"Previously on Battle of the Generations," Chris started. This time his narration sounded a bit more hesitant. "We, uh, went to Colombia! Yup, good ol Guatape. We did some stair climbing, some hang gliding. Maybe some other third thing. Definitely nothing else that's happened since then, no sir."

Unbeknownst to him, a bit of distortion covered the screen and grainy footage of the Montreal incident was indeed playing. Was someone hacking the air waves to get the kidnapping shown?

"So, you know, B didn't sing thanks to his device getting all janked up by the blondes. He was toast and someone from Team Explosive almost joined them before a tie happened thanks to Beardo getting his vote flipped by Cody and Trent. Guess we'll have to do that sisters showdown on another day. But that was then! Now we look to the future. A normal, all according to plans future, where nothing goes wrong. I mean, why would it? So sit your butt down and check out the next episode of TOTAL... DRAMA... BATTLE OF THE GENERATIONS!"

*** Intro Credits ***

There was still an awkward air throughout the jet as everyone tried to act like things were normal. Teams Explosive and Radioactive fidgeted in their economy seats, inwardly salty that they didn't have a chance to win their way out of it after their newest stop. That being said, Team Old School weren't feeling much better. Especially Cody and Trent, who both felt like they needed to sleep with one eye open following their kidnapping.

"Psst, Courtney." Beth elbowed her teammate, keeping her voice to a whisper. "Do we need to repeat the whole conversation from last time or anything? Since Chris wants us to act like Montreal didn't happen."

The CIT shrugged. "I'm assuming they can just edit in the footage from last time into this episode and pretend no time passed. We should be fine."

DJ took notice of her somewhat nervous tone. "Everything all good? You sound a little out of it."

"I'm just on edge." She motioned a head at the other three, taking special note of the Drama Bros. "They're shaken up after what happened last time. Even Leshawna, since she's pissed over Chris letting it happen on his watch. It could throw them off their game, and if we lose next it's less likely that the whole plan to throw off someone's vote will work."

"And if it doesn't work you'll have to go to tie breaker with one of them, got it." The brickhouse sighed and shook his head. "Well I can't really blame em for being shook, it ain't every day you get held hostage. Best we can do is try to work through it, yeah?"

Speaking of the other group, Courtney's assessment was proving accurate as all three sat in an unnerved silence. Though Leshawna was more angry than anything.

"I'm serious, that eggplant hair having ass gremlin better never show his face around us if he knows what's good for him. Nobody messes with my peeps like that if they ain't expecting some receipts in return."

Cody chuckled. "I'm starting to think you're taking this whole thing worse than we are. But are we even allowed to talk about it right now?"

"Eh, Chris doesn't have to include this footage if he doesn't want to, it's not like anything strategic is happening right now." He turned to give Leshawna a reassuring smile. "And don't worry about us, we'll shake it off. At least it got us a free second time in a row pass to first class. Gotta look at the upside, ya know?"

"Well I'm glad y'all are taking it as good as ya can." Still, Leshawna wasn't too convinced. The duo were both clearly still uneasy. "Y'all gonna be ok in the challenge? You got my word that I'll be watching your backs like a hawk, so ain't no way nobody's messing with you guys on my watch."

Both boys smiled, Trent even flashing a grin. "Yeah, we'll be cool. It's not like Chris is gonna break up the teams into smaller groups or anything after what happened, right?"

*** Later that day in the common area ***

"For today's challenge, I'll be needing each of you to divide up your team into three different small groups," Chris announced to the shock of the contestants. "Meaning each small group gets two people each. Well, except Team Radioactive. One group will have someone flying solo."

Angry jeers and objections were flown Chris' way, most of which he promptly tuned out.

"How is that fair?" Scott yelled. "We're already down a member compared to the rest, and now you're gonna handicap us?"

"Yup! Maybe you guys wouldn't be in this situation if a certain silent SOMEONE would have just sang like he was supposed to, hm?" He chuckled mischievously. "But don't worry, that's not all! Having the small groups helps put extra pressure on all of you, because the stakes are extra high today!"

"Why? Because now we have to keep watch over our shoulders to make sure we won't get jumped and kidnapped?" Samey asked, getting a glare from the host.

"Need I remind you guys that we are NOT speaking of that? The more effort you give my editors to take out mention of it, the less inclined I am to ensure you all get your stipend." Recomposing himself, he tried to return to his cheery host personality. "The stakes are raised today because... it'll be TWO teams sending someone home! That's right, it's double elimination time, baby!"

Gasps echoed throughout the jet. Many looked nervous, especially those on the already lower staffed Team Radioactive. Jasmine grit her teeth in determination, while Courtney sucked in a breath and got her game face on.

"Fun, right? We were overdue for one, so I thought it was high time we pulled off the two for one special." Chris soaked in the despair around him while Chef wheeled out a map of a certain country. "Now listen up, because this challenge is obviously gonna be important."

"Today we're gonna be landing in a country that spans two different continents. Turkey." Before she could even speak, Chef glared at Sugar. "And I don't wanna hear no dumb joke about the gosh darn bird, we're landing in the COUNTRY named Turkey!"

The pageant queen pouted and folded her arms in a huff.

"Now then, the challenge takes place in Istanbul. The country's largest city which itself happens to be in both Asia and Europe." Taking out a large pointing rod, Chef struck the first of three red dots on a map of the city. "Those groups you maggots are breaking up into will each be assigned to one of three locations. Your task? To steal a high value item from wherever you're going!"

"We're gonna be stealing stuff?" DJ chuckled and elbowed Leshawna. "Makes ya kinda wish Duncan came back for this season, eh?"

The two shared a laugh but quickly stopped when they noticed the unimpressed leer that Courtney was giving.

"There's three of each item at the locations, so don't worry about being permanently screwed if your group is the last to arrive," Chris added. "Now then, Chef, as you were saying?"

"First location is the Topkapi Palace. It's a museum these days, but used to be a big deal back in the day for them Ottoman sultans." He then pointed towards the second dot. "Second group will be heading to the Hagia Sophia, one of many fancy schmancy huge mosques in the city. As for the last group? They're going to the Grand Bazaar, the most densely packed area for street vendors. Ya may think that sounds easier to navigate than the other two, but we're in peak tourist hours right now and there's a LOT of vendors."

Beardo whistled and nodded knowingly. "Yeah, business has gotta be booming. It'd take, like, some kinda global pandemic to cut down on tourism. But nothing like that's gonna happen here in the year 2018."

Chris just sort of did the Dreamworks face at the camera for a moment before moving on. "Anywho, you're probably wondering what it is ya gotta steal, right? Well each group has something different. For example, my peeps going to the Bazaar have to bring back a gold coated Turkish delight."

He held up a picture of the confectionery. Rather than just being gold colored, the treat actually seemed to shine a bit.

"Not just any Turkish delight will do, this one is coated with real gold leaves, sprayed with edible gold dust, and prepared by one of Turkey's premier gourmet chefs! They're crazy expensive, so he has security on high alert to deal with anyone not trying to get them legit. But don't even bother considering buying one, unless you wanna pony up thousands of dollars!"

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, with Team Radioactive looking especially disgruntled. Having Dakota on the team still would have came in handy right about now.

"For those going to Topkapi, you're tasked with retrieving a genuine large onion hat, much like the one worn by Suleiman back in the day. It probably has an official name, but everyone just calls it the onion hat."

To prove his point, he showed an old timey picture of Suleiman complete with huge ass onion on his head.

"Finally, the Hagia Sophia group. You guys will be stealing a high quality rug made here in Istanbul. You'll know the right one, because 3 of them have been adorned with one of your team logos. Bee tee dubs, security will be on high alert in those places too."

Chef let the explanation finish before adding a last bit. "Once you got your item, you then gotta return it to the spot we're parking the jet near the Bosporus Strait. That's where they got the two continents divided up. First team to get all of their groups back with their items will win first class, while BOTH of the losing maggot teams sends someone packing."

"Maybe you guys could make it fun and have one of you land on the European side while the other lands in Asia when I kick you off the plane!" Chris enjoyed a laugh with his co-host as they departed to prepare the plane for landing. "Have your groups decided and where they're each going by the time we land. And Team Radioactive in particular remember that one of you has to go it solo this time around."

Their mocking guffawing was all anyone heard for a bit. They all had to let the info digest, there was a lot going on in this challenge and double elimination meant it was more important than ever. No room for screw ups.

*** Confessional: Brick ***

"Ok, admittedly not a great situation for our team right off the bat. We're already down a soldier, hurting our odds of winning, but if we DON'T win then we're guaranteed to be sending someone home? It's a tall order, but I think this platoon can rise to the occasion! The added adversity will just make us more determined, so I think we can win this thing with no issues."

*** In the Jumbo Jet ***

"It should be ME going solo!"

"No, it should be SHA-LIGHTNING going solo!"

Scott and Lightning were currently in the middle of a deadlock, both insisting that they should be the one to take the responsibility of competing without a partner.

"Come on people, it's a race. Who do you think works better on their own in a race than your star quarterback?" The jock flexed his arms for added emphasis. "Heck, Lightning bets he'll be done before the rest of y'all!"

"It ain't just about being fast, dingus, we gotta be sneaky and get past guards quietly," Scott pointed out. "And that ain't exactly your specialty. Without someone helping you, you'll just get caught."

Anne Maria raised an eyebrow at the dirt farmer. "Look, I know a buncha these guys think you're reformed or whateva, but how we supposed to know you won't just throw the challenge for us once you have the opportunity to be alone? Sounds exactly like what season 4 Scottie would have done."

Scott looked offended and ready to snap back, but Dawn quickly popped into the middle with arms held out. "Friends, this is getting us nowhere. I think valid concerns have been raised, so if we're in need of someone else to act alone I'm willing to volunteer. I've often been told I'm good at sneaking around quietly, so I've no doubt that I can do this on my own."

Both Lightning and Scott were a bit miffed at not getting their chance to shine, but they reluctantly mumbled in agreement. Dawn's sneaking capabilities couldn't be argued against.

"Anne Maria, since you're worried about Scott, how about the two of you pair up? You can keep an eye on him, and Scott can prove to her that he truly has no malicious intent," Dawn continued. "Which would leave Brick pairing up with Lightning."

While the Jersey girl and country boy didn't look thrilled at the prospect, they begrudgingly nodded. Lightning just sort of shrugged while Brick saluted Dawn's orders. "Sound plans all around, soldier, we won't let you down! Now then, should we go ahead and choose which location each group is taking?"

