Author's Note: So this one was a bit of slow one to write, but I got it done. Side note, I'll be without internet for a couple of weeks and my not be able to post. We'll play it by ear, but I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't going on another unplanned hiatus.
Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, the shuffled concept or the (most of) the characters.
And to answer some reviews:
WeirdAlfan101: Sorry to boot a favorite like that, but I can't help but notice how that parallels pretty much anyone who watched Game of Thrones. Also I should note, I've had several canon finalists actually be a finalist before.
Tempokeep: Glad you liked Jasmine. You've got some interesting predictions. Only one way to see if you're right.
Guest: I purposefully set it up to look like Topher was going home, for a number of reasons. He shouldn't' but I love his narration gags from canon too much to leave them out. Oh you hae such a good question that I'm not going to answer. :P
Gucci Mane LaFlare: I'd always wonder how they'd do that challenge in a post-merge scenario. Shocking yet expected is one of the things I strive for in eliminations. Hopefully this one lives up to your expectations. I'll admit I'm not so sure about it.
TheChrisanthemum: So you consider Rebecca an antagonist... interesting...
Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: Yep. And think, after this one we'll be down to the Final Six.
That British Guy: I do like writing the unexpected, so thank you.
Critica7: Sorry you feel that way about Jasmine. But I will note that her and Olivia's plot was never meant to be a rivalry, rather her debating if she could send Olivia home knowing she has abusive parents. Olivia on the other hand pretty much targeted Jasmine because she doesn't want to be pitied.
Derick Lindsey: Happy Birthday! That's pretty much the reason I chose Mitch over Jasmine. Yeah Dakota's suffering a lot, but hopefully you'll all enjoy the payoff there. Also theres a whole lot there that I'm not gonna comment on. So wait and see.
Zevoros: Carly does have a certain woobieness to her. I did say that, but there will be two Danger Island campers that don't make the cut. Yeah, the OC's kinda took this one over. Doesn't help that the remaining canon characters are kinda plot-less. And I don't mind the rambling.
bruno14: No worries. Review when you can. Well the Jasmiitch plot is pretty much resolved by the time you read this, but I really can't comment on Conbecca other than say I'm glad you liked that scene. Are you seriously gonna question Sierra's ability to dig stuff up on Total Drama? Well Duncan has some moments of being a nice guy. Terrance has some lines he's not willing to cross, but he's ntot that interested in being nice. I was backed into a corner with Lindsay, it sucks, but it happened. Well I always thought Topher could be a real villain if he applied himself. There was a really old fic that had an idol played in like the fifth episode, but yeah this is the earliest I've seen it. And yes Olivia is the main villain. But I have to reiterate, Terrance is not as bad a guy as some of the other antagonists this season, but he's still not a good guy either. Topher loves to narrate and monologue, even in canon. Of course he's gonna slip up. Glad you liked the paintball challenge twists. About Olivia and Topher's alliance, considering the type of person Olivia is, I wouldn't bet on it going far. Funny you should make that comparison with Olivia. I was basing her in a mixture of Lila and Chloe from Miraculous Ladybug. As for who goes home next, only one way to find out.
Remaining Campers:
Boys: Mitch, Owen, Terrance, Topher
Girlss: Contessa, Rebecca, Olivia
The end is near if you look...
Episode 09: By Hook or by Cook
"Last time, on a very special episode of Total Drama Danger Island!" Chris began as the scene opened on the island but quickly switched to the traditional recap montage – which started with Jasmine climbing a tree to get her bearings while Topher and Olivia continued on. "The teams were disbanded," the former Jade Dragons all went their separate ways as they made their way to the weapons chests, "and it was every man for himself."
"The challenge?" The close-up of Chef holding a tranq ball up in front of the camera for the campers to see was shown next. "A tranquilizer battle royale showed us exactly what these guys are capable of." Terrance dodged Owen and Contessa's ambush; Topher and Olivia screwed up their chances to take out Rebecca; Rebecca shot Contessa while she was down; and Mitch and Jasmine took down Rebecca.
"Especially when it came time to vote," Rebecca was shown talking to Olivia, then Terrance, then Terrance was shown talking to Mitch and Jasmine, "where Olivia and Rebecca's double dealings led to Jasmine getting sent to the Trebu-Shame." Topher and Jasmine were reacted to being in the bottom two, and it was Jasmine's name that was called out. She and Mitch kissed, then the amazon was flung into the night.
"Only seven remain!" Chris told the camera, the montage ending to show him on the end of the dock. "Who's goose is the next to cook? Find out now, on Total! Drama! Daaaaaaaaaaaanger Island!"
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[The sequence begins much as it did during the first season, with an open into letterbox format as the camera focuses on the tops of a few distant barren pine trees. A barnacle-covered stage light rotates up and turns on; then the shot changes to a seaweed-covered spotlight swinging down and turning on as well; then a small security camera popping out of a small water-filled hole; then another camera bursting out of a tree hollow, a small deluge of water flowing out with it; then a pair of fair-skinned arms clapping a film slate in front of the camera which switches to a shot of the island, then flying forward down the dock and past the run-down buildings, passing the host as he handed a roll of duct tape to the fat intern and pointed off to the left.]
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;
[The camera flies through the trees and up to the largest cliff, peeking over to see two rings of buoys laid out in the water.]
You guys are on my mind!
[The camera dives off the cliff and into an underwater shot; Owen is swimming through the water with a large grin as a fish swims by. He farts, and the gas bubbles kill the fish.]
