Author's Note: It's good to be back on a schedule. I admittedly did have some issues with this one, but I got everything sorted that I could.
Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, the shuffled concept or the (most of) the characters.
And to answer some reviews:
OmnipotentAbsoluteUIGodzilla: Eh, I mean there had to be a double elimination at some point. There would've been a few reward challenges otherwise.
TheChrisanthemum: I'll admit, sticking close to Justin's canon personality does kinda force him to the sidelines, but I think I've written him as entertaining if a bit underutilised. Owen on the other hand has been a blast, so I can understand your feelings there. It was interesting to show that he's not always happy-go-lucky. And I was able to tone down the fart jokes and his stupidity also. I'm not commenting on your predictions, but I'll say I agree with your stance on couples but only if they're the only obvious finale candidates.
KryptonianKnight: Topher doesn't do anything without reason. But all will be explained.
Derick Lindsey: Yeah I was a little surprised at how many people were shocked by the double elimination. Anyone getting the same placement more than once is nothing more than a happy accident, and not a good way to predict future eliminations. I was at a loss for the 'consolation prize' for the episode and well, they were in Romania. And yes Justin was talking about Matthew. I think you'll find Topher's reasoning for Owen's elimination very... Topher-like. And I wasn't gonna cut Owen, Izzy, or Geoff's scenes in a horror challenge.
Tempokeep: Huh, I could've sworn I said this would be a short season. So the surprise at a double elimination is odd to me. To be fair, everyone left is a strong player in their own way. Thanks for the reassurance though.
Gucci Mane LaFlare: Thanks. Owen and Izzy made that episode in canon season one. although I can't stop expression my shock at the shock of the double elimination.
LittleMermaid: Well I wouldn't say Miraculous has gone downhill. The quality's still there, it's just gotten really dark. And I was thinking about the Miraculous AU, but if I do it, it'll be after the show's ended so I can keep it as close to canon as possible. Contessa's father was only in the one movie. Not saying anything about predictions though, otherwise I'd either give too much away or outright lie.
LazloVader9943: Could spell trouble? It always spells trouble when the villain knows people are on to them. Jokes aside. I'm no stranger to radically changing a character, I mean look at Scarlett. But the Shuffledverse Dave was too much, especially when they managed to make every other questionable character somewhat enjoyable. And then their reason was 'I don't like him' it was one of the many reasons why I just pretend that last season of the series never happened. But still, to be called as good as writer as them.. I'm blushing.
Crosshot: To be fair, I did write them with the full intention of them being the Goths, but changed my mind at the last second because the interns were just funnier to me. I'm glad you liked the interactions last episode, I really should do more challenges like that. And I felt like it was time for the obligatory 'Chris hates on the Race' jokes. Yes, Contessa's faith in love has finally been restored. Oh, and I use TD Emma's voice when reading Kitsune's lines.
Remaining All-Stars:
Boys: Geoff, Topher
Girls: Contessa, Courtney, Izzy, Olivia
And so we return to the Land of the Rising Sun
Episode 10: I Survived a Japanese Challenge
"Last time, on Total Drama All Stars 2!" The recap opened with Chris explaining the challenge, the focus on Dracula's photograph segueing into the disguised intern attacking Owen and Izzy and then Owen running across his assistant. "A simple scavenger hunt turned terrifying for our newly merged teens," Dracula brandishing his weapon at Courtney was shown next, "when an ancient vampire decided to make a house call."
"In the end, Contessa was the last one standing," the hopeless romantic was shown attacking the vampire, "but she had to share victory with Topher, who found the thing I actually sent them in there for!" Topher was shown digging through dismantled suits of armor and happily retrieving a wooden stake.
"But our two losers were Justin and Owen," the host continued over a shot of the elimination ceremony. "Justin for being allied with Topher," the two boys were shown chatting in first class, "and Owen for reasons unknown," the instigator was shown announcing the optimist's elimination.
The footage cut to Chris in the cockpit as usual "Only six all-stars remain. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will stand out in the eclectic batch of crazies? Find out on this episode of, Total! Drama! All-Stars! 2!"
XXXXX
[The sequence opens exactly as it did in season three, with a tilted shot of a stagelight swinging up and turning on in front of an airport control tower, followed by another light popping out of an overhead compartment along with a pair of oxygen masks; then a camera forcibly ejecting a raccoon from a wing engine and another camera bursting out of a suitcase, sending undergarments flying. A pair of white-skinned arms clap a film slate in front of the camera, which then flies down the aisle of first class seats. It passes a drink cart, then forces Chris McLean to jump to the side as the camera flies into the cockpit.]
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;
[Chef Hatchet is piloting the plane in its cockpit, bobbleheads of himself and the host sitting on the control panel. For a single frame he turns his head and glares at the camera before it passes through the windshield and out onto the runway, the silhouette of the CN Tower visible in the distance as the camera flies over and through several baggage tugs.]
