Author's Note

Here we are again, folks! Hard to believe we're already at the third chapter, and with the fourth chapter already done it means that about a third of the season has been written...that's the thing with these 13-episode deals, they go by so quickly.

It makes it that much harder to make sure everyone gets some proper exposure and development before they leave, but somehow in this chapter and next week's I'm really satisfied with what I've been able to do.

But enough about that - it's time to answer some reviews.

Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: Haha, true..but luckily there, uh, may have been some time for him to cool off about it, both literally and figuratively...

Gage the Hedgehog: Thanks!

atom king: Unfortunately, who does or doesn't get mutated this season is something I'm not going to spoil, so you'll just have to wait and see.

DSX62415: Mm, yeah, I figured most people would be okay with the usual Izzy path. And as for Trent's lucky number, I think he may just bring up its origins, although ultimately it depends on how things develop between them.

moka evans: Okay, good to hear that! And yeah, Noah is certainly the type to plan ahead and get the idol before he really needs it. I'm glad you like what I'm doing with Izzy; her being Fang's foil while also still leaving and coming back just made the most sense to me. The same thing with Trent and his lucky number; him being so superstitious and using that number as a way to cope just gives him an interesting dimension that I figured more people would include in their stories. Justin's hotness...ehh. He's a 16-year-old cartoon male, it's hard to judge. But I can accept that being super-attractive is what he's meant to be.

acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks! And yeah, that's pretty much what I was thinking - the fact that Izzy is willing and able to fight back against Fang is gonna shake things up a bit with him this season.

P. T. Piranha: Thanks, thanks, and I'm glad to hear that you can accept why I cut the first challenge short. Likewise, I can understand why you'd find Izzy to be a bit much at times. And yeah, the villainy this season...is gonna be interesting, I think (and hope).

ashDanLand: Glad to hear you loved it! I'm glad you enjoyed Izzy, and even Leonard a bit? And yeah, I think I remember Courtney mentioning anger problems once as well. And as for whether or not anybody will end up a monster...well, I'm afraid you're just gonna have to wait and see.

Call Me Ishmael: Well, all I can say is that your predictions are interesting as always, and that I'm glad you're enjoying things so far.

Animation Adventures: I'm glad you enjoyed how Izzy's elimination played out! Chris is definitely annoyed that Izzy got the RCMP's attention, and we'll no doubt see more of that as the season progresses. Though as for what'll happen in episode seven...well, you'll see when the story gets there. I'm glad you enjoyed the canon facts that I worked in as well; Harold's middle name was just such an obvious thing to use there, as was Cameron's diaper thing. And then Trent's lucky number...well, that part of Trent interests me greatly, and its a shame how it was used in canon. Anyway, I hope this week's episode lives up to your expectations!

The Prime Writer: (They did actually end up PMing me their thoughts about all the characters this season, and while I did reply there I'll also include anything particularly relevant in this section as well.)
Basically: Leonard and Izzy aren't romantically involved and I wasn't even considering that when I wrote them.
I'm actually pretty happy with the direction I've taken Leonard in so far and he's honestly kinda grown on me.
Gwen and Trent being on opposite teams from the start is something I think will give an interesting twist to how their relationship develops.
I'm wary of getting Zoey romantically involved with anyone since it consumed so much of her character in canon.
I dislike the idea of Izzy and Scarlett being related.
Harold probably won't have a chance to show off his beatboxing in the main series but if I ever revisit this universe after the main stuff is done then him and Beardo meeting is something I'd like to do.
I'm happy that I've been able to portray Jasmine as someone who's self-conscious of her height and how she intimidates people since it helps make her more human.
Lindsay is someone who needs a lot of time to really develop as a character, and with a shorter season it makes it harder to pull it off.
I dislike how much 'Mary-Sue' is used and don't think it applies to Zoey; I like Zoey's early portrayal of being friendless and full of anxiety and want to work more with that.
I'm worried that I won't be able to meet people's expectations for how funny Noah should be.
Courtney is divisive but a lot of the bad stuff she's done probably stems from her unjust elimination at Harold's hands in TDI and the rage stemming from it, and as such shouldn't be much of an issue here.

Sarcasm is a Habit: Haha, well, you aren't the first reviewer who's accidentally Guested themselves, and I doubt you'll be the last. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far, and I hope you keep on doing so. I'm probably gonna get around to reviewing the next chapter of your story on Saturday, and maybe get two in if I have the time.

Tokusatsu-31st Century: Hmm, well, Izzy's the one who has Fang's tooth right now, and even though she was eliminated she's still on the island somewhere. It's only a matter of time before she and Fang cross paths again...

I. M. Poik: Haha, yup. Izzy being Fang's target/rival of sorts for the season was something I figured was both natural, and interesting considering Izzy's early boot. But like I told Tokusatsu-31st Century, it's only a matter of time before Fang and Izzy cross paths again. Jasmine's love life...is something you'll have to see unfold for yourself. And as for Leonard, well, even if I do develop him he's still gonna be himself, so it's only natural that he'd do some of the same things. Oh, and because I don't think I'll ever get around to revealing it otherwise, I'll just confirm now that it was in fact Leonard who booked a room at the wrong hotel, and he was pretty mortified by it. Make of that what you will.

FOWLKON: Hmm, well, I won't say what my plans are for anyone becoming a mutant, but I am happy that you're enjoying how Leonard and Noah play off each other. Leonard, I think, is someone that really needs the right characters to play off of in order to work, and I'm glad Noah has fit that role. With Justin, I don't think he's quite as bad as Duncan ever was - he certainly doesn't think much of Harold, and was willing to mock him a bit, but only to a point. But yeah, they're definitely not friends. Zoey's indie-ness and potential for development in that regard is one of the reasons why I decided to separate her from Cameron; I want to see how she develops without any of her canon relationships to fall back on.
Having Pahkitew Island before All-Stars...is not something I think I'm gonna do, sorry. It does make sense in a lot of ways, but since a big part of me wants to keep everything on schedule so I can get other parts of my life in order, I don't want to have to either make up new challenges to compensate for an expanded cast (probably up to 18, with 6 from each generation), or force myself to choose only 14 cast members out of all three generations, especially since it would mean cutting a lot of people from the first two casts that I feel deserve a shot.

PizzaTheBomb: Thanks! And yeah, things started off a bit small but they'll get much bigger in these next two weeks, at the very least. I hope you enjoy what happens!

OMAC001: Okay, good to hear!

The Misguided Angel of Death: Mmm-hmm, Zoey is, I think, definitely somebody Jasmine would try to take under her wing, much like she did with Sammy. And of course Gwen and Courtney are beginning to clash, as they were destined to...though what becomes of it, and Noah's idol hunt, is something you'll just have to read on and maybe find out.

CVluvFoxy: Haha, I know, this is way more reviews than I was expecting. But hey, no worries, review when you can. Courtney and Leonard aside, I'm glad you're enjoying the cast. I have a couple interesting ideas about what to do with the villainy this season, and I'm excited to see how it all works out. The same with the heroes - there's gonna be a lot of things going on, I think, especially since Izzy's still around somewhere. And then there's Noah, who is someone who I know is gonna be hard to live up to everyone's expectations for, but I'm confident with what I have planned for him. And, of course, interesting predictions as always.

bruno14: Mmm, yeah, Izzy's just hard to get rid of for very long. Harold/Jasmine...well, I won't spoil how that might develop. Cameron is certainly gaining confidence, and Justin is willing to risk his looks sometimes...but again, you'll have to wait and see where that leads. But other than that, I'm glad you're enjoying the cast and their interactions.

VIPGuest: Well, that or I just couldn't think of how to dismiss it :) And yeah, having an elimination every episode (or nearly every episode) certainly makes it tough to give everyone development, but I think I'm handling it well so far. As for making Lindsay a bigger dimwit...ehh. That doesn't really appeal to me, sorry.

Knifez: True. I figured the bit with Fang might throw people off a bit, but since this is Izzy we're talking about it was always gonna be fairly obvious what would happen with her. And I think I'll say that I've enjoyed writing a few Noah-Gwen interactions in these next two episodes...
And yeah, it's weird for me too going from the first gen group where I really only had Tyler and Ella that had to be fleshed out, to this new group where everyone is technically starting from scratch. It...keeps me on my toes, I guess. I'm disappointed you feel that way about Harold, but hey, like you said by the end of this week or some week in the future your opinion on him (or others, depending on who makes it that far) could have totally changed.

