Author's Note: Compared to the usual What If scenarios, this chapter is intended to be more of a "What I think Fresh was going to do" kind of concept. Less personal decision and more guesstimating, I suppose. As a result, I'll be including reasonings for each elimination choice. A'ight, on to the chapter.
Prison can change a man, even someone as demented as Chris McLean. A whole year went by spending hard times behind bars, and not once had anyone even given him the decency of visiting! As far as he was concerned, he may as well just get cozy and stay there permanently. But then it happened, Chef finally came to visit. And not only that, the producers were getting him out on bail so he could host a brand new season. And an All Stars season at that? How could he say no? Although this time, the names he'd been given on that contract were just a bit different than what we'd usually come to know.
"Welcome to Total Drama All Stars," Chris announced, stood on the familiar docks of Camp Wawanakwa. Things has notably been cleaned up to closer resemble how the island was left in the original season, no toxic waste and no mutant animals. "After my involuntary year long 'vacation' I really need to be in a familiar environment. Surrounded by the people I love... to hurt."
He chuckled, walking to the end of the dock where some sort of robot holding the prize money briefcase was idling. "It's a condition of my parole. Except the hurt part, that one's all McLean! So, I'm bringing back 16 TD All Stars to battle it out in the most dangerous, death defying one million dollar competition ever. And here they are now!"
The camera panned to an army helicopter floating precariously above the lake.
"From Revenge of the Island meet... Multiple Mike." As Chris narrated, the door swung open so each contestant could be forced out. Mike was up first, getting shoved by Chef. "Aka Chester, Svetlana, Vito, and Manitoba!"
With each personality mentioned, Mike gasped and briefly shifted into them until he hit the water.
"Mike's crush pushover turned powerhouse, Zoey."
Redhead in question quickly dove after her boyfriend. "Mike!"
"Vito's main squeeze with hair harder than iron, Anne Maria!"
The Jersey girl glared down at Zoey and did a dive of her own. "If he's got any taste that's Vito down there, not Mike!"
"Athletic non-supporter, Lightning!"
Unimpressed with either girl's form, he got himself ready. "You call that a dive? Watch this! Sha-AH!"
Before he could finish Chef kicked him out violently, much to Chris' amusement. "Bubble boy Brainiac, Cameron."
"This is highly illogicaaaaaal," he trailed off as Chef tossed him out.
"Pants wetting army cadet, Brick!"
"Sir, reporting for duty, si-" he started before getting shoved outside.
"Challenge throwing dirt farmer, Scott!"
Trying his best to cling to Chef's leg for dear life, he had to be forcibly shaken off.
"Bossy bruiser Jo. Who dominated until her underling turned on her."
To her credit she was able to successfully wrestler Chef away, glaring down at the host. "You're a dead man, McLean!"
Only to immediately get shoulder tackled off the helicopter afterwards. Chris laughed in satisfaction.
"And from our original cast, cranky know it all C.I.T. Courtney!"
She glared as Chef held her upside down by her ankle. "This is NOT in my contraaaaaaaact!"
"Courtney's boyfriend turned friend kissing rival, Duncan!"
Despite his struggling, Chef barely managed to toss him out. "Bring it on!"
From here on each introduction was done as the competitor was already shown mid-drop.
"Devious diva, Heather."
"I hate Chriiiiiiiis!"
"Loveable lamebrain, Lindsay."
She flapped her hands like they were wings. "I'm flying... AAAAAH!"
"Superfan Sierra, Total Drama's number one stalker- er, I mean, blogger! And her beloved geeky boy toy, Cody."
The nerd was stuck in Sierra's grasp, nearly suffocating from her powerful hug.
"Too tight... please... someone help," he groaned.
"Human garbage disposal with a heart of gold, Owen!"
"Woohoo," he yelled, cannonballing down at record speeds. "This is awesome!"
Below everyone else frantically swam away, nearly getting caught in the giant geyser of water his impact created.
"AND... feral freakshow, Ezekiel."
Zeke flailed wildly, looking disheveled and deranged as ever. As the others gasped and he growled out excited gibberish, suddenly a plunger stuck to his chest and reeled him in to the robot.
"Hah! Kidding. No way is that guy ever coming back again."
With a snap of the finger, the robot fired the plunger and sent Ezekiel screaming through the sky.
Meanwhile on the beach, the actual contestants caught their bearings and coughed up any water lingering in their lungs. Chris joined eventually to greet them and give a rundown on the season, where they'd be staying if they won or lost, etc. But before any of that, they'd have a chance to catch up with each other.
"Well at least he didn't blow up the plane," Cameron quipped while wringing out his hoodie. "That's an upside, I suppose."
"Pfft, don't give him any ideas," Duncan shot back. Immediately Owen slid up next to him.
"Duncan! Good to see you, it's been way too long." Suddenly he realized a glaring absence not with his buddy. "Say, where's Gwen? They didn't invite her back?"
"You're kidding, right? Of course they wanted her back. The moment she caught wind of them cooking up a new season she freaked out and went into hiding." He grunted in annoyance. "Even I haven't heard from her in weeks. Guess she gave em the slip long enough."
"Seriously? Catching up with her was like the main reason I agreed to come back," Cody lamented, shrinking under Sierra's stern look. "Er, you know, to see how my friend's doing? Hehe..."
Nearby Courtney folded her arms and grumbled to herself. "Hmph, she was probably just too much of a coward to show her face again after last time."
Heather coughed up a starfish, flinging it away in disgust. "Ugh, Chirs has some nerve bringing us back with all of these newbies."
"Aww, someone misses their hunny bunny," Lindsay cooed, getting way too up close and personal for the Queen Bee's liking.
"Who, Alejandro? As if!" She shoved the blonde into the sand. "I'm GLAD he's not back, the handsome jerk."
Elsewhere, Scott frantically crawled through the sand, putting as much distance between him and the water as possible. Lightning hoisted him up, confused. "Man, what's got you looking so freaked out?"
"F-f-f-fang could have been lurking anywhere in that lake," the dirt farmer stuttered. "Ain't no way I'm spending more time in the water than I need to."
While Brick drained his boots of water, Jo slapped him hard on the back. "I wouldn't bother getting too comfortable, Sgt. Soggy Socks. If last season is anything to go by, you aren't gonna be around long."
"Looks like you're friendly as ever." He shot his rival a determined smirk. "Well I'll have you know I've been training twice as hard since last season! You're gonna be the one eating MY dust this time."
In stark contrast to the banter, Mike and Zoey were enjoying the temporary Chris-free peace, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes... until Anne Maria came stomping up to shove the indie chick aside.
