Author's Note: You read that title right. Not much to say other than I had a bit of writer's block and overcame it. I'm... not totally confident with this episode, but I also remember that the longer seasons took a while to pick up the plot and pace. So, I'm hoping that balances out.
Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, the shuffled concept or the (most of) the characters.
And to answer some reviews:
timmycam15: Thanks, but remember not everyone will redeem themselves. After all, someone's gotta go first.
Crosshot: I'm kinda surprised at your surprise. I figured with Harold and Sky never making the merge they'd be shoo-ins for this season. I think you'll really enjoy both Ella and Gwen's interactions, Sadie, and Amy as the season progresses. Holy crap. I didn't even realize how the girls have been dominating the finales.
Tempokeep: Sorry, I know I should respond to mire of your review, but you're an Amy fan. I honestly didn't know those existed. Well I'll be sure to write a version of the girl that you like hopefully. Keeping in mind she's the secondary antagonist for the season.
LittleMermaid: This isn't the last you'll see of Beardo though, remember he's in the race with Cody. I'm a little wary dealing with Amy to be honest. She's just so unlikable and not in a love to hate kind of way. But that's kinda what I'm hoping to make her into. You've hit on the hardest part of this season. This absolutely will be the last time all but two of these guys compete and that means giving some pretty undignified final exits to a lot of really great characters. I almost share your sentiments with canon Gwen, but by the end of her run I just felt sorry for her. I mean, it was obvious she kinda had a thing for Courtney and that ended... poorly. So I'll confirm that Shawn will be in one of the couples and Rodney will think he's in one but really won't be. Once I reveal the pairing, if the reviewers can't really get into one of the pending pairings, then I'll drop it.
LazloVader9943: Yep, I went the Gwen and Ella cousin route. Thanks for the kind response, and don't worry about not reviewing. I'm not one of those writers that obsesses over it. And I'll never be one of those that withholds chapters until a certain number of reviews.
KryptonianKnight: Longer seasons and the less focused on campers were pretty much the two reasons I came up with this season. Well, I actually have a plan for Rodney, and couldn't come up with one for Beth. But evil humor is really all Max has to offer, that'd get old real quick in a longer season like this. Well it didn't translate well in my original writing of her but Britney's a yandere. A very toned down one, but one nonetheless. Exploring that side of her is one of the things I want to do with her this season. And yes, I'm confirming Max and Owen being cousins as well. But they don't get along. I hope this season will live up to your expectations.
Derick Lindsay: Yeah, I actually had to read the article to make sure I wasn't being punked like with the Avatar anime series... don't judge my gullibility. I'm glad you like the cast, a poor;y picked cast will ruin a season before it can even start like canon All-Stars. So I never saw the announcement of it Dramarama being an AU, thus my wording of the last Author's note. Well Britney's a yandere, so logic isn't really prevalent when it comes to relationships. Full disclosure, this episode doesn't have much Samkota, and their not even the main couple this season, but they are one that will happen no matter what.
Gucci Mane LaFlare: Thanks. And no, Scott doesn't realize that he just insulted himself. But it's Scott so...
Remaining Campers:
Ferrets of Failure: Anne Maria, Dakota, Dave, Ella, Ezekiel, Gwen, Harold, Jaxon, Lindsay, Sam, Sky, Trent
Llamas of Loserdom: Amy, Britney, Cameron, Carly, Eva, Gary, Leonard, Rodney Sadie, Scott, Shawn, Sierra
But one unlucky camper won't dodge the first elimination
Episode 02: Dodgebrawl 2: Electric Boogaloo
"Last time, on Total Drama Redemption!" Chris began as footage from the previous episode started to play. "We brought back twenty-four of the worst performing campers in the show's history." Shots were shown of Lindsay being happy about her team name, Shawn declaring that he'd sleep in a tree, Leonard's reintroduction, and Gary gleefully watching his female teammates fight.
"They'll be staying on Pahkitew Island," the host continued over a long-distance shot of the island in question, "and will be given actual accommodations," the updated treefort was shown, followed by the outdoor showers, and crafts service tent.
"In the end, no one was voted off," the camera cut to Chris standing at the campfire pit. "But that won't be the case this week!" he grinned, "Who will suffer the humiliation of being the last place camper on a season full of losers?" he asked. "Find out tonight. On Total! Drama! Redemption!"
