Things are getting heated up by a landslide. How will things pan out for Dave? Find out here!

Chapter 8: This Is The Pits

A calm four days since Rodney's elimination, everything was smooth sailing. On this particular morning, Jasmine was waking herself from her usual spot on top of a tree branch and untiring herself from it. She was not alone, as Dawn sat at the same tree behind her in a lotus position as they shared a morning greeting.

"Mornin', what's the status on Dave?" Jasmine asked, curious about Dawn's unique talent.

Dawn sighed as she answered, "While I could see other auras perfectly fine, Dave is the exception. I've tried to speak with the ones who connect with him, but nothing unusual."

"Well, is there any way to get Dave's aura to be seen by you?"

"I tried observing him for the past few days," Dawn pondered from her mind as she turned her head towards Jasmine, "His actions seemed regular; he takes constant walks by himself, is friendly around his teammates, and doesn't seem sinister. I can tell from Scarlett's aura she has deep feelings for him but struggles to tell him the truth."

"That pretty much sums him up in a nutshell," nodded Jasmine, "So, is there a way for you to see his aura better?"

"I can only try communicating with him more to understand who he is."

"Whatever floats your boat," yawned Jasmine, stretching her arms out while preparing to jump down.

In the treehouse, Dave rose from the bed, stretching out his arms and legs to prepare to collect berries as usual. He also decided it was good to greet the girls morning for once, but they were still sleeping as he peeked over the cover. He shrugged as he walked to the forest with a basket in hand to forge for breakfast, pondering his approach to the next challenge.

"The next challenge went wrong that it made Chris cancel the elimination ceremony; it's also where Max and Sky switched teams."

For a moment, Dave felt distracted as he strayed away from the bushes and took a stroll until he mysteriously bumped into someone who hung upside down on a tree branch. It appeared to be Dawn, with her hair dangling as it gave him a spook, jumping from her sudden entrance, "Whoa! Dawn?! What are you doing?"

She gently raised her body and jumped down, softly landing in front of him, "Greetings, Dave. I was connecting myself with Mother Earth as I always do. However, I find it strange as this island's energy seems odd..."

"She's probably aware that the island is completely mechanical. I need to tread carefully with what I say to her."

Dave thought Dawn wasn't significant to be on his radar, but her incredible powers might make her a threat later. Dave began speaking in a curious yet casual tone. "So, you can read people's minds?"

She shook her head, "Not exactly mind reading; auras are energies a person gives off. What color they emit depends on their innermost thoughts or past interactions, and I predict what may become of them in the future.."

"I see..." Dave was getting more interested in her talent, "Back then, when we first met, you said my aura was interesting?"

"Ah, yes..." she was strangely sweating when Dave mentioned her strange behavior, "It is indeed quite fascinating..."

"I don't understand what's bothering her about my aura. I remember watching Revenge and seeing the other contestants afraid of her accurate readings of them. Is she trying to lower my self-esteem?"

"Whatever you find fascinating about my aura, you should keep it to yourself." Dave stood his ground.

"Huh?" Dawn raised a brow.

He continued to lecture her, "I've heard you made Scarlett very angry with you for exposing her history, and I recall you did the same dirty tactic to get under the skin of the others from your season. You shouldn't go around and invade people's privacy; it's not only hurtful but solely immoral. Perhaps that's why your team voted you off back then; maybe Scott was doing them a favor?"

She recalled her accurate predictions, and reading others' aura did cause a bit of fright from the former contestants from Revenge of the Island. She frowned, tilting her head to face the ground, "...I may have anguished your friend, but I couldn't help myself. I see many colors of auras and have a natural talent for speaking to creatures of Mother Earth, but still, people are afraid of me. I just wanted to use my gift to help people steer them in the right direction by understanding their flaws and see what may be of them in the future."

"I understand how you feel, wanting to help people," Dave replied, almost feeling sympathetic toward her. He could sense her remorse with her lip curled up and crumpled posture. He tried to comfort her, scratching the back of his neck, "Perhaps I said too much."

"No, I needed to hear that from someone," she brightened up with a small smile, "I give you my utter thanks, Dave!"

As Dawn opened her arms towards Dave, he knew exactly what she was doing. He slowly embraced her with his arms around her as they shared an over-the-shoulder hug, feeling her warm embrace as Dave took in this touching moment together. He felt a sense of familiarity when his arms felt her sweater.

When they pulled themselves away from the hug, Dawn tried her best to get a good reading of Dave's aura after she had given him a humble hug. To her surprise, she was drawing a blank even from their close contact with eachother. "I guess we should go our separate ways for now to avoid unwanted attention to our teams," she composed herself after sharing this sensitive moment.

