Welcome to Australia, mate!
As always, thank you for all the kind reviews! Really glad people seemed to like the little crossover … I rewatched TDWT recently and could not help but wonder where Heather stuck her head into when she was partly sucked into that portal, so I came up with my own idea, haha.
This next episode will be the first instance so far of the musical number sort of changing from canon. You'll see later on in the chapter, it's not that big a change.
But without further ado, let's see what kind of shenanigans our final nine contestants get themselves up to …
Water from an unknown source dripped down from the ceiling in economy class. A drop landed on the head of Heather, who groaned. "It's like a storm in here," she complained. "I hope you're happy, Courtney. We lost. Gwen is eliminated. You got what you wanted."
Sitting on the other end of the room, Courtney silently looked out the window, deep in thought.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I think I got what I wanted," Courtney reasoned. "Yeah. Gwen's gone. Alright. Now the other team needs to give Duncan the boot and we'll be good to go." She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, as if unable to convince herself that she got what she wanted.
Meanwhile, Cody gave Courtney a fierce glare. Sierra noticed the expression of anger on Cody's face, and gave him a tight hug.
"Oh Codykins, are you excited to find out where we're going next?" the fangirl asked. "I hope it's Paris again … I didn't get to appreciate the city of love when we were there, hehe."
"If we're going anywhere again, I wish it was Area 51," Cody replied. "Maybe Gwen is still there."
"Whoa, we can go back to places we've already been, eh?" Ezekiel asked, awestruck. "That changes everything!"
"Um, no, we can't," Heather rolled her eyes. "Suck it up, Cody. Gwen's gone. Oh well. The rest of us are a step closer to a million bucks."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Heather's annoying, but it's because of stupid Courtney that Gwen is gone," Cody scowled. "If I was as crazy as her, I would throw the next challenge so we could vote her off. But two things prevent me from doing that … one, it would make me a target, and two … economy class really sucks."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"With Gwen gone, and with my only female competition being Courtney and Heather, it's only a matter of time before Codykins falls head-over-heels for me!" Sierra squealed giddily.
In first class, Noah read a book when he heard a loud thump from the aisle. He looked up to see Tyler, on the ground.
"Ow!" the jock groaned, clutching his leg. He winced as he stood up. "Okay, I got this."
"Take it easy, there, Tyler," Noah quipped. "You're already not using much brain power, physical prowess is all you've really got going for you."
"Ha, ha," Tyler rolled his eyes.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I may not know what 'prowess' means, but there's no need to let him know that," Tyler admitted.
"I screwed up my leg real bad when I stepped on that mine in Area 51," Tyler winced again as he tried to put weight on his leg. "I gotta be careful with it."
"Whoa, it's not broken, is it?" Owen asked worriedly.
"Nah, it's only a little bit banged up," Tyler insisted. He let go of the chairs he was using for support, and managed to stand for a few seconds, before falling again. Owen and Noah winced for him.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Voting him off could be an act of mercy," Noah grimaced.
"I'm gonna be fine, trust me, guys," Tyler stood up again, taking a seat. "I just gotta take it easy on using my leg for the next challenge."
"Yeah, I'm sure doing a challenge without your legs in this show will be a piece of cake," Noah rolled his eyes.
"You really think so? Alright!" Tyler cheered, missing the sarcasm.
"Hey, Tyler …" Owen said cautiously. "I never got to thank you for coming back for me last challenge."
"Ah, no mention it, Owen," Tyler dismissed. "You look out for each other on a team. I'm sure you guys will help me with my leg.
"That sounds like a liability, meathead," a fourth voice rang out. Duncan emerged from the shadows at the end of first class.
"Oh, hey, Duncan," Noah reverted to his usual deadpan. "Hanging out in shadows again?"
"Actually, little buddy, I was eavesdropping on the other team," Duncan laughed. "They're a total mess! All of them are angry, but there's nothing to take their anger out on, so I'll bet Courtney will be the next to go! Good riddance."
"Yeah, if the girl I cheated on was still hanging around, I'd want her gone, too," Noah quipped.
Duncan fake-laughed obnoxiously loudly, before getting up in Noah's face. "You want to end up like jockstrap over there with a busted leg?"
