*Chris's Recap*
"Last time, on Total Drama Nialasach,
We brought in 24 all-new campers to a brand spanking new island in the north pacific that we've dubbed Crios Cath. After explaining that the rules of this season of Total Drama would follow the rules of Zero Sum, and that each Zero Sum contestant was the creator of at least one of this season's challenges, with the exception of the winner, who instead created the four teams.
Team Hayaji, consisting of Claude, Zaheen, Donny, Monica, Simon, and Christa,
Team Ebisu, consisting of Aaron, Rashi, Phooko, Mirai, Raul, and Vanessa,
Team Inari, consisting of Arnold, Ash, Zaiyrin, Cherry, Gran, and Ellie,
and Team Fudo, consisting of Mark, Erin, Gabriel, Jenae, Watts, and Alison.
The teams were then immediately thrust into their first challenge, courtesy of Zero Sum contestant Victor, where they had to race through dangerous ruins in an attempt to snatch camp luxuries, living areas, and even a few hidden immunity medal clues. In the end, the first team out was the water team, Ebisu, and thanks to Raul's spin of the Wheel of Reward, they won the last place team Inari's hot tub before they ever had a chance to even see it. At the first Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony, the votes were so all over the place that Total Drama's first three-way tie occurred, prompting a re-vote during which Zaiyrin alleged feelings for Cherry as well as condemned Arnold's roasts of the other campers, which was enough to convince the rest of the team to send Arnold to the Tomb of Shame first. 23 contestants are still left in the game, but we'll be putting them at 22 soon enough. Who's about to choke their way out of the million dollars? Find out right now on
Total!
Drama!
Niiiiiiiiialasach!"
*Total Drama Theme Song Plays*
As the song starts, various camera come out of the flora and fauna all around the island.
Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doing fine, you guys are on my mind
The camera zooms around all of Crios Cath before finally entering into the Nialasach Ruins.
You asked me what I wanted to be and now I think the answer is plain to see,
Aaron is on his skateboard, skating through the ruins, and as he moves forward, Claude can be seen following him, cleaning up the dust left by his skateboard tracks so that he can clear a path for Monica, who smiles at him, but ends up rolling her eyes, annoyed, when she's sure he isn't looking, and begins to pay attention to another part of the ruins, which the camera then shifts to.
I wanna be famous
Watts is looking over Erin's shoulder at an experiment she is working on, and she seems to be attempting to hide it from him, when the ruins wall explodes, causing Erin to fall back into Watts's arms before shoving herself out of them, the two then look over to see that the explosion was caused by Ash accidentally triggering a tripwire. She smiles and waves in an attempt to make the situation less embarrassing for her.
I want to live close to the sun
Camera switches to show Alison sitting on a beach chair and relaxing before waves come crashing in and ruin her clothes. She stands up with a huff and takes the beach chair further inland, but the same event happens, and she appears to let out a scream.
Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won
Camera shifts up to reveal that Simon and Arnold both saw Alison's ordeal, and while Simon starts to snicker at it, Arnold begins to flamboyantly tell Simon off, and Simon plugs his ears and walks away with rolling eyes.
Everything to prove, nothing in my way, I'll get there one day
Camera shifts to Upper Ceol Fields, where Zaiyrin is seen showering Cherry with all manner of gifts and compliments, and Cherry somewhat scoffs at them before blushing with a smile once Zaiyrin leaves and heading over to Ellie to talk excitedly with her about it while Ellie is working on a costume.
'Cause I wanna be famous
Rashi and Phooko both see the events with Zaiyrin, Cherry, and Ellie, and quietly laugh to each other as they both tend to a small garden of growing plants, with Phooko's plants looking quite healthy, and Rashi's plants looking unnaturally perfect.
Na na nananana nanananana na nanananana
Camera shifts to the Glas Woods, where Raul and Vanessa are sketching each other with smiles. Camera first hovers over Raul's shoulder showing a brilliantly done sketch of Vanessa, then switches over to Vanessa's shoulder, where a sketch of Raul can be seen, but Vanessa needs to keep adding wolves to the sketch as they crowd around Raul like he's part of their pack.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
Mark is playing music in Cailleach Bog, but immediately rolls out of the way of a falling tree, he looks over to see an almost seething Mirai, who turns to him and begins to smile sweetly as she begs him to play. Mark is a little nervous at first but as he begins to play, Mirai begins to cheer peacefully as the camera shifts to Lower Ceol Fields.
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
In Lower Ceol Fields, Donny and Gabriel are engaged in a rather heated argument, and Christa and Jenae both walk up to Donny and Gabriel respectively, Christa tries to comfort Donny, but he begins arguing with her instead. Meanwhile, Jenae begins to continue to argue with Gabriel, but he stops her when he notices she's moving her hand down his chest.
As the other contestants whistle the rest of the tune around the Tine Naofa Bonfire, Gran and Zaheen both attempt to make the fire grow larger. Upon Gran's attempt the fire blows up in his face, causing Zaheen to snicker as she pulls off the trick perfectly and the flames begin to from the season title: Total Drama Nialasach
Location: Cailleach Bog(Team Ebisu's Campsite)
Contestant(s): Aaron, Mirai, Phooko, Rashi, Raul, Vanessa
Raul nodded with pride as he finished his sketch and found a nearby tree to display it on.
"What a nice sketch of the team." Vanessa said quietly as she observed his artwork.
Raul scribbled a 'Thank you!' on his notepad and handed it to Vanessa.
Confessional: Raul: Team Ebisu
*The following is written on about 3 pages of notebook paper*
"I had decided before coming here that, after every challenge, I would do a complete sketch of everyone on the team, eliminated or not, to remind us all that we're in this together. So far, everyone on this team seems to like the idea of it, which is good to know. I doubt a team like Hayaji would feel the same way. In either case though, I'm feeling pretty good that not only did we win the first challenge, but I was the very first one out, got my team a hot tub, and found a clue to the Water Immunity Medal, which I've already read, but I don't think looking for the medal now would be the best idea. As far as I can tell, it's located somewhere here in the bog, and well, I'm not sure how someone as big as I am can sneak in and out of our crowded campsite undetected."
End Confessional
"And so then we pat down the soil…" Rashi instructed Phooko as he helped her assemble a paddy. "And there we go! Our camp's very own garden paddy! Come on, let's go get some cranberries to grow!"
"But, we already have dinner given to us and a chicken coop for unlimited eggs for breakfast." Phooko realized. "Why grow cranberries at all?"
"I can think of two reasons." Aaron suggested from the chicken coop, where he and Mirai were feeding the chickens. "The first is that the paddy you're making isn't a camp luxury, so it won't be taken from us even if we lose the next four challenges in a row."
"Yeesh, don't say that. I don't want to end up like the last water based team." Phooko responded. "What's the second reason though?"
"That's not my place to say." Aaron decided as he receded back into the chicken coop to talk to Mirai instead.
"Hey, after you're done feeding the chickens…"
"Yeah?" Mirai turned around and smiled. "What is it?"
Aaron gulped and took a breath.
"Would you like to take a walk around the island with me?"
"Mmm…" Mirai put a finger to her lip as she looked up and thought about it.
