment of truth. This could make or break everything, she knew that. But she had to do this, no matter what. If she didn't step up and confess, she was going to regret it for the rest of her life.

So she pushed away all of her fears, all of her insecurities, and all of her anxiety. She was going to do this. She was going to take those first steps towards happiness and love, and no one was going to stop her.

"Ella… I… The truth is, I really-"

"Ugh, my head is ringing," groaned Sky as she exited the tent. "And my stomach feels like it's trying to riot against me."

"Yeah, well, drinking an entire mug of expired Juggy Chunks'd do that," Chef Hatchet replied, following her. "You took the brunt of it out of everyone, so make sure you take it easy for a bit."

"I will, thank you. Oh, Sammy, Ella! I'm glad you're… here…"

Sammy wasn't looking at anything, her gaze unfocused. Her hands were clenched and shaking in agitation, and her smile was wide and crooked and not at all happy. And just like always, her inability to keep talking when interrupted came in full force, and at the most inopportune time, to boot. Is it too late to go find that hole to crawl into and die in?

Ella was looking frantically between Sammy and Sky, but stayed silent. Sky did likewise, probably realizing what she had just interrupted.

Chef, meanwhile, also realized, but had no qualms about keeping quiet. "Oof, this just got really awkward, didn't it?" Three sets of eyes whirled on him, and he flinched accordingly. "Uhhh… Right. I, uh, gotta go… feed the… interns. Yeah." With all the subtlety of an elephant, Chef backed up a handful of steps, and took off at a dash away from the girls.

With him gone, the only one left standing around was Sky, and she was looking just as uncomfortable. "I am… so sorry. I'll just… be on my way…"

Sammy let out a haggard breath. Welp. The moment's ruined anyway. And we probably only have, what, 25 minutes? It will have to wait. "Sky, hold on."

Sky froze mid-step, and walked back to where she had exited the tent. "Uh… yeah?"

"We need to talk." She gave one last forlorn look to Ella, and turned to face Sky fully. "About the elimination. Did Chef tell you?"

Seeing that she wasn't in any immediate danger, Sky took the opportunity to talk about anything else readily. "Uh, nope! I just woke up. And honestly, I can't really remember what happened."

"Neither can I," Sammy told her. "Ella brought me up to speed, though."

At the mention of her name, Ella broke out of the trance she had entered and shook her head wildly. "Um, r-right! I didn't eat any of those rotten chunks, so I remember everything." Ella and Sammy quickly informed Sky of the situation, who was shocked at her performance, and devastated to hear the results.

"Are you serious?" she asked, her arms crossed and a vexed look on her face. "I really screwed up on this one, didn't I?"

"Please don't beat yourself up over it," Ella told her. "You couldn't have predicted what the Juggy Chunks would do to you."

"I know! But still!" Sky growled and kicked at a rock at her feet. "So not fair."

"It's not, no, but that's the hand we're currently dealt."

Sammy sighed and rubbed her neck. "Well, I know who I'm voting for. It sucks like crazy, but at this point I don't think we can rely on anyone pulling a Beardo and taking themselves out for the sake of the others. We're so close to the end, anyone who votes themselves out now would have to be nuts."

"I agree," Sky said to her. She looked up to Ella. "Who are you voting for?"

Ella blinked at her. "Well, isn't that obvious?"

Sky smirked, though it was somewhat sheepish. "Yeah, I should've guessed."

"What about you?" Sammy asked her.

With a scoff, Sky's smile turned more genuine. "C'mon, do you need to ask? Shawn. I'm not turning my back on you guys now. Besides, he's cool and all but the two of us weren't ever all that close. It's a no-brainer."

"So that's three out of seven," Sammy said. "What about the others? Jasmine and Shawn obviously are going to go for one of us, not that I blame them. But what about Amy and Scarlett? They could literally vote for anyone."

Ella rubbed at her chin in thought. "Do you think… Amy would vote for you, just because? It seems like something she'd do."

Sammy sighed and played with the side of her bangs. "I mean… Okay, before these last few days, I would've said yes without any hesitation. But now… I don't know. She's been acting different lately. And I'm able to have a civil conversation with her before it turns ugly, which, like, is a huge step up from how they normally go."

