"Oh hello there," Jeanette Washington said sitting at a burnt desk, strewn with paperwork. "Don't mind me, I was just keeping track of all the hosting violations Chris McClean has committed. Oh it's quite a list for sure."
"Is that so!?" Chris said as he entered the room. "Well then why don't you share with the class where 'Hijacking a show that doesn't belong to them' ranks on the list...oh wait!"
Jeanette scowled at the other host.
"Enough business, we've got a show to run," Chris said as he brushed all the documents onto the floor. "Last episode on Total Drama Armageddon we saw invaders from space show up and our final six had to take them on. It was a real fire fight for sure, but Scout came out on top and won himself immunity."
"And that's not even touching on the drama going on between the teens," Jeanette said. "Kelly was intent on keeping her final four alliance together, but there was a debate going on between whether they would target Ricko or Sashonelle. Scout decided he would rather do neither though and wanted to take on the two girls."
"And this brought us to our very exciting vote!" Chris exclaimed. "Ricko and Damian wanted to do Kelly, Scout and Sashonelle wanted to do Liz, and Liz and Kelly wanted it to be Ricko. In the end though, Scout got his way and Kelly left the game."
"That's quite right," Jeanette said, "Thus leaving us with Ricko, Damian, Scout, Sashonelle, and Liz as our final five. These five have used their strength, their smarts, and well just plain luck to get this far. Will it get them much further?"
"Find out right now!" Chris said. "On Total Drama Armageddon!"
Confessional:
Ricko-Last round I wanted Liz out, Scout wanted Kelly out, and it seemed like Damian wanted the same as me. But Damian told me later it wasn't worth fighting over...and I'm okay with that, no point in fighting if it's not going to work. I trust these guys, I don't think I'd still be in this without their help, so I don't want to make things more difficult for them. They had better not be stringing me along, though, I wouldn't like that very much at all.
Ricko had gathered Damian and Scout within the dank storage unit.
"Okay team, great work last round, great unity," Ricko exclaimed.
"Yeah uh...I guess," Damian replied. "We got through it alright."
"We made the right choice," Scout reassured the other boy, picking up on his doubt. "We are in a perfect position to make it to the final three now. Liz has been completely blindsided by everyone left in the game, and Sashonelle is too complacent to fear us sticking together against her. I don't see either of them being able to put a stop to us now."
"That is what I like to hear!" Ricko cheered as he pat Scout on the back. "We're in the clear now! No stopping us!"
"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves," Damian cautioned.
"But getting ahead of ourselves is fun," Ricko pouted. "Don't you want to party."
"I just don't want to jump to conclusions," Damian said. "These girls aren't just going to roll over, and if we get too comfortable we could be asking for trouble."
"I do agree," Scout said. "Let us focus on carrying out the plan before taking anything for granted."
"Okay, but so long as we promise not to vote each other then nothing can go wrong," Ricko reminded.
"Precisely," Scout said.
The group split up, with Damian making sure he was walking closely behind Ricko. Once he was far enough away from Scout he closed in on the boy and pulled him aside.
"Hey friend, what's up!?" Ricko asked.
"I just want to run something by you," Damian said, "I think we need to make nice with Liz."
"What?" Ricko sulked. "But why? She'll just yell at me again and use words I don't fully understand."
"We need her to make sure we have the votes to get out Sashonelle," Damian said. "I don't trust that Scout will give up on her that easy. And I don't want to risk going to the final four with those two. If they chose to stick together they could tie the vote."
"Well if you felt that way why not say something at the meeting?" Ricko asked.
'"Because then Scout would know and that's not exactly ideal for us," Damian pointed out.
"Hm, I guess that is a fair point," Ricko said after taking a moment to think.
"Look, I'll handle her," Damian said, "just leave the talking to me. All I ask is that you not do anything to piss her off."
"I'll try, but I think just existing is enough to get on her nerves," Ricko sighed.
Confessional:
Damian-Last round Scout was very adamant that we take out Kelly. He had his arguments, sure, but it just showed that he wants this game to go exactly his way. And that's dangerous, we have to remember that he's playing the most cutthroat game out of any of us, and if he sees a reason to stick with Sashonelle and try to split up me and Ricko, that could ruin everything just short of making the end. I need to get the upper hand and remove his plus one vote before it's too late.
