Author's Note
Wow...here we are already, at the end of the fourth quarter. The Final Three shall be decided by the end of this week's episode. Next week will be the final Aftermath, which is the episode I'm currently working on - I'm at the second song right now, and I've got a good start on it so it'll easily be finished on Saturday. The week after next you'll get to see the Final Three's journey to Hawaii, and the season's finale will air the week after on February 5th.
It's hard to believe that everything is coming to a close so soon...
Well, I don't want to think about that right now. There are reviews to answer.
Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: Thanks! Although...I really can't make promises either way about who will or will not go next.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Yup, pretty much. I toyed with the idea of Sugar being grateful, but ultimately decided it would be better if she wasn't, and that she could easily rationalize it as being not really saving her life anyways since Sugar managed to hang on by herself.
DSX62415: Hah, yup. It seems so close, and yet still so far away...
Animation Adventures: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed last week's characterization, especially Ella - she's been a somewhat polarizing character among the readers this season, so I've been trying hard to develop her in a direction that makes sense and is satisfying. It seems like it's been working so far, so I'm really happy. I'm glad you enjoyed the stuff with the heads; for a lot of the eggs I just did whatever without having any gags or nods in mind, but it looks like the ones that I did have something in mind for came through.
I wasn't too sure what I was going to do about carrying the eggs since I realized at the start that there wouldn't be any baskets available, but I'm glad that the methods I did come up with worked out. I'm especially proud of Alejandro's bag; as you said it really suits his ingenuity though I did have to keep reminding myself that he was shirtless afterwards.
I'm happy you enjoyed the Shuffled version of Condor as well, I knew it was gonna be a good idea to make that song happen. And yeah, the plan right now is still to do a Shuffled version of "I'm Gonna Make It" if I can, though at the very least the song in Episode 25 will be of the same vein even if I don't reuse anything from canon.
PizzaTheBomb: Great to hear! I'm glad you enjoyed both Sugar and Ella last week, and I hope you enjoy what happens to them this week. Happy to hear you were a fan of last week's song too; getting the second half to work right was a bit of a pain, but it really ended up paying off I think.
kaijudude1000: Honestly, I think Ella's just that nice. Even if she knows someone hates her, she doesn't want to let them get hurt if she knows she might be able to save them. So maybe Sugar didn't deserve it, but Ella didn't care - she did the right thing, and that's what matters to her. I do hope you enjoy what happens in these last few chapters as the season gets wrapped up...
mitchn: I'm glad you're enjoying Ella's development! It's been pretty fun to write, and I'm glad I've been able to pull it off. Although I'm afraid by the time you made your request I'd already written this week's chapter, so you'll just have to accept what I decided on. As for your questions: Yes, I am going to write Total Shuffled ROTI, AS, and PI; but I'm not going to spoil who may or may not meet each other during those seasons, or whether there will be future focus on Topher and Sierra's eternal feud.
FOWLKON: Thanks, I haven't heard that much about Tyler so far but I'm glad that you at least think I've done a good job fleshing out his character. He and Ella are both pretty odd choices to have as newbies this season since it's meant they've lasted pretty long and as such needed a good dose of development, but it looks like I've been reasonably successful on both counts. And yes, I do have plans for that condor, though I won't say what...
Boggie445: Thanks. I hope you enjoy this week's episode.
P. T. Piranha: Haha, yeah, but when isn't he? And yeah, I know it was a little less humorous, but that's to be expected considering all that's happened between these four this season - in canon, everyone was on mostly better terms with each other, so more humor was allowed. Anyway, I hope you enjoy what comes next!
VIPGuest: As I've said before, I currently do not plan on writing 'Total Shuffled Presents: The Ridonculous Race' any time in the near future. Distressingly soon I'm going to have to actually find work for the first time in about three years, so naturally I won't have time to devote to a weekly fanfiction series.
bruno14: I'm glad you enjoyed the song! It's one of my favorites, both in canon and in this series. And yeah, Tyler is doing what he thinks is right...though that doesn't mean he doesn't have his eye on the prize, too. Sometimes, you just have to try and do both at the same time.
Guest: Uh...okay then...
The Prime Writer: Hey, no problem with either the time or the length (though in truth you weren't quite one of the last this week, but rather at the end of the middle). The relationship between Tyler and Ella, and how they each were going to mature and develop this season, is something I've put a lot of thought into. I haven't always been sure of what I was going to go for in the end, but I'm happy with what I've done with both of them so far - even including Ella becoming rather desperately in denial for a little while. Blaineley revealing Sugar right off the bat could have worked, but I figured it would be more in her character to try and use that info to extort Sugar - it just ended up backfiring, causing Blaineley to blow Sugar's cover once she was relatively safe from retaliation. The recent eliminations...well, they each had their own difficulties, but I'm happy with where this season is at right now, and where it's headed. I'll do my best to make in an interesting road, so I hope you enjoy it to the end.
OMAC001: Hah, well, it wouldn't be Total Drama World Tour if something didn't explode, now would it?
I. M. Poik: Well, seeing how the song uses Alejandro's theme, it didn't make sense to use it if he didn't start the song as in canon. It's a small role, perhaps, but a crucial one. As for Ella, you think she's becoming bland now? I think it's the opposite, she's finally coming in to her own in a way (not like that necessarily means anything in terms of how long she has left in the game). I am glad you've enjoyed Sugar, though; I wasn't sure about her especially with how much focus Alejandro has still been getting, but perhaps it still works for her as a villain. And as for Tyler, well, I'm glad you're enjoying him as well, not much else I can say. I do hope that you enjoy these next few episodes, though.
Ddynamo: Well, you'll just have to read on and find out.
Knifez: Haha, you know I can't make promises one way or the other. And I'm glad you enjoyed the suspense last week, and I hope that you enjoy this week's events as well.
Explorer of the Unknown: Thank you! Yet again, I'm glad to hear that one of my regulars enjoyed Ella's recent development. Likewise, I absolutely agree that Tyler's determination is one of his best aspects - he may not be the coordinated or smart, but he doesn't give up easily and he's loyal to a fault. As for your concerns...well, I don't want to spoil what's coming next, so I'm afraid you'll just have to read on and know that I'll do my best to write the best ending to this season that I can.
Star Saber21: Yeah, it seems like Ella is coming out of her funk. Though as for what will happen with her and Tyler once this season is over...well, that'll have to wait a few weeks. But as for whether Alejandro or Sugar will stab the other in the back first...well, perhaps you'll find that out sooner.
StayOuttaMyShed: Fortunately, as I already said in my initial PM-based reply, the review glitch didn't last long this time. And now for the reply itself...well, for starters, I'm glad you enjoyed everyone last chapter, especially Ella even though you still don't really like her. Tyler questioning what he wants from her is something I've had in mind for him for some time now, just to show that everything that's happened is taking its toll on him too. But even through his doubts, he still decided to keep going and do what he felt was right, in true Tyler style.
The challenge and song were fun to write, of course; and I'm glad you enjoyed what I did with Ezekiel's head. Ella winning the challenge was my first idea in the initial planning stages of the season, but since she's already won a couple individuals it was obvious that I couldn't have her win here, and setting up Sugar's win ended up being even better.
As for your predictions...well, I won't talk about how the challenge ends, though for the song...I do want to say some things, but I don't want to spoil what I did with it so you'll just have to read on and find out.
wifishark: Glad you liked it, and yeah, the song was a fun one. And as for the male condor...well, you'll find out in time.
And...that's it for the week! 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. Likewise, here are the Final Four in case you've somehow forgotten since last week:
Boys - Alejandro, Tyler
Girls - Ella, Sugar
Who will end up making it to the Final Three, and whose chances of winning are about to blow up? Read on and find out.
- Fangren
Episode 23 – Awwwwww, Drumheller
"Last time, on Total Drama World Tour!" Chris opened over a shot of the jumbo jet flying away from Rapa Nui. "Princess Poutypants struggled with how much of a loser she really is," the host said over a few clips of Ella moping, or acting hesitant or uncertain. "And while we searched for eggs on Easter Island," Sugar was shown getting blown off of stone Beardo's head by a hidden airhorn, "some old pals stopped by for a nice visit." Tyler was shown grabbing the green egg that had replaced an earring in the stone statue of Sierra, then falling off. "Along with a couple seriously ticked-off condor parents," the host added, the male condor shown chasing Tyler and Sugar through the underground tunnel, and the female pecking at Alejandro while he sang and eventually sweeping him off the rocky perch with her wing.
