Things in the plane were deteriorating fast. Greece was such a shit-show, to the point Chris even felt it was a bit too much. The whole airship was sucked into this internal storm of anger, sadness and stress, to the point no one was openly talking with each other. At least in a way that would spark a crazy amount of ratings. Rather, everyone was split up. Duncan and Gwen were nowhere to be seen, Tyler and Alejandro were sulking in Economy, and most of Team Amazon were stewing in First Class after the massive betrayal that Courtney was trapped in.
And then there were the three remaining girls of Team E-Scope. Izzy, Eva and Merida sat in the Common Area, silent and dower. The Psycho Hose Beast in particular was especially in a bad mood, with her braids coming loose and pupils twitching every so often. She looked like she was close to cracking, which was such a heart wrenching sight.
The entire Flying Fortress suddenly shifted, forcing the princess and Fitness Buff to latch on the table in some form of support. Izzy was so sucked into her own mind, she didn't realise what was happening till her face slammed into the metal wall of the aircraft.
She groaned and whined as the whole ship corrected.
"You okay, Iz?" Merida asked in worry.
The Psycho Hose Beast sighed, prying her face off the wall. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine." She slammed her fist into the steel wall. "But I guess even Chef doesn't want me to be happy! Even after I talked to him before Paris!" She growled and hid her face in her hands. "I just lost Noah, I know I'm gonna lose you next, Eva, and then Alejandro is just gonna play me along."
"Woah, woah, woah", Eva said, shaking her head and waving her hands. "Don't start getting all doom and gloom on me, Iz. I can't have you just giving up and turn into a husk on me."
"But that's what's happening, E!" The wild child said with a strained, forced grin. "That's what's going on in here", she jabbed her head with a finger, "and it's all thanks to this stupid show."
The princess, sitting across from her girlfriend, frowned at Izzy's distressing claims. "Iz, look at me." The Psycho Hose Beast looked at her friend, shifting from deranged to a deer in headlights. "You need to calm down, please. I know everything seems bad, but the more you give in, the more likely it'll happen."
Izzy stared at her silently. "You got that from your mom, didn't you?"
"It's good advice", the princess said sternly. "And something you needed to hear."
The wild child looked away, doing her best to ignore her smiling reflection and the concerned looks from her friend and girlfriend. "I'll be fine. I'm Izzy! I'm always fine, no matter what happens."
The other two girls shared an unconvinced look, then looked back at Izzy. "Iz, seriously, you need to calm down." Eva put a hand on her shoulder, only for it to be ignored. "This has us as stressed as you."
"Yeah… Sure…" Izzy said dismissively. She stood up and walked into the elimination area, leaving both distraught girls behind. They watched her leave, and when the door closed behind her, the princess and Raging Bull sighed.
"This is bad", Merida said, leaning back and roughly rubbing her face. "She's slipping, and I'm terrified about it."
"I just don't get it", Eva said in a frustrated tone. "What the heck did she see that made her this… Scared?"
"You don't want to know, E…" The princess looked out a window. "But… I'll just say our friends, the ones we keep mentioning… All of us were picked up the exact way Iz was. Caleb showed up, hooked us with adventure, and we just couldn't say no." She faced the raven-haired girl. "Over the past year we've all been inseparable… And I think that's part of the reason why Iz is spiralling."
Eva gave the redhead a confused look. "Really? Why?"
"Because she doesn't want to be here", the archer said with a shrug. "She'd rather be at Caleb's place with me and all the others watching this show, then taking part in it and having her world fall apart."
The Fitness Buff looked off to the side, was silent for a moment, then sighed. "I guess that makes sense… And what happened in Jamaica didn't help, obviously…"
The princess nodded. "Aye. But… We can't dwell on that, otherwise we won't get Izzy out of this pit. We need to focus and help her."
"Right." Eva glanced over at the doorway to the Economy. "I'm gonna go see what's going on elsewhere. If you want to talk to Iz alone, now's the time. At least before things take a turn."
The princess nodded, and the two girls stood up and parted ways. The princess made her way into the elimination room. Sitting on the bleachers was Izzy, who had her eyes glued to her phone screen. She was tense, and looking miserable. So Merida carefully walked over and sat beside her, saying nothing as not to potentially scare the wild child off.
"I don't know how much longer I can hold it in, Merry…" The Psycho Hose Beast said in a cracked whisper. "I'm trying to not explode in front of Eva, in front of the cameras. I can't. I don't want Chris or the producers twisting it in some way…"
The princess brought her girlfriend in a hug as the distressed girl continued. "I'm terrified, Merida. I'm terrified of what happens when I finally crack, when the dam breaks and unleashes everything I've got locked inside."
"Iz, you don't need to be afraid of it", the archer whispered as she stroked Izzy's back reassuringly. "It's just normal to think like that, to react like that, all of it. So never say you're scared of it."
