Guestspirit: Um, rude. You couldn't have said 'Great chapter' or something like that instead?
BaseballCapClyde: Yeah, Pahkitew Island isn't an environment where Anne Maria's game can really thrive. Yeah, I didn't want to do the cliche thing and have Mike keep his secret hidden. Scott might just have to rethink his strategy in regards to these challenges.
Critica7: Yeah, this isn't Anne Maria's season. Lightning might just become a threat in this season. It honestly baffled me how he got so far in canon season four. Yes, Scott can't always win (in his own way) with his sabotage strategy.
Xtremexavier15: It would be smart to never cast Anne Maria in Pahkitew Island. If you cast her in Action or World Tour, she'd probably do well as long as you don't ask her to sing. I intend to develop Mike some more, and as for him never competing again, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Considering they're the same people that were rumored to have had Lindsay and Tyler break up offscreen, I take that news with a HUGE pinch of salt.
AnonBrowser: I agree that Anne Maria wouldn't have gotten as far as she did if it wasn't for Scott's strategy of taking out his own team first. Like I've been saying though, if we put her in Action or World Tour, she might do well as long as she get asked to sing. Mike can't develop if his disorder is kept a secret, so revealed disorder it was. Lightning likely could've been compensating for losing the previous challenge. Yes, Scott is lucky Dawn didn't catch him. If Lightning wasn't calling attention to himself, she might've picked up on Scott's dark soul already.
SideshowJazz1: Yeah, the difference between my fic and Shuffled is the extent to which the shuffling is done. I like that I'm able to make my idea almost as unique as that one by sticking with original casts so they can react to changes made to their surroundings and their stories. I apologize if my elimination for Anne Maria looks like hers from Total Shuffled; realistically speaking, that's the only way she could get eliminated without making anyone out of character, and I did my best to be original in dialogue surrounding that. As for the bit about the film lot and getting shafted, I call it as I see it. Yeah, Scott will have to tread carefully in this next one.
SilentSinger948: Yeah, girl's got no shot on this island. That's the point why I had him reveal it so soon. Less cliche problems and more genuine bonding. Good point on not having any mutants to distract people from Scott's strategy. I hadn't thought of that helping make his sabotage more difficult to perform, good thought.
OmniUIShaggyOverexaggerated: That sums up last episode pretty well.
Solarr-Eclipse: At least Anne Maria got to do something a bit helpful before she left. Yeah, less bumps in the road for Mike and Zoey makes for a healthier, happier couple later. While I liked Dawn's on-off weirdness in canon, I figured she could benefit from being more social.
Guest: Sadly, just like in real life reality shows, the gender ratio in eliminations isn't always balanced.
That British Guy: Not at all. I don't ship it personally because I think their relationship would be pretty toxic.
VickyT36: Thank you! Stay tuned to find out how Mike being open with his disorder works out for him.
Derick Lindsey: There is some irony in her eliminating Scott from the challenge, only to get eliminated completely afterwards, isn't there? Funny that. Interesting predictions about this episode. Personally, I think she didn't pick up on Scott's dark aura because they never had any real interactions until he started to frame her. Sometimes you don't know what a person is really like until they open their mouth. To answer your question, yes we are sticking with the canon challenge.
Acosta perez jose ramiro: Their shelter is actually split into two rooms, but yes, I was surprised that Brick didn't pick up on Mike's condition as quickly as Cameron did, though he probably hasn't read psychology textbooks like Cameron has. Yep, early honesty is better than late honesty.
The Aspiring Fanfic Fanatic: Thank you! I wanted Dawn to be less on-off weird and more social, so that led to her speaking to B more frequently. I don't think I added much extra input on Scott's strategy, and I agree it wouldn't get him the effect he wants. His strategy is so far-fetched that I don't really understand his thought process behind it. Not every strategy is rock solid, it has to fail sometimes so characters work for the ending they want. Truth be told about the Dawn and Zoey thing, I believe if Dawn had lasted longer and Dakota hadn't been mutated, they likely would've become friends. Zoey likes oddballs (Mike, Dawn) and Dakotazoid was kinda hazardous to her health as she said given Dakotazoid's incredible strength. Brick and Jo are an interesting pair to make interact, I'll say that much. Thanks for understanding!
Joel Connell: Thanks for the review!
Guest: Spoilers about Jo, but I will confirm there is not going to be an epilogue.
Witchinmoonlight: Welcome aboard! Thanks for your recent reviews! They're so wonderfully long. I wasn't saying Lila and Staci were a lot alike, I was highlighting how they weren't alike. Staci is genuine and nice, and Lila is fake and nasty. I can easily give Dakota a better treatment than canon because she's no longer on an island filled with toxic waste. Still not sure what I'm going to do with the manchineel fruit, but I'm hoping to find a good use for it. Spoilers about Mike and Mal. Time will tell if the other team finds out about Mike's disorder. Scott sabotaging his team with balloons was one of the few fun things about writing that episode. Yeah, I had fun writing the running gag with Lightning and bees; it just came to me when I wrote them in the first time, and thought it would be a fun thing to include. Lightning was probably compensating for losing the second challenge in such an embarrassing way.
Wow, over 100 followers, guys! Thank you so much! Let's see if we can get the favorites over that threshold too! And as always, Cast Swap has a TVTropes page that is always looking for improvements and additions. If you have a trope you think can be added, please add it in.
