Author's Note
The final aftermath. Even just knowing that we're here is still...surreal to me. Like, this Saturday I'll be putting the finishing touches on next week's episode, and on Sunday I begin work on the finale of Total Shuffled World Tour. It seems like so many things are coming to a head right now, both in this fic and in my life...
But, ah, that's not too important right now. Let's focus on this week's reviews, and then the episode, okay?
Eternal Nexus Warrior: Yeah, I think a lot of people figured it was going to be a newbie who left last week. I'm glad you think my choice made sense.
Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart: Yeah, kind of. I mean, it was always going to be something like that, as I couldn't just not have the plane explode.
Boggie445: Hmm...well, you'll have to wait another week to see how Ella manages to make her way south to Mexico, I'm afraid. But I hope you enjoy what happens then.
DSX62415: Hah, I think we're all awaiting the final two episodes...but they're still a week away, so until then i hope you enjoy the final aftermath of the Shuffled series.
Guest #1: Glad to know you like Tyler so much! I hope you enjoy what happens these last few chapters.
P. T. Piranha: Yeah, it would've thrown a lot of people off...but I think it would come at the cost of a less exciting Aftermath and episode 25 since there'd only be two people competing. And yeah, the 'Whose Line' hoedown song...doesn't exactly fit 'Whiskey Before Breakfast'. I'm glad you still enjoyed the episode, though.
PizzaTheBomb: Thanks! I'm glad I was able to do good with the character development last week, and the song as well - like you said, it had a lot to say. As for your predictions of things to come...well, you'll have to wait another week to find out what happens on that front.
acosta perez jose ramiro: Thank you as always. And yeah, as disappointing as it was to have to eliminate Tyler, he still made the most sense to me.
StayOuttaMyShed: Yeah, I can't say that I'm surprised. Still a bit disappointed that you don't see Ella as a good finalist, but I suppose it can't really be helped that you just don't like her. I am glad you enjoyed the rest of the episode, though, and your description of how Alejandro could have caused the plane to explode is pretty much exactly what I had in mind when considering how a potential Alejandro elimination might go down as I was writing out last week's episode. And the song...yeah, I'm really happy that you and pretty much everyone else loved it so much, I really do think it was my best original song this season - though I do see your point on Ezekiel maybe fitting Tyler's role better because of his deeper connection with Sugar.
And as for this week's songs...well, I think you're gonna like them.
Animation Adventures: Well to be fair, I did seriously consider Ella as a boot-choice last week. I'm glad you enjoyed the dinosaur building challenges, and yeah I kinda heard Chet in my head when I wrote Tyler's 'poo-head' line, but I think it works for Tyler too. And honestly, even I don't have the clearest mental picture of Ella's dinosaur, but that's kind of the point I think? It's supposed to be something weird and hard to really get a grasp on, being inspired by inner turmoil and all. The oil drum I had to think a bit about, since unlike in canon the leaky one came in first rather than third, so it had been there for a longer time upright - which is why I decided to put the hole where it was, so the oil could still leak a little so it wouldn't, like, dry up or soak into the ground or something.
I won't spoil what sort of route each contestant takes to get to Tijuana Beach, and as for who competes for which finalist in this week's challenge...well, you'll find out soon enough.
mitchn: No problem! I'm glad you've enjoyed my portrayals of Ella and Tyler; they're both pretty goofy characters but I'm glad I was able to show off an develop their stronger and more noble sides. As for my favorite couples...well in canon, I think it's a tie between Sam/Dakota and Jasmine/Shawn. In the Shuffled verse...well, Sam/Dakota is still up there, and of course I have a huge soft spot for the DJ/Dawn/Sammy trio. Though I also like a couple other couples that haven't shown up yet.
I. M. Poik: Hah...well, sorry to disappoint you yet again. At least there's only three more weeks of this season before Revenge of the Island starts, right? Well, stick in there for the time being. I hope you'll enjoy at least some part of these last few episodes.
FOWLKON: Nah, Ella's not really a baking type, and anyway there wasn't really any special reason for her to make a cake like the one Sierra made for Cody's birthday. Even had I decided to eliminate Ella last week, she would have blown up the plane in a manner similar to what Tyler did with the marshmallow. Chris and Chef getting injured in the background was one of the best parts of the episode, though I did have to figure out the timing of things - which is why Chris wasn't already at the barbecue when Tyler arrived with his barrel. I'm glad you enjoyed Staci's line, and as for her further presence in the last couple episodes...well, you'll have to wait and see.
LadyEnigma888: Yeah, even I'm a little surprised at how sympathetic I made Ezekiel this season. Eliminating him was...a necessary tragedy, I think. I'm glad you liked how I was able to capture Ella's breakdown as well; I'm really happy in general with what I've done with her character this season. And last week's song is easily my favorite as well, at least of my more original works. It really fit just about everything that I needed it to do, and it looks like my readers agree. All in all I'm glad I was able to surprise you last week, and I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the season.
bruno14: Glad to hear it! And yeah, I think even Ella's money is on the post digger to beat her... And yeah, Ella is growing more confident again, which will make her showdown against Alejandro and Sugar over the next two weeks quite exciting, I think. And Sugar proves to be a little hard to predict yet again, though in the end it was for nothing. I hope you enjoy what will happen as the season comes to its end.
kaijudude1000: Thanks! And...yeah, if nothing else I have quite a bit in store or everyone in the next three episodes.
Explorer of the Unknown: Well, you're right that things last week certainly got heavy...and that Ella has quite a lot to take on if she's to win that million dollars. But this week, as you said, is a nice breather - the calm before the storm, in a way. I hope you enjoy the final Aftermath of the series!
Glowing Insanity: Wow, I'm glad you found things so riveting last week. And yeah, even I wasn't entirely certain who was going to be eliminated in the end...but in the end, I'm happy with what I chose. Alejandro dodged a proverbial bullet like in canon, and things are gonna be pretty tense next week. But for now, an Aftermath that I hope you enjoy.
OMAC001: Well then, I look forward to your reaction to these last three episodes.
Knifez: Well, Alejandro being a canon winner is certainly a point against him, but I'm not going to spoil what happens. I do hope you enjoy these last few episodes regardless of who wins, and there's always the other three seasons to look forward to...
Star Saber21: Thanks as always! And honestly, the plane was always going to blow up, it was just a question of who would do it and who would get saved by it. I'm glad you enjoyed the episode, and Ella getting under the skin of her two opponents.
wifishark: Haha, yeah, always pay attention to the marshmallows you're roasting, especially when there's oil around.
Guest #2: Admittedly this would probably mean more to me if you weren't labeled a guest, but I'm glad you were able to catch up with the story regardless. As for your idea...well, I'm not really planning on doing much of anything in terms of new fanfiction once the Shuffled series ends later this year, so sorry. Maybe someday I'll have the time to write a story like that, but not any time in the near future.
And that's all for now! 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. Though you won't be seeing much of the Final Three in person this week, here they are:
Boys - Alejandro
Girls - Ella, Sugar
It's the very last Aftermath of the entire Shuffled series...I hope you're ready for it!
