TDNKCI: Episode 12: "I Have To Find My Way"
The Jury's Recap
"Last time...On Total Drama Nui Kaua, The Cursed Island…" Kyle began as he looked over to Samuel, who had joined him, Antonio, and Kaden on the jury bench.
"Oh, let me tell you." Samuel laughed. "I don't know what happened to Azami on Weliweli but she came back an absolute powerhouse, and ohmygoodness I just realized my whole lakeside episode with Tori is going to be shown to the world, isn't it? That's a little embarrassing."
"Imagine how the rest of us feel." Kaden chuckled as the entire jury began to laugh.
"A-anyways…" Samuel continued. "Talks about alliances were circling through camp pretty much every waking minute, and it left us all in a bit of a ball of chaos. Then the challenge rolls around, and you know, it's freeform rock climbing up the inside of Mt. Immolate because the people running this show are sadists."
"Of course." Antonio nodded.
"Can't have said it better myself." Kyle agreed.
"So Tori and I are actually doing great, but because of that curse.."
"The Malfunction Curse." Kaden extrapolated.
"Right, because of that curse, our belaying cord just snapped on us and disqualified us. And instead of the pair of us winning immunity, because we totally would have, somehow Azami, Barnard, Lucien, and Freya managed such a close tie that not even a frame-by-frame could whittle it down."
"And because Lena and Daniel were both vulnerable, they naturally targeted each other." Antonio suggested.
"I think so, but it might also have something to do with how poorly they were getting along in the challenge itself. I wouldn't be surprised if that sent them over the edge."
"Of course, that's not how the elimination ceremony played out, obviously." Kyle noted.
"Yeah, because apparently Lucien found some sort of Uber-Tiki to play, and all of a sudden literally only his vote counted, and for whatever reason, he wanted me gone." Samuel explained.
"You were constantly pulling out your handy dandy item of the day." Kaden noted. "Those tranquilizers ring a bell?"
"That's why I'm the Miracle Man!" Samuel laughed. "Of course, the big thing to note now is that this Curse Tiki that makes all of the player's original team members immune is going to be hidden again, and that Lucien clearly isn't just some dumb blonde."
"And now we're down to our Final 11." Antonio nodded to himself. "Among them 3 Demons, 2 Banshees, 2 Vampires, and 4 Mummies."
"But we won't be staying at 11 for long." Samuel looked over to the camera. "Which player will find their chosen path leading to a dead end? Find out right here on.."
He looked to the rest of the jury as they turned to the same camera to end off the introduction.
"Total Drama Nui Kaua! The Cursed! Island!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony (After Samuel's And The Jury's Departures)
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"What the goodman fucking hell, Lucien, you son of a bitch?" Lena shouted after Lucien as Chef led him and the other immunity winners towards a ferry to bring them back to Weliweli. "How the hell did you figure out where that thing was? The clue was only given out just last week!"
"Oh well I-" Lucien turned with a goofy grin, but he was stopped by Freya's hand covering his mouth.
"Wait." She spoke sternly. "People can get lucky and find tikis or idols or what have you all the time. Why is it though, that you knew about a clue?"
"Sounds like she knew more than that it existed" Barnard looked her over. "I'd say she knew it was on Weliweli too."
"Well then." Freya stepped onto the ferry. "I think Samuel's elimination is just as much on her as it is on Lucien. If I had known there was a tiki like that in the game, I would've scoured the island to find it, and I think I've been pretty clear about where my vote's been going lately."
"Well, what, after your entire early game do you expect anyone to fucking trust you?" Lena snarled.
"What about her recent game?" Azami came up to her defense. "She tried to save Kaden from elimination and get Daniel out with you after all."
"But that's just one fucking-"
"Forget it." Freya flicked her hair back, enjoying the small high horse she'd gotten on. "If you aren't going to trust me with clues so that the exact situation that just happened can be avoided, then I don't want any part of your little group anymore. You're on your own."
Tori sighed, disappointed in the background while the ferry dragged the immune players back to Weliweli.
Confessional: Tori
"I had a feeling something like this would happen. I know it's a fallacy, but I've sunk too much time into this rivalry to leave like that just yet. I just want to see how it ends...or if it ends, considering what Luci's been doing."
End Confessional
Location: Weliweli Island (roughly 1 week later)
Contestant(s): Azami, Barnard, Freya, Lucien
"Well...I guess I probably can't hide it from any of you three any more at least." Lucien sighed as the other players surrounded him for a questioning before they'd have to head back to the main island.
"Yeah, no duh." Azami crossed her arms. "As someone who also makes jokes to get people to underestimate me, I kind of knew from the beginning."
"I only confirmed it during our last challenge." Freya admitted.
"Still though, you don't seem terribly malicious." Barnard appraised.
"I'm not." Lucien held his hands up. "Honest truth, just trying to not get voted out, and the more Daniel and Lena fight, the less the rest of us have to worry about our own names being written down."
"I know what I just said, but I don't entirely buy that story." Barnard stood his ground. "I want to know about the teams."
"What about them?" Lucien asked with a smile.
"How you managed to make ours implode, for starters."
Lucien chuckled at the accusation.
"That's on you guys, not me. Like everyone else, I thought I'd be on that team too, and then I wasn't. I made that team so I could easily survive as a dumb, loveable, punching bag for the rest of you to keep you all in good spirits. Then I was sent to Weliweli."
"And all of a sudden it was me." Azami glared at Barnard.
"It's not like-" He began.
