Author's Note
Welcome back! I hope you've all been looking forward to this week's chapter. I'm pretty excited to present it, and am also excited because for the first time in awhile I actually managed to finish next week's chapter before a Saturday! I say this a lot, but I'm really happy with how next week's chapter turned out.
But that, of course, will have to wait another week. Right now, there's a veritable horde of reviews that need answering.
Animation Adventures: Oho, yes, I don't think anybody was expecting Area 51 last week. I'm glad you liked what happened last week, it was fun tying together so much of what happened in the first half of the season. You're spot-on about the dream, although Dawn wasn't aware that Scarlett was the great evil she had to stop until she actually got to Area 51. I did consider putting Dawn on Team Chris, but since she unofficially left the game after being assigned to a team, unlike Duncan, that Chris would put her back where she was. And like I said last week, I'm a little bummed that I never really did much with Sierra either, but, well...sometimes these things just have to happen. I still think she had a good run, and that her absence won't really hurt the season overall. And as for Scarlett's song...I'm really happy you liked it! Like you said, it was meant to be an ominous and villainous song that really showcased how far Scarlett has sunk.
Amazinglol: Hah, yeah, but these things have to happen sometimes, I think.
CVluvFoxy: Wow, thanks for the compliment! I'm glad I was able to surprise people on so many fronts, between the returns of Scarlett and Dawn to the elimination of Sierra. Sorry I had to eliminate her, but it's just what I felt was the best choice.
Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: The new penname is certainly interesting. Other than that, not much to say besides thanks for the review!
DSX62415: Well, I do like to keep my readers on their toes. I will say that there's not many more out-of-order episode left, however. Regarding Dawn's love life...well, you'll have to read on to find out. And as for your upload...well admittedly, I'm not really a Gundam fan, so I don't think I'll check it out. Sorry.
atom king: Hah, glad you liked Scarlett's attempted revenge last week. As for making the London episode a little more like Scooby Doo...sorry, but I'll pass. As for the crossover idea...ehh, I can see it working, but I'm just not really feeling it right now.
P. T. Piranha: Thanks for not spoiling who was eliminated, even if you were the only one. I don't really mind it either way, to be honest. And yeah, I suppose Sierra could've made a good hero for this season, but ultimately I never even considered it. In my early planning of this season I actually wasn't certain what I was gonna do with this quarter; the other three were obvious - Lightning's Downfall and Dawn's Quit; the Downfall of Scott and Scarlett and the Rise of Sugar; and the last quarter of course is set-up for the finale. But now I've gotten a really, really great idea of what I want to do with these five chapters, and I gotta say it's really panning out well so far.
Ddynamo: More-or-less, yeah, hah. And since I've finished re-watching Revenge of the Island and have pretty much decided on all the cameos, I can say for sure that Scarlett won't be taking Heather's place. Though that's not to say Scarlett won't get a cameo... That aside, interesting to hear boot predictions, as always.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Scarlett getting jailed is certainly a possibility, though I doubt it's the last we'll see of her. Thanks for the review!
Glowing Insanity: Haha, I'm glad people are starting to realize why I brought Scarlett back for the season. Without her, this episode...I honestly don't know what would be going on. I'm not sure Dawn would have left in the first place, so that subplot wouldn't be around to resolve, so I'd either have to come up with some other source of drama (probably from keeping it in its canon place in the episode order) or just let it be a blander version of canon events.
PizzaTheBomb: Yeah, pretty much. Sierra had her place in the plot, but ultimately that place was to be fodder. I think she had a good run, though. And I'm glad so many people enjoyed the showdown between Scarlett and Dawn! It was a big event, so I'm glad it went smoothly. And don't worry about trying to predict the episode order, things are gonna get pretty easy after this week's episode.
VIPGuest: Fair enough, although I don't think a good villain can only be used once. And with Scarlett as she is now, she pretty much has to go out with a bang. And I'm sorry you're not feeling my portrayal of Dawn; I know she was gone a few weeks but I still think I've done a good job with sticking to her character. Oh well. And by the way, last week's title is a pun on the phrase 'All's well that ends well'.
Guest: I'll be going with the cast that I personally think is best, based on how this season and Revenge of the Island turn out.
I. M. Poik: Hah, glad you liked that scene. And yeah, you and some others all predicted Dawn's return last week, though not in the correct location. Giving Team Victory the win last week was an easy choice; they were both the obvious underdogs and the team receiving the least focus. As for what happens next...well, you'll just have to read on and find out.
skyline 10: Ahh, sorry, but no. The only one of those I'm at all familiar with is Scooby Doo, and even then the London episode, as I've written it, isn't that sort of mystery.
Knifez: Oh god dammit, I can't believe I made that mistake...oh well, I don't really feel like changing the title right now. I'll live with the error. I'm really happy you, and so many others, enjoyed what I did with Scarlett's plotline; I knew including her in the season would be the right choice in the end. And yeah, having to eliminate Sierra before the merge is a bummer for me too, but that's just how my plots plotted themselves out. The heroic trio of DJ, Dawn, Sammy is, as you say, reaching the end of their series-arching plot, but that's all I'm going to reveal right now. You'll just have to read on and find out what twists and turns this season goes through next...
ferguson97: Thanks! Although as Knifez pointed out, my new title doesn't work that well since Roswell and Area 51 are in different states. Glad to know my writing for DJ/Sammy/Dawn is still good even if you find them a bit stale. Sorry I didn't let Sierra go any further; it's just how I ended up writing the story and I think a lot of other things will make up for it. Interesting predictions, as always, and I look forward to seeing if/how they change in the coming weeks.
FOWLKON: Fair enough, but I'm glad it worked out. The Scarlett vs Dawn/Sammy/DJ battle was something I was really excited about writing, and I'm glad it's gone over so well with the fans. As for what location is next, I'm afraid it's neither London nor Greece this week...but you'll find out soon enough, if you haven't noticed the title already.
OMAC001: Yeah, pretty much! And I hope you enjoy what's to come.
Star Saber21: Glad you liked the second Aftermath! The B gag was a spur of the moment thing I thought was funny, and I'm glad I wasn't the only one. To be honest I'd completely forgotten about B's umbrella from the superhero challenge back in season two; I really have no idea what became of it. Scott's comeuppance this season was a long time in the making; he'll have to go through a lot of pain before he'll be able to come out on top. And as for last week's chapter, I'm happy you liked Scarlett's attempted revenge and how it was shutdown by Dawn's return. You're certainly right in that after being on the show so long, most of the kids can handle themselves.
aloasa: Haha, I'm glad you liked Scarlett's last stand so much. And now Dawn is back so her relationship with Sammy and DJ can be revisited; Sugar's been further cemented as the top villain (though she does still have Alejandro and Dawn to worry about); and this week...is neither London or Greece. Hope you don't mind!
bruno14: Thanks, I'm glad you were able to follow along with the song. Like you said, even though Sierra is gone we'll at least get to see her again on the Aftermaths. Thanks for the review!
insertnamehere21: Huh, didn't know that. Glad you liked the second Aftermath, though, and Borys and Staci really are related.
