Episode 14: Where the Wild Things Are
A/N: Woohoo, the semifinal is here~ Special thanks to Woodenfan for grammar checking for me (also go check out his TDI:Rebirth story, it's awesome!) Also, please be sure to read the author's note at the bottom of this episode for a special announcement! Enjoy!
Semifinalists:
Ai, Phillip, Leroy
The camera focuses onto Owen, who was standing on the dock. "I am so totally psyched! It's finally my turn to make and host my own challenge! I stayed up all night trying to figure out what would be a fun way to celebrate the semifinal, and I mean there are endless possibilities! So, after the opening credits, we're gonna start off by having all-you-can-eat pancakes! This is just a dream come true!"
"Woah, hold it there, Owen my man." came Chris's voice. Owen gasped as the host and Chef walked up from seemingly out of nowhere. "Chef and I are back from our important meetings and collecting all of our sick time. You don't have to host for this episode."
"But... But... I stayed up all night! I had a really good one too!" Owen pouted.
"Knowing you, it will be far too easy going, involving food to some degree, and leave warm happy thoughts with everyone. Really ruins the image this show tries to maintain." Chris then turned to the camera. "Find out if the all-you-can-eat pancakes will happen! Find out if Ai can somehow keep her karma from getting her voted off next! Find out what sort of horrible torture I will subject the finalists to! On TOTAL. DRAMA. THE MENTORSHIP!"
After the opening credits, Ai was seen sitting on the Athens cabin steps, reading a book. By now her hair was completely silver, and her eyes still red, but this wasn't from her contacts anymore. The nuclear waste had merged her contacts with her eyes, so she no longer needed glasses or contacts anymore, but the red effect would now be permanent.
Ai: -sigh- I couldn't sleep at all last night. I finally came to terms that I'm a freak who doesn't deserve to be this close to winning... But since I somehow came this far, I may as well try to win? At least the money will help me afford good medical treatment.
On the Rome side, Leroy was staring at a picture of Vivian. That had become a routine now, since he became convinced during the last challenge that she could now use astral projection, even though the pale figure had really been a hologram and a computerized voice. Next to him, Phillip was checking his reflection in the mirror. Ai looked up from her reading, and for a moment, her eyes met Leroy's. They glared at each other, and resumed what they were doing.
Leroy: I'm still not sure how Ai made it this far. I mean, talk about emotionally unstable! One minute she's staring into your soul with those red eyes, next she's comforting Hana and went from being overly vocal to being quiet and reserved. Does nuclear waste affect people's mindsets too? On that note, I also wonder, just how did Philip make it this far too?
Phillip: I would like to take a moment to thank all of my cheering fans back home. I may not have totally won Ai over, but I did make it to the final three with her! Even if she is a mutant and will probably have to go live at that college of gifted teenagers in California after the show is over.
Ai: Leroy made it this far by luck, I am convinced. I mean he only won immunity for himself once. He got himself a girlfriend, sure. But romance doesn't win competitions. Trust me. I learned that the hard way. It's only a hindrance. And as for Phillip... Phillip managed to get here by charisma and keeping on everyone's good side. If I wasn't so repulsed by his …"chivalrous"… nature, I'd attempt to make an alliance with him... Actually, what's to stop me from that anyway? I need all the support I can get. I wonder if he's still attracted to me with this silver hair…
"Campers, I am happy to announce that I, your host Chris McLean, am back for the remaining two challenges! Meet me at the mess hall in ten!"
Ai and Phillip groaned, but, ironically, Leroy was delighted.
Leroy: I was so afraid that Owen was going to be hosting this week and messing up my name on purpose again! I know Chris has questionable morals, but hey, at least he doesn't call me Leo.
At the mess hall, Ai, Phillip and Leroy discovered it had been redecorated again since last challenge, from a Halloween theme, to a party theme. "Is it someone's birthday?" Leroy asked. On cue, Chef and Chris stepped out from the kitchen, with Chef blowing into a kazoo. Owen was sitting at a table in the corner, looking rather depressed.
