"Previously on Total Drama: Express Tour, our contestants went from the deadly heat of Qatar to the deadly cold of Iceland. Liam, Mac, and Jennifer planned a strategy to eliminate Team Friendship once and for all; for this, they distracted their strongest player... Gretchen? Pedro and Sophia argued several times over who should lead the team, which resulted in another defeat for Team Amazons. What a shame, they were doing so well! Thanks to Liam's strength and Ashley's speed, both Friendship and Alpha were saved from one of the most dramatic elimination ceremonies, where Sophia used the McLean-Brand Chris Head against Pedro, causing our favorite gentleman to leave the show. Team Amazons disbanded and now it's seven against seven! Which team will rise to victory? This and more in today's episode of Total Drama... Express Tour!"
It's two in the morning on the McLean Express, all the lights are off, and the only sound is the locomotive running on the rails, damp from the European morning fog. Everyone seems to be asleep. Then, something slides under the door of the boys' compartment of Team Alpha. Spencer is snoring, while Liam sleeps soundly hugging his pillow, his hand still bandaged from the previous challenge. The only one who wakes up at the noise is Mackenzie, who lets out a muffled scream.
"Oh, it was just a nightmare... just a nightmare..." the boy tells himself as he wipes the cold sweat from his forehead. He notices what slid under the door, an envelope. He takes it. "BT... Could it be..."
Mackenzie looks around to ensure that both Spencer and Liam are asleep, and upon confirming, he opens the letter and starts reading it. The first paragraph reads, "Do you want answers? Go to the luxury car, where east is up." He is surprised to find only letters cut out from a magazine, arranged nonsensically after that phrase.
Confessional
Mac — I've read enough mystery novels to know that this is a Da Vinci code-type riddle, and I love it. If this is from the Bermuda Triangle... Wow, they have good taste. But what the heck does "X ybb, x kbfdeyllo, x oxsbk" mean? Does any of what I just spelled make sense? Of course not.
Mac leaves the compartment to head to the luxury wagon, only to find Jennifer sitting on one of the sofas, reading a book.
"Good morning! I-I didn't know you were an early riser." Mac is still quite cold and quickly adjusts his pajama shirt to look presentable.
"What time is it?" Jennifer asks.
"It must be around three..." Mac looks out the window, trying to confirm, but the train's windows are completely fogged up.
"Oh, I didn't even notice. I've been reading for a while now," Jennifer says coldly, closing her book. They remain in an awkward silence. Mackenzie just presses his tongue to his cheek, looking uncomfortably out the window while tapping his foot on the floor. Jennifer keeps staring at the spine of her book, trying to find the words.
"And... W-What are you reading?" Mac asks.
"Unfortunately, I've run out of all the academic books I brought, so I had to take your advice and pick some from the common room. This is a collection of short stories. I'm reading 'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe."
"Oh, the poem, I love that one. Nevermore!" Mac shouts in a raspy voice, trying to imitate the raven from the story. He soon feels embarrassed by that remark and starts smiling nervously. "Like... The raven, you know, right?"
"Exactly." Jennifer nods, giving Mackenzie a cold gaze.
"T-Thanks for listening to me, you know, people don't pay much attention when I recommend things."
"I think it's a bit edgy for me, but I have to admit it has an... intriguing touch." Jennifer puts her book aside. "Can I know where you're going at this hour?"
"To solve a riddle... By any chance did you read 'The Da Vinci Code' too?"
"Actually, no. Can I see the riddle?" Jennifer gets up from the couch she was on and examines the letter with Mac. "Either I'm very blind... Or I don't understand what it says below."
"It's some kind of encryption, but... I don't know which one yet."
"Well, it's your lucky day. I may not have read the book you mentioned, but I have studied cryptology." Jennifer takes the letter and examines its envelope, surprised to see the signature. "BT? Bermuda Triangle?"
"It seems so." Mac nods.
"How strange, and this was under your door?"
"Uhmm... Yes."
"Well, maybe this will help us find them finally."
They both walk towards the luxury wagon silently, trying not to wake anyone up. When they reach the car, they pause for a second upon hearing two voices.
"Shh!" Jennifer hushes.
"Could it be them?" Mac asks, to which Jennifer again shushes him.
The two walk silently towards the source of the voices. The ones talking are Levi and Harlan, who shouldn't be there since their team lost the previous challenge. They are sitting on the sofa facing the television. On the TV, Spotify is playing a song by The Strokes.
"Look, finished." Harlan hands an origami figure to Levi, a blue swan.
"Hm, really good." Levi examines the swan and sees that something is written on one wing. "'Love you with my butt.' Don't you mean heart?"
"Nah, my butt's bigger." At that moment, Levi bursts into laughter, and Mac has to bite his lip to keep from laughing.
"Look at you, in the challenges you act all cool and you're cheesier than cheddar," Levi says between laughs.
"It's called saving my reputation," Harlan says mockingly, shrugging. "It's especially important now that Sophia is on the team."
"Why? Wanna impress her?"
"Not a single bit. She's a tryhard and a killjoy. But it's important for our stay in the game."
"I hope you're right..." Levi says, slumping sadly on the sofa.
Confessional
Harlan — Before Sophia arrived, my war with Charlie was at a perfect tie, three people for her, three people for me, but now that Sophia is here, I have to be super careful. Anyway, we're most likely going to win. I mean, what can Team Alpha do to us? Make Barbara break our eardrums?
Mac was doing his best not to burst out laughing, while Jennifer just looked at him confused.
"Anyways..." Jennifer whispers, moving away from the conversation to avoid being discovered. "East is up? What could that mean?"
"Maybe..." Mackenzie starts scanning the room without stepping into a spot where Harlan and Levi could discover them. The boy stops when he notices the chandelier in the car. "Look, look."
Jennifer looks up and then notices that the chandelier is shaped like a compass Rose.
"East goes up, we got it," the girl says. Mackenzie tries to reach the east tip of the chandelier with a jump but can't quite reach it.
"C-Can you... you know... lift me? I think I know what to do."
"Don't you think it would be easier if you lifted me?" Jennifer argues.
"Oh yeah, right, s-sorry." Mac wipes his hands on his pants to remove the cold sweat, then bends his knees to give Jennifer a piggyback ride. The girl jumps up, and Mackenzie bites his lips, straining to lift her.
"Are you okay? I can feel you shaking."
"Ah, yeah. I-I'm totally fine, believe me." Mac bites his lips even harder. "I'm just, y-you know, kind of rusty."
"So, what did I need to do?"
"Rotate the chandelier so that the east points to where north should be," Mac instructs, directions that Jennifer quickly follows. As soon as she moves the chandelier in that direction, a small yellow note falls at Mac's feet.
"Good! Good... Now I'll get you down." Mac tries to kneel a bit to help Jennifer get down, but this only makes his legs shake more, and Jennifer has to jump, almost falling in the process. "Whoa, you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. I guess PE was your worst subject, huh?"
"Almost, chemistry is surprisingly worse." Mac sits on the floor, exhausted.
"I only weigh 118," Jennifer points out.
"And that is..."
"53.52 kilograms."
"Damn, that's my new record then..." Mac says, looking at the ceiling with a silly smile.
Jennifer takes the note and sees that, once again, it's written in magazine cutouts with a short message.
"More gibberish..."
"What does it say?"
"'3 back,' nothing more." They look at each other, not really knowing what to make of the message. "Okay, it's clear that the previous message is in some sort of cipher, and this must be a clue."
"And why is the Bermuda Triangle sending me coded messages? D-Do you think it's something bad?"
"Well, we don't know if they've communicated with anyone else recently, so no idea." Jennifer shrugs.
"Should we tell Liam?" Mac stands up abruptly, having rested from his big effort.
"No way. It's better not to mess with these people."
"Are they really that dangerous? I mean, since Celia left they haven't done anything."
"A wise man once said the worst evil is the one you can't see," Jennifer points out.
"Really?"
"No, my dad told me that when I got COVID." Jennifer smiles slightly.
"W-Wow." Mac says, completely surprised before starting to laugh. "I didn't know you could do jokes."
"W-Well... I guess I do." Jennifer lets out a laugh, the first one Mac has ever heard from her.
"Trespassing, making a joke, who are you and what have you done with Jennifer Anderson?" Mac asks, causing them both to share another laugh. "Well, I guess it's better if we decipher all this tomorrow, right?"
"Exactly, I should get some rest. If there's a challenge tomorrow, I won't be well-rested." Jennifer explains. The two look at each other for a second, waiting for the other to move to say goodbye. In the end, neither of them moves, and they both walk silently to their respective beds.
