TDNKCI: Episode 14: "I Just Want To Capture This"
The Jury's Recap
"Last time, on Total Drama Nui Kaua: The Cursed Island…" Kyle looked down the jury bench to Twilight, who had recently joined them.
"Hm, well, let's see…" She thought for a moment. "After Tori's play to get rid of Lena sort of broke up the anti-Daniel coalition, everyone and their mother seemed to be going after Freya as an extra vote for their alliance, except of course Lucien, because even still no one is quite sure what thoughts are going through his head, and Daniel, who, after presumably learning that Lena was eliminated on Weliweli, without the ability to cast a vote himself last time, figured he'd test loyalties. The challenge was basically just Chef chasing us all around the island, and ultimately Lucien won immunity after he told Daniel who he was voting for."
"Then came the curse that made all the votes public knowledge." Antonio continued.
"And my Demons were happy to find out that they all were on the same page!" Kaden cheered.
"Not just them either." Samuel chimed in. "Freya voted for Twilight too."
"Not that I have any real right to complain though." Twilight shrugged. "I voted for her after all."
"And Aleister tried to get you fuckin' returns to get rid of Azami, but neither of you listened to him, and only Tori voted alongside him, probably because she thought there'd be more numbers going that way." Lena groaned out.
"And that might have actually led to my downfall, I can admit that." Twilight shrugged.
"Either way, right now, those Demons are in a really nice spot if they've truly convinced Freya to join up with them." Kyle speculated.
"Yeah, no way the other five would be able to all band together, like, even for a single elimination ceremony." Kaden agreed.
"There's also the Curse Tiki to consider though." Samuel noted. "It's still out there somewhere and no one has found it yet. Could really turn the tides if it's used correctly again."
"We're down to only 9 fuckin' players left." Lena began to wrap the recap up as she nudged Twilight to do the same.
"But who will succumb to the horror of the island and ride away in that hearse, leaving only 8? Find out right here…" She paused as the rest of the jury got ready to announce the show alongside her.
"On Total Drama Nui Kaua!...The Cursed!...Island!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
Location: Weliweli Island
Contestant(s): Lucien
Lucien dug small hole after small hole in the island.
"Nope." He moved a few inches along the beach.
"Nope." He repeated his actions again and again.
"Nope. Not there."
"Not here either."
"Whew, this is more tiring than I thought."
Confessional: Lucien
"I'm not completely certain...but I don't think it's buried on Weliweli this time, the Curse Tiki I mean."
End Confessional
"Nope.." He shook his head as he decided to give up for just a little while. "Maaaan…"
He spread himself out on the beach and let the rain from the cloudy heavens fall onto his face.
"I have to find a good target for this week too, since now people have seen that voting confessional I made...Come on, Luci, think…"
He furrowed his brow as his hands traced spiraling shapes in the sand.
"Tori pokes her nose in your business a lot...but could she really beat you in jury votes? Hm, maybe...Sherwood is probably one of the easiest to get rid of right now if he doesn't win immunity. Aleister is also on the outs and the Demons could be going for him too. Getting Daniel, Tori, Sherwood, and Aleister to all work together with you after last week's vote is probably impossible, so the Demons might be safe but, oof, that's too big of a risk for all of us but...hm…hmmm….that might work...nah, 'cause then that would happen...come on Luci, find the path, find the path..."
Confessional: Lucien
"Man, it's pretty hard to strategize when I have no idea what things are like back on the main island…I might need to just wait for the challenge or curse to reveal itself before I take any action."
End Confessional
"Guess I might as well, uh, fill all these holes back up…" Lucien sighed, standing up and looking over the work he'd done.
"Geez, it'll probably be challenge time by the time I'm done…"
Location: Nui Kaua Beach
Contestant(s): Aleister, Barnard, Daniel
"I just want to know why." Barnard questioned Aleister as they walked down the beach while Daniel combed it for the Curse Tiki, sure to stay within earshot of the other conversation.
"Why didn't I vote for Twilight, you mean?" Aleister asked for clarification.
Barnard nodded.
"Simple really, Azami is too dangerous, especially if Freya's working with you guys for real now. Twilight and Sherwood can both beat her but, well, Twilight's gone now so."
Confessional: Barnard
"Sure, yeah, Azami is pretty hard to deal with in acrobatic challenges, but that's a small price to pay for what I'm fairly certain will be a clear-cut jury majority if she's sitting beside you at the Final 2."
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"I'm the only Vampire left. My dreams of a returning contestant alliance are all dead thanks to the public votes last week. This was not how I thought our merge performance was going to go at all. But if I'm going down...you can be sure that I'm going to take a Demon down with me, and the Demon I'm most familiar with...well, it just so happens to be Barnard."
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"So...Aleister clearly is going to be gunning for Barnard if he can. Good. I've only been back on the mainland for a week, but it's obvious he's the ringleader of the Demon alliance, and I think if he's gone, Freya might leave them too. All we have to do is cut the head off the snake."
