After the Phobia Factor challenge, Chris gave the campers a few days to rest and recoup. Some used the time to genuinely relax. Others, however, used the time to make plans. As they sat together in the main lodge, Liam and Courtney checked to make sure there were no other campers around before beginning. "Okay, so thanks to Cody and Harold, we have five out of the now-nine votes for our team. It'll be impossible for us to be eliminated now," Courtney said.
Liam nodded. "We've done well in following two of the three Rules," he remarked.
Courtney paused, frowning in confusion. "What rules?"
"It was distilled from a very interesting book I read," he answered. "In essence, these Rules are what need to be followed to obtain and keep power."
The C.I.T. leaned back. "Elaborate," she told him.
Giving her a smile he said "Rule 1: Obtain the loyalty of the key supporters. In the context of this show, that would be our teammates. Rule 2 is to maintain that loyalty by controlling the flow of income. For us, that would be the votes that determine if we 'live' or 'die'."
She raised an eyebrow. "And the third rule?"
"That would be the one we'll need to consider soon: Minimizing the number of necessary supporters," Liam said. "With our bloc of five, we'll soon be down to eight teammates. And once that happens, we won't need one of the others anymore."
Courtney hummed, considering that. "If we do need to get rid of one of them, I suggest Ezekiel. He's been useful so far, but he hasn't made any other alliances, so removing him would be an easy sell," she said.
'And the fact he's in my pocket has nothing to do with that,' he thought sarcastically. He had to give it to her; for all the cunning he possessed, Courtney had it alongside a much smaller sense of mercy. But that was fine, because while she might have less mercy, Liam had fewer morals. Put them together, and it made these planning sessions thrilling.
He didn't voice these thoughts aloud, and instead listened as she continued "But we won't be cutting anyone out of our bloc until we've lost twice. For now we need to decide who to get rid of after our next loss."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "And who did you have in mind?" he asked curiously.
Across the camp, a similar meeting was taking place in the female side of the Bass cabin. Heather, Leshawna and Lindsay sat on their respective beds, the other girls having gone out for one reason or another.
"So, girls, I was thinking…" Heather began. "What would you say about bringing Gwen into the alliance?"
"Gwen?" Leshawna repeated. Thinking it over, she said "Girl's definitely smart enough to be worth it. And unlike Izzy, she doesn't give me a headache nearly every time we talk."
Lindsay said "I think it would be fun. We could do our nails together, or get tans…" Then she perked up and raised her hand. "Oh, oh! Maybe we can bring Tyler into the alliance!"
"Tyler's on the other team, girl," Leshawna patiently reminded.
"So?" Lindsay replied. In a rare moment of insight, she said "He may not be able to vote with us, but he can tell us what the other team is doing."
Heather stopped. "That…" she said, before trailing off.
Leshawna was also quiet, tapping her chin as she mulled it over. "It could be pretty helpful," she said, and the queen bee slowly nodded in agreement.
The fact that it came from Lindsay of all people made Heather doubtful, but she supposed the girl had some working neurons. "It's definitely something to consider," she allowed. "But for now, we should focus on getting an ally on our own team."
Leshawna nodded. "I agree. Just one problem: Why would Gwen want to join us to begin with?" she asked.
Heather gave a victorious grin. "Well… I have it on good authority that our loner goth likes a certain someone at camp," she revealed.
Both girls stared at her in surprise. "For real?" Leshawna asked, and she nodded, though Heather declined to provide the details of her source. "So what, you hook them up and she's grateful enough that she joins us?"
"Exactly," Heather confirmed. "I offer to help Gwen get what her heart wants, and in exchange, she gives me what we want," she reasoned.
The larger girl crossed her arms, considering it. "...As long as we're being honest about it, I suppose there's no harm in offering," she said.
That made Heather frown, not having intended to be upfront with Gwen about her intentions. Then again, maybe Weird Goth Girl was smart enough to figure it out when she offered. For now, she just nodded to appease Leshawna.
Then Lindsay raised her hand again. "Wait. So who's Gwen's crush?" she asked, making Heather smirk.
She managed to get rid of Geoff after the last challenge, even if she was unsure who cast the fourth vote for him. Now she was going to finish making things even, and turn Gwen into the resource she used to get rid of Leshawna.
