As stated before, I swapped the canon order of this chapter and the previous one. But, like the original, this one will be the first merge chapter.

We had a lot of things set up from the previous chapter, so let's see how they all come together (if they do at all). Hope y'all enjoy! And remember, the USA Cartoon Network release of Total Drama Island (2023) is June 1st and going on MAX the next day, so remember to support the official release.

"Previously on Total Drama Island," Chris said. "Not much happened. Except for Emma breaking things off with Chase, Nichelle kissing Axel, MK getting mauled by raccoons, Caleb getting kicked off a barge and Millie breaking her Chris Cake and completely ruining it for her team in the final round. And, for her crimes, she walked the dock and left the island."

A flash revealed Chris, standing by the beach. "Oh, and there's also her revealing to Priya that she thinks her parents are psycho, but that's not as important as desecrating the national treasure that is…my face. Whose face will get messed up in today's challenge? I can guarantee you it'll be more than one. Find out who it'll be and what I have in store, here…on Total…Drama…Island!"

It was a quiet morning on the island. However, it was soon to be interrupted.

Julia and MK were sitting in an open field and laughing.

"So…" Julia calmed herself. "Let me get this straight. You had to fight a group of raccoons?"

MK nodded. "And they were tough. But I did get back at them. For once, being around a bear was actually a good thing. I swear the amount of times I've had a run-in with a bear has gotta be in the double digits."

"You're tougher than I thought."

MK scoffed. "Coming from the girl who ate a tapeworm to stay in the game, that means something."

Julia laughed. "I thought you were already pretty tough. You're pretty brave to willingly dress like a hobo."

"Better to look like a hobo than a blonde mop."

Another fit of laughter followed this. It soon died down as both let out a content sigh, at the same time. It took a moment to realize what was going on. The two girls looked at each other.

Confessional (Julia): She grunted. "OK, fine. I guess…I don't hate MK as much as I did before. But it doesn't make us friends. At best, she's…tolerable."

Confessional (MK): "In any other situation, I wouldn't be caught dead hanging around Julia. But…she's slightly above average in terms of people I've had to deal with. But only slightly."

Static

Nichella swung her stick around. She had gotten much better at it and confidently waved it around, giving it her own personal flair.

However, the person she had to thank for that was nowhere in sight. She had been swinging at the air for the past hour.

She finally stopped and sighed.

Confessional (Nichelle): She had her hands in her face. She groaned. "Why? Why did I do that? Axel told me she was bi, so…what? That was a free pass to kiss her? No, of course not. I just wanted to calm her down and…ok, I did want to kiss her, but…gah!" She sighed. "She probably hates me right now."

Static

Damien was inside his cabin. He peeked outside to the front to see Priya sitting glumly by herself. He took a deep breath.

Confessional (Damien): He was holding a large notebook with several pieces of paper sticking out of the sides. "Before she left, Millie gave me this book detailing everything I need to know about Priya's situation. Man, that girl loves her books. I've only gotten through a few pages, but I think I have a good idea of how hard this is going to be. Did any of you know there was a camp specifically for catapults? I didn't and now I'm sad that I know."

Static

Damien quietly walked towards Priya. "Hey…" He sat down next to her. "How you feeling?"

Priya sighed. "I…don't know. Millie's my best friend and I miss her, but…why would she say that?"

"Maybe she's just worried about you." Damien suggested innocently.

"Why would she need to be? I can take care of myself. My parents have trained me to handle anything."

Damien thought for a moment. "Well, what else have they done?"

Priya looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what else have they done for you, as parents?"

Last season's winner was stunned. "W-What are you talking about? My parents fed me, taught me to read, trained me how to fight off bears, and gave me a roof over my head…well, on the days when I wasn't honing my endurance by sleeping outside."

"How old were you when that happened?"

"5, 7 and 12."

Damien had to hold his tongue to not say anything that might hurt his chances. "Ok…well, most of those things sound like stuff parents have to do. I think-"

"Damien. Why are you talking about my parents?"

The neurotic contestant sighed. "Alright, fine. Millie and I…were discussing it before she got eliminated. She told me about most of the things your parents put you through. And to be honest, I kinda get what she's saying. I don't know your parents, but I would have a few questions for the people who sent their kid to a place called catapult camp."

Priya frowned but didn't respond. In fact, to Damien, it looked like she was thinking about what he was saying. "I…I- That…"

"Priya!"

Both contestants turned to see another one of their teammates. Caleb waved. "I just heard from Chris. We have to meet at the dining hall for today's challenge. Race ya there?"

Priya looked at Caleb, then turned to Damien. Once more, she seemed to be debating about what to say. Damien hoped she was listening.

She finally faced Caleb. "Yeah, sure."

The hunk nodded and the two ran off, leaving Damien behind. The neurotic contestant sighed.

The Skunk Butts and Rat Faces soon arrived, each sitting at their respective tables. Chris stood between both of them. "Welcome, campers! Chef has a very important announcement for you all!"