"But is that enough for her to not want to vote for you?" Sky asked.

Sammy shook her head. "I really don't know. I get the feeling that she wants to tell me something, but whatever it is she just hasn't been able to. Maybe she'll stay away from voting for me so that she gets more opportunities to talk, but… I can't say for certain."

"Well, in her case we'll just say she's an unknown," Ella said. "But as for Scarlett, I can see her wanting to vote based on the capabilities of the people up for elimination, rather than any personal reason."

"You think so?" Sammy asked her.

"Mm-hm. Think about it: Shawn and Jasmine are dating - which is super adorable by the way and I will be gushing about it with you later - and that means they're definitely going to start working together. They're also incredibly talented when it comes to the game, in strength, agility and survivability. They can both easily get to the final two, especially when compared to the rest of us, barring Sky, perhaps. If Scarlett wanted to keep herself safe, she'd go for the biggest threat available. And in this case, that's Shawn."

"Huh. I never thought of it like that." Guess I'm not much of a strategist then. "I'll be honest, I never expected to hear that coming from you."

Ella shrugged nonchalantly. "I may have watched the show originally for the songs in World Tour, but I guess some other things stuck around as well."

"So we can count on her vote, probably," Sky said, getting the conversation back on track. "Meaning that it's now four to three, in our favor."

"Yeah," Sammy said with a sigh. "It doesn't feel good, voting out a friend, though. I wish we didn't have to do this…"

"But this has to be done," Ella said firmly. "I know we've made so many friends along the way, but we're going to start getting to a point where there's only friends left. What happens then? Will nobody be voted off? That would be ideal, but it's not realistic."

Sammy was left speechless at that as it sunk in. She was right, of course - no matter how much she moaned or begged, this was how things had to go. Shawn was a good friend, maybe not as close as she was with Ella or Sky, but she still considered him as such. It was going to be difficult, but she would have to pull through no matter what. With a heavy sigh, she nodded at Ella. "You're right, of course. Sorry, I'm just getting wrapped up in my head again."

"It's okay," she told her with a warm smile. "Just remember to unwrap yourself when you're ready to come back."

Sammy snorted and hid her laugh behind a hand. "Oh, wow, that was bad. You need to work on your puns."

Ella feigned offense and put her hands on her hips. "You're one to talk! All your puns are so groan-worthy."

"Eh, you're probably right," Sammy said with a shrug.

Ella grinned. "I know I'm right."

"That said, though…" Sammy turned back to her. "Thanks, seriously. It's nice to have friends, but there will be times when our best interests don't match up. So we just gotta do what we can."

"Right," she replied.

Sammy took a quick glance at Ella, from head to toe, and gave her her own warm smile. "You know, you've grown. I can tell."

She grinned widely. "I've done my best to stop pretending and start focusing on what's actually happening. It's difficult, but I'm managing."

"You're doing more than managing," Sammy told her. "In fact, I'd say you're doing a great job of it."

"Thank you. I learned from the best."

"I'm, uh, sorry to interrupt," Sky said awkwardly. "Again. But we really don't have much time left from what you guys told me. We should hurry up and vote."

"Oh, gosh, you're right." Sammy refocused herself and got right back on track. "C'mon, we need to go find the confessional."

The three of them left the infirmary, lightly chatting amongst themselves. In the back of her mind, Sammy was berating herself for messing up and missing her chance to tell Ella the truth. It was the perfect opportunity, and she just had to be a stammering idiot and waste too much time. If they had been in any other location it would've been fine. Now she had to wait for another moment to present itself before she could say anything.

There is plenty of downtime between challenges… I'm sure my time will come soon enough.


A little while later, and the three of them entered the elimination area. Shawn and Jasmine were already there, sitting in the back row, along with Amy and Scarlett who were in front of them. Sammy paid the latter two no mind as she sped up and walked up to her friends. Jasmine, seeing them first, jabbed Shawn in the arm. He let out a grunt, but stood up when he saw her approach.

