Decided to take my time a little on this one. It was actually a little harder to plan everything for this chapter, which I will explain at the end.

Not much else to say. Hope you fellow US viewers are checking out the 2023 season on Cartoon Network and/or Max.

"Last time on Total Drama Island," Chris began. "It was merge time and the competitors got medieval in our canoe jousting challenge. Axel and Nichelle went searching for the idol and came back with a much deeper understanding of each other. Gross. After Bowie helped snap Emma out of her Chase trance, she went on to win the whole thing. Julia and Caleb organized Bowie's elimination, which went smoothly…for Julia. For Caleb, he had to get the last laugh, even though he already won and fell right into Bowie's trap when he dragged the hunk down with him."

The camera flashed, revealing Chris standing at the dock. "Eight remain, which means we've still got plenty of drama, action and painful challenges for our competitors to go through. Here…on Total…Drama…Island!"

Damien grunted to himself as he looked around. He had been looking through the forest for the past hour.

Confessional (Damien): "I couldn't find Priya this morning. She didn't show up for breakfast and no one else has seen her. Millie's book said her parents spent an entire month alone in the woods, so that might be the best place to look." He sighed. "I'm also hoping to make it through today's challenge. I need to make up for my lose from yesterday. Without immunity, I'm as unsafe as a wi-fi network in a coffee shop." He paused. "I don't like sharing passwords. I don't know what people have been using that connection for. I don't wanna be affiliated with whatever they're searching for!"

Static

Damien continued looking. He wasn't watching where he was going. He scanned an area of the trees before he suddenly tripped over something. "Gah!" He fell forward to the ground. He lay, clutching his knee. He winced. "Ahhhh…that hurt. I-" He stopped. He saw what he had tripped over.

It was a hollow log that had most likely fallen off a tree. But the log wasn't important.

Inside it, he saw a golden statue that looked like Chris. It could only mean one thing.

"The immunity idol!" He gasped. He reached over and picked it up.

Confessional (Damien): He was still holding the idol. "This is perfect! Now even I lose and don't win immunity in the challenge, I'll still have it! All I gotta do is keep it safe."

Static

As he was admiring his idol, he heard a noise behind him. He yelped and turned around quickly, holding the idol behind his back. He quickly saw who had made the noise.

"Hey…" He said to Priya, trying not to sound suspicious. "How ya feeling? Haven't seen you at all this morning."

Last season's winner crossed her arms. "I…I needed to blow off some steam. I can't believe I trusted Caleb. He was using me that entire time just to eliminate Bowie. I mean, it's a smart move, but…still."

"Wait, how do you blow off steam?"

"Long-distance parkour. The longer I run, the less mad I feel."

Damien thought for a moment, remembering what he and Millie talked about. "Are…you sure there's nothing else you're mad about?"

Priya rolled her eyes. "Damien, if this is about my parents, I don't-"

The neurotic contestant then remembered what he was holding behind his back. He chuckled nervously. "Actually, I don't know what I'm talking about. Why would we talk about that now? I'm just going to get moving and-"

"I mean, I don't know what there is to say. My parents…they knew what was best. Total Drama is so important to them." She hesitated. "I-I mean, me! They trained me to not fall for tricks like what Caleb did. I should've known better. So, today, I'm putting all my focus into winning." She grinned confidently. "So, as my parents taught, if I end up knocking your teeth out, I apologize in-" She stopped. She was the only one around. "Damien?" She called.

The neurotic contestant was running, clutching onto the idol.

Confessional (Damien): "I didn't want to leave, but I had to keep this thing hidden. If Priya saw I had it, I'm…pretty sure she would've bit my hand off. Not taking that chance."

Static

Raj sat at the front of the cabin, cupping his chin with his hands. He looked sadly down at the ground.

Confessional (Raj): "First Wayne and I got separated, then he got eliminated and now Bowie's gone too. This is going to be hard." He scratched the back of his head, before looking a little more serious. "But right now, I can't think about that. It's only second period and I'm a one-person hockey team. Babe, I won't let you down!"

Static

Raj sat up, looking more confident. He heard someone open the door behind him and slam it shut. "Let's do this!" Emma shouted. She then saw Raj.

The hockey bro waved. "Hey, Emma. How's it-"

"Raj!" Emma pointed enthusiastically. "Are you ready for today?!"

"I was actually kinda-"

"Great! Because I am psyched for today! I've got a win under my belt and I'm ready!" She suddenly grabbed Raj's face and pulled him closer by his cheeks. "Raj! We're going to kick butt today! Nothing can stop us!" She let go of the hockey bro's face and raised her fists. "Woo!" She then walked off and into the woods.

Raj was left alone, dazed.

Confessional (Raj): He was rubbing his cheek. "Ow…"

Confessional (Emma): "I feel great. After yesterday's win, I'm pumped! I'm going to kick butt, take names and…kick even more butt! Kick all the butts! Yeah!"

Static

Axel was sparring in her and Nichelle's usual training spot. She had a mattress tied to one of the trees and was currently throwing rights and lefts onto it.

She continued doing it for a while, but eventually slowed her pace and fully stopped.

