Disclaimer: Total Drama characters and locations are owned by Fresh Tv. I only own my original characters and am only writing this for fun.

Well, this is late. :P

Sorry for the wait, but school was annoying and I began another story that's my best work to date, or at least I think it is. Check it out if you like Max and/or Sugar. Who knows? Maybe you'll like it. Until then, enjoy the chapter and leave a review if you want a cookie... or something like that.

Harold stepped out from within the bushes and diabolically rubbed his hands together like a certain mad genius with purple hair. "Screen time. That's all I want, Chris. Just a little time in the spotlight."

Chris crossed his arms and glared at the lanky teen. "No means no, and didn't we already send you flying with a giant boot?" He pointed at the season's elimination device.

"Not exactly. You might have gotten rid of me, but my training at Aqua Steve's Swimming Camp allowed me to swim back to the island with the grace of a bottlenose dolphin."

A moment of silence passed until Samantha sighed. "Can you just get him off the island? Please, he's really annoying!"

"No," Chris said. "The boot has to charge if it's gonna send him flying."

"Precisely why I waited until Sadie was sent home to make my entrance!" Harold smiled and narrowed his eyes. "So, I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine," Chris sighed. "What do I have to do now?"

"You might want to read this." Harold pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and casually tossed it to Chris. "I think it'll peak your interests."

Chris opened the paper and read over it, gasping in horror. "No... It can't be!"

"What, did your hair gel supply run out?" Eva said sarcastically, drawing a laugh out of her team.

"It's the ratings!" Chris shouted. "They're goin' down the Flush of Shame!"

"Yes," Harold hissed. "So, what do you say?"

Chris looked up at Harold. "You think you can fix the ratings if I let you join the game, right?"

"Uh, no. I don't want into the game. You'll just find a way to send me home right off the bat!"

"Well, what do you want?" Chris impatiently tapped his foot as sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Oh, I have an idea." Harold grinned at Chris, causing him to nervously raise an eyebrow.

(Theme song plays)

Both teams were sound asleep in their respective sleeping quarters when the alarm rang out across the island, startling the final eleven awake.

Jordan shot up and bashed his head on the upper bunk, causing him to scream in pain. "I hate Chris!"

Noah stuffed his fingers into his ears and let out a tired sigh. His eyes were surrounded by dark, baggy skin.

Katie, Dawn, and Staci rubbed their eyes and groaned as Tyler tried to cover himself with his bed sheets.

Outside, Eva jumped up and tightened her fists in anger as Samantha and Ethan screamed in shock.

Dakota let out a groan of disdain, but Brick shot up and saluted.

"Attention all campers! This is a DEFCON: Chris! I repeat, it's a DEFCON: Chris! Everyone outside immediately!" The voice of evil boomed through the cold air as the Foxes of Failure stumbled down the stairs of the cabin.

Both teams gathered around the host, standing outside the cabin with a flashlight in his hand.

"It's three in the morning," yawned Dakota. "If I don't get enough rest, my hair is gonna fall out again."

"Well, this is an emergency!" Chris shouted. "It's horrible!"

"Did your hair gel supply run out?" Noah yawned.

"Uh, that's my line," Eva said.

"No! What's with you people and hair gel? I don't use that much!" Chris cleared his throat. "Anyways, the problem is so dire that I had to wake you up at three o'clock so you can fix it."

"And what's this problem exactly?" Brick asked.

Chris sighed. "The power's out!"

"Uh, what?" Noah deadpanned.

"You know, the power that runs my cottage."

"You'd better be joking," Eva growled, clenching her fists.

"It's serious!" Chris panicked. "Without power, my cappuccino machine, spa, and flat screen television won't work!"

Chris was met with dead silence.

"Yep, I'd love to stay and be a slave, but I'm going to back to bed." Noah yawned and turned around, walking back to the cabin.

"Hold it," Chris shouted. "No one leaves until I finish explaining the problem at hand."

Noah stopped and rolled his eyes.

"So, this is today's challenge, right?" Staci asked in confusion. "We're fixing your power?"

"Correctomundo, Staci. Today's challenge is to find the generator that powers my cottage and fix whatever went wrong. And you'll do so by trekking into the expansive caverns the lie under the island."