"Congratulations, final three!" Chris said, tossing out party hats. "You survived. You cried. And maybe you even experienced a bit of personal growth and became better people. Either way, you made it, and... Uhh, what happened to you?" he asked, pointing at Ai.
"Fell into what apparently was nuclear waste." Ai muttered.
Chris gave a look to Chef. "You may wanna dig out those old lawyer papers on our liability with that. Can't afford for more jail time." Chef nodded and headed back into the kitchen.
"What I want to know is why there was nuclear waste to start with." Ai said. "I thought you cleaned up your act with that."
Chris looked pained momentarily but then he went back to smirking. "Well, I didn't have anything to do with it this time. Maybe one of the show's higher-ups kept some and left it somewhere."
Ai sighed. "Guess it doesn't matter then…"
"Anyway, Owen was going to host the challenge today. But you all know how I feel on sappy, fuzzy feeling challenges..." Chris started, but Owen interrupted.
"But it was a really good challenge too! I mean it included bacon and ice cream! You can't do better than bacon or ice cream!"
"I didn't get to finish." Chris said with a smile. "But as it turned out, Owen's challenge was so intense, so insane, and most importantly, it was enough to risk your lives that you may not have even come out alive, I had to go along with it. So, without the bacon and ice cream, I'll be hosting Owen's challenge."
"Oh geez. Just what exactly did Owen come up with?" Leroy asked, an annoyed tone creeping into his voice.
"Your challenge is to lure in your assigned animal, earn its trust, and complete a series of obstacles with them. The reward would have been bacon if you came in first place, ice cream in second. But I'm making your reward a bit more enticing. Whoever wins immunity gets to eliminate someone else. So if Leroy were to win, he could eliminate either Phillip or Ai. No votes. No automatic eliminations. No marshmallows. Just one deciding factor." Chris explained.
The final three looked at each other, nervous.
Leroy: The stakes are pretty high, but that invincibility is totally going to be worth it! I can get my revenge on Ai once and for all.
Ai: Can you feel the power one could get tonight? Oh. My. Goodness.
Phillip: I can see it now. The new poster of my fan club: me and Ai, holding hands, fire and determination in our eyes! I am sorry to say, but Jenkins is out.
Chris then handed out their assigned animal cards. "Phillip, you get the adorable two headed baby bunny. Leroy, you get the baby winged goat. And Ai gets the Sasquatch. Once you have your animal, meet back in front of the cabins by lunch time." Chris then pressed at his air horn, long and loudly. The finalists covered their ears, wincing as he did. "I missed doing that."
"Well, I didn't." Ai muttered.
"And just because you said that..." Chris blew it again. "Alright, challenge officially started!"
As the finalists left, Chef came back with a huge stack of papers. "Yo, Chris! Where do you want these?"
"Eh, leave them on Ai's bed. She enjoys reading, especially long complicated lawyer talk. I mean if she wants to sue us, let her see how powerful our lawyers can be." Chris sniggered.
"How do you know that she reads this garbage?" Chef asked.
Chris took out of his pocket a long scroll, which looked like it had seen better days. "Did you try reading and understanding her 120 standards?" Chef looked over Chris's shoulder and started laughing. "Like I said, she'd enjoy the lawyer talk." After a moment, Chris paused. "Just why did you keep the nuclear waste on the island?"
Chef: What? Can't a man keep a bit of a souvenir from the old island? I mean, look at Chris with that stupid plant Larry… or was it Laurie?
Ai was staring up at the Sasquatch cave. Last time she had been up there was to deliver a baby Sasquatch and she wasn't exactly sweet about it. All she could do was hope that the family had forgiven her or forgotten the incident. She had just finished climbing onto the ridge before the cave when she felt herself getting picked up by a strong muscular grip. "Oh snap...!" She cried out as the adult Sasquatch glared at her. "Um... Hi?" She merely said, feeling nervous. The Sasquatch looked her over carefully and even went as far as probing her silvery hair, and looking for mites. "Ugh, despite its color change, I have kept it clean!" Then, as if what she said mattered, the Sasquatch tossed her back down the mountain.