"Tyler's got it pretty good, actually," Noah shot back. "Chance at a million bucks, hot girlfriend … great friends."
Duncan squinted at the bookworm.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"That little twerp is threatening me. Unbelievable," Duncan scoffed. "I was just messing around! If they vote with Tyler I'm out of here, so this behavior really ain't gonna fly."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I don't have any horses in the race when it comes to the Courtney-Gwen-Duncan thing," Noah rolled his eyes. "Sure, I would have broken up with Courtney first, but I don't actually care. Duncan needs to learn that I'm just a sarcastic guy. Shocking, I know."
The delinquent backed off, giving Noah a fierce glare. Tyler laughed, not seeing any of this. "Ha, yeah! I do have it pretty good!"
"Yeah, you do," Duncan agreed solemnly. "For now."
"Attention, passengers!" came Chris' booming voice over the loudspeaker. "We are approaching our next destination! So, buckle up, because we're landing, and things are about to get bumpy!"
Not a second after Chris' message finished, the contestants were shaken up and down in the air as the plane came into contact with bumpy terrain. The nine teens clutched their seats desperately - though, in Team Amazon's case, they failed to grip their steel benches and thrashed wildly.
After a few minutes of this torment, the plane finally, and mercifully, slowed down and stopped. Team Amazon left the plane first, followed by Team Chris.
"After you, Meathead," Duncan gestured for Tyler to walk out of the plane.
Tyler swallowed a lump in his throat. "Uhhhhh …"
"I got you, buddy!" Owen hoisted his injured teammate over his shoulder. "WOO HOO! TEAM CHRIS FOR THE WIN!"
Noah stood up with a smirk. "You know it, big guy!"
Duncan rolled his eyes he followed his teammates out of the plane.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"As somebody who's been to juvie more times than either of his parents care to remember, loyalty is one of the attributes I most respect," Duncan confessed. He shrugged. "If we're gonna drag Tyler through the challenge, that's actually fine by me… as much as I hate to say it, the lug deserves my respect after he didn't blab about me and Gwen. And it works both ways, too. If we drag him through the contest and still lose, I don't have to trick anyone into voting him off."
"G'day, contestants, and welcome to the land down under!" Chris said in a stereotypical Australian accent. The teens stood under the hot Australian sun in an expansive desert.
"We're really just hopping from desert to desert here, aren't we?" Heather noted sarcastically.
"The Australian desert and the Mojave desert are actually very different," Chris informed. "For example, the Mojave desert doesn't have the emus that will make up today's challenge!"
"The what, eh?" Ezekiel asked.
"The emu," Chris continued, "is a large flightless bird native to Australia. You must catch an emu and ride it to Hanging Rock." With this, the host pointed to a rock formation very far off onto the horizon. "It's about a two day's ride, so make sure you stay hydrated!"
"Do you have water to give us?" Tyler asked.
"I do not," Chris replied, drinking a refreshing bottle of water. Chef brought forth a myriad of emus, led by a rope, and let go. The birds ran all over the desert in front of them, starting the challenge.
"I call this one, eh!" Ezekiel approached an emu that eyed him carefully. Ezekiel took a deep breath and gave the bird a soothing massage on its back. "Shhhh, it's alright, eh. You don't have to worry about me. I just need a lift, eh. Is that alright?"
The emu nodded its head happily, sitting down so that Ezekiel could hop on. The rest of the contestants watched in shock.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I've spent my whole life on a farm, so from the day I was born I've known chickens, and how to deal with 'em, eh," Ezekiel beamed proudly. "Turns out emus aren't all that different."
Inspired by Ezekiel, Cody walked triumphantly over to a nervous-looking emu. "Hey, pal. How's about letting the Codemeister take a ride?"
The emu squawked at him, spit in his face, and ran off.
"CODY!" Sierra wailed, chasing down the emu for him. Cody rolled his eyes.
Noah found an emu hiding in the brush and managed to surprise it, jumping and hanging on for dear life as it stood up and tried to shake him off in fear.
In their panic, two emus ran directly into one another, falling to the floor. Owen approached them, Tyler still slung over his shoulder. "Perfect!"
As he hopped on, though, Chris walked over. "Owen, if you need to use two emus to account for your … larger-than-life personality, that's all good, but Tyler here needs to find his own emu."
