Chris introduced the show, "Last time on Total Drama Fortress, the explorers had to put their mathematical skills to the test to build a pyramid. Otherwise, they'd get poked with a spear. Get the point? Sierra threw the game for the Beauties, and was thus eliminated. The Brains won despite some hardships in the pitching, and proved their superiority to the Brawns once again. But will this continue? Find out, on Total. Drama. FORTRESS!"

The Sesquipedalian Brains were not fighting over the key this time. Noah and Cody, both feeling very dejected about the way they obtained their last victory, offered Harold the chance to open the door without second thoughts.

"Okay," Harold said suspiciously, "What's wrong with you guys?"

"Oh, nothing," Noah said, "Except that I inadvertently pulled an Alejandro…"

"No, no," Cody said, "Don't blame yourself; I was the reason she threw the game anyway."

"Cody!" Noah said, grabbing his shoulders, "This. Was not. Your fault."

(In the confessional, Cody said, "Noah said it wasn't my fault, but it really was. I'm surprised he's being so sympathetic toward me. It's nice.")

Harold opened the door, and then he walked into the next room, followed by Noah and Cody, then the Harsh Brawns, the Valiant Braves, and finally the Delicate Beauties.

Heather whispered to Alejandro, "Did you see how those nerds played Gwen's team so easily? I think maybe we should worry about them."

"Nonsense," Alejandro said, "They are merely amateurs."

(In the confessional, Alejandro said, "Don't get me wrong; Harold would have potential if he wasn't so insecure, as would Cody. Noah… well, he's just wasting his talents on the wrong things!")

"Welcome to the challenge, explorers!" Chris exclaimed. "Do you see the key?"

DJ looked up and noticed that the key was hanging from the ceiling. He jumped, attempting to reach the key. "It's so far away…" he said.

"Exactly!" Chris said, "Chef put it up there this morning, with a ladder he built himself."

Chef Hatchet walked into the room, hunching over and holding his back in pain. He walked up to Chris and yelled, "That was you who built the ladder. The ladder that broke. I fell down and hurt my back!"

"Well, then," Chris said, laughing, "I hope the explorers are better at building ladders than I am."

"Where are the materials to build the ladders?" Harold asked eagerly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Chris said, "If I just gave them to you, it wouldn't be challenging, now would it? They are scattered around."

Owen looked around his head and commented, "But, umm… all I see is a bunch of garbage."

"One man's trash is another man's treasure," Chris said, "Have fun building ladders."

"Alright!" Izzy shouted, "I'll build the ladder for our team!"

"Oh, that's my Izzy," Owen said, "She always has all the answers."

(In the confessional, Owen said, "Izzy has crazy skills. Or maybe… she's just crazy! But either way, we're going all the way!")

"Be on your guard, Duncan," Heather warned, "And don't let any stupid grudges get in the way."

"No problemo," Duncan responded, "I promise not to become distracted by Trent."

"Trent?" Heather asked, "I was talking about Harold!"

"Oh, yeah," Duncan said, "I meant Harold. Why'd I say Trent? Psh, Trent."

(In the confessional, Duncan said, "Why did I say Trent? I did mean Harold… didn't I?")

Gwen and Trent searched together for some materials to create the ladder. Gwen found an interesting stick formation. "Hey, Trent, come see this."

"Oh," Trent said, "That looks like the perfect foundation for a ladder."

" 'Scuse me," Duncan said, pushing Trent over, and grabbing the foundation from them.

"Hey!" Trent responded, insulted.

Duncan said, "No offense intended, Trent, but… I deserve this more than you. Just like a certain girl."

"Please," Trent responded, "The only girl you deserve is La Belle Dame Sans Merci."

Noah overheard the comment from a few feet away, and walked up to them for no other reason than to give Trent a high five for it. "Now, I need to go find materials for my team's ladder."

"I wish you guys luck!" Gwen responded, which caused Duncan to shrink back.

(In the confessional, Duncan said, "Is it just me, or did Gwen just dis me in favor of the nerds? Oh, they all need to be crushed.")

Lindsay had found something that appeared to be a piece of material. She began to pull it out of the ground, whimpering and sweating. The item lengthened in view, but she couldn't tell that what she was lifting was part of the wall. She wiped her brow, because she was so strained. Owen offered to help. They both continued to pull the item, but it was continually fruitless.

Izzy asked, "Hey, guys, do you need some help?"

"Thanks, Izzy," Owen responded, and then the three of them worked together to tug the item, which came apart from the wall. "Ah-oh," Owen said, "RUN!" The three of them ran away screaming when the item revealed to be holding some water in place. The water splashed out, and landed right on Heather's head.

Heather shook her head around madly, trying to get the water to come off of it. Alejandro said, "Heather, allow me to dry you off… with my shirt." He took off his shirt and handed it to Heather, who accepted it, wiping her face and hair off.

