So, remember how I said this chapter was going to be different than the canon version. Well, if you didn't notice, this chapter isn't "Canoe Believe It" the canon episode 6 of Total Drama Island (2024). I'm not skipping it, but I swapped the placements. It'll be the next chapter.

Slight spoiler, but this chapter isn't going to be the first merge challenge. I am sorta sticking to canon in that the canoe episode will be the first chapter of the merge. Why did I do this? Two reasons. One, I always found it weird how season one had six pre-merge episodes, but season two only has five. I wanted consistency.

And two, I thought it just helped with the story. I had to make a few changes to the challenge, but it worked out very well with the overall flow of the story. Trust me, this chapter will have a lot going on. I also made one other fairly major change to the story that I'll explain at the end.

Hope you enjoy.

"Last time on Total Drama Island." Chris narrated. "Our campers got the chills when we sent them into a block of ice to find a very handsome-looking coin. The Rat Faces took on deadly boots, seal cannons, and a flying MK. The Skunk Butts faced a yeti and the undeniable fact that their team is as dysfunctional as a choir without a conductor. Wayne proved to be a valuable asset, which Priya did not appreciate. After their loss, she got enough votes to send him away, but one of those votes was not from her bestie. Millie has a lot of explaining to do."

The camera flashed, showing Chris at the dock. He didn't look happy. "But more importantly than any of that, MK stole my hair dryer. But, as they say, time heals all wounds. I'm sure I'll forgive her after today's challenge. For now, don't miss what I have planned for her. Here…on Total…Drama…Island!"

At the mess hall, almost all the competitors were eating breakfast. However, one of them couldn't muster up the strength to eat. And it wasn't just because Chef's food was awful.

Raj sadly stared at the empty seat on the Rat Face's table and slumped.

Bowie rubbed his back, sympathetically.

Confessional (Bowie): "Yeah, Wayne got eliminated. But, on the bright side, this does mean I get some major boyfriend points for comforting Raj. I-I mean, I don't want him to be upset, but after these few episodes, I really need those points." He sighed. "But I still need to make it up to him in a more meaningful way."

Static

From the other side of their table, Julia watched them, grimacing.

Confessional (Julia): "Bowie is gonna pay for what he did. If we lose today, tomorrow or whenever, he's getting the boot."

Static

Julia continued glaring, taking no mind to her other teammate.

Emma sighed, looking at Raj and Bowie. "I miss my boyfriend."

The influencer was still not paying attention, but Emma went on.

"I miss his…w-well, I miss…he's my boyfriend, so of course I'd miss him. You get what I mean?"

That was enough to snap Julia from her death stare. "Wait, did you say something?"

Emma just sighed, longingly. "That's exactly what he would say if I asked that."

Things were no less tense on the Rat Faces side.

Millie sadly ate her mush. She glanced at her 'bestie,' who was sitting at the other end.

Confessional (Millie): She grunted. "I'm practically back to where I started in the finale. Priya probably hates me right now for lying. She doesn't know yet and…I might be okay with keeping that way ."

Static

Damien sat next to her. "So, why didn't you tell her?"

"Damien, I don't want to lose her as a friend again. Though, that might still be the case after last night."

"Well, if that already happened, you have nothing to lose. Just talk to her and get it over with."

Millie sighed. "It's…Damien, it isn't-"

The neurotic contestant cut her off. "I know. It's not easy." He thought for a moment, before realizing something. "Well…think of it this way. Were you nervous about Priya finding out about your notebook?"

Millie thought back. "Yeah, I was. Even though I wanted to do the research, I was worried she'd be mad once she saw what I wrote." She sulked. "And I was right."

"Are you also nervous she's gonna find out what you're hiding from her?"

"Y-yeah?" She was confused. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, we are on Total Drama, we've both talked about how you feel about Priya's parents, so if she was to re-watch this season, which she probably would…" Damien let Millie finish.

She gasped. "...then she'd find out either way." She groaned. "So, even if I do nothing, I'll still lose her as a friend."

Damien nodded. "Now you have a choice. She can hear it from Millie or TV Millie. And I don't think the TV version will be able to defend her point as well as you."

Millie thought about what her teammate was saying. She had a really tough decision to make.

As usual, two competitors had not joined the others for breakfast.

Clack. Clack.

Axel and Nichelle were in their usual field, clashing wooden sticks. Axel had been going slowly, swinging her staff, allowing Nichelle to block it.

"Alright, I'm going to go high with this one." She said, raising her stick.

Nichelle nodded and raised her own to block. Clack.

"Good. Now low."

Nichelle put her stick near her feet. Clack.

"High again."

Once more, Nichelle raised her staff. Thwack.

This time, Axel went low with her shot, striking Nichelle right in the shins. She winced, dropped her stick and clutched her throbbing shin. "What was that for?"

Axel shrugged. "You need to be prepared. Not every fight is going to have people telling you where they're going to hit you."

"I don't plan on being in a fight! I want to go back to Hollywood. The only people who can hurt me there would do it emotionally."

The zombie commando thought for a moment. "What if you have to fight a jealous co-star?"

Nichelle sighed. "Fair point."

Confessional (Axel): "Hitting Nichelle like this is not fun, but it is still necessary training. I didn't hit her face at least." She sighed and rested her palms on her chin. "Her soft skin, her flowing dreadlocks, her…" She gasped, realizing what she was saying. "Her…not at all…beautiful brown eyes."

Static

Nichelle stood back up. "Alright. Let's try this without the coaching. Just a silent training session."

Axel nodded and they began.

Clack. Clack.

They went on, striking their staffs against each other. Anytime Axel went to strike, Nichelle would block it. Soon enough, she was the one taking offense.

Axel had to focus on where to block each shot. She paid close attention to Nichelle's movements. This proved to be a mistake as Axel found herself looking at Nichelle's tight muscles on her arms. She moved so smoothly, as her hair swayed with every movement. The former Hollywood star even locked eyes with the zombie commando, who was now blushing hard. Unsurprisingly, she had frozen up.

Thwack

"Ow!"

Axel clutched her cheek, dropping her stick and falling back in the process.

Nichelle gasped and dropped her staff too. "Oh no. Axel! I'm so sorry. I thought you were going to dodge that!" She kneeled and reached out. "Here, let me look at it."

Axel was still rubbing her cheek when she felt a hand lightly push it out of the way. The warmth of the palm relaxed her. She sighed. "Thanks, I-" Axel's eyes shot open, as she suddenly realized the situation she was in.

She was lying on the ground and Nichelle's hand was holding her cheek. Their faces were also very close. Once more, Axel's face was as red as a traffic light.

Nichelle was still checking on her teammate. It suddenly dawned on her the position they were in. She also went wide eyed and blushed. She pulled her hand back.

The two stayed silent, unable to speak.

Fortunately, Chris' voice sounded over the speakers.

