Author's Note: Well, here we are—the merge, and all of the changes it brings to the game. I hope you'll like it. Nothing much else to say here, so onto the reviews:
Dunspace519: Happy holidays to you as well. Thank you for reading, as always.
Cinderfall20412: Thanks for reading, and I wish you a happy holidays as well. :)
Onto the chapter! Here's to the first chapter of 2024 (my graduation year! :p)!
"Last time on Total Drama Island, the Bass and Gopher teams were disbanded into a "Battle of the Sexes" challenge that put their taste buds to the puke test! With bovine testicles, live fish-insect pizza, and liquid roach juice on the menu, not only was this the single biggest wretch-fest this host has ever seen, but Junko's iron will and a little accidental strategy scored a big win for her team."
"While the girls set sail on the S.S. Lap O Luxury, it's only a matter of time before the guys start to fall apart. How long until Leon crosses the line? And can Makoto even see the line? Will Rantaro ever fall in line, or will Kaito break the line? And will Ryoma even have any lines?" Chris flashed the camera a grin as he stood on the Dock of Shame. "For the answers to all these cliffhangers and more, stay tuned to the most exciting yet, on...
Total...
Drama...
Island!"
Episode Fourteen: No Pain, No Game
The episode opened on a typical sunny day on the beach of Jabberwock Island, where all the boys were leisuring at. Rantaro read a magazine while Kaito buried him in sand while Ryoma lounged in a beach chair and watched. Meanwhile, Leon and Makoto stood under a palm tree a good distance away from them, but not far enough to be suspicious.
"Here's the deal," Leon started, "Junko can't be trusted, and she knows we know that."
Makoto raised a skeptic eyebrow, but continued to listen closely. "Okay...?"
"But she doesn't know that we know that she knows we know. You know what I'm saying?"
Makoto blinked. "Uh, no?"
Leon sighed. "Look—"
He was then cut off by the loud and deep sound of a ship's horn, grabbing all of the boys' attention. Some minutes later, they had assembled at the Dock of Shame just as the yacht approached. The gangway lowered, and the competing girls came sliding down to the dock. Some of the boys flashed jealous looks at them.
"If you guys were wondering," Junko gloated, "the past couple of days have been great! Good food, and a hand and foot spa? I'm almost sorry to be back!"
CONFESSIONAL - LEON:
His hands were visibly tensed and in a choking gesture. "Resisting. Urge. To. Throttle. Junko."
"Yeah, the spa was pretty great," Kaede commented, a bright grin on her face.
"Right?" Sayaka agreed. "After spending a month here, I'd be more than happy to return to that resort."
"So, what have you losers been up to?" Junko asked the boys. "Wait—let me guess: you spent the last two days crying because you lost to a bunch of girls?"
"Actually," Leon countered, "we were getting along very well while you were gone. Right, guys?"
The other boys responded with awkward gestures and vague agreements.
Junko snorted. "Yeah, okay. It doesn't matter either way, cause girls are still better than boys! Right, gals?"
As Junko turned around to face the girls, Chris' voice suddenly rang over the monitors.
"Listen up, campers! As of right now, all teams are officially dissolved. From here on in, it's every camper for themselves!"
Several campers gasped, and Leon shrugged. "Well, it's not like I didn't see that coming from a mile away. I'm prepared for whatever you throw at me, Chris!"
"Oh, really?" Chris challenged. "Then get ready for this!"
Another ship's horn caught everyone's attention, and eyebrows shot up.
Sayaka blinked. "Wait, huh?"
Maki scowled and folded her arms, while a confused Makoto asked, "Wasn't he voted off?"
"Please no," Celestia muttered.
The ship was finally revealed. A thunderstorm raging on in the background as a certain contestant stood on board—a short boy with wild purple hair wearing nearly all-white clothing.
"Back by popular audience demand," Chris said, "it's Kokichi!"
"Nihihihi~!" Kokichi's face bore a malicious grin as he hopped off the ship once it docked. "And the villain makes his grand return! And I'll be paying special attention to a few people this time around..." He shot a not-so subtle glance at Celestia as he said that.
