Dunsparce519: Trust me, this isn't the last you'll see of Dakota in that role 💀.
LaCuevademisgustos: Hmm, I should start giving more importance to characters who haven't had much lately. Oh mi amigo, crazy love is something you'll see right in this chapter. Dakota won't be a new Riya, or will? I don't know, but I know I'll write her better than her in that crap development.
richboylion: I'm glad you like this version of Amy. Feel free to review more if you'd like.
Remaining Contestants:
Mutant Maggots: Anne Maria, Jo, Lightning, Mike, Scott, Shawn, Zoey
Poison Frogs: Brick, Dakota, Dave, Dawn, Max, Sam, Scarlett, Sky
Toxic Rats: Cameron, Ella, Jasmine, Sammy
"Last time on Total Drama Island..." Chris narrated as scenes from the previous episode were shown, "Our competitors became scouts for a day, all in order to win a medal and victory, with most failing in the attempt. Several interesting things happened: Shawn revealed his feelings for Jasmine in front of her, Dawn saved a sexist, homeschooled intern, and Topher spent the entire time helping the Maggots girls to distract them from their game. Too bad he was the one who ultimately left the game after humiliating himself thanks to his vanity over his own hair."
The scene showed Chris in front of the camera, "Who can blame him? A man's hair is the most important thing...". He looked at himself in a handheld mirror before hiding it, "As I said, stay tuned for more action and drama on Total...Drama...Island!"
(Theme Song plays)
In the morning, near the cabins, two girls were happily running around until they stopped to catch their breath. They were Jasmine and Sammy, finishing a morning walk.
"That felt so good!" Jasmine panted.
"Are you serious?" Sammy told her, also panting, "My sister always made me run every morning"
"Well, when you're an actress, you always have an agenda. It's good to do something different when I wake up..."
While they were talking, someone was watching them from behind some trash cans. That person was none other than Shawn, staring at the two girls.
Confessional (Shawn):
"Jasmine has forgiven me, but she's forgotten about me" he said. "Her 'friendship' with Sammy has kept her entertained. Maybe I should play the same game. It says so in the guide to flirting with a girl...". He took out his laptop and looked at it. "'To get her closer to you, tell her about your hobbies that interest her'; I don't have an interesting hobby for her... wait, I already have one!"
End of the Confessional
Shawn came out of his hiding place and approached the girls. "Hi, Jasmine!"
"G' day, Shawn!" she waved back.
"Ugh, why does it smell so bad!" Sammy said, covering his nose.
"Uh, it's nothing. Anyway, I wanted to tell you if you'd like to, you know...uh, well...I don't know...hunt..."
"Hunting? I don't like hunting" Jasmine replied.
"You don't like it?"
"No, I HATE it! It's cruel what the vandals do to Australia's wildlife. Nothing disgusts me more than seeing a dirty, malicious hunter!"
Shawn looked blank. "Yeah, that's true, I hate them too"
Confessional (Shawn):
"I just wanted to ask if she'd like to hunt some documents on the web to prove the likelihood of a future apocalypse" he admitted. "At least now I know what not to say to her"
End of the Confessional
"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Jasmine asked.
"Uh, well...would you like to take a walk?"
"I just ran, but what does it matter?"
"I think I'll go into the cabin" Sammy said, leaving the two alone on their walk. When the blonde entered the cabin on the girls' side, she was surprised to see it pitch black with several candles lit around it. She saw Ella on her knees in the middle of the floor, without her jacket and only wearing her kimono, apparently with her hands clasped and her eyes closed.
"Ella?"
"Shhh..." the east geek said in a low tone, maintaining her meditative position, "I'm trying to concentrate"
Sammy remained silent and sat on a bench. She watched Ella 'meditate' for a minute until she gasped and placed her hands on the floor. "What's wrong?" She stood up, somewhat worried.
"I felt something coming from the future" the Asian girl turned to her. "Apparently, one of us is going to undergo a change, becoming unrecognizable."
"One of us? Change? Unrecognizable?"
"Oh, don't worry so much..." she calmed her, getting up and putting on her pink jacket. "Sometimes these visions are blurry, and they almost never happen...mostly"
"Mostly?"
At that moment, the host's voice came over the intercom, "Attention everyone, look outside the Mess Hall and follow me..."
"Well, we'd better get to the challenge. I hope we can win this one" Ella said excitedly as she left the cabin. Sammy followed her, but remained uneasy inside.
Confessional (Sammy):
"Amy says not to believe in superstitions or 'supernatural' things" she said. "However, I feel like Ella wouldn't be a fraud. She said that she takes her training very seriously, something must happen, something that will make that person among us change...but who? And how?"
End of the Confessional
The three teams now formed a line, walking to where Chris was traveling, tucked into his small car, driving through Hatched. Some contestants noticed the somewhat odd surroundings, warning signs, biohazard warnings.
"Uh, you're taking us to a safe place, right?" Dave asked.
Chris chuckled, "Nice question, Dave... NO, the place we're going is anything but safe."
"And why are you taking us there?"
"Because you don't know the way to this forest, can't you see the signs?"
"Isn't the island supposed to be toxicity-free?" Brick asked nervously.
"Exactly, but one part of the island was painted with it, and the entire environment adapted to it, creating its own harmonious biohazard ecosystem, right here...". Before they knew it, they were already in the aforementioned part of the forest, "The Mutant Forest of Terror!"
Everything around was insane. The forest flora was completely abnormal, unnatural colors, abnormal limbs, almost everything was abnormal. But the strangest thing was the animals. One that looked like a squirrel passed by.
"It's so cute..." Ella said, before the rodent turned around. It was completely green and had menacing eyes. It growled fiercely before slinking away, "And ferocious!"
"Everything in this forest is ferocious, toxic, and deadly!" Chris said in a frightening tone.
Cameron, a little scared, took a few steps back, not noticing that steam rose from a part of the ground he was standing near just before collapsing, creating a deep hole. The little farmer was about to fall into it until Brick from the other team grabbed him by the overalls.
"I've got you!" He said, holding it tightly.
Cameron glanced down the hole he'd almost fallen into. Beneath him was some sort of glowing, bubbling green substance, similar to toxic waste.
