Replies, fired up

Guest 1138- Chef and Chander will interact quite a bit, so expect some wacky shenanigans from them...or something. Four in a row is pretty good, can you make it five?

Sephiria Arks- I think everyone's changed quite a bit. Luna's just gotten meaner. Her first confessional this episode shows that, especially the word she uses instead of eliminate.

Guest- Luna and Scarlett sounds like a neat finale for sure, especially considering how different their individual arcs were. But I really like the finale choice I settled on.

Candela Monsoon- To put it bluntly, I didn't want Luna to win twice in a row, and she'd certainly lose in a vote. You also have some very neat predictions.

Final four...only three chapters left.

Episode 16: Buster Boats

Chris stood on the dock. Chander was not there this time. "Last time, on Total Drama Fiery Passion," Chris introduced, "we said a 'hello' to Kayla, who passed judgement on her friends and enemies. Splitting them into a team challenge, the two teams cooperated, or didn't, to get to the goal of saving Chander." The first clips were Kayla judging Jonathan, Luna and Scarlett being forced to team up, and Chander being locked in the cage. "He will pay for messing up my season. Anyway, Scarlett decided to not do the puzzles, leaving Luna to wallow in them. Meanwhile, the fire team very boringly got their puzzles done with relative ease, combining their three brain cells and a hint of muscle." The next clips were Iris snatching the shovel from Jonathan and Luna grappling over the final puzzle. "Hoping for a clean loophole, Luna took matters into her own hands, injuring Scarlett to the point of no return- no really, she's out of the competition." The last clips before switching back to Chris were Scarlett falling and her getting blasted from the cannon.

"Well, that leaves us at four," Chris said. "Will it be Luna, the cunning psychic who leaves no one to safety? Will it be Jonathan, the redemption-bent poison man? Will it be Iris, who's been steamrolling over them all, or will it be Max, the one that's been taking them all by surprise? There's only one way to see who makes it to the thrilling final three, right here, on Total! Drama! Fiery Passion!

Opening Sequence

[Various cameras began to appear in a similar way to the other seasons. The first one appeared out of a lily pad, which seemed to be mechanically connected to the water. Next, one came out of a tree, which spit out some fire as the camera popped out. The final one fell on top of the outhouse confessional, and exploded into a burning flame. The camera then began to fly as the opening played.]

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doing fine,

[The camera arrived at a waterfall, where Shawn poked his head out, to see Jasmine waiting for him. He waved a signal as she went in.]

You guys are on my mind,

[Next to the waterfall, Marty stares at them with a scowl on his face. He picks up a stick, smirks at the waterfall, and snaps the stick.]

You asked me what I wanted to be, and I think the answer is plain to see

[The camera flies over the waterfall, where Sky is doing Olympic style jumps. She lands one perfectly, much to Jonathan's amazement. Iris runs by and smacks Jonathan over the head. Ethan laughs in the back as Jonathan fumes.]

I wanna be famous!

[The camera flies to a clearly mechanical mountain, where Paul and Angie are intensely competing. Angie barely beats him up the hill, which angers Paul.]

I wanna live close to the sun

[Lavender and Flora smile at each other as they run off. A hand reaches out to stop one of them.]

Go pack your bags, 'cause I've already won

[Lavender turns her head to see Scarlett. The quiet brainiac signals for Lavender to follow her instead.]

Everything to prove, nothing in my way, I'll get there one day

[As Sugar tries her hardest trying to build something, she laughs at her own brilliance. Meanwhile, Norm fakes a fall, knocking it over. He gives the pageant queen a sheepish but fake smile.]

I wanna be famous

[Paul and Angie are seen in a hot race again, this time Paul has the lead. He skids to a halt and trips her, causing her to fall.]

Na na nanana na, nanana na, nananananana

[Kayla kicks the ground, evidently bored, while her sister, Kara, investigates a pipe spitting out fire on the others side. A ball of fire shoots by and ignites another pipe, which causes Kara to look back. Chander is seen blowing out ignition fuel.]

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!

[Various other high ranking, non-competing contestants appear in silhouettes, as fire shoots out from behind them. Some have items like swords or heavy weights in their hand. Others are just standing there in a menacing fashion.]

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous!

[The scene zooms into the fire, which changes to a traditional campfire.]

*Whistling*

[Luna stares at Max with a bright green glow, while Max offers her a contraption he made. The psychic fixes it with her mind, which causes the others to glare at her as they whistle.]