"Challenge time, campers! Meet at the beach in five minutes!"

As said before, the competitors arrived at the beach. Behind them were a few kitchen tables, ovens, and fridges. In front of them, aside from Chris and Chef, was a table with three chairs.

"Campers," Chris said. "Welcome to your next challenge!" He then proceeded to pull out a rubber spatula and toss it at Chef. The spatula struck him in the eye and stuck there.

All the competitors screamed at the sight of the co-host's eye being mangled by a kitchen appliance.

Suddenly, another Chef popped out from behind the disfigured Chef. "It's cake!" He shouted dramatically.

The competitors took a moment to catch their breath as they realized the Chef with a spatula stuck in its eye was actually made of cake.

"You trying to give us a heart attack, man?" Damien exclaimed.

"Every day," Chris said, then explained the challenge. "Today, you'll be making cakes that resemble a humble, handsome and, oh so, dashing TV personality…me!"

Chef continued. "You'll each be divided into groups and you'll each be tasked with making your cakes to be graded by three judges."

"Wait," Priya said, curiously. "Divided? But we're still in the pre-merge portion of the game." She gasped. "Unless…is this the first merge challenge?"

"Good question, Priya." Chris said. "No, it isn't. One of the interns mixed up the challenge documents, so we're doing this today." He went on. "You'll each be partnered with one or, in the Skunk Butts case, two partners. That means two teams of two for the Rat Faces and two teams of three for the Skunk Butts."

MK raised something. "That doesn't add up. There's five of us."

Chris smirked at her. "Oh, I am particularly glad you said that MK."

Confessional (MK): She looked nervous. "Why is he glad? Does he know about the stolen hair dryer?"

Static

"On an unrelated note, I had a pretty hard day yesterday, until my hair dryer magically turned up. Wonder how that could've happened." He winked. MK gulped.

Confessional (MK): "Yup, he knows."

Static

Chef pointed at the competitors. "We'll be picking your groups. So, if you get someone you don't like, you better work it out."

Confessional (Bowie): "This might sound bad, but I hope I'm not paired with Raj. Not that I don't want to see him, I just…don't want him to see me. I need those boyfriend points, more than anything, so I can't let him know what I'm up to."

Static

"The teams for the Skunk Butts are…" Chris said. "...Bowie, Emma, and Nichelle." The flamboyant contestant sighed in relief. "And Julia, Raj, and Axel." The zombie commando couldn't help but look disappointed from hearing this. Little did she know, Nichelle was doing the same thing.

"And for the Rat Faces. We decided to split you up, boys and girls. So Millie and Priya for one group and Caleb and Damien for the other."

Millie looked nervous.

Confessional (Millie): "I'm glad Priya isn't on a team with Caleb, but…I don't know if I'm ready to talk to her yet."

Static

"Wait, what about MK?" Priya noted.

The nervous-looking hacker squirmed as Chris turned his attention to her. He smirked. "Because of the uneven number, MK will be tasked with a different challenge." He pulled out a scroll and tossed it to her. "She will go out into the woods and have to find ten specific things for me. If she comes back, in time, with all ten items, she'll win it for her team, even if the Skunk Butts win the cake portion."

"Wait, hold on!" Bowie said. "That's not fair. They get a huge advantage just because they have one less player than us?"

"Oh, trust me…I wouldn't call this an advantage." Chris looked at MK.

The hacker was already sweating.

"Now, if you look behind me, you'll notice three chairs in. Myself, Chef and another judge will be grading your cakes. Our mystery judge is a former Total Drama contestant and is incredibly well versed in his judging skills."

"Wait, former Total Drama contestant?" Priya pondered. "Is it Owen? He did judge Lindsay in that episode of World Tour." She was getting excited. "It's gotta be him!"

"That's who we would've gotten if we felt like wasting our money on a flight for him to get here. Instead, we got…Chase!"

"Yo, yo, yo!" The previously eliminated constant walked in. "It's ya boi, Chase!"

"Babe!" Emma squealed. "I missed you so much! I'm so happy you're-"

Chase frowned. "Uh, babe? What did I say about interrupting my intros?"

"Oh…" Emma immediately stepped back. "...sorry." Bowie just rolled his eyes.

Chase took his seat next to Chris and Chef. "So, what's going on? What am I doing?"

"You…" Chris said. "...will be helping us judge the team's cakes?"

"What? Seriously? You brought me back for this?"

"Not exactly." Chris reached under his table and presented a device with a button in the middle. And plastered on the button was Chase's face. "You will be a judge, but you will also be helping to hinder your former contestants." He turned his attention to them. "This is the Chase Button. We have several of them littered around the challenge area. Find them, push the button and you'll unleash Chase onto the other team."

"Wait," Chase put his hands up. "When you say 'unleash,' what does that mean?"

"It means, you can pull one of your dangerously stupid and incredibly harmful pranks onto an opposing team."

The former contestant gasped in admiration, as he broke out into a huge smile.

Chris continued, pointing towards the water. There was a large wooden barge, surrounded by two boats. "Teams must swim to Battle Barge and nab as many ingredients as they can. What you grab and what you do to get your ingredients is entirely up to you. As stated before, you may also find a few Chase Buttons in there as well."

"Oh, I hope the Skunk Butts find there's first." Chase said excitedly. "I really want to prank Emma again."

Confessional (Bowie): "Luckily for Emma, there's no car brakes for Chase to cut."

Confessional (Emma): "Aww…he's thinking about me."

Static

Chef carried on. "Each team will find a carton of eggs, a carton of milk, and a tub of frosting in their fridges."

Chris took back over. "Your cakes will be graded on looks and taste. Each team will have two cakes to grade. The higher-ranked one will move to the final round where it will be judged against the opposing team's higher-rated cake. Whoever wins that final round, wins for their team. Your two-hour time limit starts…" He pulled out an air horn and blew it. "...now!"

The competitors all dove into the water and swam to the barge.

Chris turned to the only contestant who didn't. "That also applies to you." He smirked.

MK grimaced but turned and went into the woods.

Chris grabbed a megaphone. "Remember, only one team can win. So, play like you're trying to win those million bucks!"

Priya was already on the barge and grabbed a burlap sack. "I got the flour-" She was suddenly whacked with another bag.

Nichelle raised it up. "That's what I call flour power!"

Raj, from the top of the box, jumped onto Caleb's back. He pulled his shirt up to cover his face and started wailing on his head. All the hunk could do was wave his arms around.

Bowie was in the process of getting out of the water and onto the barge. He was suddenly kicked in the face by Damien, who then proceeded to let out a loud scream.

Caleb was finally able to throw Raj off and pull his shirt back down. "Woah, this is madness…"

Axel stepped in front of him. "Madness? This…is…drama!" She then leaned back slightly and kicked Caleb right in the gut. He screamed and fell back, right into the water.

More violent brawls were happening all over the barge.