Scott quickly jumped in before Dawn could start. "Maybe we should hold off and see what the other teams pick? Ya know, that way we can choose who we're going up against based on how our strengths match up to their's and all that."

While the others thought nothing of the request and seemed fine with it, the aura reader knew what he was up to and gave him a cheeky grin. He chuckled awkwardly.

*** Confessional: Scott ***

"Yeah, whatever, I just want to choose whichever place Courtney is going. The way I see it, I'm tired of this whole run around of not knowing where I stand with her and all that junk. So screw it, I'm just gonna ask her outright and get an answer. The only reason I wanted to take the solo role was to have an easier shot at getting to talk to her. Now I gotta figure out how to get time with Courtney, AND do it while not pissing off the human hair spray bottle. Ugh, this relationship stuff is stupid."

*** In the Jumbo Jet ***

Speaking of the CIT, she was getting some strange looks of her team following her insistence of how the groups should fall. True to her plan, they were paired off into her and Cody, Leshawna with Beth, and DJ with Trent.

"You sure about this, girl?" Leshawna asked. "Seems kinda random. Plus I don't think Cody and Trent wanna be going it without each other right now, ya know?"

"If anything it's a safer idea to keep them separated, plus they'll still have someone watching their back with how the challenge is designed," Courtney explained. "This layout is simply the best for covering our weaknesses. Your physical strength covers Beth, my willingness to be aggressive covers Cody, and Trent's laid back nature can help calm DJ."

Beth and DJ frowned, not thrilled at their ally grouping them in to the weakness sections of the team, but they assumed it was merely her way of explaining things to ensure the pairs happened.

"I guess I'm fine with that," Trent said with a shrug. "She's right about it probably not being a great idea for me and Cody to be in one place together and it's not like we're allowed to do a group of three."

"Yeah, but it'd still be nice to be able and watch one of y'all's backs." Leshawna sighed. "But if you boys are fine with it then it's cool with me."

Courtney had to resist the urge to break out in a smirk. Slowly but surely the plan was coming together. "Alright, so how about me and Cody take the onion hat. Trent and DJ, you guys have rug duty since you're the physically strongest pair. Which leaves Beth and Leshawna grabbing the Turkish delight."

Nobody had any objections, so the team all mumbled varying agreements. DJ and Beth briefly locked eyes, both nervous about the plan ahead.

*** Confessional: Beth ***

"So here's the plan. I'm supposed to convince Leshawna to try and vote DJ. He's gonna try to convince Trent to vote for Courtney, which has gotta be the easiest job probably. And last is Courtney trying to convince Cody to vote for me. If we can make just one of them switch then we should be clear, but I think the most pressure is on me since Leshawna's bond is weaker to them than the one Cody and Trent have together." She gulped. "No pressure, right?"

*** On the Jumbo Jet ***

Almost as soon as Team Old School's game plans were formed, so too was Team Radioactive. An eavesdropping Scott confirmed that he'd just so happen to also be heading to the Topkapi Palace with Anne Maria. Meanwhile Brick and Lightning would take on the Grand Bazaar, leaving Dawn alone with Aya Sofia. Some were concerned if the moonchild could handle carrying the rug on her own, but she insisted that she'd be fine while the boy's would be better suited to try for the Turkish delight.

That just left Team Explosive, who were getting along perfectly. And by perfectly, I mean horribly as per usual.

"What do you mean Sugar and I can't pair up?" Amy huffed. "You can't tell us what to do."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "What I mean, is that you two aren't exactly going to excel at this challenge on your own. Putting you together is just asking for us to go to elimination, because there's no way anyone finishes after you two. If I go with you, then at least I can carry your bloody weight."

Sugar wasn't paying too much attention to the squabble, but it did give her an idea. There was a certain someone she had been wanting to talk to after the false elimination ceremony and this could be her chance to get some answers...

"Oh! Then I guess me and Beardo could be a pair instead, then." The pagent queen threw her arm around Beardo's neck, flashing a toothy grin that had an air of sinister intent to it. "He's got them crazy sound distraction skills, so that can make up for my lack of stealthy type moves."

The others just stared at her, blinking in surprise.

"That's... a surprisingly good suggestion," Sammy said. "Sure, that works!"

Gulping, the beatboxer could already feel the sweat pouring on. "G-great! We'll get it done in a flash." He looked on nervously at his partner, feeling the tension rising.

Sighing, Amy decided there was no point to drag it out if Sugar was already going along. "Ugh, fine, we just better get this over with quick. I'm so NOT going to enjoy this."

"Feelings mutual."

With that awkward exchange going on, the nice twin spared a glance Dave's way. "Guess that leaves us paired up by default. Wanna take Topkapi Palace and do the hat?"

Having partook in some eavesdropping of his own, the germaphobe scoffed. "So you can be near your new boyfriend? Sure that won't distract you from the challenge?"

Sammy stood back a bit, not expecting such snark. "I mean, if you have a problem with that we can go get the rug instead?"

To that Dave just shrugged. Sammy sighed.

*** Confessional: Sammy ***

"Yeah, I'm guessing this is gonna be a heck of an awkward challenge." She perked up slightly and smirked. "At least I'm not paired up with Amy? Gotta look on the bright side, I guess."

*** Istanbul, Turkey ***

The Jumbo Jet eventually came to a landing near the Bosporus Straight. A large red bridge was seen in the background spanning the length of the water, effectively connecting Europe to Asia. Though for the contestants, they were parked on the European side, surrounded by the very metropolitan area of Istanbul. For the sake of completion, before landing the team of Jasmine and Amy settled on the bazaar since the former viewed that as the easiest for her weaker partner. That left Beardo and Sugar with Topkapi Palace. Each group had a small map of the city with a sharpie x to show where the jet was parked.

"This will be your finish line where you each must bring back your item," Chris explained, watching the pairs (and Dawn) all group together with the others depending on their respective destinations. "And remember, ONLY the first team to bring all three back will avoid elimination. But you must return with both members of your pair if you're anyone but Dawn. Ya can't just take the item and leave while your partner is stuck with security."

With no questions being asked, they seemed to understand. Having nothing else to explain, Chris let off the customary air horn blow and the challenge was underway. "Get going!"

And they were off. Some groups collectively faster than others. Brick and Lightning were gunning it, but the other pairs were more content with pacing themselves since the bazaar was the furthest away location. Plus they weren't banking on the meatheads being the first to figure out how to nab the treasure. The rug group were all at a jog, Dawn looking the most calm of the lot. Meanwhile Sugar and Beardo couldn't keep up as well with the other two pairs, which was fine with the country girl.

"So. Beardo. Buddy. Pal." Getting right to the point, she gave her teammate a smirk that hid her ticked off attitude. "Wanna explain what in tarnation caused it to be a tie back in Colombia when Samey shoulda been cooked like a Thanksgiving goose?"

Not really sure how to answer at first, the sweating beatboxer imitated the sound of a clock counting down. He racked his brain for an explanation, and once one came his countdown ended with a little ding. "Oh yeah, that was pretty weird wasn't it? Guess Dave must have voted against us? Don't know about you, but that dude's had a weird vibe about him lately."

He chuckled awkwardly, hoping she'd take the bait. She wasn't exactly smart, surely she would?

"Don't sell me that BS, son, twiggy boy told us he was excited to get rid of her after seeing her start to get all lovey eyed at Cody. But you've been awful quiet since that ceremony got called off." She poked an accusatory finger at his gut. "Spill it! Why you hiding stuff from me, ain't we supposed to be friends?"

Unable to think of a good excuse, he decided to just go with part of the truth without revealing the role Cody and Trent played. "We are! B-but I just didn't vibe with the idea of voting off Sammy before her sister, ya know? Amy brings the mood down something fierce, especially with how ticked off Jasmine is with her around. It just seemed like the right way to vote."

Sugar narrowed her eyes, unimpressed with the goody two shoes reasoning. But she had to be mindful of her reply. The last thing she needed was to lose Beardo's loyalty since Amy going home would mean she was next. "I getcha, girl is more ornery than a kitty in a kiddie pool. But we gotta play this all strategical-like, ya know? Jasmine and Samey are tighter than glue, specially with scruffy boy gone. Once once of them is gone, then we're the only pair left on the team! Then we can get rid of Amy."

Beardo tapped at his chin, thinking it over. Her argument was pretty sound, surprisingly. But if he were to vote Sammy out, that would put him at odds with the Drama Brothers before he'd even truly have a chance to work with them. Whatever way he went, he'd be making someone mad. "I feel ya. I guess for now we should just focus on winning, we'll talk more about vote stuff if we have to send someone packing."

"Darn tootin we will," she mumbled under her breath. "And he BETTER not flake on me again."

*** Confessional: Beardo ***

For a moment he just looked up at the ceiling, making the sound of a balloon deflating. "Bruh, ya boy is just trying to lay low and not make any waves right now. Last time around I was the first one out, so I'm just trying to make the most of actually doing decently this time. How the hell did I wind up in a position where I got like five people depending on MY vote?"

Looking at the camera, he chuckled weakly. "Maybe we'll just keep winning until the merge so I don't have to rustle any feathers? It's unlikely, but it sure would be nice."

*** The Streets of Istanbul ***

Meanwhile with the group en route to retrieve the rug, DJ and Trent had the early lead, though Sammy and Dave weren't too far behind them. Dawn was somehow nowhere to be seen, having just sort of vanished early into the race there. It kind of put DJ on edge, since he had no idea where she could have even gone since they were currently taking the fastest route possible.

"Everything alright, big guy?" Trent asked. "Ya seem a bit distracted."

"Hm? Oh, nah, I'm good." The brickhouse looked around a bit, still seeing nothing. "Just kinda wondering where Dawn went off to. She was right behind us one minute, then the next she basically poofed out of existence. Weird stuff."

Trent's eyebrows shot up in surprise. First Harold with Leshawna, then Cody towards Sammy, but now DJ was also taking interest in a girl on the cast? Would he be the only single dude from their team left when it was all said and done? "Worried about her, eh? Guess that makes sense, she does seem like your type."

"My type?" DJ chuckled. "Man, you say that like you even know what my type is like. Pretty sure I've never talked romance with anyone on the show. Just cause me and her both like animals doesn't mean we're automatically soulmates."

"Fair enough." Shrugging, he refocused on the map. "I just figured you'd be interested in a cute girl that shares interests with you, didn't know you wouldn't be interested in her."