"One side, Red. I got some quality time to catch up on with Vito."
"Well you're out of luck, I learned how to control my personalities last season," he said sternly while helping Zoey up. "He's only coming out when I want him to."
"Plus me and him are dating now," Zoey added, not backing down. "So I guess you're better off bothering one of the other boys."
Anne Maria scanned the beach to see Owen farting, knocking Cameron over with the noxious fumes.
"Oh yeah, some real winners to pick from here..."
After Chris eventually gave the cast their season rundown, it was time to sort teams. And to celebrate the All Stars theme, he was going to assign them teams based on their past performances. Heroes vs Villains! On the Heroic Hamsters we had Owen, Cody, Lindsay, Sierra, Mike, Zoey, Cameron, and Brick. And on the Villainous Vultures it would be Lightning, Jo, Scott, Anne Maria, Heather, Duncan, and Courtney.
"Hold on a minute, why did you put ME on the villain team?" the CIT protested.
"Probably because you're a stuck up, bossy, controlling harpy," Duncan offered. Chris nodded and pointed a thumb his way.
"Yup, pretty much what he said."
Courtney glared at her former flame. "Last I checked my boyfriend and so called friend cheated on my behind my back. How is that worthy of being put here?"
"No one ever said villains were immune from behind cheated on," the host pointed out with an innocent shrug.
"Enough about that crap, are we just gonna ignore the fact that our team only has 7 people?" Jo pointed out. "Their team has 8, what's the deal?"
"I needed the extra seat on the plane for that Ezekiel gag!" Chris's explanation was meant with unamused leers. Sighing, he shoved the Drama Machine towards them. "Fine, you can have the robot. Happy now?"
Immediately the robot rolled towards Heather, bumping up against her as she recoiled in disgust. "Ew, keep your distance, toaster."
*** Confessional: Heather ***
"Eugh. There's something about that bucket of bolts that I just don't like."
With the teams set, Chris detailed their first challenge. To go along with the All Stars theme, each challenge this season would incorporate parts from previous challenges throughout the franchise with a few twists added for good measure. Up first would be a revisit to the classic cliff dive into shark infested waters from episode 1, tasking the campers with finding the correct key to the spa hotel where the winners would be staying. Meanwhile each team would have a driver tasked with pushing the jumpers to and from the hotel in the baby carriages from the World Tour New York episode.
On the walk to the cliff, the team dynamics were quickly taking place. Mike, Zoey, and Cameron would be close as ever ready for a friendship finale 2.0. Brick offered himself up as team captain, which no one seemed to object to. Owen asked Sierra and Cody about the status of their relationship, with her insisting that they were closer than ever while he seemed less than enthused. And Lindsay... well, she was in her own little world. Meanwhile, Heather was getting the creeps from the stalking robot, and it was apparent that her and Jo would be butting heads over team leadership. Anne Maria tried flirting with Lightning on a whim, but the only booty he had his mind on was that cash prize. Duncan and Courtney took turns exchanging insults, both clearly blaming the other for their bad blood. And Scott just stood around observing it all, there was something about this Courtney lady in particular that he definitely found interesting.
Jo wasted no time volunteering herself as a driver, even whipping up a lie about being a champion shopping kart pusher to get Lightning on her side. After a bit of debate from the Heroes, Lindsay eventually volunteered since she preferred not to get her hair wet. Some of her teammates had doubts, but time for picking was up before they could change the decision. Those jumping were in for a rude awakening when they got to the top of cliff, seeing that instead of normal sharks waiting for them at the bottom it would be none other than Fang. Scott quickly retreated to the back of the crowd hoping the challenge would be over before it was his turn.
One by one the contestants took the plunge, stared down fang, and got their keys. With each trip Jo would try and establish herself as the head honcho of the team, trying to cut deals with everyone that they'd stay out of each other's way. For most it worked, but it was clear Heather wasn't going to be bossed around. Going much slower was Lindsay, who certainly wasn't helped by having to immediately start with karting Owen. He had volunteered to go first to show how far he's come since season 1. Sierra accidently sitting on top of Cody before he had exited the baby carriage also hindered things, doubling the weight Lindsay had to push on that trip. Eventually it was Scott's turn to make the jump, but he refused to go anywhere near Fang. In the scuffle of Lightning and Duncan trying to pull him free, suddenly the Drama Machine was sent careening off the cliff. One explosion later and it was confirmed who was inside: Alejandro. Cue Heather being flabbergasted.
Whether it be by pure luck or somehow knowing which one to take, Alejandro managed to select the correct key, winning the first challenge for the villains. Though in the process it was discovered that his legs were asleep after all that time in the robot suit. With the heroes facing their first elimination of the season, the question became who was the one to blame? Soon enough the elimination ceremony was upon them...
"I guess it's true what they say! Nice guys finish last." Chris laughed to himself, stood behind the iconic Wawanakwa bonfire as the 8 Heroic Hamsters waited nervously. "Question is, which of you will literally place last as our first All Star eliminated?"
Mike and Zoey exchanged a concerned look. Owen hung his head in shame, while Brick looked off to the side with a grimace.
"By the way, like our new peanut gallery?" The camera panned to show the Villainous Vultures sitting on some nearby bleachers, a giant peanut symbol below their seats. "Winners get to kick back and enjoy watching someone go home before heading out to enjoy a gourmet dinner and 5 star spa hotel sleep!"
While most of the team cheered, Duncan scooted closer to Courtney with a cocky grin. "Not too shabby, eh? Maybe a decent night's sleep with help cure that stick up your butt."
"Hmph, whatever." She jabbed a finger into his chest. "You should be counting your blessings that we won. Had we lost it totally would have been YOU getting the boot!"
He rolled his eyes. "If you say so, princess."
"Now before we get started, I need a member from the winning team to volunteer for a special reward," Chris announced with Lightning the first to run up.
"Oh oh, Lightning wants it!"
"Great!" The host chuckled mischievously. "For your reward, you'll be spending a night in exile on Boney Island!"
Lightning scoffed in annoyance. "Tch, man how is THAT a reward?"
"Simple. Hidden somewhere on the island is the coveted Chris head immunity idol from last season. Find that thing and you're golden."
"Ugh, NOW he tells us," Scott whined.
With that all out of the way, it was finally ceremony time. Once the Hamsters were back from voting, Chris now had a platter with 7 marshmallows in front of him. He held the first one up tantalizingly.
"If I call your name, you're safe. The first marshmallow goes to... Cody!"
The geek pumped his fist while Sierra squealed in relief nearby.
"Also safe are... Brick." He saluted, only for the marshmallow to bounce off his eye. "Mike and Zoey." They exchanged a grin. "Cameron." He let out a sigh of relief. "Aaaaand... Owen!"
