"Welcome back to Total Drama Island: Return to Wawanakwa!" Chris greeted as the cameras panned in on him, "Before the break, Amalia won $10,000 and Devin won the Golden Marshmallow Necklace, giving him individual immunity for the upcoming elimination ceremony. Let's take a look at what the campers have in mind for who to vote for..."

--------

With that, the cameras panned on the female's side of the losers' cabin, where the Chaotic Cougars alliance and the ship of Daniel & Amalia gathered to discuss the upcoming elimination ceremony. They knew that there were two definitive sides; the post-team swap Merciless Moose and the Chaotic Cougars + Daniel & Amalia. Thus, all they had to figure out was who of the other alliance should be the target.

"Alright guys, let's take this meeting slowly and rationally," Veronica declared, "We've got to weigh out all the options."

"This is the time where I have to fully embrace my role as leader and get us to the final seven. The faster that I take control, the easier it'll be for everyone."- Veronica

"Well, we have three possible options: Katelyn, Ellie, & Kiana," Amalia noted, "Who is the most threatening to us?"

"Honestly, Katelyn is easily the most sly of the three," Rhythm expressed, "She should go so she can't mess up any of our games."

"I passed up on getting rid of Katelyn last time, and I am not gonna let one more opportunity pass me by again. She has to go."-Rhythm

"If I can put a suggestion out there, I think that Ellie could do the most amount of damage to us," Daniel admitted, "She knows stuff that none of us know."

"How so?" Tory asked, confused.

"When they leave the island, they get to watch all the previous episodes of the show, including ones from this season," Daniel revealed, "Remember Courtney from TDI? She knew everything that went down over the course of the season. Ellie probably knows the same kind of stuff."

"Can't we make the same argument for Zeyad though?" Matthew noted.

"The difference is that we know how Zeyad will act; Katelyn will go after him, and he will target Katelyn," Daniel reminded, "With Ellie, no one really hates her, so it's best to keep the enemies in the game so they go after each other instead of us."

"My pitch to the group is that Ellie has the potential to ruin our games much more than either Katelyn or Zeyad. In reality, I know that Ellie is gonna target me, while Katelyn & Zeyad probably  won't."- Daniel

"I'd rather just get rid of the hatred in this camp," Aaron admitted, "Katelyn & Zeyad are the ones most likely to cause drama."

"When I hear that Ellie might be the target, I feel the need to step in and divert attention to someone else. When the chips are down, she might be someone that I can rely on to keep me safe."- Aaron

"The problem is that we only have seven votes; we can't split the vote," Rhythm noted.

"Unless we can get Zeyad to vote with us," Daniel suggested, "We know that he's not going to align with Katelyn."

"Yeah, right," Tory remarked sarcastically, "After what we did to him, there's no way that he's aligning with us."

"Correction: after what you guys did to him; Amalia and I haven't done anything," Daniel noted, "Do you think that there's a chance that I could rope him into a deal to get rid of Katelyn?"

"I doubt that he'd say no," Rhythm admitted, "He doesn't really have a choice."

"This is why I wanted to keep Zeyad in the dark about me voting for him: now that he's back, I could really use him to flip the game on its head."- Rhythm

"Okay, let's get a plan in place then," Veronica reminded, "If Daniel can get Zeyad on our side, then we'll split the votes; Aaron, Tory, Matthew, & Zeyad will vote for Katelyn, and Daniel, Amalia, Rhythm, and I will vote for Ellie. On the re-vote, we'll vote for Katelyn."

"What happens if we can't get Zeyad?" Aaron asked.

"Then all seven of us are gonna have to vote for Katelyn," Veronica answered, "Any objections?"

"Nope," Matthew replied.

"Fine by me," Aaron agreed.

"What needs to happen, will happen," Amalia remarked.