The zombie commando looked around. She was the only one there.

Confessional (Axel): "So…Nichelle never showed up. I first thought something might've happened to her, but I also know she can kick anyone's butt because of my training." She thought to herself. "I don't know, did I do something?"

Static

The competitors soon arrived at the next challenge location. Chris and Chef were standing in front of a large rocky mountain.

"Campers," Chris introduced. "Welcome to your next challenge. Now, before I get into how everything works, I just want to tell you something I've been wanting to say for a while." He spoke softly. "You've all dealt with a lot of torment this season and I want to say…it's time for change." The competitors were surprised at Chris' seemingly heartfelt speech. It almost felt too good to be true. "And when I say change," The host continued. "I mean, big change!"

A beeping sound was heard and the competitors looked up. A crane was holding a large piggybank just above their heads. Chris pressed a button, which opened a hatch on the bottom of the bank. Out of it, eight giant coins fell out, all with Chris' face on them. They landed on the campers, who crumbled to the ground under the weight of them.

Chris chuckled. "I did say big change was coming!"

"Oh yeah," Chef reached into a nearby box and pulled out a helmet. "You'll probably need these." He tossed several of them in front of the groaning competitors, who were in too much pain to catch them.

Chris continued. "The coins that we have provided are an essential part of the next challenge. Today, you're playing….Human Pinball!"

Chef took over, pointing towards the dangerous and tall mountain behind them. "You'll be carrying your coins up there. Trust me, it won't be easy!"

"When has it ever been easy?!" Damien spluttered, starting to get up.

Chris ignored him. "Once you reach the top," He pointed at a TV screen behind them, which showed an intern and a red box with a thin slot. The intern placed his coin into the slot and it rolled in. "You'll put your coin in the slot. Once you do that, you'll be taken into the pinball portion. The idea is to fling your body around into the targets, bumpers, and whatever else we have lying around."

"The more pain you put yourself through, the more points you get." Chris rubbed his hand maliciously. "So, it should come as no shock that I'm particularly excited for this challenge. Also, if you exit the playing area, you're out. The player with the highest score wins the challenge and immunity." He pulled out an air horn. "So have fun and stay safe!"

"You don't actually mean that, do you?" MK said.

"Good job, MK. You're learning." Chris blew the air horn, signaling the start of the challenge.

Emma proceeded to let out a loud battle cry. "AHHHHHH!" She raised her coin above her head, inadvertently hitting Damien in the face and knocking him down. She didn't notice and ran up the mountain.

Raj followed shortly behind her. The others made their way up soon after.

Axel saw Nichelle running ahead and she perked up, going up to her. "Hey…I didn't see you today, where were you?"

Nichelle kept running. "Oh, I…got held up. I wanted to do some training by myself."

Axel was surprised. "Yourself? But…I thought-"

"Can't talk. Gotta focus." Nichelle sped up and ran ahead, leaving a bewildered Axel behind.

Damien had decided to roll his coin along, instead of carrying it. He saw Priya ahead of him and was reminded of what he was supposed to be doing. "Hey, Priya. I'm good to have that talk if-"

"Not now!" Priya snapped.

Confessional (Damien): "Yeah, I might've missed my opportunity earlier. I can't help it. It was either I got to keep the statue or lose both my hands. I'll just have to wait for another opportunity."

Confessional (Priya): "This is my opportunity to make up for what happened with Caleb. Right now, I'm putting all my attention on the challenge. Nothing else. Not what Millie said, not my parents, not Damien, not…" She realized that she was rambling and shook her head. "Nothing else!"

Static

Meanwhile, Emma was still bolting ahead, looking determined. "We're going to win today, right Raj?" She didn't get a response. "Raj?" Still nothing. Emma glanced back and noticed Raj was barely keeping up.

He panted and strained as he trudged along. "Don't…don't worry about me, coach." He fell to his knees to catch his breath.

Emma stopped and went to him. "Raj, we gotta keep moving. We can't let anyone pass us."

"Just…just give me a minute. That's…just count to…uh…however long a minute is supposed to last."

Emma frowned and then looked up. She saw more competitors heading towards them. She narrowed her eyes. "Alright, plan B." The YouTuber picked up a rock, aimed it and chucked it.

Julia saw it and held up her coin to protect her.

Clang

The impact of the rock made a loud noise against the metal coin. The impact also wasn't enough to block and the coin Julia was holding smacked her in the face. She tripped backwards into MK and the two lay in a heap.

Confessional (Emma): "Ok, I don't like throwing rocks at people." She paused. "Ok, throwing them at Julia was pretty nice, but still. I'm doing what it takes to win."

Static

Emma threw a second rock. Nichelle saw it and did the same thing as Julia.

Clang

It bounced off, but she was able to hold onto her coin.

However, the second loud noise in a row did something else. A low rumble sounded. The ground started to shake. Some of the competitors stopped and looked up. Rocks suddenly started tumbling down.

"Run!" Emma yelled, already moving past Raj.

The hockey bro had just gotten up. "Huh?" He was then crushed by one of the boulders.