"Uh yeah, watch your step, this forest is full of toxic sinkholes hidden underground" Chris explained, considering the situation. "This makes the 'mutant' name for the forest make more sense. Only by being one can you take advantage of it, like Izzy...". They all saw Izzy off to the side, using one of her webs to pull something out of a sinkhole. From there, she pulled out a marshmallow dipped in a glowing green substance. "The toxic marshmallows were rejected for the campers, but not for the mutated red-head spider-snakes...". Izzy took a bite of the shiny candy, causing many to utter a snort.
"Phew, thanks for saving me" Cameron thanked Brick after he'd set him on solid ground.
"You're welcome" he replied politely.
"This place is too dangerous for us to be here for more than two minutes, you know that?" Jo said to the host.
He replied with a smile, "That's why our team of interns prepared a presentation to keep you informed...". As he clapped, interns Gwen and Courtney appeared next to him, looking disheartened. They simply pulled out flash cards and read them in a 'rhythmic' tone.
"'You must be terrified of the mutant forest of error. If you watch your step, there will be any error'" Gwen said.
"'If you stay away from the flora and fauna, you'll arrive sooner without trauma'" Courtney finished the other verse.
"That was crap" Scott said. "BUT the singer in the last verse sang beautifully."
"What do you mean, coffee server?" Courtney asked, glaring at him.
"Don't blame our unpaid singers for their lack of emotion" Chris said. "They and the rest of the group have been depressed and in shock after that incident this morning"
"What incident?" Sky asked.
"Watch it for yourself...". When a portable television was placed in front of everyone, Chris turned it on. This showed a recording from the morning in this forest, apparently, interns Gwen, Courtney, Duncan, and Ezekiel were positioned on a platform, and they were apparently singing, "We were doing a rehearsal of the mutant forest presentation. It was going to be more coordinated and theatrical, until suddenly something went wrong. One of our interns accidentally stepped wrong..."
Just at that moment, one of the interns, Ezekiel, made a misstep, one off the platform, causing him to lose his balance and stagger until he fell. Unfortunately for him, he fell right into one of the sinkholes, splashing down as he landed. The footage showed the bewildered faces of the other interns, "Wait for it..."
Suddenly, a monstrous, ferocious figure leaped out of the sinkhole, growling savagely before rampaging across the platform. The other interns fled, and the footage ended when the mutated intern launched himself at the camera.
"Poor boy..." Dawn muttered, saddened by the intern's fate.
"What happened to him?" Sky asked, more concerned.
"The sinkhole mutations cause feral states in anyone who mutates in this forest" Chris explained. "Our beloved intern, Ezekiel, is missing, possibly swarming in this forest. If you run into him, pray he doesn't rip you to pieces...". Some campers gulped.
"But it doesn't make sense. Those sinkholes turn anyone who touches them into beasts" Jo pointed out.
"That's why we've created a new rule in the game. Do you want to make it public, Gwen?"
The goth intern rolled her eyes as she read the flash card. "'Rule N.8 of the show: Any contestant who unfortunately suffers any kind of mutation will be forced to evacuate the island immediately, meaning they will be disqualified'..."
"Wow, they really thought of everything" Dave said, still worried.
"But why are we here in the first place?" Scott asked.
"Thanks for reminding me" Chris said. "Today's challenge is for each team to race from point A to point B, referenced by a visible finish line on the other side of the forest."
"So simple?" Scarlett asked, unimpressed.
"Yes, that simple... if only we weren't in the MUTANT Forest of Terror! Remember to dodge the ferocious beasts in this forest and those dangerous sinkholes, they're almost everywhere, so watch your step"
"How will we find that finish line in the middle of this unnatural n' insane ecosystem?" Zoey asked.
"Easy, here's a visible online map of how to get to the finish line" The host pulled out a map that showed lines leading to an X.
"Great, each team will have a map!" Cameron said. "It'll be very simple!"
"Correction, each team will have ONE part of the map..." Chris tore the map into three pieces, which he threw to Lightning, Brick, and Cameron.
"Ow, since when does paper cut?"
"From ever. Now, you can join forces with the enemy if you want to make it easier..."
"Lightning has the first part, let's go team!" Lightning called as he started running down the path, with his team having no choice but to follow.
"Or you can do that, it doesn't matter, good luck..." The host ended up leaving the scene.
"Let's not waste any more time, let's move!" Brick called to his team, who started running down the path.
"We have to follow them!" Jasmine said as she ran far ahead of her small team.
"Jasmine, wait!" Sammy called, following her. "Be careful with those sinkholes!"
"No need to worry..." Cameron said confidently. "I noticed they release a burst of steam before appearing. Only someone who's distracted can fall into...". He walked without noticing he was heading for one, but before falling, he was saved by Ella. "Wow, Ella, you're stronger than I expected."
"Oh, it's not that" she replied with a smile. "You really feel like a doll"
Confessional (Cameron):
He was sitting on a scale, holding a doll. "I weigh more than a doll, watch...". When he placed the doll on the other column, it...ended up falling off, which made him groan in frustration.
End of the Confessional
At one point along the forest path, the road split into three parts. Team Maggot was the first to arrive.
"Okay, based on what I saw on this map, we have to keep going straight" said the mathlete, analyzing the broken section of the map.
"Are you sure, Number-Man?" Jo asked uncertainly.
"Any chance is better than none, let's go..." he started running along the straight path.
"I see the others coming," Scott pointed back. "What if they're following us on the same path?"
"I have an idea!" Shawn suggested to everyone. "I'll split up and make the others think we're going the other way."
"I don't know. The last time you split up, you didn't show up until after the challenge" Jo said, suspicious of him.
"I think someone saw us already..." Scott spoke.
"Okay, but try to come back!" She and the rest of the team headed toward the straight path, while Shawn waited to make his plan until he saw someone behind him.
"WAIT, team, here I come!" He exclaimed, heading straight for the left path. He did enough for someone to notice he went that way.
"Shawn, where do you go?" Jasmine called after him, following him down that path. Sammy, who was following her, also went with her. Then the Frog team arrived, stopping at the variety of paths.
"Okay, so which way do we go?" Sam asked.
Brick read his part of the map, frustrated that he didn't understand it. "I don't know. Here I only have the path to the X, but not the rest of the way."
