Author's Note: And we are here! the last elimination before the finale! It's coming early because I've been sick in bed for a couple of days with nothing to do. So expect Episode 25 on Sunday. Also, I've swapped the order of them. Next chapter will be an aftermath and then a winner will be crowned on Mutiny on the Soundstage.
Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, the shuffled concept or the (most of) the characters.
And now, the reviews!
Starheart Specials: Noted. :)
That British Guy: I admittedly kept her on longer than I should have. And it's not weird, that part was supposed to be funny.
Derick Lindsey: I'm glad you liked him last episode! I was a little worried about having him be the focus. And sorry to say it, but I'm glad you were afraid for DJ. It means that I did a good job creating suspense. You have some interesting predictions and your thoughts have been noted. And to answer your last question, read on. :)
mattafat: Looks like I did a good job keeping you on your toes. :)
Current Castmates:
Boys: DJ, Victor
Girls: Heather, Kitsune
And for our last elimination, two cast members will go the way of the dodo
Episode 24: Top Dog
"Last time on Total Drama Action," Chris said over a shot of the film lot. "Some surprise packages from home stirred up all kinds of emotions in the cast," Heather was shown looking smugly at her trophy, DJ and Sugar were seen smiling at their gifts, and Victor and Kitsune were shown tearing up at theirs, "then they got a taste of life in zero-gravity conditions," the five were seen floating in the space shuttle.
"But all was not well in the universe as Victor struggled with his new role as the mole," the gentleman was seen nervously looking around before destroying the window.
"In the end, Victor won the challenge," he was seen smiling weakly in the suit, "but lost his gentlemanlyness. Kitsune won Victor's allegiance," she, DJ and Victor were shown discussing the vote, "but lost her chance to finally axe Heather. And Sugar?" She was seen being carried to the limousine by Chef. "Sugar didn't win anything except a limo ride out of the competition."
"Will Heather manage to avoid the Lame-osine yet again?" The queen bee was shown in the confessional.
"Will Victor's conscience finally get the best of him?" The gentleman was shown groaning after Sugar's blackmail attempt.
The scene flashed to Chris at his usual spot in front of the cast trailers. "All this and more, on today's out-of-this world episode of, Total! Drama! Action!"
XXXXX
[A stage light pops up in front of some fake buildings and turns on; a camera with a rat on top of it comes out of a manhole; another camera comes out of the hollow of a tree, along with some garbage and a very confused raccoon. A pair of hands claps a film slate in front of the camera, and the camera flies through the film lot; Chris drives a golf cart with Chef in the passenger side in the camera's path. The host grins and waves and the cook crosses his arms and scowls as the lyrics start]
Dear Mom and Dad I'm doing fine
[The camera passes through a tree and files down a road between the studio warehouses, dodging a farm backdrop and a sunset backdrop before flying through a costume rack]
You guys are on my mind
[The camera flies up the fake mountain and peeks over the edge to see a pool of water, then jumps in]
You asked me what I wanted to be
[As the camera lands in the pool, bubbles fill the screen and then disapate to show Sugar in her bikini with a large shark behind her. The pageant queen farts as the shark opens its mouth, then it chokes]
And I think the answer is plain to see
[The camera pans up to show Harold on a surfboard hooked up to some rigging. He tries to dodge seagulls that are shooting past him like bullets, only to take one to the face and be knocked in the water.]
I wanna be... famous
[The camera quick pans to the left, showing Duncan manning what can only be described as a seagull cannon with a sadistic grin on his face. The camera pans back to show Sky looking at the punk with contempt as he fires the rest of the gulls. The camera flies between them, then pauses in front of a large door as Sasquatchanawkwa runs across it in a pink dress and boa The door opens and the camera flies into a bright light.]
I wanna live close to the sun
[The light fades into a shot of the beach set where Leshawna sits on a pool chair. She is flanked with sharks in their own chairs The camera zooms in on Leshawna as she gives a huge smile.]
Well pack your bags 'cause I've already won
[The camera pans to the right and ending up on Noah in the confessional reading a book with a smug expression pn his face and his legs propped up on the table. He leans back and goes too far as he falls backwards.]
Everything to prove, nothing in my way
I'll get there one day
[The camera quick pans to the right again to show Heather and a bald and camo cap wearing Alejandro on rock pillars against a dark backdrop. The two have dueling sticks, Heather's is blue and Alejandro's is orange. Alejandro hits Heather a few times and she responds with a jab to his face, his cap falls off and the camera quick pans down to show the hat falling perfectly on DJ's head.]