"We are not going to lose this one, Alejandro," Heather said.

"I know we aren't," Alejandro said, smiling.

(In the confessional, Alejandro said, "Everyone knows that revenge is a dish best served cold. But what they don't know, is that it's so much easier to prepare than non-revenge. Oh, those other teams won't know what hit them when we win.")

"Hey, LeShawna," DJ said, "I'm really sorry about lying the other day. Will you ever forgive me?"

"DJ," LeShawna responded, "You've been moping all day. And we don't need that right now. We need to find materials for the ladders." She surveyed the ground for materials, finding none.

"Wait, isn't that…" DJ began, pointing to a pile of trash that looked useful.

"I think it is!" LeShawna said, smiling and then she headed straight for it. Unfortunately, Harold got there first. He picked it up nonchalantly and left, not seeing her there. LeShawna looked disappointed.

Lindsay, Owen, and Izzy walked by and Lindsay said, "No time to talk, Lafonda; we have to run!"

"Run?" DJ asked, "Why do we have to…"

"Long story," Owen answered, "But the point is, do it!"

DJ and LeShawna obliged and they continued to run. The water was chasing them pretty far. Alejandro, Heather, and Duncan had begun construction on their ladder, which was knocked over by the water. Heather stomped her foot, and loudly groaned.

"Oh, like, sorry, Heather," Lindsay said, as they passed through.

"You should be!" Heather shouted angrily.

"Uhh, Chris?" Chef Hatchet asked the host nervously.

"What?" Chris asked, "I'm busy."

"Water…" Chef Hatchet mumbled.

"If you're thirsty there's a can of soda in the fridge," Chris responded.

"No, no, Chris!" Chef Hatchet shouted, turning his friend's face in the opposite direction, "Look! Water!"

"What the?" Chris asked, as he leaped into Chef Hatchet's arms and they fled the water, both screaming.

Trent and Gwen had made some great progress on the ladder while DJ and LeShawna were elsewhere. Trent asked, "Do you think this is tall enough?"

"I wouldn't know," Gwen said, "Maybe I should test it?"

"No," Trent said, "I'll test it. After all, I don't want to risk you getting hurt."

"Trent," Gwen said, "It's you I'm worried about getting hurt."

"I won't get hurt," Trent said, "This ladder is perfectly stable." He climbed to the top and said, "Hmm… I think we need a few more pegs…"

Gwen looked terrified. Trent asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Get off the ladder," she said, without changing her facial expression.

"Get off the ladder?" he asked, "Why?"

"No time to explain. Just get off the ladder now!" Gwen shouted.

Trent started to climb down the ladder. Gwen shouted, "Faster, Trent."

"Gwen, I think that you need to re…" he began, but was cut short when the water knocked over the ladder, which he was still very near the top of, and he fell on the ground face (and crotch) first.

"Trent!" Gwen exclaimed, "Trent are you okay? Speak to me!"

"Like, sorry, Gwen," Lindsay said, running by. Izzy and Owen followed. LeShawna and DJ stopped there. DJ squeaked when he saw Trent.

"Gwen… is he… is he…" DJ asked, crying.

"No," Gwen said, "But he's pretty well out right now. And our ladder… well, it got pretty badly destroyed."

(In the confessional, Gwen said, "I told him. Why doesn't he ever listen?" Then she started crying.)

The Sesquipedalian Brains were building a ladder, but it was only about two thirds of the way up because they repeatedly had to check each individual rung for safety. Granted, the safety of three underweight males would be easier to account for than on any of the other teams.

"I think the safety of this layer is adequate, wouldn't you agree, Harold?" Cody asked.

"Of course," responded the tall one.

"Oh for crying out loud," Noah said, when he heard the water coming, "It looks like we're going to have to evacuate."

"Evacuate?" Harold asked, "Like to a higher ground? How?"

"There's a raised platform over here," Noah said. The three of them climbed on top of that as quickly as possible. Harold didn't forget to grab the ladder.

The water started flowing through the room, "Okay, what do we do now, Professor?" Cody asked.

"Dam it!" Noah shouted, which caused both Cody and Harold to give him a look. "You know, whatever sprung a leak?"

"Oh, right," Cody responded, "Well, you know what I think; I think we need to use something massive and bulbous to block it."

"My head is off limits, Cody," Noah responded.

"Oh, well, in that case…" Cody said, scratching his chin, "I know! How about the ladder."

"The ladder couldn't dam the water," Harold responded, "It has too many holes."

Lindsay, Owen, and Izzy started passing through. Izzy said, "Oh, man, we are so sorry, Noah."

"Izzy, you're behind this? Why am I not surprised?" Noah asked, "Now anyway, how did you set the water off?"

"Well, we had a little dealy bobber, earlier," she responded, "But I don't know where it went. Maybe the mole scuba divers ate it."