You guys are on my mind!
[Fading through the whiteness of a baggage cart, the camera emerges close to the CN Tower. The camera flies up along it, the sun shining bright at its peak. The scene arcs downward towards a lake, and speeds forward into it with a splash.]
Ya asked me what I wanted to be,
[The bubbles from the splash fade to show Owen floating underwater seemingly naked. He notices his swim trunks float past him and covers his crotch with a blush on his face, and the camera pans up to the surface.]
And now I think the answer is plain to see!
[On the roof of the cabin of a boat woven from reeds, Dawn is meditating in lotus position.]
I wanna be...famous!
[The camera pans down and to the right to where Olivia is frantically paddling the boat as crocodiles leap out of the water on either side and snap their jaws. The boat leaves the screen, and on 'be' one of the reptiles winces; the camera moves back to the boat, revealing that it had crashed into an inflatable raft that Contessa was standing on. The raft begins to sink, and Olivia quickly grabs her into a fierce hug. The two girls blush and separate just as quickly.]
I wanna live close to the sun!
[The camera flashes to the a snow-capped mountain, immediately cutting to the top it as Brick climbs up from the side, then wipes the sweat from his brow as he helps Courtney reach the summit.]
Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!
[The couple stop with shock on their faces as Izzy suddenly runs past. The wildcard blindly runs straight into Jasmine, and the two tumble off the other side of the mountain.]
Everythin' to prove,
[The camera quick-pans to Mitch standing in an open field on Pahkitew Island. He catches Jasmine in his arms and gently sets her down, and she kisses him on the cheek as Izzy lands on the ground behind them.]
Nothin' in my way; I'll get there one day.
[Another pan to the right shows Topher watching with a devious expression. He rubs his hands in anticipation, only for a furry paw to quickly tap him on the shoulder. The camera pans to Scuba Bear glaring at the instigator, who promptly runs away. On the bear's other side, Terrance begins to laugh...]
'Cause I wanna be...famous!
[...Scuba Bear then turns to glare at Terrance instead, even roaring at the boy and chasing him off. The camera zooms in on a mountain in the background, and flashes over to Geoff and Katie walking down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The party dude turns to the right and screams and the two run away, a large number of fans chasing them away.]
(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[Justin and B were next, the genius driving a speedboat and the model waterskiing behind him. They speed up and out of frame and the camera shakes for a moment. The shot pans to the right to show that the boys had ran into another speedboat driven by Sasquatchanakwa, Justin now face-down in his and B's boat. The yeti makes a hand gesture that had to be censored and the camera pans up to the sky.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[The jet flies right past a Mayan pyramid, causing whole structure to fall apart; the jet flies over Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janero, startling a priest into crossing himself; the jet flies trough the air and the camera pans down.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[The pan ends on a zoomed out shot of the swim-dressed all-stars lined up on eight platforms according to their teams – the villains holding red dueling sticks on the left of each platform, the heroes holding gold dueling sticks on the right. The camera zooms in and moves between them as they clash – smirking Courtney against smirking Brick; smug Topher being shoved in the water by a smiling Mitch; vain Justin holding off a confused Owen with one hand as he admired his own reflection in a hand mirror; Geoff thrusting eagerly but being easily blocked by an unimpressed Jasmine; Katie smirking darkly as she easily knocked Dawn into the water; Olivia being knocked away by a maniacally grinning Izzy; Terrance evenly matched with B, both boys smirking competitively; and Rebecca evilly smirking as she slammed her stick against a terrified Contessa, the top pieces of the padding suddenly catching fire and making both girls look up in surprise.]
[The lyrics end and a guitar is strummed as the camera zooms in on the two flames as they flare together, and the last few whistling notes play. The fires peter out to show the cast lined up and most of them smiling at the camera, the jet behind them. Mitch is on the far left end; to the right are Jasmine, B, Owen, Terrance, Geoff, Justin, Topher and Rebecca. In front of them are Dawn, Olivia, Contessa, Katie, Courtney, and Brick. Rebecca has her back turned to the camera as the song ends, spray-painting a '2' at the end of the 'Total Drama All-Stars' logo on the side of the jet, then turns and winks at the camera.]
XXXXX
After the usual opening shot of the plane in flight, the scene cut inside to first class as Topher stretched his arms up above his head and sighed happily.
"You know, first class during the merge is somehow even better than when there were teams," he said, the camera zooming out to show Contessa sitting across from him and reading a book. She lowered it at the instigator's comment and shot him hateful glare.
"I don't care," she said sharply. "Now why'd you do it?"
"I was wondering when you'd ask that," Topher replied with an almost mocking smile. "I know about your little alliance," he said, causing her to gasp. "And I'm making you suffer by eliminating your friends. One. At. A. Time."
"Not if I get rid of you first," Contessa told him sharply.