Ricko-Aw man, I'm being railroaded again here. Scout wouldn't really betray us for Sashonelle, would he? I mean she's pretty, but we've had a real cool alliance for most of the merge. Hm...actually that reminds me the time our bassist left us because of a girl...it was his mom, she didn't like him staying up so late for rehearsals.
Liz-Last round...was the third most offensive betrayal. Of my entire life. I would list the first two for comparison's sake, but there's not a trigger warning loud enough that would make it appropriate for me to repeat the context in public company. I had my entire game upended by the rock hard fist of the patriarchy as my allies had their brains replaced with stone. Well guess what? I'm still the smartest person in the game, and now my unstoppable mind is coming to get all of you!
Liz was pacing the floor in fury, just muttering incoherently to herself. Damian carefully peeked his head in the room.
"Uh, hi," he said meekly.
"GET OUT!" Liz shrieked as she lunged at him with her hands whirling like razor blades.
"Okay, okay, you're upset, I get it," Damian said as he held her back with both arms.
"You get it...you GET IT!?" Liz echoed, her words getting garbled into a venomous choke while her face turned red. "You don't get the first thing about what I'm feeling! You couldn't possibly begin to understand the pain of thousands of years of oppression being weighed against your very being!"
"Well, when you put it that way..." Damian said awkwardly.
"You have no right to speak to me!" Liz spat. "Oh I know, your pitiful male ego needs to lavish over your victory as you destroyed an innocent woman, but you are NOT getting that satisfaction!"
"That's not why I'm here at all," Damian insisted.
"WRONG! That's exactly why you're here! Don't try to pretend otherwise, it's just insulting my intelligence. I have an entire library's worth of knowledge on human psychology, I know ten times more on the subject than you do, so I am fully grounded in knowing exactly what you're thinking!" Liz shouted.
Damian just cringed and tried to maintain his self control.
"I'm here because I think it's in both our interests to move past this and work together," Damian said.
"You think you can tell me what's in MY best interest!?" Liz screamed. "Was it in my best interest to vote out Kelly!? Did my opinion matter then!?"
"Do you know why Kelly got voted out?" Damian said. "It was because Scout wanted her out, because he knew you would react this would and reject any chance to actually flip the game on him. Well are you going to play right into his hands?"
"YES!" Liz shouted. "Wait...no."
"We worked together before, that doesn't have to all end now," Damian said. "I know last round sucked, and I'm sorry for that, but I don't want both of us to throw away our games just so some machine can win it all."
"Alright, you sleazeball," Liz said, "I don't want to hear one more word from you. I have a plan to propose. We vote out Scout tonight!"
"I-" Damian began.
"Not one word!" Liz snapped.
"I don't know if Ricko will do Scout, we might be better off cutting off Sashonelle," Damian said.
"See this is why I didn't want you to speak, I knew you'd find a way to RUIN it!" Liz sneered with a scowl. "You just expect me to vote out the only other female in the game? You want me to just TRUST you, the embodiment of all things wrong with men, and leave my fragile life in your hands? I don't think so!"
"Okay, but it might be our only option," Damian said. "We're still just two votes out of five."
"This conversation is over," Liz said as she walked past Damian and out the door.
Liz left the building and made her way down the road until she found Sashonelle leaning against a wall.
"Why hello there," Sashonelle greeted.
"As the last two remaining females in this game, we are obligated to work together and make sure that neither of us leave next," Liz stated immediately. "It's what is right! This game cannot be allowed to the patriarchy, and it's so close!"
"Okay, I can support not dying," Sashonelle remarked with a brief purse of her lips.
"And you should know that the soldiers of the penis are already trying to rape me into voting for you," Liz added.
"Well that's not very good," Sashonelle said, bringing her hand to her chest.
"So here's what we're going to do," Liz said, "We're going to beat them at their own game. We're going to vote out Scout!"
"Sounds positively scandalous," Sashonelle said as she traced her hand along her cheek, "Count me in."
Confessional:
Damian-(sighs) This is exactly what I feared would happen. Liz is in complete meltdown mode and she's not listening to reason. I know she's smart enough to figure this out, but right now she's just in sheer rage mode and that's not doing anyone any favors. I hope I didn't just make a huge mistake.