Now with reviews out of the way, let's play with a lie-detecting chicken!
Disclaimer: I do not own Total Drama, or anything within the franchise. I only own a DVD of season one, and a couple shirts.
Episode 4- Scared of the Truth
"Last time on Total Drama Pahkitew Island," Chris narrated over footage of the previous challenge, which mostly included Lightning with his run-by hits and Scott sabotaging his team. "The teams went wild with balloon animals, and not the kind you think." Cameron was shown getting hit by the balloon that contained spiders. Then Lightning and Anne Maria were shown in the final fight. "In the end, Lightning faced off with Anne Maria in a showdown, and made an un-bee-lievable win for the Waneyihtam Maskwak, sending the Pimapotew Kinosewak to the elimination ceremony for the first time." Anne Maria was displayed getting hit by Lightning's balloon full of ants, followed by Lightning running from the bee swarm he accidentally set loose.
Anne Maria's moments throughout the episode were shown. "Needing to send someone home, the Pimapotew Kinosewak voted off Anne Maria, whose high maintenance lifestyle just wasn't cut out for roughing it." She was last shown getting shot out of the Cannon of Shame.
The footage finally ended, and Chris stood in the woods. "Speaking of rough, the campers have a rough challenge ahead of them today. Will they speak the truth? Or will they be too scared to play the game? It's time for Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"
(cue intro)
Once the intro had played, the show faded in on the Floating Salmon's campsite. Inside the team's shelter, Brick just finished lacing up his boots as he sat on his hay bed.
"Alright guys, settle down," Mike could be heard saying. Brick looked up from his preparations to see Mike still sleeping, but he was standing on his bed. Cameron sat on his bed, a pad of paper and pencil in hand. The bubble boy alternated between watching Mike and jotting down notes. Brick couldn't help but watch as Mike seamlessly switched personalities in his sleep.
"Stick the landing, Svetlana," Svetlana said to herself while in control of Mike's body. "Practice makes perfect." She proceeded to attempt a front flip off her bed, but ended up flopping onto the ground, which earned a wince from Brick and Cameron.
A snore heralded a switch, and Mike's hair slicked back while he sleepily raised a fist in annoyance. "Keep it down, twinkle toes." Vito said, dropping the fist and snoring again. His hair spiked back up, but one eye squeezed shut like it was old and wrinkly.
"I've had it with you punks," Chester grumbled before seemingly shifting back to Mike.
Cameron smiled as he wrote down more information. "Fascinating."
Brick looked at Mike in concern. "I guess. Not sure if it's weird or impressive he can do that while he's sleeping, though."
(Confessional- Cameron)
"So far I've documented three different personalities from Mike," Cameron informed the audience. "He's like a walking, talking psychology textbook, and it's a total page turner!" He beamed at the camera excitedly.
Brick stood from his bed. "I'm going to go forage for breakfast. Since Mike is still sleeping, do you want to come along?"
Cameron smiled and nodded, setting down his notes. "Sure. Observing Mike has already provided me with lots of information. I could take a break."
A flash forward had the two boys gathering berries in a couple of buckets they had with them.
"Good morning, friends." Dawn greeted as she and B arrived through a thicket of bushes. "How are you today?"
"Fine, thanks for asking." Brick replied, saluting them as he stood up.
Cameron took a peek in their bag that B was holding, and his eyebrows shot up. "Where'd you get a pineapple? I haven't seen those here yet."
B motioned for him to follow him, offering to guide Cameron to his find.
Brick walked over to Dawn as their teammates went off together. "It's so nice to see our teammates work together to find food for our other teammates. It shows that outside challenges we don't have to treat each other as enemies."
"Agreed," Dawn said, peering at him. "You know, if you want Jo to respect you, then you need to address your need to be dominated."
Brick blinked at her, taken aback. "My what? I don't need to be dominated."
Dawn pointed at him. "It's right there in your aura. You're upset that Jo was so harsh to you yesterday, and want her to treat you better. The only way to make that happen is to assert yourself instead of letting her push you around. That should help take away some of her authoritative edge." She paused, pondering. "Or that could potentially make her act out worse. Predicting outcomes is always a bit hazy."
Brick could only stare at her in confusion as she shrugged and went on with her foraging.
(Confessional- Brick)
"Dawn is the most… unique individual I've ever met," Brick remarked, struggling to find the right word to describe the moonchild. "And just yesterday I found out something really important about Mike."
(Confessional- Dawn)
Dawn sat in lotus position on the outhouse toilet. "I also saw feelings for Jo in Brick's aura, but I thought it wasn't the right moment to bring those up with him. People often get best results when they work on one situation at a time."
Elsewhere in the woods, Jo was jogging. Sweat dripped down her forehead and she panted roughly with every other step.
(Confessional- Jo)
"So my team lost for the first time yesterday," Jo recapped, a leg up on the toilet seat. "That sucked. We had a winning streak going, and then Tan-Anne blew it. Even though she's gone now, I'm still mad, so instead of doing a one lap jog around the island's perimeter this morning, I did two. Not sure it helped."
Because of her extra lap, Jo was the last of her team to meet for breakfast. She sat on the last available stone seat in the little circle.
"Hey, Jo. Are you okay?" Zoey asked once the jockette sat down and grabbed some fruit. "You were out for your run longer than usual."