"Hold on!" Junko interjected, crossing her arms. "You said the losers got kicked off for good!"
"...I did?" Chris replied.
"Yes," Junko hissed, "you did. Once you leave..."
A brief montage of Chris at the campfire ceremonies was shown. "Once you leave down the Dock of Shame, on the Boat of Losers, you can never ever ever come back."
"Oh yeah, that," the present Chris drawled. "Yeah... I lied."
"You can't do that!" Junko protested. "Why do they get to come back after they've already lost?!"
"Perhaps you should save your anger for when he is here in person," Celestia advised.
"Kokichi was an audience favorite?" Kaito whispered to Rantaro, who shrugged in response.
"Eh, who knows?" Chris responded. "But we liked him. Also returning to camp, it's Hiyoko!"
"What?!" a few campers exclaimed at the same time the tiny blonde hopped off the same boat Kokichi arrived in.
Junko waved. "Hey, Hiyo—"
"Hold on, I wanna say something..." Hiyoko interrupted. She paused to sniff, tears forming around her eyes. "I... I know I've been a bad person. And I also know... there's no excuse for it, either. So, starting right now, I'm gonna try my best to be a better person, okay?"
Kokichi turned around to face Hiyoko, being the first one to reply. "Oh, really? Cause I highly doubt you're gonna stick to that."
"You don't know that, you goblin troll!" Hiyoko snapped at him. Her eyes quickly widened at the words that came out of her mouth and immediately followed it up with, "I mean—I can! Just you watch!"
"All righty, campers!" Chris announced over the monitors once again. "Report to Jabberwock Park, where you'll learn all about this week's challenge. McLean, out!"
"Well, I believe you can change your ways," Junko told Hiyoko, stepping forward to put a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "I'll be your number one supporter, in fact."
Hiyoko offered her a weak smile back. "Thanks."
The footage skipped ahead to show the campers making their way to the park, before focusing on Junko and Hiyoko, who were walking together.
"So, Hiyoko, whatcha' been doing since you left the island?" Junko asked.
"Nothing interesting, that's for sure," Hiyoko replied with a huff. "Bunny kept me company, at least."
Junko's mouth formed into an "o". "Oh, you still have him?"
Hiyoko nodded and gestured to her kimono; a familiar pair of grey ears poked out of her collar. Junko laughed and reached over to scratch Bunny's head.
"Wait..." Hiyoko squinted, suddenly noticing Junko's hairdo. "Did you cut your hair?"
Junko giggled uncertainly, awkwardly her bangs out of her face. "Oh, yeah... I wanted to change things up a bit, I guess."
"Well, I think it looks good, Big Sis Junko!"
"Yeah, thanks. But you know, you can just call me Junko."
"Oh. Uh... Okay. Well, what about you... Junko? What have you been doing since I was gone?"
"Nothing exciting. Just the usual challenges and stuff." Junko put a hand on her chin in careful thought. "And I think I might have a girlfriend now—Tenko. Anyways, I'm glad you're back, Hiyoko."
"Yeah..." Hiyoko smiled, and this time, it was wider. "Thanks again, Junko."
At Jabberwock Park, the campers sat in three tiers of makeshift desks and chairs. The highest tier seated Celestia, Junko, Hiyoko, and Makoto; the middle row consisted of Kaede, Kaito, Leon, and Sayaka, while the lowest row held Maki, Rantaro, and Kokichi.
"Welcome to your next challenge!" Chris announced. "The time honored game of torture: Say Uncle! You are all about to be put tests of endurance so insane that some of 'em sent our interns to the emergency room!"
The campers shared similar looks of terror, shock, or weariness.
"If you back down from the challenge, or do last the required ten seconds, you will be eliminated. The winner will not only be safe from elimination, but will win this luxurious trailer—" A trailer gleamed in the background, catching the awe of the majority of the teens. "—Yours to take home at the end of the summer."
"Uh, what kinds of torture will there be?" Kaede asked uncertainly.