"Shawn," she started, wringing her hands nervously. "I-I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, I know," he said with a solemn nod. "I am, too."

"It's just a… This is a really, really sucky situation."

"It really is." He sighed and pulled at his toque. "But… hey, it's just a game, right?"

Sammy raised her brows at him. Part of her thought he'd be more rattled about it. "Uh… it is, yeah."

"So… no matter what happens, no hard feelings?" He held out his hand and offered her a resigned smile.

She stared at the hand longer than she should've, and quickly reached out to shake it. "Y-Yeah, of course! No hard feelings either way."

"Cool." He did the same to Ella as she approached, and she shook it without a second thought. "Good luck. To both of you."

"You as well," Ella said. She took her seat, and Sammy did the same next to her.

Everyone was silent as they waited for Chris to show, the tension cutting through any attempts at conversation. All the while, Sammy's mind was listing out all the things that could go wrong, starting with everyone all of a sudden ganging up on her, to being eliminated by Chris just for the heck of it. It was all irrational, just like it had always been, but she was getting better at telling herself to ignore it.

Chris soon arrived on the scene, smug as ever, with Chef right behind him, pointedly not looking at Sammy and Ella. Chris was holding his tray of marshmallows, and on it there were only two of them. It really drove home the fact that Sammy was voting off one of her friends, forcing her to clench her teeth and squeeze her fists to remind her that that was the only thing they could do.

"Well now," Chris spoke as he stopped walking. "What an interesting turn of events. This is probably one of the few times in Total Drama history where there's only a handful of you who could get voted out in a single night!"

"'Probably'? You don't know if this has happened before?" Jasmine asked.

"Eh. Who could say?" Chris shrugged without a care. "I don't keep track of this sort of stuff."

"But… you're the host," Scarlett pointed out. "Shouldn't you remember these sorts of things?"

"Hey, brah, you can't expect me to remember every single time I kick someone off the island. Or out of a plane. Anywho, we've got a schedule to keep and we're burning moonlight." He cleared his throat to resume. "Of you remaining seven, only three are up for elimination. No thanks to Sky."

The athlete huffed and turned her head away. "You mean no thanks to that crud that you fed us. Why didn't you stop the game when you found out, anyway?"

"I wasn't going to waste a perfect opportunity like that. Now zip it, and quit interrupting me!" Sky growled but said nothing more. Chris then looked each of the night's victims in the eye, and no matter how much she tried to fight it Sammy found herself squirming under his stare. "Samey. Ella. Shawn. You three unlucky campers get the honor of either receiving a marshmallow, or not. And since we're past the merging point, you kinda want that marshmallow."

He paused, soaking in the anxiety of the campers around him. It really didn't do anything to calm Sammy's nerves.

Picking up one of the two treats, he eyed it critically, like he was trying to understand it on a deeper level, but it was obvious he was just playing up the drama. "The first of the two people safe from elimination tonight is…"

He drew it out for as long as he could, his gaze passing over the three of them several times. Sammy found her heart rate and breathing spike dramatically, and it was only when Ella wrapped a hand around hers that she managed to calm herself a bit more.

When a suitable amount of time had passed - for Chris at least, for everyone else it was far too long - he grinned and tossed the marshmallow to the victor.

"Ella."

So surprised she was that she barely managed to catch the snack in her hands. She let out the biggest sigh Sammy had ever heard, though she didn't start munching on the marshmallow right away. She took Sammy's hand once more and squeezed it tightly. One of them was safe - now they just had to see if the other one was as well.

"And now, the final two of the night." Sammy shared a look with Shawn, and they nodded to one another. Chris turned to him first. "Shawn, you're up for elimination because of your uncanny athletic ability, and because you're dating quite possibly the physically strongest contestant we've ever had on the show. You're a powerhouse couple, and some of these guys think you need to be broken apart."

Shawn, despite being the big target on his back, only folded his arms. "True. We do make a pretty strong team." He glanced at Jasmine and grinned, who blushed and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Both Sammy and Ella, despite the tension, quietly squee'd in delight.

