A/N: I can't imagine any of my original readers are still following this story, but if you are, I am dreadfully sorry I abandoned Total Tween Island and that it took me so long to come back. After all this time I can't make any promises, but I am interested in finishing this story. If anyone is out there, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, here's a reminder of who's on which team, since it's been such a long time:

Gophers: Phineas, Gaz, Mandy, Cindy, Timmy, Edd, Mabel

Bass: Isabella, Dib, Zim, Buford, Pacifica, Dipper, Kuki, Nazz

Total Tween Island

Chapter 9: Paintball Deer Hunter

Last time on Total Tween Island: both teams set out on a canoe trip to deadly Boney Island. Phineas tried to convince Mandy to leave her alliance with Gaz and in the process, revealed someone on their team had been spying on them. Not cool bro. Pacifica and Dipper fought some more while Zim and Buford became friends. There were winners and there were losers, also known as the Screaming Gophers. Mandy and Gaz believed Baljeet was the spy and voted him off, not realizing they had the wrong guy all along! Also, one camper may have unknowingly put her whole team at risk by bringing back an item from the cursed island. Will Kuki live to regret her souvenir? And can my teeth possibly get any whiter? Find out now on Total Tween Island!

(Theme song plays)

It was a sunny seven a.m. on Wawanakwa Island and the remaining fifteen campers were still asleep before the sound of whirring blades approached. Chris Mclean was dressed in his favorite Star Wars pilot outfit as he flew his helicopter over the two cabins in his version of a wakeup call. Knowing the incredibly loud noises caused by the copter would cause the campers a good deal of discomfort, he chuckled to himself as he drank a cup of coffee.

Down below in the boys' side of the Bass cabins, the noise awoke the sleeping males. Buford's eyes were instantly open. "Wake up!" he cried jumping out of bed in only his pajamas. "They found me! It's all over man! It's over!" His eyes scanned the room desperately as he looked for a place to hide.

Dib, Zim and Dipper all woke up and looked at him strangely. "Calm yourself Buford," Zim said rubbing the sleep out of one of his real eyes before putting in his fake eye contacts. "It is merely that filthy host Chris in one of your primitive earth vehicles."

"Huh?" Buford stopped swerving his head and listened to his green-skinned teammate. "Oh yeah, you're right." He stopped freaking out and pulled himself together. It was then that he noticed Dib and Dipper were watching him. "What are you two staring at? You both want a knuckle sandwich?"

Both seeing and hearing the threat, the two boys backed off and went to get dressed. Once they were gone, Buford put down his fist and turned to Zim. "Thanks Zim," he said gruffly. "You're a weird looking kid, but you make a pretty good pal." He slapped the alien energetically on the back. The force of the blow knocked Zim face first onto the ground.

"Yes…" Zim said, his voice muffled slightly by the floor. "Zim thinks well of you too, earth monkey…"

*Confessional*

Zim: It should surprise no one that Zim has managed to conquer the mind of the Buford. He is strong and loyal, he will make a good man-slave, or maybe just a bodyguard. At least, if he stops trying to break Zim's back…

*End Confessional*

Ten minutes later the campers had gotten dressed and left their cabins. The mess hall was still locked, though most of them were still using the bathrooms and showers. Nazz and Kuki however, were not. Instead, the two girls were hiding outside behind their cabin looking nervous.

"Where is she? Where is she?" Kuki hopped from one foot to the other.

"It's okay, I think she's still in the shower," Nazz answered.

Kuki's body relaxed significantly and she stopped hopping. "That's a relief."

The blonde girl crossed her arms. "We can't keep doing this Kuki. We shouldn't live in fear of Pacifica. She's just some rich girl."

"Yeah, some scary rich girl!"

But Nazz wasn't about to budge. She shook her head. "We've just gotta stand up to her! Tell her we're not part of her alliance anymore and if she doesn't like it…"

Kuki gulped. "If she doesn't like it?"

"Then…Then that's too bad!" Nazz raised her fist. "We're not going to be her pawns anymore, right?"

"That's…That's right!"

"…what are you two doing back here?"

Kuki let out a loud shriek before quickly covering her mouth with her sleeve-covered hands. "Pacifica!" Nazz gasped. "W-We didn't see you come over. How long…how long were you standing there?" The blonde girl tried to play it cool, but a bead of sweat ran down her face.

Pacifica grinned and walked closer to the two girls. They managed not to flinch as she put an arm around their shoulders. "Listen girls, I know I got mad at you before, and I just want to say I'm sorry. The truth is I don't have a lot of real friends back home, just some groupies and sometimes I say the wrong thing."

Nazz and Kuki's eyes darted toward each other as the rich girl continued speaking. "What I'm trying to say is, let's let bygones be bygones. We need to keep working together, otherwise the boys will outnumber us and pick us off one by one. We wouldn't want that," she squeezed the two girls' shoulders lightly with her fingers, "would we?"