"He can have one of mine!" Owen assured, looking down at the emus. "I'm sure one emu will be enough to support me!" The emu that Owen was looking at grew a look of horror on its face.
"Nah, don't sweat it, Owen!" Tyler replied. "I can get my own emu!" He carefully hopped off of Owen's shoulder and limped over to a tired emu. "You're mine now, birdbrain!" As he lurched forward, he let out a shriek of pain and fell to the floor again, clutching his leg. The emu ran off, right into Duncan.
The delinquent looked at Tyler as he howled in pain, before hopping on the emu that had ran away from him and riding off towards Hanging Rock. This did not go unnoticed by Noah.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"How very sportsmanlike of Duncan," the bookworm quipped, shaking his head in disapproval.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Look, I'm all for loyalty, but the fact still stands that I'm the biggest target on my team," said a guilty-looking Duncan. "Maybe we won't even do an elimination and Tyler will get booted off for medical reasons."
Heather managed to wrestle herself an emu, and as she gained her footing she looked to see Ezekiel whispering something to his emu as he rubbed its lower neck. The emu suddenly squawked loudly, and another emu ran in and picked up Tyler.
"Homeschool! What are you doing?!" Heather asked furiously.
"He looked like he needed help, eh," Ezekiel shrugged.
"Who cares? He's not on our team!"
A little further in the distance, Courtney, who had found herself an emu as well, listened to this conversation.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I'm not stupid. I know that basically throwing the last challenge has put a big target on my back," Courtney reasoned. "If I can shift the hatred of the team to someone else, it would be great. And I know that both Heather and Zeke could find themselves on the chopping block if I play my cards right."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"The other team cares about Tyler more than Duncan does," Noah noted.
By this point, everyone had an emu, and the trek to Hanging Rock began.
"Hey, Duncan?"
"I don't have time for this, little buddy," Duncan groaned, expecting the scrawny figure catching up to him to be Noah. However, he was instead startled to see Cody. "Oh. Cody?"
"Things are pretty bad on my team right now," Cody started off. "Ezekiel is pretty much the most bearable person to be around, but there's no one I can't stand more than Courtney, and no one I miss more than Gwen. That's why I feel like we have something in common."
Duncan nodded slowly. "What are you getting at?"
"I want to help you win today so my team can vote off Courtney," Cody said bluntly.
Duncan was taken aback. "W-Wow, I gotta say, I never took you for a strategist."
"I could say the same about you, but I really could use your help," Cody looked around nervously to make sure no one was listening. "I don't know Courtney as well as you do, can you give me any pointers to get her out of the game?"
The delinquent pondered. "Hmmm … well, she hates green jelly. Not having control drives her totally crazy. But if you ask me, you don't have to do much. She's already the biggest target on your team."
"That makes sense," Cody nodded. "Okay. Er, thanks."
"Yeah, don't mention it," Duncan said, weirded out as Cody rode on ahead.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Did that conversation actually just happen?" Duncan asked rhetorically. "Never thought I'd ever be helping Cody, but the dork's got a good point. We both hate Courtney."
Ezekiel whistled a folk song as his emu walked along the desert. The emu nudged the prairie boy slightly, whining. "What's that, eh? You want some water? We can stop for water."
He led the emu over to a small stream and allowed it to take a drink. He dismounted and drank some himself. As the boy and his emu drank, Courtney rode up. Her thirsty emu licked its beak at the sight of water, but Courtney did not let it walk forward.
"Hey, Zeke," Courtney eyed him carefully.
"Oh, hey, Courtney," Ezekiel smiled meekly. "You should let your emu have a drink, eh, it looks thirsty."
"I'll worry about my own emu, thank you. If I recall correctly, you voted for me in Nevada."
"I don't know where Nevada is."
Courtney gritted her teeth. "Area 51."
"Ohhhh. Uh, heh, maybe?"
"Just wanted to double check," Courtney smiled. "Remind me of your thoughts on women, again?"
"Uhhhh …"
"No, no, it's okay. We'll talk later," Courtney shot him another smile, and forced her thirsty emu onwards.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"That had to be a trick question, eh," Ezekiel was sure.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"The animal rights people are not going to like this episode," Chris swallowed a lump in his throat. Chef shook his head solemnly.