Once their break ended, Chris had the eighteen campers assembled next to the beach. "Hope you enjoyed your rest, campers, because your challenge begins with a camp classic: a canoe ride," he declared. Waving his hand at the beach, they saw a total of nine canoes waiting for them, each with a number from 1 to 9 painted on them and all colored brown except the ninth canoe, which was painted half-red and half-green. "Each of you will partner up and paddle across the lake… to Boney Island!" he said, adding a tone of horror to the island's name.
"Once you get there, you will walk with your canoes to the beach on the opposite side. There, you will build a rescue fire to be judged by me. First team to do that and make it back to camp wins immunity!" he explained. "When you arrive on the island, however, wait a sec before running off. I've got a surprise for everyone!" he revealed, putting each camper on edge. "Don't worry, this one is completely harmless. Now each of you pick a partner and stand next to a canoe."
As the two teams broke apart, Katie looked between the Bass and Gophers, wondering who she could pick. A sad frown came to her; focused as she had been with spending time with Sadie, there wasn't anyone else she had become friends with. No one she could easily approach.
Then she felt a finger tap her shoulder, and turned to see Cody. "Wanna go together?" he offered politely.
Katie smiled thankfully. "Thanks, Cody," she said, and the geek returned her smile as they walked to the canoe labeled #4.
Gwen looked over to Trent, debating whether or not to canoe with him. However, Lindsay abruptly walked over and grabbed his arm. "Trent, you and I have to ride together!" she told him.
Trent reared back in surprise. "I guess. I mean, sure," he said, giving her a confused but friendly smile. She grinned and pulled him over to the first canoe, leaving Gwen behind them.
Gwen sighed, and that was the moment Heather chose to walk over. "Care to paddle with me?" she asked innocently and the goth shrugged apathetically. Smiling, the queen bee led them to the canoe farthest from Trent's, i.e. canoe #9.
Daphne and Izzy looked at each, shared a grin, and darted for the fifth canoe together. As they put on their life jackets, Izzy said "Just follow my lead, Daph. I'm 1/87th Cherokee, so the tribe could, like, claim me at any time!"
As with most of Izzy's stories by this point, Daphne simply quirked an eyebrow. It could be true or it couldn't, but the brunette could never tell. And to her, that was half the fun in hearing them. "Then I'll let you paddle at the front," she said, and Izzy crossed her arms with a proud grin.
Courtney took one look at her teammates and grabbed Liam's arm. No way was she sitting in a canoe with any of the other Gophers. Except maybe Bridgette. "Let's go," she declared, and Liam acquiesced with a nod and a yawn as they began to push canoe #7. Ezekiel and Owen gave each other shrugs before walking together to canoe #2, while Justin and Leshawna picked up the third canoe and Bridgette and Harold partnered up in the sixth.
DJ gave the side of his canoe a small kick. "Hey, man?" he asked, getting Tyler's attention. "How often do canoes flip over?"
The athletic teen gave him a confused look. "They, uh, don't. That's kayaks," Tyler said, getting him to sigh in relief. "Why? Scared of water?"
DJ nodded. "Ever since I was a kid," he confirmed. "So if we could take it easy out there, I'd appreciate it."
"No problem, man. I got your back," he said, making the gentle giant smile.
When all the campers had their canoes in the water and were seated, Chris held up a revolver. Pointing it skyward, he said "On your marks… get set… GO!" He punctuated that exclamation with a shot, and the campers began pedaling.
A moment later, a dead bird fell out of the sky, having been shot by Chris. "That's… gonna get some folks angry," he remarked.
Once the campers were out on the water, Izzy was passing the time with another of her stories. "...And then we ran into this group of bushwhackers. They taught us how to trap and hunt alligators. Oh, and koalas!" she concluded.
Daphne hummed. While she wasn't quite sure if koala hunting was legal or not, she quite doubted something like hunting laws would stop Izzy. "So how does that tie into the Emu War?" she asked, referencing Izzy's claim to have been in the war during a past life.
The orange-haired girl just grinned, pleased to see that she had been following the conversation.
The two of them continued rowing in silence. However, after a few minutes had passed, Izzy suddenly spoke, sounding far more serious than Daphne had ever heard her. "...Hey, Daph?" she asked.
She raised an eyebrow. "What's up?"
"Well... we're friends, right?" Izzy said.
Daphne automatically replied "Of course," making her smile.
"I wasn't sure if I'd make any on the show. A lot of people find me funny, but most of them aren't willing to help and encourage all the stuff I do," she admitted. "But since day one, you never got mad at me, even during the bear prank."
