This chapter is mainly a product due to me hitting massive writers block for Noah's Gambit. Hopefully this fixes that!

Enjoy! :)

18 – Aftermath III: Aftermath Aftermayhem

Originally, Beth wasn't super bummed about not being on Total Drama World Tour. She had already made it to the finale once before; she had nothing left to prove.

But now, with the others for the second chance challenge eliminated and on the precipice of victory, excitement to compete came out of her with a roar, "I always get my man!" She threw the burlap sack with the Jack-The-Ripper lookalike inside towards Blaineley. "Now how about that question?"

Blaineley fell to the ground as the sack crashed down on her as Geoff walked in from behind the farm girl, "Well now ain't karma a real –

"That wasn't karma, it was bad aim." Blaineley cut the Party Guy off as she stood up, "Ugh, no time!" She pivoted towards the British guardsman, "Read the question!"

The guardsman patted himself down for a few moments to find his cue-card before he remembered where it was. Taking off his hat, he cleared his throat to prepare to read it before –

"Ugh!" Blaineley swiped it from him before turning to Beth, "What's the name of Duncan's London based punk band?"

[POINT OF DIVERGENCE INITIATED]

[BETH'S MEMORY IMPROVED]

"Der Schnitzel Kickers!" Beth yelped immediately without a second-thought. Then it happened. With a ding of approval and the falling of balloons and streamers, she had won it all.

"Congratulations, Beth! You just got a one-way ticket to the Total Drama plane!" Geoff knocked Blaineley out of the way and shook the petite girls hand.

"Yay! I knew you could do it bestie!" Lindsay ran over and gave her friend a giant-hug, stepping all over a fallen Blaineley in the process.

As the rest of the contestants rushed to congratulate her, trampling over Blaineley, the former finalist was instilled with a rush of excitement. This was an opportunity to see her friends again and win a million dollars!

No one noticed, or cared, that an injured Blaineley was lying on the ground, nor that Geoff took an inordinately long time to sign off the episode, which denied her her paycheck.

[DIVERGENCE COMPLETED]

[BETH REJOINED]

[BLAINELEY OUT]

[CONTINUING NARRATIVE FROM POINT OF DIVERGENCE]

19 – Niagara Brawls

After a near death experience with a waterfall, the seven remaining competitors were greeted with the news that they had reached the merge. Though before any of them could make any post-merge strategy, Chris announced that Beth would be joining the fray due to her winning the second chance challenge.

Initially, Alejandro tried to charm the farm-girl, but her now steady relationship with Brady allowed her not to fall into temptation and she swiftly rejected him. Seeing his fellow TDA finalist do this spurred Duncan on to drop playing buddy-buddy with Alejandro. Duncan partnered with her, bringing along Owen as well for a solid three-person alliance. The Latin started to sweat while Courtney and Heather were peeved that their mutual enemy in Beth was back. Cody was too busy to keep Sierra away from him to really notice.

This would prove hard for him to do, as the wedding pairs were:

Alejandro and Heather

Courtney and Duncan

Beth and Owen

Sierra and Cody.

The pre-challenge was uneventful, though the romance themed challenge caused Owen to be bummed about Izzy. In the end, despite Cody's best efforts, each pairing reached their wedding dresses to play for immunity.

Come the tightrope walk over the falls, Alejandro approached Heather with a deal. With the prospect of a solid three-way alliance between Duncan, Owen and Beth on the horizon, he proposed they target the fatso to disrupt it. Heather countered that Beth should go, but the Arch-Villain was confident she could still be manipulated by his charm in the future. Their argument caused them to fall early on.

Despite Beth trying to cheer Owen up over Izzy, his melancholy let him slip off the rope while Sierra and Cody were sent back due to her lunacy. Duncan and Courtney nabbed immunity in a non-climactic fashion, and jockeying for votes began.

If they couldn't get rid of Courtney, Duncan and Beth brought along a forlorn Owen to oust Alejandro.

But Al was too crafty. Convincing Heather, charming Courtney, and bearing witness to Sierra's "marriage" allowed Owen to be axed among saddened goodbyes.

Owen: 4 (Alejandro, Courtney, Heather, Sierra)

Alejandro: 3 (Beth, Duncan, Owen)

Sierra: 1 (Cody)

Elimination Order: Ezekiel, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna, Lindsay, DJ, Izzy, Tyler, Gwen, Owen.

First Class: Courtney, Duncan.

Economy: Alejandro, Beth, Duncan, Cody, Sierra.

20 – Chinese Fake Out

During the night of Owen's elimination, Beth noticed that Duncan was in a pretty bitter mood. It took some cajoling, but she eventually got the punk to admit that he felt bad about what happened with Gwen. During Australia, he had teamed up with Alejandro to feign jealousy over his flirting with Courtney in order to disrupt their team, inadvertently causing the goth to be booted.

