Welcome to Sweden!
You may have noticed this chapter came out weeks after the last one. This is due to schoolwork, a predictable foe. But nevertheless, here we are.
I won't dilly dally before we get to our pirate/viking adventure today. I just want to offer my typical gratitude for those of you who favorite, follow, and comment! You guys are the ones who deserve a million bucks!
Now, without further ado, let's take a look at our final eight contestants…
A rat crawled by Noah's foot in economy class. As the boy read a book, the rat sniffed his shoe, licked its lips, and took a bite. Noah recoiled in horror, shaking his foot as the rat scampered off.
"We're really living the good life back here, huh, boys?" the bookworm balled himself up so no part of him was touching the floor.
"Aw, haha, I think the little guy was just hungry," Owen laughed, having viewed the scene. His stomach growled.
"Oof, don't mention food, Owen," Tyler clutched his own stomach. "We haven't eaten in, like, twelve hours."
"They really take their time when it comes to feeding us back here," Noah sighed, standing up. "Do you guys wanna go beg for scraps from Team Amazon?"
"And give up our dignity?!" Owen stood up in horror. His stomach growled loudly, shaking the whole room. "OF COURSE, LET'S GO!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Aside from starvation, I also want to gauge what's going on with the other team," Noah explained. "Heather's going to be my biggest threat for sure, I need to make her feel like she's alone on her team. What do I mean by that? Well, with Cody a friend of mine, Sierra's vote tied to Cody, and Ezekiel easy to convince, that just leaves Courtney to get on my side. I … just have no idea how that's going to happen." The bookworm appeared in deep thought.
Courtney sat up towards the front of victory class by herself. Towards the back, Heather attempted to take a nap, Ezekiel twiddled his thumbs and zoned off, and Cody sat happily in his seat, rocking his feet back and forth at the back of first class.
Sierra cuddled up to him. "You look so happy, Codykins. Are you thinking about that hair I gave you?"
Cody grimaced. "Uh, no." He looked around. "Alright, Sierra, I've got something to tell you."
"Ooo, I'm so excited! What is it?"
Cody looked around one more time to make sure nobody was listening. "I launched a semi-alliance with Duncan in Australia to get Courtney kicked out of the game!"
Sierra cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Huh?"
"The way I see it, the other team just voted off Tyler for being dead weight, so basically we'll have Duncan on our side for sure, Ezekiel, and I'm also pals with Owen and Noah, so we can get rid of Heather and, more importantly, Courtney," Cody whispered his plan to Sierra.
"Cody, I … it's a good plan, but," Sierra trailed off. She sighed. "Why Courtney?"
"Because of what she did to Gwen!" Cody said loudly, attracting the attention of his other teammates.
"Would you two lovers keep it down?" Heather grumbled.
"Wait, who's in love?" Ezekiel asked, turning around to face Cody and Sierra. "Are you two in love?"
Sierra rapidly nodded her head as quickly as Cody shook his.
"Knock, knock," Noah's voice came from the end of the cabin. Team Amazon turned to see him cautiously entering the room.
"Um, what do you think you're doing in here?" Heather raised an eyebrow.
"Chris and Chef forgot to feed us," Tyler explained.
"And Owen NEEDS HIS FOOD!" Owen finished.
"Courtney, can you deal with the Three Gross-kateers please?" Heather asked.
Courtney finally walked to the back of the cabin. "What's going …" Her voice trailed off as she paid attention to the makeup of Team Chris. "D-Duncan's gone?!"
"What?!" Cody's face fell.
"Duncan is indeed gone," Noah nodded.
"It's okay, though, 'cause, like, he voted for himself, and gave a big speech in the confessional about how he did it because he felt so bad about stuff, and for some reason he also said he hoped Owen or Cody would win," Tyler explained.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Why did Gwen and Duncan vote themselves off?" Courtney looked confused, and a bit upset, before clearing her throat. "I'm only asking because I was supposed to be the ones to get rid of them. I bet those cowards only voted themselves off so they could be together. A million more dollars in my pocket!" Courtney's confident smile wavered very slightly.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Great, Duncan's gone, and Courtney is still here!" Cody sighed in frustration. His lip quivered. "AND I MISS GWEN!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I probably shouldn't have revealed any of that to, like, everyone," Tyler smiled sheepishly at the camera. "Uh, sorry, Duncan."
"I guess that means the anti-Courtney alliance won't work out," Sierra patted Cody on the back. "Which means that we should -"
"Oh, no," Cody interrupted. "Courtney has taken away Gwen, and my first real attempt at a post-merge alliance? She is going down."
