Author's Note
We're almost there, dear readers! All that's left to write of Total Shuffled World Tour are the endings, which of course will be completed on Saturday...the finale has turned out fairly interesting so far, despite me having a less clear image of it compared to, say, last season's battle between Jo and Scarlett. But, it still has a lot of cool moments and I'm hoping it ends up as a satisfying finish to the season, and to a lesser extent the first trilogy of Shuffled fics.
Sunday is when I should be starting work on Total Shuffled Revenge of the Island, so I hope you're all as excited for that as for this season's finale.
But for now, it's time to look at the reviews.
Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: Thanks!
DSX62415: Perhaps, perhaps, but you'll have to wait a bit to see how far Ella gets. And as for Jyuohger, I gotta say I'm a sucker for animal-themed stuff. The mecha were a bit weird at first, but they've grown on me since seeing some of the action shots of them. Oh, and I don't buy merch since I'm jobless and can't really afford to spend any money right now.
PizzaTheBomb: Haha, I'm glad you loved last week's songs - especially the first since, as I said, I was worried it was a little repetitive. And yeah, I was really happy giving Bridgette and Lightning another chance to shine, and I'm glad you liked seeing them. And as always, it's great to see somebody rooting for Ella.
Guest: lol no. If anything I'm gonna make things even gayer just to spite you and others like you.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Thank you, as always!
Animation Adventures: I'm glad you loved what I did with Topher! I've wanted to give him a bigger role on the Aftermath for some time, and I'm glad that kind of worked out even if it didn't last for very long. But yes, now Dakota is back where she belongs, and Blaineley is pretty much out of the picture. Glad you loved the flow of everything, as well as the choices I made for the animals and with the first song. I hope this week's episode lives up to your expectations, although I'll stay out of your wager since I'm the one who ultimately decides who will be the Final Two.
P. T. Piranha: Hah, yeah, I had kind of the same realization when writing - there's just nobody in the cast that would butt in and rap like Harold did. Also, thanks for the compliment on the songs. I really have no musical training so I'm unsurprised that I haven't always kept the meter of canon songs, even if I'm not entirely sure what that means exactly...
I honestly don't recall if a 'Lei one on' line appeared in canon either, but it's a really good line and it just felt obvious to put it in.
Rooting for Alejandro, eh? Not many are, but there's nothing wrong with preferring him I think. Though of course you'll just have to wait and find out what happens...
StarHeart Specials: Thanks! And yeah, I've found myself putting in a few more season one references in these last few chapters, as relevant...and for the public record, yes I did receive the PM in question.
VIPGuest: Yeah, that's one of the big drawbacks of doing a Ridonculous Race in this universe - there just aren't that many changes to be made. I have considered what I'd do to counter that if I ever do get around to covering the season, but it's still not likely to happen since I need to focus on getting some kind of stable income and such. And yeah, no more Aftermaths because the next three seasons don't have room for them.
I. M. Poik: Glad you enjoyed the second challenge, even if Topher won for Alejandro. Bruno, I think, is meant to be dislikable as a character, basically little more than a nuisance causing physical comedy that tends to fall a little flat. Maybe I should've done more with him. And as for the lack of rap, while I did like it in canon I just didn't think trying to replicate it would work as nobody in the Peanut Gallery would want to butt in like that - the best choice would be Beardo, but he and Ella weren't as close as Harold and Cody were in canon.
And hey, only two more weeks before the new cast at least!
bruno14: I'm glad you enjoyed last week's episode, and Topher's role in it even if he wasn't a host for very long. I'm glad you enjoyed the song as well. And as for the Ridonculous Race...unfortunately, I don't plan on doing it any time in the near future. I need to devote my time to getting a steady job, which is going to leave me with less time to spend on writing fanfiction even after I finish the Shuffled series.
OMAC001: Hah, yeah, the finales just kind of creep up on you don't they? I hope you enjoy it!
FOWLKON: Yeah, I did want to have some comparisons between Cody and Ella, but I also didn't want the challenge to be over right off the bat. Bridgette's the obvious choice to get to the end first, but that doesn't mean she had to make the throw perfectly. Alejandro being like Heather was in canon...may have been a bit of an exaggeration in the end; he's certainly not set up to be as sympathetic as heather was by the end of World Tour. And Lightning just doesn't seem like the type to hold himself back from winning just because it would hurt someone he doesn't like. Sam's jabs at Topher...well, they weren't meant to be that mean-spirited (and I'm honestly having trouble remembering anything besides Sam implying that Alejandro wasn't the greatest), but maybe I'm off on that? I don't know. And as for Scarlett...well, Chris does have friends in Area 51 places. Plus, he's the type who would exaggerate what would happen in the guards caught somebody just to scare the kids.
Explorer of the Unknown: Yeah, not having anymore Aftermaths is gonna be a little weird, but I just can't bring myself to make room for them in the next few seasons. And yeah, not much longer before this season ends...and whatever happens, I hope you enjoyed it as much as you have been. And personally, I disagree with the assertion that Sugar smells that bad - at least not all the time. She seems like the type who takes washing herself seriously, as I can't imagine smelly girls win pageants.
Joel Connell: Wow, thanks! And as for what happens in these final two episodes...well, your prediction is as interesting as anyone's, but you'll just have to sit back and read on to find out what happens. Oh, and unfortunately I'm not currently looking for any fanfictions to adopt - as I'm going to have to devote a lot of time to job searching in the next few months, I just don't have the time. And once Total Shuffled Pahkitew Island is eventually over, I don't intend on working on anything besides Total Drama Rebirth until my life has stabilized.
kaijudude1000: Thanks! I hope you enjoy these last two episodes.
StayOuttaMyShed: Yeah, I'll admit that had Ella not gotten the spot as a World Tour newcomer she almost certainly wouldn't have done as well as she has. But I'm actually glad she was because of that, since it's allowed me to flesh her out more even if not everyone likes her.
I'm glad you enjoyed the final Aftermath, both for the first song, Topher getting more love, and for Zeke, Lightning, and Jo's reasoning behind who they're supporting.
And I will actually say some things about All-Stars - namely that the hero-villain ratios will be the same as canon between the two generations, simply because that's what works best for the two casts, and also that figuring out who exactly is going to be a hero is freaking tough, as there's a lot of good options and not many slots - even for the second gen cast. There are a few locks, but that doesn't necessarily include Tyler and/or Ella. I'm probably not going to finalize the cast until late into Revenge of the Island.
mitchn: Thank you! As for your questions, Alejandro feels guilt over what he's done towards Ella basically because he's never actually encountered someone as pure of heart as her, and he knows that he's kind of tainting that aspect of her. Why Tyler and Ella joined the show in season three in the first place wasn't my decision, as who debuts in what Shuffled season was decided randomly. Their becoming sort of a couple is just because I thought they might be cute together. My favorite Shuffled character...I don't think I can answer that. There's just so many that I like for different reasons, and still so many who I haven't even written yet. And as for Sugar hating Ella...well, I think like in canon it's basically just an instinctual sort of thing - Sugar's so used to dealing with competitive pageant girls, and she mistakenly thought Ella was one so it was only natural that she'd grow to hate who she views as her biggest rival on the show.
And that, at last, is that for the week - and very nearly for the season. As usual the TVTropes page for this series could always use more work, and I greatly appreciate the effort everyone has put into it so far and I look forward to what you all add next.