Chris and Chef watched on. "Wow." The host said. "That did not take long."

Chef was about to reply when he saw something. "Duck!" He went down and pulled Chris with him. A spear flew over their heads and landed in the sand.

Chris looked at it. "Did we leave a trident in there?"

Priya rubbed her cheek from being hit. She regained her senses and noticed something hiding under a burlap sack. She grabbed it.

Confessional (Priya): She was holding a Chase Button. "Perfect. But I shouldn't use this too quickly. Wait for the right moment, and then I'll press it."

Static

Bowie, having gotten back onto the barge, was looking more carefully for ingredients. His boyfriend noticed him.

Confessional (Raj): He was smiling. "Man, it's so good to know Bowie isn't cheating anymore. Now we can stick together and really win this thing!"

Static

"Bowie." He ran up. "Do you need-"

His boyfriend frantically turned around and put his arms out, like he was blocking whatever was behind him. "Raj! Look, I know you want to work together, but we're in different groups. You help your teams and I'll help mine, okay?"

Raj frowned but nodded. "O-Okay. I'll see you later then." He ran back to his team.

Bowie wiped his brow and turned back around. He then noticed something. He reached down and pulled out a Chase Button that was wedged between two boxes.

He smirked but, before even thinking about pressing it, the button was swiped from his hands.

Emma was now holding it. She quickly pressed the button.

Back at the judging table, a buzzing sound was heard. Chris smiled. "Uh-oh. Looks like Emma is the first to unleash Chase. I wouldn't want to be the Rat Faces right now."

Chase smirked and dove into the water.

The Rat Faces, meanwhile, were on their boat, having found a ton of ingredients.

"Alright, I think we have enough to divvy them up between us. So let's-" Priya was cut off when a water balloon struck her in the face.

Chase appeared on the dock, suddenly holding several different colored balloons. He began chucking them at the Rat Faces.

They tried blocking them with their hands, but the balloons kept on coming.

Confessional (Emma): "See? My boyfriend is super helpful. I'm so happy to have him back."

Static

Damien looked and noticed some of the water was dripping onto the flour bags.

"He's ruining our ingredients!" He yelled.

Priya pulled out her Chase Button.

Confessional (Priya): "I know I said I was going to save this, but the other team has the lead. I can't risk them getting too far ahead."

Static

She pressed down on it.

"Oh, now it's the Skunk Butts turn!" Chris narrated.

Chase stopped throwing his balloons. He then turned to see the Skunk Butts about to start their boat.

Emma was at the front, driving. "Thanks to my awesome boyfriend, we're now in the lead and we-" His eyes shot open. A gray fin appeared in front of the boat. "Dolphin!" She grabbed the wheel and swerved violently. Most of her teammates were barely able to hold on. Emma didn't see where she had turned and ended up crashing into a rock. The boat's sudden stop caused the competitors to fall forward and some of their ingredients went up and into the water.

Bowie stumbled but had a tight grip on his ingredients. He glared at Emma. "What on earth was that?"

Emma was catching her breath. "I didn't…want to…hit the dolphin!"

Bowie looked. He saw the gray fin. A second later, it emerged and it was revealed to be Chase with goggles and a fake fin.

He laughed and pointed at them. "Gotcha, babe! Oh, that was sick!"

Emma laughed nervously. "Y-Yeah…you got me."

Confessional (Emma): She took a deep breath. "Okay, that was actually a little terrifying. Chase did that same prank on me when I went jet skiing once and I couldn't go back into the water for four months." She paused and thought to herself, before shaking her head. "H-He obviously forgot and he had to prank us anyway, so it's not a problem."

Confessional (Chase): "Oh man. That was even funnier the second time."

Static

MK trudged through the woods. She glanced at her list. Needless to say, she was not looking forward to this challenge.

Confessional (MK): She was still holding her list. "Am I surprised that Chris made me do this? No. And I'm sure all these things I have to find won't be easy." She read it over. "I guess I can start with something easy. A piece of Chef's breakfast from this morning. Should be simple enough. To the dumpsters!"

Static

MK soon arrived back at the mess hall building. She saw an opened dumpster just behind it. She peered in and saw a tray of mush from this morning. "Bingo!" She reached in to grab the tray. Suddenly, a raccoon popped out from the garbage and bit her hand. She winced. "Ow!" She pulled her arm back and fell backwards to the ground. The raccoon chuckled at her, sunk back into the garbage, and closed the lid.

MK glared.

Confessional (MK): "Am I really going to pick a fight with a trash panda?" She paused. "Yeah, I am. Because being on this show for two seasons is clearly making me go mad."

Static

The Rat Faces used the distractions from earlier to go back to the barge and bring their ingredients to their kitchen. Damien laid them out on the table. "Alright," He said. "We need eggs, milk, and a mixer." Priya and Caleb obliged and went off. "We might be working separately, but we can still help each other out."

Confessional (Damien): "I'm pretty confident we can win this challenge. Baking is like a science. With the right calculations and ingredients, you can make anything. It…also helps distract me from the fact that Caleb and Priya might hate me."

Static

Priya arrived back with a mixer.

Millie walked up to her. "Hey, Priya. Now that we're working together, I just wanted to-"

"Let's get to work. We don't want to lose two in a row."

"Priya." Millie tried her best to not sound frustrated. "I really-"

Last season's winner put her hand up. "If this is about last night, we'll talk about it later. Right now, focus." She got out a bowl and got out the flour and eggs. "Let's crack some eggs."

Millie sighed but nodded.

Confessional (Julia): She sighed. "Believe it or not, this challenge was made for me. Every summer, I worked at my parents' bakeshop. They called it 'Sweet Little Julia's.'" She said that in a sweet manner, before immediately dropping the act and grimacing. "I only speak to Greg and Judy through my lawyers now."

Static

"Alright, let's get moving!" Julia demanded, already pouring ingredients into the bowl. "I'm not about to let you butt knuckles mess me up! Get the milk and eggs!" Emma went to get them. "Bowie! You and your team-"

She looked over. Bowie was already mixing up something in a bowl.

She glared. "Better be careful, Bowie. If we lose, I can guarantee you're going-"

"You got any more flour?" Bowie asked.

Julia was surprised. "Umm…yeah." She grabbed a nearby bag and handed it to him.

"Thank you," Bowie said. Then he turned back to his station.

Julia was still stunned by Bowie's nonchalantness.

Millie had just opened the fridge for some of the milk. She then noticed something. She reached in and, in the back of the fridge, she pulled out a Chase Button. She looked over at the Skunk Butts.

Confessional (Millie): "I know Priya doesn't trust me right now and this button could help us, but the moral implications of what Chase considers a prank is…rather unethical."

Static

Suddenly, the button was swiped from Millie's hands. She looked to see Priya was now holding it. She quickly pressed the button, then turned to Millie. "Come on, Millie. We can't hesitate like that. My parents taught me that when they took me to Archery camp. I learned to dodge so many things there."

