As in the typical fashion of Total Drama, Chris started off the new episode with a recap of the previous one, only now he was lounging near the former Playa de Losers "Last time on Total Drama All Stars: the campers were treated to a day in the Fun Zone, where anything can happen except anything that is actually fun or safe. I was unfortunately taken out of commission far too early, so Chef temporarily took over my duties for the day. Heather found the hidden and long awaited Invincibility Statue, too bad she valued her dignity too much to take it with her and someone else ended up finding it after her. Duncan almost made a few bucks on the internet for reasons I refuse to describe. Speaking of which, in the end the Heroes were able to steal the victory at the last second and Duncan was gonna be headed for the Flush of Shame until he pulled off one hell of a big surprise, which sent Heather down the toilet. Way to pull a fast one Mohawk, but the big questions still remain: Can the Heroes keep up their winning streak? Will the Villains live up to their name? Will my breakfast get here before lunch?! Find out right here and right now on Total! Drama! All Stars!"
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(And keeping up with the new trend, once again here's my version of the full intro for the season)
Shots of four brand new spotlights popping out, following by the camera zooming through the camp past the spa hotel and the crappy cabin, up to the top of the thousand foot cliff, and then down into the lake below "Dear mom and dad I'm doing fine, you guys are on my mind!"
Underneath the lake, Anne Maria and Leshawna are tugging back and forth over a treasure chest, which opens to reveal Cody inside of it, along with Mr Coconut and several McLean Brand Invincibility Statues floating out of it until they rose to the surface, where Bridgette is lying on top of a surfboard "You asked me what I wanted to be, and now I think the answer is plain to see!"
In the nearby forest, Jo is jogging through the forest past the are where Dawn is meditating, surrounded by several animals, with Duncan just watching without giving a damn "I wanna be famous!"
In a nearby river, Alejandro and Heather are glaring at each other until their canoe is about to go over the waterfall, with Alejandro leaping out onto dry land while Heather goes over along with the raft "I wanna live close to the sun!"
Down below, Brick is standing on top of a cracked log doing sit ups until Heather lands on top of him, causing the log to give out and for both of them to fall "Go pack your bags cause I've already won!"
Scott is watching and laughing at this until Fang comes out of the outhouse confessional and starts chasing him "Everything to prove, nothing in my way! I'll get there one day!"
Pan over to where Chef and Adam are both just relaxing in lounge chairs in front of the Spa Hotel "Cause I wanna be famous!"
Mike and Zoey both sitting on the Dock of Shame staring romantically at each other, which is ruined when Sasquatchanakwa and the bear start to get into a slap fight "Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na!"
Pan over to the lake where all 14 contestants (Anne Maria, Jo, Scott, Alejandro, Heather, Duncan and Leshawna on one side, and Adam, Brick, Bridgette, Cody, Dawn, Mike and Zoey on the other side), are standing on poorly built platforms holding jousting sticks and all preparing to duke it out "I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!"
The teams clash, Brick and Jo taking each other out, Zoey shoving Scott back, Dawn shoving Anne Maria back, Bridgette pushing Heather back, Cody and Duncan pushing each other back, Mike going up against Leshawna, and Adam locked in a power struggle against Alejandro while keeping his gaze solely on Mike "I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!"
The scene changes to the blackness of night, with Brick and Dawn holding hands awkwardly and gazing into each other's eyes, only for Chris to ruin the moment just to be a jerk "(Insert whistling tune as the song ends)."
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The night was calm over the skies of Boney Island.
Mike opened his eyes and found himself in his own mindscape "I guess it couldn't hurt to at least try to find them, after all it's my own mind so that sort of narrows it down. Hello, is there anyone here? Chester? Svetlana? Vito? Manitoba? Anybody?"
"Not any of them, it's just you and me." a voice answered him "I was wondering when you would finally come here."
Mike whipped around and his eyes widened in shock "So it really is you after all… Mal…"
Sure enough, before him stood Mal, his expression appearing to be benevolent "Looks like you've done a lot of growing up haven't you Mike? I'm guessing the fact that I've been secretly conversing with Adam reached you by now?"
"Yeah."
"That sounds about right. What else did he tell you?"
"About how those power ups you granted him were what saved him from the likes of Vilgax and the dragon Animus."
"I did, it was the least I could do. I'm not gonna pretend I didn't hurt a lot of people, so many that I know there's a place reserved for me in the depths of Hell, so I figured that since I have nothing to lose, I might as well make sure that Adam is strong enough to clean up the mess that I made."
"So you remember all of it?"
"Every single bit of it, and I mean everything. I guess Sordibus thought that I wasn't good enough to do the job so now he's letting me live with the guilt and shame of the things that I've done. Mike, I really am sorry but words can't erase the pain that I caused. At this rate I see that my only options are to just spend the rest of our life imprisoned in this mind, or I could give myself up and be done with it. Whatever happens, at least then my penance would've ended up being paid."
"...So you do remember everything that's happened over the years."
"All of it, every excruciating detail."
"Does that include… what happened to Adam's parents?"
"...Yeah I do, both of them were run through by my own hands and I scarred Adam's body and heart. I remember being trapped in a never ending void of darkness while at the same time still being able to see everything that I was being forced to do."
"So is it accurate to say that I'm speaking to the Mal that I knew as a kid, the one that I called my first true friend?"
"If that's how you want to think of it then I won't stop you, but if you don't then I wouldn't blame you either, and if you want to just get rid of me then I would gladly tell you how to do that exactly. My very existence became forfeit a long time ago."
"Do you honestly think that me or Adam or any of us would want you to just up and disappear like that? What about how you've helped Adam to become stronger, helped all of us to become stronger? Why can't just trying the help us bring down Sordibus be the way you want to make amends?"
"Because I seriously doubt that would be anywhere near enough."
"And why not?"
"Don't get the wrong idea, when I first decided to help Adam I had hoped that it would bring me some measure of peace but the things I've done, the people that I've hurt, they can't be made right that easily. Is there really a point to what I've been trying to do, will these horrible thoughts ever go away? Maybe if I just give myself up then that would be for the best." what happened next took him off guard.
Mainly because Mike had slapped him straight across the face, sending him stumbling back a few feet "Do you really think that you'll be able to accomplish anything with taking the coward's way out?"
"I think it's obvious that I don't have what it takes to overcome this."
"You think you need to be strong in order to live? No you're wrong, if there's one thing that you taught me before everything went down the toilet for us it's that life itself and the people in your life are what give you strength. I don't see the old Mal before me, the old Mal was full of life and kindness and unwavering resolve and he would never give up without a fight."
"Then maybe that person is dead, maybe he has been for a long time." he was promptly grabbed by the collar by Mike.
"Snap out of it already!"
"It's too late for me Mike."
"It's never too late Mal!" and then Mike tackled him to the ground with great force and speed, taking Mal by surprise as well as getting his point across
"...You always know what to say don't you?"
"We both know that's never been true, I'm the kind of guy who just likes to stumble through life one day at a time. But I do know that if you have people you care about, and you can't just pretend that you don't because I'll know when you're lying, then you should live at least for their sake. That's what your purpose is Mal."
"...Do you really believe that?"
"You know I do."
"Well then… I have a favor to ask of you. I have a plan, if it works out the way I want it to then we'll be able to expunge Sordibus from this body once and for all, and then Adam will be able to fight him without having to hold him back."
"I'm listening."
"The first step of this plan involves you staying here and me taking control of our body for the time being."
"...I already don't like this plan."
"There's nothing about this entire situation you could like, just listen. During the years I was being possessed by Sordibus I'm pretty sure that it caused me to gain the ability to trace his power back to its source. Since I've been free of him I've been sensing some sort of unusual power coming from deep within the mind, and unless I'm mistaken that's the source of his connection to this body. If we can track down the source and we find a way to destroy it then that means…"
"Then that means that that's how we expunge him and maybe even destroy him. But what does that have to do with me letting you control my body?"
