TDNKCI: Episode 10: "So Close To Closure"
The Jury's Recap
"So, last time on Total Drama Nui Kaua: The Cursed Island" Kyle began as he looked over to Antonio to continue.
"Right, the teams all merged."
"We merged!" Kyle announced excitedly to the camera. "And you guys all sang karaoke."
"Right, and took part in a...juicy barbecue feast…" Antonio grinned sinisterly into the camera before both boys began to laugh a little at the joke.
"And then it was straight into the challenge?"
"Straight into it. Well…"
"Oh right, the curse."
"Lifeline, yeah. Two contestants had to take the curse before it was fully revealed, and Daniel and I were put up against each other in a deathmatch of tug-of-war over on Weliweli."
"And he won, which is why you're here now."
"He was clever. I had the height and strength advantage, but he was able to utilize terrain and pull out the victory. Just. Barely." Antonio winks into the camera. "I imagine his feet are killing him right now."
"Speaking of things that annoy Daniel, Isaac was brought back."
"Yes, for a short while anyways. It looks like as most of the cast prepared to boot Lena off, Isaac decided he'd rather just...not play."
"Yes, it was a pretty startling development, but now Lena's still in this game, Freya still has her immunity tiki, Daniel and Sherwood are stuck on Weliweli until the next challenge starts."
"An interesting caveat to winning immunity." Antonio nodded. "And I'm sure things will only get tough for everyone from here."
"But who will be able to tough it out long enough to survive, and who will find that they simply can't take the heat and be sent out of the kitchen?"
"Find out right here…" Antonio smirked as he and Kyle looked at each other before looking into the same camera and finishing off the introduction together.
"On Total Drama Nui Kaua! The Cursed! Island!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Daniel, Sherwood
The two contestants that had won immunity sat in a peaceful silence in separate shelters as they took refuge from the storm that poured down on them.
Confessional: Sherwood
"Last ceremony went...a different direction than I'd have liked. With Lena still around, I can't reliably continue winning immunity in these physical challenges. But I don't want to make it seem like I have a vendetta against any particular player either. As fun as finally poking my head out was, I might need to burrow a little deeper under the radar before I can poke out again. Especially with Aleister and Barnard both on about returns and newbies."
End Confessional
Daniel drew lines in the wet sand with a stick as he sighed and whiled away the time on the island. He and Sherwood had already reached an understanding with each other, so he and his current campmate had nothing more to talk about between them.
Confessional: Daniel
"Weliweli is good for thinking and not much else besides being cold, wet, and miserable. And winning immunity means you have to put up with it. They likely thought it would discourage and demoralize winners to give the other sheltered players a better chance against say, a physically stronger or mentally superior opponent. Unlucky for the staff that I can't be demoralized. I don't care if there's more or less for me to do to get to my goal. I'll get there."
End Confessional
Location: Nahele Forest
Contestant(s): Barnard, Jaime
"I know I wanted to talk to you privately…" Jaime held her forearm to her brow. "But do we have to head out into the middle of the forest for it? It's pouring."
"That's the point!" Barnard responded over the rainfall. "Anywhere dry and we'd run the risk of someone running into us! Now...what did you want to talk about?"
"Barnard, as someone who has been on the same team as you before, I know you don't really mean anything when you talk about how dangerous the returns are, you're just trying to start up conversation about strategy, but my goodness are you inviting trouble the more you poke them, and you don't exactly have the charisma to bring a group of these people together."
"I never said I did." Barnard responded. "I'm just trying to be as realistic as-"
"You're falling into the same damn habit that Helen partially quit over." Jaime pointed out. "So allow me to correct my own. If you keep going on like this, you're going to get yourself eliminated. Stick with me in a simple two-man alliance instead! No way do I want to throw in completely with Kaden and Azami. The first is falling back into his trap as well, and the latter never even learned the goddamn lesson."
"Well Jaime, I have no reason not to trust you but…" Barnard hesitated. "Two people...that's not going to get us very far."
"You'd be really surprised." Jaime held in a laugh. "Look, I never said it'd be easy, alright? But you're one of the few sane people left on this island and I'd rather not pair up with a lunatic, you get me?"
"I...guess…" Barnard weighed options in his head.
Confessional: Jaime
"Uggggghhh, now isn't the time for overthinking, Barnard! It's cold and wet and dangerous out here and I just want to go back to the cabins. My side of the girls' cabin is empty because Freya went who knows where and Azami and Kaden have been locked at the arm since the last bonfire ceremony. We could have just talked there you know!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Barnard
"Well...It is the Final 13, and I do need an ally I can count on. I don't see Jaime pledging loyalty, at least sincerely, to anyone else either...But it's only one person...my mega-alliance...No, there's no way I can make one as long as I have Daniel and Lena and Azami to worry about. And I do consider Jaime a friend so...alright. Time to put my votes where my mouth is."
End Confessional
"Alright!" Barnard held his hand out through the storm. "It's official then. To the end, yeah?"
"No, for like a day or two." Jaime rolled her eyes. "Of course to the end, now come on!" She took his hand and shook it before grabbing his wrist and heading back towards the cabins.
"We're going back to where it's dry!"
Location: Mt. Immolate Cavern
Contestant(s): Freya, Tori
Freya sat with her back to a stalagmite as she held her Banshee Tiki in her hands and looked over it with disdain.
"What am I supposed to do?" She asked it, unaware that Tori had snuck out of the cabins after her.
"Even after voting the way that felt like the right thing to do, still, still no one's willing to give me a chance."
Confessional: Freya
"And I mean I get it, really, it's not like I didn't do...some...really awful things...but why can't anyone see that I'm trying? I'm trying so hard…"
End Confessional
Tori put her hand over her chin in thought as she continued to watch Freya sob at the tiki in her hands.
