Killer Grips: Anne Maria, Justin, Millie, Topher
Screaming Gaffers: Chase, Jasmine, MK, Ripper
Episode 15: Million Dollar Babies
"Last time on Total Drama Action! Our caveman movie challenges made some people look good! And other people look bet-ter!"
"Jasmine switched over to the Gaffers, and even then, they still couldn't score a win against their competition. And Topher showed off how much he meant to everybody."
"As their reward, the Grips won a mammoth rack of mastodon ribs while the Gaffers had to make do with what they could find, and what could find them."
The scene then flashed over to a few of the control tent's monitors. "Will Jasmine stay on good terms with her new team?" Chris asked as the two monitors that were focused on cut from static to identical pictures of the nervous looking girl. "Will Ripper keep up his jerkitude?" The two monitors cut back to static before cutting to identical pictures of the glaring boy. "And will anything happen between Anne Maria and Topher?" The monitors switched to static again, then to pictures of the Jersey girl and the fanboy smiling at each other.
The screens cut to static once again and the camera pulled back to show Chris sitting in front of them. "Find out the answers right now," he told the camera before the scene flashed to the area outside the cast trailers, "on Total! Drama! Action!"
(Theme Song)
Snoring could be heard as the episode opened on the morning sun, a small bird passing through the scene as the camera panned down to the cast trailers. It focused in on the boys' quarters, and the scene cut inside to Ripper fast asleep, causing the snores that had been heard outside.
The sound of a trumpet rang through the air, startling the rude boy upright. "I get the first and last waffle, Xander!" he shouted, still half-asleep.
"I'm up!" Topher shouted from the other side of the room. He rolled out of his bed and onto the floor. "Wait a minute, I'm not a military recruit at all!"
Across the room, Chase sat up in his bed. "It was just a wake-up call for all of us," he grumbled.
"That's it! I'm moving to Canada!" Justin said, fully awake. "Except I'm already there!"
The scene cut back outside, the door to the girls' trailer swinging open. "At this point, I'm not gonna complain about our wake-up calls," Millie said while walking out along with MK and Anne Maria.
The camera panned above to show Jasmine yawning before dismounting off her tree, landing on top of the trailer, and finally jumping to the floor. "Good morning, girls!" she greeted them happily.
"There's nothing good about this one," Anne Maria scoffed. "Not when we were rudely awakened!"
"I'm used to it," Jasmine told the girls. "I'm normally woken up by the alligators roaring next door to my home."
The shot cut to a close-up of a trombone as Chris played a few notes on it. "Morning, sports fans!" he greeted as the camera pulled back to show him wearing a sort of one-man marching band outfit – a stereotypical hat accompanied by a combination bass drum and cymbals strapped to his back that sounded with each step he took.
The moment he appeared, an upbeat melody reminiscent of a sports movie began to play. "Who's ready to put up a good offense?"
"'Ghetti here!" a familiar voice called out from behind the host, the shot pulling back again as Chef walked up to the cast. "Get your pipin' hot spaghetti here!" He was wearing the hat and large box associated with food vendors at sporting events, and true to his word, he was serving up balls of tomato sauce-covered spaghetti. He smirked, then began pitching them at the cast – first Chase, who was hit in the gut as Justin and Ripper leaned out of the way; then Anne Maria who was struck in the chest but managed to catch it on the rebound; followed by Jasmine and Millie who easily caught a couple each; and finally MK, who quickly ducked under the first before getting struck in the head. Sauce and pasta sliding down her face, she shot an utterly unamused look off-camera.
"Hey, what's the deal?" Jasmine asked the host.
"The deal is breakfast," Chris told them all.
"Wait, we're having pasta for breakfast?" Millie asked in disbelief as Jasmine shrugged and started slurping a noodle.
"It's called carbo-loading, contestants," Chris explained, leaning towards the girl. "Today, you're all going to give 200%, in our Sports Movie challenge!"
"That is a mathematical impossibility," MK deadpanned before taking another pasta ball to the face.
"Suck that 'ghetti back, you lovable underdogs, destined to come back from certain failure!" Chris told the cast as he began to walk away. "We've got a training run!"
Chase cracked an eager grin as the host walked past. "Did you say running?" he asked excitedly just before the scene cut away with a flash.
A close-up of several shoes running along a grassy field was shown, accompanied by the huffs and pants of their owners. The shot pulled back to the contestants running along a football field, Chase and Jasmine silently vying for the front position. Anne Maria and Topher were behind, shortly followed by Ripper, Justin, MK, and Millie.
"That all you got, sports fans?" Chris called to them before they were shown to have stopped, everyone but Chase and Jasmine trying to catch their breath. "Man up! It's time for more action!"
"You call that a training run?" Chase scoffed. "A ball of noodles and a 3k jog is nothing!"
"That wasn't even a warm-up," Jasmine added.
"Good to see the two of you are so eager to get going!" Chris told them with a grin. "Of course, since this is just a set," the shot pulled back to show that they were standing in front of a stadium-seating backdrop, "and you guys are actors, we don't need to go all-out."
