The air in the plane was… somehow both tense and sombre. It was bizarre, especially for those in Team Amazon who had no idea what was happening. All they knew was it had something to do with Izzy, as Merida left and had yet to return. It wasn't that it was strange, this was par for the course at this point, but they heard that something went down.
Heather glanced over her shoulder, squinting her eyes at the curtain that separated First Class with Economy. She always hated how Merida seemed to be more on Izzy's side than anyone else's. Even her own team, for that matter. And it irked her.
"What's got you so cray-cray?" Sierra asked, sitting in the chair across from the Queen Bee. "You've been looking back at Economy like you're expecting Alejandro to walk in."
"I'm not, as if I'm that crazy about that jerk." The season one villainess flicked her ponytail. "It's Merida. She hasn't come back since the team of losers finished their elimination. I'm worried she's going to turn on us…"
"Lay off her Heather", Cody said as he sat next to Sierra. "We all know Izzy isn't doing too well right now, so if Merida wants to help her friend, who are we to stop her?"
"It's suspicious", the Queen Bee snapped. "They've been getting too close for my liking, and I knew it was because of you", she pointed angrily at the fangirl, "and crazy girl swapped. Merida's been constantly trying to one-up me all season, and it's really getting on my nerves."
"None of us are against it", Sierra said with a glare. "And that's because you suck. Merry doesn't. So you're kinda outvoted right now."
The villainess crossed her arms and scowled, looking away. "I'm aware. That's why we need to keep winning, so you all don't lose your strongest player."
"Sure…" The geek and fangirl droned out sarcastically. Heather glared at them, but things stilled when Merida walked in. The princess' expression was unreadable, and she made a beeline to the drink bar. She made an order for four soda bottles, and when she received them, she took them and walked right out.
"I would like to know what is happening…" Sierra mumbled in curiosity.
"Then why don't we go and check it out?" Heather said with a smirk.
"Don't", Courtney suddenly spoke up from the couch. "If you do, Merida will probably bury you at our next stop."
"I don't know, Court…" Gwen said. "I'd like to see what's happening myself. Merida is our friend, and I think if she's dealing with something we should make sure she's okay…"
The Ex-CIT looked very conflicted at the goth's logic, and when she saw Heather stand up and make her way over to the doorway to Economy, she sighed and joined them.
Passed Economy, in the Common Area, meanwhile, was the remnants of Team E-Scope and the Scottish princess. They sat together at the table closest to the elimination area, all silent and sombre.
The Psycho Hose Beast in particular was nearly unmoving, simply leaning against Merida in some form of support. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her cheeks were stained with tears.
In short, she was a mess.
The others weren't much better. Merida was silently stoic, acting as the pillar of support her girlfriend needed. Noah was angry, angry at Alejandro twisting things so they lost their number's advantage. Eva, surprisingly, was more simmering. She was much like the princess, not wanting to react in an outlandish way.
"So, what's the plan now?" The bookworm said as he looked out the window. "Because without Lunchbox, we've got to rely on a tiebreaker."
"That should be the least of our problems, Noah…" Merida whispered. "Right now, we have Izzy in turmoil and I don't think we should worry about this bloody game."
"She's right, Noah", Eva said grimly. "As much as I would like to win this game, what's been going on honestly makes this something that's not important. We need to help Iz, no matter what."
Izzy remained silent and still when Noah looked at her in sadness, then sighed. "I know, I know… My thought process is that if we get rid of Al, then we can make sure Izzy will be fine. He's the reason things have gotten as bad as they have."
The two girls were silent, contemplating whether to agree or disagree with their friend. He did bring up a good argument, but they didn't know how practical of a plan it was. However, all of that stopped when they suddenly became acutely aware of an audience before them. They all swung to look at the rest of the competitors looking at them in intrigue, curiosity or boredom.
Or in Heather's case, frustration.
The princess growled and stood up, leaving Team E-Scope behind as she forced everyone out of the Common Area. An angry, Scottish voice could be heard, and it made Noah and Eva wince.
Izzy was numb to it all, simply moving so she was leaning against the wall of the plane. She had shut out anything that was happening, because she felt it didn't matter. Owen bought the lie Alejandro told him, and now he was gone. They couldn't talk and make up. It broke her heart more than it already was, which should've been impossible.
She was feeling ill, and it didn't help that every window and mirror had the version of her she was supposed to be smiling back at her. Oblivious to all the problems, the plot holes, the inconsistencies, the broken logic. The Izzy that was still happy and healthy, all because she poked her nose in where it didn't belong.
She loved Merida, she loved the others… But that voice asking "Was it really worth it?" was getting louder and louder by the day. It was painful, and she hated it. If she could, she'd silence it, and just be happy. But she couldn't.
So here she was, leaning against a cold metal wall, numb to the stares and pain. At least for now.
After a bit, Noah walked off to probably join Merida. Which left the Psycho Hose Beast and Fitness Buff alone.
"Hey, Iz…" Eva started quietly.
Izzy looked over at her friend, exhaustion plastered on her face.
