Total Drama Party with the Stars Chapter 7: Ep 06: Rescue, a total drama series fanfic

Chris, Topher, and Lindsay stood at the city limits of Drama City.

"Last time, on Total Drama Party with the Stars!" the three began in unison.

"With clear majority alliances on both teams, those who were on the outs did whatever they could to put themselves in a better position," Chris recapped. "To varying degrees of failure. Hehaha."

"Hugh wasn't happy with Irving going rogue during the last elimination ceremony, and, after hearing that Steve Jenkins wasn't getting along well with the other side of the team, conspired to get the vlogger to flip," Topher said. "Kiki, meanwhile, tried to smooth things over with Kun, but Kun wasn't having any of it after he already tried to get her in his alliance and she left to make her own."

"Jean-Marie's charm is starting to get to Quentin, and Joseph and Jayne are getting along really well~!" Lindsay smiled. "Nothing cute and romantic is happening on the Gryphons, but I think there could be something between Brittany and Irving with the right push."

"Yeah, push me off a cliff, more like," Chris joked.

Topher and Lindsay looked at him blankly.

"I'm hilarious," Chris insisted.

"Anyway, the challenge was a dodgeball match, best two out of three," Topher continued. "It was... well, it was dodgeball. You know dodgeball, you've seen dodgeball, you've played dodgeball."

"What I haven't seen is Shadya get bodied that badly in a physical challenge," Chris snickered. "And she didn't take it well. The Fighting Wyverns won yet again, and for a reward, they each got day spa passes."

Lindsay scratched her cheek.

"Tonight, someone else will be ousted from the game," Chris said.

"Who's it going to be this time?" Lindsay wondered aloud.

"It's all happening right now, on Total!" Chris began.

"Drama!" Topher and Lindsay continued.

"Party with the Stars!" the three concluded in unison.

Hugh wandered through the city streets alone.

"Ugh, the coffee here sucks but I still need it," Hugh groaned to himself.

"What's up!" Steve Jenkins grabbed Hugh from behind by the shoulders.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Hugh shouted as he smacked Steve Jenkins off of him. "What the fresh hell are you doing sneaking up on me, artard?!"

"It's just a prank, bro," Steve Jenkins chuckled.

"Yeah, that's what I'll tell them when they find your body at the bottom of a river," Hugh snarled.

"Come on, man, we've got this majority alliance going on. More importantly, we've got a majority alliance that has Steve Jenkins in it," Steve Jenkins told him. "I know you're jealous, but we should keep things copacetic if we want things to work."

"Have you spoken with the others yet?" Hugh asked.

"Nah, not yet," Steve Jenkins admitted. "I'll get around to it, but we're trying to keep this on the down-low, right?"

"Yes, actually. Surprisingly insightful of you," Hugh confirmed. "I want to be the first to tell them. They already trust me, so it'll be easier for them to grasp if I'm the one who lets them know."

"What, they don't already trust that, whatever direction Steve Jenkins goes in, it's going to be the right one?" Steve Jenkins doubted.

"I mean, you placed twelfth in your season and I placed seventh," Hugh sneered. "I think we all know who the objectively better player is."

"Placement doesn't mean jack!" Steve Jenkins objected. "We're all Grand Gryphons here. Besides, Lilith and Isidora placed sixth and fifth, and they're already gone."

"I don't think anyone was ever going to argue that Lilith is a good player, but whatever," Hugh dismissed. "Just... keep this all under wraps for now. If Shadya and the others find out, they're going to freak."

"What are they going to do? We have a five-to-three advantage," Steve Jenkins doubted.

"I've been in the minority. I know how very possible it is to get things to turn on its head," Hugh said.

"Whatever, dude," Steve Jenkins responded.

Confessional:

Hugh: I feel like I'm the only one in my alliance who's actually trying. Irving's so devil-may-care about everything, Steve Jenkins clearly doesn't want to contribute anything besides his vote, and Bailey and Brittany are only kind of helpful. I knew I was going to be the big villain of this season, but having my henchmen at least put in the effort too would be nice!

Steve Jenkins: Hugh just doesn't understand that there is straight-up nothing to worry about. Even if there are statues in Isolation Park like people keep saying there are, no one on this team has even been there, so it's not like we have to worry about those. Besides, I'm Steve Jenkins, anyone who would dare try to harm my game knows they'd feel the wrath of my amazing fans once the game's over. (He gives a wink and a grin to the camera.)

Jean-Marie, Joseph, and Kun met up in the latter's apartment.

"Alright, so, Jean-Marie, last night I said I wanted to run something by you, and you said that I should, um, do so tomorrow morning," Kun prefaced. "It is now that time."

"It must truly be important if it is still at the forefront of your mind," Jean-Marie said. "Do tell."

"How strongly do you guys, um, feel about voting for Kiki, should we have to vote?" Kun asked.

"While I dislike Dalit more, and Frita contributes less, Kiki is the biggest threat to our games," Jean-Marie laid out.

"I just straight up don't like her," Joseph mentioned. "Why? Did something come up?"

"Nothing necessarily came up, I was just, um, wondering if it would be worth it to target someone else over her," Kun answered.

"You thought of it yesterday, slept on it, and today you still think it to be the better move. You are clearly convinced, even if you won't express it," Jean-Marie claimed. "Can you explain why you don't want to vote for Kiki?"

"Well, um, not particularly..." Kun stammered.

"There's no good reason to target anyone else, bro," Joseph tsked. "Kiki is actively out to get us, and she can do it, too. Without her, what are Dalit and Frita going to do?"

"I suppose..." Kun conceded.

"If you can find the words to explain your point of view, I'm happy to hear it," Jean-Marie said. "But as it stands, I see no reason why we should focus our efforts on eliminating anyone but Kiki."

"What if she finds a statue?" Kun realized.

"All three of them could have one. They've all been to Isolation Park," Joseph pointed out.

"That's true," Kun realized.

"I do appreciate you consulting us rather than making hard plans without our input," Jean-Marie told Kun. "I've seen many a leader fail due to a lack of such wisdom."

"It's important to listen to others," Kun said. "I'm glad I'm, um, at least succeeding in that regard."

"Oui. If I did not trust you, I would not have stuck with you," Jean-Marie assured him.

"Hell yeah, bro!" Joseph agreed.

"Well, thanks, I'm really happy to hear that," Kun smiled. "It's nice to have someone who has faith in me."

"Truly one of life's most underrated pleasures," Jean-Marie waxed.

Confessional:

Kun: I, um, worry often that I'm not being an effective enough leader, or that I'm just embarrassing myself, so I'm glad to hear that I'm not doing as bad as I think I am. As long as I keep trying, I'm, um, making progress towards being an effective leader.

Jean-Marie: I can't but wonder if our dear leader has his eyes set on a fair maiden and is letting this cloud his vision. Were this not a high-stakes game, I'd urge him to follow his heart, but as it stands, I cannot let Kiki play this game any further, regardless of how Kun may feel about her. She is simply too big a threat. (He clears his throat.) W-Which is simply good strategy, and not unnecessarily cutthroat.

Joseph: Kun's a bro and all, but as far as leaders go, I don't exactly have a ton of confidence in him. We've got a plan, and it's a good plan, so what's the point in changing it? I can't think of any good reason, honestly. Making sure you don't string people along and mislead them is a big facet of the bro code. That's hoe behavior if I've ever seen it.

Ernie found Shadya doing push-ups at McLean Park.

"Shadya, do you, like, have a minute?" Ernie asked.

"I would not have made it this far in life if I was unable to multitask," Shadya claimed.

"Right, so, kind of important, but Bailey did not vote for Irving. She voted for Isidora," Ernie told her.

"Why would she do that?" Shadya doubted.

"I'm still trying to figure that part out. Lord knows why the hell she'd, ya know, pick Irving as a potential ally over Isidora," Ernie scoffed. "But what's important is that, like, she did it. I think putting our trust in her is a bad idea."

"I do not have bad ideas," Shadya said.

"Okay, then explain to me what part of putting our trust in someone who does not have our interests at heart is a good idea," Ernie challenged. "Especially if it means throwing Vladimir, someone I know we can trust, under the bus."

"Vladimir?" Shadya asked. "Since when can we trust Vladimir?"

"You straight-up included him in our alliance on day one," Ernie groaned.

"I included Barry because I saw him as someone who was willing to easily go with my plans," Shadya claimed. "I included Bailey and Brittany for a similar reason."

"And look where that's, like, gotten us," Ernie leered. "Listen. Bailey, Brittany, Hugh, and Irving are an alliance. The other four of us need to, ya know, work together if we want to do anything about that."

"None of this conversation changes my intentions to vote for Irving," Shadya grunted. "And if you're going to waste my time with pointless conversation, I expect you to not take up such an attitude with me."

Ernie took a deep breath. "I apologize."

"I don't need an apology, I need a change in behavior," Shadya told him.

Confessional:

Ernie: Every idiot on the street thinks they're the smartest person in the room. The worst ones are the ones who have had other people tell them they're smart, because they, ya know, let that get to their head. I've dealt with people like Shadya before, and if I want her to work with me, I need to humor her, even if it costs me my dignity.

Shadya: Just because Ernie made it to the final five before doesn't mean he has any right to treat me as an equal. Even putting aside the records I've set and the awards I've won, if we want to speak strictly about prior seasons, I ran everything from the beginning, and with a much smarter cast. Ernie isn't dumb, but most of the House Party cast were. If anything, I find it concerning that he didn't win given who else was in the final five with him.

The marquee at Hatchet's Diner read "No, the mushrooms are not from the store. Don't question it any further." Inside the diner, Dalit, Nolan, and Quentin ate breakfast at the same booth.

"It must be nice getting to actually play on a team this time, huh?" Nolan playfully teased Dalit.

"What is that to mean?" Dalit huffed. "Just because I have not had to vote, that is why I am not voted out?"

"What, no, I was just joking about how a twist screwed you over in Alpha Party," Nolan assured her.

"That is rude," Dalit leered.

"...My bad," Nolan apologized. "Anyway, things are definitely looking up for you."

"Of course. And I will be winning this time," Dalit grinned proudly.

"If I don't win, I'd be happy if one of you guys did," Quentin smiled. "Honestly, I'd be happy if most of this team won, now that I think about it."

