Author's Note: Here we are, the final third of the season. It's pretty much all downhill from here, folks! The game's just gonna keep heating up as we approach the final episode, and I hope you're all excited to see how things turn out.
Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, the shuffled concept or the (most of) the characters.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Two things I need to address. First, the reason Clone was helping Blaineley is because she tricked him into thinking she had kidnapped Staci and his compliance was paramount to her safety. The bonus clip was supposed to suggest that Blaineley's statement about kidnapping Staci wasn't true. I'm sorry for not being clearer. Second, for everything in this chapter to go smoothly, Alejandro can't have been the one exiled last week. Instead, this chapter will assume that it was Heather. I will of course update the previous chapter to show the change.
And to answer some reviews:
WeirdAlfan101: Matthew also blames Cody for costing him the lead in 'You Regatta Be Kidding Me', even though he stopped specifically to try to knock Cody into the jaws of a shark.
PurpleShadowManipulator: I'm glad you liked Scarlett this season, her elimination notwithstanding. Blaineley being the captor was one those things that seems obvious only in hindsight. You knew it would happen and still got mad, it's like a real TV show! Only one way to find out who's next
Guest: I'm glad you liked the last episode. Here's hoping you like this one too.
Gucci Mane LaFlare: Scarlett's become one of my favorite characters too. All because I asked 'what would happen if she wasn't eliminated after snapping?'
Derick Lindsey: Why Clone helped is explained in the announcement. I'm a horrible persone, I specifically added in the hanging Cody scenes to make it look like he was taking Cameron's route. I'm glad you like the mythology gags I put in, I really do love those. As for the rest, wait and see.
StarHeart Specials: Yeah, it was a little cruel of me to have him mirror Cameron's canon path like that. Yeah, Blaineley's had a real hard time since World Tour ended. Matthew's definitely crossed into ax crazy territory. The Aleheather banter is what I suspect they'd be like if they'd gotten together during a competition, where they didn't have the lack of pressure that turned them into sickingly sweethearts.
That British Guy: Explained in the announcement.
Shrimpimp: I'm really glad I indulged my inner shipper of Scarlody. It made her exit that much better (or worse depending on your view). Aleheather banter just seems like something they'd do. Well Stitch is the awesomest alien. Why wouldn't I base Clone's speech on him? Only one way to find out who goes next.
Remaining All-Stars:
Boys: Alejandro, Cody, Matthew
Girls: Bridgette, Heather, Lily
Time for some general mayhem (*Salutes General Mayhem*)
Episode 10: The Obsta-Kill Course
"Last time, on Total Drama," Chris began alongside the capstone theme, the recap montage opening with a clip of Bridgette and Lily walking through a tunnel together; it was followed by a clip of the host blowing a party horn as part of his initial televised celebration. "We celebrated our one hundredth episode with a surprise guest appearance," Clone nervously looking away from the host and Blaineley taunted Chris as he hovered over the toxic waste. "And, a kidnapping of the host-y kind," Chris added, most of the campers screaming out a warning before Clone through a sack over the vain man.
"But I stayed strong," Chris continued, the next clip showing him screaming for help, audio included. "Hey! Who put that there?" he objected, the clip continuing on to show Chef's arrival.
The host cleared his throat, and the montage flashed to Lily confronting Matthew as he looked through Angel's nightstand. "Matthew stole the idol that Angel stole from Al," he was shown holding up the idol with a dark grin. "And Scarlett proved to be quite the klutzy kisser," the brainiac was shown tripping over a broken step and accidentally kissing Cody.
"Okay, someone is so getting fired!" Chris said in annoyance as the clip of him screaming for help was played again.
"Chef is a stress-eater," the large man was shown eating mint chocolate chip ice cream straight out of the carton, the intern emerging into a pile of empties; "Matthew left Cody hanging," hipster was shown mocking Cody as the geek hung for his life; "Bridgette stopped Blaineley's scheming," the surfer was shown aiming the meatball bazooka at the failed hostess; "Matthew rigged the votes," the hipster was shown switching a vote for him with a vote for Scarlett; "Scarlett got the Flush," the brainiac disappeared into the Flush of Shame, ending the rapid series of clips.
Once again, the clip of Chris screaming for help played – but only briefly, before the feed cut to static. "That is it!" the real Chris said, the camera pulling back to show him pulling a cord out the widescreen television cart now located in the spa hotel's massage room. "Luckily," he told the camera with his usual smile, "nothing gets me out of a bad mood faster than upping the 'ow' factor in a challenge. Stick around to see who goes down," he pointed at the camera, "right here! On Total! Drama! All-Stars!"
"TELL THE EDITOR TO MEET ME AT THE FLUSH OF SHAME!" he yelled over the long-distance shot of the island.
The scene cut to Chef sitting in the control room, the ending shot of the intro footage on the central screen. He turned it off, then snickered to himself.