"I'm… Sorry. For blanking out on you. I'm not… Good, with this sad emotional stuff. It's not something I'm used to, especially from you. So I'm trying. But… I'm here for you, Iz. I mean it."
Izzy was silent for a bit. "Do you know why I wanted to be your friend, Eva?" The wild child's voice was shaky, cracked but quiet.
"Why?" The Fitness Buff asked with a wary but curious expression.
"I always felt like you were the sister to me…" The Raging Bull simply widened her eyes in surprise. "I was an only kid, never knew what happened to my dad, so it's just been me and my mom. Heck, I don't even know if I had a dad. So I joined Total Drama… Because I wanted to find someone… And I found you, Noah and Big O."
Eva swallowed nervously. "You actually mean that? But we… We barely talked back at Island."
"I just had this feeling…" Izzy's expression lightened just the slightest bit. "It felt… Right."
The faintest of smiles graced Eva's face, and she stood up and moved so she could sit next to her friend. "That… That means a lot, Iz. Not a lot of people really liked hanging out with me, because I was so tunnel visioned on being the best. I was too competitive."
Izzy shifted so she was leaning against her friend. "Thanks for telling me that, E. It… It means a lot."
"Yeah, it's nice to get that off my chest." Eva nudged Izzy and put an arm over her shoulders. "I promise, Iz. I'll be the best sister you could ask for."
The Psycho Hose Beast smiled, then nuzzled up against her self proclaimed sister. "I know you will, E."
From the doorway that connected the Common Area and Economy, Noah was looking at his two friends and smiled at the moment of makeup and bonding. But that smile fell when he turned into the other room, scowling at all the other contestants.
Who, at this moment, were all being chewed out by a very angry Merida. She was already frustrated enough, and having everyone snooping in on their private matters was not how she wanted things to spiral. Izzy needed privacy, and by god the princess would make sure of that. At least as long as the cameras weren't rolling.
It was also important to point out that she and Izzy hadn't shared their relationship just yet. Merida knew now wasn't the time, and didn't want that to be used against them as a reason to get them booted. The thought scared her, but also gave her all the reason to make sure Heather and Alejandro didn't get an edge way in or out. She refused to let that happen.
It didn't help that there was this very weird tension between Courtney, Duncan, Gwen and Tyler. It left a bad taste in her mouth.
After the princess finished her angry rant, everyone backed off, with the three problem guys of Team Chris sitting back down on one of the benches, and Team Amazon heading back to First Class. With that dealt with, Merida headed back to the Common Area, and smiled at the wild child and Raging Bull bonding and making amends.
She walked over to the table and grabbed her own soda, taking a sip. "So, I really think the four of us should have a plan of some kind."
Noah sat down in his old spot, and he hummed. "As much as I'd hate to admit it, maybe you could sabotage one of the other three guys on our team. I know that's how Alejandro made Beth lose in Jamaica, so if you give him a taste of his own medicine, we could stand a chance."
"How can you be so sure Tyler and Duncan will vote against him?" Eva asked.
"Because he has no stakes in this game. He quit, and if he could he'd take the first chance to get out of here. Which means he's not really aligned with anyone, and thus we could convince him to vote with us if Alejandro isn't able to 'pull his weight', if you catch what I'm saying."
The three girls fell silent, unsure how to react. But after a moment, Izzy was shockingly the first one to agree. "Do it." The others looked at her in surprise. "I knew something was off with him the moment I saw him at the Gemmies. And seeing how… perfect he was, made me even more suspicious. Turns out he's just a manipulative snake that wants to only push on. He left Big O behind in the Amazon, and just for that alone I know he's a shit person."
"Well said, Iz", Noah said with a proud smirk. "So, are we all in agreement?"
There was a lull as Izzy nodded but the other two girls hesitated. But after a moment, they nodded. They all gained smirks, although Merida noticed Izzy's didn't meet her eyes fully, like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Izzy, I wanna talk to you." The Psycho Hose Beast nodded silently and walked out of the Common Area and headed towards the Cargo Hold. "We'll catch up with you two later."
Noah and Eva nodded and said simple goodbyes as the princess headed after her friend. The elimination area had this air of sadness that would definitely linger for a while. Merida didn't like it, and quickly made her way through and into the storage area. Izzy was standing in the middle of the room idly, and humming a little melody. When she stopped to face the princess, she looked almost sheepish.
"You noticed, didn't you?" The wild child said sadly.
"It's easy, Iz, you can't hide it." Merida walked over and put a reassuring hand on Izzy's shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Just scared and worried." She started to pace a bit. "Alejandro is good. Too good. It feels almost unfair how good he is, and it makes me worried he's going to completely steamroll us."
"Hey, Iz, let me tell you something." The wild child looked at her friend, who had a confident look. "Try and stay positive, okay? Don't let any of that get to you. If your team does good, then you all get to stay. And plus, means I get to boot out Heather. So just… focus on the good, okay? Everything will work out. I promise."
