Disclaimer - The rights of Total Drama Island and its characters belong to Teletoon, Cartoon Network, and all those associated with the show. No profit is being made by this fanfiction. If you are allergic to raccoons, I apologize for any rashes you got in the last chapter.
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Chapter 13 (Day 04, Part 2) - Insert Your Own Chain Joke Here
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The teams were all facing a rather large pond, where a raised platform was set up on both sides. Three long planks were positioned between the platforms, and the campers were fairly certain what the challenge was.
"So we're going to walk across one of the planks to the other side while cuffed to the ankle of our partner," Bridgette said aloud, saying what they all were thinking.
"Exact-amundo," Chris exclaimed. "Every couple linked at the ankle will have to walk across one of the planks. If anyone falls in, one of the two will be eliminated from the contest!"
No one said anything. If they dared asked, "Is that it?" or "That's all there is to it?" or "That seems tame enough," they would receive a nasty surprise.
They didn't need to ask. Chris was happy enough to bring up the stinger.
"Oh, and I wouldn't fall in that water if I were you," the host said. "That water is almost near boiling!"
The campers all gasped in horror. Owen scooped a glass out to pour into his bowl of oatmeal, and ate happily.
(Confession Cam - Must be Celsius, this is Canada.)
Heather - "I seriously wanted to push Chris in that water. It would be such poetic justice. But for this time, I'd settle for knocking Gwen in if I could."
"Major Ownage gets to use the left plank, the 2 Gs go down the middle plank, and Mad Crazy Skills are traveling down the right plank," Chris explained. "Who wants to go first?"
"Me me me me me me me," Izzy shouted. She jumped up and down, yanking Katie off her foot and onto the ground. "This is like that time I was captured by pirates, and they were gonna make me walk the plank, but I turned around and kicked his sword away from him-"
"Going then?" Chris interrupted.
"Yes yes yes, woohoo," Izzy shouted, running towards the platform, dragging Katie behind her.
"What did I do to -ow!- deserve this?" Katie asked as she was dragged away.
(Confession Cam - We personally think Katie doesn't deserve it.)
Harold - "Maybe this is just Chris's excuse to have a boiling pond so he can throw in a few lobsters afterwards."
Cody - "I knew I was doomed! Trent must hate me, what boyfriend wouldn't? He probably would unlock his cuff then push me in."
"Steady, Courtney," Heather said as they walked sideways. Courtney barely nodded, focusing on walking and not falling off.
"And then I threw the captain overboard, taking his hat and his peg leg," Izzy chattered, walking forward, "and his men swore their allegiance to me, and I had a parrot on my shoulder-"
"What'd you do with the peg leg?" Katie asked. The tan-skilled girl was crawling on her stomach, backwards. She may have been terrified, but she still was interested in Izzy's story.
"Oh, I used it as a doorstop."
Noah and DJ were still chatting about their computer game, War of Prism. The egghead was stating how surprised he was that nature-loving DJ played a computer game. Turns out, his girlfriend got him on it.
"Usually, guys have to beg their girlfriends," Noah remarked. He started to wobble, waving his arms around like pinwheels, but DJ got him. The football player was strong and graceful enough to support them both.
Harold and Gwen were desperately trying to cross, but Harold was slowing them down by scooting on his bottom while Gwen walked. "You'd better not try looking up my skirt," she snarled at him.
"I wouldn't do that, gosh," he protested.
Duncan and Leshawna were doing well as far as pace, but not attitude. "I hope you don't fall in," the criminal was saying with a wicked smile, "or you'll be one hot sister!"
"I seriously hope you didn't find that funny," she replied, grumbling.
"If your boyfriend falls in, he'll be Hot'old!
"Duncan, I am warning you-"
"If you fell, you'd be Le'sauna!"
"That does it," Leshawna said, "I'm diving."
She didn't, however, but Cody looked like he would have preferred it. "So, Trent, we're cool, right?" he asked, with a whimper.
"Yeah, we are," Trent replied. "why do you ask?"
Cody chuckled more, sounding nervous. "Oh, no reason."