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[Though the overall sequence had been shortened for the season, it opens much the same as it has previously – a shift into letterbox format and a focus on the tops of some distant pines. A stage light, sleek and shining with a price tag still attached, rotates up and turns on; then the focus cuts to an angled shot of a different group of trees as a spotlight, also shiny and new, swings down and turns on; then a small video camera pops out of some burrow next to a spray bottle of some cleaning solution, knocking away a roll of paper towels as it emerges; then a second camera pops out of a tree hollow along with a scrub brush, bar of soap, sponge, and a load of soap bubbles. Pale arms clap a film slate in front of the camera, cutting the scene to the Dock of Shame. The camera flies forward, swinging past the Wawanakwa sign and then the final few posts of the dock, rising up to show the spa hotel as Chris and Chef landed their red helicopter in the common area.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[The camera flies past the helicopter and up the thousand-foot cliff, cresting the peak and diving into the lake below, where Angel plays tug-of-war with Heather over a large treasure chest while the Drama Machine sits and sparks nearby, both girls in their swimsuits.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[Angel and Heather set the chest down and to their shock it bursts open to reveal not only a cloud of bubbles and the Mike-onut and several McLean Invincibility Statues, but also a twitching and awkwardly-folded Cody who floats up in his swim trunks alongside the wooden heads. The Drama Machine explodes and the shot cuts to a small patch of bubbles on the surface, then zooms out to show the remaining swim-dressed campers lined up according to their teams – the villains holding red dueling sticks on the left on a wooden raft, a hollowed-out log, another wooden raft, and a green canoe; the heroes holding gold dueling sticks on the right on an inflatable raft, a wooden raft, another inflatable one, and a red canoe. The camera zooms in and moves between them as they clash – vicious Jo against hesitant Victor; smug Alejandro shoving away shocked Bridgette with one hand; Natasha ducking from Kitsune's strike and causing her to fall into the lake; Mike, as Vito, brutally thrusting the end of his dueling stick into Scarlett's stomach; and Lily and Lightning angrily slamming their sticks against one another; Matthew falls from the sky and into the lake, dousing the former almost-couple and the camera.]
[The water dries away from the camera lens showing the campfire and Cody and Scarlett leaning in with eager smiles against the full moon...only for Kitsune to suddenly pop up between them with a cheesy grin, causing the two geniuses to look away with blushes. The camera zooms out further, revealing the other cast members sitting on the stumps around the fire – Angel, Lily, Bridgette, Lightning, Matthew, and Victor on the left; Mike, Alejandro, Heather, Natasha, and Jo on the right. The zoom continues even further, showing the signboard over the firepit's entrance which now read 'Total Drama All-Stars', with the dash replaced by a star.]
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The scene opened on the spa hotel, the camera zooming in on Cody, Lily, and Bridgette standing on the porch. "Well one of you had to vote for Scarlett last night!" Cody said, pacing between the two. Both girls followed him with their eyes, Bridgette in concern and Lily in disdainful apathy. "So just tell me the truth."
"It wasn't me Cody," Bridgette said.
"Well I figured you didn't do it," he said, eyeing Lily.
"What?" Lily asked with a glare. "You think I did it?"
"Well you were a villain," Cody pointed out. "And you've planned on voting off people you supposedly care about before."
"If I had too," Lily defended. "What good could've possibly come from me backstabbing you guys yesterday?"
XXX
"Chris said Scarlett had the most votes," Cody told the outhouse camera. "So one of the girls had to have voted for her! And stuff like this is right up Lily's alley! I know it had to be her."
XXX
"Well don't expect me to work with you if you won't tell me the truth," Cody said, storming off.
"And don't expect me to work with you as long as you keep judging me!" Lily shot back, storming off a different direction.
Bridgette gave the camera a helpless look and let out a very undignified groan.
\
The camera cut to inside the boys' half of the loser cabin, Alejandro and Matthew already in the middle of a tense discussion.
"You honestly expect me to side with you over Heather tonight?" Alejandro asked in a warning tone.
"Just hear me out," Matthew said, holding up his arms in a placating gesture.
XXX
"Overheard Heather bragging in here before Scarlett went for her little swim," Matthew explained with a chuckle. "Apparently, she or Alejandro are guaranteed to win this season because they have the idol," he held the carving up to the camera. "Which means they don't know that I have the idol and stole it from Angel... I think..." He rubbed his chin in confusion. "Is it theft if the person doesn't technically own it?" He shrugged. "Ah it doesn't matter. My point is I now have the leverage I need to break up the only other alliance in the game."
He leaned against the outhouse wall and chuckled. "There will be no doubts on who the biggest villain is after I'm through today."
XXX
"If you and Heather are so close," the hipster continued his pitch, "then why was I able to steal this from her?" He tossed the immunity idol to Alejandro, who caught it with a gasp.
"Where did you find this?" the charmer asked.
"Lifted from Heather after I heard her bragging about it in the confessional," Matthew lied easily with a shrug. "Said she was planning on using it to save herself."
"Maybe... you just misheard her," Alejandro suggested with an air of uncertainty.
"Maybe you're right," Matthew conceded. "Of course the only way to know for sure is to let her carry out her plan. But we should use this opportunity to our advantage," he leaned in to whisper something in Alejandro's ear, and the charmer nodded in understanding.
A high-pitched whine filled the air as the camera cut away to an angled shot of the camp loudspeaker. "Attention maggots!" Chris announced over it. "Last one to the beach drops and gives me fifty! Hup hup hup!"
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The scene flashed to Chris, now wearing his army helmet and sunglasses. Several people were panting heavily just out-of-sight. "At-ease, maggots," the host said, the camera pulling back to show the five non-exiled campers approaching in various states of exhaustion, with Alejandro in the front followed by Bridgette, Lily, Cody, and Matthew in the rear. "It's about time you got here. I was starting to get bored."
Heather arrived just then, escorted to the end of the line by Chef in his drill sergeant uniform. "Glad you could join us, Heather," Chris told her. "You know the deal: last one here equals push-ups there," he said, raising a finger and then pointing it at the ground in front of him.
"How is that fair?" the queen bee protested. "There's no way I could've gotten here sooner, I was exiled on Boney Island!"
"You mean," Chris whipped out his red megaphone, "I WAS EXILED ON BONEY ISLAND, SIR!" The booming order was accompanied by a military drumline, and Heather sent the host a withering glare.