'Cause I wanna be... famous
[The camera zooms out a bit to show DJ stirring a metal pot with a smile on his face. He pulls out a small orange bottle and sprinkles something in the pot, takes out a spoon and offers it to someone off-screen; the camera zooms out more to show he was offering it to Sammy, who giggles and kisses him on the cheek. The camera pans out to show Amy watching the scene on one of two monitors in another room with a look of disgust on her face. She angrily presses a button and is surprised when an explosion rocks the other screen.]
(Na nananana nanananana nananananana)
[The camera cuts to the explosion as it fades away revealing a slightly singed Shawn nervously looking around... only to scream and run away to the right past a zombie in familliar clothing. The zombie reveals itself to be Kitsune, who giggles to herself as he runs past. The camera follows him as he runs past the Lame-o-sine then stops at the vehicle.]
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous (Na nananana nanananana nananananana)
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous (Na nananana nanananana nananananana)
[The camera zooms in on the limousine's window, which rolls down to show a smiling Mike and Zoey. The window behind them rolls down to show Victor smiling at the couple. He opens the door with an formal bow. The camera flies past a series of flashes as if it were going down the red carpet and stops at Chris in a blue tux on the amphitheatre. The host grins and opens an evelope, then looks over at a scowling dress-wearing Chef as he holds a tray of Guilded Chris's. Chris purses his lips and gives a look to the camera. The camera zooms out to show the scene was being watched on a monitor, then pans down to Gwen and Trent, the latter strumming the last few notes of the theme on his guitar.
The camera zooms out to show the non competitors on the center couch of what looked to be the set of a talk show, flanked by two double tiered couches. On the top left: Noah, Sammy, DJ, and Tyler. On the bottom left: Zoey, Mike, Leshawna, Harold, Duncan, and Kitsune. On the top right: Staci, Malcolm, Victor, Sky, and Alejandro. And on the bottom right: Scarlett, Sugar, Shawn, Amy and Heather. The feed on the monitor fizzles out and changes to the Total Drama Action logo]
XXXXX
The episode opened on a shot of the morning sun before panning down to the cast trailers. The camera centered on the guys', then cut inside as Victor woke up with a yawn and a stretch of his arms. Sitting up in his bunk, he drowsily looked around and scratched his head in confusion.
His attention was drawn by the door opening and DJ walking in, looking rather groggy.
"Were you absent from the trailer all night?" Victor asked his roommate.
"Yeah," the brickhouse said with a yawn. "Chef spent all night grilling me about my recipes. I don't know why, it's not like the guy's plannin' on usin'em any time soon."
XXX
"Luckily, it's not the first time I've had to stay up all night dealin' with Chef," he continued in the confessional, "so I shouldn't be at a disadvantage if there's a challenge today. Man I hope there's not a challenge today."
XXX
DJ yawned and laid down on his bunk. "I'll be fine after a quick nap," he said. Just then, the trailer door burst open. Chris walked in and promptly and joyfully blew a few notes on a bugle into the room. "Wake up, sleepyheads!" he announced with glee.
The boys glared at the host.
"Breakfast is served!" Chris announced, ignoring the looks. "Along with today's movie challenge. You've got ten minutes to get your sorry butts down there!" Shooting them fingers pistols, he promptly backed out of the room.
"Perhaps you'll be lucky and today's challenge is coma themed," Victor suggested.
The brickhouse sighed and got up. "I doubt it."
\
The scene flashed over to the craft services tent. "Wow Chef!" Kitsune said in awe as the camera cut to a close-up of her plate as Chef ladled a portion of something that was pale yellow, lumpy, and slightly hairy onto it. "These scrambled eggs actually look edible!"
Chef looked at the goofball, then burst out into raucous laughter. "Scrambled eggs," he repeated before resuming his laughter and even falling over so that only his feet and legs stuck up above the serving counter. Kitsune shot her food a worried look and walked away.
She walked past Heather, who was sitting at the table closest to the counter, eyeing her food and not eating. "Don't care for today's special?" She asked her rival. Heather briefly glanced at her, then back at her food.
XXX
"I never thought I'd say this," the queen bee told the confessional, "but I needed Sugar to stay in the game. Without her it's three against me. And those odds don't work for me..." she trailed of with a thoughtful expression.
XXX
The scene cut to DJ approaching the serving counter, only to look confused at the lack of Chef. Soon the cook lifted his arm up and dropped a ladle of not-eggs onto his tray.
