Apologies to all for the relatively late update, which is due to the World Cup occurring. Go USA! Back to the story, I do not own any Total Drama characters or OCs, except Seth. Now, sit back and enjoy the newest installment of Total Drama Next!

Back at the downtrodden lodges of Camp Wakanawa, it was just past the crack of dawn. Everyone was sleeping peacefully, but alas good times don't last.

The abrupt screeching of a trombone interrupted the enervated campers' forays into dreamland.

While this saved the contestants from the equally terrible air horn, the result remained the same: frustration and fury from the campers.

Gwen brought her fist extremely close to the perpetrator, none other than one Chris McLean.

"You'd better have a good reason for doing this," she growled.

"No, I don't," Chris smirked. "You'll be given 10 minutes to get ready while I enjoy my long bubble bath,"

Confessional Cam

Gwen- I hate that man.

Noah- Understatement of the year.

The quarrels of the past few days had ceased now that Duncan had left the island, and Gwen and Heather were just too fatigued to pick a bone with each other.

Shawn craned his neck to get a good look at Ginger, trying as hard as he could while not letting Gwen or Heather notice this. Catching sight of him, she gave him the best weary smile she could conjure, before going back to stabbing at the pathetic glob Chris called 'tavern food'.

Unbeknownst to him, Heather had eyes for only another camper, namely the Jamaican jock who was conversing with Ezekiel. She felt envy that the brickhouse was able to befriend almost anyone under the sun, while she was doing squat. However, the dominant feeling was a queer one, a sweet sensation that the queen bee had not experienced for ages.

Meanwhile, Keely was unable to restrain herself from looking at Jared with a love-struck expression at the Osprey side. That encounter the day before had led to something more between the two, and it was reciprocated as Jared returned her newfound affection with a radiant smile.

Meanwhile, Danny and Chastity were chatting up a storm. Danny recalled his countless forays that led to spades of embarrassment for his victims, while Chastity also eagerly spoke about her family and fellow cheerleaders.

All this made Cody seem like the fifth wheel on a car. The usually sweet-talking tech geek was strangely silent today. After all, he had not much luck in pursuing ladies and even Noah and Ezekiel had hopped on the love boat.

Lindsay was looking seductively at Noah and his mandatory book. While Noah was trying to shy away from this attention, his heart probably told him otherwise. After all, the girl in question was far from a plain Jane.

Back with the Jays, DJ was trying to tutor Ezekiel on dating, but did not have much luck.

"Izzy, may I ask you in?" Ezekiel said, pretending that DJ was the flame haired girl.

"Man, you got it wrong. It's 'ask you out', not 'ask you in',"

"It's all right! Zeke has a lot to learn about the real world!" Possessing the ability to suddenly strike, Izzy startled both teens, causing Ezekiel to nearly fall out of his seat.

The dreaded trombone then came on again, signaling the end of their mealtime.

"Today's challenge is the good ole warrior's challenge!"

The first to reveal their exhilaration was (no prizes for guessing correctly) Harold.

"This is so awesome! I have been to Warrior Steve's Warrior Camp and I obliterated the competition!"

"In a Dungeons and Dragons contest," Seth jibed, as Allison frowned at him.

Confessional Cam

Allison- First it was Duncan, now it's Seth. Can't Harold get a break from the tormenting?

Seth- I do anything I see fit here. In this case, I like to bully social rejects. C'mon, it's for leisure! Why does everyone get so uptight over this?

"First up is the Warrior Woman Fashion Contest. 2 females from each team will be chosen by me, because this show is all about me!" Chris gloated.

"Up for the Ospreys are easily Lindsay and Keely!" The Ospreys cheered at their chances of winning.

"Up for the Jays are… Gwen and Ginger!"

"What? You can't make us do this!" Ginger said, fuming. Like an active volcano, her mentor was about to blow up.

"Yes I can, I govern things here. By the way, the fashion contest will be judged by the greatest fashion contest judge in history, me! I will award the win to the team that impressed me the most. You will have fifteen minutes to get yourself ready. Let the fashion contest begin," Chris vociferated.

Soon everyone could see why the twin goths loathed this challenge so much. The "tribal woman" costumes were tight, revealing the wearer's "assets".

"We're not going out in these!" Gwen argued adamantly.

"Too bad, your opponents will go one up if you forfeit this round, and I'm sure your teammates won't hesitate to vote you off," Chris replied.

"Fine, I'll maul you if we don't win in the end," Gwen threatened, before taking a potshot at Chris, who was turning away. The kick did not reach its target, only serving to almost trip up the Goth in her high heels.

"It's time for the fashion show! First up, we have the Ospreys, Lindsay and Keely!"

