Author's Note
And here we are at the third quarter finale, everybody! I'm honestly not expecting it to be as great as the other two quarter finales - it is pretty hard to top the drama of Lightning getting eliminated and Dawn leaving mysteriously, then Scott getting disqualified and Scarlett getting voted out only to stowaway. But still, I feel like this is a suitable ending to the mini-arc that's been running since episode 13; I know it's not an arc that everyone has necessarily enjoyed, but it's something that needs to be done.
Next week, of course, is the third Aftermath - and the Second Chance Challenge, which is mostly but not entirely finished. I could technically change who ends up winning it and thus coming back in Niagara Brawls, but I'd need an extremely good argument against bringing in the person I've been pretty openly planning on bringing into the game.
I will also note that I've been rethinking the order of the final quarter's eliminations, in terms of who would actually vote for who. As such, my original plans may end up changing.
For now, it's on to the reviews.
PizzaTheBomb: Yeah, I never intended for Staci to last very long after her return, so I'm glad you're happy about it. And I'm even more glad that you like Ella! I can see what you mean about the episode being primarily challenge-based, since as you said the main conflict was between Ella and Staci, with the other conflicts (Tyler vs Alejandro; Sugar vs Ella) being present but not nearly as much. This week's location is Sweden, by the way, and as for who will win the Second Chance Challenge, unless someone presents a very good argument why not it'll be Blaineley.
Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: Yeah, I know. But I was never gonna let her get past this quarter anyway. In the original plan for the season, where the locations this quarter weren't shuffled, she still would've debuted in London but would probably have gotten eliminated in Area 51. But since I changed things around to give Scarlett an earlier boot, that meant Staci had to have a shorter stay.
Animation Adventures: Thanks! Yeah, last week was a bit of a breather, but I really enjoyed having Ella show off a side that isn't her usual cheery friend-to-all-living-things self. Same with Tyler actually trying to think, even if he needed the help/advice of Ezekiel and Sugar to really get where he wanted to be. And as for Staci...well, she's not gonna lose her sanity, that's for sure. It's the one thing I don't want to do with her. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the song and thanks for the review as always.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Thanks! I was a little uncertain how people would take the wins, especially Sammy and Dawn winning the wrestling competition. And I honestly wasn't even thinking about the parallels between Staci and Courtney last week, but now that you've pointed them out I kinda like it.
Zak Saturday: Hmm...well, she certainly believes that's what she is at least.
P. T. Piranha: Glad to hear it! I'm also glad I was able to capture her innocence and her anger as well, since it really helps flesh out her character. I'm glad you liked the fact that it was an elimination last week; as you said they didn't handle the canon non-elimination very well at all. And as for what happens next between Alejandro and Ella, well you'll just have to read on to find out.
ferguson97: While I can see why people would expect Staci to stick around a little longer, the main point in bringing her back was to help advance whole situation between Ella and Tyler. And since Tyler managed to clear things up pretty fast, I didn't have anything that would warrant keeping her around longer even if it would mean not needing a contestant entering the game in Niagara Brawls. As for what happens in the next few episodes...well, you'll just have to wait and see.
Glowing Insanity: Well, the rest of the cast think she's gone at least. And yeah, Tyler's finally managed to clear things up with Ella. What becomes of it, though, has yet to be seen. And yeah, Sweden actually isn't that different without the Gwen Head being built. Though the song, at least, is different.
aloasa: Oh, I don't think Staci will be going berserk or anything. She's mad, but mostly she just doesn't want anything more to do with the rest of the cast. And...I'm actually kind of surprised that you're rooting for Alejandro to win here. I mean, I like Aleheather myself, but what's happening between him and Ella isn't even close to the dynamic of Aleheather. But hey, to each their own.
CVluvFoxy: Yeah, it was pretty fun finally writing Ella as something other than just nice and (mostly) happy. And as for Staci seeming almost too angry...well, to be honest I've never been incredibly sure of how to write her. Maybe she was just really caught up in the moment; maybe her changes have affected her emotions; who knows. But I think she'll calm down and keep her wits while stowing away, at the very least. And I'm afraid you'll have to wait two weeks from today for the first post-merge boot, not two weeks from last week.
StayOuttaMyShed: Yup, that's pretty much it for Staci. She was good while she lasted, and she set things in motion a bit, but ultimately I didn't want her to stay for too long. I could have kept her until Sweden, like you said, or even the merge, as others have suggested, but honestly I just wasn't feeling it. Both of those episodes have other things to end on, though I'm not gonna spoil them now. I am glad that you're really enjoying Ezekiel and Sugar, despite the latter in particular being on the backburner right now. Sugar I've just been having fun with all season, while Ezekiel is someone I've had some uncertainties about in the past with how to write him, but which I'm glad to have ironed out.
bruno14: I'm happy you liked the goings-on last chapter. The friendship between Tyler and Ezekiel is something I'm really glad I got to work in particular, since they are such a weird couple of people and were never really friends in canon.
FOWLKON: Okay, I'll surprise you by stating that I'll be taking the obvious route, at least for Tanzania. I hope you enjoy what happens with Tyler, Ella, Alejandro, and Sugar this week, and as for your questions...well, I'm almost certainly going for the obvious routes there as well.
I. M. Poik: Well, I'm glad you liked Ezekiel at least. I'm gonna shrug off the comment about Sammy getting eliminated over Staci because, well, I just like Sammy more than you and had never intended on letting Staci get to the merge in the first place. Although I will reiterate that Staci is stowing away, just as it was clearly implied at the end of last chapter. As for what happens next...well, you'll just have to read on and find out.
LadyEnigma888: Yeah, in the original Ella was definitely meant to be an incredibly nice and naive girl, but she also wasn't meant to last very long before getting voted out. So while I've spent the majority of this season staying pretty true to her canon portrayal, I've also been trying to give her more depth - in this case, being rather aggressive towards Staci. Glad you're liking Alejandro being conflicted as well, it's something I've wanted to show with him this season so it's nice to know that my reviewers are seeing it. And you're certainly right that he's still a great source of drama.
Star Saber21: Thanks! I'm glad you liked how the challenges ended. I wasn't certain how people would feel, especially since the 'underdog' won all three, but it looks like the wins were humorous enough that it didn't matter. I hope you enjoy the third quarter finale!
Knifez: I can honestly see why you think I'm copping out with Staci only lasting for a short time, but it's not something I'm really bothered by. Like I told Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart, she would have originally lasted an episode longer overall back when the locations for this quarter weren't shuffled, debuting in London still but then leaving probably two episodes later in Area 51 with Scarlett. So when I changed things around to get rid of Scarlett earlier, Staci ended up getting the shaft since I had other priorities I wanted to focus on in place of extending Staci's stay - I wanted Australia right after London to give Dawn her song, and I had something else in mind for the end of this week's episode that wouldn't give time for a Staci boot. I suppose I could have kept her around until the merge and boot her in Niagara, but for one I didn't think of it earlier and for two I'm not sure what I would have even done.
THE idea of having Sugar being the one doing the kissing honestly didn't even occur to me, but it's actually a pretty good idea. It would work a little differently, of course, because there'd now be tension between Ella and Sugar earlier than I had planned...but I think I would have at least given it some than that I'm really glad you liked the challenge, and that Ezekiel and Alejandro were more enjoyable - hopefully I can keep it up. Glad you liked Dawn's line about Alejandro as well, since it really captures what I've been trying to portray with Alejandro's uncertainties towards Ella.
ALSO hoping that the missing words last week were a fluke. Other than that, thanks for the review!
DSX62415: Good to hear! And yeah, of course Staci would cause trouble. But you don't have to worry about her going feral; the reason I made her all wolfish was specifically so that her going feral could be avoided.
