Total Drama: Elemental Islands

by xmon323

In a bid to bring back the Total Drama Series, Chris has been brought on to host a new season alongside a brand new cast and set of islands. The Twist? Each island represents one of four elements, Fire, Water, Earth or Air. Which of the 18 new campers will come out on top? Find out by reading TOTAL! DRAMA! ELEMENTAL ISLANDS! (7/18)

20. E13 P2: The Elementum Islands Massacre

And I'm back with part 2! I hope you all enjoy this chapter... seriously I'm actually kind of worried abotu this one lol

---

The episode opens back up to the final three standing in the dark, the door swung open from Lauren's earlier freakout.

"Three of us," Susan sighs. "Great."

"And now that she's screamed and left the door open," Xavier begins, Carol quickly shuts it. "Are we still safe in here?"

"Look, I mean this in the nicest way possible," Susan begins. "It's a random building, they know this place already. No point in making us sitting ducks outside."

Xavier pauses, before saying, "Okay, so in that case, they probably want us outside, right?" After a moment's pause he adds, "Since there's only three of us left, they're gonna want us to get an image of who it is and do some big finale." He then shrugs, "or she, I guess."

"I kind of disagree," Carol admits. "I mean, we can do a final stand here, right? One of you gets the fire poker, the other gets the machete, and I'll just fight hand to hand."

"Oh, I think we should probably stay here too," Xavier admits. "I'm just giving their reasoning, but I'm fully on board staying here."

Susan looks confused. "Wait, so we all agree with each other?" the trio stand in an awkward silence before she simply asks, "Why are we arguing then?"

Outside the cabins, Katrina quickly takes off her mask, whispering, "We're losing them."

Chef rolls his eyes, "We need to draw them out then."

"Okay, any ideas?" Katrina questions him.

"How am I supposed to know? I just cook for you kids, I don't know what stuff you're all into."

Katrina pauses, stuck in thought.

"I guess you could try to draw them out," Chef thinks out loud. "Back in the war, when an enemy platoon hid in the trees. We mocked them and they-."

"Okay, I get it," Katrina cuts him off. "Mock them and draw them out, that works. I don't know two of them but I can figure something out." She then puts her voice changer back on, Chef following suit.

Confessional:

Chef:

Chef sits, in his regular attire, commenting, "One time… ONE TIME, I want one of them to listen to a full story." He then shakes his head. "When can we get that cadet kid back? He'd listen."

Confessional Ends:

Inside the building, Carol shifts in her leaning position. "They've… gotten quiet."

"Yeah, a bit too quiet if you ask me," Xavier admits. Susan grimaces in agreement.

"Maybe they've left?" Carol's face shows a small amount of hope.

"Not quite!" Katrina, now under the voice changer, yells. "Really though, I don't know if I want to deal with you three." With a chuckle, she continues, "I saw your files while I was away."

"Oh, how terrifying," Susan sarcastically responds.

"Susan, isn't it?" Katrina begins. "You're weak, you'll always be weak, intelligence isn't a crutch unless you're actually polite about it, and you're not. I don't have much else for someone else as boring as you."

"B-boring!?" Susan yelps in confusion. "What? Y-you can find other stuff to insult me with!"

"And by process of elimination that leaves Carol and Xavier, right? I'll start with Mrs Crazy."

"I don't think that's-," Carol begins.

"Is there something mentally wrong with you? I can see your costume right now, and yikes it doesn't look good on you. I'd be able to make a better getup blindfolded. And at least I don't run around pretending to be a superhero after voting off my best friend's boyfriend, right?"

Carol looks downwards, and Susan's confusion turns to a deep glare at the wound being reopened.

"Xavier's last, right?"

"N-no, I'm Gary!" Xavier begins.

"Don't lie. You're basically the exact same, but I know it's you." Xavier looks up annoyed. "I thought you were just crazy like the girl, but no, you're an idiot who worked with another idiot when you knew he was a jerk. You're a follower, not a competitor."

"Okay, so are all of these going to be personal?" Xavier questions.

"Oh, I'm not personal enough yet. How about your boyfriend? The one we killed? Wonder if you got a kiss from him?"

This causes Xavier to glare, the comment striking a nerve. Elsewhere in the loser's tent, Jake frowns.

Confessional:

Xavier:

"Yep, it's personal now," Xavier glares. "Don't bring Jake into this!"

—-

Jake:

"Bringing me into this? Really?" Jake grimaces. "That was so unnecessary."

Katrina:

"Okay… maybe I got a bit too into the killer role this challenge…."

Confessional Ends:

Chef quickly stops Katrina from continuing, saying, "Okay, that's enough," in a hushed whisper. Morgan also walks over to join them.

"That's it!" Xavier yells, "Challenge or not, I'm ending this."

Carol and Susan quickly pull the Method Actor away, however, he pulls the duo out the door with him. "It's what they want," Carol quickly says.

"You're an idiot if you're running towards them!" Susan adds.

Xavier continues, anger flashing. "I don't care, I have an idea of who the killer might be anyway, and I'm ending this stupid challenge… then punching them in the face!"

Susan flares up, letting go of Xavier, who also stops as Carol falls to the ground. "Oh great, you've got a death wish."

"Shouldn't it be a challenge wish? You're so insistent on saying it's a challenge!"

"It's a figure of speech!" Susan responds. "You get what I mean!"

Carol jumps up, yelling between them. "Please shut up!" The pair look at her, as Carol says, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're both acting like five-year-olds!" She groans, before continuing. "Finish the challenge, attack the killer, hide, I don't care, but seriously we've been at each other's throats all challenge with these snippy comments, and I just want us all to stop fighting!"

Xavier pauses, taking a deep breath, beginning to calm down. "Okay… yeah, that's… that's fair."

Susan looks up at Carol, a furious, but also saddened expression in her eyes before she walks away.

"Susan?" Carol walks towards her.

"I don't want to talk to you," Susan grimaces.

Carol pauses before she gains an annoyed expression. "Well, you're gonna have to at some point."

"And that point is not now."

"Why not?" Carol rolls her eyes. "It's you, me and Xavier. I'm sure Xavier won't mind us talking."

Confessional:

Carol:

The superhero pauses before admitting, "I'm getting a bit impatient. I've felt like crap ever since the elimination last time, and honestly, I'm sick of it. We need to solve our issues, whether we stay allies or not." She grimaces, "Also, I'm a little more on edge after Bob got taken… he's probably fine, but there's that small, less than one percent chance…."

Confessional Ends:

Susan turns around, saying, "Maybe stop trying to force a conversation on me and I'd feel better!"

"I'm not trying to force anything!" Carol defends herself.

"Literally every chance you've got you've tried to talk with me. Maybe I need time and space Carol."

Xavier quickly steps forward, saying, "Look, girls I…."

"NOT NOW!" Both girls yell at him, still engrossed in their fight.

"Okay, whatever," Xavier shrugs.

"The more you force the apology, the more it reeks like fake desperation!"

"Do you really think this is fake?" Carol responds. "I'm not an actor, I can't fake it!"

Xavier listens out, hearing rustling in the bushes around him. After a moment where he pauses to listen, his eyes widen as he says. "Look, girls, can we just get back to the fight later? The uh… the killers are coming."

"Let them!" Susan yells. "I'm sick of this challenge."

Xavier shrugs, before jumping into the bushes.

It's Carol's turn to glare at Susan. "I'm reaching my limit here."

Susan pauses, slightly deflating as she says, "Just… just go work with Lauren. She's a better friend to you than I ever was."

Carol's eyes widen in confusion, however, Susan's eyes go even wider. Carol tilts her head as a shaking finger is pointed behind her.

"No, no, keep fighting please," Katrina, as Head Honcho states. The rest of the killers surround them.

Xavier, from inside the bush, quickly crawls away from the situation.

"Oh no," Carol begins as she turns around.

Head Honcho scoffs, before adding, "I don't want to get in the way of this really important chat."

Carol glares, before stepping ahead. "Let me deal with them."

"Handsome," Head Honcho comments, annoyed. "You're up."

"Great, I've been waiting for this one." One of the bigger figures steps ahead, a glare evident.

"Bring it!" Carol yells.

A shorter, lankier killer runs at Susan, who quickly hits him on the head with the fire poker.

"OW!" They yell as Susan holds it, shaking like a leaf.

Handsome runs over to Carol, who ducks down, grabbing her attacker's leg, before lifting him above her head, and slamming him to the ground.

"Kata guruma," Carol spits. "Not quite allowed in Judo anymore, but I'll take what I can get. How's that for crazy."

"N-not again," they mutter, which Carol hears.

"Again?" The Superhero asks.

"Your actor buddy did it," Head Honcho quickly says.

Susan turns her head around, questioning, "Xavier?"

"No, the one we killed."

"Gary?" The superhero's expression oozes confusion. "Are you seriously telling me Gary did this to you at some point?"

An awkward silence befalls everything as Head Honcho balks for a few seconds.

"He's a quick learner?" After another few seconds of silence, Head Honcho adds, "Look, Burly, grab the other one."

"No!" Carol yells, quickly moving over in front of Susan, still holding the fire poker in her hands.

Susan quickly pokes at the opponents in front of the two girls, commenting, "Hey, so uh… don't I get a say in this? Because that thing about ending the challenge… emotions were high and.-"

Susan is cut off as Katrina quickly grabs her, dropping the fire poker to the ground. "Psyche!" She yells.

Carol then grabs Morgan, causing her to yell, "Not on my watch!"

Confessional:

Susan:

"Okay, if I had a nickel for every time I was held hostage this season, I'd have two nickels… which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

Confessional Ends:

The pair stare at each other as Susan and Morgan struggle.

"Let. Her. Go." Carol stares with fury in her eyes.

"I would…," Katrina begins through the voice changer. "But I've got three." She then looks down, seeing one on the ground, rubbing his head. "Two, other people here to take you out, so see ya." They then walk away, a struggling Susan in tow.