"Eggs," he said as he looked at his plate. "Good idea startin' off small." Chef broke out laughing again behind the counter, causing DJ to pause mid-step and give him a confused look over his shoulder. Chef managed to sit back up and wipe a tear out of his eye, and the brickhouse walked off while shaking his head.
He sat down next to Kitsune and Victor. "Good morning, Final Three," the goofball said with a smile.
"I believe you are confused," Victor said, "this is the Final Four."
"Yeah," she agreed. "But we all know who's getting the boot tonight. This challenge is just a formality. What do you think DJ?"
"Huh?" Asked DJ, the question having shaken him from his thoughts. "Sorry, I wasn't listenin'. I'm tryin' to figure out what this is," he gestured to his plate. "'Cause it ain't eggs."
Before anyone could respond, Chris spoke up. "Attention, cast!" he said, the camera cutting to him standing on the other side of the tent with a blue-and-yellow macaw perched on his shoulder. It squawked as the four contestants walked up.
"What is that thing?" Kitsune asked bitterly.
"That's my new BFFF!" Chris explained with a grin. "Best Flying Friend Forever. That brings us to today's movie genre: the Animal Buddy flic." The three teens gave him skeptical looks.
XXX
"You try comin' up with twenty-six movie genres," the host accused in the confessional. "It was either Animal Buddy, or Guy in Coma movies."
XXX
"The hallmark of any good animal buddy flick is the human-animal bonding," Chris explained as his macaw watched his keenly. "First, the human and the animal start out as enemies. Then, through many misadventures, the animal and human grow to care about each other," the camera zoomed in on the macaw as it seemed to be touched by the host's words, "and become fast friends."
The parrot rubbed Chris' chin affectionately with its head, and the host responded by extending a finger to rub the bird. However, the macaw decided to playfully chomp on the finger and squawked laughingly as the human winced in pain.
"You guys...just hang tight for a sec, kay?" Chris told the cast with a very unhappy look on his face. He walked off camera, and the castmates watched in mild horror as he beat up his alleged friend. Feathers flew, squawks were heard, and the host even grunted something like "Let go of my coif!"
He walked back into view moments later, brushing the feathers off his shoulder but ignoring the ones in his now-ruffled hair. "So...where were we...?" he asked idly before smiling in realization. "Right! The first Animal Buddy movie challenge will be to pick an animal and teach it to be just like you," he explained as the camera panned across the wary faces of Heather, Kitsune, DJ, and Victor. "That shouldn't be hard, since you're all animals." He leaned forward with a delighted and expectant grin on his face as a rimshot played, but none of the cast were amused.
Chris quickly resumed his usual demeanor and exposition. "The cast member whose animal most resembles them at the end, wins the challenge." The contestants were shown again, and DJ in particular was looking pleased.
XXX
"I'm great with animals," he bragged. "Like with Bunny." He scratched his chin in thought. "Course now that I mention it, I haven't seen the little guy in a while..."
XXX
The footage resumed at a shot of the contestants outside. "Alright cast," Chris announced, "time to meet your future BFFFFFs!" He motioned behind him, where something large and covered in an orange tarp was stationed between him and Chef. "Best Furry, Feathered, or Finned Friends, Forever!" he explained further, earning an eyeroll from the cook as he pulled away the tarp.
The four teens gasped as the four cages were uncovered. The camera focused on each animal one-by-one. First was a brown bear that roared at the cast, then a smaller cage holding a rather agitated looking red fox, then an even smaller cage holding a raccoon that tried to claw at them, and finally a bird cage holding a small green parrot.
"Pick an animal," Chris told the cast, "and get training. You have three hours."
"I call the fox!" Heather said immediately, elbowing Kitsune's stomach and dashing forward towards the rounded cage before either of the others could react. She knelt down beside it with a smirk, and it looked at her curiously.
XXX
"At this stage in the game I need every advantage I can get," Heather explained. "So keeping Faith away from the animal she dresses as everyday was a no-brainer."
XXX
The scene returned to the two boys standing between the bear and raccoon. "I believe that the raccoon is the best option for me," the gentleman said.
"And I'll take the bear," DJ announced. "It likes to eat. I like to cook. We should get along fine." The bear nodded its head.
The camera cut to Kitsune trying to regain her breath. "Okay," she wheezed as she headed to the bird cage. "I guess that leaves me the bird."
It squawked at her. "Rawk! Kitsune!"
"Cool," she said with a smile. "It knows my name." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Wait a minute. How does it know my name?"
