TDNKCI: Episode 13: "He Seems Seedy"
The Jury's Recap
"Is she...is she calm?" Kyle asked Antonio in a hushed whisper.
"I think she's ready, yes." Antonio nodded back softly.
"Alright let's just get this over with." Lena crossed her arms and looked into the camera.
"Last fuckin' time on Total Drama Nui Kaua: The Cursed Island, Tori was a bitch-ass and sent me home."
"That's…" Kaden sighed. "Look, Lena, we tend to try to be a little more self-reflective in these things so that the viewers can get as unbiased a-"
"Fucking…" Lena groaned. "Alright fine. Daniel was a little bitch ass who gave up his ability to vote for two rounds, as well as his shoes, for immunity so he wouldn't have to actually work through a challenge, and yeah he's got that extra vote cast against him at this ceremony but with the way these idiots are working, up and voting me off and using someone I thought was my fucking friend to do it, I'm not holding my hopes very high up there. The challenge was some sort of escape room bullshit and Azami won because of fucking course she did. Now there's no one worthy to root for and-"
"Woah, woah woah…" Samuel stopped her. "Now now, I think most of the jury is still considering just about everyone left as a potential winner, right guys?"
"Of course." Antonio nodded. "Barnard and Jaime are doing quite well in reforming a Demons alliance, Lucien managed to avoid elimination even after his giant power play that sent Samuel home, and not to make Lena...pop a blood vessel…but I think we're all pretty intrigued by Tori's recent play."
"And let's not leave our returning players out of the running either." Kyle noted. "All four of them have played quite the improved game from their previous seasons. My fellow Banshees especially."
"Naw, that's team bias talking." Samuel dismissed Kyle's opinion. "We all know the Vampire returns have the better shot at winning."
"None of the returns are about to fucking win this game." Lena disagreed. "With me gone, Daniel's attention is easily going to shift their way, and you know what? I fucking bet Tori's will too. Those four, the returns, are in for a tough-ass climb."
"Hey, there we go!" Kyle noticed. "It was...more colorful in language than we've been used to, but that was some actual deliberation!"
"Yeah, whatever." Lena rolled her eyes.
"We're down to the Final 10 now." Kaden announced. "But one of them is about to become that Coffin of Shame's next body."
"Find out who the fuck it'll be, right here…" Lena clearly didn't want to be a part of the bit as she waited for the others to look into the camera with her and finish off the introduction.
"On Total Drama Nui Kaua!...The Cursed!...Island!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
Location: Nahele Forest
Contestant(s): Freya, Jaime, Twilight
"Gah!" Jaime jumped and managed to grab a wildfowl by its feet as it flapped in futility to get away.
"I got one!" She called as Twilight rushed over to bind it. Freya walked up close behind with a bloody bag, clearly containing recently killed poultry.
"Please tell me this is enough for everyone." She said through a plugged nose. "This whole thing is disgusting."
"We could always…" Twilight grunted as she motioned one of the interns holding the cameras to look away as she did the dirty work. "Just go back to having nothing but fish and berries."
"I'm not complaining about the slightly more varied diet, I'm complaining about why I have to come hold the bag."
Confessional: Jaime
"Here's the deal. What happened at the last ceremony? That was awesome for Azami, Barnard, and me. However, I think we're all fairly smart enough to realize that Tori isn't just going to keep voting with us. If anything, with Lena gone, I don't see anything stopping the Mummies from grouping up into an alliance of their own. We all know Aleister, Twilight, and Sherwood have been working together as returning players recently too. This, strangely enough, makes Freya in a uniquely powerful position, and of course the returners came by to court her by Twilight offering to show her how to catch these damn chickens. But the more I tag along, the less Twilight remains useful around camp, and the more of a threat she and the other returns appear to be."
End Confessional
"You're holding the bag, because you have the best grip, and these things sometimes still move around after their heads are off." Twilight tossed her recently created example into the bag and Freya felt the sack shake in her grip.
"Still smells." She muttered under breath.
"Yes, dead things tend to start to smell." Jaime snarked.
Confessional: Twilight
"She's holding the bag because I might have agreed that I'd show her how to hunt these things, but no way am I going to make that vain ass bitch get dirty without immunity as a reward, and ruin our chances of getting our numbers up."
End Confessional
"In any case…" Twilight looked at the bag. "Yes, I think that's enough for everyone. Just leave them outside my side of the cabin and I'll come by to skin them."
"Ewww…." Freya's face scrunched up imagining the process.
"Hey we wouldn't have to do this if we were being fed by production, but they just up and demolished Nui Kaua's mess hall."
"Well uh…" Freya eyed the bag with disgust. "Thanks for inviting me on this...nostril-opening adventure. I don't know if it's for me though…"
Confessional: Freya
"None of the blood from that bag got on my clothes right? There's not exactly any detergent to help me wash them in the Muliwai."
End Confessional
Location: Nui Kaua Beach
Contestant(s): Sherwood
Sherwood walked along the beach, dragging his feet through the sand back and forth as he strode parallel to the lake water.
Confessional: Sherwood
"I'm by no means loyal to whatever returner alliance Aleister might think he's secured, and I'm by no means loyal to any alliance. However, even though it would also mean Freya's safety...I'd rather have the Curse Tiki to play if I needed it, and if it was buried on Weliweli the first time, I figure it might as well also be buried in the sand this time."
End Confessional
Sherwood kept up the walking along the sand as time lapsed until he combed just about the entire beach.
He sighed.
"Guess Kahakai is next then. Still, it's nice to know such a large swath of the island is clear."
