Author's Note

Greetings once again, dear readers! I can tell you're all excited about this series - seriously, 47 reviews is a heck of a lot, well above my expectations for the premiere. As honored as I am to have such a large and dedicated fanbase, it will take a lot of space to answer everything as I always do, so please bear with me.

Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: A big Gwent fan, eh? Good to know. The idea of having them on separate teams from the start is something I thought would be an interesting twist, and I'm looking forward to how it all plays out.

DSX62415: Thanks! I hope you get your keyboard troubles resolved soon.

Glowing Insanity: Haha, yeah. Although getting half the cast right on a blind prediction is about what you would expect, since there were only 27 campers left to choose from they're pretty much evenly divided between the two possible generations.

VIPGuest: Yeah, I think this cast has a lot of humor potential as well. I won't comment on your proposed love triangle, but I do hope I'll be able to change your opinion of Leonard at least a little bit. As for the chapter length...well, I expect they'll be about the same overall since the only length to be saved is from a lack of musical numbers. Oh, and the pun is a reference to an old (and terrible) movie series called 'Revenge of the Nerds'.

PizzaTheBomb: Glad to hear it! And a pretty good assessment of the cast, too; there's a lot of quirk and different personalities that'll be fun to play off one another. And for people like Gwen and Trent who you're not too keen on, well hopefully I'll be able to make them a bit interesting with the Shuffled season.

Gage the Hedgehog: Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy the season.

atom king: Thanks, and yeah I'm gonna do my best to develop as many people as I can. As for Izzy's back story...well, you'll just have to wait and see what I have planned for her this season.

StarHeart Specials: Hah, I'm glad you like so much of the cast's potential, even if it means that some pairs are never gonna form. No Shuffled AleHeather is regrettable, but I can live with it, whereas Mike and Zoey...well, I'm not that big a fan. Though I disliked the canon Sky/Dave storyline even more, to be honest. Anyway, I hope you enjoy what happens next!

Tokusatsu-31st Century: Glad to hear it, and cool name change.

The Prime Writer: Ah, fair enough. I look forward to hearing your assessment of the first two episodes of the new season. I'm glad you enjoyed the last few chapters of World Tour, with Ella's character development and eventual win. And as for her and Tyler as a couple, part of what I wanted to show with them was that even if you've been crushing on someone for awhile, it's still okay to not only want to take things slowly, but even to try and move on from it. A single teenage crush isn't the be-all and end-all of your love life, even if it does seem like you could be a good pairing. So did Ella and Tyler ever officially hook up, and what became of them if they did? I'm admittedly not entirely sure. But I do know that they're still friends, at least.

moka evans: Thanks! And yeah, I will say that there necessarily has to be three villainous (or villain-like) characters from this season if only for All-Stars to work properly. Who those are will be revealed in due time, though - same with Noah and Leonard's relationship.

Sarcasm is a Habit: Wow, someone who's actually okay with Leonard being in the cast! Hah, but anyway, I'm really glad this cast is going over as well as i expected it to, it's a really great mix. The nice cabin getting destroyed again was...honestly just me not wanting to describe the inside of it right now, and because things exploding are always nice. And as for your story, I'll look into it when I have the time, probably tomorrow. Another reviewer suggested it too, actually, so yeah, I'll check it out.

Animation Adventures: Yup, like I said it's really not a cast any of us would willingly hand select. And as for TSPI's imbalance...all I can think of is that most of them really have no business getting stranded in the woods with no food or shelter provided for them. It's gonna be tough to figure things out without a strong Shawn or Jasmine analog, but I have some ideas about what to do. And yeah, a bunch of couples are broken up...I'm most disappointed about the lack of Noah/Owen and AleHeather, but I can make do without them.
I'm glad you're enjoying things so far. Figuring out how everyone would react with this season as their first has been...interesting. Most are basically just the same as in their canon debut seasons, but since basically everyone here has already been watching the series and came in knowing roughly what to expect from the game, it's allowed a few to be a bit more active than they were in their debut seasons - Noah and Justin especially.
But yeah, this cast is gonna be interesting. There's a lot to look forward to, I think.

bruno14: Glad to hear you're already excited for Pahkitew Island! There's a lot of ideas I have for that season that I'm looking forward to writing. And yeah, you managed to predict six members of this cast right, which is to be expected - there was about a 50% for any of the possible contestants to be in this generation, so it's only natural that most cast predictions would be about 50% right. As for Gwent...well, I wouldn't give up on them so easily. That said, I hope you enjoy the rest of the season.

Lulu'sBackInTown: Haha, well, I'm glad I'm not like most authors in that regard. I take pride in the fact that I've done a pretty good job developing most of the underused characters that got Shuffled into the first generation cast, so it's only natural that I'd keep it up and give Leonard a go.

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks! Good to hear so many people are understanding about why I decided to make Cody the first boot this season.

Ddynamo: Oh ho ho, quite the interesting predictions you've got there. Not much I can really say about if, of course - you got some thing right, some things wrong, and overall it was an enjoyable read. I look forward to seeing how, if at all, it changes in the coming weeks.

StayOuttaMyShed: Let's see, where to start...well, I'm glad you're loving the cast, even if you're not too excited about Gwen, Trent, Courtney, and Cameron. Jasmine and Harold though? Hell yeah, I'm glad you love them too. There's a reason why I introduced them first, and Jasmine definitely seems like Harold's type. Though how they progress during their time together is a secret that I'm keeping tight. How far each of your prospective villains goes will be revealed in due time, as will their exact roles in the story, and the same can be said of Lindsay, Zoey, and Leonard. And you're right about Cody - without some development already behind him and someone like Sierra to bounce off of, there's not much to him that's really needed in this cast.
As for the Pahkitew Island cast...well, I have even less to say about them right now. You'll just have to wait another six months or so to find out how they get handled.

I. M. Poik: Yeah, I'm definitely gonna be changing the win-loss balance between the Rats and the Maggots this season. But without someone like Scott around to purposely sabotage them, it's only natural that the Rats are gonna win more than they did in canon. And interesting predictions, of course, even if I can't say much about them - aside from what I already told Animation Adventures that some characters will be more active than in there canon debut seasons, simply because they've seen the first three Shuffled seasons and have a better idea of what to expect and do. And also that I hope my plan for Leonard's development actually works where others have apparently failed.

P. T. Piranha: Glad to hear it! And yeah, between the cast and the lack of a Scott-like villain this season's plot is gonna go in interesting directions. The cameos this season will, I think, serve a bit more of a purpose than in canon, or at least have more of an effect on things if only slightly. And yeah, World Tour is gonna be a tough act to follow - but with this cast, and what I have planned, I think this season's gonna be great.

Nickie Mudkip: Had you not gone and decided to plagiarize my work, I'd have more to say to you right now. But I'm still pretty mad, so don't expect so much as an acknowledgement that you reviewed next time.

SomePanLovingGuy: Fair enough. I do hope you enjoy the rest of the season a little bit more, though.

Guest #1: Ehh, Jasmine x Izzy isn't really on my radar right now. Not saying that it couldn't work and be enjoyable, but I've got other things in mind for them. Sorry.

Guest #2: If I see a good opportunity to have a guy hook up with another guy I will, fan favorite status be damned.

Guest #3: You being completely anon makes it hard to be sure, but I think I know what you predicted. As for whether or not Shasmine will happen in this universe, and the fate of Justin and Courtney...well, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see.

Aztec 13: Hmm...well, interesting suggestions, but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see how Noah develops this season. Same thing for Gwen and Cameron...

ashDanLand: Hey, no problem! Those things happen, it's okay. And I agree that the canon Revenge of the Island had a lot of good humor but some problems, and I hope that my version will be able to outdo the canon in some respects. I hope you enjoy it!

