Episode 3: A TD Christmas Carol
Team Fairytale: Ai, Dawn, Ella, Leonard, Phillip
Team Renaissance: Jenn, Crystal, Dakota, Patrick, Rodney
Team Realism: Samey, Eva, Courtney, Ben, Noah, Sam
Voted off: Shawn, Alejandro
Snow was falling over Pahkitew Island, with soft white clouds overhead. Topher and Owen were on the dock, with Topher wearing a green beanie hat, a green scarf and green mittens; a cup of hot chocolate he was holding wafted steam lazily into the air. Owen had an orange scarf on with a bag of marshmallows in his hands.
"It's Christmas time on Total Drama! And Christmas is all about the spirit of giving... and getting! Last time, Team Fairytale lost the challenge due to Leonard's antics. But he was spared because Jenn convinced Ai to get rid of Alejandro instead. But will that prove to be a huge mistake? What horrible form of torture will I give to the remaining sixteen competitors? Find out on a special episode of Total Drama Generations!" Topher announced, taking a sip from the mug.
After the opening credits, the Wizard Tower was seen, mostly covered in icicles, each hanging from the roof and window ledges. Ella then walked outside, wearing a golden variation of her outfit, with a red cloak covering her shoulders. "The snow the snow has come! And the sight of it makes me want to hum! It's time to go find some critters and share in this wonderful melody~"
She was immediately surrounded by small birds, each one a different color and making a rainbow. They chirped in tune with her as she skipped to the forest. Ella then gasped. "I just thought of something better!" She ran back into the tower and went downstairs to the basement door. She knew Ai was in there and she knocked. "Ai? Do you want to build a snowman? There's about six inches outside! Come on with me, no need to hide, I don't like you so far away!"
Ai opened the door, wearing her cloak and growled in a menacing way. To anyone else, she'd appear almost like a vampire or monster and they would run off screaming. But not Ella. "No Ella." She said simply, disappointed that Ella didn't go away by her attempts of being crabby.
"You won't know if you like it if you don't try!"
Ai shut the door, although she was careful not to slam it.
Ella knocked again. "Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman! Come on and play, there's no need to be this way!"
Ai slumped to the floor against the door. "Go away, Ella!"
Ella sighed, her disappointment almost palpable. Ai felt guilty but said nothing as she heard Ella walk away.
Ai: Ella is persistent, I'll give her that. But I can't stand her optimism. It kills me.
In the cave, Jenn woke up shivering. With almost no protection, the sudden change in weather was a shock. She sat up and spotted Patrick with a basket, and was stuffing it with leaves. He then picked it up, revealing a bright red bow on the handle. She quickly lay back down, just as he turned around to make sure he was not being watched. "While everyone is asleep..." He hurried out as quietly as he could.
Jenn: -she has a clipboard and pen- I've been keeping a close eye on Patrick. He has a strange obsession with Ai. In his sleep, he mutters about her. In comparing this information with the gifts Ai got all last year, I suspect that there is a 94% chance he is her secret admirer. -she writes on the pad- now I have to figure out what percentage that Ai may like him back.
Patrick made his way through the snow and left the basket at the base of the tower. He was going to turn to leave, when Ella walked back from her song and dance in the woods. "Patrick?" She asked, surprised.
"Oh, uh, Ella! What are you doing?" Patrick asked, sweating as he was caught.
"I just came back from my walk. What are you doing here? Did you come to sing with me?" Ella asked excitedly.
"No..." Patrick replied. "I was uh... Uh..."
"Oh! What a nice basket!" Ella said. "Where did you get it?"
"Just do me a favor, make sure Ai gets this. Don't tell her where you got it. Please don't ask why." Patrick said, blushing.
Ella nodded and took the basket. In a hushed voice, she said: "Your secret is safe with me."
At that moment, the PA system let off a loud frequency. This effectively woke up the sleeping campers, creating a chorus of groans. "Good winter morning everyone! Topher here, announcing it's Christmas time and I have a special gift for you all at the dock!"
