Author's Note
Welcome back, dear readers! I hope you've all been looking forward to this week's chapter, it's a pretty good one in my eyes. So is next week's, and happily enough I was able to finish it last night so I'll have a Saturday to myself for the first time in a couple weeks.
In other news, The Ridonculous Race is ending it's penultimate week tonight - we're at the Final Six, and the premise of the episode that I read suggests it's gonna be a great one.
I'm probably gonna keep mentioning this from now on, so get used to it: The TVTropes pages for this series could always use more love and work! I greatly appreciate anyone who's able to contribute to it.
That aside, on to the (relatively low number of, considering how it's been the past few weeks) reviews!
lordkalel: Thanks! I've been enjoying writing Scott and Sugar as a villainous duo, I think it suits them really well, and I'm glad people like what I've been doing with them.
Animation Adventures: Thank you so much! Glad you're liking how the plots are developing. Regarding the deleted scene thing, I had actually completely forgot about it until you mentioned it as my copy of the episode is, I assume, the original version. I didn't even realize it was anything but crude joke that wouldn't work as-is for my purposes, so I repurposed it...and hey, I'm glad it ended up working out!
Glowing Insanity: Yeah, I think keeping the melody was definitely a good idea, if only because it helps all you readers 'hear' the song better. It's not something I can, or should, overdo (though I have been doing it a lot lately), but I'm glad I've given myself that option. And as for Geoff and Bridgette...well, you'll see soon enough.
Elizabeth Life Stone: I'm glad you liked the chapter, though I'm afraid I do have a soft spot for Sugar myself. Though I will agree she didn't get proper comeuppance in canon.
PizzaTheBomb: I'm glad you're liking my take on Sugar! And even more so that you've liked all my songs.
TaitanoRules555: Thanks, I'll do my best to do so.
DSX62415: Oh yes, it does certainly seem like Scott's made the smarter choice than Heather did in canon, even if he wasn't really thinking of the reward being useful in a later challenge. I'm glad I decided to have Scott keep it, it was fun to see how things played out with Team Victory having the electric grinder.
Solarr-Eclipse: Honestly, seeing Geoff in TRR and writing him here hasn't been all that weird for me, even though the two hims are in pretty different situations. Maybe it's because he still has basically the same personality...I remember that writing Jo in TSA last season while I wrote a much more canon-like Jo in TDR at the same time was much weirder. As for Scott and Sugar being suspicious of Sierra being suspicious of them...well, I certainly haven't forgotten about it. Likewise for Dawn possible appearance in the sewers. Those aside, I'm glad you're liking Ella in this story! Surprisingly, working her into the story hasn't been all that difficult for me, probably because I've had so long to think about it.
Zak Saturday: I'm glad to hear it! Hopefully you like what I do with it.
aloasa: Yup, this episode is the Alps, meaning you'll get to see what becomes of the meat grinder. As for Dawn's 'cameo' being earlier than expected...well, there's a reason for that, more or less, which may or may not become apparent as times goes on.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks! I'm glad I was able to pull it off, Sierra especially seems like she would be great at figuring out how the others think and using that against them. It was a shame it was never really done in canon, but I blame her Cody fixation for that.
turn forever you and me: Thanks! The truth of what Sammy saw down there is something I'll be keeping secret for now, and as for any TRR characters...well, as I've said before, the chances are low that I'll be doing a Shuffled version of that series, at least any time soon. Cameos are even less likely, to be honest, unless I decide to write a spin-off or something.
FOWLKON: Oh, you'll see what I'm doing with Geoff and Bridgette sooner or later. And yeah, Sierra was the obvious choice to become suspicious of Scott and Sugar, since she's on the team being targeted the most. As for Ella maybe influencing Alejandro for the better...perhaps, perhaps not. Only time will tell for sure.
VIPGuest: Thanks! And yeah, it does seem like more people like the shuffled versions of canon songs than my original ones, but it's not like that's gonna stop me from trying to write my own songs for the chapters that need them. And I'm not in the market for cameos right now, least of all from leprechauns.
ashDanLand: Oh, I see, I understand what you mean now about your comment from the Aftermath review. And yeah, Scott and Sugar are definitely evil...and I haven't forgotten about Sugar's alliance with Scarlett, don't worry.
Bruno 14: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying the alliance between Scott and Sugar! And I'm not sure I'd say DJ is taking things worse than Sammy, more that he's taking things differently.
The Prime Writer: Yup! Sugar's natural personality is, I think, what attracted me to her as a villain - she is both incredibly and genuinely positive and cheerful a lot of the time, but she's also more than willing to mess with people for her own gain. And when you're sued to dealing with more deceitful types like Alejandro, Scarlett, and even Scott, you wouldn't expect Sugar of all people to be the one to watch out for. I'm glad I've been able to capture that in the story. Glad you're looking forward to seeing more of Dawn, and as for what'll happen In London...well, you'll see when the story finally gets there.
ferguson97: Uh, no? Why would you think Sammy's being stupid for listening to Alejandro and Scarlett's interpretations, she's basically feeling a mixture of grief and heartbreak over the sudden and unexplained departure of a loved one. And coupled with her own self-doubt that she's had for years (thanks to Amy), it's only natural that she'd be willing to listen to just about anyone, even if another part of her knows she shouldn't trust them. That aside...I am glad you liked how Sierra tricked Sugar.
Star Saber21: Glad to see you're looking forward to seeing how the troubles between Geoff, Bridgette, Shawn, and Scott are gonna pan out. Likewise, I'm happy you enjoyed how Sierra tricked Sugar; it took some thinking to come up with, but I think it really fit both the characters and the series.
OMAC001: Yeah, she's definitely catching on to the secret alliance. But as for the truth about Dawn...that'll come in due time.
I. M. Poik: Haha, yup. And...well, I guess you're always just gonna be the toughest critic of my songs, hah. As for the elimination, and fate of the meat grinder, you're about to find out!
As always, here is the list of remaining contestants:
Team Victory - Ezekiel, Scott, Tyler, Geoff
Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Mean - Bridgette, Shawn, Sierra, DJ
Team Universe - Sammy, Alejandro, Ella, Sugar, Scarlett
Get ready and be quiet, because the cast is about to enter avalanche territory. I hope you enjoy this week's episode!
- Fangren
Episode 8 – Slap Slap Revolution
"New York!" Chris opened to the series' introductory tune, the recap clips beginning with a shot panning up the Statue of Liberty. "The city that eats other cities for breakfast!" Shots were shown of the Brooklyn Bridge and the fountain they'd visited in Central Park, then the montage moved on to show Alejandro and Scarlett began climbing their team's steel wool rope. "Here our competitors went to new heights to discover New York's finest." Shawn was also shown, easily climbing past Sugar. "From the bosom of Lady Liberty," the statue was shown again, "to the Big Apple's rotten, stanky sewer core," and was followed up by a shot of Team Chris driving their motorboat through the sewers.
"In the end," a short clip from the previous episode's musical number showed the three vibrantly-colored teams racing their carriages together, "Team Victory claimed another victory, and surprise reward." Tyler, Geoff, and Scott were shown smashing open the giant apples, and claiming the prizes within. "Which meant no one got booted off, not for lack of effort." A few shots in quick succession of Sugar, Scott, and even Sierra's sabotage throughout the previous episode finished off the recap, and the scene flashed to host and chef in the cockpit.