"You can try," Topher laughed. "But without your best friend keeping your spirits up how confident are you in your abilities? Really? Do you think you have what it takes to get rid of me? I've been running this game since we first boarded this plane."
Contessa's eyes narrowed. "How confident are you?" she asked him. "Since you've been setting up eliminations left and right I'm willing to bet you don't think you can win otherwise. But I have to hand it to you. You have been a worthy opponent." She got up and stormed out of the compartment, and Topher chuckled to himself before frowning.
XXX
"Why do I feel like that was an insult?" Topher asked the confessional. "It doesn't matter, all I have to do is keep poking that bear until it snapps and makes a mistake that I can capitalize on. Then my biggest competition will be gone."
XXX
"Topher's a snake," Contessa said. "But he better watch out because I am now his natural predator," she pointed at the camera. "I am the mongoose," she declared. "And I'm gonna grab that snake by the tail and... lift it up so the other animals can see that the snake is... a... snake," she trailed off.
"I think I may have lost control of that metaphor," she admitted while scratching her head. "Also, I 'm not really sure what a mongoose is."
XXX
The shot cut to economy class, and panned over to Izzy, sleeping on one of the benches and facing the wall. Olivia was to her left about to doze herself, when a sharp thraot clearing took her attention.
"Hey Olivia?" Contessa's voice said.
"Oh just come in," Courtney shouted as the scene shifted to show her and Geoff on the opposite side of the compartment. "We already know you two are together. We saw it on the video!"
Contessa blushed in embarrassment. "R-r-right," she said. "Anyway," she regained her composure. "Can I just grab Liv for a bit?"
"Let's go," Olivia said as she stood up. Courtney watched the two girls leave and pursed her lips.
"We're in trouble," she told Geoff once they were gone.
"How so?" the party dude replied.
"If Olivia's dating Contessa, that makes her an even bigger threat than she already was," Courtney explained. "We've got to get rid of her now."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" he asked her.
"Well Izzy's crazy so there's no point in trying to get her on our side," the prep said. "But Topher's just dumb enough for us to fool."
\
The scene flashed to Olivia and Contessa in the cargo hold.
"So..." Contessa started awkwardly. "You guys heard everything huh? Even-"
"Yeah," Olivia said. "Even... that..."
"Oh," Contessa sighed. "I meant it you know. I really do love you. It was a weird time to notice but..."
"I love you too," Olivia smiled with a blush. "But, you already knew that."
"Yeah," Contessa smiled. "Liv, I want us to be official," she said suddenly. "I know you're worried about our various issues, but you make me so happy I-"
Olivia cut her off with a kiss.
"I'd love that," the actress said, both girls giving each other shy smiles.
\
"Attention passengers," Chris announced over the loudspeaker as the plane was shown beginning to descend, "please prepare for landing!"
The scene cut to the series's world map as the plane icon flew to the east from the Eastern Europe all the way to Japan, set to a dramatic tune.
\
The footage skipped ahead to a shot of the jumbo jet, a mountain range further beyond it. The landscape was dotted with cherry blossom trees, and a traditional Japanese tune played as the camera panned to the right.
Olivia, Contessa, Izzy, Geoff, Courtney, and Topher were all standing in a line, and Chris soon appeared in full samurai armor with his hair done up ina bun, and holding a katana. The appropriated outfit earned odd looks from all six contestants.
"What are you wearing?" Courtney asked.
"It's the armor of the honorable samurai," Chris explained, "and, it came with this!" He grinned as he held up his katana, and with a dramatic spike in the music he ran toward the contestants with a battle cry– the six teens scattered before he could reach them.
"Hey, watch it!' Olivia complained.
"Trust me," Chris told her, "that's the least crazy thing that'll happen to you today. Welcome, to Japan," he said as an Japanese-sounding melody of drums and strings began to play. "Land of the Rising Sun, and the only country with reality shows even weirder than this one. Heck there was once an American reality show specifically about dealing with the shows here."
"Anyway!" Chris said, sheathing his sword and clapping his hands together. "It's challenge time!"
\
A flash took the scene forward to a moderately sized stretch of asphalt with walls of cinderblocks set up like a maze, the camera moved to the left to show the host and contestants; and Chef dressed as a certain plumber from a series of games standing behind a wooden table filled with various weapons, and six go-karts with three balloons of tied to them.
"Part one takes place on the set of 'Crazy Battle Karts of Doom'." Chris began, walking over to one of the karts and tapping it a couple of time bat as the camera finished moving in for a close-up. "I call it 'Crazy Battle Karts of Doom of Fun'!" he declared dramatically, adding "Fun for me, of course."
"All you have to do is drive around the track," the host continued, "and try and pop the balloons of the other drivers," the camera cut over to Chef, showing the table was filled with two blowguns, two sets of wooden shurikens, and to small piles of pebbles. "If your balloons are popped or your kart is totalled, you're out," he added with a smile.