Courtney, who was leaning out from the tree house, scoffed. "How can it be Christmas when it's the middle of summer?"
"Christmas?!" Sam cried, leaping out of bed. "I didn't get Dakota anything!"
He charged outside, desperate to find something for her, and Courtney stepped aside as he fell out of the tree house and landed deep in the snow.
Topher burst out laughing. "Now that was pretty amazing! Hurry up to the docks!"
At the docks, the survivors shivered from the snow and the cold, except for Ai who was bundled up in her cloak.
"Welcome, survivors, to our special Christmas theme episode of Total Drama! Since it's all in the spirit of giving, old man Chris and Chef wanted me to do something special and give you gifts of some sort. But I say that it's not fair to just give you something for absolutely nothing, so we're gonna have a special Christmas challenge today!" Topher announced, sounding overly excited.
The survivors groaned, disappointed at the thought of another challenge. They had just barely registered the fact that it was snowing and everything had gone Christmas theme. Most of the trees had been replaced with beautifully decorated Christmas trees, and some of the shrubbery had been replaced with holly bushes. They didn't want to compete on a day that felt so much like Christmas.
Topher just ignored them. "I call this challenge: Have You Been Naughty or Nice? and it won't be easy. Since my favorite movie at Christmas time is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you little Elves are going to be stealing presents from one another. As we speak, our own personal Santa Claus is leaving presents in each of your camps. Your goal is to infiltrate the camps and swipe as many gifts as you can and still protect your own. The team that comes back with the most gifts wins something special!"
Team Renaissance gulped. Their cave would be easy pickings, while the Wizard Tower would be hardest to break into.
Jenn: Why does my team have all of the bad luck?!
Crystal then raised her hand. "So, based on what you just said, there's no immunity today? Just a reward for the winners?"
"That's right!" Topher said, giving an innocent smile.
"Awesome!" she said with a smile.
"You have three hours to snatch as much as you can... Survivors, go!" Topher said, shooting off a party popper.
Team Realism decided to try to break into the Wizard Tower first, since it would be the hardest to break into. Courtney stared up in marvel at the smooth walls, meaning no way to reach the window. "How on Earth did they do this?"
"Never mind that." Eva said, her arms crossed. "We have to figure out how to break into it."
"The safest way in is to climb up something to reach that window." Noah said, pointing to one of the few windows. He looked around and spotted a large rock. "We'll use that!"
"Come on everyone, push!" Sam said as all but Samey started pushing the rock. She looked at the doorway intently.
In a quick camera flash, Eva was standing on the rock, holding up Sam, who was holding up Ben, who was holding up Courtney, who was struggling to hold up Noah. Noah pushed at the window but because there was no glass, he fell through the open space and tumbled onto Ella's bed. He cringed as her platoon of stuffed animals stared at him. He then turned back to the window and helped up the others. As the team finished helping up Eva, Samey opened the door to the upstairs.
"What...? But how?" Courtney spluttered.
"Easy. I used the front door." Samey said cheerfully.
Noah: -he is squinting, as if deep in thought- Not sure if she was just selfish or smart.
"Wow, why didn't we think of that?" Sam said. "Did you find any presents?"
Samey shook her head. "All I could find was this basket of leaves and a red bow." she said holding up the basket Patrick had dropped off earlier. "If this is what Topher was hiding, it doesn't seem like much…" Everyone nodded their agreement at that. They then headed out of the bedroom area and split up. It was clear the tower was empty, apart from them. Eva and Courtney felt no remorse in tearing the place apart in their search for gifts.
Ben and Sam ended up checking the downstairs, where Ai slept. They found it to be quite dark and overall empty, with just a small cot and books everywhere. Ben sighed. "What's the matter?" Sam asked.
"She once said that I was a messy person. But this... This is the messiest I've ever seen her." Ben said. He shrugged. "But it's clear there isn't anything down here worth taking..."