"It would be so easy, so easy to use you if I stuck to the plan I had going into this game, but now Kyle's gone, Sherwood's over on Weliweli, and the other two Banshees hate me beyond the point of repair. I even went so far to tell everyone at the challenge that I wanted to join Lena's group, whoever is even in it, like an idiot to give away my allegiances, but they still don't believe me, and because of you...ohohoho...because of you, they're all even more suspicious!"
Confessional: Freya
"Seriously!" She holds the Banshee Tiki up to the camera. "If I wasn't just as convinced as the rest of them that this was my final shield in this game, I would have tossed it into the magma by now! It's clearly cursed with bad luck!"
End Confessional
"Grrr…" Freya balled up as she held the tiki close to her chest. "Isn't this season supposed to be all about second chances?"
Confessional: Tori
"Ooooh~, I admit I was intrigued by our little group's new addition, but this...this is far more interesting than I could have hoped for! We have Lena, trying to get rid of Daniel, Luci, clearly hiding whatever his true intentions are, and now...hmhmhmhmhm~ hmmm…"
End Confessional
Tori stifled a giddy giggle as she snuck out of the cavern, leaving Freya truly alone.
Freya looked around as she heard Tori exit, but couldn't see anyone.
She turned back to the tiki in her hands for a while, before taking stock of her surroundings.
"Of course the storm is worse when I want to go back to the cabin." She sighed.
Location: Boys' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Kaden, Lena
"No, I wanna fuckin' know." Lena stood Aleister down as Azami and Kaden playfully thumb wrestled each other in the corner. "Who led that anti-me coalition? Tell me or I fucking swear your ass is gone before either of theirs!" She pointed to Azami and Kaden.
"W-wait." Kaden turned as Azami took his moment of distraction to claim victory. "Both of us?"
"Very exactly opposite reasons other than the fact that you're goddamn middle school romance is annoying."
"Wh-WHAT?!" Azami went red and flustered. "W-we aren't in a-a-a-a-a...a r-r-ro…"
"Well, I'm more than prepared to make things...official." Kaden winked at Azami.
"That's...part of the reason you're in danger you know." Aleister brought up.
"Hey!" Lena pointed back at him. "No one asked for your opinion. The only thing out of your mouth should be the name of the one who suggested that I-"
"G-gahh! It was Lucien!" Aleister chirped. "He brought it up first, and we all just sort of agreed to it!"
"That fucking traitor!" Lena pounded the wall.
"I don't think he meant anything by it." Kaden shrugged. "He doesn't exactly come across as the brightest tool in the shed."
"You're right, I suppose he doesn't…" Lena caught her breath. "But that makes this even worse. He's too stupid to realize I'm his ally."
"L-look." Azami was still a little hung-up on the romance thing but she did her best to contribute to the new topic of conversation. "We'll just get rid of that BANSHEE bitch before she can seduce Kaden, and then we can worry about your dumb blonde."
"Wait, that's not why we're voting for her, we're voting for her because she has that tiki, and I want that thing out of here!" Kaden defended. "No one's gonna take me away from you Azami, pretty sure I proved that when I played my tiki before the merge."
Confessional: Kaden
"Which, now that I think about it...I didn't need to do that at all did I? I just acted in the spur of the moment because Azami picked that time to be honest with her emotions."
End Confessional
Confessional: Lena
"So let's see...there's Azami who is an annoying bitch, Daniel who is an annoying bitch, Freya who is an annoying bitch pretending to have seen some sort of light and changed, Kaden, an annoying Azami-obsesssed bitch, and now Lucien, an annoying dumb bitch. Things are fucking not looking too good in terms of anyone's patience."
End Confessional
Confessional: Azami
"L-look...K-kaden is cute, sure. BUT! But but but! Uh- uhm...I...Uhhh…"
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"Okay...okay...that was scary...not sure I want to try voting for her again. If someone saves her, well...I'm more than a little afraid for my safety both in and out of game."
End Confessional
Location: Boys' Cabin Left Side
Contestant(s): Aleister, Barnard, Samuel, Twilight
"So, Lena's on a bit of a rampage…" Aleister mentioned as he snuck into the other side of the cabin, where Twilight was lounging on a bed while Samuel and Barnard worked together on a jigsaw puzzle.
"Strangely enough, if she keeps it up, she becomes less of a threat going forward in the game." Barnard said as he turned one of Samuel's pieces around and attached it to the puzzle. "The less liked the rest of the competition is, the better our chances."
"And it's not like we have anyone else around capable of beating Sherwood in a physical challenge," Samuel said as he attached another piece. "Except maybe Twilight."
"No way do I want a target on my back, especially not now." Twilight dismissed the suggestion from the bed.
Confessional: Twilight
"Final 13, just one more ceremony, just one more and I can officially say I've done better this time around. So close. So close to closure!"
End Confessional
"Then it's probably best for everyone if we all lay off Lena for a challenge." Barnard suggested. "Let her destroy her credibility against the jury through this little crusade of hers meanwhile we can work on getting rid of, hm...how about one of the lovebirds making all that racket on the other side of the cabin? Kaden's likeable, and Azami's still a pretty big physical threat."
Confessional: Barnard
"And, they're both Demons. This should help distract those three from my true loyalty to Jaime, forged this morning in the middle of that giant storm."
End Confessional
"If we act like we're ready to vote off Freya with them, we might also be able to flush that final tiki." Samuel suggested as he placed the final puzzle piece to complete their jigsaw.
"Then it looks like we have a game plan. Kaden if he doesn't win immunity, and we fake-out Freya." Aleister nodded.