"It is a compelling story, having been relegated to 'that person who didn't even make the merge' for so much time, only to come back and win," Nolan nodded. "I was forced to vote myself out, Dalit had no time to get to know her fellow competitors before a vote, and even Quentin fell victim to a vote split after giving his hidden statue away."

"That sounds like both of your own faults," Dalit mentioned.

"I'm not going to let romance get in the way of my game this time," Quentin said with resolve. "I have all the time in the world to find a partner. I may not get another shot at Total Drama, though."

"That is true. We must think of ourselves lucky for getting to come back," Dalit agreed.

"If all else fails, you're free to do what you want after you're voted out. It worked for me and Dalit," Nolan chuckled to Quentin.

"Maybe, but I don't plan on getting voted out," Quentin said.

"That's the spirit of the game, right there," Nolan beamed. "No matter what happens, even if losing seems guaranteed, you never back down until the very end. Anything can happen."

"Even when you're using a statue to save someone who doesn't want to be there and getting yourself eliminated?" Dalit doubted.

"Look, we've all made mistakes, and I'm not letting the dice tell me that my game is over this time," Nolan groaned.

"That's what makes getting a second chance so great," Quentin smiled. "We've learned from our last time playing, and we know what not to do."

"I just realized, don't you have better food in your penthouse?" Dalit asked Quentin.

"I'd rather spend time with you guys," Quentin beamed.

"You could have just invited us into your penthouse to eat!" Dalit called out.

"...Oh yeah. Heh," Quentin realized.

Confessional:

Nolan: Well, I didn't connect with Dalit as much as I'd hoped, but it's a start. She seems comfortable enough around me to take jabs at me, although I feel like she's willing to take jabs at people no matter how friendly she actually is to them. I'll have to keep at it.

Dalit: I think Nolan is annoying. He only sees this as a game for fun. People like me can really use the money from if I win, so he should just lose already if it's just another game to him! What does he care? He can play another game!

Quentin: Maybe I really am lucky, getting the chance to come back and all. (He chuckles.) Dalit's kind of cynical, but I guess given how she grew up, that makes a lot of sense. She's not a bad person at all, though. She's been a good friend to Frita, from what I've seen.

Bailey wrote something down in her motel room when she heard a knock on the door.

"Hm?" Bailey stood up and answered it to see Irving on the other side. "Irving? Is something the matter?"

"I'm actually not Irving," the figure said in a voice that revealed it to be Vladimir. "But if someone who looked like Barry approached you, people would get suspicious."

"You... have an Irving disguise?" Bailey pieced together.

"It could come in handy. Who knows?" Vladimir shrugged. "May I enter?"

"You may," Bailey relented, gesturing for him to enter the room.

Vladimir shut the door behind him.

"You must have something important to tell me if you felt the need to disguise yourself and approach me," Bailey surmised.

"You're sharp," Vladimir complimented. "You see, it's getting more and more apparent to me that Shadya and Steve Jenkins aren't people I can rely on. I know you and your allies have been after me for a while, but I'm willing to pledge my allegiance to you guys. It would mean breaking the stalemate in votes, and, if a team swap occurs, it could benefit us to have as many allies as possible."

"You're smart yourself. Surely you know how suspicious it seems to abandon your allies just to latch onto a different alliance," Bailey pointed out. "Especially with the knowledge that, if you did, you'd be the de facto bottom of the totem pole, having proven your loyalty the least of the five of us."

"I'd think that should prove that I truly do mean business," Vladimir stated. "After all, all of that is pretty easy to figure out, and yet I'm extending this offer to you in spite of it. I genuinely believe that this could benefit you as well as me."

"I do have one more question," Bailey mentioned.

"Of course," Vladimir preemptively agreed to answer.

"Why did you ask me specifically?" Bailey asked.

Vladimir laughed a bit. "A couple of reasons. For one, you're easily the most approachable of your alliance, and the most reasonable as well, by my estimation. Of course, I also heard a rumor that you've convinced Shadya that you're working with her when you clearly are not. I'll admit, having heard that, I'm interested in you as a player. If that's true, then that tells me that you're willing to play sneaky. As a master of disguise, I find that very appealing."

"You do look awfully convincing as Irving," Bailey pointed out. "Can you match his voice?"

"Not as well as I'd like. I spent months nailing the Barry impression, not that it did me any good since people figured me out so quickly," Vladimir lamented. "But I'm not here to be flattered over my abilities of disguise, even though I won't tell you to stop. I'm here to ask: are you willing to do whatever it takes to win, Bailey?"

Vladimir extended his hand for a shake.

"...Without a doubt," Bailey confirmed and reciprocated the handshake.

"I look forward to seeing where this takes us," Vladimir smirked. "Now, I should go change back into Barry before people realize there are two Irvings walking around."

"That might be for the best, yes," Bailey giggled.

Confessional:

Vladimir: If you can't beat them, join them, and it's becoming clearer to me that I will not be able to beat this alliance with the setup that I have. I am fully aware that this puts me at the bottom of the majority, but that still puts me in the majority. I can use the time I've just bought to better my position in this game.

Bailey: I don't know how much I intend to hold up my deal with Vladimir. I do want to win, absolutely, but he's someone that I'm simply not sure that I can trust. Breaking the likely tie would be nice, but is there a better way to do that? That's what I need to figure out before our next vote.

Cyan and Louise had just sat down at the bar in the barcade, where Jayne was working once again.

"Alright, Jayne, do you remember how to make a Blue Lagoon?" Cyan asked.

"Loading... yes, I put it in the 'Very Situational Information' folder. Coming right up," Jayne informed her.

"I feel like it shouldn't be that situational if you're going to be working here the whole game," Cyan commented.

"I'd like a big delicious beer," Louise mentioned.

In the middle of grabbing everything to make Cyan's cocktail, Jayne grabbed a tall glass and ran it under the beer tap. They set the drink on the bar in front of Louise.

"¡Muchas gracias!" Louise beamed.

"I can't believe we're day-drinking when there's probably an Invincibility challenge today," Cyan giggled.

"Ah, we can have coffee after one drink," Louise figured. "I, for one, want to take advantage of the bar for as long as we can. Besides, Jayne loves the company, right Jayne?"

"I prefer your company over the company of most of your team," Jayne answered.

"Yeah, but we know who you like the most," Louise teased.

"Joseph makes me feel very appreciated," Jayne smiled as they put Cyan's drink in front of her.

"We appreciate you too, but I get it. Joseph's a good-looking boy," Cyan winked before taking a sip.

Jayne's head suddenly snapped in the direction of the door. "What can I make for you, Frita?!" they called loudly, prompting Cyan and Louise to flinch.

Frita jumped, frozen in anxiety.

"Get over here, Frita!" Louise invited.

Frita nervously made her way to the bar. "I'm sorry, I-I-I'm not trying to interrupt," she gulped.

"Not at all!" Cyan assured her.

"I-I thought I'd have a small drink. Maybe it'll make me less nervous," Frita admitted. "I don't usually drink because I know that I'd probably sink into a quagmire of alcoholism and self-destruction, but you guys would stop me if things got dangerous, right?"

"I'm not permitted to serve the same person more than three drinks a day in the first place," Jayne told her.

"I'll just stick with one," Frita decided.

"What will it be?" Jayne asked.

Frita froze. "I'm sorry! I didn't think that far ahead!"

"Hey, it's alright," Louise assured her. She turned to Jayne. "Give her a whiskey on the rocks. That's a nice, comforting drink."

"...Thanks," Frita murmured.

"No problem!" Louise smacked her on the back playfully.

Confessional:

Cyan: I know you shouldn't get complacent in this game, but I think my plans going forward have more or less been solidified by this point. No need to spend the day stressing out, so I figured I'd take a day to relax.

Louise: I feel like Jayne is basically a part of the Fighting Wyverns at this point. Maybe it's just because they run the bar, and we keep having access to the bar. Well, that, and they and Joseph are adorable together. You guys know I'm all for couples on this show.

Frita: I wonder how Sorrell is doing. She would drink so much back in Explore Party. She was still a more valuable team member than I was, of course, but she was in such bad shape by the end of it all. I tried to warn her, but then, why should anyone have listened to me? Anyway, my point is, I really don't want to end up like that. Just having one drink is making me feel weird. This was probably a mistake. (She sighs.)

Brittany and Irving sat in their team's garage hangout with music playing.

"So, have you spoken to Hugh about what Bailey told us last night?" Brittany asked.

"Nah. Haven't seen the lad around," Irving said. "Besides, Bailey said she had it covered. No need to make meself look like a control freak when she seems content to make herself look like one, eh?"

"What I'm concerned about is why she feels the need to keep up this facade to Shadya," Brittany mentioned. "Even if we need a vote to break a tie, Shadya's not the first person I would trust to flip."

"And who be the first person ye trust?" Irving inquired.

"...You know what, fair point," Brittany conceded. "Ernie's probably the most reasonable, and I know he's not a fan of Steve Jenkins. Maybe we could talk to him."

"Couldn't hurt," Irving figured. "Ye do be onto something though, Mister Brittany. Why should Bailey put such a high priority on Shadya? Sure, she be strong, but I be pretty strong meself, and I be a hell of a lot more humble, too!" Irving flexed his muscle to demonstrate.

"Mhm," Brittany responded in disbelief at his last statement. "I don't want to mistrust Bailey necessarily, nor do I think we should, but it just seems like she's trying to better her own position in the game, and it's kind of transparent."

"Well, ye can't fault a lass for trying. That be how ye get ahead, aye?" Irving mentioned.

"True, but it comes off like she would put herself ahead of the alliance if the situation demanded it," Brittany explained. "It's concerning."

"Again, that be how the game be played," Irving reasoned.

"So you're okay with her potentially screwing you over just to get ahead?" Brittany asked.

"I didn't say that. Screwing over the Dread Pirate Irving be an unforgivable crime! Worse than cooking your steak well-done!" Irving ranted. "I just be saying that I get where she be coming from. Ye should too, ye've done the same before."

"That's...!" Brittany trailed off. "That's something I'm trying not to do this season. It could ruin my game and my allies' games. And the same applies to Bailey."