"We have lucky number thirteen competitors still in the running," Chris told the camera before raising a finger and donning an attempted German accent. "Und ve shall zee who vill win ze one! Million! Bucks, zoon!" He resumed his regular voice to finish the bit. "On Total! Drama! Woooorrrrlllddd~ Tooouuurrrr~!"
xxx
(Fade to Opening Theme)
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;
You guys are on my mind!
Ya asked me what I wanted to be,
And now I think the answer is plain to see!
I wanna be...famous!
I wanna live close to the sun!
Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!
Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;
I'll get there one day.
'Cause I wanna be...famous!
(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
(Fade to Episode)
xxx
As per usual, the episode began with a shot of the Total Drama Jumbo Jet in flight before cutting inside to the contestants seated in economy class – currently Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Mean on the right wall and Team Universe on the left, with Sugar noticeably absent.
"So, how are you two holding up?" Bridgette asked both DJ and Sammy, who immediately locked eyes across the aisle.
"I guess we're doin' okay," the gentle giant answered. "Of course, both of us would love to finally get a clue or somethin' about what Dawn's up to, ain't that right?"
"Oh," Sammy said nervously, "yeah, totally."
xxx
"I haven't told DJ that I saw Dawn in the sewers back in New York yet," Sammy explained in the restroom confessional. "It's not that I don't want him to know, it's just that...I don't want him to think I was seeing things too. It's bad enough that most of my teammates think that, I don't think I could handle my boyfriend feeling the same way."
xxx
"I guess right now all we can do is remember that we still have each other," Sammy said, earning a smile from DJ.
"It truly is just lovely to see you two sticking together," Ella told them. "Like they says, true love conquers all. Isn't that right, Alejandro?" she asked with a faint blush and a glimmer in her eyes.
"Perhaps," Alejandro answered coolly, "but as touching as their relationship is, I feel I must remind Sammy that this is a competition, and she and DJ are on opposing sides. Team Universe must stick together, regardless of any outside relationships."
"Umm," Sammy said uncertainly before a haughty laugh from Scarlett caught her attention.
"Perhaps, but that's only truly important during challenges," the evil genius said with a slightly mocking smirk. "Outside of which, I see no reason why Sammy's romantic pursuits can't be allowed to continue, and even be encouraged. It will help with a valuable team member's morale, after all."
xxx
"Before she went off to whatever corner of the plane she likes to do her alleged 'pageant practice' in," Scarlett explained in her own turn in the restroom confessional, "Sugar requested, essentially, that I begin acting more amicable towards Sammy in hopes that she'll align herself with us. A surprisingly logical suggestion from her, though obviously I had already thought of it myself."
xxx
"That's...surprisingly nice of you, Scarlett," Sammy told the collared brainiac.
"Don't let them fool you, Sammy," Bridgette told her with a frown.
"Yeah, talkin' about teamwork might be nice and all," DJ added, "just don't forget who it's comin' from."
"Don't worry," the cheerleader reassured them as both villains rolled their eyes and looked away, "I can handle myself."
DJ was shown smiling happily, but Bridgette, Shawn, and Sierra exchanged a skeptical look before a flash took the scene away.
/
"And so ever since New York, Bridge hasn't said a word to me!" Geoff complained at the first class minibar, flanked on either side by Tyler and Ezekiel. "Man, I knew I went too far cheerin' you on back there."
"Guess so," Tyler said blankly. "Getting blanked by your own girl is rough."
"I don't get how she could be ignoring you, eh," Ezekiel spoke up. "Haven't you been hiding in first class the whole time since we took off?"
"Well, mostly," Geoff admitted, "but I did see Bridgette in the halls once, and she didn't even look at me! Plus, Scott totally said he heard her talking to Sierra about how mad she was!"
"Oh, I gotcha," Ezekiel nodded.
"Speaking of Scott, where is he?" Tyler asked, looking around the room in confusion. "He keeps disappearing on us."
"I don't know, dude," Geoff said, "but if he's really telling the truth, I'm seriously gonna have to talk to Bridgette about it." Ezekiel and Tyler nodded their agreement.
/
The background music became tenser as the scene moved once more to the plane's vast cargo hold, where Scott and Sugar were sitting on a pair of crates.
"I'm still mad at that Sierra fer trickin' me," Sugar grumbled, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "We can't let someone as crafty as her stick around. I say we go after her next."
"Good point," Scott considered, "never would've thought she would be such a threat. Then again, we can't really just ignore the rest of her team either. Shawn's already proven he can win a season if everyone ignores him, and Bridgette too."
"Hrmm...," Sugar said, adopting a more thoughtful look. "And if we get rid of DJ, then that'll make gettin' Sammy on my side easier. And then I can finally get rid of that darn Ella."
"Though if we're talking about messing with the others," Scott said hurriedly, "maybe we should go after Bridgette next. I know for sure that Party Boy will freak if she goes home, and I bet Team Chris would fall apart without their goodie-goodie mom around."
"Huh, I guess that make sense," Sugar admitted. "But that just means any one of 'ems a good target to eliminate next. Maybe we should just play it by ear, like we've been doin'?"
"We'll have to," Scott said, "unless Chris decides to tell us the challenge before we get to wherever we're going next."
xxx
"Personally," Scott confessed in the restroom, "DJ is the only person I don't wanna go after right now. If he leaves and Sugar gets Samey into an alliance, then she might decide she doesn't need me anymore. And I still need a patsy to help carry out my plans."
xxx
A close-up of the season's world map showed the plane icon meandering its way over Europe, then the scene flashed back into the cabin were Alejandro was casually looking at the view outside the window.
"Interesting," he said aloud. "Those are the Alps, if I'm not mistaken."
"Achtung, mein wiener schnitzel!" Chris called over the loudspeaker in his German accent, gaining the attention of Team Chris before the shot moved to the cockpit. "In preparation for landing, please unbuckle your seat belts and head to the cargo hold." As soon as his transmission ended, both he and Chef Hatchet snickered.
/
The footage skipped ahead to the whole cast assembled on top the cargo bay doors. "We'll be dropping in three," Scarlett said dryly.
"Two," Scott continued.
"One," Sierra finished, just as the doors opened up beneath and sent the thirteen teens fell into the open air. "Eeee! I got it right!" Sierra squealed happily, clapping as the others screamed around her and a tense, trilling tune played.
They all landed safely moments later, plunging one by one into a snowy landscape dotted with conifers. Shawn was the first shown to recover from the fall, but quickly looked up in shock as he heard screaming. He held out his arms, and was promptly landed – and forced back into the snowbank – by Bridgette.
"Thanks!" she told her teammate and friend. "And sorry, too."
"No problem," Shawn's muffled voice came from under her.
The camera briefly cut to Geoff narrowing his eyes and scowling, then over to another drift as Ella and Tyler popped up out of it. "Hey, are you alright?" the jock asked the singer.
"Yes, thank you," Ella said as she brushed the snow off herself. "Fortunately all the snow cushioned the fall."
"Haha, yeah," Tyler laughed, "guess it did. Snow's kinda cool like that, and, uh, not just because it's already cold."
"Oh, yes, I suppose it is fairly cool, isn't it?" Ella said after a moment. "Though I suppose the cool thing to do now would be to help dig out our teammates," she added with a gesture back behind her.
"Oh yeah, totally," Tyler said. "I'll just be going then."
"Then goodbye!" Ella waved before trudging off through the snow, leaving Tyler to look down sadly.
