Here we go: the last challenge before the merge. This massive chapter is the longest one yet and took me longer to write than any of the previous ones. It features some surprises. Let's first respond to more of the reviews.
xtremexavier15: Thanks, and you're about to find out what follows.
ShadowJcreed: I felt having non-challenge chapters could help this fic from potentially getting too monotonous. Also, major things like searching Fun Zone at night for the immunity idol and getting together with Scott were events I felt needed their own attention outside of the general challenge chapters. There will definitely be at least one other chapter in the future that doesn't involve a challenge. Not quite sure when that will be or what it will involve, though. I'm nevertheless glad you liked Chapter 10 and Scottney making things official was satisfying to write. You'll see later how Zoey's idea works out. Glad somebody appreciates how Sam helped out Scott with girl tips given their similar experience (or lack thereof) with dating before joining Total Drama.
Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: Quite true. More to follow on both Zoey's plan and Scottney.
That British Guy: Like it or not, Scottney (aka Scourtney) is a major component of this fic.
animefan1009: Zoey indeed wanted to talk about Mal. I admittedly made it kind of obvious :P. She and Courtney plan something out to help Mike here. Of course our CIT is concerned for the pigtailed girl and her boyfriend; his inner demon is a massive danger!
Reaper: Duncan doesn't really need a time-travel fic as he's already had plenty of success on Total Drama. While certainly a memorable character, I wouldn't call him "the coolest" given his douchey actions, including infidelity.
Young Smasher: Glad you like this fic :).
Enjoy Chapter 11!
I wake up earlier than normal with senses of glee and worry at the same time. Glee because Heather is gone plus Scott finally became my boyfriend last night. Worry because Mal is among us even if I prevented him from taking as much control over Mike's body as he did when I first lived through All-Stars. Thankfully Zoey and I came up with a plan to help bring Mike back. The pigtailed girl knocks on my window soon afterwards.
"Ready to record?" she quietly asks me, and I nod in response.
After that, I walk outside with clothing for today, putting Scott's ring in one pocket. I tell Zoey "Just please let me get dressed first.", and she nods understandingly before I walk over to the communal bathroom to put my clothes on.
Once I've put those on and put my pajamas away, I meet with Ms. Pigtails outside. I'm amazed none of this woke up Gwen. That goth must be a heavier sleeper than I thought. The two of us head out to some secluded part of camp. Good thing nobody is within hearing distance.
"I managed to get two tape recorders from the basement downstairs last night without anybody noticing. Labels for them are in my pockets along with a marker. We can keep the extra as a backup." Zoey adds as she pulls both recorders from her pockets.
"Sounds good, and if you've got an idea set for what to record, then let's begin." I reply.
"Yes, I do." she affirms before putting one away.
After a pause to collect herself and her thoughts, Zoey starts recording "Mike? Without you around, I don't know what I'll do! The thought of your normal self being gone makes me panic beyond belief! I need the real you back. If you don't resurface, then I just might lose my mind!" with lots of anxiety in her voice.
Something tells me this isn't just acting. She was worried sick about him in the original timeline. That's no different here. Another thought then came to my mind.
"Suppose for a moment that you do get eliminated before Mal is gone. Maybe you could also record something to help bring him back using that other recorder." I tell her afterwards.
The pigtailed girl shrugs her shoulders. She takes the other recorder, and then says "Mike, if you're listening to this and I'm no longer competing while you still are, then I urge you to beat what's been plaguing you. Do it for me. Fight your problem. Win the competition for us! I know the real you can still be found in there somewhere. Prove me right. Love always, Zoey."
That should help. We then label each tape, the first recording as "Distress", and the second one as "Fight It". Both labeled tapes go into her pockets. Hopefully neither tape will have to be used very often.
"See you at the challenge. I should get back to the cabins and you should return to the hotel before anybody gets suspicious." I say afterwards.
"Quite true, see you then." she agrees and the two of us part.
Walking over, I remember the ring in my pocket and put that on one finger. Not sure how often I'll wear this, but I should at least show Scott today that I kept it with me. He'd probably get offended if I chucked it. This thing is too special for me to just get rid of anyway. My goth friend is just waking up as I reach the cabin entrance again.
"How long have you been up?" Gwen asks me.
"Long enough to prepare for the day." I reply, which thankfully is a truth I can safely tell without revealing my Mal plans. "Better do the same before Chris calls us over."
She shrugs her shoulders and I close the door to let her get her daytime clothes on. The goth then opens it again a few minutes later fully dressed. After that, Gwen asks "Did Scott give you that ring?" while pointing towards my finger and adds "I saw him tying string into loops of some sort a few days ago, but he wouldn't say what it was for. That sure looks like what he was using. He undoubtedly digs you based on the way he sometimes gazes at you."
I didn't think she'd guess that so quickly. It admittedly caught me off guard. This makes me blush somewhat as I confess "Yes he did. We started off as friends and just became a couple last night, though I admit I didn't initially expect this to happen then or to begin returning his affections as soon as I did. I also know what I'm getting myself into. Just please don't give either of us crap for it."
It's true; I originally doubted we'd get together before the merge during this run-through. His attraction to me also became mutual in the original timeline sooner than I would've guessed. There still are obviously no complaints about last night's initiation.
"Don't worry, I won't." the goth assures me. "Wishing you both the best."
"Thank you." I respond with a smile.
Nice to know somebody supports my new relationship. Chef shows up with our breakfast shortly afterwards. Today it's eggs with bacon and moldy toast. Just like when first living through this day, I choose not to eat that toast to avoid getting ill. Gwen quickly eats her eggs and bacon before discarding her plate. I do the same and end up eating sooner than the first time around to finish in time for our challenge (Chris called us over before I could finish during my first run-through). Cameron and Scott then join us at our cabin to eat. The ginger is in very high spirits this morning.
"While I don't particularly get along with Scott, I give him congratulations for his new relationship." bubble boy says as they sit down. "He couldn't stop smiling last night."
No surprise there. I honestly couldn't stop either.
"That means a lot coming from you, and I'm grateful." Scott thanks him.
"Of course." Wilkins replies before asking us "On another note, is toast supposed to be green?" in a worried tone while holding up his bread.
"Mama calls this penicillin purée." My new boyfriend remarks as he takes the toast from him and continues with "Never had a cold in my life!" before happily eating it, making the goth gag out of disgust, but she thankfully doesn't vomit.
Talk about gross! I'm shocked he can stomach that at all. My stomach might be strong, but there's no way it could handle mold. Alejandro then shows up and tells him "You dare contaminate yourself with such filth!? No wonder you reek!"
That's apparently what he would've said if Scott didn't taunt "Wakey, wakey, legs-a-fakey" for pretending his legs were asleep? Should've seen it coming.
"Again, never had a-" the ginger answers before Al interrupts him with "Bullshit. You'd be lucky not to puke after eating such mold, you idiot."
