Chapter 20 time! Let's reply to more reviews before getting into it.
OmniIBIBUltraInstinctGodzilla: Sam and Dakota were lucky to win a post-merge challenge, and know not to lower their guards around Jo, who most certainly does have her sights set on them.
Rockin' D-99: Glad somebody liked the caffeine rush I added for Trent. It hadn't dawned on me how "The Princess Pride" was the 19th episode of season 2 while "The Princess Bride" was resumed for watching in Chapter 19 of my story (following its interruption from Chapter 17) as I wrote that, but neat observation there!
Keep reading to see who gets the boot.
It was partly cloudy outside when Chris's alarm went off and not nearly as hot as the previous day. He was glad to have followed his aid's recommendation on not setting the thing for a later time and felt better with more sleep. The host looked outside and said to himself "I don't think today's challenge will have any hinderances."
Not long afterwards, Chef could be heard saying "That seems like a safe bet." from the other side of the door.
(Begin Confessional: Chris)
"OK seriously; if something does interfere with my plans for the day, then I'll be quite mad."
(End Confessional)
The cameras cut to each contestant eating buttered biscuits for breakfast. With his mouthful of one, Max begged "Can EVIL please have more?"
Hatchet swallowed a bite of his own before replying "Nope; we don't have enough to give anybody second servings.", prompting the wannabe villain to pout in disappointment.
"It is inadvisable to stuff oneself before engaging in physical activity, also based on what challenges we've had after the teams were disbanded, I think it's a safe bet to guess today will require lots of movement." Mr. MacArthur stated.
"I'm not idiotic enough to go overboard with gorging, I just don't think what I ate was enough." replied the aspiring evildoer.
"More details to follow later, but yes; you've got a physical challenge coming up." McLean affirmed.
(Begin Confessional: Brick)
"As long as it's safe, I look forward to anything that puts my athleticism to good use!"
(End Confessional)
25 minutes passed before everybody gathered at a long racetrack. Chef instructed "Today you will have to run across this as quickly as possible, gathering flags along the way. Anybody who drops those before reaching the finish line will get a penalty for each lost flag. Your priority is doing whatever it takes to keep ahold of them! If there's a tie for who has the most flags after completing the run, then whoever made it to the finish line in shorter time will win the challenge. You only get one attempt and cannot re-grab any flags that you end up dropping, so make the most of it."
"We'll now have someone demonstrate the challenge, and later track the time for each of your runs." added Chris, who looked around for a guest before inquiring "Ms. Walker, where are you?"
A voice could be heard answering with "Right here! Sorry I'm late; my boat was delayed getting over to the island."
It belonged to a gymnast known as Sky, who had competed in the sixth season and was hoping to someday enter the Olympics. She entered the area with a stopwatch in hand. Leshawna inquired "Hold on, this means your name is Sky Walker? I never knew that."
The aspiring Olympian confirmed "Yes, it is. Both of my parents are huge Star Wars fans and decided to name me after the franchise's famous family. I don't particularly mind comments on it as long as they're not made in excess or done mockingly."
"Just give me your stopwatch please before carrying out the run." requested the cook. "It'll get in the way of holding flags."
The guest of day complied and told the players "Ready or not, here I go!" before speeding off.
She only lost a small amount of momentum when snatching each of the 10 flags in front of her. Chris admitted "OK I can't lie; that impresses me! Let's hear how long it took."
Chef had timed the run and answered with "185 seconds, which equals a little over 3 minutes."
(Begin Confessional: Sky)
"Hopefully this doesn't come off as bragging, but my own running time gives me a pretty good feeling I'd do well in the Olympics! It regardless helped serve as nice practice for my upcoming tryouts. I suppose I could also use some of my paycheck from today to hire a personal trainer to help keep me in shape."
(End Confessional)
The cameras cut to Max in position to start running. Chris reminded him "Don't forget that flag retention takes precedence over speed, though you should still try to get to the end sooner rather than later. Come back to the crowd after finishing your run."
