June 9, 2023
"Last time on Total Drama..." Chris began the recap of the episode, standing beside an unlit campfire and holding a cup of coffee, before clips from the last episode played. "In their first challenge of the season, the four teams had to jump off a 1,000 foot high cliff into shark infested waters! Surprisingly, a majority of the teens jumped in an effort to start off strong! Courtney got a big mouth with her team, but still refused to jump, putting her in a sore spot. The Gophers had a bunch of players who thought they were too pretty to jump, and thanks to Wayne's leadership, the Lightning Squad was able to win the first part of the challenge! In the hot tub construction, Sky managed to get the Ferocious Trout to work together and score a solid second place below the Lightning Squad! Ezekiel got the entire cast ticked off at him towards the end, but he lived to see another day after Leonard convinced his team to build a magical hot tub that completely stunk! It came down to Leonard and the over aggressive Axel in the ceremony, with Axel narrowly avoiding the boot and Leonard being the first player sent home! Can't say I was too surprised! Who will be the next to having a strikingly short run? Stay tuned to find out right here, on Total, Drama, Island!" Chris concluded the recap, raising one hand and holding his coffee with the other before the shot zoomed out to show the whole island.
Intro Sequence:
Rock music began and the opening notes of I Wanna Be Famous kicked in as cameras popped up from various places throughout the island. First in front of a bunch of trees, then out of the ground with a gopher on top, then through the window of a bathroom, startling Dave inside, and finally out of a tree and pushing a squirrel out before a film clapper came and transitioned the shot.
Dear Mom and Dad I'm doing fine, you guys are on my mind
The camera zoomed down the Dock of Shame and onto the campground, where Chris was fending off Sierra and Topher pestering him, while Blaineley was trying to take center stage. He pushed Topher aside as the camera zipped by, while Sierra just swooned.
The shot then went up a large cliff where Izzy and an unsure Emma gave each other excited looks before diving down into the water. In the water, Chase was having a good time swimming with Owen until the latter farted, making the former cough from the stench.
You asked me what I wanted to be and I think the answer is plain to see
Above the water, Bridgette and Geoff were sitting on a surfboard together, smiling at one another. That was until B sped by on a speedboat, pulling Ripper along on wakeboard while Scary Girl watched from the boat. The splash knocked the pair off of their surfboard, with Scary Girl and Ripper not bothered one bit, enjoying their time. A dead fish rose from the water thanks to Owen's fart, which an eagle swooped down and picked up, carrying it away.
I wanna beeeeeee famous!
In the woods, Dawn was meditating while Leonard and Beardo were pestering her. The fish from the eagle dropped down by them, and the two immediately fled thanks to the smell, making Dawn smirk while keeping her eyes closed. DJ and Ella were petting the animals in the woods when this happened, and both had to flee as well when the stench made the animals go berserk and attack them. Scott watched all this from behind a tree, laughing to himself. Max laughed at this too, but attracted too much attention and soon had to flee.
I wanna live close to the sun
Further downstream from the forest, Heather and LeShawna were slapfighting each other riding one raft, while Shawn and Jasmine were happily riding together in one behind them. The former two were too distracted and went falling down a waterfall ahead, while Shawn was quick to steer their raft to the river bank, safe from falling.
Go pack your bags 'cuz I've already won
Harold was practicing his karate moves with Axel on a log in front of the waterfall, who was deflecting all of his moves easily while Julia filmed it on her phone, trying to talk to an uninterested Nichelle while doing so. Heather and LeShawna fell in the background, and Lightning quickly stepped onto the log, carrying another log just to show off his strength to Julia's recording. This weight made the log snap, and all 5 of them fell.
Everything to prove nothing in my way, I'll get there one day
Panning to the left, Damien was skateboarding by himself when he crashed into the confessional, knocking Zee out and confusing Zoey who was just about to use it, while MK poked out from behind, messing with the wires.
Further left was the dining hall, where inside Chef was making something disgusting while Wayne and Raj watched in horror, the former much more scared than the latter. Amy and Samey were bickering nearby, so Chef shut them both up by shoving food into their mouths.
'Cuz I wanna beeeeeee famous!
At the counter, Jo, Brick, Tyler, and Eva were having an arm wrestling tournament while Millie and Duncan watched while eating popcorn. The girls beat the boys, with them high fiving as the guys were shocked at their losses.
Zipping past Noah, Scarlett, Cameron and Staci studying together at one of the dining tables, the shot went outside where Katie, Bowie, and Sadie were fawning over Caleb, Alejandro, and Justin suntanning. Heather saw this as she stepped out of the dining hall, and just stormed back inside.
Na na nana nanananana nanananana
Anne Maria was applying spray tan while looking out at the beach when Sky and Priya passed by on a sprint, nearly knocking her over. Ezekiel soon passed by as well, but Anne Maria sprayed him down angrily.
Sam was sitting not far from Anne Maria, playing on his Gameguy. Mike was watching him play, but when the sprinting girls passed by, he gasped and turned into Chester, shaking a fist at them.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!
Panning to the Dock of Shame, Rodney was sitting on a crate watching Lindsay help Dakota get her makeup on. Once it was ready, Dakota stepped back and paparazzi swarmed the scene, flashing pictures while Lindsay and Rodney watched in amazement.
Sugar stepped onto the dock, now posing for the paparazzi as well, much to Dakota's annoyance. Courtney arrived to shoo away the paparazzi, but to no avail. Finally, Beth rushed into frame with a flaming baton. She tossed it up, before it landed on the dock and made it burst into flames, sending everyone into a panic.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!
The flames from the Dock of Shame transitioned to the bonfire trail on the night sky. Panning down, Gwen and Trent were sitting together at the campfire, leaning in happily. That was until Cody popped out between the two of them, putting hands on both their shoulders. The camera panned out after this, showing the rest of the cast sitting on tree stumps, barrels, and tires, whistling the last few notes of the tune while the words "Total Drama Island" were shown on a wooden sign.
After the intro, the episode began with a shot of the four cabins early in the morning, with the sun having just barely risen. Each cabin had their team logo on a flag planted in the ground in front of them, except for the Lightning Squad that had the original logo Chris picked for them. The hot tub they had built was moved to the side of the cabin, now hooked up to the same power as the cabins.
Chris walked up to the center of where the cabins faced, since they were in a semi-circle formation facing each other. He held up a megaphone, then an airhorn in front of it. "Shhh... they're sleeping!" Chris told the audience, before blowing his airhorn into the megaphone.
This woke up everyone in an instant, with Brick in particular jumping out of bed and getting dressed in a flash. "GAH! The horns of war! We're under attack! This is not a drill!" Brick screamed, shaking Trent to get him out of bed, alarming the rest of the Trout guys as well.
Beardo panicked at this, right away imitating a wartime siren as he covered himself entirely with his blankets.
Sam groaned as he sat up, covering his ears. "Ugh... it's like 5 in the morning, I usually don't get up until 11 for my gaming..." Sam complained groggily.
"11? You have to get up earlier than that! I'm wayyyy tougher than you then!" Ripper boasted, letting out a huge yawn after that and scratching his butt.
Trent tried to regain his composure as Brick continued to shake his bed, before Caleb stepped up to the cadet and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I think that was just Chris outside, nothing to worry about." Caleb assured Brick calmly.
Brick let go of Trent's bunk and took a few deep breaths, peering through the window to see Chris standing his megaphone. "Oh. Uh, my mistake! Apologies gentlemen!" Brick apologized sheepishly, standing up straight.
Trent rubbed his head, now sitting on the edge of his bunk. "It's all good man. Can't believe Chris is waking up this early though. Last time I got up this early was for a show in another city. Although that was in a cheap hotel, so not much better than this." Trent told the others, resting his arms on his knees.
Alejandro was getting dressed now, in a much better mood than the other forced early risers. "Ah? You're in a band? I'd be curious to hear some of the songs you tour with. I'm somewhat gifted with music as well." Alejandro inquired with a smile.
Bowie shook his head, sitting on his bunk across from Trent. "Forget the music, what are the other guys in the band like? I bet they're all slick boys just like you~" Bowie asked Trent, cupping his head with his palms as he leaned forward.
"I'd tell you about them, but I think Chris wants us to head outside." Trent dodged the question, blushing at Bowie's compliment as he got up to get dressed.
"Heh, gay." Ripper remarked to himself, getting dressed in the new clothes Chris provided.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Bowie-
Bowie rested one hand on the wood next to the seat, checking out his fingernails for a moment with the other. "Trent's a cool guy, I can just tell by the hair and dated outfit. Mmm mm, I bet he still kills it with his 2000s alt sound that he probably plays, I just know it. Never hurts to have a friend as cool as he is."
-End Confessional-
Cutting ahead to outside the cabins, everyone slowly meandered outside and grouped up in their teams, still not fully awake yet. Julia was on her phone already when Bridgette walked up to join her team, widening her eyes a little. "Wow, you're at it early on that huh?" Bridgette greeted Julia.
Julia nodded her head, smiling at Bridgette. "Of course! Wishing my followers a super lovely morning, it's just beautiful out here after all." Julia replied, then sending a post after she said that.
"That's sweet, usually the waves by my place are what wish me a good morning. Not a rude airhorn..." Bridgette gave her input, but Julia had already tuned her out and was lost in her phone.
Eva was still waking up as well, currently crossing her arms and tapping her left arm to the beat of the song she was listening to with her mp3 player. Sam hadn't opened his Gameguy yet, and noticed her using the device. "You still use an mp3 player? That tech is pretty outdated, it'd be better if you just used a-"
Eva cut him off though and growled at him angrily, prompting him to back away. "Ohhhkay! You do you I guess." Sam told her, before pulling out his Gameguy to get himself stimulated.
"Morning! Hope you slept well!" Chris greeted the campers now that they were all outside.
Ezekiel shook his head, pointing with his thumb to the cabin porch before putting both hands in his hoodie pocket. "Not the best eh, the door didn't work last night so I had to sleep on the porch." Ezekiel answered, unaware of all the dirty looks still being cast his way as soon as he spoke.
"Yeah, didn't work." Topher repeated with a smirk.
Cameron wiped his glasses and put them on his eyes, although they only highlighted his eye bags. "I don't understand you would logically assume we slept well. The human brain needs at least 8 hours of proper rest which was very difficult to get with our cabins." Cameron explained, getting an eyeroll from Duncan.
"What the nerd said, but about a quarter of the words." Duncan remarked, getting a small chuckle out of MK.
Chris took in the 'no's he expected, then walked to his right. "Great! Because your next challenge begins in one minute!" Chris announced, tapping a watch on his wrist.
Owen's stomach rumbled, and he quickly raised a hand. "Umm, Chris? I don't think that's enough time to eat breakfast!" Owen pointed out worriedly.
Chris nodded, putting his hands behind his back. "Oh you'll get breakfast Owen! All of you will get to eat after you complete your 20k run around the lake, which is part 1 of today's challenge!" Chris informed everyone, pointing to the lake just a bit into the woods.
"Rude! Before doing anything physical we always got to eat breakfast! First no beauty sleep, now running before eating? This is too cruel!" Dakota complained, a bit cranky from her lack of aforementioned beauty sleep.
Nichelle nodded in agreement, doing her makeup throughout this challenge introduction on a pocket mirror. "For real, you didn't give us any time before you just rushed us all out here!" Nichelle complained as well.
"Poor rich you, it must be soooo tough adjusting to this lifestyle." Noah sarcastically gave his sympathy to Nichelle.
"I know right? She's tough for sticking it out." Rodney agreed with Noah blindly, making the latter facepalm.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Courtney-
Courtney facepalmed as well, before just crossing her arms with a concerned look. "Losing the first challenge was not a good look for us. They almost voted off Axel over Leonard too, some of these people have no idea what they're doing. I can't let this first loss get to them though, otherwise we'll never catch up!"
-End Confessional-
After a minute, everyone was lined up in the forest clearing that encompassed the lake, most of them in positions ready to start running. Most of the actual athletes had bent down ready to sprint, while the less gifted players were just waiting for Chris to blow his airhorn. "Okay runners!" Chris got everyone's attention, raising the airhorn to the sky.
"On your marks..."
Wayne and Raj smirked at each other as they were ready to run, leaning forward.
"Get set..."
Beth tried to mimic their ready stance, holding one arm ahead of the other and leaning forward, although she nearly lost her balance from how far she was leaning.