Guest D: Yeah, so did several people it seems. Oh well, it just wasn't in the plan for her. And as for next season, I'm sorry but you'll just have to wait until the first episode to learn the identities of the cast. I will say that I'll be continuing my trend of replacing the word 'Drama' in the title with 'Shuffled', making next season Total Shuffled Revenge of the Island.
Joel Connell: Like I've said before, the cast for All-Stars will be my call. I am toying with the idea of putting up a poll at the end of this season asking who people would have chosen or are expecting to be chosen, though, just to make sure I'm not completely off-base with my picks.
wifishark: Ehh, common sense isn't necessarily Staci's problem so much as not really understanding how others see her. That's what I think, anyway.
Explorer of the Unknown: That's understandable, although I will say right now that Scarlett's not a threat to anyone and that Staci is planned, at least, to show up in Africa taking Zeke's place as the target the Final Five have to capture. Not entirely sure what I want to do with Hawaii yet, however. Staci's changes are likely permanent, but that isn't to say she won't get a fairly happy ending at the end of it all. I'm glad you liked Ezekiel's win last week; like you said sometimes he should get to be a hero.
That's all for this batch of reviews. As always, the TVTropes page for this series could always use more work, and I greatly appreciate the effort everyone has put into it so far and I look forward to what you all add next.
The Final Seven, as they currently stand, are as follows:
Team Victory - Ezekiel, Tyler, Ella, Sugar
Team Universe - Sammy, Alejandro, Dawn
This week, we're off to Sweden for some weird Viking 'fun' and the third quarter finale. I hope you enjoy!
- Fangren
Episode 17 – Sweden Sour
"Last time, on Total Drama World Tour!" Chris opened, the plane icon flying across the world map towards Greece before a clip of the Parthenon from the hurdles event was shown. "Greece! Hey, it was ruined before we got there." Ella and Staci were shown walking through the columns of the Odeon of Pericles during their song, and were followed by Tyler's victory over Alejandro in the hurdles event. "Here, we learned that Tyler isn't a total klutz after all, and is actually kind of good at a few sports."
"We also learned that despite her new look, Staci isn't quite as unbeatable as she seemed," Chris added over shots of Ella grabbing the medal from the boar bear that Staci had pinned, followed by Ezekiel getting a lead on her in the tiebreaker. "Although she was still pretty scary, especially after Tyler told her he wasn't in love with her." A clip of her wrestling with the bear was followed by he jock's nervous confession during the tiebreaker, and then Staci's angry reaction to it.
"In the end, both of those reasons proved to be Staci's downfall when Team Universe lost," Ezekiel was shown landing on the fallen Staci with a gold medal in his hands, then the four members of the team cast their votes, and finally Chef grabbed Staci and punted her off the plane.
"Seven are left," he said as the montage ended and the camera cut to the cockpit. "Who's gonna take control, and who will be a sitting duck? Find out now, on Total! Drama! Woooorrrrlllddd~ Tooouuurrrr~!" As the camera zoomed outside to show the plane against the blue sky, a flock of geese passed above the plane.
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 opened, as usual, on a shot of the plane in flight; the background music was oddly dramatic, however, as the scene flashed inside to economy class. A rat scurried out from a hole in the wall under one of the benches, and it was quickly scooped up by Dawn. "Why hello little one," she said to it, looking over it with Sammy, "are you hungry?"
"I think there's still some leftovers from lunch around," Sammy offered, standing up and pointing a thumb over her shoulder, "I'll go get something."
"Thanks!" Dawn smiled. The camera panned over to Alejandro, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes rolling.
xxx
"I'm not saying that voting Staci off last time was a mistake," he told the confessional camera, "but I am in a bad position right now. I don't think anybody could break Dawn and Sammy apart, so I must make it my goal to continue winning until the merge. But even then," he considered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "I may still not be in an ideal position. I must regain Ella's loyalty," he said, pounding a fist onto his open hand.
xxx
"So, I wonder what's gonna happen on Team Victory now that Ella knows that Tyler's in love with her?" Sammy asked her girlfriend, her voice loud enough to earn an unnoticed scowl from Alejandro. "Do you think maybe they'll get together?"
"Well...maybe," Dawn said after a bit of thought.
"I hope they do," Sammy said. "Although I'm not sure what'll happen then. I mean, Tyler and Ezekiel are pretty close, right? So that might mean they'll vote out Sugar, but after everything that's happened to her this season I'm not sure I want that to happen, you know?"
"Mmm...Sugar has certainly been involved with a lot of drama this season," Dawn mused.
"Well as tragic as Sugar getting eliminated might be," Alejandro spoke up with a bit of sarcasm in his voice, "I'd still prefer losing her over losing Ella."
"Oh, so does that mean you wouldn't mind Ella being with Tyler if it meant she lasted longer in the game?" Dawn asked with an eerie quickness and a piercing smile.
"What?" Alejandro flustered. "As though I'd ever want to lose her love to that clown of an athlete. If anything, he should be the next one voted off!"
Dawn raised an eyebrow at him and smiled.
xxx
"He doesn't realize it yet," Dawn told the restroom camera, "but Alejandro is not as opposed to the idea of Ella and Tyler together as he wants us to believe. However...," her smile turned slightly sad, "even if he does figure it out, I don't believe this will end how any of them want. I...may have to take some things into my own hands."
xxx
The scene moved to first class, where the four members of Team Victory were seated around a table enjoying a large plate of chocolate chip cookies.
"Mmm," Tyler said as he bit into a cookie and savored the flavor, "man I love bein' in first class! Everything here is just so sweet," he turned and grinned at Ella, who had been sitting quietly looking down in thought, "though none of it's as sweet as you," he told her.
"Oh, thank you," she said, slightly startled as she looked up with a blush. "You're very sweet too, Tyler."
"Heheh, thanks," the jock replied with a dopey grin.
"Yo," Ezekiel spoke up, "here's to such a great team, eh," he said, raising a cookie as if to toast. "I hope the four of us stick together all the way to the end!"
"Totally," Tyler said.
"Oh, that would be lovely, wouldn't it Sugar?" Ella added, looking at the pageant queen.
"Yeah, sure," Sugar said, considerably less enthusiastic than her teammates.
xxx
"Man, why did Tyler have to go and pick Ella to be sweet on?" Sugar huffed. "If she decides to play along, then it's gonna be next to impossible to get Tyler to vote her off. I gotta convince her to stay with Al, without lettin' her catch on to me knowin' she's wilier than she looks, or the boys figurin' out I don't want Ella and Tyler together. This is gonna be tricky..."
xxx
"Still," Sugar told her teammates as the footage cut back to first class, "I sure am glad to be up here and not back in stanky ol' loser class again. The folks back there got it rough! All cold and lonely and hungry, probably thinkin' the four of us done forgot about 'em!"
"Oh my...I hadn't thought of that," Ella said with a worried look.
"Really?" Sugar asked in false shock. "Even with that boy you've been chasin' after the whole season back there?" She shook her head and tutted. "Ella, I am disappointed in you. How can you be so cruel to Alejandro after everything he's done for ya?"
"Oh...yes, you're right," the princess said. "I think I'll just go back to economy and apologize." She stood up, grabbed a few cookies, and started to walk away.
"Wait," Tyler spoke up, causing her to pause, "c'mon, you don't have to apologize! I'm sure Alejandro gets why you've stayed up here."
"Perhaps," Ella told him, "but I'd still like to go all the same. I'll just be a few minutes." She turned and left at that, leaving Tyler to slump in disappointment.
"Yo, why'd you have to go and say that eh?" Ezekiel asked Sugar. "I thought you didn't want Ella and Alejandro to be together."
