Nicky Haugh: Thank you very much!
Sdyeet: Yeah, I hated that bit too. Interesting predictions about who's next to take the flush, let's see if you're right.
QueenAzulaThinksYourWorthless: Thanks, I really wanted to do Beardo justice.
AnonBrowser: Which is why he had to be the first eliminated. If he got to the pancake challenge, he would've destroyed it easily. Fair point about why he was eliminated in canon, and I still stand by my opinion that it should've been Leonard instead of him. I knew he was shy, but I hadn't considered social anxiety. That could be it too. He did make a good effort, and everyone loves him for it.
StarHeart Specials: Very true. We'll see about your hopes and wonders.
Phenomenal Excelsior: Yeah, I was disappointed too. And yeah, at least he's getting recognition here. That was one of the reasons why I had him be picked up in China, yes. Topher just wants to keep things interesting so it'll still be around by the time he becomes a TV host. Sugar is one devious girl, I'll give her that, and disgusting too. Trust me, if Sierra was part of the original cast, Boney Island would be a nightmare for her too, but she's too starstruck here to realize how dangerous it is. And Cody's definitely not happy, nope. You rock for being for an awesome reviewer.
That British Guy: They really wouldn't. I nearly gagged, thinking about it. And if you can't think of something to say, a 'good chapter' or 'love this! keep it up!' will be alright.
Magic Detective: I think I feel more bad for the people getting flushed down that toilet.
SilentSinger948: Always happy to hear another Beardo supporter. Thank you, I tried to flesh out character interactions.
Joel Connell: Thank you! I'm really proud of that twist. We'll see about Duncan and Gwen, and even though Cody hates him, he wouldn't throw the challenge just to eliminate Duncan. Who knows who will make the finale? It's happened in shows like Total Drama in real life, so why not in a cartoon?
LovelyLuly: Really? Because I double-checked, and I don't appear to have made that sort of error. Thanks for looking out for errors, though.
The Legendary Dragon Reaper: Yeah, Beardo just wasn't meant to win this one. Also, I do aim to give Duncan a better ending. Whether he wins or loses, it won't end with him getting arrested.
Star Saber21: Glad it made you laugh.
Overlord Exor: When you think about it, the Blue Harvest Moon is creepy, and thankfully we don't have that in our world. We'll have to see if the moon does anything to Sugar. Then again, she eats so much animal, that she may as well be one herself. Haha!
With the reviews answered, it's time for a really, really weird and dangerous night challenge!
Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama, or anything within the franchise. I only own a season one DVD and some t-shirts.
Episode 5- Moon Madness
"Last time on Total Drama All-Stars," Chris began to narrate as footage from the previous episode began to roll. "After swapping teams, Shawn and Duncan were stuck living with the enemy." Shawn was shown being woken up by Chef's intrusion into the loser cabin to serve breakfast, and Duncan was seen taken off-guard by Sammy greeting him at the breakfast table in the spa hotel. "While Shawn was pretty much ignored, Duncan got a warm reception from everyone but Cody." The geek was shown scowling at Duncan from the end of the table followed by his confessional expressing his disdain for his new teammate.
"At challenge time, giant pancakes were gobbled down, and in a few cases, thrown right back up." A clip of Alejandro eating pancakes while Cody rushed up to replace Sierra played, followed by Gwen puking onto the platform. "Thanks to a barf-tacular obstacle course! Way to re-swallow, bro." Alejandro could be seen swallowing his bile back down to avoid vomiting. "The villains finished first, and it was Beardo, who tried to be someone he wasn't, who got the night's awkward Flush of Shame." The human soundboard disappeared down the giant toilet, and then Chef was shown picking up his large plunger while Beardo's remaining teammates watched on in disgusted horror.
The footage came to an end, and flashed to Chris in the present. "Eleven players remain, and which one of them will take a circle-y swim in the big, porcelain bowl?" He gestured below him as the camera zoomed out to show the host standing on top of the Flush of Shame's tank. "Find out right now on total Drama All-Stars!"
(cue intro)
"Ew," Sammy could be heard griping as the show once again started at the loser cabin. Mysteriously, a pair of bright blue eyes were seen lurking underneath the cabin's porch. The camera zoomed in on the girls' side of the cabin, and cut inside. The good twin was sitting on her bunk across from Sierra, holding a bowl of gruel and a spoon. Hesitantly, she held up a spoonful of her meal. "I think this has gotten worse since we were last here."
Across the room, Sierra giggled as she set aside an empty bowl and spoon. "Silly Sammy, that's how you know you're getting an authentic Total Drama experience." Picking up her phone, she began to type on it.
Sammy looked up from her bowl, and gawked at her roommate. "H-how did you finish that already? I've barely taken two bites."
"Pretty easily, actually. I just thought about how cool it was to eat Chef's gruel than how nasty it tasted. That made it painless to swallow."
"That's one way to get through it, I guess," Sammy reluctantly agreed, glancing again at her bowl. "Not sure how that helps me, though."
Sierra shrugged without removing her sight from her device. "Eh, you'll figure it out." The blogger rose from her bed. "I'm going to go track down Jasmine. I still have to interview her for some of my blogs." Walking out into the evening, she thought out loud to herself as she continued clicking on her phone. "I wonder if I can ask her- whoa!" One of her feet appeared to catch on one of the steps, and she fell forward with a yelp.
Her phone flew from her possession. Sierra gasped as she watched it fly away from her, and inhaled sharply as her prized communication device snapped apart on impact with a pointy rock several feet away. She let out one of her recognizable shrieks, getting to her feet and hurrying over to pick up the object.
Both cabin doors burst open, revealing Cody and Sammy, respectively.
"Sierra?" Sammy asked.
"Are you okay?" Cody inquired, equally concerned as Sammy.
Sierra walked over to meet them at the bottom of the porch, and she held out her shattered phone, tears pooling in her eyes. "M-m-my phone! It's ruined!"
Cody peered at the device. "Really? How'd that happen?"
As Sierra began to explain what happened moments ago, a certain blue-eyed pageant queen peeked around the side of the cabin with a devious grin.
(Confessional- Sugar)
"I saw that girl fawning over that stupid phone the past few days," Sugar explained. "I figured if I'm going to sabotage my teammates, I might as well sabotage the other team too. And it was so easy!"