Confessional
Jennifer — BT don't have any bad intentions with Mac. Which is great because I really like him. I feel a bit more... free, less nervous when I'm with him.
Mac — Jennifer is a girl that... I don't know, seeing her today reading a book I recommended made me feel good. I'm just glad that I don't get as nervous around her anymore.
The sun rose, and daytime life on the McLean Express began. In the dining wagon Liam, Barbara, Corey, Lucy, and Spencer are staring at the kitchen, where Chris Jr. and Emma should be, but it's now empty. The same happens in the luxury wagon, where everything in the bouffet bar is already gone.
"Where are they?! It's nine in the morning!" Barbara complains, stomping her foot on the floor.
"Maybe they're busy with some challenge," Corey says, trying to calm her friend.
"If they're doing a challenge, they should've done it earlier! We won the challenge so we have the right to eat!" Barbara complains again, leaning frustratedly over the table.
"Don't worry, Barbie! I'll cook something, I have some of my mom's recipes in my backpack," Liam says, patting Barbara on the back.
"Really, Toto?" Barbara asks, her eyes watering. It seems like she was about to cry, but Liam's offer interrupted her tears.
"That would be very nice of you, Liam. If you don't mind, I've always wanted to start cooking since it's not something I do often. Can I help?" Cordelia asks.
"Sure thing! Do you want to join as well Spence?" Liam asks.
"Nah dude, I'll just chill in the background. I'm looking forward to seeing your cuisine, though," Spencer says, adjusting his cap. "You'll do great as well, Corie."
"Thanks Spence."
"Have fun cooking. I'll use the confessional" Lucy says, crossing her arms with a sour expression. Lucy opens the confessional door calmly, but when she opens it, she finds Charlotte, looking at her with a wicked smile. The blonde girl grabs Lucy by the arm and pulls her inside the confessional, then slams the door shut.
"What the- Charlotte! You scared the fuck out of me!"
"Sh! Don't shout so loud!"
"What were you doing here?!"
"Waiting for you," the girl says, rolling her eyes as if it were obvious.
"Here? Locked in the confessional? Geez, you must really like me."
"Oh, sure, the skinny and anemic girl, my soulmate," Charlie says with acidic sarcasm, putting her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes again. "Anyway, I need to talk to you."
"I had a feeling."
"This is totally confidential, promise not to tell anyone?"
"Of course, you're my bestie," Lucy responds with even more sarcasm.
"First, can you say a sentence without sounding like an asshole? Second, it's news about BT, which if I'm guessing right, should interest you a lot."
"First, look who's talking. Second, now you have my attention, what do you have?"
"I'm warning you in advance, if you ever decide to betray me, I'll throw you straight to the wolves. I won't have any mercy."
"Why are you telling me this in the first place?"
"Because you and I want the same thing: to destroy those idiots. It's an alliance whose members we don't know, much less their methods." Charlie takes the Bermuda Triangle envelope she received last night from her pocket and shows it to Lucy.
"I got this last night. It's a direct offer to collaborate with the Bermuda Triangle," Charlotte explains, putting the letter away again.
"What did they say?"
"They want my team to lose, and they asked me to sabotage from within. In return, they'll protect me in all the votes and eventually let me join the alliance," Charlie says all this with a mocking and proud smile.
"And what role do I play in this?"
"Easy, I'm not going to risk doing that and getting caught. So you'll be the one to help me to avoid suspicion, and in return, I'll share the identity of the Bermuda Triangle and we'll destroy them. We both win." Charlotte extends her hand to Lucy, waiting for her to shake it to seal the deal.
Lucy looks at the girl's hand doubtfully, not trusting her too much.
"You're very friendly all of a sudden. I don't get a good vibe from this."
"Look, you're easily the person I can stand the least on this train, but I know you're smart and that you share my motives to dethrone those idiots. Relax, if you don't accept, I'll take care of it alone, but it seems fair that you take revenge for Ryuuko, you didn't eliminate him for nothing, right?"
That last part touched a sensitive nerve in Lucy, who keeps staring at the blonde girl's hand. Finally she decides to shake her hand firmly.
"Fine, we start today," Lucy concludes.
"I'll keep you updated. See you later!" Charlotte bids farewell cheerfully and leaves the confessional.
Confessional
Lucy — Unless Charlotte is hiding something from me, it seems like a good offer. Unfortunately, we're talking about Charlotte, so it's most likely she's hiding something from me.
Charlotte — Why do I want to eliminate BT? First, they challenge my hegemony. Before Celia screamed to the four winds that there's a secret alliance, I was the most feared. And second, now that Sophia, aka, 'Hillary Cunton,' is on my team, I need to watch my back more than ever. Especially considering that girl is my main suspect as the leader of that alliance.
"Yo, Liam! How you doing?!" Ashley asks, walking casually toward the confessional before running into Liam.
"Fine! We're actually going to cook something. Junior and Emma are nowhere to be found."
"You're gonna cook without me?!" Ashley exclaims, holding her head. "Nah, nah, nah, è una sfortuna!"
Ashley makes the stereotypical Italian gesture with her hands.
"You can join! It's Corey and me in the kitchen."
"Corey? I've never talked to the princess, I think it's a good time!"
Liam and Ashley walk happily to the dining wagon, where they find Corey, attentively watching someone preparing the pots, Jennifer.
"Uuh, you didn't tell me she was going to be here, Lili." Ashley crosses her arms and frowns at Liam.
"I didn't know you were up, Jennifer," Liam says with an innocent smile.
"That girl insulted my music! No way I'm sharing a kitchen with her." Ashley exclaims.
"God, are you always so dramatic?" Jennifer says, not even looking up from the dish she's washing. "I just woke up and I'm hungry, we're just going to cook."
"Hmm... Fine, but you have to be cooperative!" Ashley yells. "And apologize!"
"Apologize for what?" Jennifer asks, visibly offended.
Ashley is about to raise her voice but stops herself just before saying something she might regret.
"Let's just start. What do you have in mind, Lili?"
"Alright, we're going to make Lo Mein noodles. This was one of my grandma's favorites and, more importantly... they're vegetarian!" Liam announces, hoping Barbara hears him. "Okay, first let's chop the vegetables!"
Each of them grabs a knife and starts chopping different vegetables. Liam handles the scallions, Ashley the onions and garlic, and Jennifer the carrots, but she finishes so quickly that she moves on to help Corey chop the bell pepper.
"You're doing it on the wrong side," Jennifer points out, turning the pepper in Corey's hand. "You need to do it on the non-smooth side. And you're holding the knife wrong."
Jen moves closer to Corey and adjusts her hand on the knife, helping her cut properly.
"Thank you!" Corey turns to thank her. That's when Jennifer realizes she's too close to Corey's face, close enough to feel her breath. She quickly blushes and steps back a bit, leaving Corey to cut on her own. "I'm doing it right?"
"Sure! You're... Perfect. Y-You're doing it perfect!" Jennifer corrects herself.
"You're a good teacher, Jen!" Corey compliments, and Jennifer just tucks her hair behind her ear, trying to maintain a poker face.
Confessional
Jennifer — Remember when I said earlier that I felt relaxed with Mac? Well, maybe... Cordelia makes me feel the opposite. Like... When I talk to her, it's... You know... Ignore me. It's just... Absurd behavior. Maybe it's a bad thing she's now in my team.
"Well, someone put the noodles to boil!" Liam orders while taking the vegetables to a pot with boiling water.
Jennifer takes the noodles, and before tossing them into the pot, she breaks them in half so they fit. The mere sound of the noodles breaking causes Ashley to whip her head around, her eyes wide as plates.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Ashley screams as if someone is physically attacking her. She pushes Jennifer aside and walks towards the pot.
"God! Do you have to scream so loud?" Jennifer glares at Ashley with total disdain.
"You don't do that with pasta! It's... It's a felony!" Jennifer rolls her eyes at Ashley's louder screams, crosses her arms, and storms out of the kitchen straight to the dining car.
"I'm not working with her." Jennifer says, angrily looking out the window.
"Well..." Liam looks at the situation with a grimace. "Anyway, the noodles should be ready in about 6 minutes. Take care of them, Ashley. Help me with the soy sauce, Corey."
"Sure."
"These are no longer noodles; it's a crime scene!" Ashley shouts.
Confessional
Ashley — Did her dad teach her anything other than how to be an entitled asshole?
Jennifer — Did her dad teach her anything other than how to be an unbearable drama queen?