Chef walked up to a vat of acid, he was holding a red flag and a green flag. "Team Rat Face, Team Skunk Butt. These are your banners." He unraveled the flags, before dropping them into the acid. They immediately disintegrated.

"The teams are merging!" Chris announced. "That means all the people surrounding you, who you probably considered allies and/or friends are now your sworn enemies." This was met with a mix of excitement and worry from all competitors.

One, in particular, couldn't help but smile from hearing this.

Confessional (Caleb): "Yes! Finally, I can go after Bowie. Now I just need to get Priya and whoever else I can and he'll be gone."

Static

Bowie gulped upon hearing this. He then looked at one of his ex-teammates. "Um…you want to team up?"

"Why?" Emma said. She looked depressed and barely paying attention to what was going on. "I'd just hold you back because I'm so pathetic. It took me so long to realize the guy who cut my brakes isn't actually a good boyfriend. I'd just slow you down."

Bowie frowned. Emma didn't sound like she was mad at him…but herself.

Confessional (Bowie): He grunted. "As much as I hate seeing Emma like this, I can't focus on it. Julia's out to get me and I'm sure Caleb is too. Whatever challenge Chris has, I need to win it."

Confessional (Julia): She was grinning. "Perfect. Bowie's days are numbered." She then pondered for a moment. "But I need an insurance policy to keep myself safe once he goes." The influencer grimaced. "And I think I know who that is…"

Static

Chris continued. "Now to make things a little more interesting this time around, we're adding a new element to the game." He pointed at Chef, who was holding a small golden statue of Chris. "That handsome devil right there is an immunity idol. We have one hidden away somewhere on the island. If you find it, you'll have a one-time guaranteed protection from getting eliminated during an elimination ceremony."

Confessional (Damien): "I know I need to help Priya, but I also really need that idol. I've never made it this far and I need to keep myself safe. Not just from sharks, bears, and whatever else Chris throws at us, but also from getting voted off."

Confessional (MK): "An immunity idol? That could come in handy. But maybe having someone to watch my back could help too."

Static

Chris soon brought the competitors outside. There's a pile of canoes next to them, which Chris pointed out. "Today's challenge is going to involve a canoe. A two-person canoe to be precise. Find a partner, grab a canoe and portage it to the lake."

Bowie smirked, knowingly. "Hmmm…I wonder who I'm going to pair up with-" He didn't finish as Raj immediately stepped next to him, smiling.

Julia looked around, knowing her choices were limited. She then found who she was looking for and went over. Surprisingly, MK was doing the same.

"We need to pair up!" They both said at the same time. They then froze up, surprised.

"O-Ok." MK nodded, trying to hide how awkward the situation was. "Glad we could agree on that."

"Same…" Julia said, looking away.

Nichelle was looking around, until she bumped into someone. She turned around and gasped. Axel had the same uncertain reaction. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Do…" Nichelle tried to speak. "Do you want to…want to…"

"Do you want to partner up?" Axel asked.

Nichelle was surprised. "Y-Yeah!" She then realized how loudly she said that and calmed down. "I mean, yeah, if you think it's a good idea."

Confessional (Nichelle): She sighed. "Ok, maybe her asking to team up is a good sign." Her face then fell. "Or…maybe she just wants to break things off as soon as possible. I mean, I kissed her without asking. What if that was her first kiss?" She gasped. "Oh, what if I was the first person to kiss her and-" She shook her head. "No! No, that is not something to be happy about."

Static

Damien went up to his ex-teammate. "Priya? Do you want to team up?"

Last season's winner shook her head. "Sorry, Damien." She gestured to Caleb. "I already have a partner." The hunk grinned at his former teammate.

Damien gulped.

"I guess you're stuck with me." Emma walked up to him, sulking. "I'll try not to hold you back too much."

Damien didn't respond. Mostly because he didn't know how to.

With all the teams made, they met back up with Chris. "Once you make your way to the lake, we can begin the next part of the challenge." He sounded an airhorn, so all the competitors headed into the woods, carrying their canoes.

Bowie and Raj were confidently making their way through the woods.

"Raj and Bowie…" The hockey bro started narrating. "...taking their canoe deep on the outside."

His boyfriend played along. "They fake right…"

"...and Deke left."

"Out-maneuvering their opponents with every step!"

"They've got mad portaging skills!"

Bowie chuckled. "We're too good at this. I almost feel bad for the other teams."

Raj looked back at his boyfriend. "Yeah. We're going to be unbeatable. Whatever the challenge is, we can handle it!"

A bit further back, Julia and MK were carrying their canoes. The influencer was in front and debating to herself. "Ok." She said. "You and I obviously don't like each other."

"You're just realizing that now?" MK quipped.

Julia ignored her. "But, now that we're in the merge, I'm short on allies and I know you are too. So, I was thinking…"

"You want to be in an alliance?"