The pyro shrugged. "Well, it was pretty fun," she replied. "But also, when I make a real friend, I take that friendship seriously. And the best friends are the ones that do crazy things together."
That made Izzy laugh a little. "I'm glad you see it that way," she said, before looking ahead. "And friends… they trust each other, right?"
"Yeah…?" Daphne said, wondering where she was going with this.
At that point, her teammate turned to face her. "Then can I trust you?" she asked.
Daphne nodded once more.
In contrast to the previous pair, Harold and Bridgette were mostly silent as they paddled. For Harold, this was because he noticed that Bridgette seemed down, and wasn't sure how to broach the subject.
Eventually, he decided to be blunt and asked "Something on your mind?"
She looked back at him. "It's well… it's Geoff," she said.
He raised an eyebrow. "The guy on the other team? Who got voted off after the last challenge?" he asked for clarity.
Bridgette nodded. "He and I had been spending time together and… I don't know, I feel like there was something there. Maybe someone to go out with. But now he's off the show, and I won't be able to find out," she explained.
The nerd thought about this. "Hmm… Well, you two could always go out once the show's over," he suggested. "If he felt the same way about you, I don't see why he'd turn you down."
"Maybe…" the surfer chick said. "But how do I know if he'll still feel the same after so long apart?"
Harold shrugged. "If it's meant to be, it'll happen. There's someone at camp I like," he said frankly. While Bridgette's eyes widened, he continued "But I'm not ready to admit it to her yet. Still, I believe in true love, and that I'll work up the courage eventually."
Bridgette looked down for a moment. "And… if 'true love' is what exists between Geoff and I, it'll still be there after the show?" she asked.
He nodded. "I think it's worth taking the risk to find out. You miss every shot you don't take," he replied.
That got her a smile slightly. "Yeah… You might have a point," she said, before looking back up. "You're a good listener, Harold."
Harold smiled back. "Thanks," he said, and the two of them continued rowing.
As Heather and Gwen paddled in their own canoe, Heather sat in the back. She also had a smirk on her face, but she made sure to remove it before she cleared her throat. "Gwen?"
The goth grunted but didn't respond.
"I was hoping to get your thoughts on something. It's about Trent," Heather stated.
As expected, that got Gwen to look behind her. "What about him?" she asked.
She didn't sound as interested as Heather hoped. Then again, Trent had just left her buried alive a few days ago. Still, this was her chance. "Well, I noticed he seemed to be spending an awful lot of time with you. In fact, I think he has a crush on you."
Gwen's eyes widened. "I… Are you joking with me?"
Heather chuckled. "Not at all. I saw how often he steals an extra muffin or coffee for you at breakfast. Or often how he goes swimming with you. Or how you both support each other in every challenge," she listed off.
The goth was silent, choosing to look ahead so Heather couldn't see the blush on her face. However, the queen bee was able to read her reaction from her posture, and fought to not grin. "You know, if you want, I could talk to Lindsay about rowing with her on the way back. That way you and Trent can have a canoe all to yourselves."
Gwen looked back. "You'd do that?" she asked, before frowning. "What's the catch?"
"Well…" Heather said, pretending to consider it. "I didn't come up with anything specific," she fibbed. "But if you wanted to just owe me one, that would be fine."
She was quiet, mulling it over. Once she came to a decision, Gwen smiled. "Alright, deal," she said.
Heather allowed her grin to appear.
Confessional Stall - Heather
"It starts with making them indebted to me. Gwen can have her romance if she wants—because if she gets together with Trent, their votes become a package deal. And calling in that favor, plus Lindsay and a one-time truce with the crazy girls, will be enough to vote off Leshawna," She grinned. "I'm so close to finally getting rid of her, I can taste it."
Only a few minutes later, all the campers paused their conversations. A bank of fog had abruptly appeared and was quickly enveloping them. Not only did it obscure sight, it also deadened sound, leaving nothing audible save for the waves as each of them paddled.
Any sense of joy about the trip faded in face of such a foreboding atmosphere. The further they rowed, the denser the fog grew. At one point, none of them could see more than ten feet beyond their canoes. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the fog parted to show them an island with a skull carved into one of its cliffs.
Boney Island, the "deadliest island in Muskoka".
As promised, Chris was standing on the beach, having flown ahead of them on his chopper. Once each canoe made it onto the beach, he gave them all a smile. "Glad to see you all made it our lovely haunted island."