Confessional: Aleister
"Emphasis on faking out Freya. I'm not going to give up on a returner's alliance just yet, and as long as she has that tiki in her hands, no way would she feel like joining one. So, while everyone else focuses on that, I'll focus on trying to mend whatever beef is between her and Twilight!"
End Confessional
Location: Girls' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Freya, Jaime
"Wow, you're drenched." Jaime looked over as Freya walked through the cabin doors.
Freya looked over Jaime and pointed to the wet footprints she herself had left.
"Fair." Jaime sighed. "Where were you?"
"The cavern." Freya sighed. "You?"
"The middle of the forest."
"I don't suppose you'd be in for some sort of Banshee alliance?" Freya half heartedly mumbled.
"Aha~!" Jaime laughed at the suggestion. "Are you really that desperate now?"
"You know." Freya cracked her neck. "I really would have thought we'd be getting along better, what with me saving you from elimination after mud sledding and all."
"Gee, thanks for spitefully eliminating a returning contestant and taking me as table scraps." Jaime sarcastically remarked. "It almost feels like we're sisters!"
"I assure you, I wasn't the one acting out of spite in that particular scenario." Freya rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me you thought he was that good of a teammate."
"He was fine." Jaime rolled her eyes back. "At the very least he never batted emotions around like a yarn ball."
"Alright, forget it." Freya threw her hands into the air. "I'm heading to the other side of the cabin if you or anyone else feels like slinging insults."
Confessional: Freya
"And I hope she knows that if I didn't help Aleister, during the five team challenge, she'd have even less of a shot of being here."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"Look. I trust Freya as far as I can throw her right now. She seems to think words are enough to convince people she's changed, but it's actions that I want to analyze, not words. I bet she turned on Lena and voted for her with everyone else at the last ceremony."
End Confessional
Jaime looked around the room as Freya left.
"Azami is still in the boys' cabin so...hm…"
She noticed the Connect 4 had yet to be put away, shrugged, and began to play against herself.
Location: Girls' Cabin Left Side
Contestant(s): Freya, Lena, Lucien, Tori
"Alright dumbfuck!" Lena held Lucien by his collar. "You throwing my name around? Aren't we supposed to all be the Children of Isaac?"
"That's this alliance name?" Freya held a laugh as she entered the room.
"Like you're even part of this, Banshee!" Lena snarled.
"Now now, Lena, The more the merrier in our anti-Daniel brigade, right?" Tori beamed over at Freya. "Consider her our ah, return liaison?"
"Can I maybe not have to talk to the other returns?" Freya suggested.
"Oh, but where's the entertainment in that?" Tori pouted.
"Anyways~" Freya hummed as she turned towards Lucien. "It was you who first put Lena's name out huh?"
"I-it was an accident, I swear, I swear!" Lucien held up his hands defensively. "I didn't think they'd actually go for my idea! No one's gone for my ideas yet!"
"True." Lena dropped Lucien down to the floor. "Your ideas aren't exactly winners."
"Th-thank you, please, I promise, I'm not voting for you ever again!"
"You voted for me?" Lena picked Lucien back up.
"Welcome to our little team~" Tori sang at Freya, who crossed her arms as she gave a dejected sigh.
"Children of Isaac…" She shook her head. "What a name."
She looked over at Lucien as Lena finally let him back down onto the floor again.
"Say Lucien…" She chimed. "You wouldn't happen to remember what happened after you brought Lena's name up, would you?"
"Uh…" Lucien looked between Freya, Lena, and Tori, and gulped.
Confessional: Lucien
"Is it just me, or are these women scary?"
End Confessional
"W-well…" He nervously replied. "Pretty much everyone agreed to it except Kaden. He was really really anti-Freya. Something about you being a liar and having a tiki. I don't know what he's talking about personally, you've been...pretty harshly honest whenever I've talked to you."
"That's because you're a dumbass." Lena growled. "Of course she has a fucking tiki, we've all seen it!"
"I personally think her tiki out in the open like that is fun!" Tori smiled. "Gives the game just that tiny bit more adrenaline you know?"
"Enough about my tiki." Freya made a shooing motion with her hand. "I'm only here to confirm who we're going to vote for if Daniel wins immunity."
"I guess you do want to see him gone after what he did with Kyle." Lucien sighed. "That was majorly ruthless."
"Not as majorly ruthless as he should have been, because now I have a tiki and I found the people that want him gone!"
"Yeah, but that tiki...isn't actually very effective is it?" Lena crossed her arms. "It's the fuckin' Banshee tiki. You can only play it on you or fuckin' Sherwood."
"Sorry I only got this tiki when there were two Banshees left, I guess." Freya frowned with a furrowed brow.
Tori yawned as she stretched out her limbs.
"Maybe we can use that to our advantage." She suggested. "But first, let's get some stories straight. If Daniel wins immunity, who should our target be?"
"I say fuckin' Sherwood." Lena crossed her arms. "For one, he's already got one immunity under his belt. And second, I want to be absolutely sure this Banshee here is on our side before the two of you go blabbing anything and everything to her."
"Sherwood sounds good, sounds good!" Lucien nodded along with Lena, eager to not be picked up again.
"Awww… I kinda liked how well he was doing…" Tori sighed sadly. "Oh well~" She quickly regained her general perky nature. "Guess that means the three of you have some extra entertainment time for me. I'm gonna go prowl around the island and see if anyone's wandering around in the storm. See you guys later!"
"I'm going to go make sure that muscle man's shelter is still standing." Lena grunted. "Keep an eye on the idiot. That's your first task towards earning my trust."
"Gee thanks." Freya rolled her eyes.
"I think she meant me." Lucien gave a low chuckle.