Jo waved off the concern. "Just dandy, pigtails. I did an extra lap, that's all. I had energy I wanted to burn." She dumped a handful of berries into her mouth.
Brick straightened up at her mention of running. "You know, I did morning runs back at cadet school. If I didn't have to handle our morning foraging, perhaps I could join you."
Zoey lifted a hand, an idea in her head. "If you want to do your morning run, I can take over foraging for you."
Mike grinned at the idea. "Hey, yeah! And I could help too. I've been meaning to take a turn on that."
(Confessional- Mike)
"Zoey's unlike any of the girls back home," Mike said, smiling thoughtfully. "I can't stop thinking about her, and every time I do, I just want to get to know her better." He fell silent for a moment, realizing what was happening. His eyes widened. "Oh boy, I have a crush on Zoey!"
"So it's settled," Cameron concluded, glancing at his teammates. "Barring any unfortunate eliminations, Mike and Zoey will take berry picking duties tomorrow while Brick joins Jo for her jog."
Jo narrowed her eyes in distaste, crushing berries and cracking nuts in her eating hand. "As if Unibrow Joe is coming on my run, he can hike his own path."
The sudden sound of feedback forced the team to cover their ears as the loudspeakers turned on.
"Good morning, campers! It's time to start today's fun activity!" Chris announced. As he made his declaration, Sam, Scott, Lightning, and B were seen loitering around their campsite while Dawn was turning down a worm offered to her by a bird in the forest. "So get your butts over to the meeting area tout suite."
A flash forward had both teams arriving in the same location where Chris had explained the Doom Balloons challenge the previous day. The crate full of balloons was removed, and in its place stood a mounted screen with a smaller scoreboard located above it. Coming from closer to the beach, the Floating Salmon sat down on the left side of the scoreboard, a fallen log acting as their bench. From the woods, the Confused Bears came in and sat on the right side. Jo and Dawn were the first members of their teams to arrive, and sat down on their benches' respective ends closest to the scoreboard. Brick and B sat down next to them, and the process continued with every person that arrived.
"Step right up, players! Team Kinosweak to the left, Team Maskwak to the right." Chris said, ushering the teams to their correct seats.
Mike was about to sit down when he noticed Zoey coming up behind him, and instead gestured to the empty seat beside Brick. "Ladies first," he said politely.
Zoey smiled at him. "Thanks. How sweet of you." She accepted the seat, and Mike sat down next to her, leaving Cameron to sit on the end furthest away from the scoreboard.
(Confessional- Zoey)
"Now that Mike told us about his condition, I feel like it's easier to talk to him and understand him," Zoey confessed. "At least now whenever Svetlana talks in the third person or Vito tries to show off, I know it's really them talking and not Mike playing a character."
Once Scott, Lightning, and Sam filled out the rest of their team's bench, Chris began to explain the challenge.
"It's time we separated the brave from the liars," Chris stated, "the game is Truth or Scare."
"Uh, isn't it supposed to be Truth or Dare?" Sam checked.
Chris shook his head at the gamer. "Not the way we play it. Every round, a player is chosen at random." He motioned to the screen above where he stood. With the screen half active, the side with the players' faces cycled through until it landed on Cameron. The bubble boy raised an eyebrow as Chris explained, "it also chooses whether you'll be doing a truth or a scare. Halo means truth and flame means scare." The second half of the screen demonstrated by cycling between a golden halo and a ball of fire. "Get a scare, and you'll have to perform a terrifying challenge."
The campers all gasped, already imagining what tasks they would have to do.
"Don't worry," Chris reassured, "not all scares be scary. Some will be disgusting." The screen stopped on the halo. "But in this case, Cameron has gotten a truth, which means he just has to answer a question honestly."
Cameron gulped as Chris leaned in close to him. "But the answer will be revealing. It will expose a dark secret that could destroy him in the eyes of his newly found friends." Cameron made a whimpering noise as Chris leaned back, shrugging. "Or not."
"How will you know if we're telling the truth?" Cameron inquired, raising a hand.
"For that, we spared no expense," Chris replied, returning to his place underneath the scoreboard. "Meet Clucky, the truth seeking chicken!" He gestured to a chicken waddling over to the challenge area. "No lie gets past this bird. She's former CIA, and runs her own law firm- Buck, Buck, and B'cawk! If you have a secret, this poultry polygraph will pluck it out."
Clucky fluttered up to Chris's head, perching on it without a complaint from the host about messing up his precious hair.
"Completing a challenge or telling a truth gets your team a point. But if you fail a challenge or tell a lie, the whole team gets a shock." Chris concluded his explanation.
"Uh, what do you mean by shock?" Scott asked, speaking up. As he said his question, Chef came up behind him and placed a metal collar around his neck, the cook doing the same to the rest of his team. "And what's with these collars? We aren't animals."
Chris gave him a cheeky grin in reply. "You just answered your own question. Let me make it clearer." Pulling out two remotes from behind his back, each in a color matching the teams, he pressed the buttons.
The Confused Bears were all subjected to an electric shock, and a cut to the other team showed they were experiencing the same thing. After a few moments, the shock ended and the teams were moaning in pain.
Dazed, Brick glanced up at the host. "You tested these, right?"
Chris nodded brightly. "I just did, and you're still alive. Congrats! Let's start the game."