Ya asked me what I wanted to be,
And now I think the answer is plain to see!
[A cut to the surface, where Olivia is in her swimsuit sunbathing on a pink inflatable raft. The fish surfaces, and she sits up with a look of pure disgust. A bird swoops down and picks up the fish, and the camera follows the bird as it flies away.]
I wanna be...famous!
[The scene lingers on the bird in front of the sun for a moment before it drops the fish. The camera pans down to Topher sitting on a stump and admiring his reflection in a mirror; the fish lands in his hair and he runs away screaming and wiping away his hair. The camera zooms out to show Scott watching the scene and laughing, and then again to show Terrance also laughing, the two boys slapping five as Scott wipes a tear from his eye.]
I wanna live close to the sun!
[The camera zooms to another part of camp, showing Leonard and Lindsay sitting in canoe and about to go over a waterfall. As he was too busy casting spells and she was too busy being impressed, they notice too late and scream as they go over the edge.]
Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!
[The shot pans down to the bottom of the waterfall, showing Rodney standing on a broken log suspended between two rocks with a blank look on his face. Though he does not see Leonard or the canoe falling behind him, he does see Lindsay and catches her. She smiles wide and hugs him, and he drops her with a lovestruck expression.]
Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;
[The camera rapidly pans to the right to the outhouse confessional, where Rebecca is spray painting something to the side. The camera pans out to show Jasmine leaving the confessional unaware as to what Rebecca is doing, then pans over to the Main Lodge – Chef's silhouette is visible in the window.]
I'll get there one day.
[The camera moves in past the window to show an irritated Chef, arm deep in a large pot of something sickly green. He looks behind him to where Max and Carly are sitting; the former with his arms raised and in the middle of an evil laugh, the latter trembling in fear next to him.]
'Cause I wanna be...famous!
[The camera pans left to Mitch sitting with his feet on the counter. He tips his hat to the camera, and it zooms out past another window to show the edge of the docks. Contessa notices the camera and gives a short and shy wave.]
(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[Dakota moves the camera onto herself, and kisses the lens. She waves as the female intern quickly wipes away the smudge, then types something into her cellphone. Moments later, five other men appear on the docks with cameras, snapping pictures of a rapidly-posing Dakota.
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[The camera pans down the docks to show Beth giving a wide toothy grin and wave to the camera.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
[Beth steps back and twirls a flaming baton while passing it back and forth between her hands, then tosses it in the air. The camera follows the baton as day becomes night. The camera lingers as the baton falls out of frame - a few embers still flying up - and pans down across the stars and dead trees and full moon to Mitch and Jasmine, sitting at a campfire together. They lean in for a kiss but are interrupted by Owen's sudden appearance between then, an arm around both of them and an oblivious smile. The shot zooms out to show the other campers also sitting around the fire and whistling the last few notes of the theme song - Max, Carly, Olivia, Rodney, Contessa, Rebecca, and Lindsay on Mitch's side; Beth, Scott, Leonard, Dakota, Terrance and Topher on Jasmine's side as Chris watches on Jasmine's side and Chef watches on Mitch's. The shot continued to zoom out until a signboard was shown marking the presumed entrance to the fire pit; it read 'TOTAL DRAMA DANGER ISLAND' in block letters, the third word being the largest and the last word relegated to a board tacked on at the end]
XXXXX
The episode began by fading in to the sun gleaming off top of a waterfall amidst the gnarled branches of Wawanakwa. It then cut to a shot of the camp from eye-level at the end of the dock, the camera flying up and forward to the only cabin standing. A yawn preceded a cut to Topher as he woke up and stretched his arms. The handsome young man blinked drowsily a couple of times, then his eyes popped open. "I still can't believe what Rebecca did..." Owen was heard saying sadly. "It doesn't make any sense!"
The viewpoint rotated to show the fan sitting up in a top bunk on the left, with the background music becoming low and ominous. Owen was sitting on the covers of the lower bed to the right, with Terrance leaned against the bed post and looking annoyed. The basketballer said matter-of-factly, "Actually it does." He narrowed his eyes at his larger roommate and added, "Unless of course you know something the others don't."
Owen cringed. "No..." his eyes widened and he looked back at Terrance. "Why? Do you know something?"
"I'm not telling you anything," Terrance replied before pointing over at Topher's bunk, "especially not around McLean's number one toadie."
The camera cut back to the fan, who huffed and glared at his new roommates.
XXX
"So I wasn't quite expecting such a frosty reception from the other guys," Topher complained before shrugging. "But at least I got some new drama potential." He rubbed his chin in thought. "As soon as I figure out what they were talking about."
XXX
The static cut to a far away shot of the main lodge before the camera moved inside to focus on Terrance. He was eating what looked like several strips of green bacon, but the sound of footsteps caused him to stop with a sigh. He glared at something off-screen and the camera pulled back to reveal that something was Rebecca.
"You're actually eating that slop?" the rebel asked him. "I just steal from Owen's junk stash."
"What do you want?" he asked icily.
"Chilly reception for an ally don't you think?" Rebecca asked him skeptically.
"What makes you think we're allies?" Terrance grunted.
"The alliance we formed before the merge?" Rebecca replied in mild exasperation. "Or did you forget?"
Terrance shot her an even nastier glare. "I didn't, actually," He said. "I also didn't forget how you abandoned said alliance to vote out Jasmine behind my back."
"Oh that?" Rebecca scoffed. "That's just the game. You can't fault me for that can you?"