FOWLKON: Haha, yeah, I figured you'd be the most mad at me for eliminating Cody first. When you named him as one of your favorites in your last WT review, I winced a little knowing what was gonna come. Sorry to disappoint you, but I just felt that he was the best choice for a first boot. That aside, I'm glad you seem to be interested in how the others are gonna play out. You make a great point about Courtney - she's a perfectionist to the very core, and that's what's always driven her interactions and conflicts with the others in canon. I've got a lot of interesting ideas in store for her...
And yeah, you're right about Noah, Justin, and Courtney's races. I really should've said them outright in their intros, and maybe I'll go back and edit them at some point, but it is what it is and I'm glad you reminded me of them.

Solarr-Eclipse: Wow, I'm glad I brought such happiness to you! I hope I can keep it up this season. And yeah, it's safe to say that this cast is gonna develop quite differently than in canon, at least overall. I hope you enjoy what is to come!

Super Guest: Thanks! And...yeah, didn't even realize it at the time but I guess it would've been tough for Trent to keep his guitar after the explosion. But we know other people managed to get some of their stuff in canon, so it's not that big a deal I think. The guitar's a big part of Trent's image, so it's not like I could just let him lose it.

Star Saber21: Honestly, it's probably for the better that Duncan's not around - it would just make things with Gwen and Courtney more annoyingly like canon. And yeah, I suppose Cody did manage to avoid some more physical pain with his early elimination.

FilipinaPossible: Haha, I don't think anyone was expecting this cast. I know I sure wasn't when I randomly generated it way back when. But, I think it's a good mix, and I hope you enjoy what happens with them.

Knifez: Haha, I knew you'd like this cast. Noah/Gwen...while i could see it working, I'm not sure if it's right for this story. Partly because of Gwent, and partly because if I do ever get around to doing RR, it is possible that I put Noah in it and in that case I'd like to give myself a chance to write Nemma better than canon. But then again, who knows. This cast has a hell of a lot of potential, and there's a lot of ways to go - especially with 7 of them moving on to All-Stars eventually. Oh and about that 52-person season you suggested? Well, that's honestly a bit too many characters for me to handle. If I do ever continue the Shuffledverse beyond simply doing RR, I'd probably do either an underdogs season with all pre-merge boots, or a Survivor-style Fans vs Favorites with half returning non-winners and half new people. But that's way in the future - I still need to get my financial situation sorted out first.

The Misguided Angel of Death: Thanks! I'm glad that yet another person isn't too sad to see Cody go. And yeah, no Duncan or Mike this season really opens up some doors with Gwen, Courtney, and Zoey - I'm looking forward to figuring out how the girls will develop on their own, so to speak.

ferguson97: Yeah, the first Shuffled generation really did have pretty much all the 'S' names except for Sadie and Sky. With how common a letter it is to start of first names, you'd think the characters with it would be better distributed...but hey, this is part of what makes Shuffled what it is. I hope you enjoy the rest of the season!

Call Me Ishmael: Yup, haha, it's one of those casts where it's hard to figure out what to expect from them. But I think that's gonna make this a great season. Interesting predictions as always.

Guest #4: lol good. It was plagiarizing a lot of my own work, so it deserved to get taken down.

mitchn: Thanks, its gonna be quite the ride getting these nerds through the season. Unfortunately, I'll have to turn down your request - it just doesn't fit what I have in mind for either Leonard or Izzy. As for former finalists appearing in TSAS...there's a very high probability that at least some of them will compete.

Moonlights Glow: Hell, and welcome! It's always nice to hear from long-time readers, first-time reviewers, and I hope to hear more from you throughout the season. I'm glad you enjoy the series so much, and what I've been able to do with some of the more neglected characters. Hopefully I'll be able to change a few peoples opinions of Leonard this season, and that even if I fail that you and everyone else will still enjoy the story.

OMAC001: Yup, nothing like a decision like that to shake things up a bit. I hope you enjoy this week's episode!

Explorer of the Unknown: Hey, no problem! You review when you're able to, I completely understand. And yeah, this cast has a lot of potential - I'm absolutely glad I decided to put Gwen and Trent on opposite teams, for one, since it'll change how they (and those around them) react to any attraction between them; there's a lot of ideas I have for them. And Zoey, of course, gets the chance to develop in the absence of her canon love interest - another opportunity I' happy to have. Regarding possible cameos in the next two seasons...honestly, I don't think I'm gonna do them. Both, I think, work better if they keep the focus on their own casts, while the cameos in this season can at least potentially set things up for All-Stars. Oh, and if I did cameos in Pahkitew Island people would be clamoring for Alejandro and Heather to meet and be shipped, but since he'd be 19 and she only 16 at that point in this universe, I'm not really comfortable doing that.

lordkalel: Thanks, though I hope I'll be able to change your opinion of Leonard this season. As for Mike...well, I've given his character and role in TSPI a lot of thought. He and his disorder were handled incredibly poorly in canon, so there's a lot of work I have to do to write him in a way that will satisfy me. I do have plans in the works but, well, it's still about half a year before I start work on that season so nothing's really set in stone yet.

wifishark: Thanks! And yeah, a lot of people were surprised I booted Cody instead of Leonard, which I expected and is why I'm glad I decided to do it. And as for what will become of Dakota's canon subplot...well, you may have a decent idea by the end of the episode.

Guest #5: Oh, uh, thanks, I guess? Like, I'm against the TPP, but I don't honestly think it's gonna affect this site very much.

Joel Connell: Thanks, I'm glad you're looking forward to the rest of the season. I'm not 100% sure what I'm gonna do with Brick and Eva in TSPI right now; maybe they'll compete, maybe not. As for Sky and Dave, I will say that I'm not really a fan of them as a couple, especially as far as canon is concerned; and I do have more of a concrete idea of what I'll be doing with them when it comes to it. And I'll see about checking out that story you suggested when I have the time.

link9753: Awesome, great to hear it! And yeah, it seems Justin, Courtney, and Noah are on a lot of people's lists for this season's villains. Regarding the villains of TSPI, I've already talked a bit about my views of Mike (and therefore Mal) in earlier reviews, particularly lordkalel's, but I will say that the main villain role will almost certainly fall to Heather - it's the role she's most suited for in a debut season, after all. But regardless of what happens on the antagonist front, I hope you enjoy the series.

/

Well, those took forever to get through. But hey, public responses are what I do. Next up is a reminder of the teams:

Toxic Rats: Cameron, Courtney, Gwen, Izzy, Leonard, Noah

Mutant Maggots: Harold, Jasmine, Justin, Lindsay, Trent, Zoey

Next up, a TVTropes page for this series exists, and as per usual with such things, could always use more work. I thoroughly appreciate those who've already been working on it, and look forward to seeing what you all add next.

That's enough Author's Note for now, so let's get on with the show.

- Fangren


Episode 2 – Truth or Laser Shark

"Last time, on Total Drama Revenge of the Island!" Chris opened over a long-distance shot of Wawanakwa, the recap montage beginning soon after. "Thirteen new competitors were blown away by this year's challenges," the host said as the yacht carrying the new cast was shown, Chris maliciously pressed a button on his remote control, and the yacht blew up. "They were treated to an early-morning swim," Cameron was shown trying not to drown as Harold swam up to him, "said hello to the island's wildlife," Cody was shown reaching out towards a hairless squirrel only to get nearly zapped by its eye-lasers, "and did some totem-surfing," the Mutant Maggots slid down the hill and into the air, falling from their totem just before it crashed into the better cabin and exploded. "Ex-plosive!"

"In the end," a few short clips of Cody hitting on Gwen to the goth's annoyance were shown in quick succession, culminating in her being approached by Leonard and Izzy, "Cody's flirtatious ways got on enough people's nerves that they sent him packing, Hurl of Shame-style." The recap footage ended with Cody getting catapulted off the island after getting turned down by Gwen.

"Who'll go home next?" Chris asked the camera from the end of the dock. "And how much pain can I put them through first? Find out right now, on Total! Drama! Revenge of the Island!"

xxx

(Fade to Opening Theme)

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;

You guys are on my mind!

Ya asked me what I wanted to be,

And now I think the answer is plain to see!

I wanna be...famous!

I wanna live close to the sun!

Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!

Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;

I'll get there one day.

'Cause I wanna be...famous!

(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

(Fade to Episode)

xxx

The episode opened on a shot of the morning sky and a few far-away bird calls, a couple sharp notes playing as the camera panned down to the two cabins of Camp Wawanakwa.

The birdsong was joined by several obviously – and badly – imitated calls, and the shot cut inside to the girls' half of the Rats' cabins where a fully-clothed Izzy was leaning out the back window, whistling and tweeting. Gwen was shown in a lower bunk along the right wall, turning over in her bed with a groan and forcing her pillow over her ears, and the camera panned left to show Courtney looking down from a higher bunk on the opposite side of the room. Her hair was tied back in a short ponytail, a pink sleep mask rested on her forehead, and she was glaring at her roommate in annoyance.

"Izzy, what are you doing?" she asked in exasperation.

"I'm communicating with the birds!" the wild child answered, pulling herself back into the cabin and grinning. "They always have such interesting things to say at this time of day."

"Yeah, sure," Courtney said dryly. "But could you talk to them some other time, maybe when the rest of us aren't trying to get some sleep?"

"Aww, but I don't wanna miss out on all the hot gossip!" Izzy pouted.

"What gossip?" Gwen asked, sitting up in irritation so she could glower at the redhead. "They're birds! You can't even understand them!"

"Hmmph," Izzy sniffed, "maybe you can't."

She was promptly hit on either side of the head by her roommates' pillows.

/

The shot cut abruptly to a top-down view of the other half of the Rats' cabin, showing Leonard meditating calmly on a top bunk on the left and what were presumably Cameron's eyes peering out of the depths of a cocoon-like red sleeping bag on a lower bunk on the right. The camera cut in close as he looked around cautiously, until the sound of a door suddenly slamming open and shut startled him enough to poke his head out.

It was Noah – flat against the front door with his eyes wide, his breath heaving, and his clothes dirty. "Wow, what happened to you?" Cameron asked in concern.

Noah quickly became calm enough to smirk. "I was just, uh, out for a morning jog," he explained. The footage quickly cut to a scene of him running in terror from a Woolly Beaver – one with several boney spikes jutting out of its back. The shot flashed back to the Rats' cabin, and Noah added "After doing so poorly yesterday I figured I could try to get in better shape."

"Huh," Cameron considered, "I guess that makes sense."

"Yup," Noah said quickly, brushing the dirt from his clothes as he walked forward. "So, what's with the sleeping bag burrito?" he asked, looking at Cameron's cocoon-like set-up.

"This?" the smaller boy said, pulling himself out of the bag a few more inches. "Oh, well, I was having trouble sleeping last night until I tried recreating my bubble."

"Glad you got that figured out," Noah told him with forced cheerfulness.

xxx

"So yeah," Noah admitted to the outhouse camera in a dry tone, "what I was actually doing this morning was trying to find that 'McLean Brand Chris-Head'," he rolled his eyes as he made air quotes. "I figure if I can find it without anybody else suspecting that I have it, I'll have a bit more leeway in terms of strategy."

xxx

The camera cut back outside the cabins, zooming on on the Maggots' abode on the right then cutting inside to show Lindsay dutifully applying her lip gloss with the aide of a hand mirror.

Zoey walked up behind her from the left, stretching her arms and yawning. "Good morning," she greeted.

"Good morning Chloe!" Lindsay answered in a chipper tune. "Hey, do you have a straightening iron I can borrow? Chris took mine for some reason."

"It's...Zoey," the indie girl corrected in a slow, bewildered fashion, "and no, I don't. Though if I did, Chris probably would've confiscated it like everything else that's even remotely electronic."

"Aww," Lindsay pouted. "I guess I'll have to do without. It'll be tough, though," she added, looking uncertainly at her reflection again and lifting up a loose strand of hair.

/

The scene flashed to the boys' side of the cabin, the camera focusing in on Justin as he slept, bare-chested on a lower bunk on the right wall with cucumber slices over his eyes. A dreamy harp tune played as the camera zoomed in closer and closer, until a quick but soft guitar riff pierced the otherwise silent room. Justin stirred, removing his cucumber slices and blearily asking "What's that music?"

"Sorry, man," Trent said as the camera zoomed out and panned over to show Trent, full-dressed, sitting on his lower bunk on the opposite wall and holding his guitar. "Just needed to get the chord out, y'know? Didn't mean to wake you up."

xxx

"What can I say, ever since I got out here I've been feeling inspired," Trent confessed to the outhouse camera. "I know it's only been a day, but I really think I'm gonna enjoy my time here at camp. Y'know," he laughed, "aside from all the toxic waste and killer challenges."

xxx

/

A serene song played as the scene moved back outside the cabins once more, then up to the top of a tall pine tree where Jasmine was sleeping on a thick branch, a rope tying her leg to it. She woke with a sudden yawn and stretched her arms, then untied herself.

xxx

"I'm not really...used to sleeping in beds like the ones in the cabin," she explained to the outhouse camera. "They're a little small for me, y'know? Most things are, it comes with being so tall. It's a good thing I enjoy sleeping outside," she added with a smile. "And besides," her smile faded into a frown, "it's better this way. The other girls are probably intimidated by me enough as it is without me sleeping in the same room as them."

xxx

The footage cut back to Jasmine as she started climbing down her tree, and the camera quick-panned down to the base where Harold was bent over inspecting the bark with a magnifying glass. He scratched a little bit with his fingernail, then stood upright. "Interesting, very interesting," he said to himself, putting the magnifying glass in his back pocket and taking out a notebook that he promptly jotted something down in.

It was then that Jasmine landed on her feet behind him, shaking the ground and earning a startled yelp from Harold as he fumbled with his notebook.

"Oh, sorry about that," Jasmine told him as she turned around, "I didn't expect anybody to be around this early. What brings you out here, anyway?"

Harold picked up his notebook, adjusted his glasses, and smiled smugly. "I wanted to examine the lifeforms around camp to see what effects their exposure to toxic waste has had on their physiology. I figure anything we know about the mutants will come in handy out here. Plus," he grinned, "they're just plain cool."

"Good call, mate," Jasmine smiled. "So, you got any experience as an outdoorsman then?"

"Of course," Harold said, closing his eyes and puffing his chest up proudly. "I've been in the Scouts since I was seven, and have earned several badges in a wide variety of subjects."

Jasmine snorted out a laugh. "Good to know," she told her smiling teammate.

xxx

"I can tell she's impressed," Harold confessed proudly. "I mean, who wouldn't be? It's not every day you meet somebody with skills as mad as mine. I bet it won't be long before she's all over me," he smirked confidently.

xxx

The scene cut to a seagull sleeping in a nest inside the horn of a loudspeaker. A blowhorn sounded through it without warning, though, forcing the bird out into the air and revealing its snake-like features as it fell.

"Up and at 'em my little morning glories!" Chris called out, sitting on his ATV below. "It's time for today's challenge!" he announced, the camera moving behind him to show the two teams assembled in front, their respective logos appearing on the screen overhead.

"What?" Courtney asked in shock. "But...but we haven't even had breakfast yet!"

"I can conjure up some magical berries for you if you want," Leonard offered.

"No thanks," Courtney in a level yet annoyed tone.

"And I haven't had enough beauty sleep yet," Justin added, pointing to his face and adding "These looks take work y'know!"

"And what a work they are," Lindsay gushed, staring at him dreamily.

"You can catch up on your sleep after the challenge," Chris told him before pointing off to the left and smiling. "Rrright this way, to the Bay of Dismay!"

The twelve campers groaned.

"Hey, you know what this reminds me off?" Izzy spoke up excitedly. "This one time when I went kayaking down the Amazon, uh-huh, and got captured by a lost tribe! They had me tied up for, like, three days without food before I escaped. It was kinda fun now that I think about it."

"Suurrree," Noah said slowly as he, Gwen, and Courtney exchanged a look of disbelief.