Damien was still rolling his coin, while also avoiding the falling rocks. Suddenly, a large one fell directly in front of him. It hit the coin and knocked him backward. Still holding the coin, the momentum caused Damien to start spinning.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" In addition to spiraling, Damien was bounced back down the mountain.

Julia and MK had just gotten up from Emma's rock throw. They heard a noise and looked forward. They saw Damien bouncing towards them. Julia stepped to the side and pulled MK along with her. "Ow…ow…ow…" They watched him go right by and continue down.

"Why did you do that?" MK asked.

Julia smirked. "Now I figured you'd owe me one. Just like old times."

MK glared.

Confessional (MK): "Seriously? What kind of sense does that make? We're in an alliance already." She paused. "I mean, I didn't want to be crushed by Damien, so I guess I can't complain."

Static

The hacker was about to say something but was caught off when another rock landed next to her. It hit her coin causing it bounced off the ground and into the air. MK saw it was about to land on Julia. She stepped forward and pushed her out of the way.

"Ha!" She pointed. "Now we're even. That means you can't-" She stopped, realizing she was standing where Julia just was. She sighed. "This was a bad idea in hindsight." The coin then landed on her and crushed her. Julia was surprised.

Confessional (Julia): "Did MK actually just save me? Like, I know she didn't want to owe me one, but…was that the only reason?"

Static

Nichelle was at a steady pace heading up the mountain.

Axel was behind her.

Confessional (Axel): "OK, so maybe her wanting to train by herself doesn't mean anything. I mean, I didn't do anything to make her feel like she can't be around me…" She trailed off. "...did I?"

Static

Axel was still watching the former Hollywood star.

Nichelle, meanwhile, was concentrating. Suddenly a rock fell in front of her, knocking the coin from her hands. She grunted and was about to pick it up when she felt something was off. She looked up, just in time to see another boulder about to crush her. She shielded herself with her arms.

At that moment, Axel jumped above her. With the coin held high, she brought it right down onto the rock. It moved forward, crumbling to the ground in the process. Nichelle looked up cautiously and saw Axel standing in front of her.

The zombie commando breathed a heavy sigh and looked back. "You okay?"

Nichelle picked up her coin and ran ahead, right past Axel. "Yes. Thank you." She was soon well ahead.

Axel was confused.

Confessional (Axel): "Did…did I do something?"

Static

Damien was still rolling down the hill, only much slower. He finally came to a stop at the bottom and rolled into a pile of dirt. He sighed in relief.

Confessional (Damien): "Alright, maybe getting back into the challenge should be my first priority. Priya can wait until I'm in a good spot. Which, right now, I am not."

Static

The dirt pile Damien had rolled into was, evidently, not actually a pile. Little black dots started crawling out and onto Damien. The neurotic contestant started to get up, before he suddenly felt something biting him.

He screamed and jumped to his feet, realizing he was covered in ants. He tried swatting them off, to no avail. "Ah!" He yelped. "They're everywhere!" He ran off up the mountain. "It hurts. It hurts so…wait." Still flailing his arms, he ran back down the hill. He went over and picked up his coin. "Alright, good. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah…" He then threw his arms up again, while holding the coin, and ran back up the hill. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed the rest of the way down and splashed into the water.

Emma and Raj had just reached the top. They saw a sign leading them to the next part of the challenge.

"Alright, we're almost there!" Raj celebrated. "And we still have the lead."

"Yeah!" Emma shouted. "We're going to win this!"

"Wait, but only one of us can win, right?""

"Oh, right." Emma looked at Raj for a moment. She suddenly turned and bolted off. "Sorry, Raj. I'm not letting anyone else beat me!"

The hockey bro smirked and gave chase.

Confessional (Raj): "This challenge is kinda like hockey. We're trying to get to the goal and the coins are like pucks. And the great thing about hockey is that you're allowed to play a little rough. I'm sure Emma won't mind if I shoulder-check her once or twice."

Static

Raj soon caught up to his friend and, as promised, rammed his shoulder into Emma's side. She fell over to the ground. She then looked up and grinned. "Oh, so it's like that?" She quickly back up and ran. When she reached him, Emma then did the same thing Raj did to her.

The hockey bro stumbled but didn't fall. "I've taken harder hits from my grandmother." He taunted playfully.

"Oh yeah?" Emma, still running, went off to the side to give Raj some space. Then, with much power and speed, she ran back to him, ramming her shoulder into the hockey bro. He stumbled to the side, going off course. She laughed. "How's that for 'grandma?'" She proceeded to speed up.

Raj kept stumbling, trying to stop himself from Emma's hard hit. He finally did so and sighed. "Alright, that was a good one. But I-" He looked down. Raj's feet were not standing on anything. He was somehow levitating above the air, right next to the cliff. "How am I-" He then proceeded to plummet down. The hockey bro screamed and slammed into a rock on the way down. He bounced and landed on another part of the cliff. And another. "Ow!" And another. "Oof!" And another. "Good thing I'm wearing a cup!" He hit one more side of the cliff, before landing in a soft bush from a branch that was growing out of the cliff. He sighed in relief before a rock came down and hit him in the head, sending him out of the bush and into a long fall down to the ocean below.