"So it is haunted!" Daphne said victoriously, and Izzy grinned in excitement.
Ignoring them, Chris said "In a moment, all of you will resume your race to reach the other end of the island, build an acceptable rescue fire and row back. But first, you can toss that canoe." He pointed at the multicolored one. "Because you two won't need it when you row back with your new teammates!"
"Huh?!" several campers called.
Chris gave them all his most gleeful smile yet. "Over the last six challenges, we've been watching the social game between all of you. Friendships have been made, alliances formed, all of it fun to watch. Unfortunately, it seems like the voting blocs are mostly set by this point, making the next few eliminations more predictable. Which I find to be boring. Therefore, I'm reorganizing the teams!"
Each of the campers froze at that, trying to think of the implications. Heather's eyes went wide, and she vocalized what many of them were thinking. "You what?!" she shouted. "You… You can't do that!"
"I can, I have, and I am," Chris replied, making her gnash her teeth in rage. "Heather and Gwen, since you both happened to pick the last canoe, you'll each be going to separate teams. Time to pick which of you goes to which."
The goth and queen bee looked at each other, both appearing unsure, though Heather's look was tinged with anger.
Confessional Stall - Heather
"NOOOO!" she screamed in frustration. "The whole reason I had Lindsay go with Trent was so I could get Gwen's vote! If we're on separate teams now, what good is she?!"
As Heather fumed, Gwen looked around uncertainly. Her honest answer would have been 'the same team as Trent'. Yet she didn't know if Trent would be on the team she picked or not.
After a moment's hesitation, she said "I'll… go with the Gophers.
Heather crossed her arms. "Fine. Just fine," she bit out, unwilling to speak further.
Chris nodded in seeming understanding. "Alright, then Heather remains on the Killer Bass. Your teammates will be the campers in canoes 5 through 8. Canoes 1-4, you're the new Screaming Gophers."
The new teams looked at each other, trying to decide what to make of this change. Heather was especially incensed at the realization that she had been separated from Lindsay, Gwen and Leshawna. Gwen sighed in relief at picking the right team, while several of the others gave smiles or high-fives to their rowing partner.
One such pair was DJ and Tyler. As they high-fived, Tyler called "Alright! Same team! Whoo!"
Harold gave a handshake to Bridgette. "To the Gophers for us both, it seems," he said.
Bridgette smiled. "I'm happy to be on it," she replied.
Courtney, meanwhile, leaned in closer to Liam. "This changes everything," she whispered, and he nodded in agreement.
Confessional Stall - Liam
"You know, I have a sneaking suspicion that Chris is only doing this because I practically controlled my team's future eliminations with my alliance. Now I've lost both Ezekiel and Cody, and Harold was only in because Cody was too. Courtney seems to be playing it smart and sticking with the allies she has. Namely, me. Still, there goes my majority…" he said before sighing. "And my time taking it easy."
Confessional Stall - Ezekiel
"I'm grateful to Liam for helping me stick around this long. But although he seems like a good guy, I was always just following him around." The homeschooler grinned and held up a fist. "But now, I finally have a chance to show the world what the Z can do!"
Confessional Stall - Lindsay
"You know, it's kind of a bummer not being on the same team as Helen anymore," she said, looking down. Then she perked back up. "But at least Lequisha and I are still teammates! And then there's Justin. Between me and him, we're like, the two most beautiful people on the island! That means we'll definitely win, right?"
Given that her canoe was no longer needed, Gwen quickly joined Trent and Lindsay in carrying theirs, getting a smile from Trent. "I'm glad to see we're still on the same team," he said.
Gwen was silent for a moment. As much as she didn't want to compete against the musician, she was still upset about being left underground. Still, she managed to respond "Likewise," before focusing ahead.
Heather, meanwhile, was looking between her teammates. Out of all of them, the only ones she had already been teammates with were DJ, Daphne and Izzy. But DJ was carrying a canoe with Harold, and just imagining spending time around that geek made her lip curl. Then again, the thought of putting up with 'The Pyro and the Psycho', as she mentally labeled them, gave her a headache.
Then Daphne, who had seemingly noticed her uncertainty, said "Hey, Heather. Want to walk with us?"
The queen bee frowned. Beggars couldn't be choosers, it seemed, and she walked over to join them. As the teams separated into their new arrangements, the new Gophers were quick to pick up their canoes and resume the trek for the other side of the island. The new Bass quickly did the same and darted into the island's dark forest.
