Ep 7: Call of Fruity: Pear War

"Last time, on Total Drama…" The host announced. However, the voice had no resemblance to Hailee's. Not one bit. Instead, it belonged to a male voice. Standing stiff and ready on the wooden dock underneath a bright and sunny morning, he smoothly combed his soft hair back and dusted the sand off his blue, long-sleeved shirt. He was ready...

"Yes, it is I… yours truly: Topher." He flashed a cocky grin to the cameras. "You may be wondering; hey! Where did Hailee Friarwood go? Truth be told, she's on a detour. Scheduled to attend an urgent consultation with the producers. Which means… I've been granted hosting privileges for the time being! YES! SCORE! It was only a matter until the executives notice my exceptional talents and off-the-charts charm and youthfulness. For now, Hailee's out of the picture. That's show biz for ya'!"

Briefly glancing down at the beachy sands, he took note of the rose that Soraya threw across the dock; wilted and decaying, its pedals were completely encased in darkness.

"Anyways, setting aside Hailee's absence…" He grinned again. "There was mystery, heartbreak, chaos, and a whole number of teammates losing each other within the treacherous wilderness. Hailee and I had the brilliant idea to set the challenge under midnight. She never briefed me on the creature roaming amok. No idea why she's keeping that a secret, but Topher will find out soon. Only a matter of time. Regardless, the two teams were tasked to rescue the incompetent Tanner, kept underneath a ravine by Brad, the green abomination. Floppy Fish found and rescued the assistant, much to the Electric Eels' dismay. Soraya slapped Daniela face like a pinball machine in a fit of rage. Ultimately, Soraya was her own downfall as she took the Swim of Shame. Which contestant will face the same fate this episode? Will Arnold cry again? Will there be another smooch-fest between Spencer and Nanci? Find out today, on…

Total!...

Drama!...

Bakuhatsu Island!"


Opening Theme

(Multiple cameras popped out of the lush bushes and palm trees found within the island)

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine,

(The camera did its signature zoom across the island, as it quickly flew by Hailee and Phil arguing on the camper's compound.)

You guys are on my mind.

(The camera then entered a deep pond found further inland covered in dark, dense vegetation.)

You asked me what I wanted to be

(A gleeful Arnold found a treasure chest deep within the pond, but it was quickly snatched by Hunter's fishing rod as he raised it onto the wooden boat. Arnold swam up onto the boat and threw his fake, plastic cutlass sword towards him, but Hunter deflected it and whipped it into the air, as it flew across the sky.)

And now I think the answer is plain to see,

(The cutlass falls and lands with the blade stuck on the ground, frightening both Kiara and Kayla, as they stood right next to it.)

I wanna be famous.

(A large, green snake with bright, red eyes slithered out a nearby bush and hissed at Kiara and Kayla, frightening them once more as the snake chased after them.)

I wanna live close to the sun,

(Spencer and Nanci were both on a motorboat, cruising through a river in a dense, swampy region. A couple of random crustaceans jumped onto the motor and pinched it, causing the motor to glitch. The boat then sped uncontrollably, zooming through the river. Spencer and Nanci were panicking.)

Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won,

(The boat quickly passed by Alexander, as he continued playing his pipe flute.)

Everything to prove, nothing in my way

(The crustaceans that were on the motorboat jumped out the river and pinched on all over Alexander's body, as he then screamed in immense pain.)

I'll get there one day.

(Lily leaned onto the outhouse confessional and noticed Alexander's screams from a distance. She took photos of his inconvenience with her camera but was then startled by a sudden arrow piercing through the confessional door. It was revealed to be Emily carrying a bow and arrow, who then had an apologetic smile.)

Cause, I wanna be famous!

(At a region near the beach, Rashon tried to carry multiple coconuts at the same time, presumably for someone else, but clumsily tripped on a rock, dropping all the coconuts at once. Zane creepily stared at him from near a palm tree.)

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!

(Soraya and Daniela were seen arguing on the beach. Soraya was standing with her arms crossed, while Daniela sat on a black couch with her hand resting on her face.)

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!

(On the main dock, Oliver pulled out a line graph from the sky, seemingly out of thin air, as he pointed out the downwards slope in viewership and ratings for Total Drama.)

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!

(The dock exploded out of nowhere, dropping Oliver into the water. As he swam back up, it was revealed to be Phil. He stood on the leftover part of the dock, holding a remote control in his hand as he grinned menacingly.)

(Whistle)

(Spencer and Nanci smiled and looked straight into each other's eyes, but suddenly, Arnold popped right in between them, waving his sword in front of their faces. Nanci's face turned to confusion, while Spencer was completely annoyed. The camera then zoomed out of the campfire site, revealing all the contestants sitting in a circle.)


It was early morning. Birds were chirping. A few monkeys and chipmunks leaped across the bright-green trees. Finally, no more unsettling silence outside the camper's compound. The rainforest felt more alive and serene compared to the days prior. Near the compound, two teammates were gently ballroom-dancing together, slowly taking each stiff step as they both gazed into each other's eyes. They were none other than… the lovebirds.

"This is, um, a bit silly." Nanci hovered her hand over her mouth, giggling. "You that worried for a potential dance-off challenge?"

"It's always best to make sure." Spencer awkwardly grinned, taking a careful step back. "Besides, I'm terrible at dancing and I could use some practice."

"That makes two of us." She giggled again. "Or… you're saying that as an excuse to dance with me?"

"Oh-um-uh-maybe?" He stuttered, blushing. "Okay, that too. But… just in case there's a dance-off in the future. Better safe than sorry."

"Oh, of course." She smiled, gently playing with his hair. Distracted, upon taking a step back, her heel smacked into a stubborn rock, resulting in a backwards trip-and-fall, dragging alongside her partner. He fell right on top of her, both flustered.

"Oh, so sorry." He blushed. "But it looks like, um… I'm on top this time?"

"Oh." She giggled. "Funny. But we, um, got to stop saying 'oh' at the start of every sentence."

"You had me at 'oh'." Spencer gazed into her gentle eyes, slowly leaning in for a soft kiss as they both calmly closed their eyes. They were still laying on the ground, draining out the rainforest noise in the background.

Confessional:

Spencer: "Yeah, I know. That 'you had me' line was cheesy." He crossed his arms. His mind was solely focused on Nanci, almost forgetting that he was competing for a million dollars. "But wow. She's all I think about now. I just can't help it. She has those beautiful brown eyes. Her bright mind. Her personality. She's just so… amazing. The best girl I've ever met. Strange how the best girl I've met was on a reality show. But yeah. I hope Hailee won't try to separate us. But… knowing her, she'd probably do it, just for the ratings." He rolled his eyes.

-static-

Nanci: "He's just… soooo sweet. And understanding." She smiled shyly, twirling her brown hair. "He, um, shares my awkwardness. But that makes him so much cuter. Honestly though, I should, um, probably focus on the competition. Falling for him might just be my future downfall." She giggled teasingly.

-static-

Both continued laying on the ground, steamed and locking lips. Still unaware of their surroundings, as faint footsteps could be heard a few meters behind their make-out bush. The person muttered a familiar catchphrase upon peeking through the bush, quietly observing the lovebirds' timid, gentle kissing and cuddling. Upon closing the bush, he looked down, sighing with gloom at the thought of what could have been…

Confessional:

Arnold: "I still can't believe it…" He shed a hidden tear. "That could've been us. That could've been me and Soraya. But I screwed everything up. She was the whole world to me. And now, it's too late. I'm thinkin' of retirin' my pirate role for good. There's just no point for the pirate life anymore…"

-static-

Once Arnold began walking away from their intimacy, his boot laces tangled up within the bush branches, yanking his leg back, resulting in falling right onto the bush with his back. As soon as both heard the bush rattle behind, Spencer immediately stood upright, completely flustered yet again by more sudden interruptions.

"Arnold, dude! Seriously?" Spencer crossed his arms. Nanci stood up as well, staring down to the ground as she kicked random pebbles, blushing. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

"Um, Spence, it's okay." She tapped his shoulders, whispering to his ear.

"Oh, well, I-um, ARGH!" Arnold grinned awkwardly, dashing straight back to camp, leaving behind a cartoony trail.

"Ugh. Arnold is getting on my last nerve." Spencer rolled his eyes. "Seriously, how is he STILL in the competition? Truth be told, I don't trust him one bit. That eyepatch screams shady. I mean, think about it; what if he was spying on us the whole time? So unnerving, don't ya' think?"

"Relax, Spence." She rubbed his hair teasingly. "He's a cosplayer, not a secret mastermind. Now, how about let's go back to camp and get argh of here." She giggled, holding his hand while nudging his shoulder. "Get it? Huh, matey?"

"Well, look at you…" He held her hand up towards his chest, slightly wincing at her pirate puns. "Aren't you a hilarious one. But please… no more pirate impressions."


Spray paint. Lots and lots of spray paint could be heard vigorously washing over the walls. Even the leather couch was stained due to its proximity to the graffitied wall. The sleepless camper viciously shook a spray can, his shaking synchronized to the rhythm of a hip hop beat quietly playing within the living room through the hidden home speakers. Volume was lowered to avoid waking up his fellow teammates. Or so he thought…

Confessional:

Hunter: "Call me a vandalizer, I don't give a damn." He tensely crossed his arms. "I gotta let off some steam, yo. My damn strategy is slowly fallin' apart. Soraya went bananas out of nowhere and threw my genius idea to the landfill. Arnold is slowly losing it, which means… I need a new plan. And a new scapegoat. Or alliance. Or whatever. But hear me out; I still got a few tricks up my sleeves." He smirked menacingly. "It ain't over yet for ya' boy, Hunter. Arnold got me my bling from HQ, but that ain't enough. It wasn't ever enough. I'm hungry for more bling, and I ain't stoppin' until I'm satisfied. I'm goin' all-in poker-style, baby!"