"Obviously, I'm not keen on getting rid of Katelyn, and I know that Daniel isn't up for it either. But I know that Katelyn is gonna call on me to get rid of Daniel some time down the road. At the end of the day, my loyalty is to Daniel, and I've got to get rid of anyone wanting to get rid of him. That includes Katelyn."- Amalia

--------

While the alliance of seven pondered their options, the new Merciless Moose alliance talked about their options regarding the vote. In their minds, they only had six votes, which wasn't a majority. Of course, this assumed that Daniel & Amalia were still with them, which they clearly weren't, but they didn't know that. Nonetheless, they gathered in the dining room of the mini-mansion to discuss their next plan.

"Alright, now that we're together, we need to figure out where everyone stands," Katelyn declared, "Are we all still down for the alliance?"

"I'm fine with it," Devin agreed.

"I could use all the help that I can get," Ellie admitted.

"This alliance of four looks good to me. Hopefully Daniel & Amalia are still willing to work with us."- Devin

"Coming back into the game, I know that my best bet is to side with Katelyn. Even though I know that she voted for me, I know that she did it as a precaution to save herself. I'm hoping that she's loyal enough to not backstab me right away."- Ellie

"Kiana, are you fine with it?" Katelyn asked, having noticed Kiana being silent.

"Huh?" Kiana asked, having not paid attention, "Oh, uh...yeah, that's fine."

"It feels like I'm back in school working on a group project; I don't get much of a say, and the people in front of me are people that I can't stand. Ughhh!"- Kiana

"Y'know, I'm gonna make this a group discussion, because there's something that I think should be addressed," Devin declared, "Kiana, what's wrong?"

"I'm genuinely concerned for Kiana; as a friend, I don't want to see her in a bad spot. Hopefully by talking with Katelyn & Ellie, we can help her out and bring this group closer together."- Devin

"Kiana, is there something wrong?" Katelyn asked, confused, "How long has this been going on, Devin?"

"Honestly, ever since I asked for advice on how to tell you that I have a crush on you," Devin answered, being honest, "On that note, can I have an update on that?"

"Damn, I was really hoping that he'd forget about that. For those who don't know, when Devin told me that he liked me, he asked if we could 'get closer', like Daniel & Amalia. I told him that I'd think about it, but in reality, I don't want to get romantic with him at all. I just need to figure out the right way to say it."- Katelyn

"Devin, I think we have bigger issues to think about," Katelyn reminded before turning to Kiana, "Kiana, we're your allies, you can talk about anything with us."

"Y-you wouldn't understand..." Kiana claimed, feeling apprehensive.

"I'm not gonna push you one way or another, but you should know that we're here for you," Ellie reminded.

"I know that Kiana has a crush on Devin, and I know how uncomfortable it can be to admit it. So, I'm not gonna force her to do something that she doesn't want to do."- Ellie

"C'mon Kiana, we're friends," Devin reminded, wanting to help, "You can tell us anything!"

"Fine! If you want to know so badly, I'll tell you!" Kiana exclaimed as she violently stood up from her chair, "Devin, I like you! Like, not as a friend, but romantically!"

"I honestly can't take it anymore. It takes a lot to make me mad, but when I'm mad, you DO NOT want to be near me."- Kiana

"I've spent the past week thinking about you and I; you were the only person that I could trust to vent my feelings to, and knowing that I can't be with you makes me feel like such a loser!" Kiana screamed, nearly crying, "How do you think that makes me feel?!"

"Yikes..."- Devin

"Man, her voice is gonna be hoarse in the morning..."- Ellie

"Wow, this can't be....more incredible! This is exactly what I need to get Devin off my tail! All I've got to do is convince Devin to give Kiana a shot in a relationship, hope that their friendship can blossom into a romance, and hopefully this'll bring our alliance even closer."- Katelyn

"Y'know, maybe we should slow this down a bit," Katelyn suggested, "You guys have a good friendship going on, and we shouldn't let an argument like this ruin what you guys have, right?"

"Y-yeah..." Kiana agreed as she sat back down.