XXXXX
[The opening theme began similarly to the way it did in season six – a shift into letterbox format for a shot of a rocky forest waterfall, a broken stagelight rotating up from behind some rocks and flickering a bit before the light died. Then a rusty spotlight swings down from the unseen branches of some mossy, mushroom-ridden tree. The shot moves to a pond where a brown bear wearing a scuba mask sits in the water glaring at a frog on a lily pad, both animals looking surprised as the lily pad is suddenly lifted into the air by a duct tape covered security camera rising up from below it. A rabbit sitting on a rock on the beach is pushed away by a panel in the rock slamming down on it, another broken camera emerging from within, and a pair of white-skinned hands clap a film slate in front of the main camera.
As the film slate is pulled away the camera flies forward past the camp facilities, and over the top of the host drinking coffee in a director's chair just as the lyrics start.]
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;
[The camera flies through the trees and up to a cliff, peeking over to see the interns swimming away from Scuba Bear.]
You guys are on my mind!
[The camera dives off the cliff and into an underwater shot; a fully-clothed Cameron gagging.]
Ya asked me what I wanted to be,
And now I think the answer is plain to see!
[Cameron frantically swims up and grabs on to the end of an oar. The camera pans up to reveal Eva as the one rowing the boat; she pulls her oar out of the water and is startled to see Cameron clinging to it, and even more so when something starts pulling him back. But with a fierce yet muted roar, Eva manages to pull the oar away from the the thing...and in doing so, throw Cameron high into the sky.]
I wanna be...famous!
[Cameron hangs in front of the sun for a moment before coming back down into the woods. The camera pans down to Gwen drawing on a stump while surrounded by a guitar playing Trent and a singing Ella. Cameron falls from the sky and knocks Gwen down, startling Trent and Ella. The camera zooms out to show Scott watching the scene and laughing, and then again to show Lindsay crossing her arms and pursing her lips at him.]
I wanna live close to the sun!
[The camera zooms to another part of camp, showing Leonard and Gary surfing down a river.]
Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!
[The shot pans forward a bit, showing Harold and Sierra also on surfboards. Leonard and Gary arrive on screen, but while the three boys are busy showing off, Sierra's eyes widen and she ducks. She just barely misses getting hit by a low lying branch that the boys smack into.]
Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;
[The camera rapidly pans over to the outhouses. Ezekiel opens the door to one and a thick green cloud comes out of it, causing him to look nauseous and pass out. The camera pans over to the craft service tent.]
I'll get there one day.
[The camera moves in past the window to show a smirking Chef, stirring a large pot of something sickly green. He looks behind him to where Sam is sitting and playing on a handheld game console. Dakota is looking over his shoulder as he plays.]
'Cause I wanna be...famous!
[The camera pans left to show Sky and Dave chatting. Britney comes out of nowhere to separate the two and sit on Dave's lap, glaring at Sky all the while. The camera zooms pans left again to the opening of the tent and flashes to an open field. Amy knocks a bouquet of flowers out of a kneeling Rodney's hands, then pushes over Sadie as the the girl bends down to pick up a shell.]
(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[A pan rightward shows Jaxon making a screen gesture with his fingers. He looks from the left to the right and rolls his eyes in irritation.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[Another pan to the right centers the camera on Anne Maria spraying her hair. She notices the camera on her and glares, spraying it enough that the thick cloud covers the whole screen.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[The cloud dissipates to reveal Carly and Shawn sitting at a campfire in front of a large full moon. They lean in for a kiss but are interrupted by Chris's sudden appearance between them while wearing a zombie mask, startling them both into running away. As Chris takes off his mas to laugh, the shot zooms out to show the other campers also sitting around the fire - Ella, Trent, Gwen, Sky, Amy, Sam, Dakota, Ezekiel, Gary, Scott, and Rodney with Carly trembling behind them on the left; and Anne Maria, Britney, Dave, Cameron, Sadie, Eva, Leonard, Lindsay, Sierra, and Jaxon with Shawn trembling behind them on the right. The zoom continues even further, showing the signboard over the firepit's entrance which now read 'Total Drama Redemption'.]
XXXXX
The episode opened with an exterior shot of the costume tent, before cutting to inside. Britney and Scott were the only two campers on-screen, both dressed yet still freshening up. As the globetrotter brushed her teeth and the dirt farmer picked his nose, Scott struck up a conversation.
"Hey, how've you been?" he asked as the camera focused on him alone. "Not used to being away from the boyfriend?"
The camera panned over to Britney. She spat out a bit of foam and toothpaste, and sighed. "No," she said. "I can't believe Chris put us on different teams."
"Is it really that bad?" Scott asked with a smile. "I mean, it kinda puts you both in a better position to win the game."
"Ugh!" Britney groaned. "I get that. But I can't stand not being with him!" she complained. "It took me so long to get him to even see that I loved him and now he's stuck over there with all those other girls!"