"I see this one starts on the right" Dawn pointed out. "Maybe we should go that way."
"I don't think there's a reason to go that way" Scarlett opined.
"Oh, come on!" Max, fed up, took the map from Brick and rolled it up. "As long as we go faster than those Maggots, we'll be fine, right?"
"I guess you have a point..."
"I always have one. Follow me!"
When they left, Ella and Cameron arrived alone.
"Which way should we take?" Ella asked.
Cameron looked at his part of the map. "Lucky us, we have the middle section, which points right to the straight path. We have to go there."
"Wait, where did Jasmine and Sammy go?"
"I bet they'll be okay. One of them is Scout, right?"
"I just hope nothing happens to them..."
Further along the left path, Shawn was running nonstop, turning around just before colliding with a tree covered in small spikes.
"Ow! Ow!" he moaned in pain, as if he had hit by a hedgehog.
"Shawn, mate, are you okay?" Jasmine said as she reached him, pulling him out of the tree spikes, some of which were still stuck in him.
"Y-yeah, I-I'm OW, fine!" He pulled the spikes out of her clothes, painfully, from her skin.
"Jasmine, wait!" Sammy said when he finally reached her, "Don't run like that, you could fall into one of those sinkholes. Imagine what would happen if you fell into one and you get mutated, it would be the end of your career!"
"Woah, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine" she calmed her, "Where are Ella and Cam?"
"I think we lost them... we don't know if this place is full of dangers."
"Don't worry, I have something that will keep you safe..." Shawn said with a smile, just before taking out a small device with an antenna from his hat, which made small beeps.
"What the heck is that?"
"This, miss, is an RD-17, or to put it better, 'Radiation Detector,' the seventeenth model I have; with a completely legal tracker using electromagnetic signals..."
"Just tell what this is for" Jasmine told her.
"It helps me detect signs of radiation or toxicity. Basically, if it's too loud, it's because we're near a sinkhole. If w walk in places where it's quiet, we'll be healthy and without any genetic alterations"
"Oh, you're so smart!" The Aussie played with his hat to stroke his hair, which made the boy blush completely. "Don't worry, Sammy, we'll be fine as long as we have Shawn on our side"
Confessional (Sammy):
"I don't feel comfortable with her blindly trusting a device from a lunatic who believes in the undead people" Shawn admitted. "I don't hate Shawn, but I'm worried about Jas. If Ella's prediction is true, I'm afraid her life will be ruined"
Confessional (Shawn):
"I've earned extra points with her, she even stroked me with her soft hand!" He spoke dreamily before returning to reality, coughing softly before revealing her RD-17, "Seriously, I need this device. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't have set foot on this island, especially this one."
End of the Confessionals
Later, the Maggots were still walking along the straight path, like an hour ago, and most of them were almost exhausted.
"Have we even reached the finish line?" Anne Maria asked.
"Or maybe Brightning made us walk in circles the whole time?" Jo added, looking at the boy ahead, still holding the map.
"I still don't understand, this is only shows the beginning..." he glanced around, "Pathetic nature, everything looks the same...". Suddenly, her attention was drawn to a giant fly flying by, until a living flower blew a flare at it. The mutated insect roughly coughed up dust. "Ha-ha, what stupid freaks!"
The fly and the flower heard him and glared at him, and most of the team backed away.
"I don't think you should have talked about them like that" Jo said.
"Oh, please, as if I were afraid of a silly fly and it's loser friend, the flower..." he regretted it when the fly knocked him down, carrying him off his feet, leaving him to fall painfully to the ground. The flower then completely burned the map he was holding, much to the Maggots' frustration.
"You see what you're doing, big mouth!" Jo scolded him.
"Well, that map wasn't helping us anymore" Scott admitted.
"But how will we find our way around this dangerous wooded area?" Zoey asked nervously.
"Hmm, maybe one of us should watch the finish line from the trees" Mike suggested, quickly grabbing several branches from the ground. "To the luck, like we did back in the day..."
"I have a better idea..." Jo grabbed the branches and dropped them on top of Lightning. "Hey, you nutcase, go climb the tallest tree you can find..."
Meanwhile, the Poison Frogs walked in a group along the right path, with Brick in front, looking at the map. They suddenly stopped when the cheerleader was pulled forward by Scarlett, for good reason. The path was blocked by a fairly wide river, where green, glowing, and toxic water ran.
"Woah, that was close!" Brick said, looking at the river.
"Aw, a nice natural forest element" Dawn said.
"You know this forest is totally contaminated by toxic substances?" Scarlett asked incredulously.
"Well, at least the nature here has adapted to it creating its own unique ecosystem"
"An insane one that'll kill us if we don't get out of here. It's best to go around this treacherous river..."
"That'll take us a lot longer" Sky said.
"It's not like we can jump because of how wide it is" Brick said. "I won't let any teammates sacrifice themselves."
"That's true, I have to look perfect the all time" Dakota said, her voice innocent. "No one would let a pretty face like me expose herself to that dirty water, right?"
"Sure, no one asked you to..." Dave muttered, rolling his eyes at her.
"So why don't we just flow with the help of the river?" Dawn suggested, pointing at the green, toxic river. "This way we'll get to our destination faster"
"Are you blind or something?" Scarlett told her, fed up with her disbelief. "That river is a source of dangerous toxins. They don't just mutate, they kill..."
"Exactly, silly girl!" Max told her, grabbing a rock. "Watch...". When he threw the rock, it created a splash that almost hit someone. "See? I don't want to be consumed by nature, literally."
"You could have said that without nearly leaving us exposed" Dave scolded him.
"Anyway, there's nothing that can float in that mess."
"Except this..." Sam said, before pulling a super-large, freshly inflated inflatable raft out of his backpack. "This raft will allow us to go smoothly with the river."
"Are you sure about this?" Sky asked uncertainly.
"Believe me, my family and I have survived storms thanks to this irresistible thing... I still remember my father's words..."
Confessional (Sam):
"Get to the bridge if you want to live!" he said dramatically, miming the scene using a bat as an oar, "GET TO THE BRIDGE IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!"
End of the Confessional
Sam put the large raft on the river and put his feet on it so it wouldn't be swept away by the current. Surprisingly, the raft didn't sink or burn upon contact with the biohazardous water.