The camera panned across the half-buried legs of Ezekiel and an annoyed-looking Scarlett before stopping on Sammy, who was pulling DJ out of the snow by his arm. She managed to unearth him, and they shared a sweet smile.
"Thanks!" the gentle giant said jovially. "For a moment I thought I was gonna be frozen solid in there."
"Oh em gee, don't even joke about that," Sammy told him with a frown. "Losing you like that would be worse than even Dawn's disappearance."
DJ winced. "Ooh, right, sorry. Wasn't thinkin' about that."
The couple's attention was drawn skyward by the sudden sound of a fan, and a stereotypical Bavarian tune began to play as the camera cut to Chris McLean paramotoring down towards them. "Guten tag, und willkommen in Deustchland!" he whispered down to them. "A.k.a., Germany," he added as he swooped past them; the music paused as the mountaintop rumbled ominously.
"We're in avalanche territory, soooo, ya might wanna keep it down!" he added in another pass over the contestants.
"What?!" Sugar asked indignantly. "Speak up, I can't hear you!" She cupped her hands around her mouth, then began to repeat at the top of her lungs "I SAID, I CAN'T-" The mountaintop was shown rumbling again, and the shot cut back to Scarlett and Alejandro frantically covering her mouth.
"Welcome, to today's musical challenge!" Chris announced without missing a beat. The music note icon appeared in the corner of the screen with a muted ding, and he continued with "Avoid the Song-alanche! To avoid a potentially fatal tumble down the mountain," he explained while swooping a few more times down the snowy slope, "and a suck-tacular climb back up, ya better keep the singing nice and not loud!"
~/~
[The mountaintop was shown rumbling again as a Bavarian folk rendition of the first movement of Mozart's 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik' began to play. The scene cut to Scarlett, Sugar, and Ella as they opened up the song.]
"Keep it down, or we'll be buried deep!"
[Scarlett sang, hissing in a low but sharp voice at Sugar.]
"Fine, I will, 'cause I don't wanna climb, it's steep!"
[The Pageant Queen responded, the final two words said out of line to complete the rhyme and loud enough for the evil genius to shush her for it.]
"Steeper, upon the mountaintop, be careful of the drops,"
[Ella sang next, taking dancing steps away from the two girls and pausing to look out over a sheer cliff.]
"You know your singing is the best part of this game!"
[Tyler sang, walking up behind her with a grin on his face.]
"It's really true she's a credit to her team!"
[Alejandro replied, quickly stepping between the jock and the singer, giving the boy a sharp look that Ella didn't catch.]
"Bridgette, sorry for my words before but I don't like you spending time with Shawn, Shawn, Shawn!"
[The shot cut to a close-up of Geoff's face as he sang next, drawing out his girlfriend's name and narrowing his eyes further and further each time he repeated the survivalist's name. The camera also pulled back and rotated to show a shocked Bridgette in front of him and a nervous and uncomfortable-looking Shawn further past her.]
"What's that s'posed to mean? He's on my team, I can't just act like he's already go~one!"
[Was Bridgette's angry reply, putting her fists on her hips and leaning towards her boyfriend as she repeated the same melody he'd put his words to. Then she leaned back and said "Seriously, what's your deal?" to which Geoff just pouted and looked away.]
[The scene cut to DJ and Sammy, briefly showing the cheerleader shooting a nervous look off-screen while her boyfriend occupied himself by peering down the mountain.]
"Hey, do you see that over there? With the long, flowing hair?"
[He sang to ask his girlfriend, the camera following his point off-screen and zooming in on a faint but familiar silhouette next to a faraway tree.]
"Not really, where? The slope looks bare!"
[Sammy replied as the scene cut back to her with her hand to her brow trying to spot what DJ had.]
"Not seeing things, I swear! It's her, I know it and I'm not just gonna stare!"
[DJ sang determinedly, briefly putting his hands on his hips. He stopped singing, but the music continued as he began to take a deep breath. "Wait, DJ, no! Don't do it!" Sammy told him in a panicked hurry, tugging on his arm and glancing nervously back up the mountain.]
[Scott, Ezekiel, and Sierra were shown looking over with wide, fearful eyes as both the music and DJ's breath continued, and Bridgette and Geoff broke their mutual glare to do the same.]
[At last, the gentle giant cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled out down the snow-covered mountain. "HEEEEY DAAAAWN!"]
~/~
The effect was immediate – the mountain began to rumble, and a sheet of snow on top slid off as a high-pitched and tense tune replaced the previous music. Scarlett, Sugar, and Alejandro were shown screaming in terror as the avalanche engulfed them, and several others were shown getting carried down the slope against their will – Shawn clinging to a terrified deer; Scott tumbling on top the snow; Sierra already half-buried with only her arms sticking out; and DJ and Sammy were clutching each other and screaming as they drifted along. The snow eventually covered them all.
Chris was shown laughing in close-up, the camera quickly zooming out to show him swooping over the jumbled pile of contestant and snow that had accumulated at the foot of the mountain. "Awesome!" he told them as they groaned.
xxx
"Okay, first of all," Shawn opened his restroom confessional, "I can't believe that DJ nearly killed us! Did he already forget that we're in avalanche territory?! This whole Dawn thing is seriously making him lose focus."
He paused, then scratched the back of his head as a troubled expression formed on his face. "But more importantly, what's up with Geoff? I thought we were friends, but now he doesn't want Bridgette around me? Why? I mean, I'd understand if it were for zombie-related safety reasons, but that's not something he's ever cared about so I'm kinda lost about his motivations."
xxx
The footage cut back to various contestants climbing up the snowy slope, and the camera focused in on the four members of Team Chris.
"Sorry, guys, I just really thought I saw Dawn out there," DJ explained, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I couldn't help it."
"Don't worry, we understand," Sierra told him before looking at their other teammates – Shawn was looking fairly annoyed, but Bridgette looked more distracted than anything else. "Haha," Sierra laughed nervously, "well, I do at least. I have trouble controlling myself when I see someone I really, really like too."
"Thanks," DJ smiled. "I'll try to keep myself under control from here on out."
The background music took a low and rumbling turn as the shot panned to Sugar, already looking exhausted as she hiked back up through the snow. "This mountain's too steep, just like I sang about," she groaned. "Can't we stop for lunch or somethin'?"
"I doubt it," Scarlett said, the camera pulling back to show her walking a little bit ahead of the Pageant Queen. "Although I do smell something unexpectedly spicy given our current location." The two girls shared a curious look, then increased their pace up the slope.
Sugar gasped in joy as they reached the top, and with a short drumroll Chris was shown standing next to a large pile of what looked like meat and an even larger machine crank. He was wearing a warm leather jacket, a Tyrolean hat, and his usual smug smile.
"We are havin' lunch!" Sugar declared excitedly before rushing towards the meat pile, only to be held back by Scarlett.
"Stop, you ravenous oaf!" she yelled. "That meat is raw, you'll make yourself sick!"
"Wow, Scarlett, who knew you actually cared," Chris said mockingly, enough for the evil genius to scowl and release her hold on Sugar, the larger girl immediately falling face-first into the snow. "Anyway," the host continued as the rest of the cast arrived, "don't think of this as raw meat – think of it as raw building materials. Over fifteen hundred species of sausage call Germany home, hence the theme of our most efficient challenge yet!"
"SHUT UP UND STUFF IT!" Chef Hatchet yelled in a German accent, popping out from behind the meat pile as the jovial Bavarian tune played again.