"Because the other four personalities have been imprisoned by Sordibus somewhere inside of this mind and we'll need their power in addition to our own in order to do this, I would do it myself but Sordibus knows that I know how to track down the, let's just call it a core for now. I'll do my job on the front lines while you do your work from behind the scenes, you'll have to work in here and track them all down one by one."
"Sounds like a pretty risky plan, but then again it's not like we have any choice now do we?"
"Not really no, so are you in or not?"
"...I don't like it but I'll do it, just make sure that you look out for Adam and Zoey and everyone else while I'm doing this."
"Knowing what Adam is like and how he gets when he becomes over confident, I'm pretty sure it's everyone else that I have to look out for. Anyway it's time we get to work. Good luck." and with that, Mal disappeared in a flash, granting him control of the body.
"Yeah… you too…" so with a deep breath, Mike slowly started making his way through his own mind.
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Morning came, and the sun was only just rising over the skies of Wawanakwa.
Adam and Duncan sitting outside the Loser Cabin trying and failing to enjoy what was supposed to be their breakfast "Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure that toast isn't supposed to be green."
"Then why the hell did you eat three pieces?" asked Duncan.
"I never said that it being green was a dealbreaker, I was just pointing out a fact." he downed another piece of green toast, which caused Duncan to gag slightly, and then glanced back only to see Alejandro "Yeah I'm not gonna lie Alejandro, you look like shit."
"That statement is quite compatible with how I feel." Alejandro muttered.
"Rough night?"
"No more than usual but you need not worry."
"I never said I was worried." he received a look.
"My lack of rest will not weigh down our team."
"Yeah good luck with that." Duncan let out a scoff "After today I doubt there's gonna be any teams."
"I don't believe I follow."
"There are only 10 contestants left and since this season is probably gonna turn out to be half the length of a regular season the merge can't be that far off."
"I see. Well then I suppose that means that your run in this competition will end quite soon will it not?"
"You gonna vote for me? Yeah I think we'll see about that soon enough Al." he glanced over to notice Adam facepalming "What?"
"...I would prefer it if you did not call me by that name." note the angry eye twitching in a comical fashion.
"Struck a nerve did I?"
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Alejandro let out a sigh "Last night my dreams were bombarded with dreams about my family, the most ruthless of which being about Jose, my self proclaimed older, smarter and better looking brother. He always called me Al just to torture me and I despise it, more than mutant fire beetles that defy logic, among other things that I have encountered in recent months, more than conditioners that don't detangle, I hope no one hears about that one, and more than my past self for the things that I had done. I've slowly been trying to make amends with the previous contestants that I hurt in season three, and a fair number of them have forgiven me, among those being Harold, Leshawna, Ezekiel, Owen, Courtney, Duncan, Tyler and DJ. I also reconciled with my father not long ago, which was part of what convinced me to return to this show, but… I still feel the shame of those that I have hurt."
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Adam downed the last piece of green toast "Hey you can say whatever you want about me but you can't deny the fact that I have never once called you Al."
"And my gratitude for that fact has not gone unstated." Alejandro told him, only to glanced over and notice Duncan glancing between the two of them "I take it you had your inevitable meeting with Lady Aurora last night?"
"She's one hell of a piece of work." Duncan grumbled.
"That would be a yes then." Adam noted.
"Yeah she told me pretty much everything about the crap you two have been up to. And all I can say is… you actually defied the canon Ben 10 series and killed Vilgax?"
"Yep."
"Respect." they fist bumped "And for the record, you and your posse aren't the only ones who know about Mike and Mal."
"How the hell do you know him?"
"Because when I was in juvie Mal was running the place, not to mention the fact that he's the one who did this to me." Duncan pulled down his spiked collar from around his neck, revealing a bone deep scar on his neck "I got this when I paid my first visit to juvie, I was just a lowly punk at the time but I made the mistake of trying to find the guy who was running the place."
"Which turned out to be Mal."
"He gave me this in order to, as he put it, put me in my place. I've been wearing this collar to conceal it ever since, I never forgot what he did to me and I made sure that no one else knows about it, well except for Courtney anyway."
"...I guess we're kind of alike like that." Adam lifted up his shirt, revealing his numerous scars that he received from that night "Only difference is that the way I hid it was kind of extreme, I bought a synthetic layer of skin on Ebay and used it to cover my scars."
"You got synthetic skin on Ebay?"
"You were gonna sell a Larry spawn on Ebay."
"...Fair enough. So who on this island actually knows about your thing with Mal and this demon inside of Mike exactly?"
"Not counting you it would be me, Alejandro, Bridgette, Cody and Dawn. They found out about it months ago."
"So what about Brick, Zoey and Leshawna?"
"Brick knows since I told him yesterday, Zoey and Leshawna do not know and I don't plan to tell them."
"Not even about the fact that Mike has another personality that takes control to explain what he was up to during the moon challenge?"
"...If you wanna tell them about that then fine, but nothing about Sordibus or I will come for you and I will gut you like a fish."
"Of that I have no doubt."
"Good soon to be painful morning everyone, head to the Chris-osseum pronto! It's time for your torture- I mean challenge! No I mean torture. Anyway get moving, today's challenge isn't gonna hurt itself."
"Speaking of painful."
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It was only a matter of moments before 9 of the 10 remaining contestants were making their way through the forest of Wawanakwa towards the Chris-osseum.
Duncan took this chance to pull Zoey and Leshawna aside "Listen up you two we need to talk, it's about Mike."
"What about him?" asked Zoey "Wait hold on a second, are you trying to form an alliance with us while Mike is in exile on Boney Island?"
"What, no don't be stupid. Look I've had this feeling for awhile that I knew the guy from somewhere but I just couldn't place it until I heard him whistling last night."
"Yeah you've totally lost us." Leshawna told him flatly.
"Okay here's the deal, when I was in juvie so was Mike."
Zoey almost burst out laughing, then looked at Duncan and stopped "Oh wait you're serious, you mean Mike was in juvie?"
"Yeah he was, only back then his name was Mal. I think he liked being locked up too, he caused all sorts of shit just for the fun of it."
"So why hasn't Mike recognized you?" asked Leshawna.
"Probably because after the first time he beat the ever loving shit out of me I steered way clear of him, but I still heard about him through the walls. But think about it, a guy with Multiple Personality Disorder is acting way out of character and attacked Adam during the thing with the moon."
Zoey frowned in thought "And something like that is so out of character for Mike…"
"But it's totally in character for Mal."
Zoey and Leshawna shared a look "Thanks for telling us, we'll be sure to keep an eye on him for now."
"You'd better, I know I'm a bad boy and all but there's a huge difference between a bad boy and a bloodthirsty psychopath."
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At the same time, Chef had gone to pick up Mike over on Boney Island "Mike get your scrawny ass out here, it's time to head back!" he was forced to jump off to the side to avoid a stampede of animals.
Only a moment later and from within the trees emerged Mal, his body radiating black and white energy, which quickly subsided "You try to get some early morning training in and suddenly people look at you like you're the plague."
"...You're one f*cked up kid you know that?"
"Trust me Chef, you haven't even scratched the surface of the surface of what I've got going on up here."
"And I don't want to know." Mal then put up on his impression of Mike "You know to forget what you saw."
"Not my business and not my problem."
"Good enough for me." a brief pause "You know it's been awhile since I've been out in the real world… do people still believe that anime is the core of the world?"
"Are you one of those people?"
"Yes."
"And if someone were to say that they don't like anime?"
"I'd waste them like a bunch of dirty hookers."
"...You and I are gonna get along just fine."
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Chris was quick to address the remaining contestants at the Chris-osseum "Welcome victims to the Camp Wawanakwa colosseum!"