The confession transitioned into a flashback with a ripple effect. Sierra had stepped out of the cabin, typing as she walked. Halfway down the porch steps, Sugar's chubby arm reached out between two of them and grasped Sierra's ankle. When Sierra fell off-screen, Sugar quickly withdrew her arm and crawled out from under the cabin. She smirked at her work, and quickly ducked behind the cabin with an alarmed look when the cabin doors flung open.
The flashback rippled back into Sugar's confessional. "I've got Gwen blaming Heather for her book, and now that purple-haired chick is going to go bonkers without her phone. I'm on a roll!" She lifted her arms in victory.
(Confessional- Duncan)
"So, I'm still stuck on this lame hero team. I'm not a hero," the punk stated. "I really got to find a way to reclaim my badness before this hero business ruins my reputation forever."
At the edge of the campgrounds, near the communal washrooms, Duncan approached a tree. Shaking a can of spray paint, he began spraying a tree. After a moment of painting, he nearly jumped when Jasmine dropped behind him from above, but continued his work despite the interruption.
"What're you doing?" The explorer asked, glaring at him.
"What's it look like?" Duncan retorted, motioning to his art with his free hand. "I'm reclaiming my rep."
"Well, stop it! Unlike you, I care about our environment." She jabbed a finger at him.
"Gladly," Duncan quipped, lowering his spray can. "I'm done, anyway. How's that for bad?" He grinned, impressed with himself.
Jasmine glared at the art, and then raised a brow in confusion. "Is that supposed to be a bunny?"
The punk's brow shot up, and he looked back at his vandalism. If looked at a certain way, the skull it was supposed to be could potentially look like a bunny. "What? No! It's a skull!"
Jasmine glanced at Duncan with a still-raised brow. "Well, it looks more like a bunny to me. Not very bad, if that's what you were going for." She walked away, unimpressed with Duncan's attempt.
He switched glances between Jasmine's departing form and his artwork before finally throwing a frustrated glare at the sky, growling as he threw the spray paint to the ground.
A flash cut to the spa hotel, where a whistling sound was heard. The camera cut inside to Alejandro and Heather sitting side by side at the dining room table, both of them eating steaks with a side of orange juice. Neither of them appeared to be whistling as they ate.
The camera zoomed in on Alejandro, happily enjoying his steaks until a rather annoyed Heather stormed over to his seat.
"Do you have to whistle through your nose while you eat, Windy?" Heather questioned, slamming one hand on the table while holding her fork with the other. She appeared ready to stab someone if the whistling noise continued.
The whistling ceased, as it apparently had come from Alejandro. The charmer scowled at her interrupting his meal. His appetite gone, he stuck his fork in his steaks and pushed the plate aside with a sigh. "Typical Heather," he muttered, leaving his seat and the dining room altogether.
Heather gasped sharply, her eyes going wide in a close-up.
(Confessional- Heather)
"Typical Heather?" She repeated. "He calls that a comeback? It's like he's not even trying… It's like he's lost interest in me." Her voice went soft at that suggestion before her face and her tone grew hard. "No one has ever lost interest in me!" She emphasized the statement with a point of her finger at herself.
(Confessional- Alejandro)
"To get the upper hand," Alejandro explained with a smile, "I need to throw Heather off her game, and so far, so bueno. Muy bueno."
A brief shot of the sun setting over the lake was shown before cutting to the woods. Jasmine walked past a tall tree, and after she passed, Shawn poked his head out from behind the tree on a wide branch higher up. He watched the explorer go on her way, and then sighed once he was sure she was out of hearing range.
"We've been friends for the past year, and just like that, she dismisses everything about my life philosophy," the conspiracy nut murmured to himself. He sat down on the branch, and swung his legs contemplatively. "Maybe I should've volunteered for exile instead of Topher. At least that way, I wouldn't have to dodge her around camp."
At Boney Island, Topher moaned, "I'm starving! In hindsight, going without dinner to get my diet back on track was a terrible idea." The wannabe host rubbed his stomach as he wandered through the woods. "And that idol search is turning up a bust too. Where's an idol supposed to be around here?" Using his hands, he parted a bush in two and came face-to-face with a bear.
The bear roared, raising its forepaws, and the sight was enough to make Topher scream. Before the bear could attack, the same claw that had dropped Sierra the previous day descended upon Topher, grabbing him by the head.
"Agh! Hey!" Topher complained as he was lifted up and out of the bear's range. It roared in complaint. "Careful! My face is my best feature!" Topher hollered at the helicopter pilot, who happened to be Chef. The cook grinned, and started flying them back to Camp Wawanakwa. "This is very uncomfortable, I'll tell you." The wannabe host raised his hands to the claw to try and adjust it. While he did, he happened to look down below him, and the sight made him smile. "Hey, great aerial view. Now I get why Chris loves his jetpack so much."
Back at camp, Chris announced over the loudspeakers, "Attention, campers! Gather around the starting line for a big announcement!"
The campers found the indicated starting line easily, and divided into their respective teams. They all looked up when Chef flew overhead with Topher, and the cook dropped him by his teammates.
"Ugh, I'd say that would hurt in the morning, but it's actually starting to hurt now," Topher grumbled.
Alejandro took a knee next to his alliance partner. "You okay, amigo?"
"Fine as I can be on this show," Topher replied, getting up and dusting the dirt off his shirt and pants.
"Which means awful," Gwen put in, rolling her eyes.
(Confessional- Gwen)
"My time this season has been worse than awful so far," the goth said, "and I haven't even told Duncan that my feelings have changed. Somehow, I just know that's going to make everything worse, so I've been putting it off."
(Confessional- Topher)
As he made his confession, Topher attempted to comb his hair back into proper shape, the coif having been disheveled in his unceremonious drop from the helicopter claw. "Yeah, when I'm host, Chef's not going to be able to handle me so roughly anymore. He'll have to treat me better once I'm his boss." He paused as a thought came to him. "Or maybe I should find a new Chef Hatchet, and have the old one retire." He checked his hair in a mirror, and smiled. "Either way, everything is going to be better when I'm in charge."