- Fangren
Episode 24 – Hawaiian Style
For the fourth and final time this season, the episode opened on a familiar electric guitar riff in place of the usual capstone theme. The spinning globe faded into view, and was followed one by one by the large white block-lettered words: 'TOTAL', then 'DRAMA', then a larger 'WORLD TOUR' in two lines below, and finally 'AFTERMATH' with a shower of sparks as the music reached its climax.
The unseen crowd cheered, and the glare from the title took over the screen.
xxx
"Oh, that's fine," Sammy said quickly, the clip showing her already at the reopened shoot of the giant slot machine with a dazed Dawn in her arms. "I'll just take her, if that's okay with everyone. I mean, she's my girlfriend after all, so it would just be awkward to pair her up with anyone else. This way, everyone wins right?" She spoke quickly, already leading Dawn away before Sugar and the others could respond.
xxx
The music entered a low point as the title screen was shown again, the words flaring up once more to transition to the next clip.
xxx
"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.
xxx
A few laughs were heard and the Aftermath theme renewed itself, the title screen flaring up for a third time.
xxx
"Well then friends," Dawn proclaimed as Chef herded her and Blaineley towards the plane's exit, "before I go, I must warn you all of a great evil lurking on this plane! And I'm not talking about Alejandro."
Dawn raised a finger and took a breath, but Blaineley cut her off by slapping a hand over her mouth. "Not so fast, I'm getting the last words here," she said angrily.
The footage skipped forward to Chris shoving both women off the plane.
xxx
The theme music peaked again as the fourth and final clip was led in to.
xxx
"Tyler, no!" Ella and Chris and even Sugar and Alejandro yelled in alarm as the wide-eyed jock leaped for the flaming marshmallow 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 though her shriek had been muted.
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.
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 Aftermath's title sequence played once more, earning another round of applause from the unseen audience as the episode proper began.
"Hello, everyone!" Sam said, walking in to a close-up shot of what looked like the host's couch in an outdoor set. "And welcome, to Total Drama Aftermath! Today we're coming to you live from the tropical shores of Hawaii!" he pointed at the camera, then spread his arms wide as the camera zoomed out. As he'd said the main parts of the Aftermath set had been transplanted to a beautiful white-sand beach, a smoking volcano off in the background. Two-tiered couches had been set up on either side like usual, but unlike usual both held members of the Peanut Gallery – the left had DJ and Shawn on the top row, Bridgette and Geoff, Sierra, and Scott on the bottom, and Scarlett strapped into her hand truck off to the side; the right-hand couches had Lightning and Jo on the top, Beth, Beardo, B, and Amy on the bottom.
"After traveling all around the world this season," Topher said, walking in from the left to join Sam, "we had to wrap it up with a big shot of paradise."
"And if you think we're alone in this," Sam added, "then you'd be wrong, because the Peanut Gallery is right here with us! Give 'em a hand, everybody!" He and Topher clapped along with the unseen audience, the camera cutting from one half of the gallery to the other as the former contestants there smiled and waved to varying degrees.
"There's only two episodes left before we get to declare this season's million dollar winner," Sam continued.
"And right here is where it's all going to go down!" Topher added enthusiastically.
The two paused for a few seconds for the applause to die down, then Sam continued. "Now first, it's time to say hello to some more friends who were given the Drop of Shame. Please welcome," he and Topher motioned to the side, the host wannabe deliberately stepping in front of Sam just a bit, "Sammy, Dawn, and Ezekiel!"
The crowd cheered again as the two girls were shoved into view by an unseen intern, followed by Ezekiel just getting tossed so he landed on his belly in the sand. "Umm, why are we all getting introed at the same time?" Sammy asked as Ezekiel stood up and brushed off the sand.
"We're doing things a bit differently today," Topher answered with a cool wink at the camera.
"I can see that, eh," Ezekiel said. "Hey, does this mean I don't gotta sing? 'Cause I'm kinda tired of it, eh."
"We'll get to that soon enough," Topher told him. "But first, we've got one more ex-contestant to add to the mix."
"Yeah, please welcome Blaineley," Sam said unenthusiastically, rolling his eyes and motioning halfheartedly back to the side.
The crowd gasped as another hand truck was wheeled out, this one holding Blaineley in a full body cast. The black intern set her down next to the right set of couches.
"What did you do to the mean blonde person?" Beth asked in concern.
"Nothing, technically," Sam answered.
"Yeah," Topher told her, putting his arm around the gamer's shoulder to the other boy's annoyance, "don't you remember when Blaineley and Dawn took the drop together in China? Well take a load of what happened next in this exclusive clip," he said, winking at the camera again.
xxx
Static cut to a shot of an isolated building with a curved and pointed roof. "Aaaand...," Topher said as Blaineley suddenly and rapidly fell down from above, "boom!" She crashed through the roof, earning a few laughs from the audience.
xxx
The shot cut back to the beach where the right half of the Peanut Gallery, Ezekiel now sitting in the top row, was laughing at Blaineley as well. She narrowed her eyes angrily and looked away.
"Now as you might remember from last time," Sam said, stepping in front of Topher, "my sweet angel Dakota was nursing a wounded bear over in Siberia. Fortunately, the bear's all better now!" he said brightly before frowning. "Unfortunately, the airport officials wouldn't let her leave since she only had Blaineley's passport." He glared over at his former cohost, who giggled through her bandages. "Which means she's had been stuck waiting for her Dad to pull a bunch of strings and get her home. But the wait is finally over!" he said brightly, pointing dramatically off into the distance as Topher hung his head in disappointment.
The crowd cheered as a bright pink helicopter was shown approaching high over the open ocean. Dakota leaned out the side door and waved at the camera, then called out "Sam! I'm so happy to see you again!"
A dramatic note played as a large brown bear poked its head out as well, and the crowd gasped. "Whoa, Dakota! What's he doing here?"
Dakota looked at the bear, then back at her boyfriend. "Oh, don't worry about Bruno!" She and the bear quickly ducked back into the helicopter and re-emerged shortly after wearing helmets and holding hang gliders. The heiress took the lead in jumping out, swooping down towards the beach towards where Sam was moving towards her with open arms.
He caught her as she crashed in to him, and they landed together on the sand. "Haha, oops!" Dakota giggled bashfully, discarding her helmet and glider.
"No problem," Sam said with a wide and dopey grin. "Reminds me of season one. What's important is that you're finally back!" They leaned in to kiss, only for heavy plodding footsteps to herald a strong right hook from the bear, who had apparently landed on the beach without issue.
The audience and gallery gasped and shrieked in shock. "Umm, rude!" Dakota said, standing up to scold the bear. "You know what I said about punching, Bruno." The bear hung his head in shame.
"Hey hey, looks like quite the pet you've brought back," Topher said, walking up to the pair. "Hope it doesn't cause you two any trouble. But seriously, it's great to have you back, Dakota," he said, stepping forward to shake the heiress' hand only to back off when Bruno growled at him. He laughed nervously, then continued. "Anyway, now that you're back as cohost, I guess you won't need me anymore. I'll just, uh, go back to the Peanut Gallery..." He motioned back over his shoulder, then started to back away.
