Things are heating up in this chapter! I've added a few emotion tags in confessionals to convey emotions and a montage segment for lazily adding stuff I don't want to write out. Also, I went back to previous chapters to fix a minor discrepancy about the time frame between episodes; clarifications that each episode takes place a week from the other.


Chapter 5: I love you, I love a knot...

Nearly a week passed since team Maskwaks' first victory, and Jasmine had already woken up to start the day as usual. She was taken aback not by her team's miraculous win, however, but by the person who stepped outside with a smiling greeting. "Good morning, Jasmine. Do you need help foraging again?" asked Amy*

Jasmine knew something was off with 'Amy' raising her brow and asking, "Hmm? What's up with you, Amy? You rarely wanted to go foraging last week, and now you've been helping me just recently." while scratching the top part of her head.

"Oh, she doesn't?" Amy* muttered quietly before regaining composure. "I mean! I don't want to stick around with those two bozos in the cabin!"

Apart from the maniacal laughter of Max coming from the cabin and the larping wizard casting his spells, Jasmine could understand her pain. "I guess I can understand that," she said, agreeing to let Amy* tag along with her.


*Confessionals*

Samey: *nervous* Okay, I'm Samey! I switched places with Amy at last week's challenge because she wanted to investigate one of my teammates. In return, she promises not to bug me for the rest of the game. I doubt that will happen. I need to keep pretending to be Amy until we can switch back!


Over at Team Kinosewak, Dave was the first to wake up as it was his turn to pick fruit for the team. While on his run fruit picking, he mulled over yesterday's challenge. Samey's lack of knowledge about the manchineel fruit had prevented her from tricking her sister into eating it, leading to a swap between her and Amy for a few challenges. With Topher now serving as an intern, Dave wondered how this change would impact the game. Holding a metal pail in his hand, he carefully gathered an abundance of wild berries and fruit from his surroundings, lost in thought.

"Good morning, Dave!" A voice called out his name, causing Dave to turn around and see Scarlett walking towards him promptly.

"Morning, Scarlett. It's my turn to gather food for us to eat." Dave placed the bucket on the ground to greet her. "Is there anything you need from me?"

She promised to thank Dave for his generosity. However, as each day passed, it seemed like she was evading him at all costs. But today was different as Scarlett gradually stepped closer to him. He noticed a hint of hesitation in her voice. "I just...wanted to keep you company is all," she said, her tone a mixture of nervousness and sincerity.

Curiosity filled Dave's head as he placed the bucket on the ground and turned around to see her hesitant face. "Is something bothering you?"

She shook her head, "Nothing in particular. Just wanted to give my thanks for alerting me of Shawn's ambush." keeping a straight face towards Dave.

Dave felt comforted as Scarlett praised him for his act, replying with. "No problem, just looking out for a fellow teammate."

It looks like Scarlett's nervousness vanished when hearing Dave accept her gratitude. "Splendid, now, do you need any assistance collecting nourishments?"

"I'm almost done, so there's no need to..."

As they both grabbed the bucket's handle, Dave and Scarlett lifted it off the ground. The atmosphere around them became still as their eyes locked in a hypnotic stare. Dave's heart raced as he wondered if Scarlett felt the same way. Despite his thoughts, Scarlett remained still. Why wasn't she doing anything? That question loomed on his mind. Gazing into each other's eyes, Dave couldn't help but recall when Scarlett showed her true self to everyone. However, those emotions were not present in him at this moment. All he could see was the innocent face of a lovely girl.

Whoa, from up close, she does look cute. I never noticed how her glasses brought out her green eyes. Wait! What am I saying?!

"Oi, are you guys going to kiss yet!?"

That ominous voice reaching towards them caused them to break off their gaze upon each other, now focusing on who called out to them. Jasmine, who was walking towards the two, was accompanied by Amy and Shawn, each with a bucket in their possession. The fact that Jasmine teased them about kissing caused them to be flustered inside.