After a quick cheer the jolly giant gobbled down his marshmallow, leaving only one left. Sierra gasped while Lindsay looked on in confusion... and also with a x in red marker across her face from the voting.
"Lindsay, you're in hot water due to your sucky steering and opting out from diving for a dumb reason. Sierra, you're in trouble for slowing Lindsay down while also nearly suffocating Cody to death." He chuckled in amusement. "But hey, what else is new?"
She gave her boytoy an apologetic smile. Chris held up the final marshmallow, the music swelling dramatically as the camera lingered between the two contestants. Until finally he eventually called the name of...
"... Sierra! You're safe, and Lindsay's out!"
Surprisingly, both girls cheered, Lindsay even sounding more relieved of the two. "Thank goodness! Wait, I don't need to ride that scary catapult thing, do I?"
"Nope! We got a brand new elimination method this season." One transition later and Chris brought the Hamsters to... a gigantic toilet with Lindsay floating in the bowl. "Behold, the Flush of Shame! Patent pending."
Despite the others reacting in disgust, Lindsay didn't seem too bothered to be floating in a massive potty. "Well, bye guys. It's been-"
Chris cut her off with the press of a button, starting up the toilet and sending her flushing down to who knows where. He was able to deploy and umbrella in time to shield himself from the backsplash of the water. The remaining Hamsters were not so lucky.
"One hero down, but we have 15 All Stars to go! Who will be the next to take a plunge down the porcelain throne? Find out next time on TOTAL... DRAMA... ALL STARS!"
Contestants Standing:
Heroic Hamsters: Cody, Sierra, Owen, Mike, Zoey, Cameron, Brick
Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Heather, Duncan, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott, Anne Maria
Eliminated: Lindsay
Reasoning: As much as I like Lindsay, I get the impression she was added to the cast in the first place to be the first boot. Thus I don't expect her elimination to have ever changed.
Evil Dread: While the Vultures enjoy the good life in the spa hotel, the Hamsters settle back in to the crummy cabin beds they were all too familiar with. As the only girls on the team left, Zoey gets to share a room with Sierra and get a feel for her insanity up close and personal, her asking prying questions about her and Mike. Over with the boys they're one bed short due to the odd layout of them having 5 men. Brick offers to sleep outside, but Cameron relents that he can simply sleep on the floor in his sleeping bag. Owen asks Cody how things have been on his end and finds out that while he values Sierra as a friend, he's getting burnt out hardcore by her nonstop romantic advances. He's also pretty bummed that Gwen isn't here, sad times.
All isn't perfect for the villains, though. Duncan and Courtney continue to bicker, Heather is insistent on heckling Alejandro and visibly flustered that he's back in the first place, Jo and Anne Maria clash when the jockette tries to warn her against slacking in the next challenge. Only Scott is chilling out and enjoying the winner life, though he's definitely paranoid about Lightning potentially finding the idol. Speaking of which, Lightning struggles to find food on Boney Island, eventually scarfing down a fish that immediately barfs its way back up.
For their challenge the teams are each finding broken pieces of statues built in World Tour's Paris challenge, digging through the beach and avoiding booby traps. Not to mention a moat full of snappy crabs surrounding the platform they have to build it on. Of note during the challenge is Alejandro revealing to the confessional that his legs now work fine, but he'll continue to hide that info from his team. Heather especially. Owen isn't doing so hot after a mosquito drained him of a major amount of blood during the night, and Lightning isn't in top form due to lack of food. Anne Maria isn't faring much better, getting burnt out on the challenge early on, she pesters Manitoba Smith about Vito and while reacting to a booby trap accidently hits Mike hard in the head with her shovel. Inside the brainspace, Manitoba warns that the malevolent one is coming. Ominous...
Things are close with the final Heroes piece being in Owen's unsearched quadrant while Lightning miscounts how many pieces they have, but Zoey manages to just barely clutch the win for the heroes. Owen volunteers for Boney Island duty since he was slacking throughout the challenge. At the ceremony, it's a question of who was less useful between Lightning and Anne Maria. But thanks partially due to their argument earlier in the day, Jo leads a campaign to get the Jersey Girl out and pulls it off successfully.
Contestants Standing:
Heroic Hamsters: Cody, Sierra, Owen, Mike, Zoey, Cameron, Brick
Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Heather, Duncan, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria
Reasoning: While it's highly possible I'm wrong and Lightning was always locked in to go here, I can't help but shake the vibe that Anne Maria was originally intended to be the Lindsay of the Vultures by being their easy first out. There's reason to believe she was the first one cut from the cast of those who didn't make the canon season, and if I don't pick her off here she would likely have to make it all the way to the merge and I genuinely have no idea what she'd have plotwise to make it that far.
Saving Private Leechball: Now the Heroes get a turn tasting the good life in luxury. All seems to be well with their spirits high, but during the night Brick's alarm clock is broken by an unknown shady figure. Mike can't shake the feeling that somehow he may be involved. Cody also has to deal with Sierra's offers of massages and the like, with him trying to make her chill. Meanwhile Owen is doing alright on Boney Island thanks to his outdoorsman knowledge, though he isn't escaping the night without a few cuts and bruises. The only real obstacle is lack of food options.
Over with the Vultures, Jo enjoys a bunk all to herself with Anne Maria gone, taunting that she was the first to go home thanks to her. Heather takes issue with her cockiness and an annoyed Courtney is forced to sit there and listen to their bickering. Comparatively things are more jovial with the guys. Duncan and Scott hit it off decently well, and Alejandro eyes Lightning as a potential easy ally for his upcoming crusade against his former flame.
The challenge is a combination of the paintball game from season 1 combined with the war movie challenge from season 2. Except this time they'll be firing leeches! Brick is instantly immersed, feeling in his element due to his soldier experience. Jo is quick to heckle him and he's determined to prove her wrong no matter what. It doesn't help that the alarm clock being broken means he's a bit grumpy after not getting woken up as early as he's used to. Since the villains manage to reach the artillery first, they're dealing with the big weapons while the Hamsters have to make do with slingshots. Thankfully for them they have sharpshooter Zoey on her side, but Mike is also making moves and is oddly aggressive throughout the challenge, even figuring out how to turn the Vulture's cannon against them to get out Scott.