"That explains the astro-turf," Millie said, poking at the plastic grass she was lying on.
"Still," Chris continued, "today's competition is gonna require sweat, guts, heart, and sweat."
"You said sweat twice," Topher corrected. "Not that I'm whining."
"That's 'cause it's not just your sweat you'll be dealing with," Chris explained. "There's Chef's sweat too!"
The camera quick-panned over to the hulking man, now doing jumping jacks in sweatshirt and training helmet. "'Cause you'll be pushing him the length of the field," Chris said, "aaand, he just ate a huuuge jar of jalapeño peppers, so," Chef stopped jumping and walked over to a tackling dummy that had been set up near the host, "he's sprayin' like a gym class shower!"
"We gotta push spiced up Chef like he's a football dummy?" Justin asked.
"Don't call me a dummy," Chef said.
"Don't worry, Gaffers," Ripper told his team with a quick flex of his arms. "With me around, you don't have to push a thing, dummy or no dummy!"
"What'd I say about the dummy thing?" Chef repeated angrily, sweating profusely in his close-up.
"This is a team effort," Jasmine said to Ripper. "We all have to push, not just you."
The bully frowned upon hearing that comment.
Confessional: Ripper
"Is she seriously doubting the strength and muscle of Ripper?!" Ripper told the confessional camera with disbelief on his face. "I once clobbered a vending machine when it wouldn't give me my dollar back, and that thing was super cheap!" He furrowed his brows. "Jasmine is gonna have problems with me if she continues to doubt me!"
Confessional Ends
With a stopwatch in one hand, Chris blew a whistle in the other and the Gaffers began to push against the tackling dummy Chef was standing on. "That all you got?" he taunted, the sled not moving an inch. "I could push better than that on my day off!"
"Don't even think about talking trash to me!" Ripper protested. His teammates backed off, and with a grunt, he shoved the dummy, Chef and all, into a heap ten yards away. "Booyah! That's how I do it!" he boasted, quickly flexing his biceps while Chef struggled in pain to get the dummy off him.
The scene moved to a group of eight tires that had been set up at the other end of the field. The Grips ran towards them, with Anne Maria in the lead followed by Justin, Topher, and Millie. They made good headway, but the camera soon pulled back to show that each tire had gotten stuck around one of their feet.
"What's with these tires?" Topher cried as he and his teammates tried to shake them off.
"How are we supposed to run this course if our feet are stuck?" Millie questioned.
"Aww, really? I'm sorry!" Chris told them as he walked up before whispering "Wait 'til they get a load of the mouse trap!" to the camera. Moments later, a series of snaps came from inside the tires and the Grips cried in pain and annoyance as they tried to jump away from the traps. "Snap to it, losers!" the host told them with a grin.
The footage skipped forward yet again, now showing MK as she crawled through a mud pit, a wary eye on the barbed wire strung above it. Justin and Topher followed after her, and Anne Maria and Ripper after them. "I've never seen the football team back home do this!" Anne Maria said amid the grunts and groans of her fellow cast members.
"You're right," Chris told her as the camera cut out to show all eight crawling through the pit while the host watched from the other end. "But we had some mud and barbed wire left over from the war movie, and it just seemed fun to me!" He smiled as the camera came in for a close-up. "Is it?"
Everyone groaned in frustration or exhaustion.
"That really bit," MK said as the camera panned up over her mud-splattered figure.
"Who even won the challenge," Topher asked the host.
"Let's see...," Chris told the contestants as he started reading the clipboard in his hands. "Huh, three... carry the five...," he muttered before breaking into a grin and announcing "Nobody!"
The castmates gaped with shock and uttered "Huh?!" as one.
"It was just to establish who's playing who for the real contest to follow," Chris explained before looking over to a large screen nearby. An upbeat techno tune began to play as the camera focused on the screen, which was divided into four sections with each depicting a stick figure performing a different physical activity against a colored background – punching on yellow; swinging a racquet on blue; wrestling with another figure on red; and throwing a ball on green.
"We're running four sporto contests," the host said, "with competitors seeded according to these results." The four-way split disappeared, replaced by two columns of contestants' pictures divided into teams, which disappeared again and reappeared in the following order: Chase and Justin on top; Jasmine and Topher second; Ripper and Anne Maria third; and MK and Millie on the bottom.
"I'm at the top!" Chase cheered. "Just like in track competitions!"
Beside him, Topher raised an eyebrow.
Confessional: Topher
"So it'd seem that Chase is one of the most athletic players on his team," Topher told the confessional camera. "With his speed and agility, he's basically a male Sky, only that he's less humble and more likely to risk his life. He'd be hard to beat."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut to a close-up of a hanging microphone which was promptly grabbed by the host, causing a small amount of feedback. He was revealed to be standing in the middle of a boxing ring wearing a referee's uniform as the camera panned down, and quickly began to speak.