"And Samey," Chris said suddenly, causing her to sit up straight and stop making noise. "You're on the chopping block for your subpar athletic capabilities, yet also for your unusual talent of making allies and friends quickly, and some people here think of that as a threat."

Sammy faltered for just a moment. She wasn't sure what to expect when Chris started talking about her, but it certainly wasn't that. "I… don't understand," she said unsuredly. "I haven't been doing anything special. Have I?" She asked this to Ella, causing the other girl to blink.

"Not particularly," she answered. "You're just a really good person. I can see why others are drawn to you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Me, Sky, Shawn, Jasmine, Beardo… You kind of made friends with us pretty easily, now that I think about it."

Sammy shook her head in disbelief. "OMG… Seriously? Where was this before I came onto the show?" She knew it was because of Amy and her overbearing attitude stunting Sammy's growth, but to only find out now that she apparently had a knack for making friends was like a big slap to the face.

Chris got everyone's attention back with a whistle. "Ahem. Shawn. Samey. One of you is getting this last marshmallow. And the other is getting blasted off of this island, never to return. And that person is going to be…"

If the butterflies in her stomach kept festering, she was likely to throw up again. Her hands were clenched tight, one around Ella's, and she was squeezing back just as hard. She did everything in her power to keep from hyperventilating, knowing that the pressure would likely get to her. Sammy knew that Shawn was the more likely target, but if people actually found her a threat, then that could be dangerous for her future. If she got voted off… and be forced to leave Ella on her own, without doing anything to help her… without confessing to her… she wouldn't know what to do.

Chris, smuggly glancing back and forth between the two of them, drawing out every last possible second that he could, finally relented when enough was enough, and tossed the marshmallow towards the campers.

In a tone that betrayed the strain everyone else was feeling, Chris said simply,

"Shawn."

Sammy was even more surprised than Ella must have been, as she was too busy registering the information to see the marshmallow before it bounced off her forehead. Ignoring it, she sighed in both relief and sorrow - relief that she was safe, and sorrow that her friend was still leaving.

Ella let out another sigh herself, one that seemed bigger than Sammy's. She wrapped Sammy in a hug and rubbed her back soothingly. Sammy, so lost in her thoughts of relief, barely heard Ella mumble, "Oh, thank god… Thank god…"

Sammy held Ella back, but her eyes wandered to the other side of the area. For the most part, Shawn seemed rather neutral to results, almost as if he expected this outcome. He did sigh and give Jasmine a look - it wasn't sadness or frustration, but rather resignation. And that made Sammy's heart break all the more.

He stood without a word and followed Chris and Chef down the path, and Sammy, gently unwrapping Ella's arms from around her, quickly ran after him. "Uh- Hey, man. You okay?"

He turned to her, mildly surprised. "Not exactly, but I mean… It is what it is."

"Wait, really?" She tilted her head to the side in thought. "You said the other day you really wanted the money for your bunker, right? I thought you'd be more torn up about this."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm bummed as heck about not winning. But…" His eyes went past her and back up the path, back to the ceremony area. "Jazz and I've been talking since we got together, and it sorta made me realize that… life's kinda short. Even with the inevitable - and very real, obviously - zombie apocalypse on the way, I should be spending my time a bit better than worrying about it every single second of the day."

Well, this sounds like growth if I've ever heard it. "Oh yeah? That so?"

"Yep. And I mean, I'm still gonna get ready for it. No way am I throwing years of work and preparation down the drain that easily."

Aaand there's the Shawn I know. "Right…"

"But…" he continued, "maybe I should take the time to appreciate what I've got now. Because when the apocalypse does come, I may not have that anymore."

Sammy found herself smiling at that. Huh… At least he's made some progress. "I'm glad to hear you come to that decision," Sammy told him. "And… For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I helped get you and Jasmine together, and here we are separating you two already…"

Shawn shrugged. "Wasn't really unexpected. Something like this was bound to happen eventually. And not to toot my own horn, but Jasmine and I are heavy hitters, so if either of us were going to get sent home, it'd be the one that could actually get votes. Once we were told the results of the challenge an hour ago, it was pretty obvious who would lose."

"Yeah. Ella was saying the same thing earlier."