"It's totally safe" he said proudly. "All aboard..."
"Don't even think I'm going in there..." Dakota said, disinterested and uncertain.
"Come on, friends like to trust each other, don't they?"
Dakota grimaced and sat down on the raft, still unable to hide her fear of the river.
"There's no other way, I guess" Brick said to the rest of the team. "Come on, team, don't let the current intimidate us!"
Soon, everyone got into the raft (big enough for eight people) and began to float forward thanks to the current.
"I hope we're safe..." Dave said, gulping.
"Don't worry, let nature's current guide you" Dawn pulled him, starting to assume a lotus position. "I think it's a good time for me to connect with it, in a relaxing meditation..."
"Weirdo" Scarlett muttered, before continuing to look ahead.
Later, Team Maggot was looking up at a tree. At the "top" of it was Lightning, holding on tightly to the branch to keep from falling. He was looking down at the entire forest.
"Find something yet, dude?" Mike asked loudly so he could hear him.
"No, nothing... WAIT!" He answered just as loudly, "I'm watching from the northwest corner, some kind of black-checkered fabric! It's the sha-finish line!"
"You heard him, let's go!" Jo said, as she and the others on the ground began to run in the given direction.
"Wait for me!" Lightning ended up falling heavily on the ground as he tried to follow them.
Meanwhile, Jasmine and Sammy walked alongside Shawn, who was using his RD-17 to check for any signs of radiation around them.
"Are you sure we can trust him?" Sammy whispered to the Aussie.
"Oh, come on, the mate knows what he's doing" he replied. "He's just trying to impress me, let's give him a chance..."
"Hey, girls!" Shawn said to them, stopping. "Could you stay here for a moment? I want to make sure this trail isn't dangerous for you, you know...". He started walking alone.
"We don't need you to keep us safe..." Sammy muttered.
"Oh, so romantic, what a gentleman, protecting us!" Jasmine said to herself.
Confessional (Sammy):
"That's something that Jasmine wouldn't say"
Confessional (Jasmine):
"I know it's not something I would say. I don't like being pampered and treated like a princess" she admitted. "But someone like Shawn, who doesn't stand a chance against me, actually caring about me is just adorable!"
Confessional (Shawn):
"I've been browsing online lately, and I think I know what I can do to make Jasmine fall in love with me for good" he said excitedly. "She saved me from drowning, so I have to return the favor by saving her too. Let's imagine she's about to fall into a terrifying sinkhole that she 'didn't notice', and suddenly someone, I mean me, rescued her; it's the perfect plan, it can't fail..."
End of the Confessionals
When Shawn was out of earshot of the two girls, he used his RD-17 around them. At that moment, it began to beep loudly, but the conspirator immediately turned it off before they could hear it.
He coughed in his throat before speaking to them, "All clear!". They walked up to him.
"Thanks for keeping us safe" Jasmine told the boy, making him giggle, blushing.
"It's nothing, go ahead, go first, it's safe anyway, isn't it?"
"You already roared, dingo" she started walking forward.
"Why are you helping us?" Sammy asked Shawn.
"Uh, because that's what someone kind and courteous would do" he said nervously.
"Amy says if an enemy seems to be doing something nice to us, it's because they're hiding something!" The blonde soldier pointed at the conspirator, who gulped.
"Believe me, I'm not hiding anything this time, really!"
"So the path you gave Jasmine is completely safe?"
"Well, yes, but..."
At that moment, the two were startled to hear a burst of smoke rise from the ground near Jasmine, who stepped back in fear.
"Woah!" she exclaimed
"JASMINE!" Sammy yelled.
"Wait, I've got this!" Shawn exclaimed before she could go. He ran straight to the Aussie girl's rescue. "I'll save you, Jas...". He also stepped back as a puff of smoke shot up in front of him. A bunch of puffs surrounded the path where Jasmine was standing, just before he collapsed next to her, screaming as a splash was heard.
Shawn gasped in shock at what he saw. "Oh no..."
"NOOOOO!" Sammy exclaimed, staring at the large hole where her friend had fallen, heading for a toxic and possibly mutated fate.
(Commercial Break)
Further into the forest, the Maggots stopped until they were near a path next to a toxic swamp.
"Ugh, why does the path have to sucks?!" said Anne Maria, covering her nose.
"Stop complaining, we have to find a safe path through this deadly swamp..." Jo said, looking around until she noticed a path near what looked like large palm fronds. "Over there, just over those slimy leaves."
Anne tried to step on it but was disgusted when her boot get slimy. "Yuck! Isn't there a drier path?"
"It's win or lose, Miss Complaints..."
"WAIT, MY GUYS!" Lightning shouted from afar, until she finally reached them, panting. "What's wrong with you? It's not cool at all to leave a valuable teammate behind, huh?"
"I wouldn't say it like that..."
"So what are you doing standing there? Let's keep going. The path to the finish line is this way...". The mathlete walked through the slimy leaves until he noticed a large pink flower in the middle. "Oh, what's this here?"
"Since when do flowers come to unpleasant places?" Zoey wondered.
"I don't know, but it looks like a souvenir I want to keep..."
Jo thought in her head, until her eyes widened and she looked at Lightning cautiously. "DON'T TOUCH IT..." but it was too late.
"Consider this flower the property of Rudolph Jackson..." He immediately grabbed the flower, feeling something cut, "AKA, 'The Great Light...'". Everyone screamed as the large palm trees joined together to trap Lightning with them, as if they had eaten him.
"What the heck...!" Mike exclaimed just before they shook as something seemed to rise up. It was the same thing that had swallowed his teammate. It wasn't just any plant; it was some kind of giant carnivorous flytrap plant that rose from the ground thanks to what appeared to be legs, stemming from its earth-covered root. The mutant weed roared wildly.
"Help!" Lightning exclaimed from its mouth, trying to escape until it was closed again.
"It's some kind of people-eating monster plant!" Zoey yelled, with almost everyone being threatened by the carnivorous plant in front of them. In fact, this was being watched on a portable flat-screen TV, watched by Chris and Chef, sitting next to the finish line on the other side of the forest.
"Well, Zoey" the host spoke, relaxed in his chair. "The plant you just named actually has a name. It's called 'Larry'; never fear, it only bites trespassers...and my enemies". He ended up chuckling, much to Hatched's bewilderment.
