Here's one more step forward until things will shift into maximum overdrive. But will things play out differently, or will destiny always find a way?
Chapter 10: Hurl and Go Seek
The sun was nearly peaking onto the horizon when it barely gave Scarlett and Samey some light as they sat casually on the flat stones outside their treehouse. They insisted Dave join them for the evening, but he declined as he prepared for an early slumber.
"I have never been to this side of the tree house. I always enter where I would sleep. Hang on, what's this?"
Without much thought, Dave grabbed what seemed to be a tattered book lying near Scarlett's bed. However, upon closer inspection of the book's size and condition, he jumped in surprise.
"This must be Scarlett's diary! No! I shouldn't peek into it. I'll place it back where I first found it."
As much as he wanted to know the mentality behind Scarlett, he didn't want to invade her privacy. He gently replaced the diary where he found it before returning to his bed. With Samey and Scarlett, they were still eating, just on the surface.
"Dave wanted to sleep early, huh?" scratched Samey, taking a few bits of an apple when she noticed Scarlett was wavering from her seat, "Scarlett? Something bothering you?"
Scarlett replied, "N-Nothing to be concerned about!" shaking off what was on her mind.
She could already tell what was on her mind as Samey placed her left hand on her shoulder. "I know it's difficult to tell a guy how you feel about them. I had my fair share. But you'll regret it if you don't say a word."
While Samey did her best to cheer up her friend, Ella's sweet and elegant voice called out to them from a distance as she interrupted their conversation, "Hello, ladies! Care if I sit with you this fine evening?"
"Ella! We could use some help with the D-A-V-E," spelled Samey as she waved at Ella approaching them.
She could not handle the burden of hiding the truth from Scarlett, where she witnessed Dawn and Dave sharing passionate moments in the darkest part of the caves. Despite her efforts to stay strong, Ella needed to convey the truth as she sat beside her on the opposite end of Samey, "Scarlett, there's an important matter I like to discuss with you."
Scarlett repeated, "Important?" frowning as she turned to face her.
"Think of it as a question more so," she corrected herself.
"Don't leave us hanging!" begged Samey.
Ella quickly tried to come up with an appropriate question in mind. "What if another girl on the island has feelings for Dave? How would you feel about that?"
Scarlett pondered out loud, "Theoretically speaking, to whom he might have a crush on? Don't tell me..." with her expression drooping from the thought of it.
"Oh no! We could never make moves on Dave after what you've been through together?" Ella shook her head.
Same scratched her chin, "Now that you mention it, Dawn acted very strange around him when she kept staring at his face and called him interesting. Could it be true that she has feelings for him too?!"
Scarlett was devastated to hear that Dawn could have feelings for Dave, clenching her fists on her lap. As much as she disliked Dawn's supernatural talent of reading people's auras and communicating with animals, she looked more disappointed at herself as she eased off her fists, "P-Perhaps it is best if Dawn gets to be with Dave..."
"What?!" Ella and Samey were astonished to hear that.
"I don't think Dave could be interested in..." Scarlett stammered her words for a brief moment. "...Certain aspects of my personality!"
Ella gasped as Scarlett suddenly changed her mind. "No way, Scarlett! Dave loves you for your brilliant mind and kind heart. You must have noticed how supportive he has been all this time. Do you know what might make you feel better? If I were to sing a..."
"If you sing just one verse, you'll be out of here!" Chris spoke up from the loudspeaker as he heard Ella attempting to sing.
"Never mind!" Ella turned things around, "Well then if Dave doesn't appreciate you for who you are, he isn't the one for you. But, you'll never know if he will if you don't tell him?"
"How about you sleep on it? Maybe that will clear your mind for a fresh new day tomorrow?" suggested Samey, comforting her fellow teammate as well.
"You're right," Scarlett was handling her advice as she smiled slightly, "I'll tell him first thing tomorrow."
In the dense forest, Dawn was in a total zen state in a lotus position on top of a tree branch. She meditated for quite a while to regain her spiritual connection with mother earth.
"Ohhm..." she let out a hum. "Ohhm...In harmony with the universe. In harmony with Dave..."
Her cheeks flush a soft pink, and her heart skips a beat. Realizing she spoke Dave's name in her chant. "No, no, I must focus. In harmony with the earth...grant me Dave's embrace..."