End Confessional
"Well, I guess I can follow your logic," Barnard replied, "even if I don't agree with it. After all, Twilight was going to go home anyways, and now instead of being in a majority alliance of five, you're all on your own."
"I wouldn't be so quick to assume your alliance is as unified as the votes made them seem to be." Aleister shrugged. "After all, Freya clearly has her sights set on Sherwood right now, but you and the other demons...you're thinking about me and...Tori, I'd wager. We were the ones that voted specifically against your group, that makes us, ironically, your most dangerous opponents."
Confessional: Aleister
"I might have also heard Azami and Jaime talking about it fairly loudly as I was passing by the girls' cabin."
End Confessional
"I have no idea what you think you overheard, but I certainly haven't brought any names up yet." Barnard sighed. "So why don't you consider coming over with us while we go ahead and get rid of Sherwood? After all, what good is having Freya in our alliance if we don't reward her for joining by actively voting with her desires for a round? It can't be easy for her, joining a group of three former teammates. Rather not lose her right away."
"Hrm." Aleister furrowed his brow.
"I think this is all just one big bluff." He decided as he began to walk off, and Barnard followed along to debate him.
Daniel, who had been following them at a distance the whole time, looked into the camera and rolled his eyes.
Location: Boys' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Azami, Sherwood
"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to be knocking on the door." Sherwood's eyes widened as Azami proudly strode through the door.
"I'll cut right to the chase." She announced. "We need to watch each other's backs starting now."
"I don't mind making a temporary deal with you, but I'm not big on any commitment." Sherwood let her know.
"That's fine." Azami looked out the window of the cabin and made sure no one was around to eavesdrop, before listening against the walls of the room for the same reason. "Anyways, between the two of us, we ought to be able to overcome any physical challenge. But I shouldn't need to tell you how INCORRECT it feels to not be spending time on Weliweli enjoying that immunity status. If either of us loses, we're just about done for. I, of course, could only experience that kind of failure if someone like Twilight actively forced me out of the competition, but that doesn't mean it won't happen again. I wouldn't put it above Lucien, or Daniel, or even Tori."
"Yet you think I wouldn't." Sherwood reasoned.
"Nah, you're too much of a scaredy-cat to make a bold play like that." Azami taunted. "You just want to stay as long as you can and coast your way to the end. I dunno if I'd bring you the whole way, but I can save you from elimination for this round at least, all I ask is the same favor for me."
Confessional: Sherwood
"Do I trust anything this girl is saying? No not really. But do I have any other options besides hope I win immunity all the way to the finale? No not really. Any chance I have at getting further in this game, I'm going to take it."
End Confessional
"Fine then." Sherwood nodded. "But...I want a longer lasting deal than just this immediate week. If one or both of us are immune, this deal would've been useless after all. Make it the next time I'm vulnerable, you'll help me out, and I'll offer you the same protection for the next time you're vulnerable."
"Sounds good~" Azami sang as she left the cabin, hiding a giant grin.
Confessional: Azami
"Like...as if, you know? I'm not about to actively trust myself to Sherwood like that. You know who trusted themselves to Sherwood? Freya. And we just saw him vote for her to honor some deal with Daniel. Like...no. Deals are nice and all, but not when you clearly break the first one to honor a second one. Imagine inviting your friend over, and spend weeks preparing to hang out with them, but then at the last minute they call you to say that they were invited to another person's house literally just a few minutes ago so they're gonna blow you off because they're a flaky loser!"
End Confessional
Location: Nahele Forest
Contestant(s): Azami, Daniel, Freya, Tori
"Well, it was worth a shot." Freya sighed as she looked into the hidden compartment of the one deciduous tree on the island to find no traces of any Curse Tiki.
"What was worth a shot?" Tori asked as she appeared from behind some foliage. "Oh, Curse Tiki hunt, yeah? Same here."
"Well that was honest of you." Freya hid a laugh.
"I just feel like I owe you some snooping around." Tori explained. "So I figure being honest about what I've been up to is sufficient as a gesture of good will, yeah?"
"Hm." Freya's eyes narrowed.
"Well, I haven't found it in the forest yet." She eventually decided to share.
"But I'm not giving you the information because I've decided to trust you, I'm giving it to you because you stuck up for me back during the Final 11 vote off. It was a pretty welcome change from being cursed at and called a slut."
"I mean…" Tori motioned to outline Freya's outfit. "Like...definitely against most school dress codes, and the constant rain certainly won't help any girl's case on this show, but that's more of a nationally systemic issue that two gals on a reality show probably aren't equipped to handle."
"So, what's the real reason you're here?" Freya asked after the two of them shared a laugh.
"Oh, I was...curious. There's Sherwood, there's Aleister, there's Daniel, and there's Lucien. I can see you voting for just about any of them if they lose this upcoming challenge, but what if your new Demon friends asked you to vote off someone else for them, would you?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Freya shrugged.
