Author's Note: And now, it's time for the regularly scheduled elimination episodes. But before that, reviews:
Pecan Crisp: Ah, thank you for catching the first one! As for the second one, in this context, Chris' statement was supposed to imply everyone besides Junko and Rantaro was at risk of being eliminated. Could've probably made clearer, though, so sorry about that!
Dunsparce519: Interesting prediction!
siramay: Thank you!
I hope you enjoy the episode!
Strangely enough, the recap started with Chef leading it.
"Last week on Total Drama Island, those good-for-nothin' campers got swept away by a rainstorm that left them stranded on a desert island. Meanwhile, the fashionista got drifted out in the confessional and freaking out at some fake dinosaur bones. She eventually met up with the other campers, and they hung out in the treehouse before releasing there was smoke coming from the woods and decided to check it out. But all they found was the crew's secret production camp."
The camera cut to Chef standing in the restaurant's kitchen, the coconut from last episode sitting on the table before him. "Yeah, I'm doin' the recap. But guess what? I ain't happy about it, either!" He brought out a cleaver through the coconut in three strong swings. "So sit back, shut up, and watch tonight's episode of...
Total...
Drama...
Island!"
Episode Twenty-Three: Are We There Yeti?
A serene tune began the episode as the camera panned down from the morning sky to Celestia sleeping in her cottage... outside. A bird flew down and rested itself into her hair. Deciding it was unacceptable, it flew away. However, she did not wake up.
In Maki's bed, directly next to Celestia's, a swarm of flies buzzed near her ears, which she unconsciously swatted at. Eventually, they all flew off except for one, but it was quickly lapped up a frog that hopped on her. Like Celestia, she did not wake up.
Across from Maki and Celestia's beds were Junko's and Rantaro's. A squirrel hopped onto and dark and scratched his nose with its tail, causing him to sneeze. Miraculously, he did not wake up.
As for Junko, an acorn fell from a tree above and landed directly in her mouth. She hacked and she shot up, ejecting the acorn. "What's that—Where am I?!"
The other three woke up soon after, looking just as confused as Junko did.
"How did we get here?"
"Why are we outside?"
"Chris!"
"Everybody, just shut up! How you got here is not your concern!"
The whirring of blades then caught their attention, and they all looked up to see Chef hanging on the ladder attached to a helicopter as it flew down towards them. He hopped down and gave whoever was piloting the helicopter a thumbs-up. The helicopter could be heard flying away soon after.
"Where's Chris?" Maki asked as soon as the Final Four were all out of bed.
"None of your gosh darn business what happened to Chris!" Chef snapped. "I'm in charge now, and I'm gonna make you wish you were never born. Your mission is to find your way out of the forest, or die tryin'. First team to find the best statue and tag it wins."
"You must be joking," Celestia grimaced. We will die."
CONFESSIONAL - JUNKO:
"Real creative, Chris—or Chef," she snarked. "It's not like we had a challenge like this before or anything."
"Team One: Fashionista and Hot Stuff. Team Two: Grim and Grimmer." Chef tossed a duffel bag to each team—Junko and Rantaro, Celestia and Maki respectively. "And here's a tip: better set up camp before sundown, because when nightfall hits, you won't even be able to see your trembling hand in front of your terrified face. Unless you have night-vision googles." He laughed as he dangled a pair in front of them. "But you don't!"
Celestia's eyes widened and she suddenly rushed forward. "Please! I'll have to understand, I cannot take another second away from civilization!"
Maki, Rantaro, and Junko all raised an eyebrow at her.
"Grab a hold of your guts, soldier!" Chef yelled, pushing her away.
CONFESSIONAL - JUNKO:
"Okay, I know Celestia is high-maintenance, but she's not a beggar. She's up to something."
"God, I am so not looking forward to seeing bears again," Junko muttered to her partner.
"Oh, I wouldn't sorry about that," Chef said. "You'll wish you saw a bear, once you meet up with ol' Sasquatchankwa. He's one mean mamma-jamma!"
The helicopter came whirring back, and Chef hopped onto the ladder again.
"Good luck, troops!" he yelled as the helicopter flew away again. "Try not to die!"
