The lyrics of the song this episode belong to the song Mr. Blue Sky by ELO
TDNKCI: Episode 9: "Immunity Is Its Own Curse"
"So far on Total Drama Nui Kaua: The Cursed Island…
"We brought eighteen fresh-faced freak shows to lake Nui Kaua for a third season in the South Pacific, this time during the rainy season! But that's not all, we brought back seven previous players to both give these newbies a head start on island survival as well as a challenge in the game itself! Now, from that cast of 25, we're down to 14!
"Aleister, the Ka Lani return from Total Drama Nui Kaua, has spent more time on Weliweli, the titular cursed island, than anyone else in the cast, and as a result his social game is lagging horribly, but he's yet to ruffle the feathers of anyone still in the game and has recently started expressing desire for returning players to work together!"
"Antonio, the creepy artist! He might not say much but this intimidating giant has been nothing but a team player for his Vampires since their creation. A man less of words and more of action, he excels at keeping those around him on his toes while performing admirably in both physical and mental challenges!"
"Azami. The arrogant gymnast! She's been loud and proud for most of the game so far, and that's been rubbing almost all the other players the wrong way! An athletic powerhouse, but completely socially inept, she'll have to work hard to earn her way to the million dollar grand prize, but she'd be the first to tell you she's up to the challenge. Now that individual immunity is the the prize for challenges, she could become virtually untouchable!"
"Barnard, the capitalist! A strategic thinker with a sharp mind, his main strengths are his planning and analytical abilities, but he's perhaps a little too overconfident in his social abilities, and now he finds himself in a unique position caught between the Vampires, Demons, and the returning players!"
"Daniel, the tragic villain! Since day one of this competition, Dan has made it clear for everyone that he refuses to share his spotlight with anyone who touts their morals around like a preacher, and time and time again he's proven that not only can he talk the talk, he can darn well walk the walk! He's coming off of an incredibly bold play that snuffed out one of the season's most popular competitors, flushed out two tikis, and revealed the final one's location! But can he win sticking with his current attitude?"
"Freya, the Violent Quakes return from Total Drama Zero Sum, started off the game as diabolically as one could, but after blowing up her own strategy, she's shifted away from plots for the time being. The current holder of the Banshee Tiki, and with a relative lack of allies going into the merge, she's in for an uphill battle!"
"Jaime, The sarcastic girl! Able to quickly identify why plans won't work or why players are at odds with one another, Jaime has the unique advantage of being able to quickly read a room and discern intent, but her prickly nature is leaving her virtually solo going into the merge. Will she manage to find herself some allies or will she fade into obscurity?"
"Kaden, the hard worker! An athletic powerhouse and one determined player, he has a good chance of making it far, but his romantic feelings for Azami are one ma-ha-haaajorly exploitable weakness, and with strategists left and right in this merge, he's going to have one heck of a time trying to keep them both afloat!"
"Lena, The tough girl, has been leading the charge against Daniel since her first day on the island and throughout the season, the two have constantly been at each other's throats. Now, however, with the arrival of the merge and individual immunity and the ability to recruit even more players into their alliances, Their fight is all but guaranteed to be refueled. Can this brash, foul-mouthed player finally eliminate her long-time rival?"
"Lucien, The dumb hot blonde, may not be so dumb after all if his various confessionals are anything to go by, and while various other players are starting to catch on that this man is more than he seems, his true colors remain a complete enigma. It's only a matter of time before he's forced to show them, but when he does, will they be the colors of a hero or a villain or something else entirely?"
"Samuel, The crazy-prepared weirdo, has always had some gadget or other to help out his team when they were in a pinch, though their effectiveness has varied. Tightly bonded with most of his Vampire team, Samuel is sitting a pretty good spot going forwards, but it won't be long before his enemies realize the same, and he may find it hard to keep that good spot when they do."
"Sherwood, The Ka Malu O return from Total Drama Nui Kaua! Voted out first in his debut season, Sherwood has proven through admirable challenge performance and extremely low vote count despite the Banshees having gone to elimination more often than any other team, that his previous early departure was entirely a fluke! With the merge, he's in the home stretch to reach a seat in the finale, but can he get there before he's tripped?"
"Tori, The gambler! Plucky, optimistic, and very curious about everyone else's games, Tori has had incredible luck both good and bad. Now that the merge has arrived and her luck no longer affects a whole team, will she find herself rocketed forward to the end, or self-destructing in spectacular fashion? She'd be the first to tell you she doesn't care either way as long as it's fun!"
"And Twilight, The Screaming Winds return from Total Drama Zero Sum! During her premier season, Twilight never received even a single vote against her, and that record is still true at this season's merge. Her common sense and athleticism have the ability to carry her far, but are just as likely to paint a red bullseye on her back for new contestants who want the most threatening returning players gone."
"And these 14 players are all about to find out that with the merge comes even more curses to change the game every episode! This week's curse is one I like to call "Lifeline" and is about to make for one of the most intense challenges and elimination ceremonies yet. Who's spider thread for victory is about to snap? Find out right here! On Total Drama Nui Kaua! The Cursed! Island!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
Location: Temporary Screaming Winds Campsite
Contestant(s): Daniel, Kaden
"Hah!" Kaden laughed at Daniel as the two returned to their campsite fresh off of Kyle's elimination. "A jury! Bet you're feeling pretty threatened right now, aren't you?"
"I am...annoyed." Daniel admitted. "But threatened? No, logical thinking dictates, Kaden, that this development is far worse for you than it is for me."
"Pfft." Kaden rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? If we're starting the jury off with freaking Kyle, all I have to do is make it to the end and I'm practically guaranteed that million dollars."
"Yes, you have such a great chance of wooing over most of the remaining cast I find it disgusting." Daniel sneered. "That's why everyone's going to want to get you out. No one, in their right mind anyways, is going to let you stay around for much longer."
Confessional: Kaden: The Screaming Winds
"Man….can this little shitstain be any cockier? We just all get slammed with that jury twist and he's acting like I'm the one in danger of losing when it's clearly him?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel: The Screaming Winds
"Kaden and I both know, before Chris even announces it, that the merge happens today. We'll likely be relocated to the Banshee Cabin since it's supposedly the 'neutral' campsite. Personally, I'm looking forward to no longer sleeping in a shoddy shelter, even if the improvement is a shoddy cabin."
End Confessional
"You say that like it's a fact, but I don't think you're going to be very popular yourself after last night's stunt."
"It's like I'm talking to a brick wall, how dense are you? There are still over ten people standing between you and that jury, you think all of them will just, what, let you get to that final spot? You're deluding yourself, the world doesn't work that way."
"Hey, no one's going to let me get anywhere, I'm gonna earn it."
"Is that a fact?" Daniel hid a groan under his breath.
Location: Temporary Killer Waves Campsite
Contestant(s): Azami, Sherwood, Tori
"Sorry about that Banshee going like that." Tori put a hand on Sherwood's shoulder, who shrugged it off.
"It's unfortunate, but if I were in his shoes, I would've taken the random draw chance. Higher likelihood it would have been a Vampire going home."
"Well I am NOT sorry!" Azami giggled as the group all reached their neutral campsite. "Kaden's still here which means we can still DOMINATE the rest of you! So HA!" She cracked herself into a fit of laughter, much to the annoyance of her two teammates.
"So what do you think about the jury, Mr. Return?" Tori asked, ignoring Azami's hyena impression.
Confessional: Sherwood: The Killer Waves
"This woman is very interested in my opinion on things, she's been like this since like Day 2. Doesn't she have even a single Mummy to chat around with?"