"Like, dark caverns?" Brick shuddered nervously.

Samantha chuckled. "What's wrong? You afraid of the dark, private?"

"I'll have you know that I'm very afraid of the dark, but that's my only fear!"

Chris cleared his throat. "Now, each team will need to follow me to the beach. There, you'll enter the caves through a small opening in the cliff side and find the generator, turn it on, and win for your team."

"At three in the morning?" Jordan scowled.

"Yes, now let's get going!"

Suddenly, a cry escaped Katie's mouth. "Wait, where's Sadie?!"

"Somewhere in the lake," Chris snapped. "Just get moving and don't worry about it."

"She was... voted off?!"

Ethan spoke up. "Well, it was a tie, so-"

A tear rolled down Katie's cheek. "I miss her already."

Confessional

Katie: "I thought Sadie and I were through, but now... I messed up so bad. I have to make things right with Sadie, and that means..."

End Confessional

"She said that she was sorry for all the fighting, so she still thinks of you as a friend." Ethan put his hand on Katie's shoulder, causing her to push him away.

"I don't care," she replied bitterly.

Chris cleared his throat. "I'd love to exploit this dramatic tension, but we're a strict time limit, so let's get going."

The campers followed Chris through the forest until the group arrived at the rocky shoreline. Laying on the sand were two crates of identical size.

Chris placed his hand on one of the crates. "These crates contain your equipment for this challenge. The caves are dark, so you'll be rigged up with lighted helmets that will function as both your light sources and cameras."

"Oh no," Dakota glared at Chris. "I'm not going into that cave. Remember what happened last time you sent me into a cave." She rubbed the blonde stubble on her scalp.

"Don't worry Dakota," Chris said nonchalantly. "I can guarantee that this cave is one hundred percent toxic waste free. And even if it was, we'd give you some kind of protection at the least."

"Sounds like a ball," Noah said. "But exactly why are we doing this again? It's not like we benefit from this."

"Oh, you'll benefit," Chris told Noah. "Winning this challenge gives your team a special reward: watching someone from team loser go home. Sound fun?"

Noah shrugged and Jordan stepped forward. "Noah's just upset that he didn't get any sleep. He'll be fine."

"Says the guy who..." Noah paused. "Nevermind."

Confessional

Noah: "Now that I know for a fact that Jordan took my book, I'll get much pleasure out of watching him stew in agony. Face it. The team wants him gone, and coming out as a thief is probably the worst thing for him right now."

Jordan: "Now that Noah knows I took his stupid book, he's obviously going to scheme my elimination. I was going to plant that horrible Noah and Cody erotica carp under his bed and let the team find it, but it got wet when I dove into the river yesterday." *Groans* "He's one tough nut to crack, but I'm great at busting nuts."

End Confessional

"Alright," Chris explained. "Before you go into the catacombs, I have one last surprise for you."

"Is it a four ton bag of bricks that we'll have to carry?" Eva asked sarcastically.

"Uh, that was my line," Noah said, smiling. Eva glared back.

"No," Chris sighed impatiently. "It's not a bag of bricks. It's..."

"Yours truly!" A shouted rang out from behind the campers. The group spun around and saw Harold standing behind them.

"It's Harold, our latest addition to our intern family!" Chris said.

Noah's jaw dropped. "No! Why?!"

"Because I'm awesomeness incarnate." Harold walked up to the group wearing a typical intern outfit composed of khakis and a red shirt. "That, and the ratings are down."

"Don't remind me Harold," Chris said. "But yes, our ratings are down."

Jordan glared at Chris. "And that brought him back because…"

"He said his presence would increase the ratings."

"Right," Harold said, walking through the crowd. He was met with rolling eyes and scowls. "Gosh, guys. Try to lighten up."

"Oh, lighten up!" Chris said. "That reminds me. You have a challenge to complete."

Tyler jumped forward. "Oh yeah. I'm ready to bring the pain!"

"Yeah, to yourself," Samantha snorted.

"Hey," Tyler said in defense. "I'm not that clumsy." He began to walk forward and tripped on a rock, faceplanting into the ground.

"I rest my case." Samantha smiled and walked past Tyler with the rest of the campers.

Brick pulled a headset out of the crate and put it on his head. "So, how does this thing work. Is it like a night-light, because I really like night-lights."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Chris shrugged. "Now get moving!"

