81June 13, 2023
"Last time on Total Drama Island..." Chris began the recap, standing in front of the cabins while looking over a page of pizza coupons before footage from last episode played. "We had a summer camp classic, the talent show! Anyone could step up, and fewer had anything actually worth performing! The Gophers knocked it out of the park thanks to Ella and Max's surprisingly enchanting songs! Gwen and Zoey began to build up a counter-alliance to Heather if they lost, which they did thanks to Lightning creating the worst lineup he possibly could've! With Owen underperforming and Beth going down in flames, Heather quickly pivoted thanks to a tip from MK, and Zoey was sent packing before her alliance could get the ball rolling! The Bass had it made with Priya and Courtney's top notch performances, but thanks to Emma's horrific dancing hyped up by Chase and only made worse by him, they too had to send someone home! It looked like Emma's goose was cooked, but thanks to Cody breaking his arm for getting a little too handsy with Scary Girl and failing to help his team, she lives to see another day! Will Emma rebound from her near miss? And are the Gophers just completely unstoppable? Find out right here, on Total, Drama Island!"
Intro Sequence:
Rock music began and the opening notes of I Wanna Be Famous kicked in as cameras popped up from various places throughout the island. First in front of a bunch of trees, then out of the ground with a gopher on top, then through the window of a bathroom, startling Dave inside, and finally out of a tree and pushing a squirrel out before a film clapper came and transitioned the shot.
Dear Mom and Dad I'm doing fine, you guys are on my mind
The camera zoomed down the Dock of Shame and onto the campground, where Chris was fending off Sierra and Topher pestering him, while Blaineley was trying to take center stage. He pushed Topher aside as the camera zipped by, while Sierra just swooned.
The shot then went up a large cliff where Izzy and an unsure Emma gave each other excited looks before diving down into the water. In the water, Chase was having a good time swimming with Owen until the latter farted, making the former cough from the stench.
You asked me what I wanted to be and I think the answer is plain to see
Above the water, Bridgette and Geoff were sitting on a surfboard together, smiling at one another. That was until B sped by on a speedboat, pulling Ripper along on wakeboard while Scary Girl watched from the boat. The splash knocked the pair off of their surfboard, with Scary Girl and Ripper not bothered one bit, enjoying their time. A dead fish rose from the water thanks to Owen's fart, which an eagle swooped down and picked up, carrying it away.
I wanna beeeeeee famous!
In the woods, Dawn was meditating while Leonard and Beardo were pestering her. The fish from the eagle dropped down by them, and the two immediately fled thanks to the smell, making Dawn smirk while keeping her eyes closed. DJ and Ella were petting the animals in the woods when this happened, and both had to flee as well when the stench made the animals go berserk and attack them. Scott watched all this from behind a tree, laughing to himself. Max laughed at this too, but attracted too much attention and soon had to flee.
I wanna live close to the sun
Further downstream from the forest, Heather and LeShawna were slapfighting each other riding one raft, while Shawn and Jasmine were happily riding together in one behind them. The former two were too distracted and went falling down a waterfall ahead, while Shawn was quick to steer their raft to the river bank, safe from falling.
Go pack your bags 'cuz I've already won
Harold was practicing his karate moves with Axel on a log in front of the waterfall, who was deflecting all of his moves easily while Julia filmed it on her phone, trying to talk to an uninterested Nichelle while doing so. Heather and LeShawna fell in the background, and Lightning quickly stepped onto the log, carrying another log just to show off his strength to Julia's recording. This weight made the log snap, and all 5 of them fell.
Everything to prove nothing in my way, I'll get there one day
Panning to the left, Damien was skateboarding by himself when he crashed into the confessional, knocking Zee out and confusing Zoey who was just about to use it, while MK poked out from behind, messing with the wires.
Further left was the dining hall, where inside Chef was making something disgusting while Wayne and Raj watched in horror, the former much more scared than the latter. Amy and Samey were bickering nearby, so Chef shut them both up by shoving food into their mouths.
'Cuz I wanna beeeeeee famous!
At the counter, Jo, Brick, Tyler, and Eva were having an arm wrestling tournament while Millie and Duncan watched while eating popcorn. The girls beat the boys, with them high fiving as the guys were shocked at their losses.
Zipping past Noah, Scarlett, Cameron and Staci studying together at one of the dining tables, the shot went outside where Katie, Bowie, and Sadie were fawning over Caleb, Alejandro, and Justin suntanning. Heather saw this as she stepped out of the dining hall, and just stormed back inside.
Na na nana nanananana nanananana
Anne Maria was applying spray tan while looking out at the beach when Sky and Priya passed by on a sprint, nearly knocking her over. Ezekiel soon passed by as well, but Anne Maria sprayed him down angrily.
Sam was sitting not far from Anne Maria, playing on his Gameguy. Mike was watching him play, but when the sprinting girls passed by, he gasped and turned into Chester, shaking a fist at them.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!
Panning to the Dock of Shame, Rodney was sitting on a crate watching Lindsay help Dakota get her makeup on. Once it was ready, Dakota stepped back and paparazzi swarmed the scene, flashing pictures while Lindsay and Rodney watched in amazement.
Sugar stepped onto the dock, now posing for the paparazzi as well, much to Dakota's annoyance. Courtney arrived to shoo away the paparazzi, but to no avail. Finally, Beth rushed into frame with a flaming baton. She tossed it up, before it landed on the dock and made it burst into flames, sending everyone into a panic.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!
The flames from the Dock of Shame transitioned to the bonfire trail on the night sky. Panning down, Gwen and Trent were sitting together at the campfire, leaning in happily. That was until Cody popped out between the two of them, putting hands on both their shoulders. The camera panned out after this, showing the rest of the cast sitting on tree stumps, barrels, and tires, whistling the last few notes of the tune while the words "Total Drama Island" were shown on a wooden sign.
After the intro, the episode began right at the campfire pit in the morning, where the Gophers and the Trout had already been gathered up by Chris for today's challenge. "Good morning teams! Hope you guys used your extra time last night to sleep well, because you're gonna need it!" Chris greeted the teams, creating some worried looks, and others relieved.
Brick saluted Chris, ready for the day as ever. "Yes sir! Our team is ready to excel once more!" Brick declared.
Alejandro nodded in agreement with Brick. "My friend is right, if this challenge benefits from extra sleep, surely our teams will come out on top once more as expected." Alejandro stated, patting Brick on the shoulder.
Ripper side eyed Alejandro as he did this, while DJ raised a hand. "Where's the other teams then? Are they alright? Wouldn't be right to start without them." DJ asked, wondering why it was just them at the moment.
Blaineley just smirked, since Chris mentioned sleeping well. "If we do another challenge where we have to stay awake, won't that make for pretty boring TV? My my Chris, you ran out of ideas fast!" Blaineley mocked Chris.
Chris shook his head, still smiling as he then gestured to his right. "I haven't even explained the challenge yet, don't jump the gun so quick Mildred! Here comes the other teams!" Chris shut her up right away with that.
The Bass and the Lightning Squad walked into the pit area, looking worse for wear than the other teams. "Get your first looks at the new Bass and Lightning Squad! Cody and Zoey were voted off at the last elimination ceremonies!" Chris introduced them, with the second one surprising a few.
"Wow... I thought Zoey seemed nice..." Bridgette commented, disappointed to see her gone already.
"She was." Gwen muttered as she passed by, still bitter after last night.
Scary Girl crossed her arms as the Bass passed by, frowning at their decision. "Aww boo! Cody was fun! The way his bones snapped were like little candy bars, CRRK!" Scary Girl complained, unnerving them.
"I think we did that boy a favor last night..." Jasmine whispered to Courtney, who nodded in agreement.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Chase-
Chase leaned back in his seat, rubbing his chin with a slightly concerned face. "Okayyyy, so last night wasn't the best. Lost another dude on the team and now Emma got a bunch of people mad at me for an awesome prank! Do they not get it? They're just being haters! But instead of unsubscribing, they might just vote me off, so I gotta work on that apology vid stat!"
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Mike-
Mike rubbed the back of his head, a bit on edge. "Last night was a pretty big shocker. I didn't even know Zoey was going to get any votes, let alone voted off! What if they're going for me next? I'm gonna have to start talking to more people to make sure that it's not! Just hope the guys upstairs don't screw that up..."
-End Confessionals-
Now that all the teams were here, Chris was able to actually explain the challenge. "Alright campers, today's challenge will put your survival skills to the test! I'm not gonna lie, some of you may not come back alive!" Chris began to explain.
"Why is that!? I thought this was a safe show!" Damien let out frantically right away.
"Just joking! All you have to do is spend one night in the woods! Everything you need will be found at your campsite in the forest, all you have to do is find it with these!" Chris informed them, with Chef walking by and handing a map and compass to Chase, Jo, Sky, and Lightning.
Jasmine stared at Chase disapprovingly until he noticed and handed over the items immediately. Dave tried to get a peek at the map, but Jo just pushed him away and kept it to herself. Sky let the others on her team look at the map, with Brick, Caleb, and Millie looking it over. Shawn winced as he saw Lightning try and read the map upside down. "What happens if we don't find the campsite?" Shawn asked, already expecting this.
"If you don't find your campsite, then you can't win immunity, simple as that!" Chris answered, smirking at the predicament.
"Sounds good for us! We've got this in the she-bag! We'll just run there and back!" Lightning boasted, making B facepalm and Shawn groan.
Chris chuckled, seeing they were screwed once again. "Oh, and another thing, watch out for bears out there! We lost a couple of interns in pre-production!" Chris warned everyone.
Many now grew uneasy, with LeShawna tensing up and pointing a finger at Chris. "Bears!? Now why you got those things running around here?" LeShawna questioned him.
Scarlett adjusted her glasses, also mildly concerned. "I do have some worries as well, did you introduce the correct member of the Ursus genus here? If not, you may have brought an invasive species unsuitable for this climate." Scarlett pointed out.
Chris fake yawned at Scarlett's words, then gestured to the woods. "Blah blah, all you need to know is that there's bears out there! First two teams back win immunity! So off you go!" Chris began the challenge, blowing his airhorn so no one else could question him.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Ella-
Ella's face was filled with delight, holding both hands together. "Oh this is a most marvelous challenge for us all! Surely I'll be able to see more of my friends through our romp in the woods, and maybe I can introduce that bear to our team! All animals are good at heart, so Mr. Bear will be happy to meet us!"
-End Confessional-
Cutting ahead to the teams' treks to their campsites, the Bass had settled into friend groups as they walked, still with Jasmine leading them. Emma was still bitter after yesterday, with LeShawna trying to comfort her. "How you holdin' up girl?" LeShawna asked her, seeing how upset she was.
Emma walked with her arms crossed, looking back at LeShawna and trying to pull herself together. "What do you think!? I almost got voted off last night because of Chase! And he's off hanging out without a care for everything he did! He should have gone home last night!" Emma complained.
LeShawna looked over at Chase, who was currently laughing it up with Scott and Izzy. "I'd watch that tone girl, I'm on your side, but you're just gonna make yourself look worse if you keep yellin' about him!" LeShawna advised sharply.