"Is this about Gwen?"
Cody spun around, almost knocking them over. "No! No no no! Of course not! Gwen? Hehe, ehehe! Nosiree!"
Trent tried to calm the skinny boy down, but Cody was waving his arms around so much that he was beginning to lose his balance. The musician grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
"Cody! Look, it's cool! I know you like Gwen, but I also know you are being cool and not hitting on her! So we're cool!"
The geek let out a long, relieved sigh. "That's great, Trent. Oh, and one more thing..." "Yeah, Cody?"
"I think I'm losing my balance."
In stereo screaming, Trent and Cody toppled over into the water. With horrible screaming, they thrashed in the water.
"Do the butterfly, do the butterfly," Cody was shouting, while Trent preferred to doggie-paddle his way to the shore. When they pulled themselves up and out of the pond, their skin was a painful, bright red.
"That looked like it hurt big time," Izzy said. A large grin spread across her face. Katie started screaming "no no no" until the redhead finally agreed. "I'll do it after the challenge then."
Bridgette, who saw her teammates go over and into the hot water, cringed horribly. She wobbled, then grabbed onto Ezekiel from behind.
"Oh, we're not gonna make it," she whimpered. "Just unlock the cuffs and go on without me!"
"Are you crazy, Bridgette? I'm not gonna leave you behind, eh!"
"No, you don't understand, Zeke! I have the worse balance on land! I'm gonna fall, I know it!"
She wrapped her arms around him from behind, whimpering. Ezekiel stopped and his eyes went wide, as Bridgette's breasts were now pushed against his back. He went stiff, and tried desperately to focus more on his balance.
Noah also had a very nervous partner after Trent and Cody went over. Though he didn't find holding DJ's hand as exciting.
(Confession Cam - Just repeat to yourself, it's just a show.)
DJ - "I really appreciate Noah for helping get over that plank. I didn't think I'd make it. Maybe he's not as uncaring as people think he is."
Noah - "DJ's pretty cool, but he sure has sweaty palms. I wonder how he manages to hold onto the football."
Beth - "Boy, I thure am glad I wathn't up there."
DJ and Noah were at the other side, the big guy breathing heavily. Noah told him what a brave boy he was, patting his hand. Duncan and Leshawna were also across, and the large sister was shaking the punk by the collar, daring him to make one more pun. Harold and Gwen also made it across, and the goth girl was still sour at Harold.
Izzy and Katie weren't across yet. The redhead was showing Katie how far over she could lean without falling off, and the BFFF was silently saying good-bye to Sadie.
"Bridgette, listen to me," Ezekiel said. The surfer had wrapped her arms around his chest so tight that he was having a hard time breathing. "You... you gotta keep going. I know you can do this. Just... -grk!- take deep breaths!"
Bridgette did as he suggested, calming down her frayed nerves. After a few more seconds, she whispered, "Now what?"
"Now...," Ezekiel wheezed, "you could... let me breathe." She let go of him, and he almost doubled-over at he gasped for air. "Okay, eh," he said after collecting himself, "just take this one step at a time. Here we go, eh."
The two carried on, slowly but surely. Heather noticed this, and scowled.
"They're getting ahead," she shouted to Courtney. "We need to speed up!"
Izzy and Katie had finally made it across. The redhead noticed the two groups still walking on the boards, and her sinister grin came back. "Hey, Katie?" she said to her partner. "Feel like jumping up and down?"
Katie didn't know what shocked her more: the fact that Izzy wanted to shake her opponents into that near-boiling water, or that she actually asked to do something before she did it! "Actually, yes," Katie said with a wicked grin of her own. "I doubt Heather would like that."
The two started jumping up and down on the platform, causing small tremors on the boards. The four contestants still on the planks screamed in terror; DJ, safe on the ground, screamed too, though only he knew why.
"Katie! Stop that right now," Courtney shouted at her former teammate.
The BFFF recognized her teammate's shout and stopped, but Izzy didn't. She was performing a tap dance on the platform, clapping her hands and appealing to an imaginary audience.
