(Sundae Muddy Sundae)
Spectacular Webhead 11: Yeah, I never intended for Heather to get to the end, but she did play her part.
Theboiishere12345: Heather was never meant to go to the end, but she went down fighting as always. She managed to direct Mal away from her real hiding space, but couldn't tell to many people otherwise she'd risk him overhearing it. Overall I'm glad to see you enjoyed the chapter, so thanks for the feedback. And I did enjoy my vacation.
Ellismskd24: That does sound pretty interesting. I'll have to check it out at some point.
SuperSonicHeroes: I enjoyed the challenge too, and personally the canon version was probably my favorite episode of the season. From what I've heard there were originally plans to include Brick in the season, along with a few others, but they were scrapped. Too bad though, I do think that Brick would've done really well, like I've tried to do in my story, even if Mal is still kind of using him. And yeah, Mike progressing in (I went with the) mindscape did hinder Mal in one of the challenges, but he's got his reasons for being impressed. I wanted to make sure the final five was unpredictable, and from what I gather I've certainly done that. Heather was going to end up eliminated eventually, but she went out on a high note and definitely played her part. The tablet she left behind will come into use soon enough. Also yeah, the references are always fun for me to include, since I love Ninja Turtles and the new Transformers movie was awesome.
Frosty Wolf: True, but let's not forget that like Alejandro, Heather left behind the key to exposing Mal to everyone present, and even if it's less effective here, Mal being ousted would leave an impact.
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Starting with the recap…
In typical fashion, Chris started off the newest episode with a recap of the previous one on the Dock of Shame "Last time on Total Drama All Stars: Mal found out that just about everyone else outside of his little alliance wants to stuff him in the Flush of Shame. Heather apparently hid a tablet packed with footage of Mike's bad behavior somewhere beyond the range of my many cameras. Gotta give it to her, she might be a giant pain in the ass but she definitely knows how to play the game. On another note, the final six got to run through the brutal obsta-kill course and prove that whatever doesn't kill you doesn't necessarily make you stronger, but definitely hurts like hell. The winner, thanks to Brick throwing himself under the bus, was Mike, or was that actually Mal? And I'm not joking, I have no idea who it was cause I can never tell the two of them apart. The next one to take the flush was none other than Heather. She will not be missed, at least not by any of those here. We only have five players left in the running, and we have to stop and wonder which of them will live to play another day, and who is going to be sent on a one way sight seeing tour of sewer city, courtesy of the Flush of Shame? There's only one way to find out, and it's to tune in right here and right now, on Total! Drama! All Stars!"
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(intro)
Shots of four brand new spotlights popping out, following by the camera zooming through the camp, past the spa hotel and crappy cabin, up to the top of the thousand foot cliff, and then down into the lake below
Dear mom and dad I'm doing fine
You guys are on my mind
Underneath the lake, Anne Maria (also holding onto a can of hairspray) and Courtney are both tugging back and forth on a treasure chest, which opens to reveal Cody inside, along with Mr Coconut and a McLean Brand Invincibility Statue floating out of it and to the surface, while Duncan is lounging in a canoe.
You asked me what I wanted to be
And now I think the answer is plain to see
In a nearby forest, Jo is jogging through and passes a clearing where DJ and Dawn both sit on the ground meditating, hand in hand and surrounded by several animals.
I wanna be famous
Over at a certain river, Heather and Alejandro are riding in a canoe and glaring at each other until the canoe goes over a waterfall, with Alejandro gracefully leaping out onto dry land, but Heather goes over with the canoe. Down below, Brick is standing on a cracked log doing push ups until Heather lands on his back, causing the log to give out and make both of them fall.
I wanna live close to the sun
Go pack your bags cause I've already won
Scott watches Heather and Brick fall and laughs, until Fang comes out of the confessional and starts chasing him.
Everything to prove, nothing in my way
I'll get there one day
Pan over to where Chef is just relaxing in a lounge chair in front of the spa hotel watching all of the chaos unfolding on a monitor, only look over and scowl as he saw Mike and Zoey sitting on the beach gazing longingly at each other… only for the moment to be ruined by Mike letting out a gasp, followed by a bang of his hair coming down and covering one eye, a malicious smirk spreading across his face.
Cause I wanna be famous!
Gwen is sitting at the Dock of Shame and pulls Cody out of the water, the two of them staring into each other's eyes, only for the moment to be ruined by Chris dropping a bear onto the dock with a helicopter.
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na.
Pan over to the lake where all 14 contestants (Alejandro, Anne Maria, Brick, Cody, Courtney, Dawn, DJ, Duncan, Gwen, Heather, Jo, Mike, Scott, Zoey) are standing on a series of poorly built platforms holding jousting sticks and all preparing to fight.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
The teams clash, with Brick and Jo taking each other out, Zoey shoving Scott back, Anne Maria pushing Dawn back, Mike going up against Alejandro, Duncan and DJ pushing each other back, Alejandro pushing Cody back, finally Gwen and Heather pushing each other back.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
The scene changes to night at the campfire ceremony, with Zoey looking concerned and reaching out towards Mike (with the bang down over one eye), who has his back turned to her, with her attempt to reach out to him being interrupted by Chris popping up in between them.
(Whistling tune as the song ends)
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Morning came, and the sun shone over Camp Wawanakwa.
"Where is it, where the hell is it?!" Mal had taken it upon himself to tear apart his room in the Spa Hotel in search of a certain something, to no avail "For the love of god Heather, I thought you were supposed to be predictable, so where the (bleep) did you put it?"
"Mike what are you doing?"
"What?" Mal's gaze snapped up to find Brick standing in the doorway of the hotel room, and he was quick to put on his Mike persona "Oh right, the whole… this. See I was looking for one of my contact lenses, and I… got a little carried away trying to find it, so…" he let out a nervous chuckle "Yeah."
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(Confessional- Brick)
"Okay, he's definitely been out of sorts lately." Brick frowned in thought "I don't really know how to explain it, but since the obstacle course yesterday he seems more… well I don't want to say weird, but I don't know another word for it. Part of me wishes I could see inside his head and understand what's going on. Well I mean not literally but… well actually it wouldn't be the most unsettling thing I would've seen on this show. Between the various mutants, all of the challenges and this one time I accidentally walked in on Jo while she was working out Olympic style…" he shuddered at the memory "So yeah, it wouldn't be that bad in comparison."
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(Confessional- Mal)
"Just for the record before all of the conspiracy theories and crap start rolling in, Mike doesn't wear contacts, and neither do any of the other personalities." Mal rolled his eyes, then frowned in thought "I've got enough problems of my own anyway. For starters, Heather has a crap ton of incriminating footage of me that she hid away somewhere in the hotel. She said it's under solid rock, whatever the hell that means. Plus it's not easy to tell where she screwed with things when you're trying to avoid every piece of art that's so (bleep) hideous in the place. Not to mention the fact that my lack of subtlety lately means that Brick is onto me. That could be a problem, the last thing I need is to lose access to any of the other personalities, which is actually pretty likely now that Mike is on the loose in my head… his head… our head… whatever, you get the idea. In any case, I'll have to plan this carefully."