"Slow down, emu!" Noah struggled to hold on to his sprinting bird. "I mean, keep going fast, don't get me wrong, I want to win, but, like, pace yourself!"
Heather rode on her emu a bit further behind the bookworm, and rolled her eyes.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I know Noah is crafty and sneaky, enough to vote off the biggest manipulator in the game aside from yours truly," Heather sighed. "But I'm finding it harder and harder to see him as a threat. He's just so … physically pathetic. Unlike Alejandro …"
She looked up with admiration on her face, though it barely lasted a second before she glared at the camera. "Because, you know, he could hold his own. That's why I respected him. That's the only reason."
Ezekiel's emu began groaning, and the homeschool leaned in. "What's wrong, eh?" The emu gestured towards some brush nearby. As Ezekiel directed his emu towards the brush, he was met with the sight of a baby emu sitting in a nest. "Oh, you want to take care of your kid, eh? Yeah, take your time."
Chris and Chef sat boredly on the top of Hanging Rock, Chef carving himself a didgeridoo as they waited.
"How long has it been, now?" Chris asked tiredly, as he sunbathed with an intern giving him a foot massage. "Waiting up here is literally torture."
Chef rolled his eyes and checked his watch. "It's been about forty-three hours."
"Seriously?" Chris groaned. "When do the contestants get here?"
"They should be showing up within the next few hours."
"Uggghhhhhh," Chris shooed the intern off of his foot and leaned in a little closer to a large air conditioning unit right next to him. "I guess you gotta suffer for the money, huh?"
"Speaking of money, I was hoping we could have a discussion about my salary," Chef segued.
Chris suddenly stood up. "Whoa, someone's coming!" he said loudly, purposefully ignoring Chef as he pointed down the mountain.
An emu charged up the mountain and stopped short, hurling Noah into a tree. He elicited a groan of pain.
"That was emu sure was in a rush to get rid of you," Chris joked. Noah offered a muffled sarcastic response. "And looks like you've got company!"
Heather's emu dropped her off nonchalantly, followed by Cody's emu and Sierra's shortly after.
"I could have sworn I'd lost her," Cody whispered to Heather, who simply shook her head pitifully.
Another emu approached carrying Duncan, who approached Noah as he rested under the tree, book in hand.
"Taking a nap, little buddy?" Duncan asked, before taking a step back. "Whoa, what happened to your face?"
Noah's face was red and bruised. "I had a frank meeting with this tree."
"Man, between your face and Tyler's leg, we're starting to become Team Freakshow," Duncan laughed. Noah rolled his eyes and resumed reading.
"Looks like we're still missing Owen, Tyler, Courtney, and Ezekiel," Chris counted. "I don't know if I mentioned this, but whoever manages to get their entire team here first wins a handy reward that will help in the next part of the challenge."
Two exhausted emus walked slowly up the mountain, dropping off a shirtless Owen before collapsing from exhaustion.
Chris eyed Chef nervously. "You should give those emus some water or something, or we're never going to hear the end of it." Chef nodded and scooped the emus up from under Owen, running off somewhere.
"WOO HOO!" Owen cheered excitedly. "Man, that was fun! A slow, forty-hour hike through a desert with few sights except for the occasional wild animal and nowhere to rest but the backs of two tired emus!"
"Owen, you are the only person I have ever met who could say that and not be sarcastic," Noah shook his head.
"Aw, come on, little buddy! You gotta be positive!"
"Yeah, little buddy, be positive," Duncan chuckled. Noah sighed and went back to reading, as Duncan stared off into the distance. "Come on, Tyler, where are you?"
Courtney rode her very bitter-looking emu up the mountain. When she stopped, the emu launched her off. "Ouch! Rude!"
"Courtney, what did you do to make your emu so mad?" Chris laughed, before turning serious. "We actually have to know so we can't be liable for any animal abuse lawsuits."
"Oh, nothing. My emu is mad because I made it go so long without drinking," Courtney rolled her eyes. "The weak thing couldn't even tough it out before it started wobbling. I had to have a break just so it could have a drink! If anything, I should be the one who's angry!" The CIT glared at her emu, scaring it away.
