The penultimate reply section of CW, get your stuff in quick because there's one left!

lordgemini- I'm glad you enjoyed that elimination more than the past two. Peter's main strategy was to cause too much chaos for anyone to think straight, and he definitely has done a great job of that so far. Can he keep going? Let's see!

Alright, who's going to that finale? Let's find out!

Episode 15: Cultivated Grill

Susan and Chef were waiting in the control room to get going for the day, but they appeared to be in an argument. "For the last time," Chef told her, "I don't care what the challenge is, I ain't running it. This is your gig, I'm here to help, but you've slacked too much this whole season to just let something like this go unnoticed for free."

"You're no fun, Hatchet," Susan said with a frown, "turning down the opportunity to enjoy yourself just because I didn't 'do enough'. I didn't cause nearly as much damage as you make it out to be." Chef stared at her with a blank stare. "Okay, there was still damage, but that isn't the issue at hand."

Susan faced the cameras to begin the episode. "Last time, on Total Drama Cultivated Will, we had a fire drill! Unlike us, where safety is our utmost concern, everyone looked determined to bring home immunity." Multiple clips played of Peter lugging the fire extinguisher with him to the next room, Celine celebrating her lead, and Carter jumping through the flames. "Things were fiery hot here as the students escaped a dangerous set of trials that required both their mind and skill. Peter took matters into his own hands by making sure Kris didn't win that day, and Celine took matters into her own hands by making sure she made it to the final three." The next clips were of Kris and Peter in the computer lab as well as Celine claiming the first eraser of the night.

"Thanks to Peter's chaotic persuasion," Susan went on, "he dodged any votes at all and got to sit back as Carter and Kris went at it in a tiebreaker to save themselves." The next clips were of Carter calmly surviving the tiebreaker. "Due to being the only one on the field with a level head, Kris was warped to the bus, and we'll see her tomorrow, I guess."

"We're down to three!" Susan said. "Carter entered the game with a clear strategy- team up with no one, ally with no one. That quickly backfired on him as he met someone he was willing to call...an ally? A friend? We're not sure where he was trying to go, but Sharron definitely captured his interest. After her elimination, he sought to make things right from an incident with Abigail, and has pretty much stormed all the way to the end on his own. Will anyone be able to stop him as he brute forces his way to the finale?"

"Celine started off as a much more passive player, simply trying to get by and not have to get too involved, but that suddenly changed on her as she got involved with a group of three others who barged into the school at night to mess with my stuff. She's now seen every member of that group fall, but it isn't over for her yet. She's found herself a new confidence that may just be enough to get her to the finale. Who's going to try and shoot her down?"

"Peter's facade worked wonders. The boy played himself off as a weakling nerd, and while that is still accurate, we learned after getting rid of Claire that he was quite the schemer. While none of his tactics were ever very sound, they were always enough to cause enough chaos to escape trouble. He's had a few lucky breaks to make it this far, but he seems to be hoping for one more. Will he be able to talk his way into the finale? Find out all this right now on Total! Drama! Cultivated Will!"

Intro

[An instrumental began, and cameras began popping out in different places, the first being out of a painting in one of the school's hallways. Another camera emerged through a dormitory dresser, bringing some random articles of clothing along with it. A third camera popped out of the top of the school, where a bell would normally exist. The camera began flying around, and eventually entered the school itself through the front doors.]

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doing fine

[In the main lobby of the school, Susan was seen frantically walking around the area, clipboard in hand, talking into a communication piece on her ear. She was barking orders loudly as she walked.]

You guys are on my mind

[The camera moved over to the art room, where Nala was seen designing a dress that was suspended from a hanger. She seemed very satisfied with her work, until Nathan had walked in the room. The boy scoffed at it before laughing violently and walking away, causing Nala to feel discouraged.]

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

[In a classroom, Peter had taken up almost the entire white board doing a math problem, and he was trying to explain it to Claire, who was evidently not paying attention. Instead, she focused exclusively on him, giving him a look of infatuation. Peter didn't notice this at all and continued explaining the math problem.]

I wanna be famous

[Carter was in the gym, using various punching bags, and as the camera settled on him, he gave out a good punch that launched the bag off of the chain. Carter only celebrated for a second, until an arrow whizzed by him, causing him to turn back and see Sharron, who was smirking at him. The two broke into a sprint after the arrow, and they were very close together as they did that.]

I wanna live close to the sun

[In a dark location. Brenna was conducting tests on some large contraption. She had notes littered all over the table. She appeared very worn out, until Ben ran up to her, out of breath, holding out a cupcake. Brenna accepted the gift and smiled at the boy.]

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

[In the dormitories, Leo was on top of Nolan's bunk trying desperately to wake him up. There were tons of different pots and pans around him, and as Leo reached down to grab an even bigger pot, it proved to by too heavy and caused him to fall.]

Everything to prove, nothing in my way

[In the kitchen, Chef and Celine were in the middle of a cook-off, with Celine looking extremely composed as Chef scrambled around for things on his table. Kris watched the two from afar, and while it looked like she wasn't interested her eyes gave off something else.]

I'll get there one day, 'cause I wanna be famous

[Gianna was seen in the hallway talking on a tricked-out phone with someone, until the phone shocked her. She began tweaking it around a lot until it started working again, and continued talking with the person on the other line. As she walked through the halls, George had tried to stop her, but she ran right into him, and didn't stop walking even after he fell over.]

Na na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na na na na

[In the band room, Abigail was messing around on a piano, with a trombone out next to her. Jacob approached her to try and say something, but was stopped by a bucket of water falling on his head, drenching him. Jacob flicked some water off of his head, visibly mad, as Abigail cackled to herself. The two then began fighting with each other.]