Looking away, DJ blushed a bit. It wasn't like he had no interest, but he was just genuinely concerned something may have happened to her. Then again, he figured Sammy or Dave may have yelled out if it was anything bad. Perhaps she just chose a different route. Whatever the case, he had to focus on the challenge. Plus ultimately talking to Trent about the vote, but he wasn't too concerned there since he was pretty sure Courtney would be his target regardless.

Behind them, Sammy and Dave were in an awkward silence. He seemed to be in a sour mood, but the nice twin couldn't tell if that was because of the challenge, because of being paired with her, or something else entirely. Deciding to break the tension, Sammy figured it was best to avoid game talk for now. "So, uh, Turkey, right? Kinda cool being some place that's in two continents at once."

Dave shrugged. "I guess."

Well that didn't accomplish much. But Sammy kept at it. "What's been your favorite place we've been so far? I thought Kyoto was pretty fun, and the town itself was really pretty."

Thinking it over a bit, he let a small smirk form as memories of Shawn's elimination came back. "Definitely Venice. That was nice."

"Oh, for sure! The town was beautiful, and it was nice to have a calm challenge for once."

Dave didn't really care about the challenge or location itself, but shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

Sammy was starting to get a bit disgruntled, but would still keep trying. "So what do you think our strategy should be once we get there? We just gotta make sure we finish before Dawn and the Old School boys."

Scratching at his chin, Dave shrugged. "I don't think we can really make a strategy until we get there and see what it's like."

"Oh... right." Sighing, Sammy just shook her head and continued to trail behind DJ and Trent. The conversation was going nowhere, so maybe she'd try later during the challenge itself.

Meanwhile, the first pair to arrive to their location was, unsurprisingly, Brick and Lightning. The athlete wasn't even winded once the bazaar was within his sight, though the cadet was slightly out of breath from having to keep up with him.

"Sha-first place!" He took in the various stalls of the bazaar, patting Brick on the back. Time to try that being a good teammate thing he kept talking about. "Way to not hold The Lightning back, bro! Good hustle."

"... Thanks?" Brick replied, not sure if that was sarcastic or not. "First things first, we need to find where the Turkish delight vendor is. Then we gotta figure out how to get inside."

"A'ight, how we gonna find it? Let's try to get in and out before those chicks from the other teams are even here yet!"

Tapping his chin, Brick took in his surroundings. The area was absolutely bustling, not only with locals but also tourists out shopping. Walls were totally lined with various goods, with vendors waiting in each section. Because of the twisting nature of the area, there was no real way to spot anything in particular. "We're just gonna need to run around and find it. Maybe keep a look out for other vendors selling food in case that's its own dedicated section of the bazaar?"

"Sounds like a plan, bro." Wasting no time, Lightning immediately broke out into another sprint, sometimes brushing past other pedestrians and knocking them to the side. Brick offered small apologies as he ran past, trying to keep up.

Elsewhere, two teams were nearing the entrance of Topkapi Palace, though they had to stop and hide behind a tree when they noticed the entrance being stationed by some guards.

"So what happens if those guys catch us?" Anne Maria asked in a whisper. "They gonna haul us off to the slammer just for doing our challenge?"

"Probably not, but you're more than welcome to test them and find out," Courtney dared, looking around for a different entrance. "As for us, we're going to find a different way in. Come on, Cody."

The tech geek wasn't the only to follow, as Scott was also keeping close behind her. Anne Maria tugged on his shirt, confused. "And where YOU going? Why you following them, they're not on our team."

"Uh... well, you know, if they find an entrance then we can use it too," Scott pointed out. "Plus, this way we keep an eye on them. Don't want them getting ahead of us and getting their hat first, do we?"

Anne Maria narrowed her eyes but shrugged. "I guess not."

They snuck off to follow the enemy duo, with Sugar and Beardo visible in the background, only now making it to the palace. The others were long gone by the time they reached the same tree.

"Alright, work yer magic, big guy."

Beardo nodded and cleared his throat. After taking a second to think of the right sound, he settled on something simple. Throwing his voice, he imitated the sound of explosions going off around the guards, immediately startling them.

"What IS that?" one asked as more booms echoed around them.

Beardo tried to creep a bit closer, allowing him to make it sound like a grenade went off mere feet behind them.

"Oh my gosh, everything's catching on fire, we better run," Sugar suddenly yelled, figuring the guys were panicked enough to not question where her voice was coming from. And sure enough, it was a safe bet. The men dropped their things and ran for the hills. Satisfied, Beardo and Sugar exchanged a high five and casually strolled through the front entrance.

*** Confessional: Courtney ***

"Okay, am I going crazy or is Scott following me this challenge? I know we're trying to get the same thing, but ugh! It's hard enough trying to get time to convince Cody to flip his vote, I don't need more distractions... uh, not that I'm distracted by him. Because I'm not!"

*** The Streets of Istanbul ***

Beth sweated a bit as she ran alongside Leshawna. Should she just get straight to the point and try to work on changing her vote? Or would that be too suspect? Maybe she could work her way up to that topic. But then again, what if she lost her opportunity if she were to wait too long?

"You holding up alright there, short stuff?" Leshawna suddenly asked, getting a yelp from Beth. "You been awful quiet ever since we started running."

"Oh, just have a lot on my mind." She chuckled awkwardly. "Double elimination being a thing doesn't help calm my nerves any better."

The larger girl nodded. "I feel ya. We ain't lost nobody since my man, I ain't about to let us break that streak. We just gotta hope the other two teams mess up, ya know?"

Beth sighed. "Yeah, hopefully that happens. I think Brick and Lightning already beat us to the bazaar though, so that's already not looking too good."

"Pfft. Speed don't mean nothing if they ain't got the brains to nab the thing. We don't gotta worry about those two." Noticing two enemy team members running nearby, both glaring and silent, Leshawna motioned her head towards them. "And Jasmine may be a threat, but she's stuck with that whiny cheerleader witch. Way I see it, we got this one in the bag. You were the one to get us our first win, remember?"

"I'm glad someone does!" She thought back to those two fan girls from Montreal, pouting. "I'm starting to think that people forget I'm even here. It wouldn't be the first time, the fans always seem to look me over. And I made it to the finale of a season, darn it!"

Leshawna shook her head. "Some of those fans are fickle, girl. Ya gotta just ignore what any of them haters say. You earned making it to the end then, and you've earned your spot in the game this time too. To hell with what anyone else thinks, ya feel me?"

Beth blinked, not having expected such an uplifting pep talk. "Yeah. Yeah! You're totally right!" Grinning with a newfound determination, she double timed her sprint. "Now come on, let's go win this thing!"

As the two edged ahead of Jasmine and Amy, the Team Explosive girls shared a look. Neither looked particularly thrilled to be in each other's company, so the sooner they got this done the better. Still electing to stay silent, the two picked up the pace and trailed after the friendlier duo.

Back at Topkapi palace, Courtney and Cody had discovered a particularly large tree that would help them reach the top of the wall on the side of the building. Though with its steepness, they weren't looking too excited to do so.

"So how's you climbing skills?" the former CIT asked.

"Can't say I've exactly become a pro mountain climber," he answered with a gulp. "But we've done way more dangerous stuff on this show, so it could be worse."

Just as the two were gearing up to begin their ascension, a pair from the enemy team emerged from around the corner.

"Ya know, if you two need a boost we could all help each other out." Scott grinned mischievously, not deterred by Courtney's glare. "We can go our separate ways once we're inside. This way, we at least make sure that we're both ahead of those chunky newbies."

Cody narrowed his eyes, skeptic. "Where the heck did you two even come from? Were you following us?"

"We all had to came to the same place, block head," Anne Maria pointed out. "Of course we were nearby. Now you gonna accept our help or waste your time?"

The CIT didn't seem convinced, though truth be told it was mostly a matter of Scott being here making things more awkward than they needed to be. "And how exactly do you plan to help us? Without you just trying to trick us?"

"Easy." Scott pointed to himself, then upwards at the closest sturdy branch. "We boost geek breath here up to that branch. Then Anne Maria to keep us even. Then they can pull the two of us up, and we can all go from branch to branch until we reach the top of the wall. No going up the trunk required."

The two Old School members exchanged a look but couldn't say much against the idea. Who knew how well Beardo and Sugar were doing right now, they didn't exactly have time to stand around and argue the matter.

"Ugh. Fine. But no funny business, and we go our separate ways once we're inside." Courtney gave Scott an expecting glare. "Got it?"

"Sure thing, toots."

He got an elbow to the ribs for his comment, making Cody and Anne maria both wince.

*** Confessional: Anne Maria ***

"Geez, I can't believe Scottie boy has that girl all moody. She actually see something in him? You ask me, she could totally do betta." Sighing, she took out her hair spray to apply a new coat. "But whatevs. All I know is that I can't afford to let him waste our time. My butt it on the line if we lose again. Like hell am I gonna let me get eliminated because dirt boy couldn't stop drooling over her."

*** In Istanbul ***

All around, teams were slowly but surely making progress on their goal. Everyone was now successfully inside Topkapi Palace and trying to find the items while avoiding patrolling guards. Despite separating after getting over the wall as agreed, Scott figured out a way to turn him and Anne Maria towards where Cody and Courtney would be heading. Beardo and Sugar were truly just doing their own thing, occasionally utilizing the former's sounds or the later's flatulence to deal with guards.

Brick and Lightning has actually already had to give security the slip once when the athlete's "just barge in and sha-swipe it" strategy was less than successful. Meanwhile both the girl pairs from Radioactive and Explosive were hanging near the large kiosk serving the overpriced Turkish Delights, doing recon and determining the best way to go about getting in undetected.

The Aya Sofia groups had to act similarly to the Topkapi pairs. Namely, the front entrance was unsurprisingly guarded and they had to figure out an alternate way in. Sammy suggested getting in undetected by utilizing the sewers. Not exactly something Dave was thrilled to do, but he was feeling the awkwardness of their pairing just as much as she was and wanted to get the challenge over with. Meanwhile, seeing a construction area a few blocks back allowed DJ and Trent to utilize a ladder. They pulled it up and over the wall with them to save for later as a means of escape via the same way they came in.

"Think we need to cover it up so the guards don't notice it?" DJ suggested. "It'll just make it hard on us if we have to find a different way out, especially lugging around that big rug."