Meanwhile, Team Frog was much calmer and "safer" floating on the raft in the biohazardous green river, like a joyful and relaxing walk in a park. It was so peaceful that some fell asleep (or meditated, in Dawn's case). Scarlett kept her eyes straight ahead, ready to detect any danger, but the relaxation slowly distracted her, until she heard a strange sound.
"Max, stop snoring next to my ear" she said to the purple-haired boy, who woke up, sitting somewhere far away from her.
"I'm not, silly," he replied, annoyed at having woken up.
The red-haired girl cleaned her ear for a moment, but she still heard the sound. "Why I can't stop hearing it?"
"What?" Brick asked, yawning.
"It's like something silently gliding by..."
"It's probably the river current."
"I don't think so..." Scarlett looked ahead carefully, "It seems like this is the end of our journey."
"How do you know?"
"Look, there's no more toxic water out there..."
Brick looked bewildered in the direction he was looking. It was only the sky that followed, with no trace of water. "Wait a minute, I don't think that's the end of the river, but the beginning of a...WATERFALL!"
His scream alarmed everyone and made them wake up, as they looked toward what he thought was a waterfall. And yes, he was right, up ahead was a green waterfall high above the forest.
"Toxic waterfall!" Scarlett corrected. "If we fall, it will be our doom!"
Sky squealed in fear, "What do we do?!"
"Everyone jump off the raft and onto the riverbank, NOW!" Brick said, before jumping and landing right on the riverbank.
"Get to the shore if you want to live!" Sam gasped, as if reliving a moment from the past. "GET TO THE SHORE IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!". He shouted until Scarlett, irritated, kicked him off the raft, landing on top of Brick. She also jumped to safety.
"This wasn't in my life plans!" Max said, before jumping to the shore. So did Sky, Dakota, and finally Dave, also safe.
"Is everyone safe?" Brick asked, standing up. "I'm going to count heads!". The cheerleader counted each teammate he saw, and something struck him as odd. "Wait a minute, there are seven of us...". Looking ahead at the river, he discovered Dawn was still on the raft. "DAWN!"
He and several of his team members started running, trying to catch up with the raft that was moving faster toward the waterfall. "Dawn, get out of there!". For some reason, the pacifist didn't hear him; she was so focused on her 'meditation'.
"Stop playing and jump now!" Scarlett exclaimed, more than stressed.
"Dawn, you have to jump!" Sky also exclaimed, but it was useless. But luckily, they saw a very long branch on the ground at the edge of the waterfall. They ran quickly to reach it in time and grab it, so they could use it to save the little blonde.
"Hold on tight!" Brick said, as he and the others lifted the heavy, thin branch, carrying it right into the waterfall. At that moment, when the raft was inches away from reaching it, Dawn opened her eyes and looked at her teammates in fascination.
"Friends?" was all she said before...
"DAWN, HOLD ON!"
Despite that, Dawn didn't flinch, just as the raft fell down the waterfall with her on it. Everyone was shocked to see the girl, unconcerned, falling into what appeared to be a green mist, unable to see her fall to the bottom.
"DAWN!" Sky exclaimed, thinking they'd lost her.
Meanwhile, a similar situation was happening elsewhere. Jasmine groaned in pain before seeing where she'd fallen. Around her, there was a large amount of liquid waste waiting for her to mutate. Luckily, she had landed on a rock in the middle of the pit.
"Where am I?" she asked, before flinching when she dodged a green splash. Unfortunately for her, the rock she was standing on was slowly crumbling. "Oh, crikey..."
"JASMINE!" Sammy yelled. She and Shawn watched her from the shore, a little relieved to see her unmutated.
"Mates, help me! This isn't going to hold up much longer..."
"Oh my God, oh my God..." Shawn repeated aloud, pacing in circles. "What do I do? What do I do? This isn't how I imagined it would be...". Sammy frowned at him. "This is worse than bad. It's the end, it's the end, it's the...". Stressed out, Sammy slapped him. "What the..." she slapped him again, even harder.
"CALM DOWN!" she yelled so loudly, she barely looked like herself. "It'll be the end of Jasmine if you don't start trying to save her like you said!"
Confessional (Shawn):
"The blonde with the thumb was supposed to be the screaming bossy one..." he said, trembling a little in fear. "I think I made a mistake..."
End of the Confessional
Jasmine watched as she gradually lost ground, as the rock was cutting itself due to the toxicity. "Can you do something now?!"
"We're going to get you out of there, Jas!" Sammy said as she and Shawn seemed to be doing something up there. "Hold on to Shawn when he gets there, okay?". When she turned around, she stared at Shawn, who was preparing a rope, holding both her and him. "Done?"
"Yeah, done..." he was startled when, without warning, Sammy grabbed the vine and threw herself down to swing with him. "JAS, TAKE MY HAND!". He said just as he approached her, the Aussie had to jump so she could almost grab his hand. The momentum carried both her and them out of the sinkhole, they were lying on the hard, earthy ground. "Ow, I hope this doesn't happen again..."
Shawn was about to get up when he was surprised when Jasmine hugged him tightly. "THANK YOU! If it weren't for you, I would have ended up with tentacles..."
"I-it was n-nothing..." he replied before she released him from her tight hug.
"I owe you my life, and don't blame yourself. You just wanted to keep me safe, right?"
"Well, uhh..." Shawn thought about what he did, looked at the 'lovestruck' smile Jasmine was giving him. It made him feel happy, but not satisfied. "Jasmine, I'm sorry, but it wasn't like that"
"Uh?" She frowned, as did Sammy, who looked at him suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"
Shawn sighed heavily before admitting it. "I wanted to impress you, so I purposely put you in danger in that sinkhole so I could save you. I wanted to return the favor and...make you fall in love like I did, I'm sorry...". He scratched his arm in embarrassment.
Sammy glared at him before Jasmine approached him. "Oh, Shawn..." The boy looked at her calmly, not expecting her to slap him. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! You put my life, no, my acting career, at risk just so I could feel the same way when I saved you. I didn't put you in the water in the first place!"
Shawn frozed, tears welling up in his eyes.
"And I thought you were a sane person when you told me the truth. You're nothing but a good-for-nothing, conniving, loser freak! Come on, Sammy, let's go on alone!"