The episode opened as Iris was laying on the top of the bunker. Eventually, Jonathan came up to talk to her. "You still upset about Scarlett?" he asked her.

"Yeah," the paranoid girl replied. "I finally find one person I can trust, and Luna takes it away from me. That kinda ticks me off."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Wait...just her? So you don't trust me?"

Iris let out a small chuckle before glaring at him. "You? Mr. Wild Card, 'I'm not playing by anyone's rules'? Absolutely not. You sold me out for a vote and were the reason for Paul's departure, and he was an ally we could've kept. I'm considering getting rid of you first."

Jonathan scoffed. "First? As in before Luna?" Iris nodded. "You know she'll dominate you. You can't stop her."

"I can take her out whenever I want," Iris said carefully. "Scarlett said so, and I believed it. I'm dragging her as far as I can, so I can crush her like a bug." Jonathan blinked a few times before putting his hand on his chin.

Meanwhile, Luna watched them from the bottom of the bunker, cackling to herself.

Luna: "This will be fun," she admitted. "I nearly killed Scarlett for saying the exact same thing Iris just did. I need to reread those contracts to see if I can actually kill her..." She paused a bit before letting out a deep breath. "If only. My best chance is to convince her to vote off Jonathan. Trust me, I can kill her whenever I want."

Jonathan: "So let me get this straight," he said to himself, thinking out loud. "Max is gunning for Luna, Iris is gunning for Luna, and Luna's trying to oppose the two of them at once. No one's going after me. And just when I thought I had a clear shot to the finale, Iris brings that up. I'm annoyed, to say the least."

Iris: "I hope this goes well today," she said. "I think as long as I string Luna along, I'm never the biggest threat. Plus, defeating her so late will be immensely satisfying."

Max: "This is what I'm capable of when Chris doesn't meddle in my schemes!" he declared. "Once I beat Luna, I will beat...well, I'll figure out who I beat next, but I will beat Luna now!"

She then left and began to walk around, when she encountered Max. "Out of my way!" he demanded from her. "Evil pays little attention to the sickening."

Luna rolled her eyes, and kept walking, before pausing and turning around. "Do you wanna vote out Jonathan with me?"

Max seemed appalled at the proposition. "Do you think you still deserve to be my sidekick? I will only vote for you!"

"Right, worth a shot," she told herself. "But all I'm saying is that I heard him say you'd be a good finale pick, because he'd beat you easily."

Max gasped at first, but then let out a huff. "Then let him do that! I will prove him wrong when the hour arrives!" Luna sighed and smacked her forehead.

Luna: "Ugh! It's like trying to reason with a rock. Actually, a rock would be less stubborn." She laughed to herself briefly. "Well, he's out, clearly, I guess I have no choice but to manipulate Iris until she votes off Jonathan. Or maybe Jonathan wants to vote with me this time...ah, I guess I'll keep my options open.

The fight was stopped by the blaring of the speakers. "Hey, get down here, it's time for a challenge!" The two looked up for more directions. "What? Did you expect me to say more? Get down to the beach."

The final four made their way to the beach, where they were all standing next to each other. Chris had four boxes behind him, each with a picture of a player's face on it. "You ready for a fun challenge full of hurting each other?" Luna gave off a grin while the other three let out a loud sigh. "This challenge is only as dangerous as you make it out to be, so before we explain the challenge, I want to assign each of you a helper to make things more fun!"

"We get helpers already?" Jonathan asked. "I don't get it."

"Something's up," Iris decided. "My intuition said so."

Chris chuckled. "Your intuition is going to be rattled then," Chris said. "Why don't you go first?" Iris grunted at the offer, but eventually gave in, walking up to the box with her face on it. She lifted the lid, and Sky appeared from the crate.

Sky and Iris groaned at the same time. "Oh no, not you!" they cried out together.

"You eliminated me!" Sky complained.

Iris nodded. "And you'd be dead meat in this group. I was the better choice, obviously."

Chris laughed. "Isn't this a touching reunion? Well, who wants to go next?"

Iris: "It...it could have been worse. Making Sky help me won't be easy, but I think I'll manage."

Jonathan approached the boxes next. "I guess I'll have a go at it. Although I'm kinda bummed I don't get Sky..." He walked over to his box and lifted the lid. "No! You have to be kidding me! Not him!"

The box's lid was thrown off, and Ethan burst out of it. "Oh, don't be like that," he teased. "After all, once again, the only thing standing between you and a million is...me." He laughed again as Jonathan threw his hands on his face.