Sierra laughed nervously.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I've stuck by Courtney through the whole Gwen thing, and I'm not Heather, so I seriously think she'll see me as her closest ally in the competition," Sierra beamed. "Well, barring some pretty bizarre circumstances."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"So I got to thinking, what would Alejandro do?" Noah sighed. "And I came up with an answer. An answer I didn't like, but an answer."
As Owen and Tyler scarfed down a plate of freshly-baked cookies, Noah took a deep breath and strode over to where Courtney was standing in the aisle, filled with emotion about Duncan's elimination but not letting anything be shone.
"Hey, Courtney," Noah flashed an uneasy smile. "Boy, am I sure glad Duncan's gone, because now… there's no rival for your love. Heh."
Every teen in the entire victory class cabin stared at Noah in complete shock. No one moved or said a word as Chris entered.
"Good morning, passengers!" Chris greeted.
"Please tell me we can get out of the plane now," Cody asked, eager to get away from the awkward situation that had just played out. Heather and Sierra nodded rapidly in agreement.
"Yeah, eh, is it challenge time?" Ezekiel added.
"Whoa, you guys sure are excited for today's challenge!" Chris smiled. "It warms my heart! Which is good, because you guys are gonna need all the warmth you can get in our next destination!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
Courtney stared uneasily at the camera, everything that had just happened in the past five minutes rushing back to her.
"Welcome, contestants, to Sweden!" Chris smiled, warmly bundled in a parka as he introduced the frozen landscape to the eight shivering teens.
"Hey, do you have those jackets you ordered for us in the Yukon?" Heather asked.
"Funny you should ask! The jackets are completely ready!" The contestants sighed with relief, before Chris continued, "to be shipped. In six to eight weeks." The contestants groaned with this new information.
"But it's f-freezing," Courtney whined.
Noah swallowed his pride and walked up to her. "Maybe we should cuddle for warmth?"
Courtney was still unprepared to give a response to this, so Owen grabbed him up instead, as well as Tyler. "Team Chris group hug!"
"Are we hugging for warmth, eh?" Ezekiel asked as he watched Sierra scoop up Cody. "Heather, you and me, eh -"
"Lay a finger on me and you're dead, weirdo," Heather shot back.
"Enough cuddling, more challenging!" Chris interrupted the lovefest, walking the teens over to two large piles of wood and steel parts. "Each team needs to build a contraption out of these parts. Whichever team correctly builds what they have to first will get an advantage in the next challenge."
"What do we have to build, eh?" Ezekiel asked.
"I won't leave you hanging," Chris promised, producing two instruction manuals and handing them to Noah and Courtney, respectively. Both flipped through them.
"These are in Swedish," Noah deadpanned.
"Are there pictures?" Tyler asked him. Noah shook his head.
"You kids are smart, you'll figure it out!" Chris walked back to the plane nearby, where Chef stood silently in his parka. "And when you do, let Chef know, because I've got a date with a hot tub!"
"Are you serious?" Heather asked him.
"Of course I am, it's freezing out here!" Chris shivered in his parka, walking away.
The contestants groaned at Chris' ego, and the teams grouped up to strategize.
"I bet we have to build an emu!" Tyler guessed. "Last time it was all about emus!"
"Oh, of course, we need to build some classic Swedish wooden emus," Noah deadpanned.
Tyler gasped. "Those exist? Oh, man, that's totally what we have to do!"
"I'll get started on the legs!" Owen decided, moving over to the pile to grab some wooden planks.
"Guys, I was very, very clearly being sarcastic," Noah groaned.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I don't know why I still have to say that," Noah grumbled.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Maybe Noah should just, like, say what he means, if he wants us to know what he's thinking," Tyler shrugged.
As Team Chris got started trying to make sense of the large pile of wood and screws, Team Amazon was in disarray. Cody sat in a depressed state, Sierra by his side. Courtney and Heather gave each other glares, as though daring the other to suggest something so the other could shoot it down. Ezekiel did not match the anger or depression, and stood with a smile.
"Alright, eh, this is perfect!" Ezekiel stretched. "On the farm, I helped my dad out with repairs all the time, eh!"
"This is the same dad who taught you women are inferior to men?" Courtney raised an eyebrow.
"Uhhhhh, yeah," Ezekiel nodded, missing the insulting nature of Courtney's comment. "Anyway, let's get building, eh!"
"Yeah, that would be perfect," Heather rolled her eyes, "if we even knew what we had to build!"
"Ezekiel, you say you've worked with wood," Courtney reminded. "Well, take a look at this wood and tell me what we have to build."
