"In the last episode of Total Drama All Stars! The campers got hot as we forced everyone to make a three meal course!" Chris narrated, which showed a kitchen with numerous ingredients on the table, "We split each team into groups of three where each group would have to create appetizers, main dish and dessert!" Shots of each group trying to make their prepared meal was shown, "With a returning cameo from DJ! The goal of the challenge was to impress us three judges. The team with the most points won the motel while the losing team would be having a hot date with me at the elimination ceremony!" A shot of Chris in his tuxedo, Chef in his dress and DJ were shown sitting at a table. "In the end, each group managed to produce a meal… Except for the Heroes responsible for dessert!" A shot of Leshawna, Shawn and Owen were shown looking at the ground in shame as Chris laughed. "Shawn went behind his girlfriend's back and gathered all the boys to try and vote off her new bestie, Leshawna." A scene of Shawn talking with the guys, "However, Brick disapproved of Shawn's underhanded methods and tried to vote off Shawn! This attempt was futile as the vote ended in a 3-3-3 tie between Owen, Leshawna and Shawn!" A scene of the entire Heroes team looking shocked was shown. "In the end, Owen took the dock of shame as Leshawna and Shawn managed to survive their respective tie breakers! Not before I showed a shocking scene of Shawn sabotaging the challenge!" Shawn was seen looking away guiltily as the rest of his team was seen glaring at him. "Having dropped this bomb, I decided to throw in one final twist as I switched Shawn over to the Villainous Vipers!"

"Tune in to find out what happens in this episode of TOTAL. DRAMA. ALL STARS!"

(Theme Song)

The first scene of the episode focused on the girls cabin. The atmosphere was frosty as Gwen was moodily drawing in her notebook and Leshawna was applying her makeup in front of the shared mirror. Despite their solidarity over their opinion of Shawn, they were still upset at each other. Gwen was mad at Leshawna because she voted off Owen. Leshawna was mad at Gwen for not respecting her decision.

Zoey, eager to play peacemaker, tried to make small talk to mend their bond. "So, what do you guys think the next challenge will be?"

"So long as we win I couldn't care less." Gwen responded neutrally. Truthfully she was a little irked by the question, but liked Zoey a little too much to snap at her… Yet.

Leshawna continued doing her makeup, paying no heed to Zoey's question.

Zoey sat anxiously as she was too nervous to approach either girl. She didn't want to upset Gwen by conversing with Leshawna, but didn't want to upset Leshawna by conversing with Gwen. Ideally they would all talk as a group, but…

"I guess, I'll just go take a shower." Zoey said, a little too pleasantly as the other girls rolled their eyes at her as she left.

XXX

Confessional: Zoey (Heroic Horses)

"We only have seven members left on our team!" Zoey stressed as she clutched at her pigtails, "I wish I knew how to unify us again but… Owen's elimination and Shawn switching over to the Villains has really turned the morale down. Leshawna's a little meaner, Gwen's a little snappier and Jasmine… Well…"

XXX

"Jasmine!" Sammy yelled. She had been searching for Jasmine for a good couple of hours in the woods, but couldn't find her friend. "Shawn!" She also figured it was worth searching for Shawn. She knew they were both in trees, but where exactly was beyond her. She was feeling like a very crappy friend.

"Everything alright ma'am?"

"B-Brick!" Sammy stammered, startled as Brick jogged up to her. "Umm, I'm searching for Jasmine but I can't seem to find her."

"Yeah," Brick said sympathetically, "The last ceremony must have been really rough on her. Maybe she just wants some alone time?"

Sammy shrugged helplessly, "I guess, but unless she tells me I wanna keep searching for her anyways."

Brick nodded in understanding, "I get how you feel, would you like some assistance in searching for your friend?"

Sammy raised a brow, "Won't that get in the way of your morning jog?"

"A teammate's wellbeing is more important than my workout. Shall we get to it?" Brick asked, nodding along the path she was walking.

Sammy smiled appreciatively. They were pleasantly conversing with each as they walked away.

Not without the watchful eyes of Jo who happened to chance upon this interaction during her own morning jog.

XXX

Confessional: Sammy (Heroic Horses)

"Out of all the guys, I get along with Brick the easiest. We don't particularly have any similar interests, but he's very chivalrous and I appreciate him." Sammy said thoughtfully, a gentle smile on her face. "I hope we don't lose again anytime soon. I like everyone on my team. Well, nearly. I still have a bit of a hard time talking to Gwen but that's about it."

XXX

Confessional: Jo (Villainous Vipers)

"Was Brick… Flirting with Cheersquad 2.0?" Jo questioned in disbelief, "I mean, it's his own teammate, so it's not weird it's just… It's weird."

XXX

Jasmine had heard Sammy calling for her for a while now while she rested at the highest tree she could find. She knew her friend was searching for her, but she was in no mood to be found. She knew the team didn't hate her, everyone, including Gwen, were quick to reassure her that Shawn's actions were not a reflection on her. However, their words were ignorant. She wasn't proud of her boyfriend right now, but that didn't mean she stopped loving him and to hear the girls talk about Shawn with such bitterness in their voices… Well, she couldn't cope. What was she supposed to do? Listen to the girls talk about how much they hated her boyfriend? Despite the team switch, she knew Shawn wasn't a bad guy, but the girls wouldn't say otherwise.

She buried her head in her knees.

That wasn't even the worst of it. Shawn was completely avoiding her, and to her own dismay, she couldn't find him. She just… Wanted to let him know that she still loved him. He did a very crappy thing, but that's the nature of this game! At the time she was angry that Shawn had gone behind her back to try and vote off Leshawna, but that didn't mean she hated him or wanted to break up with him! She just needed some time to reflect and after doing that… She realized Shawn was just trying to protect them. In his own weird way. But now he wouldn't talk to her and she hated it.

She absolutely hated it.

"Your soul is unmistakably melancholy today."

"GAH!" Jasmine yelled, her eyes widening as she had to grip a tree branch to keep her balance. It was a girl's voice, so she knew for sure it wasn't Shawn. "Who said that!?"

"Pardon for the intrusion." Dawn introduced herself, making her presence known as she whipped her head around a tree that kept her hidden, "Your aura was as bright as a beacon, so I felt an obligation to investigate."

"Right," Jasmine huffed, a little anger rising at being found, "Bugger off then, we're on different teams and I'm in no mood to talk."

Dawn hummed, a contemplative look on her face as she twiddled her thumbs and laid on the tree branch comfortably. "That's a shame. We needn't talk, but may I rest up this tree? It did take me a lot of effort to get up here after all…"

Jasmine groaned. "Fine, whatever, I don't care."

A few minutes passed. In an ideal world Jasmine would be allowed to continue to wallow in her self-pity, but the company of the wispy girl was more or less preventing her from indulging her own sadness. She wondered what her name was.

"I'm Dawn, if you were curious."

That's creepy.

"Jasmine."

"Would you like some blueberries, Jasmine?" Dawn offered as she revealed a bag hauled on one of her shoulders.

Jasmine raised a brow, almost in disbelief, "Surely you didn't climb a tree just to give me breakfast?"

"You would be hungry if you didn't eat, wouldn't you?" Dawn questioned rhetorically, not asking a serious question but more so emphasizing how silly the taller girl was being.

Jasmine accepted the offer gratefully, taking a handful of blueberries. "Thanks lass, you found a surprising amount. If it weren't for your clothes I would assume you were an outdoorswoman…"

"I don't have many clothes to choose from," Dawn admitted without shame, "My father is what you would call a tree hugger. I admire him for that, but financially speaking, it isn't practical if we wish to live in luxury."

"Crap, sorry, I didn't mean to… Y'know..." Jasmine said shamefully.

"It is quite alright." Dawn said. "My father does what he can as a single parent and I wouldn't trade him for anyone else."

"Is that why you decided to compete?" Jasmine asked, "Do you… Want to be more financially stable?"

Dawn refused to answer. Though Jasmine couldn't see her face, a quick change of cameras showed Dawn's face turning a shade of red, Jasmine didn't push any further, her silence said more than anything else. "I'm not judging you, by the way, sorry if it seems like that."

"I understand. You shouldn't worry about Shawn, by the way."

"What do you know about me and Shawn?" Jasmine questioned defensively, not expecting the girl to bluntly hit the nail on the head, "We're fine."

"Just that Shawn feels ashamed of himself." Dawn commented nonchalantly, "Just like you, he wishes to be alone. He needs to process his feelings. Once he's done that, he will come back to you."

"You make it sound so easy." Jasmine observed suspiciously.

"Actions speak louder than words. Promises mean nothing without proof." Dawn quoted, "My father used to say that to me a lot when I misbehaved. I suspect this is a similar quote Shawn is trying to abide by. He wishes to improve before making any promises, I strongly advise to allow him the freedom to apologize to you."

Jasmine was quiet for a moment as she thought through this piece of advice. On the one hand she could see where Dawn was coming from. She knew how pridefully stubborn Shawn was, so to be humiliated in the manner he was at the last ceremony was particularly difficult. On the other hand however, Jasmine herself was very hot blooded over the situation and wanted to solve it as soon as possible! She hated this back and forth mind game with Shawn. She just wanted to sit him down and talk about the situation naturally.

She just hated that she couldn't find him.

XXX

Confessional: Jasmine (Heroic Horses)

"Dawn is one creepy lass, lemme tell ya!" Jasmine whistled, clearly unnerved, "But she said a lot of things for me to mull over. 'Sides, she didn't seem like a bad apple. More like a misunderstood brussels sprout."

XXX

Confessional: Dawn (Wildest Weasels)

"Jasmine's very intriguing." Dawn admitted lightly. "She's a very independent person. So to hit this sort of roadblock in her relationship is new. She's so used to Shawn keeping up with her pace that she hasn't realized when he happens to be lagging behind. She simply needs to learn that when he's lagging behind, she needs to wait for him to catch up rather than drag him along miserably. Just like he would for her if the roles were reversed."

XXX

The next scene switched over to Cody, who happened to be alone in the dining room with a few of the villains. He sighed to himself as he sat alone at a table. With Owen's elimination and Shawn switching over to the villains, Cody was feeling insecure about his place in the game. He had lost two of his closest allies at a single ceremony. Could he outlast Gwen? Probably. But he wasn't willing to vote against her whatsoever. He'd rather be eliminated in her place if it came to that. He tried his best to make new relationships, but Sammy would always prioritize Jasmine while Brick would always prioritize Zoey.

He hated how the villains looked at him. Alejandro with his narrowed eyes observing his situation. Duncan gave him one look, snorted, and then walked away. Or how any of the villains he made eye contact with would immediately look away, like he was too below all of them.

He felt really alone.

The most he got was a nod from Heather, pleased that he had survived the previous ceremony. But she couldn't talk to him. Not in public, anyways.

"Good morning Cody! Where's the rest of your teammates!?"

Cody blinked in surprise, not having expected anyone to speak to him. "Sierra? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in the motel?"

Sierra snorted into her hand, ruffling his hair, "Why else silly!? I came to see you! But why are you alone? I thought Owen would be here at least."

Cody looked away.

"Oh. My. God." Sierra breathed, her eyes wide. What the hell was happening!? "Where are Brick and Shawn?"

Cody shrugged.