"Why don't you ask my lovely assistant?" Chris replied, motioning at Chef, who stood behind him menacingly in a hockey mask while wielding a butcher knife. Once the contestants' terror had been renewed, the host continued with, "Alright, let's do this! Kaito, you're up first. Let's spin the Wheel of Misfortune to select your torture!"
Chris moved next to a large wheel, which was divided into various sections, each torture complete with their own pictures. He gave the wheel a spin, and Kaito watched on worriedly as he awaited his fate. When the wheel finally came to a stop, it landed on a picture of a turtle's silhouette.
"Turtle pock shots!" Chris explained excitedly, and the camera skipped forward to him and Kaito standing side by side. "Our interns spent weeks collecting the grumpiest, angriest, crustiest, hungriest old snapping turtles on the island. While you stand in the goalie net completely unprotected, Chef will fire off turtle slapshots."
Chris pushed Kaito in front of the goalie net, telling him, "If I were you dude, I'd protect my coconuts." The host ran off, then came back to add, "This could get ugly!" before running off again.
A timer appeared at the top of the screen, and as Chef readied himself to take the slapshots, Chris reminded, "If you can stay in for ten seconds, you'll go on to the second round."
A buzzer sounded, and Chef fired off the first slapshot. Kaito quickly ducked to avoid the first snapping turtle. In doing so, he unwittingly left himself open to another shot, with the turtle biting his arm. He yelped in pain, but Chef kept firing slapshots until he was down to the last turtle, which took Kaito to the ground.
"And Kaito moves on to the next round!" Chris spoke over Kaito groaning. "Isn't this fun?"
"Yeah, totally," Kaito replied sarcastically.
"Damn, that had to hurt," Leon whispered to Sayaka, who nodded in response.
Once Kaito had taken his seat, Chris pulled out an index card. "Next up... Junko! Your torture is..." Chris spun the wheel, and it landed on a flaming marshmallow. "Marshmallow waxing!"
Junko was led to another seat by Chris, while Chef dumped a bag of marshmallows into a hot pot and stirred it. "We're gonna wax every part of your body. If you can take the pain for a whole ten seconds, you can go on to the next level."
Junko sighed. "Let's just get it over with."
Chef promptly poured the scalding contents directly onto Junko's face. Her muffled screams elicited horrified looks from almost all the campers. Ten seconds passed, and the fashionista managed to stick the torture out. Chef ripped the somewhat hardened marshmallows off her face, which looked considerably better overall.
"Ow!" Junko yelped, raising a hand to her face. "Huh. My skin is surprisingly smooth."
"Ouch," Leon commented to Sayaka once again. "Don't think I would've made it through that one."
Sayaka giggled. "Makes sense. I doubt most guys are waxing their body often."
Leon shuddered. "You got that right."
"Well done, Junko," Chris praised. "Since you didn't even complain once, you get to choose who goes next."
A wicked grin stretched across Junko's face as she scanned her fellow competitors in false thought. "Well, in that case... I'll have to go with my pal Leon, with..." She glanced at the wheel, then pointed at a picture of a barrel. "That."
"Lake leech bath?" Chris chuckled. "Nasty."
Chef brought over a large barrel filled with leeches out and set it down. As he did, some water sloshed out and a few leeches attached themselves to his arm; he grimaced as he plucked them off.
"All right, Leon," Chris told him. "Times a wastin'. Get your butt into the barrel of leeches."
Leon winced, but began to stand up, albeit slowly.
"Wait, stop!" Sayaka shot straight up out her seat, startling the people sitting around her—but Leon especially. "I'll take his place!"
"Wait, what?!" Leon whipped his head towards Sayaka. "You—You don't have to do that, Sayaka."
Sayaka gently pushed Leon's hand away when he tried to grab her. "No, I want to do this for you. I'll be fine, I promise."
Leon opened his mouth to retort, only to find no words coming out. He ultimately sighed and sat back down as Sayaka walked down.
Kaito nudged Leon. "Breaking gender roles there, eh, dude?"
Leon responded by elbowing him. "Shut up."
"Oh, and by the way," Chris added as Sayaka prepared to step into the barrel, "if your victim can last ten seconds without saying "Uncle", you get eliminated instead! Which means, you lose your chance to win this!"