Dave shook his head at her. "No, we weren't!" he denied her assumption.

"Really? To me, you were!" Amy* jokingly pointed a finger toward the two. "No worries, your secret's safe with us. Carry on!"

But Shawn wasn't joking when he turned to the girls, panicking. "Not funny! Couples in zombie apocalypses are always the first to go down! They'll be the ones to go down first while they're all kissy-kissy with each other!"

"Uh-huh..."


*Confessionals*

Shawn: As much as I like Jasmine, I can't fall in love with her. First comes love, then comes marriage, then your brain being eaten by a zombie baby that was hiding in your pillow.


While they were out of their trance, Dave noticed Scarlett backing away from him, "If you'll excuse me, I'll...I'll be heading back now!" she mustered up before running off to the distance.

Strange...why did she run away all of a sudden?

Recuperating from his strange encounter, he continued to pick ripe fruit for his teammates while the three from team Maskwak returned promptly to theirs and returned to his treehouse to call up the team for breakfast with a pale full of fresh fruit enough to share with the whole team.

"Dave, you're great at picking berries," complimented Rodney as he took a handful and enjoyed them.

"Wow, you seem to know all the best places!" Sky exclaimed, flashing a smile at Scarlett. "Don't you think Dave is just incredible, Scarlett?"

Expecting to hear a clear answer from her, Scarlett paused from eating for a few seconds before answering, "He...he's adequate..." but suddenly came to an abrupt stop.

"Huh? I expected more from her..." 'Samey' was puzzled at Scarlett's dumbfounded answer.


*Confessionals*

Amy: If you haven't guessed before, I'm Amy; I swapped places with my sister to keep an eye on him. So while she tries miserably to copy me, I can be a perfect Samey!


Seeing this could be her chance to obtain the love and support of the team, preparing to act the part of her sister, "It's great to be with friends I can trust. Amy is such a chore to handle," 'Samey' exclaimed.

Sky couldn't handle one of her teammates in such a state that it fumed her. "She's straight up bullying you, Samey. We should get her back ten times hard!" she raised her right fist in retribution.

"Stay calm, don't do anything that would get you or us in trouble." Dave reminded her of the repercussions after noticing her competitive nature coming out. She slowly nodded before lowering her fist.

"Don't worry, Samey. I'll protect you for your mean sister anytime!" came Rodney, committing to guard her at all costs.

"Thanks, big guy..." she smiled nervously.

"Well...speak of the devil."

The rest of team Kinosewak turned their attention to the estranged voice calling them. Jasmine and Amy* waltzed their way into their eating area alongside Shawn, who carried an abundance of their food.

Sky forcibly congratulated them. "Congrats on the win, guys. Even though I think it's pretty unfair!" with a disappointing groan.

"What's unfair? We've knocked your socks off fair and square!" rebuttal Shawn, preparing to cut up zombies with his hands raised.

"Chris said if the balloon breaks in any way and the contents come into contact with you, you're out," Jasmine relayed the rules from the last challenge.

Sky snapped at herself. "Darn it, he's technically not wrong, but what you did to Samey is still unforgivable, Amy!"

But the real Samey couldn't be so frustrated by what was going on, so she improvised, "So what?! I was only playing the game. I could care less what happened to her!" crossing her arms in anger.

"That's not the case; you shouldn't be thinking so lowly of your sister," sighed Dave, giving her a scorning.

"Save all of this tension for today's challenge. Get your butts to the meeting area ASAP!"

The announcement of the next challenge made everyone promptly wrap up breakfast before heading to the designated area. Max and Leonard left the cabin after hearing Chris' voice through the loudspeaker. While both teams made their way to the meeting area, Chris stood in between to direct them to their designated spots. "Team Kinosewak to the right, Maskwak on the left."