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

[The camera flew down a set of stairs, and an apple flew through various different doorways. Brenna caught the apple, bit out of it, and threw it back in. The bite mark showed that it was the same apple as it flew through many different locations. A small, worn-out sign behind her read 'Ingress Academy']

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous! *whistling*

[In the auditorium, Celine and Kris leaned close to each other, until one of Peter's markers dropped on top of Kris. The two swiftly turned back, Celine looking angry while Kris remained calm. The camera zoomed out to everyone, whistling the theme as Susan snapped her fingers, causing the lights to go out.]

The sun rose up over the school, and things felt overly quiet. Peter was the first one up, and much to his surprise, Carter was still asleep. "How odd," he muttered to himself, "but oh well, I need all the advantages I can get. Hopefully this disturbs and REM cycle." He shook Carter awake, causing the skeptic to swat a hand at the mathematician.

Peter narrowly dodged it, but it caused him to fall back and land on the floor. Carter stepped out of bed, and loomed over the smaller boy. "I was already awake," he told him, "just wanted to see how dirty you wanted to play today. You think I'd trust you to sleep in this room with you?" He walked out with a glare. "I'm on top of my game today, and you're out of luck."

"Not yet," Peter said as he adjusted his glasses, "I only have to beat one of you today, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to be you. After all, if my theory from yesterday is correct, neither of us have a shot at stopping Celine." He raised an eyebrow. "We could work together to try, but I don't like those chances. So, I'm going to go speak with her. Maybe she'll like my idea of stopping you."

As Peter walked out of the room, Carter continued to stare him down. When he shut the door, he stepped out of bed with an angry look. "I'm going to crush him like a bug today."

The mathematician soon went up through the computer lab, and found Celine sitting on the rooftop again, where she was the other day. "Good morning, Celine," he said energetically, causing the master chef to be startled. "I wanted to discuss something with you candidly, so I hope you'll listen."

Celine simply gave him a cold look. "I'll listen, because I'm nice, but anything you do I'm going to reject, because you need to pay for what you've done this entire game." She shoved him back a little bit. "I'm sure you already tried to get a deal with Carter going so you could stir up confusion again."

Peter frowned. "You think very lowly of me, it's clear from those sentiments. I'll ask you the same question I've asked everyone else. Claire was a manipulator. Nolan was useless to the team. Ben had cheated death in the game. Kris was a giant mental threat to win. Are these actual victims, or are they strategic decisions. Not to mention you had a role in every single one of those eliminations as well, Ben especially. Am I truly the bad one here?"

"Yes, without a doubt," Celine said firmly. "I regret being chained by you and getting rid of Ben to protect myself, I really do. I plan on making it up to him by personally being the one who takes you out of the competition." Her eyes were filled with determination.

Peter laughed out loud in front of her. "Oh, Ben had a much longer and fierce speech when he lashed out at me, you should have seen it." He sighed. "Fine, I will ask you another question. After you eliminate me, then what? You can't beat Carter. You think the finale's going to be a cooking challenge? You're lucky if anything here involves cooking. You lose if you eliminate me now."

That actually cause Celine to think for a second. "You're right," she finally admitted. "I probably can't beat him. If you want to team up today, I'll do my best to help you, but if there ever comes a time where I need to pick between myself and you, I won't hesitate to drop you."

"Of course," Peter said with a smile, "I wouldn't expect you to try and sabotage your own game. After all, you've been through just as much as I have to get here." He stood up and began to head back downstairs. "I'll see you at the challenge, we can easily pull out a win."

Peter: "Being in the final three means I only need to not lose today. I could easily target Celine, the clear weak link, but this will give me some freedom of movement. Should Carter begin to slip, I can use that new ally I have to scrape by again." He smirked. "It's what I do best, and the more I can keep scraping by, the easier it will be to continue under the radar."

Celine: "I lied for sure," she said with a smirk. "Peter sees me as trustworthy, and I like to think I am too. But, he's crossed me one too many times. I'm sure at some point he'll try to tell me it was Carter who eliminated Kris, not him." She laughed. "Well, I have him now, and I plan on making him pay!"

Carter: "I'm not surprised to be in the final three," he said dully. "I was the strongest competitor, and I had the best, well, almost best leadership out of everyone in the game. Beating one of them should be easy, but I really want that one to be Peter, and I'll make sure it happens. He's out of allies, because there was no chance that Celine agreed to an alliance. She's way too smart for that."

Once they all made it down to the dining hall for breakfast, they all took a second to stare at each other at different sides of the room. The tension had never felt higher than it did at that second. Peter had a satisfied smirk on his face, while Celine tried to keep as low a profile as possible. Carter kept trying to watch their faces to see if anything had happened because of the conversation Peter claimed he was going to have.

Celine was the first one to move, heading over to the window to see if there was any food. When she peered into the kitchen, it was empty. Nothing was ready for them. The master chef turned back to see the other two looking at her. "There's nothing in there," she told them, finally breaking the silence. "I mean, I guess I could make us all something, but maybe it's for the best I don't."

As soon as she said that, Susan and Chef entered the room. "Funny you should mention that," Susan said, holding her clipboard with her sunglasses on inside. "We actually do not have time for breakfast today." The three competitors looked confused by the motion. "I want to first congratulate you on making it this far. Over half of you are now heading to the finale, which is a tremendous feat. Try to make sure you're in the majority by the end of today." She waved for them to follow her. "Now, onto the bus please."