"But it isn't normal for me!" The wild child cried angrily, pushing the princess away so she could look at her with a tearful expression. "I'm meant to be the weirdo who gets everyone into danger and not caring what happens after. I'm meant to act like an animal half the time and the other half lean into my crazy personas. But… But I haven't been doing that… And I can tell everyone's noticed. It's eating away at me…"
Both girls were silent as the Psycho Hose Beast looked down, letting silent tears fall that were filled with fear, anger and guilt. And it all made Merida's heart break. She put her hand under Izzy's chin and lifted her face, and gave her a gentle look.
"You've changed, Iz, all of us have. You shouldn't feel like you need to be something else. Just… focus on the future. Don't let the past hold you back."
Izzy was silent, her voice failing to form something, anything, that would add to the conversation. She was just unable to come up with anything. She just couldn't.
As the silence hung in the air for a bit more, everything suddenly became more frantic when the plane rocked again. The two girls hugged each other instinctually for support, and relaxed when the shaking stopped. They both sighed in relief, and once again they fell silent.
After the moment ticked on, the princess carefully kissed Izzy on the cheek. "When we get the chance, I'm going to take you out for something. Just the two of us, okay?"
Izzy nodded, and leaned into the princess and soaking up her warmth. She needed all this safety for as long as she physically could. The plane, no matter where they went, was cold and imposing. It was like a prison. But Merida was that shred of light the Psycho Hose Beast needed right now. She was spiralling, but her new partner was all there was that was grounding her.
The princess herself was very much aware, as she hugged Izzy close to her person and buried her face in the messy orange hair. Her brain was wrought with worry, and she was becoming more and more worried that she was running out of time. Things were getting towards a breaking point, and it was stressing her out.
It didn't help that Team Amazon was dealing with the whole cheating thing. Which, now that she thought about it, Gwen's been awol since before Noah's elimination. She was annoyed, because the goth was seemingly avoiding her, but it was hard to tell.
"I'm going to go", Merida mumbled. "I need to make sure Gwen isn't being crucified by Courtney."
Izzy nodded, and let the princess go. They shared a look, a quick kiss, and the archer ran off towards First Class. The wild child's smile lingered for a bit, but then fell when she wallowed in her isolation, the bubbling emotions coming back tenfold.
She took out her phone again, and opened the texting app. But she couldn't find it in herself to say anything, so she simply just read over the conversation currently going on.
~
KosmosKat: Guys, I really think we should find some way to intervene. This is getting insane, and Izzy is making me worry way more than I'd like.
LordOfTheUndead: Issue is, even if we could, what would we do? We're a bunch of nobodies her world can barely comprehend. So us doing anything will either make her and Merida seem suspicious, or spark up a panic.
Scrap_Princess: Dry is right, Kat. We can't really do anything except watch the show and text slash call them whenever we can.
KosmosKat: I know, I know. I'm just freaking out.
PageantQueenLB: We're all worried, Kat. But panicking is the last thing we need.
EleventhHour: Quite right, Gretchen. We just need to wait till they both are eliminated, and then we can swing by and pick them up.
SafestKidEver: But what about their contracts and cameras and such? We know there's a resort or hotel everyone is staying at when they're out of the show, so how are we going to pick them up without setting everyone off?
EleventhHour: …That plan's still a work in progress.
CreepersSuck568: We'll put a pin on that for later. Right now, let's focus on the issue at hand and try and think of a way we can help Iz now, before things burst and spiral.
KosmosKat: Yeah… Yeah, let's focus on that. We need to do something. Izzy already got that fifty, but maybe something else will help…
LordOfTheUndead: Maybe a care package? We send that her way and she'll have a bunch of stuff from us.
PageantQueenLB: Oooooo, that's a good idea! We should get a list written down and get it all packed up.
KismosKat: I'm in! I'll try and find Caleb and get him rolled into this.
Scrap_Princess: So there's our plan. C'mon, we'll meet up in the Rec Room.
~
Izzy shut her phone off after that point, and decided to just lay down on the bleachers. She was exhausted, and knew she couldn't have any sort of reason to black out mid challenge. So she simply lied down, closed her eyes, and tried to get some shut eye.
Merida was just entering First Class at this point, and as soon as she did she spotted Gwen close to the door when the rest of the team was further away closer towards the bar.
The princess sighed and sat down next to the goth. "Hey."
"Hey…" Gwen gave the redhead a weak smile, then frowned as Courtney let out a wail. "I… I really messed up. I know that…"
Merida hummed. "Aye, you did. But I'm not gonna chew you up like the rest of these bastards are." She paused. "How did you two kiss anyway?"
Gwen groaned and buried her face in her hands. "After London, when I was in the confessional, Duncan walked in because the lock was busted. We kinda lingered, teasing each other a bit… and it just happened."
"Do you like him?"
"I do… But right now… I don't know."
"What's that mean?"
Gwen looked down. "I tried to talk to him before Noah was eliminated, but he was more set on saving his own hide than listening to me so Noah could stick around. He is a good guy deep down… Just really tends to be selfish at the worst times."
"So he voted with Alejandro to get Noah out because he'd rather deal with Courtney than a lopsided team…"
The goth nodded sadly. "He came up second last season, and I think that's made him really salty about this show. So now that he's back, he's here to win. And if it means dumping Noah even if I asked him not to… He'll do it."