"Whhhhooooaaaa!" A familiar cry rang out. Chris, Clucky, and the campers all looked up to see Dakota diving towards them on a hang glider. Before anyone could move fast enough to dive out of the way, she crashed straight into Sam, knocking him off the log bench.
Sitting on Sam's belly, Dakota took off the helmet she had been wearing, and smiled at the gamer. "Hey, Sam!"
Finally caught up on what was happening, Sam couldn't help but smile back. "Oh hey, Dakota!"
"Uh, Dakota?" Chris spoke up from his place between the teams. "You're not in the game anymore, remember?"
Turning towards Chris as she stood, Dakota unhooked her hang gliding harness. "I don't care about the money. Like I need it. I just want- close up please." She took notice of the nearest camera filming her and gestured for it to move closer. Once the request was fulfilled, she continued as she fixed her hair, "Thank you. I just want camera time. People need to see more of my sparkly adorableness if I'm ever going to get my spin-off series." She suddenly winced as she was pulled out of the camera frame.
"Remember how you were blasted out of a cannon two episodes ago," Chris reminded rather sternly as Chef pulled her over to the host by the arm. "That means you're done. Forever!"
Yanking her arm away from Chef, Dakota clasped her hands together. "No, please! I'll do anything," she pleaded, almost whimpering.
"Look, princess, this is my show. I'll do whatever I," Chris began to retort in annoyance when his cellphone rang. Answering it and listening for a moment, he grinned at the fame hungry girl. "It's your daddy." Dakota beamed as Chris listened to her father on the other end of the call. "Hello, Mr. Milton. How much money?" Chris's grin grew so wide, anyone staring at him would think he could see dollar signs. "Deal!" Ending the call, he gave Dakota a thumbs-up. "You're back!"
Dakota pumped a fist. "Yes! Thanks, Daddy!" She looked meaningfully at the nearest camera.
"As an intern," Chris amended, making Dakota's face fall.
"An intern?" Dakota repeated, and Chef once more grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from the challenge area. "Noooo!"
While she was taken away, Chris cheerfully jeered, "Hey, if you get set up fast enough, you might be able to help out with this challenge. It's gonna be really fun!" Turning back to the players, he said, "Now, let's really start the game!"
"Oh boy…" Cameron moaned as Clucky flapped over to sit on his lap, staring him in the eye. Her intense stare made him gulp.
(Confessional- Cameron)
"Who knew the gaze of a chicken could be so terrifying?" He shuddered, just thinking of it.
Holding the remote of Team Kinosewak, Chris asked, "Cameron, what is your most embarrassing memory?"
Cringing, Cameron glanced at the rest of his team, noticing they were all watching him.
"I guess my most embarrassing memory is…" Cameron paused, letting himself take a deep breath. "I… wore diapers until I was eleven." He glanced at Clucky, nervously waiting for her reaction.
Clucky clucked a few times before seemingly appearing content with the answer.
"Clucky says that was a truth," Chris announced, adding a point to Team Kinosewak's side of the board.
Jo raised an eyebrow at her team's shortest member. "Wait, seriously?" She began to laugh, causing Team Maskwak to point and laugh at him, while Brick, Mike, and Zoey all chuckled half-heartedly. Even though the latter three apparently thought it was funny, they were trying not to make their fellow teammate feel more humiliated
Cameron shrugged helplessly. "My mom is really overprotective. I honestly didn't understand it either."
Chris spun the randomizer on the screen again, this time landing on B and the halo. "Next we'll have B doing another truth." Pulling out a slip of paper, Chris read, "The question is, in your opinion, who is the most attractive girl on the island?"
B winced as the question was read out, and then watched Clucky perched on his knee.
"But," Dawn spoke up, raising her hand. "B never talks. Just look at his aura." She gestured to him, who shrugged in agreement.
Chris gave him a sharp glance. "Well, he's gonna have to speak up now. If he wants to earn his team a point."
Feeling put on the spot, sweat began to trick down B's face as he looked around at the various faces he was getting. The other team were watching with curiosity, and both Lightning and Scott were staring at him with scrutiny as Sam and Dawn both appeared a bit more concerned.
"You're running out of time, B," Chris stated, annoyed with the lack of an answer.
Looking down at Clucky, B finally pointed at Dawn, who seemed taken aback by the gesture for a moment and then blushed.
The polygraph chicken stared into B's eyes, and then clucked affirmatively.
"Clucky says that's a truth too," Chris translated begrudgingly, "but I needed a verbal response, so no point for you." He pressed the button for Team Maskwak, electrocuting them.
(Confessional- B)
The strong silent genius sheepishly tapped his index fingers together before looking at the camera and giving a weak smile at it.
Once the shock was over, Scott glared at his teammate. "Thanks a lot, B."
In reply, B gave the same weak smile he had given in the confessional outhouse.
(Confessional- Scott)
"So, the problem is the challenge is set up in a way I can't sabotage my team without making myself look vulnerable," Scott said, whittling at a hunk of wood with his shark tooth knife. "Luckily, I might not even need to do sabotage today. B's already doing a good job of making himself a target."
"Up next," Chris declared as the randomizer spun its next selection. "Sam doing a scare." Sam flinched at the sound of his name. "Sam, to earn a point, you must… drink an entire jug… of mineral water!" The host held up a plastic jug filled water.
Sam relaxed when she saw his task. "That doesn't seem too hard." He accepted the jug from Chris.