"Oh, uhhhhhhhhhh," Ezekiel trailed off as his eyes followed the various planks of wood.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"The guy who's supposed to be great at this messes up, and it's game over for Zeke," Courtney sighed. "He's an easy target, what can I say?"
Noah had given up on trying to read the instructions, and so sifted through the wooden pile in the hopes of finding anything recognizable.
"Anything good in there, little buddy?" Owen asked.
"Unless you're excited to hear about more wooden planks, I'm gonna go ahead and say there's nothing to really get your heart racing in here," Noah sighed. Suddenly, he paused, carefully taking out a large, red, shield-like piece that seemed very out of place among the wood. "Guys, we have our lead."
"What is that?" Tyler asked.
"It's a Viking shield. They put these on their ships when they went off to battle," Noah explained, his voice lowering to a whisper. "We need to build a boat."
"Oooo, a Viking boat!" Tyler said, impressed. Noah shushed him, turning around to see Team Amazon bickering. "If we start now and hide it from them, they'll be too far behind to catch up to us."
"If only we had some way to stop them from seeing us," Owen lamented.
"Maybe Noah should go flirt with his girlfriend some more," Tyler teased.
"And leave you two here to build the whole thing? No shot," Noah looked at the wooden pile. "We'll fasten a barrier out of some wood and that tarp over there. Let's go, team."
In no time, Team Chris had constructed a barrier and slid it in between themselves and Team Amazon.
"Oh, great," Heather scoffed, watching the barrier being put into place. "The other team knows what they're doing, and we're sitting here waiting for Captain Homeschool's gears to start turning for the first time in years."
"I can figure this out, eh," Ezekiel's eyes moved from the pile of wood, to the instruction manual.
"You can read Swedish?" Heather doubted.
"How hard can it be, eh?"
"It might be easier if you don't hold it upside down," Courtney gritted her teeth, flipping the instructions rightside up.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I want Ezekiel to be the next target, but you know an even safer way to guarantee, for sure, that I don't get eliminated?" Courtney said. "If our team actually wins!"
"Oh, Codykins, what's wrong?" Sierra asked.
"I miss Gwen," was Cody's short, quiet reply.
Sierra scoffed quietly. "Well, Cody, Gwen's not here right now, and nothing could bring her back. I find that if you worry less about things outside of your control, you -"
"That's it!" Cody stood up, enlightened. He ran over to the pile of wood and frantically began working, almost comically fast.
"Cody must've figured out the same thing I figured out, eh," Ezekiel boasted.
"Oh, really? What did you figure out, Zeke?" Courtney asked.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhh," Ezekiel trailed once again, caught in a lie.
"They're really hard at work over there," Owen noted, peeking beyond the barrier. "Cody is building super fast."
"Well, we're just about done over here," Noah said, as he and Tyler fastened a mast to the ship. "Just make sure they don't finish before -"
"They're done," Owen said, initially bringing unhappiness to his teammates. However, he then started cracking up. "That … is … AWESOME! Haha!"
"What is it, big guy?" Noah hopped down from the boat, along with Tyler, as the three peered over the barrier.
"Done!" Cody stepped back from his creation, panting from the hard work. It was a giant replica of Gwen's head, made out of wood.
"Are you kidding me, Cody?!" Heather screeched, grabbing a mallet from a pile of tools near the wood and chasing Cody with it.
"GET AWAY FROM CODY!" Sierra snarled, picking up another mallet and dueling with Heather. Courtney stood with her eye twitching.
"For the record, eh, this wasn't what I was thinking," Ezekiel told Courtney.
"Okay, they're totally screwed," Noah chuckled. "And as long as this barrier stays up, they'll have no idea what they're actually supposed to do. We got this in the bag."
"You got it!" Tyler smiled confidently, taking a step. He immediately slipped on the ice, slamming into the barrier and causing it to fall. Team Amazon looked upon their boat in its full glory.
"Why would I jinx us like that?" Noah said to Owen. "I should know better."
"See, that's what I was thinking, eh," Ezekiel lied, bragging.
"Then why didn't you do anything?!" Courtney screamed at him.
"I thought Cody had it down pat, eh."
An all-too-familiar bell chimed, interrupting the bickering, as Chris reemerged from the plane in his parka. "Get singing, guys!" He then turned his attention to Chef. "Chef, have you seen my bathrobe? I had to dry off with a towel after my hot bath!" Chef rolled his eyes.
Heather groaned and took Courtney aside as the musical number started. "They're way ahead, so we've got to go."
"We've got to build something to sail, something we can row," Courtney agreed.
"It doesn't have to be a boat," Sierra joined in.
