DISCLAIMER:
hello. Chapter 40 released. At last, The day of the final is here, and the show will start, but there are still some surprises before the final confrontation between Black Unicorn and H-tonics. What will happen on the Grand finale of the War of the Bands? Find it right now.
And remember, if you like the story so far, leave a review. With your thoughts of the episode or something you liked, it's enough for me. Or if reviewing is not your thing, at least mark the story as a favorite. Now before starting, let me answer past week reviews.
Total Simaniac: Yes, it was a shame that Malibu has gone, but is the tragedy of the eliminations, someone has to go first.
AnimalsFUN: So nice you enjoy it. I hope this is also nice.
Total Drama belongs to Fresh TV, Corus Corporation, their creators, and associates companies. Any song used on this fic belongs to their original creators.
War of the Bands - Final - track 1
Last time on War of the Bands, the three semi-finalists showed all their nationalism in a challenge that made them perform a song from a Canadian author or band. Classics and not so classics were performed, putting the audience on edge.
And after a dramatic comeback from the Black Unicorn, the Devil's Muse decided to forfeit the match, taking their flag with them. With the third-place decided Black Unicorn and H-tonics prepare themselves for the final
Of the 88 bands and eight flags waving over the stage, only two remain. They will compete in a fratricide duel between former Drama brothers. Two bands enter the war tonight, and only one will leave with their flag intact and be proclaimed the best of Canada.
Who will win the battle? And who will be the last casualty? Find it tonight in the grand finale of THE WAR OF THE BANDS.
"Hello Canada! I'm Topher Secrest. Welcome to the exciting last battle of the WAR OF THE BANDS. 88 bands, 12 weeks, more than 200 songs performed, eight flags waving over this stage, two bands remain, all for this day.
Tonight one of them will take their flag home, and the other will be the Winner of this War, taking home the title of the BEST juvenile band of Canada and a prize of 100,000 dollars." Topher raised his arms, letting the audience cheer loudly for some seconds.
"And who will be the winner of this War?" asked the host. The screen over the stage showed the yellow flag with the Black Unicorn crest. "Will they be from eastern Canada, The Black Unicorn?" The audience cheered loudly, especially DJ and Dawn (as loud as she can be, that isn't much). Justin was smiling and silent as always.
"Or they will be," Topher made a dramatic pause, while on the screen appeared the blue flag with a stylish letter H as it's emblem. "From western Canada, the only A Capella group of ALL the competition, H-tonics." The audience also cheered loudly at the second band. Zoey's voice was heard over the rest of the cheering.
"And tonight we have a very special show. There is no challenge. It's only an homage to the winners, and a festival for you, our dear viewers. All the bands that fought courageously in this war and were defeated will perform one last time. Among other surprises," said Topher winking at the camera. At the same time, on the screen behind him appeared all the flags of the beaten bands except Devil's Muse.
Topher let the public went wild a little before continuing. "During the show, you can access the website or our mobile app and vote for your favorite group. Choose wisely because your vote will be essential to decide who will be the winner of this war."
"Now let the show begin. This is The War of the Bands: The final," said the host before presenting the first performance.
Meanwhile in the dressing room, the Black Unicorn was watching the opening.
"Well, it has begun," said Trent to the band, making a small and confident smile,
"Please, someone pinch me. This must be a dream," said Cody, excited. A moment late, he jumped from his chair wincing from the pain, "Ouch! what was that man?"
The brunette bassist frowned at Duncan, who took off his spiked collar and pinches Cody in the butt with it.
"Didn't you asked to be pinched?" asked the delinquent, smirking.
Cody rubbed his butt, still scowling at the him. "Figuratively, Duncan, I meant it figuratively."
B took out of his long coat a first-aid kit and offered it to Cody.
"No thanks, B. I'm ok," replied the brunnete boy, then he raised an eyebrow. "How can you carry that inside your coat?"
The silent man just shrugged, making a smug smile.
Ella laughed tenderly. "Hihi, you are all so relaxed. I wish I could be so calm and composed to be joking just now. It seems I still can learn a lot from you." The other four laughed at Ella's innocent comment. Maybe none of them was as nervous as they should.
War of the bands Final Xtra presentation 1: Malibu
"Let's welcome the first band that will perform tonight. Representing Eastern Canada, but natives from Vancouver. Bridgette, Geoff, and Brody were the first band to be booted out. Even then, they remain a fan favorite of the public. Do you want to say something before your performance?" asked Topher as Malibu took their positions onto the stage.