Millie's jaw dropped. "They…shot arrows at you?"

Priya scoffed. "No. The counselors did. It really helped with my ability to make quick decisions."

Millie looked like she was about to blow a gasket, but started quiet.

Priya looked around. "Where's Chase?"

Chef and Chris watched the Skunk Butts mixing their flour. "Wow, Julia and Nichelle look like they're ready to start making the batter," Chef said. "She just needs one thing."

"Where are those eggs?!" Julia snapped.

Emma arrived a second later. "Here."

"Finally," Julia said. "Nichelle, you take half and I'll-" She froze, noticing something in the carton. "What's that?"

Emma looked. One of the eggs was gray. She picked it up. "I don't know. Maybe it's-" She then gasped. "Wait. I know what this is. It's-"

But she was cut off when the 'egg' suddenly exploded. Emma was covered in black smoke. She coughed and, in the process, dropped the carton. The eggs were now shattered.

Behind Julia, Chase appeared, holding a phone. "Boom! Smoke bomb! Now we wait for the reaction…" The smoke cleared, revealing a dusty Emma, looking awkward and uncomfortable. "Nice face, babe. That's gonna be the thumbnail." Chase gave a thumbs up.

Julia groaned. "Great. Now we're out of eggs. Someone needs to go out and get more."

"I'll go." Axel said.

Nichelle saw this and ran up. "I'll go out with her." She froze, suddenly blushing. "I-I mean, I'll go…with her." She giggled nervously.

Julia rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just get enough for both groups." She went back to her station.

Axel and Nichelle went off and Chase went back to his seat. Emma was left alone.

Confessional (Emma): "So…great to have my boyfriend back." She did not sound confident. "I-I mean, he complimented me. I should've expected the smoke egg. It was my fault. It's one of his favorite pranks." She coughed and a huge plume of smoke flew out of her mouth.

Static

Back at the dumpster, MK was still trying to get the food. Only this time, she had a different approach. She had a rope attached to the roof and was climbing down the wall, leading to the dumpster. She knocked on the lid.

A raccoon pushed it up and looked around. It didn't notice that MK was directly above. The hacker slowly lowered herself into the dumpster. She saw a gross pile of mushy paste. She shuddered but didn't make a sound. Carefully, she scooped it up, trying even harder to not be too grossed out.

However, her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a chirp. She froze and slowly looked to her left. A raccoon was right next to her and didn't look happy. MK turned to her right and saw five more raccoons giving her death glares. She gulped.

Thinking quickly, she tossed the mushy paste out of the dumpster. It landed in a pile on the grass. MK stood up and scrambled to get out. However, the raccoons chirped angrily and pulled her back inside.

Confessional (MK): She was covered in scratches and bite marks. "I doubt Chris or Chef would care if I dropped the food on the ground. Heck, if they tasted it, I doubt they'd know the difference."

Static

Millie was growing tired. She was trying to mix the batter for the cake, all the while dealing with Priya's constant demands. "You're mixing too fast!" And when Millie slowed down. "No, if you do it like that, it'll take too long." Then it was…"You spilled some batter! It needs more flour! It needs more eggs! Milk!"

It was too much for Millie. She felt herself getting lightheaded and faltered. Priya noticed and quickly swiped the bowl from her, placing it on the table. She then noticed the sorry state of her teammate. She sighed. "Look, Millie. I'm sorry if I'm being overbearing. I really don't want to lose twice in a row and…I'm still not over what happened last night."

Millie tried to catch her breath. "I know...and I-"

Priya put her hand up. "Don't tell me now. We can't have any distractions." She thought for a moment. "Tell you what, if we win, then we can talk. I want to know why you didn't vote with me." She held out her hand.

Millie managed a small smile. "Ok, Priya." She reached out and the two Rat Faces shook hands.

Chris and Chef noticed. "Wow," Chris said. "No idea what's going on with Priya and Millie, but it looks like they're about to kick it up a notch."

A loud splat followed, as MK appeared, still covered in scratches. She then promptly walked out.

"Ohh…" Chef said. "She started with the easy one." He and Chris started laughing.

Axel and Nichelle were still walking through the forest, on the lookout for eggs. Neither had said much to each other. Eventually, they ran into a large chicken coup, with several chickens in front of them.

"Alright, seems easy enough," Axel noted.

Nichelle smirked and stepped forward. "Yeah. These eggs will be easy pickings."

"I don't know…" Axel questioned. "I heard Damien screaming something about getting attacked by chickens a few days ago."

Her teammate scoffed. "They're flightless birds. I don't think they'll put up much of a fight."

The chickens squawked at this. They then glared at Nichelle and Axel.

The two Skunk Butts noticed. "You wanna say that again?" The zombie commando asked.

Nichelle tried to stay confident. "Umm…w-what can they do? They're…just chickens."

One of the animals suddenly jumped forward, heading right towards Nichelle.

The former Hollywood star screamed and covered herself with her hands.

The chicken was about to strike when a boot cut off its path. It was sent flying and crashed into a few other chickens.

Nichelle looked up to catch the tail end of Axel stepping in front and high-kicking the flightless bird. As expected, she found herself blushing.

"You alright?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, I'm- Look out!"

The zombie commando turned, just in time to see an angry chicken directly in front of her face. She gasped, as she didn't have time to dodge. She suddenly felt a hand on her back and she felt herself leaning back. She then felt herself stop, only a few feet from the ground.

Nichelle was holding her in a dip position, with her hand on Axel's back, but her feet still on the ground. She had avoided the chicken and saw Nichelle use a stick to whack it out of the way. Now it was Axel's turn to blush.

Nichelle pulled her upright, reached to the ground, and handed her a stick. "You ready?"

Axel looked, noticing the glaring chickens, closing around them. She confidently turned to Nichelle and took the stick. "Let's ruffle their feathers!"

The two jumped forward, letting out a loud battle cry as they began the fight.

Confessional (Axel): She facepalmed. "Ruffle their feathers!? That was seriously the best I could come up with. Geez, Nichelle's going to think I'm so lame."

Confessional (Nichelle): She looked like was going to burst from excitement. "Did you hear that? She tried a one-liner and it was so cool!" She sighed. "Of course she'd come up with one way better than anything I would've thought of. She's ten times cooler than me."

Static

MK was still making her way through the forest. She glanced down at her list and groaned.

Confessional (MK): "It's gonna take me forever to find these things. And I'm sure Chris made it that way. Right now, I'm deciding between a tuft of bear fur or a severed shark tooth. And those are the easy ones."

Static

MK peeked behind a tree and found a sleeping bear. She sighed, realizing it was her best option. She carefully walked over, making sure not to step on anything. When she was standing right next to it, she tried to find some loose strands of fur.

