Wow another chapter! I'm trying really hard everyone! I only have one thing to say and that's a massive thank you to all of the people who are reviewing this story! I know it's been two and a half years in the making but your continued engagement really makes it feel worthwhile to keep doing this so thank you! That's enough chit-chat from me though, please enjoy the next chapter of the story!
(The Top of the Mountain)
After the thrill and excitement of all the side plots, our hosts, contestants and production are more than happy to continue this show as it was always intended. Chris, Don and Marnie, now officially all hosting together, stood at the top of the mountain ready to begin the intro for the next episode.
"Hi everyone!" Chris started with a grin, "If you missed last week's episode don't worry! You are not imagining that Don and I are back in the hosting gig!"
"That's right!" Don smiled on Chris' left side, "Circumstances have thankfully changed and have allowed us to come and see this project through until the end."
"And don't worry, I'll still be here too! This has officially become a team effort." Marnie giggled from Chris' right, the three of them for all intents and purposes looking like the best of friends.
"It's getting really exciting now! Because we're down to our final five!" Chris continued on, moving the introduction on seamlessly.
"Only three more people have to go before we reach our final two!" Don explained for the viewers.
"But who's it going to be? To help you all remember who's left and what they've done, we at Total Drama are here to present to you the… Contestant Recap." Marnie announced with a wide swing of her arms that caused the other hosts to give her a bit of a side eye as the scene transitioned.
(Recap!)
A voiceover begins on the screen as we see images of the five contestants. As each one is focused on, you get a little highlight reel of what they've been up to.
Aleena Kreppel, our resident filmmaker came in with one goal and one goal only, to create a documentary that she could be proud of to showcase her time here in the competition. Against the odds, she's made it to the final five where she has made strong friends, allies and proven herself strategically. She's won her team challenges:
The viewers are shown her and Alyssa taking candid photos of Chris during the decorating challenge. They are also shown her cracking the case of Boris' kidnapping last episode in which she played a vital part.
Will she be able to capture glory? Or will she run out of film?
Amelia Meadows, an actress who came onto the show hoping to prove that she was more than a pretty face and there was talent behind her too. She's formed strong bonds, managing to steer her alliance in its entirety all the way to the final 8 and she's been able to keep up in the challenges too:
The audiences are shown Amelia nearly winning the forest puzzle challenge and her consistently strong performances in the team challenges.
With her main rival being sent home last week, will Amelia be able to run to the final unopposed? Or will her competitors finally call cut on her run in the competition?
Ashe Ward entered the competition as an extremely nervous boy identified primarily by his inability to make basic decisions. He wanted to use the competition as a way to break out of his shell, and he might have managed that! He's managed to find himself a boyfriend, and has even won a challenge for himself!
A highlight of Ashe smacking Kyle in the head with a frying pan plays on the screen.
Having achieved his goal, Ashe has now turned his eyes to the prize money, but is it too little too late to start going for the win?
Iris Mae Ross, eldest sister to five younger siblings, she has always been one to provide, she's using the competition to earn money but to also get a change of pace from her normal life. A surprisingly strong competitor, she has shocked viewers with her impressive challenge record:
Viewers see her leading her team to a win in the cooking challenge as well as her solo win in the forest.
However, she is now the least connected person on the cast, will her challenge skill keep her in the game or will she stumble without solid allies?
Kahlin Mora, a surprisingly shrewd strategist who has spent the game keeping his threat level as small as possible. However with his new boyfriend and his extended exposure to some other smart players, the facade is starting to slip.
Clips of him being called out by Boris and Amelia are played. As well as him spending time with Ashe.
Will his calm projections keep him safe? Or is Kahlin's game starting to crumble around him?
(The Top of the Mountain)
"There you have it!" Don began, "You can find all of this out and more, right here! On Total-!"
"Drama-!"
"Audacious Alpines!"
(Theme Song)
Dear Mom and Dad I'm doing fine.
The title sequence begins with Nick looking at himself in the mirror in the confessional, he is fixing his hair before the door opens, scaring him and causing him to jump and fall onto the toilet. In walks Ashe who looks horrified and quickly runs out with his head in his hands.
You guys are on my mind.
Luciana is in the living room, enjoying a quiet read by the fire when Alyssa comes running down the stairs with two snowboards that she found. She throws one to Luciana who catches it with a grin as the two run out of the cabin.
You asked me what I wanted to be.
We now see the two girls skateboarding down the mountain, wearing the appropriate safety gear of course, they board past Boris who has somehow managed to get himself stuck in a tree, he calls for help as they ignore him.
And now I think the answer is plain to see.
Kahlin and Yvette are enjoying dinner together, they are both chatting incessantly but it appears that neither is actually listening to the other, they're both in their own worlds. The camera pans to show Amelia rolling her eyes and looking exasperated at the both of them.
I wanna be famous
Chef is in the kitchen cooking up dinner for the campmates, Yves is behind him, watching what he does carefully, Chef wipes some sweat off his brow and continues cooking as he does.
I want to live close to the sun
Damien is trying to have a nap in his bed when Adrian bursts in and starts singing to himself, Damien takes the pillow and places it over his head, trying to drown out Adrian's noise.
So pack your bags cause I've already won
Aleena is filming something in the distance, she is taking it very seriously, a furrow in her brow when Miles appears in front of her camera. This causes her to jump and throw her camera behind her, she growls at Miles and pounces on him, throwing them both down the mountain.