"Friendships were challenged," Chris said over a clip of Tyler and Ella talking while they walked through the tunnel together. "Families were born," the host added as the final moments of the song were shown, with the eggs hatching and Ella standing triumphant despite her loss in the challenge. "And ultimately, it looked like a showdown between Alejandro and Ella was at hand," Chris said as the two in question were shown standing in preparation for a tiebreaker challenge. "'cept, some wise guy decided to make it a reward challenge!" he finished with a mischievous laugh as Sugar was shown reacting to the news angrily, then choosing Alejandro to stay in first class with her.
"The Final Four remain," Chris told the camera as the recap montage ended. "Which one of 'em will dig up more trouble this week? Find out right now, on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
It was dawn as the camera zoomed out, and a hot air balloon was rising up nearby the plane. It collided with the wing, popped, and fell with a whimpering hiss.
xxx
(Fade to Opening Theme)
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;
You guys are on my mind!
Ya asked me what I wanted to be,
And now I think the answer is plain to see!
I wanna be...famous!
I wanna live close to the sun!
Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!
Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;
I'll get there one day.
'Cause I wanna be...famous!
(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)
(Fade to Episode)
xxx
The episode, as usual, opened with a shot of the Total Drama Jumbo Jet in flight, this time against the orange light of sunrise. The scene flashed inside to first class, where Sugar was reclining in her seat with her mouth agape, snoring as she slept.
Alejandro soon walked up carrying a plate of several round, flat, bready things and took the seat beside her. He tossed one into his mouth, waited a few moments, then cleared his throat sharply; the effect was instant, Sugar quickly waking up and returning to an upright position. She stretched her arms and yawned dramatically.
"Would you care for a delicious pupusa?" Alejandro offered.
Sugar took one from the plate, stuffed it into her mouth, and asked "That depends, what's a pupusa?"
"It's the stuffed tortilla that you're eating," Alejandro explained with a patient smile.
"Oh," Sugar said, swallowing. "Then yeah, I'll have one," she added, taking another pupusa from the plate.
"Thank you, once again, for inviting me up here with you," Alejandro told her as she ate.
"Don't read too much into it," Sugar told him after swallowing again. "I only did it 'cause of strategy, and not likin' the other two."
"So you've told me," Alejandro replied. "And speaking of strategy, I assume we'll still be trying to get Ella eliminated next?"
"Err, yeah," Sugar said suspiciously quickly, grabbing another pupusa and shoving it into her mouth. "No reason to change what shoulda worked last time!"
xxx
"Yeah, so, I spent a lotta time last night thinkin' about things," Sugar confessed. "Y'know, what I should be doin' next and the like? And that just led to me thinkin' more about Ella. See, the reason why I don't like her is because, besides bein' super annoyin', I've known girls like her all my life. They act all sweet and nice on the outside to get people to like 'em, but inside they're nastier than a raccoon with a toothache. Only most girls like that woulda shown their insides by now, even if its only 'cause someone else tricked 'em into it. But as far as I can tell, Ella hasn't slipped up once!" Sugar said, spreading her arm in disbelief before crossing them again.
"So either she's better at this than anyone I've ever met before," Sugar continued, "or she really ain't puttin' on an act. Yeah, hard to believe, I know," the pageant queen told the camera with a knowing look. "But hey, on this show I reckon just about anything is possible! And if she really is as nice as she wants us to think," Sugar continued, pausing thoughtfully.
"...then she'll be even easier to beat than I thought!" Sugar grinned darkly, ending with a chuckle.
xxx
Alejandro began the next confessional with a short sigh. "At long last, I've nearly reached the finale once again. I just need to get past the next vote and the Final Three challenge, and then the million will be all mine," he said with an anticipatory grin, reaching out as if to grab his prize. "Which means, of course, that I can't afford any mistakes. Ideally, I shall win invincibility in today's challenge, earning my spot in the Final Three and causing Sugar to be eliminated – she'd be the most troublesome opponent should the sudden death challenge be anything like season one's, and regardless she'll be the easiest target since she's obviously going to vote for Ella again."
"And after that...," he trailed off slightly as he thought, "it is a difficult decision since they're both so pathetic. Tyler is a nobody whose so-called 'victories' over me were caused by my mistakes more than his skills. And dear Ella, of course, will be easy to demoralize after everything that has happened to her this season. However...I expect the final challenge will involve a musical element, in which case it might not be wise to give Ella a chance to use her considerable skills in that area. Decisions, decisions..." he smirked, tapping his chin in thought.
xxx
The scene flashed next to economy class, just as Tyler yawned and stretched his arms.
"Good morning, Tyler, how was your sleep?" Ella asked, the camera zooming out a little ways to show her kneeling on the bench next to him and looking his way eagerly.
"Surprisingly not that bad," the jock replied, still a little groggy.
"Good, I was little worried you wouldn't get a good night's sleep since there aren't really any pillows back here," Ella told him. "I'd hate for you to be tired on such a big day, after all."
"Heck yeah," Tyler said, pumping a fist in enthusiastic agreement. "Today's the day we're going to the Final Three, baby, ex-treme!" He raised his arms in an excited cheer, earning a giggle from Ella.
"Well, I don't know about me going to the Final Three," she told him with a calm, sweet look, "but I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure you do at least."
"Yeah!" Tyler cheered again. "I'm-" he stopped, then blinked. "Wait, huh?" he asked, giving Ella a confused look.
"I mean, I still don't think that I should be the one to win the competition," Ella explained. "But instead of wasting time feeling sorry for myself, I've decided to take your advice and try my best – to repay your kindness and help you win the million dollars."
Tyler gave her a bewildered look. "...really?"
xxx
"Okay, when I told Ella that she should keep trying even though she's messed up a bunch of times," Tyler told the restroom camera, "I meant that she should try to win, y'know, for herself. It's not right if she only cares about helping me win," Tyler said. "I mean, don't get me wrong I still wanna win, and I'm fine with her helping me, but I think it's only fair if we help each other. Like, I don't want either of us to win because the other one gave up on her!"
He paused, then furrowed his brow in confusion. "Wait, or should it be because the other one gave up on me? Or...err...on ourselves?"
Tyler frowned, then shook away his confusion. "Look, the point is, she has to wanna win this for herself or it isn't right."
xxx
"Look, I'm, uh, flattered that you wanna help and everything," Tyler said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
"Just tell me what you need and I'll be happy to do it for you!" Ella said with an odd eagerness that seemed to make Tyler more uncomfortable.
"But, don't you think, like, you should be trying to win too?" Tyler asked her.
Ella sighed and shook her head. "I don't want you to worry about me anymore. I've accepted the fact that I won't, and shouldn't, win the competition. But that doesn't mean the same for you," she added, putting a hand on his shoulder and smiling softly.
Tyler just groaned, startling Ella a little bit.
/
A faint but ominous tune played as the season's world map was shown, the plane icon flying north from Chile to western Canada.
A flash took the scene to a series of rock formations baking under the sun, the Total Drama Jumbo Jet speeding past between them and knocking a precariously-balanced rock off its perch.
Down below, a small burrowing rodent of some sort was just about to complete a house of cards, unaware of the shadow growing around it. It finally paused and looked up at the whooshing sound that was approaching, just as the boulder landed on top of it, the cards, and its hole.
/
"Welcome to Drumheller, Alberta," Chris told the Final Four, who were had assembled in the barren canyon outside of the plane, its rear tail hatch visibly lowered as a boarding ramp in the background. "A World Heritage Site," the continued, the camera zooming in just enough to show a saurian skeleton imbedded in a distant cliff, "it has the wickedest collection of dinosaur bones on the planet! In front of you is a giant pit with lots of super ancient dino bones." The camera zoomed out to show more of the surrounding canyon, a few fossils visible in the rock walls. "Grab whatever bones you can find to make your very own life-size dino," Chris continued. "I'm calling it, 'Design-a-saurus'!"