"In the right corner-ner-ner-ner," Chris announced dramatically, "from the Killers Grips-ips-ips-ips! The bookworm bruiser, the judgemental juggernaut, the prim powerhouse," an energetic tune began to play in the background, "MILLLIIIEEE!" The crowd went wild as the camera panned to the corner behind the host, where Millie stood politely inside the ring with a rather blank expression on her face. Justin was standing to the right outside the ropes with a smirk, while Topher and Anne Maria smiled off along the back.
"And in the left corner-ner-ner-ner," Chris announced, pointing in front of him, "from the Screaming Gaffers-ers-ers-ers! The brainy brawler, the crafty cobbler, the sneaky snarkhouse!"
The camera cut to Chase and MK hanging on to the ropes on the left side. "He's clearly talking about you," Chase told his teammate with a sly smile.
"MMMMMMMKKKKKKKKK!" Chris finally announced, the crowd going wild again.
"Why me, though?" MK asked.
"Because you and Millie came last in the football drills," Chris explained to her and the other Gaffers. "Loser, versus loser." He looked over at the writer, who frowned at him. "We're going to build to the top two players."
"Do I at least get gloves?" MK asked, holding up her hands.
A pair of large 'gloves' were immediately placed on them, startling MK. "Are these made of marshmallows?"
"Props," Chris told her, "so you don't hurt those pretty actor faces. And in true boxing movie tradition, you'll be fighting in," the camera zoomed in as he said with exaggerated slowness, "slllooowww moootttionnn."
Millie looked back at her teammates uncertainly as the roar of the crowd began to rise, and MK entered the ring.
The bell rang, and Chris was pulled up and out of the ring by the hanging microphone. A slow fight song began as the two girls approached and began to circle with an awkward sort of caution.
"C'mon, take a swing!" Anne Maria barked from her corner.
"Attack her, MK," Ripper shouted from the opposite side of the ring.
MK rolled her eyes, but complied with an agonizingly slow marshmallow-covered left hook that Millie easily stepped away from.
"Is that the best you can do?" Topher asked.
"We're supposed to do this in slow motion!" Millie tried to explain, looking back at her teammate and opening herself up to a slow right jab from her opponent. The impact was largely inconsequential, however, as MK seemed at a loss as to how she should react other than taking a step back.
"This is the lamest fight I've ever been in," MK muttered dryly before dodging a weak punch from her opponent.
"Just keep going!" Jasmine called from the sidelines. "Show her who's boss!"
"Thank you, Jasmine," MK said sarcastically as she blocked yet another of Millie's slow strikes and struck back with a creeping body blow that sent the writer staggering back in what seemed to be a purposeful manner.
"Keep going!" Justin shouted.
In fact, Millie staggered all the way back to her corner of the ropes. "What do I do?" she asked under her breath. "I've never done anything like this!"
"I don't know. Just punch her in the face or something!" Anne Maria said back.
"This is supposed to be a movie, so maybe you could try distracting her with some speech or something?" Topher suggested.
"In the middle of a fight?" Justin asked in disbelief.
Topher shrugged helplessly. "It's the only thing I can think of!"
"If it'll give us the win," Millie sighed and stepped back towards MK.
Seconds later, the bell rung again, and the two girls halted their reapproach as Chris descended back into the ring. "Round Two-oo-oo-oo!" he announced as Chef walked across the ring holding a placard above his head with the number 2 on it.
"You got this, MK," Chase told MK as she loitered in the corner, watching Chef as he walked up to her then back across the ring. "Just give it to her hard and fast!"
The music picked up its pace as the two girls approached the center of the ring once again. "You'll never defeat me!" Millie declared at an exaggeratedly slow pace as she and MK circled one another, the AV girl going in for a few slow jabs that the writer easily ducked and dodged. "I fight for truth," she ducked beneath a heavy swing, "and justice," she leaned out of the way of another blow and drew back her own fist.
Millie finally struck out at MK's face, and having been caught off-guard by the slow-motion speech, MK was unable to dodge the slow-moving uppercut. With a sound like an anvil being struck, the short girl fell to the mat, and the host quickly appeared at her side.
"One!" Chris called out, holding up a single finger. "Two! Three!"
Jasmine gasped from the sidelines. "Get up, mate!" she yelled in shock.
"Fourfivesixseveneightnine and ten!" Chris counted off quickly before the fallen techno could recover. "And the winner is-is-is-is," he announced, "Millie, and the Killer Grips!" He held up the author's right arm, and a triumphant boxing theme began to play.
Anne Maria, Justin, and Topher started to cheer. "You both did pretty good with the slow-motion," Chris told the two competitors, "and even though MK did fall first, the deciding factor was technically Millie speech – great job on that by the way, it really sold on the whole 'underdog' aspect."
"Thank you," Millie smiled proudly as Chris walked away.
MK grunted in frustration as she got back on her feet. "I wanna know what's more humiliating," she muttered. "The loss itself or how it even happened."
"I don't know," Ripper grinned. "I thought they were BOTH funny!"
"Ripper, knock it off," Jasmine warned him with a glare.