Everything to prove nothing in my way-
As the two of them fight and roll down to the bottom of the mountain, they land in a heap in the end and are soon joined by Alyssa and Luciana who cheer as they reach the bottom of the mountain.
I'll get there one day-
Iris is sitting by an open fire, rubbing her hands together and warming them slightly. She is soon joined by all the other members who gather around the fire to keep warm. They're all wearing their jackets and start whistling together, showing more camaraderie than before.
Nananana Nananana
Chris and Don arrive with a tray of cocoa, all in their own little takeaway cups. They begin handing them out to the contestants.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
Marnie can be seen behind a camera glaring at Chris and Don, writing something down in her notebook.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
All of the campers, plus Chris and Don smile happily as Marnie snaps her pencil in annoyance nearby, watching the scene with disgust.
(End Theme Song)
(The Boys' Bedroom)
Ashe and Kahlin were laying in bed together, Ashe's head was lightly resting against Kahlin's chest as he listened to him breathe. It was peaceful for a while, until Kahlin decided to bring up the elephant in the room.
"You voted for Yves didn't you?" Kahlin said, although phrased like a question, it was obvious that he already knew the answer, something that Ashe could feel.
"Yeah." He nodded, not feeling the need to hide it.
"Why?"
"Because I didn't want to risk going into a deadlock at four." Ashe explained honestly, "Yves and Iris will always pick each other over us, and we'd be the exact same. I knew Amelia and Aleena would be voting for Yves so I took the chance." Kahlin took a while to respond, his silence only causing Ashe's calm demeanour to turn more nervous. However, the taller boy nodded and shrugged.
"That makes sense." He said finally, which allowed Ashe to let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "I don't think I would have done it, and I would have preferred to have been aware of it before the elimination, but I can see your reasoning. I'm proud of you for making a decision and going with it anyway."
"Thank you." Ashe said softly.
"I know it was probably really hard for you, but that just shows how much you're growing." Kahlin smiled as Ashe lifted his head from his boyfriend's chest and slipped out of the bed.
"Maybe I am growing here." Ashe said happily, "It's nearly the final and I want to try my best to win."
"I want you to try your best too." Kahlin admitted, "Of course I'm going to win but I'd like you to at least try." He joked, Ashe laughed in response.
"Oh you think you're winning? I'd like to see you try." Ashe jabbed back playfully, Kahlin feigned hurt and let out a pretend choked gasp.
"You're lucky you're cute Ashe!" He fired at his boyfriend who only started laughing at the comment. "Let's just both try our best at the finale alright?"
"You know it." Ashe laughed as he got dressed for the day ahead.
(Confessional)
ASHE: Kahlin took that better than I'd hoped for really… I'd already worked out my plan to try and stop him breaking up with me if he was that hurt… I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.
KAHLIN: It would be so hypocritical of me to be mad at Ashe for voting out someone different, I voted out his best friend. I'm just glad he still doesn't know it yet.
(The Cafeteria)
Aleena and Amelia sat at a table together enjoying their breakfast, which seemed to have gotten an upgrade today! It consisted of actually edible bacon and eggs with toast on the side. The two girls were happily enjoying their food.
"Think this is their way of apologising for the whole kidnapping fiasco?" Aleena laughed as she happily ate her food.
"If it is, they can kidnap someone every week." Amelia laughed too, "This is the best food I've had in ages." The actress let out a small moan as she ate a mouthful of her breakfast which caused her friend to keep giggling.
"I didn't pick you to be someone who appreciates food like this." Aleena admitted, "Not that that's a bad thing of course."
"It's fine." Amelia shrugged in response, "When you're working for twelve, fourteen hours a day, you learn to appreciate quick and filling food because you do not have time to be messing around."
"Makes sense." Aleena nodded as she continued to eat. The two continued to eat in silence for a bit longer before the filmmaker broke the silence. "Can't believe we're at the final five." She said as Amelia looked up from her breakfast.
"I can." She said confidently, shrugging at her own comment. "If you don't believe you can do it, you never will. I've already pictured myself winning the trophy and the money, so that's what I'm going to do."
"Not if I beat you you won't." Aleena laughed as Amelia nodded in agreement.
"That's true, we'll have to wait and see won't we? With Yves out of the picture though I think it's just become a lot easier for us."
"For sure." Aleena smiled as the two continued to eat.
(Confessional)
AMELIA: I'm happy to keep taking Aleena to the final because I think I can beat her. I value her friendship and after the game I hope we can keep in contact, but I also know that when it comes to a final challenge, I'm going to be the one to take the W.
(The Front Porch)
Iris was currently on the front porch, looking off into the distance like she was in some sort of teen movie. For someone who had just seen their closest friend voted out, she seemed to be taking it rather well, even if the usual smile on her face was replaced by a wistful look. She was knocked out of her thinking though by the arrival of another person on the porch.
"Here you are." Ashe said as he opened the door, the red-haired girl turned to look at him and smiled in greeting as he walked over to her. "I've been looking for you." He admitted as Iris nodded.
"I come out here to think in the game." She said quietly, "I listen to the wind and the birds and it focuses me."
"Ahhh." Ashe nodded, "What are you thinking about?"
"Last night, what happened, what could have happened." Iris admitted, "I wasn't expecting a tie, it shocked me." Her words unbeknownst to her caused Ashe to grimace, all too aware of his own responsibility in what had happened during the previous elimination.
"Yeah…" He began, taking a deep breath to steel himself, "It was me." He said quietly, Iris looked at him with a face that didn't seem all too shocked.