Ezekiel and Bridgette finally made it, with the surfer gripping the prairie boy from behind, heaving in fear. Katie grinned at Ezekiel and nodded, while the toque-wearing boy shrugged at this, wondering what the girl was silently congratulating him on.
"Izzy," Heather shouted, "when I get over there, you are so dead!"
"Oh yeah?" the redhead shouted back. "I'm the one with a license to kill!"
At "kill," Izzy stomped directly on the Major Ownage's board. The vibration traveled down the plank and knocked both girls off. They splashed in the extremely hot water, and scrambled to get back to the shore.
Heather was now a painful-looking red, while Courtney's tan skin looked darker. The two girls panted as steam came from their soaked bodies.
"Now Courtney looks really hot," Duncan remarked, grinning. Leshawna knocked him down at this and dragged him away.
(Confession Cam - Just a mild warm, thank you.)
Courtney - "Izzy is so dead!"
Katie - "Izzy is so cool!"
Duncan - "Courtney is so hot! Woohoo!" \Leshawna, who is still linked to him, starts to throttle him.\
"So, we have a few cooked campers here," Chris noted as he watched Heather wring out her hair while she and Courtney glared daggers at Izzy. "I flipped a coin a couple times while you all were recovering from that wild challenge to see who was taken off, right Owen?"
The large teenager was scarfing down noodles, which he had prepared with the hot water from the pond. He nodded and continued to eat.
"That reminds me, tell Chef to get the lobsters ready," the host muttered before turning back to the campers. "Courtney and Trent, you both are out. So that means Eva will be with Heather, and Cody with Beth."
Heather was horrified while Cody smiled and shrugged. Eva narrowed her eyes at the popular girl, while Beth grinned at her new partner.
After finishing his noodles, Owen, with Chris's help, put the handcuffs back on everyone's wrists. The campers exchanged looks with their partners, old and new, before turning back to Chris.
"Just don't ruin my shoes," Heather hissed at Eva. "Or my hair. Or my nails. Or my-"
"Shut up," the muscular girl grumbled. The queen bee obeyed, although quite grudgingly.
"Your next challenge is going to be interesting," Chris said.
"Painful," Leshawna translated.
"Well, maybe not. Depends on how much you like your cuff buddy," the host said. "We're calling in a couple helicopters to have you taken a couple hours' length of hiking distance from the camps. Being the generous host I am, I am making it a rather easy hike, as you will all have compasses and a map, and you only have to head directly south."
Heather looked at Eva, and began to sweat. She was seriously considering using her own key now.
"You merely have to walk back to camp together, without killing one another! Last one back loses one of the members! Any questions?"
"They allowed to take anything with them?" Tyler asked.
The handsome host turned to the odd-man out. "Umm... sure, yeah."
"Courtney, get my make-up bag before I go, will ya?" Heather asked the CIT. The brunette shrugged and headed off to the cabins.
Katie wanted a picture of Sadie before she left. Harold wanted to bring a bag of snacks that he had been saving. Gwen wanted to bring Trent, but Chris had to draw the line there.
(Confession Cam - We sense your presence.)
Eva - "So, trapped in a middle of a forest with Heather for a couple hours. More than enough time to kill her and hide the body." \She chuckles and rubs her hands. Then she stops suddenly and looks around at the camera.\ "Um, that's a joke. If anything does happen to her, it was purely accidental."
Trent - \He is shaking in fear, whimpering.\ "Please, don't let any bears attack Gwen! No lions, no tigers, and no bears!"
They were taken up in the air by helicopter. Katie had to hold a hysterical Izzy, who threw up over the side a couple times in terror. DJ clung to Noah, who almost suffocated by the big guy's clinging reaction. Harold wanted to look out over the side, but Gwen was certain he'd fall and take her with him, so she held him back in the helicopter.
When they finally landed, Izzy and DJ kissed the ground in joy. Harold watched the helicopters go, then frowned at Gwen. "It's not every day one gets to be in a helicopter," he said to her. "You could have let me at least look out a little more."