Jonathan: "That could have gone a lot worse...probably," he decided. "I could have gotten...actually, no, this was my worst option."

Luna walked up to her crate next. "Who's in here, Scarlett?"

Chris shook his head. "You'll have to think harder than that. Since Scarlett's out of commission, we opted for the person who knocked you off your spoke for a bit."

Luna thought about it for a bit longer, trying to figure out her new ally, but instead eventually concluded on opening the box. She received quite the shock when it opened. "Miss me?" Paul asked, taking a swing at the villain. Luna quickly ducked, before groaning at her partner. "Yeah, yeah, suck it up," he said. "I'm only helping you win if you give me something in return."

Max approached his box last. "Who have I gotten as an evil sidekick?"

Chris simply smiled at him. "I don't know, but it will be fun to watch you find out."

Max shrugged as he opened his box, and out popped Sugar, who was already laughing at him. "Hahaha! This is gonna be great!" She proceeded to mock his voice tone, saying, "Time to evil!" She let out another laugh as Luna smirked at the evil boy.

Max: "That woman will not get away with making a mockery of me!" he declared. "I will make sure she falls to the ground!"

Chris laughed as each of the four lamented at their partners. "Looks like everyone's having a touching reunion," he said with another laugh. Here's the deal, these four are going to help you win the challenge. And, they are required to help you. The fact that they're so against you is for my own personal amusement." Chris looked at the four helpers. "Got it?" Paul groaned on the side.

Ethan held his hands up in defense. "I may not like him, but I'm going to win regardless. I have too much pride to take a loss like that."

"Whatever gets you by," Chris said. "Now, onto our challenge." He pressed a button on the remote, and a curtain rose, revealing four boats behind it. "Welcome to the Fiery Passion styled boat race!" Chris announced. On cue, multiple geysers of fire shot out from the sides. It was very evident that this was actual fire, and not Chander's substitute. "Each of you will take a role: driver or gunner." A few contestants started to eye up the barrels on each of the boats.

Chris pulled up his monitor and showed a map of the island. "This will be both a race and a battle. You need to lap around the island three times to win, but you also must be the last boat standing."

"What if everyone gets shot down before three laps are done?" Jonathan asked.

Chris shrugged. "No immunity, I guess." A few people grumbled at that prospect.

Iris stared down Sky. "I have an order that I want you to follow very closely," she said, handing her a list. Sky reluctantly took it. "Shoot down boats in that order. I want to drive."

"Making plans to shoot already?" Chris asked mockingly. "Better be careful. Each boat is equipped with only three fireballs. You run out of those, and you're a sitting duck." He pointed at the map again. "Or, you could try and push the other boats into traps. That works too. So, everyone understand how this works?" Everyone nodded. "Good, pick your roles and head out."

Max turned to Sugar. "I'll handle the gun. You're not evil enough for it!"

Sugar laughed at him again. "Okay, and I'll make sure to drive as evil as possible." She giggled again, causing Max to groan.

Ethan looked at the other teams. "Look, if you want to win, let me gun. You won't do it if you do."

"Why's that?" Jonathan asked aggressively.

"Because you're too scared to shoot at Sky's boat. I'm not," he said calmly. "Do you want to win or not? Rumor has it that Iris wants you out." Jonathan held his hand up to argue, but eventually gave up and put it down. "Good," Ethan said. "Now, let's win, yeah?" Jonathan grumbled in agreement.

Finally, Paul stared right at Luna. "I'm gunning. You don't have enough skill to do it."

Luna scoffed. "I'm still in the game, and it's my decision! I'll do it! You can't tell me what I can't do!" Paul snickered as she approached the gun in the boat, grabbing onto the handles. Luna proceeded to push him aside. "I said it's my decision!" Luna shouted again. This time, Paul nodded with a hint of worry and went to the wheel.

With everyone lined up, Chris got ready to send them off. "Remember, you need to be the last one to cross to have a shot at immunity," Chris reminded them. "And, if some people live, well that's not my issue."

"We need immunity," Luna told Paul. "You will drive straight, and I will take them out with one shot each."

"Yeah," Paul said mockingly, "sure thing." As the air horn sounded, Paul began to drive, and Luna immediately aimed at Jonathan's boat.

Ethan aimed right back at Luna once he noticed her. "You shoot," he warned, and we both go down. If you lose, you're out, and you know it."