The truth or scare challenge is not the best one. I already know the order of the people going and the truth and scares, meaning I would have to kiss the person next to me. If Sky gets bloated by the mineral water, I wouldn't mind if I kissed Scarlett...what am I saying?!

Closest to Chris was Sky, followed by Dave, Scarlett, Samey, Rodney, and Ella on team Kinosewak's side. On Maskwak's side were Leonard, Max, Amy, Jasmine, and Shawn. After everyone was seated, Chris proceeded with the challenge. "It's time to separate the brave from the liars! The game is 'Truth of Scare!'"

"Don't you mean 'Truth or Dare'?" Sky asked, correcting Chris from her seat.

Chris corrected her while explaining the rules, "You're not wrong, Sky; This is a little more extreme! In each round, a person is chosen at random." Chris pointed to the television screen that displayed Amy's portrait on the left-hand side.

"It also chooses whether you'll be doing a truth or a scare. Halo means truth, and flames mean a scare. Get a scare, and you'll have to perform a terrifying challenge!" said Chris, sinisterly rubbing his hands.

The rest of the campers gasped at Chris' guarantee of each scare being utterly horrifying, so he reassured them, "Don't worry, not all scares will be scary. Some will be disgusting! In this case, Amy has gotten the truth. Which means she has to answer a question honestly."

When things couldn't get worse, he moved straight over to 'Amy' and peered at her frightened face, "But the answer will be revealing! It could expose a dark secret that would destroy her in the eyes of her newly found friends! Or not, 'whatevs'"

Amy* leaned back in her seat after Chris pulled away from her face. She slowly recovered before asking, "H-How will you know if we're telling the truth?" raising her hands upward.

"For that, we've spared no expense! Meet Clucky, the truth-seeking chicken! Chris gestured to the distance for the camera to pan over to a brown chicken walking sternly toward him. Nothing gets past this chicken. She's a former CIA and runs her law firm: Bawk, Bawk, and Bawkawk. If you have a secret, this poultry polygraph will pluck it out."

That chicken still startles me with how accurately she can tell the truth. Nevertheless, I'm sure our team will come out on top.

"Baw-Kawk!" Clucky let out a screech before jumping to Chris' head.

Chris continued, "Completing a challenge or telling the truth gets your team a point. But if you fail a challenge or tell a lie, your whole team gets a shock!"

"What do you mean by shock? Also, why is Chef putting anti-zombie shock collars on us?" Shawn curiously asked, noticing Chef putting strange collars on his team's necks from behind.

Uh-Oh, here's the part I didn't like the most...

"uh... you just answered you're question," Chris said while he revealed and raised two differently colored remotes from behind him, "But let me make it even clearer!"

Pushing and holding both buttons on the remotes, both teams received an electrifying shock from their collars as the jolts entered their bodies. After releasing the buttons, all groaned miserably and left a trail of smoke rising from the collars.

A bit dinged up from her seat, Jasmine asked, "Y-You've tested these, right?"

"I did, and you're still alive. Congrats," answered Chris hiding a grinning face. "Let's start the game, Amy?"

Clucky went into position and hovered over to 'Amy's' lap on team Maskwak and let out a cry from her mouth. It seems things have gotten worse for her.


*Confessionals*

Samey: *distressed* Are you kidding me?! I'm a walking lie, aaah! I should've known they had a polygraph chicken!


Holding team Maskwak's remote, Chris started asking her the first question, "Amy, who do you dislike most?"

Tension grew from Samey as she was still disguised as he sister in a game about telling the truth. The rest of team Maskwak stared daggers at her anxiously, especially Jasmine, who noticed an odd discrepancy from Amy's mole. She hid her suspicious face in the meantime.

The patience was waning from Clucky, who barked, "Bawk-Bawk!" wanting her to speed up.

This could be trouble for Samey as she has to think of a way, to tell the truth while not revealing her identity. 'Amy' closed her eyes from the chickens' nasty stare, answering, "Okay-Okay! T-The person I hate most is...euggh...that miserable doppelganger that is my terrible sister!"