"Isn't this just like-" Geoff started.
"NO! It is nothing like any series of games," Chris replied swiftly and seriously. "Now. For winning the last challenge," he continued with his usual demeanor. "Topher and Contessa get the blowguns. They also get to choose one person to receive the ninja stars. So who's it gonna be?"
"Olivia," Contessa said.
"Geoff," Topher smiled. "Us dudes have to stick together."
\
Another flash, and the six players were shown in various positions with thier engines revving – Izzy looking ready and Contessa looking wary; a side view of a smirking Topher and narrow-eyed Olivia, and finally a shot of Courtney rolling her eyes and Geoff smiling.
Contessa took a deep breath. "It's now or never," she said to herself.
"Begin racing in three! Two! One!" Chris called out as a dramatic score rose up in the back ground, and a blow from his whistle signaled the start of the challenge.
Contessa was still the focus as everyone took off, swerving a bit at first before gaining better control of the vehicle. The camera zoomed in to show her passing Topher and Olivia in the background, the latter turning around and driving elsewhere while the instigator blew a dart from his gun. The dart popped one of Contessa's balloons, who scowled. "Hey," she called out, "at least let me return the favor!"
She reached for her blowgun, but her eyes widened as she kept fiddling around inside her cart. "Where did I put it?" she said to herself. Another shuriken sailing over her head from the left forced her to take action, however. "Crap! I'll look for it later," she said, quickly putting her hands back on the wheel and driving away.
Geoff was shown watching her go past in the foreground, then smirked and tossed another shuriken her way. It hit another of the hopeless romantic's balloons, then continued its trajectory and popped the last one.
"Already?!" Contessa complained.
"Awesome!" Chris laughed over a loudspeaker. "Thanks to Geoff's awesome ninja star skills, Contessa is the first one eliminated!"
\
Courtney sighed heavily from her cart, speeding around the track while looking around for someone to hit.
A pebble hit one of her balloons, earning a sharp "Hey!" as it popped. She grabbed a couple of pebbles and threw them the direction the previous had come and the camera cut to Izzy as one popped a balloon and the other hit her on the head.
"Watch it!" Izzy yelled angrily, shaking a fist at the girl and not looking where she was driving in the meantime.
She turned back around, then shouted in surprise when th shot cut to her view to show a fast-approaching wall. She swerved in an attempt to turn around, but only managed to slam the back of her cart into the wall bursting the remaining balloons and rendering the cart non-functional.
"Hah! Classic," Chris said. "Izzy's taken herself out of the game! Just four players remaining!"
\
"Time to bring it!" Topher declared confidently, racing around and immediately swerving out of the way of a shuriken thrown at him from behind camera. "Now who to hit?" he pondered, his momentary distraction enough for a pebble to burst a balloon. He quickly shook himself out of his daze, however, and fired a dart back at the person.
The camera quick-panned to the left to show Courtney losing her second balloon and back to Topher.
"I am unstoppable!" Topher cheered to himself... only to be caught in a sudden explosion the wrecked his cart and remaining balloons.
"Oops!" Chris said with an unapologetic tone. "Did I forget to mention the booby traps? Topher's cart is donezo!"
"Seriously?" the instigator complained, coughing up a bit of soot.
\
Olivia was the focus of the next focus change, already swerving to avoid a shuriken. "Hey, watch it!" she shot at Geoff, the source of the volley.
"Sorry Dude," Geoff apologized, readying another weapon, "but you gotta go down!"
"Not if you go down first!" Olivia countered, throwing one of her shurikens at the party dude.
Both weapons hit their mark and popped a balloon. But while Geoff scowled and drove away, Olivia smiled at her victory. Her celebration kept her from noticing Geoff coming back or Courtney driving toward her. Both threw their weapons at the actress, who finally noticed her position.
"Oh crap!" she shouted and tried to drive away. The two weapons were shown in split-screen, both hitting and popping a balloon.
"Ridiculous!" Olivia spat. "Utterly ridiculous!"
"And then there were two," Chris announced. "Olivia is out!"
Geoff wasted no time, immediately grabbing three shurikens with a smirk and launching them at his final opponent. Courtney screamed and ducked and one of the ninja stars popped her final balloon.
"And Geoff wins the first challenge!" Chris announced over a shot of the celebrating party dude as triumphant music began to play.
XXX
"That was epic!" Geoff cheered. "I wonder what we're gonna do next?"
XXX
"What was the point of all that?" Olivia asked rudely as the footage cut back to the six contestants.
"The point," Chris told the cast as he walked over to them and poked the girl with the hilt of his katana, "was to determine the order you'll go in the next challenge."
"Geoff won," he explained as the shot cut to the grinning party dude, "so he'll go last. Then it's Courtney, Olivia, Topher, Izzy, and Contessa will start us off.
XXX
"Well now I'm worried," Contessa confessed. "If losing the challenge means I have to go first, what exactly are we gonna have to do?"