Moldy toast is revolting for sure, but how dare he insult my guy like that!? I defend the ginger with "If anyone's really been an idiot lately, then it's you. Heather was the only Vulture who could possibly be willing to side with you if you reached the merge here given your reputation for being a jackass with all the fucked-up shit you shamelessly did in the third season. We gave her the boot to prove her tricks weren't as clever as she thought. You evidently joined us in voting that cunt off, so with her gone, good luck finding an ally Al.", adding the "Al" bit just to spite him as I know he hates being referred to as such.
Like the others, I was mad at Burromuerto for duping us all with the fake sleeping legs in the original timeline and blindsiding Heather by stealing the immunity idol from her, showcasing his deceptive nature. Us Vultures voted for him then and he shocked everyone by using that idol to save himself and eliminate his future girlfriend. She quite understandably resented him for it. Despite that, they still got together sometime in between his elimination and the season's finale. That prize money was apparently the main thing that interfered with them becoming a happy couple. They would get very affectionate with one another and kissed in the confessional during the finals, which grossed Chris out (who probably thought it was getting R-rated in there) and unfortunately led to lots of loud sex after they moved into an apartment near mine. While the two still argued from time to time over past Total Drama events or sometimes financial/living arrangements, they overall got along quite well after season 5 ended. I need to pick an apartment far away from what I chose in the original timeline once I move out from my parents' home.
That night we found out about his legs made basically everyone turn against him if they hadn't already, not because anybody other than that prick liked Heather, but because it demonstrated how untrustworthy he was. That bastard should rot in hell. It made me hate him even more than I already did. This time she went out more fairly through an actual majority vote, so no complaints about the elimination itself or how it took place on the same night in both timelines, but he made a mistake by betraying her after a proposed alliance and getting rid of her pre-merge if he wanted any chance of even getting to the final five this season. He can't realistically expect to stay in the game for much longer.
"I would prefer it if you did not call me that name." an irritated Alejandro responds with a scowl.
Scott then puts his plate down to stand up and retort "What's wrong with the name Al? My sister's named Al, short for Albertha. She's the county hog caller." and then calls out "Suey! Suey!", presumably to demonstrate how his sister manages to call hogs over to her.
A hog then suddenly appears and squeals as it runs towards the ginger and knocks him down, making him yell "Ow!" upon impact.
The thing somehow pants like a dog while standing on Scott's chest. I just stare at it in shock. Note to self: take caution when calling for hogs.
"Good soon-to-be-painful morning everyone! Head to the Chrisiseum pronto! Today's challenge isn't gonna hurt itself." McLean then instructs through the speakerphones.
Everybody then walks over. I hold hands with Scott along the way. As you know, I've really wanted him to be mine for quite a while. It feels blissful that we made things official last night. His palms aren't so sweaty now, probably because he now knows I like him back plus the first time tends to be more anxiety-inducing. I start thinking back on things between us as we make our way towards the host.
If anybody told me at the beginning of my first run-through that I would end up dating him, then I probably would've called them crazy. That obviously is no longer the case. I didn't think much of Scott before my transfer from the Hamsters to the Vultures. Then again, we didn't really interact before becoming teammates. When first the team, I thought he was my only choice for an ally when I was on bad terms with everyone else on the team, and just wanted to be allies (and maybe friends) at the time. His flirting initially irked me back then.
Over time, I went from simply desiring an alliance to reciprocating the ginger's attraction to me. Like I mentioned before, that was quicker than expected, but at least we didn't simply jump into things the moment we started liking one another. The two of us initially got together after our first kiss (even if it was an accident when I tripped on a cabin board and our lips somehow met as I fell onto him). I can already say things are going better this time around without Mal or anybody else interfering within a couple hours of our relationship beginning plus Scott was able to ask me out more smoothly after consulting Sam for girl help. While I feel like I should thank the gamer for this, that would give away how I was listening in on what was probably supposed to be a private conversation. Oh well.
"Welcome to Camp Wawanakwa Coliseum!" he proclaims once we arrive there while standing in the middle of a boxing arena.
"A boxing ring?" an unimpressed Scott inquires.
"Boxing?" Wilkins asks with lots of worry in his voice.
I don't blame the bubble boy for fearing this event. He easily has the lowest physical strength of all the remaining players. Good thing his big brain at least partially helps compensate for that.
Our cook then brings Mike into the arena. McLean then taunts "Looking rough, Chef. You have a run-in with a big bad baby squirrel over on Boney Island, hmm?"
"That kid ain't right!" I can hear Chef whispering to Chris as he points towards Mike/Mal, who is joining his team now.
Like the other cast members from season 4, Mike is 17 and thus a teenager rather than a kid, but I can understand the cook's concern over him and his alternate personalities. Especially one specific evil persona. Something the cameras on Boney Island showed was Hatchet getting trampled by a stampede of animals running away from Mal, who then stood on his hand as he approached him. I guess the same happened here with that demon showing up in exile.
"Man are you a sight for sore eyes!" the multi-personality teen greets Zoey.
That was one of those moments when I couldn't tell whether Mike or Mal was in control when re-watching the season. It's also hard to say for sure here.
"Greetings, playas! The recipe for today's disaster is a hearty helping of season one's no-pain-no-gain challenge with a pinch of phobia factor for extra zing." Chris announces.
Lindsay gulps in fear before saying "That can't be good", and I don't blame her for it.
McLean then gets out of the ring and tells us "Get ready to sink your soon-to-be-missing teeth into the wheel of misfortune." as he gestures towards said wheel, continuing with "The rules are simple. Spin the wheel and go a full two minutes with whatever the wheel lands on. Win the match and earn your team a point. Fights will be judged impartially by Chef and myself. First team to win three battles is the champ." while Hatchet for some reason has changed into a pink strapless dress with matching gloves and even a matching hat before joining his host.
Sam then comments "Hopefully my time playing Mike Tyson's Punch-Out helps out here."
"I seriously doubt it will." Chris quips "Now, let's get ready to pummel-"
Mike interjects with "Uh, uh, hang on; where are the rewards you promised Sam?" and points his thumb towards the gamer.
That's right; I almost forgot how he collected the most eggs for his team yesterday AND won the challenge for them. Our host sighs and answers with "I was hoping you'd forgotten about that, but for being MVP in the last challenge you don't have to box, AND the heroes get a point."
A scoreboard can then be heard dinging as it changes the score 1-0 Hamsters. This leads to cheers from them. Wait, Wilkins is cheering with them!? Wrong team even if he's happy for his friend!
"Don't forget what team you're playing for, Cameron." I remind him.
"Oh right, sorry; just still used to being on their side." he apologizes with a nervous chuckle and rejoins us Vultures as Scott silently glares at him.
Chris then continues "Since the villains lost yesterday, they go first. Who's rumble ready?"
I decide to kick things off and reply "Let's just get it over with." as I walk over and spin the wheel.
The host comments "Say hello to your foe, the bear!"
Turning around, one angry bear with boxing gloves is brought into the ring from below. I gulp in fear as it growls. Hopefully that isn't the same one that I had to snatch my immunity idol from on Boney Island. Perhaps I should've mentioned before that I deep down am terrified of those things either way after one almost killed me during my time off in season 4 where I was hiking in some mountains. Thankfully I got away unharmed, but Chris just HAD to find out about the ordeal and put this option on the wheel as a potential opponent. He also gave me tons of crap for it before I first competed in season 5. My bear encounter in exile only made that fear even worse. I hesitantly put away Scott's ring and get boxing gloves on as I enter the boxing ring. The battle begins shortly afterward.