"Good morning, Gretchen!" A voice can be heard shouting in the girls' room of Friendship team wagon. It's Sophia standing in front of Gretchen's bed, waking her up from her sleep.
"Uhmm... What's going on?" Gretchen, still sleepy, rubs her eyes as she looks around.
"It's nine-thirty; that's our eight hours of recommended sleep fulfilled."
"Oh, sure... I forgot you're sleeping here now."
"I know the change was abrupt, but don't worry, you'll get used to it." Sophia has her totally plastic and forced politician smile on.
"I don't know... You won't go crazy being the captain or something?" Gretchen stretches her arms, slowly getting up from her small bed.
"Pff, me? Not at all. I just want to be friends with you all, you know, we are Team Friendship!" Sophia's small statement makes Gretchen smile.
"Cool! Let's go eat breakfast and then... I don't know, do something else!"
"Sure thing, Gretchen!" Sophia adjusts her tie and leaves her room.
Confessional
Sophia — What Pedro told me really made me think, but since there's no therapist in here, and I don't need one by the way, then I'm trying to do what I know best! Winning over my voters! I mean, friends, friends. That side of me that was constantly trying to be the boss no longer exists... at least for a while.
Gretchen — I'm glad Sophia is willing to be sweet! I was afraid she was going to disrupt the peace in our team. I mean, we all get along so well!
"Attention contestants!" A female voice can be heard over the train's megaphones. The contestants easily recognize it as Emma's voice. She sounds tired, and it's clear she's forcing her voice to speak in the same tone as her father. "We will soon be stopping for our next challenge, get ready!"
The members of Team Alpha had already finished their breakfast, so Liam begins to walk calmly towards the luxury wagon.
"Good morning, Harvey!" Liam says, seeing that the only person prepared to head to the challenge is the otaku boy, who is sketching while standing.
"Oh, hi Liam!" Harvey looks at him, first a bit uncomfortable, but then decides to give him a high-five to greet him.
"Those drawings are pretty cool!" Liam points out. "The girl looks really cute."
"Huh, thank you. The story is kind of cheesy, you know, classic magical girl with a love triangle."
"Uh, I like love triangles, so dramatic."
"You have to write them right, though. I'm considering several names: Stardust Enchantresses sounds good, right?"
"I think it's pretty catchy. I don't know much about anime though, I've only seen Dragon Ball."
"Everyone has seen Dragon Ball, it's the father of anime."
"Indeed!"
"So... how are things in your team? You know, now that Barbara and the other girl are there." Harvey closes his sketchbook.
"Well, Lucy complains a lot that they never stop talking, but the truth is we're getting along pretty well."
"That's good, that's good..." Harvey says, looking at the floor filled with mixed emotions.
Confessional
Harvey — Liam is not a bad guy! I can't hate someone who's a good person. Maybe... Barbara is not my muse but his.
Liam — Love triangles are complicated, I mean, if two guys like a girl, then it's her choice! No? I don't know, man. I've never talked to Harvey before, he seems like a good buddy.
Shortly after, all the contestants gathered at the entrance of the train. There they found Emma and Chris Jr., both dressed in white togas and laurel crowns. The two kids had visible dark circles under their eyes and messy hair.
"Good morning, everyone!" Emma shouted, forcing her voice.
"Why weren't you in the kitchen today? We had to cook ourselves, which, by the way, you did very well, Toto!"
"Thank you!" Liam shouted.
"In case you didn't know, our dad got off the train yesterday. He's... handling some matters with the new producer," Emma explained. "We've had to take care of everything Dad usually does. But I think we're doing well; we even made our own outfits."
Emma cheerfully spun around to show off her toga to everyone.
"It's pretty good, looks very... affordable," Charlotte said with a condescending smirk.
Confessional
Emma — It's been one of my dreams to be a host like Dad, so him going off to a party, I mean... meeting with Mr. Romaniconti was perfect to test us. It wasn't that hard for me, just monitoring the cameras, checking the train. For Junior, on the other hand... he had a little accident in the locomotive.
Junior — Sometimes when I cough, soot still comes out.
Train doors swung wide open. On the other side stood Chris, also dressed in a toga (though of much higher quality) and a gladiator helmet.
"Youths, Chris McLean is back!" Chris shouted cheerfully, inviting the contestants to step off the train. "I hope my kids did a good job taking care of the train."
"I'm sure we did!" Emma said, proudly putting her hands on her hips.
"Cool, now, does anyone know what this is?" Chris asked, taking off the helmet and holding it up. Jennifer instantly raised her hand. "And Jennifer can't answer!"
"It's a gladiator helmet! Like in 300!" Liam shouted.
"Good guess, your team gets an extra point... on my list of things I don't care about. Anyway, from this, you can deduce where today's challenge will be, right?"
"Sure, in Italy," Spencer said, completely confident.
"Spence, a hundred percent sure?" Levi said, laughing.
"Sure, we were in Africa before, we moved to Left Europe, and now we're in Mid Europe."
"Africa? We haven't been to Africa yet." Even Chris looked utterly confused.
"Sure, we went to Qatar."
All the contestants burst into laughter, except for some like Jen or Liam, who either didn't find it funny or didn't understand it.
"Alright, no, we're not in Italy; we're in Greece, the place where the Olympics were invented. That mythical competition where the most fit men competed in events to test their strength, endurance, and speed! The first modern Olympics were in 1896, and today we'll be testing all of you in nine events! Any questions?"
Levi raised his hand.
"Of course you do, you always have questions." Chris seemed genuinely annoyed.
"Didn't you already do this challenge? You know, in World Tour."
"Well, this one is a re-edition, so... And you know..." Chris started biting his lower lip, thinking of an excuse. "This one is quite different because we're recreating the first Olympics, which had only nine events. Plus, you guys are more and more awesome! We don't have Heather, but we have Charlie!"
"Thanks!"
"We don't have Cody, but we have Mac!"
"Uh, thanks?"
"And we don't have Duncan, but we have... uh... never mind, Duncan was pretty cool." Chris shrugged. "Anyway, at the sports field in Athens, you will be watched by the gods of Olympus themselves. The nine winners will be called the children of Cronus, the great gods of Olympus!"
"The children of Cronus were seven, not nine," Levi corrected.
"Whatever! The ones named children of Cronus will receive multiple advantages as a special reward, including a call from the gods."
"What does that mean?" Jennifer asked.
"You'll find out soon." Chris released a mischievous smile.
The contestants followed McLean to a large field with various facilities for multiple sports.
"Alright, my kids are handing out a form right now. It lists our nine events, and there's a space for you to fill in with the member of your team who will compete in each event. There are two double events and seven individual ones: tennis, cycling, athletics, fencing, gymnastics, swimming, archery, wrestling, and haltérophilie"
"Haltérophilie?" Lucy asked.
"Pretty sure that's his fetish," Harlan said.
"Deadlift, weightlifting, you know, but in french… That's what we called it in my days!" Chris shouted.
"Oh sure, like 50 years ago," Levi said sarcastically. Harlan high-fived him for the good joke.
"Don't laugh. In my bodybuilding days, that's what we called it, and I won several haltérophilie awards."
"Bodybuilding days?" Lucy asked, looking completely terrified.
"Of course! Or do you think they hired me just for my incredible charisma or my beautiful face?"
"Ugh, let's not get in his game please." Lucy complained.
"Alright, boring folks, we'll start with the 100 meters sprint in athletics. I'll see you there in half an hour while you organize yourselves."
Just as the contestants were about to leave to organize, Harlan walked over to Liam and stared at him intently.
"Dude, I know our teams have had a big rivalry, and that's why I'm proposing we settle this in the wrestling event. You and me, captain vs. captain." Harlan offered his hand to Liam.
"That's great! Yes! What a great way to end the challenge, man, for sure!" Very excited, Liam shook hands firmly with the captain of Team Friendship.
"Are you a hundred percent sure?" Levi asked.
"Sure as hell."
Confessional
Harlan — Sure, Liam is beefy, but you can tell by his movement that he's not skilled at combat. I have wrestled a lot. Trust me, I got this.
Charlie — September 14, 2024, that was the last day of the beloved Harlan Grey's life. (Fakes sobbing)
Liam — My hand still hurts a bit, but this is going to be Captain vs. Captain! It's going to be so epic!
Both teams split up to start organizing. Liam immediately calls over Jennifer and Mac for help.
"Okay, we have seven individual events. I'm going to wrestle Harlan, so we need someone strong for weightlifting," Liam explains.