"No. Now come on," Gwen snapped, jerking Harold behind her. His cry of, "Gos-whoa," was the last thing the others heard before the two disappeared into the forest. Izzy, groggy from fright and barfing, was carried on Katie's back.
"So, how long have you been playing a nature magess?" Noah asked DJ as they walked into the forest.
"Well, not too long. I named him after Bunny, did I tell you that?"
"You named a male grove elf Bunny?" Noah laughed.
Heather was applying some powder to her face while walking alongside Eva. "Why are you putting that crap on?" the fitness buff asked her. "There's no cameras out here."
"I doubt that," Heather replied. "Chris wouldn't want to miss it if someone gets killed by a bear. I hope Gwen or Leshawna do."
Duncan and Leshawna went into the forest, shouting, "I'm leading," "No, I'm leading," "I'm holding the compass," "No, I'm holding the compass," "You want me to kick your butt, white boy," "Well, I'll kick your butt, which is a much bigger target!"
Cody and Beth went in, discussing all the wild times they had at their high school; it was more than likely both were exaggerating for every story. Bridgette and Ezekiel headed in together as well, making small talk.
"So, think a woman can use a compass properly?" Bridgette asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"Better than I could, eh," he replied, shrugging. "You know how I'm not an outdoors guy."
"That's a shame, Zeke. Mother Nature is gorgeous," she then sighed, looking upset. "I just wish I wasn't so frightened of her."
"It actually soo'prised me when you admitted you were scared of being left in the foo'rest alone, when you love nature so much. Bad experience as a child, eh?"
"Really bad," Bridgette admitted. "I loved nature so much when I was a kid, I wanted to see what it was like deep in. So, like a little idiot child, I ran as far as I could into a forest. I was lost for three days, and when they found me, I was famished, scratched up, and sick with fear.
"I don't think I'll ever be that scared again, I wasn't even that scared on that last challenge compared to that experience," she admitted. "My mom didn't even have to punish me for running off, it was obvious I had learned my lesson. But not that I'm older and could explore without getting lost, I'm too terrified to be in the woods alone."
She managed to smile and look at Ezekiel. "That's why I'm glad you're here. I just wish you enjoyed the outdoors and fresh air as much as I did."
"I could get used to it, eh," Ezekiel said with a shrug. "Though I was raised for about ninety-five percent of my life indoors."
"You've got a lot to learn, Zeke," she said, giggling. "I'm just glad you got over the whole 'women aren't as strong or smart as men are' attitude. May I ask what changed that?"
"Tell you what, eh. We make it through this entire challenge alive, in one piece and not in last place, I'll tell you, eh."
"Goody," she said with a giggle. That happy gleam in her eyes with that cute laugh made Ezekiel swoon inwardly.
(Confession Cam - A little later limited.)
Chris Maclean - \snaps his fingers\ "Darn it! C'mon, Zeke, my fifty bucks are at stake here! I installed cameras out there to capture you hitting on Bridgette! ... And if any of the campers get mauled by a bear, of course."
"That is amazing! You guys actually managed to take down Gradowtyce the Death Guardian?" DJ asked, smiling widely
"Yup, it was a wicked fight," Noah admitted. "We had been trying for about three months, destroying every other boss easily, and then we finally killed him. Luckily, I got everything I wanted from the previous bosses for my necromancer."
"Didn't they make him easier next patch?"
"Yep. It was announced the day after we killed him that he was going to be easier," Noah rolled his eyes. "That's life for ya."
"Like nature, it can be cruel," DJ said with a nod. "Still, you get bragging rights."
"Sure do. So, how far have you got in your raiding with your nature magess?"
Before DJ could answer, a great, big, brown bear stood up on his hind legs, growling fiercely. He let out a loud roar, scaring Noah and DJ out of their wits. With two high-pitched screams, the boys ran as fast as they could as the bear chased them.
(Confession Cam - Completely random in order.)
Bear - \in bear language, Bearican\ "i wussent gonna hurt dem, i just wanted dem to shut up; i had to listn to dem talkin bout dat stoopid game fur twenty minutes"
"I cannot make head or tail out of this map," Harold wheezed as he stared hard at it.