-static-

Hunter gripped a spray can, firmly pressing the trigger as it sprayed a dash of red paint onto the wall, attempting to fill in a black outline. Upon attentively gazing at his graffiti with full concentration, his stomach ribs felt a sudden, harsh poke on both sides, completely distracting him. As a result, a stroke of red flew over the outline in a jarring fashion, ruining his artistic vision.

"Poke!" Daniela smirked teasingly, grabbing a paint can from the floor, shaking it before spraying black onto the already-messy wall, sketching an outline of her own alongside Hunter's art. "Should-a let us know you're gonna be the new Soraya."

"I'm frustrated, yo. Ain't got time to chit-chat." He stared down the wall, sighing as he avoided any eye contact with his teammate. "Back home, my dad would always rip my sketchbooks apart. Calls it, 'a complete waste of time'. But yo, I gotta express myself somehow. That's where my love for graffiti came flashin' by." He took off his jacket, using it to wipe off the red that trailed off the outline.

"Your dad sounds like work. Reminds me of someone. Hint-hint; he's standin' right beside me." She joked, bumping his shoulders with her elbow. His face was peeved by her sudden distractions. "Ah, c'mon. You gotta admit, that was clever, dude. Not like you stole my phone or anything."

"Like I told you last time, babe. I'm a gentleman. I would never steal your phone." As soon as Hunter finished his sentence, Daniela almost had a burst of laughter. Almost.

"Yeah, and you also told me you're good with Latinas. Whatever that means." She teased.

"Aye-yo, you know it, babe." Hunter finally faced away from his canvas, turning around to face Daniela, slowly noticing her bruised left eye. "Damn, Soraya did a nasty to your pretty little face."

"Pfft. Worry about your so-called art." She shrugged without a care in the world, continuing to outline her own sketch on her side of the wall. "You ain't the only graffiti artist around here, bro." She winked.

"Oh, ya' want a graffiti race? It is on, querida..." Hunter boasted. His Spanish mispronunciation forced a chuckle out of Daniela.

"First off, it's keh-ree-duh. Not kweh-ride-dah." She continued spray painting, containing her laughter.

"Whatever."

Hunter was laser focused. Fully concentrated on his graffiti art. Competitive to the core, as he rushed through his artistic process, attempting to leave her in the dust. Daniela, however, refused to permit defeat. Swiftly following pursuit, she frantically swapped through numerous spray cans while competitively spraying loads of paint within her outlines. It was now a race. Whoever finished first were granted bragging rights, no doubt. There seemed to be no stopping their constant can-swapping and berserk spray painting, until…

"Goooooood morning, campers!" The loudspeaker crackled, its high-pitched screech loud enough to wake any competitor that remained asleep. "This is your new captain speaking! Your fantastic new beginning of beautiful things to come! Meet me outside the camper's compound for a… special announcement!"

"Shut up, Topher." Hunter muttered, beginning to rush his art even further by spray-painting with two cans, one on each hand. Daniela peeked at Hunter's new strategy and followed along. The bedroom doors within the hallways slammed wide open. The remaining two contestants rushing out through the living room were no distractions to the graffiti artists' race to the finish.


All the remaining contestants, not including Hunter and Daniela, were present in the center of the camper's compound, bundled up like a crowd, waiting for the host's arrival. Unusually quiet; not many conversations, if any, were exchanged between the competitors. Mostly exhausted faces and eye-rubbing. Expected reactions to waking up early in the morning from a screechy loudspeaker.

"Those two made, like, a mess in our cabin." Kayla groaned; arms crossed as she spun around to face her teammate. "Wha-what are they, like, even doing?" She rubbed her eyes.

"Character development, I presume." Oliver countered, flashing a grin. "I'm not the script writer here, missy. How should I know?"

Confessional:

Oliver: "Very strange events have been occurring lately." He fixed his bowtie, peeved. "First off, seems like we're having ANOTHER host switch-up. Why? This goes against the Total Drama formula. Before, I begged for a change of pace. But now, I'm not so sure I want that anymore. Everything is becoming so… unpredictable lately. Giving me goosebumps, man. My Oliver senses are tingling, and that's not a good sign. My character journey might be nearing the end…"

-static-

Kayla: "So far, my team has a slimy weasel and a wacky know-it-all. No offense, Oliver." She rested her chin onto her palm. "Dani has been, like, distancing from me. Think she has a thing for Hunter now. But, like, whatever. I think the merge is coming soon, which is, like, so crazy. Didn't think I'd make it this far. I've always thought Kiara would go far, but me? Me? Couldn't believe it myself. But maybe, like, I do have a shot…" She gave a brief smile, then switched back to pensive thought. "I really need an alliance."

-static-

The front doors of the Electric Eels' cabin slammed wide open, revealing a certain gleeful contestant leaping out of the front porch. Both Kayla and Oliver turned around to face whatever ruckus occurred inside the cabin.

"Guess who just beat the so-called rey?" Daniela held both hands on her hips, boasting teasingly as she waited for Hunter. "Oh-Huuuuuuunter!"

"Yeah, whatever. Wasn't even tryin'." He joined the rest of his teammates with his arms crossed. "Best tread lightly, 'cause I got a few more tricks up my sleeves." He smirked.

"Oooo." Daniela joked around. "Can't wait to see what's next on the Hunter agenda."

"Jump off a cliff, yo." Hunter fired back teasingly.

"Ugh." Kayla rolled her eyes.

Confessional:

Kayla: "Look… I like Dani. She's really funny, and like, a really good friend. But can she take the competition seriously for once? Why is she, like, making friends with that sleaze?" She crossed her arms, frustrated.

-static-

"Argh!" Arnold raised his plastic cutlass in the air, continuing his charade. "Bring on thee challenge already! Where's Hailee?"

"Yo Arnold, a word? Later?" Hunter muttered loud enough so only Arnold could hear him, flashing him hand signals as Arnold covertly nodded in response. Spencer, who stood by the pirate, squinted at their exchange, glaring behind the oblivious Arnold.

Confessional:

Spencer: "What was that?" He sat firmly on the toilet seat. "I knew there was something off about that eyepatch kid. Secret alliance with Hunter, I'm guessing? Need to get to the bottom of this…"

-static-

As soon as Spencer walked away from the rest of his teammates to rest, leaning his back onto the Pahkitew shed, Emily walked up towards him.

"Spencey, my legs are aching a bit." She said, timidly rubbing her upper arm with her hand. "Could you give them a quick rub, pretty please? I heard you're an amazing massager."

"Did Nanci tell you that? Well, um…" Spencer glanced towards Nanci, who stood further away, closer to the center with the rest of the crowd. "Sure?" He reluctantly replied.

"Thank you, thank you!" Emily smiled gleefully, as she sat down beside him, extending both legs on top of his thighs.

"Um… okay." Spencer lightly blushed. "So, what part was aching again?"

"My legs and kneecaps. My feet too." She slipped off both her white sneakers, stretching out her exhausted ankles. "The slime monster paralyzed my legs a bit. Both ache every time I walk."

"Oh?" Spencer began rubbing her pale legs, starting from the kneecap down. Upon squinting, he detected a few bright-red blisters near her ankle. "Did you feel any stings? Like a needle or something? Could be possible that you were poked with something sharp."

"Could be." She smiled. "I'm just super-duper glad you wanted to help!" She leaned inches closer to him, further extending her legs outwards as she situated her thighs onto his. "My thighs are starting to ache a lot too. More than my lower legs. Could you also massage them, pretty-please? If that's okay with you."

"Oh-um… sure." He stammered.

"Thank you so much!" Emily cheered, as she slowly pulled up her skirt, revealing another slight blister on both her pale thighs. "I think you were right. I might've been stung. Could be mosquito bites. Doctors say I have a sensitive body."

"Possibly." Spencer calmly rubbed her thighs with both hands, attempting to calm her aches.

"May I… lean my head on your shoulders? Just for a bit? I had no sleep last night, and I could use a nap." She asked timidly, lowering her voice as she restfully bent her legs.

"Uh… I-um-sure. Go right ahead."

"You're the best, Spencey!" She cheered quietly, gently leaning on his stiff shoulders as she let out a massive yawn. Spencer stood there firmly, continuing to rub her soft thighs as his face warmed up and flustered from her touchiness and proximity. I was not long until Nanci spun around from her group, staring at Spencer, who sat a few meters away. Upon stiffly observing their touchiness, confusion was the first emotion that ran inside her head. "Why is Spence cuddling with Emily? Am I not good enough?" She thought.

Confessional:

Nanci: "Um, I don't, um, mind that he's over there cuddling with our teammate. But… no-wait. There must be a reason." She scratched her face cheeks, looking down to the ground, unwilling to face the confessional camera. "Maybe I wasn't too direct with being official? Is that why he's flirting around? No-no. He'll probably tell me once we start the challenge. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding, right?" She faced back the camera, forcing a smile.

-static-

As the dozy contestants remained standing in the center of the compound, an ATV engine could be heard behind the trees, within the dense rainforest that circulated around them. None of the competitors knew, or even cared, which direction the ATV would arrive. They only had one thing in mind: the challenge. With the same goal: winning. Reigning victorious. After all, it was what they all signed up for in the first place…

"Greetings, my victims-I mean, campers!" As soon as the ATV arrived, the competitors were baffled. Spencer and Emily both stood up in unison, swiftly strolling back to the crowd. Upon further observation, there was no sign of Hailee. None. It was just…

Topher.