Liz-Sashonelle may have repeatedly let down me-and by extension all women-but right now she's my best shot. Yeah right like I'm going to trust these Neanderthal thugs to turn on each other. Damian just wants me to vote out the last remaining female so he doesn't have to worry, he thinks I'm stupid because his male ego won't let him register a fully capable intelligent woman! Of course, I've come to understand Sashonelle as well, she is the kind of woman who likes to take orders and make herself into an object to be slapped around. Perhaps linked back to lingering issues over an absent father, but I can't afford to delve too deep into that right now. What matters is that I give her a hard stern voice to listen to so she realizes she doesn't just need to obey the men and can still support her own gender while remaining a mindless doll.
Sashonelle-My work is all paying off now, I am the one who is set up with all the options. People think that I'm the one they need to survive. That's why you always keep a few tricks to yourself, you always want to leave them wanting more. I've never shown all my cards, so not even a super machine like Scout knows the full extent of my game. Will I let him go, or will I be his hero? The decision is mine.
Damian left the building and returned to find Ricko again.
"Hello again, friend," Ricko greeted.
"Alright, we may need to change the plan," Damian said.
"Again? All these changes are getting hard to keep up with," Ricko said. "Maybe you could figure out the changes first, and then just bring me the final plan."
"This is the final plan...or at least it should be," Damian said. "Liz is teetering right now, but I think we can still pull her over to our side. We just need to change the target to Scout."
"Whoa, whoa, we are not voting out Scout," Ricko insisted. "I will not be jerked around into breaking my word! We made a promise, we're going to the final three. If we break that promise, then it's worth nothing!"
"Okay, but if we go to the final four with Scout and Sashonelle together, what's keeping Scout from just sticking with her?" Damian asked. "Do we really want to rely on the word of a strategy machine?"
"And you believe that Liz won't just automatically stick with Sashonelle at four too?" Ricko pointed out. "We have no deal with her."
"At least we have a better shot at winning the challenge against those two girls," Damian said.
"Or is that what they want us to think?" Ricko countered ominously.
Meanwhile, Sashonelle had crept back towards Scout.
"Good morning," Scout greeted as she slipped up against the robotic boy. "I trust you have been well."
"Oh well, I had a very interesting morning," Sashonelle said teasingly. "It seems like you're lucky to have me on your side, as people are starting to whisper your name."
"Hm," Scout said with a nod. "Unfortunate, but not surprising. We will simply need to make sure the boys and Liz remain focused on each other above all else. If we can make it to the final 4, it won't matter anymore."
"Can do," Sashonelle replied.
Confessional:
Ricko-I am not going to be pushed into voting off Scout. It's one thing to switch the target from Liz to Sashonelle...I don't like it, but I can get over it. But turning on our own alliance? That's out of the question, and I refuse to be bullied into letting this good thing fall apart.
Sashonelle-Of course, I'm not going to be the one to make the first move on Scout. I'd never turn on my shield, and if people try to throw me under the bus I'll deny deny deny. But if he does end up the victim of a power move, well, it'll be him and not me and I'll still be set to make the end.
Scout-I expected my name to continue to come up. If I am to win this game, I need to prepare for others to see me as a clear threat. The remedy to this is simply to present a more pressing danger. I believe Liz's current state of mind will be quite effective in returning the target to her name.
(Later)
The final five met up in the wasteland where Chris and Jeanette were standing.
"Welcome, welcome, final five, you all look so lovely," Jeanette greeted. "And I can assure you that won't be the case by the end of the challenge."
"Yeah yeah we've heard that spiel before," Damian remarked.
"Alright, you losers, let's get to it," Chris said, "after the full on nuclear warfare with alien invaders last round, Earth came out victorious...but not without sustaining some damage. All the toxic waste has pooled together to form a swamp here in the wasteland."
Chris gestured over the hill where there now was a vast green sea.
"That doesn't seem scientifically accurate," Liz remarked.
"Yeah? Well it happened, so shows what your precious science knows!" Chris scoffed.
