Author's Note
Welcome, dear readers, to the first episode of the new years! I hope you're all ready for it - and for the year in general, because by the end of it the entire Shuffled series will undoubtedly be finished.
The last day of 2015 was mild for me, mostly just working on next week's episode and finishing up my first True Pacifist run of Undertale - which, uh, along with the song ended up delaying my writing enough that I'll have to finish the last two-and-a-half minutes or so tomorrow. But no worries, it's coming along quite nicely!
Let's move on to the reviews, shall we?
Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: Haha, glad you loved the ending especially since I had to keep reminding myself to include the after-effects of what Blaineley unwittingly ate.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Mmm, yeah, you may be right. And since the Shuffled cast is generally more strategic than the canon one, she would have decided to be more active in strategy as well. She still tried to get Chef on her side, though, but since Chef's already been punished for making deals with contestants pretty harshly he wasn't willing to actually agree.
PizzaTheBomb: Glad you loved the chapter so much! Looks like I did a pretty good job justifying the two eliminations, as well as getting the character interactions down and giving Blaineley something to actually do. I hope you enjoy what's to come in the New Year!
DSX62415: Ah, well, sorry that I had to disappoint you with Dawn's elimination but I suppose it happens to everybody sooner or later. I hope you enjoy the rest of the season regardless of what happens.
lordkalel: Hah, to be honest even I'm not entirely sure who will be winning this season right now. I have potential endings in mind for pretty much everybody left. But regardless of what happens, I hope you enjoy it.
FOWLKON: Hmm, yeah, that is a pretty good line come to think of it. Oh well, I'm not gonna go back and use it now. As for Dawn hoping that it's sugar and Blaineley who got caught in the explosion...well, I figured it fit with her penchant for making dramatic declarations against her enemies, though perhaps I could've worded it a bit better. As for Ella being half-Chinese...well, it's been planned from the beginning, at least. And who knows, maybe some day she'll be able to take some inspiration from Mulan over Snow White (though Snow White suits her personality better, I think).
StarHeart Specials: Well, not so much cheating as general lying, scheming, and betrayal. And though you're right that Sugar would have absolutely eaten anything passed to her, I didn't think Alejandro would try it since people actually know about his weak stomach in this series. It looks like I've done a good job making people actually start to root for Ezekiel...anyway, I hope you had a good Christmas and that you'll enjoy the New Year!
bruno14: Glad to hear you liked the episode, even if you're sad to see Dawn go. And...I hope you enjoy the rest of the season as well.
Glowing Insanity: Well, to be honest, I never did decide what her food was laced with. Maybe laxatives, or maybe something to give her some mild food poisoning...but regardless, it's something I'm happy has amused so many people. It's what she gets for trying to cheat. And I hope you enjoy what the Serengeti will bring...
Animation Adventures: Thanks! And yeah, that's what I was going for with Chef - he's been burned by making deals in the past, he's not about to go through that again just because of Blaineley. For Zeke...honestly, I've been kind of struggling this whole season with exactly how I want to portray him, but ultimately I decided that he's someone who is loyal to those he believes understand him and doesn't like hearing bad about them regardless of who it's coming from. And when he was betrayed by Scott, he kinda latched on to Sugar thinking that they had suffered the same way - so any attacks on Sugar he kind of views as attacks on himself, if that makes sense? And then there's the vote that was cast against him which got him riled up, and it all just made him very irritable and not very receptive to what Dawn was trying to tell him. But either way...with Sugar exposed, things are gonna change. Whether it's for the better or not has to be seen...
I. M. Poik: Glad you liked it! And honestly, I'm kind of surprised that anyone is sad to see Blaineley go, though I can see why since she still could've done more. Ultimately, though, I just felt it was best to eliminate her in China like in canon. Interesting analysis of the Final Five, and I await your thoughts after the events of this week's episode...
CVluvFoxy: Yeah, that was what I was pretty much hoping for with the eliminations last week - Blaineley at least did more than in canon, and Dawn had a good run but it was time to go. Other than that...well, glad to hear you're still rooting for Sugar, and not being a Tyler fan to begin with is at least understandable, because I'd hate to have it be my writing that caused someone to hate a character.
StayOuttaMyShed: Mmm, well, I'm always one for surprises. Regarding last week's vote, I think it was Ella who voted for Alejandro rather than Blaineley - even knowing what Dawn was planning, Ella just couldn't bring herself to not vote for the man who hurt her. And speaking of Alejandro, the reason why he voted for Blaineley over Dawn is that after the challenge he felt that Blaineley and Sugar might be more loyal to each other than either were to himself. so if he got rid of Blaineley, that would mean Sugar would still have to be on his side, and that Dawn would still be willing to work with him in order to get rid of Sugar later on - especially if he could manipulate things to further pit Dawn and Ezekiel against each other. As for what happens with this week's vote...well, you'll have to read on and find out. I don't know if you'll like it or not, but I am eager to here your reaction.
GLAD you liked the chapter overall, however. The reason why Chef didn't take up Blaineley's offer is because of what happened in season two - he got disciplined more harshly for his multiple illegal alliances than what happened in canon, so it's more natural that he'd be reluctant to make another one. And as for Ella's reaction or lack thereof to eating the donkey...it was more me just thinking what happened in canon was just an excuse for Cody to be the first one out. Plus, Ella might possibly be more familiar with donkey meat to realize that there hadn't been nearly enough time between her arrival and the first round of the challenge to kill, butcher, and cook the donkey.
AND as for Ella's win...well, I really just wanted her and Tyler to be alone again for the scene. Don't worry, though, I'm pretty conscious about who wins the rest of the challenges.
P. T. Piranha: Glad to hear you like it - and just because there's only a handful of contestants left doesn't mean I won't try to throw some unexpected twists and turns into the plot to keep things interesting. I hope you enjoy what comes next.
ljninja: Good to see I did a good job writing Blaineley. And interesting predictions, as I always say - but you'll have to wait and read on to see how it all goes down.
Guest #1: I'm going to assume that you're a different guest from the other one that posted a few reviews this week. More to the point...ehh, this joke's not really funny. Glad to hear you've at least read my other fic though.
OMAC001: Well then, I hope you enjoy the rest of the season.
insertnamehere21: Hah, it took me awhile to realize you were talking about the Sweden episode. Yeah, I didn't include the massage clip, since I don't really do the non-elimination bonuses. Glad you liked Ella finally finding out about Alejandro's true nature, though. And as for whether or not Tyler and Lindsay will meet in this series...well, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and find out.
Star Saber21: Yup, I'm happy I was able to convey that stuff with Chef's decision and why Sugar was forced to sit out the second challenge. And yeah, Ella's feeling a little down right now regarding Blaineley's revelation, and a certain someone is going to show up again. I hope you enjoy what becomes of all this.
Guest #2 (boogie443?): Err, no, I'm pretty sure I didn't include anything Cody-like in the Area 51 episode; I didn't even include those pods that cloned him in canon. Also, yeah, Izzy hasn't debuted yet. I'm never going to pad out the reveals of eliminations; it annoys me and I trust my readers to know how to scroll down to avoid spoiling themselves.
Knifez: I'm glad you enjoyed last week's episode! And yeah, I could have kept Blaineley around for another episode or so...but it would kinda feel weird. Her main purpose was to shake things up a bit and reveal Sugar's actions, which was better done sooner rather than later. I could have had her do that this week or something, and maybe even have the double elimination here as well...but again, the idea just seems a little off to me. And yeah, no canon ROTI cast members left...which I honestly didn't even think about. Hah, it's been so long since I've considered these characters in terms of their original casts. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of the season!
Commander Meat: Glad you enjoyed all the taunting and reveals and such! I'm pretty happy with how it, and the next two chapters have turned out. And also that I've been able to actually make Sugar a proper villain, while still keeping true to her character. Even though I know Alejandro is still pretty prominent, I'm glad I was able to do so much with Sugar as the intended main antagonist.