Elsewhere, Team Fairytale headed towards Team Renaissance's cave. "Shouldn't we have left someone at the tower to protect it?" Ai asked. Although now she was, by essence, the team leader, she walked behind everyone else, trying to avoid conversation with her teammates. Dawn was okay, but the other three made her shudder.
"Of course not. I laid a hex on the tower so no one could possibly steal presents!" Leonard said triumphantly.
"Yes, we must have faith in our Wizard." Ella said cheerily.
Ai: -she stutters, completely speechless- is Leonard joking?! He can't seriously think he has magic powers still! At least last season Vivian gave us proof that she had ESP.
Ai groaned and said nothing more. At last they reached the cave, which was appearing deserted. Dawn held up a hand to get everyone to pause. "I am sensing auras nearby. I think we are being watched."
"It doesn't matter who or what is watching us. I shall charge in that cave and prove it is safe." Phillip then kissed Ella's gloved hand. "I shall come back bearing great gifts."
"Good luck, my prince charming!" Ella said, blushing.
It took a few minutes, but eventually, Phillip came walking out, a single box in hand. "I have returned! And not empty handed either."
"It's just one box." Leonard said, sounding disappointed.
"Fear not, Wizard of Oz. For I have brought more than just one box." Phillip said, as he dragged Owen, who was dressed as Santa Claus, out of the cave. Owen was dragging a large sack of presents, as everyone else gasped at the sight.
"Awww come on guys, I never had the chance to put gifts in the Wizard Tower yet!" Owen said, sounding desperate.
"All the more reason not to let you go." Ai said. "Come on guys, let's find that tree house and get what's there."
Team Fairytale moved out, except for Dawn. She stared for a moment at the bushes. Yes, there was something watching. Multiple somethings...
"Come on Lady Lovegood! We are going to win!" Phillip called. Dawn nodded and ran to keep up. As she left, Team Renaissance, minus Dakota, popped out of the bushes.
"How did she know?" Crystal gasped.
"She's an aura reader... But it's okay. Let them do the dirty work for us. We'll get our gifts soon enough." Jenn said. "Dakota should be in position by now."
Jenn: -she gives a dark smile- Sorry about what's going to happen, Ai, but you know how things go. I can't pass up a chance at a reward.
At the tree house, Team Fairytale came face to face with Dakota. "What are you doing here? Where's the rest of your team?" Ai asked.
For a moment, Dakota looked confused and speechless. "That's a good question, they should have been back by now…" She then glared and stared down on Team Fairytale. "But it doesn't matter because my job is to make sure you guys don't get into the Tree House here!"
She swung around suddenly, her tail sweeping the ground. Ai, with her improved reflexes, managed to jump away in time, but the rest of her teammates got swatted aside like flies. Phillip, being the prince charming that he was, got onto his feet first. "How dare you attack in such a crude manner without any one of us provoking you? If I only had a sword, I would have slain you right where you stand!"
Ella: Oh my prince!
Dakota hissed like a cat. "I'll have you know I won the P1 Grand Prix! I wrestled with the famous big boys and girls of the wrestling world. I'm not afraid of you!"
Phillip went pale. "Well, uh… I couldn't fight you anyway, since you are a lady." he said.
"Well he may be afraid of you, but I'm not." Ai said bravely. She then looked at her team and motioned for them to go into the Tree House. Ella, Leonard and Phillip just gave her blank looks until Dawn finally got the hint and whispered to the others.
"Bring it, wannabe mutant!" Dakota said.
At that moment, the two mutant girls heard the sound of a wrestling bell going off, indicating that they should start the fight. From the bushes, Topher popped out, Beardo next to him. "Nice job, I knew you would be cheaper than buying an actual soundboard." Beardo gave a smile of appreciation. Topher turned back to the ensuing fight. Dakota was clearly not thinking strategy and going in for as many punches as she could, or trying to claw at Ai's hair. Ai had taken her cloak off, tossing it aside for the moment. Team Fairytale hurried into the tree house, except for Leonard who was guarding Owen from escaping, threatening him with a stick.