/

The scene flashed ahead to the twelve campers walking along at an even pace. "'Bay of Dismay'?" Zoey told Harold as they walked side-by-side. "Yikes! Sounds like one of those fight locations in Total Warriors 2."

"Totally," Harold nodded. "Maybe Chris is gonna have us duel over a pool of ravenous man-eating sharks like in the movie."

"I hope not," Zoey laughed.

The camera lingered a few seconds as they walked off, long enough for Trent and Gwen to enter the shot together. "So, what kind of heinous challenge do you think Chris is gonna put us through this time?" Trent asked.

"Couldn't tell ya," Gwen answered with a small smile. "Even I'm not twisted enough to predict him. But," she paused as Izzy ran by screaming excitedly and unintelligibly, "I bet some of us are gonna take it better than others."

"Yeah," Trent said, still a little stunned, "she sure seems like a handful."

"You have no idea," Gwen told him. Once again the camera lingered in place as the two walked off to the right, replaced as the focus as Cameron and Courtney walked up from behind them.

"I hope this isn't another physical challenge," Cameron said. "I'd prefer something a little more...academic."

"Hrmm," Courtney said, scowling forward, "that would probably be easier for us to win. But it won't matter if we aren't acting as a team."

"Uhh, I suppose," Cameron replied, "but I'm not sure what you're getting at exactly."

"I'm talking about how all of a sudden Gwen is talking to Trent," Courtney explained, still looking forward with an annoyed scowl. "I thought she was gonna stay focused, especially after she decided to get Cody voted out, only now she's fraternizing with the other team."

"Uhh...is she?" Cameron said, looking forward in confusion; the shot cut outward to show Gwen and Trent still chatting amicably as they walked along. "Huh," the bubble-boy said blankly as the shot cut back in to him and Courtney.

"Yeah," the former CIT said, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

The shot cut ahead to the front of the group, where Leonard and Lindsay were walking side-by-side. "So while my robe may not be fashionable," the wizard explained, "it's cloaking powers more than make up for it. Observe!" He dramatically put his arm over his mouth, then dramatically intoned "Disappearicus, convincicus!"

He went silent for a second, then added "Can't see me anymore, can ya?"

Lindsay's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh, I totally can't!" she said breathlessly, looking around in shock.

xxx

"Hey, something finally worked!" Leonard confessed excitedly.

xxx

The static cut away to the body of water that was, presumably, the Bay of Dismay. Three structures rose out of its waters: on the left and right were two-tiered game-show-like seats that housed the Toxic Rats and Mutant Maggots respectively and bore their logos on the front; and in the middle was a single Greek pedestal upon which Chris stood in his blue tuxedo below a large video screen and electronic scoreboard.

"Welcome to the 'Getting to Know You' Trivia Game Challenge," Chris introduced after a short fanfare. "Everyone strapped in all nice and snug?" he asked the contestants.

"Oh, we're snug alright," Courtney answered irritably, squirming in her harness in the center-front seat of her team's stand. "I can barely move in this thing!"

"Yeah, that's what you get with children's size harnesses," Chris chuckled. "I'll be asking our players embarrassing personal questions," he explained, "and I mean majorly humiliating. If the player I'm talking about hits the poorly-wired buzzer and owns their humiliation before the time runs out," he continued as the shot cut back to Courtney looking at the red buzzer on the counter in front of her, the camera zooming out to show Noah on the left, Cameron on the right, and Izzy, Leonard, and Gwen on the back row, "their team gets a point." The camera panned across the Maggots, showing Jasmine, Zoey, and Harold in the top row and Trent, Justin, and Lindsay below. "First team to five wins part one, and a distinct advantage in part two."

"Buuut," Chris added as the shot cut back to him as the tension rose in the background music, "if no one owns up, this happens!" He took out his remote, pressed the button, and with a mechanical whir the elevated stand the Maggots were seated in suddenly dropped into the bay. The music became tense as the shot cut to the six holding their breaths below the water, focusing in on Trent in particular. He looked around and screamed when he saw the large mutant shark with arms and legs looking at him hungrily, and his teammates joined in as the shark reared back to take a bite – but the stand rose back up just in time to take the teens away from danger.

The shot cut back to the surface as the Maggots re-emerged, dripping and coughing and generally frantic. "Dude, there's some kind of, I don't know, two-legged shark monster down there!" Trent told the host in a panic.

"Ya mean Fang?" Chris asked with a broad smile and quick laugh. "Yeah, it turns out toxic waste can mess with stuff underwater too." He pointed up at the screen above him as he spoke, and the camera panned up to show a seemingly ordinary shark drinking a cup of tea on a wooden post underwater...until the music peaked, the screen flashed, and a picture of Fang against a simple teal background replaced the normal shark. "Who knew?"

"Wow, that's so cool!" Izzy said excitedly from the Rats' stand.

"Anywho," Chris continued slowly, "when a team gets dunked, their opponents can steal by guessing which dunk-ee is guilty. Guess right, and you get a point. Guess wrong, and this happens." With a sly look he pressed the button on his remote again, and this time it was the Rats who got plunged into the bay. Fang was shown tying a bib around his neck, then looking behind him just as the fresh set of teenagers came into view. He turned around and opened his mouth to bite, and with the muffled screams and tense music playing the shot cut back to the bubbling surface. Chris put his hand to his ear then pressed the button once more, and the Toxic Rats rocketed back up on their stand.

"Now that we understand the rules," Chris told them as they coughed up water, "let's start the game!" A short gameshow jingle played, and the host pulled a notecard out from behind his back. "To the Rats, now listen carefully," he began, "who wore one of these," he motioned upward to a picture of a diaper that was now displayed on the screen above him, "until they were eleven?"

All six members of the Mutant Maggots began to laugh, as did five members of the Toxic Rats – all except Cameron, who blushed and seemed to shrink in his seat as the camera zoomed in on him. "My mom didn't want to risk me falling into a dirty toilet," the bubble-boy tried to explain in his embarrassment, pressing his buzzer and yelping at the shock he received. Courtney to the left and Gwen above him stopped laughing when they noticed what had happened.

Another jingle played as the shot cut to the scoreboard, the Rats' half changing from 0 to 1.

"Next question," Chris said as the camera moved back to him and his card, now turned towards the Maggots. "Which one of you has the middle name Doris?"

"Hey, that's not embarrassing," Courtney spoke up in outrage. "Sure, Doris is old-fashioned, but it's only a middle name!"

"Really?" Chris smiled. "I wonder how the Maggots feel?" He turned his gaze back to the other team, and the camera panned across each of its three girls – Jasmine more concerned with the constricting straps of her harness than the question; Zoey looking around blankly; and Lindsay playing with a lightly braided lock of her hair. As the timer continued ticking the shot finally panned up to Harold, who was sweating and blushing nervously. He finally shuddered, then slammed his right hand down on his buzzer. "I admit it," he declared after getting shocked, "my full name is Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady V."

A bit of light laughter came from the Rats, Courtney included, and the scoreboard updated to show the Maggots' first point. "And it's one-all!" the host declared, earning a cheer from the other five Maggots.

"Aww, thanks Harold," Zoey whispered to the drooping nerd, "I know that must've been a little tough." Harold just nodded solemnly.

"Rats," a sharp jingle played as Chris turned back to the other team, "which one you once reserved a room at the-"

He was cut off by the sound of the buzzer being pressed, and the camera cut over to Izzy grinning as she was electrocuted.

"Wow, eager much?" Noah asked her.

"Hey, no reason to draw things out, right?" Izzy giggled.

"Uh, actually," Chris corrected, "if you'd let me finish, I was gonna ask who once reserved a room at the wrong hotel and didn't find out until they got to where they were supposed to be staying. Which, for the record, was not you."

Four of the other Rats groaned, with only Leonard looking around anxiously. "Izzy, why didn't you wait until he finished the question?" Courtney asked in irritation.