LadyEnigma888: Yeah, I've heard that from a couple people so far. But ultimately, I figured that her being more relevant to the two episodes was good enough - she made her mark, but keeping her around much longer would be weird (and also admittedly a bit more work for me). And yeah, I know I haven't really been hinting at Ella's roots, but there's been other parts of her that were more relevant. But I did manage to bring it up, which I'm happy about. A Happy New Year filled with joy to you as well, and I hope that my story will be a part of it!
Explorer of the Unknown: Mmm, I'm glad you can see it! And also good to hear you have some background knowledge on some parts of Chinese culture, it's more than I can say at least. All I can say about Ella right now is that it's been fun trying to show off different sides of her. And thanks for the kudos, I knew it would be worth bringing her on the plane if I could just give her that one little revelation to give out. It will certainly change things...
Oh, and I'm glad you enjoyed Sammy's dignified exit - it suited her, and it was amusing to write and read.
And thus, we come to the last two traditional announcements. First, 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.
Second, the Final Five are as follows:
Boys - Alejandro, Ezekiel, Tyler
Girls - Ella, Sugar
And that, dear readers, brings us to the first Shuffled episode of the New Year. Read on, and enjoy!
- Fangren
Episode 21 – African Lying Safari
"Last time, on Total Drama World Tour!" Chris opened, the recap montage beginning with a long-distance shot of the cast assembled by the Great Wall of China. "Thaaanks, China, we had a blast," the host said over a shot of Alejandro hitting a landmine on his skateboard and Dawn seeing an explosion in the distance. "Just not the kind associated with fun," Chris added as Sugar was shown getting blown away by a mine as well, leaving Blaineley in the rickshaw by herself.
"Especially for Sugar," Chris said as the pageant queen was shown arriving late to the second part of the challenge, "who not only had to deal with annoying allies," Blaineley was shown making her announcement over the plane's intercom, "and a missed chance at an authentic Chinese buffet," she slumped over in dismay as Alejandro patted her on the back, then stealthily stole Dawn's uneaten donkey meat, "but also the fact that her arch-enemy Ella won immunity again." The princess was shown declaring her victory through song, then puking.
"And since the show is still short on cash-ola," Chris explained over clips of Blaineley's stomach gurgling ominously as her failed attempt at an illegal alliance was exposed, "we had a two-for-one sale on losers!" Blaineley and Dawn were shown receiving their parachutes in shock, then getting shoved off the plane by the host. "One of whom got a nasty little parting gift for her attempted cheating ways," he added as the older woman was shown holding back vomit during her Drop of Shame.
Chef and Chris were snickering to themselves as the recap ended and the scene moved to the cockpit. "We're down to the Final Five!" Chris told the camera. "Who won't make the Final Four, and how will Sugar even make it through breakfast now that her scheming ways have been exposed? Find out right now, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
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
An ominous tune played as the episode opened, the traditional shot of the plane in flight quickly moving to economy class where Sugar, Alejandro, and Ezekiel were determinedly not looking at one another.
"I can't believe you lied to me, eh," Ezekiel griped. "I really trusted you after what happened with Scott!"
"W-well, hey now, I mighta fibbed a little bit," Sugar defended, "but I was tellin' the truth when I said we should stick together!"
"As if," Alejandro scoffed. "How could anybody trust you after learning about everything you've done? Even I am shocked at how low you've stooped to deceive everyone."
"But you're just as bad!" Sugar said.
"Yes, but people expect it from me," Alejandro countered. "You, not so much. And despite our previous alliance," he said with a quick wink at Ezekiel, "I would be...open to voting you off, chica. I'd only need to hear the word." Sugar gasped.
Ezekiel snorted in contempt, crossed his arms, and glared. "Yeah, like I'm gonna fall fer that one, eh. I'm not gonna trust either of you, ever."
/
The scene flashed to first class, focusing on a glum-looking Ella. She sighed, then raised her head and clasped her hands dramatically. "Oh why, oh why, oh what have I~" she sang mournfully, the shot zooming out as she stood up, struck a pose, then twirled across the aisle. "Done~ to deserrrrve thi~is? I thought, that we were friends, but I was wrong, so now I must ma~ake amends~..."
A change in the perspective showed Tyler watching Ella's impromptu song and dance with a rather bewildered look on his face.
xxx
"I don't really get Ella right now," Tyler confessed. "I thought she'd be mad at Sugar, just like she's mad at Al. But all she's been doing for a while now is talk about how she must've done something wrong if Sugar doesn't like her anymore!" He groaned in exasperation. "Man, I hope she can realize that Sugar's not as nice as she thinks, or we might be in trouble."
xxx
"Uhh, I really don't get why you're trying to make up with Sugar," the jock said as the scene returned to first class. "She lied to you! This is just like what happened with Alejandro..."
Ella stiffened up. "No, it isn't," she said, almost sharply as she spun around to face Tyler. "What happened with Alejandro was unique, it couldn't possibly happen again! Clearly," she told him with an almost desperate smile, "if I just figure out what I did wrong and make it right, then Sugar will be our friend again and we'll all be happy!" She clasped her hands in eager anticipation, leading Tyler to groan and palm his face.
/
The footage skipped ahead to a shot of an open and sunny savanna, the jumbo jet parked in the background on the left, and a mountain range further beyond it. The landscape was dotted with acacia trees and low shrubs and a few rocks, and a compilation of hissing, hollow notes signified the heat as the camera panned to the right.
Tyler, Ezekiel, Sugar, and Alejandro were all waiting in a line, the boys giving Sugar plenty of room on either side. Ella was nowhere to be seen as of yet, but Chris did soon appear in a red robe, wearing beaded necklaces and bracelets and a bald cap, and holding a spear. The appropriated outfit earned chuckles from all four contestants.
"Nice dress, am I right boys?" Sugar said, looking around at the others for validation but receiving nothing but abrupt glares.
"It's traditional Maasai warrior garb," Chris explained, "and, it came with this!" He grinned as he held up his spear, and with a dramatic spike in the music he threw it towards Sugar – the pageant queen yelped and ducked, the weapon sailing harmlessly over her head.
"Hey, watch it!' she complained.
"Trust me," Chris told her, "that's the least dangerous thing that'll happen to you today. Welcome, to beautiful Tanzania," he said as an African-sounding melody of drums and strings began to play. "Home of the Serengeti plains, and over seventy different kinds of animals that can kill you."
"Sorry I'm late!" the voice of Ella called from off-screen, distracting the group as she ran into the shot from the left...wearing an oversized white t-shirt over her usual blouse. "I just wanted to make a few adjustments to my outfit. I hope you like it!"
The camera moved in for a close-up of her shirt, revealing the image on it – a crude drawing of Sugar with a happy grin and her hands on her hips, with the caption 'Best Friend' written in glittery pink.
A flat note played as the shot cut back out to show the rest of the cast's blank stares. "Hey, I can dig it," Chris finally said with an amused smile. "And I'm sure the extra layer will really help out here."
"Why thank you!" Ella smiled sweetly.
"Uhh, Ella, what are you doing?" Tyler finally asked, recovering from his shock and walking towards his crush.
"Showing Sugar how much she means to me, of course!" Ella told him happily before leaning to the right and waving at Sugar. The pageant queen looked utterly bewildered, and the boys on either side of her looked rather dumbfounded themselves. "I get that you haven't been very happy with me lately," the singer told her 'friend', "but I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it up to you."
Sugar stared at her in stunned silence for a second, then finally uttered "Huh?"
Alejandro immediately burst out into laughter, and Ezekiel scowled. "Yeah, 'huh' is right," he said. "Why do you wanna be friends with her of all people?"
Ella turned a confused frown towards the homeschooler. "Well why shouldn't I? I won't turn my back on her just because she's mad at me."
Ezekiel looked at her incredulously. "Uhh, I'm pretty sure she's more than just mad, eh."
"Well that doesn't matter," Ella said sternly before walking over to Sugar and smiling. "So just tell me what I did wrong," she told her, "and I'll be happy to fix it. Okay?"
"O...kay?" Sugar said in uncertain bewilderment.
"Excellent!" Chris said, interjecting himself between the two girls. "Now that that's settled, it's challenge time!"