"A skilled villain like myself won't falter. You can rest assured of that." the aspiring evildoer insisted.
"Wait for the horn before you take off." added Chef, who pressed an airhorn shortly afterwards.
Having overestimated his speed, he pondered "Why is this harder than the demonstration showed?"
"Having puny legs makes people run slower." Leshawna muttered, before realizing what she let slip and covering her mouth.
This got an angry response of "Hey, don't call me puny!" from the running contestant, surprising the others with how he heard the comment while continuing onwards.
(Begin Confessional: Max)
"My hearing has grown better over time."
(End Confessional)
The cameras cut to the wannabe villain accidentally dropping two flags when trying to collect the sixth one. Seeing that prompted Chris to taunt "I knew you wouldn't get a perfect score!"
"Why do you feel the need to mock others?" questioned Sky.
"It's amused him for as long as I can remember." Chef replied.
"Yeah, that's pretty accurate." affirmed his boss.
In the meantime, Max had dropped another flag in the middle of grabbing his ninth one, though didn't let it stop him from advancing towards the finish line with 7 in all after collecting the last among them. He passed by that and inquired "How quick was I?"
Ms. Walker answered with "315 seconds total, though remember that flag counts are more important."
Once Max had rejoined the other players, Leshawna requested "Let me grab the flags next." And stepped up to the beginning of the course.
"Unless Chris has objections, I say go for it." commented Sky.
"Fine by me." McLean added prior to pressing an airhorn.
The sassy one didn't hesitate to start running afterwards. To nobody's surprise, she was faster than the previous runner. However, keeping ahold of every flag wasn't easy for her either. Leshawna dropped one while grabbing the fifth flag and complained "Oh come on!"
"This isn't as simple as one might think." Chef stated from the sidelines.
"You're bound to drop more!" taunted the aspiring evildoer, prompting her to scowl at him.
(Begin Confessional: Chris)
"Obviously the challenge wasn't simple; I can't let them off so easily!"
(End Confessional)
The second runner crossed the finish line with 8 flags in hand. She subsequently remarked "I hope nobody tops that." before returning to the crowd.
"You were a little under 4 minutes with a time of 230 seconds." said the gymnast.
Sam volunteered to follow with "Let's just get it over with."
"Ready for me to begin?" inquired Sky.
That got a response of "Almost; I have to first reach the starting point."
Once he got there, Chef pressed the horn. Chris snatched it back and chastised "Why would you use my property without permission after repeatedly being told not to?"
"To shake things up and teach you how to share." retorted his aid.
In the meantime, a certain gaming enthusiast was doing better than his predecessors. He didn't drop any until getting to the seventh flag. Sam kept speeding on ahead, though, without losing much momentum. Dakota cheered for him from the sidelines with "Keep it up and speed on ahead!"
Hearing his girlfriend's words helped give him more confidence. He had no further problems until tripping close the finish line, dropping another flag just before crossing it. The gamer winced in pain and followed up with "Damn, that hurts like hell. How fast did I complete this?"
The aspiring Olympian's response was "285 seconds flat. You had 8 flags like Leshawna, but she currently is in the lead with a faster time."
"Step aside and let a pro handle things now." a certain jockette insisted before her predecessor could get back to everyone else.
"I'm sure you'll do brilliantly." Mr. MacArthur complimented.
(Begin Confessional: Sam)
"Having played lots of levels from Sonic the Hedgehog games where you need to collect rings quickly, I figured that would help somewhat, but underestimated how much harder the concept is in real life."
(End Confessional)
The cameras showed Jo at the starting point and impatiently yelling "Just activate the damn horn!"
"Jeez, somebody needs to learn patience." Chef muttered with the airhorn in hand.
Before he could press that, his boss warned "Don't even think about it." and used the device himself.
The fourth runner dashed off right away. After she accidentally dropped the first flag and had gathered six others, Trent went over to consult Ms. Milton and her boyfriend. He privately told them "I have an idea for later." before discreetly whispering something only they could hear.