"N-No…" Kuki shook her head.

"I-I guess not…" Nazz turned away from Pacifica and stared at the ground.

"Good," the rich girl let go of her pawns. "Then let's get ready for whatever stupid challenge Chris has for us today; we want to be prepared. Oh and Nazz? You might want to take another shower. You smell like dude." Pacifica turned up her nose slightly before walking off.

Nazz and Kuki relaxed physically and fell into a clump on the ground. The blonde sighed. "New plan: we do whatever Pacifica says until the next elimination, then vote her out."

"A-Agreed," Kuki nodded. "Just give me a minute, my legs are still wobbly."

*Confessional*

Kuki: This show is a lot more work than I expected! I thought we were just going to do fun challenges, make friends and meet cute boys! Not all this drama…

Nazz: Now that I'm calmed down, I think this could work. Pacifica doesn't have any friends on our team, right? Though this does feel more underhanded that I would've liked…

*End Confessional*

Twenty minutes later, both teams had been gathered by Chris at the campfire pit. The first row of seats were taken up by the Killer Bass and the back row were filled by the Screaming Gophers. There were now only five stragglers who had to stand, as their numbers were slowly getting smaller.

The host stood in front of the campers looking cheerful. The campers themselves looked hungry. "Morning campers." He addressed them in a far more aggressive tone than usual. "Are you ready for today's extreme-max-impact-challenge?!" He raised up both fists looking excited.

"That sounds like fun," Mabel raised up both her fists to mimic the host. "Yeah! I'm ready!" Sitting right next to her, Mandy just shook her head.

Chris pulled out a can of food and pulled his arm back to throw. "Incoming!" He tossed it overhand right at them. It would've hit Dib right in the face, but Isabella reached out and snatched it out of the air just in time. She then inspected the can, "beans?"

"This," Chris tossed out another can that Phineas caught, "is breakfast." He tossed out two more cans; one was caught by Timmy and the fourth by Nazz. A fifth can went to Double D, but he dropped it. Soon, everyone had a can.

"No," Cindy said holding her own can at arm's length. "Breakfast is eggs and bacon, pancakes, waffles! This is just…ughh," she groaned. "This is worse than what Chef makes!"

"I heard that!" Chef's voice could be heard from all the way back at the mess hall.

"I have to concur," Double D read the packaging on the back of the can. "This is hardly part of a balanced diet…"

Buford meanwhile, opened his can and chugged the entire contents. "Eh," he shrugged. "I'll eat anything. If you guys want to starve, that's your problem."

"Regardless of your complaints Cindy," Chris spoke up. "That's what you get. Now, today's challenge is about survival. We're going hunting." He pulled out a green paintball gun.

"Cool!" Timmy exclaimed as soon as he saw the gun.

"That looks like a paintball gun," Dib pointed out.

"That's because it is Dib," the host shot the big-headed boy right in the chest; he went down. "It is a paintball gun."

Isabella crossed her arms. "But we're not going to shoot living things with it…right?"

"Negatory," the host shook his head. "This is the first ever paintball human-deer hunt! I'll announce the teams once we get into the woods. So…finish breakfast." Hearing this, many of the tweens glanced from their can of beans to each other and tried to decide if it would be better to go hungry or not.

A few minutes later the fifteen campers and Chris had moved to a spot just outside the forest. A large board and chest had been set up behind the host. On the board the campers could spot with a quick glance seven paintball guns hanging up; three red and four green.

"And now for the team breakdowns," Chris said, getting right down to the good stuff. "The hunters for the Killer Bass are Dipper, Kuki, Dib and Nazz." He tossed one of the four green paintball guns to each of the four tweens. They each caught the guns looking surprised. "They're locked and loaded with Bass Blue paint."

He then turned to the Gophers. "And using orange paint are the Gopher hunters: Cindy, Timmy and Mabel." Just like with the other team, Chris tossed them each a paintball gun, each one a shiny red.

"Awesome!" Timmy exclaimed, holding the too-large weapon in both hands as he realized he would be a hunter. "I'd think I was dreaming if my stomach wasn't cramping up so much!"

"Why does their team get an extra hunter?" Mandy asked, sounding irritated.

"Because their team has more people on it," the host answered. "Should've thought of that before you lost the last elimination, huh Mandy?" The blonde girl seethed quietly.

Chris then pulled out several bright orange visor glasses from the chest and put one on. "You also get these styling glasses and wicked camo caps." He passed them out to the seven hunters. "The rest of you," he turned to the non-hunters, "are now deer." He pulled out three more items from the chest. All three looked like they should've been in a kid's Christmas play. "Here are your antlers, noses, aaannndd… little white tails." Chris turned around to show he had attached the tail to his back like a belt and shook it.

