"Last time on Total Drama Island: Return to Wawanakwa..." Chris spoke, "The campers were forced into a strength-testing challenge."

*Shows shots of the campers pulling buoys*

"With Matthew getting his kiwis in a jam, and Zeyad being unable to 'lend a hand', the Chaotic Cougars lost the challenge, forcing them to vote someone out."

*Shows shots of Rhythm dropping the buoy on Matthew, Zeyad getting his hand stuck under a buoy, and the Wild Wolverines & the Merciless Moose cheering*

"But it was after the challenge when things started to heat up. Alejandro & Laila got closer, Alexander threw Daniel & Amalia under the bus, and Daniel managed to secure himself an alliance with Queen Katelyn."

*Shows shots of Alejandro and Laila resting in the hot tub, Alexander talking to Alejandro & Laila, and Daniel talking to Katelyn, Devin, and Kiana*

"As for the losing team, while Zeyad continued playing both sides, Veronica and Rhythm created a plan to blindside him, which left Aaron with a tough decision."

*Shows shots of Zeyad talking to everyone on his team, Veronica and Rhythm talking, Aaron and Veronica talking, and Aaron trying to think*

"When the time came, Aaron got Tory & Matthew on board, and all of Zeyad's teammates betrayed him and sent him to the Dock of Shame."

*Shows shots of Aaron, Tory, Matthew, Veronica, and Rhythm voting for Zeyad, and Zeyad walking down the Dock of Shame*

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

--------

Upon the title sequence being completed, the cameras focused on the male's side of the losers' cabin, now only housing three teenagers. With Zeyad's elimination, the mood in the room was ultimately lighter. While no one wanted to say it out loud, Zeyad was different than the other guys. To put it simply, they all just wanted to get rid of anything that disrupted the cohesion in the team, and that happened to be Zeyad.

"Is it just me, or does this room seem a whole lot quieter?" Aaron asked as he laid down on his bunk.

"It's not just you," Matthew assured as he set down his sunglasses on a desk, "We all noticed it."

"Zeyad is finally gone! Honestly, he really deserved it. It's one thing to double-cross people, but it's another thing to be a brat about it. He had it coming for a long time."- Aaron

"It almost seems too good to be true," Tory admitted, "He's finally gone..."

"It seemed like everyone was happy," Aaron noted, "Hey, maybe everyone will think that we're the 'heroes of the camp', or something."

"Don't hold your breath," Matthew remarked, laughing at Aaron's comment, "We aren't heroes until one of us wins the game."

"Speaking of winning," Aaron began, turning to face his friends, "If we continue this winning streak, do you think that we could take this alliance to the end?"

"Honestly, that sounds pretty good right now," Tory admitted, "I'm down."

"Yeah, this could work," Matthew agreed.

"I'm always open to making genuine friendships. Besides, if we can get to the merge, we can get Daniel and Alexander back to our side, and that should be good enough to make it to the final five."- Tory

"Hey, what was up with Rhythm tonight?" Matthew asked, referring to her facial expression when Zeyad was eliminated, "Why was she confused?"

"Beats me," Aaron replied, unsure.

"Maybe she wanted to keep Zeyad," Tory suggested, "They did start out on the same team."

"So did I," Aaron noted, "That can't be it."

"Anything you'd like to ask me?" Rhythm asked, having walked over to the room with Veronica.

"Uh...sure," Aaron agreed, allowing Rhythm and Veronica to sit down on one of the bottom bunks, "You looked a little...confused when Zeyad was eliminated."

"Oh, that. I thought he was going to be a lot more dramatic about it. Like he'd say something like, 'You guys are the worst! I've been so nice to you guys! I've been so helpful! How could you do this....?'" Rhythm imitated, causing everyone to laugh at the impression.

"That wasn't the reason. I acted confused so if Zeyad saw me, he would think that I voted to keep him. I saw Total Drama Action; if I make the final two, the eliminated contestants might have to vote for who they want to win. If Zeyad thinks that I stuck by him 'till the end, he'll give me his vote to win."- Rhythm

"Anyways, we all need to talk," Rhythm declared, turning to Veronica, "Care to start?"

