Total Drama: Hellebore Island

by Zevoros

Total Drama is back! After years off the air, Chris McLean is back to host another season, this time on the mysterious Hellebore Island. With a brand new cast competing for another million dollars, the stakes are just as high as ever. But not everything is as it seems. As the players battle, scheme, or fall in love, they will soon realize how dangerous this island really is...

1. We're Baaack!

.

~~(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)~~

---

Total Drama:

Hellebore Island

We're Baaack!~

Chapter 1

---

A camera shot opened up on a logo that did not belong to Total Drama. A circle composed of mostly European and Asian flags, with lettering over the top of them that read 'Total Drama' on the first line. 'Presents' on the line below it, followed by 'The Ridonculous Race' on the rows underneath it. Dramatic music began to play and build up into a quick climax as-

"No! No, no!" a voice said, cutting off the music, the logo fell away, collapsing into nothing. In its place was Chris McLean, stepping into view.

The Host with the Most. He was dressed in his usual garb: a teal blue shirt with that of white sleeves poking out from underneath, and his cargo pants adorned his legs.

"I know there has been a lot of chatter wondering if we've been replaced or canceled," Chris said with a frown, before smiling charmingly at the camera. "But I can confirm that that is one hundred and ten percent not the case!"

Chris' smile dimmed.

"We were just taking a break while dealing with…ah, wannabe shows that think they can use our name!" His voice fell an octave. "That no-good Don…"

Chris breathed out and his smile was back in an instant.

"My name is Chris McLean, your hottest, wonderful, and humble host, bringing the seventh season," he said, holding up seven fingers, "of Total Drama right to your television!"

Chris chuckled to himself.

The footage changed suddenly to the previous season's island: Pahkitew.

"After last season's…debacle," he said as footage of Pahkitew on fire and freezing at the same time played over, "we decided to take a much more grounded approach."

The camera shot changed and zoomed out on an island. Its position held as water lapped up on the soft beaches.

"Which brings us here! To Hellebore Island!"

The island seemed to be mostly covered in trees and flowers. One dock stretched out from where Chris stood, but the island looked otherwise dull and boring.

"And since none of our previous campers really wanted to get their hair wet again," Chris continued, "we've decided to bring in an all new cast to battle it out for the most dangerous, death defying, one-million dollar prize yet!"

The camera zoomed back in on Chris, holding a silver briefcase. He opened it, revealing a large cash prize waiting inside.

"So, after carefully selecting, uh," he hesitated, "fourteen interesting contestants," he said, then snickered, "who will have to compete together and vote each other off after every challenge at the notorious bonfire ceremony."

The footage cut to the bonfire where Chris was sitting casually on one of the tree stumps.

"So, sit back, relax, break out the snacks, and let me welcome you to…

"Total!"

The camera zoomed out to an overshot of the bonfire pit.

"Drama!"

Then again to the island's dock.

"Hellebore Island!"

To a zoom out of the entire island.

---

Chris stuck a straw into his mouth and slurped away the milk from a coconut.

"Ahh," he let out, when he was done. "The sweet taste of our return." He chuckled and tossed the coconut back over his shoulder.

Chris walked down the dock and extended his arm out at the vast ocean.

"In a few seconds, fourteen new vic- I mean," he stopped catching himself. "Campers will make their way here to compete for the ultimate million dollar prize."

He chuckled sadistically, rubbing his hands together, before coughing and clearing his throat at the sound of a distant fog horn.

"Here they come!" he announced.

And indeed, a boat cut through water smoothly, almost making no sound at all. It was a sleek-looking thing with a gold colored outline. On the side of the boat was the ever familiar face of Chris McLean plastered against the white surface, also colored in gold.

That was the sight the fourteen contestants saw before they boarded onto their own boats to be taken away into the competition.

It reached the dock, where a boarding ramp fell onto the dock with a loud thump, allowing a pale girl to shakily make her way down, a suitcase in her hand. A pale girl with curly brown hair and a baggy blue sweater that hung on her frame. The sleeves covered her hands, leaving only her fingers visible to the outward viewer. Her khakis rode her waist down to her ankles.

"Welcome to Hellebore Island, Carly!" Chris announced with a truly sadistic grin.

"Hellebore," Carly repeated fearfully, and jumped as her boat took off without a second to spare. She looked out after it with a truly terrified expression.

"That's right!" Chris said in a sing-song tone. "Hellebore Island, where you will remain for the next month" He shrugged. "Y'know, if you survive that long."

Carly swallowed. "I don't like hellebores," she said nervously. "Hellebores are toxic, which means poisonous, which means dying!" she said, her words getting faster and more panicked. "I don't wanna die!"

Chris chuckled, clearly unsympathetic. "Oh, Carly…you'll just have to get used to it!" He reached over and grabbed Carly by her shoulder, then pushed her back behind him.

She wanted to curl up into a ball and rock back and forth. She regretted signing up so badly. The wooden boards rattled under her weight, and Carly had to remind herself that it wouldn't break. She repeated it to herself like a mantra.

Carly scampered off a few feet back, ducking her head like she expected something to hit her.

But nothing came.

---

Confessional: The Shrinking Violet

Carly bit down on the skin of her thumb lightly, anxiously. "I know I have a bit of a case of pantophobia, so I thought maybe…" she trailed off.

She released her thumb and looked everywhere in the confessional but at the camera.

"My therapist told me I should try to get out of my room more often so…I decided to audition for Total Drama as some kind of…uhm…immersion therapy to get me over my fears," she explained.

---

The next boat arrived quickly, and just like before, the ramp lowered down onto the wooden platform, followed quickly by the next contestant to lower himself down onto the dock.

In his hand was a suitcase that rattled slightly with his each step, which stopped when he put it down on the ramp that he walked down.

The boy was very thin, and even under his red clothing, one could tell that he had little to no muscle on him. His red shirt and pants clashed awkwardly with his red hair that fell just past his shoulders.

His brown eyes shifted from Chris to Carly behind him.

"Am I seriously the second one to arrive?" he asked as he pulled his suitcase off of the ramp behind him.

Chris grinned. "That you are, Jason-"

"You aren't going to confiscate my stuff, are you?" Jason asked, cutting Chris off, much to his annoyance. He glanced back at the boat as it sailed off.

Jason lifted his suitcase slightly and turned it this way and that.

"You brought your weapons with you?" Chris asked in disbelief as Jason delicately placed his case on the dock.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone!" Jason shot at Chris, shuffling in front of his case slightly. He wouldn't Chris confiscate his things, not like he had seen him do in earlier seasons. "Wherever I go, they go!"

At that, Chris couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Yeah, I figured." His eyes landed on Carly, who fearfully stared at the case behind Jason. "Why don't you go make yourself known to the other contestants?" he offered, pointing his thumb over his shoulder at Carly.

With one quick glance, Jason shrugged and walked off, leaving Chris to his own devices.

Almost the second he reached Carly he watched as she fearfully looked between him and his suitcase.

"What's in there?" she asked cautiously.

Jason raised a slow eyebrow. "My stuff. And my weapons."

"Weapons!" Carly squeaked. She seemed to shake in her boots. "Please don't hurt me!" she said, covering her head with her arms.

Jason shook his head slowly and rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't even be worth the time," he remarked. He put his case down beside him again and crossed his arms.

He crossed his arms and tapped repeatedly at his forearm.

---

Confessional: The Weapons Aficionado

Jason held a sword in his hand, its sheath leaning against the confessional wall.

"This is already annoying me," Jason said as he rubbed a rag over his sword, polishing it. "Mixed with those physical challenges that I know we'll have, I can only hope Carly isn't on my team."

Jason looked away from his sword and at the camera, suddenly contemplative.

"Hey, did you know that during the first World War, the shovel killed more people than the bayonet, and maybe even the sword." He leaned forward. "In fact, why don't we pronounce the 'w' in sword? I mean, we used to, but nobody really knows why we dropped it."

---

The sound of a foghorn cut through the island, and while Carly bit at her thumb and managed to stop herself from jumping in surprise, Jason watched neutrally as the new boat came inches from the dock.

Once more, the ramp slid down into place, and a new contestant stepped off the boat with a suitcase in his hand.

"And introducing contestant number three," Chris announced, holding up three fingers as he did so, "Kyle!"

Kyle looked very boring, with very little to help him stand out. A white shirt that dropped down to his waist, but the collar, sleeves, and shoulders of that shirt were a light-red color. A watch only barely stood out on his wrist, a fancy looking thing. Combined with his dark blue jeans and sneakers, the only thing that truly made him look remarkable was the black headband wrapped around his dirty-blond hair.

"Welcome to the island," Chris greeted as Kyle got closer.

"Pleasure!" Kyle replied, an English accent breaking through.

Chris squinted. "You came all the way from England?"

"That's right, ol' chap," Kyle said with a friendly grin. He formed a fist to lightly punch Chris in the shoulder, but seemed to think better of it and dropped his hand.

Chris blinked, then shrugged. "Whatever, now go join your competitors," he said, chuckling to himself.

Kyle nodded, and stepped away to approach the other contestants. When he reached them he gave them the same friendly smile he'd given Chris.

"Hello!" he said, and his accent had vanished completely.

"Hi," Jason replied. "You were faking the accent?"

Kyle's lips quirked. "Oh, that, I just wanted to introduce myself with an English accent. Thought it would be funny."

"Right," Jason said, crossing his arms and looking very much disinterested.

Jason moved his case away with his foot, something Kyle took notice of.

"What's that?" he asked.

"My stuff," Jason replied blandly.

"Weapons," Carly said anxiously. She stood as far away from Jason's suitcase as she possibly could without being close to Chris or the other side of the dock.

"Weapons?" Kyle said, sounding intrigued. "That's cool!"

"Cool?" Jason repeated.

"Yeah!" Then Kyle's face morphed into concern. "That isn't against the rules, is it?"

Jason frowned. "Why would it be? I'm not using them for anything, I don't wanna damage them!"

---

Confessional: The Mimic

"The easiest way to a million dollars," Kyle said to the camera, leaning back against the wall of the confessional. "Keep your name out of other people's mouths, and personality mirroring."

He bit his lip, put his elbows on his knees, and leaned his head into his hands.

"And most importantly is to understand the other contestants. Where they are coming from, and their motivations." His eyes glazed over, like he was remembering something. "That would be useful…but so would be fading into the background."

Kyle looked up at the camera again and smiled.

"Looks like I've got a bit of a decision to make!"

---

When nobody said anything for a second longer, Chris cut in. "Nothing? Come ooon, don't be boring!"

"What does-" Jason started to say.

"Shush!" Chris interrupted, holding his finger up. "We still have more of you to introduce!"

A moment later, a new boat pulled up alongside the dock, where the second of seven girls hopped off.

She was a tanned girl, wearing a white sweater and white skirt with a minimum of four black stripes running along. Her brown hair appeared to be thick and wavy, and her green eyes almost seemed to rival it.

"Penelope, welcome to the show!" Chris welcomed as the girl looked around, her eyes scanning her surroundings and the island.

Finally, they stopped on Chris and she adopted something of a flirtatious smile.

"Thank you for having me!" she said. And then she went down the dock with sashaying hips with a confident gait.

She put her luggage down in front of her and let out an exaggerated sigh of tiredness.

"Would one of you boys be so kind as to take one of these bags off of my hands?" Penelope asked, batting her eyelashes.

Jason and Kyle glanced at each other, both of them looking distinctly unimpressed.

Penelope deflated. "Us nice girls never get a chance," she muttered, letting out a pathetic sigh. She kicked a nearby pebble and sent it skidding along the wood and into the water.

---

Confessional: The 'Nice Girl'

"It really is just…so annoying!" Penelope started, extending her arms out in a mixture of irritation and exasperation. "Guys always pick the bad girl over us, and it's so obnoxious. Even on this show! When the nice girl is right in front of them, they pick the bad girl."