Lulu'sBackInTown: ...good question. In retrospect, I really should have had the bottom two as Izzy and Courtney, as Izzy and Leonard almost certainly voted for the bossy CIT.

Aztec 13: Well, I wouldn't call it the end for Izzy - or at least not the final one. And as for Noah's similarity to Scott, and how that might be a predictor of how he ends up this season...sorry, but I'm staying silent on that matter.

Ddynamo: Again, thank you so much for the vigilance in spotting plagiarizers. And yeah, you were definitely spot-on about Izzy getting the boot last week. The idol is something I have a couple ideas for, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out. And as for Leonard...well, you'll find out eventually.

Explorer of the Unknown: Yeah, I think it was what a lot of people were expecting, even moreso once the chapter got going and Izzy started annoying her teammates. As for her becoming a mutant, as well as her relationship with Fang...well, you'll have to wait and see what I have in store. And I'm glad that it isn't so clear what I'll be doing in terms of the next elimination, and the villains, and the idol...it's nice to have things up in the air at this point. I'm glad you're impressed by my handling of Leonard - being aware that he's on the bottom of the team is just a simple thing for him to do, and it's only the beginning. I hope you enjoy what becomes of him and all the others this week.

Star Saber21: Presumably they wanted to honor some important dead relative or something? I don't know, it's just my guess. I'm glad you enjoyed Courtney attacking Leonard in parallel to Lightning attacking Sam in canon; once I rewatched that scene I knew Courtney and Leonard would work great in it.

Moonlights Glow: Ah, I see. Well, this is Izzy we're talking about - she won't stay away forever. And yeah, it certainly seems like Leonard's facing a tough crowd, as it were, but only time will tell if he'll be able to survive. And yeah, I did imply that Leonard and Izzy aligned together at the end of the first episode - Leonard initially approached Gwen only, but then Izzy just sort of popped up and joined as well. And since they were able to vote Cody off, it's implied that the alliance did become a thing...but only for that elimination, as Gwen didn't want anything to do with Izzy after that.
And yeah, the glasses were definitely the same style as Harold's. But while I did consider having the lenses be the same too, I decided that Chris would probably think ahead and change them to make thing difficult for everybody.

link9753: Hmm, well, you'll just have to wait and see how the eliminations play out, I'm afraid. Interesting predictions, though, and i look forward to seeing if and how those change throughout the season.

wifishark: Well, you'll just have to wait and see what happens I'm afraid.

And yet again, those are finally out of the way for the week. As a reminder, the current teams are as follows:

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

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

And lastly, the usual bit at the end: 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.

We've got...well, quite the challenge this week, dear readers! I hope you enjoy.

- Fangren


Episode 3 – Ice Ice Baby

"Last time, on Total Drama Revenge of the Island!" Chris opened on the now-typical shot of the somewhat decrepit Camp. "We learned that although our campers are here to win," the recap montage began with the two recently-awoken team assembled before the host, "they're all losers in one way or another," Noah was shown fleeing in terror from a mutant woolly beaver during the flashback of his Chris Head hunt. "Really, really big losers," Chris added over shots of Fang chomping off the corner of the Maggots' stand, and Cameron blushing and shrinking into his seat in embarrassment.

"It was a psychological butt-kicking that quickly turned literal," Chris continued as Harold was shown sizing up the angle of his final swing into the Grand Slam, and Lindsay got kicked forward by the Kick Start. "Then comical," the host added as Noah was shown painfully bouncing from one butt-shaped apparatus to the next, "then hysterical!" Chris finished with a laugh as Harold's first try at the Grand Slam was shown, ending with the dweeb hitting a giant bat with his groin.

"In the end, Izzy got the boot..." Izzy was shown growing nervous as the elimination came down to her and Leonard, "or she would have," the host added bitterly as the spotlight swept across the campfire pit, "if she hadn't ran off when the RCMP came for her." Izzy's last stand was shown, as was Chris hastily ordering Chef to catch her. "Yeah, I'm still a little peeved about that," the host finished, the clip of him hurling Chef into the night ending the recap montage.

"Stay tuned," he said with a more typical enthusiasm as the scene cut to him on the Dock of Shame, "as more things blow up! More contestants throw up," he clutched his throat loosely, "and some even try to hook up," he made a heart shape with his fingers. Right here, 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 Camp Wawanakwa's lodge and mess hall, the camera panning to the left to show the communal bathroom and, more importantly, a cluster of bushes. The shot zoomed in as one of them began to rustle, and a mouse with a bulging, veiny head scurried out into the open. It paused as the shadow of a bird of prey fell over it, and looked up to see a bald eagle diving towards it with its talons out.

The music peaked sharply as the mutant mouse's eyes glowed green, and a beam shot out of them and hit the approaching eagle. The bird froze in mid-air, then slammed back and forth as though in the grasp of some unseen hand. It was finally tossed off-camera with a squawk, and the mutant mouse scurried onward. It climbed the steps of the main lodge and crawled through a hole in the door, and the scene cut inside.

The camera, situated high on the right wall relative to the entrance, showed the two teams eating and the lodge itself in a state of near disrepair. The floor had become a patchwork of different colors and styles; one of the front windows had been broken and halfheartedly boarded up; there was a gaping hole in the roof over the other front window; a few planks were missing from the far left wall around the fireplace; and a bit of wallpaper was peeling on the partition dividing the kitchen from the rest of the lodge.

The five members of the Toxic Rats sat at the forward table, to the left of the camera, while the six Mutant Maggots sat closer to the kitchen; and although the former team's table had a grimy and tattered table cloth, both teams had only logs to sit on.

Cameron, with Jasmine and Harold just visible over his shoulder, hesitantly stuck a spoonful of the grayish food they'd been served into his mouth, cringed, and spat it back into his bowl. "What is this stuff?" he asked, picking up the bowl and peering at it more closely. "It doesn't taste even remotely edible!"

"It's gruel, kid," Noah said dryly, the perspective inverting to show him idly stirring his own bowl of breakfast. "It's not supposed to."

xxx

"Yeah, with the way our 'meals' are turning out," Noah told the outhouse camera, "my life-threatening allergies are gonna be the least of my dietary woes."

xxx

The shot cut to Lindsay and Justin at the right end of the Maggots' table, their backs to the kitchen. "Do you think this gruel is low-carb?" the blonde asked, picking a hair out of her spoonful.

"I think it's probably low everything," Justin answered before looking up from his own breakfast, noticing something just off-camera, and nudging Lindsay with his elbow. "But I think there's a bigger issue," he told her in a low voice, discretely pointing down the table.

"So anyway," Zoey said to Harold as the perspective changed to show them eating side-by-side, Courtney and Cameron and Noah and Gwen visible just over the indie girl's shoulder, "nobody back home really, like, gets me, you know? They just don't understand why I like all those old 80s movies, or why I can't stand pop music."

"Totally," Harold nodded in understanding. "I, too, know the pain of having nobody that truly appreciates my skills and interests."

The perspective changed again, now showing Jasmine and Trent eating across from Harold and Zoey. "It's good the two of you came out here," the tall girl told her teammates between scoops of gruel. "Broaden your horizons and meet other people, y'know?" The two nodded happily, and Jasmine turned her attention to Trent, whose eyes kept flitting from his bowl of gruel to something off-screen. "What's the matter, mate?" Jasmine asked. "I know the gruel is terrible, but it's important to at least get your stomach filled."

"Nah, it's not the gruel," Trent told her. "It's just...," he said, trailing off as he made a small vague gesture to the other table. The perspective shifted to show Gwen almost exactly across the room from Trent, currently trying to pull her spoon free from her gruel.

"Ohhhh," Jasmine said in comprehension as the shot cut back to her and Trent, the musician smiling bashfully.

xxx

"Yeah, I'll admit I have kind of a thing for Gwen," Trent admitted. "She seems pretty smart and independent, and I dig girls like that."

xxx

"It's just a shame we're on opposite teams, though," Trent whispered to Jasmine, "it makes it hard to get to know her, y'know? Hopefully we'll both make the merge."

"Somethin' to work for, then," Jasmine told him with a smile. "Just don't think the rest of us are gonna go easy on you just because you've got your eye on someone."

"Haha, I know, I know," Trent replied jovially. He smiled and sent a wave across the table, and the shot cut to show Gwen seeing it, then blushing faintly and waving back.