"Talk about ungrateful," Cody and Duncan both retorted at the same time. They looked at each other peculiarly, and Owen and Noah also looked up to gaze weirdly at them.
"Why's everyone so quiet, huh?" Courtney asked, dedicated a glare to Duncan in particular.
"This may sound shocking, but maybe not everyone has something to say about you," Duncan shot back.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Credit where it's due, that was some nice use of sarcasm," Noah smiled.
"I KNOW THAT, YOU BRUTE! UGH!" Courtney went to attack him, but was once again held back by Sierra. "YOUR TEAM IS GOING DOWN!"
"We'll see about that," Cody grinned cheekily. Heather gave the geek a weird look, though she didn't hear what he had mumbled.
"We're still waiting on Ezekiel and -"
Chris was interrupted by a scream, which was elicited as Tyler was flung from his emu. Fortunately, he landed on his feet, though this didn't mean much as the contestants waited for him to fall on his face. The jock's legs wobbled, but he maintained his balance.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I don't know if it was the sun, or the two days of rest, but my leg feels great!" Tyler clutched his previously injured leg. "Tyler is back in it to win it, baby! Haha!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Great, there goes the only sensible reason to vote him off," Duncan groaned, before furrowing his brow in thought. "Although … if Cody's plan works, that might not be an issue tonight."
"The entirety of Team I Am So Amazingly Incredibly Hot is here!" Chris reported. "Which means they win this electric razor!"
As Chris handed Owen the electric razor, Duncan stepped forward. "What's it good for?"
"It's good for shearing sheep!" Chris explained, gesturing to a bungee cord on the edge of Hanging Rock. "Teams must tie a member to a rope and have them dive down to grab a sheep from the pen at the foot of the cliff. The sheep must then be brought back up and sheared. In that pen, three sheep have a Team Amazon logo branded on their backs, and three have a Team Me logo branded on their backs. Whoever can find a sheep with their logo on it wins immunity, and whoever doesn't is sending someone packing tonight."
"Um, unfair much?" Heather gestured to the electric razor. "How are we supposed to shear the sheep if we don't even have anything to shear with?"
"Why don't you shear with your big gold tooth, Princess?" Duncan mocked.
Heather rolled her eyes at this comeback, but Courtney's glare intensified as she realized Duncan had just used her nickname on Heather.
"Team Amazon can have these shears," Chris held out a pair of shears, only to whisk them away at the last second before Courtney could grab them. "But only after Ezekiel gets here. Until then, you guys can't start the challenge."
"OH, COME ON!" Courtney screamed in frustration. "Ezekiel is so dead." Sierra simply stared at her with curiosity.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Losing won't be so hard after all!" Cody laughed. "Although, I have to make sure Ezekiel isn't on the chopping block. But if I have my vote and Sierra's vote, we can get Courtney out of here!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Why didn't I think of this before?" Sierra giggled. "The merge is coming up, and as someone who's watched every episode of 'Total Drama' a billion times, I know that there's power in numbers. Courtney would be an incredible ally to have! She doesn't have Heather's pure villainy but she does have her sense of strategy! Cody will be so happy to hear that I found us our first ally!" The fangirl clapped giddily.
"So, we can start without having to wait for the girls?" Tyler asked.
"Of course you can!" Chris smiled. "Right after …" The familiar chime of a bell garnered the same reaction it always did - groans of disappointment from all present. "Only Team Me has to sing. Get going!"
Owen, Noah, Duncan, and Tyler looked at each other before a rock beat kicked up.
"Shearing sheep, don't be a creep," Noah glared at Duncan. "It's the only way we'll fly first, peeps." He then looked to Tyler with a look of dread on his face. "Win the game, it's all the same, vote with Duncan or my face he'll maim." Tyler looked back with confusion.
"Shearing sheep, and with a smile, make yourself a giant woolly, woolly, woolly pile!" Duncan sneered at Noah. "You had your vote, and Chris saved my hide, so don't sit here and pretend you cried!"
"We are shearing sheep! We are shearing sheep!" the four boys sang as though they were a boy band, with Noah as lead singer, Duncan on lead guitar, Tyler on drums, and Owen on bass guitar - still shirtless, of course. "We are shearing sheep! We are shearing sheep!"
"Shearing sheep instead of you, only 'cause you don't have any tattoos," Duncan teased Noah.