Scott smirked at the last comment. "I can definitely see the problem there." He finally pulled his finger out of his nose, and wiped it on his shirt. "Especially Sky. She claims she's dating that rich guy, but remember she kissed him while she was dating someone else."
Britney's eyes widened. "You're absolutely right! I have to do something to save my relationship!" Finished with her teeth, she started to walk out the door. "Hey, thanks for the talk! You're a lot nicer than the show made you look."
"Don't worry about it. Actually, getting booted made me realize my strategy was wrong. Now I'm doing everything I can to fix that." Scott said, his smirk turning dark when the girl could no longer see.
XXX
"Funny thing is I didn't even lie to her," Scott snickered in the confessional. "I did realize that my team killing strategy wasn't working. So I decided to use my competition's weaknesses against them. I've watched and rewatched every episode of this show at least ten times and now I know everything there is to know about the others. Like Britney. Sure she's hot, but there's a lot of crazy buried under there. If I can let it loose, I have someone I can easily manipulate into an alliance." he snickered again.
XXX
The scene cut to the cafeteria where all twenty-four teenagers were eating breakfast. The camera focused on Trent, Gwen, and Ella, who sat together on one end of the Ferret table. "Ooh," the princess gushed. "I just had the most amazing idea!" she declared. "Why don't the three of us form an alliance?"
Trent and Gwen thought for a moment before the musician responded. "Works for me. People are probably gunning for me and Gwen anyway, since we made the marge and all."
"I'm game," Gwen smirked. "An alliance with my boyfriend and cousin. I don't see how that could go wrong." Ella squealed and hugged Gwen's neck, and the goth only made a token resistance to dislodge her much to Trent's amusement.
"Hey there campers!" Chris said with his usual cheer as he entered the shot of both teams. "Good to see you've all rested up! I hope the rest of you are prepared to bring it, because your first challenge is in ten minutes!"
\
The footage skipped ahead to a distance shot of the campers, Chris, and Chef Hatchet inside a large glass box on the beach. Inside the box was a simple playing field – two adjacent rectangles marked by red tape – tiered seating, and the team banners with the Ferrets on the left and Llamas on the right. Scott was the last person to enter.
"Uggh...what took you so long?" Amy spat at him after stolling over to his team.
Scott shrugged. "Had to take a leak," he answered as he scratched his underarms. "Satisfied Princess?"
"Don't call me that," Amy sneered.
A whistle blew, and the camera panned over to reveal the source: Chef Hatchet in a referee's uniform. He walked across the court and past the campers, silently shaking his head and smirking. He finally stopped next to Chris and a pile of red balls. "Since this season is all about the show's rejects basically," Chris said, pausing to chuckle as everyone glared at him, "we've decided not to spend a bunch of time figuring out how to torture you. This season's challenges are pretty much stuff you've already done and failed at."
"First up is the classic game of dodgeball," the host explained, holding up one of the balls for the campers to see. "The first rule of dodgeball is: if you get hit with the ball," he spun the ball in his hands and shot it at Sadie, "you're out."
"Oww..." Sadie moaned as the ball slammed into her stomach. To the laughs of Scott, Amy, and Gary she keeled over, the ball falling to the ground.
"Why'd you do that?" Sadie asked, picking up the errant orb and tossing it back to the host.
"Because it was funny." Chris said as he easily caught the ball. "Now as I was saying, if you catch the ball, the thrower gets sent out and the catcher gets to bring in another team member out on the court. Let's see now..." he muttered, looking over the campers as he readied a one-handed throw. "Shawn! Try to hit me!"
"Okay," Shawn shrugged, catching the ball as Chris was handed a replacement.
"If you're holding a ball, you can use it to deflect a ball, but," the host explained, purposely dropping the ball in his hands, "if it knocks the ball out of your hands, you're out."
The camera cut over to Lindsay, scratched her head in confusion. "So, remind us again what we're supposed to do when the ball comes flying at us?"
Shawn's throw was finally shown, and Chris managed to swiftly deflect it with a third ball. "You dodge!" The camera followed the speeding ball back to the ditz, the ball hitting her in the face and knocking her down.
"Oooh," Chris winced, "you were supposed to dodge!"
"Ugh," Lindsay groaned, rubbing her head. "Right," she removed her hand, revealing a large bump where the ball had hit.
"You have one minute until game time!" Chris continued, camera back on him and Chef for a moment before panning over to the campers. "Both teams will have to pick five people to sit out at the start. And nobody can go for a second time until everyone's gone at least once."