Sierra firmly took hold of Cody's forearm as she dragged him out the dining room, much to his embarrassment and protest as the villains snickered at his predicament. She continued to drag him till they made it all the way to his cabin. Sierra made sure to barricade the door as she wrapped Cody in one of the bed sheets to keep him comfortable.

"Lay it on me. Who voted for Owen?" Sierra asked, getting her phone out as she was ready to take some notes.

Cody blinked, a little surprised. "It ended in a three way tie between Owen, Shawn and Leshawna…"

Sierra paused, a thoughtful look on her face as she had to process what Cody just said.

XXX

Confessional: Cody (Heroic Horses)

"Okay so I'm a little desperate!" He admitted, throwing his hands in the air, "I tried to vote off Leshawna and it put me in a really bad spot! I was doing okayish and I blew it!"

XXX

Confessional: Sierra (Wildest Weasels)

Sierra, for lack of a better word, looked deranged as she scribbled multiple notes at an unhealthily fast rate. "NO MATTER HOW I LOOK AT IT CODY-KINS IS THE NEXT ONE TO BE VOTED OFF!" Sierra bawled, "I think Cody's amazing, but he's the only other person who voted for Leshawna at that ceremony! Statistically speaking he's on the outside and is almost guaranteed to be voted off!" A sudden determined look came across Sierra's face, "I will NOT allow that to happen!"

XXX

Courtney had decided she needed more allies. She had been getting too chummy with Scott and let the boy know as such. She felt he crossed a boundary when he got in a fight with Duncan over her, and that's when she knew she was drawing a little too much attention to herself. Who could she realistically ally with though?

Topher? Ugh, no.

Jo? Not in a million years.

She did notice two potentially good allies though.

"How are you this morning?" Courtney asked Scarlett as she sat on the villain's cabin steps with the brainiac. Scarlett was keeping track of how many pushups a shirtless Lightning could do, mostly because she was the first person he saw this morning and asked her, but she didn't particularly mind. She had no other priorities to attend to.

Yes. Courtney was attempting to get along with Scarlett and Lightning.

"Functioning." Scarlett replied curtly.

Courtney pursed her lips, a little put off at the lack of conversation. "How about you Lightning?"

"Sha-bam forty! Sha-bam fifty! Sha-bam sixty!"

"You happen to be at one hundred and eighty two if I recall correctly." Scarlett replied dryly, a little exasperated at his poor mathematical skills.

XXX

Confessional: Courtney (Villainous Vipers)

"Okay, what is her deal?" Courtney asked, crossing her arms in annoyance, "I was trying to strike up a conversation with her and she totally stonewalled me! I need her to give me more than that!"

XXX

Confessional: Scarlett (Villainous Vipers)

"Courtney wishes for an alliance." Scarlett explained bluntly, "I have no particular interest in aligning with someone who exhibits unhinged behavior. Frankly, Courtney is a priority target on who I need to eliminate. I could perhaps be persuaded to vote for either Alejandro or Duncan. All three are interchangeable, as long as I get one of them out soon, it only improves my position further."

XXX

Speaking of Duncan, he was still pissed off about the last challenge. He wasn't entirely sure why, but teasing Courtney wasn't very fun anymore. The spark they once had just wasn't there, no matter how hard he tried to provoke her.

He pulled a spray paint out of his makeshift bag and began spraying the boys heroes cabin. He might as well vandalize the heroes, right?

"Duncan? What are you doing?"

Duncan turned around to see a redheaded girl looking at him curiously with crossed arms. He didn't know what her name was.

"Is it Gwen you're looking for? I can find her if you want?" The redheaded girl asked, nodding her head in presumably Gwen's direction.

Duncan shrugged, "It's alright, I'm having a bit of a crappy day and I don't think Gwen could help." He couldn't help cringing at his words. He sounded like a very dismissive boyfriend.

The redheaded girl smiled wryly, "You too huh? I'm not feeling super good about myself recently. What's been on your mind?"

Normally Duncan would be a lot more apprehensive about strangers making idle chit chat with him, but he recognized that the girl was a little starved for socialization. It helped that she wasn't too bad to look at either. "Team drama, you?"

The girl giggled, putting a hand to her mouth to cover it, "Same, actually. I think everyone likes me, but it's hard to tell sometimes."

"I hear ya. What's your name anyways?" Duncan asked, wanting to put a name to her face.

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot!" The girl blushed in embarrassment, twirling one of her pigtails, "I'm Zoey! It's, uhh, really nice to meet you!"

"Alright, Zoey," Duncan started, "What makes you think your team dislikes you?"

"Huh?" Zoey asked, a little dumbfoundedly.

"Does your team actually dislike you or is that something you're making up?" Duncan questioned. He wasn't trying to sound harsh, but he knew these kind of insecure girls like her, heck, he would argue he was dating one.

"I never said my team disliked me," Zoey answered defensively, "I just said it's hard to tell sometimes."

"So what's the difference?" Duncan asked directly.

"The difference isn't a matter of like or dislike," Zoey clarified, "Maybe it's just… How I make someone feel sometimes? I know people like me on a surface level, but it's hard to know whether someone considers you a friend or not right?"

"So… that's what you're worried about?" Duncan said slowly, "You're worried that your team doesn't consider you a friend when you consider them a friend?"

Zoey shrugged and smiled sheepishly, "I know, silly right?"

"Nah." Duncan waved off, "I say be friends with whoever you want to be friends with. It's your responsibility to know whether they're worth being friends with or not, y'know?"

"Responsibility?" Zoey questioned unsurely, "What do you mean?"

"Well, somebody could be a bad friend to you." Duncan explained, "But if you still continue to be friends with them, then, I'm sorry to say but that's your fault for not cutting them off." Duncan laughed bitterly, "Why do you think I cheated on Courtney? Because I was a coward who didn't know how to cut someone off till it was too late. Maybe if I had taken my own advice and taken responsibility I wouldn't be known as a worldwide cheater!"

Duncan shook his own spray paint and began painting a skull. Zoey's problems had inadvertently reminded him of why he was mad and he was in a bit of a grouchy mood again.

"Can I try? Using the spray paint, I mean."

Duncan raised a brow, before rolling his eyes and chucking her the spray paint. "Little Miss Hero doing vandalism? Never would have taken you for the troublemaker type."

"I'm not!" Zoey laughed genuinely, "But vandalism is basically another form of art right?"

Zoey kept a steady arm as she sprayed the wall of the boys cabin. She seemed a little nervous, but otherwise kept her art relatively neat.

When Duncan saw what Zoey had done he let out a loud laugh in a way that he hadn't in a while.

On the wall, instead of directly spray painting an image, Zoey instead wrote, "DO YOU WANT TO BE FRIENDS? :) "

"I have an apple to commiserate the situation," Zoey teased a little, handing Duncan an apple, "And I can even draw a small skull if you really want me to!"

"Nah, you're actually alright, Little Red." Duncan said, "Well considering the trouble you've gone through to ask me that, yeah, we're friends."

XXX

Confessional: Duncan (Villainous Vipers)

Duncan snorted a little as he began his confessional, "I've been in a bit of a mood these past few days, so it was cool to just talk to a genuinely nice girl. Is Zoey a little cringe? Absolutely, I mean, did you see what she wrote for me?" Duncan questioned rhetorically, "But she was cute, so I can let that slide."

XXX

Confessional: Zoey (Heroic Horses)

Contrary to how chilled she seemed talking to Duncan, she actually seemed a lot more anxious in the confessional booth, "Holy crap I just made friends with Duncan!" Zoey said with wide eyes, "I mean, what was I thinking? 'Do you want to be friends?' UGH!" Zoey mocked herself, before smiling, "It worked, but it easily could have not worked too!"

XXX

A group of villains had formed inside the dining room, namely Heather, Alejandro, Scott and Topher.

"Ugh," Heather began complaining, twirling around what could only be described as paste on her spoon, "We have GOT to win the next challenge! We've literally been in the motel once, what utter nonsense…"

"I know!" Scott complained too, "Ever since I got a taste of that sweet place, everything else totally stinks! I can't even enjoy dirt anymore!"

"Tragic." Alejandro commented sarcastically. He then turned his attention to Heather, "So how do you intend to win us the next challenge team leader?"

Heather raised a brow, her mouth forming a frown, "I could come up with the best possible plan and you losers would still somehow mess it up."

"Well why don't we make Alejandro the team leader?" Topher suggested, a mouthful of paste in his mouth. "He led his team to victory multiple times on team Chris!"

Heather snorted in response, "Need I remind you that Alejandro's team was stuck in economy class for most of the season? That alone proves that I'm the better leader."

Alejandro narrowed his eyes at this declaration, not willing to let that go. "I was on a team with a butter donkey, crazy basket case, a good for nothing lazy machine with an occasional witty quip and Tyler." He huffed indignantly, "You on the other hand had three intelligent and strong women in Courtney, Gwen and Sierra as well as having Cody who was nothing but lightweight. I think we both know who had it easier."

"Oh please!" Heather replied indignantly, "You act like I was on a team of sane people! Courtney was throwing challenges left and right, Gwen was an incredibly weak player so I don't know where you got the idea she was strong! And don't even get me started on Cody! He was as useful as Noah! The only teammate worth anything was Sierra, and of course she was a handful! So don't even compare our teams here!"

"Aww man," Scott grinned, leaning back in his seat, interrupting whatever rebuttal Alejandro might've had. "I remember taking out my entire team during my season, those were some good times…"

Topher shrugged, wanting to join in the conversation, "I don't even remember who was on my team except for… Scarlett."

The villains continued to bicker with each other, particularly Heather and Alejandro debating on who had the more difficult team in World Tour.

XXX

Confessional: Scott (Villainous Vipers)

"Would I ever hang out with Heather, Alejandro and what's his face willingly? Nada." Scott denied casually, "Courtney told me to back off a bit, apparently we're too chummy or whatever, so I'm basically just giving her space for a bit. Totally not a big deal." Despite his cool appearance, Scott's eye made a noticeable twitch, causing him to smile nervously.

XXX

The next scene showcased the Wildcards having breakfast. Noah, Harold, Lindsay, Mike and B were the only ones in attendance.

"Where're Sky, Dave, Sierra and Dawn?" Harold questioned, taking a sip of his apple juice.

Noah shrugged, reading his newest book, "Don't know. Don't care."

Mike hummed to himself, contemplating the question. "I know Sierra's probably gone to bother Cody. That's been her go every day whenever we don't have a challenge." He grinned though when he looked over at Lindsay, "It's nice to see you though Lindsay, I feel like we haven't talked much if at all."

"Yeah," Harold confirmed, "Don't you usually hangout with Sky?"

Lindsay herself wasn't being particularly social as she focused on a fashion magazine. She did glance up however when Mike brought her name up, ""Who're you again?" She questioned, causing Mike's grin to falter slight.

"I'm uhh… Mike." The boy reaffirmed, "We spent the entire rabbit challenge hunting together!"

The confused look on Lindsay's face turned into a lightbulb as her face brightened in recognition. "Oh I know! You're the one with the funny characters!"

Mike laughed, a little disheartened that's how she remembered him. "Yeah, that's uhh… Me."

"Don't take it personally," Noah rolled his eyes, giving the lanky guy a stink eye, "Having any sort of basic human understanding isn't exactly her thing."