"No, none of the rest of you were any better, it was just easy because I was off getting food all the time." She countered his point before he could even make it.
"There's still one thing I don't get though," Freya spoke up. "back after the tug-of-war, you were the one who threw Lena's name out, but there was no way you'd know Isaac would just quit right?"
Lucien smiled.
"Ahh, I suppose that action doesn't really line up with my explanation, does it? Not unless I somehow knew Isaac would be overwhelmed, but actually, the reason was quite simple. I wanted to punish you. You made me drop my act back at that temporary Honua camp, and quite frankly, if you weren't immune, you'd be gone instead of Samuel too because of making me drop the act during the climbing challenge. Not that it matters now though since everyone probably has figured that I'm not actually as dumb as I act."
"So that's why you voted for her instead of Daniel back after the rope race?" Azami questioned. "Because you wanted to disrupt a plan she made?"
"I'm not some giant threat guys, I promise." Lucien sighed with a grin. "I'm just a dude, chillin' out in Lake Nui Kaua, hoping to win the million dollars, like the rest of you. And the more you focus on me, the less you're focusing on the danger of being caught in a war between perhaps your two most dangerous opponents. TL;DL, you guys leave me alone, I'll leave you alone up until it's impossible to ignore you. Haven't you ever heard the expression of letting sleeping dogs lie?"
Confessional: Barnard
"I'll admit, Lucien's explanation makes some sense, but I don't know if I'm satisfied with it. It seems too...convenient? Like, he's spent the entire game so far pretending to be dumb, then he saves the mummies from elimination, gets rid of Samuel, who was actually perhaps in the best spot out of all of us left, and now he has this story about not going after people who ignore him? Didn't he just do that? No way Samuel ever really thought about Lucien, he was always focused on Daniel and Freya."
End Confessional
"Well, I guess he's not that big a deal." Azami suggested as the three reconvened away from Lucien. "But I still don't trust him at all."
"He's actually a war profiteer." Barnard appraised. "He might not be the one starting conflicts, but the longer they keep going between contestants, he's definitely the one that benefits."
"Our biggest problem is that Curse Tiki." Freya realized. "It seems like it doesn't lose power, it's just hidden again and again, and if he can find it without a clue once, he can find it without a clue a second time, but the only way to weaken him is to take out a Mummy. All three of them are shields for him."
"But he knows it too." Azami pointed out. "He just went so far as to pretty much blow his cover to keep them all in the game."
Barnard smelled opportunity.
"It sounds like we really need numbers then, if we're going to take out a Mummy." He mentioned. "It seems like both of you are free agents at the moment, but if you'd be willing to join up with me and Jaime…"
"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm stuck solo for the rest of the game." Freya sighed. "No one wants to even give me a chance to atone for anything, and I don't think Jaime will be convinced enough to let me in on a trial run."
"Well I think it's about time the Demons finally regrouped!" Azami's eyes lit up.
Confessional: Azami
"My strategy going into this game was originally going to be befriending weak players anyways, and Barnard and Jaime? I don't see either winning physical challenges anytime soon. If I carry those two to the end, woo, that's a pretty good case for winning considering how strategic this jury will be thinking."
End Confessional
"Well Freya…" Barnard looked over. "I'm sorry you think you wouldn't fit in the group, but the offer still stands if you ever want it."
"Sounds good." Freya sighed.
Confessional: Freya
"But he'll forgive me if after all of this effort I have no reason to believe an offer that good could possibly be true."
End Confessional
Location: Muliwai River
Contestant(s): Daniel, Jaime
"Figures I drew fish gathering duty again…" Daniel groaned as he walked along the Muliwai to look at the fishing traps that the players had fashioned to help feed themselves.
"I don't mind the duty, but I do mind that no one on this island seems to want to hunt for something other than fish." Jaime sighed.
The two walked in silence for a while as they gathered their food.
"Why don't you go hunt yourself?" Daniel suggested.
"I'd love to if I knew how." Jaime shrugged.
"I bet Twilight or Sherwood would know."
Confessional: Daniel
"I'm not normally in the business of helping anyone else on this island with their problems, but I'm getting sick of fish too. And I don't want to have to be the one to go get other food."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"I'm having a bit of a hard time right now with Barnard over on Weliweli. I feel like we voted for opposite targets, not that it mattered in the end of course. That just means that we need to communicate a bit more though and figure out where we stand. It would also help if we had some more members in our little group. Azami for instance, going after her recent challenge performances."
End Confessional
"I guess Twilight's the one to ask then." Jaime pondered. "During my time on the Banshees, Sherwood seemed to be interested in only interacting with others if he thought it was necessary."
Confessional: Daniel
"Ah, I got that vibe from him on Weliweli as well. If it weren't for his status of a returner playing a much better game than his debut season, I'd probably have taken him to the end, but that story is too compelling for a jury."
End Confessional
Location: Nui Kaua Docks
Contestant(s): Daniel, Lena
Daniel noticed Lena sitting by the docks as he brought some fish back towards the cabins, having sent Jaime off to find Twilight.
"If you want lunch, you should go back inside." He warned.
"Which one of us would've gone if Lucien hadn't been able to play that fucking tiki?" Lena asked, looking out towards Weliweli in the distance.
"No way to tell, but given his voting record, My guess is you." Daniel shrugged. "Do you finally understand the point I was trying to make last week?"