Confessional: Mirai: Team Ebisu
"Walks around the island? Isn't that the first stage of asking for an alliance? Am I gonna be in an alliance already? With someone smart like Aaron? Or what if he wants to share a medal clue with me? What would be the right thing to do in that context, keep it a secret or tell everyone about it? Or what if he's just doing this to keep me distracted? But….I don't think he would do that. Should I say yes? Should I say sorry? Should I ask him why?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Aaron: Team Ebisu
"I consider myself a very strategic person, and likely the most strategic player on this team, possibly the entire cast, but Mirai is really cute, and I'm not sure what else I could ask her to do that might have the undertones of a date. Once I'm sure where we stand on feelings I'll get better at the whole flirting thing, but right now, while things are all uncertain, I tend to seem a little awkward. Jeez, I hope I didn't blow it..."
End Confessional
"Well, okay!" Mirai smiled. "But only on the condition that we aren't doing anything related to the game while we walk!"
"That's perfect!" Aaron smiled back as he held out a hand and Mirai took it.
"Heh, it's kind of funny isn't it?" Phooko asked Rashi as they both got up to head out and look for cranberries. "How this team seems to have paired its members together without any real effort."
"It's to be expected. The otters were hunting in pairs today when I woke up." Rashi responded as though it explained everything.
"No, I mean like, it's weird that everyone on the team so naturally paired up with-"
"Yeah, but the otters were-"
"What does that even have to do with any of this?" Phooko scratched his head.
"I divine the future by looking at nature and its surroundings." Rashi boasted with a smile. "In fact, you should be happy Phooko. The water favors you."
Confessional: Phooko: Team Ebisu
"It's like, half the time Rashi talks, it's some goofy joke or passionate rally, but the other half she just says this cryptic crud. The water favors me? I had zero clue what she means by that, so…"
End Confessional
"Alright, I'll bite." Phooko sighed. "What does that mean?"
"Pretty much what I said." Rashi shrugged. "The water favors you above say, I dunno, Mirai, just as an example."
"But that's not very specific and-"
"Divining the future is a skill that takes time and patience to master, and even old ass ladies full of portent potential have trouble giving complete specifics of future events. The future's ever-changing, so what may be true one moment, may not be true the next. All we do is give the most likely outcomes."
"So, think you can divine whether we will win the next challenge or not then?" Phooko asked.
Rashi gave a large "pffft."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Phooko's eyes narrowed.
"It means every oracle or psychic, or fortune teller worth their salt knows that you can't divine events that directly deal with the diviner. Our own biases would get in the way. For instance, I want to win challenges, so if I see certain signs I might accidentally interpret them as victory instead of something unrelated, and then because we feel victory is assured, we lose. When it doesn't deal with me directly, I'm able to remain neutral."
"Ah, alright, yeah, I get it." Phooko nodded.
"Okay, how about...how about this...How many cranberries are we going to find to bring back here?"
"Oh that's an easy one, all of them." Rashi grinned playfully.
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Phooko laughed.
"Hey look!" Vanessa pointed, capturing the attention of Raul, Rashi, and Phooko as they gathered around her and looked in the direction she was pointing.
A pair of grey wolves were taking care of about 4 grey wolf cubs.
Raul was somewhat taken aback when one of the wolf parents glared directly at him and slowly revealed one of the four cubs. It was larger than the others, and it seemed to have a physical throat injury.
"Not quite a burn…" Vanessa whispered to Raul "But it's a wolf that probably won't be able to speak without hurting itself, kind of like you."
"It wants you to pet it." Rashi said as she looked between Raul and the wolves.
Confessional: Raul: Team Ebisu
*The following is written on a piece of notepad paper*
"I...I made a joke in my interview about something like this happening, but I didn't think it actually would happen. Next I'm probably going to be given some sort of nickname that has to do with wolves, just wait."
End Confessional
Location: Upper Ceol Field(Team Inari's Campsite)
Contestant(s): Ash, Cherry, Ellie, Gran, Zaheen, Zaiyrin
"Ah, so it was the walking tumblr account who was first to go." Zaheen felt the rim of her hat as she walked up to where Team Inari was mourning the loss of their Hot Tub before they had even gained the chance to use it.
"What are you doing here?" Gran asked raising an eyebrow. "Isn't your team's camp on the other side of the highlands?"
"I've had enough of getting to know my team, darling." Zaheen grinned. "It's everyone else I'm interested in getting to know now. So, how is camp life amongst the wheat fields?"
"It's pretty cool, I think." Ellie responded. "Considering that the deity our team is named after watched over rice fields, and this is basically as close as we're going to get on this island, it feels like we're supposed to live in this area anyways."
"An interesting view, darling." Zaheen grinned. "I wish I could say the same of our team's poor choice of campsite. It's pretty cold in the mountains and, well, if it weren't for the cabin, we might all be in the snow."
Confessional: Zaiyrin: Team Inari
"Aha! And there it is, the definitive proof that our team's health is superior to at least one other team. If Hayaji is just a single challenge loss away from sleeping in the snow, the second the lose even one, they could easily lose the rest. It's for the best too, since that team contains that Donny character, and Monica seems untrustworthy to a master strategist such as myself as well. Even Zaheen who gave us this knowledge is someone to watch out for. Team Inari's loss of a hot tub and 6th member is unfortunate, but by no means a game ending situation. The Earth team will endure."
End Confessional
Confessional: Zaheen: Team Hayaji
"To be perfectly frank, the main reason I came over to this team first was to sneak a peek at that Gran. He claims to be a magician, and I'm interested to see who has the better repertoire of illusions and feats. So far, I've noticed him get wheat up his nose, fall on a sharp rock covered up by the growing wheat, and almost destroy the charcoal grill in an attempt to light it. I can't help but feel disappointed. I was hoping for a more entertaining magic rival."
End Confessional
*Crash*
Everyone present looked over to see that Ash had tripped over the grill that Inari couldn't use without the charcoal in Hayaji's possession.
"It's all good, don't worry about a thing!" Ash announced with a thumbs up to everyone looking.
"We're living in the middle of a wheat field, how did you even manage to trip?" Cherry rose an eyebrow.
"It's not like the terrain is completely flat though, you know?" Ash seemed unaffected by Cherry's impulsive critique. "'Sides, no damage has been done to me or the luxury, so no harm no foul."
"I suppose." Cherry sighed as she noticed Zaiyrin giving her a smile, before leaving the area, to where Ellie was snooping around in the wheat.
"Are we impersonating a fox?" She asked, startling Ellie who jumped up and turned around to face her.
"What? No! I was just looking for something I dropped around here I think!"
"Oh?" Cherry asked. "Well, Zaiyrin's stare and Zaheen's friendly chatting has me wanting to be further away from the main camp as well. I'll help you if you want."
"Um…." Ellie massaged her temples, trying to think about the best course of action to take.
"Okay!" She grinned. "You can help. This morning...I found it."
Cherry did not need to know what 'it' was.
"Well then, I suppose this puts us in an alliance of sorts doesn't it?" She inquired.
"Well, yeah." Ellie shrugged with a smile. "You seem smart and...I'm not sure what the word I'm looking for is…"
"Sweet? Charming?" Cherry asked with a sly, joking smirk.