XXX
"What will the second challenge be?" Chris asked the camera as the capstone theme began to play. "And who will win immunity from tonight's vote? Find out when we return on Total! Drama! All-Stars! 2!"
He slashed the camera with his katana and the feed cut to static.
\
(Commercial Break)
\
The footage cut forward to a shot of the sun over Mt. Fuji as a slight electronic theme began to play, this one starting slow as though it was making an announcement. The wind was shown blowing a few pink leaves across the camera.
A flute and piano entered the music as the shot cut to what could be described as a short skyscraper skeleton. The camera panned down from the top to show that there was a platform with a button near the top, and a rope had descended from the platform to about halfway down the structure.
The camera finally reached the bottom as the music died down, and Chris address the six remaining contestants. "All-Stars," he greeted. "Welcome to Mt. Midoriyama. This seventy-five foot tall behemoth is the final stage in one of the most brutal obstacle courses in the world. There've only been five or so people who've ever made it this far and even less have actually beaten it. Which is why it's perfect for our next challenge."
"It's two parts," he explained as the music turned deep. "Half of it is a spider climb, and the other half is a rope climb," he continued as another pan of the tower was given. "Once you reach the top, just push the button to lock in your time."
"That is if you can even reach it of course," the host said giddily as the camera cut back to the cast. "Because if you slip and fall, you're done for! Fastest to the top wins invincibility and first class tickets to our next destination for them and the person of their choice."
"What happens if no one makes it to the top?" Topher asked.
"Chef's keeping track of how many feet you manage to ascend," the host answered. "In the highly likely event that no one conquers the mountain, then whoever manages to climb the highest in the shortest amount of time wins instead. Judging by height first, then time."
"We will at least get some sort of safety equipment right?" Courtney asked pointedly.
The shot quick-panned over to Chef Hatchet who was putting a mattress on top of a stack of three. "Take it or leave it," he told the prep.
Cutting back to the contestants, the six of them all groaned. "I should've known," Olivia huffed.
The focus moved back to the host. "Remember everyone, The order's already been decided and Contessa's going first."
"Well that explains why the reward was going last," the hopeless romantic said uncertainly as she stepped forward. "Not knowing how good you have to do to win is a major disadvantage."
"That's what I was going for!" Chris said brightly.
Contessa scowled at the host.
XXX
"So I'm clearly not going to win," she told the confessional. "But the only person I want to lose is Topher. And since we're about the same athletically, all I have to do is just make sure I do better than him."
"How to do that, I'm not sure," she admitted. "But I know that I have to."
XXX
As Contessa stared up at the false mountain, the background music picked up its pace. She took a deep breath, and the scene skipped forward to just as she was about to climb it. Pausing, she looked over at Chris and asked "How do I know when to start?"
"I love it when they ask that," he told the camera before pressing the buttons on his stopwatch and remote control simultaneously. A loud piercing airhorn sounded through the air and startled her.
"That's how!" he answered, and Contessa shook off her daze and began climbing. The camera cut in close as she struggled to keep her grip on the wall, but was seeming to make decent progress nonetheless.. before her hand slipped and she fell to the mattresses at the base of the mountain.
Chris obliged by pressed the button on his stopwatch and glanced at Chef. The large man wrote something down on the clipboard he was holding and said "Fifteen feet."
"And with a time of fifteen seconds too!" the host read off from his stopwatch with a grin. "I'd say that's pretty decent for the first run!"
"Oww..." Contessa groaned as she stumbled over to the others. She grabbed Olivia for support, who obliged with a worried look.
"You okay?" she asked. "That looked painful."
"It felt painful," Contessa replied. "Mongooses aren't supposed to climb mountains."
Olivia just blinked in confusion. "Uh... what?"
XXX
"What was that mongoose thing about?" Olivia asked the confessional. "Did she get a concussion?"
XXX
"Alright Izzy, you're up," Chris told the wildcard who happily approached him and the mountain.
"Woo-hoo! It's rabid monkey time," Izzy cheered as she got ready to begin climbing the mountain.
"Well, there goes my chance at winning," Courtney sighed.
"Hey, at least we know Olivia's gonna lose," Geoff told her. "We can still get rid of her tonight."
"Um. I can hear you," the actress protested.
The shot cut over to Izzy, now in starting position. "Allright, let's get this started," she said. The camera cut to a grinning Chris as he pressed his two buttons, then pulled back to show Izzy start climbing at the sound of the horn.
"Psst," Courtney hissed at Topher as the castmates were shown watching Izzy's climb. She got the intigator's attention and waved him over, then once they were a little ways away from Contessa and Olivia she whispered "If you're looking to form an alliance, then I'm willing to work with you."
Topher raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't know. I kinda like the idea of being a free agent. Now if you have some special plans for tonight I might join you."