Chris then held up a stopwatch. "You've got thirty seconds. Go!" He started the timer.
Less confident in his task now that he had a time limit, Sam began to drink. Glug… glug… glug… glug…
"Do it, dude!" Lightning chanted.
"Oh dear…" Dawn fretted, raising a hand to her face.
Scott frowned at his teammate. "Is that really as fast as you can go?"
"Fifteen seconds to go!" Chris declared, the stopwatch ticking.
Sam removed his lips from the jug, breathing heavily. "I'm not gonna make it!"
"Leave it to sha-Lightning!" Lightning sprang up from his seat, grabbing the jug and plugging the opening as he began to shake it.
Scott raised an eyebrow. "Whatcha doing, Sparky?"
"Winning! Gamer dude, open wide!" Lightning commanded, continuing to shake the jug. Sam barely got his mouth open before the athletic overachiever uncovered the opening and mineral water sprayed out. The force of the water sent Sam tumbling back off the bench for the second time of the day.
(Confessional- Lightning)
"That's a little trick Lightning learned at one of Pops' post-game parties," Lightning boasted. "Shake up a drink, and it'll erupt like, like, like one of those big mountains that shoot red stuff."
Chris stopped the stopwatch, and tucked it away with a smile. "Half of it went up his nose, but that still counts as drinking. Team Maskwak gets a point with ten seconds left! Great job, Sam." He frowned when he noticed Sam wasn't returning to his seat. "Sam?"
(Confessional- Sam)
The gamer held his stomach. "Oof, my gut hasn't felt this bad since that one time I drank too many sodas in one night." His stomach gurgled.
When Sam returned to his seat, his stomach gurgled again, and the rest of his team scooted down the bench away from him.
"It's a one-one tie, but it looks like one contestant might get blasted off the island early and we won't even need the cannon," Chris announced to the camera. "Stay tuned to find out on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"
As the show faded to commercial on its usual zoom out of the island, Sam's stomach could be heard rumbling.
When the show returned, Sam's stomach continued to rumble. Sam curled his fists, preparing himself for the blowback, only for a small, anticlimactic fart to pop out of his butt.
The opposing team had been hiding behind their bench, and peeked over it after hearing the small noise.
"That's it?" Jo wondered out loud, standing up. "I thought he'd get at least ten feet in the air."
"I've heard babies burp louder than that," Brick added.
"Thank you!" Jo motioned to Brick before doing a double take at what she just said and pulling her arms back.
The randomizer on the screen beneath the scoreboard spun around for a few moments before settling on its next match.
"Jo, it's truth time," Chris announced.
Sitting down on her seat, Jo raised a fist. "Bring it on, McLoser." She glanced down as Clucky hopped up on her lap, giving the bird a stink eye. "You too, Fried Chicken." Clucky gave an aggressive cluck and returned the look.
"Jo, for a point, who do you respect the most out here?" Chris asked, reading off one of several slips of paper in his hands.
Jo rolled her eyes. "Respect? Nobody, because nobody has done anything to earn my respect yet."
Clucky examined the jockette critically before hopping down from Jo's lap, and pressing her beak to Team Kinosewak's remote that had been laying on the ground. All of Team Kinosewak experienced a powerful shock for several seconds before it stopped, leaving them all smoking slightly.
Mike let out a gasp, and he hunched over with one eye shut. "Eh, dang kids. Why do we all gotta suffer when only one of us is fibbing?" He pointed at Jo in accusation.
Chris merely smiled at the team's pain. "Sorry, but you're a package deal. Remember if one of you tells a lie, you all have to pay the price."
For once, Jo actually grimaced when she took notice that her whole team was sending her sour scowls. Raising a hand, she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. "My bad, I guess…"
"Next up, we have…" Chris said as the randomizer spun for the next person and landed on someone. "Zoey, doing a scare."
The indie chick shrugged. "Well, if drinking mineral water is setting the tone for these scares, it can't be that bad."
Chris walked over to her and her team. "Alright, Zoey, there are scary scares. Then there are scarier scares," Chris said, somewhat alarming Zoey and her teammates. "Then there's this!" Pulling out one of the slips of paper, he read off of it, "For a point, you must kiss a person next to you."
Zoey's eyes went wide, and she glanced at Brick. The cadet caught onto her line of thinking, and respectfully held up a hand.
"Zoey, you're a wonderful teammate," Brick started to say, "but I believe our companionship just isn't strong enough to the point where I can fully approve of a kiss."
(Confessional- Brick)
"I don't have anything against Zoey," Brick informed the camera, "but I was raised to follow a code. It just wouldn't be right, even with the looming threat of our whole team getting shocked as a consequence."
Accepting that, Zoey turned to her other side. "I guess that means it's you and me, Chester," Zoey said to the elderly alternate identity.
(Confessional- Chester)
"Kiss the girl? She's way too far out of my age range," Chester spat. "I'd rather kiss a boa constrictor."
"Yeah no," Chester replied, making Zoey's face fall. "Hard pass." Chester let out a sharp gasp, and Mike returned.
"What'd I miss?" Mike asked upon regaining control of his body.
"Zoey got a scare, and now you two have to kiss," Cameron explained quickly.
Mike's cheeks flushed. "K-kiss? Well, um," he stammered, and looked at Zoey's pleading face. "S-sure, we can do that."
Chris poked his head over, tapping at his watch. "Hey, chitty-chat chatters, time is ticking."