Emma soon arrived at the next section of the challenge. She looked around, noticing that Raj was gone. She was confused, but didn't say anything, instead turning her attention to the coin slot. Next to it was a giant stone statue of Chris' head.

Confessional (Emma): "Alright, so if it looks like Chris, that's probably not a good sign. But whatever it is, I need to face it. I came to win!" She paused. "Though…I hope it's not too painful."

Static

The YouTuber took a deep breath and put the coin in the slot. The stone slot on the statue's mouth opened, showing nothing but black. Emma gulped and stepped inside it. "Alright, do your worst…but maybe not your absolute worst. I can settle for second worst." The slot shot back up, encasing Emma in darkness. Suddenly the ground opened up beneath her and she fell. She screamed, but it only lasted a few seconds, as it was revealed she was now in a minecart, riding downhill on railroad tracks. "Oh…" She perked up slightly. "Oh, this isn't too bad. I guess I had nothing to worry about." She was soon about to eat her words when she saw that the cart's tracks were about to end. She braced herself, before the cart abruptly tilted and Emma was sent flying out. She slammed into a big metal pole with a tire on it and then hit the ground.

The YouTuber groaned and sat up. She then looked around where she was. The area was littered with poles similar to the one she had just hit. There were also several wooden barriers that symbolized the end of the play area. More importantly, there were big mechanical structures, including a giant Canadian geese with eggs and a nest, a large Scary Girl replica holding a jackhammer, and a large size version of a former red-headed contestant: Izzy.

Near where Emma had fallen out of her cart, she saw Chris and Chef at a table with a scoreboard behind them. She could see her score was at 10.

"Welcome to human pinball!" Chris declared.

"Throw yourself around to get more points and watch out for some of the traps we've left for you," Chef said with a wink.

As if for emphasis, a rabbit hopped onto a stump near Emma. It wasn't there for long, as the stump suddenly sprang up, revealing a metal pole. The rabbit was sent flying.

"So, you're saying I have to throw myself around, probably hurting myself in the process, while also avoiding traps to make sure I stay inside the challenge area?"

Chris and Chef nodded.

Emma shrugged. "Alright, I've been through worse."

Julia was the next to show up. She looked around to see Emma, throwing herself into the poles and boards. She also noticed the scoreboard, which was steadily rising on the YouTuber's section.

Julia sighed, knowing what she had to do.

Seconds later, MK came careening down the mountain. She was launched out when she reached the bottom. Once she hit the ground, she rolled over and jumped onto a button on the ground.

"MK's activated a bonus beacon!" Chris announced. "This is about to give her a huge advantage."

Emma slammed into another pole, but it merely dropped her to the ground. "What the-"

The hacker threw herself into a board, which bounced her off onto a pole, which sent her flying into another.

Julia was stunned, even more so when she saw MK's score was already in the triple digits. She ran over to her. MK was about to hit another pole, when Julia caught her mid-air and placed the hacker onto her feet. "Hey!" MK said. "What's your problem?"

"How on earth did you figure that out so quickly?"

MK just shrugged. "I'm a gamer. I know how this stuff works."

"First off, you playing game in your gross, dimly lit basement doesn't automatically make you good at this stuff."

"My score would beg to differ." MK grinned.

Julia ignored her. "Second, I need this more than you do. With Bowie gone, I can't risk anyone targeting me."

The hacker scoffed. "Look, just because I consider you a friend doesn't mean I'm gonna just hand you the win."

"We're in an alliance. You need to…" Julia trailed off, realizing something. "Did…did you just call me your friend?"

"What?" MK looked confused. "Of course not. I…" It suddenly dawned on her.

Confessional (MK): "Aw crud…"

Static

The two shared an awkward silence, not sure what their next move was going to be.

Finally, Julia spoke up, albeit quietly. "So…I'm gonna go get some more points…"

"Yeah…" MK responded, trying to play along. "Good luck with that." Both competitors turned and walked away.

Another cart came rolling down the mountain. Priya was launched out, but adjusted herself to land on her feet. She quickly took in the challenge and knew what she had to do.

Confessional (Priya): "This actually isn't that different from something my parents put me through. Only this time, I'll be throwing myself at the garbage cans." She smiled, before slowly turning to a look of certainty. "That…doesn't sound great when I say it outloud." She shook her head. "But it doesn't matter, I'm here to get back my intergrity!"

Static

Meanwhile, Raj was slowly starting to wake up. He felt something wet touch his hand. He picked up and quickly realized the situation he was in. He was stranded on some logs, floating down the ocean. Thankfully, he still had his coin.

The hockey bro turned around to see the island, far in the distance. He gulped. "Guess I'll wait for a wave." He stood in silence, hoping something would happen.

Confessional (Raj): "I'm not saying that I don't know how to surf, but if that bit of the ocean was iced over, I would be back on the island in two seconds tops. All I gotta do is wait five months and I'm home free."

Static

Nichelle came flying down the tracks. Once she was launched out, she twirled over and landed on her feet.

Axel followed shortly after. She went to her girlfriend. "Nichelle, I-"

But before she could say anything, Nichelle had already thrown herself at the targets and was starting to rack up points.