The Final Three are as follows:
Boys - Alejandro
Girls - Ella, Sugar
Today they'll have to somehow make their way from Drumheller to Tijuana to Hawaii, and it's sure to be an adventure of a lifetime. Enjoy!
- Fangren
Episode 25 – Planes, Trains, and Condor-mobiles
"Last time, on Total Drama World Tour!" Chris opened as the plane icon was shown flying northward from Rapa Nui to Alberta, Canada on the season's world map, and the jumbo jet itself was shown blowing past a precariously-balanced boulder and knocking it off its perch. "Alberta! It'll blow you away!" The barren pit in Drumheller they'd visited was shown, as was Sugar sitting in the electric chair. "HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!" the host asked angrily over a clip of the plane exploding in the distance.
"Well first, Tyler told Ella to fend for herself this time," the jock was shown telling Ella to focus on her own dinosaur before running off with a box of parts to use for his, "causing Alejandro and Sugar to rub it in in hopes of blowing them further apart." Both the charmer and the pageant queen were shown taunting Ella as she dug. "But their plans were blown sky-high when Tyler's advice actually made Ella more confident," Ella was shown winning the first part of the challenge and being congratulated by Tyler, "and together they exploded on Alejandro and Sugar, calling them out for their heinous actions." A few pieces of the musical number were shown, focusing on Tyler calling out Sugar and Ella countering Alejandro's derision.
"This managed to implode Alejandro and Sugar's alliance," the pageant queen was shown agreeing to vote for Alejandro, followed by the third and final vote against him being read, "and the dude sooo would've been a goner. Except Tyler," the jock was shown trying and failing to catch the flaming marshmallow he'd accidentally flung towards a pool of oil, "demolished my plane!" The host was shown standing in the moonlit wreckage of the Total Drama Jumbo Jet, bringing an end to the recap montage.
"Did I mention we've got no ride now?" Chris asked, he and Chef now sitting in the remains of the cockpit in their usual piloting outfits, the sun now shining overhead. As the host spoke, Chef grabbed the control stick, looked shocked as it immediately detached, and threw it away with wide eyes. "HMM? BECAUSE TYLER BLEW IT UP?!" Chris continued angrily, slamming his hands down on the broken console and standing up towards the camera.
He sat back down, pulled out a paper bag, and started to breath into it. After a few seconds he calmed down enough to stop hyperventilating, letting go of the bag and looking back at the camera. "Our Final Three are jetting to Hawaii...," he said as the series' capstone music began to play, "without a jet, so...get set for some other kind of race to the million, right here on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
The camera zoomed out as always, showing the morning sun over the wreckage of the plane that was now stranded in Drumheller, Alberta. The front part of the fuselage, which had been intact enough for Chris and Chef to use the cockpit, promptly fell off whatever had been supporting it leading to a pained "Ouch!" from the host.
xxx
(Fade to Opening Theme)
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;
You guys are on my mind!
Ya asked me what I wanted to be,
And now I think the answer is plain to see!
I wanna be...famous!
I wanna live close to the sun!
Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!
Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;
I'll get there one day.
'Cause I wanna be...famous!
(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
(Fade to Episode)
xxx
"The hot tub with my name spelled out in Italian tiles...gone...," Chris muttered despairingly, the episode opening on a pan across the wreckage of the plane to where the host stood with Alejandro and Sugar near the remains of last night's campfire pit. "My monogrammed sneakers!...gone...," he added, looking at the two uncaring villains. "My custom-calibrated stubble-trimmer," Alejandro and Sugar shared an odd look, "gone..."
"So...shall we continue the game?" Alejandro suggested.
"Yeah," Sugar chimed in, "I second that there motion."
"As usual," Chris turned to them, "you two are thinking of nothing but yourselves."
He looked to the side as Ella grunted with effort, then pushed a large sheet of broken metal away from the wreckage. "Excuse me, but could somebody help me with this?" she asked the others.
"What about the bigger humanitarian crisis?" Chris asked the two villains. "How am I supposed to keep this face fresh," he pointed at his stubbled visage, "without my hyperbolic chamber?"
With another grunt of effort, Ella leaned down and lifted a bald and scuffed Tyler out of the wreckage on her back, his arms hanging over her shoulders. "Wow, thanks," he told her woozily. "I thought it was usually the princess who gets rescued like this."
"I know," Ella said as she slowly carried him away from the jet remains, "I can't say I expected I'd ever have to do this. Why were you even in there?"
"Dunno," Tyler shrugged. "I musta rolled around a lot in my sleep last night, and was just in the wrong place when some more stuff fell."
"Oh," Ella said, pausing a few seconds before following up with "Well, are you okay?"
"Yeah, totally!" Tyler answered enthusiastically. "I mean, y'know, aside from the hair. Oh, and I can't really feel anything from the waist down, either."
Ella gasped, and nearly dropped Tyler. "That's not good at all!" she told him. "We need to find you somewhere to sit. Maybe one of the seats survived the explosion?" She started looking around the area, but ended up collapsing under Tyler's weight.
xxx
"Now that Tyler's out of the game," Alejandro mused in the remains of the restroom confessional, its camera still surprisingly functional, "it may be to my advantage to help him out a little bit. If nothing else, it may earn me some gratitude from Ella – a useful asset to have at this point in the game. All I need is to have her hesitate against me just once and I'll be able to knock her out of the finale."
xxx
The static cut away to show the camera focused on a wheelchair, pushed by a just-out-of-frame Alejandro. "Here," he said as he reached Tyler and Ella and the shot zoomed out, "use this, amigo." He lifted the jock into the wheelchair, and even brushed a bit of dirt off his tracksuit.
"Uhh, thanks," Tyler said warily.
"That's...unexpectedly kind of you, Alejandro," Ella added.
"It is no problem," Alejandro told them, turning to walk away.
A grand tune played as the shot cut to the wreckage and Chef Hatchet pushed a giant metal box out into the open, earning an excited look from Chris. "Hey! My emergency kit! We're saved!" he declared, running towards the giant box with a hearty laugh. "That's right, kids," he turned back with a grin, "get ready for surf, sun, and beauties in grass skirts, we're going to Hawaii!" He did a few short hula moves as the same Hawaiian tune that had been used for the previous episode's first song played, and the Final Three cheered.
"I know," Chris said as he walked over to Chef, "best host ever! Never doubt me." It was then that Chef pulled on the rope he'd been holding, causing the walls of the metal box to fall away and reveal the small red helicopter inside.
The four teens moved closer, and Alejandro was the first to speak. "Uh, is that a two-seater?"
"Yup!" Chris answered happily. "Chef flies, I supervise."
"And we?" Alejandro followed up.
"Will be competing to get to the big island first, using only your wits, and whatever you find out here," Chris explained.
"Umm...aren't we in the middle of nowhere though?" Ella asked hesitantly.
"True," the host told her, "so check these fancy GPSes I'm generally giving you!" he said, a dramatic tune playing as he took a trio of walkie-talkies and GPS devices from the helicopter and tossed one each to each finalist.
Sugar raised an eyebrow as she looked down at the GPS; the screen showed a single blue dot and nothing else around. "Middle of Nowhere, Alberta," she read before looking around and shrugging. "Well, it ain't wrong."
"Set 'em for Tijuana Beach," Chris told them. "It's right on the Mexican border. Now move it!" he commanded as the helicopter started up behind him. "Go! Go! Go!"
Alejandro, Sugar, and Ella frantically entered the destination into their devices, and the shot moved over to a confused Tyler. "Wait, what am I supposed to do?" he asked the host.