Shawn looked at her. "Ella was?" Sammy nodded, and he hummed in response. "Huh. She's more perceptive than I thought."

"Uh-huh. There's more layers to her than one might think."

"I don't doubt that."

They reached the cannon, and with a sigh the two of them looked up at it. "Guess this is it," Sammy said.

"Guess so." Shawn looked at her with a warm smile, and he stuck his hand out towards her. "Thanks for everything, Sammy. I… uh, know I haven't been the most friendly person here-"

"Better than some people," she interjected with a giggle.

"-but you've got a good heart," Shawn continued, "and I can respect that."

Sammy eagerly took his hand in hers and shook it heartily. "You're not bad yourself, Zombie Boy. See you on the other side."

With that, Sammy walked back to where Ella, Sky and Jasmine were waiting. Seeing her opportunity, Jasmine came up to her, put her hand on Sammy's shoulder and nodded in a passive-sort of way, and went to her boyfriend. At least she doesn't seem upset… I'll have to talk with her after.

Jasmine and Shawn spoke to each other, quiet enough that the girls couldn't hear. Jasmine bent down and kissed him on the lips, and Sammy had to keep herself from cooing again. With that done, Shawn nodded at the rest of them, and entered the cannon of his own accord without help from Chef.

"Any last words before you leave?" Chris asked, his remote at the ready.

"Just to keep an eye out for the undead," he told everyone. "And Sammy, Sky, sorry for falling on you both from the top of a tree."

Sammy and Sky both gawked. "Wait, what?"

With a sad smile, he ignored them and added, "And uh… good luck, you guys."

"Huh." Chris didn't look impressed. "I was expecting something with a bit more flare. Oh well." He dispassionately pressed his remote, and the cannon fired one of her closest friends off of the island and away from them all. "The cannon has all the flare we need."

Shawn's scream was as high-pitched as she remembered, and when it finally faded from her ears the others were left in a mournful silence. Chris and Chef left after the episode closed out, and Amy and Scarlett were nowhere to be found, leaving just Sammy and her friends to stand around and look out over the horizon.

"Jasmine, I'm so sorry it came to this," Sammy said after a little while. "The last thing I wanted to do was vote out a friend, but…"

"Nah, don't even worry about it," she said to her. "We're this far into the game, we both knew that. We'd be mad to not try and get to the end the proper way, am I right?"

"Yeah… You're right."

"I hope he lands okay," Ella noted. "They… they have to have some sort of net or something to catch the eliminated contestants, right?"

"I can't think of anything else that would," Sky told her. "Maybe a pool of water? Though that seems kind of farfetched."

"Everyone else took the same express flight off the island, so there has to be something there to catch them," Sammy said. "Otherwise I doubt the legal team would allow something like a cannon."

A pause, and everyone burst out laughing. Ha. Yeah, right.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to hit the sack," Jasmine announced. "Again, I guess."

"You guys want to come to the tree house?" Sammy offered to her old teammates. The four of them began heading up the path. "The guys' room is completely free. Though, I guess the sheets haven't been washed…"

Sky let out a loud yawn and stretched. "Maybe tomorrow. I'm so tired I'm willing to sleep anywhere."

"I agree, tonight was tiresome," Ella said. "Maybe we'll bring our own sheets tomorrow. I have to admit though, the thought of an actual bed sounds very tempting."

"Seriously, you'll be knocked out in seconds when you lie down," Sammy said. "I have personal exp-"

She would've finished the thought, but a massive gust of freezing cold wind came out of absolutely nowhere and slammed her in the face. It was loud, forceful, and nearly swept her off her feet. She and Ella both had to hold their skirts down to keep them from blowing up, and Jasmine put a death grip on her hat. Sammy could barely hear anything over the roar of the wind, and she was dangerously close to losing her balance after being blindsided by it.

And then, as quickly as it started, the wind vanished.

The force she was putting into leaning forward nearly carried her face-down into the ground, but she caught herself before anything bad happened. And that bad thing would have been made extra worse on account of an incredibly sharp, jagged spike bursting out of the ground right in front of her.