"What do ye suggest we do about it?" Irving asked.

"I don't know," Brittany admitted. "I was hoping you might have an idea."

"What do ye think, Greg?" Irving turned to address the robot who had been standing idly the entire time.

"The mechanics of this game go completely over my head, and the outcome of the game is of no concern to me whatsoever," Greg stated.

"At least ye be honest about it!" Irving guffawed. "Ah, it be like Lilith never left. Except ye be a lot prettier and less obnoxious."

"Thank you," Greg responded.

Confessional:

Brittany: I know how tempting and easy it is to turn on your allies if you feel like the numbers are more secure elsewhere. Hugh and Irving have proven that they're willing to work with us, and while they were never my first choice in allies, I trust them more than I trust the others, who all seem to be set in their ways and/or have actively targeted me.

Irving: I may be a cutthroat dread pirate who's loyal only to himself and will do whatever suits his whims, but I be no hypocrite! If Bailey wishes to play a sneaky game, who be I to condemn her? Of course, I be absolutely ready to stop her if I feel it's putting me at risk! I'll see what the rest of the team be feeling before selling her out, just in case.

Kun encountered Cyan in the halls of Blaising Tower.

"Afternoon," Kun smiled.

"Hey!" Cyan chirped. "Excited for the challenge?"

"Given the, um, prior pattern, this one should be for Invincibility," Kun noted. "I just hope we can, um, keep winning."

"I think we can! As long as the sea is blue, the Fighting Wyverns will prevail!" Cyan beamed. Her expression immediately turned serious. "Don't try to tell me that water isn't really blue. Nobody likes a smart-ass."

"Uh, duly noted," Kun chuckled awkwardly. "Well, um, if things do go south, how would you plan on voting?"

"Right now? I'm thinking Kiki," Cyan said. "Or at least one of her alliance. I'm not picky."

"Kiki, um, works," Kun nodded. "I wasn't sure if we should stick with her or change to one of her allies, but Jean-Marie and Joseph seemed pretty set on voting Kiki."

"I'm surprised JM isn't gunning for Dalit. She's gunning for him, I'm pretty sure," Cyan noted.

"Yes, and the fact that he isn't makes me think, um, Kiki may just be the best option," Kun mentioned. "I just wanted to see where your head is currently. Is Louise thinking similarly to you?"

"Yep. But hey, there's no need to be pessimistic," Cyan assured him. "We need to lose a challenge for any of that to matter."

"It pays to be, um, prepared," Kun figured. "Besides, we haven't really spoken about the game in a while, and, um, I wanted to make sure we were still on the same page."

"You're good, you're good," Cyan smiled.

"Glad to hear it," Kun smiled. "Take it easy."

"You too!" Cyan responded.

Confessional:

Kun: I think Cyan is someone I should be, um, working with closer than I am. She's a very strong social player, and a good strategic player too. Definitely the kind of person I want on my side. I mean, she, um, is already, but, well... y-you know what I meant!

Cyan: I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like Kun before. Even though he's kind of shy and kind of nervous, he's still pushing through it and trying to take up a leadership role. And not even doing the worst job of it that I've seen. You have to admire the courage if nothing else.

As Bailey exited her motel room, she saw Hugh on his way to his own room.

"Oh, Hugh, I have something I need to tell you," Bailey prompted.

"Well, what do you know? I've got something to tell you too," Hugh sneered proudly. "Ladies first."

"Well. Ah." Bailey cleared her throat, taken aback a bit. "I told Brittany and Irving this already, but Shadya seems to be under the impression that I'm working with her, and that Vladimir is working with you guys. I'm planning on keeping this impression of hers up so as to make things complicated for the other side. This should be made easier by the fact that Vladimir offered to work with us this morning."

"Huh. No shit?" Hugh chuckled. "Because I was just going to tell you that I managed to rope Steve Jenkins into voting with us!" Hugh cackled. "We are running this team! It's too much."

"It wouldn't hurt to have as many votes on our side as we can, so we'll need a new target that isn't Vladimir," Bailey reminded him. "In light of Steve Jenkins potentially being willing to work with us, I think Ernie would be our best option, here."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Hugh figured. "He's the only one who hasn't even pretended to be interested in working with us. How are we supposed to trust him at all?"

"He openly told me that he's suspicious of me because he knows that I voted for Isidora and that I'm keeping that information from Shadya," Bailey mentioned. "I see no good reason to keep him around."

"Then it's decided," Hugh smirked. "We just have to fill the entire rest of the team in. Or at least three other people."

"Shadya still wants Irving gone, and I still don't know how much I trust Vladimir," Bailey mentioned. "But then, Steve Jenkins is kind of a wild card."

"We tell Brittany and Irving, and then we'll see just how loyal Steve Jenkins and Vladimir are willing to be. It'll work out," Hugh figured.

"That seems like an acceptable course of action," Bailey agreed.

"At worst, we tie, and even then, Shadya wants Irving gone, not us," Hugh smirked.

"That is true," Bailey smiled slightly.

Confessional:

Bailey: I find it a lot easier to work with Hugh than I'd expected. Yes, he can be crass and cocky, but he knows what needs to be done in order to get ahead. I suppose that's how he was able to place as highly as he did in Alpha Party. I would do well not to underestimate him.

Hugh: Hahaha! (He wipes a tear from his eye.) Oh, we really are just in complete control of everything, aren't we? I gotta say? It doesn't suck. Especially when we have control freaks like Shadya and Ernie on this team, and they have to answer to us. It's way more satisfying than it has any right to be.

Joseph watched as Jean-Marie and Nolan fought each other in the fighting game at the barcade.

"Wait, he can do that?!" Nolan flinched as Jean-Marie's character teleported behind his character and uppercut her.

"Oui. It is not a hard move to pull off," Jean-Marie smiled.

"I'm no good at these games in general," Joseph admitted. "You both could probably kick my ass."

"Quentin seems to enjoy this game. And Frita joined us in playing last night," Jean-Marie pointed out. "It seems to be a good point of bonding amongst us on the Fighting Wyverns."

"And hey, Frita lost every game she played against us. So if you are as bad as you say, you might be on equal footing with her," Nolan surmised.

"Yeah, maybe," Joseph responded. "I'm going to go grab a beer. You guys want one?"

"I'm good," Nolan declined.

"Feel free to spend as much time with Jayne as you wish," Jean-Marie smirked coyly.

"Come on, bro, it's not like that," Joseph mumbled, face slightly flushed. He made his way over to the bar.

"You think there's something between those two?" Nolan gossipped.

"They seem to get along particularly well," Jean-Marie said.

Jean-Marie's character in the video game knocked out Nolan's character.

"Dang it," Nolan griped. He glanced over at the bar to see Joseph and Jayne sharing a laugh about something. "They do have surprisingly good chemistry. I don't know about the ethics of a potential relationship between them, but that's probably a question for someone else to answer."

"Love comes in many forms," Jean-Marie waxed. "They may love each other in a way that lovers do not. Perhaps he truly is like a brother to them."

"I guess it's nobody's business but those two's at the end of the day," Nolan figured. "Although they remind me of when I first started really talking to CJ. They seem happy around each other."

"I'm almost jealous," Jean-Marie chuckled.

"Anyway, let's do a rematch. I know I can beat you with that last character matchup," Nolan requested.

"Si vous insistez," Jean-Marie agreed.

Confessional:

Jean-Marie: I believe that everyone is more or less settled on where their vote lies, so the Fighting Wyverns, for the most part, have been content to take it easy until we actually have to vote. It is important to enjoy the time you have available to enjoy.

Nolan: Jean-Marie and Joseph are good company, and I think they like hanging out with me, which is good. Things are going well for me, all things considered. I'll be honest: part of me considered hiding the fact that I was going to use the dice again this season, but people probably would have figured it out pretty quickly anyway. I think I made the right choice.

Joseph: Jayne's a bro, but even if they were a human person, I'm not really looking for a relationship in the first place. I get that bros tease each other, but I think JM actually thinks I like Jayne like that, which is kind of annoying. I hate being misunderstood.

Ernie met up with Steve Jenkins in the former's motel room.

"Alright, so, like I think we need to clear some air around here," Ernie began.

"I'll say. It reeks of pot in here," Steve Jenkins accused.

"I- Wha- I don't even- ...I'm a law student," Ernie pointed out.

"And law students are always complaining about being stressed. Don't think you can fool me," Steve Jenkins said proudly.

Ernie's mouth made a thin line as he took a deep breath. "Look!" he began. "We just need to get the votes together to, ya know, take out Irving. I talked to Shadya and she said she's on board. Did you talk to Bailey like you said you would?"

"When did I say that?" Steve Jenkins doubted.

"Literally last night when we were at the diner," Ernie groaned. "Vladimir was there, too."

"I don't remember saying that," Steve Jenkins shrugged.

"Whatever. You're still good to vote for Irving?" Ernie made sure.

"You need to have more faith in me. I'm Steve Jenkins, not some loser who couldn't even get into All-Stars," Steve Jenkins chuckled.

"Yes. Or no?" Ernie asked point-blank.

"Yes, alright?" Steve Jenkins winced.

"That's all we can ask you for," Ernie said. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "This game's a lot more work than the last one. I just want to make sure it all works out, ya know? People like Irving are unpredictable. We need to get rid of him before he does something stupid and screws us all over."

"I feel that," Steve Jenkins nodded. "I'm sure it'll all work out. It usually does."

"It's only worked out for one of us here, and she got incredibly lucky," Ernie claimed. "If we want things to, like, work out, we need to... ugh, put in the effort. We probably won't get another shot at this game."

"Damn, that's true, huh?" Steve Jenkins realized.

"I haven't played this game in six years. I never thought I'd, ya know, get to come back," Ernie mentioned. "I'm not going to let it go to waste."

Confessional:

Steve Jenkins: See, now I just don't know for sure what I want to do. Ernie's right about Irving being kind of a wild card, and wild cards don't obey logic, like the logic of doing what's best for Steve Jenkins. On the other hand, Ernie's talked mad shit about me all game, so how am I supposed to trust him, either? Maybe I'll talk to Shady and see where she's at. Shady and I go way back, so she'll be looking out for Steve Jenkins.