Dawn shook her head, flustered again as she had Dave on her mind when chanting. She takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself and get back on track. But as she does, she can't help but think about Dave's smile, his kindness, and how his unusual presence on the island made her fascinated by him. Her meditation was cut short when she was disturbed by the voice of Jasmine calling out to her, "Oi Dawn, you hungry?! I've got grub!"
The voice caused Dawn to fall down the tree branch a couple of feet off the ground. Her quick reaction made Jasmine drop the basket and catches her on time as she placed her feet down, "Whoa! Almost landed right on your behind."
"Th-Thank you, Jasmine. I happened to fall while meditating." Dawn thanked her.
"Whoa! You're very out of your element lately. Are you sure you're alright?"
"No..." Dawn looked disappointed when she answered. "I've got a lot on my mind about Dave recently. I'm afraid I'm starting to develop feelings for him!"
Jasmine's face contorted to shock, "Holy Dooley! But why all of a sudden? You mentioned you couldn't see his aura?"
"T-That's the point!" Dawn bit her lip when she stared into Jasmine's face, "I like him because I don't know what his aura means. I mostly read people's auras to get a better understanding of them. But Dave's different; I don't know what to expect if he'll do something good or terrible. Seeing auras is both a blessing and a curse."
"Not everyone can read people's auras like you," said Jasmine, "You just need to talk to him with an open mind, don't pry into people's minds like you always do."
Dawn panted, "But...I don't know what to say to him about this! I never displayed these feelings to anyone," her cheeks turning red from embarrassment.
"Well, you better think of something fast because Scarlett got onboard the Dave train first," Jasmine jokingly said.
"I want Scarlett to confess her feelings and tell the truth about herself to him, but...I don't at the same time."
"What are you talking about?"
"I have never been so selfish before...but I want Dave for myself!" she cried out to Jasmine.
On the other side of the tree trunk was Ella, who was unfortunate to eavesdrop on their conversation, taking cover to avoid attention. So couldn't be so disappointed in herself for eavesdropping, but she could only be furious to hear someone was interfering with Scarlett's love story.
-Confessionals-
Ella: "That temptress Dawn must've seduced Dave into her clutches in those caves. If Scarlett found out about this, she would be devastated. I shall be her fairy godmother and grant my friend the wish to be alongside Dave for her happily ever after!"
Dave lay on his bed with his eyes closed as he was actively awake for these few hours. With the girls sound asleep on the other side, he was mentally preparing himself for what was to come out from the loudspeakers.
"Shhh. Sleepyheads...I'm here to turn your dreeeeams into niiiightmaaares...picture yourself on a daaaannngerous iiisland!" The sound of the air horn awoken most of the contestants from their slumber; Jasmine from the tree top gasped in the place, Dawn and Ella woke up from the beds of their cabin all agitated, Shawn awoke from the caves, and Ella, Samey, and Scarlett rose from their shelter's beds.
"What was that?!" Samey cried as her baggy eyes were visibly in the moonlight.
When Scarlett rose, a strange brown notebook dropped on the floor from Scarlett's pillow. Hesitating, she picked it back up and stuffed it between her pillow case when she said, "I-It appears Chris gave us a rude awakening."
"You already are on a dangerous Island! Meeting area. Now!" Chris chuckled from the loudspeakers as he ordered the campers.
The camera jump cuts to all of the groggy faces of the contestants, besides Dave, who only pretended to be irritated by a rude awakening via Chris. Samey yawned before asking, "Why did you wake us up in the middle of the night?!"
"Cognitive function's dependent on r-e-m sleep!" pouted Scarlett, keeping her eyes open.
"Can we go back to bed now?" asked Shawn, yawning.
Speaking of Chris, he was standing in front of a large stage covered by a red curtain with his smile, "The reason I called you here is that it's time to merge the teams. Consider yourselves merged!" he said, making a hand motion with his right hand.
"And that couldn't have waited until the morning?" yawned Jasmine.
Chris' replied, "Hey, if you don't want the midnight merger meal, then fine! Just go back to bed," with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"You've never done anything nice. Ever! What gives?" Samey rattled.
"Fine," sighed Chris as he elaborated, "The lawyers called to say that feeding only one team every few days is technically starvation. So, this is a legally enforced team merger celebration dinner."