She walked over to Chris. "Chris?" she asked. "Is this the same bird that voted me off last season?"
"Why yes it is," he told her with a grin. "I was hoping you'd get that one."
The goofball groaned in annoyance.
\
"All right," DJ said as the camera cut to him and the bear in the kitchen. "You're already big and strong like me, so we need to focus on a skill I'm pretty sure you don't have." The bear cocked its head. "I'm gonna teach you how to cook. First," he held up some eggs. "We crack some eggs."
\
The scene flashed to the space between the trailers. Victor and the raccoon were sitting at the picnic table. "If I am to win this challenge," he told it, "I will need to teach you manners."
The raccoon raised a claw in offense.
"I mean that literally, not the expression for violence. I assure you."
The raccoon thought for a moment, the held its paw out. Victor shook it.
The camera panned over to show Kitsune staring down the bird while it was in its cage. "Listen up Feathers," she told it. "I already don't like you because you caused me to lose once, and if you make me lose again, I'll turn you into a hat. Got it?"
"Rawk! Don't call me Feathers!"
"I'll come up with another name later," she promised. "Now let's teach you some jokes."
The camera moved to the other picnic table where Heather was watching her fox as it curled up on top.
"Can we get started anytime soon?" She asked it.
The fox looked up at her, then went back to its previous position.
XXX
"Okay," Heather said. "Maybe the fox was a bad idea."
XXX
A loud squawk was heard and the fox shot its head up and glared in the general direction. "Yeah, I think they're annoying too," Heather told it. Her face lit up in realization, then she smirked. "How about instead of training you, we mess with the others?"
The fox cocked its head to the side, then hopped off the table ans walked off. "I'll take that as a yes," Heather said before following her companion.
The camera panned back to Kitsune, who was staring the parrot down. "If I let you out," she said, "then will you cooperate?"
"Rawk! I'm a buddy, not a pet! Give me my freedom, Rawk!"
"Fine," the goofball said as she opened the cage. The parrot in turn flew out and away, but not before grabbing Kitsune's headband.
"Get back here with that!" She demanded as she chased after the bird.
Heather and fox walked into the shot. "Looks like there's nothing we can do there," she told her animal, which made a yip of agreement.
\
The camera flashed back to the kitchen. DJ was watching as the bear mixed something yellow up in a bowl. The bear stopped and turned to its human companion, who looked in the bowl and tsked.
"Looks pretty good," he said and the bear smiled. "Now before we cook'em we gotta add the secret ingredient. The bear cocked its head to the side. "Mama Spice," he said in explanation. "Go grab some from the rack. It's in the orange canister."
The camera cut to a spice rack by a window. Heather, reached her hand in and grabbed the Mama Spice container and put something else orange in its place. The bear showed up and grabbed the container, and the camera followed it as it added the spice to the bowl.
Outside, Heather and the fox grinned at each other.
XXX
"This challenge is so mine," Heather bragged in the confessional with her fox. It made and angry yip and she hastily added," Fine. It's ours." The foxed gave a short nod and yipped again.
XXX
The scene skipped ahead to Victor bowing as the raccoon watched him. "Now, repeat that," he instructed.
Before the animal could, Kitsune's parrot was heard saying "Catch me if you can!"
Shortly after Kitsune was heard yelling "Get back here you glorified parakeet and tell me where you hid it!" Both boy and raccoon had to hastily jump out of the way to avoid being trampled by the girl and when she left the shot, the raccoon shook its paw in anger and made a gesture that was censored.
"That was not gentlemanly," Victor chided. The raccoon smiled sheepishly.
\
A flash took the scene to a stock shot of the film lot before another cut took it to Chris and Chef sitting at a judge's table, the contestants and their animal buddies waiting around in front of it. "Alright cast," Chris announced, "time to judge the animal buddies."
"What happened to your headband?" DJ asked Kitsune.
"Ask him," she bitterly replied while pointing to the bird on her shoulder.
"Kitsune!" Chris called, earning the attention of the goofball and her partner. "You and your parrot are up first!"
"About that," she started nervously. "I didn't really get to teach him much of anything. You see he-" the bird suddenly flew away. "Did that... with-" She was interrupted by the parrot's squawk
Host and contestant turned to see the bird fly back to Kitsune, while holding her headband. "What was the point of hiding it if you were just gonna bring it back?" She asked.
"Rawk!" The parrot squawked. "It's called a prank!"
Chris and Chef looked at each other and held up two signs with numbers on it. "Seven!" Chris announced with a smile.