When Jasmine walked off angrily, Shawn watched Sammy approach him, giving him a disapproving look.
"Listen, I..." he tried to explain, but was also greeted by a slap from her—her third, in fact.
"Idiot..." was what she said before walking away with Jasmine, leaving Shawn alone and sad.
Confessional (Jasmine):
"I can't believe Shawn was so obsessed with me that he'd risk my life," she growled. "I shouldn't be surprised. He's never left his house...even though I got madder at him...NO, I told him what I had to say"
Confessional (Shawn):
The boy was crying until he stopped and blew his nose. "No, this can't end like this. Like the web said, boys don't cry until everything is lost" he said determinedly to himself. "If she forgave me once, she'll do it again, Jasmine. I'll get you back!"
End of Confessionals
Meanwhile, below the waterfall, Team Frog was desperately searching Dawn.
"Dawn? DAWN?" Brick called in the loudest voice he could. "Isn't she here? Oh, this is all my fault. I couldn't save her!". At that moment, he seemed to start crying.
"Don't blame yourself so much..." Scarlett tried to comfort him, touching his shoulder. "She didn't seem to want us to rescue her anyway."
"But why would she do that?" Sky asked, just before everyone jumped when something emerged from the green water of the waterfall. "A monster!" she squealed before hiding behind Dave, much to his surprise.
At that, the emerging figure shed the excess goo covering it and revealed itself to be...Dawn, but very different.
"D-D-Dawn?" Brick stammered, hugging Scarlett (much to her discomfort). "I-Is that you?"
The creature known as Dawn chuckled, showing her slightly sharp teeth and a prominent fang. She seemed to have transformed, her skin was now ogre-green, her hair dark green, her eyes completely blue with white pupils, and she also had claws on both her hands and feet. She emerged from the river, dripping goo.
"Actually, Izzy was right about that goo feeling so good..." she said, looking down at herself. The most surprising thing was that her muscles had increased almost all over her body. "Apparently, those wastes did a job on me, making me bigger...even my bust grew a little bit"
"But you're exactly the same size as before" Dave pointed out, and yes, it was true. Dawn, despite looking like a wrestler, was still the same size, making her still seem like the smallest of the group.
"Well, at least I can look adorable next to you guys..." she started to get closer.
"DON'T TOUCH US!" Dave startled, backing away.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot..." The now-mutated pacifist shook off all the remaining toxic substance. "Now I'm free of contamination, at least on the outside"
"I don't want to touch you anyway" Dakota said in disgust.
"I do!" Brick said, opening his arms for a hug. "I'm glad you're okay..."
"Thanks!" Dawn responded by giving him a tight hug, which almost made the cheerleader's bones crumple.
"Y-you're s-s-stronger than I remember..."
"I'm glad you're still the same pacifist you always were" Sky said happily, "And not acting like some kind of wild beast...no offense."
"GUYS!" Sam said, having just arrived, apparently not being near them at the moment, "I just saw Dawn, she's a mutant!"
"Uh, yeah, we know that..." Dave said.
Sam looked perplexed at Dawn, who gave him a claw-handed salute, "Whoa...so, who was that green humanoid creature lurking around?"
"Wait, what..."
Everyone was perplexed again when a creature emerged from the bushes and began growling ferociously. This mutant looked similar to Dawn, only it looked more masculine and was wearing a torn intern's uniform and a woolly hat. It seemed very familiar to someone.
"Ezekiel?" Dawn murmured in surprise, while the others seemed frightened by the mutated intern who, unlike her, acted like a ferocious beast.
"D-don't look him in the eyes..." Brick tried to say quietly to the others, before Ezekiel bit off the corner of his pants and pulled him like a rabid dog. "AH, HELP ME!"
"Back off, you hideous monster!" Dakota said, gripping a large rock tightly. She intended to hit Zeke over the head, but someone stopped her.
"DON'T DO IT!" Dawn effortlessly picked up the rock and threw it into the river. "He doesn't want to hurt anyone!"
"But he's biting my shorts!" Brick exclaimed as the mutant continued to nibble at him.
"He's just scared. Surely the mutation made him that way, but he's not really like that..." Dawn touched Ezekiel on the shoulder, and he turned sharply to growl at her angrily. He approached her as she stepped back.
"Don't provoke him, Dawn!" Scarlett told her. "He's a lost cause!"
"No, he isn't..." The once-blonde girl looked closely at the once-human. She remembered the friendly boy she met yesterday and stared at him for the beast he was now. "You're not a monster, you're Ezekiel, remember?". She began to stroke his forehead, he continued to growl but didn't do anything to her.
"He's going to bite you..."
"You see, I'm harmless, huh? I'm like you too, only we don't need to resort to violence, but to peace...". Then she stroked his chin, Ezekiel slowly relaxed until he began to shake his feet like a pampered dog, smiling as the mutant girl calmed him down more and more.
"Wow, she really calmed him down..." Sky said, impressed.
Confessional (Sky):
"She's not even an actress, but Dawn could tame Ezekiel and any wild animal. She'll never lose that touch..."
End of the Confessional
On the other hand, Ella and Cameron walked calmly down the path until they were surprised to see Larry, the giant plant, with almost the entire Maggots team chasing its tentacles, which it also had on its root.
"Since when do plants have legs?" Cameron said, surprised.
"HELP, this thing wants to eat us like flies!" Zoey exclaimed. When she and Mike were trapped in the tentacle, they looked scared when they noticed they were getting closer to the plant's mouth.
"That's a Venus Flytrap" Ella pointed out. "They only act like that when something inside them is stolen..."
Confessional (Ella):
"Yeah, I have a lot more hobbies than just 'geeky' stuff, like gardening."
End of the Confessional
"Maybe you dropped this?" The spiritualist girl walked up to a pink flower and picked it up. "Is this you, Mr. or Mrs. Plant?"
Larry, seeing the flower in her hands, quickly released all the captives from his tentacles (luckily none of which landed in the toxic water) and spat Lightning out of his mouth, who crashed into a tree and fell to the ground covered in saliva.
"What do hot dogs feel like?" he said to himself in disgust.
The Venus Flytrap ducked her head to absorb the pink flower Ella was holding into her mouth. Very happy, the plant went into the swap and submerged itself to rest.