"No, w-wait, let me… let me figure out who you are first!"

Chef and an intern stand in front of Carol, stopping her from going after the leader of the group.

Carol stares intently before she closes her eyes for a moment. After quickly tying Morgan to a tree and going to her utility belt, she says, "When evil rises, one hero is there to face the forces of darkness. A light, to shine hope onto the sleepy streets below. Who is that hero?" The rhetorical question gets no response. "I'll tell you… That hero is, THE GOLDEN SWAN!"

Carol runs over to the smaller target, as they back up quickly. Carol quickly punches them in the gut, knocking them immediately to the ground, as Chef grabs her.

"I thought you'd… ketchup to me!" Carol yells as she grabs the condiment in question, tearing off the top of the packet and sending the sauce into her attacker's eyes.

"Ah!" he yells as Carol falls out of their arms, Leaping up to kick her foe. Unfortunately, Chef grabs her leg, dropping her to the ground again.

"Stay down," Chef responds. "You're done."

This gets Carol to stand up, her arms prepared. Through deep breaths she says, "I can do this all day." She then pulls out her flashlight, shining it in the opponent's eyes, before landing two karate chops and a punch on the mask. The final hit staggers him for a split second.

"That's it," Chef begins to say, the voice box crackling from the damage of the last punch.

Confessional:

Chef:

"She got one good hit on me," the co-host glares. "She's done."

Confessional Ends:

The co-host lifts Carol up by her right arm, smacking her onto his shoulder. "No! I'm so close to figuring it out!"

---

Susan gets dropped onto the ground, standing up to see the rest of the losers staring at her.

"I'm… I'm out?"

"Yeah," Katrina says, pulling her mask off. "And honestly, I expected you to figure this one out if I didn't go for you straight away."

Susan rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment, quietly commenting, "If you gave me five more minutes…." Chef then walks in next, dropping Carol to the ground.

"Two losers for the price of one?" Chris smirks at this. "Great! Only one person left then! Get back out there."

"Yeah," Chef notes, annoyed. "I'll need another voice box, the girl punched it and it isn't working anymore."

"We don't have another one," the host glares, before sighing, annoyed. "Whatever, fine, you're not needed in the challenge anymore." Chef then looks down at Carol, before growling.

"One more hit on me and I make your meals, especially for you, am I clear?"

Carol, realising what the co-host's threat is, quickly says, "Crystal!"

Taking the opportunity, Chris quickly butts in. "And we're down to one! Will Lauren be our only immune camper? Or will Xavier join her?"

---

Xavier pokes his head out of the bush he's in, crawling over to the dropped fire poker, before picking it up.

"Hey uh…," Xavier looks up to see the tied-up figure Carol disposed of before. "Can you uh… can you let me go?"

Xavier blinks a couple of times, before saying, "... no." However, he pauses for a moment, seeing the two killers in front of him, still stunned on the ground.

Confessional:

Xavier:

"They've been there for like, five minutes at this point. Either they're really weak or they just… don't want to deal with this." She shrugs, "Either way, I completely understand."

Confessional Ends:

The method actor leans down, pulling off the masks of the two interns, nodding in satisfaction before turning around. "And if that's those two… you're probably…," Xavier then pulls off Morgan's mask. "Bingo."

"Just untie me dude…," Morgan groans.

"I… don't know if I can do that," Xavier admits back. "Don't want you to sneak up on me when your boss comes back." Morgan groans in defeat at this.

Meanwhile, Katrina approaches her final target, faking deep breaths.

Xavier looks around, hearing the breath.

Inside the loser's tent, Jake looks ahead with a concerned expression, saying, "She's behind you, behind you, Xavier!"

"He can't hear you," Susan notes, bored.

Jake rolls his eyes at this comment, before saying back, "But I can show support, right?"

Over with Xavier, he quickly turns around, seeing Katrina, dressed as Head Honcho standing in front of him. The girl then looks around, seeing her teammates with their masks off. "And you've taken their masks off…."

"Yep," Xavier nods. "And I have a sneaking suspicion on who you are too."

"You get one minute," they say back.

"Well, you know about Jake and I dating. Sure it's a pretty open secret at this point, but it's not likely to be something you'd know straight up if you were an actor brought in from something else. Chris also mentioned eliminated campers returning so seeing as the eight of us aren't the killers, it's likely to be one of you guys if it isn't production."

At the loser's tent, everyone looks around, confused.

"You mentioned that?" Jake asks the host.

"Off-handedly," Chris admits.

Lauren nods along, joining in, "Yeah, I heard it too."

Back with Xavier, the killer prompts more out of him. "Yeah?"

Xavier steps back, before continuing. "Lauren mentioned the killer being someone using female pronouns, she said she. Targeting Jake, in my place, Jemma, Gary in the first half of people targeted… that's all members of the lions or representations of the people that voted one specific female camper off..." Xavier smirks. "Either way, challenge or somehow serious, I'm about to see Jake again, but considering all that, and your general build, you have to be… Katrina."

A few seconds pass as everyone in the area stands silently, before Katrina pulls off her mask, slowly clapping. "You got me," Katrina admits. "Though, to be fair, for the wrong reason. I didn't go after Jake, Jemma and Gary specifically, they were just easier to target, and those other two were taken by Chef and Morgan anyway."

Xavier pauses, before shrugging. "Well, do I get the win anyway?"

An awkward silence fills the area before Katrina nods back. She then asks, "Was I that obvious?"

"Not really," Xavier admits. "I just picked up on some of the context clues cause I'm both an actor and a horror movie buff."

Katrina then clutches the bruise Bob gave her earlier, "Alright, let's finish this stupid challenge, I want to be out of here."

---

Xavier, Katrina and the two minor interns walk into the tent, Xavier quickly high-fives Jake.

Chris smirks as he turns around to address the people there. "And with that, the challenge comes to an end!"

The camera pans across everyone. Carol looks downwards in disappointment, Bob and Susan look impatiently at Chris, Jake, Xavier and Lauren all smile while Gary glares in Lauren's direction.

"Lauren! Xavier! Both of you have immunity tonight, and will be kickin' it in the final seven!" With a chuckle, Chris continues, "As for the rest of you. We'll be finding out who's going home tonight during our first merge elimination!"

"Ahem," Everyone's attention is drawn to Katrina. "Am I getting out of here or what?"

Chris quickly calls out, "And say hello to pre-merger cameo number one, Katrina! As the killer!"

"Seriously," Gary asks. "When did you even mention the losers returning?"

"I heard it," Xavier quickly jumps in.

"That's how we found out," the theatre kid says back.

"I said it," Chris shrugs. "Not my fault most of you didn't listen to the obvious clue I left for you guys. Anyway, look out for the rest of the pre-mergers returning for challenges during the rest of the season."

"That's why I got it over with as soon as possible," the former intern admits with a shrug. "No point having me deal with this in like, the final four."

"Alright, whatever," Chris shrugs his shoulders. "Campers! Get out of here!" The eight players all take this opportunity to leave, with Chef following after them.

"Seriously," Katrina jumps back in for a response. "When am I going?"

Rolling his eyes, the host clarifies. "Eh, we'll take you back on the boat tonight. Up to you whether or not you watch the elimination." He then turns to the other interns, "Hey, Mr 'literally did nothing in the challenge,' one and two! Get Morgan and clean up the fake blood."

"I… I did stuff," the shorter, more overweight intern comments. "I jumped at Bob…."

"Yeah, and I got hit by a fire poker," the other complains.

"Does it look like I care?" Chris next asks. "I want it cleaned by tonight, we only did it for the one spot anyway."

"Eh, I'll go with you guys," Katrina shrugs. "I've been meaning to talk to Morgan for a while."

The three then walk out, before the scene changes to Gary, who grabs Lauren. "You. Me. Chat. Now." The superfan raises an eyebrow, before following along.

Gary glares, before saying, "You really could have helped me out back there when you winded me."

"I wanted to win the challenge as much as you did," Lauren admits with a shrug. "It's not my fault you were underneath me in that net."

"Maybe you shouldn't get on my bad side?" Gary glares, however, Lauren refuses to back down.

"Or what? You'll send your nonexistent allies after me?" Lauren bursts out laughing, "Buddy, send me home next time and you're coming fifth at best, and that's only because you stole my idol."

"What makes you so sure I can't just think my way out?"

"How many allies can you reasonably get at this point?" Lauren decides to question back. "You've burnt pretty much all bridges with everyone but me. I've burnt a few myself, but I'm not in too bad of a position compared to you." She then chuckles, "Anyway, I have immunity tonight, you don't."

After a few seconds where the pair glare at each other, Gary sighs. "Whatever, we need a target tonight. I'm gonna be voted for."

Lauren chuckles. "Well, we don't need to get five votes on our side. Split the votes up among several people, and we can make do with three or four."

"Cute idea," Gary rolls his eyes. "How are we gonna do this though?"

Lauren pauses, a smirk forming on her face as she says, "I have… a few ideas."

Confessional:

Lauren:

"Call me dumb, but it's the start of the merge, and I need to make a big move to solidify myself as a villain." She then looks at the camera seriously. "The only eliminations I've one hundred percent caused at this point are Richard and Rory. If you're willing to stretch you can include Morgan and Nadia if you really want to, but I'm not even sure I'm willing to give myself that."

Lauren smiles at the camera, before saying, "I don't want to just be that villain that did basically nothing. I'm here for the experience, and hopefully the money, and I'm gonna get that experience!"

Confessional Ends:

The ending buzz of the confessional changes the scene to Katrina and her friends walking over to Morgan. Entering the clearing, they notice Carol and Bob, the former having just untied the perfect guy, who is now sitting against the tree. The superhero puts her rope back on her utility belt. "There you go!" Carol smiles before the pair walk off and Katrina's trio walk over.