End Confessional
"Neat." Sherwood replied in an effort to keep the conversation short.
"Really? I think it's kind of silly. Telling us about it right away I mean."
"Well, if the jury sits in on elimination ceremonies, we'd learn about it anyways, so I don't see the problem with telling us when the first juror is eliminated."
Tori beamed.
Sherwood groaned as Tori said his sudden realization. "I did, I got you to actually engage in a chat! That's good, I was worried you might have been some kind of robot."
"I'm not robot, but I also have nothing to gain by chumming it up with you, not until the merge anyways."
"So...we make it to the merge and you'll chum it up with me?"
"Eh, probably not still. I don't like the attention."
"I LOVE attention!" Azami butted in on the conversation. "After all, how else will people know that I'm clearly the best player here if they can't see me?"
Sherwood and Tori exchanged tired looks with each other.
"Is she-"
"All the time." Tori nodded before Sherwood could finish his question.
Confessional: Tori: The Killer Waves
"I'd like to uh, not have to deal with Azami for much longer. She's too predictable in her actions, which are also loud and annoying. It is not a good mix for me to want you to stay around. I bet Lena and Daniel might even team up to just shut her up."
End Confessional
Confessional: Azami: The Killer Waves
"LOOK, I was just a little scared last night, alright? I-it means NOTHING! NOTHING that I asked Kaden to play that tiki. I mean, he wouldn't even HAVE it if I didn't throw it away so in a way I guess he OWES ME! YEAH, YEAH, THAT'S IT!"
"Shut the fuck up in there!" Lena's voice echoes from outside the confessional booth.
"WHAT?!" Azami turns her head before the camera cuts out.
End Confessional
Location: Temporary Honua Campsite
Contestant(s): Freya, Lucien, Samuel
"Hey…" Lucien walked up behind Freya as the team woke up in the morning.
"Are you, uh, doing alright?"
"I don't get it" Freya shook her head. "I tried! I tried to be good...and it got him eliminated!"
"I mean, considering the shit you've been putting everyone through, I say you even still being around is getting off easy" Samuel shrugged.
"Whoa, dude!" Lucien's eyes widened. "That's how you treat someone in mourning? Cold-blooded"
"I'm not in mourning, I'm just sad." Freya sighed.
"And she deserves it" Samuel butted in.
"But it's the morning." Lucien pointed up to the sun with a low laugh. "Morning, mourning, get it?"
Freya stood up. "Alright, that's enough of you pretending to be an idiot at me, all it's doing is making me angry, and I'd rather not fall back into old habits so quickly after trying to get rid of them."
Samuel kept a distrustful stare as Freya stretched and walked back towards their campfire.
Confessional: Samuel: Team Honua
"No, there's no way any person or weather condition got through to her, I don't trust it for even a second. I got my eye on you Banshee! It's just you and Sherwood left from your original team and Kyle didn't hand a tiki over to him!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Freya: Team Honua
"Ugh...14 left and what do I have, Sherwood and the Banshee tiki? I mean, he was my only true ally going into the game at the beginning, and I did want to get this tiki too but...Arrgh, why can't I even pretend to be happy about this? No...calm down...take a breath, Freya. You have one last task ahead of you, but it's the hardest one, and it's not like you're really used to it either."
End Confessional
"Sorry about earlier" Lucien sat with Freya by the fireplace. "I promise to be real for a sec, I get that you're going through some stuff, just want to make sure that it won't uh, affect our team if we somehow have to stay like this for another week."
Freya shook her head.
"Is that a no it won't affect us or a no you aren't okay?"
She glared at Lucien.
"It's a no as in there is no way in hell I'm talking to you about it!" She snapped.
"Wow." Lucien's eyes widened. "I didn't realize I was such a shitty person to you."
"N-no, sorry it's not you, it's just...your appearance reminds me of someone. That said, I haven't forgotten that you designed the teams, and the Demons exploding in on themselves is suspicious, so I still don't trust you."
"I think you're really overthinking this but-"
"Hey Lucien, why don't you go look at that rock over there that looks like a giant clam?" Samuel asked.
"Oooh!" Lucien's eyes lit up as he left the site.
"I'm surprised you didn't think I deserved his annoying presence." Freya rolled her eyes.
"Oh I didn't do it to save you from him, I did it to save him from you."
Confessional: Lucien: Team Honua
"Man, looks like I'm just nothing but an annoyance to these two. I guess that's okay though, it seems par for the course really. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to say so many stupid things, but I can't help it you know!" Lucien's eyes twinkle with a hidden glee.
End Confessional
Location: Temporary Ka Lani Campsite
Contestant(s): Antonio, Lena, Twilight
"Whew…" Twilight ticked off a tally on a tree. "The day is here. 14 players left."
"Important number?" Antonio yawned.
"Back in Zero Sum" Twilight recollected. "I was partnered with the most defeatest person on the cast for a sudden death challenge at 14 left, and we were both eliminated despite me single handedly carrying us through the challenge, all thanks to another contestant's full body tackle. The records of the show like to indicate that I placed 13th since I walked the Coals of Shame second, but I always considered us both sharing 14th place. That's why it's important to me that I survive past today."
Confessional: Twilight: Team Ka Lani
"It'll also be nice if I can outlast that Banshee slut. Those crocodile tears have run their course so many times now I bet no one's believing the act even a little bit."
End Confessional
Confessional: Lena: Team Ka Lani
"I don't really want to leave this team of three. Antonio is large and fucking creepy but at least he's fucking quiet and more importantly, fucking sane. Twilight is pretty chill too, even if I really don't want to fucking deal with her in a merge, I at least don't hate her goddam guts like I do Daniel's. If that shitstain thinks I'm not going to fucking raise an army against him after his bullshit at the last elimination, he's got another thing coming!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Antonio: Team Ka Lani
"Soon, Twilight and I will reunite with our Vampire friends...and I have a feeling we'll be given a lot of cattle to feed our bloodlust...A jury announcement last night? That surely suggests we're about to merge, to me."
End Confessional
Location: Temporary Raging Flames Campsite
Contestant(s): Aleister, Barnard, Jaime
"Wowww, that would've been close for us yesterday if Daniel hadn't done that." Jaime stretched as Barnard and Aleister handed her some grilled wildfowl to eat for breakfast.
"Yes, and it was quite the gutsy move on his part. While clearly made with malicious intent, I still think we should commend him on the play itself." Barnard extrapolated.
"Yeah, I sure wouldn't want to be going up against Kyle with a jury deciding the ultimate winner." Aleister agreed.
Confessional: Jaime: The Raging Flames
"To think we were that close to sending Aleister home instead though, whew, that would've been interesting wouldn't it? Two demons working together? And it's not like Barnard and I ever had a particular problem with each other. Hmm...maybe he'd make a good merge ally for me since, well, I definitely need all the help I can get."
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister: The Raging Flames
"So, thanks to Daniel's play, Jaime remains safe for another day it seems. No matter though, all the Vampires are still around, and once I rope Freya and Sherwood into my new returners alliance, we can start working on these Demons that are scattered all over the place, hehehe."
End Confessional
Confessional: Barnard: The Raging Flames
"Hm, I think I owe Daniel one, no way was I prepared to choose between Jaime and Aleister. Don't quite trust either if I'm being honest. Right now though, the player I'm most curious about is Freya. She has the last tiki left in the game, and I'd rather not be sent home because of it. Kaden intrigues me as well though. There was no reason for him to play his own tiki last ceremony unless he was trying to force the random draw, but to make a random move, taking away your own agency, at least to me, is one of the worst mistakes you can make from a logical standpoint since you'll have no control over the outcome. Maybe it might be a good idea to try and reunite the Demons after all…"
End Confessional
As the contestants continued eating their breakfast, Chris's voice blared over the loudspeakers.
