Author's Note: Hello! I took a bit of a break from writing but I am back now! Tried experimenting with some new things, but now I'm back to the classics. With my computer dying I lost a lot work, but here's something new. I give you my word that I'll see this through! ^_^

As the hot wind blew across a sandy wasteland, a woman walked beneath the sun, microphone in hand. The woman had sandy blonde hair and misty blue eyes that turned to face forward. She wore a light blue jacket over a frilly white blouse, and darker navy bow around her neck.

"Hello," she greeted with a cool calm voice and a faint smile. "And welcome to the show. Oh it will be grand, Total Drama Armageddon! We're leaving behind silly little things like that island or an abandoned studio, oh my no, this time our contestants shall be facing the end of the world itself. Oh you're certainly for an epic show indeed!"

The woman gestured around to the vast barren land around her.

"Looks quite ruthless, doesn't it? But oh that's just the beginning. Let's not reveal the surprise though," she giggled. "Anywho, I am your quirky and somewhat murderous hostess, Jeanette Washington. Now, I know what you're thinking: Where's Chris McClean? Well, I murdered him."

Jeanette gave a light smile as she brushed off her arms.

"Ohoho, just kidding," she laughed. "Now stop asking stupid questions and let's get to the show!"

The scene changed to show an old beat up bus with sheets of metal just peeling off at all sides.

"Our contestants have been divided up into three teams already," Jeanette's voice continued to narrate. "Let's meet our first one shall we!?"

Inside the bus, eight teenagers sat along ratty torn up seats. A tall pale girl sat perfectly rigid in her seat, her hands on her lap and her eyes facing forward sternly. She had deep red hair that was neatly cut to her shoulders. Her shirt was white with faint pink polka dots decorating it while her skirt was a dark scarlet. She was soon approached by another boy who slid into the seat next to her. This boy had faux messy light brown hair and wore square glasses over his lake green eyes. He wore a dark mauve jacket and paints, with a black and blue mixed design tie over his navy shirt.

"Why hello there, madam," he said as he slipped his arm over her shoulder. "Feeling nervous, are you?"

"I won't ask you again," she spat out with purpose in each icy word. "Remove your arm this instant."

"Okay, okay," the boy said with a defensive laugh as he pulled back. "Don't like to be touched, I can get that!"

"I would prefer to not be bothered at all, actually," the girl said with a cold mechanical turn of her head to fixate her stern eyes on the boy.

"Hey, hey, we're all gonna be friends here soon enough right?" the boy said as he shrugged.

"I don't think so," the girl replied. "No, I am not obligated to engage in your friendship."

"Well the name's Sway," the boy introduced, "Jaime Sway that is! Call me, Sway, though, or whatever you wan-"

"Pleasure, Mr. Sway," the girl replied coldly, clearly holding no meaning in those words. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the others now?"

"Any chance I can get a name of my own?" Sway asked with a bit of a half smirk appearing on side of his face.

"Melania," the girl declared matter of factly.

She continued to glare at Sway while he just grinned silently.

"Well? Anything else I can help you with...Mr. Sway?" Melania asked, with a clear implication that there was only acceptable answer.

A few seats back a lanky boy was sitting and strumming at a guitar. He had long dusty brown hair that dropped down his back and to his waist, the front was held back by a purple headband. He wore a torn up black shirt with no sleeves, and equally ripped olive brown pants. As he played a girl's head poked up as she reached out and experimentally pulled a string. The boy laughed and turn to face the girl squatting next to him. She had golden-orange hair in strands that ran down the front of her face as well as down her back. She had wide blue eyes that were looking up at the boy. The girl had little on, a pair of fox ears on a hairband, a small golden blouse that only just covered her chest barely and a small set of tight red shorts that might as well be underpants. Her feet were covered in paw shaped slippers, while her hand nails were painted black.

"You like the music?" the boy asked with a smile.

"Pretty!" the girl chirped.

"Thanks," the boy said with a grin.

"Are you famous?" the girl asked in awe.

"Heh, that's the dream," the boy laughed. "Not yet though, getting there. The name's Ricko!"

"Tricia!" the girl replied giddily as she gripped his hand.

"Well nice to meet you, Tricia!" Ricko laughed. "Though I have to ask, aren't you a little uh...cold? You're not wearing much, I hope you don't mind me saying."

"Nope!" the girl chirped. "I have the fox blood running through me! Oh yep! Never cold! Grr!"

"Heh heh, well alright then," Ricko laughed.

"Like haven't you heard!?" another girl exclaimed as she slid over to join the two. "Skin is in! Like just read a magazine!"

This girl had smooth brown hair that had streaks of blonde running through it. Her face was clearly marked with makeup and red lipstick. The girl wore a loose white blouse, tight blank pants that met up with furry boots crawling up her shins. She clutched a white purse in her hands with red painted nails.

"Girl, I think you are looking absol-LUTELY fabulous!" she gushed.

"Yay!" Tricia cheered.

"Love the ears too," the girl said as she flicked one of Tricia's fox ears. "You are like too cute, like OMG! You're like a cupcake I could just eat you up! Except not really cause they're like fattening and I can't eat sugar."

She turned to wink at Ricko and remarked, "That's what we call a metaphor!"

Ricko gave her a thumbs-up.

"Oh like I'm Brittany by the way!" she exclaimed with a laugh at some secret joke; she then immediately clutched Ricko by the arm. "Oooh, you play music! That is like so fetch! Ha ha, Mean Girls reference, get it! I think Fetch is coming back though, except you know like irony?"

"Sure?" Ricko said awkwardly.

Sway, being shooed away my Melania, came over to join the new forming crowd.

"So, musician eh?" he remarked as he nodded to Ricko. "You in a band?"

"Yep!" Ricko said proudly. "Frontman, actually! The Helter Shelter is our name."

"Mmm, nope," Brittany remarked.

"Heh...what-what do you mean?" Ricko replied uncertainly.

"That name has like no longevity, omg that's my word of the day by the way, doesn't it just sound like so pretty!?" Brittany laughed again at her extensive vocabulary. "But like no one's going to remember-what did you see you were called?"

"The-" Ricko began.

"See!? I've already forgotten!" Brittany laughed. "You need a name like people are going to remember! Like OneDirection."

"But...that actually is a band already," Ricko pointed out.

"See!? You've heard of them! Point proven!" Brittany exclaimed.

In the back of the bus a thin girl sat reading a book. She had brown hair with purple dyed tips. She wore a pair of sharp triangle glasses, a black and purple plaid jacket and dark brown pants. Suddenly her book was snatched by someone else. A tall muscular boy wearing all black. He had a large black mask that covered his face and had spines moving up from his head. His body was covered in a black body-armor with symbols of fangs marked along the pads.

"Uh, I was sort of reading that," the girl remarked dryly.

"Haha, fool! You never should have let your guard down! Not when there's evil afoot! And I...Oh I am the most evil there is! AHAHA!" the boy exclaimed.

"Point made," the girl remarked. "Can I have it back?"

"Beg me for it, mortal!" the boy taunted.

"Something tells me you're rather insecure," the girl remarked. "Picking on a woman, probably because you perceive me as weaker as that right? Defenseless? Quiet and in the back, no one to actually put up a fight, is that right?"

"Uh-" the villain tried to reply, but the girl was standing up now and getting in his space.

"The armor is another lovely touch," she continued, "Definitely overcompensating if I ever saw it. I'd go so far to say ashamed of who you are, considering you feel such a need to cover up so extremely. What's the matter? Couldn't make friends on the playground? Parents weren't there for you enough?"

"Silence you fool!" the boy said, though with a slight shaky tone now.

"I was being perfectly silent, with my book," the girl said as she snatched the book back and turned around back to her seat.

"Hmph! You win this round, nemesis, but this is only the beginning, oh yes!" the boy monologued. "You will learn to fear the name...Taylor!"

"Believe me, Taylor, there's plenty to fear, but I suggest you start looking in the mirror and figuring out what you're so afraid of instead of continuing to project on others," the girl retorted.

"Yeah, you show him!" Sway exclaimed, suddenly sitting next to the girl.

"Ah!" the girl gasped as she jumped back. "Um, how about a little more respect for my trigger zone? You can't just surprise people like that without considering what they might be going through."

"Well, for me I see a girl who's pretty badass," Sway remarked.

"Of course you do," the girl replied. "We often project to the rest of the world these personas; confident, assured, in control, to mask how truly far from the truth that is."

"Well how about we start to bridge that gap a bit?" Sway asked. "Starting with a name?"

"Liz," the girl answered.

"The name's Sway!" the boy introduced again as he shook her hand. "Jaime Sway, but call me Sway! Or whatever you want, as long as you're talking to me!"

"Hm, sticking to your last name then?" Liz noted. "Trying to be unique? You don't feel special do you? You feel you need to put up this new persona that sets you apart? Yes it all makes sense now."

"Whoa, whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Sway remarked.

"Agreed," Liz said as she put her book in front of her face again.

A few seats over a boy was sleeping in his seat. He had somewhat messy short brown hair. He wore a red jacket over a black shirt with a white design, and a pair of navy jeans.

As he lay in a daze a voice from his head remarked, Hey loser! Get up already, you going to sleep through the greatest experience of your life?

The boy cracked up his eyes and looked up. Leaning over the seat was a translucent mirror image of himself. This boy had his hair neatly combed and had his sleeves rolled up to reveal a series of snake tattoos wrapped around his arms. He was looking down on the boy with a mean smirk.

