EDIT: THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REWRITTEN GO FIX ERRORS AND IMPROVE CONTENT.
Author's Note: It's been a while, huh?
In short, school's been kicking my butt, and my writing motivation fluctuates. Plus, I was expecting to get a laptop for Christmas (so I could get updates out faster), but that didn't happen, so I'm still stuck with my phone for now. On the bright side, I did manage to get around to rewriting the first three chapters of this story—I didn't change anything drastic, though (I think). I still highly recommend you go back and read them if you haven't already.
Well, that's all I have to say for now, so sit back and enjoy the episode!
"Last time on Total Drama Island, the Screaming Gophers kicked butt in the Awake-a-Thon, and the Killer Bass took their first loss. Harsh. Meanwhile, Celestia orchestrated the first ever Total Drama Island alliance by convincing Makoto and Yasuhiro to join forces with her. And in the end, Mondo's temper got the better of him, and he became the second camper to rock the Boat of Losers."
The camera cut to Chris walking down the Dock of Shame. "Who will break the rules of their new alliance? Who will be able to stay awake until the end of the episode? And who will take the next humiliating walk down the Dock of Shame? Stay tuned for the most dramatic campfire ceremony yet, on...
Total...
Drama...
Island!"
Episode Three: Dodgebrawl
The episode opened at the restaurant, where everyone was either eating breakfast, or trying to catch up on sleep. The camera focused on Celestia, Yasuhiro, and Makoto in particular, who all sat at a table together.
"I believe this is an appropriate time to set the alliance rules, yes?" Celestia spoke in a hushed voice. Makoto and Yasuhiro nodded. "Alright then. The first rule is... I am the alliance leader, therefore, I make the rules."
"Makes sense to me," Yasuhiro shrugged. Makoto nodded in agreement.
"Secondly," Celestia continued, "you will follow any plans I come up with during challenges and votes. Lastly, if you break any of the aforementioned rules, you will be kicked out of the alliance. Any questions?"
The two boys shook their heads.
Celestia smiled. "Good. Well, if you did not mind, I would like to eat my breakfast in peace now."
Both boys blinked at her subtle shooing, but awkwardly stood up from their chairs, allowing the viewpoint to switch over to Junko.
It was obvious the girl was dead tired, made evident by the unflattering bags under her eyes and the way her hands shook as she held a cup of green tea in her hands.
Tenko, who sat by her side, stared at her with a look of concern. "Are you doing okay, Junko?"
Junko let out a strained groan as her response.
"...Right."
"Heya, Junko!"
Confused, both girls looked up to see the source of the greeting, who was Kokichi. Like Junko, he too, was visibly tired. However, the exuberant demeanor he showed clearly contrasted that. "You look like crap."
"Shut up," Tenko snapped.
"I mean, seriously! You slept all night and you're still tired? How much are you hurting?"
Junko used all of the little energy she had to shoot a pointed glare at Kokichi.
The boy pouted at her expression. "Jeez, you're boring. You could've at least threatened me or something."
Junko and Tenko exchanged a glance, then the viewpoint switched over again to show Chris entering the restaurant. "Good morning, campers! Your next challenge begins in ten minutes, and be prepared to bring it!"
As Chris turned on his heel and exited the restaurant, the campers exchanged glances with each other as they wondered what sort of challenge awaited them today.
The scene changed to the campers standing in a large, see-through glass-walled court at the beach. Unsurprisingly, Junko was the last person to trail in, immediately collapsing on one of the two bleachers that were set up—presumably, one for each team.
Tenko took notice of this and whipped around to face her teammates. "Hey! Junko's still tired, so you better not wake her up!" She glared at the boys in particular as she said that.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, Kaito raised an eyebrow at Kokichi. "Dude, how are you not on the floor?"
Kokichi shrugged matter-of-factly. "I pull all-nighters all the time. I'm used to it."