While having one of their usual arguments, Duncan and Courtney get cornered by Zoey. Instinctively the punk jumps in front of his former girlfriend just as she's about to get hit, giving her a quick window to knock Zoey out instead. In confessional the CIT is flabbergasted since she thought Duncan was incapable of being nice anymore. After much shenanigans Brick is the final hamster standing, having dedicated the entire challenge to fighting against Jo, a man on a mission to finally get one up on her. And after cornering her in a cave he's able to finally eliminate her... only for Heather to appear from behind and get him out instead. Turns out the girls planned this, maybe if he hadn't been so hyper focused on Jo the whole time maybe he would have realized she wasn't the only Vulture left standing.
While Cody is also in the bottom two after being the first out in the challenge, it's an easy vote for Brick. He handles the elimination with his head held high and considers beating Jo a personal victory at least. Speaking of, Jo calls dibs on Boney Island duty since she takes credit for the plan to win, and Heather isn't exactly eager to spend a night there. Before the night is over, Chris mentions that one person played more like a villain today while another more like a hero. So he tells Mike and Duncan to pack their bags and switch teams. Both are upset, but Mike promises Zoey that he'll be ok while Duncan denies any teases from Courtney that maybe he isn't the hardened criminal he pretends to be after all. As the two pass each other, Duncan could swear that he recognizes Mike from somewhere...
Contestants Standing:
Heroic Hamsters: Cody, Sierra, Owen, Duncan, Zoey, Cameron
Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Heather, Mike, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick
Reasoning: If I were calling the shot Brick would almost certainly be a merger, love that guy. Unfortunately I think while he was on the cast he was intended to be an early boot and nothing more. It was really just a question if he gets eliminated here or in Moon Madness. Both feel potentially fitting since the other option plays on his fear of the dark, but ultimately I have a different idea for that episode's boot and I think the army cadet being eliminated in the war movie challenge callback is the exact kind of irony Fresh would go for.
Food Fright: While enjoying the spa hotel, Heather begins turning to Courtney for a potential partnership. Between Alejandro and now Jo she's ready to start making some moves against her rivals, and the CIT is her best bet, especially now that Duncan has swapped teams. Speaking of Courtney, she shares an oddly nice moment with Scott that doesn't go unnoticed by the queen bee. Mike is struggling to adjust to his new team, especially after another Mal incident has him break Scott's whittling knife during the night. But Alejandro is surprisingly cordial toward him. As far as Al's concerned, that's a potential new ally right there. Plus he's having a hard time manipulating Lightning, who doesn't seem to have a brain to manipulate in the first place. And Jo is just being a beast on Boney Island. No idol tho.
Duncan is pretty pissed off to say the least. Not only was he denied spa hotel access due to the team swap, but now he had to bunk with nerds like Cody and Cameron. Well at least his buddy Owen was there. Though Owen calls attention to the delinquent's act of kindness during the last challenge which he doesn't take well. Meanwhile Cody confides in his fellow nerd over the escalation with Sierra and looks to him for advice. Not exactly experienced with girls, Cam views this as a potential fun puzzle. Elsewhere, Zoey is missing Mike like crazy, but Sierra comforts her in a way that only Sierra can. Which is to say poorly, and crazily.
Food challenge is the name of the game, with everyone having to take turns eating a pile of pancakes before then going through the hardest obstacles from ROTI's second episode. Plus a vomit inducing final part where if you throw up you're out of the contest. And just for good measure, the pancakes are full of booby traps. For the Hamsters they were looking at a numbers disadvantage, plus dealing with the villains working overtime to spite their respective rivals. All would be lost had it not been for one thing: Owen. In a photo finish he manages to catch up and just barely beats Alejandro in the final part to win things for the Heroes. Heather fully intends to take advantage of this humiliating loss for the Spaniard.
Or at least she would, had Owen not smuggled a bit of pancake in his pocket to give him sustenance on Boney Island. Chris declares that the Vultures win by disqualification, and Scott volunteers for exile so he can try and get that idol. Courtney is a bit bummed for some reason. As for the vote, as much as it pains them there's really no other option. Owen is eliminated, outdone by his stomach in the most ironic of ways.
Contestants Standing:
Heroic Hamsters: Cody, Sierra, Duncan, Zoey, Cameron
Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Heather, Mike, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen
Reasoning: It's basically universally agreed that Sam's role in All Stars was likely originally written for Owen. The elimination especially. So out of all the boots for characters not in the final version of the season, this is the one I'm most confident of.
Moon Madness: In the night Mal sneaks over to the loser cabin while they're distracted eating their slop so he can destroy Sierra's phone, something that'll increase her delusions going forward due to tech withdrawal. As Mike is let back out and approaches Cameron and Zoey for a talk, nearby Duncan continues to ponder where he knows this guy from. Meanwhile Courtney realizes she misses Scott, Jo and Lightning try to one up each other in workouts, and Alejandro begins to implement a strategy where he makes Heather think he's lost interest in her. So far so bueno. Scott nearly meets his end on Boney Island but is saved at the last minute by Chef's helicopter, only to get whacked into dozens of trees afterwards.
The challenge takes place in the middle of the night, reminiscent of the Izzy dressed as a spider challenge from ROTI. Supposedly a blue harvest moon was coming and was going to have an affect of the island. Aggressive animals like bears and alligators become cute and cuddly, while normally docile creatures like birds and bunnies turn into violent killing machines. Heather also seems to be turned nice by the moon, disturbing her team and Alejandro in particular greatly. Mal also takes full control thanks to the moon, and branches off to cause some chaos. Such as sabotaging things for Cameron and Zoey, or having an awkward confrontation with Duncan. Thankfully he can throw off any of the ex-con's suspicions by teasing the whole becoming a nice guy angle. Meanwhile Sierra is more deranged than usual and spends the challenge suffocating Cody with her attention. Despite some roadblocks here and there, the villains manage to all finish first, due in large part to Mal's trickery. Oh, and it turns out Heather was faking being changed by the moon just to mess with Alejandro.
Ordinarily Duncan may be in trouble here, but Cody has become fed up with the competition and Sierra's advances. He volunteers himself for elimination and begs Sierra to let him go before making a break for the Flush of Shame. As for the winners, Scott once again volunteers for exile, with Courtney visibly getting upset. Nearby, Heather, Alejandro, and Jo all have the same thought of how they can use this new dynamic to their advantage.
Contestants Standing:
Heroic Hamsters: Sierra, Duncan, Zoey, Cameron
Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Heather, Mike, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody
Reasoning: Most speculations about this version of All Stars I see tend to have Sierra and Cody eliminated together, usually in Suckers Punched. Which definitely does make sense. But since I'm assuming everything about the Cameron obsession from the canon season was originally intended to be directed at Cody himself, I'm assuming he also attempts to quit here. But unlike in the season we got with the joining the Vultures twist, I don't think a version of AS with 16 characters can afford a random non-elimination episode. Plus I think Cody legit being gone instead of just on the other team makes Sierra going into withdrawal over him make even better sense.