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Meanwhile, inside the mindscape…
"I don't know why, but it feels like this isn't as hard as it was before." Mike cast a look back towards Chester and Svetlana as the three of them made their way through the mindscape "Does that mean I'm getting stronger, or Mal is getting weaker? Or is it both?"
"Well he ain't the only one that's getting weaker." Chester grumbled as he rubbed his hunch back in pain "I gotta sit down or something!"
"We cannot sit down now, sitting is for after victory!" Svetlana protested, only to be met with a finger pointed at her face.
"I don't remember asking ya for any of that comrade!"
"Can we please not make this political, I watch shows like Total Drama to avoid those kinds of things!" Mike directed their attention forward… only to come to a stop when they came across a stage made of brain matter "Okay is it just me, or do these keep getting weirder?"
"Hey yo, finally we got an audience!" the curtains opened to reveal Vito sitting atop a boulder that he was chained to, holding a puppet that looked like Mal "Yo get this Dominic, I hear your dog ain't got a nose! How does he smell? Terrible I bet!" and cue the rimshot.
Believe it or not, that joke was enough to make Chester burst out laughing "Oh yeah that's total genius, let's give him a nickel!"
"See, the old guy gets it."
"Yeah that's… nice and all, but come on Vito, ditch the dummy and join us. We're going to need your help." Mike told him.
"Hey yo, I don't plan on getting a face full of Hakai anytime soon. Just take the note he gave me and keep moving."
"Wait, he left a note?" Mike reached up and plucked the note in question off Vito's dummy, which he then read out loud "The fourth mental barrier has a distinct focus on love, and it gets blocked by strong feelings of grief. So my grief is…" he paused and looked uncomfortable at the thought, then shook it off and looked up at where Vito was drinking a cup of water "No forget it, I can't worry about that now. Vito come on, we need to work together if we're going to have any chance of defeating Mal!"
"Defeating Mal? Like that's ever going to happen." that one came from the dummy, which also caused Vito to do a spit take.
"Wait, how did you do that when you were drinking?"
"I didn't say nothing man."
"Then who did?"
"Who do you think?" the dummy suddenly floated into the air, its eyes glowing red, earning a few terrified screams from the others, and he floated down in front of Mike's face "Please, if you can't force yourself to confront the mental barriers holding you back, then you have no chance of defeating me."
"Yeah? We'll see about that!" Mike grabbed hold of the dummy and smashed it against the chain binding Vito to the boulder… but nothing happened "Oh come on, again?!"
"Hey man, it's just like with the others." Vito told him "You gotta break the next barrier if you wanna be strong enough to break the chain."
"But I… what am I supposed to do?"
"It's all about love and grief and stuff, right? You gotta let the grief out man."
"Let out my grief…" Mike paused as the image of a woman flashed in front of his eyes, and then he fell to his knees and looked down "The grief I hold most… is for my mom… she gave her life to save me from that bullet, though my life got so painful after I lost her… sometimes I wonder what would happen if it had been me that died instead of her… she'd be alive, my dad wouldn't have gone over the edge, those people wouldn't have been hurt or killed by Mal… But then I would've lost so many good things as a result, like meeting all of you, creating you guys in my mind… and meeting everyone else on Total Drama, like Zoey and Cameron… I would never have gotten what I have now… and I don't want to give it up…"
"You lost a lot man, we all know that." Vito looked down and gave a small smile "But you gotta keep in mind that love is like energy and wind and stuff, it swirls all over the place. Your mom still loves you and that's with you too, you still got it in your heart and it's taking on new love, right? You gotta let the bad stuff flow away."
"...And let the new love take hold." Mike looked up at Vito and the others with tears streaming down his face as a wave of blue energy washed over him, then he grabbed hold of the dummy, and in one swift movement, he slammed it against Vito's chain, shattering it and freeing Vito in a single move "Yeah, that… that makes sense… Let new love take hold, like the people that I have in my life now… like you guys, and Zoey… especially Zoey… Alright enough of that, we've got work to do, so let's go!" and so he took off, with Chester and Svetlana both following behind him.
"Uh, oh yeah sure, wait up yo!" Vito was quick to chase after them.
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Meanwhile, in the real world…
"Come on, it has to be here somewhere." Courtney was taking the chance to search through the girl side of the Loser Cabin in search of Heather's tablet, albeit without much luck "For crying out loud, of all the times for Heather to start being subtle, why did it have to be when I actually need her help with something?"
"I take it you're struggling in your endeavors?"
Courtney looked over to see Dawn making her way into the cabin with her arms filled to the brim with fruit "That's one way to put it, but where the heck have you been? I haven't seen you since last night."
"Oh, I got up a bit earlier and took the chance to go and find some proper breakfast for the rest of us, and for DJ.
"Ah. That works for me, thanks. I'll need a few minutes before I can eat anything though, I'm still trying to find that tablet Heather left behind with dirt on Mal."
"In that case, you have to be sure to keep in mind the message she left. That the truth is under solid rock."
"Yeah but she told me flat out that she hid it in the loser cabin, and there isn't anything here that could actually be made of rock, unless you count those crappy beds-" Courtney paused and cast a look at Dawn, and then she immediately went over to Heather's bed, reached under the pillow and pulled out the tablet "Yes, and it still has a full charge. Probably should've followed her train of thought from the beginning."
"Evidently we should express a degree of gratitude towards Heather."
"I guess there is a first time for everything." Courtney pushed a button on the tablet, and she got to bear witness to one clip after another of Mal's exploits throughout the season (such as when he broke Brick's alarm clock, tampering with the votes, his brutal fight with Duncan, sabotaging the other boats during the regatta challenge, etc). Once it was done, she shared a look with Dawn and gave a smirk "This is it. We have what we need, and now we can finally expose Mal and send him packing."
"We have to be sure Brick sees this as well, and then Mal will be on his own."
"With or without him this is it, with this we can bring him down."
"Attention punching bags, go ahead and gather in the forest clearing and be sure to bring your padded underwear, because today's challenge is gonna kick your asses big time!"
"And just in time too, now let's go." so Courtney took a pear from Dawn's bundle of fruit, and the two of them made their way out of the Loser Cabin, where they found DJ munching on an apple on the patio "You're not gonna believe what we just found."
"I actually heard all of it." DJ told her "The walls in the cabin are pretty thin, remember? So I take it you found Heather's tablet."
"And everything that she found on Mal's work since he's been in control of Mike. We can't afford to wait, the first chance we get we have to expose him."
"In front of Brick, he deserves to know the truth."