"That must be what Dawn feels like when she calms a beast like that" Ella said, pleased with the result. "I hope she and her team are okay..."
"Hey, spiritualist nerd" Jo said, approaching, still a little sore from the fall, "T-thanks for saving us from that freak and its tentacles."
"No problem" Cameron replied, "It's a good thing this is the path we chose."
"Why?"
"The part of our map showed us that it was the next direct route to the finish line"
"Oh, I see, in that case...". She pushed them hard, sending them crashing into a large green spiderweb between the trees, which trapped them due to its stickiness.
"B-but we're helped you!"
"I know, kid, but this is a game, win or lose, and we need to win!"
Just like that, she and almost everyone else started running down the path that was left clear with the plant far away. Zoey, due to her attitude, tried to help the two go off the web.
"There's no time, germo-girl!" Lightning told her as he ran.
"I-I'm so sorry..." she apologized, feeling guilty for leaving them behind.
"Oh, now who can defend us?" Ella exclaimed worriedly.
"This SHEILAS!" Jasmine and Sammy said, appearing beside them. The two took each other's hands and pulled them forcefully out of the web.
"Thanks, we're glad you're here!" Cameron said, relieved. "Where have you been?"
"I really don't want to talk about it..." Jasmine said.
"JASMINE!" A scream was heard, causing Jasmine to roll her eyes.
"Oh no, ignore him, let's keep going!" The four of them started running when Shawn tried to run up to them.
"Jasmine, please listen..."
"NO!" She stopped to stare at him. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore. Stay away from me, PERMANENTLY!". With a burst of anger, she pushed him until he was stuck in the web and left him there.
"Oh, this sucks..." he groaned, trying to peel himself away. "Ugh, nothing could be worse for me...". He flinched when he heard a low squeak. "Oh my... Izzy, I know it's you, can you choose not to eat me?"
"Why are you talking to me?" she asked, but when she emerged from the swap next to him, Shawn's eyes widened when he realized it wasn't her. Turning his gaze, he yelped in fright at the sight of a giant two-headed spider inches from him.
Up ahead, Chris and Chef seemed to have fallen asleep in their chairs, until the host opened his eyes.
"There they are, finally!" he pointed out, causing Hatched to freak out and fall backward in his chair. The first team had arrived and crossed the finish line; it was the Mutant Maggots.
"We sha-did it!" Lightning cheered as they crossed. "I knew it! I knew my targeting methods were the right ones to lead us to victory, didn't I, team?"
"I really don't think so..." Mike said, before jumping back in fear when something growled at him. It was a rabid, caged, green mutant squirrel, like other animals similar to it. "What are these creatures doing here?"
"I'll tell you later, and yes, you came in first" Chris told them, "However...". He was interrupted when another team arrived; it was the Poison Frogs.
"At least we came in second..." Brick said, catching his breath.
"We're here, Zeke..." Dawn told him, holding Ezekiel's hand-or-grawl, just as they reached the finish line. When the other team saw them, they were scared and surprised.
"AH, AN OGRE!" Anne yelled, grabbing Mike's arm, just like Zoey was.
"What are THOSE things?" Scott exclaimed.
"Hey, don't call the poor guy like that!" Dakota defended, surprisingly to some, until she turned to Sam behind her, "He wears those glasses for vision, not repulsion"
"Uh...?" the boy looked puzzled, grabbing his glasses.
"I mean those ugly green things!" Scott pointed at the two mutants. Dawn just gave him an offended face, and Ezekiel snarled at him, making him back away. "I-I mean, pretty green things..."
"Dawn mutated, just like that intern Ezekiel," Sky explained.
"E-Ezekiel?" Chris asked, surprised. "Did you find Ezekiel? He's not wild?"
"He was, until I showed him he didn't need to be" Dawn said, stroking Zeke's chin again, much to his enjoyment.
"Aw, how sweet...Hatched, it's now or never."
Before he could react, Ezekiel was tied up by Chef before being placed in a large cage like the rest of the ferocious animals there.
"What are you doing to him?!" Dawn exclaimed. "He's not rabid!"
"I know, but our study showed that the mutated animals in this area are dangerous for the contestants here" Chris explained, pointing to the cages. "So our security experts ordered us to put them in a less civilized and equally dangerous place, aka Boney Island."
"But Zeke doesn't deserve to live there" Dawn spoke, standing in front of the cage where he was now. "He's only misunderstood because he's lost his humanity now...I know! I'll stay with him to guide him back to the path he was on...but much better."
"She's really the same..." Scarlett whispered to Sky.
"Does that mean you're leaving the competition?" Chris asked the mutated competitor.
Dawn simply nodded. "Given who I am now, I think my path now is to guide these ferocious and misunderstood creatures that this forest has transformed, so I can give them a good, peaceful life in a place as remote as Boney Island."
"You can't be serious!" Brick objected.
"Yes, she can" Chris said. "And I don't mind... because she's disqualified from the game. We said it in the rules. Any contestant who mutates would be isolated, so Dawn, uh, papers please...". Chef give him some papers and a stamp. The host stamped Dawn's document, marking it as 'DISQUALIFIED'. "You're officially disqualified!"
"Never mind..." she said, continuing to caress Ezekiel.
Just then, everyone saw the four members of the Toxic Rats leap toward the finish line, but they realized it was too late.
"Oh no, we're last!" Jasmine said. "This is all my fault!" Sammy frowned at her.
"Not so fast, defeatist" Chris said as they stood up. "I needed to tell Team Maggot this. Now that no one's going to interrupt me, I'll say it...". Hhe coughed in her throat. "Even though the Maggots came in first, their team is incomplete, so they didn't win."
"What?" Team Maggots said in unison.
"That means the winning team today is the Poison Frogs. However, their teammate Dawn is still disqualified."
"Oh dear..." Sammy said, shocked at the sight of the mutated Dawn.
"Wait a minute, who the heck are we missing?" Scott asked, frustrated at not winning.
"J-Jasmine!" What looked like a green sack exclaimed, jumping up and down near the finish line. It gets uncovered and revealed itself to be Shawn, caught in what looked like a coil of spiderweb. "P-Please!"