\
The scene flashed to Eva in a huddle with the rest of the Llamas of Loserdom "We're putting our best people forward, so who's going out with me?"
"I got yo back yo!" Gary answered, putting his hand on the iron woman's shoulder.
"Ooh! Pick me! Pick me!" Sierra raised her hand excitedly.
\
The music picked up, and the shot switched to Chef overseeing the court. Both teams had put forth their first players: Eva, Gary, and Sierra were joined by Britney and Scott for the Llamas, while the Ferrets had put forward Trent, Gwen, Ezekiel, Sky, and Anne Maria. Each team had three balls in their half of the court, and the rest of the campers had already taken seats in the background.
"Let's make these mooks live up to their name!" Anne Maria said to her team loud enough for the others to hear.
"Not likely yo," Gary countered. "Y'all ain't got no chance against Young Easy!"
"Both teams ready!" Chris announced over more shots of the two teams shooting looks across the court. "Best of five games wins! Now," the camera cut to his close-up before zooming out to show the full court, "let's dooooodge some ball!"
Chef blew his whistle, and the benched campers cheered. The first match had begun.
Eva, Gary, and Sierra picked up balls for the Llamas, staring at their opposites Trent, Ezekiel, and Anne Maria. "Bring it on!" Eva cried as she made the first throw; it shot towards Trent but he dodged and returned fire. The Llamas scattered, and Sierra took a shot at Anne Maria. She stopped in shock, but Ezekiel pushed her to the ground and took a hit to the shoulder.
"Get off o' me!" she hissed at the homeschooler.
"Sorry eh," he replied sheepishly and the camera cut to Chef blowing his whistle and signaling for him to leave the field. A scoreboard appeared along the bottom of the screen showing 4-5 in favor of the Llamas of Loserdom. The Llamas on the benches began to cheer again while Anne Maria glared at her teammate.
"Now let me show you how we do it in Jersey!" Anne Maria smirked, stepping forward and chucking a ball at Britney. The globetrotter dodged it easily, and Sierra's swift counter-attack hit the Jersey girl straight in the forehead.
Chef blew the whistle again, and the scoreboard updated. "Hey, watch the hair!" Anne Maria said as she stomped off the court spraying her hair back into place. Sierra blew her a raspberry, and the game continued with her immediately getting beaned in the head by Sky.
"You left yourself wide open!" Sky exclaimed, and the Ferrets cheered for their first hit of the game. "Alright everyone, let's keep it together!" she continued, making the mistake of turning her back on the other team. "Woah!" Sky said, bending herself out of the path of Gary's ball just in the nick of time.
The gymnast pointed at Gwen to return fire and she obliged, but just as the ball was inches from a cringing Gary it was caught. Eva tipped glared at her teammate, and Chef signaled for Gwen to take a seat and Leonard to take the court. The scoreboard dinged, showing the Llamas' heavy 5-2 advantage.
Eva took another pot shot at her two foes, but they dodged aside and Trent sent a volley back. Its intended target the iron woman managed to get out of the way, but it hit Leonard instead. "Ooh! Sorry about that!" Trent winced, seeing the wizard go down to the floor.
"'Tis only a flesh wound..." Leonard answered, hat crooked and eyes spinning.
While the wizard walked off the court, Sky had scooped up another pair of balls. She threw the first at Britney while she was distracted. She saw it just in time, though, and caught it. She responded by throwing the ball at the gymnast. Hard. The ball hit Sky in the face with enough force to knock her back a few feet.
XXX
"I'd like to see her seduce Dave now," Britney said.
XXX
"Somehow," Sky, with one eye swollen shut, confessed, "this feels like karma."
XXX
"Whoa!" Trent said. "Ref, that's gotta be a foul, she already caught the ball!"
Chef thought about it for a second, then shrugged, pointed both girls out, and blew his whistle, and the scoreboard showed the game tied at 1-2. It was now Scott, Eva, and Gary for the Llamas facing Trent as the lone Ferret.
"Uh-uh," Trent muttered to himself.
"You're done." Eva grunted, and with balls in hand the three charged forward and threw in-synch. Trent, looking panicked and sweaty, managed to catch a ball and use that to deflect another, but was hit by the third.
"What?" Gary cried as he and Trent were whistled off the court and Jaxon was called onto it.
"Go Eva! Go Scott!" Sadie called from the stands as Eva and Scott stared down Jaxon.
Jaxon began to sweat and panic as the two Llamas started throwing balls his way. He quickly ducked beneath one of the balls and snatched another one off the ground. Getting up on one knee he quickly let the shot loose.