Confessional: Freya
"So Tori comes up from nowhere and all of a sudden we're talking about both of our entire games leading up to this point, and she scares me. She's great at bluffing and controlling her own emotions, which, I shouldn't need to remind any of you at home, is anathemic to the way I operate. But...I don't know, I actually kind of like hanging out with her, I don't really want to vote her off! Please, Chris, give us some sort of sudden death curse so that I won't have to write this woman's name down!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"Ahhh, finally I've heard Freya's history from the valkyrie herself. And oooh boy, I was right to vote for Azami and not for her at the last ceremony. If Twilight had beaten her in a tiebreaker or something, I never would've been able to learn the entire Banshees' history. Now though, now I'm absolutely certain I don't want her with that Demons alliance anymore. They play the game too safely and I want to see us all hanging by threads, risking everything we can for the opportunity to send the others away in that Coffin of Shame!"
End Confessional
"THERE you two are!" Azami announced as she found her way to where Tori and Freya were talking. "BIG problem!"
"What problem?" Freya's brow perked up.
Azami shoved a struggling Daniel towards the women.
"I caught HIM digging up something along the Muliwai!"
"It's not the Curse Tiki if that's what you're wondering." Daniel defended himself in monotone. "A storm last night buried one of the fish traps in mud, I was digging it out."
"Yeah nice try, Barnard SAW you." Azami confronted him.
"Go ahead and look if you don't believe me." Daniel shrugged.
"It'll give me more time to search with you all distracted."
"So I guess everyone is just being totally upfront about looking for the Curse Tiki this week." Freya sighed. "Well whatever, I'll go check in case he is just bluffing."
Confessional: Daniel
"Not bluffing. I don't bluff."
End Confessional
Location: Nui Kaua Field
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Jaime
"No, I haven't found it either." Jaime shook her head as Azami came by to check on her.
"Ugh." Azami sprawled out over the grass. "Why are all you guys just scouring this island for a Curse Tiki in the first place? Like, I get it, it's a great tool, but come on, we don't need it that badly. In fact, I CURSE that tiki! Hahahaha!"
"Azami, I think my sense of humor will go numb the more you keep those kinds of jokes up." Jaime smiled as she stopped searching for a little while.
"Hey ladies!" Aleister called from the south as he walked towards them.
"Oh great." Azami rolled her eyes. "Barnard let him off the leash."
"Well, let's hope he's had all his shots then." Jaime snickered.
"What do you want, Vampire?" Azami asked.
"To talk to the two of you." Aleister replied as he sat near them. "You're both looking lovely today, by the way."
"We look the exact same every day." Jaime sighed. "Not exactly like the storm is good for any sort of makeup you know. Also, don't be gross. Just tell us what you want."
"Get rid of Barnard." Aleister wasted no more time.
"If either of you are sitting on the jury next to him at the end of the game, he's winning hands down."
"Pffft. His only immunity win is all thanks to me though." Azami snickered. "I think he's okay to keep around for at least a little bit. Besides, we can just get rid of him at the final 3, right?"
Jaime nodded in agreement with Azami.
"Sorry Aleister, you might want to take your Hail Mary attempt elsewhere. Doesn't look like you'll have much success here."
Confessional: Jaime
"I mean, I think he probably isn't going to have much success anywhere but, you know, leave us freakin' alone."
End Confessional
Confessional: Aleister
"Well, that didn't go as well as I'd hoped it would. I'm running out of options here. Pushing myself into immunity somehow is quickly becoming my actually most viable option."
End Confessional
"At least he's not giving up on the game." Azami noted as Aleister walked away.
"True." Jaime agreed. "Quitting is always stupid."
"And to think Kaden basically asked me to quit to save him back during that rope maze."
"I'm not entirely sure you'd have been voted off in his place but...I do get it, that's like, who would be stupid enough to actively give someone else their immunity?"
"Talk about getting priorities in order." Azami laughed.
Confessional: Azami
"Look, sure, maybe I would've been fine without the immunity if Kaden had won it on his own, but people were looking and he wanted me to QUIT the CHALLENGE! I wasn't about to give anyone invitations to vote me off! I just hope he realizes how stupid his request was, because whenever I look at him on the jury bench, he keeps looking away from me."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"So, with no real alliance to spy on anymore, most of my time has been spent looking for that Curse Tiki. Azami has been pretty vocal about how much of a waste of energy she thinks it is, but well, I'd much rather be safe than sorry. Right now, I'd prefer we follow through with Freya's impulse to vote Sherwood so that if a Banshee finds it, it can at least be our Banshee. I'd also like to purge the island of the last Vampire if at all possible."
End Confessional
*BEEEEP*
"Alrighty campers…" Chris announced giddy over the loudspeakers. "Everyone, hike up to the summit of Mt. Immolate for your next challenge! I hope none of you are afraid of heights! Hahaha!"
Confessional: Jaime
"I know I grow more afraid of that laugh of his every time I hear it."
End Confessional
Location: Mt. Immolate Summit
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Please welcome Lucien back from his exciting time at Weliweli Island!" Chris clapped as Chef brought in Lucien on an ATV while the tired, wet, other players gave him glares.