As the curtain lifted, revealing a luxurious dining table adorned with a white tablecloth, seven chairs, and candles, the campers cheered at the prospect of indulging in the extravagant meal. Despite being aware of the situation, Dave joined in with their enthusiasm and cheered.
"It was gonna be gourmet pizzas, bison burgers, and sweet potato fries," Chris was getting their hopes for an extravagant feast, "But the silk table cloth and silver candelabras put us way over budget. So tonight, you'll be eating...Juggy Chunks!"
Chef lifted a silver food cover on top of a service cart, revealing a jug filled with a bubbling greenish substance with brown chunks of mystery meat. The horrified gasps of the seven campers left them disgusted by the concoction.
"What the hell is that suppose?!" gagged Samey, frightened by the mystery jug.
Shawn replied, "Looks like zombie flesh if you leave it out for long!" with his right finger pointing out the green stuff.
"Does anyone remember Sugar?" Chris asked sarcastically, "I sure I don't, but she did star in a commercial for the stuff. So, everyone gets seated as Chef will serve you a heaping jug of Juggy Chunks!"
As they sat in their seats, they braced themselves for what concoction Chris had made. Nerves ran high as Jasmine, Shawn, Ella, Dawn, Dave, Scarlett, and Samey placed their orders from left to right. Dave couldn't help but remember the first time he forcibly drank it to compete with Sky.
"Ah, man, I hated this challenge. The taste of the Juggy Chunks is vile. I give my best prayers to the girls who have to indulge in this."
"This fabulous dinner will be used as a pre-challenge! The first player to finish their cup of juggy chunks will be safe from elimination," Chris said while Chef was passing out heaping mugs of the Juggy Chunks to each of the campers, who all shared the same disgusted expressions, "All right, everyone, grab some chunks!"
Expressing his concern for the campers, Chef walked over to Chris' shoulder, whispering, "But this stuff expired in 1976!"
Chris replied, "Oh, it'll be fine; they're mostly meat, eggs, and mayonnaise, and I kept them somewhere very warm." nudging on Chef's shoulders.
"Oh my! This contains meat?" Ella was startled to hear the ingredients of the substance, "I don't consume anything made out of precious animals."
"Me too!" sympathized Dawn, dreading the cup before her eyes. "Animals are our friends!"
"Well then, I guess you two ladies would be sharing the cannon shame then?" threatened Chris, seeing each other's frightened look as he lifted an air horn, "Ready! Set! Enjoy!"
Even with the air horn sounding off, The campers were intently staring at their cups contemplating whether to drink them. Jasmine especially, as she cried, "This is repulsive!" contorting her face.
"You can do it, Jasmine," Shawn cheered for her with a smile, "Just think of it as the jug of mineral water you chugged in that one challenge."
"M-Mineral water doesn't usually look this murky..." she sheepishly replied.
Scarlett had kept herself calm, turning her head towards Dave as she tapped on his left, "Dave. I must confide with you something of utmost importance."
"Y-Yeah...I'm not quite up to chugging that stuff, too," he took a big gulp, sweating nervously.
"No...that's not it," she bit her lip, "You see...I...I...I..."
Before finishing her train of thought, Scarlett grabbed her cup and took a heaping gulp of the juggy chunks while it splattered around her mouth and parts of her shirt. She gagged from consuming so much of it in little time. The sheer potent scent of the cup was nauseating enough.
"Scarlett! You okay?" Dave reached out to her, only to get a burp from her as a response.
With Ella and Dawn contemplating taking a sip of the meat-filled juggy chunk, Chris had to give them some friendly reminders, "Ladies. To avoid immediate elimination, you must at least take one sip of the juggy chunks!"
They bit their lips as the advice Chris gave them didn't seem to alleviate their minds, as they were threatened to be shot out of the cannon tonight unless they took a sip out of their cups.
-Confessionals-
Dawn: "Please, mother earth! Forgive me for the sin I am about to commit!"
Ella: "I shouldn't be consuming such a concoction, but if I must..."
Grabbing ahold of her drink with her two hands, Ella could see Dawn taking a sip from her cup as she closed her eyes and sipped a small amount with her lips. But as she swallowed, she felt unaffected by the nasty taste, "Besides the foul smell, it tastes rather feasible..."
Ella was determined not to lose the challenge, even though she knew she might have to go home if she did. Harnessing as much willpower, Ella tightly gripped her cup while chugging as much of the juggy chunks as possible.