My bear opponent roars before swinging punches at me. It doesn't even wait for a bell to start the match. Oh well. I block the first one, but the second hits me hard in the crotch. It makes me groan in pain. That really hurt! With some struggle, I get back up after a moment and attack the bear.
"Give him hell, Courtney!" Scott calls from the sidelines.
Nice to know at least somebody has my back. I can also hear Gwen shout out "Watch out for his hooks!", which helps me dodge a couple shots from the bear.
The bear is growling at me again. I take the opportunity to sock it in the face. Did I just break that thing's nose? There's some blood trickling out from there. Anyway, after it dodges another punch from me, I hit the bear in the gut. It whimpers for a bit. How much time remains until I win a point? Better defeat it in time or at least avoid getting knocked out. I decide to wear out the bear somewhat by running around the perimeter of the ring.
"Stop running like a coward!" Chris yells at me.
"I know what I'm doing. Don't worry." I insist.
Unfortunately, the bear doesn't seem to have lost much energy. So much for wearing it out. I just decide to hit it in the face as hard as I can using both fists. That worked! The bear falls to the ground and I jump on top of its belly in triumph.
A bell can be heard to end the round right before our host announces "The villains get a point, and we're tied one-all! Hero time! Come on up, Zoey."
Some interns take the bear out of the ring as I exit. The pigtailed girl shrugs her shoulders and goes to spin the wheel. She tells Chris "Please tell me this is a joke." after the wheel lands.
"Nope; it's you vs. Anne Maria!" he responds.
Anne Maria, a contestant from season 4 who was overall more concerned with her appearance than challenges, can then be shown entering the ring. She looks and sounds like a teenage version of Snooki from the show Jersey Shore, and her can of hairspray is probably her most prized possession. Never mess with that or her spray-tan if you want her on your good side. Ms. Hairspray and Zoey had a conflict over Mike when competing together as she was in love with his Vito personality (who liked her back and would get affectionate with her) while the pigtailed girl loved the real Mike and obviously still does to this day. Mike himself was into Zoey all along and never had any interest in Anne Maria. That created lots of drama which Chris must've loved for bringing in ratings. At least Mr. Multiple Personalities was able to set things straight with the one he really loved.
"You'll pay for taking Vito from me, Red!" Anne Maria snaps out of jealousy as she sprays her giant poof of hair with that can of hairspray and puts her boxing gloves on.
"First off, Vito is one of Mike's alternate personalities and not the main thing. The primary persona wasn't into you at all. Secondly, he was never yours to begin with, so I never took anything away from you. We both have already known all of that for a year." Zoey retorts with irritation while getting into the ring.
Hold on, is pigtails ripping off the bottom part of her tube top? She just tied it to her forehead. Her more aggressive "Commando Zoey" side from season 4 is among us! That side came out when she was pushed too far and wanted vengeance. It also showcased how athletic the pigtailed girl could be. Even if Jo, Lightning, or Eva are overall bigger jocks, this is still someone to watch out for when angered. I'd hate for Commando Zoey to target my ass! Spreading war paint onto her cheeks before putting on boxing gloves only confirms this further. It really is on now!
"None of it changes how you're getting a beatdown. Bring it on!" the teenage Snooki responds.
"Courtney AND Zoey both get personal opponents. What's the chance of that just being a coincidence?" Sam wonders aloud.
"Astronomical! I think I smell a rat." our bubble boy answers with suspicion.
That reminds me; Chris DOES rig this process to give us personalized opponents! What a sleazy fucker. I then look at the wheel and notice that instead of a mutant bird for Duncan and a mutant rat for Sierra, it now features Anne Maria's silhouette for Zoey and Beth's silhouette evidently for Lindsay. Sam won the reward of not fighting this time instead of Ms. Pigtails, so the Snooki lookalike is evidently who she would've otherwise faced. Wonder what the gamer would have to go up against. McLean specifically arranged for me to fight that bear and for Zoey to fight Anne Maria. Chef simply goes along with that. Nothing I can do to change either of these fights, though. Cameron and apparently Sam have already caught onto things anyway so there's no need for me to expose this.
On another note, Mike looks very uncomfortable taking all this in. I can't blame him at all for feeling that way right now. He just needs to keep his shirt on to avoid turning into Vito. How would you feel if you were trying to get close to someone you liked yet at the same time had an alternate personality who was attracted to someone you had no interest in? I know I'd hate such a conflicting experience. The girls begin fighting once a bell starts.
Never underestimate the fury of a jealous female. An irate Anne Maria starts firing punches towards Commando Zoey, only hitting her once. Every other shot is either blocked or dodged. Pigtails takes a moment to recover after getting hit hard in the chest. Our commando fighter then socks Ms. Hairspray once in the gut before smacking her jaw. Anne Maria loses one of her teeth as a result.
She spits some of her blood in Zoey's face in some attempt to (at least partially) blind her for a bit. It doesn't really help. The Snooki lookalike then gives one more punch to the torso. She then tries to run away for a bit after realizing her opponent won't back down even with that hit. The pigtailed girl knocks her out cold with a punch to the back of the head and then a bell can be heard to end the match. Anne Maria undoubtedly would complain about her hair getting touched if still conscious.
"Commando Zoey made a glorious return! It's 2-1 heroes. One more point, and they win the whole thing. Villains, you're up." our host then announces as he points his thumb towards the wheel.
Uh-oh. That's quite bad. We can't lose again! Zoey then exits the ring as a couple of interns drag away her unconscious opponent.
"I'll earn us a point." Alejandro confidently proclaims as he goes up to spin the wheel.
I don't make any cracks about him landing on Heather for an opponent this time because I already know he'll face José Burromuerto, his "older, smarter, better-looking brother" (to quote one of Al's confessionals). This guy has often bullied Alejandro in the past both physically and verbally. Part of it involves repeatedly calling him "Al" out of spite along with many punches to the arm. It must've been in some really condescending fashion to make him hate it so much. José has also supposedly been superior to him in just about everything, including personal grooming, academics, and sports.
Alejandro gasps in despair as he sees what the wheel lands on, uttering "No; it can't be!" in fear.
José then appears in the ring within some poof of smoke with boxing gloves already on. Does he have some sort of teleporting powers? Every contestant except his brother gasps at the sight. Even I gasp. While I already knew who the opponent would be, I somehow totally forgot how he could just appear out of thin air like that! Admittedly a very impressive action. It must be only something he can use to a limited extent or he probably would just use it repeatedly within the match. While I don't remember all the exact words, I do know Al will snap once his brother insults Heather.
"José!" Alejandro adds with a scowl.
"Ooh, doggie!" Chris says for some reason and continues with "Does Al have what it takes to stand up to his big bro or will baby fall down go boom? Find out after the break right here on Total. Drama. All-Stars!"