"Alright. Now, we all worked together tonight," Veronica noted, "This five right here is really good. We have it all."

"We have the strength, the athleticism, the creativity, the bravery, and the sociability," Rhythm commented, pointing to Veronica, Aaron, herself, Tory, and Matthew in order, "If we can get something settled right now, we can actually get pretty far."

"Y'know, if we make it to the merge with this alliance intact, we have the power to win every single kind of competition," Tory noted, "Every episode, one of us will win immunity, and we can coast to the final five."

"Hands in?" Matthew suggested as he placed his right hand in front of him, followed by Aaron, Veronica, Rhythm, and Tory copying him, "To the Chaotic Cougars. May this alliance last all the way to the final five."

"My goal is to surround myself with several alliances to better my position in the game. I have the Chaotic Cougars, whom I'll use mainly to keep myself away from elimination. And I also have Amalia & Daniel, who I think will be loyal to me, and could be helpful if I need to take out someone like Aaron or Tory down the road."- Veronica

--------

At this point, it was common knowledge that Amalia and Daniel were a duo. Whether or not they were in a relationship was still up in the air. Those close to Amalia and Daniel knew that they weren't 'officially' together, but they all believed that they would be a couple by the end of the season. The two of them were willing to put in an effort to see if a relationship would be possible, which they did by hanging around each other during their downtime. Right now, they were in Amalia's room, singing a song called 'Little Did You Know' by former music duo Alex and Sierra.

  ♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫

Amalia & Daniel:

Oh wait... just wait...
I love you like I've never felt the pain,
Just wait...
I love you like I've never been afraid,
Just wait...
Our love is here and here to stay,
So lay your head on me...

I'll wait (I'll wait), I'll wait (I'll wait)
I love you like you've never felt the pain
I'll wait (I'll wait)
I promise you/I don't have to be afraid
I'll wait,
The love is here and here to stay,
So lay your head on me...
Lay your head on me...
So lay your head on me...

Daniel:

'Cause little do you know I....
I love you 'til the sun dies......

  ♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫ 

"That sounded good to me," Daniel commented.

"Yeah...that sounded really good," Amalia agreed, smiling.

*holds up a bucket list* "Sing a romantic duet with a cute guy: check!"- Amalia

"Y'know, I really enjoyed this 'hangout session' with you," Daniel admitted.

"You did?!" Amalia asked, her eyes beaming with happiness, "You really did?"

"Yeah, it was pretty fun," Daniel admitted as he pulled Amalia in for a hug, "I'm glad that there's someone here who I can really get along with."

"Aww...thanks!" Amalia thanked as she nuzzled her head next to Daniel's neck, "Hey, ya' wanna have a bit of fun?"

"Depends on what you consider 'fun'," Daniel replied as he disengaged from the hug.

"Maybe it's the over-analytical side of me talking, but I'm not getting good vibes from Amalia right now. With the way that she's been acting around me lately, she could be thinking of something very bad."- Daniel

"I've had a great time with Daniel so far, but I don't think he's seen all that 'Ms.Rebelle', aka moi, has to offer. I'm gonna show him a good time. Hehe..."-Amalia

"Follow me..." Amalia ordered as she dragged Daniel out of the room.

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked, a bit scared.

"You'll see..." Amalia answered in a mischievous voice.

Daniel didn't know what to think; with Amalia's abstract personality, she could've taken him anywhere. First, he thought that she was going to take him to another camper's room to pull a prank on them, but this disappeared when she took him downstairs. He was left further confused when Amalia took him outside, and it wasn't until they reached the Dock of Shame that Daniel had an idea of what Amalia had planned.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Daniel asked, partially afraid of what Amalia was going to say.

"You betcha'!" Amalia confirmed as she began pulling her yellow tank top off of herself.

"Amalia, I can't," Daniel insisted as he turned away from her, "You're a nice girl and all, but I'm not down for skinny dipping."

"We're not skinny dipping, dummy," Amalia explained, as she playfully punched his shoulder, "We're here for a late night swim...in our underwear, of course."

"And we couldn't change into our swimsuits first because...?" Daniel asked, confused.

"It's much more fun this way!" Amalia claimed as she took off her black short-shorts, "It's much more...rebellious..."

