Dunsparce519: We felt like Keith didn't need to be made into a bad guy, and Priya's def in trouble with Damien.
acosta perez jose ramiro: We will
WarriorTwin: You're nice.
Killer Grips: Anne Maria, Jasmine, Justin, Millie
Screaming Gaffers: Chase, Izzy, MK, Ripper
Episode 13: Ocean's Eight...or Nine
"Last time on Total Drama Action. We learned that war movies are brutal!"
"At first, our contestants were flying high. But tensions soon ran deep when the Grips couldn't capture the footlocker to win the challenge, despite the inspiring and newfound leadership of Millie. And while they eventually won that battle, you have to wonder if they lost the war because the biggest conflict is still with the Gaffers."
"In the end, even though Scott was working with MK, he and his broken arm got eliminated because of MK double crossing him. Was it time for Scott to go? Yeah! He won't be asking for benefits anymore."
The recap ended with a flash transition to the smiling host in the driver's seat of a sleek red convertible, the top down and the engine running softly, with his left arm hanging out the side. "You keep comin' back for the explosive drama," he told the camera as it zoomed out slightly, "I keep comin' back for the perks!" He gave the side of the car a few pats. "Car chase this week! And with only eight contestants left, the engines are on and the stereo is set to thump to the catchy opening theme song." The camera pulled back once more, showing the entire convertible. "It's time, for some more, Total! Drama! Action!"
The shot pulled back even more as he revved the engine, and with squealing tires he took off...and immediately crashed into a tall pine a few yards away.
"Aww, crap!"
(Theme Song)
A few deep drum beats opened the episode as the scene faded in at the dining hall. The teams were eating what looked like bacon and eggs on the two tables, Grips closer to the entrance and Gaffers closer to the meal counter. The camera zoomed in on them, all four on one side of the table – Izzy on the far left with Chase, then MK and Ripper on the far end.
"And that was how I spent a week on crutches. Skateboarding down a steep road may be fun, but it will cost you a few broken bones," Chase rambled to Izzy as the camera panned over them to the other end of the table.
"That's nothing compared to what I've done," Izzy teased. "I once wrestled a kangaroo in a zoo because it took my peanuts and even though I won, I had to spend a week at the hospital."
"Unbelievable," Chase gaped in amazement.
"Nobody steals my peanuts, unless they're elephants," Izzy said.
Confessional: Chase
"I can see why Ripper has a crush on Izzy," Chase confessed. "She's almost like a female version of me, only more insane and kooky. I should invite her over to my place so she could test out a couple of my stunts."
Confessional Ends
Ripper was shoveling his mountain of food into his mouth, stuffing his cheeks and topping it off with a swig of orange juice. "Are you gonna eat that?" he asked MK with a full mouth, pointing at her more modest plate and spraying small flecks of food on her.
"Ugh," MK said with a cringe of disgust. "Can't you swallow before you talk?"
Ripper huffed as he rolled his eyes and swallowed his food.
"And I'm still going to eat my breakfast," MK said before quickly shoveling her eggs and bacon into her mouth and swallowing.
"Well if I'm not going to have seconds," Ripper said, standing up suddenly, "I'm going back to my trailer to crash."
"Don't let the door hit your head on the way out," MK muttered.
Ripper stormed towards the main flap in the craft services tent. The burly boy passed the Grips on the way, who were eating their breakfast as he walked past.
"If our so-called cook wants to be appreciated," Ripper muttered as soon as he got out into the open, "then he should could more food like the one today and make it unlimited-" Having turned his head to glance back inside, he missed the intern who swiftly put a sack over his head. He was quickly knocked to the ground with a grunt of protestation, and dragged out of sight.
Inside, the Grips looked none the wiser. "I'm really proud of all of us still being here," Jasmine told her teammates, Anne Maria and Millie on one side of the table with Justin and her opposite them. "We've all got a great shot to make it even further as a team!"
"I hear you loud and clear," Anne Maria said with a nod. "We've only lost two out of five challenges that actually mattered. We're basically the better team!"
"I won't say better. Just that we're more skilled than the Gaffers," Millie noted.
A visible scent was shown around Jasmine's nose, and she started to sniff her nose. "I reckon. Something in Chef's kitchen actually smells marvelous. I'm gonna go ask Chef what that is," the Outback girl said before getting off her seat.