StayOuttaMyShed: Wow, I really wasn't expecting you to have caught up! Watching you make your way through the season in such a short time has been quite a ride. I'm glad you've mostly liked how things have turned out, aside from disappointment over Scott leaving and not really liking Alejandro and Ella's subplot. I'll skim over most of what you said about earlier chapters, aside from that the boot predictions you gave after episode 12 are interesting as always, and that Scarlett's attack last week was definitely meant to be less grave than in season two. For one, it wasn't the finale and there were hints like with Dawn about how things would turn out; and of course there was the song I gave her. I'm not surprised it it didn't quite groove with the song I based it on as well as the song from Paris, though, since I deliberately tried to make it a bit different. 'Try' has its own melody and such, similar to but distinct from 'Slipping'.
LadyEnigma888: Glad you understand about Scarlett! And yeah, Team Universe has been a pretty clear parallel to Team Amazon from the start, for better or for worse. I'm not as happy about it now as I was when the season was first being planned, but it's one of the consequences of having Scarlett in the game - I knew she had to be the first boot from her team, but that it wasn't going to be for some time, which naturally threw the eliminations out of balance. It's also why I gave Team Universe so many reward challenge losses early on to try and make up for their lack of eliminations. Regarding the canon love triangle, I suppose right now I like Gwen/Duncan more than Duncan/Courtney, though the latter had it's place and the former was handled horribly. I also like Courtney/Gwen, which could have worked in All-Stars had All-Stars not been...you know, All-Stars. Ultimately, though, I'm not sure any of the three relationships are built to last.
Explorer of the Unknown: Glad you liked it! Area 51 was just such an obvious location to bring Scarlett to even early on in the Shuffled series, and I'm glad I was able to make it work so well. And yeah, having Max in Area 51 would've been amusingly dangerous in its own right. As for the two love triangles present in the season, as well as our Big Bad Sugar...well, you'll just have to read on and find out what happens to them next.
wifishark: Thanks, it always makes me happy when I hear that an episode tops a good chunk of the others. And Team Universe does certainly look unstoppable right now, but things can always change. This is the Shuffledverse, after all...
And with that, the reviews for the week have been accounted for. As usual, the TVTropes page for this series could always use more work, and I greatly appreciate the effort everyone has put into it so far!
As always, here's a reminder of the remaining contestants:
Team Victory - Ezekiel, Tyler
Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Mean - Shawn, DJ
Team Universe - Sammy, Alejandro, Ella, Sugar, Dawn
Once more, this week's episode is a little bit out of order. I hope you're ready, because this week is Australia. Enjoy!
- Fangren
Episode 14 – Picnic at Hanging Dork
"Last time, on Total Drama World Tour!" the host opened as the recap began with a panning shot of the mysteriously ominous military base. "Area 51, plucked from space to zap your face!" Chris said in a dramatic tone as Tyler was zapped by the lasers just inside the border of the area.
"Here, the cast got into a bit of a bad situation," he continued over various shots of the contestants inside the Black Box warehouse getting attacked by aliens, robots, and laser cannons, "courtesy of rogue ex-contestant Scarlett. Again." Scarlett was shown making her way through the shadows of the warehouse, then typing on the wall console, then laughing evilly at the end of her song. "Man she needs to chill!"
"Luckily, the show was saved by the timely arrival of someone else who'd left the plane, Dawn." A few highlights of the Moonchild's 'battle' with Scarlett was shown, including DJ and Sammy arriving to help her. "Who was then saved herself by the timely arrival of her friends." Scarlett was shown being defeated and surrounded by Black Ops soldiers, then Dawn, DJ, and Sammy made their escape.
"In the end, however, it was Sierra who got the shove," Sierra was shown getting pushed out of the plane, "and Dawn got her butt put back in the game." The recap finished up with Dawn being sternly directed back to Team Universe, then hugging Sammy.
The scene cut to the cockpit as the plane suddenly rolled upside down, causing Chef's pilot hat and a few bits and bobs to fall onto the ceiling. "Whoa!" Chris said as he steadied himself before pointing at the camera. "Who's going to blunder in the land down under?" he asked. "The game is about to get turned on its head, right now on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
The plane was still flying entirely upside-down as the camera zoomed back from it.
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
The episode, as usual, opened with a shot of the plane flying off towards the left; in contrast to the previous episode, it was now daytime. The scene cut to the common area, where the trio of Dawn, Sammy, and DJ were in the middle of catching up with each other.
"So wait," Sammy asked, "you really were following us all this time?"
"Sort of, but it's more complicated than that," Dawn admitted. "To be honest, I'm a little embarrassed since you were never supposed to actually see me," she added with a sheepish blush.
DJ and Sammy exchanged a confused look. "So what exactly were you doin'?" the brickhouse asked.
"Umm, well, I've been trying to teach myself astral projection," Dawn explained hesitantly. "It's an ancient art that allows me to briefly transcend my body and travel through the astral plane to distant locations. While I was making the journey from Peru to Area 51, I practiced whenever I meditated, and..."
"...decided to check up on us?" Sammy finished with a smile.
"Yes, exactly," Dawn replied warmly. "Though I visited some other places too. I'm not sure why I was seen, though, that's not supposed to happen." She put on a troubled but thoughtful look, but DJ just shrugged,
"Prob'ly just doin' somethin' different is all," he told her. "Or maybe you're just the only person good enough to do it like that."
"Oh," Dawn blushed, "I doubt that. It's probably just something I'll have to figure out some other time. Anyway," her color quickly returned to normal, "you must tell me what's been going on since I left."
Sammy and DJ shared another look, and DJ motioned for his girlfriend to start. "Oh, well, when you didn't show up on the plane me and DJ were totally freaking out," she said. "We looked everywhere for you, but obviously couldn't find anything."
"For a moment we thought you abandoned us or something," DJ admitted, rubbing the back of his head in shame. "But we figured you must've had your reasons, especially once you started showin' up at challenges."
"Yeah, it's a shame we didn't find your letter before Scarlett did," Sammy said, causing Dawn to raise her brow in confusion. "It would've made things way better for us."
"Wait, Scarlett found my letter?" Dawn asked.
"Yeah," Sammy told her. "She read it and used it to blackmail Sugar into an alliance with her."
"Turns out you were right about Sugar and Scott workin' together," DJ added, "but it was only 'cause Scott bullied her into it."
"But Sugar didn't want anyone to know about it, so she went along with Scarlett until her and Scott were eliminated," Sammy said.
"Then Sugar gave the letter to us, and that's it," DJ finished.
"I see...," Dawn told them with a thoughtful look.
xxx
"That's odd," the moonchild confessed, "I could've sworn Scarlett was being honest about not knowing about the letter...but then again, the way she worded it could've been to throw me off." Dawn tapped her chin a few times in deep thought, then frowned. "Still, I should probably keep an eye on Sugar."
xxx
The scene cut to a close-up of a chocolate chip cookie, the camera pulling back to reveal it being held by Ezekiel as he and Tyler lounged in first class. He took a bite, and smiled. "Still warm, eh. First class really is my kinda place."
"Mine too," Tyler said. "And the best part is, we proved that even a team of two can still win challenges!"
"Ya got that right, guy," Ezekiel grinned, and the two boys bumped fists.
"Still," Tyler continued with a knowing nod, "we can't get too overconfident or we'll just blow it. We gotta keep avoiding last place until the merge."
"Right, eh," Ezekiel nodded. "I'm pretty sure we won't have long to wait either. There's only like half of us left, so it'll probably only be another challenge or two before the teams merge."