"GO!"
Chris blew the air horn and everyone took off, except for Tyler who remained in his bent down starting pose, before taking off still hunched over after a few seconds.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Tyler-
Tyler patted his head, chuckling a little. "So I don't have the quickest reaction to things. But I have cat like reflexes in pretty much every sport! Just, running around a lake isn't really a sport, and I wasn't all the way awake yet. Nothing to worry about!"
-End Confessional-
Most of the campers except for the tryhard few like Lightning and Axel sprinting ahead were just jogging at a decent pace. A distance gap was then created immediately between those campers and the walkers. Scarlett, Harold, Dakota, and Millie were walking together towards the back, not putting any effort into the challenge. "Ugh, how much longer?" Dakota complained, filing her nails.
"Did you happen to be recording the distance we traveled perchance?" Scarlett asked Dakota.
"No, why?" Dakota asked her back.
"Then we have no factual way to answer your question, simply put." Scarlett answered, making Dakota frown.
Harold nodded in agreement, raising a finger. "I wish I brought my mega ruler with me, I learned how to use it at Graphing Steve's Measuring Camp, you just keep yourself steady and you can measure yards at time without laying anything down." Harold chimed in.
"Measuring camp?" Millie repeated in confusion, pulling out her notebook.
Harold nodded, stepping past Dakota now as they walked. "Yeah, you use measuring a lot more than you think. After camping there, I can make just about anything in a graphing calculator, gosh!" Harold boasted proudly.
Millie wrote this down, which Scarlett took note of. "Are you considering attending? I could gladly tutor you in graphic, logistics, and whatever else that camp may offer." Scarlett offered.
Millie shook her head right away, putting her notebook away. "Nope! I'm good! Just writing down some completely unrelated notes!" Millie turned the offer down right away.
"Can you nerds stop talking about graphs? Math is for ugly people, that's what my beautician says." Dakota requested, slowing down a bit just so she wouldn't have to walk with them.
Tyler soon passed by the four of them jogging, although he ended up tripping on seemingly nothing and fell flat on his face. "While that fall may have looked like nothing, a sudden elevation increase of even half an inch can cause someone to trip!" Harold explained with no regard for Tyler.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Millie-
Millie was writing in her notebook again, then paused to look at the camera. "I've been writing a bunch already, I didn't think it was this bad! My generation is pretty stupid, and I figured that this show would be the best place to research that since there's such a wide variety of people my age. So every time someone from my generation does or says something down, I make note of it! Tyler has been a gold mine already! On my team though? Brick yesterday showed that our generation is going to be the downfall of the military. Oh well, at least I can rest easy knowing I'm better than them."
-End Confessional-
Heather was walking by herself, also not trying at all to handle this challenge quickly. She was having a fine enough walk in solitude until she came across Owen, lapping at the lake tiredly. "Can't... catch... breath... must have... condition!" Owen let out exasperated.
Heather gagged at this behavior, stepping on and over him. "Yeah, your condition is overeating, look into it." Heather insulted him as she stepped over.
Gwen was walking just a bit behind, rolling her eyes at Heather's insult. "Would it kill you to just not insult people?" Gwen chastised Heather.
"Oh shut it weird goth girl. I wasn't talking to you." Heather snapped back, then sped up her walking.
Staci was walking behind Gwen, overhearing her and Heather's brief spat. "Do you know my great uncle Siouxsie invented goth culture? Yah, before that, people would just be sad and have no way to identify themselves, so sad." Staci rambled to Gwen.
"Leave me alone." Gwen told Staci sharply, also picking up her speed.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Gwen-
Gwen had her back against the confessional wall, crossing her legs as she sat. "I don't like people who insult others for things they can't control. It just isn't cool. Staci making up stuff about her nonexistent family? She can control that, and I don't like it. Is there an actual normal person on this team I could talk to in this lame challenge? Sure doesn't feel like it..."
-End Confessional-
Chris now drove by all of campers on a blue MTV, carrying his megaphone. "Pick it up people! If you're not back by dinnertime! You don't eat!" Chris ordered everyone, putting more urgency into the challenge.
Zoey, Justin, and Beth were jogging together as he said this, collectively groaning. "I didn't think Chris would be this harsh to us! I thought he'd at least ease us into the more grueling challenges." Zoey complained, growing tired.
Justin nodded in agreement. "Totally, my talent agent said that this show wouldn't ruin my looks at all, but I'm starting to think he didn't read the contract either." Justin commented dismally.
Beth shook her head, looking ahead at Justin with hearts in her eyes. "Oh Justin, nothing could ruin your looks! Your agent hit it right on the head!" Beth praised him.
"She does have a point about that!" Zoey agreed with Beth now.
Justin chuckled, winking back at the girls. "You're too much ladies, really." Justin humbly took the compliment.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Justin-
Justin rested both arms behind his head, winking at the camera. "What can I say? I just have that kind of effect on the ladies. They adore me, and I don't have to worry about doing much to get far in this game. I'll just let the girls play it for me~"
-End Confessional-
Cutting ahead to the dining hall in the evening, almost all of the players had now already finished. All of the Bass had already arrived, much to the pleasure of Courtney and Axel, while the Gophers were still waiting on Harold and Max, the Trout still needed Katie and Sadie, and the Lightning Squad was still waiting on Owen and Cameron. "What's taking those bozos so long to get here? It was just a simple run!" Jo complained, impatiently waiting by the door.
Lightning was also bothered, sitting at the table for his team and glaring at the door. "Ain't no way the losers from yesterday took the dub already! This makin' Team Lightning look bad!" Lightning let out in frustration.
"It ain't that big of a deal eh. The others might be crummy at running by that doesn't make the team look bad eh." Wayne reasoned, nowhere near as upset as he does.
"If we're losin', we look bad! Don't tell the Lightning he's wrong!" Lightning snapped at Wayne.
Samey sighed with a smile, looking to Priya. "I'm glad I'm not on that team. He's almost as bad as Amy..." Samey commented to her.
Priya raised an eyebrow, a little confused. "What do you mean? Is your sister like how he is?" Priya asked curiously.
"Oh, well, sorta. She just tells me what to do, always comparing me to her and nothing I do ever feels like enough for her." Samey explained to Priya.
Priya didn't take this with care though, giggling a little. "Aww come on, that's not bad! That sounds just like me and my parents! That's just tough sisterly love for you there!" Priya reasoned with a smile.
Samey wasn't sure where else to go with this, so she just scooted away. "Alright... I'll try and look at it like that." Samey just went with it, leaving Priya with Scott to talk to.
Katie and Sadie then entered the dining hall together, happily walking in and waving to the Trout. "Hiiii! We're here!" Katie greeted everyone.
"Yeah, almost last though." Caleb pointed out.
Sugar elbowed Caleb though, before smiling at the pair. "Who cares? We ain't lose the challenge, we good!" Sugar looked to the bright side, just glad to see them here.
Max stumbled into the dining hall right after, clutching his stomach. "An evil overlord should not have to run, that's what his minions are for!" Max complained, before falling forward.
No one helped him up, with Blaineley backing away. "Sweetie, this is a reality show, not the fantasy land in your head." Blaineley reminded him.
Owen then barged into the dining hall next, carrying a passed out Cameron over his shoulder. "Clear a table, stat!" Owen shouted, setting Cameron down on the Lightning Squad table.
"I got this! Resuscitation is huge for surviving your crew in the apocalypse!" Shawn declared, performing CPR on the knocked out wimp.
"I'm just gonna pretend to be shocked since we totally didn't see this coming." MK remarked at seeing Cameron not survive the walk.
Harold then finally stepped into the dining hall, clutching his chest. "I... think I'm having heart palpitations!" Harold let out, jittering a bit.
"Well heart cramps or not, you just lost us the challenge pencil neck!" Jo scolded the currently spasming Harold.
Hearing this, Emma right away perked up. "Ooh! We're all safe then! Phew!" Emma cheered, clapping her hands.
Chris laughed for a moment, seeing the joy elate on the other teams. "Hold your horses! That wasn't the challenge! That was just part 1!" Chris reminded everyone, turning that joy into collective dread.
"Oh you've gotta be kidding me..." Dave mumbled, more tired than before
Chris then walked over to a large purple curtain, currently hiding part of the dining hall. "Whoooooooooo's hungry!?" Chris asked everyone excitedly, pulling the curtain out of the way and revealing a massive buffet of actual good looking food.
On the table was glistening butterball turkey, sweet rolls, salmon, almond and walnut mix, jugs of milks, coleslaw, and baked beans. All prime and stocked enough for even 100 people to gorge on. Some couldn't even believe what they were seeing in front of them.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: LeShawna-
LeShawna rubbed her stomach, now in a much better mood. "Man, that was a feast! Back home, only time you'd see a meal like that are on weddings and Kwanzaa! He woke us up crazy early, but maybe Chris ain't so bad."
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Shawn-
Shawn was licking his fingers clean of gravy, before looking at the camera with a smile. "In my years of training for the zombie apocalypse, I'd forgotten what real food tasted like! And man was that good! I might have to install a freezer in my bunker after I win the million, because I can't just give up food like that again!"
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Sierra-
Sierra giggled, not a stain on her face. "Ooooh Chris is sneaky! He's just as devious as he is on all his other shows! I didn't wanna ruin his fun though, so I didn't tell the others!"
-End Confessionals-
Fairly quickly the buffet was completely destroyed by almost every camper, with only Sierra, Topher, and Dawn having not eaten anything from it. What were originally grunts of soreness from running the 20k were now grunts of anguish from eating just a bit too much from the buffet. Chris walked back over to the teens slumped over on the table and in their seats, glad to see they indulged themselves. "Okay campers! Time for part 2 of today's challenge!" Chris announced gleefully.
Blaineley groaned, her hands on her full stomach. "So the eating was not part 2? Ugh, hosting amateur here, you don't run on a firm schedule at all do you?" Blaineley complained.
Chris of course laughed at Blaineley's discomfort, nodding his head. "I never said it was did I?" Chris remarked back with a grin.
"What more do you want from us? I ain't gonna mess myself up any furtha for you!" Anne Maria let out crankily.
Chase just shrugged, rubbing his belly with a smile. "I don't see the big deal, was some mighty fine food we just had! Not as great as the stuff back home but still great." Chase commented, ignoring the anguish of others.
Chris walked over to the now emptied buffet table and hopped on, speaking into his megaphone once more. "Well I'm glad some of you enjoyed my generous buffet, because now it's time for... the Awake-a-thon!" Chris announced the next challenge.
"The what a thon?" Ripper asked, his mouth still full of beans.
Chris stepped back, chuckling for a moment. "Don't worry, this is an easy one! You all just have to stay awake as long as possible, and whichever team loses all their players first loses, and sends someone packing!" Chris explained the challenge.
Scarlett's eyes widened right away hearing this, now looking at the empty plate in front of her with regret. "Umm, would that happen to be why the buffet choices were largely tryptophan amino acid based?" Scarlett asked worriedly.
"And he made us run to wear us down too..." Mike added.
"You did this all just to make it harder for us to stay awake huh?" Jasmine accused Chris, narrowing her eyes at him.
Chris nodded, his expression unchanging. "Yes, yes I did. Now come on everyone! You'll hang out with me at the campfire pit as you all try to stay awake!" Chris ordered everyone, walking to the door to the dining hall and opening it up.
DJ hurried over and caught the door, holding it open for everyone. "So, how long do you think we've got till we're all blacked out yo?" Geoff asked Amy as they walked out.
Amy looked back at Geoff with brief disgust, before just smirking. "No one makes it to the night, but all I know is that I'll definitely be lasting longer than Samey!" Amy answered confidently.
"Well good luck with that yo, good for our team if you stay up longer!" Geoff responded positively, walking past Amy after that.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Amy-
Amy leaned on one hand in the confessional, slyly smirking at the camera. "Oh I'm so going to outlast Samey! Ever since middle school, I've made sure that I go to all the parties and stay up in the all nighters, while Samey never even gets invited! You can guess who's responsible for that second part. If her team has any common sense, they'll vote her off as soon as they can once she falls asleep immediately!"