"Yo, Chris man, why can't you ever bring the Weliweli contestants in first?" He asked, reading the jealousy in the room.
"Meh." Chris shrugged. "I like to see you guys suffer."
Chef gave Chris a straight face.
"Onto the challenge!" Chris hurriedly changed the topic. "It's that time of season again…" He snickered. "Prepare to go toe to toe with...Your worst fears!"
"I don't ever remember it being a merge challenge." Jaime searched her memory.
"Very perceptive, Jaime." Chris smiled back at her as lightning struck and thunder rolled behind him. "This week, it's entirely possible for all of you to be immune, or for none of you to be immune, and I'll leave it at that. Now, each of you will be pitted against our best representation of your greatest fears for 15 minutes at a time. I think the goal is self explanatory."
Confessional: Barnard
"This...something about the way he's introducing this challenge makes me feel uneasy. Maybe it's because of the 'fear' theme but...I think it's something more than that."
End Confessional
Challenge: Phobia Factor (Revamped for CI)
Rules: Contestants must spend up to 15 minutes facing their greatest fears. Any or all of them could emerge from the challenge with immunity.
Location: Boys' Cabin Left Side
Contestant(s): Freya
Freya's Fear Challenge
"Why do I have to be first?" Freya complained as Chris led her into the cabin.
"Your name was drawn first." Chris shrugged. "Anyways...I hope you're ready!"
He opened the cabin door to reveal Leonard from Pahkitew Island and his friend Tammy from the Ridonculous Race both standing in the room, dressed in their fantasy themed costumes, engaging in what appeared to be a larping battle with each other.
Leonard turned to Freya as she felt shivers being sent down her spine.
"Huzzah!" He smiled widely at her. "Hark, Tammy, our beautiful bard has returned."
"No." Freya's face flushed as she noticed Tammy holding up an embarrassing minstrel costume.
"Oh yes." Chris cackled. "You have to larp with these two on international television. For 15 minutes at that!"
"You are an evil little man." Freya glared at Chris as Tammy handed her the costume that she was meant to wear.
"Eww!" Freya gagged as she wafted in the scent from the fabric. "When was this thing last washed?"
"Oh, silly minstrel!" Leonard laughed her concerns off. "I've already cast my cleaning spell upon those garments!"
Confessional: Freya
"I don't know guys. I really don't know if immunity is worth it this time…I can't, I just can't allow myself to go onto international television and act like a complete loon, embarrassing myself by associating with...these people..."
End Confessional
Location: Vampires' Cottage (Repurposed Again)
Contestant(s): Barnard
Barnard's Fear Challenge
"Alright…" Chris inspected the soundproof room. "You have your clicker, and once we shut the door behind me you'll have no light to see with. It will simulate as close to nonexistence as we can get for you. Your job is to last 15 minutes without pressing that clicker."
"I...I really don't think this is a good idea, but...alright." Barnard gulped.
"Good." Chris smiled. "Your time starts...now."
The door slammed behind him, leaving Barnard in an empty room with nothing inside it but himself and his conscience.
"Kind of cramped in here…" He mumbled as he tugged at his shirt collar, keeping his clicker tightly in his grasp.
Confessional: Barnard
"Death. Death terrifies me. I was hoping this show would be lazy and give me clowns to put up with instead. I mean, I'd have a hard time with them for sure too, the scary little buggers, but death as a concept is so much worse. I am agnostic and thus, I am unsure of an afterlife. The idea of not being...of oblivion...it makes me feel a fear unlike any other. A slow, ever-present, cold fear that I absolutely hate. I love life too much to willingly die."
End Confessional
Barnard could hear himself perspiring as he remained in the cramped room which no sound nor light could penetrate.
His grip on his clicker tightened ever further as he did his best to calm down through various breathing exercises.
Location: Kahakai Beach
Contestant(s): Tori
Tori's Fear Challenge
"And go!" Chris announced as he shut the doors of the jeep shut with Tori inside of it, looking on in horror at the absolute infestation of beetles trapped in the vehicle with her.
"Gyaah! Gyahh! Gyahh!" She kept kicking down towards the bugs as they crawled along the floor of the automobile.
"I hate this, I hate this, I hate this so so so so much!"
Confessional: Tori
"Beetles man. I really don't like beetles. They're disgusting insects and look…*yeesh*, well they look larger than insects should." Tori comforts herself in the confessional outhouse. "It's okay Tori, they can't get to you now. You're safe here, you're safe…"
End Confessional
Location: Kokoke Island
Contestant(s): Azami
Azami's fear challenge
"Alright, McClean, how are you going to make me face my fear?" Azami crossed her arms proudly.
"Not going to." Chris smiled. "You've already been facing your fear whenever your team lost a challenge or you lost immunity, so we're just going to say you automatically lose."
"WHAT?!" Azami shouted. "Come on Chris, I at least deserve a fighting chance for this week!"