"Kiana, if you really like Devin, and Devin, if you want a relationship, why don't you two try and make something work?" Katelyn suggested.

"I'll say this: Kiana, you are a great girl, and I consider you to be a great friend, but I just don't have romantic feelings for you, alright?" Devin admitted, hoping that she wouldn't be hurt.

"Devin! She is such a nice girl!" Katelyn reminded, almost in Devin's face, "Can't you at least give it a shot?"

"Katelyn, you know how I feel!" Devin exclaimed, getting a bit upset, "I like you-"

"Listen to me, Devin," Katelyn demanded, grabbing him by the shirt collar, "I don't like you like Kiana likes you. If you want to have any chance of kissing a girl on this show, your best shot is to get with Kiana!"

"Katelyn..." Devin muttered, heartbroken.

"No! Listen: it's guys like you that make me furious, because you don't realize when girls don't like you!" Katelyn exclaimed, "No girl here would want you other than Kiana. Right Ellie?"

The trio looked over to see an empty seat at the table were Ellie once sat. What they failed to realize was that Ellie left the mini-mansion a few moments before. They were so caught up in their argument to notice that Ellie had left the table.

"Man, Katelyn is much ruder than I expected her to be. Rejecting me is one thing, but trying to force me into a relationship with someone that I simply do not have feelings for is just terrible! I feel really bad for Kiana though; she doesn't deserve it. Ugh...what am I gonna do about Katelyn...?"- Devin

"Have you ever seen someone light a firework and stand right next to it, waiting for it to fly off? No! I got out of there!"- Ellie

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No one could blame Ellie; if it could be avoided, anyone wouldn't want to be in a loud confrontation. However, there were some cases where an argument would be imminent, and those involved would have to prepare to go toe-to-toe. In a meeting between Zeyad, Daniel, and Amalia by the mess hall, something was going to be brought to light that would spark something big.

"Honestly Zeyad, I know that people around here don't like you, but I'm willing to work with you," Daniel assured.

"Zeyad is walking on thin ice; he knows that he's probably not gonna last much longer in this game. But until he leaves, he's gonna be extremely beneficial to my game."- Daniel

"Thank you so much," Zeyad thanked, "I'm extremely grateful for both of you."

"Well, we've always got to look at our options, and working with you seems like a good one," Amalia rationalized.

"So, you're certain that Katelyn is going home tonight?" Zeyad asked, wanting assurance.

"The plan is to split the votes," Daniel reminded, "We're praying that this works."

"I don't think we should split it," Zeyad admitted, "With the way that the votes have been going lately, I wouldn't trust anyone around here."

"Well, we'll take that into consideration," Daniel agreed.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, I need to ask you two a question," Zeyad declared, "When's the wedding?"

"One thing that I get to see from watching all the episodes is everyone's true personalities. What I like about Daniel & Amalia is that they seem so genuine with each other; neither of them are trying to manipulate the other person, they are actually in love. It's so cute!"- Zeyad

"Woah!" Daniel exclaimed, backing away, "We're way too far to be thinking about that!"

"I'll agree with you on that one," Amalia agreed, giggling, "Ah, come here."

"With pleasure," Daniel agreed as the two of them shared another kiss.

"Wow, you two are so in love!" Zeyad commented.

"I know!" Amalia agreed, "It's like it was meant to be!"

"It's like nothing can separate you two!" Zeyad claimed, "I'm so glad that Daniel forgave you!"

"Forgave her for what?" Daniel asked, confused.

"No! No! No!" Amalia mouthed to Zeyad, hinting to him to stop talking.

"Y'know, how you forgave her for voting for you last time," Zeyad explained, having not noticed Amalia's motions.

"Wha-?" Daniel muttered as he turned to face his girlfriend, "You voted for me?"

"Uh..." Amalia muttered, scared.