"Funny maybe." Ellie laughed. "No...I mean...like...sincere. A kind of sincerity that Zaiyrin doesn't have, and with Ash and Gran being Ash and Gran, you're definitely the most reliable to me, does...does that make sense to you?"
"It most certainly does." Cherry smiled as she extended a hand. "I'll help you find your missing idol, and we'll stick together as best we can for the rest of the game."
Confessional: Cherry: Team Inari
"There is something true in all of life, if one cares to look, and that is the tendency of the quiet, nerdy types to achieve great status while the rest of us underestimate them. Well, not me. I don't underestimate the initially quiet, slightly nerdy people. In fact, now that I've allied with Ellie, the rest of them are my biggest threats. I'm talking players like Watts, Simon, and Phooko. They have a tendency to get further in things than one would expect, and I doubt Ellie is any exception."
End Confessional
Confessional: Ellie: Team Inari
"So...I've got this alliance with Cherry now! Woohoo! Not alone in the game! Now we just need to find the Fox Medal before someone else does and we'll be home free!"
End Confessional
Location: Cloch Mountain Range(Team Hayaji's Campsite)
Contestant(s): Christa, Claude, Donny, Monica, Simon, Zaheen
"Are you done with your field trip?" Monica asked as Zaheen returned to her team's campsite.
"For now." Zaheen nodded. "I've also gathered information about teams Fudo and Inari that may come in useful for future challenges, darling, so I suggest we not act like I'm the bad guy."
"Well, we don't need to know or care about those two teams, okay?" Donny responded. "The team we need to beat is that Ebzoo. They're obviously cheating somehow and you need to get to the bottom of it...Simon."
"Me?" Simon rose an eyebrow. "If you want someone to walk all the way down to the bog and look for contestants that may not even be there right now, let it be the wandering illusionist girl. I'm busy keeping the fire going."
"The warm bog? I'll head down there in a jiffy, darling." Zaheen agreed.
"No." Donny shook his head. "The women can't do a thing to save them if they wanted to. Other than giving us guys some comfort in the mountain, I can't trust them to do anything, and Claude is busy cleaning my cabin. You have to go Simon."
Simon stood up, gave Donny a glare, and left towards the bog.
Confessional: Simon: Team Hayaji
"My patience is wearing too thin with him, so this break will probably do me some good anyways. I can work with all kinds of people, but people who refuse to adapt or leave their comfort zone can't be relied upon in the game and should be eliminated swiftly. And hey, I'll start another fire with some of the charcoal in another part of the mountains. That way, when the fire at camp inevitably goes out due to lack of anyone tending it, I won't starve. I suppose I'll save enough for the rest of the team as well, but I'll make sure that the ones who matter know it was thanks to my thinking ahead, and not dumb luck."
End Confessional
"Say, Claude, do you want any help cleaning the house?" Christa asked, uncomfortable being outside with Donny.
"It is not required, but I would welcome the companionship." Claude responded.
"In that case she's not moving a muscle." Donny squinted. "I'm on to you, okay?"
"On to me?" Christa gasped in shock.
Monica's eyebrow rose.
"That's right." Donny continued to spew hot air. "I know you're the biggest liability to the success of this team. So sad."
"I'll admit, the team mom persona can and does often hide a dark and sinister side." Monica added fuel to the fire Donny had created.
"I'm not up to anything!" Christa stood up. "We're a team, and I believe that if we work together, we'll do well! I don't want to vote any of you off if I can help it!"
"Well, then you've already lost." Donny relaxed. "Alright? You're the worst Haji, ok? And I'm going to be the last Haji, and I know I'm going to be the last Haji because no one else here is as good at winning as I am. I'm the best at it."
"You're the best and making it hard for me to concentrate on cleaning the cabin!" Claude called from inside the cabin.
"Come on everyone, fighting won't solve anything." Monica smiled, though her eyes hid a more wicked intent. "Let's just make up, and apologize to each other alright?"
"But there was never even a fight to begin with…" Christa noted, only for Donny to jump on the opportunity.
"And there we have it, she doesn't even want to apologize for the way she's been bringing everyone down! Sad!"
"I'm not bringing anyone down! I haven't said a negative thing to or about anyone!"
Confessional: Monica: Team Hayaji
"With Claude in the cabin, Zaheen not truly caring, and Simon occupied with...whatever job Donny's sent him on, I've got the perfect opportunity to force discontent between Donny and Christa. Obviously Christa's done nothing wrong, but as long as Donny feels he has a target he can beat that isn't me, I'm safe another day. Besides, now it will be easier to blame their misfortune on each other instead of any of the rest of us messing up. I guess I might feel a little bad throwing Christa under the bus like this, but as long as we have a real team mom around, I can't pretend to be one. Once I get rid of both of these two fighters, I'll be able to truly put my game into high gear."
End Confessional
Location: Neart Highlands(Team Fudo's Campsite)
Contestant(s): Aaron, Alison, Erin, Gabriel, Jenae, Mark, Mirai, Watts
"Hey look!" Mirai pointed as she tugged Aaron's arm. "It's the Fudo campsite! Let's go say hi!"
"I'd rather we-" Aaron looked at where the sun was in the sky. He was about to suggest they head back to camp and prepare for the next challenge but Mirai was already tugging him towards the Fudo campsite, and the bruise on his other arm had taught him that Mirai was not fond of being ignored or denied arbitrarily.
"Oh, it's the fish again." Alison noticed Mirai and Aaron walking up to the campsite.
"Ebisu is here? We're on opposite ends of the island." Watts got up off the couch that most of Fudo was resting on. He looked over at Gran, Jenae, and Mark, who were still on the couch, and at Erin, who was off in the distance tinkering with something. She momentarily looked back at Watts and gave a 'what?' gesture, before returning to whatever it was that had her so occupied. Watts sighed, and headed over to greet the Ebisu members.
Confessional: Watts: Team Fudo
"Well, if Erin's over there, and the rest of the team is on the couch, I'd rather it be me talking to Ebisu than Alison. That team won the first challenge, so I'd rather not give them an excuse to vilify us."
End Confessional
"Hello!" Aaron waved. "Sorry to intrude on you like this! We were just going on a walk and well, here we are!"
Gabriel furrowed his brow as he put a hand to his chin, covering his mouth, and began to contemplate from the couch.
"What's wrong, mr. politics?" Jenae asked as she noticed his shift in posture.
"I'm just curious about something." Gabriel mumbled. "Namely, if they're looking for an immunity medal."
"Immunity medal…" Jenae repeated before standing up. She looked over at Watts, who was busy entertaining Aaron and Mirai, and then over at Mark, who was staring her down.
Confessional: Mark: Team Fudo
"Jenae gave Watts and I a pretty rough time during the first challenge and ended up taking the immunity medal clue from us before we could read it. Watts has usually been the one to look out for her moving or doing anything, but now that he's entertaining guests, it's up to Mark Galaxy to orbit our clue-snatcher."
End Confessional
Jenae sat back down and looked over at Gabriel again. "Any results yet?"
"I don't think they're looking for one, but something about them appearing here at all still feels off. I don't know…"
Confessional: Jenae
"Damn, I didn't think the musician hippy would be keeping this close an eye on me. I'm glad I'm not an impulsive idiot like that Alison bitch otherwise I'd have to kiss my idol goodbye the minute I found it."