Izzy smiled weakly but genuinely, and quickly hugged Merida. The princess hugged back, planting a reassuring kiss into Izzy's messy hair. This was as far as they were going as a couple right now, because they both knew going too far right now was just stupid. After the show, they'd be more cutesy.
Unless Merida didn't like that, and rather keep this more discreet.
But right now, they were content.
At least until they heard something fall within the sea of massive crates. they both jumped and faced the vague direction of the sound. Sharing a glance, they dug deeper into the hold, scanning top to bottom. There was another crash, and they snapped their gaze over. For a brief moment, they caught sight of a familiar faded green hoodie.
"He snuck back on again?" Izzy asked in disbelief.
"That kid is way too desperate", Merida said in horror. "Reminds me too much of Mor'du…"
"We should tell Chris when we get the chance. Because I don't want him to become… worse than that."
"Agreed. C'mon." The two redheads walked out of the Cargo Hold, sharing one last affectionate smile before heading out. They quickly passed through the elimination area, and entered the Common Area swiftly. It just so happened Chris had assembled everyone there, and the host looked over and grinned.
"Nice of you two to join us!" He said cockily. "Because I'm ready to explain where we're heading next!" The two girls made their place next to Noah and Eva. "Alright, prepare yourselves for challenges of an ametur calibration!"
The three tough guys of Team Chris shared determined looks, while Team Amazon reacted with smiles and nods. Merida raised an eyebrow and Izzy shivered ever so slightly.
"Because we're recreating the original Olympics!" That made everyone look at the host curiously. "And we're heading to the birthplace of the olympics right now, in-"
"Greece!" Courtney said, raising her hand.
"Atlantis?" Sierra said in a confused tone, raising her own hand.
"You messed up and think it was Rome, didn't you?" Noah spat sarcastically.
The host was about to shut down the two girls, but stopped when he heard the bookworm. "Wait, what?"
"Courtney is right", Alejandro confirmed. "The Olympics originated in Greece."
The host was silent for a moment, pulling out a stack of papers and quickly scanned through them. A scowl formed on his face, and he glared ahead. "Interns!" Two interns zip beside him at his call.
Chris looked between the two, then frowned. "Everyone should probably hang onto something. Everyone except you!" He angrily spun around and pressed the now crumpled papers into the intern in a red shirt, and snapped his fingers.
All the contestants and the blue shirt intern suddenly grabbed the table as the door outside suddenly opened, and the plane tipped drastically. The host shoved the red shirt intern out, much to Izzy's horror, and soon turned to the other intern when the plane straightened out.
"You might want to find info on Greece. Quickly!" The intern took the papers and ran off, fearful of the host's frustrated tone. Probably spent a bunch on location fees in Rome which now were wasted.
As the host walked off, heading towards the cockpit to tell Chef the destination change, all the contestants stood up from under the table and shot competitive looks at each other.
"Prepare yourself… For battle!" Sierra said in a threatening tone.
"Child's play", Alejandro gloated. "There's no way us athletes will lose to a team with no men." Eva growled, and Cody looked down sadly.
"Hope you look good in silver", Heather taunted, walking up and jabbing a finger into the Spaniard's chest. "I look great in gold."
As the two manipulative rivals conversed, Merida, Izzy and Noah all caught sight of Gwen and Duncan giving each other flirty looks. The three of them shared suspicious glances, curious what all of that could be about. As everyone split up, ready to wait out the trip to Greece, Team E-Scope and Merida walked off towards the other table in the Common Area.
"So, we have two plans", Noah explained in a whisper. "Either Merida tries to throw Alejandro off his game and paint a target on his back, or the three of us just carry our team so we win and don't have to worry about elimination."
"What about the Amazons voting someone off?" Eva whispered in worry, glancing at the princess.
"Don't worry about me", Merida reassured. "All of us on Team Amazon know that Heather is the first one gone as soon as we lose. So don't you worry."
Team e-Scope all nodded, and all quietly chatted as the plane flew through the clear blue sky.
Izzy, however, found herself glancing at the window. Her reflection was smiling at her, almost like she knew something.
Something bad.
~X~
An hour later, the plane landed at some point just outside of Athens, near where all its famous ruins were located. It honestly was very pretty to Izzy, who wanted to check it out ever since hearing about Greek legends thanks to Zomboss' impromptu history lessons. With the marble structures standing tall despite being worn and cracked, it was almost like something out of a… Cartoon…
Izzy shivered as the thought passed through her head, but luckily Merida grounded her with a gentle nudge on her back. She sighed, and focused her attention ahead. The host was leading everyone to a spot before the Pantheon, probably for the cameras.
When everyone was situated, the host was given a stack of papers from the blue shirt intern and started his explanation.
"Welcome to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece!" The host began. "Home to many of the first Olympians! Who, as my intern has informed me, competed naked." He got nothing but crickets in response, making his smile fall into a semi-embarrassed look. He cleared his throat. "Right, well… We only have to resort to nudity if there's a tiebreaker." He gave the stack of papers back to the intern, and walked forward a bit as he continued.