Alejandro then enters the ring and puts on his boxing gloves. A bell is heard to begin their match. José taunts "Buenos Dias, Al! You look tired and in need of exfoliation."
His brother retorts with "I exfoliate once a week, and the only thing I'm tired of is you!"
An irritated Chris butts in with "Enough with the touching family reunion; start punching each other!" before the bell is heard again.
José fires the first punch, which gets blocked. Al then takes two swipes back. Both miss as his brother dodges in time. The elder Burromuerto then hits his opponent's shoulder and blocks a retaliatory punch. They only aim for torsos because of some family code to never hit each other's faces.
"Looks like the villains are gonna be shut out, or should I say punched out." Chris cracks a pun as the brothers continue to just fire at one another's bodies without much damage.
After dodging another punch, José mocks his younger brother with "Your technique is almost as embarrassing as the way your girlfriend with the unattractive personality burned you on national television.", which prompts an enraged growl from Al.
Wait, José said "girlfriend"? I'm not sure if that term in this instance meant they were officially a couple at this point (only with a delayed announcement) or if he was just giving Al shit. I do agree that Heather has an unattractive personality, though. Sure, Alejandro was literally burnt by lava during the season 3 finale after Heather kneed him in the balls during a kiss (thus a metaphorical burn), though insulting her like that in front of him was his breaking point. José laughs with his eyes closed. A major mistake on his part. Alejandro takes the opportunity to strike and smacks him hard in the gut as he calls out "That's for calling me Al!"
It doesn't stop there. José is stunned for a moment by that punch. Al continues by jumping behind him and striking his brother in the back and tells him "That's for always hogging the bathroom mirror!" before giving him a punch in the groin as he continues with "And replacing my soap with a urinal cake!"
He really is on a roll now! That urinal cake bit is also just plain wrong and revolting. José undoubtedly is an even bigger asshole than Alejandro (which is saying quite a lot), who then quickly winds up his arms as he adds "And this is for calling any aspect of Heather unattractive!" and strikes his brother in the groin with both fists.
That last punch sends José into the ring's edge, and he bounces off it before falling flat on his face and probably passing out. The bell rings as Al kneels and triumphantly raises a glove in the air. Maybe sticking up for the future Mrs. Burromuerto like that helped them reconcile after his elimination in the original timeline. In any case, an impressed Chris proclaims "Whoa! The villains get a point, and now we all know how Alejandro really feels about Heather."
It's true. That defense erased any doubts people may have had that he likes her. He was always at least somewhat more open than Heather about how he felt even when not outright admitting it or when his desire to defeat her in the contest took precedence. She's often too prideful to admit the attraction is of course mutual. Two nearby interns carry José out of the ring as his brother exits.
After our host continues with "And we're tied two all. Hero time!", Mike volunteers with "Guess I'll go next." and heads for the wheel.
Cameron then complains "What's the point in spinning the wheel? The game must be rigged!"
Everyone else except Sam and me ask "Huh?" in some mixture of confusion and shock.
"Are you sure about that?" Lindsay inquires.
"He's definitely right; Courtney fought a bear she was clearly afraid of, Zoey duked it out with her rival Anne Maria, and now Alejandro just faced his bully of a brother." The gamer adds.
"Because of all their past issues, the odds are too astronomical for this to be random." Mr. bubble boy continues.
"It does seem a little rigged." Gwen admits while rubbing her chin.
"More like a lot rigged!" I blurt, which is safe to do now when Wilkins has already brought up the matter.
"How about this: I guarantee the next spinner will have a non-specific-to-their-personal-terror opponent, OK?" an irritated Chris proposes before glancing towards Chef and slightly nodding his head.
The cook sighs dejectedly in response. Mike spins the wheel. Mr. Wilkins assures us "Just watch; it'll be exactly what Mike's afraid of."
"Or is it what Cameron's afraid of?" our host asks as it lands on the shape of a spider.
Bubble boy screams in terror and cowers with both hands over his head.
"I thought you were over spiders." states a confused Zoey.
He replies with "That is NOT a spider!" while pointing to the rising giant spider, who really is Izzy in a costume.
The crazy redhead takes off her mask and says "Greetings, spider food!" with a chuckle.
This makes Cameron scream in horror and run away. He used to have arachnophobia before first competing on Total Drama. That changed during the nighttime scavenger hunt challenge where contestants had to avoid getting captured by a giant spider (which was also Izzy in disguise). While fighting her to break free cured his fear of spiders, he became terrified of the girl after that encounter and seeing her in the costume. After Mike gets into the ring with his gloves on, Chris announces "It's an 8-legged Izzy!" right before the bell sounds off to start the match.
Izzy takes a sniff and is grossed out by whatever scent she picks up. She tells Mike "Ugh! You smell weird, like a honey cruller wrapped in rotten ham. Good on the inside. Poison on the outside."
The multi-personality teen just stares at her in confusion.
"In all fairness, he didn't have a chance to shower this morning before the challenge because he spent last night on Boney Island." Sam adds.
Ms. Crazy redhead then asks "Question: who's Mal?", only to get a scowl in response before he raises his boxing gloves in front of his face.
Zoey and I gasp once we hear that and briefly share a knowing look. I totally forgot that Izzy somehow senses Mal! That demon is apparently disguising himself again. Was Mike somehow sending her a message from within? It would help the "Good on the inside. Poison on the outside." bit make more sense. I then remember one of Mal's confessionals from re-watching this episode, which was "They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Time to shut that window.", so I can only guess that in both timelines she saw something within his eyes that gave her a Mal vibe.
Mr. Multiple personalities then lowers his gloves and gives an evil look. With the distinctive evil voice that I know for certain is Mal, I hear him respond with "Enough chitter-chatter." before jumping onto Izzy and brutally punching her repeatedly in the face and torso.
Mal goes so far to break two of the fake spider legs during that beating just as he did in the original timeline. However, he then abruptly stops for a moment. A concerned voice then apologizes with "Izzy, I'm so sorry for that! I somehow lost control of myself and things went overboard!"
Mike is back! I silently sigh in relief. Maybe those recorders aren't needed today after all. Thankfully nobody hears me. Mal can't know I'm onto him now.
"When this is a fighting event, wanting to win is understandable, but thank you." Izzy responds, which is one of the saner things she's said on this show.
"Take your shirt off and Vito's toughness can help you win!" a now conscious Anne Maria says from the sidelines, and then tries to sound seductive when continuing with "He'd be quite welcome right about now." and giving a flirtatious wink.
OK, so she knows how to bring out Vito. Can't say I'm shocked by that. The multi-personality teen turns to reject her with "Nice try; I'm already happily dating Zoey plus my Vito personality doesn't want you either these days anyway."
Vito no longer likes the teenage Snooki? She groans dejectedly before Commando Zoey angrily knocks her out with another punch. Good thing for Mike as that persona can't interfere with his ongoing relationship with Ms. Pigtails anymore. Perhaps the alternate personality's interest in Anne Maria faded over time or just accepted who the main man was dating. Getting back to the ongoing match, Izzy then takes the opportunity to punch him. She hits Mike once on his turned cheek, and again in the torso. He blocks her third shot and states "You leave me no choice." before hitting her a few times in the stomach.