"Harsh." Harold muttered.

Noah rolled his eyes again, this time a bit more exasperatedly.

XXX

Confessional: Noah (Wildest Weasels)

"Are you kidding me!?" Noah said in a snarky tone, "I try to do one nice thing and I'm called harsh for it? Talk about being sensitive."

XXX

Confessional: Mike (Wildest Weasels)

"I already struggle with my identity!" Mike stressed a bit, clutching at his hair, "So when I'm the one being referred to with all the funny characters? Yeah, that stings. I know she doesn't mean it, but…" Mike sighed, "I miss Zoey."

XXX

Sky was standing on the balcony of the motel, just taking a bit of time to get some fresh air. Normally she would be on her morning jog, but she decided to give herself a break for today. She just wanted to take a moment to admire the trees, the river, the fresh air-

"What're you doing?"

What she didn't want was to engage in an awkward conversation with Dave first thing in the morning. "I'm just getting some fresh air, you?"

Dave shrugged, carrying a teapot with some teacups. "Same, I guess. Tea?"

Sky took the friendly notion in stride as she nodded her head, "Strong, no sugar in it please."

Dave snorted a bit, "Trust me, the last thing I want to do is put sugar anywhere in anyone's beverage."

This managed to actually get a giggle out of Sky, who snorted a little unattractively before covering her mouth with her hand. "I see your sense of humor hasn't changed."

"My wit knows no bounds." Dave commented playfully. Perhaps if this was still Pahkitew Island he would have been flirting with her, but he knew better than to do that.

They sat in a somewhat stilted atmosphere. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it felt rather unresolved. The first one to break the ice was Sky.

"Thanks." She said, mildly embarrassed as she turned her head.

Dave raised a brow in confusion, "For what?"

"I just…" Sky started, taking in a deep breath, unclenching her fists before continuing her thought, "You very well could have voted me off. You know when Sugar framed me for throwing the challenge? I could have been a goner, but… You still voted to save me."

Dave pursed his lips, "I wouldn't exactly say I voted to save you. I just voted to get rid of Sugar. There's a difference."

This declaration managed to deflate Sky's ego a bit. Of course he wasn't voting to save her. She should have known better. "Thanks anyways." She muttered meekly, taking another sip of her tea.

Dave pursed his own lips as he slouched. What is she acting like that for? She broke his heart, so why is she the one that's acting sheepish?

"Psst."

"Did you hear that?" Sky questioned, turning her head to where she thought she heard the sound come from.

"Uhh, yeah." Dave said.

They waited for a moment to see if the sound was made again.

"PSST!"

Dave knew exactly where the noise was coming from. He approached one of the nearby trees and promptly moved some leaves away to reveal Shawn!

"It's so good to see you guys!" Shawn exclaimed with an unusual amount of excitement as he enveloped Dave in a bear hug.

"G-get off me!" Dave struggled, trying to get out of Shawn's grip. Plus, he was smelling even worse than usual… "When was the last time you bathed? Ew, ew, ew, ew!"

"What are you doing here?" Sky asked Shawn curiously, "It's good to see you're still here, but shouldn't you be with your team?"

Shawn finally let go of Dave, the latter sanitizing his arms neurotically as the former began to explain his difficult situation. "I was moved onto the villains team, I don't know what to do!"

"How'd you manage that?" Dave questioned, surprised that Shawn would be moved onto the villains team at all.

Sky gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, "Jasmine didn't get voted off surely-"

"No, no! Nothing like that!" Shawn denied strongly, "I just… I really messed up! I don't know! I just wanted to be with some friends…" He admitted anxiously.

Dave gave Shawn a deadpan look, "Then go to the villains team? Hanging out with us isn't exactly doing yourself any favors here." He said snarkily with his arms crossed.

"Dave!" Sky reprimanded him, causing the other boy glare at her as she tried to appease the situation, "What Dave means to say is-"

"-Is that we're not friends!" Dave said cheerily, much to the shock of Shawn and Sky who both looked at him in horror, mouth wide open.

"Dave, what are you saying!?" Sky questioned, the familiar feeling of her temper coming back, "Of course he's our friend!"

"He's not MY friend!" Dave shouted angrily, who decided to get up in Shawn's face as the other boy cowered in a surprising amount of fear, "We have NEVER been friends! What's my favorite food? My favorite color? What secrets have I ever shared with you? Isn't that something we should know about each other as friends!? BUT GUESS WHAT! I don't know your favorite food, or your favorite color! And I most certainly don't know any SECRETS you've shared with me! You're nothing but a freak who's sick in the head and needs help pronto if you're ever going to live in normal society! BUT WAIT! THAT'S RIGHT! YOU'RE NOT NORMAL YOU ZOMBIE OBSESSED FREAK!"

SLAP

It was Dave's turn to be shell shocked as he clutched his stinging red cheek. With his eye that wasn't stinging, he checked to see who had hit him. He came to a conclusion pretty quickly.

Sky had slapped him.

"This is why I don't like you…" Sky responded slowly, trying to control her temper as she comforted Shawn who looked very upset. Honestly it was a little surprising he wasn't crying, "You… You…"

"YOU JUST HIT ME!" Dave screamed in a rage! He felt his fist clenching, the urge to hit Sky back very tempting.

"BECAUSE YOU WERE BEING A DISGUSTING! VINDICTIVE! LITTLE TOAD!" Sky screamed back!

"Are we interrupting anything?"

Dave's and Sky's eyes widened a little as they realized they had been screaming a little too loudly. Noah was the one who'd asked the question, his arms crossed as he witnessed the scene in front of him. Lindsay looked a little terrified, a mix of wanting to comfort Sky, but also being confused about what the appropriate thing to do was lest she get shouted at instead. Mike and Harold shared a level of discomfort at what they'd witnessed, the former awkwardly looking to the side as the latter seemed like he wanted to get involved but also didn't want to get shouted at. B seemed like a disapproving father as she shook his head side to side, giving them both a frown.

Before Dave or Sky could even attempt to explain the situation, an announcement was made.

"CHALLENGE TIME CAMPERS! MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE CAMPFIRE CEREMONY AREA!"

XXX

Confessional: Dave (Wildest Weasels)

"That wasn't my fault!" Dave defended himself, shaking a little in anger, "I was setting the record straight with Shawn! We're not friends! We never have been! UGH! WHY DID SHE HAVE TO GET INVOLVED!?" Dave couldn't help screaming, slamming his head against the side of the confessional booth. "Maybe I should have voted her off instead of Sugar!"

XXX

Confessional: Sky (Wildest Weasels)

"I shouldn't have hit him." Sky said immediately with shame, "I completely escalated the situation as soon as I did that… But, he was just saying so many awful things! What was I supposed to do? How could I have handled that better?" Sky was questioning, although it seemed like she was talking more to herself than the viewing outside world.

XXX

Confessional: Shawn (Villainous Vipers)

"We're not… Friends?" Shawn questioned, a look of deep hurt on his face as he buried his head in his arms.

XXX

All the teams had gathered, although each team had enough conflict to definitely notice the atmosphere. Gwen and Leshawna were still giving each other the cold shoulder. Sky and Dave couldn't stop glaring at each other. And the villains? They standardly couldn't stop hating each other, no matter how hard they tried to seem unified.

"I see there's a lot of hate going on!" Chris couldn't help laughing with glee, the situation greatly amusing him.

"Chris?" Alejandro questioned as he raised his hand, "Why is this gentleman standing with us?" He pointed at the Zombie Survivalist who had begrudgingly stood with the villains.

"I'm on your team now." Shawn replied flatly.

"Don't trust him!" Leshawna warned the other villains, "He tricked poor Owen during a tiebreaker! He is NOT to be trusted!"

"That I can agree with." Gwen snarked, glaring at her former teammate. "Even though you voted him off…"

"He lost us the challenge! For goodness sakes girl let it go!" Leshawna scoffed uncaringly as she threw her hands in the air, "You are sulking so much!"

"I wonder why." Gwen replied sarcastically, only provoking Leshawna further.

Duncan eyed his new teammate with disdain, "Wait, so he's here for tricking my good pal Owen here, is that right?" He questioned judgmentally, causing the boy to shrink into himself.

"That's right Duncan!" Chris answered him cheerily, enjoying the dogpiling happening. "Make of that what you will!"

The villain's reaction is not at all what Shawn expected at all. Duncan was glaring at the boy unsurprisingly, but people like Courtney, Scott, Lightning and Scarlett didn't take much notice or even react to the fact they received a new teammate. Topher wasn't listening whatsoever and completely missed the fact Shawn was on his team now. Most terrifyingly of all however were the hungry gazes of Heather, Alejandro and Jo; all of them viewing Shawn as a potential ally.

XXX

Confessional: Heather (Villainous Vipers)

"I have got to get him on my side-"

XXX

Confessional: Alejandro: (Villainous Vipers)

"Before the others get to him-"

XXX

Confessional: Jo (Villainous Vipers)

"So I can control the team-"

XXX

Confessional: Heather (Villainous Vipers)

"Dominate the competition-"

XXX

Confessional: Alejandro (Villainous Vipers)

"Keep myself safe-"

XXX

Confessional: Jo (Villainous Vipers)

"And finally win this game once and for all!"

XXX

Confessional: Shawn (Villainous Vipers)

Shawn doesn't say anything, but he is trembling and physically gulps.

XXX

"Well before I forget, it's time to introduce you to your next challenge!" Chris grins as he throws compasses and maps at Jasmine, Lightning and B respectively. "What would be the point of Summer Camp if we didn't go camping!"

"Chris, please!" Topher pleaded as he got on his knees and clasped his hands together, "I'm too handsome to get myself dirty! Anything but camping! I beg of you!"

Jo swiftly smacked him over the head, causing the boy to yelp, "Get a grip Turnip, stop being such a wuss!"

"Unless you want to be voted off?" Duncan questioned sinisterly, prompting a fist-bump between Duncan and Jo as they snickered at Topher's face turning red, dusting his trousers as he got up.

"You might remember in season one that all you had to do for this challenge was camp in your allocated spot, spend the night in the words, and then make your way back to the ceremony area before sunrise!" Chris explained nonchalantly, "However! Once you make your way to your allocated spots, you will find a list of tasks for you to complete! If by chance your list isn't complete by the time you race back to the ceremony area, you'll automatically be disqualified and forced to vote someone off!"

"That sounds way harder than last time! How am I going to wash my hair?" Lindsay complained, clutching her hair fretfully.

"Do we get camping gear?" Mike questioned.

"Yup! Once you find it!" Chris snickered, "Good luck!"

Jasmine was leading for her team as she held the map whilst giving Brick the compass so he can direct her. "Are we still going north?"

"Ma'am yes ma'am!" Brick affirmed, happy to play second in command.

The team was mostly functional, with Sammy and Zoey happily chatting away with each other. But Gwen, Leshawna and Cody were unnaturally reclusive and weren't in any sort of mood to socialize. With Gwen and Leshawna it made sense, but nobody seemed to have noticed how quiet Cody had gotten.

"What's this?" Jasmine questioned, coming to a halt, "Guys, there's a screen in front of us!"

"What's on it?" Sammy asked curiously, as the rest of her teammates also peered at the screen.

The screen was blank at first, before turning on to see two… Somewhat familiar faces?