"A boxing ring?" Adam gave a very unnerving grin "Oh this is gonna be good, it's about time you gave us a challenge I can enjoy."
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"Oh boy." Bridgette let out a sigh "Don't get me wrong, I do love Adam, but when he gets too overconfident, like now for example, you just know it's not gonna end well. The last time that happened he ended up killing a dragon, I'm not even joking."
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Chris looked over to see Mal and Chef making their way into the colosseum "Looks like someone is looking pretty rough Mike, what did someone have a run in with a big bad mutant baby squirrel over on Boney Island huh?"
"Actually I had a run in with putting my foot up your ass." Mal promptly dismissed Chris in a matter of seconds and turned his attention to Zoey "Man are you a sight for sore eyes, definitely worth spending a night on Boney Island like that." he glanced over at the boxing ring, all of which prompted Duncan to share a look with Zoey and Leshawna.
Chris took this chance to address all of the contestants "Greetings victims, the recipe for the disaster of the day is a hearty helping of the No Pain No Game challenge from season one along with a pinch of Phobia Factor for a bit of extra zing."
"No thanks McLean, had a big breakfast." Adam held up another piece of green toast, which he promptly ate.
"...You frighten all of us you know that?"
"I try."
"I'm sure you do, anyway all of you get ready to sink your soon to be missing teeth into the at long last returning Wheel of Misfortune from season one. The rules are simple, you have to spin the wheel and last for a full two minutes with whatever the wheel lands on or beat the ever loving crap out of your opponent. Win the match and you earn your team a point, the fights will be judged impartially by Chef and myself. The first team to reach their designated number of points wins the overall challenge and a night in the Spa Hotel, for the Villains it's three and for the Heroes it's gonna be five, considering the different head counts between the two teams. Got it?"
"Hang on a second." Mal held up a hand "What about the reward that Zoey was supposed to get from yesterday?"
"...I was hoping that you forgot about that."
"We're not that stupid." Mal looked around for a second "Okay let me rephrase that, most of us aren't that stupid."
"Whatever, for being the MVP in the last challenge Zoey gets a free point and she doesn't have to box." this was met with cheers as the score change, 1 to 0 Heroes "Now then since the Heroes have more members they go first, who's ready to rumble?"
"Oh I'm all over this." Leshawna stepped up to the Wheel of Misfortune.
Chris shared a wink with Chef, which prompted him to stop the wheel with a hidden button on a certain.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"You tell me." Chris gestured to where a kangaroo was brought up into the ring through a trapdoor.
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Zoey shuddered "I saw the third aftermath from season three, I feel bad that Leshawna has to go through that again. She must have so much PTSD."
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(And now for exactly the opposite of what Zoey believes will happen)
"Bring it on sucker, this one is for my sugar baby Harold!" with exceedingly disturbing levels of enthusiasm, Leshawna stuck on a pair of boxing gloves and jumped into the ring "What you think that just because you've got an uppercut or a tail that can punch you can tangle with this sister? Well think again!"
Adam glanced over at the others "Hey I've got 20 bucks on Leshawna, anyone wanna bet on the kangaroo?"
"Animal that beat the crap out of you vs Leshawna when she's pissed off? Not gonna lie that's hard to beat, but considering that thing beat you…" Mal placed in a 20.
"Anyone else?"
"Get me in on that shit." Duncan placed in a 20.
Leshawna dropped into a stance "Bring in on Jack, it's payback time."
The kangaroo wasted no time in launching a barrage of punches at Leshawna, none of them having any effect, causing it to cringe at the menacing look that it received from her.
Adam just watched the carnage unfolding with way too big of a grin "Alright suckers a bet is a bet now pay up."
"F*ck off." Mal just handed him a bill right as the kangaroo got launched into the air and hit the ground with a loud thud "You know I'm pretty sure that on some level that could be considered cruelty to animals."
"I'm pretty sure we passed that a long time ago."
Chris made the call "And with the somewhat villainous display of brutality it's now 2 to 0 in favor of Heroes. Again, because of the number difference the Heroes are up again. Dawn, you're up next."
"Allow me my friends." Dawn prepared to step up.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Brick.
"I know very well what Chris has in store for me, I am well aware of what I must do when the time comes." so Dawn spun the wheel, only for her face to fall flat "And thus is the final time I ever count on you for any ounce of integrity."
"Glad to see you're catching on." Chris pressed a button, causing Dawn's opponent to rise from a trap door on the stage, revealing it to be the baby mutant fire breathing mountain goat with wings from the previous episode.
"You stole this infant creature from its mother? Again?! I thought you said that you were done abusing the animals on this island."
"I recall saying no such thing."
"Your sadism knows no bounds you Earth born devil, I refuse to fight an infant creature such as this."
"Not a call I would recommend, you could give it up but then you would cost your team another point and then they would hate you."
"No we wouldn't." was the simultaneous chorus.
"Shut up." Chris turned towards Chef "Make sure we have one of the interns bring that thing back to its… parent I guess, I can never tell and frankly I don't care."
Dawn made her way back over to the Heroes "I'm sorry my friends, but there is a fine line that I absolutely refuse to cross."
"Don't be sorry when you have nothing to be sorry for." Brick pulled her into a gentle hug, earning awws from the likes of Zoey, Bridgette and Leshawna.
"BORING." and then Chris ruined the moment "Anyway a pathetic dropout leaves it at 2 to 0 Heroes, Villains you're finally up."
"Allow me to earn us a point." Alejandro quickly stepped forward and took the chance to spin the Wheel of Misfortune.
Duncan let out a chuckle "Who wants to bet he's gonna fight Heather?" this was met with a chuckle from Leshawna.
"Don't count on it." Adam told him "I know for a fact that there's only one person in this entire world that Alejandro would rather fight less than Heather, and he's fighting who I think he's fighting then we're in for one hell of a show." he gestured to where the Wheel of Misfortune landed on a certain figure.
Alejandro nearly broke out in a cold sweat at what he saw "Ay dios mio, I suppose I should not be surprised." he glanced over to see a cloud of smoke appear in the ring, and it dissipated to reveal a tan figure in his twenties wearing a blue version of his own outfit with his hair spiked up, and Alejandro's eyes narrowed at who he saw "My older brother… Jose…"
"Ooh doggie!" Chris let out a chuckle "Does Al have what it takes to stand up to his awesome looking big bro or will baby fall down go boom? Find out when we come back right here on Total! Drama! All Stars!"
"Oh this is gonna be epic, I'm gonna go make some snacks." and Adam suddenly disappeared in a blue flash, leaving several of those present weirded out.
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Cody just smacked his face "He makes the rule not to use our powers and then he pulls something like this, why am I not surprised? Oh wait because he's my brother, I know what he gets like when his overconfidence goes through the roof. Still though the odds of matchups like this couldn't be random, I smell a rat."
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Adam blitzed back onto the scene with a big tub of popcorn and a soda, as well as a reclining chair for some reason "Best seat in the entire metaphorical house, come on Burromuerto bros let's get this shit going!" he downed a mouthful of popcorn."
"...I can think of no other person in all of the ten dimensions who can get away with something like that." Alejandro just cast aside the boxing gloves being provided and leapt into the boxing ring.
"Buenos dias Al, mi dear hermanito." Jose's tone was laced with venom "You look tired and in need of exfoliation."
"Exfoliation is for the week Jose, there is only one thing that I am tired off in this world and that is you!"
"Yeah speak for the people Alejandro, wreck his shit!" Adam downed some more popcorn, earning several odd looks "Hey don't judge me, I know almost as well as he does that Jose is a major prick."
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Alejandro let out a sigh "I should've known that my dream was a sign, my whole life Jose has been better than me at everything whether it be academics or sports or even the one thing that everyone in our family has excelled at, personal grooming! He even took a senorita of mine once for whom I had feelings for, and that drove me to become the manipulative monstrosity that I was during season three. That does not excuse my actions though, I have been seeking to redeem myself for the past two years, or die trying."