"Today we're gonna do things a bit differently… Since Team Chris Is Really Really Really Hot is down a man, and Team Amazon is an all girl team." Cody sighed dejectedly Sierra fumed, crossing her arms and scowling at the host. "In order to make things fair, all of today's challenges will be one on one matches. Every victory gets you a gold medal. The team with the most golds wins First Class tickets to our next destination. Second place wins a brutal elimination ceremony."
"Sounds fair", Merida nonchalantly said.
The host grinned and led everyone to a collection of massive marble pillars that almost made it like a jungle. "Our first historical event is a Grecian scavenger hunt. The inside of the Odeum Of Pericles is filled with maze-like rows of huge columns. Players must search through this ancient forest of columns and return with the Grecian treasure that waits for you inside.
"First one to do so… Takes the gold!" The host looked back at the two teams. "So who's going in?"
"Me", Duncan and Gwen said simultaneously. They both looked at each other in shock. "What?!" They started to mumble in concern, which made Noah and Merida very alarmed.
"Gwen Vs Duncan it is!" Chris decided.
"Wow…" Courtney said in a strained tone, smiling forcefully. "That is so… Fun!"
The punk walked up to the host, who frowned. "What's the big deal?" Duncan said. "Let someone else do this event."
"My decision is final, Duncan." The punk mumbled something angrily. "Excuse me?"
"I didn't say anything."
"And you won't say anything else till the Olympics are over. Between now and then, you can either zip it or sing it. That'll make up for the songs that you missed while you were in breach of your contract. And, if you speak instead of sing, you'll earn a lash from Chef's Olympic towel."
"Oh, a towel", the punk said in a condescending way. "I'm so scared."
"You should be." The cook walked up dressed as a spartan, and prepped a towel lash. "Exhibit A." Chef whipped the towel at Duncan's behind, making the punk cry out in pain. "Shucks. Really should've sung that 'OW', bro."
Chef whipped Duncan again, and this time the punk cried out in pain in a sing-song tone.
"Much better." The host lifted two trash can lids and handed them to the two volunteers. The bad boy grumbled as Chris tossed the second over to Gwen.
"Uh… Why do we need these?" The goth asked in worry.
"These authentic spartan shields will help you in your treasure hunt. For the treasure you seek is tied to an Erymanthian Boar. Aka, a bear we tied fake tusks to."
"Always a blasted bear…" Merida sighed with a head shake.
"Good luck to you both. Duncan, Chef will be following you, so make sure you sing it if you gotta say it. Chef, sound the spartan battle horn!"
The cook pulled out a kazoo and blew into it.
The host sighed. 'That's the spartan battle horn? For reals? Just go already!" The two volunteers and Chef left as Chris walked away. "The rest of you, follow me."
"We're not going to say?" Courtney asked in worry. "And watch? Closely? At all times?"
"Nope! Time to flip channels, just like the real Olympics!" The host led the group away from Odeum and towards a different spot within the ruins. There was a large dirt circle on the ground, and both Izzy and Merida had a bad feeling about this.
"Pancreatin is an Ancient Greek martial art with no rules", the host explained. "Last man standing wins the gold."
Merida sharply whistled, which brought all the Amazon's attention to her. "Okay, so we all know they're picking Eva, right?" The other Amazons all paled, winced, then nodded. "So I say I tackle this. I fought a bear, and my dad who's a bloody mountain. Any objections?"
Courtney raised her hand. "Are you sure you can handle it, though? You don't seem… Particularly capable."
The princess level such a dark glare at the Ex-CIT everyone present swore the sky just got darker. "What did you say?"
Courtney shrunk back in fear. "Nothing! Nothing, good luck, Merida!"
The princess nodded and entered the ring, giving Eva a look over. "So, you think you got this, E?"
The Raging Bull cracked her knuckles, and grinned. "Oh, I know I do. No one beats me at wrestling, that's for sure."
The princess glanced at Izzy, and smirked. The Psycho Hose Beast gave her a curious look, only for her eyes to bug out as it clicked.
Merida flexed and stretched her neck muscles, did a few small hops, and got into a battle ready pose. Izzy shook her head rapidly at both her friends, but it was too late.
Eva ran at Merida…
And the princess suddenly went nuts.
She swept her legs and tripped her opponent, before delivering a powerful uppercut to the back of Eva's head. The Fitness Buff grunted as the princess grabbed her legs, swung her overhead, and slammed her into the ground.
With the swift motion, Eva was out. Everyone was left in shock, constantly glancing between the princess and unconscious Raging Bull continuously, as if thinking Eva was gonna spring back up. But she didn't. Rather, she groaned and accepted Merida's hand to help her up.
"Let me guess, Majima?" Eva asked as she nursed the back of her head.
Merida nodded. "Mostly him, although my mate Star also helped out a bit, and my dad taught me a lot that's stuck with me."
"Cool." The Fitness Buff sighed. "Should ask them if it'd be cool if I tagged along with one of those sparring matches."
"I'll talk to them, see what they think."