"...that we should form an…" Julia trailed off, looking back. "Wait, how did you know?"

MK scoffed. "You reek of desperation, that's why. Why else would you want to partner up with me?"

"I could say the same thing to you."

"Touché."

There was an awkward pause between them. Julia broke it. "So…is that a yes?"

"Sure, I'm game."

Behind them, Damien was going over his strategy. "Alright, so whatever Chris has in store, we have to be prepared for it. We're probably doing something in the water, so I'm sure the challenge will involve sharks. He loves his sharks. I'm more afraid of coconuts personally. You have a much higher rate of being killed by them, as they're responsible for…"

But whatever Damien was saying, Emma wasn't listening.

Confessional (Emma): She let out a loud sigh. "What does it matter? There's no way I'm going to able to last much longer. I might as well stop trying and save myself any more embarrassment."

Static

Caleb and Priya were also making their way to the lake. Though, it was Caleb doing the brunt of the work, carrying the canoe by himself, with Priya inside it. Last season's winner was thinking to herself.

"You good up there?" Caleb asked.

Priya sighed. "I don't know. I'm still thinking about Millie and-"

The hunk cut her off. "Hey, come on. We can't be thinking about her right now. She's gone and we still have a challenge to focus on. I know you miss her, but thinking about her will only distract you."

"You're right." Priya perked up. "I might miss Millie, but I can't let her distract me."

"Good." Caleb glanced back, noticing Damien and Emma heading in their direction. "Then let's speed things up a bit!" He then proceeded to pick up his pace by a significant amount, leaving Damien behind. The neurotic contestant couldn't help but feel worried.

Axel and Nichelle were trailing behind everyone. Sure they were skilled, but neither of them was saying anything to the other. Nichelle grimaced.

Confessional (Nichelle): "This is ridiculous! I can't pretend like nothing happened. I just need to let it out and hope she doesn't hate me." She put her hands together. "Please don't let her hate me. I really want to kiss her again-" She snapped her eyes open. "No! You don't deserve that."

Static

"Axel." Nichelle said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" She looked ahead to make sure no one else could hear her. "...done that thing to you. Or at least I should've asked. I totally get it if you don't want to hang out or train me anymore. I promise I won't be upset if you decide to do that."

The zombie commando didn't respond. Because she was in front of Nichelle, it was impossible to know how she was feeling. Nichelle sighed. "Ok, I get it. After today's challenge, I won't talk to you ever-"

"It's ok."

The former Hollywood star blinked and looked up.

Axel was glancing back at her. "I…was a little caught off guard and I needed time to process what happened, but…I didn't hate being kissed by you."

An immense weight was lifted off of Nichelle's shoulders as she allowed herself to smile. "R-Really?"

Axel nodded. "I liked it a lot actually. And I don't want us to stop training or hanging out…" She blushed and faced forward. "M-Maybe even…after the show?"

"A date!?" Nichelle said, way louder than she meant to you. She quickly calmed herself. "Are you asking me on a date? Because the answer is yes all the way. Unless it's zombie-themed." She thought for a moment. "Actually, I'm fine with that too."

The zombie commando chuckled.

To Nichelle, hearing Axel's laugh was music to her ears.

A horn sounded as the campers arrived. They were greeted by Chris in an old-timey royal outfit, complete with crown. Chef was holding the horn and wearing a jester's outfit.

"Did we travel back in time?" Raj asked.

"Yeah, what's with the get-up?" Julia added.

"Campers!" Chris announced. "I am your king for today and you will entertain me!"

Confessional (MK): "Don't we do that already? I'm pretty sure Chris goes to sleep with the sounds of our screams as white noise."

Static

Chef pulled out a scroll. "Hear ye. Hear ye." He shouted. "Chris has declared that your challenge for today is…canoe jousting!"

"And, surprise twist!" Chris added. "The people who you partnered up with, to carry your canoes, are now your opponents for this part of the challenge!"

Everyone gasped upon hearing this. Raj, Bowie, Axel, and Nichelle were especially disappointed.

"Oh no…" Caleb said dramatically. "This is terrible!"

Chef explained the rules. "Combatants will balance on their canoes while trying to knock the other off. Once you hit the water, you're done for the day. The other player will move on to the next round and so on."

Chris carried on. "When only one camper is left, that'll determine our winner. They'll have immunity, while everyone else will be up for a potential beheading. Or, in this case, a ride on the Drone of Despair.

Confessional (Caleb): "I take it back. This is great! I just need to make sure Bowie doesn't win and I can boot him off. Not only that, I might be able to boot him in this challenge too. Even better!"

Static

Soon, the competitors were in the water, on their boats, wearing helmets and vests, holding battle sticks. Most looked unsure. Especially Nichelle and Axel.

Chris was sitting on a king's throne, holding a megaphone. "Ready, set…entertain your king!" Chef blew his horn, signifying the start of the challenge.