The camera pulled back from the goth to show Courtney sitting across from her, then rotated around to show the ex-CIT's lips pursed in annoyance. She quickly looked back over her shoulder, then asked "Was that Trent again?"

"Yeah, so what?" Gwen answered in annoyance. "Don't tell me you're still mad at the idea that I might be friendly with someone on the other team."

"He might try to use that against us," Courtney hissed under her breath.

"Do you honestly think I'd fall for something like that?" Gwen countered, her temper rising. "What kind of girl do you take me for?"

Cameron was briefly shown watching the two girls nervously, but before he could speak up, the camera panned down to Leonard at the other end of their table, just past Gwen. Judging by the spellbook and quill pen laid out on the table next to his bowl he'd been writing in it, though now he was looking sternly at his teammates.

"Pardon me," he said, "but do you mind? I'm trying to think!"

"What, trying to figure out why your magic isn't working?" Noah asked, the camera panning to him and Gwen. "Because if you are, I've got some bad news for you." Gwen smiled expectantly, and the camera panned back to Leonard, now in the middle of raising a spoonful of gruel that appeared to have two hairs sticking out of it.

"No, I already know it's 'cause of the toxic waste," the wizard explained offhandedly. "I'm just trying to figure out what to do about it." He moved to put the spoon in his mouth, only to stop at the last second. He looked down at the two hairs in his gruel, raised and eyebrow and plucked them out – or rather, the beetle the antennae were attached to.

"Zounds," Leonard said in muted awe. The beetle hissed angrily at him, but he quickly brushed a finger against its shell until it purred. "And thus, the bond of the wizard's familiar has been forged," Leonard declared, causing his teammates to exchange an odd look.

The shot cut back to Justin and Lindsay, who turned odd looks of their own away from the direction of the other table and down to the bulbous-headed mouse now sitting on their own table. "Aww, cute!" Lindsay gushed the moment she noticed it.

"Wait, no," Justin said in a rising panic as he noticed his teammate reaching out a finger towards the mutant. Without warning the mouse's eyes began to glow green again, and to the horror of the two Maggots it levitated into the air.

The scene moved outside the lodge as crashes and screams of terror filled the air. All the campers except Harold fled out the front door as dramatic music played, and a refrigerator was flung out after them. They paused to catch their breath, and it was then that Harold was finally tossed out to them with a low scream of his own.

The whine of the intercom turning on caught their attention, and the camera cut to an upward shot of the loudspeaker. "Attention, players!" Chris announced. "Please head to the looming tragedy that is Mount Looming Tragedy!" The shot switched to a tall, craggy spire of rock in the distance, it's broad and flat peak seen only in silhouette thanks to a ring of ominous clouds. "Your race begins, NOW!"

He punctuated his broadcast with his blowhorn, and Jasmine immediately turned to her teammates. "Let's move, Maggots!" she declared, and all elevens campers raced off – with Noah noticeably behind.

/

A flash ahead showed the two teams arriving at the base of the mountain, all of them out of breath except Jasmine.

"Please tell me we get something for this," Trent panted, doubled over with his hands on his knees.

Cameron arrived last just then, clutching his stomach and groaning. He walked over to a bush, fell to his knees, and threw up.

"You okay there, Cameron?" Gwen asked in concern after the bubble-boy had stood back up and wiped the bile from his lips.

A sudden whistle interrupted any answer that may have come, drawing the campers' attention to the side. "Okay, mutant food," Chris greeted, standing with Chef next to a muddy jeep, "on with the challenge! Part one is an uphill battle," he explained, the shot moving to and upward pan of the rocky tower before them – it was covered with barbed wire, toxic waste barrels, and what looked like pipes of some kind. "You have to climb all the way up to that cliff," Chris explained, the camera coming to a rest at the broad, flat rock that topped the mountain; a dead tree and another toxic waste barrel were the only things to be seen on top. "First team to reach the top gets an advantage in part two."

"You can climb with your hands," the host continued as the shot returned to him, "or use whatever you find in the pile." He motioned over his shoulder, and the camera cut to a large mound of junk – appliances, furniture, pipes, tires, and other abandoned pieces of scrap. "But don't worry," Chris added, growing more and more excited, "this junkyard doesn't have a dog. It has a giant mutant beetle!"

On cue, a gigantic beetle similar to the one Leonard had found in his gruel popped out of the junk pile and hissed at the humans; Jasmine, Harold, Zoey, Noah, and Leonard all gasped in shock.

"Hahaha, the guy's a bit of a hoarder," Chris laughed. "His estate is full of useful crud," the beetle was shown picking up a paintball gun and a sewing machine from the pile and casually tossing them away, "aaaand disgusting crud." The beetle picked out a toilet next, and threw it at the humans with a hissing roar; Jasmine, Harold, Zoey, Noah, and Leonard quickly ducked, and it crashed to the ground behind them. "That is, if you can get near it," Chris told them with an impish smile. He turned towards the mountain and gave a thumbs-up, and Chef – now on top of the cliff – blew on an alphorn, shaking the area.

"It is on!" Chris declared, pumping his fist as intense challenge music started playing.

"Go! Go! Go!" Jasmine said, once again at the head of the pack as the campers started running.

/

The Rats' logo appeared in the corner as Cameron was shown struggling to pull himself up to a ledge. "Shirt so heavy," he whimpered, dropping down a little. "Socks, weighing me down!" He fell off completely, and the shot zoomed out to reveal that the ledge he'd tried to climb embarrassingly close to the ground.

"Come on, Cameron," Courtney called out to him while hanging from a dead tree that was jutting out of the rock. "If your muscles aren't enough, use that brain of yours!" She swung herself up onto the branch, then jumped up from it to a higher ledge where she paused to catch her breath.

A few seconds later, Gwen hauled herself up onto the same ledge a little ways away. "Do you really think we're gonna win this way?" the goth asked her teammate.

"We'd better," Courtney replied with a hint of anger.

"Alright, just one step at a time," Jasmine coached as the shot cut to her and Zoey climbing the mountain, the Maggot's logo appearing in the corner of the screen. "Don't look down, just focus on finding the next hold."

"Wow," Zoey remarked as the two climbed up a few more steps, "you really sound like you know what you're doing. Do you climb mountains a lot?"

"Yeah, all the time!" Jasmine said. "Well, I mean, not recently, but it's a skill that you don't really forget."

"Oh, cool!" Zoey said. "I'm glad we have someone like you around, it makes this kind of thing way easier."

"Thanks," Jasmine told her before looking down and past her. "Now, where are the others?"

"Right here!" Trent called out to them, the shot cutting to him climbing another part of the mountain. "At least, I think," he added uncertainly, looking back down – the camera panned down to show Harold struggling a few steps behind. "Hey man, you alright down there?" Trent asked.

"I'm fine," Harold wheezed, climbing up to another ledge. "I'm just...pacing myself so I don't exhaust all my stamina."

Trent raised an eyebrow, then looked back up at Jasmine, who was now smiling. "I hear ya mate, good call!" she told him. "Just don't be afraid to holler if you need help, okay?"

"Got it!" Harold replied with a dopey, beaming grin.

The shot cut next to Lindsay, still on the ground looking at the cliff uncertainly. "And will the lady be participating?" Chris asked in a mocking prim tone as he walked over.

"In a second," Lindsay replied. "I just did my nails so I'm trying to figure out if there's a way to climb without breaking them."

"I see," Chris said blankly. "What about you, man candy?" he asked, turning his head towards Justin – who was also still on the ground, looking up and rubbing his chin.

"Huh?" the model said, looking back at the host. "Oh, right, I just need a sec too." He smiled at the host's skeptical look, then grabbed Lindsay by the wrist and pulled her over. "Hey Lindsay, you'll stay by my side no matter what, right?" he asked her with a charming smile.

"Of course, Justin," Lindsay answered dreamily, "always!"

"Good to hear," he told her before suddenly letting go, turning around, and pointing to his back. "Now hop on, I'll carry you up on my perfectly sculpted back." Lindsay blushed and giggled and hopped on.

The camera panned over to the right, where Leonard – also on the ground – was tapping his chin and narrowing his eyes as he looked off further to the right.

"Aaaand surprising nobody, this isn't working," Noah said as he suddenly slid down the cliff behind the wizard.

"Friend," Leonard turned and told him, "I believe we're going to have to solve this conundrum without climbing."

"Gee, ya think?" Noah replied scathingly.