It flew hard but wide, and Eva didn't even need to move out of the way. "Hah!" she shouted. "Missed!" She responded by throwing a ball directly at his chest, hitting him and knocking him to the ground.
Chef signaled the match's end, the scoreboard reading 0-2 as the Llamas of Loserdom cheered. Eva and ignored a high-five from Gary as she and Scott rejoined the team.
\
The footage cut to the Ferrets having a team discussion on their bench. "Well that could have gone better," Trent told the four he'd brought out to the court with his last match.
"Now now, I'm sure they all did their best." Ella chimed in.
"I'm not denying that," Trent said. "But we need some sort of plan to keep that from happening again."
"Oh?" Jaxon questioned with a snort. "And he supposes you have something in mind?"
Dave raised his hand and cleared his throat. "Uh, I do..."
\
The camera cut back over to the Bass. "Looks like we have a chance," Eva said, looking at various people in the huddle. "Just two more wins and we've won. Now who's going out there this time?"
"Well, if I have to," Amy offered, "but those balls better not mess up my hair."
\
The shot went back to the court, the players all ready and waiting. The Ferrets had fielded Dave, Sam, Lindsay, Dakota, and Ella to the Llamas' Cameron, Rodney, Sadie, Amy, and Shawn.
The whistle was blown, and Rodney, Shawn, and Sadie launched balls one after the other, but the Gophers seemed to all be in good form as none were struck out. "Oh my!" Ella said nervously, picking up a ball and looking at her teammates. "This is barbaric! Who would enjoy such a game?"
Amy immediately hit her with a ball that had rolled under her legs on the rebound. The camera cut to her crossing her arms with a smug smirk.
"Now!" Dave said off-screen, prompting Amy to turn to face them just as she was pummeled by four balls. The remaining Llamas looked on speechless at their teammate's fallen form, not noticing a few of the balls rolling back over the center line.
The point-of-view shifted to in front of the Ferrets, showing the four teens holding balls and confident. Moving as one, they threw at Dave's signal and easily hit Shawn. The play was repeated with Cameron, and then Sadie, and finally Rodney.
"Oh man," Chris chuckled as the country boy hit the ground, "that was good enough for an instant replay." The clip pf Rodney being struck in the forehead, chin, shoulder, and stomach was shown again, moving according to the host's commands. "Forward...rewind...forward...okay, rewind...and forward...and pause! Haha, that's gonna hurt in the morning." Satisfied, the shot changed back to the court, showing the four members of the Llamas of Loserdom still on the floor.
The whistle was blown, and the scoreboard changed from 4-4 to 4-0 in a single flash. "Well whaddaya know, it actually worked!" Dave said in shock, genuinely impressed as his team cheered around him.
"Great job guys." Trent said, walking off the court. "As long as we can keep that up, we shouldn't have any problems winning."
"I don't they'll make it easy on us..." Dakota said softly, looking over at the Llamas.
"We're two games in and the teams are tied at one apiece," Chris said as the camera cut to him and the capstone theme began to play. "Who's gonna take the whole thing? Find out after the break on Total! Drama! Redemption!"
\
(Commercial Break)
\
The episode resumed with another team huddle with Eva taking the lead. "That was pathetic! We need to counter that strategy, and fast. Who's got an idea?"
The camera focused on Sierra, who looked thoughtful for a second but shrugged. "I think I have an idea..." Sadie offered, and all eyes were on her. "Their strategy is pretty simple if you think about it. All they're really doing is aiming a bunch of shots at one person and waiting until after we all throw to do anything.."
"We can all see that," Amy rolled her eyes at the larger young woman. "But what do you think we should do about it?"
Sadie's face fell. "If we keep as many balls on our side as we can and stop them from working together, we'll win."
"Yeah, well how the heck are we gonna do that?" Scott asked.
"We just do what they did," Sadie replied. "One of us keeps track of the balls while the others coordinate shots. We aim all our shots at one person and hold on to the balls when they fire back. One person will probably get knocked out but if we go first and they don't catch anything, we'll still win the round."
\
A flash sent the scene back to the third match. Carly, Sadie, and Gary joined Eva and Sierra for the Llamas of Loserdom to the Ferrets of Failure's team of Ezekiel, Trent, Harold, Anne Maria, and Sky. The camera panned across each team, balls already in hand, then went back to Chef for the official start.
As with her previous game, Eva was the first to throw; this time, however, his ball was joined by those of Sadie and Sierra. They flew straight towards Ezekiel, who was quick to notice and quicker to act. He ducked under Eva's fastball, and deflected Sierra's follow-up, but was unable to respond to Sadie's calculated curve. The whistle was blown, the scoreboard updated, and the Ferrets were left momentarily stunned.