Luna smirked. "Not at much as you would like to think." Right after she finished, she fired, and so did Ethan. Their fireballs collided in the air as the two drivers began to move along the course with caution, trying to dodge all the traps that were a threat to them.

"Go!" Ethan shouted at Jonathan. "Drive! Luna's coming!" Jonathan immediately sped off and tried to get away as fast as he could.

"Tough break!" Chris announced. "Jonathan and Luna are both down a fireball already, putting them off the track of immunity. Can Iris or Max stop them?"

Luna: "One one hand," she analyzed, "Jonathan needs to lose so I can shift Iris's focus. On the other hand, I can't do that until after the challenge, meaning I'm going to have to work extra hard to be able to work them today. And none of this can happen if someone who isn't me wins." She paused for a second before adding, "Max can't win either...it's a personal vendetta."

Iris was taking an early lead, getting ahead of the rest of the group as Sky picked up the list Iris had handed her. She looked at the first name on the list.

Jonathan.

Iris's handwriting was not that great, but it was clear she wanted him gone. Carefully, she aimed the cannon at her boyfriend's boat, and watched as Ethan took note of her coming to shoot at him. He retaliated by aiming right back at her, but not firing. It was a stalemate at that point, but Sky was aware that she had to break it, or Iris would not let her get away cleanly.

On the other side of the exchange, Jonathan took a second to turn back to Ethan. "Careful," he warned, "that's our second shot, and Iris knows that. She'll have Sky fire regardless of whether you retaliate."

"So...let her hit us?" Ethan questioned. "We only took last hit because we fired."

Jonathan paused for a second. "Luna is a better shot. Sky's good with things where she uses her full body." Ethan shrugged and lowered the gun, still checking around for other potential danger.

Back on the other boat, Iris turned around for a second. "Don't just stand there, fire! You're locked down!"

"I don't want to waste it!" Sky countered. Right as she shouted, a geyser of fire shot out from the ground, causing Iris to swerve right and narrowly miss it. "See?"

Iris grumbled in defeat. "Fine, but fire now." As commanded, Sky fired off a ball.

"Sorry!" she shouted as the fireball came rushing toward Jonathan's boat. As it got closer, Jonathan sped up as much as he could, and in the end, the ball narrowly missed the boat.

"Do I need to do both of these things?" Iris shouted very angrily. "I don't necessarily need immunity, but I need these people to not get it!" Sky gave an apologetic smile as the two of them kept moving.

As she continued to go forward, Max had appeared right before her, trying to pull ahead. Sugar was doing a good job of crashing relentlessly into Iris's boat. "Stop it, minion!" Max demanded, as Sugar gave off a giggle. "We need to be steady so I can blow Luna to smithereens!" Iris decided to take the chance, and stop where she was.

Sky poked her head out from behind the cannon to see if something was wrong. "What's up?" she asked the paranoid girl.

Iris pointed ahead to Jonathan's ship. "Take it out now. I stopped so we can be straight with it. Don't miss this time."

Sky, having all but no choice, fired the second fireball at Jonathan's boat. This time, it hit. Iris smiled at her small success.

Iris: "Here's the deal," she explained. "Max is the second best choice for immunity, other than me. After that, I want Luna. I'd prefer if she didn't but Max would be motivated to destroy her. This is the smartest course of action. Jonathan needs to go now. I can't trust him."

Jonathan: "What is she thinking?" he asked with a hint of anger. "Iris knows that I'm not Luna, right? I don't get where all this hostility came from!"

"We're hit!" Jonathan called, trying to drive as best he could.

Ethan grumbled, trying to find something to patch the hole in the boat up with. "Keep driving!" he shouted. "We can fix this and go back to shooting. Iris is down to one fireball, so once that's out, we can destroy her."

Jonathan tilted his head. "What about Luna, the overarching threat?"

Ethan snickered at the response. "You'd rather go after some rinky-dinky mean girl than the person actively trying to beat you?" Jonathan was shocked at his choice of words. "Yeah, she doesn't scare me, but Iris does. She's been unstoppable, and now's your chance to make it happen." He still didn't get it. "This is your problem! You've always been so 'in the moment'! Think about what's ahead, so it doesn't smack you in the face!"

The verbal berating was ironically halted by what was right in front off them. A geyser of fire shot from directly under them, and it hit the dead center of Jonathan's boat, breaking it in half. "How do you suppose we fix this?" Jonathan asked with a large angry tone in his voice.

"You're not fixing that," Chris said with a laugh. "Jonathan's out right before round one! You only need to sink two more boats to have a shot at immunity!"