"Oh no..." Jasmine moaned, annoyed, crossing her arms and looking away from the boy who was smitten with her.
"Listen to me, Jas, I'm so sorry..." he apologized, falling to the ground, looking ashamed. "I shouldn't have put you in danger. It was my mistake to want you to fall for me like that. I don't know anything about love, only meaningless conspiracies. It's okay if you don't want to talk to me anymore..."
Jasmine looked at him, but then snorted. "Whatever..." she walked away from him.
"Weren't you supposed to distract the other team, Romeo?" Jo said, approaching Shawn with some others from her team, clearly glaring at him. The conspiracy theorist gulped.
"Since Shawn hasn't crossed the finish line yet, it means the Rats are saved from elimination," Chris said. The aforementioned team cheered in relief, except for one of them. "Maggots, I'll see you tonight to find out who's obviously going to be booted out.."
"Hold on, Dawn's already disqualified!" Mike objected. "That's not fair!"
"We needed a double elimination for later, so I'll see you there anyway. In the meantime, Hatched, get all that cargo back to the boat..."
Final Comments (Dawn):
"I didn't expect my goodbye to be so...unusual, but you know, nature has many surprises. Although I don't know what my parents would think about it, maybe I'll tell them it's just a phase teenagers go through from time to time" Dawn spoke as she sat on the boat, next to the other animal cages with Ezekiel, as they were going to Boney Island. "Maybe no one appreciated or understood my intentions, but if even that forest could create new life despite all the pollution, maybe I can do it on this lush island, like an empty field about to bloom in spring"
Later that night, the Mutant Maggots attended the elimination ceremony at the campfire.
"Nice to see you back here" said Chris, newly arrived with his marshmallows. "It's been ages..."
"No, it's only been five days" Jo corrected, annoyed to be here.
"It was figurative, brainette. Anyway, I'm sure you already know how this works; if you don't get a marshmallow, you lose, although in this case, it'll be a little faster, since..." he began tossing marshmallow to the next campers. "Zoey, Mike, Anne Maria, Scott, Lightning, and Jo, you're safe!"
Shawn looked shocked at how he hadn't received any marshmallows.
"Don't be surprised, everyone voted for you, and for good reason."
"See ya, crazy man" Scott mocked.
Shawn wasn't even bothered, he knew it was his downfall. He walked away from the fire pit to the dock and was about to jump into the Boat of Losers until...
"Shawn, wait!" Jasmine called, approaching him.
"J-Jasmine?!" he said in surprise. "Aren't you supposed to hate me?"
"Yes, I know, but what you said was true, because I didn't know how to feel in love either. Listen, no compliment was as truthful and natural as yours, even if it sounded a little weird..."
"I didn't know anything about you" he admitted sheepishly. "I looked it all up online, forgive me."
She chuckled. "Of course I forgive you, for just that one. At least you're someone honest despite everything you think."
"I always think about conspiracies and myths, but when you saved me, my head finally turned to something much more interesting...I mean..."
"No, I know, you love on me, although you need to learn a lot about the real world... but just so you know, I'll miss you...". Then the Aussie gave Shawn his first kiss, on the forehead, but it was enough for him to freeze, blush, and collapse backward, falling into the boat just as it began to set sail.
"See you, Mate..." she said before leaving off the dock.
Later, in the cabin next to the girls', Jasmine lay down on her bed, looking satisfied.
"Did you work things out with him?" Sammy asked her on the top bunk.
"Yeah, I'll miss him..." she said before closing her eyes to sleep.
"Oh, I'll miss Dawn" Ella said sadly, hugging her stuffed animals closer on her bed. "I hope after everything she's been through, she'll be okay."
"You predicted her mutation yourself, didn't you?" Sammy asked her.
"What do you mean?"
"This morning, you felt like one of us would change into something recognizable."
Ella opened her eyes in understanding. "Oh, Sammy, you still have a lot to learn about this, but you don't offend me; my 'predictions' aren't quick, they're just signs that something will happen soon, but not that soon."
"Oh, I see..."
"Besides, the CHANGE wasn't physical, and Dawn is still the same as ever."
"So what did you mean by that?"
Ella looked out the window, the night sky shining through the glass. "It really is something deeper than that. All I hope is that whoever goes through it saves himself or herself from what will happen very soon...". Sammy was still uneasy about that, not knowing what the future would hold for her from now on.
Final Comments (Shawn):
"I didn't expect it to last long due to my inexperience with the outside world. My mom said that I would keep only a week, and my dad just laughed and laughed. And don't even talk about my semi-online friends from my paranormal research group" Shawn said, still lying on the deck of the boat, watching the night-stars. "The only good thing I'd get out of it is that I met that special girl who isn't even from Canada. I wouldn't have even imagined it, even zombies stay away from that. I'd better get some help to get a grip on reality".
(End Credits)
Votes:
Shawn (6)
Jo (1)
Author's Note:
Hi everyone, I just made it to chapter 10 in just three months, which is extraordinary considering my current track record (Tip: prepare several chapters in advance if there are a lot of them so you don't delay between post and post).
This tenth chapter was really strong. We had the next mutation of an intern, Ezekiel (he's wild, but friendly, and at least there are people who like him). But not only him, Dawn also suffered mutations just like him, which led to her instant disqualification, but she seems to care more about educating her new friend Zeke and the other mutated animals on Boney Island (some people take their principles to another level).
But we also had another elimination, Shawn, who ends his arc with Jasmine, who ends on good terms despite almost ruining his life...
UNNECESSARY FILLER: Here's a small alternative scenario if she had mutated instead of Dawn. Jasmine, mutated, is disqualified, she can't return to her acting job by being a freakshow now. So the poor Aussie ends up agreeing to stay on the island as an intern while she thinks about what she's going to do with her life now. Shawn is eliminated, but she now hates him and will never forgive him for his stupidity, nor will he forgive himself.
Luckily, Jasmine was spared from any mutation. We don't need something as cruel as mutating a young actress for doing nothing wrong (I said NOBODY wants to see that). But now with Shawn gone, Sammy has Jasmine all to herself (will she take advantage of that?).
In the next episode, we'll see our teams compete in a sports tournament. Some will cheer each other on while others will do whatever it takes to win the gold. We won't see you next week, but we'll see you the next week after that. Good morning!