Pacifica crossed her arms. "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that."

"Me neither," Buford agreed. "I should be a hunter, not some fruity deer!"

"Oh yeah?" Chris waltzed over and quickly placed the antlers, nose and finally tail on Buford before he could stop it. "Take these off and your team is toast-and by toast, I mean facing elimination."

"Why I oughtta…"

"Oh Buford," Mabel walked over carrying her gun and smirking. "You look so cute as a deer. I'll make you my first target."

The delinquent seemed to take this as a threat because a second later he was way up in Mabel's face. "You better be a good shot then little girl, or the hunted will become the hunter." Mabel gulped.

"Alright!" Chris clapped his hands together after all the deer had put on their outfits (several of them against their will). "The challenge will take place in the woods and last until four in the afternoon. At that point I'll assess how much damage each team's deer took. The team with the least amount of paint on them will be declared the winner. Deers, you have a five minute head start. Starting…now!" The host pulled out his whistle and blew a long burst. The tweens had not been expecting the challenge to begin so suddenly, but after a few seconds of standing around looking silly, they quickly bolted into the woods in two groups.

Five minutes later the hunters went in after them.

A few minutes later the deer on the Gopher's team, Phineas, Mandy, Gaz and Edd, were wandering through the woods in a straight line. "Umm excuse me," Edd spoke up. "But where are we moving toward?"

"Well, since we're deer, I guess we're heading farther into the forest away from the hunters. If we move away from the starting point faster than the hunters and consistently hold that pace throughout the challenge, they won't be able to catch us," Phineas explained.

"That works in theory," Mandy started. "Unless, you know, you run into a bear and get eaten."

"Ha!" Gaz let out a short laugh without looking up from her game. "Idiot."

Mandy stopped walking. "We're going this way," she pointed to the right. "You nimrods are on your own."

Phineas and Edd watched the two girls walk further into the forest by themselves until they eventually disappeared from view. "Well," Phineas turned to his teammate. "It would probably be better if we split up too. That way there's less chance of either of us being found." He placed his hand briefly on Edd's shoulder. "Good luck."

After Phineas left, Double D stood there nervously for a bit, looking left and right. He heard the sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs. "Oh dear…"

Kuki and Nazz hesitantly began their trek through the forest, each carrying a paintball gun and wearing a visor. Both girls were surprised to find they had been chosen, even if it was at random, and wondered with a little concern what Pacifica's reaction would be.

"So…are we looking for someone to shoot?" Kuki asked.

Nazz shrugged. "I guess so. Have you ever been paintball shooting before?" Kuki shook her head. "That's okay, because I have. You're holding your gun all wrong. Why don't I give you some tips while we walk?" The two girls began to chat comfortably as they made their way through the forest, with Nazz taking the lead and doing most of the talking.

After a few minutes of this, they pushed past a grouping of foliage to find a rather cross Pacifica waiting on a stump. "Finally!" the rich girl let out an impatient moan. "What took you two so long?"

The two girls glanced at each other before turning back to Pacifica. "What…do you mean?" the Asian girl asked.

"I mean I was waiting here completely vulnerable to attack while you two were off skipping through the forest!"

"You want us to protect you?" Nazz raised her gun up to chest level.

"I want us to win!" Pacifica answered. "And the best way for us to win is if you make sure the other team doesn't hit me with paint."

"But shouldn't me and Kuki go after the other team?"

"Leave that to Diphead and that other nerd," Pacifica rolled her eyes. "As long as I'm safe, so is our team. Plus, this outfit is worth more than your whole house Nazz, I am NOT getting paint on it!"

Kuki gasped at that remark, but Nazz held her tongue. She gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride. "…fine, we'll guard you Pacifica. Is that okay?"

"That's more like it!" The mean girl stood up and grinned. "Don't look so down you two, I promise I have our team's best interests at heart."

*Confessional*

Nazz: Just gotta keep it together until we lose, then she's gone! Oh, I hope we lose…

Pacifica: Keeping these two girls in line is turning out to be more trouble than I expected. But what can I do? I can't go it alone. Not with Dipper and Mabel out there ruining my good name and trying to get me kicked off. And I can't let myself get eliminated. No way, Daddy made it clear when I left: a Northwest never loses! So, I'll keep getting these two to do all the work for me until I'm the only one left.

*End Confessional*

"Nazz, I'm hungry," Pacifica declared a few minutes later. The other blonde girl glanced at her inquisitively. "Go get me something from Chef's kitchen; maybe some cheesecake or something fancy. He probably doesn't have that so at least get me some chips."

"Get you some chips?" Nazz scoffed in disbelief. "Pacifica, what are you talking about? We're in the middle of a challenge! Plus, I thought you wanted me here to guard you."