While it's not nearly as vicious as what Mal did, Izzy then catches her breath and surrenders "I give in; please no more!" before struggling to make her way out of the ring.
This unfortunately means Mike just won this challenge for the Hamsters. Chris announces "Mike got right villainous on that one, at least in the beginning, but a point's a point. That makes it 3-2. The heroes win!"
The Hamsters all triumphantly cheer. Us Vultures just groan in defeat. Here's another challenge that ended quicker today than it did in the original timeline. We then walk back towards the cabin. On the way over, I start mentally comparing what I've lived through this time around to my first run-through. The obvious negative for today is losing this time and having to face an angry bear (even if I beat that thing). On the plus side, Scott doesn't have to be paralyzed with fear when facing Fang (not even me waving my hand in his face and calling his name could get him to speak), Cameron won't get pummeled by giant mutant gophers (apparently Mike's fear), and Gwen doesn't have to go up against me (though that was what won us the challenge last time around). I've got lots to say on the last part. When our host pitted the goth and me against one another for that fight and angered me into fighting by showing clips of her kissing Duncan, we vented out all our anger and issues with one another, fully making amends with each other.
Something the cameras never showed was Scott blocking his ears and closing his eyes for much of the duel. Chances are the ginger got jealous of me ever dating other guys when I first said the words "my boyfriend" in that fight and wanted to just shut the thing out. He apparently missed out on most if not all injuries as they happened. I do however know Scott saw and heard me admit I didn't miss my relationship with Duncan, though did miss my friendship with Gwen. The ginger also definitely noticed me agree to be friends again with Ms. Goth after both of us were tired from venting everything out. Cameron nudged him to witness the conclusion. We even got double points for touching McLean's "otherwise frozen heart" (his actual words) by putting a bit of warmth into it. Scott also didn't seem to hear the details on about how Mr. Delinquent cheated on me with her or how I learned that day he had fully made the move on Gwen rather than the reverse happening or both planning something together.
Another thing I clearly remember the ginger missing out on is me asking why she didn't tell me sooner about that kiss. Then I find out it was because she wanted to wait until after the challenge to keep me from getting sidetracked by that and costing us a victory as she sensed my reaction would be ugly. Tyler blurting things out didn't help. To be fair, fearing my wrath was understandable as I was too immature in season 3 to keep rage from getting to my head when something upset me. I also probably wouldn't have listened very well to her side of the story back then if at all.
Since we had a long fight that wore us both out, much of its footage was cut from the episode, so that revelation didn't get shown to the public. Having to battle one another was hell for both Gwen and me after I had just started to warm up to her again. At the same time, it was nice to sort out our conflict and fully reconcile in the end. Thankfully we could fix things this time without having to resort to violence and did it much sooner than before. I also entered the game with a much calmer head here than in the original timeline. Knowing the full truth in advance very much did help things.
As for Scott, if I do tell him about my past with Duncan or what Alejandro did to me, then I'll have to find some way to keep his envy from getting the better of him as he was initially quite mad in the original timeline when Mal told him Al "used" Cameron's lips to kiss me. He then felt better once I explained that when I did kiss Alejandro, it was before meeting the ginger and thus had no effect on our relationship. I for some reason never told him about the manipulation. The cameras never showed that kiss with Burromuerto, but it was in between the last two pre-merge challenges in season 3.
Heather was the only one to witness that kiss and sent me silent death glares in response. It made her envy rather obvious. I remember feeling like I was in heaven in that moment because I was in love with him then and it gave me great joy to see how jealous she was upon witnessing the ordeal. Now I cringe at how his lips touched mine as that was part of his plan to throw me off my game, even if it upset one of my enemies in the process. Al apparently didn't notice her watching or otherwise might not have done it in the first place. I should also say kissing Scott last night was far better when I knew for certain we both wanted a relationship and are now happily in one.
Anyway, getting back to the present, my boyfriend compliments "The way you took down that bear was badass!" as we reach the cabins.
"It was! Not sure I could've faced that myself." Gwen agrees.
If only she knew how things went during my first run-through.
"Nice to have fans." I thank them, and then come up with a plan for later. "The merge will be here sooner or later, and when that does come, I'd like for us to reach the final three if possible."
Both smile at my thought. The goth adds "If it comes down to that, then I understand both of you wanting to reach the finals together given how close you are, though want a fair game either way for as long as we're all competing. You can be honest about it."
I start feeling guilty inside at that thought while Scott blushing a bit makes it obvious that he wanted to go to the finale with me. Yes, this is what I would've wanted when initially competing in All-Stars, but I shouldn't have lied to Gwen about hoping she'd win if I didn't take the crown. My choice for a winner other than me ultimately would've been Scott after I finished in fifth place. You probably figured that out already from my chart as I wanted him in the finals with me. I initially told her on the day of the merge that I wanted her to win and hoped to go to the finals together, and I meant it at that moment, but secretly changed my mind after I started dating Scott. What didn't change is how I also wanted us to go to the final three together then. When she asked for reassurance in the final five about our finale plans, I should've just told her I wanted to go to the final two with the ginger. Ms. Goth probably would've responded better to that than the chart. We'll see how things go this time around.
"Let's vote for bubble boy tonight. We've lost both challenges that he's been on our team so far, and the guy doesn't belong with us anyway. Cameron's been like a bad luck charm. In the meantime, nature calls." Scott says before heading for the communal bathrooms.
Once he's gone, Gwen asks "You don't plan on voting out Cam, do you? He didn't do anything today that would warrant elimination."
She's right even if that comment is to defend her new pal. Scott admittedly has a point on him not belonging on team villain, but the truth is Ms. Goth has also belonged more on the hero team as well all along. Chris just likes to torture her by insisting she stay as a Vulture. The obvious downside to her competing as a Hamster now is that we wouldn't be teammates. Oh well.
"No, I'd honestly rather send Al packing as he's just a total douchebag." I answer. "Since Scott was already planning to boot Cameron off yesterday before I talked him into voting for Heather, though, it'll probably be harder to change his mind again given their past issues and what likely is a determination to outrank him this season."
"Maybe he'd be more willing to vote with us tonight than Scott." she suggests. "I'll go find him and have no problem axing Alejandro."
The two of us part. Good thing I won't get the flush tonight thanks to my immunity idol even if I somehow get the most votes. However, I highly doubt that'll happen when Gwen and Scott are my allies and obviously won't want me out now, plus Wilkins could very well side with me again here. The only possible way I could receive a majority vote is a 2-1-1-1 total with Mr. Burromuerto voting for me and somehow convincing him to do the same. Very unlikely scenario. That reminds me; I need to visit Chef.
Heading over to the kitchen where I ate meals in season 1, Hatchet can be seen at its entrance in his normal clothing. I wave my hand while approaching him. He already knows why I'm here. The cook compliments "Best of luck at tonight's elimination ceremony, and kudos for taking down that bear earlier." as he pulls the idol out from his pocket and hands it to me.