Gwen, impatient enough as it was, snatched it from him. "That's because you're holding it upside-down!"
Harold was quiet for some time, looking ashamed. He managed to summon up his courage a few minutes later. "Look, Gwen, as long as we're going to be stranded out here, we might as well get along."
"Yeah, right," she growled as she studied the map.
"I'm serious! Being out here in the wild with my allergies acting up is bad enough, but I don't want to be handcuffed to someone who cannot stand me."
"Harold, face it. We're far too different to ever have any kind of friendship."
"That's not true," he balked, looking upset.
"Oh yeah? Name one thing we have in common!"
Harold had to think about it for a while, tapping his hairy chin. "We... both like Leshawna?"
Gwen lost her ugly frown as she realized this was true. "Okay, I have to give you that one," she remarked. "Why do you like, anyway?"
"She's so special and unique," Harold gushed, clasping his hands together in front of his heart, accidentally yanking Gwen's to his thin chest. "She cares about people, she won't take any crap from bad people, she can speak her mind...
"It's like she was made to be a guardian of some kind. And she's so beautiful too," he said as he grinned a lovesick grin. "That hair, that mocha skin, that body of hers that looks so healthy and strong."
"Okay, okay, I get the admiration," Gwen said, trying hard to cover a smile. "But Harold, while you admire her, are you sure you and her are a good couple? There are a lot of differences between you two."
"I've heard that before, actually," Harold said with a chuckle. "I actually wanted to make sure someone like her would be right for me. So I sold some of my cherry action figures so I could afford to take a plane ride over to her city and a hotel nearby. It was for about a week, and-"
"Whoa whoa whoa," Gwen shouted, holding her hands up. "Hold the phone? Your cherry action figures?"
"Yes."
"You... you sold them? My brother has cherry action figures that are more dear to him than his legs!"
When Harold simply nodded, Gwen could not stop her smile for the brunette nerd. "Wow. You really are in love with her."
"Yes," he replied. "It was worth it. We really learned a lot about each other, and I got along great with her family."
"That's a good thing, getting her family's approval."
"Yeah," Harold said, looking a little upset now. "Just wish my family approved."
"How could they not like her?" Gwen was shocked by this. "She's so caring and tough and resourceful and... and..."
"Well, my mom and dad think it's not safe to be in a relationship at my age, and my brother and sister," he rolled his eyes, the first time Gwen had ever seen him do that, "well, they disapprove of everything I do, why would this be different?"
"Maybe if they met Leshawna, she'd change their minds," the goth girl replied. She grinned wickedly as she added, "by slapping some sense into them."
"That would be great," Harold said with a grin.
Heather and Eva walked, quiet for over an hour now. Heather had applied lipstick, eyebrow pencil liner, facial powder, eye shadow, nail polish (much to Eva's chagrin when she had to have the hand chained to her's), nail filer, and had demanded a rest so she could paint her toenails too.
Apart from the fact that Heather seemed to breathe in a condescending manner, Eva was okay with what they had going. And what they had going was no talking, no arguing, no dragging someone across the dirty ground (which would have been Heather if she had done either of the first two).
Also, Eva had her iPod. She was content in not talking to the demoness when she could listen to Flirting with the Succubus.
"You've been awfully quiet, Izzy," Katie remarked after about a half-hour into their trek. "Still woozy?"
"Lil' bit, yeah," the redhead replied. "You wanna talk?"
"I do love talking, but I tend to babble," the tan-skinned girl admitted. "And I like to ask a lot of questions. You mind?"
"No, I don't."
"You like anyone at camp?"
"Owen," Izzy chimed, her face lighting up immediately.
"Ah, I forgot about that completely," Katie said. "May I ask how you two get along?"
Izzy beamed. "Oh so well! Owen used to be a bit crass and careless and ready to push me in front when serial killers came at us, but I trimmed the roughest of edges off of him. He's so nice and kind and friendly... and..."