"The only thing I ever wanted to host as much as Total Drama was a lady's wrestling match. And now both of my dreams have finally come true! Dakota has taken the good ol' one-two punch style, going in for the kill! But I think she underestimated that Ai has gained incredible reflexes that she can dodge in an instant it seems! Dakota now claws out to grab Ai… and she does! She's pulling at Ai's hair! Is this the end for Ai? … No! Ai kicked Dakota in the stomach and has escaped her grip! The crowd is going absolutely crazy!" Topher said, clearly lost in his narration. Beardo made the sounds of an applauding crowd.
At that moment, Team Renaissance arrived, and everyone except for Jenn gasped at the sight of the two mutants fighting it out. "Dakota! What are you doing? Where's the rest of Fairytale?" Crystal called out.
This caused the two mutant girls to stop and stare at each other. "This isn't over yet, Dakota. I may not be fond of my team, but I do care about their well being. You swatting them like flies got me angry." Ai said, glaring.
Dakota just growled, but before she could say anymore, Ella, Phillip and Dawn came down from the tree house, struggling to carry all of their packages. "Now what do we do?" Dakota asked her teammates.
"We're going to do exactly as we planned." Jenn said, walking towards Team Fairytale. When she stopped, a few feet away from them, she put a hand on her hip and smirked. "We're going to take what is rightfully ours back."
At that, Team Renaissance hurried over to each member of Team Fairytale and swiped numerous gifts. "I'll be taking that as my consolation prize." Dakota said swiping one of the boxes that Ai had picked up.
When they finished, Team Renaissance ran off, but they had forgotten something very important. "Oh, look what they left behind!" Ella said, looking at Owen. "They forgot Santa Claus!"
"Come on then, let's head back and see if we can swipe a few more away from them!" Leonard said, holding up his stick.
Team Renaissance arrived at the dock first, having had the head start on running. Topher was counting the number of boxes they had taken, which amounted up to eight in total. Team Realism came running in, looking exhausted. "What happened to you guys?" Rodney asked.
"We searched high and low all over the place…" Sam panted. "And all we could find was a basket full of leaves!"
"There were no presents anywhere!" Eva growled at Topher.
"Hey, don't blame me for this one." Topher said, nervously taking a step back. "There were supposed to be presents all over the three camps."
"Then where were they?" Ben asked.
"They never got delivered." Ai said as Team Fairytale arrived. Everyone gasped as they saw Owen with them. "We got Santa before he finished his delivery."
"I know!" Owen grumbled. "I didn't even get to eat all the milk and cookies either!"
"Owen, there were no milk and cookies." Ella said, resulting in another wail from him.
"Well then, if they got Owen before he went to the Wizard Tower, then there's no question that Team Fairytale got the most presents!" Topher announced.
As Team Fairytale gave a cheer of victory, Team Renaissance and Team Realism groaned. "Well, I guess no presents for us." Sam said sounding disappointed.
"Well, I guess it could be worse. At least none of us will be going home." Ben said, in an attempt to cheer Sam up.
"Yeah, you're right." Sam said, smiling.
"Nope, you're wrong!" Topher said. Everyone turned to stare at him. "While you guys were out and stealing from one another, I got a message from one of the higher ups, and they insisted someone has to be voted off after all."
Everyone gasped. "But that's hardly fair!" Ella said. "You got everyone's hopes up for a reward challenge, and then you took it away."
"I'm crying on the inside." Topher said, sounding as though he were truly upset by the change in plans.
Team Realism groaned. "Can we at least put the voting off until tomorrow?" Sam asked.
Topher shrugged. "I guess. You're only putting off the inevitable. Anyway, I'm going back to my nice warm tent. Team Realism, I'll be seeing you before breakfast." Topher walked off along the coastline.
"W-wait for me, Topher!" Owen said, hurrying after him. In his haste, he forgot his own sack, leaving it by Team Fairytale.