"What do you want?" the boy in the seat groaned.

"I want what WE want," the other boy assured as he slid into the seat next to him. "We're here to win, right!?"

"I don't like where you're going with this," the boy gave a hefty sigh.

"Simpson, you idiot, I asked a simple question," the other boy said as he gave a small whack to the back of Simpson's head. "We came here to win? Yes or no?"

"Well yeah...that's the idea, at least," Simpson mumbled.

"Exactly!" the other boy said, "So let's get to it. You can't just lie around, Simpson, what has that ever gotten you? Nothing!"

"Damian, can you get to the point?" Simpson grunted.

"Take a look around!" Damian said as he grabbed Simpson's face and pointed him around the room. "These people are all our competition! We need to start looking for weak links, anything we can exploit."

"Not this again," Simpson groaned. "Why can't I just, ya know, make friends and get people on my side that way?"

"Uh, because dimwit, you're unlikable and no one would actually want to be your friend!" Damian snorted, slapping him on the head again. "Try to use that rock in your head for once! Come on, man, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't m-"

"Hello!? Hello!? Anyone home!?" Tricia asked as she popped up in front of Simpson and snapped her fingers.

Simpson blinked, Damian was gone, Tricia was leaning in on his face.

"You're alive!" Tricia cheered.

"Uh yes...hello," Simpson mumbled.

"You were looking around blankly, sorta mumbling to yourself," Tricia remarked. "I thought you might be having a stroke! We can't have that, oh no! Not on the very first day! So Tricia to the rescue!"

"Yep no...I'm fine but uh thanks," Simpson said before adding under his breath, "Probably wouldn't mind a stroke to get away from him."

"What was that!?" Tricia asked.

"Nothing, nothing," Simpson said. "So uh...I'm Simpson."

"Tricia!" Tricia greeted as she shook his hand wildly. "Okay nice to meet you, Simpson, don't die please!"

With that Tricia scamped off and crawled underneath the seats.

"Well, she seems sweet," Simpson mused, "Are you sure I can't just be friends with her?"

Dude, she thought you were dying, because you're a freak. She couldn't get away from you quick enough.

"I suppose you're right," Simpson sighed.

She seems stupid though. We can use that, probably would believe anything we told her. Keep that in mind.

"Will do," Simpson sighed obediently.

Suddenly the bus lurched, slammed, and halted. The eight teens were all thrown to the floor by the sudden jolt.

"Like um, ow, falling is totally not in style!" Brittany groaned. "At least I landed on something soft!"

She looked down to see she was sitting on Ricko.

"Oops, haha! #Awkward am I right!?" she laughed.

"Could you get off me please?" Ricko grunted.

"This is no good," Melania stated for the bus to hear as she stood up. "We've stopped moving."

"We must have hit something or..." Sway remarked.

"There is nothing around for miles," Melania declared, "This is not good. Let's see what the driver says."

Melanie walked up to the driver seat.

"Excuse me, driver," she said.

However, the driver rolled out of the seat and was revealed to be a crashtest dummy dressed up in a cap and jacket.

"Well then...that does not help," Melania stated.

"Whoa, freaky!" Ricko exclaimed.

"Looks like the games have already begun, Ladies and Gents," Sway remarked.

"Where are the hosts then?" Melania asked. "We have been given no instructions, no rules. This must simply be some mistake."

Tricia bounced forward and went for the door. With a kick she knocked them open.

"What do you think you're doing?" Melania said. "Have you taken a look around? We're in the middle of nowhere!"

"The adventure awaits!" Tricia exclaimed as she hopped out into the sand.

With that she took off running.

"Well, you heard her," Ricko said. "Time to get our adventure on!"

"Are you actually insane?" Melania asked. "We can't go out there. This is a desert, we could get lost, in the middle of nowhere, no food, do I even need to continue."

"Hey girl, this is Total Drama, right?" Ricko laughed. "This is just all part of the fun."

"Yes, there is evil to be spread!" Taylor exclaimed as he ran to join Ricko outside the bus.

The two boys took off running after Tricia.

"Well, like I'm not going out there," Brittany remarked. "Like I didn't bring my desert cruggs, and like if we're gonna be on TV? Um LOL! No thank you! Can you even like imagine being seen in that disaster!?"

"Not exactly the right priorities," Liz remarked. "But I do agree. We can't just go running off. Someone will come for us soon enough and get us where we need to be. There's always an introduction, right? Chris wouldn't miss the opportunity. His ego simply could not handle it."

"Then we're in agreement then," Melania said. "Now then, I will retrieve those careless enough to get lost, a few minutes out in the elements and they'll be ready to return. The rest of you stay here."

"I've certainly got no problem staying with two beautiful ladies," Sway exclaimed.

"Can you please stop with insinuating rape?" Liz scoffed. "It's actually pretty disgusting."

"Whoa, whoa, don't get me wrong here," Sway said.

"Like, rape is bad," Brittany stated. "It even made the like Rose and Sapphire Bottom 5 list of worst things ever. Omg!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we're not going to hear any disagreements there," Sway assured.

"H-hi guys," Simpson said as he waved meekly. "I'm here too..."

No one cares, Simpson.

Confessional:

Melania-I live by how I was raised: That nothing is given to you free, and that nothing worth it comes easy. Life is full of difficulties, I've had my share, and you don't get over it by curling up, crying waiting for someone to save you. You step up, take command of events, and make your own way.

Sway-I like to think of myself as a bit of a charmer. Arrogant? Eh, maybe just a little, but the ladies find that irresistible (winks). Obviously, I'm here to win same as anyone else, but that doesn't mean I can't win a few hearts too.

Ricko-Aw man, I wish the rest of the guys in the band could be here with me, but I'm doing this for them! Exposure well...it doesn't come cheap, easy, or fast, but hey look at me now I'm on TV! Hi everyone! After this, I'm gonna be a household name, and then the crowds will come flooding to our shows!

Tricia-I am a fierce vixen, rawr! I am not afraid of anything, I am ready to tear this place apart, grr!

Brittany-Take note everyone, #Briitory is going to be trending soon! See it's a combination of two words, my name Brittany, and victory because like I'm winning, like duh, yeah!? Except I put it together to make a new word, like so hip, so swift, so current, that's your girl Brit!

Taylor-Mwuhahaha! Beware! You haven't seen nothing yet, this entire game shall be begging for mercy after they endure my reign of terror! Ahahaha!

Liz-I like to study people. People are really actually quite simple once you break it down, we're all just a series of functions, triggered in constant motion one after another. Once you figure out these triggers and functions, people all come together and make sense. That's what I'm counting on to get me through this.

Simpson-Yeah, so uh...hi, I'm uh Simpson. I'm uh well, I'm really not all that special. I have this uh well...it's kinda hard to explain, sort of like a voice? Or like an imaginary friend, ya know? He's kind of a jerk, though, but well I'm stuck with him. He's been there as long as I can remember, so you'd think I'd be used to it by now (sighs)

Damian-Simpson, that guy is a wimp, but hey that's what I'm here for. I just want to help that little meatbag out, he's so pathetic, but me, well I'm awesome. Once he starts following my advice, he can be too.

A second, nearly identical bus, was rolling through the sand in another part of the wasteland. Inside, another unique set of eight teenagers were riding inside. A short girl with auburn hair smooth could down to her chin and held back with a lime hairband sat on her seat and faced outward confidently. She wore a purple jacket over a light green shirt, and turquoise pants. In her hand she had firmly gripped a pencil and notebook.

"Alright world, get ready for the report you've been waiting for!" she announced. "The inside story on Total Drama! What REALLY goes on behind the scenes! What don't they want you seeing on TV! I'll be covering it all!"

"Uh...um...can I uh well...do you mind if I ask, who you're talking to," asked a girl sitting next to her. "Cause uh well...if it's me, I sort of wasn't listening...heh sorry, oops!"

"I'm talking to Canada, the world, all of the viewing audience!" the girl replied dramatically. "You seee, I am Shelby Sands, ace reporter, here to get the true scoop on Total Drama, tell the story the people want to hear!"

"Oh right, yeah, of course you are," the other girl chuckled meekly. "I'm dumb."

"Hey now, what's your name?" Shelby asked. "It's never too soon to start getting some real interviews from the contestants."

The girl had longer dirty blonde hair carelessly rolling down her back. She was short and only slightly overweight. She wore a red turtleneck sweater and tan pants.

"Uh me? My name's Lyndon," she said.

"What a beautiful name!" Shelby exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess," Lyndon said morosely. "My parents were probably disappointed when they ended up wasting it on someone as ugly as me."

"Oh don't say that!" Shelby said.

"It's true though," Lyndon sighed.

"Stop," Shelby exclaimed. "I'm sure you've got all sorts of talents, Lyndon! Are you ready to show us how it's done in this game?"

"Not really," Lyndon said with a shrug.

"Okay, well here's something you can do!" Shelby said. "You can take notes for me while I conduct some more interviews."

Shelby handed her notebook and pencil to Lyndon.

"I'd probably just screw it up," Lyndon replied.

"I insist!" Shelby said.