"Not so perfect after all, eh?" Katrina snarks. Morgan simply stands up, going to walk away. Katrina then walks next to him before saying, "You're just gonna let him walk all over you like that? Heck, you don't even know what Chris wants right now."

"I'm doing it for the same reason you were," Morgan growls back.

The girl shrugs back. "Fair, but have you even signed a…," the girl shudders before saying the next word, "contract. Didn't you just join in?"

"What of it?"

Katrina groans, before explaining further. "So if you haven't signed your paper thingie."

"Contr-."

"Don't finish that word!" The former intern quickly yells over Morgan. "I hate that word!" She folds her arms before continuing. "Since you don't have it, what's stopping you from just walking? I'm sure Otis and Norville would both love to quit if it wasn't for their… you know what I mean, heck, they'd probably cheer for you."

"I'm causing drama!" Morgan quickly states, to which Katrina raises an eyebrow.

"You are? What have you done then?"

Morgan sweats, before saying, "I uh… I gave Lauren the votes from Myron's elimination the day after! She knew from there that Jake and Nadia voted for her."

Katrina nods. "Okay, that's pretty good. Anything else?"

Morgan stutters a bit more, before saying, "I told Gary about Lauren's idol this morning?"

"Wow, two things, good job."

"Well, at least I'll still be on camera!" Morgan reasons back, before Katrina simply laughs at him.

"One intern to another?" Katrina begins. "You'll be in the background all day. I talked with the campers during Revenge, All Stars and Pahkitew, heck, I even gave Scott a clue about the McLean brand head placement in Revenge that he promptly didn't get but still succeeded in finding anyway. None of that was on screen. Chris isn't gonna give you a chance. If you want to be something, then quit and try to use your time on the show as a springboard for success."

The girl then smirks, before adding. "Well okay, your screentime might involve you getting hurt or angry at Chris, but that would go against your perfectness, right?"

Katrina then walks away, Otis and Norville behind her as Morgan is left, frozen in his tracks.

Confessional:

Morgan:

"N-no… no! She's wrong! I can get my screentime on this show! I-I know it!" The egotist then scoffs, "Anyway, I have deals with two contestants with a cut of the cash if they win! And I always pay back what I owe."

Confessional Ends:

As everyone makes it to the end of Air Island and starts to leave, Jake and Xavier quickly step away.

"That could have gone better," Xavier admits. "They barely listened to me out there."

"Tell me about it," Jake rolls his eyes. "Happens practically all the time back at home." With a smile, Jake adds, "Hope you enjoy the spa hotel."

"Oh I'm going to," the method actor chuckles back. He then looks up seriously, before asking, "Are you sure you'll be safe tonight?"

"Eh, I didn't get far enough to be a challenge threat and I'm pretty well-liked, I think I'm in the clear tonight." The pair smile, before Jake adds. "Anyway, I've gotten myself a talk with Bob, he'll see me when he's ready. Hopefully, I can get him to be a bit more willing to talk with you."

"Seriously?" Xavier looks up in confusion before he smiles.

"That's the good thing about losing a challenge early. You can focus on the social game a bit more."

Xavier pauses, before saying, "As for the target tonight… well Gary's basically a freebie."

"Agreed," The leader chuckles. "Still, it's Bob's choice. If he picks someone else, I'll try to tell you before we get to the elimination, alright?"

Xavier nods back as the two then walk off.

Having walked behind a tree, Jemma pokes her head out, commenting, "Gary it is then…."

The boys turn to each other, and Jake asks, "Jemma was watching us, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, but she hates Gary, she's not gonna tell him, even if they voted together."

Later in the day, Lauren sits on a bench, looking out at the island. She looks around, before noticing Carol. "There she is," the fangirl mutters, before standing up.

Carol looks over at her, before saying, "Oh uh… hey Lauren."

"You alright?"

Carol looks around awkwardly, before saying, "I… yeah, I guess."

Lauren frowns, before saying, "It's just that it doesn't really seem like it."

The superhero pauses a few moments, before saying, "Yeah… I'm alright," Carol begins to walk away.

"If you really don't want to tell me what's wrong, then I can't help you, Carol."

Carol frowns, before asking, "Look, I feel really awful about the Susan situation."

"With how awful she is, I don't know why you feel bad." This causes Carol to glare.

"She's still human." Carol then frowns. "Anyway, I am…," she quickly stops herself. "I was friends with her, she's mad at me, and it is annoying me a little, but well… I did her wrong to be completely honest. I mean, I voted out Rory when they'd just gotten back on track."

Lauren pauses, unsure of how to respond.

Confessional:

Lauren:

"I fully expected guilt," Lauren admits. "Still, she seemed apprehensive to talk to me." Lauren pauses to think. "That… mixed with earlier and those alliance comments… isn't good."

Confessional Ends:

"I mean, you still have me," Lauren smiles. "Anyway, just get Susan out now and you can talk it out with her after the season if you want. She needs space away from Total Drama."

Carol looks downward, annoyed at the comment. She groans, before saying, "When Morgan was eliminated, you mentioned that you were in an alliance with Susan… was that true?"

Lauren recoils at this, before responding, "Of course I was telling the truth! Why would I lie to you anyway?" She then shrugs, "Maybe you're just being paranoid?"

"Maybe…," Carol mutters. "Morgan and Richard?"

"All Susan's idea," Lauren shrugs. "She strong-armed me into voting them out of fear for my game."

"And if we voted Susan today, who'd the target after that be?"

"Why are you asking me so many questions?" Lauren decides to ask back.

"It's a simple question, Lauren."

The fangirl scoffs, before saying, "I dunno, maybe someone like Jemma or Xavier?" After a moment, she adds, "Actually, Bob's a physical threat, so I'm willing to vote him out."

"No! Not Bob!" Carol quickly jumps up, causing Lauren to raise an eyebrow, barely containing her smirk. Carol quickly clears her throat before saying, "Bob is someone we can work with!"

Lauren pauses, before walking over and putting her hand on Carol's shoulder. The superhero recoils slightly, which the fangirl notices.

"Are you hiding something?" Lauren asks.

"N-no!" Carol quickly stands up, taking a few deep breaths.

"Well alright," Lauren shrugs. "If you ever need someone to talk to about anything… then I'm right here, okay, we're best friends, right?"

Carol turns around, before saying, "One more question."

"Sure?"

"Had you been eliminated now… how'd you feel? I know you have immunity, it's just hypothetical."

Lauren pauses, before saying. "Well, I'd be crushed. It's my first season… I have to make the final five, don't I? If I joined the game as a fan of the show and didn't make it to the final five It'd be really disappointing."

Carol frowns, saying, "Okay…." Before walking off. Lauren's face turns slightly surprised, but also nervous.

Confessional:

Carol:

"That was really weird," Carol looks around shocked for a moment. "Lauren saying I'm being paranoid? She was also pretty forceful on her wanting Susan out." Carol looks around for a few moments before she pales. "Am I being paranoid? Or… or is Lauren trying to play me now?" She frowns. "All I know at this point… is I need to talk to Bob."

—-

Lauren:

"Carol's always been either a consistent vote on my side or at least someone who can stop me from being the target… she's… not usually this jumpy around me." The fangirl raises an eyebrow. "Maybe I just need to… I need to get her vote in my corner, and that means I need to pull out the big guns. She said something about a boyfriend, right? And then that fear about Bob being targetted."

Confessional Ends:

Lauren quickly walks up to Gary, currently putting a towel down in a basket and whistling. The fangirl grabs his arm before pulling him away, "Change of plans! We're grabbing binoculars." She quickly says as the actor yelps in surprise.

Standing slightly away from the pair, Jemma smirks, following after them.

Confessional:

Jemma:

"Wow, people aren't noticing me right now…," she then chuckles. "Hey, it helps me stay on top of the game at least."

Confessional Ends:

Meanwhile, Carol walks over to Bob, she jumps up to tap him on the shoulder, asking, "Can we talk for a few minutes?"

"Sure," Bob nods back. He quickly notices Carol's expression, causing him to quickly say, "Let's sit down."

The pair sit down out of view of everyone. Bob puts his hand on Carol's back. "So… what's happening?"

Carol pauses, before sighing. "At this point, the only people I trust fully are you and Jake. I think Lauren might be playing me too."

Bob pauses, before saying, "What did she do?"

"She's trying really hard to guilt trip me," Carol notes. "I mean if I could notice it… it's pretty obvious."

Bob's expression darkens, a glare forming, before he says, "What's her endgame?"

"Huh?"

"Her plan," Bob elaborates. "If she's guilt-tripping you, it has to be for some reason. Getting your vote for the elimination, or a consistent thing."

The superhero groans at this, before saying, "If you're saying what I think you're saying… she did talk me into voting for Rory last elimination as well."

"That's not good," Bob responds.

Confessional:

Bob:

"Seriously? Susan and Lauren?" He then sighs. "I had a bad feeling about Lauren anyway; I should have brought this up earlier."

Confessional Ends:

"And since she's immune, we're not gonna be able to hit her back," Bob grimaces.

Carol looks around awkwardly before saying, "Honestly, I don't know if I would have wanted to vote for her tonight." Carol looks directly at Bob before saying. "I mean, we're friends, or at least I thought we were… she's being weird but why would I do something like that?"

Confessional:

Bob:

"Well okay, I can work on helping her become more confident in her flip after tonight's elimination."

Confessional Ends:

"Now I feel even worse about Susan!" Carol begins to sob. Bob lets her cry into his shoulder.

Lauren and Gary watch from the top of the hill. The latter looking genuinely surprised at this. "That's new."

"Yeah," Lauren groans. "And from the bits I could hear of that chat… they're starting to catch on to me."

"That's what happens when you overplay your hand," Gary comments off-handedly. "Should have just gone simple on her."

"She was avoiding me," Lauren grumbles, "I had to get her somehow."