Topher: Haha… Can't believe they fell for that! There was never any phone call! But they should have seen the looks on their faces! –he laughs so hard, he falls down below camera-
Samey looked dejectedly at the basket of leaves she had taken, but before she could say anything, Ella came over and gently took it out of her hands. "Sorry, but this was actually meant to go to someone else." Ella said sweetly. "Um… Amy right?"
"No, it's Sam…" Samey started, but Ella had already started heading back to her team. "…Sammy… Why doesn't anyone pay attention to me?"
Ella handed the basket to Ai. "Ai, someone asked me to give this to you earlier. You should open it~"
Ai blinked. "Who gave this to you?"
"I'm not allowed to say. I made a promise. But open it, please! I'm curious as to what is under the leaves." Ella said eagerly. Ai sighed, and began to take out some of the leaves. At the bottom of the basket was a small book, marked as Ai's Diary. Ai blinked and handed the basket back to Ella, taking out the book and flipping through the pages. They were empty, and there were plenty of lines for each page to make an entry on. The book even had a lock on it.
"Oh, it's a beautiful book." Ai said breathlessly. "But I still wonder who gave it to me." No one noticed Patrick smiling as she said that, or that Jenn was making notes on a piece of paper.
Ella then went over to the sack Owen had left behind and she started taking some present boxes out of it. She then went back to Team Realism and handed Samey and Eva some of the boxes. "Ella, what are you doing?" Leonard asked. "Why are you giving out our rewards?"
"Because if this is meant to be a special Christmas theme today, then we should make sure to be good to those who are less fortunate than us. Something that Topher needs to learn!" Ella said, handing out more boxes. "At least everyone will have one gift each."
"Ella… That's really sweet of you, considering that we're supposed to be rival teams." Courtney said, giving Ella a hug when she was finished.
Afterwards, the teams each went back to their own camps, wondering if there was anything to be done to prevent elimination for Team Realism…
"It isn't right!" Ella said, pacing around the Wizard Tower a few hours later.
"Why are you taking it so personally? Topher is just a younger version of Chris. There's nothing more to this story." Leonard said as he shook one of the present boxes that Team Fairytale had kept for themselves. He started to take off the wrapping paper. "Besides, it's Team Realism's issue, not ours."
"And taking up this personal cause could cause us to suffer consequences." Ai added as she started to open a box as well.
"Well, I do think that there is more to this story that we don't know." Dawn spoke up. "I felt a strange aura around Topher today that I have never felt before on him. I think it was a sadistic aura, but this one targeted specifically at the holiday season…"
"An aura can tell you that much?" Leonard asked in surprise. "You must teach me this power!"
"He probably got coal in his stocking every year and now takes his resentment out on others for the heck of it." Ai muttered. She growled suddenly. "Gosh darn this tape! Can't open the box!"
"Allow me, my lovely Ai!" Phillip said, taking the box from her. He pulled out of his pants pocket a tiny knife, cut away at the tape, and after putting the knife away, he lifted the lid… Only for a boxing glove on a spring to fly out and punch him, leaving him with a black eye.
"Phillip, my prince! Are you okay?" Ella asked, putting her hands gently on his arms.
"I am perfectly fine! There is nothing that I cannot handle!" Phillip said, his voice breaking in pain. "Although an ice pack would be nice…"
While Dawn went outside to gather a snow pack for him, Ella spoke up again in defiance. "We must do something to change Topher about this! He must be warned of the pain he is causing others before it is too late!"
"You're asking for a Christmas miracle, Ella. This isn't a Christmas Carol…" Ai started when Ella suddenly had sparkling eyes. "Oh no! Ella, you can't be thinking what you're thinking!"
"I am! We are Team Fairytale, and we must make fairy tales come true!" Ella said. "And I have a few ideas…"
The fifteen survivors just stared at Ella when she had finished explaining herself in Team Renaissance's cave.