"Good news, guys," Chris said as the camera panned past the starting line to show Chris walking up to the cast, wearing a watch and a safari hat. "It's time for an extremely dangerous nighttime challenge."
"How is this 'good news'?" Gwen inquired, making air quotes around the last two words.
"Entertainment value, hellooo," Chris retorted in a childish tone before putting on a big smile. "This is going to be ratings gold." He started to explain the challenge while Chef rolled the monitor onto the scene, and on the monitor was a display of the island with a green 'X' marked at the campgrounds. "In a nod to season four's buried treasure fiasco, your challenge is to race to the far end of the island. The first team to get all of their team members across the finish line wins, and the losing team will be taking the big flush." A red 'X' appeared past the Thousand Foot High Cliff, and silhouettes of all the contestants showed up next to it in their respective team groupings.
"Sounds easy enough," Duncan said, though he sounded skeptical.
Chris smiled cheekily as Chef took the monitor away. "It does, doesn't it? But tonight's full moon is an extremely rare blue harvest moon, and let's just say it has an unusual effect on the animals." The host chuckled at something he found funny, what about, the contestants had no idea.
The Vultures shared an uncertain, uneasy glance as Chris addressed them. "Villainous Vultures, you won the last challenge, so you get this map with the fastest route across the island." He held up a map with a marked path. "Heroic Chumpsters, you get to wear nifty bacon hats and sausage tails, which should add to the fun when you come face to fang with the island's friendly creatures, and by friendly, I mean hungry." It was the Hamsters' turn to become uneasy when Chef walked over and plopped hats made of bacon on their heads and wrapped belts made of sausages around their waists.
As Chris continued to chuckle, Jasmine took the moment to lean over to Sammy. "If the Vultures have a map with the quickest route," she whispered in the cheerleader's ear.
"Then we should follow them," Sammy quickly caught on. "Great idea!" Her smile went away quickly, and she grasped Jasmine's shoulder to pull her down so she could whisper back.
Jasmine listened to the hushed words, and she gasped. "What?" Her eyes drifted over to Sierra, who was still distraught over her broken phone.
Sugar smirked wickedly, watching Sierra's despair. Her attention shifted when she saw Heather walk back over from obtaining the map from Chris.
"This should be a piece of cake," the queen bee stated as she studied it.
"On your marks," Chris counted down, lifting an arm to signal.
Eyeing Heather, Alejandro dramatically sighed and corrected her. "Piece of pie."
"Get set," the host raised his arm even further, ignoring the pair.
Glaring, Heather tore her gaze away from the map. "Listen, you..." Alejandro smirked at her, amused with her irritation.
Heather didn't get to say anything further because Chris dropped his arm, and instead pulled out his air horn, pressing down on the horn's button.
Fortunately for the Vultures, Heather didn't let herself get too distracted arguing with Alejandro, and the team set off at the same moment that the Hamsters had gone.
A few minutes later, both teams were in the woods.
"Sorry to hear about your phone, Sierra. I know you like to use that thing a lot," Jasmine apologized as the Hamsters trailed shortly behind the Vultures, intending on sticking with Jasmine's idea.
"Thanks. It's just really upsetting, you know? I had like five hundred pictures saved on it," Sierra said, trying to focus on the challenge and avoid getting voted off.
Cody offered up his hand. "Hey, I'm a geek, remember? I'm sure once we get back to camp, I can find a way to fix it."
Sierra smiled gratefully to him. "Aw! Thanks so much, Cody."
"So we're just going to follow the other team to the finish line?" Duncan checked, running in front with Jasmine and Sammy. "What're we supposed to do once we get there? We can't let them stay ahead of us the whole time, or we'll lose."
"I'm sure Jasmine has a plan," Sammy told him in an assuring tone. She glanced at the team ahead of them. "Though, I'm still not sure what that blue harvest moon is that Chris was talking about."
Jasmine gazed up at the sky for a moment, and skid to a halt. "I think we're about to find out. Look up there, mates!" She pointed up.
The whole Hamsters team stopped running to stare at the moon. The cameras pointed at the moon, displaying how it went from its usual grayish-yellow color to a glowing light blue.
"Ooh, that looks sorta pretty," Sierra commented off-screen.
"The moon turning blue? I thought that only happened in cartoons," Cody said.
A blue ring formed around the moon's outline, and expanded outward. Elsewhere in the woods, a bear had a squirrel pinned against a tree. The timid little rodent whimpered as the bear prepared to punch it, but then the ring passed over them. Both animals froze for a moment, and then it appeared they did a 180 in nature. The squirrel began to growl, and the bear took its paw away, frightened as the now furious squirrel jumped at it. The pair fell out of frame, and biting sounds were heard as the bear's fur appeared in the screen's corner.
A bird that eerily resembled Topher with feathers the same color as his light brown hair and a coif of feathers on top of its head flew angrily at something in an extreme close-up. The chubby intern with glasses screamed, closing the door to the spa hotel with the intention to keep the bird out. The door wasn't much help since the bird flew right through it, leaving behind a jagged hole five times its size. Sounds of stuff falling over inside the hotel rang out.
In another part of the woods, a fluffle of rabbits bared their teeth. One rabbit, presumably the leader, gave off a roar bigger than a creature its size would be thought capable of performing.
(Confessional- Shawn)
"In all of my preparation for the zombie apocalypse, I've never come across something called a blue harvest moon," the conspiracy nut reported. Tapping his chin, he thought out loud. "Either the blue harvest moon doesn't affect zombies, or nobody has reported on the effects yet." He smiled to himself. "Hey! Maybe I could be at the front of a zombie research breakthrough, here."
The villains stood warily as a crocodile that was confronting them moments ago suddenly began to thump its tail with the smile and energy of a happy dog. Alejandro stood in front of his team, eyeing the reptile skeptically. Behind him, Heather clutched their map, Gwen and Shawn braced themselves for attack, and Topher cowered behind Sugar.
"Uh, since when do crocodiles act like dogs?" Topher queried to his teammates.
Alejandro walked past the crocodile, observing it critically. "This moon is like no other," he said, "it must be causing the animals to become their opposite."
Heather hid her face behind the map, pulling the map away moments later to reveal a wide-eyed and cheery queen bee. "Wow, Alejandro! You are so smart," Heather praised with a blissful tone.