"Unfortunately, physical strength isn't our team's strong suit," Mac points out.
"I can do it. They don't have someone stronger than me, I'm sure," Lucy says, stepping forward. "And my arm is twice the size of Mac's and Spencer's, that's for sure."
Confessional
Mac — I don't know what feels worse, that she said it or that she's right.
Lucy — I wanted to wrestle. Since Ryuuko left, I haven't had a good fight with anyone.
"I can do archery," Jennifer suggests while filling out the form. "Barbara, you'll do the track event."
"That's just running, right?"
"Exactly, just run like there's no tomorrow," Liam explains, doing some skipping in place.
"Just put me in a random one. With me it's a guaranteed miss" Mac tells Jennifer. "And artistic gymnastics, Cordelia, are you good at that?"
"I don't like fake modesty, so let's say yes," Corey smiles.
"Okay guys, I'm lucky we already know each other well and our talents. Except for you Sophia, what do you want to do?"
"I think I can help with the swimming event and one of the double events, but I'm willing to do anything you need. I'm kind of a wildcard."
"So now you're a team player, huh?" Levi asks, skeptically noting things down.
"I've always been one! It's just that now, with competent people, we can share the leadership!"
"Cough, cough Suck up!" says Ashley.
Confessional
Sophia — I'm a newcomer, so I have to make my place in the team. Today is the perfect day to show that I'm useful!
Charlie — I can't let Sophia go to Harlan's side; I have to tip the balance in MY favor!
"I can do the gymnastics event. I'm the cheerleader team captain, so it's, like, impossible for us to lose. And if it's not a bother, I'll also do one of the double events."
"Wow, everyone is so charitable today," Levi says, rolling his eyes. "All that's left is Gretchen and... you know what? I'm just going to put you in a random event, it's a lost cause anyway."
"Awesome!"
"That is not a good thing, Gret," Harvey says.
Finally, all the contestants gather in front of the track, where Chris is dressed as a referee and holding a starter pistol. His children stand beside him with stopwatches.
"Alright, 100-meter dash! Barbara vs. Ashley!"
"Easy peasy!" Ashley taunts, stretching.
"Don't be a loudmouth!" Barbara shouts back.
Both girls are dressed in sportswear, standing at the starting line.
"When I shoot, you start running. Ready?" Chris raises his pistol.
"That gun's a blank, right?" Levi asks.
"A blank what?" Chris responds, just as his gun fires into the air.
Both girls start running at full speed, but the difference is stark. Ashley is halfway down the track while Barbara barely reaches the twenty-meter mark.
"Put your back into it, Barbie!" Liam yells.
"I am!"
"Don't talk while you're running!" Jennifer scolds.
"Sorry for existing!"
In the end, Ashley easily reaches the finish line before Barbara, even slowing down before crossing.
"Thank you, everyone! Thank you!" Ashley mocks as she parades in front of the bleachers where the Alpha team members are resting. She even looks directly at Jennifer and sticks out her tongue.
"That bi-"
"Language," Liam interrupts Jennifer.
"It's not fair! It's not fair!" Barbara shouts, crossing her arms as she walks toward her team's bleachers.
"Congratulations, Ashley! You're the first gold medalist!" Emma places a gold medal around Ashley's neck. Ashley poses for the camera, biting the medal.
"Alright, our next challenge will be a brutal Fencing duel between... Gretchen and Mackenzie. Forget about the 'brutal' part," Chris announces. "See you in the Fencing room."
"You heard it, Mac! You could win against Gretchen!" Liam cheers, giving his friend a pat on the back.
"Yes, th-that's... something."
Confessional
Mac — Look, I knew I would lose to anyone... except for Gretchen. So now my team has expectations for me... which is exactly what should not be done.
As the teams walk towards the Fencing room, Charlie approaches Lucy quietly.
"So, we need to start with the sabotage plan." Charlie says.
"Do you really see it necessary here? I don't think Mac will lose against Gretchen."
"Yeah, because trusting the live-action version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a smart move." Charlotte says sarcastically.
"Okay, okay. What do you propose?"
"This one is the simplest, actually. Gretchen has a very, very short attention span." Charlie says with a mischievous smile.
Mac and Gretchen are both dressed in fencing vests and masks, clumsily holding foils. They both awkwardly salute each other.
"Alright, shake hands and let the match begin," Chris announces.
"Good luck!" Gretchen says, offering a handshake to Mac, which he gladly accepts.
"Thanks!"
"You're rivals! Not friends!" Sophia shouts.
"Oh, sure," Gretchen says, cheerfully nodding.
They both get into position and start the fight. Both timidly begin the match, afraid to make the first strike, and just awkwardly defend themselves while staggering clumsily. A ridiculous full minute passes without either of them landing a hit.
"Told you," Charlotte says.
"Okay, let's do it," Lucy responds. She opens her hands, and a small bumblebee flies out. The insect flies unnoticed towards the two fighters.
"Oh, look! Hi little friend, are you lost?" Gretchen turns to the bee, giving it an innocent smile.
"What? A b- A BEE! Holy shit!" Seeing the bumblebee, Mac starts running backward in panic, swinging his foil wildly to try to scare the bug away. "Get that away from me! If it stings me I'm a goner."
Mackenzie runs out of the room.
"Don't worry, Mac! I'll save you!" Spencer shouts, running after him after taking off his cap.
Confessional
Jen — And those are the men on our team.
Corey — Spencer is great but... I kinda miss Pedro now.
"Well, Mackenzie has just left the field, which means it's a victory for Gretchen and Team Friendship," Chris McLean announces.
"Really?"
"Yep, that's how ridiculous it is," Chris nods, as Gretchen starts jumping excitedly in place. Emma approaches to put a gold medal around her neck.
"I did it!"
"You did it!" Ashley cheers.
"She did it?" Charlie asks, surprised.
"She did it," Lucy confirms, putting her hand on her forehead.
"I... didn't even notice, sorry guys." Mac returns to the place scratching his neck, hugged by Spencer.
"That evil bumblebee is out, don't worry Mac," Spencer explains, trying to calm him down.
"Well, at least we knew it was a lost cause," Barbara explains.
"Didn't it sting you or anything?" Jen asks.
"I don't think so, I'd be dead."
"Impossible, Total Drama prevents situations like that," Chris points out.
"I thought you'd say something like: That raises the ratings," Mac admits.
"Not at all, your family would sue us, and they would shut down this circus."
Confessional
Mac — Chris is wrong... My family would never pay for a lawsuit for me, no, too expensive
"Don't worry guys! Who's next?" Encourages Liam.
"Alright, after this, we'll have two amazing Artistic Gymnastics performances by Corey and Charlie. Good luck, girls!" Announces Chris.
"I apologize in advance, you know, for your defeat." Charlotte approaches Cordelia to offer her hand, posing a passive-aggressive smile and a condescending tone. "Just remember that sportsmanship is the most important thing, so don't be a sore loser."
"Sure." Cordelia forces a sweet smile, accepting the handshake.
Confessional
Charlotte — There's no way I'm losing against that little Princess. Up until now, I had gone unnoticed because I had my mind occupied with other things, but she's exactly the type of person I dislike the most (forcing a high-pitched and silly voice) 'oh look at me, I'm so pretty, I need help'. Ugh.
Cordelia — I know what kind of person Charlotte is, she needs to be the queen bee to compensate for a lack of love at home. I pity her.
Everyone gathers in the Artistic Gymnastics room. In the center are two balance beams for the girls' routines, blue for Corey and green for Charlotte. In front of these are a desk where Chris and his two children sit as judges.
"Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready?" Chris asks. "First up, we have Cordelia Lovelace representing Team Alpha! A round of applause, please."
"Go Corey! You got this!" Cheers Spencer.
Cordelia enters the room dressed in a simple black gymnastics leotard.
"Imagine you're on international TV!" Liam shouts from the audience, causing Corey to release a small smile.
The girl begins her routine by performing a pirouette on the balance beam, followed by several maneuvers on its edge. All the members of Team Alpha applaud the performance, which ends with Corey gracefully posing like a swan, earning the applause of the three judges.
"That's a 10! You were wonderful, Corey!" Applauds Emma.
In complete silence, Junior holds up a sign with an 8.
"And that's an 8 from me! Congratulations Corey, that's 25 points! Can our next participant surpass that?"
At that moment, Gretchen walks over to the presenter's table and picks up the microphone on it.