I reply with "Double thanks. I already know what to do if they don't give me the most votes." and then leave for the cabins. Wait, I should still talk with Zoey. Time to go find her. I change direction and go towards the hotel. She's approaching the front steps. The pigtailed girl still has her Commando look on from earlier. She still looks agitated from the teenage Snooki showing up, but thankfully is calmer now than earlier. I ask her "Has you-know-who resurfaced since the challenge ended?"
"Thankfully no. I've still got the recorders ready if needed. What I really didn't expect was for Mike to take back control of his body during that match with Izzy." Ms. Pigtails answers.
"Me neither. Another surprise was how she somehow sensed Mal was present." I state. "While I have competed with her before and knew she could be unpredictable, that was something else altogether!"
"You know who else could really help us detect Mal?" she inquires. "Dawn from the last season. Her aura-reading powers are kind of disturbing, though can be quite telling of other people."
I respond with "True, but that evil persona as would probably see her powers as a threat and eliminate the aura whisperer at first opportunity if she was competing this season."
"Good point." Zoey relents. "In the meantime, even if I don't get that immunity idol right away, I plan on going to Boney Island tonight as I figured I could find something to help with the Mal problem plus I still feel agitated enough to hit something after Anne Maria showed up today and made moves on Mike even when she knew he's taken. Better to take out my rage in exile than on any remaining players and simply chucking rocks into the water hasn't really helped. I know I don't look or sound so mad right now, but that's only because I'm somehow restraining myself, and winning the challenge helped somewhat lift my spirits. That bitch can really make my blood boil."
You already know I can't tell her about my idol finding. Also, anybody who's watched season 4 could understand Zoey's hatred for Anne Maria. I know I do. Sympathizing with her, I add "I don't blame you for hating her. Good thinking on the Boney Island part."
She replies "Thanks, and here's hoping I find something helpful." before we shake hands and part ways.
I've come to respect the pigtailed girl more than I did when first competing with her. We overall have gotten along better this time around. If I end up voting Zoey off, then it'll probably be because she's a threat in the game and Mal has immunity. Mike is apparently on-and-off ever since yesterday's shovel hit. It's largely up to him to win his inner battle. With Chester showing up, I imagine Svetlana, Vito, and Manitoba Smith could surface as well.
Since I haven't used the confessional in a while, I decide to go there. Thankfully nobody is inside when I arrive. I enter it and tell the camera "Losing another challenge today sucked. There's no denying that. On the plus side, I kicked that bear's ass earlier. It was very satisfying."
I then exit the confessional outhouse. Making my way back to the girls' cabin, I find nobody else is around. Not even Gwen can be seen. I reach in my bags for that law book to pass the time with and somehow feel a violin. Somehow, I forgot I packed that thing. This is a similar model to the one I planned to use in the season 1 talent show before Bridgette accidentally wrecked it. One might argue I'm not as musically skilled as Trent is with his guitar, and he certainly is more widely known for playing an instrument than I am, but I still can play it well. Might as well take the chance to play it again.
I take the violin outside play it. Position and pose starts by fanning your toes and placing your left foot right. OK, you don't have to turn your foot like that, but moving it forward has helped me balance while holding a violin. Even though I haven't played it in a while and am kind of rusty at this plus the violin with me is kind of beat up, I can still make a decent rhythm with it. Cameron unexpectedly shows up about half an hour later and compliments "Very nice work!"
"Thanks." I reply. "I admittedly haven't used this thing in quite some time, so it's reassuring to know somebody feels I still have skill."
"Of course." he adds. "By the way, Gwen told me about your plans to give Alejandro the flush, and I have no reservations about helping ensure that happens."
I give bubble boy a fist bump and tell him "That schmuck's hours are numbered. Maybe we should celebrate his elimination."
He affirms "I like the sound of that! See you at the ceremony." before departing.
Even if I'm not as close to Wilkins as the goth is, I feel like he really could be a friend of mine at this point. The bubble boy at least seems like a vote I can count on. I play my violin for another hour until one of the strings breaks. It was only a matter of time before this gave out anyway. Placing the thing in my bags, I then take out the law book and start reading. Gwen comes back a couple hours later, asking "Did Cameron tell you that he's in on your plan?"
I confirm "He did. We can both rest easy tonight with a secure outcome." and then resume reading.
The goth pulls out a book of her own. We both read until after it gets dark. Scott later knocks on our cabin door. He then tells us "Chris wants us to come over for the elimination ceremony now." and we join him, Alejandro, and Cameron to head over there.
Each of the Hamsters have once again already arrived and been seated. Zoey no longer has her Commando appearance. We take our seats on the losers' logs for the elimination ceremony. Chris then shows up and tells us "OK, before we send another player to the sewers, I have a wee announcement to make. Tonight, the winners get to choose which player is eliminated from the losers' team."
How the fuck did I forget about that twist!? We all start to gasp before the host interrupts with "Hold that gasp, and the losers are the choosers of which winner goes to Boney Island, and the teams are NOT merging. Now you may gasp."
Everybody then gasps.
"And there it is." McLean continues and goes on to say "Now, heroes, who's going home tonight?"
I'm sweating bullets right now as the Hamsters make their choice. Even if they choose me and I use the immunity idol to save myself, Scott or Gwen could easily go home tonight! Maybe they'll pick off Alejandro instead for being a douche. That would be ideal. Cameron's the only one I can guarantee they won't choose to flush tonight as there's no way in hell Zoey and Mike would eliminate a close buddy of theirs like that right then and there. Sam wouldn't want him out so soon either as he's also friends with the bubble boy. Hard to say who Lindsay would most likely target, though; me or Al?
After some inaudible discussion, the blonde announces "We've decided to eliminate…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Jalapeño. Oops, I meant Alejandro."
THANK GOD FOR THAT! I heavily sigh in relief and wipe the sweat from my forehead. Lindsay getting his name wrong at first doesn't really bother me when I hate his guts. She quickly corrected herself anyway before he could get mad at her for the mistake.
Al groans in defeat and then points to himself as he arrogantly asks them "Why get rid of this gorgeous face when there are other ugly options to choose from?"
He really had to go there!? None of the remaining Vultures are ugly! If anything, Alejandro and Heather have ugly hearts.
"Obviously because you're known to be a royal jerk and are too untrustworthy to let reach the merge if you can be stopped." Sam answers.
Scott then punches Burromuerto in the face, giving him a black eye, and yells "That's for calling the wrong people ugly!"
Thank you, Scott, for that defense. It was well-needed. I knew I made a good choice in becoming your girlfriend.
"Smart thinking from the heroes and a sweet punch from Scott." Chris compliments before anybody can say anything else, and then asks my team "Before Alejandro takes the flush of shame, which hero is going to exile, villains?"
I then answer "Zoey".
"Sounds good to me." Scott says.
"Eh, no objections." states a nonchalant Gwen.
"Why her?" Cameron asks, undoubtedly worried for his friend.
"Because of how aggressive she became in that Commando mode earlier even when outside the ring. Let her vent out any remaining anger away from the rest of us." I explain, and thankfully nobody suspects how this was part of a plan.
He sighs before relenting "Very well. Zoey it is."