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Jose started walking circles around Alejandro in sort of a condescending way "Looking at you now I see that my original suspicions were true, you have become far more pathetic than I had anticipated over these last two years."
"Is that so, or because you know that I have surpassed you." Alejandro started walking circles around Jose in the opposite direction, his statement earning a mocking chuckle.
"You surpass me? And here I thought you were never cut out to be a comedian."
"Do not underestimate me Jose, I am not the same spiteful child that I once was and now I intend to prove it."
"You could never compete with me, I have always been better than you and I will always be better than you. I am the epitome of our family's legacy, and you are nothing but a disgrace who tarnished the name of our family. Our own parents don't even want you, if they even remotely cared about you then they would have reached out to you by now whether you were a disgrace or otherwise, but in their eyes and in the eyes of the world you are a failure, a disgrace to our family, and a disgrace to our dearly departed brother-" he was silenced by a sudden fist to the face, sending him stumbling back for a moment "Is that a sign of a challenge?"
"No holding back or pulling punches, and disregarding the family code of never attacking the face, the classic rules of El Duelo del Diablo."
"So be it then." Jose removed his boxing gloves and threw them out of the ring "It truly is such a shame that our parents will not be here to watch me make a fool of you, I suppose the deciple of our dearly departed brother will do."
And then Chris ruined the moment "Enough with the touching family reunion, start punching each other already!"
Jose took on a stance "This will be over quickly."
"On that we can agree." Alejandro took on the same stance as the two of them began circling each other again "I can sense that you two have acquired the power of the Crimson Jaguar have you not?"
"Several years ago actually, when I turned 18. I suppose you've met Lady Aurora then and she was the one who gave you the potion to stimulate and awaken your powers."
"Indeed." Alejandro burst forward and attacked Jose with several claw strikes aimed at his chest and torso.
Jose dodged and waved his way around the attacks with ease and gracefulness before attempting a palm strike to the chest himself.
Alejandro rolled forward and aimed a barrage of kicks aimed at the head, enhanced by crimson energy.
Jose ducked under the kicks and fired off a knife hand attack from below followed by a wave of crimson energy that forced Alejandro to retreat back a few feet.
'Remember what Carlos taught you Alejandro, focus on the basics… and break his root!'
Jose continued to force his way forward step by step, firing off one blast of crimson energy after another, eventually knocking Alejandro to the ground, which promptly Jose to leap forward in an prepare to finish it with one final blast "Is that all these past two years have allowed you to become capable of? You're almost as embarrassing as the way your companions such as the girl with the unattractive personality made a fool out of you before." he prepared to finish it.
'Now!' seizing his chance, Alejandro rolled out of the way and rose with a kicking flourish, knocking Jose out of his stance, allowing him to begin his counterattack, in which he promptly decked Jose in the face "That one is for calling me Al!" a kick to the head "That one is for replacing my soap with a urinal cake!" an uppercut to the jaw "That one is for daring to call any aspect of Heather unattractive!" his hand began radiating crimson energy "And this is for daring to disgrace the memory of our brother! Garra de Redención!" he slammed the attack straight into Jose's gut, sending him hurtling out of the ring and out of the colosseum entirely in a brilliant crimson light.
Once he recovered from the shockwaves of the battle, Chris made the call "So… on that note I guess it looks to me like the Villains finally get a point, and now we all know without a shadow of a doubt how Alejandro really feels about Heather."
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"Heather, I know you're watching this from wherever youare." Alejandro made a phone signal with his hand "Call me."
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Once everything settled, much to the surprise of only a few people, Jose stumbled his way back into the colosseum, now sporting clear injuries, and fell to his knees "Finish me… you've earned the right."
"Very well then." Alejandro made his way towards Jose and prepared to fire another Garra de Redencion.
"Do it!"
With a quick roar, Alejandro fired it… past Jose and into the atmosphere, and he turned his back to Jose "I won't waste unnecessary energy on someone like you."
"That is it? You truly are a coward."
"I can assure you of this, the next time you insult Carlos' name in my presence I won't who any mercy." he started walking away.
Now filled with rage over what had taken place, Jose suddenly charged at Alejandro and aimed a blast at his back.
Adam suddenly blitzed in between them and took the blast head on without even getting so much as a scratch "So this is how the perfect Jose acts when things don't go his way huh? You're just pathetic, even when he's disgraced himself and his family Alejandro is more honorable than you could ever dream of being. Sure in the past he's made some mistakes but what human being hasn't, and he's not that kind of person anymore. I know that Alejandro is well respected for the good things that he's done over the past two years. He has a heart of gold and a will of iron and won't let anything break his spirit, he uses his abilities to help others in need and I know because he's pulled my ass out of the fire time and time again, and together we've both grown stronger as a result. He knows what it means to be a decent human being, something that you never seemed to understand and likely never will." he threw Jose clean through the wall of the colosseum simply by flinging him nonchalantly "Go rot in a ditch somewhere."
Alejandro glanced over at Adam "Did you really mean all of that?"
"Of course I did, why wouldn't I?"
"...Thank you for that, now if you'll excuse me I have something else that I must attend to personally."
"I'll join you after the challenge is over."
"Very well." and then Alejandro disappeared in a crimson flash.
"And it's still 2 to 1 Heroes!" Chris got everyone's attention "And now it's time for the Heroes to get to it again."
"I guess I might as well." Cody stepped up to the plate and spun the Wheel of Misfortune, only to cringe at what it landed on "Oh boy." he glanced over to see Fang rise up onto the stage wearing a rubber mouth guard and a pair of boxing gloves.
"Yeah we honestly had no idea what to do with Fang now that Scott got eliminated from the game so early, but I guess this works." Chris received a glare from Dawn "Hey you can't blame me if the animals participate willingly." the glare remained in place "Anyway Fang has been itching to get some payback on Adam for beating the ever loving crap out of him and his buddies during the first challenge, but I guess you'll do. That and we wanted to do something compatible with your fear from the challenge from the first season."
"Which I said was defusine a time bomb under pressure."
"And that didn't take with the lawyers, so I guess Fang is the next best thing."
"Me and my big mouth." Cody slipped on a pair of boxing gloves and, much to the surprise of many others present and to Adam's glee, dodges and weeves around two punches from Fang and then before dealing Fang a sharp kick to the face, sending him flying out of the colosseum "And that's how the Codemeister delivers."
"...Well that happened, I guess that makes 3 to 1 Heroes."
"Allow me to earn a point for our team." Brick handed Shatterstorm over to Adam, then stepped up and spun the wheel "Whatever it is I'm sure I can handle it." he looked at what it landed on "Oh. Mutant animal. Well… I did deal with a bunch of those last season without hurting them, so I guess dealing with one of them won't be too bad in the long run."
"Yeah I know, that's why we've got four." Chris jerked a thumb over to where four mutant gophers rose up into the ring.
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"...Me and my big mouth." Brick let out a sigh "So to sum up, I gave up my magic battleaxe, I'm going up against four mutant gophers, and I only have two boots to sacrifice to defeat one mutant gopher each, not to mention the fact that if I hurt any of them, Dawn will probably never forgive me."
"Love is a bitch, get used to it!" Mal's voice rang from outside the confessional.
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Despite some hesitation, Brick made his way into the ring to face his opponents "Good mutant gophers, nice mutant gophers…" once they bell rang the mutant gophers dog piled on him almost instantly.
"...Well that was fast." Chris noted "Anyway the score is still 3 to 1 Heroes and we've still got 4 more players to go, now the next up is lusty surfer girl Bridgette."
"I thought I told you to stop calling me that." Bridgette made her way forward and shot him a look.
"Yeah you did, and I ignored you."