Tyler blinked, then grinned. "Good to know. Just a little bit more, than it's gonna be Tyler and Zeke all the way to the top!"
"Oh yeah," Ezekiel said, and the two boys bumped fists again.
/
Another flash took the scene to economy class, where Alejandro was standing in the middle of the aisle with Ella and Sugar sitting on the seat behind him. A rat squeaked and scurried up to him, and Alejandro looked at is disdainfully. "Loser class again?" he muttered. "Pathetic." He turned on his heel and addressed his two present teammates. "Ladies, we must rise from the ashes and light the fires of victory!"
"Wait, you wanna set Tyler an' Zeke on fire?" Sugar asked in confusion.
"I should hope not," Ella said in horror, looking up as she scratched the rat on its head, "that would be horrible!"
"I-that's not what I meant!" Alejandro stammered, flushing slightly. "I would never do such a thing! I meant we should light the fires of our victory, you know, start winning again?"
"Oh, why didn't you just say so!" Sugar said in a jolly tone.
"Really, Alejandro, you must watch your words more carefully," Ella scolded. "It's causing misunderstandings!"
Alejandro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I can see that, and I apologize for not being more clear," he told her before resuming his calm but pleading demeanor. "But still, you must agree that as the largest team it's only natural that we dominate the competition, right?"
"I suppose," Ella said, "but honestly, I don't think you're giving the others enough credit. Team Victory won the last challenge fair and square, as did Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Mean before that. I'd say that's proof enough that size isn't everything."
"True," Alejandro admitted, "luck plays a part as well. But I feel it's about time that the other teams' luck ran out."
"Uhh, I'm right here y'know," Shawn spoke up, the viewpoint rotating to show him sitting with an unamused expression on the opposite wall.
"For now, my friend, for now," Alejandro said with a cocky smile.
"Yeah, the same can be said of you," Shawn countered, causing Alejandro to raise an eyebrow in amused disbelief.
xxx
"Please, that dirty tree-monkey has no idea what he's talking about!" Alejandro confessed with a laugh. "Ella remains under my control, and Sugar is too eager to get on my good side to dare go against me. I'll admit that Dawn being in the game again could prove troublesome, but so long as I can get Sammy to keep her word then the aura-whisperer may as well be a part of my alliance as well. I'm practically untouchable right now!"
xxx
The plane icon was shown flying across the season's world map, heading towards and circling over Australia. While it moved, Chris's voice came over the plane's loudspeaker. "All competitors, please move to the common area for a special announcement."
A flash took the scene to the dining area, the nine contestants already assembled. Shawn had taken a seat next to DJ, who was still sharing a table with Sammy and Dawn. The rest of Team Universe were seated at the same side of the table next to the two blondes, and the duo of Tyler and Ezekiel sat opposite them.
"I wonder what Chris wants?" Tyler asked.
"Probably some new way to make our lives miserable," Alejandro replied in a bored tone. "Of course, those with love on their side won't be nearly as affected." He put his hand on Ella's and squeezed it lightly so she blushed and leaned into him, then sent a side-eyed grin back at Tyler, who was scowling.
"Oh yes," Ella said happily, "love really does conquer all! Why, look at what happened last time, without the power of love Scarlett would never have been defeated!" She gave a warm and happy smile to DJ, Sammy, and Dawn, causing all three to blush and the first two to look away bashfully.
"Oh, err, wh-what do you mean by that?" Dawn asked.
"Why, I mean-" Ella began to answer before her words were drowned out by the sound of an airhorn.
The cast looked to the side and a dramatic tune played as Chris stepped into the room. "Hello, competitors! Who's ready for today?"
"That depends," Shawn said blankly, "what exactly are you gonna do to us?"
"I'm glad you asked that, Shawn," Chris told him. "See, I honestly wasn't expecting all three teams to last this long, and I gotta say I'm getting kinda bored of them." As he spoke, the camera panned over the surprised looks on the contestant's faces. "So, it's time to shake things up!"
"Waiting, we're merging teams?" Alejandro asked is disbelief. "Now?"
"Guess I was a little off, eh," Ezekiel told Tyler. "I think we're still good though."
"You bet we are!" Tyler said with a wide grin. "We just made the merge! Yeah!" He pumped his fist in his excitement.
The airhorn was blown again, and the camera cut back to the scowling host as he took a finger out of his ear. "Don't get ahead of yourselves, this isn't the merge."
"Oh...," Sammy said blankly, "then what is it?"
"This," Chris answered, his scowl slowly fading into his usual fake smile, "is a Mix-Up, where three teams," he held up the same number of fingers, "will become two." He lowered one of his raised fingers, then clasped his hands behind his back. "Now sadly, since they lost the last challenge Team Chris is Really Really Really Really Mean is breaking up. DJ," the gentle giant perked up, "you're now on Team Victory. Shawn, you're on Team Universe."
The two boys in question looked at on another, then Shawn raised a finger to speak. "Uhh, sorry, but that doesn't really seem balanced."
"That's because I'm not done yet," Chris told him. "I'm also breaking up Team Universe's 'Fab Five'."
"What?!" Alejandro exclaimed in wide-eyed disbelief.
"You heard me, dude," the host told him. "You're staying put, however, as are Samey and Dawn. Ella, Sugar, that means you're on Team Victory now."
"But...but Alejandro and I-" Ella began to worriedly say.
"-are gonna have to deal with being separated," Chris told her.
"Aww shucks, don't you worry!" Sugar told the princess, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "You still got ol' Sugar with you!" The smile she gave Ella didn't seem to make the girl feel much better.
"Anywho," Chris continued, "today's forecast is clear skies with temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius, or, say, 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Get ready for a toasty landing!"
A few dramatic notes played as the shot cut outside the plane, showing it coming in for a landing in the red sandy desert of the Australian Outback.
/
"G-day mate, and welcome to Australia!" Chris said in an attempted Australian accent as a didgeridoo was blown in the background. The scene had skipped forward to the two reconfigured teams standing in the red sands in front of the host; the golden trophy of Team Victory appeared over Tyler, Ezekiel, Ella, Sugar, and DJ; and Team Universe's blue spiral galaxy appeared over Alejandro, Dawn, Sammy, and Shawn.
"I call today's challenge 'The Marathon of Death'," Chris continued in his usual voice, the scene flashing to a panning shot of the barren Outback. "Part one is an emu race all the way into the Blue Mountains." Another flash took the shot down a craggy mountain covered with patches of grass and trees. "I'm not saying the trip will be dangerous exactly, but with venomous snakes, killer scorpions, and the very real possibility of sunstroke, I hope you all have your affairs in order."
Team Victory looked at him with open-mouthed dread.
"Whoever reaches majestic Hanging Rock first will earn a distinct advantage in the second half of the challenge," the host explained. "And yes, I said emu." He looked to the side and shouted "Bring 'em in, boys!" A pair of annoyed-looking men, one white and one black, walked up leading a mob of the giant birds. "No saddles," Chris commented. "After all, it's supposed to be a challenge." One of the birds pecked the white intern in the head.
"Now go!" the host commanded.
/
The music became tense as the contestants were shown chasing the birds around in an attempt to grab one. Dawn was shown calmly grabbing a lead as its emu ran by, then giving a startled cry as it started dragging her along; Tyler and Ezekiel nodded at one another and pounced at the same bird, only for it to squawk and dodge at the last moment leaving them groaning on the ground.