Penelope slouched and blew out a breath that sent a strand of her hair flying out of her face.

"From here on in, I am going to prove to everyone that us nice girls can be more than just second place!" She sat forward and slammed her fist into her palm. "It is time we get the attention we deserve!"

---

Penelope cleared her throat in the hopes that she would get the attention of Jason or Kyle. When neither of them said anything, she jut her hip out and put her hand on it. "Hey, boys."

"Hi." Kyle waved, though completely unaffected by any of the small advances Penelope tried to make.

Eventually, she gave up and settled on resting on her luggage, placing both of her hands on her hips again.

Chris eyed the four contestants that had arrived carefully, before looking away. "Well, that was fast. Anyways…" He gestured grandly to the new incoming boat. "Looks like we've got out next competitor!"

The boat came to a stop next to the dock and the new contestant all but hopped down the ramp onto the wooden platform, a suitcase in his hand.

The cast allowed themselves a good look at the next person to show up. His eyes were as blue as the sky, and his pale skin only complimented them that much more. His blond hair was hidden away under the green wide-brimmed slouch hat that lay on top of his head.

His clothing, on the other hand, was far more meticulous than the rest casts' clothing. He almost appeared like an archeologist in the mind of Kyle, whereas Jason thought he looked like a rich snob from the eighteen hundreds. He wore a beautiful red crimson work shirt combined with a black fancy vest with a brand pocket watch. Though what complimented his features the most was the wire-thin brass glasses that sat upon his nose.

Almost none of the contestants thought he looked like he in any way belonged to Total Drama.

"Seems that you made it, Edward," Chris greeted as the boy in question made his way down the dock, keeping his head low.

As the distance between them closed, Edward tilted his head up and flicked the top of his hat with his index finger.

"'Tis a pleasure." He spoke with a Southern drawl, and if he noticed the strange look Jason sent him, he didn't comment on it.

"What's with the outfit?" Jason asked instead.

Edward nodded at Jason. "These threads are meant to be those of a gentleman, for I style myself after the knights of old, and the gentleman of nearer years," he explained.

Edward let his eyes wander over the rest of the competition that had so far arrived.

"I must wish y'all the best of luck, and I look forward to competing with y'all."

He bowed his head a fraction.

"My, my, my, my!" Penelope smiled flirtatiously and a fierce blush grew on her cheeks. Her eyelids fell half-shut and she leaned forward to get a better look at Edward.

Edward looked at Penelope, then offered his hand. "'Tis a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Penelope's blush deepened.

---

Confessional: The Country Gentleman

Edward flicked his hat at the camera, a smile playing at his lips. "Greetings ladies and gents of the viewing world," he said. "I am Edward Beckett."

He brought his leg up to place on the seat and leaned a bit against the wall.

"I know some of y'all are probably givin' me strange looks. I know I get them a bit," he confessed. "A gentleman has a code of honor, and everythin' you heard from me out there was the simple truth."

---

Penelope took Edward's hand in her own and shook it gently. She flashed a beaming smile.

"And!" Chris announced abruptly, interrupting any and all possible conversation that had sprung up between the cast members. "Introducing, Alma!"

Aboard the next boat that climbed down the ramp onto the dock was an olive-skinned girl, with flowing brown hair that hung past her shoulders, with side-swept bangs. She wore a black tank-top and shorts, along with a multi-colored scarf wrapped around her neck, and headphones over her ears, the music cranked up.

"Welcome to the show," Chris said as she approached, offering his hand out in uncharacteristic kindness.

To his annoyance, however, the newest girl didn't take it. Whether she didn't see it, or ignored him, he didn't know nor care. Instead, she sang to herself in Spanish.

With an irritated look plastered across his face, Chris reached forward and yanked the headphones from off her head.

"Hey!" Alma protested, but it was too late.

With a smug grin, Chris dropped her headphones off the dock. "Oops," he said, mockingly.

Alma let out a curse in Spanish that was subsequently bleeped. "Seriously!?" she asked with a glare. "Do you know how much those cost!?"

"Nada," Chris replied, uncaring. He smirked at her expense as she looked down below the dock to see if there was a chance, however small, that her headphones were safe.

But all she could see was the distant outline of them in the water.

Again, Alma cursed in Spanish and stood back up. She grabbed her bag and marched across the dock, glaring at Chris the whole time until she passed him.

That glare changed when she focused on the other contestants. Possible rivals…or friends.

"Hello!" Alma said with a wave, and received one back from Kyle and a tentative one from Carly. Edward tipped his hat towards her.

Something of a friendly vibe, she felt, coming from those people in particular, Alma stalked over between Edward and Kyle, before she dropped her bag and crossed her arms.

---

Confessional: The Latina Musician

"I'll say it now," Alma started with a wide grin, "I can hardly believe that I made it to Total Drama!"

She sighed and crossed her leg over the other.

"I kinda sent my audition on a whim, but it really felt like a dream come true when I got my acceptance email!" she said, clasping her hands together like a giddy schoolgirl.

Alma seemed to ponder for a moment before she looked back at the camera.

"Perhaps I can get the exposure I've always wanted for my music!"

---

The foghorn sounded and everyone looked ahead at the newly arriving boat. There, they saw the newest contestant on the bow of it.

She was a very pale girl, one entirely too bony. To some members of the cast that had yet already arrived, she looked like she hadn't had a proper meal in months, maybe years.

Her solid black hair only succeeded in making her appear that much more pale than she really was. And that same color went double for the eyepatch she wore. The eye that wasn't covered scanned over the contestants on the dock, its bright emerald shade at contrast with her tone. She was dressed in black. Black sweatpants, though her shirt was a slightly lighter shade. A fish-bone necklace sat at the base of her neck.

"Filima!" Chris introduced, and the girl gave an eerie smile.

Then she disappeared off the bow of the boat, before reappearing a few seconds later on the ramp with a backpack strapped to her.

She moved down the ramp and made her approach to the rest of the contestants.

"Christopher McLean!" Filima said with the same eerie smile. She stopped and bent at the waist, her hands on her hips, and squinted at Chris for a long period.

Chris cleared his throat, quickly growing uncomfortable. "Yes, well-"

"Gosh, if age hasn't been kind to you," Filima said. Her smile grew as Chris' eyes widened, his hands rising to feel his face. "Those crow's feet and wrinkles," she tsked.

Jason chuckled, amused.

Edward, on the other hand, was not.

"I'd hardly call that very necessary, ma'am," Edward said, eyeing Filima with a disapproving look.

"Ma'am?" Filima repeated, stepping away from Chris and closer to the contestants. "Who says 'ma'am'?" she asked in a bad Southern accent. "We're all the same age!"

"Ish," Jason said, tilting his hand in a so-so gesture.

Filima blinked her eye and glimpsed at Penelope. "Are you wearing so much makeup because you're trying to embrace that ugly look you've got going on?" she asked callously. "If you are, then good job!"

---

Confessional: The Bringer of Misery

"My God!" Filima began, leaning forward on her knees. She gave the camera a piercing stare. "Being the 'good guy'," she said with air-quotes, "must be so exhausting!"

Filima threw her arms up and sat back against the wall. She giggled before readjusting herself.

"It takes so much more extra work when you can just be a horrible person…like me!" She pointed two thumbs at herself. "It's much more fun!"

Filima grinned something sadistic.

"And even if I don't win the money, as long as I cause as much emotional suffering towards these bags of human emotion, then I always win!"

---

Chris cleared his throat again, awkwardly. He dusted off his shirt and pants and quickly regained his composure. He clasped his hands as the next boat slid up to the dock. Its ramp fell into position, and off of it came a Caucasian, pale boy of Eastern European descent off the boat.

"Natasha!" Chris announced.

Natasha wore a red shirt and, like Carly, had khaki pants. His long black hair was tied back into a ponytail, and, just as the other members of the cast, held a suitcase in his hand.

"Welcome to Hellebore Island!" Chris greeted.

Natasha gave a two-finger wave, and made his way down the dock at a sedate pace.

Chris put his arm around Natasha when he reached him, and started to hum in an exaggerated manner.

"Y'know," Chris started conversationally, "that grandpa of yours seems to really want you to win."

Natasha stopped walking and eyed Chris questionably.

"I just can't imagine the amount of pressure he'd put on you," Chris continued to say.

Natasha scowled at Chris.

"What was it that we translated?" Chris went on to say, tapping his chin with his finger. "'A Shukoff never loses'?"

Natasha shot Chris a dirty look and forced himself forward, dropping Chris' hand off his shoulder.

Chris chuckled. He pointed his thumb at Natasha as he turned towards the camera. "That's the second boy with a girl's name to not say a word." Natasha shot a backwards glare at him. "Funny, right!?" Chris laughed. Natasha was, visibly, not amused. "Well, time for you to go introduce yourself to your fellow play'as."

Natasha stepped forward further, silently electing to ignore Chris. He spied the bored looking Jason and then Penelope, who continually glanced at Edward before finally landing on Alma.

"Daddy issues, huh?" Filima jested with cruel amusement, appearing beside Natasha, who stepped back in surprise. "Do you no longer have a dad?" she asked. "Is that why it's your grandpa only that Chrissy mentioned?"

Natasha bit down on the inside of his cheek.

How dare she make assumptions like that!?

"Does grandpa do bad grandpa things?" Filima asked, sidling up beside him again. "Like, really bad things?" she asked, staring at Natasha closely.

Natasha glared at her worse than he had to Chris. Had he been able to, Filima would've been set on fire.

"Oh, is that why you can't talk?" Filima asked with a sage nod. "You can't talk about the little girls and boys that grandpa Shukoff to-"

"That is enough!" Edward interrupted politely, but firmly, staring at Filima with a deep frown.

Filima raised her arms in a surrendering motion.

"Ignore her," Edward told Natasha. "She doesn' know anythin' 'bout you."

But that didn't stop Natasha from glaring daggers at Filima.

---

Confessional: The Mastermind

Natasha seemed far more calm and composed than he had been.

"I am not mute," he said, his voice deep and smooth. "But I won't correct their misconception." He looked at the camera as he mused.

Then, Natasha closed his eyes and sat back straight, his hands resting on his legs.

"It'll definitely make my strategy easier."

---

As Natasha edged towards the edge of the dock, a long and loud sound blared through the area.

Everyone turned in the direction of the sudden noise, but it wasn't a foghorn like they'd expected. But a loud guitar strum.

Just like Filima, on the coming boat was a boy standing on the bow of the front. He held an electric guitar, a strap around his shoulder, and a foot on a speaker.

The sound of the guitar blared again, and a sharp tune started to play now that the contestant had gotten their attention.

"And that," Chris winced irritably, before smiling brightly and speaking loudly over the sound of the music, "is Nicky!"

The boy bounced his head eagerly, his mop of brown hair shaking along with him. If he was looking to appear like a rocker, then his attempts were a very loose success. His scruffy goatee matched his black shirt and faded blue jeans that had tears at his knees. A seashell necklace hugged his throat.

When the boat reached the dock, Nicky unplugged his guitar and jumped off the bow onto the dock.

"Ow!" he groaned, almost falling to his knees before he quickly righted himself. "What's up people!?" he shouted, pointing his fingers skyward.

"We're all good, brother!" Kyle replied with an upward turned thumb.

Nicky shot finger guns at Kyle. "Yo, how many of you heard of Nicky Stevens before?" he asked with an egocentric smirk.

Nobody said anything. Jason raised an eyebrow while Natasha and Alma exchanged glances.

Nicky dropped his arms in disappointment. "No one? You guys are living under rocks!"

He started forward and slung his guitar around his back, then stopped mid-step.

"Yo, hold on, I forgot my stuff," he said, turning on his heel and running up the nearby boat ramp.

---

Confessional: The Wannabe Rockstar

"Yo!" Nicky pointed at the camera. "My first confessional!"

