Nicky Haugh: Thank you as always!
Xtremexavier15: Glad I could make the All-Stars finale better. Heather and Cody were only arguing because Heather was annoyed that Cody picked her to be his helper in a challenge so life-threatening. Yeah, they both did pretty well in the finale.
EndeavorT: Well, belated birthday to you, then.
Critica7: I have not read TDR52. Stinks that you don't like Cody, he's a really lovable character in my book. I have to disagree with you about Mike and Zoey; they both would make great winners. Zoey earned her win, and Mike should win after everything he went through. Glad you approve my choice of winner and helpers, though.
WeirdAlfan101: Glad that you're satisfied with the winner, even if it's not the one you wanted. Yeah, having the Revenge crew on Pahkitew Island is going to be interesting. Whereas ROTI was so action-packed and quick, Pahkitew Island focused on character relationships more and toned down the challenges to simpler ones like in TDI and TDA.
SideshowJazz1: Glad you approve of my changes to the finale. While I did like Aleheather getting to be a couple onscreen, it felt more like they were being so sappy purely to spite Chris. As much as I enjoyed it, I wanted to show them as a couple while portraying them closer to their normal selves. Yeah, the lava trauma bit was important to me because of what it did to him, and we were robbed of a moment to see past Alejandro's usual bravado and see more of a sympathetic person. As for gen 2 in Pahkitew, you're about to see what I'm going to do with them.
Acosta perez jose ramiro: You're the first person I've seen so far that decided Cody's ending was the real one. Thanks for showing our favorite computer geek some love. Yeah, it was important to me to not gloss over what should have been an important moment for Alejandro.
AnonBrowser: Nice that you approve what I did with Owen and the balloons. I debated a bit on how to free them, and eventually decided to turn a moment everyone hated in canon to something good. We have different opinions on the moment with Duncan apologizing to Courtney. It's like I said, after having time to reflect on Gwen's much better break-up with him and what she said, he decided she was right. At least we agree things between Courtney and Duncan can't go back to the way they were. Thanks, I had a fun time with the helpers too.
Shiranai Atsune: Thank you for your excitement, and thank you for supporting a renewal for Total Drama. The show has so much potential for stories yet, and so many ideas for future seasons that we can't let them go unused.
SilentSinger948: Glad you enjoyed the finale, and yeah, I wanted to treat the contestants in the balloons better.
Derick Lindsey: It's okay. I'm happy you came back to comment on the finale. All those moments you mentioned were great, weren't they? Shawn and Sammy do have something in common now besides their bonds with Jasmine, Cody got more chances to show his skills, Owen's farting in the balloons was turned from a bad moment into something good, and we got to see another moment of genuine emotion from Alejandro. And yeah, I figured if I was giving all the contestants better endings than canon gave them, then Alejandro and Heather being rescued from Fang should be included. Interesting predictions regarding Pahkitew Island. Also, thank you for agreeing that the twist in Friendship is Magic's finale was super dumb; it totally robbed us of a battle with Grogar, a legendary MLP character, and soured how strongly the final season started. I do disagree, however, on the Mean Three being turned to stone. They made each other less toxic, and actually formed their own little family that could've lived in peace under house arrest or something for the rest of their days. Don't even get me started on the LAST episode, that one was all wrong and strengthened my already huge hate for future flash episodes.
The Aspiring Fanfic Fanatic: Glad you enjoyed the finale. Yeah, Alejandro and Heather being Cody's helpers was hilariously ironic, which is one of the reasons why I went with them in the first place. I had to do the thing with Alejandro's lava trauma because that was such a missed opportunity in canon to add depth to Alejandro's character. I was a bit concerned about Beardo as a helper, but he turned out really well at keeping Sugar in check, furthering his plot for the season of trying to fit in among the show's crazy cast. And since this was the last time we'd be seeing so many characters in the project, I had to tie up loose ends in a way that left them open for later. Wait no further because the next season is here!
Joel Connell: Glad I could improve the All-Stars finale so much for you. And believe me, I have ideas for the Revenge cast while they're on Pahkitew Island.
The Legendary Dragon Reaper: Thanks! I surprised myself with how well Cody handled the finale against Shawn. I hear your concerns, and I'm inclined to disagree. I never felt the season was too boring or too disgusting to watch. However, don't worry about a thing.
Guest: Thanks! And sorry, but I've never considered doing a story about Regular Show. I enjoy it well enough, but not enough to write for it.
With reviews out of the way, I'd like to remind everyone that Cast Swap has a TVTropes page, and is always in need of additions or fixes to it, so if you have ideas for it, please go help it become the best page it can be. Now, let's start the new year and the new decade with a new start with a new cast on a new island!
Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama, or anything within the franchise. I only own a season one DVD and a few Total Drama shirts.
Episode 1- So, Uh, This is my Team?
Almost immediately as the show faded in, Chris popped up into view with what looked like grassy hills as a background.
"Welcome Total Drama fans," the host greeted with his usual smile. "Put on some clean undies because things are about to get wild! Yeahahah!" Laughing at his own sense of humor, he held up a finger as to get down to business. "Thirteen spanking fresh contestants and a totally brand new location- a Cree island in Western Canada." The camera zoomed out far away to show the entirety of the island, which appeared to be mostly forest on the closest side and rocky cliffs further back.
Static transitioned to archived footage of Camp Wawanakwa's disappearance under the lake that paused during the big after-splash.
"As you might recall during our All-Stars finale," Chris mentioned over the footage, "someone, and I prefer to remain nameless, accidentally destroyed our whole island."
Another static transition returned the viewer to the current location, where Chris walked into a grassy clearing, showing off tall trees, blue flowers, and several small cliffs in the background
"So, this is where we landed," Chris said as the camera started showing various parts of the island, including a new bonfire ceremony fire pit, a thin waterfall, and a cave surrounded by little ponds. "No shacks, no showers, no hotels, and no hot tub. The only things we managed to save were the outhouse confessional and the horrific butt smells that live inside it." To accentuate his point, the short, chubby intern with glasses burst out of the outhouse somewhere in the forest with a plunger, gasping for fresh air until he fell on his face.
When the camera cut back to Chris, he concluded, "It'll be the roughingest roughing it that has ever been roughed on Total Drama! So buckle up! This is Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"
Just like with the original island, a zoomed out frame of the island was shown before cutting to the intro theme.
(cue intro)
Fading back into the show after the intro, a zeppelin similar to the one used in season four's aerial challenge was shown flying past some clouds. Cutting to inside the zeppelin, a light swung back and forth ominously on the ceiling.
Panning down below the light, a pair of new white-skinned teens were shown. The boy on the left was a freckled redhead wearing a white tank top that only had the front tucked into his worn jeans. The girl on the right sat with her back to him and her arms crossed; she had short dirty blond hair, eyes that bordered on purple, and wore a dark gray track hoodie and jogging pants. The boy lifted up one arm, and proceeded to smell his armpit, quickly deeming the smell okay and lowering the arm again. Repulsed, the girl glowered at him.
"Stay away from me if you value your kiwis," the girl warned aggressively.
"Right back at ya," the boy sneered.
Cutting away from the feuding pair, a girl with white skin and cherry red hair tied into short, low ponytails and a flower clip in one corner watched them in concern. She also wore a red top that matched her hair, a black choker around her neck, thin red bracelets on each arm, and Capri pants.
"Looks like they're off to a great start…" she tried to convince herself, even though she didn't believe her own lie in the slightest.