"Y-Yeah..." he replied sheepishly.

*Confessionals*

Dawn: I feel no visible signs of Dave's aura appearing; does he have the ability to hide his aura? If so, then he may be more interesting than I thought.

Near Team Maskwak's shelter, Max was gathering some random pieces of junk he grabbed from the junk pile and struggling to lift the piles of stuff with his legs shaking. Just as he dropped it on the ground, a heavy object hit his left foot, which caused him to scream in pain, "AAAGH! Curse your car battery! I will..."

"Oi! Quit your squawking!" Jasmine from behind him shouted, looking displeased, "You better not do something that would get yourself kicked out!"

"What's it to you, Jazz-Man?" he purposely mispronounced her name, "I do not recall you being the criminal mastermind behind Kinosewaks trap!"

"I know it was Topher that gave you the idea!" Jasmine shot back at him, "The little guy told me just a while ago!"

"Hey, cool it!" Shawn approached from above as he broke up their argument, "Don't you speak to her like that!"

"Tch, whatever..." scoffed Max, retreating into the cabin with his junk pile.

As Sky made her way to the rest of her team to enjoy some fresh fruit picked by Dave, she sat by Samey and Ella, who seemed rather giddy as they overheard Dave and Scarlett's conversation next to them.

"Sky!" Samey waved her hand, "Where were you? We have some blueberries with us."

She gladly took a set next to the girls, "Thanks, Samey. Have you given some thought to my proposal to team up?"

"Oh? An alliance!" Ella beamed up from her seat, with her innocent smile radiating. "Perhaps I can join you?"

"We would love for you to join...isn't that right, Samey?" Sky forcibly smiled back at her, nudging Samey's shoulder.

Samey started getting anxious around Sky as she answered, "S-Sure, Ella can join..."

*Confessionals*

Sky: I've decided to let Ella in my alliance to see if she could be onboard on who I think is a threat to my competition.

With a loud honk from an air horn that echoed across the loudspeakers, Chris got everyone's attention as he announced, "Calling all contestants! It's time to get rolling! Hahahaha...uh, that will make sense in a minute!"

"I guess it's game time!" Sky munched on a few berries from her palm as she stood up, "Let's go, guys!"

But Dave was engrossed by Scarlett's clever explanation of the use of cleaning chemicals as he nodded, "Wow, I never really knew you were an expert on this!"

"I did help clean my house a lot as a child. Using a mixture of chemical compounds to utilize the full potential." she smiled.

Sky approached them, calling them out once more, "Guys! We have the challenge to win!"

"Uh...yeah!"

"This is the challenge where things get sour; Scarlett discovers the island has mechanical creatures and its secrets."

Everyone gathered by the location Chris mentioned, all looking anxious as they had no idea what to expect in this next challenge. Besides Dave, who had to look the part as he mirrored his college's expressions.

"Listen up, everyone! Today's challenge is simple." Chris mentioned as the two teams sighed in relief, "Simple and deadly!"

Now met with groans along their faces, Chris shrugged it off, "You'll all be racing across the island...in these turbo-orbs! Each team will cram into one turbo-orb and run like a hamster in a wheel. The first team to the other side of the island wins immunity."

Topher quickly approached the camera upclose to his face, "Both teams are sure to have a ball!"

"Just get back to the intern's spot, Topher," asked Chris sternly.

Each contest reluctantly climbed board their team's orb saying uncomfortable sighs and groans. Meanwhile, on the outside, Jasmine was the only contestant present, quivering in dread when looking into the orb's confined space. Her teeth chattered as Chris approached her, smiling, "Jasmine? Hello, are you still in Australian time? Hahaha...I have no idea if that's ahead or behind us, but you get the joke?"

She forcibly smiled while shaking in fear, "Okay! Just going to get inside that small, cramped, confined ball. No way out. Let's do this!"

But as soon as she was kneeling from her stance, Chris smiled with his arms behind his back, "That's the spirit!"

*Confessionals*

Jasmine: Okay, so I might be claustrophobic.

Shawn: It's sad when a person lets a single irrational fear control their lives.

"I'm okay!" Jasmine stood up, still agitated from her phobia, "Just have a teeny issue with confined spaces. No biggie."

"Uh-Huh, you know what else is a confined space? A cannon!" Chris sarcastically asked before creeping up on her. But as she was still quivering, he changed tone, "Okay, the bad cop didn't work, so time for good cop. Jas, I didn't know you had this phobia. Now that I do, I realize this challenge Is harder for you than anyone else, and that's unfair...Chef, toss her in!"