Beth reassured him that upon watching the episodes for herself, Gwen didn't blame Duncan for her loss and wanted him keep his head held high to win it all. Beth easing his conscious allowed their unlikely friendship to strengthen, and both resolved to repeat Total Drama Action's finale by getting to the Final Two together.

Next morning, Alejandro continued to flirt with Courtney to secure her loyalty, earning Heather's ire while Cody grew increasingly desperate to get rid of Sierra.

During the race across the Great Wall, Duncan and Beth stayed close. Courtney taunted him from afar, and as much the punk wanted catch up and give her what for, he kept pace with his non-athletic partner. This, with Alejandro and Heather at loggerheads while Sierra deterred Cody, allowed the C.I.T to reach the finish line way ahead of the competition. [1]

The unhappy couples in Alejandro and Heather with Sierra and Cody came in eventually, but Chris rang the gong before Duncan and a worn out Beth could finish. The guilty farm girl apologized for holding him back, but Duncan told her not to sweat it.

For the eating challenge, Courtney claimed victory in a dominating fashion, earning her immunity.

For votes, Beth and Duncan grumbled that they still couldn't target the C.I.T. They decided to throw their lot in getting rid of Alejandro once more, hoping Heather might vote for him, as they saw their friction during the race on the wall.

But Heather, desperate on gaining an ally amongst the alliance duos of Beth/Duncan and Courtney/Alejandro, decided to vote for Sierra to secure Cody's loyalty.

Alejandro decided to gun for Duncan. He and Courtney were two votes, but he needed just one more. Remembering the punk nearly killing Cody in Australia, Alejandro went to Sierra privately and asked her for her vote to oust him. Doing this, he argued, would probably make Cody extremely grateful to her. The fangirl jumped at the chance.

In a stunning three-two-two vote, Duncan was sent packing. He wished Beth good luck, and the petite farm girl vowed vengeance against a now elated Courtney. She took Alejandro to First Class.

Duncan: 3 (Alejandro, Courtney, Sierra)

Alejandro: 2 (Duncan, Beth)

Sierra: 2 (Cody, Heather)

Elimination Order: Ezekiel, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna, Lindsay, Izzy, DJ, Tyler, Gwen, Owen, Duncan.

First Class: Alejandro, Courtney.

Economy: Beth, Cody, Heather, Sierra.

21 – African Lying Safari

Up in First Class, Courtney was riding on an incredible high. In her eyes, she whittled down the gargantuan finalist-trio alliance from two episodes ago into a single wimpy farmgirl, while finally getting revenge on Duncan in the process! It also didn't hurt that she found a new attractive love interest in Alejandro. In actuality, the Arch-Villain was simply feigning romance for her vote, but that was to be expected.

In Economy, Sierra tried to give Cody some tea she found in China, but Heather "accidentally" spilled it on the fangirl, needing her to go change. This moment of respite allowed Heather to reveal to him that she voted for Sierra the previous episode, and will continue to do so if Cody were to alignwith her. Cody said he stopped listening at "voted for Sierra" and agreed. Amidst the strategy, Beth was brooding to herself.

In order to gain slingshots to hunt down Ezekiel, the contestants had to score soccer goals against Chef. Alejandro and Courtney dominated and earned six trancballs and a slingshot each. Sierra managed to score three trancballs a slingshot, while Heather got only two trancballs. Cody and Beth were out of luck.

With Courtney and Beth getting into an argument early on and Heather having to stickclose to Cody in order to give him breathing room from Sierra, Alejandro nabbed the homeschooler and earned immunity.

For elimination, Alejandro wanted to weaken Heather. Seeing her try to make nice with Cody, he wanted to eliminate him to deprive her of an ally. It totally wasn't because he was jealous that she was focusing his attention on the geek and not him, right? Courtney, happy to get rid of Gwen's most ardent defender, agreed.

Sierra was mad that Heather was elbowing her out of Cody's orbit, and targeted her, while Beth voted for Courtney.

The vote resulted in a stunning 2-2-1-1 split, where instead of a tiebreaker, Chris announced that both Cody and Sierra would be eliminated to save money.

Cody: 2 (Alejandro, Courtney)

Sierra: 2 (Cody, Heather)

Courtney: 1 (Beth)

Heather: 1 (Sierra)

Elimination Order: Ezekiel, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna, Lindsay, Izzy, DJ, Tyler, Gwen, Owen, Duncan, Cody and Sierra.

First Class: Alejandro, Courtney.

Economy: Beth, Heather.

22 – Rapa Phooey!

Heather was reeling after Cody's departure; her last ally in the game was gone. It was also driving her crazy that Courtney had Alejandro up in First Class alone! Beth, despite her continued anger towards Courtney, seemed to pick up on this…

Once the Jumbo-Jet landed, the challenge itself proved to be largely uneventful. Alejandro and Courtney seemed to be locked at the hip, while Heather and Beth grudgingly stuck together. Through some cryptic comments, Beth got the Queen Bee to more or less admit her jealously over Courtney being with Alejandro so much. Once they all emerged from the cave, Courtney won immunity due to her singing skills lulling the condor.