End Confessional
"So, how are things going on your end of the island?" Watts asked, as he continued to chat with Aaron and Mirai.
"They're going well. Chickens are all healthy, Rashi and Phooko have started a garden. We're well fed and hydrated as well, so that's a plus. Mattresses aren't that good though." Aaron answered honestly. "If we had to lose any of our luxuries besides the hot tub, it'd definitely be the mattresses."
Confessional: Aaron: Team Ebisu
"Smart and cunning people have the ability to sense the presence of other smart and cunning people, and boy, is Team Fudo full of them, but Watts in particular stands out to me personally. He's quite clearly a fan of the first trilogy, as am I, which makes me believe he'll...he'll be fun to play with."
End Confessional
Confessional: Watts: Team Fudo
"So far, the two contestants who have caught my attention the most are Erin, our resident scientist, who just this morning kept me at a 40 meter distance when I tried to talk to her for what she only elaborated as 'safety' procedures, and Aaron, Team Ebisu's...Is he their leader? He seems like it. Something about him feels familiar to me, two former contestants in particular come to mind, both from Zero Sum, and if he's anything like either one of them, that's a little concerning, but I'm not going to worry myself over it when I don't need to. In any case, he's definitely smart, so I'm going to need my guard up around him going forward, but he's friendly enough. My biggest concern right now anyways is Jenae, in terms of enemies. That said, I'd prefer Fudo win the next challenge or something, you know, like the Raging Flames were known to do?"
End Confessional
"Aaron…" Mirai tugged on Aaron's arm, realizing that he was more interested in talking with Watts than she would like. "Let's go back to camp, alright?"
"Back to camp?" Chris drove up in an ATV. "That's a good call! In fact…" He turned on a microphone on his chest, leaned into it, and announced "Everyone, meet me at the Team Ebisu campsite in Cailleach Bog! It's Challenge Time!"
Location: Cailleach Bog(Team Ebisu's Campsite)
Contestant(s): All Remaining
"Ick, all these bugs!" Alison swatted at dragon flies and gnats hovering around her.
"Is the princess really that scared of something she can squash with two fingers?" Jenae mocked.
"Hey…" Watts walked up to Erin. "What were you working on back at camp?"
"I was setting up my own. The mesas in the highlands are perfect for-" She stopped. "Oh, I see what this is. Give up."
"Give up what? I was just curious as to what had your attention, even when the team from the other side of the island came over to visit."
Erin remained silent for a few minutes, before finally answering with a single word. "Rocks."
"Ugh…" Gran plugged his nose. "What's that smell?"
"That smell…" Chris grinned "Is this!" He snapped his fingers and Chef walked through the trees, bringing out a barrel full of foul-smelling plants and bugs. "Today's challenge belongs to Zero Sum's social outcast, and first eliminated of The Screaming Winds, Alcott, and boy was he ever the pig-pen!"
"What do you mean was?" Chef snickered as he pulled Alcott himself out of the barrel.
"And to think I had actually cleaned myself up to present the challenge…" Alcott sighed as he tried, and failed, to brush all the disgusting wildlife off of him.
Confessional: Ash: Team Inari
Ash is plugging her nose tightly. "Man! He made our challenge? I am not looking forward to whatever it is. Dude was the stinkiest thing in that barrel. Did he not use soap when he cleaned himself up earlier? Or was the whole thing a lie?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Aaron: Team Ebisu
"So, Alcott is still the human skunk we saw him as last season huh? Though if he did try to clean himself up, I wouldn't put it past Chris and Chef to dirty him up again for the sake of familiarity. Or even just to be mean. They tend to be pretty mean."
End Confessional
"Today's challenge…" Alcott spoke and began to gesture as most of the contestants fought the urge to gag while the movement of his body caused his odor to waft in their direction, "Is a very simple one, I think. Inside that barrel that I was so rudely put in is a specimen of every edible thing on Crios Cath that is also foul-smelling. Note that when I say edible, I do not mean enjoyable, only that eating it won't kill you…" He looked over at Chris, and then looked back to correct himself. "...probably."
"So what do we have to do?" Claude asked "And will I be getting my suit dirty?"
"Maybe." Alcott shrugged. "It depends really...because for the first part of your challenge, each team is going to make what Chris has told me to call 'Traditional Crios Cath Energy Shakes'. You'll be given a set amount of time to scour the entire island for anything you see in the barrel, some of which do live in muddy areas, but many of which live in trees, or in more coarse soil. That said, the most foul-smelling ones live here in the bog. When the time limit is up, everyone on your team blends whatever they've managed to grab together into a 'Traditional Crios Cath Energy Shake'. And there's a bonus involved to the team that manages to make the most foul smelling one! After which, we'll move on to the second part of the challenge."
"Great job explaining, Alcott." Chris grinned as he took over. "Now, contestants...any last wor- I mean, any questions?"
No one had anything they needed answered.
"Then without further ado…" Chris held up an air horn and blew it. "Go!"
Challenge:
Teams must scour Crios Cath looking for foul-smelling wildlife to blend together in what Chris calls a Traditional Crios Cath Energy Shake. Once a 2 hour time limit is up, each team's total amount of gathered wildlife will be blended together into a shake, with the most foul-smelling shake will earn an advantage in the second part of the challenge.
Location: Ionad Desert
Contestant(s): Aaron, Ash, Claude, Gran, Jenae, Monica, Phooko, Watts
Time Remaining: 2 hours
"It's so hot out here!" Gran wiped his forehead of massive amounts of sweat. "Are you sure this was the best place to go, Ash?"
"I'm as positive as I can be. I saw one of them when we were at Tine Naofa last week." She responded. "And here in the desert, there's less to trip over, and everything is fairly easy to see."
"I guess that's as good a reason as any." Gran nodded.
"I propose we all work together, if that's agreeable with everyone here." Monica said as she and Claude walked along dunes of sand. "We obviously all came here looking for the iron pseudoscorpion. If we all search together, we can alert the rest of us when we find a nest."
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea if we're a bunch of idiots." Jenae responded as she nudged Watts in the shoulder. "Isn't that right, Watts? We'll be able to find these scorpions ourselves!"
"Pseudoscorpions actually." Phooko corrected her while Aaron snickered about it beside him. "And the particular species of animal we're looking for is actually more closely related to small spiders than-"
"We've got no time to listen to the blabbering of the competition!" Jenae said as she began to pick up the pace. "Come on Watts, hurry up if you know what's good for you!"
"You might want to hurry." Aaron looked over at Watts.
"Yeah, I definitely want to hurry." Watts nodded as he began to pick up the pace in an effort to catch up to Jenae.
"Do you two know each other from somewhere or something?" Phooko asked Aaron once the Fudo pair was out of eyesight.
"No. We're just both fans of the show." Aaron shrugged before turning to Monica. "But hey, Monica, we'll take you up on your offer!"
"You will?" Monica asked, surprised.
"We will?" Phooko asked, equally surprised.
"Pseudoscorpions are very small." Aaron whispered. "It would do us good to have a butler's eye to help find them."
"So that was the angle." Phooko quietly laughed.
"Just making sure you didn't walk into the desert for nothing." Aaron patted Phooko on the back. "I'm heading down to the bog and using the split-up search as a cover for it."