Confessional: Sherwood
"Lena being gone has some interesting implications on the game as a whole. With no one else actively opposing Daniel, I'm sure Freya realizes continuing to vote for him is a fool's errand, but what intrigues me more is that Azami, Barnard, and Freya were all able to spend time on Weliweli Island with Lucien. They more than any of the others, are closest to figuring his game plans and motives, and considering what Lucien said when he eliminated Samuel, that he didn't want his mummies to go, it's clear to me that he voted for Freya last ceremony, and Freya voted for Tori, and apologized at that if what Chris said was true. That whole conflict concerns me more than anything else right now, because without Lena, it's pretty much the only conflict."
End Confessional
Location: Boys' Cabin Left Side
Contestant(s): Barnard, Jaime
"Jaime, how in the hell did we pull that off?" Barnard asked as he remained motionless on his bed as Jaime brought in some recently cooked chicken legs and handed him one.
"We didn't." Jaime replied. "We got lucky, but we can't let that lucky shot go to waste."
"Yeah." Barnard agreed. "It has to be now. We need to get rid of a return, one of the ones who have actively been working with each other, I mean."
"That's Aleister, Sherwood, Twilight." Jaime recapped. "Aleister is the one who seems most pro-return, and therefore might be our biggest problem in the long run, but Sherwood and Twilight are both physical threats, and no way is the jury giving us the money over either of them if they make it to the end."
"I don't think we should touch Aleister yet." Barnard speculated. "If we do, he might make himself into a martyr and the other two could scoop up Freya, and it's better she remains paranoid of alliances as long as she isn't joining ours."
"And how do you think Lucien might react to this?" Jaime wondered. "You got to spend a week on Weliweli with him after all."
"I think that leaving Lucien alone, while undoubtedly dangerous, is probably the best thing we can do at the moment. That said, we should still keep eyes on him and what he does, because if Samuel's fate is anything to go by...just living at letting live isn't guaranteed safety from him, and if nothing else, he's cunning."
Confessional: Barnard
"I have no idea how Lucien is taking Lena's departure, especially because he told us on Weliweli that he didn't want any Mummies to go, now not only has a Mummy gone, but it was one of the two main ones shielding him from attention. I have no doubt that he knows we're behind it, too. That's why, more than anything else, we need to stick together as Demons. Hopefully Azami over on Weliweli knows that too."
End Confessional
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Azami, Daniel
"Are you suuuuure you don't care who was sent home?" Azami grinned as she asked Daniel, for the 5th time that day, for the 5th day in a row, about his desire to hear the results of the elimination ceremony that he missed.
Daniel sighed.
"If it will get you to stop doing that, fine, who was sent home?"
"HA!" Azami laughed as she pointed a finger towards his face.
"We did what you couldn't! We sent Lena home, we sent Lena home, la la la la la la."
Daniel rose a brow.
"We?"
"The Demons duh." Azami boasted proudly. "We totally sniped her right out of there!"
"With only 3 votes? No you didn't." Daniel shook his head as he rubbed his bare feet.
"Yeah we DID!" Azami laughed loudly. "We didn't even care who it was, we just flipped a coin and she was unlucky!"
Confessional: Daniel
"This is worse than when she was egging me on with the information I didn't know. She has to know that I know that they'd need at least one extra vote."
End Confessional
Confessional: Azami
"Yeah, woo, go Demons, we rule! We did in one ceremony what Daniel's been trying to do all game, we're totally heading to the Final 3, and well, after that it's just a decision of who I want to utterly humiliate in the end!"
End Confessional
"Well…" Daniel rationalized how to handle his situation. "That sounds very impressive. You must've even convinced someone else about how amazing you Demons are and convinced them to vote with you."
"Pfft, we would've if she hadn't lost the challenge in like, the second round." Azami rolled her eyes. "Instead though, something even cooler happened! Like, you know how Lena was always so LOUD and annoying?"
"A little." Daniel cleaned out his eardrum.
"Well, that poker player girl voted her off too because of it! You could say she...poked her too hard! HA! Hahahaha!' Azami began to laugh as Daniel's eyes widened.
"Interesting…" He mused to himself as he began to walk towards the other end of the beach on the island.
"That one is actually interesting."
Confessional: Daniel
"And wait a minute, I'm going into this next ceremony with a vote cast against me already, without the ability to cast my own. That's a huge gamble...something that our resident risk-taker probably won't be able to resist supporting, at least for this ceremony. Yes...I can see a plan forming now…"
End Confessional
"And man, you'll be such easy pickings if you don't find a way to become immune!" Azami cackled. "We won't need an extra vote to vote you off since you've already got one vote against you this time! We can wipe the mummies off the map and then turn Freya against the other returns!"
"Hmm…" Daniel nodded. "I suppose you could. Good luck with that."
"What? You aren't even afraid that we're coming for you?"
"Oh, I'll be afraid when I know you're coming for me, but I think the returning players are a more pressing issue."
Confessional: Azami
"I keep trying to tell Barnard and Jaime, the returning players don't matter yet! They're returns. They lost. It's what they do. Those two are worrying over nothing."
End Confessional
Location: Muliwai River
Contestant(s); Barnard, Jaime, Lucien
"Oh there you are." Barnard said as he and Jaime approached Lucien who was patiently fishing while sitting along the riverbank.
"You two…" Lucien smiled. "I don't suppose you'd like to explain to me why a Mummy is gone after I specifically asked for that not to happen?"
"I think I've figured out what I didn't like about your Weliweli explanation." Barnard crossed his arms. "It's because you publicly named a target."