Then she heard a low chirp. She turned around to see the dumpster raccoons, all glaring at her.

"What the heck do you want?" MK whispered. "I already left your trash home."

The head raccoon pointed at the sleeping bear. A second one then pulled out a paper bag and blew into it. The head one then held its sharp claw at it, a sinister grin forming across its face.

MK quickly put two and two together. "W-What? Hold on, why are you doing this? It's not like I stole some important. Are you telling me that gross piece of slob was your…lunch." Her tone suggested that was exactly the case.

The raccoon nodded and moved its claw closer to the bag.

MK gulped.

Confessional (MK): "If they pop that thing and scatter, that bear is going to maul me." She pondered for a second before grinning. "So I just need to be a little faster than them."

Static

MK, thinking quickly, grabbed a handful of bear fur and pulled hard. It came out with a loud tear. The bear was startled awake and snapped its eyes open. The hacker then took her stolen fur and threw it at the trash pandas. They were surprised.

The head raccoon wasn't paying attention and accidentally popped the bag.

The bear, now fully awake, got up and looked at them. It growled.

The raccoons, now fearing for their life, took one look at the brown ball of death in front of them and scattered. The bear roared and gave chase.

MK, having jumped behind a bush, popped her head out and grinned to herself. She saw the pile of bear fur on the ground.

Confessional (MK): She was grinning. "Here's a little lesson. Mess with me and I'll mess you right back."

Static

Chase sighed loudly. "This so boring…how long has it been since I pulled a prank?"

"Ten minutes," Chef answered plainly.

"Well, that's like, ten minutes worth of content that isn't being used. When are they going to find another Me Button."

"Y'know," Chris said. "The buttons are more of an incentive than a command. Gives the competitors something to do while they're making food."

"So…what does that mean?"

Chris grinned. "It means, that if you want to pull a prank without having to wait for a button to be pushed, I won't stop you."

Chase smiled widely and immediately ran off.

"Emma, get us some frosting." Julia demanded. "Axel and Nichelle will be back soon.

The YouTuber did so and opened the fridge. She was surprised to find that it wasn't in there. She closed the door and turned around. "I don't see any-" She was cut off when a tub of blue goop fell on her. She squirmed.

Chase, now standing on top of the fridge, with the frosting tub in one hand and a phone pointed at his girlfriend in another, laughed. "Haha, get slimed, babe!"

Julia groaned. "We need to save that frosting!" She looked down and noticed a small device under the fridge. She pulled it out, revealing another Chase Button. She quickly pressed it. "Yo! Pizza grease!" Chase looked up, noticing what Julia was holding. He jumped and ran off.

Julia went up to Emma, who was still dripping in frosting. She tried to scoop the frosting off her face and into a bowl. "Raj! Bowie! Help me get this off of her before it lands on the ground."

Raj appeared, holding a bowl.

Julia raised an eyebrow. "Where's your boyfriend?"

The hockey bro shrugged.

Bowie suddenly walked up behind them. He hadn't noticed what his teammates were doing. "Long shot, but does anyone have any raisins?" He jumped when he saw Emma's frosting-covered face. "What happened to you?"

Emma blushed. "Umm…the other team found a Chase Button."

"And he went after you," Bowie mumbled, sarcastically. "How shocking."

"Why do you need raisins?" Raj asked.

The flamboyant contestant froze up. "Umm…" He thought of an excuse. "Y'know, Chris probably likes them." He chuckled nervously.

"Oh, good call. If I was a judge, I'd give it a good score."

"Good to know…" Bowie said slyly.

"Ya gonna help?" Julia raised her voice.

Bowie rolled his eyes but got a bowl to help.

Damien and Priya had just pulled their cakes out of the oven.

"One hour done and one hour left." Chris narrated. "And it looks like the Rat Faces are almost ready to start sculpting."

"Not for long…" Chef said.

Damien stood proudly by their cakes. "Alright, let's give these a minute to cool and then we can-"

"Table slide!"

The four Rat Faces turned to see Chase running at their table. Priya and Millie realized what he was doing and grabbed her cakes. The prankster jumped onto the table and slid across, knocking down everything in his way.

Priya and Millie were holding their cakes, but Damien and Caleb's ended up falling into the sand.

"Oh!" Chris exclaimed. "And it looks like Chase has set them back. They need cakes to be judged."

Damien grunted.

"What do we do now?" Caleb asked.

The neurotic contestant looked at the other team, then back to Priya and Millie. "I can make another cake, but I don't think I'll have time to sculpt it. You two will have to work on yours while we restart.

Priya and Millie nodded.

Axel and Nichelle arrived back with a new carton of eggs. The Skunk Butts quickly got to work.

"Wow!" Chef noted. "They didn't waste any time."

They soon had their cakes ready and we're about to put them in the oven.

Confessional (Julia): "The Rat Faces may set us back, but they don't who their messing with. We're winning this challenge."

Confessional (Axel): She looked kinda awkward and upset. "I kinda miss hanging out with Nichelle."

Confessional (Nichelle): She sighed. "Fighting those chickens was a lot of fun."

Static

Julia closed the door to the oven.

"Hold up!"

Bowie opened it back up and put another tray inside. He then closed it again.

Julia was confused. "Did you make an extra cake?"

Bowie nodded and then walked off. Julia was still confused.

Emma, no longer covered in frosting, went over to the kitchen table, ready to clear a path for sculpting the cakes. She pushed a bowl aside and then noticed something in it. She picked it up, peered in, and then went wide-eyed. It was a large black spider. It suddenly jumped at her.

Emma screamed and swiped it away, staggering back in the process. She stumbled right into the fridge, the back of her head slamming into it. "Ow!" She winced. She rubbed the back of her head and looked up.

Chase was now standing in front of her, with his phone pointing at her and holding a fishing pole with a fake spider attached to it. He grinned. "Perfect, babe. Another quality reaction." He turned and walked away.

Emma, still reeling from the pain, forcing a laugh.

"So that's your boyfriend?" Bowie walked up to her, giving an almost pitying look to his former friend. "Could've fooled me." He walked away.

Emma was left alone, still recovering. She wanted to make a comeback to what Bowie said, but couldn't bring herself to speak.

Confessional (Julia): "I wonder how MK's doing. I mean, not that I want to be in her position- better her than me- but it would've been fun if we could mess with more people. "

Static

MK was currently in the ocean, swimming as fast as she possibly could, screaming all the way. Behind her were a few shark fins sticking out of the water.

"30 minutes left!" Chris announced.

Damien had just tossed his newly made cake batter into the oven. He wiped his brow. "Dang. I'm not going to have enough time to shape the new one. I might have to do a rush job with it." Priya and Millie were about to shape their cakes. Damien looked at them and sighed. "Hopefully our's will be good enough."

"Umm…you might want to look at this." Caleb said, pointing at the other team.