"Why back down to the bog?"
"Well…" Aaron massaged the bruise on his arm. "I feel like Mirai would rather she have some company."
Confessional: Jenae: Team Fudo
"Obviously, I ran ahead to get a few moments of alone time so I can figure out my plan of action for finding the Sword Immunity Medal. Luckily, I managed to find something before Watts caught up to me."
End Confessional
"Jenae, I know you're around here somewhere!" Watts called out as he ran into the area where Jenae was crouching behind a dune.
"Hey!" She motioned him over. "I did it! I found the pseudo-things!"
"What?!" Watts rushed over to where Jenae was crouching and confirmed that she had indeed found the pseudoscorpions they were looking for. "Quickly, put as many as you can into your barrel!"
Jenae nodded and began to furiously gather pseudoscorpions, keeping an eye on Watts, and when she was finally sure he was busy looking at the den instead of at her, she slipped away.
Confessional: Jenae: Team Fudo
"I'm getting that idol, boys, and I'm going to be sure to use it in a far more effective way than either of you ever could."
End Confessional
Location: Cailleach Bog
Contestant(s): Aaron, Cherry, Donny, Erin, Gabriel, Mirai, Zaheen, Zaiyrin
Time Remaining: 1 hour 30 minutes
"How much do you have, Cherry?" Ellie asked.
"Enough." Cherry replied through a pinched nose. "And also…"
She held up a small golden medal depicting a fox walking through wheat fields.
"We've found it. It appears you've chosen the correct girl to align with, doesn't it?"
"Woo!" Ellie cheered with a grin as Cherry hid the idol back in her clothes. "But hey, how about we get Zaiyrin in on this too? He certainly exclaimed a fondness for you at Tine Naofa…"
"I'd rather we not." Cherry's brow furrowed. "But if we're to disgrace the Bechdel test on live television, my honest opinion is that it seemed to straightforward for someone like him."
"So he's got no chance, huh?" Ellie giggled.
"Well…" Cherry crossed her arms. "I wouldn't say that yet either. I'm simply waiting to see if he was sincere or full of hot air."
"How are you doing in terms of odorous creatures, Erin?" Gabriel asked.
"Creatures, I have none of." Erin replied. "I'm sticking with plants. They're the far easier organism to catch."
"Gaaaaabrieeeeeellllllll~" Alison sang as she brushed through the trees, and pretended to get stuck between some branches. "Could you please help me out? *teehee*~"
Confessional: Erin: Team Fudo
"Subtle." Erin rolls her eyes.
End Confessional
"Nah...hang on a sec." Donny appeared on the scene. "You doan wan him tah' help you, okay? I'm way stronger, way better at this than he is…"
"Look man, she's yours to pursue." Gabriel rose his hands up. "But I can't just sit there and let you talk shit about me like that."
"I'm going to leave before this gets too stupid for me." Erin announced as she left, while neither boy seemed to be paying much attention to her.
"Donny." Zaheen noticed who and what had Donny occupied as she talked to herself and shook her head. "What are you doing, darling?"
"It appears as though your Barbarian and Team Fudo's Paladin are about to compete in the false rescue of the Charlatan Bard." Zaiyrin offered his opinion. "If Donny mentions his reserves of money of course, he will come out victorious, most likely."
"An interesting observation, darling. You are an alert one aren't you?"
"Oh I am one of the most alert!" Zaiyrin exlcaimed. "If I were you, I'd keep a villain or two on your team around a leash. But I suppose it matters not since they'll all be defeated by me eventually."
"You think you can defeat all the villains?"
"I know I can. I'm a level 100 strategist after all. I've unlocked the best skills for the job!"
"Well, I certainly wish you the best of luck in those endeavors." Zaheen smiled as she noticed Donny following Alison and Gabriel into the Glas Woods. "I'll see you around, Inari Fox."
Confessional: Zaheen: Team Hayaji
"And now I know who to talk to when I'm dealing with a villainous contestant. This illusionist is going all the way to the top after all."
End Confessional
"Now then…" Zaiyrin said as he plucked a few more flowers. "This should be enough." He muttered to himself as he walked over to Cherry and Ellie, while Mirai and Aaron, once again being tugged by the arm, picked plants of their own.
"Ahem, for the girl whose observant and reliable personality captured my heart!" He exclaimed to Cherry as he held up a small bouquet of violets.
Ellie gasped as she clasped her hands over her mouth with wide eyes and looked at Cherry, who seemed equally surprised by the action.
"I ask that a goddess such as yourself please consider doing me the favor of going out with me!"
Cherry remained stumped for a while before slowly bringing her hands up to her temples and massaging them. "And and what point did this take priority over gathering odorous things for the challenge?" Cherry finally asked.
"Cherry, I cannot perform to my best ability while this uncertainty rings in my mind like the thousands of cheers you must receive whenever you perform in your circus." Zaiyrin didn't skip a beat.
"Well...perhaps there's hope for you." Cherry admitted. "...I'll give you a chance, but I will end it should I suspect any insincerity, or that you are obsessing too much with moi and not enough with winning challenges."
"Awwww…" Mirai's grip on Aaron's arm tightened as she looked at him, expectantly.
"W-what is it?"
"Well?!" Mirai gestured. "I'm waiting too!"
"Whoa, wait, you want me to-? Are you sure? I mean, I'd like to get to know you a bit more before-"
"Come on Aaron, can't we just skip all the drama and get right to the ending? You like me right? Right?!"
"Y-yes…"
"Then ask me the fuck out already! Don't do any of this around the bush nonsense!"
Confessional: Aaron: Team Ebisu
"W-wow….Just...wow….What a woman."
End Confessional
"Alright...Mirai...will you go out with me?" He asked, wincing.
"Eeeeeeeeee!" Mirai squealed, making a far bigger deal out of it than Zaiyrin had made of his proposition to Cherry. "Yes! Yay!"
"You know…" Aaron realized. "We should probably gather our team together to see how much of everything we've caught. Could you go get Phooko from the Ionad desert and bring him back here? I'll look for the others."
"Alright…" Mirai smiled at him, in somewhat of a daze as he left towards Glas Woods.
Location: Glas Woods
Contestant(s): Aaron, Alison, Christa, Donny, Gabriel, Jenae, Mark, Rashi, Raul, Simon, Vanessa, Zaheen
Time Remaining: 45 Minutes
"Thanks for saving me from those awful bog trees, Gabriel…" Alison clung to Gabriel's arm as they walked through the woods.
"Don't mention it." Gabriel replied with a blushing red face.
"He only did it 'cuz he was afraid I'd make him look weak, okay?" Donny asked. "And you know what? I turned out to be right!"
"Um...how?" Gabriel asked, confused. "In what way were you proven right about anything? You can't just spew hot air and expect her to take your word for it."
"Yeah, we'll she's gonna leave you for me when she finds out that I'm loaded. I own multiple businesses, all of which are very successful, and I have a ton of money."
"A ton of money?" Alison's eyes began to flicker. "Now Gabriel, let's not get defensive over the truth…"
Confessional: Gabriel: Team Fudo
"Such disgusting people I have to deal with today...I know who my vote goes for if we lose, and Hayaji can thank Donny for my new bias against them."