"As long as it stays afloat," the three harmonized, looking at Gwen's wooden face. "Oh why did we build Gwen's face?" Cody sat, depressed, at the base of the head, with Ezekiel offering him a pat on the back.
"It's almost ready to set sail," Noah and Tyler boasted their impressive Viking ship.
"Just hammering in the final nail," Noah sang, implying the nail would be in Team Amazon's coffin, as Heather, Courtney, and Sierra wailed.
"We really did this fast!" Owen smiled.
"Soon we'll be back in first class," Noah and Tyler sang, joining Owen. "Because they built Gwen's face!"
"We built Gwen's face!" the Amazon girls sang.
"We're gonna take first place!" sang Team Chris.
"Because we built Gwen's face!"
Courtney took this opportunity for a solo. "Ahhhhh, yeeaa-ahhh, yeeeahhhhh!"
"We built Gwen's face!"
Sierra did a slide on the ice as she broke away from Courtney and Heather. "Yeah yeah yeah yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh!"
Cody sat in the snow, doodling a picture of Gwen with a stick. He drew one of Duncan next to her, and sighed.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I shouldn't be so upset, I know," Cody sighed. "Courtney will be gone next time we lose. It's just … I really miss Gwen. And Duncan getting the boot right after I had become on sort of good terms with him … it wasn't great."
Owen's stomach began to grumble.
"I know you're hungry, dude, but we're gonna have to eat after the challenge," Tyler reassured.
"That wasn't a hunger grumble …" Owen smiled sheepishly.
Noah sighed and held his breath as his large friend ran over to a hole in the ice. He squatted and released a massive fart, sighing in relief as the pressure left his system. Unfortunately, this pressure was now underneath the frozen sea, and cracks in the ice proved it would not hold for much longer.
"Uh-oh," Owen winced.
"Get to the boat!" Noah jumped into his team's vessel.
"Wait for me!" Tyler attempted to run, but his basketball shoes caused him to run in place. Owen grabbed him and threw him into the boat, climbing in himself as the cracks in the ice caught up with him and finally gave out. The vessel was now at sea.
Team Amazon, on the other hand, rightfully panicked as the cracks in the ice approached them.
"Anyone ready fer a dip, eh?" Ezekiel tried to joke.
"I am not dying of hypothermia," Heather scowled. "This is not how Heather goes!"
Courtney racked her brain, leaning against Gwen's face for support. She gasped as she knocked it. "Guys, Gwen's head is hollow!"
"Tell me something I don't know," Heather replied.
"No, I got it! We can cut off the top half and ride her like a boat!" Sierra realized. "You know, it doesn't have to be a boat, as long as it -"
"Yeah, yeah, we got it," Courtney interrupted Sierra's reprise. "Off with her head!"
Heather grabbed a hacksaw from the pile of tools and sliced off Gwen's forehead. Cody recoiled in horror.
"Calm down, eh, it's not really Gwen," Ezekiel reminded him.
Heather jumped into the boat, followed by Courtney. Sierra grabbed Cody and jumped in. This left Ezekiel to frantically scramble up to the rest of his team, just in the knick of time, as the ice sheet was completely destroyed.
"Looks like you guys are at sea!" Chris called from the plane. "Meet me at the dock at the end of this strait for the next part of the challenge, and be prepared to assign a captain to your ship!"
"Ooo! Ooo!" Tyler cheered. "Let me be captain!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I've been captain of, like, a ton of sports teams in my life," Tyler boasted. "My third-grade kickball team, my fifth-grade organized hide-and-seek tournament, all the way back to my kindergarten hopscotch club," Tyler's smile turned to a frown. "Man, the guys from the hockey team are gonna be brutal after hearing that!"
"Good idea, Tyler, you can be the clumsy captain of our Viking vessel," Noah chuckled.
"Haha! Yeah, our ship will sink!" Owen laughed at his much-less-clever joke.
"Very funny," Tyler replied to his teammates' heckling. "I know I'm not always the most … coordinated … but I can be captain!"
"Yeah, I'm sure you'll be the most successful captain since Edward Smith," Noah laughed at his own joke, turning to a deadpan when he saw Owen and Tyler's confused expressions. "Captain of the Titanic?"
"Ohhhhhh," both boys responded.
As Gwen's face sailed a bit further behind, Sierra raised a hand excitedly. "I think Cody should be captain!"
"As long as it's not Little Miss Challenge Thrower here, that's fine by me," Heather rolled her eyes.