No One Eggspects the Spanish Opposition: Alejandro vs Heather takes center stage this time around, with their mind games coming to a climax. Jo's beef with the queen bee leads her to approach Al with a team up offer and its one that he can't refuse. Meanwhile Heather is investing her efforts into Courtney, hopeful that if she can swing her then she'll also get Scott's vote too. With Lightning also hanging in as a potential ally for Al, that would leave Mike as the swing vote. And he's stuck in his own world right now trying to figure out what's wrong with him, especially after busting up Jo's whistle randomly. Meanwhile Sierra is a sobbing mess that Zoey is doing her best to keep calm, and she creeps everyone out as she begins to hallucinate Cody's head on their bodies. Things are mad awkward between Duncan and Cameron as the team's remaining men with them being so drastically different. Duncan can't stop accidently doing nice things for people despite his desire to inflict some Harold style bullying on the nerd, and the brainiac finds all this very fascinating.
Boney Island winds up the venue for their next challenge, with Chris confirming that the still unfound Chris head has actually been hiding in a brand new area: The Fun Zone! It's where all the season 4 mutants minus Fang have been living, and now the contestants have to hunt for their eggs to avoid elimination. A concept that confirms something went down between Chris and Larry, but lets not dwell on that shall we? Zoey and Cameron team up, forcing Duncan do deal with Sierra which becomes a huge headache. One of her eggs even hatches into a two headed mutant rat which she dubs Cody Jr. At least it gives her an excuse to guard the basket, leaving Duncan to have a run in with a cute harmless bird that brings him to tears.
Jo and Lightning team up, which is pure comedy. Courtney and Scott team up, which leads to obvious romance tension. Mike, Alejandro, and Heather all go at it alone, with Mike running into Zoey and Cameron's group at one point and getting frustrated having to compete against them while not knowing how in control he is. Elsewhere, Heather actually manages to find the Chris head! But she leaves it behind so she doesn't have to carry it around and be found out. Unfortunately for her, Alejandro saw all and now it was his idol to steal. Despite the numbers advantage for the villains, Zoey manages to find a massive nest that finally gives the Heroes a win for the first time in ages. Heather tries to go back for the idol but can't find it and assumes Chris had it rehidden.
At the ceremony Alejandro has the idol tucked away. Heather was able to successfully sway Courtney and Scott's vote. Lightning and Jo were on board with the Spaniard. It was all down to Mike's choice. Or rather, Mal's choice. After a desperate confessional where he dropped a bolder on his head to try and revert back to normal, Mike allowed Mal to take full control. And for the sake of stirring some chaos, he throws a hinky vote at Scott to force a tie. Heather grins in anticipation for the tiebreaker, only for Alejandro to stand up, march over, reveal the idol and declare that it won't be necessary. Heather is donzo, and Al finally feels satisfied after his defeat in World Tour. As the Vultures go to see Heather off, a passing Mal whistles his ominous tune that finally makes Duncan realize who he is.
Contestants Standing:
Heroic Hamsters: Sierra, Duncan, Zoey, Cameron
Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Mike, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody, Heather
Reasoning: Heather's elimination in All Stars is probably the season's best in terms of being a satisfying moment and feeling earned since it's the climax of her rivalry with Alejandro. Add in the idea of it also ending her rivalry with Jo and I think it makes sense to keep it as is. (Though spoiler alert, most of the remaining eliminations are kept as they happen in canon since we're out of characters who weren't in originally). Plus assuming this was always the title of the episode it seems logical that it would be the big Alejandro making his move moment. I did consider a scenario where Mal just votes for Heather proper, but I didn't know what ceremony the idol would have played into otherwise. Heather finding it only for her man to steal and use it against her feels right, and just not voting for either side to fuck with people feels like a Mal move.
Suckers Punched: After spending a night in Boney Island, Zoey returns to Duncan informing her of who Mal is and his history the two shared in juvie. Zoey, being All Stars Zoey, somehow simultaneously believe him and doesn't want to believe him. Meanwhile Cameron has been taking the bulk of Sierra's weirdness as the most Cody adjacent person left, and he's getting roughed up by her new mutant pet thing. Over with the villains, Alejandro confronts Mal as to why he didn't vote with them, and while pretending to be Mike the villain insists he just wanted to remain impartial and not get into drama that isn't his business. Plus he has bad blood with Scott! But the dirt farmer is more preoccupied thinking about Courtney, something Lightning heckles him over, claiming he's losing his villainous mojo. With Heather gone, Courtney tries to strike up an agreement with Jo to keep each other safe since the boys outnumber them and they can't afford to fall behind.
For the boxing challenge, fixed fights force the campers to box their personal fears and grudges. Except Zoey, she got a free point from being the egg challenge MVP. Despite that advantage, Sierra fails to beat the mutant rat's real mom, and Duncan can't bring himself to hurt the cute baby bird from last episode, which Courtney gladly taunts him over. Meanwhile, Alejandro defeats his brother Mal, Scott fails to beat Fang, and Mike beats up what would have been Cameron's opponent after fixing accusations are thrown out, Izzy in her spider suit. Izzy asks who Mal is after getting a glimpse of Mike within the headspace, but is knocked out. Zoey continues to ignore this obvious sign that backs up Duncan's claim. Jo and Lightning have to fight each other and it ends in a draw, thus not worth a point. So for all the marbles, Chris saves Courtney's fight for last. They tracked down Gwen and bring her out to fight on behalf of the Heroes. At first they pull no punches, but the blowing off steam makes them ultimately reconcile and decide to leave the past in the past. Touched, Chris declares the Villains the winners since the match ended in a no contest and Gwen isn't a real competitor. He does offer her a spot, but she immediately books it, though not without giving Duncan some parting words that fire him up to prove himself once again.
In a twist, Chris declares that the winning team gets to select who goes home. With the likes of Courtney, Alejandro, and Jo vying to earn Mike's loyalty, they won't vote off Zoey or Cameron. And while Duncan is the bigger threat in theory, his wuss streak combined with Sierra genuinely annoying and unsettling everyone on the island, they decide to vote off the super fan. As a consolation prize the Hamsters can send one of the winners to Boney Island, and they all select Alejandro unanimously. Duncan would have liked to send Mal there, but he wasn't going to convince Mike's buddies to bite.