And Calvin, of course.

"Why the long faces? Surprised to see me?" Topher announced through a megaphone, raising an eyebrow as he flashed the signature Topher grin.

"We're, like, sleepy. And tired." Kayla rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "It's early morning."

"Well, ya' know the old saying…" Topher continued babbling. "Now is the time to seize the day! Carpe diem, honey."

"Yo, get to the damn point!" Hunter interrupted, not wanting to attend to Topher's voice any longer.

"New Duncan makes a good point…" Oliver interjected.

"Oh, here we go…" Hunter crossed his arms impatiently.

"First off…" Oliver continued. "Where's Hailee? Secondly, why do you guys keep switching hosts? Thirdly, what was that last challenge all about? Fourthly, will we ever unlock the mysteries of Zane? And last, but not least, WHY IS EVERYTHING TRAVERSING THROUGH UNPREDICTABILTY?" He waved his arms around in a sudden burst.

"Interesting batch of questions…" Topher grinned arrogantly. "I'll go right ahead and answer the first one. Hailee was replace, by none other than… me!" He pointed to himself, hearing an audible gasp from the crowd of contestants. "Could be temporary. Could even be permanent. Hope it's the latter, but anyways…" He pulled out the red speakerphone, preparing a speech.

"Oh great." Hunter rolled his eyes, visibly aggravated. "Let me get this straight: the producers replaced hottie blondie with Baby Chris. That's just… great, yo."

"Talk about a plot twist." Oliver muttered, frustrating Hunter even more from his presence.

"Yo, speak to me one more time…" He raised a fist towards Oliver's face. "And I'll mismatch those-" Topher's air horn blew, suddenly halting their bickering.

"Like I, Topher, was saying…" He continued.

Confessional:

Daniela: "Not gonna lie, Topher is kinda cute." She leaned sideways on the confessional bench, leaning her back onto the wooden wall. "If Emily starts flirtin' with him, I'm gonna lose it." She chuckled jokingly.

-static-

Emily: "Topher is pretty cute." She giggled, twirling her hair. "Reminds me of Chris. Oh, how I wished Chris tormented me!" She awkwardly grinned upon realizing what she just said. "That… came out wrong, didn't it?"

-static-

"First things first… Electric Eels? Floppy Fish?" Topher called both team's attention, still using his speakerphone. "You are now… dissolved. It's merge time, baby!" Upon hearing the announcement, a few contestants sighed in relief. Especially Hunter. Others were more wary of their no-longer-opposing team.

"Um…" Calvin, who stood behind Topher the entire time, attempted to speak up. "Actually, we're not supposed to merge until the next episode. Hailee said-"

"Pardon? I'm the new host here. Not Hailee. What I say, goes!" Topher fired back, leaving the competitors puzzled and snappy. "On that awkward note…" He faced back towards the competition, nervously chuckling. "Let me re-read the script before we continue onward with the challenge. Pardon me a moment. We'll be right back, after the break."


Cutting to commercial was no biggie for the contestants; only a few were impatient for Topher's amateur debut.

"Well, this is certainly… interesting." Spencer muttered, quietly analyzing the former Eels, one by one, detaching himself out of the cheery atmosphere that a few of the contestants expressed. It was not until he felt a gentle touch on his shoulders, knocking him out of his observational trance.

"Hey Spence, excited that we're competing against each other once again?" Nanci teased, timidly wrapping her arms around him.

"Hmm? Oh yeah-um… that." Spencer attempted to regain his attentive zone-outs, glancing back at the Eels.

"Something wrong?" She slowly let loose, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "How was… Emily? Thought I, um, saw you two sitting next to each other near the shed."

"Oh, no-no, it's not what you think it is." Spencer jumped, immediately snapping out of his trance once he heard Emily's name. "She had a few nasty blisters on her legs. Mosquitos must've stung her or something back at the ravines. I gave her a massage and that was it."

"Oh." She lightly muttered, already feeling bad for doubting him. "I hope she's okay."

"She feels better now." He affirmed. "So, when did the whole 'Spencer is a good massager' topic stir up between you and Emily? Honestly, I'm flattered." He awkwardly grinned.

"Don't think we ever had that convo…" Nanci giggled. "Maybe Emily just had instinct. Since, you know, you're gentle and all…" She twirled her hair, blushing. "I've… been, um… wanting to ask… we're, um, this is an o-official thing, right? Ya know? Between you and me? Just wanna', um, just wanna' be sure… if that's okay with-"

Spencer interrupted with a sudden, quick kiss, startling Nanci as they tenderly wrapped their arms around each other. Lasting a few tender moments, Spencer smoothly pulled his lips out of her soft lips, hoping that he answered her question.

"Of course." He reassured, blushing.

"Alright-y campers, lights, camera, action baby!" Topher declared, unnecessarily shouting through the megaphone as he stood on top of the ragged ATV. "We're now rolling! Now… where were we? Oh yeah! No more teams! From this point onwards, it's every camper for themselves, competing for the entire cash sha-bang! Now, before we commence your latest journey for the millions, I need to make another statement. Whoever possesses the immunity map, shred it to pieces. Someone has already found it. Surprise, surprise!" Everyone squinted at each other in suspicion upon hearing his announcement. "Ooo, I love it when every camper is all tensed up. Gotta' love rating-boost material. Anyways, on with the challenge…"

"Better not be more running…" Kayla rolled her eyes.

"Hey! The host is speaking!" Topher fired back. "Now, today's challenge will be a two-parter. First part is simple enough. Hope you brought your… a-gamer on! Get it?"

No one laughed.

"Whatever." Topher held his hands on his hips. "Let's cut to the chase; it's a video game challenge."

"Great." Spencer remarked sarcastically, appearing bored and uninterested. "I do love me some gaming."

"Oo, oo! Is it Animal Frosting?" Emily clapped, bouncing up and down like a bunny. "I love that game!"

"Let the Topher man continue already!" The new host interrupted. "The video game you guys will be playing will not be Animal Frosting…"

"Aww." Emily looked to the ground in disappointment, kicking a pebble.

"Instead, all eight of you will be playing an FPS shooter smash-hit." Topher glanced back at his assistant, who stood behind him stiffly. "Calvin… bring me the TV monitors!"

Upon hearing his orders, he dashed away for a split second, then immediately pulled in four, small TV monitors situated on a massive, red wagon cart. From the camera's point of view, it seemed like Calvin pulled them from off screen in a matter of seconds. Unprecedented cartoon physics, no doubt.

"Looks like I got competition…" Oliver muttered, referring to Calvin pulling out the monitors out of thin air.

Confessional:

Oliver: "This could be bad news…" He chopped his fingernails with his teeth, gritting like a maniac. "Calvin is beginning to pull 4th wall-breaking magic. Let me remind you; an assistant is doing that! A minor character! I'm supposed to be the 'haha funny' wall breaker. Sooner or later, I'm gonna be, gasp: fully replaced. I need to step up my merit as a crucial character for this overarching plot. I will NOT be overshadowed by a glorified intern. Topher was right; things will be different from here on out…"

-static-

"So, you gonna tell us the game, Chrissy?" Daniela held her fist underneath her chin, her face expressed boredom.

"Oh, you're gonna like this one, no doubt." Topher winked. "It's a video game classic. Introducing… Call of Fruity: Pear War!"

"Nice." Spencer gritted expressionlessly.

Confessional:

Spencer: He crossed his arms. "Call of Fruity? Yuck. Well, at least it's not a physical challenge. Either way, I'm not looking forward to… gaming. There better not be a catch…"

-static-

Daniela: "Meh." She shrugged. "Not a runnin'-for-your-lives type of challenge. I'm cool with that. Lowkey and chill, just how I like it. Better not be a catch…"

-static-

"Is there a catch?" Both Spencer and Daniela spoke out in unison. They briefly glanced at each other awkwardly. Both stood on opposite ends of the crowd.

"Good question." Topher finger-gunned them with a smirk. "You'll find out soon enough."

Oliver crossed his arms. "Ah yes. More cliché suspense. What are you: Phil and Chris combined?"

"No, I'm Topher. Here to… grace you with my Topher-ness." The host replied pompously.

"Hah. Nice." Oliver finger-gunned him back.

"Yes-yes, I'm amazing. Now, onto the challenge. The goal is simple enough; Call of Fruity is a first-person shooter in case any of you were clueless. Your objective? During the 10-minute runtime, whoever scores the highest points, wins. You score points by 'fruitifying' your opponents in-game in a simple free-for-all match."

"I have… no idea what you just said." Spencer interrupted.

"That makes two of us! Yay!" Emily cheered.

"Let the host with the most finish!" Topher whined. "Now…"

"Wait…" Kayla raised her hand, glaring down the monitors. "Why is there, like, only four of them? There's eight of us…"

"Now, here's where the catch swoops in," Topher smirked. "You won't go at it alone. For today's two-parter, you'll work… in duos. It'll be quite a… pair war. Get it?"

No one laughed.

"You guys stink." Topher mumbled. "Look, point is, I will be pairing everyone up based on who I think makes a great… TV couple."

"Pfft." Daniela scoffed. "Based on what? Your criteria?"

"Yo, Topher knows what's up, for once!" Hunter peeked to this left, looking over at a peeved Kayla. "Ready to be paired up, princess?"

"Ugh." Kayla stuck her tongue out. "Topher, whatever you do, can you, like, not pair me with him?"

"Shh. I'm concentrating…" Topher squinted, rubbing his chin as he analyzed each competitor, calculating potential matches in his head. "Arnold. Your partner will be… Emily!"