Suddenly, a whistle blew and the two boys, along with the rest of the campers, looked over to see the source of the noise: Chef Hatchet in a referee's outfit. He walked across the court, rolling his eyes and giving the campers looks of disgust. He finally stopped next to Chris and a pile of red balls.
"Today's challenge is the classic game of dodgeball," Chris started, holding up a ball for everyone to see. "The first rule of dodgeball is..." He spun the ball around and shot it at Hiyoko. "You're out."
"Oof!" Hiyoko grunted as the ball slammed into her stomach. "Hey! You can't do that!"
Hiyoko threw the ball back at Chris, who caught it. "If you catch the ball, the thrower gets sent out, and the catcher gets to bring another team member out on the court." He then tossed a ball to one of the contestants. "Kaito, try and hit me. If you're holding a ball, you can use it to deflect another ball, but," he purposely dropped his ball, "if it knocks the ball out of your hands, you're out."
A devilish grin grew on Hiyoko's face as she asked, "So, remind us what we're supposed to do when the ball comes at us, again?"
Kaito threw his dodgeball at Chris, who swiftly deflected it with his own ball. "You dodge!"
Hiyoko quickly ducked out of the way, allowing the ball to hit the person standing behind her, Mikan, in the chest.
"Ooh," Chris winced. "You were supposed to dodge!"
"Shit!" Kaito rushed over to Mikan and lent his hand out to her. "Are you okay?"
A glint of surprise flashed across Mikan's face, and she responded with, "Oh, yes! I-I'll be fine!" However, the pain seemed to catch up to her, and she immediately winced.
"You have one minute until game time," Chris announced. "Five players will have to participate in each round."
The camera cut to the Killer Bass in a group huddle.
"Okay, hear me out," Kazuichi started, "we send out the weak players first to lull them in a false sense of security, then we send out the strong players to pick 'em off!"
"So we send you out first?" Leon snarked, earning a glare from Kazuichi. "Anyway, that's a terrible idea. We should send out the strong players first."
"Like that's any better!"
"How about you both shut up and we just send out a mix of both?" Hiyoko interjected.
"Yeah, that seems like the best solution," Sayaka agreed.
Leon shrugged. "Fine, let's do it."
The team stared at Kazuichi expectantly, who crossed his arms. "Fine."
Eventually, both teams had put forth their first round of players—Kaede, Kaito, Maki, Rantaro, and Kokichi for the Gophers, while the Bass had Tenko, Hiyoko, Leon, Makoto, and Sayaka. The players stared down their opponents, waiting for the starting signal.
"Bring it on, fishies," Kokichi mocked with a shit-eating grin.
"Oh, please," Hiyoko sneered. "You losers don't stand a chance!"
"Both teams ready?" Chris asked, looking between said teams. "Best of five games wins! Now, let's dodge some ball!"
Chef blew the whistle, and the benched campers cheered. The first match had officially begun.
Tenko, Sayaka, and Leon each picked up a ball and stared down their opposites, Kaito, Kaede, and Rantaro. Sayaka made the first move toward Kaede; she dodged and returned fire, hitting Sayaka. Chef blew the whistle, signaling that Sayaka had to leave the field.
After Sayaka had left the field, Leon took a shot at Rantaro. Rantaro tried to dodge it the best he could, but still got stuck on the shoulder. Chef blew the whistle, and he left the field.
Hiyoko stepped forward and threw a ball at Maki. Maki dodged it easily, and Kokichi made a swift counter-attack that hit Hiyoko straight in the forehead. As Hiyoko fell to the ground, Chef blew the whistle yet again.
Kokichi blew a raspberry at the girl as she exited the field, only to immediately get beaned in the head by Tenko once the game resumed.
"Ha!" Tenko laughed, but was quickly cut short when she had to bend herself out of the path of a flying ball from the Gophers. "Whoa!"
Kaede grabbed a ball and chucked it. Its intended target, Makoto, managed to dive out the way in time, and the ball hit Tenko instead.
While Tenko walked off the field, Leon scooped up a pair of balls. He threw the first one at Kaede while she was distracted. Kaito noticed the ball, however, and quickly shoved Kaede out of the way. The dodgeball hit him in the ribs as he fell on Kaede.