The host gestured to the sparkling trailer once again.
Sayaka lowered herself into the barrel, and the timer started. Her determined expression quickly turned strained, and it wasn't long before she launched herself out, covered in leeches. A buzzer sounded.
"Sorry, Sayaka," Chris told her, "but I'm afraid eight seconds just doesn't cut it! You're out. You can return to your new seat."
Her chair next to Leon was promptly swapped out for stocks. Sayaka sighed, trudging back to her seat.
The wheel was spun once more, landing on a picture of a pair of shorts.
"Kokichi, you're next," Chris announced.
The camera skipped to show Kokichi wearing shorts made completely out of wood. He scoffed "Wooden shorts? Big deal!"
At that, Chef held up a branch, which had a woodpecker perched on it. The bird chirped before swiftly pecked through said branch clean through. Kokichi couldn't help but cringe.
From there, the wheel and challenges began to alternate; Hiyoko was shown first, getting her nose hairs ripped out. Another wheel spin, and Rantaro was being squeezed by a python. And, finally, the last wheel spin had Celestia covered with bees from the waist-up.
Chris spun the wheel. "Our next challenge will be... spending ten seconds in a wooden crate with Sasquatchankwa. Tough one. Celestia, you haven't complained in a while, so you can choose the next victim."
Celestia looked over the contestants—only Sayaka was in stocks. After a few moments of thought, she replied, "Maki."
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
"I haven't forgotten what Maki did to me during the food challenge," she said, a slight scowl forming on her face. A small smile then slipped. "And, if I'm being honest, the thought of Maki fighting a sasquatch was admittedly amusing. Besides, if she fails, then that means one less threat."
"Alright," Maki simply said with a near emotionless expression. She stood up and made her way down to the large, growling crate already set up for her. The brunette didn't so much as flinch before opening the crate and stepping inside.
The door shut, and the timer started. Immediately, the crate began to shake vigorously, with the growls becoming even more aggressive. The campers, and even Chris, stared in concern. Eventually, the crate grew silent, and Maki was the one to leave the crate, looking like she'd never fought the animal at all. The bell dinged.
"Well, Maki stuck it out, so Celestia is out of the game!" Chris announced as the chair Celestia was sitting in was replaced by stocks. "Reckless by choice by Celestia, but still, let's give her props for sticking it to a teammate. Now, let's see who showed less courage than Maki and cried Uncle!"
"Love the skunk jump!" Chris laughed over Makoto hopping through an alternating line of rocks and skunks. As he jumped from the first rock to the second, he locked gazes with the skunk sitting in between them. He smiled awkwardly at the creature, only for it to spray its noxious chemicals directly in his face, causing him to fall over. The timer buzzed.
"And the new-age music torture."
An image of a unicorn floating on a rock against the darkness of space could be seen. It slowly panned over to a shining moon as a pod of dolphins swam past. Then, a comet flew past before the scenery morphed into Hiyoko's distressed face. She threw off the headphones she was wearing, twitching slightly. The timer buzzed again.
"And a little visit to the Jabberwock Hair Salon."
Kaede screamed and ran from Chef, who had her hair in one hand, and a chainsaw in the other. The timer buzzed yet again.
"Oh, and who could forget about the old ice cream brain freeze?"
Leon was eating ice cream out of a comically large tub as the timer ran. Suddenly, he dropped the spoon and put a hand to his head, groaning in pain. He tripped over the lid and fell over. The timer buzzed once more.
Kokichi was reclined on a table-like device while Chef held an electric eel in each hand.
"Clear!" Chris exclaimed, and Chef shocked the teen.
Kokichi laughed. "Hit me again!"
"Kokichi, who's your next victim?" Chris asked him.
"Ooh, ooh, me!" Kokichi responded excitedly, oddly enough. "I want the poison ivy treatment!"
Chris and Chef shared a look, and the former pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"It's Chris," he said when the person on the other end picked up. "Yeah, yeah. He wants to do it. Okay." Chris hung up and looked over at Kokichi quizzically. "Okay... The producers will allow it, but they wanna know why."