"Hey, hey!" One girl said happily. She was thin and tanned.

"Oh my gosh! This is, like, so crazy!" The other girl said. She was plump and pale.

"I know right?" The first girl said, "I can't believe we get to make a cameo!"

"That's like, so exciting!" The second girl said.

"Oh I know!" Sammy exclaimed, pointing at the two girls, "They're Kacy and Stacy right?"

"Eh?" Both girls questioned, a little hurt, "But…"

"Actually," Zoey began as she pointed at the two girls, "They're Katie and Sadie!"

"Oh my gosh!" Katie squealed! "She knows who we are!"

"That's like, so cool!" Sadie squealed back, "This proves we're like, relevant, right?"

"Oh totally!" Katie nodded her head in agreement.

The rest of the heroes seemed mostly befuddled with the girls' involvement. What exactly were they doing here?

"Uhh, you girls are part of the challenge?" Leshawna asked with a raised brow.

"OH! EM! GEE!" Sadie cried out, "She's like, totally right! We need to explain what we're doing here!"

"Okay, so, basically." Katie started, "Two of you here will be separating from the rest of your team and will instead be making your way to a cave that's like, been prepared for you guys and stuff!"

"Apparently it's the Katie and Sadie effect! How exciting is that!" Sadie giggled, "And not just that, we also get to choose who we pair up together!"

Before the team could complain, the girls made their decision on the spot. "We choose Gwen and Leshawna! Say bye to your team for now!"

Katie and Sadie both disappeared from the screen before the two girls could complain even louder.

"You have GOT to be kidding me…" Gwen muttered with gritted teeth.

Leshawna rolled her eyes in return, crossing her arms, "Well don't just stand there girl, move your pale butt, we've got a cave to find."

The rest of the heroes said their goodbyes to the two girls that were forced to depart from the rest of the team and made their way to a cave where they were supposed to be spending the night together? Unsurprisingly, both girls were just THRILLED at the idea.

XXX

Confessional: Gwen (Heroic Horses)

Gwen sat crossed leg as she glared into the lenses, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would rather be stuck in a cave with Courtney right now." She admitted, before grimacing at the idea.

XXX

If the Heroes reaction to Katie and Sadie were lukewarm, the Villains reaction was nonexistent! The two girls did the same intro that they did with the heroes, but only Alejandro and Heather truly seemed to be paying attention.

"Chica's, do you perhaps have any directions for us?" Alejandro asked charmingly, much to Heather's chagrin as the girls completely swooned.

"Oh em gee, he just totally hit on us right?"

"Definitely. He was obviously flirting with me more though!"

"No he wasn't! Stop being so pigheaded? Remember that time you thought Bradley-"

"DON'T SPEAK HIS NAME! You promised you wouldn't bring him up ever again!"

Heather's patience for the two girls was wearing thin as she placed a hand on her hip. It was one thing to get off track, it was another to imply that Alejandro would actually flirt with these two. She needed to put them in their place, "Yeah, Tweedle Stick and Tweedle Thick? Mind telling us what you're doing here already?"

Katie and Sadie were wide eyed as they gave each other nervous glances, "Sorry Heather! We SO weren't implying we would take Alejandro away from you!" The latter said apologetically.

"I totally would though." Katie muttered slyly, causing her friend to giggle again. Heather gave her the dirtiest look possible and used a slitting motion across her neck, then pointed at the aforementioned girl. Katie gulped, looking towards the floor sheepishly.

"Girls." Courtney said sternly, a vindictive glare on her face as she willed them to get back on track, "If you don't tell us what you're doing here, we're going to continue on."

"OH YEAH!" Katie exclaimed, "Totally forgot!"

"We're part of the 'Katie and Sadie' effect!" Sadie explained, "Basically in our original season Katie and I split off from our team! So we're here to force two members of your team to split off from the rest of you guys and they have to spend their time in the cave of friendship!"

"Barf." Jo couldn't help grimacing in disgust. It was nauseating enough to think about having to spend a night with someone like pit sniffer Scott or egomaniac Lightning!

"Any volunteers?" Alejandro asked his team, receiving zero responses.

"Oops, sorry Alejandro! We get to decide who goes to the cave of friendship!" Katie giggled, "And we already planned this in advance!"

"We've been watching the season so far!" Sadie claimed, eyeing each of the individuals who were nervous about being chosen, "And we've decided to pair up Duncan and Scott!"

"NO WAY!" Duncan protested, "Choose someone else right this minute or I'll make you regret it!"

"Ditto." Scott leered at the two girls, not wanting to spend a night with Duncan of all people.

"Nuh uh!" The girls said in synchronization, "You're on an island. We're in a studio, we can do what we want. Ciao for now!"

And much to the anger of Duncan and Scott, the girls disappeared from the screen.

"Have fun lovebirds!" Jo snickered as she led the way, a few of the other villains snickering as Duncan and Scott were left to fend for themselves.

XXX

Confessional: Duncan (Villainous Vipers)

Duncan sat with a knife in his hand as he carved self-portraits of Katie and Sadie onto the side of the confessional booth, "Yeah, you two, you see this?" Duncan asked as he pointed at the two portraits. He then sliced through both portraits in succession, then pointed back at the camera, "That's what I'm going to do to you when I see you girls." He said with a dead serious look on his face.

XXX

The Wildcards had an uncomfortable trek with hardly anyone making much conversation. B was leading the way with a map whilst Dawn assisted him with the compass. Near the front of the pack was Dave and Harold. Harold seemed to make a noticeable effort to keep a distance between Dave and Sky, with the latter lagging behind in the back. In the middle were Noah, Sierra and Mike who seemed to be quietly conversing with each other. And near the back were Lindsay and Sky, the former chatting away about the next thing that entered her head while the latter listened patiently.

"Did you know that the reason some frogs are boldly colored is to warn predators of their toxic skin?" Harold asked Dave. Dave shook his head boredly, allowing Harold to continue, "In a way it kind of reminds me of you." Dave bit his mouth on that one. He had already made a scene this morning, making another one probably wasn't his wisest decision. Although the temptation to smack Harold was rising.

"Friends, it appears we have a form of technology in front of us!" Dawn warned as she pointed at the screen.

"Looks like a TV to me." Lindsay said as she scratched her head in confusion.

"It is," Noah said, before glancing at Dawn, "Our resident hippie just happens to be incapable of saying something for what it is instead of speaking in riddles."

Dawn turned her head away from the bookworm, unwilling to let him provoke her.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Mike questioned, "Turn it on!"

B turned the TV on,

"Hey, hey! Wildcards!" Katie cheered as she stuck her tongue and struck a pose.

Sadie was quick to follow her friend's lead as she mirrored her friend's pose, "It's your iconic duo Katie and Sadie!"

Lindsay blinked.

Harold picked his nose.

B stared blankly.

Mike looked confused .

Dawn raised a brow.

Dave rolled his eyes.

Sky gave an uncertain friendly wave.

"Oh em gee! It's been like, such a hot minute since I've seen you two!" Sierra squealed as she clapped her hands excitedly, "Are you part of a twist? This is like your most iconic episode ever! I remember CRYING MY EYES OUT! Your friendship was just like, so beautiful!"

The two girls cooed as they clasped hands.

"Did you hear that? She said we were iconic."

"I know, like, oh em gee."

"Girls, you've had your five minutes of fame," Noah snarked impatiently, "Just tell us what's going on."

"Noah! How funny you should mention that!" Sadie giggled to herself mischievously.

Katie grinned herself and pointed at him, "Because you will be part of our twist! In our original season we got split up from the rest of our team and were forced to spend the night in a cave."

Noah began glaring, but Sadie took over from Katie and started explaining, "We will be choosing two players from your team to split off from the rest of you and spend the night in the very same cave we spent the night in!"

"And this time around we've chosen Noah and… Dawn!"

Noah began making choking noises as Dawn sighed through her nose in deep frustration. "I don't suppose you would change your mind if we asked nicely?" The Moonchild asked despite knowing the answer.

"Nuh uh!" Katie denied, "You two have some sorta chemistry going on, so it's like… Go makeup like we did! Or whatevs."

"Yeah!" Sadie agreed enthusiastically, "By the time you leave the cave you guys will be besties!"

XXX

Confessional: Dawn (Wildest Weasels)

"Chemistry?" Dawn questioned with an annoyed look on her face, "I don't believe I have done anything to imply I would have any sort of intimate feelings for someone with such nihilistic and cynical views of the world! It's otherworldly!"

XXX

Cody was in a pretty bitter mood. It was hard working in a team that was most likely to vote him off and with Gwen being forced to separate from the group made his feelings of bitterness bubble even further. He would have liked to have talked with Sammy, but all she was interested in was girl talk with Zoey and occasionally checking up on Jasmine. Zoey was annoying for obvious reasons, such as the fact he felt like he couldn't get closer to Brick or Sammy because they were already close to the Indie Chick. Brick played second in command, following Jasmine around like a lost puppy.

Ironically, it was Jasmine he was the least annoyed with.

"Ah hah!" Jasmine cheered as she pointed in a direction and ran on ahead, "I think we found our campsite, let's hop to it kangaroos!"

Brick, Sammy and Zoey were quick to cheer along as they followed after her. Cody trudged along moodily, although nobody seemed to actually notice what sort of mood he was in.

Jasmine and Brick were quick to rummage through their campsite supplies. Jasmine pulled out a tent, mallet, pegs, torch and rope. Brick meanwhile pulled out multiple sleeping bags, some blankets, pillows, insect repellent and toilet paper.

"This is a generous supply of resources." Jasmine noted, pleased with the haul. "Right. Here's how we're going to do things. Brick and Cody, you guys set up the tent. Sammy and Zoey, get some firewood, we're going to need it to stay warm tonight! I'll forage for some food, see if I can get any wild animals for tonight."

"Wait, you're going to kill animals?" Cody questioned, a little queasy at the idea of having to eat a squirrel or rabbit.

Jasmine raised a brow, an amused smile taking over her face, "I can get you some vegan options if that'll better suit your diet?"

Jasmine had meant it as a good natured joke, but Cody's crestfallen face and watery eyes indicated he was on the verge of crying. Jasmine held up her hands as she crouched down to his level and put a comforting arm around Cody's shoulder, "Listen mate, I'm only joking with you yeah? If the idea of me hunting animals is hard, I can find plenty of alternatives ya hear me?"

Brick, Sammy and Zoey all stared at him pitifully.

"I've needed a diet anyway!" Sammy said, hoping to cheer up the boy.

Brick nodded his head, "It's only for a single night, we can all live on fruit here right?"

Zoey nodded her enthusiastically and clapped her hands. "Totally!"

Cody looked at Jasmine's concerned face, Brick's worried face, Zoey's pleasant face.

And Sammy's kind face.

Cody hated them all at that moment.

XXX

Confessional: Cody (Heroic Horses)

"Did you see the way they were all staring at me?" Cody questioned wildly, throwing his arms around, "How DARE they act like they're not about to vote me off if we lose the challenge! What a bunch of posers!"

XXX

The villains, similarly to the heroes, were getting their gear out of the bag. It was Topher who noticed a note fall out of the bag. He picked it up and began to read it. "These are your mini challenges you will have to do throughout the day. Failure to complete all the tasks will result in disqualification?"