"Good call." Trent looked around the area a bit, finally spotting some wooden crates nearby. "Let's lean it against the wall and stack those in front of it."

The two of them nodded in agreement and moved to quickly hide their escape route. While Trent positioned the ladder on the ground against the wall, DJ grabbed the first crate... only to yelp when he saw Dawn standing behind when he removed it.

"Good to see that the two of you made it," she greeted, a bit amused at seeing the startled DJ stumble backwards. "I don't believe Sammy and Dave have made it in yet, so we're making good time."

"Where'd you even come from?" Trent asked. "We didn't see you the whole way here."

"I took a shortcut," she said cryptically, not offering anything more than that. "Do you need any help with these crates?"

Confused, the brickhouse sat his down near the ladder. "Why do you ask? Shouldn't you be trying to beat us?"

"Well, the rugs will likely be a tad heavy and I could use some assistance getting them out of here so I can carry it without having to worry about guards. Even without your help I still feel there's a high chance I'd make it back before either Scott and Anne Maria, or Brick and Lightning." She shrugged innocently. "But this way it saves me the extra trouble."

"So you're gonna help us with this as a trade off?" DJ finished. He looked to his partner, who shrugged. "Well, works for us."

Elsewhere, a panting Brick and Lightning had regrouped near the large stand selling the Turkish delights. There was a large tent like area holding the kitchen itself where they were prepared, but it was totally flanked by buff security guards.

"Aight, first time didn't go so hot," Lightning admitted. "This time for sure."

The cadet held him back before he could take off. "Nuh uh, we gotta be smarter about this. Just trying to run for it will get us chased again."

His partner huffed, offended at his talents being questioned. "Lightning just has to be sha-quicker this time, dude. Come on, what else are we supposed to do?"

"Maybe wait for one of the other teams to make a move?" Brick suggested. "THEN we can run and grab one while the guards are distracted."

His partner looked poised to protest, so he had to give Lightning a stern look. "Trust your teammate on this one, soldier. You'll have your chance, just practice some patience."

Not really expecting such seriousness, the quarterback sighed in acceptance. "Fine. Lightning's gonna wait for your call, then."

Brick nodded appreciatively and motioned for them to hide nearby. They noticed Leshawna and Beth in a huddle, while Jasmine was about to tie a rope around Amy's torso. The waiting game had began. Meanwhile, Scott and Anne Maria turned a corner once he felt like his goal was nearby. Turns out, it wasn't too hard to cut off the other team when he could hear Courtney nagging Cody from quite a distance. Something about that Beth chick that beat him in the banjo duel? Eh, didn't matter. Once the time was right, he found himself "accidentally" bumping into her.

"Oh, it's you two again," he sneered. "What are the odds?"

"You are so annoying," Courtney grumbled, refusing an offer to be helped up and doing it herself. "This is a competition we're in, or did you forget?"

"Yeah, didja?" Anne Maria added, giving her partner a suspicious glare.

Scott held his hands up innocently. "Hey, I'm just trying to find the stupid hats, it just so happened to lead me the same way as you two. I'm guessing we're close considering the amount of guards."

As he said, a group of the hired muscle patrolled nearby, forcing the four to hide anywhere they could. The guards looked around a bit before marching off to check elsewhere.

"He's right," Cody whispered. "The security is getting a lot more dense around here. We must be close." He scanned the area a bit before noticing another group exiting one room in particular. Another followed not long after. "If I had to guess, it must be in there."

"We could always work together to get the stuff, then let it become everyone for themselves to get back first," Scott suggested.

Cody and Courtney exchanged a look, divided on what to do. The nerd looked more open to the idea, and she had to accept that it wouldn't be a horrible plan. But before anything could be done, of all things, a cardboard Chris standee popped up behind them.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," Chirs' voice said through a speaker. "But I have an important announcement to make!"

Suddenly the screen fractioned off and turned into a showing of multiple perspectives. The group of four that were just talking, Beardo and Sugar elsewhere in the palace, Lightning and Brick at their vantage point, Jasmine wrapping Amy in rope, Leshawna and Beth nearby, Dawn walking with Trent and DJ, and finally Sammy and Dave in the sewers. Each had a Chris standee behind them, communicating his message at the same time.

*DING DING DING*

"Aw crap," they all said simultaneously.

"Yup, I didn't forget," Chris' voice said with a laugh. "Have fun, don't get caught while you're singing."

Song Start!

"All or Nothing." Parody of "Last Surprise," from Persona 5.

[A jazzy tune started up as the screen flashed red and black. The patrolling guards suddenly took on a more sinister looking monster appearance, trying to find the contestants who were flipping and dodging around out of their sight. As more of them showed off these sudden gymnast-esque moves, it became apparent that they had all switched into outfits more suited for their thievery. As the music swelled, Courtney prepared to start the first verse while peeking around a corner to watch one of the guards.]

"I'm trying to do my thing, stand back. FYI. Don't forget. This is a challenge!"

[Courtney was in a tough full body suit attire of black and dark blues. She now had a steel knight-looking mask over her eyes, and had small spikes lining her shoulder pads. Her words were pointed at Scott, who also poked his head out from the corner. As would be the norm for everyone, he also had a unique outfit, including a mask. This one looking like a skull that covered most of his face. His attire was also mostly black, looking more like a pirate uniform with the addition of yellow gloves, knee pads, and a red ascot.]

"Well... there's nothing in the rules, Against this. Cool your jets. I can do. What I want."

[The two's sing bickering was about to grab the attention of one of the guards, forcing Cody and Anne Maria to jump into action nearby. He dived for the legs while the Jersey girl subdued the monster with her hair spray attack. Anne Maria was in a, quite frankly, shockingly lewd outfit. A tight red full body suit covered in zippers, with one zipped down to expose her cleavage. It also came complete with a matching tail and cat mask. Cody's outfit was more modest but still kinda ridiculous. A fancy blistering white outfit with various gold and red trims. It came complete with a red cape and bird mask that had a particularly pointy nose.]

"Yo, if you bozos are done squawking. Wasting time. How's about we go and nab this hat?"

[Anne Maria was glaring at both of the bickering pair, though she was giving Scott's stink eye a little bit extra stank.]

"The guards will be back any moment. Out for blood. So we can't just stand around and chat."

[Cody was trying to sing quietly, frantically looking around to make sure no enemies would sneak up on the four of them. Unfortunately, the moment the geek dropped his guard to look back at Scott and Courtney, one such guard crept up towards them. All four noticed it simultaneously, screaming and running away as it was flanked by a whole group of backup goons. As soon as they were all gone, Beardo and Sugar suddenly popped their heads out from a nearby bush, smirking.]

"Today it's all or nothiiiiing."

[The Team Explosive duo were able to sing together and sneak into the building with ease while the guards were distracted. Beardo had an all black western outlaw outfit, with matching black mask, arm tassels, and an odd hat that was mostly round save for one long pointy part at the front. Sugar's outfit was actually a rare one without a mask, but instead she had an almost icy aesthetic going on with her long pale dress, and diamond jewelry including a tiara and necklace.]

"Cause Chris, wants two for one, he's such a wuss."

[Sugar looked around the room, searching for the loot. Suddenly, one of the onion hats was draped over her head, obscuring her vision.]

"He's a diiiiiiick. But that's, how it goes, better them than us."

[It was of course Beardo that placed the hat on her, flashing a thumbs up. With the hat secured, the two sneaked their way back out, the other four still visible in the background trying to give the guards the slip. All six sung a bunch of "Ooooh oooohs" as it transitioned into a new scene, a stylized version of the bazaar.]

"Sha-clock is ticking, man. Come on. Let's just go. In and out. This time for sure."

[You'll be shocked to learn that it was Lightning singing this one, his impatience almost getting the better of him. His outfit was intense, an almost jester looking black getup with dark blue stripes. The bottoms of the pants, sleeves, and cape were ripped, while his mask covered his whole head except the mouth. The eyes of the mask were see through and red.]

"No. You stay right there, soldier. Patience. One more sec. Trust me, bro. This will work."

[He wasn't thrilled about repeating himself, in song form no less, but Brick was hopeful that the results would convince his teammate to chill. As for his getup, this one was a bit more eccentric. A sort of navy blue suit with aqua gloves, boots and a huge popped color in white, and finally a white fox mask with red markings. And... a white tail? Luckily for him, Lightning don't judge.]

"Your girls will cook this stupid challenge. Old School style. Show this new blood that we get things done."

[Meanwhile, Leshawna was implementing a strategy of her own. She finessed her way between all of the guards, getting their attention with finger taps on the shoulders and nudging. Once she had their attention, she dramatically faked a fainting, collapsing to the ground and prompting them to check on her. Oh, her thief outfit? Don't care? Too bad, you're reading what it was anyway. In this case, an elegant black dress and gloves with some fish net bits. Harold woulda went nuts for it. Plus a big matching sun hat with a yellow flower. There were some sweet new tattoos going down her arm and back, and rather than a mask she had black and yellow paint around her eyes.]

"No more jerks thinking I don't matter. Prove them wrong. When we prove that we're team number one!"

[With the entrance currently unguarded, Beth was now able to quickly sneak into the kiosk. Just as soon as she got in, she then ran back out, clutching a transparent to-go box with the golden Turkish Delight inside. Why yes, you also have to read about her getup, we're doing this for each character. She had a sort of black leotard with neon green lines for patterns. Plus a pair of baggy jeans, similarly neon green sneakers, and a big ol pair of black and red goggles which one could argue shouldn't even count as a mask.]

"Today it's all or nothiiiiing."

[It was Amy and Jasmine's turn to sing together, the mean twin fully tied up and prepared to be dropped down while the Aussie was holding the end of the rope. Because there's only so many viable characters to use in what these outfits are referencing, Jasmine had a plain puffy white top with just some black leggings. Also a white and black Daft Punk sorta helmet that her hair poked out from. Amy's stupidly lewd outfit saw her with basically a purple and black dominatrix getup, with accompanying flashy princess crown and blue makeup. Can they even wear stuff like that on TV?]

"Cause Chris, wants two for one, he's such a wuss."

[Jasmine swiftly lowered Amy down to the kiosk below. There was a very nifty hole in the ceiling that she could fit her teammate through, and once she felt a tug on the rope she began to pull her back up.]

"He's a diiiiiiick, But that's, how it goes, better them than us."