"Now, let's get to the task at hand, shall we?" Jeanette said calmly. "We've set up some canoes for you, and this will be a simple boating race to the other side. Oh but it won't be so simple, you'll see, ohoho."
"You might die!" Chris added.
"Well, let's not go that far," Jeanette said. "But you may get very messy, oh my yes, very messy indeed."
"That's actually the most reassuring challenge description I've heard in a while," Ricko remarked.
"Oh great, now look what you've done," Chris scolded Jeanette. "They're not scared at all, the mood is completely ruined."
"Oh just you wait, ohoho," Jeanette cackled.
"Alright, alright, just get to it!" Chris said to the final five.
The group took off running towards the canoes floating in the murky green pool of water. As they neared, the group got soft and turned to mud.
"Ick!" Ricko exclaimed as his ankles sunk into the mud.
Sashonelle recoiled in disgust as dirty flecks splashed up with the running footsteps. Scout, Liz, and Damian reached their boats first and each grabbed an oar to start rowing. They found that the water was thick and filled with plantlife, making it difficult to actually row smoothly.
"Come on, come on," Liz groaned as she rapidly slapped her oar against the thick green water.
Scout and Damian soon pulled ahead of her.
"No, no, I am not falling out of this now!" she snapped as she continued to swing her oar wildly.
Ricko hopped into his boat and began to stroke strongly, allowing him to move in smooth motions and soon catch up with Liz.
"This is not happening," Liz groaned.
Sashonelle gracefully tossed herself into a boat and began to very lightly press her paddle against the water. All she really ended up doing was tipping her own boat to the side.
"Wait...no no no," she exclaimed as she realized she was about to get flipped over.
With a high pitched shriek she was dumped into the swamp of sludge.
Confessional:
Sashonelle-(covered in mud, moss, and algae) There is...nothing...I can't pull off gracefully! A mess of filth? Yes, I can pull that off too, I just need a few adjustments...(she goes out of the camera's view for a few minutes, returning with notably less dirt, and with the mud coated in a pattern along her body) Voila, I present to you...the war-torn Amazonian look!
Liz-This isn't just about immunity-which I desperately need-but the principle of it all! I can't just allow three MEN to compete for first place, what sort of message would that send!? Not a very progressive one!
Ricko-After surviving aliens, mutants, and killer robots, a little bit of mud doesn't seem so bad, heh heh.
Damian and Scout had the lead in the race. Scout pulled ahead as Damian's oar was cut in a snare of vines hidden beneath the sludge.
"Ugh," Damian groaned as he pulled his oar out of the mess.
He glanced back to see Ricko coming up from behind him. He clenched his teeth and continued to chase after Scout. The two boys then began to notice some movement in the waters around them.
"Uh...what is happening?" Damian remarked uncertainly.
The gurgling in the green water turned to form large bubbles all around them. As each bubble popped, it caused a wave of sludge to course along the water, splashing anyone in its way. Both Scout and Damian had their boats rocked by the sudden turbulence.
"Haha, looks like the fun is beginning!" Chris exclaimed. "There's more tricks than you might think in this old bog, nuclear waste is no joke!"
Another bubble exploded and splashed sludge in Scout's face. The robotic boy was able to keep moving though. Damian ended up taking advantage of the waves though and rode on them to give him a boost of speed. Coming up behind the boys, Ricko was rowing as fast as he could. As Ricko entered the bubbling pool, he soon realized that one such bubble was forming right beneath him, lifting his boat upwards.
"Hm...well that's-" he began, before the bubble popped and launched him into the air.
He was thrown from his boat and submerged in sludge. Meanwhile, his canoe was flipped upside down as it hit the water again. Ricko gagged and slapped at the water desperately, while vines and algae clung to his arms and throat. Liz was paddling as fast as she could, building up a sweat and breathing heavily.
"Don't stop now, don't stop now," she told herself. "Just keep going."
Suddenly something reached out from the sludge and clutched the side of her boat.
"Ah! Die swamp beast!" Liz screamed as she swatted at the being with her hand.
In fact, it was just Ricko, trying to cling onto whatever he could. He tried to explain the situation, but just ended up vomiting up water and slimy leaves.
"This is not how I am going to die!" Liz screamed.
Ricko managed to overpower her though and make his way into her boat.