Phillip happened to be at the base, looking around for his bunny. He heard a scream and the sound of leaves and branches rustling. Then he heard "Oh, not again!" Looking up he blushed at the sight of Ai, once again, dangling above him, her skirt hanging on a tree branch, about to rip.
Phillip: Even with silver hair and red eyes, I still think Ai is a lovely lady… One cannot be picky about who their lady-in-waiting is!
"Fear not, lovely Ai! For I shall save you! Just like the first time!"
"No no! I'll save myself!"Ai said, doubtfully. She struggled to grip at the branch, feeling sure it would snap and she would fall and once again Phillip would have to save her. But unlike before, Ai was able to save herself. She unhooked her skirt and safely landed in Phillip's arms. Ai pouted but said nothing.
A pause button icon appeared, and Chris was seen on the docks with a flat screen next to him. "Will Ai manage to even get close to her animal? Will Phillip ever get over Ai? Find out when we return."
Phillip put Ai down, and she dusted herself off. "Thank you, I guess." She sighed and looked up at the mountain. "But how on Earth will I ever get my animal? They remember me from before."
"Well, fair Ai, you know what they say: in order to become one with the tree, you must be the tree." Phillip said, taking out a set of bunny ears and putting them on.
"Where did you get those from?" Ai asked, sounding amazed.
"Hana left behind a trunk in the Athens cabin and I do not think she will mind me borrowing it." Phillip said.
Ai narrowed her eyes. "Yes, I am aware of that trunk. Did you sneak into my room last night?"
Phillip shook his head, defensive. "No no, not last night, I went in right after we started the challenge."
Phillip: I would never enter a lady's bedroom without permission like that! That would not be morally correct!
Ai: That's when I got an idea. Hana, I'm sure you won't mind if I use some of your weird Japanese make-up, right? Hey, if I win the million, at least I can pay you back once I pay off my medical bills.
"Alright Phillip, I guess I just have to trust you. I mean, we can't trust Leroy, so..."
"Jenkins is a joke. He is sure to go next." Phillip said defiantly. "He is a mere sheep of Patrick, acting on his unmanly whims for a girl."
Ai turned and headed towards the cabins. "Um, Phillip, you did the same identical things too this whole season!"
Ai: -she covers her mouth- I regret saying that! I don't want more bad karma!
Phillip groaned. He had forgotten that the others knew about that, he had expected that they had forgiven him. Patrick had no way of keeping the promise to win Ai over, how could he have been so gullible?
Elsewhere, Leroy was exploring the rocky ridge where the goat herd usually hung out. Hiding behind a rock, he gasped at the sight of all the goats in a circle, with two large ones in the center. The rams were head butting each other, their horns tangling and getting chipped. A smaller one with smaller horns was baaing, in futile attempt to interfere. Leroy groaned. He could see the baby winged goat, on the other side of the herd. Now how was he going to sneak past the ones who were fighting?
He couldn't find an easy enough cover to disguise himself, so he decided to take his chances by making a quick dash across. He made it about halfway before a goat at the edge of the ring stepped back and bumped into him. "Oh... Not good!"
"Baah!" The goat cried out. The fighting ceased and the goats all glared at Leroy.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt your little match there. I'm just here to borrow this..." He reached down to pick up the winged baby at that, "…for today and then return it. Is... Is that okay?"
"Baah!" The baby pleaded to its mother. The goats, in complete sync, lowered their heads and began to snort.
"Oh crap..." Leroy then started running back the way he came. At the very least he got his animal. But he had forgotten the baby could bite and breathe fire. The baby took a large bite, causing Leroy to scream in pain, but he managed to keep himself going as the herd stampeded after him.
Meantime, Ai had reached the Athens cabin. She opened the door, expecting to find things same as usual, but was instead greeted with a huge mess of papers everywhere. "What the?"
Tomato poked his head out from the center of the mess. He looked content as he brought along a piece of paper and dropped it at her feet. Unfortunately, it was wet and stained. "Yip yip!"