He grabbed at his seashell necklace and gave it a light tug, one, two, three.

"Even if none of the guys here know me, I know for sure you beautiful people do!" he said and closed a hand into a fist, extending his index and pinky fingers. "Shout-out to my thousands of fans!"

Nicky tugged on his necklace again, his smile fading a fraction.

"Heck, maybe I can even get a couple of new bandmates while I'm here!" His voice dropped a number of decibels. "That'll teach the guys back home.

---

Nicky returned to the cast, his speaker and a suitcase in his right and left hand respectively.

As he approached, he spotted Alma's guitar case and smiled.

"Yo!" he said, pointing at the case in spite of his suitcase handle. "Are you-"

"Hey!" Chris cut in. "Host talking! And we have a new contestant to introduce!" he snapped, gesturing ahead at the incoming boat.

The cast awkwardly fell into silence, waiting as the boat pulled up beside the dock.

Finally, it did, and just like every single time before, the ramp silently fell against the dock.

Step, step, step. First the dark blue jeans came into view of Chris and the rest of the contestants, a chain hanging out of his pocket. Slowly, it was followed by his torso, a gray hoodie with neon green writing across its front, reading 'Discord'.

He turned, a rolling case touching the dock behind him. His head came into view next, revealing his blue-dyed hair to the cast.

"Wait," Alma muttered, staring at the newest boy.

But she wasn't the only one to recognize him.

"Yo, Discord!" Nicky cheered, raising two fists in the air, and earning strange looks from about half of the competitors.

The newest contestant rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze to Chris.

"Welcome to the show, Zachary," Chris said.

Zachary ignored Chris and walked past him.

"Guy," Nicky said, stepping forward, "I am such a big fan! Mind if I get an autograph?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't do autographs," Zachary declined, pushing Nicky to the side as he continued forward. Nicky frowned and followed him quickly behind.

"What do you mean? C'mon, man! I've purchased all your albums!"

Zachary shot a glare at Nicky, and he quickly stepped off. "I'm here to compete, and I don't need a 'fan' getting in my way," he said. He muttered a quick 'idiot' under his breath.

"Sir, please," Edward said, striding forward. "Nicky, here, is asking for something so little, surely it wouldn't take much of your time to write him an autograph?"

But Zachary was unmoved. He rolled his eyes. "It isn't that I don't want to, it's that I don't feel like it."

"Oh!" Filima nodded her head in understanding, looking between Nicky and Zachary. "You guys are, like, losers!'

---

Confessional: The Sensation

"Christ," Zachary muttered in annoyance. "How can some people be so pathetic? They look up to us that have a reputation."

Zachary shook his head and squeezed his eyes with his fingers.

"Can I just sit back in silence and do my work when I feel like it?" He fingered his chain. "Apparently not. Now I have to give an autograph of my name to everyone that knows it so that they can sell it online or some other bull."

Zachary sighed and released the chain.

"Whatever. They're on a show with me. That'll last longer than an autograph."

---

Zachary pushed past Edward to the rest of the contestants as Nicky watched stared at the person he thought was his idol.

Chris, however, chuckled to himself. "Ah, gotta love the tension in the afternoon." He grinned at the camera before cocking his head at the next boat to arrive at the dock.

It settled in the water, coming to a complete stop, before its ramp fell and connected to the dock with a thud.

The person that stepped with a head held low was a rather short girl with long blonde hair, tied into a neat and curly ponytail. Her skin, as clear and white as a porcelain bowl. She wore a light-gray turtleneck sweater, as well as black skinny jeans, and on her face sat thin-rimmed glasses.

"Welcome, Maggie," Chris greeted as the new girl seemed to shuffle nervously across the dock of Hellebore Island. Secured safely under her arm was a very clean bag.

"Is your vocabulary really so small you have to use the same word over and over?" Filima asked with a grin.

For a brief second Maggie feared Filima's words had been directed towards her, in spite of not saying anything herself.

Chris shot Filima a backwards glare, at which she simply laughed to herself. If she was worried about a potential target she may put on her back, she didn't show it.

"H-Hello," Maggie stuttered, and then waved awkwardly. Her hand was unable to go too high before she lowered it again to grab her bag.

Just as she suspected, only one person waved back at her. She ducked her head too early to notice as Edward tilted his hat towards her.

Maggie hurried over to them, quickly and in such a way that it seemed like she wanted to get out of the view of the camera, and positioned herself behind the tallest contestant she could find in an attempt to not be seen.

Penelope watched Maggie's movements with narrowed eyes, then scoffed quietly and shook her head.

---

Confessional: The Timid Perfectionist

Maggie waved at the camera, once again in an awkward manner. "H-Hi," she said.

She glanced at the confessional door and chuckled uncomfortably.

"I guess I made it to T-Total Drama," she said, looking back at the camera. "I-I never really th-thought I would g-get this far…"

Maggie looked down at her clothes and pulled a piece of lint off of her.

"I'm g-gonna go now."

---

Chris watched with vague interest as things started to set in, and he couldn't stop his giggle at Maggie's awkwardness.

There was no doubt in his mind that she had been happy to get her acceptance email, but now that she was here…he couldn't wait to put her and the rest of the cast to the test.

At last, the twelfth boat arrived, and the next contestant arrived with a step off of the ramp.

And so the cast was introduced to the more bizarrely dressed contestant of them all, yet so far.

Pink dyed hair, with clumps sticking out in several places, his bangs ended just above his eyebrows. Not even his eyes were saved, as they had been covered in reddish-purple contacts. Yet none of that was the strangest thing about the newest contestant's dress sense. No, because his outfit far exceeded Edward's in terms of out of place. It almost appeared like the uniform of a police officer, only purple, followed by a light-blue waistcoat, and a pink cravat. A two-part, red and purple cape made up a coat, abbreviated with thick cuffs and gold shoulder bands, fastened at the collarbone. And finally, light-blue pants that tucked slightly into his silver-tinted leather boots.

"Greetings, Freunde!" he announced in a German accent. He bowed dramatically to Chris and the contestants. "Harald Skeithwick, at your service!"

Chris frowned at the newest addition to the cast, and shot Harald a flat look. "Thank you for stealing my line, Harald."

"Is he German?" Filima asked, clasping her hands together. "Ooh, we have a Nazi in the game!"

A hand whipped across Filima's face and she yelped in pain. Alma retracted her palm and massaged her hand from the slap she had done, and grinned to herself.

"So your barbed words say," Harald said, unmoved. "But they can't pierce me."

---

Confessional: The Poisonous Poet

Harald steepled his fingers in the shape of a tent. "It seems I made it to Hellebore Island," he said with a smile.

His smile dimmed a bit as he continued to speak.

"Though I can't say it isn't all surprising, I look forward to everything to come this season."

He flashed the camera another smile.

---

Harald walked the rest of his way down the dock, joining the contestants that had already arrived, and placed his bag on the ground at his feet, before unzipping it open and pulling out a poetry book.

Chris groaned in boredom, then quickly smiled when he saw the camera return to him. "Only two more contestants to introduce. Will our winner be on this boat?" he asked, and gestured to the newest boat that pulled up beside the dock.

Another girl came off of the boat and onto the dock, carrying a duffle-bag by its strap in a closed fist.

She was on the thin side, and her appearance caused Carly to squeak and shudder in terror. She was pale, with fingernails as black as the midnight sky, and black hair mixed with streaks of purple that reached the base of her neck. A number of piercings had been put through her nose and ear, and just like Harald before her, she wore purple colored contacts in her eyes.

Black military boots stomped on the wood of the dock. Torn jeans were tucked into them, and a black tank top stuck to her chest. A black leather jacket had been thrown over her shoulders, as well as a black choker around her neck.

"ViVi, nice to see you." Chris smirked as she walked right past him, leaving him alone to look for the fourteenth and final boat.

"Yo," Nicky said, pointing finger guns at ViVi.

But ViVi's eyes wandered past him, allowing them to settle on a different musician. And unlike what she did for Nicky, she raised an eyebrow at him and felt a pull against her as she stomped towards him, the wooden dock creaking under her quick steps.

"Like I told your rocker brethren," Zachary started blandly, "I don't do autog-"

ViVi stretched her hand out, interrupting him as she wrapped her hand around his throat, leaving his eyes to bulge in their sockets.

"You couldn't D.J. for one hour, could you!? Cheapskate!" she screamed at him, and tossed him backward against the floor of the dock, allowing Zachary to regain his breath.

"ViVi Venom?" Zachary asked when he could. "You have a reputation of your own. Of course I wasn't gonna D.J. at your party. I got albums to make!"

"I spent over a thousand dollars on that party," ViVi said in a near-whisper, "and your sorry ass couldn't bother showing up for one hour!?" she asked, her voice getting louder with each word until she was screaming. She raised her foot to kick him and…

She was stopped as Edward pulled her back, his hands on her shoulders to stop her from doing any more harm.

From behind them, Chris tapped his watch. "Much as I'm loving this, you mind saving it for the challenge?"

ViVi shook Edward's hands off of her and shot Chris a harsh scowl. She stepped away from Zachary and crossed her arms.

Zachary rubbed his neck and eyed ViVi warily in case of another sudden burst of anger.

---

Confessional: The Rocker Chick

"If that slimeball thinks he can weasel his way out of his deal," ViVi started, pointing at something outside of the confessional, "and not show up for a party that my band and I set up, oh…"

ViVi dropped her arm and gave the camera a vicious look.

"Then he's got a whole lotta pain coming his way."

---

Chris chuckled as the cast all looked among themselves. Some more wary than others. Thirteen of them had arrived thus far, and the fourteenth boat sailed to a stop at the dock.

The newest and final contestant hurried down the ramp with visual eagerness, before she landed on the wooden platform.

Her hair was almost the same color as Harald's, yet her's was more groomed and brushed. It was pulled up into two half-knots, and makeup covered her face far more than Penelope. Eyes outlined by eyeliner, and metallic pink lipstick. However, her clothes were simple. A white sweater dress and leggings that were a mix and mash amount of colors of the galaxy. And finally, boots that stretched up to her knees.

"Hello, Willow, welcome to Hellebore Island," Chris said, extending his arms out.

The newly introduced fourteenth member of the cast dragged her suitcase along the dock. Its weight seemed heavier than the rest of the bags the other contestants packed. It made a terrible scraping noise as she approached.

"Hi!" Willow smiled. "Really happy to be here!" She looked beyond Chris and at the people standing about. "Are those the other contestants?" she asked, extending a finger towards them.

Zachary and Jason exchanged a glance. This girl seemed remarkably dense, and she had only said a few words.

"No, they're the interns," Chris said.

"Oh. Well then, when is everyone else coming?" Willow asked innocently.

Chris frowned. "I was being sarcastic," he said blandly.

Willow grimaced. "Sorry," she said.

Willow grabbed her suitcase with two hands and hauled it up, then stumbled over to the rest of the pack of players.

"This is Helen Borne's Island?" she asked, regaining her previous eagerness.

"Hellebore Island," Chris corrected, staring at Willow. "Where are you getting the 'n's from?"

---

Confessional: The Selfie Enthusiast

"So," Willow started with a clap of her hands, "people say that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but if that's the case, then…"

Willow smiled and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She held it out, then snapped a photo of herself.

"How come I made it to Total Drama?" she asked.

---

"Welcome to the game, folks!" Chris smirked at the fourteen players. He stood back and watched as a small amount of the contestants looked around to observe one another. "And welcome to our new destination for this season!" He stretched his arms out. "Hellebore!" He raised them higher. "Island!"

"Yeah, you've told us that already," Alma said. "Many times."

"Bro, is this island gonna try to kill us?" Nicky asked, suddenly alarmed.

"Nope!" Chris answered with a cheery grin. "After the whole…thing last season, we've decided to touch bases and use a, uh," he hesitated, looking awkward, "natural island."