She then got up and urged Lyndon to do the same. They only had to go a few more steps back before coming to another duo. One was a boy with incredibly wild messy brown hair. He wore goggles over his eyes, a dirty labcoat and a blue shirt with brown pants. Next to him sat a pale boy with short cut light blonde hair. He had piercing blue hair, perfectly fitting clothes: a blue shirt and brown pants. He sat perfectly upright, facing forward almost symmetrically.

"And who do we have here?" Shelby asked.

"I!" the boy in the labcoat exclaimed boldly as he stood up, "am PROFESSOR Anthony Brander! A name that shall soon be recognized around the world as the most brilliant inventor of our time! I have perfected the science of artificial intelligence."

"Ooh, why don't you tell us about that?" Shelby asked.

"Why tell when I can show!?" Anthony exclaimed. "Scout?"

The other boy stood up and approached the girls. As he did, Shelby began to realize that he had seams, very very faintly, but running all over his body. Upon closer inspection, he skin seemed to be the same color all over, as if it was painted.

"Y-you...you're the AI?" Shelby gasped in awe.

"Correct," he answered, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

The robotic boy spoke with natural syncopation, but with an electronic din over his words.

"Impressive, eh!?" Anthony said. "I give you, the Strategic Calculator of Unbeatable Tactics, or SCOUT for short! He is designed to think like anyone else and play this game with the perfected strategy."

"But he's your robot, right?" Shelby said. "If you're both in this game, couldn't just be your vote doubler?"

"Negative," Scout replied. "No one tells me what to do but the neurons in my mind. I can assure you that I intend to play this game same as anyone else. With the intent to win."

"And won't it just be exciting to see how his loyalty hold?" Anthony said. "I've got so many hypothesis already!"

Scout cracked an eerie smile.

"I hope not to disappoint you, my friend," he said.

"Well, I for one am thrilled to report on this revolutionary breakthrough!" Shelby exclaimed.
"Did you get all that down for me, assistant?"

"Huh?" Lyndon said as she looked up from her notebook. "Oh uh sorry...I wasn't actually paying attention, I was uh too busy playing Xs and Ohs with myself."

"Oh...well, did you at least win?" Shelby asked uncertainly.

"No...I only ever got a tie," Lyndon sighed. "I'm such a failure at everything."

From a few seats over a girl sneered at Scout. The girl had very short dark hair. She had a pointed face with black lipstick and purple eyeliner. She wore a black dress with sheets of translucent fabric strung among it to give an appearance of black flames.

"That thing has not soul," she hissed. "It is not living, no matter how good of an imitation it is. I can't believe they're actualy letting it compete as a its own player."

"I'd love to get your input here!" Shelby exclaimed eagerly as she rushed over to the dark girl. "And you are?"

"Willi," the girl stated. "I am a witch, I have studied the essence of life itself, I can sense it, and that mimic is simply an appliance, it cannot feel true emotions."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Shelby said. "You said you're a witch? So like you know magic?"

Willi looked up and gave her a stone cold death glare for a silent minute.

"No," she said coldly. "I do witchcraft, there's a difference."

"Okay, okay, but like you can perform tricks then?" Shelby asked.

"Seriously?" Willi remarked in disgust before turning to face the window.

"Well give me something!" Shelby exclaimed. "You can't just drop that you're a witch and then leave me hanging!"

Another girl had noticed Shelby's presence by now. This girl was tall and had dark skin. She had very luxurious wavy black hair that rolled down her sides. She wore high heels and a chic beige dress that turned into frills along her right side, exposing her shoulder. The dress was adored with black figures strewn along it.

"Oh my, is that the paparazzi?" she articulated elegantly.

She stood up, in a slow graceful manner, allowing the sun to catch her and giver her a radiant glow as she did. She lightly swung her hands, ruffling her hair and allowing it to bounce softly. She took a proud even stride towards Shelby.

"Well certainly you'll want to take note of me, darling," the girl stated. "Sashonelle, fashion model."

"Wow!" Shelby exclaimed. "You look great!"

"Mm...great?" Sashonella echoed, smoothly twisting her smile to invert into a delicate frown, her brow furrowing, just slightly enough to indicate her distress but maintain her even face. "Is that really the best you can do, darling? I'm magnificent, extraordinary, I am beauty incarnate!"

Sashonelle gave an exagerated sigh and dropped her hand sighly, causing her hair to spool down her shoulders like a sad trickle. As Sashonelle turned back, she was suddenly shoved by another boy. She transformed her fall into a graceful spin and landed nearly into a sitting position on a seat. The boy who had shoved her had short greasy black hair, large octagon glasses, and a face full of acne. He wore a green and black sweater and khaki pants.

"How rude, darling," Sashonelle remarked.

"What's rude is that you so carelessly nearly crushed one of the earth's greatest creations!" the boy shot back as he got down to his knees to inspect an ant on the floor.

"Oh...an insect," Shelby noted.

"Not just any insect!" the boy said. "This thing is a soldier, a builder, a hero! Ants journey out into a world of giants, working together in perfect unison, to out maneuver every monster that they come across! All to bring just a scrap of food back to their colony! When will mankind every reach such a level of higher enlightenment!?"

"Well, that's fascinating," Shelby said uncertainly. "Maybe more of National Geographic's area."

"Did you know that mosquitoes can actually detect the exact temperature of blood to locate their next meal!?" the boy continued to recount.

"Uh no, I did not," Shelby answered.

"Just imagine what could be accomplished if we actually focused on harvesting and understanding some of these incredible abilities!" the boy gushed. "Who cares about all this space exploration!? Dead rocks, woo. We have so many complex miracles on our very own planet that we're only just scratching the surface of."

"That's super," Shelby said with a fake smile. "Can I get a name by any chance?"

"You may call me..Blaine!" the boy announced.

"Hey, hey, guys stop paying attention to the nerd who cares about him!?" someone called from the back. "Check ME out!"

This boy was incredibly tall. He had short dark gold hair and tanned skin. He wore a maroon jersey that revealed his muscular arms, and teal athletic shorts.

"Look at how strong I am!" he boasted while tearing a seat off its track.

"Ugh, neanderthal," Willi scoffed.

"That's nothing," Blaine remarked. "An ant can lift up to 5,000 times its own body weight, you don't even compare?"

"Oh is that so?" the boy challenged. "Well what do you think of this!?"

The boy stomped on the same ant, squishing it into the floor.

"Aargaghg!" Blaine screamed and choked in horror. "How could you...you, you monster!? That creature was a true noble organism just searching for the sake of its colony, what did it EVER do to you!?"

"Pfft, it wasn't so strong," the boy scoffed. "Who's the tough guy now?"

Blaine charged at the large boy in rage, but he was just shoved back.

"And uh, what might your name be?" Shelby asked the larger boy.

"Call me Spencer!" he declared.

Suddenly the bus lurched, just as the other hand, and the cast were rocked to the ground.

"Oh my," Sashonelle gasped, her mouth forming a perfect O shape before she flipped and tumbled like a star gymnast over the top of the seats, leading to a final roll to the floor and landing on her feet.

"What the hell was that!?" Spencer groaned.

Anthony and Scout got up to investigate and found the same crash course dummy as a driver.

"What in the world?" Shelby gasped. "Our driver wasn't even real?"

"Hm, it's such a shame that our little expert on detecting life force couldn't even tell us that our driver was a freaking doll!" Anthony remarked snidely as he glared at Willi. "Almost like your whole "witchcraft" is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo!"

"Please, do not take offense to my friend," Scout said. "He is a man of science, and has little run to accept concepts that do not match what can be explained. No harm meant to your own beliefs."

"Don't talk to me," Willi sneered.

"So uh...er, maybe this is a dumb question, uh sorry about that," Lyndon murmured. "But uh...what now?"

"I'm sure a host will be around to get us set up soon enough," Shelby said.

"I wouldn't count on it," Anthony said. "Looking at these gauges, we're not experiencing any issues, everything is functioning, I'm expecting this may be intentional."

"Likewise," Scout added. "based on the force of the abrupt halt, and the time it took to cease motion, it is likely that we did not make contact with an obstruction, but rather came to a stop internally."

"Yeah, uh...what they said!" Spencer exclaimed.

"Well," Sashonelle spoke up, raising her arm in a dainty fashion to catch the attention of the bus, "I think we probably could have figured that out by the fact that we did not even have a living driver. Clearly this was meant to happen."

"True," Anthony admitted.

"Well, then what are we waiting for!?" Spencer exclaimed as he ran for the door. "Let's go already!"

"Oh uh...okay, are we sure about this?" Lyndon remarked.

"Too many factors to assure certainty," Scout declared, "however, based on events, it is likey that it is our intended course of action."

"We can do it, guys!" Blaine said. "I know it's hard, impossible even, but if we could just TRY to be a bit more like a colony of ants, then there's nothing we can't do!"

"Let's do it," Shelby said as the group headed for the door. "The story begins now."

Willi though stayed in her seat.

"I'll stay," she grunted.

"What?" Shelby asked. "Why?"

"I work better on my own," she remarked.

"That's not how this works!" Blaine said as he grabbed her by the wrist.

"Let go of me," Wili hissed.

"The colony is only as strong as the sum of its parts, everyone piece brings something, and it can make the difference," Blaine said. "You're a part of this colony so you're coming with us."

Willi broke her wrist out of his grip.

"Touch me again and I will put a hex on you," she threatened.

"See? You can't just say things like that and not expect me to be a little curious!" Shelby exclaimed.

Willi stepped off the bus though and the others followed.