"Well, thanks for filling in for me," Dakota told him, "even if it was only for a couple minutes. I'm sure you'll get your own hosting job some day."
Topher stopped, then smiled brightly. "You really think so?" he asked before resuming his cool demeanor. "I mean, of course I will, but thanks for the good faith." He shot her a wink and a couple finger pistols, then waved at the audience as they applauded. He returned to the Gallery, and took a seat next to Lightning.
"Well then, let's get back to the hosting shall we?" Dakota said excitedly as the focus moved back to her and Sam, now back at center-stage.
"The Peanut Gallery will soon have their say in who wins the million," Sam said, raising an arm with Dakota as the crowd clapped.
"Is that so?" Scott spoke up, the shot cut to the left half of the gallery and revealing that Dawn and Sammy had joined the top row. "Because I got a few words to pick with a couple of the finalists."
"You better not be referring to Ella with that," Bridgette said sharply. "She's the only person left who's actually nice, she has to win!"
"Yeah, assuming she can even make it here," Jo said from the other side of the gallery. "How the heck are any of them going to get out of Middle-of-Nothing, Alberta?"
"That's...a pretty good question," Dakota said, turning a concerned look towards Sam. "Did Chris tell you anything? Because we can't, like, have a finale without finalists."
Sam shrugged helplessly. "Predictably, Chris hasn't told us anything that's actually useful. But considering that all of them made it this far, I'm sure they'll find their way here somehow."
"Well they better," Lightning spoke up. "Lightning's already annoyed that Tyler got cut, he doesn't wanna have to wait around for a buncha people he doesn't even like."
"As I was saying," Sam continued, "even though most of us don't like all of the Final Three, they've all shown themselves to be pretty resourceful when it comes down to it."
"So, I guess we should just trust them to get here then?" Dakota asked, receiving a nod in return and smiling. "Ooh, I like it! We'll just have to wait and see what sort of exciting journey they give us, okay?" she asked the audience, receiving another applause.
"Got it," Sam said jovially. "So, who does the Peanut Gallery think will win?" he asked the camera.
~/~
[A stereotypically Hawaiian tune began to play as the camera zoomed in on the monitor set up over the hosts' couch, which was now showing an image of peanuts dancing on two sets of tiered couches with a question mark between them. The question mark enlarged as the lyrics began, transitioning the screen to something else.]
"Who you gonna root for? Who do you prefer?"
[Dakota and Sam sang together over an image of three slot machine windows amongst a field of question marks. The windows started on question marks as well, before they started spinning rapidly.]
"Is it Ella? Alejandro? Or will you pick Sugar?"
[As the hosts sang the reels stopped from left to right as each contestant was called in turn, showing stock images Ella, Alejandro, and Sugar all smiling confidently.]
"There's Sugar, Queen of pageants; and she's been playing hard!"
[Dakota sang, appearing on screen and doing a hula dance wearing a grass skirt, a lei around her waist, and flowers in her hair. Behind her the scene changed to black-and-white clips of Sugar, showing her hitting her disastrous high note while singing to the mother condor, then angrily slapping away Scott's hand and dunking him into the water in Jamaica.]
"Too bad everybody hates her, she'd have! To pay! A bodyguard!"
[Sam added, rising up on screen to join his girlfriend's hula, already wearing a similar costume. The clips continued behind them, showing Sugar as she got distracted by Sierra's disguise in New York, then tripping and causing herself, Ella, and Alejandro to tumble down the side of the pyramid in Egypt and land on Scarlett and Staci.]
"Who you gonna root for? Who do you prefe~er?"
[The two sang together, dropping back out of the scene as another few short clips played – Ella cheering at the appearance of the musical icon while standing at the prow of Team Universe's dory off the Newfoundland coast, a close-up of Alejandro peering in to the first class cabin and spying the 'Ripper', and Sugar grabbing Blaineley by the dress and slamming her down on a table with her arm pinned behind her back.]
"Is it Ella? Alejandro? Or will you pick Sugar?"
[Another trio of clips accompanied the next line, this time showing Ella blushing coyly, Alejandro dramatically taking his shirt off in Sweden, and Sugar in her half-spider half-alien monster costume having a Total Drama Yum Yum Happy Go Time Candy Fishtail tossed into her mouth, swallowing it, and grinning.]
"Al's next and though he's nasty, he's had a lot of luck!"
[Dakota said, dancing back onto the scene as the black-and-white montage became more focused on Alejandro, showing him easily slapping Tyler off their dance-battle platform and then pulling out an ornate alien screwdriver from a pile of junk while talking to Ella, both splattered with green goo.]
"He better hope it doesn't run out, or he'll! Be face! Down in the muck!"
[Sam added, joining the hula once again as Alejandro was shown on one knee holding a stick while watching over the rest of his battered team in the Amazon, then saying something calmly from atop a giant meat grinder only to receive a face full of unprocessed sausage meat for the trouble.]
"Who you gonna root for? Who do you prefer?"
[The hosts dropped out once again, and another round of short clips of each contestant played – Ella riding an emu side-saddle, Alejandro nonchalantly shoving an angry dingo into Tyler's unwitting arms, and Sugar exiting her team's giant hamster ball along with a baby panda, both so dizzy they immediately fell over.]
"Is it Ella? Alejandro? Or will you pick Sugar?"
[Another three clips were shown – Ella singing sadly to herself in the cargo hold, Alejandro laughing in a confessional, and Sugar cracking her knuckles as she made her last stand in London.
"Then Ella, she's a sweetheart; her singing packs a punch!"
[Once again Dakota rose back into view doing a hula dance; the clips behind her this time showed Ella getting led into the caverns of Rapa Nui by Tyler while struggling to carry three eggs in her skirt, then rolling forward and snatching the gold medal from the boar-bear's neck while Staci kept it pinned.]
"Just hope that'll be enough now, because! What's next! Will hurt a bunch!"
[And, of course, Sam joined in once more as well; in the background Ella was shown standing triumphant at the edge of the condor nest after the eggs hatched, and slapping a nervous-looking Alejandro while Sammy and Dawn watched then running away sobbing into her hands.]
"Who you gonna root for? Who do you prefe~er?"
[The two hosts remained on-screen this time, continuing their dance over another trio of clips – Ella leaping gracefully from the bus in the first episode, the shining off Alejandro's smile as he also walked away from the bus, and Sugar waving and blowing a kiss in her own entrance to the season.]
"Is it Ella? Alejandro? Or will you pick Sugar?"
[Sam and Dakota finally slid off to the sides as three last clips were shown – the fire reflecting off Ella's eyes as they snapped open, Alejandro smiling wide and viciously, and Sugar grinning darkly and chuckling in the restroom confessional.
After the clips played, the background faded back to the close up of the dancing peanuts on the widescreen, the camera zooming back out as the music ended.]