"Well," Edward commented with a smile, "that is a relief."

"Yup! Turns out we didn't need a killer island when we've got challenges that'll do you in!" Chris said, then snickered.

The contestants glanced at each other, now much more wary than ever. Carly looked extremely terrified.

"But until then…Chef!"

A bulky, dark-skinned man emerged from the trees and walked onto the dock. He was dressed in the typical cook attire: chef's hat and apron on top of a very light-green shirt, and dark green pants.

Chef Hatchet clutched a bag in his hand. He made it to Chris before he turned towards the contestants.

"I'm sure you all know Chef," Chris introduced. "If you've seen our show before, that is."

Chef's face split into a fierce glare and he growled.

Carly squeezed behind Natasha and stared fearfully over his shoulder at Chris and Chef. Natasha eyed her, then focused back on Chris.

"And, as his name implies, will not be cooking for you!"

Murmurs of confusion broke out amongst the cast.

"But his name implies-" Willow started.

"I know. I said that to be mean," Chris said with another chuckle. "Now! There are a few more twists, but I think it'll be more fun to leave those a surprise."

"Gotta love surprises," Jason muttered sarcastically.

"I know, right?" Chris said, deliberately ignoring his sarcasm. "But before we get to our first challenge of the season - and yes, there will be no getting comfortable yet."

None of the contestants liked the sound of that. No time to settle in. They had already begun.

"Let's get you into teams," Chris continued. He gestured to the sack in Chef's hands. "In that sack are marbles." He pointed at the cast. "You will all pick a marble without peaking, in a fist. If you do, you can consider yourself disqualified. Do not pass elimination, do not collect a million dollars, and immediately go back home."

"Eager to get rid of us, Chrissy?" Filima asked with a smirk.

"Some of you more than others," Chris replied without a smile. But he regained it quickly. "Now, who's first?"

Chef thrust the sack forward and opened it with a growl. He stared down the cast, as if daring them to approach.

Then, Harald stepped forward. "If that is the way thou intended, then thy will follow that path," he said.

Harald stepped forth without hesitation, and Edward was quick to follow him. The former reached into the sack first without so much of a glance at Chef. He formed a fist around a marble, then withdrew his hand.

"Greetings, Chef," Edward said with a bow of his head. Then copied what Harald did, and walked away with a marble tightly in his fist.

Maggie steeled herself and jumped on the balls of her feet. She sucked in a deep breath and followed Edward's example.

"H-Hi," she stuttered to Chef. She reached into the sack quickly and palmed the first marble she found, before she hurried back the way she came.

Natasha cocked his head to the side and approached. He remained silent as he reached Chef and offered nothing but a cool stare as he took a marble from the proffered sack.

When he pulled his fist out, he dropped his gaze to his enclosed fist. He looked at Chris, then at Chef once more, and then stepped back.

Filima came next. "I know that there are a few things that somebody doesn't ask a veteran," she said as she stuck her hand into the bag. An impish grin crossed her face. "So how many people did you kill, Chef?"

Chef's eye twitched and his face drew into a scowl. His hands clutched at the bag tighter and he grit his teeth.

"Ookay," Chris said quickly. "Off you go!"

Filima smirked and did as Chris said. She left quickly, a marble in her hand.

Chef breathed deeply. In through his nose and out through his mouth. His grip on the sack slackened. "I do not like her," he said.

Penelope strutted forward and dipped her hand to grab a marble. "No surprise that we have a bad girl like that," she muttered, and then withdrew.

She didn't look at Chris or Chef once, and she retreated back to her spot on the dock from before. However, she did glance repeatedly at Edward and crossed her fingers.

"Alright," Alma said as she walked up to Chef. "Let's do it." With a small amount of hesitation, she reached into the bag and pulled out a marble. Her face twisted in surprise. "Huh. Thought for sure you would put a mouse trap or something in there."

Chris hummed, scratching at his stubble. "It was tempting."

Alma frowned and went back from where she had come from. She was replaced with Kyle next.

"Just for the record," he said, addressing Chef as he stuck his hand into the sack, "thank you for your service."

Chef's eyes softened, if only just, and Kyle sucked his lips into a smile. Then he turned, marble in his fist, and went back the way he came.

Willow appeared after Kyle. She smiled at Chris and Chef as she stuck her hand into the sack. "Teams haven't been picked this way before. Neat!" she commented, then pulled her hand out.

She didn't say anything after that, and went back to her place on the dock, patiently watching as the next contestant stepped forward to retrieve a marble.

ViVi lumbered forward, her arms crossed. When she reached Chris and Chef, she didn't say anything and dug her hand into the bag. She searched between the marbles before grabbing one.

"There better not be any of your tricks here, McLean," she said as she took her marble out in a fist.

"Nope!" Chris said with a smile. "No tricks"

ViVi nodded slowly and walked backwards a few steps, before turning around to join her castmates.

"...yet," Chris added as an aside to Chef, and they both giggled like schoolchildren.

"Your creativity is leaving you, Chris," Zachary said as he ambled up to them. He stuck a hand into the bag for less than two seconds and pulled out of it with the first marble he'd touched.

"Thanks for your input," Chris said flatly.

Zachary gave an uncaring shrug, and walked off. His spot was swiftly taken up by Nicky.

"Dude, don't forget about Nicky Stevens!" he said in a boastful tone. Just like Zachary, he grasped at the first marble his hand connected with, and jumped back towards the rest of the cast.

Then came Jason, his arms crossed over his chest. "Grabbing a marble out of a sack," he said as he did just that. "Whatever will he think of next?"

Chris shot Jason a flat stare, who just ignored him and left with a marble in his hand.

"Well," Chris said, and looked at the last contestant who had yet to pick a marble. "Looks like the last marble goes to you!"

Carly bit at the skin of her thumb, then dropped her hands and went up to Chris and Chef.

"Excuse me…" she said quietly and ducked her hand into the sack. She felt around for the marble, and pulled it out in a fist, as she had been instructed.

Chef growled at her the second her hand came out of the sack and Carly squeaked and darted away.

Chris laughed and clasped his hands together. "Okay, campers!" he said loudly when he was done, and Chef dropped the now empty sack at his side.

His eyes scanned over each contestant from left to right. From Zachary on the left to Jason on the right.

"Here's how this is going to go," Chris continued. "Half of you have red marbles. The rest have blue."

"Meaning we can look at them now?" Alma asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Correctamundo, Alma," Chris replied, shooting finger guns at the girl in question.

Almost as one, the cast opened their hands and looked at the marble that sat on their palms.

"Now," Chris went on, "whoever has a red marble, take a few steps to the right. Whoever has a blue, take a few to the left."

As he had expected, there was much fumbling around as the cast moved around with their bags and suitcases. Eventually, though, they did find their new teammates and lined up accordingly.

Chris pointed to the newly formed team on the right. "With the red marbles…

"Edward."

Edward smiled.

"Harald."

Harald's lips quirked upwards.

"Maggie."

Maggie wrung her hands together awkwardly.

"Jason."

Jason gave the smallest of nods.

"Willow."

Willow flashed a cheerful smile.

"Zachary."

Zachary didn't move, his face impossibly blank.

"And Penelope."

Penelope smiled and nodded, joy in her eyes.

"You…are the Sadistic Scorpions!" Chris announced. While most on the team seemed relatively unmoved by the name, there was one who looked worried.

"Sadistic?" Maggie asked nervously. "I-I…we aren't a-actually sadis-sadistic, why su-such a wicked n-name?" she stuttered, and nearly trailed off when she noticed the looks some of her teammates were sending her.

"It's just a name, who cares?" Zachary rolled his eyes, but he stopped when he saw a number of irritated glares being sent his way.

"She cares." Edward, who hadn't glared, gestured to Maggie, who made an unintentional step back in shock.

She hadn't expected anyone to defend her.

Before Zachary could shoot anything back, Chris continued with an index finger pointed at the other team.

"Those with the blue marbles…

"Alma."

Alma tilted her head up in acknowledgment.

"Natasha."

Natasha slid his gaze to the other members of his team.

"Kyle."

Kyle nodded, pursing his lips.

"ViVi."

ViVi shot an egotistical smile at the Scorpions.

"Nicky."

Nicky jutted his chin out and tugged lightly at his seashell necklace.

"Filima."

Filima grinned darkly.

"And Carly."

Carly bit her lip and shifted her eyes left and right like she expected something to jump out of the water at her.

"You are henceforth known as…the Ferocious Foxes!" Chris intoned.

"Dude, that sounds awesome!" Nicky said, holding a thumb up in appreciation.

"I know," Chris said. "I'm good." He cleared his throat.

"Anywho," Chris said as he walked past the cast and onto the island proper, on top of a dirt road. "Since evening is fast approaching, it's time for your first challenge!"

"Already!?" Alma exclaimed. "We just got here!"

"You did, and Total Drama waits for no one," Chris said casually. Chef followed him, slinging the sack over his shoulder. "Now, follow Chef to the challenge area."

A jeep pulled up from along the dirt road, with an intern at the wheel. Chris hopped on and gave a single wave at the teams.

"Oh yeah, and leave your stuff here, they'll be brought to your camp later" he told them, then sat down in the jeep. "I'll see you at the challenge!" he called, and then the jeep teared off.

Both teams watched the jeep turn around a bend, and disappeared.

"Alright, maggots!" Chef shouted. He stomped his foot once. "Follow me!"

Chef turned and started to march. Together, the Scorpions and Foxes left the dock and went after Chef in a walk, and they did as Chris told them and left their suitcases and bags on the dock.

"What do you think the challenge is gonna be, Eddie?" Penelope asked as she sidled up to Edward.

Edward opened his mouth to speak, but Chef was quicker. "DID I SAY YOU COULD TALK!?" he snapped.

Edward's mouth clicked shut and he merely shrugged at Penelope instead.

Willow hummed a quiet, pleasant tune to herself.

---

Confessional: The Weapons Aficionado

"On the plus side," Jason started, sheathing his sword, "I'm not on Carly's team. That way I actually have a chance at winning the physical challenges."

He turned his sheathed sword sideways onto his lap. He drummed his fingers on it gently.

"On the downside, we have the guy everyone hates, Zachary. I'm thinking that with him, the others will try much harder than usual if only we vote him off."

---

Confessional: The Country Gentleman

"It appears I'm on the same team as Penelope," Edward said. He sat up straight with not a hint of a slouch in his posture. "And givin' the flirtatious looks she's been sendin' me since I arrived, I believe I need to let her down gently."

Edward took his hat off, revealing his neatly combed blond hair. He put his hat on his knee and tapped the brim.

"As for my team, I must say that I have high hopes for us, and I certainly hope we shan't vote off one of our own too early."

---

Confessional: The Bringer of Misery

"Have you seen the amount of people here that play an instrument?" Filima asked with a gesture outside the confessional. "If that's not annoying, I don't know what is!"

A despicable grin appeared on her face.

"But I could have some fun destroying some of their instruments. Oh…that'll get them devastated, methinks!"

---

Confessional: The Shrinking Violet

Carly bit lightly at the skin of her finger. She pulled back and looked at the camera nervously.

"I wasn't actually really…expecting to be accepted onto Total Drama," Carly said. She dropped her hand into her lap and started to fidget with her fingers. "I thought maybe that auditioning would be a brave thing to do."

Carly twisted her hands, then dropped them and rubbed her knees.

"My therapist told me I should try to get out of my comfort zone and…now I'm here." She blew out a nervous breath, and her next words became more panic-laced. "And my whole team looks like they could eat me for breakfast!"

---

It didn't take them long to be led to whatever it was the first challenge was. Only after they stepped into a clearing that they understood what awaited them.

An obstacle course. One that, at the very end, had two platforms that held large red and blue puzzle pieces.

"Finally!"

The contestants turned, almost as one, to where Chris stood on an incline, an air horn in his hand.