Come the ceremony, Chris announced that it was a reward challenge and no one would be going home. Courtney once again brought Alejandro to First Class.

Elimination Order: Ezekiel, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna, Lindsay, Izzy, DJ, Tyler, Gwen, Owen, Duncan, Cody and Sierra.

First Class: Alejandro, Courtney

Economy: Beth, Heather.

23 – Awwwwww, Drumheller

Before they landed, Heather, swallowing her pride, went to Beth with an offer. While they hated one another, they both hated Courtney a heckuvalot more, and they should align temporarily to defeat her. Beth, wary of getting tricked by her again, told her she'd consider it if Heather admitted to her that she liked Alejandro. The Queen Bee refused.

Come Drumheller, Beth surprisingly won the advantage after assembling a wholesome dino shaped like her childhood pig, winning the jackhammer. Unfortunately, her small frame made it impossible to use. Heather also got trapped under one of the boulders that Chris and Chef were throwing, only to be spotted by Alejandro. After a duet, he rescued her before asking her in exchange not to vote for him. Heather seemed to agree, but no one noticed a struggling Beth with her jackhammer watching on from the background…

In the end, Courtney won immunity once more, and jockeying for votes commenced. With Courtney immune, Beth began to panic. Not wanting to let Duncan down, it was her turn to swallow her pride and go to Heather and try to revive their truce. But she was too late, and the farm girl was eliminated in a landslide.

Beth: 3 (Alejandro, Courtney, Heather)

Alejandro: 1 (Beth)

Elimination Order: Ezekiel, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna, Lindsay, Izzy, DJ, Tyler, Gwen, Owen, Duncan, Cody and Sierra, Beth.

Final Three: Alejandro, Courtney, Heather.

25 – Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles

Instead of boarding the Jumbo Jet, Chris tasked each of the Final Three to get to Hawaii for the finale on foot. But before he left to fly there with Chef and Beth, the farm girl let it slip to Courtney that Alejandro saved Heather from the boulder, and is probably harboring feelings from her as well. This spurned the C.I.T into a rage. She felt cheated by Duncan, and now she was "cheated" on by Alejandro!

This led to a vicious three way-race across the continental United States and Mexico by train and horseback while Chris, Chef and Beth watched from the Jumbo-Jet. Eventually, they made it to Tijuanna and the final stretch of the race: to get to Hawaii by motor-boat. Courtney got there first, and eventually after a hard fought race, Heather touched the beach slightly before Alejandro. The Final Two was now set.

Elimination Order: Ezekiel, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna, Lindsay, Izzy, DJ, Tyler, Gwen, Owen, Duncan, Cody and Sierra, Beth, Alejandro.

Final Two: Courtney, Heather.

26 – Aloha, Finale!

Courtney had been through a lot. Getting cheated on by Duncan was one thing, but finding out she was manipulated by Alejandro the whole latter half of the season was another. But she went on an impressive win-streak post-merge, and had her eyes set on the prize.

Heather clawed and scrapped her way to the finish. Fighting her feelings about Alejandro proved torturous, but now that he was out of the game she could finally play without distractions and win it all.

For helpers, Beth was the first one to shoot up her hand for Heather. The normally cheerful farm girl still had a grudge to settle with Courtney. Duncan jumped up to join her soon after. In a twist of fate, both TDA finalists would be competing in this season's finale after all. Courtney got a grudging Owen and an angry Eva for assistance.

It was a hard fought battle, with a confession of love from Alejandro and a surprising apology from Duncan, but in the end one of the girls threw their sacrifice into the volcano and was crowned the winner of Total Drama World Tour… before Ezekiel fell into the volcano with the million dollar case.

Winners: Courtney/Heather

Elimination Order: Ezekiel, Harold, Bridgette, Leshawna, Lindsay, Izzy, DJ, Tyler, Gwen, Owen, Duncan, Cody and Sierra, Beth, Alejandro.

Endnotes:

[1] - Duncan sticking by Beth causes him and Courtney not to argue on the Great Wall race. This causes Courtney not to hit the landmine which makes her not finish the race, which she does in canon.

Beth is one of my favorite Total Drama characters. Her cheery attitude and quirky personality always brightens my day when I watch the earlier seasons of the show. Her friendship with Duncan that developed in the finale of TDA is something I always loved seeing explored in fanfics. I can only hope I gave that aspect in this justice (in addition to the refrences to the friendship I have in Noah's Gambit.)

As for Noah's Gambit, I have about 5k words so far for the next chapter. Hopefully it will come out soon, but I can't make any promises.

I'm also planning to re-edit some older divergence fics to make them more concise and to possibly change the endings to them (especially chapters 1 and 3.) When that's done, I'm planning to port this story (along with my Owen/Gwen friendship oneshot) to AO3.

Oke doke, I have a shift at 8am tomorrow and it's currently 11pm so I have say goodnight, lol.

Have a good one! :D

-ewisko