Chris was astonished to see Ella taking the lead, "Whoa! Ella is taking a big swig at her cup! What's this? She's already halfway there?!"
Seeing the elegant princess going into overdrive and chugging down the rancid stuff caused Jasmine to peek over Shawn's shoulder, "Crickey, Ella's almost done!" taking a break from her drink.
"How is Ella in the lead?!" gagged Samey, her mouth still covered in the juggy chunks.
"I honestly don't know myself. I never knew she could be so competitive all of a sudden. Then again, I'd expect she needed to step up her game after surviving this long."
After a few minutes, Ella surprised everyone by emptying her cup and placing it down gently, despite struggling with the urge to vomit. But her sheer perseverance and willpower prevented her from doing so as she stammered, "I'm... f-finished!"
With his mind utterly amazed, Chris declared the winner, "Wow, I did not see that one coming... Ella wins the pre-challenge and has immunity!"
"How wonderful!" Ella was enraptured by her victory, pressing her hands together.
Everyone seemed to have stopped drinking their cups as they left confused, scared, and nauseous to find that Ella had won the pre-challenge and got immunity. Meanwhile, the rest had their hands on their stomachs as their digestive systems didn't respond well to the green liquid, causing their faces to turn green.
"Im...possible..." muttered Scarlett, her face contorted from drinking, "...H-How did she..."
"Oh...I think I'm about to be sick!" cried Samey, almost spewing from her mouth.
-Confessionals-
Shawn: "Wow, the girl can chug. Even though I'm struggling to hold in this stuff, I assure you I've trained my stomach to digest anything. In times like the zombie apocalypse, you must not rely on luxuries and prepare to keep your stomach full."
"H-How could this be...Ella won? I never expected this."
While the rest were urging to vomit, Chris intercepted their grace period, "Alright then...moving onto our nighttime portion of the challenge; hide and group seek. Since Ella won immunity, she will be it."
Ella smiled brightly, "I shall do my best!" unfazed by chugging the juggy chunks as she stood up.
"Everyone will be given a head start to go and hide, the Ella will come and hunt you down—each person Ella finds and tags join her search for the others. You hunt together; no splitting up! Anyone tagged before sunrise on the chopping block at elimination. Anyone not tagged by then will also have immunity."
Jasmine groaned with her stomach fighting her back, "G-Great...I know a great hiding spot..."
"M-Me too..." replied Shawn, sharing her pain.
"Oh my, I presume you are about to climb on top of the tree branches?" Ella guessed Jasmine's intentions, acting clueless with her finger on her chin. "Sadly, I don't have the strength or ability to climb such tall places."
"Nice to know, Ella." smiled Chris, pointing at her, "Therefore, hiding on tree tops is strictly forbidden! You must hide either in any accessible area Ella can traverse through."
As the airhorn went off, the contestants went off to different locations as Ella covered her eyes. Except for Samey, she was still in agonizing pain while planting her face on the table. As much as Dave wanted to be with her in this troubling time, he was better off going alone to prevent her from discovering the island was mechanical. "S-Shawn...I'll go where you'll go."
Jasmine went off with Dawn and Scarlett, walking near the forest area, "Come on ladies...w-we'll find somewhere to hide."
But Scarlett turned to spot Samey, still in pain, "B-But Samey is..."
"There's no point going b-back...just keep moving forward!"
After 5 minutes of the grace period, Dave and Shawn found the perfect hiding spot in the cave that Shawn calls home while Scarlett, Dawn, and Jasmine wandered around in the forest to find a discreet location. Ella was ready to find and tag the remaining contestants. She soon located Samey still sitting on her chair in a miserable-looking state of pain. Approaching her silently, she gently tapped her shoulder, "I apologize, Samey, but you are first to be out."
"F-Fine...can I...puke somewhere?" she moaned as her stomach was rumbling.
"Go right ahead and take all of your time! But, do be back as we need to be together to find the rest of them."
Meanwhile, with the girls, Scarlett and Jasmine were miserable with indigestion and having difficulties walking and forming coherent sentences. Fortunately, Dawn showed mild symptoms as her face showed a greenish color.
"Wow, you must...have an iron stomach...Dawn..." Jasmine muttered, containing her stomach with her arms around it. "How about we split up and...ugh...cover more ground that way?"