Kitsune gave a surpised look that morphed into a pleased smirk.
\
"Alright raccoon," Chris said next, "give us your best Victor impression."
The raccoon jumped onto the judges table, shook their hands, bowed, and jumped back down.
The two judges gave Victor a four and he slumped over in disappointment.
\
Heather scowled at the judges, then sniffed and turned around. The fox mirrored her movements, looking somewhat superior as it bagan to ignore the host.
Chris scowled at the display, but quickly turned unpressed and gave them an eight. Heather grinned at her opponents smugly.
\
"DJ," Chris told the remaining contestant. "Time to see what you've cooked up." Two plates of what looked to be orange scrambled eggs were pushed in front of the judges. "You uh, get a little confused on what the challenge was?"
"I didn't make it," DJ protested. "I taught him to do it," he pointed to the bear, who seemed to be grinning in prideful anticipation. Chef took a bite first and smiled, but the look soon turned panicked. He screamed for a few seconds, and a jet of fire shot out of his mouth.
"That is spicy!" He complained.
"Yeah," Chris wheezed. "But it still tastes good. I'll give it a ten."
DJ cheered, then shared a high-five with the bear as Heather scowled.
"And with that, the points have been tallied," the host announced. "The winner of the first challenge is DJ!"
"I finally won a challenge!" DJ cheered.
"And yet, you're still a loser," Chris commented jokingly before turning to look at the camera. "And we'll be right back," he said with a wink.
\
(Commercial Break)
\
The scene faded back in to a shot of a dirt road running through some unidentified forest just as a bus pulled up. Its door opened with a hiss, and Chris stepped off. "Here we are gang! Don't you just loooove field trips?"
Following him off the bus were the raccoon and Victor, then Kitsune with a rather smug looking parrot on her shoulder, then DJ who had to pull her bear through by the paw, and finally Heather and the fox who looked around in annoyance and disinterest respectively.
"The woods again?" Heather asked.
"Your next challenge is to find your way back to the finish line at the film lot," Chris told them as an angled shot of some trees nearby was shown, "a ten mile hike through these woods." The camera panned back to the castmates. "Using only your animal buddies to guide you," the host added and the shot moved over to the racoon, parrot, fox, and bear as they shrugged in ignorance.
"But be careful," Chris warned, "several vicious and life-threatening traps have been set up along the way."
"Courtesy of Chris McLean?" Kitsune asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You know it!" Chris confirmed. "First one back wins invincibility from tonight's vote, and DJ gets to shave thirty minutes off his final time for winning the first challenge. Everyone ready?"
None of the castmates said anything.
"In that case, I'll see you all back at the film lot," he told them as he took a step onto the bus, "and good luck." He chuckled as he boarded the bus, and moments later the door slid shut and it sped off in a cloud of dust.
The four teens lingered in the area for a moment, then slowly split up. Kitsune and the parrot went left, the boys and their animals went right, and Heather and the fox stood still the longest. The queen bee crossed her arms in frustration, looked from side to side, and sighed. "I think I know which way to go," she told her companion, who ignored her for a bit before looking up at her with enough disinterest to make her frown.
XXX
"That stupid fox is somehow more annoying than Faith," Heather complained. "DO you have any idea how frustrating it is to be teamed up with someone who refuses to help?"
XXX
DJ and Victor were shown wandering through the woods and searching around. The animals were following not far behind them on all fours.
"I was certain Kitsune was right behind us," Victor commented.
"She must've found a path she liked better," DJ said with a shrug.
The bear was shown sniffing the air, then grunted at DJ and stood up on its hind legs. Poking him with its paw, the bear pointed off-screen once it had DJ's attention. The raccoon was then shown pulling on Victor's pant leg and pointing to a different direction once it had his attention.
"It appears this is where we go our separate ways," Victor told his ally.
\
The camera flashed to Kitsune walking through the woods. "Hey," she said to her companion. "How about flying up and getting us a birds-eye-view? No pun intended. The bird nodded and flew off. A moment or two later, a squawk was heard and she follow in the general direction.
The camera moved to show her stepping on a string hidden behind a small shrub. It snapped, and a rock was launched out of a nearby bush by what looked like a small catapult. It hit Kitsune in the stomach, causing her to keel over.
The viewpoint shifted to a top down view of her on her back groaning in pain, which turned to a scowl when she heard the bird's squawking laughter.