"Ahem, excuse me. I have to read something." Gretchen takes the microphone and pulls a small piece of paper from her sock. "Our next contestant comes from Springfield, Oregon. Her beauty is incomparable, she has been the cheerleading team captain for eight years and has won a bunch of trophies as a dancer and cheerleader."
"You forgot to mention singer!" Charlie's voice is heard shouting from the dressing room.
"Oh, right, I wrote it in crayons and it wasn't clear. Where was I?" Gretchen resumes reading. "She also loves Lemon Shortbread Cake."
"Why did you write that?!" Charlotte shouts.
"You told me to put things you liked!" Gretchen responds with an innocent smile. "Let's all welcome the Queen Bee, Charlotte Flitch!"
Charlotte steps out of the dressing room, walking elegantly, even doing a star turn before reaching her balance beam. She is wearing a bright yellow and black leotard. Gretchen, Ashley, Sophia, Harvey, and even Harlan start applauding.
"What are you doing?" Levi asks.
"I'm supporting her, she's on our team." Harlan responds under his breath.
Just as Charlotte is about to perform the first maneuver on the balance beam, her hand slips, losing balance and hitting herself directly in the face.
"What?!" Charlotte shouts, frustrated.
"That's a zero." Says Chris.
"Um... A two? I quite liked the entrance." Explains Junior.
"Seriously? For me, it was a ten." Emma says, full of sarcasm.
"And that adds up to twelve for Charlie. Congratulations, Corey, you get the gold!" Chris announces.
"What?! That's unfair! I couldn't even start! Damn it." Charlotte puts her hand on the balance beam, and then notices it's greased. "But... Who did this?!"
Charlie scans the room for the culprit until she locks eyes with Lucy, who looks at her with a half-smirk.
"You..."
"Me."
Confessional
Lucy — What? She said her team should lose. (She shrugs, with the same mocking smile)
Charlotte — That wretch is lucky that she's not my top concern right now. She sure knows how to play.
"I'm sorry, Charlotte, but you know, don't be a sore loser." Cordelia puts on her gold medal and approaches her opponent to offer her hand. Charlotte just looks at the girl's hand with disdain and walks back to the dressing room.
"That's it, Corey! You gave her what she deserved!" Cheers Spencer, hugging the girl.
"Thank you, thank you."
Confessional
Corey — Like I said, I hate false modesty, so yeah. She got what was coming to her.
Charlotte — (the girl starts tearing a piece of paper with Cordelia's name on it into pieces) I hate her! I hate her! I hate her! You've just gained a dangerous enemy, Cordelia Lovelace!
"Alright, our next competition will be Lucy vs. Harvey in weightlifting! This is going to be interesting," announces Chris, to which the Otaku looks quite nervous at the girl. "Junior, Emma, organize the place."
"Yes, Dad," they say in unison, and begin moving the barbells.
"I'm really proud of you guys. When I'm gone, Chris Junior is going to be an incredible replacement," Chris comments to Harlan. Upon hearing this, Chris Jr. becomes nervous and looks down, while his sister just furrows her brow and puts even more effort into pushing the barbell.
A while later, the place is perfectly organized for the competition, with two weights on the floor.
"Alright, Lucy, Harvey, you both have to lift this 220-pound barbell, or for the international audience, 100 kilograms."
"That's two times my weight," says Lucy.
"Yup, that's why it's called weightlifting," says Chris.
"It was an observation, not a complaint," says Lucy, walking towards the weight.
"Alright, if Lucy wins, things will be tied up, but if Harvey wins, Team Friendship will distance themselves even further! Good luck, guys."
"Hey, good luck," Harvey walks towards Lucy and offers his hand, which she accepts with a handshake.
"Sportsmanship comes first, well done, Harvey."
"Thanks, I learned it from Inazuma Eleven."
Both get ready to lift the weight, and as soon as they start, Harvey can be heard shouting.
"Kaioken times ten!"
"Damn! He's using power-ups, Lucy, be careful!" Mac shouts, putting his hand to his head.
"Don't worry, once he goes past Kaioken times 20, his muscles will start tearing!" Barbara shouts. "Uh... A friend told me that."
Harvey seems to be putting in a lot of effort but manages to lift the weight off the ground, while Lucy is able to put it on her shoulders more easily, although she is still exerting herself.
"Go Harvey! You can do it, man!" Harlan shouts.
"Harvey! Harvey!" Ashley starts chanting, and all the members of her team join in.
Harvey manages to put the weight on his shoulders, while Lucy starts squatting, and with some sweat on her forehead, she finally finishes.
"Fuck!" Lucy shouts, putting the weight down. "That was pretty good!"
"And that's gold for Lucy! Things are tied at two to two!"
With great care, Emma and Chris Jr. help Harvey lower the weight. The boy is exhausted on the floor.
"Don't worry, man, life will give you a rematch," Levi says, helping him up.
"Okay, but I need a five... or twenty-minute break," Harvey says, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"Okay, our fifth challenge will be swimming, with a very interesting duel between Spencer and Sophia!"
Confessional
Mac — This duel will be legendary! Sophia, the person who tries the hardest, versus Spencer, the person who... doesn't try at all.
In the Olympic pool, Sophia and Spencer were both in their swimsuits. For the boy, a black swim with a pink waves design. For the girl, a two-piece bikini with an American flag pattern.
"Is that seriously the swimsuit you brought for the show?" Barbara asks Sophia from the stands, looking quite disgusted by her outfit.
"What? It's called patriotism!" Sophia says, looking at the camera with a proud smile.
"Hey, at least she's not wearing her tie," Levi points out.
"Alright, it's a freestyle sprint! Start in three, two... one! Go!" When Chris announces the start, Sophia enters the water with a perfect dive, while Spencer cannonballs directly into the water.
"Let's start cheering, Corey!" Barbara cheers, standing up. "Spencer! Spencer!"
"Spencer! Spencer!" Liam joins Barbara in cheering before Corey, who also stands up to cheer with Barbara.
The race was consistently close, although Spencer had the lead for most of it, until halfway through the first lap when he started to struggle.
"Oh damn! Chlorine got in my eyes!" Spencer shouts, swimming diagonally and allowing Sophia to pass him easily and reach the finish line first.
"That's it!" Harlan celebrates, raising his fist in the air.
"Oh, dang it!" Spencer holds onto the pool edge, rubbing his eyes forcefully. "I was swimming fine and then suddenly couldn't see anything!"
"Do you swim with your eyes open?" Barbara asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't you?" Spencer gets out of the pool with Corey's help, while Emma awards Sophia with her gold medal.
"Congratulations, Sophia, you're now one of Cronos' daughters," says Chris.
"Thank you, Chris, but I'm just a daughter of my parents and my glorious country."
"Anyway, let's move on to the penultimate individual challenge. Archery, and we have Jennifer vs. Levi. Good luck, guys, see you at the shooting range."
"Do you know how to do archery?" Harlan asks.
"Nope, but it sounds dope as hell," Levi replies.
Lucy and Charlotte share a complicit look; neither of them is happy with the challenge's outcome at the moment.
"Sophia, you did amazing!" Charlotte takes the opportunity when Sophia is alone to talk to her.
"Oh, thank you. I practiced some swimming in middle school, and I did quite well. I'm happy to be of help to the team."
"Didn't ask though..." Charlie mutters under her breath.
"Pardon me? I didn't catch that," Sophia says.
"Oh, it's nothing. I wanted to talk about, you know, in case we end up losing—"
"Don't worry! We're not going to lose with me on the team!" Sophia says, smiling confidently.
"But you know, we have to be prepared for everything. In case of losing, I think you should know that Harlan has an alliance. He's allied with Levi and Harvey."
"Oh, is that true? In that case, we're in danger." Sophia puts her hands on her waist and looks down thoughtfully.
"Exactly! Especially you, since you just joined the team, and I wouldn't want you to leave because you're a good competitor."
"Do you really think so?" Sophia's eyes light up.
"Of course! So, if we end up losing, you should vote with me."
"I don't know, I'll think about it."
Both girls separate, unaware that Harlan was observing them conversing from a distance.
Confessional
Charlie — Ugh, I knew it wouldn't be so easy to convince her. She's much smarter than she seems.
Levi and Jennifer are already with their bows and arrows ready to shoot. Levi extends his hand to Jennifer as a sign of sportsmanship.
Chris fires his gun, and both shoot at the target, Jennifer hitting directly in the red circle and Levi landing closer to the outer blue circle.
"Damn," Levi mutters. "It was fine, but I need practice."
Very modestly, Jennifer celebrates and receives her gold medal. Meanwhile, the Tumblr user stares at the targets, looking puzzled.