The combination of words, tone, and attitude from her made the season three villain stare at her in horror. "Excuse me?" He asked worriedly. The Heather he knew would never sincerely compliment him like that.
Ignoring the shock expressed all over Alejandro's face, Heather dropped the map in favor of crouching down to pull the inoffensive crocodile up into a hug.
"Who's a boochey boochey boo?" She cooed to the creature, not realizing she was strangling it by accident.
Several of her teammates' jaws simultaneously dropped at the affection they witnessed her showing. She was never this affectionate with anyone, much less an animal. As she continued to hug the crocodile, a shudder ran through Alejandro's body.
(Confessional- Alejandro)
"I've never seen Heather act so sweet and kind," he confessed before clutching his arms in fright, "and it is terrifying!"
A trio of newly vicious bluebirds flew at the Heroic Hamsters.
Cody covered his head and bacon hat with his hands, ducking as they whizzed over him. "Please don't take my bacon," the geek pleaded to the birds.
Jasmine ran past him in the foreground. "Keep moving!"
"Right," he agreed. Uncovering his head, he checked behind him to see if the birds were coming back. Gasping, he ran to follow Jasmine. He screamed as the birds came flying past the screen, and an off-screen scuffle could be heard along with Cody's yelps of pain and chirping from the birds.
Several bunnies were shown growling, including one that roared as loud as a tiger.
Panning behind the bunnies, Gwen and Topher were startled by the roar and fled the scene while Sugar stayed behind, huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"What's the big deal? It's just bunnies," the pageant queen scoffed at her teammates' cowardice.
Then the bunnies leapt at her, beginning to bite her. Before any graphic violence could appear, the shot changed to a view of the treetops along with the moon.
"Ow! Hey! You're going to pay for that!" Sugar vowed as her voice was heard all over the woods.
(Confessional- Sugar)
"I haven't seen that much bite since my family at our last Boxing Day feast," Sugar said, then glanced at the window near the top of the outhouse. "But with a lot less turkey."
Carefully, Sammy backed away something she was looking down at out of frame. "Uh, nice ducky?" She squeaked. The camera panned down to a mean-looking duck quacking at her, ready to attack.
Another bird dove at Duncan, who ducked. "Whoa, that's it! I'm out." He ditched the rest of his team.
Jasmine hurried over to where the punk had just been standing. "No! We have to stick together!" She leveled at flat look a moment later. "And he's gone."
Cody joined her, snorting in annoyance. "That's not surprising. When it comes to Duncan, the only thing he cares about is himself."
"Hey, you guys?" Sierra piped up, getting the attention of her two teammates. She walked past them with a bird perched on her bacon hat and pecking at it. "I think it's trying to use Morse code. Ow!"
Scowling, Jasmine plucked Sierra's hat off the blogger's head. "If we're going to stand a chance at getting to that finish line, we need to ditch these hats. Chris never said we had to keep them on the whole time." Taking off her own bacon hat, she threw the two hats to the ground. The birds that had been attacking the team went straight to them.
"That's the best idea I've heard all night," Sammy commented over where she was being intimidated by the duck. She took her bacon hat off, and held it out to the waterfowl. She yelped when it roughly tore the garment from her hand with its beak, and watched warily as it stalked off with its new acquisition. Once she was sure that she would be left alone, she glanced over to her team. "Hey, where'd Duncan go?"
Jasmine took her usual hat out from her vest, and put it on her head. "With any luck, the finish line."
"We're going to have to find that too, considering we lost track of the villains," Sierra pointed out, and the footage zoomed out to show the four Hamsters alone.
"They must've gotten chased off by the animals," Cody concluded with a sigh, slouching over. "Just great…"
Elsewhere, the Vultures attempted to flee the rabbits.
"Would you lose those rabbits already?" Topher demanded to Sugar, who ran back and forth in an attempt to lose the fluffy creatures.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Sugar retorted. "Geez, where's that other team? They're the ones with the bacon and the wieners."
As he ran, Alejandro peered over his shoulder. "Hurry up, Heather! You have the map."
Heather was still hugging the crocodile, but now it seemed to be reciprocating the affection. At last, she released the reptile and jumped to her feet. "Yay, running!" The crocodile waved goodbye to her as she rejoined her team. Pulling out the map, she checked for their current location. "Great job, guys! We're halfway there!"
"This is sufficiently weird," muttered Gwen as the goth jogged beside Shawn.
"I know. Why is she being affected by the moon, and not us?" Shawn asked.
"Maybe she's part wolf?" Gwen suggested. The pair laughed at her joke.
"Seriously though," Shawn said as he recollected himself moments later, "Werewolves are no laughing matter, same with zombies and vampires."
(Confessional- Shawn)
"I don't believe in werewolves and vampires as much as I do with zombies," the conspiracy nut admitted, "but given Ezekiel's pretty much a zombie, and Amy's got- whatever weird thing she has going on, they're all real possibilities."
The heroes minus Duncan hurried through the woods as much as they could. Jasmine led the pack while Sierra ran next to her, Cody behind her, and Sammy close behind Jasmine.
"Duncan had better be at the finish line, or he's so getting that flush," Cody grumbled.
Sammy raised an eyebrow at him. "What's up with you? Ever since Duncan joined the team, you've been grumpy. Are you jealous that he's dating Gwen, and not you?"
Cody blinked at her, taken aback. "What? No. I just think it's unfair that Duncan got put on our team because he did something nice for Gwen once while Gwen has been-"
In the middle of Cody's rant, he tripped on a rock and crashed into Sierra's back. The pair stumbled over a nearby steep hill, and slid down.
Jasmine skidded to a halt when she saw what happened to her teammates. "Mates!" Her unexpected stop caused Sammy to smack into her, and they too were sent sliding down the steep hill, except in a different direction than Cody and Sierra. The girls shrieked as they disappeared into the woods.
At the bottom of the hill, Cody groaned, rubbing his head with his hand. Looking next to him, he found Sierra slumped over on the ground. "Ah! Sierra, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," the blogger assured her friend, getting up. "But, where's our team?"
Cody noticed as well that they were alone, and gasped sharply. "Oh no, we must've gotten separated when I tripped."
Noticing something else, Sierra tapped his shoulder. "Um, Cody? We might have a problem."