Kaito groaned in pain, while Kaede looked mildly freaked out—that was, until, another ball hit her in the head, effectively changing her expression into one of annoyance. "Ow."
Chef blew the whistle, and the two teens rose to her feet and exited the playing field.
"Sorry about shoving you," Kaito apologized. "Leon was trying to hit you and, y'know... "
"Nah, it's fine," Kaede assured. "I know you were only trying to help." She shot a bright smile at Kaito, who quickly turned away to hide the blush that broke out on his face.
CONFESSIONAL - KAITO:
He sighed dreamily, his face still a bright pink. "Kaede is so nice and optimistic, and—and pretty..." He then paused, realizing what he'd just said, and blinked. "Uh, can we erase that?"
Back to the match, it was now down to Makoto and Leon for the Gophers, facing Maki for the Gophers. Despite the numbers advantage the Bass had on her, Maki didn't seemed fazed in the slightest as she took the first shot which, missed both boys by a long shot.
At least, that was what it looked like until the ball bounced off the wall behind them, nailing Makoto in the back.
That move left Maki and Leon as the last members of their team. The two stared each other down as the court watched in silence.
Eventually, Leon threw first; Maki ducked. She then threw her own ball high into the air, forcing Leon to look up to keep track of it. Unfortunately, it left him open to a quick second ball from Maki, and he went down, along with his team's score.
"What?!" Leon protested as he was whistled off the court, and the Gophers cheered at their first victory.
"Celeste, you didn't play last round, so you should play in this one!" Tenko suggested once the teams gathered before the second round.
"I would love to," Celestia replied, "however, Makoto and Yasuhiro have already graciously offered to take my place for the remainder of the challenge." She shot a look over at her alliance members. "Isn't that correct?"
"Huh?" Makoto blinked, scratching his head. Celestia sent him a pointed look, and his eyes widened. "Oh, yeah! That's right."
"Sure, I don't mind," Yasuhiro shrugged.
Tenko blinked. "Oh. Well, I guess that's fine."
The camera cut back to the court, where the designated players were gathered; Mikan, Kaede, Ryoma, Rantaro, and Komaru for the Gophers, while Leon, Ibuki, Tenko, Yasuhiro, and Kazuichi played for the Bass.
Chef blew the whistle, and the match began with Yasuhiro throwing a ball at Rantaro; he raised his own to block it, then threw said ball at Yasuhiro.
As Yasuhiro left the field, Ibuki spun around in place with her ball to gain momentum. Upon releasing the ball, however, instead of it flying over to the Gopher's side as intended, it flew over to the Bass's bleachers and smacked Celestia square in the face.
Chris chuckled. "That'll smear the makeup."
"Oops," Ibuki apologized, awkwardly staring at Celestia. "Sorry about that, Celeste!"
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
An uncharacteristically angry Celeste was stuffing tissues up her bloody nose. "That salope is so going to get it!"
Ryoma used the opportunity to nail a distracted Ibuki in the back of the head.
"Haha!" Ibuki laughed, rubbing her head. "What a head rush! You totally got me, little man!"
When Ibuki left the field, Kazuichi acted in retaliation by throwing a ball at Ryoma; Kaede, however, managed to catch it. Chef blew the whistle, and Kazuichi stomped off the field while Kaede glanced over at the Gopher's bench and gestured for Shuichi to enter the field.
"Eh? Me?" Shuichi asked, pointing at himself for clarification. Kaede nodded. "Oh, um..."
Kaito, who sat beside Shuichi, gave him a hard slap on the back. "C'mon, Shuichi, you'll do fine!"
Kokichi, who sat on Shuichi's other side, snorted. "Yeah, right. Have you seen Shuichi? He's practically a twig!"
"And you're on the same team as him," Kaito pointed out, shooting him a glare. "Would it kill you offer a little encouragement?"
Kokichi shrugged. "Hey, I'm just stating the truth."