XXX
"I. Don't. Do. Push-ups," Heather explained haughtily.
XXX
"Fine, we'll skip the basic training," Chris said as the shot cut back to the other campers, the camera panning to the left to show Heather rejoining them. "Now listen up worms! Chef's boot camp challenge in season one was tough." The perspective inverted to show the host from behind and between Lily, Cody, Matthew, and Heather. "But this is season five, and things are about to get a whole lot more hurt-y with..." He smirked and pointed two finger pistols to the side, "The Chris McLean Obsta-kill Course!" A short but grand theme played. "Patent pending," he told the camera.
The shot quick-panned over to a large field of tires, high columns with red flags sticking out of the top in each of the far corners. "To win this full-on race challenge and avoid getting flushed," Chris explained, "first, you'll have to conquer the 'Fun Tires'." Another quick-pan to the right revealed a tall wooden slope with four ropes hanging down it – one red, one black, one brown, and one gray. "Get through them, and you're on to the 'Rope Slope'!" The black rope crackled with electricity, and the camera zoomed in on the brown and gray ones – the gray looked normal, while the brown seemed a little hairy. "Some ropes are less reliable than others," the camera panned up to the top of the slope where the ropes were tied down, "so choose wisely. But," the shot panned to the left to show the red and black ropes, the latter clearly just a long and poorly-insulated power cable, "not too wisely. That'll spoil the fun. For me."
A third quick-pan took the focus to what appeared to be nothing more than a long set of rust-colored monkey bars set up over a pond. "Next, the 'Snapping Bars'!" Chris said in delight.
"Shouldn't that be 'Monkey Bars'?" Bridgette asked nervously from off-screen.
"It'll make sense soon. Trust me," Chris answered before the camera moved from the bars to a seemingly ordinary meadow dotted with rocks and bushes. "Then, it's on to a pleasant run through the 'Duck and Cover'," the host continued. "Come out of that alive," the shot cut back to him, "and you're in for a real treat."
Matthew scoffed. "Is that all?" he boasted.
"Ohhh~hhhh," Chris said in interest, causing the hipster to raise an annoyed eyebrow. "In that case..."
Matthew just rolled his eyes.
"Everyone has to wear a heavy pack for the whole challenge!" Chris added happily to another drumline, the camera cutting to the campers as Chef wordlessly dropped six large brown backpacks in front of them. They immediately groaned and chastised Matthew, who looked like he couldn't care less. "Abandon your pack," Chris told them, "and you'll face a bruuutal penalty. Seriously," he laughed, "this is gonna be awe-some!"
The shot cut pack to the campers as they began to disperse, Alejandro and Heather heading off to the left while Matthew went off to the right and Lily approached Bridgette and Cody. "What are you doing here?" Cody said coldly.
"Are you seriously giving up a numbers advantage over something you think I did?" Lily scolded.
"You're the only one it could've been!" Cody yelled.
"After my sister and boyfriend were ousted?" Lily yelled back. "Do you really think I'm that heartless?"
"Asks the 'former' villain," Cody muttered under his breath.
Lily's glare implied that she'd heard him. "You know what?" she asked, getting in his face.
"Whoa! Time out!" Bridgette yelled, separating the two by getting between them. "Let's build bridges not walls. Otherwise the Villains are gonna cream us."
Lily and Cody were still leveling their glares at each other. "Fine," the said tersely.
XXX
"I know I'm a Villain," Lily said. "But I'm a pragmatic one. Voting out Scarlett would've hurt my chances of making the finale, but I totally would've done it in the Final Five. My problem with Cody is how he acts like I'd vote off anyone just for the fun of it."
XXX
The static cut away to Lily walking back to the right, her eyes rolling and her face tired. This was intensified when Matthew came into view, a devious smirk on his face. "Well well well," he said quietly, "looks like somebody's not as popular as she thought."
"Go away," Lily replied tersely.
"Don't think I will," Matthew told her. "You see, I need you to get those idiot Heroes to vote for Alejandro for me."
"Isn't he your ally?" Lily asked. "What game are you playing?"
"The same one you are," Matthew replied. "The only difference is that I'm good at it."
The shot cut Lily's mildly dumbfounded expression, then pulled back as Matthew placed a hand on the cynic's shoulder. "Anyway, do this and you've got yourself a solid ally going into the Final Five." Lily gave him a narrow-eyed and suspicious look, but he just walked away laughing.
XXX
"Now to explain my plan to all you idiots at home who can't follow," Matthew said to the outhouse camera. "I'm getting the idol out of play and setting up a scenario where no one in the game trusts anyone. This will make it easier for me to get to the point where votes no longer matter where I'll easily win every challenge due to my vastly superior intellect."
XXX
"Tell me you just saw Lily talking to Matthew," Cody whispered to Bridgette as the focus moved back to them. "She's up to something, I just know it."
"Cody," Bridgette said reassuringly, "Matthew approached her."
"And that doesn't worry you?" Cody asked with a hint of incredulity. "They're both Villains."
"She was only given that title because she doesn't let herself get distracted by the personal stuff," Bridgette told him.
Cody narrowed his eyes at the cynic. "If you say so..."
\
"On your marks!" Chris called through his megaphone, the opening bars of a tense challenge theme playing as the shot cut to the Final Six lined up at the starting line. "Get set!" Chris said, and the campers got into running positions as he raised an airhorn. "Go!" he called out, blowing the horn.