Axel looked at the target next to her and decided to do the same.

"Axel and Nichelle are on the board!" Chris declared. "But they have a lot of catching up to do."

Priya stopped herself and looked at the scoreboard. MK and Emma were racking in many points already, but she was falling way behind. Last season's winner gritted her teeth and went back to the challenge.

Julia also saw the scoreboard.

Confessional (Julia): "Look, I get MK wants to win, but I need the immunity more. If this friend- alliance, is going to work, we both need to be on the same page. And right now, she needs to be on the page that lets me win."

Static

Raj had made zero progress in making it back to the island. He was stuck there for so long, he had fallen asleep on his makeshift raft. A seagull perched itself on his helmet.

Nearby, a fishing boat was floating towards him.

"Bowie, why are you a T-rex?" Raj mumbled in his sleep. "It's okay, you're still cute."

Axel had been able to get a good chunk of points, but was more concerned with something else. She was still attempting to catch up with Nichelle, who was still bouncing around the poles. Every time she had stopped, she jumped into another pole and started again before Axel could reach her.

By this point, Axel's thoughts were starting to race.

Confessional (Axel): "We gotta be okay, right? She's just focusing on the challenge. But…she knows I wouldn't get in the way of her…right? I mean, first she did her own training. If she has to do that, maybe she doesn't want me around anymore."

Static

Axel was still running after her, until she came to another section of the challenge. There, she saw two red poles with pictures on them. Familiar pictures of two former contestants. One was a bossy CIT and the other was a green mohawk delinquent.

In other words, Duncan and Courtney.

Axel looked between them and sighed.

Confessional (Axel): She looked glum. "Those two didn't last. In fact, a lot of Total Drama couples didn't end up working out. Maybe Nichelle sees the writing on the wall and…wants to end it before it can get worse."

Static

Axel's moop session was quickly interrupted when Emma slammed into her. The zombie commando was sent flying in to the Duncan pole. Then she was flung back into the Courtney pole, then was repeatedly bounced between them.

"Looks like Axel's getting involved in Duncan and Courtney's business. Never a good idea." Chris said, turning to Chef.

"Nope. Last time something like that happened, it did not end well." Chef replied.

They were interrupted by a loud and familiar shriek.

Damien came flying down the mountain and was launched high into the air when he hit the bottom. He landed onto the ground with a painful thud. He saw one of his former teammates run by. "Oh, hey Priya. Can we-"

But last season's winner completely ignored him and went by.

"Damien, where's your helmet?" Chris asked.

"I had to take it off." Damien got up and pointed at his helmetless head. "There were too many ants in there. But, don't worry, I should be-"

Just like Axel, Emma ended up colliding with Damien. The neurotic contestant was sent flying into a few poles. After the second hit, he was sent flying into the air again. He bounced on the ground a few times before he felt something hit the back of his head and he stopped.

Rubbing his head, Damien looked up. Above him was the giant wooden Scary Girl. It had a speaker where it's mouth would be.

"Are you ready for pain?" It said.

"Nope." Damien got up and ran off, unaware of where he was running. In his haste to get away, Damien ended up moving right into the path of the jackhammer, which dropped down on him, crushing him immediately.

However, it was doing wonders for his score, quickly putting him up with the leaders.

Priya saw his score rising and became even more irritated. She ran towards Damien.

The jackhammer had finally stopped and lifted itself off of Damien, who was groaning in pain and lying in a new crater created by the Scary Girl prop. He slowly and groggily crawled himself out.

Confessional (Damien): "For the record, I'm not as afraid of Scary Girl as I was before, but giant jackhammers…that's a different story."

Static

"Damien!" Priya ran up. "Move it! I need those points!"

The neurotic contestant, despite his loopiness, managed to speak. "But…but what are you going to do…about your parents?"

"Forget about my parents!" Priya shouted. "You don't know them! Sure, they've put me through a lot of training that involves trash cans being thrown at me, but…but…" She grabbed the sides of her head. "Just let me in!"

Damien had briefly regained his composure. "You seriously want to get mangled by this thing?!"

Priya grunted. "Damien, get ou-OOF!" Like Damien and Axel, Emma had flung herself into Priya. She hit one of the barriers and crashed right through it. Her earlier anger had been replaced with quiet pain and discomfort.

"Oh, and Priya is surprisingly out!" Chris narrated. "And with score nowhere near the leaders, she basically lost her chance to win this thing!"

Damien watched her, feeling somewhat guilty.

A truck had arrived at the cabins, carrying a box of fish. An intern was waiting for it to be unloaded.

A delivery woman stepped out. "Hey, bub. Gotta fish delivery for ya!"

Suddenly, Raj burst out from the crate, with the coin and ran off. "Thanks for the ride!"

The intern and delivery woman stared at him.

"Oh yeah," The worker said. "And a hockey player. Don't know who ordered that."

MK pressed onto another bonus beacon and then threw herself at the poles again, gaining even more points. However, not long after she got started, she collided with another and stopped.

She looked to see Axel, having stepped on another beacon.

The hacker quickly noticed something. "What are you doing? That's not even your color!" She pointed.