"Which I shouldn't be surprised by." Bridgette promptly spun the Wheel of Misfortune, only to let out a light gasp "Oh no."
"Yep, back by popular audience demand for the second time, it's EVA!"
"Oh no."
Sure enough, at that moment Eva rose up into the boxing ring and let out a snort like a crazed angry bull "Yeah that's right I'm back, if for no other reason than to kick ass. And not only am I gonna kick ass, but I plan to give special attention to those from my backstabbing Bass team who voted me off!"
"I'm going to die now, I'm going to freaking die now." but then Bridgette took a moment to get control of herself "No get a grip Bridgette, you're not the same girl that you were before. You're far stronger than you were back then, both in body and in mind. You can do this." so with a deep breath, she slipped on a pair of boxing gloves and stepped into the ring "So Eva it's been awhile, what have you been up to?"
"Taking anger management classes, I seem to remember a certain blonde little slut thinking that I needed them!" this caused Bridgette to cringe and Adam and Leshawna to both prepare to pounce at Eva in a rage.
Bridgette held out a hand to stop them "It's okay guys, I've got this." so with another deep breath she turned to face Eva "You know what Eva, I'm am not gonna just stand around and let you talk to me like I'm the source of all of your problems. Ever since you first arrived on this island you had this horrible attitude, you were arrogant, rude, aggressive, you treated everyone like garbage, and to put it frankly you were a complete and utter psychopath! You've had a bunch of chances to get your act together but you just wouldn't because all you cared about was proving you were better than everyone else! You wanted to be at the top of the pecking order, to be the best of the best and to crush whoever stood in your way. You wanted everything all to yourself, but that's not how life works."
"Oh please thunder thighs, you really think you can take me on?"
"Back in the first season I know I wasn't strong enough and that I didn't have a fighting edge like people like Adam or Leshawna do, but I'm a lot stronger in body and in mind now. I know how to use strength to help people in need, to fight for what's right instead of just brawling for the sake of brawling. My bonds with people like Adam and Leshawna, my desire to protect the people that I love, they're what give me strength, and that's why I won't lose to you! Not now, not ever!"
"We'll see about that." Eva let a fist fly."
Bridgette ducked under the fist with ease, shedding her boxing gloves as she did so, and she launched a kick.
Eva blocked the kick and launched one of her own, followed by a spin kick aimed at Bridgette's head.
Bridgette ducked under the kick and aimed one at Eva's head, which missed, forcing her to block a fist aimed at her face, which allowed her to grab Eva by the shoulders and throw her clean out of the ring and onto the solid ground of the colosseum, surprising almost everyone present, including herself "I… I did it! I really did it!"
"Yeah get over here!" Leshawna pulled Bridgette into a bone crushing hug "You've gotten a lot stronger, I'm proud of you baby girl."
Adam went next and pulled her into a tight yet gentle hug "Hey when this whole thing is over, the whole season I mean and when everything is wrapped up, I've got something that I've been thinking about asking you."
"Yeah yeah romance yada yada, get on with the punching!" Chris took the chance, kind of a pattern by now, to ruin the moment "Anyway Adam, I was gonna save this for last but recent developments as of last night and this morning made way for a change of plans so now you're going next."
"Fine by me, I think we've already established that I'm not afraid of anything that you've got on that wheel." Adam promptly spun the Wheel of Misfortune "Even if it is rigged." he glanced back at the other contestants "I think you all know by now that it's rigged, just take a second and think about it. Leshawna and the kangaroo, Dawn and the baby mutant goat, Alejandro and his prick of an older brother, Brick and the mutant gophers, Bridgette and Eva, well Cody going up against Fang was kind of surprising but face it, the others are rigged."
"So you caught onto my little rouse huh?"
"Well it's not like it makes a difference, you still don't have anything that could actually get to me."
"Oh believe me we know, which is why we rigged something special just for you with a special someone that just had to see you." Chris stopped the wheel on a certain spot.
"...Oh boy."
Sure enough, at that moment who would rise up onto the stage but Sierra, her face twisted with pure rage as she levelled her gaze on Adam "Oh sorry Adam, is my burning desire for revenge a little inconvenient for you?"
"Kind of yeah." and yet Adam leapt into the ring regardless "So what the hell are you doing here anyway Sierra?"
"I should've thought it was obvious. I was destined to be with Cody, even when I first laid eyes on him I could tell that we were meant to be together, until you and Alejandro had to come in and ruin it for me!"
"Don't try and pin your problems on me, you ruined it yourself but-" Adam paused, then took a deep breath to calm himself, and then levelled his gaze at Sierra, his voice soft and surprisingly gentle "You don't have to do this you know."
"I don't have to do this? I don't have to do this?! You ruined my chances with Cody, my one chance to be truly happy and you ruined it! We could've been together but you got in my way, both you and Alejandro, and now I've lost my chance with him! My chance with him was all that I had and now it's gone forever!"
"Crazed delusions aside, I understand where you're coming from. To just give up and go for revenge, it's really tempting. I never told anyone this, although I'm pretty sure Carlos saw it in me without me having to tell him, but during those six years after I lost my parents and before I met Devin and Carrie, I was just brooding in my own grief and pain, and… and somewhere deep down inside me part of me I think part of me was starting to hate Mike for what happened, even if it wasn't his fault. I wish I could get back those six years so that I could move on with my life like my parents wanted, all of the time and energy that I just wasted away, the gigantic stink bomb that I sent to his house after we reunited just wasted away, and the gigantic stink bomb that I sent to Zoey's house after she locked me in a freezer for like a month just wasted away."
"That was you?!" was the simultaneous chorus from both Mal and Zoey.
"Shut up guys I'm in the middle of a heartfelt speech. Look Sierra, you could ahead and waste your energy trying to kill me and end up getting one shotted like something out of a gag from anime like Fairy Tail or One Punch Man, but before you make that choice let me tell you something important. Hate, anger, regret, grief and pain, they're a lot more than what will probably be the names of a girl group at some point in the future. They're what consuming you, and they're what almost consumed me. I know that you have good in you Sierra."
"What… What are you basing that on?" the look on Sierra's face made it clear that every single word Adam uttered getting to her "Every interaction we've had in the past six months is based around me trying to kill you and then make Cody love me."
"The most recent of which involved you trying to steal the Ring of Yin from Carrie so that you could use its power to kill me, yeah I know. But you could've just killed Carrie and taken the ring from her corpse, but you didn't. You chose not to. It's not too late for you to make the choice to do the right thing."
Sierra tried to form a reply but found that she couldn't, so she simply stayed silent and continued to listen to what Adam was saying, taking in every word of it.
"I swear you're almost as high strung as I am, but considering we're talking about me that's one hell of a mouthfull. You'd better try to relax or you're gonna end up like the others that tried to hurt the people that I cared about. Take some time to stop and smell the roses, if you do then you'll be able to see things that you could never see before and hear things you could never hear before either. Life can turn out to be a lot of fun, all you have to do is give it a chance. I was given that chance by Carlos, by Devin and Carrie, by everyone in my life that I've dedicated my life to protecting, and now I'm giving that chance to you."
"You… You would seriously just make an offer to be my friend after everything that's happened between us?"
"Yeah why not? They didn't let me just sink into my own darkness so why should I let that happen to someone who clearly needs it just as much as I did, maybe even moreso." he threw one of his boxing gloves at Chris, earning some looks "I think it's pretty obvious he plans to make a habit of ruining the moment, anyway one can learn a lot on their own but no one deserves a life of total isolation and suffering."
"...You do remember that I tried to kill you before right?"
"You're not the first one, you won't be the last. I'm used to it."
"And I also threatened to kill Alejandro, Bridgette and the others because of their connections to you."
"...Yeah, I know that all too well." Adam clenched his fists tightly "That's something that I'll never completely forgive, no matter who it might be."