Daniel was about to walk back to the mini-mansion when he heard a loud splash behind him. When he turned around, he saw Amalia swimming around in her black bra and panties. She was drenched from head to toe, and the water reflected the moonlight off of her, making her seem as bright as one of the stars in the sky.

"C'mon! Jump in!" Amalia insisted, "It's fun!"

"Fun is relative; what you perceive as fun may be different from what I consider to be fun," Daniel noted as he walked down the dock, "Do you think that you're allowed to do this?"

"I'm eighteen, I'm practically an adult," Amalia noted as she swam towards the dock, "C'mon! Loosen up a bit! You work yourself sooo hard; you deserve some time to just let go and relieve some stress!"

"Amalia...there's a lot more to being an adult," Daniel claimed as he knelt down to be closer to Amalia, "There is such a thing as 'selective freedom'. You've got to make the right choices; not just the choices that you want to make. Right now, the right choice is to get inside and get some sleep. Alright?"

"Yeah, I guess so..." Amalia conceded as she raised her right arm towards Daniel, "Mind helping me out?"

"Of course," Daniel agreed as he grabbed Amalia's hand, inadvertently allowing her to pull him into the water with her.

"Y'know, I probably should've seen that coming."- Daniel

"Well played," Daniel admitted, flashing a smile.

"Now will you swim with me?" Amalia asked, tugging at Daniel's shirt, "C'mon!"

"Well...considering that I'm already wet, sure," Daniel agreed as he removed his shirt and placed it on the dock, "But I'm keeping my shorts on."

"Fine," Amalia allowed, smiling at her crush.

"Now, are we gonna swim or what?" Daniel asked as he splashed Amalia.

"Hey!" Amalia exclaimed as she splashed water back at him, causing the two of them to continue splashing each other, laughing as they did so.

"This is the Daniel that I've been wanting to see. I'd like to think that we made progress tonight." *giggles*- Amalia

--------

While Daniel and Amalia continued having fun in the water, Devin and Laila had their own fair share of 'water adventures' on Boney Island. However, instead of a playful swim, it was a daunting search for a Chris McLean Head of Invincibility in a torrential downpour. As a safety precaution, they decided to stay together as they walked through the never-ending forest.

"Doesn't this feel wrong to you?" Laila asked, as she walked down a path with Devin on her back.

"Hey, you offered to do it, and I said yes," Devin noted as he looked above him, "We agreed that you would search low, I would search high, and that carrying me would help me see better."

"I'm hoping to find the invincibility statue, but with all this rain, it's not gonna be easy. I'm lucky that I haven't slipped in the mud yet."- Laila

"It would be awesome if I found the immunity statue here. Although, I don't know how I could do it with Laila literally being right under my nose."- Devin

"Any ideas?" Laila asked.

"I'd say just walk until something...uh...big pops up," Devin answered.

"Yeah, like that's specific," Laila remarked sarcastically.

"Like that!" Devin exclaimed, pointing to a bridge ahead of them.

While Laila continued to walk towards the bridge, she managed to spot something in the corner of her eye; a small, well-kept water well. Immediately, she thought back to what the clue said: 'the invincibility head is in a secure place under a wet covering'. In her mind, the well fit the clue to a tee. All she had to do was find a way to keep Devin occupied so she could get it before he could. Without hesitation, she consciously tripped over her own feet, causing her to faceplant in the mud.

"Woah! Are you okay?!" Devin asked, scared.

"Ugh...I'll be fine..." Laila insisted groggily, "Go and check the bridge; I'll be fine..."

"Uh...alright..." Devin agreed as he walked towards the bridge, "Just yell if you need anything!"

"Will do!" Laila replied as she watched Devin examine the bridge, allowing her to get up and walk to the well.

"Sure, it's messy, but it's a small price to pay to get some time alone."- Laila

She slowly approached the well, wiping the mud off of her face and hands as she got closer. After ensuring that Devin was occupied with the bridge, she peered into the well, and was quite content with what she saw. Of course, her efforts were for naught as Daniel already found the invincibility statue in the well, but she didn't know that.