While Clucky heard her answer, her face slowly turned calm. "Bawk-Bawk..."

"Clucky says that was a truth! I guess that counts," groaned Chris, as the scoreboard for team Maskwak shifted one point.

"Of course, she hates her sister, guys," Jasmine next to her explained.

Leonard gasped from his seat. "Such sheer darkness in one's heart, especially to their kin?"

"I find it endearing to have such hatred for another soul," mumbled Max.

Team Maskwak shortly celebrated their score, giving team Kinosewak a wave of hesitating faces. Especially Dave, who bit his lip from this first round.

The other team still got the point; I'll keep that in mind. If only Rodney's committed to telling the truth this time around.

"Moving on!" waiting for the next person to show up on the screen, "Next, we'll have Dave with a truth."

Just as he thought Rodney was next, Dave immediately shot up his eyes when he heard his name and saw his face on the screen. "Huh?"

"And the question is: in your opinion, who is the most attractive girl on the island?" Chris read out the index card he had on him.

Wait, I'm going next? I thought Rodney was supposed to get this question?! Didn't think of the possibility of the order changing.

Sweating profusely from his seat, Dave was shaken up as he fanned himself with his shirt as Clucky hopped onto his lap. "W-Whoa Chris, you're putting me in a tight spot here..."

"Yes, there are four lovely ladies on your team," smiled Chris.

"Please answer honestly, Dave. I won't judge you," Sky said, offering him supportive advice.

"Thanks, Sky. The most attractive girl on the island is..." he took a deep breath taking in her advice as he gazed into Clucky's eyes. However, he suddenly paused as he slowly turned to his left, where Scarlett sat beside them as their eyes met once more. It wasn't until he broke off his trance and answered, "...S-Sky!"

But then Clucky responded with a fierce cry as she hopped out of Dave's lap and pushed on Kinosewaks remote, giving them an electrocution from their collar. After letting go of the button, it left team Kinosewak groaning in pain from the shock.

Chris grinned as he saw the collars going off. "That seems to be a lie, Dave. No point for Kinosewak!"

"Hold on a minute; only Dave told a lie. Why is all of us getting shocked!?" asked 'Samey', unsettled by the collar's shock.

"You're a package deal, team Kinosewak. If any of you tells a lie or fail a scare, you all get the shock of a lifetime!" Chris answered him.

He turned to Sky, perplexed by the chicken's judgment. It made Dave apologetic to her, "Sorry, I didn't know what came over me..."

"It's fine, Dave...you were trying to be nice," she smiled forcibly to lighten the mood.

What's going on here?! Why did Clucky think I lied about my answer? Sky is the most attractive one on the island. I think.


*Confessional*

Sky: Strange, I always thought I was attractive in Dave's eyes. Wait, what am I saying?! I don't think that Dave thinks I'm the attractive one!

Amy: So Dave thinks another girl on the island is attractive? I bet I know who it is too...he's been acting particularly strange to one of them...


"Team Maskwak's in the lead 1-0, let's press on!" waiting for the next person to appear on the screen, Chris looked above to see the next person. "It's Jasmine's turn...and it's a scare this time! hehehe."

Chris slowly approached the towering Australian girl seeing a sense of anguish on her face. "Give it your all, McLean! I can take it," she tested her guts as she gulped down the air.

"Jasmine, to earn a point...you will have...to drink..." Chris built up the suspense as he made his way to her.

"Drink what?" she deadpanned.

"An entire jug of mineral water!"

He showed Jasmine a clear jug of refreshing mineral water, which she sighed. "That's all?! I thought I was going to struggle."

When he passed the jug to her, Chris started to bring out a stopwatch from his right pocket. "You've got thirty seconds, go!"

She wasted no time as Jasmine had the jug upside down, chugging the mineral water at incredible speeds. Her team watched in utter silence. Soon as she finished the last drop, she tossed the jug on the ground and took a deep breath. "Finished!"