"So then why?"
"Because if I were to let someone fall into darkness when I know I could do something to help them then not only would I never be able to forgive myself, but I also know that Carlos would never forgive me for that."
Sierra felt her resolve weakening, and she began trembling slightly, and yet she still remain silent.
Adam slowly held out his hand to her "I cannot guanartee you total salvation, all I can do is point you a path out of the darkness and into the light. Will you choose to take this new path, or will you forego it and remain trapped in your own solitude and misery?"
"I…" Sierra hesitated for a moment, but eventually she accepted his hand, a symbol of a new path leading towards the future "I will…" she turned over to where Chef was standing by the Wheel of Misfortune as Chris was carried away on a stretcher "Let Adam have the point, I withdraw from the match."
"Actually you don't need to withdraw, you already lost." Chef told her "That kickass speech lasted for about 3 minutes and he only needed to last for 2. You're done."
"...Oh. Well okay then."
"So what's your next move?" asked Adam "You know what's coming in the next few days so are you gonna stay and fight?"
"No, that's your fight not mine. I know that where I have to go lies elsewhere, somewhere that I can feel like part of a real family."
"...I get what you're saying, I'll be there to put a good word in for you later on."
"Right." and so Sierra disappeared in a flash without another word.
"And that's the end of that." so Adam leapt out of the ring.
That was when Chris came back over sporting a black eye "Oh hardy freaking har, very funny you ass. Anyway that makes it 4 to 2 Heroes, the next one to get a point for their team is gonna win it all. Mike, you're up."
"Way ahead of you." Mal stepped up to the Wheel of Misfortune and spun it, and he rose an eyebrow at what it landed on: a figure of Duncan "Huh. Not gonna lie, I didn't see that one coming."
"Oh man have I been looking forward to this match all day- I mean, how random."
"...You're not even trying anymore are you?"
"Not really no."
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Mal let out a sigh "Maybe getting involved in this show wasn't the best idea, but to be fair there have been worse. Like the time Adam signed Mike up for online dating."
"Hey you could've said no at anytime!" Adam barked from outside the confessional, earning an eyeroll.
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Soon enough, Mal found himself face to face with Duncan in the ring, but he didn't look even remotely interested "Do I really have to do this?"
"I think that goes without saying." Chris pointed out dryly "In case it wasn't clear let me explain it, whoever wins this match gets to keep that point for their team and since both teams are one point away from their quote…"
"Whoever wins this match wins it for their team."
"Well if we've gotta do this we might as well make it look good." Duncan promptly shed his boxing gloves "Give the people a show right?"
"It's your funeral Mohawk. Juvie or no juvie I'm the best of the best, if you wanna see that first hand then come at me."
"You asked for it. I've been waiting to get back at you for a long time for what you did to me back in juvie."
"We only have to go for about two minutes."
"Don't worry about that, this won't take ten seconds." and so Duncan charged at him and let a fist fly.
'So here he comes. I remember all to well what I did to him that day, but I couldn't stop myself back then. I'm not gonna justify what I did to you back then, but at the very least I can make this swift." Mal blitzed behind Duncan and aimed a swift kick at the back of the head.
'He's fast, I'm gonna have to try to defend.' Duncan rose his guard, only to suddenly receive a kick to the face, sending him stumbling backwards right into the edge of the ring, and he wiped the blood from his lip 'He's a lot tougher than he looks, how did he get right through my guard like that?'
'I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he's coming back for more.'
'Okay now we're getting somewhere, I've got him right where I want him. I've been waiting to try this out." Duncan pulled out a very familiar looking object, at least in the eyes of a number of those present: a Dragonfang.
"Oh for f*ck's sake." Adam muttered "Having me give them out as a symbole of me trusting people is one thing, but giving a sword made from the bone of a dragon to that idiot? It's just a disaster waiting to happen, I don't know what Aurora is thinking? It's like giving a gun to a, well, him."
"Well either way it doesn't really matter." Duncan brandished his new sword 'Whatever tricks he might have up his sleeve, this bad boy is gonna get the job done. Let me make something clear to you He Who Does Not Deserve the Washboard Abs."
"I still have no idea how I even have those personally." Mal commented offhandedly.
"I don't give a damn about what people think of me, I don't give a damn if I do get kicked off this show again."
"Well you already did win the second season."
"My point exactly. But if I'm gonna go down then there's no way in hell that I'm going down without a fight."
"Yeah good to know. Reality check in 3… 2… 1!" Mal blitzed in front of Duncan and dealt him an uppercut kick to the jaw, knocking the Dragonfang out of his hand and sending him hurtling through the air.
'He got through my guard again like it was nothing! How the hell is he doing it, what the hell is he?'
"I'm not sure that you know this but each one of my personalities gives me a specific set of skills every time a new one takes control. For example…" Mal blitzed behind Duncan while he was in mid air and latched onto him "Using the attributes that I get from Vito, my physical capabilities like my strength and speed get bolstered to new heights. You're a pretty tough guy yourself and you've got brains to back it up, in an ensemble like the first generation contestants that's actually pretty rare."
"Yeah so what's your point?"
"My point is that we're sort of alike you and I, but in the end you just can't measure up to those who've gone through the things that people like me and Adam have. If this were about 2 years ago then you might have had a chance, but this is where it ends." he pulled Duncan into a pile driver and slammed him down into the ground of the boxing ring, smashing the ring to pieces in the process, and all this time Mal didn't drop his impersonation of Mike.
"Well, that was… surprisingly brutal." Chris noted from where he was hiding behind the human wall that was Chef.
"Oh trust me, if I wanted to get brutal then you would know."
"Well either way Mike got right Villainous on that one but a point is a point, which makes it 5 to 2, and so the Heroes win!" this was met with cheers from some of the Heroes, those who cheered mainly being Brick, Cody, Bridgette and Leshawna, with Dawn and Zoey just staying silent.
"Rah rah."
That was when Zoey made her way up to Mal looking slightly freaked out "Woah… so where did you learn to fight like that?"
"You spend enough time around Adam and you tend to pick up a few things here and there, so it really can't be that surprising."
"I guess." she looked really uncomfortable "It's just that… well the way you fought Duncan like that was pretty brutal."
"Trust me I pulled it back on him as much as I could, Duncan isn't the kind of person who accepts defeat gracefully. Considering the things that went down when we were in juvie, it could've turned out to be a lot worse than that." Mal walked away from Zoey and looked down at the supposedly unconscious form of Duncan lying on a stretcher "You saw me at my absolute worst back then, so you know that it's not easy for me to pull my punches. And thanks for not outing me to everybody. I guess you've got a bigger heart than you let on."
That was when Duncan's eye suddenly snapped open and he dealt Mal a quick uppercut to the jaw, sending him stumbling back a few feet "How's that for pulling a punch! Yeah that's right, I'm your White Mage! And nobody f*ck's with the White Mage!" and then he passed out again in a heap.
"...Okay then."
"Speaking of which…" Adam suddenly disappeared in a blue flash, intent on dealing with some other unfinished business.
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Mal rubbed the bruise on his jaw and let out a sigh "Not gonna lie, I probably had that one coming."
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An hour passed.
Mal made his way behind the Loser Cabin and found Adam waiting for him, and so he dropped his Mike act and returned to his normal voice and hairstyle "I've already got a pretty good idea of what you wanted to talk to me about."
Adam nodded "And if that's the case then how about you start by explaining what in the name of f*ck you're doing in control of Mike's body?"
"Look I already gave the schpel to Mike last night so I'm not really in the mood to tell the entire story all over again, but here's the jist: I know how Sordibus has been staying connected to this body for as long as he has, but I can't get close to his power source without him becoming suspicious, so we're pulling a switcheroo."
"A classic for a reason, but what the hell is Mike doing while you're out here having the time of your life?"