Merida growled. "What a bloody…" She paused to take a deep breath. "So what's going to happen now?"
"I… I honestly don't know… Duncan not listening to me, even saying he just wants to save his own behind." Gwen shook her head. "He's a jerk, and I honestly don't know if I like him after that. He's a good friend… But that's it. And I have my morals, I'm not a bad person. I hated how things went with Trent in Action, I really did like him! I still kinda do, but everything with this stupid show just messed it up…"
The princess nodded sadly. "Yeah, I saw…" Things were quiet for a moment. "Did you ever think about getting back with Trent?"
Gwen was taken aback, but then looked down sadly. "Yeah… Yeah, I did. I kinda miss how things were back on Island. Me, Trent and Leshawna were so tight! And now…" The goth's eyes twitched a bit, a few faint tears trickling down her face. "Plus, I actually liked being Court's friend. Me and her had a lot of things in common, surprisingly…"
"Well, that's something you should get on when this show is over", the archer said with a smile. "Talk to Trent and Leshawna after, and maybe try to patch things up with Courtney. It's never too late to correct the mistakes you made."
The goth looked over at her friend, and after a moment she smiled. "Thanks Merida, I needed to hear that. And I will, as soon as I can." She then gave her an inquired look. "How's Izzy doing?"
The princess' smile fell, and she sighed. "Badly. I feel like she's going to crack soon, and I'm worried I won't be there when it happens."
Both girls fell silent as they let the thought hang in the air. The only sounds were Courtney mumbling violent threats up ahead, which was occasionally taken up with her wailing.
"How long is she going to be like this…?" Gwen whispered in second hand embarrassment and shame.
Merida shrugged. "Who bloody knows? She's prideful, like my dad, so she'll be at this for a while."
The goth nodded glumly, only to yelp when the plane began to shake violently. Merida groaned, already frustrated that this was the third time this was happening. But as they buckled in, the PA sprung to life.
"Attention, potential crash victims!" Chris' voice rang out. "Please remain calm, our autopilot is testing some equipment! Snacks in the common Area if you don't believe me, and want a last meal."
The two girls shared a look and sighed, before standing up and making their way towards the Common Area. When Team Amazon arrived, Team Chris (sans Duncan) was already there and looking at a bowl of fruit flatly.
Merida and Gwen stood off to the side, away from the rest of their team, and were soon joined by the punk with the neon green mohawk.
"Lookin' especially Pasty this morning", Duncan teased with a smirk. He had a nasty black eye, courtesy of Cody the challenge prior.
"That means so much coming from a cyclops", Gwen said. Merida caught the slightest hint of frustration in her tone, and knew that's wasn't meant to be a tease back. The punk didn't notice, however.
The plane was still shaking, with an annoying beeping ringing out constantly. It was getting to the two redheads very much. But that stopped when the power cut out, and second later the plane plummeted nose first towards the Earth. Everyone cried out as they were tossed about in complete darkness, only for the plane to suddenly straighten out, and land on its underside.
All the contestants groaned as they laid on the ground, the two redheads happening to end up on top of each other. Namely, Izzy was on top of Merida, their left cheeks pressing together. They both blinked, and the wild child lifted herself up so they both could give each other wide-eyed looks with furious blushes swallowing their faces.
They quickly recovered and stood up, flattening out their clothes and not meeting each other in the eye. But as everyone made their way off the plane, the two redheads shared a slight smile.
~X~
The cast all stood before the host under a moonlit sky, the plane resting calmly not too far away.
"Everyone", Chris started. "Welcome to the coolest extraterrestrial place in the world! Area 52!"
"Area 52?" Gwen spoke up in confusion. "Area 51 is where all the cool alien stuff is."
"The show's so broke we have to fake an area now?" Duncan said with a smirk.
"Nope", the host continued. "This really is Area 52, and that's Area 51 right there." He pointed over at a distant mountain which had a bright light shining behind it. "We're just inside the border! Well, all of us except Duncan."
Everyone looked over when the punk was suddenly shot with a bright red laser, electrocuting him so badly his skeleton would occasionally flash like he was an X-ray. Izzy's stomach lurched at the sight, Merida looked indifferent, and Gwen winced but didn't do much else.
"Thanks for the laser show, Colonel", Chris said into a very bulky military phone. Duncan, who was rising into the air as the blast lingered on him, was dropped when it stopped suddenly. He landed on his butt, charred and annoyed. "It's good to have friends in Area 51 places."
Everyone was caught off-guard when Courtney suddenly started laughing, her hands resting on Tyler's shoulders. Merida cocked an eyebrow at the sight, and when it clicked she gave her teammate a flat, unamused look. Things calmed down when Chris wheeled in a mobile TV, standing next to it firmly.
"Listen up, space cases!" He began. "The 51 is the most protected military base in the world. Which is why tonight's challenge is gonna be so much fun!" He fought back a laugh as everyone shared nervous looks. "For me.