The two leading boats were still Max's and Iris's, as Luna and Paul drove up behind them. "Prime shooting," Luna said with a smirk. "I kinda want to hit Max, he'll be easy."

Paul chuckled as he continued to drive. "You're an idiot then. Take out the person who's the bigger threat!"

"The biggest threat behind the turrets is Max!" Luna argued. "Sky's useless, and Iris can't shoot! I'm firing at Max." Luna aimed the barrel right behind Max, and then lowered it to hit the spot that he was standing on top of. "Perfect," Luna said with a smirk. "Now, just to guarantee that hit."

Luna then got out a rope with some sort of coating on it. "Guide it well," she said carefully to the rope, before tying it on the end of the turret.

Luna fired, and the rope attached itself to the fireball. Luna guided the fireball perfectly to the spot, and it was about halfway there before Max turned around. He opened up with a scream, and that caused Sugar to turn around. "Hm?" she asked, making the boat go slower. This didn't give Luna enough time to react, and the fireball hit Max instead of the boat. Max got flung out of the water, but was fine.

Paul shook his head. "Now they're losing. It's time to put our final shot on Iris. Max will eventually befall himself." Luna began to argue but decided not to, allowing Paul to continue on his path to Iris's boat.

Iris had a solid lead, and was now crossing over the finish line. "Iris has completed one lap!" Chris announced. "Luna's closing in on her first, and Max is still getting going again. It's anyone's game, as long as you fight the others!"

Sky turned to Iris. "Let's play defensive. We can try and sink the others later." Iris didn't like the sound of that idea, but relented for the time being.

Luna: "Max winning the challenge is the best case scenario, other than me. I need to remember that. Iris has to go down. Max will take himself out...right? Right?"

At this point, Iris was nearly halfway done her second lap when Luna approached. "Where do you want her?" Paul asked, getting ready to steer near the girls' ship.

"To my left," Luna demanded. Paul nodded and spun the wheel, bringing it right in front of Iris.

The paranoid girl caught her immediately and turned back. "Sky! Take them out, now!" Sky fired first, and Luna had no choice but to retaliate. Their fireballs launched at each other, and before anyone could do anything, the fireballs collided with each other, creating a large explosion.

When the smoke cleared, both parties looked at each other, realizing that they were both out of fireballs. "Don't relent!" Luna shouted. "Ram into them!" Paul did his best to make a clear shot right to them, but Iris sped away before they bot the chance. With Iris ahead, She ordered Paul to stop. "Let's get Max instead," Luna said with defeat. "Even if he's fully loaded, we can get him." Paul nodded as he spun the boat around.

Paul: "I'm allowed to be in here? Huh, cool." He hung his head. "I despise listening to Luna of all people," he admitted. "But she was my assignment. Truth is, we get a small payment for following the rules, and it's the only reason I agreed. I hope they take out Luna. Going back for Max is a terrible decision, but I won't argue with her."

When Max caught sight of Luna returning, he laughed maniacally. "The fool has returned for her day of reckoning!" he cackled. "Open fire!" He swung his arm forward, and fired all three of his shots right at the boat.

"Dodge them!" Luna cried out. Paul missed the first two, but the third one hit the side of the boat, and water began to leak in. "Fix this!" Luna demanded with a shriek.

Paul shrugged. "We've been hit. I don't have anything to patch this up with!" he turned to Luna. "Maybe we give up."

"No! I won't!" Luna shouted. "I've gone too far to back out now!" She got out of the gunning area and began kicking with her legs in the water to get the boat to move. "Drive! We'll go crash Iris before I go down!"

Paul let out a sigh. "I'll do my best, but with a leaky boat we're not going anywhere at a good speed.

Iris and Sky now had an almost unstoppable lead. "Iris has taken the second lap!" Chris announced. "She may be winning, but she has to take out the others before she crosses, and no one has fireballs anymore! Luna and Max are badly damaged, can they catch her?"

"Badly damaged?" Iris asked with a smirk, looking up at the speakers. Right after that, she spun the boat around, and floored the gas pedal.

"What are we doing?" Sky protested. "They'll try and take us down!"

Iris didn't relent. "But they won't," she assured her partner. "We'll break them down as easily as we need to. Our boat's in the best condition, so we'll win." Sky gave an uneasy look as she sat on the boat, useless without fireballs.