[Amy had another one of the containers with the gold Turkish Delight tucked under her arm. She wasn't particularly comfortable being hoisted up by her partner, but the quicker they got it done the better. Meanwhile, the guards below were still tending to Leshawna when Lightning suddenly rushed in behind them.]

"We're taking, that loot! Swipe it right from, behind their backs."

[Lightning quickly got out of dodge, taking the running pose of a quarterback while holding the golden treat like a football under his arm. The guards took notice of the boy making off with the treasure and left Leshawna to pursue him. With them gone, she smirked and rushed off to meet up with Beth.]

"Leave no trace. Take their treasure all while leaving no tracks."

[Despite singing the final line of the chorus, Brick seemed to contradict himself since he had to rush into the scene to catch up with his partner and help Lightning give the guards the slip. Meanwhile in the background, Jasmine and Amy dropped down from the ceiling and jogged off the other way.]

"Is it safe? The coast is clear?"

[Trent was bringing up the rear of his group, tasked with making sure no enemies would sneak up behind them. As a result, he wasn't fully sure where they were going. Because he has chill self insert protag energy, his thief outfit was a black trench coat, red gloves, and white mask with black accents.]

"Do we know, that no guards will sneak up on us?"

[DJ was in the middle, watching the sides for the group and mostly following Dawn's lead. He was definitely the most on edge of the three, but seemed to be a bit more relaxed with her presence. His mask was extra weird, covering the entire top half of his head to look like a black cat, complete with fluffy white ears and blue eyes. He also had a yellow handkerchief and a utility belt to store thief tools.]

"Have faith, friends. I'm sure this path will lead us, right into, the treasure's den."

[Dawn gave her temporary allies words of encouragement, holding up a hand to signal they stop for a moment while guards passed. Her outfit consists of a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume, a pink blouse with a white neck jabot, a black corset vest, and a holster belt carrying ammo. Her mask and gloves are black and violet, respectively. Why yes I just copied that one from the wiki, it's a weird outfit to describe. Once the path was clear again, she waved them along and they rushed forwards towards a building nearby. On the other side of the building was Dave, who had just dove behind a bush to hide from guards of his own tailing him.]

"Today it's all or nothiiiiiiing."

[Attempting to sing to himself to calm his nerves, Dave shivered and waited for the coast to be clear. Contrasting his cowering display was a sinister looking getup. A sort of black suit mixed with a military commander outfit, with various medals decorating the chest, a white undershirt and red tie, white sash and gloves, and gaudy golden shoulder tassels with a flowing cape. Most prominent was his mask, more like a helmet, a hard white thing with spikes protruding around the forehead like those seen on the Statue of Liberty. Suddenly, he was poked on the shoulder and jumped back in shock.]

"Cause Chris, wants two for one, he's such a wuss."

[He was able to ease up and keep seeing when he discovered that the person was just Sammy. Mercifully the last outfit needed for description, it was another all back affair. A gymnast leotard, jacket with long coattails, and stiletto boots. The mask was elegant, if plain. As they met up, the trio of Dawn, DJ, and Trent could be seen sneaking into the building behind them.]

"He's a diiiiiiick. But that's, how it goes, better them than us."

[Next was Sammy's lines as she moved aside to show Dave the rug she had just dragged out. He sighed as he realized they'd need to leave through the same way they came in, so reluctantly he moved aside a manhole cover and the two dived down, dragging the rug underneath with them. Once they were gone, the other trio ran out from the other side of the building, DJ and Trent carrying two rugs on their shoulders while Dawn kept a lookout for guards.]

"We're taking, that loot! Swipe it right from, behind their backs."

[The perspective actually switched back to the very first group, with Scott, Courtney, Cody, and Anne Maria running from the guards. They all sung together, but the farmer's voice was the most prominent as he tried to showboat with various flips and stunts during their escape. Courtney, unamused, tugged him back by the collar to put a stop to his shenanigans.]

"Leave no trace. Take their treasure all while leaving no tracks."

[The line sounded much more harsh with her singing compared to when Brick did it, with a pointed annoyed glare Scott's way. Just as he looked poised to sing back, various shadowy figures suddenly rose up behind them. They turned to see the guards all around them. Even when they attempted to run, then their front became covered by even more. The two gulped, unable to do anything as the enemies closed in.]

Seemingly unaware that their partners were no longer behind them, Cody and Anne Maria finally found an opening and dove into the room holding their prize. Each selected the finest onion hat they could find, breathing sighs of relief.

"That coulda gone better," the jersey girl mumbled, turning around with her best scolding face at the ready. "No thanks to you, Scottie-... boy?"

Hearing her confused silence, the tech geek also looked around, equally perplexed when he saw no teammate. "Uh, Courtney? Where'd you go?"

It was then that they heard angry cries coming from outside the room. Keeping a low profile, they peeked out the doorway just in time to see guards hauling off Scott and Courtney under their arms. Both were flailing and cursing, but it did no good against the brutish security.

"If you don't let me DOWN, you'll be hearing from my lawyers about this!"

"I ain't even stole anything yet, why ya hassling us for?"

"... That isn't good," Cody mumbled.

Anne Maria face palmed, a single tired sigh added for emphasis. "Gee, ya think?"

A few more turned corners, and the captured duo was finally tossed into a room with seemingly no other doors or windows to escape from. As soon as they hit the ground, Scott bolted back up to try and bring the fury on their captors, but he was only met with the door being slammed on his face.

"Yeowtch! You're gonna pay for that one!" He grabbed the door knob and pushed with all his might, pulled with all his might, but all either accomplished was barely budge the locked door.

"Well this is just great." Courtney punched the ground in frustration, the rough jiggling from the doorknob just annoying her even more. "Of COURSE we're the ones that get caught. Are ya happy now, Scott?"

That was enough to finally get the country boy to stop fighting with the door and instead turn to her in shock. "Me? You were the one that pulled me aside when we should have still been running! What was the deal with that?!"

Courtney scoffed and met him face to face. "I did it because you were making an ass of yourself trying to look cool, or whatever. You were gonna get yourself hurt and captured."

And that got him to quirk an eyebrow. "Ok, and? Why would you care, that would just mean it's easier for your team to take the lead." His eyes shot open. "Wait, you weren't worried about me getting eliminated, were ya?"

She wanted to snap back, but the frustration was too much to handle. Instead, she just growled and lightly pushed him to the side. "This isn't the time. You wanna have a talk with me, right? That's why you keep trying to stay near me? Help me find a way out of this stupid room, THEN we'll talk."

Now it was Scott's turn to match her irritated grunt with his own. But there was a lot on the line, so he relented and began searching around, starting with the floor to look for some sort of hatch or something.

*** Confessional: Scott ***

He sighed, arms crossed and looking out the window with a tired leer. "Ugh, women."

*** Confessional: Courtney ***

She had the exact same pose and expression. "Ugh, men."

*** Confessional: Chef ***

He mockingly imitated the position, though his hulking frame made him much more hunched over. "Ugh, dumbass kids."

*** Somewhere in Istanbul ***

Elsewhere, Lightning and Brick ran through the streets, a skip in their step and laughing over their success. The jock still clutched their prize like a football, so it was a good idea to stay out of his path less you risk getting shoulder checked by him.

"Those were some smooth moves back there, man! You was like, sha-zoom! Sha-dodge! Gave them dummies the slip like it wasn't nothing. You ever try playing football?"

Chuckling, the cadet shook his head. "Nah, I was more of band kid personally, but I've had my share of playing it with the other cadets back during basic training. It's where I learned my moves. What'd I tell ya? A little bit of patience is all it takes sometimes."

Lightning grinned. "Guess you was right. And now we're back in sha-first place!"

The two turned the final corner, running back to the Jumbo Jet... only to see Amy and Jasmine already waiting there with the Turkish delight under the cheerleader's arm.

"Sha-whaaaaaat?" Lightning skid to a halt, gobsmacked. "How'd you chicks make it here before The Lightning?"

"Uh, we ran?" Amy replied unhelpfully.

"You had to get away from the guards, yeah?" Jasmine added. "We got in from above. If anything, you blokes keeping them occupied made it easier for us to get away."

Seeing that his teammate was beginning to stew in his rage, Brick tried to comfort him with a pat on the back. "It's all good, Soldier, being the second group back is still commendable!"

And then Leshawna suddenly joined the fray with her partner in tow. "Third group back. Me and Beth even beat these newbies to the punch."

Beth jumped up for a high five, still clutching her stolen good in the other arm. "That was so awesome, I can't believe we really made it back first!"

Leshawna was likely giving Beth some really sweet words of encouragement then, but now Lightning could only feel the crushing disappointment of further loss. "We came in LAST?"

"Only from the bazaar group," Brick pointed out. "We're still the third pair here, first ones back from our team. That's pretty good, right? Coming in first isn't always everything."

Lightning snapped to attention, looking at his teammate in disgust. "Now Lightning knows he didn't sha-hear that. If you ain't in first place, you didn't win, you lost! Lightning don't settle for lost! That's like... against the Lightning code."

"You have a code?" Before Brick got his answer, Lightning just stormed off in a huff. "Wait, hold on, I didn't mean that I don't WANT to win! Ah, darn it."

"Don't worry, Brick, it's a work in progress." Dawn suddenly materialized behind him, getting a scream from the cadet and sending him falling over. "You've already made strides in changing his attitude for the better. Rome wasn't built in a day, as the saying goes."

Brick was at first confused as to where his teammate came from, then about where her treasure was. It just rose further questions when Trent and DJ emerged from behind her hauling not one but two rugs. "Uh, thanks, I'll keep working on it. Did you strike up a deal with the other team or something?"

"Indeed." She looked to the two boys, offering a pleasant smile of thanks as they sat down both rugs. "I underestimated the size of the rugs and wasn't really in the state to carry it back on my own, so I offered my services in helping them traverse the Aya Sofia as a trade for their strength."

Any conversations were suddenly derailed by, fittingly enough, the sound of a train fast approaching with its wailing horn. Of course it wasn't a real locomotive, but rather Beardo sounding a victorious tune as he and Sugar barreled into the scene with the onion hat in hand.

"Ah, fudge nuggets, I thought we'd get back first." Sugar kicked at the grass haphazardly.

"Well we might have if you didn't stop at that bagel stand," her partner pointed out, removing the hat from her. "But hey, we still made it back faster than the other two teams there, so I'd call it a win."

Chris finally decided to waltz his lazy ass into the area, observing how quickly the playing field was filling up. "Alright, looks like we're just missing one group for each team. Whoever gets back next determines which teams are sending someone home!"