"I thought it might be." She admitted, "I knew it wasn't me or Yves so that really only left you and Kahlin."
"Yeah… it was kind of obvious wasn't it." Ashe admitted with a sheepish look, "I'm sorry for voting her out."
"It is what it is." Iris shrugged, "It's a game at the end of the day and even though I'm upset, I can't stop playing you know."
"Yeah…" Ashe trailed off, "You don't want the whole explanation why?"
"Not really." Iris shrugged, "I'm sure you had your reasons just like I had my reasons for voting for Amelia, it's not my place to demand you tell me."
"Oh…" Ashe trailed off, shocked at her reaction.
"I'm also not silly enough to burn our bridges Ashe, this is a game about connections, and I don't want to jeopardise the ones that I do have over one that won't do any good in the game." The short boy was stunned into silence at Iris' pragmatism, all the while she continued to look out into the snow.
"Right." Ashe nodded as he turned away, "I'll see you at the challenge then."
"See you then." Iris dismissed him as he reentered the cabin.
(Confessional)
IRIS: Of course I'm upset with Ashe, why wouldn't I be? But this is a game at the end of the day and everything I said stands true, I'm not going to burn bridges with someone who potentially holds my fate in this game. It's just the way Total Drama can be.
(The Living Room)
In a situation rather similar to the one before, Kahlin was sat in the living room watching the fire peacefully roar in its place when he was suddenly joined by the figure of Amelia. The actress sat on the other sofa and looked at him until his eyes lifted to meet hers.
"Can I help you?" Kahlin asked the girl who shook her head.
"No. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Amelia said with a concerned look on her face.
"I'm fine." Kahlin said shortly.
"Even though your boyfriend turned against you and voted out your ally?" Amelia asked innocently, throwing the words away almost as if they were meaningless.
"Is that what this is about?" Kahlin asked with an annoyed expression. "If you've just come here to try and drive wedges between me and Ashe you should just stop now."
"Okay, no need to get defensive, I was literally just asking if you were okay." Amelia quickly got her guard back up, placing her hands up in an attempt to de-escalate his mood. "I'm not happy in the way she went home anyway, to go in some tiebreaker decided by that dimwit? We spent so long building a rivalry that it doesn't feel very cathartic to win anyway."
"Oh… then I'm fine." Kahlin said still confused by the girl's intentions. "Ashe and I talked about it and it is what it is at the end of the day. We keep moving forward."
"Ah, that's good then." Amelia smiled as she left the room as quickly as she arrived, leaving Kahlin sitting and frankly confused.
(Confessional)
AMELIA: Of course there were ulterior motives, I obviously wanted to see if Kahlin had one, figured out if Ashe was the one who flipped, and two, if that had made them weaker. Looks like the answers were yes and no respectively, which is the worst combination.
KAHLIN: She's really losing her touch. You're getting desperate Amelia, sorry about it.
(Outside)
Our three hosts had now gathered the five remaining contestants in front of the cabin, as they usually did before the challenge. The teens stood before them with determined expressions as Don began to talk.
"First of all, we want to say congratulations to you all for making it to the final five, this is a really big achievement."
"But you haven't made it to the end yet." Chris reminded them with a playful wave of his finger. "And you're about to find out which one of you will be making it directly to the final four right now in this challenge."
"Want to know what the challenge is going to be about?" Marnie asked the contestants with a grin. They all continued to look at the female host while nodding as she continued to smile. "We've had mental challenges, and we've had physical challenges, we've even had skill challenges. But the point of this challenge is going to test all of that."
"That's right! We're going to put you through a gauntlet of mental and skill challenges which will garner you points, the more points you have, the longer head start you have in our gruelling final obstacle course, Does that sound good?" Don asked the teens who all looked at him with pretty blank expressions.
"You guys are so hard to impress." Chris sighed as he pointed to a couple off-road vehicles. "Just get in so we can get on with this." Our five teens did as they were told and bundled into the vehicles before being transported to the challenge location.
(Confessional)
ALEENA: Yeah I'm totally not winning this challenge either. Bar Ashe I think I'm the weakest physically here, and after seeing him brutally concuss two people, I wouldn't even take my chances there…
(The Challenge Set)
The hosts and contestants found themself in a large warehouse setting which seemed to be set up like a gameshow. There were five podiums for each of the contestants, each with their own corresponding colour, which also matched the jumpsuits that they were wearing. The hosts were also behind their own podium holding queue cards.
"Oh okay, it's a gameshow." Kahlin nodded as he looked down at his blue jumpsuit.
"A gameshow within a gameshow." Aleena laughed, fiddling with the sleeves on her green jumpsuit. "Can I have my camera back though?"
"No can do, that's not a part of the uniform." Chris shrugged as Aleena looked rather uncomfortable.
"Are we going to get more info on the challenge now or?" Amelia asked in her yellow jumpsuit.
"We're getting there!" Marnie exclaimed as the cameras were setting up. "TV takes a while, you of all people should know that." The actress went a bit red at being chastised and remained behind her podium as the producers off camera gave the go ahead for the filming to begin.
"Welcome one and all to the first and probably last ever broadcast of Total Drama Aces! The gameshow in which contestants on Total Drama compete to see which of them is the ace! Or rather, the most well-rounded individual!" Chris began quickly as the teens all stood behind their podiums.