"What's that?" He asked, then proceeded to look in the same direction as her. He spotted a rabbit. "Oh no." Some more rabbits appeared from the bushes.
"Run!" Sierra exclaimed when one of them screeched. The two heroes fled with the rabbits closely on their trail.
Inside a room with monitors, Chris chuckled upon seeing some of his campers in danger. He then faced the camera. "Who will make it to the other side of the island? And who's about to become a serving of teen cuisine? Stay tuned to find out right here on Total Drama All-Stars!" Creepily, a faceless figure could be seen on a different monitor as Chris made his commercial break. On a cliff overlooking the woods, the duck that had hassled Sammy for her bacon hat could be seen eating said hat. Concluding on a shot of the island at night, the show faded to commercial.
When the show returned, Jasmine was up in a tree, scouting the area. The camera panned down to the tree's base, where Sammy stood.
"Can you see anything?" The cheerleader inquired.
"I can't see the others, if that's what you're asking." Jasmine peeked down below to her friend to answer before returning to her scouting. "But, I think I see where we're supposed to go. It doesn't look too far."
Sammy sighed. "I hope the others are okay. If I hadn't asked about Duncan, Cody might not have tripped."
Jasmine dropped down from the tree. "I'm sure they're fine. Come on, the finish line is this way." She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb, and the pair began to jog.
Meanwhile, the Vultures had come to a rope bridge over a tall drop into the river that ran throughout the island.
"A rope bridge?" Gwen observed incredulously. "It's probably a trap. We should go around."
"That'll take three times as long," Topher complained at her suggestion.
Gwen gestured to the bridge. "Well, I'm not crossing that thing, and anyone with brains will follow me."
Shawn nodded, walking away from the bridge with the goth. "I'm with Gwen. It's easy to get overwhelmed by zombies on one of those."
"What if you get lost?" Alejandro questioned. "Every member of the team must cross over the finish line for us to win."
"Besides, if you don't come with us, we'll miss you so much," Heather added in a sickeningly sweet voice. She didn't see the shudder Alejandro tried and failed to suppress.
Topher called out, "I need that spa hotel! I haven't had anything to eat all day!"
Gwen and Shawn were already a considerable distance from the bridge. "See you on the other side," she retorted flippantly. "You know, if you make it."
"Good luck," Shawn shouted to those who stayed.
(Confessional- Gwen)
"Talk about gullible," Gwen stated, "everyone who's seen a movie knows that the rope bridge always breaks. At least Shawn had sense to do things my way."
Somewhere in the woods, two strings of sausage were thrown across the frame, and a whole gang of rabbits pursued them.
Cody sighed in relief when the footage cut to him and Sierra, free of both bacon hats and sausage belts. "Finally, we lost them."
"Never thought I'd see rabbits eating sausages, but the island's always been different like that," Sierra shrugged, giggling out of fondness for the camp.
Back at the bridge, Heather encouraged her team to cross it. "Come on, guys. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"Except you," Alejandro muttered behind her back.
Heather seemed to hear that comment, but didn't reply to it. "Maybe someone brave should cross it first, and make sure it's safe?" She batted her eyes meaningfully at the arch villain.
Alejandro didn't take the bait, but Sugar did step up at Heather's idea of someone going first.
"Let me do it," Sugar said, waving a dismissive hand. "It's just a stupid bridge."
Topher rolled his eyes as Sugar approached the bridge. "Whatever, just make it quick? I want to sleep in a decent bed tonight."
Sugar's remaining teammates watched as the pageant queen walked across the bridge with the poise and grace of aforementioned pageants. She didn't go as fast as Topher would've liked, but the bridge didn't even rock as she crossed. "There," she said after reaching the other side. "Nothing to it." A chittering sound caught her ear, and she gazed to the side, spotting a beaver sitting on a stump nearby. "Hey, y'all? Are beavers usually nice or nasty?" She hollered an inquiry to her teammates back across the river.
Before she could get an answer, the beaver chomped down on one of her hands.
"Ouch! Consarn it, that's my pageant waving hand!" Sugar flailed, trying to dislodge the creature.
Once she managed to get it loose, it landed on the rope bridge's supports and gnawed through the lower rope holding the bridge up.
Sugar's teammates moaned in despair when the planks that made the bridge fell sideways. All that was left for them to cross was the other lower rope and the upper rope.
"Seriously?" Topher griped as the beaver returned to attacking Sugar.
"Hey, you're messing up my hair!" Sugar tried to pry the animal off her head as it clawed at her.
"Just keep it busy," Alejandro advised her before turning his attention to Heather and Topher. "Shall we?" He motioned to the bridge.
The bridge gave a groan as it tried to support all three of them. It still held though when they were more than halfway across.
Topher gulped nervously, going ahead of Heather and Alejandro. "I think I get why Gwen and Shawn didn't want to cross it now."
Heather inched further across, only for one of the bridge planks to snap off and leave her without a foothold. She screamed, beginning to fall off the rope. Acting quickly, Alejandro seized her wrist while she was still within reach, hauling her back up to safety.
The queen bee smiled at her rescuer, this time more sinister and more in-character for regular Heather. "I knew you still cared," she boasted to Alejandro, who raised an eyebrow at her.
(Confessional- Heather)
"Now who's typical?" Heather quipped, folding her arms confidently over her chest. "Sucker! As if the moon affected me, but as long as I keep him guessing, I'll always have the upper hand."
(Confessional- Alejandro)
"How dare she trick me," the charmer protested, irritated at falling for such a trick. "I should've let her fall." He smacked the side of his head. "Estupido!"
Sugar was still trying to dislodge the beaver from her head when her teammates finally reached the other side.
"For corn's sake," the pageant queen complained after they arrived, "one of y'all mind helping get this varmint off a me?"
Topher took up the task, using the beaver's distracted state to pick it up behind the paws so that it couldn't bite or scratch him. Once the creature was away from Sugar, he carried it over to the bridge that was no longer useful.
"How about you try biting something that isn't one of our teammates?" The wannabe host suggested rhetorically, holding the beaver up to the remaining rope keeping the bridge connected to their side of the ravine. The beaver effortlessly gnawed through the rope, and the planks of the bridge fell back, slapping against the rock on the original side.