"Don't worry, I still have Kuki," the rich girl pointed out. Kuki jumped a little to hear her name spoken in the conversation. "She'll cover for you. She's not completely useless."

"Hey!"

"This is a dumb idea Pacifica," Nazz held her ground.

"Just do it!"

"This is an outrage!" Zim shouted out loudly, for what may have been the tenth time since they entered the forest. He was unsuccessfully attempting to pry the antlers Chris forced him to wear off his head. "Zim is no deer! He is no mere prey! Zim is a predator! He should be out there hunting the filthy worm-babies like the vermin they are!" He clenched his fists. "Not hiding behind some tree like a common squrichmock!"

Buford nodded. "I hear you dude. It's sickening to have to stand here and pretend to be…helpless. The Van Stomm's are warriors!"

"Yes, warrior," Zim found himself agreeing with the human. "Zim is also a mighty warrior."

"But I think I figured out why Chris did it," Buford kicked a pinecone as they walked along. Zim glanced over inquisitively. "The two of us, we were too big a threat. Yeah," he nodded, "that stupid host knew if he made the two of us hunters the game would be over like that!" he snapped his fingers. "But that's boring. This is TV, so they gotta make it interesting. Make it seem like both teams have a chance. That's why they made guys like us deer."

"I see," Zim's hand caressed his chin as he considered this. "Yes, the Buford may be right. We are too strong as warriors! These feeble human children would fall beneath our might like dominos!" He shouted the last word as he shook his fist at the sky.

Buford nodded, "now you're gettin it."

*Confessional*

Zim: This 'Buford' human is obviously more intelligent than most humans, especially Dib. He recognized Zim's amazing skills as an invader in just a glance! He may be more useful than originally anticipated…

Buford: I hate Chris! He's lucky I don't get my hands on one of those paintball guns! I'd show him a thing or two! Also, I keep getting stuck hanging out with weirdos. First there was Baljeet with his love of math, now there's Zim and his love of…well he doesn't really love anything. More like his hatred of the human race?

*End Confessional*

Passing through a nearby part of the forest were Cindy and Mabel, both carrying their paintball guns in their arms, searching for deer. The blonde glanced briefly behind them and sighed. "Mabel, I wish you hadn't needed to 'try out' your paintball gun so much. You've practically left a trail telling everyone exactly where we are!" she said, referencing Mabel's unstoppable desire to shoot paint at as many trees and plants as she possibly could.

"Huh? Yeah sure," the brunette answered, not really hearing her. "Listen Cindy," she turned to her friend. "Will you teach me to be a cool, kick-butt girl like you who doesn't take crap from anybody? You know kick-boxing right? Will you teach me kick-boxing?"

Cindy sighed and put her head in her hands. "Mabel you're not even listening to me. This is no time to-" But she was interrupted by the sound of strange, loud laughter.

"Ah ha ha aha-ha!"

"Pathetic human host!"

"-if I had a paintball gun right now-"

Both girls stopped talking and listened for the voices. Cindy put her hand to her ear and started walking off the path and over into the brush. She waved Mabel over. After a minute she put her hand down and pushed aside a large bush. Both girls' eyes widened at the sight of Buford and Zim standing around a clearing, making quite a bit of noise.

Cindy and Mabel nodded at each other silently and raised their weapons. Then they both leapt out of the bush in a surprise attack. Mabel began screaming and both boys looked completely taken back. "Stay still boys and we'll make this quick!" Cindy said as she began pumping out paintball after paintball.

"Take this! Whoo-hoo!" Mabel laughed as she did the same.

Zim and Buford were too surprised to evade or even run away and merely raised up their arms in a meager attempt the block their bodies as they were quickly pelted with paintballs. The two girls were mere feet away, more than close enough to hit their targets even without practice or skill. All they needed was ammo, and they had plenty, and were more than happy to spend it.

"Ahh!" Zim cried out in pain. "My eye!" The alien's hands went up to the fake eye now covered in paint, though the rest of him was also paint stained, and cringed. "Curse you human filth!"

"Zim!" Buford cried out as he stood in front of his teammate to shield him. He was already covered in paint, and it didn't seem to have the same effect now that the surprise had worn off.

Cindy, and then after a few seconds Mabel, stopped firing.

Buford got red in the face. "You hurt my little buddy! I'll get you both for that!" And without another word he charged forward with arms raised and a cry in his throat.

"Ahh! Cindy!" Mabel cried out as she turned and ran. "What do we do?"

"Shoot him!" the blonde girl briefly stopped running to take a shot, but missed.

"I can't!" the brunette girl cried out from further ahead. "I'm out of ammo!"

Cindy wanted to slap the silly girl for having wasted it earlier. "Then just run!"

Mabel nodded, and then attempted to throw her now useless paintball gun at their attacker, only for it to bounce off him harmlessly. She gulped and kept running.