"Our competitors will compete in three rounds of games designed to test their mental and physical skills. They will be allotted points based on their success, and these points will directly correlate to the head start they receive when they attempt our gruelling ultimate course!" Don continued as an image of a large obstacle course with cargo nets, monkey bars and even puzzle locks appeared on a large screen behind the hosts.
"Shall we meet our contestants?" Marnie asked as the five remaining teens looked rather confused by the sudden switch in hosting style. "In Blue we have the tallest person left in the competition! Will his height and weight give him an advantage in the physical portions? It's Kahlin!" The boy waved at the camera as he was introduced.
"In Red, we have a contestant who has already won a challenge based around a puzzle, can she do it again? It's Iris!" Chris introduced Iris who also waved sweetly at the camera.
"In Yellow, its the queen of the screen who is also just a little bit mean. She's proven her varied skills before but will she be able to put them to good use here? It's Amelia!" Marnie introduced the actress who gave a polite wave to the camera, very diplomatic.
"In Green, its the filmmaker who's survived longer than even she thought she would! Could her tenacity be enough to snatch her the win here tonight? It's Aleena!" Like the others she smiled and waved to the camera.
"And last but not least in pink, it's our resident small boy who has won the hearts of many with his sweet personality. But will that even be any use to him here? Only time will tell. Give it up for Ashe!" The final boy gave a wave himself to the camera as our three hosts clapped for them all.
"Shall we get this whole shabang underway then?" Marnie asked her fellow hosts who nodded excitedly. "Our first challenge is going to test your concentration and multitasking skills." Suddenly the podiums in front of the contestants disappeared and are replaced by five large structures that were built with a couple tubes made from metal wires.
"This looks confusing I know." Don said with a smile, "If you look at the bottom of the tracks, you'll find a set of ping-pong balls. You'll start by placing one ball into the track, it'll fall down the track and fall out the bottom. Or it would if you don't catch it first."
"Your goal is to catch the ball before it falls to the floor and then place it back in the track. Every so often you'll add another ball onto the track meaning you have to spend a lot of time watching the balls fall, catching them, and making sure you time when you put the balls into the track to make sure you have enough time to do it all." Chris took over the explanation.
"The first person to drop a ball gets one point, the next one gets two, and so on and so forth until the last person standing receives the full five points." Marnie finished, "Does that make sense to you all?" The teens nodded as the hosts gave them all a thumbs up. "Let's get to it then."
(Confessional)
ASHE: I might actually be able to do this! When I came in here I thought we'd be spending a lot of time lifting things or something, but this is just putting balls in a track, how hard could it even be?
(The Warehouse)
"Contestants, drop your balls in 3… 2… 1…go." Chris announced as our five players dropped their balls into the track. They watched as they ran down the tubes, slowly approaching the bottom of the track. The balls were in the tube for a surprisingly long time, and with only one on the track it made it rather hard to stay focused as the contestants. Despite this they all successfully caught the ball and dropped it back into the track.
"Is this all it is?" Amelia asked as she placed the ball back in. "It's really simple."
"It was, but not now when I tell you to add your second ball into the track." Don smiled, "Make sure you time it right." The five players all picked up another ball and placed them into the track. Doing this shortened the time they have to focus on the first ball dramatically.
"Oh yeah I see why this is hard." Ashe muttered as he caught the first ball and dropped it into the track before immediately returning to catch the second ball.
"One slip in concentration and it's over." Iris agreed, catching her ball while the telltale noise of a ping pong ball hitting the ground was heard.
"Oops." Kahlin said as his ball rolled along the floor.
"And just like that, Kahlin has lost the first challenge, he will receive one point for his efforts." Marnie quickly announced as the others all realised how easy it would be to lose concentration and doubled down on their tracks.
(Confessional)
KAHLIN: I got distracted by a shadow across the floor, thought it was spooky…
(The Warehouse)
"Time for a third ball!" Chris announced as the four contestants all groaned, two was hard enough. They all grabbed a third one though and dropped them into the tracks. It now meant that there wasn't all that much breathing time in between the balls. This was something Amelia found out when she watched as her yellow ball fell to the floor while she was still holding the previous one.
"Goddammit!" She cursed as she dropped the ball she was holding on the floor in frustration before taking a step away from her structure.
"And Amelia is the next one to drop, she will receive two points for her effort." Don narrated as Amelia rolled her eyes. The rest of the contestants continued to struggle with the track and it wasn't long before someone else was caught out by a falling ball, it rolled into view revealing its colour… Red.
"Oof and Iris is the next out! She receives the middle of the road 3 points." Marnie announced as Iris nodded, looking slightly disappointed in herself.
"Oh I'm top two?" Aleena gasped, "That's shocking."
"Believe in yourself Aleena." Amelia shouted from the sidelines, the filmmaker gave her friend a thumbs up in response.
"Only two of you left…" Chris said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I think it's time to add a fourth ball." Our two remaining contestants looked at each other for only a split second fearfully before picking up a fourth ball and carefully placing it into their track. Now they had barely any time in between catching one ball and then the other.
"Oh this is really tough." Ashe lamented as he placed a ball back into his track for what felt like the hundredth time.
"You can do it Ashe!" Kahlin called out to his boyfriend who smiled at the encouragement before his face turned back into a determined stare.
The two of them seemed to be rather good at this as they both kept up at four balls for quite a while. So long in fact that our hosts seemed to be getting bored.
"Alright, let's get this over with." Don smiled, "Time to add the fifth ball into the track." Both the remaining teens gulped at the thought of having to keep up with five of these balls but they nodded as they carefully placed them into the track.
