Chapter 24
The one very good thing about the Dimension Seal Method is that when it is cast time is frozen along with everything else. Gwen, Dawn, Elliot, and Jimmy(after they found him) had quickly gathered the rest of unconscious contestants and returned them to where they had been before they had been captured. Unfortunately for Team Amazon that also meant being tied to a tree by the Zings-Zings again, since Corin's Method had been activated around the time they had been captured. With the Seal of the Void Method used on them again no one had any memory of what had happened and that was just the way the Avatars wanted it.
The rest of Team Amazon had been unconscious for a few minutes until they came too, finding themselves still tied to the tree.
"What happened?" Courtney asked, yawning.
"Oh, you guys are awake now." Gwen shook her head.
"What time is it?" Cody asked drowsy.
"Who knows? Mid-night?" Gwen shrugged.
"Actually, it's around 6:30 am." Dawn replied.
"How do you know that? You don't have a watch." Duncan pointed out.
"I don't need to. I can see the moon." Dawn looked up. "You can tell what time it is just by looking at the sky. Look, you can see the sun rising in the distance."
She was right; there was a bright rising light in the distance showing that the sun was now rising.
"So we're still tied here? Stupid Chris! Never count on him to save the day!" Heather grumbled.
"So, are we all ready to get out of here?" Duncan asked, reaching into his pocket.
"And just how do we do that?" Courtney asked.
Duncan smirked as he pulled out his pocket knife. "Never leave home without it."
'Here we go again.' Gwen thought.
"You've had that the whole time and only now you use it?!" Courtney asked, incredulous.
"Hey, I thought Chris might actually mount a rescue but guess I was wrong. Now are we doing this or are we just going sit back and wait for them to eat us?" Duncan shrugged.
Everyone nodded and Duncan quietly cut the rope. The Zings-Zings were still sleeping as the rope fell to the ground and Team Amazon quietly snuck away. Or at least they tried before Cody stepped on a stick and snapped it. One of the Zings-Zings woke up and let out a howl when they saw their prisoners had escaped.
"Nice job, Cody!" Heather shouted as they started running.
Behind them they could hear the native language and shouts along with spears flying past them. One flew right over Duncan's head, cutting a few hairs.
"I think they're mad!" Elliot yelped.
"Natives are very territorial and we have most likely offended them, very badly!" Dawn said.
A spear missed Heather's head by a few inches. "No, really? You think so?"
"Fork in the road!" Cody pointed ahead.
"Nice catch! Everyone split up!" Duncan called out. "Lose these guys and meet up at Machu Picchu!"
Courtney, Cody, and Elliot ran down the left path while Gwen, Duncan, Dawn, and Heather took the right path.
"Duncan? Where did he..." Courtney looked behind her. "He went the other way?!"
"No time for that! Just shut up and run!" Elliot shouted.
Xxx
"You think I should have sent a rescue team?" Chris asked, standing guard outside the site of the next challenge. "Haven't heard a word from Team Amazon since last night.
"I don't know. You think they're still alive?" Chef asked.
"Hope so, wouldn't want to get sued." Chris laughed nervously.
A rumbling sound was heard behind them causing Chris to laugh.
"Nice to know that worked. Now we just sit back and wait for them to get back."
"Shouldn't we be worried if they don't get back?" Chef asked.
The two of them shared a look for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Both of them stopped laughing when they heard footsteps and saw Heather, Duncan, Gwen, and Dawn running up the stairs.
"Hey, you made it!" Chris congratulated.
"Yeah, no thanks to you!" Heather shouted, pointing at Chris who just laughed. "What's so funny?!"
"The fact that you guys are just a few seconds away from losing." Chris shared a laugh with Chef. "Oh I can't let you pass because not all of your team is here."
As if on cue, Courtney, Cody, and Elliot ran up the stairs, meeting with rest of the team.
"Well, you made it just in time." Chris snickered.
"For what?" Elliot asked.
A scream was heard, answering his question.
"That sounded like Lindsay!" Gwen said.
Up ahead Owen was the entrance, looking inside the tunnel. "Guys? Al? What's going on?"
The rest of the cast came into view, running for their lives with boulder chasing after them.
"Owen, get out of the way!" Alejandro shouted.
Owen quickly moved out of the way as allowing the rest of the cast to run out. The boulder smashed into the entrance, sending dust flying everywhere. When it cleared Team Amazon could see that the boulder now blocked the entrance with the other teams scattered across the ground, dirty but alive.
'So much for catching up.' Gwen thought, waving the last bits of dust from her face.
She noticed Lindsay holding a golden Chris trophy.
'Can this guy be any more of a narcissist?' Gwen thought.