"Part one: Break into Area 51 without getting shot, gassed, plasma rayed or otherwise killed." Izzy paled. "The place is guarded by elite Black Ops soldiers, so if anyone does get all exploded, their untimely but hilarious demise will be blamed on a freak weather balloon accident.
"Part two: Each team must find a genuine alien artefact inside Area 51's infamous black box warehouse. The place is full of broken alien junk, so you need to find something alien that still works. But, be careful… The warehouse is loaded with booby traps." Izzy paled even more as it slowly set in what the fuck she was actually doing. Merida took notice and put a reassuring hand on her back.
"Part three", the host continued. "The winning team must bring their working artefact back to Area 52, intact. Last team back faces elimination, and do not get caught over there." Chris gained an unusually serious expression. "Rumor has it trespassers get a memory wipe and are transferred to an alien colony where they either become slaves… or food."
Izzy's mind was freaking out, and she was doing her best not to completely crack right there and then. And it's simply because… That could be possible. In her world where they throw the middle finger up to logic, something like that seemed all too feasible. I mean, Chris was asking all of them to break into a government facility, for Pete's sake! This was just getting worse and worse by the hour.
"You have till dawn", Chris concluded. He pointed towards the target. "Go!" Everyone ran off, with Eva pushing a very distracted Izzy along to their team's route along the right of the mountain. Team Amazon broke off and headed to their path around the left.
"C'mon, Iz, don't crash on me now…" The Fitness Buff said quietly.
Izzy didn't respond.
"Okay, we should split up and scout for points of entry", Duncan said. "Eva and Izzy are with me." The Raging Bull picked the wild child up bridal style and followed the punk forward as the other two guys slid to a stop.
The bad boy was running ahead when he glanced at the almost catatonic Psycho Hose Beast, then shot the Fitness Buff a confused look. "What's going on with her?"
Eva pursed her lips, thinking of her next words carefully. "Iz hasn't been in the best place since the season started, and it's only gotten worse as this stupid show went on. Jamaica… That was a slight breaking point."
The redhead whimpered, wiggling out of her friend's grasp and standing on her own two feet. "I'm fine! I'm really fine, just shocked about what we're about to do."
Duncan looked surprised. "You, shocked that we're breaking into a government facility?" He stopped his sprint and crossed his arms. "Yeah, right, this seems right up your alley."
Izzy was eerily silent for a moment, before letting out a bout of forced, shrill laugh as she gave the punk a very intense glint from her eyes. It was off putting, and the bad boy took a step back like she was going to maul him like a wild animal. But that never came. Rather, Izzy took a deep, shuddering breath and faced forward with a blank look.
"We got here fast…" She said suddenly. The other two looked over, and quickly ducked behind a rock. Just before them was Area 51, the warehouse not too far past the fence. Izzy dipped behind the rock next to Eva, suddenly seeming devoid of emotion.
"Guys, you gotta see this!" Duncan's call had Alejandro and Tyler finally join them, and the group of five all gazed at their target. As they all silently looked, a cute bunny hopped past towards the facility.
"I think it's safe to cross", Tyler said with a smile. Almost instantly, the bunny hopped forward and was zapped with a laser much like the one that hit Duncan earlier, only the rabbit was left completely soot black.
"What the heck…" Eva said in shock.
Duncan turned to address the others as the rabbit ran off on its hind legs screaming. Izzy was so occupied with focusing on that, she completely tuned out what Duncan was telling the team.
On the other side of the mountain, Team Amazon were in a similar spot, gazing at the black box warehouse of their desires.
"Ooooooo, some kind of security vegetable patch", Heather spat sarcastically, clearly not impressed with the empty desert. She suddenly looked surprised, and shot a glare at the geek. "Cody, get your clammy hands off of my leg."
"I'm not touching your leg", the boy said back.
There was a sudden and loud hiss, and all the team looked down to see a lizard of some kind was wrapped around the Queen Bee's leg. Everyone cried out in shock, and when Heather kicked the lizard away, they all ran into the field in fright. The reptile gave chase, but soon was caught in an explosion that sent it flying far into the distance.
"Since when do lizards fly?" Heather asked in shock.
"Everyone, freeze", Gwen said. "We are on… A minefield."
"Way to lead… New Heather", Sierra spat as she shot the goth a glare from her perch on top of a struggling Cody.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Merida cried out. "The bloody 'ell is that supposed to mean?!"
"She kissed my boyfriend", Courtney spat with equal venom to the fangirl. "So I think it's a fair comparison."
"Maybe Duncan did that because of you, Courtney", the princess snarled. "If you just think about your actions, maybe you'd realise he kissed Gwen because YOU WERE A BAD PARTNER!"
"How was I bad?!" The Ex-CIT cried out in indignant rage. "We were perfect! Then the goth witch had to steal him."
"Don't give me that, Court. I watched the second season, I know about that stupid contract you wanted him to sign." The princess' glare hardened. "And I found that list of all the things you wanted him to change about himself. That was too far."
"I just… I just wanted to be happy!"
"At the cost of his happiness?"