"Oh wow." Aleena said as suddenly there was no time at all between the balls and she was constantly stuck in a cycle of catching and replacing the ball into the track. Ashe was very similar as both of them seemed to be consistently moving. That is of course until one of them messed up and the sound of a ball rattling across the floor was heard throughout the warehouse.
The ball was green.
"Aleena drops her ball! That means Ashe is the winner of part one and shall receive the full five points for his efforts!" Marnie announced as Aleena looked disappointed but still clapped for Ashe who looked over the moon.
"I won!" He shouted, "Go me!"
"You only won the first part Ashe." Amelia reminded him which deflated him slightly but not overly.
"It's all good, I won something."
"Are you guys ready for part two?" Chris asked with a smile as the contestants, having now got into the challenge seemed excited.
(Confessional)
ASHE: I won! I won something in the challenge! Did I win immunity? No. But if that had been for immunity I would have won it!
ALEENA: I really thought I had that one. Spending all that time looking for the perfect shot really improves your concentration by the way. Just a little advantage.
(The Warehouse)
Our contestants' metal tracks had now been replaced by a large outline of a rectangle. There were also a variety of pieces scattered on the tables in front of the.
"We've tested your concentration and reactions, now we're going to test your smarts." Don revealed as all of the contestants nodded. "Here we have a large puzzle where every piece is actually the same shape!
"Like this one?" Iris asked as she picked up a piece which was indeed, a plain square with no identifying edges
"Just like that one." Don nodded. "The rules for this one are also simple, first person to finish the puzzle receives 5 points, second gets 4, you get the gist." The five players nodded in understanding as the hosts stood before them.
"Off you go then!" Marnie released the contestants who all immediately began working on the puzzle.
"Kahlin is quick to get pieces on the board, but Iris is spending her time studying the pieces herself." Chris began to narrate.
"I imagine she's working on figuring out what the puzzle actually is." Marnie offered which her fellow hosts agreed with.
(Confessional)
IRIS: I've already won a puzzle challenge once before, so I'd like to show that it wasn't just a fluke and do it again, although this one is much harder than the first one.
(The Warehouse)
The five contestants were now making progress on their puzzle. It was clear that Iris was out in front but Amelia and Kahlin were making decent attempts and Ashe and Aleena weren't too far behind. It was looking like it could be a clear race.
"They're really speeding through this." Don mentioned as all of them were putting more pieces, it was becoming clear that the puzzle wasn't even an image and was instead some form of colour gradient.
"Okay this is evil." Ashe moaned as he looked at two different shades of blue and tried to work out which one was lighter.
"That's what makes it fun." Chris smiled as he watched the contestants' confusion grow even more. "Huh what's that?" He said, looking off camera at a producer. "Oh this is boring? Just speed it up in post?"
(Sped up in Post)
We see the five contestants continue to work on their puzzles but this time in 5x speed! Iris continued to push out in front despite this puzzle not really being like a puzzle. Aleena was starting to get the hang of the colour gradients by this point and seemed to be taking the second place at the moment.
"Done!" Iris, as expected took the victory and won the full five points, she was eventually followed by Aleena who picked up her consecutive second place on a challenge.
"Check." Kahlin said as one of the hosts ran over to look at his finished board, he was given the nod and claimed third place.
Amelia and Ashe were the last two standing, but it was Amelia who managed to finish the puzzle first. Ashe still finished the puzzle a minute or so behind because he was determined not to leave it unfinished.
(Back to Normal Speed)
"There we go! Iris takes the five points." Don smiled, "Let's have an update on the scores! Marnie?"
"In joint first place we have Iris and Aleena, both of them currently have eight points." Marnie smiled, "Ashe is next with six points, Amelia has five, and Kahlin is currently in last with four points." A fun little graphic appeared on the screen with the contestants faces and their point totals.
"But we've still got one more round before the decider!" Chris smiled as the contestants wondered what it could even possibly be.
(Confessional)
AMELIA: How are all these people suddenly so good at challenges? I mean Aleena hasn't come close to winning a single one and even she's beating me?
ALEENA: I'm really good at colour differentiation! I spend a lot of my time studying compositions of pictures and film, guess I've just got a bit of practice and it finally paid off!
(The Warehouse)
The puzzle boards had now also been replaced, this time with wooden frames. They were shaped like door frames but without the actual door part and instead had a series of wooden pieces sticking out of the sides, each set getting progressively smaller as you went down.
"This is a challenge of your physical endurance and mental fortitude." Don informed the contestants. "You will all stand on the highest wooden blocks on your frame, the largest ones, and at regular intervals we're going to take a step down to a set of smaller frames. You can drop off at any time, but remember that you get points based on where you place."
"Now you're just performing torture on us?" Aleena squinted at Don who shrugged.
"It's seeing how far you'll go for a win." Chris chimed in which didn't seem to help the situation in any sort of way.
"Let's get it over with then." Kahlin sighed as he took place to climb up the frame. The contestants, all resigned to their fates, did the same as the hosts looked excited to see how it went.
"Alright then! Climb up on the frames! Your time starts now!" Marnie announced as the five players climbed up the door frames, immediately you could see that the challenge was not comfortable for any of them as their eyebrows furrowed, trying hard to block out the discomfort.
"You're going to be uncomfortable." Don said with a solemn bow of his head, "And then the discomfort is going to turn into pain, and it's deciding whether or not the pain is worth it to keep carrying on."