Gary pauses, thinking. "Anyway, crying into him means one of two things… close friends, or a couple."

"And I have an idea on which it is… did you hear what she muttered from the loser's tent?"

"I saw you and Xavier confused for a moment, but not what she said."

"Good to know," Lauren nods back.

Back down with the lovebirds, as Carol stops sobbing, Bob decides to talk to her. "I get feeling bad about the Susan situation, but in all honesty, with how she's acting to you… does she deserve an apology from you?"

"Yeah, she does!"

Bob pauses. "I wasn't on your team, I didn't really talk with Susan all that much, so I'm just saying this from an outside perspective. I get being distrustful, sad, and all that, but that's all she's focusing on right now. I mean, she could still try to listen to you if you have anything to say, right?"

Carol looks down, stuck in thought.

Confessional:

Bob:

"Am I being hypocritical with the Xavier situation?" The giant decides to question. "I don't know the answer to that one in all honesty. The difference I see between us though is that yeah, he hurt me, yeah I've distanced myself a little, and yeah, it's a little frosty… but I'm willing to listen to him in situations where his expertise is needed, like in the challenge tonight. I can honestly see myself getting over it once the game is over as well."

"I do genuinely still give him the time of day and want to be friends with him, even if what he did hurt, but Susan is so single-mindedly focused on the betrayal, that she's not even trying to think anything aside from 'I'm hurt, I'm betrayed.'" Bob thinks back, an embarrassed look on his face. "Which was basically how I was at the start of the game the more I think about it…."

Confessional Ends:

Carol frowns. "I'll… think on it."

Bob pauses, before adding. "If you do want to forgive her, then I think I'll give you back some advice you gave me a little bit ago. Things take time. If Susan is reasonable it might take a little while, but you might just have to give her some space for now."

Carol nods back, saying, "Yeah…." She then looks up, smiling, "That's a good point. Thanks past me."

The giant then chuckles, before the two lean in and kiss.

From the top of the hill, Gary, Lauren and Jemma from behind a few trees, watch on, focused.

"That's enough," Gary nods. "Yeah, they're a couple."

Lauren looks over at Gary, saying, "Yep, and they've been keeping it secret from the lot of us."

"This is very interesting." The stage actor stands up, walking away as Lauren follows after. The latter looks over in Jemma's direction, causing the Journalist to gasp.

Confessional:

Jemma:

"Carol and Bob? I… I genuinely didn't expect that. I guess I have to keep my knowledge of the pair a secret now."

Confessional Ends:

Lauren quickly leans in and whispers to her alliance member, "Get the boys, let them find out about this. Jemma followed us, that'll just leave Susan to find out last." Gary nods before walking away.

Jake and Xavier sit at a bench, a good distance away from what just happened. "So that's why Oliver and Mick got banned from the prop room!" Both men burst out laughing.

"I hope the janitor was alright," Jake admits after finishing his laughter.

Xavier shrugs, "Oh he's fine, just a little shaken up."

"That's a relief at least." The two boys then look over to see Gary standing in front of them.

"Hey!" Gary gives a pained smile to the pair.

Jake turns to his boyfriend, commenting, "I wonder who he wants us to vote."

"Yeah, we're not on board," Xavier turns back.

"I'm not here for a vote," Gary quickly says. "I just want you guys to follow me." This causes Jake and Xavier to look at each other.

Xavier decides to ask, "Should we go?" To Jake.

Jake pauses, thinking before saying, "Eh, sure, why not." The two guys stand up, following Gary.

Further away, Susan looks over, seeing the trio walking away, before muttering, "What's going on here?" as she follows them.

Bob and Carol still sit on the bench, before Carol sighs. "Maybe… you are right with Susan… I need to leave her alone for a little while if I want things to get better. Stuff takes time, and I'm going to need to let her cool off before we talk." She then pauses, "Maybe at the final six or something."

"That sounds good to me," Bob smiles at Carol, as the pair look at each other.

After a moment they lean in, giving each other a kiss….

…

As Lauren walks around the corner, seeing their lips locked.

"What the?" Lauren balks at the duo.

The pair look up at her, eyes widened,

Confessional:

Bob/Carol:

In a split-screen confessional, Bob sits on the left, while Carol sits on the right. Simultaneously, they both say, "Oh… crap."

Confessional Ends:

Carol shoots up out of her seat, saying, "You have to keep this a secret!" She then walks over to Lauren.

"I'm… what!?" Lauren sputters out fake confusion.

"Seriously," Carol begins. "It's a secret, don't spill this to anyone… if we are still friends, you'll keep it a secret."

"Spill what?" This time, it's Bob's turn to gain a horrified expression. Gary stands on the other end of them.

"You," Bob turns around as Jake and Xavier both back away, giving each other a nervous expression.

Gary raises an eyebrow, before explaining, "With how shocked she is, I'm guessing it's something."

"You and… Bob?" Lauren sputters. Carol's eye twitches in fear.

Behind everyone else, hiding against the cabin, Jemma leans, eyes widened.

Confessional:

Jemma

"If you told me at the start of the game I'd be on 'sneaking in the background' duty after a challenge, I wouldn't believe you."

Confessional Ends:

"Shut up," Carol quietly says through gritted teeth.

"Carol and Bob?" Gary questions, thinking out loud. "If you're that shocked about it, it's got to be something strange like, I dunno… a couple?"

"That's a bit of a jump," Jake quickly runs to their defence, stepping ahead. "They're not even doing anything to make you think that."

"Exactly," Xavier adds in. "You're making a lot of assumptions here."

Confessional:

Gary:

"Jake and Xavier seem more surprised about the situation than the couple theory… interesting."

Confessional Ends:

"Y-yeah, we aren't a couple!" Bob yells. "We were just t-talking to each other."

"Try not to stutter next time," Gary frowns. "You're making yourself more suspicious that way."

Confessional:

Bob:

"Well, how about you try to act innocent when you're blindsided by that next time? See how well you do!"

Confessional Ends:

"Why… didn't you tell us all?" Lauren questions, causing the pair to look worried.

"And now Lauren's asking about secrets being kept?" Gary continues on the thread his alliance member gave him. "Since it's the two of them… it could be an alliance, which is really bad too." Gary then chuckles. "Considering her deer-in-headlights expression though, I dunno, that's an overreaction to just a simple alliance."

Carol and Bob look back at each other before they nod, glaring.

Confessional:

Carol:

"Well, cat's out of the tree here." She then pauses, shaking her head. "I mean, cat's out of the bag."

Confessional Ends:

"So what?" Bob asks. "We wanted to kiss without it being a game move for once."

Jake and Xavier glance at each other, realising they don't have to be as careful about their wording anymore.

"Exactly," Jake nods. "It's their choice."

Xavier then speaks up, adding, "Maybe they didn't want the blame game to go flying around like you're doing right now?"

Carol then speaks up, saying, "Yeah, a lot of Total Drama couples are forced into bad positions because of the couple. Maybe we just wanted to have our lovey-dovey period without everyone plotting to split us up!?"

"Exactly," Bob says to the gathered campers, "It's not like we weren't gonna reveal it or anything."

Jemma continues to watch the scene from a slight distance away, worry on her face.

Confessional:

Jemma:

"Poor Bob, all of his secrets are getting revealed in public displays. First the plushes, now his relationship? He's getting really unlucky."

Confessional Ends:

Susan then walks past Jemma, noticing her staying in the background. The journalist widens her eyes. "Am I really that bad at hiding?" She mutters to herself.

As Susan reaches everyone else, Lauren looks up, her surprise turning genuine for a moment.

Confessional:

Lauren:

"Well, that makes things a million times easier for me. I was gonna have to find out how to grab her last, but she did it for me!"

Confessional Ends:

"What's going on?" The brainiac asks, confusion evident.

"Susan?" Carol turns around, just as shocked, however with a twinge of worry. "H-hi!"

"Considering I'm the last one here… something happened."

Bob quickly comments, "Jemma's not here!"

The brainiac rolls her eyes. "First of all, doesn't answer the question." Susan then points behind her to the journalist's hiding spot. "Second, she's back there."

Jemma groans in the background. Bob also falls silent, his eyes widening.

After a few awkward seconds of silence, Susan asks again. "Seriously, you may as well tell me."

With a chuckle, Gary steps forward. "Oh, I'll tell you alright. Your buddy Carol? She and Bob have been smooching the last few episodes, they told all of us but elected to not tell you… that's GOTTA sting, right?"

"Hey, hey' hey," Jake and Xavier run over as the former begins speaking. "You're misrepresenting the-."

"What!?" Susan yells. "M-making out, as in dating!?"

"Ding, ding, ding!" Gary sarcastically cheers. "A point to Susan, she's got a correct answer!"

"H-how long?"

Carol and Bob stare at each other as Jake desperately says, "We haven't even confirmed they're a couple yet!"

"The paintball challenge, Susan," Carol stops Jake from continuing. "And we didn't tell everyone but you. Everyone but you found out and then you came by last!"

"But you still weren't planning on telling me?" Susan asks next. Carol pauses, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah." She then sighs. "Can we not do this right now!?"

"B-but," Susan takes a step back, her breath starting to quicken. "I'm… I really am being kept out of everything!"

Gary takes a step back, before muttering, "Gee, I wonder why."

"Th-this was before the Rory vote out," Susan sputters. "You were still hiding stuff before then."

Bob glares, before stepping forward. "You are in no place to complain about not having complete control over her after how much you've been treating her since that last elimination!"

"Yeah," Jake adds. "Boo hoo, it's a secret. Even if it was before you got mad at her, the way you've been acting since Rory got voted out shows how much Carol and Bob made the right choice hiding it from people, especially someone like you."

Susan takes a few steps back, saying, "The last one… I'm always the last person… no control, no attention."

Carol looks at Susan, before saying. "If I had told you. You would have either reacted exactly like this, or it would have just been your ticket to try and use Bob for the game."