"I can't just drop everything and work with someone like you." Lena shook her head without looking back at Daniel, who left the fish on the porch of one of the cabins before he walked back along the sands to the docks and stood a few feet behind Lena, just in case she decided to swing a punch. "You don't ever put effort into shit."
"Figures you'd think that." Daniel sighed. "As it stands right now, I've put more effort into the game as a whole than you have though. All you've been doing is trying to get rid of me or people I'd be likely to work with. Take stock of how many times your name has been written down recently. I'm disappointed honestly, in the beginning I thought you'd have seen things the way I do. This is no place for black and white heroics. This is not some morality play. This is nothing more than a competition for one million dollars, and the more you focus on getting rid of me specifically, the more you're going to worry everyone else, and it's going to bite you in your ass before I have a chance to take you out myself. Unless…"
"You still want Lucien gone."
"He is clearly not some idiot, and while I can't figure out his motives, he's the largest threat to both of our games. You must be getting tired of singing this same song and dance every week. We need him out of here or we'll have to keep putting up with each other until he decides to get rid of us."
"Ugh, but do you have to come to me with the idea?" Lena groaned loudly. "I know, I know that he's a clear threat, but that's not my biggest concern right now, you fuckin' are!"
"And the olive branch did whither and die." Daniel sighed. "I should have known this would be a waste of my time and effort."
Confessional: Lena
"Look, that little punk that bash Lucien's credibility in all he wants. He didn't have any when he was pretending to be a dumbass, and he sure isn't going to get any now that we know he's a liar. But he's played his weapon, he has no numbers. That little shitstain is just scared it'll be him going next, and you know what? He's fuckin' right to be scare because it is him going next!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"This is ludicrous. I can't believe how many times I have to keep repeating myself that heroism is only going to lead to a player's demise. Lena's in for a rough fall from her high horse."
End Confessional
Location: Girls' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s); Jaime, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
"Hunting?" Twilight asked as Jaime approached her with the request. "Yeah I can try, but I ain't a teacher." She looked over towards Sherwood. "Have you got any experience?"
"You're looking in the wrong place." Sherwood shrugged. "First out in Nui Kaua, in case you forgot."
"Well, let's go then." Twilight sighed as she motioned for Jaime to follow her. "We're gonna go catch some wildfowl."
Confessional: Twilight
"Of course...I think I'll be a little hands off in terms of teaching. With literally only Aleister left as a known ally for me, I have to be seen as useful, so sorry Jaime, you won't be learning enough to do it on your own just yet."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"Look, I know Twilight isn't going to put much effort into this. She's the only one who seems to know about this thing, so she's going to hold onto that skill as a lifeline. Unfortunately for her, I'm paying very close attention."
End Confessional
"Sooo…" Tori smiled at Sherwood as they were left alone in the cabin. "You think you can win this whole thing, Sherwood, buddy?"
"I think it's...possible…" Sherwood yawned, disinterested. "Depends on who I'd bring to the end with me."
"Don't suppose you'd let me in on that little gateway?" Tori asked sweetly.
"Hmph." Sherwood laughed a bit at the suggestion. "I think you're a little too popular compared to me right now. If you were seriously asking for an alliance, well, you'd need to do something to give me a fighting chance against you on the jury, and I doubt you'd do that."
"Hahaha…" Tori giggled. "I dunno, that kind of gamble does sound kind of interesting…I guess you're right though, it's much better for my own game to stay the course I'm on."
Confessional: Sherwood
"Tori...concerns me. She continually comes to talk to me about anything and everything, and now, completely out of the blue...she's begun talking about a possible final 2 alliance. Something about her sets me ill at ease. I don't enjoy unpredictability, especially when my strategy involves only really speaking when spoken to. I'd bet my bottom dollar that she's figured it out too."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"Sherwood's fun to pester, because it's so obvious he doesn't want to talk but he's also extremely scared of being voted off for being standoffish so he'll answer even though he really rather wouldn't. Still, he does make a bit of a point. I haven't done much to earn the jury's ire, and so far...it's shaping up to be one bitter jury indeed. That might make things difficult for me going forwards, but would I rather risk my elimination for a sure win at the end, or would it be more fun to risk that sure win so that I can make a move to keep myself afloat in the game longer? Hmm, decisions, decisions…"
End Confessional
Location: Nahele Forest
Contestant(s): Aleister, Jaime, Sherwood, Twilight
"Theeere we go…" Twilight sighed as she and Jaime finally wrangled up one of the many wildfowl they had spent a full hour in the storm chasing. She handed Jaime the next with the beheaded bird. "You're heading back to the cabin with this, alright? I can see Aleister coming this way, no doubt to try that ridiculous alliance pitch of his again."
"You really don't feel like working with the other returners?" Jaime rose a brow as she took the net and began to walk away.
"Like I'm about to trust any of them." Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm the only fully honest one left. Still, since he's my last Vampire left, I owe it to my pride to at least hear Aleister out."
"Alright, then I'll meet you at the cabins I guess." Jaime shrugged as she pretended to walk off, but hid behind a nearby tree to eavesdrop as soon as she was sure Twilight was no longer paying attention.
"Aleister...Let me guess before you say anything" Twilight greeted her former teammate. "You want to talk about banding into a returner alliance again?"
"Well yes, there's that of course." Aleister nodded. "But this also concerns our Daniel VS Lena conflict."
"Right." Sherwood nodded as he joined the group. "I got the idea of voting for Lena from Daniel."
"So all those mummies are basically toying with us like tools." Twilight crossed her arms.