"You lied to me," he accused. "So yes I can fault you for that. And I'm going to fault you. You want to talk about a vote, do it with your other toadies." With that he stormed off, leaving Rebecca to glare at the direction he left.
XXX
Rebecca punched the side of the confessional with an angry growl. "He's ditching me? That little traitor! I was gonna actually turf Topher this time. But the McLean wannabe can wait."
XXX
The camera cut to the communal washrooms, Olivia approaching Owen as he exited them
"So," Olivia asked with a sly smirk that went unnoticed, "Contessa seems like a nice girl. A shame how her secret's caused her strife back home."
Owen gasped. "Contessa told you she's gay?"
"Nope," Olivia laughed. "But you did. To think, she trusted you to keep it a secret when she came out and you just told me like it didn't mean anything to you."
"Please don't tell her I told you!" Owen begged. "I promised her I'd keep it a secret!"
"Don't you think she should know that you're a horrible friend?" Olivia asked, smirking at his pained expression caused by her words. "It'd save her a lot of grief down the road. Then again," she added slyly. "There's someone I want to go home tonight, and your vote could be the deciding factor.." She whispered in his ear for a bit and his eyes widened.
"But-" Owen started to say.
"It's your choice Owen," the actress said. "If the person I want to go home isn't eliminated, I'll expose you to Contessa."
Owen sighed in defeat and walked away. A few deep notes played, and the shot switched to a close-up of Olivia as her smirk deepened.
XXX
"That should give me some room to work with," Olivia sighed.
XXX
The static cut to the morning sun before panning down to show the seven campers assembled on the beach with Chris. "Welcome to your ninth day of competition," the host began with a clap and smile, "Today you'll be cooking a three-course meal, and serving it to me, Chef, and a mystery judge for tasting."
The camera cut to a close-up of Mitch as he listened. " The two worst performers will be eliminated after each round," Contessa and Owen shot hesitant looks at each other. "Last camper standing wins invincibility, and one loser will be going home tonight."
The smiling host was shown again "To cook, you need ingredients! Every morning," the scene cut over to a few bubbles at the edge of the lake as a small delivery truck backed up out of it and on to the beach, "a truck brings us food. Today's task start there."
The cabin of the truck was zoomed in on, and Clone popped his head out of the window and saluted the camera cheerfully. "Conjijiba. Vroom vroom!"
"Any questions?" Chris asked as the footage cut back to him. All seven campers rose their hands. "You've got one hour to make your appetizers! Noooooow go!" He waved his hand through the air, giving the teens their starting signal.
"Dibs on the lettuce!" Terrance yelled immediately as he dashed towards the truck.
"Think again!" Rebecca smirked, going for the same thing.
XXX
"Italian food won last time," the rebel shrugged. "So I'm sticking with what works. Plus it'll cheese off Terrance. Guy's got a grudge against me-"
XXX
"-because she told me we were turfing Topher and went behind my back!" the basketballer finished. "I was gonna do an Italian theme, but now I'll need to think of something else..."
XXX
The scene cut back to Rebecca's smirk, then pulled back to show Terrance running alongside her. She stuck out her foot, and the basketballer fell to the ground with a yelp. He glared at her, and she winked back at him.
\
The camera cut to a shot of the main lodge, and a surprisingly intense music theme began to play. A montage began of campers' attempts at cooking, beginning with Mitch as he carefully eyed a measuring filled a quarter of the way with something brown. The camera pulled back to show a bottle of barbecue sauce on his other hand as he poured just a little bit more. He smiled, then poured the contents of the bottle into a pot.
Next was Olivia after camera flash as she rapidly moved her hands, the sound of something hitting a cutting board audible. She smiled, then frowned and the camera panned down to show a piece of chicken breast that was more flattened than chopped.
Another camera flash, and the third person shown was Owen as he diced a pineapple. Standing behind him, Olivia cleared her throat to catch his attention, then pointed to Contessa and smirked. Owen gulped, then dropped his head in shame.
Terrance fourth after yet another camera flash, and he had two steaming pots on his stove. After carefully cutting several potatoes into wedges, he looked away for a second and Rebecca grabbed a handful and threw them on the ground. Terrance looked back with a bottle of cooking oil in his hands and a smile on his face that changed into a scowl when he noticed what was missing.
Fifth came Rebecca after the now-usual flash, but she was just standing calmly by the counter and examining her fingernails. Chris was openly watching her nearby with an eyebrow raised in confusion, but the rebel just nodded her head to the counter and the camera followed to show a completed antipasto.
Topher was sixth after another camera flash, leaning over the counter with his tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth. He smiled and wiped the sweat from his brow, and the camera pulled back to show several small triangle pieces of bread.
The last contestant shown was Contessa, who was looking rather panicked as she quickly removed a smoking pan from the stove and dumped it onto a plate. Whatever it was meant to be couldn't be determined but could at least be assumed to be a sandwich of some kind, as it currently looked like a black square. She sighed and tossed the lump into the garbage, and the camera cut to the can to show six other lumps in the bin.
Another flash transitioned the scene to a digital clock display, which counted down from 00:00:05 before the intense background music came to an end.
\
The scene flashed to the dining room of the main lodge, where a small table had been set up against the wall. It was draped in a white table cloth, with three cloches on top. Behind the cloches were the judges, Chris McLean in the middle with his standard cheesy grin, Chef Hatchet on the right with arms crossed and a scowl on his face, and former contestant DJ on the left eyeing the cloche warily before turning his gaze to the host.