"Hey hey, it's just me!" he managed to over out as he shook off some of the mud and uncover his face.
" 'Just' you?" Liz hissed. "I'd rather have the swamp monster than some disgusting MAN in my space!"
"Okay, but we gotta work together," Ricko implored.
"And why is that?" Liz asked.
"Because uh...a woman helping save a man is the exact opposite of Chivalry?" Ricko suggested meekly.
Liz scowled before remarking, "Damn, I wish that wasn't so true. Okay hold on and let's go!"
"It seems to be a very tight race between our lead four," Jeanette noted. "As for Sashonelle in fifth place..."
The camera focused on the start of the race where it could only see a few ripples in the water where Sashonelle had landed.
"Doesn't seem to be making much progress," Jeanette concluded.
Confessional:
Damian-A lot is riding on this challenge. Everyone has a specific target in mind, and the only way I can make sure these options stay open is if I win immunity for myself.
Ricko-Working with Liz isn't exactly ideal, but I'm not about to give up on this win. And at least I'm beginning to learn her language (grins).
Sashonelle had managed to get back on top of her capsized boat, completely dripping with grime and various aquatic plantlife. However, once she had gotten back up, she realized that she had lost her oar.
"Well, this sucks," she sighed, realizing she had no way to move forward.
Looking outward though, she saw a large inky silhouette moving in the water.
"Maybe I can hitch a ride though," Sashonelle said to herself.
The model pulled some of the vines off of her body and fashioned them into lasso. She tossed it into the water and snagged it around the obscured creature.
"Okay, now go...go!" Sashonelle ordered.
The creature surfaced and revealed itself to be a three-eyed turtle.
"Well, that is certainly unholy," Sashonelle remarked. "But right now you're my best shot, so let's go already!"
The turtle began to gracefully split through the water, pulling Sashonelle's boat along with it.
"Success!" she cheered.
Meanwhile, in the center of the of the bubbling pits, Scout and Damian were encountering bubbles of all sizes blowing up and popping around them. Damian's strategy was paying off and he was able to ride on the waves and speed ahead of Scout. Scout was getting splashed with sludge from all sides as the water shook all around him, but he stayed on track and kept his pace. Damian was pulling ahead, but suddenly got swept up by a large wave that caught him off guard. He was sucked straight down into the rapid swirling water. Scout soon passed him again. Behind them, Liz and Ricko were coming up in the same boat. They bounced along on the bubbles, but managed to stay in the boat.
"Come on, come on," Liz grunted while still rowing furiously.
"Maybe I could take a turn?" Ricko asked.
Liz just delivered a stern growl in reply.
"Or not, you're doing great," Ricko said.
Scout began to leave behind the section of bubbles and realized that the turbulence in the water was slowing down. He was able to paddle in bigger strides and make more progress. However, he didn't go far before realizing another phenomenon occurring. The water began to swirl into a vortex, opening up to a large void sucking him straight in. Scout tried to pull against it, but found it was impossible to go against the current. He was sucked downward as if he was on a rollercoaster. Instead of ending up submerged in water though, he found himself pulled into a subterranean tunnel, dripping with slime and moss.
"Looks like Scout has found the hidden tunnels," Chris announced.
"Hidden tunnels?" Liz exclaimed. "We can't let him pull ahead. Go, go go!"
"I can't do anything, since you have the oar, but sending positive vibes your way," Ricko replied.
Confessional:
Scout-The best approach to these challenges is just to remain steady. If you take too many risks, you'll lose your position, but I've been going strong the whole way.
Sashonelle-I may have fallen behind, but you know what, I'm not about to just give up. Bigger comeback stories can happen, I think I can still snag myself a nice immunity win for tonight.
Sashonelle and her mutant turtle neared the bubbling pool now. The creature seemed reluctant to move toward the section, but Sashonelle urged it onward.
"That's it, keep moving," she said.
The creature complied. As Sashonelle soared through the turbulent waters, something reached out from the sludge. A hand grabbed onto her makeshift lasso and ended up breaking it off.
"What? No!" Sashonelle cried as the turtle soared on without her.
Sashonelle looked down to see Damian struggling to climb onto her boat.