Freya pinched the bridge of her nose as Lena left the cabin.
"Lucien...can you be real for a sec again?"
"Huh?" Lucien sprawled himself on Tori's bunk. "Aren't we all always real? You mean you can become imaginary?"
He sat up and closed his eyes hard. "I'm gonna imagine that I have sick ass dragon wings!"
"Ugh…" Freya clicked her tongue as she looked around the room for something to do, eventually settling on coloring in an art book.
"I like to think if we can imagine it, it will one day be possible for us." She heard Lucien say from the bed, but when she turned over he was amazing himself with his disappearing finger magic trick.
He leaned over to excitedly show her.
Freya hid a small laugh.
Confessional: Lucien
"Like I said, three scary women. Better to try and make them happy, yeah? They're a lot less scary that way."
End Confessional
Confessional: Freya
"I suppose...I suppose I could be worse off right now."
End Confessional
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Pit
Contestant(s): Azami, Kaden
"Wooo~!" Azami hollered happily. "That's another win for Azami! The Kaden Crusher!"
"Oh?" Kaden raised a brow. "Because you have a crush on me?" He grinned.
Azami went red.
"Wh-WHAT? THAT'S! It's because I CRUSH you, not because of my crush ON you! I mean, If I e-even HAD one that is! I-"
"Hm." Kaden looked around. "Hey Azami...before Chris interrupts us with some kind of challenge, because you know he will soon, how about one last quick competition?"
"T-that's better!" Azami started to regain herself. "Now you're talking about what matters!"
"Perfect!" Kaden smirked. "Come her, take a knee in front of this stump. We're going to have an arm wrestle."
"O-okay, if you really want to lose super quickly."
"I don't know about this time…" Kaden chuckled. "What say we make it more interesting? Loser has to kiss the winner."
"THAT'S-!" Azami went red before looking around.
"Don't tell me you think you'll lose?" Kaden smiled knowingly.
"A-AS IF!" Azami shouted back as she got her arm ready. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
As it turns out, Kaden didn't go down very easily.
He held his own for a solid five minutes before his forearm finally gave out.
"HA!" Azami laughed before realizing the prize they had been playing for.
"Well, get ready." Kaden motioned for her.
Getting red as a beet, Azami closed her eyes and puckered up, only to feel Kaden's lips graze her cheek.
"I never specified where, babe." He snickered. "But if that's where you want it-"
"W-wait I wo-" She was cut off as Kaden's lips connected to hers, and despite her bristling, she eventually embraced it.
*BEEEEP*
"Attention campers, and looovebirds." Chris announced over the loudspeakers. "Everyone meet me at the Muliwai river delta! I hope you're all ready for your next challenge!"
Confessional: Kaden
"Dang Chris! Don't you think you could have given the two of us a little more time to really appreciate this development?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Azami
"L-look! I'm only in competition mode all the time alright?! I just, uh, uhhh, Oh I know! I beat everyone else in the contest of who would win Kaden over first! HA! Azami takes the gold AGAIN!"
End Confessional
Location: Muliwai River
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Welcome Final 13!" Chris announced as Chef drove Daniel and Sherwood back to reunite them with the other contestants as they all grouped up before a complex rope maze stretching along the trees of the riverbank. "It's time for a special challenge, I call it...the PAIN MAZE!"
"Figures." Daniel's feet instinctively tensed up.
"Pfft, what's so painful about a bunch of rope?" Jaime asked. "You think I'm afraid of a little rope burn after the last challenge?"
"I'm glad you asked Jaime!" Chris smiled. "The pain doesn't come from the rope itself…but why don't you go ahead and place your hand on it?"
"Huh..." Jaime quickly raised a brow "The heck is that?"
"That" Chris responded. "Is an electrical current. It's not going to say...give anyone a heart attack or anything, especially with your feet on the ground, mainly because our lawyers wouldn't let us near construction of this one. However, that doesn't mean it isn't going to sting ahah-huh."
"Great, so we navigate this pain maze, and the first one out wins immunity?" Barnard asked.
"Close!" Chris smiled. "Jaime here is demonstrating how to get disqualified from the challenge. Once you enter the maze, your hands and feet should either be in the air or touching the rope, nothing on the ground!"
"Chris" Samuel's hand went up. He was wearing rubber gloves.
"Hey, not like you knew beforehand what the challenge was gonna be." Chris shrugged. "Sure, keep them on!"
"Sick." Samuel smiled amidst the groans of the other contestants.
"Now then…" Chris grinned. "Everyone get yourself onto the rope maze and we'll start once you're all prepared!"
Challenge: Pain Maze
Rules: Contestants must navigate an electrically charged maze along the river bank without once touching anything other than the ropes and wires of the maze itself. If any contestant touches the ground, or a tree, they will be disqualified. The first contestant to successfully complete the maze, or the final contestant left, will win immunity and be sent to Weliweli Island where they will remain until the next challenge with the exception of the elimination ceremony.
"Owowowowowowow…" Aleister mumbled to himself while Samuel a few feet away was totally fine thanks to his gloves.
"Ohhhh….okay, this is pretty rough…" Lucien gave a low chuckle.
"Contestants...on your marks…"
Lena got ready to swing forward.
"Get set…"
Kaden prepared to charge.
"Go!" Chris called and all thirteen of them were off, with Azami, Kaden, and Lena taking the early lead.
"Now might be a good time…" Chris called out to the contestants. "To mention that the first person to disqualify from the challenge will be the recipient of the newest Curse!"
Immediately, without hesitation, Tori took a dive into the Muliwai and swam up to the riverbank where Chris stood.
She held out her hand.
"Curse please!" She smiled.