"I'll find the logo, we'll win again, and I'll be here until the bitter end," Noah challenged back.
"We are shearing sheep! We are shearing sheep!" the group continued, though now Noah and Duncan stared each other down and Owen and Tyler looked worriedly between the two. "We are shearing …"
Owen slammed his guitar onto the floor. "YEEEAAAAHHHHH!"
"Great song, guys," Chris smiled. "Now you may jump."
"Who wants to go first?" Noah asked.
"I've got this, guys!" Tyler immediately grabbed the cord. He tied it around his waist and jumped down, screaming all the way. He bounced back up with a sheep in hand. "Alright, nailed it!"
"Nice going," Noah nodded. "Owen, start shearing."
Heather glared at the boys as they sheared. "Ugh, that could be us right now."
"No, it couldn't," Sierra giggled. "We don't have the electric razor."
"I mean it could be doing the challenge right now," Heather said. "But slowpoke Ezekiel is taking all day to get here."
"Hey, cut Zeke some slack," Cody approached her. "Unless you want to end up like her." Cody gestured to Courtney, who was having a very hard time keeping it together as she scowled at the Australian horizon, surveying the expansive desert for any sign of their missing teammate. "She has totally lost it."
"That's true," Heather nodded. "Now that Gwen's gone, and since she left the way she did, Courtney is going nuts with feelings and whatever. I wouldn't be surprised if she was the next one to go."
"Well, hey, cut her some slack," Sierra quickly piped up. "Courtney lost her best friend and her boyfriend in the last two challenges. She's just a little shaken up, I'm sure."
"Well, she better stop 'shaking up' pretty soon, or she's history," Heather walked away from the two. Cody could barely contain his excitement at the thought of eliminating Courtney, while Sierra simply looked distraught from Courtney to Heather.
"Oh, Cody, I've been meaning to talk to you about our future in this game," Sierra said.
"Sierra, look, I don't doubt that you have some weirdly personal thing about my sleeping habits or my family life or something, but right now we need to focus on the challenge." With this, Cody walked off as well, leaving a very confused Sierra.
"What challenge?"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I have wanted to eliminate Sierra from the beginning, but she can help me vote off that Gwen-hater Courtney," Cody sighed. "She's just the lesser of two evils right now."
Shaving their sheep bare to find no logo, Owen took the bungee cord and prepared to jump off the cliff.
"You know what I just realized?" Noah asked. Tyler looked over, waiting for him to continue. "This did end up being a challenge where you didn't really need your legs."
"Yeah, I know. You said that might happen earlier, though," Tyler pointed out.
Noah rubbed his temples. "I was being … you know what, yes. You're right. I predicted this."
Tyler's eyes widened. "Whoa."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Noah's, like, crazy smart," Tyler noted. "I'd hate to have him on my bad side."
Owen returned, with a hungry dingo in hand. "This sheep looks funny."
"Owen, that's a dingo!" Noah panicked. The dingo snarled at Owen, and, out of options, he chucked it back off the cliff.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Great, as if we didn't have enough on our plate with the emu people, now the dingo people are going to be filing lawsuits," Chris groaned, as Chef filled out paperwork with a worried expression on his face.
Cody approached Sierra, whistling innocently. "Hey, Sierra, can I have a piece of your hair?"
Sierra nodded and removed a very long strand of her purple hair. As she was about to hand it to him, curiosity got the better of her. "But wait, why do you want it?"
"Um, so I can always have a piece of you in my pocket?" Cody lied, gagging internally.
"Oh, Cody," Sierra cooed. "It would only make sense to return the favor."
Cody happily took the strand of hair and waited for the fan girl to stop ogling him and turn back around to look for Ezekiel. Finally, when the coast was clear, he tied the strand of hair to two rocks on the ground. He looked up to see Duncan staring, and shot him a thumbs-up.
Duncan smiled confidently. He approached Owen, who was still shaking with fear from the dingo incident. "A for effort, big guy, but let me give it a shot," Duncan grabbed the rope. "I might actually get a sheep."
"Hehe, sorry," Owen smiled sheepishly. Duncan shot him a smirk as he jumped off.
"Can I let you guys in on a secret?" Tyler asked quickly.