Izzy blushed, the first time Katie had ever seen her do that. "He really likes me. And honestly, a girl as smart and wild and adventurous as me doesn't get a lot of guys who are interested. They're usually scared away or treat me like a balloon filled with explosive gas."
Katie could certainly see why, but not now, not while Izzy was showing a vulnerable side that she (or for that matter, anyone else) had ever seen. "That cannot be true, Izzy. I mean, you have gorgeous hair, green eyes I'd kill for, you're in shape, and you have the most, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, the most unique personality I've ever seen in anyone, ever."
"That's usually what gets them running," Izzy said with a shrug. "They don't like being around this girl who is so different, that they cannot predict. But Owen likes that about me, he likes being with me.
"And I'd be really stupid to turn down someone who's not only interested in me, but is so nice and generous and likes a lot of the things I do."
Katie nodded. "Wow, Izzy. I gotta say, Owen's a lucky guy!"
"Thanks," the crazy girl said as she bat her green eyes. "Oh, there's something I'm gonna ask you that will spoil the mood of the conversation, but I'd like to ask it now before I forget!"
The BFFF still smiled as she shrugged and asked, "Is it about my boobs?"
"Nope," Izzy cackled. "Who do you like here? A boy that is, not Sadie, that's obvious."
"Well," Katie said, blushing, "I actually... really like..."
"You're kidding me," Beth shouted at Cody, an incredulous look on her face. "No one at school asked you about Total Drama Island?!"
"Nope," Cody admitted. "Oh sure, they were talking about it. People had favorites and those they bet on, but they didn't ask me about it."
"How ith that pofthible?" the farm girl cried out, spit flying from her mouth with that sentence and from excitement. "You were here, on the island! You met everyone, you were on the team that had four out of the five finalithts! Why wouldn't they talk to you?"
The geek shrugged. "I dunno. Guess they didn't think I knew enough to bother them."
"Didn't people even talk to you about it? Mention it at all?" Beth was waving her arms around, sending Cody's skinny arm flopping around too. "How could the popular kidsth not want to have you at their table at lunch?"
"Well, there were a lot of nicknames going around."
"Huh? Like what?"
Cody chose to study the map as they walked at this point. "Oh, you know... 'Bear Bait,' 'Goth Chaser,' 'Gwen Fanboy,' 'Body Cast'..."
Beth gasped as if she had been told something foul. "They didn't!"
"Yep, they did. No big deal, I guess."
"What do you mean, 'no big deal'? You were one of the contethtants on the most popular show in Canada, and all they could do is think up mean nicknames for you?"
Cody sighed. "That's the way it is sometimes, Beth. Maybe I just went to the wrong school," he said. "Well, you never know. Maybe I'll find one of those fangirls that the other campers keep talking about."
"Aww, that'd be thwell," Beth said, clapping her hands. "Dating a girl who'th really into you, like having a dream cruth come true."
The geek chuckled, then went back to looking at the map and compass. Beth smiled during the silence, then she looked around as if to find the answer to a question she had on her mind.
"Cody," she said, rather slowly, "do you... do you still like Gwen?"
"I like her, yes," he replied. "But she's with Trent now. And even if she wasn't, I don't think she'd be into me."
"It's a little bit like forbidden fruit, ithn't it?" she asked with a nervous smile. "The girl of your dreams whom you still want when you know you cannot have her."
"Too true, Beth. You ever have that?"
"Well, a little. But... naw, never mind."
"No, go on, tell me."
"It might make you feel bad."
"I can take it. I survived a time bomb explosion, a bear mauling, and more in my life, I can handle the truth."
Beth took a deep breath, then nodded. "Well, I really wanted to be popular before I wath at Total Drama Island. And when I went back to school... boy, people wouldn't stop asking me quethtions. I got to hang out with the popular kidsth for thometime, as well as my own friends! People were asking about me or Heather or Gwen or you."
When Cody looked at her, she nodded. "Yeth, there were quite a few girls who were asking about you. Real cute ones too, you know!" She winked, and the brunette geek giggled, flushing slightly. "And they also told me over and over how much they loved me standing up to Heather!"