"Yeah I'm not doing this." Aleena piped in as she hopped down from the frame, "I'm really not into this whole causing pain for gain or something."
"Well, that was quick, you were up there for a total of 20 seconds Aleena." Chris said in surprise as the filmmaker waved her hand at him as she went to sit down on a bench provided. "Everyone else though is looking solid."
(The Warehouse, but later)
"Alright, that's ten minutes." Marnie clapped the contestants, "That means it's time to drop down onto the next set of pegs, remember that if you slip off, you're out of this round." All four remaining teens took a breath and began the descent to the much smaller set of pegs on the frame.
"Amelia makes it down." Don noted as the actress quickly took her place on the next set of pegs, immediately you could see that this was more challenging than the last round as her face twitched in concentration. She was soon joined by the other teens who all shared her looks of discomfort.
"This is much harder than the last round." Chris said, just as he did another person dropped off the frame.
"Oh there goes Ashe." Don sighed as the shy kid dropped onto the floor, he rubbed his legs in pain and sighed.
"I slipped." He groaned as he walked over to go and sit with Aleena.
"And then there were three." Don said as the three remaining players all gritted their teeth to continue.
"Shall we make this a little more difficult?" Chris asked, before waiting for an answer he continued, "Yes I think we should. Everyone step down to the final set of pegs. We're going to go until one of you is left."
(Confessional)
ALEENA: Yeah, forever thankful that I stepped out of that one early, so not worth it.
(The Warehouse)
All three contestants had managed to step down onto the next set of pegs, these ones were practically non-existent and required people to use a lot of core strength to even hold themselves up on the doors.
"This is going to really test you know." Marnie continued to narrate, "You're going to feel it in your feet, your shoulders, your thighs."
"No I'm not gonna be able to keep going." Iris sighed as she stepped down off of the platform in pain, "Good luck you two." She said to Kahlin and Amelia who seemed to have zoned out entirely, not even paying attention to what she was saying.
"Amelia vs Kahlin." Don said, it's now a battle of mental fortitude, who can keep this up the longest?"
(Confessional)
KAHLIN: I just wanted to do well at one challenge, because I was not doing so hot.
AMELIA: It hurt, but I also know that people here could easily target me, so I need to give myself any advantage I can at taking the immunity and keeping myself safe.
(The Warehouse, even later)
"It's been over an hour now." Marnie yawned as the other hosts and contestants looked bored out of their minds. However, neither Kahlin and Amelia looked to be moving. The two of them stayed up there for, well, just a long period of time that I'm not going to write about because it'll get boring really fast so we're just gonna skip to when someone falls off.
"And Kahlin drops off the frame!" The calm boy fell to his knees as his boyfriend quickly rushed over to check if he was alright.
"Amelia wins the final leg of the pre-challenge!" Chris exclaimed as the actress gingerly stepped onto the floor and groaned slightly.
"Are you okay?" Ashe asked Kahlin, he nodded as Ashe helped him to stand up. He exchanged a nod with Amelia as a sign of respect as the hosts all gathered in front of the contestants, who had all grouped in front of the frames.
"With that challenge finished," Don began, "We have the final scores! In last place, with a score of 8 points, it's both Ashe and Kahlin!" The boyfriends shared a little smile as they realised they were at the back of this challenge.
"They are followed by Aleena on a score of 9 points." Marnie continued.
"Amelia takes second place with 10 points thanks to her win here." Chris began to finish, "Which means that Iris is in the lead with 11 points!"
"That last challenge took longer than we thought so we're going straight to the course, hope you're all ready." Don smiled as the five players were led outside to the giant obstacle course that they had been building up to.
(Confessional)
IRIS: It feels good to go into the challenge in the lead! I'm feeling pretty vulnerable without Yves so having immunity would be nice going into elimination.
(The Obstacle Course)
The five teens were all set up on the obstacle course which was built in a straight line with five identical and parallel tracks, each one handily coloured in each player's signature colour.
"On the first whistle Iris will begin the course." Chris instructed, "Amelia on the second, Aleena on the third and then Ashe and Kahlin on the final whistle, is that clear?" He received nods from all the contestants which satisfied the man.
"Without further ado then!" Marnie said as she blew the whistle that was in her mouth. Iris immediately sprung into action and began the course, which began with a slide down a wall from the platform she was standing on. She landed on the cushioned landing and looked at a large cargo net in front of her.
"Great." She sighed as she began to scale it, her longer limbs helping her slightly as the next whistle was heard and Amelia began. Unfortunately the actress was still tired from holding on to the frames and she let out a grunt of pain as she fell onto the cushioned landing.
"Not great." She sighed as she struggled to climb the net. Before she could even make a dent a whistle sounded again and Aleena began the course too, quickly catching up to the actress.
"Amelia is struggling with the net!" Don narrated as Aleena actually overtook her on the climb. Iris however had already reached the top which then revealed a balance beam that she would have to navigate.
"Easy." She sighed as she quickly whipped across the balance beam as the final whistle was blown allowing Ashe and Kahlin to join in on the race.
"Iris is eating this course for breakfast!" Chris shouted as Aleena finally got to the top of the net and began to slowly traverse the beam. Iris meanwhile had come to the puzzle lock, having already proven herself with puzzles, she was able to quickly manoeuvre a key from inside it and unlock the door to the next section of the course.
Back at the beginning, Ashe and Amelia had both managed to get to the top of the net while Kahlin, for much of the same reasons as Amelia, was struggling to climb. Ashe, looking at the balance beam, immediately opted for a safe approach across it and got down onto his hands and knees, beginning to crawl along it.