The campers groaned as they squeezed into the small hole in the side of the cliff face. Tyler and Jordan ended up blocking the path with their bulky frames and the team's had to push through.

"Watch it!" Tyler shouted as Eva pushed him down on the other side of the opening.

"You were in my way," Eva said, treading over Tyler's body and stepping on his hand, causing him to scream.

"Don't scream," Dawn told the athlete. "We don't want to cause a cave-in."

"And don't say that," Ethan warned her. "I've seen the movies. Saying something about a cave-in always makes one happen. It's, like, the law of nature."

"You know," Dawn told the YouTuber. "I love nature, so I'm sure She won't let any harm come to us. And don't worry about your crush not returning your feelings. The world is full of people with love for you."

Ethan looked at Dawn nervously. "When did I say anything about a crush?

"It's in your aura," Dawn replied, placing her hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Your's reads like a book: you have very low self-esteem."

"Stop. Just, stop!" Ethan groaned, backing up and crashing into the ground.

Suddenly, Harold was heard screaming from outside the cave. The campers watched as he fell through the hole in the cave wall.

"Gosh!" He stood up and wiped himself off. "Way to go easy on me, Chris!"

"You're not coming with us, right?" Eva asked, cracking her knuckles one by one.

"Come on, guys," Harold said to the group. "It's not that bad. Plus, I brought these." He reached into his pockets and pulled out two walkie-talkies and handed one to each team.

Samantha fiddled with the antenna. "So, uh, how do you use one of these things? Is it like a radio?"

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "You can't be that stupid, can you?"

"I'm from a farm! The only technology I ever use is the radio and the television."

"Here," Harold said, taking the small radio from Samantha's hands. He turned it on and did a quick test. "See, guys. My mad skills come in handy."

"Like when you bombed over boobs and voted off?" Noah smiled.

"What?!" Samantha began to laugh. "I gotta hear this!"

Harold put his hands around his hips and channeled his inner sass. "Hey, that was a great moment for my life."

"Getting voted off?" Brick said as he turned on his light.

Harold gasped. "No! Seeing boobies."

Jordan and Tyler snickered and Harold spun around to face them.

"I bet you guys have never seen boobies. You don't have the right vibe for ladies."

"Oh, I've seen boobies," Jordan said. "Hell, I lost my virginity when I was-"

Eva slapped her hand over Jordan's mouth. "Too much info. Let's just get moving. The sooner I'm off of this sprained ankle, the better."

The campers agreed and turned on their lights. They followed Eva down the cavernous tunnels.

Samantha slowly made her way to the back of the line and tapped Jordan on the shoulder. "Hey, how's your situation on the Foxes?"

Jordan shook his head. "They hate me," he whispered. "If we lose again, I'm going home."

"Same here," Samantha whispered in his ear is a depressed tone.

"I've spent all my time trying to get Noah to quit the game out of annoyance so I can be the leader, but it ain't gonna happen. I'm lost."

"What?!" Samantha gasped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What? You told me to ruin his image." Jordan glared at Samantha.

"Yeah, but I never said to make it a hobby."

Jordan sighed. "Perfect. I guess I-"

"Hey," Eva shouted. "Stop!"

Samantha and Jordan paused and saw Eva holding her arms out wide in front of the group as she looked out across a wide opening.

"What?" Dakota asked her impatiently. "Is something wrong? Why did you stop?"

"Something's weird with the floor." Eva pointed to the floor of the cave, which sparkled with a translucent glow.

Harold gasped. "Don't move! It's not a floor!" He knelt down on his knees and poked at the ground. "It's a very thin type of rock formation. Step on it, and everything will collapse."

"So, does that mean we turn back?" Brick asked nervously. "Because, I don't like this place and really want to go."

"Not a chance, private," Eva snarled. "We're winning this challenge,and I'll make sure it happens if it kills me."

"Uh, don't push it, Eva," Dakota told the iron woman. "We need our team alive, remember."

"Screw you," Jordan told the others as he pushed them out of his way. "I'm going for it."

"No!" Harold gasped. "If you put too much weight on the rock, it'll break and we'll all die!"