The campers ran off, with the two closest to the host - Matthew and Lily- taking the early lead into the field of tires. "This is easy," Matthew boasted. The camera pulled back to show Lily running along a few steps behind him...before a sharp and ominous jingle played. A wooden post shot up out of a tire right in front of her, causing her to slam into it and cry out in pain.
"Hah!" Matthew looked back to mock, the sharp jingle playing again as he suddenly fell straight down. "AAAAAAAAhhhoowww!" he screamed, the shot cutting outward to show him sinking into a tire with one leg still pointing straight up into the air. "My foot is touching my face!" he complained, another wooden post and an oversized boxing gloves springing out of tires around him then retreating back inside.
"You dung beetles didn't think Colonel McLean would give you a straight-ahead challenge, did you?" Chris asked over a batter loudspeaker attached to a pine tree.
Alejandro and Heather were next, the charmer easily racing in to the lead. "Andale mi amor!" he said, doing a mid-air somersault over an oversized boxing glove, only to be caught in a sudden jet of water that shot out of the next tire.
He cried out in alarm as he was tossed around on top of the geyser, while Heather just laughed. "Good lu~uck!" she called out jovially...just before getting launched into the air by a second geyser a few tires away. "Are you kidding me?!" Heather complained.
XXX
"This is the one challenge I was hoping not to have to do," Bridgette confessed with crossed arms and a roll of her eyes. "I mean, if I wanted to join the army I would've."
XXX
The fast-paced challenge tune resumed as Bridgette and Cody ran through the course, jumping over, stopping short of, and weaving between obstacles; they soon passed Alejandro and Heather as they fell back down from their geysers. "Watch out for that beaver," Cody called out to his former teammate, causing her to pause just long enough for a beaver to stick its head up out of the tire she was about to step over, bite at the air, and sink back down.
Bridgette gave the tire an incredulous stare, then continued along the course. "Hammer coming up," Lily warned, the geek stopping to shoot her a glare and caused him to miss getting hit by a wooden mallet that had sprung up in front of him.
"Thank you," Cody bitterly said as the passed Matthew trying to pull himself free.
You're welcome!" Lily said as they ran out of the tires.
"Cody and Lily are in the lead," Chris said as he drove up in the jeep with Chef, "and heading for the Rope Slope. This oughta be good," he said, clasping his hands in anticipation.
The two reluctant allies quickly reached the ropes and started to climb the two on the left – Lily on the red one, Cody on the black one which unbeknownst to him was crackling with electricity. A close-up showed him pausing and peering closely at what he'd grabbed, and in a suspicious tone he asked "What kind of rope is this?"
"What's the hold up?" Lily called down to him, now a few feet above him. "Get stuck or something?"
"No," Cody looked up and replied, moving his hand further up and promptly getting electrocuted by the exposed wire. Lily winced, and Cody slid back down to the bottom with a short yelp.
Chris laugh over his megaphone. "Oh man, I didn't think someone would find my favorite rope this quickly!" he said as Cody rubbed his right hand and scowled. "I call it 'The Zapper'."
"You okay down there?" Lily called out in mostly genuine concern.
"Yeah," he called back up to her. "You keep going, I'll catch up."
Lily turned her head to the rope she was holding and sniffed it. "Licorice?" she said in confusion. "Hey Cody! Make sure Bridgette doesn't take this one!" She took a large bite of the rope, then climbed up to the top.
The shot cut back to the bottom, and Heather began to climb the brownish rope. She soon caught up with Cody. "Hey!" she called out as quietly as she could while still catching Cody attention.
"What do you want Heather?" the geek paused to ask.
"You want Lily gone right?" the queen bee whispered. "Agree to join me in an alliance and I can make that happen."
Cody furrowed his brow. "I'll think about it. By the way, make sure there's nothing wrong with your rope," he said before climbing up and away.
"My rope?" Heather asked in confusion, moving closer to the one she was holding. She sniffed it, and recoiled immediately. "Uggh, what is thing made out of?"
"Dog hair," Chris answered with a laugh from off-screen.
"Figures," Heather muttered in disgust before climbing onwards.
The shot cut back down to the bottom as Alejandro and Matthew arrived at the base of the slope. "Hold on, was Heather talking to Cody just now?" the hipster asked, casting a suspicious eye upward.
"Seems that way," Alejandro said suspiciously, grabbing hold of the dog-hair rope. "But we are always looking for allies."
"Hrmm...if you say so," Matthew said sarcastically.
XXX
"Heather really is making this too easy," Matthew confessed.
XXX
The footage skipped ahead to show Alejandro about halfway up with Matthew at the bottom of the electric cable. "What are you waiting for," the charmer called down, "climb!"
"Just worry about yourself Al," Matthew said as he began to climb...only to get shocked when he touched exposed wire moments later.
Back on the ground, Chris laughed from the safety of the jeep. "Oh man, two people in one challenge? I shoulda used The Zapper before!"
"Gotta hurry up," Bridgette said to herself as she ran past. She quickly reached the rope slope, and chose to jump onto the dog-hair one. "I'm just gonna ignore the smell," she said just before she came upon Bridgette.
"D-don't get comfortable," the hipster wheezed, slightly smoking but still holding on to the poorly insulated cable. "Alejandro-" Though the surfer paused to give him a questioning look, Matthew was cut off by another surge of electricity.
"Tell me later, I have to keep Lily and Cody from killing each other," Bridgette said before climbing onward.
A third surge of electricity hit Matthew, and he groaned.
The shot cut back to Chris and Chef as the capstone theme began to play. "Will anyone survive the Obsta-Kill Course?" the host asked the camera. "Will Matthew become a human hot dog? Will I laugh no matter what? Yes to that. But, for all the other answers, stay tuned to Total! Drama! All-Stars!"