Contestants Standing:
Heroic Hamsters: Duncan, Zoey, Cameron
Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Mike, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody, Heather, Sierra
Reasoning: I'll once again emphasize that this is more a "what I think Fresh was going to do" more than anything kind of chapter. Because I and many others don't like how Sierra was depicted in All Stars, effectively removing any sort of development she picked up in the end of World Tour. Unfortunately, I think her regressing to pure Cody thirst was always the plan, and the nerd himself being gone would be enough to push her over the edge to annoy everyone so much that they'd vote her out over bigger threats like Zoey or Duncan. Honestly if this is what they were going to do with her I wish they just straight up didn't include Sierra in the cast, but it is what it is.
You Regatta Be Kidding Me: At the spa hotel Courtney and Scott continue to awkwardly flirt, so Jo sets out to solidify a movement to vote the farmer out next. Lightning is game, Mal pretends to agree though he doesn't really care who goes next since he's continuing to fly under the radar. Over with the heroes, Zoey informs Cameron about Duncan's concerns. The delinquent himself is still trying to get it through to her that Mal is bad news, but Mike's girlfriend continues to refuse seeing to reason. And Alejandro survives Boney Island with ease. When Chris calls everyone together he declares that the merge is finally here, with Mal pretending to get in on a final three agreement with Zoey and Cameron, while Duncan tries to make nice with the Courtney and Scott duo. To his credit, seeing him go through the wringer as a softie combined with moving on to Scott has make the CIT finally cool off on her grudge so she says she'll consider an alliance. Though they laugh off his warnings about Mike being a threat.
For their challenge it'll be a regatta around the island. Alejandro goes it solo since everyone views him as a threat and claims a speed boat. Courtney and Scott share what they think is the second best option, a boat with a crummy engine that keeps stopping. Mal wastes no time sabotaging remaining vessels and claims the boat of losers for himself, leaving his allies in the dust. This is enough to make Cameron suspicious that Duncan's warnings were true, though Zoey is still in denial. With nothing else that can sail, Zoey and Cameron must share the crummy raft with Jo, Lightning, and Duncan. The jocks having wasted too much time wrestling on the docks to get there first to reach the vehicles in time. Lightning tries to get in the water and paddle them to victory, but Fang puts a hamper on that plan. Meanwhile Zoey puts herself in danger with some piranhas, forcing Mal to save her so no one will get suspicious. With the rest of the raft group dysfunctional thanks to the jocks arguing and Duncan bailing, plus Courtney and Scott being pure comedy, Alejandro manages to just barely finish before anyone else to secure immunity.
Suddenly an explosion goes off, with Duncan having blown up a mansion sized cottage Chris owns that was pointed out to them when they passed it by. Finally, he had pulled off a truly bad boy act. Duncan was back in action! Or at least he would be. Despite a reveal that Zoey had received unanimous votes to leave, shown to be courtesy of Mal rigging the votes, no one would be voted off. Because Duncan was getting arrested for his actions. And he wasn't going to juvie, with the value of the property he destroyed it was big boy jail for him. Courtney is amused at his misfortune, though Scott feels kinda bad for him. As for Boney Island, Lightning and Jo failed to cross after wrestling each other off the raft so they're sent to exile together.
Contestants Standing:
Merge: Alejandro, Mike, Zoey, Cameron, Courtney, Lightning, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody, Heather, Sierra, Duncan
Reasoning: Duncan was one of the harder characters to think over since not having Gwen around feels like it'd impact him a lot. For one, no breakup storyline. That's good for the Gwuncan fans at least. But since the history with Mal kinda requires him to switch to the Hamsters, I figured the accidental nice guy gimmick was always planned. And as a result of it, I do think it would sort of help mend things between him and Courtney since Gwen isn't around to constantly have that part of the dynamic looming over them. So overall I think Duncan comes out of this season on a more positive note than canon... even though he still winds up in jail.
Zeek and Ye Shall Find: While relaxing at the spa hotel, Alejandro stumbles upon a control room where he finds a DVD containing Mal's greatest hits, from the destroying of belongings to the sabotage. Naturally the charmer saves a copy as insurance. He also catches a live feed of Mal about to frame Al as the one to rig the votes, so he sneaks out to put the votes under Mike's pillow instead. While Mal is able to talk Zoey down from suspicion, Cameron no longer knows who to trust and goes lone wolf. Meanwhile Scott and Courtney accidently share a first kiss and he awkwardly offers to become her girlfriend... err, boyfriend. And on exile, Jo and Lightning continue to argue, enough so that Jo is done trying to work with this imbecile and wants to see him go.
It's the 100th episode and Chris is planning a super crazy challenge... only to be abducted by a vengeful Ezekiel who threatens to dump him in a vat of toxic waste. Chef panics and tasks the campers with saving him, though not before they extort immunity, choosing who goes to exile, AND permanent spa hotel residence for whoever does the job. Tracking Zeke to the mines, Mal drags Cameron down one hole after Zoey goes down another. Scourtney go off together, while Alejandro sticks with Jo to inform her of the Mal situation. She isn't convinced, but says if he helps her in the next vote then maybe she'll help him out. And Lightning tackles the challenge solo, convinced he can find Zeke on his own. Shenanigans include Mal pushing Cameron on to Courtney for an accidental kiss to make Scott mad, Scourtney arguing over the incident, Zoey having to listen when all three are captured, Mal leaving Cameron to dangle in a dangerous pit, and ultimately Alejandro and Mal also getting captured. Cameron, Jo, and Lightning all manage to run into each other and as a unit reach Ezekiel's hideout. Lightning and Cameron go for the distraction, though when Zeke causes rocks to fall the jock jumps out of the way leaving his nerdier companion to get buried under the ruble. It's enough time to allow Jo to subdue Zeke and free Chris.
At the ceremony Chris decides to honor the agreement made with Chef, so Jo is immune. But first things first, Cameron is leaving since he's too injured to continue. Mal leaves him a threatening taunt about his identity since Cam is too bandaged up to talk. With him gone, it's vote time. Reluctantly Alejandro goes along with helping Jo and the two manage to swing votes from Courtney and Scott. So with 4 votes on their side, Lightning is successfully voted off with Jo taunting him as he's forced to join Cameron in the toilet. As for exile, she sends Alejandro to Boney Island since by her reasoning, she doesn't want the others to suspect that they're voting together.
Contestants Standing:
Merge: Alejandro, Mike, Zoey, Courtney, Jo, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody, Heather, Sierra, Duncan, Cameron, Lightning
Reasoning: Cameron's injury elimination feels pretty fitting and I saw no reason to change it. However, I did need a double elimination somewhere thanks to this larger cast and this episode felt like the best fit. Having Lightning go this far is a choice, but I do feel like he makes more sense than Anne Maria who would have made it to the merge by default if I had eliminated Lightning back in Evil Dread as it happens in canon. Lightning has his existing dynamics with the likes of Jo, Cameron, etc so I think he can get away with vibing as this oddball comedic character up until here. And eliminating both ROTI finalists in the same episode like this feels like a Fresh kind of move, hence why I went with it here.