Emma sighed, lowering her arms. "Sorry, just... I really didn't need him here. And now everyone knows what happened between us since I just blurted it out. I thought that would get him out of here for sure." Emma explained what she had tried.
"Look, if we lose again, and no one else royally screws up, I'm sure I can do some talkin' and get him out of here. If he's that bad, he'll just run himself out of the game. What's the full story on that by the way?" LeShawna assured Emma to comfort her.
Emma got mad again, but managed to control herself this time instead of lashing out. "Ugh, Chase, his buddies, and I all lived in a beach house when we were dating, and we used to film all kinds of crazy stunts all the time. But the rule was that the person doing something stupid, had to know they were doing something stupid, and Chase didn't tell me that he cut the brakes on my car! I almost died, the car was totaled, and a bunch of pets and people were hurt in the crash!" Emma recounted the story.
Noah was walking a bit behind them as Emma recounted it, and he looked up from the book he was reading as she went out. "What? Did you not instantly sue him for that? I would've." Noah commented, now catching up to the girls.
"Well no, if I did then I wouldn't have gotten any of the ad revenue from the video." Emma sheepishly replied.
LeShawna just pat Emma on the back though, appalled by the story. "That part don't matter. You got what you could out of that. Just glad you ain't with him anymore." LeShawna again comforted Emma.
Noah rolled his eyes, closing his book with one hand and pointing at Emma with the other. "I think it's stupid you even ended up with him to begin with, but if you want to make an alliance to take him out, then I guess I'll help with that. I can't stand him either." Noah proposed.
Emma cheered up hearing this, lightly pumping a fist. "Yes! Totally! I was worried the guys would stick with him, but this is good! Thanks Noah!" Emma thanked Noah, while LeShawna just stayed quiet at this proposal.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Noah-
Noah crossed his arms, having an annoyed look. "Yeah, Emma is an emotional mess and LeShawna is probably the last person I'd hang out with here, but this is basic math here. The guys are going to get picked off, so I need to make alliances with the girls so I can make sure they start fighting each other once the rest of the guys are gone. Not that I'll start fights or anything, too much effort."
-End Confessional-
Jo was leading the Gophers through the woods, although at more of a rushed pace. "Come on people! We haven't lost yet, and we aren't going to lose because some of you feel like walking!" Jo ordered her team.
DJ walked behind her, gesturing to the members towards the back. "Maybe we should take a break at least? Some of them are getting tired." DJ pointed out.
Towards the back was the clique of Topher, Julia, and Dakota walking together, while Max, Dave, and Harold were lagging behind at this point. "HEY! What's the hold up!?" Jo yelled back at them.
Dave rolled his eyes, picking up the pace a little. "It's not a race right now, we're just heading to the campsite. We gain nothing by getting there fast." Dave stated.
Julia nodded in agreement, typing away on her phone. "Yeah, besides, I need to get some selfies out here for my blog. The forest is a perfect place for one to find their inner spirit and nature!" Julia added.
"What she said, and I just don't feel like running. Sweat would not look good on me. Although you don't care about your looks do you?" Dakota remarked, then fist bumping Julia.
This struck a nerve with Jo, who now walked over and swiped Julia's phone from her. "Hey! I need that to post!" Julia proclaimed as she tried to take it back.
Jo shoved it in her tracksuit pocket, then marched back to the front of the pack. "You can have it back when we get to the campsite, move it people!" Jo demanded, making the laggers pick it up a bit now.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Julia-
Julia had another phone in her hands, looking slightly annoyed. "I don't think taking someone else's property like that does well for one's karma. Jo will soon understand that. But for now, I'll just use my backup for posts."
-End Confessional-
Lightning was leading the Lightning Squad through the woods, much to the dismay of half the team. "Are we certain we're heading the right way?" Cameron asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the map.
Lightning looked back at Cameron with a glare, zipping the bubble boy up. "The Lightning knows what he's doing!" Lightning snapped back, then kept going forward.
Wayne nodded in agreement, smiling at Cameron. "He's the captain eh, and he's been looking at that map real closely! So he must know what he's doing!" Wayne pointed out.
Raj gave Cameron a thumbs up, fully confident in Lightning. "Yeah! He's got his face pressed up right against it, I bet he can see the grass blades that close!" Raj added.
Beth looked confused at their train of thought, raising a finger to correct them. "I'm pretty thure that's not how detai-" Beth began, but was cut off by Heather covering her mouth.
"Zip it. Just let them, we need their votes." Heather sternly told Beth, who nodded and stayed quiet afterward.
Gwen was off on her own walking, and Mike now looked to MK walking near him as Heather silenced Beth. "I'm so confused, why is everyone cool letting the team crash and burn?" Mike asked her.
MK shrugged, her hands in her coat pockets. "Beats me. Guess Heather has the numbers to just take out whoever she likes now, especially after last night." MK answered, hiding her allegiance.
Mike scratched the back of his head, growing worried. "You don't think she'll go after me do you?" Mike now asked.
MK shook her head, pointing ahead at Duncan and Gwen. "She's probably gunning for them next, since they organized the vote last time. After them? Yeah we're probably next." MK guessed.
Mike gulped at the thought of that, and an idea then popped into his head. "Why don't we make an alliance to protect each other then? That way we don't get picked off! It wouldn't hurt right?" Mike now whispered.
MK again shrugged, not caring that much. "Sure. Better than going it alone." MK accepted the offer, then walked ahead to not be around him.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Mike-
Mike held up one finger, having a smile on his face. "That's one! I don't really know MK super well, but she's chill to be around and I need to work with as many people as possible if I'm going to not get picked off!"
-End Confessional-
The Ferocious Trout were having the smoothest time, as to be expected, with Sky having handed the map and compass to Brick and letting him lead the team through the woods. "We should be arriving not long from now troops! Keep at it!" Brick encouraged his team.
Beardo imitated a military marching drum line as they all walked, and everyone was mostly sticking with their friends at the moment. "I'm glad we have you on our team. I never got to do much outdoor exploration growing up." Caleb told Brick, pleased with their progress.
Alejandro nodded in agreement, patting Brick on the shoulder before raising his voice a little louder for others to hear. "I agree! It's good that we have a reasonable captain who can see that you're fit for us to rely on you." Alejandro added.
Brick chuckled at the praise, then looked back at the two and saluted them. "Thank you gentlemen! I won't let the team down!" Brick thanked them, then focused on the path ahead.
Sky smiled at the cadet's spirit, then looked to Caleb. "You never were outdoorsy? I mean I wasn't either, but I thought that you would be." Sky asked him.
Caleb nodded, chuckling and rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I was always busy with my homework and studying to get into MIT. My parents insisted on it for my future." Caleb stated, although it didn't seem to bother him.
Sky smirked, understanding his situation. "I've got the same situation back home. My older sister Sandy is a star Olympian already, so my mom has had me training in gymnastics ever since I could walk. That's why I never got that outdoorsy either." Sky explained.
As the two prodigies talked, Dawn raised an eyebrow at their conversation as she listened from a bit behind them. "Oh my, they seem outwardly joyous about their upbringings, unaware of what was deprived of them. How troubling..." Dawn commented to herself.
A bit further behind was Ripper, ignoring Sky and Caleb and just focusing on Alejandro chatting with Brick. He looked to his left, and saw Eva walking by herself, so he casually moved to walk by her side. "Hey, does something about Alejandro rub you the wrong way? That guy is creasing me!" Ripper whispered to Eva.
Eva looked at him, raising an eyebrow in both confusion and disgust. "What do you want. I don't snoop." Eva responded bluntly, clenching both fists.
Ripper subtly gestured ahead at Alejandro chatting with Brick, and him occasionally talking to the other strong members up in the front. "Sugar told us to watch out for him, and I think she might've been onto something." Ripper began to explain, keeping his voice hushed.
"Didn't you hate her." Eva pointed out immediately.
Ripper nodded, giving a wave of dismissal. "She was gross and mean and stupid, but that doesn't mean she wasn't right. Alejandro gassed up Katie in the dodgeball challenge, and then as soon as we lost, he threw her under the bus and got her booted! Almost like he set her up! Now it looks like he's doing it again to Brick!" Ripper explained.
"He's a military cadet, this is his thing." Eva argued, not buying Ripper's worry.
"Seriously? You don't see how he's hyping him up? I just think he's up to something, and it's only a matter of time before he goes for us!" Ripper tried to warn Eva.
Eva now leaned closer to Ripper, holding a fist up to his face. "I don't like being told what to think. Got that? Until I think something is up, leave me alone." Eva sternly shut Ripper down, then sped up her walk to get away from him.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Ripper-
Ripper had his arms crossed, then pointed at himself with one thumb as he talked. "Alejandro and I are pretty similar, we both get tons of ladies, are super cool and strong, and are awesome at this game! But he's using his alpha male powers for evil! Taking out Katie instead of Sadie? Who does that? And if we lose Brick, that's one of our best players! If any manly man is gonna run this team into the ground, it's gonna be THIS guy!"
-End Confessional-
Back with the Bass, they were the first to arrive at their campsite by a wide margin, thanks to Jasmine leading them to it. "The maps says we're here! Guess this our campsite!" Jasmine exclaimed as they arrived.
"Great..." Scott mumbled, annoyed they got here so fast.
All that was present at the campsite was a red tent and sleeping bags for each member of the team, but nothing else. "Wait, this is all we get? Seriously?" Chase complained as they arrived.
LeShawna saw a rolled up paper in front of their tent and picked it up, unrolling it to read it. "Says here we're supposed to find our own food and make our own fire if we're gonna have a good time out here." LeShawna read.
"I don't see any food around here though, did the animals already get it from our campsite?" Samey asked, since their campsite was pretty barren.
Courtney rolled her eyes, scoffing at Samey. "It means hunting and gathering our own food. Let's get things in order then. We'll need a few people to set up the tent, some to start the fire, and some to get food for everyone!" Courtney right away stepped into leadership.
Scarlett raised a hand, gesturing to a spot near the collapsed tent. "I can start the fire on my own, I'll simply need a few rocks and shrubbery to make a proper fire pit." Scarlett volunteered.
"That part sounds the easiest, I'll help with that." Noah remarked, then walked away while still reading his book to go look around.
"I'll get dinner for everyone." Axel stated, and before anyone could say anything to her also darted off.
"I know what's safe and what isn't for most wild food, so I'll take a gander and see what I can find too." Jasmine told everyone, walking away from the team to head into the woods as well.
Scott snickered as he watched them leave, before just shrugging and heading his own way into the woods. "Guess I'll find some grub too! My pappy took me out hunting a buncha times so this'll be a cinch!" Scott remarked as he left.
Priya watched them all leave, then giggled for a moment. "I don't know how productive Noah is going to be, so I'll get some rocks and fire fodder for Scarlett too!" Priya decided, turning to leave.
"Good call." Courtney agreed with her, then looked to the rest of her team that was still present as Scarlett left. "Okay, the rest of you, get to work on the tent!" Courtney ordered, getting an annoyed look from Chase while everyone else just got to work.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Priya-
Priya pointed at herself, smirking at the camera. "I could have helped set up the tent, but we have more than enough people for that. Besides, time spent 'looking for sticks and rocks' is more time for me to look for an idol! If you're not using every moment you can to ensure your safety in this game, then you aren't playing right!"