~/~
"Hey, that went great! Especially considering we didn't get to rehearse," Sam chuckled as the camera panned down to him and Dakota at the hosts' couch.
"Aww, thanks!" Dakota said sweetly, kissing him on the cheek.
The background music immediately turned intense as Bruno rose up from behind the couch, swiped down with his paw to separate the two, then smacked Sam all the way into the ocean.
The audience and gallery gasped in shock, and Dakota cried out "Sam!" in fear. She quickly turned a glare towards the bear, saying "Bad Bruno! I told you, don't hurt my boyfriend!"
Bruno hung his head in shame under her glare, and as the music became ominous he trudged over to the right half of the gallery. Most of the contestants that had been sitting there screamed and ran away, leaving only Beth paralyzed in fear in the bottom-left corner. Bruno took the seat behind her, and leaned over to sniff her.
"Can't we, like, calm him down or something?" Amy asked in quiet terror.
The camera quick-panned over to the other half of the gallery, which were watching with mostly horror. "Well," Shawn said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I guess we could try kava tea. It comes from a Polynesian plant with sedative properties."
"Is it also an appetite suppressant?" Beth asked in terror of the bear that was staring at her.
"Umm..., before the Peanut Gallery hold up their flags to show who they're rooting for," Dakota said with an anxious glance sideways as she resumed hosting and Sam rejoined her dripping wet, "let's see how our finalists stack up!"
She motioned back up to the widescreen as trading-card-like pictures of Alejandro, Sugar, and Ella appeared on screen against a yellow starburst pattern, then rapidly spun around in a circle.
"Which one of them has the best chance of taking home the million?" Sam asked, smirking in anticipation before he and Dakota looked back at the camera. "Let's see might've earned it the hard way, with some...!"
xxx
A bout of static cut the scene to an image of a white man in a full-body cast lying on a stretcher with his left arm in a sling. He was suddenly sent flying as an ambulance crashed into him, a deep voice announcing "Total Trauma!" over the blare of the siren, the shot pulling back to show Chef sitting on top of the ambulance in a male nurse's outfit.
xxx
"Ella's managed to avoid serious injury for most of the season," Dakota began over a montage of clips showing the singing princess riding Alejandro's shoulder as he climbed the side of a pyramid, leaping into the charmer's arms as they were confronted by a pair of leaf-shaped aliens, and Tyler putting himself between her and the 'Ripper'. "However, that's mostly because Alejandro and Tyler have been protecting her pretty like all the time."
"But since she and Al have broken up," the heiress continued over the replayed clip of Ella slapping the charmer, "and Tyler's blown his chances," the jock was shown accidentally causing the plane to explode, "Ella's going to have to fend for herself from here on out."
"Lucky her, she does have skills to fall back on," Sam said, the montage cutting away briefly to show the gamer nodding knowingly. He motioned back up to the widescreen, which now showed a rotating model of the young woman with what looked like five rows of video game-like stats labeled 'STR', 'AGI', 'END', 'INT', and '?'. "Although she's physically the weakest finalist," the gamer explained as the first row increased to two out of five bars, "her dance lessons have made her fast and flexible." The second row shot up to four out of five. "She's proven she can bounce back from weird Chinese food, giant caterpillar attacks, and just about everything else the show's thrown at her," 'END' increased to three out of five, "and if the last episode is anything to go by she's finally shed some of that childlike innocence that made her so easy to fool," 'INT' increased to three as well.
"And don't forget her amazing singing skills," Dakota chimed in as the bottom row changed to "Singing' and quickly shot up to five out of five. "Whether it's calming a nest of condors or just cheering up her friends, Ella is easily the best singer in the entire Total Drama cast. And in a musical season like ours, that can't be ignored."
"Overall," Sam said as the camera cut back to the hosts, "I'd say she's definitely a girl with a chance. But compared to our next competitor, I'm afraid she's also a bit of an underdog."
"Like Ella, Alejandro's managed to avoid serious injury as well," Dakota said as a blank 'stats' image of the charmer was shown. "Even with putting himself on the line to defend Ella a few times," clips were shown of him protecting his teammates from the caterpillars in the Amazon, then leaping dramatically towards Ella after she slipped off an ice floe and fell into the frigid water – only to get distracted and slip into the water himself.
The camera briefly returned to Dakota as she said "Plus, we all know what a serious strategist he is, and he's been able to weasel out of several eliminations so far." Halfway through the sentence the clips resumed, showing him surviving the eliminations in London, Niagara Falls, Tanzania, and Drumheller.
"Luckily he's not without his flaws," Sam said. "He was the first to get taken out by Staci the Were-Ripper in London," a clip was shown of his capture on the plane before the challenge had even started, "and he took this year's biggest face-plant in Greece." The clip reel changed to a long-distance shot of the Acropolis, and Sam asked "Hey, can we see take another look at it?"
The feed cut to static, and the charmer was shown running into a tall hurdle while talking to someone of-screen, while his opponent Tyler managed to jump over his hurdle and keep going. The audience winced audibly at the impact.
"Overall," Sam said as the widescreen footage cut back to the stats screen, "Alejandro is easily the biggest threat out there," he said as the stats filled themselves in – four for 'STR', five for 'AGI', three for 'END', and four for 'INT'. "And even though it took a lot of luck to get him to where he is," the bottom row of stats changed from '?" to 'Luck' and maxed out at five out of five, "that might not matter much now."
"I hate to say it," Dakota chimed in as the focus moved back to the hosts, "but Alejandro is so the one to beat right now. And as for Sugar's run this season?" she said, looking back up at the widescreen as it cut to another round of clips.
"Well despite her reputation for being a terrible singer," the heiress continued as the clip of Sugar's final high note to the condors was replayed again, "Sugar's managed to show a cunning that nobody saw coming. Between her alliance with Scott to sabotage Team Chris," the alliance in question was shown being made, followed by Sugar distracting Beardo while Scott messed with Team Chris' commercial, "betraying Scott to gain sympathy with the others," Sugar was shown dunking Scott and then fake crying later on, "and taking out anyone who tried to say otherwise," clips of Sierra arguing with Sugar in Area 51 and Dawn pleading her case to Alejandro and Ezekiel on the plane were followed by clips of both girls being eliminated, "Sugar has been a force to be reckoned with throughout the game."
"This pageant queen has a big mean streak and packs a bigger punch," Sam said as the screen cut to Sugar's stats screen, 'STR' filling up to four out of five, "but on the other hand she's not so hot when it comes to running and dodging," 'AGI' scored only a two. "She's also the quickest to tire out of our three finalists, but her iron stomach and ability to keep going when it counts more than make up for it," the gamer added as Sugar's 'END' went up to three out of five. "Intelligence is harder to rank with her, though," he continued as the fourth row switched from a two out of five to a series of question marks. "She seems to be all over the place, thinking up killer strategies one minute but not understanding how trains work the next. It's hard to get a handle on exactly what's going on inside her head."
"I guess that makes her a bit of a wild card, right?" Dakota asked jovially, the final row of Sugar's stats screen staying as '?' but filling up to five out of five. "She's full of surprises, and most of them are no good for the other finalists," Dakota said as the camera returned to the hosts and the audience clapped.