-End Confessional-
With a shot of the sun transitioning to night while a timer flashed by the hours everyone was lasting, the camera panned down to the campfire pit where everyone was sitting. There weren't enough seats from even half of the campers, so most opted to just sit on the ground. Owen, Cameron, Sugar, Blaineley, and Dakota had already fallen asleep by the time the timer hit the 12 hour mark at night, and many campers weren't looking much better. "We're only 12 hours in, but only 5 campers have fallen asleep so far!" Chris narrated, standing at the podium and doing a quick scan to see who was asleep.
Emma let out a loud yawn, laughing. "12 hours? Ha! Chase and his jerk friends had us do challenges that took way longer than that!" Emma boasted.
Chase smirked, shaking his head. "You were usually the first to drop out, and you weren't tired out and given a bunch of food to knock you out." Chase pointed out.
"Oh... right..." Emma realized this, and she then just dropped to the ground unconscious.
LeShawna facepalmed, giving Chase an annoyed look. "Now didja have to go and say that?" LeShawna asked him sharply.
"She was going to go down soon anyway." Chase defended himself, looking in a much better state than most of the campers.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Chase-
Chase laughed, putting one hand on his hip and pointing at himself with his other thumb. "Yeah, me and the boys have eaten a lot of weird stuff on our internet channel, some turkey isn't going to take me down that fast! Ever since Emma left me and wasn't there to whine, we amped up the stakes in our vids, really crazy stuff we've done! Of course, Emms wasn't there for that, so she's asleep now."
-End Confessional-
Zoey was sitting by herself in front of a bush with her legs crossed, nodding her head as she tried to keep herself awake. Mike walked over and sat down next to her, patting her shoulder. "Hey, saw you dozing off. Did you wanna chat about something to keep your mind busy?" Mike offered.
Zoey opened her eyes a little further, looking at Mike. "That'd be great. I've just been imagining concerts and playing songs in my head, but that can only work for so long." Zoey took the offer, pointing to her forehead.
"What songs were you thinking of? Maybe we've got similar tastes?" Mike questioned her, settling on a topic right away.
"Oh nothing you've heard of probably. I like to support indie artists, so most of my favorite songs are basically unheard of. Lots of alt rock and ska, but I like it." Zoey answered, rubbing one arm.
"A 2000's rock person huh? I like more punk stuff from that time, but that's really cool you support small artists! Most of my taste just comes from the radio, hehe..." Mike chuckled at his admission.
Zoey giggled as well, but not really at Mike. "Don't feel bad, there's a reason songs hit the radio, they're usually catchy at least." Zoey told him, giving a thumbs up.
A bit away from them, Heather watched the two chat, frowning as they bonded. "Hmph..." she let out to herself, then stood up to do some bonding of her own.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Heather-
Heather had a sly smile, one hand on her hip. "So, my strategy is to find two suckers to make an alliance with and take to the final three with me. What better time to get people to agree to an alliance when they can't even think straight? I just need to find idiots who are dumb enough to do whatever I say, but aren't smart enough to rise against me."
-End Confessional-
With it being nighttime now, the lack of light just made it that much easier to fall asleep. Lindsay was doing a handstand at the moment, resting her head on the ground. "Umm, what are you doing?" Millie asked curiously, trying to focus on anything.
"Trying... to get the blood... to rush to my head!" Lindsay answered, still veering asleep despite this measure.
Brick was doing pushups near her, pausing to give a thumbs up. "Right on! Keep the blood flowing and keep your body stimulated, smart thinking soldier!" Brick commended Lindsay, then continued to do pushups.
"Wow..." Millie let out, before just making note of them both of in her notebook.
Staci was walking around the pit, keeping herself awake through her pacing when she passed by Beth staring at Justin. "Is there something wrong with Justin yah?" Staci asked Beth, waving a hand in front of her face.
Beth jolted up, right away shaking her head. "O-Of course not! Umm... he's just been standing perfectly still for so long, and he's so gorgeous... I kinda spaced out staring." Beth admitted, blushing a little.
Staci sat down next to Beth on the ground, yawning as she did so. "He's a model, so that makes sense yah. Did you know that my great great great great great great great grandma Doris invented models? Yah, before her, you'd have to be lucky to even know a hot person existed." Staci told Beth.
Beth's eyes widened, impressed by this tidbit. "Wow... that's so cool! So you could scout out models too if your family was like that right?" Beth asked Staci.
Staci clammed up a little, before just nodding quickly. "Totally yah!" Staci answered, not expecting Beth to actually buy it.
Anne Maria heard the two talking about basically nothing together and rolled her eyes, then got up to sit elsewhere. Heather slotted herself in right where Anne Maria left, patting the two losers on the back. "Beth, Staci, can I talk to you for a second?" Heather asked them.
Staci was just glad to have the topic off her now, nodding her head right away. "Sure yah!" Staci gave Heather the go ahead, while Beth just nodded with tired eyes.
Heather leaned in a little closer, just so no one else would hear. "I have a plan to get me and two other people into the final three, and I'm choosing you two." Heather informed them.
Despite how tired she was, Beth's face still lit up at this offer. "Really?" she wanted to affirm.
Heather smirked, seeing the eagerness from both. "Really. You should both know this is a very big deal. I'm placing my trust in you two, and trust is of course a two way street, which means you'll do everything I say. Are we clear?" Heather laid out her terms.
Both girls right away nodding in agreement, with Staci even grabbing one of Heather's hands and shaking it excitedly. "Of course yah! Did you know that my great great great-"
"Oops, don't care! Just try not to fall asleep." Heather cut Staci off, letting the two girls just go back to staring at Justin as she herself left.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Beth-
Beth was giddy with excitement, although her eyebags made that excitement hard to fully see. "Oh my god! Heather is taking me to the final three! I'm going to the final three! I'm going to the final three! I wonder what will happen then? I mean, me? Outlasting 65 of the other people here and getting to the final three? It sounds too crazy to be true!"
-End Confessional-
Harold and Tyler were barely hanging on together when Harold soon collapsed at the 13 hour mark, falling forward and his glasses falling off when he hit the ground. "Bummer..." was all Tyler had to say as he reached down and put Harold's glasses back on his face.
Ezekiel walked over to Tyler, sitting down on the now open tree stump next to Tyler. "'Sup yo. This challenge is pretty boring eh." Ezekiel greeted Tyler.
Rather than conversing with him though, Tyler just gave him an uncomfortable look before standing up and leaving. "I'm gonna go sit somewhere else." Tyler told Ezekiel as he left.
"Oh for sure yo!" Ezekiel responded, blissfully unaware of why Tyler was leaving.
Amy and Damien were sitting nearby, and neither looked very comfortable around Ezekiel either. "God, you really think you can just act so casual after yesterday?" Amy accosted him.
Ezekiel scratched his head, confused to what she meant. "Uh, yeah? We didn't win the challenge, but we didn't have to send anyone home eh." Ezekiel answered, looking at the upside.
"Dude, you cannot be that clueless." Damien remarked, almost in disbelief.
Amy rolled her eyes, then looked to Damien. "He clearly is. Even Samey has more common sense than he does. I almost hope we lose this just so we can get rid of him." Amy complained, crossing her arms.
It now clicked with Ezekiel what the issue was, his mouth wide open for a moment as it sank in. "Ohhhh, I get it now! It's like my dad says, women get mad over nothing because they never have anything actually wrong in their lives to get mad over eh." Ezekiel proclaimed confidently.
"UGH! You are the worst!" Amy yelled at him, getting up and storming off to go sit elsewhere.
Damien wasn't sure whether to follow or not, but seeing Ezekiel again be confused as Amy left made him think for a moment. "You said your dad told you that right?" Damien asked him to double check.
Ezekiel nodded, pointing at himself. "Yeh. My dad and my uncle are like the smartest guys ever eh. Taught me everything I need to know about talking to people my age." Ezekiel answered.
Damien facepalmed, now seeing the real issue. "Okay, dude, you ever stop and think that maybe they don't know everything?" Damien proposed, showing his skepticism.
Ezekiel shook his head, almost offended at this question. "Never eh, we all go to church every Sunday, and no one tells my dad or uncle they're wrong. Pretty sure the ladies are just getting upset over nothing like they said. When this happens, usually a few punch-"
"Stop talking, please." Damien cut him off, before standing up and leaving Ezekiel alone as well.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Damien-
Damien's eyes were wide with disbelief, one hand on his chin. "This is crazy man! Ain't no one I've seen has been this close minded before! Is what it is though, but I believe in nurture over nature and scientific principles, so I think we might be able to save Zeke from the garbage his parents put in his head!"
-End Confessional-
Around the 14 hour mark, Priya, Courtney, Tyler, Katie, Sadie, and MK were walking laps around the campfire pit to keep themselves busy, although for Katie and Sadie it didn't pay off that well since both girls ended up tiring themselves out from walking and fell asleep on the ground together. "Two bumbling idiots from the other team are down, yes... just keep it up Courtney." Courtney said to herself as she kept walking.
Courtney passed by Julia and Ella sitting together as she said this, with the former groggily chuckling. "Sounds like someone doesn't have the purest chakras..." Julia remarked, woozily holding her phone.
Ella nodded in agreement, although she seemed to be in a slightly better state than Julia. "It would seem so, but I hope she'll come to share the same kindness that the rest of us feel!" Ella exclaimed hopefully.
Julia sighed as her phone's battery finally died, so she just put it in her pocket lazily and looked at Ella while resting her head on her palm. "For real, pretty much every spirituality course I've followed says that giving kindness is the first step to receiving it. My followers love whenever I recommend them." Julia told Ella, her eyelids feeling heavier and heavier without her phone keeping them stimulated.
"Oh that sounds wonderful, how kind of you to share that with the rest of the world. What is your account? I'd love to follow that myself." Ella asked eagerly.
Julia had fallen asleep sitting up though, leaving Ella without an answer. MK then passed by, standing right behind Julia. "Hey uh, don't think you're gonna be getting an answer from someone sleeping." MK told Ella.
Ella now smiled at MK instead, holding both hands together. "Great observation MK! Your team is lucky to have you!" Ella praised MK for her comment, offputting her a bit.
"Uh yeah, sure. I'm definitely observant." MK just agreed with Ella as she put her hands in her coat pockets, walking away as fast as possible.
Caleb let out a loud yawn, then looked to see how some of the others on his team were holding up. Eva was tapping her foot to her music, easily staying awake with her mp3 player. It used way less battery than a smartphone, so it was still going around the 14 and a half hour mark just fine. Trent was staring at the campfire in front of them with his palm on his chin, Sam had just now collapsed shortly after his Gameguy died, and Scary Girl didn't look the slightest bit tired. "I guess it could be worse..." Caleb said to himself tiredly.
Caleb moved from where he was sitting on a stump and down on the ground next to Trent, who was also sitting with Dawn and Bowie. "Hey, how are you three holding up?" Caleb asked them.
Dawn was currently in a lotus position, her eyes closed as she meditated. Bowie looked plenty tired, but perked up when Caleb greeted them. "Ooh, you're a sight for sore eyes~ we're hanging on. Trent and I were talking about old action movies and Dawn's just been meditating for the past couple hours." Bowie answered.
"Meditating? Isn't that just napping?" Caleb pointed out, looking at Dawn now.
Trent and Bowie both looked over as well, now reevaluating it. "Oh yeah, it kinda is huh. Hey Dawn, you might wanna open your eyes, Chris might think you're asleep." Trent warned Dawn.
Dawn didn't open her eyes though, continuing to meditate on her stump. Bowie poked her cheek and shoulder a couple of times, but got no response. "No good. She's out colder than a prankster faking their death." Bowie observed.
"That's... oddly specific." Caleb replied.
"Sounds like something Chase would do. I heard he's an online prankster." Trent joked.
Chase in question had fallen asleep now not far from them, sprawled out on the ground. "Ugh, don't remind me. I already don't like those kind of channels, can't believe we don't even have the option to vote him off." Bowie pretended to gag as he looked at Chase.
Trent and Caleb both chuckled, before the latter yawned again. "Hey, since you two are holding up way better than I am, is it fine if I just crash here? I mean, it won't do us any good if I ruin my face with a lack of sleep just to not last any longer than you two." Caleb requested.
"Knock yourself out, literally." Trent remarked, giving him the go ahead.
"If you going to sleep means you'll look just as good when this is all over, you have me sold." Bowie also gave the go ahead, winking at Caleb.