"Ella, you can't be serious! How are we supposed to do all of that?" Courtney cried out at last.
"It's quite easy actually." Patrick said. "While I admit the lack of costumes does make this complicated… It's not impossible. All we need to do is just make sure everyone is cast into the role best suited for them." At that, Patrick got up next to Ella. "If you don't mind, I'll do the casting."
Ella stepped down and stood next to Phillip, who still had his black eye.
"Alright, clearly we have our Mr. Scrooge, that being Topher. Our Bob Cratchit should have really been Owen, but I somehow doubt we can get him to go along with it…" Patrick made his list of casting who was to be who. Overall, everyone was okay with who they were casted as, except for Ai.
"Pardon me, but I'll take the role of the Ghost of Christmas Future if you don't mind." Ai said. "I'd rather not play a part that involves marriage to some degree."
"Aw, come on Ai, I'm supposed to be that Ghost." Jenn said. "Don't make this more stupider or complicated than it has to be."
"But I look the part." Ai protested.
Patrick sighed, and went over to her, taking her hands in his. "Ai, I know you're not comfortable with this idea, but please help out with this. It's for a good cause."
Ai: Since when was he one for good causes?
"Besides, if anyone should be complaining, it should be the brony over there." Patrick said, looking over at Ben. "He's the one playing Tiny Tim." He then nodded at Eva.
Ben gulped with realization. "You're not seriously going to…?"
"Just shut up and let me at least pop the bone out. If we're lucky, we can pop it back into place later." Eva said, grabbing his leg.
"If we're lucky? Eva, don't…"
Too late, there was a popping sound, and Ben opened his mouth to scream. Patrick covered his mouth before any sound could escape. "Perfect, he's our Tiny Tim now."
Ben: Is it just me, or does everyone else seem to revel in my pain and suffering? Well, everyone except Sammy anyway.
Ai sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll do my part. But I'm not happy about it."
10:30pm
Topher had already changed into his pinstripe pajamas and was lounging on his bed, tapping away at his phone. "Hey Owen, I really got let down today." Topher said, sounding bored.
"Aww, I'm sorry about not being able to…"
"It's not that. In fact I'm delighted about that! Haha, they threatened you. With a stick! And you fell for it! That's gold right there. No, I'm more upset that Ben didn't get injured in some way today. Rodney didn't fall for any girls. Jenn actually gave a warning for Ai's injection early this morning. Dakota didn't cry very much for Sam. I got really let down." Topher said with a yawn, as he put his phone aside and started slathering his face with an exfoliation cream. "Well, there's always the next episode for all of that I suppose. Anyway, I need some beauty sleep. Night Owen." he added, putting cucumbers on his face.
11:50pm
Topher woke up when a chill hit his toes. "Darn this blanket." he muttered. He sat up and started to recover his toes, when he gasped. Standing before him was a huge and pale monster. If he had been more awake, he would have realized that it looked a lot like Dakota. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"Topher McPlain… I come to you with a warning!" Dakota said, with a voice as spooky as her mutant voice would allow. "Tonight you will be visited by three spirits."
"What for? I haven't done anything wrong! … Were you sent by my agent?" Topher asked nervously, gripping his blanket.
"…No. I'm really just here to warn you of what's to come." Dakota said. "Now, go lay down and when the clock strikes twelve, the Ghost of Christmas Past will come and wake you again."
Topher, out of fear of these invaders, did as he was told. He shut his eyes tightly and hoped that he was only having a bad dream.
12 midnight
It wasn't even ten full minutes when he heard a soft sound, like the coo of a dove. Topher nearly jumped out his bed in fear. He was tired, so he wasn't paying too close attention to what the Ghost actually looked like. It was Dawn and she was covered in a cream that made her glow lightly.
"Topher McPlain… I am the Ghost of Christmas Past." she said.
"Spirit, why are you here? How did you get in?" Topher asked. He looked past her to see Owen. Owen was snoring away loudly, completely oblivious to what was going on around him.