Despite the epic music that had played for it three-quarters of the cast groaned at the pun; Ella merely squirmed uncomfortably.
"I know," Chris said with a broad smile, "they should pay me just to come up with titles. I'm that good."
"I...think that one could use just a little work," Ella told him cautiously.
"Yeah," Alejandro snorted, giving her a cocky side glance, "and so could a few other things."
"You have two minutes to rifle through the plane's cargo hold," Chris continued, ignoring the remarks, "and grab whatever you can to help build your creations. Aaaand, go!"
At his signal Sugar barged past Ella, knocking her to the ground. Alejandro followed behind her laughing, and Ella hummed in annoyance.
/
The scene cut to the cargo hold, the lowered boarding ramp visible on the left. Sugar and Alejandro were already searching through boxes and crates, though Sugar quickly turned around to scowl as Ella and Tyler arrived.
Ella quickly managed to find a small box of what looked like art supplies inside a larger crate, and smiled. "Ooh, glitter glue! This would be just perfect, don't you think so Tyler?" As she turned to look for the jock, Sugar shoved her away from behind and snatched the box of art supplies.
"If it's glitter, it's mine," she said forcefully before walking away with the entire box.
Tyler scowled, watching her leave while he helped Ella back to her feet. "Uggh, I can't believe her," he said angrily.
Ella sighed sadly, then brushed a bit of dust off her skirt. "Yes, and now you won't get to use any of that for your dinosaur."
"Uhh, well, I don't think I would've used it anyway," Tyler admitted. "But you shoulda had the chance," he added with a quick glare towards the exit.
"But...what about your dinosaur?" Ella asked in concern. "I thought I could help you build it."
Tyler groaned and palmed his face. "Look, I think you should work on your own dino," he told her a little bit forcefully. "I can build my own, I don't need you to help me, okay?"
"But-" Ella tried to say while Tyler darted away, opened up a cardboard box, and grinned.
"Sweet! This'll come in handy for sure," he said confidently, picking the box up with both arms and running towards the exit. "Good luck!" he called out to Ella as he ran past her.
"But...," Ella repeated, still looking stunned as she watched Tyler leave.
Alejandro, who had been watching in the background, smirked evilly.
/
The footage skipped ahead to show Ella sitting cross-legged on the ground, listlessly scooping away the dirt surrounding what looked like the tip of a larger fossil with her hands. A shadow fell on her back and she looked up and around, the camera turning with her to reveal Alejandro grinning down at her.
"Fancy seeing you out here in the dirt," he taunted. "I thought for sure you'd have stayed in the cargo hold feeling sorry for yourself."
Ella sighed in annoyance. "I promised myself I wouldn't do any of that today," she told him. "So just leave me alone so I can dig out this fossil, okay?"
Alejandro scoffed. "I don't see why you're even bothering. Nobody wants you in the competition anymore, even Tyler said he doesn't want you around."
Ella stiffened. "That...that's not what he meant, and you know it!"
"Oh, I do," Alejandro replied. "But do you?" He turned and walked away laughing, and the camera lingered on Ella's uncertain frown.
The focus shifted to Tyler as he hauled a leg bone as long as he was tall through the barren landscape on his back, eventually collapsing to the ground next to a pile of smaller bones. He grinned and stood up, but immediately scowled again when he saw Sugar standing on the other side of the pile.
"Oh, were these yours?" she asked him. "I'm only askin' 'cause I saw a couple of these fossils that I thought might be nice to have," she continued, holding up a pair of roughly dome-shaped fossils; flat on the bottom but curved and a bit jagged on top. "You mind if I borrow 'em?"
"Yes," Tyler said bluntly. "Why would I help you? You're the enemy!"
"Well so is Ella but that didn't stop you from helpin' her before," Sugar replied.
"...that's different," Tyler frowned, kneeling down to sift through the fossils he'd collected. "Me and Ella were working together, we were never really enemies."
Sugar shook her head and tutted. "How can you have made it this far in the game and not realize that everyone is an enemy sooner or later? I mean, I know this is your first time and all, but still..."
Tyler looked at her in narrow-eyed disbelief. "Weren't you eliminated, like, fourth the only other time you played? You barely have any more experience than I do."
"Well...sure," Sugar admitted a tad nervously, "but that was just a fluke. I still got to experience the other seasons from up close, plus I have all my pageant wins, so I know what I'm doin' way more than you do."
Tyler just rolled his eyes, and Sugar walked away.
The scene shifted again, going back to the singing princess still digging in the dirt though with the majority of the bone she'd been working on revealed – it seemed to be a sauropod skull almost as big as she was. There was dirt covering her clothes, but she was smiling and humming to herself as she worked to uncover the fossil.
She felt another shadow fall on her, and sighed again. "Hello, Sugar," she said, turning onto her knees to look at the pageant queen. "Here to try and make me miserable too, I presume?"
Sugar smiled and chuckled. "Well, if ya want me to," she shrugged, "I bet I can think of somethin' like that. Let's see...," she tapped her chin in thought, "you ever think that how since me an' Al have already tried to stab you in the back that it's only a matter of time before Tyler does too?" She grinned expectantly, but Ella just sighed in resignation and turned back to her digging.
"Yes, Alejandro already told me something like that," she told the pageant queen. "I don't really think it's true, though."
"And why's that?" Sugar asked with her hands on her hips. "Didja forget that only one person can win the million? The only reason to be nice to you anymore is because you'd be easy to beat in the finale!"
"Well...I suppose," Ella admitted, "but unlike you and Alejandro I think Tyler is actually kind."
Sugar stared at her in disbelief, then chuckled some more. "You really are exactly what you look like, ain't ya?"
/
The scene flashed to Alejandro down on all fours, picking through a small pile of small bones. "This will never do," he said as he casually tossed one over his shoulder. "Mmm, nor this," he said to another. "Ah, perfection!" he said to a third after a short pause.
/
Ella was shown next, pushing her fully-excavated sauropod skull across the bare ground. She stopped after a few seconds, wiped the sweat from her brow but smudging it with dirt in the process, then bent over to pick up a few smaller bones – one looked like a rib, the other an arm bone.
/
Tyler adjusted one of the dome-like fossils as though it were a picture hanging on a wall, the camera zoomed in so that all that could be seen of his creation was the dome-like fossil attached to the end of a long, curved spine.
/
Sugar squeezed a tube with all her might, and grinned at the glittery pink glue that squirted out of it and onto the tip of a rib bone.
/
"Time's up!" Chris declared, the footage skipping forward one more time. "Now we'll begin the amazing tour through the ages of imaginary dinosaurs. Let's start with Alejandro."
The shot cut to Alejandro, looking smug. "I can do better than imaginary," he said confidently, turning around as the camera zoomed out to show the complete skeleton of what looked like an actual dinosaur standing behind him. "This impressive fellow is the Allosaurus," he explained, "and yes, that's his real name."
"Whoa," Tyler said in awe as he, Ella, and Sugar were shown looking at the first creation.
"That does look impressive," Ella admitted with a hint of nervousness.
Sugar just snorted and crossed her arms. "Whatever, it's just a big lizard."
"It's gonna be tough to beat that right out of the gate," Chris told her.
"Pfft, I don't even gotta try to beat that thing," Sugar scoffed before clearing her throat and turning to the side. "Feast yer eyes upon the most beautiful and talented of all the dinosaurs," she introduced, "the magnificent Sugarsaurus!"
The shot zoomed out dramatically, revealing the pageant queen's creation – a mass of bones built into a humanoid form with its 'hands' on its hips and the skull of a Triceratops. It was covered fairly artfully with glitter, mostly from the pink glitter glue that held it together and formed a pattern that was highly reminiscent of Sugar's outfit.
"The Sugarsaurus is a born winner," Sugar explained. "Top of the food chain, too!"
"Cool, cool," Chris said with a few shallow nods. "Woulda preferred something more in a Chrisasaurus, or maybe a Chrisceratops, but this works. T-man, what do you got?" he asked the jock.