Caleb gave the two a thumbs up, then laid down and went to sleep. "He even makes sleeping hot..." Bowie whispered to Trent.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Trent-
Trent had one leg on the seat, resting an arm on it. "Bowie is fun to hang around. My dad is an accountant, and we live in one of the most uptight towns you can imagine. You'd never meet someone like Bowie there. In fact, you'd never a lot of these kinds of people where I'm from, so this is already a pretty nice experience."
-End Confessional-
The 15 hour mark now rolled around, with it being midnight on the island. Zee was doing just fine, cracking open another soda and taking a sip of it. "Hey, where did you get that from?" Cody asked, hearing Zee crack it open.
Zee paused, looking down at the can in his hands. "I have no idea." Zee answered, then took another sip with a smile.
Cody rubbed his eyes, but the soda can was still there. "I feel like my dreams are already leaking in... that doesn't make sense..." Cody commented, still fixated on the soda.
"You know what don't make sense? Chris making us stay awake like this on the second day! Is he trying to ruin our looks?" Nichelle complained.
"You look great miss soda..." Cody muttered, before falling forward asleep and laying facedown on the ground.
Noah chuckled as Cody went to sleep, then closed his book. "Welp, enough people are down, this is where I throw in the towel." Noah stated, before just putting his hands behind his head and going to sleep as well.
Nichelle was angered by Noah's abrupt sleep, looking down at him. "Are you serious? The rest of us ain't staying up like this so you can quit! I'm done too then, I need my beauty sleep!" Nichelle declared, before laying down as well and closing her eyes.
Jasmine grumbled as she watched two of her teammates just give up, although she was faring much better herself, only a bit tired. "I can't believe they'd just give up like that. I know who I'm keeping in mind if we lose." Jasmine complained, side eying Noah in particular.
Izzy saw the three sleeping and giggled, giving a wave of dismissal. "Let them sleep early! I once saw a real brainy type force themselves to stay up for a super long time, and they got possessed by a demon! I had to fight them off of course, I was just fine, but they were never the same after that!" Izzy told her story, laughing afterward.
Scarlett was sitting nearby and gave Izzy a confused look, fixing her glasses. "None of that was logical in the slightest." Scarlett commented dully.
"Oh it definitely didn't make sense, I didn't believe it either, but hey, fighting demons is the least of my worries!" Izzy replied, winking at Scarlett.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Izzy-
Izzy giggled, then twisted her left arm back. "See this? It got dislocated when I was fighting ol' demon Jeffy! Buuuuut it looks cool so I never fixed it!"
-End Confessional-
Wayne and Raj were nodding off together, elbowing each other whenever one looked like they were going to fall asleep. "Mmmhhnhmf I'm awake..." Raj let out after Wayne elbowed him.
When Wayne began to nod off moments later though, Raj was too unfocused to actually notice, leading to Wayne slumping forward and falling asleep sitting on the ground. "Heh, guess hockey jocks aren't cut out for anything in the dark." Duncan remarked.
Right after Wayne fell and Raj was about to follow, Chris clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Campers! We are now at the 16 hour mark and it's 1am! I don't know about you, but I need to catch some Zs for the camera's sake. So Chef here is going to play some tunes for you to set the atmosphere while I'm gone!" Chris announced, with Chef walking up next to his podium in saintly white robes and carrying a golden harp.
"You know I'm terrible at this crap right?" Chef asked Chris as he began to walk away.
"Eh, that's kind of the point. Just don't play anything fancy and you'll be fine." Chris told Chef, giving him a quick finger gun on the way out.
Chef then began to play typical lullaby notes on the harp, very repetitively as well. Dave let out a yawn and stretched, but kept his composure as the music played. DJ felt himself falling asleep, so he left his spot next to Dave to go walk elsewhere. "Ugh... and I thought trig was the most boring thing ever..." Dave complained to himself.
Beardo let out a comically loud yawn as he rubbed an eye, while Brick paused his pushups as the music played. "Hey this is pretty ni-" Brick didn't even get to finish talking as the gentle music lured him to sleep mid sentence, falling flat on the ground from his push up.
Him dropping startled Lindsay, who ended up losing her balance and tipping over, causing her to fall asleep as well. "Heh, the softies are all dropping out to the weeny harp noises!" Ripper commented, smirking at the fallen Brick and Lindsay.
"They're on our team amigo, we shouldn't celebrate that." Alejandro reminded Ripper.
Ripper groaned, drooping his shoulders a little. "That's lame, I'm gonna win us this whole thing anyway, just pointing out the wimpy cadet couldn't outlast an alpha male!" Ripper boasted, getting right back into his mojo and pointing at himself.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Alejandro-
Alejandro pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a small breath. "Demasiado macho, he is unbearably arrogant. But, that also means no one will want to work with him. Perhaps when I'm done with Ripper, he'll have learned some humility."
-End Confessional-
The soothing monotonous music from the harp began to make people drop just as Chris had wanted, with Ella, Mike, Zoey, Millie, Tyler, and Samey all falling asleep to the melodies. "Go figure, a baby like Samey drops to the baby music." Amy insulted her sister as she watched her fall.
DJ had tried to tie himself to a tree to keep himself standing and awake even with the music, but it also consumed him and he then fell, taking the tree down with him. "Hey, DJ is a big guy he fell down too, no need to insult your sister brah." Geoff told Amy, having been sitting by her this whole time.
Amy scoffed, brushing off DJ going down. "He's a big baby too, we all saw him not jump." Amy refuted his point quickly.
Ezekiel scratched his head, actually surprised to see DJ fall. "I thought he'd stay up longer eh, since he's such a big strong guy. I thought all the girls and gays would fall asleep first since they only care about looking good eh." Ezekiel remarked.
Damien winced at this and was about to tell him something, but both Amy and Jo walked over and swiftly slapped him upside the head. "I'd do way worse if cameras weren't here." Jo told him coldly, before walking away from her team so she wouldn't have to hear Ezekiel.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Ezekiel-
Ezekiel had his hands in his hoodie pocket, still not looking tired at all. "I don't see why everyone is being so mean eh. Is this what teens are like? I guess they didn't grow up on proper Christian households like mine eh, they actually taught ye manners where I'm from."
-End Confessional-
At the 18 hour mark, Anne Maria and Izzy had fallen asleep to the harp playing, but everyone else had now just adjusted to it. Courtney had switched from doing laps around the campfire to just pacing in place, keeping herself constantly moving. "What are you doing?" Rodney asked her, looking in much better condition than she was.
"If I just keep... moving... I can't fall... asleep..." Courtney stated as she didn't even look his way.
"Wow, that's really smart. I should probably be doing that too!" Rodney complimented Courtney, standing up from his stump.
"Don't bother." Axel butted in.
Rodney looked back at Axel, now conflicted. "But why not? It's working for Courtney." Rodney reasoned.
"Nothing... can... stop me..." Courtney let out, trying to pump herself up.
Axel stood up as well, walking right up to Rodney. "Look at me, now look at her! She is tiring herself out and will fall asleep any minute! You sit back down and don't throw the challenge! I can't have you losing so stupidly!" Axel explained to him harshly.
"But what I just try it for bit?" Rodney suggested.
"That was an order!" Axel yelled at him, then slapped him across the face and stormed off to sit elsewhere.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Rodney-
Rodney rubbed his cheek where Axel slapped him, looking mesmerized almost. "Wow, Axel doesn't want me to lose? She really cares about me doesn't she? That has to mean something! And it's love! But, I'm with Priya right now! I'd either have to turn down Axel or let Priya know, and turning down Axel doesn't really seem safe. What do I do..."
-End Confessional-
B was currently reading a manual of some kind to pass the time at the 19 hour mark, although it wasn't helping him stay awake very much. Raj and Duncan were currently chatting together to stay awake, while Gwen now off on her own sketching to pass the time. "So what kind of fights does your team get in man? There's gotta be some real ugly ones you've dealt with." Duncan asked Raj.
Raj rubbed the back of his head, chuckling. "Well uh, they do get pretty gnarly some times! One time in Canmore, a guy broke his stick in half in the rink itself and stabbed one of my teammates in the chest!" Raj answered, his eyes widening a little.
"That's hardcore man, didn't think people got that butthurt over hockey. Guessing the suits gave that dude the heave ho out?" Duncan followed up.
Raj nodded, then gesturing to the sleeping Wayne. "Yeah, he was banned for the rest of the season and ended up having to switch schools entirely from what I heard. But not before Wayner gave him a whack of his own! Wayne doesn't take attacks on our team sitting down!" Raj elaborated, having a proud look now as he looked at his sleeping friend.
"Oh you guys actually fight back, that's sick. Pretty much any other pansy sport would stop the action as soon as things get good." Duncan complimented Raj, somewhat impressed.
Gwen watched the two dudes talk about hockey from a distance and rolled her eyes, not at all surprised guys would spend so much time on such a simple sport. He attention was just on her drawings until Trent walked up and gestured to the stump next to her. "Mind if I sit here?" Trent asked her.
Gwen shook her head, not wanting to make a scene. "Whatever, go ahead. Aren't you on the Terrifying Trout or whatever your team is called?" Gwen asked him, raising one eyebrow.
"Yeah, but Bowie is out cold now, and uhhh..." Trent paused to let Gwen look at who was left for his team now that Bowie had fallen asleep to the harp music. Alejandro was sitting with Ripper still, who had just farted loudly. Beardo was making noises to himself, Sky was still jogging laps around the campfire pit, Eva was not to be disturbed listening to her music, and Scary Girl just grinned at them as soon as she saw they were looking her way.
"Right... I see your point." Gwen responded, then just let him sit down next to her.
Once Trent sat down, he rested his head on his palm, looking forward. "So you know why I'm not sitting with my team, how come you're alone like this?" Trent asked her.
Gwen shrugged, tapping her pencil on her sketchbook. "It's easier to focus on drawing when I don't have to listen to everyone's nonsense." Gwen answered.
"A natural loner, mysterious. What's your favorite song?" Trent followed up, gaining a small smile.
"Excuse me?" Gwen let out, the question a little out of nowhere.
Trent nodded, then pointed to himself. "Yeah, what's your favorite song? Someone's music taste can give you a lot of insight into someone. I like a lot of 2000s rock and 90s alt stuff, it's easy on the ears but has a lot to say." Trent elaborated a bit.
Gwen chuckled, gesturing to his shirt with her pencil. "Right, couldn't tell you were a rock fan at all..." Gwen commented sarcastically. "...but if I had to name a genre, I'd say 60s and 70s psych rock. The singers looked cool and they were sticking it to the government, nothing better than that. Johnson Aircraft is probably my favorite group of them." Gwen answered, smirking at the government part.
"Right on, my dad hates that kind of stuff, but I dig it. Plus it's just great to vibe out to." Trent complimented her taste, shooting her a finger gun.
"Yeah, there isn't anything quite like the solos in those songs, sometimes those instrumentals say more than any swears can." Gwen agreed with him.
Trent let out a yawn, followed by Gwen. "Wish we were on the same team, you're probably the coolest here, although maybe some of the others will come around. Too early to say." Trent thought aloud, staring at the fire now.
"I wouldn't count on it. They clearly picked the weirdest people they could for this show." Gwen replied with a frown.
Right as she said that she was proved correct, as Owen then walked by the three of them snoring, fully nude. The editors took the liberty of censoring his bits, although his butt was in full view to Gwen, Trent, and the other nearby Bolts' misfortune. "Uh, am I dreaming right now? I'm not the only one seeing that right?" Shawn asked, blinking a few times as he saw Owen.
Owen just kept on walking, heading into the forest, while Gwen looked where he came from and saw all his clothes on the ground. "I wish you were the only one seeing that." MK remarked tiredly, pulling her beanie down to cover her eyes for a moment.
Since Chris wasn't around, not much else could be done as the sleepwalking Owen disappeared into the woods. "Woah... I am so putting those measurements on my blog!" Sierra exclaimed, further discomforting everyone.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Owen-
This confessional was in the daytime, and Owen was fully clothed in here. "Did I mention that I ate 7 cans of baked beans? Funny thing about baked beans, hehe... they make me sleepwalk. My parents have the same problem too, it's not just me I swear!"
-End Confessional-
Dave was pinching on arm to keep himself awake, still not talking to anyone ever since DJ left him. Since Samey had went down, Amy had now fallen asleep as well since she isolated herself and no longer felt a need to try. "Never before has a night felt this long..." Dave mumbled to himself.