But his touching moment was abruptly stopped as Chef quickly got behind Jasmine, hoisting her up, casually walked toward the red orb, and tossed her inside like a piece of wood entering the fireplace. "Uhhhh... Owwww!" she groaned.

"Um...we can't see out of these." Dave took his role as he gulped.

Chris gasped sarcastically. "Oh no..."

"I'm in pitch black darkness with four girls, not pressured at all."

"You better not do anything funny inside here, Dave!" Dave could hear Samey's voice sternly warning him.

"I won't!" Dave cried.

"You might feel a slight drop!" yelled Chris, placing his hands on the green orb, "Ready? Go!"

Chef and Chris rolled the orbs toward a hole, rolling down between the edges of the cliffs crack, causing the contestants to scream in pain as they tumbled through the cliff. They fell a few hundred feet from the surface and into the depths of a pit. After enduring thirty seconds of agonizing pain, the orbs finally made one last drop and landed on the ground. The hatches opened, and the contestants stumbled out, battered from the fall. Disoriented and groaning, they fell out of the orb one by one. The first person to exit the Kinosewaks orb was Dave, who landed on the cold, hard surface on his back.

"Nggh..." he groaned in misery.

The second one out after him was Sky, who mistakenly tripped backward trying to stand up and fell on top of Dave as their faces met inches apart. With her planted on his shoulders as she gasped, "Whoa! Sorry..."

But Dave quickly shook off his mind while getting up, "It's alright, you good too?"

"Yeah." Sky reoriented herself by pulling away from him and patting herself clean. "How is everyone else?"

Ella looked nauseous as she flipped over on the ground, "D-Does anyone know where the white rabbit is?"

Just outside Team Maskwaks orb, Shawn, Dawn, and Max exited the confined space while Jasmine was squatted inside, peering into the depths, "Look! We're at the bottom of the deep dark cave. How about that?"

"So much for our self-proclaimed leader..." Max grunted, "Chris McLean better have a good explanation for tossing us like garbage."

"I do, Max!" A large flatscreen television with a video feed of Chris echoed as the contestants looked above, "So your real challenge is getting out of this cave."

"Why bother with the bogus challenge?!" Scarlett asked, standing next to Dave.

"If I had said I wanted to cram you into giant balls and drop your feet into a cave, you would've all moaned and whined. This was easier!" he gave a well-thought-out explanation.

"True," Shawn replied, leaning on his team's ball.

"Moving on! There are two bags of supplies somewhere behind you."

"I must act fast before Max gets the bag with the good supplies..."

Dave hustled over to the yellow duffle bag quicker than Max as he unzipped it, "Rope, climbing gear, night vision goggles? Neat..."

With Dave getting the yellow bag, Max reluctantly grabbed the supplies from the green bag, "Let's see: Kitty litter, a Beardo beat-box Cd, and soy sauce packets? This could prove useful..."

"What the heck, Chris?!" cried Shawn.

"One bag might be more helpful than the other," he smiled back, "Now if you look around, you'll see a bunch of tunnels. They all lead to a single exit on the surface where the finish line awaits, but some will get you there safer or faster than others. The first team across the finish line wins! One more thing. According to Cree legend, no one who's gone in has ever come out...but hey, I thought the fall would kill you, So congrats on surviving that! Your challenge starts...Now!"

After Chris sounded the airhorn from his hand, it caused a minor earthquake to rattle the cave. Sky grabbed a bag before looking at the many tunnels ahead of her, "So it's all about choosing the right tunnel to get out fastest."

"Fast would be preferable." stated Scarlett, "This pit seems to be structurally unstable."

The second Jasmine heard the pit seemed unstable, she ran frantically to a wall, "Out! Gotta get out!" while smacking her fists on them.

Her constant banging caused the pits to rumble for a few seconds as the rocks fell from above. This caused the other contestants to be frightened by the little shock. "Uh, maybe pounding the walls and yelling isn't a good idea." Shawn slowly warned her. "We wouldn't want a cave-in..."

But his efforts were in vain, as Jasmine let out a wild screech to the heavens that caused more rumbling from within. "Now "

"No worries, my team. I know the safest passage through the tunnels!" Dawn directed her finger toward a cave towards the right section of the pit, "The tea leaves knew this would happen."

"Must we rely on your foresight to secure our victory?" said Max, folding his arms as he felt revolted by her arrogance.

"Come on, man! Just listen to the freaky magic girl and go!" Shawn forcibly demanded him as he pushed him to the cave with the others, "Jasmine, it's alright. We got this..."

"Y-Yeah..." Still, she felt startled, slowly following Dawn to the cave.