"Well I don't," Sugar answered with a hint of nervousness. "But she's gotta do this proper and not just start returnin' Tyler's feelings before she's broken things off with Al. Of course," she added after raising her arms into a helpless shrug and looking away from her teammates, "the way I see it she's still gotta make a choice between Tyler and Al to start with, and who knows how that'll turn out."
Tyler sighed. "Man, I really hope she picks me."
/
"Hello everyone," Ella said meekly as she walked into economy class with several cookies in hand, "sorry if I'm intruding on anything."
"My dear Ella," Alejandro replied, quickly standing up to meet her, "it is always a pleasure to see you. But tell me, what brings you back here?"
"Oh, I just felt a little guilty knowing you were all back here while I got to enjoy first class," Ella answered, blushing as she looked directly at the charmer. "So I decided to come back spread a little cheer around. Cookie?" she asked, holding up one of the sweets she'd brought.
"Ah, Ella, your kindness knows no bounds," Alejandro told her, taking the cookie in one hand and Ella's freed hand in the other. "I'm truly lucky to have met you," he added, kissing her hand and causing her to blush and flutter her eyelashes.
"Certainly," Dawn spoke up suddenly, the camera pulling back to show that she'd somehow gotten behind Ella, startling both the singer and the charmer. "A soul as pure as Ella's is very rare," she added, quickly swiping two cookies from Ella then walking past her and Alejandro. "So pure, in fact, that even the darkest of hearts might not want to tarnish it!" she locked eyes with Alejandro as she spoke, only breaking contact when she reached the spot on the bench next to Sammy. She happily gave her girlfriend a cookie, and the camera panned back to Ella and Alejandro, the former looking bewildered and the latter annoyed.
"Thanks," Ella said somewhat uncertainly, "although I don't really know what you mean."
Dawn and Sammy shared a looked, then the cheerleader answered between chews "Well, Alejandro probably does."
"I'm sure I do not," Alejandro countered, his unamused look still leveled at his teammates even while Ella looked between the three with worried confusion.
/
A dramatic riff played as the series' world map was shown zoomed in on Europe, the plane icon flying northwest from Greece to Scandinavia.
The riff segued into a grander dramatic tune as a large field of ice was shown, the plane landing and immediately spinning out of control as its occupants screamed. It crashed off-screen.
/
The music ended abruptly as the scene skipped ahead to the seven contestants shivering out on the ice. Chris approached them in his pure white parka, saying "Welcome to Sweden!" in a thick and probably inaccurate accent while a folk tune played in the background.
"What happened to the jackets you ordered fer us in the Yukon, eh?" Ezekiel asked.
"Umm, I worked pretty hard on that accent," Chris said in offense, "it woulda been nice if somebody had commented."
"It's freezin' out here!" Sugar told him.
"Sweden, hello!" Chris told them as though it was enough to counter their complaints. He groaned, then turned around and walked back off-screen, muttering "Great," as the folk music ended.
"Don't worry," Tyler told Ella through chattering teeth, "I'll keep you warm."
"Thank you, Tyler," Ella replied, blushing as he moved closer to her.
"Actually, with my natural Latin heat I can keep you warmer," Alejandro countered, spinning the singer around to face him and pulling her close.
"Thank you too, Alejandro," Ella blushed.
"Dude, lay off, she's not even on your team," Tyler glared.
"Yeah, but they have been sweet on each other all season," Sugar pointed out with an air of someone breaking the bad news. "It ain't too surprisin' if her choice is to keep warm with him."
"Thank you, Sugar," Alejandro told the pageant star.
"Personally," Sammy spoke up, "I'd go with the boy who's already said he loves me twice over the one who's been flirting all season and still hasn't said it once."
Ella blinked, then furrowed her brow into a troubled expression. "That's...actually a good point," she said before looking up at her long-time crush. "Alejandro, I can't quite recall you ever telling me you loved me."
"I...am certain I must have," Alejandro told her with a nervous smile. "I'm not the type to say it too often, so perhaps you've simply...forgotten?"
"Nnnno," Ella replied hesitantly, "this is something I think I'd remember."
Alejandro blinked, and looked blank for a moment. "Oh, well, in that case-"
"The jackets are here!" Chris announced suddenly, walking up with Chef and a mildly triumphant tune. The seven contestants immediately paused what they'd been doing to cheer, with Alejandro taking an oddly enthusiastic lead. "...in six to eight weeks," the host finished with a grin, a flat note playing as the cast groaned and glared and resumed shivering.
xxx
"That was a timely interruption," Alejandro confessed with relief in his voice. "Still, I must figure out what to do and fast, Ella won't let this go for long. If I don't say I love her, she'll leave my side for sure. But if I lie, then my inevitable betrayal will hurt her all the more...," he rubbed his chin in thought for a second, then said "I never thought I'd actually be hesitating over such an easy decision! Maybe Dawn is right about me feeling guilty..." He finished his confessional with an uncomfortable shudder.
xxx
The static cut away to a long-distance shot of the cast on a snowy hill, overlooking two piles of something on the ice next to an unfrozen body of water.
"Before you is a mysterious pile of I-Build-A tools and pieces," Chris explained, the camera cutting in for a closer look and revealing the two piles as being mostly wooden planks with a few odds and ends amongst them. "Your first challenge is to use Allen keys, wooden sledgehammers, and your wits to turn your piles into...," the camera panned across a close-up of the two piles, "...whatever they're supposed to be when properly assembled."
"This will be a piece of cake," Alejandro whispered confidently to Dawn and Sammy, both of whom smiled neutrally and nodded their agreement.
"Sadly," Chris continued, "the assembly instructions were 'accidentally' shredded when they were put through a shredder." He held out a wad of shredded paper. "Anywho, first team to correctly assemble their whatchawhosit will earn a big advantage in part two of the challenge! So...go!"
/
The tense tune usually reserved for the beginning of elimination began to play as the scene moved to Team Victory examining their pile.
"Err, maybe we should lay the pieces out, eh," Ezekiel suggested. "That way we might be able to see what we're supposed to build."
"Pfft, why bother when we can just start buildin'," Sugar countered, grabbing an oversized Allen key and poking uselessly it through a giant nut. "I mean, we're bound to figure it out sooner or later."
"Yeah, but it might be too messed up by then," Ezekiel told her, trying to grab the nut and key from her only for her to yank them away with a glare.
"Uhh," Tyler said, the camera panning over to show him watching blankly then turning to Ella who was looking downward and distracted. "What do you think we should do, Ella?"
"Hmm?" the singer said, lifting her head and turning to look at her teammate. "Oh, well..."
xxx
"I hadn't really noticed it before," Ella said, "but my relationship with Alejandro hasn't moved very quickly. He hasn't kissed me, he hasn't said he loves me, he hasn't even called me his girlfriend! I know we've only known each other for a few weeks," she told the camera with a troubled frown, "but considering how romantic he's been I thought for sure we'd be further along by now. It's almost as if he's happy with things as they are now...but that can't be true, right?"
xxx
"Oh, well," the singer answered her teammates, "maybe it would be a good idea to figure out what we have in case one of us recognizes anything."
"Oh sure," Sugar huffed, "take their side."
"Sorry, Sugar," the singer sheepishly apologized.
/
The scene moved over to Team Universe, where Alejandro was busy sorting through their pile of parts while Sammy and Dawn split their time between helping him and looking over at their opponents.
"We must hurry," the charmer said. "While they squabble amongst themselves, we'll figure out what it is we're building."
"Well it's gotta be something big and round, right?" Sammy said, looking over a row of large wooden arches of various sizes.
"Or at least curved," Alejandro said, standing up to look at the arches as well.