While Shawn and Dave hid in the cave, they were completely alone without any unexpected distractions. They expect Ella to search the shelters first, so they're in the clear for any noise they may hear. Despite Dave's nauseous-looking face, Shawn remained intact as he felt fine drinking the juggy chunks. They took this time to talk about strategically eliminating the weaker players in the game, "I believe that the girls are forming some secret alliance to get us off the island. We need to vote off one of them to thin their numbers. How about Samey?"
Dave nodded as he was completely into the idea of eliminating Samey. It wasn't just seeing one of his friends go that invoked his nervousness, but Dave was contemplating this whole time if he should tell Shawn that he was a time traveler. Although he knew that Shawn was a conspiracy theorist, he wasn't sure if he would believe in the concept of time travel. He had nothing against him, so Dave was unsure about spilling the beans. He's already made it this far, and he expects he's getting to the finale at this point. He took a big gulp before starting, "Shawn...There's a secret I've been keeping from everyone..."
"No, Dave. How could you, man?!" Shawn was falling to his knees in disappointment, "Why tell me you're a zombie now?!"
"No! That's not...what I meant!" Dave calmed him down, continuing, "First of all...w-what do you know about...time travel?"
Shawn was intrigued by Dave's question. "Time...travel? Do you mean in movies? Ha! Those don't compare to actual time travel."
His answer nearly stunned Dave, "Wait, so you believe time travel is real?"
"I know zombies from the future will travel to our present to begin the apocalypse." Shawn said intensively, "Why are you asking about such a topic?"
There was already no turning back, as Dave took a deep breath before confiding, "Believe it or not, but I'm a time traveler myself."
"You're a time traveler?" Shawn was silent for a few seconds before he vomited, turning behind him.
"I knew this was a bad idea! Now he thinks I'm..."
"Pretty cool..." he responded, fighting his stomach on the inside to prevent vomiting.
Dave couldn't believe his ears, but Shawn was 100% on board with him. "Hold the phone, so you believe me?"
"Of course!" Shawn nodded vigorously, "My cousin is an expert at time travel. Don't tell me...this wasn't your first time playing the game! Is it?"
"Yeah, that seems about it," Dave sheepishly smiled, scratching his head.
Shawn placed his hands on his shoulders, begging, "You got to tell me how wins the big bucks!" as he vigorously shook him.
This was another major hurdle, telling Shawn about future events. Dave was stammering, "Well...I can't really..."
"Scratch that. I don't want to know who gets the million! I want to keep it a surprise." Shawn chuckled.
"A-Alright then..."
"But tell me this," Shawn approached him while leaning towards Dave's ear, "Can you at least tell me how you managed to travel back in time and why you did it?"
"I think I may have a problem here..."
Returning to Ella and Samey, who were still searching the forest for the rest of the campers, they stumbled upon searching the treehouse next. They reached the surface where the steps to the tree house began when Samey stopped her as her mouth puffed up. "Oh...It's happening again! I'll be back!"
As Samey stopped by a nearby bush while vomiting, Ella took liberty reaching the treehouse top. While the rules state the campers were to hide at places accessible to Ella, she thought the tree would be a great hiding place. As she gazed at the interior, she felt a hint of nostalgia thinking about the times she spent with her friends sleeping and gossiping at night. Saying to herself, "Nothing seems out of the ordinary," scanning the beds and each bedsheet.
Something caught her eye when she spotted a strange object resting on one of the pillows. With a swift move, she grabbed what seemed like a worn leather notebook lying on a bed. Ella realized it must've been Scarlett's diary from where she recognized where she slept. At first, she hesitated. Ella knew reading Scarlett's diary could provide valuable information, which could help her reach out to Dave. But it would severely violate the sanctity of a girl's diary. The pressure was growing, so she opened it to the first page.
At first glance, it seemed ordinary as she said, "How enlightening, Scarlett has cleverly detailed her time on the island and even written some of her goals. Wait..."
The most horrifying truth came when Ella delved deeper into the next few pages. She found Scarlett's true feelings about the contestants, including her true goals. It caused her to feel anxious, followed by a hint of nauseous as the juggy chunks were taking effect in her stomach. Her calculated scheme and the malicious intent she planned from the start made Ella realize that Scarlett wasn't the person she pretended to be. She couldn't take it anymore, so she quickly closed the notebook and placed it between the pillowcase while containing the urge to vomit. Witnessing someone she thought was a friend display such dishonest behavior made her question.