"Bad dog, Tomato! You have to go outside to do your business, not make me a mess of a mess... I bet Phillip made this mess!" Ai grumbled. "I can't go out so unorganized. I best go clean this up first."
"Yip yip!" Tomato wagged his tail and watched as Ai re-assembled the stack and clean up. She made faces when she looked at some sheets. "Yip?"
"These look like lawyer papers. Does Chris think I am going to sue?"
Ai: I don't plan to sue anyone. I mean... this helped me come to realize how nasty I've become. Oh, what a mess I made for myself.
Once Ai finished, she opened the trunk and found all sorts of make-up kits and costumes. She picked up a spray can of instant hair dye. The color? Purple. Ai smirked. "Oh yes, this will do nicely."
Phillip was now searching for the rabbit hole, something he was sure he had seen last time they were animal searching. He wasn't sure anymore. "In order to find a rabbit, I must first become a rabbit…" As he said this, he got down on all fours and tried to hop around, making himself look rather stupid in the process. "Hello fellow rabbits! I am also a rabbit!" he called out, hoping the two-headed baby bunny would hear him.
A nearby bush rustled. Phillip paused. "Yes my dear rabbit friends! It is I, Phillip!"
The bush rustled more, and eventually, overwhelmed with curiosity, Phillip leapt into the bush. "Fellow rabbits?" There was a pause. "Ow! I have been tricked… Again." Phillip fell out of the bush with a snake biting him on the arm.
Phillip: -he shakes his arm, trying to get the snake off- this is two challenges in a row where I have allowed myself to be tricked! Have I somehow offended Lady Luck?
Meantime, Leroy had made it back into camp with the baby goat. He was lucky, for once he ran through the bat cave, the goats had given up their chase for him and the baby stopped crying.
"And Leroy has arrived back first!" Chris announced. "Nicely done man."
"Thanks Chris! That wasn't too painful at all." Leroy said.
At that, Chris sniggered. "Oh, it will get painful. And I get the wonderful pleasure of watching it from a safe distance."
Leroy blinked in confusion until he realized that he had set off the goat herd. "Oh snap, you mean that those goats are gonna…?"
"Yup, it won't be long until they figure out a way around the bat cave and come rampaging through here to get back their kid." Chris said, walking off camera. Leroy gulped and nervously looked at the baby goat.
Meantime, at the top of the mountain, the Sasquatch was on a heavy look-out.
Chris: I may have forgotten to mention that it's Sasquatch mating season and that our friend there is going to be looking for a nice female to take in for his wife.
Just as the Sasquatch turned his back to walk to the other edge of the cliff, a purple hand reached up and grabbed onto the ridge. The Sasquatch turned, and with hearts in his eyes, he blushed at the sight that came before him.
Ai got onto the ridge, her hair in two very long pigtails dyed purple. She had painted herself purple and was wearing one of Hana's ripped up tank tops that was dark green in color, along with fishnet stockings and black boots. She had bright red lipstick that matched her red eyes. She gave a seductive smile at the Sasquatch and then winked. "Rawr~"
Ai: -she is still in costume- Thanks for the idea Phillip. I think I became one of the Sasquatches now.
The Sasquatch came over to her and picked her up, inspecting her hair again. This time Ai let it do what it wanted. Her patience would be rewarded, she was sure.
Back at the camp, Leroy tried everything he knew to befriend the baby goat. He attempted petting it, but at the same time, it attempted to bite him so that ended up progressing nowhere. He tried to feed it, but all he had were stale animal crackers, and that resulted in him getting it spit back up in his face. At that moment, Ai returned with the Sasquatch, who was still infatuated with her. "Ai…?" Leroy gasped.
Leroy: Look I know she's desperate to win, but doesn't she realize how ridiculous she looks?
Ai: I don't know, I think I wear the Sasquatch look pretty good.
"And just in time, Ai made it back! Looks like Phillip's been…" Chris's voice came from the speakers, but he was cut off as Phillip arrived back in camp, the snake still attached to his arm, but the two headed bunny following after him.