Sure enough, MK was right, as Axel was wearing a blue helmet and she had stepped on yellow one.

Axel didn't answer. Instead, she looked over at Nichelle, who was flying through the challenge, gaining several points along the way. Axel smiled sadly.

Confessional (Axel): She looked miserable. "If…" She choked on her words. "If Nichelle doesn't want to be with me anymore, then…fine. She still deserves to be happy. And if winning this challenge makes Nichelle happy, then I'll make it sure it happens."

Static

"Uh, hello?" MK called.

Axel finally snapped her attention towards the hacker and glared. "You got a problem?"

"What? No. You're the one who hit the wrong button and-"

The zombie commando gripped MK by her coat and pulled her off the ground. "And what?" She said through gritted teeth.

MK gulped. "And you're obviously doing a good job at it." She chuckled nervously.

Meanwhile, Nichelle had hit another board and came to stop. She looked at her score to see she was just behind the leader, Emma.

She raised her arms and celebrated. "Now that's what I call tilting the scales!" She ran forward to get more points. However, she failed to notice the tree stump in front of her. It, in fact, was a trap and as soon as she stepped on it, it sprung, lifting off the ground and sending Nichelle flying.

She screamed as she saw herself careening out of the challenge area.

Axel, hearing the cry of terror, turned, dropped MK to the ground and ran over. She went near the bumper entrance, stepped onto the metal part. Nichelle came flying towards her, but Axel caught her in an arm carry. She stumbled back, but didn't fall off, so both of them were safe.

Everyone else, however, stopped to see what had just happened. All were shocked.

"And in a surprising move, Nichelle is saved from elimination by Axel!" Chris announced.

Suddenly, it dawned on Axel, what she just done and all the eyes on her. Even Nichelle was giving her an odd look. Sheepishly, she stepped down and set Nichelle on her feet.

"Thanks…" The former Hollywood star said. Then she ran back to the challenge area.

She stopped suddenly as something grabbed her wrist. She turned to see Axel holding her back. "What are you-"

"Nichelle…" The zombie commando said, shakily. "I…I needed to ask you something and…I want you to be honest."

"Can it wait?" Nichelle asked. She was starting to find the situation awkward.

Axel shook her head. "It's really important." She took a deep breath. "Are we…are we…" She looked Nichelle right in the eyes and opened her mouth to finish her sentence.

Emma suddenly came flying in, knocking in the back of Nichelle, pushing her into Axel and sending both of them over the bumper.

"Oh! Along with Priya, Emma has sent out Axel and Nichelle! And she still holds the lead!" Chris declared.

Emma got up. However, after being thrown around the challenge area and into so many competitors, she was starting to feel the effects. "Yay…" She panted and went to run back into the challenge. She barely got two feet in, before collapsing onto the ground, exhausted.

"Emma has falleen, but she's not out yet!" Chris said

"This might the chance for everyone else to catch up." Chef added.

MK and Julia both heard this and smirked at each other. They went back to throwing themselves around the bumpers.

Damien had finally gotten out of the hole from the Scary Girl portion. He looked at the scoreboards and gulped. He was falling behind the leaders, while Julia and MK were catching up to Emma.

Confessional (Damien): "I need to win this! I might have the idol, but it's way too early to use it." He thought for a moment. "I survived going through a metal slide of gears and came out fine…I should be able to survive this."

Static

Damien saw a red button on the ground and remembered that it was his color. He ran over and stomped on it.

MK and Julia hit their bumpes, but hit the ground.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Damien cried and ran towards the wooden canadian goose and jumped into the nest. "I don't know what this does, but it better give me points!" Like what happened to Nichelle, the nest spring up, sending him flying. He screamed again, before the bottoms of his feet hit the wooden Scary Girl. It broke his momentum and he tilted forward, landing back inside the crater from earlier.

He groaned and looked up.

"Are you ready for pain?!" The wooden Scary Girl asked again.

Damien gulped. "Yes…?"

The jackhammer came down, drilling him further into the ground.

MK and Julia watched on, realizing Damien was now close to passing them.

"What are we going to do?!" Julia cried.

"I know," MK said, starting to run. "You stay here and look pretty and I'll go get me some points." She pointed at the only bonus section that hadn't been triggered: the Izzy head.

Julia shook her head. "What?! No!" She jumped forward and grabbed MK's ankle, causing her to fall. "You don't need immunity as much as me!"

"And you already made it the merge without me and almost won! You'll be fine!" MK tried pulling away, but Julia was holding strong.

"But now, everyone knows I'm a threat!"

"Look, we might be friends, but-"

"Ha!" Julia pointed at her. "You did say we were friends!"

MK hesitated. "Wha- N-No! I…I didn't say anything!"

The two continued arguing, not noticing that the jackhammer was done. Damien groggily pulled himself out of the hole. He looked to see MK and Julia fighting. He then turned to see what they were crawling towards.

Confessional (Damien): "Izzy's a slightly less terrifying version of Scary Girl, so…I should be fine. I hope…"

Static

The neurotic contestant got up and ran towards the wooden Izzy head. MK and Julia stopped fighting, just in time to see him.