\
The scene flashed back to DJ and the bear he was following. It paused to sniff the air, then ran off-screen, DJ quickly ran after it. With a quick-panning to the right, the camera cut on a patch of berry bushes as the bear came up to them, then sat down and started eating.
"So you brought us here because you were hungry," the brickhouse said in understanding as he caught up. "You'll get get us back to the film lot after you eat though?"
The bear looked back at him and nodded, its mouth covered in dark blue berry juice. It began to eat again, and DJ pursed his lips.
XXX
"It was a little nerve-rackin' to wait for a food break," DJ told the confessional. "But we practically got a half-hour head start, so there shouldn't be too much trouble. "Besides, I'm not about to get between a bear and his food. Mama didn't raise no fool."
XXX
The bear handed DJ a berry, and he popped it into his mouth.
\
The camera cut to Victor as he followed the racoon. "Are you positive that you know where we are going?" He asked.
The raccoon made a 'so-so' gesture, then wildly pantomimed various things while Victor watched in astonishment.
"I have no idea what you just said," Victor told it. The raccoon face palmed.
\
"Grrrr," Kitsune growled as she stormed through the woods, "Where is that bird brain?!" She stopped walking and turned her head from side to side. "Great! Now I'm gonna be eliminated twice because of that stupid bird" She looked up at the sky. "Are you enjoying this?!" She yelled.
"Rawk!" The parrot squawked and she lit up. "You bet I am!"
She narrowed her eyes and ran off. The camera followed her to show that show was rapidly approaching a large patch of ground with a suspiciously large number of sticks and branches on it. As soon as she stepped the odd patch of ground, the branches snapped and she fell with a holler into the pit that had been hidden.
Her landing kicked up a large cloud of dust, and the camera cut to the bottom to show Kitsune lying in a corner with a scowl on her face that intensified as the bird was heard laughing again.
\
DJ wiped the berry juice off his mouth, then smiled. "Y'know," he told his companion who also had a juice-stained mouth, "that was pretty good. You ready to head back?" The camera cut to a close-up of the bear as it nodded and got up on all fours.
"Cool," DJ said and the two took off. The camera followed them as they came across a pile of leaves. As soon as they hit it, a net seemed to appear in the leaves under their feet and dragged them up in a suspended bundle.
"This isn't good," the brickhouse commented. The bear nodded its head.
\
The camera flashed to Victor and the raccoon outside a small cave. "I am not sure there is time for a break," he told his companion. The raccoon nodded vigorously and crawled into the cave. "Very well, I will trust your judgement."
Inside the cave was the raccoon's surprisingly luxurious den. There was a reading corner, a kitchen, a ping-pong table, and even a big screen TV.
"Oh my," Victor said in astonishment upon seeing the den. "This reminds me of home." A raccoon walked by and offered him a sandwich from a tray. "Why thank you," he said as he accepted one.
The raccoon, holding a paddle, chirped at him from the ping-pong table. "I do not think-" All the raccoons in the den growled. "I could say no to such an offer," he finished in a slightly fearful tone.
\
Another flash took the scene to a close-up of Heather and the fox as they walked along, then came to a stop. The queen bee smirked and the camera pulled back to reveal that they'd come upon a river. "Would you look at that? We can swim back to the film lot." She looked at her buddy. The fox looked at the river, then turned to the right and started walking away.
"Fine," Heather said. "I'll just make it back without you." She jumped into the river and started floating with the current. Here eyes widened and the camera panned ahead to show that she was headed for a waterfall.
She screamed and the camera cut to the fox who stopped in its tracks, rolled its eyes, grabbed a nearby fallen branch, and walked back toward its companion.
\
"Okay," Kitsune told herself as the camera cut back to her rubbing her chin in thought. "I can probably make a rope out of my laces if need be. But I need something to tie it to, which would mean I'd be out of this hole and wouldn't need a rope in the first place."
"Tie it to the belt," a familiar voice squawked.
The goofball scowled. "And why should I trust you?" She asked.
The parrot flew on screen and landed on her shoulder. "Stopped being funny! Rawk!"
She sighed and began undoing her shoelaces. "It's worth a shot."
\
"How are we supposed to get out of here?" DJ asked his partner, the bear trapped in the net with him. "Do you have any idea?"
The bear started to shake its head, the lit up in realization. It pulled a knife from somewhere and handed it to DJ. "Why do you have a knife?!" He asked in alarm.
The bear looked sheepish. "You know what? I don't wanna know. But we have our way out now," he said as he began to saw away at the net.
