Welcome back everyone! And just like I said, I bring you another chapter of the Karmic Trickster Series! Yeah, I've decided to give Zane and new label since this one kinda brings a little more sense to personalities and actions. I'm also thinking about spelling his name differently. Either putting an 'h' or 'y' next to Z in his name. I just think the 'y' makes it look cool, but might be to... girl-ish. 'H' just be not be enough.

But anyways, here's an update of the poll results.

TDA: 4

TDI: 3

TDWT: 2

TDAS: 0

Frankly, I'm surprised Total Drama Action got more votes than Island or World Tour. But the poll's still up for grabs and sometime by the end the story's over, I'll start at that season for the prequel.

Oh and spoiler alert: I put a King of the Hill reference in here. Should be pretty easy to spot.

So without further ado...

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Let the reading commence!

And so after making up after the challenge, Kitty and I were closer friends than ever. We got to know each other better and even spent time racing dune-buggies after the challenge (that time is was more fair with no bones or rib cages are were dislocated), plus the Acrobat-Sister alliance looked like it was in danger, but it stayed and became strong.

But I was a little tense over my old enemies (the Ice Dancers) and those two looked like they were gonna try something funny...

"We're going to Mexico in a chicken bus." Sky said as she read from the tip.

"In or outside Mexico?" I asked in order to know if it's some kind of trick or something.

"In Mexico." She answered, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Okay. Just wanted to be sure." We ran toward to the bus along with the Sisters, where the other teams were inside... and found out it wasn't called a 'chicken bus' for nothing.

It was full of chickens. N-no, I'm serious. Literal chickens.

"Uh..." I released at the scene with a confused look.

(Dual Confessional)

Kitty: When we heard we were taking the 'chicken bus', we thought you know... it was just an expression...

"Say cheese chiquita!" Kitty took a selfie with chickens in the background, and I chuckled to myself in response. Sky and I were sitting next to the Sisters on the bus because... well, you know: we're in an alliance.

"Ah, what if we turned them against each other?" I overheard Jacques whispering to his partner.

"Won't work. They're stuck together like glue." Josee replied. At first I thought they were talking about my cousin and I, or even our alliance with the Sisters.

"Maybe the Goths don't have weaknesses."

"Everyone's got a weakness." She looked at them and saw Ennui pet their rabbit, Loki, "Weakness!" Uh-oh. I see poison in her tongue. I thought for sure they would try and sabotage us first, but now I see what they're really doing. The Ice Dancers are trying to knock out the competition one by one by playing their own rules on engagement!

It's like they've been studying Heather's old tactics.

"What about that Acrobats?" I tuned in even more to their conversation. "They're a strong team."

"They're just lucky Jacq, and you know it!" HA! Luck. Can you believe these guys?

"They gotten top placement over most teams most of the race. No can have that sort of luck." See? He agrees. "And they have too much of a bond to break apart."

"I've heard they formed an alliance with the Sisters." RED ALERT! RED ALERT! DANGER DANGER! "If possible, we can destroy all four of them and the gold will be ours!"

I elbowed Sky and pointed behind me to the Ice Dancers as if saying, 'Watch out for those two.' She nodded her head in compliance. The last thing I need is Emma and (especially) Kitty to turn against me. I'll never get that kiss from her!

...Uh... ignore that last part...

Anywho, 18 hours later, we arrived at our destination in Mexico. All of us ran to the Don Box, and I pressed it after the Sisters received theirs, "It's an All-In: Who Loves Peppers and Who Loves Dip? Teams must eat one hot pepper from the food cart and wave the corresponding food color. Then your other teammate will climb up and cliff dive depending on the pepper you ate. Eat the hottest, and your team member gets dive off from the shortest height. A mid-range is a medium-high jump, and the mildest pepper will force your teammate to dive from the highest peak."

I decided that I would eat from the peppers and Sky would dive from the cliff. I can handle spice! One time, I ate all the peppers at a 10th birthday party and drank no milk. Didn't feel any burns on my tongue. Kitty did the same thing as I was doing... but I'm not sure if it's just because if I'm doing it...

"The hottest one can't be that bad." Just right after Kitty said that, we saw MacArthur crawled over with her face red.

"Kill... me..." She strained until she was knocked out a little.

All of us (except Crimson) had wide-eyes at the scene, and grew wider as we saw Devin drinking from the water a short distance, "AAH! I can't feel my head!"

(A/N: Warning: side effects of hot peppers MAY include nausea, head trauma, vomiting, and possibilities of internal cramping and/or extreme heartburn. Remember readers, take these steps before you even think about it.)

"Okay, medium pepper it is!" Kitty declared. She took the green one from the basket.

Despite the display, I smiled and shrugged, "What do you mean? Hottest pepper looks safe to me!" I took the red pepper and was prepared to eat it.

"Zane, NO!" She tried to stop me.

It was too late, I ate it in one bite, "Sorry, I couldn't hear ya. I was busy eating my pepper." Needless to say, nothing happened, "See? Nothing to it!"

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...until a few seconds later, I felt the volcano touching my throat, "AAAAHHH! AAH! HELP! OH! IT BURNS! HOT STUFF! HOT STUFF!" I sped over to the red flag and waved it, "SKY, DIVE ALREADY! DIVE!" She quickly dove in the water to get the canteen of milk.

(A/N: I warned you about the side effects. See what happens when you assume your own strength?)