"Well, I don't want to sit here and listen to your babbling," he retorted. Jordan took a single step onto the rock and watched as it cracked under the weight of his foot.

Confessional

Dakota: "Jordan's an idiot. I'm surprised Samantha would actually trust the guy."

End Confessional

Jordan inched his way across the cavern floor, being especially careful not to break the rocks, but each step shattered the rock like glass. He closed his eyes and continued to slowly move across what could be a bottomless pit.

"Don't fall!" Noah chuckled loudly from the edge of the chasm.

"Shut it!" Jordan shouted. Suddenly, he felt his foot hit a solid structure. He looked down to see that he had reached the other side of the abyss. "Yes!" he shouted, rattling the cave and dropping a few rocks from the ceiling that crashed through the glass-like rocks.

"So, who's next?" Dakota asked. The rest of the campers looked to each other.

"By theory, the lightest people should go first," Harold said. "Who's the scrawniest person here?"

Everyone turned to Noah, who raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Uh, not me."

"You have to go next, Noah," Harold told the bookworm. "You're the weakest guy here."

Noah desperately looked to each of the other campers. "What about Ethan? He probably weighs less than a feather."

"What?" Ethan asked in confusion. Upon realizing what was about to happen, he backed up into the cave wall and begged for mercy. "Please, don't make me go! I'll do anything else!"

Suddenly, Eva grabbed the basement gamer and carried him by the hood of his jacket to the edge of the chasm. "Go."

Ethan reluctantly put a foot forward and saw the rock crack around his step. He whimpered like a puppy and put another foot on the rock sheet.

Suddenly, the rock began to crack around the lanky teen, shattering like glass. He screamed and tried to jump back to the other campers, but the entire structure collapsed and he fell into the void.

"Oh crap!" Noah screamed, pointing at the rapidly crumbling cliff that the group was standing on. "Run!"

Eva wobbled on her hurt ankle and fell to the ground where she was swallowed by the darkness below, along with Noah and Harold who couldn't keep up with the rest.

Dakota braced her herself against the cave wall as she watched Brick, Staci, and Katie fall into the chasm as it shattered the earth. She felt a warm presence grab her foot and looked down to see Tyler and Samantha, along with Dawn, inching their way up the wall to safety.

When the dust cleared, Dawn opened her eyes and looked around the open room. No one was left.

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked her, slapping her back.

"I'm fine, but I feel that the others are in grave danger."

"Well, they did fall down a hole," Dakota said, rubbing her temples profusely. "I hope they're safe."

Samantha stood up and shook the rubble from her golden hair. "What happened?" she groaned and rubbed her eyes.

"The floor collapsed," Dawn said, pointing to the massive chasm that had been revealed by th crumbling of the cave floor. "Everyone else fell down into the pit."

"Holy shit," Samantha cursed under her breath.

"Uh, that was a swear." Tyler poked Samantha in the arm. "You shouldn't do that."

Samantha scoffed in disgust. "Really? That's what matters? What are ya' gonna do, collect a quarter for the swear jar?"

"That's not important, guys," Dakota said. "We need to find a way out so we can tell Chris about what happened."

"We have these, brainiac," Samantha sighed, pointing to her helmet. "They have cameras in them, and I'm pretty sure that Chris has everything under control."

Meanwhile, Chris and Chef were monitoring the cameras and trying to get a visual on the other campers. As Chef fiddled with the wiring under the set of fuzzy screens, Chris was anxiously biting his nails.

"Please tell me you can fix this," Chris told Chef.

The burly co-host pulled himself out of the wiring. "It ain't our screens, dude. It's the cameras. They're wrecked. Done. Sizzled."

"I get it! Now how do we fix it?"

Chef stood up and crossed his arms. "What do I look like, a genie? The problem's on the kid's end, so we got nothin' to go on."

"Great," Chris sighed in anger. "Why does something like this always happen when I send minors into caves?" He picked up his walkie-talkie and turned it on. "Hey, come in! Anybody?"

Chris was met with static and buzzy sounds that contained no trace of speech. He slammed the radio down and turned to Chef Hatchet. "Forget it. I'm bored. Got any ideas?"

Chef stroked his chin in deep thought. "We could play some Candy Land and watch My Little Pony."