"This isn't about the game."

"Am I wrong?"

Susan pauses, before stepping forward towards Carol.

Xavier steps between the two, adding, "Let's talk this out. Emotions are high but we need to keep a clear head.

Jemma takes this chance to step forward. "Is this a bad time to add that when I found out, Lauren and Gary were watching you two kiss from the top of the hill?"

A bead of sweat forms on Lauren's face. However, the fangirl turns back to serious as she says, "Gary pulled me up there to look at something. I didn't believe what I was shown and so I came down… right to them kissing."

"That's not how I saw it," Jemma begins to say, however, Susan and Carol's argument flares back up.

"Do you really think I wouldn't have been supportive of you?" Susan questions. "Maybe I'd have wanted to try and get Bob's vote through you… but I genuinely would have supported you."

"That's the issue Susan," Carol groans. "You just said how you'd want to get his vote."

"If I didn't you'd say I'd be planning that. I was agreeing I'd probably get that out of you but it wouldn't be immediately."

Carol tears up. "I wouldn't have mentioned it this time Susan."

Gary smirks for a split second before saying, "How about I leave you guys with all this uh… this drama?"

Confessional:

Gary:

"My work here is done. Also, you may be surprised I'm letting Lauren just drag my name through the mud this time… well I have the idol, and I'm aware someone with somewhat good publicity helps, so I'll let her pin it on me this time." He then frowns. "Unfortunately, that good publicity isn't gonna extend to Jemma… but we can work with that."

Confessional Ends:

Susan then yells back, "Why did I ever trust you?"

"Because I was an easy person to get on your side!" Carol screams back. "I was easy to get so you could vote out Richard. Then Myron, and finally Nadia." She glares. "I'm a sheep, and you're a user."

Susan's face drops, as it's now her turn to tear up. She then walks away without saying another word.

Jemma pauses, before saying, "I'm uh… I'll just go off for now." She then walks away.

Bob then looks directly at Jake and Xavier, before gesturing at them to leave. Both look nervous, however, they also go at this point. Bob then pulls Carol into a hug.

Confessional:

Bob:

"She… is… done." The giant whispers barely contained rage in his voice. "Actually… Susan, Lauren, Gary… they're all done."

Confessional Ends:

Carol turns to Bob, whispering, "Can you give me some space to have a… chat with Lauren?"

The giant raises an eyebrow, before whispering, "Well, alright then…." The juggernaut then walks away from the scene, leaving the two girls alone.

Looking at the superhero currently folding her arms, Lauren says, "Well, I guess I should be going now…."

"No," Carol glares back. "We need to talk."

"Oh… alright?" The fangirl stutters out.

"Why… why did you do this?"

"Me?" Lauren raises an eyebrow. "No… that was Gary!"

"Stop lying to me!" Carol yells. "I stuck my neck out for you. I ruined any chance of being friends with Susan because of you."

"Is that a bad thing though?"

Carol stares intently at Lauren, before launching into a rant. "I'm mad at her, she's mad at me. As much as she's done wrong though, while she mainly played the game, I don't think I can say she manipulated my emotions, she just explained why I should vote with her. You though? Was the crying even real? Heck, are you lying about seeing Bob and I with Gary?" Carol rubs her head. "I'm done… I'm freaking done." She then walks away.

Confessional:

Carol:

"In like, five minutes, Bob and I get discovered by everyone, I find out Lauren's playing me and chew out Susan…. My game just flipped itself on its head…." She then sighs. "This is… this is just… I can't."

—-

Lauren:

"Well I didn't expect Carol to lash out at me like that," Lauren admits. "Still… this has put a good amount of drama into the game, and hopefully we can capitalise on the chaos to keep Gary out of using my idol."

The fangirl then frowns before admitting, "Truth be told, I do feel a little bad about how hurt Carol was… I'm not heartless, that did hurt a bit to see, despite the brave face I put on. Still, if I want to be the villain of a real Total Drama season… I've got to break some hearts."

Confessional Ends:

We change the scene to Bob leaning against a tree, stuck in thought.

"Bob?" A voice cuts through his contemplation, as the big guy looks up, seeing Jemma walking over to him.

"Oh uh… hi Jemma," Bob mutters. "What's wrong?"

"Look," the journalist sighs, walking to the adjacent oak. "I just wanted to check on you after everything. I get it if you want space, the guys probably assumed you wanted it and left you alone, but… I dunno. If you want to talk to me then I'm all ears." She then pauses. "And before you ask, this isn't for brownie points in the game, I don't want to talk about it with you if you don't want to."

A silence fills the area for several seconds before Bob says, "Are you annoyed with me about hiding me and Carol?"

Jemma shakes her head. "After how mad I was at you after Megan's elimination and how long I took to get over it… I probably deserve a bit of secrecy." She shrugs. "If we were friends the whole game I'd probably be a little annoyed, but with this? No."

Bob smiles, before saying, "You're really fine with this?"

"Do you want me to not?" The journalist laughs. "You don't have an obligation to tell me about you and Carol. The only question I have is if other people knew before I did?"

"I told Xavier, but he knew about Carol asking me out and I wanted his advice," Bob reveals. "Carol also told Jake, but that's it."

"Alright, sweet that makes sense." After a moment, she looks at Bob, saying, "You okay?"

"I… I thought you'd be mad at me."

Jemma shrugs, before saying, "With my previous actions, I can see why in all honesty."

Confessional:

Jemma:

"Bob hasn't gotten much of an opportunity to tell me and considering the fact it's his own life and in the context of the game where they want to just… be a couple and not have everyone just assume they're the immediate target? I get it."

Confessional Ends:

Bob pauses, before saying, "Full disclosure, we need to vote out Susan or Gary tonight. Preferably Susan."

"Susan?" The newspaper writer raises an eyebrow. "I admit she was out of line, but voting her off right after she's reached peak paranoia is not gonna look good. I heard Jake and Xavier talking about taking Gary out before everything went down anyway."

"Frankly, I'm still leaning towards Susan," Bob glares. "With the way she treated Carol, I don't want her making her feel worse than she already is." With a frown, he then adds, "And can you imagine how much of a smug jerk she'll be if she somehow beats Carol?"

Jemma pauses, before saying. "If you want… she doesn't hate me. What if I talked her down?"

The giant turns his face. "What?"

"I can't guarantee it'll work, and heck, I'll admit there's a very solid chance she'll just ignore me. If you want me to try though, I can talk with Susan for a couple of minutes, and see if I can get her to move her vote to Gary and we can get your secondary target out. From there, if you want, when she's less paranoid, like next episode, she can be targeted."

"Why do you want her in still?" Bob raises an eyebrow.

Jemma candidly admits, "I feel like Lauren and Gary are probably plotting together, I followed them to a place they were talking at and that's how I initially found out about you guys before the big confrontation. At least with Susan, she's by herself. Take whichever one of the pair isn't immune out, and we've got an alliance taken care of, and since that's Gary today… Lauren and Susan are the two leftovers, and they hate each other from what I can gather."

The giant pauses, thinking for a moment. "That is a solid plan." After a moment, he sighs, "This situation though… I know I'm not being smart, but it hits too close to home. Talk her down if you want though, you have my blessing to try and if she somehow survives you can even truce with her to try and target Gary and Lauren. I'm still gonna try and get her voted out."

The journalist puts one of her hands on his shoulder, saying, "I completely get that. If you do have the votes to send her home then let me know, alright?"

"Deal," Bob smiles back as the pair high-fives. They then walk away from each other.

Finally noticing the eyes off of who she wishes to talk to. Lauren runs over to talk with Gary.

"Thanks for taking the fall for me back there," Lauren smiles.

"It's fine," the actor smirks. "Though, I think the phrase is 'I scratch your back you scratch mine'?"

"The other way around," the fangirl responds. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

"You got the point of what I was trying to say," Gary rolls his eyes back. "I want you to do something for me next time."

"And that thing is?"

"Lead the next elimination. You have my vote as long as you don't target me or Xavier."

"Xavier?"

"I'm a man of my word, offered him immunity from me targeting him the first time he was able to be voted in the merge if he kept me in at the Katrina elimination. Since he won the challenge today, I'll extend that out to the next elimination too."

"And if he wins immunity there too?"

Gary frowns, "Well then I'd be stupid to keep that deal for too much longer. I'd have avoided him for two eliminations, that's a fair replacement for our deal in my eyes."

"Eh, okay, I'm down. You've got a deal."

"Cool," Gary smirks. "Now, let's figure out who we're targeting then."

Confessional:

Lauren:

"This isn't even a trick to target him. As much as he's a snake and probably planning my downfall as we speak, he's also basically a second confirmed vote in my corner since it would be stupid to target me next time. At this point, I kind of need another vote, especially after the Carol situation blew up in my face, so I'll take the help I can get."

Confessional Ends:

Walking away from Xavier, Jake quickly sees Bob gesturing at him. The leader looks around before approaching.

"I'm ready to talk to you," Bob nods. Jake smiles.

"Great, anything to start off with?"

Bob frowns, before saying, "I'll be honest here, I know your endgame here. The reason you actually want to talk to me."

Jake frowns, commenting, "I'm that obvious?"

"It's less you, more the timing." Bob then pauses, before saying, "Look, I'll be willing to get on the path to forgiveness if you both help me with something. It'll take a little longer before things are good and I don't think it'll be painless, but we can at least start."

"Okay, what do you want?"

"I want Susan out."

Jake looks over surprised, "Really?"

"Yeah. Susan, Gary and Lauren are gonna use this chance to target Carol or me, and it's more likely Carol because Gary and Lauren know Susan's gonna be stupid."

"I can see what you're getting at," Jake admits. "Still, is it just because of the game?"

The giant sighs. "No. But the game reasons are easy to justify for everyone."

"Then talk about the personal reasons with me." The giant shuffles. "Trust me, I'm a good listener."