"What took you so long?" he asked, directing his gaze at Chef, who just shrugged uncaringly. Chris put a hand on his waist, then smiled brightly and changed his attention towards the teams. "Well, this is your challenge area!" he announced. "Let's hope you know the way, because this will be where each challenge takes place.

"Now, your first challenge is simple! I call it: the Christacular Course!"

None of the contestants were particularly impressed, however, Edward clapped his hands politely.

Chris frowned. "Whatever." Then he directed their attention to the obstacle course. "First is the stepping platforms!" he said.

The stepping platforms in question were each about a foot off the ground in escalating order. Small, log-like structures that stood up from the ground that appeared to act as a form of stairs.

"Next, is the pendulum! You get knocked off there and you have to start from the beginning."

Attached to a large bar that went over the top of the next platform into the course, was a motor that powered six separate chains. Six bags swung back and forth across the platform like, as Chris had said, a pendulum.

"And finally, is the climbing wall! You get to the top and you're home free!"

At the end of the course was indeed a climbing wall, with several hand-held grips to let someone hold onto or step onto to pull themselves up to the top. From the distance of where the contestants stood, it looked to be about fifteen feet tall.

"However, if you miss your jump, it's into the pitfall for you. Where one of your teammates will have to pull you up!"

And as Chris had promised, there was indeed a pitfall below the climbing wall. From their angle, none of them could tell how deep it was.

"And the first person to get everyone across it wins?" Alma asked with an unimpressed roll of her eyes.

"Nope!" Chris exclaimed. "At the end of the course are the puzzle pieces to assemble your team logo!"

Just beyond the red and blue puzzle pieces were two, identical circular objects in the ground, only a few inches deep.

"First team to slot those babies into place wins!" Chris said. "But, only one person can grab a puzzle piece at a time. Do more than one, and you're disqualified. Got it?"

The cast nodded.

"Good. Oh! And everyone has to complete the obstacle course. Seven puzzle pieces, seven players…you can do the math," Chris said with a chuckle.

With extreme wariness, the teams separated to their respective starting lines. One red, and the other blue.

"Oh, yeah," Chris said, like he had just remembered something. "Since not feeding you is technically 'starvation'," he said with air-quotes, "we're doing what we did last season! The winning team gets something to treat themselves to."

ViVi, Alma, Nicky, Carly, Natasha, Jason, Edward, Maggie, Willow, and Penelope smiled at that news.

"So, what today's winning team gets is a lovely meal of," Chris started as he slipped a cue card out of his breast pocket, "bread!" His face twisted in confusion. "Wait, bread?"

Harald and Zachary exchanged a bewildered glance.

Kyle idly flicked at the clasp of his watch.

None of the cast said anything, until…

"Let's get this bread!" Nicky cheered.

"Well," Chris said, sliding the cue card back into his pocket. He ignored the cheering from Nicky and Willow, who had followed the former's example. "Any questions?"

Everyone except Harald, Natasha, and Carly raised their hands.

"Good!" Chris ignored them. He raised the air horn and pressed down on the button. "Begin!" he announced, and the sound blared through the clearing.

Filima bolted down the path, sprinting as quick as she could to the first obstacle of the course.

Edward gave a single nod to his teammates. "I shan't ask anyone to do anything I haven't done myself," he told them, and then he was off, running quickly after Filima.

"And the first two players are on their way," Chris narrated from his position.

Filima jumped onto the first stepping platform, then to the second. Edward was close behind and closed the gap between them rapidly.

"Ooh," Filima said as she made her next step. Her feet twisted awkwardly from under her and she almost lost her footing. "The gentle boy has graced me with his presence!"

Step.

"Hello, Filima," Edward greeted without issue.

Step.

Filima reached the top of the platform first and she hesitated as she saw the bags swinging before her.

"Might as well drop the act now," Filima said when Edward reached the top a second later. "Nobody's going to care a little about the innocent country boy act," she said. "What's the story behind that? Get turned down by a girl and you thought you could be a perfect gentleman?"

Filima leaned forward closer to Edward, who only glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He watched the pendulum swing and counted in his head, calculating the time between the swings.

"The perfect little white knight! Replace your hat with a fedora and the outfit is complete!"

Edward winced. He watched the swinging bags for a moment longer…

Then he rushed through.

"Leaving a woman in distress?" Filima mocked. "How could you!?"

Filima paused for a moment, and then she, too, rushed forward through the pendulums.

She had just about made it when one of the bags swung down hard and smacked her in the chest. Filima slid to the side with a groan, and then fell off of the platform.

"Oof, and Filima is off," Chris narrated.

Edward shot a concerned glance backwards and, reaching the beginning of the climbing wall, looked down to see where Filima had fallen.

She was not in very good condition.

Filima moaned in pain, holding her stomach where the bag had struck her. She pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"Chris, I do believe Filima is hurt," Edward called. He looked at where Chris was, and then back to Filima.

"Oww," Filima groaned. She blinked and looked towards her team.

All of them, from ViVi and Kyle to Carly and Natasha watched her with concern.

Filima held a hand out to them, like she was pleading for help.

A single, bloody hand.

"Chris!" Edward called, louder and far more concerned.

Filika doubled over and wrapped a hand around her torso. She ducked her head into the ground and she looked like she truly struggled to stand.

"Uh, yeah," Chris said. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Chris, she looks like she needs some serious help!" Kyle said. He rushed forward to help Filima, and his statement spurred Alma and ViVi into action, as well.

"I do?" Filima asked. She flipped onto her back and grimaced. "Why?"

Filima struggled to her feet, even as Edward told her that she should lay down.

"It's only…" Filima winced and touched her hand to her torso again with a wince.

Then, suddenly, she stood up straight and showed her hand to Kyle, ViVi, and Alma as they finally reached her.

"It's only corn syrup!"

Kyle stopped in his tracks and an enraged look crossed ViVi's face.

"Are you kidding?" ViVi asked. She clenched her fists once, twice, three times.

Filima cackled. "Oh, imagine that," she said, sticking a finger into her mouth to pull the corn syrup off. "Good thing nobody is recording that, otherwise that would've been humiliating."

ViVi seethed and Alma shook her head in both annoyance and irritation.

"Filima…" Edward said, aghast. "You can't just…scare people like that. It ain't right."

"Oh, white knight," Filima said, putting a hand over her heart and, with the most insincere voice, added, "I am so sorry!"

---

Confessional: The Country Gentleman

"Talkin' bad 'bout anyone is wrong," Edward started. "And I ain't gonna break that rule of mine. But what Filima did out there…"

Edward sighed, readjusted his hat, then rubbed at his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"It worried me."

---

"Already a physical challenge," Jason bemoaned. "Couldn't get something easier for the first challenge of the season?"

"Dude," Nicky said from his team's starting line, "it's Total Drama, why didn't you think there would be physical challenges, my guy?" he asked.

Jason scowled and turned away.

Nicky shrugged and looked at ViVi and Alma as they returned from their approaching Filima.

Both musicians. And he was in need of potential alliances and, more importantly, future bandmates.

He tugged on his seashell necklace as an idea sprung in the back of his mind. It was never too early to begin strategizing.

And although he knew little about ViVi and Alma, they both seemed to have more similar interests to him than Natasha, Kyle, Carly, and definitely more in common than Filima.

A smile spread across his face and Nicky bounded forward and grabbed the two girls by the shoulders to steer them away from the rest of the group.

He was surprisingly quick, for ViVi. Too fast for her to register what was happening, and when it did, she pulled Nicky's hand off of her like it had offended her.

ViVi shot Nicky a fierce glare. "What are you doing?" she growled.

Nicky glanced at ViVi, then at Alma who merely raised an eyebrow at him.

Last chance for him to back out to prevent himself from making a potentially fatal mistake.

He ignored it.

"I was wondering if you guys wanted to be in an alliance," he asked. "All of us musicians! Heck, if you guys want, I'll let you join my band!"

Alma and ViVi raised their brows at Nicky's forwardness.

---

Confessional: The Latina Musician

Alma tapped her chin with the length of her index finger. "Wasn't expecting someone to drop the offer of an alliance so early. Nicky looks like a really, uh, 'to the point' kind of guy, then."

She looked at the camera, then away again, thinking.

"Maybe he only said that because ViVi is kinda threatening?" she voiced slowly, unsurely. "She did punch Zachary not even five minutes after getting here."

---

"Thanks but no thanks," ViVi said. She was the first to speak. "I actually have a band, and I actually do performances instead of playing the drums in my garage." With that, ViVi spun around and went back to the rest of the team as they waited for Filima to finish the course.

Nicky opened his mouth to say something to ViVi's retreating form, but Alma beat him to it.

"I agree with ViVi," she said. "Plus, the music you listen to is definitely not my style."

Nicky frowned and gave Alma an extremely annoyed look. "Seriously!? What kind of music do you listen to? And you'd better not say any of that indie crap!"

Now it was Alma's turn to frown and glare. "'Indie crap'?" she repeated, as though she could hardly believe what he had just said to her. "For your information, I'm sure that the 'indie crap' I listen to is far better than the music that you play, Nicky!"

Alma stomped her foot, drawing the attention of Kyle. She could not believe Nicky's nerve!

"You've got your head so far up in the clouds that you don't even know what half of the music genres on the planet are!"

With a growing fury in her, Alma forced herself to not act rashly and backed away instead, returning to the rest of her team.

Nicky cursed and kicked a pebble. That did not go like he had hoped it would.

Unseen to him, Natasha stroked his chin thoughtfully.

---

"And Edwad finishes the course!" Chris announced into a megaphone. "The Scorpions are in the lead!"

"Me next!" Penelope said. "I'll go!"

And then she charged off.

Jason shrugged. "Fine with me," he said to no one in particular.

"And if she fails," Zachary said, "then we can vote her off."

Harald commented, "So eager of you to get to the voting. Do you see us as fools and yourself as king?"

Zachary stared at Harald for a moment. "I…what?"

Ahead of them, on the course, Penelope made it up to the platform with the pendulums. Filima was on the other side, having had to do the course from the start over again.

Penelope grit her teeth with determination and sprinted through the bags, dodging clumsily as they swung down at her.

---

Confessional: The 'Nice Girl'

Penelope breathed out an excited breath. "That is nostalgia for you!" she said. "In my childhood, at school, we used to have a game with the swings," she explained.

She looked off to the side, lost in thought. Then she cleared her throat.

"We ran between the swings while someone pushed them, and we had to dodge them! It was fun!" She chuckled. "Teachers weren't a fan, though."

---

Penelope stopped suddenly as a bag whipped by, then resumed her sprint through the course. Closer and closer she got to the end, to the climbing wall.

And then she jumped over the pitfall and latched onto the wall awkwardly. "Oof," she said. Jumping without stopping had not been a good idea.

"Hello, makeup girl!" Filima said from the top of the climbing wall. "Are you trying to prove you're more than just the girl with the ugly makeup?"

Penelope scowled. "And are you trying to make your team vote you off first?" she asked, grabbing onto another part of the wall to haul herself up. "Because it's really working, I bet."

Filima cackled. "I don't care!" she said happily. "They can do whatever they like to me. I'm just here to have fun."

With one last pull, Penelope climbed onto the top of the wall and her lips twisted into a thin line. "Whatever," she said.

The two girls turned back to the end of the course, where all that laid before them was a simple slide. In almost synchronization, the two of them jumped forward and down the slide.

They reached the bottom with no problems, and they split off towards their puzzle pieces. Penelope rushed to the red pieces and Filima to the blue.

Penelope swiped the nearest red piece off the table and rushed to Edward as quickly as she could.

"Penelope and Filima have completed the course!" Chris announced. "Who's next!?"

But Penelope wasn't listening to Chris. She appeared at Edward's side and held up her piece. It was about the size of her hand, and had a curved edge.

"Well done on the course, Penelope," Edward complimented. They crouched down over the circle in the ground. "Looks like an edge piece," he said.