"Let's see how the challenge goes first." replied Dakota.
"Yeah, we'll get back to you afterwards." Sam added in agreement.
"OK fair enough." the musician stated.
By this point, Jo had reached the finish line and had turned around in time to notice the three in conversation, even when unable to decipher what they had said.
"Done now, and I'm guessing I got the best time so far along with my 9 flags." Jo smugly estimated.
"You did; 195 seconds in all." Sky affirmed.
"That record might not last for long." added the guitarist, who was ready to start running, and hearing that made the jockette roll her eyes in disbelief.
Chris tried to use the airhorn for the fifth run, but it wouldn't make any sounds. He pondered "How is this thing suddenly silent? It worked perfectly fine earlier today."
"I could try to fix that with oil spray." Jo volunteered with two hands extended outwards.
"As long as you give this right back to me afterwards and not my assistant, I'll allow it." replied the showrunner prior to handing it over along with some spray from his pockets.
Hatchet frowned in resentment before stating "Trent, you can start running in the meantime."
Hearing that prompted the musician to take right off. As he collected flags, the jockette used a cloth to clean out the horn before using said spray. Right as Trent was about to grab a fifth one, Jo tested out the horn, which worked good as new and distracted the guy enough to make him drop all four prior flags. She chuckled at the result while saying "All fixed up!" to McLean, who was also laughing along with Max.
Trent angrily shot them all a brief death glare before taking the flag in front of him, not stopping in place for even a moment. Sky quickly reprimanded each of the three gigglers with "Very underhanded and not amusing at all!"
The jockette feigned ignorance and asked "Whatever do you mean? Me cleaning the thing meant I had to ensure my repair worked sooner or later.", not tricking her in the slightest.
(Begin Confessional: Sky)
"I've watched enough clips from this season's prior episodes to learn that Jo's up to no good. She can't fool me into thinking there was no ulterior motive for offering to fix the airhorn! What happened makes me feel sorry for Trent."
(End Confessional)
Eventually the musician crossed the finish line with 6 flags in all. He requested "I know what Chef said earlier, but can I please get a redo after that unfair interference?"
"You deserve another chance, but in the meantime, that run took 260 seconds." added the gymnast.
Jo felt relieved upon hearing Chris decline with "Nope; we made it perfectly clear you only get to go once no matter how many flags are retained, so it sucks to be you right now."
(Begin Confessional: Trent)
"Sooner or later, I WILL get payback for that stunt with the horn."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Jo)
"Whatever Mr. Music was saying to those traitors, I couldn't just let it off the hook, but there was no way I'd admit this in front of the others. I'm not idiotic enough to share all my plans with them. Even Brick can't know about certain things, despite being the one I trust most around here."
(End Confessional)
Dakota offered to follow up with "As long as there are no interruptions, I can take a stab at this."
"Nobody's stopping you from that." Chef remarked before his boss blew the horn, which now worked just fine.
She became more motivated after hearing her boyfriend cheer "Get the highest score yet!"
Having watched five other competitors take their turns, Ms. Milton had a good sense of what to expect. She was able to collect three flags without any problems, though worried about losing momentum. Her confidence faltered upon dropping one while collecting the fourth. Jo smiled with a sense of triumph and was certain that this former ally wouldn't come out on top. Brick couldn't help noticing the facial expression and inquired "What are you grinning for?"
"A gut feeling that I'll win unless you get a perfect score today." his girlfriend admitted. "Seriously, none of the others have much chance of being better than us at athletic things."
Flattered by that response, he smirked and added "Well, I guess you have a point there."
Before getting to the ninth of them, Dakota dropped another flag, but still was determined to finish as quickly as possible. She simply dashed ahead and grabbed the final one while maintaining the other seven in her hands. Upon passing the finish line, Ms. Milton asked "That may not have been perfect, but how fast was I?"
The gymnast's answer was "295 seconds total, so a bit under 5 minutes."