(Confessional- Mike)
"Never thought I would kiss Zoey this soon," the hopeless romantic stated in a bashful tone. "I haven't even found out if she would like me back."
The pair scooted closer together, closed their eyes, and puckered their lips as they leaned in for their required kiss.
Right before their lips could meet, a loud fart rang out, startling them and sending the birds in the woods fleeing.
Sam sighed in relief, rubbing his belly. "There's the gas we were waiting for."
"Time's up," Chris announced, staring at Mike and Zoey, "and since your lips never actually touched…"
Hearing her cue, Clucky tapped Team Kinosewak's remote with her foot. After the team suffered their shock, Zoey groaned out, "Sorry, guys. We almost did it too…"
(Confessional- Zoey)
"I've never actually had a first kiss before," the indie chick admitted. Playing with one of her pigtails, Zoey remarked, "When you're the town oddball, nobody really wants to go out with you. That said, I wouldn't have minded kissing Mike." Thinking of the idea to herself, she didn't realize she had a fond smile on her face.
The randomizer was spun again, landing on Scott and the halo. "Next up- Scott telling a truth."
Scott huffed abrasively. "This ought to be good." He didn't even glance at Clucky when she came over to him, instead keeping his focus on Chris.
"Scott, in your opinion, who was the worst cast member on a previous season?" Chris read off a slip. The host chuckled after finishing the question. "The more dedicated fans are probably gonna hate you for this one."
The devious guy smirked. "That's easy. The worst person was Ella. Her sugary sweet princess gimmick made me want to barf, and it doesn't fit this game at all."
Clucky stared at him as he gave his answer, and then squawked furiously.
"Clucky is saying you're fibbing, so shocks for you and your team," Chris translated cheerfully, pressing the button on the team's designated remote. All five team members let out yells as they were shocked.
(Confessional- Scott)
"I lied on purpose," Scott confessed smugly, arms folded over his chest. "While I do think Ella's one of the worst, she's not the worst. That dishonor goes to Courtney. What a complaining nag. The best part is I can defend myself by saying I actually gave an answer to my question when B didn't give an answer at all for his."
The screen spun again, landing on Lightning and the halo.
"Lightning sha-representing," Lightning cheered, eagerly accepting Clucky into his arms. "Lay it on the Lightning."
"Lightning," Chris read another slip, "if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?"
The athletic overachiever raised an eyebrow. "What kind of question is that? The Lightning wouldn't change anything about himself because he's sha-flawless. Sha-bam!" He flexed his arms as if to prove his point.
Dawn spoke up softly from her end of the bench. "Lightning, your issues with your father," she prompted.
"Issues?" Lightning snapped at her, standing up defensively. Tucking Clucky under his arm like a football, he used his free hand to point at the aura whisperer. "Lightning doesn't have issues with his Pops. Lightning doesn't know what you're talking about, creepy girl."
Clucky wriggled her way free from Lightning's hold, and waddled over to Chris, squawking as she pointed at Lightning's team with a wing.
"Clucky is saying that sha-Lightning is sha-lying," Chris translated, raising the team's remote again. "So…" The team screamed as they were electrocuted once more.
"Ugh," Sam groaned woozily, swaying back and forth in his seat. "I haven't gotten this fried since I had to rearrange all my game console cords so they'd all fit on one power strip."
Chris raised a finger as he advised both teams, "From here on in, I'd suggest better team playing. Maybe then the score will get higher than one-one." To accentuate his point, the camera cut to the scoreboard showing the score hadn't changed from 1-1 in the past several turns. "Remember what's at stake- the losing team will be sending someone home, and given how the challenge is going, I'd say nobody is safe."
Mike, Zoey, and Jo were shown growing apprehensive while Lightning, Scott, and B were all glaring at each other.
"But hey," Chris shrugged, "anything can happen. It's onto the Speed Round!"
Once again, the screen beneath the scoreboard was shown cycling through the contestants' faces until it landed on Mike and was paired with a flame.
"Put braces on a beaver," Chris was heard commanding.
A beaver dam was then shown with sounds of a scuffle being heard inside. Soon Mike emerged from the dam with a black eye, his shirt nearly torn to shreds, and several scratches on his arms and face as he held up a beaver with new brown braces.
The scoreboard updated 2-1.
B was selected by the randomizer again, and received another halo.
"If you had to save one teammate, who would it be?" Chris read the question.
B flinched at the question, and glanced at his teammates, who were all staring back at him. He eventually ran out of time, and Clucky shocked his team.
Dawn was selected by the randomizer, and was paired with a scare.
"Change a baby's diaper!" Chris declared.
Dawn was shown carrying a loaded diaper, holding her nose with her free hand and dropping it into a waste bin that Dakota, dressed in the intern uniform of red shirt and khakis, provided for her. The heiress turned intern was holding her breath through the exchange.
The scoreboard updated 2-2.
Next to be paired by the randomizer was Brick, who also got a scare.
"Feed an iguana with your mouth!" Chris exclaimed.
Holding a beetle that looked like the fire-breathing baby beetle from the fourth season's third episode, Brick wedged it in his mouth between his teeth and approached an iguana perched on a tree stump. When he got close enough, the iguana shot its tongue out and wrapped Brick's head with it. Brick ran around, flailing to get it off.
The score bumped up 3-2.