"First one there gets the bonus." Julia declared

"Deal!" MK responded.

They both stood up and ran towards Damien.

Emma was holding her head as she started to wake up. She shook her head and saw Damien, Julia and MK.

Confessional (Emma): "Alright, down to four. I can still win this, if I get enough points before they get the bonus. Two in a row baby!"

Static

Emma was about to throw herself at a bumper, when Raj suddenly slammed into her from behind.

He had finally arrived at the challenge site.

The impact caused Emma to fly forward, past MK and Julia and into Damien's back. The impact caused Emma to bounce back into the two girls she had just passed. All three lay in a heap on the ground.

Damien, meanwhile, was sent forward and smacked his face into the Izzy head. Its eyes suddenly started spinning and when they stopped, they were now stars.

"Is that a good thing?" The neurotic contestant asked.

"You've hit multi-ball!" Chris announced.

"Ok, but is that good?" Damien asked again. "Coming from you, I don't know what to expect."

"It's good." Chef said.

Confessional (Damien): "If Chris says it's good, he means only for him, which would mean bad for me. But if Chef says it, then…I still don't know if it's actually good."

Static

Suddenly, several poles shot out of the ground, with metal tubes at the top. They began shootting out pink balls at a rapid rate. They hit the bumpers, which caused Damien's score to gradually rise.

Raj got up after colliding with Emma and leaned on the bumper. "Alright." he said to himself. "I have a lot of catching up to do, but I can still-" A pink ball suddenly struck him in the face, knocking him back and over the bumper, eliminating the hockey bro.

The balls continued firing, giving even more points to Damien.

Emma was the next to get up. She looked at the situation she was in, then to the scoreboard. She barely had the lead, but Damien was closing in fast.

"Alright, I can still do this!" She ran forward to a bumper. It was cut short when a ball smacked her across the face. She stumbled backwards into the path of another ball, which also struck her face. She fell backwards, back into Julia and MK.

"Oh and with Emma, MK and Julia down, it looks like Damien is about to…" He looked at the scoreboard. Damien's portion now read 9999 and wasn't moving, despite the balls still firing. "Actually, Damien's score has gone higher than this machine can count. So that means he is the winner of today's challenge!"

The balls stopped firing and the poles retreated back into the ground.

"I won?" Damien stood up, then looked at his score. A big smile formed across his face. "I won! I actually won, I-" He then stopped.

He saw Priya watching him from the sidelines. She looked disappointed. Damien could tell it wasn't from him winning, but from her getting eliminated so early.

Confessional (Damien): "Right…I was supposed to be helping her. Well, maybe now that the challenge is over, I can talk to her."

Static

Damien took a step forward towards Priya, but she turned and ran off, not saying a word.

Confessional (Damien): "...or not."

Static

Axel walked glumly through the woods. She sighed to herself.

Confessional (Axel): "Maybe having a relationship was too good to be true. If she doesn't want to be around me now, why would she want to be my girlfriend?" She sighed again. "At the very least, it won't be as hard when I have to chop her head off if she gets bit by the zombies."

Static

Axel continued her lonely walk until she arrived at her training spot. To her surprise, someone was waiting for her.

"Hey." Nichelle said. "You're here." She pointed at a nearby rock. "Take a seat."

"Ok, I guess this'll be easier if I'm sitting." Axel slunked over to take a seat.

Nichelle heard her. "Oh, it will. I'm really excited."

Axel's face fell even further. "Oh, I didn't know you were excited about it."

The former Hollywood star raised an eyebrow. "Wait, do you know what I'm doing?" The zombie commando nodded, which surprised Nichelle. "Oh…how did you figure it out?"

"Well, when you were avoiding me all day. You did training by yourself, you didn't want to work together during the challenge and I broke that boulder that nearly crushed you and you didn't say anything." Axel balled her fists and tried to stop herself from tearing up. "So…if you want to end things now, I-"

A hand touched her shoulder and she looked up. Nichelle was staring at her. "Axel…what are you talking about?"

The zombie commando took a deep breath. "You've been avoiding me because you don't want to be girlfriends anymore. I'm not happy about it, but I respect it, if you-" She was interrupted when Nichelle suddenly burst out laughing. Axel's face went red and she actually looked angry. "What's so funny?!"

"You!" Came the reply. Nichelle wiped a tear from her eye. "Axel, I don't want to break up with you. I kissed you, like, two days ago."

"But…why have you been staying away from me?"

Nichelle smiled warmly. "I didn't want to get distracted. If I spent the whole day with you, I wouldn't have had time to do this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "I remember you mentioned this during the 'either or' challenge, so…" She cleared her throat and looked at her paper.

Axel wasn't sure where this was going, but was about to find out.

"While the world crumbles and the zombies arrise,

In your strong arms, I'll find my reprise.

Our dates would be epic, in fortresses high,

With candlelit dinners beneath a red sky.

Let me light your world with my dramatic flair,

While you sharpen your blades and let down your hair.

And when zombies come and we have to fight,

With you by my side, we'll be alright."

Nichelle sighed in relief, then looked at Axel.