"Hmm...," Dawn murmured as she pursed her lips in thought, "I might have an idea." She quickly whispered into her girlfriend's ear as Alejandro watched with a skeptical look; Sammy's face quickly lit up in excitement, then she hurriedly whispered into the charmer's ear in turn.
"That makes perfect sense!" Alejandro grinned. "But we mustn't let the others catch on. You two get started, I'll go distract them."
/
Back with Team Victory, an overhead shot showed that they'd managed to get most of their pile sorted out in a fairly organized fashion.
"Hrmm...," Ezekiel said, scratching his head as he frowned in thought. "I can almost see somethin', eh, but it's like, err, at the tip of my tongue."
"What about this thing?" Tyler asked, lugging over what looked to be, of all things, a large wooden dragon's head.
Ezekiel stared at it a moment, then snapped his fingers and grinned. "Got it, eh! Just gotta make sure the others don't steal our idea."
"That might not be easy," Sugar told him, "'cause check who's comin' our way." She gestured behind her with her thumb, the camera panning to follow a little ways and show Alejandro walking up with a smile on his face.
Ella was shown raising her eyebrows.
xxx
"Well, here goes," she told the restroom camera. "I'll ask him if he loves me, and if he tells me he does then everything will be settled." She smiled hesitantly for a moment, then gasped and corrected herself. "When he tells me! I meant when, not if," she told the camera with a blush, "I just made a little mistake there."
xxx
"Greetings!" Alejandro opened with a dashing smile. "Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to have a word with Ella."
"You...you did?" the singer blushed as her eyes locked with the charmer's.
"Well then, don't let us stop you!" Sugar said with a wide smile, quickly shoving Ella towards Alejandro. "I'm sure you two got plenty to talk about!"
"Yeah, sure,"Tyler grumbled, eyes now locked on his crush and her crush. Alejandro took Ella by the hands, but didn't bother to lead her even an inch away.
"Alejandro, I-" Ella began to say before the charmer cut her off with a finger to her lips.
"Ssshh," he told her, "just let me say my part." She gave him a confused look, and as he took a deep breath a touching tune began to play. "Ella, I love you. I'm sorry it took me so long to say it, but the truth is that I've never been very good admitting things like that. I hope you can forgive me."
"Oh, of course I can forgive you!" Ella replied, welling up in tears of joy. "I love you too, Alejandro!"
The sentimental tune got a little louder as a halo of light seemed to surrounded the couple, the camera zooming in as they leaned in close to each other...until a harsh record scratch stopped the music, and a loud throat-clearing from Ezekiel ruined the moment.
"Yo, sorry eh, but if that's all you came over to say you can leave," he told Alejandro, Tyler next to him glaring and nodding in agreement. "We still got a challenge to do."
"Ah yes, about that," Alejandro said quickly, stepping away from Ella as she pouted. "As an apology for taking up your time, I thought I'd tell you that the object we're supposed to be building is a head, mostly likely Chris's." Tyler, Sugar, Ezekiel, and even Ella raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You know how big his ego is," he offered as an explanation.
"I don't believe you," Tyler scowled. "Why would you come over here just to talk to Ella and then help us?"
"Yeah," Ezekiel chimed in, "especially 'cause I'm pretty sure we're s'pposed to be buildin' a boat, and I can see Sammy an' Dawn have got the same idea." He pointed back past Alejandro, the camera rotating in front of the charmer to show him looking to the side and the two blondes struggling to fit the sides of the boat against the backbone they'd already put together out of the wooden arches.
"Do they?" Alejandro replied quickly. "They, uh, must have realized the head idea was wrong, then."
"Hey, Alejandro?" Sammy called out suddenly. "Could you stop distracting the other team and give us a hand over here?"
"I knew it!" Tyler roared accusingly. "I knew something was up with you coming over!"
"Wait, what do you mean?" Ella asked in worried confusion.
"I think Tyler's sayin' that Alejandro came over here to distract us from the challenge, eh" Ezekiel answered for his livid friend. "By sayin' he loves you and tryin' to give us the wrong idea about what to build so his teammates could get ahead."
"But...that can't be true," Ella said with a troubled frown as she looked up at her crush. "Right, Alejandro?"
Alejandro opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the trademark ding of the musical number icon appearing on-screen.
"Time for a song," Chris announced happily as he walked over next to Alejandro, the camera zooming out to show him in the gap between the teams with all eyes on him. Team Universe has a good chunk of their boat finished, while Team Victory was only just getting their frame constructed. "Just to make the work go a little...faster, maybe," the host said uncertainly before giving the cast a happy shrug. "More exciting, anyway."
The shot cut from the host to Sammy and Dawn, who looked at each other and shrugged, then to Alejandro as he turned a wide-eyed look to Ella, who was still looking troubled. The camera panned from her to Sugar, who was looking mildly annoyed, and then onto Tyler and Ezekiel who were outright glaring.
~/~
[A disco tune began as the camera followed the boys of Team Victory back over to their pile of ship parts.]
"Because of him, now we're way behind,"
[Tyler opened, singing to Ezekiel while jutting a thumb back over his shoulder in anger.]
"We gotta start building it fast, get these parts combi~ined!"
[Ezekiel answered as they reached the ship pieces; Tyler holding up one of the frame ribs as Ezekiel hammered it to the keel.]
"I'm sure it wasn't his aim,"
[Ella sang to Sugar as the camera panned to the girls walking over to the work area as well, the singer mashing her fingers together nervously.]
"Though what happened is still the same;"
[Sugar pointed out in response; the visuals abruptly changed to the silhouettes of the four members of Team Victory against a Swedish flag; they appeared to be holding microphones and wearing different outfits.]
"Oh why did he waste our time?"
[The light returned and the Swedish flag was replaced by a clock with the hands spinning out of control as they sang their line, revealing them standing on a disco floor bobbing to the beat and wearing garish and glittery disco suits with platform shoes and bellbottoms. Ezekiel was on the far left was in purple, the front open down to the belt to reveal a hairless chest and his gold 'Z' on a chain; Tyler was next to him in a darker red than his tracksuit, the front also open a fair ways and the collar tall and pointed. Third was Ella in pale pink, her bellbottoms pleated and multi-leveled and her short-collared top in possession of a long cape. And on the far right stood Sugar, in a sleeveless golden get-up with an absurdly high collar that almost reach the top of her hair.]
[Abruptly, the half-finished boat of Team Universe dropped down over Team Victory. The camera zoomed in on it as Sammy and Dawn rose up in glittering suits of their own – Sammy in orange with a pleated fringe around her waste, extra-puffy sleeves, and a short collar; Dawn in bright green with shorter sleeves and next to no collar.]
"We got it started; it's going good!"
[The two girls sang as they raised a mast into place, then wiped their brows in an exaggerated fashion.]
"I promise I've been misunderstood!"
[Alejandro sang next, the scene changing as abruptly as the subject as the charmer was shown dancing over towards Ella, then spinning around and taking her hand. He wore dark blue with a rather plain collar, a good portion of his chest bared like the other boys.]
"Whoa-oa-oa!"
[Dawn and Sammy sang, suddenly leaning out from behind their teammate.]
"My guilt weighed down my soul; so on impulse I took a stroll!"
[Alejandro sang to Ella, pleading with her from what almost seemed like the bottom of his heart; Ella blushed and smiled lovingly at him.]
"And made them waste their time!"
[Sammy and Dawn pointed out, pulling him away from Ella and spinning him back into their ranks.]
"We wasted tiiiime!"
[Team Victory sang together, disco dancing in line with one another.]
"Our boat is in it's prime!"
[Team Universe replied, the camera moving to them singing and dancing in line with another while Team Victory held their last word.]