"Well, we'll help you look for it," Cody offered, "I'll go swim to the bottom of this, and see if I can spot anything."

"Be careful," Noah warned. Izzy smiled.

(In the confessional, Cody said, "You know, some people think that Noah's pretty apathetic, but he really isn't. He's a lot more concerned for my well being than anyone else is… even Sierra… or should I say especially Sierra?")

Cody swam to the bottom of the water, and headed to a heavy item. He began to lift it, and was able to carry it to a hole in the wall. He shoved the plug back into the wall, which stopped the water from increasing, and soon it had all flowed into the previous layer of the fortress.

"Okay," Izzy said, "From now on, no pulling the stuff out of the wall!"

Cody went back to help Noah and Harold build the ladder, but they took quite a while because of the delay. Meanwhile, Heather, Duncan, and Alejandro had nearly finished their ladder. Duncan surveyed his surroundings. A gleam appeared in his eyes, and then he said, "Hey, hey, guys! We finished first!"

"Well, what are you waiting for, Duncan?" Heather asked, "Get the key!"

Duncan climbed up the ladder and retrieved the key from the ceiling; climbing back down.

Chris, who was decked out in a yellow raincoat, said, "Congratulations, Hash Browns… I mean, Harsh Brawns, you guys win!"

"We… we won?" Heather asked, "We won!" She gave Duncan a hug.

Alejandro said jealously, "I helped us win too, Heather."

(In the confessional, Alejandro said, "I did.")

Gwen, LeShawna, and DJ were looking helplessly at their water-damaged rubble, while the first looked sympathetically at Trent.

"He'll be fine," DJ said, "He's a trouper; you know that."

"I know…" Gwen said, "But I don't know why he didn't get off the ladder…"

"He was probably trying to impress you with his bravery," LeShawna shrugged. "But anyway, we have a challenge to win."

"I don't think we can…" DJ said, "The Brawns already did."

"Well, maybe if we're lucky, we can still…" LeShawna began, and then she noticed Izzy piecing together the ladder very quickly. "The Brains…"

"Yeah, but we better hurry," Gwen said, "They have a pretty big lead right now."

"Ack!" Cody shouted, "We're losing!"

"Well, don't worry about it, Cody," Noah said, "If we lose I'll vote myself off; then we're all good."

Cody took Noah by the shoulders just as the latter had done for him earlier, and said, "This. Was not. Your fault."

"Well, if you guys don't stop moping we'll lose for sure," Harold said, "Come on; we need to buckle down and complete this."

Harold, Noah, and Cody each began to build individual rungs, which they connected and checked for safety very quickly. "Finished," Harold said, "And we won fairly this time, so no more whining about being cheaters."

(In the confessional, Harold said, "I have this theory that IQ is directly proportional to remorsefulness. That would explain Cody, Noah, and Duncan… but… but what about Courtney… and Alejandro…dang. It doesn't work anymore. Disregard!")

"Oh no," Gwen said, "We lost." She buried her face in her hands.

"Delicate Beauties," Chris said, "Losing streak I see. Well, remember to meet me in the elimination chamber."

LeShawna whispered to DJ, "I hate to do this but I think I have to."

"Voting off Trent?" DJ asked, "Yeah… it's really a shame. I didn't want to have to say goodbye to any of you."

"Thus ends the greatest team ever," LeShawna said.

(In the confessional, Gwen said, "I just know LeShawna and DJ are going to vote off Trent. There's only one thing I can do. I'm going to be hated for it, I know, but I have to vote for DJ.")

The elimination ceremony began, and all of them, with the exception of Trent who was still in poor condition, albeit conscious by now, were looking very sad; but the saddest of all was Gwen who was crying. "So, Beauties," Chris said, "Nice losing streak. Now you have to say goodbye to someone. And the bags of pyrite go to LeShawna, Gwen, and… DJ."

"Trent!" Gwen shouted, tears in her eyes.

Trent responded, "I'll think of you at home…"

"Could you not open the trap this time? Please?" Gwen asked.

Chris gave her a blank stare and then asked, "Why would I not?"

"Trent's fallen enough for one day," Gwen insisted.

"Yeah," DJ agreed.

"That's right," LeShawna added.

"Like I care," Chris said, as he opened the Trap of Shame beneath Trent anyway. Gwen, LeShawna, and DJ all glared at Chris, while Trent screamed in pain and fear at the same time. "Will Noah and Cody stop moping around? Now that the Harsh Brawns have won a game, are they going to get a winning streak—hey, the inverse happened for the Beauties? Will the Delicate Beauties ever forgive me for what I did to Trent?"

"No!" they all answered in unison.

"Find out, on the next Total. Drama. FORTRESS!"

Author's Note: The next chapter will feature a reward challenge. I am wondering whether to a) upload it as a normal update or b) wait until I finish the chapter after it and upload it as a double feature. I will continue the chosen pattern for my two later non-merge reward challenges as well.