"Here, emu emu emu," Sammy said softly as she approached a bird with caution, the music calming down again. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I just wanna...," she locked eyes with the emu and crept closer and closer until... "ride you!" she yelled as she pounced, grabbing the emu around the neck. Try though she did to hold on tight, the startled bird quickly started pecking at her until, with a shriek, she let go and it ran off.
"Having trouble?" Alejandro asked, walking up to the cheerleader with an emu being lead behind him.
"Nothing I can't handle," Sammy said, not looking at him as she stood up and brushed the sand off her skirt.
"But of course," he told her. "Still, as one ally to another I am willing to just give you the emu I've already gotten," he held out the end of his lead. "I can wrangle another one in no time."
"Oh, thanks for the offer," Sammy said, a smile forming on her face as she looked at something off-screen, "but I don't need it."
It was then that Dawn arrived, seated on the back of one emu and holding the lead of another. "Here," she told Sammy, "I saw you having trouble, so I thought I'd help you out." She handed over the other lead, which the cheerleader accepted eagerly.
"Thank you so much!" Sammy gushed, reaching out and stroking the emu's neck.
Alejandro moved a blank look between the two girls, then smiled. "Yes, of course," he said. "Incidentally," he told Sammy as she tried to mount her bird, "I hope you haven't forgotten about our alliance after everything that's happened."
"Oh, I haven't...," Sammy said with a nervous chuckle, the camera shifting to show Dawn giving her an inquisitive look.
xxx
"Okay, when I agreed to the alliance with Alejandro," Sammy explained in the restroom confessional, "I only thought it was gonna be to eliminate Scarlett, and Sugar before she gave me Dawn's letter. Now that the teams are mixed up, I don't think I wanna keep Alejandro around over Shawn if we lose. But...I don't really know if I wanna go back on my deal, either. That seems more like an Amy thing to do than a Sammy thing..."
xxx
The focus moved to Shawn and DJ, the former wrestling for control over an emu's lead with the bird itself as DJ walked up to him. "Here, man, you gotta be gentle with these things," DJ told him, taking the lead from his hand and scratching the bird under the beak so that it squawked delightedly. "There's a good bpy," he told it, "you be good, okay?" The emu squawked again, and the gentle giant passed its lead back to Shawn.
"Uhh, thanks," Shawn said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I wish I could stay and help you get yours, but..."
"Don't worry about it," DJ said. "You got your new team, and I got mine. Just don't expect me to be behind for long."
"Yeah," Shawn smirked, and the two former teammates bumped fists.
"Shawn!" Alejandro called out impatiently from off-screen, the shot cutting to show him, Sammy, and Dawn all on their emus. "Let's go, amigo!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Shawn answered as he jumped on his emu's back.
DJ snorted jovially. "Good luck with Alejandro, dude," he told the survivalist.
"Thanks. Good luck with the new Team Victory," Shawn replied, the two boys looking momentarily distracted as Ella rode by, sitting side-saddle and humming to her emu.
"Thanks," DJ replied blankly.
/
The scene skipped ahead to show Ella and DJ riding their emus with a bit of distance between them. A pan back to the left showed Tyler and Ezekiel riding side-by-side, until Sugar rode up between them.
"Howdy, new teammates!" she greeted cheerfully. "How y'all doin'?"
"Not so great, eh," Ezekiel said, dripping with sweat. "It's too hot out here."
"Just hang in there, Zeke," Tyler told his friend. "We're gonna win this challenge in no time."
Sugar chuckled. "Yup, sure are!" she told them. "Y'know, I'm pretty glad I got the two of you on my team now. Sure beats havin' to pal around with that Alejandro."
"Yeah, I hope they vote him out," Tyler said with an angry frown.
"Me too!" Sugar said with a happy nod. "After all that trouble I got myself into with Scarlett and Scott, I do not want another evil type runnin' around messin' with people."
Ezekiel stiffened slightly at the mention of his former friend, then removed his toke and wiped his brow with it. "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said with a slightly mournful tone.
"Oh yeah, I guess the two of you got messed around by Scott too, huh?" Sugar said with an almost thoughtful stare before smiling again. "Y'know, I think the three of us ought to stick together on account of us all bein' the victims of schemin'. Whaddaya say?"
Tyler and Ezekiel shared a shrugging look behind the pageant queen's back, then leaned back forward to look at the girl between them. "Sounds good to me," Tyler said.
"Yeah, eh, I guess it can't hurt," Ezekiel added.
Sugar dramatically wiped a tear from her eye. "Thank you so much!" she told them. "It means the world to me knowin' there's two boys I can actually trust out here." Tyler and Ezekiel smiled at her awkwardly.
xxx
"Man, this new team is almost perfect for me!" Sugar happily told the confessional camera. "Only thing missin' is havin' someone else in place of Tyler, 'cause I think Ella's already got her claws in him. Still," she chuckled, "so long as I take things slow and work my magic on the boys, pretty soon Ella will be long gone." She ended her confessional with another chuckle.
xxx
"How long do we have to wait?" Chef asked Chris, the two men standing on top of Hanging Rock, a tent already pitched for them.
The host checked his folded-up map, then said "Another two hours, maybe?" Chef snatched the map from him and unfolded it more. Chris took one look at it and corrected himself. "Oops, make that two days!"
The two men cackled to themselves.
/
A flash put the camera facing the crest of a small hill, the sun beating down on it. A timelapse began, showing the sun rotating to the left as it set to be replaced by the moon, which in turn made way for the sun again.
With a reverent note the timelapse ended, and the scene flashed to DJ wiping the sweat from his brow as he rode his emu through the desert.
"Man, where is everybody?" he wondered aloud, shield the sun from his eyes with his hand and he scanned the area. "No way I passed Dawn yet...maybe I'm-"
He was cut off by the sudden sound of song nearby. "If we wish to beat the heat the shade is really neat!" the camera quick-panned ahead to show Ella singing from the back of her emu, the bird taking a slow pace as it listened. A kangaroo was hopping along in pace with them, also apparently enraptured by the singer's voice. "But if the shade is gone we must continue on and on!"
"Nice singin'," DJ said as he had his emu trot up alongside. "Kinda surprised you still got the energy to do it in this heat though."
"Oh, the thought of reuniting with my love Alejandro gives me plenty of motivation to keep going," Ella explained. "I'm sure you understand, you must feel the same way about Sammy and Dawn."
DJ blushed a little, but smiled. "Yeah, I guess so."
/
The scene cut back to Chris and Chef sitting on a small ledge near their tent; a few half-empty pizza boxes littered the ground behind them, and the hulking man was busying himself by carving a didgeridoo.
Chris checked his watch, then asked "Think the scorpions got 'em?"
"Five to one its the dingoes," Chef replied. He finished his carving, then held the instrument up to his mouth and began to play. Chris snapped his fingers to the 'tune', and seconds later a tired-looking Alejandro rode up behind them.
"Ahem!" he said sharply, startling both men into screaming.
"Finally," Chris said, recovering quickly.
Shawn, Dawn, and Sammy arrived shortly after; the former two were breathing heavily but otherwise fairly well-off, but the cheerleader had basically collapsed onto her emu's back. "That took forever!" she groaned.
"You know, I kind of enjoyed it," Shawn told Dawn. "I'll have to work out the benefits of hiding out here when the zombie apocalypse comes."