*BEEEEEEP*
"Goooooood Morning, Campers!"
"This early?" Aleister looked up at the sky with a half-confused, half-annoyed frown.
"Everyone meet me outside the Banshee Cabins!"
"Plural?" Jaime caught the s at the end. "As someone who lived there for a while, I know there's only supposed to be one."
"That's why they kept us here!" Barnard realized what was going on. "They were transporting the extra cabin and didn't want us getting in their way!"
"Ahh, smart." Aleister chuckled.
"But it doesn't change the fact that it's too early for Chris's bull." Jaime snarked, to agreeing nods from both Barnard and Aleister.
Location: Merge Campsite
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Welcome!" Chris smiled as the last of the remaining players gathered around the now two Bloody Banshee cabins. "To the Total Drama Nui Kaua: The Cursed Island's MERGE BARBECUE!"
As the words left his mouth, Chef strolled up in a truck towing an entire table of burgers, franks, fries, chips, veggies, and kabobs, to the watering mouths of the contestants. "As of this moment, it is officially EVERY. PLAYER. FOR. THEMSELVES!"
The collective cheers from all the contestants except Daniel nearly shook the ground with their enthusiasm, and soon every player was partaking of the barbecue.
Confessional: Sherwood
"The merge! Oh, bloody brilliant!" Sherwood is the most emotive he's been all season as he can hardly stop grinning. "Finally, finally I'm in my element!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Twilight
"The merge!….the merge?...the merge…" Twilight is having a hard time wrapping her head around her situation and starts to look over herself to check if she's even awake.
End Confessional
Confessional: Azami
"WOOO! MERGE! But like, OF COURSE I made the merge, obviously no one can hold a CANDLE to me! Because I run so fast the windfall blows it out! HA! HAHAHA!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Lucien
"Woah...the merge! Wait...which one am I merging with?"
End Confessional
"Morning." Chris held out a karaoke microphone to the group. "Today's forecast calls for blue skies!"
Despite his misgivings, Tori managed to drag Daniel over to everyone else who was already willing to at least humor Chris by participating in the karaoke.
"Sun is shining in the skies. There ain't a cloud in sight." Freya and Sherwood started off the singing.
"It's stopped rainin'. Everybody celebrate." Kaden and Azami followed
"And don't you know, it's a beautiful new day-ay-ay-ay." Tori and Lucien chimed out.
"Runnin' down the avenue. See how the sun shines brightly." Barnard and Jaime continued.
"And the city, all the streets where one starts living." Lena and Antonio sang.
"Mr. Blue Sky is living here today-ay-ay-ay." Twilight and Samuel shared the mic for a line.
"Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why" Aleister began singing the chorus alone. "You had to hide away for so long," "so long" Daniel grumbled out in harmony
"Where did we go wrong?" Most of the cast sang.
"Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why
You had to hide away for so long," "so long" Daniel once again grumbled out in harmony
"Where did we go wrong?" The rest of the cast continued.
"Hey you, with the pretty face, welcome to the human race." Kaden sang
"A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin'." Azami continued from him
"And today, is the day we waited for-or-or-or." Barnard took the mic next
"Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why" Twilight sang
"You had to hide away for so long," Jaime continued. "so long" Daniel had resigned himself to this harmonic role.
"Where did we go wrong?" Freya had the mic next
"Hey there, Mr. Blue, we're so pleased to be with you," Samuel sang
"Look around, see what you do, everybody smiles at you." Barnard continued
"Hey there, Mr. Blue, we're so pleased to be with you," Aleister took over the mic
"Look around, see what you do, everybody smiles at you." Lena followed up.
"Mr. Blue Sky, blue sky blue, sky, blue sky, blue sky-y" Sherwood gave a small lyrical solo before handing the mic off to Lucien.
"Mr. Blue you get it right, but soon comes Mr. Night." Lucien sang.
"Creepin' over, now his hand is on your shoulder." Antonio continued.
"Nevermind, I'll remember you this, I'll remember you this day." Tori took over the mic.
"Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why" The whole cast sans Daniel brought their voices together again.
"You had to hide away for so long," "so long" Daniel harmonized and continued to do so throughout the rest of the lyrics.
"Where did we go wrong?"
"Hey there, Mr. Blue" The male contestants aside Daniel sang."sky" he harmonized, "we're so pleased to be with you." the other male contestants sang, "sky" he harmonized again.,
"Look around, see what you do" "blue", "everybody smiles at you."
The female contestants begin choir singing with the music of the song as it soon transitions into its ending instrumental solos.
As it concludes, Tori hands the microphone back to Chris who then nods to Chef, and the celebratory barbecue was driven off just as quickly as it appeared.
"Alright!" Chris cackled. "Now that we've gotten the love out of her system, it's time for the pain! Everyone reconvene at Kahakai Beach near the coal bed! It's….CHALLENGE TIME!"
Location: Kahakai Beach
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Welcome!" Chris announced as the contests arrived to see several giant soot-covered lengths of hemp rope. "To your very first challenge for individual immunity! I've named the challenge after this week's curse! I call it: Lifeline!"
Confessional: Barnard
"Curse aside, this...this is tug-of-war. Over a bed of heated coals."
End Confessional
"Tug-of-war, Chris? Really?" Jaime crossed her arms.
"Challenges don't need to be complex labyrinths, Jaime." Chris responded. "Although you might get to do one of those later if you last long enough, ahah-huh."
"I think it's a good challenge." Twilight looked over everything. "I assume the loser in the tug-of-war is whoever is dragged over the coal bed, and the sand makes it harder to keep a proper stance when pulling the rope."
"Thank you Twilight, finally someone gets it." Chris beamed.
"Well, whatever the challenge is, I'm gonna WHIP the rest of you!" Azami declared before laughing at her pun.
"Chris." Antonio raised his hand. "You said the curse was also called lifeline?"
"That's right. Would you like to be one of the people who takes it?"
"I guess, sure." He shrugged.
"Great! I'll need a final volunteer for this curse…" Chris looked over the contestants.
Daniel's and Tori's hands both shot up at the same time.
"Oh, looks like we have some competition before the challenge even begins already. I'll let whoever wins a little exhibition tug-of-war match between the two of you take the curse."
"Hm…"
Tori put her hand back down.
"No need Chris. Daniel can take it. I'd have preferred a more luck based solution to who would get the curse than a simple game of endurance. I've seen that man in tiebreakers, I wouldn't stand a chance."
"Alright then!" Chris nodded as he looked over everyone. "Allow me to introduce to you the curse: Lifeline! While the rest of the six of you will compete through the challenge as normal, Antonio and Daniel will face each other i match for an extra immunity. The catch is, whoever loses is sent straight to the jury. It's a curse where your very life, in the game at least, is on the line! Oh, but that's not all! The winner, if they so choose, can pick one contestant voted off that isn't a juror, and bring them back into the fold to shake things up! If they refuse, well, we've already selected someone at random to bring back in that case."
"Life on the line then?" Daniel looked up at the lumbering artist and sighed. "Figures."
"Alright, but what about the rest of the fucking challenge?" Lena crossed her arms.
"Twilight had the right of it for the first round, bog-standard tug-of-war, you'll each be randomly placed into one of six matches before Antonio and Daniel's battle. I'll introduce each round as we go. In the end, one of you will win this challenge, and thus immunity, alongside the winner of the lifeline match, where you will be safe at the first elimination ceremony of the merge!"