"It does," Penelope agreed. She fell to her knees and put the piece down without any real concentration as to where along the edge it was.

She was too busy flashing her eyelashes at Edward repeatedly, and leaning into him far more than what would be appropriate.

A rush of guilt flooded Edward's chest. He should've said something way earlier.

"Oh, Penelope," he said guiltily, "I shan't lead you on further than I already have," he said, and he gently pushed her away.

Penelope frowned and tried to grab Edward's hand, but he maneuvered himself away before she could. "What's going on?" she asked.

Edward sighed. "I do not feel any romantic attachment between you and I. I'm sorry," he said gravely.

All was quiet between the two of them. Most would understand the rejection and move on. Most would not let such a quick and sudden infatuation strike them so deeply.

Penelope was not most people.

She gaped in shock, and then her brow furrowed and she glared at Edward like she had been slapped. "Are you kidding me!?" she said loudly. "I've been nothing but nice to you, and this is how you repay me!?"

"Please-" Edward tried to say with a placating gesture.

"No!" Penelope interrupted. "I've been a real nice girl this whole time, and now you're dropping me flat as if you haven't been stringing me along this whole time!?"

From the Foxes' puzzle side, Filima watched Penelope's rage with an amused smirk.

"Fu- uh…" Penelope cut herself off, and looked around for the nearest camera. "I hope you have a nice life, Edward, because you just lost your chance at the one nice girl that ever wanted to go on a date with you!"

Edward frowned guiltily, but he didn't interrupt Penelope's tirade against him. He stood and waited patiently.

"And you say you're a gentleman!" And with all that said, Penelope spun on her heel and stormed off in the opposite direction.

Edward took a step to go after her, then stopped. She wouldn't want to talk to him of all people, not right now.

---

"You guys are really starting to make this boring," Chris said with an expression that told Scorpions and Foxes just how much he thought about that. "Less talky, more hurty! Or then I'll get bored, which is bad for all of you!"

ViVi pursed her lip at Chris' declaration and looked at her teammates. Kyle, Natasha, Nicky, Alma, or Carly were her options to send to the course and ViVi had no intention of running it herself…yet.

The Scorpions were ahead, but it was a better idea if ViVi held their stronger players back for the other team.

It was a risk, but ViVi was confident.

"You," she said, pointing at Carly, who jumped in surprise. "Go."

"Me?" Carly asked in terrified nervousness.

"Who else am I pointing at?" ViVi asked rhetorically. "You go. Now."

Carly trembled, looking from ViVi to the obstacle course. It was daunting. Too daunting.

"You can do it, Carly," Alma said suddenly. "You've got this."

Carly didn't think she did. She chewed on her finger in nervousness and glimpsed as the Scorpions chose their next player, as well.

"If you don't go, we can't win," ViVi said in growing irritation. "So either go now…or save us the effort and we vote you off tonight."

Carly became more terrified. Her teeth split the skin of her finger and tore off a small chunk of skin. She winced, but otherwise ignored it.

ViVi's frown became thin. "Fine," she said. She looked around at Kyle, contemplative.

But before she could say anything, Carly rushed forward with her hands wrapped around herself in a hug.

ViVi smirked. "Good."

---

Confessional: The Shrinking Violet

"ViVi scares me," Carly said to the outhouse camera nervously. "But she's right. If I don't show any worth, then I'm gone."

She started to raise her finger to chew on it again, but stopped halfway.

"But people get hurt all the time on obstacle courses! They break all sorts of bones and…and some even die!" she said in ever increasing fear.

---

"The Foxes are sending out their weakest player," Zachary said plainly. "We should do the same."

"Not insulting at all," Jason muttered loud enough for his team to hear.

Zachary reached out and grabbed Jason by the shoulder, then shoved him forward. "Thanks for volunteering."

"What?" Jason frowned with annoyance. "Do I look like I can do an obstacle course?" he complained.

"It's either that," Zachary said as he took a threatening step forward, "or you cost us the challenge and we vote you off for it."

Jason scowled. "Oh, I see."

But he offered nothing more than that. He turned and ran after Carly as best he could.

Zachary leaned back on his feet and put a hand in his pocket, satisfied.

---

Confessional: The Sensation

"Easiest way to motivate someone on this kind of show," Zachary said, crossing his arms. He smirked, if only just. "Threaten to vote them out if they cost the challenge. They fall in line like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

---

Willow listened intently as a familiar tune reached her ears.

The same tune that she was intimately familiar with.

She cocked her head to the side and searched for the person humming the sound, before landing on Harald.

The tune was the same. The same hitch in sound at the right intervals, before it looped all over again.

A tune Willow knew, and a tune Willow loved.

"Harald, right?" she asked, pursing her lip as she carefully recalled his name when Chris introduced them.

Harald stopped humming and he looked at her. "That would be correct."

He smiled at her. A smile that made her give one in return.

"I was listening to the song you were humming," Willow told him. "It's one of my favorites!" she said eagerly and a grin.

"Is it really?" Harald asked with a matching grin. "Folksongs hold my heart together so tightly."

"Folksongs?" Willow asked with a tilt of her head. "That's a folksong? I didn't know that."

"Well, now you carry that knowledge," Harald said. He skipped once, twice, thrice, four steps away to stand over a flower.

"Pretty flowers," Willow said happily.

"Truly, they are," Harald replied. He crouched down and gripped the flower by the stem. "But no matter how beautiful one is," he said, and he tore the flower out of the ground with one, sharp movement, "don't forget the toxins, ja?"

Harald wagged his finger at Willow and sniffed the flower. He let out a single, pleased breath, before he dropped it to the ground carelessly.

"Heracles was saved from madness from little usefuls like these," Harald said. He held his hand out and Willow saw marks of irritation on his hands.

"Those flowers can do that?" Willow asked, pointing at his hand with concern. She reached into her pocket and removed her phone, then snapped a picture of the flowers. "I don't wanna touch those by mistake," she explained.

"Wolves in sheep's clothing," Harald said, skipping back to Willow, then stopping and digging his silver boots into the ground. "Such is the way things are."

Willow nodded sagely and put her phone back into her pocket. "No reception. I hope Chris isn't too upset I brought my phone with me here."

"Then, Willow," Harald said as he walked to her side, "grasp it with both hands and don't let go."

Willow gave another nod, though she wasn't quite sure what Harald meant.

On the incline where Chris stood, nobody noticed as a jeep pulled up, pulling a small cart behind it.

Instead, they focused intently on Carly and Jason as they tried to make their way up the steps onto the platform of the obstacle course.

Carly's movements were hesitant and fearful, and Jason's awkward and ungainly.

"You know," Jason tried to say through his pants of exhaustion that had already hit him, "what these flowers were used for?" he asked.

"You can't distract me!" Carly said. She jumped forward onto from her step and up onto the platform. The pendulums awaited.

Jason didn't reply to that and ignored her, deciding to continue his line of thought. "During the Siege of Kirrha," he said, pausing briefly to take a breath, "they were used to poison Kirrha's water supply." His voice took on an excited tone, whereas Carly's expression became more and more nervous.

She glanced down at the flowers that decorated the ground. She had already known that the hellebores were poisonous, but she hadn't known about what they had been used for in the past.

And they were flowers all around her.

"Made the defenders weak enough for them to be slaughtered," Jason finished, reaching the top platform beside her. He bent forward to lean on his knees. "Or so some historians think."

"You're trying to make me mess up," Carly said, shaking her head. She looked away from the hellebores and to the obstacle course. Though her paranoia had risen exponentially.

"Yeah, of course I am," Jason admitted easily. He stood up straight again. "I wanna buy a quadruple barrel shotgun with the money if I win." He pointed his finger into Carly's shoulder. "Which means you need to lose."

Carly looked at Jason with growing dread. She took an instinctual step back and her foot almost slipped off the edge of the obstacle course's platform.

Jason eyed Carly, silently debating whether or not to push her off the course. He raised his hand to do exactly that and Carly covered her head in fear.

"Alright!" Chris said loudly into his megaphone and Jason stopped. "I'm officially bored!"

Jason turned and Carly peeked between her fingers.

"Chef!" Chris cued smugly, snapping his fingers.

And just like that, on the cart connected to the jeep spun around, revealing a Gatling gun with Chef on its back. He grinned darkly, and pulled the trigger.

Carly squeaked and yelped, and sprinted into action with surprising swiftness. She guarded her head with her hands and ducked out of the way of the incoming swinging pendulums.

Tennis balls shot in quick succession out of the Gatling gun, bouncing off of the obstacle course and hitting Jason's chest and his hands as he protected his face.

"Really?" Jason complained. Then he blinked. "Barely hurts, actually."

"Yeah," Chris said with a frown, "the lawyers said that actually hurting teenagers counted as 'child abuse', so, we went with something softer!"

The last pendulum swiped Carly's shoulder as she passed, but it failed to knock her off and she came to a stop at the next part of the course.

The climbing wall overlooked her menacingly. Carly swallowed and resisted the urge to bite at her fingers.

"I can do this. I can do this," Carly chanted quietly to herself. Though she said it, she didn't think she could. The jump across the pit wasn't far in reality, but to her it seemed to stretch on forever.

Only the reminder of the possibility of being voted off steeled her flimsy determination.

And Carly jumped as far as she could, and slammed into the climbing wall.

Her hands scrabbled for traction and for something to cling onto, but her attempts were in vain. She couldn't grasp onto anything.

Carly squeaked and shouted as she slipped, and fell off of the wall into the pit below. Down and down she went until her back collided with a soft mattress that cushioned her.

Her heart pounded so hard in her ears. How had she failed to do something so thoroughly, she wondered.

She sat up and glanced around fearfully, but there was nothing but her down there. Just an empty space where only she resided.

Carly looked up at the entrance of the pit and she knew she wouldn't be able to pull herself out. She wasn't tall enough and it was way out of her reach.

Her fear spiked. What if the walls fell down on her? She would suffocate and die! Or what if…what if they forgot about her and left her there…and filled in the pit without ever realizing she was there?

Dimly, Carly didn't think she was ever going to get over her fears.

---

Confessional: The Weapons Aficionado

"Coming onto this show, I wasn't expecting to be shot at with tennis balls from a Gatling gun," Jason commented. "They don't even hurt, they're just annoying."

Jason kicked his feet and reached down instinctively to grab something that wasn't there. When he didn't find anything, he slouched in his seat.

"Speaking of Gatling guns," he added, "did you know that it was the first widely successful machine gun?" he asked the outhouse camera. "It was originally first used during the American Civil War, and only a few times, but it was operated by a crank that fired up to two-hundred rounds a minute. Even though it only held twenty rounds in its magazine."

Jason scratched at something behind his ear and his gaze drifted away from the camera as he thought.

"The one out there isn't exactly a Gatling gun, but it's close enough."

---

ViVi cursed to herself when Carly didn't appear from the pitfall. She was not getting out without help.

She frowned. This wasn't Carly's fault, it was her own. She made Carly go when she was clearly scared and not ready.

ViVi criticized herself silently. It was her first day on the team and she had already failed something spectacular.

She glanced back at her teammates. Chris hadn't said anything about sending two people into the course at a time.

And Carly wasn't going to get out of that pit without help.

ViVi spun around and pointed at Natasha. He seemed strong enough to her that he would have a chance. "You!" she said loudly and quickly.

Natasha flicked his attention to her in silent surprise.

"You go get our girl," ViVi told him, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb, "and get to the puzzle."

Natasha stared at her, silently calculating something only he knew…before, finally, he nodded and sped off towards the obstacle course.

"You're kidding," Zachary complained and ViVi turned her head to look at him.

"What's wrong, Discord?" ViVi asked with a sneer. "Not very nice when someone screws you over, is it?"

Zachary shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Chris, this isn't fair!" he called.