/

The background music became intense again as the scene cut back to Courtney and Gwen, the goth climbing on ahead while the ex-CIT lingered at a ledge with a few small, loose stones on it. She whistled over to them nonchalantly, then viciously kicked them off – they tumbled down the mountainside, catching Trent and Harold and knocking them off. The two boys narrowly missed hitting Justin and Lindsay, and landed with a groan back on the ground.

"Hey, what was that about?" Gwen asked in shock as her teammate caught up to her.

"What?" Courtney replied in near offense. "They're on the other team, knocking them down just gives the rest of ours more time to catch up!" Gwen glowered at her, but she just ignored it and kept climbing.

Back down at the bottom, Cameron had joined up with Noah and Leonard, who were currently crouched behind a large rock near the junk pile.

"What are you two doing?" the bubble-boy asked.

"We await an opportunity to use stealth to bypass the monster, and gain access to its horde of treasure," Leonard whispered dramatically.

"We're gonna try and sneak past the guard beetle and take its junk," Noah dryly translated, and the camera briefly panned over to show the mutant perched on its pile. It clacked its pincers and turned around, and the camera panned back to the three boys.

"The time is now, fellows!" Leonard announced, standing up. "Charge!"

He was the only one to do so, and by the time he'd gotten to the edge of the pile the noise of his approach had gotten the beetle's attention and caused it to turn back around.

"So much for stealth," Noah quipped as he and Cameron watched on.

"S-stand aside, knave!" Leonard commanded, absentmindedly grabbing a recorder from the pile and brandishing it like a weapon.

It breathed a jet of fire at him, causing him to yelp and flee.

"Seriously?!" Noah exclaimed in disbelief as Leonard hastily rejoined him and Cameron. "I mean, seriously?! It breaths fire?!"

"I think we're gonna need some other way to distract it," Cameron said fearfully.

Leonard looked down at the recorder in his hands. "Perhaps music can soothe this savage beast," he said, the challenge music fading out as he put the instrument to his lips and started to play.

It wasn't very good, and the beetle quickly made its displeasure known by breathing out another jet of fire, then curling up into a ball and rolling towards the three boys as the intense challenge music resumed. Leonard stopped playing as he, Cameron, and Noah scattered, with the balled-up beetle only following one of them.

"Why is it chasing me?!" Noah exclaimed as he ran from the mutant, Leonard and Cameron watching from the junk pile. "Leonard's the one who played that awful racket!"

Trent and Harold were shown woozily getting back to their feet and looking over at their opponents. "C'mon, we gotta find something useful!" Cameron told Leonard as the two black boys frantically sifted through the junk pile.

"Check it," Harold told his teammate, "I think they have the right idea."

"You really think there's something in there that can help us?" Trent asked, following after as his nerdy teammate began to walk off to the right. The shot cut to the curled-up guard beetle bouncing up and down on a face-down Noah, then the camera panned left to show Cameron and Leonard pushing a waste barrel away from the pile and Harold and Trent running up to it.

"Totally," Harold told his teammate as they began to search as well, quickly tossing aside an old tire.

/

The shot cut to the top of the mountain, where Chef was waiting with several large blocks of ice. Jasmine was almost there, causing Chef to scowl – though he brightened up when his walkie talkie beeped. "You know what to do," Chris told him over it.

"Ice 'em," Chef replied with a dark grin.

"Alright," Jasmine said confidently, "looks like we're gonna score another one for Team Maggot!" The shot cut up to Chef, listening to the survivalist's climbing grunts as he held out an ice block with a vicious grin. He let it fall, and Jasmine looked up just in time to see it hit her. It knocked her off the cliff face, and she fell and knocked Zoey off as well. The two fell past Courtney, who watched in shock as they landed with a pained thud and groan.

She scowled upwards, and Chef was shown throwing more and more ice blocks down towards her. With a few quick yelping screams she dodged each one in turn. "I am not going down, Chef!" she yelled angrily up at the man.

Chef snorted in contempt, then turned his gaze to the side – Gwen had just grabbed on to a thick pipe jutting out of the rock, and was pulling herself up from it to the next small ledge. She almost made it, too, but another ice block crashed down on the ledge just as she was about to grab it, forcing her to recoil with a yelp of fear. "Holy crap that was close," she said in shock.

The shot cut to Justin and Lindsay, the blonde still on the model's back. "You doing okay there Lindsay?" Justin asked, his gaze focused on the cliff as he steadily climbed onward.

"Yeah," Lindsay answered as she looked back down at the ground, "but I'm not sure about the others. I think we're the only ones on our team that are still climbing." Justin looked back downward as well, and the shot cut down to the ground to show that Jasmine and Zoey had recovered enough to stand.

"Don't worry about us!" Jasmine called up to them. "Just keep moving!"

"I know," Justin said softly and irritably to himself, looking back up the cliff as the shot cut back to him.

xxx

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jasmine thinks she's, like, team leader or something," the supermodel explained to the outhouse camera, "and I don't think I like that. 'Cause see, if the others get in good with her and they form an alliance, then that means I might actually be in trouble. I think I'm gonna try and take control of the team from her when I get the chance."

xxx

Jasmine and Zoey joined up with Trent, who was watching Harold wind a long rope with a grappling hook attached to it around a short wooden rod with several other pieces of wood scattered around him.

"Can you get us all back up top with whatever it is you're building?" Jasmine asked hastily.

"Yes," Harold answered matter-of-factly, "but I'm still gonna need a few more parts from the pile."

The shot cut to Cameron and Leonard by the toxic waste barrel they'd grabbed as well as a ramshackle old couch and several other bits and bobs, the bubble-boy busy scratching calculations into the dirt. "So, what marvel of artifice are you working on?" Leonard asked.

"A rocket, basically," Cameron answered, not looking up from his equations. "But it won't matter if we can't get Noah away from the beetle."

Leonard looked up and to the side, where his teammate had been caught in a headlock by the guard mutant and was being punched in the face over and over by a boxing glove-wearing leg. "Any time you'd like to help, guys!" Noah called out in pained annoyance.

"Hmm," Leonard said, the shot cutting back to his close-up as he thought. "Of course!" he grinned in realization, snapping his fingers then reaching into the sleeves of his robe. "The solution to this puzzling predicament must lie in the bond familiar!" he declared, the camera zooming in on his hand as he revealed the much smaller mutant beetle he'd befriended earlier.

"Or the bond familial, as the case may be," he added slyly as the younger beetle hissed and screeched. This attracted the attention of the larger one, who promptly dropped Noah. He hit the ground with a groan.

A sweet and playful tune played as the smaller beetle jumped from Leonard's hand and scurried over to its parent, who picked it up with its forelegs, looked at it lovingly, and gave it a quick tap on the back so that it burped out a small jet of flame. Satisfied, the guard beetle scurried away and disappeared behind its horde.

"And thus the battle ends with everybody happy," Leonard remarked from in front of the pile, unaware of Jasmine, Trent, and Zoey hurriedly grabbing things from it behind him.

"I'm not!" Noah countered from off-screen.

/

The shot cut to a close-up of what looked like a makeshift grappling gun with the inner coil of rope still exposed. The Maggots' logo appeared in the top right corner of the screen as several pieces of metal, mostly springs, were dropped down around the contraption.

"There," Jasmine said, the shot zooming out to show her, Zoey, and Trent standing nervously around Harold. "That's what you needed, right?"

"Heck yeah," Harold smiled, picking up one of the springs and testing it with his fingers. "Great work, guys, this is totally awesome."

"Cool," Zoey said nervously, "but can you put it together in time?"

"Yeah, I think the Rats are almost done," Trent added, the shot briefly cutting to show Cameron, Leonard, and Noah struggling to lift the old couch.

Harold nodded, and the music turned tense again. The camera focused on his face as he stuck his tongue and started grabbing pieces just out-of-sight, and the footage quickly cycled between a few other shots – the Rat boys finally getting the couch into place on top of the waste barrel; Trent and Zoey and Jasmine's nervous looks; and finally Harold again who grinned as the music peaked and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Done!" he announced, holding up his finished, and rather bulky, grappling gun. "Here, I'll let you have the honors," he added, tossing his mostly-wooden creation to Jasmine.

"Score," she said with a confident smirk, quickly aiming the gun up at the top of the cliff and firing; the recoil was enough to nearly send her off-balance. "Wow, it's got quite the kick," she smiled, looking at the gun.