"So you're telling me that Antonio can wipe that little fuck off the map right here, and we're still able to go vote someone off after the challenge?"
"Yeah that's right!" Chris grinned. "We're bringing back a player no matter what so the net loss is still only a single player."
"Fuck. Yes."
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Lena that happy before." Lucien chuckled. "She must really really hate you, Daniel."
Daniel shrugged apathetically.
Confessional: Daniel
"I don't have time to worry about Lena right now. I need to worry about Antonio. I am easily shorter than he is, and probably physically weaker too. But, because he's taller, his legs are nice and lanky, and on a beach, that's not necessarily a good thing."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"Ohhhhmygosh, I don't know whether to be glad I backed out of perhaps the most dangerous curse to take, or if I should be upset that I chose not to participate in the ultimate gamble!"
End Confessional
Challenge: Lifeline
Round 1: 1 vs 1 Tug-of-war over a hot coal bed!
The matchups have been determined randomly, save for Antonio VS Daniel, who are fighting each other has part of the Lifeline Curse!
Matchups:
Azami VS Twilight
Lucien VS Freya
Tori VS Kaden
Sherwood VS Samuel
Barnard VS Jaime
Lena VS Aleister
Curse Sudden Death Match: Antonio VS Daniel
Azami VS Twilight
"You're going DOWN, Return!" Azami shouted across the coal bed. "I'm gonna BURY you! Hahaha!"
"Yeah yeah, big talk for someone who hasn't won a challenge since her team was dissolved." Twilight cracked her neck.
Both players took their ends of one of the lengths of rope.
"3...2...1…" Chef announced from a makeshift lifeguard chair. "Tug!"
"Go Azami!" Kaden cheered as the women began to pull at each other, their feet shifting in the sand.
"You got this, Twilight!" Samuel called out.
Azami heaved mightily as Twilight's foot began to brush up against the coal bed.
Twilight forced her way back a few inches and managed to get Azami to scrape the coals as well.
As they both fought on, and Kaden and Samuel cheered for them, the rest of the contestants took the time to analyze their potential as athletic threats.
"Probably the only time you could say it and be right, but Azami has more control." Jaime commented as she and Aleister next to her looked on.
"Yes, but Twilight has more brute power, if she can trip up Azami's control, she can likely bring her over the edge."
"But can she get the better of a gymnast?"
"We'll see I suppose."
"Hey, Luci, who's winning, it's hard to see from over here" Tori turned to Lucien who shrugged.
"I'd say I'm winning. Pretty girl on either side of me, pretty girl across from me, and-"
"Nevermind~" Tori hummed realizing that she wouldn't get anywhere with him.
Azami and Twilight both gave pained grunts as they redoubled their efforts, and one of them bore fruit.
A chorus of "oooooohs" and applause filled out the beach as Twilight fell onto the coals, Azami having pulled the length of rope across.
Coughing, Twilight went back to her starting place as Azami celebrated her victory by jumping around for joy and doing a cartwheel in the sand.
Lucien VS Freya
"You got this Lucien!" Tori cheered.
"Come on Luci, you fucking got this!" Lena added her own support.
"Drive that bitch into the coals!" Twilight called out.
Freya looked over at Sherwood, who shrugged back at her.
Confessional: Sherwood
"I'm not about to garner hate by cheering for her, allies or not, sorry."
End Confessional
"Take a breath…" Freya reminded herself as she steadied her respiration and took hold of her end of rope while Lucien took his.
"3...2...1...Tug!" Chef announced, and before long, Lucien was already nearing his victory.
Freya's heels burned as she slid across the coal bed.
"N-no...I can't...lose…" She grunted as her grip tightened and she brought the rope back, managing to, through singed feet and scream-inducing pain, take a few steps back towards her starting position.
"Ow, ow, ow…" She panted with each step she took, until finally, she'd managed to return to the sand of the beach.
"No, don't let her overpower you, Lucien!" Lena shouted.
"She's...a little stronger...than I thought…" Lucien grunted as he struggled to regain his advantage.
"Nnggh…"
"Grr…"
*snap*
Lucien's grip slipped from the rope and it and Freya went flying into the sand.
"Luci, why did you let go?" Tori frowned as Lucien caught his breath and Freya began to pick herself up off the ground.
"It was...whew...harder than I thought it'd be."
Confessional: Lucien
"But on the bright side…" His eyes twinkle as he gives the camera a knowing grin. "I don't look like any kind of challenge threat…"
End Confessional
Confessional: Freya
"Sorry I wasn't driven into the coals, Twilight." Freya glares into the camera. "I hope all the sand caught in my clothes is enough for you."
End Confessional
Tori VS Kaden
"Sorry but I won't go easy on you just because you're a girl." Kaden called across the coals. "It might be best to prepare for-"
"3...2...1...Tug!" Chef announced and almost immediately, Tori had pulled Kaden across the coal bed to her side.
"Looks like you shouldn't have spent all that time trying to be condescending." She crossed her arms confidently.
"I-it was a lucky tug…" Kaden grumbled as he walked along the coal bed, heading back to his spot.
"You know…" Barnard crossed his arms. "I suppose it's possible he took a dive. I certainly wouldn't want to be viewed as a challenge threat early on in the merge."
"Oh, does that mean you'll take a dive for me?" Jaime snarked. "How sweet of you!"
"I-I was talking hypothetically! And I still want immunity!"
"Well, you're going to have to wait." Samuel smirked. "It's time for me to mano a mano Sherwood!" He pointed across the coals at his opponent. "I take you out, and I think I earn the title of Miracle Man!"
"You're still on about that?" Twilight chuckled.
Sherwood VS Samuel
"Mano a mano eh?" Sherwood smirked. "Alright then. Take off those cleats. We're both going barefoot."
"Sherwood, that's a bad idea…" Freya warned. "I had to walk across those things in footwear and it still burns."
"Well, if anyone can come out on top despite all of it, it would have to be Miracle Man, wouldn't it?" Sherwood asked as he took off his shoes.
Samuel growled lowly as he took off his cleats.
"Fine then. Let's go."
"3...2...1...Tug!" Chef started the match.
Confessional: Sherwood
"Samuel always has these various items to help him out, but he also is proud, perhaps a little too proud, because goading him into coming at me without aid was my purpose before even winning this challenge. I have a vague idea about everyone else's physical abilities, but I need to know how Samuel measures up in a vacuum, so that I know just how much effort I need to expend going forwards. I'm one of two Banshees left in this game, and unlike my peer, I don't have a tiki to save me."
End Confessional
"Heh...I'm actually impressed…" Sherwood grinned as Samuel held his own. "You're stronger than I assumed you'd be."
"Right back at you…" Samuel grinned back. "But don't think for a moment that I'm not prepared for this either!"
His feet shifted in the sand and Sherwood's toes began to rub with the coals.
Confessional: Sherwood
"Bad idea. Bad idea. Bloody bad idea."
End Confessional
"Right…" Sherwood grumbled as he shifted his weight. "Sorry about this Sam, no other way."
With a mighty roar, he swung the rope, knocking Samuel over on his butt in the sand, but sparing him the pain of the coals.
"Sorry for the disgraceful loss you just took, but your feet should thank mine." Sherwood pointed to his singed toes.
"Ooooh" Samuel cringed at the sight. "I have some topical cream for that back at...wait.."
He turned to Chris. "All our stuff from the Vampire cottage, it's in the merge camp right?"
"Meh." Chris shrugged. "I dunno, I didn't move it, ask the interns."