As they ran, Courtney suppressed a grimace. A two-hour hike through the woods on a potentially-haunted island. Lovely. Still, this did present an opportunity. "We need to restrategize," she said.
Behind her, Liam nodded. "I agree. We lost two of our alliance members, and we shouldn't count on Harold to stick around. Which means we need new allies."
"At least two," Courtney replied. "Unless one of us screws up and becomes a scapegoat, the teams haven't had time to unify enough to force someone out. If we recruit two people and all four of us survive the next elimination, we'll be safe again."
"Right. That just leaves the question of who to recruit. If we're optimistic, Harold does stay on and fills one slot. Whoever we want to fill the other should be who we target first, regardless of which scenario plays out," he reasoned. "And I'm thinking of DJ."
She raised an eyebrow. "DJ? Don't get me wrong, he can be amazing in challenges. But he doesn't strike me as the 'join a secret alliance' type," she pointed out. "What about Bridgette?"
Liam hummed. "Hmm… Polite, useful in challenges, probably willing to keep a secret…" he muttered. "The idea has potential. I'll consider it if you consider DJ. Sound fair?"
She nodded, and the two of them continued walking. While they did, he mentally noted with some amusement that neither of them had even thought to suggest recruiting Heather. Then again, Courtney's reason and his were probably the same: she would never accept Courtney taking the lead in such an alliance. Oh, well.
About ten minutes into the hike, the Killer Bass were beginning to pull ahead when a tree suddenly fell in their path, bringing both teams to a halt before it. The shrubbery around the path began to rustle, and Cody worriedly said "I think I see something moving."
Then, from the bushes emerged something that somewhat resembled a beaver. However, these beavers not only had the size and proportions closer to a bear, but each of them sported a pair of gleaming curled tusks in addition to their large front teeth. As one of them stepped closer with a loud thud, each of the campers' eyes widened.
"Killer beavers!" Katie cried out in fear, and all campers began running away, screaming.
Confessional Stall - Chris
"A holdover from the Pleistocene Era, the Woolly Beaver is a rodent primarily active during daylight hours, and indigenous to Boney Island. Oh, and they're carnivores," he added with a chuckle.
As the two teams ran away from the beaver herd, they eventually came to a cliffside next to a small puddle. Said cliff wall was dotted with several large nests, though they could not see anything in them at the moment.
While the campers charged right in, the beavers came to a stop at the edge of the puddle. After a moment of glaring at the campers, the beasts slowly turned away. Trent sighed in relief at the sight. "They're really leaving," he said.
Owen looked from side to side. "Um, did anyone pack a spare change of underwear?" he asked. When the other campers laughed at the assumed joke, he said "No, seriously," and punctuated it with a fart.
A fart loud enough to wake the residents of the nests. Rising into view, they saw that the creatures appeared to be massive geese, far larger than any they had seen. Additionally, a row of sharp teeth peeked out from their bills and they glared at the campers with uncanny intelligence.
Confessional Stall - Chris
"Did I forget to mention the Stymphalian Canadian geese? They may be omnivores, but they are very territorial. And can fly for long periods of time."
The campers raced to escape this new threat, and Owen stated "Yep, gonna need new underwear later."
Ezekiel was, thankfully, in front of him under the canoe. When the farmboy looked back, however, his expression grew panicked. "They're gaining on us!" he told the others.
Cody glanced down at his pockets. "Now I'm wishing I had brought that bread," he muttered.
"Someone do something!" Gwen yelled.
Daphne grinned. "Oh, oh! I can do something!" she offered. When Gwen just nodded, she let go of her canoe and spun around, reaching for her pockets. From one, she pulled out the lighter she always kept. And from her back pocket, she produced a bottle of hairspray.
Flicking the lighter on, she held it before the spray can as the other campers ran past her, both to escape the geese and Daphne. She waited until just before the geese reached her and yelled "BURN!" Pressing down on the nozzle, the improvised flamethrower spewed forth a jet of flame at the birds.
The man-eating geese responded by shrieking and flapping their wings, coming to a halt away from the fire. As Daphne cackled and began spraying fire in arcs, the flock began breaking apart rather than stay and get burnt. The rest of them soon followed, retreating to their nests and the eggs likely therein. Despite that, Daphne didn't appear to be in a rush to stop making fire.