"That's strange; I could swear her red circle was bigger," Levi says, squinting.
"No idea," Charlie shrugs. Levi instantly notices a small red paint stain on his green neck scarf.
Confessional
Levi — It wouldn't make sense for Charlotte to paint the target to help Jennifer, right? She knows well that if we lose, she's out. Or maybe she has a plan? No, I'm probably just overthinking... Or maybe not?
The next competition was tandem cycling, so the contestants gathered outside the sports complex, where Chris had set up two pairs of bicycles.
"On the Alpha team's side, we have Liam and Barbara!" Chris announces, and the two contestants high-five cheerfully. "And on the Friendship team's side, we have Ashley and Sophia."
Then, Harvey approaches Ashley to whisper something to her, to which she nods.
"Ouch, I think... ow! I'm injured! Harvey will have to take my place." Chris looks at the girl puzzled.
"Hmm... Alright, I guess."
Confessional
Harvey — If I win this challenge, I'll get a medal and Barbara's attention! It's all or nothing.
Liam — I've noticed that Harvey frequents the places I go when I'm with Barbara. Isn't that weird? Or do you think... he likes me?
"Go, Harvey! Give it your all!" Sophia cheers, stretching her legs before getting on her bike.
"We marked a path with yellow tape all along the sidewalk so they know which route to take. The first pair to get back here wins," Emma explains.
"Okay, let's go!" Sophia shouts, starting to pedal.
"But your helmet!" Emma calls out.
Liam and Barbara speed off behind Sophia, and Harvey quickly catches up with them. The four of them start passing through the beautiful urban landscape of Athens; Liam and Barbara almost even run over a couple of pedestrians.
"Keep pushing Harvey! We're in the lead!" Sophia shouts, pedaling at full speed.
"I don't know how long I can keep this pace," Harvey replies, panting. The sun is directly in his face, and both of them are soaked in sweat.
At that moment, they can hear Liam and Barbara getting closer and closer.
"Watch out!" Harvey looks back for a second, and in that distraction, his bike hits a rock, causing him to crash to the ground.
"Harvey, Harvey."
A distorted and distant voice calls out to him. He can barely move, getting up from the ground as best as he can. Colors look more vivid, but the image isn't clear; he only sees a distorted face.
"Harvey, listen to me!" The voice shouts. Harvey notices the person shaking his shoulders. Gradually, the face becomes clearer.
"Oda-sensei?" Harvey recognizes the mangaka visiting him again.
"That's right Harvey, listen carefully!" The mangaka shouts even louder, shaking him harder. "You're a fool!"
"Me?"
"You! Harvey, you're going down the wrong path."
"But I did what you told me. I found the muse. I already found her," Harvey says, confused.
"You misunderstood; you found the muse because the muse has always been within you!"
"I am the muse?"
"You're the muse, Harvey! The ideas have always been inside you!" Hearing the mangaka say this, Harvey's eyes widen.
"Is that true?"
"Of course it is, Harvey. Now you have to wake up! Wake up, Harvey, wake up!"
Gradually, Oda's face dissolves, the colors desaturate, and Harvey seems to return to reality. It's actually Chris McLean who's shaking him awake, with Liam, Barbara, and Sophia looking concerned around him. The rest of the contestants and Chris's children are also in the distance, watching.
"Wake up, Harvey!" McLean shouts.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Harvey says.
"Phew, that's a relief. Come on, buddy, I'll get you a water bottle."
"Lucky. This show wouldn't survive another lawsuit," Sophia remarks.
"Don't say the L word!" Chris quickly silences Sophia. "Anyway, I suppose technically Liam and Barbara win the challenge and the gold medal!"
"That's right!" Barbara cheers. Liam jumps to hug her, lifting her into the air.
"We did it Barbara! We did it!"
They lock eyes for a moment, their gazes holding. Liam offers a nervous smile while Barbara's laughter stops.
"Uh... put me down, please."
"Of course." Liam quickly sets her down and waits silently for his gold medal.
Ashley and Gretchen walk over to Harvey and help him up.
"Don't worry, Harvey. You might have lost the girl, but I have the perfect song for you. Hit it, Gretchen," Ashley says, and the smaller girl starts humming an electric guitar tune. "'Coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine—'"
"Don't worry about it, it doesn't bother me that much." Harvey shrugs, interrupting the song. "Let's focus on winning!"
"Aw, but we practiced while you were passed out," Gretchen laments.
Confessional
Harvey — Maybe it's just me stupidly listening to visions, but I think this time the mangaka in my head is right!
Liam — Did I rush too much? I don't know, it was kind of awkward.
Barbara — This is bad! I have to tell Liam about my boyfriend like, ASAP. But... I'll drop in the popularity rankings, goddamit!
While everyone waits for the next announcement from Chris, Harlan takes the opportunity to approach Sophia.
"Hey, Sophia! Too bad Harvey fell, you would have won."
"You think? They had a bit of a lead on us," Sophia says, putting her hands on her hips.
"I'm sure you would have done it. Hey, I don't want to be nosy but I saw you talking to Charlie earlier. Just wanted to warn you to be careful. Charlotte can be quite... opportunistic. Plus, she has an alliance with Ashley and Gretchen, so yeah, be cautious."
"Are you trying to win my vote?"
"Why lie? Of course I am." Harlan raises his hands, admitting his guilt. "Unlike Charlotte, Gretchen and Ash aren't bad people, so—"
"Alright, we lost some time with Harvey's little fainting episode, so let's move on quickly. Next to the last challenge, tennis doubles! We have an extra spicy match between Ashley and Charlotte versus Jennifer and Lucy." Chris McLean announces and the four girls exchange looks. Jennifer and Ashley glare at each other in hate, while Lucy and Charlotte smile challengingly.
"Wow, it's almost like we planned it," Harlan grins.
The contestants head to the tennis court, a large field with blue and green acrylic flooring. The four girls are already positioned, rackets in hand.
"Remember the rules: we'll play one set and no blood or aiming directly at your opponent's face," McLean explains.
"Aw" Ashley pouts.
"I would never do that to Lucy," Charlotte says with a mocking smile, making even Levi laugh.
"Don't provoke me," Lucy says, serving the ball.
Charlotte responds easily and sends the ball back to Alpha team's side, where Jennifer decides to smash it with all her strength, but it goes out of bounds.
"15 to 0!" Chris shouts.
"Damn it," Jennifer mutters.
"Terrible shot!" Ashley yells, trying to provoke Jennifer.
"Don't worry. Focus." Lucy looks at Jen and taps her temple, and the girl with the glasses simply nods.
Charlotte serves, and after several volleys, the ball comes back to her.
"Watch out!" Charlotte shouts, hitting the ball with all her strength towards Lucy, causing the black-haired girl to back away and fail to return the shot.
"30 to 0!"
"What's wrong with you?!" Lucy responds, frowning at Charlie. "You can't hit the body!"
"If it didn't hit you, the point stands. Learn the rules, sweetheart," Charlotte taunts.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that." Lucy yells.
"Lucy, focus," Jennifer says, pointing to her temple to remind the girl to stay calm.
"Ah... alright." Lucy takes a deep breath and throws the ball to Ashley, who prepares to serve.
After a couple more rounds, with calm and smart play, the girls manage to tie the set. Unfortunately, with a strong smash from Ashley the set stands at 40 to 30 in favor of Team Friendship.
"Match point for Team Friendship," announces Chris.
"I'm not going to lose to these idiots, got it, Ashley?" Charlotte orders.
"Relax, me neither!" Ash responds.
Charlie makes a strong serve aimed at Lucy, who manages to return it. Charlotte hits the ball back, and it bounces off Jennifer's racket softly landing gently in Team Friendship's court. To prevent it from bouncing again, Ashley dives to the ground and propels the ball into the air. Lucy and Charlotte jump simultaneously, trying to spike the ball first.
"LET'S GO!" Gretchen yells, celebrating as Charlie smashes the ball with all her strength into Team Alpha's court, making it impossible for Lucy or Jennifer to respond.
"Game, set, and match for Team Friendship," says Chris. "Which means Ashley and Charlotte win the Olympic gold."
"Let's fucking go!" Ashley shouts, hugging Charlotte, although the blonde girl quickly pulls away.
"Life always gives you a second chance," Charlotte says, flipping the middle finger to Team Alpha, who are lying on the ground, defeated.
"Well, that was quite interesting, but now let's move on to the main event!" Chris announces. The host calls Liam and Harlan to step forward. "Before Liam and Harlan fight to the death—"
"To the death?" Liam interrupts, confused.