\
The scene skipped ahead to a shot of the afternoon sun high in the sky, the camera panning down and to the right to show Chris standing alone by the cast trailers. A little ways to the left was a meager finish line flanked by tall red flags.
"For the past several hours," he narrated, "our Final Four have been navigating through a ten mile stretch of woods with the help of their animal buddies in a race to this location. And a few moments ago," a smile formed as the camera cut in for a close-up, "I received word that the first team is about to arrive. May I present to you the first member of our Final Three," he motioned stage right as the camera slowly pulled back, "DJ!"
As if he were cued, the brickhouse came running into view with his bear alongside her. They came to a stop in front of the host, and DJ looked around then turned back to Chris. "Where's everybody else?" He asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"Still in the woods I'm guessing," Chris answered with a shrug. "You and the bear are the first ones back."
XXX
"I gotta admit, I was never bothered about losin' before," DJ told the confessional, his bear buddy in the trailer with him. "In my mind, there's only one challenge where it matters if you came in first. But after almost goin' home last time, it's nice knowin' that I'm safe from elimination." He wrapped an arm around the bear. "And it's all thanks to this guy!" The bear smiled at the comment.
XXX
"So," DJ asked the host, both watching the woods along with the bear, "how long do you think it'll be before everyone else gets back?"
"Sure they'll be here any minute," Chris answered while looking at his watch.
The camera panned to the sun as it set, then the moon rose, then the moon set and the sun rose. The shot panned back to the three waiting for the remaining contestants, with Chris having grown a large and bushy beard, and the bear asleep.
"Any... minute... now," Chris said weakly, still looking at his watch.
"Uh, it's been a couple of days," DJ pointed out. "Maybe you might need to send out a search party."
"And here they come now!" Chris announced brightly before speeding off screen. The camera pulled back to show Victor and his raccoon and a soaking wet Heather and her fox walking up to the brickhouse.
"Are you guys ok?" DJ asked. "What took you so long?"
"I lost track of time when spending time with Lord Montague," Victor said while gesturing to the raccoon.
"And I wound up taking the wrong river," Heather explained through chattering teeth.
A familiar shout caught their attention and they turned to see Kitsune, now sporting and eye-patch and the parrot on her shoulder, swing into the film lot on a vine. "Argh!" She said in a thick pirate accent. "It be good to be back in me home port."
"Welcome back cast," said a clean shaven Chris. "Better late than never. DJ and his bear buddy easily won the challenge, which means invincibility. DJ gets a free pass into the Final Three."
"Shiver me timbers!" Kitsune cried. "Good job me boy!"
"The question is; Who will join him in the Final Three?" Chris asked. "And who will be the next one outta here? The answer will be revealed on the most exciting Gilded Chris ceremony ev-ah!"
"Now be the time to make the treacherous wench walk the plank!" Kitsune told her allies, who just gave her confused and concerned looks.
"Faith!" Heather groaned. "You're so annoying!"
"Who be Faith?" The goofball asked in genuine curiosity. "I be One-Eyed Foxy, the deadliest pirate on the Seven Seas! And this here's me faithful parrot, Eddie," she added with an affectionate rub of the parrot's head.
"She spent too long in a pit," the parrot explained. "Rawk!"
Heather walked up to the goofball, then slapped her across the face. Kitsune's pupils shrunk and she blinked a couple of times. "Thanks," she said begrudgingly. "I needed that."
XXX
"I must say," Victor said, "this has been one of the strangest few days of my life. At least I do not have to vote for DJ now. And maybe Chris will realize that a mole is no longer necessary"
XXX
[A grand theme played as the camera zoomed in on the amphitheatre. Several film strips of the host's highlights from the previous season flew past the screen, then the camera panned out from a solid gold screen to show a Guilded Chris.]
\
"This is a big one cast," Chris told the four teens from his podium. "DJ's safe from elimination which means the rest of you, are fair game. So," he mined a cat's claws scratching, "sharpen those claws and cast your votes. Someone is going home for the last time."
"Pfft," DJ scoffed. "Sorry girl, but you gotta go." He made his vote, and the screen shrunk into the top-left of the screen.
Kitsune sighed in relief as she made her vote. "Now that's satisfying." She shrank into the bottom-right.
"Like it matters at this point," Heather spat bitterly as she made her vote. She shrank into the top-right.
"There really is one choice," Victor said as he made his vote. He shrunk into the bottom-left.
A close-up of Chris grew from the center of the screen and stopped just before it overlapped with any of the castmates' faces.