"Hahaha, sorry," Izzy laughed, "I totally thought he said the Reserves and not reserved. See, I spent a summer training with them," she explained, "and got into a bit of trouble when I, like, blew up the kitchen by accident, haha. That's why the RCMP is still all over my butt," she laughed as her teammates exchanged looks of wary disbelief. "I'm so totally AWOL!"

"Rrriiigghhtt...," Chris said slowly. "Anywho, time for your penalty." He smiled darkly as he pushed the button on his remote again.

The Rats were plunged back into the water, and the camera focused on Izzy as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She looked to the side as the shot pulled back, revealing Fang just as he chomped down on the energetic young woman, the stand rising back up as Fang struggled to close his jaws.

The shot cut back to the surface as the other Rats warily looked at the water, and gasped as Fang and Izzy suddenly breached – the redhead giving a battle cry as she gave the mutant shark a powerful uppercut in what was probably his chin. Izzy landed on the counter in front of a gaping Noah, and wiped her arm across her face as Fang splashed back into the bay.

xxx

"Oh man," Izzy laughed, "he was so lucky he caught me by surprise." She stopped suddenly, felt behind her back, winced as she pulled something out, then held up a large shark's tooth. "Ooh, neat!" she said excitedly.

xxx

The next to use the confessional was none other than Fang, examining his mouth in a hand mirror with great concern. Upon noticing the gap in his upper row of sharp teeth, he growled angrily and snapped the mirror.

xxx

"Well that was fun," Izzy said offhandedly as she jumped back into her seat. "What's next?"

"Hopefully not another close-encounter with an angry shark-monster," Noah said.

"Well, since nobody on Team Rat actually answered the question correctly," Chris explained, turning to the other stand, "the Maggots get a chance to steal."

"Thanks a lot, Izzy," Courtney hissed to her teammates.

The focus cut back to the Maggots as they turned towards each other. "So, any ideas?" Zoey asked.

"What was the question again?" Lindsay asked in confusion.

"I think it was which Rat booked a room at the wrong hotel," Trent said.

"Oh," Lindsay said blankly. "Well, do we even have to answer? I don't wanna get dunked again if we get it wrong."

"Hey, good point," Justin chimed in, the shot zooming back out as he and the other Maggots looked towards the host. "Hey, Chris? Can I leave? Between the tight straps and the mutant shark, I'm seriously risking my modeling contracts."

"Uhh...," Chris began in annoyance before getting interrupted.

"Whoa, if he gets to get out of this, I want out too," Gwen said, standing up and trying to undo her harness. "I am not gonna have my secrets aired on international television and risk a shark attack."

"Excuse me," Cameron piped up, raising a finger and looking at the host, "but may I be excused as well? I've already been humiliated so I don't see any point in staying."

"Okay, everyone just settle down," Chris told them all sternly.

"That's actually a good point," Harold said as he too began to undo his straps. "Unless we can get more than one question about us there's no reason for me to be here either."

"You could still help us figure out the questions, right?" Trent suggested, which gave the nerd pause.

"Well I don't wanna do this either," Lindsay said, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Hey! Host talking here!" Chris barked. "I decide when the challenge is over."

"Then get on with it so we can win already!" Courtney told him. "The Maggots clearly don't wanna steal the point," she added, motioning over to her opponents while her eyes stayed on the host.

"Whoa there," Jasmine countered, "don't get ahead of yourself, I still wanna take a crack at that."

"You're not serious, are you?" Justin asked, his eyes wide. "Think of the beauty you're risking!" Just then, Fang jumped out of the water and took a large bite out of the Maggots' stand, forcing Trent – who was closest – to yelp and recoil, and Justin to scream and recoil even further.

"Yeah, I'm thinking it might be time to bail," Noah remarked, earning a gasp of shock and betrayal from Courtney.

The shot cut back to the Maggots as Jasmine began to argue with Justin and Lindsay and even Trent, Zoey looked on in silent anxiety, and Harold just tried to undo his straps again. Eventually, the shot cut back to a stewing host as he finally clenched his fists and shouted "Alright! SHUT IT!"

The off-screen arguments promptly ceased. "Thanks to that pathetic digression," he said in annoyance, glancing at his watch, "now we don't have enough time to finish this challenge! Happy?"

All the Rats aside from Courtney and Izzy voiced their agreement, the CIT scoffing in disdain while the wild child let out a disappointed "Aww..."

Likewise, all the Maggots agreed happily save Jasmine, who crossed her arms and huffed "I still think we could've won..."

"Well ya won't be happy for long," Chris told them and the camera, smiling as a hollow sound played. "Come back after the break for an all-new challenge from which there is no escape. And in the meantime," he added slyly as he took his remote back out and pushed the button, causing both teams to be dunked into the bay with a scream once more.

(Fade to Commercial and Back)

The scene faded back in to a shot of some treetops, Zoey saying "Well, even though we didn't win I'm glad I didn't get asked any questions," as the camera panned down to the Maggots walking through the woods. "It was bad enough watching Harold and Cameron go through it."

"You can't let that stuff get to you," Jasmine told her, the two girls walking at the front of their team's pack. "Sure it's humiliating, but it'll pass in time. Besides, it's not like any of us would've held your secrets against you, not when our secrets probably would've been revealed too."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of that," Zoey said with a contemplative look.

"It's the same thing with that shark," Jasmine added. "You can't let your fear control you. One good punch on the nose and it would've scrammed."

"Really?" Zoey asked in confusion.

"Yeah," Jasmine nodded, "I saw it on TV once."

"Yeah, well I saw it up close and personal," Trent interjected. "And if it comes back, I'm not putting my hands anywhere near it."

xxx

"Jasmine does have a good point," Zoey considered in the outhouse confessional, a finger on her chin as she looked down in thought. "But then again, so do Fang's teeth."

xxx

The scene cut back to the Rats, also walking through the woods together, and focused on Courtney and Gwen at the middle of their pack.

"Nice teamwork out there," Courtney told the goth in a snippy tone. "You practically cost us the challenge!"

"Not really?" Gwen replied irritably. "I mean, we probably weren't gonna win anyway if Izzy jumped the gun again. And honestly? Getting an advantage in the next challenge was not worth it."

"Not to you, maybe," Courtney told her. "You're just lucky we're still on even ground with the other team, because you're seriously risking elimination if we lose."

Gwen stopped in her tracks, and so did Courtney. "Really," the goth said with an unimpressed look. "I'm the one who'd be going home after I helped get us out of the challenge that nobody wanted to do."

"W-well," Courtney blustered uncertainly.

"Yeah," Gwen said as she walked onward, "that's what I thought."

The shot cut ahead to Leonard and Cameron, who looked like they'd been listening and were now watching as Gwen walked by with an annoyed expression. When she passed, Leonard shook his head and tutted. "I sense troubled times ahead for our team," he said.

"Yes," Cameron said, still looking in the direction Gwen had gone, "I think that's probably obvious. I'm not sure what we can do about it though."

"I guess I'll have to cast a divination spell," Leonard said, reaching in to his sleeves, "so that I might better learn what the future holds." Cameron just raised his eyebrow at him.

xxx

"According to all known laws of physics," Cameron explained, putting on hand lotion as he began his confessional, "magic can not exist. So naturally, I'm veeerry suspicious of Leonard's claim of being a wizard. I think I'll try to observe him more carefully from now on."

xxx

"Welcome, players!" Chris announced over the loudspeaker again, the camera cutting down to ground level to show the Rats meeting up with the Maggots again. "Now that you're all here, it's time for part two of today's challenge," the host continued, the shot zooming out to show all twelve campers standing in some sort of wide field of mud with a a wooden ramp leading up off-camera on the right.

"The 'Mad Skills Obstacle Course'," Chris announced in person as a dramatic riff played, the shot cutting to him standing on some patch of grass.

"Boo ya," Harold said, grinning as he pumped his fist. "This challenge has me written all over it. 'Mad Skills' is basically my middle name."

"Really?" Lindsay asked in confusion. "I thought it was something else."

"Yeah," Justin chimed in, "Norbert, Cheever, and Doris, right?"