"Meet the Goalieraptor," Tyler said, enthusiastically pointing to his creation – it stood about shoulder height, with a long fossil spine parallel to the ground atop mismatched hip and leg bones. The dome-like fossil formed a facemask-like 'head'; its arms, little more that a single long bone each, were lined with more of the dome-like fossil and were 'holding' a goalie's hockey stick; and it had a soccer ball under one foot. "Part of a team of ancient dinosaur athletes, the Goalieraptor defended his team's net with extreme fiercenessness," Tyler explained with numerous enthusiastic hand gestures.
Alejandro smirked. "Nice, ah, choice of head," he told the jock.
"Thanks," Tyler said, rubbing his nose cockily then knocking against the dome-like fossil. "These thing are light but they look pretty sturdy, so I figured they'd make great protective gear."
"Ah, I doubt that," Alejandro told him. "Those are coprolite fossils."
"Copra-who?" Tyler asked in confusion.
"Coprolite," Alejandro repeated. "From Ancient Greek – 'kopros' meaning dung, and 'lite' meaning stone."
Tyler looked at him blankly for a second before widening his eyes in realization. "Aww man, that makes my guy a poo-head!"
Sugar immediately burst out laughing.
"Ella," Chris interrupted in annoyance, "please rescue us from Tyler's suckitude."
Ella nodded, and a touching tune played as she began her introduction. "My imaginary dinosaur is the Upsidedownadon," she said, the camera zooming out and panning over to her creation. Its central feature was the sauropod skull which had been turned upside down, and seemed to formed the bulk of both the 'body' and the 'head'. A short piece of spine jutted out from the 'top' of it, and quickly branched out via several giant ribs and a few other bones, forming four distinct legs that lifted the skull-body off the ground. The entire thing was somewhat disorienting to look at.
"It's form represents the confusion of having your life change so suddenly that you don't know which way is up," Ella explained. "In a general sense, anyway."
"Whoa," Tyler said in awe. "That's...pretty heavy," he told Ella.
"Yes, it is," Ella replied. "I'm honestly surprised I got it all put together in time."
"No," the jock shook his head, "I mean, like, it's deep and stuff."
"Oh, well, I just tried to build what I've been feeling lately," Ella said bashfully. "You know, after finding out about Alejandro and Sugar's betrayal." The two in question were quickly shown looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Well it's awesome," Tyler said. "I'm seriously proud of you, I knew you could build something cool if you just tried!" He promptly hugged her.
"Oh my," Ella said, blushing faintly. "Thank you Tyler."
"Enough mush," Chris interrupted sharply. "Iiiit's judgment day! Which dinos will survive, and which ones will be driven to extinction?" he asked the camera as he walked past the Alejandro and his creation, then Sugar and hers to stand between her, Tyler, and Ella with Alejandro walking over to join shortly after.
"Oh, and did I mention who the very special judges are?" Chris asked the cast. "You!" he announced to a short drumroll and angelic chorus as he pointed at the Final Four. "With a pretty shocking twist, of course!"
/
The scene skipped forward to a close-up of a large battery, jumper cables connecting it to an electric chair that currently had Sugar sitting in it. "What is this, some kinda truth-tellin' chair?" she asked, looking down at the device skeptically.
"Pretty much," Chris answered. "It's time to vote for your fave dino," he said. "Can't vote for your own, of course, aaand ya might wanna tell the truth. Just sayin'."
"Hrmm," Sugar said in displeasure before adopting a fake smile. "Well, if I can't vote fer my own than I guess Alejandro's was second best." She was promptly electrocuted, a puff of smoke coming from her mouth when it stopped.
Chris chuckled. "Yeah, might wanna tell the truth there Sugar!" he told her.
Sugar huffed. "Fine, Ella's dumb upside-down thing reminded me of a buncha stuff, and I can kinda appreciate the feelin' that went into it even though I don't like like who was doin' the feelin', okay?" she forcibly admitted.
"See, that wasn't so hard," Chris told her with a grin before turning around and calling out "Next!"
/
Alejandro as next in the chair. "I suppose I'll repay Sugar's attempted favor by voting for her Sugarsaurus," he said, immediately getting electrocuted. "Fine," he bitterly corrected. "I too find myself unwillingly sympathizing with Ella's genuine emotion."
"Good enough," Chris told him. "Next!"
/
Ella was third in the chair. "Although I will admit that Sugar's creation has a certain glittery charm to it," she began, "I find Tyler's to be the most creative, even if I'm a teensy bit squeamish about the, um, coprolite."
"Hey, whatever floats your pile of fossilized dino poo," Chris said with a shrug. "Next!"
/
"Although I do still think Al's Allosaurus is pretty cool," Tyler admitted, "Ella's sweet upside-down bronto-thingy totally blows it away. It's not even close!"
"You...you all really like my dinosaur?" Ella asked in mute awe, looking at the other contestants – Tyler grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, while Alejandro and Sugar looked away with awkward discomfort while murmuring something indecipherable.
"As the winner," Chris announced, a triumphant tune playing as the camera pulled back, "Ella gets this handy-dandy post digger!"
Chef was shown delivering the large two-handled power tool to the rather bewildered singer. "Post digger?" she said as she took hold of the thing. "What am I supposed to-" She pressed a button on the machine, turning it on and causing the drill bit to spin. She yelped and let go of it in shock, causing the digger to move around wildly under the power of its own vibrations. As chance would have it it headed straight towards Alejandro and Sugar, forcing them to scatter as Ella rushed to catch up to the machine and regain control of it. "Sorry!" she said as a dramatic tune played in the background.
"Ella versus the post digger!" Chris said, sliding in front of the camera. "See who wins next," the post digger continued along behind him, dragging Ella with it, "right here on Total Drama World Tour!"
(Fade to Commercial and Back)
The episode faded back in to a close-up of the Chris logo emblazoned on the side of the Total Drama Jumbo Jet's tail fin. "Welcome back to resource rich Alberta, Canada," the host greeted as the camera panned down to him, the Final Four, and a pair of interns standing by the open rear of the plane. Ella had regained control of her post digger, and a pyramid of oil drums stood behind the host.
"The interns were supposed," the two interns looked down in shame, "to bury these barrels of maple syrup, sugar, spiders, and rattlesnakes," Chris explained, knocking on the top barrel causing it to rattle and hiss. The cast flinched in fear. "Long story short, the interns buried our reserve fuel barrels instead," the host continued angrily, knocking the top barrel over onto the interns. The lid fell off immediately, and while the black intern ran screaming the white intern was quickly covered in a swarm of angry snakes and spiders.
"Since Tyler came in second," Chris said holding up a pickaxe and metal pan, "he gets this rusty old prospector kit."
"Woo! Yeah!" Tyler cheered excitedly as he caught the tools that were tossed to him.
"And Sugar takes third place!" the host added, the camera panning to the pageant queen as the host approached her holding a small plastic pail and shovel, the former red and the latter yellow.
"Uh, ain't these kiddie toys?" she asked skeptically.
"You're welcome," Chris told her. "And for coming in dead last...!" he said, looking towards the final teen with empty hands.
"How am I last when I created the only realistic dinosaur?" Alejandro asked in disbelief. "Aww, that has to get me something?"
Chris laughed, a whistle now in his hand. "Yeah, you'd think so," he told the charmer. "First one back with a barrel of my oil wins immunity! Oh, and we won't take off until all the barrels are back on the plane, so don't slack off once the first one is found."
"Huh," Tyler said blankly as he looked around, the perspective following his gaze across the wide barren landscape. "I'm thinking this is gonna take a while."
"There is a lot of ground to cover," Alejandro added before the shot cut back to the cast.
"Oh! I forgot to mention!" Chris spoke up. "We'll be pummeling you with the occasional boulder." He laughed, then added "Funny, right?"
The Final Four just glared at him, and the whistle was blown.
/
A trilling tense tune played as the scene flashed ahead to some isolated spot in the rocky badlands, the camera panning to the right onto Alejandro digging with his hands. He was looking rather annoyed, and even more so when Sugar walked up behind him with her little plastic pail and shovel in hand.
She chuckled. "Wow, never thought I'd see you diggin' in the dirt like a dog!"
"Well it's not like I have much of a choice," Alejandro replied bitterly, not looking her way as he dug harder and not-quite-accidentally flung a bit of dirt her way, "since Chris apparently thinks your creation was better."