"Um, excuse me?" The host said in impatience. Both girls looked over at him. "We only have so long for the episode, so keep this up or we'll run out of time."
"Merida can have this one", Eva said as she walked out of the ring, making everyone sans the princess, Izzy and Noah gasp. "She beat me, and honestly I'd rather not be sent to the infirmary. So she can have this."
Chris was speechless for a moment, before shrugging and tossing the Scottish archer her medal. "All right, that's cool. Means your team is behind, so whatever."
When Eva walked over and joined her team, Alejandro was glaring at her. "You might've cost us the win, Senorita."
"I played by your book, snake", the Fitness buff snapped. "I was honourable. Merida won fair and square."
The Spaniard suddenly looked like a deer in headlights, and straightened up. "I see… You are right, that was very honourable. I suppose playing fair is the best way to go."
"You said that so much at the beginning of the season", Noah spat as Chris led the group towards the next destination. "For a diplomat's son, you sure can't seem to stay true to your own words."
That struck a nerve, with Alejandro freezing up and looking ahead wide-eyed. Tyler hung back and waited for him, letting Team E-Scope gain some much needed distance.
Izzy swallowed nervously, then leaned close to the bookworm. "I think that was too far, Noah. You might've made yourself Alejandro's next target."
"We just gotta win the next challenge, and hope Duncan wins his challenge, then we'll be okay."
"That's a risky play, egghead…" Eva said in quiet worry.
Noah looked ahead with a tense look. "I know. But I'm willing to take that gamble."
Things fell silent as they followed the host the rest of the way. Alejandro vanished at one point, but then came back and shared a knowing look with the jock. Tyler simply looked down in shame, and that set alarm bells off in Izzy's head. But soon, they all reached a large, empty plot of land with a bunch of hurdles set up. The wild child looked surprised, then determined.
"I'm doing this", she whispered to her friends as Chris got into position.
"Welcome to the hurdle's event", the host explained. "The ultimate test in speed and flexibility. Players must leap higher and higher as they race for the finish line. First one across wins the goal. Team, pick your leapers."
Izzy instantly walked to her first hurdle and started doing stretches, while Team Amazon silently bickered about.
"I nominate myself", Courtney said with authority. "I'm the… second strongest member of this team, and haven't gone yet."
"Oooooo, nice try Courtney", Sierra said with a suppressed giggle. "We all know that's not true."
"Bloody 'ell if you start arguing then I am going to scream!" The princess shouted. "Heather, you go."
The Queen Bee was surprised for a moment, then smirked. "Well, looks like someone finally appreciates my skill."
Everyone rolled their eyes as the two girls got into position. But just as they were about to start, Gwen came running back, empty handed.
"Gwen!" Courtney cried. "Where's the medal, and Duncan? Is he okay?"
"Yes, where is your medal, Gwen?" The host asked with a scowl.
The goth sighed. "Me and Duncan were singing our song, but at some point the bear realised the medal was chocolate and ate the whole thing. It then dragged Duncan off somewhere, and Chef told me to come back."
The host looked gobsmacked, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's great. That's wonderful. Well, it looks like either Team Amazon takes the win or we do a tiebreaker."
"You didn't have any other challenges planned?" Cody asked in surprise.
The host shook his head. "We had everything planned for Rome at the Coliseum, so a lot of our stuff was already set up there." He glanced at his wrist watch. "And we don't have time to wait for the interns to set up more stuff. So Izzy and Heather, get going!"
The two girls were caught off guard by the sudden call to start, which let Izzy get a lead. Which slowly grew every hurdle. Izzy could hear her team cheering for her, and that gave her a boost of energy. Heather was gaining, but it came too late as Izzy crossed the finish line.
"Team Me Is Crazy Ridiculous Hot wins their first medal!" Chris announced as he tossed the Psycho Hose Beast a medal of her own. She quickly put it on and ran over to her team, leaving a fuming and frustrated Heather in her wake.
"That's how it's done, good job Iz!" Tyler said happily.
"Very impressive, Senorita", Alejandro complimented with a smile.
"Thanks…" Izzy said with a tense smile. The Spaniard's smile grew, and that made a pit form in Izzy's stomach. As Chris called for a break so they could get the tiebreaker set up, Merida separated from her team and joined Team E-Scope.
"That was pretty good, Iz", the princess said sweetly.
"Thanks, Merry. It wasn't really that hard, I guess being as flexible as I am really helps."
"Does wonders", Noah droned out, making Eva roll her eyes. "But now we need to either win this tiebreaker, or hope Duncan will vote for us."
Merida winced. "That's… I don't think that's gonna work, Noah."
The bookworm shrugged. "It's the best we got right now. Trust me."
Both redheads shared a very nervous look, having a bad feeling about this whole thing. But they couldn't dwell on it too much, as the loud sound of a crane being driven in made everyone look at it with wide-eyes. In the hook high above was a single medal, the arm making sure it was far too high to reach with any sort of jump.