Rolling his eyes, Kaito turned his attention back to Shuichi. "Don't listen to him, Shuichi. Just go on out there and do your best!"
After a few moments of awkward silence, Shuichi reluctantly stood up and made his way onto the field. He wasn't able to do much, however, as he was almost immediately hit in the head by a ball that came from the opposing team's side.
"Told ya!" Kokichi cackled as Shuichi sat down on the bleachers again, rubbing his now aching head.
Kaito glared at Kokichi once again, then put a reassuring hand on Shuichi's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it, Shuichi. You did your best."
The camera switched back to the ongoing game; Komaru threw a ball at Kazuichi, who narrowly dodged it.
Yasuhiro witnessed the encounter, and something must've snapped inside of him because he then yelled as he picked up a nearby ball. In a rage of fury, he threw it at Komaru, sending her to the ground. He repeated the same play with Mikan, Kaede, Ryoma, and Rantaro, and eliminated the Gopher team in less than thirty seconds.
The benched Gophers stared at the scene before them with wide eyes, too shocked to say anything, while the Bass cheered at their victory.
"So... What do we do?" Komaru asked once the teams returned to their huddles.
"If an idiot like Hiro can take us out like that, then we're in trouble," Maki said.
"I wouldn't worry," Kirumi spoke, causing the rest of the Gophers to respond with confused looks. "All we need is a strategy."
Maki raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you have one in mind?"
Something resembling a smirk grazed her face as she motioned for her teammates to huddle closer. "Indeed I do..."
Soon, the third round was underway, and the participating players were lined-up and waiting. The Gophers had fielded Kirumi, Ryoma, Kokichi, Kaede, and Komaru, while the Bass had Yasuhiro, Kazuichi, Ibuki, Leon, and Makoto.
When the whistle blew, Kazuichi, Yasuhiro, and Ibuki threw a ball one after the other. However, their intended targets dodged all three of them.
"Ha!" Kokichi laughed, shooting a smug look at the other team. "You guys couldn't hit the broad side of a billboard!"
Despite his taunting, Kokichi still managed to get hit in the face by a ball that had rolled under Leon's legs during the rebound.
"Ack!" Kokichi cried, leaning over. He quickly straightened himself up, though there was a trail of blood pouring down his nose now, and he chuckled. "Heh, heh. That didn't even hurt."
As Kokichi left the field, the other Gophers stared at Kirumi in slight concern. She whispered, "It'll be fine."
And so, while Leon was distracted by his small victory, all of the Gophers picked up a ball. Together, they proceeded to pummel Leon with them.
The remaining Bass stared at their teammates' fallen form, unaware that a few balls had rolled back over to the Gopher's side. Moving as one, the Gophers followed Kirumi's signal and hit Yasuhiro next. The play was repeated with Makoto, Ibuki, and finally Kazuichi.
"Oh, man," Chris chuckled as Kazuichi fell to the ground, "that's worth an instant replay!"
As per the host's command, the clip of Kazuichi getting struck in head chin, shoulder, and stomach was shown again.
"Forward," Chris instructed. "Rewind... Forward... Rewind... Forward... Rewind... And pause!" The clip paused on the exact moment Kazuichi got hit in the face. "Haha, that's gonna leave a mark."
With Chris satisfied, the shot returned to the court, where the four Bass members laid on the ground. The whistle blew, signaling that all of them were out.
"Heck yeah!" Komaru pumped her fists as the Gophers exited the field. "Who's the boss?!"
"Okay, that was pathetic!" Leon exclaimed as the teams huddled once more. "We need to counter that strategy, and fast. Any ideas?"
The team murmured amongst themselves, though no helpful solutions were offered up.
Well, that was until Tenko spoke up. "Well, we could ask Junko for help..." She, along with the rest of the Bass, looked over to Junko still fast asleep on the bleachers. "She might not look like it, but she can pack a punch!"