Luna gleamed as she saw Iris returning. "She messed up," Luna said, jumping back into the boat. Without her extra power, the boat moved slower. "Take her out first!" Luna ordered to Paul. "Without her, Max winning is fine! We have to destroy her!"

Paul groaned. "If you let anger take over you, you'll lose too."

"I'm counting on it," Luna said darkly.

Paul was absolutely shocked by this. "Yeah...okay then." He swerved right into Iris's boat, which didn't do too much damage, since it was already slow. Iris took the opportunity to ram them back.

As this was happening, Max looked on. "Good, they're fighting," he beamed. "Time for a tactical retreat. After all, if they destroy each other, then evil wins!" He looked down at Sugar. "Now, minion, drive!" Sugar giggled again as she kept driving ahead.

Iris rammed into Luna's boat again. "Just...break already!" Iris yelled, trying to damage Luna's boat enough.

"You...first!" Luna shouted, trying to crash at her again.

Right as they tried to ram each other again, a geyser of fire shot out, blowing up both their boats. "No!" They both shouted at the same time, falling into the water and trying to dodge all the boat pieces flying in every direction.

Iris: "Luna's out...Jonathan's out." She smiled. "It doesn't matter that I lost, but now I have to make the right choice. My vote is the one that matters."

"Wow!" Chris announced. "Both Iris and Luna have taken themselves out of the competition. Max has a damaged boat, but he's almost done the third lap. It's up to him to pull out a victory, can he do it!"

"Drive better, minion!" he demanded. "Where did you learn to drive?"

Sugar laughed again. "Do you know how to drive? Or is that not evil enough for you?" Her tone on the word 'evil' was full of mockery.

"Of course I can drive!" he retorted. "How else do I drive to my babysitting job?" Sugar laughed at his response, as he stammered. "I mean...my evil conversion company! Yes!"

Sugar was so distracted from making fun of Max that she crashed into a rock on the side of the course, breaking the boat completely. Max yelled as he flew through the air and landed right on the rock with a thud. He glared at Sugar who simply let out an "Oops?"

Chris laughed. "Wow, what a way to go," he commented. "Well, with that fun development, it seems Max is out on immunity. And, with all four boats out of commission, that means no one wins! So, no immunity. Meaning...anyone could be eliminated." Jonathan groaned. Luna and Iris cheered before looking at each other suspiciously, and Max let out a yell.

Luna: "Okay, so I didn't win," she pointed out. "I need to be able to play off that. Iris knows I'm able to be beaten, so, I can make sure I remind her of that. Regardless of what she says, she's still paranoid, and I have to work that as best I can."

Jonathan: "Maybe I can grab Max," he said. "If I can get rid of Iris, then I have the best chance at winning. Ethan...was right. I have to think about the long term."

"So, since we're already here," Paul asked Chris as all the cameos gathered back on the beach. "Could we stay and watch the elimination? It is one of the final ones."

Chris actually thought about it before nodding his head. "Eh...what the heck. Sure, but only since all of you have placed above where they all are at some point."

"This will be exciting," Sky said. "I really want to see what happens."

"Meh," Ethan said with a bored expression. "I think it's already obvious who's going tonight. Luckily, it isn't who I'm rooting for."

Sugar laughed. "And who are you rootin' for?"

"Max," Ethan said nonchalantly. Everyone tried to stifle a laugh to no avail. "Say what you want," he said. "But his game's been perfect. Only Luna wants him out, and that's the reason he's going to win." Everyone started to understand his reasoning. "So, he might not win the finale, but he's getting there."

"You're forgetting that Iris and Luna are going to try and pull each other along," Paul said. "None of us every see Jonathan as a threat, and that only leaves Max to leave."

"Jonathan's a threat!" Sky argued. "Uh, not that I'd tell them that, because that would get him sent home..."

Paul looked up at the sky. "Well, it's too bad that we're out of the game, despite me beating all of you," he said. "I took down Luna once, so I could do it again."

"The exact reason she went with Angie on her vote," Ethan stated. "None of you think big picture. That's gonna be everyone's downfall. They're all focused on either the past, the present or the future alone. They're like giant chains used for combat, but everyone only wants one."

Sky was confused. "How is that a bad thing?"

"Because," Ethan explained. "The instant one of them lets go of one of those chains and grabs on to two, they get an advantage. Three, and they'll be untouchable."

"Iris!" Luna shouted, running up to her. "Glad I found you!" Iris turned around to find the pseudo-psychic smiling at her with clear exhaustion on her face. It was obvious she ran around the entire Island.