The scene flashed to a close-up of a racquet which quickly zoomed out to show it in Justin's hands as he gave it a few test swings. "Hey," he said, "it's a miniature tennis racquet," the shot zoomed out again to show him standing at the front of the contestants on the sidelines of what looked like a tennis court with the net raised up off the ground, "Where are the miniature tennis balls and how come the net is so stupidly high?"
"This is a badminton court, Justin," Chris told him as he and Chef approached the cast.
"There was never a sports movie about badminton! That'd be seriously lame," Justin said.
"There was a movie about badminton," Chris countered sharply. "It was very un-lame! Thanks for asking, I'd love to recreate my finest scene," he added smugly before the scene flashed to the next one.
"I just want you to know," Chris began dramatically, swinging the racquet around to emphasize his words as an emotional song started playing in the background, "you guys are the best darn badminton players I've had the pleasure of coaching!" The camera panned across the castmates, every one looking bored and unimpressed.
"You're beacons of freedom!" the actor-turned-host continued as Chef walked up behind him with a sad look on his face. "Go show the Olympic Committee we deserve a shot!" The music turned more upbeat and inspirational. "Show them, it's not badminton, it's goodminton! Heck, it's greatminton! Now get out there, and win one for the Flipper!"
The camera focused in on Chef as a tear came to his eye and his lips trembled.
Confessional: Chef
"Why couldn't the Olympic Committee just give the Flipper a break?" Chef Hatchet asked the confessional camera, struggling to contain his tears. "It was his big dream!" He finished with a cry and a snort.
Confessional Ends
Chris adjusted a cap he'd put on, then smiled at the camera as a tense song began to play. "Battling for supremacy in our second round," he announced as the shot pulled back to show the two contestants already on the court and their teammates in the stands behind him, "Anne Maria and Ripper!"
"Sorry Rip," Anne Maria called with confidence from the left side of the court, "but I've got tons of experience with badminton!"
"I'll have to see it to believe it, tan lady!" Ripper smirked at her from the right side of the court.
"Watch the birdie!" Chris called before tossing a small plush bird to Ripper.
He looked at it quizzically for a second, then Anne Maria called out "Time to make feathers fly!"
"You got this, Ripper!" Jasmine cheered from the bleachers.
"Yeah," MK added, "don't let her quips turn you into a baby and you'll be fine!"
"You can bet on it!" Ripper nodded at them confidently, raised his racquet, and tossed the birdie into the air – the camera followed it as it fell back down and was struck when Ripper twirled the racquet down under it. On impact it made a squeaking noise that startled both players, and Anne Maria had to scramble swiftly to intercept it when it passed the net.
She missed her swing, and the birdie squeaked again when it hit the ground. "It's not alive, is it?" Anne Maria asked hesitantly, looking at it with wide eyes.
"It's stuffed," Chris told her as he walked over and picked the birdie up. "With a squeaker?" he tossed it lightly in his hand, making it squeak again. "That okay, hair spray?" Anne Maria nodded, and Chris walked away. "Point to Ripper!"
Once again, Ripper served the birdie quickly and easily, and once again, Anne Maria failed to return it – but by a smaller margin than last time. "Woo! Nice going, dude!" Chase called to his teammate. "Keep this up and we'll be winning this challenge!"
"Don't give up, Anne Maria!" Millie encouraged from the Grips' side of the stands.
Anne Maria grit her teeth in frustration, and Ripper made his third serve. This one was returned, however, and it was Ripper's turn to scramble for an interception. The music picked up as the birdie was followed back and forth, squeaking each time it was hit.
"Come on!" Jasmine cheered from the sidelines. "Show her you're pulling no punches!"
Ripper grinned and started putting more force into his swings, making it harder for Anne Maria to keep up.
Confessional: Anne Maria
"I know I say that I was good at badminton, but that Ripper guy is something else," Anne Maria confessed while filing her nails. "Still, I don't wanna show that I'm all bark and no bite here." The tanned woman stuffed her nail filer into her pouf. "So I'm gonna show off my bite!"
Confessional Ends
The music deepened as a montage of Anne Maria hitting the birdie was shown, including shots of her diving, going between her legs, and even holding the racquet with her hair to return the birdie. It ended when the Jersey girl tossed the racquet up into the air with a twirl and a pose, intercepting a high-flying shot and sending it hurtling back at a shocked Ripper.
It struck the bully square between the eyes and knocked flat on his back. "Sorry, but I play hard!" Anne Maria called from off-screen as cartoon birds similar to the birdie were shown flying around the Ripper's eyes. They flew off when a whistle was blown, and Ripper sat up in a daze.
"We have a winner!" Chris announced, the music turning triumphant as the Grips began to cheer. "Now that's some greatminton!" Chris said as he watched Anne Maria walk up to her team with a grin on her face.
"So whatcha think about that?" Anne Maria asked the other Grips. "I told you that my badminton skills weren't just for show."
"I never doubted you. Not even for a second," Topher admitted. "And even if I did, you'd obviously make me regret it," he added with a nervous tone.