"Can't really blame him fer that," Sugar said with a shrug. "Anyways, if you want you can borrow my kiddie shovel after I'm done with it," she offered.
Alejandro stopped digging to give her a look of disbelief. "Okay, first of all that would be pointless as you would have already won the challenge. And second, I don't need your help," he said irritably before returning to his work. "If Ella can dig up a giant dinosaur skull with her bare hands, then surely I can dig up a barrel of oil much faster."
Sugar stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Suit yourself," she told him before walking away.
/
The shot cut to the glaring sun, a hissing sort of tune indicating the heat as the camera panned down on to Tyler. The jock was hard at work with his pickaxe, but paused momentarily to wipe the sweat from his brow.
He lifted the pickaxe to swing again, but stopped when he heard something approaching.
"Sorry," Ella said, the shot moving to her and showing her dragging the post digger behind her. "I hope you don't mind if I dig near you. I'm not really comfortable using this when I'm alone, and I don't trust the others to really help me if I lose control of it again."
"Oh, yeah, sure," Tyler told her before completing his swing. "Just, y'know, remember that you gotta win this for yourself."
"Right," Ella nodded, adjusting the post digger as the metallic clinks of Tyler digging were heard just off-camera. "It's funny, I never really thought about what I was doing in challenges until recently. I always just...did what I thought I should, even if that wasn't always strictly following Chris' directions."
"That so?" Tyler asked idly, still digging a hole in the ground.
"Mmm," Ella said, leaning on the inactive post digger and not really looking at him. "So when everything happened I think I just assumed that since I had been such a fool that was the only reason I was still in the game. But between you trying to cheer me up so much and then everyone voting for the Upsidedownadon to win I'm starting to think that's not the case."
"Well yeah," Tyler said, giving her a smile as she looked at him. "Just because you've messed up some thing doesn't mean you haven't done other things right. Right?"
"Yes, I think so," Ella nodded. "And with any luck, one of those things will be finding a barrel of oil out here."
Tyler nodded again, but it quickly changed to shock and alarm as he noticed something approaching off-screen. "Whoa, look out!" he shouted, tackling Ella out of the way just as a boulder crashed down in the spot she'd been standing.
/
The scene flashed to Chef Hatchet, sweating heavily as he carried another boulder to the bucket of a catapult. He set it in place, then leaned against it to catch his breath in the harsh heat.
"This, is the life," Chris said, the shot zooming out to show him standing at the front of the catapult holding some kind of drink in half a coconut. He casually leaned against the siege weapon, accidentally pushing the lever and causing it to launch the boulder – and a screaming Chef – into the air.
"Uh oh...," the host said as he watched his assistant fly off.
/
The shot cut back to Tyler and Ella, focusing on the discarded pickaxe and pan before panning leftward to Tyler and Ella lying on the ground next to the boulder and post digger.
"Whoa," the jock said, holding his head as he started to pick himself up off the ground. "That was too close."
"Thank you for saving me," Ella added with a blush as the two stood back up. "I really do owe you a lot, huh?"
"Don't worry about it," he told her. "Seriously, I don't want you trying to help me win instead of yourself again." As he spoke, a familiar scream rose up in the background just before Chef and the boulder he was clinging to flew past behind Tyler and Ella.
"I know," Ella replied as Chef landed with a crash just out-of-sight. "Although I still don't know if I can really win the entire competition, I'll at least give it a shot." In the background, Chef ran back the way he'd flown in from with a look of fierce determination on his face.
"Cool," Tyler said. "Now let's get back to digging." Ella nodded, and the two picked up their tools.
They spent a few seconds in relative silence, Tyler swinging his pickaxe while Ella finally turned the post digger back on and just managed to control it. After a bit of work, though, she looked back over at the jock and loudly asked "Tyler? Do you...want me to make the finale with you?"
"Huh?" Tyler said, looking back at her as well. "Oh, yeah, of course I do."
"...may I ask why?" Ella asked, looking concerned as he looked away.
"Well, it's not like I wanna go up against Sugar or Al," Tyler answered with a jovial smile.
Ella stopped the post digger, looking even more worried. "So...you think I'll be the easiest to beat?"
Tyler stopped as well, and gave her a look of surprise. "What? No! If we went up against each other in the finale, I really don't know if I could win. You're more, like, graceful and stuff, plus you're like the best singer I've ever heard. But I'd rather lose to you than to either of the others."
"Oh," Ella said, blushing more sharply than before. "I see. Although I think you're being a little hard on yourself, you'll beat me easily if the final challenge is at all physical."
Tyler chuckled. "Maybe you're right. I guess we'll just have to see how things end up once we're in the finale." He extended his hand to her.
"Yes, I suppose we will," Ella replied, smiling as she took it. The two shook hands, then resumed digging.
The jock's next first swing resulted in a metallic clang beneath the dirt. "I hit something!" Tyler exclaimed excitedly, prompting Ella to stop the post digger so she could look alongside him.
A particular thick black liquid was oozing up around the spot Tyler's pickaxe has struck. "Oil!" the two teens exclaimed at once.
/
The scene skipped ahead to a close-up of the oil barrel being rolled across the ground, a trickle of oil leaking from a small hole in the side near the lid.
"Congratulations on winning, Tyler," Ella said as the shot zoomed out to show the jock rolling the barrel, "you deserve it."
"Thanks," Tyler said, taking a quick break.
"Would you like me to help you roll it back to the plane?" Ella offered.
"Naw, I got it," Tyler said with a smile and wave of dismissal. "You keep digging, we aren't gonna leave until all the barrels are found, remember?"
"Good idea," Ella said, grabbing hold of her post digger. "I suppose I'll also talk to Sugar or Alejandro if I see one of them, maybe they'll be willing to vote for each other this time."
"Might as well try," Tyler shrugged, and the two parted ways.
/
The scene flashed over to another part of the canyon, currently filled with several shallow holes and accompanying mounds of dirt.
Another familiar scream was heard approaching, and Chris soon fell from the sky clinging to another boulder...which landed on top of him.
The camera quickly panned leftward to where Alejandro was frantically digging another hole. "Must...find...barrel...," he muttered to himself, flinging dirt behind him. A dramatic tune played as he suddenly stopped and grinned, the shot cutting in for a closer look and revealing the metal surface he'd just uncovered.
"Finalmente!" he exclaimed, hurriedly resuming his digging.
A shadow fell on his back a few seconds later, and the perspective changed again to reveal it as Ella. "...Fancy seeing you here, out in the dirt," she opened awkwardly.
Alejandro stopped and briefly looked back over his shoulder to glare at her. "Ha ha," he said bitterly. "I'll have you know that I've just found a barrel! You might as well give up now because with this your elimination is guaranteed!"
"Umm, about that," Ella said, mashing her fingers together awkwardly.
/
Another flash took the focus to the plane, where Chef was outside tending to a grill. He looked up from the sizzling burgers and hot dogs when he heard the telltale pants of exertion, and saw Tyler approaching with the leaking barrel.
"Congratulations boy, you won the challenge!" Chef greeted as the jock rolled the fuel barrel up next to the plane.
"Thanks, guy," Tyler said, turning the barrel upright so that the leaking hole was closer to the top...and still flowing slightly. "Where's Chris?"
Chef shrugged mischievously. "He's around here somewhere. But anywho, now that you've won yourself immunity you get to hang out here at the Final Three Barbecue."
"Yeah," the voice of Chris McLean suddenly said, Chef and Tyler and the camera looking over to see him approaching, looking none the worse for wear. "It's gonna be a rare chance to hang with the host with the most!" he said, giving the jock a cheesy grin while pointing to himself.
"Thanks, but not right now," Tyler told them. "I still got some stuff to do. I'll see ya later."
He ran off, leaving Chris and Chef to share a confused look and shrug. "Yeah, I don't get him," Chris said idly, Chef handing him a hotdog.
/
"Oh yeah," Sugar said as the scene cut to a close-up of her digging out an oil barrel of her own with the kiddie shovel, "it's gonna be another win fer Sugar!"
"Hey!" The shout came from behind, causing the pageant queen to pause and turn around as Tyler ran up to her. "There you are, I was looking for you!"