"Argh?" Arnold and Emily briefly flashed a grin at each other.

Confessional:

Arnold: "Not bad, not bad." He casually flipped his sword around. "Besides pairing up during the Zane challenge, we almost never talk to each other. But we do make a formidable force. She didn't spill the beans when I lied about Julian. A true pirate in my eyes! If only I knew there would be a duo challenge. Soraya and I would've crushed it." He looked down in dismay.

-static-

"Onto the next pair," Topher continued. "Spencer. Your partner will be…"

Spencer and Nanci both gazed at each other, sharing the same, rapid heartbeat. Both never felt happier knowing that they will be teamed up once again for the-

"Kayla!" Topher declared.

"Who?" Both Spencer and Kayla blurted out in unison.

Confessional:

Spencer: "And… here we go." He said, frustratingly. "Like I predicted; the host wants to try splitting us up. I'm already not liking Topher."

-static-

"You guys should begin greeting each other." Topher smirked. "The viewers aren't fond of social awkwardness. C'mon, move it!"

Before Spencer walked away towards Kayla, he gave Nanci a quick peck on the lips, holding her hand.

"See ya' soon?" He grinned.

"Soon is my middle name." She whispered, giggling. "Sorry, that was cheesy. Yeah, of course."

Spencer let go of her hand, slowly pacing away, hesitantly approaching Kayla. "Hey." He offered a handshake. "Ready to work together?"

"Oh, hey." She faced towards him, shaking his hand. "Sure!"

"Alright! Next pair!" Topher shouted through the distorted megaphone, forcing the contestants to firmly shut their ears with their hands. "Daniela, your partner will be… Hunter!"

"Of course." She playfully rolled her eyes, taking a few steps towards her newfound rival. "Scooch over, dude." She teasingly bumped Hunter's hips with hers.

"Damn, leave some room for your king, at least." He smirked, crossing his arms.

"Enough chit-chat." The host talked over them. "Last, but not least… Nanci and Oliver!"

Nanci and Oliver both immediately knew they were going to be paired up before Topher announced the final duo, since they were the final two left to be teamed. Sighing in relief, Nanci walked over to him, shaking his hand.

Confessional:

Nanci: "At least it wasn't Hunter."

-static-

"Pretty sure you're relieved that Hunter is finally out of your shoes." She chuckled.

"Oh, you mean Duncan 2.0?" Oliver crossed his arms. "Happier than a maniacal Chris McLean!"

"Let's wrap up the chitter-chatter!" Topher held his palm to the air like a stop sign. "Calvin, are the monitors ready?"

Calvin held a thumbs up, rolling his eyes. "Yes."

"Excellent." Topher faced the screens, as each main menu screen slowly crawled its way into the displays. Two gaming controllers were connected to each monitor, each one neatly situated on the rugged ground, ready for action. "Campers? Grab your controllers. Your challenge starts… NOW!" He blared his trusty airhorn, as each pair zoomed towards the closest monitor, settling themselves on the ground. Some were filled with determination. Others were relieved that the challenge poses no threat to their physical safety. However, one was just… puzzled.

"Um…" As Spencer gripped his controller, he took note on the number of buttons popping out of every crevice. Unbeknownst to him, his heartrate began rapidly escalating. Breathing heavier than usual, he was not expecting anxiety from numerous knobs and switches alone.

"Hey teammate, you're not, like, moving. What's going on?" Kayla was impatient, pointing to Spencer's frozen soldier in-game.

"Uh, okay. I have no idea how to play. At all." He confessed, gritting his teeth in shame. "H-how do you even move?"

"Seriously?" Kayla sighed. "Look, see those two stick finger knobs? Those are analog sticks. Use the left one to move."

"Okay." He grinned in relief, but then his smile quickly diminished into a deadpan stare. "Um… how do you shoot?"

Confessional:

Kayla: She stuck her lips out, frustrated. "Okay. I really don't want to, like, come off as a gaming geek nerd in front of all my friends back home. But, like… if it means winning a million dollars, then I might have to take charge."

-static-

"Look," Kayla pointed to a post-apocalyptic school bus on Spencer's side of the split screen. "See that bus? Move your soldier inside and, like, stay there. I got this."

"Oh, you're a gamer?"

She sighed again. "Yup. I've been wanting to, like, keep that side of me a secret for the longest time." Kayla awkwardly smiled. "That caught you off-guard, didn't it?"

"Definitely a surprise." He replied. "No shame in being a gamer. It's just… not my thing, to say the least. No offense, I thought you were one of those… snobby snobs. Sorry."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." She was fully concentrated on the game, swiftly operating her fingers around the buttons like a machine on overkill. "Now, let me, like, grab us the win. Don't distract me."

"Gotcha." He observed in awe.


"Hunter, you're complete trash." Between Daniela and Hunter, the tone was entirely contrasting. Both insulted each other with competitive remarks, wanting nothing but the victory.

"Oh, and since when were you competitive?" Hunter fired back, smashing buttons while glaring straight at the screen.

Confessional:

Daniela: "Think my bro side is coming out," she rubbed the back of her head. "Oye, what can I say? I live in a house full of dudes. Hear that, Jorge?" She glared towards the camera, peeved. "Quit yellin' [BLEEP] [BLEEP] while playin' Call of Fruity in the middle of the night! Also, stop bringin' your girlfriend over during holidays. We have thin walls, dude. I hear everything. Gross."

-static-

"Dude, you're not even trying." Daniela rolled her eyes, also smashing buttons, maneuvering her fingers around like a spider. "At least know how to aim, bro. You-you're letting Arnold run away!"

Upon hearing her voice, Arnold rose his head in the air, wondering who called his name. "Argh! Who dare disturb the pirate?"

Emily giggled. "Daniela's jelly that we're scoring higher," she teasingly muttered to her teammate.

"Yes, indeed." He grinned, casually switching to his normal voice, no longer caring for his so-called pirate role. "You're quite the player yourself! Your favorite game?"

"Animal Frosting."

Upon hearing the video game title, Nanci shifted her head to the right, facing Emily. "Hey, I played that before!" She gushed. "Love the serene nature. So fun and addicting. Nothing compared to… whatever Call of Fruity is."

"Ooo," Emily shared her excitement. "I didn't know you played Animal Frosting too! Yay!"

"Girls, let's settle down with the video game references." Oliver shushed, fully immersing himself in the game.

Confessional:

Oliver: "Tick-tock, tick-tock, my clock is slowly ticking. You know what that means?" He stretched his bowtie, then released it like a rubber band. "I could be eliminated next, gasp. My Scott gambit last episode failed, and now my confidence shattered. But… my work of art is not over yet. I still have a shot at subverting expectations. This will be my redemption arc after failing miserably with my predictions. I will be Total Drama's #1 fan!" A heroic soundtrack theme, seemingly out of nowhere, began playing during Oliver's confessional. "Guys, this is it. My final test of the season. I only got one shot. One opportunity. Oliver will prevail. I repeat; Oliver will prevail!"

-static-

"Woah Oliver," Nanci was caught off-guard by his sudden increase in skill level, gunning every player in the game with headshot after headshot. "I never knew you were this pro. Why didn't you just, um, carried me to victory all this time?" She chuckled.

"Because… the plot demands it." Oliver pushed his glasses up onto his nose.


Eight minutes of gaming, and there was a clear difference in scoring. Kayla and Spencer were leading by a large margin, with 87 points. Oliver and Nanci followed close behind, with 80 points. The rest of the duos were not even close, with Daniela and Hunter at 53, and Emily and Arnold at 24. A clear skill gap could be drawn between Kayla and the rest of her competitors, but intense nonetheless, at least between her and Oliver.

"Woohoo!" Kayla cheered excitedly; her eyes still fixated at the screen while pressing buttons with precision like a sniper. "We're gonna be, like, first place! You excited, teammate?"

"Totally. Not like I'm just spinning my soldier around like an aimless buffoon." Spencer casually played around with the analog sticks, the only feature he understood.

"Funny. You do look like a geek. No offense." Kayla lightly jabbed, chuckling.

"I'm a book nerd. Not a gaming geek. Big difference." He crossed his arms.

Confessional:

Kayla: "Wow!" She gushed. "I don't think I've ever won first place in, like, anything. The girls at my school sometimes gossiped behind my back, calling me follower this, follower that. Well, guess what? I get to, like, finally taste victory! Like, totally!"

-static-

"Oye!" Daniela pointed out. "Em and Arnold are catching up. Quit using the sniper, dude!"

Hunter was too busy smashing buttons to deliver a clever comeback. "Yo, snipers are fun! How 'bout you stop usin' that shotgun! It's not a rifle, honey."

"Dude." Growing frustrated, Daniela led her soldier off-course. Instead of entering the abandoned hotel reminiscent to 19th century architecture, she took Hunter's advice and switched her strawberry shotgun to an a-salt rifle, aiming her cartoony weapon behind her teammate, friendly-firing him.

"Yo! Wha-Daniela, whatcha' doin'?" He faced away from the screen, glaring at a smirking Daniela.

"It's game over, dude. Peek the clock." She pointed out, leaning her back onto the ground with her head resting over both hands. And she was right; only 20 seconds left until the timer ran out.

"Quitter." Hunter quickly reassessed the reality of their situation, also laying his back onto the ground right beside his teammate. "So… if we win the second part of the challenge, wanna' share bunk beds?"

"Pfft." Daniela teasingly scoffed. "Dream big, phone-stealer."