"Big talk coming from someone who was supposed to be eliminated in the Amazon," Courtney shot back.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I've been so preoccupied trying to move the target to Ezekiel that I haven't even considered Heather," Courtney reasoned. "But everyone hates her! It might not be such a bad idea to try and get her out of here …"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I'm not afraid of Courtney," Heather said. "Everyone on the team is sick and tired of her bossiness, her annoyingness, and, most importantly, her treating her problems as the only ones that matter and throwing challenges for her revenge-crazed fantasies."
"I was thinkin' I'd be a great captain, eh," Ezekiel said.
"Yeah, don't push your luck, homeschool," Courtney replied curtly.
Team Chris came to rest at the dock, where Chris was waiting for them. "Alright, boys, who's captain?"
"I'm captain!" Tyler said proudly.
Chris turned to Owen and Noah curiously. "Really? Not the clever, strategic Noah, or the lovable, popular Owen? You guys picked Tyler?"
"Just roll with it," Noah sighed.
Chris shrugged and gave Tyler a viking hat. "You guys get a cannon for your vessel," Chef carried a cannon onboard their ship, and also tossed some black, charred objects into the boat. "You guys also get Chef's burnt Swedish meatballs, and this bag."
Chris handed Owen a bag, and he peered inside. "Rocks?"
"We have to have a boat war or something?" Noah asked.
"That's completely up to you," Chris explained. "The challenge is to either be the last boat standing, or to get the flag at the other end of this previously frozen lake. If you guys go now, you might be able to get the flag, but it is totally your call."
"Let's go, guys," Noah encouraged Owen and Tyler onto the boat.
"The captain commands that we, uh, get moving," Tyler agreed, proudly walking to the boat. He almost slipped on the ice a few times, but managed to catch himself. Owen and Noah shared a worried look.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"I like Tyler, but I don't know if I'd put him in charge of a ship," Owen shrugged.
A few seconds after they set sail, Noah heard horrible crunching sounds coming from Owen. He sighed. "Owen, please don't tell me you're eating those meatballs."
"Of course I'm not eating meatballs," Owen replied. "I'm eating a meatball."
"How are you even able to chew it? Those things are super burnt."
"Ha! As if that could stop me."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"He brings up a good point," Noah reasoned.
"Alright, let's just go to the flag," Noah decided.
"Aw, come on! How many times in your life do you get to launch cannonballs in an awesome boat war?" Tyler said.
"First off, we have enough of a lead right now that we can easily win and relax in victory class for another day," Noah explained. "Second, we don't even have anything to launch the quote-unquote 'cannonballs' with."
"We only have this bag of rocks," Owen produced the bag that Chris had given him.
Noah looked into the bag. "Owen, this is flint."
"Haha, awesome Viking battle here we come!" Tyler cheered.
"It does sound like fun!" Owen agreed.
Noah deadpanned.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Well, I'm safe if we lose, so I guess this is fine," he finally caved.
Team Amazon arrived at the dock, greeted by Chef, who put a cannon in Gwen's face, along with a bag of Swedish meatballs.
"Congratulations on being the second team to arrive here, Team Amazon!" Chris smiled. "Of two. Second of two."
"We know how many teams there are," Heather remarked impatiently.
"Wait, whatever happened to Team Victory, eh?" Ezekiel questioned.
"Who is your captain?" Chris asked, ignoring Ezekiel's question.
"Cody," Sierra said immediately, grabbing the Viking helmet from Chris and lovingly placing it on Cody's head.
"Okay, then, you guys should get moving!" Chris ushered them to their "ship." "You guys can either be the last ship standing or be the first to get the flag. Hop to it!"
"Lead the way, Captain Cody," Sierra encouraged. "Ooo, I love the sound of that!"
Cody just rolled his eyes.
"So are we going to acknowledge that we are basically guaranteed to lose?" Heather complained. "The other team has been sailing for, like, ten minutes. There is no way they are not getting to the flag first. Ugh!"
The team sat in a depressed silence for a few minutes. Finally, Ezekiel spoke up. "Hey, look! The other team is waiting for us, eh!"
"As if, Zeke, no one is stupid enough to take a ten minute head start, guaranteeing them the win, and throw it away to wait for us," Courtney replied, not even bothering to look up.
"WELCOME, AMAZON-ERS," Tyler announced, standing proudly at the side of his ship, "TO THE FIGHT OF YOUR LIFE." Owen and Noah stood next to him, the former smiling confidently and the latter looking bored as usual
"I think we found someone stupid enough," Heather realized.
"OWEN, MY MAN, FIRE THE CANNON!"
Owen saluted his captain's orders and fired a Swedish meatball from the cannon. It whizzed over the heads of Team Amazon, but not by much.
"Are you guys trying to kill us?!" Heather screamed back.