"Ah." Lucien looked up at the dark storm clouds as the rain fell down his face, still sporting a polite smile. "I guess that was a pretty ballsy bluff. But Freya's vain enough to buy it, and that's all I really wanted. She commands too much attention, and for whatever reason she's been getting a little too invested in me and my game, which, if anything, was going to be the polar opposite of hers until she gave Lena numbers and the clash between them and Daniel forced my hand."
"He's doing it again." Jaime caught Lucien in his bluff like it was no one's business.
"I don't know what, but he didn't get rid of Samuel because of the Lena and Daniel conflict. There was another reason."
"Guys, seriously, you're going to scare the fish with all this negativity. You're looking for an enemy where there isn't one. Yet, anyways. I'll work on you guys if you're all still here in the Final 6, but until then, I don't really feel like fighting you, so can't we maybe get along?"
Confessional: Lucien
"Man, everyone seems to really be convinced that I'm somehow the uber-villain here, but like...it's sort of the exact opposite. I'm nothing, nobody. I'm just a dude, seriously. Heck, I had to get rid of Samuel because if Lena and Daniel's fight had ended then, I'd just end up some sacrificial lamb for, say, The Demons, or The Vampires, heck maybe even The returns. I needed to do something unpopular, but also strategic enough that the jury wouldn't just count me out as vote fodder. But am I going to tell them that? Not unless that's the final challenge or something. Look, i'm not claiming to be some saint, I want to win, but I'm not about to go around actively manipulating people. I'll leave that job to the actual baddies."
End Confessional
"If you want to get along with us, then help us vote off one of the returns that are working together." Jaime offered.
"Aww, and here I thought you guys would be willing to give up on Freya as payment for my cooperation."
"You mean you're still going to vote for her?"
"Eh." Lucien shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you, but she's probably got enough points, or if she doesn't yet she will, to crush any of the rest of us in a Final 2 jury vote."
"Freya?" Jaime smiled. "If you're worried about her to the final 2 right now, when we're still in the double digits and have bigger immediate threats, I think we'll stick with our original plan of deciding between Twilight and Sherwood."
"Hey, those are both good choices, I wish you luck." Lucien smiled. "Let the better recruiting force send their target home, yeah?"
"Such a strange guy…" Jaime whispered to Barnard as they left Lucien on his own once more.
Confessional: Jaime
"So this...this is the real Lucien is it? He seems seedy but...well I can't rightly claim that he's terribly dangerous at the moment concerning our alliance."
End Confessional
Location: Boys' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Lucien, Sherwood, Tori
"Heyo!" Lucien announced as he walked into the cabin where Tori and Sherwood were in the middle of a checkers match.
"Sherwood, my guy, you might want to start looking for some friends to deal with the Demons, they said they were busy deciding between you and Twilight."
"Not worried yet." Sherwood responded without looking up from the game. "They only have three votes, Tori isn't about to vote me off."
"You got me!" Tori laughed. "Not yet at least."
"Aleister is thinking that the returns will team up with Tori and vote for Azami if she doesn't win." Sherwood continued. "That suits me just fine, she's a physical threat, and that Demon alliance is a little big for my taste."
"Shame." Lucien sighed. "Here I was hoping you'd be willing to get rid of the other Banshee with me?"
"Awww, but I'm invested in her too!" Tori pouted. "Come on Luci, can't we let them stick around for just a little while longer?"
"Maybe you can!" Lucien laughed. "But the one most likely to vote for one of my favorite Mummies is Freya, therefore, she has to be my enemy, for the moment."
"So when she doesn't vote for a Mummy, that's when you'll decide you can stop?" Sherwood questioned.
"Pretty much." Lucien smiled. "I am a team player after all."
"Not that we have much of a team to play with considering Daniel can't vote in the upcoming ceremony." Tori admitted.
"And there's that pesky vote against him too." Lucien agreed. "We can't let our resident grouch get canned, can we?"
"Eh." Tori shrugged with a smile.
"Tori…." Lucien shook his head with a grin.
"You're cute but you're causing me problems, Tori!" He gestured goofily up towards the ceiling as he left through the door.
"King me." Tori turned to Sherwood as they continued to play their game.
Confessional: Tori
"See, I caught him on the beach clearly looking for that Curse Tiki, so to keep it a secret, he has to humor me with games and whatnot."
End Confessional
Location: Mt. Immolate Cavern
Contestant(s): Aleister, Jamie, Sherwood, Twilight
"Sorry I'm late…" Sherwood apologized as he greeted Aleister and Twilight while Jaime hid behind a stalagmite to eavesdrop on the return coalition. "A certain gambling addict had me playing checkers."
"Well, were you followed?" Twilight asked, suspiciously.
"No, she went off to find Barnard, wherever he is."
Behind the stalagmite, Jaime cupped her hands over her math to hide her excitement.
"Alright then, we need to decide who we're getting rid of." Aleister called the meeting to order. "Obviously we can't let the Demons have their way or we're all done for."
"I suppose Barnard is doing what we were afraid he would." Twilight nodded.
"I say we go for Azami if at all possible." Aleister determined. "She keeps winning immunity."
"Well…" Twilight cracked her neck. "If the challenge is at all physical, I can always take a bit of a dive and bring her with me."
Confessional: Twilight
"No, this isn't the same as what happened to me in Zero Sum, I'd be giving up my own immunity as well, it's a risk, not kicking someone while they're down and I'm not."
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"Twilight and I are the only Vampires left. Freya and Sherwood are the only Banshees left, we should all band together and get rid of the Demons who are a powerful alliance before they can group up with the Mummies and overtake us returning contestants."
End Confessional
"That's one strategy…" Sherwood nodded. "But what about if Azami does win immunity, who are we aiming for then?"
"I think it's better we start aiming for Barnard if that happens." Aleister suggested.