Chris followed up with "That leaves our solider as the last runner. Brick, if you cross the finish line with all 10 flags, then you win by default. Only failing to keep one will have us determine the victory by times while dropping two or more means you'll automatically lose."
"You shouldn't have any problems up there." Jo assured her boyfriend.
In gratitude, he quickly kissed the jockette on the lips and responded with "Nice to know someone here believes in me."
"Can the lovefest please be put on hold until our last run is finished?" Chef asked, prompting both contestants to blush with embarrassment.
"I concur; the challenge is more important." his boss added in agreement.
"Very well, I'll get it done with." Brick told them while stepping up to the starting point.
"We're ready whenever you are, and good luck." Sky stated, more than prepared to see him win.
"That would be now!" said the soldier, who sped off like a bullet right as she started the timer.
With determination to earn immunity, he took great care to hold onto each flag collected while grabbing the next. Leshawna enthusiastically cheered "Win it, Brick!", eager to see the guy come out on top and get a chance send the jockette home.
Jo didn't take long to figure out why that castmate rooted for him and felt conflicted. While she wouldn't mind losing to Mr. MacArthur nearly as much as anybody else and wasn't about to interfere, the jockette still wanted to be safe from the vote and began to worry. To retaliate for the horn stunt earlier, Trent questioned "Are you not happy for your beloved performing fantastically here?" with a knowing smirk.
"Well, I-I do commend him, b-but wanted to win for myself." she stammered, failing to hide her anxiety.
What they missed was the military boy failing to maintain one of his flags while grabbing the ninth one. McLean mocked him with "Ooh, so close to perfection, too bad! Better speed up or lose."
Brick retorted "It hasn't ended yet!" and began to sprint somewhat faster to collect the final flag.
He gripped each of the nine flags firmly and let nothing break his concentration when heading for the finish line. After reaching it, the solider inquired "What was the end result?"
"You had a total of…
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200 seconds." Sky informed him with a frown of sadness, not bothering to hide her disappointment, adding "That unfortunately means you get second place for the day and Jo wins it all."
As everyone else moaned in defeat, the jockette victoriously proclaimed "It feels fantastic to be immune! Still, props for coming close to my score."
"There's nobody else I'd rather lose to." Mr. MacArthur admitted.
(Begin Confessional: Leshawna)
"How did she manage to win again? I could've sworn Brick would instead come out on top today, and he'd fully deserve that."
(End Confessional)
Later that day, Trent could be seen strumming his guitar with a look of frustration. He was still feeling bitter about the airhorn interference and how it went unpunished. Sky noticed this and tried to console him with "You put your best efforts forward today, and I also find it very unfair how Chris didn't allow retries or penalize a certain someone for accidentally-on-purpose throwing you off. Don't let them discourage you from continuing onwards as you could still end up outranking her in the game. All the other competitors left in the game except for Brick also want Jo gone. Today probably just made such wishes even stronger."
The musician stopped playing to state "I don't know why he hasn't already called off their relationship."
"Beats me, but you'll soon have to come up with something for tonight's elimination ceremony. I sadly cannot give any recommendations because the host prohibits all guests from trying to sway the votes." the gymnast responded.
"Yeah, my buddy Owen told me about such restrictions when visiting." said the guitar player.
"That reminds me: the two of us spoke earlier today as I was waiting for my boat to take me here, and I promised him that I'd mention how he doesn't want you to throw in the towel plus is still rooting for you to win it all." she added, which prompted a smile in response.
(Begin Confessional: Sky)
"Quite honestly, I have no idea who will get voted off this evening, but it's out of my control. If I had any say, then I know exactly who I'd get rid of."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Trent)
"I don't have much time left to form a backup plan. Whatever that ends up being, I can't pull things off on my own."
(End Confessional)
Elsewhere in the movie theater, Brick was shown in the movie theater with his girlfriend watching A League of Their Own. She told him "I could've helped that baseball team win more games, and maybe even give Dottie a run for her money."
"That wouldn't shock me, and if serving as the manager, then I wouldn't screw up like Jimmy did by badmouthing the umpire." he replied, and they shared a chuckle afterwards.