Chef then takes the pigtailed girl to Boney Island. Chris gestures for the rest of us to follow him and tonight's loser for the flush. Al complains "This show just got 100% less beautiful!" after being placed inside the toilet.
"Don't flatter yourself; the real beauty here is me." our narcissistic host retorts.
Before this departure, there's something funny I just remembered about tonight's loser. His name has quite a translation. "Al, you know what's fitting about your name?" I ask with a giggle, not caring how he feels about being called that or how he angrily glares at me, and then continue with "Alejandro Burromuerto is Spanish for Alexander Dead Donkey. The Burromuerto part is especially suitable for you. For those who don't know, that's 'Dead Donkey' in English. Another term for donkey is ass. This applies for you when you're known to be quite an ass, also you now are dead in this competition! Adios."
The other remaining contestants snicker at my comment on how tonight's loser is literally an ass. McLean bursts into laughter after asking "Alejandro Dead Donkey?" and adds "His last name is hilarious in English!" before laughing some more, much harder than anyone else did.
Mr. Dead Donkey groans in frustration and insists "It's a very respected name where I come from. Very respected!"
"Whatever. Hold your breath!" our host instructs as he continues to laugh and prepares an umbrella for himself before pressing the button to flush Al, who screams while being flushed. I back away somewhat as the toilet water splash comes closer, but it still unfortunately hits me and every other contestant. A grossed-out Lindsay complains "Ew!"
Chris has now calmed down from his laughter. He collapses his umbrella and chucks it while signing off the episode with "Big brothers, former competitors, surprising twist. Can we top it? You better believe we can. Next time on Total. Drama. All-Stars!"
The Hamsters head for the hotel. Us Vultures make our way to the cabins. If only we could've won today. Those hotel showers would've been very nice to clean off this filthy toilet backsplash. Even though the ones from the communal bathroom are crappy, they'll still get the job done. I go to my cabin and see that Chef has already placed our dinner there: burnt ham. Does he REALLY have to burn the losing teams' food!? I eat some of that while it's still warm and then grab my floss, pajamas, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, and towel before heading over for the showers.
Chef happens to cross my path along the way. I silently give him the idol and then he exits. Just as I arrive at the communal bathrooms, Gwen is walking out with a towel wrapped around her torso. Can't blame her for wanting to clean off at first chance from the toilet splash. I tell the goth "Dinner has arrived at our cabins, so you may as well eat some before it gets cold."
"It's either that or starvation. I really wish we could've gotten some hotel food again." she replies.
I respond with "As do I, but now I need the showers." and then she heads for the cabins.
Good thing I know have the bathroom to myself. I undress and then shower for about twenty minutes. That thankfully gets rid of the bad toilet smell. After putting the pajamas on, I brush and floss my teeth. As I exit and get close to my cabin, Scott asks me "Care for some ham?" while offering me a plate of it in his hand.
"No thanks. I already had some earlier." I decline, though it's still nice to know how considerate he is of me.
"I can't believe the nerve of Alejandro. He's an idiot to call anybody as beautiful as you ugly." my boyfriend remarks before taking a bite of the ham.
Blushing a little at being called "beautiful", I gratefully hug him and say "Hearing you say that means more to me than you know. It's one of those things that make me glad we got together. Insulting my appearance in the way Al did was quite uncalled for."
"Before I forget, you once mentioned this morning he did some 'fucked-up shit' when previously competing. Sam also called him untrustworthy. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly was it he did? I never watched any previous seasons before I joined this show but hope it wasn't any worse than what he did tonight." the ginger inquires with his mouth full.
Here we go. Revealing painful parts of my past to somebody who didn't already know about them. Scott doesn't mean any harm by it, though, and has a right to know. I caution him with "He's done much worse, and I'll warn you now that it's really ugly."
"You can tell me." Scott replies after swallowing.
With a bit of hesitation, I note "First of all, none of this affects what you and I have together. I don't want you to get any wrong ideas."
"Understood. Go on." he encourages and continues to eat.
After taking a deep breath, I state "OK, here's the truth. Alejandro was a new contestant in season 3. He often attracts girls with his charms and looks. This prick takes full advantage of that and shamelessly exploited the affections that female contestants had for him that season. He toyed with their hearts and manipulated them to get himself further in the competition, even pretending to like them back and getting flirtatious to throw them off their game. They didn't see his true nature until it was too late. I unfortunately was one of those girls."
Scott angrily tells me "What an asshole! Good thing I gave him that black eye. I've done bad things myself that I shouldn't have, though would never stoop that low." with a scowl on his face.
"Thank you for punching him, though there's more to it." I inform him. "He exploited my weakened emotional state when I at best was on the rebound after dumping Duncan for cheating on me by kissing our goth teammate Gwen. Yes; the same delinquent Duncan who competed with us this season and got arrested for blowing up McLean's hotel just for the sake of being a jackass. Don't make the same mistake that I did by taking rage out on her instead of him, though, because she was totally unprepared for the moment and felt quite guilty about it afterwards plus HE was the one who made a move on her fully on his own terms. I had been dating Duncan on and off during the first three seasons. Though there were some happy times, it overall was admittedly a strained relationship when we weren't compatible enough for things to last, though we for some reason kept at it regardless until his infidelity. My relationship with him ultimately wouldn't have worked out in the end anyway due to having too many personal differences even if he had stayed faithful. Getting together in the first place was a big mistake on my part and I wish I never with him at all. More negatives than positives came out of that relationship. I don't even remember how we first ended up liking one another. While I did resent the goth for that kiss and became hellbent on eliminating her, I learned the full truth when re-watching that season before the current one began. I also talked things out with Gwen after our first victory this season and made amends with her. What I should've focused more on back then was getting him out of the game instead. Ironically, he would somehow become focused on getting my attention this season during his subsequent relationship with her, and she dumped him for that. Believe it or not, it gives me the sense that he was jealous of you bonding with me even if I didn't become yours before he was voted off. That's also probably at least part of the reason why he hit you in the face with the switch to activate whatever explosive he used on McLean's hotel."
"I'd kick that fucker's ass for all of his shit if he was still here! Let's hope that he rots in jail for life." The ginger spats.
I continue with "I'm grateful you would, and I hope for the same. Even though I admittedly was more demanding in that relationship than I should've been for him to change to fit my preferences and it would've been better to adjust myself to some extent or just break things off, cheating on anybody is inexcusable and unforgivable. Anyway, after the Duncan fiasco, I ended up falling for Al's charms and that schmuck toyed with me and my heart without remorse until I got eliminated. He once even kissed my lips when faking interest in me and pretending to console me over the infidelity, and these days I'm revolted by sharing a kiss with him. I didn't find out I was being tricked until after the season ended. Learning the truth immediately turned me off to him and I've despised him ever since."
"No wonder you wanted to get payback and pushed him in that robot suit towards water when this season began. When I later asked him what your vengeance was for, he only told me that you were mad at him for getting you eliminated." my boyfriend notes.