"Uh, what do you mean by that exactly?" Millie wondered with curiosity.
"What he means is that we support each other heavily as boyfriend and girlfriend," Anne Maria smiled as she emphasized.
"Absolutely," Topher confirmed. "I am still my own man though. It's not like she has me whipped or anything."
"Strange," Justin started to say. "I thought your relationship would simply consist of Anne Maria bossing you around and you just accepting it."
"Are you serious?!" Anne Maria asked in disbelief.
"Hey, just because Anne Maria isn't the nicest person around, doesn't mean that she'd abuse Topher for no reason," Millie defended.
"Yeah, and even if she did, it'd be because I did something wrong," Topher added.
"I've seen a lot of cliche relationships before, so I just assumed you two would be one of them," Justin said admittedly.
"Oooh, looks like this team's got their work cut out for them!" Chris said as he suddenly popped into the scene. "So don't go away," he added as he dashed over to the ref's chair he'd been sitting on during the match and climbed up it, "there's still more sports-themed fun to come on Total! Drama! Action!"
(Commercial Break)
The episode came back to the Grips walking off their team's bleachers at the badminton court, Anne Maria and Millie at the front followed by Topher and Justin. The model lingered briefly before grabbing Topher by the arm and holding him back.
"Hey! Why are you holding me back?" Topher gave him an inquisitive look.
"We need to talk about the vote should we lose today," Justin said.
"I can see where this is going," Topher mused.
"Me and you aren't voting ourselves off, obviously, and I know you'll throw a fit if I even consider Anne Maria, so that would leave us with Millie," Justin considered.
"I'm already on board, Justin, but I'm not sure if my girlfriend would vote for her after your poor choice of words earlier on," Topher said.
"I'm already aware of that, but I know how to get Anne Maria on our side," Justin said. "I'm not going to flirt with her, per say. I know she's taken. Just convince her in my own special way."
"Anne Maria's got some pretty strong loyalty to me, so you'll obviously fail if you try to make a move on her or get socked in the eye," Topher reminded him.
"As a bonus, with Millie gone, you'll get to spend more time with Anne Maria, Topher," Justin informed the fanboy. "She and Millie are usually together before you came into the season."
"You've got yourself a deal already," Topher said with a smirk.
The footage flashed forward to the castmates sitting on wooden bleachers inside another studio, separated by team with Gaffers on the left and Grips on the right.
"I wonder which athletic player I'm going to be up against?" Topher said to Millie. "I've already beaten Jasmine before, so I'd like to do it again, but I think I'd prefer going up against Chase."
"This is because you think Chase is weaker than Jasmine, right?" Millie told Topher. "He's more capable than you think and can handle his own battles."
"I'm not saying that he's weak at all," Topher tried to clarify.
"Right," Millie dully remarked with a roll of her eyes.
"SILENCE!" Chris shouted in an odd but dramatic accent, earning the attention of all eight contestants. He was dressed in nothing but a toga and a head wreath, standing in a chariot being pulled by a helmeted Chef Hatchet. A suitably dramatic piece of music began in the background as he continued. "The score is one to one! And now, second-seat Topher will be competing," he said as the chariot came to a halt in front of the bleachers, "in Grrrreco-Rrrrroman wrrrrestling with," the camera panned to reveal that they were in front of the same ring that had been used for the boxing match, "Jasmine!"
The tall Aussie grinned.
Confessional: Topher
"I gotta say," Topher told the confessional camera, "I am out of my league wrestling a girl who's shoulders my head can't even reach. It was one thing when it was knocking her into a tar pit with a bone. This time, I am completely powerless, but I have to try!"
Confessional: Jasmine
"I'm really stoked for this competition," Jasmine told the camera confidently. "For one, my intimidating physique will come in handy in a fight, and this will be a great opportunity to gain the trust of my new teammates."
Confessionals End
Jasmine was stretching in her swimsuit in the right corner when the footage resumed, smirking cockily across the ring. The camera panned over to Topher, also in his swimming trunks, but looking quite assured.
"I really wish that Jasmine was faster than Chase, but then again, Chase has lightning speed," Topher whispered before the shot panned over to Chris, who smiled impishly and pulled a rope that was hanging next to him.
The camera zoomed out as a high-walled glass box filled with colorful plastic balls was dropped into the ring on top of the contestants, a few balls scattering on the floor with the impact. The castmates on the stands looked shocked and surprised, and Jasmine popped back up completely flabbergasted, spitting one of the balls out of her mouth.
"We have to wrestle in a ball pit?" Jasmine asked with disbelief after wiping her mouth with the back of her arm.
"A seriously disgusting one," Topher echoed, surfacing nearby with a used diaper on his head. He tossed it away with a look of horror and faced the host. "Where did you get this from, anyway?"
"The local carnival," Chris answered happily. "They were pretty cheap, too, so those balls haven't been cleaned in, oh, ever. Now play ball!" He picked up a large curved brass horn and blew a few notes, signaling the start of the match.