/
A flash took the scene forward to a small clearing, the camera moving in past a few tufts of long grass to show the host and contestants on the left; and Chef dressed as a Maasai warrior, a pile of purple fruit, five gourds of various shapes lined up on pedestals, and a pair of giant wooden heads flanking the whole display on the right.
"Part one combines two of Africa's favorite sports: soccer and cricket." Chris began, holding up a soccer ball and a cricket bat as the camera finished moving in for a close-up. "I call it 'Socc-et To Me'!" he declared dramatically, adding "The 'me' being you, of course."
"Each player must run, one at a time," the host continued as he spun the soccer ball on his finger, "from the starting line to that pile of African safou plums," the camera cut over to the large box of fruit. "Grab as many as you can carry, and run back. And you'll be doing all of this while your fellow competitors pummel you with soccer balls," he added with a smile as he spun his own ball around again.
"Aww man," Tyler groaned, hanging his head in shame, "this is gonna be like soccer tryouts all over again."
"I look forward to it," Alejandro told him with a smirk.
"Next, take the plums you've brought back," Chris continued, "and whack 'em with the cricket bat to smash those gourds open. Like this," he said, tossing a safou high up into the air and smacking it with the bat when it came down. The fruit sailed through the air, and nearly cracked Chef on the head.
"Yo, watch it man!" Chef yelled as he ducked.
"Whoever cracks their gourd open first wins a reward that will be muy helpful in the next challenge," Chris said, ignoring his assistant. "Now, positions people! Ella, you're up first! Kickers, get ready."
/
Another flash, and the other four players were shown in position with several soccer balls at their feet – Ezekiel looking ready and Tyler looking wary; then a side view of a smirking Alejandro and narrow-eyed Sugar.
Ella took a deep breath at the starting line, and got into running position. "It's now or never," she said to herself.
"Ready, steady, Serengeti!" Chris called out as a dramatic score rose up in the back ground, and a blow from his whistle signaled the start of Ella's run.
She took off at a dash, looking comical with her oversized t-shirt still on. The camera zoomed in to show her passing Tyler and Ezekiel in the background, the former tapping the ground awkwardly with his foot while his friend started kicking. The ball sailed over Ella, however, who smiled happily. "Sorry," she called out, "but I'm not going to slow down!"
She reached the plums, but seemed to hesitate a moment as she looked them over. "Which ones to grab, they all look so good...," she said to herself. Another ball sailing over her head from the left forced her to take action, however. "Oops! No time to be picky," she said, quickly scooping a load of the fruit into her friendship shirt, then turning and running back.
Alejandro was shown watching her go past in the foreground, then smirked and kicked a ball her way. It hit the princess in the legs, causing her to trip forward, spilling her plums and getting tangled up in her shirt.
"Awesome!" Chris laughed. "Tyler, top that." He blew his whistle, and the footage skipped ahead.
/
Tyler sighed heavily from his runner's start, then went forward with an almost slumped-over posture.
The first ball came from the foreground and hit him in the arm, earning a dull "Oww," as Tyler slogged forward. Another "Oww," came from a second foreground ball, and a third from a ball from the background.
"Sorry, eh!" Ezekiel called from off-screen. "But at least you're doin' good!"
Tyler blinked in confusion, then smiled in revelation as he realized he'd gotten to the safous intact. "Hey, yeah!" he said in excitement, grabbing an armful of plums then turning and promptly tripping over his own legs and landing face-first in the dirt.
"Hah! Classic," Chris said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Zeke, you're up!" he announced, blowing his whistle again.
/
"Time to bring it!" Ezekiel declared confidently, racing off the starting line and immediately jumping over a ball kicked his way from behind the camera. "Err, or is it take it?" he pondered, stumbling over a second ball and tumbling end-over-end. He managed to recover easily enough, however, and soon was able to grab a load plums.
"Ohh yeah, ain't nothin' gonna stop me now!" he said, a head-on perspective showing him running back...and getting stopped by a soccer ball upside the head from the right.
"Sugar!" Ella quickly admonished from the left, the camera quick-panning back across the fallen homeschooler to the pageant queen.
"Oops!" she said with an unapologetic grin and shrug. "I guess I missed!"
"Alright slugger, your go!" Chris declared before blowing his whistle yet again.
/
Sugar took off running, and had to duck under a ball almost immediately. "Hey, watch it!" she shot at Ezekiel, on the sidelines with Alejandro and the source of the volley.
"You don't watch it, eh!" Ezekiel countered, launching another soccer ball.
"Good one, amigo," Alejandro told him before kicking a ball of his own.
The shot cut to Sugar as she narrowly dodged the second ball, but then seemed unable to dodge the third...but a ball came from the other side and struck the one Alejandro had kicked, and both fell to the ground harmlessly. "Huh?" the pageant queen said, looking around in confusion.
"Don't worry, Sugar!" Ella called from the sidelines. "I've got your back!"
Tyler, who was standing next to her, palmed his face.
The scene skipped ahead to show Sugar grabbing her plums, then turning around. Ezekiel kicked another ball, only for it to miss; the shot from Ella that had been intended to intercept it also missed its target, though it did come close to hitting Sugar.
"Ooh, sorry!" Ella called out apologetically.
Tyler groaned, then kicked a ball himself, and on the other side Alejandro did as well. The two were shown in split-screen, Tyler's going wide but then bounced back on course by Alejandro's, hitting Sugar in the gut and knocking her over.
"You're welcome for the assist, amigo!" Alejandro called out to Tyler, who looked conflicted.
"And then there was one," Chris announced. "Bring it on, Alejandro!" He blew his whistle.
/
Alejandro's start was strong, and he immediately kicked away the first three balls sent his way. Each one hit one of the other contestants – the first hit Tyler in the stomach, winding him and knocking him to his knees; the second hit Sugar in the side of the head; and the third caught a panicked Ella in the arm.
He managed to bring an armload of safous back across the line without issue.
xxx
"My brother Carlos is a professional soccer player," he explained matter-of-factly in the restroom confessional.
xxx
"Remember," Chris told the cast as the footage cut back to the five lined up at the starting line with their cricket bats, "first person to smash through gets the advantage! Aaaaand go!"
A tense challenge tune began to play as Tyler and Ezekiel were shown tossing their first plums into the air and making their first swings; Tyler whiffed completely and groaned in disappointment, but Ezekiel managed to smack his safou on the first go. The camera cut to the gourds, where Chef was trying to dodge the plums that were flying his way and completely missing their intended targets.
"Seriously, why do I gotta be over here anyway?" he yelled back at Chris.
"Hey, somebody has to stay near the gourds in case two get broken at the same time and we have to break a tie," Chris explained with a broad and impish smile.
"Tiebreaker my butt...," Chef grumbled, getting hit in the head with a plum.
"Sorry!" Ella called out apologetically. The camera pulled back to show her standing in the middle of the group, all five still swinging away and, aside from Tyler, hitting at least some of their plums.
The shot cut in closer to Sugar as she wound up and swung, then followed the plum as it shot across the field and struck a gourd on the other side – it was cracked, but not broken. "Man," Sugar said, wiping the sweat from her brow as the shot cut back to her, "I don't know what's harder, the gourds or hittin' these plums!"
"Well Alejandro doesn't seem to be having much trouble," Chris commented as the charmer struck another plum; it, too, sped across the playing field and struck the gourd opposite – deepening an already existing crack.
"It's all in the wrist, I think," Alejandro said idly as he tossed another safou into the air.
"If that's all then I got it, baby! Extreme!" Tyler confidently declared, tossing a safou of his own and twirling the cricket bat with his wrist as he swung. To his surprise they connected, but the plum went up in an arc, and ended up hitting Alejandro in the head and interrupting his swing.
"Hey, I was just about to win!" the skilled villain complained, rubbing where he'd been hit.
"Well too bad," Sugar told him, taking a powerful swing herself; it managed to hit the plum straight through her gourd, finally breaking it. "Now that's how ya do things!" she declared proudly.
"And the winner of our first challenge is, Sugar!" Chris announced to a light drumroll and triumphant tune.