That was enough to make Beth gulp, suddenly remembering why she had been paired off in such a way to begin with. "Say, Leshawna? Think we could girl talk one on one for a bit? Y-you know, away from the group?"

Her teammate quirked an eyebrow but still nodded. "Sure, girl, whatever's cool with you. What's on your mind?"

The two walked off, DJ observing all the while. He cleared his throat to get Trent's attention. "Hey man, that reminds me. About the vote since it's possible we may be eliminating someone-"

"Well there's only one pair that isn't back yet, and obviously I'm not gonna vote my bud off," he pointed out. "So I figure I'll just vote for Courtney."

Blinking, the brickhouse eventually chuckled and offered a thumbs up. "Oh, cool, me too. Good talk, man."

*** Confessional: DJ ***

"Yeah, not gonna lie, I had the easiest job by far." He shrugged, content with not having to go out of his way to try and sway Trent's vote. "I'm kinda worried about Courtney being the last one from us to get back, though. Hopefully we get lucky and the other teams run into issues."

*** In the Sewers of Istanbul ***

Speaking of which, things switched to showing Sammy and Dave carrying their rug through the sewers, one on each end and both clearly struggling a bit with its weight.

"How much longer do we have to stay down here? It reeks." Dave didn't have the luxury of holding his nose since the rug demanded both hands, so he just settled for small spurts of holding his breath.

Sammy shrugged. "Until we're just we're far enough away from the guards to make a run for it."

There was silence for a while, but then the two's arms started getting a bit more wobbly.

"Why is this thing so heavy? Ugh, why didn't we leave this for, like, Sugar and Beardo?"

The nice twin gave him an absolutely taken aback scowl. "I DID suggest going to get the hat instead, we switched to this because you complained about me getting distracted by Cody."

Dave just glared back at his teammate. "Oh sure, blame it all on me just like everyone else always does. Aren't you supposed to be the NICE sister?"

"Ok, seriously, what is your problem?" She skidded to a halt and dropped her end of the rug. "Why are you so grumpy lately, what happened?"

"This is a conversation that needs to happen right now?" He dropped his own end, crossing his arms. "In case you forgot, we're in the middle of the nasty sewers right now. I'd prefer to get out of here as soon as possible."

Before the debate could really heat up, a loud sploosh got their attention. They looked over just in time to see their rug having rolled into the sewer water, floating back down the way they came.

"Oh crap!"

Simultaneously crying out, they put the argument aside and rushed off to chase down their treasure.

*** Cockpit Confessional: Dave ***

"So I've not been in the best mood lately. Is that a crime? Am I not allowed to have emotions if they aren't just happy go lucky all the time, is that it?" He threw his arms up, exasperated. "Screw me for FEELING things, I guess."

"Anyone ever tell you that you whine a lot?" Chef asked.

Dave glared, but obviously had no grounds to snap back at the larger man. Instead, he sighed and looked away. "All the time, yes."

*** In Topkapi Palace ***

After who knows how long searching in vain for any other option, Scott and Courtney finally found a potential exit. A very small air vent in the top corner of a wall. The dirt farmer tried his best to squeeze himself in, but the hole was far too small for him to fit. Instead, he fell on his butt with a grunt and groaned in defeat.

"Hmph, let me try."

Courtney moved to test her luck but Scott just looked on in annoyance. "If I couldn't fit through that tiny thing then there's no way you can."

He quickly regretted his wording as she jumped down, landing on one of his feet and getting a wince from the guy. "And just what is THAT supposed to mean? Explain yourself."

Sensing imminent danger, he quickly tried to think of an excuse that wasn't his initial thought being because her butt wouldn't fit. She was too smart and had a big head? It couldn't handle her big personality? None of these options felt viable. "... No, I get the feeling I made a mistake, somehow."

The former CIT narrowed her eyes, silently judging him. "Numbskull." Ok, maybe not so silently.

"Face it, Courtney, there's no way outta here for us." Wanting to promptly change the subject, Scott went back to near the door, peeking underneath it for any moving shadows. "We're just gonna have to wait for the dork and tan in a can to come let us out."

Courtney sighed, leaning against the wall. "And by the time they do, it'll probably already be too late. Not like it matters too much, one of our teams were always going to have to eliminate someone."

There was an awkward silence, both stewing in a sense of hopelessness. Courtney kept eyeing the vent, still wondering if she could go for it. But Scott was growing more antsy by the moment, especially with the thought of potential elimination for one of them. "So why DID you want to try and stop me from getting caught anyway?"

While initially annoyed at the subject being brought back, there truly didn't seem to be any chance of her getting through that vent. So it was either talk or nothing. The nothing option was tempting, to be fair. But still, she sighed. "I at least have a plan for how to handle the elimination ceremony if our team goes there. You don't. You're pretty much dead meat if your team doesn't win and you were the last one to finish."

"Gee, thanks." He was about to look away in contempt before quickly realizing the implications. "Wait, so does that means you WOULD care if I was eliminated? Ha! I knew it."

Courtney rolled her eyes but kept explaining. "At the start of the season I didn't think I would care. Heck, I thought you were getting sent home first instead of Staci. But the longer you stayed, yeah, I guess I realized it would suck to see your smelly butt get kicked off."

Scott scratched at his stubble awkwardly, pretty unsure how to take that. He was used to sassy Courtney claiming she didn't care about him. Courtney being genuine and open was a new hurdle. As he let the comment process, he picked himself up and plopped down in a seat facing the door. "Yeah, it'd suck for me seeing you get kicked off too."

That got a small smirk from the latina. With the silence returning, she pulled up a chair and sat it next to his, both now patiently waiting for something to happen. As the time passed and the tension got thicker, more questions came to mind. Scott exhaled and looked up, trying to act nonchalant.

"Give it to me straight. Everything in All Stars, was that all just a crock of BS or did you actually like me?" He didn't notice her looking at him in surprise. "Cause that was one hell of an act you weaved up if that's the case, even saying stuff while I wasn't around."

Courtney twiddled her thumbs and fidgeted in her seat. This was oddly serious for Scott of all people. "It wasn't all lies. I'd say it only started out as a crush, and then you started being... well, you. I don't know, something just felt like it kind of clicked."

"Then why the stupid chart? Why not give things a real try once all the dumb Mal crap got out of the way? Why just try to brush it all under the rug?"

Yeesh, now he was getting into the thick of it, huh? "Two reasons. As far as the chart goes, I think I just got greedy. I've been putting up with this stupid show so long. Been through so much. I felt like I had a clear shot to the end. You and Gwen were both on my side, what I thought at the time was the biggest threat, Al, just got eliminated. I could taste the money, and my mind just went into full on game mode. I didn't even think of how I'd end up messing things up with you and Gwen."

"Yeah, and you drew me with a freaking tail! What is UP with that?" He huffed, arms folded and trying to look unbothered. But he clearly was. "... And the other reason?"

"Because you remind me of him..."

He stared at her for a minute, confused. "Him?"

"You know who I mean," she mumbled. "You've watched the show, you know who I've dated."

Another pause, and then a light bulb went off in his brain. "Oooooh. Alejandro!"

She gave him a blank look. "No."

"Cameron?"

"Scott I will slap you."

He tried racking the ol' noodle a bit more, then it finally clicked. "Oh. Duncan, right?"

Courtney sighed. "Yeah. Obviously you two aren't the same, but you have a lot of similarities."

"Yeah I thought we got along pretty well, bit too much of a softy to be on the Vultures though." It was then he realized he was getting off track. "So, me reminding you of him is a bad thing?"

She nodded. "It made me hesitant. I've tried to move on once and for all from everything that happened with him, but it's hard to fully recover from being embarrassed on international TV. And no, I don't have feelings for him anymore, if that's what you're worried about. It's just... scary to think about dating again after it."

Scott nodded along, trying to understand but not fully there. "I guess you really hate him, huh?"

Courtney chuckled and shook her head. "No. I told myself I did for a long time after World Tour, that I hated Gwen too for being part of it. But really, I just felt betrayed. I know he's not a bad person, there's good in him deep down. But he still hurt me, and it's hard to trust someone else after something like that." She sighed. "That asshole."

Trying to process that all, the farmer had a snicker of his own. "You know, you're kind of an asshole too sometimes." He could feel her about to let him have it for that comment so he quickly continued. "And so am I. But maybe we could be assholes together or something. Give it some time, and maybe we'll help each other stop being such assholes after a while."

"This is your pitch to try and ask me out?" Courtney snarked, more amused than anything.

"Cut me some slack, this is still new to me." Shrugging, he continued. "Anyway, I think I get the whole thing about not being able to trust, but you ain't gonna be able to change that if you don't try. At least give it a chance. Hell, I'll give you my approval right now to throttle the living crap out of me if I ever go behind your back like that."

He looked her in the eyes, dead serious. "It ain't gonna happen, though. You ask me? I think he's more of an idiot than an asshole. Guy was too dumb to see that he had something great RIGHT THERE in front of him."

Perhaps he was expecting a kiss after that. Maybe a swoon, or at least a hug. Instead she started laughing, though that distracted him from also seeing her blush. "Well would you look at that, maybe there's a sweet talker buried somewhere deep under all that mud and dirt. It needs some work, but the potential is there."

"You gonna make me a list of things to work on?" He asked tauntingly.

She rolled her eyes, standing and looking around for something. He followed after until she eventually found something that would suffice. A pile of firewood, oddly enough placed in the corner, with one particular log standing out as decently long and thick.

"We'll talk more later. Let's get out of here and finish the stupid challenge already. Help me carry this."

Scott was confused but helped her with the log all the same. "You got a plan?"

"Nothing mind blowing," she said with a shrug. "We're gonna use this as a battering ram to bust the door down. If we go at the same time, I think we'll get through."

"Are you sure?" He sounded slightly concerned, but couldn't hide the smirk brought about from the prospect of breaking out in the most destructive way possible. "Isn't all the stuff in this place super important or whatever?"

Courtney smirked. "My lawyers will see to it that any damages will be liable on the show's behalf. If they didn't want to risk things being broken, Chris shouldn't have given the OK to lock us up for who knows how long. So we're getting out, and putting a chip into McLean's wallet in the process."

"Now that's my kinda plan!" He got into position in front of the door, each on different sides of the long. "Then we track down Cody and Annie, and hoof it back to the Jet. Sound good?"

She nodded, a grin of her own forming. "We go in three."