"And that's what makes this race too close to call right now," Sam chimed. "So how about we take a closer look at what could stop each finalist in their tracks?" He motioned back up to the widescreen, which cut to another series of clips.
xxx
"Sugar's biggest weakness, aside from her bad attitude, is probably either her ego," Sam said over a clip of the pageant queen falling for Sierra's fake pageant act in New York, and showing off her imaginary 'Sugarsaurus' in Drumheller, "or her stamina." the gamer added as Sugar was shown falling off her emu in exhaustion.
"If she's not careful," Dakota added as the young woman in question was shown trudging up the side of a snowy mountain in exhaustion, and stumbling forward and stepping on a mine after exhausting herself pulling Blaineley, "then she could totally take on something that she can't really handle."
xxx
"And as for Al," Sam said as the clip montage moved to the Chinese eating challenge, beginning a clip of Alejandro barely making it past the first round and puking after losing the second, "the dude is a super picky eater, and just can't handle gross things in general."
"He better pray there isn't anything like that coming up," Dakota added, "or he'll so be repeating his performance from season one."
xxx
"And Ella?" Sam continued as the recap footage shifted to Ella trying to get Alejandro to look at paintings with her in the Louvre. "Well, I'd say her biggest weakness might just be herself."
"Totally," Dakota chimed in. "She's had trouble focusing on challenges, like, all season," the montage continued on to show Ella sitting on a rock while Tyler collected eggs for her on Rapa Nui. "And even though she seems to be out of her post-betrayal slump, Sugar and Alejandro could still find a way to psyche her out."
xxx
"And here's where it gets interesting," Dakota continued as the static cut away back to her, "because it's time for the Peanut Gallery to vote for their fave finalists!"
The footage flashed ahead to a close-up of small flags bearing Alejandro's face, the camera zooming out as the audience applauded to reveal them to be in the hands of Amy, Scott, and Topher; they were now the only ex-contestants sitting on the left-side couches, though Blaineley was propped up next to them with an Alejandro flag of her own.
Cutting to the right-side couches revealed most of the rest of the cast sitting there holding Ella flags – DJ, Dawn, Sammy, Beardo, B, and Beth on the top row; Sierra, Bridgette, Geoff, Shawn, Ezekiel, and Lightning on the bottom; and Jo standing next to them looking rather annoyed before the shot zoomed out even further and she noticed Scarlett in her hand truck off to the side.
"Why are you of all people are on Sugar's team?" she asked the restrained villainess, placing a Sugar flag through the straps tying Scarlett in place.
"Surprisingly enough, I genuinely believe she's played the best game this season," Scarlett explained through her face mask.
"You're just bitter that Alejandro beat you," Topher taunted. "He's been the dominant force behind most of the votes this season, and played Sugar and Ella like a fiddle! How could he not win?"
"Because he's totally heinous maybe?" Bridgette answered with a glare. "How could anybody support him after what he's done to Ella all season?"
"Yeah! Even Lightning knows that's messed up!" the uber-jock chimed in before rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Though he will admit he's mostly only supportin' Ella right now 'cause she's Tyler's girl."
Ezekiel looked at him, then nodded in agreement. "Ayup, same here. Shame Tyler blew up the plane, eh."
"Don't remind me," Jo grunted, crossing her arms as she walked closer to the couch. "Rooting for someone as ridiculously girly as Ella just feels wrong to me."
"Still, Ella's really the only one left who deserves to win," Bridgette told the two athletes.
A deep and dramatic tune suddenly welled up in the background music as Bruno walked up towards a nervous Beth with a red checkered bib around his neck. "Uhh, is the tea ready yet?" Bruno roared.
The black male intern promptly arrived with a tea kettle and cup on a tray. "I'll take care of it," Shawn volunteered, grabbing the kettle off the tray. "I have some experience in dealing with hungry bears." He cleared his throat, then turned to face Bruno.
The bear roared again, but rather than flee Shawn just shoved the kettle into his mouth, which immediately closed around the spout. Bruno blinked in confusion, then began to drink; it finished after a few seconds, took the kettle out of its mouth, and yawned contentedly.
"Aww," Dakota said sweetly before turning to her boyfriend. "I think it's finally time for us to really reunite, huh?" she asked him, spreading her arms for an embrace.
"Yeah," Sam smiled as moved to meet her, only to be interrupted by a roaring Bruno once again. The bear promptly fell asleep and dropped over onto the gamer, pinning him to the ground with a shocked "Whoa!" as the audience gasped.
"No! Sam!" Dakota shrieked before noticing the camera still on her. "Umm...right," she resumed her hosting demeanor as a trendy tune started to play, "coming up next a few lucky members of the Peanut Gallery will face-off in a totally exciting and death-defying surf challenge," she said quickly, "for a chance to win an incredible advantage for their fave finalist!" She nervously looked down at Sam.
"All that and more," the gamer said, muffled by Bruno's sleeping head, "when we return on Total! Drama! Aftermath!"
"Would you seriously just move already?!" Dakota told the sleeping bear angrily as the audience applauded, even trying to push him off Sam herself.
The show's title screen was shown again, the flaring letters leading in to the break.
(Fade to Commercial and Back)
The title screen was shown once again, the Aftermath theme playing as the flaring letters took the scene back to the beach where Dakota was now standing alone.
"Welcome back to Total Drama Aftermath!" she greeted. "Bruno's been led away, so now it's time to take this show to the next level of excitement. Here's Sam to give you the detes!"
"Thanks, Dakota!" Sam said as the scene cut to a cliff near a large waterfall, the Peanut Gallery members assembled closer to the edge and divided roughly based on who they were supporting. "So guys, tell me, have any of you missed being in the game at all?"
The camera cut closer to the eighteen former competitors, none of whom said anything – even the more competitive ones stayed silent.
"Uhh, great!" the gamer continued with an awkward smile. "'Cause you're gonna be competing to help your favorite Final Three contestants win!" he said as the camera panned over the unenthused faces of the gallery. Scarlett, on the end and immobile, promptly fell over.
"Huh...," Sam said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess someone should, y'know, look after her up here, huh?"
"Not me!" Amy said, quickly darting over to grab Blaineley's hand truck. "I did it last time, and I'm already babysitting her!" she pointed to the older woman, who glared silently at her. "Plus, like, none of us are even on the same team as Scarlett, it's probably like against the rules for us to help her."
"Good point," Sam said dully. "I guess I get why she's the only one supporting Sugar while four of you are on Team Al, but this challenge isn't gonna work that well because of it. Do you think maybe some of you could switch sides, just for a little bit?"
He was met with nothing but silence.
"Uggh," he groaned, pinching his nose. "You guys leave me no choice then. Lightning, B, and Beth," he pointed towards the three on the end of the Team Ella mass, "you're on Team Sugar now." He punctuated his command by picking up Scarlett and shoving her towards the uber-jock.
"Sha-what?" Lightning said, passing the hand truck off to a reluctant Beth. "Man, why you gotta force all this on me for?"