(Dual Confessional)

Emma: The "bravest" decision isn't always the smartest decision, and Zane learned that the hard way.

Kitty: Seriously. I like spicy foods, but those peppers are hotter than the sun!

(Confessional: Near the Cliffs)

Zane: *Holding neck while waiting for canteen of milk* That's a hot pepper I tell ya h-what.

Turns out, eating the medium pepper was probably less painful. At least, I thought it was until Kitty ate it, "AAAAHHH! HOT! HOT! IT BURNS!" She ran to get the green flag and waved it to Emma, "JUMP!"

By the time her sister jumped into the water, Sky sprinted back with a canteen of milk with a tip attached to it, "I got it Zane!"

"Good, now give it Kitty." Both of them widen their eyes in response to my command.

"WHAT?!"

"Z-Zane, are you sure about this?" Kitty asked in concern.

"Absolutely." I quickly answered, face getting hotter. N-no, not like that. Okay, maybe... I couldn't tell with the effects of the pepper, "It looks like you'll need it more than I do."

"But, I'll be okay." She insisted.

I managed to let out a small laugh, "No, you won't. I can tell you're in much more pain than I am. Or is your face red for other reasons?"

She gave wide-eyes in response, "It's the pepper! Not because I-" Kitty was cut off when Sky forcibly chugged it down her throat before she could protest any further, "Ugh."

"Sorry." My cousin apologized.

"You didn't have to do that."

"Zane's tough," Sky assured her, "He can make it through... I hope."

I pumped a fist in the air, "I can make it through! I... can... make... it..." I grew more tired and blacked out eventually. Last thing I heard was my name being called out.

"ZANE!"

I woke up when I felt milk being chugged my throat. As a result, I lifted my head up in surprise, "Don't take my wallet you... " I stood for a few seconds until I asked, "So, what happened?"

Emma answered, "You passed out from heat exhaustion... from a pepper. Until I revived you with milk."

"Oh. Let's get going shall we?"

(Dual Confessional)

Zane: Remind me never to eat those kind of peppers ever again.

Sky: Noted.

Sky read the next travel tip, "It's an All-In: Burro-d Alive. Teams must take burros from the enclosure and ride them two miles south to the Mayan temple where the chill zone is located."

"Let's get going." I said. We all started running to the enclosure.

"We're so good when there's no boys around to mess things up!" Emma remarked, making me return a glare.

"Hey!"

She sheepishly smiled, "Oh, right. Sorry, I meant with us together." She replaced it with a enthusiastic smile and pumped a fist in the air, "Emma and Noah for the win!"

Kitty gave an unamused look, "Yeah, my name's Kitty."

"And you forgot about us." Sky added with her own.

Emma facepalmed in embarrassment, "Ah, I knew that."

"Sure you did..." I remarked while rolling my eyes as we reached the enclosure.

Not much really happened when we were on our way to the finish; while all of us were riding to the chill zone, Kitty and I were talking about Mexico.

"...Mexico is nice, but they could really use some lemonade stands." She finished holding her collar. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Bye, bye, losers!" Josee taunted as she and Jacques passed by us. The four of us presented wide-eyes at the turn of events.

"How did they..." Sky started, but was stopped by Emma.

"Nevermind, that. Move it guys!" We were able to have our burros pick up the pace. But that wasn't the only thing we picked up; all of us got our own sombreros. Even better, we managed to catch up to the Cadets and pass by the Ice Dancers who were standing next to the chill zone.

"Acrobats, you're in 2nd place. Sisters, 3rd." Don announced when we got to the chill zone.

"Alright!/Olé!" Emma and I cheered in happiness.

"WHAT?!" Josee screamed in disbelief, then glared at us "How did you four catch up?!"

I started to explain to her with a smug smile, "Well, friendship is like radar. Also, my old friend Pablo directed us down a shortcut to the chill zone. ¡Gracias, Pablo!" I called to him from the other side of the bridge.

"¡De nada, Zane!" He called back, waving back to me.

"It pays to have good friends." Josee growled in response to my sentence, while Jacques tried to comfort her with a glare of his own.

When their penalty was up, the Ice Dancers ran across the chill zone with smiles plastered on their faces toward the cameras, "Ice Dancers, 4th place!" Don said to them. I could've sworn I saw one of Josee's eye twitch in annoyance when she and her partner finished.

After the Daters/Haters and Best Friends tied for 5th, the Surfers arrived just before the Goths... and they didn't look too good, "We almost got beaten by burritos," Geoff said, after throwing up in his hat, "Who could've known?"

MacArthur chuckled, "I did."

"No, you didn't! It was me!" Sanders protested.

The Goths (and their pet rabbit, Loki) arrived at the chill zone, "Crimson, Ennui, rabbit, you're last to arrive. I'd thought I'd be saying this on Day 1 so here it is... you've been eliminated." They only blinked slowly in response, "I wish luck in whatever circus or cult you end up in. Go away."

The Goths only exchanged eye contact with each other, before they left. The Ice Dancers (for some reason) high-fived each other and smiled in victory as Crimson and Ennui left. Loki glared at them and made cutting noise sound while pretending to cut off a neck; Jacq and Josee gasped in worry. Sky even walked up to them with a glare of her own and cleared her throat to get their attention. Both turned to her, and she gave them the 'I'll be watching you' sign.

From that point on, it was clear to both of us that the Ice Dancers were playing dirty in order to get first place. And something told me they were just getting started...