Alejandro quickly took the note out of Chris Clone's hand and began reading what the tasks would actually be:

- "One man and one woman must skinny dip in a nearby lake."

- "One man and one woman must do their business in the woods."

- "During the evening, create and maintain a campfire. Keep it alive until after sunrise."

- "One man and one woman must snuggle together in a singular sleeping bag."

- "One man and one woman must sleep outside with no sleeping bag until sunrise."

"IMPORTANT: Every camper must complete one of these tasks, if a single camper doesn't do one of the written above tasks, your tribe will be disqualified."

"Well." Jo said as she looked at the other ladies with raised brows, "Anyone going to fight me if I'm the one that takes a dump in the woods?"

"That's so gross!"

"Absolutely not!"

Heather and Courtney couldn't help gagging at the thought of doing their private business in the woods.

"The Lightning will take a dunce faster than you she-guy!" Lightning challenged as he ran into the forest, hastily taking off his shorts and getting ready to do his business.

"LIGHTNING THAT IS SO GROSS!" Topher couldn't help wailing in disgust and Heather and Courtney similarly recoiled in disgust.

"I'LL DEFINITELY TAKE ONE FASTER THAN YOU!" Jo challenged, getting ready to take off her jogging bottoms as Alejandro and Shawn quickly averted their gazes.

XXX

Confessional: Scarlett (Villainous Vipers)

"This tribe is completely barbaric." Scarlett couldn't help commenting with a roll of her eyes.

XXX

"Oh my gosh!" Lindsay squealed as she happily clung onto Sky's arm, "We should totally go skinny dipping together!"

Sky smiled bashfully, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. "Lindsay, it's supposed to be one guy and one girl, y'know?"

Lindsay pouted, putting her best puppy dog eyes to the test, "Please Sky! Even if we have to go skinny dipping with a guy, please come with me! I don't want to be alone…"

Sky looked at the rest of her team. Harold and Dave were noticeably offended at Lindsay's remarks. Mike and B seemed relatively unaffected. And…

"Hey, where did Sierra go?" Sky questioned with uncertainty.

"She mentioned something about taking a poo in the forest." Harold motioned, his eyes lingering a bit too long in the direction Sierra had gone.

"TMI, Harold." Dave grimaced, rubbing his arms with his personalized hand sanitizer.

"Well, why don't we all go skinny dipping?" Sky suggested supportively, taking on the leadership role, "It's not like we're being restricted, right? The minimum requirement is that a single man and woman have to skinny dip right? But there's no rules about turning it into a group bonding moment, right?"

Dave raised a brow to this suggestion, a challenging rebuttal at his lips. "Shouldn't we be actually, I don't know, working?"

"No offence Dave, but you've been really hard to like these past few days." Mike suddenly said, surprising Dave as the former continued, "How about letting us relax for once instead of subjecting us to one of your snide comments. We're sick of having to sit through your mood swings, so put a sock in it already!"

Dave clicked his tongue, crossing his arms, "I see how it is! You guys don't want me around! Well I don't want to be around you losers either!" And with that declaration, Dave sulked off.

Harold quickly chased after Dave, wanting to comfort the other boy.

Sky, Mike, B and Lindsay stood awkwardly. That was before Lindsay broke the ice. "So… Skinny dipping?"

XXX

Confessional: Mike (Wildest Weasels)

"Maybe I took that too far," Mike admitted a bit guiltily, "But Dave makes it impossible to enjoy anything! Like, I don't see the harm in letting us skinny-dip for a few minutes and then getting back to the challenge! He's just in a permanently sour mood. I have tried being patient with him, but I refuse to let Dave bring down the morale of the team!"

XXX

Gwen and Leshawna had trekked through the woods silently. They were both sulking at one another. The former is still upset about Owen's elimination, and the latter is fed up with being treated like the bad guy because she made a strategic choice. It was bordering into the evening and the girls were getting worried.

"You think we're nearly there?" Gwen questioned apprehensively.

Leshawna replied equally apprehensively, "Let's hope we find the cave before the rain decides to come and ruin my mascara."

That managed to get a chortle out of Gwen. Leshawna smiled for the first time that day and actually felt comfortable enough to nudge the Goth, "Imagine me with my mascara trailing down my face? Horrifying."

Gwen laughed some more, before quieting down. "I don't get it."

Leshawna narrowed her eyes slightly, but replied coolly. "What don't you get?"

"Why did you vote for Owen? I want a real answer, not the one you've been saying."

Leshawna regarded Gwen skeptically, "And what exactly is unreal about my answer? I voted for Owen because he cost us the challenge, it ain't any deeper than that homegirl."

"I don't believe you." Gwen told her friend with furrowed brows, "Even if Owen cost us the challenge, nothing was preventing you from voting for Shawn. So… Why? Why did you vote off someone as nice as Owen? I don't know what's going on with you Leshawna!"

Leshawna shrugged, a look of guilt actually crossing her face for the first time ever since voting off Owen, "It wasn't anything personal at all. I really, really mean that!"

"That's not an answer!" Gwen shouted, beginning to get frustrated at Leshawna's lack of justification.

Leshawna put on her own glare, keeping her voice levelled as she replied, "Where do you get off thinking I have to justify myself to you? It ain't anything personal, so for the last time, drop it!"

XXX

Confessional: Leshawna (Heroic Horses)

"Homegirl just doesn't get it," Leshawna sighed. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy, but I wanna win and sometimes that means going through these competitions with a businesslike attitude." She massaged her forehead, "I just need Gwen to understand that I still like her! But I'm gonna put myself first, that's all there is to it. Getting rid of Owen was just the better strategic play in the long term!"

XXX

Scott and Duncan had managed to find a cave and were sitting inside of it awkwardly. There wasn't anything in particular to actually talk about. Scott knew for a fact he had been provoking Duncan for a few days about Courtney now, and the fact the wonder twins of all people picked up on it? He enjoyed teasing Duncan, but the biggest conflict on the team being between them two? He wondered if he was tormenting Duncan a little too much. Much like Scott, Duncan was worried about the fact he might have let the situation between him, Scott and Courtney get the better of him. It was funny, because he remembered for the longest time being happy to distance himself from Courtney for a few years. To be with Gwen was one of the best things to happen to him. But then something happened.

Courtney… Changed.

He had a hard time figuring out what exactly had changed about Courtney. Was she less bossy? Less nagging? Less spiteful?

Was she just… Mellow?

Not entirely. She still screamed at him and got physically violent with him from time to time, but… She seemed almost too reasonable.

"Maybe I just wasn't surprised with you."

That was what Courtney said to him whilst she was attending to Scott's wounds previously. Now that Duncan really thought about it. Courtney seemed a lot less angry with him than she was at Gwen when she first found out about his secret affair with her. So then, what? Did she have no faith he would stay loyal? Had she always expected him to cheat? Is that why Courtney was so clingy during their relationship?

That bothered him a lot.

"Do you like Courtney?"

Duncan scowled immediately at the question, "Seriously dude, are we really going to talk about that?"

Scott shrugged, "I'm bored. You didn't exactly say no, so…" He trailed off. Truthfully, Scott had the total hots for Courtney, he couldn't deny it. He wanted to ask her out, but Duncan's behavior around Courtney was too damning for Scott to act on it immediately. He wanted to make sure Duncan wouldn't become a future problem if he acted on his feelings for Courtney… And if he did… He may have to target Duncan sooner than he would have liked.

"Dude, of course not. I'm going out with Gwen for god's sake!" Duncan denied hotly. Why was he getting so worked up?

"Then why are you getting angry?" Scott asked with raised brows, an all but accusatory glare on his face.

"I…" Duncan stammered, finding it difficult to rebuttal Scott's accusation. "W-why do you even care dude?"

"Why do you think? I wanna ask her out. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

Duncan's eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets and he could feel some sort of anger welling up within him and preparing to attack his companion for the night, but before he could answer a girl's voice called out, echoing the cave.

"You wanna ask Courtney out, Freckles?"

The boys turned their heads to see a curious Leshawna and sullen Gwen walking up to them, the former asking the question. Duncan's eyes widened when he saw the latter giving him a particularly nasty glare. "Gwen, it's not what you think-"

"Save it, jerkwad."

XXX

Confessional: Duncan (Villainous Vipers)

"That wasn't what it looked like!" Duncan defended, quickly throwing his hands in the air, "Scott was asking too many damn questions and I lost my cool! That's all it was!" Despite his continued denial, he still couldn't help the guilty look from crossing his face.

XXX

Confessional: Gwen (Heroic Horses)

"There's no way he still has feelings for Courtney…" Gwen muttered to herself, a look of haunted fear on her face.

XXX

Noah could feel nothing but impatience in his bones. Every five minutes Dawn had them stopping in a particular spot that could take anywhere from five minutes to an entire hour and he was getting sick of it. She wanted to admire some scenery? Sure, whatever. Communicate with rabbits? Bizarre, but not entirely out of character for her.

So where did Noah draw the line at? Tree hugging.

Dawn had been hugging a tree that looked to be a little more decayed than its surrounding trees. She had a look of remorse on her face as she hugged the dying tree as tightly as she could.

"Explain to me what this act of hippery is." Noah asked dryly, a book in hand. He was prepared for Dawn to be hugging that tree for maybe five hours, he needed something to pass the time!

"I'm giving her my condolences," Dawn answered solemnly, choosing to ignore the noise Noah made, which she suspected was him choking back some laughter. "No animals have visited her in a while, all you have to do is see in her aura how lonely she truly is!"

"If we turn her into a book, she'll live for eternity technically. At least then she'd be useful." Noah joked cynically, knowing full well it would provoke the girl.

Dawn made a noise of contempt as she replied, "Your humor is positively vacuous! She has given us oxygen for however many years and all you wish to do is reduce her memory to a publication of claptrap? Shame on you!"

Noah raised a brow, almost in disbelief as he couldn't help the mirth from appearing on his face. "Claptrap? What an excellent word to describe you! You realize dictionaries come from books right? If your hypocrisy wasn't so transparent I'd almost be impressed with your vocabulary."

"Dictionaries are historically the most useful books to mankind." Dawn answered simply, "Without it, we would not be able to communicate. My implication was that most books were unilaterally useless, not all of them. I would expect you to take note of that rather than contradict me as quickly as you did, with you being the scholarly type and all." She pricked at Noah ever so slightly. She wasn't going to take his insults lying down.

"I don't get it with you!" Noah flat out admitted, shutting his book shut. "You're clearly a bright, intelligent girl. Why are you so disillusioned with reality?"

"Because, unlike you, I have belief." Dawn answered straightforwardly, "My spirituality allows me to communicate and truly connect with nature all around me. I don't expect everyone to share my beliefs, everyone is uniquely different. You, however? You never had any belief to begin with. You accuse me of being artificial, however, your aura is transparently ostentatious and I believe you should look long and hard in a mirror before you think about criticizing me again!" Dawn huffed, a little red on her cheeks as she found herself panting heavily from her ranting.

Noah seemed unaffected by her rant, but to his credit, he allowed her to do whatever she wanted till they got to the cave without complaint.