Ernie: (He lets out a heavy yawn.) I'm no stranger to having to rely on idiots to vote my way, but I'd figure that I'd at least have a smarter batch of people to choose from in an All-Stars season. I already pretty much told Bailey I'm out to get her, so it's not like I can necessarily, like, jump ship over to them. Ugh, I don't know, it's too early for me to be thinking this hard about it.

Quentin had invited Dalit and Frita up to his penthouse. Dalit and Quentin sat in the bedroom.

"I don't think this outfit is going to fit me," Frita's voice said from the other side of the closed bathroom door. "I'm half a foot taller than you, Dalit."

"Maybe if you show some skin you will feel more confident in yourself," Dalit claimed.

"I think that's the opposite of true," Frita sighed. "I'm not wearing this."

Frita stepped out of the bathroom in her usual clothes and returned the clothes Dalit lent back to her.

"How will you be confident if you cannot get out of your comfort zone?!" Dalit challenged, annoyed.

"Hey, Frita just needs to go at her own pace," Quentin interjected. "If she doesn't want to wear it, she doesn't have to."

Frita fought back tears as she quickly walked towards the door out of the penthouse and left.

"Come back here!" Dalit shouted, to no response. She growled, annoyed.

"Don't you think you're being a little hard on her?" Quentin asked.

"She said she is in this game because it's her only time to talk to people," Dalit stated. "As her friend, I am making her more confident so she can feel good about herself and talk to people out of the game."

"I think she's already tough on herself as is, you know?" Quentin asked. "I think she responds better to just treating her nicely, encouraging her with affirmation, not with challenge. Kind of like Bijou did with you."

"What are you saying?!" Dalit snapped. "That I am treating her like my slave?!"

"Th-That's not what I'm saying at all!" Quentin panicked. "Not even close."

"I think I understand you. I'm the wealthy man who likes ordering her around, and you're the Bijou or Ephraim who's nice to her and is going to save her from me!" Dalit accused.

"That's not what I'm saying!" Quentin cried. "Dalit, please, we can't let this escalate. Let's just calm down and-"

"I will not be accused like this! You don't know how hard I had it! Nobody does!" Dalit shouted.

She stormed out of the penthouse. Quentin caught his breath, made his way to his bed, and wept.

Confessional:

Quentin: I hate having to work out tense situations with no time to think about it. I think that was actually my fear challenge in Alpha Party. I don't even know where Dalit got slavery out of what I was saying to her. I must have hit a nerve without realizing it. I'll have to apologize to her later... Once I'm sure she's not mad at me anymore.

Dalit: I will not be made the bad guy when I am doing the most out of everyone to help Frita out! She is just like I was: a fish out of the water. Just because you are nice to someone doesn't mean you're helping them out. Being nice is easy. Taking action is hard work!

Frita: Even my friends think of me like I'm some kind of glass ornament: delicate and useless. (She sighs.) I don't know why I'm disappointed. Everyone thinks of me like that. Why did I expect any differently?

Brittany ate lunch alone at Hatchet's Diner until Shadya joined her with food of her own.

"Brittany. A word," Shadya commanded.

"Okay?" Brittany acquiesced.

"I'm aware that you voted for Isidora the other night," Shadya began. "And I cannot fathom why on Earth you would do that. It doesn't benefit your game in any conceivable way."

"You really don't mince words," Brittany commented. "Do you really think I'd make such a risky move if I didn't think it would help my game?"

"You've made unnecessarily risky moves in the past, and it led to your friendship with Angie deteriorating and Trinity being eliminated," Shadya stated.

Brittany's face fell. "That wasn't necessary to point out."

"You accused me of making an error in judgment, so I backed up my stance with evidence," Shadya leered.

"Well, then I guess you've answered your own question," Brittany exasperated. "I voted for Isidora because I'm irrational and bad at the game."

"I don't need your sass," Shadya leered.

"Well, what did you expect me to say?" Brittany asked. "You clearly already think of me as someone who doesn't know what she's doing, you already said you can't possibly understand why I made the move I did. What did you expect out of this whole conversation?"

"You aren't dumb," Shadya told her. "I know you know how this game works and what you need to do. That's why I don't understand why you make the moves you do."

"It's not like I don't put thought into my moves," Brittany sighed. "The Trinity vote was a mistake. I knew that the instant it happened. But I make whatever moves I feel like will benefit me the most in the long term. Surely you have to understand that. You've set chess records."

"And how does Isidora leaving benefit you in the long term?" Shadya challenged.

"She was tight with Steve Jenkins, who is gunning for me," Brittany explained. "If the vote was going to head in that direction, who was I to say no?"

"And it didn't occur to you that maybe they didn't have the votes to get rid of you if they wanted?" Shadya doubted.

"You can't run that risk in Total Drama," Brittany said. "That's also something I'd think you'd understand after you were eliminated on Rhiannon's watch."

Shadya's face twisted in anger.

"Doesn't feel good, does it?" Brittany asked. She ate the last of her french fries, stood up, and picked up her empty plate. "I'll see you at the challenge."

Confessional:

Brittany: Shadya playing the big scary fearless threat might have worked for her in her season, where challenge strength determined a lot, but this is All-Stars. Everyone here has experience with this game, and everyone on this team knows how to make it relatively far. Mostly, I feel like she truly believes I'm beneath her, whether she's even consciously aware of it or not. I can't say I'm a fan.

Shadya: Brittany should have been the easiest person to jump ship against Irving of all people, and yet here we are. Who's next? Hugh? I already swore that I'd renounce my accolades before I ever worked with him on purpose. Vladimir? He's shifty, to put it lightly, but that might have to be the play. I'm really growing to hate this team.

Louise came to her team's garage hangout and switched on the PlayStation.

"Time to get some practice in on hockey so I can kick Nolan's ass later," Louise grinned.

"I fail to understand the connection between playing video games and increasing one's fighting skills," a voice came from behind her.

"Jeez!" Louise jumped. She turned around to see Greg standing there. "Oh, it's you. The other robot."

"My name is Greg," Greg reminded her.

"Right. Sorry for forgetting," Louise apologized. "Anyway, I meant I was going to kick his ass in the game. Not in real life. If it was real life, I'd thrash him."

"Then why aren't you fighting him in real life?" Greg asked. "It sounds like Nolan will defeat you in this game, so why not partake in an activity you can win?"

"See, that's the thing," Louise said. "I have nothing to prove by sparring with him or something. I want to improve myself to the point where I can beat him in this!"

"I see. Improving your capabilities is an admirable goal," Greg nodded.

"So, what are you doing here?" Louise asked. "I know Jayne is working the bar, but do they not have anything for you to do?"

"Godfrey wants me to 'take it easy' for a few days while recovering from my loss in the challenge," Greg explained.

"Frita did do a number on you," Louise winced. "Any plans for you, though?"

"Ginger expressed intent for me to serve as room service for whoever has the penthouse," Greg said. "I do not know when I will officially be assigned this position."

"Hopefully soon. You seem kind of bored," Louise told him.

"My feelings do not matter as much as the feelings of organic people," Greg claimed.

"Hey, that's not true!" Louise frowned. "Here, want to try the video game?" She offered him a controller.

"Perhaps if this will improve my capabilities as it does yours," Greg accepted as he offered the controller.

Confessional:

Louise: Yeah, Greg had no idea what he was doing in that game. It was kind of sad. Not as sad as him acting like his feelings aren't important, though! I wonder if Ginger or Jayne ever feel like that. I never got that sense from either of them. Although I guess I don't know either of them that well. Huh.

Vladimir, now dressed as Barry again, found Irving at McLean Park.

"Eager to get the challenge going?" Vladimir asked.

"Nyar, I just be enjoying the lovely weather we be having," Irving told him. "That actually be no joke. The just-right amount of heat, not all too humid, the lovely breeze. I be feeling an outdoor challenge today, though. We haven't had one since day one."

"That is true," Vladimir acknowledged. "By the way, I spoke with Bailey earlier today, and she sounded like she was interested in including me in your little alliance."

"Aye, that don't surprise me none," Irving nodded. "If ye be willing to work with us, I can't say I be one to turn down another member of me crew. Ye can be the cabin boy for now, but if ye prove yourself, ye can work your way up."

"I'm flattered," Vladimir chuckled. "I just wanted to make sure you were interested, too."

"Well, if ye were to work with us, who would ye gun for?" Irving asked.

"Hey now, I know you know better than that," Vladimir smirked. "You target me for days, suddenly accept my proposal to work with me, and then prod me about who I want to get rid of? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were lying to me and just wanted to hear a name from my lips so you can throw me under the bus to whoever I mention."

"Gyarharhar! Ye got me!" Irving laughed. "Although I can't say I be against the idea of working with ye. I have no strong vendetta against ye, but once I already called ye out, I couldn't just back down from that."

"Why not?" Vladimir asked.

"...Well damn, I hadn't thought of that," Irving said. "Gyarhar! Kidding, of course. Obviously, once I fire the first shot, that be a rift of trust between us. Why should ye trust me when I threw ye under the bus? And why should I trust ye when ye have no reason to trust me?"

"Well, someone has to take the first step," Vladimir said. "I get that lying about who I am right out of the gate didn't make me seem super trustworthy. I do think we can work well together, though. We were both the hardest players in our respective seasons, I think you'll agree."

"It be tough to argue with that," Irving grinned. "Ah, what the hey? Welcome aboard, cabin boy!"

Irving grabbed Vladimir's hand and shook it violently.

"Er, thanks." Vladimir forced a smile.

Confessional:

Vladimir: Irving is the person I find least trustworthy amongst the four, so I wanted to gauge his reaction to me potentially working with them. To more surprise than I should be feeling, I have no idea how truly open he is to the idea of me joining forces with him. I wonder how possible it would be to simply replace him rather than have to work with him. Hm.

Irving: Aye, so Bailey do be making deals behind our backs, then. I can't say I be all too comfortable with this position I find meself in, but I can't really step out of line, lest I make meself a bigger target than I already be. I'll talk it over with Mister Brittany and Hugh. I actually trust those two.

Kiki wandered through the forest of Isolation Park.

"There has to be... something..." Kiki groaned.

Her stomach growled, and she took a second to prop herself up against a tree.