Sky and the rest of her team huddled up for a game plan. "We need to split up and cover more ground!" she frantically said.

"Excellent," Scarlett couldn't agree more with her idea, "Dave..."

But the boulders were tumbling down by the second, and it seemed to have separated Dave from the girls as he moved out of the way. There was little time to think, so Sky quickly signaled the girls to be around her, "There's no time. Just get in that one!"

"Shoot, the rocks are dropping by the second. I'm going to be separated from my team at any point!"

She pointed to a random tunnel, which wasn't blocked off by rocks signaling them to run towards it. But Scarlett was concerned over Dave, "Wait! Dave is going through a different tunnel!"

Sky cried, "There's no time! The cave-ins are getting worse!"

As much as she felt disappointed to leave them behind, the probability of getting Dave unscathed would be extremely low. So, Scarlett nervously went with the rest of the girls into her chosen tunnel as Dave ran towards the middle one. After one fell swoop, the piles of rocks and boulders sealed off the entrances of the tunnels and left Dave by himself with only a pair of night vision goggles he picked up.

"This may be problematic..." he spoke out loud.

From the adjacent tunnel over, the girls on team Kinosewak braced themselves as their entrance was about to be shut off by the fallen rocks. Sky and the others took a second to get their bearings straight, "Everyone alright?" she panted after dodging the cave-in with the bag.

"We left Dave all alone!" gasped Ella, clearly worried for his wellbeing, "These boulders are blocking the entrance."

Samey and Sky were a tad anxious to realize they left one of their teammates, especially Scarlett, "Why did you have to leave him, Sky!? He's all alone!"

"We had no choice! The cave-in was about to crush us!" Sky answered, raising her voice, "No time to fret about him. He can manage his own."

"At least he has a pair of night vision goggles." Samey reminded her, "One of us will have to go without them."

"I'll be fine without a pair," Scarlett somberly said. "I'm still worried about him."

"As I said, we can't just stay around and worry. Let's keep moving forward!" Sky commanded, grabbing pair of night vision goggles as she wore them, "Samey, Ella, put these on."

Onto Team Maskwak traversed through the tunnel with Dawn taking the lead. They stumbled upon an area with seemingly no footing in front of them as the ledge was enveloped with a dense fog. Dawn signaled her team as she gave them a hand to prevent any moving, "There appears to be no surface to walk on, just a deep fog,"

"How on earth are you traveling in this darkness?" Jasmine asked, keeping herself calm from seeing the dim environment, "I had to bump into this little joker a couple of times while running through those cramped...tunnels."

"Who are you calling, joker? If there's anything to joke about, it's you and your pathetic phobia!" reproached Max.

But Shawn gave him a hard knuckle punch on the arm as Max painstakingly rubbed his injured point. "Phobia aside, what are we going to do?!"

"I'll tell you what to do!" The television on the cave's wall went alive as Chris' picture emitted next to them, "You've just reached the leap of faith. You don't have night vision goggles, which wouldn't make a difference as you can't see the bottom. You got to have faith and jump in! Does it lead to the way out or sharks? I honestly can't remember. Either way, you can't go back the way you came. Good luck!"

After Chris pushes a button on a remote, rocks cave in the entrance, causing Jasmine to panic. She says, "This is it. The end for all of us! Shawn, there's something I need to..."

But she noticed Dawn bravely jump off the cliff and through the fog, making the rest of Team Maskwak gasp, including Max. Shawn was peering into the dense fog, crying, "Oh no! Dawn gave her life just for the safety of-"

"Everyone! Down here!" they heard Dawn from below screaming out for them, "The cliff is shallow enough for most of us to jump down unscathed."

"W-What?" Jasmine gasped.

"It's a riddle. You have to have faith and jump in!" Dawn mentioned, "It's alright."

With Dawn reassuring them no harm in jumping through the fog, the three hopped off the ledge and landed roughly on their feet, except Max, who mistakenly fell on his back.

"AGGHH!" he screeches. "Curses, you said all of us with being unharmed!"

"No, I said most of us..." Dawn corrected him, "Perhaps you should be considerate of others' generosity. That way, you could change your-"

"Silence!" Max abruptly ceased her, "I am sick of your spiritual nonsense! I shall go myself in this wretched fog! Evil doesn't follow those who do good!"

Max aimlessly traverses through the foggy atmosphere while falling and smashing his face in each second he stands back at continues. It left Dawn's face mortified, with Jasmine and Shawn behind her.

*Confessionals*

Max: Miserable little girl, always have to be a burden with her good vibes and positive attitude. Evil is allergic to all of those!