Her pupils were huge, and she had even begun humming a tune as she kept her flamethrower going. "Burn~, How I burn~ , How I burn~, How I~" she sang softly, utterly enraptured.
As she came perilously close to setting one of the trees on fire, Heather frowned. "Daphne, you can stop now."
When the brunette gave no indication she heard her, she said "Daphne, I'm talking to you."
Still nothing, but then Izzy shouted "HEY DAPH!"
"Hmm?" the pyromaniac said, cutting off the fire and looking over.
Grinning at her, Izzy gently said "We have to go make that rescue fire, remember?"
Daphne blinked. "Rescue fire… right," she said, nodding as she quietly rejoined her teammate under their canoe.
During that exchange, the Screaming Gophers had pulled ahead of them. Once they came to a fork in the road, they quickly took the right path due to it being straighter. The Bass, seeking to gain an advantage, went left.
Due to DJ helping carry the canoe, he and Tyler were near the front. However, their difference in height also meant that the canoe was obscuring his vision. This came to haunt him when, halfway through their hike, he suddenly felt himself sinking into the ground.
"What the—?" he said, before he looked down and his eyes widened. "Quicksand!" he yelled.
Confession Stall - Chris
The host was struggling not to break down in laughter. "I can't believe that actually worked. I set that up because we had a surplus in the budget, not because I expected someone to fall for it!" he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh, I love this show."
The other Bass came to a stop in front of the quicksand. "Oh, no! Someone find something for him to grab!" Bridgette told them.
In a display of ingenuity, Tyler looked up at the canoe he was still carrying. "Here, man!" he said, and held one end out to him. DJ quickly grabbed it, and the jock called "Everyone, help me pull him out!"
The others were quick to comply, and over the course of a minute they were able to slowly and safely pull DJ out of the quicksand.
Once he was out, DJ breathed a sigh in relief. "Thought I was a goner, there," he said. Giving Tyler a smile, he said "Thanks, man. For real."
Tyler grinned and nodded, while Heather crossed her arms. "Very touching. Now let's get back to winning this challenge!"
Because they had taken the path with the quicksand, the Bass were the first to arrive at the beach, where Chris was watching from his chopper. By the time the Gophers made it, they had already gathered the sticks for their fire and had gotten one started thanks to the remaining fuel in Daphne's lighter.
With both Ezekiel and Owen on their team, they thankfully had the knowledge of how to quickly build a decent fire. A circular space was cleared on the sand, which Trent and Gwen lined with rocks from the forest. Katie, Cody and Lindsay had been tasked with gathering sticks which formed the base of their fire, followed by a layer of dry grass and leaves. Due to not having a lighter of their own, they had to use Ezekiel's pocket knife to carve notches in planks of bark, which they began spinning sticks on.
As they were trying to light their planks, Heather emerged from the trees with some more sticks, which served to make their team's fire bigger. "So far so good. Anyone have any ideas for sealing the deal?" Heather asked.
"I've got this," Izzy said from behind the team, causing them to turn and look. She was holding a brown-orange ball with twigs coming out of it. She explained "It's a homemade firestarter with tree sap and sand. This baby can make that fire big."
Daphne's eyebrows rose. "How big a fire are we talking?" she asked. When Izzy's answer was to just grin, the brunette and all of the other Bass took several steps backwards. And then several more.
The orange-haired girl looked to be sure the coast was clear, and then gently lobbed the ball into the fire. Instantly, the somewhat small campfire blossomed into a miniature mushroom cloud of pure heat. It reached even higher than Chris's helicopter, forcing him to quickly swerve away to avoid being engulfed. Every camper stopped and stared at the inferno, watching as it slowly died down to a fire the size of an adult human.
Heather looked over at Izzy, who was seated on the ground with her front entirely covering in ash. "Where did you learn that?!" she asked.
Izzy waved her hand casually. "I spent a summer training with the RCMP. They taught me stuff like that and... I may or may not have blown up a kitchen of theirs," she explained. That just got the others to stare at her, which made her smile more. "Yeah, I'm totally AWOL."
Daphne looked from the fire to Izzy, eyes comically huge. "You have to teach me that," she begged, falling to her knees in pleading. When Izzy just shrugged and gave her a nod, her expression lit up like a miniature sun.
Chris whipped out his loudspeaker, happily calling "That's a winning rescue fire for the Bass! Now get paddling!"