As she was making her way out of the treehouse, a strange figure was seen perched up on top of a tree in the distance, holding up binoculars and aiming directly at Ella as it watched her making her descent to the surface. As it removed the binoculars, it was revealed to be Topher spying on Ella's discovery, "Heh, all according to plan..." he whispered.
-Confessionals-
Topher: "So Chris wanted me to shake things up in the game by discovering some dirt on the campers. While I was sneaking around the shelters, searching for some, I noticed Scarlett hid her diary containing some very...what's the word? Interesting stuff that would amp things up around here, so I placed it out in the open. That alone is enough drama juice to cause some damage!"
Ella: "Villians, every single one of them. Scarlett tricked us into being friends with her the entire time! Dave will be utterly heartbroken if he finds out."
"I've already gone this deep, so should I tell Shawn how I traveled through time? Oh, what the heck."
Dave spent nearly 15 minutes explaining his original run on Total Drama, his faulty romance with Sky, and even the event of Scarlett being a psychotic person on the inside. It led him to be shunned and hated by the community, which resulted in him taking a job at some scientific research facility. Shawn stood there, encaptivated in his story.
"...So, that pretty much sums it all." Once Dave finished off, he left Shawn completely dumbfounded.
"That's pretty genius; traveling through time through your past consciousness creates a paradox-free time travel experience!" Shawn grinned, explaining his outlook on time travel.
"It sure does...wait, paradox-free time travel?" The strange phenomenon Shawn described made Dave curious. "What does that even mean?"
Shawn pondered a little while before. "I'm not exactly an expert, but I've read in a book about time travel about how changing one thing can change everything."
"Go on..."
"Theory states that in a paradox-free time travel scenario, you could change as many events as you want," he continued, "But the catch is that the outcome remains the same."
His explanation almost made Dave anxious from his seat, "What do you mean, the outcome?"
Shawn sat idly as he thought up an example. "Say that your influence on Scarlett made her change her ways. Perhaps someone will take her place, threatening to blow the island up, or she still gets eliminated. No matter what you do, destiny always corrects itself..."
"So, no matter what I do, Scarlett's elimination would be inevitable? No! That couldn't be right...there are still things that I've changed! Maybe...I don't know anymore!"
With the dreadful look on Dave's face, he couldn't imagine all of his efforts would've been for nothing. Shawn patted him on the back to cheer him up. "Come on, all that mumbo jumbo is just some theory an old guy wrote about in a book. Maybe you could change the outcome?"
The camera jumps to Ella and Samey, hoping to find the rest of the campers peeking over trees and bushes. Despite feeling sick from the juggy chunks, they kept going like a champ. Ella suddenly noticed something unusual on one of the trees; a tall, dark figure standing straight with hands covering its greenish face. Ella recognized it as Jasmine and walked over to her. "Hello, Jasmine! You found a great hiding spot, but you're out now," she said with a smile.
"Shoot...good eyes, Ella." Jasmine eased off her posture as she separated herself from the tree, "I know where Dawn and Scarlett are."
Roughly further in the forest, Dawn and Scarlett were hiding in between bushes while they talked about their time on the island, "So, I heard you've kissed Dave for a challenge!" smiled Dawn.
"Y-Yes...I have..." Scarlett sheepishly blushed, completely embarrassed, "It was only a challenge, so It didn't mean anything."
"But I can tell he means so much to you," Dawn added, keeping the conversation going, "The kiss awoken new possibilities for your future."
"Future..." Scarlett groaned, keeping her stomach in check. "I'll be honest...I'm so jealous of you, Dawn."
Dawn pointed to herself while keeping up with them, "M-Me?"
"Y-You managed to... surpass all logical explanations...defy all meaningful calculations...and are better than me...in every way..." Scarlett humbly gave Dawn her honest opinion about her, "It's best...if...Dave gets to be with someone like you!"
This astonished Dawn, for Scarlett was willing to give up her love for Dave. As much as she couldn't stop thinking about Dave, it didn't feel right. She also had to remind herself what Dave thinks about all of this. "N-No! I don't deserve Dave as much as you do. He's a...kind and spirited person, and it would also be a bad omen if I would take him from you."
Too much of Scarlett's intricate mind, she was willing to be open-minded on spiritual senses, "Maybe I'll take your word for it. I'll tell Dave—"
"I've got you both!"