"Congrats on taking the lead, Team Universe!" Chris told them moments before DJ and Ella rode up.
"Aww man, we lost?" DJ said in disappointment.
"Well, look at the bright side," Ella told him as they approached the smiling members of Team Universe, "at least we all made the journey safely!" She slid easily off the back of her emu and waved to Alejandro; he smiled and blew her a kiss back that made her blush.
"Most of us at least," DJ said after waving to Sammy and Dawn. "I wonder what happened to the others?"
"Tyler and Zeke are right here!" the jock announced, the camera cutting to him and an exhausted Ezekiel riding up the slope of Hanging Rock.
"Yeah!" Ezekiel cheered weakly before falling off his bird.
"Cool," DJ said, helping Ezekiel up and Tyler down. "Now where's Sugar?" he added, looking around in confusion.
Tyler's brow shot up, then furrowed as he also looked down the mountain. "Hey, good question. I thought she was right behind us?"
/
A flash revealed Sugar and her emu slumped forward in exhaustion as they made their way across the Outback.
"Okay emu," Sugar told the bird, "if anyone asks, we did not get lost tryin' to find a cab to drive us the rest of the way. Deal?"
The emu squawked its agreement.
/
Tyler and Ezekiel were shown with their hands to their foreheads scanning the horizon as DJ and Ella watched with worried looks.
"Don't even think about going back to find Sugar," Chris told them, gaining the attention of all four as the initial drumbeats of the series' capstone theme began to play. "You'll just have to sit tight and wait for her to arrive. Team Universe," he motioned to the other four who were standing by Chef, who was holding up the ends of two long cords. "Get ready to buckle up and take a long walk off a short cliff."
"What exactly are they jumping in to?" he asked the camera as it cut back to him. "Find out when we boomerang back," he briefly pointed a finger and donned his fake Australian accent, "on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
(Fade to Commercial and Back)
The episode resumed with a drumroll and chanted note on eight of nine contestants assembled with the host on top of Hanging Rock. "Okay teams!" Chris greeted as the camera zoomed in on him. "Get ready to look death in the face, and live to tell the tale." Sammy, Dawn, and Shawn shared an uncertain look. "Or not...," the host added, "ya know? I'm easy."
He gestured to a spire of rock behind him, to which a thick cord had been tied. "The challenge, part two. Teams must take turns bungee-jumping off Hanging Rock and plummeting to the bottom," the shot zoomed out a little and started moving down, "far, far, fa-ha-haar below," the music built dramatically as the camera descended faster and faster, "to try and grab one of Australia's finest sheep."
Down at the bottom was a large pen of sheep, and the camera cut back to pan across the shocked faces of the contestants as Chris continued his explanation. "Three of those sheep have Team Victory logos tattooed on their side," he said. "Another three have Team Universe logos under their wool, not too far from their lethal jaws." He mimed a sheep's jaw biting down on something.
"Uhh, what kind of lethal are we talking about here?" Shawn asked nervously.
"The first team to catch and shear one of their own sheep wins first class tickets to Nextville," Chris said, ignoring the question. "And, the losers head to elimination town. As the last to arrive, Team Victory gets a pair of gardening shears."
Chef Hatchet handed a pair of grimy and jagged shears to DJ, who cringed as he opened them.
"And, as the first team to arrive, Team Universe gets this advantage." The four teens in question turned their heads as one to Chef, who held up a small electric razor-like device. "Battery-operated sheep shears," the host said as his assistant turned them on.
"Excellent!" Alejandro grinned, Sammy and Shawn looking similarly excited while Dawn simply looked resigned.
xxx
"Normally I'd be more hesitant to put some poor defenseless sheep through such a dangerous challenge," Dawn explained in the restroom confessional, "but I've seen what happens when sheep don't get sheared. It's not good for them."
xxx
"So, who wants to go first?" Alejandro asked his teammates, briefly switching on the electric shears.
"I will," Dawn volunteered, surprising the others. "You all have endured much in my absence, it's only fair that I be the first to take on this challenge."
"Are you sure?" Sammy asked worriedly, DJ also looking their way with concern on his face. "It's a long way down."
"Don't worry," Dawn smiled, "I'll be fine."
"Good to see you're getting back in the spirit of things," Chris told her. "Now get going, times a wastin'!"
A dramatic tune played over a close-up of Dawn hooking the cord to a sheath around her leg. She gulped as she stood up, then said "Here goes!"
She jumped, and screamed as she fell with another dramatic tune accompanying her on the way down. The bungee cord pulled taut as she reached the sheep, but despite reaching her arms down and grabbing a sheep by the wool it slipped out of her hands almost immediately. "Oh no!" she cried as she sprung back up, a sentiment that was quickly replaced by another panicked scream just as she slammed down on her back on the mountaintop.
"Dawn!" Sammy and DJ cried at once, both rushing to the moonchild's side as Chris and Chef laughed.
"I'm okay," Dawn said, lifting herself up and shaking her head a little to the relief of Sammy and DJ.
"I'd better go next," Alejandro said, unhooking the cord from her.
"Good luck Alejandro!" Ella called out, and the charmer gave her a quick smile and wave before he dove gracefully off the rock.
The dramatic tune played again as he fell, and he narrowed his eyes and grinned as the sheep pen was shown rapidly approaching.
Back on the mountaintop, Dawn had gotten to her feet but Sammy and DJ were still standing around her looking somewhat worried. "Really, I appreciate your concern, but I'm quite fine!" she told them.
"Sorry," DJ said with a warm smile, "we just didn't wanna see you get hurt."
"Yeah," Sammy added with a smile of her own, "you've only just come back, we don't want you to have to leave because of, like, some injury or something."
Dawn blushed and averted her gaze a little. "Thanks..."
"Ahh," Ella sighed dreamily nearby, "it really is wonderful to see you three together again. The love you share is very special."
DJ and Sammy blushed bashfully, while Dawn just looked down thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose it is..." she murmured to herself.
A dramatic tune reemerged just then as Alejandro suddenly flew back up to the top of the rock formation, and landed neatly with a sheep in his arms. "Let's go!" he cried out to his teammates, who immediately made a move for the animal that was pinned to the ground. Shawn turned on the electric shears, but the four were interrupted by the host.
"Perfect timing, Al!" he said with a broad grin, and the music note icon appeared with its usual ding.
Team Universe groaned.
"Oh don't worry," Chris told them, "today's song is special. Dawn, since your little breech-of-contract left you out of a bunch of songs, this one's yours. But since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you pick two of the others for back-up."
"Two...?" Dawn repeated in shock, unaware of the expectant looks Sammy and DJ were giving her.
"Yup, two," Chris repeated with a nod. "Who's it gonna be?"
Dawn was silent for a second, then nodded with renewed resolve. "I pick...Ella and Alejandro."
The brow of every other contestant present shot up in surprise except for Ella, who just looked ecstatic.
"Cool," the host said. "Hit it!"
~/~
[A soft rock melody began, comprised primarily of a bass guitar and drum set with the light hum of the electric shears just audible in the background. The visuals shifted first to a zoomed-out shot of Hanging Rock, then to shots thereabout as various wild animals turned and looked up at the music – emus, kangaroos, sheep, dingoes, and more.]
