The final 5 is now here. First it's time for a review response (I only got one since posting the last chapter).
OmniIBIBUltraInstinctGodzilla: Completely understandable expectations, and it won't be much longer until you learn how the upcoming penalty works.
OK, back to our story.
The morning began with partly cloudy skies and some wind. Everyone was still asleep when the clouds faded away and the sun began shining brighter. Chris was the first one to wake up. His alarm went off shortly afterwards. He said to himself "Maybe the wind could help with what's in store for today."
One minute later, the host went to knock on Chef's door and told him "Wakey, wakey! We've got some preparation to do before making breakfast."
After yawning, the cook requested "Can that wait? I didn't get enough sleep last night."
This was declined with "Not feasible. It will be a time-consuming project, and I hope you didn't manage to get ahold of any drinks before going to bed. We both know evening alcohol makes you feel more tired in mornings."
His response was a truthful "No, I just had a late call with our donor that went on for much longer than we initially expected, and I don't even know where you hid our booze anyway."
"I hope you realize I eventually WILL find out who that is and what you've been discussing." Chris added.
"Of course, but today isn't the day for either of those discoveries." insisted Hatchet.
McLean's next words were "It better come before the season ends, now please get dressed."
(Begin Confessional: Chef)
"When our donor does show up, I promise the truth will come out. Neither of us are ready for my boss to know the details just yet."
(End Confessional)
45 minutes later, they could be seen eating Pop-Tarts with the contestants. The different flavors available were cherry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, s'mores, and chocolate chip. Sam was still visibly upset over Ms. Milton's elimination the previous day and ate in silence. Leshawna felt sorry for the gamer and tried to motivate him with "While none of us blame you for feeling down, don't forget we have a common goal, which Dakota would want you to follow through on without letting depression interfere with this too much."
He replied with "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about that."
Trent also added "With 4 on 1, the odds seem to be in our favor.", which made the gamer smile.
(Begin Confessional: Sam)
"That pep talk at breakfast this morning definitely helped. I just need to do my best to win!"
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Jo)
"OK, so I narrowly avoided elimination last challenge, and am now at a disadvantage. What to do next?"
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Max)
"Having an advantage after winning yesterday is quite welcome!"
(End Confessional)
After breakfast was finished, everybody could be seen at the top of a mountain covered with artificial snow. The host instructed "Today you'll sled down to the bottom of this mountain. It's a simple race where whoever gets there first wins the challenge. Try not to be too slow or bump into too many obstacles when the last one to reach it will automatically be out of the game. Since Max won the previous challenge, his advantage will be a 30-second head start while Jo has to wait 30 seconds after everyone else begins after getting tagged the most yesterday."
"Just say when to start!" the wannabe villain excitedly stated, eager to get another victory.
"Easy there, tiger. You first need to grab a sled and wait for the horn." Chef replied.
As everyone gathered sleds, Sam remarked "This kind of reminds me of a level in Super Mario 64 where you earn a power star by beating a giant penguin in a race down some snowy path."
"Well, this won't have any racers besides humans." added McLean.
"No matter who goes out tonight, will we still have a meal in between the race and someone getting kicked away?" asked Jo.
"Yes, you definitely shall." Hatchet confirmed.
Once every sled had been picked out, all five contestants could each be seen sitting on them at the starting gates. Each player had individual doors in front of their respective sleds. Hatchet held a device that activated all the doors. His boss asked them "Is everyone ready?"
"We are!" they answered in unison.
Once Chris blew his airhorn, only Max's gate was opened, and that competitor didn't hesitate to head down the mountain. He taunted the others with "Eat my dust, suckers!"
As the aspiring evildoer took joy in being ahead, the showrunner instructed everyone else "Stay in place I sound off the horn again."
None of them were patient while waiting for his 30-second boost to expire, especially not the jockette. Eventually it ended and Chris told them "The rest of you except Jo may now begin." right before blowing the horn.
Sam, Trent, and Leshawna were delighted to hear those words. The three smiled at the thought of their mutual enemy getting last place after having to stick behind. They simultaneously replied with "You don't have to tell us twice!" while taking off.
"Once again, you need to hear the horn before going down." Chef reminded her.
"I get the idea." Jo responded with irritation.
To pass the time, she moved herself around on the sled, eventually settling for a position to lay flat on her stomach. As soon as the penalty was over, the showrunner declared "You officially don't have to wait any longer." and pressed the horn again.