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(Commercial Break)
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The episode resumed on a shot of Cody hanging from the rust-colored monkey bars, several angry snapping turtles floating viciously in the pond below. "Cody is first to reach the 'Snapping Bars'," Chris announced from off-screen by way of megaphone as the short young man crossed. "Followed by Lily, and Heather!" The camera panned over to the start of the obstacles, showing Lily hanging from the bars by all four limbs while Heather climbed up the ladder leading up to them.
A close-up showed a turtle leaping and snapping at the cynic's foot, missing but causing the girl to yelp anyway. "So that's why they're called the 'Snapping Bars'," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "Hilarious."
Heather took one look at the two ahead of her and scoffed, then climbed to the top of the bars and cautiously walked across them.
It was then that Alejandro arrived. "Que en el ...," he asked upon seeing the snapping turtles.
"These lovely little creatures are what give the Snapping Bars the name," Lily said, trying to kick off a turtle that had latched onto her right foot. "Your girlfriend decided to go over."
"Oh," Alejandro said blankly. "Well in that case, I will as well," he said, heaving himself up through a gap in the bars into a handstand on top of them.
"Show-off!" Lily said, as the charmer slowly hand-walked over the bars. With a dramatic tune over a close-up of her foot she kicked the turtle she'd back into the water, then made her way across.
"We need to discuss tonight's vote," Alejandro whispered as the camera cut to him catching up with her. "I suggest eliminating Bridgette."
Heather's brows shot up in surprise. "Why?"
"Because she is the glue that holds together the alliance of her, Lily, and Cody," Alejandro explained. "Eliminate her and we will control the game."
The queen bee's face became thoughtful. "I guess you have a point. But the only way that would work is if we got Matthew to our side and used the idol. And I don't want to do that yet."
"You don't?" Alejandro asked, his tone level and indecipherable.
"No," Heather replied, unaware of the look Alejandro was giving her as she kept her eyes forward. "I don't."
"Then I'll find another way," Alejandro said, somersaulting over her and taking the lead.
To his surprise, he soon came upon a pair of hands holding on to the bars. "Cody?!" he said in shock. "Weren't you ahead of us?" he asked the geek, right before the camera zoomed out to show the him practically covered in snapping turtles.
"Trying...not...to die..." Cody said, his tone an odd mixture of pain, panic, and exhaustion. "Can't...hold on... Arms...too numb..." he said, the panic becoming more and more evident with each word. To a dramatic twist in the music, his fingers finally failed and he plunged into the pond below.
His screaming quickly alerted Lily, a quick-pan showing about caught up to Heather, both were watching in concern. "Crap," the cynic griped, letting go of the bars and falling into the pond. Her splash flung several angry turtles into the air, and the shot cut to Alejandro as he yelped and stood on one hand to avoid his fingers getting bitten.
"Thanks for the lead!" the charmer mocked before flipping back upright, running along the bars, and jumping down to solid ground with ease.
The shot lingered on the pond's edge as Lily soon trudged over carrying Cody under her arm, both covered with swollen bruises. She got to dry land, walked two steps further, and collapsed.
"Haha!" Chris laughed as he and Chef arrived in the jeep. "Alejandro takes the lead! While Cody and Lily might be out of commission."
XXX
"It's not like I was in the lead to begin with," Lily confessed with a shrug. "And even though he's been acting like major jerk, I do think of Cody as a friend. No way am I letting him get eaten alive by a bunch of turtles."
XXX
The shot cut to Heather, still cautiously walking across the bars with turtles trying to jump up and snap her.
"Ohhh," Chris called back from the jeep via his megaphone, "and here comes the last place losers!"
The focus returned to the start of the bars just as Matthew and Bridgette arrived, the surfer supporting the hipster from under his arm. "You should've taken the lead. Idiot," Matthew said with a bit of a groan.
"Well it's not like I was gonna let you just stay there and get electrocuted," Bridgette replied, her tone thoroughly annoyed as she helped him climb the ladder up to the bars. "That's just not who I am."
"Believe me, I know," Matthew replied, quickly starting to swing along with Bridgette following behind and several turtles trying – but failing – to snap at his butt. "It's why I'm surprised you've lasted this long."
"Hey," Bridgette complained as they continued onward at a steady pace, "there's nothing wrong with having a good attitude."
Matthew scoffed. "There is when you're going up against the smartest and most athletic players in Total Drama history. There's not a single person left in the game that hasn't pulled some kind of trick on another. Take Lily, she claims to be your ally, but she'll openly admit to not trusting you. Sounds like a recipe for a backstab to me."
Bridgette frowned, the camera briefly cutting to a close-up of her unintentionally kicking away a turtle as it jumped up at her. "Lily wouldn't do that," she said. "She's changed. She just doesn't want to admit it."
Matthew rolled his eyes. "Or she's playing you and won't admit it so she can honestly say she never lied to you. But I'm not the one heading for the toilet if I'm wrong," he looked back over his shoulder and told her with a mocking look.
"You're just trying to mess with my mind," Bridgette told him sharply. "And I'm not falling for it."
"Your funeral," Matthew said, turning back and resuming his crossing with a smirk on his face.
XXX
"I need a back-up plan in case Alejandro doesn't fall for my little trick," Matthew explained.
XXX
The static cut away to reveal Cody and Lily getting back to their feet, still covered in bite marks. "Why did you do that?" Cody asked.
"I need your vote to turf Alejandro," Lily said as they began to run forwards once more. "Can't do that if you're dead."
"Of course," Cody spat as they entered the rock-and-bush-filled 'Duck and Cover'.