Several of the guys almost blew it when Lindsay arrived. Noah was trying to lean back to stop the nosebleed he was about to get, while Cody had already secreted spit and was controlling the damage with Kleenex.

Keely was shy and decided to serve as foil for her mentor's outstanding beauty, but she didn't go unnoticed by Jared, who cheered for her voraciously.

Next was of course the unwilling goths, who struggled in their high heels as pointed out earlier. Seth and Heather simply smirked at the pair, while Shawn looked concerned, specifically for the ravenhair on stage.

Finally, after a fumbling catwalk from the Jays, the winners were announced.

"And the winners of the opening challenge are… the Jays!"

"This is ridiculous, how could the Jays have won," Noah complained.

"It's simple, the Jays provided more entertainment," Chris said, chuckling at the near mishaps the Goth girls had. "In comparison, the Ospreys bored me to death,"

"Oh REALLY?"

Lindsay uncharacteristically shouted into the host's ear, sending immense tremors down his eardrums.

"Ow, my precious ears are not to be toyed like that!" Chris whined.

"That primal scream won't do you any favors, because I'm not reversing my decision. This means that the Jays go into the next challenge with the advantage!

Next, the campers made themselves to the lake for the next part of the challenge.

"The second task is quite facile. You have to build a raft that can support your entire team's weight. Since Jays won last round, they get the advantage of using rope to connect the materials. The Ospreys get string! Each gets 30 minutes to come up with a decent ride!" Chris announced.

"How are we supposed to build something out of these? Even my knowledge in technology won't help much," Cody asked, holding up a piece of the flimsy material they were awarded.

"We can get this together, let's go team!" Chastity encouraged, bringing a smile to Cody's face.

Meanwhile, it was a totally different story for the Jays. While they had the advantage of stronger material, it was a clash of ideas. Gwen, Seth, Izzy and Heather all had their own idea on the construction of the raft, unlike the Ospreys, who planned systematically.

"I feel that this idea will reduce downforce!" Seth argued against Gwen, only to get hit in the back with a barrel. The assailant was of course the wild Izzy, who wheeled away. In anger, Seth hurled a barrel, hitting the unfortunate Ezekiel. This only proved to make the situation more chaotic than ever, as Heather was not exactly soft-spoken about her idea. The rest of the team, led by DJ and Ted, tried to rectify the problems with the raft, but there was only so much they could do when half the team was quarreling. Soon, the horrid trombone playing signaled the end of the raft building.

"Now it's time to put the raft to the test," Chris announced. "First up, the Jays,"

The Jays lugged their "creation" into the water. supported by randomly situated hunks of wood and three barrels (the fourth had rolled off), secured by unequal lengths of rope.

They got on the raft, with Ezekiel heaving a sigh of relief. He may have jumped the gun there, as soon after the raft imploded. The raft began to slip its moorings as first the barrels, and then the wood came unhinged. A resounding splash was heard as all passengers fell off.

Unable to curb his laughter, Chris said, "Now the Ospreys just need to stay on the raft for seven seconds to win!"

The Osprey raft did not look the biggest deal around, but it definitely provided way more security than the one their counterparts had. They sat on it… and it did not budge a bit, still remaining as reliable as ever. This awarded the easy win to the Ospreys, tying up the three-challenge series.

"Dumb (bleep)," Seth muttered as he walked away from the rest of the Jays, who were contemplating how they lost despite the advantageous circumstances.

Just then, he saw something that piqued his interest: a black bandana with the peace sign on it on the porch of the Ospreys.

Smirking mischievously, Seth thought, "Perfect, my plan is locked and loaded,"

"The next and final part of the challenge is this!" Chris proclaimed, pointing to the lake, where a gargantuan floating platform resided.

"The remaining 17 who have yet to participate in a solo challenge will do battle- in this Warrior Battle Royal. In order to win, just knock your opponent off the platform and into the lake below. The last warrior standing for his or her team will gain victory for his team. Of course, like every warrior of old does, you'll fight with weapons. Namely these,"

"Sticks?" Heather exclaimed. You want us to fight with puny sticks?"

"Yes, since both teams blew, both will literally get the short end of the stick,"

"Yeah we're fighting with sticks, the apocalypse has arrived," Noah said drably.

Giving the bookworm the cold shoulder, Chris continued his verbatim.

The campers save for Gwen, Ginger, Lindsay and Keely stepped onto the platform via creaking boards. Once the hockey player stepped on the square terrace, he felt the ground move under him.

"What did you use to make this?"

Confessional Cam

Chris- Ha, the materials came from a used goods shop. I bet that won't make a difference.