-End Confessional-
The Gophers were the next to arrive at their campsite, although most weren't too happy with all the work that was going to come with the set up. "Okay people, I'm going to put the tent together, if you're not gonna help with that, I better see you looking for food!" Jo ordered everyone.
"Yeah! No slouching around, we aren't the Bass!" Amy added, getting a smirk of approval from Jo.
Damien raised a hand, glancing around their campsite briefly. "Don't we need someone to make the fire too?" Damien asked, albeit a little nervously.
"Fine, a couple of you nerds can work on the fire. Everyone else, get to work!" Jo demanded, with only Geoff, Tyler, and Topher sticking around to help pitch the tent.
Harold stuck around as well, pointing at himself with a thumb while looking at Damien. "I can help with the fire, learned how at Arsonist Steve's Arson Camp!" Harold boasted.
Damien raised an eyebrow, now turning to walk and go find firemaking supplies. "That's a thing!?" he let out, not believing that name.
Harold nodded, following Damien. "Yes it is! I can tell you more about it while we gather materials!" Harold confirmed proudly.
Dave saw the two nerds walking away, then looked at the group pitching up the tent and groaned. "I'll just help collect wood with you guys." Dave told them as he jogged to catch up with them.
Harold smirked, pointing at himself. "Wise choice, you'll do yourself well to involve yourself with me!" Harold proclaimed as they walked, only getting an eyeroll from Dave.
As they walked away, Tyler picked up one of the poles to mount the tent canvas on, only to drop it immediately and trip himself over it. "I'm okay!" he exclaimed as he stood back up.
Jo and Amy shared a bothered look, while Geoff and Topher weren't bothered at all for entirely different reasons. "Yeah dudes! Let's get tenting!" Geoff pepped everyone up, picking up one of the poles and planting it in the ground.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Geoff-
Geoff looked relaxing, one hand on the seat of the confessional casually. "Things have been pretty tense with Jo leading the team, and that kinda bites man. But maybe hanging out with her for a bit and pitching a tent will get her to chillax for a bit! She's got nothin' to worry about anyway, we haven't lost since we got here!"
-End Confessional-
The Trout were the next to arrive at their camp, with Brick looking over what they had available to them and quickly coming up with a plan. "Alright troops! We don't know what Chris is setting up for us this night, so I say we have at least 6 people working on a fence around our camp while the others gather up wood and food!" Brick ordered his team right away.
Alejandro nodded in approval, skimming the rolled up paper that told them what they'd need to find. "Good thinking mi amigo! I shall help with the protective fence, who wishes to join us?" Alejandro asked.
Sky looked unsure of the idea though, one hand on her chin and the other on her hip. "Umm, is that really the best way to do this? I don't think we need that many people working on a fence we might not even need. We have a lot of people to feed too..." Sky pointed out, gesturing to the rest of the team.
Brick thought it over as well now, but Alejandro nodded his head. "I think Brick's plan is perfecto. He's a boot camp veteran, this is right up his alley." Alejandro reinforced Brick's plan.
Lindsay nodded in agreement as well, standing next to Brick and Alejandro now. "Alemayo is right, what he said is what we should do!" Lindsay agreed.
"And what is that Lindsay?" Bowie asked, snickering a little at how she was swooning over him.
Lindsay's eyes fluttered before she registered Bowie's question, then pointed right at Brick. "Brick's fence thing! It's like, the right option, right? Otherwise they wouldn't call it the right plan!" Lindsay declared.
Trent and Bowie shared a look, knowing Lindsay had no clue what she was saying. "I think we should just go with it, Chris did say there might be bears. I'm gonna go gather firewood, Bowie, Caleb, do you wanna tag along?" Trent offered.
"Sounds good to me, hangin' with the two baddies on our team~" Bowie took up the offer, following Trent.
"Yeah, I can carry a bunch of wood so this should be quick!" Caleb also took up the offer, lightly chuckling at Bowie winking at him as the three walked away.
Sam started to follow them as well, waving at them. "Hey guys, can I tag along too? I find wood super fast in Cubecraft, so I'd be a big help!" Sam volunteered.
Bowie shook his head right away, waving in dismissal. "Uhh, maybe you'd be better off looking for berries boy. Three's already a crowd." Bowie stated, walking just a little faster.
Sam sighed, looking around to see where else he could help now, only to see Beardo making construction noises as he, Brick, Alejandro, Eva, and Lindsay dug out the perimeter for the fence. Dawn, Millie, and Sadie went off to go get food, and Ripper had seemingly went off on his own. "Guess it's just me..." Sam mumbled as he began to walk to the woods.
"I'll search with you Sam! It'll be fun! Promise!" Scary Girl exclaimed, startling Sam as he turned around and saw her standing right behind him.
"Woah! You fast traveled right behind me or something! But uhh... sure?" Sam agreed to her tagging along, with Scary Girl excitedly clapping and then following him.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Sam-
Sam rubbed the back of his head, looking unsure. "So judging by all that, I'm not in the best position right now. The guys didn't want me to tag along and the girls have their own thing, and I'm not really macho to be in with the other group. But hey, I've got Scary Girl to hang out with! That's someone!"
-End Confessional-
The last team to arrive at their clearing camp was the Lightning Squad, albeit it was two hours later than the other teams. "The sun is already starting to go down, god..." Gwen groaned as they arrived.
Lightning picked up the rolled paper and looked over the instructions, then just tossed it aside. "Says here we gotta find our own food and make our own fire for the night! That's easy! The Lightning can do that all on his own!" Lightning declared.
Beth went to pick up the paper to double check what it actually said, but Heather grabbed her arm and again stopped her from doing anything. "What do you want us to do then coach?" Wayne asked, looking around their barren campsite.
Lightning looked to the hockey bros, then pointed to the thicker woods behind him with his thumb. "You two can go bring back some wood for the Lightning to make fire with! Bring a lot so we can have the biggest fire here!" Lightning ordered.
Cameron's eyes widened, right away shaking his head at the idea. "Excuse me!? You are aware that starting a massive fire in a dense forest is the opposite of what we should do right!?" Cameron let out.
Lightning frowned at Cameron, looking down at him. "You sayin' the Lightning can't handle the fire? 'Cuz I can!" Lightning boasted.
"That's not- what? We need to gather food too, this isn't something you can just do on your own." Cameron added, perplexed by Lightning's ineptitude.
Owen nodded in agreement, patting his belly. "Yeah, I'm gonna need a lot to eat, but that won't be a problem for a big game hunter like me!" Owen declared, then flexed a muscle.
Shawn facepalmed, then pointed to the woods. "I'm just gonna... find some food. I'll be not here if you need me." Shawn stated, then hurried off.
MK took a similar cue, walking past her team and just crawling into the tent as they began to argue. "Are you saying that our captain doesn't know what he's doing?" Heather asked Cameron now, with Lightning appreciating someone else taking his side.
Cameron was flabbergasted at this, holding one hand out at Heather. "I expected this from Lightning, but you too Heather? What is happening right now..." Cameron pinched his forehead, getting a headache now.
Staci watched them all argue, then looked to Mike who was just as uncomfortable watching this. "Maybe we should go foraging yah?" Staci whispered to him.
"Great idea. I just don't wanna be here right now." Mike right away took her up on the offer, and the two quickly left their camp.
Duncan watched as everyone not in the argument began to leave to do their own thing, then looked to B who seemed to be putting together some kind of advanced fishing rod with all the sticks in the area. "I'm just gonna piss off somewhere else, if they ask where I am don't say anything." Duncan told B with a chuckle, who just rolled his eyes at his comment and got back to work as Duncan walked away.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Duncan-
Duncan sharped his razor on one of the twigs as he sat, having a smirk on his face. "This is the perfect time to go idol hunting. No one is gonna even notice if I don't bring back crap. They're all tearing each other apart. I just need to have one of those idols so that when I eventually fall in those bozos' line of sight, they're done."
-End Confessional-
Back at the Bass camp, the tent had been pitched and Scarlett had gotten a good fire going, which the team was sitting around as those who had went out looking for food were one by one coming back. Emma and LeShawna returned together with handfuls of berries, which they set down in a pile in between Courtney and Zee. "Sweeeet, we got some berries to munch on." Zee commented as he looked at the mix of mostly blueberries and raspberries.
"You're actually hungry? You as skinny as the twigs we been using to keep the fire goin!" LeShawna remarked as she and Emma sat down next to Noah.
Zee shrugged, rubbing the back of his head. "Not really, just the flavors of berries are kinda like the artificial flavors in soda. Just like, not artificial. What does that make them then actually?" Zee now wondered.
"Natural. They are classified as natural flavors." Scarlett stated simply.
"Riiiiight, that sounds right. You really know your stuff." Zee complimented Scarlett.
"It's on like every label ever when something isn't artificially flavored, you never noticed?" Samey asked Zee.
Zee shook his head, now leaning forward a little and resting his head on his palms. "Nah, pretty much every soda I drink says that they're like, 95% artificially flavored. That's a high score so I never really looked into what the 5% they got wrong y'know?" Zee replied casually.
Rodney now scratched his chin, thinking on it. "Huh, never thought about that either. We only had soda on holidays, so I didn't even think to look at the labels. I gotta read one of them next time I can." Rodney considered.
Nichelle giggled a little, back and forth between the two dim boys for a moment. "I'd definitely read what's in those cans when you can. My health coach warns me to stay far away from soda. Causes acne and what doesn't ends up goin' right to the hips!" Nichelle warned the two jokingly.
Scott then showed up with his pile of boysenberries, dumping them lazily on top of Emma and LeShawna's pile, then just sitting down next to Rodney. "Couldn't find much that wasn't blueberries out there, and I was right that you'd have a ton of 'em. Thought I'd freshen the stack!" Scott remarked, high-fiving Rodney.
Courtney rolled her eyes, holding a makeshift pan made from a stick and the underside of a hollow rock. "Guess we're having salad for dinner. That's great for our strength." Courtney sarcastically commented.
Chase scoffed, gesturing at Courtney with his thumb. "Guess you don't know your stuff at all! Y'see, protein is actually what you get your strength from. Seems you didn't know that!" Chase mocked Courtney.
"Chase, do us all a favor and shut up." Emma told him coldly, getting a thankful nod from Courtney.
Axel arrived next, carrying two sticks full of some kind of gray raw meat. "Caught enough for everyone!" Axel exclaimed as she arrived, her face now covered in some kind of camo makeup.
"What happened to you!?" Samey let out, wondering what she got into a tussle with for the meat.
Axel smirked, holding her sticks of meat over the fire now to cook them. "Disguised myself with the elements and bagged several squirrels! Bet the other teams aren't prepped to do that on a whim!" Axel boasted.
"Squirrel? Eww... that's not gonna go good with the berries either." Courtney complained.