Things fell into a very uncomfortable silence as the Type A's rage filled face suddenly shifted into one of shock. "But… But we were so happy together… I don't…"
Merida sighed. "You aren't a bad person, Court. All of us are teenagers, but you wanted Duncan to be what you wanted, rather than accepting what he was and accepting that. My mum was like that, making me do all of this stuff I didn't like. It eventually exploded when we got into this argument, and I ran off.
"But, eventually, I was able to come around and see everything from my mum's point of view. And she saw it from mine. And we… We grew closer because of it." Merida shot Courtney a sad look. "Duncan kissed Gwen because he had a thing for her, and your actions spoke louder than any amount of words. You pushed him away, because you didn't accept him for who he is."
Courtney had tears streaming down her face, and looked at Gwen. "And what about you? You kissed him too."
"I did, but honestly I regret it." The goth frowned. "After Greece, I asked him to vote with Noah, Eva and Izzy because things are ending up bad on their team. Alejandro could've been voted out, but Duncan told me, to my face, that he'd rather win than 'do the right thing'. So if he had it his way, even if he didn't kiss me, he'd get rid of you the moment he could."
Sierra's mouth was agape. "Okay, this wasn't something I expected to happen."
"So what, are you two cool now?" Heather spat.
Courtney looked away to hide her tears, and Gwen shook her head. "No. But this is better than nothing."
Merida sighed. "Thank God…" She trailed off when a noise came to her attention, and she glanced up to see Chris fly down on his jetpack. She glared as the host smirked.
"Well, looks like I caught you all at a good time. Which means…" The host trailed off as a double ding sounded off, making all the Amazons give him a glare. "And since I'm feeling generous, it doesn't have to be that long of a song. You can thank Merida for that." Two lasers fired at him. "Woah, okay, I'm out!"
The host took off back towards Area 52, leaving the disgruntled team still standing in a minefield. The princess sighed and pulled out her phone, carefully scrolling through the list of songs till she found Fractures by Illenium. The beat started, and Merida began to sing.
Burning everything I know,
Desperate for a change.
Crashing down the ancient roads,
Past our yesterday.
The other Amazons offered backing and ambient vocals as the princess took centre strange. She danced around the minefield, invoking fear into her teammates, but surprisingly she didn't set off any of the mines.
Maybe there is hunger in my blood…
Screaming out loud for what I want…
See me running full speed at it,
Shattering, collide.
Call it post-traumatic…
Now it's do-or-die.
Some of the mines a distance away suddenly exploded, but it wasn't clear what set them off. Rather, it seemed they self detonated to make Merida's song and dance combo more fantastical. It was honestly a sight to behold.
Coming after tiny fractures…
Coming after tiny fractures.
See me running full speed at it,
Coming after tiny fractures…
Call me post-traumatic,
What comes after, tiny fractures…
Courtney took over the next verse, singing despite the tears tracking down her face. Gwen came in halfway through, but the Ex-CIT didn't seem to be all that mad. It was clear the conversation before was still hanging in her head, and was giving her a lot to think about.
Feeding frenzy is in my brain,
I'm hopeful every day.
I gotta get it while we are still young enough to break,
We're finally not afraid.
The Amazons shared a look at the surprising and sudden calm of the once anger filled Type A, but brushed it off when Merida took back over with singing. She led the group through the minefield with no problems. More mines exploded around them, in time with the beat.
Maybe there is hunger in my blood…
Screaming out loud for what I want…
See me running full speed at it,
Shattering, collide.
Call me post-traumatic…
Now it's do-or-die.
The song reached its peak as the Amazons finally made it to an opening in the fence, all of them quickly slipping in and making their way over to the warehouse. The music seemingly understood the situation, and began to quiet down as they neared the building. Merida's singing became softer as the song came to a close.
Coming after tiny fractures…
Coming after tiny fractures.
See me running full speed at it,
Coming after tiny fractures…
Call me post-traumatic,
What comes after, tiny fractures…
The song ended as Team Amazon hid behind the corner to the front door, which did work out to their advantage. The noise made some Black Ops soldiers rush out to investigate, and before the door could close Heather blocked the door with her foot. The Amazons took this as their chance, and they all ran inside and were greeted with towers of massive wooden grates and vague exposed metal objects.
"Wicked!" Gwen said as she held the door open. "We beat Chris Is Really Really Really Hot here!"
She let go of the door only for Duncan to push it open. "Think again, Pasty." The punk shot the goth a grin, although she didn't react much in response. All of the remaining members of Team Chris filed in, with a very… Off-looking Izzy taking up the rear. She had a forced smile on her face, and looked like she was zapped by a laser.
Her eye twitched as she took in the surroundings. "So this is the infamous black box warehouse! Man, I've been waiting for this day for a long time!"
Merida's red flags were set off instantly as the forced and strained happy tone, but before she could say anything to her friend, Chris' voice rang out over the warehouse's intercom.
"Welcome to the black box warehouse!" The host began. "Finding a functioning alien artefact in here is gonna be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. A haystack with a Black Ops security system! Which I set off when I hacked into this PA. My bad."