"My great-great-great grandpa Jake invented blimps," an overweight white-skinned girl said, walking over from the left. She had short brown hair tied back by a ribbon, and wore a pink jacket and purple lounge pants. "Yah, before him, aircraft didn't have much room to walk around. And my great-great-great-great aunt Luanne…"
Aware that the girl was lying, and rather badly, the redhead grimaced while trying to say pleasantly, "Oh, that's nice…"
"Girl, we ain't here to be nice." A new voice said. The redheaded girl, along with the overweight girl, turned to see an African-Canadian boy approaching them from the right. He wore a lightning bolt necklace, a dark blue football jersey, and athletic shorts. Flexing his arm muscles and admiring them, he told her, "We're here to sha-win! Though, all you other guys might want to just drop out now cause I'm gonna win." Kissing his biceps, he jogged past the girls, the redhead watching him go with a raised eyebrow while the overweight girl merely smiled at him obliviously.
As the boy jogged around the zeppelin's cabin, he passed an overweight African-Canadian boy with short black hair hidden underneath a dark red cap that was on his head backwards. He wore a large, black jacket over a dark red hoodie and teal shorts. His ears also happened to be pierced. The boy sat on the floor, smirking confidently as he collected a set of tools laid in front of him, and tucked them into his jacket.
The boy also ran past a white-skinned girl with long blond hair wearing sunglasses, a pink shirt and darker pink pants. She appeared to be on her personal cellphone.
"So you've got my signal, right? Great, when you get here, take as many pictures of me as you can," the girl said into her phone, trying to ignore the sound of hairspray being applied. Eventually, she couldn't concentrate and said, "I'll call back later, okay?" Ending the call, she spun on her stool around to face the source of irritation.
Sitting next to her was another teen girl, who was currently spraying her rather voluminous black hair that trailed down her back. Her skin was a fake tan orange, and she wore a purple blouse and teal jeans.
"Um, could you stop doing that?" The girl in pink requested, beginning to cough at the amount of hairspray in the air. "I'm trying to make an important call."
"Sorry, pinks," the girl with the fake tan apologized casually, opening her eyes when she stopped spraying. "I've got three more coats to apply before we get to wherever we're going. Got to look my hottest."
The girl in pink looked ready to argue, and opened her mouth to do so, but was cut off by an excited yell.
"Wow! My first time on a zeppelin!"
She, and the girl with the spray tan, watched as a small African-Canadian boy with short black hair ran past them with a big grin on his face. The boy wore round, black glasses, a bright red hoodie that matched the hair of the redhead from earlier, and orange shorts.
The short boy eagerly ran past the redhead and the overweight girl to the back of the zeppelin's cabin, and jumped up on top of a crate to explore every bit of the room.
"This is also my first time flying, which is so cool!" The boy exclaimed, jumping down and running over to a boy also hanging out at the back of the cabin. "Isn't this amazing?" He asked the other boy.
The boy he was talking to was slightly overweight, had white skin and short brown hair, and wore glasses with a striped long-sleeve shirt and shorts. The chubby boy was playing a handheld video game console, and appeared to be paying so much attention to the beeps and other sounds coming from his game that he didn't notice someone was talking to him.
"Um, excuse me?" The boy in the hoodie nudged the game player, finally getting his attention. "Did you hear my question?"
"What? Oh, sorry." The game player chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Got a little too caught up in my game. Hehe, just scored a grenade upgrade. Cool, right?" He went back to playing his game, smiling fondly.
The boy in the hoodie raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I guess? I don't know much about video games, but I'd be happy to learn while I'm out here."
Another boy, this one a boy with white skin and black hair in a crew cut, marched over to the pair. He wore a camouflage green shirt, dog tags like seen in the military, and wore shorts with combat boots.
"Glad to see another enthusiastic cadet," the new boy greeted with a warm smile. He stuck his hand out. "I hope we're in the same platoon."
The camera panned away to the left as the boy in the hoodie was heard saying in confusion, "Cadet? Platoon? I thought this zeppelin was taking us to Total Drama."
Once all three boys were out of frame, the camera settled on the final pair of contestants on board. Sitting on a stool closest to the back of the cabin was a skinny brown-skinned boy with spiked-up brown hair. He wore a blue shirt and blue pants. To the left of the boy in blue sat a girl with long blonde hair and pale white skin. Wearing a green sweater and a purple skirt, she sat in a lotus meditation position with her eyes closed.
The boy in blue watched the other boys converse, and then turned to the girl next to him. He pointed at the other boys with his thumb. "They all seem pretty nice, don't they?" The girl opened her eyes, and stared at him with an examining look. Her stare made the boy in blue shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Um, is something wrong?" he asked.
For a moment, the girl continued to stare at him, and then smiled softly, "You have a very colorful aura. The many parts within it are quite fascinating."
Confused for a moment, the boy in blue soon responded with a hesitant, "Thank you?"
The zeppelin lit up in a flash of lightning, causing the both of them to gasp in shock.
As the viewpoint cut to outside the blimp, the aircraft was shown flying into dark clouds. Lightning flashed multiple times, one even occurring close to the zeppelin. The flash closest to the blimp acted as a transition back inside, where Chef, dressed in his pilot outfit from season three, steadied the aircraft. Grimacing at their surroundings, Chef grabbed a nearby microphone that was wired into the zeppelin's sound system.
"Hang on! This might get hairy," Chef warned the newcomers as a siren blared throughout the back cabin.
All over the room, the contestants braced themselves for the turbulence that shook their ride. Their panic rose as they all witnessed parts falling from above and clattering to the floor. The pale girl in the green sweater found herself vibrating off her stool and onto the floor while the overweight boy with the coat crawled away carefully from where he was sitting, eyes wide and darting around, obviously trying to form a plan but failing.
Finally, the blimp evened out, and another flash of lightning heralded the appearance of Chris onboard.
"Hello, newbies!" Chris greeted, smiling as if the turbulence moments ago didn't bother him. "Ready for some fun?"
"Yes!" squealed both the small teen in the red hoodie and the girl in pink, both grinning with excitement as they popped up on either side of the host.
Chris eyed them strangely. "Huh. Couple of keeners. I'm sure a little pain and starvation will fix that," he noted, walking away from them. Their faces fell at the mention of 'pain and starvation'.
Arriving in the middle of the cabin where mostly everyone else was, Chris began to explain, "Let's get started. This aircraft stinks, and is equipped with two emergency exits. Here, and at the end of the cabin." He pointed to the back, where the boy with the crew cut and the game-playing teen were still standing. All the commotion had startled the game-playing teen into putting away his console and pay attention. "At said exits, you will find parachute packs." He knocked a fist on a crate for emphasis, hinting where the teens could find them. "Only half of them contain actual parachutes. The other half contain surprises that will be utterly useless when falling from the sky."
"Well," the redheaded girl with the flower clip in her hair spoke up, prompting Chris and the other contestants to look at her, "hopefully we won't need them." She gave everyone a weak attempt at a reassuring smile.
Chris shrugged. "Who knows? This season is full of surprises. Like this!" Without warning, he pulled out a remote detonator, and pressed the button on it.
On the outside of the zeppelin, an explosive was shown attached to one of the propellers and blinked its green light several times before blowing up and setting the propeller aflame. Once the propeller stopped working, the entire aircraft began to fall through the dark clouds surrounding it.
All the contestants ran around the zeppelin's cabin, screaming and scrambling to save themselves.