Confessional:

Shelby-So we've met the cast! The usual bunch of crazies, and my first observation, that much is real enough. Though I'd wager to guess at least half of them are just putting on a show, hoping to get noticed and get their share of screentime!

Lyndon-I'm uh not very smart, or um...good with people, so uh I'm not really sure what I'm doing here. I guess I thought maybe it was just worth a shot. I know, probably dumb, yeah, I'm always making stupid decisions (sighs).

Anthony-I am the greatest mind on this planet! You will surely see that with the power of my brilliant invention! Scout is designed to play a perfect game, not just a strategic game, but a meta strategic game! His mind will process every possibly and generate the perfect response to best handle the situation!

Scout-There is much to take in, and so little time. But I hope to make my friend, Anthony, happy. He wants me to prove that I am fully capable of winning this competition, and I would loathe to let him down. He gave me life after all, the least I could do is live up to my purpose.

Willi-Witchcraft is not magic, magic is some fairytale, it doesn't exist. Witchcraft though is an art that taps into an ancient essence of the earth, it takes a lifetime to master, but I'm always learning.

Sashonella-(blinks, and then opens her radiant eyes, directed towards the screen intently) I do everything with grace, after all, people are always watching. I can't let them see me stumble, I might lose my modelling contract, just imagine if the video went viral. No, that won't be happening (turns to the side evenly and winks at the camera.)

Blaine-Insects truly are the most advanced species on the planet. We try to pretend it's humans, but yeah right! That's just our stupid pride talking, we suck! Bugs have perfect unison, working together to serve a greater good. Humans are too busy tearing ourselves apart in our own country to even come close!

Spencer-Here's a confession for you: I am coming out of a transformation. Yep, a couple ears ago I was just another scrawny nerd getting pushed around, but then I decided to change that. A year of diet and exercise later and now I'm ready to kick some butt, so people had better notice me!

A third bus in another identical plain of sand was also moving with eight teenagers inside. A thin girl sat eagerly on her side, barely able to keep herself from moving in excitement. She had very short, light blonde fluffy hair. She wore round glasses, and had a crimson and green vest over her beige shirt and tan pants.

"Aw geez, this is so exciting!" she squealed to herself."Oh um, excuse me, excuse me everyone, could I say something!? Okay, well I actually just had this idea, but what if we were to go around introducing ourselves and saying a few interesting facts about ourselves!?"

She received silence.

"Oh don't worry, I'll break the ice!" she exclaimed. "I'm Maisie, and I'm just your ordinary, run of the mill normal girl. Yep, nothing exciting about me! I like animals, um if I have to pick a favorite, I would probably see either cats or dogs. Okay someone else go!"

Still silence.

"Come on, don't be shy!" Maisie chimed.

"Well okay, I'll go," a boy said as he stood up.

The boy had golden-brown hair and a toned body. He wore a light periwinkle shirt and red and gold shorts.

"My name's Connor," he introduced. "I was on the football team at my school, and top of my class in the honors program. After graduating I'm hoping to study at Oxford."

"Oh Connor," a girl added. "You forgot to mention that you're super cute."

"Oh uh...well I'm flattered," Connor replied.

The girl was tall and thin, she had beautiful long golden hair and a rosy face. She wore a thin sleek navy kimono robe with a black flower design.

"What about you, lovely?" Connor asked. "What's your name?"

"Aw who me? Thanks for noticing," the girl cooed while twisting her hair around her finger. "I'm Lana. It's so nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Lana!" Maisie chimed in with a broad smile.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" Lana asked.

"Well, I'm Maisie!" Maisie stated. "Just your average, everyday ordinary girl!"

"That's nice," Lana replied.

Maisie than ran over to another boy and shook his shoulder.

"Hey, what about you!?" she asked. "What's your name!?"

The boy had curly brown and black hair that was styled into a neat swirl above his forehead to reveal his cool blue eyes. He wore a blue and black checkered jacket over a misty turquoise shirt, a brown belt, and blue jeans.

"I'm Christian," he said with a faint laugh as he pushed Maisie off of him. "As for me? I guess you could say I'm just here for a little excitement."

"I'm sure you'll get plenty!" Maisie exclaimed with a smile.

She then leapt over a seat and sat down next to another girl reading a book. The girl had curly mousy brown hair, somewhat tan skin, glasses, and a neat wavy black dress.

"Hi hi!" Maisie said as she tapped on her shoulder.

"Oh uh...what? Hi!" the girl said, coming out of her engrossed stupor.

"Hi! What's your name!?" Maisie asked.

"Oh, right, I'm Ashley," the girl introduced. "I was just reading, must have missed all the excitement going on."

"Must be a pretty interesting book!" Maisie said.

"Yeah, well...I found it to be, at least," Ashley remarked.

"Hey, hey, do me next!" a boy exclaimed as he got out of his seat and stood in the middle of the bus.

"Alright, so my name's Wally, and I happen to be a master of karate!" he boasted. "Check this out...hiya!"

He delivered a chop to a seat, only to immediately recoiled in pain.

"Okay...disregard that...we'll try again when...my hand stops pulsing," he groaned.

"In the meantime, how about you!?" Maisie exclaimed as she pointed to a boy sitting in another seat.

This boy had shaggy, messy brown hair and the beginning of a scraggly beard. He wore a dirty bloody hoody and ripped black pants.

"Well, I'm Niles," he greeted. "Let's see, I just got out of prison, so you know, no big deal. My favorite things include pain and blood. My hobbies: theft, arson, maybe I'll be lucky enough to include murder on that list soon enough."

"...Ha...ha, you're so funny," Maisie laughed uneasily.

"Aren't I?" Niles replied coyly as he raised an eyebrow.

"That just leaves one more," Maisie said as she twirled around and pointed to a girl sitting in the opposite corner of the bus.

This girl had long straight strawberry hair. She wore square glasses, a green blazer over a blue shirt and dark blue jeans.

"Don't talk to me," she said.

"Aw, no need to be shy!" Maisie replied.

"I am not, I just find you to be incredibly annoying and I want you to stop talking to me," the girl replied curtly.

"Aw, sorry about that, I guess I can be a bit too friendly at times, I can't help it, I just love making new friends!" Maisie laughed.

"Please just stop," the girl groaned while rubbing her temples. "Seriously, I'm not the only one who finds you to be insanely aggravating. I'm just the only one who's not too polite to say it."

The girl looked up for support but got nothing but silence.

"Okay fine, be that way," she grumbled.

"Alright, well we don't have to be friends right away," Maisie said tentatively.

"Or ever," the girl retorted.

"Can I at least know your name though?" Maisie asked.

"So you can harp it every five minutes?" the girl scoffed. "I don't think so."

"Okay,well in that case let's make a game out of it!" Maisie said eagerly. "I'll just guess it!"

"Please don't," the girl groaned.

"Is it Julia!?" Maisie guessed.

"No," the girl replied bluntly.

"Emily?"

"No."

"Olivia."

"No."

"Any of Carmen, Elizabeth, Maria, Ruby, Miranda-"

"It's Kelly!" the girl answered. "Now please just stop.:

"Well, hi Kelly," Maisie said with a smile. "It's a pleasure too-"

"Not. One. More. Word." Kelly growled while stepping on Maisie's foot.

Suddenly the bus lurched and came to a halt.

"Oof, what was that?" Ashley groaned as she picked herself up from the floor.

"Is everyone alright?" Connor asked.

"I don't know, I'm still feeling a little shaken," Lana remarked. "Someone had better catch me."

Lana threw herself backwards, aiming for Connor.

"Don't worry, I'll save the day!" Wally exclaimed as he leapt behind her and held out his arms.

However, he misestimated his own strength and ended up just allowing Lana to crush him.

"Uh...oops," he groaned.

"Alright so...what happened?" Christian remarked.

"The bus just stopped suddenly," Maisie answered.

"Well aren't you just a master of deduction," Kelly remarked sarcastically.

"I'm sure it's fine," Ashley mumbled lightly. "The bus was clearly old, I'm sure Chris or whoever will be here to pick us up soon."

"Well, they'd better," Lana remarked. "I'm going to need a bed or something, I can only imagine the sort of damage these rock hard seats are doing to me."

"Maybe we could take a look around?" Wally suggested. "Just to see if there's anyone in sight."

"Not sure if that's wise," Connor said. "But whatever we do, we should agree as a team."

"Pfft, forget that, you're not the boss of me," Niles scoffed as he got up. "I'm out of here."

"Hey, hey, slow down," Connor said as he grabbed the boy by the wrist before he could get to the door.

"Do not touch me!" Niles snarled, lunging at Connor and pinning him up against a window.

Connor retaliated by shoving back, knocking the other boy to the floor. Niles got up quickly though and gave an animalistic sneer at his opponent before charging again. The two boys were soon exchanging fists and knocking each other back and forth along the boss. The others quickly got out of the way, several of the girls gasping in shock.

"Somebody needs to do something!" Maisie cried. "Boys, stop!"

"No, don't," Christian said eagerly as he watched with hungry passion in his eyes. "This is just getting good, I want to see who wins."

"Have no fear, ladies, I'll put a stop to this!" Wally announced as he stepped up. "I don't want to have to use force, but you've given me no choice."

Wally tried to perform a flying kick, but just ended up tripping himself and slamming his head on the seat. Meanwhile, Niles had begun to take the upperhand in his scuffle with Connor. He gripped the other boy's head in his hands and rammed it against his own, knocking him to the floor unconcious.