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At the same time, with the semi-evil alliance in question…
"Okay you were right, Rise of the Beasts was a lot better than I expected." Mal cast a look over at Brick as the two of them sat in the dining room of the Spa Hotel for breakfast "You said that one was supposed to be a soft reboot?"
"Actually it was Bumblebee that initiated the soft reboot." Brick told him "But both of them are really good, you should check that one out when you get the chance."
"I'll be sure to do that." Mal gave a smirk, but then his eys narrowed "In the meantime, I think we should go over our game plan."
"Game plan? I thought we would just win the challenge."
"Yeah but that makes sure we can't be voted off, then we gotta figure out who we would vote off tonight. Your head is still in the game right?"
"Well sure, but with Heather gone, is there really anyone we'd want to vote off? None of the other ones left have anything bad we can say about them."
"True, but at this point it's more coming down to process of elimination. Keep in mind that we did promise Zoey we'd keep her friendship finale thing right to the end, didn't we?"
"Yes, that is true… Should we figure that out when the time comes?"
"I guess. Like I said it's mostly down to process of elimination now, so I guess we'll see who to vote for when the time comes." Mal gave a shrug, then a smirk "But the two of us, we're taking it all the way to the end, am I right?"
"Amen to that soldier!"
"Attention punching bags, go ahead and gather in the forest clearing and be sure to bring your padded underwear, because today's challenge is gonna kick your asses big time!"
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(Confessional)
"All thing's considered, Brick is actually pretty cool." Mal gave a shrug, then let out a sigh "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't grown fond of him since we started this little alliance, but I said before that I'd do what I have to do to see my plan through to the end, and I won't let anything get in the way of that. I've already made it farther than Mike did in Revenge of the Island, and I'm going all the way. I've already planned it out too." he pulled out a piece of paper with diagrams of the other contestants "Honestly if I wanted to pick anyone to take to the finale, it would be Brick. I did say I'm fond of him, but aside from that he's the least risky for me to beat if it came down to that. I definitely need to start whittling down on Dawn's alliance. Heather was the wild card and she's out now, so really it can be any of them. So it's settled, either Dawn, DJ or Courtney. You know it does help to clarify things nicely when you map it out." he paused, then dumped the chart in question into the toilet and flushed it "Also the first rule of planning that I picked up during my time in juvie, always dispose of the evidence so it can't be used against you."
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A few moments later, with the final five…
"Morning fellow competitors." Brick made his way over to DJ and Dawn as the final five made their way towards the forest clearing "I'm looking forward to the day of competition that lies ahead of us. If any of you need assistance today, feel free to say the word."
"We do appreciate the offer, but we'll be quite fine." Dawn assured him "Besides, you don't have to try and help us because you feel guilty about having to vote us off."
"Wait what, where did you hear that?"
"I can see it right there in your aura, alongside your childhood trauma of your peers teasing you and your need to be dominated."
"I told you before that I don't need to be dominated, and I got over my bladder control problems this season!"
"Dude, she never said bladder control problems." DJ pointed out.
"...Oh yeah, sorry, force of habit. But I believe in playing a clean and fair game, and that's how I plan to get to the finale, and the same goes for my partner. We're opening up a drama free finale this time around."
"That might not be as true as you want to believe."
Brick looked over to see Courtney making her way over to them with a tablet in hand "What are you talking about?"
"I hate to break it to you Brick, but the only thing being opened up is a big can of worms." there was a pause, and then Courtney shot a look at DJ "I told you that wasn't a good line! I should've gone with the one Duncan wrote."
"That one had cursing you'd only find in an R-rated movie!" DJ protested.
"Yeah but it was a lot less cringy!"
"Okay, I'm thinking there's some kind of missing context here." this was when Mal (still using his Mike impression) made his way over to the group "If we're talking R-rated movies, then I want to nominate Let's Be Cops as my personal favorite. Well outside of superhero stuff, then it's both Deadpool movies for the win.
"Not what we're talking about. But yeah, those are some of Duncan's favorite movies. But that's not the point." Courtney levelled a glare at Mal "What we were talking about is how you're not the person you claim to be, are you Mike?"
"Really? Because you're all looking right at me, just good old Multiple Mike. Unless you have any proof that says otherwise, but I seriously doubt it."
"As a matter of fact I do. Do you want to go ahead and confess, or should I just go ahead and show all of the footage on the tablet that Heather left behind?" Courtney was met with only a glare and a slightly raised eyebrow, and then she turned to the others "For those of you who don't know, Mike is a phony, and you all have the right to know the truth about what he's been hiding all this time." so as the others gathered around her as she started the video, revealing Mal's past actions to everyone present.
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(Clip 1)
That is, everyone except for Mike (aka Mal), one bang falling over the left side of his face, a devious smirk spreading across his face as he made his way down the halls of the Spa Hotel "Oh yeah, it sure as hell feels good to be back. Downside is I can't control of this body for too long at a time, so I'd better make sure I get used to it ASAP." it was then that something caught his attention, in the form of blue glowing coming from a room at the end of the hall "And what do we have here?" so he poked his head inside, only to find the control rool "Hm, just the control room, nothing too significant. Unless…" then an idea came to him as he slunk his way into the room and sat down in front of the main computer and typed a bit until a certain something came up "Oh good, I can actually get YouTube up." then something else caught his eye, in the form of a poster for the show hanging on the wall "Total Drama huh? Yeah I remember, Mike used to watch that awhile back." he poked his head out the door and peered down the hall to see Gwen making her way back into her room "Well if I'm stuck here during a big TV competition, might as well gather some info on our fellow competitors." and then he turned back to the screen "Let's see here, Total Drama season 1… and play."
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(Clip 2)
"Quick note for those of you who don't know: Mike is NOT a morning person, and by extension, neither am I." Mal gave a scowl as he held up Brick's alarm clock "Label me as a villain on a Saturday morning cartoon however the (bleep) you want, but I do this to represent the feelings of everyone who likes waking up at 5 am, or in the case of normal people, SLEEPING! To all the sane people out there, you're welcome." he then proceeded to crush the alarm clock in his hands and then drop it into the toilet… which was immediately followed by it going off again "Wait, what the FUUUUUUU-" and then the backsplash of… let's call it water… ended up launching him right through the ceiling of the confessional. A few moments passed before Mal, sopping wet, slunk his way back into the confessional "Say what you will about the lapdogs of the military… those little (bleep) definitely know how to make clocks. And on that note I think I'm done for today." he let out a gasp as Mike was given back control, and he took a confused look around "What the- Wasn't I just in the hotel and… Is that Brick's clock?" he peered into the toilet and let out a horrified gasp "Oh no, what did I do…?"
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(Clip 3)
"His alarm clock is really broken?" Mike look horrified at the thought "I thought that was just some kind of weird dream I was having? What's happening to me? Maybe I just… need a little time on my own to figure things out…" there was a gasp, and then Mal took over "And maybe gather some more info on my competition." he gave a smirk as he pulled out an ipad from behind the confessional toilet and hit it underneath his shirt.