"Really?" Sugar asked with a hint of skepticism. "What, did you finally realize you don't got a chance to beat me and decided to help me dig?"
"Uhh, no?" Tyler replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, so then you must be here to cut a deal so I don't vote fer you tonight, is that it?" Sugar asked next.
"No...," Tyler answered.
"Huh...," Sugar said, rubbing her chin in confusion. "Then you musta finally realized how much of a strategic genius I am and come fer advice!"
"Uhh...," Tyler began, more taken aback than ever.
It was then that Chris entered the scene, accompanied by the dings and icon that signaled a musical number. "Guess what!" he told Sugar and Tyler, grinning impishly.
~/~
[A fast-paced fiddling tune opened the song, joined after a couple seconds by a banjo, a guitar, and drums.]
"Well then, partner, come and dance with me; do-si-do around the hole, I'll share my strategy."
[Sugar opened in time with the quick beat, dancing a country jig and dragging Tyler by the hands over to the other side of the hole she was digging the oil barrel out of. At her lead she and her lost-looking jock of a dance partner jumped over the hole at the same time, keeping each other on their respective rights. Once they landed they took a few steps to the right, then circled backwards around the circle to their original positions.]
"If you wanna go far, just take it from me; never trust no one, suspicion is the key."
[Sugar closed her eyes and stuck out a finger, waggling it at Tyler in time with the beat.]
"If you ever think that maybe you've made friends, realize that they just think they'd beat you in the end."
[She darted over the whole suddenly, grabbing Tyler into an unwanted side-hug, still waggling her right index finger at him in time with the beat.]
"That's just how the game is played, I don't mean to offend; 'course it doesn't mean much now so let's just allemande."
[She shrugged, then hooked her left arm in his, spun around halfway to the left, then let go and stepped away.]
"Thaaat's not right!"
[Tyler sung to her in protest.]
"Do whatever gets ya to the end!"
[Sugar replied, leaning towards him slightly.]
"Thaaat's not right!"
[Tyler repeated, leaning in as well.]
"Maybe later you can make amends?"
[Sugar sang, leaning back away and shrugging at the jock.]
"Do you think that if you win...?"
[Tyler asked, brow furrowed.]
"Well at this point the 'if's a 'when'!"
[Sugar interrupted with a jovial and cocky smirk.]
"Do you think that if you win that we'll forgive you?"
[Tyler finished forcefully, startling Sugar slightly.]
"'Cause iiit's not right!"
[Tyler sang.]
"Well, I don't even care though..."
[Sugar crossed her arms and pouted.]
"Stiiill not right!"
[Tyler continued, leaning towards her rather forcefully.]
"Aww, what do you know?"
[Sugar replied with a dismissive wave, then walked a few steps away.]
"I think that I know a lot..."
[Tyler sang, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.]
"I think that you're full 'a snot!"
[Sugar retorted, putting her hands on her hips as she leaned back towards the jock.]
"I think that I know a lot about how feelings work."
[Tyler countered, ending the verse with a nod.]
[The focus cut over to Alejandro and Ella, the banjo taking the lead for the second verse of the fast-paced song.]
"Well then, Ella, let me get this straight, you think I should vote for Sugar and delay your fate?"
"Well too bad, I will not take your bait; you'll be going home tonight so just sit back and wait."
"Your strategy is pa-the-tic, just like you are too; just like every other thing that you have tried to do!"
"You don't deserve to be here, you know that it's true! All of us have done so much more in this game than you."
[As Alejandro sang he clapped his hands and stomped his feet in time with the beat, then hooked Ella's left arm with his own and forced her to spin with him. He let her go at the end of his second line, only to quickly grab her right hand in his and pull her in so that they were face-to-face as he delivered the third and fourth lines in a condescending tone.]
"Thaaat's not right!"
[Ella objected shoving herself and Alejandro apart.]
"I don't know why you cannot see..."
[Alejandro replied, shaking his head in disappointment.]
"Thaaat's not right!"
[Ella repeated, her brow creasing slightly in thought.]
"That you're only here because of me!"
[Alejandro shook his head, then made a proud motion to himself.]
"Do you really think that's true?"
[Ella asked, giving him a questioning look.]
"You should know by now I do,"
[Alejandro answered.]
"Do you really think that's true, because if so you're wrong."
[Ella sang, giving Alejandro an almost scolding look that seemed to amuse him more than anything else.]
"Yeeeah, you're wrong!"
[Ella continued defiantly.]
"What do you think you're getting at?"
[Alejandro asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.]
"Cleeearly wrong!"
[The princess added with a knowing and almost mocking smile.]
"Because you won't convince me that..."
[Alejandro tried to tell her, shaking his head and holding out a hand for her to stop.]
"If I'm just here 'cause of you...!"
[Ella sang, still smiling knowingly.]
"Which by now is clearly true!"
[Alejandro replied with a glare.]
"If I'm just here 'cause of you then so is the reverse!"
[The line gave Alejandro pause, his eyes widening slightly as the singer leaned towards him and nodded. The fiddle took an increased prominence over the banjo once again as the third verse began.]
"Ale-jandro, here's a fact to face: if I hadn't voted Zeke then you'd be in his place!"
[As Ella began the first line she dropped out of the scene, the background fading into a blueprint-like drawing of her, Ezekiel, and Sugar's faces with arrows pointing from one to the next to indicate how they'd voted in Tanzania. Off to the side Alejandro's face had an arrow pointing towards Ezekiel as well, and Tyler's face had an arrow pointing at the charmer. As the line progressed Ella's arrow abruptly switched over to Alejandro, whose icon looked suddenly fearful before it 'fell' off the screen.]
"Only reason that you're here is 'cause of my mistakes; you're just lucky that I used to take you at your face."
[The blueprint background cut away to the princess and charmer, the former leaning towards the startled latter and aggressively pointing a finger at his chest. As the line finished, the focus suddenly changed back to Tyler and Sugar in a similar position though with the jock crossing his arms instead.]
"So then, 'partner', look me in the eyes; and tell me you really think the others won't despise..."
[He sang to a nervous-looking pageant queen, bobbing his head and tapping his foot to the beat.]
"You for tricking all them with all of your lies; all of them are mad at you I hope you realize."
[As he sang the background faded into another blueprint-like drawing, this one showing the eliminated cast members glaring at Sugar with Scott, Sammy, and Ezekiel standing prominently in front; Beardo and Sierra right behind them. Sugar turned her head their way, and the camera cut to a close-up of her disbelieving face.]
"Thaaat's not true!"
[Alejandro sang next, the scene of him and Ella facing each other abruptly slamming down over the scene of Tyler and Sugar.]
"And you might've lost without my love!"
[Ella sang, motioning behind her to another blueprint-like scene, this one showing herself and Alejandro and Sammy on one side, Scarlett and Sugar on the other. The figure of Ella abruptly changed from staring adoringly at Alejandro to glaring at him, then switched to the other side as the figure of Alejandro suddenly recoiled in fear.]
"Whaaat are you...?"
[Sugar sang, the scene of her and Tyler slamming down into the forefront once more as she looked at the jock questioningly.]
"And without them you'd have gotten shoved!"
[The jock pointed out, grinning darkly and miming someone getting shoved out of an airplane.]
"I got here all by myself!"
[Alejandro sang, his close-up taking over the screen.]
"No, I got here all by myself!"
[Sugar repeated, appearing in the left half of a split-screen facing Alejandro's defiant close-up.]
"Yes I got here all by myself, I never needed help."
[Sugar and Alejandro sang simultaneously, their respective cameras moving away to show Tyler and Ella 'back to back' on the split screen, each looking unimpressed.]
"Whaaat about...?"
[Tyler sang as the right half of the split-screen disappeared and the camera readjusting so that he and Sugar could both be seen. He motioned to yet another blueprint-like background, this one depicting no more than a large image of Scott's deviously grinning head.]
"Like our alliance mattered anyway..."
[Sugar sang, crossing her arms and turning her back to the jock in continued defiance.]
"Iiis that so?"
[Ella sang, her scene moving in from the right; a blueprint-like background depicted Sammy hesitating between Staci and Alejandro on the left, and Shawn and Dawn on the right.]
"Well I would've found a way to stay!"