Chris stopped the timer on the watch, impressed by the results, "Amazing Jasmine, you consumed that whole jug with ten seconds to spare. "

The rest of team Maskwak cheered her on with a successful point earned, especially Shawn. "That was the most impressive chugging I've ever seen!"

"Of course, I always hydrate myself in the outback." Jasmine said, before letting out a burp from her mouth, "Whoops! Sorry..."

"That leaves team Maskwak in the lead, 2-0!" reported Chris as he waited for the next round to start. "The next one doing a truth is Rodney!"

Clucky slowly made her way to Rodney's lap as he was interested in seeing a chicken that could tell the truth from a lie. "Wow! I saw a chicken that can tell a lie..."

"Likewise, Rodney...what is your biggest fear?"

He was shaken up by this terrifying question, "My fears? Well, uh..."

As Clucky waited for an answer, Chris pushed him, "Clucky doesn't have all day, so what is your biggest fear?"

It took her a full second to think about it, but he answered, "...Well, I guess I have a fear of s-s-speaking to girls. I don't know what to say to them..."

Clucky once again noticed his honesty and left without hesitation. Chris mumbled, "And team Kinosewak scores a point. The score is now 2-1 with Maskwak still-"

"Hey, boss! Just wanting to check up on the challenge so far!"

A strange tap on his right shoulder made Chris gasp before dropping his index cards into the air to let them land softly on the ground. "Gaah, what the?!"

The culprit behind Chris' fright was Topher, looking quite enthusiastic with a red dress shirt and long pants that greatly resemble Chris' attire, "Maskwak takes the lead 2-1. How will the game go on-"

"Topher!" scolded Chris, crouching to pick up the index cards, "I told you to stand by while you help Chef get the necessary stuff for the challenge! Now you made me drop my cards!"

As Chris' disappointing look gave Topher a nervous laugh, Dave noticed him shuffling the index cards from his seat.

Oh no, Chris is shuffling the cards? I won't have the slightest chance at kissing Scarle— Sky! I meant Sky!

"So sorry, sir! I was excited for my official first day on the job as your assistant!" Topher stepped back to give him space, "Go on!"

Chirs sighed. "Next up is Leonard, who must answer honestly! Before joining this show, what did you do in your free time?"

"That's simple," Leonard was obliged to share the truth the moment Clucky came to his location, "I gather with friends to aid them in defeating monsters, healing their wounds, and going on a quest every day."

Clucky wasn't having it, as she indicated a lie from his answer and immediately reached over to team Maskwak's remote and pushed the button with her beak. Team Maskwak received a dosage of electrocution from Clucky.

As they recovered with smoke filling their bodies, Chris chuckled from witnessing it, "Leonard just told a lie, so no point earned for team Maskwak!"

Their lack of points caused Max to scold him. "What gives?! You were supposed to answer truthfully!"

"But I did!" insisted Leonard. "None of them were my friends, and it wasn't every day. Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays when the classroom is free."

Shawn was keen enough to translate his vocabulary, "Hold the phone, you mean you LARP every day after school?! Why didn't you say that in front of the chicken!?"

"Settle down, Shawn," Chris called him out, continuing to the next person. "Score is still 2-1, so we move on to Sky doing a scare! For your scare, you must beautify a bear!"

Topher brought a makeup kit from his hands and gave it to Sky, who was very nervous as he pointed towards a sleeping bear just a hundred feet away from the area. "I-I guess I'll give it a try," she gulped.

I suppose getting the truth or scares mixed up isn't too bad; I hope I don't get to kiss anyone.

She made her way slowly to the snoring grizzly bear on its back and gently placed the makeup kit down. After a few seconds of careful application, the bear's face had foundation, lipstick, and eyelashes applied while still snoring. Sky happily returned to her seat as she saw the scoreboard update with the new score.