The Bass quickly loaded up into their canoes, with Heather taking her chances with DJ and Tyler instead of rowing with Izzy after that display. The Gophers, still without a lit fire of their own, took almost five more minutes to get theirs large enough to pass muster.
Leshawna, in no mood to waste time, picked up Justin and threw him into their canoe. "Let's move it, people!" she called, and her teammates nodded.
To Gwen's surprise, as they were getting ready, she saw Lindsay join Leshawna, also getting into her canoe. 'I guess Heather came through,' she thought in surprise. Still, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, and she and Trent began pushing their canoe into the water together.
Both teams began to hurriedly canoe back. However, due to their early lead and the fact they had DJ, the Bass stayed far ahead of the Gophers. Even with Leshawna and Trent providing encouragement, it wasn't enough to close the gap. As DJ's canoe touched the camp's shores, Chris declared "Today winners: the new Killer Bass!"
Looking at the new Gophers, he said "Sucks to be you guys. Still, since I'm a nice guy, I'll let both teams sit at the campfire tonight. Give you all one last time to sit down with your former teammates." And with that he walked away, leaving the Gophers to look among themselves on who to vote for.
As both teams sat at the campfire, Chris held up a plate with eight marshmallows. "And now for my personal favorite part: the anxiety-inducing marshmallow ceremony. And with everyone here, the shame for the one who walks the Dock of Shame will be even more… shameful," he said. While the campers gave him various unamused looks at the joke, he ignored them and continued "When you hear your name, come get a marshmallow and enjoy another night of safety."
"Trent…" The guitarist grinned and gave a smile to Gwen as he stepped up.
"Gwen…" She returned that smile and joined him to get a marshmallow.
"Cody…" The nerd muttered "Sweetness!" as he walked over.
"Leshawna…" With the other team, Heather crossed her arms and did her best to appear calm as Leshawna got her marshmallow.
"Justin…" The model gave a dazzling grin as he triumphantly accepted his prize.
"Lindsay…" The blonde clapped her hands together and ran over to get her treat, while Tyler silently cheered.
"Ezekiel…" The home-schooler sighed in relief at not getting eliminated right after the swap, and Liam hid a frown.
The last two, Owen and Katie, looked at each nervously. "Only one will be leaving tonight. The one who will remain on Total Drama Island a little longer is…" Chris began.
…
…
…
"Owen."
"Yes! Whoo!" the large boy shouted, shooting to his feet and running over for a marshmallow. Katie, meanwhile, looked down at the ground in dismay. Some of the other campers also appeared sad, notably Cody, Bridgette and Lindsay.
As she stood up to leave, she looked back at the three of them. "I had a great time here, guys, even without Sadie. Thanks for being so great," she said, giving them a smile while holding back tears.
"I really wished you had stayed…" Cody muttered.
Katie's smile widened and she gave the nerd a quick hug. Surprised, he returned it. "You're a sweet guy, Cody. I hope I get to see you again after the season's over," she told him, before giving Bridgette and Lindsay waves goodbye.
As she walked out onto the Dock of Shame, she continued looking at the ground. But when the sound of the Boat of Losers' engine reached her ears, she looked up and gasped.
Standing on the boat was Sadie.
"Sadie!" she shouted, tears breaking free and she ran forward. Leaping onto the Boat, the two BFFs embraced with shared cries of "Eee!"
Those campers that had followed to watch her leave smiled at the scene, seeing the two of them literally ride away into the night. Once Katie was gone, the campers began to head for their beds.
One that lingered, however, was Izzy, who stared into the sky with a perplexed expression.
"Hmm…" she hummed.
And that ends the Boney Island episode. I've been planning the team swap since the start, though who went to what team was determined randomly then and now. I then flipped a coin to see if the Gophers would go left or right, and the Bass would pick whatever the other option would end up being. It was only afterwards that I realized that the left path led to the beach first despite containing the quicksand. Thought I'd also share how the votes turned out again:
Trent, Owen and Gwen → Katie
Lindsay and Justin → Ezekiel
Leshawna and Katie → Owen
Ezekiel → Justin
Cody → Lindsay
Eliminated:
1. Beth, the Wannabe
2. Noah, the Know-It-All
3. Duncan, the Delinquent
4. Eva, the Female Bully
5. Sadie, the Sweet Girl's Friend
6. Geoff, the Party Guy
7. Katie, the Sweet Girl