"Aww come on guys, meat is meat, and I'm hungry!" Izzy reasoned with everyone else's grossed out looks, grabbing one of the squirrel meat blobs from Axel's sticks, quickly shoving it into her mouth and eating it.
"I think I'll stick with the berries." Noah stated, gagging at the thought of eating squirrel meat.
Axel's proud smile quickly disappeared as she saw that no one else looked even remotely interested in eating what she brought. "Fine! Be like that! I'll eat my catches on my own!" Axel yelled at her team, then stormed off angrily.
Jasmine arrived not long after Axel left, carrying a pile of acorns, nuts, and berries in her arms. "Got a hefty haul! Wasn't able to find any critters roaming around, something must've gotten them all. But all these are safe to eat, so we've got somethin' to fill our bellies until we get back to camp. Dig in everyone!" Jasmine told the rest of her team, setting her pile down on top of what was already gathered.
Courtney just tossed aside her makeshift pan since she wasn't going to be cooking anything, joining the rest of her team now as they all began to eat. Everyone except for Scott, who just laid down on his back and closed his eyes. "You aren't gonna eat anything Scott?" Priya asked, having a handful of berries and nuts now.
Scott shook his head, smirking as he waved off the idea. "Nah, ate a bunch while I was out searching, I ain't hungry." Scott replied, continuing to relax.
Scarlett heard this and right away put down the boysenberries, putting them back into the pile as she then just only ate the acorns and nuts. "Didn't think we'd be eating like rabbits tonight, but I ain't complainin'! Better than eatin' squirrel meat like a pack of coyotes." LeShawna remarked as she ate a few berries, getting some laughs from the rest of her team.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Samey-
Samey rubbed one arm, feeling a little guilty. "Should we have all been that blunt with Axel? I mean, she's pretty blunt towards us so it's fair to do the same I guess? I just can't imagine how I'd feel if I did a whole bunch of work for my team, just for them to shun me for it. Maybe I should try and talk to her..."
-End Confessional-
In the thicker woods near the Gopher camp, Dave, Damien, and Harold had now gathered up armfuls of wood, with the three boys looking content with their find. "Think this'll last us until the morning?" Dave asked the other two.
Damien nodded, giving a thumbs up. "As long as we have someone watching over it and tossing wood into the fire in moderation, this will last us just fine!" Damien answered confidently.
Harold nodded as well, getting a smirk on his face. "We can probably have Ezekiel do it, he needs sleep the least and the girls will probably make him do it anyway." Harold remarked.
Dave chuckled, already picturing the girls forcing him to keep watch. "Yeah, that solves itself. Between you talking about that arson camp which I do not care about, and then actually making sense, you're one of the less annoying people to talk to here." Dave complimented Harold.
"Weird way to word that but I think that's a good thing. I'll start heading back to camp then." Damien commented, then began to walk in the direction they came.
Harold and Dave did the same, with Harold just a little offput by what Dave had said. "I'll have you know you should care about my time at arson camp! Firemaking is important here at camp and just one of many mad skills I have to provide!" Harold proclaimed.
"Yeah yeah, just... don't ramble about it okay?" Dave replied, getting annoyed again.
Harold let out a small huff, then just kept walking forward before his eyes landed on something as he was looking away from Dave. "Eureka! I have found it!" Harold exclaimed, dropping the wood in his arms as he reached into a bush next to them.
"Found what?" Damien asked, turning around when he heard all the wood hit the ground.
Harold then pulled a golden statue of Chris's head, surprising both Damien and Dave. "The immunity idol, no way!" Dave let out upon seeing it.
Harold had a mighty smile on his face now, stuffing the idol into his pocket. "Correct! You two can't tell anyone about it though. We need to keep this a secret." Harold told them, now hushing his tone a little.
"Sure thing man, you can trust me on that!" Damien whispered right away, giving Harold a thumbs up.
"Yeah, sure." Dave also agreed, although now seemed more annoyed than before.
Harold began to pick the wood he dropped back up, his mood much improved. "If any of you think you need protection, just let me know and I'll play it for you. But we have to keep it between us, guess we've got a wicked alliance prepared for us!" Harold proposed.
"Works for me! Let's get back to camp before someone thinks something is up though." Damien advised, then continued to walk back to their camp.
Dave followed Damien, not saying anything else as he just carried his wood. Harold finished picking up his wood and soon hurried after them as well. "Great, this'll get us far I'm sure!" Harold whispered confidently.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Dave-
Dave groaned, hunching over in the confessional a little. "Dang it... so one of the idols is already found and is now in the hands of Harold. At least I know where it is and I have an alliance with it's holder, can't be caught off guard by an idol play like that."
-End Confessional-
The sun was setting now over the woods, and around where the Trout had settled, Sam had gathered up a few berries with Scary Girl, who had picked out exclusively red ones. "So uh, what do you like to do for fun? I just play video games, sometimes I stream them too!" Sam tried to make conversation.
Scary Girl tapped her chin gleefully, then gasping with delight as she came up with an answer. "I like to make people scream! Usually that means hurting them so their screams are even louder! How loud can you scream?" Scary Girl asked him back.
Sam tensed up at her answer, trying not to let his fear show. "Well uh, I can scream sorta loud? I've had a few gamer rage moments where I've gotten pretty loud, but who hasn't am I right? Heheh..." Sam joked, stopping to face Scary Girl now.
"I haven't! I'll have to see just how loud you get during those then! The greater the misery, the better!" Scary Girl replied, giggling afterward.
Sam chuckled awkwardly, nodding his head. "Yeah, we'll see then! Say, do you wanna set up a social link? I feel like that's what's going on here." Sam suggested.
Scary Girl tilted her head, making a bone crunching noise as she did so. "Social link? What's that? Does it involve pain?" Scary Girl asked him.
Sam shrugged, not wanting to outright say no and ward her off. "It can. It's just a thing in RPGs where two characters get stronger by working together more, and they get to know each other better too!" Sam explained social links.
"Ooh, like an alliance?" Scary Girl asked, sort of getting the explanation.
"That works too! So what do you say? I say we've already hit C support, and the rest of the team doesn't really seem to like us. But I think you're neat, in your own way." Sam proposed with an awkward smile.
Scary Girl paused for a moment, the last part striking a chord. But her wicked smile quickly returned and she nodded her head. "Sure! As long as you help me make the others SCREAM, we've got a deal!" Scary Girl accepted the offer.
Sam's awkward smile changed to a more genuine one, and he gave her a thumbs up. "Great! I think we've got enough berries too, so I think we should get back to-" Sam began to say, but Scary Girl then leaned in further.
"But if this is a trick, you WILL be sorry! Blood, bones, muscles, ooey gooey bits, I don't think they'll be able to tell who you were! It'd be like you went KABLOOEY!" Scary Girl threatened him, giggling maniacally afterward.
Sam dropped a few berries as she did this, then scrambled to pick them back up while still forcing a smile. "Uh, yeah, no need to worry about that! I'll see you back at camp, I'll walk a different way so no one thinks we're like, working together." Sam assured her, then fast walked away.
"Okie dokie, bye Sam!" Scary Girl waved goodbye to him gleefully, then went back to searching for berries on her own.
Back at the Trout camp itself, Millie, Dawn, and Sadie arrived back together with nuts and acorns, only to be shocked that there was a 12 foot tall fence now surrounding what was supposed to be their camp. "Woah, what did they do while we were gone?" Sadie asked, in awe at the massive fence.
"Brick got a whole fortress set up, guess we'll for sure be protected out here!" Millie commented, right away pulling out her notebook and taking notes.
Dawn approached the entrance, which was a gap in the fence with a giant slab of wood hanging above the gap by rope. "My my, this is impressive, how did you go about constructing this? I hope not too many trees were used..." Dawn asked, concerned at the scale of the camp.
Brick jogged over, flexing a muscle at the girls with a proud smile. "Us at camp here gave our all into making a proper military base to keep us safe for the night! Once we close the gate for the night, nothing will get in here!" Brick proudly declared.
Beardo nodded, pretending to hold a shield in front of himself while imitating a medieval horn. "We did have to take down a ton of nearby trees. But it's all trees around here anyway, who cares if a few are gone." Eva stated, resting on the ground now that they had finished construction.
Dawn's left eye twitched at this, but she then just sighed and accepted what had been done. "I suppose we can't bring them back. I'm thankful for the safety our team will have tonight then." Dawn commented, then walked past the others to go meditate in the corner of this military camp.
Sadie and Millie on the other hand continued to be impressed by the structure, with Sadie in particular giddy. "Wow! Katie would've loved to see this! This makes me feel like we're back at the mall with how big this place is!" Sadie exclaimed.
"The mall? I didn't think a capitalistic haven would bring that much comfort. Especially when this isn't anything like that. But whatever suits your mood." Millie remarked, then also walked off to be alone for a bit.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Sadie-
Sadie kicked her legs back and forth excitedly, holding both hands together. "I have SO many stories about the mall. But our camp looked just like all those big sporting good stores you'd see at the mall. The ones where they'd have all the folding chairs out, the golf stuff, and just a bunch of stuff to play with, even if you're not buying anything! One time we ended up hitting one of the employees with a golf ball on accident, so they asked us to leave. It was a little embarrassing, but it was still fun!"
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Millie-
Millie shook her head disapprovingly, writing in her notebook. "Wow, I know Sadie is supposed to be my friend, but she really is a victim of modern capitalism. A mall excites you? Really? This generation is doomed to spend, spend, and spend some more. Glad I'm better than her!"
-End Confessionals-
At the Lightning Squad camp, Wayne and Raj had now returned from their second trip gathering wood, dumping four more large logs onto their wood pile. "We've definitely got the biggest pile of wood around here eh!" Wayne declared confidently.
Raj nodded, both hands on his hips proudly. "For sure eh! It's gonna be as hot as our hockey rinks, but like, if it was the amount of cold they are but hot!" Raj added.
"It amazes me you two are still alive..." Gwen mumbled, having sat and done nothing the entire time.
Heather scoffed, leering at Gwen. "Gosh Gwen, have some faith in your teammates, those two don't need super smarts to make it out here." Heather chastised Gwen.
Wayne patted his chest, smiling at Heather. "Thanks Heather! We've got guts, heart, and whatever else is inside us! It's all super strong!" Wayne explained, not knowing the rest.
Owen now returned to camp as well, carrying four fish tied up. "They brought the wood, I bring fish!" Owen announced proudly.
MK poked her head out of the tent hearing this, raising an eyebrow. "Since when could you fish?" MK asked sharply.
"Ever since my grandpa taught me!" Owen answered, flexing his spare arm.
Cameron was delighted seeing the fish, now walking over to the fire pile to get something started. "Not sure where Lightning is, but I'll start the fire so we can get cooking! I've read about how to prepare cooked fish, so we just need a couple people to descale them while the fire warms up." Cameron stated.
"I'll help!" Beth right away volunteered.
Owen untied the fish and handed her two of them, sitting down near the wood pile now. "Great thinking Cameron! We'll be eating good tonight!" Owen praised Cameron, who was now holding his glasses out in the sun's rays to ignite a fire.