XXX

Confessional: Noah (Wildest Weasels)

Noah looked impressed as he nodded his head approvingly. "She's honestly not a bad debater." He started his confessional with a thoughtful look, "I hate to admit it, but she really knew how to back herself up in that argument. The way she managed to logically explain all of her hocus pocus while simultaneously calling me out on my own lack of belief was brutal coming from someone like her. I'll think about what she's said before coming up with a rebuttal."

XXX

Without Gwen and Leshawna there to disrupt the unity, Jasmine was able to lead the heroes perfectly throughout the challenge. She and Brick had already taken a dunce in the forest, completing that specific challenge. Brick had also managed to get a campfire roaring and he was maintaining it like a hawk.

As for Sammy, Zoey and Cody, seeing as they all had to do one of the tasks, all three of them decided to go skinny dipping while Brick maintained the fire and Jasmine foraged for some more food.

Prior to his earlier mood, Cody was much more… Excited, then he would care to admit. He had to avert his gaze from both girls unless he wanted his eyes to glance where they shouldn't be. "How long do you think we'll have to be here for anyway?"

Sammy and Zoey exchanged looks, "Good question," The former responded, "Maybe we can stay here till we start to get really pruny or something!"

"There's nothing dangerous in the lake right?" Zoey asked nervously, "This challenge always has some sort of animal right? What if Fang comes or something?"

"Well, uhh, we've always got Brick and Jasmine to protect us!" Sammy reassured nervously. "Although, I'm starting to feel goosebumps forming on my arm…"

Unbeknownst to Sammy, there was in fact something watching the three of them skinny dip. Or rather… Someone. And that someone was NOT happy at what they were witnessing…

"I hope you're feeling a little better by the way!" Zoey mentioned, directing her enthusiasm at Cody who looked down, abashed.

Sammy tilted her head as she directed the next question at him, "Was something upsetting you earlier? It was a little hard to tell, but we don't want to pry or anything!"

Well… They were the ones upsetting him, but Cody wouldn't admit to that. "I was just missing Owen, I think, dude was an awesome friend."

While Zoey nodded her head in understanding, Sammy kind of looked down guiltily, a sudden realization dawning on her face. She had voted against Owen prior because she knew that was probably the best strategic move for her and Jasmine. She hadn't considered Cody's feelings at all. She was ashamed to admit this, but Cody didn't once cross her mind when she cast her vote against Owen. If only there was something she could do to make it up to him…

"Can I say something?" Zoey said shyly, her face turning red much to the confusion of Sammy and Cody. The two nodded as Zoey continued her question, "With Jasmine and I having boyfriends, it would be a little… Inappropriate for us to share a sleeping bag with someone."

Sammy's face turned red immediately. With Jasmine and Zoey being unable to share a sleeping bag, the only girl left available was… Her. She couldn't help fanning herself with her hand as the realization hit her. She would have to share a sleeping bag with one of Brick or Cody. She knew immediately who she wanted to ask.

"Umm, Cody?" Sammy questioned nervously, twiddling her thumbs, "Do you, umm, ahh…" She covered her face, unable to say what she wanted to say.

"Don't say anything further!" Cody exclaimed excitedly, a particularly lustful look in his eyes as he started swimming to shore to dry off. "Lemme just, uhh, prepare myself!"

"Prepare for what?" Zoey questioned.

Cody left the girl's question unanswered as he left the shore. He hoped it wasn't obvious how excited he was, but just in case he made sure to cover his crotch as much as possible. Finally! He and Sammy were going to share a sleeping bag together! If Cody was lucky, he might be able to-

All of a sudden, Cody had been grabbed from out of nowhere! Somebody was muffling his mouth as he tried to kick and scream for help, but to his rotten luck nobody had noticed he was being kidnapped!

And then he saw it. He saw a strand of purple hair before losing consciousness.

"Oh~ Who's my adorable little cuddle bug?! I promise not to let that blonde floozy trick you any further~"

XXX

Confessional: Sierra (Wildest Weasels)

Sierra cradled Cody in her arms like a baby as she cooed, "Aww, isn't he just so adorable?" She asked aloud. She glanced at the camera and smiled sheepishly, "Of course I'm not going to keep Cody away from his team, hello~ That would instantly put a target on his back!" She giggled, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "I'm just saving him the embarrassment of having to share a sleeping bag with that blonde bimbo, yeah, Samey? Ugh. Completely desperate." Sierra rolled her eyes, irony falling on deaf ears.

XXX

The villains sat around a campfire together with a surprising amount of food. This was because of Shawn, who in a desperate attempt to get away from his team, went foraging for food. He had managed to find an array of berries, all of which he determined were safe for eating. He also took the time to catch a few fish, although it always freaked him out when he thought he heard a zombie behind him only for it to be a nearby woodling creature.

The only members not around the campfire were Courtney and Topher, having been made to skinny dip to complete their task.

"Impressive haul Zombie Nutjob," Jo nodded her head in a surprising amount of respect, she was skewering one of the fish and cooking it, "I like you already."

"Thanks." Shawn replied shortly, tucking his knees into his chest.

Alejandro nodded, attempting to put an arm around the boy, quickly smelling his awful stench, and retracting his arm quick enough before he noticed, "I concede amigo, without your… Unique set of skills, I imagine this challenge would be more difficult!"

Heather huffed, crossing her arms as she whipped her head, "Don't speak too soon, this is where everything goes wrong! I would know."

"Like?" Alejandro teased flirtatiously.

Lightning, who was cooking his fish too eagerly on a stick, accidentally allowed a small flame to flick at him, "YOWCH!" Lightning couldn't help reacting as he recoiled in surprise, causing a stick from the fireplace to land near the tent, causing it to burn to a crisp.

Everyone glared at Lightning, who couldn't help smiling sheepishly. "My sha-bad?"

"Nice going Brightening!" Jo scolded him.

Heather couldn't help giving Alejandro a knowing look, smirking triumphantly in spite of the situation.

"It couldn't get any worse than this." Alejandro commented defiantly.

Before anyone could react to what he said, the sky thundered and rain started pouring down. In the distance you could hear Courtney and Topher screaming in anger as they quickly got out of the lake.

"Quickly!" Scarlett barked, an unusual sternness to her voice as she got up and quickly picked up some oversized leaves, "Maintain the fire! If it goes out we're disqualified!"

XXX

Confessional: Courtney (Villainous Vipers)

"IT'S A WONDER I DIDN'T DIE OF HYPOTHERMIA OUT THERE!" Courtney couldn't help screeching in outrage.

XXX

Confessional: Jo (Villainous Vipers)

"Oh yeah," Jo nodded in determination, "I'm going to get Shawny Boy on my side no matter what. He's too useful to discard here."

XXX

The wildcards had mostly finished everything. Despite Dave's lousy attitude, the wildcards didn't waste too much time skinny dipping, with B in particular being the first to get out and start setting up the tent. Harold was the one who volunteered to take a dunce for the boys, while Sky and Lindsay were content with assuming Sierra had done it for the girls.

There was one last awkward thing to discuss…

"I have a girlfriend," Mike told everyone firmly, "Girls, you guys are great, but… Y'know how inappropriate it would be for me to do that."

B referred to his girth, pointed at one of the sleeping bags, and made an X with his arms to signify there's no way he was sharing a sleeping bag with someone either.

"How about Star and Drew?" Lindsay suggested absentmindedly, much to the shock of Sky and Dave.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Dave complained loudly.

"You!?" Sky grit through her teeth, "What about me!?

"I actually agree with Lindsay!"

The rest of the team turned their heads to see Sierra with a bag of fruit in hand. "Anyone hungry?" She asked impishly.

"Where the hell do you think you get off on agreeing with Lindsay!?" Dave pointed an accusatory finger at Sierra, "And why have you been gone for so long! You've been gone for almost the ENTIRE DAY!"

Sierra threw her bag of fruit at Dave, who, due to the trajectory and strength behind the throw, landed on his bottom with a thud. "Listen up! It's my understanding that you and Sky are making the team uncomfortable, am I right?" She asked the rest of her team, who all nodded hesitantly, "So you two are going to share a sleeping bag together, you're not going to complain about it, and you're going to fix your issues with each other so we can work as a team. Am I right?"

Dave scoffed, but quietened down. Sky was surprisingly a little more furious than Dave, but decided to change tactics, "Where HAVE you been all day anyways?"

"Hmm, I uhh, had to deal with some womanly issues. You get what I mean, right?" Sierra made up on the spot.

Sky noticed the glares she was receiving, the team clearly taking Sierra's side. She sighed, "Yeah, I get what you mean." Sky mumbled.

XXX

Confessional: Sierra (Wildest Weasels)

"Phew, I hope they bought my act." Sierra wiped her brow nervously, "I was too busy making sure my sweet Cody was safely asleep… And avoiding Jasmine. She's one scary tracker! But as soon as Brick and Samey shared a sleeping bag with each other? I could safely return Cody to his team! Besides, I'm still holding out for Skave! I mean, hello? Prime opportunity here!"

XXX

Confessional: Mike (Wildest Weasels)

"Honestly it was really cool to see Sierra acting so… Sane." Mike scratched his head confusedly, "No idea where she was all day, but if she could manage to make Sky and Dave make up? That would be great!"

XXX

"What a headache." Noah couldn't help muttering to himself. When he was told by Katie and Sadie to spend an entire night with Dawn, he thought that was bad enough… But now he also had to spend it with Gwen, Leshawna, Duncan and some guy called Scott. Dawn seemed to dislike him, so Noah figured Scott had a bit more sense than she did.

"Stand on opposite sides of your teammate behind a makeshift podium made out of rocks?" Dawn questioned quizzically. There were indeed two shoddily made podiums made out of rocks, but she was having trouble understanding the purpose.

"Seems like we're meant to go one at a time." Gwen mentioned as she peered behind one of the podiums, "Yeah, see here? It says one team at a time. Doesn't matter the order we go in."

Dawn hummed to herself, "Perhaps Noah and I should go first?"

The Leshawna & Gwen, and Duncan & Scott duos had no particular issue with this arrangement as they shrugged their shoulders. So Dawn took one podium and Noah took the other.

Suddenly, an intern strolled a television into the cave where Chris was, "Missed me?" He asked wickedly.

"Does it look like we missed you?" Gwen asked snarkily.

"Careful Gwen, I can see creases forming on your forehead!" Chris laughed as the girl seemed caught off guard and touched her forehead out of instinct, "This part of the challenge is pretty simple. Noah and Dawn here have a conflict with each other. Both players will argue why they have an issue with the other, and then the peanut gallery consists of you guys." Chris pointed at Gwen, Leshawna, Duncan and Scott, "Then get to decide whose in the right and whose in the wrong! Debate!"

The television switched off, allowing the four currently not standing behind the podiums to take a good look at Noah and Dawn. "Okay, tell us what deal you two have with each other." Leshawna said.

Dawn had no issue complaining about Noah, who was quick to share her side first. "My issue with Noah is his disrespect. Due to his lack of belief, he thinks it affords him the right to mock everyone else for their personal beliefs. Not only that, but he is quick to harshly criticize someone's character because he deems them abnormal in comparison to himself."