As they came upon a particularly large rock they received their answer, a blunt tone playing as they skidded to a halt and gasped in horror.
Alejandro was kneeling on the ground, three blood-bloated leeches attached to his face. "Madre mia..." he slurred woozily.
"Looks like he couldn't handsome his abs out of everything," Lily joked.
The sound of Chris laughing over the megaphone drew their attention, and the camera, to the right. "Yeah, I kinda forgot to mention," the host said as he sat on another, larger rock. Chef was standing behind him with a multi-barreled leechball blaster at the ready. "This is Chef's favorite place to unwind with some leechball target practice! So, you better duck, or you better find cover. Oooor you'll end up like Alejandro over there."
He laughed again, and Chef fired. The shot cut to Lily as the leech hit her in the face, earning a yelp of disgust. She quickly yanked it off, and to her surprise Cody grabbed her by the arm. "Come on!" the geek said, pulling her along behind the next rock formation. A few moments later, the camera zoomed in as they poked their heads above it then quickly ducked back down as a round of leeches shot through where they'd just been.
"Didn't you evade like half the shots we took at you in the leechball challenge earlier this season?" Lily asked as as the viewpoint moved behind the rock.
"Yeah, but Mike wound up taking my by surprise."
"Mike's not here," Lily pointed out. "Now one of us needs to go so we don't lose the lead and I think it should be you."
"I'm agreeing," Cody said, "but only because I don't want you to win." The perspective shifted back to in front of the rock as Cody dashed out to the right, ducking under another flurry of leechfire, and Lily ran out a few seconds after him.
"And Cody takes the lead!" Chris announced via his megaphone, the shot showing Matthew running into the zone as fast as he could, with Bridgette and Heather behind him though closer to the camera.
The scene then skipped ahead to Matthew and Alejandro, now hiding behind a bush as the one-eyed young man hastily pulled the bloated leeches from the charmer's face. The moment the last one was off Alejandro shook his head rapidly and smiled. "Gracias amigo!"
"No problem," Matthew replied. "I'm just surprised that Heather didn't stop to help you."
"She went ahead to see if she could gain Cody's loyalty," Alejandro explained.
"You mean the guy currently in the lead?" Matthew asked. "As in, the one person she needs to be faster than in order to win the challenge? She could be cutting a deal to switch to their side and take you out."
Alejandro growled. "Shut up Matthew!"
Matthew raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm trying to help you. After all, if you get the boot, I'm next." He stood back up and ran off, prompting Alejandro to frown and run off as well, both dodging a few leeches fired their way.
\
The scene cut to a larger rock formation being pelted with leeches. Bridgette raised her head above a smaller part of it, then ducked down before another volley hit the stone.
"Seriously? You wanna vote out Cody?!" Bridgette asked Lily in disbelief, the perspective shifting to show both girls in hiding. "Why? I thought you'd changed."
"Look I have my reasons okay?" Lily answered. "Namely, there's no way we can convince him I didn't vote for Scarlett and it's not a good idea to keep someone around who hates your guts. Also, I don't mean vote him off now. I meant after we boot Al."
"Lily..." Bridgette asked slowly. "Did you vote for her?"
"No," Lily answered tersely. "Look, I probably would've done it later on, but there was no reason for me to ax one ally and alienate another so soon. That sounds like something Matthew would do," she pointed out.
The two girls' eyes widened to a metallic clank. "You don't think...?" Bridgette asked.
\
The music became tense again as Cody stood up from one set of rocks and bushes, looked around, then ran over and dove behind the next before a hail of leeches hit where he'd been. "Alright, almost there!" he said with a confident smile, standing back up and making a break for it...only to get his backpack snagged on the next large bush.
"That can't be good," he said, stopping to look back at it and thus leaving himself open to Chef's next round. The leeches plastered the side of his face and arm, and he staggered back a few steps with a disgusted groan.
It was then tha Heather arrived on the scene. She noticed the geek, and the leeches still attached to him. "You want some help?" she asked. "Y'know, between friends?"
"Um you've only spoken to me like three times," Cody said as he grabbed two at once and pulled them off with a grunt, "counting this one."
Heather gave him a blank look. "Fine. I wanna know if you're on board with voting off Lily tonight. She's manipulative and untrustworthy."
Cody sighed, pulling off the final few leeches. "And you aren't?" he asked.
"I haven't betrayed anyone," Heather pointed out.
"I'll think about it," Cody said before taking off, Heather following suit a moment after.
The camera panned to the left to show Matthew watching from behind the bush with a grin. He stood up, ran off...and promptly got snagged by a bush as Alejandro passed him by. "Uggh...," he said, tugging at his pack as Bridgette and Lily ran past him with smiles. "Aww, forget it, I'll just take the stupid penalty," he said, slipping off his backpack and running off again.
\
The music became tense as the scene moved to Heather and Cody heading to the end of the course, two teens becoming more and more confident as they ran...before suddenly skidding to a halt in shock. "What the!?" Cody exclaimed, his voice echoing as an overhead shot showed a few bits of earth falling from the edge of a cliff to a river far below.
"Told you you were in for a real treat!" Chris said, the camera cutting outward to show him standing on a lower cliff at the other side of the river. A pair of lines ran across the chasm, tied to the trees high above the teens and running into the forest beyond the host. "This is it, maggots," he said as the tense music resumed, "the final obstacle! All you gotta do is get to where I'm standing, alive."
"How do you expect us to do that?!" Heather asked in disbelief.
"Helloooo? Backpacks?" Chris replied, gesturing to his back.