Their laughter and movie were interrupted by Chef announcing through the speakerphones "Dinner is served. Come on over and get a serving before it goes cold!"
Both athletic players sighed before turning off their movie and complying. Sky had opted to stay with them for the meal, which was quesadillas. Everyone could choose between cheese, chicken, pork, or steak fillings. Leshawna asked her "How is your Olympic training coming along?"
"Pretty well!" she answered. "I've been practicing a lot with my sister lately, who has been helpful."
"No surprise there given your admiration for her." replied the sassy one.
"Well, she did inspire me to pursue them in the first place." Ms. Walker added. "We'd probably split any prize I earn from it."
That got a response of "Sounds fair to me."
Elsewhere in the cafeteria, Jo tried to be discreet when telling the cadet "Get ready to kick someone off tonight, and I know exactly who to go for."
"Let's just hope your plan doesn't backfire on us." he said.
"What plan would that be?" the aspiring Olympian questioned, having overheard them.
"Is it an EVIL plan?" Max interjected with curiosity.
"None of your beeswax!" spat the jockette.
"Sorry, but this is a matter between the two of us and not either of you." replied Mr. MacArthur, who sounded somewhat guilty for saying so.
(Begin Confessional: Sky)
"Even though I managed to restrain myself per Chris's orders, part of me really wanted to convince Brick to defy her voting ideas."
(End Confessional)
After everybody had finished eating, the jockette could be seen happily lying in the winner's couch in contrast to the log stumps every other contestant had to sit on. As they did so, McLean stated "We're back to the votes once more! I hope everybody has made up their minds on who to get rid of. It's time to make 7 shrink down to 6."
(Begin Confessional: Leshawna)
"I'd rather not risk slipping up again."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Brick)
"No hard feelings, I'm just trying to survive the vote here."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Max)
"Time for something dastardly."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Trent)
"This plan better work, or I'll be fucked."
(End Confessional)
"OK your votes have now been cast and finalized. I'll soon start handing out the keys." Chef announced.
"As you know, whoever gets solo immunity gets the first key, which tonight is Jo." said the host.
Upon hearing her name and collecting it, that player's response was "No surprise whatsoever."
"Next up for safety is Sam!" added the cook.
Smiling with relief, he grabbed a key and replied with "Thank you very much!"
"Dakota, you're sticking around too." Chris declared.
"Glad to hear it." she stated while taking a safety symbol.
Hatchet's next words were "Now our last one to not get any votes tonight is Leshawna."
The sassy one was grateful to hear it and took a key while saying "I was getting worried there!"
As the remaining competitors began to show anxiety, with the winner also visibly worried for her boyfriend, Chris added "Gentlemen, I have only two keys remaining, and one of you is about to leave."
From the sidelines, the gymnast inquired "Can you just give the results already please?"
"As much as I understand wanting this to be over with, we're trying to build some suspense here for the audiences. It keeps them on the edge." replied the second-in-command.
His boss gave him a smile of approval prior to adding "I was just about to bring that up."
Sighing with some irritation, Sky muttered "Not a surprising response."
The cook continued with "Anyway, our second-last player to be safe is…
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Max! Only one player voted for him this evening."
"I knew they wouldn't send me off tonight!" gloated the aspiring evildoer upon getting a key.
"Alright that leaves just two men now that the boy is in the clear." Chris added tauntingly.
"Hey, what was that for!?" a resentful Max questioned.
"You're only 17 years old while both of them are legally adults." noted Hatchet.
McLean continued with "Yeah that, and now our final player to make the top 6 will be…
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Trent! He had a total of two votes."
Taking a big sigh of relief, the musician's reply was "I'm very glad I made it." before turning to the newly eliminated contestant and adding "Making the top 7 still is honorable."
Frowning with defeat, Mr. MacArthur had some sadness in his voice when stating "True, and things could've been much worse."
"Brick, your line of duty ends here with four votes against you." Chef added.