"Danke, Chef," Chris said before walking away. "Each team must make a giant German sausage by shoveling meat into the grinder," he explained as the camera zoomed out to reveal the machine crank was in fact a giant meat grinder with a translucent sausage casing already attached; two other grinders and meat piles were stationed nearby, "push it down and grind the mixture out into an oversized sausage casing," he added as he reached and then pointed out the casing. "All without losing a finger or toe."
"Sausages?!" Bridgette repeated in queasy disbelief. "This is disgusting! And not just because I'm a vegetarian, either!"
"Count yourselves lucky you're not makin' hot dogs," Chris told her. "No beaks, hooves, or butts in this meat pile." The shot cut to DJ as his cheeks bulged, and he leaned over to vomit just behind Alejandro. "You'll have to shovel fast," the host continued, "or risk getting stuck with an incomplete sausage. Which will be a lot harder to ride down the hill."
An idyllic snowy slope was shown, clear of rocks and with a lovely rainbow arcing between mountains in the distance. "Uhh, no, not that hill," Chris said as a light angelic chorus played over the first shot. The shot quick-panned rightward to a darker slope littered with rocky outcroppings and overturned trees. "Thaaaat's the spot," Chris said over an eerie and ominous tune that was punctuated by a sudden bolt of lightning that struck a spot of bare snow.
"Of course," he added as the camera panned over the shocked and gaping faces of the contestants with only Scott looking pleased, "if you had a shiny new electric meat grinder, just plug her into our portable generator and voila! Sausage stuffed in seconds!"
"Step aside!" Scott declared, pushing through DJ and Sammy to proudly strut forward. "Lucky me that I happened to bring the reward Team Victory won in New York," he said smugly, taking the electric meat grinder out from behind his back. The angelic chorus played again as the camera zoomed in on the device, which was temporarily surrounded by a shining golden aura.
"Aww, what? That's not fair!" Alejandro complained. "How come they get an advantage this time for winning last time?"
"Well it wouldn't be a reward if it weren't rewarding, now would it?" Chris told him.
"He's got you there," Scott said with a mocking grin as Alejandro crossed his arms and scowled.
"Umm, speaking of reward," Ella said, turning an anxious look from her teammate to the host, "I don't suppose we'll be getting one for our sausage-making skills, will we?"
"Oh, there will be prizes for those who make it down the hill alive," Chris answered with a broad grin. "And, there will be punishment for one sorry loser on the last-place team. Behold," he turned and motioned off-screen, "der penaltyhosen!" The shot cut to Chef Hatchet, who was holding a small-sized Bavarian tracht, including lederhosen. He was also holding onto an alphorn, which he promptly blew.
"Go, go, go!" Chris said, raising his arms as tense challenge music began to play.
The camera zoomed out enough to show the teams arriving at their grinders – Team Universe at the leftmost one; Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Mean at the one in the back, and Team Victory at the one in front – though Scott kept running towards Chris, the electric grinder in hand.
"Alright, where's the generator?" he asked the host.
"Right over there," Chris answered, the camera following his sideways point to show Chef leaning against a boxy generator mounted on a wheeled cart. "Just plug it in and Chef'll start it up."
"Cool," Scott said. He walked over, then held up the electric grinder's small cord. He looked back over his shoulder, the camera showing the rest of his team and their meat pile a good ways away, then asked Chef "Got any extension cords I can use?"
"Nope," Chef answered gruffly.
"Then are you gonna move this thing closer?" Scott followed up.
"Nope," Chef repeated.
"Great," Scott groaned as he palmed his face. "Hey guys," he turned around and shouted, "grab the shovels and the casing, we gotta stuff it here!" Ezekiel, Tyler, and Geoff's groans were heard from off-screen.
/
The scene flashed to Team Chris as Bridgette cringed at the sight of the meat pile then fell to her knees and threw up.
"Well I guess Bridgette's not gonna being doing much right now," Shawn sighed. "Alright, DJ, you scoop." The brickhouse nodded and picked up a shovel. "Sierra, you stuff."
"On it," the fan girl said, already standing by at the casing.
"And leave the grinding to me," Shawn finished, pushing up his sleeves and grabbing the crank. DJ was shown tossing a shovel of meat right into the top of the grinder; Shawn turned the crank; and Sierra watched it carefully as it oozed out into the casing.
"Ooh, neat!" she giggled.
The camera panned over to Team Universe, where Alejandro had climbed on top the grinder with a shovel. "Scarlett, shovel the meat up here so I can pack it in. Sugar, we need your strength on the grinder. Ella, Sammy, stuff that casing. Everyone understand?"
"Yes, Alejandro!" Ella said, happily taking her place alongside Sammy.
"I guess," Sugar said as she grabbed the crank.
"Why am I the one shoveling?" Scarlett asked in annoyance.
"Because I need to be up here making sure the meat goes into the grinder," Alejandro replied. "Unless you'd like to risk losing a finger to the machine?"
He was answered by a shovelful of raw meat hitting him in the face. "On second thought, I retract my previous objection," Scarlett said with an evil smirk.
/
"Alright, I think we got this," DJ said confidently as he was shown scooping and Sierra was shown holding on to the partially-filled casing.
"Oh, definitely," Shawn said, grunting slightly with effort as he turned the crank. "Still, I think we could be going faster. Bridgette," he turned to the surfer, the camera angle changing to a frontal shot of her looking down sadly with her back to the grinder, "I know you don't like the meat, but could you at least help me grind?"
Bridgette bit her lip uncertainly, and turned to look to her right – the camera focused on Geoff who was busy running through the snow with a shovelful of meat; their eyes briefly met, but he immediately frowned and looked away. Bridgette's eyes narrowed, then shut as she spun around and walked to her team. "Yeah, I...I can do that," she said, taking a spot next to Shawn and giving him a smile as she started to help him crank.
/
"Uggh, this is disgusting," Alejandro muttered under his breath as he stomped on the meat packed into the top of the grinder.
"Keep it coming, Alejandro!" Sammy called up to him. "I know it must be hard with your weak stomach and all, but it's just raw meat! You don't have to eat it, and it'll wash right off!"
Alejandro blushed and sputtered in a sudden fluster, and the shot cut to Ella who now looked concerned. "Oh my, I didn't know you had a weak stomach, Alejandro," she told her teammate, who groaned in embarrassment. "Oh, but it's quite brave of you to volunteer to stuff the meat for us!" Ella added with a reassuring smile that only seemed to embarrass Alejandro even further.
/
"C'mon, dudes, we gotta move!" Geoff said as he dumped a shovelful of raw meat onto the pile on the ground.
"I know, I know!" Scott said as he hurriedly scooped handfuls of the meat into his electric grinder which instantly whirred and spat it into the casing that Tyler was holding open. "This thing can only handle so much at a time!"
Geoff ran off, and Ezekiel arrived with the next shovelful which he promptly dumped into the pile. "Yo, maybe usin' that thing was a bad idea," he said as he caught his breath.
"Well it's too late to stop now," Scott told him, eyes still locked on the grinder he was scooping meat into. "We'll just get further behind if we switch back to the big one!"
"I know, eh," Ezekiel said with a frown. "Just thought I'd speak my mind a little."
"If you've got time to do that, then use it to haul the meat!" Scott told him irately, giving him an angry look that caused Ezekiel to immediately run off with his shovel.