"Well, I have observed that you are living in your past. Something that happened about ten years ago has stayed with you and you have refused to let go." Dawn said. "Please take my hand, and let our journey begin."
"This has got to be the craziest dream I've ever had." Topher muttered, but he took her hand anyway. Dawn immediately led him into the forest. "Um, if you're a ghost, how come we're not flying?"
Dawn paused for a moment, caught off guard. "I have already transported you to the past. It saves time and budgeting for special effects." she said, hoping he wouldn't see through her lie.
Topher shrugged. "Sounds reasonable."
She led him to a clearing, where a cardboard cutout of a house was propped up. Ai was there, her hair dyed blonde (or it could have been a blonde wig), with Patrick next to her. They were both crying.
Topher nearly spluttered. "Mother…? Father…? But… how are they here? Why do they look so sad?"
"Do you truly not recall?" Dawn asked softly. "You had just finished ruining the family gathering. You see, you were about seven at the time, and you had seen Chris McLean on television for the first time, hosting that figure skating show."
"I remember that! I had never been more inspired to do anything in my life!" Topher jumped in, the memories flooding back at him. "I discovered a love of narrating and wanting to be just like Chris in every way, until I discovered that I had the potential to be better than him."
"Something that you seemed to have overlooked was that in the process you had become more self-centered than you already were. You were enjoying seeing the pain you brought upon others, including your own family. You critiqued the whole Christmas dinner, in the rudest way imaginable. You were rude when it came time to open presents. You brought your whole family to tears that day…" Dawn said. She looked at Topher, and though his face did not betray any form of emotion, she could feel the change in emotion in his aura. It went from confidence to uncertainty. He didn't say anything further, but she took his hand and led him back to his tent. Owen was still snoring away, but Topher didn't seem to notice. Dawn was about to leave, when he finally spoke.
"Spirit… what happens now?"
Dawn did not turn back to face him. "You shall be visited by the Ghost of Christmas Present. Perhaps you shall see how your selfish attitude is affecting those around you." She walked out, leaving the tent flap open slightly, causing Topher to shiver and consider what was to happen next.
2 a.m.
Topher had somehow dozed off for about an hour or so before the chill got to him again. He sat up and noticed that Owen was now missing. He was about to lay back down, assuming that Owen had just gone to the bathroom or to raid their private kitchen, when he suddenly felt his pillow get pulled out from under him.
"No time for that." said a voice.
Topher immediately sat up. He gasped. "Are you the Ghost of Christmas Present?" he asked the glowing figure that stood before him. It was really Noah, but Topher seemed to be oblivious to that.
"If that's what you want to call me. Come on, I have stuff to show you, and I don't have all night." Noah muttered, tossing the pillow aside. Topher followed, not saying anything. "You realize that your obsession with out-doing Chris McLean has given you many enemies right? You've wronged a lot of people, including Owen."
Topher didn't speak. Noah didn't have to turn back to know that he was wrestling with his guilt. At that moment, Noah had led Topher to the Tree House. "What are we doing here?" Topher asked in surprise.
Noah raised an eyebrow at Topher. Topher, feeling immediately threatened, climbed up the rope ladder to the deck area. He peeked into the window and saw Owen inside, crying to Team Realism. Courtney and Sam were trying to comfort him, while Eva was merely pumping weights in the background, but even she seemed to show a trace of concern. Ben, to his surprise, was hopping around on a set of make-shift crutches, and his one leg looked bent out of place. Samey was at his side, trying to help him.
"Are you trying to say that I caused all of this?" Topher asked in shock.
Noah nodded. "Yeah. That sounds about right. Well, I'm done here." Noah then started climbing down the rope ladder.
"Wait, Spirit, aren't you going to take me back or something? What happens next?" Topher called.
Noah looked back at him. "Something worse is going to happen. Something…" But he was suddenly grabbed by a pair of dark arms and thrust away. Topher gasped and then something in a black cloak came forth.
