"Last time on Total Drama Island: Return to Wawanakwa..." Chris began through a voiceover, "The campers were thrown for a loop when they were forced to switch teams, including the addition of a brand new team, the Chaotic Cougars."

*shows shots of the campers breaking eggs and gathering in their new teams*

"Having been forced to make new alliances, Rhythm made a deal with Veronica, Zeyad continued his blabbering, Katelyn continued her reign as the queen of the Merciless Moose, and Daniel helped create the newest couple of Total Drama."

*shows shots of Rhythm shaking hands with Veronica, Zeyad talking to the men on his team, Katelyn leading her team's discussion, and Daniel talking with Laila & Alejandro*

"The immunity challenge required the campers to showcase their talents. Amalia brought the audience to tears, Devin put the audience to sleep, and Callie raised her voice for the first time in this competition. In the end, it came down to a tiebreaker.

*shows shots of Amalia playing the piano & singing, Devin struggling to tell jokes, and Callie rapping on stage*

"Katelyn feigned an injury to try and gain sympathy, but it ultimately cost her team the victory as she scored less points than Rhythm's beatboxing and Daniel's freerunning."

*shows shots of Katelyn pretending to be injured, Rhythm beatboxing, and Daniel doing a quasimodo*

"Back at camp, Katelyn tried to play both sides while also trying to shift blame onto the nicest camper, but after Kiana spilled the beans to Ellie and Callie, a plan was made to dethrone the queen."

*shows shots of Katelyn talking to all her teammates separately, Kiana accidentally telling Ellie the true plan, and Ellie, Callie, & Kiana making a plan*

"But in the end, Kiana couldn't muster the courage to betray her closest ally, and Callie was sent packing."

*shows shots of Kiana voting for Callie, and Callie walking down the Dock of Shame*

"Fifteen are left. Who will be voted out this time? Find out here, on Total...Drama...Island:...Return to Wawanakwa!"

--------

The cameras turned their attention to the females' side of the losers' cabin, where Kiana, Ellie, and Katelyn laid in their beds in complete silence. A lot of drama went on over the past few hours, and none of them seemed to want to address it. It was interesting how the team was suddenly quieter after they eliminated their quietest member.

"...Is no one gonna say anything...?" Kiana whispered, not expecting anyone to answer.

"This cabin is way too quiet. It's like we all turned into mimes! Normally, I'm fine with silence, but this is super daunting!"- Kiana

"Alright..." Kiana muttered as she turned over in her bunk, "I'll just go to sleep..."

"Y'know what? Screw it," Ellie declared as she sat up and looked at her fellow female teammates, "Callie was such a good player for us! She did not deserve to leave!"

"To think, I lost my two closest allies in two consecutive days. My back is against the wall and I've got to do anything that I can to stay alive. I've just got to figure out what exactly I can do."- Ellie

"None of us deserved to leave," Katelyn claimed, sitting up to face Ellie, "But we had to pick someone."

"What about Devin?" Ellie asked, "Like you said, he was a terrible performer!"

"I kept Devin because he's trustworthy," Katelyn claimed.

"Just because Callie gave a shocking performance doesn't mean that she's untrustworthy!" Ellie remarked.

"True," Katelyn admitted before continuing, "But it shows that she has the ability to deceive people. And besides, we've only got one guy on our team; Callie cannot face off against guys like Alejandro or Tory or Daniel like Devin can."

"Irrelevant," Ellie dismissed, "Callie was still our best performer in the challenge."

"Okay...so I can't debate my way out of this one. I guess I'm gonna have to use diplomacy."- Katelyn

"Here's the way I'll put it:" Katelyn began as she walked over to Ellie's bunk, "I was the leader on my last team, and I felt the need to take the lead on this team."

"No one named you leader," Ellie pointed out.

"No one stopped me," Katelyn retorted, rolling her eyes, "Anyways, I had to make a decision for the good of the team. Let's face it: we're not going to get another singing challenge. At the end of the day, I bring leadership, you bring athleticism, Kiana brings towering height, and Devin brings masculinity. Callie was the only person that we could afford to lose."