The former Hollywood star looked at her opponent. "Ok, one of us can move on, but I'm fine if it's-" A foam bag hit her in the face. She stumbled back but didn't fall off.

She looked to see Axel, grinning at her. "Was all that training for nothing? Are you gonna give up on me that easily?"

Nichelle found herself blushing. She then grinned. "No, ma'am." And the two began in a much more intense clash.

Caleb and Priya were also in an intense duel.

Confessional (Caleb): He grunted. "I forgot about Priya. I can't hit her too hard or this alliance might fall apart. But I don't want to be eliminated either."

Static

Bowie and Raj had yet to make contact. They both looked at each other awkwardly.

Confessional (Bowie): "I hate putting the game over Raj, but I need immunity right now."

Confessional (Raj): "I really hope Bowie isn't holding back. We just got over a really bad situation and I don't want him to think I'll hate him if he knocks me off."

Static

Raj began to speak. "Bowie, I-"

Thwack

His boyfriend had stepped forward, hitting Raj with the battle stick and immediately knocking him into the water.

"And Raj is our first elimination! And his boyfriend moves to the next round!"

Bowie looked over the water, nervous. Raj emerged a few seconds later, holding his cheek. "Ow!" He then smiled as he looked at his boyfriend. "Good hit! Didn't see it coming."

Bowie sighed in relief.

Axel and Nichelle were still in their intense duel. Every time Axel would swing, Nichelle blocked it. And every time Axel tried to hit her, Nichelle would do the same. It was just like training. And it was clear they were enjoying it.

"You taught me well." Nichelle mocked playfully. "How would you feel if you're training came back to bite you!"

Axel grinned. "I didn't teach you everything!" She then stepped up to the side of the canoe, twirling her stick.

Nichelle followed suit. The two clashed again, trading more barbs in the process.

"Your technique is sloppy!"

"It's okay, I had a terrible teacher!"

"Say that again after I knock you in the water!"

"In your dreams!"

Bowie, still standing on his boat, looked over at them.

Confessional (Bowie): He gave a knowing smirk. "Well…this is a new development."

Static

Nichelle and Axel held up their sticks and then threw them at each other, both knocking the other off and into the water.

"Wow!" Chris announced. "Axel and Nichelle both fell into the water at the same time. That means both are eliminated!"

Despite that, the two were laughing as they swam towards each other. "Alright, now what?" Axel asked.

"You want to go look for the immunity idol? Maybe get some alone time?" Nichelle winked.

Axel couldn't help but blush and she nodded.

Meanwhile, Damien was ready to duel Emma. Only, she didn't look nearly as invested.

"Um…Emma?" Damien asked, giving her a light poke with his stick. She didn't react to it.

Confessional (Damien): "I mean, I want to win, but I'd like to at least face someone with a little more enthusiasm. I didn't spend all those months at Dungeons and Flying Lizards camp, training to be a wizard squire, for nothing." He paused, realizing what he just said. "Forget everything you just heard."

Confessional (Emma): She sighed. "Alright, I'm in the challenge. I might be an idiot, but I'm still here. I need to focus right now. If I'm gonna be constantly reminding myself of how pathetic I am, I can at least be a million dollars richer. I just need a little motivation."

Static

Emma looked up at Damien. She was still processing something to motivate her. Then, her mind thought of something. And in her mind, Damien was no longer in front of her. Instead, it was the person she knew was going to drive her to win.

"Hey babe," Chase said. "Wanna try my sandwich? I swear I didn't fart on it."

Emma gnashed her teeth and readied her battle stick.

Damien perked up. "Alright, now we're talking." He cleared his throat. "Prepare yourself, Miss Emma." He spoke in a dramatic tone. "I may be a gentleman, but in battle, there is no holding-"

Thwack

Emma promptly smacked her battle stick into Damien's face, knocking him up and off the boat. He splashed into the water. Emma was breathing heavily.

"And it looks like Emma found her second wind. She's moving on!" Chris proclaimed.

Meanwhile, Nichelle and Axel were walking through the woods. They looked through shrubs and behind trees, hoping to find the immunity idol. They kept searching with no favorable results.

Nichelle, however, had her mind on something else. She looked over at Axel, who was climbing up a tree. "Hey…Axel?"

The zombie commando jumped down. "What's up? You find anything?"

Nichelle shook her head. "I wanted to ask you something. A-And I get it if you don't want to answer it, but-"

Axel grabbed her hand. "It's fine. What is it?"

The former Hollywood star felt herself easing up. "I wanted to know, why did you tell me you were bi? I mean, aside from the obvious fact that I'm hot."

Axel couldn't help but laugh, but it faltered after a moment. She let go of Nichelle's hand. "When I brought up how my parents questioned my belief in zombies, it…reminded me of something else they like to question me on."

"They question you for being bi?"