Damien, Millie, and Priya looked at where he was pointing and gasped.

Julia and Nichelle had two cakes done and shaped. They both looked exactly like Chris.

"No way we're going to win if we're going against those," Priya said.

Caleb glanced at Millie, then grinned. "Hold on." He walked over to the cake Priya and Millie were working on. "We have to make it look like Chris, right? But what if we made it look like how Chris thinks he looks?"

Priya gasped. "That's brilliant!" She turned to her teammate. "Millie, let's get to work!"

The bookworm contestant sighed and obliged. "We're still having that talk after this, right?"

"If we win." Priya responded but was more focused on shaping the cake. Millie grimaced.

Confessional (Caleb): "I know normally I try to keep Millie and Priya separate, but right now, I actually need them together. Priya doesn't trust Millie and I think keeping them in this intense challenge is going to make one of them crack. Hopefully, it's Millie."

The Skunk Butts were putting their finishing touches on their Chris cakes. "Perfect," Julia said, putting more icing in Cake Chris' hair.

Nichelle grinned. Holding up her finished cake on a platter. "Let them eat cake!" She shouted.

"We might actually have a shot at winning this!" Raj yelled.

Nichelle looked at him and nodded. However, she didn't see a pair of hands swipe the cake from her. She looked back and then noticed. "Wait, where did my cake go?"

Emma shrugged, before feeling something poke her shoulder. She turned and the Chris Cake was promptly smashed into her face. Crumbs and icing splatted smooshed her face and a few chunks fell to the ground.

"Boom!" Chase yelled, holding what was left on a plate. "Get pranked!"

Julia groaned. "Hey! The other team never pressed the Chase Button. What are you doing?!"

Chase scoffed. "Chris said I could do whatever. So that's what I did."

Emma spat out a piece of the cake. "Wait, what? So…that fake spider wasn't from the other team."

Chase shook his head. "Nope. All from my brilliant mind."

"And you dumping the frosting on my head?"

The prankster vlogger laughed. "Oh, man. That was hilarious."

"And the smoke bomb and the fake dolphin…all of those were on me." She looked at her boyfriend. "Why does it feel like you're targeting me?"

Chase rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, babe. You always have the best reactions. Remember that time I cut the brakes off your car? Your scream was so good, I found, like, twenty different remixes of it."

Emma's mouth fell open. A chill ran up her spine and her whole world seemed to slow down. Julia, Axel, Nichelle and Raj all felt extremely uncomfortable.

"3…2…1!" A timer rang out. Chris stood up from his chair. "Spatula's down! Present your cakes. We'll do this one at a time, so pick which cake you want to go first."

The Rat Faces and Skunk Butts stepped forward. Nichelle grimaced as she was holding the cake Chase had smashed. The best they could get was a cake that looked more like Chris if he was in the process of melting.

The host raised an eyebrow. "Alright…interesting design."

"Yeah." Chase said, grinning. "I helped with that one."

Priya then stepped forward with her cake. Chris gasped. Like the last cake, it looked nothing like the host. Well, it did, but it was taller and flexing its overly exaggerated muscles. Chase and Chef were confused, but Chris was enamored. "It's amazing!" He said. "It literally looks exactly like me. No differences whatsoever." He matched the pose and flexed.

Millie and Priya grinned. "So, we'll definitely be having that talk, right?" Millie whispered

"We haven't won yet." Priya responded.

Millie exhaled, trying to hide her frustration.

The cakes were soon cut into slices. They started with the Skunk Butts entry. Chef, Chris and Chase each took a bite. None of them looked particularly impressed.

"I think you lost most of the moistness when it got smashed." Chef noted.

"Not me." Chris grimaced. "I think mine had a bit of saliva in it."

Chase chuckled knowingly.

Emma was still left frozen.

Now it was the Rat Faces turn.

"Let's see if this cake tastes as good as it looks." The three judges each took a bite.

Chris chewed, savoring every bite. His eyes then shot open and his eyes started tearing up. "It's…delicious."

"I…I need more." Chef added, also starting to cry .

"Holy cow, this is so good." Chase noted.

All three immediately scarfed down their cakes with their hands. "Wow." Chris said, with a mouthful of cake. "This one is going to be hard to beat."

Priya and Millie couldn't help but smile.

"So, does that mean-" Millie started.

"Don't jinx it!" Priya snapped.

"But-"

"Not now, Millie."

The bookworm sighed.

Confessional (Millie): She looked annoyed. "Priya is going to keep her promise, right?"

Static

The remaining Skunk Butts and Rat Faces presented their cakes. Julia had a cake that looked exactly like Chris, who was impressed. Damien put up their other cake and…

"Umm…" Chris raised an eyebrow.

The Rat Faces second cake was nothing to gawk at. It was a typical round cake, but because of the time limit, all Damien had time to do was make a hastily mangled drawing of Chris, using frosting, and put it on the top.

"Yeah…" Damien sighed knowingly.

They were soon ready to start the eating process.

Priya and Millie stood back, at their table, with their cake.

Millie's eyes kept darting to Priya and the judging table.

Priya noticed and sighed. "Millie, how many times do I have keep saying it? If we win, we'll talk."

"I know. I just…" The bookworm sighed. "You're not going to go back on it?"

Priya turned to her. "Why would you think that?"

"Because it feels like you're only focusing on the challenge and not what you promised."

"I don't want to lose two in a row. And if we're this close, I don't want to risk messing something up."

"But, on the off chance we lose-"

Priya put her hand to Millie's mouth. "Don't say that! We can't risk any jinxes."

Millie pushed her hand away. "So you don't want to have that talk?"

"Millie, I already made the deal. If we win-"

"I know!" The bookworm snapped. "I know! I just…really want to talk to you."

"Why is it so important? You had the chance to tell me what was going on, but you didn't."

Millie was starting to feel tense. "I…I was scared. I didn't want to risk losing you as a friend again."

Priya was confused. "Lose me as a- Millie, what are you talking about?"

Confessional (Millie): She looked extremely frustrated. "I…I can't hold it in anymore."

Static

"Priya!" Millie grabbed her friend's shoulders. "I…I don't like how your parents treat you!"

"What?" Priya said, then sighed. "Millie, I thought we were done with-"

"No!" Her sudden shout caused their teammates to face them. "Priya, this is different. I know writing about them was wrong, but doesn't mean I wasn't. I mean, come on! What parents send their kid to catapult camp or make them eat liver and ice cream or make them believe that medical school isn't as important as some foolish reality show?!"

"I heard that!" Chris yelled.

Millie ignored him. "Priya…." She let go of her. "I'm sorry, but your parents are…insane!" She shot her arms out for emphasis.

She probably should've been paying attention to where she saw standing. She felt her hand hit something soft and damp. A splat followed. Millie heard it and turned.