Confessional: Tori
"What? I totally missed out on a great risk last time, no way am I about to let this curse slip me by!"
End Confessional
"Tori's got it!" Chris announced as Daniel, Barnard, an Aleister, who were all ready to drop the challenge as well, sighed and continued in their attempts to complete it.
Chris turned towards Tori.
"Congratulations, Tori, you've won...this!"
He handed Tori a small scroll, which she immediately unwrapped and read to herself, safe in the knowledge that she was far away enough from the other contestants that no one would hear.
"You have missed out on your opportunity this week for safety, but should you win your way to Weliweli, there exists a relic of a season passed within the decaying forest, an item of ill omen, but now a powerful shield. Be careful who you share this knowledge with, for friend and foe are not so easily divined."
Confessional: Tori
"Hm...sounds like something pretty neat is hidden on Weliweli right now. Too bad I can't win immunity this week, guess we'll have to wait for the next one."
End Confessional
"Crap!" Twilight yelped as she fell from the maze and rubbed her rear as she moved toward Chris, Chef, and Tori.
"Damn, not a good time up there that's for sure…"
Confessional: Twilight
"And I really would've liked to know beyond a shadow of doubt that I was safe too. Guess nothing for it for now but to cross my fingers and hope some of these assholes are putting bigger targets on themselves than whatever is on me."
End Confessional
"Out of the way lovebirds, you're letting others pass us!" Lena shouted. "I don't want to lose because you decide to play kissy-face during a challenge!"
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Azami screeched defensively as she shoved Lena back where she collided with Lucien.
"Wh-whoa I don't think throwing other players is allowed!" He called after Azami who had by that point already started leaving Kaden behind her.
"A-Azami wait!" He called after her.
"L-Lucien-" Lena tried to get some words out as Lucien attempted to climb over her. "D-Dumbass, our weight isn't gonna-"
Both players fell to the ground.
"Fuck." Lena cursed. "I hope you're happy with this, you meth head."
"N-not really…" Lucien lowered his eyes. "I was just trying to get out of your way without clogging the maze up."
Lena shook her head in disappointment as she joined Tori.
"So?" She whispered. "What was the curse?"
Tori handed Lena the scroll.
"Read silently."
Lena did as she was instructed and handed the paper back. "Sounds like another immunity tiki or something." She whispered.
"Yeah, but it can't possibly be team based, which makes it more powerful than that Banshee Tiki Freya has." Tori responded. "Alright, time to go let Luci know."
"No." Lena stopped Tori. "Don't tell that idiot, or the Banshee bitch. Lucien would just blab it, and mark my words, Freya's going for a long con. It wouldn't exactly be the first time this season she did that."
"Hm." Tori frowned. "I don't know about keeping a secret from our own alliance, but oh well. I wouldn't want to interfere with whatever you have planned, should be fun to watch."
Confessional: Lena
"I get that Tori wants to have fun, but we have to make sure we're, you know, safe first for fuck's sake, and while we have Azami, Daniel, Freya, Lucien, and Sherwood all out there, I don't think I'll ever feel truly safe. I realize two of them are allegedly allies, but one's an utter moron and the other, the other's clearly desperate for any sort of safety at all."
End Confessional
"Sherwood!" Aleister crawled along the ropes to where Sherwood was steadily making his way across. "Fellow Nui Kaua return! I've been meaning to talk to you!"
"Now's not the best time." Sherwood responded motioning with his eyes to the challenge they were both a part of.
"No, the shock means you're alert and I have your attention. We need to seriously consider a returner alliance."
"No." Sherwood declined. "Now that there are no teams anymore, I want nothing to do with returns ever again, especially the other Banshee."
"But, if we don't at least try, we run the risk of the others picking us all off one-by-one!" Aleister argued.
"I said no." Sherwood wouldn't budge.
"Well, can you at least make some room for me to go past?"
"That one's even less likely."
Sherwood continued at his steady pace.
Aleister took a gulp and began to crawl quickly across the ropes, only for him to collide with Sherwood, and both of them to fall to the ground.
"I suppose this was inevitable." Sherwood sighed.
Confessional: Sherwood
"Yeah I threw it. After that last challenge, I'm not ready to get so close to individual immunity again. I can't stay beneath everyone's radar if I win immunities left and right. Let them worry about some other contestants first."
End Confessional
"Gl-gloves huh?" Barnard asked Samuel as the two walked along the rope.
"Yep!" Samuel beamed. "I was only wearing them because of the rain, but boy am I glad I decided to."
"You really are prepared for anything, huh?" Barnard laughed.
"Yep." Samuel didn't hesitate. "Right now though, I'm going to make sure our plan can work to its fullest extent." He looked over at where Freya was making admirable progress.
"Samuel, I get that she's not exactly person of the year but...I dunno, she seemed perfectly fine and reasonable back when I visited her during the panther challenge."
"Please, it was an act." Samuel sighed. "Watch and see Miracle Man at work!"
"Samuel!" Barnard called after him as he hurried forward, but Barnard stopped himself from saying any more as he nearly fell off the ropes, only just barely managing to catch himself and avoid disqualification.
Confessional: Barnard
"Seriously, have I missed something? Between Lena storming around camp on her crusade, Kaden's laser focus on Freya, and Samuel's laser focus on heroics, I think there might be some kind of cold going around. Like, I'm not fond of quite a few of these 'villains' either but aren't these grand obvious gestures a little...grand and obvious?"
End Confessional
"What the shit?" Freya yelped as Samuel rammed into her and they both began losing their footing on the course. "The heck is your problem? There's room, just go past me!"
"No!" Samuel denied. "I'm taking you out of the challenge before I move on to Daniel, that way neither of you can hope to win immunity!"