Topher was the first to move, diving into the balls while Jasmine watched and looked around with planned caution. The fanboy resurfaced seconds later, pouncing on the Outback girl's back, who yelped in fright. He quickly put her in a headlock, but it quickly became apparent that Jasmine wasn't budging.
In fact, her shock quickly faded into annoyance, and she grabbed Topher by the arms and tried to pry him off her. "Just get off," Jasmine told the boy as he struggled to keep his hold. "You aren't gonna take me down so easily." She finally managed to break his grip, and tossed him lightly into the balls on his back.
"Quick, get him while he's down!" MK called from the sidelines, earning a nod from Jasmine.
She took a step towards Topher, but he got back up and tackled her in the stomach. The shot pulled back from the close-up of him pushing at her, to reveal that she stopped herself from falling over and grabbed Topher by the shoulders before forcing him away from her.
"Knock her out, baby!" Anne Maria called from the sidelines in excitement.
"Hey Chris," Jasmine asked, "how do we win this, per say?"
"I guess you could throw him out of the ring, but those walls are kinda high," Chris said after thinking.
Jasmine looked up at the top of the glass walls, then over to what looked like a mesh screen on one side. "I'm gonna do it," she said in determination.
"No you're not!" Topher countered, the camera cutting to him as he dived in and grabbed her leg, pulling it out and causing the Australian teen to fall backward, sending several balls and a baby bottle flying.
Topher took the opportunity to pounce forward onto her chest and grab her leg in an arm lock. "This does not count as me harming a lady, by the way," he told Jasmine. "Prepare to lose to-"
"Ma-ma?"
The music came to a complete stop, and the two competitors turned shocked looks to Topher's back, where a small and well-dressed child with curly black hair and glasses was clinging. Neither said anything, even as Chef suddenly descended from above on a rope harness, picked up the child, and ascended just as quickly.
Still wide-eyed with shock, Topher soon found himself getting flipped around as Jasmine broke out of his hold. "Time to put an end to this," she told him as she grabbed him by the waist and slung him over her shoulder, "once and for all." As he grunted and struggled to escape, she walked unflinchingly to the mesh part of the wall, ripped it open, and tossed Topher over the ropes and out of the ring.
The fanboy landed on his butt with a stunned look on his face, and Chris was next to him in moments. "And we have a winner!" he said with a grin, a victorious tune playing as the other Gaffers cheered.
Still in the ring, Jasmine cheered with her hands on her hips. "Now how 'bout that for scoring one for the team?"
Confessional: Jasmine
"Topher would've had a good shot at beating me if it hadn't been for that kid," Jasmine told the confessional camera. "I do feel sorry for him about that, but my team has to score a win today."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut to a close-up of a smiling Chris walking across the football field used earlier that day. "So, as we head to the fourth and final leg of the Total Drama sports tournie, the Grips are ahead two to one." The four leading players were shown standing together and smiling at one another.
"The final face-off?" the host said as the shot pulled out, revealing that a small basketball court, net, and slanted trampoline had been set up. "A slam dunk competition, with points going to the most creative dunk. Let's play it for the camera! It's..." he said, passing a basketball across the court to the eye candy, who caught it and gave his competition a smirk, "Justin and Chase!"
The Grips were shown cheering for Justin, who still clutched the basketball in his hands as he looked confident. The shot panned over to Chase, also smiling confidently as his team cheered him on.
"Okay Chase, show them what a real athlete can do!" Ripper shouted.
"I'm looking forward to it!" Chase chuckled coolly.
Confessional: Chase
"This challenge was built for me!" Chase boasted in the make-up trailer. "No puzzles or tricks. Just me dribbling a ball and slam dunking! Swish!"
Confessional Ends
The footage cut back to a shot of the court, Justin standing at the left side of the center circle facing the trampoline and basket on the right, with Chase and Chris standing in the front right corner and the other six contestants along the far side of the court.
"All right. I call this the "Justin Freezes the Gaffers" Slam!" Justin announced. Chris blew his whistle and he got started, beginning with a few trick dribbles between and around his legs as he walked down the court to a jaunty whistling theme. "Hey! Keep watching!"
Justin walked past Chase and stopped nearby in order to give him a playful nudge to his arm. "Whoa! Hey!" he said and walked back to the court. He paused in front of Jasmine and Ripper. "Look out!" he warned the two as he slammed the ball under Jasmine's legs and onto Ripper's crotch, the latter groaning as the ball went back to Justin.
For his final act, Justin ran across the court and grabbed MK's hat off her head, prompting her to gasp. With both the ball and the hat in his possession, Justin placed the hat over the ball, jumped onto the trampoline, and slammed it through the hoop with only one hand.
He landed perfectly and walked back to his cheering teammates in victory.
The shot panned to the right to show Chase walking over to MK and giving her her hat back. "That was nothing!" Chase snorted. "I'll show them what a real slam dunk looks like!"
The scene cut to Chase at the center circle, already dribbling with a smile on his face. "I call this move the "Fly 'Til You Cry" Dunk!"
"That's pretty creative," Justin said from the same corner Chase had been standing in previously, but the stunt boy wasn't phased by it in the slightest.