"Of course," she said smugly. "You just gotta show the gourd who's boss!"
/
The footage skipped ahead a little, showing Sugar standing on the sidelines with Chris while the other four readied their bats again, "The rest of you have ten seconds left to crack your gourd," the host told them. "And trust me, you want what's inside!"
/
Another flash ahead, and Alejandro was shown swinging his cricket bat and smacking a safou straight through his gourd, finally smashing it. Tyler looked at him, scowled, then spun around and tossed his cricket bat like a hammer; by sheer luck, he managed to smash his own gourd with it.
"Yeah!" he pumped his fist in excitement.
Ezekiel was next, nodding at his friend and throwing his cricket bat as well; it spun end-over-end, and managed to knock the gourd clear off it's pedestal. Luckily, it cracked open when it hit the ground.
Last was Ella, who took a breath and readied a more traditional swing. "Okay, last chance," she said to herself, tossing the safou up and smacking it hard when it came back down. Unfortunately, however, she missed her gourd and hit Chef on the head instead, the hulking man having just decided to straighten back up after crouching to dodge the two thrown bats.
"A hit, but not a gourd," Chris told her. "No success for Ella will make it much harder for her to deal with this!"
He pointed dramatically to the side, where a tall crate had just been wheeled in by a white male intern. Whatever was inside the crate seemed angry, growling wolfishly and making the box shake.
"Uhh, should we start running or anything?" Tyler asked as he and Ezekiel gave the crate nervous looks.
"Yes, you should be scared," Chris said, mostly ignoring the comment as he walked over to the crate. "Part two of our challenge is a genuine African safari. And the prey?" He knocked on the crate, which shook again as another angry growl came from inside. The contestants gasped. "Why, it's only the most dangerous and annoying animal of all," Chris said dramatically, the intern nervously prying open the crate to reveal a metal cage within, with a familiar shadow inside.
"Staci!" Chris finished, the camera zooming in on the wolfish form inside the cage.
"Would somebody get me out of here already?" she growled angrily as she stepped forward and rattled the cage bars. Her clothes were a little shabbier than when they'd last seen her, but otherwise she was still perfectly recognizable as her furry, long-eared, and tailed self.
The cast gasped again. "Wait, didn't you throw her off the plane in Greece?!" Tyler said in alarm.
"I know!" Chris said, looking back at the cage and flinching at the glare Staci was giving him. "She's like a one-woman cockroach infestation. But when a certain blonde whose name rhymes with 'Blaineley' ratted her out," Chris explained as Staci gasped, "Chef went a-hunting and found the freaky werewolf down in the hold."
"Yah, I just had to sleep through Niagara Falls...," Staci muttered bitterly, casually getting down on all fours to scratch behind her ear with her foot.
"I should warn you, though," Chris said from off-screen, "she's totally feral thanks to all that time with the animals."
"What?" Staci said, perking up in shock and outrage. "No I'm not!"
Chris huffed. "Just play along, would you?" he told her before turning back to the contestants. "Whoever nabs the beast formerly known as Staci wins invincibility, and! First class seats to our next destination."
"Yeah, yeah, with the player of our choice," Sugar said impatiently. "Now where's that reward ya promised me?"
"In a second!" Chris replied snippily. "Go to your gourds and check inside," he said as the camera pulled back to show Staci trying to reach him from her cage, "they contain what you'll use to hunt with."
"Awesome, a slingshot!" Tyler said in excitement, holding up the child's weapon and practicing pulling it back. "This safari's gonna be extreme!" He released the rubber band and it snapped forward, only to hit him on the nose on the way back.
"And what's this little pouch for?" Sugar asked, holding up a small leather belt and pouch. "Some kinda food-pocket?"
"Close," Chris told her before reaching inside her opened gourd and taking out a small, squishy pink ball. "Tranquilizer balls!" he announced with glee. "Sling 'em with enough velocity and they burst on contact, numbing the area and releasing a hearty dose of sleepy-time goodness." He mimed resting his head on a pillow, then turned his attention to the side. "Watch, as this intern demonstrates."
He shot a tranq ball at the intern who had wheeled in the cage, and was now eating a sandwich. The ball struck him in the shoulder and released a small cloud of pink gas, which promptly caused the man's eyes to roll back in his head before he fell over. He landed in front of Staci, who immediately whined and tried to grab the fallen sandwich from his hands.
"See?" Chris said as the shot cut back to the cast. "It's like paintball, only with naps! Now, stand back people, we're gonna give the violent werewolf a head start. You're up, Chef!" he called back towards the cage.
Chef was grumbling under his breath as he carefully moved a key towards the cage's lock, and at the host's call of "Release the beast!" he put it in the keyhole, turned it, and scampered away as the door was slammed open and Staci jumped out.
"Finally!" she said in annoyance. "You guys shouldn't, like, lock human beings up in cages, yah."
"Whatever, girly," Chef told her. "Just play along with the challenge, and maybe you'll get somethin' in return."
Staci's long furry ears perked up, and she gave Chef an interested look. "Well...as long as you take me back to Canada I guess I can do it." She looked around, then hustled off into the long grass.
"Okay!" Chris said with his usual grin. "Since Sugar won the first challenge, she gets six tranq balls," he said before handing over a handful of pink pellets to the grinning pageant queen. "Alejandro, you cracked yours open so you get three," he told the charmer, handing over the ammunition as Tyler and Ezekiel looked on. "Tyler and Zeke, two each," the host told the pair.
"What? Why?" Ezekiel asked in confusion.
"Yeah, we cracked our gourds too!" Tyler added.
"Technically the two of you beat your gourds with cricket bats," Chris corrected before turning to the last contestant. "And Ella, since you didn't put a dent in your gourd, you get these," he handed the singer a pair of safety goggles, "and one tranq ball."
"Oh...so no slingshot, then?" Ella asked in disappointment.
"No, you're just gonna have to throw the balls hard enough to make 'em burst," Chris told her. "Which will be hilariously unsuccessful, I'm sure."
"Aaand," he said, the shot pulling back as Chef blew on a large horn, "go!"
At the signal, the five teens – all now wearing safety goggles – ran off.
/
The scene flashed forward to a rightward pan across the savanna, Tyler speaking before the camera reached him.
"Okay, since we've only got like five tranq balls between us, maybe we should work together on this one?" he said, eventually being shown traveling with Ella and Ezekiel. "Three of us should make this three times easier, right?"
"I suppose that is a good idea," Ella told him. "But I'd feel better if we teamed up with Sugar, as well. Make it a team of all the good people left in the competition."
"Except Sugar's not good, eh," Ezekiel countered. "Or did you forget about how she lied to us?" He scowled at Ella, causing Tyler standing between them to look nervously from one to the other.
Ella gasped in indignation. "How could you say that? I thought we were all friends, but if that's how you're going to act then I want no part of teaming up with you." She put her hands on her hips and turned her nose up and away from the boys, Tyler biting his nails in rising panic.
"Well I didn't wanna team up with you neither!" Ezekiel countered, mirroring the singer's pose. "In fact, I can do this whole challenge by myself, eh!"
"Whoa, hold on," Tyler said, trying to make a calming gesture.
"Well in that case," Ella replied, "then so can I!"
"Wait, you guys...!" Tyler said, frantically looking between the two as they huffed, then walked away from him.
"...guys?" Tyler repeated pitifully.
/
"What the heck are you followin' me around for?" Sugar asked as the scene flashed to her and Alejandro. "I thought you didn't want nothin' more to do with me!"
"Please, I know a player as crafty as yourself can tell that was all a ruse," Alejandro told her with a sly smile, darting forward to catch up with her, then pulling her into a side-hug. "By making the others more receptive to keeping me around, we can split their votes, and take control of the game again."
"Well duh," Sugar said, not meeting the charmer's gaze, "that's obvious. But, uh," she quickly pushed him away, "you probably shouldn't stick around me in case the others catch us talkin'."
"Ah, but of course," Alejandro said with a sly grin. "Before I leave, we are voting for Ella tonight, correct?"
"Well duh," Sugar replied.
Alejandro nodded. "As I thought. In that case, I shall take my leave." He gave her a short bow, then walked away.