[Alejandro replied, leaning back towards the singer with his hands on his hips.]
"Well I think that the Final Four,"
[Tyler sang, a close-up of him 'swinging' down on the left-hand side of the screen.]
"Oh I think that the Final Four,"
[Ella sang, the right half of the new split-screen adjusting to show her.]
"Yeah I think that the Final Four all made it what it is."
[The jock and princess sang at the same time, their cameras moving back to their current singing partners to show both looking uncomfortable.]
"Don't for-get I've won some challenges; do not try to argue that I am not talented!"
[Ella sang, her half of the split-screen taking over. She waggled her finger at Alejandro in time with the beat, every other time causing the blueprint background to shift into a depiction of one of her challenge wins – beating Staci in Greece; the wedding challenge in Niagara Falls; the eating challenge in China; and the Upsidedownadon.]
"If it isn't clear, I don't like your strategy; all it does is make us wanna vote you out with glee!"
[Tyler sang next, his scene with Sugar sliding back in from the left. The blueprint background this time depicted the jock getting ready to vote; Sugar's passport was briefly shown before his image hammered the stamp down on it in time with the music.]
"I deserve to be here, just as much as you; just because I didn't win you shouldn't think I'm through!"
[Ella and Alejandro slid in from the right once again, this time without any artificial background. Ella did, however, forcibly hook left arms and spin around with him.]
"Promenade right, and since you've hurt your friends, nobody will cheer for you if you get to the end."
[Tyler forced Sugar into a basic square dance promenade position at his side, then walked counterclockwise around the hole then spin her around into it at the end.]
"Thaaat's not true!"
[Alejandro sang, the split-screen resuming once more to show his defiance becoming a little more nervous.]
"So what if I was a fool?"
[Ella shrugged as the camera panned to her.]
"Thaaat ain't true!"
[Sugar sang, pulling herself back out of the hole.]
"Did you think that we'd look up to you?"
[Tyler asked her with a look of genuine disbelief.]
"I know that I've made mistakes,"
[Ella sang next, the right-side camera zooming in on her.]
"And maybe it'll make me ache,"
[Tyler added, the left-side camera zooming in on him as well.]
"Still I think I have what it takes to win the million!"
[The two sang together, finally ending the song.]
~/~
"Hmmph," Alejandro scoffed, a deep note playing as he and Ella took over the scene. "I will enjoy crushing your newfound confidence in the tiebreaker this evening," he told her before turning his attention back to the oil barrel he'd been digging up.
"What makes you think that Tyler and I will be voting for you?" Ella asked.
"Why wouldn't you?" Alejandro replied, turning back to her with a brow raised in confusion. "I'm clearly the bigger threat. Although even Sugar could easily beat you in a tiebreaker."
"Then why not vote for her instead of me?" Ella asked. Alejandro laughed and turned his back on her again, but she persisted. "I'm serious, if I'm really as weak as you think I am, then why not just take me to the finale so you get an easy win?"
Alejandro paused in thought for a moment. "Well...Sugar's weak too," he finally answered. "I'll win easily no matter who I eliminate."
"Really?" Ella asked skeptically. "You know how strong Sugar is, in both her muscles and her stomach. I'm surprised you'd risk the final challenge playing more to her strengths than to yours."
Alejandro gave her a haughty scoff. "Don't bother. Had I won invincibility I'd have gladly joined you, but as it is now I know you're just trying to make it easier to eliminate me."
Ella sighed and let him go back to work. "Well, I tried," she said, turning her back on him and taking a step away...then pausing again. "Though I do think I've finally realized something about you, Alejandro," she said, the camera cutting to a head-on look of her face with Alejandro crouched down in the dirt behind her.
"And that is...?" the charmer asked, the perspective shifting to his face with Ella standing behind him.
"That you truly don't want to face me in the finale," Ella said, causing Alejandro's eyes to go wide. "And not just because I'm annoying, either. I don't know if it's guilt over how you betrayed me, or if it's something else, but...I think you're scared of me, Alejandro."
The camera angle returned to its usual side-on position as Alejandro stood up and turned back to face her, and Ella walked away.
xxx
"What was that?!" Alejandro asked the confessional camera in alarm. "I'm not scared of her, I'm not even worried! Even with that unexpected level of determination she displayed just now..."
xxx
A longer dramatic tune played as the scene cut to Sugar and Tyler, the pageant queen also having resumed her dig.
"Look," Tyler told her with a no-nonsense expression, "I don't like you. I don't wanna work with you, and I don't want you to win. But between you and Alejandro, I'd rather go up against you. He's just too good at too many things!"
Sugar stopped digging and looked back over her shoulder at him. "Yeah, and?" she said with an impatient expression.
"And I think you should vote for him instead of Ella," Tyler said. "I know you don't like her and you don't trust me, but I'm being honest here: I'm going to vote for Alejandro tonight, and so will Ella. If you do too, then nobody will have to worry about beating him in the finale. Whaddaya say?"
Sugar paused, narrowed her eyes, then...grinned brightly. "Well sure! I was thinkin' that maybe I should try to go up against Ella in the finale anyways, just to make finally crushin' her all the more satisfyin'. Why didn't you just tell me you were gonna vote fer Al earlier?"
Tyler groaned and palmed his face. "That's what I was trying to say before the song..."
/
The footage flashed ahead, showing Alejandro and Sugar arriving at the plane with their barrels at the same time. Ella and Tyler followed behind them and shared a quick glance, causing Tyler to flash a grin and thumbs-up towards the singer.
"An accident, I presume?" Alejandro asked Tyler after bending down to examine the small oil slick that had formed at the base of Tyler's barrel.
"I was using a pickaxe and it was on its side," Tyler explained with a shrug.
"Well, so long as we're careful it should be fine," Alejandro said as he and Sugar turned their own barrels upright near the first. "Let's go find the last one."
"Good, the sooner this day's over with the better," Sugar added as the four turned and headed back out into the badlands.
xxx
"Well, here's hoping that everything goes okay tonight," Tyler told the restroom camera. "But even if it doesn't and Ella has to go home, then at least I'll still be able to win." The smile he gave the camera was considerably more determined than confident.
xxx
Crickets were chirping as the footage resumed, the camera pulling away from a close-up of a string of Chinese lanterns to show the Final Four assembled on boxes around a nighttime campfire.
"I've got a little season one tribute treat here for you!" Chris told them, holding up a marshmallow. The shot moved in front to show the platter he was holding with two other marshmallows and the stack of passport votes, and he continued. "Remember, Tyler has invincibility so there better not be any votes against him. So, Tyler, you get tonight's first marshmallow."
He tossed the bit of sugary white fluff to the jock, who caught it, fumbled, and caught it again. "Yeah!" he cheered, pumping his fist. "I always wanted one of these. It's a sign of things come baby, extreme!" He raised his arms to cheer once more, and briefly fumbled the marshmallow again.
"Tonight's second marshmallow goes to," Chris continued, "Sugar, who also had no votes against her."
He tossed the second marshmallow to Sugar, who caught it with an eager and immediately moved to eat it.
"Wait!" Tyler shouted, causing the pageant queen to pause. "I just had an awesome idea. How about I go get some sticks or something from the plane so we can all roast our marshmallows?"
"Ooh, that sounds like a nice idea!" Ella said, clapping cheerfully.
"Fine with me," Chris said with a shrug. "Sugar? You wanna hold off on eating that?"
Sugar looked at her marshmallow, then pursed her lips in thought. "Yeah, I guess. Just make it snappy!" she barked at Tyler.
"But not too snappy," Chris added, "I wanna draw this out a little longer."
"Works for me!" Tyler said, excitedly getting up and running back up the rear boarding ramp.
The tense elimination music continued as the camera cut from the host to the other three contestants in turn as they waited in silence. Chris was smiling slightly impishly; Sugar was growing impatient; Ella was looking nervous; and Alejandro was looking stoic; in the background of all four shot were the faint sounds of Tyler's search.
Eventually, he returned with three wooden skewers, his marshmallow already on one of them. He tossed another to Sugar as he ran past, and the pageant queen quickly slid her marshmallow into place and stuck it in the fire.