"Because we wasted tiiiiime!"
[Team Victory repeated, the camera slowly zooming out as they held the last note. A larger side-view of Ella faded in on the right side of the screen as the main shot of the team faded away.]
"Ohhh~oo~oh~oo~oh-oh-oh~oo~oh~"
[The singer warbled before the shot cut back to the original footage, showing Tyler and Ezekiel leaning against either side of a large piece of planking, Tyler in front and Ezekiel behind.]
"We wasted time!"
[The boys sung mournfully, raising their hands to the heavens as the camera slowly panned out one again.]
"Yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yeah-ee-yea~ah!"
[Sugar finished, sliding on her knees across the ice from left to right, stopping in front of a saddened Ella.]
~/~
Alejandro was shown briefly catching Ella's eye with a smile, earning a smile in return before he walked back to his team's boat and the scene cut to static.
xxx
Alejandro opened the confessional with a sigh of relief. "Okay, Ella bought it," he told the camera. "I was almost worried for a second that she would see through my ploy, but fortunately she's as naïve as ever. Still," he admitted, "in hindsight I should have checked how far along my teammates were with the boat before I tried to mislead the other team. I'll have to be more careful from now on."
xxx
As the scene cut back to the challenge, Team Universe was putting the finishing touches on their boat – Sammy and Dawn fixed a row of colorful shields along the side, and Alejandro hammered the draconic figurehead into place. A triumphant tune and a shared smile indicated they'd finished, and moments later Chris walked over to them with a sack in hand.
"Nice!" he grinned as Alejandro jumped down to join his teammates on the ice. "Team Universe takes the lead, and she's a beauty!" He tossed the sack down on the ice, and Dawn bent down to open it with an inquisitive look on her face. "Here's your reward for finishing first."
"...rocks?" Dawn said, lifting her head in confusion as the camera cut in for a shot of the sack full of small, oddly-shaped stones. "This is strangely foreboding."
"What isn't on this show?" Chris told her happily. "Now, drag your ship to open water and sail north until you find Chef to receive your next instructions."
Alejandro promptly grabbed his collar and dramatically tore his shirt off, declaring "I'll pull from the bow!" to a dramatic tune.
"...was that necessary?" Dawn asked, both her and Sammy staring blankly at their handsome teammate's bare chest.
"Maybe he wants to distract Ella again?" Sammy suggested, still not taking her eyes of Alejandro.
"I-no-," he stammered with a blush before regaining his composure and declaring "Questions are for later, action is for now! Push like the wind!" He then ran to the front of the ship, the camera cutting over to show him dragging the ship from a rope tied around his chest.
Sammy and Dawn looked at each other, shrugged, then moved to the back of the ship to push.
/
A flash took the scene over to Team Victory, most of whom looked rushed to finish their ship.
"Don't just stand around down there, eh!" Ezekiel called out to Ella from the deck of the ship, the singer still looking off in the direction of their competitors. "Give us a hand with the rest of the parts!"
"Oh, yes, sorry!" Ella said, turning back to her team with a blush on her face. She quickly looked around, then handed a colored shield up to the homeschooler.
The camera panned to the bow of their ship, where Tyler was watching Ella with a mixture of sadness and frustration. Sugar walked into view from the left with a few planks over her shoulder, then scowled and slapped the jock on the shoulder.
"Stop mopin' and start workin'," she commanded, thrusting the planks into his arms as he turned towards her. "I tried to tell you she was bad news!" she hissed at him. "She's just toyin' with yer heart when she really wants to be with Al!"
Tyler looked at her, sighed sadly, then turned and started hammering planks into the hull of the ship. In his distracted state, he quickly hammered his thumb by accident and yelped in pain.
xxx
His thumb was red and swollen as his confessional began, and he spent the first couple seconds nursing it before turning his frown to the camera. "I don't wanna say Sugar is right about Ella," he said, "but maybe she does have a point. I've tried like everything to get her attention, but she just keeps going back to Alejandro no matter how sketchy he is! I just don't get it, why can't he just mess up already so I can be happy?"
xxx
"Done!" Tyler declared as he finished pounding in what looked like the last plank, a tense challenge tune already playing.
"Here too!" Ella added as she and Sugar hung the last of their multicolored shields.
"Then let's get movin', eh!" Ezekiel said, vaulting over the side of the boat and landing clumsily on his butt. He shook his head, then stood up and dashed towards the back of the boat. "Sugar, you an' Tyler pull from the front! Me an' Ella will push!"
"Got it," Tyler nodded at the same time Sugar said "Sure thing!" The jock dashed towards the bow with the pageant queen right behind him, but the camera lingered on the spot where Ezekiel had landed – the ice was cracked, and unbeknownst to the contestants the cracks were spreading quickly.
The shot cut to the stern of Team Victory's ship, where Ezekiel and Ella were pushing with all their might. "Not to cause a fuss or anything," the singer spoke up, "but wouldn't it be easier if Sugar or Tyler were back here instead of me?"
"Nah," Ezekiel said as he eased up a little from his effort, the ship already sliding along quite smoothly, "I think we'll be fine. Besides, I wanted to talk to you about Alejandro. He really is bad news, eh, and I don't get why nobody's told you yet."
"I don't get what you mean," Ella said with a frown, unaware of the cracks spreading out through the ice beneath her feet. "I know he's one of the show's 'villains', but that was just put together for TV, right?"
"Not really, eh," Ezekiel told her. "I mean, I wasn't on very much but I still know he made a lotta people mad at him back in season one fer-" he paused upon hearing the cracks under his feet, then looked down with wide eyes. "Oh no!"
"The ice is cracking!" Ella cried out in alarm. She and Ezekiel screamed and jumped onto the stern of their boat as the challenge music was replaced by something more immediate and dangerous, and the camera shakily zoomed out to show Tyler and Sugar looking around in panic from the bow and Chris standing in the foreground.
"Is this finally the death of us?" he asked the camera in a barely-contained panic. "Stick around to find out on Total! Drama! World Tour!" He then turned around, yelled "Every host for himself!" and ran away.
(Fade to Commercial and Back)
The episode resumed on a close-up of the spreading cracks, a dramatic tune playing as they reached the hull of Team Universe's ship, still being dragged along the ice towards open water.
"Get in the boat!" Alejandro cried, still bare-chested as he hung from the figurehead with one arm, then swung himself up into the boat.
The camera panned to the stern as Sammy threw Dawn up into the boat, then jumped up and clung to the side as well. The ice broke apart beneath them, putting the boat on open water. Their main sail unfurled, caught the wind, and propelled them forward.
"Hurry!" Ezekiel said as the scene moved to him and Ella running along the deck of their ship to the bow, where Tyler and Sugar were clinging to the side. The homeschooler gave his friend a lift into the ship as Ella struggled with Sugar; Tyler ended up tripping and rolling into the mast as he boarded, Ezekiel already moving to assist the singer with their last team member.
"Man, that was close!" Sugar said in relief as she flopped down on the deck, and their own sail caught the wind. "Now let's get 'em!" she declared, swiftly standing up and pointing dramatically forward.
/
The dramatic music leveled off as the scene flashed to a close-up of Sammy and Dawn exchanging a high-five, then a hug.
"Oh em gee that was way too close," Sammy said.
"Yes," Dawn said, "it's a good thing we finished first and got away from the center of the cracking."
"Oh yes," Alejandro chimed in, the shot panning to the stern to show him manning the tiller, "the diligent work you both put in truly saved us."
"And don't forget," Sammy added with a smile, "it was Dawn's idea to build a ship in the first place."
"Indeed," Alejandro replied, looking slightly nervous. "I am...truly grateful."