Scott was the next to be selected by the randomizer, and received a scare.
"Okay, Scott," Chris said as Dakota carried over a plate bearing a tarantula, "to earn a point, you must-!"
Before Chris could finish explaining Scott's task, the dirt farmer unhesitatingly snatched up the arachnid and shoved it in his mouth, swallowing it whole. Dakota gaped at him, and then covered her mouth with both hands, dropping the plate.
"Whoa, whoa," Chris covered his mouth with his hands, forcing himself to swallow back potential bile as Dakota ran past him, most likely to vomit in private. Gagging, he finished saying, "All you had to do was pet it."
"Oh," Scott blinked, not even bothered that he had unnecessarily eaten a tarantula. "Uh, does this count?" He rubbed his belly area, where the tarantula would roughly be.
"Y-yeah, close enough," Chris allowed, still horrified by what he just witnessed. "Team Maskwak gets a point!"
The scoreboard updated to 3-3.
Looking at the two tired teams, Chris stated, "After all this pain and anguish, you're still tied. Makes it seem like it was all for nothing, and while I could do this all day…" He happily glanced at the two remotes in his hands. "Seriously, I mean, these are awesome. It's time for this game to end."
Both teams sighed in relief at the idea of the challenge reaching its conclusion at last. They were all tired and sore from the electrocutions, and their hair was disheveled from the rough scares.
"Right after the sudden death round!" Chris announced excitedly, the camera zooming in on his eager face. The teams gasped in horror at the thought of one more round. "One player from each team will go head to head in a duel challenge. Winner's team gets immunity, and the loser's team gets shocked and sends someone home."
The randomizer was spun to decide who would be participating, and for the third time in the challenge, B was selected for Team Maskwak.
"Again? Sha-seriously?" Lightning complained.
Dawn gave B a comforting smile, resting her hand on his arm. "We believe in you, B."
Scott snorted, hearing her comment. "I sure don't."
"Give him a chance," Sam encouraged on the end of the bench, "the third time could be the one he needs."
B glanced down at Dawn, and she addressed the host. "B is hoping that he doesn't have to answer a truth question. He can't bring himself to speak."
Chris walked over to their team, all too happy to explain. "B, in the Sudden Death round, there are no truths, only scares."
The silent genius wiped his brow, glad to hear the host's answer.
"For Team Kinosewak, we'll need…" Chris said as the randomizer spun for that team. "Cameron!"
"Really? The baby is going to save us?" Jo scoffed, skeptical at the choice. "Guess we better start thinking about who's getting loaded into the cannon."
Cameron rose from his seat, and met Chris and B in the middle area. He scowled at Jo over his shoulder. "I haven't worn diapers since I was eleven, and I'll prove to you I'm not a baby. I'm going to win us immunity and dinner." Turning back to face Chris, Cameron put on a determined expression. "What's the final scare?"
"The game is simple," Chris explained, accepting two small cloth bags from Dakota, who seemed to have recovered from Scott's gross moment. "In each of these bags, you'll find the opposing team's shock remote. First to untie the tightly-knotted string, get the remote, and shock the opposition wins the day." He thrust a bag at both boys. "Go!"
Cameron and B both took a bag, and got to work undoing the knot. Cameron seemed to pull at the string with relative ease while B struggled to get a grip.
"Oh dear," Dawn frowned in concern, her hands rising to her face. "I fear his fingers are too pudgy to untie it."
Scott sighed resignedly. "That's it. We're hosed."
"Not yet, we aren't. Go, B!" Sam cheered, pumping his fists.
"Get your fingers in the game, man!" Lightning yelled at B.
"Woo! Go, Cameron!" Zoey clapped encouragingly on the other team.
"You can do it, Cam!" Mike added.
"Yeah, Cameron!" Brick cheered, and after noticing Jo was staying silent, nudged her with his elbow sternly.
Rolling her eyes, she unenthusiastically said, "Go, Baby Four Eyes."
B finally got his grasp on the string, and loosened it with a hopeful smile on his face. Meanwhile, Cameron was already pulling Team Maskwak's remote out of its bag.
"I got it!" Cameron exclaimed with glee, only to fumble it out of his hand. "Oops."
B got the string loose enough he could open the bag and reached inside.
Gasping, Cameron looked down at the remote by his feet. Seeing it was right side up, he tapped the button with his foot. B dropped Team Kinosewak's remote and the bag it came in as he and his team suffered their last shock of the challenge.
Cutting shortly ahead to after Team Maskwak recovered from their electrocution, the scoreboard could be seen reading 4-3. Both teams were back on their benches, and Chris stood between them with Clucky.
"What an interesting day," the host said in an amused tone. "Team Kinosewak, as winners of Truth or Scare, you gain immunity."
The Floating Salmon cheered, Mike and Zoey hugging in celebration while Brick and Cameron pumped their fists. Jo merely nodded in satisfaction.
"You also get this week's fast food delivery," Chris added, holding up a take-out bag. "Courtesy of Humpty Dumpty's Meat Shack." The footage cut to an advertisement for the restaurant, showing three horses gallop into a bigger version of the take-out bag that Chris was holding. "At Humpty's, all the king's horses feed all the king's men."
The Floating Salmon all felt their cheeks bulging with bile, and covered their mouths to prevent themselves from puking.
Noticing their reactions, Chris actually apologized for once, "Sorry, but we can't serve much else while Clucky is here."