The shot briefly cut to the top of the mountain, where Courtney had just about finished her climb. The grappling hook suddenly shot past, startling her.

"Okay," Jasmine said as the shot cut back to the Maggots on the ground, the gun's rope still moving, "so how-" She was cut off when she felt Harold suddenly latch onto her, and though she scowled at him he ignored it.

"Quick!" the dweeb declared. "Grab on before it starts retracting!"

"Huh?" Jasmine said in confusion before the grappling rope suddenly became taut. Trent and Zoey were only just able to grab onto Jasmine as the gun's box started to whir, and with a startled scream the four of them were pulled into the air at high speed.

They zoomed past Justin and Lindsay, and the camera zoomed in on the model as he yelped and shifted to the side to dodge. "Hey, you could've hit me!" he called out in annoyance. "Right, Lindsay?" he asked, looking back at his companion...who, as the camera zooming back out revealed, was no longer on his back. A familiar shriek caused him to turn his shocked look upwards again, the camera following suit to show that Lindsay had somehow latched onto Zoey as she and the others went by.

The extra weight didn't seem to be slowing the Maggots down, however, as they continued to fly upward. Courtney managed to haul herself up to the flat mountaintop just as their momentum shot them up past her and into the air, the grappling hook becoming unhooked from the rock next to her. Chef, who had been about to throw another ice block down, gaped in shock just before the five Maggots landed on him.

"Looks like we made it," Jasmine said weakly to the teammates piled on top of her, who groaned out a cheer.

"Umm, don't think you've won yet," Courtney interrupted. "We have to get our whole team up, remember? You're still missing a member, and the rest of my team should be up momentarily!"

The five Maggots immediately looked towards the edge of the cliff, just as Gwen pulled herself up top. "You better be right, Courtney," she told the other girl, "because I'm pretty sure Justin's coming up fast."

Dread filled Courtney's face as she hurried back to the edge of the cliff and looked down, the camera quick-panning down to Justin as he silently but determinedly climbed up. Back up top his five teammates quickly got themselves back upright, and rushed to the side to cheer him on.

"C'mon, guys!" Gwen countered, standing between them and Courtney and calling down the mountain as well. "You can do it!"

"Yeah, get a move on!" Courtney added angrily and the camera quick-panned back down once again, this time stopping at Cameron, Noah, and Leonard. Several bottles and bags and electronic bits had been tied to the waste barrel, with two long wires leading out from them.

"Okay, we should be ready to launch," Cameron said, climbing onto the couch and grabbing the uninsulated ends of the two wires.

"Yes, but into what," Noah said anxiously as he and Leonard climbed onto the couch as well.

"Here goes!" Cameron said, touching the two wires together. The whole apparatus shook for a second, then the couch took off quite like a rocket – suddenly, and with a bit of fire coming out of the bottom.

The three boys screamed, and their couch soon caught up to a wide-eyed Justin...who quickly turned around and grabbed onto it as it passed. It reached the top soon afterward with all four boys screaming for their lives, rocketing past the edge of the cliff and the shocked faces of their teammates.

"Catch me, girls!" Justin said, dropping away from the couch first. Zoey and Lindsay quickly backed up a few steps with their arms wide, catching Justin but falling back onto the rock in the process. "Thanks, girls, that could've done some serious damage!" Justin told the two groaning young women.

xxx

"Man, grabbing onto the couch like that was some really quick thinking," Justin said in awe. He turned his eyes upward and tapped the side of his head with a couple fingers, adding "Good job, brain, looks like being out here has really brought out the best in you!"

xxx

The challenge footage resumed with a shot of Chef holding his head and groaning in pain as he stood back up...only for the couch carrying Leonard, Cameron, and Noah to land on top of him as well.

"Did we make it?" Leonard asked as he and the other boys disembarked and ran over to rejoin their teammates.

A rather annoyed-looking Courtney opened her mouth to respond, but was cut-off by the sudden appearance of Chris McLean. The host was hovering in the air a few yards away with his jetpack, and sported a wide grin.

"Sorry Leonard, but thanks to Harold and Justin the Maggots win!" he announced, earning a triumphant cheer from the six winners and a groan from the losers.

"Great, another loss!" Courtney raged. "Can't this team do anything right?!"

"Well it's not like you've been doing much to help us win," Gwen shot at her.

Courtney gasped in outrage. "I was the first one up here! It's not my fault we lost, it was the boys for being too slow!"

"Yeah, because Justin totally wouldn't have grabbed on if they'd come up sooner," Gwen countered sarcastically.

Courtney growled angrily, but Cameron quickly put himself between her and Gwen. "Please, stop fighting!" he told them.

Before any of them could react, Chris landed between them and the camera. "Will the Rats keep it together?" he asked. "Or will they all go tumbling down? Find out, after the break."

(Fade to Commercial and Back)

The episode resumed on a shot of a large patch of ice and snow, a snow machine blowing in the background next to a snowy slope. The camera panned left onto the two shivering teams, with Zoey and Noah clinging to their respective team flags.

"Greetings, ice teens!" Chris greeted as he and Chef rode up on the back of a snowmobile wearing thick parkas. "Cold enough for ya?" He chuckled as the shot cut in closer and panned back across the freezing campers, Chris adding "I'll take that as a yes," when it reached the end of the line.

"Time for part two of today's challenge!" the host announced. "'Capture the Snow Fort.' To win, you either have to demo the enemy's fort," he directed their attention to his left, the shot cutting over to a rather poorly constructed snow castle, "or capture their flag and bring it back to you own fort." He directed their attention in the opposite direction, to a much nicer-looking snow fortress. "Maggots won the first part, so they get first dibs on the forts," Chris explained.

"The c-c-castle looks nicer," Zoey opened as the camera zoomed in on the Maggots, five of them looking at each other while Jasmine continued to look over them from one fort to the other.

"True," Justin shivered. "Oh, but what if it's like a trick or something?" he suggested, Lindsay quickly nodding her agreement. "It could really be terrible inside," Justin added.

"I wouldn't put it past Chris to pull something like that," Trent said warily.

"What do you think, Jasmine?" Harold asked the team's tallest member, who was now looking firmly in the direction of the better-looking fort.

"Nah, even if there's something bad inside the outer walls still look way more stable," she said. "We'll take the castle," she announced, dashing off to the right without further discussion and forcing her shivering teammates to follow nervously.

/

A clock wipe transitioned the scene to inside the Maggots' new fort, a pleasant tune playing as it was shown to be just as nice-looking on the inside, if rather bare. Aside from the campers and their flag, all that was inside was a pile of snowballs and a shovel stuck into the ground.

"See, what'd I tell ya?" Jasmine told her smiling teammates.

xxx

"What can I say, I know a thing or two about building shelters," Jasmine told the outhouse camera. "I'd hate to be the Rats right now, though, that shack looked dreadful."

xxx

The scene cut to the fort in question, which was just as ugly on the inside as it was out. It was as bare otherwise as the Maggots' castle, though, with only a shovel and pile of snowballs.

"Wow, it's almost as depressing as our chances of winning!" Noah said dryly as he and his teammates looked around in disappointment.

"Well...that doesn't mean the rest of you shouldn't gonna try your hardest," Courtney said with a hint of forced positivity.

"Oh? And where does that leave you?" Gwen asked with a hint of bitterness.

"Trying as hard as I can like always," Courtney replied in annoyance, causing Cameron to look between the two girls, pinch the bridge of his nose, and groan.

/

"Listen up, players," Chris called over a megaphone as the scene cut to Chef carrying a lawn chair past a blazing fire pit. The host was already seated in a chair of his own, and his assistant soon joined him. "Here's how it works! Use the shovel in each fort to fire your collection of Mystery Snowballs," the eyes of the five Rats immediately turned to their imbedded shovel, and Cameron tentatively reached out and touched the handle, "which you can fire at each other's forts."

"Fascinating," he said to himself as he drew the shovel's handle back an inch and released it with a twang.

"Why are they called Mystery Balls?" Zoey called out from the Maggots' castle while Jasmine tested how stable their shovel was.

"Because they all inflict major damage!" Chris answered. "Thanks to the secret weapon hidden inside each ball." The Maggots were shown looking at their pile of snowballs, the shot zooming in as one of them made an odd noise and shook. "Some, will damage you," the host added, "so choose wisely."

"Each team has to elect a Captain to command, and conquer," Chris continued. "Starting...now!"