The camera cut to one of the crates being opened by the hand of the overweight boy with the jacket. He grabbed one of the top parachutes, followed by the hand of the pale girl in the green sweater, the freckled redhead, and the boy in blue. Returning to the usual side view, the short teen in the red hoodie was shown running past the pale girl with his own parachute as she shouldered her pack. As the camera panned to its left, the boy in blue was shown popping upright and buckling his pack onto his back. In quick succession, the girl with the fake tan was shown pulling on hers, and then the overweight girl that lied buckling hers.
The short teen in the red hoodie jumped out of the zeppelin's back exit, closely followed by the pale girl and the boy in the football jersey. At the side exit, the girl in the track hoodie ran along the stools nailed into the floor and dove out of the aircraft. Chris stood by the exit, and was soon approached by the boy with the crew cut, who was wearing a pack and had another one in hand.
"Sir," the boy spoke, "as a cadet, I cannot flee in good conscience without making sure everyone else does. Your parachute?" He held out the parachute in his hand.
Chris dismissed the offer. "Oh, no thank you. I'm actually a hologram."
"What?" Chef cried out in protest, running over to them. "Why ain't I a hologram?" He reached out, and attempted to poke Chris with his finger, but his finger went right through and Chris's image began to distort. Gasping at the confirmation of Chris's claim, the cook turned pilot snatched the parachute pack that was initially offered to the host. "Abandon ship!" He flung himself out the exit, running straight through Chris's hologram, and the boy took one last look around before diving out after him.
Far below the spiraling zeppelin, another camera showed the new contestants falling past it one by one. First, it was the girl in pink, then the overweight girl, the boy in the jersey, the boy with the game console, the freckled redhead, the boy in blue, the short teen in the red hoodie, and the girl with the flower in her hair. After all of them came Chef, screaming just as much as them and clutching his parachute to his chest.
The girl in the track hoodie stopped panicking as the camera returned to its usual side view, and smirked once she was out of the dark clouds and in the bright blue sky. "Always wanted to skydive. Guess I can cross this off my list. Yeah!" Yanking her parachute's cord, she was pleased to find her pack did contain a parachute.
While her parachute slowed her descent, the overweight boy with the tools in his jacket was shown pulling his cord. His parachute opened to reveal big bones, rocks, and caveman animal skins flying out. He rolled his eyes in annoyance, but said nothing as he continued to fall.
Clutching the leg of the girl with the fake tan, the boy in the red hoodie continued to scream. The girl with the fake tan pulled her cord, revealing the parachute inside. "All this falling from the sky better not mess up my pouffe," she complained when her descent slowed, and then scowled down at the boy still clinging to her. "And you, don't scuff up my shoes!" She kicked him off her leg, letting him continue to fall at a rapid pace.
Almost immediately after she forced him to let go, he pulled his cord. Sighing in relief when the parachute opened, he smiled sheepishly at the girl he had been holding onto. "This is my first time skydiving, and I've decided that I don't like it." The girl rolled her eyes at him.
The girl who had been lying on the blimp pulled her cord, and didn't appear to mind when books came out of her pack instead of a parachute. "Ooh, history books! My great-great-great-great-great uncle Wilson…" she fell out of sight before she could finish her thought.
Beside her, the girl in pink opened her parachute, and found a bunch of trophies and a tiara inside. Grabbing the tiara before it was out of reach, she put it on her head. Giggling, she remarked, "A tiara? My daddy does say I'm his little princess all the time. This only makes it more true."
With her pack much lighter, and herself by extension, she started to fall slower than some of the others, like the freckled redhead.
The redhead himself pulled his cord, and gaped at what was most certainly not a parachute coming out of his pack. "Shark teeth? Who puts shark teeth in a parachute?"
Next to open his pack was the boy in blue, who grinned upon seeing a proper parachute. "Alright!"
The game player opened his pack, and found it contained little puppies who all barked as they flew out. Sighing, he commented, "Looks like I won't be getting a parachute power-up." Resigning himself to his fate, he pulled out the game console he had before, and started to play mid-air.
Beside him, Chef Hatchet fell. When he pulled his pack's cord, steak and waffles emerged along with a cook hat highly resembling the one in his usual attire. "Oh, that's just wrong," he huffed, getting some joke.
Above them, the pale girl in the green sweater pulled her cord, and a teddy bear wearing a mini parachute floated out. "I suppose that's the good energy I felt when I grabbed this parachute," she noted as she watched the bear leave her personal bubble, "If I had more time, I could've picked out a parachute with less negative energy." Soon, a pair of puppies from the game player's pack flew up into her range, and she quickly swept them into her arms. "Don't worry, little ones. You're safe with me."
The redheaded girl with the flower in her hair pulled the cord of her pack, and cheered when hers contained a parachute. "Yeah!"
The boy in the football jersey opened his parachute, and hot dogs flew out. "Hot dogs! Those are protein!" Snagging two before they could float away, he stuffed them into his mouth. "Really good protein," he said with his mouth full, proceeding to chew and swallow.
Finally, the last one to leave the blimp opened his parachute. He grinned when his pack opened and revealed a parachute. "Cadet camp never covered this!" Looking up, he snapped one arm out and grabbed the girl who lied by her pack.
"And that's how my great-great-great-great-great uncle Nolan invented falling out of the sky!" She rambled, looking at her rescuer. "Pretty cool, right?"
"Um, sure?" He said with a raised eyebrow, looked up again, and snapped out his other arm. This time, he managed to catch the game player by the leg.
"Hehe, awesome! Thanks, player two!" The game player smiled in gratitude before returning to his game. Though, he quickly pulled his attention away again when he, along with the other two, watched as the others who didn't have proper parachutes fell down around them, including Chef.
On Pahkitew Island's beach, Chris watched through a pair of binoculars, and soon lowered them.
"Here they come now," he announced with a grin.
Zooming out, the camera was able to show the overweight boy with the jacket, then the girl in pink, and Chef land in the ocean nearby with a splash. Then, the camera panned slightly to the left to show the boy who caught the other two landing on the beach behind Chris, the game player landing in an awkward position on his back while his rescuer landed on one knee and the liar on her butt with a grimace.
A few feet away from them, the boy in blue landed with both feet on the sand.
"Woohoo! We're still alive!" He cheered, pumping both fists and chuckling.
"Watch out!" A feminine voice called out in warning.
The boy in blue turned around to identify where the warning was coming from, only for the redhead with the flower in her hair to land on his chest, sending him down onto his back.
The girl winced apologetically as he grunted in pain. "Sorry! You okay?"
He lifted his head up slightly to give her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine." She smiled back at the response.
The boy in the football jersey angled himself with a determined glare, and managed to grind down the branch of a tall tree as if he were riding a skateboard on a rail, and dove into the ocean to cushion his landing somewhat. He surfaced quickly after his dive, along with the overweight boy with the jacket and the girl in pink.
The other contestants with parachutes finally landed. The girl with the fake tan landed on the beach, close to the water's edge, and the boy in the red hoodie arrived right next to her. The girl in the track hoodie was quick to follow.
"Nice try, McBlow Up," the girl in the hoodie taunted with a smirk. Pointing at herself with her thumb, she proclaimed, "It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me."
Shooting her a smug look, Chris opened his mouth to reply, only for Chef to speak before he did.
"You could've at least given me one of the parachutes," Chef grunted at his friend and co-worker, his pilot uniform in shreds from the fall.
"Shoulda, woulda, oops, didn't," Chris shrugged as if the cook needing to flee like the campers was merely an inconvenience. "But, you're right, and I forgive you." As Chef shot him an incredulous look, Chris began to count heads before consulting his clipboard. Smiling, he said, "Only two missing. Not so bad."