"I just want to know... if Quentin found the only one... or if there are more statues..." Kiki panted. "He found the Genesis statue specifically... surely there are more modeled after other winners..."

She began to pound on the tree in frustration, only to cause something to fall from the tree and onto the ground.

"What the?" Kiki asked.

She approached the object and bent down to pick it up. It was a small bust, similar to the Genesis Statue, but in the image of a serious-looking young man. Kiki unfolded the note that was attached to the bust and began to read it.

"Oh, that's interesting," Kiki commented. She couldn't contain a smile. "That's very interesting."

Confessional:

Kiki: There have been so many things I've had to worry about in this game, and I think what I just found may put a lot of them to rest. I'm excited to show everyone.

Chris, Topher, and Lindsay had called the contestants together to McLean Park.

"Alright, we now see the return of Kiki from Isolation Park," Topher mentioned

Kiki ambled her way to the rest of the contestants.

"Before we continue, I feel I should ask," Kiki mentioned. "At what point does the challenge officially start?"

"The challenge has not started yet. It will start once we arrive on-location and the official 'go' has been called," Chris explained.

"I guess I'll just do this now," Kiki decided as she fished her statue out of her pocket. She read from the note she had received. "'Congratulations, you have found the Dunstan Statue'."

This already sparked murmurs amongst the other contestants.

"'Playing this statue will allow you to select one contestant still in the game and force them to change teams'," Kiki continued. "You may select yourself, a member of your team, or someone not on your team. This statue has no power during the merge. You must play this statue before a challenge'."

"Spicy!" Topher bubbled.

"This is, in fact, the Dunstan Statue," Chris confirmed as Kiki handed him the wooden object. "And who will you be forcing to mutiny?"

"I have chosen..." Kiki began.

...

"Bailey," Kiki decided.

"Oh!" Bailey reacted, a bit surprised.

"What the hell?! We're already at a numbers disadvantage, you can't just do that!" Hugh shouted.

"Bailey isn't permanently on the Fighting Wyverns, right?" Brittany asked.

"Until further notice, Bailey is indeed a permanent member of the Fighting Wyverns. Hehaha," Chris chuckled.

"Well then," Bailey cleared her throat and walked up to her new team. "Hello, everybody. I hope we can work well together."

"Mais oui," Jean-Marie agreed.

Confessional:

Bailey: Well, that was... unexpected. Not to mention disappointing. I was putting so much into getting those on my team to trust me, and now I have to get to know an entirely new team. On top of that, today is likely an Invincibility challenge, so if the Fighting Wyverns lose, I'll be in a horrible position.

Kiki: Bailey is someone I already know, at least a little bit, and she's the person on the Grand Gryphons that I trust the most to want to work with me. Her vote could be just the thing to turn things to my favor.

Hugh: This is bullshit! My alliance was running this team, and now one of our key members just gets plucked right out of it for no good reason! I know Steve Jenkins and Vladimir said they were keen to flip, but why should they now when we don't even have a majority anymore?! Fuck!

The contestants were led to the foyer of an inconspicuous tower.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work," Chris began as he clapped his hands together for attention. "Each participating contestant except one will be locked up on different floors of this building. It's up to the person who isn't locked up to solve puzzles in order to free their teammates. Once you're free, you can then solve further puzzles. Once everyone's been freed, there's one more puzzle to solve. Solve it, and your team wins Invincibility!"

"Do we get to pick who starts off not locked up?" Nolan asked.

"Nope! Everyone's positions will be completely randomized," Chris informed.

"And we're going to have to sit out, um, four people now in order to keep it fair?" Kun made sure.

"That's right," Topher confirmed. "Of course, you cannot sit out Dalit or Frita, since they sat out of the last one, and you can't sit out Bailey, since she just joined your team."

"Well, that's good at least," Bailey said.

"Does everyone understand how the challenge will work?" Lindsay asked.

"So it's kind of like those puzzle rooms from Virtual Party's finale, right?" Cyan surmised. "Should be easy!"

"If there are no questions, let's have the Fighting Wyverns decide who all is sitting out, randomize who will be in what position, and get things rolling!" Chris declared.

The Fighting Wyverns discussed it quietly amongst themselves.

"We've decided that, um, Quentin, Joseph, Louise, and Jean-Marie will sit out," Kun announced.

"Alright. Let's get things rolling!" Topher grinned.

Confessional:

Jean-Marie: I did not wish to sit out, but neither did anyone else who was eligible to after the other three declared their lack of skill in puzzles. I saw no good reason why I needed to play over the others, so I offered to sit out of this one. Mon heure viendra.

Irving: Gyarharhar! Well, if ever there was a kick in the arse to get ye motivated to win a challenge, losing a key member of your alliance ought to do it, aye? Thankfully, I be a genius, but I can't be so sure about some of the other folks on me team. I don't want to name names, but... Hugh and Steve Jenkins.

Every contestant had by this point been put in their decided position. This left Steve Jenkins and Kiki ready and waiting at the bottom floor.

"Alright, on my go, you will head up the flight of stairs you're standing in front of," Chris explained.

"You guys will be in similar but separate rooms, so you're going to have to rely on your own skills to win," Topher explained further.

"So they won't know how far the other team is in the challenge?" Lindsay asked.

"Nope!" Chris chuckled. "You could be several puzzles behind and not even realize it. Hehaha."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'm not planning on falling behind," Kiki vowed.

"She clearly doesn't know who she's up against," Steve Jenkins bantered to nobody in particular.

"Aaaaaaaaaand..." Chris began. "GO!"

The two contestants ran up their respective staircases.

Confessional:

Kiki: I'm feeling good about a puzzle challenge, especially since we have the luxury of getting to sit out the people who don't think they'd be as good at puzzles. Granted, I am still dying to eat something, but that can wait until after we win.

Steve Jenkins: I'd say it's about time we turn things around for Team Steve Jenkins over here, and with me "randomly" selected as the team leader this time, I think I can ensure that we do just that. When Steve Jenkins is in charge, it drives people to do better. That's a statistically proven fact for you right there.

Steve Jenkins made it to the second floor of the tower and found himself in a room with little else in it but a screen on the wall and a door next to the screen. The lighting was scarce and the decorations and furniture in the room were bare minima at best. The screen flickered to reveal the image of a poshly-dressed young man.

"Greetings, peasant," the man greeted patronizingly.

"Oh hey, you're that Robby kid from Virtual Party, aren't you?" Steve Jenkins recognized. "I'm going to have to assume you pre-recorded this message because I am no-"

"In order to free your first teammate and obtain access to the third floor, you'll have to solve a simple puzzle on your own," Robby interrupted.

"It's rude to interrupt, you know," Steve Jenkins huffed.

"You'll see a grid with various colored dots," Robby explained. Your job is to link together the same-colored dots. If done correctly, every box in the grid should be filled with a dot or a line connecting the dots. Lines cannot overlap, and you cannot draw lines diagonally. Best of luck."

The message ended, and the grid that Robby had mentioned displayed itself on the screen.

Meanwhile, in a nearly identical room, Kiki stood in front of a similar screen which had just gone from Robby's message to a similar puzzle.

"Alright, this shouldn't be too hard," Kiki decided. "Nothing can overlap. I think that actually makes things easier."

She dragged her finger across the screen, drawing lines between the dots. It took very little time before she successfully completed the puzzle. With a short jingle, the door next to the screen popped open.

"Well, that was easy," Kiki commented as she entered the doorway.

On the other side was a small room with Frita sitting against the wall and another open door across from Kiki with a staircase behind it.

"That was fast," Frita mentioned.

"Yeah, well we shouldn't get used to it. There's no way the puzzles won't get harder the further we get into the challenge," Kiki said.

"Oh boy," Frita sighed.

Confessional:

Frita: I'm still kind of woozy from that drink I had earlier. Ugh, I'm such an idiot, I should have known that it would affect my ability to stay focused in a challenge! ...Who am I kidding, I was never going to be of any help in this one.

Kiki and Frita made it to the next floor, where they found themselves in a room that looked very similar to the previous one. The two approached the screen, and another message from Robby began to play.

"I see you did the easiest puzzle of the bunch all by yourself. Masterfully done," Robby jeered. "This one will be a bit tougher, so make good use of your teammate you just rescued. You'll see what looks like strings of squares at the top of the puzzle, with letters at the very bottom of the puzzle. Those letters will go into one of the boxes in the column above them. When done correctly, you'll have filled out a phrase that will grant you access to the next room of the challenge."

"Sounds like something you can do pretty easily without my help," Frita commented.

"Not a chance. You're a part of the team, and you're going to help the team," Kiki instructed.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't," Frita claimed.

By this point, the screen had changed from Robby's message to the puzzle at hand.

"Why not?" Kiki challenged.

"Because I'm not good at puzzles!" Frita cried.

"So you refuse to even try?" Kiki dragged some of the standalone letters to their obvious places in the strings of boxes. "You won't get better at anything if you don't practice. Believe me, I understand what it's like to lack confidence. But refusing to gain some won't get you anywhere."

Frita sighed.

In the next room over, Steve Jenkins and Hugh had just finished listening to Robby's message.

"I don't get it," Steve Jenkins admitted. "Uh, that is to say, it's not that I don't get it, because I'm Steve Jenkins, but, uh, the whims of the common man can be so incomprehensible that-"

"It'll probably make more sense once we see the puzzle," Hugh interrupted, annoyed.

The screen changed to display the same puzzle that the Fighting Wyverns were attempting.

"Oh, okay, this makes sense," Hugh nodded. "The letters go... Yeah, this shouldn't be too hard. We just need to figure out what words can even go in what spots."

"These are short words," Steve Jenkins nodded as Hugh moved a few letters into their obvious places. "The word 'a' goes right there."

"Sure does," Hugh agreed as he moved the letter A into the standalone box.

"What's this two-letter word? He? Be?" Steve Jenkins asked.

"Well, we know the second letter is probably E in that case," Hugh thought aloud as he moved the E up to its spot.

Confessional:

Hugh: Steve Jenkins is being surprisingly helpful in this one. I can't assume that that means he plans on sticking with us now that Bailey's out of the picture, but who knows? Stranger things have happened in this game.