Topher was faring much better, since he hadn't taken part in the sleep inducing feast. "Heh, dramatic line there, better than what most suit writers at networks could come up with." Topher praised Dave.
Dave looked back at Topher, tiredly raising an eyebrow. "...what? That wasn't even that dramatic." Dave pointed out.
"My point still stands. You yourself aren't that remarkable on appearances but maybe the showrunners picked you for another purpose." Topher replied, making a picture frame with his hands and looking through it at Dave.
Dave rolled his eyes, resting his head on his hand. "Gee thanks..." he mumbled, his eyelids feeling even heavier now.
He struggled to keep his eyes open, before they just closed and stayed close, with Dave slumping forward. As soon as Chef marked him down, Dave was jolted awake by the sound of pants unzipping nearby. He looked over at Topher right away, who held both hands up. "I'm a bit insulted you thought that was me honestly." Topher commented, although he had a small chuckle about it.
Dave then looked to his left and saw Max now following in the footsteps of Owen, stripping in his sleep and now standing before his team in the nude. "I really hope Chris didn't lace the food to cause this..." Bridgette commented, covering her eyes.
Damien shook his head, also looking away. "Well with sleepwalking, your mind translates your dreams into your actions in this state of consciousness. Metaphorically, clothes represent concealment or protection, so sleepwalking naked could indicate vulnerability, or that you feel some aspect of you is exposed to ridicule or disgrace. It's a psychological thing that causes this basically." Damien explained to Bridgette.
Max began to sleepwalk away to the woods like Owen, giving just about everyone a view of his censored bits and bubbly butt, which Sierra again took note of. Jo ran up to him though and kicked him in the stomach, jolting him right back to being awake. "Put your pants on and have some decency!" Jo yelled at Max, not being squeamish like the others.
Max looked down and blushed immediately, letting out a shriek as he then scrambled to grab his clothes on the ground and cover his waist before running off. "You did not see anything but EVIL! N-Nothing at all!" Max cried out as he fled to the cabins in embarrassment.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Sierra-
Sierra was on her phone, giggling to herself. "Oh I saw more than 'evil'! Max is way tinier than Owen, but you probably expected that. They're pretty even behind though surprisingly. I wonder how Cody stacks up to them, ooooh, I'll have to investigate him next!"
-End Confessional-
Despite all the baked beans shenanigans at the 19 hour mark, Beth and Staci had instead been focusing on Justin still to keep themselves awake going into the 20 hour mark. "He's been standing still like that since we got here... that's so impressive..." Beth said to Staci.
"My great great... great... great uncle Theo invented standing still, yah... before him, people were constantly moving... and got tired... so sad..." Staci rambled, leaning on Beth.
Heather walked over and saw the two staring, groaning that they were still enamored. "Come on he's just standing there, don't be so stupid." Heather told them, not captivated by Justin's looks like they were.
LeShawna had been looking at Justin as well despite being on another team, and walked over now that they talked about his standing. "I wasn't even countin', but yeah boy has been standin' still for like the entire night. Guess that's how models roll." LeShawna assumed.
Heather waved a hand in front of his eyes, which were seemingly wide open at the moment. "Hello? Earth to Justin, you have to share your secret with us. LeShawna, get out of here." Heather demanded, then shooed LeShawna away.
LeShawna glared at Heather, snapping a finger at her. "Oh nah, you ain't tellin' me to leave, Justin can make his own choice!" LeShawna snapped at Heather.
This snapping made Justin's eyes... open? His actual pupils were now visible, shocking the four girls looking at him. "Wait, what? Is that paint on your eyes?" Heather asked Justin.
Justin then closed his eyes immediately, but it was too late. "His eyelids are totally painted, I saw him close them!" Priya shouted as soon as he did this.
Chef now walked over to investigate, giving the harp a rest. "Open your eyes boy, I ain't lettin' cheaters pass here!" Chef ordered Justin.
Justin flinched at being yelled at by Chef, making him blink again. "Did you have to pry?" Justin right away complained towards Heather.
"Ugh, not my fault you couldn't stay awake." Heather didn't take any blame of course as Chef marked him down.
Heather then looked to Beth and Staci, hoping to discuss with them now that they'd no longer be distracted. Instead, she was greeted by the sight of both of them being asleep, along with B who had now succumbed to reading his manual and was out cold. "That's just great. Eye candy goes down and you all just drop like that? Pathetic!" Heather insulted them, moving Staci and Beth out of the way so she could just sit on one of their stumps comfortably.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Justin-
Justin had now cleaned the paint off his eyelids, letting out a groan. "Great, I thought that could actually win me the whole thing. Come on brain, you're letting me down here! Beth and Staci seem to really like me though, I think I can work with this..."
-End Confessional-
Another hour went by, and now those that had fallen asleep early on in the challenge were starting to wake back up, as the sun was finally starting to rise. When Katie and Sadie woke up, Sugar was waiting right beside them, full of energy now. "Good mornin' ladies!" Sugar greeted them both.
Sadie rubbed her eyes while Katie let out a big yawn. "Oh... good morning Sugar! Did we win?" Katie asked her.
Sugar shook her head, then gestured to the Trout still in the challenge. "Naw, they still goin'! But I got somethin' I wanna propose to ya both!" Sugar answered loudly, snickering afterward.
"Propose? Sorry, I don't go that way, but thanks for being open!" Sadie thanked Sugar, completely misunderstanding but still smiling.
Sugar facepalmed, then leaned in a little closer and began to whisper. "If our team loses, they gonna go for the pretty girls like us since we're threats. So here's what I'm gonna do, I'll see who is tryna go after us, and if I catch anything, I'll let y'all know. Just vote for who I say and y'all will be in the clear!" Sugar proposed to them.
Not seeing any downsides to this, the BFFFLs both nodded immediately. "Sounds good to me! Thanks for looking out for us!" Katie thanked Sugar, briefly giving her a hug.
Sugar ended the hug quickly, giving the two a thumbs up. "No problem, anyone who messes with Sugar's friends has to go through Sugar first!" Sugar assured them, then stood up and jogged off.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Sugar-
Sugar had a devious smile on her face, still snickering a bit. "I ain't gonna let a whole day go by without pushin' mahself further! In every pageant show, if you ain't riggin' the vote off the bat, you shoulda never signed up in the first place! This whole team is gonna get Sugar'd!"
-End Confessional-
Now that it was 6 in the morning and the sun was rising, Chris returned to the campfire pit, dismissing Chef to change out of his sheep costume. He was carrying a large book in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other, with Irene following behind him with a few more cups of coffee. "What's the matter with you people? Come on, fall asleep already!" Chris taunted the campers by then drinking some coffee in front of them.
Topher and Sierra were now starting to look tired despite not being pampered, with the former struggling to laugh. "Good one Chris... you really know how to kick people while they're down." Topher complimented Chris.
"Thank you Topher, I sure do!" Chris accepted the compliment.
Chris then did a quick headcount, groaning when he came to the total. "30 of you are still up? Guess Chef must have went easy on you then! Everyone else, go shower, eat, whatever, just quit crowding the place!" Chris complained, with those that were rising now walking back to their cabins and the dining hall.
Chris set the big book in his hand down on the podium, opening it up. "I didn't want it to come to this, I said that to Chef Hatchet before we started this, that only in extreme cases would it come to this, but here we are!" Chris told the campers, building dread.
"I don't like where this is going..." Sky said with worry, currently resting her legs from her laps.
Chris held up the book for a moment, showing the cover to everyone. "I'll be reading the History of Canada, a college course textbook with the most boring delivery possible. I hope you're all ready." Chris switched to a completely monotone voice, just to add to the boredom factor.
Eva rolled her eyes, then turned up the volume in her earbuds. "No thanks." she responded bluntly, tuning him out.
Chris saw her do this and smirked, walking right up to her and holding a hand out. "Ah ah, no cheating with electronics, wouldn't be fun if anyone got to skip out!" Chris chastised her.
Eva groaned, reluctantly handing over her MP3 player and earbuds. "Shouldn't have said anything... if those get damaged at all you're dead." Eva threatened Chris, now resting her head on her palm.
With those confiscated, Chris then went back to his podium and flipped a page in the book. "Chapter 1. The Beaver. A nation symbol as well as an economical ally." Chris began to read the book.
Scarlett looked ready to tap out, but when she saw how miserable the others looked, an idea popped into her head. "I am somewhat surprised the textbook doesn't refer to the common beaver by their scientific name. The castor canadensis. At least, that would be the genus located in Canada. The European and Asian variety go by castor fiber. Important to make the distinction." Scarlett explained to Chris in a matter-of-factly tone.
"You're even worse than the textbook and we just started..." Duncan insulted Scarlett, already beyond irritated by her, while Raj next to him covered his ears.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Duncan-
Duncan's eyes now had purple bags beneath them, the challenge getting to him. "Nerds crease me. Always have, always will. Why learn some random facts about 200 years ago when you can learn actually useful stuff, like where exactly an ATM snaps open. That's something everyone should know."
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Scarlett-
Scarlett adjusted her glasses, which only magnified the eyebags she currently had. "The nucleus accumbens, it's a part of your brain that affects both motivation and pleasure. It also affects drowsiness though, that's why when you get bored you may feel more inclined to sleep. Right now, Chris is trying to put everyone to sleep by bombarding us with 'boring' information. But I can multiply that boredom by engaging with it, dragging out the process and making more of the others fall asleep. I should at least get a few out before I succumb to my hypothalamus."
-End Confessionals-
By the time the 22 hour mark rolled around, Chris was still reading the historical textbook, sipping coffee and keeping up the dry tone just to rub salt in the boredom wound. "So Chris, do you agree with the book that the French could have simply played defense and kept their territory?" Scarlett questioned Chris, as he was currently on the War of 1812.
"Maybe, but where's the fun in that? Conquer and conquer I say!" Chris answered, making Scarlett chuckle a little.
"I suppose it would be boring if no one in the Americas expanded. But the cycle of settling is never peaceful, just the way history goes." Scarlett agreed with him, managing to muster a smile despite how tired she was.
The back and forths between Chris and Scarlett along with the dry reading were wearing everyone else down, especially the less studious players. Rodney, Geoff, Jo, Sierra, Eva, Ripper, Beardo, Raj, and Duncan had all fallen asleep within the hour, just as Scarlett had hoped for. Priya leaned over to Scarlett, whispering in her ear. "If you're doing this on purpose, keep it up!" Priya whispered to her.
Scarlett nodded, giving the prodigy a thumbs up. "As long as my body will allow me. The history is all that is keeping me awake at this moment in time." Scarlett replied.
Chris flipped the page in his book, continuing on with the narrative. "And so the French's aggressions and turn around on their previous policies served as the precursor for the War of 1812." Chris read, switching right back to the mono tone.
"Man, this crap is for nerds... sha-borinnnn..." Lightning let out, before he too fell asleep, sprawled out on the ground.
Seeing how few were left in her team, MK began to close her eyes as well. "Can't... go on... sorry guys... wish I could stay up for this thrilling information..." MK told Gwen, Heather and Shawn, as they were the only others left for her team.
"Hey you did good, don't worry about it..." Shawn told her, although he didn't have the strength to muster up an actual smile right now.
"Can't blame you for dropping out here either. This is the most boring thing I've ever done in my life." Gwen added, looking a little better than Shawn right now.
MK gave a thankful nod to them both, then curled up on the ground and went to sleep. "I am so close to doing the same, I can't stand this..." Heather let out, rubbing her eyes to keep them from closing shut.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: MK-
MK snickered, resting her hands behind her head as she leaned back in the confessional. "Ehhh, I coulda went a little longer in there. But I just needed to put a good enough effort for the others to notice, but not go too far to be a threat. Y'know what I mean? No one gets voted off by flying under the radar after all."
-End Confessional-
The onslaught of knowledge persisted into the 23 hour mark, where LeShawna, Topher, and Heather had now also fallen asleep to the history of Canada. Sky's eyes kept opening and closing, still seated as she kept pinching herself harder and harder to stay awake. "Can't... let the team... down..." Sky let out as she forced herself to stay awake.
Alejandro this violent measure to keep herself awake and sat down next to Sky, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Amiga, you mustn't hurt yourself this way. You certainly haven't let us down, you outlasted any of the other captains after all." Alejandro praised her.