Jo was infuriated over the outcome and chastised "I'll kick all of your asses! Where the hell do you fuckers get the audacity to do this shit!?"
He was able to keep a cooler head when telling his girlfriend "As nice as it would've been for us both to become finalists, I'm still glad we were lucky enough to even make the merge together." before the two hugged and shared a goodbye kiss.
Even though that wasn't enough to end her anger, she did appreciate it and felt somewhat calmer when replying with "OK there is that, but you still shouldn't have gone out so soon."
(Begin Confessional: Sam)
"While I feel rotten for voting off a friend, however reluctant it was, Trent had a good point when mentioning that does put an enemy at a disadvantage."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Dakota)
"I didn't want it to come to this and have nothing personal against Brick, but at least Jo can't use him as a pawn in her game anymore."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Jo)
"Why did I not cast a vote for either of the backstabbers tonight? Because I sensed a bigger threat that needed to be taken care of first, even when my plans somehow failed. None of those three will get off so easily with kicking off the only guy worthy of going to the finale, and neither will Max!"
(End Confessional)
The cameras cut to Brick standing on a large target. Chef asked him "Is there anything else you'd like to add before leaving?"
His response was "Yes: I do hope Jo wins the game and will be rooting for her to the very end! It was a pleasure to go far this season, and I only wish we got together sooner without the denials or a rivalry plus it would've been nice to stick around longer."
Not wanting the cadet to be ignorant any longer to the jockette's scheming ways, Sky blurted with frustration "Oh for crying out loud, she doesn't deserve you after playing quite dirty in the game!"
That prompted Jo to retort "Shut your trap!"
"Hold on, dirty play?" inquired a confused Brick. "I didn't get exploited or anything."
Before anybody else could explain, Chris activated the button to kick that contestant away and remarked "Hey, this show has DRAMA in its name for a reason, and why not keep things dramatic by letting him remain oblivious to her actions?"
"That won't last once he views recordings of the episodes." added Leshawna. "The boy needs a wake-up call big time."
Right afterwards, a boat arrived for the gymnast, who bid farewell with "Here's my ride. To everybody except Jo, I wish you luck in the game! Glad you all know what she's truly like." prior to boarding it.
As soon as that boat left, the remaining 6 opted to head back to their hotel. Chris took that as a cue to sign off the episode and told the cameras "Only a third of the season's players are still in the game! Our most honorable one has been discharged, and his beloved didn't take that well at all. By no means did her angry response shock me. Who will she target next? You'll only learn by continuing to watch Total. Drama. Generation Showdown!"
Two thirds of the players have now been eliminated. Brick definitely performed better here than in TDROTI, and is a contestant who I very much enjoy and feel should've made the merge there as well. However, to anybody hoping he'd make the finals, I apologize for this outcome and had always planned to eliminate him before the last aftermath. You'll have to wait until Chapter 24 to see how that goes. Getting axed doesn't affect his relationship with Jo.
Reason for elimination: Trent once again couldn't take out his immune target. He therefore decided to weaken her forces by taking out the one she loved, enlisting Dakota and Sam for assistance (who were hesistant to go through with it but fully understood the rationale). What none of them knew was how Max once had a side deal with the jockette and decided to betray it by voting the solider off to spite her. As for Leshawna, this player was also deprived of a chance to go after the one she was most eager to get rid of, and decided to vote for the wannabe villain to reduce the chances of unintentionally angering him again with any remarks on his height.
Voting results:
Max: 1 vote (Leshawna)
Trent: 2 votes (Brick, Jo)
Brick: 4 votes (Dakota, Max, Sam, Trent)
Elimination Order:
Sugar (18th place), Justin (17th place), Rodney (16th place), Anne Maria (15th place), Eva (14th place), Beardo (13th place), Dawn (12th place), Dave (11th place), Blaineley (10th place), DJ (9th place), Ella (8th place), Brick (7th place)
Remaining Players:
Dakota, Jo, Leshawna, Max, Sam, Trent
Chapter posted: October 13, 2022.