Kiki had already moved several letters and filled in several words by now as Frita stood and watched.

"Any input? At all?" Kiki asked Frita.

"What if I'm wrong and I throw off the entire puzzle?" Frita fretted.

"Then I can just move the letters back to where they were and very little time is lost," Kiki exasperated.

"...That long word might be 'summer'," Frita mumbled.

Kiki looked at the letters that might go in the six-letter string of boxes.

"Oh hey, that could actually work," Kiki realized. She moved the letters to spell out 'summer'. "And this word could be 'sure', this one has to be 'you'... Yeah, that works!"

"Really?" Frita asked.

"This is going to make filling it out so much faster, actually," Kiki smirked. "This word is 'star'... Yeah, I can finish this!"

Meanwhile, Hugh and Steve Jenkins continued filling in their dropdown puzzle.

"The first sentence is 'A star will be born this summer'," Steve Jenkins relayed as he filled in the last word of the sentence.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Hugh nodded. "Also, shoot, the first word of the next sentence is definitely 'do'. Then the other two-letter word ending in O is 'to'.

"We've so got this," Steve Jenkins grinned.

"This challenge is ours!" Hugh echoed.

The two filled in the sentence to completion.

"'A star will be born this summer. Do what you can to make sure it's you!'" the two read in unison.

Just like that, the door opened, and they found Brittany waiting in a room identical to the behind-the-door rooms on the previous floor.

"Hey, guys. That didn't take too long," Brittany smiled.

"Yeah, we're genii. Tell Steve Jenkins something he doesn't know," Steve Jenkins boasted as he began to make his way up the stairs.

"Is 'genii' the plural of 'genius'?" Brittany doubted quietly to Hugh.

"I think the point came across," Hugh snickered. "Hey, Steve Jenkins, wait up!" He ran up the stairs as well.

Confessional:

Brittany: Am I crazy or are those two actually starting to get along? God, I hope not. Steve Jenkins has been the biggest proponent of voting me out, and with Bailey gone, and Irving having already rubbed Hugh the wrong way, there's a very real chance that Steve Jenkins can get Hugh to flip. I need to make sure that doesn't happen. Somehow.

The Grand Gryphons arrived at the next floor, in a room identical to the previous two. The three approached the screen, which had a keyboard attached to it unlike the previous two.

"Typing?!" Steve Jenkins cringed. "The only typing Steve Jenkins does is when he's responding to his adoring fans in the comment section. That's Steve Jenkins on YouTube. You can't miss me."

"Yeah, I don't think I will miss you," Brittany muttered.

The screen powered on to show another of Robby's messages.

"You're really making your way up in the world. Or at least in the tower," Robby tittered. "You'll notice the keyboard on this console. That's because this puzzle is a crossword. This will test your knowledge of the previous Total Drama Party seasons. If all three of you are hopelessly unaware, you can press the hint button on the bottom right of the screen, but if you do, it will delay your door opening by twenty seconds for each hint."

"How well do you guys know your Total Drama Party facts?" Brittany asked as the screen loaded up the crossword puzzle.

"More than the average person, less than, I don't know, Nestor," Hugh estimated. "I doubt they're going to make this too hard."

"Have faith in us, Brit. We're genii, remember?" Steve Jenkins winked.

Meanwhile, Frita and Kiki, now with Nolan having joined them, had finished hearing the same message from Robby.

"Easy. We all studied up on the previous seasons before coming on here, right?" Kiki asked.

Frita sighed.

"I did, don't worry," Nolan assured Kiki.

The screen showed the crossword puzzle, which had about twenty prompts to fill in. Prompts included things like "Seventeenth person voted out of Alpha Party", "Jeremy's luxury item", or "Veteran who co-hosted Explore Party's fourth round".

"They're thinkers, but they're things I think we can remember without too much difficulty," Nolan figured.

"Exactly," Kiki nodded. She turned to Frita. "How many times have you watched at least Explore Party?"

"Why would I embarrass myself further by watching myself fail on TV?" Frita asked.

"Oh my-" Kiki took a deep breath. "Okay. Time to focus. Jeremy's luxury item is easy. His notebook."

Kiki touched 6 Across and typed 'NOTEBOOK' on the keyboard.

Confessional:

Nolan: Puzzles are just games with no stakes if you ask me, so I'm not as sharp with them as others might be. But I want to at least give it a shot. People need to see me as an asset to the team, so I'll do whatever I can to prove that I am.

Kiki and Nolan continued to fill in the crossword prompts as Frita awkwardly hovered behind them.

"'Erica's fear from House Party's fear challenge'..." Kiki tried to remember. She turned to Nolan. "We were both in that season, we should know this."

"To be fair, neither of us made it to that challenge," Nolan tsked. "I feel like it was rejection."

"That's too many letters," Kiki said with a shake of her head. Her stomach growled. "Ugh, I hardly got anything to eat in Isolation Park."

"No, you know what it was?" Nolan remembered.

He commandeered the keyboard and typed 'MARRIAGE'.

"Oh, that's right, that uncomfortable scene with her and Barry!" Kiki recalled.

"By the way, the Barry in this game is totally Vladimir, right?" Nolan brought up.

"Probably," Kiki figured. "I guess we can ask Bailey later."

"Shouldn't we be focused on the challenge...?" Frita murmured.

"You're right, Frita. Thanks," Kiki agreed as she returned her attention to the screen. "Let's see, the second person to get a Day-to-Day Advantage in Virtual Party? What the hell? Is that an aspect of that season I'm just completely forgetting?"

Meanwhile, the Grand Gryphons hurried to complete their crossword as well.

"What the hell is a Day-to-Day Advantage?" Hugh asked.

"I actually know this one," Brittany said. She typed 'JYNXIE' into the crossword. "The challenges that season had hidden advantages around them, but only two of them were found if you don't count the golden Invincibility cubes."

"I straight-up don't remember that. And I was there!" Steve Jenkins mentioned.

"What? You were in Shuffle Party, not Virtual Party!" Hugh responded.

"I'm always there. With everyone. In spirit. Steve Jenkins transcends physical barriers," Steve Jenkins claimed.

"...Well, anyway, we just have to fill in this last one," Brittany mentioned. "The person who got the most confessionals in the Total Drama Party subseries. I think we can rule out anyone from Explore or Virtual Party since those only had half the episodes to work with."

"Probably someone who made finale, too," Hugh figured. "I think Genesis fits in there."

"You really think the girl who can't speak had the most confessionals?" Steve Jenkins asked.

Hugh typed in 'GENESIS'. It was the correct answer.

"Huh. No kidding?" Steve Jenkins emoted.

The door opened, and the trio found Irving and Vladimir on the other side.

"The brig has opened!" Irving cheered.

"Aw, and you were only up to eighty-seven bottles of rum on the wall," Vladimir faux-lamented.

"I can finish the rest, if ye wish," Irving grinned.

"Don't," Hugh said flatly.

Confessional:

Irving: Every now and again I think about starting a YouTube channel where I sing covers of sea shanties. With me gravely, masculine voice, methinks I could really sell it! I just need to buy meself a good microphone, and I'll be set!

Vladimir: He can't sing on-key to save his life.

The Grand Gryphons made it to the next floor, in another identical room. Robby's message powered on once everyone was there to hear it.d

"You're nearly there. Keep it up and you may even win," Robby chuckled. "This next puzzle is color sudoku. Now, I'm sure I don't have to explain the rules of sudoku, but just in case, you have a 9x9 grid composed of nine 3x3 grids. You must fill in all the squares so that each row, column, and 3x3 grid has only one instance of each color. It's normally played with numbers, but having colors instead makes it tougher to keep track of. Enjoy!"

"This shouldn't be too hard to get done quickly with five of us working on it," Vladimir figured as the screen changed to show the sudoku puzzle.

"That'll apply to the other team, too, though, so we can't get complacent," Brittany reminded everyone.

"See, but there's one important thing to keep in mind here," Steve Jenkins prefaced.

"The other team doesn't have Steve Jenkins," the others all exasperatedly finished in unison.

"You guys are the best fans I could ever hope for," Steve Jenkins expressed as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Anyway, let's see if there's an easy place to start," Vladimir suggested as he looked over the puzzle. "Is there any square where we can place something without a shadow of a doubt?"

"I think orange has to go there," Brittany pointed to a spot. "Since there's orange there and there, and then those two squares in this column are already filled in."

"That looks right," Hugh figured.

"Off to a great start already," Steve Jenkins grinned.

"I feel like this may actually be easier to fill in than if there were numbers," Irving mentioned. "Colors be easier to pick out. Unless ye be colorblind, I suppose."

"All races are valid!" Steve Jenkins proclaimed.

His teammates gave him a strange look and then returned their attention to the puzzle.

The Fighting Wyverns had arrived at the next floor, now joined by Bailey and Kun, and had seen Robby's message.

"Sudoku seems pretty straightforward," Kun nodded. "If we all work together, I know we can, um, finish this quickly."

"Agreed," Bailey agreed.

"It's not the most exciting challenge," Nolan commented.

"Well, it can't all be dodgeball or pushing heavy wagons," Kiki figured. "We need some brain power challenges, too."

"I just wish we could at least see how the other team was doing," Nolan lamented. "I want to know how much better or worse we're doing than they are."

"They're a pretty smart team. They're probably in the lead," Frita sighed.

"Then we should, um, focus on doing the puzzle, then," Kun brought up.

"Yes, that seems prudent," Bailey backed up. "Why don't we each choose a color and focus on trying to fill that color in?"

"There are, um, nine colors and only, um, five of us," Kun said. "Let's just do what we can and not narrow our vision if we don't have to."

Kiki's eye sparkled a bit. "You don't need to talk down to her just because she's new to the team, Kun. She's clearly a very smart woman."

"I-I wasn't- I mean, I wasn't trying to- I was just-!" Kun stammered.

"Let's just focus on the puzzle," Bailey reiterated.

Confessional:

Bailey: Kun explained the team dynamics to me as best he could while we were waiting for the others to arrive. I still think it's too early for me to be taking any sides, so I'm going to put my focus into just making sure the Fighting Wyverns win so I don't have to take any sides.