"Why did you do that!?" she snapped as she held him back down. "I'm ruined now! We're stranded!"
Down in the tunnel, Scout was finding his course directed for him as he washed along a stream through the dark, dank catacombs. Liz and Ricko came crashing down in a sudden gush of water. Their boat hit the side of the tunnel and got stuck upright.
"Well uh...that's a problem," Ricko remarked.
"You're a problem!" Liz snapped. "I am the solution."
Liz began tugging on the boat, trying to pry it down. Ricko tried to help as well.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" Liz demanded.
"Sorry," Ricko replied meekly as he backed up.
However, as Ricko let go, the canoe suddenly fell forward and landed on top of Liz.
"Um...are you okay?" Ricko asked.
Ricko received a notably angry silence.
"Okay, uh I'm gonna try to help now...if that's alright with you," Ricko said as he began to pull the boat off of Liz.
"Enough wasting time," Liz said. "We need to make up some ground and fast!"
Ricko jumped back into the boat while Liz grabbed her oar and began paddling again. Up ahead, Scout was emerging from the tunnel and was launched by a geyser back to the surface. He landed in the water again, now with the other edge of land in view.
"Scout is nearing the end," Chris exclaimed. "But the final stretch could be killer, let's watch and see."
Liz and Ricko made their way through the tunnel, trying to catch up with Scout. They reached the geyser, and ended up spiraling right into it, awkwardly getting sucked up as they were bombarded with water. The boat flipped through the air, and Liz was tossed out. Ricko clutched the oar though, and used it to hold himself in place, jamming it between two sides. Ricko ended up landing in the water, safely with the boat upright.
"Well, I guess I'll be on my way now," he said as he started to paddle.
"Don't you dare leave me!" Liz shouted angrily as she splashed in the water.
Scout still had a clear lead though. As he neared the other side, the vegetation in the water grew thicker, making it much more difficult to make movement. Soon he was essentially trying to row his way through a sea of vines and thorns. He noticed some movement behind him and craned his neck. At first he didn't see anything, but then realized that it was the vines themselves moving. He quickly tried to double his efforts to escape, but the thorny tentacles reached out and snagged the back of his bow. The thorns dug into the wood like teeth.
"Whoa, that's pretty freaky," Ricko remarked as he neared the sea of vines.
He glanced back to see Liz angrily swimming after him.
"But not as freaky as that," he deduced as he kept rowing.
Scout struggled with the predatory vines. He used his oar to try to pry them off while they torn off pieces of his boat. Ricko came up from behind and tried to be as stealthy as possible.
"Don't look at me, you can't see me, just minding my own business," he muttered to himself.
Ricko managed to slide past Scout, but the robot boy was able to break free...while losing a chunk of the boat behind him. Scout desperately tried to keep himself afloat and paddle through the tangled mess before him. The tendrils came back looking for prey again.
"Yikes!" Ricko yelped as they began to coil around his boat.
"These two are cutting it very close," Jeanette remarked. "I think we're going to have another photo finish."
"And here we have it," Chris announced, "the winner of this challenge and immune to the Final 4 is..."
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"Scout!"
Ricko just let out a helpless cry as he was pulled back underwater by the vines.
Confessional:
Liz-Augh, this is the worst thing ever! Of course that oppressive machine of the man would save himself and send my plans to shreds!
Damian-Well this will just make things awkward. I'm forced to come for Sashonelle here, but that means I'll need to do some serious convincing on Liz.
Sashonelle-Some people are probably going to be pressed over this, but I don't mind too much. I know that Scout relies on me, so having him in the final four with me works just fine.
Scout-Hm, good. Once again I have the advantage here, so not only do I know I am safe, but I have the chance to push things to go my way.
Damian and Ricko walked back along the roads together.
"Okay, so that settles it, we've got to get out Sashonelle tonight," Damian stated.
"Right," Ricko agreed. "Her or Liz."
"No, we can't afford to do Liz," Damian said. "I told you, I'm working on her."
"Okay...how's that going?" Ricko asked.
"I'm working on it!" Damian said. "The important thing is that we cannot go to Final Four with Sashonelle and Scout. That would be a big mistake."
"Hello, gentlemen," Scout greeted as he approached the two.