The three exchanged looks before eventually following her to the bus with Peter leading the way. They climbed on, trying to figure out what Susan meant by that. Peter sat up front, hoping to maybe get an earful of anything Susan might tell them. Carter sat in the very back, with a full opportunity to shoot glares at whoever he needed to. When Celine boarded, she caught sight of Peter's condescending smirk, almost beckoning her over to him. But, she refused and took refuge in the middle, trying to ignore the tense pressure.

When they arrived at the school, the chaotic setup from the fire drill challenge was nowhere to be seen. It had returned to exactly how it looked on the first day. As they exited the bus, Chef scowled as he looked at them. "Try not to look so gloomy!" he ordered them, "you're in the final three, stop tryin' to kill each other and enjoy it."

When they got in, they noticed that the front lobby now had the cafeteria in the front area. "Straight ahead now," Susan instructed calmly, gesturing for the three of them to enter the cafeteria. Things were starting to settle into place. Celine began to have a smile on her face, and Peter grinned with pride, knowing his alliance would be very useful today.

Once everyone was in, Susan lined them up in the back of the cafeteria. "The reason you did not eat this morning is that you will be cooking your own food today," she explained. "Very frequently students opt out of breakfast for extra sleep, and we wanted you to have that experience. Today's extracurricular class we will do a challenge for is food studies." Celine pumped her fist.

"Susan's the judge today," Chef told them, "I'm here to watch and make sure ya don't die while doing anything. You're cooking three meals. If you win the first round, you'll get an advantage for the next one. If you win the second round, you will have immunity, and a place in the finale. You'll also get to sabotage one member of the remaining two. The third round is your elimination. Last place in the third round and you're out of the game." Everyone seemed shocked by the idea of an instant elimination.

Peter: "Crap," he muttered, putting his hands on his face, "that means I can't rely on Celine just winning immunity. I'm going to have to actually keep her with me until the finale." He chuckled. "Or, I could just always win the second round and make it there myself. That's never a terrible option."

Celine: "I refuse to be complacent," she said with a confident look on her face, "even if this is exactly the challenge I've been dreaming of since we got here, I can't be sloppy. If Susan wants good food, she's absolutely going to get it. Time to show them what I have at my disposal!"

Susan took the final three into the kitchen, and showed them what they were working with. There were three stations set up, each equipped with a sink, a gas stove, an oven, and any cooking utensil they could dream of. On the countertop of each station was a cutting board with a box bearing the Total Drama logo on it. Each contestant got behind one of the stations and awaited more instructions.

"Improvising is a crucial aspect of cooking," Susan told them. "You do not always get to cook what you wish to cook, so you will cook us something with the ingredients you find within that box." Carter tried tapping a side to figure out its contents. "No touching them yet," Susan sternly told him. Carter backed his hands away, putting them in the air. "In there you have an assortment of randomly selected foods, as well as some default things that are found in everyday cooking." She then let out a sigh. "Before we get started, no one has any allergies, correct?" Everyone shook their head. "Thank goodness. Alright, lift up your boxes."

Everyone pulled up the box to see what was sitting underneath. Carter raised an eyebrow at what he saw, Peter looked around like he thought it was a joke, but Celine had a gleam in her eye like she was planning something already. "For clarification," Susan continued, "the contents are: cake batter, raw chicken, sausage, and pasta. You also have at your disposal for every round: eggs, all types of oil, water, and any vegetable or fruit you desire. You must use at least two ingredients from your box to have a chance at the advantage. Ready?" Everyone nodded. "You'll have an hour and a half. Use that time as needed. Go!"

In an instant, Celine had already began ripping open the box of pasta and getting water ready to boil. She also turned on her stove and began to throw meat onto the griddle. The two boys watched in horror as her speed seemed to only increase. She was not in this challenge with them, they were in this challenge with her. She grabbed some tomatoes as things started heating up and began dicing them. "Making sauce is always a drag," she complained.

Carter then looked at the things he had lying there. "I should make a large portion of whatever I make," he muttered to himself, still searching for some inspiration. "I need something that will let me eat as well as the judges." He took out the cake batter and looked at it for a bit. "There's a chance I can bend this to my will," he said with a hesitant tone.

Meanwhile, Peter looked lost. "I need something safe," he said to himself. He peered around to see what it looked like the others were doing, and eventually made his way over to Celine's station. "What are you making?" he asked, Celine not even looking up from her work of pasting up the tomatoes that were just diced. "Come on, alliance buddy, help me out with a safe food that won't get me instantly kicked out."

That line caused Carter to turn his gaze over to her to see how she would respond to that. "You need to use two of those ingredients," she said bluntly as she kept speeding around her own station. "That does not mean they have to be your focus on your plate, but if they're not noticeable you're screwed." She finally looked up to make their eyes meet. "That's all I am telling you. Go back. Anything else is a threat to my own game, so per our deal, I'm done helping you now."

Carter looked surprised that a deal was struck. "The nerve of that girl," he muttered to himself. "I wasn't the one who eliminated Kris, that was you who put me in there." His voice wasn't loud enough for either of the other two to hear. "I just need to focus on myself. Getting in their business will get me eliminated." He began mixing the cake batter as he poured some of the oil into it. "I hope this turns out good enough."

Celine pulled out some basil leaves and began dicing them. "You really thought of everything," Celine complimented Susan, "this whole, 'infinite fruits and vegetables' really helps me out." She gave the host a smile as she continued to cook the rest of her dish.

"How is she that far ahead?" Peter said, shocked. He looked over at Carter to see that he was making decent progress as well. He checked the clock, which showed that he had fifty minutes left. "Safe, that I just use the two, no need to make them the main part of this equation..." His eyes sparkled. "That's it, a food that thrives off of its need for ratios." He pulled out his entire fruit and vegetable basket, and grabbed a few knives. "I've got something that's guaranteed to at leave some sort of impression."