The alarm began to blare, and everyone cried out and split up. Merida ran off with Gwen, while Izzy and Eva ran off elsewhere. Behind them, they could hear the thunderous footsteps of a Black Ops squad, so they all picked up the pace and disappeared into the endless maze of crates.
~X~
Eva peeked around the corner as a rush of Black Ops darted by, armed and ready to apprehend any intruders. When they disappeared, she sighed, then turned to her current partner. Izzy was head first in a crate, digging through all the stuff that was in it. A load of very strange things and miscellaneous gadgets were within, but none of them seemed to work.
"Okay, that's one box down!" Izzy said in a faux happy tone. "Only a million more to go. Hey E!" The Fitness Buff jumped at the wild child's volume. "Help me out here, I don't want to lose this challenge!"
"R-Right…" Eva walked over and peered into another box, and began to look through. But not a second since she started, she stopped and looked at Izzy. "Iz, are you okay?"
"Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" The Psycho Hose Beast's eye twitched.
"You've been acting weird ever since Duncan-"
"I SAID I'M FINE!" Izzy quickly covered her mouth, catching how loud she was in that moment. The sound of several approaching footsteps made the two girls panic, and they dove out of sight by ducking into a stack of boxes. They peeked through a crack to see some more Black Ops troops ran by, and when they were gone, they both sighed.
Eva, the problem passed, suddenly shot her friend a glare. "Okay, Iz, what the heck! What is going on?"
Izzy started at her friend with a blank expression and wide-eyes, before silently leaving their hiding spot and returning to the task at hand.
"Okay, no, you aren't blanking on me." The Fitness Buff darted out of the hiding spot and bolted in front of Izzy, grabbing her arms and giving her a stern glare. "You can't keep pretending everything is okay, Iz. Me, Merida, Noah and Owen don't want you ripping yourself apart!"
Izzy was motionless, before tears suddenly started to flow from her eyes. "It's because I'm not me anymore, E. I'm not me, I'm someone else, and I can't escape the fact I'm not what everyone wants or expects me to be." She forced herself out of her grasp and paced around a bit. "I see the looks I get, and it scares me, E. It scares me to no end."
The Raging Bull remained silent as the redhead ranted. "I keep pretending I'm okay because if I do, then maybe I'll go back to normal. The me that first joined Total Drama all that time back. I'd be me again. And not this…" she looked down at her hands in wordless horror, "This imitation…"
Eva was left speechless. She simply stared at her friend with wide-eyes, unsure how to respond to something like that. But, she had to do something, so she took a deep breath, walked over and put a reassuring hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Iz, I'm not great at this. But… But I know you shouldn't be dealing with this alone."
Izzy looked at her friend, and Eva continued. "You are such a one-of-a-kind person, it's hard for me to really say how special you are. Even though we weren't on the same team for long, at the Playa, you talked to me and Noah, and the three of us became tight. You gave me friends, something I thought I never needed ever.
"You… You made me soften up, and I hate seeing you deal with all of this. I'm here for you. And so is Merida. And Noah and Owen. All four of us are here to help you, no matter what. So tell me… What is wrong?"
Izzy looked away, remaining silent for a while. "I want to tell you…" She said in such a quiet whisper she was nearly silent. "But I'm not ready to tell you or the others. I just… I need time. I need to show you guys what's wrong, because that's how you'll believe me."
"I'll believe you no matter what, Iz. Talk to me."
Silence again. "I see it. A black line encasing my body. It's… It's choking me, I can't stop seeing it… It reminds me of the freak I am…"
The Fitness Buff frowned, then hugged her friend. "Iz, That sounds serious. I think, after the show, you should talk to someone."
"Merida said I need to see a therapist." Izzy looked up at the distant ceiling. "And I know I should. It's just… Another thought in my broken mind."
Eva nodded, then broke off the hug. "It'll get better, Iz. Just stay strong."
the Psycho Hose Beast nodded, then looked behind her. "We should find an artefact."
The Raging Bull nodded, and the two girls headed off deeper to locate a bit on alien tech, and maybe the rest of their team. Meanwhile, all the way at the other end of the warehouse, Gwen and Merida poked around the corner of a pillar, checking if the close was clear. Luckily, it was, so they carefully snuck out of the shadows and broke into a sprint shortly after.
They both continuously scanned their surroundings, failing to notice Duncan when they both bumped into him. They landed on the floor, and the punk turned around and let out a chuckle.
"Well well well, looks like I just scored two babes for myself", the bad boy said with a smirk.
Merida scoffed and stood up, shooting him a glare. "As if I'd like you, Mr.Ego. If I wanted to make kissy faces with you, I'd stick my head in the toilet."
Gwen stood up with a neutral expression while the punk growled. "Merida, I need to talk to Duncan about something. Can I…?"
The princess shot her friend a look, then nodded. "Sure. But if things go south, holler for me." She walked off behind a stack of crates, and began to search for a working gadget or device. But she did keep an ear out for Gwen, and could subtly make out her's and Duncan's conversation.
It started out by sounding okay, but as it went on Merida could make out the frustration. She made note of an angry sigh, some more frustrated grumbling, and the sound of leaving footsteps. A second later, Gwen joined the princess, looking worn out but lighter.