The camera followed her as she ran across the room and stepped into the kitchen. Jasmine then saw a pot that was steaming and smiled before removing the lid and seeing it was just steam. "Steam? What a shrewd trick!" she grumbled angrily and looked behind her. "How could I have let myself get had like that?!"
The door behind Jasmine promptly opened and a sack was jammed down over her head. She gave a muffled yelp as she was pulled outside, the camera cutting away to show her slamming to the ground with a rope tied around her. She began to grunt as she was dragged off-screen.
The scene flashed back inside as a knife cut a hole in the canvas roof, a rope was thrown down, and Chris descended into the tent with a grin on his face.
"What an entrance!" Izzy exclaimed with a dash of excitement.
"Consider it a hint as to this week's movie genre," Chris told her.
"Let me guess," Anne Maria said with an annoyed frown, "is it 'Whoever Did The Crime Does The Time' movie day?"
"No," Chris replied. "This week, we're paying tribute to the action-packed Bank Heist Gangster Caper film!"
"Uh, Chris," Justin spoke up, "our team is missing a player."
"So is ours," MK added from the other side of the room, "but I don't really care."
"Jasmine and Ripper are gone, people," Chris told them. "Because, rescuing them is the first part of your challenge!"
A few dramatic notes played as Anne Maria gasped, then Millie, then Justin, then Chase yawned.
"Oh, sorry. I was just feeling tired," the stunt boy said.
"They've both been locked up in state-of-the-art safes," Chris explained, "along with all the tools each team will need to commit a movie-perfect bank robbery. Your job is to crack the safes, rescue your teammate, grab the equipment, and try to be the first ones to rob the First National Bank of Chris."
The camera zoomed out to include the entire room in the shot as the host grabbed hold of the rope he'd come in on. "Let's kick it, gangsters!" he declared before getting pulled back up to the roof.
The scene flashed to one of the film lot's many sets, this one constructed to look like a pair of bank vaults set in a brick wall. Zooming in on the one on the right, Jasmine could be heard nervously shouting "Hello? Is anybody out there?"
Cutting inside, the tall girl threw the sack off her head and looked around. The room she was in had what looked to be safe deposit boxes covering the wall behind her, an air vent on the wall near the vault door, and a white bench in the center that she was sitting on.
"I don't like this. Not one bit," Jasmine told the camera in a rising panic, her voice echoing slightly in the vast room. "Who ambushes someone, ties her up, and throws her in a bank vault? Especially if that specific person is CLAUSTROPHOBIC!!!"
"I don't mind being locked up in here," Ripper told the camera in his own vault, identical to the one Jasmine was in. "This means I don't have to do the challenge. It's almost like a day off." He looked around for a bit. "This bank vault could use a TV though."
The scene flashed white briefly before cutting to a close-up of Chase turning the dial on the outside of the Gaffers' vault door.
"How's it going?" MK asked as the camera pulled back to show her and Izzy waiting nearby.
"No idea," Chase said. "I've never done this before!"
"What about on school locks?" Izzy asked.
"Those are different," Chase told her, still focused on the lock. "I could actually remember the combination."
"Then why are you the one doing it?" MK asked in annoyance. "Step aside and let me have a go at the lock." She shoved Chase away and started fiddling with the dial.
Confessional: MK
"How could our resident daredevil forget that he has a genius on his team?" MK told the confessional. "Personally, I was almost offended, but feeling weak is for babies. That's a philosophy me and Scott have in common."
Confessional Ends
"By all means, go ahead MK," Chase told her with a look of indifference as the camera moved over to the Grips a few feet away.
Millie was already working the dial while Anne Maria peered closely at the vault door and Justin stood against the wall next to it. "Of all the people to get kidnapped, it had to be Jasmine," Justin commented. "Why not any one of us?"
"I know she's almost good at everything, but I don't think she's a master at combination locks," Anne Maria told the eye candy. "If she was, we would have escaped that submarine much earlier."
"It was just an assumption," Justin shrugged. "How's it going Millie?"
"I'm still working on it," Millie spoke up, then went back to work.
"Come on, you oversized locker," MK grunted, turning the dial and finally pounding on the door in frustration. "I've cracked safes tougher than you!"
"Aren't you supposed to be the brainy one?" Chase huffed.
"Can it!" MK said sharply. "At the very least, I don't do things that'll break my bones!"
Chase merely glared at the AV girl.
"Fortunately, I always keep a stethoscope handy," Millie said. She had taken one out at some point as she worked on the lock.
"If she's having trouble," Anne Maria told Justin, "then we'd better come up with some other plan to bust out Jasmine."