/
The footage skipped ahead to a zoomed-out shot showing all three teams hard at work, their respective logos appearing above them on-screen. Both Team Universe and Team Chris has sausages that were nearly full, while despite their alleged advantage Team Victory's casing had only been stuffed to about two-thirds the level of their rivals. DJ had gotten on top of his team's grinder to shovel the last small pile of meat they had; similarly, Scarlett had joined Alejandro for Team Universe while Sammy had moved from casing duty to cranking duty with Sugar. Team Victory, of course, only had Scott and Tyler doing any real work as Geoff and Ezekiel had already moved over their meat pile.
"I hate to say it," the homeschooler said, "but I think we might lose this one, eh. The other teams are really workin' well together despite havin' the worse grinders."
"Just look at them," Geoff said bitterly, glaring over at Bridgette and Shawn who were shown working the crank together. "I should be the one grinding meat alongside her, not him!"
"You'd have to be on the same team for that, I think," Ezekiel told him. "But since ya aren't, I guess there's nothin' you can do other than accept that she's gotta spend a lotta time with her teammates."
"I guess...," Geoff said sadly. "I just want her to spend more time with me. Is that so bad?"
"Err, I don't think so?" Ezekiel said uncertainly. "But maybe the only reason you two haven't been spendin' a lotta time together is because we're always stayin' in different classes on the plane."
Geoff's brow raised in surprise at the idea, but Scott quickly said "Or maybe it's because she doesn't want to hang out with you anymore." The party boy's glower returned, and Ezekiel raised a puzzled eyebrow at Scott.
"Done!" The boys of Team Victory were snapped out of their discussion by Alejandro's sudden declaration, and looked over to see Team Universe standing proudly with their fully stuffed sausage.
/
"All aboard the sausage train!" Sugar cheered, riding the oversized sausage with Sammy in front of her and Scarlett and Ella behind. Alejandro was pushing it up to the edge of the slope, and hopped on when it teetered just past a metal flagpost.
"I hope everyone's holding on tight," Sammy said as their five-person sausage sled tipped forward, "'cause this is gonna be rough!" Her voice rose into a scream on the last word as Team Universe began their rapid descent.
Team Chris arrived next, Shawn and Bridgette and Sierra already riding the meat while DJ pushed. The three onboard looked nervous but excited, and as soon as DJ got on and the sausage sped off, they whooped and hollered in the thrill of it.
"Forgot to mention," Chris called down, the camera looking up from below the drop, "watch out for the rabid mountain goats! They're super deadly!" He chuckled, then told the camera "We brought 'em in special."
/
The scene flashed back to earlier footage showing Chef Hatchet kneeling on top of a metal crate, a nervous and fearful look on his face as he grabbed the lip of the crate's side cover. A mountain goat watched with annoyed disinterest nearby, and curiously a yellow triangle-shaped warning sticker on the crate's side showed a silhouette of a much younger goat.
A playful tune played as Chef stood, pulling up the side cover and releasing an adorable goat kid out onto the snowy mountainside. It hopped towards the larger wild goat and bleated cutely, to which the older beast growled a reply.
The baby goat then unleashed a truly savage roar, revealing a mouth filled with dangerously sharp teeth. The older goat looked taken aback, and the shot cut away in discretion as Chef Hatchet cringed and looked away from the sounds of crunching bones that were coming from off-screen.
The shot cut back to the young goat as it happily slurped up a goat leg, then bared its sharp teeth and leaped away.
/
Tense and fast-paced music began to play as the scene seamlessly transitioned back to the challenge, showing Team Universe and Team Chris about neck-and-neck on their sausages. The shot cut to the goat kid standing in their path; it roared ferociously, then jumped at them. The two teams were shown screaming, and the goat was shown jumping straight at the camera with its mouth wide open.
"Duck!" Shawn cried, hunching down and putting his arms over his head. Bridgette, Sierra, and DJ quickly complied, and the baby goat sailed right over them. It closed its mouth mid-air and looked backwards in confusion, then smacked into the side of a rocky outcropping. It fell to the snow in a daze, and the shot cut back to the bewildered faces of Team Chris.
"Well that was easy," Sierra commented.
/
"Move! Move! Move!" Tyler chanted as her and Geoff quickly pushed Team Victory's finished sausage to the starting line, Scott and Ezekiel already riding it.
"Cowabunga, dudes!" Geoff cheered as he and Tyler jumped on and the meat-sled tipped forward and began its descent.
"Lean forward, eh!" Ezekiel said as the camera tracked their speedy progress. "We gotta catch up with the other teams!" The four boys did so, narrowing their eyes and leaning forward and speeding up soon after.
"Wait a minute," Scott said, his eyes going wide, "is that a goat?"
The shot cut to the baby goat trudging through the snow towards them with a menacing look on its face. "Get out of the way!" Tyler yelled at it, but instead the kid roared and leaped – but not as high as it had when it attacked Team Chris, causing it to land on the front of Team Victory's sausage.
"What the-" Ezekiel said in shock and confusion before the ravenous mountain goat tore into the sausage, biting rapidly and disappearing into the meat filled casing. "Yo, this isn't good!
Ezekiel said as their ride began to squirm.
The camera panned to the other end of the sausage, where Tyler was looking down with dread on his face. The goat, now covered in meat and bulging in satisfaction, popped out the other end of the sausage and tumbled away. "Aww man, seriously?!" Tyler exclaimed as the sausage started leaking, then suddenly collapsed entirely and sent the four boys tumbling forward end-over-end.
/
The scene cut back to Team Universe, where Alejandro had gotten hold of a long branch and was using it as a rudder to steer their sausage around rocks.
"Great steering, Alejandro!" Ella complimented.
"Thank you," he replied, "but it is no big deal."
"Would you quit flirting?" Scarlett snipped. "The other teams might catch up to us!"
"I doubt that," Alejandro said bluntly with a point ahead of them, "seeing as we're already at the finish line."
The focus cut to a zoomed-out shot of the finish line at the bottom of the hill as Team Universe slid past the banner; Team Chris followed about a yard behind them. After that was a tiny piece of sausage, then the screaming snow-packed ball that Team Victory had become which crashed into something off-screen.
/
The members of Team Victory were shown groaning in the remains of the snowball, now next to a wooden platform. The camera pulled back, showing not only the other two teams in similar situations, but that the platform was a stage where Chris and Chef waited along with four pairs of what looked like dancing game mats.
"Congrats on arriving first, Team Universe," the host told the five. "Too bad about that landing, though. I would've used someone as a brakepad but hey, your call." The members of Team Universe gave him glares of various strengths.
"On to part zwei of today's challenge," Chris continued. "Competitors must learn, and perform, a traditional German dance on this very platform. The mats are rigged to deliver a hilarious and painful jolt every time one of you missteps," he briefly motioned to his foot, "or, I need a laugh. Last team standing wins."
"And what about the reward you promised?" Sammy asked.
"Patience, mein flower," Chris told her. "Team Universe," he declared, turning to Chef who was holding an armful of pickelhauben, "first to arrive, first to get their reward." Chef tossed the helmets to the five, and only Alejandro and Sugar didn't immediately sag under the weight.
"Oh my," Ella said, "these are quite heavy."
"Yes they are," Chris said happily. "Team Chris is Really Really Really Mean," he said next, the camera cutting to the four as they were tossed ushankas.
"Ooh, neat!" Sierra said excitedly, putting the furry hat on and admiring the ear flaps.
"And, in last place, Team Victory," the host said next, the four boys getting tossed Tyrolean hats similar to what Chris was wearing.