"Gotta do this quickly." Amelia grunted as she tried to quickly move along the beam, however she made a mistake and ended up falling down into the safety net below. She cursed as she made her way back to the ladder to bring her back to the beginning of the obstacle.
Iris had made her way to the next part of the course, a set of monkey bars which you had to swing across. The girl looked nervous as she took hold of the first rung but something in her activated and she was once again able to clear the obstacle easily.
"I used to do this all the time as a kid." She smiled as the hosts all looked at her impressed,
"I think Iris might be winning this." Marnie whispered to the other two who nodded.
Once she cleared the monkey bars it was just a couple of walls to climb using a rope and a final obstacle. Iris could see the end and that propelled her to work even faster, using her long arms again she easily grabbed a hold of the rope and began to pull herself up the wall. It wasn't long before she reached the top and looked behind her to see that no one else had even managed to make it past the locked door.
"Oh, did I make it kind of boring?" She asked herself as she picked up a zipline which she grabbed a hold of to fly through the finish line where the hosts were waiting.
"And Iris wins the challenge and immunity!" Chris announced as the red-headed girl smiled happily.
(Confessional)
ASHE: How did she even do that? I swear I saw her at the start of the race and then didn't see her again until we had already finished. Superpowers, I'm telling you.
AMELIA: That's going to make tonight… very interesting.
(Back at the Cabin)
The hosts and contestants had been returned to the cabin with Iris looking rather pleased with herself and the others all looking deep in thought as they ran through scenarios for tonight in their heads.
"Iris wins immunity tonight as you all know." Don began with a nod to Iris, "However, one of you is still going home tonight, we'll see you at the elimination ceremony in which only four of you will leave." With that the three hosts left the cabin and left the teens to themselves.
"I'm going to go get changed." Iris said as she got up to go to the girls room.
"Me too." Aleena said as she also got up to leave.
"Me three." Amelia echoed, leaving only Ashe and Kahlin left in the living room of the cabin.
"So it's all about Iris tonight then." Ashe sighed as his boyfriend did the same.
"Indeed it is. She's got the power and I think everyone knows it." Kahlin agreed, "It just means that we have to do a better job of convincing her than Amelia and Aleena, and we have to stick together."
"I know." Ashe nodded, realising that he was the one who put Iris in this position. "We're going to make it work."
"I know." Kahlin nodded reassuringly, giving his boyfriend a light squeeze as the two of them walked to their own bedroom to get changed.
(Confessional)
KAHLIN: I think there's a high probability that I go home tonight. Amelia already has my number, and if she manages to convince Iris to flip against Ashe and me, then it'll be my name that gets written down. I've just got to hope that Iris chooses to stick with us.
(The Girls' Room)
Having changed, the three girls were all say together on their beds, discussing the ever looming vote as they often do these days.
"I'm not saying you have to vote with us," Amelia began, "But you would be taking a strong duo to the final four, who will never split up. It's asking to be a third wheel that gets sent home."
"No, I get it." Iris nodded, "But surely that would be the same with you and Aleena? You've been working together since the beginning, you're a strong duo too."
"Oh we're nothing like that." Amelia brushed off Iris' concerns, "We're not a couple and we're definitely not tight as anything, are we Aleena?"
"Um… no." Aleena said quietly, she seemed to have stopped paying attention to the conversation.
"See?" Amelia motioned to the challenge winner who nodded in understanding.
"Of course you know that I can't promise anything." Iris said to which Amelia nodded assuredly.
"Of course not, all I'm asking is that you listen to me, which you did, and that you think about my proposition. I don't think our votes are changing so you know where to go if you agree with us." Amelia finished her pitch as she got up to leave the room. Aleena, noticing this, also got up and waved goodbye to Iris who raised her eyebrow at the filmmaker's slightly off attitude.
(Confessional)
AMELIA: I'm not dumb, I know that Iris is the one holding all the power tonight, and she's not wrong that Aleena and I are a solid duo, but I can't have her knowing that when my entire plan to get through tonight is to convince her that Aleena and I are the best option to go forward with.
ALEENA: I want to think that Amelia cares about me deeply and wouldn't betray me, but the way she's talking to Iris makes me think that she might not be as into this whole alliance as I am… makes me wonder if she's even worth sticking with at this point?
(The Kitchen)
Iris had moved to the kitchen, and as she expected, she was soon joined by Ashe and Kahlin, both boys smiled at her as they entered the room but she knew what it was that they really wanted.
"You want me to vote for Amelia?" She asked, quickly cutting to the chase which seemed to catch the two boys off guard slightly.
"Um… that was probably going to be the plan yeah, unless you didn't want to do that." Kahlin admitted as Iris shrugged,
"You know I've got the other girls coming to me as well, and I don't want to make any promises I can't keep." Iris admitted too, she smiled, enjoying the honesty that they were able to have.
"Of course." Kahlin nodded, "We've been with you through thick and thin, and I'd like it if that were acknowledged but if you choose another decision I understand." WIth that the boy left the room, Ashe stayed behind for a second to stay with Iris.
"I know that you probably don't overly trust me right now." Ashe began, "But I'm sorry for what happened, and I want to make it clear that I want to work with you going forward regardless."
"Thank you Ashe." Iris smiled as he also left, leaving the girl with a lot to think about.