"C'mon!" Laila exclaimed as she pulled the the rope, raising the chest into sight, "Now to get it out..."

"Ugh...nothing!" Devin exclaimed as he finished examining the bridge, "Hey Laila! There's nothing over here!"

It didn't take long for Devin to realize that he was shouting to no one. Unbeknownst to him, Laila didn't respond because she was too busy trying to get the chest out of the bucket. Not wanting to be alone, he walked back to the spot where he last saw Laila and looked around. To his shock, he saw Laila kneeling on the ground next to an open chest. It didn't take long for him to realize what was going on.

"Wha-..." Laila muttered as she stared at an empty chest whilst holding the parchment that was in it.

"You lied!" Devin exclaimed as he walked up to Laila, "And you found the invincibility head!"

"No! It's not what it looks like!" Laila claimed, "I opened it and it was empty."

"Yeah, sure..." Devin remarked sarcastically.

"I'm not an idiot; she's just trying convince me that I didn't see what I just saw. But I'll tell ya' right now, I saw what I saw, and I know that I saw what I saw, so what I must've seen what I saw. Is that right...?"- Devin

"Ughhh! Why won't he listen?! This is actually a mystery! Someone must've found the head before I did! But who...?"- Laila

"Do you wanna keep lying?" Devin asked, "I don't like liars."

"I'm not lying!" Laila replied honestly, "Someone must've found it first!"

"Yeah, YOU!" Devin insisted as he turned around and walked back down the path, "Talk to me when you want to admit it!"

"This isn't good..." Laila muttered as she began thinking about what to do next.

--------

In general, it's very difficult to convince someone that you didn't do something that you clearly did. Laila understood that very well, and someone else was about to be made clear of that same concept. By now, it was morning, and while the Chaotic Cougars dragged themselves to the mess hall, the Merciless Moose and the Wild Wolverines were in the dining room of their mini-mansion eating breakfast. On the menu for today: pancakes, with add-ons of bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and syrup.

"Don't you think that's a bit too much syrup?" Katelyn asked to Kiana, who was pouring syrup onto her stack of seven pancakes, "It's been at least a minute by now."

"I really like syrup!" Kiana insisted as she continued to pour syrup.

"Not gonna lie: I LOVE sweet foods. Syrup, chocolate, and especially candy. I'm an absolute fan of Aero Dots. Luckily there's no 'all you can eat' candy station around here; I'd eat it all up in a matter of minutes." *giggles*- Kiana

"Hey, it's not as weird as what Daniel is doing over there," Ellie noted, pointing to Daniel's plate of two pancakes, surrounded by circles of blueberries and banana slices.

"It ensures that I get a balance of each food product," Daniel explained as he tossed a blueberry in the air and caught it in his mouth, "It also makes the dish more aesthetically pleasing."

"Hey, is this seat taken?" Amalia asked, pointing to the lone seat next to Daniel.

"Go ahead," Daniel answered, allowing Amalia to take a seat next to him, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah...I guess you could say that..." Amalia admitted as she slid her seat closer to Daniel, "Honestly...it was the best night that I've had in ages."

"Last night was so fun! Daniel is really starting to warm up to me! Who would've thought that I'd meet the guy of my dreams on a reality television show?" *squeals*- Amalia

"Hey Daniel," Alexander called out as he walked over to Daniel, "Mind if we talk for a bit...in private?"

"Umm...sure, I suppose," Daniel agreed as he stood up from his seat, "See ya' in a bit."

"See ya..." Amalia replied, giggling soon after.

"So, what's up?" Daniel asked after reaching the music room, "I know we haven't had a one-on-one talk in a while but-"

"Don't beat around the bush," Alexander interrupted, wanting to make his point, "I saw what you and Amalia were doing last night."

"I could see them from my bedroom window. They were in their underwear, they were splashing each other, and they swam together. I don't know if they cuddled or kissed or made out or whatever, but I'm not gonna let this go. Daniel is getting distracted by Amalia, and I need to put a stop to this."- Alexander

"Yeah...this is what I was afraid of..."- Daniel

"Alright, so what?" Daniel asked calmly, not wanting Alexander to know that he was scared.