Sky rubbed her eyes, looking at Alejandro with uncertainty. "But... if I fall asleep and we lose, then that would be on me for not sticking it out..." Sky argued, one hand on her forehead now.
"Alas, that is the opposite of the truth. Those of us that stuck around the longest even without winning put the best effort for the sake of the team. Those that didn't even try are to blame. I'm sure the others will see it that way too." Alejandro reasoned with her.
Sky thought about it for a moment, although that moment turned into a minute, and she never quite ended up getting an answer out as she just fell asleep pondering Alejandro's words. "I do hope she doesn't keep being hard on herself like that." Alejandro now spoke to Scary Girl, the only other player on his team still awake around since Trent was still sitting with Gwen.
"If it brings misery, I might be okay with it! No screams though, that's lame." Scary Girl replied, pouting slightly.
Alejandro raised an eyebrow at this, a bit weirded out. "How much longer do you think you'll be able to stay up Scary Girl?" Alejandro asked her curiously, noticing a lack of eyebags.
"Oh I don't know, maybe until everyone drops dead! Or I join them, we'll see!" Scary Girl exclaimed, smiling eerily at Alejandro.
"Hmm, well I wish you the best then. You are surely more fit for this than I am." Alejandro complimented Scary Girl, then walked far away from her before laying down and going to sleep.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Alejandro-
Alejandro still didn't look that tired, smiling at the camera. "I do not wish for us to lose, no one does. But I would be sticking out if I lasted longer than Scary Girl in this sort of challenge. That would do no good for my humble appearance, so a gracious exit I shall take. Sky understands that me lasting as long as I did is a virtue as well, so no worry about our captain holding this against me."
-End Confessional-
The 24 hour mark finally rolled around, with Scott and Priya having succumbed to Chris's monotonous reading during that time. Scott fell asleep with a smile, his hands behind his head as he slept on the ground, while Priya was sprawled out after falling off her stump. Courtney was still stepping in place, forcing herself to stay awake despite everything. "Thought she'd be out hours ago doing that, Court really has some stamina." Jasmine remarked, impressed with her resolve.
Zee nodded in agreement, taking another sip of his soda. "For real, it's like she's on a treadmill or something. Kinda like in the movies." Zee complimented Courtney, although no one really quite knew what he meant by that.
Bridgette's eyes finally closed for good as Chris and Scarlett discussed Canada's role in World War 1, with Chris dropping the mono tone every time he talked to her. "It's honestly amazing that Canada is more respected than France if you consider their efforts in the wars. Canada's losses are impressive, but their gains don't make them look competent at all." Scarlett rattled off.
"Girl, I like history, but come on, you're killing us here..." Damien told Scarlett, with Ezekiel sharing the same sentiment.
"Mission accomplished then..." Scarlett chuckled, fist bumping Axel.
Courtney ended up being the next one to drop though, finally collapsing from her stepping in place. "That's really impressive eh, girls usually can't walk for-" Ezekiel began to say, but Damien covered his mouth and cut him off.
Since none of the other Gophers were awake now, Damien faced Ezekiel on his stump, giving him a serious look. "Dude, I shouldn't be doing this, but I can tell your parents have filled your head with a whole buncha nonsense, so Imma help you out here." Damien began to tell him, keeping his voice down.
"Fill my head? Not sure what you mean eh." Ezekiel responded, confused as ever.
Damien facepalmed, shaking his head. "This gonna take a while ain't it? Just listen to me, where you live, girls may not be that powerful. And-"
"Your people aren't that powe-" Ezekiel began to interject.
"Just listen before I throw this and let them vote you off!" Damien whisper-yelled at Ezekiel, his interjection striking a nerve. "Everywhere except where you live, girls are just as strong as guys, just as smart too. It don't matter how you look either, we're all equal, got that?" Damien lectured him.
Ezekiel scratched his head, simply perplexed. "But that's not what my dad said eh. Plus all the girls fell asleep before us. Pretty sure my dad is right eh." Ezekiel argued.
Damien took a deep breath, just standing up and walking away. "Aight then. I can rest easy knowing I tried." Damien conceded, before just laying down on the ground and closing his eyes, giving up entirely.
"Those people always giving up and being lazy, not surprised eh." Ezekiel commented, but now had no other teammates left to scold him.
Once Chris checked off Damien was out, Chris closed the history book, much to Scarlett's dismay. "We're down to single digits people! Congrats on you 9 for making it this far and surviving the history course!" Chris commended the remaining campers.
Shawn was hunched over a little on his stump, weakly raising a fist in celebration, with Gwen doing the same. Trent followed along, smiling seeing Gwen do something as little as celebrate. Scary Girl clapped her hands giddily, not a hint of tiredness still on her. Ezekiel didn't look very tired either, just having his hands in his hoodie pocket and staring ahead with an empty gaze. Axel had a smirk on her face, thanks to their number advantage. Jasmine looked confident as well, fist bumping Axel. Zee didn't even seem aware of the challenge, smiling at nothing as he sat. Scarlett looked ready to drop out any second now that the history course was over.
Chef then walked up to Chris's podium, carrying a canister of something and two gas masks. "Since it's clear you nine are probably going to stick this around much longer, we're gonna speed things up!" Chris announced, putting his gas mask on.
"Oh he really is just gonna gas us. Huh. Why does that not surprise me." Gwen remarked, narrowing her eyes at Chris.
"Chef! Let 'em have it!" Chris directed Chef, who then twisted the canister seal after getting his mask on and tossing it right into the campfire.
The canister exploded open over the flames, spewing out sleeping gas throughout the pit. "Don't worry, this is a fairly light amount! Knocking you all out immediately would be lame, we're just trying to-"
Scarlett dropped to the ground before he could even finish talking, her glasses falling off her face as soon as she hit the ground. "-speed things up. Oops." Chris finished, chuckling a little.
Axel dove off her stump and covered her mouth and nose, keeping her head right behind the stump. Zee snorted up some of the gas, letting out a pleased sigh afterward. "This stuff is pretty calming yo." Zee let out with a smile.
Jasmine covered her face with her hat, trying to avoid breathing any of in. Ezekiel just pulled his hood up and covered his face with his arm, Scary Girl didn't do a thing in response, Shawn took his beanie off and covered his mouth, while Gwen and Trent also just had to use their arms. "Guess we'll see which of you handles the gas the best and wins the whole thing!" Chris narrated, looking at the eight remaining campers.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Axel-
Axel laughed a little, both hands on her hips. "Heh, Chris doesn't know that part of my survival training is toughing out poison gas! You'll never know what kind of fumes you'll breathe in these days, especially with global warming and factories around! Can never be too prepared!"
-End Confessional-
The gas eventually dissipated, but the effects of it were definitely lingering, as a chain of yawns followed once everyone lowered their guard. Gwen lowered her arm, letting out a sigh of relief. "Okay, I think we're good now Trent... Trent?" Gwen told her awake-a-thon buddy, but didn't get a response.
When Gwen looked to her left, she frowned as she saw Trent just blankly fall forward and pass out on the ground. "Don't leave me..." Gwen let out, for once sad.
"Look at the bright side..." Shawn began, fixing his beanie back on his head. "At least that's one down for their team..." Shawn finished, gesturing over to Scary Girl, now the lone member of her team.
"Ashes ashes, they all fall down!" Scary Girl exclaimed by herself, looking directly at Shawn and Gwen now.
"Yeah, we'll totally outlast her." Gwen replied sarcastically, now having no upsides with Trent out.
Jasmine had one hand on her head, the gas and her natural tiredness finally getting to her. "I don't think I'll last much longer, darn Chris and his tricks, do you think you'll be able to hold out?" Jasmine asked Axel, not even bothering asking Zee.
Axel nodded, only looking a little tired. "You can count on it." Axel assured her with a small smirk.
Jasmine gave Axel a thumbs up, although she didn't bow out. She kept herself awake still, just in case she could also stick it out. "Dude, it's been a day now, do you think there's gonna be a challenge today?" Zee asked the two girls.
"I'm sure there will be lad." Jasmine answered with a slight giggle.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Jasmine-
Jasmine laughed a little to herself, resting one leg across the other. "I really don't know what's going on in that Zee boy's head. He's harmless though, and he's lasting longer than the rest of the team, so I'm not gonna push him. He's betta than a ham sandwich I'll say that much."
-End Confessional-
At 25 hours, the sleeping gas hadn't made a huge dent in the remaining players. Jasmine and Gwen had now fallen asleep, leaving only 5 players clinging on for their team. "How the heck have you been staying up this whole time?" Shawn asked Ezekiel, having no one else to talk to, since his other options were Axel, Scary Girl, and Zee.
Ezekiel shrugged, looking toward Shawn. "I've lived on a farm my whole life eh. I've stayed up longer than this just watching cattle." Ezekiel answered casually.
"Huh. Who knew being a farmer would give you apocalypse levels of consciousness." Shawn commented, somewhat impressed.
"Apocalypse levels? Pff, he's nowhere near my league." Axel boasted, pointing at herself.
Zee now got up as the three talked, walking over to where Scary Girl was sitting. "Hey, how are you doing brah?" Zee asked Scary Girl.
When she didn't respond, he tapped her shoulder, which just made her slump forward. "Oh. She's asleep yo." Zee said to Chris, then just went right back to where he was sitting.
Chris walked over just to be sure, surprised to see her actual fall asleep. "Woah! Not sure how that happened, but Scary Girl is asleep, which means the Ferocious Trout are our first losers of the day!" Chris announced.
"First?" Zee asked Chris as he sat back down.
Chris nodded, standing in front of the final four campers still awake. "Yup! We're not having just one elimination ceremony today! But two! Whichever team takes third place is also voting someone out!" Chris announced, instilling more dread in everyone except Zee.
"Unless either of you wanna just give up now, we're gonna be here for a looooong time then." Axel told the boys with a confident smirk.
"Guess so eh." Ezekiel didn't argue, letting out a small yawn.
Shawn gulped, bracing himself for the long haul. "Yeah, we'll see who drops first..." Shawn mumbled, standing up and moving to by himself, which Axel soon did as well.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Zee-
Zee looked a bit bored, scratching his head. "I thought we were going to do challenges on this show yo. But like, we're just sitting around doing nothing. Kinda lame if you ask me."
-End Confessional-
26, 27, 28, 29, the campers soon the 30 hour mark, and not a single one of the four had dropped out yet. By now, almost everyone who had fallen asleep earlier had woken up and left, so the campfire pit just felt even more lonely. "Man, you guys just really don't know when to quit do you?" Chris told them, watching them all teeter from his podium.
"Nope... never surrender!" Axel let out, her fatigue finally showing.
"Not really eh." Ezekiel replied to Chris, just shrugging.
"Zombies... never let you rest..." Shawn stated, his eye bags almost more visible than his actual eyes.
Zee just absentmindedly stared ahead with a smile, now looking the least tired of the last four. "Quit? We haven't even started yo." Zee pointed out.
"Even I'm not that confident..." Axel commented, thinking Zee was being prideful.
The last three aside from Zee stared each other down from their spots, waiting for at least one of them to drop so they could finally get their rest. Ezekiel slumped forward a little, rubbing one eye before putting it back in his pocket.
Axel had her hands on hips, sharply looking at the two boys standing in her way of winning. Her eyes flickered closed a couple of times, but she just shook it off each time, forcing herself to stay awake.
Shawn rested his arms on his knees, completely miserable as he waited for one of the others to drop out. "Oh? Looks like we're finally drawing to an end here!" Chris narrated to the audience, seeing how close they were.
Ezekiel let out a loud yawn, swaying left and right as he was losing his sense of balance now. "Just a little longer..." Axel said to herself, eyeing the two with bated breath.
A minute passed by, and one person fell forward, hitting the ground to both the shock and relief of the other three. They weren't sure if this person had actually fallen asleep though, so they just stayed awake as Chris walked over to check on them.
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"Shawn is out! The Lightning Squad settles for third place!" Chris announced, seeing that the zombie nut was now out cold.
Axel weakly pumped a fist in celebration, before falling forward as well and falling asleep. "Sweet eh." was all Ezekiel had to say about it, before going to sleep as well.
Zee was the only person awake now, who just scratched his head now that it was over. "Soooo are we going to do a challenge now Chris?" Zee asked Chris.