That was until B also returned, pulling a handmade wooden cart full of fish, already descaled and cut, prime for cooking. "Woah! B! How did you get so much fish so fast! This could feed us for like, the next week eh!" Raj asked in amazement.
B smirked, then pointed at himself and imitated throwing out a fishing line. He turned an imaginary dial, and then just gave a thumbs up. "Not sure what any of that means eh, but great job!" Wayne praised B, patting him on the back.
Cameron had just gotten the fire started, bigger than a typical fire thanks to the amount that Wayne and Raj had brought back. "Excellent work B, you can just hang those over the fire while Beth and Owen descale the other catches. Like Raj pointed out, I think we can save a good amount of that supply for later!" Cameron directed, to which B nodded and put 14 fish on a skewer branch and walked over to hold it over the fire.
Heather watched that everyone was now working well and seemed to be in good spirits, and let out a huff. "Hmph... I'll just catch more rays while those cook then." Heather commented, then laid down on her back and closed her eyes.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Heather-
Heather had her arms crossed, looking displeased. "I hate how they all just work together well the moment Lightning is off doing something! That means that I have to keep him around, or else those dweebs might just get along too well and go for me! I can't let that happen! Right now I have Beth, Staci, and MK locked down, and then through Lightning I have Wayne and Raj. The seven of us just have to make it through one more ceremony, then I'll have full control for the rest of the game!"
-End Confessional-
The sun had eventually fully set and the moon was up in the sky, and over the Bass camp, everyone had either finished eating or was huddled around the campfire with the exception of Axel. "Wow! Chef's food really made me forget how good just random crap from the forest was. Real food is gonna taste so good when this is all over!" Chase remarked, eating his last boysenberry.
Samey stood up though, clutching her stomach. "Oooo, I think I had too many... I need to go lay down for the night..." Samey told the others, then making her way to the tent.
"Rest well girl, my stomach ain't a fan of these either. Between wild berries and Chef's slop we're all gonna need a checkup when we get out of here." LeShawna commented, watching Samey crawl into their tent.
Courtney looked up at the stars in the sky, then at her teammates again, most of whom were tuckered out and not saying much. They were only embracing the warmth of the fire. "You know what we should do? Campfire stories! And as a CIT, I can tell you it's a great way to build rapport among a group!" Courtney pitched.
Noah rolled his eyes, currently reading The Dark Tower. "Gee, a well known campfire activity being good while we're at a campfire, who would've guessed." Noah sarcastically commented.
"Oh shut up Noah! You know what I mean! Does anyone have anything worthwhile to say or all you gonna be sticks in the mud like this guy?" Courtney asked the others now, gesturing to Noah.
Emma chuckled, crossing her arms as she looked over at Chase. "I could tell you plenty of horror stories about things Chase has done if you're interested!" Emma remarked.
"Oh come on! They'd be comedies, not horror stories! I do storytime vids too, so I've got plenty I could say!" Chase defended himself, missing the point.
Jasmine groaned, seeing those two start to go at it again. "Bloody hell... can both of you just keep shut for the night!?" Jasmine scolded both angrily.
"She started it!" Chase argued right away.
"No, YOU started it!" Emma accused him back, pointing a finger.
Priya raised a hand now, glaring at the ex lovers. "It doesn't matter who started it! We are here to tell campfire stories and have a good time, got it!? Nichelle, why don't you tell us about your time working on one of your movies? I'm sure there's so much cool stuff to tell!" Priya suggested intensely.
Nichelle sat up when she was called on, smiling at the opportunity. "Sure thing, I'll gladly talk about that than any of this. Hmm, have y'all seen Rush 2049? That racing movie in the future?" Nichelle asked the others.
Priya nodded right away, then eagerly looked at the other others to see if they knew. Scarlett adjusted her glasses, leaning into the conversation now. "That is the video game adaptation correct? I suppose I have seen that film." Scarlett admitted.
"Same here, the cinematography was kinda all over the place but I think it worked in it's own chaotic way y'know?" Zee added, tuned in as well now.
Nichelle raised an eyebrow at Zee's comment, but just brushed it off. "Okay, well you know the scene where they're racing through San Francisco and then the trolley hits one of the cars and causes a huge accident that kills Tucker?" Nichelle began to tell her story.
"C'mon, spoiler warning!" Scott teased, as if he'd seen the movie.
Nichelle chuckled, then just continued. "Well, the first stunt double for Winston, the guy that plays Tucker, he got like seriously hurt during shooting. It was awful seeing it all happen. The set designer got fired and sued over the whole thing. It was on the news for a bit during it all." Nichelle explained, her eyes widening as she spoke.
"Woah woah, but it's just a stunt on a green screen isn't it? You guys aren't actually in danger when filming those right?" Jasmine asked for clarification.
Nichelle shook her head, wagging a finger. "Nope, the director insisted on filming on location to capture San Francisco and make the whole thing more immersive. We trashed like 40 cars by the end of production! But back to Winston's double, when the trolley hit his car, he was supposed to just push a button that would send him flying out and hit a safety net set up out of shot. Then it was supposed to cut to a different take after that with Winston himself acting like he was hurt from the crash." Nichelle explained how the scene was supposed to go.
"So what went wrong? Did he go flying into the ocean and get gobbled up by a bunch of sharks!?" Izzy asked a little too excitedly, getting some weird looks from Emma and Rodney.
Nichelle paused to also look at Izzy with a puzzled face, then kept going. "No, he didn't even get launched. The seatbelt on the car wasn't functioning right, I guess because it was an old sports car just touched up to look futuristic. But when he hit the eject button to do the shot, the seatbelt didn't dislodge, so he was launched up and yanked back into his seat by his seatbelt. His neck snapped and tore open, blood spilled all over the car. It was horrifying. When I and the staff rushed to see if he was okay, I... I could see the neckbones popping out as his face was lifeless." Nichelle described the accident, feeling it all coming back now.
"His neck popped out!? How did he live that!?" Courtney questioned in disbelief.
Nichelle choked up a little, then worked up the courage to continue. "The news reported that he was taken to the hospital, was in critical condition, and his family just wanted privacy. And that was the last the media spoke of the incident. He didn't even see a hospital bed. They just... declared him dead there, I think his family had him cremated, and that was the last I heard of it as well. We just resumed shooting 3 days later, our director didn't give us much time to grieve. It showed me just how terrifying stunt work was, and I gained a lot of respect for those that do it." Nichelle finished her story, shuddering a little now.
There was a silence among the rest of the Bass as they heard the story, taking it all in. "Wow... I never would've known that a death was just casually covered up like that. Sorry you had to witness all that Nichelle." Priya comforted her, getting up to go pat her back.
Nichelle sighed, choking up once more and holding back her emotions. "No, I'm sorry I brought the mood down y'all. You all just wanted a fun behind the scenes story, and I went too far. I should've thought up something less gruesome." Nichelle apologized.
"Nah, made for a good horror story. That's what campfire stories are for right?" Noah joked, before receiving an immediate smack upside the head from Courtney.
Rodney stood up as well to go comfort Nichelle as well, but ended up clutching his stomach. "Urgh... I think I need to lay down, my stomach is fighting back..." Rodney commented.
LeShawna did the same, walking to the tent. "Yeah, I was feelin it earlier when Samey went in, but I ain't feelin any better. I'll feel better in the mornin'." LeShawna added, going into the tent.
Scott covered his mouth to hide his smirk as everyone else got up to make their way to the tent. But he didn't say anything as he too just walked to the tent. "I guess we're turning in for the night. Axel is still out and about so I'm sure she'll keep the fire going." Courtney stated, also not feeling well enough to dwell on having someone watch the fire.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Priya-
Priya had one hand on her stomach, the other one one her cheek still excitedly. "Wow... I had no idea the industry was that cutthroat! Props to Nichelle for sticking through it all! I imagine her training is just as tough as what my parents have me do if she's still acting!"
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Nichelle-
Nichelle rubbed one arm, looking queasy now. "I don't feel good... I think the food poisoning I got must've let all that negativity out or somethin. I need to keep myself in check better, I can't go spilling my heart out to these people like that! They look up to me, I... I can't look weak in front of them."
-End Confessionals-
Over at the Gopher camp now that night had fallen, the team was also hanging around the fire, with the exception of Blaineley, Dakota, and Topher who were already asleep in the tent, although they had completely finished eating at this point. "Man, this reminds me of all the times me and the bros went camping back home." Geoff commented, tipping his hat up a little as he looked up at the stars.
Julia nodded in agreement, aiming her phone at herself from below and taking a selfie with the starry sky. "Truth! I've been on soul-searching camping retreats before and this is just lovely." Julia added.
"Wouldn't it be easier to search it up on your phone?" Dave joked, getting an annoyed look from Julia before she just snapped another selfie.
Tyler looked at Geoff, hugging his legs at the moment. "You've been camping? I thought you lived on a beach or something." Tyler asked Geoff.
Geoff nodded, leaning back now. "I do, but that doesn't mean I can't go travel with my bros and camp either! Life is about just having a great time, and sometimes you gotta take a break from the beach to do that." Geoff explained casually.
"Couldn't agree more. Nature is beautiful in so many ways, not just ocean life." Bridgette agreed with Geoff.
Ella nodded excitedly, smiling at Bridgette. "Of course Bridgette, my animal friends here in the woods are wonderful creatures, taking the time to just embrace them is oh so wonderful!" Ella exclaimed, then pulled Bridgette into a hug.
Jo rolled her eyes, then stood up. "I'm not gonna sit here and listen to this chummy nature talk. I'm going to bed, we have to wake up early if we're going to win anyway!" Jo stated bitterly, marching over to their tent.
"Good idea, I think we should all get our rest for the night! A well rested body is a well rested mind!" DJ encouraged the others, who followed his tune much more than Jo's.
Tyler stood up, stretching a little as he did so. "Yeah, I was gonna call it soon anyway!" Tyler agreed, then walked over to the tent as he did so. As soon as he stepped forward though he tripped over his other foot, knocking one of the sticks from the fire forward and directly at the tent.
It didn't take much time for the tent to burst into flames, forcing Topher, Blaineley, and Dakota to all run out of it in a panic. "FIRE! Anyone got anything to put it out!?" Topher yelled as he ran.
Ezekiel tried to stomp out the fire, but it was already too far spread at that point, so he just had to step back and watch with the rest of the Gophers as their tent burned down to ashes. "Way to go Tyler! Can't you do anything right!?" Amy yelled at Tyler right away.
"I tripped! You act like that was on purpose!" Tyler defended himself, already feeling guilty over what just happened.
"Hmph... I wanted to be the one to do that..." Max mumbled to himself, crossing his arms.
Dakota marched up to Tyler though, pointing at his hair. "You don't want to go bald do you!? Well I could have if that fair reached my hair! Then I'd look awful in the paparazzi pics!" Dakota yelled at him further.
"Friends! We mustn't fight! We are a team!" Ella tried to calm things down, stepping between Tyler, Amy, and Dakota.
DJ stepped in as well, standing firm between them. "Ella's right. It was an accident from Tyler and nothing more. We can't bring the tent back, so let's just move past it y'all." DJ told his furious teammates.