Chris stood on top of some rubble to gain a height advantage over everyone, clearly getting ready to not only announce the challenge, but also to just get the day over with.
"Okay, seriously. Where is Duncan?" Courtney asked as she looked around for her boyfriend.
"Bloody 'ell, Court", Merida groaned. "He'll show up when he shows up!"
"I know, it's just-"
"I'm with Merry", Chris interrupted. "He'll join us as soon as he can. You know… If he's still alive."
"If?!" Gwen cried fearfully. "What does that mean?!" Everyone gave her her weird looks, with Courtney in particular giving her friend a glare. Merida noticed Tyler looking anxious, and she didn't like that feeling.
"Can we focus on the game, please?" The host asked in exacerbation. "I'd like to be done as much as the rest of y'all. So focus, because it's time for the dreaded tiebreaker!"
"One sec, Chris", the Ex-CIT said. The host scowled as she spun around to face the goth. "You sounded really concerned there…"
"Well… I… I know how you feel…"
The Type A's eyes widened. "You know how I feel? Like, you get it, or feel the same way?"
"Their friends, Court", The princess growled. "And I will say that acting no better than Duncan's over protective mom will just scare him off. So shut up!"
"Thank you again, Merida", the host said in frustration, levelling Courtney with a scowl. The Ex-CIT deflated, but the tension of the whole situation made Izzy feel ill. Luckily she was allowed to be momentarily distracted when the blue shirt intern wheeled two pairs of wings over.
"Chef spent over one hour building two sets of wings out of wax and the feathers we find in the plane's engines. One member from each team must strap on the wings and take flight… all the way up there." Chris pointed at the medal high above. "Whoever snags the gold medal out of the sky wins the Olympics and First Class passage for their team."
"Well that's a bugger", Merida muttered.
"Even I know that's really reckless", Izzy squeaked.
"Not happening", Heather said.
"Good", Chris said, "because you three, Gwen and Eva are barred from doing this since you already competed before. Anyone else willing to take the hit."
"I'll do it", Cody volunteered. "For all of… you." He spun around and flashed Gwen a flirty look, making her flinch back in unease as Sierra brought him into a tight hug.
"I guess I'll do it for our team", Noah said. Tyler looked ready to say something, but Alejandro silenced him. "I'm the lightest, so the wings will be less likely to fall apart."
On cue, the two sets of wings fell apart in seconds. "Well, guess that's fine, because you two need to change into these authentic spartan battle costumes."
Sierra squealed as the bookworm sighed. The host tossed the two boys their new looks, and they both ran off to quickly get changed. A pair of fresh wings were carted off with them and a couple minutes later they came back looking like… honestly, fools. Noah looked embarrassed beyond belief, and Cody was trying not to let Sierra see his body too much.
Didn't really work out.
"He's like an angel…" The fangirl said wistfully.
"Those costumes are not-" Alejandro began, only to be silenced by Sierra.
"Shhhhhh, no one cares."
She dashed off, leaving a somewhat uncomfortable Alejandro to wipe his mouth.
"This'll be close…" Tyler said.
"Yes, too close. Someone needs a distraction to slow them down…" Izzy and Eva raised an eyebrow in confusion. But Tyler was looking very paranoid suddenly, and neither of them liked that. "I think you should tell Courtney what you know about Duncan and Gwen."
He intentionally said that far louder than anyone would like, meaning said Type A heard. She gasped, and whirled on her friend with a scowl.
"On your marks…" The host began as he drew a flaming arrow.
"Now." Tyler looked ready to crack, and everyone but the host was watching him in anticipation.
"I saw Duncan and Gwen kiss!" The jock cried out.
"What?!" Courtney shrieked. Merida acted fast and stood between her and Gwen, not wanting things to get any uglier.
"Get set…" Chris called out.
"How could you?!" Courtney cried, glaring at Gwen as Sierra held her back. "I thought we were friend-ish?" She started to flail around wildly, but Merida wasn't backing down. "I hate you, I hate you!"
"Go!" Chris fired the arrow, and Noah took the very messy distraction as his opportunity to fly. Cody was still standing in his spot, looking at his crush in disbelief.
"Duncan?" He said in shock. "Duncan?!"
Said punk suddenly slid in next to him, looking like he was mauled by a bear. "You called?" He looked at Cody, and snorted. "Nice bikini." The geek instantly reacted by simply punching the punk out, knocking him to the ground. Chef appeared seconds later and lashed Duncan with the towel.
"Fly Cody, fly!" Sierra cheered.
"Cody, stay where you are!" Ex-CIT said.
"But we'll lose!" The fangirl looked at the goth, who was still hiding behind the princess.
Merida glared fiercely. "I'm not throwing a challenge just because you were a bad partner! Cody, you better get that medal, for mine and Gwen's sake."
The geek nodded and started to fly up, quickly catching up to Noah. The two boys were neck in neck, but sadly their wings were starting to fall apart as the wax melted.
"C'mon… c'mon…" Izzy whispered. Things were slowly starting to get intense, especially when Merida and Gwen joined Izzy and Eva to get away from the hostilities.