"At least I'm not cheating with those rubber gloves!" Freya retaliated as she endured another ram. "Eek! Stop that!"
"No, I'm taking you out!" Samuel responded.
Confessional: Freya
"Kaden, Lena, Samuel, all this righteous anger, would any of you like to direct it somewhere that's not to me for like, two minutes?"
End Confessional
"Take a breath, Freya, take a breath." She mumbled to herself as Samuel continued to shove her in an attempt to get her to fall before she turned to face him. "Alright Samuel, you want me out of the challenge so badly?"
Her hands shot out and gripped his shoulders.
"Then you're going down with me!"
And the two shuffled over the rope maze into the Muliwai together.
"Ugh, haha..hahahahahaaaa!" Samuel laughed. "You think I care about how I did? All I wanted was for you to lose, and now that…"
The two of them looked over to where Daniel had hit an unfortunate snag in the maze and fallen to the ground. "Now that he's no longer immune, all the rest of us have to do is see whether Azami or Kaden wins and vote for the other one, no way Jaime and Barnard can catch up to them!"
Freya grinned.
"Thanks for the plans, Sam~" She hummed as she took off on the ground towards where Kaden and Azami were vying for first place in the maze.
"Wait-" Samuel called after her only to be stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.
He turned nervously to see Twilight's unamused face.
"What. Did. I. Say. About. Talking. To. The. Banshee?"
"Don't?" Samuel cringed in response.
"Fucking. Don't." She pulled him forcefully back towards Chris and the other contestants.
Confessional: Freya
"Hah! Alright, I think I might actually be able to use this wrong consensus about me faking all this to my advantage. People like Samuel are always going to want to brag to a villain they see when they think they won, so let me use that villain reputation to warn Kyle's friend!"
End Confessional
"Kaden!" Freya shouted as both Kaden and Azami started to get near the end of the maze, "Kaden you have to win!"
"What?!" Kaden asked back. "Like I planned to lose."
"No, Kaden, I mean you have to!" Freya tried to get the point across.
"If you don't win immunity, the Vampire alliance is going to vote you off!"
"I think it's probably you whose behind that!" Kaden wasn't convinced.
"BESIDES!" Azami shouted down. "I'M the one who's gonna win! I'm the KADEN CRUSHER!"
"AZAMI!" Freya decided she'd try her luck with the other player present. "Unless you want Kaden to leave you all alone here, You really need to forfeit the challenge!"
"N-NO!" Azami refused. "I'm not gonna do that! I only WIN! Ever!"
Confessional: Freya
In lieu of any sort of formal complaint, Freya puts her palms on her face and drags them down her cheeks as she lets out a shriek of irritation.
End Confessional
"She's telling the truth!" Barnard hand managed to catch up just in time. "Kaden, she's not lying, I was there!"
"Wh-what?!" Kaden asked back as his eyes widened.
Confessional: Kaden
"As far as I know, Barnard has no reason whatsoever to lie about this to me so…Oh...oh no…"
End Confessional
Confessional: Barnard
"Why did I decide to tell him? Because if at all possible, I want the Demons to reconvene as a team. If Jaime and I can work together, and Kaden and Azami can work together, all I really need is for me and Kaden to be a point of contact and we can finally, after all this time, regroup and become the force that Helen thinks we can't become."
End Confessional
"Azami...please…" Kaden looked Azami in the eyes as the two of them reached the exit at the same time.
"I…" Azami looked at Barnard, and Freya, and finally back at Kaden.
"I….I WIN!" She screamed aloud as she shoved past Kaden and through the exit just as Jaime managed to catch up to everyone.
"We have a WINNER!" Chris announced. "Azami earns individual immunity, and she'll be carted off to Weliweli until the next challenge, leaving only for the elimination ceremony, where she will be completely safe!"
Confessional: Jaime
"I couldn't see up until the end, but I was close enough to hear. I think I can follow the logic Barnard used. Honestly, it was a good idea, but it looks like we've underestimated how much of a competitive [BLEEP] Azami is."
End Confessional
"Freya…Barnard…" Kaden pleaded. "Help…"
"Oh, are you sure?" Freya mocked looking over her nails "I am the Bloody Banshee after all."
"Y-you have that tiki right? You can totally draw all the votes and then get someone else out, yeah?"
"Hm...I could…" Freya nodded her head back and forth in thought. "If you perhaps promised to stop your own crusade against me."
"No DON'T!"Azami shouted as Chef dragged her towards his ATV. "She's just gonna steal you away, that's what she DOES!"
"I'm not going to do that!" Freya groaned.
"I promise, I promise!" Kaden ignored Azami's voice as he focused on Freya. "Kyle says you're great at emotional manipulation, so-"
"Fine." Freya sighed with a small smile. "I know exactly how to drag everyone's attention to me too."
Unfortunately for them, Daniel had been in earshot of the entire conversation.
Confessional: Daniel
"I had hoped that with Kyle gone she would double down on ruthlessness, not attempt to play his game for him. But before I correct that, I need to make sure Kaden does indeed go home. I'm not about to go toe to toe with her in terms of emotional manipulation though, that's a fool's errand. Right now...What I need to do is…"
End Confessional
"So…" Freya regrouped with Tori, Lena, and Lucien as everyone started to head back towards the merge cabins. "What even was the curse anyways?"
"Oh it was-" Tori started but stopped when she saw Lena's eyes locked on her and she continued with a natural-sounding sigh. "It was a preview to what the next challenge is. Let's just say, we might all want some of Samuel's gloves."
Confessional: Tori
"I'm only affording you the trust to go along with your plan because I know you, Lena. If it were up to me, I'd have told the other members of our alliance, whether I was sure they were trustworthy or not."