"I've got a lot to answer for, I left the game and so much more;"
[Dawn began to sing, the camera cutting in close to her standing at a microphone on top of the seemingly near-deserted Hanging Rock. Ella and Alejandro were a little ways behind her; all three were wearing slouch hats, had their eyes closed, and their heads tilted down slightly and bobbing to the rhythm.]
"Since I met you, I've watched you get so close; but I kept inside what I feared the most."
[Dawn looked up and opened her eyes, the camera pulling back to show DJ and Sammy facing one another, holding hands and smiling lovingly. As the line continued the camera zoomed back in on the moonchild, who faded into a silhouette of herself upon which another image was being projected against the image of the top of Hanging Rock – first a silhouette of her and DJ in the same position DJ and Sammy had been in; then a gleam passed over it, causing it to shift into a silhouette of Dawn and Sammy instead.]
"That I would just get in your way; what I really wanted I, couldn't say."
[The camera zoomed back out and the color returned to Dawn's silhouette a few words into the line. The outward zoom continued, showing DJ and Sammy frowning and turning away from one another, and Dawn shaking her head sadly.]
"So I tried to run, and I tried to hide, but I can't escape this love inside!"
[Both the music and Dawn's emotion hit a peak as the camera focused on her singing. A few drum beats abruptly shifted the focus over to Ella and Alejandro, as they finally joined the song.]
"It's time to face it, time to place it, let them both into your heart!"
[They sang in unison, walking around the moonchild on opposite sides – Ella to her right; Alejandro to her left.]
"Time to know it, time to show it, something new's about to start!"
[They turned to face the moonchild as the camera pulled back again, showing DJ and Sammy now hand-in—hand but facing Dawn and smiling softly as they each extended a hand to her.]
"And I know that we can go so far; together out into the stars!"
[Dawn sang passionately, the scene flashing back to what was apparently the actual Hanging Rock: Shawn and Chris and Tyler could be seen watching off to the sides, and the DJ and Sammy that Dawn was now approaching looked much more stunned-yet-hopeful than the illusion that had been shown of them.]
"The two of you, are by my side, the love we share will be our guide!"
[She took them by the hands, the camera tilting to show first her and DJ, then shifting left to show her and Sammy, then pulling back as quickly pulled the two into a deep hug.]
["I am so sorry it took me so long to realize this," she said as the music continued behind her, her voice muffled slightly by their clothing. The two said nothing, just sharing a warm smile with one another before fully embracing Dawn.]
"It's time to face it, time to place it, let her love into your hearts!"
[Ella and Alejandro sang again, circling a little ways around the trio before starting the next line.]
"Time to know it, time to show..."
"Something new's about... to... start!"
[It was Dawn who finished the song, pulling back from the embrace slightly and blushing as DJ and Sammy each kissed her on the cheek.]
~/~
"Oh, that was wonderful!" Ella gushed as Alejandro gently led her away, and the focus moved solely onto Dawn, Sammy, and DJ.
"DJ, Sammy," Dawn said, looking from one to the other, "I truly love both of you. I sincerely hope this won't negatively affect the bonds we share in any way."
The cheerleader and brickhouse shared a knowing look before looking back at their third. "Oh, I don't think it will...," Sammy said. "In fact, DJ and I were already thinking of a way to make things better..."
"Yeah," DJ chimed in, rubbing the back of his neck. "It might be a little, uh, unusual, but I think the three of us together could, ya know, work."
Dawn blushed, looking rather stunned. "Oh, yes, that...that would be perfect!" she told them both.
It was then that the background music took a more plodding turn and the camera panned over to Ella, Alejandro, and Shawn watching nearby. "Uhh, should we tell them I finished shearing the first sheep?" Shawn asked his teammate, the shot briefly cutting over to the naked sheep lying next to a pile of wool; it bore no logo on its flank.
"Let them have their moment," Alejandro cautioned. "You should go ahead and grab the next one."
"Right," Shawn said, handing him the shears and walking away.
"Sugar's here!" Ezekiel suddenly called out, causing Ella to perk up, then wave lightly to Alejandro before walking away. The charmer returned the gesture before turning in the opposite direction.
/
The scene moved to a close-up of a very tired emu before pulling out to show a very tired Sugar riding it. She reached Ezekiel, Tyler, and Ella, and unceremoniously fell off.
"Alright, we're back in this!" Tyler said excitedly. "Hey Chris, pass the harness over here!"
/
Another flash took the scene back to the cliffside as Alejandro watched Shawn spring back up holding something orange rather than white. The camera zoomed in on his face as he landed on the rock with a wince and a grunt, then cut over to Alejandro raising an amused eyebrow.
"Amigo, you do realize that's a dingo, right?" he asked the survivalist, the shot pulling back to fully show the snarling wild dog in Shawn's arms.
"Duh," Shawn deadpanned, "I can tell the difference between and a dingo and a sheep." He quickly jerked his head out of the way as the dingo snapped at him, then added in alarm "Though they do both have lethal jaws."
"I think I'll hold on to it for now," he said, calmly taking hold of the canine. It immediately started growling at him, but faltered at the smile he gave it. "Who's a good dingo?" he cooed, scratching it gently on the head. "You are!" The dog seemed to fall for it, wagging its tail and looking generally happy.
"Make way for Tyler!" the jock said as he suddenly ran towards the cliff, the harness already hooked to his leg.
"Take this back down, would you?" Alejandro said, quickly shoving the dingo into Tyler's arms as he ran past.
"Huh?" Tyler said in confusion, still running even with the now-angry dingo in his hands. He started screaming once it snapped at him and he realized what had happened, which coincidentally was the same time he ran off the cliff.
xxx
The static cut to Alejandro laughing in the restroom confessional before wiping a tear from his eye and happily sighing out "Classic!"
xxx
A dramatic tune played as Tyler was shown plummeting downward with the dingo in his arms; he finally reached the bottom and dropped the dog, then breathed a sigh of relief. All too soon, however, he realized he was going back up without having grabbed a sheep. "Aww, man!" he said in disappointment, the shot cutting back to the top of Hanging Rock as he returned flailing his arms and landing on his chin.
"You did that on purpose," he accused Alejandro.
"Yes, I did," the charmer, already hooked to his team's harness, admitted just before taking another dive off the cliff.
"Uggh, I can't believe that guy," he muttered as he got back to his feet, unhooked himself, and walked over to his teammates. DJ had broken off from his girlfriends, and the five members of Team Victory were reunited once more. "Sorry guys," Tyler told them, "Al messed up my dive."
Ella furrowed her brow. "Are you sure? That doesn't sound like him, it must have been an accident."
"The guy shoved a dingo into my arms and told me to take it back down!" Tyler explained in exasperation.
"Hmm...," Ella said, still with disbelieving uncertainty in her voice. "I think I'll go ask him what happened, if you don't mind."
Tyler looked down dejectedly as she walked away, and DJ cast a wary look between him and the singer. "Uhh, I'm just gonna go get ready for our next turn," he said with a thumb pointed over his shoulder. "If that's okay with you guys."
"Go ahead...," Tyler told him.
xxx
"I thought this whole mix-up thing was gonna be great," Tyler told the confession cam. "I mean, I'm finally on a team with Ella! But I guess she still can't see that Alejandro's a jerk. I have to find a way to get through to her!"
xxx
The moment DJ was gone, Sugar threw her arms around Ezekiel and Tyler. "Listen," she whispered to them, "I think we gotta get rid of DJ next."