Axel nodded. "Well, mainly the part that likes girls. It…leads to a lot of awkward conversations." She sighed. "It's somehow easier for them to accept that I believe in zombies, more than the idea that I could date another girl. So, when you- someone I had an obvious crush on- brought it up, it just sort of…came out."

Nichelle raised an eyebrow. "Obvious crush? Really? I thought I was the one being obvious."

"You didn't see my cheeks turning red? You were less than a foot from my face when you fell on top of me and you didn't notice that?"

"I thought you bit the inside of your cheek."

"It was on the outside!"

"I thought it was a really bad bite!"

Axel and Nichelle stopped and stared at each other. Then they burst into laughter.

Nichelle put her arm on Axel's shoulder. "Ok, ok…" She calmed herself down. "Well, if it's any consolation, I find the zombie-hunting part of you way weirder than the part of you that likes girls."

"I can accept that." Axel said, smiling.

Caleb glanced over, noticing his rival was alone. Priya whacked him in the face with her stick. "Ha! Better pay attention or you'll fall in."

The hunk turned his attention back to her.

Confessional (Caleb): "I want to knock Bowie off, but I also can't risk my alliance." He thought for a moment, before coming up with something. "Alright, looks like I'm gonna have to fake a fall."

Static

"Woah!" Caleb shook the boat around.

Priya was surprised and tried to remain upright. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." The hunk pretended to act distressed. "I can't control iiiiiiittt…" He then 'lost balance' and ran forward, hitting Priya with his stick and knocking her off.

"And Caleb eliminates Priya!" Chris announced. "Leaving only one more slot left."

Priya emerged a second later. Caleb looked at her. "Sorry, I lost balance and couldn't stop."

"No worries," Priya said. "That's how the game works."

Caleb faked a smile.

Surprisingly, MK and Julia hadn't done much.

"So…now what?" MK asked.

"I don't know." Julia shrugged. "Only one of us can move on."

"Alright, well you've made it to the merge and won a challenge already. We're both in this alliance, so it only seems fair that-"

Thwack

Julia cut MK off by hitting her in the face with her stick and knocking her off the boat.

"And MK is eliminated, so we have our next matches set. It will be Bowie vs Emma and Caleb vs Julia."

Confessional (Bowie): He gulped. "Emma? I know I need immunity, but…that's like kicking a sad puppy."

Confessional (MK): She was soaking wet and had a black eye. "Yeah…should've seen that coming."

Static

Soon, the next round was set. Bowie looked nervously at his opponent.

Chef blew his horn. "Get ready for round two!"

"Listen up, campers!" Chris said into his megaphone. "I added a little something to make the challenge more fun!"

Confessional (Damien): "It's gonna be sharks, isn't it?"

Static

"Sharks!" Chris said gleefully, as the competitors noticed the fins.

Confessional (Damien): "Yup."

Static

"And…go!"

The competition started, with Julia and Caleb clashing. Bowie was a little more hesitant to start. "Ummm…Emma, you alright?"

The YouTuber looked up at Bowie. Just like last time, she started to imagine him as someone else.

"Yo, babe," Chase said. "I might've smashed your phone for a prank video, but I'm pretty sure you can afford a new one."

She gnashed her teeth and swung hard.

Bowie ducked, barely avoiding it.

Caleb and Julia, meanwhile, were having a discussion while battling.

"Hey, you don't like Bowie, right?" Caleb whispered.

"Were you born yesterday?" Julia snarled.

"Do you want to team up to vote him off?"

Julia perked up. "Absolutely!" She then glanced over at Bowie with Emma. "So who's going to be the one to knock him off, if Emma loses?"

Caleb answered by whacking her in the face with the stick. She stumbled backwards but stayed in the boat.

She glared. "Alright, it's on!"

"Emma!" Bowie yelped, still dodging her oncoming swings. "I really don't want to hurt you!"

But the YouTuber wasn't listening. Instead, all she heard was,

"Wanna try a brownie, babe? I swear I didn't put ghost peppers in them."

Emma gnashed her teeth. "This is for cutting the brakes to my car!" She swung hard.

Bowie blocked and stumbled. "Wait, what?" He said.

"And this for making me realize how much of an idiot I was for ever thinking you were a good boyfriend." She swung again, which Bowie blocked.

Meanwhile, Caleb and Julia were still battling.

Suddenly, a shark burst out of the water and dove towards them. Caleb turned and saw it. He swung and hit it, sending it toward the other boat.

Bowie saw it and screamed.

Emma turned and saw the shark and its face suddenly morphed into Chase.

"I don't know, it's kinda funny that she calls you Jeff."

The YouTuber saw red and swung. "And this is for giving my mom a concussion!" Her stick smacked the shark and it was sent flying out into the ocean. Everyone was shocked. None more so than Bowie.

Confessional (Bowie): "Cutting her breaks? Concussing her mom? Making her think she's an idiot? Is…is Emma pretending I'm Chase?"