Behind the stalagmite, Jaime silently celebrated not being their target.
"And then Jaime if they somehow both win immunity." Aleister continued, causing Jaime's eyes to roll at the unnecessarily careful plan.
Confessional: Aleister
"And if somehow, somehow, all three Demons win their immunity, we'll move our focus to Daniel since he already has one vote against him."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"Like...they realize that the cavern is a crud meeting place right? Like...they know so many people other than just me could be hidden there and spying on them, right? Meh, either way, I've got the information I need, so I'll share it with Barnard and we'll see what the two of us can do during the challenge. It's better for us if we just let Azami focus on winning so that none of our targets manage to win immunity."
End Confessional
*BEEEEEEEP*
"Attention Final 10!" Chris announced over the loudspeakers. "Please report to the Nui Docks for your next challenge!"
"Well, I guess we made this plan just in time." Aleister smiled as he motioned the others to follow him out of the cavern.
Jaime looked into a camera with a shit-eating grin before she silently shuffled out of the cavern's other exit.
Location: Nui Kaua Docks
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Welcome back Azami and Daniel from Weliweli Island!" Chris announced as Azami and Daniel were brought back to the remaining players on a ferry.
"You weren't lying at least…" Daniel sighed as he noticed Lena's absence.
Confessional: Daniel
"I was half hoping that Azami wasn't being truthful, because with as boorish as Lena was, she at least could go toe to toe with some of these other physical threats."
End Confessional
"How was Weliweli?" Barnard asked Azami as she hopped down.
"He's suuuper boring." Azami rolled her eyes. "Let's just get on with the challenge explanation so I can win immunity again and be on my way."
"Someone's confident." Tori smirked.
"Uh, of course I am, you would be too after three wins in a row."
"She's got a point." Sherwood shrugged. "Of course...with all those wins...so too comes that nice target on her back."
"Pfft." Azami ignored his threat. "Yeah, yeah, return, you'd know all about targets wouldn't you?"
"The Challenge…" Chris began, commanding everyone's attention. "Is a very simple one."
He motioned to Chef on the ferry.
"Chef there will be chasing you around the main island of Nui Kaua. He is a professional tracker and manhunter, and it is your job to outrun him. If he tags you, you have to freeze in place at the site of your demise, feel free to talk to anyone who may be nearby, but no moving around! The very last person to evade Chef's capture will earn immunity."
"And the curse?" Freya asked.
"The curse…" Chris grinned. "We'll get to the curse at the elimination ceremony, until then, don't worry about it."
"Do we get like a head start, or what?" Lucien asked with a hand raised as he slowly walked along the dock towards Chris.
"An expected fear, Lucien." Chris noted. "Rest assured, we aren't letting any of you start any further than where I'm standing. This is not a hide and seek challenge, it's a run for your life challenge!"
"Figures." Daniel rolled his eyes as he massaged his feet in preparation.
Challenge: Run For Your Immunity
Rules; Contestants must evade being tagged by Chef. If they are tagged, they must freeze in place, but are still allowed to speak to anyone who may be nearby. The last player to remain unfrozen will win Immunity.
Location: Nui Kaua Docks
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Annnd...Run, players, run!" Chris announced as the Final 10 all booked it down the dock as Chef hopped off the ferry and chased after them, his arms reaching out to tag whomever he could.
"Hehehehe, y'all better run if you know what's good for ya'." He laughed.
Aleister bounded towards the open Nui Kaua fields
Azami shot herself into the Nahele Forest
Barnard kept Aleister in his sights as he followed at a sprint.
Daniel rushed up the Muliwai
Freya ran along the beach of the island
Jaime tagged along just behind her
Lucien followed Daniel up towards the river.
Sherwood made a beeline for Mt. Immolate
Tori pondered who to follow before deciding heading towards the mountain with Sherwood would be the most interesting experience for her.
Twilight chased after Azami into the forest.
Chef stuck a finger into the air and felt the direction of the storm winds.
He grinned.
He knew the path he would take.
Location: Nui Kaua Beach
Contestant(s): Freya, Jaime
"Wh-what are you doing?" Freya asked as she noticed Jaime now running at her side. "Two of us together is super visible for him, he'll catch us!"
"Dang right I will!" Chef hollered from behind them.
The two girls looked back and screamed as they both began to pick up the pace, though Jaime was a bit faster.
"These...stupid...sandals!' Freya complained as her footwear began slowing her pace. "Hgn!"
She shook one off towards Chef, but he didn't react as it bounced off his shin.
"Shit." Freya left her other sandal in the sand and kept running.
"Yeah, I bet you aren't liking your attire right now." Jaime snickered.
"Why are you even here Jaime? Is this about the Demons again?"
Confessional: Freya
"Ever since the last challenge, Jaime and Barnard have been spending almost every other hour trying to get me to join their little group. They're persistent, I'll give them that but, but hello, 3 Demons? Yeah, like I'm going to settle for fourth place.
End Confessional
"This isn't about that...this is about the next ceremony! Lucien is still going to vote for you, and I bet he can rope at least two people into it!"
"So what, are you and the other two musketeers going to vote out Daniel with me?"
"Freya you can't vote for him!" Jaime pleaded. "You'd just be wasting it! Help us get rid of a returning contestant instead, that way you can stay safe, we can stay safe, and someone who is a threat to all of us goes home!"
"Well, who?" Freya wondered for just a millisecond too long as Chef managed to easily tag her,forcing her to stop on the sand.
"Shit." Jaime lamented as Chef used the same momentum to force her out of the challenge as well.
"Who?" Freya asked again after they watched Chef head off towards the Nahele Forest.