"The Gilded Chris goes to..." the host announced. "DJ! And Kitsune!" The screen cut to Chris at the podium. "Heather, since you were the only one who didn't vote for you, it's time for your ride home."
"Finally!" Kitsune cheered.
"And Victor will be joining you," Chris added, causing everyone to gasp.
"But why?" DJ asked.
"Let's just say he had some special caused in his contract that he is now in breach of," the host answered.
"But DJ was immune!" Victor protested. "What would you have me do?"
"I don't know," Chris answered with a shrug. "Maybe sabotage DJ like we told you to," the other three gasped again.
"So Sugar was right?" Heather asked in disbelief.
XXX
"Confession time," Kitsune said. "I kinda knew Sugar was telling the truth. Seriously guys, Victor's a terrible liar."
XXX
Victor sighed and stood up. "I apologize for my actions and I hope that you will forgive me," he told his allies. "Please know that had I not been contractually obligated, I never would have influenced your votes like I had."
"Don't sweat it," Kitsune said with a wave of her hand. "We can't help the things this show makes us do."
"And it's not like you gave anyone an advantage in the competition," DJ added. Victor, upon hearing their words, beamed brightly.
"I'm not okay with it!" Heather shouted. "What was the point in the vote if you were gonna boot him anyway?!"
"Huh," Chris said. "I did not think about that."
"So that means that I can stay and he can go right?" Heather asked.
"Not really, all votes are final," the host explained. "And even so, technically he was disqualified after you were voted off."
"Well you'll be hearing from my lawyers!" Heather threatened.
"Considering that his being here kept you in the game for like three more episode," Chris replied, "I doubt you have a case."
The camera cut to a long distance shot of the film lot as a frustrated growl from Heather shook the screen.
\
The scene flashed ahead to Heather and Victor getting escorted to the Lame-osine by Chef. "You'll be penniless! Jobless! Your name'll be mud on every blog from here to Cape Breton!" Heather yelled back at the host. "You think you were in trouble when Alejandro sued?! I'll make you wish you never met me!"
Victor got in the limo, Heather was thrown in by Chef, and the cook slammed the door shut. It sped off in a cloud of dust, and the shot cut back to the start of the red carpet where the host stood flanked by the two finalists. "DJ! Kitsune!" he announced, putting his arms around their shoulders. The two smiled brightly at the camera. "The Final Two! One of you will become a millionaire! And the other...will not!"
The host rose his arms and knocked the two down in the process. "Tune in to our most controversial episode ever, of, Total! Drama! Action!"
(Roll the Crdits)
\
\
(Bonus Clip)
The Gentleman and The Queen Bee both sat in the limo in an awkward silence. "So," Victor started.
"Don't talk to me," Heather warned.
"Pardon me for attempting to dispel the tension," he replied sourly.
"Well I'm sorry," Heather said in frustration. "But I just lived through six weeks of torture, the guy I kinda have a crush on is head over heels with the most annoying person on the planet, and to top it all off I was just voted off. By you! So excuse me if I'm ot in the mood to talk. Especially considering if you'd done your job as a mole, I'd still be in the game!"
Victor pursed his lips. "You do realize that even without my vote you still would have been voted off. Also, the fact that the producers had to hire someone to keep you on the show should tell you something."
Heather opened her mouth but Victor cut her off. "But by all means, continue your sulking."
Author's Note Post Script: And the Final Two have been revealed. I'd actually planned them as being the finalists since day one, and I'll admit I probably didn't do a good job on keeping up suspense in regards to that.
Credit goes to Derrick Lindsay for the fox being one of the animals. But since I was already married to the idea of Kitsune getting paired with the parrot that caused her elimination last season the fox went to Heather, who was originally getting a Persian cat because it's the stereotypical movie villain pet. I also kept the bear and raccoon because, well, I liked them in canon.
Another reminder: Sunday will be another Aftermath, and it's gonna be a little different than usual. After that the start of the obstacle course that decides a winner.
As always there's probably more that I'm forgetting right now and will answer in reviews. I'm honestly not sure about this chapter.
With that I'm signing off
-TotalDramaFan14
RDA ELIMINATION TABLE:
16th Place: Mike/Zoey
15th Place: Zoey/Mike
14th Place: Amy
13th Place: Noah
12th Place: Sky
11th Place: Harold
10th Place: Shawn
Eliminated: Victor
9th Place: Leshawna
8th Place: Sammy
7th Place: Duncan
6th Place: Alejandro
5th Place: Sugar
4th Place: Heather
3rd Place: Victor