Noah was a little put off by how quickly Dawn had gone on the attack, but he wasn't about to let himself be outwitted by Dawn. "Dawn's explanation shows clear biases against me specifically. While everything she's said about me isn't necessarily wrong, I believe she's misconstruing my words as malicious compliance when in actuality someone on our team needs to stay grounded." Noah argued with a surprising amount of passion, "Forgive me if I sometimes have to complain about how airheaded Lindsay is, or how gross Harold is, or how freaky Mike is, or how loony Sierra is, and don't even get me started on Dave and Sky who are two of the most dysfunctional people I have ever met in my life! SOMEONE on the team needs to stay sane and realistic."

"But your honesty is a form of brutality!" Dawn argued hotly, not letting down for even a second, "You aren't being honest when you point out someone making a mistake or a flawed decision, you're intentionally being malicious and using the word 'honesty' to hide your need to belittle anyone you can because you feel inferiorly ordinary to the point you gravely fear you won't ever amount to anything in life!"

"Where's the popcorn?" Scott asked, as he couldn't help whistling in amusement, "This is really fun to watch."

"So I suppose we should all adhere to your ideal of pacifism, is that right?" Noah asked snarkily, "This is a Reality TV Show! We're not here to protect each other's feelings, we're here to win some cash! So what if I am a little harsh? Without that quality we would never get anything done!"

"Time's up guys." Leshawna called out, "Looks like we've got to make our decision then? Do we say it out loud?"

Duncan looked around. He couldn't necessarily find any sort of voting booth, so he shrugged and decided to make his opinion known first, "To be honest I'm siding with Noah. The little pixie fairy seems a tad melodramatic for my liking."

"Ditto." Scott said, rolling his eyes. "Dawn, I don't even know why you think you can win this show with that attitude. You're such a pretentious self-righteous person, at least Noah knows how to keep it real."

"Now hold the phone!" Leshawna questioned with a raised brow, "I know what point you boys are making, but to me your attitude comes off a little misogynistic. I don't like it."

"W-what!?" Duncan blubbered in disbelief, "How is that misogynistic!?"

"Sorry Duncan, but Leshawna has a point here." Gwen agreed with her frenemy, "Scott's clearly biased against Dawn and it seems like you were quick to agree with Noah without even considering Dawn's point."

"I did consider her point," Duncan argued, "I think she's being melodramatic."

"Even so that doesn't absolve Noah of any criticism either!" Leshawna rebuffed, "I know exactly how he can get on someone's nerves. Ain't no reason to barb someone when they're already down. I'm agreeing with Dawn."

"Yeah, I'm also siding Dawn on this one." Gwen confirmed, "Just because Noah's more realistic doesn't mean Dawn's point is invalid."

XXX

Confessional: Noah (Wildest Weasels)

"So Dawn and I ended up stalemating our disagreement." Noah rolled his eyes with crossed arms, "How is it the villains are the ones seeing my point? Just because I occasionally prickle a sensitive snowflake I'm the jerk? Yeah, okay."

XXX

Confessional: Dawn (Wildest Weasels)

"I wasn't particularly surprised at the result." Dawn affirmed clearly, "Scott would never take my side and presumably Duncan dismissed my concerns almost immediately due to our differing beliefs. At the very least I was relieved to see Gwen and Leshawna side with me, it was comforting."

XXX

The next ones to take the stands were Gwen and Leshawna. Gwen seemed really annoyed and ready to argue with her teammate, whilst Leshawna looked unfazed.

"Gwen's the one with the problem. She can start." Leshawna offered, throwing in a subtle jab much to Gwen's chagrin.

"Leshawna targeted Owen, who is one of the nicest players to ever play this god awful game and voted against him! She's saying that it was because Owen messed up the challenge, but she's been beefing with Shawn almost the entire and then all of a sudden votes off Owen? What kind of messed up logic is that!?" Gwen summarized her feelings.

Leshawna threw her hands in the air exasperatedly, quickly losing her temper, "GIRL! See, this is my issue with Gwen! She thinks I voted off Owen for a super personal reason when it ain't that deep! He cost us the challenge, therefore he had to go! If anything I put my personal feelings aside with Shawn to vote off Owen! Do I regret it now? YES! Shawn's a jerk! But can I rewind time and change my vote? NO! I can't! I don't know what you want from me, homegirl!"

"This seems really straightforward to me." Scott interjected, not allowing the girls to argue any further. "Leshawna has no obligation to explain herself to you Gwen, who cares why she voted off Owen? She did what she felt like she had to do."

"But-" Gwen tried to protest.

"So Gwen's not allowed to be suspicious of Leshawna's motives?" Noah questioned intuitively.

"Watch it." Leshawna warned, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Noah raised his hands in defense, "I've been listening to you both, and if you want my opinion? I actually think Leshawna's being a lot more calculative than she's letting on. So in that regard I think Gwen's right to press Leshawna for an answer, because it sounds like to me Leshawna is almost planning to vote off Gwen soon and is using their friendship to hide that fact…"

"That's not-" Leshawna also tried to protest.

"This doesn't even need any debate, I'm siding with Gwen easily." Duncan interrupted, "Anybody who votes off someone like Owen this early is mad sus in my eyes."

"I agree with Duncan here." Noah agreed with a wince, "Gwen's suspicions aren't unfounded."

"Who cares if Gwen's suspicions are founded or not!?" Scott argued, almost in disbelief, "Leshawna just literally cast a vote against someone and they were voted off! What's the big deal? Just because Leshawna's vote mattered and Gwen's didn't? That's what it sounds like to me, so I'm siding with Leshawna."

"Dawn?" Leshawna asked hopefully. Duncan and Noah had sided with Gwen, so her only hope now was the girl who hadn't spoken at all.

"Hmm." Dawn hummed to herself. "I am sympathetic to both sides. Whilst I believe more honesty is a necessity to repairing your relationship, I will be agreeing with Leshawna's side for the time being." Dawn held up a finger before Gwen could protest, "That is not to say Gwen's concerns are invalid as Leshawna, I do not believe you are being transparent. Let me leave you with a warning, if you insist on maintaining your pride then you must be prepared to damage some relationships. Is that what you wish to do?"

XXX

Confessional: Leshawna (Heroic Horses)

Leshawna couldn't help scoffing as she crossed her leg over the other, "Damage some relationships? It's just a Reality Show! Everybody's trying to win! It ain't fair to pin any blame of a failed relationship on me!" She said indignantly, "Gwen's the one with the issue! If she wants to stop being friends, that's on her!"

XXX

Confessional: Gwen (Heroic Horses)

"Is Noah right?" Gwen questioned with an almost haunted look on her face, "Is Leshawna genuinely going to try and vote me off after Owen? I mean, surely not. Right…?" She couldn't help questioning, trying her hardest to deny the accusations made.

XXX

The final duo to argue against each other were Duncan and Scott. Duncan looked very uneasy. This was because he had to argue in front of Gwen what his conflict with Scott was. Scott on the other hand seemed very confident he could win.

"I want to ask out Courtney. Duncan has a problem with that." Scott declared unabashedly. "So what if she's Duncan's ex? That's not my problem."

Gwen pursed her lips, glaring a hole into Duncan's head.

Duncan gulped a bit, readjusting his collar, "Dude, don't phrase it like that." He said, "I don't even know if you like Courtney, it just seems like you're trying to ask her out to provoke me!"

"Why would it provoke you?" Gwen asked, catching Duncan off guard.

"That's my line!" Scott whined, although it went ignored as Gwen continued to stare Duncan down.

Duncan seemed irritated at the accusatory tone and snapped back at his girlfriend, "I mean, she's my ex! It's just kinda uncool!"

"So you're telling me that Courtney being in a relationship with someone else is… Uncool?" Gwen couldn't help scoffing, a particular bitterness entering her voice.

"That's not what I said!" Duncan replied desperately, "I just meant Scott wasn't considering my feelings at all and was trying to provoke me multiple times through Courtney!"

"I'll side with Duncan."

The others turned their heads towards Dawn, who simply tilted her head in reply.

"I'm not shocked you're siding with Duncan," Scott sneered down at her, "You were always going to side with him over me."

"Whilst I do believe Duncan's actions are dubious at best," Dawn couldn't help giving the delinquent a stink eye, "Scott's aura appears to have malicious intent to me. Duncan on the other hand appears confused, I believe he should be allowed the courtesy of exploring his conflicting feelings."

"Explore his conflicting feelings?" Gwen asked, almost sounding offended at the suggestion, "He's MY boyfriend! What? Every time Duncan suddenly has feelings for someone he should be allowed to explore them? I don't even care, I'm agreeing with Scott here!"

Leshawna shrugged, "You have a girlfriend Duncan, you ain't got any reason to be mad here. I'm siding with Scott."

"Scott's in the right here. So what if he's provoking you? You shouldn't even be reacting to it in the first place." Noah replied matter of factly. "It just seems kinda dumb to be honest."

XXX

Confessional: Duncan (Villainous Vipers)

"This completely bites!" Duncan complained, slamming his fist against the wooden wall of the confessional booth, "The only one on my side was the weird girl? I mean, is it not weird for Scott to be trying to get with Courtney anyways!? It just isn't right!"

XXX

Confessional: Scott (Villainous Vipers)

Scott was sitting in the confessional booth and was about to begin speaking before being interrupted, an intern's hand opened the door and gave him a piece of parchment. Scott raised his brow, but decided to read aloud what it said:

"Congratulations! You managed to convince the majority that you were in the right. As a reward, this Extra Vote is now yours to cast at any Elimination Ceremony you attend. This expires at the final five."

Scott whistled devilishly, a grin overtaking his face. "Now ain't that a sweet reward? Thanks for being a sucky debater Duncan, pleasure doing business with ya."

XXX

The scene transitioned to the heroes where an awake Jasmine was attending to the fire overnight and making extra sure it wasn't put out. Especially because it was raining, but Jasmine being a floral expert was quick to create a makeshift roof for the campfire. Cody slept on the floor outside, completely out cold much to Jasmine's confusion. She had found Cody asleep after searching for him for a few hours, she wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him but he hadn't been awake since she last saw him skinny dipping. Zoey was having a hard time as she shivered due to the rain pelting her, despite Jasmine's best efforts to keep her comfortable, Zoey for the most part stayed awake miserable. As for Brick and Sammy, the duo stayed awake for two completely different reasons. Brick was too shy to completely fall asleep whilst Sammy was having a hard time sleeping because Brick smelled really bad.

The next scene showcased every single villain being miserable. Jo was quick to put herself in charge of maintaining the fire, where she ordered Lightning to find as many dry sticks as he could throughout the night due to the situation being his fault. Being the only two not to complete a task, Alejandro and Heather were forced to share a sleeping bag. Perhaps they would have had a more fun time if they had a tent to rest inside of. Scarlett for the most part slept peacefully, using her blanket as a makeshift roof to get as much sleep as she could. The two suffering the most happened to be Courtney and Topher, who were both freezing from being in the lake when it started to rain. They huddled for warmth, but only out of necessity. Finally, Shawn slept in a tree. He was sick of his team already and decided to take the opportunity to accept the fact this was his punishment for deceiving Owen.

B and Sierra were the ones who decided to try and maintain the fire when the rain first appeared. B invented a makeshift cover for the fire, effectively keeping it growling throughout the night as Sierra collected as much firewood as she could. Lindsay and Mike volunteered to sleep outside, the former quickly regretting it as she complained about getting wet. Dave and Sky tried their hardest to stay away from each other with very little success. This was the most uncomfortable either had been. It was almost sick to Dave how he once looked forward to sleeping with Sky and now all he could feel was disgust. Sky shared his sentiment about him, almost to a stronger degree. Harold was the only one who seemed to sleep peacefully at all last night.