"A point goes to team Kinosewak, making it a 2-2 tie!" exclaimed Chris, pulling out the next card, "Shawn is up next who must answer this truthfully. If you could only save one teammate, who will it be?"

He pondered out loud. "Good question; if the zombie apocalypse breaks out during this show. I would have to prioritize saving someone capable of running, climbing, and survival skills. I would have to save...um...let's see...it would have to be..."


*Confessional*

Jasmine: *chuckles* This is a no brainer

Shawn: I wanted to say Jasmine, but I don't want to think about her right now! If I fall in love, I'll be a goner when the zombies appear!


Seconds after Shawn was sweating from his seat on his answer, Chris disrupted his line of thinking, "I'm out of patience. You're out of time!"

With a push of team Maskwak's remote, they all frantically got shocked, jolting around as the electrocution abruptly ended. It left Jasmine a tad disappointed by Shawn's nervousness.

"Both teams remained tied 2-2. The next scare goes to Scarlett!"

Seeing her face and an image of a flame next to it, Scarlett didn't find herself afraid in the slightest, "I'm ready to perform to the best of my ability," she crossed her legs in determination.

"Oh, you better perform to the best of your ability. For your scare, you must kiss someone next to you!"

The feeling of whiplash enveloped Dave as his neck quickly turned to Scarlett, realizing he was sitting right next to her.

AAAAAAAH!

This was one of the few times she was amidst a hasty decision. She turned to 'Samey' sitting beside her and realized her face was still discolored from the poison. If she chose her, it would mean a chance of contracting her infection. Although she didn't want to go down that route, she hesitated to go for the second option; Dave.

'Samey' noticed Scarlett's hesitant stare and teased Dave a little. "Whoa, there! You don't want to get infected with this! Dave's poison-free!" scooting a few inches away from Scarlett.

Samey, you low-down scoundrel...

The flustered face on Dave was visible as Scarlett turned to him a third time. This time he was hearing ringing bells of danger within proximity of Scarlett's glare; she was going to kiss him!

"S-Scarlett! You're sure you want to kiss me?!" he doesn't want to go through with this, planning to stall as much as he could, "I mean, this is going by fast..."

In these seconds, her head was filled with calculations and conflicting emotions. All of these amalgamations led her determined to go through with this. "I-It's only suitable if I were to kiss you. Samey's inflammation has a moderate chance of...infecting me if I come into contact with her!" she said, maintaining a calm demeanor throughout this moment.

Dave corrected her while shaking in his seat. "W-What do you mean?! Samey's next to you, yeah you're both girls...and that's alright in my-"

"No!" she exclaimed, raising her voice and firmly grasping his shoulders with her hands. "I wish to...engage in this. For research purposes!"

"Research?! What are you talk-"

In an instant, Scarlett pulled him in closer, and their lips met in a passionate kiss. It felt surreal, but he had his eyes wide open. The other campers were puzzled by this display of affection. Sky's reaction was particularly striking, her mouth gaping open and her hands covering it as if she had seen a ghost. Seconds passed, and Scarlett pulled away, gasping for air as her glasses appeared fogged from the aftermath. Dave stood motionless in astonishment, taking deep breaths to calm himself as he turned away from Scarlett.

Wow

"...Wow..." was all he could say, seemingly enjoying this thrilling experience.

"Scarlett? Are you okay?!" Ella was cautious about her well-being.

But she didn't seem to answer as she stared off into the atmosphere, her eyes dilated as she left a huge grin on her face. "...I'm...a-alright, I just made a monumental discovery..."

"Whoa...I didn't know she had it in her..." Chris replied nonchalantly. "That leaves Kinosewak leading 3-2; Shall we continue?"


*Montage*

(Because I'm too lazy to write most of these challenges)

"Max, pick your nose and wipe it on the person next to you!"