"Gonna be weird trading out my lucky hat for this thing," Geoff said as he hesitantly replaced his cowboy hat.
"You got that right," Ezekiel chimed in, also removing his trademark headwear.
"Now, we need eight people for this," Chris explained, "so two of the teams are gonna have three people dance and the rest sit out. And Team Universe, you're one of 'em."
Alejandro and Sammy immediately stepped forward, but Ella was stopped from joining them by Sugar. "Nuh-uh, missy, I'm gonna be doin' the dancin', so step aside!"
"Oh, certainly Sugar!" the singer said happily, smiling nervously under the suspicious look Sugar was giving her.
"Alright then," Chris said, "the other team with three dancers will be...Team Victory."
The boys shared a look, and Ezekiel spoke up. "Uh, I don't really know how to dance, eh, so maybe I should sit this one out."
"No prob, man," Tyler told him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We got this." He, Geoff, and Scott stepped forward.
"And as for Team Chris is Really Really Really Mean," the host told the other group of four, "two dance, two sit out."
"Guess it's me and DJ, huh?" Sierra asked her teammates as she stepped forward.
"I dunno, I'm gettin' a bad feelin' about this," DJ said nervously.
"That's fine," Bridgette whispered, her hand on his arm but her eyes on her boyfriend, "I'll do it. This might be my chance to ask Geoff what's up with him."
"Thanks," DJ smiled as the surfer stepped forward.
"Cool," Chris said. "Now which member of the losing team must wear," he started slipping back into his German accent as the shot cut to Chef, "der penaltyhosen?" Chef held up the costume, and the jovial Bavarian tune played again as the eyes of Team Victory went wide.
xxx
"It's not like I wanted to wear it," Geoff coolly admitted in the restroom confessional, "I just thought that maybe it would impress Bridgette."
xxx
"I'll do it," Geoff declared bravely, stepping forward and earning a gasp from his teammates.
"Whoa, dude!" Tyler said in awe.
"Are you sure?" Scott asked in a skeptical tone. "That thing's like a German bikini!"
"I know what I'm doing, dudes," Geoff said determinedly. "And that's putting on some embarrassingly tight hosen."
"Haha, awesome bro," Chris laughed. "I was gonna make Tyler wear 'em, but after that I'm changin' my mind. Congratulations." Geoff gave him a blank look that quickly changed to dread as the penaltyhosen landed on his head.
/
The footage skipped ahead, showing everyone in place with Chef standing nearby just off the raised stage. Sierra and Bridgette were on the leftmost pair of pads while Scott and Sugar stood on the rightmost; Sammy and Alejandro were on the back-left pads, and Geoff and Tyler were on the back-right.
"How are the hosen?" Tyler whispered in concern to his teammate.
"Way too tight," Geoff answered, trying to pull down on the short legs. "This wedgie is killing me!"
The two were interrupted by the end of an alphorn blowing right next to them, the camera cutting to Chef who was holding the instrument. "That's German for shu~uut up!" he told them before tossing the alphorn over his shoulder. "Follow my lead and nobody gets hurt," he added, "yet."
A snazzy drumbeat opened the next piece of music, several brass instruments joining in after a few seconds. "Right knee up, left arm swings," he commanded to the melody, demonstrating the motions as he called them out. "Stomp, hop, slap your thighs. Kick your butt, jump and clap."
xxx
"My grandparents are German," Sierra confessed in the restroom, giggling and calling a quick "Schnitzel!" to the camera. "So I'm like a tenth generation slap dancer! It's what kept me alive on the school playground, and probably why I didn't make any friends," she said with a thoughtful look. She shrugged, then happily said "But who cares? I have all my Total Drama friends now!"
xxx
The footage resumed with a close-up of the leftmost dance mat as the music restarted itself, and Sierra jumped down excitedly. The camera pulled back to show her bobbing up and down excitedly while Bridgette watched with a cautious but amused look on her face.
"One two three, slap my knee," Sierra sang, slapping her knee and turning around, "we're on TV, so I'll dance with glee," she continued, a smile forming on Bridgette's face as she began to bob in time with the music as well.
"Four five six," Sierra continued, the camera focusing on her butt as she put her hands on it, "pick up sticks," the shot cut back outward as she leaned back and raised her left knee, "we're an awesome mix that won't fall for their tricks!" Her line earned an odd look exchanged between Scott and Sugar.
"Seven eight nine," she leaned towards the camera, "straighten your spine," she leaned back again, the camera showing Sammy, Alejandro, Geoff, and Tyler watching in amused confusion. "They think they're so sneaky with their secret align," Sierra sang to the camera.
"Ten eleven twelve, nothing rhymes with twelve," she sang, bending down then singing at the camera positioned between her legs. "Don't think you're gonna win is 'cause this one's mine!" she finished with a confident declaration, sweeping a pointed finger across the other teams.
/
The footage skipped forward slightly, now showing both Sierra and Bridgette going through the motions of the dance.
"So what exactly were you singing about?" Bridgette whispered to her teammate.
"Huh?" Sierra answered with a moment's blank stare before realization came to her. "Oh! Well, when I get into the groove like that, I tend to just sing about whatever's on my mind."
"You've been thinking about a secret alliance that's been trying to trick us?" Bridgette asked in mild alarm.
"Kinda," Sierra said, casting a suspicious glance around before leaning in slightly towards her teammate. "Scott and Sugar have been acting totally suspicious lately. And I wasn't sure at first, but I'm starting to think they might be working together!"
"...really?" Bridgette asked skeptically. "I mean, don't get me wrong I wouldn't put it past Scott to do something like that, but I don't see Sugar doing the same. She's not exactly, umm, subtle."
"I think she might be craftier than we realize," Sierra said. "I did some research between seasons, and not only has she actually won a bunch of beauty pageants, but some of those wins were kinda sketchy."
"Sorry," Bridgette shook her head, "but I still just can't see it." Sierra sighed in annoyance.
/
The scene flashed over to Scott and Sugar, also having a hushed conversation while they went through the motions of the dance.
"I think we need to get rid of Sierra next," Sugar hissed. "You heard her song, she's onto us!"
"I know," Scott replied, "but if we go after her now it might just make her teammates more suspicious of us!"
"Then what are we s'posed to do?" Sugar asked.
"Lay low for now, and don't do anything obvious," Scott told her. "Maybe if we're lucky, we can get somebody to mess up without trying."
/
Another flash took the focus to Sammy and Alejandro.
"You're doing quite well," the charmer told his teammate as they danced. "I'm glad you volunteered to do this."
"Thanks," Sammy said, "but if you're trying to get me into an alliance, I'm not sure I really want one with you right now."
"I understand," Alejandro said sadly. "I haven't given you much reason to trust me, after all. But still, with Dawn's departure you'll have to pick a side eventually. I'm fairly certain Scarlett's already roped Sugar into an alliance, and between them and myself I hope you'll go with the side that's only a strategic threat."
"That's...a good point," Sammy said anxiously, causing Alejandro to smile.
/
"So what're you gonna do if you go up against Bridgette?" Tyler asked Geoff as the scene flashed over to them.
"I guess I'll just ask her what's going on, once and for all," Geoff answered. "And if she really does wanna leave me for Shawn or something, then I guess I'll find some way to win her heart again."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Tyler told him. "I'm gonna try to win Ella's heart myself. I bet once she sees my awesome dance moves, she'll fall for me big time."
"Good luck with that, bro," Geoff said.