Samuel looks back into the lens of a different camera, that nods up and down at him before he gives a relieved sigh.
Barnard VS Jaime
"3...2...1...Tug!" Chef announces.
Barnard and Jaime soon find that their strengths are about level with each other.
"Okay...I take it back…" Jaime pants as her grip on the rope tightens.
"This challenge is okay…"
"I know what you mean…" Barnard grunted back at her. "To think all that stands between me and vulnerability is my ability to tug on this rope."
"With their strengths about equal" Kaden crossed his arms. "This challenge becomes primarily about willpower."
"Who can endure the tough knots of the rope long enough to maintain a steady grip for even just a single second longer than their opponent." Samuel nodded.
"I can!" Barnard shouted.
"So can I!" Jaime shouted back.
The center of the rope shifted from one edge of the coal bed towards the other as both Barnard and Jaime took turns in fragile control of the cord's motion.
Confessional: Barnard
"Alright...mental note: Jaime can hold her own just about as well as I can physically. Good to know."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"I guess Barnard isn't entirely just arguments and philosophy after all. Maybe I really should try and team up with him, now would be the time to do it too, while everyone else has eyes on bigger immediate threats."
End Confessional
"Wow, they're really going at it." Tori stretched. "It's been a while."
"They must both really want the 'W'." Aleister nodded.
"But who wants it more?" Kaden watched on intently as his former teammates struggled to outlast the other.
The answer became clear as the rope ever so faintly fell from Barnard's hands, and Jaime managed to pull the cord over the bed of coal before she too dropped it.
"I don't know if I'll be able to even hold a crystal ball at the elimination ceremony." She tried to move her fingers but it was clear how numb they'd become.
Lena VS Aleister
"Let's get this farce over with." Freya crossed her arms. "I think we all know who is going to win this one."
"Hehe, yes we do. No girl can hope to match my might." Aleister chuckled.
"This is going to be a fucking shitshow for you, you know." Lena warned as they grabbed their ends of the rope.
"3…2..." Chef began counting down.
"Perhaps." Aleister responded.
"1...Tug!"
"But perhaps you are-"
He quickly let go of the rope for fear of Lena's raw might dragging him onto the coal bed.
"No no, please, uncle! Uncle!"
"Fucking…" Lena sighed. "It wouldn't have killed you to try even a fucking little bit!"
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Antonio, Daniel
"We've ferried the two of you here so that your lifeline duel will stay private, but also because with immunity comes residency here! On Weliweli, where you will remain until the next challenge, leaving only for bonfire ceremonies otherwise!"
"Winning immunity is what sends us to Weliweli in the merge?" Daniel rose a brow.
"The name of the game is The Cursed Island." Antonio pondered. "And heavy is the head that wears the crown. Some might say individual immunity is just a recurring curse throughout the game."
"And all curses come with a price." Daniel sighed.
"Now then…" Chris hid a chortle. "Let's let the deathmatch between our two Lifeline takers...begin!" He led them to a makeshift coal bed with its own length of rope.
Antonio VS Daniel (Deathmatch)
"3…" Chris announced as both Antonio and Daniel grabbed their ends of the length of rope, while the eliminated contestants all watched from the deck of a nearby ferry.
"2…"
"I have no quarrel with you…" Antonio looked over at Daniel with determined eyes. "But don't feel like losing just yet."
"1…"
"I don't care about you one way or the other." Daniel shrugged. "But I refuse to be forced onto a jury where I have to give cash away to people I don't believe in."
"Tug!"
"Then we have...nothing more...to say…" Antonio finished the conversation as he and Daniel both began to tug at their ends of the rope.
Antonio began with the early lead as Daniel's feet very incrementally headed towards the coals.
He waited.
He looked at his surroundings.
At Antonio's stance.
He remembered the rules.
His end of the rope had to go over the coal bed, and Antonio's would have to pass over it in the opposite direction if he wanted to win.
Antonio's stance didn't seem to be shifting with the sand whatsoever.
He stood firm, and resolute.
And quiet.
He was in a deep concentration, and if left unchecked was bound to force Daniel over the coals, no doubt they were freshly stoked and the heat would be agonizing.
But Daniel made no meaningful resistance other than his simple tugging in his direction.
Soon, he felt the coals beneath his feet.
He was nearly, quite literally, at the end of his rope.
But this.
This was what he'd planned for.
Even through all his pain, he kept a straight face as he kicked up some coal with his feet, and shot it at his opponent.
Antonio was stuck in his stance, and concentrating.
That was his disadvantage. He couldn't move out of the way as Daniel, expressionless, continued to bombard the artist with coals.
Antonio's grip began to loosen around his end of the rope.
But he too, was able to endure pain, and continued pulling.
The coal kept coming.
He kept pulling.
Until.
Finally.
"It looks like we have our winner!" Chris smiled.
After asking the winner their opinion on who to bring back to the competition, they had none they could think of and Chris was told to bring the randomly selected eliminated player back.
He brought the lucky contestant onboard a small motorboat, and sped off back towards the main island.
Leaving the matches's winner and loser alone with each other on Weliweli.
Later, Chef arrived to give the loser an honorary lift in the Coffin of Shame.
Location: Kahakai Beach
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Freya, Isaac, Jaime, Kaden, Lena, Lucien, Samuel, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
Chris returned to send Chef off to Weliweli. Meanwhile, the remaining campers all stared on in shock as the returning player stepped off the boat.
"Muscle Man?!" Lena's eyes were wide with disbelief. "You're the one they picked?"
"Ahaha, no, it was a random drawing, I wasn't picked, per say." Isaac laughed in response.
"Anyhow, pleased to see all of you again."
"No, no no no way NO WAY!" Azami wasn't having any of this. "Not only should a loser not be allowed to come back. HE lost FIRST! What is he even DOING here?"
"*Ahem*" Chris announced. "The winner of the lifeline challenge didn't really have a preference of contestant to bring back, so Isaac, our random lotto winner, has been brought back into the fold by default. However, he is playing at a great disadvantage. None of the eliminated contestants have seen anything of the show since they were eliminated, and because he's here so late, he can't participate in this challenge with the rest of you, meaning Isaac cannot win immunity."
"That's all neither here nor there!" Lena smirked. "Now that there's no little shaitstain around, the Mummies are four strong and totally able to-"
"Excuse me." Isaac solemnly interrupted. "If you're perhaps referring to Daniel, you should know that he won the deathmatch. I'm afraid Antonio has become the second jury member. By the way if any of you could explain to me what this jury is, I'd be very grateful."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Lena sighed. "Ah well, we'll just get him next challenge, right everyone?"
She was met with awkward silence.
"S-sure." Freya looked up after digging her heel into the ground and taking a deep breath. "I'll vote against him with you, next challenge. No way he wins immunity again right?"
Isaac looked over at Freya in shock.
"Oho, it appears I had you pegged entirely wrong!" He finally gave a hearty laugh.
"Hey justice for brains, she's clearly lying out her ass." Twilight crossed her arms. "It's just that recently she hasn't exactly been batting a thousand."
Confessional: Kaden
"Wow, he really hasn't seen any footage since his elimination."
End Confessional
"A-Heeem" Chris gathered everyone's attention again. "We still have two more rounds of this challenge people! You can catch Isaac up afterwards!"
Round 2:
Two teams of three from the round 1 winners will compete in a team tug-of-war. This time the rope has been fancily knotted in its center. The team to get the knot over on their side of the coal bed first moves onto the final round.