End Confessional
"I suppose that's useful for someone who performed badly in this challenge and might be worried going forward." Freya bought it. "Sucks that that's all you get for throwing away your shot at immunity though."
"Tell me about it!" Tori grinned.
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Daniel, Freya, Jaime, Kaden, Lena, Lucien, Samuel, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
Jury Present: Kyle, Antonio
"Wow…" Chris looked over at a disheveled cast sans Azami. "Looks like you guys were running all over the place."
"I can't speak for everyone else Chris." Freya spoke up first. "But I've been searching for the Banshee Tiki. I don't know who it was, but someone was going through my stuff!"
"Not to put myself in hot water," Daniel raised his hand. "But I went through her stuff. I didn't take any tiki though, because of course that's not where she keeps it. It's clearly still on her person. She knows she's going home so she's been scrambling all night."
"Funny, I remember you talking a few people aside yourself there." Lena crossed her arms.
"Yes, because when I do have conversations with people, I want them to be as private as possible."
"Interesting.." Chris rubbed his chin. "So Twilight."
"Ah, there it is." Twilight couldn't help but smile.
"You look like you already know what I'm about to ask you!" Chris laughed.
"Final 13 Chris, doesn't take a detective, though one would be pretty useful right around now. Name's have been thrown out left and right recently, mostly by this one."
She pointed at Freya, who shrugged.
Kyle and Antonio both shifted in their jury seats.
Kaden looked over nervously at the other contestants.
"Azami." Chris smiled at Azami. "Must be nice not having to worry about elimination."
"Yeah that's RIGHT!" Azami smiled triumphantly. "And I know exactly who is going home tonight! But I'm not gonna say or I might jinx it!"
"I really don't think she does, Chris." Barnard couldn't help himself. "Otherwise, I doubt she'd still be smiling while wearing that necklace."
"Pfft, like i'm interested in what a LOSER has to say." Azami scoffed.
"Jaime." Chris moved on. "This vote, is it clear to you who's going home going into this?"
"To me?" Jaime laughed a bit. "Chris, I'm just one girl at the Po'ino Bonfire, and as long as I don't have that big I-word we all want, I'm willing to say sky's the limit for what can happen."
"Alright then." Chris smiled. "I think it's time to vote. Aleister, you're up."
Confessional: Aleister
"So, you were always the plan, but now that I've seen proof that you're anti-return, well, now I don't even feel bad."
End Confessional
As Aleister came back, Chris sent Azami up.
Then after her, Barnard
Confessional: Barnard
"I feel...a little exhilarated doing this to be honest, here's to hoping this plan works."
End Confessional
Barnard came back, and Daniel was sent up.
Confessional: Daniel
"There's a fundamental weakness in a strategy that relies on emotional manipulation. And that is that some people can shut emotion down if they feel it's getting to be too much, and think logically. Not necessarily intelligently of course, the idea though is that they can think in terms of their own personal strategy. All I needed to do was find some of those people."
End Confessional
When Daniel came back, it was Freya's turn to vote.
Confessional: Freya
"Just gotta keep blending in...keep it going...You should have the numbers…just keep looking desperate..."
End Confessional
Freya returned and Jaime went up.
Jaime returned and Kaden went up.
Kaden returned and Lena went up.
Confessional: Lena
"Finally...it's finally ending…"
End Confessional
After Lena, Lucien.
After Lucien, Samuel.
After Samuel, Sherwood.
Confessional: Sherwood
"Sorry, but this is all about what's right for me."
End Confessional
After Sherwood, Tori was brought up.
Confessional: Tori
"I'm giving you a lot of leeway today, Lena, I hope you realize and appreciate that."
End Confessional
And finally, it was Twilight's turn.
Confessional: Twilight
"Come on, come on, let me get there let me get there...final 12...final 12…"
End Confessional
"I'll go tally the votes." Chris announced.
A few minutes of awkward silence passed while Kyle and Antonio looked over the remaining players, eyeing each of them suspiciously.
Soon, Chris returned.
"I have with me…" He held up a platter with 12 crystal balls. "A platter of 12 crystal balls. If I call your name, like this, Azami." He tossed the first one to Azami, the immune player, who walked up to Chris, feeling pleased with herself as Chris continued. "Then come up and receive a crystal ball. The player that does not receive a crystal ball must immediately board the Coffin of Shame and ride the Horror Hearse off of the island, where they will become the third member of our jury, along with Kyle and Antonio over there. Now…."
Chris paused.
"If anyone has a hidden immunity tiki, and would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Everyone looked to Freya.
"Guys, I told you I couldn't find my tiki anywhere in the cabins…"
She grinned as she stood up and pulled out the Banshee Tiki.
"But that's because I was keeping it safe in the cavern~! Thanks for going through my stuff by the way Daniel, really helped me sell the despair~!"
She strutted up to Chris and handed him the tiki.
"One Bloody Banshee Tiki for uh, this Bloody Banshee." She pointed at herself.
"This is the Banshee Immunity Tiki." Chris announced. "Any votes that were cast against Freya no longer count. Good call too, would've been you in the coffin otherwise!"
"She did it!" Kaden's eyes lit up as he cheered under his breath.
Daniel met her glare unflinchingly as she took a crystal ball and joined an irritated Azami.
"Such a LOSER thing to do, playing your tiki like a COWARD."
"I am trying to save your boyfriend you left stranded here." Freya attempted to hush her.
"HE'S NOT MY-!"
Chris turned around.
"SHUT UP!" He shouted before facing the other campers while Kyle and Antonio laughed from the jury bench.
"Lena, Jaime, Tori, Sherwood, Barnard, Aleister, Samuel.." Chris called up each player by name until only Daniel, Kaden, Lucien, and Twilight remained.