"Freya didn't look very happy about the way she was being treated by them either." Sherwood shuddered. "I think it might be best for all three of us if we leave the mummies well enough alone for now, no talking to them strategically, and no voting for any of them. Especially now that we know that Lucien isn't some idiot."
"I don't know if he isn't still some idiot." Twilight crossed her arms. "He would've stayed pretty irrelevant whether Lena or Daniel went home last ceremony, he just blew up his big secret for no reason."
Confessional: Sherwood
"Yes, Twilight makes a good point. It was almost as though he was mocking a similar move a certain someone made not too long ago."
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"Okay, this is actually great. I've got Sherwood and Twilight actually strategizing with me, because of course they both are, neither one has any true allies to trust, and I bet after that fiasco at elimination, Freya probably wants nothing to do with the Mummies either, this is perfect, I'll finally have my team, and we can finally focus on getting rid of our real threats!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Twilight
"Lucien can make as many of those kinds of plays as he wants for all I care, just as long as he doesn't step on me, I won't step on him. I find it kind of annoying that the other players clearly haven't seemed to get that yet. Right now, we need to focus our energy on where it's truly needed, namely those Demons."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"Well, the process of elimination dictates that if the returns aren't targeting the Mummies, they're targeting us Demons instead. I'll need to let Barnard know during the challenge somehow, and hopefully we can bring Azami and I dunno, maybe Lucien now that he's not some idiot? We need numbers and we need them now. We can't be picky about them either."
End Confessional
"In that case-" Aleister began only to be stopped by a blaring of the loudspeakers.
*BEEEEEEEP*
"Attention Final 11!" Chris announced. "Meet me outside the old Vampire Cottage! It's time for your next challenge and curse!"
Location: Old Vampires' Cottage (Repurposed)
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Please welcome back" Chris announced as Chef brought the previously immune players back into the fold. "Azami, Barnard, Freya, and Lucien from their victory camp at Weliweli Island."
"Some fuckin' victory." Lena crossed her arms.
"Oh like you can say anything." Freya rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms right back.
"How are things?" Barnard quietly asked Jaime.
"Not good." She replied. "The returns are scared to vote for a mummy, that means us. We need numbers."
"We have Azami...I offered Freya too but she hesitated."
"Welcome back Luci!" Tori beamed at Lucien.
"Hey, thanks, Tori!" Lucien smiled back happily. "Immunity is nice and all, but Weliweli sure isn't very fun!"
"I'm glad to hear you say that, Lucien…" Chris grinned. "Because that brings me to this episode's curse…How badly do you want it?"
"How badly do we want what?" Freya asked. "Immunity?"
"As a matter of fact, yes, Immunity!" Chris beamed. "The player who puts up the most valuable offer will win Immunity and won't have to compete in the challenge we've prepared inside the cottage! Of course, you have to be able to pay what you bid, or give up what you bid, if you're the winner of the curse. Anyone who wants to skip the bidding process for this extra immunity can go ahead and stand near the cottage porch."
Aleister, Azami Freya, Jaime, Lena, Sherwood, and Twilight all walked towards the cottage porch, leaving Barnard, Daniel, Lucien, and Tori as potential bidders.
"All right you four…" Chris smiled. "Let's start the bidding off small, who's willing to give up their footwear?"
"How about my footwear and my shirt?" Lucien shrugged.
"How about my shirt and I vote publicly tonight?" Tori smirked.
"I'll vote publicly for the rest of the competition." Barnard offered.
"Some pretty good offers…" Chris nodded before turning to Daniel. "Care to beat them?"
Daniel sighed.
"I'll give up my ability to vote for this ceremony. Along with my footwear of course."
"Same, but I'll give up my ability to vote for the next two ceremonies" Tori increased her bid.
Barnard and Lucien both seemed to reach a silent agreement that this wasn't worth it and took their place near the cottage porch.
Daniel sighed again.
"Alright. I'll give up my shoes, I'll give up voting for the next two ceremonies, and I'll take an extra vote going my way in the second ceremony on top of it."
Chris looked back towards Tori, who shrugged with a smile.
"Then it looks like Daniel is our winner of immunity! Take those shoes off and Chef will bring you back to Weliweli, looks like you won't need to be at the elimination ceremony tonight either if you don't want to be, since you can't vote anyways.
"That sounds...nice." Daniel closed his eyes as he got into Chef's ATV. "Sweet solitude…"
Confessional: Lena
"Well, if that bastard is immune anyways, I guess Lucien is going to be the play after all."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"I never really wanted immunity, I just wanted to see how much Daniel wanted it, and boy I don't think anyone else would agree to have an extra vote cast against them. Super surprised me there!"
End Confessional
"As for the rest of you…" Chris turned to the remaining ten contestants. "Allow me to explain to you the challenge! The cottage you see behind me has been repurposed. None of you are familiar with its current layout. I'm going to lock all ten of you inside, the very first one to manage to escape the cottage will earn themselves Immunity the normal way and will join Daniel on Weliweli. Oh….I should also mention that there are many many secrets in the cottage, along with just as many traps! Good luck!"
Confessional: Azami
"So what, we're playing in some kind of weird Total Drama escape room? HA! Okay, I feel like this'll be right up Barnard's alley!"
End Confessional
Challenge: The Vampire Cottage
Rules: The contestants will be trapped within the old Visceral Vampires' Cottage, which has been repurposed to the point that none of the players are familiar with the layout. The first player to successfully leave the cottage will win Immunity.