Harold frowned irritably at them. "I was being metaphorical, gosh!"

"As I was saying," Chris continued with irritation of his own, "the relay race begins with a mad dash from the Kick Start," the shot cut to the wooden platform at the other end of the ramp, where an absurdly large rubber root was connected by wooden shaft and gear to a pole sticking up out of the platform. "Forget coffee," the host said as the boot swung squeakily back and forth in demonstration, "if this baby doesn't get you goin', nothin' will."

"Then it's off to the race against time that is the Cannonball Run," Chris said, the camera following his motion further onward to another stretch of wooden platform. Several cannons situated below suddenly blew gaping holes in it, and the shot zoomed out to show several more cannons hooked up to a scaffold over the platform and aimed downward.

"Over to my personal fave," the shot moved to the end of the platform where a log had been set up to rotate n its side, "Wrecking Ball Alley! Hurts so good," he said as the camera panned across and the titular wrecking ball swung down over the rolling log.

"And moving on," the shot cut next to a few higher, disconnected, and generally precarious platforms, "we head to the Gang Plank, complete with rabid mutant beavers." The shot cut to the mud pit at the bottom where two giant woolly beavers with boney spikes along their back were busily chewing through the poles the gang plank platforms were on.

"Followed by," the shot cut to a close-up of a large, red, butt-shaped apparatus that was moving up and down, "the bouncy agony of Double Trouble." The shot zoomed out to show four of the butt-shaped things moving up and down between two platforms.

"And finally," Chris said, "the Grand Slam," the shot cut to several giant baseball bats sticking up out of the mud surrounding an equally giant baseball mitt, "where you'll use ropes to swing into the giant baseball mitt, while avoiding those deadly bats." The shot zoomed in on the mitt, then panned over to one of the bats as a small red bird flew head-first into it, knocking it out with a clonk. "Piece of cake," Chris said with a chuckle as the shot cut back to the staring and nervous campers.

"Oh, and as you may remember," the host added, "I said that the winning team from part one would have a distinct advantage in part two?"

"But there was no winner!" Zoey said.

"Yeah, don't remind me," Chris answered in annoyance. "The losing team was gonna wear snazzy specs while competing," he explained with a chipper smile, "but since we never actually finished the competition," he became annoyed again, "I've decided that everybody has to wear them!" He laughed, and the campers looked behind them to see Chef Hatchet holding a cardboard box.

Justin was the first to step forward, taking out one of the pairs of glasses – thick, ugly things that almost seemed to have a greenish tint to them – and put them on. His brow shot up immediately, and he waved his hands and arms out in front of him. "Whoa, what's with the grandpa glasses?" he asked. "I can barely see my beautiful hands in front of my beautiful face!" The perspective shifted to demonstrate what he was seeing, which little more than an incredibly blurry shot of the forest and some unknown body of water with a couple vaguely hand-shaped objects waving in front of the lens.

"Dorktacular goggles won't make part two easy," Chris said, "or attractive," he shrugged, "but it can be done. In theory."

The campers groaned.

"Competitors, take your positions!" he said, and the footage flashed forward to show Cameron and Lindsay together near the edge of the first platform, Lindsay still looking at her new glasses unhappily. "First up at the Kick Start it's Cameron against Lindsay," the host said before the shot moved on to the next pair. "Then, it's Courtney versus Jasmine," the two girls crossed their arms and exchanged unflinching, if blurry, stares before the shot pulled back to show the cannons, "versus the Cannonballs."

"Gwen faces Trent in Wrecking Ball Alley," the musician smiled at his opponent, who blushed bashfully and looked backward, rubbing her arm. "Leonard is up against Zoey in the Gang Plank," the camera cut to the base of the ladder then panned all the way up to it to the two nervous teens on top, "Noah and Justin will battle Double Trouble," the snarker looked warily at the butt-shaped apparatus in front of him while the male model tried to look at his reflection in his hand mirror, "and, Izzy will fight Harold for the Grand Slam." The young woman was shown giddily looking at her own hands while the young man raised an eyebrow at her then followed suit, the shot moving out to show the baseball mitt.

"First team to finish wins the whoooole shebang," Chris explained. "And, the other team loses a member tonight! Since it's a relay race," he added, "you'll need something to pass: your mascots," he said with a grin. "Oh, intern~!"

A scrawny white boy with his long black hair flipped over his eyes walked up to Cameron and Lindsay holding a pair of pet carriers; whatever was inside was snarling angrily enough for the two competitors to exchanges a wary look. "Team Rat gets a mutant rat," Chris announced as the intern thrust a large, squealing, six-legged hairless rat into Cameron's arms, and the bubble-boy recoiled to keep himself from being clawed. "And Team Maggot gets," the host continued, "a mutant maggot."

A dramatic tune played as a large, slimy green maggot was thrust into Lindsay's arms. "Eww, I don't like maggots," she said in disgust.

"Aaaand," Chris said as he prepared an airhorn, "go!"

At the sound of the horn and the start of the series' typical tense challenge music the giant boot swung down on the two campers. With a yelp Cameron managed to duck out of the way, but Lindsay was not so lucky and got sent flying with a scream. She landed in the mud between platforms, but kept the maggot held high. It burped as Chris said "And Lindsay gets the boot! "

"This is exhilarating!" Cameron said in excitement as he hopped across the gap between platforms with the rat in his arms.

"Cameron takes the early lead," the host continued, and the bubble-boy ran up to Courtney.

"Good work, just like we planned it," the former CIT said as she took the rat from him, then turned and ran off down the course.

"Maybe I'm better at this than I thought," Cameron said, brushing his hands together as he walked back the opposite way...and blindly fell into the gap between platforms, landing with a squelch of mud.

The shot cut to Courtney as she ran along her part of the platform. "Okay," she told herself, squinting through her glasses to try and see the path better, "it should be just a little bit-"

She cut herself off when she slammed face-first into a post,. "What the...?" she said, recoiling a few steps and shaking off the dazing. "Who put this here?" she asked irritably, sidestepping around the post. She only got another two steps before a sudden cannon volley through the floor in front of her forced her to a stop with a scream.

"Oh no," Lindsay groaned to herself, now covered in mud as she ran along the first part of the platform with her maggot held out in front of her. She jumped the gap, and soon reached an impatient Jasmine. "We're not too far behind, are we?" the blonde asked as she held out their team's mascot in what wasn't quite the right direction.

"Nothing I can't handle, so hand it over!" Jasmine barked, forcefully grabbing the maggot and dashing off, leaving Lindsay to whimper.

"The Maggots take the lead!" Chris called out as Jasmine caught up to Courtney at the start of the cannonball run. Another cannon fired towards them, forcing both girls to dart and duck out of the way.

"Okay," Jasmine said with a hint of nervousness, "this is easy! Just gotta dodge a bunch of cannons I can barely see, that's all!" She gulped and charged forward, leaving Courtney to gasp indignantly and chase after her.

The tense music softened slightly as the scene moved to Trent and Gwen waiting at the start of the next leg, anxiously listening to the sound of cannonfire behind them. The musician took out a small reddish rabbit's foot charm and tapped it on his forehead, muttering "One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine!" under his breath.

"Uhh, I get the lucky rabbit's foot," Gwen asked with an odd look, "but what's with the nine taps?"

"Nine's my lucky number," Trent shrugged. "I figured it couldn't hurt, right?" He stopped there as he and Gwen heard someone coming, then looked back at each other. "Well, this is me," he said as Jasmine ran up and thrust the maggot into his arms.

"Move, Trent, move!" Jasmine commanded.

"Good luck!" the musician waved back to Gwen as he ran off. The challenge music rose up again as he tried to quickly sidle along the rolling log, but with his blurry vision directed at his feet he missed the wrecking ball swinging down at him. It caught him in the slide and sent him flying with a scream, all the way to a shocked and startled Zoey and Leonard.

The shot briefly cut away to Chris and Chef sitting in green armchairs watching the challenge feed on a wide screen television set up nearby; they laughed uproariously as they watched Trent get hit and land.