"I need to explain what it means to be a son of Cronos. For those who have the gold medal, congratulations, today you have immunity."
"What?!" everyone shouts in unison.
"That's right, if your team loses, you can't be nominated. Isn't that great?" Chris asks excitedly.
"It's not great for those of us without medals," Mac points out.
"And what's this 'call of the gods'?" Levi asks, visibly worried.
"That's the best part. The other advantage of having a gold medal is that you'll get a call from... your families! Almost all your parents and siblings contacted us to make a call."
Confessional
Corey — (staring at her medal) Can I take it off now?
"So without further ado, Harlan, Liam, fight!" Chris McLean shouts, raising his arms.
"Now? Just like that? Without protection?" Liam asks.
"Of course, otherwise it wouldn't be fun," McLean points out.
"I told you it was a bad idea to fight the guy who pushed a giant boulder!" Ashley yells.
"You didn't say that... Wait, he did what to a boulder?"
"Fight!"
The two boys stare intently at each other, and in a split second, with an almost imperceptible movement, Harlan lunges at Liam and tries to lock him in a hold. The Asian boy responds by elbowing Liam in the abdomen, causing him to step back and release his grip. To finish him off, Liam delivers a hook to the jaw, immediately sending Harlan to the ground.
"Oh my God!" Gretchen shouts, covering her mouth with her hand.
Liam stands over the boy, waiting for Chris to start counting.
"He's K.O., man," Chris says, with his hands on his hips. "That was more anticlimactic than I would have liked."
"Are you okay, Harlan?!" Liam yells, holding the boy in his lap. All the contestants gather around the two boys.
"Uuh... Uh... The sun is so big today, innit?" Harlan mumbles, his eyes half-closed. His right eye, where he received the punch, is already starting to swell and turn a reddish color.
"Oh no! You hit him so hard you made him British!" Spencer says, putting his hands on his head, worried.
"The concussion has him delirious," Harvey points out.
"Harlan, Harlan, don't die, please! Stay with me!" Liam shouts, genuinely worried about the boy.
"Stop shaking him, you'll kill him," Jennifer says.
"Emma, we're going to need a nurse again," Chris says. His daughter responds by running towards the train.
"Did we win?" Lucy asks.
"Oh, of course! Team Alpha is the winner of the challenge. Team Friendship, I'll see you tonight at the elimination ceremony... once Harlan comes to himself, of course."
"Finland..." mumbles the boy in the beanie.
"Let's fucking go!" Spencer shouts, throwing himself to hug Liam. The now double medalist takes Mackenzie by the shoulder to join the hug.
"Come here, Mac-Man!"
"Oh- Okay?"
"We finally won! This never happened with the Amazons!" Barbara says, throwing herself to hug Cordelia.
"Uh... sure," Corey says, responding to the hug somewhat confused. "Great job with the strategy today, Jen."
"Ah, thanks." Jennifer can't help but blush, so she quickly looks away.
"You have until Harlan recovers to discuss the vote. For the medalists, you can now go make the call with your parents."
Confessional
Charlotte— Everything went according to plan. My team lost, and I'll gain the trust of the Bermuda Triangle. Harlan can only nominate Gretchen, Levi, or Harvey, so the odds of increasing my control in the team just skyrocketed. So officially I'm back to being the best in this fucking game. I hope you're watching this, Mom. I want you to know that the worst mistake you made in your irrelevant life was distancing yourself from the best thing you ever did: Charlotte Flitch.
The train hadn't started yet. According to Chris, a malfunction in the engines made it dangerous to leave until tomorrow. The common room of the McLean Express is quite full since the medal winners are each in a relatively isolated corner talking to their families. The camera starts to quickly pan around the room, capturing each call.
"Ugh, Kevin! Put Dad on the phone!" Charlotte yells into the phone.
"Only if you promise to say hi to Emma!" Kevin responds.
"Don't worry, Mom. Yes, I'm eating well," Liam says to his mother with a happy smile.
"Thank you so much for the call. I love you all!" Barbara says on the phone, who has been talking to her parents for a good half hour.
"Wait a second, there's someone who wants to talk to you," Barbara's mother says, handing the phone to someone else.
"Hi sweetie," says a male voice, and Barbara immediately shrinks in her seat and brings the phone closer.
"Omg hi!" the girl responds, with a wide smile.
Confessional
Barbara — I just made my decision! Tomorrow I'm going to tell Liam that I have a boyfriend! It's over!
"Yes, Mother, the essay is almost over."
"I'm glad. You can't neglect your study habits."
"I won't, don't worry."
"Although that new habit of reading fiction doesn't entirely displease me. Does it have something to do with that boy Mac?"
"Exactly." Jennifer responds instantly and in a respectful tone, it shows how much she seems to admire her mother.
"Hm... I like that boy. I'd approve of you talking to him more."
"Mom!" Jennifer says, somewhat embarrassed.
"Don't worry, I swear I have everything under control!" Sophia has been trying to explain her position in the game to her parents with the most positive attitude possible for a while.
"Well, I don't see you being very popular among the voters." Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be working.
In a corner, Lucy and Cordelia are sitting, both looking at their respective phones in silence.
"They're not calling you either?" Cordelia asks.
"Quite the opposite. My mom won't stop calling. But there's nothing in this world that will make me answer that call."
"Problems at home, huh?" Cordelia asks.
"Yeah, and it seems I'm not the only one," Lucy responds, raising an eyebrow at the phone Cordelia is holding in her hand.
"Are you sure?" Ashley asks, whispering into her phone.
"Unfortunately, yes."
"But..."
"I'm sorry, Ashley, I know it's quite difficult to process."
"This has to be a joke! I'm going to talk to Chris right now!" Filled with rage, Ashley turns off the phone and runs out of the room.
Ashley arrives at Chris's quarters, only to find the host in a golden robe, preparing to enter his jacuzzi.
"Uh, Ashley, I like you, but this area is off-limits for contestants."
"You knew, didn't you?"
"Know what?"
"You know what!"
"Oh, that... Well of course, we do intensive background checks on all our contestants. I'm surprised your mom found out, though."
Chris's words hit Ashley like a cold bucket of water; for the first time, the most outgoing and energetic contestant seems deflated for a moment.
"I'm not going to tell her anything, it's in your hands. But keep in mind that if you do tell her the ratings will skyrocket, so I'd recommend doing it!" Chris shouts as the rocker girl leaves the wagon.
Finally, it's time for the campfire ceremony. All members of Team Friendship are seated on slices of straw, even Harlan, who has an ice pack on his right eye.
"Well, Team Friendship, you are the first to lose in this phase of two teams. Harlan, Ashley, Charlotte, Gretchen, and Sophia have gold medals, so you can only nominate Harvey and Levi."
"Damn..." The three boys look at each other worried.
"Perfect, you can go vote."
As Harlan heads to the confessional, he is intercepted by Sophia and Charlotte. The blonde boy checks to make sure no one sees him; fortunately, Gretchen is talking to Levi, and Ashley is voting.
"Well, if it isn't our favorite Don Juan, Harlan Grey," Charlotte says. "Though now he's one-eyed."
"Hey, my eye isn't that bad." Harlan removes the ice pack for a second, revealing his bruised and swollen eye.
"Ugh, cover it," Charlotte says.
"What do you want?"
"We wanted to talk about the vote," Sophia says.
"Perfect, because so do I."
Confessional
Levi — Agh, today is a gray day, you know, even though in private Harlan demonstrates something to me, when we are in public he demonstrates the opposite. And now I have to vote someone out of our alliance! I knew I shouldn't let my heart mess with the game.
Harvey — I'm probably going home today but hey! I had a lot of fun and finally figured out what a muse really is.
Harlan — I shouldn't be doing this, but... Charlotte is right. Plus, it will help me if Sophia thinks well of me.
Sophia — First vote in a long time where I'm not nominated! Can you believe it?
Ashley — I don't know if I can keep my mind focused after that news. The worst part is that sooner or later, I'll have to tell her.
Gretchen — I don't want any of the boys to leave! I like them all so much.
"Well, the votes have been counted," Chris says. "I'll start handing out marshmallows. Gretchen, Charlie, Ashley, Sophia. The people I just named are safe."
"This time, can I do the roasting?" Emma asks, staring intently at her father.
"Sure, but next time it's Junior's turn."
"Ahem. Levi, you couldn't beat Jennifer in the archery challenge, which was quite detrimental to your team. Harlan, not only did you lose very quickly to Liam, but you also failed to coordinate your team. Harvey, you failed not just one, but two challenges."