The moment he was gone, Sugar looked back, then breathed a sigh of relief.
xxx
"Everything that Al just said sounded like a load of hogwash," the pageant star told the confessional camera. "But I still need him on my side, so I gotta play along like him an' me are on the same page. I'm pretty sure he was tellin' the truth about wantin' to vote out Ella, at least," she added thoughtfully, "and I did get a couple ideas from talkin' to him."
xxx
"In truth," Alejandro admitted in the next confessional, "I don't intend to stay on Sugar's side for much longer. She's already proven herself to be a threat, so once her vote is no longer useful to me I will get rid of her. Hopefully not this time, but with these," he revealed six tranq balls in his hand, "I can at least be sure that Sugar will be available for elimination tonight should the need arise."
xxx
A dramatic tune played as the scene moved to a low-to-the-ground shot of a rustling bush. Ella walked in from the left, and cautiously raised her solitary piece of ammunition. "Staci?" she called out hesitantly. "Is that you in there?"
She was answered by a low roar, and a yellowish paw stepped out from the bush.
"Oh my," she said nervously as a male lion stepped out, "why...hello there, Mr. Lion! It's very nice-"
The lion interrupted with a roar, causing Ella to shriek and throw the tranq ball at it; the big cat merely ducked, then watched curiously as the ball exploded into a puff of gas behind it. The lion looked back at its failed assailant, and roared again.
Ella screamed melodically and fled, and it looked like the lion was going to give chase before the sudden appearance of Chris McLean in the foreground distracted it.
"Who will survive?" he asked the camera. "King of the Jungle, or Queen of the Fumble?" he pointed first at the lion, then over his shoulder in the direction Ella had run off. "Find out right after this, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
The lion roared at him, and he turned and fled screaming as well.
(Fade to Commercial and Back)
As a trilling tune signaled the heat of midday, the camera panned down from the sun and on to Tyler and Ezekiel as they stalked through the savanna.
"Dude, come on, we gotta stick together on this," Tyler told his friend as the homeschooler trudged ahead. "I know you're mad, but you just gotta give Ella more time to figure things out." This got Ezekiel to stop walking. "I think she's still hurting from the whole Alejandro thing, I bet she probably can't accept someone else betraying her right now."
"And what about me, eh?" Ezekiel asked, spinning around to face his friend. "I got betrayed two times this season too, y'know, and I think I'm accepting it just fine."
"Yeah, but like," Tyler said, rubbing the back of his next awkwardly as he tried to find the words, "you're you and Ella's Ella. You're, like...different, you know?"
Ezekiel snorted. "Yeah, that's fer sure. You sure got weird taste in girls if the one you like would rather pay attention to someone who hates her than the guy who's been in love with her all this time, eh."
Tyler sighed. "Don't remind me..."
/
"Hmm, now if I were that distressed little perrita, where would I hide?" Alejandro mused to himself as he stalked through the savanna, keeping crouched with his slingshot at the ready. He turned around and backed into a bush, only to hit something almost immediately – he slowly turned around to look, and his eyes went wide and the camera zoomed out as he realized he'd just bumped into a rhino's butt.
The camera panned to the animal's head as it looked backwards and snorted, and the focus returned to Alejandro as he cautiously backed away. "Nice rhino," he said in a soothing voice, hands raised in a calming gesture. "I didn't see you, so I'll be out of your way in just a moment." The rhino snorted at him again, and began to turn his way. "But just for a little insurance, how about a nice little nap?" Alejandro said softly and quickly, raising his slingshot again and firing off a tranq ball.
It hit the rhino square between the eyes. The animal snorted angrily and the music became tense for a moment, but faded into something lilting as the pink gas took effect and the rhino fell over on its side, fast asleep.
Alejandro wiped his brow in relief. "It's a good thing I stole all of Sugar's tranq balls," he said to himself.
/
"Oh Staci," the pageant queen called out as the scene flashed back to her, "come out come out wherever you are!" She paused where she was for a second, then huffed. "Where the heck is that girl when you want her?"
Her reply came in the form of a musical scream, and Ella was shown running her way with her eyes shut in fear.
"I didn't mean her!" Sugar grumbled at the sky before reaching out and grabbing Ella by her oversized t-shirt as she ran by. "Would you quit it already?" she barked at the girl.
Ella promptly stopped screaming and opened her eyes. "Sugar! I'm so glad to see you!" she said with a frantic smile. "There was this lion, and I tried to throw my tranq ball at it but I missed, and now it's chasing me!"
Sugar gave her an unimpressed look, then looked up and behind in the direction Ella had come from.
The savanna was devoid of lions in that direction, as far as the camera could see.
"What lion?" Sugar asked incredulously, causing Ella to blankly look back as well.
"Oh," she said after seeing nothing.
/
"The worst part of this is that if Ella's tryin' to get on Sugar's good side," Ezekiel said as the scene moved back to him and Tyler, "then we'll probably be in trouble on account of her not wantin' to vote with us."
"Err, we could always just vote out Alejandro," Tyler said.
"But what if he gets invincibility, eh?" Ezekiel asked. "Then even if we vote fer Sugar, Ella might not want to."
"Oh yeah...," Tyler said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "But in that case, I think it'll still work out if we just ask Al to vote for Sugar with us."
Ezekiel scoffed. "Yeah, easy fer you to say since Ella wouldn't be votin' fer you."
"Oh, right," the jock said glumly. "In that case, I guess we just gotta hope Al doesn't win the challenge before I can get through to her."
"Yup," Ezekiel said curtly before hearing a rustling nearby and putting his arm out to stop his friend. "Shh, I think Staci might be over there," he whispered, the perspective shifting to show the large bush he was pointing at.
"Whoa, really?" Tyler said, louder than necessary as he grabbed for his slingshot and ammo. "Where?"
It was then that the source of the rustling revealed itself by standing up, and surprisingly enough it was actually Staci. She immediately noticed the two boys, narrowed her eyes, and said "Oh, it's you."
"Get her!" Ezekiel called out, shooting off a tranq ball that was easily dodged.
"Yah, just because I don't wanna be here doesn't mean I'm gonna let you catch me!" Staci spat at the two before turning and running off, Ezekiel and Tyler giving chase as dramatic music played.
/
"So, umm," Ella said as the shot cut back to her following after Sugar as the pageant queen roamed around looking for Staci, "I'm not entirely sure what I've done to make you hate me, but like I've been saying if there's anything I can do to make up for it, please just let me know."
Sugar stopped, looked back, and raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief.
xxx
"Is this girl fer real?" she asked the confessional camera. "She's either really in to the whole 'nice' act or she's dumber than I thought!"
She paused a moment then shrugged. "Oh well, either way!"
xxx
"Well, uh," Sugar told the girl, moving her eyes around as she thought, "the reason I don't like you is 'cause of how you've been payin' more attention to the boys than me since we swapped teams. I just don't feel like I can count on you anymore. But, uh, if you wanna prove that yer on my side, then, uh, how about you just vote how I tell you to tonight?"
Ella blinked, then took a breath. "Okay," she said as a large patch of tall grass in the background rustled. "If that's what you want, then I'll do it. May I ask who you have in mind?"
Sugar tapped her chin in an exaggerated manner as though in thought, then grinned. "Actually, I got just the person! Though remember, this is just to prove yer loyalty, I don't actually want him gone or nothin'." Ella nodded nervously, then leaned in expectantly.
The camera zoomed to the patch of rustling grass as it parted just enough for Alejandro to peak through. He immediately raised his brow in shock at something, which was followed by Ella gasping in surprise. Alejandro smirked, then quickly ducked back into hiding.
xxx
"Well well well," he told the confessional camera, "so that's Sugar's game right now. Distracting Ella with a test of loyalty to break up the other three votes? I do believe I can work with that," he said with a devilish smile, steepling his fingers together.
xxx
"Now shush up and don't tell anyone about this, y'hear?" Sugar hissed at Ella, putting a finger to her lips. The princess nodded, and so did Sugar. "Now come on, I think I got a challenge to win..."