Clucky squawked something eerily sounded 'That's right!'
"Team Maskwak," Chris turned around to address the other team, "time to vote someone off the island." The team groaned at the thought of attending a third elimination ceremony.
Later that afternoon, Sam was on his way to cast his vote when he came across Dakota in the woods, the new intern carrying a water bottle.
"Hey, Dakota," the gamer greeted with a bright smile. "How's your first day of interning going?"
Dakota sighed. "Not that good." She held up the water bottle. "Chris is making me fill his toilet with spring water. You have any idea how far it is to the nearest spring on this island, and back to Chris's trailer? No, seriously, do you have any idea? I'm really bad at math."
"Nope, sorry." Seeing the look of despair on her face, he said, "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're back. I mean, you're not back in the game yet, but you're here on the island so that's good."
The heiress turned intern sighed again. "I wish I was back in the game. This interning job sucks. How am I supposed to get my spin-off series when I'm stuck doing this?"
Sam walked over to her and cautiously put a hand on her shoulder, unsure if he was invading her space. "Dakota, that's just how jobs work in the real world. Everybody starts with the crappiest job and then works their way up to the one they really want. You can't expect to get what you want right out of the gate."
"Really?" Dakota glanced up at him and saw him nod. "Wow, I never knew that before. Thanks!" Holding up the water bottle with new determination, she said, "I better finish up this chore. Chris said if I don't get it done before someone is eliminated tonight, he'll give me something even worse to do. See ya later!" Running off at a jog, she got a few feet away before she smiled back at him. "And Sam, it's really nice seeing you again too." Then she was away for real.
Watching her go, Sam chuckled to himself as he continued on his way. "Hot and sweet. She's the total package."
The footage faded out on Sam and faded back in on the elimination ceremony. B and Dawn sat together in the front row nearest to Chris's podium while Sam sat to their right, the camera's left. Lightning and Scott sat in the back row with a space between them.
"The following Team Maskwak members are safe," Chris declared, holding his plate of marshmallows. "Dawn and Sam, you both messed up the least today so you're safe."
The moonchild and the gamer caught their marshmallows. While Sam was happy to receive his, Dawn sent B a concerned frown that he reciprocated.
"Scott," Chris tossed a marshmallow to the devious guy, the recipient smirking as he caught it.
"B, you could be going home because you caused your team to be shocked repeatedly by not telling the simple truth." B flinched at the mention of his failure.
"Lightning, you failed to put your pride aside and tell the truth so your team wouldn't get shocked too." Lightning huffed at the host's explanation, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked away.
"The final marshmallow goes to…" Chris paused for dramatic effect.
A split screen showed B and Lightning's contrasting reactions. B watched the host with worry while Lightning glanced at him in annoyance.
"…Lightning." Chris tossed the final marshmallow to the athletic overachiever. He caught it without saying a word on the matter.
Dawn sighed, resting her hand on B's forearm. "I guess the odds were against us, weren't they?" He nodded in agreement. "Don't worry about me. Nature is my playground. I'll be okay here."
Knowing she was right, he gave her a thumbs-up, and then a flip transition showed him loaded into the Cannon of Shame, a helmet fitted over his hatted head.
"Any final words?" Chris asked as he, Chef, and his now former team stood below it, watching his send-off.
B thought for a moment and forced his mouth open.
"Too late. Should've said something at the challenge," Chris cut him off, pressing the button. B was shot into the night sky, surprising everyone present with a deep-voiced scream that would apparently be as close to he got to talking.
Once B's scream faded, Chris addressed the camera, "Nine players left. Find out which eight get to hang while one goes bang next time on Total Drama Pahkitew Island!"
(cue end credits)
B- 10th
Anne Maria- 11th
Dakota- 12th
Staci- 13th
I really didn't want to do this to B, but everyone else had more plot left than he did. At least he got one episode further than canon, right? He's a really underrated character, and I would've loved to see him go far in the game if Scott hadn't sabotaged him in ROTI. There's something so interesting about having a silent genius in the cast. Because he's silent, you have no idea what he's up to until the complete product is presented, and that's a very neat way of showing off his skill. It's like the old saying that actions speak louder than words. The one downside of putting B on Pahkitew Island is even though he got one more episode than canon, he didn't get many opportunities to show off his inventing talent.
The challenge was a bit more interesting to write than Doom Balloons. Given the different cast compared to canon, I crafted a few new questions and scares for them. From the beginning of writing this episode, I knew I wanted to include the scare of changing a baby's diaper. It's one I originally pitched to Fangren when Total Shuffled Pahkitew Island was being written, but it went unused so I used it myself. I just find baby cartoon characters fascinating and wanted to foreshadow the use of babies in the Three Zones and a Baby challenge. I also kept the tarantula scare because I definitely believe Scott would eat it without blinking an eye.
In other news, Dakota is back for her interning plot. If she hadn't been turned into Dakotazoid, I predicted she would have learned a valuable lesson in not getting what she wants right away, and needing to work her way up to it like everyone else does. The hopeless romantic part of Mike is starting to pop up, and I hope the fourth episode is the right time for everyone to start exploring that, rather than sparks flying from the first moment he and Zoey meet. Their scenes together in these first few episodes were about becoming friends first and establishing these two lovable dorks' chemistry.
Review in the box below, and remember, reviews are awesome!