"So great to hear you're all so passionate about who you're supporting," Dakota giggled as she walked up to the group. "Because one member of each team is about to risk their lives for their favorite! Any volunteers?"
"I will," Jo and Bridgette immediately volunteered for Team Ella.
"Uhh, excuse me?" the jock-ette asked in mild disbelief.
"Well I am a surfer," Bridgette told him. "I'm clearly the best choice for a surfing challenge."
The two girls locked eyes for a few moments before Jo relented with an exasperated sigh. "Fine, you do it. I'm not that big on Ella anyways," she told the surfer.
"Good," Bridgette smiled, confidently crossing her arms. "It's about time I did some real surfing on this show."
"I volunteer for my team," Topher said, raising his hand and drawing the camera's focus to Team Alejandro. "As Alejandro's closest personal friend, it's my duty to help him out here."
"You realize he's straight, right?" Scott asked with a smirk, earning a smile from Amy and a glare from Topher.
"And who's gonna represent Team Sugar?" Sam asked the forcibly expanded team.
"Might as well be Lightning," the uber-jock said, raising a hand and stepping forward. "He might not actually like Sugar, but he does like the idea of winnin' somethin'."
"Ooh, excellent!" Dakota squealed in excitement. "Let's take a look at what Bridgette, Topher, and Lightning are up against," she said with a knowing look at the camera, and the shot cut to the bottom of a lower cliff face with a staircase carved into it. "Players have to race to the top," the hostess said as the shot panned upward a little ways to another grassy area where a trio of wooden heads sat behind a simple altar, the central one large and intimidating, "and snag one of the traditional Hawaiian leis from Lono, the Hawaiian god of prosperity and sporting events." The camera zoomed in close to the central wooden depiction of the god, then panned leftward to six surfboards in a variety of colors and styles standing nearby. "Then, you'll grab a surfboard and take it back down the stream!" Dakota continued, the camera moving towards a rapid stream running down a fairly steep slope. "And when you get to the the bottom watch out! There's just a little lava spray nearby," the heiress said, the camera cutting to the mouth of the stream at a waterfall situated next to a small but active lava vent that shot out a small burst of molten rock. A few yards away from the stream's mouth, floating on the ocean, were a trio of rafts that were empty save the flag each had bearing a face of one of the finalists.
Bridgette, Topher, and Lightning all gasped in shock.
"Uhh, are you sure we should be making them do this?" Sam quietly asked Dakota. "Lava seems a little, I dunno, kill-y."
"Hey, Lightning can handle a few thousand degrees of scorching rock, thank you very much," Lightning objected.
"And...it's not like it'll be erupting all the time," Bridgette said a little warily.
"Yeah, we'll be fine!" Topher chimed in.
"I guess that settles it," Sam said, shrugging at his cohost.
"Good," Dakota said. "But first," the shot zoomed out to reveal the large blackboard that had been wheeled next to them, "here are some pictures of animals you can find in Hawaii!" she said, motioning to the images on the board.
"Yeah, if you went to the Maui Zoo!" Sam added with forced enthusiasm.
"Each team must pick an animal to represent the spirit of their player," Dakota explained as the camera zoomed in for a closer look at the choices – bear, dolphin, Doberman Pinscher, shark, deer, jaguar, rhinoceros, raccoon, moose, lion, and kangaroo.
"Lightning," she turned first to the uber-jock, "which animal do you think best represents Sugar?"
"Hmm," Lightning said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That's a tough call, Dakota. 'Cause at first, Lightning was gonna say the moose, but then he remembered that the moose is Lightning. So...Lightning thinks he's gonna have to go with the, uh, the rhinoceros," he said, pointing at the blackboard.
"Ooh, looks like that means Sugar's spirit animal is a rhino!" Dakota said with an excited squeal. "Bridgette, can you choose for Ella?"
"Gladly," the surfer smiled. "Although with so many vicious predators up there, it's hard to find one that fits her...how about the deer?" Bridgette said, the camera wandering around the blackboard before honing in on the surfer's choice.
"A deer? Seriously?" Jo asked skeptically. "How's that supposed to compete with a rhino?"
"I don't know," Bridgette responded, "but if we're going to be working with these animals, I'd rather have one that's as gentle and sweet as the person I'm competing for."
Jo huffed and looked away. "Fine, point taken."
"Okay Topher, you're next. What's your choice for Alejandro?" Dakota asked the wannabe host.
"Well Dakota," Topher answered confidently, "I'm gonna have to go with the jaguar."
"Really? Any particular, uh, reason?" Sam asked.
"Glad you asked, Sam," Topher said, quickly hiding his eagerness behind a suave smile. "Like Alejandro, jaguars are lean, fast, smart, strong, and attractive, making them the best choice by far to represent the greatest of Total Drama competitors."
"Huhuh, then why are you picking one to represent Al?" Sam joked, immediately noticing Topher's slightly sour expression. He coughed, then continued. "Okay, moving on to the catch: assuming you can make it all the way down the stream and past the deadly lava spray without losing your leis," he explained as the camera cut to the mouth of the stream as another spurt of molten rock shot out of the vent, "you'll just have to put that lei onto your team's animal to win." The shot moved down to the three rafts, upon which the three chosen animals were now standing tethered to the posts holding up the pictures of the finalists – Ella's deer on the right; Alejandro's black jaguar in the middle; and Sugar's rhinoceros on the left. The black male intern finished adjusting a collar on the rhino's neck and the beast snorted at him, prompting the intern to fearfully turn and dive into the water.
"Yes!" Bridgette said, pumping a fist excitedly. "I knew picking the deer was the right move."
"You rock, babe!" Geoff called out from the Team Ella crowd.
"Sorry boys," the surfer turned to her opponents, "but it looks like I've got the easiest target."
"Lightning ain't concerned," the uber-jock replied calmly. "He'll just sha-throw the lei onto the rhino's horn, like a ring toss!" He mimed throwing the flower ring, and it easily landing around his chosen animal's most prominent feature as represented by his other arm.
"And don't count me out either," Topher chimed in confidently. "I'm pretty sure I can handle a jaguar."
"Okay," Dakota continued, "whoever manages to lei their animal first will win a major advantage for their fave, and whoever gets second will win a minor one."
"And since last place doesn't get anything," Sam added, "you should probably try not to lose. Otherwise you finalist will have a pretty tough time winning, assuming they can even make it to the final challenge in the first place."
"So good luck everyone!" Dakota told them brightly. "Ready, set, go!"
At her command the music turned tense, and Lightning struck a pose. "Alright, time for Lightning to show you what he's got! Sha-Lightning!" He ran off at top speed, leaving Topher and Bridgette behind.
"And it's time for Topher to show you all a real experience," the host wannabe added, striking a few quick poses of his own before running off as well.
Bridgette shook her head and sighed, saying "Those two..." before jogging off as well.
The camera cut to the staircase, Lightning easily reaching it first. "Aww yeah," he told himself as he paused at the top, "no way am I losin' this!"