"Don't you see?" Alexander replied, "She's distracting you! She's taking advantage of you! She will manipulate you and dump you once you aren't useful to her anymore!"

"Dude, you need to chill," Daniel insisted, trying to calm down his teammate, "Amalia isn't like that. She's just a girl who likes me, and honestly, she's more likely to help our game than hurt it."

"What if she asks you to vote me out? What will you do?" Alexander asked, wanting a logical response, "You've got to make a choice, man: her or me."

"Look, if there's one thing that I know about Amalia, it's that she's a team player," Daniel claimed, "She's not gonna vote you out anytime soon."

"Okay, I didn't want to say this, but you've given me no choice," Alexander declared, ready to give Daniel an ultimatum, "You either vote with me to get rid of Amalia, or I'll tell everyone that you two are madly in love. You two will become prime targets, and you'll be voted out even sooner. Not by me, but by everyone else."

Alexander did not intend to give up; he was a natural born fighter, and he was ready to step up for what he believed in. To his surprise, Daniel seemed to be unphased from the blackmail. His face was as monotone as it could possibly be. After a few seconds of silence, Daniel slowly stepped towards Alexander and got right in front of his face; so close that their noses were almost touching. He had one thing to say, and one thing only.

"Follow me..." Daniel ordered as he marched out of the room and towards the dining room, forcing Alexander to follow him.

"Now Dan, man, we don't need to be too hasty here..." Alexander claimed, trying to reason with him, "Let's just calm down and-"

"Attention everyone!" Daniel called out, causing Amalia, Alejandro, and the members of the Merciless Moose to turn and face him, "I have something to say!"

"Daniel...don't do this..." Alexander pleaded as Daniel walked over to Amalia.

"I've got one thing to say and one thing only. I just want to say that Amalia and I..." Daniel began before gently placing his hands on Amalia's shoulders and giving her a 1 second-long kiss on the cheek, "...really like each other. We really do, and we don't want to hide it from anyone."

"What? This is how Daniel decided to tell everyone about us?"- Amalia

Everyone looked at the couple in shock, unsure of what to do after the announcement. Amalia was arguably more confused than anyone else; Daniel made it clear to her several times that he didn't want any attention from other people because of their relationship. Thus, to see him declare them a couple was a happy surprise. It was completely silent until Alejandro stood up and slowly clapped his hands.

"That's awesome, you guys!" Alejandro remarked as he went over to fistbump Daniel, "Good for you two!"

"Aww...that's so cute!" Kiana commented as she got up to hug Amalia, "Nice!"

"Can't say I'm surprised," Ellie admitted as she got up to join the crowd, "I had a feeling that you two would be a couple by the end of this."

"Eh, why not?" Katelyn commented happily as she got up to hug both Daniel and Amalia, "We're all happy for you two.

At least, almost everyone was happy. Unlike the others, Alexander continued to stand at the entrance to the room, upset that Daniel managed to turn a negative situation into a positive one. He could do nothing but stare at the group in anger. It wasn't until Daniel broke off from the group, walked towards him, and got in his face once again that he spoke.

"You are way in over your head," Alexander claimed, maintaining his serious expression, "You don't realize what you've just done."

"Just like how you didn't realize what blackmailing me would make me do," Daniel noted, smirking in confidence, "Try and mess with me: see what happens; I dare ya'..."

"Daniel just made an enemy out of the one man that can take him down. If he thinks that he can go out and humiliate me like this, he's made a big mistake. Just you wait Daniel; you're gonna regret ever having met me..."- Alexander

"I kissed Amalia because I wanted to prove to Alexander that I'm not a pushover. Blackmail doesn't work on me. Alexander didn't want Amalia gone; he wanted me to submit to him, and I wasn't gonna do that. It's clear to me now: he's threatened by me, and him and I will never be on the same side. One of us will have to go, and I'm gonna do everything in my power to make sure that it's him."- Daniel

--------

"Now this is the kind of argument that I've been waiting for!" Chris admitted, having watched the entire scene from the camera room, "How will Alexander & Daniel act around each other after this? How will the news of Amalia and Daniel's love affect the game? And what will the next challenge be? Find out after the break on Total...Drama...Island:...Return to Wawanakwa!"