"Heh, well that was fun," he remarked. "Now I'm leaving."

With that he left out the door and stepped out into the desert. Ashley, Lana, and Maisie quickly rushed over to Connor.

"Oh my god, he's hurt! He needs help!" Maisie panicked.

"He needs mouth to mouth!" Lana exclaimed.

"Pretty sure that won't help," Ashley stated.

"Shhh, do not take this away from me," Lana barked.

"Well, if this is where the idiot convention is staying then you can count me out," Kelly said as she walked out the door.

"Hey, I'm alright too," Wally said as he got up, but found the girls all still frantically pacing around Connor. "Right, cool, yeah no need to worry, I'm tough."

Without anyone directing any attention to him, Christian slipped out the door and left behind the majority as well.

Confessional:

Maisie-I wear my heart on my sleeve, I can't help it. I know I'm clumsy and quirky and sometimes that makes me a bit awkward, but I'm just so excited. This is going to be MY time to shine, I may just be an ordinary girl, but I'm gonna be a star, I can feel it!

Lana-I'm already rich, so like I don't even need the money, teehee, oh well. Just something to do though, when your family can buy you anything you ever want, new thrills are a little hard to come by.

Connor-I am here to do my best. It's just who I am, go big or go home. I want us to win, I want to stay safe as possible, and to me that means stepping up and leading. This group well...I guess not everyone shares my views, but it's okay, a challenge is good.

Christian-Truthfully, I just find something fascinating about the nature of evil. Me? Oh no, I'd never think of breaking the rules. But this show has seen plenty of tortured souls...I find it so beautiful. Just a few minutes ago, we saw two boys trying to clobber each other's brains out. How so primal, this desire to hurt, waiting to come out in all of us. Truly, so interesting...

Ashley-Heh, yes I'll admit I'm not the most interesting person, I've read about so many fierce heroes...but that's not me. For this game, though, playing it cautious and out of the spotlight might have a few more benefits than being noticed.

Wally-Yeah, I'm pretty much a badass. My skills aren't gonna fail me out here, the rest of this game had better get ready, except it's too late, I'm already here and one step ahead!

Niles-I wasn't joking around before, I guess you could say I'm pretty messed up. I don't have to hurt anyone, that might get messy...but they'd better fear me, and they should by now.

Kelly-Okay I'm just going to say it, I hate people. From sitting in class with a bunch of morons who are just going to go on to rot in society because they couldn't care less, to turning on the news to hear about nothing but all the terrible things we do, it's enough to pray for Darwin to hurry the hell up already and give us another plague to wipe out 90% of the population and forcing us to build preservative domes and deciding on who is worthy to survive to the new era. Obviously I'd be on the list.

(Tricia, Taylor, Ricko, and Melania)

Tricia eagerly scampered through the rough terrain while Taylor and Ricko gradually followed from behind. Tricia leapt ahead, pouncing on top of a rock.

"Aha!" she exclaimed. "Oh this is a good spot, yes it is!"

"That's another pretty cool rock," Ricko remarked with a thumbs up. "You see anything yet though?"

"Hmmm," Tricia exclaimed as she scanned the horizon in both directions, "hmm...nope!"

Ricko sighed as he grimaced at the hot sun.

"You know what I was just thinking?" Taylor remarked. "This land...would be perfect for an evil lair!"

"You know, you might be right about that," Ricko replied.

"Just you wait," Taylor declared. "Once I get some equipment, some weapons, some minions, I will be ready for some true evil!"

Suddenly Ricko was grabbed from behind. He turned around to see Melania.

"Finally," she groaned. "What do you think you're doing? All of you!"

"Well I thought that was pretty obvious," Ricko remarked. "We were looking for some sign of where we're supposed to be meeting up."

"Take a look around," Melania stated. "Do you see anything? No, we are trapped in the middle of a wasteland. You're not going to find anything just by straggling along aimlessly."

"No offense but, you know, you didn't have to come along then, right?" Ricko pointed out.

"Of course I did!" Melania scoffed. "I can't just have our team scattered. Someone had to drag you back so we can stick together at our strongest and figure out our next move. That is how a team is supposed to work."

"Mmm...nah!" Tricia replied. "I'm ready to let the winds guide me and let the adventure find me!"

"Well that's a lovely sentiment, but I'm afraid it doesn't actually hold any factual value," Melania retorted. "Now we are heading back this instant!"

"Oh I think you're the one who's going to want to be getting out of here," Taylor threatened. "Or I'll um...well I'll...you know, I was planning on building a lair here, as soon as I get that set up I'll have something nasty in store for you. Mwuhaha!"

Melania just glowered.

"You'll have to catch us first, teeheehee!" Tricia laughed before sprinting off.

"What she said!" Taylor added before following after her.

Melania just tightened her grip on Ricko.

"Well, I'm assuming I don't really have much of a choice here," he remarked. "But I'm thinking we might want to follow after them."

Confessional:

Tricia-Who needs rules and streets and maps!? We're in the wild world now, I will just be letting my inner animal guide me!

Ricko-I guess this isn't exactly how I figured I'd be spending my first day out here, but hey it's all part of the experience right? I'm already getting some new inspiration for some music.

Taylor-Out in the wasteland...no one can hear you scream! I love it mwuahahaha! (notices a spider on his shoulder) AAAAAAAEEEEEIGGHH!

Melania-(rubbing temples) This is not a great start. It's anarchy practically. These are the people I will be voting with. I need to establish now that I am to be respected or else things will turn into a disaster.

(Team 2)

The group of eight teens continued to trek through the desert altogether.

"Aw man, it sure is hot out, anyone else feeling that?" Lyndon gasped as she tugged at her collar.

"Pretty sure we're all feeling it," Sashonelle replied as she flicked her hand through her hair and flung a few beads of sweat into the sunlight.

"Oh yeah, right," Lyndon remarked. "I was so dumb for wearing this sweater, why didn't I think ahead?"

"Keep at it, everyone!" Blaine exclaimed. "Most insects stay in perpetual motion to keep themselves from dying, if they slow down they may never pick up again."

"Please darling, we're more than mere insects," Sashonelle gave a light laugh while placing her hand on her chest delicately.

"I don't know guys, I could really use a quick break," Shelby sighed.

"Not a good idea!" Blaine insisted. "Suck it up!"

"Oh hush," Sashonelle said with a flick of her wrist. "I say we take a break before some of us collapse."

The majority agreed and began to sit down along the hot ground.

"So hey," Spencer said as he sat down next to Scout. "if you're a robot, can't you just use your...telescopic vision to help us figure out where we're supposed to go? Or something?"

"Ha, of course not!" Anthony interjected. "Ridiculous of you to even ask! Scout here has no physical modifications that would give him any strength other than that of an average teen boy. Anything else would completely skew the results of the study. What would that prove if he succeeded using unfair abilities? Nothing!"

Scout cracked a light smile at Anthony's rant.

"Yes, I am just like the rest of you, so there is no need to feel worried," Scout declared. "Your challenges will be the exact same to me, we'll be all in this together."

"Hey no need to worry about me," Spencer said while flexing his muscles. "I'm big and strong, check it out!"

"Oh, I had no intention to imply otherwise," Scout replied. "I'm sure you will be quite the valued asset."

"Damn right!" Spencer exclaimed. "You're alright, robodude!"

"He's more than alright!" Anthony boasted. "He will be perfection!"

"Thank you, both of you," Scout said with a smile. "Your praise means so much to me."

Willi meanwhile had sat by herself, crossing her legs and closing her eyes.

"Hey, whatcha doing!?" Shelby asked.

Willi opened an eye and sighed.

"Well, before you broke my concentration, I was trying to attain a connection with the spirits of this land," Willi exclaimed. "And before you even say anything, I can assure you whatever assumptions you've made would be incorrect."

"So rude," Shelby scoffed while shaking her head.

Confessional:

Spencer-Hey man, robots are cool. And Scout seems like a real "bro" you know, he's not all robotic and creepy, he's just a real "dude."

Scout-This time could be well spent. It is my intention to make a positive impression as soon as possible to avoid talks of elimination. Though I hold no advantages, I know that others may still hold my form against me, and if I am to win, I must nullify that risk as timely as possible.

Lyndon-Aw man, everyone here is so smart or so strong or a robot or a witch...I don't stand a chance do I? (sighs)

Willi-If I can connect to the dead here then maybe I can get a better idea of what we're dealing with...however, that takes focus, concentration, silence, and with everyone yelling, that's not going to happen.

(Kelly)

Kelly stumbled through the desert alone. She had lost sight of Niles and was simply on her own in the vast openess.

"Now this is more like it," she remarked. "Just me myself and I."

However, not long after walking, she began to feel exhaustion set in. She still saw no sign of any destination around her. Eventually she decided to sit down on a rock.

"Alright now, those idiot hosts are probably just getting a good laugh out of this," she remarked as she cleaned her glasses. "I know how this show works. There's probably hidden cameras everywhere."

As she sat though, a deep black scorpion crept towards her hand. Just as it raised its stinger, it was suddenly crushed by a rock. Kelly gasped and turned around to see that Christian had caught up with her.

"What the hell!?" Kelly snapped as she leapt to her feet. "Are you stalking me!? You creep!"

"Uh-huh, I just saved you from a pretty nasty dose of venom," Christian remarked. "How about 'Thanks?'"