"I mean, Katelyn has a point," Kiana insisted, having joined her teammates, "She had no ill intentions."

"That wasn't how it seemed when you told me her plan," Ellie remarked, causing Katelyn to turn to Kiana in shock.

"You told her the plan?" Katelyn asked, shocked.

Kiana didn't respond; all that she could do was stare at Katelyn and mumble incoherently. She had hoped that Ellie would simply forget to tell Katelyn that she spilled the beans, and now she felt as if she had failed a big exam. By voting for Callie, she hoped to prove her loyalty to Katelyn, but now it seemed all for naught.

"I'm pretty upset that Kiana leaked the plan. However, I feel like she did it because she was pressured to do it, not because she wanted to. I still trust her; I've just got to teach her to have a backbone and not let others boss her around. No one wants that, right?"- Katelyn

"Kiana...I don't blame you..." Katelyn began as she took a deep breath, and turned to Ellie, "The point is that I genuinely want this team to succeed. And going forward, we need to do what we can to win. We have to work together, be kind to each other, and and not let anyone go down a bad path. Understood?"

The group could only look at each other in awkward silence; none of them really knew how to proceed. Ellie didn't want to trust Katelyn, but she also didn't want to be alone. Kiana was wary of Katelyn's deceit, but she also didn't have any other allies. Katelyn knew that she was walking on thin ice, but was unsure if she could get herself out of the hole that she got herself in.

"There comes a point in time when people have to hold back the urge to backstab and just be loyal to those around them," Ellie rationalized, "Now is that time."

"Yeah...we've got to stick together," Kiana agreed.

"We don't have a choice," Katelyn noted, "All we have is each other, and playing this game with allies is definitely better than playing this game alone."

--------

No one in this game wanted to play this game alone. Without someone to strategize with, no plan could truly be solid. Without someone to trust 100%, you'd constantly be worried about being voted out, and it would take a toll on your mental state. Amalia was aware of this, and with Daniel on Boney Island, she surrounded herself with her closest friends and allies.

"Man, you must really care for him," Veronica remarked as her, Rhythm, and Laila sat with Amalia on her bed.

"Yeah..." Amalia agreed, laying back into her bed.

"I'm still processing it; you and Daniel?" Rhythm asked, still unsure if she heard her correctly.

"Yes!" Veronica answered, "What's the problem? Daniel's a nice guy."

"It's just that Amalia's talked a lot about wanting to be a rebel," Rhythm noted, turning to Amalia, "If you want to be a rebel, I don't know if making out with 'Mr.Goody Two-Shoes' is the right way to go."

"First off: we haven't made out...yet. We haven't even kissed...or held hands," Amalia admitted, a bit saddened by the lack of romantic actions, "Secondly, just because Daniel is a nice guy doesn't make him 'Mr.Goody Two-Shoes'."

"But he is a nice guy," Laila admitted, "He's the only reason why-uh..."

"Only reason what?" Rhythm asked, looking over at Laila.

"Okay, if you have a crush on Daniel, get out," Amalia ordered.

"No! I don't have a crush on him!" Laila retracted," It's just...um..."

"Me and my big mouth..."- Laila

"Looks like Amalia ain't the only girl here with a crush..." Veronica observed.

"Some people have liedar, some people have gaydar. I just happen to have crushdar; the ability to tell when someone has a crush on someone close by."- Veronica

"So you do like Daniel!" Amalia shouted angrily, pointing at Laila.

"No!" Laila interjected before taking a deep breath and telling the truth, "I have a crush on Alejandro..."

"Oh..." Amalia muttered, feeling bad for making a premature assumption, "Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it," Laila assured, smiling.

"Oh my God," Rhythm remarked, slamming her head into her hands,  "Why...?"

"Hey, it could be worse," Veronica noted, "She could've had a crush on Aaron instead."

"Why must all of y'all have crushes?" Rhythm complained.