"Thanks, guy," Tyler replied, "you too." They bumped fists and smiled, then were suddenly electrocuted.
"Hahaha!" Chris laughed as the camera cut to him. "Looks like it works," he said, looking fondly at the remote control in his hand. "But just to be sure..." He pressed the button again, and the camera zoomed out to show all eight dancers getting shocked at the same time. "It's challenge time!" he declared.
Bridgette, Scott, and Sammy were shown stumbling around the stage in literal shock, and Tyler said "Jeez, I'm starting to feel like a sausage that's been overcooked," before getting zapped again and falling over.
"Last person standing on the platform wins the challenge for their team," Chris told them before the camera cut in close and he whispered "This is gonna be fun!"
The shot zoomed back out as Chef Hatchet pressed another switch, which caused hydraulic pistons to extend and raise the dance mats high into the air with the contestants already on them. Scott and Bridgette were on the far left mats, while Geoff and Sugar were on the far right. Alejandro faced off against Tyler on the back-left, and Sierra and Sammy squared off on the back-right to round things out.
The music started up again, and the contestants stared at their mats in shock for a second before beginning.
Geoff and Sugar were shown first, the pageant queen aggressively trying to smack and slap and kick at her opponent, and Geoff frantically trying to both defend and get a few hits of his own in. The shot zoomed out again, showing that all four pairs were slapping each other and several were complaining about it.
Tyler made a misstep and was shocked for it, causing Alejandro to laugh as well as Chris and Chef. Bridgette also moved wrong, causing Scott to roll his eyes while she was being electrocuted. When she recovered, though, she frowned and slapped him harder. He paused for a split-second then stumbled backward slightly, giving the surfer an opening to slap him again – he pinwheeled his arms comically, but made no other move to stay on the platform and soon landed on his butt in the snow.
Alejandro and Tyler's duel was shown again, the two boys narrowing their eyes at one another and raising their hands to strike once more. Both boys glanced to the side, and for a moment Ella was shown watching with concern on her face. Alejandro and Tyler looked back at each other, and Tyler was the first to strike. Alejandro dodged it, grinned confidently as the jock's overexertion caused him to spin around, then slapped him clear off the platform. He landed face-first in the snow, twitching and groaning in pain.
Sierra and Sammy were shown watching the boys from their own mats, but Sierra broke her gaze first to give her opponent a vicious grin. "Oh no...," Sammy said in dread the moment she noticed Sierra's look, and the background music took a sharp turn as the tenth generation slap-dancer launched a barrage of slaps and knees that Sammy failed to block. Sierra finished it off with a flying kick to the cheerleader's stomach, sending her hurtling off into the snow.
"Sammy!" DJ cried out in concern from off-screen as Sierra seemed to realize what she'd done and smiled sheepishly.
Meanwhile, as the music returned to normal Geoff and Sugar were still battling furiously with neither dancer gaining a clear upperhand. The shot pulled back to show Bridgette, Alejandro, and Sierra watching from the other raised mats, then the camera cut to Scott scowling in the snow. He glared straight at his secret ally and made a short but sharp downward motion with one of his hands, repeating it until it finally caught Sugar's eye. She raised an eye in confusion for a brief moment, just enough for her to miss a step and get shocked. Geoff took advantage quickly, slapping her as soon as the electricity stopped. It was enough to finally send her falling backwards off the mat, after a second of annoyed wobbling at least.
/
The footage skipped ahead a few minutes to show the dance mats rising for the second round – Alejandro versus Sierra on the right; and Geoff versus Bridgette on the left, the two semi-estranged lovebirds already blushing. Their teammates were briefly shown watching silently from the sidelines, but the camera quickly focused on the two blondes.
"So, are you finally gonna explain what's been up with you?" Bridgette asked unamusedly. "I'll accept your apology for what you said in New York, but what do you have against Shawn all of a sudden?"
"You know why," Geoff said bitterly, beginning the dance as the music started up again. "I've seen the way you two act together, and I know you two go off alone all the time. I can put two an' two together, y'know."
"Geoff, the only reason I go off with Shawn all the time is to help him check the plane for anything dangerous," Bridgette explained while dancing.
"Mostly zombies," the survivalist piped up from off-screen.
"Including those, yes," the surfer said. "And also because sitting in one place all the time gets kinda boring after awhile, especially in economy class."
"W-well," Geoff sputtered, "why didn't you ever spend any time with me, huh?"
"Because we've been staying in different classes ever since Egypt," Bridgette told him. "And the few times I've tried to talk to you, either Lightning or Scott got in the way!"
Geoff stopped dancing, shock and confusion on his face. "Okay, Lightning I understand, but Scott got in your way too? Dude knows how much I've been wanting to talk to you. Heck, he's the one who...!" He stopped again in realization, face blankly stupefied as he continued the dance.
"Let me guess," Bridgette said dryly, "he's the one who said I was cheating on you with Shawn?"
"Aww, man!" Geoff said, slapping his face. "I totally let him get to me, even though I knew how bogus it was!" He turned towards his teammate, who was shown looking sheepish, and angrily said, "You're in big trouble, dude!"
"H-honest mistake?" Scott told them with an anxious grin.
"Pfft, whatever," Geoff said, turning his attention back to his girlfriend. "So...we cool then? You're not, like, interested in other guys?"
Bridgette giggled and put her arms around him. "How could I when you're around? Though I am sorry we haven't been able to spend time together."
"Aww, I love you babe," Geoff said, pulling her close.
"I love you too, mister," Bridgette replied as they began to make-out on top the dance mats.
The camera cut to Alejandro and Sierra, who were paused in mid-grapple – Sierra had Alejandro in a headlock, while he in turn had his left hand pushing against the side of her head and his right leg wrapped around her left.
"Aww," Sierra cooed as she watched the touching scene just off-camera, "I love happy endings!"
"Well I love distracted opponents," Alejandro countered, quickly releasing his leg, putting his hands on her stomach, and shoving her off her mat before she could react.
"Oof!" Sierra winced as she landed in the snow on her butt.
"Wait," Bridgette said, breaking her kiss as the shot quick-panned back to her and Geoff, "did Sierra just-whoa!" As she tried to break away from her amorous boyfriend, she took a blind step backwards – and right off the mat. She promptly fell, dragging Geoff down into the snow with her.
"And Team Universe wins!" Chris wasted no time in announcing, the shot from the two groaning blondes to the grinning young man still on his dance mat.
xxx
"I don't know what that dirt farmer intended to do with his attempt to break up Geoff and Bridgette," Alejandro told the restroom camera with a mocking smile, "but I am grateful for the free win he's given me."
xxx
A triumphant tune played as the footage resumed on a shot of Chris and Chef on-stage, addressing the three teams standing on the snow. "Team Universe, fresh-baked strudel awaits you in first class," he told the five on the right.
"Yippee!" Sugar cheered, sharing an excited high-five with Ella before realizing what she'd done and glaring at the singer, who just looked bewildered. Sammy also jumped and clapped excitedly, while Scarlett merely crossed her arms and smirked.
"No thanks are necessary," Alejandro told his teammates smugly.
"Team Victory," Chris told the four boys in the middle, "you're in not-winner, not-total-loser purgatory for the second time ever." Scott, Tyler, and Ezekiel gave him neutral looks, while Geoff hung his head sadly. "And Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Mean," the host told to the final group on the left, "you're voting someone out." DJ, Bridgette, Shawn, and Sierra shared a nervous look.