"I can tell," Dawn smiled. "And you should be, especially after you stopped working on it so you could lie to Ella some more." The mystic and her girlfriend giggled to each other, and Alejandro scowled.
xxx
"I know Alejandro was just trying to stay on our good side by flattering us," Dawn told the confessional camera. "I mean, I can see his aura. But as long as he intends on hurting Ella, I see no reason to give him a break."
xxx
"C'mon, can't this thing go any faster?" Sugar complained as the scene moved back to Team Victory once more. "They're still ahead of us!"
"I''m trying," Tyler said, manning the tiller at the stern. "But I don't really know how!"
"I guess we just gotta make sure we go with the wind, eh," Ezekiel suggested, scratching his head and looking up at their sail. "And, err, hope that the other team don't." He looked around at his teammates, none of whom seemed very confident.
/
A dramatic tune played as Team Universe was shown pulling up to a dock where Chef was waiting with a horned helmet in his hand. Like the host he, too, was dressed for the weather, wearing a sleeveless orange-and-blue down jacket and an ushanka with the ear flaps down.
"What's with the helmet?" Sammy asked as she, Dawn, and Alejandro (fully clothed once again) disembarked. She reached out to take it, but Chef quickly moved it away.
"Uh-uh," he told her, "gotta pick a captain first."
The three teens raised an eyebrow in surprise, then shared a look. Alejandro was the first to step forward. "I know we haven't seen eye-to-eye with each other in the past, but if you'll allow me I'd like to take the lead on this one."
Sammy and Dawn shared a look and shrugged, then Sammy answered "Okay."
"Now I know what you are thinking," Alejandro continued without missing a beat, "but I promise to act fairly and lead us to victory, so please just give me the chance."
"We already said we will," Dawn told him, which seemed to startle him for a moment.
"Oh...well okay then!" he told them with a smile. "Thank you for trusting me."
"And thank you for sorting this out so quickly," Chris told the three as he walked up to join them and Chef shoved the helmet down onto Alejandro's head. "I guess you're still as popular with the ladies as always."
"Not really," Sammy said. "Me and Dawn just didn't wanna do it ourselves," she explained, Dawn nodding curtly in agreement.
"I don't care," Chris smiled. "What I do care about is seeing a little war!" As he spoke, Chef drove up the dock in a small power crane and lowered a cannon onto Team Universe's ship.
"War?" Dawn repeated hesitantly, her and her teammates looking at the cannon as Chef backed the crane back up the dock.
"So...the rocks are actually flints?" Alejandro asked after a moment of thought.
"Bingo, dingoes!" Chris answered, his smile briefly fading as he added "Nuts, I shoulda said that back when we were in Australia." He quickly resumed his hosting demeanor, looking back at the teens to say "And to fire out of the cannon, Chef's famous Swedish meatballs!" He motioned behind him, where his hulking assistant now stood with a plate of three large, dark meatballs.
"Those...don't look healthy," Dawn said with a bit of a cringe.
"That's the idea," Chris laughed. "To win the challenge and travel first class, sail north to capture the red flag, way over yonder." A soft drumroll played as the perspective moved to the end of the dock looking out at the water, the camera quick-zooming forward to show a buoy with a red flag tied to it far, far in the distance. "Ooorr," the host added as the shot cut back to him, "use your meatballs to sink the enemy ship. Good luck, Captain Al!"
"That's Captain Burromuerto," the charmer corrected irritably, adjusting his helmet to his liking.
"Don't care about that either, so...go away," the host said, making a shooing motion towards the contestants.
Alejandro scowled, then turned on his heel and started walking back down the dock. "Let's go, chicas. We have a challenge to win." Sammy and Dawn exchanged an uncertain expression, then followed after him.
/
Another dramatic tune played as the scene skipped forward, showing the sail of Team Universe furling and catching wind, the shot pulling back to show their boat moving out backwards from the dock with Alejandro once more at the tiller.
"So, like, what's our plan?" Sammy asked the captain.
"Simple," he answered. "We already have the lead, so we'll go for the flag and use the cannon to fend off Team Victory if they manage to close in on us."
"Cool, sounds pretty easy then," Sammy smiled before suddenly frowning. "Almost too easy."
"Agreed," Alejandro told her, "which is why we must be on guard for any tricks that Chris decides to pull." The girls nodded mutely, and their boat passed by Team Victory coming in to the dock.
xxx
"This...may not end well for any of us," Dawn told the restroom camera with a decisive yet wary look.
xxx
A tense and trilling tune played as another cannon was shown being lowered into Team Victory's boat by Chef and his crane; the camera followed him as he backed up, and caught the four members of the team discussing the horned helmet Chris was holding out for them; the plate of three meatballs was already in Tyler's hands.
"Why don't you take it, Zeke?" Tyler suggested. "You've already been taking charge today."
"Oh yes," Ella chimed in, "we'd have been lost without you!"
"Err, okay!" Ezekiel accepted with a bashful smile. "Though I don't know much about bein' a captain or anything."
"It ain't that hard," Sugar told him, swiping the helmet from Chris and putting it on the homeschooler's head. "Just tellin' us what to do."
"Right, eh," Ezekiel told her with a blank nod before looking at the ammunition they'd been given. "By the way, how're we s'pposed to light our cannon without any matches, eh?"
"I'm sure you'll think of something" Chris shrugged impishly. "Buh-bye!" he waved with a devious grin.
/
"Oh my, they're quite far ahead of us," Ella said with worry as the footage skipped ahead to show Team Victory pulling away from the dock. "How are we going to get to the flag before them?"
"I don't think we can, eh," Ezekiel said with a thoughtful look at the cannon, now holding the meatballs while Tyler manned the tiller.
"Well, not unless they decide to turn back fer some reason," Sugar considered, "but that would just be stupid, and stupid ain't Al."
"Yeah, I think we're gonna have to try and sink 'em, eh," Ezekiel said. "It's gonna be tough unless we can light the cannon, though, and even then we only got three shots."
"Oh, I hope nobody gets hurt by all of this," Ella said worriedly.
"Neither do any of us," Tyler told her sullenly. "But we can't just give up and let them win. Besides, there's only three of them, if we actually land a hit I'm pretty sure it'll be on the boat."
"Well, we'd better," Ella told him, still looking distractedly forward. "I'd hate for Alejandro to think we're still mad at him for distracting us earlier."
The camera panned back to Tyler as he groaned, then up a little ways to Sugar, who looked back at him and grinned.
xxx
The pageant queen opened her confessional with a hearty chuckle. "Man, this is perfect! Tyler's probably gonna give up on Ella soon, which means if we lose she'll finally be gone. And just in time, too; if we merge before there's another elimination, then she'll hook up with Al, Samey, and Dawn and vote the rest of us right on out! I might hafta borrow a plan from Scott to make sure things go smoothly...," she said with an oddly contemplative look.
xxx
"We're almost there!" Sammy shouted excitedly as dramatic music started playing again, pointing forward from the bow of her team's ship.
"But the others are gaining on us!" Dawn countered, leaning off the starboard side and looking backwards.
"They must've caught the wind better!" Alejandro said. "Quick, turn the cannon around!"
Sammy and Dawn quickly moved toward the weapon as ordered, and with grunts of effort began to push it around.
/
The music continued as the scene flashed over to Team Victory, the camera lingering on their full and billowed sail before panning down to the the crewmembers. "I think we might be gaining on them!" Ella said hopefully. "Great steering, Tyler!"
"...thanks...," the jock muttered from the back of the ship, not meeting her gaze.
"I hate to say it, eh," Ezekiel spoke up, "but catchin' a lucky wind isn't gonna matter. We gotta figure out how to stop 'em!"