Peter got a giant bowl out, and began heating the chicken on his stove in a pan. "This is going to work," he reassured himself, "I have absolute certainty they'll respect this decision." After a few seconds, he shook his head. "Hopefully..."

Carter: "What's Celine's problem?" he asked, "did she really have the nerve to betray me just like she betrayed Ben?" He let out a grunt. "I get Peter's an easier finale opponent, but wow, all that talk of justice for nothing." He shrugged. "But, I may as well try and beat Peter anyway. With a sudden death vote, I can still make the finale even if it is two against one. I just need to beat Peter, since there's no shot I beat Celine at this."

Celine: "Yeah, Carter's mad," she said solemnly, "I should have seen that coming. I can't leak it to him what I'm doing, because there's no way that it won't get to Peter too. As long as I win every round there shouldn't be a problem, Peter goes and I'm in the finale."

Susan began walking around to inspect the dishes for everyone as the clock showed they all had twenty minutes remaining. The host stopped over at Celine's station first. "Smells good," she said as she took a look around at the master chef's frantic work. "What are you making for the first round?"

"I'm cooking a chicken and sausage parmesan," Celine explained, "I figured that this would be something that brings a level of sophistication that also utilizes not only two, but three of the ingredients in a main course." She flipped a few of the sausages around. "There'll be more than enough for everyone who wants it, so we can give Chef some too."

Susan rolled her eyes. "I'll pass some on to him, but he really isn't coming to judge." Celine's face fell a bit at that notion. "He blamed me for 'screwing up' the middle section of your season, which admittedly I did, but that means I'm on my own for these." She gave her a wave. "Well, I wish you luck, but I'm not sure you're going to need it, you seem to be in good shape."

Up next, Susan stopped by Carter's station, where the smell was much different from what she had just smelled. "Carter," she said slowly, watching him put something into a deep fryer. "Are you deep frying? How are you making that work?"

The skeptic then took a pan out of the oven. When he lifted the lid, it appeared to be gridded manually, so it would take the form of a waffle. "I'm making chicken and waffles," he told her, "it's real common in the southern US. You didn't give me a waffle maker so I'm making do with this, and I manipulated the cake batter to make a more...breakfast-y mix."

"Wow," Susan muttered, unable to determine whether she should be impressed by his innovation on that, or simply terrified to see what that many substitutions did to a meal. "Well, do you think it's going to be enough to win?"

"Nope," Carter said, "but this is more than enough for me to eat for breakfast, so I'll let Celine take this round while I fuel up and make myself able to make it through the next challenge." Susan nodded at that and walked off.

Over with Peter, there was a clear lack of anything actually being cooked. "Care to explain what you're doing with all that produce?" Susan asked him. "I'm aware I said unlimited, but wow."

Peter jumped over to the stove for a second to reveal that he had also been cooking the chicken. "I'm going simple for the first round," he told her confidently, "I am making a chicken salad, and I'm going to use the cake mix and make it into a bread. That's the current plan at least, and it will absolutely work."

"You have twenty minutes left," Susan reminded him, "do you really think you're going to be able to cook an entire bread in that little time?" She took another look at the salad prep, which seemed to have not only piles of vegetables everywhere, but also a white board with a bunch of equations down on it. "And...what's with the math?"

"This salad will have a perfect ratio of everything," he assured her. "While the meal is simple, it will still be way more complex than a surface level salad. And, just to be certain I do not flop this, I am cooking the sausage if the bread does not work out." He crossed out a number on his white board. "That's too many..."

Susan nodded and began to walk away. "Well, I certainly hope you have enough time," she told him. "Everyone, you now have fifteen minutes to go. You'll be judged on taste as well as presentation, so when you make your plate for me, you should make sure it looks just as good, or better than it tastes."

Peter: "Okay, I'm on a bit of a time crunch," he admitted, "but I can handle it. I've thrived in chaos before, I can do it again, right?" He looked more desperate and nervous as time went on.

Celine: "They're both using the cake batter?" she asked with a surprised look. "Wow. I knew from the start that the batter was a distraction. They also didn't use the pasta at all, how to they expect to win with dishes that aren't using the right ingredients? That's a shame." She shrugged, "but as long as I don't help either of them, Peter won't suspect anything."

"Time is up!" Susan told them all, causing everyone to stop what they were doing. "You all worked pretty hard, I'm impressed with how everyone approached such a difficult challenge." She took a look at the three plates, before pointing at one. "Carter, why don't you bring up your plate first. Yours was certainly the most interesting."

Carter nodded as he went up to the front. His plate had three golden waffles on it as well as two pieces of friend chicken. "I created a not-so-local specialty, but I had it before and it worked. I used the cake mix in both the batter to deep fry the chicken, as well as in the waffle mix to create what you see before you."

Susan cut off some of each of the meal, and took a bite. "I've also had this once before," she told him, "it's an odd mix, but as you said, it works." She thought about that compared to what she had tasted. "It certainly tastes like you had to make substitutions," she told him. "I would have liked it if you used more spices to maybe camouflage your lack of ingredients."

Carter stepped down with his plate and began to eat the rest of it as Susan called up the next person. "Peter, show me what you made. This was a very interesting choice you came to."

Peter headed over to the front with his bowl. "I present to you, what I'm calling The Golden Salad. It is comprised of various vegetables all placed in a perfect ratio and consistent throughout the entire experience. It is also topped with chicken and sausage to add some much needed protein to the mix." He smiled at what he was able to do.