"No, just one," a light voice corrected.
Chris and Chef both jumped nearly a foot in the air, yelping and spinning around to see the pale girl standing behind them, her empty pack still on her back and the puppies still in her arms.
"What the? How did you?" Chris stammered, looking between her and the part of the sky where the contestants had fallen from. "I didn't even see you!" he exclaimed, indignant at the sudden startle.
The girl knelt and set down the puppies, rising to her full height again as they scampered off. "All I did was take a shortcut."
"How do you take a shortcut through the- you know what? I don't want to know." Shaking his head, Chris consulted his clipboard again, and then glanced around. "Where is the other one, anyway?"
In the woods somewhere on the island, the freckled redhead struggled to take off his pack, which was made difficult by it being stuck on a tree branch high above the ground.
"Hello?" The boy called out, squirming as he fiddled with the straps. "A little help here? Gah!" Soon, he managed to free himself, but it came at the price of immediately falling to the ground, leaving his false parachute pack stuck in the tree.
A flash cut later, Chris and Chef stood on the beach, the latter having changed into his usual outfit, with the thirteen new contestants split into two groups on either side of the host and his partner.
"Welcome to Pahkitew Island," Chris informed the teens and the audience. He gestured to the group on the right, his and Chef's left. "On the right, everyone who didn't have parachutes."
Starting on the far right end, he introduced, "B." The overweight boy with the jacket- the Strong Silent Genius.
"Dawn." The pale girl in the green sweater- the Moonchild.
"Dakota." The girl in pink- the Fame Monger.
"Sam." The boy who had been playing a video game- the Nice Guy Gamer.
"Scott." The freckled redhead who had sniffed his armpit- the Devious Guy.
"Lightning." The boy in the football jersey- the Athletic Overachiever.
"And, Staci." The girl who had been lying constantly- the Compulsive Liar.
"So, uh, this is my team?" Sam asked, looking at everyone around him. "Cool!"
(Confessional- Sam)
The gamer sat in the outhouse confessional, which appeared to look exactly as it did before Camp Wawanakwa sunk in the previous season. "So, yeah. My team looks awesome," he said with a smile before frowning. "I just hope I don't get cut first. That would be lame." His smile returned as he continued to say, "But, if I stick it out long enough to be cut sixth, or even seventh, how cool would that be?" He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the game console he had been playing on the zeppelin.
"What's our team name?" Lightning spoke up. "Because I have some great ideas- Team Lightning! No, Lightning Squad!" The athletic overachiever boasted.
Pointing a finger at Lightning, Chris responded cheekily, "Good suggestions, Lightning, but no." Reaching into a pocket on his person, he read off a card. "Your team will be Waneyihtam Maskwak, which is Cree for Ferocious Tigers!"
A blue circle depicting a tiger head showing off its many teeth was shown onscreen with a bright yellow backdrop.
"Um, sorry, but that's wrong." The boy in the red hoodie interrupted, everyone's eyes turning towards him. "I've studied a lot of different topics growing up, including the Cree language, and the team name's translation would be 'Confused Bears'."
Chris chuckled, but accepted the correction. "Oh, then I guess you're the Confused Bears."
The blue tiger logo was shown again, but it was quickly bumped aside by a red logo of a bear wearing a confused expression and a question mark hovering near its head.
This time, Chris turned towards the other group. "Those with actual parachutes."
Like last time, he started on the far end of the group. "Jo." The girl in the track hoodie who had been sitting next to Scott on the zeppelin- the Take-No-Prisoners Jockette.
"Brick." The boy who had offered Chris a parachute- the Cadet.
"Mike." The boy in blue- the Hopeless Romantic.
"Zoey." The redhead who had crashed into Mike- the Indie Chick.
"Cameron." The boy in the red hoodie- the Wide-Eyed Bubble Boy.
"And, Anne Maria." The girl with the fake tan- the Jersey Shore Reject.
"Your team is Pimapotew Kinosewak, the Soaring Eag-!"
"The Floating Salmon?" Cameron corrected him again, surprised by what the translation equaled.
A green circle depicting a hovering fish was shown against the same yellow backdrop as the Confused Bears' logo had.
Annoyed by being corrected a second time, Chris tore up the card and glared at Chef. "That's what you get for using a free online translator."
"My bad," shrugged Chef, who walked away.
"Anywho," Chris said, recovering his composure. "Seeing as there's nowhere for you to sleep tonight, we figured your first challenge should be to build your own shelter." He walked off-screen, and Staci appeared in his place.
"Oh! My great-great-great-great-great-great-great uncle Bob invented shelters," Staci rambled with an oblivious smile. She didn't appear to notice the strange looks she was earning from her new teammates. "Yah, before him, everybody just slept outside in whatever the weather was. Then, my great-great-great-great-great grandpa Phil-." A sharp whistle cut off her tangent.
"Yo, Chatterbox!" Chris interrupted, sounding far away and causing her to turn her head in his direction. The camera panned over to Chris, who appeared to be standing on top of a pile of some sort. "Yeah, I was talking!"
The camera zoomed out to show Chris was indeed on top of a pile. The pile itself was a mish-mash of wooden planks, sheets of metal, and other scraps. Even a yellow raft resembling the one from the bell-ringing challenge in season four, a chair from the spa hotel, and oddly enough, the satellite that was seen in the opener of the fourth season were included in the pile. Other smaller piles of scraps surrounded the main big one.
"Each team may take supplies from the common area before they begin to build," Chris explained as the two newly assembled teams walked up to the challenge zone. "But, the supplies are guarded by Chef, armed with a powerful tennis ball blaster!"
Chef was shown standing on a rock plateau nearby, behind the controls of a tennis ball blaster that appeared the same as the seagull cannon from the previously-described bell-ringing challenge.
Jumping down to join the contestants, Chris elaborated, "A glancing blow will sting."
To prove Chris's point, Chef fired a tennis ball, which clocked Brick in the head.
"Ow," the cadet griped, rubbing the afflicted area.
Beside him, Jo snorted. "Wow, you must be a wimp."
"It only hurt a little," Brick retorted, not as confident in his statement as he attempted to sound.
"And a direct hit can take you right to the ground," Chris added.
Again proving Chris's point, Chef fired a tennis ball, this time hitting Scott in his lower jewels.
"Augh," the devious guy groaned in pain, collapsing on his side.
"Someone want to help the guy to his feet?" Chris inquired to Scott's team.
Doing as Chris requested, B tried to get Scott back up, but he only fell back down.
"Good enough," the host accepted the try, thrusting a finger into the air. "On with the challenge!" He pointed back the way towards the beach. "Team Kinosewak will build closer to the beach; Team Maskwak will build further inland. Best shelter according to me wins the challenge." Pulling out his airhorn, he pressed the horn on the canister. "Begin!"
At the cue, Chef started firing tennis balls at the two new teams, eliciting shrieks of horror from the intended targets.
"Fall back!" Brick ordered his team, waving them by as they ran off to the left. Jo didn't look especially happy about it, but she led the team out of Chef's firing area, and Brick brought up the rear.
"Follow B!" Dawn called out, following the silent genius as he picked up Scott and threw him over his shoulder, running off to the right with his team close behind.
Cutting to the Bears' safe zone, the whole team popped up behind some tree stumps and bushes, looking out at the junk pile. Scott seemed to have recovered because he was up and looking with the rest of his team. B and Dawn, who were at the furthest left of the group, looked at each other. B made a series of hand gestures that seemed to mime building actions.