The contest began with the Ospreys using their one-man advantage to take out big man DJ from the challenge. Realizing that he didn't like the water one bit, DJ screamed and quickly swam to shore. Heather was distracted by DJ's screaming and was easily taken out by Jared.

"Damn Devon Joseph, did you have to do that?" the queen bee said, exasperated by DJ's ill-timed interruption, as the goths laughed at her disheveled hair.

"Sorry," he whimpered.

Confessional Cam

Heather- I may have been too tough on him there. (Buries her hands in her face) No wonder I can't seem to make any real friends here.

Meanwhile, the Jays' troubles continued as Kate took out Danielle by strategy. The aspiring writer weathered her opponent's flurry of stick swiping. Afterward, when the time was right, she sidestepped Danielle's charge, sending the hyperactive girl into the water after the latter could not resist hurtling over the edge.

However, with Ted as the proverbial Goliath, the Jays soon regained some ground. Harold tried to use his mad skills, but it was to no avail as he was picked off, as was Kate and Noah.

"Nate!" Lindsay cried.

"I swear I will call upon Kratos to tear you apart, Chris," Noah cursed as he coughed up the cold water.

Meanwhile, the glorified "fun" that Chris put them through continued as a team effort from the Ospreys took care of Ted. True to her character, the wild Izzy swung in and took out Cody and Chastity on the way, as well as herself.

"Chastity, are you all right?" Danny asked. When Cody and Chastity came up together, however, the prankster felt like a wasp stung him. From there, Seth easily got him out of the way.

Remaining Warriors:

Seth, Ezekiel and Shawn (Jays)

Allison, Jared, Bridgette (Ospreys)

It now came down to the final 6. Bridgette had done well due to the presence of the water around her, but this calm was ended when Ezekiel rammed into her, eliminating the surfer girl from the competition.

Unsurprisingly, the perpetrator was impenitent. Seth smirked at the upset Ezekiel.

"Hey, I thought you liked her. I'm giving you two some time to bond,"

Allison had seen enough and charged Seth, being careful to not let her fury dictate her movement. The snake lover dodged and they clashed sticks at the edge. However, Seth was hardly getting the advantage, as the multi-talented female was equal to his every move. Therefore, the straightedge strategist backed away, but this only allowed Allison to take the initiative. With a flying kick to the gut, the multi-faceted young woman destroyed Seth's flimsy weapon and sent him into the water, eliminating him.

"Wow, that was classic," Noah said as most of the campers cachinnated at Seth's elimination from the battle royal.

The schemer threw a tantrum, splashing water wildly as he swam to the shore.

Meanwhile, Jared and Shawn were doing battle on another end, ignoring the massive splash that Seth caused when landing.

They traded blows, with neither seeming to gain the advantage. Just then, Shawn drew back his right foot and then went for a high side kick his idol dubbed the Sweet Chin Music, taking a page out of Allison's book. However, Jared was equal to it and pushed him off with his free hand, sending him face first into the lake.

With both Seth and Shawn gone, this meant that poor Ezekiel had to take on two skilful rookies, as evidenced in the action just a while before.

The prairie boy fended off both weakly. As Jared tried to impose his superiority over Ezekiel, Allison got ready to charge. As she lunged, a fearful Ezekiel slipped, but the toque wearer's foot caught Allison's, and sent the girl into the water, ending her awesome run.

Jared tried to take advantage, but Ezekiel swiftly blocked in a desperation move and tried to back the sportsman off. Jared would not be easy to beat, and it was he that dominated the action, sending the homeschooler nearer and nearer to the far from pleasing water. Just then, Ezekiel despairingly tried a kick to the sportsman's fine abs, but as Shawn had proven earlier, it was not going to work. Desperately using his free leg to hop back towards the center, Ezekiel looked simply to survive. Jared released him, but Ezekiel amazingly bent backwards, freezing in midair to avoid elimination. Jared charged but that would be a fatal mistake, as Ezekiel jumped and flipped him over with his knees, finally proving to be the sportsman's undoing.

"And the winner of this battle royal, Ezekiel! He wins the Jays immunity and a warrior's dinner!"

The Jays (save for Seth, who was still fuming over his embarrassing defeat) celebrated as Ezekiel got a peck on the cheek from his flame-haired crush.

"That was awesome, Zeke! Where did you learn that? Izzy wants to perform that cool move,"

"I learnt that from watching wrestling on TV, eh,"

Confessional Cam

Seth- (The content of this confessional was too vulgar to be revealed)

Ted- Haha, Seth, that display was simply weak. Try listening to your mentor for a change.

Harold- Boo yeah; my rookie has the mad skills!

Allison- After that kick, Seth won't be bothering Harold and Ezekiel for a long time.