"Hmm…" Chris looked at his wristwatch feigning indifference. "Nah. I think we'll just write down that you failed this challenge."
"No, I refuse to accept it!"
"Well, you better learn to…" Chris snickered.
Confessional: Azami
"My greatest fear...well, it's failure okay?! Do you have any idea what it's like to be good at something at an early edge to the point it takes over your life? People start expecting things from you, namely perfection? Do you have any idea what it's like to be at the top, and constantly stay there? Even one misstep could send it all toppling down and then what would all of it be for? I deserve that podium, and I'm not about to let Chris bullshit me out of it!"
End Confessional
Azami continued arguing her case with Chris for the entirety of her 15 minutes.
"Welp." Chris noticed as the second hand passed over the 12 of his watch. "That's 15. Alright Azami, you actually did lose this time."
"WHAT?" Azami shouted again.
"You didn't overcome your fear of failure, you succumbed to it and argued with me for a full 15 minutes."
"GAH!" Azami held her head tightly in her hands. "Why would you play that kind of mind game?!"
"Just what I do." Chris shrugged with a smile.
Confessional: Azami
"Okay Chris, that was totally uncool! If I had known I was still in the challenge, I clearly would've been able to tough it out. Give me, like an impossible task or something, yeah!"
End Confessional
Location: Muliwai River
Contestant(s): Lucien
"Chris...come on man…" Lucien pleaded as Chris closed him in a small enclosure and the camera shifted to bring all the geese he was trapped with into focus as well.
"We can totally work something out here, we don't have to put me in with these devils for 15 minutes right?"
"Chef!" Chris called with a wicked grin.
A nearby Chef snickered as he pressed a button on a remote control, letting all the geese in the enclosure loose.
"N-no...no!" Lucien began circling around the room in a wary pace and then in a sprint as the geese began to chase and honk at him.
"No, the teeth, the teeth! It's so wrong, dudes!"
Confessional: Lucien
"My uh...my worst worst fear is the sound two little things of styrofoam make when you rub them together, I'll vomit in front of everyone and that...that wouldn't be fun. Unfortunately for production, Chris suffers from the same problem so he decided to settle for my very very close second. Geese. Because I mean...look. They have teeth. They are birds with teeth. It's abnormal and wrong."
End Confessional
"No, I'm not here for any of your young!" Lucien pleaded with the honking geese. "I'm not trying to invade your nests or anything!"
The geese continued honking and flapping their wings threateningly at Lucien, a few showing off their little sharp lines of teeth.
"Geh!" Lucien was jumpscared by one of the geese and he switched the direction he ran around the enclosure, before the same thing happened, and he cut his losses, diving out the window and running down the river. "It's not worth it!" He called back. "It's not worth it dude!"
Location: Boys' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Aleister, Freya
Aleister's Fear Challenge
"I can do this...I can do this…" Aleister shivered on his bunk as the entire room of the cabin swarmed with roaches.
Confessional: Aleister
"I'm more afraid of cockroaches than anything else on the planet. They're big, they're infestations, and oh yeah not even nuclear armageddon is enough to kill the little buggers!"
End Confessional
"Annnd…." Chris announced outside the cabin as Aleister very clearly contemplated bolting out.
"That's 15-"
Aleister started to leave but stopped.
"For Freya." Chris pointed to the cabin's other room.
"Freya?"
He waited.
"Freya?"
"She's not here!" Tammy opened the door. "She dived through the window the second you left the room!"
Aleister looked over to the back window of his room to see Freya's horrified face looking in at his own challenge.
"Well, that's one more contestant that succumbed instead of fought." Chris checked off a name on a clipboard.
"Keep it up Aleister, you're doing great!"
"Please don't eat me, roaches…" Aleister did his best to find spots in the room with low bug density.
Confessional: Aleister
"It was by far the worst experience I've ever had barring none, but I wasn't about to just give up on immunity. If there was ever a time for me to take it, this was that time."
End Confessional
Location: Mt. Immolate Cavern
Contestant(s): Daniel
Daniel looked up in horror at the rickety roller coaster that had been constructed to take him around the cavern, but the monitor screens along the cavern walls intrigued him.
"Daniel…" Chris smiled. "This ride is set to last a full 15 minutes if you can put up with it all the way to the end, but, if you ever feel the need to back out, feel free to pump the emergency brake of your cart, you'll come to a halt and some interns will come help you down if you're too high up to jump without giving us legal troubles."
"Let's just...get this over with…" Daniel attempted to feign indifference, but it was pretty clear he was legitimately dreading the experience.
Confessional: Daniel
"The thrill ride is bad enough, but when I saw those monitors, I felt a sinking feeling in my heart. Of course the sadists who run this show would go digging for info on their players..."
End Confessional
Daniel gulped as the thrill ride started and he kept a careful hand on the emergency brake lever.
He felt like he was about to vomit, but he kept it in.
He felt like he was going to be flung from the cart, but every time he was worried it would happen, he'd shift himself inside the ride and find a bit of balance again.
Then.