"Make like you took the Drop of Shame," Chris answered angrily, standing in the doorway of the hovering helicopter, "and figure it out yourself!"
Tyler gaped, then scowled.
xxx
"Dude, what is his problem?" Tyler asked in the remains of the restroom confessional, still in his wheelchair. "It's not like I meant to blow up the plane! Besides, I should be at the finale too, right? Everyone else is gonna be there, so why not me? He could at least give me directions..."
xxx
"Don't worry!" Chris called out to the Final Three, "you're all totally gonna make it!" The helicopter finally took off, leaving the four teens to watch in stunned silence for a few seconds.
Ella was the first to make a move, turning and heading back into the wreckage with Tyler right behind her. "Well, if Alejandro could find something as useful as a wheelchair in here," she reasoned, "then maybe we can find something to help us get to Tijuana?"
"Sounds great!" Tyler told her. "And...wait, did you say 'we'?"
"Well, yes," Ella told him, looking back over a large piece of sheet metal. "I'm not going to just leave you out here, not after everything we've been through together. I mean, it can't be too much harder to get two people to Mexico instead of one, right?"
Tyler stared at her for a second, then smiled. "Sounds right to me!" Ella smiled as well, and the two went back into the wreckage.
The camera cut to Alejandro and Sugar, watching nearby. "So, is this the part where we team up to kick Ella's butt outta the Final Three or what?" Sugar asked.
"No," Alejandro answered coolly, "why would you think I'd team up with you again?"
"Well we did make a big deal about sayin' how we'd be goin' up against each other in the finale last night," Sugar explained.
Alejandro snorted in contempt. "That was solely because I doubt Ella will ever be able to make it there under her own power," he explained. "It does not mean I wish to team up with you to make it happen, especially after you voted for me last night."
"Aww, are you still mad about that?" Sugar asked with a jovial smile, quickly wrapping an arm around the charmer's shoulder. "I've voted for lotsa people, an' so have you! It's how the game works, you know that!"
"Yes," Alejandro said, forcefully brushing her arm away, "and I'm beginning to see why people react so poorly to their expectations being betrayed."
"And what 'expectations' did I betray?" Sugar asked in an almost mocking tone.
"You were supposed to vote for Ella last night," Alejandro shot at her, "you know, the person you hate and have been trying to get rid of all season?"
"Ohhh," Sugar said in realization, "that's what yer talkin' about. Yeah, see, I figured that since Ella's actually more pathetic than I first thought, she'd be fun to crush in the final challenge. And with you bein' a big threat and not havin' invincibility and all, I figured why not make my life a whole lot more easy?"
"And because of that, I find myself even more unable to trust you than I was before," Alejandro told her. "Prepare yourself for the full force of Hurricane Alejandro, next stop – Hawaii," he threatened. "And I sincerely hope you don't make it," he finished before spinning on his heel and walking away.
Sugar watched him walk for a few seconds, then put her hand on her hips and huffed.
xxx
"And with that," Alejandro explained in the ruin restroom, "I am free of any excess baggage going in to the finale. Sugar will no longer trouble me if she knows whats good for her, and I won't have to hold myself back so she can keep up. So long as I travel alone I won't lose focus, and I will finally be able to get first place as I should have two seasons ago. This is my redemption."
xxx
"Well if that's how you're gonna be," Sugar said into her walkie talkie, "then prepare to lose, pretty boy!"
"Shut up, Sugar!" Alejandro retorted, the radio feed cutting off before Sugar had the chance to respond.
"Fine," Sugar said. "The jokes on him, though, 'cause I'm the only one who's gonna make it to that million dollars. All I gotta do is find some way to get there..." She looked around a bit, then started walking in the same direction Alejandro had gone.
The scene moved to the wreckage of the first class cabin, where Ella and Tyler were searching through the rubble.
"Let's see now...," the singer said before pulling out a large inflatable raft...with a hole in it. "No, I don't think this will do," she said, putting it down. "Oh, this might!" she said, pulling out a rusty bicycle...that promptly lost its front wheel. "...or not," she said. She tossed the broken bike away, then sighed sadly. "Maybe I was wrong about finding something useful in here," she said as she walked past Tyler, who was looking upward.
"Well then, I guess we'd better get going the hard way," Tyler told her. "And quick, before that vulture gets the wrong idea." He pointed skyward, both Ella and the camera shifted their gazes to see the silhouette of a large, broad-winged bird circling high above them.
Another scene change took the focus to a large rock formation as Alejandro hauled himself up from behind it to get a better look. "If you wanna find a thief," he smirked as he looked down at the other side of the formation, "follow his money. If you wanna find Chris," the perspective moved over his shoulder to show the plane's wreckage, and more importantly two interns with a caged baby panda outside a truck, "follow the evil beasts he loooves to throw into the challenges." The camera zoomed in as the interns picked up the cage and loaded it onto the truck.
"Tijuana Beach," Alejandro told himself, "here I come!" he dropped back down behind the rock, and was heard running off.
/
A flat, ringing tune played as the camera cut to the blazing midday sun, the camera panning down onto Sugar. The pageant queen was walking through the cactus-filled desert with her eyes locked on to her GPS, until she suddenly tripped and fell over something.
"Aww, dang it!" she said, the camera moving down to show her lying on train tracks. "Who the heck left these out here where anyone could trip over 'em?"
She looked to her right, and spotted a building and windmill next to the tracks off in the distance. "Hold on," she said, brow creasing in thought, "if that's a train station...then maybe I can hitch a ride!" She grinned excitedly.
/
The scene flashed to a head-on view of the truck, a walkie-talkie switching on inside it. "Attention competitors," Alejandro announced, the shot cutting inside to show a monkey, baby panda, baby seal, and book-reading bear sitting in cages listening to the nearby charmer talk, "I am currently traveling south at 90 kilometers per hour. So, you may as well give up."
Just as he ended his smarmy message, a caged sasquatch behind him reached out and pulled him into a kiss. He immediately pushed away and recoiled in disgust, but lost his balance as he backed up and tripped into an open crate – the lid of which promptly closed on top of him.
"On an unrelated note," he said over the walkie-talkie, "HELP!"
The camera cut back outside as he made his plea, showing the trucking driving away and honking it horn.
/
Another flash took the focus to Chris and Chef in the helicopter, the camera quickly cutting in for a close-up of the host's master GPS device. It showed three dots moving along a simple roadmap – a blue dot unmoving in the upper right; a red dot on the road approaching it, and a yellow dot further behind slowly following the same road.
"Sugar's ahead but stalled," Chris commented with a gleeful smile over his own walkie-talkie, "and the yeti's new boyfriend is quickly catching up! But Ella's still taking things slowly for some reason."
/
"Well, I guess that means we're going in the right direction at least," Ella said, looking from her walkie talkie to her GPS as she walked through the desert, Tyler wheeling himself along right behind her.
"Good," Tyler said. "Maybe one of the others found something we can hitch a ride on."
"I sure hope so," Ella said. "I'd hate to have gone through so much only to lose because we couldn't catch a bus or something."
"Yeah...," Tyler said, an the two spent a few seconds in silence before the jock spoke up again with a guilty expression. "So, uh, I was thinkin'...uh, about us."
"Yes?" Ella asked, looking curiously back over her shoulder.