"Why?" Tyler asked in confusion.
"'Cause he's too close with the other team!" Sugar explained. "I mean, he's datin' half of 'em now, or somethin', and Shawn used to be his teammate! Plus, Sammy's got an alliance with Al and Ella, so once the merge comes the three of us are gonna be goners!"
Ezekiel looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. Even though he's a great guy, I don't think he'll stay on our side fer very long, eh. Votin' him out now is like, err, pre-emptive self-defense, I think."
"Exactly," Sugar said with a blank smile and nod.
"I don't know," Tyler said uncertainly. "I don't think him or his girls really like Alejandro, they won't stick with him very long. Maybe if we keep him around, they'll be on our side?"
Sugar smile devilishly for a second before pursing her lips. "Then who do you think we should vote for, Ella?"
Tyler's brow shot up and his eyes went wide as he exclaimed "No!"
It was then that DJ arrived with a sheep squirming under his arm and a confused look on his face. "Uh, is there a problem?" he asked his teammates.
"Nope!" Sugar said immediately before taking out the old-fashioned sheep shears. "Now let's get to shearin'!" she declared, snipping the shears and making the captured sheep gulp in fear.
xxx
"Now why do I get the feelin' that those three were talkin' strategy together?" DJ asked the confession cam, his arms crossed and a disappointed look on his face. He shook his head and tutted, then said "I know Sugar's on my side on account of the letter thing, so that's gotta mean they're aimin' for sweet Ella. I better warn her before it's too late."
xxx
"Quick, hurry!" Alejandro said, running up to his teammates with a sheep under his arm as the background music became tense.
"On it!" Shawn said, electric shears already on as the charmer held the sheep down on the ground and Dawn unhooked the bungee cord from his leg.
"Excuse me, Alejandro?" Ella asked, walking up while Team Universe was still shearing their sheep. "Sorry to interrupt, but may I speak with you for a moment?"
"I'm a little busy right now," Alejandro told her, trying to concentrate on the squirming sheep as Shawn sheared it.
"I know, and I'm sorry," she told him, "but it's just that Tyler says you gave him an angry dingo on purpose, so I wanted to get your side of the story and clear things up."
"It was an accident," Alejandro explained, his calm tone just barely masking his impatience. "Tyler got too close while I was handling the dingo, and it grabbed onto him. He's lucky he didn't hurt himself or the dog, though I will admit I'm glad it's no longer causing trouble up here."
"Oh, I see," Ella said with a nod.
Just then, Sugar ran past them towards the cliff. "Make way fer Sugar's turn!" she declared, Ella and Team Universe watching as she took a running jump off Hanging Rock.
"I suppose I'll just...go back to my team then," Ella said.
"A good idea," Alejandro told her, his gaze locked on the nearly-naked sheep. The camera cut in for a close-up as Shawn shaved away one last patch of wool, revealing nothing but bare skin and leading Alejandro to exclaim "Oh no, another blank!"
"I'll get the next one," Sammy volunteered immediately, quickly hooking the leg harness on. "Just gotta wait for..." The sudden holler of Sugar as she sprang back up distracted the four member of Team Universe. "Sugar...," Sammy finished blankly.
The pageant queen had a sheep in her arms, and the pair landed on their butts. "Nailed it!" she declared happily, unhooking herself as she stood then running the sheep off to the left.
The shot quick-panned ahead to the rest of Team Victory, DJ and Ezekiel watching towards the right while Ella talked with Tyler. "And so it really was just an accident," Ella told the jock, "so please don't hold it against him."
"You expect be to believe that?" Tyler asked in disbelief. "He told me himself that it was on purpose!"
"Well...you must have just misheard him," Ella said with a troubled look.
"Alright Team Victory," Sugar declared as the camera shifted over to her slamming the sheep down in the middle of their group, "time to victorize!"
"Leave it to the Zeke!" Ezekiel declared with a grin as he began to shear the pinned animal.
/
A flash took the scene to Sammy as she plunged off Hanging Rock, shrieking in terror with one hand holding her skirt into place. The camera zoomed in as she reached the bottom, then with a frantic look grabbed a sheep and sprung back up holding it in front of her.
The camera cut back to the top of the rock formation as she landed sheep-first with a grunt, and cried out "Shear it! Shear it!" to her waiting team.
As the scene quick-panned back to Team Victory the background music became even tenser, Sugar turning a worried look away from the direction of their opponents. "C'mon, c'mon!" she told Ezekiel.
"I'm goin' as fast as I can, eh!" Ezekiel said as he quickly sheared off the rest of their sheep's wool.
A flat note accompanied Team Victory's collective groan as the camera zoomed in on their sheep's blank side.
"I'll get the next one," Tyler said before running off with a determined expression.
"Better hurry up," Chris said as the jock ran by.
The background music suddenly dropped off as the shot cut back to Team Universe shearing their latest sheep, a drumroll playing as the camera zoomed in. A patch of wool was cleared away to reveal Team Universe's logo, and triumphant music began to play as the four teens smiled. "Victory at last," Alejandro declared as he took the sheep from Shawn and raised it over his head, "behold!"
"Team Universe wins!" Chris declared with an excited motion towards the winning four, the camera panning across them as the boys high-fived and the girls embraced.
The music turned sour as the shot cut to Team Victory, hanging their heads in disappointment.
/
A deep, blaring, and dramatic note played as the jumbo jet was shown taking off from a distance, a kangaroo hopping into view in the foreground and happily waving it off.
The scene cut inside to the common area as the music became more plodding and mysterious, the focus put squarely on DJ and Ella – the only two people in the room.
"Look, I hate to say it," the brickhouse began, "but I think the others are thinkin' of votin' you off tonight."
Ella gasped. "That can't be! Why would they do such a thing?"
"I don't know," DJ shook his head sadly, "but it's probably 'cause you and Alejandro are so close. But I don't think you should go home 'cause of that, so we gotta get one of the others on our side."
"But who?" Ella asked. "Tyler and Ezekiel seem like such good friends, and I'd hate to have to turn them against each other. And Sugar is my friend, so I don't want to vote her out..."
"Yeah, I owe Sugar a favor too on account of Dawn's letter," DJ nodded. "I was thinking of askin' her to vote for Ezekiel with us. I hate to do it to the guy, but there's not a lot of other choices."
Ella sighed and nodded. "Yes, I suppose so."
/
The scene skipped ahead a little, showing Sugar walking out of a non-confessional ladies' room. "Yo Sugar!" DJ called out from off-screen, getting her attention. She scowled momentarily, then put on a jovial grin as she turned around to greet them.
"Hey there, what can I do ya for?" she asked as DJ and Ella walked up to her.
"We'd like to speak to you about the vote tonight," Ella opened politely.
"Yeah, we know you and Zeke and Tyler were thinkin' of votin' off Ella," DJ added bluntly, surprising the pageant queen. "I'm not gonna hold it against you, just consider changin' your vote," the brickhouse added.
"Please," Ella pleaded with hands clasped, "I think of you as one of my best friends, Sugar. Whatever happened to make you want to vote me off, we can work it out!"
A moment of silence followed as the camera cut from close-ups of Sugar looking thoughtful, DJ's pleading look, Ella's more intense pleading look, and back to Sugar as she grinned and chuckled. "Okay, you win!" she said to the relief of the two before her. "I promise I won't vote fer Ella tonight."