"Two," Scott added.

"One!"

That time it came from neither of them, but instead Chris as the door was suddenly thrown open by the host. It was enough of a shock to make the duo drop their log, which happened to land on Scott's less injured foot.

"Oh come on!" Hopping around on one foot, the farmer had half a mind to flip Chris the bird. "What gives, McLean?"

"I have a sixth sense to know when someone's threatening to mess with my paycheck," he spat, narrowing his eyes at the former CIT. "And you guys seemed done with your juicy share fest, so there was no reason to keep you locked up."

"What about the challenge?" she asked.

Chris chuckled. "Yeah, about that."

He stepped aside, revealing the rest of the contestants behind him. At the front of the pack was Sammy and Dave, both a bit damp but otherwise looking relived to be done with the challenge.

"We were the last of our team to finish," Sammy said, offering an apologetic smile.

"And that was like, an hour ago," Dave added. "So both of your teams are sending you guys home. Sorry, I mean sending SOMEONE home."

Anne Maria and Cody also pushed their way to the front of the pack, the later looking at least a bit more forgiving compared the pure fury in the eyes of the former.

"We tried to find a way into the room, but the guards were just too on alert," he said.

Anne Maria glared, hands on her hips. "Nothin worked. So we lost. Because of yous."

Scott and Courtney looked around at everyone. Then at each other. Then back to the others. Both had the same though, and fell back into their seats to speak in unison.

"Well crap."

"Guess I should make it official, then." Chris knocked over the others, putting the spotlight comfortably back on himself. "Team Explosive wins the challenge! Meaning Team Old School AND Team Radioactive are sending someone home. This should be a fun night, get those votes in, people!"

With the results declared, Chris knocked over even more contestants as he took his exit, with much of the cast following after. Team Explosive had their obligatory celebratory cheer, though Sammy gave her flirtmance partner a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before they left. Lightning in particular had been staring daggers at Scott, arms folded and tapping his foot.

"Unshalievable. Ya see that? It's one of the things Lightning's always been saying! Ya gotta have your head in the game about the prize money booty. Ya can't get sha-stracted by... by... lady booty!"

Disappointment immeasurable and with his day ruined, the jock stormed off, his mind already made up. Brick did give Scott a sympathetic frown but still trailed by Lightning with a shake of the head. He wasn't mad, just let down.

"Fellas, wait!" Scott rushed after the guys, in desperate hope of salvaging the situation. Meanwhile, DJ and Beth awkwardly slid by to Courtney. An awkward silence followed as the former CIT looked from one to the other.

"How much of that did you see?"

Beth chuckled awkwardly. "You know how Chris is, with his cameras everywhere."

DJ rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you wanna talk about it, or-"

"No." She stood up and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Well this sucks. I barely had a chance to talk to Cody about swinging his vote. Guess it's on to the tie breaker, unless Beth convinced Leshawna to switch."

The farmer girl was avoiding eye contact. "I-I'm not sure, I talked to her about it, but she just said she'll think about it."

"That's as good as we could hope for, I guess." Courtney shrugged and stormed off. "Hopefully the tie breaker isn't something that favors her."

DJ followed behind, but Beth paused for a moment. She bit her lip, looking at the floor.

*** Confessional: Beth ***

"I REALLY really don't wanna vote off Leshawna. She was so nice to me today! Just when I was starting to feel down on myself, she really helped me see things another way." Drumming her fingers against the wall, she racked her brain for what to do. "Now that I think about it, I think I really did make a good case to her for voting DJ. I told her that he was starting to get too distracted by Dawn, and then he came in hauling a rug for her! So if that works, maybe I don't even need to vote for her?"

*** On the Jumbo Jet ***

With Team Explosive off enjoying first class for another time this season, Chris herded in the others and packed them all into the stands for elimination. When Chef arrived, he carried a tray with a whopping 9 peanut filled barf bags.

"Don't ya guys just love two for one specials? It really helps the savvy shoppers on making the smart buys. Or in this case, the dramatic show even more juicy!"

Everyone was disappointed to be there, though there was a mix of emotions throughout. Lightning was annoyed, Dawn was stoic, Leshawna felt like she was chilling, Scott's leg was shaking nervously. Chris would let things stay nice and tension-y for a bit before he moved on.

"Now then, both teams have cast their votes and made their decisions. The losing Old School AND losing Radioactive team members will be taking the drop together. Fun times, right? So we'll be holding just one ceremony, no need to do one team then the other." He grabbed two barf bags from the plate. "So! The first two bags go to... Beth and Brick!"

While the later exhaled a bit in relief while catching their bag, the former was still looking mighty nervous, glancing between Courtney and Leshawna.

"We also have bags here for Lightning... DJ... Dawn... and Trent!"

"Sha-duh," the uber jock grumbled, too annoyed and just letting the nut receptacle bounce off his face. The other three opted to just silently enjoy having their symbols of immunity.

"Aaaaaand, the technical penultimate bag before the important ones goes to... Cody!"

Aforementioned tech whiz high fived his band mate, swiping the puke packet out of the air. With him safe, things could focus in on those without one. Obviously Scott and Courtney, alongside Leshawna and Anne Maria.

"You gotta be kidding me, you screwed the team over and you STILL voted for me?" Pulling out a nail file, it almost seemed like the jersey girl was about to throw hands. Thankfully for Scott, she just used it to nervously file away. "I'm kicking ya in the kiwis if I'm eliminated, ya jerk."

"No you're not," Courtney grumbled, annoyed but unsurprised to be in her position. Scott was too on edge to say anything, while Leshawna looked genuinely surprised to not have a sick sack yet.

As for Chris, he just soaked in the drama, letting things drag out as long as possible. "Two of you four will soon be getting the axe. I only have one barf bag left for each team. How about we start with... Team Radioactive!"

He grabbed their final bag, tossing it up and down with glee. "Scott, Scott, Scott... we started the season with you in the bottom two, and now it's you again? Sucks to see it, bro. And Anne Maria, you've technically never been voted off before in the show! Does that streak end today?"

Both contestants locked eyes, a mean stink to their glares. His was more desperate while her's more intense.

"The final barf bag of the night for your team goes to...

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... Anne Maria!"

To the surprise of no one, the Jersey girl hopped from her seat and let out a satisfied whoop, the peanuts bouncing off her hair and getting everywhere. "That's what I'm talking bout!"

"Uuuuuuugh." Scott buried his head into his hands, not about to say any more until Chris was done. He was pretty sure about who'd be leaving with him, but she did say she had a plan...

"Courtney! Normally I'd say you're just here because you're kind of an asshole as your man here puts it." He chuckled, relishing her stink eye. "But this time you just genuinely goofed up, brah. And Leshawna... you and Beth finished first out of everyone today, so I can only assume you racked up votes for being a threat."

Shrugging, the soul sister just waved it off. "Yeah yeah, it ain't personal, I get it. Home girl's gotta vote for SOMEBODY, ya know?"

So she was still blissfully unaware of Courtney's alliance? Interesting, Chris thought, verrrry interesting.

"We've tallied the votes, and according to them, we have...

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... enough of them to send Courtney home! Here ya go, Leshawna."

While the recipient figured this was a foregone conclusion and accepted her immunity with a nod, Courtney damn near fell over as she shot up. "WHAT? It wasn't a tie?"

"Nope!" Chris just kept flashing his cheeky grin. "You had the most votes, so you're out. No tie breaker necessary."

It took every fiber of her being to not turn around and give DJ and Beth the biggest death glares imaginable. She wasn't sure which one did it, or if it was maybe both of them deciding to abandon ship, but the lack of being given a fighting chance was enough to get her shaking with rage. Everyone covered their ears, bracing for a signature angry yell, but just as it was about to pop off Scott nudged her in the side.

"Meh, we shouldn't be shocked. We DID lose the challenge." He snorted, giving Chris a look of contempt. "I say, who needs this stupid show? I'm getting tired of going to all these different dumb time zones anyway. It's messing with my sleep!"

While her fists were still balled up, Courtney laughed and eased up a bit. "Yeah, fine, who needs these teams anyway? Eliminate me with my boyfriend, see if I care!"

Most of the contestants, even Chris and Chef, all got taken aback by that bombshell. "Boyfriend?" Leshawna asked.

"Ya dorks have a problem with it?" Scott sneered, throwing an arm around his newly confirmed bae. "Or are ya just surprised I pulled it off? Because I'm not gonna lie, so am I."

"I always had faith that you would succeed," Dawn piped up, the only one to approach the pair and getting a bit too close for comfort to smile up at her eliminated teammate. "I must say, Scott, I had my reservations but I'm very proud of the strides you made this season."

Not letting him respond, Courtney yanked her boyfriend away to lead him towards the elimination hatch and retrieve their parachutes. "Back off, pixie girl. I've seen what the online fans have said about you two together."

"Pffft, there's no way in hell she'd EVER be my type," Scott protested, slipping on his parachute. "No offense, shorty, but you and me both know that'd be like oil and... whatever the hippy version of oil is. They don't work together, ya know? Besides, I know for a fact she has her eyes on someone else in the cast anyway."

Dawn gasped, with others taking on a curious glance at the aura reader.

"Oooooh, gossip, sounds fun." Courtney nudged her boyfriend, a sinister smirk forming. "How bout you spill the beans as a last screw you to the show on our way out?"

Scott grinned. "I was just thinking the same thing! Hey guys, listen up, Dawn totally has the hots for-"

Suddenly, the farmer was cut off by a large boot swinging down and kicking him in the face. It knocked him back into Courtney and both went tumbling out of the jumbo jet with their screams echoing below. Her face now a tomato shade of red, Dawn sighed in relief.

"For once, and only once, I think I'll have to say thank you to Chris."

"You're welcome!" He beamed proudly, waving the Boot of Shame button in the air. "Now that we've kicked off a whole couple in one fell swoop we wanna drag out the other potential hook ups as long as possible, ya know? Now get to scooting, guys, this episode has already gone longer than usual as it is."

As usual, the group started filing out one by one, with Dawn at the front of the pack so as to not draw more attention to herself. DJ watched her leave, mind already thrown off when there was no tie breaker but now even further quizzical.

"Huh. I wonder who Scott was talking about."

Sitting next to him, Trent just looked at the guy, then at the camera with eyebrow raised.

One flash cut later and we were met with Chris and Chef in the cockpit. It was clear that the host was feeling a mix of emotions following everything.