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(Clip 4)
"This is it, the moment of truth…" Mike braced himself as he held up a large boulder directly over his head "I know what Zoey would say, mainly because she already said it… She wouldn't want me to do this, and she doesn't. Maybe it will fix the problem, maybe it will make it worse, I don't really know… But I have to take the chance… The things he's done, the pain he's caused… I can't let it happen again… Not to any of them, especially not her… Zoey, if you're listening, I'm sorry, but… I have to do this… because I love you…" so he took a breath and let the boulder fall on his head… only for this to be followed by a gasp as Mal rose up, now in control of the body, and he took a moment to shake off the pain of the blow "Okay, so that happened… I have to be honest, I wasn't expecting that. Truth be told, my plan was to sort of be the man behind the man and push Mike on until he got to the finale, but I guess it's like that old saying goes. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. Oh well, I'm nothing if not adaptable, and also pragmatic. First I'll have to adjust to being in full control of the body again, take exile duty on Boney Island. Who knows, play my cards right and I might track down that other Invincibility Statue. Assuming I'll even need it. Now that Mal is back in the driver's seat, things are about to get interesting." he gave a smirk as he pushed his bang up until he looked like Mike, whistling a certain tune as he did so "In the Hall of the Mountain King. Catch stuff."
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(Clip 5)
"So Courtney tries to get me by the throat. I can respect that. Of course all of that is assuming this plan of hers actuall pans out." Mal gave a smirk, but then his face fell slightly "Then there's the matter of Zoey. Of course she'd stand by Mike no matter what, I'm not surprised by that in the slightest. I figured she'd be ready to pounce on me whenever she needed." he paused and took a look around, then looked down at the box at his other side… which he opened to reveal multiple 8 x 10 pictures of the other contestants "And that's why I'm going to do what I have to do, to see my plan through to the end."
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Those five and several more clips later…
"And that's everything." Courtney set aside the tablet and turned back to Mal "Anything you have to say for yourself?"
"...Never underestimate the wild card." Mal let out a chuckle as he dropped his bang over part of his face and went back to his usual voice "I guess I should've listened to Heather's advice a little more carefully. Well played Mocha, very well played. I have to admit it is kind of a relief, having to use a different voice all the time really does a number on the vocal chords."
"Really? That's all you have to say after I just exposed you?"
"What can I say, you live the life I do and you tend to recognize talent. Besides I think Heather put it best in season one. I'm not here to make friends or screw around, I'm here to accomplish a goal. It's a game and I'm here to win."
"So… that's it then?" Brick slowly turned to look at Mal, but his expression wasn't filled with anger: it was filled with hurt "You lied to me?"
"I… lied to everyone." Mal actually looked a bit uncomfortable there.
"So you were the one who broke my alarm clock… you sabotaged the votes after the regatta challenge… and you used me to get yourself further ahead in the game… You never wanted to play fair, you just wanted to win."
"It's… nothing personal."
"Nothing personal. That's what the Villains always say to justify doing whatever you can to get ahead, and not caring who you have to hurt. Just like others like Jo and Heather. Another link in that evil chain."
"Brick, I-"
"Forget it. There's nothing else to say." Brick steeled himself, then turned on his heel and walked away without another word, the other contestants following behind him, leaving Mal alone in the silence following his exposal.
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(Confessional)
"(Insert stream of angry bleeps)!" Mal finished his censored rant and took a breath "See, stuff like this is why I never did the whole "having a conscience" thing last time. The one person that I actually took a shine to, and then (bleep) like this goes down. Great, I lost the only dude that I could've called a friend." he let out a sigh and hung his head, but then looked back at the camera as his gaze hardened "Don't think for a second this means I'm gonna shame myself into voting myself off or anything. I said it before, I'll do whatever I have to do to see my plan through to the end. I'm getting my hands on that million bucks one way or another. I'm just gonna have a fair bit of guilt hanging over my head, but it's nothing I'm not used to. That's the thing about really successful people that do screwed up stuff to get ahead. Some people actually do feel bad, but they just learn to live with it. Just take a look at politicians."
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A few moments later, at the challenge site…
"About time you guys showed up." Chris got everyone's attention when they arrived at the forest clearing, where he directed their attention to two less than healthy interns off to the side "Take a good look at my sad skinny interns here. I totally forgot to feed them this week."
"Really? You're still abusing those who work for you?" Dawn shot a glare at Chris "Did you not learn anything from the 100th episode?"
"Nope, but that doesn't make you love me any less."
"We never loved you at all." Mal pointed out dryly.
"Exactly."
"...Alright, I can't argue with that."
"And there you go. Anyway, the challenge for today is a race for the five of you to make a delicious ice cream sundae and serve it up to… I never bothered to learn their names."
"Didn't you say that the challenges were all nods to past ones?" asked DJ "Which one is this supposed to be a nod to?"
"None of them really, I've just been craving ice cream for days and I figured why not put it into a challenge sometime?" Chris gave a shrug as he motioned for Chef to hand bowls to each of the final five and directed everyone's attention to a monitor with a map of the island "And to make this more fun for me, and more life threatening for you, all of you will have to travel to the most dangerous areas on the island to get your hands on the ingredients of this desert. The ice cream itself will await you at the top of the diving cliff, which our ice machine has been making nice and slippery for the past week. The marachino cherries have been perched on a rock in the heart of the swamp. You'll find a bowl of crushed peanuts in the kitchen of the mess hall, and the final ingredient in the form of rich chocolate sauce can be found in a pool that surrounds a recently planted mutant flower that happens to breath fire."
"Okay seriously McLean, you're a whole new level of sick." Courtney muttered.
"What can I say? Prison changed me, for the better."
"Pretty sure you're about the same as you were before you went in there." Mal noted dryly, then paused as he looked at the others "Real talk for a second, he's seriously only been to prison once before?"
"Don't think people haven't tried, but they usually have crappy lawyers." Chris gave a shrug "In any case, the first person to have their sundae completely consumed by the interns wins. On your marks…" and then he blew on his airhorn, only for nobody to leave "What the hell are you guys waiting for? They're hungry, so move it!"
"Well in that case, may the best man win, and I plan on it!" Mal gave a smirk as he took off at full speed, with the others hot on his heels, though Brick lagging behind and looking downcast over recent events.
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(Confessional)
"I can only imagine how Brick feels right now." DJ let out a sigh "He just found out someone he trusted was just using him, made him do a lot of stuff to good people. Speaking from my personal experience in season three, that's not fun to have hanging over your head. I'm sure Tyler can vouch for that too. I'd better talk to Brick about it when I get the chance."
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A few moments later, at the diving cliff…
"Oh sure, big ass cliff wasn't dangerous enough, why not cover it in snow?" Mal gritted his teeth as he slowly climbed his way up the hill.
"I was never crazy about going up there before, but apparently now I gotta." DJ took a breath as he made rushed up the hill, passing Mal as he did so "You're not going to win this one, that I can promise you!"