"Reminds me way too much of school; all these girls crushing on the hunky and well-mannered guys. Ugh..."- Rhythm

"Laila, I'm gonna tell you the same thing that I told Amalia," Veronica revealed, "You can hang with him, but don't let it take over your life."

"Trust me, I've got self-control," Laila assured, "But hey, if it's our destiny to kiss in the next week, I'm gonna take it."

"Ahh..." Amalia sighed as she closed her eyes and imagined her and Daniel kissing.

"When you have a mind like mine, you can't help but envision different scenarios. I mean, who wouldn't want to kiss their crush? Just imagine: Daniel and I are outside in pouring rain; running towards each other, meeting together, and passionately kissing." *Sighs*- Amalia

--------

Little did Amalia know that her dream was almost a reality. On Boney Island, it was raining heavily, and Daniel was running around. The biggest differences were that Daniel was running around to try and find the Chris McLean Head of Invincibility, and he was with Tory instead of Amalia.

"Any luck, dude?!" Daniel asked, as he continued walking around.

"Nope!" Tory replied, keeping his focus on searching in a river.

"The clue said that the head was located in a secure place, under a wet covering. With the way I see it, the head must be underwater. Hopefully I find it; I could always use an advantage."- Tory

"This clue is completely different from the one I got last time I was here. So this must lead to another invincibility head. I've got to get my hands on it before Tory does."- Daniel

As Tory continued to search in the river, Daniel made his way around the river, looking for any significant landmarks. He only traveled about twenty-five feet when he spotted a small well in between two trees. Upon further inspection, the well seemed to be newly built, being made of polished bricks, ripe oak wood, a solid pulley, and refined double-braid rope.

"Wet roof, secure area. Works for me," Daniel muttered to himself as he looked back towards the river.

"Ugh....well, easy come, easy go!" Tory exclaimed as he thrust his head underwater to get a closer look at the floor of the river.

That was all that Daniel needed to ensure that Tory wasn't looking in his direction. Daniel proceeded to look into the well, in which he saw a small lamp that illuminated a large bucket with a chest in it. After gathering as much strength as possible, Daniel pulled on the rope, allowing the bucket to slowly rise, eventually making its way to the opening of the well. Using all of his remaining strength, Daniel yanked the chest out of the bucket and let the bucket fall back down the well. Turning over onto his front, Daniel opened the chest, already knowing what would be inside.

"Looks like we meet again..." Daniel remarked as he pulled a Chris McLean Head of Invincibility and a piece of parchment out of the chest.

"I knew that it'd be a good idea to come back! Now I've got two immunity heads! But now I've got to ensure that Tory doesn't know that I found this. Hmm..."- Daniel

After a few seconds of thinking, Daniel put the head into his vest,put the parchment back into the chest, and began to bring the chest to Tory. Daniel knew that if Tory managed to decipher that the well was the location of the invincibility head, he would find out that someone had already found it. Thus, he would point fingers at both him (Daniel) and Rhythm; the only other two people to have visited Boney Island. Daniel's best hope was to address the situation head-on.

"Dude!" Daniel shouted as he dropped the chest next to Tory, "I think we've got it!"

"No way!" Tory exclaimed as he stared at the chest, "Rock-Paper-Scissors for it?"

"We have to interpret this situation logically," Daniel declared, "Are you in a good spot on your team?"

"I mean...I guess so," Tory answered, "I've got Matthew and Aaron, and maybe Veronica & Zeyad."

"Maybe you should take the head," Daniel allowed, trying to be nice, "I don't think I'm in serious danger of being voted out on my team."

"You sure, man?" Tory asked, a bit shocked.

"Yeah," Daniel assured, "After all, when the merge comes, we're gonna need each other. I'll be fine."

"Alright, thanks!" Tory thanked as he gave Daniel a high-five before opening the chest, "What?"

"Empty?" Daniel asked, feigning cluelessness, "How is that possible?"

"The head was in here," Tory reported, reading the parchment, "But it's not in here!"

"Ugh...Rhythm must've found it," Daniel claimed.

"You didn't find it?" Tory asked.