"Darn it, there goes two of our more guaranteed ratings magnets in one night."

"Double elimination was your idea man, don't go whining on us." Chef flicked his comrade on the ear, not ready for his complaining. "At least ya got that big sappy pow wow between them. And he left Dawn on a cliffhanger!"

"Good point! I knew it was the right call bringing him back instead of Sam." He laughed and pointed finger pistols at the camera. "Sorry not sorry, Dakota! With our baggage carrying couple out of the running, who'll step up to become the next Total Drama legend in their place? How is Dawn going to manage with Scott putting it out there that she has her eye on someone in the plane? Will Dave keep being grumpy? I think that one is kind of a guarantee. But to find out the answers to the rest of that and more, you'll need to tune in right here, next time on TOTAL... DRAMA... BATTLE OF THE GENERATIONS!"

Voting Confessionals:

"I swear, if that slime ball somehow, someway, DOESN'T get eliminated after dropping the ball that hard, I'm beanin him in the head with one of my spray bottles." Anne Maria enthusiastically stamped down on Scott's passport. "This ain't even personal, I'm just pissed that I'm in danger because of him and had to be saddled with the guy who couldn't keep it in his pants all challenge."

Brick sighed and stamped Scott's passport. "Yeah, I need to calm him down but I do gotta agree with Lightning on this one. No offense, soldier, but you got us the loss today. It's only fair to vote you off. I'm glad you finally patched things up, though, good job!"

"I'm delighted that you finally got through to Courtney, I knew you could accomplish it with the right circumstances. Though it is unfortunate it had to be in a way that leads to both of your eliminations." Nonetheless, Dawn seemed to take pity on the guy and stamped Anne Maria's passport. "Scott, I'm glad you were on this season. I thought your soul to be a lost cause. It would seem you've taught me that it's not always the case."

"Sha-bam. Sha-stamp. Sha-bye bye. Sha-see ya!" With each phrase, Lightning gave Scott's passport another stamp. "Lightning don't got no space on his team for dudes more focused on ladies than winning! Save it for the afterparty."

"Ok, ok, I THINK Dawn is still gonna vote with me," Scott reasoned, desperately stamping Anne Maria's passport. "So as long as I at least convinced Brick I should be in the clear. Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna be fine. Easy peasy, right?"

Beth fidgeted in her seat, nervously hovering her stamp above Leshawna's face. Eventually she grunted and brought it down on Cody's passport instead. "I'm sorry, I just can't do it! Not after how much she helped cheer me up. It'll be fine, I convinced her to vote for DJ so it'll just go to tie breaker. Then Courtney gets her fair shot, and if she stays she'll just think it was three to three. Yeah, it'll work out just fine!"

Cody shrugged, stamping Courtney's passport. "Yeah, this one is kinda obvious. Congrats on you and Scott, though? That's gotta count for something, probably."

"Hm, I'm not really sure how to feel about today. On one hand, I'm kinda excited to actually try things out with Scott. On the other hand... yeah, I'm probably going into a tie breaker." Shrugging, she gave Leshawna's passport a stamp. "Oh well, that's how the game goes. At least I get the chance to stay if I win."

"Welp, no reason to go against what we promised." DJ stamped down Leshawna's passport. "It's probably gonna be a three to three tie breaker. I ain't sure who they'd want to eliminate first between me and Beth, so I am pulling for Courtney to win."

"Homegirl messed up today, what else is there to say?" Leshawna stamped Courtney's passport, only a bit apologetically. "Beth tried to make a case to go for DJ, but it's gotta be Courtney. Dang, how'd we both end up falling for some lanky red headed white boy? Maybe she and I have more in common than you'd think."

Trent was leant up against the door, perhaps to prevent any intruders from barging in, while stamping Courtney's passport. "Yeeeeeah, it's gotta suck being on the show this many times and still coming up short, but... welp, it happens."

Votes for Scott: 3 (Anne Maria, Brick, Lightning)

Votes for Anne Maria: 2 (Dawn, Scott)

Votes for Courtney: 3 (Cody, Leshawna, Trent)

Votes for Leshawna: 2 (Courtney, DJ)

Votes for Cody: 1 (Beth)

After the Boot of Shame:

After a lot of falling, Scott was now the only one screaming, flailing his limbs around in some sort of vain attempt to swim back up to the jet. It didn't work. Courtney rolled her eyes and pulled the string to deploy his parachute, then activating her own.

"So it was totally DJ, right?"

Scott still wasn't fully recovered from the sensation of plummeting to the ground, so he had to take a second to catch his breath. "That screwed you over, or who Dawn is crushing on?"

"I'm gonna guess Beth did that with how jumpy she was after the challenge," she mumbled, trying to shake off the spite. "So it was him?"

"It's pretty obvious," Scott agreed with a shrug. "Like wow, can't believe that the animal lover has a thing for the other animal guy. How original."

"Pffft, so suddenly you're the king of judging couples, is that it Mr. Let's Be Assholes Together?"

"I thought it sounded cool at the time..."

"Nah, it was super awkward." Seeing him looking distraught, she nudged her boyfriend with her foot. "But I like awkward Scott. It's cute."

"CUTE?!" Somehow his switch immediately went from sad to offended. "I ain't cute! I'm, you know, tough! And mean! You're gonna be all, Oooooh, look at my super cool boyfriend. Look how, uh, gruff and dangerous he is!"

She just smirked and rolled her eyes. "If you say so. By the way, I'm still gonna count this as YOU being the reason we got eliminated. So, I think dinner should be on you tonight before we leave the place. No going Dutch."

"What?!" The two crashed down into the water, eventually surfacing and Scott sighing in acceptance. "Ugh, fine. So, uh, is it pricier to eat in the European part here, or the Asian part?"

He noticed her blank look and held up his arms. "What? I only brought so much money with me."

Remaining Contestants:

Team Old School: Beth, Cody, DJ, Leshawna, Trent

Team Radioactive: Anne Maria, Brick, Dawn, Lightning

Team Explosive: Amy, Beardo, Dave, Jasmine, Sammy, Sugar

Elimination Order:

16th/17th: Courtney and Scott

18th: B

19th: Shawn

20th: Dakota

21st: Rodney

22nd: Harold

23rd: Izzy

24th: Staci

Author's Note:

Finally, after 3,000 years, we have another update. You know, I'm not really sure why this particular chapter was kicking my ass so badly since I was getting updates out at a decently ok rate (at least as far as my standards go), and yet here we are. Just had that mad writer's block going on for a while I guess. To contextualize how overdue this is, I was aiming for this to be a Thanksgiving chapter. You know, for the joke about the Turkey chapter being on turkey day. Comedy. But obviously that didn't happen. Oh well, that's par for the course unfortunately. Hopefully we get back into a groove going forward. I think I'm gonna try approaching chapters with a more casual mindset going forward. Not stress the little things so much and just try and let it flow, ya know? I think things will get much easier once I hit the merge because I've been replaying a lot of the stuff I have planned for merge episodes over and over in my head for a while. Just a few more chapters to go before we're there.

So next let's talk about this chapter before I move on to general things. Most notable is of course, the eliminations. Double Elimination was teased not long ago, so it may not have been too shocking to see it pop up here. But were you expecting Scourtney to be our boots? Eh, most of you probably were when they got their giant one on one scene, let's be fair. So yeah, as was probably obvious they were never planned to be merge characters, but instead be big roles in the pre-merge. Scott with his storyline of burying the hatchet with the likes of B and Dawn. Courtney with her storyline of trying to rally the non-Drama Bros teammates to not get steam rolled. And their own ship storyline. I know Scourtney isn't for everyone, and I do enjoy Duncney more than it (don't really have another preference for Scott though. Dott low key sucks, don't at me). But still, I think it's a cute little ship that works as a way to sorta help nudge both characters to a more redemptive light and they can be fun together with their strong personalities. That being said, Scott is the second best ROTI character stat wise behind Zoey, and Courtney is a TD powerhouse. I really didn't feel a need to make main characters out of them, lol. Still, they were intentionally supposed to be vital to the pre-merge so I hope people enjoyed their runs.

As far as location goes, I think Istanbul was a fun option. Having a really notable city that legit spans two continents is neat, I think, even if the challenge itself I believe was all on the European side. I did originally plan to make big descriptive posts of each of the individual locations, but the chapter was already bloated and just never went back to add them. They're all easy enough to Google, I suppose. There was also other little things I wound up not doing due to chapter size, like Beth more visibly reaction to screwing over Courtney (this will be in the next chapter, though). And then the song! I knew I had to parody something from a video game eventually, so why not pull from my favorite game of the last decade? No, that's not a hyperbole, Persona 5 is legitimately my favorite game of the 2010s. Yes, I'm aware that it's now one of those cool things to hate thanks to amassing an infamous fanbase. No, I don't care enough to change my opinion, that game slaps and so too does the music. I considered other songs from the game, but Last Surprise is the most iconic so I felt it only fitting. Using a Persona 5 song also influenced the challenge into becoming thievery based. And for those who were confused, yes those outfits being described on everyone were based on characters from the game (or its spinoff sequel in some cases). Sometimes I just gotta go all in on fan service to myself, ya know? As for next chapter? I kinda regret doing these "Next chapter location" hint kinda things because it leads to reviews that are ONLY guesses of the next location and no actual reviewing of the chapter content, which is a big bummer. But I started it, so I may as well keep doing it. We're hitting up Oceania for the first time up next.

Now on to more general things. First up, this was probably obvious after last chapter's AN, but full stop confirmed now, Battle of the Generations will indeed be my final full fledged comp fic. There's no way I can commit to a long project like this again. So Revenge of the Rejects, Personality Swapped Island, etc, are all for sure not happening. At least, not as full fics. Instead, I'll be uploading a What If esque story (titled literally anything else, though, because that title is taken multiple times over) that will be used as a prompt dump for my scrapped ideas that didn't see the light of day. The very first chapter of this, "What if there was a season themed around rejects?" will indeed be the explanation of Revenge of the Rejects and what I had planned for it. I view this as a much better alternative to just dropping the concepts entirely, as it even helps my own brain goblins by giving them closure. Of course, I won't dedicate the story to just scrapped concepts, I'll probably do more traditional what ifs in it as well. So give it a look when I upload it. The Revenge of the Rejects rundown will almost certainly be up before the next BOTG chapter.

And that's about it from me! Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and can't wait to read people's thoughts on it. How many eliminations left before the merge? That's for me to know and you to find out!