One person had been conspicuously absent from that final challenge, and she was more than justified. An upset Keely was rummaging the Osprey cabin for her bandana, but that was no easy task given the darkness of the cabin.

When the deflated and unsure Ospreys returned, they obviously got a rude shock. Keely, face flushed from anger, had literally single-handedly destroyed their cabin.

"I can't find my bandana," she said curtly.

"C'mon Keely, there was no need to mess up our quarters," Cody said, flabbergasted.

"Oh, she drools more over a bandana than my lab dog drools over rib-eye steak,"

"Nick!" Lindsay said, surprisingly frustrated by Noah's jibe.

"You don't understand," Keely ran off weeping.

Silence emanated among the usually jovial Ospreys, before Jared began to run after her.

A while later, Shawn came in with a black bandana. "Have you seen Keely? I found this on my luggage,"

Enclosed in a restroom cubicle, Keely vented her frustration by hurling a toilet roll over the cubicle. It missed Jared by a hair's breadth, astute enough to dodge.

"Keely, are you there?"

"Go away," the onyx haired girl warned.

"If this is about the bandana, I'm sure we could find a solution,"

"The only solution to this problem is to find my bandana!"

"I can't…"

"Do you know how much it means to me?"

"Keely, I know there's a reason for you acting this way. Why don't I share your pain?"

"You'll never understand… the bandana was a gift from my mother. This was her last gift to me… before she died. Run over by a car,"

Upon conclusion, the peaceful girl unbolted the door and ran into Jared's arms, sobbing uncontrollably as Jared felt the tears sting his eyes as well.

Confessional Cam

Noah- Obviously I know who's going tonight. I didn't mean that comment, but someone who gets emotional over a bandana won't benefit our team much.

Kate- It's been nice knowing you.

Chastity- I wish our team had won, but unfortunately we didn't and we have to send a nice person home.

Bridgette- Jared told me to vote someone else off. As I would like to, everyone on this team has been nice first. Even cynical Noah is not that antagonistic. Sorry, Jared.

Jared- I know it's a lost cause, but I'm still voting for Noah as he antagonized Keely there. I'm crossing my fingers.

"All right, the Ospreys have cast their votes. There are 10 marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come out to receive your marshmallow. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately walk the Dock of Shame and board the Boat of Losers. You can't come back… Ever!

Marshmallows go to the following people,

Lindsay…

Cody…

Kate…

Harold…

Chastity…

Bridgette…

Danny…

Jared,"

"Noah, Keely, this is the last marshmallow for the night. Both of you sucked when you had the chance to shine. Now one of you will not be returning. The camper who is safe tonight is…"

Lindsay looked genuinely concerned for the pair who was still without their marshmallows. She did not want a teen that had brought so much excitement to her life, ironically through his monotone jokes, to go. However, that would have to come at the cost of losing her rookie and friend. Jared of course was worried, much more for the ebony-haired female than the sarcastic bookworm.

"… Noah,"

Noah just silently delved into the marshmallow that he received, while Keely, now with bandana back round her arm, was resigned to her fate.

"It's all right, I had fun here while it lasted. Goodbye,"

"No, you can't go just like this! You're a sweet girl and shouldn't be going so early. You still haven't got an opportunity to showcase your fullest potential…" Jared vehemently protested, but was cut off by Keely's lips meeting his.

After breaking apart, the peace lover went on to hug Lindsay.

"For the greatest mentor in the world,"

"You too. By the way, why are you comparing me to the screen on a computer,"

"It's mentor, not monitor, Linds," Noah said in exasperation, which caused the two females to giggle.

With that, Keely got in the Boat of Losers, ending her forays into Camp Wakanawa.

"Whew, filming has finally concluded. Time to take a well-deserved shower," Chris concluded.

Little did he know of the prank that was going to hit him?

While Chris was gleefully partaking in the enjoyable process of showering, Danny swapped Chris's clothes for the "warrior woman" outfit the ladies donned earlier.

An exasperated yell erupted from the showers later as the prankster's plan came to fruition.

Danny, Cody and Chastity laughed, having fooled Chris not once, but twice. For now, these happy scenes would be what defined the Ospreys despite their loss that day.

And the day concludes with the Jays' first victory at Camp Wakanawa. Sincerest apologies to Rebel Cupcake, whose character was voted off this episode.

On to the next episode, we have seen some tension between the Ospreys, having seen enough from the Jays. Will Seth rebound from the wake-up call that Allison gave him, or will Allison continue to dominate this inter-team rivalry? Will the Ospreys bounce back from defeat? Will new complications in the relationships arise? All these to be answered in the next episode of Total Drama Next!