She motioned towards the same tuft of grass that unbeknownst to them Alejandro had been hiding in, and as the two girls crept forward she reached into her belt pouch to grab...nothing.
"Huh?" Sugar grunted, looking down in shock. "Where'd my tranq balls go?" She huffed, then cracked her knuckles. "Guess there's nothin' to do but try to catch her the old fashioned way then," she said before dashing towards the grass, an uncertain Ella in pursuit.
A few deep notes played as the camera panned up and to the right at a moderate pace, passing over the tall patch of grass that Alejandro was trying to find his way out of, and showing Tyler and Ezekiel sneaking up on the other side. The two boys shushed each other, then readied a tranq ball each and charged into the grass.
The shot cut to Alejandro just then, his brow shooting up in alarm as he heard the sounds approaching him from either side. He quickly stood up with a tranq ball of his own at the ready, and was promptly tackled clear out of the bush by an unwitting Sugar, causing him to shoot his readied ammunition straight upwards.
Moments later Tyler and Ezekiel stumbled onto the scene through the grass, shouting a battlecry and blindly shooting the two villains. They only opened their eyes to look at what they'd shot just in time for Tyler to run head-first into a shrieking Ella charging in from the opposite side, and for Ezekiel to bump into Tyler's back, and for the tranq ball that Alejandro had shot to finally come back down, hitting Tyler but catching all three in the cloud of gas.
All five contestants were now unconscious on the ground in a heap.
The music note icon promptly appeared in the top-left corner of the screen, accompanied by its usual ding.
"Iiiiiit's song time!" Chris announced from off-screen, the camera panning right to show him and Chef in a jeep a couple yards away. "Hello?"
/
The scene cut to black, the host's shrill yell of "Hey!" piercing through and seemingly causing the eye of the 'camera' to open up. Chris looked down at in in annoyance, and leaned towards it to ask "Anyone in there?"
The perspective changed back to its usual side-angle to show the host bending over Ezekiel, prying the homeschooler's left eye open. "What do you do when a pretty girl asks you out?" he asked forcefully.
"I dunno, eh!" Ezekiel replied, waking up in a panic. "Probably panic!"
The camera zoomed out to show the rest of the cast, now separated from their pile. "Half an hour of you guys sleeping?!" the host told them in angry disbelief. "Oh yeah, that's gonna be great for ratings. I want a song, pron-to!" he demanded. "No matter where the tranq balls hit you, or how 'groggy' you might be. Now, SING!"
He sidestepped in a huff as a drumline began.
~/~
[The almost dream-like, twangy sounds of an ilimba joined the fast-paced drum beats as Ella stirred from where she lay, looking around woozily and starting the song almost as though on instinct.]
"So here I am, but why are we...? Why are things so unclear? I wish I knew; the balls? The bush? Just what am I doing here?"
[She propped herself up on her side as she sang, rubbing her temple and looking around some more at the other fallen cast members and the patch of long grass behind them.]
"Don't gotta ask me once or twice;"
[Sugar responded in a modified tune, the camera panning left to show her sitting up and looking annoyed as she rubbed her legs.]
"I don't need to run, but standing would be ni~ice~"
[The pageant queen added as she tried to stand up, wobbled, and collapsed back down on her knees. She paused for a few beats, then continued with the same melody as Ella's initial line.]
"The last thing that I re-mem-ber is seein' Al around... The boys must be, the reason why, we all are on the ground."
[She, too, looked around at the others as she sang, and the camera quickly honed in on Alejandro, sprawled out in the middle of the group.]
"Hey don't blame me, it's not my fault;"
[Alejandro countered, lifting his head and mimicking the tune of Sugar's earlier response.]
"It was the rest of you, and your sud-den assa~aults!"
[He clumsily lifted his arm as he sang towards the two girls, then paused to try and push himself up but fail. He continued the song, but adopted a slightly different melody to the previous two 'call' sections.]
"But then again, I can't pretend that I don't know what you're saying! I will not lie, I can't deny, how I affect your playing."
[His line was soulful, and he managed to regain enough control of his body to sit up for the duration.]
"Don't act like yer the only one, that's changed this game, 'cause so has everyo~one!"
[Ezekiel replied sharply after flopping over onto his back next to the charmer, massaging his left hand during the pause between lines.]
"I've lost so much; my shots, my friends; I don't know what to do."
[He sang, forcing himself to sit up just enough to hold up his slingshot, then look over at Sugar.]
"But though I don't, know where I am, I'm gonna see this through."
[Determination filled his expression as he dramatically stood up, only to immediately fall over backwards with a muffled crash.]
"I wish that I could say that too;"
[Tyler told him as he dragged himself over with only his fingers.]
"But here I am, and I'm feelin' kinda blu~ue!"
["Wait, or should it be pink?" he asked himself, scratching his head in confusion before shaking it away and continuing the song.]
"I'm feeling lost, and not just 'cause, were-Staci's outta sight;"
[He managed to prop himself up on one hand as he sang, and used his other to shield his eyes as he scanned around for the designated prey.]
"How can I say, I've made my mark, when nothing feels right?"
[He hung his head sadly as he finished his line, the camera rotating behind him to show Ella watching him with an anxious and uncertain expression.]
"I hope that we can find our cheer;"
[Ella sang out to the jock, the music temporarily softening as the camera cut from her to a smiling Tyler.]
"Because like you I, don't know what I'm doing he~ere!"
"Soon all of our paths will clear, and we will know, what we are doing here!"
[The camera zoomed out to show all five contestants as they sang together, Ella and Sugar on the left; Alejandro and Ezekiel in the middle; and Tyler on the right. The five teens all raised an arm skyward, and slowly stood up as they held the last note.]
~/~
The shot immediately cut over to Chris and Chef as a deep note restarted the more traditional background music. "Somebody better catch Staci fast 'cause the plane is taking off in exactly one hour," he irritably told the cast, pointing to his watch as they looked on in stunned silence, "with or without you."
Chris huffed, then turned to Chef. "So, you wanna watch the tranq ball massacre on the widescreen?" he asked.
"Sure thing, man," Chef nodded. He pressed down on the gas pedal and sped off, but as Chris had been standing he quickly fell off the jeep.
"Hey!" he called out, angrily shaking his fist. "Get back here! AND STAY AWAY FROM MY HOT TUB!" he yelled as he ran off after his assistant.
"That reminds me," Sugar said, stuffing her hand in her tranq ball pouch as the camera panned back to the cast, "how the heck am I supposed to win without any ammo?"
"Out already?" Alejandro asked with a taunting smirk.
"No," Sugar scowled, "I ain't shot a single one yet, because I can't find 'em!"
"A likely story," Alejandro said before turning around and walking away. He passed by the other two boys, Tyler ignoring him but Ezekiel raising an eyebrow at his smirk as he passed by.
"Sorry, Sugar," Ella told the pageant queen. "I'd give you some of mine, but I already used my only one." Sugar turned an annoyed look Ella's way, prompting her to grab the pageant star by the hand and lead her away. "Oh, but I'll help you look for them! They must be around here somewhere..." Sugar rolled her eyes as Ella let go and started dramatically looking around.
The camera panned to Tyler, sighing and slumping his shoulder.
xxx
"And there she goes again, helping Sugar," Tyler lamented, "even though after everything they've been through Sugar's never really liked her!" He shook his head in disappointment. "Why doesn't Ella get that no matter how nice she is, it won't make a difference?"
He paused for a second, staring blankly at the camera. Then, suddenly, he groaned and palmed his face. "And why don't I get that no matter how much I try to do for Ella, she just isn't gonna feel the same way about me that I do about her? I mean, I know she likes me, but I guess it's pretty clear by now that she doesn't like like me." He hung his head and sighed. "Man, this really bites."
xxx
A few deep notes played as the scene cut back to a moping Tyler as Ezekiel tapped him on the shoulder. "Yo, can I have yer last tranq ball? I got an idea, eh."
Still half distracted, Tyler just grunted and nodded and pulled his last piece of ammunition from his belt pouch.
"Thanks, guy!" Ezekiel told him with a grin before zipping off in the direction Alejandro had went.