"Don't just stand there," Sky barked to her teammates, "get a ball and start throwing!" She herself led the charge, and inspired Trent and Anne Maria to follow suit once the latter had claimed a ball of her own. Their target was Carly, who in accordance with the Llamas' plan was doing her best to gather the rebounded balls; she'd gotten two of them back to her side of the court, and by serving as a target ensured that three more came over the line. All three hit the pantophobe and bounced, but Sadie took over her duties and passed the balls to her teammates.
"Sky next!" she ordered, darting to the back and grabbing a ball for herself. Knowing what was likely to come, the gymnast scrambled for the one ball she could reach, but was unable to make use of it before she too was struck out.
The score now 3-4 in favor of the Llamas, Trent was the first to act – he slid across the court and picked up a pair of balls before they could roll back over the center line. Rather than wait for Anne Maria and Harold to prepare themselves, he took it upon himself to start targeting Sadie, but missed both shots. The musician was the next Ferret forced to the bench, and a montage of Harold and Anne Maria getting hit similarly followed shortly.
The Llamas of Loserdom celebrated their second win as the four victorious teens retreated to the bench. "Good job Sadie," Eva said proudly, patting the girl on the back and making her stumble. "As long as we keep doing what you said, we can win."
"We should probably change out all our players though," Sadie said. "Just to keep them on their toes."
"I'll sit this one out," Carly said. "That was just way too scary."
\
The shot cut over to the Ferrets. "I'm sorry my plan didn't work guys," Dave whined to his team.
Lindsay rolled her eyes and huffed. "Well of course it wouldn't work twice. It was way too obvious!" she said.
"Lindsay's right," Harold nodded. "The Llamas pretty much just modified our plan to fit their team."
"Well what can they do about it?" Jaxon asked. "He doesn't want to lose the first challenge and he's pretty sure his team agrees."
Lindsay gave him an irritated look and sighed. "Their plan pretty much focuses on us doing what we did the last two times right?" her teammates nodded. "So our plan should be to not have one."
"I get it," Harold grinned. "Confusion Fu! We create chaos on the field and they'll be too confused to do anything!"
\
Sky, Ezekiel, Trent, Harold, and Lindsay faced down Britney, Rodney, Shawn, Gary, and Scott. The six balls were already in hand, and the campers merely waited for Chef to blow his whistle.
He did.
The sudden flurry of action was slowed down into a montage of hits and misses as the Ferrets threw away their strategy and forcing the Llamas to do the same on impulse. Trent lobbed one at Britney, who had already thrown at Sky; the gymnast bounced it away and nailed a panicked Rodney. Harold dodged gracefully only to get hit by Scott just as Shawn knocked out Lindsay, and the scoreboard showed 3-3. Ezekiel launched one at Shawn with the force of a canon, and Britney and Trent knocked each other out of the game simultaneously.
Sky and Ezekiel were left staring down Gary. They looked at each other and then at their target; Ezekiel cocked his arm and they threw. Gary just stood there and patted his chest in a poor attempt at intimidation, and was predictably hit as a result.
Chef blew his whistle, and the scoreboard updated to show the Ferrets of Failure's second win.
\
The shot cut to Sam looking up from his game console and chuckling. "Whoa," he said. "I guess we won?"
"Indeed we did!" Harold answered with a smile. "I didn't get to showcase my mad skills, but we were still victorious."
"Yeah, and now we only need to beat them one more time in order to win the challenge," Sky added. "I need volunteers for the last round."
"You can count on me," the dweeb said seriously.
"Let's hope you're dodging skills are as good as they were back in season one," Sky told him. "By the way," she turned back to Lindsay, "was that chaos good enough or do you have some extra ideas?"
"A few come to mind," Lindsay admitted, "right now just try and catch balls instead of dodging or deflecting."
\
Cutting back to the Llamas, the shot focused on Gary and Sadie. "It doesn't matter how athletic our players are" Sadie argued, "If you just thought for a moment instead of panicking we still could have pulled it off."
"Sadie's right," Cameron chimed in. "We can easily win if we stick to the plan."
"Man forget the plan," Gary argued back. "All it did was get me hit in the face. "Let Young Easy show y'all how to play!"
"Fine," Eva conceded with a scowl. "But you better be able to back that up!"
\
The camera cut back to the host and the music picked up. "Last round! Whoever wins this takes the game!" Chef blew his whistle and threw down his arm, and the final match began.