"Go ahead and try it big guy, you might end up the one in the toilet tonight!" Mal's scowl only deepend at the sight of Dawn swiftly climbing past him "Same goes for you Moonchild!"
"We'll see about that!" DJ turned his back on Mal and rushed to th top of the cliff… only to end up sliding right past the snowman made of ice cream and slide off the edge of the cliff, but he did manage to grab onto an icicle to stop himself from going over "For those of you watching this at home, running on ice and snow, always a bad idea!"
"This just in, DJ is the first one to reach the ice cream!"
"Yeah… that's not doing me a lot of good."
"Oh dear!" Dawn poked her head over the side of the cliff "Hold on, I'll come down and help you back up!"
"Forget about me, I'll be fine for now. But you gotta make sure Mal doesn't win!" he gave her a reassuring yet playful smile "I'm not all muscle and upper body strength, I've got a fair amount of durability to go with it too."
"If you are certain… I'll make sure that help comes as soon as possible." so despite her personal reluctance, Dawn turned and rushed over to the ice cream snowman and scooped enough off to fill her bowl, then proceeded to slide back down the mountain, past the others.
"And now Dawn has officially scooped up first place!"
"Oh joy…" Mal rolled his eyes "Being one upped by the love birds, great way to start the final five huh?"
"You say that like you're gonna be around long enough for it to matter." Courtney shot a glare towards Mal's backside as she and Brick continued climbing directly behind him "Believe me when I say you're gonna be the one to go next."
"Hate to break it to you Princess-"
"Nobody calls me that but Duncan, and even then it's only because he likes to get a rise out of me!"
"-but the things you say mean about as much as friending someone on YouTube."
"Because apparently nothing we say or do means much to you." Brick glared up at Mal from his place at the back of the group "Even those that trusted you, called you a partner and a friend, but they weren't anything but pawns in your eyes."
"...I can't waste any time squawking with the likes of you." Mal broke off from the group and started forcing his way up the slope until he eventually reached the top, scooping ice cream until he had a bowl full and proceeded to slide his way back down "See you two later, one of you in the giant toilet!"
"Not if I have any say in it!" Brick gritted his teeth as he forced his way up the slope and soon reached the top, with Courtney close behind him "Not after everything he's done."
"Don't bother trying to talk sense into him or anything." Courtney told him "People like him just don't listen to reason. Trust me I would know, I used to be one of them."
"I know, but…" Brick paused and let out a sigh "I think I needed it on some level."
"Speaking of needing things… a little help?" DJ on the other hand was climbing his way back up to the cliff, only to end up slipping, but not before Brick and Courtney both managed to pull him back up "Thanks guys."
"Anytime soldier, now we'd best get moving."
"Trust me I know, we have to make sure that Mal doesn't win."
"And he won't, not while I have a say in it!" Brick charged over towards the ice cream snowman with his bowl in hand… only to end up slipping right into it, causing the head to fall over onto the hairless bear that was licking at it, causing it to roar at him in anger, and causing Brick to scream in fear.
"...We might be a little behind on that for now." Courtney shared a look with DJ, then let out a sigh as the two of them charged towards the bear "Here's hoping that Dawn can keep the lead over Mal until we catch up."
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Meanwhile, with the aura reader…
"Ah, how I missed the smell of nature unpoluted by Chris's evil." Dawn inhaled the scent of the swamp as she gracefully leapt atop one rock after another over the murky waters, until she came to one rock holding a bowl of cherries "And there we go."
"Dawn is the first one to reach the cherris, but will she be able to keep this lead? That's not gonna happen if Snappy has anything to say about it."
"Snappy?" the answer came when Dawn turned around to find an alligator looming behind her, but she simply began scratching underneath its chin and it quickly calmed down "There you go, I won't hurt you little one. Don't worry, I promise to come back and bring you some snacks when this is over. For now however, I'm afraid I have to make sure a malevolent force doesn't win the challenge today. Perhaps you would be willing to help?" she was met with a soft purring noise from the alligator.
"COMING IN HOT!" this was when Mal made his way onto the scene by swinging on a vine overhead… only for it to snap and send him plummeting into the swamp with a splash. Another moment passed before he rose up and spat out some murky water "That is not as easy as Tarzan or Spider-Man make it look."
"Is that what you intended when you climbed up that tree at the edge of the swamp and tried to swing your way over here?"
"The only other time I'd do that is if I wanted to put it on YouTube, or if I just got bored. Now piss off Moonchild, I've got a challenge to win."
"That may be your intention, but I believe Snappy may have another say in the matter."
"Who the (bleep) is-" Mal didn't get the chance to finish before a loud chomp was heard, and he looked down to see the alligator chomped down on his free arm, and all he could do was level a glare at Dawn "Well played." and then he proceeded to get thrashed around by the gator through the swamp.
"I like to believe so." Dawn simply took her cherry and plucked one off for her sundae, then took off out of the swamp without another word.
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(Confessional)
"Well that sucked." Mal spat out some swamp water and looked down at his bowl of ice cream in his lap "No idea how the hell I held onto my sundae during all of that, but I'm sure as hell not complaining. But I am gonna get Dawn back for that one later."
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Back at the swamp…
"It's official, there's no part of this show I'll ever not hate." Courtney was left visibly disgusted as she trudged her way through the swamp, only to end up hitting a deep spot "Oh come on, now my foot is stuck!"
"Right, my heart bleeds for you because of what you went through here."
Courtney looked over to see Mal trudging his way past her with a bowl of ice cream and a cheery in hand, but whatever she was initially going to say died in her throat when she noticed that he was covered in bite marks, scratch marks and bits of dried blood "What in the hell happened to you?"
"Two things mainly. One, another one of McLean's pets. Two, turns out the aura-reading midget has a twisted side to her. And I kind of respect that."
"You are talking about Dawn right?"
"I'm as shocked as you are. Anyway have fun with the underwater pot hole you got stuck in, I'm gonna go get immunity and probably a free sundae. Oh yeah, and have fun during your alone time with Snappy." and so Mal leapt onto a nearby log and floated his way back to shore
"And Mike has bolted into second place!"
"It's Mal, you could at least pretend to give a crap!"
"Why would I start now?"
"...I can't argue with that no matter how much I want to." Mal just rolled his eyes and took off
running in the direction of the camp grounds "Note to self, step on Dawn's head the next time I see her."
"And who the hell is Snappy?" Courtney received her answer in the form of Snappy the alligator closing in on her "Oh. Oh (bleep)."
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Meanwhile, with the host without the most…
"Wow." Chris let out a low whistle as he watched the alligator advancing on Courtney through a monitor "Looks to me like Courtney is just swamped."
"That pun sucks!" came the pissed off voice of Mal in the distance.