"Very well said, Emma. Now, the first marshmallow goes to..." Strangely, all the contestants seem quite relaxed.
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"Harlan." The boy with the beanie isn't able to catch the marshmallow with his free hand. "The person who will have to jump into the wagon of shame today is..."
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"Harvey. By unanimous vote." Chris throws the marshmallow to Levi, who looks slightly surprised at the otaku.
"Unanimous?" Levi asks.
"You voted for yourself, dude?" Harlan asks.
"Exactly!" Harvey shouts, standing up in front of everyone. "It's the only way to leave the show with honor! I voted for myself because you guys still have a lot to figure out, but I've already completed my character arc!"
"What the hell is he talking about?" Jennifer whispers to Mac, who shrugs.
"I learned that the inspiration I was looking for was really inside me, in my life experiences and the people who have brightened my days." Harvey puts his hand on his heart, sounding inspiring. "So thank you very much, especially to you, Chris, for letting me come here."
"Sure, man." With a friendly smile, Chris fist-bumps Harvey, who is putting on his knee pads and helmet.
"See you later, guys. I'll always remember you. And to Barbara and Liam, I wish you happiness as a couple."
"Excuse me?!" Barbara says, turning as red as a tomato.
"Sayonara!" Harvey shouts, jumping off the train. However, he remembers that the train hasn't started moving yet when he calmly lands on the ground. "Oh, right. What now, Chris?"
"Damn it..." Chris takes his wallet out of his pocket and throws a few dollars to Harvey. "Here, pay for a taxi to the airport. The Alpha team can go sightseeing in the city as a reward, I suppose."
The members of the Alpha team decided to take Chris's advice and went for a walk around the city. Mac and Liam are walking around, it's nine o'clock at night and the sun has already set.
"Mac-man, I think I have to leave you here. Barbara told me to meet her at a nearby café," Liam says, scratching his neck.
"What's that about?"
"She said we needed to talk. I hope it's nothing bad." Liam shrugs. "I feel bad leaving you alone. Don't you want to come?"
"Oh no, I don't want to intrude on your business, don't worry," Mac says, smiling at his friend. "I'm going to go for a walk or something. Good luck."
"Thanks Mac. Love you, man." Liam fist-bumps Mac while the guy with glasses walks in another direction.
Mac walks until he reaches a large, ancient-style building that catches his attention. Upon entering, he's greeted by a receptionist.
"Welcome to the Acropolis Museum. Enjoy your visit."
Mac walks around until he finds a section of statues of famous figures from ancient Rome and Greece: Maximian, Constantine, Theodosius, Jennifer, Alexander the Great—wait a minute.
"Wait, Jennifer?" That wasn't a statue, it was just the girl who happened to be seeing the same exhibit. "J-Jennifer? What are you doing here?"
"I came to learn a bit. Maybe Greek civilization is a good subject of study, you know, relating their cosmology to their sociology."
"Sure, sure. Well, I... I know a lot about that. You know, my mom read us Roman mythology instead of watching TV, which is basically the same as Greek mythology."
"And why's that?"
"A friend of hers told her it would make us less stupid."
"Oh, I see."
"Look! This statue has incredibly fine details, but the eyes are dead. This must be the work of Leochares." Mac says, lightly touching a statue with his index finger.
"I didn't know you liked this so much."
"I love it. I guess it's because it has that air of mystery. S-Something like you." Mac says the last part quietly and very quickly, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry, I don't know why I said that."
"No, it 's fine." The girl gives a small, confused smile. "Stop groping Julius Caesar, or you'll break him."
"This is Trajan. Julius Caesar is over there, see? He has less hair." When Mac points to the statue of the dictator, he freezes for a second, as if something clicked. "Julius Caesar... Caesar..."
"What's wrong? Do you like Julius Caesar?" Jennifer thinks for a second, when finally, her eyes light up as she understands what Mac means. "Oh, Caesar!"
"Exactly! We can decode the cipher!"
The two smile at each other, and almost without thinking, they hug to celebrate. Realizing the situation, they quickly separate.
"Sorry." They both say in unison. "No, it's okay."
Seeing how they mimic each other, they fall into an awkward and nervous silence.
CONTESTANTS
Team Friendship – Harlan (C), Levi, Harvey, Gretchen, Ashley, Charlie, Sophia.
Team Alpha - Liam (C), Mac, Spencer, Jennifer, Lucy, Barbara, Corey.
Eliminated - Kira, the flamenco dancer (Seoul) - AJ, the cowardly ghost hunter (NYC) - Kevin, the sexist jerk (London) - Sam, the boyish girl (London) - Celia, the moody rebel (Zaanstad) - Ryuuko, the calculated conflict (Doha) - Pedro, the gentleman (Vatnajökull) - Harvey, the passionate weeaboo (Athens)
McLEAN EXPRESS
Wagon 1 — Engine
Wagon 2 – Chris' Chambers
Wagon 3 – Luxury Wagon (today: Empty)
Wagon 4 – Under Re-Construction
Wagon 5– Friendship Team dorms
Wagon 6 – Alpha Team room
Wagon 7 – Common room + confessional
Wagon 8 — Wagon of Shame
So this is the end of the much-anticipated Chapter 10. I'm really sorry for making you wait so long for this one (It's the longest one till now if that kind of makes up), life has kept me pretty busy lately, but I think I've finally managed to sort out my ideas. Although the long gaps between writing sessions have made some parts of the chapter feel disconnected, it's not one of my favorites that I've written, but it has been a lot of fun. I think part of that comes from having a lot of Charlotte more unrestrained than ever, especially now that she's forming her dynamic duo with Lucy.
This chapter has been full of big revelations and important settings. I hope that cliffhanger with Ashley has left you intrigued; I can't wait to see your theories. On the other hand, the Liam-Harvey-Barbara love triangle plot ends here. Since these are three characters I like a lot and are well-intentioned, I didn't dare to make it a very intense drama, which I think is reflected throughout the chapter. Even so, if I end a love triangle, I have to start a new one because I love them, so stay tuned for new relationships.
This connects with Harvey's elimination. First of all, many thanks to Kadachi for letting me use this magnificent character. Although his application mentioned he could be an early boot (and originally, he was planned to be one, someday I'll show you the original draft, you'll have a good laugh), he gradually grew on me, and that's why I decided to give him his plot with Barbara to keep him around a bit longer. However, I felt that a late pre-merge was the maximum he could stay, and he didn't have as many arguments to stay in the game as the rest of the contestants.
That said, let's respond to some comments from my favorite reviewers.
XrossMyHeart - At first, I thought about going full Team Victoria and having the Amazonians go to the merge with fewer and fewer members, but at some point while planning the elimination order, I thought it would complicate things and make the game somewhat boring. I feel that one of the flaws of World Tour is the lack of tension at the beginning of the game since you know well that they'll only eliminate someone from Team Victoria or it will be a reward challenge, and I didn't want that for my story. Anyway, maybe Charlotte as a member of the BT was so obvious it couldn't be true… or maybe she's just fooling us? With her, you never know. Thanks for reading and for your incredible review!
Nobody245 - I always enjoy reading juicy theories about the BT, and I just have to say, don't rule out Gretchen yet! Maybe she is a secret mastermind… or not… or maybe… or not (okay, I'll stop). I'm surprised to see so many people predicted Charlotte and Lucy's team-up, but I guess it was somewhat predictable. I hope this chapter met your expectations for Greece; like in World Tour, I think it was quite vital to the storyline. Also thanks for sending me Lucy's sisters, rest assured, we'll see them in the aftermath. Thanks for reading and for that wonderful review!
DaringDF - Talk about coincidences, lmao. I hope you enjoyed Sophia in her new team player role, let's see how long it lasts. I can't respond much to your review without spoiling things, but thank you very much for theorizing!
Space Zodiac - I also find it incredible that we only have thirteen left; one more, and then we'll be halfway through the season. Writing that scene with Gretchen, Lucy, Mac, and Charlotte was so much fun, and I'm glad you liked it. I think in these last chapters I've achieved my goal of highlighting the characters of Harlan and Liam as they are the "softest" characters (in the sense that all the characters around them urgently need therapy), so I'm glad you're enjoying them. And don't worry about the time to review; as long as it's as detailed as you have done, I'd love to read it no matter how late they come out. I'm getting nostalgic seeing your reviews shrink as the number of contestants lowers. Fortunately, they'll grow again with the second chance challenge. Thank you for reviewing!