As the timer finally reached zero, the match finished, declaring both Kayla and Spencer the ultimate Call of Fruity champions. Upon hearing the game announcing their victory, Topher woke up from his mini nap from within the ATV, standing stiff on top of the vehicle with his megaphone conveniently ready.

"Campers! We have a winner… Kayla and Spencer!"

"Woohoo!" Kayla cheered, while Spencer simply clapped, not showcasing much excitement.

"Do we get an advantage, at least?" Spencer retorted.

"Of course." Topher grinned. "For coming in first place, you both will receive an entire basket of food! Consider it your breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Here ya' go!" He pulled out two large picnic baskets and tossed both one each. "It's hot and ready. You can even set yourself up a picnic during the challenge since you two will gain a huge additional advantage. The rest of your opponents, however, will complete today's second challenge hungry."

"And, like, what's the second challenge, exactly?" Kayla crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Simple." Topher pulled out the same, large map of the entire island that Hailee demonstrated during the last challenge. "Ever noticed that the island has been suddenly repopulated with monkeys, birds, etc.? Well, someone has freed them from the slimy goo trap within the cave during your rescue mission."

Spencer squinted in suspicion. "And that's a bad thing, how, exactly?"

"Use your brain, smart guy." Topher rolled his eyes. "It's Brad's bait. With all its bait missing from the cave, the green abomination will come swooping back in HQ or even the camper's compound, looking for its next course meal."

Oliver rubbed his chin. "That's quite… dark. The animal rights community is not gonna like this." He shook his head.

"Which is why I'm assigning this challenge in the first place." Topher continued. "Here's the ordeal; we need to shoo the deer away. They are the primary course meal for Brad. Our team has spotted a few numbers of them roaming around HQ and the camper's compounds. Your job? Horde all the rogue deer into metal crates using special, one-of-a-kind berry rifles." As he tossed each contestant a colorful rifle that resembled paintball guns accompanied with safety glasses, he faced directly towards the camera. "By the way, today's episode is sponsored by Call of Fruity. Limited-time discount for Call of Fruity: Pear War is now available! Order your copy now before time runs out!"

"Oh, yes. Gotta' love corporate greed." Oliver whispered to Nanci, who nodded in agreement, chuckling.

"Ahem." Topher cleared his throat. "Today's winners will be selected based on which pair captures the most deer in your predetermined cages. Calvin? Remove the covering." Upon hearing his orders, the assistant walked behind the crowd of contestants standing near the monitors, towards a conveniently placed, large red covering. Once he removed it, four large, metal crates were revealed, resembling portable jail cells. The metallic crates were massive enough to fit a total of 10 deer each. Cold and desolate. Not exactly a warm welcome for the innocent critters.

Confessional:

Daniela: "Soraya would've fainted by the glimpse of those cages. And don't get me started on her lecturing." She rolled her eyes.

-static-

"Yeah, like that would be enough room for deer." Spencer shook his head.

"Hey, man," Topher continued. "How 'bout you and your new girlfriend capture as much deer as you can."

"Girlfriend-what?" Kayla flinched, flustered.

"Listen," the host smirked. "You campers won't be able to catch all the deer. In fact, they are feisty beings. Good luck even capturing two. Our team will take care of the rogue leftovers. Just focus on staying ahead in deer count. Kayla and Spencer, as the winners of part one, you both will start with… five points!"

"Yo, five? That's it?" Hunter laughed, while Kayla and Spencer glared at him with deadpan expressions. "What an advantage."

"Like I said," Topher reassured. "They are difficult to locate and horde using only flimsy fruit guns. Now, how 'bout we jump straight to the action, shall we?"

Confessional:

Hunter: "Deer hunting? Pfft." He scoffed. "The fact that Topher is hostin' me around is demeanin', but hordin' harmless little critters? What am I, a baby? Yo, I don't mind. But hear me out; Oliver's got to go, first and foremost. Dude's been breathin' down my damn neck every chance he got, and I ain't lettin' that slide. Also, Arnold is actin' weird around me lately. Probably ticked off that I voted his psycho crush. Loose cannon. Gotta' dispose of him soon. Sway that Dani chick to vote off bowtie dork and form an alliance? Now that's a recipe for a schemer, I'm tellin' ya'!"

-static-

"Time limit is one hour. Don't forget, if you need to reload your fruit weapons, just pick off blueberries found around the wilderness. They're quite abundant, don't ask why." Topher declared, raising his airhorn in the air. "Remember: winners will receive a prize. Last-place losers will receive punishment. Your challenge begins… NOW!"

Upon blowing the airhorn, all the competitors sprinted straight into the rainforest, aimlessly scrambling all around without much planning on where to search. Spencer and Kayla, without much worry to search, briefly glanced at each other, shrugging as they had no idea what they should do.

"You hungry? Wanna set up a picnic?" Spencer insisted, stuffing one hand inside his pocket.

"Sure. I guess." Kayla shrugged.


Arnold and Emily silently tiptoed through the prickly bushes alongside each other, firmly holding their cartoony weapons against their chests as they targeted a critter with antlers popping out of a large bush. After only a few minutes of searching, they spotted one.

"Arnold," Emily whispered, cheering quietly. "I found one. Yay!" She pointed a few meters ahead of her. Within a few seconds of squinting, Arnold finally detected it.

"Argh," he silently raised his sword in the air, also whispering. "We have the element of surprise. Let's just try pinnin' it down."

"Okay! Hold this." She handed Arnold her weapon as she creeped up to the deer, closer and closer until she was a few inches away.

"Now." Arnold waved his sword, signaling from behind as Emily leaped onto the large deer, frantically startling it. Turning into a rodeo, she firmly gripped onto its rigged antlers as the deer continued kicking the air nonstop.

"I'll try pinning it down, Arnold!" She shouted, heavily breathing from all the swift leaps and hops.

"Let's split up to cover more ground! I'll search for the second one!" Arnold screamed back.

"Good idea! I'll see ya' soon-woah!" The deer's sudden leap briefly startled her.

"Argh! Like a true pirate!"


Spencer and Kayla restfully sat on a plaid picnic blanket on opposite ends, with their food baskets situated right between them. Ranging from a wide selection of fruits, to potato chips, to delectable sandwiches, to water and soda drinks, it was quite plentiful, to say the least.

"So…" Spencer glanced around the rainforest. "Merge, right? Crazy how far we've come, right?"

"Yeah." Kayla continued biting her pear, glaring at nothing but the trees in front of her.

"Sooooo…" He took another bite off his sandwich. "Think we'll still win if we do nothing?"

"Hope so."

Spencer continued glancing around. "Nice picnic we're having."

"Yeah."

"Oh, I see. You're really diggin' that pear, right?"

"Yeah."

Spencer grew frustrated over her one-word responses. "No offense but I'm just trying to start a conversation here."

"Look, I'm just, like, not in the mood right now, kay?" She set her pear over her napkin, already regretting her attitude. "Sorry, I'm just, like, tired. Stunned. Confused. Like, how did I just win a challenge? Like, hello? I'm no leader. Never was. It's just, like, sooo weird. Being in the spotlight is weird. I'm soooo used to being in the background."

"Yeah, I can relate to that." Spencer drank his cherry-flavored soda. "It's part of the reason why I signed up for Total Drama in the first place. For once, I wanted to stand out. Hanging around with my friends back home made me realized that, no one would care if I left. People tend to forget I exist. Almost like I'm just some background character in a rom-com."

"Oh-yeah, like, totally-same." Kayla nodded her head, smiling as she reached inside her basket. "Hey, want a pear? I got, like, an extra."

"Sure." Spencer reached his hand over to hers, holding on to her hand for a moment as he silently gazed upon her tired face. Not much makeup on her face aside from the necessities, such as simple foundation, mascara, and the likes…

"Um, are you gonna take it?" Kayla raised an eyebrow, flustering Spencer as he took her gift.

"Oh, sorry." As he apologized, he heard rattling in the bushes, a few meters behind him. "You hear that?"

"Could be the monkeys." Kayla firmly gripped on her fruit rifle. "Snatched my apple, like, a few minutes ago."

Spencer continued observing the bush, briefly surveying his surroundings until he brushed it off with a shrug, taking a huge bite off his pear.

"He almost spotted us." Whispers rattled through the bushes, faint enough that neither Spencer nor Kayla detected it.

"Nanci, why are we hear again?" Oliver covertly peeked out of the bush again.

"Oh, um, it's nothing. False alarm." Nanci rubbed her left upper arm, looking down to the ground with a hint of sadness before sneakily crawling out the bush. "Let's just keep moving…"

Oliver lightly held her arm, halting her from crawling out. "You think Spencer's not interested in you anymore?"

Her face suddenly warmed up. "Oh-I-um… h-how do you know?"

"It's pretty obvious." He stretched his bowtie out. "Look, trust me, Spencer is always thinking of you."

"You really think so?" She whispered back, doubting.

"Of course!" He casually grinned. "You two are like the star-couples of this season. I can 100 percent guarantee that you both will leave this show as a loving couple. Trust me; I've analyzed reality TV for ages. You two are safe in my books. Good as golden, believe me. Nothing will tear you two apart."

"Oh, I-um… thank you. Really. You're a good friend." She smiled timidly, blushing.

"No need to thank me. I should be thanking you for letting me be your friend." Oliver finger gunned. "In the meantime, the animal rights movement are planning to cancel us, so let's go snatch some deer while we're at it!"

"Woohoo! Let's get cancelled together!" Nanci raised her fist in the air, giggling.

Confessional:

Topher: "Disclaimer: Total Drama does NOT condone animal abuse of ANY sort." He flashed a grin. "Unless we're tormenting the contestants. Then it's okay. Man! Feels good to be host!"