"Alright," Bob frowns. "I… know what it's like to be in her position."

"Pardon?"

"Paranoid. Hurt. Distraught. That was me before I became friends with people like Jemma and Xavier, and before I started going out with Carol. While I was able to get over it in the game… this is not a healthy place to work through paranoia."

Jake rubs his chin. "Wouldn't voting her out just make her paranoia worse?"

"Possibly," Bob admits. "But it's healthier talking to her outside the game when she's not got the game constantly running through her head."

With a nod, Jake comments, "Okay…."

"Anyway, with the way she acted to Carol, are you really sure you're not next on the chopping block after she and Lauren are out?"

Jake turns his head, "What do you mean?"

Bob raises an eyebrow. "I mean… it was a team of five and for Susan to be so mad at Carol voting Rory… Susan and Rory couldn't have voted him out… you had to be one of the three."

"Okay… okay you raise a good point."

"And yeah, you worked with Lauren," Bob clarifies. "The difference I see is that I'm detached from the situation so I can look at it in a more objective way, which I can't with Xavier."

Jake thinks for a few seconds, closing his eyes. He then nods, "I'll accept on two conditions."

"Sure, what are they?"

After taking a deep breath, the problem solver begins to list his terms. "First, the next targets need to be Gary or Lauren. I don't mind the order, they just have to be the next two within reason."

"That was my plan anyway," Bob shrugs. "What else?"

"We need to at least plan a time when you can sit down and talk with Xavier about everything. It doesn't have to be immediately after the elimination or tomorrow morning, but we have to set it up."

This part of the conditions causes Bob to pause for a few seconds, however, he ultimately sighs. "Sure. I can do that."

"Again, not immediately," Jake confirms. "And we can hash out the details tomorrow, but yeah." He smiles. "I'll get Xavier, who are you getting?"

"Jemma," Bob confirms. The leader shrugs.

"Oh campers!" Suddenly, the voice of Chris plays over the loudspeakers. "Make your way to the elimination ceremony! Eight is about to become seven!"

"I'll grab Xavier, you grab Jemma, okay?"

The two boys shake hands before they leave to go to elimination.

"-Eight is about to become seven!" Elsewhere on the island, Chris' message to the campers is heard by Susan, who begins to walk to the campfire.

"Hang on a sec," the brainiac stops, turning around to see Jemma.

"What is it?" Susan asks.

"I'm just here to give you a warning." Susan raises an eyebrow, however, Jemma explains further. "How you're feeling is valid. I'm not trying to deny feeling betrayed, but you made a lot of people angry when you fought with Carol earlier… and I'm not just talking about her and Bob."

"Boo hoo, I can still win the game, all I need to do is not be the main target every night and I'm good." The brainiac finishes her response.

Jemma frowns. "I just want you to think about one thing going to elimination tonight. Who is everyone more likely to vote? Carol, you, or Gary?"

"Why me?"

"I've heard rumblings," Jemma reveals. "Bob wants you gone. I'm his friend, but I can see you being a great friend as well. If you vote wrong, you may not get another chance. And the 'right' vote might not be what your heart is telling you."

"Why are you so willing to stick your neck out for me?" Susan decides to ask another question.

"Because I could have become how you are right now," Jemma sighs, before explaining. "Back when Megan got eliminated… then Tegan, I felt all alone. I was feeling down and horrible about it. I even acted to Bob how you're acting to Carol right now. Those feelings are perfectly valid, I know that because well… were not exactly like each other, but I can see similarities."

Susan freezes, before stepping back.

"Just think about if you should target her, or someone who is a much more immediate threat, like Gary." Jemma frowns before adding, "And if you survive tonight and need someone to talk to, I'm here." Susan then runs off, leading to Jemma sighing.

---

Elimination Ceremony 12 (Merge Elimination 1):

Five of the final eight sit at the campfire. Xavier, Jake and Gary sit in the front row, while Bob and Lauren sit in the back.

"We're missing three of them?" Chris groans in annoyance. "It's simple. Get to the challenges on time, and get to the eliminations on time. You've got the whole day for drama, you don't need to do it now! It's a half-hour show!"

"It feels like there's enough for like, an hour of footage," Xavier comments.

"Ninty minutes more likely," Jake admits. "Actually no, there's probably like, several hours of footage to go through here."

"So the five of you have come here and made your decision. If those girls don't get here in the next minute, we'll be starting without them."

"I'm here," Susan quickly says, walking over, her face appearing conflicted. She then runs towards the confessional.

Chris glares. "Great, but there's still two of them left to come here."

"How about one?" Jemma quips as she walks in, quickly leaving to go to the confessional to cast her vote.

"Wait!" Bob yells. However, Jemma doesn't realise he's speaking to her and continues to walk away. Bob goes to stand up, however, Chris glares at him, pointing at the seat he took. The giant sits down.

Confessional:

Bob:

"That… hurts our plan a bit… and the three of us have all voted as well… uh oh."

Confessional Ends:

The scene changes after both girls have voted. Susan takes a spot between Jake and Gary while Jemma sits between Bob and Lauren.

Bob shifts in his seat, a worried expression on his face before he says, "Can I… uh, can I go get Carol?" The giant then stands up.

"No need." All eyes are drawn to Carol, walking in, a morose expression on her face.

Confessional:

Carol:

"I tossed up whether or not I even wanted to come to the elimination ceremony today… but I kind of felt like I had to." The superhero then sighs. "I'm gonna take a risk tonight. I talked with Jake back in the treasure challenge about this idea."

Confessional Ends:

"Sure, whatever, get your stupid vote out of the way," Chris grumbles.

Carol walks towards the confessional, shaking her head while throwing her arms up.

Chris rolls his eyes. "Good, let's get this elimination over with people!"

Confessional:

Carol:

The superhero walks in, sitting down and rubbing her temple. "Okay, okay, okay… who's the target? Uh…. who's my vote tonight? Uh…."

Confessional Ends:

Carol then walks back, sitting on the very left end of the back row next to Bob. Chris comes back with the votes.

The host walks over with an annoyed expression, this causes the campers to look up confused at him.

"Someone decided it'd be funny not to vote tonight!" Chris yells. "Not. Cool. Dudes." A moment later though, a smirk forms as Chef brings over a book.

Everyone's face turns nervous at Chris' smirk as Chef quickly opens the book to a specific line.

"One of the only good rules," the host notes. "In any scenarios where a contestant refuses to vote, their vote is instead subject to becoming a self vote."

The contestants all look around, unsure of who the self-vote in question is before Chris laughs to himself, "We'll get back to that though. Because it's time to hand out hotdogs!"

Chris pulls off the lid of the dish, revealing seven treats on it. "Eight campers, seven hotdogs. One of you is going out like a teen split from the group in the woods. Screaming and in pain!" With a chuckle he says. "First of all though, I'll give out hotdogs to Lauren and Xavier for both winning the challenge!"

The fangirl runs up to claim her treat, while the method actor turns back to the others, a worried expression on his face.

"Thanks, Chris!" Lauren beams as she grabs hers before Xavier rolls his eyes as he grabs his.

"The next two safe tonight, are Jake… and Jemma."

The pair grab their hotdogs, leaving the four remaining campers.

"Bob. You're safe too." The giant runs up, before looking back at Carol. With a smirk, Chris then turns to Carol, Gary and Susan. "And so we're down to the bottom three. The three of you got votes tonight.

Confessional:

Carol:

"Yep, I'm in the bottom three…," she notes with a worried expression. "Well, I hope it's just one or two votes…."

—-

Susan:

"Jemma warned me as much," the brainiac notes. Her face drops, as fear shows itself. "This is the first elimination that… I didn't feel like I had the answers." Her saddened expression continues, "I don't even know if I wanted to vote tonight."

—-

Gary:

"Yeah, I saw that coming. I was kind of hoping it'd be four people up here in all honesty because I don't know if I feel all that confident about my chances of everything working with how the votes played out… I just have to hope that non-vote is for who I think it's for."

Confessional Ends:

"Any of you could be our next boot," Chris notes. "But the penultimate hotdog of the night, with only one vote against them, goes to….

.

.

.

Gary."

Confessional:

Jemma:

Instead of saying anything, she simply groans, a disappointed expression on her face.

—-

Gary:

"The more I think about it," the actor begins. "The more I can admit… while I have a preferred target out of the two, I can work with either going home."

Confessional Ends:

"Tonight's elimination was a 4-3-1 split," Chris notes. "Which means we're in for a close one between the two of you tonight!"

Both girls look at each other, as Carol says, "Whether it's me or you staying in tonight… good luck." Susan looks back at her, eyebrow raised.

"In fact," Chris chuckles, "if it wasn't for one of you two not casting a vote… we'd at least be going into a tiebreaker."

Both girl's eyes widen.

Lauren and Gary stare at each other, both nodding.

"Come on…," Bob mutters under his breath, Jake and Xavier stand next to him, intently staring.

"Susan, your paranoid mindset and anger at your old team members might have tainted things with them all. As for Carol, you're a strong, social and sporty superhero, in a relationship with someone still in the game nonetheless. You seem to be in a prime position to run away with the win this season. Could this perceived threat level unite enough people against you to send you packing?"

Both girls stare, beginning to get annoyed at Chris' extension of the drama.

"The final camper safe tonight is…."

.

.

.

.

.

"Just give the hotdog to Susan already!" Carol yells. "I know I'm the one that didn't vote, just say I'm out."

Chris groans, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, sure, ruin the moment, Susan, you get the final hotdog."

Carol frowns, before standing up. "Well, that's it."

Susan looks at her fallen former friend, but she doesn't smile.

Confessional:

Susan:

"I should be happy, ecstatic even. I mean, she's out, right?" Susan begins. "When I voted her out though, and even seeing how she's reacted to the elimination… that just felt… it felt hollow." The brainiac begins to tear up. "I focused on how mad I was at her… but after she's been eliminated, I just feel… incomplete." The tears begin to flow as she says, "What have I done?"