Chris shook his head, laughing for a moment. "No Zee, your team just won. I'll let the other teams know the results, so the Trout and Bolts know they have to vote someone off tonight, but you can just hang out until tomorrow." Chris told him, then walked away to do just that.
"Sweeeet." Zee responded, then took a sip of his soda as he too left to head to the cabins.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Shawn-
This confessional was in the evening now, with Shawn rested up somewhat. "Man, I just had to hang on for a bit longer, but I couldn't! Uh, the rest of the team won't be too mad at me for blowing it at the end right?"
-End Confessional-
"You completely blew it at the end! You sha-cost us the win!" Lightning scolded Shawn outside of the Lightning Squad cabin, where everyone was discussing who to vote off.
"Hey, he lasted longer than you. Better than any of us actually. Give him a break." Zoey defended Shawn.
Heather nodded in agreement, currently filing her nails. "Yeah, we'd be stupid to vote off an asset like that. Justin though? He cheated in the challenge and lost. I say we lose him." Heather suggested.
Anne Maria gasped at this idea, and Justin looked caught off guard by it. "You've gotta be joking, I still lasted longer than most of the team like that. Besides, the team morale would go down without my gorgeous looks~" Justin then flexed a bicep, right away swaying things in his favor.
Anne Maria nodded in agreement, running a finger along on of his biceps. "Exactly! You must be gay or somethin' for wanting to vote off this hunk!" Anne Maria told Heather, making Heather roll her eyes.
"Who fell asleep for the team first anyway? That's the weakest link right?" Mike switched the topic.
Wayne nodded his head, liking the suggestion. "For sure eh, pretty fair way to handle it too!" Wayne agreed with him.
Duncan pointed with his thumb to Cameron, then looked around. "Cameron and Owen fell asleep first, but... where even is Owen?" Duncan asked, realizing that the large boy was nowhere around.
"Last I saw him he went into the woods naked, do you think he's still out there?" Raj answered, pointing towards the woods.
"I'll go tell Chris! Can't have a teammate go missing eh!" Wayne declared, then hurried off.
"What about the vote? I may have been among the first to fall asleep, but my academic abilities will prove their own value to the team!" Cameron defended himself.
"Academic abilities like Scarlett's put us to sleep. No thanks." Heather refuted quickly.
Plenty of the Lightning Squad began to get up after that, going their own ways. "We'll just talk about the vote again after Owen is found. Wouldn't be fair to talk things out if everyone isn't present." Raj told Cameron as he then jogged off.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Cameron-
Cameron looked a bit worried, having his hands on his knees. "Today wasn't a great look for me. Back home, my mom never let me stay up past 7, this wasn't really going to be my challenge. But if I leave now? That'd be bad for the team too! And... it'd be pretty embarrassing to leave so soon..."
-End Confessional-
Outside of the Trout cabin, things weren't being discussed at all like they were with the Lightning Squad. Eva was leaning on the porch listening to her music again now that she had gotten her MP3 player back, Lindsay was doing her makeup while leaning against the front wall, Bowie was chatting with Dawn on the steps, and Sugar was talking to Katie and Sadie.
Alejandro had just finished dinner when he approached the cabin, seeing what everyone is up to. "Hmm... very interesting..." Alejandro noted to himself as he approached.
Alejandro politely stepped around Bowie and Dawn, going right up the steps and over to Sugar. "I've reconsidered your offer Sugar. As much as your alliance offer is tempting, I cannot go through with voting for Trent! As he has not wrong me at all." Alejandro turned her down loudly, catching everyone's attention and confusing Sugar.
"What're ye goin' on about? I ain't offered you nothing!" Sugar replied just as loudly, getting the attention of those inside.
Caleb, Sam, and of course Trent ended up coming out of the guys' side, wondering what was going on. "I heard my name, did I do something?" Trent asked.
Alejandro shook his head, having a look of sympathy as he stared at Trent. "Not all amigo, which is why I can't understand why Sugar would want me to vote you off. She offered to protect me in exchange for voting with her, but this just seems wrong." Alejandro answered.
Dawn narrowed her eyes at the situation, while Sky who had just came out of the girls' side looked to Sugar. "Is this true Sugar?" Sky asked, just to be safe.
"It ain't! He's just makin' up crap!" Sugar answered, flicking Alejandro on the forehead.
Sadie glanced at Katie, before speaking up herself. "Well... she gave us the same offer actually. I thought it was just us, but I guess not." Sadie admitted, with Katie nodding to confirm.
"Why me anyway? I don't think we even talked before." Trent asked Sugar now, frowning at her.
Sugar stomped the ground, pointing a finger at Alejandro. "I ain't going for you! Alehandjob here is just makin' up a bunch of cow turd to turn y'all against me! We never talked before, so I got no reason to go for ya, ye said it yourself!" Sugar defended herself angrily.
The loudspeakers from throughout the camp then came on, hurting everyone's ears as they blared and cutting off the conversation. "Ferocious Trout! It's time for you to vote someone off! Lightning Squad, I'll see you right after! Our search team has located Owen and is bringing him back, so we'll be having the Trout ceremony in the meantime!" Chris called for both teams to vote, before cutting off.
"Guess that's that! I've heard all I need to hear about this tea." Bowie concluded, then walked away with Dawn to go vote.
The rest of the Trout vacated their cabin as well, all leaving to go vote. "You really should learn to not be so loud." Alejandro told Sugar, then winked at her as he too left to go vote, leaving Sugar fuming.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Alejandro-
Alejandro had a smug look on his face, holding up three fingers. "Sugar wanted to start an alliance of three with Katie and Sadie, a very smart plan honestly. I don't know how someone like her could come up with it, but credit where credit is due. She was quite loud when talking with them during the challenge, and seeing them talking at the cabin just confirmed my suspicions. I of course made it seem my intentions were pure with exposing her, wouldn't want this to come back and bite me, that would be foolish."
-End Confessional-
Nightfall soon came, and the 17 members of the Ferocious Trout walked through the woods that led to the elimination ceremony together while dramatic music played. The path to the area was lit up with tall torches, although the darkness still gloomed over the team. A squirrel looked down at them from a tree, before seeing they were harmless and falling asleep, like most of the other animals as the team headed for the ceremony.
The Trout team logo was on a flag just in front of the bonfire pit, which everyone soon walked in front of and took their seats on the 22 tree trumps set up, leaving 5 of them empty. They sat in a row of 9 in the back, and a row of 8 in the front, with Sky, Eva, Sam, Katie, Sadie, Dawn, Bowie, and Trent in the front while Brick, Caleb, Lindsay, Beardo, Sugar, Millie, Alejandro, Ripper, and Scary Girl sat in the back.
Chris had a tray of 16 marshmallows beside him, which sat upon an empty oil barrel acting as a podium. "Ferocious Trout, welcome to your first elimination ceremony of many to follow. Today and yesterday were long and arduous, but it was all for nothing as you will be casting your votes to send someone home." Chris welcomed them, rubbing salt in the wound.
Chef was beside Chris, looking like he had a bone to pick with some of the Trout. "Ripper!" Chef called him out first.
"Aww come on, what did I do!?" Ripper let out in frustration.
"You ain't makin' a good impression on your teammates, and you've already made yourself some fast enemies! Could be you going home!" Chef explained to him sternly.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Ripper-
Ripper groaned, crossing his arms. "Ugh, if some of the others are threatened by an alpha male, that's literally how it's supposed to work! Guess I'm just too manly for them!"
-End Confessional-
"Sugar!" Chef called out the pageant queen next, but she already saw that coming.
"Seems you got a little too eager making alliances! And apparently going for Trent too? Girl, what he even do to you?" Chef chastised her.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Sugar-
Sugar threw up both hands in frustration, glaring at the camera. "Nothing! N-O-F-I-N-G! That Alejanloser is just playin' with their minds!"
-End Confessional-
"Alejandro!" Chef moved on to the charmer next, who raised a curious eyebrow while carrying a smile.
"You exposed Sugar, so you may have just put a target on yourself to her alliance!" Chef stated, which Alejandro tried hard to not laugh at.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Alejandro-
Alejandro snorted, shaking his head. "Unfortunately for Sugar, Katie and Sadie left her corner as soon as we left that porch. I have no reason to be worried."
-End Confessional-
"Scary Girl!" Chef moved on to his last callout.
"Present!" Scary Girl exclaimed, raising a hand.
Chef paused as she did this, then just continued. "You were the last person to fall asleep on your team, and it didn't seem like you were even trying! You let your team down, and they might not be too happy about that!" Chef scolded her for losing.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Scary Girl-
Scary Girl had her hands on her lap, grinning eerily at the camera. "I don't think it'd do them well to vote me off after beating them all! If they do, they'll be sleeping... permanently! Eeehee!"
-End Confessional-
Chef's callouts were done and the votes had been cast now, so Chris did a quick spin of his tray of marshmallows before grabbing the first. "You cast your ballots, and your votes have been counted! If you get a marshmallow, you're safe! If you do not, your time here is up and you must immediately leave the island! Since you're all tired, I'll just throw them to you. Let's begin." Chris spoke with a serious tone as he prepared to throw the first marshmallow.
"Marshmallows go to..."
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"Sky."
"YES!" Sky let out as she received hers first, maybe a bit too happily as she got some odd looks.
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"Caleb."
Caleb just caught his easily, he wasn't the slightest bit worried about going home.
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"Sam."
Sam was playing his Gameguy on low brightness during the ceremony, but his marshmallow ended up landing on the console, so he just flicked it into his mouth and kept playing.
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"Millie."
Millie caught her marshmallow with both hands, sticking it in her mouth as politely as she could, now eagerly spectating the ceremony.
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"Katie and Sadie."
Chris tossed marshmallows to both girls, who got theirs and hugged each other, letting out joyous squeals.
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"Beardo."
Beardo made the 1-Up sound effect as he was tossed his marshmallow, popping it in his mouth and making comically goofy munching sounds as he ate it.
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"Lindsay!"
Lindsay was gently tossed her marshmallow, which she still managed to miss catching, having to pick it up off the ground.
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"Trent."
Trent sighed with relief, feeling the target on his back disappear as he was tossed his marshmallow.
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"Dawn."
Dawn graciously caught her marshmallow, silently thanking the heavens before eating it.
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"Bowie."
Bowie caught his marshmallow one handed, shooting it into his mouth with his thumb and chewing it with a smirk.
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"Brick."
Brick saluted Chris as he was tossed his marshmallow, although the marshmallow just hit his eye as he did this, making him yelp slightly.
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"Eva."
Eva grunted as she heard her name, nearly crushing her marshmallow as she caught it.
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"Scary Girl."
Scary Girl held a palm out to catch her marshmallow, although she just put it in her pocket for some other purpose once she caught it.
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"Ripper."
Ripper let out a victorious laugh as he was tossed his, before catching it with his mouth.
That left just Alejandro and Sugar without marshmallows, with the former looking much calmer than the latter. Sugar was glaring daggers at him, but Alejandro's suave expression was fazed one bit. "Campers, this is the final marshmallow of the night, and whoever does not receive will have their summer long camping trip cut abruptly short." Chris told them, setting the tray down and holding up the last marshmallow.
Alejandro looked towards Sugar and winked at her, before just looking forward again and waiting to receive his marshmallow, while Sugar clenched both fists, still clinging on to hope that his plan had failed. "The final marshmallow of the night goes to..."
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"Alejandro."
Almost no one was surprised when Alejandro was tossed the final marshmallow, which he caught gracefully and flicked into his mouth. "What a shame. Next time you sign up for a reality show, don't try and scheme day one." Alejandro told her coyly.
"I ain't schemin' crap! Y'all better watch out for him!" Sugar warned the others, before storming off.
"But you did scheme with us." Katie pointed out, frowning at Sugar.
"I wasn't talkin' to ye!" Sugar yelled back, before heading down the dock.
Chris watched her leave, then looked to the rest of the Trout. "The Lightning Squad are going to be here soon, so you can clear out and head to your cabins for the night. Rest up, so you'll actually be ready for the next challenge." Chris dismissed the team, letting them get up and leave.
On the dock, Sugar stared down at the wood bitterly, still clenching her fists as she walked. "This ain't fair! I wasn't supposed to have any skeezebuckets in mah way!" Sugar complained.