The three members of Malibu were wearing black sunglasses, and Bridgette was also wearing a cowboy hat.
"Yes! Even if short, our experience on the show was awesome and taught us a lot about ourselves and the kind of music we want to do. It was a bittersweet experience, but we don't regret it" said Bridgette, smiling.
"WOO-HOO, MALIBU FOREVER," shouted Geoff, waving his cowboy hat at the audience.
Brody began to play the drums before Topher had the chance to introduce the song."LET'S ROCK." He shouted while starting.
The Host went out of the stage as Bridgette began to play the bass and Geoff the guitar. The tune filled the room, and the audience started to cheer as Bridgette began to sing. The song was 'Gimme all your love[1]' from ZZ Top. And even if Bridgette didn't have Billy Gibbons' voice, her passion compensated for that.
During the solo, Geoff took the center of the stage, showing that even the first boot in the show possessed great musical skills and could go further in the competition if they had more luck.
The public began to cheer and clap as Topher returned to the stage. "That was Malibu, performing ZZ Top, 'Gimme all your love.' Let's give them a big hand."
"Remember that we have merchandise of the eight bands on our online store. So if you love Malibu, you can buy a shirt, a hoodie, a cup, or even a pen with the band's logo. All bands are included, even if they aren't part of the finalists. Now let's introduce the second act," said Topher as Bridgette, Geoff, and Brody send kisses to the audience before going out.
Ella held her hands against her chest, watching the tv."How delightful is seeing Bridgette's band play! They're so enthusiastic and full of energy."
"Yes, their elimination was unfair. They deserve to stay longer," said Cody, looking sad at his friends.
"Maybe next time," added Trent putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
War of the bands Final Xtra presentation 2: Psycho Hose Beast
"Now we have a band from Western Canada Area. An unfortunate incident cut short their participation in the show, but their energy and enthusiasm stay in our hearts. They're Izzy, Owen, Noah, and Eva. The Psycho Hose Beast," said Topher clapping.
The band's four members were wearing black pants with white shirts, neckties, long coats, and black sunglasses. Izzy was sitting on Owen's shoulder and jumped in front of Topher as they came onto the stage.
"We may have lost this battle, but we will be back," shouted Izzy at the microphone.
"As usual, she doesn't make any sense," said Noah, standing behind a keyboard and DJ's console.
Owen made a big grin, looking with dreamy eyes at his girlfriend. "That's what makes her so special."
"Let's end the chit chat and concentrate on the performance," shouted Eva while scowling at them. Then she made a shy smile as she saw Justin waving at her from the audience.
"Well beasts, let's go crazy!" said Izzy jumping into the center of the stage and catching a bass that Owen threw at her.
Topher quickly introduced the song to avoid repeating what happened with Malibu. "Give a big hand to Psycho Hose Beast, as they perform Beastie Boys hit, 'Sabotage[2].'"
As Topher jumped out off the stage, Owen began to play the guitar, Izzy the bass, and Eva the drums. The song was upbeat and quick, Izzy singing next to the mic, making a hoarse voice that gave personality to their cover.
Noah played the effects after the console's chorus, showing that he was not a novice using the machine. After the second chorus, Owen began to move across the stage while dancing and singing in the duet with Izzy. On the last chorus, they shared micro.
At the end of the song, Izzy smashed the bass against the floor three times, breaking it.
"Maybe we could still use that bass later," said Owen timidly as Izzy roared at the audience.
But the public loved it and cheered even louder. "That was another mind-blowing performance by Psycho Hose Beast." Said Topher as he went back to the stage. "Remember, go into the website or the app and vote NOW for who you want to win the WAR. Every vote counts."
Just then, Izzy took off her coat and her shirt, exposing a small white crop tank top with the symbol of the black Unicorn on her chest.
"And remember, vote Unicorn for- aaaaahhh!" said Izzy as she was taken out of the stage by security.
"I will like to remind the bands can't support any of the finalists," said Topher in a nervous tone as he tried to block the images of Izzy struggling against the security team.
Trent looked with wide eyes at the scene. "I can't believe how much energy Izzy has is like a hurricane."
"I still can't understand how the serious and well-composed Noah ended performing in her band. It must be her charisma," said Cody, happy to see his friend perform again.
"Yep, that Izzy is something else. It's the only person of our age that can hold better her booze than I," said Duncan, smirking.