When he thought he might get through the challenge unscathed.
The monitors began to show images and videos.
The first was of a very young, and clearly happy Daniel, with lovely blonde hair, playing with a girl around his age.
They were having fun, goofing off, like any small children would when playing with each other.
As the pictures kept coming, Daniel and his female friend grew older in age, and with each picture of the two of them, Daniel's face in the photos became redder and redder and his eyes became more distracted by the girl.
Then, the tone of the pictures changed.
The girl started to become surrounded by new friends, the kind of stereotypical 'it' crowd of kids that peaked in high school.
Daniel would appear in some photos in the very background, never happy anymore.
Soon the photos being shown shifted again.
Now they were moments where Daniel was attempting to talk to the girl, but always embarrassing himself as the other kids in the pictures snickered at what a fool he was being and how painfully obvious his feelings for her were when she clearly no longer wanted anything to do with him.
As the cart moved along the rickety tracks, Daniel bit his lip, but he held firm.
Confessional: Daniel
"Her name was Rachel. But I've since given up on her, so I knew even if it hurt, I'd be able to put up with those memories."
End Confessional
The cart turned with the track, and the monitors began to play different pictures.
Two small newborn babies in blue swaddles.
But neither of their parents were holding them. Instead a teenage Daniel was holding both.
Another picture. Daniel, with some long blonde hair, but most had already been replaced by the short grey hair he had when he arrived on the island, was busy scribbling down homework incredibly late at night while the two twin boys slept peacefully in cribs nearby, and a pile of bills and taxes sat next to his desk lamp.
Daniel's hand clenched on the emergency brake, but he didn't pull it. Not yet.
Then there wasn't a picture, there was a video.
Daniel saw both his parents, talking to an intern affiliated with the show.
"Oh he hasn't gotten eliminated yet?" His father grunted. "He better hurry up and lose then because the bills need paying and the taxes need filing."
"Or." His mother chimed in. "He better hurry up and win so he can give us that million dollar prize. Imagine all the booze we could-"
Daniel jerked back the emergency brake, and spent the entire time the interns took to get to him hyperventilating in the cart.
Confessional: Daniel
"No...no...I'm not...I can't...I can't go back there…"
End Confessional
Location: Nui Kaua Fields
Contestant(s): Jaime, Sherwood
"He's...scared of dogs?" Jaime held in a laugh. She had already completed her 15 minutes of simulating the effects of having a stroke, but because a close relative of one of the producers recently suffered one, the footage was cut from the show.
"Hey!" Sherwood shivered from a pen full of small and energetic dogs, barking and howling at each other and the humans. "They can be cruel and vicious when they guard things!"
Confessional: Jaime
"Even just in a simulation, the feeling of having a stroke is...absolutely horrifying. But man...man does seeing Sherwood freak out over a cute little puppy like this one make up for it." Jaime holds a tiny retriever pup up for the camera to see before she kisses it on its forehead.
End Confessional
Confessional: Sherwood
"Look, some people are afraid of the dark, some people are afraid of spiders. Some people are afraid of uh, larpers apparently if what I saw when I was being led to my own challenge was anything to go by. I just happen to be incredibly scared of dogs. What can I say? Cats are the more independent species of pets."
End Confessional
"Hmmm…." Sherwood began to shake as he stood in place until he finally came to a decision.
"Nope." He said as he began to power walk out of the fields and down towards the beach.
"Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, not worth it, nope."
Confessional: Sherwood
"Look, assuming Azami is being truthful, she has to cover me from, say, Freya, at least for the one round, and that's all I need."
End Confessional
Location: Kahakai Beach
Contestant(s): Tori
"Almost…" Chris announced to Tori as she continued to freak out inside the jeep filled with beetles.
"Alllmoooosssst…" He egged her on again.
Confessional: Tori
"Chris, stooop, I just almost came out of the car to deck you!" Tori takes stock of her physique. "I...I know that sounds like it wouldn't hurt all that much but, well, you get the idea!"
End Confessional
"Annnd, Time." Chris opened the door and Tori immediately fell out of the jeep and scurried along the sand of the beach.
"Freedom!" She cheered.
Location: Boys' Cabin Right Side
Contestant(s): Aleister, Jaime, Tori
"Annnd, that's 15." Chris announced as he opened the door and Aleister rushed out giddily.
"Wooo, yes! All fifteen minutes! Woo! Take that, roaches!"
"Hey, Chris." Jaime tugged Chris's attire. "How are you planning to get rid of that roach infestation you just started?"
Chris shrugged. "There'll be 8 of you after the next ceremony." He rationalized. "We'll just get rid of the boys' cabin entirely, and they can move back into the left side of the girls' cabin. I guess we'll call it the merge cabin now though."
"Uh." Tori thought to herself. "I think it might be best if we made sure a guy left then, I don't know if I'd want to bunk with one in the same room as me."
"Well, we're just about done with this challenge…" Chris grinned, ignoring Tori.