"And, uh, like, "Tyler continued nervously, the camera zooming in as he clenched his eyes shut, "I know I said I love you, but after everything that's happened I'm starting to doubt if I'm actually, like, in love with you. And I totally get that even if I am in love you probably don't feel the same way, so-"
He was stopped by a sudden finger on his lips, the camera zooming back out to show that Ella was smiling at him. "Thank you for telling me that, Tyler," she told him. "But since we're both in a bit of a stressful situation right now, I think we should probably just wait until after the finale to figure things out, okay?"
"Okay," Tyler said in a slight daze.
"Good," Ella told him just before the winged shadow passed over them again. "Also, that bird is still following us, and I'm starting to doubt that it's a vulture..."
Tyler raised his brow, then put his hand to it and looked up; the camera quick-panned up from his squinting gaze to the bird's silhouette, and a dramatic yet grand tune played as it was finally revealed to be a giant condor. It looked downwards, screeched, and dived.
"Oh no, what's that thing doing here?!" Tyler shouted in panic, hunkering down with his arms over his head while just Ella stood calmly as the condor swooped down and landed in front of them. It eyed each teen suspiciously, then shuffled about and squawked.
Ella smiled. "Oh, you're the father of that lovely clutch back on Rapa Nui, aren't you?" she asked brightly, immediately earning the bird's attention again. It blinked, then nodded happily – or at least non-menacingly. "Well then, it's so nice to see you again!" Ella told it. "My friend and I are currently making our way south," she pointed first to herself and Tyler, who had tentatively raised his head, then towards the direction they'd been heading. "If you'd like to come with us, we'd be happy to have the company!"
"Uhh...," Tyler said uncertainly, immediately attracting the condor's attention again. "Uh, yeah, what she said!" he told it, wiping the sweat from his brow when it looked away again.
"Well, we'd better get going, then," Ella said, turning to walk away. The male condor immediately hopped into the air and landed in front of her, then stared at her for a bit before lowering himself closer to the ground and motioning to his back.
"You...you want me to ride you?" Ella asked in growing awe. The condor stared for a second, then nodded. "Thank you so much! I'm absolutely honored, and it'll make our trip much easier!" She clasped her hands in thanks, then hummed happily as she twirled over to the bird. She laid upon its back with her arms around its neck, and the condor stood up and spread its wings.
"Uh, what about me?" Tyler asked, still in his wheelchair.
/
Whoops and hollers of excitement were heard as the footage skipped forward, showing the condor in flight with Ella on its back and Tyler in its talons hanging from his shoulders, the wheelchair left behind. "Extreme!" he shouted giddily, and the camera panned up to a giggling Ella as she took her walkie-talkie back out.
"Hello everyone!" she said into it. "This is Ella, and I'd like to announce that Tyler and I are now airborne!" She and Tyler laughed again, and the condor ascended off-camera with a flap.
/
"Airborne?" Sugar repeated, the scene cutting to her walking down the aisle of a train's passenger car and stopping in front of a young white woman dressed in black typing on a laptop. "How the heck did they do that?" the pageant queen muttered as she sat down in the seat opposite the woman in black. "What're you lookin' at?" Sugar asked the other woman upon noticing her stare, prompting the woman in black to roll her eyes and return to her work.
"Airborne...," Sugar muttered, slumping down with her elbows on the table she was sharing and her head in her hands.
The camera moved to the window behind them, showing a certain truck driving past. Cutting outside, the truck was shown dumping its cages and crates into a cargo car of the train, and Alejandro could be heard yelling in alarm from his wooden prison.
"Update time, kids!" Chris said over his walkie-talkie as the scene cut back to the helicopter. "Alejandro has gotten awful close to Sugar, so its only a matter of time before they find each other. Fun, right?"
Back down below, the train let out a burst of steam and started moving. It blew its whistle, and the scene cut back to the car Sugar was in, now looking up and down the aisle with narrow eyes.
"Hello, passengers!" an unfamiliar male voice came over the train's intercom system, immediately gaining Sugar's attention. "And welcome to this non-stop trip to Mexico!"
"Well that's good," the pageant queen said to herself. "If I can just stay on here without trouble I'll win easy. But if Al's around, I gotta be prepared."
The woman in black gave her a questioning look, to which Sugar angrily replied "Mind yer own beeswax, missy!" The woman in black wasn't impressed.
Back outside again the camera zoomed in on a boxcar, then cut inside to show the caged Total Drama animals – and the smaller wooden crate that Alejandro promptly and finally burst out of. "Ugnh, que málo," he groaned as he took in a breath of fresh air; kissy faces from the nearby sasquatch earned another groan and a quick spit and mouth-wiping.
"Now to make sure Sugar's trip ends here," he declared, standing up and stepping out of the crate. "Though where here is exactly, I am not sure," he added, looking around the room in concern.
He made his way to a nearby doorway, but stopped upon hearing a dog-like whine from inside another crate. He opened it, and recoiled in shock when Staci lifted her head out of the crate and flopped it up onto the side, bags under her eyes and her arms tied behind her back.
"How did you even get here, chica?" Alejandro asked in wide-eyed disbelief.
"I don't know," the wolfish girl whined, "I think the interns must've drugged me or something."
Alejandro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a dramatic chanting score rising up in the background. "I see. I'll release you, but in exchange I have a little favor to ask."
"I'll do whatever, just let me out of here!" Staci whined again, prompting Alejandro to bend over and work on her bonds.
/
A flash took the scene back to Ella, Tyler, and the condor, still soaring through the sky. "Are you doing alright down there?" the singer called out to her companion.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Tyler replied, the shot panning down to show his wind-whipped face. "This is probably the coolest thing I've done in my entire life!"
Ella giggled, then turned her attention to her mount. "And how are you doing, Mr. Condor?" she asked sweetly. The condor looked back at her, then squawked in a fairly positive tone. "Great to hear it," Ella said. "Now, what kind of song would you like to hear next?"
"Uhh, can you try one to help him go down?" Tyler asked in rising alarm as the background music turned tense. "We gotta move!" He pointed ahead of them, and the viewpoint changed to show that they were quickly approaching a certain red helicopter.
Ella and Tyler screamed in alarm, then Chris and Chef screamed in the helicopter, then Ella and Tyler screamed again, then Chris and Chef, and finally the condor swooped under while the helicopter ascended, the two airborne groups safely passing each other.
"Uhh, Ella?" Chris asked into his walkie talkie.
"Yes?" the singer answered.
"Are you seriously dragging Tyler along with you?" the host followed up, the helicopter moving to keep pace above the newly-annoyed condor.
"Well, yes," Ella replied.
"Okay, you do remember that we already have a cling-on named Staci, right?" Chris continued. "We don't need another one."
"Cling-on?!" Tyler exclaimed in outrage.
"Umm, well, you did say we could use whatever we found back at the crash site," Ella hesitantly told him.
Chef nodded, and Chris smirked. "Hey, it's your funeral," he told her.
He ended his broadcast there, just as a message came over the helicopter's radio. "Attention, an extreme weather warning has been issued for all aircraft," the voice announced.
Chris shut off the radio, then turned to Chef. "I should probably warn them," the host said, holding a smile for a second or two before he and his assistant burst out in laughter.
/
"Okay," Sugar muttered to herself as she paced back and forth in the passenger car, "so once he arrives, I'm gonna say 'It's about time you got here, slowpoke!', and then-"
"Tickets, please! Tickets!" an unseen man called out, quickly earning Sugar's attention.