/
A tense and hollow sound played as the scene flashed to the plane in flight, then to Scott and Sugar at their usual meeting place in the cargo hold.
"Well that could've gone better," Scott griped. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you to take a dive after all."
"Oh, is that what you were wavin' yer arms around for?" Sugar asked. "If I'da known that, I woulda fallen more grace-fully."
"Yeah, well, we still would've been in trouble for it," Scott told her. "Who knew Geoff and Bridgette would make up so quickly?"
"Or that they'd realize you were tryin' to split 'em up?" Sugar pointed out with a jovial smile.
"Exactly," Scott said dryly. "Now we gotta lie low so nobody else gets suspicious of us, and we gotta make sure my team doesn't lose again before I can get Zeke and Tyler back on my side!"
"Aww, don't worry!" Sugar said happily, putting an arm around her ally's shoulders, "I'm sure you'll think of some way to get outta the mess you got yerself in!"
"True," Scott smirked. "In fact, I think I know just what I need to do..."
A few ominous notes were struck, and the scene flashed away.
/
The four members of Team Chris were already seated nervously in the elimination room, and the host was standing before them with a tray of season's symbols of safety.
"I have three barf bags full of the finest peanuts never allowed to be handed out on commercial planes, due to allergy-induced lawsuits," he said, ending with a short wink at the camera. "Time to vote who gets 'em!"
xxx
"Sorry dude, but you nearly buried us all in ten feet of snow," Shawn said as he stamped DJ's passport.
xxx
"Sorry Sierra," DJ said while stamping his teammate's passport, "but did you really have to kick Sammy so hard?"
xxx
"Okay, I know I messed up too," Sierra said as she looked at one passport, the picture hidden from view, "but I don't wanna vote myself out. And although your make-up with Geoff was super cute, my expert analysis tells me that it's just gonna distract you from now on. Sorry Bridgette," she revealed the surfer's passport and stamped it, "but I gotta vote for you."
xxx
Bridgette was last; she bit her lip nervously as her stamp-holding hand hovered and dithered over the passports spread out on the countertop.
xxx
"Okay, the votes are in," Chris told the four as the scene flashed back to the elimination room. "Shawn, you're safe," he said, tossing the first bag to the excited survivalist. "The rest of you, however, messed up today. Sierra," the taller girl suddenly became nervous, "you managed to get distracted in the crucial final round. Lucky for you," he tossed the second back to her, "your team isn't holding it against you." Sierra squealed happily and stuffed a fistful of peanuts into her mouth.
"Which brings us to you two," Chris told Bridgette and DJ, who looked suddenly nervous. "DJ nearly got you all killed, while Bridgette is pretty much why you lost the challenge. So, the last bag goes to...," the music became tenser as he paused, and both surfer and brickhouse became even more anxious. "DJ," the host finally announced, tossing the final barf bag to the gentle giant.
DJ, Shawn, and even Sierra gasped in surprise as Bridgette stood up sadly. "It's okay, guys," she told them. "I couldn't stand the idea of voting for any of you, and I felt really guilty for losing us the challenge, so...I voted for myself."
Her teammates gasped again, and the door to the elimination chamber suddenly slammed open as Geoff barged in. "Say it isn't so, Bridge!" he cried, running over to his girlfriend.
"I'm sorry, Geoff, I really am," she told him as they embraced. "It was a dumb move, but-"
"But we're outta time!" Chris interrupted with a smile, forcibly separating the two lovers by shoving a parachute pack into Bridgette's arms then pushing her over to the open doorway. "So long! Farewell! Auf wiedersehen! Good night!" He left her there balanced precariously, and walked away with a smile on his face.
"I love you, Geoff!" Bridgette said quickly as her boyfriend and teammates rushed over. She tried to reach out to her lover, but the wind caught her from behind and pulled her away and out into the open air.
"I love you too, Bridgette!" Geoff called back sadly, leaning out the open door as the camera fell away from it, mimicking the eliminated surfer's viewpoint.
"Will Team Chris is Really Really Really Mean ever live up to their namesake?" the host asked, the usual ending music starting up as the shot cut back to him, the remaining three members of the team in question, and Geoff. DJ, Shawn, and Sierra gave the host a glare that he shrugged off effortlessly. "Find out next time, on Total!" the shot cut outside to the image of Chris on the plane's tail fin as the first blaring note played. "Drama!" the shot pulled back just enough to show the edge of the wings. "Woooorrrrlllddd~ Tooouuurrrr~!" The final shot showed the plane flying off to the left, and nothing more.
(Fade to Credits)
/
/
/
[Bonus Clip]
"I can't believe I just did that!" Bridgette exclaimed as she floated downwards through the chilly air courtesy of her open parachute. "What was I thinking voting myself off like that? Geoff was feeling awful enough as is, and now he's probably blame himself that I'm gone. Which...isn't technically wrong, I guess," she said sadly, "but I don't want him to beat himself up over me!"
She sighed. "And then Shawn's gonna have to find someone else to check the plane with...Ella has one less person watching out for her...and the same for DJ. But it's not like I could just vote somebody else off when I was the one who screwed up, that would be just as bad!" She moaned sadly. "Maybe this is what I get for caring so much about everybody? Maybe I'm just not cut out for this?"
She paused a moment, then shook her head rapidly. "No. No! There's nothing wrong with caring about other people and trying to do the right thing, even if it does cost you a million bucks!" she declared. "I may not have made it very far again, but I'm still happy with myself for how I played." She glanced downwards, and a flat note played as the shot cut outward, showing her drifting towards one of the oversized meat grinders, now loaded onto an unmoving flatbed truck on top of the snowy mountain.
"...nnnot so happy about this, though," she commented as she slowly landed inside the grinder. "Ewww, didn't they wash this thing?!" she exclaimed, her voice taking on a metallic echo.
Author's Note - Post Script
And so, the subplot between Bridgette and Geoff comes to an end, on both high and low notes. The two are still together, but sadly it caused Bridgette's elimination...among other things, as you'll see. Although I knew going into this season that Bridgette was almost certainly gonna be eliminated here, I wasn't sure until I started work on the chapter exactly how it was gonna play out. I knew Scott and Sugar would have to be involved, which ended up being by way of them semi-purposely failing in the first round of the dance-off, but the exact logistics of the second round of dancing, as well as everyone's logic in voting, took a bit more work.
Still, I'm happy with what I came up with - though Bridgette wasn't the last person standing for her team, it was her fall that caused Sierra to fall. That would justify Bridgette voting for herself, and with Shawn and DJ's votes being fairly easy to arrange, that just meant I needed Sierra's to make sense. But since she'd already forgiven DJ and would have no reason to vote for Shawn or herself, that means she'd have no choice but to vote for Bridgette...her justification for it might sound flimsy, but I like to think it also sounds flimsy to Sierra herself.
This week's song is just a Shuffled version of 'Eine Kleine'; I liked the melody and also the opportunity to use it to advance several romantically-based subplots at once. I do apologize if DJ maybe-seeing Dawn during it was a little out of nowhere, but I needed some way to cause an avalanche. Plus, I wanted to kind of follow up on Sammy's sighting last week...
Well, that's about all I have to say for this week. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, shocking though some of it may have been! Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you all next week!
- Fangren
Appendix: TSWT Eliminated Contestants
Staci - (17th Place)
Beardo - (16th Place)
Lightning - (15th Place)
Dawn - (14th Place? | Quit Unofficially)
Bridgette - (13th Place)