"Oh thank you, Sugar!" Ella said, hugging the pageant queen with a startling abruptness. "Thank you so much!"
Sugar quickly recovered and chuckled again. "Glad I could be of service!" she told them, the singer breaking the hug.
"Cool," DJ said. "And just so you know, we're gonna be voting for Zeke tonight."
"Hear ya loud an' clear," Sugar saluted, and the three went their separate ways. The camera followed Sugar, and closed in on her face as she began to chuckle devilishly.
/
A few deep notes began the usual music as the scene flashed to the elimination room. Chef was standing by the door and Chris at his podium; the five members of the new Team Victory were already seated, and their logo hung on the screen above them.
"It's been a tough day for many of you," the host began, "but one of you is about to have the worst day of all. Sugar," the shot cut to the surprised pageant star, "being last to arrive set your team back a ways. DJ," the focus switched to the gentle giant, "too focused on hooking up with the other team." DJ shrugged. "Tyler," the jock hung his head in shame, "a petty feud threw you off your game. Ezekiel," the homeschooler raised an eyebrow in confusion, "not too quick with the shears and not too good keeping an eye on your teammates." Ezekiel scowled. "And Ella," the singer's lip quavered, "maybe do more than talk to Alejandro next time." Ella hung her head in shame.
"Let the voting begin!" Chris said as the camera cut back to him. "Sugar, you're up first."
The pageant queen stood with a dramatic sigh as the music began to build. "If I gotta," she said before walking off to the right.
xxx
Sugar chuckled to herself as she began her voting confessional. "Well, I said I wasn't gonna vote fer Ella, so I won't!" she said jovially before stamping DJ's passport.
xxx
Tyler was next, cringing and looking away as he brought his stamp down on a passport lying at an angle that made the picture hard to make out.
xxx
Third was DJ, shaking his head silently as he stamped his vote on Ezekiel's passport.
xxx
Ezekiel plopped DJ's passport down in plain view, and stamped it before absentmindedly sticking a finger up his nose.
xxx
Ella was last, sighing sadly as she daintily stamped Ezekiel's passport.
xxx
The scene cut back to the five teens waiting anxiously back on the seats, the viewpoint rotating to show Chef opening the door to the outside and giving the contestants a knowing grin.
"Okay," the host began as the shot moved to him raising up one of the passports. "One vote for DJ," the camera cut to Team Victory as the brickhouse perked up in shock, "one for Ezekiel." DJ relaxed slightly as Ezekiel looked shocked. "A second for DJ," a split-screen was shown of the two boys who had received votes thus far, DJ once again looking scared as Ezekiel relaxed slightly. "A second for Ezekiel." The boy's expressions switched once again as the music began to reach its peak.
"And the last vote is fooorrr...," both boys started sweating nervously, "DJ!"
"What?!" the gentle giant exclaimed, standing up in shock. "Why me?"
"Sorry, guy," Tyler said, putting a hand on the larger boy's shoulder, "but you've got two hot girlfriends on the other team. If all three of you make the merge, it'll just be trouble for the rest of us."
DJ sighed. "Yeah, I getcha. Just wish I'd seen it comin'." He looked at Sugar, who shrugged mischievously.
"No hard feelin's?" she asked brightly.
"I guess," DJ shrugged.
"Yo," Chris said, getting DJ's attention, "the exit's right over there." He tossed the brickhouse a parachute pack and pointed towards the open door.
Catching the pack on his way towards the exit, DJ paused just before the open door. "Can I at least say goodbye to the girls?" he asked Chef, who responded with a stern glare that caused DJ to sigh. "Didn't think so."
He took a breath, then jumped out with a cry of "I'm comin' Mommaaaaaa!"
"If you think that was fun," Chris asked the camera as it cut back to him and the series' capstone them began to play, "you're gonna love what I do to these guys next time, right here, on Total! Drama! Woooorrrrlllddd~ Tooouuurrrr~!" As the final shot zoomed out from the plane, the Chef balloon was shown in the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit, and the sun blazed behind the plane as the episode ended.
(Fade to Credits)
/
/
/
[Bonus Clip]
"Well, I guess that's that," DJ told the camera as he drifted down across the Australian sky. "Got the boot again, but at least I don't think I was really stabbed in the back. Plus I got another sweetie-pie girlfriend, too. Gonna be tough to explain to Momma, though, "he tapped his chin in thought, "I'm pretty sure she doesn't approve of polyamory."
He was silent for a moment, then shrugged hopelessly. "But I guess it's like Dawn says, sometimes you gotta do what your heart says is right, even if other people don't like it. Momma will understand...I hope."
On that uncertain note he finally landed in some nameless portion of the Outback scrubland, the parachute falling behind him as he looked around in confusion. "So...now what?" he asked, taking off his parachute pack then scratching his head. "Am I supposed to just find my way back or what?"
He started walking off to the left, the stopped suddenly when he heard a car honk behind him. He watched in shock as a yellow taxi cab with a kangaroo on the side pulled up to him, then grinned. "Hey sweet, great timing man!" he said before getting in and speeding off.
Author's Note - Post Script
Well then, so much to talk about! For starters, between the official declaration of a canon OT3 between DJ, Dawn, and Sammy (which is what I planned from the very beginning), and DJ's subsequent elimination, that part of the story is officially over. I hope you all enjoyed it! Dawn's song, by the way, is called 'Can't Escape This Love', and is the reason why I decided to have Australia be this week's episode. See, back when this quarter was going to follow the canon location order, I ended up falling in love with the idea of having Dawn sing a love song to Sammy and DJ with Alejandro and Ella as back-up. And once I decided to move Area 51 up, I figured I should move the big moment I'd planned for Dawn up as well instead of trying to work it in to a different episode. I hope everyone enjoyed it, it's got a tune of its own but I think it shouldn't be that hard to follow along.
And now for the team Mix-Up. Originally I was just going to go the simple route that a few reviewers mentioned, which was to simply merge Team Chris into Team Victory and keep Team Universe as it was. I had toyed with the idea of changing things more a few weeks earlier, but didn't end up deciding to do so until just as I began to write the episode. And honestly, I really like how it's turned out. Sugar gets away from having to fight Alejandro for control of Team Universe and manages to make a couple new allies in the process; Ella and Tyler finally get to interact more; DJ's elimination is smoothed over; and Alejandro is no longer in what he believed what a comfortable position of power. I'm really happy I went with it, and I hope you all like it as well.
The only thing I'm gonna mention right now is that from next week on, the episode order is going to be pretty predictable - the locations that are left will be visited in the same order as canon, meaning London is next week. Then Greece, then Sweden, and the rest of the season from there. Sorry if I ruined the suspense, but I jsut figured I'd let you know to stop expecting Shuffled locations - they were really fun while they lasted, but from here on out I'm happy with what canon has given me to work with.
Let me know what you think, and I'll see you all next week!
- Fangren
Appendix: TSWT Eliminated Contestants
Staci - (17th Place)
Beardo - (16th Place)
Lightning - (15th Place)
Dawn - (Quit Unofficially | RETURNED)
Bridgette - (14th Place)
Geoff - (13th Place)
Scott - (12th Place | Disqualified)
Scarlett - (11th Place)
Sierra - (10th Place)
DJ - (9th Place)