"I was thinking Sherwood or Twilight."
"I don't know…" Freya rubbed the back of her neck after making sure with a nearby intern that it was okay as long as she didn't leave her immediate point of defeat.
"I don't really want to poke at Sherwood unless I have to, and Twilight...she only just started treating me like not the worst thing on the planet so…"
"Ugh, why can't you be like you were in the early game?" Jaime lamented. "If you don't start stepping on some toes, you're going to get stepped on."
Confessional: Freya
"Look, while it's true that I might be on a bit of a self-discovery journey right now, that doesn't mean I'm not fucking capable of thinking strategically. Those two names are both returning players, and I know I'm not strictly pro-return, but I definitely don't want to be the only one left with an alliance of Demons in like the final 7. Hello big red target, and so far, no one on the jury has any real reason to blame me for their usually pretty unfair eliminations. Like, Lena's the only one that's been actively voted out via the majority of the votes going her way, so already I'm a little nervous about drawing the others attention my way, at least, not while I don't have any drones to help me out behind the scenes anymore, and sure call me a pessimist, but I don't think the Demons are drone material."
End Confessional
"Well, I'm not strictly pro-return, I guess." Freya let Jaime know, albeit noncommittally. "At the very least, I won't waste my vote on Daniel if you're sure no one else is going to vote for him."
"I'm sure." Jaime nodded. "I haven't been keeping tabs on Aleister's not so secret meetings with the other returning contestants for nothing."
Location: Nahele Forest
Contestant(s): Azami, Twilight
"What the HECK?" Azami shouted at Twilight as the latter held the two of them in place for Chef to tag them, which he did very quickly before moving down his planned out path.
"There we go…" Twilight sighed as she loosened her grip and took a seat in the spot of their demise. "Now we don't have to worry about you winning immunity again."
"Yeah, because you totally CHEATED ME OUT OF IT!" Azami huffed before sitting directly across from Twilight.
"You better know for a fact that you have the numbers, Twilight, because I am going to personally see to it that you go home tonight otherwise!"
"Oh, we have the numbers." Twilight smiled. "But I'm not sending you home tonight. I have my own plan for who to take out."
"Hmph." Azami wasn't entirely sure she believed her. "Like you'd go out of your way to cheat me out of my immunity if you weren't gunning for me."
Confessional: Azami
"Like, seriously, I'm not stupid alright? I know she's doing it because she and her loser return friends are planning to all gang up and vote me off!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Twilight
"Aleister wants Azami gone, and he's right to at the very least fear her for her ability to win immunity in physical challenges, however, I've got my own problems right now. Namely, I need a way to cripple Sherwood without voting him off, and that means I need to set my sights on Freya and get her out of here, so there will be less chance of a Banshee benefiting from or finding that Curse Tiki."
End Confessional
"Feel free to believe whatever you want." Twilight sighed. "But the fact remains, I'm getting rid of my own biggest threat before they get rid of me, and while you're an immunity sponge, I don't feel threatened by you."
"Well maybe you should!" Azami snarled. "Because the amount I feel you threaten me is a sum of zero! HA! Like your loser season where you lost!"
Confessional: Twilight
"This bitch is so goddamn lucky that the jury clearly isn't fond of her, otherwise she definitely would be doomed for elimination tonight after that wisecrack. I bet she hasn't even seen my season."
End Confessional
Confessional: Azami
"Yeah, I haven't seen Twilight's season. Or Aleister's. I don't care where they came from. They already lost that's the point. They're doomed to just lose again, getting attached to any of them is only going to end badly for the jury when I crush them all and win that million!"
End Confessional
Location: Nui Kaua Fields
Contestant(s); Aleister, Barnard
Aleister and Barnard competed with each other to outrun Chef as he chased them through the tall grass of the fields.
"He's faster, get him before he has his second wind!" Aleister motioned to Barnard in an effort to sway Chef's opinion.
"No I'm not!" Barnard countered. "Aleister has more endurance, and will be the better hunt, focus on him!"
"Barnard!'
"Aleister!"
"The new guy!"
"The return!"
"How about both of ya'?" Chef grinned as he slammed his hands against the two of them and pushed forwards towards the volcano.
"Dang it!" Aleister slumped down while Barnard followed suit.
"Guess we'll have to hope no one is trying to get either of us out." Barnard sighed.
"Come on, I already know you and your Demons are coming for us."
"That's because you keep trying to get this return alliance going in the first place!" Barnard countered. "I don't mind that you guys are in the game, but when you band together like you're doing now, of course the rest of us are going to retaliate."
Confessional: Aleister
"Like I buy that! I heard Barnard talking to Antonio and Samuel about an anti-return alliance and Twilight heard it too! No, the Demons have to go! That said, none of the Mummies are really pro-return either..."
End Confessional
"How about this deal?" Aleister suggested. "We know Daniel has that extra vote being cast against him? Let's just round up everyone and vote him off, at least for this round?"
Confessional: Barnard
"Hah! What a low risk offer, not to mention how low reward it is."
End Confessional
"I'm not about to accept that deal." Barnard shook his head. "Even if you were sincere and everyone ganged up on Daniel to get rid of him, that would still leave 4 returns in this game. No, the only way to get me to stop going after you would be if you took out a return."
"But!" Aleister began to protest but stopped himself.
"Alright. I don't like it, but if I have to, I'll vote with you and the other Demons."
"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to so readily accept the idea. Did you have a return in mind already?"
"Yeah, Freya."
Barnard gave Aleister a stare.
Confessional: Barnard
"He knows as well as I do that Freya is only an honorary part of his return alliance at best, and I have reason to believe she's closer to helping us Demons than she is to helping Aleister, especially if he's so willing to vote for her."