The announcement was answered by a more familiar voice, explaining "I-I'm sorry, but my...my dog is completely safe and well-trained." The shot cut to Alejandro, standing before a conductor and holding Staci's ponytail like a leash.
"Oh, uh, yah," Staci added, quickly getting down on all fours, "woof woof! Bark!" The conductor gave her a suspicious look, as she had merely said the words instead of actually barking.
"See?" Alejandro said while Staci sniffed the air, then looked behind the conductor.
"Hey, Sugar's right over there," Staci told the charmer. "Just, like, fyi."
The conductor stared at the wolfish girl in shock, and it was then that Sugar stepped forward – immediately locking eyes with Alejandro in a horizontal split-screen.
"You!" the two villains exclaimed at the same time.
"It's about time you got here, slowpoke!" Sugar added as the split-screen went away.
"And it's about time you got out of my way!" Alejandro retorted, releasing his grasp on Staci and pointing at his rival. "Sick her!"
It took Staci a few seconds to catch on, but when she did she charged Sugar on all fours while growling in a rather lackluster fashion. Sugar turned and ran away, and Alejandro chased after the two girls laughing.
/
"Eighty-eight bottles of pop on the wall, eighty-eight bottles of pop," Ella and Tyler were singing as the scene cut back to them and the condor, "take one down and pass it around, eighty-seven bottles of pop on the wall!"
The camera zoomed in on the face of the condor, lazily watching the singer as she and her friend began another verse. "Eighty-seven bottles of pop on the wall, eighty-seven bottles of pop!" The music suddenly became tense as the condor looked forward again and immediately became alarmed; it screeched and stuttered its movement, causing both humans to stop singing and scream as they all flew into a very dark and ominous mass of clouds. A bolt of lightning flashed as they disappeared from view,and the shot cut down to the top of the train as Sugar slowly backed up along the roof of a car.
"Okay, I know yer mad that I tried to get one up on ya last night," she said as Alejandro advanced menacingly into the shot, "but that's no reason to push a girl off a speedin' train, ya hear? Sometimes ya just gotta accept when someone is better than you!"
"And how exactly are you better than me?" Alejandro demanded as Sugar reached the edge of her current car and nervously looked over her shoulder at the gap to the next one.
"Well I have been runnin' practically this entire game," Sugar explained. "Between all that stuff with Scott in the beginnin', then pullin' the wool over everybody's eyes when I got him disqualified, I'm clearly the one that's been behind most of the strategy this season!"
"What are you talking about? I'm the one who's been behind everything!" Alejandro asked angrily, advancing enough for Sugar to turn and hop to the next car of the train. She nearly lost her balance on the landing, but recovered quickly enough to turn around and proudly face down her current rival over the gap.
"Nuh-uh!" Sugar told him. "I'm the reason why Beardo, Scott, Sierra, DJ, Samey, Dawn, and Ezekiel were kicked off the plane! And if I'm bein' honest, I'm pretty much the reason Bridgette and Geoff are gone, too! And had Tyler not messed up, I'd also be the reason why you'd be gone!"
"Don't make me laugh!" Alejandro countered. "Voting correctly hardly makes you a strategic mastermind, and besides, I'm the one who eliminated Ezekiel! And I'm the one who ensured Team Chris lost the dancing challenge, ensuring Bridgette was eliminated and Geoff lost his motivation!"
"But I'm the one who got Geoff into the final dancing contest against Bridgette in the first place," Sugar countered, "and you never woulda voted fer Zeke at all if I hadn't told Ella to first! And even without all that, I still did more than you!"
"You did not!" Alejandro said. "I eliminated Scarlett, I eliminated Shawn, I eliminated Blaineley, I eliminated Staci, I...," he faltered for a second, but quickly shook it off. "Look, none of that even matters, because while I have been actively fighting against my reputation as a threat, you have been coasting by on people's ignorance! That does not make you better than me!"
A clap of thunder echoed ominously, and the sky opened up in a downpour of hail. Sugar, who'd started backing away again, slipped on one of the icy pellets and fell on her butt with a pained grunt.
"See?" Alejandro exclaimed mockingly. "I even handle hail better than you!" He demonstrated this by jumping the gap and landing without slipping or sliding even once. The weather offered up immediate rebuttal, however, in the form of a greater downfall of hail that made both villains wince and flinch with each tiny impact.
/
Up in the clouds, Ella and the condor and even Tyler were also being battered by the elements, the humans screaming as the bird struggled to stay aloft in the wind and ice.
/
The hail rained down upon the windshield of the helicopter as well, but it only elicited a hearty laugh from the host and pilot. "Will the game be called on account of deadly weather?" he asked the camera following him as a darkly dramatic tune played. "Will anyone be left to take home the million? Find out right after this break, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
Lightning flashed right outside the helicopter, earning a panicked yelp from Chris.
(Fade to Commercial and Back)
The episode faded back in to the condor and its passengers, the singer still screaming in alarm.
"Sing, Ella, sing!" Tyler told her. "Maybe you can get the condor to level out or something!"
"D-dive, condor, dive!" she shakily but quickly complied, an ominous tune rising up to match her lyrics. "Flee this storm, so we may stay alive! It's up to you if we are to survive!"
The song seemed to have an effect on the bird, causing it to narrow its eyes and shoot forward with one powerful flap; unfortunately, a sudden thunderclap interrupted Ella before she could continue.
/
The dramatic music continued as the scene flashed back to the train as the two villains stared each other down amidst the storm.
"Alright pretty boy," Sugar said, cracking her knuckles and beckoning for Alejandro to advance, "if you wanna get Sugar'ed then come get some!"
"Like I'd do this on your terms!" Alejandro countered, pulling his belt off his pants then suddenly turning around and dropping into the gap between cars to Sugar's confusion. The camera cut to show him standing outside the door to the forward car with the buckle of his belt on the coupling pin. As he tried to pull the pin out and set the rear cars free, Sugar suddenly jumped back over the gap and grabbed the edge of the roof, to Alejandro's shock and displeasure.
"Like I'd do this on yours!" Sugar told him as she pulled herself back up to the hail-battered roof.
Alejandro grit his teeth angrily, then began to climb the rear ladder. "Why didn't I ask more of Staci?" he muttered as he got back onto the roof as well, and faced down Sugar once again.
With a few dramatic beats the two villains looked up, and the helicopter descended into view hovering above them at pace with the train.
The musical note icon promptly appeared, the two dings signaling the contestants of what was next.
"I pride myself on my timing," Chris said impishly into his walkie-talkie.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Sugar, Alejandro, Ella, and Tyler said as one as a few deep chanted notes played, the former pair on the left half of a split-screen and the latter pair on the right.
"You know the answer to that by now!" Chris answered with a broad smile on his face.
~/~
[A rock and roll guitar riff kicked things off as the camera zoomed away from the helicopter, then panned down to Sugar and Alejandro as the song began.]
"This show's a train, it's movin' fast; you were never meant to last."
[Alejandro sang, grabbing his foe by her hand and pulling her to his side into a close dancing position. He glared sternly at her as he sang, and she just silently flared her nostrils in annoyance.]
"Voting for me just wasn't right, so look out now you're in my sights!"
[He lead them a step to his left, then back to his right, then violently shoved Sugar towards the gap between cars. As he finished the line, he put his hand to his ear to listen to the thud of the pageant queen's landing.]
"Like I care now, and in fact! You ain't the first one, who's said that!"