End Confessional
"How are we doing, Hayaji?" Zaheen asked as she came across Simon and Christa, both with barrels full of odorous wildlife.
"We've been hard at work!" Christa responded proudly. "We'll probably be able to win this challenge if everyone else has even half as much as we do!"
"I'd have to agree with you there." Simon looked around at the other contestants. "Everyone else has been moving around between the biomes and wasting time that could have been spent filling their barrels."
Meanwhile, Aaron was checking up on Rashi, Raul, and Vanessa.
"So, how are you guys doing?"
"Read it and weep!" Rashi hefted her barrel and let Aaron peer inside.
"I'm doing pretty well too." Raul scribbled on his notepad.
"Same here." Vanessa announced.
Aaron spent a little longer looking at Raul's barrel than the other two, and nodded. "Here's my haul!" He showed them his own barrel. "Phooko and Mirai both should have some pretty good hauls as well."
"You think we can win two challenges in a row?" Rashi asked, excitedly.
"We just might!" Aaron laughed.
"Oh great, do you hear that?" Jenae asked as she walked near Mark and Watts. "The fish think they can win twice in a row!"
"Well, we're here to prove they can't!" Mark announced. "There's no tomorrow without today, so they shouldn't plan for it when the day hasn't ended yet!"
"That's some good spirit! Keep that!" Jenae ordered.
"This doesn't, however, solve the problem that you ran off on me during the challenge." Watts confronted her. "You weren't looking for the Immunity Medal were you?"
"If I wanted to go looking for the Immunity Medal, I would. Neither you nor Guitar Hero here could physically stop me. I wouldn't be that obvious. If you must know, the amount of pseudoscorpions was creeping me out. I was all like 'heeeeellll no.' I wasn't going to put up with that shit for much longer, so I bailed to go look for plants instead. It would do you some good to have faith in your teammates. If you really, really don't believe me, I'll read the clue aloud to everyone on the team after the challenge is over."
"No...you don't have to do that…" Watts rose his hands to give a 'calm down' gesture.
Confessional: Jenae: Team Fudo
"I don't huh?" Jenae holds out a hand and reveals a golden medal depicting a sword wreathed in flames. "I guess it'll save the others some disappointment when they don't find it. Yeah, I lied, but they don't need to know that, do they? As long as I act like this a witch-hunt, Watts's conscience and Mark's go with the flow nature will lay off of me. Damn these losers are easier to play than a fiddle."
End Confessional
Confessional: Watts: Team Fudo
"I'm...I'm not an idiot. I've seen earlier seasons. She's obviously lying, and was clearly looking for the medal. The problem is...I can't give out that information carelessly without putting a target on my own back as well, and I certainly would rather be on the same side as an medal than the side against it, but then the problem becomes the immunity medal's owner. I don't want to align with someone like Jenae, and I'm pretty sure Mark doesn't want to either."
End Confessional
"Hey Raul…" Aaron said as Ebisu began to head back. "Is there a reason you seemed to have an average number of bugs and plants compared to Vanessa? I feel like you ought to have out-performed her, being able to reach more areas than she could."
Raul scribbled on his notebook.
"Sorry man, it's kind of hard to remain focused with the smell. Don't worry about it, I'll be doing a better job next challenge."
"Yeah, I guess I'm just being a little paranoid is all." Aaron shrugged. "Sorry man, didn't mean to crack down on you like that."
"All good :)" Raul wrote on his notepad.
Confessional: Aaron: Team Ebisu
Aaron is fiddling with his shark tooth necklace as he thinks while sitting on the toilet, looking up at the ceiling of the confessional. "Ah-ha!" He makes a realization and snaps his fingers. He leans back and shakes his head with a knowing smile. "It's always the quiet ones."
End Confessional
"Attention teams, time is up!" Chris announced. "Please return back to the Ebisu Campsite where Alcott will reward the most foul-smell concoction and explain the second part of your challenge!"
Location: Cailleach Bog(Team Ebisu's Campsite)
Contestant(s): All Remaining
After each Traditional Crios Cath Energy Shake had been created, Chirs wheeled out a modified version of the drama-bot, now clearly meant to measure the odor of objects.
"This special guy will rate your beverages on a stink scale from 1 to 100, 1 being 'were you even trying?' and 100 being 'now this is a Traditional Crios Cath Energy Shake! Alcott should be proud'" Chris announced.
"I don't like that you portray me as proud to smell bad." Alcott crossed his arms. "I even attempted to clean up for this episode but you-"
"Let's start with Team Hayaji…" Chris announced as he ushered the robot up to the barrel of Hayaji's concoction.
"Huh…" He sighed. "Hayaji comes in with a not at all solid 25. We got anyone to blame for this?"
"Chrishta." Donny immediately replied.
"Whoa, hold on." Simon calmly disagreed. "I was with her the whole time, our barrels were both full of disgustingly odorous plants and bugs. Donny's however, was relatively empty compared to everyone else's."
"That's a fair point to make." Monica mentioned, silently relishing the discontent between her two biggest threats she had created.
"In any case…" Chris pushed the robot along. "Ebisu...you're up next with a…
…
33?"
"We...we don't get it either." Phooko scratched his head.
"This...might be my fault…" Aaron shrugged. "Remember when I claimed I was a good cook? I think I might have...you know…"
"Well, that's unfortunate for you, Ebisu." Chris laughed. "Let's see if Inari's made a beverage worthy of the stink-o-meter! They have a…
…
A 63! That's a huge jump up! Inari in the lead!"
Confessional: Gran: Team Inari
"It feels great to actually be in the lead for once! Let's keep this up! Maybe even win our hot tub back!"
End Confessional
"Finally…" Chris turned towards Team Fudo. "Fudo...let's see if you've got what it takes to measure up! Stink-o-meter says…
…
…
…
58! Good, but not enough! Inari wins the first part of the challenge!"
After the consecutive cheers from Inari died down, Alcott explained Inari's reward.
"Inari...as a reward for claiming 1st place...one of your team members is allowed to sit out the next part of the challenge, which is, of course...drinking your creations! Each team member must swallow an entire glass of a random concoction completely, and at the end, the team with the largest amount of contests who failed to keep their drink down will head to the Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony, and will give up a Camp Luxury to the winning team!"
Confessional: Donny: Team Hayaji
"Looks like Haji should be thanking me now, huh? We might not have to drink as disgusting a glass as the other teams. They're lucky I knew this would happen, okay? They're really lucky."
End Confessional
Confessional: Simon: Team Hayaji
"Great, so it's random which team's concoction we have to drink from. Donny has, in all likelihood, handed another team the win with his selfish laziness, and I'll be sure to bring this up if we head to Tine Naofa."
End Confessional
"Inari is sitting Ash out then." Ash herself said after Inari counseled among themselves.
Confessional: Ash: Team Inari
"The last thing we want is for me to break a glass and lose us the challenge that way, after all."
End Confessional
The Contestants and which team's concoction they've been (secretly) assigned:
Claude: Hayaji
Zaheen: Ebisu
Donny: Hayaji
Monica: Hayaji
Simon: Inari
Christa: Inari
Aaron: Ebisu
Rashi: Fudo
Phooko: Ebisu
Mirai: Ebisu
Raul: Inari
Vanessa: Fudo
Zaiyrin: Hayaji
Cherry: Fudo
Gran: Fudo
Ellie: Fudo
Mark: Ebisu
Erin: Hayaji
Gabriel: Ebisu
Jenae: Inari
Watts: Inari
Alison: Fudo
"Alright, Team Hayaji…" Chris said as he handed everyone on the team their assigned glass.