Four metal clamps came down and attached to their beds, whisking them away. With their last source of comfort gone, the Final Four stood helplessly in the clearing with nothing but their bags and the clothes on their back.
"This is actually ridiculous," Maki protested.
"I agree with you," Celestia said, picking up their team's duffel bag and slinging it over her shoulder, "but I doubt Chef will be coming back anytime soon, so we should get going."
She grabbed Maki's hand and ran off into the woods, much to Junko's confusion.
"What the heck...?" She didn't get a chance to ponder that as Rantaro spoke.
"We should get going, too. Can't let them get too far ahead, right?"
Junko nodded. "Right. Let's go."
She hoisted their bag on her shoulders, and they headed off into the woods as well.
Meanwhile, Celestia and Maki had stopped by a large tree.
"Do you even know where we're going?" Maki asked.
"Nope," Celestia admitted. "I just wanted to "psych" the other two out, as they say."
"Well, we'd better find our way soon. We need to cover as much ground as we can before it gets dark."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that..." Celestia pulled out the night-vision goggles from earlier and Maki's eyes flashed in realization.
"Oh, so that's what you were doing."
Celestia smiled. "I'm a great actress, aren't I?"
Maki crossed her arms. "Don't flatter yourself."
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
"As much as she annoys me, Maki makes a good partner for this challenge," she admitted. "She has an exceptional physical prowess. And if nothing else, she will be good bait for the bears."
CONFESSIONAL - RANTARO:
"I'm kinda glad I got paired up with Junko. Don't get me wrong, I like Maki, but she and Celestia doesn't have that chill edge that Junko has, you know?"
Junko and Rantaro had stopped too, with Rantaro gesturing to the bag. "What've we got?"
Junko unzipped the bag and dumped the contents of the bag into the ground. "Let's see... A map, a can of bug spray, a pair of binoculars, and two sleeping bags."
"Not bad," Rantaro remarked.
"Yeah," Junko agreed. "I mean, the lack of food is a bit discouraging, but I guess you can't win all."
"Hey, don't sweat it. There's plenty of catch around here, so finding it can't be too hard."
"Yeah." Junko nodded. "Yeah, we can do this!"
"Camp is north," Maki said, staring at the compass in her hand. "So we just follow the river back.
"Great," Celestia smiled. The girls started walking alongside said river, and she stared at Maki with a thoughtful look. "Maki..." she started.
Maki stared back at her apprehensively. "Yes?"
"You just reminded me... You were in the crate with Sasquatchankwa during the torture challenge, were you not? How are our chances if we happen to run into it?"
"Hard to say," Maki replied. "The crate was too dark to actually see anything, so I didn't actually fight it. But... now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think it see could me, either."
"Interesting..." Celestia spared a glance at their night-vision goggles.
"Okay," Junko said, sighing. "we've got a map but no compass." She looked over at Rantaro. "Hey, Rantaro, you wouldn't happen to know where the sun rose, would you?"
Rantaro gave her a sympathetic look and shook his head. "Nah, I woke up too late. Sorry." He glanced over at Junko, then up at the sky. "Oh, but you know... If we could a specific landmark, like the cliff, then we could determine the way back to camp that way."
"Actually, you're right." Junko examined the map. "I can climb up and spot where the cliff is."
"Good idea."
Junko grinned before climbing up the trunk of the nearest tree. Rantaro tossed up the pair of binoculars.
"Thanks." She peered through the binoculars, soon spotting the one-thousand-foot cliff. She swiftly jumped down and landed on her feet. "I saw the cliff. According to the map, it's on the western edge, so north should be that way." She pointed to the left.
"Good work," Rantaro said. "In that case, we should be able to follow the river back to camp. All we need to do is find some good logs, and we could build a raft. Did you see it?"
"A bit of it, yeah," Junko replied. "Come on, it should be this way."
The duo set off, and the focus switched to Celestia and Maki still traveling alongside the river, where Celestia began to lag behind.
"I think we should stop and rest for a bit," she suggested. "Specifically, replenish our energy. I remember seeing a few protein bars in our bag."