"Wait, no fair, eh, how come they can fire their cannons?" Ezekiel asked.
"Probably because they beat us," Courtney said. She scowled as she watched Team Chris prepare another shot. "Everyone, get down!"
Another Swedish meatball went careening into the side of Gwen's face, picking an ear clean off.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Gwen!" Cody screamed in horror.
Enraged at the damage done to Gwen, Cody sprinted to his team's cannon, picking up some boards from the floor and rubbing them together quickly to make fire. He ignited the cannon and launched a meatball at Team Chris' boat - a direct hit.
"Nice work, Cody, eh!" Ezekiel complimented.
"Yeah, whatever, just keep firing," Courtney encouraged. Cody took another meatball and fired it at Team Chris - once again making direct contact with the boat. Team Chris' vessel was now badly damaged, and moving much slower.
"We only have one more meatball, guys, so we have to make it count," Noah looked at a significantly more wet meatball on the floor. "And it's the one that was in Owen's mouth, so I'm not touching it."
"It's okay, I got it," Owen gingerly picked up the meatball and put it in the cannon. Tyler ran over, excitedly rubbing two stones together and producing a spark. Unfortunately, in true Tyler fashion, he slipped, slamming into the cannon. The spark did manage to reach the cannon, but Tyler had pushed it, and as it fired, the meatball hit his own ship's mast. The boat halted.
"Nice job, losers!" Heather mocked as Gwen's face passed them. Noah raised an eyebrow at Owen and Tyler.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Now that I think about it? Voting off Duncan might not have been such a great idea," Noah deadpanned.
Courtney smiled at the goth-shaped vessel she was in. "Turns out Gwen was useful for something after all."
Cody stood up from where he was sitting with Sierra and walked over to her.
"Cody, no!" Sierra whisper-yelled, but she was ignored.
"You know what, Courtney? I think it's time you stop selling Gwen the short end of the stick," Cody confronted. "She felt bad about what she did!"
Courtney rolled her eyes. "Murderers who feel bad for murdering don't get off scot-free, Cody. Now, go run along and play with Sierra."
"Yeah, Captain Cody, let's play!" Sierra grinned eagerly.
Cody was not deterred. "Was voting herself off not comeuppance enough? She literally sacrificed her chance at a million dollars because she felt bad about hurting you, and this is how you repay her? Still bad-mouthing her?"
"Drop it, Cody," Courtney warned. Heather and Ezekiel both looked on with intense interest.
"No, Courtney, I'm not going to drop it," Cody frowned. "I think we've all just about had it with your horrible attitude and your nonstop whining."
Courtney scoffed. "You're one to talk, Cody! All you've done since Gwen was eliminated is complain about how much you miss her! How much has that helped?"
"Oooo," Ezekiel winced at this burn.
"Probably about as much as you threatening Ezekiel and Heather has helped," Cody replied.
"OOOO," Ezekiel said once again.
"Shut up, homeschool," Heather silenced him.
"Cody, the only reason you're still around is because Gwen was worse, and Heather has a history of ruining literally everything," Courtney ranted. "Having Sierra carry you around everywhere has to have helped as well. Except for her, everyone here just pities you." Sierra awkwardly looked on.
"I am a valuable member of this team," Cody shot back. "I helped us navigate the minefield in Area 51, something you didn't even want to do because you wanted to throw the challenge. And the only reason you weren't kicked off for pulling that stunt is because everyone felt bad for you. How's that for pity?"
Meanwhile, Noah, Owen, and Tyler sat stagnantly in their very, very slowly sinking boat.
"I can't believe this is how we lose," Tyler frowned.
Owen's stomach growled. He suddenly stood up triumphantly. "No. This isn't how it ends."
"We're out of cannonballs, Owen, there's literally no way to -" Noah looked up to see his large friend sitting in the cannon, stomach rumbling in anticipation.
"SHE'S GONNA BLOW ANY SECOND, JUST LAUNCH ME!" Owen insisted.
Tyler and Noah looked in shock. Finally, Tyler grabbed the flint and ran over to the cannon.
Back in Gwen's face, tensions were still high. "Cody, you're Sierra's boy toy. I don't even know why I'm still having this conversation with you," Courtney said.
Cody's face was red, furious at not being taken seriously. "Well, it beats being the person that keeps everyone up all night with their crying, and who is a jerk to literally everyone because she can't comprehend the idea that Duncan didn't want her!"
The boat immediately fell silent. Courtney and Cody stared each other down, each knowing that this remark had drastically escalated the fight.
Before either could do anything, however, a faint cannon shot was heard.
"The other team must be firing blanks," Sierra nervously laughed to try and disarm the situation.