Location: Vampires' Cottage (Repurposed Again)
Contestant(s): All Remaining
Barnard had no idea how many years it had been. Clearly not 15 minutes just yet but it felt like eons. He was alone with nothing but his thoughts.
He didn't like his current thoughts.
They kept turning to Chris explaining the challenge to him.
He found it too...evasive...even for Chris.
He gasped.
He reached a sudden realization.
And just as he was about to slam his finger down on his clicker, the door to the room opened.
"And that's 15!" Chris's voice accompanied the bright light of the gloomy dark storm. At least, it was bright to Barnard after 15 minutes surrounded by nothingness.
The other contestants were standing behind Chris.
"Because you managed to, just barely it looks like, last your 15 minutes, go ahead and join the others."
He pointed to Aleister, Jaime, and Tori.
On the other side of him, Azami, Daniel, Freya, Lucien, and Sherwood all looked on with slight contempt at the players who had managed to last their fifteen minutes.
"Congratulations to Aleister, Barnard, Jaime, and Tori!" Chris smiled. "You successfully faced your fears and earned your immunity…"
"Is what he would say-" Barnard mumbled.
"IS WHAT I WOULD SAY!" Chris spoke loudly ignoring Barnard. "But now it's time to reveal this week's curse...The REVERSE Curse! The winners might still get sent to Weliweli, but it's the losers of the challenge who win immunity this episode!"
"Oh you've got to be…" Aleister groaned. "I put up with all those cockroaches for nothing?!"
"This was the perfect challenge for it too." Chris smiled. "The island is cursed people! If you can overcome your worst fears, how can the island expect to control your actions? Clearly it wants one of you four gone!"
He pointed his finger towards Aleister, Barnard, Jaime, and Tori, who all looked at each other nervously.
"You better get your votes in order before Po'ino tonight!" Chris laughed. "Dismissed, everyone!"
Location: Merge Cabin (Girls' Side)
Contestant(s): Azami, Freya, Lucien
"I can't believe I'm about to do this." Freya sighed, dreading what she was about to say. "But Lucien...we honored your request to leave your Mummies alone. Will you vote with us for just this round?"
"Wait, hang on…" Lucien pretended to take a picture with his fingers. "I just want to capture this in my mind. It's no joke the first time someone's specifically asked me to vote with them. And I guess I wouldn't be very popular with the Jury if I went against you after calling you out in my public confessional like that."
"So we're all agreed right?" Azami looked between the two of them nervously.
"We just have to hope that Barnard and Jaime choose the same target." Freya nodded.
Location: Merge Cabin (Boys' Side)
Contestant(s): Daniel, Lucien, Sherwood
"I think we both know who we need to get rid of." Daniel suggested to Sherwood.
Sherwood nodded. "Sounds good if we have the numbers."
"Tori and Aleister are probably with us. It's all down to Lucien tonight."
"Oh me?" Lucien asked as he returned to the Boys' side of the now single merge cabin.
"Yes, you." Daniel nodded. "You don't intend to betray your fellow Mummies right? After all that talk you've been spouting about liking us, I sure hope you aren't going to jump ship or anything."
Lucien gulped as Daniel and Sherwood left the room.
Confessional: Lucien
"Ah, see, this was the kind of situation I wanted to avoid."
End Confessional
Location: Po'ino Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestant(s): Aleister, Azami, Barnard, Daniel, Freya, Jaime, Lucien, Sherwood, Tori
Jury Present: Kyle, Antonio, Kaden, Samuel, Lena, Twilight
"Wooow" Chris laughed. "You guys look pissed! A-hah-huh…"
"Of course we're pissed." Jaime glared. "You infested one of the cabins, you nearly drove Barnard insane, I had to experience a stroke, Tori was up to her knees in beetles, and even though we all lasted for 15 minutes, thanks to you goddamn curse we're all vulnerable! But somehow we are still the people being sent to Weliweli!"
The Jury began to whisper to each other as Chris chuckled nervously.
"I uh...uh...Freya! Your fear was super vain, tell us about that!"
Freya rolled her eyes.
"So I have a little something called self-respect, sue me. I can't go home tonight."
"Woo!" Azami held up her hand for a high five.
Lucien very quickly returned it.
Both Azami and Freya gave him a look.
He shrugged.
"She didn't look like she was gonna do it."
Confessional: Freya
"I...probably wasn't, but that's more of a not in the mood thing considering the curse and how in our faces all our fears were this time."
End Confessional
"Barnard." Chris smiled. "This vote, what's the message it'll leave."
"Chris, this vote is nothing short of a check-in to see if all the opinions given in the public confessionals last week are still static or if events have caused the lines they drew in the sand to wash away."
"A little too poetic there, buddy." Jaime patted him on the back.
"Poetic or not, I agree." Daniel sighed. "This vote should paint a very clear picture."
"In that case…" Chris smiled. "It's time to vote."
Confessional: Aleister
"Look, Barnard, I'm not going to join you, but I'm not letting you think you're safe in that alliance even for a little bit!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Azami
"Uh, bye-bye loser."