[Sugar began as Alejandro smugly ran back along the top of the train, the camera cutting to her opening the door to the passenger car, then following along outside the windows as she charged through it.]
"Just ask the folks who've tried before; they'll tell you what you've got in store!"
[The camera cut back to Alejandro as he continued his smug run, reaching the front of the car and jumping across only for Sugar's hands to reach out and grab him by the ankle, causing him to trip and slam down on the roof of the next car. She then climbed up, and finished her line with a cocky grin.]
"I'm gonna make it! You can't stop me now, just you try!"
[The two villains sang together, a riff leading to an image of a GPS device lowering onto the screen. It showed two parallel train tracks, a blue train icon on the left and a red icon on the right which Sugar and Alejandro promptly jumped onto as they sang at each other, pausing between lines to bob their heads to the beat.]
"Our fortune's waitin'! It's time for you to say, bye, bye, bye!"
[The two 'trains' came along a large rock on the left and a cow skull on the right, which the two villains promptly jumped off to grab and admire while they continued their song. They then turned around and threw their chosen weapons, Sugar ducking under the skull and Alejandro dodging the rock. With startled looks on their faces, they finished the line and jumped off the bottom of the GPS screen.]
"I never thought I'd last so long; I thought I'd go out with a song."
[Ella sang as the scene cut to her, then zooming out to show Tyler and the condor listening to her sing.]
"But now I'm almost at the end; but first we really should ascend!"
[All three bobbed and tilted their heads happily in time with the music, then Ella looked forward again and noticed a large tree they were flying right for. She promptly tugged on the condor's neck, a panicked "Aah!" from her followed by a flap from the condor that propelled them up and mostly over the tree. Tyler, still dangling, let out a sharp "Whoa!" as his legs brushed through the branches and leaves.]
"You're gonna make it! They can't stop you now, let them try!"
[The jock sang as the scene switched to an almost top-down view of them flying over the GPS screen. Another tree came up in their path, but the condor easily swerved around it.]
"Your fortune's waitin'! And they can kiss it all, bye-bye-bye!"
[As they continued over roads and rivers and the spaces in between, they came across an angry black bear. It growled and swiped at them, but the condor dodged easily and screeched angrily back at it while Ella looked back and waved with an awkward sort of cheer. At the end of the line, all three bobbed their heads to the music again.]
"You're in control? Like that's ever been true!"
[The melody became something more tango-like as the scene cut back to Alejandro and Sugar on top of the train again, in dancing position once more and turning around at the midpoint of the line.]
"This is my game to win, and yours to lose!"
[As they moved to turn around again, Sugar tripped her 'partner' so that he stumbled, then punched him in the chin hard enough to send him reeling off the train entirely, crying out "Noooooo!" as he fell. Sugar just laughed heartily under the music.]
"I'm gonna make it! They can't stop me now, let them try!"
[The view switched back to the GPS screen, showing Sugar still laughing on her train while Alejandro, now on the ground, looked at a black horse standing behind him. Just as he moved off-screen Ella, Tyler, and the condor flew onto it, singing along with Sugar as the two girls instantly locked eyes. The pageant queen became nervous, however, as her train suddenly turned and took her off-screen entirely leading the flying trio to bob their heads to the music between lines.]
"Our fortune's waitin'! It's time for you to say, bye, bye, bye!"
[Sugar's departure was short-lived, however, as the train soon brought her back on screen as the next line began, much to Ella and Tyler's shock. Even worse for them, the train was moving faster than the condor, so it soon managed to outpace them and Sugar waved mockingly before passing under a set of power lines and off the GPS screen. The music ended as the scene moved back to the real challenge, the eyes of Ella and the condor still closed from a few final head bobs.]
~/~
"Uhh, guys?" Tyler said in rapidly rising panic as he saw them approaching the power lines. "Guys?!"
Ella and the condor finally looked ahead again, and the humans screamed as the bird squawked in alarm and tried to fly over it. But with Tyler still dangling from the condor's talons the bird's efforts were not enough – his unfeeling feet brushed the lines, and electricity surged through all three.
/
"Update time!" Chris said, the background music turning tense as the scene flashed to the helicopter, now hovering in a storm-free sky. "According to the latest da-ta, Sugar is the only one still moving towards Hawaii!"
/
The scene flashed back to the inside of a passenger car as Sugar dropped down outside the rear door and walked in. "Awesome," she said, eyes on her walkie-talkie. "Ain't nothin' gonna get in my way now!"
A furry finger tapping on her shoulder caused her to turn around, but the annoyance quickly faded when she saw Staci behind her.
"Hey, can I-" was all the wolfish girl managed to get out before Sugar turned and fled. Staci quickly gave chase, calling out "I just wanna borrow your GPS!"
The camera zoomed outside just then, and a dramatic tune played as the shot panned rightward to Alejandro on the back of a charging black steed. "Yah! Ándale!" he said, urging his horse forward as well as the herd that was following them. "Oh Sugar," he called out with a dark smile, "I'm coming!"
/
Another flash took the scene to the dirt road where Ella, Tyler, and the condor had crash-landed. Despite a few crackles of electricity still surging over them, Ella managed to stagger away from the others with a hand on her head.
"Unnnh...is everyone okay?" she asked in a pained voice.
Tyler managed to pull himself out from under the fallen bird with his arms, say "I think so," then flopped face-down in the dirt. The condor, however, squawked weakly.
Ella sighed. "Well, this is a complete disaster," she said, walking back over to the two. "Neither of you are in any shape to continue on right now, much less fly."
"Hey, I can keep going!" Tyler objected, pushing himself back up onto his arms.
"Not without your wheelchair you can't," Ella told him.
"Actually," Tyler said, an almost triumphant tune playing as he slowly and wobbily stood up, "I think that zap got my legs working again."
"Oh," Ella said in surprise, "well as good as that is, I don't think it will help us get to Tijuana Beach before the others. Not while poor Mr. Condor is still hurting...," she said, turning a concern look to the large bird that had only just gotten back on its feet. It seemed to be breathing heavily, and looked generally tired.
It was then that it's stomach growled, loudly enough to stun Ella and Tyler and seemingly embarrass it.
Tyler blinked, then turned to Ella. "Uhh, maybe it's just hungry?"
/
"Don't tell me Ella wants to give up again," Chris asked as the scene cut back to his master GPS, the yellow dot now stationary. "I thought she was over that," he added in annoyance.
/
"Like, seriously, I just want that GPS!" Staci said angrily as she advanced on a wary Sugar inside another empty passenger car.
"Why?" Sugar said defensively, holding the device behind her back. "So you can stop me from gettin' to Hawaii like Alejandro asked you to?" She backed into the next door just then, then quickly spun around and flung it open and fled to the next car before Staci could react.
The wolfish girl growled in exasperation, then gave chase.
/
"But, where are we ever going to find enough food in time?" Ella asked in concern as the scene cut back to her and Tyler, the condor looking around behind them.
"Hmm...well...," the jock said, rubbing his chin in thought then looking towards the barn that was situated in the distance behind them "Well, there's a farm over there..."
"No," Ella told him sternly. "It doesn't feel right letting Mr. Condor loose on some poor farm animals without at least a fair warning."
"Uhh, okay," Tyler said, looking around again as the condor behind them seemed to spot something and hop away, "what about that?" The camera cut to a small stand a little ways away with a large striped firecracker on its front sign and a slender white man with a hook for a hand and an eye patch manning it.