She gasped as she realized she had knocked the head off of their cake. Cake Chris' head now lay on the ground in a splattered mess. The rest of the cake was in tact. Caleb and Damein saw what happened.

"Oh no…" Millie said quietly.

Priya was too shocked at Millie's outburst to even muster a reaction.

Not long after, Chris had called Julia and Millie to present their cakes again. Julia's had gone through a successful judging, putting her team through to the final round. She was nervous about going against the muscular Chris Cake. That was until…

"Hmmm…" It didn't take long for Chris to notice what was wrong. "Where's my head?"

Millie was embarrassed. "It…fell."

"I see."

"Dude, that is a sick prank." Chase noted. "Probably not a good idea for the challenge though."

"I was going to give your Chris Cake a higher score. It tasted better and just…well, it looked exactly like me." He looked again at the Rat Faces cake. "But now…seeing the headless version of myself is…dissapointing."

"But…" Millie tried to defend herself. "We already cut off a piece for the tasting. Why should this matter?"

"Because that piece wasn't the most important feature of my body. My face." He wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm sorry…but not really. Your blunder has really soured my mood. And the suitable punishment I can give you, is to award the win to the Skunk Butts."

Julia, Nichelle, Axel and Raj all cheered.

"And it looks like the Rat Faces will be-" Chris stopped himself, suddenly standing up and pointing. "Wait!"

Everyone turned. MK was running towards them, looking like she was going to pass out. She was holding a rubber boot.

"Remember, if MK brings in all ten items, the Rat Faces will automatically win!"

Millie's eyes widened.

Confessional (Millie): "If we win this, I might be safe and…I can talk to Priya again!"

Static

MK arrived, out of breath, as she placed the boot onto the table. Millie raised in arms in victory. "Yes! We win!"

Chris walked up. "Congrats MK. I did not think you find more than three items."

The hacker was too tired to respond.

"So, we win?" Millie said hopefully.

"Nope, you guys are still sending someone home."

The bookworm was stunned. "Wait, but you said-"

"Yeah. More than three items. That was her fourth."

Millie was stunned. "Wait, why did you act like she was going to win it?"

"Dramatic tension." Chris answered.

Millie sank to her knees in defeat. Chris continued. "Rat Faces, I will see you-"

"Wait!"

Bowie suddenly appeared, holding a tray. "There's still one more cake to judge!"

"You already presented two." Chris said.

"Yes." Bowie responded. "But this one isn't going to be judged by any of you." He then walked up to his boyfriend. "Here ya go, Raj."

The hockey bro was confused, until he looked down. He gasped. "Wait, is this bread pudding?!"

Bowie nodded. "I spent the whole challenge making it and I hope you-"

Raj immediately started scarfing it down, not even bothering with a fork or knife. He stopped himself after a few chunks. " 'hanks, 'owi. Eour the 'est 'oy'riend eva'."

Bowie smiled, but seeing chunks of bread oozing out of his boyfriend's mouth grossed him out.

Confessional (Bowie): "I…think I can wait a little longer until that kiss."

Static

Chase walked up to them and whispered. "Hey, Raj. Can I have a bit of that? I have a really funny idea for a prank. I'll get Emma and-"

"Chase…"

The prankster turned around.

BANG

A frying pan smacked Chase directly in the face. It was so hard, an imprint of his face was left on the metal. Chase was knocked senseless. He promptly fell backward onto the ground, completely loopy.

Emma stood over him, frying pan in hand. She looked furious. She took a deep breath. "We. Are. Through!" She shouted.

Chase was too dazed to respond.

"And I mean it this time! You are the absolute worst and I was such an idiot to ever believe you were anything else!" She stomped away.

The other competitors were stunned at what just happened.

Bowie smirked and went up to her. "Wow. I was worried you were never going to come to your senses, but nice job, Emma."

The YouTuber turned to face her former friend. Bowie was caught off guard.

Emma still looked angry, but the flamboyant contestant could see a hint of sadness on her face.

"You were right, Bowie." She said quietly. "I am pathetic. It took me this long to realize that Chase hasn't changed at all. I don't deserve any of your respect and I'm so sorry for not listening to you." She wiped her eyes, turned around, and walked away.

Bowie, like Priya, was too shocked to respond.

Confessional (Bowie): "Wow. Never have I felt so…underwhelmed to be told I was right."

Static

Priya was walking through the woods, alone. She kicked a rock that was in her path in frustration.

Confessional (Priya): She grunted. "I thought we were over what happened last season. I forgave her already, why is she bringing it up? She's…she's not judging me, I don't think. So…what?! I…I don't know what to do."

Static

Priya wasn't alone for long. She heard footsteps and turned around. "Glad I found you." Caleb said. "How ya feeling?"

Last season's winner sighed. "I don't know. Millie…I don't know what she's on about. I mean…my parents…they're…" She grunted again, kicking another rock. It went high and ended up bouncing off a squirrel's head, knocking it unconscious. "I-I know she's not right, but…why would she say that?"

"Maybe she was lying?" Caleb suggested.

Confessional (Caleb): "I don't actually know what Millie was talking about, but I need to take this opportunity. She is so close to going. And then I'll finally have what I need."

Static

Priya turned around, looking annoyed. "Millie wouldn't lie to me. Especially after everything we went through. She just said that because…because…"

Caleb put his hand on Priya's shoulder. "Hey, listen. It was just a suggestion. But, whether it's true or not, it's clearly bothering you. And on a show like this, you need to put all your focus into winning. So…do you think you can do that with Millie still here?"

Priya pushed Caleb's hand off, glaring at him. "Are you saying I should vote off my best friend?!"

Caleb put his hands up. "You don't have to vote for her. But I know how serious you take this game. And if you're not fully focused, it'll be a lot easier for people to target you."

Priya held her glare, but didn't say anything. It softened slightly after a few seconds, turning into a look of uncertainty.

Laughter echoed through the woods. Nichelle and Axel were making their way down to their training area. Both of them were reminiscing about the challenge.

"So I kicked him right into the water." Axel said. "It was awesome."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I gave Priya a concussion." Nichelle laughed. She then nudged Axel in the arm lightly. "Those chickens were also pretty easy, thanks to your training."

Axel looked away to hide her blush, but still smiled. "Thanks. I used to chase chickens at mi abuela's farm. It taught me how to use my senses better, which helps when you're facing down a zombie."

Nichelle couldn't help but chuckle. "Axel, no offense, but where on earth did you get the idea that zombies are actually a thing?"

The zombie commando rolled her eyes. "Listen, my parents have been questioning me for years. I've already told them what I believe in. I don't need anyone else criticizing me for being bi."

"I wasn't criticizing, I was…" Nichelle trailed off and looked at Axel. "What did you say?"

Axel stopped and looked. She was confused. "What? Is it a problem that I believe in zombies?"

"N-No. It's just…you just said you were bi?"