Kun: Hm, so Kiki's trying to make me, um, look bad in front of Bailey then, hm? So much for me ever reconsidering her as a target. That was just, um, uncalled for.

Jean-Marie, Joseph, Louise, and Quentin sat in the foyer of the tower the contestants were navigating.

"Alright, who's the one person from your season you wish could be here on Fighting Wyverns?" Louise asked. "Nothing against who did make it, but just to kill time."

"Felix for sure," Joseph answered. "I know they could never swing it so both of us would make it, because it's one boy and one girl from each season on each team. But he was my bro and he was robbed as hell."

"What about the other team having both Barry and Ernie?" Quentin asked.

"One of them is very clearly Vladimir," Jean-Marie told him.

"...Oh. Yeah, I guess that would make sense," Quentin laughed awkwardly.

"If I had to pick a girl, I guess Cosette. I haven't talked to her a bunch, but she and Felix are really close," Joseph followed up.

"I'd definitely pick Jim," Louise said. "He was done so dirty in Shuffle Party, and he could still use some money now that his kid Emerald is getting older. Plus, we were always cool, he and I."

"Très compréhensible," Jean-Marie nodded. "As for me, there aren't many options from Explore Party, but now that Sorrell is completely sober, I would be interested in seeing her try the game again. Kristin was also a good ally to me, but I don't believe she wishes to return."

"For me, it's Kelsey," Quentin mentioned. "We were allies, of course, and then she also ended up getting voted out way earlier than she should have because she hurt herself and couldn't do as much in the challenges. I haven't really heard a lot from her since Alpha Party. I think she's busy getting a teaching degree or something."

"How about the Grand Gryphons?" Louise asked. "Anyone you wish had shown up? Anyone you're looking forward to playing with?"

"Well, I'm damn glad Lilith's gone already," Joseph mentioned. "I'm not sure how ready I am to play with Irving. It's really hard to gauge how he's thinking. Dunstan's a bro. I know he already won, but I'd be good if he came back."

"Elmer goes without saying," Louise said. "I liked Virgil, too. Wisdom was decent. Mine are kind of obvious, I guess. I'm interested in facing Shadya, for sure. She's tough and really good at the game. I don't have any strong opinions on Steve Jenkins."

"I do wish to meet back up with Brittany," Jean-Marie admitted. "I've no attachment to Vladimir; if anything, he worries me. I'd have liked to see Angie back, but I don't think she wanted to come back, either."

"Vardaman was my ally," Quentin mentioned. "Amelie was neat, too. I'm kind of surprised to see Isidora gone already since she's really good at the game. I'm not surprised Hugh is still in since he knows how to play aggressively. I'm kind of worried about playing against him."

"For sure," Louise agreed. "I think we can do it, though! We're the Fighting Wyverns, and we've proven that!"

"Yeah!" Joseph cheered.

Confessional:

Joseph: It's wild that so many of us have played, and only twenty got to come back. It really puts things in perspective, that we've got to make the most of our second shot!

Louise: I guess Quentin and Tori aren't on good terms anymore. That sucks, I thought they were cute together. I don't want to pry, but I'm soooooo curious! I don't even know Tori, and I want to fix this. I know it's none of my business, but you guys know what a romantic I am.

After a fair bit of time, the Fighting Wyverns had finished their sudoku puzzle and had unlocked the door to proceed to the next floor. Cyan and Dalit sat in wait in the room that connected the floors.

"At last! Let us get the victory," Dalit grinned with determination as she stood up readily.

"What she said!" Cyan agreed as she stood up readily as well.

The group all arrived at the top floor to find a room identical to the previous ones, minus the door next to the screen. The door closed itself behind the Fighting Wyverns.

"If I had to guess, this seems to be the last one," Nolan commented.

"Then let's hurry up and solve it!" Cyan said with determination.

They all approached the screen, which turned itself on.

"This one is incredibly simple," Robby said. "Find the way out."

The screen turned off.

"The door is right there. I found the way out!" Dalit declared.

Silence.

"It may not be that easy," Bailey deduced.

"Well, what else could it be?!" Dalit huffed.

"For a puzzle, it helps to think outside the box," Kiki thought aloud.

"Let's see, if the, um, the door isn't the way out, then what else could be?" Kun asked as he paced back and forth.

"Is there a knife anywhere?" Frita chuckled.

Everyone looked at her uncomfortably.

"I was joking," Frita sighed.

The Grand Gryphons, now including Ernie and Shadya, had just heard Robby's latest message.

Ernie tugged on the locked door they had just gone through. "Well, like, this ain't it, chief."

Shadya looked to the ceiling. One of the ceiling tiles had the phrase 'The Way Out' written on it. Shadya bent down, and then agilely leaped into the air and smacked the ceiling tile. The screen powered back on.

"Congratulations, you guys!" Lindsay announced. "The Grand Gryphons win Invincibility!"

This was met with cheering from several members of the team, elated at having broken their losing streak.

Confessional:

Shadya: That was the oldest brain teaser in the book. But if the other team was genuinely unable to figure that out, then, well, it's no wonder none of them were able to make it to the merge. I'm counting Bailey in that group, by the way, because she only qualified for her merge by being randomly selected.

Ernie: Welp, Bailey's out of my hair, so, if nothing else, that's, like, one less headache to worry about. Maybe I can actually get things to go the way I want them to, now. Wouldn't that be something?

The eighteen contestants met up with Chris, Topher, and Lindsay in the foyer of the building.

"Alright, the results are in, and the Grand Gryphons have won the challenge!" Chris announced.

"As it should have been from the start," Shadya nodded.

"Fighting Wyverns, follow me to the Elimination Station," Chris beamed. "One of you will be the first person of the Party era to not make the merge twice!"

"I'll... take that as a vote of confidence," Bailey commented.

"Shut up! I've been waiting so long to say that," Chris pouted.

He led the losing team away from the scene.

"Alright, Grand Gryphons! It's time for your Best/Worst vote!" Topher announced as Lindsay handed them all pencils and papers. "Vote for who you thought did the best and the worst in the challenge. Whoever gets the most Best votes will get to live in the penthouse until the end of the next challenge. Whoever gets the most Worst votes will be sent to Isolation Park until the start of the next challenge."

"How are we supposed to base our vote on anything when we were, ya know, locked in a room for a big portion of it?" Ernie asked.

"Just trust the word of Steve Jenkins," Steve Jenkins began.

"Up up up! No discussing the vote!" Topher scolded.

"Just do as you think I'd do," Steve Jenkins told his team.

"I will not," Shadya responded.

Confessional:

Hugh: It feels good to take a break from having to worry about the vote. Especially after Bailey got yoinked right out of our team. I'm still pissed about that! Those assholes won all the challenges before this, and then they get a statue so they can steal another one of our members? That's some rich-get-richer bullshit if I've ever seen it!

Joseph: I still don't know where Bailey stands, and I'm kind of worried that her and Kiki already knowing each other is going to play a factor in tonight's vote. This is also our first vote of the season, and from what I hear, it's kind of similar to how Virtual Party did it, so anything can really happen here, bros.

The Grand Gryphons had cast their ballots and turned them in to Topher.

"I have the votes!" Topher announced.

"One of the votes was very close, and the other one was a big blowout," Lindsay teased the result.

"The person you guys voted as the best... was..." Topher began.

...

"Shadya!"

"I appreciate it," Shadya accepted.

"Come on, guys, that many pity votes?" Steve Jenkins scolded disappointedly.

"And the vote for the worst..." Topher began.

...

"Ernie!"

"What? I didn't do anything," Ernie scowled.

"Exactly!" Irving laughed.

"Literally I didn't even have an opportunity to, by completely random chance," Ernie griped.

"There wasn't really anyone to feasibly vote for," Brittany admitted. "Sorry."

"Give me a break," Ernie groaned.

Votes:

Best:

Shadya: Brittany, Ernie, Shadya

Brittany: Hugh, Irving

Steve Jenkins: Steve Jenkins, Vladimir

Worst:

Ernie: Brittany, Hugh, Irving, Shadya, Steve Jenkins, Vladimir

Steve Jenkins: Ernie

Each of the Fighting Wyverns took a position at one of the lecterns down at Elimination Station.

"Well, this at least explains why there are eleven podiums," Bailey noted.

"Welcome to your first elimination, Fighting Wyverns!" Chris beamed from his elevated seat. "You guys will have half an hour, or until all the votes are cast, to discuss amongst yourselves who you want to vote out of the game! When you're ready to vote, press the corresponding face of the person you wish to vote for. Your vote will be locked in and cannot change. Have fun!"

"Well, we've had plenty of time to discuss things before we ended up here," Kiki began. "I don't think there are any secrets between us at this point, Bailey notwithstanding, of course."

"If that is the case, would you all mind filling me in on how things have gone thus far?" Bailey requested.

"Kun, Jean-Marie, and Joseph are an alliance," Kiki told her. "And they have Cyan and Louise under their thumb, too."

"I resent that!" Cyan objected. "Louise and I are playing our own games."

"I would say that if anyone has anyone under their thumb, you have had Dalit and Frita under yours," Jean-Marie told her.

"I see," Bailey nodded. "And... Nolan and Quentin? Where does that leave them?"

Nolan rolled his die and cast his vote, turning the light on his lectern red.

"W-Wait, did you just, um, vote?!" Kun gasped.

"Sure," Nolan answered. "I was always going to vote entirely by the whim of the dice. By the way, with Bailey here, rolling a d10 is now a lot cleaner, just felt I should mention that. Anyway, nobody anything says was ever going to affect my vote, so I figured I'd vote right out of the gate. No reason not to."

"Well, who'd you vote for?" Joseph asked.

"I'm not obligated to tell anybody," Nolan smirked. "Not unless I'm incentivized to, of course."

"You are just being difficult for no reason!" Dalit accused.

"It's not for no reason," Nolan said with a shake of his head. "Think about it from my point of view. I can only vote as the dice tell me to. Nobody can rely on my vote, not even me. While this makes me far less of a threat, it also makes it harder to trust me. Thus, I'm withholding information that I don't feel the need to share for free. If people can promise to keep me safe, of course, I may tell you guys."

"I'm going to be real, bro, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Joseph said. "What's stopping us from just voting you out?"