"*loud cursing*"- Amalia

"Oops...I'm guessing she didn't tell him. Hey, I can't be blamed; I only saw episodes 1-9! I came back before I could see the aftermath of the elimination ceremony."-Zeyad

"Amalia, tell me the truth: did you vote for me?" Daniel asked in a serious tone.

"Y-y-yes..." Amalia admitted, nearly crying, "But Katelyn made me do it! I was scared that you were just stringing me along and she convinced me to do it. But I don't think that anymore! I love you, Daniel! You're the one that I trust, please believe me...!"

With that, Amalia leaned over and landed in Daniel's lap, nearly crying her eyes out. One of her biggest fears came true: Daniel just found out that she tried to vote him out. Even though she regretted it, she wasn't sure if Daniel would believe her at all. She envisioned him breaking up with her, telling all of her allies, and voting her out, but what happened next was completely different than anything she had dreamed of.

"Wait, Katelyn told you to do this?" Daniel asked, wanting confirmation.

"Yeah..." Amalia cried out, still in Daniel's lap.

"See! That proves that Katelyn is a terrible person!" Zeyad noted, "That's why Katelyn needs to go!"

"Zeyad, stay with Amalia," Daniel ordered as he gently lifted Amalia off of him, got up, and left the room.

"Daniel? Daniel?" Zeyad called out, to which he got no response, "Amalia, follow me. Daniel! Daniel!"

Zeyad got up to follow Daniel whilst pulling Amalia with him. He continued to call out for Daniel, but it was no use; Daniel kept on walking towards the cabins, visibly upset. Zeyad wasn't sure what Daniel was going to do, but he was a bit scared.

"Hey," Daniel called out as he looked into the losers' cabin, surprising Veronica, Rhythm, Matthew, Tory, Aaron, and Devin, "Where's Katelyn?"

"She's in the mini-mansion," Devin answered.

"Everyone follow me," Daniel demanded as he stepped out of the cabin, forcing everyone to follow him, "I need you all to hear this,"

"If Katelyn thinks that she has any right to manipulate Amalia in the way that she did, she's sorrily mistaken. You don't turn my girlfriend into an emotional wreck and believe that you can get away with it."- Daniel

"Katelyn!" Daniel shouted as he burst into the living room of the mini-mansion, where Kiana, Ellie, and Katelyn rested.

"Woah man," Katelyn remarked, surprised, "What's your deal?"

"I'm gonna have an open discussion," Daniel declared as the remaining campers followed him into the living room, "I've just been told that Katelyn voted for me at the last elimination ceremony."

"And...?" Katelyn asked, wanting to see a point.

"I'd like to know if it was true or not," Daniel clarified, not wanting to get loud.

"Well, yeah, it was true," Katelyn confirmed as she stood up from her seat, "But just to let you know, Amalia did it too; I'm not the only guilty one."

"I know that she did, but I also heard that you manipulated her into doing it," Daniel noted.

"Also true, but she had no problem with it," Katelyn claimed.

"Actually, Amalia was crying her eyes out while trying to figure out if it was the right decision," Zeyad corrected, recalling the previous episode.

"Shut up, Zeyad!" Katelyn exclaimed, "No one asked you!"

"Everyone, I just want to make something clear: if you're gonna throw someone under the bus to me when the the situation involves me, I will confront them about it," Daniel explained.

"Yeah, and just so everyone knows, Daniel & I had an alliance, so he's just broken it," Katelyn revealed.

"And you broke it first by voting for me," Daniel noted.

"I can confirm that," Zeyad added.

"Thank you, Zeyad," Veronica thanked, wanting to get in on the conversation, "For once, you've done us well."

"This confirms to us that Katelyn cannot be trusted. I don't want to take any chances; I don't think that we should split the vote."- Veronica

"This is the best! Now Katelyn is finally gonna get what's coming to her!"- Zeyad

"This couldn't have worked out any better. Everyone knows that Katelyn is a liar, Zeyad is grateful because I just made him look good, and Amalia is glad because I just stepped up for her, and confirmed my unwavering loyalty to her. It's a win-win-win."- Daniel

"Attention campers!" Chris called out from the loudspeakers, "It's time for the elimination ceremony! Please head down to the campfire area now!"