"What else? Gathering the other personalities from where they got split up by Sordibus turning our mind into a literal war zone."
"To do what exactly?"
"Find the core that Sordibus is using as his power source and then when the time comes for you and him to fight it out, I'll join them and then the six of us are gonna destroy it, which will release his hold on this body."
"What kind of power source are we talking exactly? Some kind of reset button?"
"That's just insane even for you, what kind of cheap copout would that be?"
"The bad writing kind." (one of the few times I will be doing fanservice in one of my stories, I think you know what I'm referencing)
"Fair enough, anyway as for what it is just picture this gigantic black crystallized substance that acts as a shield for the thing, and inside it lies a crystallized heart of sorts."
"You mean like the Devil Heart from Fairy Tail?"
"Essentially yeah."
"Huh. Good to know." Adam glanced up at the blue cloudless sky "So you and Mike got a chance to talk after all this time?"
"Yeah…" Mal glanced up and sat down leaning against the cabin wall "You know he actually slapped my shit."
"That right?"
"Yeah, I kept talking about how I didn't think I deserved to exist for all the crap that I pulled and how I didn't think I deserved to exist."
"And has that perspective changed?"
"...To be honest I don't really know, but I do know that whatever happens in the future I'm gonna do my part in helping to bring down Sordibus once and for all." and so Mal walked away without another word.
"And so will I."
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Nightfall came, and the time for the elimination ceremony had begun, with the three remaining Villains sitting in front of the campfire and the Heroes sitting in the peanut gallery.
Leshawna leaned over to Zoey, her voice low "I think it's pretty obvious that Mike was insanely brutal with Duncan today. Even I'm not that brutal and that's saying something."
"Well yeah but it was a fight challenge." Zoey pointed out.
"So what, if you went up against Mohawk today would you have gone midieval on his ass like that?"
"No of course not, but if what Duncan told us about Mal is true then Mike wouldn't do that either."
"It makes you wonder though, what if Mike is one of the alternate personalities and Mal is the real deal?" this was met with a horrified gasp.
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"After all this time? No there's no way, it just couldn't be. But when you stop and really think about it…" Zoey let out another gasp and shuddered at the thought.
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Mal glanced down at Zoey and Leshawna with a raised eyebrow "You do realize that I can hear pretty much everything you're saying right?" this caused both of them to fall silent "Yeah that's what I thought."
That was when Chris got everyone's attention "Okay so listen up, before we send another contestant down a gigantic toilet I've got a quick announcement to make."
"Sounds like we've got ourselves a merge coming on." Duncan muttered.
"For tonight's elimination the winners get to choose which of the losers is eliminated and gets flushed." he held up a hand to stop them grom gasping "Yeah hold that gasp for a second, now as I was saying the losers get to choose of which winner spends the night on Boney Island, and the teams are NOT merging! Seriously think for a minute, why would I merge the teams at the end of an episode? Anyway now you may gasp." this was followed my various gasps "Yep and there's the stuff. Now then Heroes, which of the Villains is going home tonight?"
The Heroes all conversed with each other privately, until Cody spoke up "Okay so we talked about it and we've made a decision."
"Reluctantly, semi reluctantly." Bridgette pointed out.
"Anyway we've decided to eliminate…" cue the dramatic pause "Duncan."
"Yeah that about figures." Duncan grumbled.
"Nothing personal, it's just-"
"Yada yada, I already got the jist of it. Let's get this over with."
"Yeah hold that thought." Chris shut him up "There's still a matter of which Hero is going to Boney Island for the night? Villains?"
Alejandro and Adam shared a look and gave a shrug "Leshawna." they both received a middle finger from her in response.
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Adam gave a shrug "Yeah I'm not gonna lie, truth be told Leshawna always kind of scared me so… yeah." and then he punched the camera "God I missed doing that."
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10 minutes later…
Duncan just nonchalantly climbed his way into the Flush of Shame "Well this was a gigantic waste of time."
"Yeah sorry about that." Bridgette gave him a sheepish look "Say hi to Courtney for me on the other side of… wherever you end up."
"Whatever Malibu. And you two…" Duncan glanced over at Adam and Alejandro and shot them a finger pistol "Go wreck some shit."
"And you'd better hold your breath!" Chris held up a random umbrella and pressed the button, sending Duncan down the Flush of Shame and drenching the other contestants as he took the chance to sign off "Big brothers, former competitors hell bent on revenge, old scores that never got settled and a crap load of surprising twists! Can we top it? You'd better believe we can but in order to see how we do it you'll have to tune in next time on Total! Drama! All Stars!"
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Emiliano Burromuerto looked up from his desk, his expression stoic "I imagined you would come… mi hijo."
Sure enough, Alejandro stood in the doorway, with Adam just leaning against the doorway in silence "I imagine you would know why I am here father. Where is she?"
"Your mother is in there." he pointed to the bedroom "Do what you must." and so he walked out of the room
"Very well then." so Alejandro took one excrutiatingly painful step at a time towards the door, but stopped just short of grabbing the handle.
Adam let out a sigh "Yeah I about expected that, don't tell me you came all the way here just to back out now."
"I know but… can I do this? Favoring Jose or not my family still loved and supported me and you know very well what I did, I turned my back on everything important in my life in a moment of weakness. A month's worth of moments of weakness."
"Hey you lost your way, it happens and I'm not dealing with that shtick again. All Carlos wanted was for you to find your own path and from what I can tell your parents aren't any different in that regard. Besides you regret what you did don't you?"
"Yes, more than anything."
"Then get your ass in there before I throw you in there like Uncle Phil."
"...I don't know how to respond to that, so I'm just going to go." and so Alejandro made his way into the room, only to find that his mother Angelina (a beautiful woman in her 40's with black hair and tan skin) was fast asleep, so he sank to his knees and waited in silence.
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An hour passed.
Angelina woke from her nap and glanced back to see Alejandro sitting on his knees before her, but she turned away "How long have you been there?"
"Only for one hour." Alejandro breathed a deep sigh and then began to pour his heart and soul out to her "Mama, I can imagine the mixed feelings you may have about seeing me again like this after all this time. But I need you to know that I am so, so sorry Mama." tears began streaming down his face "I am so sorry and ashamed of what I did. I don't know how I could ever make amends for the shame that I brought upon our family, but know matter what it may take I will-" he was cut off by Angelina pulling him into a tight hug.
"Please mijo, not another word."
"How could you forgive me so easily? I thought you would be furious with me."
"I was never angry with you mijo, I was merely sad because I was afraid that you had lost your way."
"I did lose my way."
"No, not on your own at least. It was partly my doing, all of us. We all forced you onto that path of darkness, and yet despite that you managed to resist it before you reached the point of no return and chose a path of light."
"I was not able to do it on my own Mama, I had help… from some very good friends."
"Such as?"
"You're welcome." Adam poked his head into the room.
"So you are the apprentice that Carlos always spoke so highly of. I cannot thank you enough for taking care of my son."
"Hey what can I say? He's pulled my butt out of the fire enough times hasn't he, I'm just returning the favor. It's what friends do for each other after all."
"Exactly what Carlos would have said. Which reminds me, mijo there's something that we've been holding on to that I belive you should know about."
"What is it?" asked Alejandro.
"This." Angelina pulled out a box from underneath the bed "These originally belonged to your great grandfather."
"The one that I was named after."
"He passed them onto your grandfather, who passed them onto your brother Carlos. Not long before he passed, he asked us to keep these until he believed that you were truly ready to wield them."
"He kept these… for me?"
"Carlos described you in the same way that your grandfather described him, an idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor."
"Unquestionable honor? But I've made so many mistakes."