Both boys got as close as they could to the medal…
And Noah's wings fell apart, making him fall to the ground. Cody's wings stayed intact, which allowed him to grab the medal. He fell to the ground, just narrowly missing Noah.
"And Team Amazon wins!" Chris announced happily. Courtney cried out in rage. "Which means Team Me is going to the elimination room for the second time in a row."
Izzy and Eva shared a nervous glance, and Merida looked over in sadness. Then they all looked over at Noah, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.
They had one last shot.
~X~
Back on the plane, it was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. Both remaining teams were in complete shambles at this point. Team Chris was split in half, and now Team Amazon had it out for Gwen, and in turn Merida who was defending her friend.
Things were ugly, and while Chris was eating up all the drama, everyone else was tense and miserable.
They were still waiting for take-off when Merida corralled Team E-Scope and Gwen into the Cargo Hold, all of them looking tense and a bit paranoid.
"Okay, so why am I here?" Gwen asked.
"Because you're my friend and I don't want to leave you alone with Courtney", Merida explained. "Also because I need you to talk to Duncan."
The goth's eyes widened. "Why?"
"We need him to vote with us", Noah explained. "With his help, we can avoid a tiebreaker and get Alejandro out."
"But… Why?"
"Because he's a lying, manipulative snake", Eva growled. "He lied to Owen and now he's gone. So we can't take any chances."
"Plus, it means you're roped up in all of… this", Merida said, crossing her arms. "I don't like how things went, but I'd rather you stay unharmed than side with Courtney when she's getting all violent. So you gotta help us with this, Gwen."
The goth was caught off guard, clearly floored at how things took such a drastic turn. She gave Izzy a look, but the Psycho Hose Beast was staring off into space, her eyes reflecting her clouded mess of emotions. It was such a bizarre sight.
"I'll… I'll see if I can get something done. But me and Duncan are still… We don't know. It's still so new."
"That's more than enough, Gwen, thank you."
The goth nodded and ran off, presumably to find the punk. That left Team E-Scope to their own devices, and none of them weren't particularly happy.
"He's not gonna listen", Izzy suddenly said in a hollow tone. Everyone looked at her in surprise. "He wants to win this game, and he'd rather work with Alejandro and Tyler to drop the dead weight. And Noah cost us the game with the tie… and you made that jab…"
The bookworm looked like what had happened finally caught up to him, and he paled. "Nuts."
"So… we're screwed, aren't we?" Eva said in defeated dread.
The princess watched her three friends fumble about like land-locked fish, giving into the fear and sadness of their inevitable defeat. It was miserable to watch. But she couldn't really say anything, could she? Her own team won and was now in their own turmoil, so what did she honestly have that could help make things clearer.
"Guys…" The princess said quietly. "No matter what happens, we can't give up. Even if one of you goes, we need to stay strong. Because you guys are Team E-Scope."
Eva and Noah both perked up, and they nodded. But Izzy wasn't fully paying attention. She was too locked into her despair and anguish at losing another friend. It was too soon.
Her two friends stood up and left, leaving herself and the princess alone in the hold. Things were silent for a while, and eventually Merida sighed and sat down next to her girlfriend.
"Iz, I know it's hard…" The princess held the Psycho Hose Beast's hand. "You… You still got me, till the end. I promise."
Izzy remained silent, making the princess sigh. She then thought of something and pulled out her phone thinking some music would help. She scrolled through the endless list of songs, and picked Lapse by Hello Atlantic. The soft melody played out as the princess nudged her friend.
I see your name
In everything I do
Guess I'm to blame
For all the grief I'm going through…
Izzy didn't react as Merida stood up and tried to get her on her feet. But the music wasn't doing much. In fact, it seemed Izzy was thinking something.
It only took a moment
To feel the lapse in judgement
I knew what to say but the cadence was all wrong
For all of time this will always be our song…
The Psycho Hose Beast finally stood up and made her way over to her girlfriend…
And kissed her forehead sadly.
Where are you now
I'm sure you're doing well
Your fate's endowed
While I've been wandering through hell…
Izzy gave Merida a sad look as the music trailed off. "Thanks, Merry, but I think I should get going. I'll be fine, okay?"
The princess nodded. "If you need me I'm here."
The wild child nodded more brightly, even if it was just the faintest bit, and left to presumably get the elimination done and over with. When Izzy left, the archer's face twisted in misery, not liking the look that was in Izzy's eyes. It was… It was not happy. It was nothing but pain, and that terrified her.
So much so she grabbed her phone and opened the call app. She needed to talk to the others.
With Izzy, she made her way to the confessional and quickly stamped Alejandro's passport without hesitation. She scowled, stamping it a few more times, before setting them down and making her way back to the elimination room.
Everyone else was already there, so she sat beside Eva and Noah swiftly. All of Team Chris watched the host intently as he and the blue shirt intern stood at the open door. The air was tense, to the point it was nearly suffocating. Alejandro was glaring at Noah, Tyler by his friend's side, and Duncan was just doing his own thing away from the group.