"Think again!" Topher said as he ran past him to the right. "And don't forget your swim trunks!" he called out to the athlete.
"Like Lightning was gonna," the uber-jock pouted, quickly running to catch up with Topher.
Bridgette was in dead last once again, reaching the top of the stairs and sighing in exasperation as she raced after her two opponents.
/
The footage flashed ahead, showing the leis and the giant carved head of Lono as Lightning skidded up to it in his swim trunks. "Alright Lono," he said confidently, "time to lei one on Lightning!" He picked up a lei and tossed it in the air, confidently adding "Sha-score!" as he stuck a hand out to catch it.
It was intercepted, however, by the sudden reappearance of Topher, now changed into black racing briefs. "Sorry to steal your thunder, Lightning," the host-wannabe quipped, twirling the lei around his finger as Lightning scowled.
Bridgette was the last to arrive yet again, and had changed into her usual wetsuit. "Well, guess I'm not too far behind," she told herself, just before tripping on the edge of the rug that was laid out beneath the altar the leis were on. She screamed and landed face-down on the ground, earning a wince of sympathy from both of her opponents.
The trademark dings of a musical number sounded, the note icon appearing just above Bridgette on the screen.
"Sorry guys," Sam said as he walked up, "but Chris said we have to make you sing a song."
"Aww man, Lightning thought he was done with the musical numbers," the uber-jock griped.
"Well I've been waiting all season for a chance to sing," Topher said. "So, what'll it be? Some personal reflections on our time on the show? Maybe something a little combative, yet also existential?" he asked Sam with an expectant smile.
"Uhh...just stick with a challenge song, dude," Sam told him.
"Sure thing!" Topher smiled.
~/~
[A drumline opened the song, an acoustic guitar soon joining in as Topher bobbed his head to the rhythm.]
"Rockin', it's my time to shine; takin' out this board of mine;"
[The waterfall and cliff were shown from a distance as he began singing, then the shot cut in close to the surfboards again as he grabbed a red-and-orange striped one, spun it around, and dipped it as though it was a dance partner.]
"Surfin' down until the end; of one thing or another!"
[A quick pan showed the stream below, then returned to the clifftop as Topher looked down, smirked cockily, then jumped with his lei in one hand and his board beneath him.]
"One last chance to prove my might; that's what keeps me up at night;"
[Lightning sang next, looking down thoughtfully with his lei clenched in his left fist and the white lightning bolt in his hair gleaming in the sun; he extended his right hand as if to grab something, then spun around and grabbed a bright yellow surfboard from the row.]
"That's why I'm sha-headin' out; to dodge that lava, brother!"
[He smiled confidently, then sang as he ran across to the cliff's edge, jumping into the air and putting his board beneath him. A splash was heard as the scene cut to the stream.]
"I'm winning this deal,"
[Topher sang confidently, Lightning soon catching up, singing "Yeah yeah!"]
"I'm winnin' for real,"
[The uber-jock shot back, pulling ahead as the host wannabe repeated "Yeah yeah!"]
"I'm takin' the lead!"
[Topher countered, pulling ahead again as Lightning sang "Yeah yeah!"]
"I'm winnin', ea-sy!"
[Lightning countered back as he regained the lead, Topher once again repeating "Yeah yeah!" as he caught back up.]
"Here I go, I won't need luck. For Ella's sake I'll leave them struck;"
[Bridgette sang as the focus moved back to her on the top of the cliff, standing up from a kneeling position in front of Lono and grabbing a lei from the stack. She quickly grabbed a blue wave-patterned surfboard and raced confidently towards the waterfall.]
"'Cause Iii'm, the surfing queen... And! I'll show them who'll be winning!"
[She jumped into the air and hung briefly, landing on her board in the water on 'surfing queen'. The camera panned up to her confident smile as she narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, speeding down the stream.]
"I'm winnin' for Al;"
[Topher sang, the focus cutting back to his close-up. In the background, Lightning and Bridgette sang "Yeah yeah!" together.]
"He's always been my pa-al!"
[The camera pulled back to show an image of Alejandro reclining shirtless on Topher's surfboard; the phantom charmer and host wannabe exchanged finger pistols before Alejandro disappeared in a sudden puff. Once again, Lightning and Bridgette sang "Yeah yeah!" in the background.]
"Sha-representin' Suugaar!"
[Lightning sang as the camera cut to him, showing an image of the pageant queen reclining on Lightning's surfboard in a similar pose as the image of Alejandro on Topher's. In the background, Bridgette and Topher sang "Yeah yeah!"]
"Even though I don't, liiike heeer!"
[Lightning sang soulfully, the image of Sugar on his board scowling and disappearing with an annoyed puff.
"Whoa-oa!" Topher suddenly yelped, gaining the attention of both Lightning and the camera. "Hey, hey, hey!" he said in a slight panic as he ducked under a few burning rocks that had been ejected from the volcanic vent. "Ahh!" he finished as the tip of his board was singed by one.
"Yeow," Lightning said, the camera cutting back to him as he too tried to dodge the semi-molten rock and got his board burned in the process. "Sha-hot!"]
"Gotta speed up; slip through;"
[Bridgette sang determinedly to a few pointed drum beats, the shot pulling back from her close-up to show her deftly swerving around every bit of lava that rained down upon her.]
"Sorry boys I'm, past yoouuu!"
[She straightened up slightly to smile and wave at her opponents as she quickly sped between Lightning on the left and Topher on the right, both boys looking startled.]
"Though you're good, I am too;"
[Lightning replied, speeding up and passing Topher; in the background, all three of their voices chanted "Yeah yeah!"]
"Don't count me out so soo~oon;"
[The host wannabe countered, quickly catching up so that he, Lightning, and Bridgette were vying for the lead. Once again, all three of their voices chanted "Yeah yeah!" in the background.]
"Oh yeah, I'm winning this ti~ime!"
[Topher continued, taking the lead briefly as the three voices chanted "Yeah yeah!" once again.]
"Sorry dude, it's mine!"
[Lightning countered, taking the lead again as the three voice chanted "Yeah yeah!"]
"Looks like you're still be-hind;"
[Bridgette told them, easily gaining the lead again and even widening it as their three voices chanted "Yeah yeah!" again.]
"Oh~oh, I'm winnin' this time!"
[The three sang together, then camera zooming out to show Bridgette in the lead, Lightning behind her,and Topher in the rear. For one last time, their three voices sang "Yeah yeah!" in the background.]
"Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
[The three sang together again, finishing out the song.]
~/~
Bridgette was still in the lead after the music faded out, and was quickly faced with another volley of burning rocks. "Whoa!" she said, quickly swerving out of the way of one after the other. She quickly looked back and wiped the sweat from her brow, but in her distraction allowed another burning rock to land on her board just as she shot off the final waterfall.
She smiled confidently, then looked down and noticed the rock burning her board. "Oh no!" she said, her panic causing her to throw her lei a little early. She splashed down safely into the ocean, but the ring of flowers didn't quite make it all the way to its intended target – it only landed on the raft, and was promptly eaten by the deer. The buck batted its wide, long-lashed eyes, earning a groan from Bridgette.