"I'll allow it," Chris replied neutrally, into his megaphone. "But unless someone needs help on the course, it's one person at a time. Got it?"

Zachary's face scrunched up in displeasure. "Got it," he said through his teeth.

Together with the rest of the Scorpions, he looked ahead and watched as Natasha raced to the steps.

With careful calculation, Natasha jumped from one step to the next. Then the next, and the next.

Chef redirected the aim of the Gatling gun onto Natasha, letting up on Jason as he guarded himself in the middle of the pendulums, biding his time until he could rush forward to where the climbing wall was.

Natasha grunted in the back of his throat as a ball hit him and bounced off. He blinked in surprise. Jason had been right, it barely hurt.

Regaining himself, Natasha lurched forward onto the base of the obstacle course's platform. His heel pressed down onto the wood, and he pivoted forward, falling to the surface and onto his knees.

He curled his hand into knuckles and tapped down on the surface of the wood, searching for a loose board.

And then he found one and grasped it. Then he pulled.

Something Natasha didn't see broke free, and the board gave way, tearing out of the platform easily.

A ball hit Natasha in the back of the head and he fell forward, but quickly balanced himself on the board, preventing himself from falling face-first off the edge of the course.

He twisted around and whacked the next ball with the board, sending it flying away. It had begun to annoy him.

Whatever. No time for that now.

The pendulums were next and Natasha had no time to waste. He dashed forward, maneuvering his body - and the board in his hand - into dodging the swinging bags as best he could.

In only seconds, he reached the end of the section, catching up to Jason with surprising swiftness.

Jason glanced over his shoulder even as he protected his face from the tennis balls that Chef fired. He groaned, then turned back to the course in front of him.

He reached out with one hand to grab onto the climbing wall from across the pitfall, before leaping over it and latching onto a handhold.

"Woah," Jason huffed. Then, so carefully, he began his ascent.

Natasha watched him go, and scanned the holds in the wall. Hands and feet respectively. There were plenty of them, but it didn't surprise Natasha that someone would miss them and fall in.

It was a decently large jump from the pit to the wall.

He dropped to his knees and looked over the rim of the pit, down where Carly was.

"Natasha?" she asked in surprise.

Natasha nodded, then grimaced as ball after ball hit the back of his head once more.

He shot a glare of annoyance at Chris and Chef, then redirected his gaze to Carly when he heard her whimper.

---

Confessional: The Mastermind

"This is an opportunity," Natasha stated.

He crossed his legs and scratched his chin lightly, contemplative.

"You see, my strategy is to hang back and observe my competitors," Natasha told the camera. "And Carly is the perfect key to help me create a bloc of my own, and subtly push the others in the direction I want."

Natasha slid to the side of the confessional and propped his leg up. He frowned.

"But I'm gambling. As of now, I know nothing about Carly or the others. And if anything happens, I'll need to drop her." He glanced at the camera one last time. "Some dirty tactics are needed if you want to win."

---

"Sorry, I…" Carly started to apologize, then trailed off. She turned away suddenly and bit her thumb between her teeth as she looked around at the walls.

Natasha stared at her for a moment, then held his hand out, almost experimentally, as far down as he could reach.

But it was like Carly didn't even see him. She trembled and gazed around at the walls of the pit. Like she expected something to jump out at her.

Natasha retracted his hand and held out the board. He could only reach so far, and the pit was too deep. Nowhere near close enough for him to tap her or…

"It's okay, Carly," she whispered to herself, even as she bit down harder on the corner of her thumb. Her eyes searched frantically for an opening that wasn't there. An opening that would lead her out of the confined space she found herself in.

She didn't dare move. Because what if that caused the pit to collapse? She could move something she didn't even know was there, and something bad could happen.

Her mind whirled in panic. The only way out was up. Her only exit was up.

Carly's breathing picked up and, despite her fear, she stepped back until she hit the wall. Was it getting smaller? Carly didn't remember the pit being as small as it was.

Carly went pale in terror. She looked up and looked desperately, yet unseeingly for an exit.

Natasha debated in his head whether to help her out or not. Carly could wind up being a useful ally, yes, but she was also a girl laced with panic and fear.

But he couldn't leave her. He would be scolded by ViVi and the rest of his team if he did that, and forced into the open. Potentially even eliminated.

The choice was obvious.

Time was ticking.

Natasha slid off of the platform carefully and landed on the mattress at the bottom of the pit beside Carly.

"Hey," he said softly, in the most soothing voice that he could manage. He grabbed Carly gently by the shoulders.

Carly whipped around and Natasha released his grip on her as she did so. She breathed deeply and he could see droplets of sweat along her brow.

She truly was terrified.

"Hey," he said again.

But Carly's breathing didn't calm. Her chest rose and fell far too fast.

He frowned, and he reached forward to take Carly by the shoulders again. "Slowly," he said. "In through the nose, out through the mouth."

Carly nodded and followed his instructions closely as Natasha rubbed her shoulders soothingly. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Slowly.

"Again," Natasha told her softly.

Carly did it again, sucking in a breath through her nose, and back out through her mouth.

"Count to ten."

Carly trembled and closed her eyes. "One, two, three…" she started.

"Four, five, six," Natasha counted along with her.

"Seven, eight, nine, ten," Carly finished, and she opened her eyes again. Her heart pounded against her ribcage hard, but otherwise, she did feel far more calm.

"Better?" Natasha asked, releasing her shoulders.

"Yeah…thank you," Carly responded. She rubbed her arm sheepishly. "I thought you couldn't talk?" she asked.

"No, you assumed that I couldn't talk," Natasha corrected. "I didn't have a point in correcting you."

Carly didn't respond, but she raised her hand to bite at the nails of her fingers.

"How are we…gonna get out of here?" she asked instead.

"With this," Natasha said, picking up the wooden board that he had left on the ground since he had jumped down. He picked it up and leaned it against the wall at an angle.

Then, Natasha jumped onto the board and, quickly using it as a spring, leaped as high as he could up onto the ledge of the pit.

He grunted as he pulled himself up and over the edge, then looked back down at Carly who watched with growing anxiety.

"I can't do that," she muttered.

Natasha shook his head and he lied down, then offered his hand out. He couldn't reach, but if Carly did what he did, then he could grab her.

Carly's eyes widened in realization and she looked at the board, and then at Natasha. Then her face grew determined and she leaned for the board, and sprung off of it. It wasn't nearly hard enough for her to reach the edge, but it was close enough.

Her hands flailed and Natasha grabbed her, wrapping his hand in her own, before he adjusted his footing, and pulled her up.

---

Confessional: The Shrinking Violet

"That…wasn't my scariest experience," Carly admitted. "Not by a long, long way. But it was still scary!"

Carly sighed and bit on her nail, her teeth tearing through the skin.

"Natasha probably only did that to save himself, but it was still a nice thing to do."

Carly glanced at her hand and the blood marks from her fearful biting.

"That's okay."

---

"And the Foxes tie it up!" Chris yelled into his megaphone with a grin. Jason crossed the end of the obstacle course first, but Natasha and Carly caught up rather quickly. "Who's next!?"

Chef grinned viciously as he aimed the Gatling gun at the entrance of the course.

Then he frowned.

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh what?" Chris asked, alarmed. He dropped the megaphone quickly before it could pick up his voice.

"Gun is jammed," Chef said, and pounded his fist against the side in an attempt to fix it.

"Well, better fix it quick," Chris replied, "because they're sending in their next players."

---

"You," Zachary said, pointing at Maggie. "Whatever your name is."

"It's M-Ma-"

"I don't care," Zachary replied flatly. "You're next. Odds are that they'll send someone weak in again, so we need to match them."

Maggie opened her mouth to disagree. That just didn't make sense to her. All of the players left on the Foxes seemed so much stronger than her…and maybe it was a good idea to get rid of her in order to work on the puzzle.

That was always where she excelled, after all. Mental challenges over the physical ones.

"No need for all the dialogue," Harald cut in before Maggie could respond. "Allow me to make use of my services, Herr Discord."

Zachary watched Harald closely, his attention ripped away from Maggie appropriately. For just a moment, Maggie worried he would explode at Harald for saying anything at all.

He seemed to have tried to appoint himself as the leader of the team, and Maggie knew well enough from school what happened when something didn't go their way.

But then Zachary shrugged. "Whatever," he said.

Harald bowed, and ran off towards the obstacle course. He didn't stay behind long enough to see Zachary jut his chin out, but Maggie did.

"Hey, Maggie, right?" someone asked and Maggie turned towards the source.

Willow waved when Maggie saw her and approached.

There weren't many of them left on this side of the course now, Maggie realized. Just herself, Zachary, and Willow. The numbers thinned on both her, and the Foxes' sides.

She glanced to the side briefly and saw as Alma hurried away from her team and towards the obstacle course.

Maggie wasn't confident in her abilities to beat Nicky or Kyle on the course, and even more so against ViVi.

"Y-Yeah," Maggie finally answered Willow. She idly brushed off any lint or loose strands of hair from her sweater.

Willow's ever-present smile widened. "So cool, right?" she asked, taking her phone out of her pocket.

"What's…c-cool?" Maggie asked unsurely. She watched as Willow spun the camera on her phone around and posed, snapping a picture of herself.

"Just…that we're here!" Willow exclaimed in bubbling excitement. She examined the new photo she took while also managing to keep an eye on Maggie. An impressive feat, really.

"On…th-this island?" Maggie asked. She wanted to sink into the floor. She wasn't used to anybody wanting to actually talk to her. Usually, she was ignored in favor of the more popular groups.

She barely had enough of a spine to say anything about working in group projects, when she was the only one doing anything.

"No, silly!" Willow said as she put a filter over her photo. "On Total Drama!"

"Oh." Maggie blushed in embarrassment. Right. Of course. Because that actually did make sense.

"I used to watch it allll the time," Willow gushed, stretching out her words. "I can barely believe I'm really here!"

Maggie adjusted her glasses awkwardly. "I-I used to w-watch it with my friends," she offered. It wasn't very interesting information, but she didn't have much of anything to add to the conversation.

"Those Total Drama marathons, huh?" Willow asked with a grin. She hummed and shut her phone off, silently deeming her work to be finished at a later time.

"I-I guess," Maggie replied. She mentally slapped herself. What kind of response was that!?

"Then you should know all about strategy, shouldn't you?" Zachary said before Willow could reply.

Willow crossed her arms. "It's not nice to listen on other people's conversations."

Zachary rolled his eyes. "It's Total Drama. There is no privacy here."

Maggie frowned. He wasn't necessarily wrong. Millions of people were going to watch her on reality television.

But that was why she was here.

"Anyway," Zachary continued, waving away any possible complaint to come from Willow, "we should discuss who to vote off tonight if we lose."

Maggie blinked. "Like…a-an all-alliance?" she asked.

"Maybe," Zachary answered. "It's only strategy, don't look deep into it."

Maggie's frown deepened. Zachary didn't even bother to remember her name and yet he was asking her into joining an alliance with him?

"We can vote off the most dangerous player here and now before they get a foothold in the competition," Zachary stated. "Edward."

"E-Edward?" Maggie blurted.

"Yes. Edward," Zachary answered with a roll of his eyes. "He has the makings of a good threat. And why not take out one of those early?"

Maggie didn't agree. Not in the slightest.

Zachary shrugged again. "But whatever. If you have any brains at all, you'll know that I'm right."

Maggie bit her lip.

---

Confessional: The Timid Perfectionist

"I-It's day one and the-they're already strategizing," Maggie said. She adjusted her glasses with one hand and brushed a hand over her pants for lint.

Maggie released her glasses and started to wring her hands together nervously.

"Is it good strategy? Well…maybe?" Maggie rose her shoulders. "It's never too early to s-start strategizing."

She dropped her hands to her side and ran her hand along the side of her legs, before placing her hands down in her lap.