Confessional Ends:

Susan stands up before turning to Carol. "You… didn't vote me off?"

Carol stares daggers at Susan, before saying, "No, of course I wouldn't… though after this, I'm kind of wishing I did."

"I thought you would be voting me tonight though…."

"Just get me out of here," Carol glares as she begins to walk away.

"This is bull!" Bob yells at Chris. "You didn't give her time to actually vote!"

"She went to the confessional, she said she didn't want to vote, and she got a vote against her because of that," Chris shrugs. "Them's the breaks."

Jake and Xavier also send furious glares at Chris, while Gary and Lauren quickly perform a low high five with each other, unseen by the other campers barring Carol.

Confessional:

Lauren:

The fangirl blinks. "Oh my gosh… Carol did an Action Lindsay… I mean, she didn't do it by complete accident, but still."

Confessional Ends:

"Carol…?" Susan blinks a couple of times, frozen in her spot. This seems to set off the superhero, who spins around.

"I'm not gonna waste my vocal cords yelling at you," she begins, her voice low and quivering as she points at Susan. "All I want to say to you is. If you win, and you're holding that case above you, think about the people you hurt getting that victory and then think about how hollow your victory really is. I messed up, yeah, but I genuinely did consider you a friend."

Carol takes a deep breath, before adding, "And whatever you're gonna say to try and get us to be friends again? I don't forgive you. Get the fuck away from me."

As Carol goes to stop away, she turns to Lauren and says, "That goes double for you Lauren. Though a part of me thinks you're not gonna feel bad anyway."

Confessional:

Lauren:

"I do feel a bit bad!" Lauren admits with an annoyed expression evident. "But we had to preemptively take her out because she's got more social capital than Bob and she's got that alliance she was talking about this morning with the guys." The fangirl scoffs, "She'd have been against me anyway after I wasn't able to do my full plan in time, and anyway, it's her fault for not voting and handing us her elimination on a silver platter. She should have expected something like this to happen."

Lauren then frowns. "I don't hate her. As much as I was playing her she was a friend to me. But if she can't accept that Total Drama involves manipulations in some ways, she's gonna have to say goodbye to me as a friend."

Confessional Ends:

Bob, Jake and Xavier all look at each other, sad expressions on their faces before they walk over to meet up with Carol.

"I'll miss you, Carol," Jake comments, arriving first.

"Yeah," Xavier adds, following behind. "I didn't really get to know you too much, but you were pretty cool."

"I'll miss you guys too," The comic nerd hugs the pair, before saying, "Good luck in the game."

"Carol," Bob comments, sadness permeating his face as he joins the conversation. "I'm so sorry."

"How about we go?" Jake comments, pulling Xavier away.

Carol shakes her head, a smile on her face. "You did what you thought was the best. I can't get mad at you for that." She then hugs Bob, "Thank you for being such a great boyfriend."

"You've helped me way more than I've helped you," Bob chuckles.

"I wasn't able to grab Jemma's vote in time. She was on board voting for Susan but she wanted the votes confirmed for her to flip. If she voted Susan then you could have beaten her in a tiebreaker."

"You can't sweat the small stuff," Carol comments as the couple makes it to the fireworks, Chef joining them. "I know you hate Gary. Take him out, clear your mind and then think from there. I don't even care if you team up with Susan or anything, play the game for yourself, not to get revenge for me."

As Carol is tied, she begins to think about the votes.

"So you, Jake and Xavier voted for Susan?" Carol asks. "And Jemma voted for Gary… yeah, that makes sense." She then laughs, before saying, "Wanna know the funniest part?"

"What?"

"I still probably would have voted for Gary if I actually voted."

Bob stifles a laugh, "Okay, that is kinda funny."

Carol then says, "I'm rooting for you. But if you don't win, don't feel like you failed me. Have fun out there."

The giant grimaces, before saying, "Do you think I can actually win this?"

"I know you can," Carol smiles back. The two then lean in and kiss. From the campfire, Jake and Xavier watch, before they give each other a sad smile.

After six seconds straight, Carol and Bob split from their kiss. Chris walks over, the button to launch the fireworks in hand, "Would you look at the time? Any last words?"

Carol thinks for a moment before smirking, "As the movies say about us heroes, The Golden Swan shall return!" A heroic theme plays behind her as she partially poses, unable to completely do so on account of her being tied to the fireworks.

"That's it?" The host sarcastically comments, before adding, "Cool." He then presses the button to launch the fireworks, sending Carol flying as she screams.

"I LOVE YOU!" Bob screams at his rapidly leaving girlfriend.

As Chris and Chef look at the eliminated camper leaving, Chris comments, "Well, turns out she has superpowers after all, she can fly."

Bob gives Chris a venomous glare as he shuffles away. Chris simply chuckles at this. "What an elimination! After something like this, I think it's the perfect time to see the fallout of this among our now final seven! See you soon, viewers!"

Later in the night, Gary leans against a wall, as Xavier walks up to him, fury in his eyes.

"What is wrong with you!"

The theatre kid looks up, eyebrow raised. "Nothing? What's got you so befuddled?"

"Why'd it have to be Carol you targeted?"

"What, did you want me to target Bob?" Gary shrugs. "I planned out this elimination not targeting you or Bob, just like our little deal encompassed."

Confessional:

Gary:

"That's also the reason we didn't target Bob tonight," Gary notes. "Lauren probably has some reason to save face like the dweeb's social capital, but I would have pushed for Bob to be targeted out of the two of them if one, I didn't have that deal with Xavier, and two, wasn't more sure Susan would target Carol over Bob anyway."

Confessional Ends:

"You could have just voted for someone like Susan," Xavier complains.

"What part of the deal did I say I'd keep Carol in?" Gary questions. "Really, I want to know, it must have slipped my mind between everything today."

"I'm not saying it was part of the deal?" Xavier decides to add in. Gary smirks.

"Then what's the issue here?" Gary's smirk hides the glare he's sending his former alliance member's way. "I helped get a threat eliminated. You and Bob were the two safe from me tonight, nobody else. You took a quarter of the potential targets out of the running. Take me away and that's just under half of you out of the running." With a chuckle, Gary adds, "In fact pal, you're still safe from me. The way the deal was worded, you're safe the first time you can be voted. You won tonight. I'm a lot of things, but I follow through on my deals unless they're specifically stupid."

Xavier faulters, before Gary adds. "If anything, you should be thankful I'm following our deal. It makes my game far more annoying."

Confessional:

Xavier:

"I hate to say it… but he's right. Even when he's on the bottom he can cause enough drama to stop himself from being eliminated." Xavier pauses, before awkwardly admitting. "Y'know… maybe I shouldn't be the one saying this considering the whole… voting out Katrina thing." He then facepalms. "I shouldn't have tried to overthink it, damn it."

—-

Gary:

"If you want some really funny information. I was originally going to get Lauren to target Jake in some way like she mentioned before Chris officially merged us. Heck, I was even more on board after he confronted me in the spa hotel. Then Lauren told me about Carol and Bob and well… things just blossomed from there." He scoffs. "They're a couple after all, and two couples in the final eight is… worrying. I can focus on the other couple next time."

Confessional Ends:

As Xavier stomps away, the camera changes to further away. Jake and Bob stand and talk with each other. "I'm so sorry she's been eliminated," Jake frowns. "After Nadia, I'd probably wager Carol as my next closest friend, she was like the little sister I never had."

Bob lets out a sigh, before responding, "It's not like she's dead… anyway, she wouldn't want me to be moping like this. She told me she didn't want me to play to get revenge for her."

"I think everyone on the island barring Gary is gonna miss Carol to some extent," Jake admits.

Bob pauses, before saying, "When do you want me to have that talk with Xavier?"

"Huh?"

"Gary, Lauren, Susan and Carol herself voted Carol, and I wasn't able to grab Jemma so she's the Gary vote. It's clear Xavier voted with us against Susan. Even if it didn't work, a deal's a deal."

Jake smiles, before saying, "Well I'll give you a bit more time to cool off if you want, and we can get back to this after the final seven elimination, alright?"

"Deal," Bob nods, a smile on his face. The boys shake hands before walking away.

The scene then changes to the beach at night, with Susan sitting down, eyes widened as she stares out at the waves.

Confessional:

Susan:

"I thought voting out Carol would make me feel better about Rory's elimination," she begins. "It… hasn't… and now I've ruined everything with her." An eerie silence fills the confessional before Susan hugs her legs.

"And it's all because of my stupid paranoia! I need someone to ground me in this game, and I don't mean in the sense of an enemy like Lauren… I mean a friend."

Susan frowns, before adding. "You aren't going to accept my apology, Carol… but I'll find some way to make up for it, I swear."

Confessional Ends:

As Susan continues to stay sitting, a voice calls out, saying, "Hey! Susan!"

The brainiac quickly turns around, seeing Jemma walking down the steps before she sits down next to her. The journalist then asks, "You alright?"

Susan pauses to think for a moment, before she says, "No… I'm really not."

"Yeah, I wouldn't expect you to," Jemma admits. "I guess Carol was the smart choice for you after all…."

"I was kept in by a miracle," Susan admits. "If Carol didn't refuse to vote… I probably deserve to be on the bottom this time. She messed up, but my paranoia…."

"It was valid," Jemma admits. "I hope I made it clear. But being paranoid about your game was fair to an extent."

"My reaction probably wasn't though." Jemma quietly nods to herself, however lets Susan speak more. "In fact, I honestly deserve to be yelled at by her." She sighs. "That stops tonight though."

Jemma raises an eyebrow. "And how are you going to make sure you stop now?"

Susan frowns, closing her eyes. "I need a friend." She turns. "And well… since you literally came out to see me, and you've been so patient, even with how belligerent I've been…."