Ai and Leroy gasped in sight of the snake. "Phillip? What happened? And why do you have a snake on your arm?" Leroy asked.
"Err… I would prefer not having to explain that one, Jenkins." Phillip said, sounding embarrassed. He then noticed Ai and the fawning Sasquatch next to her.
Phillip: I am now very sure I have offended Lady Luck. Now I must try to compete for lovely Ai's heart… against an overgrown monkey! –he facepalms-
"The next part of the challenge is to earn your animal's trust. Seems like Ai has got the good head start! The final part of the challenge will start in three hours! McLean out!"
Ai then led the Sasquatch to the back of the Athens cabin. Leroy decided to take his chances, although he was fully aware of where Phillip's loyalties were. "Phillip, is there any way I can convince you to make an alliance with me?"
Phillip burst out laughing. "At this stage in the game, Jenkins? It serves no purpose."
Leroy sighed. "Y-yeah, I guess you're right. Never mind then."
At that moment, the ground shook ever so slightly. Leroy gulped while the baby goat in his arms smirked. They both knew what it was. Leroy was about to warn Phillip to get to away, but at that moment, the ground shook more violently and then the goat herd stampeded through the cabin grounds. Leroy grabbed the baby goat, to prevent it from escaping, but in the process he got trampled over by the herd, until they disappeared to another part of the island.
When the dust settled, Phillip went over and helped Leroy up. Phillip was looking rather pale and was covered in hoofmarks, but the snake had at least come off of his arm. "Thanks Phillip… Woah, you don't look so good." Leroy said, now helping Phillip stand up straight.
"Never mind me… Is fair Ai okay?" Phillip mumbled. At that moment, the Sasquatch, who looked rather beat up from all of the hoofmarks, walked out from behind the cabin, carrying Ai in its arms. Ai was perfectly okay.
"See, she's perfectly fine, thanks to the Sasquatch." Leroy said, rolling his eyes.
Phillip sighed in disappointment. "I was afraid of that. Now for sure that overgrown monkey has won her heart!"
Ai choked and gagged when she heard that. "Uh, Earth to Phillip! I think some snake poison reached your brain! I'm not in love with this overgrown ape! I'm just dressing like this to use him to win the challenge!"
Ai: Oh crap, I should not have said that! Me and my big mouth…
The Sasquatch dropped Ai onto the ground and started shrieking wildly. "Okay, not cool!" Ai cried out, as the Sasquatch then started to beat her up and rip some of her clothes off. Leroy, Phillip, the baby goat, and the baby bunny just watched in shock as the Sasquatch finished having its temper tantrum. In a moment's pause, Ai stood up and glared at the Sasquatch, her red eyes flaring. "Are you done now?" she asked in a threatening voice. The Sasquatch merely nodded, terrified of her. "Good! We have a challenge to win, personal feelings aside!"
Leroy: I don't think the whole Ai and being nice thing are working out too well.
As soon as the clock struck three, a helicopter arrived over the camp grounds. Chris waved to the camera, while Chef hovered down lower, making everyone down below gag and choke on the dust he stirred up. "Listen up people, you guys got a major problem! Thanks to that rampaging goat herd, the obstacle course has been destroyed!" Chris called out using his megaphone. This was received with cheers from Ai, Leroy and Phillip, until Chris cleared his throat. "That's not the problem. Your real problem is that we are starting to overrun our timeslot on Teletoon. So in order to improvise and work with the remaining fifteen minutes, your final challenge is to stop that rampaging herd from destroying the rest of the island with the help of your animal friend, especially before they reach my crib. You got ten minutes to do it!"
The helicopter flew off, causing the final three to start choking again. "Uh, don't these kinds of shows have editors who select the best footage?" Leroy asked no one in particular.
As he finished, the ground started to rumble again, indicating the return of the goat herd. "We don't have time for that; let's just try to stop them from destroying our own cabins!" Ai said.
"Well, I'm open to any and all ideas at this point!" Leroy shrieked out.