The shot cut to Cody and Heather's packs landing on the ground, the two rifling through them as the challenge music resumed once more. "What the?" Heather said, taking out an odd belt, a rope, an a helmet.
"We're ziplining," Cody explained as the camera zoomed out, showing him already in his gear. "Which is kinda obvious in hindsight."
"Excellent!" the sudden voice of Alejandro called out, attracting both teens' attention to him already in his camping gear. "I grew up ziplining chasms three times this size!"
They ran over to the edge of the cliff, and a close-up showed Alejandro hooking his rope onto the upper line. "I'll go first!" he told Heather with a happy salute as the shot pulled back out, and jumped off.
Heather gave Cody a withering glare. "Time's up little man. I hope you make the right choice tonight!" she said, hooking herself onto the upper line and jumping off. The camera followed her for a few feet, then lingered long enough to show Cody sliding down as well on the upper line.
The shot cut to Alejandro sliding along with a smile on his face, and the camera pulled back slightly to show the other two behind him with Heather quickly gaining ground on the charmer. A cut back to the cliff showed Lily, Bridgette, and Matthew all arriving at the same time, the girls dropping their packs while the hipster scowled in annoyance.
"You didn't say we were gonna need our packs!" he called out angrily to the host.
Bridgette palmed her face while Lily turned an mocking look onto the hipster. "You ditched your pack?" she asked in disbelief. "Way to go."
"Told you there was gonna be a penalty, bro!" Chris called out from the other side.
XXX
"Whatever," Matthew scoffed. "I had to do the same thing in the Amazon and turned out fine."
XXX
The music started building as Matthew pulled the belt from his jeans, strung it over the lower line, then jumped down. A deep note played as the shot cut outward in time to catch Lily and Bridgette zipping off, and the music starting in earnest shortly after that.
"The race for last place begins," Chris said, now standing in front of a checkered finish banner, the two ziplines running through it, "as the race for first is about to end!"
"Alejandro looks unbeatable," the charmer was shown zipping along comfortably, "but wait!" The charmer looked behind him, first questioningly and then in shock as he noticed Heather approaching rapidly along the same line.
"Slow down!" he called out to her.
"I don't know how!" she replied apologetically. "Why am I doing this so fast?!"
XXX
"We decided to grease the equipment in some of the packs," Chris confessed with a grin. "What? Every part of the challenge has to be up to my usual standards."
XXX
They both screamed, and moments later they slammed into one another and spun around together. "Que mala suerte!" Alejandro exclaimed as they slowed down and the music quieted slightly.
"Thanks for the win Heather!" Cody said as he sped past them on the other line.
"What do we do now?" the queen asked in slight panic before the camera cut to a close-up of their ropes, now twisted together and straining under the combined weight.
"Fall..." Alejandro groaned just before the buckles attached the ropes to the line were forced open. The camera cut backwards as the two dropped with a scream into the river below.
The challenge music rose up again as the scene moved back to the finish line. "Alejandro and Heather's epic screw-up takes them both out," Cody slid past him and under the banner, "meaning Cody wins immunity!"
Heather growled as she floated in the water, Alejandro floating beside her with a scowl on his face.
XXX
"Moment of truth," Alejandro said with a deep sigh. "Either I can trust Heather or not..."
XXX
"As much as I want Lily to pay for booting Scarlett," Cody confessed. "I can't. Not when I promised the girls I'd vote for Alejandro. But maybe I'll be lucky and he has the idol. I mean, I can't just ditch them over something personal. Can I?"
XXX
The static cut away to show Lily and Bridgette and Matthew zipping down past Chris, Cody, and the finish line with a startled scream, crashing off-screen together as a tense tune built up.
Chris laughed. "Bonus ouchies! You can count your bruises while I'm counting the elimination votes tonight. Cody's safe from the Flush of Shame," the young man frowned uncertainly, "so, who's going home I wonder?"
Cody brought a finger to his chin in worried thought as the tense music became louder. Alejandro looked at Heather in mistrust as they swam to shore, and Matthew smirked as Lily and Bridgette had a hushed conversation.
\
"Okay," Chris said as the ceremonial theme began against the backdrop of the moonlit island. "I'm sensing a little tension here tonight," he said as the shot cut to the campfire pit, enough of the stump seats having been removed in order to cause the Final Six to entirely fill up the remainder – two in back, four in front. The campers had divided themselves into their pre-merge teams, the Heroes sitting on the left and the Villains on the right, the back row occupied by Lily and Matthew. "So, it's time to air things out a little with a vote," Chris said with his usual grin.
XXX
"No matter who loses, I win," Matthew said as he crossed out a photo with a smirk.
XXX
Lily was next, opening with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Angel and I used to pretend we were voting for you back in season one," she told herself before making her mark.
XXX
"It's nothing personal," Heather said next as she crossed out an unseen image. "Just strategy."
XXX
"Hopefully, this'll be for the best," Cody said as he cast his vote, keeping it secret from the camera.
XXX
Bridgette sighed. "For once, I won't feel guilty about casting a vote."
XXX
"I'm safe either way," Alejandro told the camera. "But I need to know if I can trust Heather."
XXX
A few deep notes played as the ceremonial theme restarted itself. "And the following campers are safe," Chris announced. "Cody. Heather. Matthew. and Lily." A split-screen formed showing Bridgette and Alejandro looking distinctly nervous. "Bridgette and Alejandro, both of you are the most athletic players in the game," the host said as the split-screen parted to show a close-up of him with his hands behind his back. "But one of you aces is about to get trumped and be sent home in the royal flush."
The safe campers all groaned at the pun hurricane.
Chris scowled, then announced that the eliminated camper was...