"I just wanna know how it feels," Kokichi said.
Chris shrugged. "All righty then."
Kokichi now had poison ivy wrapped around his entire face, save for his eyes, which were covered with cucumber slices. The timer buzzed.
"Time's up," Chris instructed. "Chef, remove the poison ivy." As the hulking man did so, he continued with, "You stuck it out. But sadly, you eliminated yourself."
Kokichi didn't seem beat up about the news, as he pointed at his swollen lips and laughed. "Look how big my lips are!"
Chris turned to the seated campers as Kokichi returned to his; everyone was in stocks except for Junko and Maki. "Alright. After twenty rounds of torture, we're down to two steely competitors in the sudden death round! Maki, it's up to you." Chris spun the wheel for a final time. "Your final challenge is... The grizzly log roll!"
Maki's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
At the beach, a single log floated in the water; on one end stood a usually confident grizzly bear, while a confused Maki stood on the other. Chris, Junko, and everyone else still in stocks were at the shore.
"Molotov the Bear performs with the Russian national circus and has been the European log-rolling champion for the past twelve years," Chris explained. "To win, you must last ten seconds on the log while avoiding certain death in the piranha-infested water. Maki, you could back out now."
Maki looked at the bear across from her, then at an amused Junko, then at the eliminated campers—specifically Celestia, who looked more than ready to see her fail. Maki shook her head. "I'll do it."
"Alright, and... go!"
The timer began, and the bear started running without a beat, leaving Maki to catch her bearings. She eventually managed to match the bear's pace, turning it around. It finally ended with Maki stomping on the log hard enough to send the bear into the water.
"Maki wins!" Chris announced. "Meaning Junko is out! Maki wins the challenge, invincibility, and the grand prize!"
Maki hopped off the log and onto shore, shooting Celestia a smirk, to which the lolita responded with a scowl.
Chris turned to the eliminated campers. "While Maki checks out her trailer full of food, the rest of you can head to the confessional booth and vote off a camper—other than Maki."
"So, why are we eliminating Ryoma again?"
Junko quietly asked this as she, Celestia, and Hiyoko sat in the dining hall together, eating dinner. She clacked her notably trimmed nails against the wooden table impatiently, shooting an annoyed glance at a certain competitor.
"Think of it like this," Celestia replied, "have you noticed that he is the only person not associated with anyone else in this game?"
Junko raised a brow. "Yeah?"
"I think this would be the perfect opportunity to boot him before he becomes a threat; he's vulnerable, and he will not be missed."
An unidentifiable expression flashed in Junko's eyes, but she ultimately sighed. "Fine. What's the plan to get him out?"
"Leave that to me." Celestia smirked as she stood up and made her way to the center of the room, much to the blondes' confusion.
Celestia cleared her throat. "Excuse me, may I have everyone's attention?" Once all eyes were on her, she continued with, "Something concerning has been brought to my attention—our acquaintance, Ryoma, has been convicted of murder."
Immediately, the hall began to buzz with stunned chatter as eyes turned to Ryoma.
"Wait, how do you know that?" Sayaka asked.
"I accidentally overheard a conversation between Kaede and Ryoma a couple weeks earlier," Celestia explained.
Kaito turned to Kaede, his brows furrowed. "Kaede? Is she telling the truth?"
Kaede's eyes widened. "Well, yeah, but—"
"So Ryoma is a murderer?!" a panicked Hiyoko asked.
"Hold on!" Kaede shot up, putting her hands out in front of her. "Let me—"
"You don't have to do that, Kaede."
Kaede, along with a few other campers, gasped as all eyes turned to Ryoma. He sighed, flipping the candy cigarette in his mouth from one side to the other.
"Yeah, I killed someone—killed an entire mafia, in fact. And I don't regret it—not that it really matters now. So, go ahead: vote me out. Hell, I'll even do you a favor and vote myself out."
With that, Ryoma swiftly turned and exited the dining hall without another word. No one spoke.
CONFESSIONAL - RANTARO:
He put an awkward hand on his neck. "Wow. That was harsh of Celestia to just spill Ryoma's secret like that. I mean, killing someone is pretty bad, but... I dunno. I feel like we need more context."