"I gotta say, I'm disappointed", the host began. "For a team that completely dominated for four challenges in a row, and with the best name ever, you guys have been sucking a lot lately. Two times in the elimination."
"Just get on with it, McLean", Noah spat.
"Give me a minute." The host rolled his eyes with a mock hurt tone. "I will say that because of the juicy drama, I was considering abandoning the votes." That made the team all widen their eyes. "But, Chef told me I couldn't. Turns out, because of the mandatory reward challenges, we don't have enough episodes to keep you all around. So one of you has got to go."
"You're really gonna drag this out, huh?" Duncan said in a bored tone.
"Would like to, but we're on a schedule, so I'm just gonna say who's on the chopping block." The host reached into a case next to him and tossed Izzy, Eva, Tyler and Duncan each a peanut bag. "Noah and Alejandro, both of you are in line for elimination with three votes against you each. We need to do a quick tiebreaker, so come on up."
The two boys walked up, giving each other glares.
"Man, I'm gonna miss this tension. But whatever. Both of you." The two boys stopped glaring and faced the host. "You need to do one simple thing…" Chris pulled out two simple sandwiches. "I had Chef whip up these simple PB sandwiches with a twist. Whoever finishes theirs first gets to stay."
The two boys took the sandwiches, but while Alejandro began to carefully eat his, Noah yelped and dropped his. Looking at his hand, it was rashly and red all the sudden.
"What the heck did you put in this thing?!" The bookworm roared.
The host shrugged. "Don't know, Chef was the one that made them."
"Well whatever it is, I'm allergic, so I can't eat it."
Everything stilled when the bot suddenly realised what he said. Izzy and Eva looked at him with wide eyes, both their hearts dropping into their stomachs.
"Shit."
"Well, looks like Alejandro gets to live another day!" The host said, shoving the Spaniard back towards the bleachers. The host had the intern give Noah his parachute, which just made things crack for Izzy. "Noah, sorry to say, but you're out!"
The bookworm, for once, looked utterly defeated. He glanced back at his friends, and sighed. "You two try and win this, okay? For me and Owen." Before they could get anything else out, Noah jumped. And as soon as he vanished, Izzy swore she could feel another part of her heart shatter.
Eva was quick to lead Izzy out of the room and into the Common Area, and set her down into one of the stools. It wasn't looking great, so Eva left to go and find Merida.
With her all alone, this meant one thing…
"I must apologise, Senorita", Alejandro quietly said as he sat next to Izzy. "I didn't mean to make this such a hard time for you. I just wish to do the right thing, and have to admit that Owen and Noah were dragging us down. They didn't ever contribute much."
"That's a fat lie and you know it", Izzy said back in a hollow tone, not looking at the Spaniard. "You dumped them because I challenged you, because I called you out for being a bad person, for leaving Owen behind in the Amazon. So you're ripping my friends away just because you know we'd completely outmatch you."
"Hmmmmm, I suppose that is a way to view it. But I'm also doing it for the betterment of our team. I would've voted for Duncan, but Noah insulted my family with no reason to. And I took great offence to that." He leaned back slightly. "I don't harbour any ill will towards you, Izzy. I can tell you're dealing with a lot right now. So consider this mercy. When you're gone, you'll be free from the torture and pain."
Izzy said nothing.
"It seems you're done speaking, I understand." The Spaniard stood up and adjusted his shirt collar. "Just consider I don't mean to be like Heather. I do care." He walked off, leaving the redhead to stew in her turmoil of emotions alone.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her reflection.
All it did was mouth four simple words.
Trapped.
By.
Your.
Outline.
~
(Confessional - Falling apart)
Izzy - She simply stares at the camera, her eyes drained of any sort of infliction. Rather then say anything, she simply curls up on the seat, and buries her face in her knees, silently letting tears fall from her eyes.
~
Merida - "This is getting bad, fast", the princess said fearfully. "E updated me on everything, and now she and Gwen are with Izzy in the Cargo Hold, trying to get her to snap out of her funk. But it's not looking good…"
She glared at the camera. "That manipulative… He's going to pay for this. I swear it." She stormed out of the confessional, slamming the door behind her as the camera went to static.
~X~
Greece has come and gone, and boy what a doozy. First, yes, the love triangle is still happening. But it'll be handled differently with how everything is right now. Mainly in the sense that dynamics will be handled a lot more differently.
And yes, Noah is gone. I had this in the planning stages for a while, with this chunk of the show basically being Izzy's descent. Each member of Team E-Scope represents an aspect of her, and when they're eliminated… I won't say much else.
So hopefully you all liked this chapter. A bit simpler, but I did change some things up challenge wise. Was a lot of fun.
Also, shoutout time. Go check out The Worldwide Arms Race! written by my buddy Soulcccat! It has three chapters out so far, and it is amazing, go check it on and Ao3.
Up next: Izzy isn't saying anything, and that's really concerning when everyone is expected to infiltrate a government complex…
~Caleb~