"Who cares? We're right at the flag," Heather noted a buoy close in front of Gwen's face, and reached down to try and grab it.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"It's going to be one awkward night in victory class," the Queen Bee noted with dread.
The flag was only a few inches away from Heather's outstretched hand when the faint sound of screaming grew louder.
Ezekiel looked up. "Hey, am I crazy, or is that big guy from the other team about to hit us, eh?"
"You mean Owen?" Sierra looked up, only to find that, in abject horror, Owen was soaring through the sky, about to smash into Gwen's face. Time seemed to freeze as Ezekiel, Sierra, and Heather stared, mouths ajar, at this unexpected attack, unable to brace themselves in time. Courtney and Cody turned but only had a fraction of a second to react. Tyler and Noah watched in awe from their boat as their apparent defeat was about to turn into an unexpected victory.
In reality, Owen's collision with Gwen's face was a lot less artistic. The big boy smashed into the hull, immediately dragging the wooden mess down with him. Team Amazon was left grabbing on to whatever pieces they could get a hold of to escape the freezing cold water.
Owen surfaced again after a few minutes to hooting and hollering from Noah and Tyler. Chris sped by on a jet ski. "And it looks like Owen has won it for Team Me!"
"A-A-A-Awesome!" Owen replied happily, his teeth chattering from the frigid water.
Chris turned his attention to Team Amazon. "As for you guys, I'll see you all in the elimination area. Now, back to the plane!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"It's been a while since we had a reward challenge. It'll happen this time for sure," Sierra wavered. "And if it doesn't … I can't vote off Codykins, absolutely not, but I also really want to see if Cody and Courtney can patch things up. I'll just vote for Zeke. He's kind of gross anyway."
Cody waited outside the confessional, waiting for Sierra to finish voting so he could have his turn.
"Hey, geekwad." Cody turned to see Heather. "Just so you know, I'm voting for Courtney tonight."
"Really?" Cody's eyes widened in surprise.
"Not because of what you said, obviously," Heather characteristically rolled her eyes. "She's been a pain this whole competition, but she's especially gotten unbearable since London."
"Wow, uh, awesome!" Cody was at a loss for words.
"I'm ready, Captain Cody!" Sierra stepped out of the confessional. "Your turn!"
"You don't have to call me that anymore," Cody reminded her.
"I know I don't have to," Sierra giggled as she walked off to the elimination area. "I'll save you a seat!"
Ezekiel sipped some water in the common area, relaxing before he had to take his vote.
"Ezekiel."
The homeschool jumped up to see Courtney behind him, glaring. "Oh,uh, hey, Courtney."
She had a seat across from him. "I'm just wondering who you're voting for tonight."
"Oh, uh, probably you."
==CONFESSIONAL==
"How is one person this stupid?" Courtney shook her head in disbelief."
"Here's the thing, Zeke. You're not doing that."
"I'm not?"
"Everyone remembers how gross and useless you were on the island, how you teamed up with Chris and tried to hunt us down in London, and how you almost ruined the challenge for us in the outback," Courtney threatened. "You're in hot water right now, and unless you want me to help the rest of the team vote you off, you'll vote with me, understand?"
"I think I understand," Ezekiel replied. "One thing, though. The outback … is that Australia? Or Area 51? Because I didn't think I almost ruined the challenge in -"
"It's Australia, Zeke!" Courtney threw her hands up in frustration. She got in his face. "So, I'll ask again, do you understand what you have to do?" A very frightened Ezekiel nodded slowly. "Good! I'll see you at elimination!"
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Between me, Heather, Sierra, and probably Ezekiel, Courtney is as good as gone," Cody predicted confidently.
Heather, Courtney, Cody, Sierra, and Ezekiel gathered around the elimination area, as Chris stood with five passports in hand.
"I have some news that I'm sure you'll all be relieved to hear, contestants," Chris started.
"I knew it would be a reward challenge," Sierra sighed with relief.
"What? No," Chris shook his head. "The relieving information is that I found my bathrobe! It was in my drawer the whole time!"
The five contestants groaned, both out of annoyance with their egosticial host and out of the unfortunate confirmation that this was a very real elimination.
"Now, onto the votes," Chris read the passports. "I have here one vote for Ezekiel!"
"What?" Ezekiel cried out. "I'm eliminated?!"
"Unfortunately, that's the only vote you've got, so you're still in the game," Chris moved on.
"Who would have voted for Ezekiel?" Cody whispered uncertainly to Sierra, surveying the rest of the team.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe he voted for himself?" Sierra lied.