The host took a forkful of Peter's meal, eating it and analyzing it. "I can't say I think that all the extra effort to make you distribution perfect was necessary," she admitted, "but I can say that I think both of your meats are a bit dry. You could also benefit from exploring more options, and attempt to maybe make those meats a more focused part of your meal." Peter shot a glare at Celine, who simply shook her head back at him.

Susan put the bowl down, not eating anymore. "Alright, those two were really only okay. Celine, please save us from what I just had to eat. By the looks of it, I have a feeling you'll do that." Celine shot her back a confident grin.

"You all are in for a treat," she told them, bringing up a whole tray with multiple plates on it. She passed out a plate to Susan and her two opponents. "Chef, we have one for you too." At that moment, Chef came out from the back, grabbed the plate, and sat in the corner as he watched the challenge. "I made you all chicken parmesan, it isn't exactly the right pasta and the tomato sauce is not my best, but I can assure you that everything else is cooked to perfection."

Susan looked much more eager to eat this than the other things. "It certainly tastes better," Susan complimented. "This tastes like you had an entire array of ingredients at your disposal. Your chicken is especially rich, and I can tell that you timed everything out perfectly." Susan took another bite. "I think it is safe to say we have a winner for round one. Celine you'll have an advantage for the next round, but we will take a short break first. You three are free to relax in the lobby until round two starts."

As the three waited outside, Peter went over to where Celine was. "Your suggestion failed," he whispered to her, "are you that bad of a cook, or are you trying to get yourself beaten in the finale?" His harsh tone sounded like a hiss with the whisper.

Celine shook her head. "Neither, you are a poor listener. I said they both didn't need to be the main focus, but you should have made one of them the focus! That's what the challenging part of that was, anyone can make a salad!" She stepped away. "If you have doubts about what I'm doing, just let me do my thing next round, and when I win that sabotage chance, you'll see everything I've been planning."

Peter sighed. "Alright, but there's no skin off my back if you choose to lose in the finale. I'm giving you a free win, so don't turn this chance down." Celine nodded with a roll of her eyes, and the mathematician walked away with a satisfied smirk.

At that moment, Susan had come outside. "Celine, I'd like you to join me so we can go over your advantage for the second round. Do you mind entering the kitchen with me?" Celine nodded and followed the host in, leaving the other two to ponder what the advantage may be.

In the kitchen, Celine was standing in front of three covered dishes. "This advantage is not as glamorous as you think," Susan clarified, pointing down to the three covered trays. "You will have the privilege of selecting who is cooking what dish next round. They range from easy to difficult and time consuming, so I'd recommend you give the harder dishes to the people you'd like to eliminate, or whoever you think is your greatest threat."

Susan lifted the first cover. "On the left, poached eggs. This will be our easy dish for the day, and it requires perfect timing to make, as well as stellar presentation to match up to the other two dishes that we're asking for." She lifted up the second tray. "A Rueben sandwich. Delicious when done right, but the tastes can clash if there is a small error." Celine eyed up the middle option a lot.

Susan lifted the final cover. "Your third option to the right is Pico de Gallo. While not an entire meal, the amount of effort required to make this can ruin someone if they are not efficient enough." Susan presented the three options. "You choose what everyone cooks. You can make people cook the same thing, or you can choose to have everyone do something different."

"I could go for a Reuben," Celine stated with a light laugh, "so I think I'm going to cook that. As for the other two...give them the Pico. I want to see what they're both able to do on that, because that will be crucial when making decisions." Susan nodded, and they both went back out to the cafeteria.

Once the two boys entered the cafeteria again, they all returned to their stations. "Celine's advantage was not run by her brain that much," Susan told them bluntly. "She had the option to pick what she wanted to cook, and she chose to make herself lunch." She lifted Celine's tray of ingredients. "Celine will be cooking a Reuben." Carter looked jealous that he was not making that.

Susan lifted the two trays for the boys. "You both will be making Pico de Gallo, and we're planning to use this at a party later, so you're making a lot of it. You'll only have forty minutes to get the second challenge ready for presentation, so be diligent with your work." The three of them nodded. "Your second round begins...now."

Celine instantly lead off with grabbing the corned beef and slicing it up. She looked even more relaxed than she did last time. "Sixteen slices should be enough," she said as she put eight of the slices she just made into two separate piles. She also tossed the bread onto the stove for a bit to warm it up. "Maybe I should have started later..." She took two slices off and left the others on.

Carter was making quick work with his ingredients, dicing the large amount of tomatoes he was given. "This isn't nearly enough time for this," he complained to himself, moving as quickly as possible. He began to only chop with one hand while he gathered other things he needed with the other. "There's got to be one of those things in here somewhere..."

Peter was having just as much trouble. "I need to dice up jalapeños?" He sighed. "I hope they don't slow me down too much. He moved as fast as he could with the slightly spicy peppers, causing him to cough a lot. "Ugh, I have to do onions too, how is this fair, she's making herself lunch!" He pointed over to Celine, who was already done her first sandwich and sitting down as she enjoyed it.

"Sorry about giving you an equally difficult meal," Celine said in her defense to Peter, "I wanted to see what you'd be able to do in comparison to him, it'll help me make my decision for next round." She winked at him. Peter seemed to follow the logic, so he didn't ask again, much to Celine's delight. He went back to work, already pressed on time.

Carter was now dicing up the onions, keeping his face far away from them to try and avoid watering his eyes. "There are tools to slice these things nowadays," he pointed out, moving as quickly as he could. "I'm not sure why such an extensive kitchen doesn't have that basic equipment."