"Holy crap!" she screamed, backpedalling away from the rock and bumping into Jasmine. "What's happening?! What was that wind?" Looking around, she saw that more spikes seemed to have sprouted up in various locations around them. "What's with the rocks? And the-" A whirlwind of dust seemed to appear at the edge of the forest and blew right past them and over the water. "The tornado?!"

"That was too small to be a tornado," Jasmine hastily pointed out, "but I get where you're coming from!"

All of a sudden, the various trees in the forest - the same forest the group of them had walked countless times - were quite literally sucked down into the ground, leaving nothing in their places but small, circular holes where they once stood. Almost immediately after, though, they were replaced by trees of a different type, though they were types she remembered seeing across the island.

But neither Sammy nor the other girls had any time to react to them, as it wasn't just the trees. Towering above the forest, the mountains and cliffs of the island were also shaking, and were quickly sinking downward in clouds of dirt and debris, only to be replaced seconds later by mountains and cliffs of different formations.

A storm cloud formed in no time at all above them, and started spewing lightning in all directions, though none of it seemed to reach the island. The strong winds returned, and this time were accompanied by chunks of hail that started pelting everyone all over, forcing screams out of them. The rumblings never ceased, and the shaking seemed to increase by the second.

"What's going on?!" Jasmine cried out. "Is it an earthquake?!"

"I think it's a hail storm!" Ella pointed out.

"More like a typhoon!" Sky shouted at them both.

Sammy did her best to look around, at the trees popping in and out of existence, at the mountains trembling dangerously above them, at the wind that refused to let up, at the lightning that threatened to strike upon them. She glanced out over the ocean, where aside from waves flowing out away from them, there didn't seem to be anything going on. It was almost like it was all…

Localized around them.

"Guys," she yelled over the wind. "I don't think it's any of that. I think… I think the island's broken!"


Whoa twist ending! Who saw that coming?! And a cliffhanger to boot?! Double the surprise!

Okay but for real. This was an interesting chapter to write - due to the merge, it's every person for themselves now. And because there are no longer any teams, people are going to naturally drift to their closest comrades for protection. And in this case, it's Sammy and Ella. I'm going to try and make it so that the story isn't exclusively about them, and bring in the others when I have the opportunity to do so, but since we're down to six now, that's going to be tough to justify.

And yes, as was pointed out to me, the gender ratio is skewed. Like, heavily now. When I was originally planning this story way back when, I was focusing on characters that fit with the narrative more easily than others, and surprisingly I found that the girls of the season were easier to weave in there. Aside from Shawn (and even he's kind of stretching it), I can't easily see any of the other guys taking a full interest in Sammy's dilemma. Beardo doesn't count because I had to come up with so much of his characterization, but I literally can't see any of the others bothering with her. (You can argue for Dave, but I'm just going to come out and say it, I don't like Dave, he was not handled well on the show at all, and there's only so much you can do to salvage him, so I feel I had the right to boot him as soon as I could. I know some people don't agree, but that's just how it goes)

Some of you may also feel that Sky only managing to tag three people is kinda contrived, seeing as how Sugar in canon got everyone except for one. I feel like the writers of the canon episode were really just trying to make it seem like everyone ended up mimicking zombies to have Shawn reconcile with Jasmine. If you think about it, playing hide and seek and suffering from bad food poisoning would not mesh well at all. Plus, with a playing field as big as this one, actually finding the others when they could be hiding in literally any tree or bush would be an absolute nightmare. Sky managing to catch three people is kind of a feat in and of itself.

Chris telling Sammy that she's quick at making friends actually stemmed from the TD Wiki, specifically on Sammy's page. It says that "Despite Samey's nervous and anxious demeanor, she proves herself to be quick at making friends, seen by her experience with Jasmine." So to me, it sort of made sense that this would translate to her being able to make friends with other people just as easily, if not easier. And a person with friends is a person with connections, so it would also make sense that she'd be seen as a threat to some of the others.

I think that covers everything. Phew, long author's note. Hope you guys enjoyed! Not sure when the next chapter will be up - I hope it'll be soon, but I really can't guarantee anything. That said, stay safe, and I'll see you all next time!