End Confessional
"Yeah, that's not gonna cut it." Barnard shook his head. "Make it Twilight or we're done here."
"What about Sherwood?" Aleister wondered.
"He's...got Tori's attention which is a little concerning." Barnard admitted. "But he's also clearly only voting with you because it's convenient for him. He's not there out of any actual loyalty."
"I think you're overestimating Twilight's loyalty to me as well." Aleister shrugged.
"Well if I am, then you should be able to vote her off with the rest of us, right?" Barnard debated.
Confessional: Aleister
"Grrr….He's good at arguing his case I'll give him that, but I can't just get rid of the only Vampire left in the game!"
End Confessional
"Fine…" Aleister agreed through gritted teeth. "I'll vote for Twilight with you."
Location: Mt. Immolate Cavern
Contestant(s): Sherwood, Tori
"I can smell ya' children!" Chef called as Tori and Sherwood snuck around behind stalagmites. "Ya' can't hide for long here!"
Confessional: Sherwood
"As it turns out, we really couldn't, he was on us the second I even thought about breathing."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"Thankfully, even though I couldn't see Sherwood where we were caught, I still knew he was nearby."
End Confessional
"Sooo..." Tori threw her voice around the stalagmite she was sitting against towards Sherwood on the other side a few stalagmites away. "Any plans on who to vote for?"
"Hm." Sherwood grunted. "Depends. If Daniel asks me, I plan to honor my earlier deal with him, and if not...I'm not sure. Aleister wants Azami gone at least."
"Oh good." Tori smiled. "That means my vote won't be an entire waste.
Confessional: Tori
"It's not that I specifically dislike Azami, I mean, I kind of do but that's not why I'm voting for her, it's because she's predictable. She wants immunity, she thinks returns are losers and not really worth her time, and she's actually pretty loyal to alliances. A valid game strategy, but...ohhh...there's just no risk involved so how fun could it really be?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Sherwood
"As it stands, my vote could either go to Freya, if Daniel asks me for it, Azami, to help Aleister out, or whoever these Demons want gone assuming it isn't me. I don't care where that vote goes to be honest, I just want to stay in the game."
End Confessional
Location: Muliwai River
Contestant(s): Daniel, Lucien
"Daniel, Lucien!" Chris announced over the loudspeakers and the two players noticed Chef charging out of Mt. Immolate towards them and began to book it in the other direction.
"Congratulations on being the last two contestants left in the challenge!"
Confessional: Daniel
"Wonderful. So close only to run right into the guy. Figures."
End Confessional
Confessional: Lucien
"Oh, it's just the two of us, eh? Hm...Oh, idea, idea! I've got one!"
End Confessional
"Hey Daniel..." Lucien struck up a conversation as they ran in serpentine formation down the Muliwai while Chef chased them relentlessly. "Dan, man, you feel like voting with me tonight?"
"I can't vote, Lucien." Daniel replied curtly. "Go try to be stupid to someone else."
"No, this is serious, no way you'd give up a vote unless you already had someone else's vote to spend, I've spent enough time at the Mummy camp to know how you operate."
Daniel's eyes widened as the two of them continued their attempts to outmaneuver Chef.
Confessional: Lucien
"Dan's a smart dude, no way he's actively risking his elimination right now with that extra vote. I know I sure wouldn't allow an extra vote cast against me at a ceremony, especially if I couldn't cast my own."
End Confessional
"I'm trying to win immunity so I don't have to deal with that." Daniel sighed. "Care to help me and avoid that vote you seem convinced I have from going your own way instead?"
"Ooof." Lucien chuckled. "Right in the gut, your words can hit hard you know."
"I really don't care right now."
"Come on, we're both Mummies here, let's be friends!"
Confessional: Daniel
"Friends, he says. As though he hasn't been slithering his way through the game pretending to be stupid all while ruining everyone's plans, most importantly among them my own. Sorry, even I thought you were serious in the slightest, I'm beyond the ability to have friends anymore. All I want is that money at the end of this competition. Only then, maybe, and a very unlikely maybe at that, can I start considering looking for friends."
End Confessional
"Well...what if I said I was planning on voting out Freya?" Lucien tried after Daniel went silent on him.
He did a split second calculation in his head and stopped.
He turned around and let Chef tag him.
"And LUCIEN wins immunity!" Chris announced over the loudspeakers. "Everyone get your votes in order and I'll meet you all at the Po'ino Bonfire pit tonight for your elimination ceremony!"
"Is that a yes, dude?" Lucien asked with a smile.
"Like I said." Daniel sighed. "I can't vote tonight. But the purpose of this vote isn't me trying to get rid of your target, the purpose of this vote is me seeing how trustworthy everyone is."
Confessional: Daniel
"That said, I would like to get rid of her before she becomes too much of a problem. If I hear her talking about justice like Isaac or Lena, I won't hold anything back, you can count on that at least."
End Confessional
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Daniel, Freya, Jaime, Lucien, Sherwood, Tori, Twilight
Jury Present: Kyle, Antonio, Kaden, Samuel, Lena
"Welcome back from your very short excursion to Weliweli Island, Lucien." Chris smiled as Chef brought Lucien before the other contestants and the Jury, where a recently eliminated Lena glared at everyone still in the game judgingly.
"Aleister…" Chris turned to Aleister. "Let's check in with you. This vote, gonna be a good one?"
"I think...it depends, Chris." Aleister responded. "Are you loyal to the people you say you are loyal to?"
"Well, it's the Final 10, Chris." Daniel sighed. "Obviously everyone is saying they're loyal to everyone else, but I think right now, if you aren't thinking about yourself first and foremost, you aren't going to win this game."