Chris uncomfortably raised his eyebrows and moaned. "Uh, Chef?"

"Oh, sorry," the co-host said. "Those were, uh, just suggestions."

"And they should stay that way. Forever."

Jordan beat his fists on the wet wall of the caverns as Katie moped around on the floor. She held a small picture of Sadie and herself in her hand as a tear dripped down her cheek.

Confessional

Katie: "I know we fight over stupid stuff. I know that now. I just wish I could apologize to her right now."

End Confessional

"I can't die!" Jordan shouted in panic. "Not before I become a big rap star and make millions. I can't die like this! Not like this!"

Katie stood up and wiped her face with her sleeve. "Will you shut up?"

Jordan turned to look at Katie. "We're trapped in cave, and all you can do is think about yourself?! We're gonna die if we don't get out!"

"You're one to talk," Katie sobbed. "All you do is make every sad and upset. You're a horrible person!"

"I dont care! Just help me find a way out!" Jordan continued to grab the wall, looking for something to climb.

"Well, maybe you should ask nicely," Katie told the airhead.

"Jordan Doe says no," the golfer sneered.

Katie felt her fists clench and lost all control. She jumped at Jordan and sunk her fist into his back, causing him to turn around and grab her wrist.

"Take this seriously!" he yelled. "Just for five minutes!" He dropped her arm and looked into her eyes. Both teens stood in anger as their breath echoed throughout the caves.

Noah slowly stood up, trying not to lay on his bruises. When his vision cleared, he turned his head and saw Eva, Harold, and Ethan looking at him.

"What?" Noah asked. "Is there some random thing on my face?"

"Uh, a little lower," Eva chuckled.

Noah looked down to see that his cargo shorts had somehow disappeared, leaving him in his boxers. "Perfect."

Harold patted Noah on the shoulder, earning him a glare is disdain from the bookworm. "Don't worry, Noah. I've been deprived of shorts before. I feel your hilarious pain."

"Eva?" Noah said, smiling.

"Yeah?" Eva answered, cracking her knuckles.

"We're allies, right?"

"I guess."

"Good. Now punch this guy in the jaw," Noah said, tapping Harold's shoulder.

"Can we not fight, please," Ethan whined. "I don't like fights."

Eva rolled her eyes and sat down on a boulder. "Whatever. I don't feel like abusing you anyway."

A moment of awkward silence followed until Ethan cleared his throat. "So, uh, where do we go from here?"

Harold looked around the cave and took note of two passages on opposite sides of the chamber where the group had landed.

"Well, there are two paths," Harold said. "If we follow the one with an air current, we'll find the way out, even though you guys won't win the challenge."

"I knew that," Ethan said. "I play Battle Questers all the time. I even have a 'All Stars Badge of Cave Exploration' on my profile. You could watch my YouTube videos if you want to see it in person."

Noah rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Hold on, dude. I swear I've seen you online before."

"Do you mean 'TheCommonNerd999?' That's me!" Ethan jumped up and shook Noah's hand. "I'm so glad to have you as a fan!"

"Hold on, you're the CommonNerd?!" Noah asked in shock.

"Yeah," Ethan said, smiling.

"Dude, it's me," Noah chuckled. "Sarcasm King!"

"No way," Ethan gasped. "You're the Sarcasm King, the only player to ever reach a score of two billion in a single round of 'Crypt Crusader?"

"It was three billion," Noah laughed.

"Uh, explanation?" Eva groaned.

"Were friends!" Noah cheered. "We play together all the time online!"

Confessional

Ethan: "This is great. Noah and I are friends and gaming buddies. This is the best day of my life!"

Eva: "Ugh. Nerds."

End Confessional

"So let me get this straight," Eva said. "You two pencil-necks know each other?"

"Of course," Ethan told her. "We've gone on, like, a hundred quests!"

Eva rolled her eyes. "Wow. That's a waste of time if you ask me. Games? You need to hit the gym once in a while. Both of you."

"Uh, we don't hit gyms, Iron Woman," Noah quipped. "We acknowledge their existence and leave them to the meat-heads like you."

"Meat-head?!" Eva bellowed.

"Well, to be fair, you're not that bright," Harold said.

"As much as I want to kick your heads, enlighten me, geeks."