"Can you be more patient?" Millie hissed. "Just because I'm smart, doesn't mean I know how to do everything."
"Maybe instead of trying random numbers," Izzy suggested, "we should try to figure out what combination Chris would give it?"
"So what," Chase asked. "His birthday?"
"Yeah, or his phone number, measurements, or some other random thing about him," Izzy said with a smile.
"I dunno," MK thought. "That sounds too easy."
"But it is worth a shot," Chase inputted before he entered a code and looked at Izzy, who tried the handle.
It didn't budge. "It wasn't that, but we're on the right track," Izzy said hopefully.
As Anne Maria and Millie were figuring out the combination in the background, the view panned right to show Chris reading a book in the foreground privately until Justin moved over to him.
"You know, Chris, I was thinking. Super hot guys like you and me have to stick together," Justin said. "So why don't you tell me what the combo is? And then we can talk about guy stuff and I'll give you a shoulder rub?" he offered and put his hands on Chris's shoulders.
"Justin?" Chris said with a glimpse of worry.
"Uh-huh?"
"You're making me kind of uncomfortable here."
The focus was back on the Gaffers. "If the combination wasn't any of those…" Izzy thought.
"I'll try the total amount of hair gel he goes through every month," Chase suggested, already turning the knob.
The wild child watched him for a few moments before her gaze wandered down to the air vent close to the ground. "Maybe we should try asking Ripper?" Izzy suggested. "There's likely something inside that can help us."
"If we ask Ripper, he's just gonna act all cocky about it," MK objected.
"True," Chase admitted, "but the Grips look like they're ahead of us," the team glanced over at the three Grips, "and I don't want to lose twice."
MK sighed. "Fine. We'll ask him."
The Gaffer trio knelt down in front of the air vent. "Hey, Ripper?" Chase called into it. "Can you hear me in there?"
A moment passed, before Ripper's reply came. "Yes. Why did it take you dweebs so long to think about talking to me?"
"We wanted to try opening the lock ourselves, thank you," MK answered.
"And that was a big waste of time," Ripper said. "Have the Grips dorks opened theirs yet?"
"No, not yet," Chase told the bully. "But they're still working on it, so we don't know how much time we have left."
"That's not good," Ripper told his teammates. "Alright, I'll help you open the vault door."
"Cool," MK said before sporting a serious look. "But don't think we're going to make you the boss of us just because of this. We can easily vote you out, and Izzy will be on board with it!"
Confessional: Chase
"Using Ripper's crush against him just to keep him under control?" Chase asked in the make-up trailer. "That MK girl is really cold!" He grinned afterwards. "I'm cool with Ripper, but he does need to be knocked down a few pegs."
Confessional Ends
The viewpoint cut inside the Gaffers' vault, showing Ripper growling frivolously. "Deal," he said towards the air vent. "I've checked most of the safe deposit boxes in here and found these." He took several slips of paper out of his pockets, and stuffed them through the vent.
They fell out one by one on the other side, and were picked up by an eager Izzy. "Let's see what we've got," she said as she laid the scraps on the floor and moved them around.
"It must be the combination!" MK exclaimed as the shot moved to a downward view of the paper, showing two rows of roman numerals. Izzy quickly stood back up and got to work on the dial.
"Thank you, dude!" Chase said through the vent.
"You're welcome!" Ripper said back.
A smiling Izzy finished entering the combination and turned the handle. "Ta-da!" the redheaded girl shouted in triumph as the door swung outward, revealing Ripper standing with a leather bag in his hand as he stepped out into the studio.
"Thanks or whatever," Ripper told his team apathetically. "Let's head to the next part of the challenge while we still can."
He took off first, and MK, Chase, and Izzy followed behind him.
The camera panned over to the Grips, warily watching their opponents leave. "Now we're behind," Justin griped.
"Have you made any progress yet?" Anne Maria asked Millie. "And I'm asking nicely."
"I've only got thirty-one and eleven," Millie informed.
"GET ME OUT!!" Jasmine's voice was heard from the vent while there was heavy pounding on the door, much to the surprise of the Grips.
"Jasmine, you can hear us?" Millie asked in shock.
The viewpoint cut inside the Grips' vault. "This door isn't exactly soundproof," Jasmine said. "And listening to you all has been helping me deal with being trapped inside."
"Are the vents in there real?" Justin asked.
Jasmine walked over to the vents in the vault. "They're not made out of plastic, I'll say."