Courtney's face fell into displeasure. "Fine. I want Olivia gone," she explained. "She's the biggest threat left in the game. And she went back on a deal we made."
Topher gave her a smirk that she didn't see, and a shrug she did. "Allright," he agreed. "I'll throw in my vote for now." He walked back over to the others, and Courtney followed him with a smirk.
The shot cut back to Izzy as she plummeted to the mattress, then over to Chris who was smiling. "Wow," he said in awe, "you made it to the halfway point." Izzy got up with a handspring and gleefully walked over to the others. "As it stands, forty feet with a time of fifteen seconds is gonna be pretty tough to beat."
"Izzy is unstoppable!" the wildcard cheered, both arms in the air.
"I'd expect no less from our strongest competitor," Chris said with a smile forming on his face, "guess who's up next?"
"Is it me?" Topher asked despondently.
"Why yes, yes it is!" the host answered happily, motioning towards the mountain as Topher trudged up to him.
"Try not to hit the mattress," Contessa spat as the he passed by the couple.
"A fall like that could only do him a favor," Olivia added, causing the boy to glare at them. The scene flashed forward to him in position, already looking nervous.
"I don't know if I can win this," he admitted before taking a deep breath.
Chris smiled and pressed the button on the remote control, and Topher began to climb. He ascended at a slower pace than the two before him and the shot focused on his sweat-covered face as he struggled with the task, but it only lasted a few seconds before the focus moved back to the host.
"Twenty seconds on the dot!" Chris read off his stopwatch as the instigator was heard falling down off-camera. "You obviously didn't beat Izzy, but you climbed higher than Contessa." Topher crawled into view, hair disheveled and bruises on his body. "Not that it matters but you aren't in last place."
Contessa scowled at him.
XXX
"Looks like I'm next," Olivia told the camera. "All I have to do is somehow make it further than Izzy. If I don't focus on speed I might pull it off."
XXX
"Olivia, you're up!" Chris told the actress who was already walking over.
"Ugh, don't remind me," Olivia said, sneering as she readied herself.
"The height to beat is forty feet," Chris told her with his remote and stopwatch at the ready, "get higher than that or the same in less time and you'll be in first place."
"I know, just start the challenge already!" Olivia yelled.
"Fine, yeesh," the host scowled before pressing his two buttons. As with Topher before her, she climbed at a much slower pace. She'd closed her eyes and set her expression into stony concentration, and barely flinched when she slipped a bit.
The shot cut to the host and other five castmates as they watched. Chris was focused on the stopwatch in his hands.
"Slowly but surely," Chris said idly as he looked from the training machine to his watch again.
"Come on Liv, you can do it!" Contessa said encouragingly.
"And she's passed the forty foot mark!" the host added.
"Why won't you fall already?" Courtney muttered in growing frustration.
The camera zoomed in on Chris again as a smile formed and Olivia was heard screaming which was followed by a soft thud, and he pressed the button on his watch. "And that's time!" he called.
"How'd I do?" Olivia asked, still in a heap on the mattress pile.
"Forty-five feet," the host said. "Your time was awful, a full minute, but! You're currently in the lead! Courtney, you're up!"
"Piece of cake," she bragged.
"Glad to see you're feeling confident," Topher told her as she got into climbing position. "Be careful not to look down though." The prep gulped nervously, the buttons were pressed, and the airhorn sounded.
The camera cut to the a close-up of the prep, eyes clenched shut. Despite the tense challenge musec, it was obvious that she wasn't moving at all. "I can't do it," She choked. "I'm coming down!"
The scene cut back to Chris as the host stopped his watch. "That implies you actually climbed to begin with," Chris commented as the prep rejoined the others with her head hung in shame. "With a score of zero feet and ten seconds, you are firmly in last place."
XXX
"I admit it!" Courtney confessed. "I can't stand heights. It's my only weakness and I'm so ashamed it cost me the win."
XXX
"Just one more now," Chris announced with a grin. "Geoff, Mount Midoriyama awaits." He motioned to the approaching party dude then over to the mountain, the background music striking a dramatic chord as it panned from the bottom to the top.
"Let's do this brah," Geoff said with gleeful determination, his eyes fixated on the mountain.
XXX
"I'm no stranger to extreme sports," he told the confessional camera, "or sports in general really. This challenge was custom built for me and I'm gonna rock it! Woo!"
XXX
"Alright, let's do this," Geoff said, chuckling with excitement as he got into position.
"Remember, if you can make it higher than forty-five feet," Chris told her with his remote and stopwatch at the ready, "you'll win invincibility."
"Got it!" Geoff replied with a thumbs up.
"Ready! Set!" the host announced before pressing his two buttons. As with the others he began to climb at a rapid pace, and the camera cut to a close-up of his face. He slipped for a bit, but paused and continued upwards at a more careful pace.