Location: Vampire Cottage(Guardroom)
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Freya, Jaime, Lena, Lucien, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
"What the-?!" Aleister jumped and hugged Lena tightly as the contestants entered the first room of the cottage to see campy horror themed decorations all over the place.
"Relax." Lena dropped Aleister. "It's fuckin' fake."
"R-right." Aleister nodded. "I knew that."
"It looks…" Barnard observed the area. "Almost like a guardroom of sorts. Notice those blank screens over by that desk? It's like it would be some kind of security station if a rich family actually lived here.
"This though…" Jaime walked up to a fake cobweb and ran her finger through it.
"Silly string? Really?"
"I'd be careful touching anything." Sherwood warned. "There are traps in here according to Chris."
"Well, the door to the next room is locked." Lucien sighed as he tried the door. "You guys think we should get two people to make out like in a horror movie or something?"
"Save the idiocy for a cast that'll buy it." Jaime looked around. "There's got to be a hint or something to help us move forward."
"What about the screens?" Azami hazarded a guess. "I think most guard rooms have screens that work so these ones being just blank is...odd."
"Can we turn them on though?" Freya crossed her arms.
Azami smacked the top of a monitor with her palm, and while the screen did light up, all that appeared was static.
"I'm so glad it looks like there's no audio for these things." Barnard sighed. "Otherwise we'd have a low buzzing sound annoying the crap out of us."
"I think the bigger information we can get from this is that the monitors can turn on." Tori mentioned. "They aren't simply fake decorations."
Confessional: Tori
"And just like that, our whole group was actively working together to get out of the cottage. After all, not like we wanted to be stuck in such a poorly decorated place for any longer than we had too."
End Confessional
"Well, no use in only letting one monitor show us static, let's get them all on." Lena shrugged. "Aleister, off the ground, come help."
"R-right!" Aleister stood up as he and Lena beat the rest of the monitors into all showing screens of nothing but static.
As the last monitor lit up, a rumble shook the house.
"Is that an earthquake?" Azami asked as she got her footing against a support beam.
"It sounded like a pair of metal doors opening." Barnard looked around. "Aleister, Lena, how are the monitors looking right now?"
No response.
"I'll check." Jaime walked over towards the monitors but stopped short. "I see. It looks like we're already down two, guys..."
She pointed to where Lena and Aleister were contained beneath the floorboards in what was clearly a soundproofed cage as they appeared to be shouting up at everyone else.
"That's fine." Twilight shrugged. "The quicker we can move through this cottage, the quicker we can get Chris and Chef or the interns to get those two out."
Confessional: Twilight
"It helps that Lena is trapped early on as well, it's much easier for me to win immunity without people like her or Sherwood around."
End Confessional
"It looks like we can move on at least…" Sherwood noted as the door out of the room opened up.
Confessional: Tori
"Hmm, so I guess upon completing a certain task in each room, we will unlock the path forward, but at the same time, a trap will take effect to try and forcefully eliminate us from the challenge."
End Confessional
Location: Vampire Cottage(Torture Chamber)
Contestant(s): Azami, Barnard, Freya, Jaime, Lucien, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
"Well this certainly looks like a torture chamber…" Freya observed as the group headed down into the next room with stretching rocks, chained shackles, and an operating table in the dead center of the area, covered in embalming tools and fake blood.
Tori brushed a finger through it.
"Raspberry jam." She announced after a sniff.
"What a waste of food." Jaime sighed.
"If it's a torture room…" Sherwood looked around. "Maybe the door will open if we pretend to torture someone or something?"
"I volunteer Lucien." Twilight shrugged. "After that stunt last ceremony I feel like it's the perfect atonement for him."
"I dunno…" Lucien chuckled nervously.
"Fucking, fine. I'll do it." Freya volunteered. "You said it'd be atonement right? I can't think of anything else to do that'll get any of you to trust me."
Confessional: Barnard
"I actually feel kind of bad considering the efforts she's been going through recently, but hey,I've already done my part and let her know the Demons will take her. She just needs to realize we're serious about it."
End Confessional
Barnard leaned in towards Jaime and whispered the full extent of the Weliweli events to her.
"What?" Jaime whispered back. "Why would she say 'no' to that? She doesn't exactly have anywhere else to go."
"You sure about this?" Sherwood asked Freya as she laid out along the operating table.
"Well, you don't have to actually torture me...I don't think." Freya hoped. "Just say what you'd have done to me and I'll try and move my body around as though that happened, maybe there'll be a hidden clue or something."
Confessional: Freya
"Of course, I'm also not too convinced that traps are a be-all end-all disqualification either. I want to test it out, since thanks to Lucien's stunt, I'm not too worried about my own safety, for tonight at least."
End Confessional
After some trial and error, Freya had contorted her body in such a way to cause the cottage to rumble and shake once more, and before everyone's eyes the operating table flipped over and took Freya with it as a stand with the key to unlock the next door replaced her.
"Freya, can you hear us?" Jaime asked.
Everyone waited for an answer.
"I wonder if she's trapped in a soundproofed room too." Barnard stroked his chin.
"Ngh..no I'm not!" Freya called out. "But I am directly above one, I'm gripping onto that table to avoid falling into it! Listen, whoever does the thing to open the next door! When the trap triggers, make sure you aim your fall to the riiieeeeek!" She shrieked as the other contestants heard her make a small thud, likely into the cage before they felt some more rumbling, and Freya went completely quiet.
"Well, that's some useful information, fall towards the right if we open traps." Tori hummed.