"And congratulations, Team Victory for finally gaining a victory." Chris announced. "And Team Amazon, I'll you in the elimination room."
Cody gasped in horror as the Zings-Zings came out of the bushes. "Run! It's the Zings-Zings!"
However, instead of running Chef walked up to the leader and handed him a bag of cash. "Good work, you guys. If we ever come back we might consider hiring."
"WHAT?!" Team Amazons stood in complete shock.
"What's up? They're just some local teens we hired to slow you guys down." Chris shrugged.
'Why am I not surprised?' Gwen sighed.
"That was so cool! You guys really were in character!" Elliot ran up to the actors. "It would have been cooler if you picked one of us to be your leader because they resembled your God or something."
"Not a bad idea." The lead actor replied. "You consider a role in acting?"
"Would I?" Elliot asked with a very eager look.
Xxx
Gwen sighed as she sat down on the hard and rough bench of the Economy Class. She only got about four hours of sleep after the fight with Corin.
'Total Drama and bad spirits equals massive headache.' Gwen rubbed her head. 'And what's worse I have this Black Star Group along with Nebula and the Marauder. What is this group anyway?'
'The Black Star is small group of spirits who have special abilities, all that the Red Marauder found useful when he found himself hunted by more than one Avatar. Carlos is not the first to pursue him.' Andromeda explained. 'Spirits like Nebula specialized in stealth and tactics, while Corin specialized in creating a battle field that gives him the complete advantage.'
'Do you know any of the spirits in this group?' Gwen frowned.
'Just rumors and whispers of who might be connected to the Marauder, Nebula, or Corin.' Andromeda replied. 'The Black Star never travels together; they stay apart and communicate through special Methods that hide their identities.'
'So any of them could be at the next spot we land at.' Gwen sighed.
"Just what is your problem?!"
Gwen opened her eyes to hear Courtney shouting from down the hall, outside the confessional. Sitting up and walking to the door Gwen peeked in to see Courtney and Duncan arguing, again.
"I am not talking about this." Duncan waved her off and tried to walk away but Courtney stopped him by grabbing his shoulder.
"Oh no, we are talking now!" Courtney stopped him. "You have been doing nothing but argue with me ever since Egypt! I'm your girlfriend, Duncan; you're supposed to support me!"
"Well you know what? That thing on the bus was a stupid fling!" Duncan spun and shouted. "Could you tell me why would I want to get back together with you at all?! You haven't changed a bit! You nag me, you emasculate me, you expect me to support you in any decision but you never support any choice I make!"
Courtney gasped in shock.
"And you know what else? Gwen and her friend Elliot were right, you are not my boss, you are not this team's leader, and you can go find someone to support your stupid ideas! I'm through!" Duncan spun and walked away.
Courtney just stood in shock.
Xxx
Confessional: Gwen
"I really got to stop walking in on people's personal problems."
Xxx
Team Amazon sat on the bench in the Elimination Hall, sharing an awkward silence between them.
"Team Amazon, your second elimination round this season. First up, the barf bags...Cody, Dawn, Elliot, and Heather." Chris tossed four bags at the people he called out. "And let's see who you call voted for!"
A TV rolled in and showed the recording of the team voting in the confessional.
Xxx
Confessional: Courtney
"Duncan has been arguing with me since the season started and it's all Gwen and her friends' fault." Courtney stomped Gwen's passport.
Xxx
Confessional: Gwen
"Courtney's been giving me the evil eye for a while now and I really am sick of being accused of stealing her boyfriend." Gwen stomped Courtney's passport.
Xxx
Confessional: Duncan
"Courtney's hot and all but she's been breathing down my neck for a while. Always expecting me to agree with her on every little thing. She has got to go." He stomped Courtney's passport.
Xxx
Confessional: Heather
"Duncan led us down the wrong path and lost the challenge for us and not to mention that Courtney will be alone without Duncan to support her and keep the target off my back." She stomped Duncan's passport.
Xxx
Confessional: Dawn
"The tension between the teams is rising because of Courtney and Duncan's quarrel. I do not trust either but I choose Duncan." Dawn stomped Duncan's passport.
Xxx
Confessional: Elliot
"Miss Coo-coo In Training is constantly breathing down my neck, acting like she's my boss or a female version of my dad. Well she can't tell me who to vote for!" Elliot stomped Courtney's passport.
Xxx
Confessional: Cody
"I got to vote for Duncan, not because he got us lost but because if he stays I might never have a chance with Gwen." Cody stomped Duncan's passport.
End Confessional
Xxx
"So we have one vote for Gwen, three votes for Courtney, and three votes for Duncan." Chris chuckled. "While I would like to make a Sudden Death Elimination round out of this unfortunately this was a reward ceremony."