"Umm, I think that's a fireworks stand," Ella said uncertainly from off-screen.
"Not that," Tyler said, "I mean the hotdog stand down the road from it!" The shot panned rightward to another stand similar to the first, except that it had a large hotdog on its sign and the man attending it had dark skin – though strangely, he still had an eye patch and a hook hand.
"Oh," Ella said blankly before smiling, "that's perfect! Okay Mr. Condor-" she turned around to address her feathered companion, only to find him missing. "Mr. Condor?"
"Uhh, I think he had the same idea," Tyler said, pointing back to the hotdog stand as the condor glided onto the counter, screeching at the stand's terrified attendant.
"Oh my," Ella said, eyes wide as she and Tyler quickly ran off towards the stand.
/
"Just give me the GPS, okay!" Staci yelled at Sugar as the two girls continued their chase, the camera showing it through the windows before cutting inside just as the pageant queen reached a dessert cart. "I don't care who wins, I just wanna go back home!"
"If that's true," Sugar said, clutching the device to her chest as she and Staci circled the dessert cart, "then why the heck are you helpin' Al?"
"Why not? It's not like I like anyone else more," Staci explained.
"Really?" Sugar replied skeptically, dodging the wolfish young woman's pounce. "'Cause since he played Ella like Tyler played you, I thought you wouldn't like him at all!"
Staci skidded to a halt. "Wait, Alejandro was lying to Ella?" she asked in shock and confusion.
Sugar gasped in an exaggerated fashion. "What, you've been stowin' away all this time and you never knew?" She tutted and shook her head, saying "Girl, I got to fill you in on all the stuff you missed."
/
Hotdogs were flying as the scene moved back to Ella and Tyler, both teens cringing at the display they were watching just off-screen. A condor screech was followed by the stand's attendant frantically rushing to their side, though once he realized they were there he became rather annoyed.
"Hey, is that your bird that's eating all my hotdogs and destroying my stand?" he asked angrily.
"Umm, sort of," Ella answered. "But I promise it's for a good cause, or at least one that isn't bad."
"Yeah," Tyler added at the man's skeptical glare, "she's, like, in a race for a million dollars. When she wins she can totally pay you back."
"Well," Ella said sheepishly, "it's not like me winning is a guarantee or anything. Especially since Sugar and Alejandro are still kind of far ahead."
"Wait," the dark-skinned man said, "d'you mean the same Sugar and Alejandro from Total Drama?"
"Totally!" Tyler answered with a grin. "Ella's in the Final Three with them, and we gotta get to Mexico first in order to beat 'em."
"Well in that case, eat up!" the man said. "I can't stand Alejandro!"
"Yes!" Ella and Tyler said excitedly, exchanging a high five.
A sharp burp came from off-screen, earning the hotdog stand operator's nervous attention and causing Ella and Tyler to look at each other and nod.
/
"Yes," Alejandro whispered into his steed's ear, "you run beautifully!" The horses were now running alongside the train, and the charming arch-villain was smirking confidently.
That is, until the perspective changed to a head-on view and a rather wolfish figure burst out of a train window. She somehow was able to land gracelessly on the back of a rather startled horse, and Alejandro looked at her with utter shock. "Staci?! What are you doing?"
"She's gettin' her revenge!" another voice declared, and Alejandro looked to his other side to see Sugar standing dramatically on the roof of the train. The pageant queen jumped as well, and like Staci managed to somehow land on a horse's back, though with somehow even less grace.
"Uggh, I don't have time for this," Alejandro muttered, turning his gaze forward as the two girls got into proper riding position. "Hurry, caballo!" he told his mount, the camera changing back to side-view as his horse sped up.
"Yah, you better run, you...you enemy of women!" Staci yelled, her horse speeding up as well.
""Yeah!" Sugar chimed in with an impish grin, trailing behind them but still ahead of the rest of the herd. "Let's show him some girl power!"
/
"Wooww," Chris said as the shot cut to the screen of his GPS device, now showing the blue and red dots heading forward at an even pace. "They just don't seem to really want it that bad, hmm? But barring any life-ending accidents," he told the camera as it moved to show his face, "I guess they're our Final Tw-wait a sec!" he interrupted himself, his eyes going wide at something on his screen. He looked around outside, and the shot zoomed out just as a familiar pair of excited cries echoed through the air.
"Woo hoo!" Ella shouted as she and Tyler flew by clinging to their condor friend's back, the bird looking rather energetic and confident as it swooped under the helicopter.
"Ella's still in it!" Chris announced dramatically as a triumphant tune played. "Like a phoenix burnt to a crisp, before rising up anew!" The shot cut back to the two riding condor-back, and he corrected himself with "No wait, that's Tyler! Anyway, it's a dead heat, people!" he told the camera.
"I knew you could do it!" Ella told the condor excitedly. "I knew we could do it!"
"Haha, and look!" Tyler pointed out giddily. "There's Tijuana Beach!"
"Yes!" the singing princess said excitedly. "Okay Mr. Condor, take us down!" she declared, pointing down towards the unseen beach below. The condor gave a triumphant screech, and angled downward as a grandiose theme began to play.
/
"I'm gonna roast you like a turkey!" Sugar shouted as the scene cut to her, Alejandro, and Staci racing along the beach on horseback.
"I'm gonna squash you like an insect!" Alejandro retorted.
The camera changed to a head-on perspective as Sugar tried to backhand her opponent only to get her hand ducked, and an off-camera shout of "Look out!" from Chris caused both villains to look forward in shock.
"WAAAAAH!" Chris screamed, the camera inverting to show the three rapidly approaching a finish line in the sand, the host below it waving his arms. The two lead horses skidded to a halt with a panicked whinny, but the momentum caused Alejandro and Sugar to be launched forward over the banner. Chris looked back as they landed with a thud, and Staci rode up to him.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be here!" Chris yelled at the wolfish girl.
"Yah, like I care," Staci said, jumping down from her horse. "You're just lucky I have something to do right now, okay." With that she ran off in the direction Alejandro and Sugar had flown, and with a scowl Chris followed her.
The camera cut to the two lying on the beach next to a dock, Sugar on top of Alejandro so that the two were face-to-face. "Get off of me!" Alejandro shouted, shoving the pageant queen off as Staci and Chris arrived on the dock.
"Uhh, I still have a race to the million going on," Chris told them as a low but tense challenge theme began to build up in the background, "ya interested? Hawaii's over there," he pointed as a few heavier notes began the music's increase in intensity. "Grab a boat, head to the big island, and-"
As he spoke, a faint whistling noise heralded the arrival of the diving condor and its passengers in the distance behind Chris. The music really picked up its pace as the bird spread its wings and leveled off for its approach, the host quickly running out of the way. The condor flew past the beach and the dock and the other stunned cast members, Ella and Tyler whooping excitedly all along the way. As the giant bird reached the boats at the end of the dock the two teens let go of its neck, dropping off as it curved back upward.
The camera cut in close as they landed, Ella gracefully on her feet and Tyler gracelessly on his face.
"We made it!" Ella said excitedly, the intense music dropping off abruptly as she helped Tyler to his feet. "Thanks Mr. Condor!" she said, turning and waving at the unseen bird.
"Alright, Hawaii here we come!" Tyler said, pumping his fist excitedly as he took a seat in back of the ship, pulling the GPS from his tracksuit as Ella took to the wheel and sped the boat off.
"And Ella plus one take the lead!" Chris announced excitedly as the tense music began to build again.