"Oh, we have it," Chef called from the corner. "We have it for sure. We just didn't think it'd be fair to Celine if you got to dice for free if she didn't get to slice for free, so there you go. No dicers, no food processors. You all seem okay enough with a knife."

"Not fair," Peter mocked, "she's literally a culinary goddess and we can't use dicers because it isn't fair." He grumbled to himself as he tried to put everything together. He looked up at the clock, revealing that he only had ten minutes left until time was up. "I'm not going to finish..."

Celine smirked. "I like when you call me a goddess," she mocked the mathematician. "Makes me feel better about myself." She peered up to see there were ten minutes left. "Oh, I better get moving." She looked over to the co-host in the corner. "Chef, you want lunch?" The cook nodded. "You got it, I'll make one for each of you."

Peter turned his head back to her. "You can help me out," he told the master chef. "You're nearly done and you owe it to me for giving me the most difficult dish while you lounged around!"

Celine shrugged. "I can't, that goes against my term of not messing up my own game. I had one term, I hope you remember our deal at least that well." The mathematician let out an annoyed groan as the clock began to reach five minutes.

Susan began making her rounds to check in. Celine was making final preparations. "Heya, Susan," she said cheerfully, taking another bite of the sandwich she had made earlier in the round. "I'm doing fine, so there's no need to worry about my results." Susan didn't even bother. She looked like she was doing fine enough.

Over at Peter's station, the mathematician was just finishing up. "How are things over here?" Susan asked. Peter was trying to dice up the onions, which he had saved for last, but it was tough at the moment.

"These onions are killing me," he complained. "Garlic and tomatoes were fine, and even the jalapeños weren't terrible. These onions though, they hurt." He shook his head and wiped his face with a towel. "I can do it though. I never needed to win more in my life than right now." He had an incredibly fierce look on his face.

Carter was finishing up draining the tomato juice. "I'm nearly done," he explained to Susan when she came over to check. "If you want good results, you'll leave me be until time is up. Yes, I'm aware it's soon." Susan nodded and walked off, waiting for the last few minutes.

Peter: "No amount of chaos can get me through that," he lamented. "Hopefully my thing is good enough to stop Celine. After all, my dish was harder, and she got way too complacent that round. Maybe I have a shot."

"Time is up!" Susan told them all, forcing everyone but Celine to sigh in exhaustion. "Bring up whatever you have, regardless if it is done." The final three each brought up their meals. "Carter, we'll start with you again. Bring up the Pico de Gallo."

Carter let out a grunt as he came up. "It isn't perfect," he admitted, "but I've made this once before. The added jalapeños were a surprise too. But, I think it is more than adequate to win." He presented his dish to Susan, who stared at it for a bit.

"It looks edible," Susan said, "and now I can taste what you're able to make when you don't need substitutions." She took a bit of it. "Your peppers are definitely very dense, you may have used too many. Also, could probably have made it with some more garlic." She nodded. "Other than that, you did a fantastic job. Good time management. That was difficult."

As Carter stepped down from the platform, Susan pointed at the master chef next. "Celine, bring your sandwich up next." She called over to Chef. "The girl made your food!" Chef walked over, grabbed his Reuben, and went back.

"It was honestly a little rushed," Celine admitted, "but I think you'll like it still. I nailed the proportions, and it should be at a perfect heat right about...now." Just at that moment, Celine handed over the plate to Susan, and stepped back to wait on the result.

Susan bit into it, and a smile came onto her face. "Yeah, you nailed this," she said. "I was surprised that you made three in that time and still had all that extra downtime. You really are cut out for that restaurant gig." Celine smiled at the feedback. "This is the frontrunner right now, but I have one more Pico de Gallo to taste."

As the master chef stepped back to her station, Carter frowned, knowing he was out of the running for the advantage and finale spot. "Peter, you're up now," Susan instructed, gesturing for him to come over. "Um, bring over...is that a soup?"

"I regretfully did not have time to drain the tomatoes," he apologized, "but other than that, this is the icon of excellence. You ought to try it anyway, because you will be quite satisfied with the result." He held a confident front, but it was easy to tell he was not okay with what he produced.

Susan got out a spoon and took some of Peter's dish. "You did manage to make this not stink even forgetting a crucial aspect of what we asked for." She shook her head. "However, that really was not what we asked for." She put it down. "Which means, there's announcement to make. The winner of round two, a finale spot, and the recipient of a free sabotage will go to...Celine!"

"Yes!" Celine cheered. She looked extremely satisfied with how that went. The other two were not as happy. Carter looked like he had expected it, but still didn't like it. Meanwhile, Peter began to wear a more nervous look, realizing what was at stake.

Peter: "I suddenly just got a terrible feeling in my stomach," he said, "not from the food. There is a high chance that everything I did was for nothing, and I'm not sure I want to deal with that consequence of being labeled a loser."

Carter: "This round didn't matter," he said bluntly, "not for me at least. I'm going to be hit with the disadvantage anyway, so I'll just need to work twice as hard to come back from it. Luckily, I've got to be at least three times stronger than that insect."

"Let's not waste any time," Susan said to them. "You will have the option to sabotage someone once we present the final challenge, so you will be able to make full use of it." Celine nodded. "Give me a few seconds while I prepare what is coming."

The room was quiet for a bit, until Susan brought out three covered plates again. The first two, she placed on Carter and Peter's stations, while she placed the third one on her main table. "Tonight's final course is a tough one, you will be making crab bisque." Celine's eyes lit up at that. "Sorry, I should clarify. Carter and Peter will be making crab bisque. Celine, you're done for the day, and will get to sit with me and watch them compete." The master chef frowned at that.