The two jumped up as they felt a hand placed on their shoulders. It turned out to be Ella's voice and hands, accompanied by Samey and Jasmine from behind her.
"Sorry guys, I just really want to get this over with soon," Jasmine had an apologetic face as she held her stomach.
"We don't blame you..." said Scarlett, who felt an intense pressure building up from her left shoulder. The culprit behind her pain was Ella, "Um...Ella, you're starting to hurt my left shoulder."
"M-Mine too." groaned Dawn.
Ella apologized, "Oh...I'm sorry, ladies..." with a hint of sarcasm as she roughly pulled her grip away from her and Dawn.
Just behind the princess was Samey, who turned to Jasmine's face as Jasmine whispered, "Ella is acting very tough all of a sudden."
"Yeah, it's scaring me too," whispered Samey.
"It's almost 2 hours until sunrise!" Chris loudly spoke on the intercom. "The boys are the only ones left!"
"Alright, ladies!" Jasmine quickly broke up the awkward silence from the group, "I have an idea where the guys are. Come quickly!"
-Confessionals-
Jasmine: "It's nice that Ella is getting tougher in the challenges, but now she's becoming a major threat to my game. I'll try to step up my game even if it means severing my relationship with Shawn."
"Me and Shawn are the only ones left who are it, and we need to be very careful not to make any noise...or else we'd be..."
"Shoot, I forgot!" Shawn gasped, "I told Jasmine about this cave being my go-to spot!"
"You're telling me she knows about this place?!" asked Dave, ignoring his ill stomach.
"Hey! We're coming for you, gentlemen!" the distinct voice of Ella echoed from the cave's entrance.
"Run..."
Dave and Shawn got up from their seats, trying to make a run for it. But Ella seemed to have some backup behind her. Scarlett, Dawn, Jasmine, and Samey closed in on them. "There's...nowhere to...run!" said Jasmine, slowly approaching the guys.
Shawn stepped back as he was completely horrified, "No...even worse than zombies...girl zombies! Dave. We need to maneuver past them somehow!" he pointed towards the exit behind the girls.
"They got us surrounded...there's no point!" Dave was giving up on the spot, "You go! You're faster than me."
Tension rose as Shawn was experiencing his absolute nightmare, trying to scuttle past the girls with quick reflexes. It wasn't enough, as the girls already circled them, "Sorry boys, your time ends here..." said Ella.
"Sorry...it would appear there's no...escaping this," Samey said, on the verge of vomiting.
Scarlett frowned as she apologized, "Sorry, Dave...forgive us for doing this..."
"No...please!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The air horn sounded off from Chris' hand as he approached the cave with the remaining seven campers, "Wow, I've never seen such a sad display for the boys. While they were tagged before sunrise, the one who still has immunity is...Ella!" proudly declaring the winner.
"Hooray! I've tagged all players!" Ella jumped up and down as she celebrated,
Jasmine praised Ella as she walked up to her, "I must say, Ella, you sure have stepped up your game after all," seeing Samey to the right, still nauseous on her face, "How are you holding up, Samey?"
"I'm...better..." groaned Samey, holding another wave of vomiting in her mouth.
"So anyways, back to the meeting area." Chris walked away from the cave, "We need to pump your stomachs."
"Since Scarlett never found the island's secret, it never malfunctioned like before. I guess this is good progress I'm making, but his theory on things remaining the same at the end still bothers me."
A grueling recovery later, all the affected campers recovered from their upset stomachs when they gathered around at tonight's elimination ceremony area with Chris holding up a plate of six marshmallows. Seeing the frightened faces of the campers, "Ella has immunity, so she's safe!"
"Yeah!" Ella happily caught her marshmallow in the air.
"As for the rest of you; Jasmine, Dawn, and Scarlett!"
The three received their marshmallows, making Shawn, Dave, and Samey anxious from their seats as they were left without any marshmallows.
"The next one to receive a marshmallow is...Dave" Chris tossed him the second to last marshmallow, "Which leaves off Samey and Shawn."
"So I did manage to save myself from elimination...but that would mean..."
Samey and Shawn shared the same biting lip face as they were the last ones left without a marshmallow. Jasmine couldn't bear to witness as she closed her eyes in panic. Dawn, Scarlett, and Ella anxiously watched from their seats. Chris slowly grabbed the last marshmallow using his left hand. "Shawn, you fight long and hard. But it seems your paranoia has gotten the best of you. "
He dropped to his knees as Shawn cried, "No...It can't be!"