"Indeed you have mijo. You've struggled and you've suffered greatly for these past two years since losing your brother, but you made the choice to follow your own path and as a result you have restored your own honor. You've worked hard to restore your own honor, and only you can restore the honor of our family and cleanse our family of its sinful past by accepting the gifts given to you by the legacy of the Crimson Jaguar, and using them to help those in need and protect the world from the darkness that grows ever closer." she held the box out to him.
"...I will try Mama." Alejandro slowly accepted the box and opened it, revealing it to be a set of red colored gloves with metal claws "These are…"
"They are known as the Garras Carmesi, crafted by the first Master of the Mystic Arts along with the armor of the Warrior of the Hurricane. It allows the user to travel between the 10 dimensions of the Multiverse at will, but that is just the beginning. When the user's strength of conviction is great enough they, along with the rest of your armor that you will receive as time goes on, are able to enhance your overall powers hundreds of times over, and with enough training it will eventually allow you to tap into your true potential, granting you power the likes of which even your great grandfather was unable to tap into."
Alejandro slowly put on the gloves, which latched onto his arms like a second skin, and his body radiated with crimson energy for a brief second "I can feel the power coursing through me, perhaps with this power…"
"You can make Carlos proud?" Adam let out a sigh "You've already been doing that, weren't you listening? Anyway come on, let's go try those bad boys out."
"Shouldn't we return to the island?"
"And spend another night in the Loser Cabin?"
"...Testing out the claws it is."
A/N:
And thus a Villain with a hidden heart bigger than he lets on meets his end in the running. I feel kind of bad for writing this about Duncan, what with him getting his ass handed to him by Mal and then getting eliminated, even though I did my best to make sure it wasn't totally one sided, but it had to be done. I mean don't get me wrong, Duncan is one of my favorite characters, but what they did with him in canon when he got eliminated was atrocious.
Let me just say that I've been waiting to get to this chapter since I started this story, mainly for one reason: Alejandro. Aside from the plot centered around Adam, Mike, Mal and Sordibus, the biggest plot of this story is Alejandro's redemption for the things he did in The Rise of an Underdog. Plus I got to give him the Garras Carmesi, or Crimson Claws, as a gift from his parents that basically serve the same function as Adam's Hurricane Gauntlets, enhancing his powers and making for more lethal attacks."
I did consider the possibility of keeping Zoey in the dark about Mal's existence because let's face it, Zoey is INSANELY gullible, character derailment of the canon series or not, and her knowing about Mal is more of a hindrance than a help, but considering what I have planned for her later on I had to have Duncan tell her about Mal, I scrapped the idea of keeping her in the dark. But at the same time I also had Duncan tell Leshawna, whom I believe is actually capable of understanding a serious threat since she wouldn't be so easily blinded by Mal's facade.
The prolonged scene at the beginning with Mike and Mal discussing their plan to get rid of Sordibus is meant to do three things:
First of all, make up for the lack of the scene of Mal taking control of Mike's body from the previous episode.
Second of all, reinforce the fact that Mal is a good guy in this fic.
Third of all, to clarify the lack of dread in regards to Mal taking over control of Mike's body. Now that Mike and Mal have made their plan, Mike isn't dreading losing control over his body as much as before, but he does remember how serious this situation is.
Leshawna fighting a kangaroo (and beating the ever loving crap out of it this time around) was actually a callback to the third aftermath of Total Drama World Tour when she had to fight it in the Second Chance Challenge, only she got her ass handed to her, and Harold by extension as a result. But now it's payback time, and it was awesome.
Sierra's appearance is meant to wrap up the sub arc that I started in An Underdog's Knighthood, and show some more character development from Adam. Looking back, I admit that that was a decision that I'm not too proud of, but it is what it is so I figured I might as well wrap that up, and so I did, a few chapters earlier than I originally scheduled. My original plan was to have her try and exact her revenge in what would be chapter 11, during the 100th episode with some elements from the fifth season of the 2012 Ninja Turtles series, but in the end I scrapped that idea and went with this route instead.
I personally believe that, like in the actual episode, the showdown between Alejandro and Jose was the highlight of this chapter, giving me the chance to show off Alejandro's character development. Plus I got some inspiration for it from Avatar: the Last Airbender, which is a phenomenal show as I stated in a previous chapter, in regards to how to manage Alejandro's character arc.
To be honest, it was really hard to come up with good opponents to take certain characters, but in the end here's what I decided on for each contestant and their respective phobia/ conflict, not in the order in which they competed.
Bridgette: Eva, due to their conflict in season one that they never did very much with even if Eva only returned for one episode.
Adam: Sierra due to what I did with her in An Underdog's Knighthood and the prologue for this story, it's meant to be a wrap up to the revenge arc that I started and honestly just want to get over with.
Duncan: Mal/ Mike, due to the conflict they originally had with each other, which was never really explored in canon, and since I eliminated Duncan in this episode, I figured I might as well have them interact to some extent.
Mal/ Mike: Duncan, due to the conflict they originally had with each other, which was never really explored in canon, and since I eliminated Duncan in this episode, I figured I might as well have them interact to some extent.
Zoey: Got the free point like in canon.
Leshawna: As stated above, the Kangaroo in order to get payback for the beatdown it gave her during the third aftermath of World Tour.
Alejandro: Jose, same as in canon, which I think is the highlight of this episode in canon.
Brick: Mutant gophers, due to the events of A Mine is a Terrible Thing to Waste.
Dawn: Baby mutant goat that attacked Duncan last chapter after its eggs was thrown at him by Heather.
Cody: Really the hardest one to figure out because I wanted to be sure that I did something original with him, but in the end I settled on having him face off against Fang.
Also, as I stated last chapter, I've decided to cancel my original plan to put cameos from previous contestants in every chapter, mainly because I'm having a hard time trying to find creative ways to put them in there without just shoehorning them in all over the place.
Now then, one of my reviewers brought something to my attention. WeirdAlfan101 reviewed chapter 8 and stated that with the way I was eliminating so many villains and none of the Heroes, it made it look like I was showing favoritism, which may turn some people off of this fic. Let me just say now that that was NOT my intention at all, I was simply trying to weed out the characters who weren't important to the plot:
Anne Maria: I REALLY did not want to bring her back but she was the only contestant who could make a suitable replacement for Lightning, but luckily for me writing her out wasn't really that hard. Anyway some things just have to be done for the sake of the story, and bringing her in to me great reluctance was one of them.
Jo: Saving Private Leechball was probably one of the best well done episodes of the series and I think Jo's elimination coincides with her character arc quite nicely, as it was her own arrogance that was her downfall. Plus in this version I got a chance to have her and Brick settle their old score.
Scott: I'll admit that I don't like Scott. At all. I admit that his subplot in canon with Courtney was pretty funny, but since she's not here he doesn't really have anything to do, so he had to go, and I was not sad to write him getting flushed.
Heather: I'm not a fan of Heather either but I did enjoy the interactions between her and Alejandro in canon, but since Alejandro isn't the type to want revenge on her in this fic, I had to sub his place out in that subplot and replace him with Duncan, with the reason for revenge being the plot between him and Heather in season 1 episode 20 that never got resolved properly.
Duncan: I hated how they handled his "Bad boy turned Hero" arc in canon, especially with him getting arrested, which is part of the reason why I decided to cut out Courtney in favor of Leshawna as the seventh original cast member. With no love interest for him to take the fire for, there was no reason for him to be put on the Heroes' team, and no reason for him to prove he's a bad boy. Plus with this I get him out for good before the merge, which I'm sure will please those who think he's been overused. Anyway, he's the last Villain that will be eliminated for awhile. Next chapter will mark the elimination of the first hero, and after that one comes the special plan I have in mind for episode 100 (chapter 11). I was originally going to have them eliminated this episode, but I decided against it not long ago.
Cameos: Eva, Sierra
Elimination Order:
Anne Maria: 14th
Jo: 13th
Scott: 12th
Heather: 11th
Duncan: 10th