Team Amazon gasped in surprise while Chris and Chef laughed.
"So while you are all safe from elimination for now I might suggest you keep on fighting each other, more fights equal more drama!" Chris said, turning to the camera. "Will Team Amazon recover from this? Find out next time on Total...Drama...WORLD TOUR!"
Xxx
"I can't believe he voted for me!"
Courtney had hidden herself in the cargo hold, away from the other teams when she had found out Duncan had voted for her.
"That two faced backstabbing good for nothing..." Courtney slapped herself. "Snap out of it! You're better than this!"
But a second later she burst into tears again. She couldn't believe Duncan had voted for her and almost got her kicked off. They had fight, sure, but they always managed to make up. She wiped her tears away and growled.
'This is all Gwen and her friends' fault! They keep on challenging my skills as leader of the team and Duncan always takes their side!'
A small part of Courtney's mind pointed out that she might share a bit of the blame but she squashed it. Admitting it was her fault would mean that she would have to accept that all her hard work had been for nothing. In her mind Duncan had always sided with Gwen because they shared the same weird interests and supported each other even when Duncan was supposed to supporting her!
"Courtney?"
Courtney looked up when she saw Alejandro peek into the room. "Sorry, I thought this room was empty."
Courtney would have yelled at him to go away but she didn't feel like shouting at anyone unless it was Gwen or Duncan.
"Now why is a beautiful lady like you sitting in here, crying your eyes out?" Alejandro asked as he slowly walked over.
"I'm not crying!" Courtney covered her eyes.
"One does not need eyes to hear you from the Economy Class but I find it odd that no one from your team is interested in your location." Alejandro sat down next to her. "We may be on opposite teams but I can never ignore a woman who is crying."
Courtney at the point didn't seem to mind talking to someone, even someone on another team.
"My boyfriend tried to vote me off!" Courtney cried. "We were supposed to be a team but he keeps arguing with me and sticking with Gwen and her weird friends! No one takes me seriously because of them!"
Alejandro just sat and listened to her as she vented her frustration and grief. "Well I for one cannot believe how little Duncan values you."
"You do?" Courtney looked up, trying to wipe the tears from her face.
"Yes, a beautiful girl like you having to put up with a delinquent who does not appreciate you or your hard work." Alejandro put a hand on her shoulder. "Working so hard to lead your team to victory only for them to ungratefully vote you off...because they must be afraid of you."
"They are?" Courtney asked, gesturing to herself.
"Yes, remember how far you came last time and how far you would have gone if that Harold boy had not rigged the votes and got you kicked off." Alejandro nodded with a smile. "Your leadership abilities get you so far and they know it. That's why they want to get rid of you, disrupting your focus and causing you to make mistakes."
"Yeah...your right!" Courtney gasped and growled a second later. "Those guys are sabotaging me and my abilities!"
"Indeed." Alejandro nodded. "But you are way too smart to fall for that."
"You are right! I am too smart for their plans! I just need to throw their ideas back in their face!" Courtney stood up. "But how?"
"Well, since they have turned Duncan against you why not turn Duncan against them?" Alejandro asked.
"But how?"
"Well, it's a bit of a long shot here but if you pretend to like someone else and Duncan gets jealous..."
"Like what I did with Justin!" Courtney finished. "He'll come back to my side and do whatever it takes to win me back!"
"Exactly! With Duncan back on your side all you need to do now is to somehow turn the rest of your team against each other. Now I am no expert but I know how much Heather and Gwen hate each other..."
"Asking Heather for an alliance?" Courtney almost gagged. "BLEGH! She may be good but she's not exactly a team player."
"Never the less she could be useful against them." Alejandro smirked. "Think about, she won't turn a chance to vote off Gwen, will she?"
"Your right. So if I get Duncan and Heather on my side it'll be three against three." Courtney said thoughtfully.
"That just leaves Cody." Alejandro said.
"Your right, and he has a like a super crush on Gwen!" Courtney pointed out. "I need a way to bring him over to my side."
"Well I am sure you can think of a way to convince him to join you." Alejandro hid an evil smirk.
Xxx
Confessional: Alejandro
"I know Heather and Gwen have some kind of deal but I also know Heather is open to any kind of alliance to keep her in the show. Courtney proposes her own alliance and Heather has the option of abandoning Gwen next time they lose. If she gets Heather and Duncan on her side than all that's left is the little one, Cody to top the scales."
Xxx
Confessional: Courtney
"I know I have to find someone to make Duncan jealous but how do I convince Cody to team up with me? The geek just screams annoying to me and his cheesy lines when he tries to flirt with Gwen. Maybe I can sucker Heather into doing it."