"First to present their dish," Chris announced to a low but tense music track "Contessa!"
The camera zoomed out to show the hopeless romantic nervously twiddling her thumbs with a wary frown on her face.
The camera cut to the judges. "What have you made for us today?" he asked as Dakota hurried over and grabbed one of the cloches.
"Hi, I'm Contessa," the hopeless romantic said, "and I made grilled cheeses for you guys." The camera cut to the judges, all three now eyeing their black squares with either disdain in Chef's case, disgust in Chris's, or sympathy in DJ's.
"Uhh, no," Chris told her dryly, "You made us hockey pucks."
"Sorry," DJ began hesitantly, "but this just ain't edible." A sickening crunching got both of their attentions and they turned to see Chef eating his burnt dish with no trouble.
"What?" the large man defended at seeing his fellow judges looks. "I like it."
\
Dakota removed the next set of cloches just as Rebecca walked up to the judge's table. The rebel's dish was a basic salad, with large amounts of olives, meats, and cheese throughout.
"Salad?" Chris asked. "Not a lot of effort I see."
"It's antipasto," Rebecca shrugged. "No real effort required."
The camera quickly cut to Chris rolling his eyes as he ate, then to the guest judge as he ate a forkful and shrugged, then to Chef pursing his lip at a clean fork.
"That all?" Chris asked dryly. "Next!"
\
Terrance was the next to walk up as a jazzy sort of tune played in the background. Dakota revealed his dish as potato wedges covered in cheese and gravy as the basketballer said "I made poutine."
"Hmm...looks better than the others," Chris said uncertainly.
"Tastes better too," Chef said as the shot cut to him eating three forkfuls in rapid succession. DJ nodded his agreement.
"Yeah, this is almost as good as my mama's," the brickhouse told Terrance.
"Okaaayy...," Chris told him slowly as he watched his fellow judges gorge on the food, "A bit fatty for my tastes, but you get a bonus for keeping things Canadian. Well done."
Terrance smirked, obviously pleased with himself.
\
The scene flashed forward to a close-up of Mitch standing proudly in front of the judge's table, ravenous eating could be heard off-screen.
"I take it y'all liked my family's baked bean recipe?" the cowboy said.
"Dude, that's gonna be a tough dish to beat." Chris told Mitch as the camera cut to the judges and the three empty bowls in front of them.
"If I ever open a restaurant, I need that on the menu" DJ said while patting his belly.
Chef just let out a massive belch, and smiled.
Mitch smirked and walked away.
\
Topher was next, the plates in front of the judges showing three dainty, triangle-shaped sandwiches, each with a toothpick stuck through them. "Finger sandwiches anyone?" he asked.
"Dude, I said make an appetizer," Chris told his fan, "This barely qualifies as a snack." He glanced at the large man to his left, who gave a short nod.
DJ spat out his food after only one bite. "Waaaaaay too much mayo in these my man," the guest judge said in between spits. "Food like this is more a status symbol than somethin' to be eaten. Not my favorite."
"Hmm...," Chris said, unimpressed at the taste. "Eh," he shrugged, Chef pushing his plate away from him after only one bite. "I've had worse." Topher clapped his hands together and smiled. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up."
Topher pursed his lips in annoyance, but walked away without further comment.
\
Another flash forward put Owen in front of the judges. His dish was nothing more than a skewer with three pineapple chunks on it.
"Remind me to put a limit on the size of the dishes from here on out," Chris told the his assistant, who nodded. "Don't we at least get some dip or something to go with it?"
"The pineapples are good," DJ said, "but it doesn't really fit the theme of a cooking challenge."
"Not bad," Chef said after he finished his food. "But it could be a lot better."
\
"So, uhh...," Chris said awkwardly as Olivia presented her dish, a sort of soup with torn-up chunks of chicken and spaghetti noodles.
Olivia just smirked and rubbed her hands together. "I made an old classic," she said haughtily. "Chicken noodle soup."
"Wow, did not expect to see something so domestic from you," Chris told the actress, earning another smirk in return. "And I gotta say, it smells good." He took a bite and pursed his lips, "Kinda bland tasting though."
"Not the worst soup I've ever had," DJ told Olivia. "Some seasoning and this would be up there with the beans from earlier".
Chef sampled some of the soup, then shrugged. "Eh," he said simply.
Olivia scowled, then huffed ans walked away.
\
The host clapped his hands together as he approached the seven campers. "The judges have made their decision," he said dramatically as the music turned deep and plodding. "The two worst performers this round were..."
The camera cut to each of the campers as Chris drug out the tension. First was Contessa looking resigned, then a smirking Rebecca, smug Terrance, smiling Mitch, nervous Topher, scared Owen, and finally a scowling Olivia.
"Contessa and Owen," Chris announced, causing the two friends to sigh and drop their heads. "Chef and DJ will explain."
"Girlie," Chef dressed the hopeless romantic. "I liked that sandwich, but I got some serious issues. No normal person would ever eat your cooking and enjoy it."
XXX
"I knew I wasn't a great cook," Contessa confessed. "But Chef was really mean about it. And he actually liked what I made."
XXX
"Sorry Owen," DJ told the optimist, "But cuttin' you was my idea. This was supposed to be a cooking challenge. Even though some of the food didn't taste as good, they actually cooked something."
"I understand," Owen sighed.
"Yeah," Contessa sighed as well. "Me too."