Dib and Dipper were quite pleasantly surprised when they found out they were both chosen to be hunters. Neither of them had any experience holding a gun of course, but that didn't curb their enthusiasm. "This challenge might actually be fun," Dipper said, looking over his paintball gun as the two walked through the forest.

"You know what this means," Dib turned to his friend. Dipper nodded. "We're not just paranormal investigators anymore…" Suddenly both boys donned matching pairs of cool looking sunglasses and posed dramatically with their guns as an explosion went off behind them. "We're…paranormal hunters."

"Yeah!"

"Who said that?" Dipper looked around confused; the moment was over. "Anyway," he said as they kept searching for Gopher deer to shoot. "I can't wait to shoot some deer and then Mabel. That'll show her how tough and manly I am!" He attempted to flex his right arm.

"Isn't Mabel a hunter though?"

"Yeah…I guess so," Dipper shrugged.

"Well, I can't wait to use this on Zim," a dark, crazy look crossed Dib's face. "Then I'll expose him on television and everyone will see him for the twisted alien he truly is!"

Dipper looked somewhat taken back by his friend's rather crazy demeanor. "Uhh…right. But isn't Zim on our team?"

Dib deflated. "I…hadn't thought of that."

The two kept walking. "Hey, why haven't we found anyone yet?" Dipper asked. "We've been searching these woods for over an hour!"

Dib paused and glanced around. "You're right, we should've found somebody by now. How are we supposed to be paranormal hunters when there's nothing to hunt?"

Nazz was usually a very positive, laidback girl who didn't get riled up very often, but as she wandered back toward camp a negative aura seemed to ooze out of her. "…stupid Pacifica…cheesecake…yeah right…" she muttered darkly to herself, not really paying attention to where she was walking.

All of a sudden she tripped over a tree root and fell flat on her face. "Oommph!" As she pulled herself to her feet, she heard a voice coming from in front of her. She crawled closer so she could hear better.

"Oh good, it's you Timmy. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Oh hey Double D. What's up? You don't have any paint on you so you must've stayed hidden from those Bass huh?"

"Why yes, I have," the voice sounded anxious. "No thanks to Phineas or the girls. But that's not what I wanted to speak to you about," he cleared his throat. "We haven't gotten the chance to speak of what befell our friend Baljeet."

"Oh." The other voice sounded somber.

"With him eliminated, our group has shrunk to just us, and with Mandy and Gaz as dangerous as ever, I feel we are both in grave danger of elimination-"

The conversation continued, but Nazz was no longer listening. She had gotten close enough that she could see the feet of the two boys; it was Timmy and Edd! Nazz knew Edd was a deer and that they were both Gophers. "Well this was the original challenge…" she said to herself. "And with no Pacifica around I might as well have some fun."

Nazz stood up suddenly and rushed out into the open while both boys were still in mid-conversation. They turned their heads as she raised her gun up and aimed. "Hello boys. Come here often?"

She pulled the trigger.

"Oh come on!" Timmy leapt out of the way as fast as he could. His reaction speed was quick, but not quite good enough; his left arm was covered in paint. And yet, he felt he got off easy when he looked back and watched in horror as Edd was splattered in blue paint.

"Not so fast Nazz!" Not missing a beat, the boy with the pink hat raised his own weapon and fired back. When orange paintballs shot out in tandem straight for her, Nazz pulled her head back just in time to avoid a face full. She quickly turned her attention from Edd to Timmy, but her balance was off from her dodge and her aim was too high. Timmy avoided the shot easily and continued firing right at her. Nazz had to quickly sidestep out of the way just to keep up with him. Double D ran off in disgust to find a towel but neither tween noticed as they engaged in a stare-down.

*Confessional*

Edd: Ughhh yuck! *he shuddered* Paint, why did it have to be paint? And all over my nice clothes! I work so hard to keep all the dirt from the forest off them, and then they get covered in paint! What would mother say?

*End Confessional*

Timmy and Nazz stood several feet away from each other. They were both covered in the other team's paint color and breathing heavily. Neither of them had any ammo left, yet both of them appeared ready to fight on. "You're…pretty good at this Timmy," Nazz said as she tried to catch her breath.

"Thanks," he nodded. "You too. You're nearly as skilled as you are beautiful Nazz."

The blonde girl's demeanor suddenly changed and she found some color returning to her cheeks. "Oh, you think so? My, Timmy, I had no idea you had such a way with words, dude." She then dropped her paintball gun on the ground. "This was a lot of fun, and a good way to relieve some stress, but I'm out of ammo."

"Me too," Timmy dropped his own gun to the ground where it was quickly forgotten as the two tweens stared intently into each other's eyes. "Say Nazz, do you maybe want to go for a walk?" He hoped he didn't sound like a total dweeb.