"Because it doesn't benefit you to do so," Nolan explained. "I am not gunning for anyone in particular. I am against nobody. Meanwhile, there are people on this team who are. People who you know for sure will vote to harm your game. It would make a lot more sense to vote for those people if you ask me."

"That does kind of make sense..." Frita admitted.

"Well, for the sake of not wasting my vote, can I ask who the targets have been?" Bailey asked. "I should imagine that the targets already know they are targets by this point."

"Either way, there isn't much that can be done about it now," Nolan added.

"I have made it loud and clear that I will be voting out Jean-Marie!" Dalit proclaimed.

"This is true, and I've been told that this actually has some traction," Jean-Marie lamented. "Meanwhile, I'm sure Kiki knows that she is on a few people's radars, herself."

"Yeah, you're intimidated by capable women, we know," Kiki said with a roll of her eyes. "You proved it when Brittany and Trinity had the nerve to oppose you in Explore Party."

"That... was not a good look, I'll admit," Jean-Marie conceded. "But you seem to be leaving out the part where you were invited to work with Kun, Joseph, and myself; you agreed, and then turned on us with little warning."

"Because I couldn't so much as speak to the women on this team without Kun confronting me about it!" Kiki shouted.

"I-I was just, um, making sure you weren't, um, making alliances without me, and-" Kun stammered.

"And how is that any of your business?" Kiki glowered.

"Because you were supposed to be our ally, bro!" Joseph accused.

"What, and let the bro mentality plague this game once again?" Kiki scoffed. "I was always going to be at the bottom of that totem pole because of my gender. I wasn't just going to settle for that, especially in All-Stars."

"Well, whatever the, um, reason, it was a breach of trust," Kun stammered.

"Trust that I tried to rebuild and you would not let me!" Kiki accused.

"What do you make of this?" Bailey quietly asked Quentin, who took the lectern next to her.

"I'm honestly not sure," Quentin admitted quietly. "I'm supposed to work with Kiki, but I trust JM, you know?"

"If I may?" Bailey interrupted the argument between Kiki and Kun. "Nolan? What would it take to reveal who you voted for?"

"All I ask is for five or more people to promise that they will not vote for me tonight," Nolan said. "I can negotiate if you can't agree to those terms, but I don't think they're unreasonable."

"I agree," Bailey said. "Anyone else?"

"Why does it matter?" Dalit asked. "We will be voting for Jean-Marie!"

"Before anyone casts their vote," Bailey pleaded as Dalit's hand hovered over the screen on her lectern. "The way Nolan votes can be the difference between tonight going your way or not. Wouldn't it be prudent to at least know where his vote lies before casting one of your own?"

"I very well could be," Jean-Marie conceded. "I never planned on voting for you tonight, Nolan. I will agree to your terms."

"Me too!" Joseph chimed in.

"I'll also agree," Quentin nodded. "I wasn't planning on losing him tonight either."

"I..." Frita's words stuck in her throat.

"I'll take that as agreeance on Frita's part," Nolan decided. "Very well. The person I rolled to vote for was Joseph."

"Bro, what?!" Joseph gasped.

"That's fine. I'm not a fan of Joseph's either," Kiki sneered.

Kiki cast her vote.

"Wait, excuse me?!" Joseph snapped. He cast his vote. "The vote is Kiki! She's a huge-ass threat! Don't let her slip by!"

Jean-Marie cast his vote. "I will stand by my word."

Frita cast her vote. "I guess," she sighed.

Dalit cast hers. "It is not who I wanted, but it will work for now."

Kun cast his vote. "I will s-stand by my ally. That's what a true leader, um, does!"

Bailey glanced at Quentin and cast her vote. Quentin pondered before casting his.

This left Cyan and Louise as the only ones not to cast their vote.

"Welp, I guess there isn't any point in dragging this out," Louise decided as she cast her vote.

Cyan cast her vote. "I really wish the blue lights didn't have to change when we voted."

"And that's all of them!" Chris announced. He took his phone out of his pocket. "I will read off the votes one by one. Whoever has the most votes against them will be grabbed by the Shackle of Shame and be eliminated from this game for good! Hehaha."

Kiki and Joseph stared one another down.

"First vote... Joseph!" Chris read from his phone.

Joseph snorted.

"Second vote... Joseph!"

"Give me a break," Joseph commented.

"Third vote... Kiki!"

"The fact that you're voting for me means I'm doing something right," Kiki claimed.

"Fourth vote... Kiki!"

"Mhm," Kiki nodded.

"Fifth vote... Joseph!"

"Yeah, yeah," Joseph dismissed.

"Sixth vote... Joseph!"

Joseph had no further comment.

"Seventh vote... Kiki!"

Kiki also had no further comment.

"Eighth vote... Kiki!"

"Yep. Playing your own games," Kiki scoffed at Cyan and Louise.

"Ninth vote... and the tenth and eleventh..."

...

"Joseph!" Chris announced.

"Wait, what?!" Joseph and Kiki gasped in unison.

"But this... Those numbers don't make sense!" Kun panicked.

"Forget the numbers! I just got voted out because Nolan's stupid dice just decided it for no good reason!" Joseph ranted.

"All I did was cast one vote," Nolan claimed. "Out of courtesy for whoever gets randomly chosen, I didn't even disclose your identity as the person chosen until I was promised my own safety for doing so."

"Yeah, you could have, you know, been likable enough for us to not want to vote for you," Kiki added.

"Oh, you're one to talk," Joseph grunted. "You are a backstabbing, self-obsessed, arrogant hoe, and that has nothing to do with you being a chick. That's just you."

"Tch. Easy for you to say when you're on your way out," Kiki retorted. "Word of advice: if you react so strongly to being called out, it's probably because you aren't ready to face the fact that you're in the wrong."

"Fine. If she's going to kick me while I'm down, then just get me out of here, then," Joseph requested, upset.

"Au revoir, Joseph," Jean-Marie frowned.

"We will, um, keep strong, for your sake," Kun told him.

The ceiling opened up, and the Shackle of Shame made its way down, clasping around Joseph's waist. It carried the large man up off the floor and above ground. Once he was out of sight, the ceiling closed once again.

"That's all I've got for you tonight," Chris told the remaining Fighting Wyverns. "I guess the best-laid plans of mice and men really do go awry. Yeah, I've read a book or two."

"That book is required reading in most high schools," Louise pointed out.

"Look, you're all dismissed, so go, uh, dismiss yourselves!" Chris insisted sourly.

Confessional:

Cyan: I didn't like doing what I did, but Kiki was right about one thing: I haven't been playing the proactive game I should be. So, by voting for Joseph, I'm opening up opportunities to explore my options. Not that he needed my vote to go home, but it's the principle of it all. I really did want to work with him, especially after how last time ended, but... (She sighs.)

Chris, Topher, and Lindsay all stood outside the limits of Drama City.

"Today alone, the Fighting Wyverns got a new member after the first statue was played, suffered their first loss, and their first vote resulted in a blindside so blind that not even the guy who instigated it could have seen it coming!" Chris beamed.

"So, like, did you just not read Of Mice And Men in school, or...?" Topher asked.

"It wasn't required reading at my school!" Chris snapped.

"You know what the worst part is?" Lindsay sniffled. "Now Joseph and Jayne can't get any closer! I was rooting for those two!"

"I'm pretty sure they both said they only saw each other as friends," Chris mentioned.

"Hasn't stopped people before. But hey, I'm no expert in this kind of thing," Topher mentioned.

"I'll say," Chris snickered.

"I meant about robots! I'm still dating Ella, you know!" Topher insisted.

"Well, all that aside, the vote is sure to make some waves among the Fighting Wyverns!" Chris laughed. "Kun and Jean-Marie lost a key ally, maybe even two now that Cyan is taking the initiative. And then there's Bailey joining the team."

"That alone shakes things up on the Grand Gryphons, too!" Topher mentioned. "Brittany, Hugh, and Irving are down an ally there, which could make a huge difference in how their plans play out."

"This game sure is something," Lindsay commented. "It's gotten a lot more cutthroat since I played. And we had a guy who literally cut throats!"

"Is that... what you think Duncan did to end up in prison?" Topher asked, confused.

"That's what he told me he did," Lindsay frowned.

"Well, regardless of any of that, I hope to see you all here to witness the carnage of the game, next time, on Total!" Chris began.

"Drama!" Topher and Lindsay continued.

"Party with the Stars!" the three concluded in unison

Votes:

Bailey: Joseph

Cyan: Joseph

Dalit: Joseph

Frita: Joseph

Jean-Marie: Kiki

Joseph: Kiki

Kiki: Joseph

Kun: Kiki

Louise: Kiki

Nolan: Joseph

Quentin: Joseph

Grand Gryphons:

Bailey - The Pragmatic Poet

Brittany - The Loyal Bombshell

Ernie - The Lazy Law Student

Hugh - The Head Villain

Irving - The Chaotic Pirate

Shadya - The Genius Athlete

Steve Jenkins - The Vlog Icon

Vladimir - The Untrustworthy Impostor

19th: Isidora - The Asocial Bookworm

20th: Lilith - The Harbinger of Unrest

Fighting Wyverns:

Cyan - The Sweet Madame Blue

Dalit - The Social Media Model

Frita - The Morbid Artist

Jean-Marie - The Homeless Frenchman

Kiki - The Strategic Hipster

Kun - The Awkward Team Leader

Louise - The Friendly PE Teacher

Nolan - The Wildcard Gambler

Quentin - The Lucky Ornithologist

18th: Joseph - The True Bro

A/N: When it came to choosing which of Virtual Party's premerge males I wanted to include, I was torn between Joseph and Gunther, since I had ideas for both, but I ultimately settled on Joseph because he was a lot more popular, really more of an all-star. I had actually intended for Joseph to go a lot further than he ended up going, but ultimately, he wasn't really gelling with the cast as well as I'd hoped, and he didn't seem to be as popular with readers as he was last time, and any plans I might have had for him weren't super necessary to where I had to keep him longer than I felt was necessary, so I decided to axe him early. As much as I want to explore all of the Fighting Wyverns long-term since they didn't get their chance in their original season, it just isn't feasible, and someone had to be the first blood from that team. So there goes Joseph. What did you think of him this time around?