"Okay, let's do this," Tyler said confidently, holding on to the last skewer as he started toasting his own symbol of victory.
"Cool," Chris said. "Let's read the remaining votes," he said, picking up the top passport of the stack, "just for a little more suspenseful fun. The first vote goes to...Ella!"
The elimination music became more dramatic as Ella and Tyler were shown sitting next to her, the jock looking at the singer in concern while the young woman herself folded her hands on her lap, looked down, and bit her lip.
"One for Alejandro," the host continued, the shot cutting to the two villains as Alejandro let out his breath and Sugar glanced over at him, the marshmallow and stick already in her mouth.
Chris looked at the third passport, and said "Another for Alejandro!"
Alejandro was starting to look a little nervous; he glanced Sugar's way, and she raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged.
Ella was shown closing her eyes and crossing her fingers, and the shot cut back to Chris. "And the last vote goes to...Alejandro!"
"WHAT?! You voted for me?!" the arch-villain exclaimed, standing up in shock and outrage and turning his attention towards Sugar. Ella, meanwhile, let out a relieved breath and happily accepted both the third skewer and the final marshmallow tossed her way by Tyler and Chris respectively.
"Yeah! Say goodbye, Al!" Tyler said, standing up victoriously and waving his skewered marshmallow towards the charmer.
It was then he noticed that both were quite a bit more on fire than he'd realized. He hollered in panic and tossed the flaming thing away, and the camera followed it as it arced ominously towards the pool of fuel near the oil barrels.
"Tyler, no!" Ella and Chris and even Sugar and Alejandro yelled in alarm as the wide-eyed jock leaped for the flaming skewer in slow motion.
The camera quickly panned rightward to the door at the side of the plane; it slammed open and countless animals ran out – a sasquatch, a bear, a horse, a seal, a duck, a bunch of rats and chipmunks, and Staci at the front of it, shrieking "I knew I should've gotten off sooner!"
The shot cut back to the flaming marshmallow as it continued it's slow-motion descent towards the oil slick, the footage suddenly speeding up again as Tyler failed to catch it before it made contact with the fuel.
The resulting explosion was shown from about a mile away, and the light completely enveloped the once-peaceful nighttime scene.
The dust that had been blown up soon cleared, revealing that the shot had moved back towards the campfire. A tiki head had tipped over and metal debris was falling from the sky, and nobody was seen for about a second before Sugar and Alejandro leaned back out from behind the other tiki head that had been flanking them.
Ella followed shortly after, standing up from behind the tiki that had fallen over and shouting "Tyler!" in overwhelming concern.
"My beautiful plane!" Chris added, popping up in the foreground grabbing his head in panic and grief. Both he and Ella immediately dashed towards the scene of the explosion, and the camera followed them as they ran.
While Chris continued onwards to the wreckage, Ella stopped at the stunned and charred form of Tyler lying face-down on the ground. She quickly turned him over onto his back, revealing his equally-charred front but fortunately open eyes.
"Tyler, please tell me you're okay!" Ella asked frantically.
"Sorry," Tyler coughed, letting Ella pull him into an upright position, "I couldn't catch it in time."
"Are you okay?" Alejandro asked as he and Sugar slid into the scene, both looking genuinely concerned.
"Dude, do I look okay?" Tyler replied in annoyance as his singed hair crumbled and fell away.
"Uhh, Chris?" Sugar asked nervously, looking off in the direction the host had ran. "Chris?"
"Aww, he's fine," the host said angrily, standing in the wreckage holding what looked like a flatscreen television. "Although I guess with the whole 'blowing up my plane' business," he said, the camera zooming out dramatically to show the full extent of the wrecked Total Drama Jumbo Jet, "he's OUTTA THE GAME!" A suitably dramatic riff played during the announcement, and the four teens were shown looking stunned.
Alejandro's expression was the first to change, becoming one of hope. "So...the Final Three? It's Ella, Sugar, and me?"
"I guess it's up to you now, Ella," Tyler croaked at the stunned singer.
"Aww, fudge knuckles," Sugar muttered, snapping her fingers in defeat.
Alejandro turned a wide and almost vicious smile her way. "Looks like you won't be rid of me as easily as you expected! It's a shame, too – now you have no chance of beating me."
Sugar snorted. "Get real," she told him. "I'll admit that beatin' you in the finale won't be as easy, but I'm still gonna do it! Ain't nothin' can stop me from being' crowned Queen of this here pageant!" She cracked her knuckles in an almost threatening manner, and smirked cockily.
"Oh yeah?" Alejandro replied defiantly.
"Yeah!" Sugar told him.
"Well then," Alejandro snapped, the music turning tenser and more ominous as it panned away from the arguing villains and onto the shell-shocked singer, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see since it's obvious that we're who'll be in the finale!" Ella shut her eyes tight.
"Yeah!" Sugar repeated off-screen.
The camera zoomed in as Ella's eyes snapped back open, revealing the fire reflected in them...
/
The music abruptly cut away as the scene flashed over to a shot of the slightly-singed picture of Chris on the plane's tail fin, a soft and emotional tune soon replacing it.
"Well...," Chris began, audibly distraught, "this is not my best day...ever..." The camera panned down to show him standing amid the wreckage, eyes wide with shock and grief. "Join us next time," his voice cracked, "there...will be a next time, 'm just...not...sure what kinda show it will be," he said, holding back tears as he put his hands behind his back, "or where... It will still be called," he struggled to say, raising his right pointer finger as the usual grand music began to play, "Total! Drama! ...world tour...!"
His voice cracked again at the end, and he squeaked out the last two words before finally bursting into tears.
(Fade to Credits)
Author's Note - Post Script
I'll take a deep breath, and so should you. As is becoming usual, there's a lot to say right now.
First, the elimination. As with the last few, I did go back and forth on who I wanted to cause the plane to explode - both Ella and Alejandro were in the running for this one, as well as Tyler. Alejandro was in the running longer, simply because it would be more unexpected to get rid of him at this stage. And regardless of who I went for, I almost certainly would have kept all the ominous foreshadowing of Tyler's loss intact just to throw everyone off - get you all to think he was going home, then at the last minute have it be Ella or Alejandro instead.
So why did I go for Tyler, exactly? Well...it's hard to say right now. A lot of it has to do with how I decided I wanted episodes 25 and 26 to play out, which would require Tyler being the one who regrettably got the boot. Although I won't deny that an early inclination that Tyler, lovable klutz that he is, would be the most natural choice to unintentionally cause such a huge disaster. Maybe you agree with my choice, maybe you don't, but it is what it is.
Next up is this week's song, titled 'Drumheller Hoedown'. Despite how long it seems, it is actually about the same length as 'This is How We Will End It', just much faster. The melody is based primarily on Reg Bouvette's cover of folk song 'Whiskey Before Breakfast', which you can find on youtube by searching for 'reg bouvette whiskey before breakfast' or something like that.
This song was one of the first to earn it's title, way back before I'd even begun work on the season, since I already knew that Sugar would be the main villain and figured it would be the perfect place to have a big 'villain song' for her, mirroring Alejandro's canon song. Unfortunately, when I ended up actually writing the song I realized that i needed something a little bit different than a straight villain song, so while there are still some elements of it I ended up giving some attention to Alejandro and Ella too, making the song more of a 'heroes reject the villains' type of thing. I'm sorry if this disappointed anyone (I know StayOuttaMyShed in particular was looking forward to a smug and overconfident villain song from Sugar), but it just didn't happen. But, there may still be some room for 'villain song' elements elsewhere, since Sugar is still in the game...
Oh, and despite those regrets, I am still proud of this song. It might just be my best original set of lyrics yet, and I really think I conveyed exactly what I wanted to. And considering how nervous I was to be writing it in basically a single day, and the trouble I had figuring out the rhythm of the lyrics, I just...I like it a lot, and even if it isn't what you may have been hoping for I hope all of you like it too.
Next week is the final Aftermath of the entire Shuffled series, where the ex-contestants (save Tyler and Staci) will have a chance to give their favorite member of the Final Three - Ella, Alejandro, and Sugar - an advantage in the final challenge. Who will do the competing? And who will ultimately win?
Find out next time, dear readers.
- 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)
Tyler - (4th Place | Disqualified?)