"Drink!"
Claude drank first, and swallowed his drink without much problem. Encouraged by this, Christa, Simon, and Monica all went next, and they all succeeded as well.
Zaheen gulped as she looked at her drink and slowly brought it up to her lips.
Confessional: Zaheen: Team Hayaji
"I have a very weak stomach darling, I'd rather I not drink unknown substances if I can help it."
End Confessional
Zaheen couldn't help but puke up her beverage, causing Donny to shake his head in disapproval as he began to down his own...before immediately spitting it out and pouring the contents of his glass on the ground.
"That was obviously the worst one! This challenge is rigged!" He exclaimed.
"Donny, Donny, dude, that was your own team's concoction!"
"It was sabotaged by Chrishta then!" He rationalized, unable to accept his own incompetence.
Team Hayaji Total Failure Count: 2(Zaheen and Donny)
"Team Ebisu…" Chris handed out the drinks again, this time to the Ebisu members. "Let's see what you've got! As long as only one of you fails, max, you'll be safe from elimination!"
Rashi and Aaron both immediately took swigs of their drinks.
Aaron managed to put in enough effort to keep his drink down, while Rashi…"
"Ahh." Rashi said as she finished her glass and held it out. "Could I get another one?" She asked.
"Must be the Irish blood…" Chef grumbled as he shrugged and took another scoop from the Fudo container to give to Rashi.
"Well, if she can do it, we ought to be able to do it." Phooko rationalized as he and Mirai both drank from their glasses, each one both succeeding without much difficulty, but neither wanting any more, let alone with Rashi's enthusiasm.
Raul and Vanessa both looked at each other and gave affirming nods before drinking from their own glasses.
Vanessa managed to just barely keep her own beverage down, and Raul, despite putting up with a far bigger fight from his own beverage thanks to his throat injury, still managed to swallow his as well.
"Ebisu with a clean sweep!" Chris announced. "No matter what happens, they're all safe for another night!"
Team Ebisu Total Failure Count: 0
"Team Inari...or rather, participating Inari…" Chris looked at the Inari other than Ash as he handed them their glasses. "I'll mention it now, if you make it through without any failures, because you won the first part of the challenge, you'd be considered the victorious team over Ebisu. Do with that what you will."
Gran immediately downed his drink and held out the glass. "I'll take more too." He decided.
"There's only so much Fudo concoction in this barrel, boy…" Chef grumbled as he handed Gran a second helping of the Fudo concoction while Cherry and Ellie both drank from their glasses, each one managing to, despite obvious resistance, keep their drinks down. The last one left, Zaiyrin began to drink from his own glass…
…
…
…
And barfed it back up.
"And that's a shame, Ebisu remains in the lead, but Hayaji remains behind. Fudo's performance will determine the outcome of this challenge!" Chris announced.
Team Inari Total Failure Count: 1(Zaiyrin)
"Alright, Fudo...it's do or die time." Jenae said as she downed her shake and waited for a while, while grabbing her gut, before pulling herself together and nodding. "We're good over here."
Gabriel gulped, but followed Jenae's example and downed his own shake.
Confessional: Gabriel: Team Fudo
"Better to do it all at once, right?"
End Confessional
Gabriel managed to keep his drink down as well.
"I suppose I might as well get it over with…" Erin quickly chugged back her drink.
She just as quickly brought her hands to her mouth.
"Erin...Erin, you've got this!" Watts began to encourage her as he brow furrowed. "We believe in you, Erin, hang in there…"
Erin, almost miraculously, managed to swallow the fighting concoction before turning to Watts.
"Your incessant cheer-leading was too distracting. It took all the concentration I had not to spit in your face. Take care that you never do that again. You go now."
"Um...okay…" Watts slowly brought his glass up to his lips and began to drink, before ultimately throwing it up.
"And Ebisu is this challenge's winner!" Chris announced. "But we still don't know the loser yet, because Fudo still has two players left to drink!"
Mark gulped before he took a swig of his glass, and managing to swallow it all.
"And we're down to this!" Chris announced. "If Alison can keep the shake in her glass down, Hayaji is sent to Tine Naofa, but if she can't...we'll have to put the teams in a tiebreaker!"
"Boy…" Monica grinned. "I would hate to be in Alison's position right now. All that pressure...everyone staring at me…"
Confessional: Alison: Team Fudo
"Trying to psyche me up, are you? Jealousy doesn't suit a lady, Monica. Perhaps that is why I'm more attractive than you. I don't get jealous of others, as there is nothing for me to be jealous of. Your petty trick to psych me out will not work, I thrive in spotlight!"
End Confessional
Alison confidently chugged from her glass…
…
…
…
…
…
And finished without any problems. She wiped her mouth and brushed her hair back, before stretching, pretending like keeping her team from elimination was no big deal.
Confessional: Mark: Team Fudo
"Seriously...why is she so sexy?"
End Confessional
"And with that...Fudo stays safe for another night, and we have our winners and losers, Ebisu once again taking first place, and Hayaji now in last! Rashi, since you so eagerly took two drinks even though you didn't have to, I'll let you spin the Wheel of Reward!"
"Woo!" Rashi cheered as Alcott brought out the large wheel, depicting the cabin, charcoal, canoe, and shower on it.
"What do we want, Ebisu?" Rashi asked.
"Anything but the charcoal really…" Phooko shrugged.
"Alright...here we go…" Rashi spun the wheel.
Cabin,
Charcoal,
Canoe,
Shower,
Cabin,
Charcoal
Canoe,
Shower…
Cabin..
…
Charcoal…
…
…
…
…
Canoe….
…
…
…
…
…
And the wheel stopped.
"Ebisu wins the canoe!"
Confessional: Aaron: Team Ebisu
"Considering we're the team that lives here in the bog, we're the only team that could really make use of the canoe anyways, so...good call? It wasn't really a call though, more like good luck…"
End Confessional
Confessional: Rashi: Team Ebisu
"Uh-huh, Oh yeah, Rashi scorin' her team dat hayaji canoe loot!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Simon: Team Hayaji
"Considering all the factors of our loss today, I'm fairly certain we all know who is going home at Tine Naofa this evening. This island simply isn't the place to be inflexible in your actions and thinking."
End Confessional
Location: Ionad Desert, Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestant(s): Christa, Claude, Donny, Monica, Simon, Zaheen
"I wish I could say you fought well Hayaji…" Chris sighed as a helicopter piloted Alcott off of the island. "But unless you count against each other, this has not been your week."
"I'll tell you why though…" Donny stood up and faced the rest of the team. "Chrishta's been sabotaging us, just like I said she was from the beginning. It's obvious, alright, and anyone who can't see it...I'm sorry, but she's brainwashed you. You've fallen for her lies."
"Usted es un hombrecito triste y enojado." Christa spoke as she stood up. She picked up a handful of sand and poured it back down into the desert until only a grain remained between her fingers. "Usted tiene menos valor que este grano de arenilla. Nadie llorará para usted."