"Owen and Contessa," Chris spoke up again," It's time for you two to sit at the loser table," the camera quick-panned to the table that the Jade Dragons ate at during the first half of the competition. "Meanwhile the rest of you," the shot cut back to the campers still in the challenge, "have an hour to cook up a fabulous entree. Starting now."
\
The scene returned to the kitchen with a close-up of Terrance rolling out some dough to stretch it out. "Okay," he mused as fitted the dough into a small circular pan, "a pot pie'll probably be best...but I'll need some kind of filling..."
He rubbed his thin in thought, and quickly noticed Olivia at her station a little ways away from him. She had a fairly large bowl of ground beef next to her, and as the camera cut in closer and she started shaping a bunch of the stuff Terrance suddenly popped up next to her. She gave out a startled yell and glared at him.
"Hey, can I use some of this?" he asked smoothly, pointing at her beef.
"Why?" Olivia asked rudely.
"Do you want Rebecca to win and backstab you like she did me?" he replied in a put-upon tone himself.
She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she relented.
"Thanks," Terrance grinned, scooping up two handfuls of beef – about half the bowl – and darting off.
Olivia scoffed, and pursed her lips at the remaining beef.
A calm, lilting tune played as the shot cut to a close-up of a bottle of barbecue sauce, the camera moving back to show it in the hands of Mitch. With a rack of ribs on his counter and a smile on his face he spurted some sauce into a pan.
It flamed up seconds later, earning a panicked gasp from Mitch and a tense turn in the background music. Frantically, he picked up the pan by its handle and moved it under the faucet, turned the water on, and yelped again when it just made the inexplicable fire flare up even worse. He quickly tossed the pan away entirely, and it exploded into a fireball just off-screen. The long banged male intern promptly ran by carrying a boom bike, all of him scorched and flaming and yelling.
Mitch winced in sheepish sympathy. "Now I need a Brillo pad," he said.
XXX
"Now I'm usually much better cook than that," Mitch confessed. "Course, cleanin' your pans every now and then is a pretty good idea to keep things like that fire from hap'nin'. I reckon Chef didn't get the memo on that."
XXX
The static cut away to Topher, standing with a pile of shrimp and a pan at the ready. "Alright, one batch of grilled shrimp comin' right up," he said as he scooped up a handful and smiled at them. He dumped them into the pan with an expectant cringe, but they merely sizzled. "Okay, just get those defrosting and I'll be in business," he said with a smile.
A pan to the right put the focus on Rebecca as she hastily diced a medley of mushrooms, onions, and peppers, then gasped at a small plume of smoke start to rise from something on the stove she was cooking. She quickly moved the pot to a different eye, then let out a sigh of relief as the smoke stopped.
Next, the camera moved back to Olivia. "I don't have enough for the loaf now," she complained as she idly stared at a small loaf of meat. She looked up and away and scowled chin in thought for a moment, then smirked in realization. She quickly ducked down behind her counter and came back up with a truly gargantuan onion, then diced it up and molded it into her meatloaf.
From there, a quick-pan back to the right showed Rebecca again as she calmly walked over to the oven Terrance was using, the basketballer nowhere to be seen. She turned off the oven, smirked to herself, and walked away. A flash took the scene ahead to the rebel turning the oven back on as a digital clock over her head counted down from 00:02:00.
XXX
"If Terrance wants to backstab me, that's fine by me," Rebecca told the outhouse. "But I'll make him pay for it."
XXX
"Three, two, one," Chris counted down as the scene faded forward to him standing at the ready, "Time's up. Time for round two's judging!" he announced, and the camera zoomed out as he turned from the kitchen to it. "Who's entree is magnifique? he asked as the series's capstone theme began to play. "And who's next to get cut?" he laughed at his joke. "Find out when we return on Total! Drama! Danger Island!"
\
(Commercial Break)
\
The music turned tense as the episode resumed to the three judges, Rebecca stepping up to them first. "I made some spaghetti," the rebel said, the fat intern handed out the dishes to the three men and the all ate a few bites silently.
"Mmm," DJ smiled, taking anther bite. "I've had better, but this is a pretty good place to start out."
"Eh," Chef shrugged.
"Your pasta passed the the taste test," Chris smiled.
Rebecca smirked and walked off.
Terrance was next, the tense tune playing again as Dakota handed out three slices of pot pie, with a noticeable red center. "How about a pot pie?" he asked with an almost nervous smirk.
The judges ate and promptly spat their food out. "Did you even cook this meat?" Chris accused. "Trying to poison the host is a big mistake!"
"What?" the basketballer asked in confusion.
"Not cooked," Chef accused. "No points."
"I thought I'd seen rare meat," DJ said. "But this isn't even hurt that bad. A bandage or two and this thing can still graze."
Rebecca's snicker caught Terrance's attention, and he glared at her before storming off.
XXX
"She wants to play?" he asked darkly. "I can play."
XXX
The basketballer was replaced by Topher, who watched him leave with an odd smile before Dakota handed his dish out to the judges. "Well I've just made some grilled shrimp," he said proudly.
DJ looked at the dish warily and held one of the shrimps up. "I'm not eatin' this," he said, immediately earning an annoyed scowl from Topher. "Did you de-vein the shrimp before you cooked them?"
"Oh, uh, that's not done by whoever you buy the shrimp from?" Topher answered, taken slightly aback by the question.
DJ looked at him bluntly. "Sometimes it is," he said. "This isn't one of those times."
Topher just gaped, taken aback even more. "Next!" Chris announced, and Olivia pulled Topher away before stepping up herself.