Azami, Freya, and Tori VS Sherwood, Jaime and Lena
"3…" Chris began counting down as all the contestants grabbed hold on their ends of the rope.
"2…"
"Give it your all, everyone!" Isaac called out from the sidelines.
"1...Tug!"
All the contestants began to tug feverishly at the rope and the central knot began to vibrate intensely.
"Holy-" Samuel's eyes widened as he looked on.
"That's some determination from everyone up there." Kaden nodded.
"Pull!" Azami led her group as they tugged. "And...PULL!...and PULL!"
"HEAVE!" Lena barked at her team as she matched Azami's commands with her own.
"And...HEAVE….and HEAVE!"
"Ngh…" Freya grunted. "My hands are slipping…"
"S-same with me…" Jaime let the rest of her team know.
"Well DON'T let them!" Azami shouted back at Freya.
"Fuck your hands!" Lena grunted back at Jaime. "You can power through this!"
The center knot of the rope began to sway from one edge of the coal bed to the other.
"So.." Lucien stood near Isaac. "You ever like...think about how your name has two 'a's right next to each other?"
"Not particularly, no." Isaac shook his head.
Confessional: Isaac
"I don't really understand why he would ask me about my name like that though. He should be paying attention to the challenge."
End Confessional
Confessional: Lucien
Lucien sits in the stall, contemplating, before finally looking into the camera to say his piece.
"I think I understand why Daniel doesn't like him."
End Confessional
The two teams continued their fierce tug-of-war.
Everyone's feet in the sand were shifting.
Both Freya and Jaime were struggling to keep hold of the rope.
Azami and Lena had substituted their barking of orders for loud grunts with every tug.
Sherwood and Tori, at the front ends of both sides of the rope, continued trying to get the other's grip to slip up, to no meaningful effect.
This kept going.
And going.
Until finally…
"We have a winning team!" Chris announced as the center knot passed over the edge of the coal bed and onto the beach proper. "Sherwood, Jaime, and Lena move on to the final 3-way tug-of-war round!"
"Uh...I don't think so, Chris." Sherwood looked over at Jaime's hands.
"I can't...feel my fingers…" Jaime panted.
Chris came over to see if Jaime could even hold a rope on her own while Azami blew up at her team.
"What. The. HECK you guys?" She yelled. "We were going to WIN if you only listened to what I SAID!"
"We did listen to you!" Tori yelled back. "Look, we were just unlucky this time, alright?"
"Or maybe SHE sabotaged us!" Azami pointed at Freya.
"I wanted to win the challenge too!" Freya snapped. "Tori's right, we were just unlucky, because we both did everything you told us to!"
Confessional: Azami
"Nah-uh, NO WAY am I accepting that this...d-d-...alternate completion of the challenge is anything other than one or both of THEM trying to throw MY perfect game under the bus!"
End Confessional
"It appears…" Chris announced. "That in lieu of Jaime's hands being numb to the point she's having trouble moving them, Lena and Sherwood will be going toe-to-toe in the final round of the challenge!"
Confessional: Jaime
"Great...I had gotten to the end...but…" She tries in vain to move the fingers on her rope-burned hands. "Yeah...no...there was no way I was going to last against those two."
End Confessional
Round 3: The Final Tug-Of-War Match
Sherwood VS Lena
Sherwood and Lena both stood at opposite ends of the final length of rope.
"Kick his butt, Lena!" Tori cheered.
"Come on fellow return!" Aleister voiced his support for Sherwood. "Show these newbies who the boss is!"
"Be careful of his height advantage!" Isaac called after Lena.
"Hey, good luck, Sherwood!" Freya cheered as passive-aggressively as one could.
"3…" Chris announced.
"I had a feeling it would come to this." Sherwood sighed. "I apologize in advance about your defeat."
"2…"
"Like I'm gonna fucking lose to a goddamn Banshee." Lena spat. "Bring it on."
"1...Tug!"
Both players immediately began to pull the rope with all their might.
Sherwood began with the early lead on his opponent, but Lena quickly regained the ground she'd lost and then some.
She began to sift up and down the length of the coal bed, but Sherwood followed and matched her at every opportunity as he began to bring the rope back towards his side of the beach.
The two contestants kept their eyes locked on each other the entire time.
Each reading into the other's movements before they were made as the rope continued to change momentum in either direction.
"You're better than I had expected you to be." Sherwood grunted out.
"You're no fuckin' pushover yourself." Lena responded.
The two continued to vie for dominance almost as if they were dancing along the coal bed.
Sherwood could feel the sweat softening his grip.
Lena could feel the rope bruising her palms.
Both managed to grin and bear it as they did their utmost to outlast the other.
The tides of their battle started to begin shifting rapidly.
Sherwood would make great strides, only for Lena to reclaim them.
Lena would heave the rope a hefty amount of distance, only for Sherwood to bring it right back.
This continued on for minutes on end.
Lena in the lead.
Sherwood in the lead.
Lena's hands are getting sweaty.
Sherwood's hands are getting sweaty.
Until.
At long last.
Only one contestant still held onto the rope, and dragged it across to their side of the coal bed.
"We have a winner!" Chris announced before a pause.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"Sherwood wins individual immunity! He will be escorted to Weliweli Island until the Po'ino Bonfire elimination ceremony, where he will be safe from elimination along with Daniel, the winner of the Lifeline duel! The rest of you, head back to your cabins. Girls sleep in the old Banshee cabin, boys in the new one, but you all have bigger worries than which bunk to take right now, ahahahahhh! I'll see you later tonight!"
Confessional: Sherwood
"Brilliant. Bloody Brilliant. I win immunity, and my reward for all that effort is bloody Weliweli. I guess immunity is its own curse to deal with, is that it?"
End Confessional
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Daniel, Sherwood
"I suppose you've seen the returning face already." Daniel sighed as Sherwood arrived at the island.
"I have." Sherwood nodded. "But before you decide to vote for him, you may want to listen to what I have to say."
Daniel rose a brow.
"Got nothing better to do I guess."
Sherwood explained the events of the challenge as they happened to Daniel.
"Are you seeing where I'm going with this?"
"I believe so yes." Daniel nodded. "I'm sure some of the more simple-minded players back on the island will think along similar lines, and now might be the only chance we have for a while."
"So you'll do it?" Sherwood asked.
"Not so fast." Daniel stopped him. "I want compensation. When I ask it later down the line, you're going to forsake your friend."
"I had never considered the two of us friends to begin with, that won't be a problem."
"Then we're done here. Go play in the sand or something."
Location: Merge Cabins
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Freya, Isaac, Jaime, Kaden, Lena, Lucien, Samuel, Tori, Twilight
"So, I suppose I'll take this bunk then…" Isaac looked around at Aleister, Barnard, Kaden, Lucien, and Samuel with nervous eyes.
"Relax big guy, I don't think any of us really mind you sticking around for a little while." Kaden smiled.
Confessional: Kaden
"Because, all of a sudden, my general likeability isn't such a big deal if we have another likeable guy here! Samuel's too clique-y with the Vampires and Lucien and Barnard can be likeable but usually both come across as annoying, Aleister has no real presence, and don't even get me started on how little of a threat Daniel's become because of a jury."
End Confessional
"Actually, as long as we're talking about who to vote off." Lucien chimed in. "Wouldn't it make the most sense to vote Lena out?"
"Lucien!" Isaac gasped. "Isn't she your teammate?"
"Well, the merge means it's everyone for themselves." Barnard nodded along. "And Lena was the highest performer today who didn't win immunity."
"I can hardly believe what I'm hearing." Kaden shook his head. "Did you guys all forget so easily that Freya was handed an immunity tiki just last ceremony?"