"What happened?" The archer asked.
The goth joined in with the search. "Me and Duncan talked about the kiss. We both agreed it was really nice, but I was kinda surprised he said he screwed up by not breaking up with Courtney first. Told me the low blow wasn't worth it. And then I told him about what you told me about, and how you chewed Court out back at the minefield."
"And?"
"We decided to stick being friends." The goth sounded… Satisfied with the outcome. "I like Duncan, but if us dating is gonna make us such a target just because of us being dumb, I'd rather us wait at least till a bit after the show. Let things cool down. Plus, I need to talk to Courtney about this."
The princess shot her friend a proud smile. "Gwen, that was very cool of you. I was worried it was going in a different direction, because you both sounded frustrated."
"We were for a bit. But that was mainly because of how we both became so vilified by our kiss, because we both really did like each other. And Duncan did vent to me that he did it because of Courtney's expectations. Before the kiss, he found Courtney's list of things he needed to change, and that was the last straw for him."
"I don't blame him…" The princess sighed and moved to a different crate. "I just hope Court's not out for blood at this point."
"I'll talk to her after the challenge. And if things go south, you'll know when I get you and I'm more black and blue then I already am."
The redhead snorted, and both girls erupted into a fit of giggles, which quickly died down as they went to work digging through the crates to try and locate something that'd give them the win. After a while of searching, they were about to throw in the towel. That was until Merida caught sight of something… Very familiar. She walked over to an open box they didn't dig through, and plucked it off the top.
It was a small device, and when the princess pressed a button on the side, the little lightbulb at the end blinked while a high pitched noise sounded off.
"A sonic screwdriver…" She said in a whisper.
"What was that, Merida?" Gwen asked as she looked over.
"I said I found our artefact!" The princess said, trying to cover her tracks. The goth's face lit up, and both girls made a break for the entrance. Luckily, they ran into their team along the way, all of them looking confused and frustrated.
Heather looked over at them. "Please tell me you found something."
Merida flashed the Sonic Screwdriver, and the Amazons all smiled in relief. Although Courtney did look very conflicted, seemingly caught between looking happy that they were going to win, obviously because of how things turned out. Gwen walked up to her and told her something quietly, and the Ex-CIT nodded with an unreadable expression.
Merida hoped that would go well as she led her team out of the warehouse. They didn't run into anymore Black Ops soldiers, and were able to get outside with no issue. The Amazons caught sight of Team Chris a distance ahead, running out of the facility's fence, so the all girl (and Cody) team picked up the pace to try and get the lead.
It was a close race, and Team Chris was very much looking like they were desperate to win. Tyler and Alejandro looked a bit frazzled, Duncan was frustrated, and Izzy looked strained. Eva was the only one who looked fine as she held the box that presumably had their artefact.
The Fitness Buff looked over her shoulder, and scowled. "C'mon guys, pick up the pace! We need-" She was cut off when she accidentally stepped on a mine, sending her straight up. Izzy screamed out her name, and made a move to catch her, but ended up stepping on a mine of her own. This set off a chain reaction that basically ignited the entire minefield, explosions happening all around.
Everyone still on the ground panicked and frantically tried to escape the active firestorm, but everyone of them were caught in the swarm of explosions and catapulted everyone into the air and towards the plane. Chris was waiting at the finish line, and took a step back as everyone crashed in a heap in front of him. He caught the Amazon's retrieved gadget, while the box Eva was carrying crashed on the ground, spilling out with blue goop.
"Well, it looks like Team Chris' live alien specimen has seen better days, while Team Amazon brought back… a light stick…" He shrugged. "Whatever, it works so I'll give it a pass. Which means Team Me Is Really Really Really Hot is booting someone off… Again."
The Amazons all weakly cheered, while Alejandro groaned and punched the ground. He shot a glare over his shoulder, watching an injured Eva and Izzy limp up over to them all, covered in scratches and bruises. The wild child looked at her team, and her heart clenched.
~X~
The plane was already in flight when elimination rolled around, and there was this air of anguish that was suffocating everyone. Eva and Izzy were in some bandages, while the others all looked fairly okay. Everyone had an unreadable expression on their face, as it seemed things were kinda already set in stone as to what was happening.
Regardless, Chris decided to play up everything. "I gotta say, Team Chris. Not seeing a lot of teamwork from you guys. Eva and Izzy were off doing who knows what", the Raging Bull scowled while the wild child was unresponsive, "Duncan thought flirting with Gwen was a better idea than helping his team", the punk frowned, "And Alejandro and Tyler decided to have a double date with some face huggers", the Spaniard and jock glared at the host.
The man shrugged. "But, it doesn't matter. It makes for good TV. So, I can assume you all know how this is ending, huh?"
The team all nodded, with the two members of Team E-Scope having a more sombre infliction.
"Cool, then I don't have to drag this out. Eva, sorry to say, you're out. Drop Of Shame awaits." The host gestured to the open plane door, holding a parachute.