A hard rock theme began to play as Chase dribbled hard a few times then ran down the court. He shot the ball high into the sky and dashed towards the trampoline. He proceeded to jump on the trampoline and bounced up, executing a front flip before scooping the descending ball and slamming it through the hoop.
He struck a pose as he landed, and the ball bounced off the court. "Point to Chase and the Gaffers!" Chris declared as both sidelined teams stood in stunned silence. "Prepare," the host said swiftly, leaning forward dramatically as the more generic background music that had resumed after the hard rock ended quickly rose in tension, "for the Ultimate Extreme Sports Tiebreaker!"
All eight teens looked wary at the announcement.
The scene flashed over to a jumbo screen set up by some fake buildings, the host appearing on it immediately. "Get ready for the battle of battles," Chris announced as an intense metal song played in the background. "The grudge match the world has been waiting for!" He slid off the screen to the right, only to slide back in from the left a moment later. "A competition so intense," he slid back to the left and reappeared from above, "so grueling," he slid back up, then popped in closer to the screen, "so..."
"So what is it already?!" Millie shouted up at the screen.
Chris blinked on the screen, which soon cut to static. The viewpoint shifted to a distance shot of the football field, now without any additional courts on it, as the host drove up in a golf cart holding several things of a distinctly pink color.
"Pompoms?!" Ripper exclaimed in disbelief after the host shook one of them.
"Yes!" Anne Maria cheered and stepped forward. "This is so much more my speed than badminton!"
"Glad to hear it," Chris told her with his trademark grin, "because the tiebreaker is a cheer-off between the Grips and the Gaffers. Each team's gotta dig deep, and create a cheer for someone they think deserves cheering."
The scene flashed again, showing the Gaffers in a huddle talking. The camera panned over to the Grips in a similar situation, and cut to a viewpoint looking up at them from inside their circle.
"I think we should just cheer for me," Justin suggested. "I'm the most good-looking guy on the show."
"Cheer for you?" Millie doubted. "Chris said we had to dig deep, and cheering for only you won't fit that criteria."
"We could cheer for the show and how famous it's making us," Topher suggested.
"You all should listen to someone who's on the cheer team back home, i.e. me!" Anne Maria interrupted. "We're not gonna cheer for one person or a sadist show. That's not gonna work at all."
"So what are we going to cheer for?" Millie asked. "The other team are also working on how they're going to beat us!"
"We have to do something that has a lot of spirit," Anne Maria said. "Now listen up, this is what we're gonna do..."
The view flashed back outside the Grips' huddle just as Chris stepped towards them. "Time!" he called, getting their attention and breaking their huddle with a shake of his pompoms. "Grips up!"
Anne Maria took a deep breath and stepped forward. Taking the pompoms out of Chris' hands while a marching band drumline began in the background.
"Justin, Justin, he's our guy! He's got a dashing smile and he's looking pretty fly!" she chanted with a few twisting flips and back handsprings.
"Millie's the best and a savvy teen! She helps us stay so super lean!" She shook her pompoms around and did a few jumps.
"Topher is S L I C K! He makes us all pumped up every day!" She shook her pompoms a few more times and did some leg kicks as Topher, Millie, and Justin scurried into place behind her.
"Give it up, give it up, for Anne Maria! A dynamite gal, not a Cinderella! Goooooooo Grips!!" She finished with a spinning backflip just as her team unfurled a banner between them that read 'GO GRIPS!'.
The drumline ended, and the Grips were still in the poses they'd struck at the end of the cheer.
"Nice job," Chris told them. "Really speaks to cheerleading tradition. Gaffers," he turned to the other four, "your response?" Jasmine, Ripper, Chase, and MK nodded at each other, then lined up.
"Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris!" MK chanted to the tune of Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance".
"Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris!" Chase joined in.
"Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris!" Ripper joined in next.
"Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris Chris!" Jasmine finished off last.
"CHHHRRRRIIIIIIIISSSSSSS!" they all chanted as one in tune as they kneeled on one leg spontaneously.
"Amazing!" Chris gushed with absolute glee. "The rhythm, the synchronicity, the incredible kissing up!" he told the Gaffers. "We have the winners! And as for the losers," his face fell into a disappointed frown, "I'll see you in the theater!" He left the Gaffers to cheer with each other.
"And we were on a good winning streak!" Millie said from the sidelines, the other Grips looking just as disappointed about their loss.
For the first time since the previous Aftermath, the Gilded Chris Ceremony opened with its usual sequence and fanfare. The host and assistant were already on stage when the introduction ended, with Chef in his formal pink dress.
"So, the Grips lose for the first time since forever!" Chris said over a shot of the four teens casting their votes, Justin seated in the front row somewhat apart from the rest of his team. "Must be tough, especially for Topher since he just debuted!"
The camera focused on Topher, who was sitting in the second-highest row with Anne Maria a row below and Millie a few feet away from Justin. "Hey," he protested, "we had a good thing going!"