"Through the woods?" she asked, Timmy nodded. "That sounds nice." Timmy walked over and wrapped his arm through hers. Both boy and girl blushed slightly before walking off into the trees. They talked quietly together as they strolled across the island. The challenge lay forgotten, and Pacifica's request with it.

*Confessional*

Isabella: Wow, this challenge has been surprisingly easy so far. I haven't run into a single hunter. I was expecting to spend most of the challenge running and hiding, but I guess there aren't enough hunters for that. Maybe Chris didn't think that part through?

Phineas: This challenge isn't much of a challenge. I spotted Dib and Dipper looking for deer earlier, but I didn't have any trouble hiding from them. No sign of Nazz or Kuki. Oh, but I did see Isabella a little while ago. We hung out for a few minutes and had a chat. She seems to be doing well on the Bass team. I know I said I wanted to win this on my own, and I mean that, but once the teams merge, I wouldn't mind teaming up with her for a while.

*End Confessional*

"Uggh! Where is she?" Pacifica asked for the seventh time in the last hour. She groaned as she lay down on the tree stump she was resting on. Her stomach growled in hunger. "I'm starving. Nazz, you better get back here soon or you're in so much trouble…"

Kuki meanwhile, had been pacing back and forth, while holding her gun, in front of Pacifica for a while now, and her legs were getting rather tired. She didn't think this challenge was going very well nor did she think this was an effective use of her skills. "Umm…Pacifica? How long do you want me to keep doing this?"

"Until I tell you to stop," the blonde girl answered impatiently. "God, you're dense. Can't you think for yourself?" A minute passed and then she finally stood up. "That's it, we're going to go find Nazz, and when we do, she is in so much trouble." She snapped her fingers. "Come on Kuki, follow me."

The Asian girl felt she had little choice but to do what Pacifica wanted. The rich girl seemed to hate nature, as she complained the whole way about every stick, bush and tree they passed. It was also clear she had no idea where she was going. Ten minutes later the girls had failed to find Nazz, or anyone else. They had, however, become hot and sweaty from walking around in the hot sun.

Both girls' stomachs groaned. It was then that Pacifica spotted a bush with berries growing on it. "Finally!" Pacifica rushed over, "something that looks like food. But is it safe to eat?" she wondered. "Maybe I should make Kuki taste-test it…"

It was then that both girls heard a loud growling coming from in front of them. They both jumped up a few inches and looked around frantically. All of a sudden, out from behind the berry bush rose a large brown bear. It had been sleeping until the sound of Pacifica's voice had awoken it. Both girls froze in place immediately at the sight, but after a few seconds wondered why it hadn't noticed them yet.

Then, the smell of Pacifica's perfume seemed to catch the attention of the animal, which turned and caught sight of them. It opened its cavernous mouth filled with rows of sharp pointy teeth and growled loudly. Both girls screamed in unison.

"Aaaahhhhhh!"

The bear pushed through the bush and came toward them. "W-We should run!" Kuki said, but found her legs too wobbly to move. "O-Or maybe…play dead?"

"NO!" Pacifica cried out loudly, having found her voice. "Don't eat me! Eat her instead!" She then shoved Kuki as hard as she could toward the bear. Then she turned and ran. The Asian girl, having been caught off-guard, had no time to react and fell down hard on her stomach.

She slowly looked up. The bear was so close she could smell its breath as it gazed down on her. It roared angrily and held up its claws. "No! Let me go! I don't want to be bear food!" As quick as she could Kuki flipped over and tried to stand up all at once. She was in full panic mode, thinking only of getting away and nothing else. Her body was stuck in flight mode. She wasn't quite sure what happened next, suddenly her foot tripped and she fell down. There was a painful crack and she screamed.

Dib and Dipper were nearby when they heard the scream. They didn't know who it was, just that it was a female voice that sounded familiar. After a quick glance at each other, they both ran toward the sound of the voice. "What the heck was that?" Dib asked as they ran.

"I don't know," Dipper shook his head. " But it sounded bad. Do you think maybe-?" but before he could finish his question, the two boys arrived on the scene to find a large brown bear standing over an injured Kuki. Pacifica pushed past Dipper's shoulder as she ran in the opposite direction of the bear without saying a word to either of them.

Both boys were momentarily stunned. Then, without saying a word, they began to pelt the large animal with paintballs. A bear is a big target, so the boys got plenty of hits in. As a paintball scrapped by the bear's ear, it turned towards them. Another then hit it on the nose and it growled angrily. It forgot all about Kuki and began to charge.

"Aaahhhh!" This time it was the boys' turn to run away scared. They ran in a straight line right next to each other. Neither boy believed they could outrun a bear. They ran straight for a tree. Once they were mere feet from it, both boys made a ninety degree turn; Dipper right and Dib left. The bear hadn't expected that and had been moving at a much faster speed. It's hard head slammed into the tree, shaking it violently. It quickly recovered, however it realized the two boys had split up in opposite directions and were putting some real distance between them. Deciding it wasn't worth the trouble, the bear decided not to pursue either of them, and merely went back to searching for food.