The zombie commando was speechless, blushing brightly and jaw hanging slack.

"Did…did you like it?" Nichelle asked nervously.

Axel didn't respond. Instead, she stood up from her rock, walked over to her girlfriend, grabbed her by the straps of her shirt, pulled her in and kissed her deeply.

Nichelle hummed as she embraced it and closed her eyes.

Confessional (Nichelle): She was smiling like a doofus and swaying back and forth. "That was nice…"

Confessional (Axel): She sighed. "Yup. I'm an idiot."

Static

As per usual, Chris had called the competitors over to the elimination ceremony.

Damien took his seat at one of the stumps, proud of himself. He then saw Priya walk by him. She was looking annoyed as she sat down and Damien's mood quickly turned sour.

"Ah that's the kind of disappointment ya love to see." Chris noted, pointing at Priya. "But I know for one of you, disappointment isn't on your mind because someone found the immunity idol."

Everyone gasped upon hearing this.

Damien tried to not look suspicious.

Confessional (Damien): "Ok, I still feel bad for Priya, but I think I deserve this." She got up and threw his arms around in celebration. "Yeah! I found it! I have the idol! Ya boy Damien has got the idol!"

Static

"Now if all goes well…for me, we'll be crushing the dreams of someone very shortly. Chef?"

"Emma." Chef pointed. "You knocked nearly everyone out of the game, but still somehow managed to lose."

The YouTuber couldn't help but look annoyed.

"Raj. Where even were you? You smell like fish."

"Probably because of the fish, coach." Raj answer, being completely genuine.

"Axel, you helped Nichelle score a bunch of points and saved her from getting knocked out of the challenge. Don't know what's going on, but you're clearly picking favorites."

Axel's eyes darted around, hopeful no one would say anything.

"And finally, Julia. With Bowie gone, you may have made yourself a target. Especially since you didn't win immunity."

The influencer tapped her fingers against her leg, trying to hide how stressed she was.

"Let's get down to business." Chris said, picking up his plate of marshmallows. "Damien, you're obviously safe." He tossed the treat to the neurotic contestant. "And so are you, Priya." Last season's winner perked up from hearing this.

"Also safe are MK…Raj…Nichelle…and Axel." Chris picked up the last marshmallow. "Whoever gets this lives to potentially die in a future challenge. And that person is…" Emma and Julia squirmed in their seats.

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"...Julia."

The influencer sighed in relief as she caught her treat. Even MK looked happy to see it. However, she quickly looked away when Julia turned to face her.

Emma was shocked. "Hold on, I'm going home?! After everything I've been through, I'm just…done!?"

"Pretty much." Chris shrugged.

The YouTuber turned to her hockey bro friend. "Raj, you didn't vote for me, did you?"

Raj shook his head.

"I think I can explain it." Nichelle sat up. "You knocked Priya, me and Axel out of the game and nearly won it yourself."

"You also hit me with your coin," Damien added.

"You threw a rock at me!" Julia said.

"Which caused me pain too!" MK noted.

Emma looked at all the glaring faces and sighed. "I guess that makes sense." She then immediately perked up. "I got eliminated because I was too good." She then proceeded to stroll off towards the dock, much to the confusion of everyone else.

"Yeah…I think I showed my hand too early." Emma narrated. "I was finally able to get over…well, you know, and, next thing you know, I'm eliminated…"

Confessional (Emma): "...but, honestly, I wouldn't change a thing. I feel way better than I have in months, I got my best friend back and I don't even think I have to deal with the consequences of not winning. I can probably make a million with a few of dancing routine videos. Those make bank!"

Static.

Emma smiled proudly, as the Drone grabbed her sweater collar and took her away.

Chris watched her leave and then turned to sign off. "Well, despite losing her shot at the million, Emma wasn't too upset about it. Bummer. But she's not the only one happy. The thought of kicking another camper off always warms my heart. Find out who it'll be, next time, here…on Total…Drama…Island!"

Writing this chapter made me realize that from this point on, the only drama carrying the rest of season is the stuff involving Caleb and Priya. Like seriously, Julia was heavily involved in it and MK was too, though only for the next episode. Raj, Damien and Wayne had no involvement in the story. So, while I don't dislike this episode in the slightest, I do think it's the turning point of when season two started to get bad.

As for Emma, why did I have her go through that character of finally remembering how awful Chase is, give her a challenge win and then eliminate her the next chapter? The best answer I can give is that I had nothing else for her. Everyone else had something going on. I could've kept her a little longer, but it would've been probably one chapter at most. To be fair, I did try to give her a better send-off than the canon series. Season one was a pretty good set-up and she was fun to watch, but season two had the most important part of her development happen off-screen. And once Chase was gone, she wasn't going to last long.

But please let me know what you think of the chapter as a whole. I have my summer job coming up soon, so I might be able to get one more chapter out, but I can't guarantee another quick release date as per usual.

Ciao.

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

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

Julia: Emma, Raj

Elimination order:

16th: Ripper

15th: Chase

14th: Scary Girl

13th: Zee

12th: Wayne

11th: Millie

10th: Bowie

9th: Caleb

8th: Emma