"Interesting." Chris nodded with a smile. "Freya, scale of 1-10, how good are your chances?"
"Chris, the only one with a 10 in their chances right now is Lucien." Freya nodded her head towards the immune player. "As for my own chances...I dunno, I give myself maybe a 2."
"Not very confident about tonight?"
"Mmmm, I don't know, Chris." Sherwood crossed his arms. "This is something that she does to subtly sway people into not voting for her."
Confessional: Freya
"Oh okay, just give the whole game away why don't you? Yeah, so what if I'm trying to score a few pity points from the other players? How else am I going to avoid elimination if I don't have a way to be immune? Fine, if Sherwood wants to play hardball, I'll play hardball."
End Confessional
"Oh, like you get to talk about pity points mister 'never got to play his game'." Freya crossed one leg over the other as she looked at him defiantly.
"As you can see Chris…" Barnard motioned. "I think everyone is feeling pretty on edge about tonight, except maybe Lucien over there."
"Hey, I might be safe, but I have no idea what's about to go down." Lucien admitted. "Don't get me wrong, immunity is nice, but it won't mean much if all my threats stick around too."
"Lucien, who even are your threats right now?" Chris grinned.
"Hmmm…" Lucien smiled. "I guess the four returns at the moment."
"Oh, has this become a thing, the returns vs the newbies?" Chris wondered.
"I think it's a bit more nuanced than that Chris." Jaime chimed in. "It seems more that it's three returns against three newbies, and everyone else is in the middle somewhere."
"And we don't even know if those three returns or three newbies are going to remain loyal to each other." Twilight added in. "I think this next vote will ultimately give everyone a clear picture on where they all stand in the game."
"Oh, interesting…" Azami noted. "You said all that like you weren't one of the three returns that I know have been working together recently."
Confessional: Jaime
"Azaaaaamiiiii...shut uuuup…" Jaime announces sweetly as her eyes roll.
End Confessional
"Oh, which three?" Chris grinned.
"THOSE THREE! HIM, HIM, HER!" Azami stood and proudly pointed to Aleister, Sherwood, and Twilight. "We know they've been meeting in secret and talking about new players to get rid of! Jaime's seen it!"
Jaime facepalmed.
Confessional: Azami
"So what? Let them know we were spying on them, it's fine, it's not like they'll be in a position of power after tonight anyways."
End Confessional
"So this vote really is going to be drawing some lines in the sand, from the looks of it." Chris chuckled.
"I think so Chris." Freya nodded. "And I could really use those lines so I'm eager to see them."
"Glad you guys all think so." Chris smiled. "Alphabetical order by first name, go up and vote."
Aleister went up first.
Then Azami.
Then Barnard.
Daniel didn't go up to vote since he couldn't, but he did go up to announce that he had a vote cast against himself.
Freya went up to vote.
Jaime voted.
Lucien voted.
Sherwood cast his vote.
Tori cast her vote.
When Twilight had come back, Chris went to tally the votes, and came back, but instead of Crystal balls, he brought back a television monitor.
"Now…" He smiled. "Now we will reveal this week's Curse! Instead of receiving crystal balls...this time, we'll play all your voting confessionals publicly for the rest of the competition to see! We call it, Shot in the Not So Dark! Now then...I hope you all sit back and enjoy."
He turned the monitor on and played everyone's voting confessionals, in order.
Public Confessional: Aleister
"Like Barnard thinks I'm just going to turn my back on the other returns. I'm getting rid of Azami, like we planned."
End Confessional
"I KNEW IT!" Azami stood and pointed at Twilight, who rolled her eyes.
"Sit back down, Azami." Chris motioned for her to sit down in her seat. "We have a few more to get to."
Public Confessional: Azami
"So after the way you totally manhandled me this challenge, I've managed to convince the others to get rid of you too, so buh-bye Twilight. The amount of money you'll win off this show is a sum of zero! HA!"
End Confessional
"That joke isn't funnier the second time you know." Twilight groaned at a proudly smiling Azami.
Public Confessional: Barnard
"Well, Azami seems to want Twilight, which is just as good since we asked Aleister to vote for her too, so she might as well be our target. Sorry Twilight, nothing personal, you're just a pretty big physical and judicial threat to us."
End Confessional
"Now see, that's a respectable voting confessional." Twilight tried to teach Azami, who was already ignoring her.
Public Confessional: Daniel
"I...can't vote tonight...don't know why I'm up here. Unless it's about that one vote that's being cast for me because of last week's curse. Thankfully I don't need to vote when I can just cash in on a deal."
End Confessional
"What deal?" Barnard whispered to Jaime who gave him a shrug.
"How should I know?"
Public Confessional: Freya
"Okay...I had to think long and hard about this one but...I just can't bring myself to vote out my fellow Banshee after everything so I'm sorry Twilight, but this one goes to you. Thanks for taking me on that awful hunting trip, but I think we both know it was too little too late to win me over."
End Confessional
The Demons excitedly talked among themselves after Freya's confessional.
Twilight sighed. "You know? That's fair." She decided. "Not like I have the right to be mad anyways."
Public Confessional: Jaime
"Twilight."
End Confessional
"Oh shit, that's four." Twilight realized as the Demons cheered with each other before bringing Freya into the celebration despite her misgivings.
Public Confessional: Lucien
"Sorry Freya. But hey, you survive this without voting for one of my Mummies, I'll promise to lay off for a while. I'm chill like that."
End Confessional
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Freya wasn't concerned about Lucien's vote. "I had a feeling that was coming."
Public Confessional: Sherwood
"Time to honor my deal. Sorry Freya, Nice knowing you, I guess."