"Took long enough!" the jockette stated before beginning.
In the meantime, Max was still ahead of everyone else, but the others were catching up. The first to pass him was the musician. Shocked by such a sight, the wannabe villain inquired "How did you get ahead?"
His answer was "By steering this thing with skill."
Up ahead, both guys swerved to avoid some spikes placed on the tracks. Leshawna wasn't far behind, and having a heavier weight helped her slide down faster. She gained the lead five minutes later. Jo on the other hand was still in last place, but getting closer to Sam, and held out one hand to roll up a snowball from the track. She rolled it towards the gamer, who managed to dodge in time. He turned around to retort "I'm not so easy to hit!" while maintaining a steady speed.
Frowning at the failure to knock him off course, the jockette tried thinking of other ideas to use. Up ahead, the musician was neck-and-neck with Leshawna for a few minutes. Neither had any qualms with losing to one another, though still preferred to take the crown. He eventually passed her and the two had an unspoken agreement not to resent each other no matter who finished first. From the top of the mountain, Chris was monitoring the race on a TV screen. With a smile of satisfaction, told Chef "I really am glad we got the cameras set up at ideal angles. This footage is killer!"
However, the second-in-command wasn't paying attention when preoccupied with a phone call. Hatchet could be heard saying "My boss won't like what you have in mind."
Irritated by that distraction, McLean walked up and interjected with "He most certainly doesn't like how you aren't focused on the ongoing challenge! Hang up and call back after it concludes."
"It's the one who funded our current season, and I couldn't just ignore this call." replied the cook.
"Whoever that might be, they timed it poorly." said the showrunner. "Wrap things up now."
"I'll have to get back to you later." Chef told the donor before ending their call.
(Begin Confessional: Chris)
"My aid needs to get his priorities in order."
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Chef)
"I didn't like the timing of that call either, but it was completely out of my control."
(End Confessional)
The cameras cut to each contestant sliding down the mountain with Sam holding the lead and avoiding shards from a broken bottle while Trent was in second place and dodging some food wrappers, Leshawna held third, Max in fourth place, and Jo the furthest behind. Not willing to give up so easily, the jockette pondered ways to intervene and get first place. In the meantime, a certain gamer asked everyone else "Did anybody expect the ride to be this slippery?"
"Given how much McLean likes danger, it's not too surprising." answered the sassy one.
10 minutes passed before the guitar player moved ahead to first place. Moments prior to that, Jo had gathered four icicles and was waiting for a moment to toss them ahead. She threw the first one upon getting closer to the aspiring evildoer's sled. It managed to slow the thing down by striking one of the handlebars, and narrowly missed his hand. He somehow managed to grab ahold of it and opted to chuck that at Leshawna, hitting one side of her sled, instead of turning around to condemn the jockette. Conversely, Max's target didn't hesitate to chastise him with "What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
His response was "I just wanted to use what she did." while pointing to the one in last place, who was getting close to taking the fourth place slot.
Not bothering to hide her actions, Jo threw another one in the middle of declaring "Eat icicle!"
The second one didn't hit anybody at all. However, it landed close enough to the gamer's sled for him to notice the throw. He briefly glanced back to see his enemy carrying two icicles, and promptly tried to speed up to avoid those. By this point, the jockette had managed to move ahead into third place, with the aspiring evildoer behind everyone else. Trent had also noticed the throws and pondered aloud "Is there any restriction against trying to sabotage our opponents?"
Chris quickly answered that through the speakerphones with "No sir; you only have to focus on getting to the bottom first and not finishing last."
Upon realizing that payback was fair game, Max grinned mischievously and began to roll up a snowball. Leshawna decided to do the same. Jo didn't notice either of these until it was too late when more focused on aiming for the contestants ahead of her. She chucked the third icicle in the middle of getting pelted by both snowballs. This not only messed up the jockette's aim but also made her drop the last icicle, foiling plans to interfere with both racers up ahead. Sam smirked at the sight as he and the musician each gave a thumbs-up of gratitude for it.
The snowball impact had slowed down Jo enough to allow the sassy player and the wannabe villain to get ahead. She was quite angry over landing back in last place once more, muttering "No way am I going out so easily." with a scowl.
Five minutes later, Leshawna had taken first place while Max was in second, Sam in third, and Trent was in fourth. Jo was close to getting out of fifth place. She had gathered a broken bottle without getting scratched and was getting ready to use it. With a careful aim, this landed right on the gamer's back, slowing him down. He winced with pain and scowled at her, though did his best to stay ahead. However, she was gaining speed and passed by the guitarist, who was quite shocked to be there after holding first place at one point.