"I made you a meatloaf," she told the judges, who were eyeing the dish warily before they each took a bite.
The music spiked dramatically just then, and all three men spat their food out which made Olivia gasp in shock and glare at them.
"Future reference," DJ said. "Onions are meant to be a supporting actor in a dish, not the main star."
"Yeah," way too much onion," Chris added, Chef nodding in agreement next to him. "Mitch, you're up."
The actress huffed. "This is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!" she yelled before storming off. Mitch watched her go with an uncertain grimace, then stepped up to the judges.
"Welp, I hope y'all like ribs," he said, his expression returning to some mixture of jovial and nervousness. "the scene skipped ahead with a flash to all three plate holding nothing but clean bones.
"I think you may just be as good as me when it comes to cooking'," DJ said.
"A clear winner of this round if such a thing were possible," Chris added while Chef emphatically nodded and picked meat out of his teeth.
XXX
"I grew up on a ranch," Mitch told the outhouse with a grin. "If there's one thing every Bowman man's gonna know how to do, it's cook a cow."
XXX
Once more Chris clapped his hands together as he approached the five campers still in the running. "After much deliberation," he said sarcastically as the music turned deep and plodding. "The other judges and myself have decided two worst performers this round were..."
The camera cut to each of the campers as Chris drug out the tension. First was a smirking Rebecca, glaring Terrance, smiling Mitch, nervous Topher, and finally a scowling Olivia.
"Terrance and Topher," Chris announced, causing the basketballer to huff and cross his arms and the fan to droop sadly. "Chef and DJ will explain."
"The pot pie was under-cooked," Chef adressed Terrance. "That's the kind of thing I'd cook for this show. That ain't a good thing."
"Topher," DJ told the fan, "you didn't de-vein the shrimp, and that one vein is both the bloodstream and intestinal tract. Eating it would be pretty close to poison, so we couldn't let you through."
"Yeah yeah," Topher sighed.
"I'm telling you," Terrance growled. "Someone messed with my food."
"Yeah well," Chris spoke up again," we don't care. You and Topher need to head to the Loser Table," the camera quick-panned to the table that Owen and Contessa were currently occupying, the hopeless romantic giving a concerned glance to her guilty looking friend. Oliva, Rebecca, Mitch," the shot cut back to the campers still in the challenge, "have an hour to cook up some decadent desert. And I'd be careful, the judging this round will take all three dishes into account. You may begin."
\
The scene flashed to the kitchen as Olivia squeezed two lemons into a bowl and stirred it. "Does it really matter if I win this or not?" she mused as momentarily paused before scoffing and going back to work, "Yeah... My plan might not work after all."
A mysterious tune played as the scene briefly cut to Chris standing in the main lodge and checking his watch, utterly unaware of Topher walking towards him with a devilish smirk. They soon collided, knocking the two men back a step. "Whoa, sorry Chris," Topher said, putting on an apologetic smile as he offered his hand to Chris. The host just glared in annoyance and the fan chuckled nervously and retracted the appendage. "I was just on my way to the cabin," Topher explained while Chris crossed his arms, "Make the waiting a little less boring y'know?"
"That's kind of the point of the Loser Table Toph," Chris said tersely.
"Okay, fair enough," Topher said before walking back the direction he came from.
The camera lingered on Chris as he raised an eyebrow, "Note to self," he muttered, "start hating Topher."
XXX
"I stole Chris's phone," Topher proudly admitted to the outhouse camera, waving the cellular device around. "I got the idea after Dakota mentioned a way to get his job. It doesn't matter how good I make myself look if Chris still has the producer's support. So I'll use this to trash his reputation and then," He clapped his hands together and grinned. "Bam! Topher Probst will be Total Drama's new host."
XXX
A calm, lilting tune played as the shot cut to a close-up of an apple mixture in a pot, the camera moving back and inverting to show Mitch smile and put his hands on his hips.
He looked away for a second and Rebecca appeared with an orange canister with three chill peppers on it and dumped the contents into the pot and stirred before dashing away. Mitch returned and continued his cooking none the wiser.
XXX
"After two rounds of my famous baked beans and some ribs," Mitch told the camera, "I decided to finish up with some good ol' fashioned apple pie. An All-American desert for an All-American meal," he added with crossed arms and a proud face.
XXX
The static cut away to Rebecca rolling a bit of dough out with a bowl of something yellow on the side. "What are you doing?" Olivia asked her as she walked over to the rebel.
"Making custard-filled dough treat things," Rebecca answered without looking at her ally.
"Isn't that what was done back in the first season?" the actress followed up.
"Yeah," Rebecca answered with a hint of irritation. "And considering the team that did this wound up winning I decided it was in my best interest to follow those footsteps."
XXX
"Well that and trashing the others' foods," Rebecca shrugged. "Once you're this close to the finals you gotta pull out all the stops if you wanna win. And winning's the only reason I'm here."
XXX
Olivia was the camera's focus as the static cut away. "What did I do with those cookies," she complained while glancing around the kitchen with her arms on her hips. dropped her arms, huffed, and walked away with a roll of her eyes.
The camera lingered however, as Rebecca once again snuck on screen with a handful of white powder. She smirked to herself as she dropped the powder in the actress's mixing bowl and duster her hands off as she walked away.
"And time is up...," Chris announced as the scene faded forward to him standing at the ready and looking at his watch, "Now! Round three judging at the ready!" he announced.
\
The music turned tense as the flashed ahead to the three judges. This time Olivia was the first to present her dish. "I went with a no-bake cookies and cream desert," the actress said with a smirk. Dakota handed out the dishes to the three men and the all ate a few bites silently.