"Hmph, don't change the subject on me," Kelly scoffed. "You were still following me. Why!?"

"Perhaps I just want to get to know you," Christian mused.

"Going to have to do better than that," Kelly retorted.

"Everyone else on that bus just bores me," Christian remarked. "You were so quick to leave them all behind though. I admired that, I want to know what's going through your head."

"How about, I hate everyone," Kelly replied. "I'd rather be out here then listening to those idiots chatter on about more meaningless dribble. And that does not mean you're exempt!"

"Fair enough," Christian replied. "But let me remind you that there's still a game to play here, surely you're not here to just make enemies and leave first."

"Oh don't start pretending like you care about me," Kelly scoffed. "I wasn't born yesterday."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Christian replied. "I'm simply stating the facts and maybe we could help each other."

"Fine, fine, it could work," Kelly said. "But keep quiet, I do not need any small talk ruining my time out here!"

"Whatever you say," Christian replied.

Kelly-Yeah, I'm not here to be first boot, but that doesn't mean I have to be fake nice. I'm going to use my brain! People don't have to like me and I certainly don't like them, but when this game starts they'll realize that I'm here to stay.

Christian-Kelly certainly is the feisty little firecracker. I really do enjoy her pure vitriol that she's spewing, she's got confidence and I certainly think she's more capable than she lets on. I would quite like to be on her side rather than in her line of fire.

(Brittany, Sway, Simpson, Liz)

"So, the four of us are stuck here for now," Sway remarked as he paced around the bus. "How about we take this chance to get to know each other a little better?"

"Okay, look, I'm sorry, but as the current setting and occupants of this bus seem to be potentially rape-inducing, I would just feel a lot more comfortable if you wouldn't speak until we get to a safety zone," Liz stated.

"Wow, what did I ever do to you?" Sway scoffed.

"It's not what you did do, it's what you're capable of doing," Liz replied.

"That doesn't make sense," Sway laughed.

"No, it wouldn't to you," Liz replied. "But you're not me, you've lived a different life, you've lived as a man, your views have been shaped through experiences as a man. If you were a woman you might understand."

Meanwhile as Simpson sat in the back, while Damian sat beside him,playing with the other boy's hair.

"Well? What are you just doing sitting around, dumbass?" Damian spat. "Now's your chance. They're already getting tense, get out there and fan the flames."

"Oh okay...how do I...do that, exactly?" Simpson asked.

"Do I have to do everything for you?" Damian groaned. "Look-"

Damian directed Simpson's head so that he was looking at Brittany.

"Go over to her, talk to her, say something about how those two sure are getting aggressive, just put the idea in her head and then let her do the rest of the talking," Damian said.

With that he shoved Simpson out of his seat, who then awkwardly stumbled over to Brittany.

"So uh...hi?" he mumbled.

"Omigosh, hi!" Brittany said with a smile. "So nice to meet you!"

"Oh uh...really?" Simpson asked as he blushed.

"Absolutely!" Brittany gushed as she pulled Simpson up against her. "Selfie!"

She pulled a phone out of her purse and snapped a photo of the two of them: She grinning, and Simpson just awkwardly trying to gain his bearings.

"Um...thanks," Simpson replied.

"Like anytime!" Brittany said with a smile.

"So er uh...whatdoyouthinkofthosetwoguys?" SImpson murmured softly.

"What's that? You think I have nice thigh?" Brittany replied. "Well thank you! Here can you like take a photo for me so I can post my nice thighs for the world to see?"

"Oh...okay," Simpson said as he took the phone.

You had one job, what the hell are you doing? Why can't you do anything right?

"Shut up," Simpson moaned.

"Um what!?" Brittany gasped. "Like um, that's pretty goshdarn rude, don't you think!?"

"Oops, no, I didn't mean that!" Simpson exclaimed.

"Don't worry too much about it," Liz said to Brittany. "He's a man, it's just in his nature. He needs control to feel secure, giving out orders to someone else, usually a woman, gives him a sense of power."

"What no!" Simpson said.

"I am like so offended right now, Tumblr will be hearing about this!" Brittany huffed.

"Aw don't sweat it," Sway said as he pulled Simpson aside. "These girls are clearly out of their minds anyways."

There, we're finally getting somewhere. Not the way I had planned, thanks to you, but just TRY to keep things on track and not screw this up. I can't always be bailing you out.

Confessional:

Sway-Hey don't get me wrong, I like girls...a lot! But crazy ones, I think I'll pass. I'm here for some chemistry, I don't need all the animosity thrown at me.

Simpson-Oh gosh, I hope I didn't mess things up too bad with Brittany, she seemed really nice and well...she's pretty! (blushes) Damian says no one could ever like me...but maybe I can prove him wrong!

Damian-Pathetic that Simpson can't even keeps his head straight for a a few minutes to play the game. But that's what I'm here for, right? Sway is already turning against the girls, we just need to keep this up and keep the target on them.

Liz-I think perhaps something that most people don't realize is that we don't always control our actions. Sure, you may not think you're capable of assaulting a woman and taking advantage of her, but we are built up of threads from our experiences, our lessons, subjected to us through society. And frankly I will not feel safe until society stops promoting the patriarchy.

Brittany-Like you know what, I like cute guys and one day I am going to have a cute boyfriend. But he will NOT be rude! Like it's 2016, you know right? I have like my priorities, you know...

(Team 2)

The team had continued moving by now and were all back on their feet. Shelby had slid up next to Blaine and eagerly eyed him as they walked side by side.

"I think it's time I get some more interviews in," she remarked.

"Where's your assistant?" Blaine asked.

"I told her to count and record the plantlife that we passed," Shelby explained.

"But...there is no plantlife," Blaine pointed out.

"Keeps her busy though," Shelby remarked. "Now then, let's talk about YOU though! I want to hear your thoughts beyond just bugs, but the game itself!"

"Your question is paradoxical though, how can you ask me to separate the two when they're so intertwined?" Blaine replied.

"Um-" Shelby said uncertainly.

"Are we not all just like the spiders who dedicate their lives to building a perfect web!?" Blaine exclaimed. "Here we are, all competing, to survive, to eat on the luscious fruits of life waiting to be ensnared in our nets, either placed carefully, or a meager contraption. One will thrive, the other will be extinguished!"

As he spoke, Shelby's face just gradually shifted from interest to boredom.

"Well okay then," she remarked.

"Aha!" Anthony suddenly exclaimed eagerly while pointing ahead.

"Well? What is it?" Willi asked.

"Ahead, I can see the shape of something in the distance!" Anthony announced. "We're clearly on the right track."

Sashonelle brought her hand up to her forehead and evenly placed it above her eyes to look ahead.

"Oh my, so far away," she pronounced with concern.

"We can make it!" Spencer exclaimed.

"How lucky we are to have someone so big and strong on our team," Sashonelle remarked as she glided over to Spencer.

"You know it!" Spencer said.

"Come on, let's keep moving!" Anthony urged. "We've still got a while to go and the sooner we arrive the better."

"You realize it could just as easily be nothing right?" Willi pointed out.

"It's the only thing we've got to go off of for now," Anthony pointed out. "A hypothesis is better than nothing!"

Confessional:

Shelby-Well Blaine is turning out to be a real bore, so you can bet I'll be pushing his name when it's time to eliminate someone. That is assuming all of our eliminations aren't already predetermined, I'm not ruling that out my a long shot! So much to cover already!

Blaine-If you don't see the parallels between this game and the fabric of insects' existence then you must be blind! We'll work together like a colony of ants, survive extreme measures like cockroaches, and build games like a beautiful silky web. My web of course will be the best!

Anthony-I am a programmer, my focus is on designing software, but of course any scientist has a keen eye for detail! That's why I'm always paying attention to my surroundings, that's how you get ahead!

Sashonelle-Obviously I am a model (strikes a pose with hands on her hips) And I know I'm a ten, way out of the leagues of anyone here, ha ha! But of course, I plan to use that to my advantage, throw on the charm, and keep people right where I want them in my hands! (strikes another pose with her hands fanning on either side).

(Maisie, Connor, Ashley, Wally, Lana)

Connor remained unconscious as the girls had propped him up on a seat.

"We need to do something!" Lana sobbed. "The poor baby could die!"

"He'll be fine," Ashley assured. "I think our best bet is just to wait for the hosts to bring in their medic."

"What if they don't!?" Lana continued to cry.

"Well, they certainly wouldn't have a very entertaining show if we just sat around here," Ashley said.

"I'm sorry but are you calling me boring?" Lana gasped. "This beautiful specimen could be dying and you can't even stop with the lowblows."

"Now, let's all get along," Maisie said.

"Yeah, Trashley, stop trying to pick a fight!" Lana snapped.

"Okay," Ashley said meekly.

"Hey, girls, I had an idea!" Wally exclaimed. "It's pretty obvious actually, why don't we just ask the driver for help!?"

None of the girls paid any attention to Wally though.

"Yeah uh...pretty smart, right?" he stammered. "Okay I'm gonna do it now."

Wally walked over to the driver and tapped him on the shoulder...only for the dummy to fall to the ground.

"Oh snap!" Wally gasped. "Hey girls you'll never believe it! The driver was a fake!"

"What a plot twist!" Maisie gasped.