Meanwhile Isabella stumbled upon an injured Kuki lying in a small ditch. "Kuki, oh no!" she gasped before going down to help. "Hold still, I'll get help!"

*Confessional*

Dipper: Okay, I did NOT expect to find a bear when I heard that scream. That was some scary stuff. I may or may not have peed my pants a little. Don't tell Mabel.

Dib: Are Dipper and I heroes for saving Kuki? Probably. Am I never ever going back into a forest ever again? Definitely.

*End Confessional*

A noticeably loud buzzing noise was heard coming from the speakers placed conveniently throughout the entire island. The sound drew the attention of the campers on both teams. "Attention human wildlife and hunters," a voice rang out. It was easily recognized as belonging to Chris. "Please report back to camp. The challenge is over. It's time to show your hides and tally up the score."

It had been twenty-five minutes since Chris' announcement that the challenge had ended and all the tweens had either come out of the woods themselves, or been located and directed out. They had all been told to gather at a medical tent outside, near the campfire pit. Chef was inside dressed in a nurses outfit. Sitting upright on a stretcher was Kuki, her right leg, now broken, had been treated and was now in a cast. Nearby was Zim, who Chef had attempted to treat for an eye injury.

The campers looked on in confusion and concern as a rather serious looking Chris paced back in forth in front of an injured Kuki. "Tsk Tsk," he said. "Hunters attacking other hunters, deer attacking hunters, hunters attacking bears, and finally, bears attacking hunters." Members of both teams nervously eyed each other back and forth, wondering whether they were being lectured. "Do you know what I see here? I see a very undisciplined group, I see a disgraceful mess, I see a massive waste of paint product, and I have to say…"

Suddenly a wide grin appeared on the host's face. "That…was…awesome!" he laughed. The tweens looked relieved. Mabel fist-bumped a satisfied looking Cindy. "Half the woods are now covered in paint thanks to you little hellions. Wicked TV guys."

"But who won the challenge Chris?" Mandy asked.

"The challenge?" Nazz spoke up, her words suddenly dripping with emotion. "You're concerned about the challenge? That doesn't matter! What about Kuki?" she motioned to her injured teammate. It was then that everyone realized just how upset the blonde was and the lighter atmosphere of just a few seconds ago dissipated. "She almost got mauled by a bear if Dipper and Dib hadn't saved her!"

Dib looked like he was about to say something, but Dipper elbowed him in the ribs and whispered, "not the time, dude."

"And even then," Nazz continued, "she still broke her leg! We're not going to talk about that?"

"Oh please," Pacifica scoffed. "Stop being such a drama queen Nazz. Kuki's fine, she'll recover. It's not like her leg was eaten or anything."

But that had been the wrong thing to say, as Pacifica had set off Nazz Rage Mode. A fire burned in the pupils of her eyes. "You!" Nazz stomped over to Pacifica and shoved an index finger right in the rich girl's face with such intensity that she cowered back in fear. "This is all YOUR fault Pacifica! You treated Kuki like a servant, you got the bear mad in the first place, and then you had the gall to push her into the bear to save yourself?" She spit in disgust.

Pacifica looked around nervously as every other person there either glared at her or looked disgusted. It was only then that she realized the seriousness of her situation. Sweat ran down her forehead. "Well?" Nazz broke the silence. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I…I…I…"

"Alright, that's enough," Chris interrupted, standing between the two girls. "I understand you're upset Nazz, but I don't want this to get ugly. Is there anything you'd like to say Kuki?"

Everyone then turned back to the Asian girl, who suddenly looked a little embarrassed to be sitting there with a broken leg. "N-No…" she turned away.

"Alright then," Chris tried to get this fiasco back on track. "Back to the challenge. I will now announce the winning team. It was actually rather close, with two hits on both sides. However, one of those hit on the Gopher's side was actually a hunter, not a deer, which means…" He raised his voice to announce the winner. "The winning team is…the Screaming Gophers!"

"Whoo-hoo!" Timmy, Cindy, Mabel, Edd and Phineas all cheered. Mandy looked mostly satisfied and Gaz was not even paying attention.

Chris then turned to the other team. "Screaming Bass…I'll be seeing you tonight at the campfire ceremony." Buford, Zim and Nazz all looked angry. Dib, Dipper and Isabella looked disappointed, but Pacifica didn't react; instead appearing withdrawn and diminished.

Then, Nazz caught everyone's attention again. "Make no mistake Pacifica!" she called out to the other blonde. "You're going home tonight! After what you did, there's no other possibility!"