"Well it ain't that hard!" Sugar said, picking up one of the meatballs and tossing it lightly in her hand. "All we need is a little bit of power!" She grasped the meatball firmly, then windmilled her arm around and threw it hard.
The camera followed it through the air for a few seconds, then cut over to Team Universe as Sammy looked up from moving the cannon and gasped. "Incoming!" she shouted, drawing Alejandro's attention backwards just in time to see the projectile fall short and splash into the water harmlessly.
"Hah!" he laughed. "That was pathetic! Let us show you what a real shot looks like." He looked over at his teammates, then said "Ladies?"
Neither girl said anything as they immediately got to work; the cannon was already in position pointed backwards, so Dawn quickly loaded a meatball into it then Sammy rubbed two of their flints together to light the fuse. Both girls ducked and plugged their ears as the cannon fired, the meatball hurtling through the air.
At the bow of Team victory's ship Ella, Ezekiel, and Sugar gasped, then darted back as the shot crashed through the side of the hull. "Nooo!" the captain cried, gripping the sides of his helmet in panic.
"We gotta keep firin'!" Sugar told him in a pleading tone.
"Yeah," Ezekiel replied in a distracted tone, quickly snapping himself out of it when he noticed Sugar winding up another shot. "Wait! That's not gonna work!" he said, quickly grabbing the ball from her and running it towards the cannon as she scowled. He loaded it in, then looked and grabbed two stick-sized pieces of wood that had splintered off when the boat had been hit. He speedily rubbed them together until they caught fire then used them to light the fuse, and the cannon went off with a bang.
"Look out!" Sammy said, all three members of her team standing at the stern of their boat. They quickly ducked down, and the camera cut to them crouched and braced for an impact...that never came, the meatball seemingly splashing into the water ahead of the bow.
"Hah! Another miss!" Alejandro stood up and taunted.
"Not quite," Sammy said, tugging on his arm with a panicked look upwards, "look!"
The camera followed Alejandro's gaze up to the sail, which now had a fairly large hole in it. "We're slowing down!" Dawn cried as the shot cut back to the deck of the ship.
"Hurry, we must keep them from passing!" Alejandro commanded, running back to the tiller as the two girls readied their second shot.
The focus moved back to Team Victory as they heard the shot being fired from their various spots on deck; they quickly scrambled ducked out of the way only for it to crash down just off their starboard side...and cause an explosion that rocked the waters and terrified the four teens.
"Mines!" Alejandro called out as the camera quick-panned back to Team Universe. "I knew Chris would have something up his sleeves!"
The shot quick-panned far to left, landing on Chris watching the challenge on the dock through a pair of binoculars. He lowered them, turned to the camera, and grinned. "I love this game!"
A quick-pan put the focus back on Team Universe as Sammy said "He must've only put them near the flag!"
"Then we must take care not to hit any!" Alejandro added, taking control of the tiller again.
The scene cut back to Team Victory, who had recovered from the near-miss but were looking frantic.
"Oh man, if we hit any of those we're toast!" Tyler said in shock.
"Then we just gotta make sure we sink them first!" Ezekiel said, already loading the team's last meatball into the cannon. "You girls watch out fer mines while I aim the cannon, okay?"
"On it!" Ella told him, dashing back towards the bow while the homeschooler used his fingers as an aiming sight then started trying to adjust the cannon.
"If you say so!" Sugar added, making a show of leaning over the port side and scanning the water for explosives.
An aerial view of the water showed the two ships drawing closer to one another. The camera moved behind Ella to show her looking up at Alejandro at the stern of the other ship, then the perspective inverted to show Alejandro looking out at Ella.
"Sorry for trying to sink you!" she called out. "It's just that it's our best chance at winning right now!"
"I understand, my love!" Alejandro replied. "And I hope you'll forgive me for not telling my teammates to go easy on you, since I really can't afford to lose right now either!" The camera quickly cut to the others as he spoke, showing Dawn and Sammy exchanging a nervous look, Ezekiel looking up from his aiming, Sugar rolling her eyes, and Ella smiling lovingly.
"Don't worry, I forgive you!" the princess called back before looking down and noticing something in the water. "And everyone should be careful, there's a mine right between us!" she called out to both teams.
Alejandro immediately raised an eyebrow, then turned the tiller and made the ship swerve.
"Got it!" Tyler droned from his seat at Team Victory's tiller, pushing it hard. The camera immediately cut over to Ezekiel, who had just gotten his sticks lit again as the ship suddenly rocked and swerved. Caught off-guard he stumbled, and accidentally lit the cannon's fuse.
"Oh no!" Ezekiel said in wide-eyed shock just before the cannon fired; the camera followed the shot as it went wide and missed the enemy ship.
"Your last shot is wasted!" Alejandro called out to them. "Victory is ours! Ready the last shot!" he called back to the girls, only to raise his brow in shock when the camera panned rightward, showing first the deserted cannon and then Sammy leaning over the edge of the bow.
"No need, Captain!" Sammy announced excitedly, the background music turning triumphant as she was shown hauling Dawn back up to the ship by her waist.
"We have the flag!" the moonchild declared, the camera zooming on on the piece of cloth as it was raised up high.
"Team Universe wins!" Chris announced, the shot pulling back as he rode up on a jetski. "Team Victory, see you at elimination."
"I'm glad nobody was hurt," Ella said as Team Victory's ship pulled up alongside their rivals.
"Me too," Alejandro told her. "Though I do feel bad that you had to lose. I hope you still make the merge with me."
"Oh, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Ella told him with a blush, unaware of the annoyed looks that Ezekiel and Sugar were giving her behind her back. "We'll both make the merge just fine, and the love we share will take us all the way to the end!"
"Just what I wanted to hear," Alejandro told her with a slightly darker smile. The music turned slightly ominous as the camera panned from him to Sammy and Dawn, the two girls sharing a knowing nod.
/
The ominous music continued even as the footage cut ahead to the plane back in flight, and then into the cargo hold where Sammy and Dawn were now meeting.
"Okay, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sammy asked after looking around nervously.
"That we need to force Ella to see Alejandro for what he truly is before she becomes even more attached to him than she already is, and he ends up causing something he doesn't want but can't take back?" Dawn answered with a piercing look.
"Uh, well, I don't know what you mean by that stuff about Al," Sammy answered hesitantly, "but basically, yeah. And I already have an idea how to do it..." she leaned forward and whispered into her girlfriend's ear, the camera panning up to a flickering light as a deep and ominous tune played.
/
The scene flashed to economy class, where the four members of Team Victory sat in awkward silence. Tyler was sulking in a corner on the far left, and the camera panned down the row to show Ezekiel eying him worriedly, Sugar with a small smile, and Ella looking around nervously.
"Well...we gave it our best shot out there, right?" the singer said cautiously. Ezekiel frowned at her in annoyance, then looked back over at Tyler as he tucked his head between his knees. Ella looked at Sugar, but the pageant queen just shrugged helplessly then perked up in confusion at the sound of a knock on the wall.
The camera moved to the doorway, where Sammy was leaning in with a nervous smile. "Umm, sorry to interrupt, but Alejandro told me he wanted to surprise Ella with something before the vote, so..."
"Oh, I'd just be delighted to come with you," Ella said eagerly, standing up immediately.
Sammy stared at her for a second, then smiled. "Okay! Let's, uh, go then!"
The camera panned away as the two girls left the room, landing on Tyler as he groaned.
"Well I told you something like this was gonna happen!" Sugar told him. "Ella's just not the type of girl you can trust with yer heart!"
"I guess...," Tyler sighed depressedly.
"Look," Sugar continued with a stern look, "as long as she's around she's gonna keep hurtin' you. That's why we gotta vote her out tonight!"