"Lucien…" Chris grinned.
"Oh man, scary…" Lucien gave a low chuckle as he got up and grabbed a crystal ball.
"Okay, Twilight, here." Chris held out a crystal ball that Twilight excitedly ran up to.
"Sweet, sweet, redemption…" She sighed relieved as she held it close to her face.
"Gentlemen…" Chris looked over Daniel and Kaden. "I have only one crystal ball left. And it goes to…"
He paused.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"The winner of your tiebreaker challenge!" He announced.
"WHAT?!" Azami shrieked.
"What?!" Kaden's eyes widened.
"What?" Freya's face scrunched up in confusion.
Daniel sighed.
"A 7-3-3 vote, I take it?"
"Hit the nail right on the head, Dan my man!" Chris smiled. "Now, time to draw from my hat of small contests to see what the tiebreaker will be…"
"I don't…" Freya counted on her fingers. "It's supposed to be a 6 or higher to 4 to whatever vote...how did-?"
"Wait, you voted for Daniel?" Lena asked her.
"Yeah, obviously."
"Wait...I thought everyone was voting for Freya…" Lucien looked around nervously. "That, that was the vibe I was getting around the cabins."
"Lucien you colossal idiot!" Lenan snarled. "We could have had him!"
Confessional: Daniel
"It was simple really, just a matter of talking to Sherwood. He's not exactly one to fall for emotional tricks. Then send him after Aleister who is desperate for a returner alliance with a name to vote out, and allow Lucien's strategy, as hidden as he's been trying to keep it, to take its course. However, his voting for Freya was a bit of a surprise, I was sure he would get rid of Kaden on his own, hm."
End Confessional
"Your challenge to stay in the game…" Chris announced. "Is arm wrestling!"
Lena sighed with relief. "Oh, phew, we might be safe after all."
The players took their positions.
Chris counted them down.
Daniel had immediately claimed victory over Kaden.
Confessional: Kaden
"I was so ready for any tiebreaker at all...except that one. All I could think about was her."
End Confessional
"Wow…" Chris looked over at easily the shortest tiebreaker challenge he'd ever seen.
"It looks like Kaden will be joining Kyle and Antonio on the jury."
"Well…" Kaden sighed as he stood up and turned to Freya. "We tried."
"I tried, what the hell was that on your end?" Freya crossed her arms.
"I think you of all people know what's like when someone you like betrays your trust." Kaden replied before he glared at Azami, who for the first time, went completely quiet and began to sulk.
"If you're done…" Daniel rolled his eyes as he walked past Kaden and claimed the last crystal ball. "I think there's a coffin with your name on it."
"Ohoohoohoof…" Chris snickered, turning towards the camera as Kaden got into the Coffin of Shame.
"And now, we're down to 12! We're officially past the halfway mark! How will Freya fare now that she's without a tiki? Will Lena or Daniel ever manage to get rid of each other? What on earth is Lucien thinking? And now that she's officially outlasted her debut season, what new horizons wait for Twilight? Find out, possibly not a single one of these...next time!
On Total Drama Nui Kaua!
The Cursed!
Island!"
*Kaden's Final Confessional:
"Maaaaaan, I feel disappointed. After finally, finally hooking up with her, she goes and just leaves me to die completely like that? I find it hard to believe anyone would have targeted her had I won immunity instead. Gotta say, really bad move to make on her part, probably lost the only vote she would have had otherwise if she makes it to the finals. I have no idea who I'm rooting for to win now. I guess Barnard and Jaime? You guys are fellow Demons after all. Anyways, Kaden out!"
End Confessional*
The Votes for those who are curious
Aleister voted for...Kaden
Azami voted for...Freya(doesn't count)
Barnard voted for...Freya(doesn't count)
Daniel voted for...Kaden
Freya voted for...Daniel
Jaime voted for...Freya(doesn't count)
Kaden voted for...Freya(doesn't count)
Lena voted for...Daniel
Lucien voted for...Freya(doesn't count)
Samuel voted for...Freya(doesn't count)
Sherwood voted for...Kaden
Tori voted for...Daniel
Twilight voted for...Freya(doesn't count)
AN: before I get into the nitty gritty, let me once again invite you guys to my discord (link on my profile page). We talk about these Total Drama fics constantly, and have recently started making some pretty funny memes too. Feel free to come join, especially if you want to know immediately whenever I put a new episode up!
Anyways
Kaden
Ohohohooo boy, Kaden despite his unfortunate method of departure this episode, is actually one really lucky guy.
See, he's what I'd like to call your 'standard hero', as in he has all those qualities that make up a generally heroic character. Most of his character is something he wears proudly on his sleeve too, which is a breath of fresh air from most of this more subterfuge inclined cast.
And because he's such a pinpointable hero, he was originally a very early boot, but as I redid outlines that I wasn't satisfied with, he would rise in his final placement each time, until I reached the final outline that you see the results of here.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Kaden receives the status of: Hero
I wouldn't go so far as to say he's super far across that threshold, and I can see arguments for Kaden being Neutral, but he did oppose the villains, he constantly sought to better himself, and he did his best to get along with the others.
Kaden's best moment is a little harder for me to track, but if I had to pick one? I'd say it would be when he played his Demon Tiki even though he clearly didn't have to since Kyle wasn't about to play his tiki, and Daniel made it quite clear he was voting for Kyle, but he did it to prove to Azami that he wasn't going to just leave her. It was a sweet gesture, and very much something he would have done regardless of any other factors I think.
Of course, this all just my opinion, what do you guys think?
What do you think is hidden on Weliweli?
Any thoughts on what the next curse might be?
And as always, thanks for reading!