After a few chews their eyes began to water and they quickly spat the food out. "Why...," Chris coughed, "why the heck is it sour?!"
"Sour?" Olivia repeated, taking a bite of her desert and recoiling at the taste. "I didn't do this!" she huffed. "Somebody's clearly messing with me."
"That maybe the case," DJ said as he calmly put his hands on the table, "but you're the one who made the decision to not taste the filling beforehand."
"Chris and the marshmallow are right," Chef agreed. "Even I have the food I serve here tasted first."
"You actually eat the slop you serve the campers?" Chris asked in shock and concern.
Dakota sighed. "He makes the interns do it.
"That makes more sense," Chris smiled. "Next."
The actress was followed by Mitch, who watched her leave with a frown before Dakota handed his dish out to the judges. "How about a good ol' hunk a apple pie?" he said proudly.
Chris clapped his hands and rubbed them together excitedly. "I've been waiting for this for the past hour!" he told the cowboy as his co-judges dug in. Like before their eyes watered and Chris spat the food back onto the plate, DJ swallowed and groaned, and Chef took another bite.
"Mitch?" Chris asked. "What happened? Do all Americans put curry powder in their pies?"
"What in the Sam heck are you goin' on about?" Mitch asked in confusion. "I never put curry powder in that pie."
"It's not as bad as Chris is makin' it," the brickhouse said to the cowboy. "But it's still not good.
"I liked it," Chef said, taking another bite.
Mitch pursed his lips as he walked away in confusion, and Rebecca stepped up with a smirk. "So how about some custard pastry thingies?" she asked with a tone matching her face.
"Did you seriously just copy a season one meal?" Chris asked her with a hint of annoyance.
"Hey," Rebecca replied with annoyance of her own, "you said we had to cook. You didn't say we had to be original."
Chris pursed his lips, then shrugged with a calm smile. "Fair point." He took a bite, then actually vomited on the ground next to him. The camera pulled back to show his fellow judges looking sick as well "And we're three for three on crappy desserts," he told the rebel.
"I can't quite tell what that flavor is," DJ said as calm as ever, "but it does not belong in a custard."
"I wouldn't even feed this slop to the interns," Chef added gruffly.
XXX
"Yeah I trashed my own desert," Rebecca shrugged. "Figured it'd look a little suspicious if mine was the only one that wasn't bad."
XXX
Chris clapped his hands together for the tird and final time as he approached the remaining three campers. "We've had time to discuss the three courses all together," he said as the music turned deep and plodding. "We have decided that the winner of today's challenge is..."
The camera cut to each of the campers as Chris drug out the tension. First was Rebecca raising an eyebrow, then a cut to a very nervous Mitch, and finally a scowling Olivia.
"Rebecca," Chris announced, causing the rebel to smirk in satisfaction and the cowboy and actress to to sigh in disappointment and growl in anger respectively. "Chef and DJ will explain."
"Girlie," Chef addressed Olivia. "The only reason you made it as far as you did was everyone else screwed up worse than you. There was no way you were gonna win."
"Sorry Mitch," DJ told the cowboy, "if we were only discussing desserts, you'd've won easily. But when taking the first two courses in account. The drop in quality was just too big compared to Rebecca."
"I can't believe this!" Olivia complained. "This is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!"
"Can't say I ain't upset," Mitch sighed again. "But I respect your decision.
"Rebecca," Chris spoke up again, "You have invincibility tonight," triumphant music played as the rebel was shown smirking. "As for the rest of you," he addressed the other six campers. "It's time to pick your favorite loser and see who gets chopped." He gave a low and quick malicious chuckle.
\
A few deep notes played after the scene flashed back to the lone cabin still standing, the camera soon zooming in on the left side before cutting inside to show Olivia and Rebecca in the middle of a conversation.
"So I'm voting out Terrance tonight," Rebecca told her ally in a close-up. "And I think you should too."
The camera panned over to Olivia as she scowled. "Uh no. You work for me remember?" the actress replied rudely. "That was the deal we made."
"No," Rebecca told her with a scowl herself. "The deal we made was I'd help you vote people off if you didn't target me. Not once did I say I'd only vote for who you want. Hence why I think you should vote for Terrance. It'll guarantee that traitor's elimination. And more importantly, guarantee that we aren't eliminated."
Olivia huffed and rolled her eyed. "Fine," she said.
\
The footage skipped ahead to show Owen and Contessa sitting next to each other on the beach. Both were silent and looked contemplative, and Owen took a deep breath before opening his mouth.
"Sooo..." Contessa suddenly said, causing whatever the optimist was going to say to die in his throat. "Rebecca asked me to help her eliminate Terrance and I think we should go for it. I mean she did help me save you after the Fun Zone challenge."
"R-r-rebecca?" Owen stammered. "She's the reason I'm still here?"
Contessa's lips curled into a smile. "Yep. I mean, I asked her to, but you're my best friend," she briefly looked sad and added "my only friend," before smiling again. "I wasn't ready to say goodbye yet. And she helped me. She's really amazing like that."
Owen's lips trembled, and he ran away suddenly.
"Owen?" Contessa asked helplessly.
XXX
"Owen's been acting off all day," she told the outhouse in concern. "I hope everything's okay."
XXX
An aerial view of the island was shown, clouds passing by below before the shot moved to Mitch's tree where the four boys had gathered. "Gentlemen," Terrance announced, "we've got to band together and get rid of Contessa while we have the chance."