Dawn: Do people see me as a bad omen despite my intention to help? I am often ignored when I speak the truth.

"Let's keep at it, Dawn." Shawn was committed to pushing through the challenge, seeing her saddened face. "Don't worry about him. He'll get it once we're out of here."

"I sense a diverging pathway ahead," she warned, "Maybe I should go alone. I need some time to regain my spiritual sense."

"Okay, that's f-fine," Jasmine didn't feel like leaving her alone but believed she could handle herself, "Just stay sharp."

In the tunnel with Dave roaming in the dark environment, night vision goggles on him. Cautiously stepping forward, he could feel a beacon of hope for himself alone on this challenge.

"I'm not seeing the glow slugs anywhere, so maybe I ran to a different tunnel? I never really noticed which way I was going the first time."

Seconds later, he could see Chris on the television screen to his right as it gave him a small glimmer from the light, "Davey! Worried your team is somewhere lost within the depths of the pits?"

"Maybe my parent's lawsuit might say otherwise?" Dave ignored his attempt to frighten him.

Chris was visibly annoyed with his threat, whispering. "Anyways...you must stay quiet. All those stalactites will reign down and skewer you like kebabs. Hehehe..."

"Alright, I'll keep quiet then," he replied, keeping a confident smile.

"Good, because here's a crocodile!"

Chris pushed a button on a remote he had, triggering a hidden door on the cave walls to reveal a bloodthirsty crocodile making his way. Dave knew from watching the show that it wasn't a live animal but a robotic one. He remembered that The Boreas research facility was the one that created the island and its mechanism, so he assumed they also made the creatures as well.

"Your entire team has to cross the finish line, but since you're alone, that would be meaningless to you." explained Chris, "Now, go!"

He sounded the airhorn to frighten the crocodile as the stalactites were shaking due to the vibrations from the speakers. He didn't like the danger he was in, but he couldn't stand there. He'll make it his goal to complete this challenge correctly and to its completion.

Back to the girls on Kinosewak, who were strolling along the dark crevices of the tunnel with Scarlett staying beside Samey as she guided her in the dark. Despite wearing a pair of goggles, Ella was still frightened by the atmosphere the tunnels gave off. Reaching further, they stood inside a cavern with a strange, ominous glow from the slugs hanging on the walls.

"They appear to be gastropods producing a bio-luminescence from their bloodstream," Scarlett observed the dozens of slugs scattered around.

"Can you explain it in words we could understand?" Samey scratched her head from her analysis.

"Glowing slugs," sighed Scarlett.

"Well, at least they're lighting the way," Sky slowly removed her goggles from her head, "Alright, now let's talk some game about this all-girls alliance."

"Oh yes, I'm excited!" Ella removed her goggles as she smiled at Sky's suggestion, "We shall treat each other as sisters in these troubling times while doing each other's hair, sharing secrets, and..."

"No, Ella..." Sky gave her a disappointing look, "We must eliminate those we think may be a threat to us near the merge. I'm sorry, but Dave is a likely candidate."

"What..." Scarlett was fuming up when she heard Sky mentioned to boot off Dave, "P-Perhaps he could prove useful to us in..."

"He'll be useful to you," snarled Sky, "It's not rocket science that you have a thing for him, Scarlett. But I assumed you didn't come here to meet boys?"

Scarlett sheepishly answered, "N-No...but I could come to a consensus with Dave to..."

"It's not an all-girls alliance with one guy around, and Dave seems like a strong competitor. Even if we win this challenge, he's got to go when the merge comes." Sky defended her case.

"I wouldn't forgive myself for voting off Dave..." Ella sighed, mulling over it. "Sky, what has gotten into you?"

"Me? I'm trying to get farther in the game, and it seems Scarlett doesn't care what's on the line!"

"Of course I do!" replied Scarlett, "I need the money to get into any college I please. But Dave, he's just so...intricate..."

"It's fine by me if you two don't want in. You're on your own." Sky crossed her arms as she proceeded on, "Let's go, Samey. At least you're on my side."

"Y-Yeah..."

With the tension rising in Sky as she walked with Samey forward into the cavern, Scarlett was left anxious about her affection for Dave. But Ella came to her aid, "No worries, Scarlett, I'm sure Dave will pour his heart for you like a fairytale story!"

"I...suppose..." Scarlett muttered.

*Confessionals*

Scarlett: I shouldn't blame myself for having an infatuation with Dave, but he seems to always be there for me in my time of need. Perhaps I will have to adjust my game.