"Alejandro."
No one reacted... until Alejandro scowled and stood up. "I'm not going anywhere," he told the host in a dangerous tone, producing the immunity idol. "I've got diplomatic immunity."
"Yeah, just regular immunity Al," Chris told him with a tired tone. "Guess that means Bridgette's gonna be surfing the porcelain wave machine," he said as the camera cut to her gaping in shock.
"But...but why me?" Bridgette asked, still in shock as she looked at Lily.
"Don't look at me," Lily said. "I voted for Alejandro like we decided on," she said, motioning to the charmer.
"It's simple," Heather said. "With you gone there's no way Cody and Lily will work together."
At this Alejandro started chuckling. "And since Matthew tried to trick us into breaking up, we decided to use all of your plans to our advantage."
The shot panned to Lily as her eye began to twitch. "Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed. "I got screwed over by another idol?! Just so you could stick it to the guy who rigged the votes last night?!"
Alejandro and Cody and Heather gasped in shock and the shot cut to the young man in question, a dull note playing as he rolled his at the angry faces glaring at him. "Pretty big accusation to make without proof," he scoffed. "Unless you have any?"
"Well... no..." Lily deflated as Bridgette laid a consoling hand on her shoulder. "But how else could it have happened?"
"It still doesn't change tonight's vote," Chris interrupted, drawing all attention back to him, "Bridgette's going home, and Cody's got a night in the spa hotel with the person of his choice."
All eyes moved to Cody. "Uhh...," he said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "I guess I'll pick Lily," he said uncertainly.
"Gotcha," Chris said. "Now who's spending the night on Boney Island?"
"Matthew," Cody answered with a bitter hatred in his voice.
"I guess you just can't take the fact that someone's better than you," he sighed as he stood up to be escorted.
\
The somber farewell theme began to play as the scene rotated into Bridgette floating in the Flush of Shame, a look of resignation on her face. "Cody? Lily? Do me a favor and keep working together after this?" she asked her former allies.
"Don't worry," Cody said, both he and the cynic looking upset as they watched from the shore, "We will."
"And we'll add you to the list of people we're winning for," Lily added.
Chris pressed the button on his remote, and Bridgette was flushed with a scream. "Will Cody and Lily actually fulfill the promise they just made?" he asked the camera as the capstone theme began to play. "Or will yet another Hero take a swim in the sewers? Find out next time, when the Final Five," he held up five fingers, "become the Fortunate Four," he lowered one of them, "on Total! Drama! All-Stars!"
(Roll the Credits)
\
\
(Bonus Clip)
The scene opened up on what looked like a large sewer pipe jutting out into what looked like a large lake or pond surrounded by ice. The pipe began to rumble ominously, and a few metallic clangs heralded a torrent of water rushing out of it, Bridgette just visible getting swept along.
"Uggh, Chris!" she coughed and spluttered in anger, the shot cutting to a close-up as she resurfaced in calmer waters. "Where am I...?"
"Sweden." a calm, apathetic, and familiar voice asked as a few ripples past through the water and around Bridgette. Her eyes went wide, and she smiled as a pale-skinned hand was lowered next to her.
She took it eagerly, and the shot cut to Gwen pulling her up onto the back of a large, somewhat Viking Longship-like boat. "Wow, you're the Gwen!" Bridgette said in awe. "I'm your biggest fan!"
"Well, I don't hear that everyday," Gwen said.
"Seriously girl?" another voice said just before Leshawna stepped in the shot. "Two seasons of hosting and you're shocked you have fans?"
"Leshawna?!" Bridgette exclaimed. "Why are my two favorite Total Drama contestants meeting me here? Not that I'm complaining."
Gwen laughed. "Angel told us how you were big fans and we decided to be the ones to take you back to Canada and get to know you."
"I haven't seen someone that devoted to their girlfriends since.. well... our boyfriends," Leshawna commented. "Now what's on your mind girl?"
"Can you autograph my hoodie?!" the surfer blurted out before covering her mouth. "Crap! I didn't mean- Well I wouldn't mind but-" She growled in frustration and her rescuers just shared a laugh.
Author's Note Post Script: And thus falls Bridgette, sent home by the main antagonist once more. The elimination in this episode (and the next) were tough to figure out; namely how to send both home in their respective slots and have the idol into play. But giving Matthew essentially a gambit roulette set the stage well enough - He, Cody, Bridgette, and Lily all voted for Alejandro since they're of the belief he's the biggest threat (aside from Matthew, who wanted the idol out of play and everyone to hate each other) . Alejandro and Heather voted for Bridgette because only she has the ability to keep Cody and Lily from fighting. Alejandro plays the idol. Bridgette goes home. Alejandro thinks Heather tried to betray him. Too bad it didn't work and now everyone actively hates him. Even more bad that he's incapable of noticing.
So, yeah. I hope you enjoyed Bridgette's clip. I wanted to play on the canon friendship those three had (even going so far as to use some of the same lines she used in the Brunch of Disgustingness, where the three started said friendship) but with Bridgette appearing in a different generation of campers, I decided to make it seem like those two were her favorites on the show and she gets a little star-struck.
And as always I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention something.
I hope you all enjoyed the episode, or some part of it.
And I'd also like to remind you guys that a TVTropes page for this series does exist and needs you guys adding to it.
With that I'm signing off
-TotalDramaFan14
RDRotI ELIMINATION TABLE:
14th Place: Victor
13th Place: Jo
12th Place: Natasha
11th Place: Mike
10th Place: Kitsune
9th Place: Lightning
8th Place: Angel
7th Place: Scarlett
6th Place: Bridgette