"That was only part of it. No surprise that he'd downplay the manipulation." I reply. "In the end, the only girl who fell for him in season 3 that he had any actual interest in was yesterday's flushee Heather, but that has nothing to do with why I wanted her out. She needed to go as I already have hated that cunt since the first season for being a general pain in the ass, and Gwen has felt the same way about her, so I knew it would be easier to talk the goth into voting her off than Al. Strategical move on my part. It was also to prove Heather's attempts at trickery—namely that Al was trying to talk others into voting you or Cameron off—weren't as clever as she thought. Furthermore, I've had to put up with her shit for much longer than his; three prior seasons of her compared to only one of him before All-Stars began. Heather and Alejandro deep down still want each other even if they won't easily admit it. She can have that douche all to herself and is largely a female version of him to begin with, except she never took advantage of anybody's affections to get further in the game or faked interest in anyone she didn't truly like. Those two probably would've been the first Vultures I'd vote off if Lightning and Jo hadn't cost us any challenges and the latter hadn't hit me with a leech cannonball. You don't have to worry about Duncan or Alejandro and there's no need to feel jealous of them now that they've been eliminated plus I hate their guts. The only guy I want these days is you and I have no regrets about saying yes when you asked me out last night. Overall, you already have treated me better than Duncan ever did and I feel we get along better than I did with him."
Scott takes a moment to process all of that. He then comments "I'm really sorry you had to go through all of that and promise to never do what those bastards did. You can count on it. Even though I admittedly went further than I should have doing bad things in the last season as you probably know from watching that, I have my limits and wouldn't do such fucked up things. Chris having Fang the shark join me in the catapult when I got eliminated last season made it clear I went too far with my evil antics. Apologies if being sneaky or playing the game dirty before makes you think any less of me."
In response, I state "Thinking less of you just for that alone would make me a hypocrite. Yes, I know about your past and how you played baddie on this show, but the truth is you were never any worse than me in the second or third seasons. There were times when I could be quite vicious. It's only fair that you know how I was when I know how you once were. Seeing myself on camera before returning here was a real wake-up call for how much of a bitch I could be. Owning up to faults wasn't easy at first, but I know that I've also changed for the better since then. It's nice that you've also toned down your mean streak even if it hasn't entirely gone away. Mine hasn't either, but I'm working on that."
"Is this for real?" he asks.
"It is." I affirm. "In fact, before this season began, I saw some of my past self within you when watching Revenge of the Island. No joke. Like you, I was once an evil schemer who played antagonist during season two and more than once tried to throw challenges in season three for a chance to vote someone on my team off, namely Gwen. I regret purposefully trying to lose as that only put a target on my back and I know you've learned not to do so either. My past actions don't mean I'm heartless, though, as I really feel bad about my wrongdoings after re-watching past seasons while Duncan and Al have no shame whatsoever. If it's any consolation, you're an altar boy compared to those pieces of shit."
"That does make me feel better, so thanks." Scott replies.
I tell him "My pleasure. Zoey was also right when she said last season you had a heart, even if it wasn't for the reasons she thought, and you two ended up becoming enemies instead of friends as she might have initially expected to be. There's no doubt you proved during all our time together that you do have a heart, which makes me glad I agreed for us to be a couple. You should feel proud of yourself for becoming a better person than you used to be. I know I am. What initially attracted me to you was your sense of dedication to those who matter to you. Staying loyal means quite a lot, so please do keep that up. I know I've been saying lots and it must've been hard to take all of that in, so thank you for listening."
The two of us then hug as we share another kiss.
"Something I feel I should say is that this is my first relationship and I might not always fully know what I'm doing, so sorry in advance for anything awkward that I say or do." Scott discloses with an embarrassed look on his face, which he also privately stated off-camera after we first got together in the original timeline.
"Nothing for you to be ashamed of. Even if you don't get awkward, it's far better to be inexperienced and faithful than some experienced cheater or someone who goes around toying with hearts. Showing that you care for me and who I am goes a long way. If you can learn from any mistakes made and are willing to improve upon them, then we should be fine." I respond, which makes him smile.
Last time he shared his inexperience with me, I told Scott that it wasn't really a problem for as long as he stayed loyal, was willing to learn what to do, and liked me for who I was, which he did. That still applies. Some people might be turned off by a lack of experience, but I personally feel honored to be his first girlfriend. One can gain experience and insight as well as learn from mistakes when they haven't dated before. Infidelity on the other hand isn't something that can be changed.
Ms. Goth and the bubble boy then show up with four soda cans. "Cameron told me about your plans to celebrate Alejandro's departure, so shall we do that now?" she asks. "An intern left these sodas near the boys' cabin for some reason without stopping by ours."
"Fine by me! Let's have a toast." I reply.
Us Vultures each take and open a can. Wilkins initiates our toast with "To Alejandro's elimination." as he raises his soda.
"To Alejandro's elimination!" the rest of us cheerfully repeat before we all clink our cans together and drink from them.
Even if we lost, tonight is a good night. A major douchebag is gone plus Cameron truly feels more like a friend than before. He also seems to be getting along better with Scott now. Once the four of us finish our sodas, the bubble boy heads over to the boys' cabin and Gwen goes into the girls' one.
"Goodnight, Courtney. I hope to win tomorrow for a change." Scott tells me, not knowing the merge is about to arrive.
"Goodnight to you too, Scott. Winning does sound quite nice." I reply, and then we kiss again before he goes over to his cabin.
After that, I walk into my own cabin to join my goth friend, who is already on the top of one bunkbed. I need sleep and don't care if my breath smells like soda right now. She tells me "While we did lose another challenge, I'm really glad Alejandro of all people was eliminated tonight. It's also nice to see how happy you and Scott look together. Have a nice rest."
"Thanks, and hopefully you sleep well too." I say while climbing into the bunk below her. "Al going home is glorious. Dating Scott has also been wonderful so far. He's been more of a gentleman than one might initially expect. Perhaps falling in love changed him. I know I made the right choice either way in saying yes to him."
Before I fall asleep, my mind starts thinking about the original timeline. 3 wins and 4 losses prior to the merge here. Combining my days in my first run-through as both a Hamster and a Vulture, I had a total of 5 wins and 2 losses back then in this season pre-merge. Sure, it would've been nice to win more, but I'm still glad I was teammates with Gwen and Scott for all the team challenges this time around. Not all of it was in my control, though, as I couldn't have known all of what would happen when starting on a different team in this run-through. I eventually drift to sleep hoping to win the next challenge.
No more team challenges! While I already know who will get the first solo victory of this season, you'll have to wait until Chapter 12 comes up to find out.
Reason for elimination: The Hamsters know Alejandro is a big threat in Total Drama AND a generally untrustworthy person, so they couldn't miss the opportunity to give him the flush when possible. Nobody left in the game likes him or wanted to deal with his antics after the teams merged.
Elimination Order:
Sierra (14th place), Lightning (13th place), Jo (12th place), Duncan (11th place), Heather (10th place), Alejandro (9th place)
Remaining Players:
Heroic Hamsters: Lindsay, Mike, Sam, Zoey
Villainous Vultures: Cameron, Courtney, Gwen, Scott
Chapter posted: October 31, 2018.