Damien nodded in agreement, trying to stay positive. "Yeah, and it's not like it could get worse right?" Damien asked on the bright side.
Drop.
Damien looked up, and another raindrop hit his face, a few more followed, and it very quickly turned into a downpour on the island. "Rule 1 of life, never ask if it can get worse, because it will!" Sierra commented, frowning as she now held an arm over her head to protect herself from the rain.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Sierra-
Sierra tapped her chin, assessing the current status of the team. "Normally when something sets your team back it's bad, but strategically this is great! Ezekiel has been our pick to go for when we eventually lose, but he makes a great decoy to take someone else out. Tyler is sliding into that role as well, so the more obvious targets to distract people the better!"
-End Confessional-
Now that it was raining, everyone at the Trout camp took the cue to wrap up for the night. "We should've built a roof on this thing... ah well! We have our tent!" Sky commented, now jogging over to it and then diving in to seek shelter from the rain.
"She's so extra sometimes..." Bowie remarked to Trent as they walked to the tent, getting a small chuckle out of him.
Brick watched them head to the tent now, then looked to Eva. "Eva, lower the gate! We don't need anything getting in here while we're asleep!" Brick commanded.
"On it." Eva responded, then ran off to their entrance in the massive fence they constructed.
Eva grabbed the rope that was holding up the piece of wood above the entrance, then ripped it apart with her bare hands. The slab of wood slammed down on the ground, completely closing off the entrance so that nothing could go through it. "Done." she stated, then ran back to the tent to get dry as well.
Brick gave Eva a thumbs up once she was inside with the rest of her team, then gave a salute to the rest. "Great work out there today troops! I'm proud of how we did today." Brick commended his team.
"You too Brock! We are so the team to be!" Lindsay praised him back, then got into her sleeping bag.
Scary Girl giggled, looking over her teammates as they began to go to sleep. "Heehee, sweet dreams everyone!" she wished everyone, off-putting everyone instantly.
"Why did I get the bag next to hers..." Trent mumbled, very unnerved by what she could go.
Alejandro saved the day though as he sat up. "Scary Girl, perhaps you could sleep outside the tent and keep watch for any intruders? You can do whatever you want with them." Alejandro suggested.
Scary Girl got giddy at this, climbing out of her sleeping bag and rushing out of the tent. "Anyone wanna climb the fence? I just wanna play!" Scary Girl called out, waiting to see if any would come like Alejandro said.
"Amazing thinking man. Thanks." Caleb thanked Alejandro heartily, then closed his eyes to go to sleep, as did Alejandro.
Outside of the encampment though, Ripper soon ran up to the closed off entrance and pounded a fist on it. "HEY! What the heck did you guys build!? It's soaking wet out here!" Ripper yelled.
A low growl shut up his yelling though, making Ripper turn around and see a grizzly bear approaching him. It wasn't in a great mood with the rain either. "Oh fartnuggets! You can't be serious! HELP!" Ripper wailed, now running away from the grizzly bear and away from the Trouts' encampment, yet still no one inside seemed to notice.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Ripper-
Ripper was covered in scratches now, with a black eye as well. He was completely exhausted and soaking wet now, leaning against the confessional wall. "I'm gonna be hiding out here for the night, but what the heck did I do for them to lock me out!? Can't a guy do some idol hunting in peace!? Worst part, I didn't even find the dang thing!"
-End Confessional-
At the Lightning Squad camp, with the sun gone and rain pouring down, the whole team had retreated into their tent now except for Shawn who was completely missing, and Lightning who was trying to get the fire back going. "Give it a rest man! The rain isn't gonna let another fire start!" Mike tried to urge Lightning.
"The Lightning never gives up! Any second now he's gonna sha-strike with a bolt!" Lightning declared, furiously rubbing two logs together.
Mike poked his head out of the tent to try further, and was immediately doused with water, so he went right back in. "Come on, it's pouring! You're gonna get sick!" Mike tried to warn Lightning.
MK patted Mike's shoulder, snickering. "I say just let him, I wanna see how long he stays out there for." MK told Mike, hugging her legs as she sat in her sleeping bag.
"Well he certainly has plenty of strength to do so after our hearty meal, I'd give him until sunrise." Cameron guessed.
B held up four fingers on his hand as he looked outside the tent, then just laid down. "Is that four hours or four minutes?" Beth asked him.
B opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Wayne. "Could've been four days! Coach Lightning is pretty strong eh!" Wayne added.
Heather scoffed, laying down in her sleeping bag at the moment. "I think it's four seconds until we stop talking about that doofus. Do you people have anything better to talk about?" Heather asked them harshly.
Duncan chuckled, looking down at Heather. "Someone's in a good mood. What did you want us to do sweetheart? Go in a circle and share sob stories?" Duncan asked back mockingly.
"Don't call me sweetheart ever again. Or else." Heather threatened Duncan immediately, although he didn't take it seriously at all.
Beth thought for a moment about what Duncan said, and a smile popped on her face as she got an idea. "Ooo! Why don't we thare why we came out here? Could be a thun way to get to know each other better!" Beth suggested.
Raj perked up at the idea right away, gesturing to himself and Wayne. "Wayner and I signed up so we could get a new bus for our hockey team back home! And save some money for college too." Raj explained their reasoning, with Wayne nodding to confirm.
"Surprisingly smart idea from you two." Gwen commented, expecting something dumber.
Staci raised her hand to go next, smiling brightly at her teammates. "I joined the show to make some friends, and I think that's going well yah! This whole team is like one big friend group yah! Did you know those were made by great great great great great aunt Betty? Yah, before her people would just hang around the same area and not really know what to do with themselves, so sad." Staci rambled happily.
"Whatever makes you feel better about yourself." Duncan snarkily let her have her moment, getting a small chuckle from Gwen and B.
"Well it does! Makes me feel great knowing you're all my friends yah!" Staci exclaimed, putting one hand on Beth's and the other on Heather's sleeping bag, with the latter immediately rolling away from her.
Owen scratched his chin, then came up with his answer. "Oh I remembered why I came here! If I win the money, I could have like, all the food I could ever want! That's like, 4 million chicken nuggets!" Owen gave his answer excitedly.
"Woah, do you think you could eat that many?" Wayne asked, thinking it was for one season.
Owen nodded, patting his belly. "Yup! There's nothing a guy like me can't eat. That's what my mom and dad say too!" Owen boasted proudly.
"I'll take their word on that one..." MK whispered to Mike, although he didn't laugh back.
Right after that though, thunder struck, startling everyone inside the tent. "Wow... of course Chris just had to send us on a camping trip in a freaking thunderstorm! Brilliant move by him, bravo Chris." MK sarcastically commented, then tucked herself further into her sleeping bag to try and sleep.
Lightning then came hurrying into the tent though, again disrupting the peace. "Lightning ain't gonna be struck by Lightning, he's going to bed!" Lightning declared, still trying to seem tough.
"I guess it was four minutes." Beth concluded, looking over at B again, who had fallen asleep at this point.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Beth-
Beth tapped two fingers together, a small smile on her face. "You know, the retht of the team ithn't tho bad! I thought they'd be like, mean after Zoey got booted, but today and tonight went pretty calmly!"
-End Confessional-
Night came and went, as did the rain, and when the sun came up, the campsites the teams had used had largely dried up. At the Screaming Gophers' camp at around 7 in the morning, the campers were still a bit moist from sleeping in the rain, but that didn't matter to Jo who woke up first. "WAKE UP PEOPLE! It's morning now, and we've got to get back to camp ASAP!" Jo yelled at her team sleeping on the ground.
DJ had been holding a leaf over Bridgette, Amy, and Harold overnight to protect them from the rain, but had dropped it when he fell asleep, so they all woke up together and tossed it aside. "You heard her, we're not gonna lose to Sam- I mean the Bass! We're not losing our perfect record because some of you overslept!" Amy barked at the others.
Ella yawned as she got up, although even that sounded like she was hitting a note as she did so. "Good morning friends! Though our night was stormy, I'm sure our day shall be most hopeful!" Ella greeted everyone.
"Do you do this every morning?" Dave asked in annoyance, rubbing his eyes as he woke up.
"You bet she does..." Sierra answered groggily, then quickly shook it off and hopped to her feet.
Once the team was up, Jo pulled the map out of her tracksuit, having kept it perfectly dry. "I've got the route back to camp here, let's move it people, no time to lose!" Jo ordered everyone, then jogging off from their camp.
"Hold on, I gotta stretch before a sprint!" Tyler called to her as she took off.
"Not. A. Word. I don't want to hear anything from you for a while meathead." Blaineley told Tyler firmly, then took off after Jo.
Tyler was a little more rattled hearing it from Blaineley compared to some of the others, but nonetheless took off jogging with the rest of his team. "Yes ma'am!" he responded diligently.
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Blaineley-
Blaineley had her arms crossed, as her hair was a bit frazzled. "Because that bumbling jock cost us our tent, I get to have a bad hair day on television! He's going to pay for that, mark my WORDS!"
-Confessional: Screaming Gophers: Tyler-
Tyler rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, looking guilty still. "So I rubbed a lot of the team the wrong way today, but it was an accident! As long as we're safe today, I'm sure this'll all blow over. Next challenge will be something more up my alley I'm sure!"
-End Confessional-
Over at the Ferocious Trout campsite, Brick woke up first, and he then clapped his hands loudly twice to wake up the rest. "Rise and shine soldiers! We have an early march back to camp to make still for this challenge!" Brick woke up his team.
Since they had actually gotten proper rest in their tent and sleeping bags, most of the team got up in much better attitudes than the Gophers. "Man, this felt better than sleeping in the cabins I'm gonna be honest." Trent admitted, stretching as he woke up.
Scary Girl poked her head into the tent, creepily smiling at her teammates. "You sure did look comfy in your sleep! I saw allll night! But no one even tried to break in, that was no fun!" Scary Girl complained, her eyes piercing Trent's soul.
Dawn got up and saw Scary Girl staring at them and let out a small shriek, before regaining her composure. "Well that aside... we should make haste with getting back to camp. I sense the other teams have already awoken." Dawn told the others as they got up.
"Yeah, great point. Alright everyone, let's get moving then!" Sky encouraged her team as she quickly got up and made her way out of the tent.
Soon enough everyone was out of the tent, with Sam being the last person to step out. "Okay, so how do we raise the gate?" Sadie asked as they hurried over to the entrance.
"Raise it? Well it's not supposed to be moved, that way nothing can get in! That's how you make a strong military base!" Brick answered, then paused when it hit him what he did.
"Wait so how are we supposed to get out? Did you forget to make an exit!?" Bowie questioned Brick sharply.
Alejandro shook his head, patting Brick's back. "Calm down, I'm sure Brick with his expertise planned a way to get out of here." Alejandro assured them.
Brick clammed up though, tripping on his words. "Well the funny thing about that is uhh... I didn't." Brick admitted sheepishly.
Eva flared up hearing this, while most of the team now looked disappointed. "So you had us build this whole thing without an exit!? Oh you are beyond done! You got that!?" Eva right away began to yell at him.