"I was proud of you too, I just had my mouth bandaged at the time."
"I'm glad you didn't get any noticeable scarths."
"Well, one," Cody admitted. He raised the left side of his shirt to reveal four, bear claw slashing scars that went down from his left breast down to his naval, one of them almost dipping into his belly button.
"Wow," Beth marveled. "That's quite... oh... may I?" she twiddled her fingers in front of the scar.
"Naw, I don't mind."
Beth ran her fingers down the scar lines, then smiled. "It is true then, I guess."
"That wrestling a bear is a bad idea?"
"No, that chicks dig scarths."
They shared a good laugh, then continued on their way.
Noah and DJ ran up the highest cliff on Wawanakwa Island, fleeing from the bear. When they reached the top of the cliff, the two young men skidded to a halt. The bear stopped as well, glaring at them.
The large football player lost his balance and started to lean off the cliff. Noah grabbed him and yanked him back, which caused the bookworm to fall off instead. Grabbing the egghead's wrist, DJ held on tight.
Dangling a thousand feet over open water, Noah was still cynical. "You know, when I said I wanted to hang out with you... I didn't mean-"
"Don't you say that," DJ shouted. "I ain't facing one of my worst phobias to hear that old pun!"
Noah gasped at this, showing a rare case of concern. "You hate heights, man?"
"Terr... i... fied...," the gentle giant whimpered, "but I'm... not... letting you... go...!"
Fear kept DJ from pulling Noah up, he was too scared to move. The bear was watching, paws over his mouth, in terrible suspense on what was going to happen.
Noah knew what he had to do. "Well, DJ, I know what I have to do then," he said as he took his handcuff key from his pocket.
"What? Noah... no!"
"I ain't gonna ask you to jump, and I know how to get to camp from the beach down there," the tan-skinned boy replied with a grin. "Sorry DJ, but you gotta spend some time with your animal buddies while you head back."
He unlocked his side of his handcuffs, and the lack of the extra support caused DJ to drop him. It all seemed to happen in slow-motion to DJ, but it happened pretty darn fast to Noah, who plummeted down to the water below.
(Confession Cam - We provide better cliff hangers.)
Bear - \in bear language, Bearican\ "how terible! how dramatik and tear-jerkin! an he didnt even make it into da safe ring! lukily da sharks wur on vacation, dey send me postcards"
Duncan and Leshawna were getting along opposing sports' fans.
"It's been about an hour and a half, and we aren't anywhere close to the camp," Leshawna shouted. "Why the hell did I let you use the map?"
"Look, Ms. Loudmouth, it was because you kept insisting we go around all the obstacles," the punk shouted, waving the map up in the air. "We should have gone around all the trees and boulders and the other nature crap! Maybe I should drag your oversized buff through the shrubbery-"
"Don't pull that tough guy business with me, you don't intimidate me," she fired back. "If anyone gets dragged, it's gonna be you!"
"You think I'm pulling an act, how about you?" Duncan replied, his temper rising; his face was getting red. "You act so tough and proud, and you're dating the nerd!"
"Why you!"
She leapt at him, and a large (albeit partly-chained) fist fight erupted. The animals of the forest had never seen a comic book's action scene, but this would do.
Ezekiel pulled a small electronic device from his pocket: Tyler's iPod. He popped in one of the headphone pieces into his right ear and started shuffling through the songs.
"You got one of those? I didn't even know you owned one," Bridgette said.
"I don't, this is Tyler's, eh," he admitted. He grinned and offered her the other earpiece. She took it and inserted the earpiece in her left ear.
They listened to music for the rest of the hike, and were first at the campground.
"Yay, hooray," Owen shouted. He ran over to the two and gave them big, one-armed hugs, almost crushing them.
"Bravo, guys," Chris said as he clapped. Ezekiel couldn't help but feel that Chris was unhappy with him, though he couldn't think of why. Lindsay and Trent applauded for their teammates, while the prairie boy retuned the iPod to Tyler.
Soon following were Harold and Gwen, Izzy and Katie, and Heather and Eva. Most were surprised that Heather was not only in one piece, but she actually looked more polished up than when she left.