Wanting the race to be over with, the showrunner announced through the speakerphone "OK here's something that could speed all of you up; whoever wins today's challenge gets an extra helping at dinner tonight."
"What will be served?" inquired the gamer.
"That's for us to know and you to find out later, but here's a reminder that even the one who gets last place will have a chance to eat before exiting the island." replied the second-in-command.
(Begin Confessional: Chris)
"Honestly, we hadn't quite decided on what dinner would be prior to the challenge, but I was getting bored with it and wanted to have some time to discuss ideas. That couldn't happen during this race."
(End Confessional)
When the cameras returned to the contestants, Max was in the lead, Sam followed close behind him, Leshawna was in third place, and Jo was in between her and Trent. One unexpected advantage the lattermost got from this was the ability to detect his enemy trying to sneak attacks on others. As she rolled up a large snowball, he warned them with "Dodge to avoid more snow!"
However, hearing that prompted her to toss it at him instead. The jockette taunted "Didn't see that one coming, did you?" with a chuckle before gathering more snow.
While the musician was temporarily blinded after that landed in his eyes, he remained determined to not finish last, and promptly tried to regain speed after wiping it off. By this point, Jo had managed to slow down the only other remaining female contestant with another snowball and take third place. The gaming nut was worried about being hit next and swerved to avoid a similar fate. He asked the one in first place "Any chance we can still beat her?"
"Of course; EVIL shouldn't be underestimated." answered the wannabe villain.
Having gathered two new icicles, the jockette declared "Neither of you will win today!" while preparing to throw both at them.
This was prevented at the last moment by Leshawna throwing a chuck of ice at her sled, hitting it hard enough to make the thing swerve and collide with a wall. She and Trent happily surpassed their mutual enemy afterwards.
"Jo had better quickly pick up the pace or will miss a chance to secure victory; the end is getting closer!" Chef stated through the speakerphone.
Those words were more than enough motivation for her to keep going. By the time she caught up enough to see any other racers, the guitarist had regained first place. The closest one behind him was the aspiring evildoer, followed by Sam, and the sassy one held fourth place. As the finish line came into view, Chris took some time to announce that "It looks like somebody is about to win. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, though am glad we're getting an answer soon."
Up ahead was a large ramp towards the bottom of the mountain. Remembering what the cook had said about these during the bike racing challenge, everyone tried not to lose their momentums as that would decrease chances of landing past the sheet of ice that lay beneath the ramp. After rolling up two snowballs, the jockette chucked them forwards and hoped to throw someone off. These ended up hitting Leshawna as well as the gamer. Jo smirked with satisfaction and surpassed them both. Since there wasn't enough time to form another snowball before the ramp came up, she decided to target the others afterwards. All five could hear Hatchet ask with curiosity "Now that we're now approaching the ramp, who will avoid the ice below?"
Regardless of how far ahead or behind anybody was, they all managed to get past the ice sheet. Who finished this race first? Two minutes later, it was the musical contestant, who triumphantly raised both fists in the air while proclaiming "Getting here first kicks ass!"
Chris declared "Trent has officially won the race! Everyone else better hurry to avoid facing elimination."
Max passed the finish line next and pondered "How could I possibly have lost? At least I wasn't last."
Chef responded with "You just weren't quick enough, and I do hope our winner enjoys getting more food tonight."
(Begin Confessional: Trent)
"Me getting a solo victory was long overdue. Extra food tonight makes it even better!"
(End Confessional)
The other three racers were neck-and-neck with one another. Any of them could reach the end next. Upon finding a nearby chunk of ice, Jo grabbed that and tossed it at Sam, who was closer to her and got slowed down from the impact. She subsequently bragged "You can try all you like, but I'm not so easy to get rid of!"
Not wanting him to finish in last, Leshawna tried to offer some encouragement with "Remember that the challenge hasn't ended yet; we still have a chance to axe her!"
Shortly afterwards, he insisted "No way am I throwing in the towel!"
As each of them got closer to the finish line, Leshawna grabbed an icicle and chucked that towards the jockette's sled in a last-ditch effort to slow her down. It failed as she managed to grab the thing mid-air and toss it right back, hitting the sassy one's own sled. She swerved from the impact, giving Jo enough time to secure third in the race. This outcome prompted the wannabe villain to complain "Oh, for fuck's sake, you should already be gone!"