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
She smirked at the camera. "My work here is done."
The campfire ceremony began at the beach after sundown, as usual, except every camper was there.
"Okay," Chris spoke from behind the podium. "So first up, we ran out of marshmallows. Secondly, I've reviewed the confessionals and I have to say, there's a lot of hate on in this group! While I normally protect your privacy, in the spirit of airing your dirty laundry, I'm gonna go live with your confessionals!"
Everyone either paled, gasped, or simply shrugged. A large TV monitor seemingly appeared on the palm tree behind Chris and flickered to life.
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
"I vote for Ryoma."
CONFESSIONAL - HIYOKO:
She was visibly distressed. "There's a murderer among us? And the producers just let him on the show?! No way I'll feel safe anymore—I vote for Ryoma!"
CONFESSIONAL - JUNKO:
"I—" She stopped herself, then sighed. "I vote for Ryoma."
CONFESSIONAL - KAEDE:
"I can't believe Celestia would do that!" an exasperated Kaede exclaimed. "I mean, she didn't have to make a scene. I vote for Celestia."
CONFESSIONAL - KAITO:
"Damn, I dunno..." He scratched his head, then sighed. "I'll vote for Ryoma, I guess."
CONFESSIONAL - KOKICHI:
"Celestia is definitely up to something, but I'm not sure what. I vote for Celestia."
CONFESSIONAL - LEON:
"Ryoma," he said simply. "I'm not sharing an island with a murderer. See ya."
CONFESSIONAL - MAKI:
"Celestia."
CONFESSIONAL - MAKOTO:
"I guess I should vote for Ryoma, since everyone else is." He sent a sheepish look at the camera. "Sorry, Ryoma."
CONFESSIONAL - RANTARO:
"I know everyone else is probably gonna vote off Ryoma, but... I think Celestia should go." He shot the camera a grateful smile. "I'm glad you don't air these."
CONFESSIONAL - RYOMA:
He stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "Well, it seems the cat's out of the bag. My time here is up. I vote for myself."
CONFESSIONAL - SAYAKA:
"At first, I was gonna vote for Junko, but then Celestia revealed that stuff about Ryoma..." She went silent, thinking for a moment. "Better not take my chances. I vote for Ryoma."
When the static cleared, everyone was staring at Ryoma with various expressions, ranging from pity to relief.
"Lots of dirt revealed there, huh?" Chris chuckled. "But in the end, it was still eight votes against Ryoma. So, adios."
Ryoma exhaled, standing up. "I guess this is goodbye, then."
A few campers murmured their goodbyes as Ryoma started to walk off the beach, to which he responded with silent waves.
As soon as Ryoma left the beach, Chris turned to the camera. "And with that, another day ends on Jabberwock Island. How will the group dynamic change now that two new competitors to the mix? Find out next time on... Total! Drama! Island!"
Contestants - Celestia, Hiyoko, Junko, Kaede, Kaito, Kokichi, Leon, Maki, Makoto, Rantaro, Sayaka
Eliminated - Toko, Mondo, Shuichi, Ibuki, Kazuichi, Komaru, Yasuhiro, Mikan, Kirumi, Tenko, Ryoma
Author's Note: Yup. Hiyoko and Kokichi are our returnees, and neither of them got eliminated, yay!
Speaking of eliminations, let me talk about Ryoma's before I explain why I chose the returnees I did. Yeah. I know the way I ended Ryoma's arc was ass, I'll admit it. But, I ended up doing some last-minute elimination switches, and Ryoma happened to end up getting the boot here. Sorry, Ryoma fans. At least a few campers are a bit more wary of Celestia now.
Anyways, my reasoning for the returnees: Kokichi—probably not the most surprising choice considering how he was eliminated at first. But someone's gotta oppose the antagonist. As for Hiyoko, well, as you've probably guessed from what she said at the beginning of the chapter—redemption arc! Plus, I missed writing her friendship with Junko.
And yeah, I think that's all for now. Next chapter gets interesting, I promise ;) As always, thank you for reading, and I'll see you all next time.