The Obsta-Kill Kourse: Alone with the spa hotel all to herself (and Chris), Jo uses the explanation Al told her in the mines to locate the Mal dvd and watch it for herself. Huh, turns out he wasn't lying. Pfft, not like she cares. If they can keep Courtney and Scott on their side they'll just vote this creep off with ease! Speaking of which, Scott is sad. And when he's sad, he eats dirt. Courtney tries to drill it into his thick skull that Cameron was an accident and they're back on as a couple. What's he gonna do, tell the pretty lady no? Meanwhile Mal pretends to mourn Cameron's elimination with Zoey, though in secret he's giddy to be rid of him. Mike is starting to gather the other personalities in the headspace for their inevitable bullshit resolution. And Alejandro returns from exile to touch base with Jo and confirm that they're on the same page. Since they should have numbers on their side, he wants to keep things between them and play it smart. Unfortunately for him, Jo ain't really about being discreet.
During the obstacle course challenge, Jo gets in Mal's face and taunts him over knowing his identity and how his elimination is inevitable. After all, if she can take down the likes of Heather and Lightning, what kind of threat does this edgy loser pose? As it turns out, quite a lot! Mal dedicates the challenge to giving Jo a really bad time, sabotaging her at every step of the way and ensuring she never gets a chance to talk to Scott or Courtney. Not him though, he makes sure to talk with both of them to plant seeds on why the jockette needs to go. Heck, he even convinces Scott how she used Cameron's lips to kiss his girlfriend! Alejandro meanwhile is stuck in a head to head battle with Zoey for immunity, which she just narrowly manages to clutch once he's finally distracted by what Mal's doing to his ally.
Try as the Spaniard may to convince the others how to vote, it's Jo getting eliminated. But not before she's subjected to a cocky message left by Lightning in the confessional. Zoey is given the chance to select who stays in the spa hotel with her AND who goes to exile since Jo is gone. Naturally, she brings "Mike" with her while exiling Alejandro. But before he leaves, he does whisper a warning to her about the truth to who Mike really is being hidden in the art.
Contestants Standing:
Merge: Alejandro, Mike, Zoey, Courtney, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody, Heather, Sierra, Duncan, Cameron, Lightning, Jo
Reasoning: Maybe it's just copium on my part since I'm a Jo fan. But the impression I got from the first few episodes of All Stars was that Jo was being set up to be a major player. Thus being out 3rd came out of nowhere to me. So my theory is maybe it was stuff left over from the original idea of the season where she WASN'T going to be fodder. So while some predictions might still have her eliminated in Leechball, I personally think it's more likely Brick goes there to cap off their rivalry. Then she can move on to her vs Heather, followed by her vs Lightning to justify him going as far as he did, and finally meeting her end here. Seems reasonable to me on paper, but again, I realize it could be copium.
Sundae Muddy Sundae: Zoey is FINALLY feeling some agency to look into the countless warnings she'd been given and walks around the spa hotel. Unfortunately Mal is always lurking, so for now she's unable to find the DVD. Mal actually suggests potentially working with Al since it's clear Scourtney have solidified as a duo, but knowing there's no trust on the Spaniard's end she tells him that Al's too much of a threat to take the risk. A similar convo is happening with Scott and Courtney. He's convinced they need to work together with Al so they can beat Mike and Zoey, but Courtney believes he's far too powerful to let slide into the final four. As for the man himself, Alejandro returns from yet another exile with the back to back punishments clearly starting to take a toll on him. He tries his best to try and convince Zoey what needs to be done, but since she hasn't seen the proof for herself yet she can't fully believe him.
However, Mal takes notice of Alejandro frequently chatting her up during the challenge and puts the pieces together. Especially when recalling the incident with his rigged votes being moved. Now he had a new plan, make sure Alejandro DOESN'T win. Scott and Courtney meanwhile sort of bumble their way through the sundae making challenge, but it's Zoey who's far and away the clear leader. And thanks to Mal's sabotage, Alejandro's sundae is looking absolutely revolting. And wouldn't you know it, to win the challenge you must be the first to eat your dish. There's no way Al's weak stomach will allow him to win, and Zoey scarfs down her sundae in seconds to net the immunity. Again. Having touched based with the other couple, Mal gets Courtney to agree on the vote and Alejandro is out 3-2 despite him recruiting Scott's support. On his way out Alejandro scolds Zoey for her oblivious denial and openly calls Mal by his name much to Scott and Courtney's confusion. Once he's flushed, Chris confirms exile is done for... however, Zoey doesn't get to invite anyone to the spa hotel as a tradeoff. Mal grits his teeth in annoyance.
Contestants Standing:
Merge: Mike, Zoey, Courtney, Scott
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody, Heather, Sierra, Duncan, Cameron, Lightning, Jo, Alejandro
Reasoning: Alejandro being Mal's only true threat and rival during the merge is one of the better parts about All Stars imo, and it feels like a pretty natural thing they'd keep in all incarnations of the season since it probably in Fresh's minds hammers in how Mal is an even bigger threat than the show's former biggest villain. Because of that dynamic with the season's antagonist, I felt it was possible he goes slightly farther in this incarnation. Though truth be told, I mostly eliminated him here and not in his canon elimination episode because the Gen 1 to Gen 2 ratio was kind of ridiculous. Courtney being the only Gen 1 character in the final five would have been weird. Hm? What's that about the merged Heroes to Villains ratio I predicted for this? Shh, ignore that. All Stars was a weirdly laid out season in canon, maybe it was always going to be the case.
The Bold and the Booty-ful: We reached the final four with two couples remaining. Scott and Courtney, despite a few bumps in the road, had developed into a shockingly genuine duo and managed to cool off both villain's usual venom. Which was in humorous contrast to Mal, the evil personality now in control of Mike and keeping Zoey in confused dread. However, thanks to having free reign of the spa hotel, Zoey finally manages to find that damn DVD that Alejandro had hid, once and for all confirming that Mal was a thing. Cool. Too bad no one else warned her about that beforehand. Still, it makes her give Mal the cold shoulder during the challenge. She'll just focus on winning for now. As for what the challenge is? A treasure hunt, each of the campers given a task. Last one back is auto eliminated while the winner gets to choose who they fight in the finale. Zoey gets Sasquatchanakwa, Mal the lost gilded Chris statue, Courtney a piece of art from the blown up cottage, and Scott a jewel from the TDA pirate ship set... which happens to be in Fang's mouth. Great.