End Confessional
Confessional: Barnard
"Alright time to finally be rid of this whole returns vs newbies debate."
End Confessional
Confessional: Daniel
"I have no true quarrel with you, but you are too comfortable for your own good."
End Confessional
Confessional: Freya
"Well, you're not Sherwood and you're not Daniel, but I suppose I have already told you this was coming a long time ago."
End Confessional
Confessional: Jaime
"Should've been more careful about all of this my dude."
End Confessional
Confessional: Lucien
"Woooo, okay...woo boy...you can do this...you can do this...no pressure, just determining the type of game you'll be playing from here on out…"
End Confessional
Confessional: Sherwood
"Sorry, but we have to cut the head off the snake right now. Otherwise it might become a world-eater serpent."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tori
"I'll vote, as always, based on what would make for a most interesting game, and right now, you're too safe. Let's scare you a little, and if you're eliminated all the more risk going forward."
End Confessional
Chris went to go tally the votes, and came back holding a platter of eight crystal balls.
"I have with me eight crystal balls." He announced. "But before I give any out, if anyone has The Curse Tiki and would like to play it...now would be the time to do so."
Freya scanned the contestants.
Daniel fiddled with something in his bag.
Sherwood kept his hands in his pockets.
Lucien smiled as he sized up the other players.
"Alright." Chris moved on. "If I call your name, come up and get a crystal ball. The player who does not receive a crystal ball will be asked to immediately get inside the Coffin of Shame and ride the Horror Hearse off of the island, and they will also become the next member of our jury."
He paused as he took a breath.
"Azami, Daniel, Freya, Lucien, Sherwood, you're all immune for tonight and therefore safe."
He turned to the four remaining players.
"Tori." He smiled.
Tori stood up and happily took her crystal ball.
Chris looked back at the three players left.
"Two crystal balls left guys...and this second last one goes to…."
…
…
…
"... Jaime." He held it up.
Jaime gave a relieved sigh as she strode up and snatched the crystal ball away from Chris.
"Gentlemen…" Chris grinned at Aleister and Barnard. "This is the final crystal ball of the night."
The two looked at each other, and the crystal ball, nervously, shivering in the storm.
"The final crystal ball…" Chris began slowly.
"Goes to…"
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"... Barnard." He announced.
Barnard stood up and took the last crystal ball as Aleister hung his head low.
"It was a very respectable run, man." Chris congratulated him. "Any other curse and you'd actually have been safe for another day. You just got unlucky tonight."
"Well...it's been fun guys." Aleister lifted himself off his seat. "I hope you guys can cut that head off the snake though. Demons are still among you."
"Some even in disguises." Daniel whispered to Lucien before the safe campers dispersed.
"And now we're down to an even Final 8!" Chris announced into the camera. "Where the heck is that Curse Tiki? How will our last two returning contestants fare going forwards? And which of these uber-competitive players is going to end up with some kind of swing vote next? Find out some of these things...next time!
On Total Drama Nui Kaua!
The Cursed!
Island!"
*Aleister's Final Confessional:
"Well, that could've been a brilliant last stand, but I totally forgot about the curses affecting the game. I know I was close though. I bet you anything that was a 5-4 vote right there. Hopefully I was able to scare Barnard enough that he'll make some sort of mistake later down the line. Not sure who I'm specifically rooting for now. I was the last Vampire after all and the other returns are...not exactly my first picks at the moment. I guess...I guess I'll go for Tori for now. But hey...Final 9? That's a pretty good place, heheheheh...I think I can be proud of it."
End Confessional*
The Votes for those who are curious
Aleister voted for...Barnard
Azami voted for...Aleister
Barnard voted for...Aleister
Daniel voted for...Barnard
Freya voted for...Aleister
Jaime voted for...Aleister
Lucien voted for...Aleister
Sherwood voted for...Barnard
Tori voted for...Barnard
AN:
Aleister time. The Ka Lani representative from Nui Kaua.
My goodness.
I did NOT expect Aleister to place as well as he did, but he, when the team composition isn't stacked against him, his under the radar game is pretty solid it looks like! The man had a dream and he chased it with all his might, even if he failed to achieve it in the end.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Aleister receives the status of: Neutral.
He very clearly began this game as a potential minion for any villain ever, but as it progressed, he slowly turned from a minion character into a more legitimately strategic player, even if his strategy of getting the returns to stick together was pretty doomed from the start. Still though, he didn't really do anything villainous or outwardly heroic, so there isn't much debate, I think, as to what label he gets.
His best moment is a lot harder to determine, mainly because he was pretty under the radar for most of the story. I guess I'll give it to his decision to start pursuing a returning contestant alliance, because though it might not have worked, he got...actually way closer than I would've ever expected him to going into it.
But that's all just my opinion, what do you guys think?
Any ideas for what the next curse will be?
And as always, thanks for reading!
AN2: discord link on profile if you guys like talking about total drama and these fics especially, come join if it sounds like fun to you!