"A vote for Courtney!" Chris read. "A vote for Cody!" Cody and Courtney shot each other glares. "Another vote for Courtney!" Cody's glare turned into a smile, but Courtney did not break. "And one more vote … for …"
The host took a tantalizingly long break in the middle of the sentence. Cody and Courtney continued their stare, Sierra squeezed Cody tightly, Ezekiel looked nervous, and Heather looked bored.
"... Cody!" Chris finished. "It's a tie!"
"A tie?" Cody stood up, his eyes moving to Heather. "Heather, you betrayed me?"
"Um, what are you talking about?" Heather rolled her eyes. "Of course I voted for Courtney, why wouldn't I?" Courtney glared at her as a result.
"But that's the two of us … which means …" Cody looked to Sierra. "You didn't vote for Courtney?"
"I couldn't! I was trying to be strategic," Sierra was quickly getting emotional. "I voted for Zeke!"
"Hey, that's me!" Ezekiel realized.
"And Zeke, you voted for me?" Cody asked.
"Courtney made me do it, she's scary, eh!" Ezekiel admitted. "But it's a tie, right? So, like, it's time for a tiebreaker?"
"For once, Homeschool is right," Chris gestured Chef into the room, leading along two moose. "The Swedish tiebreaker challenge is here! Courtney, Cody, these are two Eurasian elk, the national animal of Sweden! You must each climb onto their backs. First one to fall off or let go is eliminated!"
Courtney glared at Cody, managing to make the geek's tough, Gwen-defending exterior crack.
"If you wanted to be all tough with the big dogs, you have to see this stuff coming," Courtney shrugged. "I'm sure you're tough enough to do this, right?"
"CODY, YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT COURTNEY!" Sierra screamed, held back by Heather. "HANG ONTO THAT MOOSE! PRETEND IT'S ME!"
"That won't help," Cody promised as he and Courtney climbed onto the elk. Immediately, the annoyed animals started trying their best to detach the teens from their backs. Courtney held on tightly, eyes closed with determination.
Unfortunately for Cody, his scrawny frame was unable to hang on as long, and he felt his grip weaken.
"CODYKINS!" Sierra howled, watching Cody's struggle approach its end.
Finally, the inevitable happened. Cody's grip broke, and the moose jerked him away. Due to the angle the animal was standing at, Cody was launched right out of the plane.
"NOOOOOOO!" Sierra cried, so loudly it pierced the ears of the rest of the team, the moose, Chris, Chef, and even Noah, Owen, and Tyler in victory class.
Chef led the elk away as Courtney dismounted. She was immediately faced with a ferocious Sierra. "IT'S THANKS TO YOU THE GREATEST CONTESTANT TO EVER BLESS THIS COMPETITION IS ELIMINATED! YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET YOURSELF FALL FROM THE PLANE IN HIS PLACE!"
"How is it at all fair to expect that of me?" Courtney replied.
"Sierra's just a little upset that your bossy butt wasn't kicked out of the plane," Heather said. "I, for one, sympathize."
Courtney sighed as Heather and Sierra left the elimination area, followed shortly after by an awkward Ezekiel.
==CONFESSIONAL==
"Great," Courtney sighed. "I guess I should have expected this, but not only am I allyless, I'm an active target. Once the merge finally comes, maybe I can form an alliance with Noah. Just an alliance, though … to be honest, it's gonna take a miracle to get the target off my back."
Chris relaxed in his hot tub, bathrobe hung neatly on a rack nearby. "A miracle, huh? I wonder how the competition will have to change for Courtney to have a shot! Anything can happen next time, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
Thanks for reading! And thanks for bearing with me - once again, school has really eaten up a lot of my time, but I'm still chugging along!
[Spoilers from this point on!]
This episode was a bit more Amazon-centric, but as we all know, this is the last time that will be the case, since the teams are merging in Niagara Falls. Additionally, Sweden was not an elimination episode in canon, so that's a difference as well. And then we get to the elimination, which may have been a difficult elimination to see coming - Cody is out!
His radical defensiveness of Gwen and all-out, poorly coordinated attack on Courtney was his downfall. I played around with how Sweden Sour really turned out for this one - Cody was responsible for building Gwen's face instead of a boat, and he was also captain of his team when they failed. I figured he could have been a target if there had been something else - say, a burning desire for revenge for Gwen's elimination instead of mere depression about it?
Our final seven are Courtney, Heather, Sierra, Ezekiel, Noah, Owen, and Tyler … for now. Next chapter will be the Aftermath Aftermayhem, and as in canon, a Peanut Gallery contestant will get the chance to join/rejoin the competition! I wonder who it will be …
See you later!