The six balls began in the center for this match, and true to form Eva was the first to dash towards them. She threw it forcefully at Sky who dodged but missed her counter-throw. A few more balls were shown flying over the middle of the court before the camera began to focus on Sam's narrowed eyes surveying the playing field. He quickly homed in on Gary, who had positioned himself between Britney and Sierra. The two girls were relatively engrossed in the game and paid the rapper no heed.
Looking to his right he caught Dave's eye and motioned to the trio; Dave nodded and the two nerdy young men scooped up a ball each and launched them across the field.
Gary saw both incoming missiles and their intended paths to him, and his eyes went wide. He wasted a second panicking before making a snap decision to grab Sierra and use her as a human shield, she was hit in the chest and glared at her teammate.
The pace of the footage picked up, showing Dakota and Britney getting hit, and Trent barely catching a ball thrown by Sierra. Gwen took the field with a smirk, and easily dodged a ball thrown by Scott. Eva, the athletic powerhouse she is, managed to catch two balls at once – her team erupted in cheers as Cameron and Sadie took the field while Trent and Gwen left it. The bubble boy and former sidekick quickly coordinated a pair of balls towards Ezekiel, who caught one but was hit by the other – he and Cameron were sent to the bench, and Anne Maria hustled out to the court.
A split-screen showed Eva and Sky throw at the same time, and catch at the same time – Chef signaled both as being out, and the girls grumpily allowed themselves to be replaced by Shawn and Jaxon. The three Ferrets shared a look; Jaxon and Harold nodded, but Anne Maria just rolled her eyes and scowled. The boys jumped into action, dashing around their side of the court and throwing every ball they came across without regards for aim. Their tactic managed to confuse the Llamas long enough for Sadie to get hit in the crossfire, but she had managed to eliminate Anne Maria before being hit herself.
More balls were shown flying across the screen; catches from Jaxon and Gary caused Harold and Scott to be replaced by Rodney and Dave. The two teams stared their opposites down, with the country boy taking the next shot, rapper following shortly thereafter. The two Ferrets barely scraped a dodge and deflect between them, and the Llamas had already reloaded.
Thinking quickly, Jaxon yelled out "Stop!" leaving Rodney momentarily confused and an easy target for Dave. It was now the Ferrets' turn to shoot looks of confidence across the court.
"Come on dude, you can do it!" Shawn called from the stands, and Gary sent a smug look back at his team.
Jaxon and Dave grinned at each other, and the germaphobe began to inhale a comically deep breath. Gary smirked, and he quickly rolled to the ground to pick up a ball. He judged the angle hastily and threw a rather cool-looking, but woefully inaccurate throw at Jaxon. The artist merely sidestepped the ball, threw his, and nailed Gary in the shoulder.
Chef's whistle was blown, the scoreboard updated to 2-0, and cheers erupted from one half of the court. "The winners are! The Ferrets of Failure!" Chris announced. Jaxon and Dave were quickly surrounded and picked up by their teammates who carried them out of the glass-walled field, and the camera panned over to the sorely disappointed losing team. "Llamas, I'll see you at the campfire tonight."
"Man," Gary spoke first. "You put me on the loser team again!"
Cameron and Shawn gasped, and the team turned their angry gazes upon him. "What's that supposed to mean?" Britney asked first.
"Yeah, Lil' Annoying. Enlighten us!" Sugar added.
"Well as a rap superstar in the makin'," Gary smugly explained oblivious to his team's anger. "I can't be the reason we lose. But I've noticed that I've lost every challenge I done played on this game. It must be y'all's fault."
"You better not be calling me a loser," Amy growled.
"Well now that I really think about it," the rapper spoke again. "It's gotta be her fault," he pointed at Eva. "I watched the show after y'all booted me. Once she was gone, the Rats started winnin' yo!"
Sierra growled. "Can you like stop talking for a minute? If you're so good at this game, then why were one of the worst performers out there?"
Gary scoffed. "Man why y'all gotta be harpin' on me? I ain't the reason we lost!"
"Yeah," Eva grunted. "You are."
XXX
"I had a feeling we'd win once I was put out on the court," Harold nodded knowingly. "After my skills failed me back in season one it was only a matter of time before I redeemed myself."
XXX
The footage resumed with a shot of the island at night. "Llamas of Loserdom!" Chris said over a shot of the marshmallow tray. "You've all been here before but let me break it down again." The camera zoomed out to show the host in full, then switched to a pan over the campers. No one seemed nervous, but several were glaring at Gary. "If you don't get a marshmallow, you're going home in our new and yet to be disclosed method of elimination." The shot cut back to a solemn Chris. "When I call out your name, come pick up a marshmallow. Shawn."