The jockette retorted "Like it or not, that wasn't in the cards."
Both remaining contestants were now feeling quite nervous. The gaming enthusiast inquired "No hard feelings regardless of who gets fourth, right?"
This was answered with "None at all."
By a margin of 6 seconds, the next racer to pass the finish line was…
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Leshawna! As soon as her opponent completed the course, Chef declared "Sam got last place and is out of the contest! No continues or other chances for that."
Frowning with sadness, the gamer replied with "Even though it feels like I quickly let Dakota down, at least I did much better this time around than either of my previous seasons. Just please don't let Jo win the finale!"
The one who got fourth place sympathetically stated "You did your best and I have no doubt she'll understand this wasn't in your control. Props for getting very far in the game."
"Believe me, our enemy isn't going to get off scot-free for her actions." Trent assured Sam, who smiled after hearing that.
"After our loser of the day is done packing, don't be late for dinner this evening; we'll have something important to share." Chris instructed.
(Begin Confessional: Leshawna)
"While part of me was excited to make the top 5 for the first time since season 1, another was worried I'd get axed again at that stage in the contest. Nice to see I was wrong and how the elimination wasn't rigged here even when Jo sadly didn't go home today."
(End Confessional)
At 5:15 PM, the host and his aid served a dinner of scallops wrapped in bacon. The latter spoke to each contestant with "Time for the big update: our season's donor is coming by tomorrow! We finally worked out an appropriate meeting time. I legally am forbidden from publicly giving out a name before they arrive, so don't ask me what that is now. Not even your host knows the identity yet and he'd probably just blab it out prematurely."
"What does this donor have to hide besides a name?" Jo inquired.
"I've been wondering the same thing." McLean added.
Hatchet's response was "You'll find out when they come by."
"Will that person get to meet me or the other eliminated contestants?" asked the gamer.
"Not right away; you'll get that chance at the finale." Chef answered. "In the meantime, does today's victor like receiving extra scallops?"
After swallowing a mouthful of it, Trent affirmed "Most definitely!"
(Being Confessional: Sam)
"It would've been nice to meet the donor sooner. Whoever they are, I give a big thanks!"
(End Confessional)
(Begin Confessional: Jo)
"Carrying out another successful elimination means I've still got my touch!" boasted the jockette before snickering to herself and continuing with "After getting revenge on both of the lovebirds who ditched me, I feel quite satisfied."
(End Confessional)
The cameras cut to the gaming enthusiast on the giant target. Chris asked him "Do you have any final words? Now's your chance to share them."
That got a response of "Only this: I'd like the crown to go to literally anyone besides Jo. Good luck!"
Scowling at this and subsequently giving him a middle finger, the jockette requested "Just send the dipshit off already."
Hatchet promptly complied, and the host remarked "I didn't know who would go out today, but tomorrow is bound to be more difficult."
The remaining four contestants were uncertain what he meant and shrugged their shoulders before walking away. Chef asked him "Remind me, what are we doing next?"
After answering with a whisper inaudible to anybody else, Chris signed off the episode with "To find out the answer, be sure to keep watching the show. The finale is coming closer here for Total. Drama. Generation Showdown!"
The musician finally wins a challenge for himself! That mysterious identity of the donor will get revealed next chapter. Our video game lover won't get a chance to meet them right away, but looks forward to later getting such a chance. It was another elimination I began to foreshadow with Chapter 17 and had to take place eventually. While Sam has always been a character I very much enjoy, he was never going to make the final 2 here (unlike in a couple other stories I read). This was the furthest I could plausibly take him.
Reason for elimination: Knowing Sam would remain hellbent on avenging Dakota, Jo quickly figured out the only way to prevent that from lasting the rest of the season was by ensuring he got eliminated next, hence that last-minute snowball toss. Leshawna finishing ahead of him was also a more practical outcome than the reverse since her heavier weight means a faster sled movement when heading down a hill. As for why Max survived, remember he received a bonus headstart as a prize for winning the previous challenge, plus taking him out wasn't as big of a priority to our jockette this time around. That doesn't mean she's abandoned plans to retailiate against the guy as well as Trent for Brick's elimination, though.
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), Dakota (6th place), Sam (5th place)
Remaining Players:
Jo, Leshawna, Max, Trent
Chapter posted: November 30, 2022.