The Fitness Buff growled, stood up, then faced Izzy. "Iz, try and win this for me, Noah and Owen, okay?"
The Psycho Hose Beast said nothing, simply nodding in acknowledgement. Eva smiled lightly, a sad glint filling her eyes as she walked to the host. She shot him a glare, and he flinched back, handing her the parachute and taking a few steps back. She put on the pack, gave Izzy one last look before jumping out into the dark sky.
Things hung in the air silently, with Chris then facing the team with a confused look. "I was honestly expecting Court to show up and get mad that you weren't gone, Duncan."
"Things… Things changed. I'd rather not get into it." The bad boy got up and walked off, leaving a confused host, Spaniard and jock in his wake. Izzy didn't respond, acknowledge or react to anything, simply remaining where she was and staring at the open door. After a while the host shrugged and closed the door, leaving for his quarters. Alejandro and Tyler left shortly after, leaving the Psycho Hose Beast all on her own.
She kept staring at the closed door, all the noise of the plane falling silent as she stared. She stared and stared and stared, so caught up in her turmoil she didn't register she had stood up and walked over to the door. She stared out the window vacantly, watching the clouds move by.
The more she silently stared outside, the more she could see her reflection.
"This wouldn't have happened if you didn't change", the reflection said, its voice echoing in Izzy's head.
"Shut up."
"You'd still be with Owen, and Noah and Eva would still be here. You could beat Alejandro if you just… Just ignored Caleb and his friends."
"I couldn't do that, though."
"But you should've. And now here we are."
"I'm happy. I love the others. You are wrong."
"You know I'm not. You see it, like right now. How flat everything is, how you survive impossible without a scratch or heal seconds later… Like now…"
Izzy paled and felt her face, becoming extremely scared when she didn't feel any of her earlier injuries anywhere on her face.
"And there's that silly outline you keep staring at. How it surrounds you, holds you…" The reflection's face became more oppressing, and the surrounding area became darker.. "Suffocates you… Till you're swallowed into a dark abyss of your own doing…"
"Shut up!" Izzy cried, shaking her head, closing her eyes and taking a few steps back. "Shut up, shut up, shut up shut up shut up shutupshutupshutup!" Izzy had tears in her eyes as she glared at the window. "Shut up and leave me alone!"
"But how can I?" The reflection asked in genuine confusion. "I'm you."
Izzy's rage filled expression immediately twisted into a look of horrific realisation.
I'm you.
For some reason, that rocked Izzy to her core. Something about the tone, the genuine confusion in the statement, just made her heart skip a beat. It… It was true, the reflection was just Izzy. They were one in the same, just like how Kaleidoscope, Explosivo and any and all personas she took on were her. She was Izzy.
And she hated it.
She hated what she had become.
It was no better than another persona.
The Psycho Hose Beast staggered back from the door in a daze, and sat back down on the bleachers as her legs finally gave out. She looked down at her hands, tears flowing from her eyes and splashing on her shaking palm. Her muscles were tense, her bones felt like concrete. She didn't feel okay. She wasn't okay. She wasn't okay at all.
She curled up and began to sob into her knees, just as Merida came in to check if she was okay. When the princess saw her girlfriend in her distressing state, she carefully walked over, sat beside her, and wrapped her into a comforting hug.
It did little to stop the endless tears.
~
(Confessional - Abducted heart and mind)
Izzy - She is dead silent as she stares at the wall, not facing the camera. Even so, her bloodshot eyes were visible, plain as day, and she had a look of pure misery on her face. The confessional itself looked darker, and there was this ominous droning audible…
~
Merida - The princess was pounding her head against the confessional wall, looking mentally exhausted and absolutely livid. "This blasted show is ripping Iz apart and I can't am so over it." She spun towards the camera and glared at it. "She doesn't deserve any of this, and I am getting this close to throwing Heather and Alejandro out the blasted plane myself!"
She stood up straight and took a deep breath, although it wasn't as effective as she was hoping. "Make my words. I am going to make everyone who crossed me and Izzy regret it. I don't care how that makes me seem, Iz means the world to me, and if I have to go down, I'm taking all those bastards with me."
She stood up and stormed out of the confessional, oblivious to the subtle cracking that was slowly forming on the camera's lens.
~X~
Okay… So… That was definitely a heavy chapter that changed a lot of things. The big thing is Merida talking with Gwen and semi-influencing the love triangle. Now, I did that not because I dislike either of the ships (Duncey and Gwuncan), but rather more because Merida was that outside voice that could… somewhat make things more clearer.
So there will be more later, especially after each of the love triangle member's are eliminated. But that's for later.
Right now, we have the elephant in the room: Eva's elimination, and the moment with Izzy after. Honestly, it was fun, and important for the next chapters coming up. This is where it all peaks, people. Team E-Scope is all gone, and Izzy is at her breaking point.
Things are going to erupt very soon…
Until then, hopefully you all loved this chapter. It was really fun to write.
Up next: Izzy gets lost in the Australian outback, and despite her growing mental instability, she presses on.
Even if she bleeds across the red sands…
~Caleb~