"Okay, everyone, B says we should," Dawn began to translate.
"Hold on," Lightning interrupted with a scowl on his face, "why does the quiet guy get to tell us what to do?"
Dawn frowned at the athletic overachiever. "Do you know how to make shelter out in the wilderness?" she asked rather pointedly.
At the question, Lightning's expression faltered.
(Confessional- Lightning)
"The Lightning may not know how to build a house in the woods, but he does not like being bossed around." The jock pointed at himself with his thumb, thumping his chest proudly. "Lightning is the captain of just about every sports team in school back home. He's usually the one telling people what plays to make, and never surrenders team captain to nobody!"
(Confessional- Dawn)
The moonchild sat with her knees folded in her lap on the outhouse seat. "Lightning's aura tells me he's a very headstrong person. I can already sense that will cause problems for him, and potentially the team, in the near future."
"Sha-fine," he relented, crossing his arms. "What's the game plan?"
On the other side of the junk pile, the Salmon hid behind large rocks, trying their best not to get smacked in the head by tennis balls moving faster than they would be if they were hit by a racket. Anne Maria, Cameron, Mike, and Zoey were all clustered together while Brick and Jo hid a few feet away.
"Alright fishies/troops," Jo and Brick said in unison, "let's get building supplies." Realizing this, they glanced at each other suspiciously.
"Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Jo demanded.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," shot back Brick.
"I'm leading this team. All of you yahoos are too soft to be in charge, so that leaves me."
"Excuse you, but I learned shelter-building tactics at boot camp. Did you learn anything like that?"
"Well no," she admitted, "but how hard could it possibly-?"
"Hey, bozos," Anne Maria cut in, "we might want to think of what kinda place we're going to build, and fast because the other team is already out there grabbing stuff." She pointed a fake-tanned finger at the junk pile.
Glaring at Anne Maria for butting in on their argument, Jo scowled back at Brick. "Fine. We'll let you be the expert on the shelter stuff, but after that, I'm leading this team. Got that?"
"Affirmative," Brick nodded in acquiescence. Addressing the rest of the team, he said, "Okay, troops, grab lots of wood, nails, and whatever fabric you can find. We're building a base."
Back on the Bears' side, Lightning dropped a set of wooden planks and a hammer at his team's feet.
"A treehouse?" Scott clarified, incredulous at the idea. "How the heck are we supposed to build a treehouse out here?"
"As long as we follow B's instructions, we should be okay." Dawn told him, looking up at B. "What's next?" B mimed rolling something, and pointed. Dawn looked where he was indicating, and nodded. "The wheelbarrow? Good idea. We can gather more materials with that instead of carrying it all." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Though, it appears Chef is heavily guarding that. We will need some kind of distraction so someone can safely retrieve it."
"I'd offer to be a distraction so I can get some camera time," Dakota spoke up, lifting her sunglasses so her team could see her eyes. "But, I don't want to go out there if Chef is going to be shooting balls at me. Bruises are not good for video footage, or paparazzi photos."
"I could go out there with you," Sam offered, tugging at his shirt collar with a slight blush on his face. "I could take most of the hits, and with two of us out there, Chef will be even more distracted from the wheelbarrow."
Dakota gasped in delight. "You'd do that? For me? Then let's go get that camera time!" Seizing the gamer's arm, she tugged him out into the open field. B got up to follow.
While the fame hungry girl and the gamer got into position, Brick volunteered to make a first run. He was first seen ducking behind a large rock closer to the pile, and then proceed to make a dash for the pile, lowering himself into a feet-first slide when he was nearly there. The cadet snatched up some rope, slinging it around his torso, and picked up a can of soup.
"Go, Brick! Nice job!" Zoey cheered from the team's safe area.
(Confessional- Brick)
"Turns out that junk pile also had items of nutritional value in addition to building supplies," Brick commented, holding up the can of soup he had retrieved. "Like this cream of broccoli. One of my favorites. My mom has a really good broccoli soup recipe, and maybe I can share it with my new teammates while I'm out here."
"I'm- starting- to think- this was- a bad- idea," Sam grunted in pain every time he was hit by a tennis ball. Dakota hid behind him, regretting that she came out into the fray.
"Dakota! Smile for us!" A sudden, Italian voice called out.
Dakota and Sam looked up, and saw a quartet of paparazzi photographers hovering above the area in a hot air balloon. They all held cameras, which flashed every second, taking pictures.
"Hi, guys! Great timing, I'm in the middle of a challenge," Dakota greeted the men, stepping out from behind Sam and posing for their cameras. Sam stared at her in disbelief, both of them occasionally getting pelted by tennis balls. "Don't publish any of the ones where I get hit, okay?"
The camera cut to Chris, who was visibly annoyed. "Chef, want to take care of the uninvited guests?"
Without a word, Chef switched targets, and shot some tennis balls at the balloon. The balls flew fast enough that they ripped through the balloon, and sent it, along with the paparazzi in the hot air balloon's basket, flying off into the distance.
With Chef having changed his target, Sam and Dakota looked themselves over during their short reprieve, but Dakota did not miss the fact that her photographers had been shot away so quickly.
"Um, rude!" Dakota snapped at the host and his co-worker, stomping her foot indignantly.
B took advantage of the momentary lack of tennis balls to claim the wheelbarrow and some more wood, and he wheeled it over behind Sam and Dakota, scooping them up in it as he jogged back to their team's side.
"I'll get some blankets," Scott declared, seeing his teammates were on their way back. Standing up, he toed over his teammates, and hurried to go grab stuff from the pile. "Going to be a cold night in our shelter, otherwise."
(Confessional- Scott)
"Seeing as everything we're taking is a bunch of scraps, the blankets can't be any worse than the ones we have on the dirt farm back home," the devious guy remarked. "Pappy ain't exactly known for his sewing."
"Ah crap," Jo complained on the Salmon's side of the field. "The bumbling bears are getting most of the wood. What are we supposed to build our shelter out of now?"
Cameron raised a finger to interject. "We could use sheets of metal instead. It looks like there's plenty of those."
"Great idea," Mike beamed at him. "Let's go with that."
As the Salmon began to re-plan their shelter, Chef's tennis ball launcher began to malfunction. It sparked and stalled, causing Chef to smack it to try and make it work again. While he attempted to fix his machine, Chris saw it as an opportunity for a break.
"Building supplies are being collected," the host narrated at the camera filming him, "Team Maskwak is doing a very wood job, but Team Kinosewak is starting to put the pedal to the metal! You don't want to miss any of this on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"
On a far view of the new island, the camera faded to black for the season's first commercial break.
When the show faded back in, Chris rose into view.
"We're back," said Chris, "the players are moving, Chef is shooting, pick your favorite team and start rooting!" After the little bit of narration, he turned towards Chef as the camera zoomed out. "Is that thing working again yet?"
Chef chuckled, and grabbed the controls. "Just watch," the cook said simply.
Down at the junk pile, Zoey appeared to be grabbing a sheet of metal like her team had planned, and yelped, running away from the new onslaught of tennis balls with her sheet raised above her head for protection. As she ran back, Anne Maria walked into the field for a turn of her own. In a display that would baffle the cast and the production crew, any tennis balls that hit Anne Maria's pouffe bounced off her hair as if they hit a wall.
Despite the apparent hardy nature of her hairdo, Anne Maria still felt every hit, which annoyed her. "Hey! Watch the hair, buster!" She shook a fist up at the cook.
Chris and Chef stared at her in shock.