Iris groaned. "Let me guess, convincing me to vote for Jonathan?" Luna nodded. "That's great and all, but I'm not interested in hearing your reasoning." She smirked at her. "You can do something for me instead, and maybe I'll make that my vote."

"And if I don't?" Luna asked.

Iris shrugged. "I'll be left to vote for whoever comes to mind first, and given your history and what you did to Scarlett, you're always on the front of my mind."

Luna sighed. "Let me hear what it is first."

"Good choice," Iris said. "I want you to eliminate yourself next challenge. Not out of the game, just make sure you lose."

Luna scoffed. "Absolutely not! Losing a challenge in the final three is essentially suicide!" Iris simply yawned and walked off. Pressured, Luna caved in. "Wait! I'll do it!"

Iris turned to her. "Oh? And how do I know you're not lying? This wouldn't be your first deal on the island."

"You don't know," Luna stated. "But, I don't know if you're going to follow through on your end. So, I say we're even." Iris smiled with satisfaction before eventually leaving the scene.

"Interesting deal you've made," Jonathan said, coming forward to Luna. "Listen, I have a better one. You vote Iris, and she's out of the game. No strings attached."

"Go on," Luna replied with excitement.

Jonathan put up two fingers. "If we vote for Iris, and Iris votes for me, that leaves it up to Max, who will almost guaranteed vote you." He smiled. "So, it's a split between them, and Iris goes. Easy."

Luna smiled. "I like that deal better. Let's do that."

Iris: "That went well, but I still have another part of my plan to enact. To...stop things from going wrong. I won't let my guard down this close to the end."

Jonathan: "So, Iris is gone, and I'm in the final three," he mused. "I may have focused on the present or whatever Ethan told me on the boat, but this will get me where I need to be. I'll figure out what's next after Iris is gone."

Luna: "Now, the deciding vote has shifted to me. Big bad Luna has the big bad vote. Oh, this is exciting. I finally feel safe!"

Max was the only one in the bunker, and he was sulking about how his day went. "Mad at Jonathan?" Iris asked, coming in and seeing him upset.

"Why would I be upset with him?" Max asked. "Luna betrayed my trust."

Iris nodded. "Of course she did. But, between me and you, I think Jonathan thinks your weak." Max gasped. "Yeah, I know. I'll be honest, I think you are too. But, I'm willing to take you to the finale, so you can prove me wrong. Jonathan's also striking a deal with Luna at this very moment." Max gasped again. "Right, now you're mad at him."

"Luna will wait," Max said evilly. "I will eliminate Jonathan tonight!"

"Great!" Iris said in a hush tone, "but not so loud!"

Elimination 15

The final four gathered at the bonfire, sitting in a square, with Luna and Iris in the back, and Jonathan and Iris up front. Meanwhile, the four cameos were on the benches next to them, watching the chaos unfold.

Chris approached them with three marshmallows. "Campers," he said. "All of you messed up bad, and because of that, are all at risk of elimination." he turned to the girls first. "Iris, your recklessness once again stopped you from winning another immunity, or actually...any immunities." Iris let out a huff as Chris moved on. "Luna, you fired fast, and went out hard, but you still lost, and now you're in danger."

Chris then looked at the guys. "Max. Always trying to blow them away, but you always blow yourself up instead. Hate to see that happen." Max didn't react at the statement. "And Jonathan. Heard you got some advice, and then didn't listen to it. That advice came from a winner, right?"

"You didn't listen?" Ethan asked. "Okay, I thought you were better than that." Jonathan didn't react to Ethan's comment.

"Well, this ought to be fun," Chris said. "The first person safe is Luna, who had no votes against her." Shocked, Luna took the first marshmallow.

Sky was also surprised. "No votes? I don't get it."

Paul figured it out. "Someone convinced him to vote someone who isn't Luna. Oh...this will be interesting."

"The next safe person," Chris said, "is Max, who also had no votes." Max took his marshmallow without surprise. Ethan smirked at the other cameos, as they all seemed to finally get it. Meanwhile, Jonathan and Iris glared at each other, seeing who would best the other.

Chris laughed with the last marshmallow. "I'll announce the votes, for a bit more tension." Chris looked at his results. "One vote for Jonathan." Jonathan got very concerned, looking around to see who did that vote. "A vote for Iris." Iris perked up as Jonathan began to relax a bit. "Another vote for Jonathan." Jonathan got nervous again, and Iris got excited. "And, our final four member to leave is...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Jonathan."