Caleb marched up to the entrance, rolling up his sleeves a bit. "I'll try and knock down the entrance so we can get out of here, but we built this pretty thick, so it won't be easy!" Caleb told the others, before slamming his fist into the wood with a punch.
"Hey, at least it's well fortified? We probably had the safest night of any of the teams!" Brick tried to look at the positive.
Beardo imitated the sound of a tumbleweed passing by, shaking his head at Brick. "The hubris, man's greatest weakness." Millie commented, writing in her notebook.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Millie-
Millie joyfully wrote in her notebook, not at all worried about their situation. "I am getting so much material from all this! I thought Brick was dependable, but he's just dependably dumb. And everyone else who helped him build the fortress? They're no better, one of them should have said something. Me personally? I wouldn't have let this happen."
-End Confessional-
Back at the bonfire pit by the actual camp, Chris was sitting on a folding chair and was currently drinking coffee while waiting for the teams to arrive when he perked up upon hearing footsteps in the distance that quickly got louder. "Oh? Looks like we got our first winner..." Chris said to himself as he stood up from the chair.
Chris was then greeted by the Lightning Squad of all teams, rushing out of the forest first and stopping in front of Chris. "No way! We're the first ones back!" Mike exclaimed as they arrived.
"You know, for once you were all worth something." Heather commented, delightfully surprised about their win.
"HOOT HOOT!" Wayne and Raj cheered together, high fiving happily, with Lightning then joining in the high fives.
Chris looked over their team, then shook his head. "Ah ah, you're still missing a bolt or whatever you guys call yourselves!" Chris informed them.
Cameron did a quick head count, his eyes widening once he finished. "We're still missing Shawn..." he noted with dread.
"Crap, did anyone tell him we were heading back?" Mike asked the others.
B just shook his head, and Owen shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't even see the guy this morning man. Maybe he got lost?" Owen guessed.
Before they could guess further, more footsteps were heard, followed by the quick arrival of the Screaming Gophers. "Nuts, a team got here before us dudes!" Geoff let out as they arrived.
Chris shook his head, giving the team a thumbs up after looking them over. "Quite the opposite! The Lightning Squad is still missing Shawn, so you guys win since you're all actually here!" Chris announced that they had actually won.
The Gophers then erupted into cheers again, with Jo in particular smug about winning again. "That's how we do it people!" Jo boasted, pumping a fist in the air.
Julia aimed her phone at her whole team in selfie mode, holding up a peace sign with her other hand. "Smile everyone! 5 challenges in and we're all still here, #Squadgoals!" Julia celebrated, then took a picture with her whole team.
Ezekiel sighed with relief that they were safe again, which Damien took notice of and patted him on the back. "Guess we got some more time to improve, you stayed under the radar though, so I'd say that's progress." Damien told him with a smile, making Ezekiel smile back.
Shawn then came running out of the forest, covered in sap and leaves. "Aaaand there's the last bolt! Lightning Squad gets second place!" Chris declared.
Shawn earned some angry looks from his team, particularly Lightning, Wayne, and Raj, although he didn't seem too bothered. "Sorry for running late, got woken up by you guys leaving and I fell from the tree I was sleeping in. Still safe though!" Shawn apologized.
"You cost us the game, it ain't matter if we're safe, you took the win from the Lightning!" Lightning yelled at Shawn.
"There's just no winning with you is there..." Shawn mumbled as Lightning marched up to him.
"What was that!? You ain't gonna win!? Prepare to get struck by Lightning! Sha-bam!" Lightning shouted, then threw a punch at Shawn, which he quickly dunked under.
The next team took a bit longer to arrive, with Axel, Scarlett, and Scott being the first to arrive, while the rest of their members came shuffling in groggily. "Killer Bass, 3rd place! What happened with you guys?" Chris asked them, seeing that a majority were in terrible condition.
Emma was holding her chest in pain and hunched over, looking up at Chris as she walked onto the campgrounds. "I think we got food poisoning..." she answered weakly.
LeShawna nodded in agreement, holding back vomit. "Whatever we ate last night did not go down well..." LeShawna added.
Axel scoffed, putting both hands on her hips. "Should've eaten the squirrel meat like I said." Axel taunted them sternly.
Scott scratched his head, looking over his team perplexed. "That's so weird! Jasmine said all the food was safe to eat! Did she do this on purpose?" Scott asked curiously.
Jasmine glared at Scott, clutching her stomach. "I'm sick too, don't you dare start sayin' I did this on purpose ya bloke." Jasmine defended herself right away.
Scott just shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "Well you still did it, just stating the facts and asking an honest question. We would've won if you looked over our food better." Scott pointed out.
Courtney sat down on the ground and looked up at Scott, also annoyed. "Now isn't the time for this, I feel like I'm gonna puke again..." Courtney told him, one hand cupped over her mouth.
With three teams now present, Chris pulled out his phone to see where the Trout were. "Huh, they're still at their camp. Interesting. I'll send Chef to go get them!" Chris said to himself, then put his phone back in his pocket.
Chris then looked between the tree teams, who were all looking his way now that a few moments had passed. "Since the Screaming Gophers and Lightning Squad got here first, they're safe from elimination tonight! Killer Bass, I'll be seeing you after the Ferocious Trout boot one of their own! You can all head to the infirmary to get your stomachs pumped in the meantime!" Chris informed the three teams, before walking off to go get Chef.
-Confessional: Lightning Squad: Shawn-
Shawn wiped some of the leaves off himself, looking a little sheepish. "Okay so I almost cost my team safety. But we were still safe! I was actually looking for the idol, I'm gonna need it with Lightning breathing down my back. But still no luck so far. They don't need to know that though, I'm keeping my idol searches secret!"
-End Confessional-
Back at the Ferocious Trout camp, Caleb had failed to knock down their wall, as did Eva, but help soon arrived when Chef used a buzzsaw to cut through their entrance, nearly cutting Caleb in the process. "Woah! Chef!?" Caleb let out, backing away from the wall once part of the entrance just fell down.
Chef nodded, resting his buzzsaw on his shoulder now. "Yup, y'all lost! The other teams all made it back already! So you're gonna have to vote someone off first tonight! Now get walking back to camp, Chris needs y'all back before sundown!" Chef quickly explained to them, then got back on his red buggy and sped off.
Scary Girl and Sam left together first, followed by the trio of Millie, Sadie, and Dawn. As everyone started to get into their groups as they made the trek back to camp, Brick walked up to Alejandro, Caleb, Sky, and Eva. "Well, who are we voting for tonight mates?" Brick asked them.
"Pretty sure some eyes are on you tonight amigo." Alejandro warned Brick.
Eva nodded in agreement, crossing her arms. "You're lucky you're one of our stronger players. Or I'd vote you off right now for wasting my time." Eva told Brick coldly.
Brick tensed up at this, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks for the honesty. But what I we voted for Scary Girl then? She's been creeping out a lot of people and I'm pretty sure Dawn and her friends are voting for her." Brick suggested.
Caleb gave a thumbs up to the idea, as did Sky. "Works for me. We're just lucky Alejandro got her out of the tent last night. After what she did to Cody I don't want to sleep anywhere near her." Caleb stated.
Sky nodded in agreement. "She isn't much of a team player either, she seems to just be doing her own thing. I'll do some asking around when we get back to camp, and if another name comes up I'll let you guys know." Sky told the others, then jogged ahead to hurry back to camp.
Sky ran past Bowie and Trent in the process, both a little confused by this. "She's in a rush even though we already lost. Gotta admire the effort at least." Trent commented to Bowie.
"Nah I think it's just extra." Bowie replied, annoyed for the second time this challenge with her.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Bowie-
Bowie thought over his options, one hand tapping his chin and the other on his hip. "I have to think about tonight's vote pretty carefully. It might be best for everyone to take out Scary Girl, but she isn't a strategical threat if you think about it. No one wants to work with her, so she doesn't have any alliances. We can get her out down the road. I need to make sure my vote is used to further my own game than someone else's!"
-End Confessional-
Nightfall soon came, and the 15 members of the Ferocious Trout walked through the woods that led to the elimination ceremony together while dramatic music played. Scary Girl happily led the group to the ceremony, while the rest of the cliques watched her with worry. Scary Girl looked back at them, making Dawn yelp in the process, while all the animals in the area hid at her presence.
A blue firework went off in the distance, then exploding into the Trout's logo as they arrived at the elimination pit. In the front row sat Sky, Brick, Alejandro, Eva, Trent, Bowie, and Caleb, while in the back row sat Sadie, Millie, Dawn, Sam, Scary Girl, Lindsay, Beardo, and Ripper. "Despite losing worse than the Bass, you guys look in better shape than them! Guess you really boxed yourselves into this loss, and now you're paying the price!" Chris greeted the team, with no one laughing at his pun.
Chef was at his side, staring down the Trout he was going to tear into. "Brick! You came up with the fence idea, and while it kept your team safe, it also kept them from actually finishing the challenge!" Chef scolded Brick's leadership.
"An honest mistake, I accept full responsibility!" Brick declared, not shirking it off onto someone else.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Brick-
Brick had one heart on his chest, looking worried. "It could be me going tonight, but I trust my team will make a smart decision and recognize the strengths of keeping me. If I do go, I only did this to myself."
-End Confessional-
Chef looked to Scary Girl next, hesitating to even point a finger at her. "Scary Girl! You creeped out everyone on your team, and you broke Cody's arm the day before! Seems people might be done with your schtick!" Chef explained why it could be her.
"Oh they won't vote me out, they know what'll happen!" Scary Girl replied, looking to the people in the front row with a sinister smile.
Chef was just glad she wasn't smiling at him, and moved right along. "And Ripper! You've also been ticking off your team, disappeared to who knows where last night, and just aren't making a good case for yourself all around!" Chef went over why he could go, just annoying him further.
-Confessional: Ferocious Trout: Ripper-
Ripper was still covered in scratches, now looking at the camera bitterly. "How is it my fault they locked me out!? And ticked off my team!? I'm trying to warn them about Alejandro! Not my fault they aren't listening!"
-End Confessional-
Chris now had the ballot box in his hands, setting it down on the oil barrel podium in front of him. "You've all cast your votes, and because we ran out of marshmallows basically immediately since we only bought enough for 22 people, I'll just be reading them out right here from now on!" Chris stated, letting the tensions brew as he grabbed the first vote.
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"Brick."
Brick sighed as he saw Chris turn around the first vote to see his name written down.
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"Scary Girl."
Scary Girl didn't seem to react at all to seeing her name written down, just gleefully smiling forward.
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"Scary Girl."
Chris turned around another Scary Girl vote, which had a skull scribble next to it.
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"Scary Girl."
Sky glanced over at Scary Girl, who stared right back at her as she did so, prompting the gymnast to just keep looking forward as Chris read the votes.
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"Brick. That's two votes Brick, three votes Scary Girl."
Brick had his arms crossed, already expecting to get a couple votes.
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"Alejandro."
Alejandro raised an eyebrow seeing his name, but remained calm.
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"Alejandro. We're at 3 Scary, 2 Brick 2 Al now."
Alejandro looked behind him to see if anyone was looking his way, but his eyes locked with no one to his dismay.