(Confessional)
ASHE: I understand if Iris chooses to vote me out, at the end of the day I've already betrayed her trust once, and I know that trust is a hard won but easily lost thing in this game. I've just got to hope she wants to keep me in.
IRIS: Two different choices, two different paths… It's all in my hands. I still don't know what I'm going to do going into elimination. I'll have to decide when I'm there.
(The Elimination Ceremony)
The hosts and contestants were all gathered together in their usual spots with four snow globes on a tray.
"Final five, welcome to the elimination ceremony." Marnie began as she smiled at them all. "You're all incredibly close to the end now, but for one of you your journey is going to be cut short."
"That person of course won't be Iris." Chris reminded everyone, "But for everyone else, it's time to cast your votes. If you're safe you'll receive a snow globe, if you're not, you won't and you will go home. You guys all know the drill by now, Amelia you're up first.
(Voting Confessional)
AMELIA: Our fates are in Iris' hands. I just hope that she sees the better future.
KAHLIN: All of this down to the decision of one person, it's kinda crazy that all of our games hang in the balance here. Oh well, nothing more I can do anyway.
IRIS: (She doesn't talk and just looks uncomfortably at the voting sheet.)
(The Elimination Ceremony)
After the last player sat down the hosts began their speech.
"Alright, we have the votes. And we know who's going home." Don began, "Of course that won't be Iris." He threw a snow globe to the girl who caught it although she didn't look overly thrilled.
"Aleena, you're also safe." Chris said as he threw another globe to the filmmaker who caught it happily.
"Ashe, you're good too." Marnie threw him the penultimate snow globe, he smiled but noticed that Kahlin still didn't have his and looked at his nervously. The calm man didn't seem overly bothered though as a smile remained on his lips. Amelia however, was looking rather nervous, once again being in the position of being the last person potentially called out.
"The two of you received the votes tonight." Don informed them, "Just like you all predicted, it was decided by a single vote. And that single vote was for…
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…Kahlin. I'm sorry but you are going home." Don threw the final globe to Amelia who caught it with a sigh of relief as Kahlin nodded in acceptance. Ashe immediately leapt up from his seat and gave Kahlin a tight hug.
"You can't go." He spoke into Kahlin's shoulder, muffling the sound.
"I've got to go." Kahlin said, rubbing Ashe's back, "You're gonna go on and win this for me right?" The smaller of the two looked up into Kahlin's eyes and nodded, doing his best to hold back the tears welling in his eyes. "I'm not going to be gone long, you can do it."
"I can do it." Ashe responded with another more serious nod, Kahlin gave his boyfriend one final squeeze before tilting his head up to give him a kiss.
"Alright, time to go." Marnie said, quickly getting in between the two and moving Kahlin towards the truck that would take him to the Ski of Shame.
"Good luck." Kahlin said to everyone.
"You too." Came Aleena's voice as she waved goodbye to Kahlin, a gesture that was copied by everyone else as our fifth placer was driven off for his send off.
"You're all free to go." Chris dismissed the remaining four teens who all trudged back to the cabin to prepare for their next challenge and subsequent elimination.
(The Top of the Mountain)
Kahlin was already in his Ski Gear as he prepared to take his descent down the mountain, now joined by the three hosts.
"Well Kahlin, you had a good run." Marnie admitted, "But now it is unfortunately time for you to go." He didn't need any more encouragement than that as he saluted to the hosts before sending himself down the mountain, letting out a small shout of enjoyment as he sailed through the trees.
"And with that we're down to four!" Don said as he turned back to the cameras, "Only two more eliminations to go until the finale! But who's going to get there?"
"Will Ashe be able to recover from losing his rock in this game or will it cause him to crumble?"
"Will Amelia's cold gameplay cause her to lose the relationships that she's been forming?"
"And will Iris be able to continue winning challenges all the way until the end? Find out all of this and more, next time on Total!-"
"Drama!-"
"Audacious Alpines!"
There we go! A shorter chapter today which I feel could be a theme going forward as we're down to not a lot of people left. It does make it hard to come up with engaging interactions that don't feel stale and repetitive. A huge thank you of course to Nikolai777 for allowing me to use Kahlin, I've really enjoyed him as a subtle strategic presence in the story and of course one half of Ashlin who I have become rather fond of myself 0-0. I hope you've enjoyed his journey either way!
We're down to four though and I don't know about you guys but I think we might be getting this story finished! :O It will be running concurrently with my story Total Drama Rebirth which is a reimagining of the first generation, so feel free to check that out if you've got time too! Thanks for taking the time to read this and I would love for you to leave a review, it really keeps me going!
Much Love
Illuvian
Contestants (4/14)
Aleena Kreppel (Gucci Mane LaFlare)
Amelia Meadows (FangDriver8)
Ashe Ward (MorbidGinger)
Iris Mae Ross (HayamiHinata)
Eliminated:
5th Place - Kahlin Mora (Nikolai777)
6th Place - Yves Jiminez-Chiu (Candela Monsoon)
7th Place - Boris Bennington (Alexneushoorn)
8th Place - Alyssa Abramov (Supreme Kai of Booty)
9th Place - Damien Parsons (Mike Oyster)
10th Place - Luciana Vidi (GingerFrancophile)
11th Place - Miles Jackson (TheAllTimeGreatest)
12th Place - James Nicholas 'Nick' Wheeler Jr. (Dogtimus)
13th Place - Yvette Razz (TheRainbowWhimsicott)
14th Place - Adrian Contiello (IGwilledCheeseI)