The shot cut outside to the host and other four castmates as they watched. Chris was focused on the stopwatch in his hands; Contessa was sulking; Topher looked more bored than anything else; Olivia was showing more and more dread every second; Courtney was watching passively; and Izzy was smiling innocently.
"Thirty feet," Chris said as he looked from the party dude to his watch again.
"You better beat her Geoff!" Courtney shouted.
"And he's passed the thirty-five foot mark!" the host added.
"Hurry up and lose already" Olivia muttered in growing frustration.
The camera zoomed in on Chris again as he gaped slightly as Geoff was heard screaming, then winced at the sound of him hitting the ground. "And we're clear!"
"Did I win?" A slightly dazed Geoff asked as the camera cut to him on the mattresses.
"Geoff. You managed to climb," the host said slowly, "forty-four feet!" Triumphant music rose in the background, and Olivia's eyes widened in realization. "Which means Olivia wins today's challenge!"
"Yes!" Olivia cheered, raising up both arms. Contessa was shown smiling happily at her, while Courtney crossed her arms and sulked.
XXX
"Well, it's good that Olivia won immunity for tonight," Contessa told the confessional camera. "Now we just have to figure out how to vote out Topher. At the very least we should find a way to break any potential ties" she smiled, became suddenly thoughtful, then smiled again. "Maybe we should ask Geoff..."
XXX
"Well there goes any hope we had of getting rid of the main threat today," Courtney complained. "I guess I'll just have to settle for eliminating Contessa, letting both halves of that couple any further will just guarantee the rest of us losing."
XXX
Topher began his confessional by rubbing his hands together and chuckling. "That couldn't have turned out better if I had tried," he declared. "You see, I have a vision for how the rest of this game is gonna play out, and Olivia making it to the Final Five is a big part of it. No, today's tossie is gonna be Izzy." He chuckled again. "A perfect rhyme for a perfect crime. Oops" he smiled smugly. "I did it again."
XXX
The footage skipped ahead, the background music taking a short but dramatic twist as the shot cut from a view of the plane to the cargo hold. Izzy was dancing and humming a tune to herself, and shortly after Contessa and Olivia appeared.
"Hey what's the point of this?" Izzy asked the couple. "I thought we were voting out Topher."
"We are," Olivia huffed. "He's got no safety and it's perfect."
"We're just making sure everyone's on the same page," Contessa explained. "At this point a single miscommunication could be deadly."
Olivia gave her and odd look, then shook it off. "Well I wouldn't put it so seriously, but yeah," she shrugged. "Are you in or what?"
"Yep," Izzy replied with a blissful smile.
"Well I'm gonna go see if I can get Courtney or Geoff to join our side," Contessa said. "No offense but I'm a bit more trustworthy than you two."
Her girlfriend smiled. "None taken. It's one f the reasons I like you so much."
Contessa smiled, then jogged off
\
The scene flashed over to loser class as Topher walked in with a blank look on his face. He spotted Courtney sitting by herself and smirked, then approached her.
"What do you want?" Courtney asked in confusion, looking up at the instigator.
"Security," Topher answered. "I wanted to know who you were voting for so I could decide."
"Oh...," Courtney said. "Well I was going to vote for Olivia. But she's immune so I'm thinking about sending her girlfriend home. What do you think?"
"That's what I was thinking too," Topher lied. "I mean, having them confess their love only to be cruelly ripped apart? The drama potential is through the roof! I mean," he shrugged. "Sure Izzy's the strongest and most athletic person left, but it's nice to know we're on the same wavelength."
Courtney's eyes widened. "I need to... go.. somewhere," she said lamely before running off. Topher stared at her retreating form with a devious smirk.
XXX
"What was I thinking?!" Courtney yelled in the confessional. "Of course getting rid of Izzy is the right move! And the fact that Topher thought of it first is bad enough, but that he agreed with my first plan means it wasn't the smart thing to do at all!"
She took a deep breath and regained her composure. "But I've talked to Geoff about it and we're both voting for Izzy. If he can get Topher to change vote than we're good."
XXX
"So Geoff came to talk to me about the vote," Topher smirked. "I guess my 'dumb' idea was enough to convince Courtney." He sighed. "She's so easy to manipulate."
XXX
"Contessa and Courtney both came to me about the vote," Geoff explained. "Usually that means I'd have to choose, but all Contessa wanted was to not vote for her. So I can agree to both and not lie to either."
XXX
The camera cut to the elimination ceremony with the elimination theme playing in the background. "And six," Chris said, "shall soon become five, as we bid farewell to another all-star. Everyone, cast your votes."
\
One by one, the Final Six were shown casting their votes in the confessional in quick and silent succession. First Contessa, then Courtney, then Izzy, then Geoff, then Olivia, then Topher, all six hiding the photo they'd chosen from the camera while they made their marks with a thick-tipped pen.
\
The background music picked up its pace and intensity as the scene flashed to a close-up of the five marshmallows on a tray held by Chris. Chef Hatchet was standing behind him menacingly while wearing his security guard getup.