"Well, you can't do complex math or correctly identify the initial velocity of a ball falling through a vacuum, can you?" Ethan asked her.

Noah sighed. "Ok, that last one had me confused. Just putting that out there."

"No, but can you lift a two hundred pound weight over your head like a sack of flour?" Eva smiled and pushed Ethan.

"No, but can you, uh, er... I got nothing." Ethan hung his head in shame.

"Figures," Eva grinned. "You eggheads are so stuck up over your brains."

"Correction!" Harold jabbed his finger into Eva's cheek. "The term is boisterous and we aren't 'stuck up.' We're just intelligent enough to know how to flaunt it around."

Eva sighed after a moment of silence. "Maybe we should get moving. We only have so much air... and patience."

As the group of four began to walk down the pathway, illuminated by their headlamps, Harold cleared his throat arrogantly. "Did you know that air is made of a mixture of various gases, with the most plentiful being Nitrogen? Well, did you?"

Noah turned to Eva. "You sure you're not up to punching him?"

Brick was lying on the cave floor and shivering in fear as Staci tried to pull his up by his beefy arms.

"No!" Brick pleaded. "I don't like the dark!"

"Please," Staci groaned. "We have lights. You'll be fine."

"Lights or no lights, I'm not moving a muscle until I see daylight."

Staci put her hands on her hips and glared at the cadet. "Look, Brick. I know we're on different teams and we've only talked once , but this is a life or death situation!"

Brick looked up at Staci. "Yeah, in the dark!"

"I know you're afraid, but we need to work together as friends. We can't get out with me carrying you, and friends never leave other friends behind."

"We're friends?" Brick asked. "Uh, since when?"

"Well, yah, we've been friends for about five minutes, but friends are friends, right?"

"Well, of course." Brick turned over and sat up, still holding himself in the fetal position. "But I don't even know you at all."

Staci laughed. "Yah, being on one episode really cramps your social life. When I got home, I was the laughing stock of the school. One time, my teacher even laughed at me and played my elimination in class."

Brick giggled. "Really? Mine too! Of course, we weren't in the dark, so it wasn't a problem!" He squealed in fear and buried his face in his legs.

Staci was feeling horrible for Brick. As someone with obvious issues, she knew that Brick had to confront his fear.

"So, uh, if you want, we could hold hands as we walk."

Brick looked up and cringed. "No thanks, ma'am, but I hate being touched in the dark. All I think of are tentacles and claws and bony fingers!"

Brick buried his face again and Staci let out a moan of confusion.

Chris and Chef were sitting at a small table in the monitoring room as dozens of screens flickered without signals.

"I don't get it," Chef said. "The cameras were brand spankin' new. How could they not work?"

"I don't know, go ask the store owner I bought them from. But seriously, how could they brake on the first use?"

"You put batteries in those cameras, right?" Chef asked Chris. "It's kinda important."

"Of course I put batteries in," Chris sneered. "I personally remember... Oh, wait."

"What?!"

"I might've used the batteries to power my industrial strength hairdryer."

"But that means..."

"No footage?"

"Dead kids!" Chef exclaimed. "What if they down there?!"

"Relax, buddy. I'm sure they're fine... or something. Plus, if they actually die, we won't have any footage proving that we're responsible for it. It's all cool."

"Chris, this is Total Drama, not the Hunger Games! They could die!"

Chris stood up and pushed in his chair. "Yawn," he joked. "I'm off to the hot tub. Wake me up if you find the kids."

As Chris left the room in mid-conversation, Chef gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Confessional

Chef: "I'm strict, but I ain't no killer. Five seasons of abuse, neglect, and canceled paychecks is just wrong, but eleven dead kids is pushin' it. Looks like I have to take matters into my own hands."

End Confessional

~A/N~ We're nearing the halfway point in this story, so I hope I can keep up the updates to once a month at the most. School hit hard and I'm sorry for any trouble.

Now, for some big news. I have another competition story in the works and want to finish this one first. However, I'm growing less interested in "Underdogs" and more interested in my new idea, so I'm wondering if I should go ahead and write another story on top of this and my Sugar and Max story. If you have any words of wisdom or some good old advice, let me know. I'll even tell you about my idea if you want to hear about it.

For now, drop a review, hit that follow button, and... some other third thing.