"Wait," Owen nervously interrupted, "are you sure about this? I mean, she's the nicest person here. Why vote for her?"
"Because Rebecca's immune," Terrance explained, "and no one here really has a grudge against Contessa. She's a threat."
"Then why don't we go after Olivia instead?" the optimist suggested. "She's a spoiled brat and no one really likes her! Wouldn't we all be happier if she was gone?"
"Of course we would," Topher told him, "but this is a reality show. No one's gonna watch a reality show where everyone gets along. And if the show gets canceled, no one wins the million. Voting off Contessa's really just for the greater good."
"What he said," Terrance smiled. "All in favor of voting for Contessa?" he put his hand in the middle of their group, and it was joined by Mitch and Topher, the former looking reluctant and the latter smirking in approval. The camera cut to a horrified optimist, who looked at the boys around him and sadly put his hand with theirs.
\
The campfire ceremony began with all the usual fanfare, the campers shown sitting in two rows – Topher, Terrance, Mitch, and Olivia in back; Owen, Contessa, and Rebecca in front.
"You've all cast your votes, and made your decision," Chris announced. "When I call your name," the shot switched to him and his tray of treats, "come up, and claim your marshmallow. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow tonight," the camera focused in on the fluffy bits, dramatic notes in the music underscoring the host's every word, "will be sent home via the Trebu-Shame." The siege equipment at the dock was shown before the shot cut back to Chris' close-up.
"Chris, I volunteer for the Trebu-Shame," Owen said calmly, standing up and holding out a hand to everyone's surprise.
XXX
"Looks like I pushed Owen too far," Olivia complained. "Now he's gone and quit." She suddenly smirked and turned to face the camera. "Just like I planned. Now that I know about Rebecca's alliance and have a good idea of who's in it. I'm going to dismantle it. One loser at a time."
XXX
The shot cut to the other campers – Terrance and Topher sharing a look of disbelief; Olivia smirking; Contessa looking horrified; Rebecca seething in anger; and Mitch scratching the side of his head in confusion. "Owen?!" Contessa shrieked. "What are you doing? Why are you doing this?"
At that, the optimist's composure finally broke. "I'm sorry!" he bawled, wrapping his friend in a tight hug that left her gasping for air. "Olivia tricked me into telling her your secret, and I just couldn't live with the gui-hill-hill-hilt!"
"Olivia knows...?" the hopeless romantic asked and the camera quickly cut to the smirking actress and back to the two friends.
"I'm sorry!" Owen bawled again. "I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, and she made me think you'd told her. I'm a horrible friend!"
"Hey," she said in a calming tone. "You made a mistake. It's okay." He looked up at her pitifully and she smiled. "I forgive you. I just wish you'd told me earlier so you didn't have to be saddled by this guilt."
"...really?" Owen said, now smiling. "So then if I had voted for Terrance with you guys, then he'd be going home?" The shot cut to the basketballer in question as he raised an eyebrow at the revelation. "Hey, can we do that instead?" Owen asked the host.
"Sorry, but no can do," Chris told him, holding up a hand and shaking his head. "No take-backs on volunteering for elimination, it's in the rules. Nothing I can do about it."
"You change and ignore the rules whenever you feel like it," Rebecca pointed out.
"Yeah, and this time," Chris replied, "I don't feel like it. Owen's going home."
"No," Contessa whined.
"It's okay," Owen told her. "I mean, it kinda sucks that I'm leaving and I didn't really need to, but I'm just happy that we're still friends. But you gotta win this thing okay?" he said.
"I'll do my best," she replied, wrapping him in a hug as the camera cut to tears leaking from her closed eyes.
\
The footage flashed ahead to show Owen loaded into the trebuchet. "Goodbye everybody," he said with a mostly sombre but slightly overdramatic tone. "It's been fun." He took a deep breath, then as the trebuchet flung him off into the night let out a loud and wild "WOOOOOOOOOOO~!"
"You know, I might actually miss the guy," Chris admitted as the shot cut back to him and now Chef. "He brought a lotta good moments."
"Aww, you really do still care about these kids," Chef said.
Chris scowled. "Never said I didn't. I just care about their misery more," he laughed, causing Chef to scowl. "Tune in next time," he told the camera as the capstone theme played, "for more totally dramatic Total! Drama! Daaaaaaaaaaanger Island!"
\
(Roll the Credits)
Author's Note Post Script: So I'm not really sure if Owen's elimination is a surprise or not. I mean, he never was that important to the main storyline and just kind of a side character who made it far like in canon. But whereas he himself wasn't that important, his elimination will have far reaching effects on the game.
I would also like to point out that at this point in the story, all of the contestants are aware that something's going on between Contessa and Rebecca (except for Terrance who figured it out) bu not sure the full extent of it.
There's not alot to this Author's Note. Not because the episode wasn't important in its own way, but because it is. It's mostly a lead in to the next two chapters and I can't say anything without giving away too much.
By the way, don't forget that a TVTropes page exists for this series and could always use some love from fans like you.
And I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
I hope you all enjoyed the episode, or some part of it.
With that I'm signing off
-TotalDramaFan14
RDDI ELIMINATION TABLE:
16th Place: Max
15th Place: Dakota
14th Place: Rodney
13th Place: Beth
12th Place: Leonard
11th Place: Lindsay/Carly
10th Place: Carly/Lindsay
9th Place: Scott
8th Place: Jasmine
7th Place: Owen