"Actually, I just got one!" Ai said, grabbing the baby goat from Leroy and giving it to her Sasquatch. She then took Phillip's baby bunny and ran back into the Athens cabin. Phillip and Leroy looked at each other and blinked. When she finally came back out, the bunny's two heads had plastic cones that looked like horns and some paper wings attached to it. "Alright, you two take the goat and run away from the cabins. The Sasquatch and I will take the bunny and go in the other direction. The herd should split up and follow after what they think is their baby and we saved our cabins." The two boys nodded and they got into position in front of the rampaging herd next to Ai and the Sasquatch.
When the herd got very close, they split up and like magic the herd followed after, and they managed to avoid running over the cabins. They led the herd back to the forest edge. Leroy looked at the goat he was holding, and it burped fire onto his face before escaping, along with the two headed bunny.
"Perfect timing! I was starting to get a tiny bit nervous for my crib's safety there. Just a tiny bit." Chris said, walking onscreen with Chef. He was holding a golden crown. "And for coming up with such an ingenious idea, Ai wins immunity and wins this special symbol of her final two status! The golden crown of invincibility!" Chris said, placing the crown on her head. "She is safe from elimination, and gets to decide who she wants to take to the final challenge with her!"
Ai: Suddenly, all that power I craved to have earlier today, is no longer so tempting.
At the campfire ceremony, Chris sniggered as he looked over how beat up the three contestants were. Ai was still dressed in her Sasquatch attire, although her hair color was starting to fade already. Her clothes were still ripped up in places and she had scratch marks. Both boys were covered in hoofmarks, but Leroy was also covered with some burn marks and Phillip was still looking pale. Owen stood next to Chris, munching away on a bag of marshmallows, which earned him a look of disgust from Leroy and Chris, until Ai sat down looking unnerved. "Well now. That was a truly wonderful day. But in the end, Ai was the winner of the golden crown and one of our finalists. So now Ai has a difficult decision: who will she be directly responsible for eliminating? You could pick Phillip, our favorite prince charming, who did everything he knew to try to win your heart and be nice to you. Or you could pick Leroy, who hasn't done very much in terms of significance but did so far prove how true love conquers all and..."
"Alright, alright. I get the picture. No matter who I pick, I get more bad karma." Ai groaned.
Chris tapped his watch. "Time's a wastin', I mean we do have a 22 minute television show to run here."
Ai groaned. "Fine, fine, the person I pick to eliminate is..."
Leroy started sweating. He knew what was coming. She'd for sure get rid of him. Phillip smirked in triumph, since in his mind keeping him was the only logical choice.
"I'm sorry, Leroy but you're gonna come with me to the finals." Ai said.
Leroy stood up. "Oh, alright I had a hunch that would..." He then paused, realizing what she said. "Wait, what?"
"Fair Ai, say it isn't so! You want him to go against instead of me?" Phillip gasped.
"Nothing personal, Phillip. But knowing you, you'd let me win. And, unfortunately, I have a lot to prove to make up for my bad behavior." Ai then hugged Phillip, who then hugged her back.
"I understand fully... Does this mean I can try asking you out again next season?" Phillip asked, trying to sound hopeful.
"Enough with the chitchat! We only got 45 seconds!" Chris barked at them.
Phillip walked down the dock to the Whirlpool. With a wave to Ai, he jumped in. Ai and Leroy glared at each other.
"And thus the grand finale finally arrives! Find out who will win next time on TOTAL. DRAMA. THE MENTORSHIP." Chris said, signing off. As he finished, Chef dragged Justin onto the dock. "And as for you, my shirking mentor, you have the lovely task of cleaning up the entire island from the mess these pupils made."
"You can't do this to me! I only just got my abs modeling contract back!" Justin protested.
"Until this season ends, I can do whatever I want, since I'm the host." He handed Justin a rotten toothbrush. "Now get cleaning!"
Justin bent down, and started scrubbing at the dock with the toothbrush, and the camera faded out to the end credits.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! Now you guys get the chance to vote for either Ai or Leroy to win TDTM! Voting will be held from today (11/3) to next Monday (11/10).