Maki stopped in her tracks, and her stomach rumbled. She looked back at Celestia and sighed. "Fine. But we can't stop for too long."
"Of course." Celestia gestured for Maki to hand her the bag, but Maki pulled it away and unzipped it, giving a protein bar to her and taking one for herself. The two sat on a nearby log and started eating their bars.
"You know, Maki," Celestia started after taking a bite, "you and I could make a great duo. Perhaps we could even make it to the finale together."
"If you're trying to get me to join you in an alliance, then you can stop wasting your breath. I'm not interested."
"I suppose that is a fair answer. But, that asocial personality of yours will not help you in the finale, considering it will be decided by majority vote."
"I think I'll be fine, thank you," Maki said dryly.
Before Celestia could respond, a third voice piped in. "Hey, guys."
Both girls snapped their heads towards the source; Junko and Rantaro sat on a raft that floated past them in the river.
"We gotta go," Maki told her teammate, throwing her empty wrapper on the ground, but Celestia seized her shoulder and held her back.
"Wait," she said, pulling Maki in close and whispering, "I have a plan. It should give us the upper hand, if we do it correctly."
Maki stared at her, unblinking. Then, skeptically, "What is it?"
A montage began the next few scenes, starting with Junko and Rantaro floating down the river in their raft, with Maki and Celestia rolling a boulder up a short cliff above them and dropping it directly on their raft, effectively breaking it and sending them flying. Their bag landed perfectly on the grass, allowing Celestia to root inside and steal the can of bug spray.
The next scene flashed to Celestia leading herself and Maki through the woods. She didn't account for the almost invisible string tied up and promptly tripped over it, causing to be hoisted into the air by a net. Maki rolled her eyes, but went over to get her loose, leaving their bag behind. Junko dashed up and snatched their protein bars and leaving them none the wiser.
And, finally, the last scene showed Celestia crushing and rubbing red berries all over Maki's body. Once she was done, Maki laid down and pretended to be dead while Celestia stared on in false distress, in full view of Junko when she walked past. Junko immediately gasped and ran away, accidentally dropping her bag in the process. Celestia smirked, taking the bag and stealing the sleeping bags inside.
"I can't believe they stole all of our stuff!" Junko grumbled, she and Rantaro walking along with considerably lower spirits.
"Well, I guess we learned not to mess with a professional liar, huh?" Rantaro joked.
An unamused Junko folded her arms. "Yeah, well, now we don't have anything, and—" She halted in her tracks, noticing something on the ground.
Rantaro noticed this, stopping as well. "What—"
Junko made a shushing gesture at him and pointed down—a large, humanoid footprint had been imprinted in the dirt. He smirked.
"Oh, no!" Junko exclaimed in an exaggerated manner. "Sasquatchankwa must be nearby! I sure hope he doesn't come out and eat us!"
The bushes nearby rustled, and their smirks widened.
"Maybe we should check it out?" Rantaro suggested. "It's probably the Sasquatchankwa."
"Definitely." Junko crept closer and closer to the bush. "But maybe we'll be... surprised!" She leaped into the bush and wrestled with whomever was inside. Instead of Maki or Celestia popping out with her, it was none other than Sasquatchankwa—a large, purple sasquatch with glowing red eyes.
Junko soon realized that fact, and she started screaming, causing the sasquatch to go into hysterics and run off as well, Junko still on its back. Rantaro ran after the two, eyes wide.
"What do you see?" Celestia asked Maki as she held up the night-vision goggles to her face.
Maki waited for the goggles to adjust before looking around. "I see... a squirrel..." Through the perspective of the goggles, a squirrel waved at her. "A raccoon..." A raccoon popped out of a pond, a fish in its claws. "And Junko riding on the back of the Sasquatchankwa..."
"Good." Celestia furrowed her brows. "...Hold on. What was that last one?"
"Junko on... top... of..." Maki finally realized what she was saying, and she looked back to see Junko and the sasquatch making their way towards them. "Run," she snarled.
She took off running, leaving the night-vision goggles behind and Celestia didn't have enough time to retrieve them before she heard growling and dashed off as well, soon followed by the sasquatch and Junko, as well as Rantaro.