Xxx
"But who can I flirt with to make Duncan jealous?" Courtney wondered as she sat down. "Not a lot of options."
"Well...don't take this wrong way but I am willing to volunteer my services to help out." Alejandro gestured to himself.
"You?"
"Look at my perspective, your team is made up of formidable competitors. Heather came in third place on the first season and made it past the merge last season, Duncan is the winner of last season, and Gwen is the runner up of the first season who was only kicked off last time because of her relationship and now not only is there no one distract her but she has two friends who can help her with any of her enemies." Alejandro explained. "There is also the fact that Heather knows this too and is trying to form an alliance with them."
"And with Gwen and her friends Heather has the advantage!" Courtney gasped. "But why form an alliance with her?"
"Because Gwen and Heather have a rather disdainful history and no doubt either one of them is looking for a way to take each other out. If I want to stand a chance I need help because they are too good to be taken out alone." Alejandro explained. "And if you want the advantage you need a way to turn them against each other."
"Your right." Courtney held up a fist. "Gwen and Heather are the biggest obstacles in my way and they are going down."
"That's the spirit!" Alejandro cheered. "Show them who are they are dealing with!"
"I will!" Courtney turned and walked out but stopped and looked back at him. "Thanks for the help."
"Anytime."
When Courtney left Alejandro chuckled and leaned back against the wall.
"And the first is set, now all I have to do is sit and watched the pieces fall."
Xxx
Dawn had been reading a book in the Economy Class while everyone else was sleeping.
"Hey, Dawn." Gwen sat next to her. "What are you reading?"
"A book on Avatars and Spirits, specifically I found a page on the Spirit Avatar who is supposedly the Avatar of the Mouth of the Towering Mountain." Dawn whispered.
"Really?" Gwen became interested. "So what do you know?"
"Well, I have discovered the spirit's name is Rubezahl, a mountain spirit mentioned in German folklore who is said live on the Giant Mountains, a mountain range along the border of Bohemia and Silesia. While some powerful spirits like Andromeda are anonymous Rubezahl is the subject of many German legends and fairy tales much like Jack Frost." Dawn explained. "He has been called Lord of the Mountains or Lord John or even the Prince of Gnomes and many describe him to be a giant, a gnome or more accurately a mountain spirit. Like Jack Frost he can be a bit of a trickster but at the same time to good people he is warm and friendly but be very careful not to anger him or his revenge would be severe."
"Nice to know." Gwen nodded.
Sound a lot like many spirits Gwen had encountered, including Andromeda. Gwen had known Andromeda to be a very stern person but at the same time she could be as kind and warm as her own mother but anyone who provokes her would have to find another dimension to hide from her wrath.
"Any idea how he gained an Avatar?"
"He is capable of traveling anywhere he wants but many spirits prefer a place that can be seen as special to them. The Giant Mountains are his domain but it is said he can be at any place where a mountain reaches into the sky." Dawn read. "Much like how Jack Frost said how any place with winter is his territory."
"An Avatar chosen by him would have to have a deep connection with nature not unlike Dawn but at the same share enough similarities that the Avatar could be seen as an extension of his will, somewhat like how most Avatars are seen." Luna spoke up.
"Any idea how to find him?" Gwen asked.
"Unlikely Gwen, Rubezahl can choose to reveal himself and the same can be said for his Avatar." Andromeda replied. "It's better to be patient and wait."
"Any idea if he'll be a match for Nebula?" Gwen asked and heard Andromeda scoff.
"In a contest of power between the Mouth of the Towering Mountain and the Stalker in the Stars, Nebula would be flattened instantly." Andromeda replied. "He relies on Methods and stealth to win his battles."
"The stealth thing seems to be working." Gwen sighed. "So, after Corin who else do you think we might deal with?"
"Hard to say, I have usually avoided fights but I have been forced to step in when rogue spirits have caused trouble." Dawn shrugged. "I am more worried about our team."
"Hm?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"There is a power struggle about to take place between us and Courtney. She's emotionally distraught that Duncan tried to vote her off and I'm afraid she might turn that grief against us." Dawn explained. "I saw it in her aura."
"Duncan tries to vote her off and she blames us?" Gwen asked. "That's not our fault!"
"That's not how she sees it and I'm afraid that she may tear the team apart to get rid of us." Dawn shook her head. "I can tell she's emotionally stressed for some reason and she's starting to cave in from the show and Duncan's attempt to eliminate her."
"Great." Gwen put her face in her hands. "So she's starting to break and she's taking it out on me."
"Along with Elliot and me." Dawn pointed out. "Her position as leader has been challenged by you, Heather, Duncan, and Elliot so that not only makes us obstacles but also enemies."
"And means we'll have to watch our backs." Gwen finished as she looked back up.