"Uh, hiya!" Ricko said with an awkward wave.
"Congratulations on your win," Damian said.
"Thank you," Scout replied. "Hopefully it would not have been needed, but this keeps our options open. I believe the best course of action would be to remove Liz now. She will only continue to look for any way to break us apart, if we allow her to stay."
Ricko glanced uncertainly between Damian and Scout.
"That sounds fine to me," Damian said. "Let's get her out of here."
"Perfect," Scout replied.
As Damian and Ricko turned to leave again, Ricko asked, "Why aren't we telling him the truth? This feels bad."
"We can't tell him because then we're forcing him into an ultimatum...and I don't trust he'll take our side," Damian replied.
"I don't know, I just got a bad feeling," Ricko said nervously.
"Trust me, we're just asking for trouble," Damian said. "We need to pull this off just right."
Confessional:
Ricko-I just don't like my two friends not even communicating properly. They both want different things, and it's the final 5 here...doesn't that seem like a problem to anyone else? Why can't we just talk this out?
Damian-I'm not blind, it's pretty obvious Scout has had Sashonelle as his pocket vote all game. If we put the pressure on him, for all I know he could retaliate, and that would make Liz the swing vote...not something I want to see happen.
Scout-Liz is the last person who can create any problems for me. She is desperate and she will throw whatever she can at me. Once she is gone, I will have a clear split to take advantage of, and in the perfect position to do so.
Liz and Sashonelle were walking together in another part of the city.
"Well, this ruins everything," Liz bemoaned. "Scout's immune and now the boys can just stick together and destroy us! We can't let that happen!"
"Mhm," Sashonelle agreed coolly.
"We need to get out one of the other boys," Liz said. "It's our only option. But how to do it, surely there must be a way to manipulate their inferior minds."
"Yes, you go girl," Sashonelle encouraged.
"Oh look, here comes one of them now," Liz said as she saw Damian approaching. "Leave this to me!"
Sashonelle backed up down another alley, leaving the space to Damian and Liz alone.
"Hello," Damian greeted.
"Good evening," Liz replied.
"So it looks like the immunity results have cut down our options," Damian said.
"So it would seem," Liz replied.
"I know it's not your ideal plan, but we need to get out Sashonelle tonight," Damian said.
"Wrong!" Liz exclaimed. "We are not breaking the female code!"
"Well, it's the only option," Damian argued. "Scout is voting for you, if we don't take out his number two now it will be you."
"There is another option, just on that your primitive mind chooses not to perceive!" Liz said. "We vote out Ricko!'
"Are you not listening?" Damian said with frustration. "Scout and Sashonelle are already voting for you, if you come for Ricko then he's sure to send you out."
"Sashonelle wouldn't do that to me. I know the idea of female warriors uniting is terrifying beyond your wildest nightmares, but it's happening," Liz said.
"When has Sashonelle ever stood by you? How many times has she let you down in favor of enabling what Scout wants? She's not with you, she's with him," Damian insisted.
"You seem to have a lot to say..." Liz said skeptically.
Damian sighed and sat down against the wall.
"Look, can't we just work this out like friends?" Damian sighed. "I know last round blew everything apart, but we were good before that, weren't we? We had a good thing going, we trusted each other. Let's not make this a war between us. We both want to get through this and have a shot at making it to the end."
"Well that much I can agree to," Liz said, "but one of us is going to have to bend and admit we're wrong. Who's it going to be?"
Confessional:
Liz-I'm not stupid, I know Damian isn't begging because he's interested in what's best for ME, he's looking out for his own best interest. As far as I can tell, both Ricko and Scout want me out, one of them is immune, the other isn't. This shouldn't have to be a discussion.
Damian-I want to do what's best here, but the thing is...no one is does. I need Liz to see logic, but she's stuck in her own warped world view.
Scout located Sashonelle posed between two dumpsters.
"Ah, hello there," he greeted.
"Congratulations, darling," Sashonelle remarked as she snaked around Scout. "Now then, shall we carry out another successful plan?"
"Yes, the plan is to get rid of Liz," Scout said. "She should be leaving unanimously."
"Hm, I'm not so sure about that," Sashonelle remarked coyly.
"Have you heard something else?" Scout asked.