-static-


"Dani! Don't let 'em escape, yo!" Hunter and Daniela pursued a stampede of deer from behind, aiming towards them with their berry rifles, repeatedly shooting at them with splashes of blueberries as ammo.

"Dude! I wasn't born on a barn! I don't know how to horde an army of Bambi's!" An equally frustrated Daniela shouted back, holding on the trigger, attempting to stop any deer traversing off-course from the horde as she sprinted towards them, quickly running out of breath and heavily dripping sweat.

"Yo! I'm getting'… oh damn…" Hunter heavily panted, sitting on a sturdy rock to catch a breath.

"Wow, look at you…" She remarked in a sarcastic tone. "And you call me the lazy one."

"[BLEEP]!" Hunter screamed in frustration, hurling his rifle away. "Topher wants us to horde deer with these USELESS toy guns without any nets or traps and expects success? Nah. Forget it. He can eat it, yo! I'm done."

Confession:

Hunter: "Forget this impossible challenge." He crossed his arms. His face showed no emotion. "Hear me out: it's time to initiate Plan B."

-static-

"Given up that quick? Pfft." Daniela laughed, walking back to sit on a log at the opposite side of him.

"You're the one to speak." He stood back up, slowly walking towards her to sit alongside her. "Since we're basically screwed-"

"What gave that away?" She teasingly smirked.

"Listen. Hear me out. I got a little somethin' in my jacket. Check it…" He reached inside his brown leather jacket, pulling out his prized possession, prompting an eyebrow raise from his teammate. It was none other than…

"Invincibility." He held the iconic immunity idol right in front of her face. Still wooden. And still in the shape of Chris's head. Including the butt-chin.

"Should've known." Daniela rolled her eyes. "Rub it in, why don't ya'?

"Actually…" He touched her knee, delicately caressing it. "I was thinkin'... alliance? You and me? Just sayin'… we'd make a killer team."

"Alliance? Pfft." She gripped his arm, bumping it away from her knee. "Has anyone ever called you predictable? That's you, dude."

"Yo, take the game serious for once!" He retorted irritatingly.

"Is everyone gonna be tellin' me the same thing?" Daniela rolled her eyes. "I just… don't care. Seriously. I'm goin' with the flow. Is that too hard for people to understand?"

"I'm jus' sayin'…" He continued. "I got immunity, babe. I can watch your back. Help you out an' stuff. Do anything you want me to do. You just gotta do one tiny favor for me… I need you to vote off Oliver."

"That's it?" She stuck her lips out, pondering. "I mean, if it means servin' me like I'm royalty? Sure, why not."

"First, shake my hand." He extended his arm forward, waiting for a handshake.

"Um, why?" She awkwardly glared at his hand palm with an eyebrow raise.

"Confirmation. You gonna vote Oliver out? Then shake my hand." He rushed.

"Mm, I would, but…" She reached over to his knee with one hand, teasingly caressing it.

"W-what are you doin'?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Massaging your legs. Oye, you said you were tired, right?" She raised her hand upward to his thigh, tenderly rubbing it.

"Alright-then, go right ahead." He murmured, unbothered by her touchiness. It was not long until her hand reached inside his shirt. Hunter's eyes went from relaxed, to wide open.

"Surprised you shaved your chest." She teased, chuckling.

"So…" He gripped her arm, calmly hovering her hand out of his shirt. "Let's cut to the chase. Wanna make out?"

Daniela laughed, suddenly leaping onto Hunter as they both rolled out of the log, vigorously locking lips while rolling around the dirt, unbothered by their clothes collecting massive amount of dust.

Confessional:

Daniela: "Um… yeah. About that…" She lazily slouched on the toilet seat, awkwardly smiling. "I like tall guys, what can I say? His breath does taste a lot like street. Not a fan."

-static-

Hunter: "I'm irresistible, yo. What can I say?" He smirked arrogantly. "Well, that just confirmed the alliance. Hello, million dollars! And goodbye Oliver…" He pulled out his signature knife from his jacket, then jabbed it onto the wooden wall.

-static-


Half an hour later, not much success was attained between most of the competitors, aimlessly wandering around with their berry rifles on sight. Spotting Oliver and Nanci walking towards the opposite side a couple meters to the left, Kayla and Spencer turned around, crouching, and sneaking behind them, attempting to catch up.

"Not sure if sneaking is a good idea." Spencer pointed out as he followed Kayla into a bush. "They're both chill."

"Yeah, but, like, they're not on our team?" Kayla retorted. "Like, you wanna form an alliance with them?"

"Good idea." He instantly walked out of the bush, no longer sneaking around.

Confessional:

Kayla: "No offense to Nanci, but, like, I'm not interested in forming an alliance with them." She crossed her arms. "Her and Spencer are, like, dating, so I'm gonna end up being the third-wheeler. Awkward."

-static-

As Spencer continued following them around, he quickly figured out where they were headed: the camper's compound. Once Nanci and Oliver arrived, they strolled straight to their designated cage box; each one was stamped with names of the duos.

"This one's ours, remember?" Nanci pointed out, opening the door to reveal three deer already gathered inside, terrified of the desolate atmosphere underneath the cold metal.

"This is just… sad." Oliver rubbed his chin.

"Yeah." She sighed in dismay.

Confessional:

Nanci: "Topher never mentioned where they planned to send the deer." She looked to the ground, sighing. "But… a million dollars is a million dollars."

-static-

"Hey Nanci!" Spencer greeted excitedly, startling her.

"Oh, hey Spence!" She turned around, smiling. "Lemme guess, an alliance?"

"Wow. Mind reader much?" He teased, both chuckling as they gave each other a quick hug.

"Um, guys? I exist, remember?" Oliver wailed his arms around, not appreciating the lack of attention.

"Oh, hey dude. We meet again." Spencer waved hello expressionlessly.

"Thanks for that enthusiastic greeting, man. I'm feeling special today. Wow. Much happiness." Oliver remarked, crossed his arms.

"Don't worry 'bout him, Spence." Nanci giggled. "One of the deer kicked him in his, um… you know what."

"Hey! I'm still in pain, ya' know!" He retorted, rubbing his bottom. "At least I got enough cake to soften the impact."

"Um… I didn't need to know that." Spencer raised an eyebrow. "Anyways, me and Kayla were-"

"Spencer, you forgot me!" Kayla shouted from afar, sprinting towards them after falling behind.

"Oh, hey Kayla!" Nanci waved, smiling. "So, you guys want to, um, form a four-way alliance, right? Maybe just for this challenge if that's okay with everyone…"

"Sure." Kayla shrugged.

"Definitely." Spencer gave two thumbs up, smiling.

"Only if I don't get demoted to background character status." Oliver chimed in, prompting timid laughter from Nanci.


Hunter continued walking aimlessly around the forest, without Daniela's company. No longer frustrated, but determined, carrying his berry rifle around like a soldier marching to battle. Covered in heavy amounts of dirt, he searched for something other than deer: the camper's compound.

Confessional:

Hunter: "Babe had to use the confessional bathroom, so looks like I'll be the one to carry home the touchdown, yo." He pulled his knife out, flipping it around like a toy skateboard. "I hatched a plan. Hear me out; search my opponent's crates and snatch their deer instead. Genius, I'm tellin' ya'! I sometimes wonder what I'll do with my millions. Hell, I still got my prized possessions from HQ. Speakin' of which-"

-static-

He sprinted back towards a specific region of the wilderness, surveying for an unusual hump of dirt. Seconds upon scouting for the dig site, he instantly found it. A few meters ahead of him. Behind a tree stump, protruding like a sore thumb. He sprinted towards it like a madman, removing clumps of mud, slowly revealing his stash that Arnold helped steal from HQ. A few moments of digging, Hunter sensed that…

Something was not right.

He heard beeping. The more it beeped, the higher the pitch. As he removed the final clump of dirt, he discovered a shocking revelation…

A time bomb.

"OH [BLEEP]!" He immediately crawled away from the dig site, hastily leaping behind a large boulder as he cowered away, closing his ears shut until he heard an explosion just a few seconds later. The soundwave briefly stunned him as he peeked out the boulder; the entire dig site was engulfed by flames.

"Are you… KIDDING ME?" He screamed, slamming the boulder with both fists.

Confessional:

Hunter: "Someone is playin' games with me…" He stared down the camera with nothing but pure fury. "And when I discover who, vengeance will be served. My entire collection… gone. Just like that. Hunter ain't playin' games no more. This is war. Y'ALL HEAR THAT, [BLEEP]! WAR!"

-static-

"Woah!" A familiar voice was heard from a distance, startling Hunter. As he turned around, he instantly knew who it was…

"Oh, NOW you show up, dude!" Hunter shouted. "And remove that damn eyepatch already!"

"First, I gotta get somethin' off my chest…" Arnold stood his ground, eyeing him as Hunter finally stood up; the flames behind him sparked fear in the pirate's eyes.

"Go on, dork. Say it." Hunter scowled.

"You eliminated Soraya, didn't you?" Arnold crossed his arms. "That wasn't part of the deal. You said we were formin' an alliance!"

"Still upset about that lunatic?" Hunter laughed maniacally. "D-don't you get it? Remove those heart-shaped lenses already, you dimwitted [BLEEP]! I voted her off because she's a psycho. A lost cause, damn it! A rabid, useless chihuahua. W-what I d-did for you, was a favor, man! Don't you see it?"

"Yeah, she went crazy because we fed her lies! You-you deluded her!" Arnold fired back.

"O-oh, you questionin' my morality NOW? A little late for that, bud." He retorted.