-Parting Confessional: Sugar-
Sugar slammed a fist on the wall, gritting her teeth. "This ain't normally how these things go! This was a fluke ya hear! I'll go home and win a whole buncha more pageants, so this ain't botherin' me! Not one bit! Those losers can deal with Alejandro!"
-End Confessional-
Sugar stomped the ground angrily as she reached the end of the dock, very clearly upset. "I was robbed ya hear! ROBBED!" Sugar yelled, as the Drone of Despair then swooped down and grabbed her by her curly hair, straining her head a bit as she was carried away.
"Sure, we'll see who the fanpages think was robbed!" Chris sarcastically agreed, waving as Sugar was carried away.
Chris then walked back towards the campfire pit, pulling out a walkie-talkie. "Alright Lightning Squad! You're up next! Meet me at the bonfire pit pronto!" Chris announced through the walkie-talkie, which was connected to the loudspeaker units.
Cutting back to the woods, the 17 members of the Lightning Squad walked along the path that led to the elimination ceremony together while dramatic music once again played. The tall torches burned ever bright, lighting the way to the contentious ceremony. Just about every animal in the woods had fallen asleep now, something all the Bolts wished they could be doing right now.
The Trout team logo was swapped out for a flag with a frog logo just in front of the bonfire pit, which everyone soon walked in front of and filled the same seats as the team before them. In the front sat Wayne, Raj, Duncan, Gwen, MK, Heather, Mike, and Zoey, while in the back sat Lightning, a now clothed Owen, Staci, B, Cameron, Shawn, Justin, Beth, and Anne Maria. "Lightning Squad! You got third place, which wasn't enough to keep you from sending someone home today!" Chris greeted the team as Chef brought out a new tray of 16 marshmallows.
The team had in fact not discussed the vote any further, and looks were sent all around, with no one quite sure where everyone else's votes went. "You guys are way more nervous than the Trout were, but I like it, so I'm not gonna question it." Chris remarked, chuckling a little.
Chef then stepped forward, narrowing his eyes at the nervous bunch. "Shawn!" Chris called out the zombie prepper first, making him gulp nervously.
"You were just seconds away from winning the whole thing! After two days of suffering for nothing, your team might not be too happy with you!" Chef chastised him.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Shawn-
Shawn's eyes were wide with worry, raising one hand. "Zoey defended me on that one, I'm an asset to the team. They wouldn't kick me off when I literally did the best right? Then again, a lot of these people are the kind of people who'd be dumb enough to die on the first day of the apocalypse, so fingers crossed on this one."
-End Confessional-
"Heather!" Chef pointed to the queen bee next, who was irked being called out like this.
"You haven't been very nice to your team, so you've got a lot of eyes on you right now. Not a great way to start when you got a lot of teammates to worry about." Chef explained her faults, which Heather just let out a small huff to.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Heather-
Heather flipped her hair, crossing her arms. "Of course eyes are on me, they always are. I'm the most important person to this game, and my team will soon see why. They're not voting me out for just a bad attitude."
-End Confessional-
"Owen!" Chef looked to the big boy next, who got a little nervous hearing his name.
"You fell asleep super early, then walked around booty butt naked and probably scarred your whole team! Pretty good reason to send you packing!" Chef scolded Owen, a bit grossed out.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Owen-
Owen didn't look embarrassed, but did look nervous. "I'm comfortable with my body, everyone should be! But if I get voted out over baked beans so early, man that's gonna stink."
-End Confessional-
"And Cameron!" Chef zoned in on the bubble boy next, who hugged his legs when he was called out.
"You also fell asleep real early, and you ain't lookin' super helpful to your team right now! Could be your scrawny butt goin' home!" Chef criticized him, just making him more scared.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Cameron-
Cameron was sucking his thumb in the confessional with one hand, hugging his knees with the other. "Oh it's gonna be me isn't it? We didn't have time to discuss things further, and my defense was half baked at best! Three episodes isn't that bad right?"
-End Confessional-
With the main candidates out of the way, Chris grabbed the first marshmallow from the tray. "Your ballots have all been counted, and now it's time to see which of you will be sleeping at home tomorrow!" Chris declared, getting ready to toss the marshmallow.
"Who did you vote for bro?" Raj asked Wayne.
"You dog! How 'bout you eh?" Wayne asked him back.
"You too! We're totally gonna win this." Raj answered confidently.
Chris facepalmed, looking at the two skaters. "You were supposed to vote for the person you want to eliminate." Chris reminded them dully.
"Oh that's our bad eh..." Wayne admitted, now rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry coach, sorry." Raj apologized, also frowning.
Chris sighed, lowering his hand and preparing to toss the first marshmallow. "Marshmallows go to..."
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"MK."
MK caught her marshmallow with both palms, before just sliding it into her coat pocket.
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"B."
B caught his marshmallow with one hand, then ate with a satisfied smile.
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"Zoey."
Zoey sighed with relief as if she was in danger, catching her marshmallow with a big smile.
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"Duncan."
Duncan smirked as his marshmallow came his way, snatching it above his head.
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"Gwen."
Gwen lazily caught her marshmallow, not in a good mood at all right now.
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"Beth."
Beth got a bit giddy as she heard her name, graciously catching her marshmallow with both hands.
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"Anne Maria."
Anne Maria's frown turned to a pleased smile as she was tossed her marshmallow, although it ended up going into her hair and completely vanishing.
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"And Shawn."
Shawn's worry disappeared as he was tossed his marshmallow, catching it with one hand and wiping some sweat from his forehead after he began to eat it.
Only 8 people had received marshmallows at this point, and 9 still had yet to receive theirs. "The votes were all over the place tonight, but everyone without a marshmallow received at least one tonight. So let that sit on your mind." Chris informed them, just to stir up more worry.
"The next marshmallows go to..."
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"Mike."
Mike was a little puzzled to have been voted for, but he happily accepted his marshmallow nonetheless.
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"Wayne and Raj."
Chris tossed the hockey bros their marshmallows, both of them catching them with one hand before fist bumping.
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"Staci."
Staci held out a hand to catch hers, relieved to be safe, although still a bit uncomfortable knowing she was voted for.
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"Owen."
Owen got a big smile as he heard his name, before catching his marshmallow with his mouth and just swallowing it.
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"Cameron."
Cameron perked up, surprised to actually be safe, let alone not in the bottom two. He expected votes, so he didn't have a problem getting his marshmallow this late.
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"And Heather."
Heather smirked as she was called, swiping her marshmallow out of the air and popping it into her mouth with her thumb.
This now left Lightning and Justin in the bottom 2, both of which were surprised to be here since Chef didn't call them out. "Y'all really gonna vote out your captain in the first ceremony? That is sha-whack!" Lightning proclaimed furiously.
"I don't understand this either, was my gorgeousness not enough?" Justin asked the others, posing for the rest of the team.
Chris grabbed the last marshmallow from the tray, letting Chef take it away. "Justin, Lightning. Your reasons for being here are unknown, but one of you is leaving, and that's unavoidable. And that person is..."
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Justin leaned forward in his seat, eyeing the last marshmallow worriedly, while Lightning leaned forward with his hands on his knees, eyeing the last marshmallow with determination.
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"Justin."
Justin gasped as Lightning was tossed the final marshmallow, while the jock had all sense of worry erased as he caught it and tossed it into his mouth. "Aww yeah, Lightning sha-moves on to the next round! You're outta here sucka!" Lightning boasted to Justin.
"What!?" Justin let out, appalled by this elimination.
"Guess some people didn't like that you cheated." Heather commented, looking at her nails now and wearing a smug look.
Gwen rolled her eyes, glaring at Heather. "No way there was more votes for Justin than you. We didn't even plan this out. You're really something." Gwen pointed out, crossing her arms.
"And that something is not a cheater, later Justin." Heather quipped, wiggling her fingers at Justin coyly.
"Justin, it's time to go." Chris told Justin, then began to walk to the dock.
-Parting Confessional: Justin-
Justin was mostly just confused, scratching his head. "How did this even happen? My looks! My hotness! It was all supposed to take me to the end! But I'm leaving this early!? Brain, you and I are going to have a serious talk!"
-End Confessional-
Cutting to the dock, Justin was walking behind Chris while the rest of the Lightning Squad was on their way back to their cabins. He was still trying to make sense of his elimination, utterly perplexed. "I still don't get it! None of this adds up!" Justin proclaimed in astonishment.
"Life isn't always fair Justin, sometimes people as hot as us get the short end of the stick." Chris told him, putting his hands behind his back.
Justin shook his head, now taking a more frustrated look. "This wasn't just luck though, this was intentional, but how? I'm good looking and everyone loved me here! Was its something I saaaaAAAAAAAID?!" Justin let out as the Drone of Shame then swooped down and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, carrying him off into the night screaming.
As Justin was carried off by the drone, MK watched from the bonfire pit, a satisfied smirk on her face as she saw his figure get smaller and smaller until she could no longer make him out over the horizon. She then shoved her hands in her coat pockets, whistling to herself as she went back to camp.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: MK-
MK kept both hands in her coat pockets, leaning against the confessional wall. "Yeah, I voted with Heather on this one. There's a reason she wanted him gone, and there's a reason I wanted him gone. If he stuck around any longer, he'd fly under the radar with everyone adoring him. Sorry pretty boy, but let's face it, you have your life made out for you already, did you a favor booting you out of this craphole!" MK then snickered afterward, still smirking.
-End Confessional-
Chris watched as Justin disappeared from his view, before looking to the camera. "That's two more players down in two far more spicier elimination ceremonies than last time! How will Heather advance from here? What is up with Scary Girl? And will Ezekiel ever learn the error of his ways? Probably not! But stay tuned to find out next time, on Total, Drama, Island!" Chris concluded the episode, raising his arms as the camera zoomed out for a wide shot of the island.
Teams Remaining:
Killer Bass: Chase, Axel, Jasmine, Rodney, Samey, Priya, Izzy, LeShawna, Courtney, Scott, Emma, Nichelle, Scarlett, Cody, Zee, Noah
Screaming Gophers: Jo, Tyler, Ezekiel, Bridgette, Amy, Geoff, Damien, DJ, Sierra, Topher, Blaineley, Julia, Dave, Harold, Ella, Dakota, Max
Ferocious Trout: Sky, Eva, Brick, Caleb, Alejandro, Katie, Bowie, Lauren, Ripper, Trent, Dawn, Millie, Lindsay, Beardo, Sam, Sadie
Lightning Squad: Lightning, Wayne, Raj, Shawn, Zoey, Anne Maria, Mike, Duncan, Heather, MK, B, Gwen, Beth, Owen, Staci, Cameron
Placements:
66th: Justin
67th: Sugar
68th: Leonard
Author's Note:
Two more boots out of the way, and substantial ones at that! There was a lot of routes I could have gone with Sugar, but there was already a ton of antagonists for this fic, and Sugar's loudness and bold gameplay just wasn't going to fly for such a long season. It barely worked in PI and pretty much no one had a sense of logic there, so she was pretty screwed here. Overall I'd put her at 34/68 in rankings, she's not bad conceptually, just kinda falls flat and was never as charming as the writers wanted her to be imo. (Leonard was 47th btw)
Justin, oh I already feel guilty for this one, but there are three pretty boys in the cast who basically all fill the same role with varying spins on it. Kinda crazy how blatantly they copy this archetype. Can't spoil what I have in mind for Caleb and Alejandro is Alejandro, so that left Justin to get the short end of the stick as Chris put it. Heather booting Justin in TDI really was a powerplay, but I wish canon gave that boot the weight that it deserved. Justin is hilarious when used right, and he carried Action for me. I'd put him at 14th overall, so this was a tough one to cut early.
I do really like this challenge, I think it's a perfect launchpad to have at the beginning of the season for setting up dynamics and the like, since the campers have nothing to do but hang out and talk. Setting up dynamics, alliances, and such is a bit tougher for the later seasons due to how action packed they are, but challenges like this are a great appetizer for the season. Next episode will definitely be more action focused, but don't worry about characters not doing anything, everyone will get a much more defining moment to shine. It's just a little tougher with the Awake-a-thon since some people have to drop out early.
So that was episode 3! Sorry for the delay on this, these are momentous tasks to write, since managing a cast this large is still rather draining, but I've gotten in a better groove with it. Let me know what you thought in the reviews, join our discord for discussion and more (code on profile), and I'll see you all next time! Have a great day!