/
The footage skipped ahead to show the charming villain crouching behind another long tuft of grass and looking around carefully. Ezekiel came up behind him from the left, and Alejandro immediately turned and shushed the other guy.
"Sorry, eh," Ezekiel whispered. "I just wanted to know if you knew where Sugar's balls went? 'Cause you looked like-"
Alejandro immediately silenced him with a hand over his mouth, then poked his head up above the grass and looked around. When he'd confirmed there was nobody else nearby, he crouched back down and smirked cockily at Ezekiel.
"Quite perceptive, my friend," he said. "As it so happens, I stole them when I ran into Sugar a while ago. I figure if she doesn't have any ammo, then she can't win invincibility," he said, giving Ezekiel a knowing look.
"So we can vote her off, no problem!" Ezekiel finished, smiling in dawning comprehension.
"Exactly," Alejando said. "Now be quiet so I can find Staci and end this challenge," he added, turning his back on the homeschooler to look over and through the grass again.
"Err, actually," Ezekiel spoke up, "I was thinkin' that maybe me or Tyler could have those balls you stole, eh."
"What?" Alejandro said in surprise, turning his head back around. "Don't be ridicu-"
He stopped upon seeing Ezekiel pointing his slingshot at him, the borrowed ammunition fired before Alejandro could react. "Sorry, eh," Ezekiel said with his arm covering his mouth while the pink gas dispersed. "But only a little," he added as he walked up to the now-unconscious Alejandro.
/
The footage flashed ahead again, showing Tyler half-standing, half-hanging, and just a little bit scraped in an acacia tree looking quite monkey-like as he scanned the surrounding area.
"Hey!" the voice of Ezekiel called, turning the jock's attention back to the ground and the camera's with it.
"Hey!" Tyler replied, following quickly with "What happened to him?" as he noticed his friend dragging Alejandro across the ground by the armpits, bringing him to the base of the tree. Tyler promptly fell face-first out of the branches as Ezekiel propped the third young man against the acacia's trunk.
"Check it, eh," Ezekiel told his friend with a confident smile, first giving his friend a hand up and then pulling seven tranq balls from his pocket. "Al stole 'em from Sugar, so I stole 'em from him."
"Uhh," Tyler said uncertainly as his friend dropped four of the balls into his hand, "isn't that, like, against the rules?"
"I don't think so," Ezekiel said idly, pocketing the remaining three, "or Chris woulda said something. Besides, I don't think it's a good idea to let Alejandro win, eh."
"Good point," Tyler said. "But we still need to find Staci, and all I was able to see from the tree was Ella standing around looking kinda scared, and Sugar throwing rocks at something."
The two boys looked at one another, then as one said "Staci!"
/
A deep and hectic tune played as the scene flashed forward yet again, this time showing Tyler and Ezekiel as they ran up to the girls.
"What's going on?" Tyler asked, looking at Ella. "Where's Staci?"
"Staci?" Sugar replied, turning around to show her look of annoyed confusion. "What are you on about, Staci ain't here!"
Tyler and Ezekiel turned blank looks back to Ella, who nodded. "Sorry, but actually it's a bunch of monkeys that are attacking us, though I don't know why."
"It's 'cause of yer dang singin', that's why!" Sugar snapped at her, quickly throwing a rock at a rustling in the grass, causing it to stop.
"Are you sure?" Ella asked uncertainly, looking only at Sugar as several more rustling patches appeared in the grass around them and the boys readied their slingshots. "Most monkeys love my singing!"
"Err, technically," Ezekiel spoke up nervously as he backed towards the others, "these are baboons, eh, although-"
He trailed off as the perspective flipped, showing a three-strong troop of growling baboons approaching the group, with more poking their heads out through the grass around the area.
"I don't think they care," Tyler mentioned, also looking nervous.
Sugar turned their way, put her hands on her hips, and scowled. "Are you two just gonna stand there, or are you gonna shoot 'em?" she told the boys.
The boys did so, and managed to knock out the three baboons that were closest with only two shots. Tyler quickly fumbled for another one in his pouch, but the music suddenly became tenser as a veritable horde of baboons came out into the open.
"Run!" Ella yelled, turning to flee with Sugar and Ezekiel right behind her. Tyler followed as well, but not before dropping the tranq ball he'd been trying to shoot.
The tense music turned ominous as the shot zoomed in on the unused piece of ammunition, and a baboon picked it up and grinned toothily.
/
The music abruptly became calm as the scene moved to Staci of all people, panting heavily as she walked through the savanna. "Okay, it's way too hot out," she said aloud, "so, like, I'm totally fine with it now if anybody wants to tranquilize me. Even Tyler!"
She paused a moment, and looked around. "Wow, I hope they didn't leave me here," she said before perking up at something off-screen. She eagerly ran towards it, the camera following to show it being Alejandro still lying unconscious beneath the acacia he'd been left at. "Well, if Alejandro's still here," Staci said to herself as a sort of rumbling noise started to rise up in the background, "then that must mean-"
She cut herself off upon finally noticing the sounds of running and screaming that were approaching her, the shot cutting over to show Ella, Sugar, Ezekiel, and Tyler as the source – running straight towards the tree, with no baboons in sight.
"Oh, there you guys are," Staci said neutrally as the four reached the tree and skidded to a stop upon seeing their quarry. "Yah, can we get this over with already?"
"Yeah, good idea," Ezekiel said as he and Tyler frantically tried to get their next tranq balls ready while the girls kept watch, Ella holding on to Tyler as she did so.
A split-screen close-up was shown of each boy's slingshot as the tranq balls were loaded and drawn back, and the screens slid away to show Staci, eyes closed and bracing herself to be hit.
The shot came down from the upper-left, and immediately knocked Staci into a deep sleep next to Alejandro. The usual triumphant victory music began to play as the camera zoomed out...but fizzled out abruptly as both Tyler and Ezekiel were shown to have not fired their shots.
"Huh?" the four conscious teens said together before a hooting snicker drew their attention to the tree branches where a baboon was laughing at them. With one last hoot and a snort it jumped away, leaving the stunned contestants under the tree.
"Okay, challenge over!" Chris announced as he and Chef returned in the jeep and the background music became plodding and curious.
"Uh, but who won?" Tyler asked in confusion.
"Nobody!" Chris answered with a smile. "Since it was the monkey who knocked out Staci, none of the five of you win invincibility or first class." The four still conscious groaned in disappointment. "Now quick, grab Alejandro and let's get the heck out of Africa before Staci wakes up!"
/
The footage skipped ahead one more time to the Total Drama Jumbo Jet as it took off from the Serengeti plains. A few dramatic notes played as the camera zoomed in to the top of the fuselage between the wings, Staci pulling herself up with her claws. "Just take me back to Canada, okay!" she shouted in unheard frustration as she pried off a panel and crawled in though the opening...
/
A flash took the scene to the elimination chamber, where Chris was standing in the middle of the room with all five contestants. "Mmm, tension-y!" he taunted, holding out the stack of passports. "Alrighty then, one vote for Ella..."
"What?" the singer said in shock.
"One for Ezekiel, one for Sugar, one for Alejandro...," the host continued as the music's tension grew.
The camera briefly showed Ella's sheepish glance downward before panning to Tyler and Ezekiel. "Alright, dude, looks like Al's finally going home!" Tyler whispered to his friend in excitement.
"What?" Ezekiel asked with growing dread. "We were supposed to vote out Sugar!"
"Dude, then why did you knock out Al?" Tyler replied, wide-eyed and increasingly frantic. "I thought it was so we could vote him off!"
"No, it was so he'd have to vote fer Sugar to save his butt, eh!" Ezekiel explained. "Oh man, I thought you knew!" he added, gripping the sides of his toque in anxious anticipation.
"And, the lucky loser is...," Chris finally said, reading the last passport with a devilish smirk. As he paused for further effect the camera quickly passed over the faces of the five contestants; all looking distinctly worried save for Alejandro's lone and knowing smirk.
"Ezekiel."