"She has a tiki?" Isaac's eyes widened.
"Okay, someone catch this guy up on what's been going on, please!" Samuel pleaded as he motioned toward Isaac.
"I'll do it." Barnard sighed as he took Isaac off for a walk to talk about what was going on in the show so far.
"Alright though, so it's all agreed between the rest of us?" Aleister asked as Barnard and Isaac left the building. "Lena?"
"Were you even listening to me?" Kaden quirked a brow. "We need to vote Freya!"
Confessional: Kaden
"Look, you might've seduced Kyle but you aren't getting to me that easily, Banshee! I only have eyes for Azami!"
End Confessional
"And what, she plays her tiki and sends home one of us?" Samuel argued. "No thanks. We lost Antonio already thanks to that stupid curse, I'm not about to lose another Vampire!"
"Lena is a Mummy, and with Isaac back, they could have a 5-man alliance if they wanted to." Aleister nodded.
"I think Lena might be the play." Samuel agreed. "Especially if we take that jury into consideration. Her mouth might be fouler than a skunk but it's not like she has many enemies besides the ones no one likes anyways."
"I can't believe you guys." Kaden sighed. "It's so obvious that we need to boot Freya out."
"Well, someone needs to go over and talk to the girls about this too." Lucien mentioned.
"Someone who isn't Kaden because he's just going to go after the wrong person." Aleister looked over at Samuel.
"I guess I am the only one left if you two won't do it." Samuel sighed. "Fine."
"Don't think that I'm not going over there too!" Kaden walked off after Samuel towards the girls' cabin.
Confessional: Aleister
"And Lena is one of the new contenders, heheh. It's a good thing it was Isaac who came back. Now the returns have a fighting chance against the rest of these guys. Let's write them out of what should be the story of our redemptions."
End Confessional
"Really?" Twilight asked as Samuel whispered in her ear. "You sure?"
"Yeah, almost every one of us is on board with it." Samuel nodded.
"Gee Samuel, care to share with the rest of class?" Jaime snarked.
"Actually I was going to tell you next." Samuel shrugged before whispering the plan in Jaime's ear.
"Ah...no, I don't think that's the play." She shook her head before motioning towards Kaden and Azami who were busy trying to one-up each other in someone's connect four game.
"I'm with those two, going after the real threat tonight."
"Yeah yeah, this is nothing new." Freya dismissed Jaime from the bed where she lay. "But I do have a tiki now, and I could easily just play it whenever I wanted."
Confessional: Freya
"Like...I get it guys, you want me gone...but can't you at least be smart about it?"
End Confessional
"Besides" Freya yawned. "I've already got a voting bloc of my own going."
"Well, I'd hardly fucking call it yours." Lena growled. "You just up and said you'd vote with me and I still don't entirely believe you'll write that person's name down."
"Well, you'll all be going home eventually because you're all LOSERS who LOST." Azami was on a small power trip from a recent connect four victory.
"You lost too, you absolute brat." Tori sighed, just about ready to leave the cabin if she had to keep dealing with Azami.
"I guess we'll have to see how elimination plays out." Kaden smirked as he sat back in a chair. "And I personally can't wait to see the look on the next eliminated player's face."
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestant(s): All Remaining
Jurors Present: Kyle, Antonio
"Welcome…" Chris announced as Daniel and Sherwood rejoined the rest of the cast at the bonfire pit. "To the first post-merge Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony!"
As the two took their seats, they met various stares and nods from the other contestants.
"Isaac." Chris singled out the returning player. "Voted out first, only to be brought back thanks to a lucky draw, and the apathy of the very person who eliminated you to begin with. What's the feeling going through your head right now?"
"Oh, extreme worry." Isaac responded without missing a beat, causing most of the others to give some lighthearted laughs.
"Your chances coming out of this elimination in one piece, what do you think they are?"
"Very slim, Chris." He sighed. "I'm still not quite sure I understand everything that's going on."
"Daniel…" Chris turned to Daniel. "You and Antonio over on that jury bench both took the Lifeline Curse, and let's say the way you handled the challenge was...unorthodox."
"Of course it fucking was." Lena rolled her eyes in a grumble.
"Where are you going with this?" Daniel asked Chris.
"Kyle's elimination also came at your hands, didn't it? How well do you think you'll be able to convince either of them to vote for you if you end up in the finale?"
"I'll worry about that, when I have time to worry about it." Daniel shrugged. "Right now, all that matters is that I'm immune." He then gestured toward the other campers aside from Sherwood. "And the lot of them, they aren't."
"Freya." Chris smiled wickedly.
"Nooo…" Freya groaned, clearly not wanting to answer any questions he'd think up. "What?" She glared.
"The Banshee Tiki. Scale of 1-10, how likely do you think you'll need it tonight?"
"Chris, if I think I'm going to go home, I'll play the tiki at the usual time, deal?"
"So you do have it." Isaac confirmed.
"Isaac...friend…" Barnard sighed. "I must have told you a couple times over already."
"Yes, but it is nice to hear the same from the source."
"Barnard, why don't we hear from you about all this?" Chris grinned. "Merge is here, there's 14 of you...five of you are returning players. How worried are you about a veteran alliance?"
"Not a day goes by that I don't have that fear pop up into my thoughts Chris. All five of these guys, they've played this game before, the rest of us, we haven't. If we sit against any of them for that final jury, well...we're going to have a tough time against that kind of redemption story."
"Aleister." Chris poked the tension around the bonfire. "You're a returning player. How worried are you about a majority coalition of fresh blood taking the rest of you out?"
"Oh, I'm positive that's a far more likely scenario than, say, those two ever getting along." He pointed towards Freya and Twilight. "Barnard belongs to the new players so I suppose he sees through tinted lenses, but I'd say that our brief experience playing other games do little more to help us than simply paint targets on our backs for the newbies to shoot. We might even all be doomed to lose in the finals if even one new player makes it there with us, given the amount of wariness we've been dealing with the whole game."
"Speaking of weariness" Chris grinned at the subtle change in words. "Jaime, how're the hands?"
Jaime smiled as she demonstrated the fact she had regained control over her hands and fingers.
"Lena. Tonight's vote, you think it's going to be decisive or divisive?"
"Divisive as fuck Chris." Lena nodded. "Some of these assholes, Samuel, and Kaden, were running all over the place whispering in people's ears. But no one in mine, so that's fucking suspicious."
"Not mine either." Tori raised her hand.
"Or mine." Freya raised hers as well.
"Well, of course not fucking yours!" Lena turned to Freya. "You think after the shit you've been pulling all season any of us trust you even a little? I find it hard to decide who I trust less between you and that little shitstain-" She pointed to Daniel but was interrupted by Chris.
"Twilight, let's end this discussion with you." Chris decided to keep things on track. "14 left. Sound familiar?"
"Too familiar." Twilight shivered. "But, I haven't been handcuffed to some cry baby yet, so I'm trying to stay hopeful."
"A good sentiment." Chris nodded. "With that, it's time to vote."
One by one every contestant got up and cast their ballot.
Confessional: Azami
"Okay Freya, it's totally your fault we L-lll...did not win that tug-of-war round, so I'm voting with Kaden and CUTTING YOU OFF! HA!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Twilight
"Sorry Lena. I kind of think you're alright, but I trust Samuel and Aleister on this, and I really really don't want to be up against you for a jury vote."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"Look, Azami...you're just too annoyingly predictable, you know? Hopefully the rest of the cast is divided enough for this."