"Crab bisque is a time consuming meal if you do not know what you're doing," Susan explained. "Crab meat is delicate, which is why modern families get to use a very non-time-consuming substitute- canned crab. This deletes the entire preparation portion of the seafood, meaning that you do not need to try to mess with it at all. For those that struggle with it, that's a life saver."

Susan then turned to Celine. "For you, finalist. You get to choose who gets a distinct advantage in the time department. One of these semi-finalists will cook using a can of crab meat, pre-prepared, while the other will have to get the crab meat from one of the crabs in the kitchen fridge." Celine looked shocked at having such an option. "For the miniscule hour they get for this, that may not be enough time." She gestured to them. "So, who will be the person who has to do things the hard way?"

Carter simply looked down in defeat, while Peter didn't react, waiting for Celine's decision. "Well, I know Peter likes to create chaos so he can escape under the radar," she said, "which is how some of his illogical blackmail was enough to keep him this long. But, earlier he told me there's no skin off his back if I eliminate him now, because I'd lose in the finale." She smirked, "but, I went with a classic strategy of lying today, and it worked." She pointed at the mathematician. "I choose Peter to prepare the crab meat from scratch."

"You betrayed me!" he shouted at her, "how dare you? You just dug your own grave! If you took me to the finale you could've won, but now you'll have to go through him!" He pointed at Carter. "You just lost!" He took a deep breath, which was audible after his screaming silenced the room. "Actually, no. I'm not going down that easily. You're on. I'll beat him anyway."

Carter: "That was a pleasant surprise," he noted with a grin. "I didn't think Celine had it in her to lie like that. I feel like I have a fighting chance again now, and he's finally going to get what's coming to him, a world of hurt."

"You have one hour to get this final meal done," Susan reminded the two. "After that, I will judge, and the loser will be deemed from there." She pointed to the clock. "I'll come check on you two around the halfway mark, so don't delay. Go!"

Carter had started off by popping his can open with one hand, satisfied that his crab meat was nearly ready. Peter on the other hand had to run all the way to the kitchen to go obtain a crab. "I don't know how to prep this thing," he muttered as he brought the crab back with him. "I guess I'll just get whatever I can out, that's all I can do at this point.

The skeptic had already moved onto cutting celery and onions, and threw them in the pot with the butter as soon as they were ready. "So far so good," he said slowly, "but I don't want to get cocky, I'm still at risk of going home after all of this." He put in his garlic and tomato paste, making sure that everything was even and spread out.

Peter continued to struggle with the crab meat, and after about ten minutes, he had acquired a pile of some of it. "This is good enough," he decided, putting the remainder of the hallowed out crab to the side. "If I don't start now I'm done for." He did his best to catch up to Carter, who was already moving on by the time he had vegetables chopped up.

As the timer hit forty minutes to go, Carter had just poured his broth in. "Alright," he said with a grin as he looked over and saw that Peter was way behind him. "I need to heat this for thirty minutes. I can afford to stir that long." He began slowly mixing a whisk through, trying to make sure everything evened out.

Time continued to elapse, and just as promised, Susan began to make her rounds at the halfway mark. She stopped at Peter's station first. "How are things going here?" she asked, watching as Peter tried desperately to catch up.

"That disadvantage certainly did a number on me," Peter admitted, "but there's no chance I give up now. I'm going to show them that they're making a mistake targeting me. Everyone else who did that lost, which means I need to keep that going, or what's all this about?" He took a sigh of relief as he began to stir. "I can relax for a bit, but I'm not sure how much that'll help.

"Good luck, I suppose," Susan told him, before walking over to Carter's station. "How are you doing?" she asked him, peering into Carter's pot which he was consistently stirring.

"My right arm's a bit tired," he said with a laugh. "You aren't supposed to stir the whole time, but I figured I had the physical stamina for it, so why not?" He continued to stir as he shot the host a grin. "He's way too far back, his soup will either be burnt, cold, or he won't have time to plate it up. It's pretty much over for him."

Susan nodded. "Well, if that's what you're thinking, then you might have it." She walked off. "I look forward to the results." She then went back to where Celine was. "How do you think they're looking?"

"If I'm being honest," Celine told her, "I would have given myself the authentic crab since I know how to prepare it, but without that knowledge that meat could be ruined. Carter's right on schedule but his crab won't taste nearly as good as Peter's will. It's going to be a tough call as long as that little kid can whip something out of his behind-schedule bisque."

Celine: "There was not really a sabotage," she said in defeat. "Getting the real crab means your bisque tastes better, but seeing Carter excel at time management and Peter flop it last round, I knew that if Peter got canned meat he'd have enough time to make something decent. This should have ruined him...hopefully."

There were now ten minutes left in the final competition. Carter pulled the whisk out of his pot and took a few seconds to stretch out his arms, which he had been stirring with consistently for the past half hour. He poured in his crab meat and began stirring again at a slower rate. "Home stretch," he told himself, "I'm nearly there."

Peter, on the other hand, was just finishing at the five minute mark. "It's a bit rushed," he said desperately, "but I need to get that crab in or else." He poured in his real crab meat and began stirring with a fast speed, almost like he was trying to make up for the slowness before. He turned his heat all the way up. "This has to speed it up."

Surprisingly, at three minutes both of them had began plating. Peter had a bit of issue pouring out the heavy pot of soup, but eventually got it, while Carter had more trouble than the mathematician with garnish. There were ten seconds left, and the finishing touches finally got put on for each dish.

"Time's up!" Susan told them, and both let out an exhausted groan as they took a step back. "Well done, that was a difficult challenge." She waved to them. "Bring up your bisques, I'll be the sole judge, as Chef doesn't want to and Celine will likely be biased." Celine nodded, confirming she was in fact planning to be biased.