"Like you know about good puns, your name is as original as a YouTube comment!" Chris took a breath, then turned back to the camera "But the question still remains, who in the final five will survive the sundae challenge, and how many of them will become leftovers for the wildlife by tomorrow? Find out after the break, right here on Total! Drama! All Stars!"
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One commercial break later…
"Crap, crap, crap!" thinking quickly despite the obvious panic, Courtney reached underneath the swamp water and scooped a handful of mud and hurl it into the mouth of the gator, causing it to recoil and then swim away in disgust "Okay, that's one problem down. Come on stupid foot, you have to… yes!" she managed to pull her foot free and breathed a sigh of relief "Good, now to get the cherry and-"
"GET DOWN!" this was when DJ and Brick came running onto the scene, the former pulling the latter to the ground and allowing the hairless bear to hurtle over them and into the swamp, where it then proceeded to go after the gator, and the two began wrestling underwater.
"...Okay then." Courtney just shuffled her way past the brawl and plucked a few cherries from the bowl, one of which she stuck onto her sundae and the others she placed in DJ's hand once she reached dry land "Thanks for the help, call the cherries compensation for the gator." and then she took off running.
"Sure thing…" DJ let out a pained groan as he stuck a cherry onto his own sundae, then handed the last one to Brick "Here you go."
"Thank you soldier…" Brick stuck the cherry onto his sundae, then slowly shook off the pain as he pulled himself back to his feet "I know the wildlife on this island is questionable to say the least, but I don't understand what got the bear so upset. It was just a little bit of ice cream, there wasn't any need to chase us literally halfway across the island."
"I can kind of understand the thought process, unlike you I've spent enough time with Cody in World Tour to see what he's like around sweets. It brings out that side of them."
"...Alright, fair enough."
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Meanwhile, with th frontrunner…
"And it looks like we have a newfrontrunner, with Mal being the first contestant to enter the crushed nut zone!"
"Step on Dawn's head, check. Get into first place, check." Mal gave a smirk of satisfaction as he ran his way over to the mess hall, only to stop at the door and peer through the window to see the bowl of peanuts on the table in the kitchen "Two down, two to go, soon to be three. All that I have to do is- Wait, this is too easy. Knowing that sadistic (bleep), there's bound to be some kind of overly dramatic trap or-" he cut himself short when he took movie of what looked like water dripping from above, and he looked up to see a bucket perched over the door "Seriously, that's what chose as a trap, a freaking bucket of water?" with an audible snort, he kicked the door open and let the contents of the bucket drop to the ground and spill its contents all over the floor as he walked in "Seriously, makes me wonder if McLean is losing his touch." he was about to venture into the kitchen, only to stop when he suddenly sniffed the air "Hold on a second, this isn't water, this is… gas. But why would he-" he received his answer when he turned his head and spotted a mechanical arm sprouting from the wall… and holding a lit match directly over the patch of gas on the floor "Aw crapbaskets." and then the match dropped, resulting in a comically oversized wave of flames bursting through the mess hall, causing Mal to scream in pain until they quickly subsided, and he crawled his way into the kitchen and let out a smokey cough "Well… at least I'm still in first- Dammit!"
As it turns out, Dawn was plucking a handful of peanuts from the bowl and sticking them on top of her sundae, and she gave a grin when she saw Mal "Oh hello, I see you triggered one of Chris' traps."
"When did you- I stepped on your freaking head!"
"Yes you did, but I found a shortcut. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mutated fire flower to pacify. How did the rest of you put it? Oh yes, see you at the toilet." she turned to leave, but was stopped by a hand grabbing her by the shoulder and turning her around… and then she let out a gasp of pain as Mal's buries buried itself in her gut, bringing her to her knees and leaving her to gasp for air.
"You know some people believe in chivalry, but I believe in gender equality. But for what it's worth, you got the saying right. Just not who's gonna b in the toilet." Mal picked up a handful of peanuts and sprinkled them across his sundae, then turned on his heel and walked back towards the entrance to the mess hall… only for a second bucket of gas to drop down from the ceiling and dump its contents all over him, followed by another robot arm holding up a lit match "OH COME ON!" and then it dropped the match, resulting in another burst of flames as he screamed in pain.
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(Confessional)
"This day is sure to leave its fair share of wounds, both physical and emotional." Dawn cringed as she clutched her stomach in pain, t ertain degree of catharsis from seeing Mal in such a predicament as that. It seems even the universe wants him to pay for his actions."
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Outside the mess hall…
"Alright if that's any indication, I think the two of us should go around back." seeing the burst of flames within the mess hall, Brick and DJ quickly maneuvered around to enter the kitchen via the back door, only for the two of them Dawn hunched over in pain on the ground, much to their shock "Oh no…"
"Dawn!" DJ was quick to kneel down next to her "Are you okay?"
"I… I'm fine…" Dawn sat back up and pulled herself back to her feet, DJ helping her up from behind "I fear I may have been a bit careless in angering Mal, and somewhat paid the price for my recklessness."
"You mean he… actually hit you?" DJ's gaze hardened at this realization.
"I believe the words he used were, gender equality." Dawn rubbed the new bruise on her stomach before putting both arms on DJ's shoulders to try and calm him down "But do not allow your emotions to cloud your judgement and rule your actions, or else you'll play into his hands. That is how his kind operates."
"Right… Right, I know. For now we should focus on making sure that he doesn't win, and then make sure that he's the one to lose. How about it Brick, you with me?" he was met with silence, and looked over to see Brick staring out the mess hall window "Brick?"
"What?" Brick snapped out of his stupor and turned to face the others, his expression filled with guilt "Oh right, sorry soldier, I got a bit… distracted."
"I can tell that it's more than a bit." Dawn turned to face him "You're holding in so much guilt and shame right now, but none of it is deserved."
"How can it not be? Look at everything that's happened because of Mal… and how much of it happened because of my own actions."
"It wasn't your fault. Mal manipulated you, just as he manipulated many others."
"And how much of it did he really make me do? He talked me into voting someone off, and it was my choice to go with Gwen. He didn't make me do that, it was me." Brick let out a sigh "At this rate, I might as well just quit before I make things any worse."
"Okay you know what, I'm gonna stop you right ther." DJ gripped Brick by the shoulders and pulled him to the side as Dawn scooped handfuls of peanuts "Look man I get what you're feeling right now, I know exactly what that feels like, and so does Tyler. We both got used by Alejandro so he could get away with some pretty nasty stuff back in World Tour. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think about quitting a few times. After the whole animal curse thing I mean. Tyler actually did quit, and to be honest… I never really approved of him doing that."
"Really?"
"Yeah, because think about it. He felt ashamed of the stuff he did to help a guy cheat and get money he didn't deserve. I actually quit myself during Total Drama Action, because of the whole alliance I had going with Chef. The difference between me quitting and Tyler quitting is that when I did it, it stopped Chef from getting any money out of it. But Tyler might have ended up saving Alejandro, and he got dangerously close to winning it all. I'm not blaming Tyler for that or anything, but I'm saying that you don't want to risk paving the way for Mal to win. You get what I'm saying?"