Static

Axel and Nichelle had returned to searching. Neither had said much since their last conversation.

Axel looked through a bush and found nothing. She stood up and then turned to Nichelle, who was also looking behind a shrub.

"Alright, my turn." She said. Nichelle turned around. "I want to ask a question."

"Go ahead."

"For someone so cool, athletic and…confident, why didn't you say anything about being gay before? Not that you have to say anything, just…I didn't think you'd hide that sort of thing."

Nichelle smirked. "First off, the only reason I'm any of those things is because of you." Axel couldn't help but blush. "But to answer your question…" Nichelle trailed off slightly, a hint of uncertainty hitting her. "You remember how I'm trying to get back into Hollywood?" Axel nodded. "Well…that's why."

Axel raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone in Hollywood used to think of me so highly, so I was scared if I came out they'd…dump me…like they already did. I figured it was better if they thought I wasn't gay than risk being rejected."

The zombie commando gave a sympathetic look and put her hand on Nichelle's shoulder. "Believe me, I get it."

"I figured." Nichelle said, still looking somewhat sad.

Axel noticed and thought of a way to cheer her up. "Well, when the zombie apocalypse hits, no one is going to dump you for that. And if they are, they're probably already zombie chow. And I'll be more than happy to slice off their undead heads."

Nichelle laughed. "Brutal…but sweet."

The two looked at each other, before wrapping their arms around each other. It was a tight hug that neither girl realized they needed until then.

The four remaining campers were still in an intense fight.

Bowie was barely able to dodge and wasn't even bothering to strike at Emma, who was still wildly swinging.

"Emma!" He yelled. "You need to calm down! I'm not Chase!"

All Emma saw was Chase, so she wasn't listening. "Bowie said I was pathetic because I stayed with you!" She said coldly. "And you know what? He's right! I am pathetic. I'm also an idiot. But, at least knocking you out will make me feel a little better."

Bowie gulped. He looked over at the sidelines. Raj and the already eliminated competitors were watching. The flamboyant contestant could see how nervous Raj was. At that moment, he made a decision.

Confessional (Bowie): He sighed. "There's no way I'm going to last long with her going on a rampage. And I don't have it in me to hit her after everything she went through. Right now, I need to help her. She thinks I'm Chase, so I have to do the one thing Chase would never even think of!"

Static

"Emma!" He yelled.

The YouTuber went to swing at him.

"I'm sorry!" Bowie closed his eyes.

The stick suddenly stopped, directly in front of Bowie's face. He peeked out to see Emma, standing completely still.

The YouTuber, meanwhile, was still processing what just happened. Slowly the Chase she was imagining started to disappear and its place was Bowie.

The flamboyant contestant realized that this was his chance. "Emma, I thought showing you some tough love would help you realize how awful Chase was. But, maybe I should've also talked to you or helped you out."

Slowly, Emma brought her stick back.

Bowie continued. "I'm sorry for calling you pathetic. You're not pathetic and you're not an idiot. You just made an idiotic decision. I don't want to see you like this. I don't want that obnoxious frat boy to live rent-free in your head. You deserve better! You deserve-" A battle stick suddenly whacked him in the chest. Bowie was sent flying back, into the water.

"Ouch!" Chris announced. "Bowie is out!"

Caleb perked up when he heard this. He turned to see his rival in the water. He broke out into a huge smile and raised his arms. "Yes!"

"I agree."

The hunk then remembered what he was doing and went to turn back, only for Julia to whack him across the face. It knocked him loopy for a moment. Enough for him to fall off and into the water.

"Oh, and Caleb joins him!"

Meanwhile, Bowie had just popped out of the water. He was surprised and looked at Emma. "I thought I was getting through to you!"

"Oh, you did," Emma smirked. "But, you also left yourself wide open. I'd be an idiot to not take advantage of that."

Bowie was about to retort until he realized what Emma had just said. He then saw a shadow pass over him. He turned around to see a shark, jumping out of the water and about to dive on him. He screamed and held out his arms.

"Bowie!" Raj yelled.

The shark was about to bite, when a battle stick struck it in the face, knocking it away. Bowie opened his eyes to see that the shark was gone. He turned back around to Emma. "Thank you."

Emma smiled back at him. "No…thank you, Bowie."

The flamboyant contestant couldn't help but smile back.

Bowie soon arrived back at the beach, where the other contestants were waiting. Raj pulled his boyfriend in for a massive hug. "I'm so proud of you!" He said.

Bowie, despite having his lungs crushed, felt overjoyed to hear this.

"Alright," Chris said. "Our final round will be Emma vs Julia. And I finally realized what was missing from this jousting tournament. Horses!"

"Horses?" The contestants asked.

Sure enough, Chris had a new challenge set up. Emma and Julia were back in the water, on opposite sides of the lake. Only this time, they were on horses. And the horses had skis on their hooves and they were perched on a platform. And in their mouths were handlebars. And, attached to the handlebars, were boats being driven by interns.