"What? No!"
"Sorry to say, but you should tell Samey she's getting blasted by the cannon."
Soon, Chris tossed the last marshmallow to Shawn, and he grabbed it mid-air. Samey gasped, "I don't understand. I thought we agreed to vote for Shawn?" seeing the tall Australian covering her eyes.
Jasmine had guilt run down her throat, "I'm sorry, I just...couldn't see him go, not right now!" biting her lip as she faced Samey.
"But then, if you and guys voted for me. Who was the fourth one?" Samey turned to face Dawn, Scarlett, and Ella from their seats, "It has to be one of you that was the traitor!"
Standing up from her seat, Ella spoke up. "I was the fourth one to vote you off," frowning as the rest of the campers gasped.
She felt like being backstabbed by her friend Samey asked, "Ella, how could you?"
It wasn't until Ella gave her reason, "I treasured our time together, Samey. But you stayed on the dining table and were the first I've tagged." as she firmly spoke up.
"W-Well...I guess I couldn't argue with that," she was quick to accept her fate as Samey stood up. "Good luck on winning, everyone!"
With everyone saying their goodbyes to her, she was loaded into the cannon and fired off into the distance. While he was fortunate to save himself from elimination, something didn't sit right with Dave. It's like he was missing a key component that led up to the events of Scarlett threatening to blow up the island. Recalling his time watching the show, he could distinctly remember it as it hit him.
"I remember now! When Scarlett and Max messed with the island's internals, it caused the island to malfunction. That event led to Chris revealing the islands secret and the self-destruct sequence going off. Since she was busy with the girls, that event never happened. This means I have no idea what the next challenge is! I hope that Shawn's theory on time travel isn't true..."
As Dave reached his way past the elimination ceremony area, he was partially interrupted by Ella, who strategically tripped and grabbed Dave's arm, gagging. "Oh my...I apologized for my footing. I didn't mean to disturb you, Dave."
"You okay, Ella?" he was worried about Ella's well-being as he offered his left arm, "Want me to escort you back to your cabin?"
"That would be delightful, Dave..." she smiled.
-Confessionals-
Ella: "I've learned today that there is no girl fit for Dave's kind heart. None...except for me...I shall protect him until the very end! Starting with getting rid of the scourge that is Scarlett!"
Just as Ella wrapped her arms around Dave's left arm as she acted very harmless, Scarlett was behind them as she sighed, "Perhaps I should prepare myself until I tell him the truth. Isn't that right, Dawn?"
Walking beside her was Dawn, who showed an uneasy face as she muttered, "This isn't good..."
"What are you talking about?" asked Scarlett, looking concerned for her.
Dawn shook her head, "Nevermind, forget I said anything."
With the rest of the campers reaching their shelters, Chris was engaged in doing the outro, "The teams have merged, and only six campers remain. How will things play out in the next challenge? Who will be shot out next? Find out on Total Drama..."
But, his enthusiastic outro was immediately interrupted by Topher, holding up a ringing cell phone as he offered it to Chris, "Excuse me, sir. You have a phone call to a strange phone number."
Glancing over the caller ID, Chris recognized the number as he picked up his phone and answered, "What's up? I told you not to call unless you have an important...oh? Yes, everything seems to be functional...you want to do what for the next challenge?! Are you sure?! I won't be liable for any lawsuits, then! Will you come here to supervise it when things go terribly? As soon as possible? Alright, sir, you're the boss..."
Somewhere in a snowy environment, inside a complex underground facility, was a group of people in lab coats working on various experiments and research along the facility's many rooms. One older scientist, in particular, was just done speaking on the phone when he hung up while walking with one of the scientists by him. "Finally caught up with you, Dave..."
"Excuse me, sir," the scientist next to him flipped a few pages on his clipboard, "We still need to conduct some tests on your successful time travel run. You mention you are from two years in the future?"
"Please, no more questions. I've already been here this past week," the older scientist sighed, "How long before you prepare me a jet to the artificial island?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but it's currently being used in that reality TV show," said the young scientist. "The contract stated..."
But the older gentleman stopped him, "I must go to that island as soon as possible!"
"A-As you wish, Professor Schwaz..."