End Confessional
Confessional: Isaac
"Whew. This is all a lot to process...I think...maybe you? No, you're immune too. Hrm…"
End Confessional
Before long, everyone had cast their vote, and Chris had tallied them.
"Alright." Chris announced. "I've tallied the votes. If I call your name, come up and receive a crystal ball. If you do not receive one, you must immediately board the Coffin of Shame and ride the Horror Hearse off of the island."
He paused for effect.
"If anybody has a hidden immunity tiki, and would like to play it...now would be the time to do so."
Freya bit her lip. She looked over at the jury as her hand fumbled in her bag.
She stretched, but did not get up, and Chris continued with the ceremony.
"Daniel, Sherwood, since you're both immune, you two come up first."
Daniel and Sherwood both walked up and took crystal balls from Chris.
"Aleister, Barnard, Samuel, Twilight." Chris announced.
"Oh thank goodness." Twilight sighed as the four of them all got up and went to go receive their own crystal balls.
"Kaden, Tori." Chris called.
Kaden and Tori both smiled as they stood and went to receive their crystal balls.
"Jaime."
Jaime nodded silently as she came up and grabbed her own crystal ball, making a point to show to Chris that she could, in fact, grasp objects with her hands again.
"Lucien."
"All riiight." Lucien grinned as he strode up to grab his crystal ball.
"You four…" He turned to Azami, Freya, Isaac, and Lena. "There are only three crystal balls left. And this next one goes to…"
He paused.
"Azami."
"What?!" Freya shouted.
"HA!" Azami laughed.
"Two crystal balls left…" Chris grinned at the three remaining contestants, who all looked on nervously.
"Freya."
"WHAT?!" Azami shouted.
"'Ha'" Freya quoted as she came up and grabbed the second last crystal ball.
"Wait...wait, what?!" Lena noticed the two players yet to receive their safety.
"Lena and Isaac…." Chris announced. "This...is the final crystal ball of the evening. And it goes to…"
He paused.
"Lena."
A chorus of murmurs erupted from the crowd of safe contestants.
"Wait, wait…" Samuel walked up. "None of us even voted for Isaac!"
"Not true, Samuel." Isaac stood up and began to walk over to the Horror Hearse. "You forgot about my own vote."
"Muscle Man...you saved me?" Lena's eyes widened.
"Hahaha!" Isaac laughed. "Justice strikes again!...Wouldn't it be nice if that were the truth, Lena?"
"You mean...this isn't some stupid morality thing of yours?" Daniel crossed his arms.
"Hardly." Isaac shook his head. "While the place us eliminated contestants are being kept is nice, Kyle over there knows what I'm talking about, and Antonio will soon too, we aren't allowed to stay informed on the goings on of the game unless we're jurors watching elimination ceremonies. Once I came back, every single thing that happened made me realize just how ill-fit a state I was in to even attempt to get back into this game."
"But...no one even tried to kick you back out!" Kaden protested.
"It wasn't about my safety." Isaac shook his head. "It's about the fun."
"Oh." Daniel sighed.
"There it is after all, a stupid morality choice. Again."
"Not morality, purely personal preference." Isaac corrected. "If I was going to be playing catch-up the entire time instead of being able to focus on challenges and curses and alliances, then I didn't see the fun in it. I signed up for a second chance, I got one, it was over. I'd rather not come back again if all I'm in for is history homework. But maybe that's too selfish of me and the rest of you prefer to be miserable if it means you'll win the money. Either way though, the votes have been tallied and read. The decision is final."
Dark clouds in the night sky began to roll in, striking the stars from view as wind began to pick up.
"And because this is a self-elimination." Chris announced. "Isaac forfeits his right to be on the jury. We can't let a quitter choose a winner after all, imagine the metagame that would create!"
"Muscle man, what the shit?!" Lena asked. "What the hell happened to your justice wins at the end speech?"
"Oh, I'm sure it will of course." He walked up to Lena, and before she could protest, gave her a pat on the head. "But I think that can happen whether I'm there to help or not."
And with his piece said, Isaac once again jumped into the Coffin of Shame.
"Take us away, Chef!" He almost cheered.
"Well…" Daniel sighed. "I guess as long as one of them's gone it didn't really matter which."
"Shit." Kaden grumbled, realizing his best shield had just voted himself out.
"Come on, Lena…" Tori pulled a dumbstruck Lena from her seat. "The only thing left to do now is get back to the cabin before the rain starts up again."
Slowly, the thirteen remaining players shuffled their way back up towards the merge cabins.
"And with that, we're down to the Final 13!" Chris announced to the camera as wind began to go even faster and rain started to drizzle down.
"Just in time for the next tropical storm too!" He yelled so that he could still be heard over the rough winds and waters.
"How will Lena cope going forward? Can Freya get anyone to trust her? Will the returns band together or will the new players pick them off one by one? Find out maybe one or two of these...next time!
On Total Drama Nui Kaua!
The Cursed!"
A flash of lightning eclipsed the camera for a brief moment.
"Island!" Chris finished before his words were echoed by a drumming thunder.
*Antonio's Final Confessional:
"This was unfortunate. I should not have taken that curse. But still, I cannot help but find it amusing, that the Vampire was destroyed by coals from a fire. I am safe at least in the knowledge that I never garnered a single vote in my name, and that my allies appear to still be strong despite some cracks. I hope for my friend Samuel's success going forward above everything else."
End Confessional*
*Isaac has declined to leave a second final confessional, stating that he would just say the same things he said in his first one.*
The Votes for those who are curious
Aleister voted for...Lena
Azami voted for...Freya
Barnard voted for...Lena
Daniel voted for...Lena
Freya voted for...Azami
Isaac voted for...Isaac (Because this is a self-elimination, all other votes are nullified)(Because this is a self-elimination, Isaac is forbidden from joining the jury)
Jaime voted for...Freya
Kaden voted for...Freya
Lena voted for...Azami
Lucien voted for...Lena
Samuel voted for...Lena
Sherwood voted for...Lena
Tori voted for...Azami
Twilight voted for...Lena
AN:
So Antonio.
He was always bound to be eliminated at the hands of some villain, though the method through which that happened would change as I planned the story. He, unfortunately, through his nature, was generally quiet and under the radar pretty much the whole game, so I'm not sure that there's much I can say about him, but I do think he's a good character, because he doesn't need some super fancy gimmick to stay relevant when almost every word he utters scares the people he talks to, even when he's normally just being a bit of an art geek. Honestly, it it weren't for the abundance of villains this season, I think Antonio would have done much better. It sucks that he had to go the way he did, but someone had to.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Antonio receives the status of: Neutral
Like I said, by his nature, he spent most of his time on the show posturing as an intimidating presence, but he was never bad, or even outwardly good that I can think of. He helped his team, He chose a dangerous curse, and he just barely couldn't make it. That's why he gets a Neutral rating.
I can't remember off the top of my head when it was, but for Antonio's best moment, I do remember a scene between him and Molly, where she's trying to bribe him for one reason or another, and he just gets up, and walks closer and closer to her, and she thinks he's going to kill her, then she thinks he's going to kiss her, until finally, he just says "No" and closes the door on her, and I loved that he was the kind of quiet character who could pull that kind of thing off.
But that's all just my opinion, what do you guys think?
And while I have you all thinking, I have some important questions I'd like to see answered.
1: Who are/were the biggest "heroes" so far?
2: Who are/were the biggest "villains"?
3: Who are/were some of your favorite characters?
4: Out of the final 13, which contestant(s) are you rooting for?
5: Finally, currently, who has the best play of the game?
And as always, thanks for reading!