The music cut out, and a cry of "What?!" came from three mouths with varying degrees of shock, anger, and despair – Ella, Sugar, and Ezekiel himself.
"You were supposed to vote fer Ella with me!" Sugar angrily hissed at Alejandro, who merely shrugged in amusement before looking at Ella, who was agape at what she'd just heard. She looked down at the shirt she was still wearing, oversized and with a crude drawing of Sugar on the front.
She quickly pulled it off, then dashed over to Ezekiel and hugged him, tears streaming down her face. "Oh God Ezekiel, I'm so sorry!" she sobbed at the shell-shocked homeschooler as the sombre elimination music began to play. "You were right, I never should have tried to regain Sugar's trust. I, I should have seen her for what she truly was, and voted for her or Alejandro..."
Ezekiel seemed to come to his senses just then, and narrowed his eyes. "So...you were the one who voted fer me?" he asked quietly.
Ella sniffed and broke the hug, wiping her tears on her sleeve. "Yes, and I'm so sorry..."
"Yeah, well, it's too late fer that, eh," Ezekiel told her bitterly, stepping away and towards the open door.
"Zeke...dude...," Tyler said, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "This is all my fault...if only I'd made sure who we were voting for, you'd at least have a chance in a tiebreaker."
"I doubt it, eh," Ezekiel said. "And anyways it's neither of our fault I'm goin' home, we didn't vote fer me." He looked angrily over at Ella, who was hanging her head in shame, and Alejandro, who was smiling smugly.
"Yeah, can we move this along?" Chris interrupted, thrusting a parachute pack into Ezekiel's hand and steering him towards the open door.
"You better win this, eh!" Ezekiel called back to Tyler, then hollering in shock as the host shoved him out into the open air.
"Finally," Chris muttered, slamming the door and walking back across the room. The camera followed him up until it reached the cast, Tyler and Ella still looking distraught while Sugar fumed and Alejandro smirked.
xxx
Alejandro opened his confessional with a sigh. "Even now, I think a part of me still feels guilty about breaking Ella even more. Buuut," he smirked, "it's worth it. She's more distraught than ever, Tyler will be lost without Ezekiel around, and I have Sugar right where I want her."
xxx
"I can't believe that Alejandro!" Sugar yelled, slamming her fist down hard on the counter before crossing her arms and fuming. "I was finally gonna be rid of Ella, but he just had to mess it up. Oh, he is so gonna regret this."
Without warning, the confessional door swung open and Chris leaned in. "Things are getting cra-zy!" he told the camera with an excited grin, the series' capstone theme playing in the background. "Fourteen down and only four remain," he continued as Sugar put her hands on her hips and glared, "who will almost die next? Find out right here, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
He lingered in the confessional as the music ended, and finally noticed Sugar's glare. "Whaaaat?"
Sugar shoved him out of the room with one hand.
(Fade to Black)
/
/
/
[Bonus Clip]
The clip faded in to a distance shot of Ezekiel in silent freefall, and hung there for a few seconds before cutting in closer.
"I can't believe it, eh," Ezekiel said. "I thought, even after everything that happened, even after havin' two people I thought were good friends stab me in the back, that I was still gonna come out on top this season. Guess I was wrong..."
He fell silent for several more seconds before speaking up again. "I dunno if this is hindsight bein', err, 20-20 I think, or if it's just my life flashin' before my eyes, but I'm seein' a whole lotta things I regret doin' right now. Trustin' Scott...trustin' Sugar...votin' fer, like, half the people I did..."
He trailed off, then opened his parachute. He drifted down silently, eventually landing in an acacia tree...right above a troop of aggressively grinning baboons. He gulped.
"But right now," he told the camera, "I mostly regret not tryin' to stow away on the plane like Staci did before, eh."
Author's Note - Post Script
[This is pretty important, so I hope that everyone reads it.]
This was easily one of the eliminations that I've had the most internal debates about in a long while. This is because despite there being only five people left, I could see several different ending routes for these last few episodes, nearly all of which I felt were 'good' for one reason or another. How could I make a decision when nearly everything could work out great?
It ultimately came down to a choice between Ezekiel and Tyler. I did also consider Alejandro, but since 'Condor' is one of my favorite songs of this season I wanted to keep Alejandro around so I could actually make a shuffled version of it. But anyways, Ezekiel and Tyler - choosing who went home here would determine the dynamic of the Final Four, and each would give a couple different routes with who got eliminated in Drumheller, who got third place in Hawaii, and who the two finalists would be, none of which I've finalized yet - it really is still just about anyone's game.
Had I chosen to eliminate Tyler over Ezekiel, it would have not only allowed me to debunk the unwritten 'World Tour newbies make the Final Four' thing that I know some of you were hoping for, and would have a Final Four where nobody is really no good terms with anyone anymore, since naturally Ezekiel would be pissed that Ella had a hand in his buddy's elimination. But unfortunately...that ended up being the sticking point for me.
See, with the Final Five as they were I needed some way to justify it not being Alejandro or Sugar who got voted out. I briefly considered having someone accidentally cast the wrong vote, perhaps after having gotten some kind of injury or tranq-ball-related accident, but that felt like too much of a cop out. Instead, I took inspiration from the canon episode and tried to figure out if a 2-1-1-1 split was possible (though it should not have been in canon, since Alejandro had invincibility and yet still received either Sierra or Duncan's vote).
For my split, I quickly decided that Sugar voting for Ella would be one of the 1s, as it would allow her to be pissed that Ella had not been eliminated. And then after that I decided that Ella herself would be basically in denial about Sugar's betrayal, and as such would allow herself to be fooled by Sugar into voting for either Ezekiel or Tyler - and Alejandro would overhear their conversation, and would gladly pile on his vote as well. But while i feel I could have made it work for either of those choices, I felt it would feel more natural for Ella to vote for Ezekiel, because although it ultimately wouldn't matter she'd still feel bad about voting for the boy who's said he loves her over the boy she recently had an argument with. As such, I decided it had to be Ezekiel who went home this time.
Though that's not to say there weren't any complications with this plan. Since Ezekiel couldn't win, and I didn't want Ella and Tyler in first class for a third time in a row, that would normally mean that either Sugar or Alejandro would have to win. But then that would force Ezekiel and Tyler to vote for the same person, causing a tie and thus a tiebreaker - which I wanted to avoid. In the end, I came up with what I feel is a fairly amusing way to avoid that situation - by having a baboon be the one to knock out Staci, thus stealing the win from the actual competitors and allowing a tragic miscommunication between Tyler (who assumed that he, Ella, and Zeke would vote for Alejandro) and Ezekiel (who assumed he, Tyler, and Alejandro would vote for Sugar).
So...yeah, that's pretty much the story of how and why I decided to eliminate Ezekiel. Hopefully even those of you who are disappointed by it will at least understand my reasoning. I think it's symbolic, in a way; just like how in canon Tanzania was where Ezekiel was revealed to have basically lost his humanity, in the Shuffledverse Tanzania is where Ezekiel lost his chance in the game. The place is just not good for the guy.
The last two things I want to mention are that the name of this week's song is 'What Am I Doing Here?'; it has a different melody than 'Wake Up' from canon, and is more existential, but while I'm still a little embarrassed by my first original song in several episodes I think it's pretty decent, at least.
And second...well, as you saw, Staci isn't feral. Still looking wolfish, yes, but she still has her mind - and I intend for it to stay this way. This may affect some things down the line, ad you can imagine.
That's all for now, so I hope i managed to give 2016 a proper start. See you next week, and Happy New Year!
- Fangren
Appendix: TSWT Eliminated Contestants
Staci - (RETURNED)
Beardo - (18th Place)
Lightning - (17th Place)
Dawn - (Quit Unofficially | RETURNED)
Bridgette - (16th Place)
Geoff - (15th Place)
Scott - (14th Place | Disqualified)
Scarlett - (13th Place)
Sierra - (12th Place)
DJ - (11th Place)
Shawn - (10th Place)
Staci - (9th Place)
Sammy - (8th Place)
Blaineley - (Tied for 7th Place)
Dawn - (Tied for 7th Place)
Ezekiel - (5th Place)