"...Yes, yes I think I do." Brick forced on a small smile as he saluted DJ "Thank you for the pep talk soldier."
"Any time. Now let's get our peanuts and beat Mal to the chocolate sauce."
"Right!" so the two of them scooped peanuts into their sundaes and took off running towards the last ingredient, though Brick's face once again became downcast as they did so.
It wasn't long after they left that Courtney made her way to the front of the mess hall… only to stop in her tracks as the puddle of gas once again resulted in a large burst of flames "Oh for the love of god, this can't be legal!"
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Meanwhile, with the frontrunner…
"And just like that, Mal is the first contestant to reach the Chocolate Fire Zone!"
"Now that's what I like to hear." Mal gave a smirk as he ducked behind a rock.
"But the rest of them are hot on his heels and fueled by rage, some more than others, so really it still is anyone's game."
"Give it a few minutes, we'll see how long that pans out."
"Hang back you guys, I'm gonna go ahead and clear the path." DJ rushed ahead of Brick and Dawn and charged towards the last zone… only to screech to a halt when he noticed it was a giant mutant flower in the middle of a pool of chocolate sauce "Wow, just… wow."
"Tell me about it." Mal let out a low whistle as he walked up alongside DJ "Toxic waste, the most effective growth hormone that can be bought by the kind of person McLean is."
"Sadism in the name of ratings and fame?"
"I was gonna say the kind of dude who has more money than sense, but yeah. Why Mike signed up for a show run by that crazy (bleep), I'll never know." their conversation was cut short when the fire suddenly shot a stream of flames at them, forcing them to duck, and then Mal tried to maneuver around behind the flower and reach into the chocolate pit, only to be forced to duck under another stream of flames… but not before one of his pant legs got set ablaz "Oh for- Are you (bleep) kidding me?! That's three (bleep) times I've been set on fire today!"
"I think Dawn put it best, the universe is sending out some karma!" DJ gave a grin as he coated his sundae in chocolate sauce and took off running.
"And just like that, DJ has exited the chocolate fire zone and taken the lead himself."
"Note to self, take care of the BFG when I get the chance." Mal scowled at DJ's retreating form, only to be forced to retreat behind a nearby bush to avoid the oncoming flames.
"So that's how it works." this was when Brick and Dawn made their way onto the scene, only to be forced to hide behind a rock "This isn't good, we have to beat Mal or else he won't be able to vote him off."
"I fear that you're right." Dawn's tone was grim "Even with DJ in the lead right now, Mal has a superior level of physical prowess that few are able to math."
"Which means that we have to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't win. I'll get in front of the plant and draw its fire, you can sneak around past it and-"
"Hey hellspawn of Poison Ivy, let's rock!" Mal maneuvered around the fire coming from the plant and stuffed a rock into its mouth, then filled his sundae with chocolate sauce and took off before the plant exploded, leaving nothing but charred coals where the chocolate sauce was "And that's for setting my pants on fire!" he paused, then let out a chuckle "Okay, now I get the joke there."
"...Or not." Brick and Dawn then rushed onto the scene and glared at Mal "What in the hell did you just do?"
"A little something called catharsis."
"More like a little something called playing dirty."
"Dude, I have literally been set on fire three times today. I am far past the point of having any more (bleep) to give." Mal rolled his eyes and took off without another word.
"At least he admits it." Brick let out a sigh as he looked down at the scorched chocolate "Do you think we'll get any penalties for not adding any chocolate sauce?"
"I believe it's a chance we'll have to take, unless…" Dawn paused as an idea came to her, and she grinned "Unless he allows substitutes."
"Such as?"
"Such as one of these." Dawn pulled something out of her shirt, a banana, and dropped it into her sundae, then handed one to Brick "I'm sure that Chris' interns will be satisfied by this."
"Yes, way to show your natural instincts soldier! You'd do my squadron proud!" Brick gave her a salute, and then the two of them took off running.
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(Confessional)
"I suppose my venture for fruit this morning yielded more satisfying results than I had initially thought." Dawn let out a chuckle "Also truth be told, a banana split is actually my personal favorite type of ice cream."
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Now for the final sprint…
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Courtney sprinted her way through the woods and joined the rest of the final five in the sprint to the finish line "Turns out Dawn isn't the only one who knows how to use a shortcut! So much for immunity, huh Mal?"
"Wouldn't be so sure about that Mocha, thanks to four simple words. Don't skip leg day!" and on that note, Mal suddenly sprinted past the rest of them and over the finish line, then screeched to a halt in front of the interns and held out his sundae "Say what you will about me, at least when I do (bleep) up stuff it's for a specific reason. Speaking of which, what good reason would people have to work for a sadistic (bleep) like McLean?"
"I like to think it's my winning personality." Chris popped up in front of Mal "But as the first one over the finish line, you get to be the first one to hear about my surprise twist."
"We have to dump our sundaes down our pants?"
"No, but that's actually not a bad idea." Chris snapped his fingers, and Chef handed spoons to each of the contestants All of you have to eat your own sundaes, the first one to finish wins immunity and a night in the Spa Hotel, but everyone else is on the chopping block. Alright then people, time to dig in." and that was enough cue for the final five to dig in.
"I have to say, it feels nice for a soldier to be able to reap genuine benefits from a war zone for once!" Brick gave a wide grin as he continued downing his ice cream, but then paused and cast a glance over at Courtney "Wait, I thought you were lactose intolerant."
"Really, we're on that again?" Courtney let out a sigh "Okay yes I said that once during Action, I lied because I didn't want to accept a handout from Lindsay, it was a moment I'm not proud of, believe me. But we shouldn't be wasting time on small talk when Mal could win immunity any second now."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that, for two reasons." Dawn held up her empty bowl in triumph as she wiped some chocolate sauce from her face "This is the first reason."
"Boom, and there we have it!" Chris made the call "In a surprise twist, Dawn wins the challenge and immunity! The rest of you are on the chopping block."
"As I said, that's one reason not to be concerned." Dawn looked over at the others "As for the second reason, it should be coming in three… two… one…"
"(Insert angry stream of bleeping)!" Mal helped up his empty bowl… only to pause and began screaming as he clutched his head and fell to the ground.
"There it is."
"Huh. So guy with multiple personalities is really sensitive to brain freeze. Good to know for the future." Courtney watched Mal writhing on the ground, then looked over to see the interns fall to the ground nearby "So I'm guessing that Chris never actually intended to feed them. Not that I'm really surprised."
"Indeed, he inflicts suffering wherever he goes without remorse. Fortunately, I may be able to lesson their suffering to a small extent." Dawn made her way over to the interns and knelt down next to them, then reached into her shirt… and revealed arms full of fruit for them "I wish that I could do more to help you, but for now this is my limitation." she was met with grateful smiles from the interns… only for them to immediately start fighting over the food, prompting her and the others to back away.