"Let's go everyone!" Daniel ordered as the group left the mini-mansion, "We know what to do!"

"What do we do?" Ellie asked, whispering to Katelyn.

"I've got a plan..." Katelyn muttered, "And it will work..."

--------

The group eventually made their way over to the campfire area where they sat on their respective stumps in silence. The tension was so evident that if you tried to cut it, the knife would break. This would be the first time that everyone in the competition would be voting as individuals, so the mood was tense as no one knew for certain with how the vote would pan out.

"Welcome to the first post-merge elimination ceremony!" Chris welcomed, "As you know, Devin is safe, so you can't vote for him. When you enter the Confession Can, you must X-out the picture of the person that you want out. After I check the votes to make sure that they haven't been tampered with, I'll tally them and hand out the marshmallows to those who are safe. Whoever doesn't receive a marshmallow will be forced to walk down the Dock of Shame and ride the Submarine of Losers away from the island. Now vote!"

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"You're much more trouble than you're worth."- Veronica

"Daniel, if you really think that you can take me down so easily, here's a tip: you don't take down a monster by cutting off its head; you attack its heart."- Katelyn

"I don't know what just happened, but I do know that I can't keep you around any longer."- Tory

"To quote a wise woman, I knew you were trouble when you walked in. No, I'm not a fan of her music, but the case still applies: I can't trust you."- Rhythm

"I came back into this competition wanting to make a splash, and this was the perfect way to do it. See ya'!"- Zeyad

"I'm sorry, I'm just following the leader."- Kiana

"F**k you."- Amalia

"I've got to stand by my girl. If she goes, I'm alone, so sorry."- Ellie

"I just can't trust you. I don't like to vote people out, but this is what I need to do to save my game."- Matthew

"Sorry, but I can't take any chances. I've got to get rid of you to take the target off of my back."- Devin

"I've been talking around with people and apparently, this is the plan."- Aaron

"Again, every risk I take is very calculated. That fight was a ploy to put me in this position. Hopefully you're the one going home."- Daniel

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"Alright campers!" Chris called out, trying to get everyone's attention, "It's time to-"

"Hold on, Chris," Katelyn interrupted as she stood up and began walking towards Chris, "I know that these people want me out, but they're gonna have to try a bit harder to break me. 'Cause it ain't happening."

With that, Katelyn whipped out her invincibility statue and handed it off to Chris, resulting in a rouse of groans and complaints from the majority of the other campers. That all but confirmed to her that she made the right decision. She knew that she was the target, and this made her feel empowered.

"That means that Katelyn has immunity," Chris declared, "And just to note: Katelyn did receive the majority of the votes."

"Hey Chris!" Daniel shouted as he stood up and began walking towards him, "Time for some more drama!"

"Woah..." Kiana muttered as she watched Daniel pull out an invincibility statue and turn to face Katelyn.

"Katelyn, pick a number between 1 and 2.6," Daniel demanded.

"Twenty-nine," Katelyn replied confidently, completely disregarding the question.

"I'm playing this for Amalia," Daniel declared as he tossed the statue to Chris and walked back to his seat.

"What?" Ellie commented, shocked.

"How did you...?" Katelyn muttered, surprised.

"Aww..." Amalia remarked as she went to kiss Daniel on the cheek as he sat down, "Thank you!"

"Don't mention it," Daniel insisted as he kissed Amalia on the lips.

"Wow. With that, Amalia is also safe," Chris declared, "And on another note: Amalia received the next highest amount of votes!"

"Yeah!" Tory shouted as the Chaotic Cougars alliance began high-fiving each other.

"Good call, Daniel!" Matthew praised.

"Looks like it's a re-vote," Veronica commented.

"Oh...no no no. It's not gonna be a re-vote," Chris revealed, "Aside from the voided votes, there are still three votes that count!"