They all ran and ran until they all found themselves inside a pitch-black cave, the sasquatch seemingly off their trail. Four pairs of eyes opened against the darkness.
"Celestia?"
"Maki?"
"Rantaro?"
"Celestia?"
"Junko?"
"Maki?"
"Junko?"
"Celestia?"
"Great, we all have names," Maki deadpanned. "Now what are we gonna do about that sasquatch?"
"I can take it out," Junko volunteered.
"Ah, yes," Celestia spoke, "I clearly gathered that from how much you were screaming in terror."
A pair of red eyes suddenly opened in the middle of the group, unbeknownst to them.
"Only because I was surprised!" Junko defended. "Just let me have a second go at it!"
"Uh, I hate to interrupt," Rantaro spoke, "but whoever's trying to pick my pocket isn't doing a very good job."
Maki looked around. "Uh, I think you might be talking about one of the—"
Suddenly, several, smaller red eyes opened around the campers, and Junko screamed, "BATS!"
The bats and Sasquatchankwa evacuated from one end of the cave, while the Final Four ran out of the other end and didn't stop until they found a large tree to hide behind, where they caught their breaths.
"Okay," Junko panted, "I do not want to have to deal with an angry Sasquatch tonight."
"Agreed," Maki replied.
"Why don't we just camp together for the night?" Rantaro suggested. "Safety in numbers and all, right?"
"Is that really such a good idea?" Celestia questioned. "After all, we are enemies."
The Sasquatchankwa growled from somewhere off-screen, and everyone's eyes widened.
"Yeah, I think that's the least of our problems," Junko said. "Let's just stick together for the night, and we can continue the game in the morning."
"I suppose you have a point," Celestia relented after everyone stared at her expectantly. "Very well. Maki and I shall set up camp. Do you two mind collecting firewood?"
Rantaro shrugged. "Sure."
Junko and Rantaro set off to find firewood, while Maki and Celestia pulled some supplies out of the bags, and soon enough, a fire was built and the campers sat around it, basking in the warmth.
"Mind handing me that sleeping bag?" Rantaro asked, gesturing to the sleeping bag beside Maki. Maki shrugged and handed him the sleeping bag and he gave his thanks. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna turn in for the night. Night."
"I'm going to sleep, too," Maki added, opting to lay against a tree.
"Sure," Junko shrugged. "Night."
Maki and Rantaro had fallen asleep soon thereafter, leaving Celestia and Junko as the only ones awake.
"It seems we we the last two awake," Celestia commented, breaking the brief silence.
Junko frowned and crossed her arms, not responding.
"The silent treatment? How surprisingly cruel of you, Junko. Then I suppose we shall leave the rest of this challenge up to the hands of fate."
CONFESSIONAL - JUNKO:
"I'm not stupid, I know Celes is planning something." She sighed. "Why did things have to turn out this way...?"
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
"Ah, Junko," she started with a smile, "you are humorously transparent in your plans."
Celestia was the first to succumb to slumber, and night turned into day as a hand roughly shook her awake.
"Celeste, wake up," Maki snapped. "Junko and Rantaro woke up before us and took everything."
Much to a quizzical look from Maki, Celestia said, "Not quite everything." She smirked and elbowed the tree behind her, and a compass fell out of it into her open palm.
"Impressive," Maki complimented.
Back at the main campgrounds, Chef was snooping around the cottages—specifically the Final Four's, where he stole a red journal, a pocket knife, a stack of magazines, and a light green substance in a clear jar.
He took all of these items, along with a fresh batch of cinnamon buns over to Jabberwock Park, about to eat them when Junko cried out.
"There's the statue! We're almost there!"
"Aw, crap," Chef muttered.
Maki and Celestia appeared behind them, catching up to them in a neck-and-neck race for invincibility. Celestia scowled, struggling to keep up, and in a split-second decision, threw the compass at Junko's feet. Junko immediately tripped and crashed into Rantaro, and they collapsed to the ground, and Maki and Celestia made it to the statue and tagged it.
Junko and Rantaro groaned from their spot on the ground, and Chef stood up and scowled at all four of them. "Alright, game's over. You win," he pointed to Maki and Celestia, then at Junko and Rantaro, "you lose! Now leave me be so I can eat my buns!"