The Bass looked at each other. Finally, Makoto offered his opinion. "...I don't think we should wake her up. It doesn't seem fair to make her play when she's still tired."
"We might have to take that chance," Sayaka sighed. "If the Gophers win this round, we lose. Again."
Makoto opened his mouth, then closed it. "...Well, if it's our only choice..."
With that notion silently agreed upon, the Bass disbanded, allowing Tenko to approach Junko. She lightly tapped the other girl on the shoulder. "Junko. Hey, Junko."
Junko didn't so much as stir, however. Tenko frowned; she then leaned down so that she was directly next to the other girl's ear. "Hey, Junko!"
With a snort, Junko awoke and immediately tried to punch Tenko. However, Tenko narrowly dodged the attack and Junko eventually came to her senses. "Huh—Wha—What's going on?"
"Sorry for waking you up, Junko!" Tenko apologized. "But we kinda, sorta, definitely need your help."
Junko blinked. "With what?"
"Um, I'm not sure if you heard, but we're playing dodgeball. We're kinda on a losing streak, and if we lose this next round, we lose the whole game."
Junko nodded. "Oh. How did that happen?"
"They used some sort of strategy, I think; they were keeping all of the balls on their side, and then threw them at us one by one!"
Sitting up, Junko scratched her chin. "It's a pretty good strategy—against the unprepared. I'm thinking, if we keep as many balls on our side as we can and prevent them from working together, we'll win."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Hiyoko chimed in.
"Easy," Junko replied. "Using a modification of their own strategy. A couple of us will keep track of the balls, while the rest of us take shots, okay? Any questions?" The Bass shook their heads. "Good."
A flash sent the scene to the fourth round. Junko, Tenko, Ibuki, Leon, and Makoto faced down Kirumi, Komaru, Kaede, Maki, and Kaito.
Leon made the first throw; his ball was soon followed by Junko's and Tenko's. They flew straight towards Kirumi, who was quick to notice and even quicker to act. She dodged the first two balls, but was unable to prevent herself from being hit by the third one.
Chef blew the whistle once she hit the ground, leaving the Gophers momentarily stunned.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" Maki asked, snapping the other Gophers out of their trance. "Come on, grab a ball and start throwing."
Maki led the charge, inspiring the others to follow her. All three of them hit Ibuki, leaving Makoto to keep track of the balls all by himself.
"Hit the girl with the pigtails next!" Junko instructed, darting back to avoid a ball from the Gopher's side.
Knowing what was going to come, Maki scrambled for a ball within her reach but was unable to make use of it before she was struck out as well.
When Maki left the field, Kaito scooped up a pair of dodgeballs before they could roll back over to the Bass' side. Instead of waiting for Komaru and Kaede to prepare themselves, he took it upon himself to start targeting Junko. He missed both shots, as Junko dodged the first and caught the second, forcing Kaito to the bleachers.
A short montage of Kaede and Komaru getting pummeled was shown, simultaneously eliminating the last two members of the team.
The Killer Bass celebrated their second win as the victorious teens retreated to the bleachers. Shortly thereafter, the final round began; Shuichi, Kaito, Maki, Ryoma, and Kokichi faced off against Leon, Sayaka, Ibuki, Junko, and Kazuichi.
"Gophers, Bass!" Chris exclaimed. "Let's send a sample of this to the lab and see what you're made of!"
Chef blew the whistle and threw down his arm, signaling that the final round had officially begun.
At first, nobody threw a ball. They were being held by Kaito, Kokichi, Maki, Leon, Sayaka, and Kazuichi respectively, but they all held back, tensed up and waiting. Each team waited for the other to throw first so they could collect balls for a coordinated assault.
A minute passed. Two. Three.
Kaito was the first to crack, hurling his ball at Leon; Leon dodged, and in retaliation, tossed his dodgeball at Kokichi. However, Kokichi managed to deflect it, the ball nailing Ibuki in the process.
From there, things only grew even more chaotic. Sayaka threw her ball at Maki, who dodged it but missed her counter-attack.