And then morning came.

Chris was waiting at the Elimination Ceremony campfire along with Chef. The first contestants to arrive were Duncan, Gwen, Leshawna, Noah, Dawn and Scott. Having stayed awake all night, there was no deceiving each other and had moved as a unit.

"Well done guys! Turns out none of y'all will turn into the Katie of this episode!" Chris mocked them.

The first team to arrive was… The Villains.

"THE VILLAINS COME IN FIRST AND GET THE MOTEL FOR TONIGHT!"

The team cheered, Heather, Courtney and Topher the loudest of them all. The former because she was tired of the beat down cabins and was excited to have a goodnight's sleep. The other two were just relieved they had access to the fireplace after freezing the entire night.

"Oh? What's this? I see both teams running!"

"C'MON Y'ALL!" Leshawna cheered her team on.

"You can do it!" Dawn cheered, jumping up and down excitedly.

The second team to arrive was…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

… The Wildcards.

"NOOO!" Jasmine couldn't help crying out frustration, "We lost again? We have to vote off another member? Again?"

Sammy and Zoey seemed severely depressed and all Brick could do was hang his head in shame. He had been forced to carry Cody because the boy was just not waking up.

"Not quite." Chris tutted his tongue, causing the other members from the wildcards to look at him confused.

"But Chris," Sky objected, "We did all of the tasks we were supposed to do! B and Lindsay went skinny dipping, Mike and Lindsay slept outside, Harold and Sierra did their business in the forest, Dave and I slept in a sleeping bag together. And we managed to maintain a fire till sunrise!"

"Hmm." Chris hummed mischievously, "Okay. Do a headcount."

"What?" Sky asked.

"Do a headcount." Chris repeated himself.

So Sky did a headcount:

Sky.

Dawn.

Noah.

Lindsay.

B.

Mike.

Sierra.

Dave.

Harold-

Sky gasped as the realization hit her face. "HAROLD!?" She shouted out in a panic, looking around frantically.

"It looks like the wildcards forgot a member!" Chris laughed in their faces, "So sad! Too bad! It'll be a wildcard getting voted off tonight!"

The next scene focused on Harold sleeping peacefully inside their tent, not having made any effort to move despite his team's frantic hurrying to leave the campsite.

XXX

Confessional: Sky (Wildest Weasels)

"Oh my God… I forgot someone." Sky said with a horrified expression on her face.

XXX

Confessional: Sierra (Wildest Weasels)

"I noticed Harold wasn't with us." Sierra shrugged innocently. "I could have woken him up… But I had no guarantee the heroes would come in first… And I was right!" Sierra giggled to herself a bit maniacally, "This is for you Cody! I'll protect you no matter what~"

XXX

The Wildcards took their seats around the campfire as Chris held a platter with eight marshmallows on it. "This is a symbol of safety. If I call your name, that means you are safe. The person who doesn't receive a marshmallow must walk down the dock of shame!"

Each camper was tense, particularly Harold as he knew he was on the hot seat.

"Harold, think you're getting voted off?" Chris asked curiously.

"I think it should either be Sky or Dave!" Harold admitted without any shame, receiving a look from the other two with offended looks, "They have been making this team uncomfortable the entire time! I'm a team player, I was just expecting somebody to wake me up and they didn't! That's not my fault!"

"That doesn't mean Dave or I should be voted off instead!" Sky rushed to defend herself, "I get that we have been making the team uncomfortable, I get it. But that doesn't mean we've been letting our team down in challenges."

"You hit Dave." Dawn pointed out with a bit of a glare, catching the other girl off guard, "How are you going to defend that?"

"He was just being horrid!" Sky said desperately, "He was saying the most awful things to Shawn and I just reacted! I didn't mean to do that!"

"You haven't even apologized to me!" Dave pointed out with a sneer on his face.

Sky huffed indignantly, "You think I'll be saying sorry to you? Not with that attitude I won't be!"

"Well this has been fun, but I'm going to start handing out marshmallows!" Chris grinned, silencing the potentially ongoing conflict. "The first marshmallow goes to…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... Eh, actually, the first two marshmallows will go to Noah and Dawn!"

"..."

"..."

"... B."

"..."

"..."

"... Mike."

"..."

"..."

"... Lindsay."

"..."

"..."

"... Sierra."

"..."

"..."

"...Dave."

"And in the bottom two is Sky once again!" Chris narrated with a bit of mirth, "This time, alongside Harold!" Sky looked towards the floor in shame, being a bit embarrassed about being in the bottom two for a second time in a row. Harold was sweating profusely, crossing his fingers and desperately willing that marshmallow to be thrown at him.

"The final marshmallow goes to…"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... Sky, consider yourself lucky. Harold, you've been voted off!"

Sky breathed a sigh of relief as Harold nodded in sadness. "I wish I could say I didn't see this coming, but I did."

"Sorry man," Mike rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "You're a solid guy, just not your day."

"Well Chris," Harold said one last time, "I'm ready to go now. I'm sorry that my medical condition caused our team to lose."

Harold's team all waved him off as he rode the dock of shame. Harold seemed to harbor no ill will against his team as he waved back, his smile could only be described as sad but not entirely surprised.

"And that's our fifth camper voted off!" Chris exclaimed with excitement, "What does this mean for the wildcards? Will Sky ever not be in the bottom two during an elimination ceremony? Have the wildcards got rid of their weakest link? Or is this the start of their downfall? Will the heroes be able to unite themselves once again? And are the villains just going to keep dominating these challenges? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOTAL! DRAMA! HEROES VS VILLAINS VS WILDCARDS!"

Voting Confessionals:

XXX

B: B showed a piece of paper with the name "Harold" on it.

XXX

Dave: "This time I'm not saving you! This vote is for the slap yesterday, Sky!"

XXX

Dawn: "I don't condone hitting whatsoever, regardless of the excuse. I regrettably vote for Sky."

XXX

Harold: "Dave told me to vote for Sky, so that's what I'm going to do and hope for the best!"

XXX

Lindsay: "Definitely Harry!"

XXX

Mike: "Sorry dude, but this loss is on you Harold. No matter how uncomfortable Sky and Dave make the team, you ultimately lost us the challenge."

XXX

Noah: "Sky."

XXX

Sierra: "Well, since I've gone this far I might as well commit, I vote for Harold!"

XXX

Sky: "I'm really sorry for not noticing you Harold, but at the same time you have to take responsibility for yourself.

XXX

Votes for Harold: B, Lindsay, Mike, Sierra, Sky (5)

Votes for Sky: Dave, Dawn, Harold, Noah (4)

Heroic Horses: Brick, Cody, Gwen, Jasmine, Leshawna, Sammy, Zoey (7)

Villainous Vipers: Alejandro, Courtney, Duncan, Heather, Jo, Lightning, Scarlett, Scott, Shawn, Topher (10)

Wildest Weasels: B, Dave, Dawn, Lindsay, Mike, Noah, Sierra, Sky (8)

Eliminated: Harold

xxx

26th: Harold

27th: Owen

28th: Cameron

29th: Amy

30th: Sugar

A/N: Hi! It's been a little while! I got a little caught up at college and alongside that I ended up having to rewrite this chapter multiple times!

First I'll be addressing Harold's elimination. I'll be the first to admit that his elimination was a little sloppily written, and the reason for that is because Harold was not the original person I had in mind for this episode's elimination! Because of that, I failed to give Harold enough attention to actually feel like his elimination was well earned. I will say though, Harold's elimination here was very necessary, not necessarily for Harold's character, but more because I had to advance another player's longevity in the game. The wildcards were always losing this episode. You might know who I originally had in mind for this episode's elimination if you read carefully. Feel free to take any guesses! Harold in the grand scheme of things wasn't super vital to the story and so I did have to sacrifice his character for the sake of the story. Really sorry to all the Harold fans! Especially that one reviewer who loves him, I remember you!

I hope this challenge made sense! I knew I definitely wanted to do this challenge specifically to implement the Katie and Sadie twist! That was a lot of fun to write and all of the scenes between Gwen/Leshawna, Duncan/Scott and Noah/Dawn were my personal favorite moments of this chapter!

Next chapter I think is definitely going to be a little shorter, because for the past two chapters I've focused so heavily on drama and angst that it needs a bit of levity. So expect some funny and wholesome moments!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and hopefully I'll have the next chapter out a little quicker than I had this one out!

Lacuevademisgustos: "I'm glad you were excited for the Dave/Dawn/Noah trio! That was definitely my favorite trio of the chapter if you will! There's a lot of potential there! Dave and Dawn will probably have some more moments next chapter! I actually took some liberty here! Because we know in canon that Chris loves tomato juice, it seemed likely that Chris's favorite alcoholic drink would reasonably be a Bloody Mary, which is just tomato juice but alcoholic! Sierra's a very fun character, I enjoy writing her. Aleheather's always a fun ship! Jo is definitely caught off guard with Scarlett and in my mind she's just very surprised at how competent she is in comparison to Cameron. Courtney/Scott/Duncan was an easy second favorite of the chapter for me! Pray for Shawn and his sanity on the Villains team! Uh oh, sorry to ruin your prediction, my bad!"

LaViolaViolaRosa: "Happy to see you enjoyed the chapter!"

TotalLocoJP: "I'm so happy I managed to make Owen's elimination heartwarming! I definitely wanted to give him the most well deserved send off I could, and even in this chapter his missing presence is very heavily felt. Chris was definitely fun to write for that scene! I felt it made the most sense for Chris's more vulnerable side to show during this elimination just due to how likable Owen is, as well as how despairing his elimination actually was which I believe is what convinced Chris to rat Shawn out and transfer him onto the Villainous Vipers! Sorry we didn't necessarily get a scene between Duncan and Shawn quite just yet! Duncan made a mention of it this chapter, but due to the pacing of everything I couldn't reasonably fit it into this chapter. It might make an appearance next chapter since Shawn's now been situated into his team a little longer!"

Grendel Symbiote: "We'll have to see if Shawn will redeem himself! Him and Jasmine definitely needed their space, and may continue to need it for however many chapters to come!"

SuperSonicHeroes: "All three teams are a mess and I love them for it! Eliminating Owen immediately after Cameron I knew would definitely be a questionable choice, but it only furthered that punch into your gut which is what my intention was! I do think Owen gets a little too much flack since obviously there are some very redeemable qualities in his character and that's why everyone likes him so much! Heck, that's why Gwen is so mad at Leshawna for voting him off! Because he is just that lovable of a character. I'm glad you enjoyed the DJ cameo! I knew he definitely had to make an appearance during a cooking challenge so I figured there was a good time to introduce him!"

Gucci Mane LaFlare: "Scarlett is an unbothered queen, Jo has nothing on her! Owen and Brick were an underrated duo that I should have explored a bit more to be honest. Sierra and Mike are very interesting characters and I do have something in mind for the both of them, so be prepared for that! Tipsy Lindsay was also another favorite moment of mine too!

Guest: "Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter! And don't worry, I'll be getting back to Shawn eventually, I just figured he could use a well earned break after last chapter!"

- Iris Nightingale