"In that case, I'm done takin' orders from you!" Arnold blurted out. "If this is what it takes to livin' the pirate life, then I want no part of it! I'm out!"

Hunter laughed, losing his breath like a madman. "Without me, you're nothin'. Useless. Pathetic. I turned your damn life around, and now you gonna throw it all away? Unlike you, I know what it takes to step up to the plate. Unlike you, I know how miserable my life back home actually is. No matter the cost, I will win the million dollars, with or without your help."

"I'd like to see you try." He stared him down. "Either way, we're finished. Have a nice life, Hunter." He walked away from the flames, continuing to embark on his search for more deer.

"You're gonna regret this! Don't you DARE vote for me, damn it! I own you!" Hunter desperately yelled out.

Confessional:

Arnold: "Wow! Never knew I had it in me!" He swung his sword around. "But after what he's done to Soraya, I knew it was time to jump ship! Argh!"

-static-

Once Arnold left the scene, Hunter noticed a couple bullet-sized shells near the dig site. Grabbing a handful of them, he instantly figured out what they were…

Explosives.


Oliver and Kayla both guarded their own metal crate as they patiently waited for both teammates. Each crate was a couple meters apart, leaving quite a few distance between Oliver and Kayla.

"So, what's your favorite All-Stars episode?" Oliver asked loud enough so that Kayla could hear.

"Never seen it. No offense, but, like, I could care less." She laid her back onto the cold crate exterior. Squinting at eight deer entering the compound in front of two silhouettes, she celebrated at their quick arrival.

"They actually listened. No leash or shooting required!" Nanci said out loud, smiling as they finally arrived at the metal crates with Spencer following behind.

"You guys wanna split it? You guys take four, we take four?" Spencer suggested.

"Sure!" Everyone blurted out in unison, gently leading the deer as Nanci threw in a basket full of leaves and berries inside both crates.

"Can't leave these poor critters starving." Nanci softly petted one of the deer as she exited the crate, gently closing both doors.

"Nice!" Kayla cheered. "Now, all we gotta' do is, like, wait for the timer to run out and-"

A sudden explosion detonated near the crates, jump-scaring all four of them as they cowered to the ground.

"What was that?" Spencer screamed in fear. Upon surveying the trees ahead, he noticed a shadowy figuring silently marching forward to the compound as another explosive projectile flew by from its direction, detonating midair, startling the campers once more.

"Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh!" Kayla hid behind Oliver in immense fear. Once the figure stepped out of the shadows, all four immediately pinpointed who it was…

Hunter.

"Well, well, well…" The thief smirked, aiming his berry rifle towards them. No longer using blueberries as ammo, but the explosives he discovered. He shot another projectile towards the ground to frighten them once more. His weapon now resembling closer to a grenade launcher.

"What are you trying to do? Kill us?" Spencer confronted him, hovering his hand over his face as he continued cowering in fear.

Confessional:

Hunter: "Does that dork think I'm that stupid?" He laughed maniacally, slapping his knee. "I ain't killin' nobody on live TV, yo! I'm just gonna… continue scarin' 'em. Have 'em forcefully give up their deer in fear of gettin' blasted. War ain't pretty, yo. But if push comes to shove, then I gotta have 'em submit to me!" He stabbed the wall with his knife, smirking menacingly. "It's time to go… all-in!"

-static-

"Listen up, dorks!" Hunter shouted, continuing to aim his rifle. "I have the upper hand, yo. Not you! Hand over all your deer, and no one gets hurt. Simple as that."

"Duncan 2.0's got a point. Looks like we have no choice…" As soon as Oliver was about to open the crate, Spencer gripped his arm, stopping him.

"No." He muttered, firmly standing up to directly face Hunter. "No." He said out loud. "You won't hurt us. We're on live TV. You know that. I know that. We will not let you have your way, no matter what you threaten us with!"

"Aight, suit yourself…" He aimed down the scope, ready to press the trigger. "Boom." He shot upwards again, forcing all four of them to flee away out of the explosion. He repeatedly clicked on the trigger with no restraint, explosion after explosion as the deer cried for help.

"What do we, like, do now?" Kayla fearfully asked the rest of her alliance members, who stood behind the metal crate alongside her.

"Time to fight back. Bakuhatsu-style!" Oliver raised his fist in the air, firmly gripping his rifle as he slightly leaned out the wall, aiming down the scopes as he shot berries towards Hunter, completely missing.

"HA! BERRIES? Is that all your toy gun could do?" Hunter screamed, shooting another projectile towards Oliver as it flew past him, exploding the trees ahead instead. Shards of bark flew out of the detonation like pieces of a grenade.

"You guys ready?" Spencer asked the alliance, as they all nervously nodded in agreement. Him and Nanci ran to the right, while Kayla and Oliver dashed to the left, confusing Hunter.

"Hell yeah, baby." Hunter muttered to himself. "I got the deer all to myself-" His leather jacket was suddenly splashed in blue; berries flew from his right side, surprisingly bruising his chest from the impact. In response to their declaration of war, he swung his sights to the right and vigorously pressed the trigger, shooting an explosive at their direction. Revealing to be Spencer and Nanci, they both fled behind the suburban cabin, taking cover.

"This is for pushing me off a cliff!" Oliver shot multiple rounds of blueberries while sprinting gung-ho style from the left, flanking him from behind as Hunter turned to his left, responding with a power punch of explosives. Continuing to sprint, Oliver took cover behind the Pahkitew shed. Regardless of the cover, Hunter rapidly shot explosives after explosives, utterly terrifying all the birds nearby as they flew away from the trees in flocks.

"Enough with this guerrilla-warfare nonsense and fight! AHHHHHHH!" Hunter screamed at the top of his lungs, aimlessly shooting multiple explosives midair across all directions frustratingly. Halting his trigger-happy provocation, he silently walked towards the former Electric Eels' cabin, ready to fire at a moment's notice. Spencer and Nanci cowered defenselessly behind the cabin, hoping that Hunter would show mercy. Until suddenly, out-of-nowhere, Hunter was forcefully tackled to the ground from behind. Spencer cautiously peeked out the wall, revealing the tackler to be none other than…

"Emily?" Spencer said out loud, observing from afar as she wrestled him around, attempted a chokehold until Hunter broke free, briefly overpowering her.

"You and Nanci run!" Emily shouted back. "I got this!"

"Emily's right. Let's go hide! It's not worth it." Nanci shook his shoulders, but Spencer continued observing Emily's combative acrobats in awe.

"Is that all you got?" Emily grinned enthusiastically, staring down at an exhausted Hunter a few feet away.

"Run away before I blast ya', little girl." Hunter stood back up in a fighting stance.

"Need to get past me first." Emily smiled, prompting Hunter to respond with aggression.

"GRRRAHHHH!" He leaped towards her, attempting to tackle. In response, Emily swiftly slid to the left like a ninja, leading Hunter's face to eat dirt, landing face-flat on the ground.

"Nice try." Emily giggled.

"GRRRRRRRRAHH!" Hunter tried again, leaping towards her for another tackle attempt. This time, Emily leaped over him, bumping his head to the ground while front-flipping forward like a gymnast. Yet again, he missed, face-planting to the ground.

"Almost got me!" She grinned.

"ALRIGHT! THAT'S IT!" Desperate to one-up his opponents once more, Hunter picked his rifle up from the ground, spinning around while recklessly clicking the trigger, aimlessly aiming at every direction imaginable. A colossal number of explosives was unleashed all around the compound. Huge chunks of wood from both cabins were chipped away from dozens of explosions firing within seconds. After ten seconds of constant bombardment, Hunter had no more ammo left as he stood up, exhausted… and defeated. One of its final rounds of projectiles managed to reach behind the Eels' cabin, exploding near Nanci, stunning her as she fainted to the ground.

"NANCI!" Spencer screamed in terror as he watched the love of his life fall to the ground. He crawled towards her, shaking her shoulders, attempting to wake her up. He furiously glared back at Hunter. "Look what you did! Is this what you wanted, you crazy psycho?"

Upon realizing how low he stooped, Hunter was visibly upset by the damage he inflicted onto Nanci, staring at her unconscious body in shock. Dropping his gun, he frighteningly fled the scene, dashing straight into the rainforest.

"Spence?" Nanci mumbled, waking up from her faint as Spencer carefully rested her back on the wall.

"How are you feeling?" He asked worryingly.

"Not bad." She smiled. "Just a little dizzy, but I think I'll be okay." She gently stood up from the ground while Spencer held her steady.

"Think you can walk?"

Nanci leaned her head left and right, while walking around Spencer in circles without much trouble. "Aside from a tiny dizziness, I'm fine. Thank you." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, gazing into his eyes until they were suddenly interrupted by airhorn blares loud enough to be heard throughout a large portion of the island.

"Time's up, campers!" Topher shouted through a megaphone, returning to the compound with his ATV. Upon viewing the partial destruction left by a certain trigger-happy camper, Topher's jaw dropped. "Woah! What happened here?"

"Hunter happened." Kayla, who still hid behind her metal crate, blurted out.

"I can concur." Oliver stepped away from the shed. "Hunter went wacko mode and blew everything up."

"Interesting… is what I would say, if I cared!" Topher grinned arrogantly. "All campers must meet me by the metal crates in twenty minutes! Time to announce the winners, and sore losers!"


"After counting what little deer you all captured," Topher announced to all the contestants lined up horizontally, minus Hunter.

"Psst." Daniela whispered to Arnold who stood to her left. "Why is this place lookin' like a landfill?"

"No clue." He whispered back. "Think Hunter went bananas. Argh."