"I'm just thinking, maybe it's not in our best interest to cut out Liz just yet," Sashonelle said.
"She wants me gone, and she's only going to keep coming," Scout said.
"Everyone wants you gone, darling, please don't fool yourself," Sashonelle said. "I know for a fact that the boys were in on a plan to get you out. And those two are tight. Really we're just asking for trouble keeping them in."
"Hm, are you sure? The boys seemed fine to get out Liz when I spoke to them," Scout said. "And she hasn't exactly given them a reason to want her around."
"Darling, are you going to trust them or me?" Sashonelle said as she traced her fingers along his shoulders. "I'm just trying to help."
Confessional:
Sashonelle-Alright so maybe I had to... (flexes fingers) stretch the truth a bit. In truth, it just seems like Liz has a blind amount of faith in me, so why should I just let her slip away? It's time to tip things to work out for me.
Scout-Hm, this is a complication. Liz going is still the optimal outcome. I have influence over the others, I can handle them. However, I need to make sure the votes are actually there for her to leave.
(Elimination)
The final five gathered at their usual point before the fence.
"Welcome, Final Five!" Jeanette greeted. "Last round, Kelly left us and removed the final member of the original Lasting Legends."
"That's right, further proving how inept Jeanette is at coming up with apt names, not very Lasting at all were they!?" Chris said.
"Shush now!" Jeanette scolded. "We've got a vote to get to, oh and what a vote it will be, only five of you and nowhere to hide!"
"Unless of course you're immune like our good robot, Scout," Chris said. "Congratulations on the Final Four."
"Thank you," Scout said, "I wish it made this vote any easier."
"Can it, faker!" Liz snapped.
"Well now, let's get to these votes shall we?" Jeanette said. "You all know the drill, votes bad and whoever gets the most is our next zombie."
"The first vote," Chris announced, "is for...Ricko!"
"Yikes!" Ricko exclaimed as he clutched his arms.
"Second vote," Jeanette read, "...Ricko!"
"Third vote..." Chris said, "...Sashonelle!"
"Very rude," Sashonelle huffed.
"Fourth vote," Jeanette announced, "...Sashonelle!"
"That's two votes Ricko, two votes Sashonelle, one vote left," Chris declared, "and it's for..."
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"Ricko!"
"Oh...well dang, looks like you got me," Ricko sighed. "Any chance I can get one more song in?"
"Eh...we've got some time to kill," Jeanette remarked.
Ricko pulled out his guitar and started to play a song with a bouncy twang along the strings.
The sun is setting, the fires are dimming
The smell of smoke, the stains of slime
all the scars, all the burns, all the screams
It was worth it all so that I could saaaay...
Ricko suddenly picked up the tempo as he began to swing between the other four
I've had the summer of a life time
And I'd never change a thing!
All the friends, all the memories made...
mean this summer's never gonna die!
When they ask me what I did for the summer
I can just turn and say
I've had the summer of a life time!
And I'd do it all again!
Just tell me where and when!
Cause you only live once
And I've had a journey supreme
In just two quick months
And now I know this summer's never gonna die!
I've seen the world end
I've been chased by killer robots
I've survived an attack from Mars
I've done it all, I've walked among dreams
And I'll keep those dreams with me
so that this summer will never die!
"That's great, bye now!" Chris said as he flipped the switch and sent Ricko down to the zombie horde.
"Well, well, well what have we here?" Jeanette remarked. "A very lovely Final Four. Sashonelle, Scout, Damian, Liz congratulations on surviving yet again. Keep up the good work!"
Votes:
Ricko-Sashonelle, you're very pretty but uh...sorry!
Damian-Sashonelle, you have just enabled Scout all game and it's time to send you out, I just hope the others see this the same way.
Sashonelle-Hmm...I believe I will be sending out...Ricko. You're just taking up space, and I'm going to need that space for moi.
Liz-I vote for...Ricko! If I'm choosing who to put me trust in next round, I'm gonna stick with girl power. I know you want me out, well now you'll never get the chance! Take that, patriarchy!
Scout-It would appear as though my hand is being forced. Ricko or Sashonelle? Both have been loyal to me...after careful analysis I have decided that the best course of action is to vote...Ricko.