"And the following players are safe...," Chris began, "Geoff! Contessa! Courtney! And Olivia!" One by one, the four were shown catching their awards with smiles on their faces. Izzy and Topher were shown in a split screen, both looking nervous at first before catching each other's eye. A dark smirk formed on Topher's face, while Izzy replied with dead seriousness.
"Aaaannd...," Chris said slowly as the music reached its peak, "whoever wins the tiebreaker!"
"Fine," Topher rolled his eyes. "What do I have to do?"
"Izzy's ready to crush her competition!" the wildcard cheered.
"No crushing," Chris declared as an intern gave him a tray with two small reddish-orange peppers. "Just eating. These," he motioned to the peppers, "are Honshu Oni peppers. At two-and-a-half million scoville units, these babies are the hottest peppers in the world!" He put on a pair of gloves and tossed them to the bottom two, who caught them with uncertainty.
"Both of you will eat them," the host explained. "And the first person to give in and drink some milk," Chef tauntingly waved a gallon jug of milk in the air, "will be subjected to the toss of shame. And go! "Chris announced happily, and a hectic tune began as the two immediately took a bite of their peppers.
"C'mon dude, you got this!" Geoff said.
"You better not lose Topher!" Courtney added.
Topher was shown in a close-up, wiping at the sweat on his brow. His eyes widened as he started yelling in pain and clenching his eyes shut. The camera panned over to Izzy, who was fidgeting in obvious pain and discomfort.
"You'd better win, Izzy!" Olivia yelled.
"Yeah," Contessa added much more encouragingly, "we're counting on you!"
Topher grunted and groaned and finally snapped. Chris's grin widened and he took in an expectant breath, the music building to a dramatic and triumphant peak as the instigator shouted "I can't do this anymore!" and ran over to Chef.
He was stopped by Izzy, the wildcard having kicked him in the crotch. "I need that milk!" she shouted, a bit of fire coming out of her mouth. She ran over to Chef with enough force to knock him over and grabbed the jug. She opened it and drank the whole gallon the let it fall from her mouth with a satisfied sigh before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh," she said. "I guess I lost huh?"
"Yep! Topher wins and gets to stay!" Chris confirmed with great enthusiasm. The camera cut to the boy in question, laid out on the floor with his eyes swollen shut and holding his crotch. "Though I bet he wishes he hadn't," the host added with a chuckle.
Izzy shrugged. "Well we all gotta go sometime right? Goodbye everyone!" she said to the Final Five. "Thanks for comin' out!" She threw something down and created a puff of smoke. When it dissipated, a small log fell to the ground.
"Hey," Chris complained, "She didn't do the Toss of Shame!" He took a breath as the usual ending music started up and regaining his usual smile while Chef trudged away sadly behind him. "And we've now said goodbye to our most unpredictable player? Who's the next contestant to fall from grace? Find out next time, on Total! Drama! All-Stars! 2!"
(Roll the Credits)
\
\
(Bonus Clip)
The bonus footage opened on the go-kart course form the first half of the challenge. The camera panned to the left then to the right as if looking for something, only to shake violently when Izzy popped up from nowhere and yelled "BOO!"
She laughed. "Sorry, it just seemed like fun. Anyway, I'm not upset I lost, and I knew it would happen anyway. But hey! I had some fun while I was here right?"
She did a handspring and flipped out of view.
Author's Note Post Script: So this one doesn't match up with the predictions at all. I like Izzy, but I've never really seen her as winner material rather than extremely entertaining elimination fodder. She's an oddball that's for certain, and her thought process doesn't really match up with anyone else's but that's why we all love her right. But for the context of this story, the next elimination just works better with Izzy going home here. Plus I think it was a good exit for her.
So that's pretty much Topher's strategy, picking off Contessa's allies one by one while she's powerless to stop it. He's not being overly sadistic in my opinion. After all, he may be a top-notch villain, but' he's still Topher. It's just as much about the theater with him than it is about the money. That said, I did have another thing for him to do here, but I deemed it too cruel for his character. I hope you enjoy his strategy and manipulation this time. I certainly did.
The chapter as a whole, I don't know. I've looked at it several times now and something just feels off to me. Maybe I'm being overly critical, maybe I'm not. But that's how it is.
And as always I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention something.
I hope you all enjoyed the episode, or some part of it.
Please stay safe and healthy during these difficult times.
And I'd also like to remind you guys that a TVTropes page for this series does exist and needs you guys adding to it.
With that I'm signing off
-TotalDramaFan14
RDAS2 ELIMINATION TABLE:
16th Place: Rebecca
15th Place: B
14th Place: Terrance
13th Place: Dawn
12th Place: Mitch
11th Place: Jasmine
10th Place: Katie
9th Place: Brick
8th Place: Justin
7th Place: Owen
6th Place: Izzy