"Yeah, what?" Owen replied.
"I don't trust Duncan."
"Join the club," Noah said immediately.
"Duncan's a good guy, I … I know it," Owen laughed nervously. "Sure, he may seem all mean and threatening and unhelpful, but he's got a heart of gold and he's super loyal!"
"Loyal. You mean like how he was loyal to Courtney?" Noah raised an eyebrow.
"I meant loyal more in the sense of friends," Owen laughed nervously again.
Duncan landed back on the cliff with a sheep in hand. He noted the startled looks on the faces of his teammates, and smiled confidently. "Let's get shearing, ladies."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I recognize the 'I've been talking about you' face, and I just saw it on three separate people," Duncan sighed. "But it's okay, because we're gonna win today."
Ezekiel's emu chugged up the the mountain, dropping off the homeschool.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Courtney shrieked, scaring the emu away and causing Ezekiel to pull his hat down over his eyes in fear.
"The emu had to take care of its baby, eh," Ezekiel replied.
"Guys, there's no sense in arguing, let's just start the challenge!" Cody said.
"Whatever," Courtney walked over to Chris and grabbed the large metal shears from his hand. As she approached the cliff, Courtney tripped over a long strand of purple hair, and the shears plummeted off the cliff. "NOOOOOO!"
"Oh no!" Cody feigned a gasp. "Courtney, how could you? Those shears were our only chance of winning!"
"What the heck?" Noah squinted at the hide of the sheep he was shearing. He groaned. "Well, this one has a logo, but it's the other team's. Throw it back."
"Not so fast," Chris inspected the sheep. Indeed, the insignia of Team Amazon glistened back at him. "Team Amazon wins!"
"What?!" Duncan, Noah, and Cody all exclaimed at the same time.
"You said whichever team finds their logo wins!" Duncan argued. "Team Amazon didn't find theirs, and we didn't find ours!"
"Hm. I suppose I did say that, didn't I?" Chris agreed.
Courtney hurried over and took the sheep from a flabbergasted Team Chris, bringing it back to her team's side. "Hey, look, we found our team's logo!" she smiled.
"You sure did!" Chris nodded. "Team Amazon wins a first-class trip to our next destination, and Team Me wins another trip to the Drop of Shame!"
The contestants groaned.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I know Chris makes up the rules as he goes along, but this is a new low," Noah frowned.
Team Amazon got comfortable in first class.
"Hey, Cody?" Sierra took a brown hair out of her pocket. "Do you want to introduce your Sierra hair to my Cody hair?"
Cody shuddered. "Um, no thanks, I'm really tired."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Maybe I should rethink my 'lesser of two evils' approach," Cody swallowed a lump in his throat, before slapping himself in the face. "No. No. Do it for Gwen."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"When Codykins asked me for a strand of hair, I knew it was the start of a new phase in our relationship!" Sierra explained. "Who knows what could come next? Marriage? A baby Cody in the baby carriage?" She giggled with excitement.
"Anyone want to go eavesdrop on the other team's elimination ceremony?" Heather asked.
"Nah, I'd be fine with any of those losers goin', eh," Ezekiel insisted, accepting a warm chocolate chip cookie from a stewardess.
"Don't you want to make sure your best friend Tyler stays in the game?" Heather shot back. "It's funny, you gave him an emu, and he beat you to Hanging Rock by an hour!"
Courtney listened to her team bicker with interest on her face.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I'm still narrowing down whether I should make Ezekiel or Heather the next target, but let's face it," Courtney shrugged. "One of them is just so good at making themselves a target."
The four members of Team Chris settled into their seats silently as they waited for Chris to enter the room. Duncan looked at his teammates with his casual frown. Tyler shook nervously. Owen looked sadly at his seat. Noah gave him a look of concern.
"Owen, what's wrong?" the bookworm asked his best friend. "I don't think you're on the chopping block tonight, dude."
"Eliminations are so sad," Owen replied.
"And then there were four," Chris said dramatically as he entered the room.
"Actually, there have been four of us since Alejandro was eliminated," Noah reminded the host.
"Okay, well in a minute there's going to be three, and because of you ruining my mood, I hope it's you," Chris shot back.
"That makes two of us," Duncan rolled his eyes.