A twinge of panic flicked in Axel's eyes. She tried to hide it. "N-No, when did…" She then gasped, realizing what Nichelle was saying. "I-I mean…I-I meant to say…I like being…by myself when it comes to facing zombies. Y'know? Less chance of being infected if someone else gets bit. You can only look for yourself, after all?" She forced herself to laugh, though she sounded like was going mad.

Nichelle clearly noticed. "Axel, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Her quick breathing and the large beads of sweat dripping down her forehead said otherwise. "Just…just a little…lightheaded. I'm obviously not making sense. I-I need to go lie down." She tried to run off.

Nichelle stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "Axel. Calm down."

The zombie commando finally dropped her facade and showed a genuine look of fear. "No! I can't!"

"Axel, it's alright."

"No it's not! I just told you…" She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I just told you something I wasn't supposed to. Now you're never going to be able to look at me the same way." She whimpered quietly.

Nichelle stared at her.

Confessional (Nichelle): She sat in silence, looking at her feet. She then took a deep breath and exhaled.

Static

"You're right, Axel."

The zombie commando stopped and looked up at her teammate.

"I can't look at you the same way." She managed a small smile. "But that doesn't mean it has to be a bad thing." She stared right into Axel's eyes. "Axel…I'm gay."

The abrasive contestant's eyes went wide. The two just stared at each other in silence.

It was eventually broken when Axel…started laughing. "Y-You gotta be kidding me. You're just saying that to…to calm me down."

Nichelle stared at her. She looked more serious than she had in her entire life.

Axel forgot to be upset. She waited with baited breath to see what Nichelle was going to do.

Finally, the former Hollywood star made her move. She tightened her grip on Axel, pulled her forward…and kissed her.

It was a long kiss too. Axel was surprised, but almost immediately melted into it.

Nichelle then pulled herself away and both Skunk Butts let out a gasp. They just stared at each other and said nothing.

Confessional (Nichelle): She looked uncertain. "Ok…I think it's safe to say…things are a little different now."

Static

The five remaining Rat Faces made their way to the elimination ceremony. Most notably, Millie looked very nervous. Priya also seemed uncomfortable. MK had bandages over her face from her injuries. As usual, Chef and Chris were standing in front of them.

The host sniffed the air. "You smell that, Chef?"

"The campfire?" Chef looked confused.

Chris shook his head. "No, it smells like something else. You know what I'm talking about?"

"Teen Spirit?."

Chris sighed. "Tension. I wanted you to say it smells like tension." He pinched his nose. "Just do the thing."

"Millie." The co-host said. "You cost your team in the final moments. Your team very well would've won the whole thing had you not knocked off Cake Chris' head."

"Don't remind me…" The host sighed.

Chef continued. "You also had that whole thing with Priya, where you-"

"Can we please not talk about that?" Last season's winner said quickly. Millie looked even more guilty.

Chef backed off, instead turning his attention to another competitor. "MK. You had a chance to win for your team when they lost. And you failed…miserably."

"Yeah, no duh." The hacker quipped. "These bandages aren't exactly for show."

"If you get a marshmallow, you're safe. If you don't, you'll take a ride on the Drone of Despair." Chris passed out the first few marshmallows. "Caleb…Damien…Priya…"

Priya caught her treat in relief, but it quickly faded when she saw Millie.

"All of you are safe. " He held up the last marshmallow. "And the final marshmallow is going to…"

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"…MK."

The hacker exhaled, when she caught her treat.

Millie, unsurprisingly, was extremely disappointed. She looked over to her former teammate, Priya, who was forcing herself to look away. She did see Caleb smirking at her.

"Millie, your time is up. Come with me."

The newly eliminated contestant stood up and followed the host. She then stopped and turned around. She looked right at Damien. Help her. She signed.

The neurotic contestant cast a side glance at Priya, then back to Millie. He nodded, albeit hesitantly.

Millie nodded back and then turned away.

The eliminated constant started her final speech. "I feel really bad about what I said. But I don't know if I regret it. Hopefully, Priya listened to me and maybe Damien can talk to her too."

Confessional (Millie): "On the plus side, I did win a challenge for my team this time around. I mean…it caused severe harm to my body, but it was totally…" She trailed off, thinking to herself. Then she frowned. "No. No, it wasn't worth it."

Static

Millie continued to sadly trudge down the dock. She then heard footsteps behind her, getting closer. She turned around to see Priya bounding towards her.

She pointed at Millie, looking stern. "Look. I don't like what you said. I don't agree with it either. But…" She softened. "That doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you." She sniffed as she stepped forward to give her former teammate a hug.

Millie was surprised. It took her a moment to process what was going on, before she returned the hug. "Thank you, Priya. And please understand, I only want you to realize you deserve better."

Priya released the hug. She contemplated to herself. "I..." She trailed off. "Goodbye, Millie."

Millie frowned slightly. Regardless, she mustered a sad smile. "Bye, Priya."

The eliminated contestant turned around. The Drone of Despair appeared, grabbed Millie by the back of her shirt and pulled her off and away. Priya watched her, unable to hide how disappointed she was.

Chris watched on, slightly teary eyed. "Wow, that was sad. Sad for Millie, sad for Priya and sad for me." He wiped a tear from his eye. "I still miss cake me. Next challenge will definitely have to be more brutal, violent and agonizing. After all, this ain't a rom-com, this is…Total…Drama…Island!"

I did say some big things would be happening. We got Millie admitting how she feels about Priya's parents (which lead to her elimination), Emma breaking things off with Chase (though she isn't happy) and, of course, Nichelle kissing Axel.

I already have a large chunk of the next chapter planned out, so it'll definitely be a fun one.

I'll talk about Chase real quick because I'm sure some people will have reactions to that. Yes, I replaced the returning Owen with Chase. Why did I do that? Because it was the best instance for me to bring him back and give Emma a much-needed wake-up call. I liked seeing Owen back, but they didn't really do much with him, so I didn't feel particularly motivated to keep him around.

As for Millie, I actually really like her character. She's unique for Total Drama and I like how she's handled. To compare her to Cody, or even Wayne in the OG version of this season, she's the best example of how to write a floater character. I love her ongoing friendship with Priya too.

Season two, I think has a good idea for her, but never felt fully utilized. As I said before, her pushing Damien into the pipe could've been a good moment if it was better built up. And when she was gone, it really hurt Priya as a character because she didn't have anyone to play off of. Now we'll see how that goes for her in this version.

In the meantime, leave a review letting me know what you thought and I hope to get back to you soon. Next chapter has some moments I've been really excited to write.

Rat Faces: Priya, Damien, MK, Caleb

Skunk Butts: Bowie, Raj, Julia, Axel, Nichelle, Emma

Millie: Caleb, MK, Priya

MK: Millie, Damien

Elimination order:

16th: Ripper

15th: Chase

14th: Scary Girl

13th: Zee

12th: Wayne

11th: Millie