Essentially, they were going to have a jousting match, on the water.

"Just like how they did it in the old days!" Chris announced.

Confessional (Chef): "I don't think Chris has ever read a history book."

Static.

"Remember," The host said. "This is for a shot at immunity. So give it your all!"

Confessional (Emma): She was psyching herself up. "Alright, I can do this. I don't like Julia already, so that should give me enough motivation. I mean, I don't hate her as much as- N-No. No. I'm not gonna say it. Knocking Julia out is the only thing I'm thinking about."

Static

"Emma!" Julia yelled. "You might as well give up now! I'm sure Chase would love to see you get knocked into the water! Why give him more footage to work with!"

The YouTuber's eye twitched, but she took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm here to win." She whispered.

"Ready, set, joust!" Chris exclaimed as Chef blew the horn.

The boats suddenly sped forward, taking the contestants and the horses with them. Amazingly, they stayed on the water.

Nichelle and Axel had just returned and were surprised.

"Woah," Nichelle said. "What did we miss?"

The boats were heading towards each other. Julia grinned as she readied her battle stick. Emma was focused. She narrowed her eyes and then held her stick up. She started spinning it around, confusing Julia.

Confessional (Julia): "I don't know what Emma's doing, but I guess we can chalk this up as another victory for me."

Static

They were getting closer and closer. Julia held her stick out, while Emma was still twirling hers.

Finally, Emma threw her stick forwards. It was still spinning while in the air.

Julia was surprised and couldn't react in time. She tried to block, but…

Thwack

The stick spun around at the perfect time to smack Julia right in the face. Her nose became dislocated and she was sent flying into the water. Emma, still on her horse, went past her.

"Emma wins immunity!" Chris declared.

The other competitors all cheered, but two were cheering for different reasons.

Confessional (Caleb): "He's done!"

Confessional (Julia): She still had a broken nose. "Bye-bye, Bowie."

Confessional (Bowie): He just sighed.

Confessional (Emma): "I won? I won! I actually won! Yes!" She then stood up and danced around like a maniac, singing a little tune. "Oh yeah, oh yeah. I won. I won. I knocked Julia off and I won. I won. I won. Oh yeah!"

Static

The newly merged competitors soon made their way to the elimination ceremony. As usual, Chris and Chef were waiting for them.

"Our first non-team challenge of the new season is in the books," Chris said. "And with it comes our first elimination of the merge."

"Julia." Chef started. "You were confident you could beat Emma in the final challenge but lost. And with so few allies, that might not be good for you."

The influencer rolled her eyes. Then she cast a quick glance at MK, who gave a slight shrug.

"Axel and Nichelle. Both of you eliminated each other in the first round and then snuck off to look for the idol, but didn't find it, so neither of you are safe."

Axel suddenly felt nervous. "Well…yeah, we went off together, but…nothing happened between us. Nothing. Nothing at all." She chuckled nervously.

Nichelle smirked slightly at her. Axel noticed and quickly calmed down.

"And finally, Bowie. Like Julia, you gave up your shot at immunity. And with all your enemies still here, that might've been a bad idea."

Confessional (Bowie): He grunted. "I didn't give up my shot, Emma hit me while I was-" He sighed. "No, it doesn't matter. I'm happy for her and I don't regret what I did."

Static

"Emma is obviously safe, but as for the rest of you…" Chris began passing out marshmallows. "Axel…MK…Priya…Caleb…Nichelle…Damien…Raj…"

The hockey bro caught his treat but then turned his attention to his boyfriend had yet to receive one of his own.

Bowie sat nervously, hoping his name was next to be called. Julia tried to look confident, but couldn't help but squirm a little.

"The last marshmallow goes to…"

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"...Julia."

The influencer grinned as she caught her treat.

Chris walked up to the flamboyant camper. "Bowie, your time is up."

Caleb suddenly stood up. "Yes!" He walked up to Bowie and pointed in his face. "How do you like that?! I did exactly what you did to me and got everyone to vote you off! You're lucky I was on the other team. You would've been gone way sooner had Priya not picked me."

Priya went wide-eyed. "Wait, what?!"

Bowie glared, but didn't respond. He felt something suddenly wrap around his shoulders. Emma had locked him in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Bowie. Maybe I shouldn't have knocked you off."

Surprisingly, Bowie managed a smile. "It's okay. You were just playing the game." He paused. "Does this hug mean we're friends again?"

Emma beamed. "Absolutely!"

Bowie smirked, but it faltered when he looked at the other seat next to him. Raj was currently bawling and looking very distressed. Bowie put a hand on his shoulder. "Raj, I know you're upset, but you need to stay strong for this. A million bucks are on the line and I want more than anything for you to win, so I can rub it in everyone's face that my boyfriend is a millionaire. So, can you give it 110% for me?"

Raj sniffed and wiped his nose with his jersey. "Ok, Bowie." He nodded and gave a small smile.