"There she goes speaking in the wrong language." Donny seemed unaware of what Christa's words had meant. "Can't even communicate to the team properly, how sad a life you must lead."
"Well…" Chris looked around and the angry faces of the Hayaji members. "I suppose there's no more avoiding it. Why don't you guys all vote? Claude, you're up first."
Claude walked up to the voting booth and wrote down a name. "I have yet to find my suitable master, but I am sure it is not you." He exclaimed into the voting camera before he headed back to the bonfire.
Zaheen was up next.
"Sorry, darling…"She apologized. "But it's better you than me tonight."
After Zaheen returned, Donny went up.
"Your kind is too populous, even on this show. Leave some spotlight for the rest of us." He grunted. He then, within full view of the camera, wrote the same name a second, third, fourth, and fifth time, all on different sheets of paper.
He came back, and Simon walked up.
"You colossal moron." He sighed. "You will not be missed, even slightly."
After he came back, Christa went up and wrote Donny's name down. "Time to leave. If by some miracle you survive tonight, I will burn the idol clue in front of you so that you may never find it, you vile, vile, unworthy excuse of a human being."
After Christa returned, Monica went up to finish the vote.
"And that's one down." She smiled.
Monica then came back and crossed her legs with a grin.
"I'll go tally the votes." Chris announced.
It wasn't long before Chris returned.
"Do you think this show is a joke?" He asked. "There are only six of you...so why are there 10 different ballots in here?"
"Really, Chrishta? Voter fraud? Are you that insecure?"
"I did not do anything of the sort!" Christa defended herself.
"Well, I guess I can just check whatever is on the camera tape."
"Except that you can't, because Saimin is in cahoots with the traitor." Donny pointed at Simon. "He's tampered with the evidence to frame me."
"This is just getting ridiculous…" Simon shook his head. "I wouldn't have had the time to-"
"None of us know that though! And you two were gathering together during the challenge, the perfect plan to sabotage us. I bet you didn't even gather stinky things, you just gathered whatever you saw, because you felt threatened by my success in leading this team."
"Well, if I can't trust the camera, I'll just have to read the votes as they are…" Chris suggested. "So, let's let the chips fall where they may. I have five medals on this plate. If I call your name, come up and get a medal. If you do not receive a medal, you must immediately enter the Tomb of Shame, and give up all hope of winning this show.
"This is unbelievable." Claude massaged his temples. "Treating obviously rigged votes like they're fair."
"Then you'll be pleased to know that you're safe anyways." Chris tossed Claude a medal. "Simon, Monica, Zaheen, you're all safe too."
As Simon, Monica, and Zaheen all cast their votes, Chris turned to Donny and Christa.
"Donny, Christa...this is the final medal...and...it goes to…
…
Whoever can win the tiebreaker! That's right, it looks like someone's math was a little off, because rather than either of you getting a majority, you both received 5 votes! Those of you at home know what's about to happen, but for those of you that don't...in Zero Sum fashion...we're about to begin our traditional staring contest as our first standard tie-breaker! Donny, Christa, there is to be no talking amongst you two, and the first one to blink or look away loses, and will be sent to the Tomb of Shame! Contestants ready…"
Donny and Christa turned to face each other.
"Begin!"
Seconds passed,
Then tens of seconds,
And then a minute went by, and still no change from either side.
But one would have to give in eventually.
Confessional: Monica: Team Hayaji
"I feel like everyone at home is probably rooting for one or the other right now, but I personally don't care which one, because, sorry to spoil you all, the one that wins is only delaying their departure until the next time we're both at elimination. I'm claiming that team-leader spot, one way or another."
End Confessional
Finally,
At long last…
There was a clear loser that blinked first…
And it was…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
Donny.
"And that's a blink from Donny!" Chris announced. "Which means the final medal goes to Christa!"
Confessional: Christa: Team Hayaji
"I will not allow such a disgraceful degenerate the satisfaction of getting away with cheating so blatantly in an arbitrary effort to ruin my character. Only hellfire awaits his ugly soul."
End Confessional
"What?!" Donny stood up. "This elimination is rigged!" He complained. "I demand a re-vote! Re-vote!"
"No re-votes." Chris shook his head. "We're out of time as it is. Head to the Tomb of Shame or be forcefully removed from the game and have your right to coming back for the finale taken away.
"All a bunch of fake vote writers…" Donny grumbled as he headed towards the Tomb of Shame.
"She's playing you all for chumps you know! Look at me, I'm the only one who saw her for what she was, and I'm eliminated, pretty suspicious right? Right?"
"And that's a wrap on Episode 2!" Chris announced as he looked into the camera.
"With Donny gone, will Hayaji be able to pull themselves together? How will Zaiyrin and Cherry's relationship turn out? Will Alison be able to wear Gabriel down? And will Ebisu continue what has now become a winning streak? Find out the answer to a few of these...next time! On…
Total!
Drama!
Niiiiiiiiialasach!"
*Donny's Final Confessional:
"Obviously, this whole game was rigged from the start, okay? I went into this knowing that I wasn't going to win because it was rigged. Christa and Raul are both threats no one understands they need to watch out for, and Haji is corrupted beyond repair, Ebzu is obviously cheating to get first place all the time too. This is honestly? It's honestly not that good of a show. It's kind of pathetic really, and they just got rid of the one guy who could boost their ratings so you know what? I'm not even mad. They'll probably call me and ask me to come back anyways, because they know I'm the best after all, alright? They understand that I know how to crush my competition. There's no one better at it than me."
End Confessional*
The Votes(for those who are curious)
Christa voted for...Donny
Claude voted for...Donny
Donny voted for...Christa
Donny voted for...Christa
Donny voted for...Christa
Donny voted for...Christa
Donny voted for...Christa
Monica voted for...Donny
Simon voted for...Donny
Zaheen voted for...Donny
AN: And the long episodes continue…
So...Donny…
A huge thankyou to onyxwhip for submitting Donny-The God Emperor. I had a blast writing every second of him, although, unfortunately, with the make-up of his team, and his personality, he really didn't stand a chance if Hayaji lost and he didn't have the Force Immunity Medal, which he didn't. Of course, he'll be up to his old antics by the time the finale rolls around, so there's that to look forward to at least.
For those of you wondering, while Donny did his best to present a Neutral Evil persona, his official alignment was Chaotic Evil, as his acts of hatred were never within any real reason, and mostly arbitrary, using reasons he found as he went to justify them instead.
Having gone over his actions this season, Donny has been awarded the status of: Villain
Why: I could point you to literally any Donny scene, and you would understand why, but I think I'll go with his blatant cheating and then asserting that the person he was trying to get rid of was the one who truly cheated, even half-way into his final confessional.
Donny's best moment?: Donny, like Natalie from The Cursed Island, doesn't truly have a 'best moment' to speak of. So I'll instead go with the moment I found most entertaining, and that would be how he managed to succeed in his aforementioned cheating, and then managing to convince Chris of the plausibility of the video camera being edited to frame him.
But all of that's just me. What do you guys think of Donny? What status would you give him? What do you think his best moment was?
Freya's challenge is up next! How much of the gameflow do you think her challenge is going to screw up?
Any predictions for what might happen in the future?
And as always, thank you for reading!