"Did they just bounce off her hair?" Chris asked Chef, checking if his co-worker saw the same thing he did. Chef nodded numbly.
(Confessional- Anne Maria)
"Sure, I want to win a million bucks, but not at the expense of my looks." Anne Maria gestured to herself. "Perfect tan, perfect hair… all this is worth a billion, easy."
"Hey, peeps! Check it!" Anne Maria crouched down, ignoring the constant balls to her hair, and picked up a bucket of a pink, shiny substance. "Think we can do something with this glitter?"
"Glitter?" Jo repeated in outrage, throwing her hands in the air. "Are you freaking kidding me? Why the heck would we need glitter?"
Zoey shrugged uneasily, not wanting to risk Jo's ire. "Maybe we could use it as a homely touch?"
"Chris might give us extra points for decorative stuff," Mike agreed. He motioned to Cameron. "Come on, buddy. Let's grab more stuff. I'll draw Chef's fire while you get more materials we need. Sound good?"
Cameron looked at his arms. "I'm not sure how much I'll be able to carry, but I'll try."
Nodding, Mike ran into the fray first, waving his arms. "Hey, Chef! Bet you can't hit me!"
Taking that as a challenge, Chef aimed at Mike, and began to fire rapidly.
In the few moments Mike had before the balls would begin to hit him, he gasped heavily, his eyes going wide. When his breath finished, he somehow gained a new set of eyelashes and lipstick. "Svetlana will dodge every one," 'Svetlana' declared in a feminine-sounding voice, and proceeded to do a set of gymnastic flips and handstands, living up to their proclamation.
Cameron, who had just run out to make his move, stopped in place and gasped in surprise. "Whoa…"
Svetlana leaped and sprung past Cameron, indirectly putting the bubble boy back in Chef's line of fire.
"Ow!" Cameron winced, putting a hand to his head, where he had been hit by a stray ball. Remembering where he was, he bent down to grab something from the pile.
A bag of snacks flew one way and an empty bottle went another way as the sound of someone rummaging through the junk could be heard.
"Where are the stinking blankets?" Scott complained, rising out of the pile with an old TV set raised above his head. "All I've found is this TV that looks just like the one back home, but with less cracks. Agh!" A tennis ball struck him in the side of the head, and the sudden pain caused him to drop the TV onto his head, it cracking as it forcefully landed on him.
Chris and Chef shared a chuckle, high-fiving over Scott's misery.
Lightning peered out from behind the pile, and ran for the Confused Bears' side, pulling a yellow wagon containing Staci and more supplies along with him.
"Yah, and that's how my great-great-great-great- ouch!" Before Staci could finish her tale, a ball bopped her on the nose.
Opposite of where Lightning and Staci were, Cameron struggled to haul his supplies, a pair of tires, back to his team's side.
Svetlana landed beside him while Chef's attention was drawn towards the other team for the moment.
"Need some help?" Svetlana asked in a Russian accent.
"Yes, please," pleaded a breathless Cameron.
"Svetlana will assist, in that case." Svetlana reached down to help Cameron, only to be beaned in the back of the head and the spine by Chef's tennis balls. "Many ouchies!" They gasped again with the same fish-eyed expression as before, and when the breath was over, they were hunched over with one eye shut and their bottom lip curled.
"Uh, Svetlana? Mike?" Cameron inquired.
"Svetlana? My name is Chester, youngin!" 'Chester' snapped, poking Cameron in the chest.
"Huh?" Cameron raised an eyebrow.
(Confessional- Cameron)
"It was strange," the bubble boy told the camera. "One minute, Mike, or Svetlana, was standing up straight and happy, but then the next, he was hunched over and grumpy. What was that about?"
The static transitioned to Jo and Zoey, who were watching the boys be held under a constant barrage of balls.
"Mike and Cameron look like they're having trouble," Zoey observed, looking to Jo. "We need to help them."
Jo nodded in agreement, surprising Zoey. "Yeah, I'm getting tired of Dinner Disaster's sniping. Time to give him a taste of what we've been dealing with."
Sprinting over to the junk pile, Jo snatched a steel pipe from it, and skidded to a stop right in front of her teammates. Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, she grasped the pipe with both hands, pulled back, and swung at one of the balls.
The camera followed behind the ball, which quickly made Chef see stars.
After a moment of darkness, Chef opened his eyes to see Chris smiling down at him.
"Wowzers," Chris remarked, "that girl's got some skills, huh?"
With Chef down thanks to Jo, the campers took advantage of no longer being under Chef's constant ambush and went digging through the junk all at once. Zoey found a hammer, and Jo snatched a second coil of rope in case her team needed more than one; Scott finally found the sheets he had been looking for, Sam and Dakota searched through a box, and B inspected a chair. Chris sounded his air horn, causing Dawn to poke her head up from behind an old ventilation box.
"It's building time!" Chris announced. He glanced down at Chef cheekily, asking, "Are you coming, or do you only want to get paid for half the episode?" Walking away, he left Chef to get up on his own. The cook did get up, but he had a black eye from Jo's returned fire.
The Confused Bears made their way through the woods with their supplies. B was in front with his wheelbarrow full of wood, followed by Lightning carrying more, Scott with the blankets, Sam with the box he and Dakota had been looking through when time ran out, Dakota mindlessly typed on her phone, and Dawn brought up the rear with the wagon of supplies, which Staci was still riding in. All but Dawn looked visibly annoyed with Staci's talking.
"And that's how my great-great-great aunt Dora taught Native Canadians how to carve totems," Staci continued to ramble.
Cutting to a closer view of Dawn and Staci, the moonchild glanced back at her teammate. "You know, you don't have to lie about your family's history just to impress us."
Dawn's comment startled Staci deeply. The liar flinched, and frowned at her. "Who said I was lying? Because whoever it was, they're wrong. I'm telling the truth."
"Nobody said anything," Dawn informed her, gesturing to Staci's body. "It's there in your aura. You only want to be accepted by your peers because you've never won anything more than a participation ribbon in the events you've entered."
Staci stared at Dawn, mouth agape. "How do you…?"
Dawn shrugged, clearly used to the reaction. "I read auras. They tell a lot about a person's history. A lot of guesswork is usually involved because they're more feelings than memories, but I'm usually fairly correct in my speculations."
Still frowning, Staci looked down at her hands. "I just want to be someone that people can be proud to know…"
"And you can be," Dawn said, "you just need to stop lying about your family, and start letting people get to know yourself. That's the only way you'll get what you need and want."
Unable to respond to that, Staci sat back silently in the wagon, beginning to think over her teammate's advice.
(Confessional- Staci)
"Okay," she started off her confession slowly and hesitantly, "so maybe I've told a few lies about my family while I was growing up. It's just, people often have such amazing stories to share. I mean, one of my classmates brags about being related to the guy that started the Ridgemount Resort chain. The closest I've got to that is one of my aunts is a housekeeper for one of those hotels in Newfoundland, and I'm actually telling the truth this time." She sighed, staring down at her feet. "I thought claiming that my ancestors invented a lot of stuff would get me a lot of popularity points. I mean, everybody's grateful to the guy who invented the light bulb, or the guy who invented microwave meals, right?"
"Wait, we have to build the treehouse too?" Dakota asked, incredulous at the idea. Her team eventually stopped by a tree that B confirmed with Dawn was big and strong enough to support all of them plus a treehouse. "I thought we were just getting the supplies, and a crew was supposed to, like, build it for us."
Lightning shot the fame-hungry girl a glare. "Girl, you need to get your head in the sha-game. You cannot be this dumb."