"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!" Courtney yelled frantically as she ran up to Gwen and handed over their rat. The goth nodded, the narrowed her eyes as she turned and ran towards the rolling logs.

"Here you go," Trent said weakly as the shot cut back to him passing the maggot to Zoey. "And good luck!"

"Thanks," Zoey told him before jumping on to the first precariously isolated platform. It immediately started to wobble and sink, and Zoey cried out in alarm as the camera quick-panned to the base revealing the two mutant beavers making quick work of the pole. The focus moved back to the top as Zoey tried to jump to the next platform, only for the one she was standing on to wobble in just the right way to cause her to fall down into the mud. "Oh no...," she said as she recovered and saw the two ferocious-looking beavers she had landed between.

"And Zoey takes a dive!" Chris announced as the shot moved back to Gwen crossing the rolling logs. "Will the Rats be able to retake the lead?"

"I sure hope so," Gwen told herself, looking up and back just in time to see the wrecking ball swinging towards her. She steeled herself and jumped up, safely grabbing on to the ball and allowing it to carry her forward. With a giddy "Woo hoo!" she jumped off at the extent of its swing, and sailed further on through the air.

The shot cut back to Zoey, who was now being held by one beaver while the other hungrily took out a bottle of ketchup. "Please, let me go!" the redhead struggled, the maggot held close to her body. The second beaver opened the bottle of ketchup and licked its lips, causing Zoey to gasp...then scowl. "I said, let me go!" she said forcefully, kicking first the ketchup-holding beaver and then the her-holding beaver between their legs, causing each to squeal in pain and fall over onto their backs holding their groins.

"Ooh, sorry," Zoey told them with genuine concern, "but I did tell you to stop!"

She turned and ran off through the mud without another word, and Chris announced "And the Maggots are in it again!"

"Get going, Leonard!" Gwen told the wizard as she handed the rat over to him. He immediately nodded and turned, but paused when the goth added "And don't waste time with any spells!"

"Like I can even cast anything right now," Leonard huffed, rolling his eyes behind his glasses. "Acrobatics skill, don't fail me now!" he said as he turned forward again and hopped to the first platform. It immediately wobbled, but he was able to hop to the next one before he fell – and this one seemed more stable.

The camera quick-panned down to the beavers as they got back on their feet and growled, then forward under the course to Zoey, who had just started climbing up the supports of the next section of platform. "Oh no," she said as she tried to look back, "I hope that's not what I think it is."

The shot cut to the top where Noah and Justin were awaiting, the former more alertly than the latter.

"Hey, do you think bouncing on those things is gonna leave any bruises?" the model asked idly. "Because if so, maybe I should've done one of the other legs."

"Probably," Noah answered offhandedly, distracted by the fact that Leonard had finally gotten to the platform.

"Salutations, comrade!" he greeted cheerfully as Noah dashed over to him. "I have-"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Noah said quickly, grabbing the mutant rat from him, "good job Gandalf, now let me get this over with already!" He turned and dashed down the course, just as Zoey finally climbed up to the top of the platform with her team's maggot.

"And Noah finally gets the Rats' lead back!" Chris announced as the camera followed the snarker up to the Double Trouble apparatus.

"Oh, why did I sign up for this?" Noah lamented as he threw himself on to the first butt-shaped thing, landed on his face, and bounced off it with a cry of pain. He continued on in this way, painfully bouncing from one to the next until eventually he reached the end. "Izzy, take it!" he yelled to his teammate, the redhead waiting with her back turned at the edge of the next platform, apparently whistling to herself.

Despite stretching his rat-holding arms out towards her as he fell, he was unable to make the pass-off in time before falling completely past her and landing in the mud. "Huh?" Izzy said as she finally turned around. "Did you say something?"

The shot cut to Noah face down in the mud, bubbles forming around his head as he vented a scream of frustration and the mutant rat scampered out of his grasp. With a gasp and a groan Noah scrambled to his feet and chased after it.

"Justin, hurry up and take it already!" Zoey told her incredibly attractive teammate as the shot cut back to her holding the muddy and slimy maggot out to him.

"But it's so disgusting!" Justin countered. "I mean, I like the occasional mud bath, but this? This is a little too much, I mean who knows what mutant maggot slime could do to my complexion. You don't want me to risk my complexion, do you?" he asked her, flashing a smile that would have been breathtaking had it not been for the hideous glasses he was wearing.

Zoey moaned uncertainly for a second as she stared at him through her own glasses, then shook it away and thrust the mutant maggot into the supermodel's face. "Please, just go already!"

Justin's eyes briefly widened at the maggot's sudden closeness, and his face settled into a disgusted grimace as he hesitantly reached out for the mutated larva.

It promptly vomited onto his face.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it!" he screamed in terror, turning and running off down the course. The perspective briefly changed to show the blurry obstacle that Justin was approaching, the changed back to his head-on close-up as he became visibly distressed.

"Okay incredibly well-toned body, don't fail me now!" Justin told himself just as he jumped onto the first butt-shaped object; he landed on his chest with a pained yelp and bounced off, continuing on painfully from one bouncy apparatus to the next until eventually he landed on his chest on the far platform with a slam and a groan.

"Yes!" Harold said, eagerly taking the maggot from him.

"And Justin takes back the lead!" Chris announced, the camera cutting to him and Chef on their chairs. "Maybe he's got more than just looks, although," he paused to chuckle, "he might not have those for much longer."

"Such a shame, too," Chef chimed in, tutting and shaking his head in disappointment.

"Alright, time to show off my mad skills!" Harold declared confidently, turning proudly towards the end of the course.

"Just don't screw this up, Doris!" Justin told him, causing him to pause in mid-step and wheel around.

"Don't call me that!" Harold told the model. "It's embarrassing and I'm your teammate, remember?"

"I remember," Justin replied, growing both anxious and irritated. "But could you please just get going?"

"That's what I was doing, gosh!" Harold said, turning back around and running off towards the ropes at the end of the platform in his odd, leaned-back running posture.

The camera panned back to the left, passing Justin and reaching Izzy just as a panting Noah forced their team's mascot into her arms. "Here, take it!" he commanded.

"Aww, isn't he the cutest?" Izzy cooed, raising the bewildered rat up into the air.

"As a button," Noah said in utter disbelief, "now RUN!" He raised his arms as he shouted, and the gesture seemed to finally startle Izzy into action.

"Okay, okay! Keep your shirt on, Noah!" she said in a wide-eyed near-panic as she turned and ran off down the course. The camera followed her, zooming in as her expression settled into a dangerous and giddy grin, then back out as she raced by a shocked Harold. The camera panned further to the right to show the oversized baseball bats and mitt, and with a few cries of "Hut!" and "Hup!" the red-headed wild child leaped and flipped and bounded to the end of the platform, grabbed one of the ropes that had been loosely tied there, and swung off with an appropriate warbled cry.

She passed between the first two baseball bats, then slammed straight into the third.

Back at the edge of the platform, Harold cringed as a flat note played and a squelch signaled that Izzy had landed in the mud below. "Well, I guess it's my turn," he said nervously as he grabbed the end of the other rope. He unleashed his own terrified cry as he swung blindly through the Grand Slam, and almost made it to the mitt – but slammed into one of the last bats with his legs spread wide. His pained groans as he slid down into the mud had a noticeably higher pitch.

The footage skipped ahead to show a muddy Izzy running up for her second go, the ropes once again tied to a post on the side of the platform. "Okay, let's see, what do I do this time," she asked herself, rubbing her chin in thought.

"How about you land in the mitt!" Noah called out to her irritably, the shot cutting to show him and the other Rats standing on a nearby platform without the glasses that had been forced on them.

"And quickly!" Courtney chimed in.