Ella looked at the delinquent with sad eyes. "Duncan, drinking is bad, but making drinking competitions is even worse. Why would you do that?"
"Oh! C'mon Fairy princess, live a little," said Duncan, winking.
"Oh Duncan, I live a lot. I have lived all my life. Well, maybe I live a little less when I am sleeping. But even then, do not try to distract me. Drinking is bad, and you should be ashamed," said Ella, not understanding what Duncan was trying to say.
"Black Unicorn, to the stage," said the staff member behind the dressing room's door.
B stood and clapped his hands, looking smugly at his bandmates.
"You're right B. Time to show what we got," said Trent, as he and the rest of the band followed the silent man.
War of the bands Final First Finalist: Black Unicorn
"Now we have the first performance of the night. This band from eastern Canada surprise us with their passion and skill. Former Drama Brothers Trent and Cody took the lovely Ella, the brash Duncan, and the mysterious B and formed this band. Considered a dark horse among the groups, episode after episode, it began to show that they were a contender," said Topher pointing at the band with his arm.
"And tonight, they're here on the top of the mountain. Will they conquer it, or will they fall from the top? You on the audience will have the last word," said Topher, as the band took their place on the stage.
Topher then pointed at the screen over the stage. "The two finalists will perform a song for the audience as part of this festival. But before that, who is the Black Unicorn?" Let's find out in this short interview we make with the members."
On the screen appeared the image of Cody. He was blushing and smiling nervously, "Hello, I'm Cody. I play the keyboard and the bass, and I'm the lead of the band."
"I'm not really the leader. We're a bunch of friends, and we make the decisions together. This Friday, we're going out to win," said the brunette guy winking at the camera.
The second image was of Trent, "Hi, My name is Trent, and I'm the guitarist, second vocal and bass of the Black Unicorn."
"I'm grateful to play in a great band like this. Right now, my dream is performing with them one of the songs I have composed," said the green-eyed guitarist showing his signature smile.
The third image was of Ella. "Greetings and nice to meet you. My name is Eleonore Rollin, but you can call me Ella," she stood up and made a curtsy to the camera.
Then she blushed, her eyes wide. "Oh, excuse me, I am the main singer of the band."
"To me, Black Unicorn are my closest friends. People who love to make music together. Words cannot express my gratitude to them for inviting me to the band," said the fairy princess with a tender smile.
The fourth image was Duncan, "My name is Duncan, guitarist of Black Unicorn." He then made the sign of horns and stick out his tongue, showing his piercing.
"Why I'm playing in this band is a mystery. So many things had to happen for me to be here, but now that I'm with them, I wouldn't leave," said the delinquent, scratching his nose's piercing.
The fifth image was B. He waved at the camera, then pointed at himself, and the made finger guns winking.
Ella began to speak from out of the scene, "He said that his name is B, he is the drummer of the band, and we will win the competition.
B nodded and gave thumbs-up to all the public that was watching.
"Is it not a little conceited to say that we will surely win?" asked Ella in a worried tone.
B only shrugged, smiling smugly, as the scene faded from the screen.
"Well, they are the Black Unicorn. And tonight, they will perform a song composed by them. The title is 'Dreams born from the ashes,' let's hear them," Topher said as he went down of the stage.
"Well, here goes nothing. I hope the song is good enough," said Trent taking his acoustic guitar.
Duncan smirked as he took his guitar. "Don't get cold feet now, Elvis."
"Duncan, do not be rude. The song is beautiful…" said Ella, who gasped as she saw her Mamie in the audience. The fairy princess put her hands on her chest, containing her emotions.
"Ella is right. Let's do our best. Trent composed this song for us after all," said Cody taking his bass.
B nodded, hitting the drumstick against each other three times.
The hall was full. Sam and DJ were carrying a huge banner of the Black Unicorn. Justin and Dawn were helping to hold the banner as high as they could. Trent's parents were on the first row, his mother with a small banner that read `very first fan.' In the last row were Duncan's mother and his brothers. The blond woman was shouting more than her children. Even B friends from Quebec come here, cheering as loudly to the silent man as they could.
The show then started. The song began with the bass, then the guitar, the voice, the electric guitar, and the drums in harmony. The lyrics were about a woman who lost all her dreams as she grows up and how when she thought all hope was lost, she found a new dream thanks to her friends.
The song was very personal for the five members of the Unicorn because the 5 of them were in that situation. Losing all hope and finding a new dream. Especially Ella's performance was one of her more emotive and powerful.