"I volunteer for Team Captain," Jasmine immediately said back at the Maggots' base. "Any objections?"

"None here," Harold said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me," Zoey added shortly after.

"I'm cool with it," Trent finished

"Good," Jasmine nodded. "So in that case, me, Justin, and Trent will go grab the Rats' flag. Zoey, Lindsay, and Harold, you stay back and guard ours."

It was then that Justin cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his teammates. "Actually," he said, "I was thinking that maybe we should keep some of the muscle back here in case we need it to fight off the Rats. Plus," he smiled and chuckled in a light but attractive manner, "I don't think anybody wants to risk me slipping on the ice and bruising my beautiful face."

The camera zoomed in on his face as his smile gleamed and his skin sparkled, and Jasmine was shown staring dreamily and saying "Yeah..."

"What if I stay back with Lindsay and Zoey, and Harold goes with you and Trent?" Justin suggested.

Jasmine shook away the dreaminess and smirked. "Not a bad idea," she said. "Let's do that then. Okay team," she said, putting her hand into the middle of their group; the others quickly followed suit. "Let's do this!" Jasmine finished, leading the break as the others cheered. She, Trent, and Harold ran off out of the castle, leaving Zoey, Lindsay, and Justin behind.

The supermodel grinned.

xxx

"Now that I have the girls alone, it's time to work my magic," Justin confidently confessed. "Getting Zoey into an alliance should be a piece of low-fat, low-carb cake."

xxx

"Hey, I was thinking," Justin told the girls as they turned their attention to the shovel and snowball pile. "It's only a matter of time before we lose, so how about the three of us form an alliance to protect each other?"

"Ooh, I'd love to Justin!" Lindsay squealed, dropping the snowball she'd picked up an ignoring the cloud of smoke it burst into.

"Wow, uh, I don't know what to say," Zoey said, looking at him and rubbing her arm uncertainly. "Who'd you wanna vote for if we lose?"

"I'm thinking Harold," Justin told her.

"Whoa, really?" Zoey asked in shock. "Why him?"

"He's weird and kind of a flake, y'know?" Justin explained, idly leaning on their shovel. "He doesn't really fit the team's image."

"But...but Harold's my friend...kind of...," Zoey said, becoming more uncertain as Justin chuckled and walked toward her.

"C'mon, Zoey," the supermodel said, "don't you wanna be friends with me?" He drew closer to her as he spoke, grabbing her hand in both of his and getting almost face to face while Lindsay watched blankly in the background.

Zoey just made a sort of shuddering, overwhelmed noise and took a step back.

xxx

"I used to think the guys back home were gorgeous," Zoey confessed anxiously, "even if they're all just hockey thugs and juvie rejects. But Justin's hotter than all of them combined, and he's a professional supermodel. Harold's smart and we have a lot in common, but he can't really compete with that. But...can I just abandon him?"

xxx

"Well obviously I'm gonna be Team Captain," Courtney declared with a smug matter-of-factness as the footage cut to her and the Rats.

"Really?" Gwen countered with a glower. "Because if you are, I'm rebelling." Courtney gasped indignantly.

"Well, you don't exactly have a good track record," Noah pointed out, Leonard nodding his agreement.

"I have a great track record!" Courtney objected before looking down in embarrassment. "Just...maybe not here...but-"

"I'm sorry, Courtney," Cameron told her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "but I have to agree with them. Right now, we need a leader who we can all accept. And to that end, I'd like to nominate myself."

The brows of his teammates shot up in surprise. "Wow, Cameron, I didn't peg you for the type," Gwen said. "But if you think you're up to it..."

Cameron gulped nervously, but nodded just the same. "I am."

"Okay then," Gwen smiled. "What do you think?" she asked Courtney with an almost pointed tone.

"I...suppose...," Courtney conceded. "But only because I trust in Cameron's smarts."

"What about you guys?" Cameron asked Noah and Leonard.

"Meh," Noah shrugged, "I won't object."

"And so, the mantle of leadership has been handed down," Leonard declared with a dramatic flourish. "What are your orders, oh Captain?" he asked with a bow.

"I was thinking that Noah, Leonard, and I stay back to defend while Courtney and Gwen go on offense," Cameron said.

"What?!" the two girls exclaimed at once.

"I know it seems odd," the bubble-boy conceded, "but if we ever want to win a challenge then the two of you are gonna have to learn to work together. The three of us," he motioned to himself, Leonard, and Noah, "can already do that, and with our combined intellect we should be able to make the best use of the shovel."

"Well...," Courtney said uncertainly.

"Aaand, GO!" Chris suddenly called from off-screen.

"There goes our choice," Gwen muttered in resignation. "Let's go, Bossypants," she said, grabbing Courtney by the wrist and running out of the snow shack.

/

The scene flashed outside as Gwen and Courtney ran out on to the ice, low but tense challenge music welling up in the background. "You'd better not mess this up," Courtney shot to her unwilling partner.

"Would you stop it with that?" Gwen shot back.

The shot cut up to the bright and sizzling sun, then down to Chef and Chris – who had changed back into their normal clothing, with the addition of a straw hat for Chef. Both were drinking some kind of coconut drink. "Hurry up," Chris warned the unseen campers, "my ice is melting! And your forts will too if the sun gets much higher!"

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Gwen asked tersely as the shot cut back to her and Courtney racing along the ice.

"Well first," Courtney said, "we should-whoaaah!" She suddenly slipped on the ice and quickly grabbed Gwen's arm for balance, but only succeeded in knocking the goth off-balance as well; the two girls continued to slide forward on their butts.

The camera quick-panned back to the snow shack, where Noah was watching out of the misshapen window-like entrance, one eyebrow raised as he watched his teammates. "Well, that happened sooner than I expected," he said to himself, turning around and heading back into the center of the fort.

"What was that?" Cameron asked as the shot cut inside, showing him adjusting the Rats' shovel.

"Nothing," Noah said. "You finish calibrating that thing yet, Noble Leader?"

"Yup," Cameron said.

"And I have selected the first round of ammunition from our mysterious stockpile," Leonard announced, walking over with a decently-sized snowball. "Using what few divination spells remain unaffected by this island's toxic energies, of course."

"Great," Noah said in an almost pleasant and not-quite-mocking tone, "load her up."

xxx

Noah gave the outhouse camera a bored shrug. "Hey, if letting him think he's more useful than he really is makes him more bearable to be around, then why spoil it?"

xxx

Dramatic music resumed as the scene cut to Jasmine racing across the ice at top speed, Trent and Harold following a little ways behind her. She blew past Gwen and Courtney, the two girls still sliding forward on their butts, and Trent and Harold soon ran by them as well.

"Wait, what?" Trent said in confusion as he noticed the goth, sliding to a halt as he looked back in the direction they'd gone. Harold, his eyes clenched shut as he yelled out a battlecry, slammed into the musician from behind, toppling both. The ice beneath them began to crack, and soon broke entirely plunging the two boys into frigid water. They promptly bobbed back to the surface, clutching each other in fear but frozen in a block of ice.

Chef started cackling hysterically, and the shot cut back to him and Chris watching from the sidelines. "Forgot to tell ya!" the host called out. "No Man's Land is more like No Man's Water!"

"What?!" Jasmine said in shock, looking back and sliding to a stop. "Oh no, not now!" she said, turning back and running towards her frozen teammates. A sudden snowball flew into her right shoulder from behind, causing the goliath young woman to stumble and grunt in pain but continue forward nonetheless.

"Direct hit, Captain!" Noah called back into the Rats' fort as the shot cut to him looking out its window again. Inside, Cameron and Leonard cheered.

The shot cut back to Gwen and Courtney as they finally stopped sliding and quickly scrambled back onto their feet. "Jeez, I hope Trent's okay," Gwen commented, looking back with concern as she and Courtney started running forward.

"Would you stop letting him distract you and worry about us right now?" Courtney scolded as a snowball sailed right over there heads, forcing both to quickly duck. "We're kind of in the middle of something here!"

"Okay, okay!" Gwen replied with a hint of franticness as yet another snowball sailed past them.

/

"I think we need to aim higher!" Zoey called out as the shot returned to the Maggots' castle, the redhead looking out their front gate. "With Harold and Trent frozen I think we should try to hit the Rats' shack!"