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"Brick."
Brick just nodded in acceptance, again expecting to have a few.
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"Brick."
Brick got a bit uneasy now, while Caleb began to wonder where the Brick votes were coming from.
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"Scary Girl."
Scary Girl again didn't seem phased, just tilting her head a little.
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"Scary Girl."
Sam worriedly looked over at Scary Girl now, resting his head on his palms.
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"Brick. We're at 5-5-2 now."
Ripper looked over at Eva now with a concerned look, although she refused to look back at him.
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"Brick."
Brick's eyes now widened, while Scary Girl's smile only grew bigger.
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"8th person voted off Total Drama Island, Brick. That's 7 votes, that's enough. Your tour is over soldier!" Chris announced as he turned the last vote needed around, showing Brick's name with a stick figure giving a salute.
Brick stood up from his seat, looking at his now ex-comrades. "Well, I can't say I didn't have fun meeting all of you. While I wish I could have stayed longer, it was my own failure that caused this. I'll accept this with dignity." Brick told his teammates, giving them one last salute.
Trent, Caleb, Bowie, Dawn, Alejandro, and Sky all saluted him back, softening the blow a little. "Was nice knowing you man." Trent told him, sad to see him go.
-Parting Confessional: Brick-
Brick rested his hands on his knees, having a pained smile on his face. "I got too big for my station. I won't sugarcoat it. I don't know when it happened, but I just lost sight of how I was supposed to lead this team. And I wasn't even the captain! Sky, best of luck leading and doing better than me! Semper fi!"
-End Confessional-
Brick now walked down the Dock of Shame, marching dutifully to the end. Once he was there, he gave one last salute to his former team at the campfire pit, before the Drone of Despair then swooped down to pick him up. "Thank you all for letting me serve! It was a-" Brick began to thank them, before the drone then grabbed the arm he was saluting with.
"OW! Help! Help! It got my wrist! CHRIS!" Brick cried out for help as he was carried off, hanging by his right arm.
Chris just waved as Brick was carried off, then looked to the rest of the Gophers. "Off goes your third solider, maybe this is the one that'll get you guys to get your act together? Well regardless, you can go back to your cabins and rest, we've still got another ceremony tonight." Chris dismissed the team, prompting everyone to get up from their seats and now walk back together.
Cutting back to the woods, the 15 members of the Killer Bass walked along the path that led to the elimination ceremony together while dramatic music once again played. They had their stomachs pumped, so everyone was back to normal condition. Axel led her team down the path, while Zee just looked at his teammates confused at all the tension he had zero clue on what was actually going on.
Another firework went off over the lake, this time being a red one that burst into the Killer Bass logo once they arrived at the pit. In the front row sat Priya, Nichelle, Samey, Chase, Zee, Scott, and Izzy, while in the back row sat Rodney, Scarlett, Courtney, Jasmine, Emma, LeShawna, Noah, and Axel. "Funny seeing you guys again! Guess you missed me pretty quickly!" Chris teased the Bass as he greeted them.
"Ha ha, very funny..." Courtney fake laughed, wanting to just get this over with.
Chef looked over the Bass, more mad at some of them than the Trout. "Chase! You didn't do any leading even though you were the captain, and you really aren't doin' yourself favors with how you're talkin' to people!" Chef criticized Chase.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Chase-
Chase groaned, crossing his arms. "Ugh, so I forgot to do my Youtube apology tour with all the food poisoning and story time that night. But who cares? I'll be fine!"
-End Confessional-
Chef moved on to his next target, who already expected to be called out. "Jasmine! You didn't check your teams' food close enough like you said you would, which cost your team valuable time being sick and miserable!" Chef called out Jasmine.
Jasmine rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "What happened, happened. I ain't the one who collected whatever made us sick." Jasmine defended herself simply.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Jasmine-
Jasmine had her hands on her knees, mostly looking annoyed. "Scott threw my name out there tonight, but I talked to Courtney and a few of our other capable players. I know exactly who is going home tonight."
-End Confessional-
"And Axel!" Chef moved onto his last target, who just let out an annoyed grunt upon being called upon.
"What? You think I'm gonna get voted out for trying to feed my team? You're a moron if you think that." Axel guessed why he called her before he could even explain.
Chef paused, before just nodding. "Well, yeah. You kinda asked for it girl. But you're on the chopping block still!" Chef warned her nonetheless.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Axel-
Axel had both fists clenched, staring the camera with bitterness. "I made an honest effort to care for my own team, and they rejected it. Do they not know the first thing about survival? Those berries and nuts had no protein, and they got poisoned! Serves them right."
-End Confessional-
Once all the votes were written and accounted for, Chris walked back to his podium with the ballot box and set it down, staring at the mostly worried Bass with a delightful grin. "Seems like there's a lot of uncertainty with this group! I'll go ahead and read the votes." Chris commented smugly, then opened the ballot box.
Priya shifted in her seat a little and looked towards Scarlett, who nodded back at her. Noah was reading Dark Fallen Days with a bored look on his face, Nichelle was rubbing both arms in anticipation, and Scott just had smug grin on his face.
"First vote..."
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"Axel."
Axel rolled her eyes, putting both hands on her hips.
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"Jasmine."
Jasmine glanced at Scott with anger, before just looking forward again.
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"Scott."
Scott wiggled his fingers playfully at Jasmine, still smirking securely.
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"Jasmine."
Jasmine now wondered who was voting with Scott, but kept her attention forward still.
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"Scott."
Scott still didn't seem worried at all, just resting his head on his palm.
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"Axel. That's 2 votes Axel, 2 votes Jasmine, 2 votes Scott."
Axel let out a huff and crossed her arms, more bothered that she was even in consideration with the others.
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"Chase."
Chase sighed and looked over at Emma, who was glaring daggers back at him.
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"Jasmine."
Jasmine adjusted her hat, and kept on a stalwart face, now preparing in her mind for the worst.
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"Jasmine."
Jasmine leaned forward now, resting her arms on her legs as she waited to see the votes she was expecting.
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"Jasmine. We're at 5 votes Jasmine, 2 votes Scott, 2 votes Axel, 1 vote Chase."
Jasmine now grew worried, not expecting this many votes for her after everything.
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"Noah."
Noah perked up from his book, surprised to see his name written down.
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"Noah."
Noah now closed his book, raising an eyebrow at multiple votes.
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"Noah."
Noah's glanced to his right to see who was looking at him, noticing Courtney smirking right back at him.
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"Noah. That's 5 votes Jasmine, 4 votes Noah, 2 votes Axel, 2 votes Scott, 1 vote Chase, 1 vote left."
Noah rolled his eyes at Courtney and looked forward again with concern, ticked off to be in this position now. Jasmine gripped her seat, but looking far more concerned than Noah.
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"9th person voted off of Total Drama Island, Jasmine. Dock of Shame time, awight then!" Chris read the final vote, which had Jasmine's name with the J shaped like a boomerang.
Jasmine was shocked by this result, but ultimately maintained her composure and stood up. "Alright then. I see how this game is going to be played. I hope you all know you doomed yourselves listening to Scott." Jasmine warned everyone, glaring at Scott.
"Pretty sure we doomed ourselves letting you be the judge of what's safe to eat. But thanks for the advice." Noah snarkily remarked, his attitude back to his usual self.
"Can you ever learn to just shut up?" Courtney asked him, also upset with this outcome.
"Well these boys are your problem now, I tried to do my part. Catch you all on the flipside." Jasmine told off her team, then marched away from them all.
As Jasmine walked away, Chris whistled for a moment before gesturing back to the cabins. "Well that was a close vote, seems there's a lot of dissent going a lot of ways! That's all I've got for your guys tonight though, you can head back to camp!" Chris dismissed them, letting everyone get up and head back to their cabins.
-Confessional: Killer Bass: Scarlett-
Scarlett adjusted her glasses, then rested her hands on her lap as she faced the camera. "Jasmine was a big threat, and with the opening that Scott created, I seized the opportunity to take her out lest I miss my chance. While she was good for the team, she was not good for my game personal, tis just the way things go."
-Parting Confessional: Jasmine-
Jasmine crossed her arms, clearly upset about her boot but still controlled her emotions. "I put in all that work for this team, staying up until the final hour in the Awake-a-thon, kicking butt and coordinating our teams in dodgeball, and gathering up food for them, just for them to take me out the first chance they get. Some team. Those that voted me knew what they were doing, and what comes around will come around for them."
-End Confessionals-
Jasmine walked to the end of the Dock of Shame where Chris was waiting for her. "Let's just get this over with." Jasmine told Chris, burnt by her elimination.
The Drone of Despair didn't take long, swooping down to pick Jasmine up but ended up hitting her on the head. "OW! What in the blimey!?" Jasmine let out as she readjusted her hat.
Chris chuckled, giving a wave of dismissal. "Our bad! It's automatically set for average teen height, forgot to adjust that for this!" Chris apologized, looking up at Jasmine.
The Drone of Despair then hovered up a bit and grabbed onto Jasmine's head, carrying her off into the sky. "Very funny Chris, I'm sure you'll remember that one!" Jasmine sarcastically commented as she was carried off.
Chris laughed for a bit as he waved to her, then just smiled at the camera. "Yes, yes I will! Two stronger players took earlier exits than I was expecting tonight, but the game goes on! Who will fall next? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Island!" Chris concluded the episode, raising his arms with the last few words before things faded to black.
Teams Remaining:
Killer Bass: Chase, Axel, Rodney, Samey, Priya, Izzy, LeShawna, Courtney, Scott, Emma, Nichelle, Scarlett, Zee, Noah
Screaming Gophers: Jo, Tyler, Ezekiel, Bridgette, Amy, Geoff, Damien, DJ, Sierra, Topher, Blaineley, Julia, Dave, Harold, Ella, Dakota, Max
Ferocious Trout: Sky, Eva, Caleb, Alejandro, Bowie, Lauren, Ripper, Trent, Dawn, Millie, Lindsay, Beardo, Sam, Sadie
Lightning Squad: Lightning, Wayne, Raj, Shawn, Mike, Duncan, Heather, MK, B, Gwen, Beth, Owen, Staci, Cameron
Placements:
60th: Jasmine
61st: Brick
62nd: Cody
63rd: Zoey
64th: Katie
65th: Anne Maria
66th: Justin
67th: Sugar
68th: Leonard
Author's Note:
The long wait for this wasn't something I had planned at all, just between college, my comic, moving out, and a whole bunch of other things, this just ended up getting pushed back, but here we are nonetheless! Brick and Jasmine are characters that I see go super far in fics most of the time, so when it came to having powerful victims for our villains, they just ended up being logical choices to go here to give other characters more time in the light. Brick in particular I know I've neglected, but I do like the guy, trust me I swear I do. Just... he keeps being in the wrong place at the wrong time for my plots. I rank him at 22nd overall, he's got humor and heart, and I love him for it. Jasmine I'd put at 32nd, just a really solid character, but I think gets overshadowed by the sea of vibrant personalities from Pahkitew. Lemme know what you guys thought in the reviews as always, and I'll see you all next time!