As the song ended, the audience went wild. The members of the band waved at the public. Over the voice of the wild crowd, our singer heard a familiar voice, a voice she never imagined she would hear again.
"Not Bad Ella, but I'm still better than you!" shouted Sugar, with a Black Unicorn T-shirt, surrounded by her bandmates.
"Couldn't yo say it in a nicer way, eh!?" Asked Ezekiel, folding his arms.
"No! That little show stealer doesn't deserve better, and doesn't need it either. She will win this darn show. After all, she beat ME," said Sugar smirking and pointing a thumb to herself.
Ella was about to cry of the emotion as Cody embraced her and helped her out of the stage.
"Well, it was a great success," said Trent, beaming after performing his song.
"Also, I cannot believe my Mamie and Sugar were here to cheer for us. This must be the best night of my whole life." Said Ella twirling as tears began to fall from her cheeks.
Duncan looked at her, smirking, "If you are so happy, why the tears?"
"Oh, silly Duncan. Happiness tears are not like sadness tears. When you are so happy that the emotions overwhelm you, they became liquid happiness and that you shed from your eyes," said Ella, still crying.
Cody would look at her enviously. Even if he knew it was impossible, he wished for his parents to be here.
"Hey Cody, stop daydreaming and wish us luck," said Sammy as she and the other three remaining members of the Spicy gals passed at his side.
"Oh, Sorry, Good Luck!" said Cody trying to sound normal.
War of the bands Final Xtra presentation 3: Spicey gals
"Now we have a band from North Canada and Quebec Area. The more beautiful of the eight bands that will embellish our stage one more time. They are Samantha, Dakota, Kitty, and Sky, the spicey Gals. Let's welcome them," said Topher as the girls come onto the stage.
The band's four members wore orange miniskirts and red tank tops with a bandana of a different color, Sammy blue, Dakota yellow, Kitty green, and Sky purple.
"They will perform for us the song that had been 11-weeks number 1 on the charts, 'Remembering your name,' by Lindsay. Let's hear them," said Topher as he went down of the stage.
"Well, are you sure you wanna do this, Sammy?" asked Kitty taking her guitar.
Sammy nodded, taking the mic. "Yes, but after the performance. If you are all ok with that."
"I'm totally for it. Break a leg," said Dakota as she walked toward the keyboard.
"If we all agree, let's show them what we got," said Sky twirling a drumstick on her hand.
Lindsay's song began with the guitar and the keyboard, followed by the beats and finally, the voice. Like all of her hotness songs, it was catchy but harder to perform than it seemed. It used lots of arrangements and high-level techniques. Fortunately, Sammy's sweet voice made the song unique, different from Lindsay's sensual and energetic tone, but good enough to excite the audience.
The four girls gave her all in the performance. Drums, keyboard, even the guitar solo was performed with a contagious passion and energy. In the end, the four girls were covered in sweat but smiling after a great show.
The public was roaring, the voice of Sam notably louder. The girls bow at the audience, but before Topher could talk, Sammy took the mic.
"I want to dedicate this song to my sister Amy. I know we had done some horrible things to each other in the past, but I hope we can reconcile and live again as sisters. I love you, sis," said Sammy. The audience stopped cheering and began to clap, supporting the twin message.
"Well, that was quite an unexpected message, brave and unexpected. We're going into a break but stay tuned. Tonight there are more surprises. This is the WAR of the BANDS THE FINAL," said Topher, winking at the camera.
[1] I based this performance in Live 83 on the song Gimme All Your Lovin by ZZ tops. If you want to hear a female version, I would recommend Laura Cox cover on youtube.
[2]For this one, I use the live performance of Beastie boys in David Lettermen show (1994) as the main inspiration. For a female cover, I would recommend the one by Brass Against featuring Sophia Urista. It uses trumpet and sax and is awesome.
[3] Yes, both Black Unicorn and Spicy Gal's performance on this episode were fictional songs. For the first, I thought that a personal song would be more adequate and was a way to show Trent can compose again. For the Spicey Gals, well is Lindsay song ;).
And the final is on. There are still some surprises and extra performances before the final. Will all thing go as planned? Or someone still has a card to play to try to balance the competition in their favor? Find out next in War of the Bands.
As this is the final episode, I decided to go all out and give the eliminated teams another moment to get the spotlight. I hope you enjoy it. As you can imagine, the remaining bands will also perform, so stay tuned.
And as always, thanks for reading and I hope you like it