"Maybe, maybe not," Chris said with a grin before turning his gaze. "Justin sure didn't help with his loss to Chase in today's basketball match!"
Justin shrugged. "Not taking any responsibility for that one."
Chris carried on. "Meanwhile, despite actually winning in the boxing ring, Millie doesn't seem to have much going on!"
"I don't need to be manipulative in order to be interesting," Millie shot a pointed glare at Chris.
"Anne Maria!" Chris continued with a grin. "I'd say you're the only one here who might be safe!"
"No kiddin'," Anne Maria said. "Why else-"
"Oh, nobody wants to hear it," Chris interrupted. "Just take the statue!" He tossed a Gilded Chris to the Jersey girl, who glared but caught it anyway. The camera panned down to Topher, who was tossed an award as well, and he caught it happily. "Tango Fail, you're safe too!"
The focus moved over to the podium as Chris turned a solemn look over to Chef, who had but a single award left in his hands. The background music turned tense, and Justin and Millie were shown waiting for the reward.
"Justin, I'm sorry, but..." Chris said slowly and sorrowfully, attracting the eye candy's attention and putting confusion on his face and a smile on the author's, "...head's up!" He suddenly tossed the final Gilded Chris his way, and he caught it perfectly.
"Aww!" Millie pouted, standing up with a distraught expression. "I was so close to the merge."
"Sorry, but I had to vote for someone," Topher said nonchalantly.
Confessional: Topher
"Justin's plan to get rid of Millie worked," Topher said in the confessional trailer with a smile. "Though I wonder how he convinced Anne Maria to vote for her."
Confessional: Justin
"I'm not saying I voted for Millie just because she said I'm not cute," Justin confessed calmly. "Okay, it was just because of that. Thing is, Anne Maria told me she was sending me home, even though I haven't tried to use my affections on her lately. So you see? I didn't lose my mojo. I just needed to shake things up. With my new patented, all-time lady-killing mega flip."
He slowly shook his head from one direction to the other, and his hair moved about even slower before falling back into its normal perfectly well-coiffed position. "I'm back, baby!"
Confessionals End
Chef Hatchet escorted Millie to the Walk of Shame. "Millie, wait up!!" The two were stopped by Chase running over to them.
"Chase?! What are you doing here?!" Millie wondered.
"I can't just let you go without a goodbye from me," Chase explained.
"I'm sorry we can't make it to the merge together again, but only this time, the roles are reversed," Millie said.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine by myself just like you were last season," Chase comforted her. "And I will win this season for us! I guarantee that!"
"Make sure to watch out for MK," Millie added. "Me and Jasmine are sure that she's up to something."
"Hurry up, roaches!" Chef shouted impatiently, startling the two for a brief second.
"I have to go now! Remember that I'll be supporting you while watching the show," Millie bid her goodbye before grabbing Chase by the face and giving him a quick kiss to the lips. Afterwards, she let go and walked the red carpet with Chef, Chase waving goodbye to her.
The scene flashed forward to Millie stepping into the limousine of losers, which sped off with a cloud of dust.
The scene cut to Chris in the boxing/wrestling ring. "Wow! Looks like Millie left us with a bit of a doozy!" Chris laughed, an energetic and sporty song starting up as he sported boxing gloves. "How's that for a dramatic sucker punch?" He threw a few test jabs in the direction of Chef, who was back in his normal clothes save a pair of dark pink boxing gloves.
"Will MK continue to stay in the bad guy corner? Are Topher and Anne Maria gonna kiss?" he asked while continuing to punch the air as he worked his way around an unimpressed Chef. "Am I gonna knock big ol' Chef out with my killer uppercut?"
He started to throw a punch at his assistant, but it was swiftly answered by a hammering fist that knocked the host off his feet. "Find out next time," he said as he got back to his feet and Chef walked away, "here, on Total! Drama! Action!"
(Roll the Credits)
(Bonus Clip)
"Honestly, I'm kind of happy to be going home today," Millie told the camera as she sat on the seat of the limousine. "The million dollars would have been great, but I'm sure I can make tons of money selling my finished book!" She whipped out her book from her pocket and showed it. "Thankfully, I didn't get framed for writing nasty stuff about the contestants like last time, and I certainly didn't have anyone drive a wedge between me and Chase. It would've been nice to spend more time with him, but we have to focus on our own interests and passions. And if he was to win the season, then that means I'd technically win as well. So it's basically a win-win for us." She sported a face of realization. "That was a bit of a mouthful."
Eva - 15th
Geoff - 15th
Izzy - RETURNED
Trent - 13th
Sky - 12th
Brick - 11th
Scott - 10th
Izzy - 9th
Millie - 8th
Killer Grips: Anne Maria, Justin, Topher
Screaming Gaffers: Chase, Jasmine, MK, Ripper
Author's Note: Yep, Millie's gone. Given Topher and Anne Maria's romance and Justin's villainy, she was doomed to be eliminated once the Grips lost again. We enjoyed writing for Millie and Chase's romance again and we hope you enjoyed this chapter.