"Ahem." Topher interrupted. "By total of nine points, the winners of today's challenge are… Spencer and Kayla, surprise-surprise!"

"Woohoo!" Kayla cheered, high fiving an exhausted Spencer.

"From this point onwards, the former Electric Eels cabin now belongs to winners only. Spencer and Kayla? Congrats! You're both moving in! For now, at least…"

"Meh." Oliver shrugged, unbothered of moving out of his former cabin.

Confessional:

Oliver: "I've been wanting to sleep in the Pahkitew shed for a while." He rubbed his hands excitedly. "To experience what the Pahkitew cast experienced first-hand is a fan's biggest dream. Oh, the immersion! Of course, I'd do it!"

-static-

"As for the losers…" Topher glanced at Daniela, baffled by the absence of her teammate. "Hey, where's Hunter?"

"No clue." She shrugged.

"In that case…" The host continued. "For capturing a total of zero deer, you two won't be sleeping in any cabins. Until the next challenge commences, you both will need to construct your own shelter, or… just helplessly sleep in the wilderness. Your guys' call."

"Yikes." She gritted her teeth.

Confessional:

Daniela: "So basically…" Her face was peeved, still slightly bruised from the beating Soraya handed her. "I'm goin' camping. Meh, I don't really mind. But without a tent? Hunter better be a survivalist, or this is gonna be like being lost in the woods back home all over again."

-static-


Every remaining post-merge competitor sat around the campfire under the dark-night sky. After the elimination ceremony, only half would remain in the game. A few of the contestants took note of the dwindling number of competitors. The halfway mark was upon them, glaring at the fire as they pondered deeply into their thoughts.

"Crazy, like, how far we've come." Kayla gently bumped Daniela's shoulders, sitting alongside her.

"Yeah. You right." She smiled back. The campfire lightened up her bruised eye, appearing more visible than before. "Real crazy."

Kayla gasped, shielding her mouth with her hand. "Your eye is still bruised. You tried covering it up with, like, concealer? I got a few products you can, like, try and-"

"No-no, it's cool, dude." Daniela chuckled. "Besides, I look cooler like this, don't I?"

"You got a point." Kayla smiled back.

"Alright, campers! I'm back!" Topher ran towards the campfire. This time, he was not carrying around marshmallows on a wooden bowl. Instead, the job was given to Calvin, who stood behind him.

"Hi Calvin!" Emily waved cheeringly, blowing him a kiss.

"Oh, h-hi." Calvin's face blushed red, looking down to the ground.

"Enough of this lovey-dovey awkwardness…" Topher rolled his eyes. "Let's jump straight to the ceremony. We're running late. Calvin? Bring the TV." He dashed away, pulling a TV monitor on wheels to the campfire site within seconds, seemingly out-of-nowhere.

"Okay, no need to show off." Oliver blurted out, crossing his arms in jealousy.

"Moving on…" The host continued, peeved by Oliver's constant blabbering. "Today's ceremony will be unique, courtesy of the merge. Instead of handing out marshmallows straight away, you will first witness unfiltered confessional tapes from inside the voting booth. Some will reveal who they're voting. Others might not be so obvious. Anyways, check it!"

Everyone tensely glared at the screen, hoping that their names were not mentioned in the confessionals as their heartbeat rapidly sped up…

Confessional:

Hunter: "Pretty obvious who I'm votin' for." He smirked. "Goodbye Oliver."

-static-

Daniela: "Wasn't there when Hunter supposedly blew up the compound." She shrugged. "Meh, I'll just go along with his plan. Why not."

-static-

A few of the contestants raised an eyebrow towards both Hunter and Daniela, especially Oliver, who shook his head in disapproval.

"Thought you were better than this, Daniela." Oliver remarked, as Daniela awkwardly grinned in response.

"Shh." Spencer shushed. "The confessionals are still rolling…"

Confessional:

Kayla: "Think it's pretty clear as day who needs to, like, go home tonight."

-static-

Spencer: "Never really talked to Hunter, until today. That was enough for me declare that he's up to no good."

-static-

Emily: "I'm thinking of voting this person first. Yeah, that's my decision." She smiled with glee.

-static-

Nanci: "He always frightened me since the start of the show." She rubbed her arm worryingly. "Makes sense that I vote for him."

-static-

The longer the confessionals rolled through, the angrier Hunter felt internally, staring at the screen in complete coldness.

Confessional:

Oliver: "This is for the failed Scott gambit, and for shoving me off a cliff." He shoved a middle finger to the camera, appearing pixelated on-screen.

-static-

Arnold: "If any of my fellow competitors could hear this confession…" He sighed in sadness. "I want them to know that Hunter is not a good person. In fact, he is awful. For bossing me every chance he got, for feedin' Soraya lies after lies, for stealin' Soraya's map, for gaslighting her, for treatin' her and everyone else like trash, I, Arnold Johnson, will declare today's vote… on Hunter."

-static-

As soon as Arnold's revealing confessional finished rolling, Hunter looked to the ground, no longer in frustration… but with a sinister smirk.

"Let's jump straight to the chase." Topher announced, commanding Calvin to launch multiple marshmallows towards the contestants at once, all except for one…

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"Hunter! You're going swimming!" Topher grinned with a huge smirk on his face, as Hunter stood up, firing back with an even larger smirk. Quite obviously… he was not finished yet.

"There's somethin' I gotta' show ya' first…" Hunter walked up towards Topher, reaching inside his jacket. Some of the contestants were baffled, while Spencer's jaw dropped, startled by the revelation; he knew exactly what he had under the jacket.

Confessional:

Spencer: "I watched both All-Stars and Revenge of the Island, so I knew exactly what he had in store." He facepalmed. "Of course, no wonder he didn't care! He had the upper hand the entire time…"

-static-

"Check this out…" Hunter pulled out the iconic piece of wood. "Immunity, baby!" The entire cast gasped in shock, frustrated, yet not too surprised that it was revealed to be the petty thief who found it the entire time.

"So…" Topher rubbed his chin, as he continued staring at Hunter, who still had his eyes shut, waiting for Topher to take his prized possession.

Or so he thought…

"Where is it?" Topher pointed out.

"It's right-" As soon as Hunter opened his eyes, his jaw dropped. It was not the immunity idol. Instead, it was a literal piece of wood. A rectangular, featureless log. "WHAT!" He screamed, frantically searching all around his pockets. "YO! I had the immunity, dawg! Someone must've robbed me, man! THIS AIN'T FAIR!" He stomped the ground in fury.

"Oh, how ironic!" Oliver cheered, laughing. "A thief being thieved! What a twist!"

"SHUT IT, OLIVER!" Hunter screamed.

"In that case, guards?" Topher snapped his fingers, as two bodyguards walked out of the dark rainforest, revealed to be Tanner and Trevon. Both grabbed Hunter's arms and viciously dragged him away from the campfire site and towards the docks. "Calvin, strap Hunter a jetpack. I fear he will just swim back shore, so I need him soaring, for extra precaution." He smirked.

"On it." Calvin pulled out a jetpack, also out-of-nowhere, running towards the dock to attach it onto Hunter's back. Seconds after placing the jetpack on a wide-eyed Hunter, it immediately fired up, soaring him towards the sea as he screamed in fear.

Confessional:

Oliver: "Unbelievable that he's out this early!" He cheered, clapping his hands. "Now this is the kind of unpredictability I like."

-static-

Daniela: "Well, this sucks." She slouched. "Not only are my teammates lookin' at me weird, but now I'm gonna be sleepin' out in the wilderness alone. Thanks Hunter." She rolled her eyes.

-static-

"Well, that's a wrap! Good riddance, I hated that dude." The cameras leaned closer to Topher's face, taking over a huge chunk of the screen. "Who will succumb to the dangers that the Topher man will throw at them? Will Hailee ever return to host again? Who else will suffer from another shocking, jaw-dropping elimination? Find out on the next, unpredictable episode of… Total! Drama! Bakuhatsu Island!"


The Votes:

Daniela: (Oliver)

Spencer: (Hunter)

Kayla: (Hunter)

Arnold: (Hunter)

Nanci: (Hunter)

Hunter: (Oliver)

Emily: (Hunter)

Oliver: (Hunter)


Elimination Table:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8. Hunter

9. Soraya

10. Rashon

11. Kiara

12. Lily

13. Zane

14. Alexander


Remaining Contestants:

Daniela, Arnold, Nanci, Spencer, Kayla, Oliver, Emily


Wow. It is crazy to think that I'm halfway towards finishing the story! This was another tough chapter to write, but I had quite a lot of fun writing this one in particular! Merge has also finally arrived. I have a couple of intriguing ideas planned out for the remaining chapters, so stay tuned for that!

With regards to Hunter, this was probably my most shocking elimination to date. Yes, I can assure his elimination was planned from the very start since I always envisioned him to be eliminated near the merge. Fun fact, Hunter as a character was loosely inspired by Sawyer from Lost (the TV series) in case you guys were wondering. Regardless, I had a lot of fun with him! It's going to feel a bit weird moving on to future chapters without his usual mean-spirited shenanigans.

Oh, and if you guys thought Hunter was the main antagonist of this story… he's not. Never was. Surprise! ;)

So, overall thoughts? Your opinion on Topher as a host? And what do you think happened to Hunter's hidden HQ stash and the immunity idol?

Next Chapter Title: Ex-Spence

Any predictions for the following chapter (or any future chapter)?

Thank you to all my fellow readers/reviewers! Next chapter will take quite a… unique approach to the usual challenge format. You will see what I mean once it is released! That is all I will say for now! Next chapter will not take as long as this one (or at least, I hope), so stay tuned!