Alejandro quickly realized what Topher had done. "Now the other team can't use the bridge. Brilliant plan, Topher!"
"But if Shawn and Gwen can't make it around the pit, the bridge is no longer an option, is it?" Heather pointed out, rather cross with Topher and his idea.
"She's right. Terrible plan, Topher," Alejandro corrected upon realizing she had a point.
"So what? We were ahead of the other team last I remember, and that bridge was a death trap anyway," Topher retorted, carelessly tossing the beaver into the ravine and walking forward to move on towards the finish line.
If Topher or his team had bothered to watch the beaver fall, they would've seen the beaver make a rude gesture with both of its forepaws that had to be blurred out.
(Confessional- Topher)
"I don't see what the big deal is," Topher said, shrugging his shoulders. "Even if Shawn and Gwen had to go around, we'd still be ahead of the other team, and Shawn could probably find the two of them a way across."
Jasmine and Sammy jogged through the woods, searching for their teammates while getting closer to the finish line.
"So, have you talked to Shawn recently?" Sammy spoke up, breaking the pair's silence that had been going on for a while. "I know he's on the other team, but I haven't seen you two talk in a couple days."
Jasmine scoffed at the question. "Why should I? He insists on believing that dumb fantasy apocalypse, and had the nerve to yell at me for pointing out what it was and needing to be more realistic."
"But, the three of us have been friends for a year. Are you really going to let our friendship break up over one little argument?"
The explorer gave her friend's question a pause, but before she could open her mouth to answer-
"Hey, guys! Looks like we found you," Sierra greeted as she and Cody ran up next to them, somehow having managed to shake off the bunnies. "Still no Duncan, huh?"
Cody rolled his eyes. "Big surprise. I hope he's having a horrible time," the geek muttered under his breath.
The footage cut to Duncan's legs being shown running, and the punk screamed. The camera panned up his body to show a bird had sunk its beak into his sausage belt. "This is so not how I want to die."
The sound of Gwen's scream caused the camera to switch over to the goth girl, who was being pursued by a pack of ferocious squirrels. "Get away from me, you little freaks!"
Seeing his girlfriend's trouble, Duncan figured out how to get rid of both their problems. He unhooked the sausage belt from his waist, the bird included, and started to swing it around. "Gwen, head's up!" He warned before throwing the belt.
Without taking her eyes off the chasing squirrels, Gwen ducked just in time to see the sausages sail over her head. The sight was effective, due to the unusually vicious rodents stopping in their tracks and spotting the meat. The bird recovered from the toss, chirping angrily at Duncan as best as it could with a mouthful of wieners. It flew away with the meat, and the squirrels started going after it instead of the contestants. Out of the frame, the squirrels evidently caught up based on the sounds of scuffling and roars from both parties.
Duncan and Gwen panted, checking to make sure they weren't being followed anymore. Duncan recovered first.
"So," he began to say casually, "has the villains' team gotten boring since I got swapped?"
The chase had put Gwen's feelings about Duncan out of her mind, but staring at him and getting into the conversation brought them back in. Her emotions of fear immediately were replaced by feelings of insecurity. "Um, yeah. I guess so. Seems like there's still a lot going on, though."
"Well, we're together now. We can finish the challenge, and hang out on the way. Come on." Duncan reached for Gwen's hand.
"Gwen, there you are!" Shawn called out. Gwen happened to jerk her hand away from Duncan's right as the conspiracy nut said her name. Duncan didn't notice this, having been distracted and annoyed by Shawn's interruption. The boy jogged over to her and Duncan. "I finally got rid of that crazy deer. Hopefully we won't see it again for the rest of the night." He pointed over his shoulder. "The finish line is this way. Let's go!"
Gwen jumped on Shawn's direction. "Yeah, definitely." Shawn led her away, leaving Duncan to grumble and catch up a moment later.
(Confessional- Gwen)
"When, exactly, am I supposed to tell him how I'm feeling?" Gwen asked the audience. "Even when we're not out in the woods at night with animals experiencing reversed natural order, there never seems to be a good time to talk with him."
(Confessional- Duncan)
Duncan crossed his arms over his chest. "Who does Shawn think he is? Just when I think I've got some time with my babe, he comes in and takes her attention away from me. Interrupting another guy's time with his girlfriend is just wrong."
Gwen and Shawn's teammates ran through an open field.
"Gwen! Shawn! Ugh, where are they?" Topher complained.
"Perhaps they're at the finish line already?" Alejandro suggested.
The Heroic Hamsters approached the unavailable bridge, and the cheerleader gasped.
"The bridge is out. Now what're we supposed to do?" Sammy wondered.
Jasmine took a look around at their surroundings, then smirked. "Leave crossing the pit to me." She pointed at herself with a confident thumb.
(Confessional- Jasmine)
"When you need to get somewhere quick, sometimes that requires getting a little unconventional." The explorer grinned.
"I don't know about this," Sammy said hesitantly.
She, Sierra, and Cody hung onto a vine Jasmine had found. The latter stood on a branch with the vine in hand.
"Trust me. I've done this many times before. Hang on!" She leaped off the branch, and the team flew across the pit, screaming. "Drop!" Jasmine called when she was sure they were across, and the team let go of the vine.
They rolled safely away from the edge, and in the process, Cody somehow landed on top of Sierra.
"Uh," Cody searched for something to say when he realized he was on Sierra's chest.
She cut him off with a warm smile. "Don't worry. We're best friends. I'm not looking too deeply into this."
Jasmine hopped up to her feet, the first of her team to recover. "Come on! Hurry!" Sammy was up after her, and the pair resumed running, Cody and Sierra joining them soon after.
Chris stood waiting at the finish line, which was just a couple of wooden poles with a few unlit lights strung over the arch. Seeing the first to arrive, he lifted his arms in greeting.
"Welcome to the finish line, villains," he said, "looks like you're still missing two players."
The Villainous Vultures were no longer jogging. It was more like they were walking, huffing and puffing to catch their breath.
"Least we got here first," Sugar piped up as Heather stopped moving closer to the finish line. The queen bee had a scowl on her face.
"Alright, I've had it!" She snapped.
Alejandro, Sugar, and Topher all crossed the finish. The charmer looked back at her once he was over. "Whatever do you mean?"