"Guys, that's what I'm trying to do!" Izzy shot back at them in annoyance. "I know what I'm doing, okay? I'm like an Olympic master at vine swinging, so just let me work!" She turned around with a huff, then smiled and snapped her fingers. "Ooh, I know!" she said, grabbing one of the ropes again and jumping off. She chose to forgo the warbling cry this time, sticking her legs out in front of her and passing by each bat in turn. She finally stopped when her feet hit the mitt, but she had failed to let go of the rope. Stretched between it and the mitt she tried to pull herself up to her goal, but slipped and fell back into the mud.

Cameron, Courtney, Gwen, Leonard, and Noah all groaned.

The camera panned past them and on to Harold, who had grabbed his own rope again and was sizing up his next swing. "I just need to get the angle and timing right," he told himself, tucking the maggot under his arm as he used his fingers to frame his target. "Got it," he nodded after a few seconds.

The music turned triumphant as he ran forward and swung off with a cry of "Excelsior!" He quickly passed all the bats, and the peak of his swing put him just about over the mitt. It was then that he let go of the rope and fell down towards the goal. His butt clipped the mitt's fingertips, however, and he ended up landing in it on the back of his head.

"The Maggots win!" Chris announced, and the maggot mascot vomited down onto Harold's face. The nerd moaned in pain and disgust.

Lindsay, Jasmine, Trent, Zoey, and Justin cheered, having also discarded their glasses, while the five nearby members of the Toxic Rats groaned once more.

"To the Maggots, the spoils," Chris announced as Chef walked over to the winning team holding some kind of gift basket. "McLean Brand Soap, Shampoo, and Conditioner. Guaranteed to wash off the stink!" A pleasant jingle played over a close-up of the gift basket, showing off its contents against a radiant yellow background.

"Hey, these are almost decent," Justin said with a smile, picking a bottle out of the basket and looking at it closely. "Nice work, Harold!" he called out to his off-screen teammate.

"Rats, see you at the elimination ceremony!' Chris added with his usual smile.

The five members of the Rats groaned for a third time. "I can't believe this!" Courtney exclaimed in exasperation. "We can not be this bad at challenges!"

"Hey, it's not that bad," Leonard said cheerily. "We've only lost twice! We can still recover, especially since we have magic on our side."

Courtney screamed with rage and lunged at him, Gwen and Cameron quickly moving to hold her back.

"Yeah, I don't think she wanted to hear that right now," Noah told Leonard, both boys looking shocked.

"Apparently," Leonard replied.

/

The footage flashed ahead to all of the Toxic Rats except for Noah and Izzy assembled at the steps leading up to their cabin. The camera focused on Courtney, who was standing on the ground in front of the others, and took a deep breath before beginning. "Okay guys, I've given it some thought, and I think we should vote out Izzy tonight. It's clear that we can't count on her."

"Aww, don't say that!" Leonard replied. "I know she's a little spirited but if we just give her another chance I'm sure she'll be a great boon to us!"

"More like a great flake," Gwen said. "The way she acts I honestly don't think she lives in the same world as us."

"She is rather unpredictable," Cameron added, a finger on his chin in thought. "And she kind of scares me a little, if I'm being honest."

"C'mon, she's harmless!" Leonard interjected, looking around at the faces of his teammates – Cameron uncertain, Gwen annoyed and unamused, and Courtney with pursed lips. "Right?" Leonard finished with an almost desperate look.

/

The footage flashed ahead again to show the Toxic Rats at the campfire pit, Chef and Chris standing before them with their respective marshmallows.

"Ready?" the host asked after a few drum beats opened the elimination music. "Everyone gets a marshmallow, even the loser!" The shot cut to a close-up of the strongbox in Chef's mitted hands. "But that's one marshmallow you do not wanna eat," Chris added as his assistant flipped the lid up and revealed the bright glowing thing inside.

"To the votes! The following people are safe," the host said, picking up the first normal marshmallow off his tray. "Courtney." The former CIT caught her prize with a level stare.

"Cameron." The bubble-boy next to her was next, still eager as he caught his marshmallow.

"Gwen." Next came the goth, slumped forward with her head on her hand and her elbow on her leg. She raised her free left hand and caught her prize without a second glance.

"Noah." He smirked as his marshmallow fell into his open hands.

"Which leaves, Izzy and Leonard," Chris announced, earning a nervous look from the wizard and a shocked look from the wild child.

"Me? But why?" Izzy said in breathless shock.

"And the Marshmallow of Loserdom goes to," Chris said, trailing off as the camera slowly zoomed in on the faces of the bottom two campers and the telltale sound of an approaching helicopter rose up in the background.

"I-" the host began before a sudden voice interrupted him.

"IZZY! WE KNOW YOU ARE DOWN THERE!" the voice said over a megaphone, the shot cutting up to a helicopter painted in the blue, yellow, and red of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. "YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" the voice added as the helicopter's spotlight was turned on and moved across the cast members assembled around the pit below.

"Wait, so all that stuff you were saying was true?" Gwen asked Izzy in shock.

"No," Izzy answered happily, "just the RCMP part." She stood up, pointed dramatically at the helicopter, and shouted "YOU'LL NEVER GET ME ALIIIIVE!" as the music rose up intensely. The Wild Child ran off laughing past a shocked Chris and Chef, the helicopter giving chase with the spotlight firmly on her.

"Crap, Chef, you gotta go after her!" Chris told his assistant in a panic. "We gotta get her off the island before the Feds start searching closely!"

Chef, still in his hazmat suit, only nodded before chasing off after the echoing laughter of Izzy.

The camera cut back to the remaining members of the Toxic Rats and panned across their utterly shocked faces, ending on Leonard who looked down and sighed sadly.

xxx

"Well, there goes my alliance," the wizard sadly told the outhouse camera. "I guess it's time to find some other way to avoid certain elimination." He took his spellbook out of his sleeves, and started flipping through the pages.

xxx

The series' somber elimination theme began to play as the footage cut over to the Dock of Shame, the camera zoomed in on Chris.

"Well, the good news is, the RCMP left the island," he told the camera. "The bad news is, we have no idea where Izzy is so we can't give her the Hurl of Shame."

The shot zoomed out, revealing the catapult in question nearby with Chef Hatchet sitting warily in its bucket.

"Chris, man, why am I up here again?" the hulking man asked nervously.

"Because somebody needs to get hurled tonight," Chris explained as he walked over to the catapult's lever, "and I figure that since you lost Izzy, you need to be punished."

"W-wait, don't be so-" Chef frantically tried to say before Chris unflinchingly launched him into the air. "HASTYYYYYYY!" the hulking man finished with a scream as he disappeared into the night.

Chris took a deep breath, then smiled as the series' capstone theme started up. "And that's that! Two hurls down, hopefully eleven to go! Who will be eliminated next?" he asked the camera. "Tune in, and find out, on Total! Drama! Revenge! Of! The Island!"

(Fade to Credits)


Author's Note - Post Script

Not much to say here this week. As the first episode was all about introducing the new cast, this week starts setting up some of the interactions, friendships, rivalries, subplots, and so on that'll develop throughout the season.

Regarding the first part of the challenge and why I decided to have it end more-or-less the same as canon...well, I figured that from a story perspective the point of it was less to reveal a few embarrassing secrets and more to A) introduce Fang, and B) get people to argue a bit and draw out some conflicting personalities and whatnot. That, of course, was better served by having it end early, and figuring out exactly how the characters could react in order to get to that point was an interesting experience.

Izzy is, I think, a natural choice for second boot, especially given how it went down in canon. As you all no doubt recall this was Dakota's canon boot episode, and it ended up kicking off her development. I'm not gonna say if Izzy is going to go the same was as Dakota or anything, but if you need an early boot who still ends up being a recurring character, Izzy is a top choice - it's her main role in canon. She's just too hard to get rid of, and we certainly haven't seen the last of her this season.

Though I did attempt to give her canon-flavored exit a bit of season four spice with Chris' reaction.

But yeah, that's pretty much it as far as I can recall. Let me know what you all think, and I'll see you all next week.

- Fangren


Appendix: TSROTI Eliminated Contestants

Cody - (13th Place)

Izzy - (12th Place | Still on the loose...?)