"I'll be honest, if I found it, I wouldn't tell anyone. But who would tell someone?" Daniel remarked, trying to make a point, "Back to the topic: who else has been here besides us?"

"Uh...Rhythm!" Tory exclaimed, "And she's on my team!"

"Well...looks like you've got to keep an eye on her," Daniel warned, "Maybe make an alliance with her, but don't pester her about it."

"Right," Tory agreed, "The last thing I need is her coming after me."

"It's good to know that Daniel has my back even when we're on different teams. Hopefully we can both make it to the merge."- Tory

"I want to take every opportunity I can to build alliances. If we merge at ten, I need five people with me. Amalia, Tory, and Matthew shouldn't be a problem. Veronica would probably go along with it too. And if I can reel in Laila and Alejandro with us, we should be fine."- Daniel

--------

It was now morning, and all the campers had woken up in time for breakfast. While the Merciless Moose begrudgingly ate food from the mess hall, the Chaotic Cougars and the Wild Wolverines indulged themselves in the luxurious breakfast hall in the mini-mansion. This was the first time that two teams ate together, so it was certainly an interesting time for the campers. On the menu for today: build-your-own breakfast wraps.

"What did you put in yours?" Amalia asked to Veronica.

"Egg whites, blackberries, watermelon, and celery," Veronica answered as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Nice," Amalia remarked as she took a bite of her scrambled egg, avocado, lettuce, and bacon wrap.

"Hey," Rhythm called out as she sat next to the two girls, "I was thinking; we might not have a chance to have a strategy talk for a while if our teams don't both win immunity. I think that we should get a talk in while we can."

"Eh, sure," Veronica agreed.

"Rhythm is very eager to strategize. Not a bad quality to have when the chips are down."- Veronica

"Veronica, are you close to Tory and Matthew?" Rhythm asked.

"I guess so," Veronica replied, a bit unsure, "I mean, I don't think that they'd vote me out."

"Well, you've got to get talking to them," Rhythm insisted, "We need all the votes that we can if we're gonna vote out Aaron."

"Why don't you guys just get rid of Zeyad?" Amalia proposed, "From what I've heard, no one likes him."

"But he's willing to vote with us," Rhythm revealed, "As much as I don't want to align with him, we need him."

"Hey, there's no guarantee that your team will lose," Amalia noted, "Besides, the Merciless Moose will be in shambles now that no one trusts Katelyn. That'll buy us about four more voteoffs. Then we can form a majority alliance at the merge."

"Will we merge at ten?" Rhythm asked, seeking an opinion.

"Probably," Veronica remarked, "We'll need six votes. There's us three, Matthew, Tory, and Daniel I guess."

"What about Laila?" Rhythm asked, "She's trustworthy."

"She's with Alejandro," Veronica noted, "I've got a bad feeling about him."

"I haven't forgotten about how Alejandro catcalled Laila at the beginning of the game. I don't need that kind of guy in my life."- Veronica

"What if we throw the next challenge and vote him out?" Amalia suggested.

"No, we can't take that chance," Veronica warned, "Especially with Alexander being unpredictable."

In all fairness, Alexander was definitely shifty. He had spent the first week with little power, and now with a team swap, he wanted to take the opportunity to become a leader. With him having no 100% loyal ally, he decided to talk to Alejandro in hopes of potentially making a big move.

"So...what did you have in mind for the next vote?" Alexander asked.

"I don't want to think about that," Alejandro admitted, "We should focus on winning the next challenge."

"Of course!" Alexander agreed, "But if we lose, who should we vote out?"

"Um...whoever does bad in the challenge, I guess?" Alejandro answered, a bit unsure.

"Who do you think that'll be?" Alexander prodded, hoping to get an answer.

"I've got no idea," Alejandro claimed, hoping to end the conversation.

"Alexander isn't making a very good first impression. I mean, he certainly talks a lot, but you don't win this game by talking 'till the cows come home. You win by getting people to like you. I don't know if he realizes that."- Alejandro

"Why don't these people want to strategize?! We're here to win a million dollars! In order to win, you have to strategize! I don't think they realize that..."- Alexander

"Attention campers! It's time for your next challenge!" Chris announced through the loudspeakers, "Please make your way down to the beach!"