"Hey guys, I just had a bright idea!" Lana exclaimed. "What if we could drive the bus. Then we'd be able to find safety and get sweet precious Connor somewhere to rest."

"Well except...the bus broke down and none of us know how to work it," Ashley pointed out.

"Never say never!" Maisie exclaimed.

"I actually...didn't say the word 'never,'" Ashley pointed out.

"Maisie is right!" Wally said, "I'm sure I can put my skills to work and get this thing running again!"

Wally rushed outside and pried the front of the bus open to reveal the engine.

"Okay umm...I got this!" he exclaimed.

"You sure?"Ashley asked with concern as she walked out next to him.

"Of course!" Wally exclaimed. "What kind of guy doesn't know how to fix up his own car by sixteen?"

Wally then returned his attention to the array of mechanics.

"Well let's see, I'll just...uh...turn this thing to uh...do the thing," Wally said as he leaned in an turned a valve.

As he twisted it, his shirt caught on a cog which began to spin and drag him inside with it.

"Ah! Help! It's trying to eat me!" Wally cried.

Ashley grabbed his from behind and pulled him out.

"Heh okay...well, maybe I don't know exactly what we need," Wally admitted.

"Aw, it's too bad my boyfriend isn't here," Maisie lamented. "He'd know exactly what to do. I can just imagine him now, saying something like 'It's actually quite simple, Maisie, all you have to do is turn the red switch and keep your hand on the large bronze pipe.'"

"Well...I see a red switch and large bronze pipe," Ashley remarked as she looked down at the engine. "Worth a try?"

"It had better not eat me this time," Wally said as he rolled up his sleeves.

Wally reached in and flicked the switch while Ashley gripped the pipe as it started to quake. Then the engine roared with life again.

"Huzzah!" Wally exclaimed.

"You did it, guys!" Lana cheered. "Now come on, let's get a move on!"

"Hey uh...do we actually know where we're going?" Wally asked.

"I think we might have an idea," Ashley said. "It's faint, but if you look you can see a bit of a groove in the ground. I think this path has been used before. If we just follow the path of least resistance we should be on the right track."

"Then let's get to it!" Maisie exclaimed.

Confessional:

Lana-You know what, maybe I'm a sucker for romance, but I feel like this could be the start of a beautiful story between me and Connor. And no one is gonna take that away from me!

Wally-I'm already proving my worth like a three pronged attack. I'm smart, fearless, and strong, what's not to love about me!?

Ashley-It's definitely way too early to start any conflicts. Lana seems like a bit of a hot-head and that's fine. If I rile her up she'll be my worst enemy, but if I just keep the situation under control I'm sure she'll find someone else to fuss over.

Maisie-I love my boyfriend, Chett, back home! He's so smart, and handsome, I don't know what I did to deserve him! I'm doing this all for him!

(Taylor, Tricia, Ricko, and Melania)

Taylor had arrived at a large natural stone structure. Looming walls of rock surrounded a canyon as he kept walking.

"Well, about time for a change of scenery," Taylor remarked.

He leaned against the rock, enjoying the shade after the exhaustion of travelling in the heat for so long. However, his eyes soon snapped into worry as he saw Melania taking vicious strides towards him.

"And that's my cue to move!" Taylor exclaimed, though he couldn't get far before Melania grabbed him by the shoulder.

"That's far enough!" she barked. "Now where's the other one?"

"I dunno," Taylor replied.

"You lost her!?" Melania snapped. "How!?"

"Yoohoo!" Tricia called from atop the stone structure.

"Get down here now!" Melania ordered.

"Hmm...nope!" Tricia replied.

"I'm coming for you!" Melania shouted.

"Hey, any chance we could slow it down?" Ricko asked in exhaustion. "No? Okay..."

Melania scaled up the wall and climbed up to the surface where Tricia was still standing. However, once she arrived, she noticed someone climbing from the other side. Spencer pulled himself up and then offered his hand to Sashonelle.

"Ah, you must be the other team," Melania remarked.

"That's us!" Spencer exclaimed as the others climbed up to join.

"Where's the rest of yours?" he asked.

"Good question, what is taking you two so long!?" Melania called.

"We've got a little company of our own," Ricko called back.

Melania looked down to see that Kelly and Christian had joined up with the boys.

"Oh great, more people," Kelly groaned.

"Nice costume," Christian remarked to Taylor.

"Thank you, it gives me a feeling of evil!" Taylor exclaimed.

"I approve," Christian added.

"Wait a minute," Anthony remarked as he joined Melania to look down. "If those guys aren't with you...then are we looking at a third team here?"

"It would seem to be the case," Melania stated.

"Something else seems to be moving towards us," Scout pointed out. "Faster than human speed."

"Has our host finally decided to join us!?" Shelby exclaimed.

However, what was arriving was in fact the third bus.

"Ta-da!" Lana exclaimed as the bus stopped and she stepped out. "We made it! Okay, where are the beds, med bay, and I could really go for a glass of lemonade if that's in the budget."

"Oh hi, guys!" Maisie exclaimed to Kelly and Christian. "Was wondering what happened to you!"

"Joy..." Kelly sighed.

"Wait, wait, wait," Lana remarked. "Where are the hosts? The living quarters? This won't do at all!"

"Guh...what's going on?" A dazed Connor said as he got off the bus.

"You're alive!" Lana exclaimed while squashing him in a hug.

"Uh...yep, seems like it," Connor replied.

"So...we're all here but...now what?" Wally asked.

"Oh guys, yoohoo!" Tricia called as she stomped on the ground to a metallic clank.

The different groups came together to investigate. Tricia revealed it to be a hatch under the dust which she pried open. Looking down they say a metal chamber with a ladder leading down.

"Well who first?" Shelby asked.

"Me!" Maisie announced as she leapt down.

One by one the other climbed down and entered the dark, old rusted chamber. The room was surprisingly spacious though and allowed enough space for the many teens to fill it. Suddenly the lights blared on, causing several of them to wince and shield their faces. A TV lit up in front of them and Jeanette's face appeared before them with her haunting smile.

"Hello, so glad to see you could make it," she greeted airily. "I am your host, Jeanette Washington. Pleasure, dears. And welcome to Total Drama Armageddon!"

"So this was all part of a plan?" Shelby asked. "Our bus was supposed to break down?"

"Of course, dear," Jeanette said. "Suits with the theme, don't you think? This is the end of days. We're taking survival to a whole new meaning, things are going to go wrong, and you'll need to rely on your wits to stay safe. Oh that reminds me, you're all nice and safe in this bunker, but in exactly one hour this land will be subjected to a nuclear strike, turning it into a true apocalyptic fallout. Of course, anyone still outside at that time will be-"

"Killed!?" Anthony cried in distress.

"Well I was going to say eliminated," Jeanette replied. "But I suppose that's a legitimate concern too. Luckily though, this is the perfect time for the games to begin. In the next room you'll find three vehicles, one for each team. You'll be able to scour the land much quicker in them to pick up anyone you may have left behind. But remember if you're out there after an hour's up...well it won't end well...the choice is yours, dears."

With that the light screen blinked out and was replaced with a timer counting down from sixty. The group herded together into the next room where three sleek jeeps awaited.

"We've got half our team just waiting out there," Ricko exclaimed to his team. "We have to go back."

"We don't have to do anything," Melania replied. "We'd be putting all of ourselves at risk. It's up to the others now."

"What are you talking about!?" Ricko snapped. "You're the one who ordered them to all stay behind."

"I did," Melania replied. "But now that we're here we should count ourselves lucky. I'm not about to let this game end for me before it even begins. It's simply not worth the risk."

"Ha, we actually got our whole team here!" Spencer laughed. "No need to worry!"

"Of course!" Anthony exclaimed. "Because we're smart!"

"Just as expected," Blaine added. "The colony proves its strength in numbers."

"Oh come off it," Kelly sneered. "You're probably all fodder anyways, what a waste."

"Yeah, we only lost that thug," Lana remarked. "No one cares about him!"

"Not true," Connor said as he stepped into the jeep. "He's still a member of our team, and if we have a chance to help, then I'm going to have to take it!"

"You can count me in too!" Maisie exclaimed as she hopped in next to Connor. "Let's do it!"

"You can depend on me too," Wally said joining the forming team. "You know, in case it gets too rough for you guys out there."

"Weeeelll, if Connor thinks it's a good idea then I guess I do too!" Lana said.

Ashley glanced up at the group uncertainly before remarking, "Well...looks like this is my chance to play hero."

"Fine, fine, you're all gonna die anyways," Kelly scoffed. "Hope it was worth it!"

Ricko meanwhile was climbing into his team's jeep, but he was suddenly kicked out as Tricia swung into the driver's seat.

"Sorry, friend!" she exclaimed. "You stay safe, let me handle this!"

The two jeeps roared to life and began to take off. As they did though, Taylor tossed himself on to the back of the other team's vehicle.

"Aha! As if I'm going to let this chance for sabotage slip through my fingers!" he laughed.

Confessional:

Tricia-I'm going to save my friends, but I also have to PROTECT my friends! No one else is going to take this risk but me!

Connor-Niles may have roughed me up pretty bad...but he's a member of our team, we're all in this together, and to me you don't just take the easy road, you do what you need to do.

Ashley-Truth be told I didn't actually want to go out there...but with all the team bravado, well...it would probably look bad to back out.