Dave made his way passed the section with the stalactites. He narrowly avoided them and the bloodthirsty mechanical crocodile. In the process, he tripped and fell, cracking his night vision goggles as the lens was shattered. Discarding them, he continued walking in the dark, cautiously feeling along the walls. It had come to his attention that he had no idea what lay ahead.

"I suppose she has no clue about the island's secret now, that's for sure. But now, I have no clue what's next! Chris said we skipped a ton of challenges. I must prepare myself for anything."

Dave guessed he was in some long hallway, as he sensed the walls being no fewer than 10 feet apart. He had to continue, ignorant of what the next challenge pertains.

"If you're hearing this, you survived the last challenge," only Chris' voice came from the speakers around the cave as Dave stopped to listen, "If you still have the night vision goggles, great, this part will be a cinch. If not, it may take a while to traverse through the maze of pure darkness!"

Just as he was about to ask some questions, Chris' voice stopped echoing from the area. Dave sighed as he continued his strategy to move slowly across the darkness while pondering the moments shared with Scarlett in these past few weeks. Was he going to tell her his true feelings for her? What are the repercussions he'll face from his teammate's response?

"I'm certain she isn't that bad of a person. All she needed was someone to call a friend, and she seemed harmless. The moment I reunite with her at the end of the challenge is when I'll tell her..."

*Bump*

He felt what resembled another person standing in front of him, and he flinched a bit. "Huh?! Who goes there?" dragging his right hand from the top of the figure's shoulders and down to the elbow region. Dave felt a familiar material from its arms.

"Fabric? Denser than normal...like a sweater. It must be Scarlett!"

"S-So glad I found you..." Dave huffed a relieving sigh, "I broke my goggles at the last challenge. Did you lose track of the others?"

Still, the person he assumed was Scarlett didn't respond as she whimpered back. Dave never recalled Scarlett being so afraid, though they were all alone in the dark part of the cave. She must've had the short end of the stick and went without a pair of night vision goggles.

"Man...this is tough...am I about to confess to her in the pitch-black? We are alone, and there doesn't seem to be anything to stop us. Oh, what the heck. We've spent so much time hanging out and opening up to each other. I'll tell her now!"

"You must've had a lot on your mind; about me and what we shared in the forest." He continued, placing his hands between where her shoulders and elbow should be, "But I just want to let you know that you don't have to be afraid. I'll say this while we're alone here, I like you a lot! From the moment we locked eyes back then, I knew. We've just met, but my path is clear. I want to learn more about you even after this shows run, million-dollar grand prize or not!"

"I've just confessed my utmost feelings to her. There's no turning back now."

With her voice trembling from his speech, Dave could sense he was getting her attention. "Hehe, I know this is a lot to take in. You don't usually get these types of emotions. But I mean it; your eyes, gorgeous hair, and incredible mind. I want you to know that there's no need to worry about me, about us! You're perfect the way you are!"

After what he said about his true feelings for her, she remained still processing it all. Dave could feel at ease now that he got that out of the way, but he still felt like something was missing. He knew it was a bit extreme, but they did share a kiss from that one challenge. He contemplated from his mind.

"You know what? What the heck! I've already set the mood. I might as well go over the top."

"Perhaps this will prove my love for you," he already broke the ice on his feelings for her, so there was no turning back as he still had his hands between her elbows and shoulders. He leaned his head forward, taking a shot in the dark of where her face was while pursing his lips onto hers. Dave's lips were in contact with hers. At first, she was trying to push him away with her hands on his shoulders, but she suddenly eased off while taking in the kiss. She wrapped her hands around his neck while Dave maneuvered his hands off her arms and gently placed them on her waist. From Dave's perspective, she seemed to be really into it as they locked lips for some time.

"I'm kissing her for real! No challenge or anything. Her lips are so smooth and so soft!"

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed area within the island, Topher sat in a room filled with monitors as he observed Dave through one of many night vision cameras hidden within the cave. He was completely mesmerized by the video feed as he ate some popcorn, "Whoawee! Now that deserves to be clipped for later!" he pressed a key on the keyboard to record the clip for his purpose.

Just further within the cave was Ella, who wore the night vision goggles while guiding Scarlett, maneuvering through the dark while holding Ella's shoulder as a guide. As she turned to what appeared to be a branching path, she could only witness the most devastating and shocking display within the dark, "Oh, deary me! What is going on over there?!"

"W-What's the matter?" Scarlett heard her distress, keeping a soft voice to not to draw danger ahead. "I think I hear something towards the right branching tunnel?"

Ella didn't know what to do or say about this as she was at a loss for words. She didn't want to make Scarlett furious to cause a scene, but she won't tell a lie. After contemplating for a few seconds, she had to deal with the burden of keeping this secret. She improvised, "I-I just saw...Jasmine and Shawn! Sharing a passionate moment in the darkest depths of the cave. It's such a romantic..."