--------

The present thirteen campers reached the beach in no time. Upon reaching the beach, they all noticed twelve long ropes lying on the beach, each extending out to a buoy floating in the water. Roughly fifteen feet from the water was a black and white checkerboard line, presumably a finish line that extended the length of the beach. To the campers, this seemed like one of the least elaborate challenges, but based on the difficulty of the challenges that they've faced so far, they've learned to not underestimate any challenge.

"Good morning campers! At least, that's what it'll be until you actually start the challenge," Chris remarked before laughing, "But before we begin, let's bring in Daniel and Tory; fresh from Boney Island!"

Following that statement, a boat pulled pulled up near the shore, followed by Tory & Daniel jumping off the boat and running towards the remaining campers. Both were met warmly by their teammates, but that happy mood would soon turn sour for Daniel.

"Wait...Callie was voted out?" Daniel whispered to Amalia, who nodded in disappointment, "Dang..."

"I'm shocked. I didn't think that she'd be voted out yet. Hmm...Ellie has no reason to do it, and Kiana is too kind, so it's either Katelyn or Devin. I don't know which one orchestrated the plan, but they're working together for sure."- Daniel

"Alright! It's time for your next challenge!" Chris announced, causing all the campers to face him, "For this challenge, you will be tested in a feat of strength. Each team has four buoys in the water, weighing 150, 200, 250, and 300 pounds respectively. You must pull the buoys onto shore and then get them past the finish line by pushing, pulling, or carrying them. The first two teams to get their buoys past the finish line win immunity and the mini-mansion, while the last team will have to vote someone off the island."

"That sounds easy enough," Ellie remarked.

"NO!" Devin exclaimed, frustrated, "Now Chris is gonna add something terrible! Like, seventy laserbeams or landmines or somethin'!"

"Actually, I'm not adding anything dangerous this time," Chris revealed, "But don't think that I'm being nice. The lawyers prevent the show from having more than ten life-threatening challenges per season. And in showbiz, it's better to save the more dangerous challenges for the end so we can build up the viewer ratings."

"Of course it would," Katelyn muttered to Devin as she rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Excuse me!" Kiana called out as she waved her hand.

"Yes, Kiana?" Chris replied.

"Isn't this a bit unfair?" Kiana noted, pointing to the Chaotic Cougars, "I mean, they have six people and we have four! Aren't they gonna be faster?"

"Kiana's pretty nice. I mean, every reality show has to have a nice girl that everyone likes. Now that Callie is gone, maybe Kiana can become a fan-favourite."- Chris

"Thank you for pointing that out!" Chris thanked, "To even things out, only four campers from each team will compete today."

"This challenge is all you guys," Zeyad commented to his team.

"You might want to rethink that plan, Zeyad," Chris interrupted, "New rule for this season: a team cannot bench the same campers in back-to-back challenges. Therefore, Laila, Kiana, Matthew, and Zeyad must compete today."

"Aw man..." Matthew groaned.

"These buoys weigh more than I do! How am I supposed to pull them in?"- Matthew

"Don't worry, man," Aaron assured, as he flexed his muscles, "I'll pick up the slack with these muscles!"

"You might want to rethink that plan, Aaron," Chris interjected, "There's also a rule regarding the gender balances. Right now, the Merciless Moose are at a disadvantage, being the only all female team."

"HEY!" Devin exclaimed, offended.

"To make it fair, the Wild Wolverines must bench one male, while the Chaotic Cougars must bench two males. Understood?" Chris explained, resulting in nods from the remaining campers, "You have fifteen minutes to strategize. Go and talk amongst yourselves!"

"Who will stand out as the strongest of the bunch?" Chris asked rhetorically whilst turning to the main camera, "Will the campers collapse in exhaustion? And how long will we have to wait for these campers to finish the challenge? Find out after the break on Total...Drama...Island:...Return to Wawanakwa!"