"But I s-see how mu-much V-ViVi hates Zachary, so…" she stopped, a plan beginning to form behind her eyes.

---

"And Alma and Harald make it to the puzzle!" Chris announced as the two in question did exactly that.

Alma slid down the slide at the end of the course with ease as Harald clutched his head as a bout of dizziness hit him, but he copied Alma enough to reach the bottom of the slide unscathed.

---

Next up was Maggie and Kyle, the latter of which created a strong lead that Maggie had a hard time keeping up with.

But regardless of how much better Kyle was on the course, Maggie still did her best to keep up, and they both crossed the finish in a decent amount of time.

"All's tied!" Chris announced again into the megaphone.

---

Nicky and Willow were the next ones onto the course, and neither of them were particularly good with it. Both of them slammed into the bags that swung around and nearly knocked them off.

But both kept a firm footing as best as they could, and both of them managed to race to the slide within seconds of each other, and ride it down.

"The Foxes and Scorpions remain tied. ViVi and Zachary, you two are the last ones left!" Chris said. Then he dropped his megaphone and turned towards Chef.

Chef fiddled with something on the Gatling gun, grunting and mumbling under his breath.

"You fixed that yet?" Chris asked impatiently.

Chef shot Chris a look of annoyance, before something clicked into place. "Yeah," Chef replied with a dark grin. "I'm firin' again."

They waited carefully as ViVi and Zachary stood side by side on the starting line of the course. Neither of them seemed to want to make a move, even in the dimming light of the sky.

"You ready for this, Discord?" ViVi asked scathingly. She squeezed her hands into fists, then opened them again.

Zachary eyed ViVi, clearly unimpressed. "It's like you want to make yourself my rival, but I barely remember who you are."

ViVi scoffed. "Right. Is that what you're going with?"

"You were so irrelevant that the thought of you didn't return to me until today," Zachary told her. "Your problem with me could not be less significant."

ViVi growled and glared at him. It was like that very idea hadn't crossed her mind once.

ViVi Venom was not insignificant.

They eyed each other, glaring daggers as they waited for the other to make the first move. A standoff between them.

And Zachary was the one to break it. He burst into a sprint and ViVi was right behind him in seconds.

They reached the steps in moments, and Chef fired the soft balls from the Gatling gun, hammering rather uselessly against them.

But neither of them said a word about it, not as they jumped their feet between step to step to step, before they made it to the top of the platform.

"Forget about me, huh, Discord?" ViVi snarled in burning rage. "I'll show you that you don't forget about me!"

She hurled a hand forward and grasped onto Zachary's hoodie, then pulled back tightly.

"Ah!" Zachary screamed in surprise as he was tugged, his hoodie catching around his throat, and he fell back, catching himself on his elbows.

ViVi ran past him without a word, and she dodged the first of the pendulums.

"Ugh," Zachary groaned, and he climbed to his feet. Then, he ran after ViVi. He would not let her beat him here. Not over some stupid rivalry that existed only in her head.

They dodged the blows of the pendulums as they each inched towards the climbing wall. Both of them ignored the balls that Chef shot at them, because other than providing a minor annoyance, they did nothing.

Not until ViVi's heel pressed into one and she lost her balance and stumbled forward. She barely had time to blink before Zachary passed her and jumped onto the climbing wall.

"No!" ViVi shouted, and she stood up and did the same as he did, and latched onto the wall.

Together, they made their way to the top of the wall, even as ViVi fought to slow Zachary down by grabbing onto his arm, her attempts failed and they reached the top in almost no time at all.

But Zachary reached the top quicker, and he lunged for the slide before ViVi could, and went down it before ViVi could stop him.

He hit the ground with a thud. But it wasn't over yet. The challenge was still on.

"Zachary reaches the end of the course first!" Chris said into his megaphone. "All that's left is the puzzle!"

A moment later, ViVi landed at the bottom of the slide.

"And ViVi ties it up!" Chris narrated.

"No, no, no!" ViVi muttered, and she ran to the blue puzzle pieces. The only one that was left.

Zachary did the same, capturing the red piece in his hand.

Both teams had already assembled much of the puzzle. On both sides, one empty square was left to be filled in.

The Foxes, a blue circular shape with a stylized fox in the foreground.

The Scorpions, a red spherical shape with a scorpion imprinted on the front.

Together, almost in synchronization, ViVi and Zachary sprinted as fast as they could to where their respective puzzles lay to slot the final piece into place.

And one of them did.

Chris pressed down on the button of his air-horn, blaring it straight into his megaphone. "The challenge is over!" he announced.

The Foxes and the Scorpions looked up at Chris with bated breath.

"And the winners of the first challenge of Total Drama: Hellebore Island is…

"The Ferocious Foxes!"

ViVi roared in accomplishment as Kyle, Nicky, Alma, and Carly cheered. Filima and Natasha only smirked.

"Oh, so close," Edward said in disappointment.

"But not close enough, Edward," Chris said as he walked down the incline.

"Are you kidding me!?" Penelope griped, holding her hair in her palms.

"Nope!" Chris responded gleefully. "But…I will need both of you at the elimination ceremony tonight for a special announcement."

Many of the cast exchanged uncertain glances as Chris snickered.

The jeep rolled down the incline with Chef at the wheel. He stopped beside Chris and Chef handed him a bag.

"And, since I am a man of my word," Chris said as he took the bag, "the Foxes get the meal reward for today's challenge!"

Chris dumped the contents of the bag into his free hand - a covered loaf of bread.

"Enjoy!" he said, and he tossed it into the air for ViVi to catch.

Zachary, Jason, and Penelope looked on with envy as the Foxes retrieved their award.

"Scorpions," Chris said, redirecting his gaze to the team that had lost. "You will be voting someone off tonight!"

The team glanced between each other, some more warily for others.

---

Night had fallen across the island.

The elimination ceremony. The worst part of any kind of competition, and now, the Scorpions sat on tree stumps, facing Chris McLean, who still wore a smug smile on his face.

Where had the team gone wrong? They were so close to winning. They had the lead at first, but then they lost it.

To the side, where the entrance of the elimination area was, were the seven Foxes who had managed to best them in the challenge.

"Welcome to the elimination ceremony, Scorpions!" Chris smiled, extending his arms. He flickered his eyes to where the Foxes watched from, then to where the Scorpions each sat upon a log.

On the top row sat Jason, Maggie, and Willow. On the second row sat Harald, Zachary, and Edward. The bottom row only had Penelope, who shot glares back at Edward every once in a while.

"I think you each have an excuse to go home," Chris said with a grin. "Jason…"

Jason met Chris' gaze evenly.

"You lost your team the head start your teammates gave you."

Jason frowned.

"Maggie."

Maggie looked down at her lap.

"You are your team's weakest link, enough of one that Kyle beat you on the course."

Willow pat Maggie on the shoulder reassuringly.

"Willow."

Willow looked away from Maggie to Chris.

"You seem to be spending more time on your phone than actually helping your team."

"Hey-" Willow started to protest, but Chris was faster.

"Speaking of, that goes against your contract. Hand it over."

Willow frowned, but complied with the request. She took her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Chris.

"Harald."

Harald's violet stare hit Chris head-on.

"Your little dizzy spell could be a disadvantage to your team."

Harald's expression did not change.

"Zachary."

Zachary straightened.

"You failed to put the last puzzle piece in in time, causing your team to lose."

Zachary rolled his eyes.

"Edward."

Edward nodded his head.

"You've been distracting Penelope, and that might prove disastrous in a future challenge."

Edward breathed out a sigh.

"And Penelope."

Penelope glared at Chris.

"You've been too distracted by Edward, which might let your team down in the future."

Penelope scoffed.

"But regardless of your reasons," Chris said with a shrug, "one of you has gots to go."

Chris gestured to what looked like a vase, with a thin opening in the top of the container. It sat on a pedestal that had been carved into the solid rock of the elimination area.

"How this season's elimination will work is that you will write the person you want to eliminate name on a piece of paper using this ink and quill," Chris told them, pointing to the quill in question that sat on a small stone table in front of the pedestal, a stack of what looked like burnt papers beside it.

The contestants looked at the pedestal in thought.

"Once you write the name down, deposit it into the container in front of you." Chris folded his hands behind his back. "We'll be able to catch you if you try to mess with the votes, so…don't try it."

None of the players seemed particularly bothered by that.

"Oh, and one more thing," Chris added, "if you wanna explain your thought process for eliminating a player, there are mics over there that'll pick it up."

The players glanced at each other.

"Let's start in alphabetical order…Edward, you're up!"

Edward blew out a breath and stood up. He crossed to the pedestal and put a piece of paper in front of him.

He tapped the feather of the quill to his chin as he debated with himself. "There's no hard feelings in this," he said sadly, before writing down a name.

Edward returned to his seat a moment later, looking at no one.

"Harald," Chris gestured.

"As you say," Harald said, and he stood.

One by one, each member of the team stood to write a name when they were called. One by one, they each cast their vote.

When Zachary sat back down, Chris grabbed the vase from off the pedestal and brought it closer to the cast. He opened it.

"The player with the most votes is the one to be eliminated off of Total Drama: Hellebore Island is to never return to the competition…unless we decide otherwise."

The Scorpions glanced at each other warily.

"Wait," Alma said. "You're reading them out to everyone?"

"That's right!" Chris said with a grin. "Now be quiet, peanut gallery."

Alma clicked her mouth shut.

Chris dipped his hand into the vase and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Now, the first vote goes to…

"Edward."

Edward frowned, but he nodded in understanding.

Chris spun the paper around to show that it indeed had Edward's name written on it. He placed it down and reached into the vase for the second vote.

"Second vote goes to…

"Zachary."

Zachary frowned. He swung his glare around at his castmates, silently guessing which one of them might have voted for him.

Chris put the paper down and reached for the next one.

"That's one vote for Edward, one vote for Zachary. The next vote is for…

"Edward."

Edward removed his hat and put it on his knee.

Zachary settled himself onto his log, apparently calmed.

Chris spun the next vote around.

"Zachary."

No one said a word. Not as Zachary stiffened again.

"That's two votes for Edward, two votes for Zachary. Three votes to go."

They watched as Chris read the next vote, and flipped it around.

"Zachary."

Zachary clenched his fists. That vote put him at the bottom.

"The next vote is for…

"Penelope."

Penelope sneered.

"That's three votes for Zachary, two votes for Edward, and one vote for Penelope. One vote left," Chris told them, taking the last vote from the vase.

Slowly, he read the final vote and flipped it around.

"The first contestant eliminated from Total Drama: Hellebore Island is…"

The paper flipped over, revealing a name.

"Zachary."

"What?" Zachary whispered in shock, his eyes wide. "That's not possible…"

"No joke, dude," Chris said with a smirk. "You're out." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Guess fame doesn't keep ya safe here, huh?"

Zachary stood slowly, his knees wobbling.

"Serves you right." ViVi smirked, but Zachary didn't so much as look at her.

"Boat of Losers is that way, bro," Chris said with another jab.

Zachary gave a single nod and walked off slowly in complete and utter disbelief. He didn't even notice as Chris followed him closely behind until he was on the boat.

Then, he let out a single, furious scream as the boat took him away from the island.

"And with that," Chris said with a widening grin towards the camera, "we're down to thirteen. Who else is bound to kick the bucket? Believe me, I have no idea. But stay tuned to find out on the next episode of…

"Total!

"Drama!

"Hellebore Island!"

---

Sadistic Scorpions: Edward, Harald, Jason, Maggie, Penelope, Willow

Ferocious Foxes: Alma, Carly, Filima, Natasha, Nicky, Kyle, ViVi

---

Questions!

1. What did you think of the cast?

2. Do you have any favorites so far?

3. What did you think of Zachary?

4. Did this elimination surprise you?

5. Who do you think/hope will be eliminated second?

---

Elimination Table:

14th- Zachary: The Sensation