"Eva, way to go not killing her," Chris congratulated the fitness buff, who grunted and shrugged.
DJ came back alone, looking upset. When the campers asked him where Noah was, the bookworm came walking down the beach, still wet and quite tired.
"It's a long story," he said to silence their questions. "So I'm gonna write about it, and you all can get a copy."
Cody and Beth came to camp next, and it took an extra half-hour for the last couple, Duncan and Leshawna, to finally arrive. The two were a terrible mess, both dirty, scratched up, and he had a black eye.
"Ooo, too bad, you two," Chris said, as happy as a kid receiving a present. He flipped a coin and then looked at Leshawna. "Sorry, sister, but you're out."
"That's fine by me," she shouted as she used her key to unchain herself. "I won't stand being chained to this unprincipled moron for any longer!"
"Suits me fine too, you probably need to go back to your fantasy novels," Duncan shouted back as Leshawna stormed away.
"Duncan," Courtney hissed at him when he made a face behind Leshawna's back, "what did you say to her?"
"Just that it's weird for her to be dating a nerd when she's this sister of the streets."
"Look, normally I would agree but we're trying to win a challen-"
"Hey," Gwen shouted, "what's wrong with her dating Harold, huh? Just because he's different, he can't date her or something?"
Chris loudly cleared his throat. "Okay people, settle down. We can discuss strange couples later. Right now, we need to focus on getting some of you eliminated! We still have a ton of ideas!"
Izzy and Katie, the former laughing and the latter screaming, ran from a furious moose. Cody and Beth were also running, but were rammed from behind.
Harold and Gwen, chained to the ankle, were logrolling as alligators chased them. Heather, still chained to Eva, was screaming as she ran, her make-up began to run and looking freaky as her sweat made her skin look dual-colored.
Bridgette and Ezekiel clung to each other as they were balancing on a thin post over a pit of snakes. DJ, now chained to Izzy, had climbed up on the redhead's back and shivered in fear; the crazy girl was having a hard time holding him up while staying balanced.
After those dangerous challenges, most of the campers looked pretty bad. Major Ownage looked the worst. Heather, with ragged hair and smeared make-up and baggy eyes, was hunched over. Eva, scratched and bruised, tried to stand up straight with her arms crossed. Duncan stood nearby them, nursing his eye with an ice pack.
The 2 Gs looked worn out. In fact, Ezekiel was hardly able to stand on his feet while Bridgette held him up. A very muddy Beth stood next to them.
Mad Crazy Skillz looked fine compared to them, especially since Izzy, muddy with her hair and clothes messed up, was beaming as if this was her birthday. Harold and Gwen, though looking tired, still looked ready for more.
"Okay campers," Chris said, tapping his foot. "You guys are way tougher than I thought. You always manage to astonish me on how hard you'll try."
Owen applauded giddily, Chef clapping as well. The eliminated campers looked earnestly at their teammates.
"With three left on each team, we've decided to leave it down to one challenge," Chris said. "Once a team is eliminated, we will begin the invincibility challenge. Then... the marshmallow ceremony!"
"What's the challenge?" Gwen asked. Chris's smirk went deeper, and the nine remaining contestants looked very nervous.
(Confession Cam - Are places like this phony?)
Gwen - "I hate it when he does that."
Bridgette - "If Chris worked retail, he'd be the Nazi manager that everyone hates."
Izzy - \squeals\ "More fun! I hope this excitement never stops!"
Continued in Part 3, the Immunity Challenge and the marshmallow ceremony!
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'Flirting with the Succubus' is not a real band, in case you were wondering.
Part 3 will be coming shortly. Also, if you don't know by now, the official blog for Total Drama Island / Action has announced that the next season will have Chris, Chef, fifteen of the original characters, and, unfortunately, no new characters.
The following characters look to be the main characters for Total Drama Action:
Courtney, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Duncan, Gwen, Owen, Leshawna, Trent, Geoff, Bridgette, Justin, DJ, Izzy, and Beth.