Susan went over to Carter's bisque first. "You didn't seem to struggle with timing at all," she said, "but your presentation clearly lacked dexterity. I know we've said it a lot, but seriously, never do a season that involves the arts."

"I could survive one," he insisted. "Anyway, I think it is relatively great. I haven't taste tested this, but I followed that recipe spot on, and I did not stop stirring during the cooking process, so there's no way it got burnt." He gave his arms a shake, trying to wake them up, but he definitely looked proud at what he did.

Susan took a sip of it and nodded. "You're right," she told him, "you didn't burn it, and your temperature is spot on. As expected of the canned crab meat, it was a bit bland, maybe put some Old Bay seasoning or something that would bring it out a bit more and add more flavor. You can't go wrong with a few spices." She handed the bowl back. "Overall, very good considering the conditions." She walked over to Peter next. "Tell me about it."

"I nailed it," he said confidently, "I know I said that the last two rounds, but this is it. I used seasonings, and everything got finished on time despite my betrayal from Celine." He shot the girl a glare. "I have nothing else to say, just try it."

Susan proceeded with that, taking a sip of his bisque. She quickly pulled out the spoon from her mouth. "You finished on time despite not starting with Carter. Interesting, and that definitely reflects with the temperature of your bisque." Peter frowned. "But, your flavor was your redeeming grace. If the soup was not almost cold, I would have deemed it a winner." She took a step back. "I have much to think about, and there is a checklist in the back to fairly judge these. I will return with the results shortly." Susan entered the kitchen and shut the door, leaving the other three to wonder what decision she would make.

Carter: "I won, obviously," he said confidently. "There's no way I lost to a cold soup for having bland crab." He groaned. "This entire challenge was ridiculous. No wonder Celine hated being on that cooking show."

After about ten minutes, Susan returned, holding two erasers in your hand. "These erasers are more than safety symbols tonight," she told them. "These Chef Hatchet-styled erasers are your tickets to the finale." She tossed the first one out. "Celine this one is yours, congratulations on your immunity." Celine caught it, excited to hold it finally.

Carter and Peter began to glare back and forth at each other. "You two have been at it for a while," she admitted, "but when it all came to the wire, it depended on the skill of how you cooked over everything else you tried. Carter's no alliances strategy, and Peter's constant chaos strategy meant nothing today, it all came down to this."

Susan held up the final eraser for the night. "One of you enters the finale, and the other heads to the Bus of Shame shortly after this, only to be taken to the finale in the audience the next day. The two boys exchanged one last glare. "The final eraser goes to...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...Carter." Carter let a sigh of relief out as he grabbed the eraser, while Peter stood up instantly in shock. "Peter, when it came down to it, people will try a bland bisque a second time, but never a cold one. You're out of the game."

The mathematician snapped his fingers. "I suppose that's it then," he lamented. "All day in constant struggle just for it to mean nothing." He sighed. "I'll get you back. You athletic people claim to be amazing, but in the real world, I'll get you back. You're a number to me there as well!" He stormed off onto the Bus of Shame, leaving them.

Susan looked at the final two. "You two have a big day tomorrow," she reminded them. "Get some sleep once we get back to the dorms, you will absolutely need it." She shot them a slightly evil look as the two exchanged a nervous look.

Celine: "I made another reality show finale," she said slowly, "I didn't think that was something I could do. But, I'm here now, no way do I plan on losing! Carter's tough but I'm...tougher? Oh man..."

Carter: "He's gone," he said with a smirk. "That little runt had it coming. Tomorrow will be interesting. I'll see Sharron again, but...maybe I shouldn't think about that. The money is right there, and so are my goals."

Back in the control room, Susan let out a loud, exhausted sigh. "What a rough day," she said, "how did you not want to help out all day?" She gave a mean look to Chef, who lazed in a spinning chair.

"I wanted to," Chef admitted, "and cooking girl made me want to judge more too. But, that was yours to do, and so is tomorrow. It's a big challenge, so if you don't think you're able to do it-"

Chef was cut off by a loud yell. "I'm very much able to do it!" Susan insisted. "You want to see me do it? Because I will! See who wins too, next time, on Total, Drama, Cultivated Will!"

Teams:

Finalists: Carter, Celine

Eliminated: Gianna, George, Leo, Claire, Nala, Nolan, Nathan, Brenna, Sharron, Ben, Abigail, Jacob, Kris, Peter

We did it! We got through the final three! We're now approaching next season's finale! Peter was such an interesting villain to write. He wasn't as fun as Luna or Marty were, but he beat Jonathan. I didn't give him a giant downfall, and I gave him something more similar to Sugar, who simply had a really bad day and it just kept getting worse until they finally lost.

Peter was in a SYOC fic a while back that is blanking on me, but it never made it past the first elimination due to some complications. But, Peter had a role in that elimination regardless.

While I'm filling you in on the SYOCs these guys have been in, Carter was in Act II: Musical Power. That was the first fic that actually continued past the first chapter for him, and it is a musical season he merged in, hence all the times he insisted he'd be able to do it.

Now that we are over halfway done the season, I want to announce two characters per update that will be competing in next season, Total Drama Power Peak. The final two I'm confirming to complete the cast are Peter and Carter. If you see some notable characters missing, that is because, well, there's a small cast size, I could only pick nine of these guys, and characters like Jacob, Abigail, and Leo were instant confirms, leaving me very little actual choices. But, don't fret, some who didn't make the cast will appear as minor characters, not just cameos, they'll be recurring characters in the story!

What did you think about Peter this season? What do think of our finalists? Let me know in the reviews, and I'll see you next time!