Topher then took a closer look at the hooded figure. "It's black, breathing heavily and it's seemingly very powerful with just its bear hands… Does that mean the Ghost of Christmas Future is Darth Vader?"
Jenn: Darth Vader? Darth Vader?! Oh come on, I'm much scarier than that mechanical jump-suited bald guy with some outsider doing voices for him!
Jenn growled, knowing that she had been given explicit instructions not to talk. Topher heard this and cringed. He slowly made his way to Jenn, who made sure her head was ducked low so he could not see her face. She then pointed to a group of people who were cloaked similarly. (They were really some interns whom had agreed to go along with the idea). They had a flat screen with them, and they turned it on, showing what was supposed to be twenty-seven episodes later from now, where Topher gets fired by Chris and Chef.
"No! That can't be! Spirit, is this really going to happen?" Topher cried out. He was by now crumpled on the snow, on all fours, tears in his eyes and he looked up at Jenn. Jenn turned away and shrugged. "I can change Spirit! Really I can! I'll undo all the damage I did! I promise!"
Jenn just growled and snapped her fingers. The hooded interns responded and picked up Topher and, with Jenn in the lead, they carried him back to the tent where they promptly dropped him in the snow, and Topher immediately found his world going black…
Next Morning
Topher opened his eyes. He was in his bed, all tucked in and snug. He sat up. He even had his exfoliation cream on his face still, and Owen was in his bed snoring away.
"It was just a dream." Topher said suddenly, in realization. "It was just a dream! Whew, dodged a bullet on that one! I thought Chris and Chef were really going to fire me!" He then looked at Owen and started shaking him. "Wake up Owen! Wake up! We have work to do!"
"Five more minutes big bro…" Owen mumbled in his sleep, finally waking up as Topher kept shaking him. "Huh? Topher?"
"Come on Owen! We have a ceremony to set up!" Topher said, before hurrying out of his tent. Owen blinked and began to get himself dressed…
The teams had been assembled at the campfire ceremony. Everyone seemed rejected and even when Team Fairytale had been served an egg and toast breakfast, they chose to ignore that to stand by Team Realism.
"Team Realism, welcome to your delayed campfire ceremony! I hope you all slept well." Topher said, and took the bag of Mardi Gras beads that Owen had brought out.
Ella: -she is in tears- I can't believe that after all of that, nothing at all has changed! Perhaps Ai was right about it taking a Christmas miracle to change Topher.
"Just get on with it already." Courtney groaned.
Topher tossed her a gold necklace, Eva silver, Noah red and Ben green. Samey and Sam looked at each other and gulped.
Samey: So soon? I can't believe my team would even consider getting rid of me so soon!
Topher held up a blue necklace. Samey and Sam looked at each other and gulped. The necklace then landed on Sam's lap and Samey let out a sigh, and as she stood up to speak, she suddenly felt a necklace going around her neck. "Huh?"
Topher then started tossing out all of the beads in the bag towards the other two teams. "No one is going home today! I had a strange dream last night… And I decided that because it's the holidays, everyone should get the gift of immunity!"
This was met with a mix of cheers and "woohoos" from all of the teams. Samey grabbed Ben into a tight hug. "I can't believe it! We're safe after all!" she said.
"Yeah, it would really have sucked if you had to leave so soon…" Ben said, blushing and looking away slightly. He then suddenly screamed in pain as Eva popped his leg back into its proper place. "Sheesh, give me a warning!"
"Sorry horse boy. But in this game, you always have to be on your toes." Eva said, walking back over to Courtney when she was finished.
"Alright! And with that wonderful blood curdling scream, it's time to bring our special episode to a close! This is Topher…"
"…and Owen!" Owen interrupted with a smile.
"And Owen, wishing everyone watching a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Come back for more drama in episode four, where someone will be voted off, in the early New Year! Topher out!"
A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you enjoyed the special episode! Don't forget to check out my profile to check out the short story collection as well. Episode 4 is due around New Years Day. Please leave a review :)