"So we need a little more force, eh?" Justin smirked as the camera panned to him bending the shovel back as Lindsay cautiously loaded a snowball into the loop of the handle. The model let it go, and the snowball was launched into the air with a twang. The camera followed it over the castle wall, then zoomed out to show it flying over No Man's Land – Courtney and Gwen still racing towards the Maggots' base; Jasmine trying to haul her frozen teammates out of the water. The snowball struck a part of the Rat shack that may have been a misshapen tower, causing part of it to crumble down.

"Direct hit!" Zoey announced with cheer from the Maggots' base.

"Great work Zoey," Justin told her with a smile. "Now let's keep 'em coming!"

"Roger!" Lindsay said chipperly, picking up another snowball off their pile.

/

"C'mon, c'mon," Jasmine said as she more firmly grabbed the block of ice her teammates were in and started to lift it. The shot briefly cut to Cameron and Leonard firing off another snowball, and then Justin doing the same, before returning to Jasmine as she managed to get her iced companions out of the water. With snowballs flying through the air she looked around, then bit her lip nervously. "I don't think I have time to get you out," she told them, "but I can't just leave you here...I'll have to bring you with me," she said decisively, getting on the other side of the ice block and giving it a mighty push so it slid towards the Rats' fort.

/

The shot cut back to the Rat boys again, all three working together to load a particularly big snowball onto their shovel before an even bigger one landed on the snow next to them...and burst open to reveal the junkyard guard beetle. It hissed menacingly at them, causing Cameron and Noah to scream and duck behind Leonard.

"Whoa there, big guy," Noah told the beetle, "you don't wanna hurt the one who babysat your kid, right?" The camera focused on Leonard, who smiled politely and waved at the beetle.

The larger one paused, and its tiny child hopped out onto its head and waved back at Leonard as a sweet tune played.

"We're not your enemies," Noah told it quickly, "they are!" The scene cut back outside as he pointed out the window towards the Maggots' base, and the angry beetle hopped out next to him and scurried back along the ice.

Noah wiped his brow in relief and moved back inside. "Okay boys," he told Cameron and Leonard, "time to get launching again. Isn't that right, Captain?" he looked at the bubble-boy, who's eyes briefly widened in recollection.

"Right," Cameron said as he dashed back to their shovel, "everyone to your stations!" Leonard and Noah quickly complied, the former returning to the snowball pile while the latter took up his lookout spot.

/

A flash moved the camera to a position looking in on the Maggots' base from the wide front entrance, Lindsay and Justin and Zoey focused on loading and drawing back another shot inside. A pan to the left showed Courtney peaking inside, then leaning back flush against the outer wall next to Gwen.

"Crap," the former CIT muttered, "I forgot how hot Justin is. The girls are easy enough to deal with, but I don't know if I can bring myself to hurt him. Let's just help the boys tear down the fort."

"Oh?" Gwen whispered. "You're getting distracted by a boy now? I thought you were too aloof to care about your enemies."

"I...th...that's different," Courtney spluttered.

"Really?" Gwen asked. "Because here I thought it was yet another example of you being full of it. Seriously, I can't so much as smile at Trent without you yelling at me, but you can just change our plan on a whim because you don't wanna have to fight the really hot guy?"

Courtney made an indignant sound, but Gwen cut her off. "No, Courtney," the goth said. "I'm sick of you acting like you're so much better than the rest of the team, and I know the guys are too. So why don't you stop acting like Little Miss Perfect for once and admit that you have flaws too."

Courtney stared blankly for a second, then scowled and growled in frustration. "Okay, fine," she hissed, fists clenched. "I admit it, I haven't done as well in challenges as I thought I would. And I'll stop getting on your case about Trent, too, okay?"

"Okay," Gwen smiled, slyly adding "And luckily for us, I have a plan to get around Justin..." She leaned in to whisper into her teammate's ear, and the former CIT's face quickly lit up.

/

A tense note as the scene cut back to Jasmine and her ice-trapped teammates heralded the start of a tenser, more fast-paced challenge tune. She gave the giant block another heave to send it further along the ice towards the Rats' base only for the giant guard beetle to scuttle up, intercept it, and shove it back her way.

"No...," she gasped, quickly holding her arms out to stop it from running her down. She slid back a few feet as she slowed it to a stop, then gasped again as the beetle jumped on top of it with a menacing hiss. "Not you again!" she said, her frustration quickly turning to fear as she ducked and rolled out of the way of a jet of fire. The camera zoomed in on the corner of the ice block that had gotten caught in the blast, and Jasmine smirked when she saw it had been melted.

"You call that a flame, mate?" she taunted. The beetle screeched and turned towards her, but rather than unleashing another jet of fire it simply pounced on her. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" Jasmine cried out as she was pinned to the ice and began wrestling with the guard beetle.

/

The fast-paced challenge music kept going even as the scene flashed back to the Maggots' base and Courtney suddenly ran in screaming at the top of her lungs, knocking over Zoey who had been keeping watch just inside the entrance.

"Quick, guard the flag!" the indie girl called back to her teammates before scrambling to her feet as well.

Lindsay and Justin managed to get in front of the flag before Courtney reached them, but with a sharp cry of "Hi-ya!" the CIT knocked the blonde to the ground with a brutal flying kick to the stomach. She reached for the flag, but Justin quickly grabbed her by the wrist.

"C'mon now, Courtney," he told his captive in a calm, soothing voice, "don't do this. Just looking into my eyes and tell me what you really wanna do right now..." His dreamy, shimmering leitmotif abruptly replaced the challenge music as the camera zoomed in on his beautiful face and shining smile, and Courtney sighed in adoration.

The shot cut back to his close-up as he winked handsomely...and a sudden snowball crashed into him, bringing the intensely-paced challenge back as though it had never been interrupted. "Aah! My beautiful face!" he screamed in pain.

Courtney quickly shook away her lust and looked to the side, the camera following suit to reveal Gwen standing confidently on the Maggots' snowball pile, idly tossing one of them in her hand. "Yeah, Courtney, tell us," she smirked, "what do you wanna do right now?"

Courtney grinned darkly. "I wanna win!" she declared, kneeing Justin between the legs, then shoving him to the side with one hand and grabbing the Maggots' flag.

"No!" Zoey cried out, running towards the CIT to intercept but only receiving a snowball to the face for her trouble. She gasped in pain as she hit the ground, and Gwen and Courtney laughed giddily as they ran out.

/

The footage skipped ahead to show the two Rat girls racing along the ice. The camera panned ahead of them to Jasmine, who had gotten the giant beetle in a headlock and was now forcing it to breath fire on the frozen Harold and Trent – already their heads and shoulders has been freed, but their faces were still unmoving.

"You lose, Maggot!" Courtney taunted as she and Gwen approached, earning a gasp from Jasmine.

"NO!" she cried out, quickly letting go with one hand to reach for the former CIT's legs – only to get a snowball upside the head from the Rats' base. "Aagh!" she winced in pain, moving her free hand to where she'd been hit and in doing so missing her chance to trip Courtney.

"Woo hoo!" Gwen cheered, and the shot cut to the ice shack window as Noah and Cameron laughed and high-fived.

In one swift motion Jasmine slammed the mutant beetle to the ground and stood back up, then chased after her foes with a determined scowl. The camera jumped outwards to show her slowly catching up to them, but it was too late – the music leveled off triumphantly as Courtney and Gwen dove into their base with the Maggots' flag.

"Safe! In your face!" Courtney declared, slamming the captured flag into the ground then turning around to taunt Jasmine as she fell to her knees and slid all the way up to the raised ledge of the shack's window-entrance.

"No...," she groaned in defeat.

"Rats win!" Chris declared as he and Chef arrived outside, both back in their winter wear and Chef holding a tray of several steaming mugs. The five winning campers headed outside with smiles on their faces.

"And here's your reward," the host added, motioning to the tray in his smiling assistant's hands. "McLean Brand Hot Chocolate", he said as a game show jingle played, "scald your senses with chocolatey goodness."

The Rats cheered, and Jasmine groaned and pounded the side of the ice shack in sadness and frustration, cracking part of it. The shot cut to the half-melted ice block and Trent and Harold finally stirred. "What happened?" the musician said in a daze

"Did we win?" the dweeb added a moment later.

"Aww, I can't believe we lost!" Lindsay lamented as the shot cut to her giving Zoey a hand back up. "Oh well...at least we know who's going home, right?" she asked, looking back at Justin.