The camera suddenly focused on Ryoma, who was scanning the playing field with narrowed eyes. He honed in on Kazuichi, who stood between Junko and Sayaka. The two girls were fairly engrossed in the game, and thus paid the boy no heed.
Looking to his left, he caught Maki's eye. Ryoma motioned to her, and the girl nodded; they each picked up a ball and launched them across the court.
Kazuichi noticed the balls flying in his direction, eyes widening when he realized that they were heading towards the two girls. He wasted a second panicking before making the decision to dive in front of Junko, not seeing that her and Sayaka had already gotten out of the way, leaving him open to a ball to the crotch.
Junko and Sayaka quickly coordinated a pair of balls towards Ryoma; he caught one, but was hit by the other.
Maki whispered to the remaining Gophers, and they nodded.
Kokichi, Kaito, and Shuichi jumped into action, dashing across the court and throwing any ball they came across with no regard for aim. Their tactic had managed to confuse the Bass long enough for Junko to get hit in the crossfire. However, the Gophers commotion against them to eliminate Maki.
More and more balls were launched across the field until Shuichi and Kazuichi were the last members of their respective team standing.
"Hey, we might actually win this one!" Hiyoko exclaimed, looking between the two boys.
"Don't let her get to you, Shuichi!" Kaede encouraged. "You've got this!"
Kazuichi steeled himself, and Shuichi gulped. The latter picked up a ball, only for him to get startled thanks to a incredibly poor roar from the latter. Shuichi dropped the ball and looked up in surprise, leaving him to get hit in the shoulder by Kazuichi.
"And the Killer Bass win!" Chris announced as Chef blew the whistle.
The Bass cheered at this realization, leading to them picking up Kazuichi and walking out of the court altogether.
CONFESSIONAL - KAZUICHI:
"Hell yeah!" he exclaimed, pumping his fists. "Second win for our team, and I was the reason for it! Again. At this rate, they might as well just hand me the money!"
Chris turned to the losing team with a frown. "Gophers, what happened?"
"Guess someone needs to work on their dodgeball skills," Kokichi said, glancing at Shuichi.
At the elimination ceremony, the Gophers sat before Chris, staring at him with varying expressions. A plate of marshmallows were in his hands as he began his monologue. "Campers, you've cast your votes and made your decision. One of you is going home, and cannot come back. Ever. Maki."
Chris tossed the first marshmallow to the girl, who caught it easily.
"Kaito, Kirumi, Ryoma, Rantaro, Kaede, Komaru, Mikan."
Each camper that was called received a marshmallow until it was down to the last two, Shuichi and Kokichi. The former kept his eyes glued to the ground, while the latter stared at the host with an amused grin.
"The final marshmallow goes to..."
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"Kokichi."
Kokichi wore a smug smile as he was tossed the final marshmallow, much to the irritation of a few of his teammates.
Shuichi sighed and stood up. "Honestly, I was kinda expecting this. Lasting long in this competition, I mean. ...Ah, sorry, I'll just get going now."
After everyone said their goodbyes, Shuichi made his way to the Dock of Shame, where he boarded the Boat of Losers, leaving the island forever.
From the campfire pit, Chris grinned at the camera. "What a tense day! ...Okay, that was mostly because of the dodgeball game, but whatever. I still get paid! Tune in next time for the most dramatic episode yet on... Total! Drama! Island!"
Killer Bass - Celestia, Hiyoko, Ibuki, Junko, Kazuichi, Leon, Makoto, Sayaka, Tenko, Yasuhiro
Screaming Gophers - Kaede, Kaito, Kirumi, Kokichi, Komaru, Maki, Mikan, Rantaro, Ryoma
Eliminated - Toko, Mondo, Shuichi
Author's Note: Again, sorry for the unexpected hiatus!
Well, writing a game of dodgeball was harder than I thought. At the very least, I hope the scenes weren't too awkward to read. Also, thank you for all the support you guys have been given me! It makes me happy to know that people enjoy this series!
And that's all for this episode. See you next time!