Taylor-This is the PERFECT opportunity for a little ill-intentioned sabotage. Nearly all of that team out together? Shame if something were to...happen...eh he..hehehe...HAHAHA HA! AHAHAHAH!

(Sway, Simpson, Liz, and Brittany)

Sway lay horizontally in a seat, tossing one of his shoes up in the air and catching it repeatedly.

"Well, I'm officially bored," Sway remarked.

"Like I've got an idea for fun," Brittany announced. "I'm going to tell you your future. I saw it on this like super trendy site once and like it's never failed me before. One time it told me I was going to buy new shoes, and then I realized I totally needed new shoes and so I went out and bought them! Amazing!"

"Well...okay, I'm in to give it a shot," Sway remarked skeptically.

"Alright, so like, what is your horror scope?" Brittany asked.

"Cancer," Sway replied.

"Omigosh! I'm so sorry to hear that!" Brittany cried. "But like...then why aren't you bald?"

"You think I would look good without these locks?" Sway replied with a charming grin.

"Well, like bald is in, but you know, only if you pull it off, you know? Otherwise you just end up looking like my dad, LOL! #Awkward am I right?" Brittany laughed.

"Hey guys...do you hear something?" Simpson asked.

Everyone paused to listen to a growing hum. They looked out the window to see a vehicle fast approaching.

"Well about time," Liz remarked. "A little longer in here and we'd all be developing claustrophobia."

As the jeep stopped outside, Tricia immediately broke in through a window.

"It's time to up and at'em!" she announced. "No time to explain but if you don't you're all going to die!"

"Good enough for me!" Sway exclaimed as he rushed for the door and hopped in the jeep.

The others soon followed and got in as well. Tricia brought up the rear and climbed back into the driver's seat.

"It's time to go go GO!" she exclaimed while slamming down the gas.

Confessional:

Brittany-Like I hope I don't catch cancer! (gasps)

Sway-Well,that's a mood killer if I ever heard one, but hey not dying is good to me!

Simpson-You know I think I'm doing alright...there's a lot to take in, but um...yeah there's a lot to take in.

Damian-He's doing terribly, really it's quite misery inducing. It's going to take some work before he actually has a chance here.

(Connor, Ashley, Lana, Maisie, Wally, and Taylor)

Connor drove around the desert frantically. Clinging to the back, Taylor just prayed for his life as the wind ripped at his body.

"We don't have much time left," Ashley cautioned. "He could be anywhere...sooner or later, we're going to have to cut our losses..."

"Never say never, I told you that already!" Maisie exclaimed.

"And once again, I actually did not use the word 'never,'" Ashley replied.

"Look, I think I see something!" Wally exclaimed as he reached ahead to point.

"I'm on it!" Connor exclaimed as he drove towards the silhouette in the distance.

As they closed in, Niles came into focus, pacing in the sand. Connor slammed on the brakes, while Maisie hopped out.

"What? You guys?" Niles remarked in shock.

"Come on, come on, get in!" Maisie ordered.

"Back off," Niles said as he shoved her off.

"We don't have time for this, just grab him!" Connor exclaimed.

The group of five surrounded Niles and picked him up from all sides.

"Oh, not so fast!" Taylor exclaimed as he jumped out from his hiding spot. "Seriously, did you have to go so fast? I think I'm...gonna be..."

Taylor collapsed and fell to the ground. The others shrugged and continued to drag Niles into the jeep.

"Aha!" Taylor exclaimed as he leapt up again. "Fooled you! And now, I am going to do something REALLY evil!"

With that, Taylor turned around and began to kick at the bottom of the jeep.

"Let's...see you...make your getaway...once I...break this down...to...come ON! Break already!" Taylor shouted with each kick. "Give me a few more minutes, I think I see something starting to come loose."

"Guys," Niles said as he broke free. "Allow me."

Niles walked up to Taylor and smacked him on the head, knocking him to the ground.

"Okay, let's go," he said getting into the jeep.

"Ow, ow," Taylor moaned as he rubbed his head.

He pulled himself up to see the jeep taking off, full of the other team.

"Wait, no! Nononono!" Taylor cried desperately as he tried to chase after them. "Wait! WAIT!"

The jeep disappeared and sped ahead, leaving Taylor behind. As the boy futilely tried to run after them he noticed a shadow starting to loom over the sky.

"Well...that's not good," he said nervously.

Confessional:

Niles-That guy totally had it coming. Glad to have something help me get that out of my system for now.

Maisie-Oh my, this is so...adventurous! You wouldn't get something like this back home, oh all my friends are going to be jealous!

Taylor-Okay, why does everyone have to be so mean? Can't a guy wreak a little havoc without getting assaulted for it!?

The two jeeps both came racing up along side by side returning to the hatch. The sky continued to darken.

"Come on, go, go, go, no time to waste!" Tricia argued.

"Same here!" Connor announced.

Everyone hustled into the hatch, this time sparing no time for courtesy and just scrambled many at a time. Maisie brought up the rear and politely shut the hatch behind them. As they crashed down to the ground they began to hear explosive blasts and felt the whole ground shake. Lana cried and curled up in a ball. The others who stayed behind rushed to meet up with the returnees. Panic was rampant though. The entire area continue to shake to more explosions. Then it was quiet as it stopped. The lights flicked back on. Jeanette appeared on the screen.

"Well done, you've all survived," Jeanette declared, "Unfortunately, Taylor was not so lucky...he will be our 24th placer. May he rest in peace!"

"You just mean that figuratively...right?" Liz asked.

"Don't ask silly questions, please," Jeanette replied. "We have far more important things to discuss though. Like your team names, oh yes, what's a season without some good team names!"

The teens glanced at each other uncertainly.

"FIrst team," Jeanette announced, "Brittany, Simpson, Tricia, Melania, Ricko, Sway, and Liz, you shall be...the Starving Zombies!"

A panel slid open and revealed a sleek staircase.

"You will find your quarters below," Jeanette stated. "Now then second team, Scout, Sashonelle, Anthony, Shelby, Lyndon, Willi, Spencer, and Blaine...you will be...The Mega Mutants!"

Another panel slid open for them.

"Go ahead and get some rest," Jeanette offered, "And our final team, Maisie, Ashley, Connor, Niles, Lana, Wally, Kelly, and Christian...welcome to, the Lasting Legends!"

"Oh like no fair. Our name is ugly, why do they get the pretty name!?" Brittany pouted.

"Hey, zombies are cool" Spencer said. "Though this time it's gonna be the mutants who conquer!"

"You will all finds beds waiting for you," Jeanette said. "Get some rest, you'll need it because the games have begun, this is the end of the world, this is Total Drama Armageddon."

Confessional:

Liz-Interesting to see how we were divided. I figure there was a thought process behind this and the names, based on our personality types and how we are intended to interact. But I am too tired to piece it together right now.

Ricko-So we're the first team to lose a member? Well that's just lame! What was Taylor thinking just running out like that though?

Lyndon-Well, uh I wasn't the first boot...I probably deserved to be though. I bet everyone hates me now for taking that guy's place...oh dear...

Spencer-You hear that? We're the Mega Mutants! Not just the regular mutants, the Mega ones! It's like X-Men up in here, the others don't stand a chance!

Shelby-And so it begins...my first night on this show. A fear tactic been thrust upon us, clearly new extremes taken to increase suspense, but don't fret folks, I'll get to the bottom of this. Just smoke and mirrors, I assure you.

Connor-Well...that was a hectic start...but we all got through, and that's the important thing.

(Night)

While the others remained in their bunks, Ricko had climbed back up to the open dark chamber. He pulled his guitar out from behind his back and began to strum. He stopped as his ears perked up and heard someone approaching. Tricia slinked up to him and rested against her shoulder.

"What are you doing up?" Ricko asked.

"Couldn't sleep," Tricia sighed. "You?"

"I just had a song in my head," Ricko replied. "I can't ever sleep when I've got a tune forming up in my brain. I need to get out in words."

"Hmm...maybe you could share it with me," Tricia said. "Sing me to sleep."

"Well, if you want," Ricko said, "still a work in progress but here it goes..."

Ricko began to play a rift on his guitar and started his song.

Armageddon...the world we know...
the world we know is no more...
Bombs dropping
Changes coming
Oooh, it's Armageddon!

Down in the Starving Zombies' quarters, Damian loomed over Simpson in his bunk, twisting his hair while the other boy lay awake.

Don't tell me it's the end, no don't tell me it's the end!
It's only the beginning!
Don't tell me it's over, no, no don't tell me it's over...
When it hasn't even begun...

In the Mega Mutants' quarters, Shelby was frantically tracking down notes on her pad from under her sheets. Willi had opted to sleep on the floor, sitting cross-legged and staring at the wall.

This is the end of days...
Everything we've known...gone
And a new world await, yes a brave new world
Waiting...waiting to be born from the ruins...

In the Lasting Legends' quarters, Lana peeked over from her bunk to sigh as she watched Connor sleep. Maisie tossed and turned in excitement in her bunk. Kelly, who had ended up in the bunk right next to hers, was using a pillow to cover her ears.

No, don't tell me it's over, don't you dare tell me it's over!
We haven't even begun, no no no no, we haven't yet begun!
Don't tell me it's the end...
Don't tell me it's the end!
We've only just...begun!

Don't tell me it's over...

Ricko stopped as Tricia fell into a slumber, sliding off his shoulder and resting her head in his lap. Ricko yawned as well and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes...

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Let me know what you think! :)