The survivalist wiped his brow as the camera panned over to him. As he walked up, the host continued to call out names. "Cameron. Amy." The first three campers were shown picking up their treats. "Britney. Sadie."
"Eeee!" the former sidekick cheered, quickly leaving her seat.
"Eva. Carly. Scott. Sierra." One by one, the campers were called and shown coming to the campfire to claim their marshmallow until only Leonard and Gary were left.
"Leonard and Gary," the host said solemnly. "You two are on the chopping block. Leonard because you may or may not think you're a wizard," the wizard gulped nervously. "And Gary, for costing your team the challenge and being totally annoying," the rapper scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"The final marshmallow goes to..." Chris smiled, holding out his tray as the music took a dramatic turn. The camera panned to Leonard, sweating nervously, and then to Gary, booger arms crossed and scowling. "...Leonard."
The wizard let out a soundless sigh of relief, and got up to claim his prize.
The Rap Star Wannabe stood up in shock. "This ain't right yo! I'm gettin the boot again?!"
"Funny you should say that..." Chris said slyly.
\
The scene rotated about itself, transitioning to Chris and Chef standing by some large object hidden under a sheet. "Without further ado," the host said dramatically, his assistant grabbing the sheet as a grandiose anthem began to play, "I give you this season's humiliating way home," the camera zoomed out as Chef pulled away the sheet to reveal the large boot that had been used in obstacle courses in the fourth and fifth seasons, "the Boot of Shame!"
The remaining Llamas gasped in shock.
"Any last words?" Chris asked dryly as the camera cut to a Gary in a large clear plastic bubble
"Man," Gary said bitterly. "Y'all just made a big mistake yo! I'm makin' diss tracks of all y'all when I get home!"
"Can't wait to hear 'em," Chris said mirthfully as the camera cut outward to show the whole contraption and those watching it. The host pressed the button on his remote, and the boot kicked Gary's orb.
Gary screamed as he was shot into the night, his former teammates watching on as the opening notes of the capstone theme played in the background.
"That's one loser down" Chris said as he turned from the rapidly-disappearing form of Gary to face the camera, "and twenty-three to go," he told it with a laugh as the capstone theme began in earnest.
"Who's the next loser to literally get booted out of the game," he continued with a widening grin. "We've got a whole bunch of choices! But you should tune in and find out yourself, here on Total! Drama! Redemption!"
(Roll the Credits)
\
\
(Bonus Clip)
The clip opened with a shot of a pool next to a high-end looking hotel. Gary's orb flew on-screen with him screaming within and popped upon hitting the ground, causing him to fly out and land on his stomach with a thud and a groan.
He started to pick himself up, and to his surprise a black-skinned hand grabbed his and helped him to his feet. The camera pulled back to show Lighting as his helper.
"Wait," Gary said in confusion. "Whatchu doin' here yo?"
"I'm your welcomin' committee," Lightning told the eliminated rapper.
"Huh?" Gary asked.
"Look here Rapper Dude," Lightning continued without acknowledging the question. "You got kicked off the show. Rich Dude's lettin' the show use one o' his hotels as the Playa des Losers. And the producers want the All-Stars to talk to the losers post-elimination since there won't be an Aftermath. All-clear?"
"Yeah," Gary said. "Now let's get to my interview! I gotsta hype up my new album."
"Uh," Lightning said suddenly and nervously. "We're actually havin' uh... technical difficulties so... no interview for you. But the producer's will make it up to you... I think..."
He dashed off-screen, leaving Gary to scowl to himself.
Author's Note Post Script: The first elimination said and done. Why Gary? Well it had to be someone, and I had it narrowed down to him and Leonard due to the extreme lack of plot ideas I had for them. Since it didn't really matter in the end, I flipped a coin and Gary lost. So, yeah, the rapper takes the first boot. Literally.
The episode itself. Well, I knew this one would matter very little so I just redid the dodgeball episode. Of course like Chris said the theme of the season is redemption, so that applies to the challenges as well. Every episode will be a throwback to a canon episode that wasn't popular for one reason or another. I did a lot of research there... and completely forgot to write down why each one was so disliked. So... don't expect any trivia are something there.
And the first pairing is revealed! Shawn/Carly or as I call them, Sharly. I don't know why, I just feel like they can bond over their fears and paranoias. It'll be really cute, which we need after the angst fest that was last season's main pairing.
And as always I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention something.
I hope you all enjoyed the episode, or some part of it.
And I'd also like to remind you guys that a TVTropes page for this series does exist and needs you guys adding to it.
With that I'm signing off
-TotalDramaFan14
RDR ELIMINATION TABLE:
24th Place: Gary