End Confessional
"But I didn't think that was coming, what the fuck, Sherwood?"
"Honoring a deal." Sherwood repeated. "But our alliance was only ever going to last until the merge anyways."
"Gee, glad to see team loyalty is so important to you."
"I was placed on Ka Malu O in my season." Sherwood shrugged.
Public Confessional: Tori
"Yeah...I'm voting for Azami of course, because she's the one whose game jives with my own the least, and hey, I may never get another chance to write her name down so that's something too!"
End Confessional
"Pffft." Azami held in her laughter. "Like that kind of voting is going to get you anywhere."
"I uh, did just help you three eliminate your target last week by voting like this you know." Tori reminded her.
"Welp." Twilight stood up. "I'm no math expert, but it looks like I'm out."
"Shush!" Chris motioned to the monitor. "We still need to play your confessional, then you can go get in the coffin!"
Public Confessional: Twilight
"Alright Freya, if inviting your vain ass along on a hunt isn't going to get you to go return with the rest of us, I'm getting rid of you while I have the chance because no way am I letting you nestle yourself into a safe position again."
End Confessional
"I'd say it was a fair voting reason but…" Freya shrugged. "I dunno, if anything I'd like to take back feeling bad about voting for you after hearing that."
"I mean, I thought it would be private, and I was still venting after having to deal with that one all night." Twilight motioned toward a sweetly smiling Azami.
"Either way, congrats Valkyrie, you're the last Zero Sum member."
Twilight held out a hand.
"I want so badly to bitch slap that away right now." Freya grinned as she took hold of the hand and shook it. "But I think the night deserves a more respectful end for you. Especially if your new nickname for me is Valkyrie, like the sound of that one."
"Appreciate it." Twilight nodded as she headed towards the Coffin of Shame. "Oh, thank goodness I was actually voted out this time and there wasn't someone pulling some last minute bullshit, McLean!" She sneered towards Chris before the Horror Hearse drove her off.
"You on the other hand." Freya turned to Sherwood. "That was a big mistake on your part. Now there's no hang ups in my mind anymore about sticking with these Demons and annihilating you."
"Holy shit." Barnard whispered excitedly to Jaime.
"Fuck. Yes." Jaime nodded back.
"I'm done for." Aleister lowered his head in his seat.
"And The Final 10 becomes The Final 9!" Chris announced into the camera. "Where is The Curse Tiki? How will Aleister cope with literally none of his alliance listening to him? Can Sherwood save himself from Freya and the Demons? Will Lucien ever stop looking incredibly suspicious? Find out probably only one of these...Next time!
On Total Drama Nui Kaua!
The Cursed!
Island!"
*Twilight's Final Confessional:
"I liked the game I played overall. Pretty solid, pretty solid. Not y'know, as good as I think it could've been, but oh, definitely way better than the miserable time I had in Zero Sum. I might be cool with a lot of that season's cast, but Prissypants and Tardy Count, man I'm sure as hell glad I didn't have to put up with them again. Samuel's sweet, I guess. Hopefully he actually has the confidence to call me after all of this is over, and uh, oh, I guess I might as well decide who to root for now since I'll be on the jury and all. Hm...I guess I'll cast my lot in with Jaime and see how she does for now. And you know what? I wouldn't mind coming back again in some later season either."
End Confessional*
The Votes for those who clearly just skipped to the end of the chapter or who want them all neatly compiled in a list
Aleister voted for...Azami
Azami voted for...Twilight
Barnard voted for...Twilight
Daniel couldn't vote, but he did have one vote cast against him as part of last episode's curse.
Freya voted for...Twilight
Jaime voted for...Twilight
Lucien voted for...Freya
Sherwood voted for...Freya
Tori voted for...Azami
Twilight voted for...Freya
AN:
Twilight, this one's a Zero Sum return so I get to talk about why I chose her and not, well, Carys or Katelyn as the Screaming Winds representative (because they needed to be female for an even gender ratio thanks to Kaleaf being the Honua return). It's actually quite simple really. Carys was still in the game of Zero Sum by the time I was starting this book so I couldn't exactly...uh...bring her back if she hadn't left yet. And Katelyn, well...we already had Molly, so it would feel just a little redundant to put them on the same season. Finally, the biggest reason I chose Twilight was because she was eliminated incredibly unfairly in her first season, and strangely enough, had received Zero votes that entire game, so if anyone could claim they might have won if they weren't eliminated unfairly, it was definitely Twilight.
Twilight was the Zero Sum contestant I mentioned I had a feeling could make it to the merge, but I wasn't sure if they would, because originally, it was The Visceral Vampires who were dissolved after mud sledding, and Twilight would likely have been eliminated very shortly after that.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Twilight receives the status of: Neutral
This was always her whole deal. She came, she led her team, she didn't really like the villains, but she spent most of the season actively attempting to avoid them and encouraging everyone else she cared about to do the same. If Lena is a very mixed tough girl character of good and bad qualities, Twilight is the more standardly neutral tough girl character. She was a brute with brains after all, just trying to keep her simple strategy afloat in the game.
Twilight's best moment is a little hard for me to pinpoint, but I kind of personally enjoy when she stares down Daniel into putting the tranq gun down during the panther catching challenge.
But that's all just my opinion, what do you guys think?
Who is the most fucked now that everyone knows who voted for who and why?
What do you think the next curse or challenge will be?
And as always, thank you for reading!
AN2: Discord link on my profile page if any of you want to join. We talk about all sorts of total drama stuff and make memes about these fics, and speculate about who is going to go home next or win a season or what have you. Come by if it sounds like fun to you!