"So, I've taken a look at the votes, and let me tell ya, it was not a pretty sight," Chris shook his head. "Owen and Noah, you guys are safe at zilch."
Tyler grew increasingly nervous, while Duncan sat with the same bored expression on his face.
"Tyler, your injured leg made you a liability for a while today," Chris informed. "And Duncan, let's face it, from the second you made out with Gwen in the confessional no one on your team has trusted you."
"Just get on with it, McLean," Duncan said boredly.
"Well, fine," Chris read the votes. "Tyler, you're safe."
Tyler sighed with relief as Duncan stood up and took a parachute.
"Duncan, I'm actually sad to see you go," Chris wiped a genuine tear from his eyes, eliciting confused looks from Owen, Noah, and Tyler. "The … the ratings are going to take such a hit now that we can't broadcast the relationship drama anymore!"
"Oh, give me a break," Duncan walked towards the exit. "I never wanted to come back here, and now I'm happy to be leaving." He gave a smirk to the rest of his team. "See the rest of you losers later." With this, he jumped out of the plane.
As Chris left the room to do the outro, Noah crept over to the passports. His eyes widened. "Whoa."
"What is it?" Owen asked.
"It was unanimous," the bookworm said in disbelief.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Owen and Tyler are great players, but neither of them are smart enough to rig the votes," Noah pondered. "So did Duncan really … ?"
"Hey, guys, guess what?" Chris returned, a tape in hand.
"You're admitting your age by the fact that you still use cassette tapes?" Noah quipped.
"For your information, this tape is going to make things interesting," Chris slid the tape into a player, and the monitor on the wall blared up to life.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"McLean, I want this confessional edited in right after the ceremony, okay? And don't show it to anybody on the plane," Duncan stared at the camera. "The ceremony's in a few minutes. I know I messed with Tyler too much to win him over, and I overplayed my hand with Noah. Alright, you hear me? I'm admitting a mistake."
He sighed. "So, I figure I'll vote for myself. Go out the way Gwen did. It's what I deserve, the way I see it. I showed up, made a little hurricane in my wake, and now I'm hopping out." He sighed again, genuinely. "So, uh, I guess I'm sorry, to everyone I hurt. To, um, one person in particular."
This genuine display of emotion was too far for him, and he went back to his calm, cool, and collected demeanor. "So, yeah, y'know, there's way cooler things for me to be doing than sitting around on this lame plane with a bunch of lame people. I gotta go hang out with Gwen, and my boys Geoff and DJ. Life is about to get good again."
He smirked as he finished up, standing. "And for the record, if my dude Owen doesn't win this time around … and I never thought I'd say this … I'm rooting for Cody. Keep fighting, dork. Duncan - out."
Chris turned off the TV in the elimination area, as Noah, Owen, and Tyler stared, slack-jawed, at the rare sight of Duncan displaying his true feelings.
"You know what, Owen?" Noah sighed. "You were right. There is some good in Duncan."
"Team Chris shall keep fighting in the good name of Duncan!" Tyler said dramatically, bringing his hand in to a small circle.
"Alright, I mean, he's not dead," Noah rolled his eyes.
Owen and a reluctant Noah brought their hands in, leading Tyler to smile. "'Duncan' on three, alright? One, two, three!"
"Duncan!" Tyler, Owen, and Noah threw their hands up.
"Well, would you just look at this display of compassion and friendship-mending?" Chris smiled. "I bet all eight remaining teens will be completely warm and friendly to each other for the duration of the competition! This nice streak will totally continue right here, next time on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed, or at least tolerated, reading!
Spoiler warning for the chapter right now, in case you scrolled all the way to the bottom to read the author's note for some reason. Hey, I wouldn't judge.
So, yeah, Duncan is out! He voted himself off, but he would have been eliminated regardless of how he voted, so that's how it differs slightly from Gwen. The reason why I had him be less apologetic to Courtney than I made Gwen is because I've always seen Gwen as both more mature and more outwardly emotional than Duncan, so I found it more believable to have her act that way compared to him.
That being said, we do see hints of guilt from him - probably why he felt like voting for himself.
Our final eight are Courtney, Heather, Cody, Sierra, Ezekiel, Owen, Noah, and Tyler. I'll see you all in Sweden!