"Absolutely," Justin remarked, inspecting his face in a mirror – surprisingly, it didn't appear to have changed much after getting hit. "At least, as long as Zoey's still with us," he added, lowering the mirror and flashing a handsome smile at the redhead.

"R-right..." Zoey answered nervously.

/

The footage skipped ahead to the four of the five Rats relaxing on the steps of their cabin, with Courtney standing before them.

"Look," she told them all nervously, "I know I've been a little...hard on everyone lately, so I just wanted to say that...I'm sorry. You have my word that I'll be more considerate from now on."

"Wow, it's great to hear that Courtney!" Cameron said happily.

"Yeah," Noah chimed in with a dry smirk, "I guess we can all just do whatever we want from now on!"

"Don't push it," Courtney glowered. "I still expect everyone to do their best so we can keep winning, I'm just not gonna be as harsh about it."

"Well, I think we can accept that," Gwen said, smiling as she stood up. "As long as you keep that promise, anyway," she added slyly before turning and heading back into the girls' side of the Rats' cabin.

"Haha, yeah," Courtney laughed anxiously.

xxx

"Okay, so I'll concede that Gwen is far more competent than I gave her credit for," Courtney told the outhouse camera, "but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna stop being critical of our team's many weaknesses. I'm just not gonna say anything about them, at least not until I'm safe from the vote again. So for now, I'll let Gwen try to hook up with Trent. But this isn't over," she finished with a stern glare.

xxx

"Do I believe that Courtney's really changed her ways?" Noah asked the confession camera in a bored tone. "No. But I'm not about to pass up an opportunity to either mess with her a bit, or make use of that tea kettle full of rage she's gonna have boiling up inside her."

xxx

The footage skipped ahead again, now showing dusk over the communal bathrooms as Justin sauntered towards them. Jasmine emerged right as the model reached the door, eliciting a "Whoa!" from both as they stepped back before they ran into one another.

"Sorry about that mate," Jasmine said, "I'll just be on my way."

She moved to pass around him, but Justin held out an arm to stop her. "Wait," he said, "I wanna talk to you."

"Really?" Jasmine questioned. "What's on your mind."

"The vote," Justin answered. "I was thinking we should get rid of Harold, you in?"

Jasmine raised her brow in confusion. "Harold? Why him?"

"A lot of reasons," Justin chuckled a bit before turning serious again, "but mostly because he screwed you up in the second part of the challenge. If he hadn't caused him and Trent to get frozen, then you probably would've been able to steal the Rats' flag no problem."

"Well I guess that makes sense," Jasmine admitted uncertainly. "But Harold's a friend, and his smarts are what got us to the top of the cliff. I don't know if we can really afford to eliminate him."

Justin tutted and shook his head, ending with a flip of his luxurious hair that got an adoring sigh from Jasmine. "Trust me, Jasmine, between the two of us we don't need his brains! So please," he lightly grabbed onto her upper arms and looked into her eyes, "vote him out. For me?" He batted his eyelashes a single time, then smiled; Jasmine shuddered and gave a small but pleasured moan.

xxx

"I'm pretty sure it's gonna be Justin that goes home tonight," Harold confessed in the outhouse. "Why, you ask? Simple: because he volunteered to defend the flag, and then failed to defend the flag. It stands to reason from that alone that he's nothing more than an incredibly attractive face, and that his looks aren't even that useful to the team. He's the obvious choice to go home. I haven't talked to the girls about this yet, but I'm confident that they've already come to the same conclusions," he nodded.

xxx

The usual low, plodding elimination music began to play as the scene cut to a shot of the island at night, the camera zooming in then cutting to the six Mutant Maggots at the campfire pit – Trent and Harold together on the left side of the front row with blankets around their shoulders; Jasmine and Zoey on the right with a gap between them and the boys; and Lindsay and Justin sitting coolly in the back.

"Team Maggot, welcome to your first elimination ceremony," Chris began as Chef walked up in his hazmat suit carrying the box containing the Toxic Marshmallow. "And I gotta say, this tension is giving me chills!" The shot cut in close to the boys who'd been frozen as they glared. "I can see Justin is staying cool despite the loss. No worries from him!"

The model shrugged and smirked. "Worrying gives me wrinkles, so I don't bother," he explained.

"And it looks like Jasmine and Zoey appear to have frozen up," Chris added with an almost taunting tone as the shot cut to the girls, who promptly stiffened and looked down. "Wonder why," the host laughed.

"The following players are safe," Chris said, holding up the first marshmallow from his own platter as a deep note struck. "Trent."

The musician caught his prize with a smile, and shared a happy look with Harold.

"Jasmine." The survivalist raised her head and caught her marshmallow with a frown.

"Lindsay," the host continued, the blonde clapping in delight before getting him in the forehead with her treat.

"And Zoey," Chris finished, the redhead seeming almost shocked as she caught her marshmallow in open hands.

"Which leaves, Harold and Justin," Chris announced, the shot pulling back to show the dweeb gulping nervously and the model sitting up straighter. "And the loser is...," he said with an impish smile, pausing for effect as the music picked up. The camera alternated between close-ups of Harold and Justin, the latter still not looking at all concerned, until finally...

"Harold."

"You two voted for me?!" Harold said, standing up in outrage and looking at Jasmine and Zoey; the girls looked too ashamed to meet his gaze. "I see how it is," the nerd said, crossing his arms and drawing the blanket around him like a cape. "I have never felt so betrayed in my life. Chef," he turned to the two adults, "I'm ready. Give me the Toxic Marshmallow of Loserdom."

Chris and Chef looked at one another and shared a mischievous smile, and the hulking man walked forward with his strongbox still shut tight. He presented it to Harold, who cringed in anticipation as it was slowly opened...revealing nothing inside.

"What?" Harold said in confusion.

"Hah!" Chris laughed. "Yeah, we're changing things up and having tonight's eliminated Maggot become tomorrow's new Rat."

"So, I'm not taking the Hurl of Shame?" Harold asked.

"Nope," Chris answered with a smug grin.

"Boo-ya," Harold said, pumping his fist in celebration.

"From now on, you and the people who just voted you out will be on opposing teams," the host added.

"Awesome," the dweeb nodded confidently. "On my honor I will not let this second chance go to waste," he added, bowing deeply and dramatically.

"Whatever," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "Kinda disappointing no one's going for a catapult ride, though." He looked over at Chef, who'd returned to his side and taken off his protective helmet.

"No way, I already did that," Chef said, shaking his head. "Why don'tcha Hurl one of the interns."

Chris looked thoughtful for a second, then shrugged. "Might as well," he said.

/

The shot cut to Chris standing by the Hurl of Shame, a short and chubby east Asian male intern sitting nervously in the catapult's bucket, an inflatable duck-shaped inner tube around his waist.

The duck-shaped float suddenly deflated, startling the intern. "Uh, Mr. McLean? I-" he tried to say, interrupted by Chris pulling the lever and launching him screaming into the night sky.

Chris sighed and shook his head in disappointment. "It just isn't the same," he remarked before taking a deep breath and turning to face the camera the series' capstone theme began to play. "Come back for more mutants, mayhem, and manipulation," he said excitedly, "next time, on Total! Drama! Revenge, of the Island!"

(Fade to Credits)


Author's Note - Post Script

Yup, no elimination this week. Why, you ask? Well, it's kind of a long story, and I can't explain everything right now, but I'll say what I can.

See, for obvious reasons, I wanted the Maggots to lose this week. And early on, it was going to be a proper elimination as well. But then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wanted the person who would've been eliminated to last a bit longer. There was also the problem of next week's episode - I was still planning on having Harold be swapped then in a similar way as he was here, but between what the original elimination plan was for this week and something that is gonna happen next week, I realized it wouldn't make much sense for Harold to get the swap.

So I was left with no good choice for a Maggot elimination this week, and a person whom I wanted to swap but which wouldn't work next week. The solution quickly became obvious: bump up the Harold swap, and re-order the other eliminations a bit to fit what I wanted and needed. And since I obviously wasn't gonna have Izzy show up and become an intern, this meant I still had a nice little surprise at the end for you all.

Naturally, this means that next week somebody will be going home. So look forward to it.

The only thing I have left to say is that fans of my others series, Total Drama Rebirth, should expect it to be updated either tomorrow or Monday.

Other than that, see you back in the Shuffledverse next week!

- Fangren


Appendix: TSROTI Eliminated Contestants

Cody - (13th Place)

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