A look of regret crossed Pacifica's face, but she said nothing. Instead she ran off, away from the others. Not even the Gophers felt like celebrating after that.

*Confessional*

Mabel: Oh Pacifica, why must you be so terrible? It's so sad. I'm just lucky she's on Dipper's team instead of mine.

Mandy: Pacifica is a fool. If you're going to seize power in a game like this, you can't let yourself look like a tyrant. Doesn't she know the power of the masses? I'm not surprised though; rich girls like her never have any real brains.

Pacifica: …I didn't…It wasn't like I… *she stops talking and just looks at the camera, then sighs* My parents always taught me being a Northwest meant being a winner, being better than everyone else…but this…this is wrong.

*End Confessional*

The elimination ceremony took place that night. It was already dark when the Killer Bass arrived. They were all surprised when the Screaming Gophers arrived right after they did. "Chris," Isabella stepped forward, "what's going on?"

"Slight change of plans," the host announced. "The Gophers are here for something later, ignore them for now." Some of the Gophers frowned at this, but said nothing. "The elimination ceremony will not be taking place."

"Why not?" Nazz asked, unable to keep the leftover emotion out of her voice.

"There's no need," he answered. "Who's going home has already been decided." It was then that Kuki was rolled out on a wheelchair by Chef. "Kuki unfortunately broke her leg earlier during the challenge, which would make it very difficult for her to continue with the competition. After speaking earlier to both her and the producers, it's been decided Kuki will withdraw from the game. As such, we will not bother to eliminate anyone else for this challenge."

"What?" Everyone was both upset and surprised to hear this, but Nazz most of all. She walked over to Kuki. "Is this true Kuki? Are you really quitting?"

"I…I…" the Asian girl looked embarrassed. "I don't want to do this anymore Nazz. It was nice for a while, but Pacifica took all the fun out of it. I don't think I should compete with a broken leg either. I would just get in my team's way."

"Oh Kuki…" Nazz felt like her heart was breaking.

"Hey," Kuki hugged the blonde girl. "Don't be sad, okay? You're my BFF and I want you to win this thing! Give it your all, okay?"

Nazz nodded and wiped something out of her eye, "you got it Kuki. I'll show everyone our girl power."

"Ha-ha yeah," Kuki gave a faint smile. "And don't let Pacifica get you down okay? She's just a big meanie. That's all." Nazz nodded. "Oh, before I forget. Take this," she passed something into Nazz's hands and closed them. "It's my lucky charm. I want you to have it, okay?"

"Alright, time to go," Chris interrupted before Nazz could see what it was. Kuki nodded, and Chef wheeled her away from the fire pit and over to the dock of shame. Members of both teams wished her goodbye as she went, with the exception of Pacifica who seemed to have hidden herself at the back of the group.

"Now then," Chris turned back to the two groups. "I have another announcement to make." The remaining contestants groaned. "Because of certain…uhh…'developments' that have happened recently, we're going to have a team swap." This caught the tweens attention and they quickly began talking amongst themselves. "What this means is one member of the Bass will switch to the Gophers, and vise versa."

"Hey!" Buford spoke up. "You can't do that! It's against the rules!"

"Screw the rules, I'm the host," Chris told him. "Actually, no, it's not against the rules, so sit down Buford."

"Okay, but who's going to be switching teams?" Phineas asked.

Chris grinned evilly. "Pacifica will be leaving the Killer Bass…" Everyone gasped. Even Pacifica herself paid attention. "…and will be replaced with…

…

…..

…..Gaz."

*Confessional*

Buford: Huh?

Mandy: What.

Phineas: How?

Mabel: Noooo! No! No!

Dipper: Yes!

Dib: Uh oh…

Nazz: Too little too late!

*End Confessional*

The camera, for the final time that episode, focused back on Chris. "That's one more camper down, and now our numbers are even once more! Will the Screaming Gopher's manage to hold their lead for more than one challenge, or will the Killer Bass put them back in their place? And how will our two teams react to this sudden team swap? Find out next time on Total…Tween…Island!"

Later on that night, when everyone else has gone to sleep, Nazz was still awake, watching the stars outside her cabin. "Goodbye Kuki…" she suddenly remembered her BFF's parting gift to her. Nazz pulled it out of her pocket and her eyes widened. It was none other than a small tiki-head totem that could only have come from one place: Boney Island. Knowing how forbidden and cursed such as item was, the blonde looked around to make sure no one had seen it. Then she slipped it back into her pocket and headed back to her cabin…

Votes: N/A

Eliminated: Carl, Billy, Helga, Misery, Sheen, Libby, Baljeet, Kuki (by injury)

Remaining: Isabella, Dib, Dipper, Zim, Buford, Nazz, Gaz, Pacifica, Phineas, Mandy, Cindy, Timmy, Edd, Mabel

A/N: Reviews are appreciated.