That announcement immediately changed the mood of the entire area; everyone was concerned. Even though Devin, Amalia, and Katelyn had immunity, they were all still scared; they didn't know who else could've received votes. That struck fear into everyone's minds that someone was about to be blindsided.

"The following people are safe," Chris began as he started tossing marshmallows, "Katelyn, Amalia, Kiana, Tory, Devin, Aaron, Rhythm, Matthew, Veronica, and Daniel! The two people on the chopping block tonight are Zeyad & Ellie."

At this point, everyone was still shocked; given that Zeyad and Ellie just reentered the game, many of them thought that they'd at least get one day of grace so they could stay in the competition a little longer. However, for one of them, it wasn't meant to be. That left Zeyad and Ellie scared, trying to figure out where either of them went wrong.

"The last marshmallow of the night goes to.....Ellie," Chris revealed as he tossed her the marshmallow, "Sorry Zeyad, but you're out again."

"WHAT?!!" Zeyad exclaimed as he stood up, shocked, "Are you kidding me?! I actually did something good this time!"

"Walk the plank, dude," Katelyn remarked, proud, "It was meant to be!"

"Y'know what? Fine! I'm gone!" Zeyad replied as he began walking away.

--------

"Hold on!" Daniel ordered as he got up and ran to Zeyad, "Listen here."

The group was silenced as Daniel whispered something in Zeyad's ear, but none of them were able to understand it. After about ten seconds, Chef Hatchet picked up Zeyad and began carrying him down the Dock of Shame. Daniel rejoined the group as Zeyad was tossed into the Submarine of Losers and driven away from the island.

"What did you tell him?" Katelyn asked openly to Daniel.

"I just made it clear to him that I didn't vote him out," Daniel answered in an honest tone.

"Now that I'm at the merge, I need to ensure that every person that gets voted out understands that I tried not to cross them. Of course, there's some people with with which that'll be impossible, but I've got to try my hardest to manage a social game."- Daniel

"Alright, before I send you to bed, Devin has to make two crucial decisions," Chris declared, "Devin, you need to pick one person to go to Boney Island for the night, and one person to join you in the mini-mansion for the night. Who will each person be?"

That news send another shockwave through the other campers. Knowing the extra advantages that came with winning immunity motivated everyone even further. Many of them hoped that Devin would pick them for either option, and waited patiently as Devin pondered his decisions.

"I'll...send Aaron to Boney Island," Devin declared as he thought over his next move, "And...I'll let Daniel join me in the mini-mansion."

"Awesome!" Aaron and Daniel exclaimed as they gave Devin a fistbump, "Thanks!"

"No problem," Devin responded.

"This is the time for me to start playing my own game. I've got to make my own alliances and execute my own ideas."- Devin

"Alright; Aaron, there's a boat somewhere down the beach that will take you to Boney Island," Chris revealed, "As for the rest of you, I bid you a goodnight. Get some sleep!"

With that, Aaron left for Boney Island, Devin & Daniel went to the mini-mansion, while everyone else went to the losers' cabin, leaving Chris standing happily on the beach. As for his thoughts on the first post-merge episode, he was content, knowing all of the drama and chaos that went on over the past day.

"Well, that wraps up another exciting and drama-filled episode," Chris narrated as he talked to the main camera, "What arguments will ensue next? What will Aaron do on Boney Island? And who will be voted out next? Find out next time, right here, on Total...Drama...Island:...Return to Wawanakwa!"

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Votes:

Veronica: Katelyn (Voided)

Katelyn: Amalia (Voided)

Tory: Katelyn (Voided)

Rhythm: Katelyn (Voided)

Zeyad: Katelyn (Voided)

Kiana: Amalia (Voided)

Amalia: Katelyn (Voided)

Ellie: Amalia (Voided)

Matthew: Katelyn (Voided)

Devin: Zeyad

Aaron: Zeyad

Daniel: Ellie