"You want that ally to be me?" The journalist questions.

Susan frons. "I… need a grounding force in this game… especially at a point like this, and you're playing smart and offered an alliance to me… if it's open still, I'm in."

Jemma pauses, before saying, "Okay… what makes you think I'm playing overly smart?"

"The way you worded that sentence for one," the shorter girl responds. "Wow, thanks for trying to hit me with the fake modesty, it gives you an air of likeability." Susan chuckles. "Anyway, you made it this far while your little friendship group was destroyed. You could have easily been taken out by the rest of them. Blending in to stay in is a smart, valid strategy, which takes planning to do, and you're smart and friendly enough to pull it off. Though to be fair, you did also have good luck in the challenges."

As Jemma continues to listen, Susan adds, "My allies are few and far between at this point. I'm not gonna betray you unless I have to or you do something first." This causes the journalist to look at her opponent with a raised eyebrow.

Confessional:

Jemma:

"It's a risk getting her on my side… but I'm willing to take it. Bob straight up said he was fine with me and her teaming up to get the others out. Plus, Gary and Lauren are working together and I still have no idea where the idol is, so I need all hands on deck." Jemma strokes her chin, before saying, "I just need to lay out a few ground rules."

Confessional Ends:

Jemma turns back with a smile, saying, "You've got yourself a deal, I'm down for an alliance. Though we need to start with Lauren and Gary… and Bob's off limits until at least the final five, alright?"

Susan raises an eyebrow, "Why? He's a threat, and he probably hates me after I got his girlfriend out."

"Because he most likely wants Gary at least out first. Even then, I can probably get him after Lauren before you. Anyway, like I said before, we're friends, I don't want to think about voting for him until I have to."

Susan pauses for a moment, however, she sighs, "Alright, fine."

"Good, then I think this is gonna be the start of a beautiful friendship." The two girls shake hands, before the scene zooms out from a computer screen, with Chris looking at the camera.

"And would you look at that!" The host smirks. "Looks like even this late in the game, we've got another alliance! How will tonight's explosive elimination affect the future of the game? Will Gary keep his idol? Or is Lauren taking it back? And who is riding the fireworks next? You'll have to find out next time, on TOTAL! DRAMA! ELEMENTAL ISLANDS!"

The episode then fades out.

---

Voting Confessionals:

Bob: "With me, the boys and Jemma, that should be at least four votes to send Susan home. Carol's probably voting for Susan as well, so that's more than half."

Carol: The superhero frowns. "Well… I hope this doesn't screw me over… but I refuse to vote tonight."

Gary: "Yep, I'm telling the truth, Bob and Xavier are safe tonight… Carol on the other hand…."

Jake: "I've got to in all honesty, Bob's right about Susan's paranoia, and I want him and Xav to make up. Plus she's too much of a wildcard at this point. Bye, Susan."

Jemma: "I don't know if Bob has the votes, and I don't want to target Susan unless it's particularly necessary, so I'll just vote Gary because… duh, it's Gary."

Lauren: "Carol… I hate to say it, but you're my vote tonight. You shouldn't have questioned me."

Susan: "I… I don't know…." Susan stares directly at the camera. "I… I have to vote though." She clutches her face, before groaning, "I… I vote for Carol? She… she's a traitor, right?" Regret already shows on Susan's face.

Xavier: "Jake spoke to me right as we were walking to elimination and told me Bob wants to vote out Susan…. Frankly, I'm fine with this based on how she was acting in the challenge, plus I want to fix things with Bob so….."

Carol: Carol, Gary, Lauren, Susan

Susan: Bob, Jake, Xavier

Gary: Jemma

4-3-1

---

Bonus Clip:

The clip opens with Richard and Rory standing at the dock of the loser resort.

"So I'm mainly curious here," Rory admits. "But why isn't Katrina here?"

"She seems to be the first of us to be involved in a challenge," Richard responds. "However she is required to join me during the next elimination, alongside whoever gets eliminated tonight."

Rory pauses, stuck in thought. "I wonder who's out tonight?"

"Indeed, that is a quandary." Right after, the firework slams onto the beach, as the two guys look at each other.

"What the?" Rory questions before the pair walk over to investigate.

"Let's see who lost," Richard drawls. The pair walk around the corner to see Carol, stuck upside down.

"Richard? Rory?" She asks. "C-can you help? The blood's rushing to my head."

"On it," Rory nods, as he quickly unties her, causing her to thud on the ground. As Carol is helped up, she sighs,

"So, two of the people I voted out, now I feel even worse."

Richard pauses, before commenting, "as you should," under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," the boring guy responds, his tone still at his dull, monotone cadence from before.

Rory puts his hand on the girl's shoulder, before saying, "I didn't think you'd be the next one out."

"Same," Carol shrugs. She then groans. "In fact, it wouldn't have been me if I played smarter."

"What do you mean?"

"Turns out not voting counts as a self-vote," Carol comments, before sighing. "And so I got myself the majority…."

"It'll be alright," Rory smiles at her. "There's no shame in losing."

"I guess," Carol frowns. "It's just… it felt unfair. I got my relationship revealed to everyone and I just got booted… and it's my fault too."

Rory does a double take. "Wait, you're in a relationship? I didn't know that?"

"That was… on purpose," the superhero answers. "I started going out with Bob."

"Congratulations!" Rory smiles. "I hope he treats you well!"

"Before we continue," Richard cuts in, a glare on his face. "I want to ask a few questions."

Carol shrugs, "Sure."

"Since we have heard your thoughts on your elimination… how was the game itself?"

"For the most part I loved it," Carol smiles. "I got so many great friends. Xavier, Jake, and heck… I even got a boyfriend out of it!"

"Very well," Richard's boredom causes Carol to chuckle awkwardly. "Then what is your best game move?"

"I don't know if it was anything strategic, but I guess just getting friends was a good move if you want to count it. I mean, Nadia doesn't even hate me anymore after we talked."

Richard nods once, before mumbling, "And although this one is obvious… who do you desire to win?"

"Bob, easily." Carol then chuckles. "If you want a second choice I guess you can go with Jake."

"I think we're done here then," Richard nods before adding, "Your bags will arrive within the next twenty-four hours." The boring guy then walks away, leaving Carol and Rory by themselves.

"I guess we should go too," Rory smiles before turning around, however, Carol quickly grabs his arm, saying.

"No. I… I just want to say I'm sorry for voting you out, but if you don't accept it then I get it completely."

Rory gives her a smile. "Apology accepted. It was a game move, I don't really have any hard feelings about it now, especially since you're not rubbing it in my face."

"So you're just forgiving me?" The superhero looks up shocked, but the jock smiles.

"Isn't it a common thing for superheroes to get mind-controlled? You can just say it was that."

Carol chuckles awkwardly, before saying, "Th-thanks."

"No problems," Rory beams before the two walk off in the direction of the sunrise, as the clip ends.

---

Remaining Campers: Bob, Gary, Jake, Jemma, Lauren, Susan, Xavier

1st – 7th: ?

8th: Carol (The Superhero In Training)

Merge

9th: Rory (The Soft Spoken Jock)

10th: Katrina (The Former Intern)

11th: Nadia (The Hot Blooded)

12th: Myron (The Ungifted Nerd)

13th: Tegan (The Complainer)

14th: Morgan (The Perfect Guy) (Though he isn't off the islands)

15th: Megan (The Quiet Band Girl)

16th: Hannah (The Jerky Contrarian)

17th: Richard (The Incredible Bore)

18th: Alfred (The Influential Rich Kid)

The rewrite is finally done!

This chapter was rewritten basically completely after I finished the first draft… like, I went line by line basically completely rewording the entire thing and changing major details.

The original version of this episode was… a bit choppy to say the least. I was not a fan of the first draft of the chapter tbh. I mean, for one, I had to change the chapter so that people sort of realised this was a challenge because… I honestly doubt anyone would think this isn't a challenge, especially after the others give reasons.

All of the general plots stayed but were rewritten to make things feel better. This includes stuff like me hopefully giving Susan some shades of grey, instead of just making her an unrelenting jerk who suddenly becomes herself again at Carol's elimination. I also added scenes like Jemma and Susan right before the elimination as well as Jake and Bob right after so their plots are less of an afterthought.

Now… that elimination. Hoo boy.

I'm worried this is going to give Lindsay in Action vibes because this does hold some similarities, I mean heck, I lampshaded it with Lauren. I hope the execution of this is less insulting though. The fact that Susan should have gone home but was saved by luck is kind of the point, but I really hope this comes across as less of a joke in this story.

Carol was unfortunately not gonna win the season. She was a victim of the "Give this camper a major plot to justify an elimination," curse. Out of everyone, her elimination helps push the rest of the season ahead far more than her staying. She is one of my favourite characters to write for so believe me when I say her elimination sucked to do.

And I guess if you find this unfair in the end, well every Total Drama season has its "unfair" elimination, this is just my take on this!

…

Yeah, that doesn't really make things better tbh.

She is actually the third and final person in this cast to never change their rank. She was always in 8th place and I always had her pegged as the first merge elimination. I briefly considered bringing Katrina into the merge as a 9th contestant, but I ultimately felt like she'd be kind of a superfluous addition in the merge, so she got eliminated where I was initially planning to.

This might be bad timing, but I want to give a big thank you to one of my friends. NuclearCruiserMissiles. I submitted Carol to their story, and that's sort of how I fell in love with her more than before. As I mentioned at some point before, the first eight or nine OCs created for this cast were all submitted to SYOCs, and Carol was the only one to be in a story that finished (the only other OC I've ever had to fit that category was a joke OC as well.)

Ironic that she's still the first merge boot… and it's in a way that could be considered unfair… but ah well.

With my belligerent hoping that you all don't hate this elimination out of the way, I'll finish off here. I hope you've enjoyed this episode of Elemental Islands, and I'll see you when I get the next episode out in late 2024.