"Mala suerte, ah!" Alejandro swore as he ran down the docks alongside Sugar and Staci, heading for the last two speedboats.
"I really love this show," Chris said with a small smile as he watched the race unfold.
/
The footage skipped ahead to the three boats nearly even as they raced across the Pacific Ocean, constantly vying for the lead. Sugar and Staci's boat rammed into Ella and Tyler's from the side as it passed by, the wolfish girl shouting "Take that, heartbreaker!" at Tyler and "I don't like you but I really feel for what you went through, yah!" at Ella.
Ella and Tyler shared a bewildered shrug.
The shot cut to the pageant queen, her confident smile fading when her boat was rammed into. "What the?" she said, looking to her left, the camera zooming out to show Alejandro alongside her. "Get him, Staci!" she told her passenger.
"You'll pay for your lying ways!" she said, taking a swipe Alejandro's boat with her clawed hand, but missing entirely.
"Not likely!" Alejandro laughed as he swerved his boat away from the girls, then quickly darted in to ram them further away. He continued on for another few seconds before looking down and gaping, the perspective changing to show a small leak in his boat. "Not now!" he groaned in frustration, the shot zooming out again as Ella and Tyler's boat came up alongside his.
"See you at the finish line, Al!" Tyler said with a taunting wave as their boat took the lead, but Alejandro just grit his teeth.
"No, I'll see you at the finish line!" he countered, quickly turning around to pick up a large swordfish that had somehow been in his boat, then throwing it like a spear at his foes. Ella gasped in panic and dodged away from the pointed fish, but all that meant was that it got lodged into the steering wheel instead.
The shot zoomed out again as Sugar and Staci passed the other two by. "Yeah!" Sugar cheered. "I am the boating queen!"
"Like, look out!" Staci said, darting forward to point over Sugar's shoulder. The shot cut to a large naval mine floating on top of the water; a hapless seagull landed on it, causing it to explode just before Sugar's boat passed through the area, both girls screaming in fear.
Cutting back to the other two boats showed Alejandro pulling ahead again as Ella struggled to remove the swordfish and regain control of her vessel. "Haha! It appears you've finally lost, Ella!"
"Not so fast!" Tyler countered, quickly lunging forward and grabbing the side of Alejandro's boat in his right hand.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Alejandro said frantically, the shot pulling back to show the jock suspended between the two boats, holding the side of each and keeping them from getting too far apart despite Alejandro's attempts to steer his boat away. "Let go!" he said, abandoning steering in order to try – and fail – to pry Tyler's fingers loose.
"Oh, you want me to let go, do ya?" Tyler said with a wild but extremely pained smirk.
"Yes!" Alejandro replied frantically, still failing to budge the jock's absurdly strong digits.
"Okay!" Tyler said with a strained sort of smugness, releasing his hold on the arch-villain's boat and swinging back to Ella's.
Alejandro breathed a sigh of relief, then looked forward and screamed.
He ran straight into another naval mine, launching his boat into the air just as Ella finally removed the swordfish and the background music became triumphant.
Sugar and Staci were shown looking back with delight as they approached their destination, but a sudden spluttering from the engine caused them to look at one another with concern. "We're out of gas!" Staci exclaimed.
"Paddle!" Sugar demanded, and the two promptly took oars from the boat and began to row.
/
The scene moved to the beach, where the other former contestants had assembled to await the arrival of the Final Three plus two. A deep and dramatic riff played as the camera panned across them, ending on an annoyed Sam and Dakota next to Chris. The camera pulled back and panned further over to the right, and just as it hit the beach a boat arrived to a victorious tune.
"Woohoo!" Sugar cheered, eagerly rushing off to dry land with Staci hot on her heels. "I did it! I actually won!"
"Sugar makes it into the Final Two!" Chris announced with a dramatic point. "One question remains," he told the camera as the background music turned tense again, "who will Sugar battle?" The pageant queen rushed in front of the camera, grinning smugly. "Ella, or Alejandro?"
As he spoke another boat was shown approaching, the camera zooming out to reveal it as Ella and Tyler. "We did it, Tyler!" the singer cheered, rushing back to hug her companion. "We made it!" A further outward zoom showed that their boat was just a few yards away from shore, drifting idly towards it...
And then came Alejandro's scream of terror, and moments after his boat. It landed bow-first on top of Ella's, splintering it and launching all three teens towards the beach. They landed off-screen with a thud, and the camera cut over...
"Oh, wow," Chris said in shock, looking over the strewn forms of Ella, Alejandro, and Tyler alongside Sugar and Staci, "that's what you call a tie people! I'd go to the slow-mo to declare a winner," he said, tapping his chin in thought as the camera moved in for a close-up, "buuuttt...we'rrreee...kinda outta time," he said, deliberately extending a few syllables and shaking his hand dismissively.
"WHAT?!" Sugar, Alejandro, and Ella declared in shock, the latter two still on their backs.
"Yup!" Chris told them. "We are totally, completely," the camera zoomed out to show the entire cast, most of them staring at the host in disbelief, "undeniably...out..of..time...aaasss..ooofff... riiigghhtt...abooouuutt...NOW!"
The Final Three groaned, and the series' capstone theme began to play.
"So come back next time to find out who battles who," Chris said, drawing the camera's attention back off the five on the beach. "And see someone finally win the million! Or die trying," he shrugged impishly. "Right here," he double-pointed at the camera, "on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
(Fade to Credits)
Author's Note - Post Script
And there we have it, folks. Sugar's in the Final Two, and next week Alejandro and Ella will battle it out to decide who gets to face her for the million. Who will win? Who will not? You'll have to wait and see.
As for this chapter, I rather like how it turned out. Alejandro pretty much followed his canon path, from the truck to the train to the horses, but I think it still worked. Needless to say, his relationship with Sugar is much different that his one with Heather in canon. Sugar ended up getting the Heather path, because quite honestly I feel like 'walking blindly through the desert and tripping over rails' is such a Sugar thing to do. She also ended up getting an odd ally in Staci, who I decided to give a much bigger role to than what Ezekiel had in canon - in part because I didn't want her to just show up in Hawaii out of the blue like Ezekiel, and also because Staci still has her wits about her and should be treated as a proper human character. And Ella and Tyler, meanwhile, couldn't believably build a hot air balloon like nerdy Cody, and as such got to ride the giant condor that I set up back in episode 23. I hope you all find it as awesome as I do.
The song, of course, is a shuffled version of 'I'm Gonna Make It'. I tried to bring out Sugar's boasting in her lines to give it a sort of Villain Song flavor, though I don't think it turned out that strong. Which might not be bad,since there's actually a lot going on with the song I think.
I can't think of anything else to say right now, so just let me know what you thought of the second-to-last episode of the season! I look forward to it, and to the finale next week.
- Fangren
Appendix: TSWT Eliminated Contestants
Staci - (RETURNED)
Beardo - (18th Place)
Lightning - (17th Place)
Dawn - (Quit Unofficially | RETURNED)
Bridgette - (16th Place)
Geoff - (15th Place)
Scott - (14th Place | Disqualified)
Scarlett - (13th Place)
Sierra - (12th Place)
DJ - (11th Place)
Shawn - (10th Place)
Staci - (9th Place)
Sammy - (8th Place)
Blaineley - (Tied for 7th Place)
Dawn - (Tied for 7th Place)
Ezekiel - (5th Place)
Tyler - (4th Place | Disqualified?)