"Hey, they gave the cast somewhere to sleep every other season! Excuse me if I figured we'd be given the same," Dakota snapped back.
"Friends, please," Dawn stepped forward, trying to peacefully come between them. "We need to calm down, and build a shelter. If we don't get started, the other team might win, and we'll have to vote someone off."
Sam looked back the way the team had come from. "I just hope they're having more problems than we are."
Meanwhile, the Floating Salmon gathered in a clearing near the beach like Chris instructed. Between the six of them, they were able to round up several sheets of metal, some rope and straw, building tools, and some large boulders from nearby that appeared potentially useful. To Jo's dismay, the bucket of glitter Anne Maria was included in the pile in case they needed a decorative touch.
"I've built tiny models of stuff before, but never something as big as a house," Cameron admitted as he and his teammates sat around their pile on some stone seats, looking at their supplies. "I'm not sure how we're supposed to accomplish this with everything we managed to gather."
"Not to worry. I've already got a blueprint drawn up here," Brick said, tapping the side of his head. "All we need to do is follow my plans, and we should have a place to sleep before nightfall."
Jo rolled her eyes. "I still say we should've just listened to me. If we had, we'd have wood to use. That's easier to build with than these dumb metal sheets."
Filing her nails, Anne Maria commented, "I'll do whatever you guys need me to do, just as long as it doesn't involve me ruining these nails. Just got them done before I came out here so I could look my best for the cameras."
"I think that's about to be the last of your problems now that we're here," Zoey said, looking over to Mike, who was still looking like 'Chester'. "What do you think, Mike?"
Chester scoffed at the question. "I think you're all wasting your time, trying to build something. Just find an empty cave, claim it, and call it a day."
Zoey leaned over to Brick, who was sitting on her other side. "Would Chris even let us do that?" Brick shrugged, uncertain of the answer as much as Zoey was.
(Confessional- Zoey)
"I don't really get Mike's old man comedy routine," Zoey told the camera, "but I bet it's really funny if you're from France, or something. He seems like a nice guy, though. He didn't seem to mind when I crashed into him after the parachute thing."
When the action returned to the Confused Bears, they were putting the finishing touches on their treehouse. B was checking the sturdiness of the railings, Lightning was on the roof hammering in some final nails with Dawn, Sam and Staci were tying knots, and Dakota was putting up privacy curtains for the girls' side of the shelter. Scott was also at work, but strangely, he appeared to be undoing his teammates' work. When he was sure they weren't looking, he loosened the floorboards by pulling out nails with his hammer, sneakily throwing the freed nails over the edge, and loosening the knots that Sam and Staci had tied.
"That's the last one," Sam said, lowering his hands from the ropes he had been working on.
"Oh, Dakota! Down here!" A familiar voice called. The fame-hungry girl peered over the railing edge, as did most of her teammates.
Down below, the paparazzi that were taking pictures earlier sat in a jeep much like the one Chris and Chef used to get around Camp Wawanakwa. They all had their cameras out, and were taking pictures of the girl and her team's new treehouse.
Dakota gasped with delight. "You guys are back!" She began to pose at the railing. "Check it out. My team and me built this by ourselves. Isn't it amazing?" Leaning too heavily on a railing that Scott had loosened, she began to teeter off the balcony. As she began to fall, she managed to grab the edge of the wooden platform. "Eek!"
"Hold on! We got you!" consoled Sam. The gamer rushed over to her, as did Staci, and the pair attempted to pull her back up to safety.
Chris chose that moment to show up via his jetpack.
"This is nice," the host praised, hovering beside them and not showing any concern for Dakota being so close to falling. "And smart move building it above ground level."
"Oh yeah?" Lightning raised an eyebrow, setting his hammer aside on the roof. "Why?"
The ground began to rumble, as if it were answering Lightning's question. Everyone in the treehouse began to wobble unsteadily. Dawn fell off the roof, and B caught her in his arms. She looked up at him with a grateful smile, while he replied with a humble one. Lightning fell off the roof too, landing on top of Scott and sending them both down to the floor.
"Here comes your answer," Chris cheekily replied.
The paparazzi on the ground let out a scream as a herd of moose proceeded to trample them, their cameras, and their ride. The trembling from the stampede was too much for the treehouse to handle, especially with Scott having loosened so many parts, and it collapsed. The team fell screaming, as well as everything that was loose, fell off the tree they had been building on, while the parts that hadn't been tampered with stayed.
The team groaned in unison at the pain they felt, joining the agonized moans of the squashed photographers.
"This island is a little more wild than our last one," Chris informed them, chuckling.
At the Salmon's location, the team was finished with their shelter, waiting for Chris to inspect and judge it. Using a gap between two large boulders, they were able to build four walls with their metal sheets they collected. A metal sheet with a pipe attached as a handle acted as a front door, which was able to swing open on a hinge that Brick improvised, and they left a small square hole on the front and back sides of the shelter to act as windows and emergency exits. The smaller boulders they had collected were arranged in a somewhat attractive pattern around the front door, giving the illusion of a little garden space.
"Meh," Jo shrugged as the team observed their work, "still think we could've done better."
"We could always make modifications later," Cameron suggested.
"I still think it's missing something," Anne Maria spoke up, picking up her bucket of glitter. Grabbing fistfuls of glitter, she tossed them at the front wall, sprinkling glitter on each side of the door. "Yeah, that's it. Any place I'm staying needs a little bling."
"Great, I think you made it even worse," Jo snarked.
Chester scoffed. "That's one thing we can agree on. Glitter? Feh, I'm not dealing with any of that frou-frou nonsense." He did the same sharp gasp and fish-eyed look he did twice before earlier in the day, and returned to looking the way he did when he first landed on the island.
Zoey glanced over at Mike in concern. "You okay, Mike?"
Mike blinked at her. "Huh? Oh yeah. Totally fine." He put on an unconvincing smile.
(Confessional- Mike)
Mike fiddled with the toilet paper holder for a moment before finally facing the camera. "So, I have Dissociative Identity Disorder. DID, for short. To put it simply, I have multiple personalities living in my head, and every time one of them is triggered, I black out because another one has taken over." He sighed, looking down at his feet. "I hope blacking out like I do doesn't make everyone think I'm a total freak."
Chris flew in on his jetpack like he did with the other team, and gave an appraising look at their shelter. "Hm, looks pretty solid. Only question now is if it's moose-proof."
"Moose-proof?" Brick repeated in confusion.
The ground started to shake, and the six teens looked to where the source was, clearly hearing the noise.
"Take cover!" Brick commanded, attempting to control the team's panic.
While his team decided to run for it, Brick dove into the team's new shelter, closing the door behind him and peeking out one of the windows.
"This is my first moose stampede, and I don't like it!" Cameron shouted as he ran into the edge of the nearby woods, diving behind a bush off to the side.
Mike managed to grab Zoey's arm as she passed the boulder he was hiding behind, and tugged her out of the moose' way. Jo and Anne Maria, however different they were from each other, both had the same idea of climbing a tree and out of reach.
Soon, the stampede was through the area, and the ground stopped quaking. Noticing this, Brick couldn't help but grin.
"Looks like our shelter is still standing," the cadet cheered, throwing the door open and marching out boastfully.
Mike, Zoey, and Cameron all popped out from behind their hiding places, pumping their fists and whooping at their team's success. Jo and Anne Maria slid down from their trees, doing the same.