Max was satisfied with this scare as he picked out a big one from his nostril and chased Leonard around the area. It didn't take long before he wiped it on the side of Leonard's wizard robe.

"Samey, If you could change one thing about yourself. What would it be?"

"I want to treat my glorious sister Amy with the respect she deserves!" 'Samey' answered with much honesty she could muster, but she failed to realize she was not Samey causing Clucky to catch her lie as she pushed the button to give them a shock.

"Amy, feed an iguana with your mouth!"

Taking the cockroach to place it between her teeth, Amy* vomited out of her mouth, which caused her and team Maskwak to get shocked.

She shook her head as she was repulsive of picking her nose, causing team Maskwak to get shocked.

"Ella, take a tarantula and pet it!"

With Topher delivering the tarantula on a plate and moving towards her, she broke out into a fetal position rejectoing to touch the eight-legged creature. Team Kinosewak gets another shock.

"Leonard, for your scare, put braces on a beaver!"

While within the beaver's den at a nearby river, Leonard attempted to cast a spell to get the braces on the beaver. Sadly, it left him being ravaged by a pack of beavers attacking him everywhere.


After thirty minutes of gruesome challenges and questions, both teams were utterly exhausted from being zapped by their collars multiple times. Talling up the score seems to give Chris a frustrated look. "After all this pain and anguish, you're still tied! It makes it seem like it was all for nothing, and while I could do this all day - seriously, these are awesome - It's time for the game to end."

When the second all the campers sighed, Topher came up in front of Chris to exclaim, "Right after the..."

Chris pushed him aside to finish, "Hey! I'm hosting Topher! Right after the sudden death round! A player from each team will go head to head in a dual challenge. The winner's team gets immunity, and the loser's team gets shocked and sends someone home."

After all those challenges, we still tie 3-3? I wonder who's going to compete...man...I still can't believe Scarlett kissed me! She's...she's just...wait a minute..is this happening to me?

"In the sudden death round, there are no truths but only scares." explained Chris, "Representing team Maskwak will be... Amy!"

"Bring our team to victory with the aid of my magic!" cried out Leonard.

Amy* cringed up as she stood up, "S-Sure..."

"Team Kinosewak will have Dave to depend on!"

Dave took a big gulp getting out of his seat, "Alright, let's get to it then."

Amy* and Dave approached Chris as he brought out two brown bags to each of them, "The game is simple; in each bag, you'll find the opposing team's shock remote. The first one to untie the tightly knotted string, get the remote, and shock the opposition wins. Go!"

They quickly got to work with their bag given by Chris as they struggled to untie their bags knot. Dave has to work fast because he knows he'll be out of the game if he loses this, for he unexpectedly told a lie back then. Amy* was also struggling as she couldn't unravel the string as much as she wanted. While each team member cheered on their colleagues o the sidelines, Dave quickly realized that he recognized this type of knot. That knot-tying club at school paid off as he gently unlooped the string around itself, making it come undone. He took no hesitation to grab Team Maskwak's shock remote and pushed the button to unleash an electrifying shock that rattled Amy and Team Maskwak.

"And the winner of truth and scare is Dave!" Chris exclaimed in front of the cameras.

Despite his poor performance in this challenge, Dave succeeded on another day on the island. He returned to his team's side as they all cheered for him.

"Dave, you were amazing out there!" Rodney came to applaud his victory.

"Th-Thanks, guys..." Dave sheepishly replied before noticing Sky beside him, "Sky...I again wanted to..."

"Save it, Dave," she interrupted his apology, "I'm aware you only lied just to make me feel better. I know who you think is the most attractive girl on the island."

How did it come to this? Is this happening to me?

"Hush now, team Kinosewak!" Chris raised his hands to lower their volume. "What an interesting day! As winners of truth or scare, you gain immunity. You also get this week's fast food delivery; courtesy of Humpty Dumpty's Meat Shack. 'At Humpty's, all the kings' horses feed all the king's men.'"