They both stood up.

Bowie looked at his feet. "And…I know you said I would only get a proper kiss if I won, but maybe we can-"

Raj suddenly grabbed the sides of his boyfriend's arms and pulled him towards him. He shifted his grip to hold Bowie's back and held him in a dip position. Bowie's back was only a few feet away from the ground. Before he could respond, Raj pulled him close and kissed him right on the lips.

Bowie immediately melted into it. Raj held the kiss for a while, before separating. Bowie had to catch his breath when they released.

Raj stared directly at him, eyelids low and smiling. "Mujhe tumse pyaar hai." He said in a deep voice.

Bowie felt himself blushing like a tomato and started stammering. "Oh, wow. Oh…w-wow. Wow. That was…wow. Oh, wow…"

Raj pulled him to his feet and the two parted ways. As he walked away, Bowie subtly turned to Nichelle and Axel and winked at them.

The two shared the same surprised look, realizing exactly what Bowie meant.

As he walked down the dock, Bowie was grinning like an idiot as he began his final narration. "I've done a few things I'm not proud of, but I'm still leaving a happy Bowie."

Confessional (Bowie): "Emma. Raj…" He lowered his voice slightly for that last one. "I'll be rooting for both of you. And babe? When I get home, I'm gonna find out what you said to me."

Static

Bowie waited for the drone to take him. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see a grinning Caleb.

"Come to rub it in some more?" The flamboyant contestant asked.

"A little. You saw me get eliminated, so I guess I'll do the same to you. Now that we're even, it only seems fair."

Bowie looked up at the drone. It was starting to lower its claw. He smirked. "Yeah, I guess we are even…" He held his hand out for Caleb to shake.

The hunk hesitated for a moment, before shrugging and accepting it. The drone's claw was about to grab Bowie's arm.

"...or at least we will be."

Before Caleb could respond, Bowie jumped backwards, taking Caleb with him. The hunk was surprised. "What the-" Bowie pulled him right into the path of the drone's claw and it latched onto the hunk's wrist. "Ow!" He tried pulling himself free, but it wouldn't budge. The drone started to rise, still holding onto Caleb's wrist. He looked down at Bowie, who was smirking at him. "W-What are you doing? You agreed with me when I said we were even!"

The flamboyant camper strolled up to him. "Yeah, we were. We were even the moment you got me eliminated."

Caleb was confused. "Yeah, but-"

Bowie cut him off, looking stern. "Then you made my boyfriend cry, so that meant I had to get back at you. Like you said, it only seems fair."

Caleb gasped. He felt the drone continuing to pull him up slowly. His feet were starting to leave the ground. He turned to the host. "Chris! This can't be allowed. I wasn't voted off!"

Chris pondered. "You're right, but…we are due for a double elimination at some point, and I don't want to cut the dramatic tension you guys have going on."

Caleb went pale.

"So…I'll allow it. If it makes you feel any better, I'll count your placement ahead of Bowie's." He looked at the other contestant. "That does mean you're still eliminated."

Bowie just shrugged. Caleb was further away from the ground. Bowie reached up and held onto the hunk's shoe, taking himself along for the ride.

The drone buzzed off and was soon out of sight, Caleb protesting all the way.

"Our first merge elimination of the season and we have last season's runner up, and the guy who got him eliminated, both gone. Can we top this kind of epic drama next time? Find out, here…on Total…Drama Island!"

You ever come up with an idea for a scene in your series, but have to wait until you actually reach a certain point before getting to write it? And when you finally reach it, you get so excited to put it all together? Well, for me, that was Bowie dragging Caleb down with his own elimination. I was looking forward to this scene for a while and to finally have it out is so euphoric. Also, this might be my favorite chapter that I've worked on.

As for Bowie, he's easily my favorite character of the reboot seasons. I loved him being an antagonist, but not quite a villain, in season one. He's the type to get you eliminated, but then buy you a drink afterwards. Season two is pretty good with his dilemma on choosing between Raj and cheating. Could've been better, but he was still great. Also, without looking it up (unless you know how to speak Hindi), what do you think Raj said to Bowie?

And going from my favorite character, to my least. I never understood why Caleb barely interacted with Bowie in season two. It would've been way more interesting than the Prileb drama. Speaking of, Caleb is now the second canon finalist to not make the cut for this rewrite. Gotta wonder what the finale is going to look like.

That's all I got. Who do you think is going next? Let me know and I'll see you in the next one.

Ciao.

Merge: Priya, Damien, MK, Raj, Julia, Axel, Nichelle, Emma

Bowie: Julia, Caleb, MK, Nichelle, Axel, Priya, Damien

Julia: Emma, Raj, Bowie

Elimination order:

16th: Ripper

15th: Chase

14th: Scary Girl

13th: Zee

12th: Wayne

11th: Millie

10th: Bowie

9th: Caleb (pulled into elimination)