"Sha-woo~" Lightning said, striking a pose as he shot over the top of the waterfall on his board. "Sha-Lightning!" he exclaimed, giving his lei a strong toss. A dramatic tune played as the camera followed its flight; it ended up soaring right over the glaring rhino and landed on top of the flag behind it.
"Aww, sha-what?!" Lightning said in annoyance as he splashed down into the water.
"Sorry Lightning, you lost," Bridgette said amicably as she swam over to the uber-jock.
The two were promptly alerted by a scream overhead, and looked up to see Topher finally shooting over the waterfall on his board. The background music picked up in intensity as he flew straight for his target, and the all-black jaguar snarled in anticipation of a bit of food coming its way. The host wannabe somehow managed to splash down right in front of the raft and let the lei loose as he did so, and he just managed to hook it on the big cat's lower jaw. It stopped roaring and looked down in confusion, and Topher resurfaced behind the raft.
"D...did I win?" he said, looking around as he caught his breath. The jaguar was shown spitting own the lei as a triumphant tune played, and Topher grinned. "What am I saying? Of course I won!"
"Wow, Topher actually did it!" Sam said as the scene returned to the hosts and the crowd went wild.
"I know, it's so shocking!" Dakota added.
"Crap, I knew I shouldn't have stood down so easily..." Jo muttered as the camera panned over to the remaining members of Team Ella.
"Hey, at least Bridge managed to out-surf the others," Geoff told her.
"Not like it matters," Sierra huffed. "Why'd it have to be Topher who won? Neither Alejandro nor especially him deserve it!"
"Well I guess there's nothin' we can do about it now," DJ said.
"Yeah," Sammy chimed in. "Besides, at least Bridgette won something for Ella, right?" she asked looking around at the others for confirmation.
"She better," Beardo said, "or it's gonna get" he mimicked the sound of a war zone "out here."
"Uhh, speaking of potential danger," Shawn spoke up with a hint of nervousness, "anyone see where the bear went?"
"He's over here," Scott answered from a few feet away, "enjoying his new chew-toy." He pointed over his shoulder, and the camera panned over to Bruno sleepily chewing on the head of a very frightened and very immobile Blaineley.
"Shouldn't we, like, do something?" Beth whispered to B, the camera cutting to show them and the equally-bound Scarlett nearby. The silent genius just shrugged.
"Well then...," Sam said as the shot cut back to him and Dakota, looking a little stunned.
"At least we can finally have that hug now that Bruno's, umm, occupied," the heiress said as a touching tune played, and both lovers smiled.
They moved to hug, only for a loud a deliberate cough to interrupt them. "Excuse me, hate to interrupt," Topher said as he walked up, Bridgette and Lightning right behind him and all three still dripping wet, "but about that advantage I just won?"
Dakota sighed, then resumed her smile. "Of course!" she told the young man. "I mean, you did do a pretty amazing job out there."
"Yeah," Sam chuckled, "especially since nobody was actually supposed to win."
"What?" the three challenge competitors said at once, the crowd wincing and murmuring their obvious disapproval.
"It was Chris' idea," Dakota explained as a trendy tune began to play. "But someone did win, because you guys are totally awesome!" She looked at the camera, and the crowd cheered. "And thanks to Topher, Alejandro is going to receive a major advantage to use in the final challenge!" As she spoke, the black male intern brought a wheelbarrow out center stage. "Which, umm, is good for him...I...guess?" she added uncertainly before resuming her usual smile. "A wheelbarrow!" she announced, the camera moving in for a close-up of the tool. "It'll make sense later, I promise," she added as and aside.
"Ooh, and Team Ella, don't be feeling left out!" she continued. "Since Bridgette got second, Ella wins the minor advantage: a baby stroller!" A white male intern wheeled the carriage out next to the wheelbarrow.
"And since Team Sugar got last," Sam announced, "sorry dude," he added as a quick aside to a disappointed Lightning, "Sugar doesn't win anything...though I don't think anybody really wanted to see her have an advantage in the finale anyway."
"I did," Scarlett said through her face mask.
"Yeah, well, I don't think that's gonna help her much right now," Sam said.
"I guess knowin' that Sugar's hosed makes up fer the fact that Alejandro's got an advantage, eh," Ezekiel said, getting a few murmurs and nods of agreement from the others.
"How will Alejandro's advantage play out?" Dakota asked the camera with a sly smile. "Can Ella keep up with just a stroller? Will Sugar even be able to keep up with her disadvantage?"
"And how in the name of Lono will any of them even get here for the finale?" Sam added.
"Find out the answers to those and a ton of other questions next time," Dakota said, spreading her arms wide as the season's blaring title music played, "on Total! Drama! World Tour!"
"Yes, and hopefully we won't all perish trying to get off this island," Dawn said calmly as the music peaked, the shot already zoomed out.
"Uhh...what?" Sam asked the moonchild as the head of every former contestant present turned towards her.
(Fade to Credits)
Author's Note - Post Script
And, well, there you have it. Not a whole lot to talk about here, at least not in-depth, but there are several small things to point out.
The first is that I made it a point to give everyone at least something to say, or in B's case to react to. Well, everyone except for Blaineley of course - I didn't want her stealing attention from the character that myself and all you readers like more, so I decided to just follow canon by putting her in a full body cast. In my defense, I never did show her or Dawn landing after their Drop of Shame.
Both songs are, of course, Shuffled version of their canon counterparts, with 'Who You Gonna Root For?' being the more different of the two. Without Harold, Courtney, or anybody else that was both musically inclined and willing to interrupt a song like that I just had it continue like the producers and hosts probably planned; it might get a little repetitive at times, but I really liked being able to show off more clips.
For the second song and associated challenge, Bridgette was pretty much locked in as a competitor as far back as my decision to make Dakota and Sam the Aftermath hosts way back when I was planning TSA. She's a surfer, so it was only natural that she jump at the chance to compete in a surfing challenge - and it wouldn't be hard to give her a good finalist to root for. Lightning was the second one I decided on, though I did briefly consider giving his (or Topher's) spot to Jo since she's the type to want to compete as well. But in the end, Bridgette vs Lightning was too good to pass up even if it didn't exactly play out like that in the song. And as for Topher...well, he's the only one who'd volunteer for Alejandro, and since I wanted to give him a bit of focus anyway with his very brief stint as cohost, I figured he'd make a good choice for the challenge.
The animals were easy to choose - Alejandro got his canon jaguar; the deer suits Ella even more than it suited Cody; and the rhino for Sugar both gave me an animal that wasn't used in canon, while also suiting her pretty well. And as for the winners...well, I ended up deciding that the last person to throw would have to get the major advantage for the tension to keep, and that had to be Topher. So Alejandro gets the wheelbarrow, Ella the stroller, and Sugar gets nothing...but whether or not any of that will end up mattering has yet to be written.
Next week, we'll see the Final Three's journey to Hawaii, and all the trials and tribulations that involves. I hope you all look forward to it!
- 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?)