"...Uh, I don't want to hear it," Scarlett bit her lip as she refused to hear more, "Is there another path we could take?"

"Y-Yes! We shall take the path to the left!" Ella slowly walked towards the left side, where Scarlett followed behind.

"Wait? Was that Ella I just heard? And the other voice sounded like...wait...if she was there and I'm here...who could this..."

His heart racing, Dave retracted his kiss and hands from the mystery girl he just made out in the dark. He didn't want to cause any panic from his teammates, so he pondered vigorously using the process of elimination.

"It isn't Scarlett or Ella because I've heard them in the distance. It can't be Samey or Sky because they have night-vision goggles on. It isn't Jasmine because of her height difference. The only one I could think of that wears a similar sweater and skirt as Scarlett is...OH MY GOODNESS..."

"Dave...I understand your intentions..." Dawn's voice emitted towards him, her breath heavy from the kissing, "Such a delightful insight~!"

He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs but didn't want to divert his attention to the other girls in the area. It was like his entire world was falling apart as Dave made the biggest mistake of his life; kissing the wrong girl.

"I...uh...I gotta go!" he scampered in the dark while bumping into different walls and tripping over himself as he fled the scene.

It would've seemed that kiss had awoken something in Dawn as she folded her hands resting on her chest in the dark, "Oh, Dave..."

*Confessionals*

Dawn: I could never foreshadow Dave's confession of his utmost feelings as I couldn't see his aura. I never thought his aura could open the possibility of many different paths he could take. His undetermined fate makes me more captivated by him. Dave is in deep trouble having two hearts who show great affection for him~

Roughly 25 minutes later, Chris sat on a lawn chair while sifting through the different channels on the televisions in front of him for footage of the contestants. "They're still at it? How hard is it to traverse through a pit filled with goodies?!"

"Wait, I think I see some of them rushing towards the finish line!" Chef pointed his left finger towards two figures coming from the cave.

The two figures who exited the cave were none other than Sky and Samey, running frantically as they were chased by a scuba bear that wore some flashy bling on its neck.

"AH! Get him away from us!" screamed Sky and Samey, flailing their arms as they ran straight.

As Chef stepped forward to calm the beardown, the girls stopped as they panted from the vigorous running. Chris cleared his throat before breaking the news. "Well, ladies, you made it out of the caves. Albeit, the rest of your team must arrive at the finish line for you to win the challenge."

"Really?!" cried Sky, "Where on Earth is the rest of our team!"

Dave's startled voice echoed from the caves as he slowly approached passed the finish line, "I'm here..."

The girls could see his dreary face as they approached him, "Dave, what's the matter?" Samey was horrified by his dismay.

"N-Nothing..." he muttered in a low-tone voice, "I just witnessed...the scariest thing I've ever seen..."

"Dave, you just passed through the rest of the challenges without saying a word?" Chris mentioned.

"Whatever it is, we still have Scarlett and Ella left." Sky reminded the rest of her team. "They could be any-"

*Rumble*

"FREEDOM!"

Jasmine came bursting out of the ground wielding Shawn as a shovel as she seemingly dug her way out of the underground cave. Chris was dumbfounded to see them burrow out of the cave, "Jasmine, Shawn? You are the only two on your team free, but you technically didn't make it to the finish line. Unless the rest of Team Kinosewak makes it to the finish line, you lose!"

"What!?" Both Shawn and Jasmine shrieked.

The next reaching the finish line was Dawn, who approached the finish line with a giddy face, "How is everyone doing this fine day?"

"You seemed...perky as usual. Anything happened while you're alone?" Jasmine stood up, scratching her chin as she asked her.

"Nothing significant to worry about," Dawn answered, her face beaming, "I gained a revelation when in solitude in the dark tunnels."

"Uh-huh..."

After waiting a few more seconds, Ella and Scarlett hustled out of the cave entrance and through the finish line, huffing their breaths as they stopped near their team. "Did we make it on time?" asked Scarlett.

"Well, it's a no-brainer who wins this one; Team Kinosewak!" Chris declared the winner of the challenge, and he was met with cheers from the winning team.

"Yeah! We..." Samey reunited with the rest of her team as they shared this glorious win. But saw Dave still shaken up. "What's wrong, Dave? We won!"

"I just kissed Dawn. I just kissed Dawn. I just kissed Dawn..."