*Confessional*

Samey: Did I intentionally lose the sudden death round? Yeah! I'm not participating with a team that isn't my own. Besides, I know 'Amy' is not getting voted off.

Scarlett: To share my experience with only using one particular word, it was...exhilarating... *blushes*


After the collars were detached from the campers, team Maskwak left the area both frustrated and disappointed. As for the people in team Kinosewak, they walked through the forest and back to their tree house. While Dave was walking alone from the pact, he was met with Scarlett strangely awkwardly approaching him with her hands behind her back.

"Dave, you must have questions about my actions from the challenge," she moved at the same pace next to him.

He clammed up, "I-I have a few..."

"I apologize, but I cannot exemplify it at the moment." she looked apologetic, turning away from him, "I need to recollect my thoughts before preparing my conclusion."

"T-Take all the time you need," Dave gave her a soothing look, "Just to let you know, I did enjoy our kiss..."

He could see her blushing face scurrying off her way back to the treehouse, but something didn't sit right with him. There was this strange yet familiar feeling from seeing her face up close earlier. He couldn't quite express it, but he recognized these feelings when he…first fell in love with Sky from the previous timeline. When it finally clicked, the epiphany he had uncovered stopped him on his way to the tree house. It left him to recall what he had done to change the course of his game on the show and the signs from today. His original goal of eliminating Scarlett and getting a second chance with Sky was out of the picture.

Now that he's in love with Scarlett...

A few hours later, when the sun rose down and night fell, Chris and the rest of team Maskwak were engaged in the elimination ceremony as Topher brought out the plate of 4 marshmallows. Jasmine was annoyed losing half of her teammates these past few weeks into the game.


*Confessional*

Max: It has come to my attention that a certain buffoon is utterly useless, and I hope my underlings find his annoyance as well.


"Back on the railroad to loserville, Maskwak?" Chris chuckled from his joke by the fire. "We didn't use the cannon of shame last time, so I've had Chef tweak it for twice the blasting power! Anyways, Jasmine, Shawn, and Amy are safe!"

Topher was obligated to toss out the three marshmallows to the contestants to save them from elimination, leaving Max and Leonard without one in possession.

"One marshmallow left," Chris ominously said as he eyed the two boys. "Max refused to do his scare, and Leonard failed miserably at telling the truth AND his scare. The person who gets the last marshmallow is..."

...

...

...

...

...

"Max!"

"Inconceivable!? How was I met with this terrible fate!?" Leonard fancied from his seat as he was left without a marshmallow.

"Must say it!?" Max scolded him while taking his marshmallow, "I'm quite surprised you survived this long."

"I'm with Max on this one," Chris nodded, "Pack your potions! You're going flying!"

Leonard gasped, "Me?! No! Magic boots and armpit smell, bring forth a time reversal spell!" while waving his stick around.

As the awkward silence filled the atmosphere, Chris grinned, "Nothing? So weird."

The moment Chef stepped up and carried him to his shoulders, Leonard was chanting more spells, "Fireball! Lightning bolt! Aw, nuts."

At the cannon of shame, with Leonard already stuffed inside the cannon, Chris stood next to Chef as he held the cannon remote happily. "Check this out, Chef. I'm going to show you a little magic trick of my own. Watch in amazement as I make this contestant...disappear!"

Click*

"Aggghhhhhhh!" Leonard was flung into the air by the cannon's blast, letting out a scream.

"With even more teammates of Maskwak whisked away into the glistening moonlight, how would they fare in the next challenge? Who's next in the boom-boom machine? Only time will tell on Total Drama Pahkitew-"

"Excuse me, Chris!" Topher from behind him walked over his shoulders while his hands were holding up a cell phone, "That special guest I contacted earlier said they'll be glad to join the game before the next challenge."

"Excellent, neat idea to mix things up by bringing a previous Total Drama loser to compete!" smiled Chris, before peering his eyes at the camera.