With no resistance, the four teens left Jabberwock Park.
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
She smiled, self-satisfied. "That was a valiant victory, if I were to say so myself."
CONFESSIONAL - RANTARO:
"Well played, Celestia," he smiled, no semblance of anger in his tone or features. "I almost respect you for it."
CONFESSIONAL - JUNKO:
She sighed. "That could've gone better."
At the campfire ceremony, the Final Four sat before Chef as he paced back and forth.
"This was supposed to be my day!" he snapped. "I was gonna read Junko's diary and relax with one of Rantaro's facials—" both teens gasped "—then read Celestia's stash of gossip magazines—" Celestia shot him a death glare "—while I clipped my toenails. That reminds me—you might wanna sharpen this."
Chef tossed a severely bent and dull pocket knife at Maki, who gave him a cross look as it fell on the sand in front of her.
"I had it all planned: But you all ruined it! So, tonight, I decide who goes home! So, here's your invici-darn-bility!" Chef retrieved two marshmallows from his pocket and tossed them to Maki and Celestia.
With a devilish smile, Chef stared between an anxious Junko and a calm-looking Rantaro. Tense moments passed by, and Chef finally called:
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"You!" He tossed the final marshmallow directly into Junko's mouth. "Choke on that, blondie!" He looked at Rantaro. "You are finished."
Rantaro shrugged and stood up. "Eh, whatever. It was my time to go, anyway."
The scene flashed forward to Chef walking down the Dock of Shame, yelling, "Left, left, left, right, left! C'mon, soldier, do I bare a striking resemblance to someone who's got all day?!"
Rantaro trailed behind him, luggage in hand. He walked past each of the remaining campers as he did.
"For what's it is worth," Celestia told him, "I personally think you were a formidable competitor."
"Thanks," Rantaro replied, giving her a friendly grin.
"Sorry about losing the challenge for us," Junko apologized as the two exchanged a fist-bump. "I would've kept you on, if we had a choice."
"No worries. It's not your fault."
And, finally, Rantaro approached Maki. She stared at him awkwardly. "...Hey. Sorry for stealing your things during the challenge."
Rantaro chuckled, amused. "It's fine. You were only playing the game. No hard feelings.
"Thanks. I..." Maki shifted, trying to collect her thoughts. "I'm not really good with this kind of stuff. I liked our time together on here. I'll miss you."
"Heh, I'll miss you, too."
"Take your time."
The two shared a hug, though it didn't last for long, as Chef barked for Rantaro not hurry up once more.
Rantaro chuckled, pulling away. "I should get going. See you guys."
Junko and Maki waved and said their goodbyes, and Rantaro waved back as he stepped onto the Boat of Losers. The Boat took off soon after, engulfing him into the darkness of the night.
CONFESSIONAL - CELESTIA:
"I would like to take a moment and thank everyone who has helped me reached this point," she smiled. "Hiro, I know I betrayed you, but believe me, it was a necessary evil. You understand, right? Makoto—I do not blame you for leaving the alliance. I know you had your reasons. As for everyone else who may have been affected by my... gameplay, I would like you all to know that it was only for the game, and I hold no ill intent toward any of you."
CONFESSIONAL - JUNKO:
"If you told me I would've made it to the Final Four when I started this, I gotta say, I woulda thought you were lying."
CONFESSIONAL - MAKI:
"The Final Four, huh?" She crossed her arms. "It's just me, Junko, and Celestia. I'll have to watch my back even more."
Competing - Celestia, Junko, Maki
Eliminated - Toko, Mondo, Shuichi, Ibuki, Kazuichi, Komaru, Yasuhiro, Mikan, Kirumi, Tenko, Ryoma, Leon, Kaito, Makoto, Sayaka, Kaede, Kokichi, Hiyoko, Rantaro
Author's Note: And now, we're down to the Final Three. I know eliminating Rantaro skews the gender count horribly, but I think this Final Three works the best for what's coming up next. Speaking of next episode (the semi-finals! Yay!), feel free to suggest dares because I'll probably make most of them up from scratch.
As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you next time!