Unsure where the statue even is, Mal just spends the challenge fucking with Scott and Courtney. First he leaves the CIT under some ruble in the ruined building, and with Scott he pretends to help only to set it up so he'll be beaten to a pulp by Fang. Once it's done he drags Scott back to present Chris one of his favorite things, an injured competitor! Meanwhile Zoey is able to flawlessly bring the yeti back to Chris, netting her an easy win while all this is going on. Courtney does manage to find a painting after crawling out of the debris, but rips it and is forced to try restoring the painting... with bear poop. Disgusted, Chris auto eliminates her despite Scott coming back empty handed. Not that it matters, because although Zoey doesn't want to bring Mal to the finale, she also doesn't want to risk getting rid of him and potentially condemning Mike to be trapped forever with the evil personality at the wheel. So she assures Scott that she knows just who she's up against. Scott and Courtney share the toilet and as the couple take the final flush of shame.
Contestants Standing:
Finalists: Mal vs Zoey
Eliminated: Lindsay, Anne Maria, Brick, Owen, Cody, Heather, Sierra, Duncan, Cameron, Lightning, Jo, Alejandro, Courtney, Scott
Reasoning: While my preferred finale option would be Courtney vs Scott, I'm fairly certain that the writers had Zoey vs Mal locked in as their finale as soon as All Stars was greenlit. As a result, I think the episode would pretty much play out the same as it does in canon, just with Courtney in Gwen's place fittingly enough. I'm sure Courtney fans would have been ecstatic at her making it all the way to the penultimate episode, seemingly guaranteed a finale spot as the final Gen 1 character left standing, only to still get the axe. At least in this original incarnation, she likely leaves the season on a much more positive note compared to canon. Plus for the Scourtney fans they likely become a more solid couple in this incarnation since more time would have to be invested in the story to make up for us not having the dynamic with Gwen around.
The Final Wreck-ening: And everything's led up to this. Zoey vs Mike. Or rather, Zoey vs Mal. And she informs the evil personality as much before the challenge. He's more than happy to finally drop the act and be himself freely. He warns that she has no chance of beating him, though little does he know that Mike and the other personalities are currently working their way up a tower for the funniest resolution to this plot possible. After hyping up how deadly the finale will be, Chris allows the finalists to choose two helpers each. Because Owen needs to be available as an option, perhaps instead of fart balloons they just need to hit floating targets with the eliminated campers face on them. Through this, Mal nets Alejandro and Heather as helpers, while Zoey gets Cameron and Brick. Everyone else can watch from the peanut gallery bleachers or something. And hey, Alejandro and Heather are officially dating now, that's nice.
The challenge is actually fairly simple, three progressively smaller moats that need to be crossed before reaching the peak of a mountain. First a moat of toxic waste to represent season 4, then a moat of lava to represent the finale of season 3, a moat of... regular water? Well it has Fang in it, maybe that represents season 1's iconic first challenge. And finally at the top is a season 2 esque medieval themed area, where Chef and his spaghetti cannon guard a sword in the stone. First to pull it out wins. The challenge proceeds to unfold basically how it does in canon, with Mike pressing the reset button as Mal and Zoey wrestle in the final moat, one of them pulling the sword from the stone, and the island sinking due to Chef's fracking machine. The Heroes take refuge on top of floating buildings, while Fang gleefully chases after all the villains. Both finalists have their ending, but they likely share the money regardless so it's all about picking your poison.
Final Results:
16th: Lindsay, 15th: Anne Maria, 14th: Brick, 13th: Owen, 12th: Cody, 11th: Heather, 10th: Sierra **Merge** 9th: Duncan, 8th: Cameron, 7th: Lightning, 6th: Jo, 5th: Alejandro, 4th: Courtney, 3rd: Scott, Finalists: Mike and Zoey
Author's Note:
Apologies for a boringly same as canon endgame, but as noted at the start this is a prediction of what I think Fresh was going to do with this incarnation of All Stars rather than a personal preference, and I truly do think they locked in Zoey vs Mal from the start. Still, I had this idea buzzing around my head so I went through with writing it out since it varies a bit from the usual predictions of it where Jo and Lightning keep their canon eliminations, etc. If you're curious how I'd personally do All Stars, if it was with this or the canon cast it'd probably end in Courtney vs Mal or Jo if I do a version of the season where Mal isn't a thing. But if I had free reign to change things up as I please, I'd probably use this 16 person format, but replace Sierra and Cody with Leshawna and Harold who I think would fit easily into this cast with dynamics like the love triangle and whatnot, and shave off Anne Maria so Gwen can be in the full cast too. Her and Courtney both being on the Vultures and arguing that they shouldn't be sounds fun. That would give Gen 1 more characters than Gen 2 in the season but... yeah? Duh? I think you can get away with that. The unbiased part of me wants to say the finale would be something like Courtney vs Jo or Brick, maybe Scott vs Leshawna. But knowing me, if I went full power level mode, it'd be Harold winning over someone from Gen 2.
Regarding future chapters, I did float the idea a bit ago over doing a prediction for the 2023 season. But then the season proceeded to quickly release in Italy out of nowhere. Perhaps its for the best, some of my personality ideas for the cast would have been waaaaaay off, like predicting Ripper as some sort of aspiring pro wrestler with a sensitive side. I will however be predicting how season 2 of the reboot might go... assuming that doesn't ALSO get leaked early, because I'd like to hold off on making such a chapter until the season is officially released in North America. Why it's taking so long when it's done and released in one country is a mystery to me, maybe they're saving it to help promote the rebranding of HBO Max. That also obviously opens the door to other What Ifs based on the 2023 season (me doing "What if the first boot didn't get eliminated" would be funny because of Underdogs). Plus as a fan of the Shuffled series, recently I put all the TD contestants through a randomizer with the new cast included to make a Shuffled layout of my own. It gave me some interesting ideas to work with, so much so that some friends have been getting in on the fun with me. I've been running through it with fellow authors Foreseer44 (Clash of the Titans), ewisko (Noah's Gambit), and Shuffled author herself Fangren to see how we'd all do the respective seasons. I'll be detailing each of my versions as chapters here. So that's 7 chapters worth of content right there! 8 once the second reboot season comes out and I can attach challenges and such to my planned elimination order (while at least two of us hypothesized who we'd put into Ridonculous Race as teams from this Shuffledverse, we didn't map out the full elimination order/adjusted storylines for it). So look forward to those whenever WB, CN, or whoever gets off their lazy asses and finally releases the season to North America officially.