Heather pointed at him. "You! I've had it with you and your stupid games!"
"Heather," Topher attempted to interject, seeing something past Heather.
"Shut up, Topher! I'm not crossing that finish line until I know why Smooth Talker over there keeps trying to mess with my head."
Alejandro's eyes went wide, as did Topher's. "Uh, Heather?" The charmer said carefully.
"You keep getting mad at me, switch to complimenting me later, then get mad at me again only to say something nice after that," Heather ranted, raising her arms in frustration. "Seriously, what kind of angle are you playing?"
"Heather, deer!" Alejandro shouted. Behind him, Sugar took on a devious buck-toothed smile.
Heather pointed at him once more. "I'm not your 'dear'! And calling me typical? Nobody calls me typical!"
"Hey, that's a mighty cute deer right behind you," Sugar casually mentioned.
"What deer?" Heather interrogated, only to tense up when she heard growling behind her. Slowly, she turned around to find a deer uncharacteristically snarling at her. The season one villain gasped, her pupils shrinking with shock.
"Heather!" Alejandro cried out, concern heavy in his voice.
"Stay-stay back, I'm warning you," Heather stammered, trying to take a cautious step back. "I'm on top of the food chain." One of her feet caught on a small rock, and she tripped backward onto her butt. She raised an arm in defense.
The deer growled in a close-up, and opened its muzzle to attack her. Before it could, a pair of tanned hands wedged a stick in its mouth. The deer whimpered at said stick.
The footage pulled back to display Alejandro kneeling in front of the deer, fending it off.
"Wha-? You?" Heather tried to say.
He glanced over his shoulder. "You're lucky I love you."
"You... love me?"
(Confessional- Heather)
Heather sat on the outhouse seat, stunned. "He said that he loved me. Sure, guys I've dated have said that before, but when he said it, that was the first time I actually cared."
Alejandro's improvised defense didn't last long. The stick snapped from the pressure of the deer's muzzle.
Duncan, Gwen, and Shawn ran through the woods, and they were soon joined by Duncan's team.
"Duncan, there you are!" Sammy exclaimed. "Now we're all back together."
"The finish line is just up ahead," Shawn told Gwen and his old team.
Something in the moon changed. The blue coloring disappeared the moment a yellow ring appeared and expanded outward in the same manner the first blue ring had done. The moon returned to its original color.
The deer, who had one leg pinning down a terrified Alejandro and Heather each, stopped growling instantaneously, and scampered away like the inoffensive animal it previously was.
"Come on, Al! The moon's over!" Topher encouraged.
Sugar gave him a look, and smacked him upside the head. "He already crossed it. It's Heather and the others that still need to cross over."
(Confessional- Sugar)
"That boy's been acting dumb since he got back from Boney Island. He must really need that spa hotel," Sugar commented. She started to scratch her head in confusion. "Now I can't figure out if Heather really was affected by that weird moon thingy, or just pretending."
Topher's shout made Alejandro jump to his feet. "Don't call me 'Al'!" he demanded while offering a hand to help Heather up. In that quick moment, Shawn, Gwen, and the Heroic Hamsters passed them, and the pair joined the cluster in the final sprint.
It was all for naught, as Heather ended up being the last one over the line.
"And the Heroes win!" Chris announced.
The heroes cheered, hugging each other and pumping fists in the air. The camera panned over to the villains, who all groaned at their narrow defeat.
The challenge faded out, and the elimination ceremony faded in. The Hamsters sat comfortably in the peanut gallery, with Cody and Sierra sitting up in the top row while Duncan, Sammy, and Jasmine sat in the bottom. They watched as the Vultures took their seats on the stumps in front of the fire.
Cody sighed wistfully. "Gwen really shouldn't be over there."
"Stop pining over my girlfriend, dork," Duncan snapped in the row below him without even looking in the geek's direction. "You're getting really lame." Seconds later, one of Cody's shoes clocked the back of Duncan's head. "Ow!" The punk lifted a hand to rub the afflicted area, glaring up at the shoe's source.
(Confessional- Duncan)
"I'm so going after that little twerp next time we lose," Duncan vowed. He looked up in thought. "Him getting voted off would kill Sierra too, so that would be a bonus benefit."
"Okay peeps," Chris began the ceremony. "Each of you is a loser in your own right, but the heroes won the challenge so they've earned themselves a night of luxurious luxury in the spa hotel."
With a determined frown, Cody stood up from his seat. "I volunteer for exile!"
Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, I don't care."
Sierra stared at her friend, shocked. "What? No, Cody! It's too dangerous for you."
"I can take it, Sierra. I've been there before. I know what to expect," Cody assured her. He leaned in close to her. "I also have to make sure Duncan doesn't get the invincibility statue."
The familiar whir of Chris and Chef's helicopter ended their conversation. The mechanical claw grasped Cody by the head like it had done to Topher early on in the episode.
"Wait, my shoe!" Cody reached out desperately for his missing piece of clothing, but was lifted up before he could retrieve it.
"Don't worry, Cody, I'll take care of it for you!" Sierra shouted as he was taken away.
While Sierra's hysterics distracted the others, Heather glanced over to Alejandro, who she sat next to that night. "Hey, listen. I'm sorry about the volcano, and for not checking on you all year. I'm really glad you're okay, no burns or anything. Accept my apology?"
Alejandro smiled sincerely. "Consider it accepted."
"Okay people," Chris reclaimed everyone's attention. "Tonight, we flush our second Vulture." He picked up a plate bearing marshmallows for all but one villain. "The flushee is not going to be Alejandro, Shawn, Sugar, or Topher."
The four campers were tossed their marshmallows.
"Gwen, you and Shawn decided to split off from the team and possibly cost them the challenge. Heather, you were the last person to actually finish the challenge. The last marshmallow goes to…"
Gwen's eyes went wide. She dared not to take a breath.
Heather scowled at the host like she had the last time she was on the block.
Over in the peanut gallery, Duncan leaned forward anxiously, concerned for his girlfriend's place in the game.
Alejandro frowned, curling his hand around his marshmallow as he cast a glance at Heather.
"… Gwen!"
"What?" Heather shrieked.