"Don't know how useful it really is though." Twilight grunted. "The traps could be different each time."
"I don't think so." Jaime shook her head. "I saw where Lena and Aleister fell, and there was a bit of an open space to the right down there too."
"Think it's another way to escape the cottage?" Barnard asked
"Chris never said there was only one way to get out." Azami nodded. "It's clearly a way to award more reflexive players who know what they're doing."
Confessional: Azami
"Or gymnasts, like myself~."
End Confessional
Location: Vampire Cottage(Audience/Throne Room Chamber)
Contestant(s): Azami, Barnard, Jaime, Lucien, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
"Oh this one is too easy." Azami noticed the throne at the back of the room and quickly sat in it.
"Yep…" She noticed as she reached back and felt a lever. "A trap door that you can only really activate by sitting in the throne, it probably…"
As she pulled it, the wall behind her opened up to reveal a small passageway.
"So easy." She shook her head. "Disappointed in Chris for this one."
As she walked through the passage, the wall immediately closed behind her.
"Guess it's one at a time then…" Barnard shrugged as he completed the same actions as Azami and he too disappeared behind the wall.
Jaime followed soon after.
"Alright Lucien, your turn." Twilight suggested.
"Wait, wait…" Lucien looked around the room, before pointing a torch along the wall that wasn't lit. "What about that one?"
Twilight, Tori, and Sherwood all looked at each other and shrugged.
Tori walked up to the torch sconce and began to fiddle with it, and all of a sudden, another passage, this time near the torch, opened up.
"There are two paths…" Lucien mused.
"Then...which one was the right one?" Sherwood wondered.
"You three go down this one." Tori suggested. "I'll see if I can catch up with the Demons and let them know."
As the other three left through the torch's passage, Tori soon found herself in a room of pitch blackness, as every single light went out.
"Oh. wonderful. Hesitation was the trap this time."
Location: Vampire Cottage(Dungeon)
Contestant(s): Azami, Barnard, Jaime, Lucien, Sherwood, Twilight
The remaining contestants all reunited with each other in a crude imitation of a dungeon.
"Welcome…" Barnard read off a note. "To your final test…You must each take one of the keys on the table next to this note. Each one unlocks a single cell door, where you will find your next clue to leave this place."
The contestants each took a different key and began looking to unlock the doors of the cells.
As each one did, however, they found nothing but small red clicker buttons attached to wires with the warnings 'Do not press' attached to each of them.
"Well." Jaime shrugged as she pressed the button anyways and found herself immediately falling through the floor as it opened up under her.
"Wait a minute!" Azami saw what the others quite couldn't. Jaime had followed Freya's advice and had avoided the trap set for her. Azami quickly pressed her own button and followed suit.
Barnard and Lucien did the same, but they both fell into their set traps, even if just barely, leaving Sherwood and Twilight alone in the room.
"There's obviously a timer, right?" Twilight asked him.
Sherwood nodded.
"Obviously. We just have to wait for the door to open on its own, serve our sentence as it were. No idea what kind of underground maze is down where the others went."
"Still, it's hard not to feel a little strange about it." Twilight worried. "All the time we stand around here is time that they have to move towards some exit."
"That's a risk we're going to have to take." Sherwood determined. "I can't imagine letting yourself get caught by a trap is rewarded in any way, considering how hard they are to avoid in the first place."
"I guess we can use this time to discuss who we vote off then? We need to focus on a Demon at the very least."
"If we're doing that, I'd prefer it'd be one of the female ones." Sherwood suggested. "Not that I think it'll happen, but it right now the six of you ladies outnumber us guys, and I'd rather not see an alliance of a single sex overtaking the game."
"Hey, I'm not about to join any kind of alliance like that." Twilight laughed. "And I doubt the rest are thinking of it either. Of course, the same goes to you guys."
"I think we're safe on that front too." Sherwood chuckled.
"Then, I think we should start looking to get rid of Jaime. She's been pretty quiet and out of everyone's way so far. A pretty easy winner if our jury is a bitter one."
"I think it's safe to say the jury will be a bitter one." Sherwood nodded. "That makes the players like Jaime and Aleister who haven't really wronged anyone game-wise the biggest threats right now."
"For now, we have Aleister's vote, so I think Jaime is a good first choice." Twilight reasoned.
"Then we'll let Aleister know on the way to elimination. Or, whoever isn't sent to Weliweli will at least."
"Yeah." Twilight nodded.
Location: Vampire Cottage (Trap Catacombs)
Contestant(s): Azami, Jaime
"So Azami…" Jaime panted as she struggled to keep up with Azami who had overtaken her. "I want to talk to you about...tonight's vote…"
"Right, right, Barnard told you that I'm with you guys now right?" Azami asked warily.
"Yes, he did." Jaime nodded. "Anyways, we know we need to get a mummy out more than anything else right now."
"Well, we can't vote Daniel." Azami realized. "So there goes the mad jury cred we'd get for getting rid of him. All that's left are Lena, Lucien, and Tori and well…"
"Yeah it's hard. Getting rid of Lucien sounds nice, but after that stunt he pulled, he might be better to keep a round a little while longer."
"Even if he doesn't say he's malicious, he still came across as a pretty big mastermind last week." Azami agreed. "No jury's voting for him just yet. But I can see them voting for either Lena or Tori pretty easily."
"Right." Jaime nodded. "So we need to decide, even if it's by, like, coin flip or something, which one we're going to vote for as an alliance. And maybe, just maybe, we can convince Freya to vote with us against them."