A flash cut transitioned into later in the day at a new clearing. Chris stood in the center as the teams sat on either side of him on long logs that acted as benches. Each side corresponded with which side they were standing on when he assigned the teams, meaning Salmon on the camera's left and Bears on the camera's right.
"I'd like to say it was a hard decision," Chris began to say, "but let's keep it real. Team Pimapotew Kinosewak wins the challenge!"
The team on the left started cheering. Mike and Zoey hugged, Cameron and Brick high-fived, and Jo gave an approving nod while Anne Maria kicked a foot out in delight.
"My first victory in a challenge," Cameron exclaimed, a big grin on his face. "This is so exhilarating!"
Chris continued to explain, "The winners of each challenge will be rewarded this season with a take-out order from a sponsoring restaurant. This week, it's the Petting Zoo Barbecue- The Petting Zoo Barbecue, where someone else touched your dinner, we guarantee it."
"Sha-dip!" Lightning complained, crossing his arms as his teammates stared at him for his outburst. "The Lightning's going to miss out on some good protein."
Walking over to the team on the right, Chris informed them, "Team Waniyhtam Maskwak, please go vote. One member of your team is heading home today."
All seven teens grumbled over their loss, though Scott didn't appear as upset as the rest.
A fade out cut to that evening's bonfire ceremony. The ceremony took place on a rock ledge that bridged out from the main island.
"Welcome to the Pahkitew Island elimination area," Chris greeted the losing team. "This is where we determine who stays to play another day, and who gets a one-way ticket home."
Like on the original island, the campers sat on seats that were either tree stumps, logs sawed in half, or half-buried oil drums. B and Dawn sat in the back row while the rest of their teammates sat in front of them. Wanting her screen time, Dakota sat on the camera's right edge of the front row with Sam to the left, Scott next to them, the Staci, and Lightning on the other edge.
(Confessional- Lightning)
"That chick with the camera guys following her, she's so dumb. She'll hold the team back," the athletic overachiever confessed, "but so will that girl who talks way too much. If she's talking, she's not helping us win challenges." He put his fists on his hips thoughtfully. "Man, this is harder to decide than which of my teammates back home to bench."
(Confessional- Scott)
"Can we vote off two people instead of one?" The devious guy inquired, tossing a stone against the side of wall of the outhouse. "I can certainly think of a few that need to go."
(Confessional- B)
The silent genius shrugged, clearly unsure of who he was going to eliminate.
A transition of static later, Chris was shown holding a plate of marshmallows.
"The votes are in," the host announced, taking a marshmallow from the plate. "If I hand you a marshmallow, you're safe. B!"
B gave a thumbs-up as he caught the marshmallow intended for him.
"Lightning!"
"Sha-score!" Lightning eagerly snatched his, and shoved it in his mouth.
"Dawn!"
The moonchild allowed her marshmallow to land in her cupped palms.
"Scott!"
Scott smirked when he received his.
"And, Sam! You're safe."
Sam was busy playing a video game, so he didn't notice he had received a marshmallow until it bounced off his forehead and landed on his console. The gamer beamed when he noticed. He scooped the marshmallow into his mouth, and continued to play.
"Dakota," Chris began to say, causing the fame-hungry girl beside Sam to tense up. "You did very little to help your team, and you kept getting distracted by paparazzi that you called to the island."
"I just want enough exposure so I can get my own TV series," Dakota defended, pouting.
"Staci," the host continued as the camera cut to the liar sitting between Scott and Lightning, "you just wouldn't shut up about your family, all of which is very, very suspect."
Staci raised her hands in defense, looking at her teammates. "I didn't lie about the people, I just lied about what they did. Okay?"
"Uh, yeah," Chris replied awkwardly, holding the last marshmallow to be handed out. "Anywho, the last marshmallow goes to…"
The camera cut to Dakota, whose eyes had widened with fear, as she glanced back and forth between Chris and her team. Staci was shown biting her lower lip, her hands curled against her chest.
Chris didn't leave the bottom two waiting for very long. He soon called out a name.
"…Dakota!"
"Yay!" Dakota cheered, catching her marshmallow when the host tossed it to her and holding it up to her face. "I get to stay!"
Staci slouched in her seat. "Aw, but I was doing so good…"
Scott scoffed next to her. "You really weren't."
"This island is named Pahkitew," Chris told the team, "which is the Cree word for 'exploded'. So, we thought it fitting that this season's mode of transportation home should be something with a bang." A flip transition showed Chris, Chef, and the Confused Bears minus Staci down on a ledge below the bonfire area. Chef gripped a tarp that was covering something very large. "Without further ado, I give you the boom of abashment, the kablam of chagrin, this season's humiliating way home- the Cannon of Shame!"
Chef pulled the tarp away to reveal a red and white-striped cannon roughly the same size as the Hurl of Shame from season four. The remaining team members gasped in shock at the elimination transport. Moments after they recovered, Staci's head poked out the open end aimed at the sky with a helmet secure over her cranium.
"I'm not so sure about this," Staci whimpered in concern.
Chris raised a remote. "So long, Staci!"
"I'm sorry for lying so much. I just wanted to make friennnnnnds!" Staci apologized as she was shot out of the cannon.
Staci's former team stared with horrified fascination as she disappeared over the night horizon.
Chris also watched her exit, more interested than the team was, and once she was gone, turned to face the camera. "You know what's weird? I already don't miss her. Well, that's one down and twelve to go. Who's the next human cannonball? There are just too many good choices. Tune in and find out yourself here on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"
(cue end credits)
Staci- 13th
Yeah, Staci leaving was probably obvious. Like Ezekiel and Beardo, I feel that Staci has potential to be an interesting character. Fangren already showed her potential in the Total Shuffled series. To that effect, I tried to show off some of that potential instead of leaving her one-note like everyone usually does. Dawn's aura reading, while a shortcut for character development, is useful for getting to the point quickly when necessary. For Staci, I feel she just wanted to impress people due to her own mediocrity. She might actually be a good comparison to Lila Rossi from Miraculous Ladybug; both are compulsive liars, but the difference between them is where Staci genuinely wants to impress people, Lila lies intentionally to manipulate them. It's this distinction that is the reason why I don't hate Staci as much as other people, and why I hate Lila just as much as everyone else does.
Regarding the challenge, you'll notice I swapped the positions of the teams. In canon, Chris claimed the Floating Salmon were near the beach while the Confused Bears were further inland. Since the Floating Salmon appeared to be in the woods, it felt like the two teams should have exchanged locations for Chris's reasoning to make sense. I also needed the Confused Bears to be the team with the tree house because that was the easiest way I could figure out how to get Scott to sabotage his team and make them lose. Nothing says losing a shelter-building challenge like a collapsing treehouse.
One change I hope everyone noticed is instead of labeling Mike as 'The Multiple Personality Disorder', I decided to name him 'The Hopeless Romantic'. Labeling him after his disorder is wrong. Instead, I went with what his voice actor was stated in an interview to have chosen for Mike himself if he could have given a label. It really fits because when Mike's alternate personalities aren't taking over and he's not trying to keep his disorder a secret, he is usually an adorable dork in love, constantly trying to earn Zoey's affection and later trying to be a good boyfriend. My intention with Mike is to make his story less about his disorder and more about him as a person.
I originally intended to get this out last week as a holiday present for everyone, but the day after Christmas, I got sick to the point where I couldn't do more than sleep and watch TV. I'm much better now, though. I guess fate decided a brand new part of the story should begin in the new year and the new decade. Hope everyone had a good time during the holidays!
Review in the box below, and remember, reviews are awesome!