Gwen sighed happily, accepting the marshmallow that was tossed to her. "Good riddance."
"You people have some nerve getting rid of me," Heather hollered at her now ex-team, standing in outrage. "I'm a better player than all of you. I played this game three times, and got to the end, twice!"
Alejandro stood with her. "Now, mi amor, don't be too hard on them. How can you blame them for wanting to eliminate a threat such as yourself?"
Heather slapped the hand he was raising toward her away. "Save it. You probably had something to do with this, didn't you? You save me, and then try to eliminate me later. That's so-so typical of you!"
Alejandro considered her words, and then nodded smugly. "This is true. Touché. And now that I have avenged the shame you once caused me, we can start a relationship on a clean slate."
"Don't bet on it," Heather spat at him, storming off to the dock.
Heather's former team watched her go with Chris, and once she was out of hearing range, Gwen glanced at the marshmallow in her hand.
(Confessional- Gwen)
"Heather being gone will hopefully make things easier around here," she admitted, sighing. "But not much easier when I still have to tell Duncan that I need to break up with him."
(Confessional- Sierra)
The blogger clutched Cody's shoe. "I promised him I'd take care of this until he gets back from exile." She hummed critically. "Maybe I can pretend this is my phone until then and Cody fixes my real phone." Tapping the bottom of the shoe as if she was pressing buttons, she booped and beeped with each touch. After doing it a few times, she held it up to her ear. "Hello? Is this Cody's other shoe? I'd like to speak to Cody please, to make sure he's okay."
Heather floated in the Flush of Shame, and Chris stood by with his remote.
"Let's do this," Heather said bitterly. Chris obliged, and pressed his remote. The queen bee let out a final scream as she disappeared down the drain.
Once the backsplash had passed, Chris lowered his umbrella.
"Wild night, right?" Chris inquired to the audience. "That's one particularly nasty Vulture gone. With two players gone per team, anything is possible. Who will be following Heather down the flush? Find out next time on Total Drama All-Stars!"
(cue end credits)
(Bonus Clip)
Like Scarlett before her, Heather floated out of a pipe underwater, and she scrambled to the surface.
Gasping for air, she looked around. "Wha-where am I?" The scene zoomed out to answer her question. Heather was apparently in nighttime London, in the river underneath one of London's many bridges. The famous giant clock, Big Ben, was visible in the background. "London? Seriously!" Inexplicably, a loop of rope landed on her head. "Ow!"
"Stop complainin' and grab on!" A sassy voice that Heather was familiar with called from above. Glaring in the voice's direction, Heather nonetheless grabbed the rope and let herself be hauled out of the river. She was pulled up to the edge of the bridge.
"A little more warning would be nice," Heather remarked snappishly, getting onto solid ground.
"Oh oh, Heather, did you hear? Jalapeno's back in the game!" A more bubbly voice said as Heather got to her feet.
"Sure, you remember my name, but you can't remember his. You're as dumb as ever," Heather said, wringing out her hair.
A brown-skinned hand waved a finger in her face. "Watch the tone, girl. I can easily push you back down there."
When the hand pulled back, the camera showed the owner of the hand. Heather's rescuers were actually Leshawna and Lindsay. The former had her usual 'don't take any crap from you' expression on her face whenever she dealt with Heather, and the latter merely smiled, clasping her hands together.
"Sorry that Allypiano eliminated you," Lindsay apologized. "I can't imagine getting voted off by your boyfriend like that."
"He's not my boyfriend," Heather corrected, balancing on one foot as she tapped her heel shoe dry before switching to the other one. "Why are you two here, anyway?"
"For you."
The queen bee raised an eyebrow. "For me?"
Leshawna patted Lindsay on the head. "Girl gets a lot wrong, but she's actually right this time. We came to get you."
"But, why? I despise both of you, and I'm pretty sure you two hate me."
"Well, we've got to roll soon, so I'll give you the short version. Chris's plans for the season finale are crazy dangerous, and we're going to need all the help we can get to keep the damage to a minimum," Leshawna explained.
"Keep what damage low?"
Lindsay bounced on her heels eagerly. "Can we tell you later? I wanna get back to our new place. After Chris kicked us out of the Playa, we got a totally new place to hang out. You're going to love it."
Growing irritated with the lack of answers, Heather demanded, "What are you two talking about?"
"Come on. We'll tell you on the flight back. Not gonna lie, the new hangout is kicking!" Leshawna assured her, wrapping an arm around Heather's shoulder and guiding her away from the bridge.
Lindsay stayed put for a moment, looking around in confusion. She shrugged at her fellow ex-campers. "Kicking what? I don't see anyone kicking anything."
Heather- 11th
Beardo- 12th
Scarlett- 13th
Owen- 14th
This is why I chose to have the non-elimination early. Heather was originally slated to be eliminated in the leechball episode, but I realized that didn't Heather and Alejandro enough post-volcano interaction together before she would be eliminated. My goal with Heather was to give her a better sendoff than her canon elimination, where she was made dumb enough to leave the invincibility behind so Alejandro could steal it. It might've been dumb for her not to cross the finish line before voicing her frustration with Alejandro's mind games, but I think it's better to act that way over a conflict she's been having the past few episodes rather than being dumb with the statue debacle.
Sugar did something sneaky again. Like the diary situation, stealing or breaking other people's stuff sounds like something Sugar would do. This time, Sierra was the victim. So far, Sierra was having fun with her phone, and she needed some drama. Rest assured, this is not the beginning of Sierra going canon levels of nutty. Originally, Sierra's phone was going to be broken during her exile to Boney Island, but I decided that her actually enjoying her exile was an interesting twist, and it left the phone open to being broken the same way Cameron's glasses were. Meanwhile, Duncan's attempt to prove he's still naughty backfired, Gwen still has to confess to Duncan, and Sammy attempted to address Jasmine and Shawn's feud. Oh, and because Scott has not yet debuted, the uncanny Scott-bird was swapped out with a Topher-bird.
This episode's pickup in London was chosen because the challenge was a night one, like World Tour's Jack the Ripper challenge was also set at night in London. Leshawna and Lindsay were selected to pick up Heather due to their history with her. At one point, she was called a friend to each, and Noah used that as his reasoning for sending them off to collect her when nobody volunteered.
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