"Sugar's got a point, yo," Ezekiel told his friend. "I know it's gonna feel bad, but I think if she's not around you all the time you'll get over her, eh."
Tyler sighed again. "Yeah, I guess..."
/
The music became ominous again as the scene flashed back to Sammy leading Ella through the halls; the cheerleader had started sneaking and the singer was looking somewhat confused. "Umm, not to spoil it or anything," Ella asked in a whisper, "but what do you think Alejandro's surprise is?"
Sammy stopped suddenly, her eyes widening just a bit before she recovered and turned a nervous smile back to her former teammate. "Umm...I think it's probably something you need to hear. And also, umm, maybe you should stay quiet for now, okay?"
Ella looked bewildered for a moment, but then silently smiled and nodded. Sammy nodded back, then grabbed her by the wrist and tiptoed slowly up to the cracked-open door to first class.
"Do you truly believe that telling Ella you love her will make you feel better?" Dawn's voice came from the crack as the two girl sidled up along the wall, Sammy immediately extending an arm to hold Ella in place as the singer adopted a troubled look.
The camera quick-panned into the cabin, where Dawn was standing in the aisle next to a lounging Alejandro. "And why wouldn't it?" he answered in an almost bored tone. "Now I know that she'll be loyal to me once the teams merge. It's better this way for both of us."
"You know that isn't true," Dawn told him sharply, causing him to wince slightly. "All you've done is deepen the pain you'll cause her when she inevitably finds out you've been using her."
"S-so what?" Alejandro replied with forced confidence. "It's the same thing I've done to loads of girls before now. There's no reason to believe that she won't be recover from it eventually."
"So you admit you're concerned about her recovering from the pain you intend to cause her?" Dawn said quickly.
"W-well, it's not like I'm a monster or anything," Alejandro replied, slightly flustered.
"Perhaps," Dawn conceded, "but I doubt you were ever so concerned about any other girl."
Alejandro huffed and looked out the window. "Well...they had it coming. It's their fault they let themselves be fooled, and for making me want to fool them. They were hardly innocent..."
"And Ella is?" the mystic asked.
"In a way, I suppose," Alejandro answered, leveling an annoyed look at her. "So perhaps I am feeling a little guilty knowing that I'm using her," he admitted. "I can't help it! It's like she's a...an adorable little puppy or something! And besides, I've already figured out a way to end it cleanly, and minimize the pain she'll feel."
"Oh?" Dawn said curiously. "So you intend to allow Tyler to console her, should she want it?"
"No," Alejandro scoffed. "I'll take her all the way to the finale with me. I'll win, of course," he added with a haughty look, the camera coming in for a close-up as he leaned back and closed his eyes. "And on the way, I'll act more and more uncomfortable with her, and at the end I'll feign a sudden realization that perhaps we're not as compatible as we think! Oh, it'll be a sad break-up, but at least we'll part amicably. And then...we'll go our separate ways without any pain, or guilt."
"Well then, it sounds like you have everything planned out," a familiar female voice said from off-camera, filled with bitter sadness.
"I always do," Alejandro replied smugly before his eyes popped open in shock and he sat up, the camera pulling back to reveal Ella and Sammy standing near Dawn. "Ella?!" the charmer said in bug-eyed shock before quickly trying to compose himself before the teary-eyed princess. "Wait, I can explain, it was all just a joke!" He stood up, his arms as wide as his nervous smile. "Just a lie to the others to hide how I really feel about you!"
"I think I can tell what the lie is just fine thank you very much," Ella said, her voice sharp enough to make him wince. "And right now I am ashamed of myself for falling for it. But you," she pointed at him fiercely, "you should be even more ashamed! I loved you, and you just...just perverted it for your own designs!" she said, choking back her own tears. "How could you?! Alejandro Burromuerto," she paused to take a deep breath, then sang out "You are the worst thing that's ever happened to me!"
The melody of the duet she'd sung with the boy in Paris played during the line, and its ending was punctuated by a piercing slap.
Ella turned and ran out of the room sobbing into her hands, and the camera lingered on the utterly shocked face of Alejandro, mouth agape and hand touching the cheek she'd just slapped. An eerie tune played as the shot zoomed in, the young man's face hardening into a frown. "Very well then," he whispered coldly before a few deep, chanted notes took the scene away.
/
The usual deep and staggered elimination music began to play as the focus moved to the elimination room, the logo of Team Victory appearing on-screen over the smiling host and seated teens. Ella was still sobbing into her hands, and her team members were watching her from a fair distance away – Ezekiel awkwardly, Sugar with barely-hidden glee, and Tyler with great concern.
"Ahh, the elimination room" Chris began, drawing the cast and camera's attention away from Ella. "This is where one of you will be tossed into the darkness," he gleefully gestured back over his shoulder towards the exit, "to plummet out of my life and possibly end of your own. And, if this weren't a reward challenge, that would happen tonight. Psyche! No vote tonight! You're all safe! For now..." He pointed cockily at the cast, the elimination music ending abruptly.
"Aww, seriously?!" Sugar said in disbelief, Ezekiel and especially Tyler looking back once more at the still-sobbing Ella.
"Yessiree," Chris replied as the opening drumbeats of the series' capstone them played. "As we speak, Team Universe is getting their reward: Swedish massages performed by a genuine registered massage therapist." Sugar groaned over Ella's continued crying.
"What other kinds of therapists will our competitors need before the season's over?" Chris asked the camera. "Find out next time, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
The plane turned up and to its right in the final zoomed-out shot, and flew away as the episode ended.
(Fade to Credits)
Author's Note - Post Script
Just like many of you predicted, this quarter finishes things up with the sole reward challenge out of five episodes. Though with how things have ended between Ella and Alejandro, I don't expect the drama to be lacking. The whole 'somebody sets the villain up so that they're overheard by the person they're fooling' is a tad cliche, but honestly it works here and is something that's been coming for a while now I think. Hopefully you all enjoyed watching it go down.
The challenge was kind of odd. I wasn't certain at first who should get the lead building the boat, or how the song would work in, but once I decided that Alejandro would basically try to throw Team Victory off but fail, everything kind of fell into place from there. The ice breaking apart was another stumbling block, but I ended up deciding that forcing it would make for a better (and shorter) read than just having the two teams trying to pull their boats all the way to open water. Though in retrospect, having them just pull would have made the boat race more even? I don't know.
Once in open water, thing were straightforward - Victory on the attack chasing Universe on the defense. The shot through Team Universe's sail and the mines were to keep things tense and even; I did consider having an exploding mine finish things off, but couldn't work out the logistics of such a shot to a satisfying degree. So instead I had the flag actually grabbed, with the mines coming into play by causing Ezekiel to miss his last shot (which may very well have won the challenge for them) when Tyler moved the boat to avoid one.
Not much else to say that I can think of, besides the fact that the song's title is 'We Wasted Time'. In case you didn't notice, it follows the same tune as 'We Built Gwen's Face'. Figuring out the disco costumes was...an experience, and the whole sequence would probably look stranger than its canon counterpart were it actually animated. Still, I think it was enjoyable.
Next week is the third Aftermath, and the Second Chance Challenge. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about what's to come!
- Fangren
Appendix: TSWT Eliminated Contestants
Staci - (RETURNED)
Beardo - (17th Place)
Lightning - (16th Place)
Dawn - (Quit Unofficially | RETURNED)
Bridgette - (15th Place)
Geoff - (14th Place)
Scott - (13th Place | Disqualified)
Scarlett - (12th Place)
Sierra - (11th Place)
DJ - (10th Place)
Shawn - (9th Place)
Staci - (8th Place)