"I'd like to," Azami agreed. "But Freya seems super paranoid about joining any alliance at all, I don't know if it'd work."
"Either way, we need a target, are you ready for a coin flip?"
"Ready!" Azami nodded as Jaime flipped a spare coin.
"Alright I've got our target."
"Perfect, because I see the exit!" Azami shouted as she began to sprint towards the light at the end of the tunnel, and Jaime struggled to keep up.
"Wooo!" Azami cheered as she reached Chris. Jaime soon after.
A minute or two passed by when the cottage's back door opened and Twilight and Sherwood walked out.
"AZAMI!" Chris shouted. "WINS IMMUNITY AGAIN!"
Confessional: Azami
"OF COURSE I won immunity again! You could say i've built up an...immunity to defeat? Pffft hahahaha!"
End Confessional
"Hey." Jaime tugged on Barnard's arm as the disqualified contestants all regrouped with the others. "We have our target." She whispered in Barnard's ear.
He nodded at the name and then turned to Freya, whispering the same request to her.
"Come on, you know you want to." Azami smiled as she stepped up onto the ATV for Chef to cart her to Weliweli.
"I...I'll think about it…" Freya looked at the Demons nervously.
Confessional: Freya
"I do, I want to join those three so badly but...but what if they just use me and lose me too? I don't want to go back to being public enemy number one again, but when I get in a group like that, all I can think about is how I need to get rid of them before they get rid of me! I need to avoid that state of mind no matter what, or there's no way I can argue my case against a jury. But it's hard...it's really hard…"
End Confessional
"Tori." Lena tapped Tori on the shoulder.
"Oh, hey." Tori smiled. "Let me guess, that was your second choice who just won immunity?"
"No. You know who my second choice is."
"I see…" Tori frowned. "Are you sure? I kind of think it might be better to focus on a Demon tonight instead, then the Mummies can have the majority even when we eliminate Daniel…"
"No." Lena denied. "We're voting Lucien and that's that. That idiot's done nothing but cost us play after play."
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Freya, Jaime, Lena, Lucien, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
Jury Present: Kyle, Antonio, Kaden, Samuel
"As you can see, Jury…" Chris announced to the jury as they were brought in. "Daniel won't be joining us on account of him being immune and his vote not counting. He was more than happy to spend the night alone on Weliweli. I believe his exact words were…'sweet solitude'. In any case, down to business. Azami, you are on a roll recently!"
"Heehee, yeah, I'm pretty awesome." Azami smiled. "But it does feel nice knowing that you can't be voted out. I certainly don't intend to let it go any time soon."
"Speaking of feelings and votes…" Chris turned. "Lucien."
"I knew it was coming." Lucien laughed. "Chris if I thought I was safe, my Weliweli companions before the challenge definitely assured me otherwise. Gotta say though, I don't like being treated as if I'm some big bad here. Samuel was a threat, pure and simple."
Samuel, over on the jury, was unsure of whether to be mad or happy about the appraisal.
"And I suppose as long as we're talking about votes and feelings, we can move on to Freya." Chris grinned.
Freya shrank in her seat.
"Oh, that's a new reaction."
"Chris, I'm feeling a lot right now." Freya admitted with a sigh. "But right now, the only thing I know for sure, is that I am lost. I am so...so lost, and I can't trust anyone else to guide me, I have to find my way on my own."
Her small self reflection was met with nods from most of the rest of the cast.
"In that case…" Chris smiled. "It's time to vote."
First it was Aleister.
Then Azami.
Then Barnard went up to vote.
Confessional: Barnard
"Look, nothing against you, but you're a Mummy, and apparently won some coin flip? Either way, this isn't personal, just us Demons letting the game know that we're back and we won't be dissolved again."
End Confessional
Then Freya, who took a while writing a name down.
Next was Jaime.
Then Lena.
Confessional: Lena
"Alright dumbfuck, you've dumbfucked around enough already. Time to go."
End Confessional
Then Lucien.
Then Sherwood.
Then Tori.
Confessional: Tori
"I just hope this all works out in the end. I sure am going to miss you."
End Confessional
Finally, Twilight.
Confessional: Twilight
"Right, it was nice knowing you, but you are a Demon, and it's clear to me that you're in too strong a position right now."
End Confessional
Chris left to tally the votes, and came back fairly quickly this time.
"I've tallied the votes." He announced as he pulled out a plate of crystal balls. "One of these crystal balls is being delivered to Daniel on Weliweli. Azami, you come up and take the first one in person."
Azami happily skipped up to Chris and took a crystal ball.
"For the rest of you." Chris announced. "If I call your name, come up and receive a crystal ball. If your name is not called, you must immediately get into the Coffin of Shame, and ride the Horror Hearse off of the island, where you will become the next member of our jury. Now. If anyone has the Curse Tiki, and would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Everyone scanned everyone else.
Lucien put a hand in his pocket.
Tori put a hand to her mouth in a yawn.
Freya glared at everyone's bags suspiciously.
"Alright then." Chris said. "First crystal ball goes to….Twilight."
Twilight smiled as she stood up to receive her crystal ball. "Oh thank goodness. I was getting antsy after the last two ceremonies."
"The next crystal ball…" Chris announced. "Goes to Barnard."
"Woo!" Barnard cheered as he joined Twilight.
"Sherwood, Aleister, you guys are alright too, come on up!" Chris smiled.