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Nightfall came, and the time for the elimination ceremony had begun.
"Alright people, the votes have been tallied!" Chris gathered the attention of everyone around the fire pit "As a quick recap, Dawn has immunity for tonight and a free pass into the final four, but the rest of you are on thin ice. Some thinner than others. Okay it's mostly Mal, who spent most of the season pretending to be Mike and playing everyone like a pack of suckers. Meh, not the first time anyone's pull that and it's good for ratings, but you finished dead last in the challenge and you're all out of allies. As for the rest of you, you're mostly too goody goody to get any decent ratings out of, aside from Courtney. Alright enough of the mushy stuff, time for you guys to vote someone off."
"I think we all know who's going home tonight." Courtney shot a glare at Mal, with the others doing the same.
"Maybe, maybe not. Only on way to find out, so get to voting."
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(Confessional)
"Honestly it's not hard to see who's getting the most votes." Courtney gave a shrug "Now that the whole thing with Mal is out in the open, there's no chance anyone around here is going to trust him again. After he's gone, I guess we'll have to see how the competition goes from here on out."
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A few quick votes later…
"Alright people, the votes have been tallied." Chris gave his typical smirk as he ushered for the final five to take their seats by the fire "I'm sure this will come as a surprise to no one, but by a nearly unanimous vote, and tonight's loser with 4 votes to 1 is… Mal!"
For a moment, Mal seemed taken aback amidst the cheers from the others, but then he gave a smirk "Yeah, you'd think that wouldn't to?" and pulled a certain something out of his pants pocket: a certain statue that looked like Chris, earning a few gasps from the others "I hate to break it to you guys, and the (bleep) at Cancel Culture, but I'm not going anywhere."
"Looks like someone found the second Invincibility Statue, very well played. That means Mal is safe, for now at least." Chris then turned to the others "Because of that, whoever has the next most votes, meaning whoever didn't vote for Mal, is getting a one way trip to flush town. That means the one going home tonight is… DJ!"
"What?!" the others looked horrified by this revelation, Dawn in particular "But-"
"Hey come on guys, it's gonna be alright." DJ pulled himself to his feet and turned to face the others "I'm okay with this."
"But…"
"Hey if someone has to go, better it be me than the rest of you. I will miss you though. Most of you at least." DJ first turned his gaze towards Brick "It was an honor to get to be part of a team with you, and fight with you through the season… soldier."
"...The honor was all mine soldier, every bit of it." Brick wiped away a few tears and gave DJ a quick salute "Semper fi!"
"Amen to that brother." DJ then turned his attention towards Mal as his gaze hardened "I hope that you get everything that's coming to you."
"Trust me, I know exactly what's coming to me, and I can't wait for it. But you're one tough piece of (bleep), and don't let anyone forget it." Mal gave him a quick two finger salute and then turned away.
"Okay then." DJ turned towards Courtney and pulled her into a tight hug "We might not have been on the same team, but I can tell that you're not a Villain like the rest, not anymore at least. I know for a fact that you've come a long way and deserve to make it to the end, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"Thank you. For that, and for everything." Courtney wrapped her arms around DJ as well "Make sure to say hi to Duncan and the rest when you see them."
"You got it." with that said, DJ finally turned his attention to Dawn as he hoisted her up into his arms "Trust me when I say this. I made more than a few mistakes during my time here on Total Drama, but I've also found a number of things that I wouldn't change for the world. Getting to be with you again is definitely at the top of that list."
"DJ, my dearest… I feel the same way." Dawn cupped his face and pulled him into a gentle kiss, earning a few awws from Courtney and Brick.
"Alright alright, enough with the mushy crap!" Chris was quick to get in between them and ruin the moment "DJ get moving, you've got an appointment with the Flush of Shame!"
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(Confessional)
"Heather put it best, I can't underestimate the Wild Card." Mal gave a shrug "Plus Dawn getting the win today meant I couldn't vote her off, I figured the next best thing was to get rid of the only remaining former finalist."
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A few moments latter, at the Flush of Shame…
"Well here it is, the moment of truth." Chris (holding up an umbrella) looked over to where DJ sat in the Flush of Shame, and he eagerly held up the remote "Any other parting words before the big flush?"
"I've already said my piece. Go ahead." DJ gave a nod to Chris, prompting him to push the button and send him hurtling down the Flush of Shame… dowsing the remaining contestants in water in the process.
"Huh, you know oddly enough, he's one of the ones I'd actually miss." Chris stowed away his umbrella and turned to the others "As for the rest of you, let me congratulate you on making it to the final four. Good news for you Dawn, the Spa Hotel is all yours because from now on, the winners don't get to bring a guest with them. But the deal from episode 100 is still in play, so that means you'll be sharing with Brick."
"That will be fine. At least I'll have some good company." Dawn shared a look with Brick, and the two of them smiled.
"Before that though, I'm gonna need one person to volunteer for exile duty on Boney Island. The good news though, it's the last one for the season. So who's up?"
"Might as well." Mal gave a shrug and took a step forward, glancing over at Brick as he did so, but looking away before their eyes could meet "Just get it over with already."
"Fine by me." Chris motioned for Chef to drag Mal onto the Boat of Losers as the rest of the final four walked away, and then he turned to the camera to sign off "As of now, we only have four competitors left in the running for one million dollars. The question remains though, which of them are here to stay and which of them are bound to get flushed away? There's only one way to find out, and it's to tune in to the next brand new installment of Total! Drama! All Stars!"
A/N:
And now we finally reach this infamous episode, where five becomes four. Believe me when I say that I was somewhat nervous about reaching this episode, because the canon version… well I'm not going to pull the pin on that grenade. But on the plus side, that has been avoided here, albeit at a great cost. Believe me, I was torn on where to put DJ in the elimination order, but in the end I decided that the final five was a good spot, and it leaves room for the others.
On another note, Mal has officially been exposed to everyone present, meaning that he'll be on his own for the rest of his time in the competition. Of course that won't be too much of a problem for him, given that he's still a pretty strong player in his own right, and crafty to boot. He proved this by putting up a hell of a fight in this challenge, and by saving himself using the other Invincibility Statue. I bet a few of you forgot about that, right?
Oh and one last note before I forget, let me know if any of you caught the reference to Spongebob in this chapter. Here's a hint, it's from an early episode, but a deleted scene of said episode. I will say that without the Total Drama Machine to chase the contestants around and beat them with a mallet, I had to come up with an new plan, and that was what I settled on.
Remaining contestants: Brick, Courtney, Dawn, Mike/Mal
Exiled to Boney Island: Mike/Mal
Elimination Order:
Scott- 14th
Jo- 13th
Anne Maria- 12th
Cody- 11th
Duncan- 10th
Zoey- 9th
Alejandro- 8th
Gwen- 7th
Heather- 6th
DJ- 5th