"Oh, y-yes! We have!" he snapped out of his lingering thoughts as he jumped up to focus on Scarlett, "Scarlett...h-how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Scarlett smiled back, "Your eyes must've needed time to adjust to the dramatic light difference from a pitch-black environment. I was lost in thought as well."

"G-Good, I guess..."

"Hey, where's Max?" Shawn looked back at the cave seeing one of his teammates was absent.

"GAAHHHHHHHHH!" The last person who screeched out of the cave sounded like Max, being chased by numerous bats as they left him battered up, with his face filled with scratches and his outfit all weary. As the bats returned to the dark cave, he was found lying flat on the ground next to Shawn.

Chris and Chef walked over to the poor guy, sighing, "Well then, I guess that settles this challenge. Team Kinosewak, not only do you win immunity, but also the special reward for actually completing the challenges."

"That sounds amazing!" Sky pumped her right fist in the air.

"Splendid!" said Ella, following her gesture.

"No fair! We got out of the caves too!" yelled Shawn, trying to pick up Chris from his shirt, only to be stopped by Chef with his bulky hand on the back of his vest.

"Sorry, since you and Jasmine dug your way out, you've skipped a ton of nifty challenges, which were very difficult to set up and test!" Chris scolded them. "Look at Topher!"

In the distance was Topher, who looked at his left thumb, disappointed. "Man, I cannot forgive myself for getting a loose nail..."

"That was...different than I'd hoped for. We did win the challenge and got to vote off one person from Team Maskwak. But...in the caves...I've just mistakenly kissed...no...I won't think about this now!"

Hours later, the elimination ceremony was on its way as Team Kinosewak were called in for their award as they watched the four at Maskwak take their seats. Chris humbly began by announcing this week's award, "As you can see, I have a special reward planned; Darwin's all-you-can-eat food safari!"

Chef yanked off a tablecloth on top of a table to reveal a gorgeous array of food set with plates and everything on the table for Team Kinosewak to enjoy. While they had their eyes on the prize, Chris continued with the elimination, "Alright, there's only three marshmallows left; One of them goes to Dawn."

To his confusion, Shawn saw Dawn receiving his marshmallow tangent with his as they looked at Jasmine. "No...it can't be...not her!"

"Considering that you didn't complete the challenge, you two should be going home," said Chris, staring deep into Shawn and Jasmine's frightened eyes, "But you two are safe...meaning Max is getting blasted!"

"Insolence!" Max yelled as he saw the two survivalists get the last two marshmallows in the air, "They did not go through all of the challenges."

"Well, Max, I didn't say they were the only ones who didn't complete challenges," grinned Chris, "The footage shows you trying to circumvent each challenge and painfully powering through. You also lost the vote by...well, it was 3-1."

"Suck it up. You lost fair and square!" Shawn reprimanded him.

"I demand we shall recount the.."

But Chef wasn't patient enough as he grabbed Max by the arms and hoisted him up to be launched at the cannon, "No! I refuse to be damned by my own-" he screeched out.

While stuffed inside the cannon, Max was venting his frustration towards his teammates, "One day you will face the consequences for your actions! Mark my words. Vengeance will be..."

*Kaboom*

"MINEEEEEEEEE!"

With Max being shot out of the cannon, Chris observed the rest of Team Maskwak around him as they smiled at Max's elimination, "A bit thin-looking, Team Maskwak? Let's fix that, shall we?"

Team Kinosewak was called back to the bond fire as Chris made them sit near each other while the three remaining Maskwaks sat on the left, "I hate to say it, Kinosewaks. But, it seems I have chosen but to send one of you to Team Maskwak to even things out."

"Huh?!" Team Kinosewak gasped at Chris' decision.

"Silence!" he shushed them, "The person I chose to join Team Maskwak is...

...

...

...

...

...

Ella!"

Ella pointed to herself, looking stunned. "M-Me?"

Chris nodded as he rambled. "Nothing personal, just my creative decision. Ella is from now on Team Maskwak!"

As much as she hates to see her old teammates be her rivals now, she said her goodbyes as she moved into team Maskwak's side. There, she sat next to Dawn as she welcomed her, "Hello, I hope we can make great friends in the future."

"Y-Yes!" Ella stuttered, recalling the unexpected encounter in the cave of darkness.

*Confessionals*

Sky: Ella's on Team Maskwak now. Now it's their problem dealing with her easygoing behavior.

Ella: It's difficult to adjust to my new team now that I have been burdened with a dark secret about Dawn and...Dave...

While both teams retreated to their shelters, with Ella seemingly shunned by her new teammates, Chris began to sign off the episode with some final words, "With the teams even four on four, one guy and three girls each, how will the contestants continue? Find out next time on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"