Jonathan was shocked. "Luna, you tricked me!"

"Shoulda taken that advice," Luna said playfully. "I looked past the present today. That's what you said, right, Ethan?" Luna asked. "I've now grabbed two chains. One to go and I'm unstoppable."

Ethan nodded. "You figured out the bear minimum. See if it saves you. I don't think it will."

"Don't forget that that last chain is between me and Max," Iris pointed out. "Even if you break one of us, we keep it."

"And you won't break me!" Max said. "Next time, you will fall!"

Sugar laughed at Max's declaration before getting up. "Well, it's been fun y'all, but I gotta go home. Them cows ain't gonna tip themselves!" At that line, the four cameos gathered in the helicopter and flew off away from the island.

Chris smiled. "I'm gonna miss those brats. You know, the real competitors. Well, Jonathan, off to the cannon with you."

"This is bogus," Jonathan said, sitting in the cannon. "I tried so hard this time and I get nothing for it!"

Chris laughed. "Cheer up, if you hadn't made the other three mad, maybe they would have shared some money. But...good luck with that." Chris pressed the button, and Jonathan flew out of the cannon.

Once he left, Luna turned to Iris. "Well, thanks for holding up your end," she said playfully, "I don't need to do mine now."

Iris smirked back at her. "As expected, already. But, I think you'll find that I'm more than ready for your fake mind tricks." The two began arguing as Chris watched on.

Max: "It is as predicted," he said. "With them fighting, I have a clear, evil path to the million, and I will use it for...maybe a better car. I don't get good mileage on mine."

The bickering was stopped by the loud roar of another helicopter that landed right in front of the cast. The door flew down, and steam rolled out of it. A dark grin stepped out. Chris gleamed as the final three yelled in fear.

"No," Luna said.

"Not him!" Max shouted in fear.

"You have to be kidding me!" Iris groaned. "We were so close!"

Chris smiled. "Welcome back, Chef." Chef stepped out and gave a dark smile at them. "What's Chef got in store? Who's going to be cannon food next? Did I lose Chander again? Find out next time on Total! Drama! Fiery Passion!

(END OF CHAPTER)

Votes: Merge

Iris: "Ugh, as much as Luna deserves to leave this Island, dragging her along is more important. So...Jonathan, you've made me mad recently."

Jonathan: "Iris is too fixated on me. She's my only shot at getting to that million. No hard feelings."

Luna: "Safety feels so good. Too bad this'll be the only time I have it. Well, Jonathan brought up a convincing point to me- that he's still dangerous. You sold yourself out, dude."

Max: "So be it. Luna remains. Jonathan is simply easier. I still wish to vanquish that witch!"

Total: Jonathan (3), Iris (1)

Eliminated: Jonathan

Current Teams:

Merge: Iris, Luna, Max

Elimination Order:

19th (kind of)- Chander, The Spooky Prankster

18th- Sugar, The Pageant Queen

17th- Norm, The Antisocial Genius

16th- Jasmine, The Outback Amazon

15th- Marty, The Con Artist

14th- Kayla, The Brat

13th- Flora, The Pacifist

12th- Ethan, The Anti-Villain

11th- Shawn, The Zombie Conspiracy Nut

10th- Lavender, The Nature's Child

9th- Sky, The Athlete

8th- Kara, The Curious Girl

7th- Paul, The Pessimist

6th- Angie, The Hothead

5th- Scarlett, The Brainiac

4th- Jonathan, The Lover Boy

Okay, okay, yeah, I did that.

Jonathan's elimination felt off to me because it reminded me of Sunday Muddy Sundae- someone (Courtney) who did so much good and then threw it away at the last second. But, while Jonathan improved, I wanted it to be clear that he was still far from perfect: he allied with Luna, took pride in being the wild card, things like that. But, the redemption arc was actually planned really late, and I actually did it to give Sky plot. So everyone say, "thanks, Sky".

Overall, Jonathan went pretty well this season. He beat his personal best, albeit only by one, but it happened. Besides, I think the final three has been much more of the 'main characters' of the season. I categorize Jonathan with Paul and Angie this season- important side characters. Jonathan just happened to outlast the other two.

Something else that was planned late- the cameos sticking around. I wanted a nice little aftermath-like thing to wrap things up. After all, this season ends in two episodes. Oh, and Chef's back. That'll be fun.

Luna getting no votes? Iris backed into a wall? Max still in the game? It's anyone's chance at the million. Review saying who you want to win, and let's see if it happens. See you next time!