Freya, Jaime, Lena, Lucien, and Tori remained in their seats, looking on nervously.
"Freya." Chris smiled as Freya walked up to take the crystal ball, looking around to make sure she wasn't mishearing anything.
"Tori." Chris announced. "Apparently whoever wrote your name down apologized for it."
"Guess they were just tossing a vote into the air." Tori shrugged. "I admit, that kind of shot in the dark is pretty exciting though."
Jaime, Lena, and Lucien all bit their lips as they looked on at Chris.
"Lucien." He smiled.
Lucien sighed, relieved, as he walked up to take his crystal ball.
"Thanks guys…" he smiled. "It's always nice to give people a chance."
"Ladies…" Chris announced as Jaime and Lena eyed each other and the crystal ball suspiciously.
"This is the last crystal ball of the night...and it goes to…"
He paused.
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"... Jaime."
He tossed Jaime the crystal ball, leaving Lena stunned, her mouth agape.
She turned angrily towards Freya.
"You bitch! Are you really so petty that you voted for me?!"
"No, I didn't!" Freya shouted back. "But the fact you immediately assumed it was me is exactly why I left your crusade to begin with! You were way too obsessed with getting rid of people you didn't like!"
"Well you fuckin' slut, if you didn't vote for me, who was it? Who fuckin' betrayed me?"
"Ohhh for the love of...It was me." Tori stepped forward. "And this…" She motioned. "This is exactly why! You wouldn't even let me share my own clue with a member of our own alliance!"
"It was a fucking risk to our game!"
"And when has an action being risky ever, ever stopped me?" Tori shouted back. "I'm not going to play your game for you, and to see you forcing that same task upon Freya, without even treating her with the same surface decency you give me, well sorry, but I'm done!"
"Well you just lost a whole fuckin' jury vote I hope you know." Lena growled. "And Daniel is still out there sitting pretty on Weliweli!" She shouted to the rest of the contestants. "Haven't you guys realized yet that he needs to go?!"
"This game isn't about you and him, Lena." Barnard shook his head. "This game is about all of us."
Jaime gave him a silent high five.
"This is a mistake!" Lena shouted as she was ushered towards the Coffin of Shame. "You're all making a huge mistake! Daniel's still here! Lucien's still here! All those returning contestants are all still here! Burn in hell, Demons! Burn in hell, Tori! None of you asswipes deserve my jury vote!"
And with that, the coffin lid closed and the Horror Hearse drove Lena across the Nui Kaua bridge.
"There she goes…" Samuel mentioned to the jury quietly. "The merge's last hero…"
"No…" Kyle responded just as quietly. "The merge's first villain…"
"And there goes our time for this episode!" Chris announced as he looked into the camera.
"We are down to our Final 10! How will the game change now that one of its loudest voices has been quelled? Can the Demons take control? What will the Mummies do to recover? And might Aleister finally officially have his alliance of returners? Find out next time…
On Total Drama Nui Kaua!…
The Cursed!…
Island!"
*Lena's Final Confessional:
"[The first half of this confessional has been removed due to censorship laws]. They can all go die in a ditch for all I care. I really really don't want to root for any of the returns either, but those are all my options right now. How the fuck is it that somehow the one I'm least pissed off at is Daniel? I don't even really want that shitstain to win, it's just that I kind of want the rest of these asswipes to lose more. At least Daniel had the common decency to remain a shitstain the whole way through unlike these two-faced fuckwads. Whatever. I don't give a shit. I'll see who's at the end and whoever I can bring myself to hate less, that's who'll get my vote for the million, not that anyone left deserves to even be considered."
End Confessional*
The Votes for those who are curious…
Aleister voted for...Jaime
Azami voted for...Lena
Barnard voted for...Lena
Daniel voted for...N/A
Freya voted for...Tori
Jaime voted for...Lena
Lena voted for...Lucien
Lucien voted for...Freya
Sherwood voted for...Jaime
Tori voted for...Lena
Twilight voted for...Jaime
AN:
Oh boy.
Oh boy.
Oh boy.
Lena….Lena Lena Lena Lena.
We all thought she was getting further didn't we? Anyways, Lena is an amazing tough girl character, and a really fun anti-hero protagonist to write. It's important I think, to realize that she wasn't opposing the villains because it was say, the right thing to do, but because she just didn't like their attitudes. It really was a great fit for this super-competitive season with super-competitive characters. In the end, though, what finally did her in was her own faults rubbing her closest ally the wrong way just enough to send her over the edge, not any scheme concocted by her rival.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Lena receives the status of: Heeeerr...ehhh….neuuu….er…(as you can see I'm really on the edge between Hero/Neutral here). I think in the end, I'll give her Hero, if only, and I mean only because she technically passes the same criteria Samuel and Kaden were given. Her difference being she only opposed the villains because she personally had problems with their general moods. I think if she had continued to stay on the show though, her actions would have eventually put her into Neutral territory.
Lena's best moment. I'd argue, it was when the mummies were busy trying to make fire...meanwhile Lena made some on her own, and despite the fact that the island was plagued by rainfall. That moment is what convinced Tori to help her after all. It's too bad how it all ended though.
Of course, that's all just my opinion, what do you guys think?
Any idea for who might be going home next?
What do you think the next curse is going to be?
And as always, thanks for reading!
AN2: Discord link on my profile for people who want to come hang out and chat about Total Drama (both canon and the fics) as well as make memes about them (including this one, there's a lot of memes about this fic), so feel free to come on by.