"New plan. Climb out through the vents," Millie instructed. "You can fit through it."
"And bring the bank robbing kit with you," Anne Maria added.
"If it means not being inside here for any longer, I'm all for it," Jasmine promised.
Confessional: Millie
"I didn't want to risk Jasmine's claustrophobia, and we're already behind the Gaffers," Millie said. "This does not count as lazy at all."
Confessional Ends
The camera cut to the inside of the vault, with Jasmine crouched next to the vent using a screwdriver to loosen the screw. "I…am…done!" she cheered as she finished and took off the vent.
Jasmine crawled out of the vault with the bank robbing kit in hand and Anne Maria helped her to her feet.
"Nice to have you with us," Justin said.
"You could have left me in there, but you all proved your loyalty," Jasmine said proudly. "Now off we go!" she ordered before she and the rest of the Grips ran off.
The camera cut to the inside of the guys' trailer as a leather bag was thrown on one of the bunk beds, and the view zoomed out to show the four Screaming Gaffers looking down as Ripper opened it.
"So what do we have?" Chase asked.
"Four ski masks," Ripper said, holding up a quartet of black ski masks, "four squirt guns," he picked one up, then pointed it upwards and pulled the trigger so that a small spurt of water shot out, "and one note about our target," he finished, taking out a folded piece of paper and reading it.
"Bonzai!" Izzy exclaimed, swiping the note and looking at it excitedly. "Let's go rob a bank!"
A hard rock tune began to play as the footage skipped forward, focusing on the feet of the Gaffers one by one as they walked forward in slow motion – first Ripper, then MK, Izzy, and finally Chase.
With a confident smirk, Ripper took his squirt gun out of his pants. The camera panned past him, showing MK holding their bag, and both Izzy and Chase with their own guns at the ready as they walked past a brick wall.
Ripper slammed the folded-up stick-up note on the counter of a bank teller's wicket. "Hey, this is a robbery!" he shouted, the camera pulling back to show the rest of the bank set they were now in. "Gimme all your money, and do nothing stupid!"
"Welcome, Gaffers!" Chris said suddenly, popping up from behind the counter. "You've beaten the Grips to the scene, so you'll get first crack at the teller!"
"Obviously," Ripper said pridefully.
"Not that I care, but I wonder how the Grips are doing?" MK said, looking back over her shoulder.
"So what's our plan?" Millie asked as she and her teammates ran outside one of the numbered studios.
"Oh right," Jasmine told her before they skid to a halt. "We do have to check what Chris gave us." She opened the bag she was holding and peered inside it before dumping the contents out on the ground, which was the same assortment of equipment the Gaffers had gotten.
"It's the stereotypical assortment criminals use to rob people out of their money," Millie said, kneeling down and picking up one of the squirt guns.
"We're behind," Anne Maria said, "and we have to stop the Gaffers from winning too."
"So we'll have to try and go in from the side," Jasmine claimed.
Justin shook his head. "No, we don't have to do that. I've watched a lot of criminal movies, and usually, the robbers do the crime head-on. It intimidates the bank tellers into caving into their demands."
"Before we execute this, we have to get prepared," Anne Maria said.
"Why?" Justin asked.
"Because we're gonna rob the bank in style!" Anne Maria grinned with determination.
The shot flashed over to sneakers familiar to Chris's before panning up to his tanned pants, blue tight shirt, and fedora. "Hey chump! Why don't you turn around," Ripper continued as the camera pulled back, showing him leaning on the wicket counter with a gun in one hand and the bag in the other while the teller read a stack of papers in his hands, "and give me what I deserve? The cash that is," he clarified with a grin, setting the open bag on the counter.
"Just one minute, sir," the teller said in a familiar voice before turning around and throwing off his fedora, revealing none other than Topher.
"What?!" Ripper exclaimed, recoiling in shock.
"What?!" Izzy and MK echoed in surprise as the shot pulled back to show them.
The camera pulled back once again to show Chase simply blinking.
The doors of the studio were then kicked open. "THIS IS A STICK-UP! GIVE US ALL YOUR MONEY!" Anne Maria yelled, the viewpoint shifted to show her standing at the front with Millie on her left, Justin on her right, and Jasmine behind. All four were wearing cool-looking sunglasses and pointing their guns into the room.
A side-view showed the Grips looking at their opponents and the newcomer, and their background theme scratched to a sudden halt. "Oh my gosh!" Anne Maria beamed joyfully, lowering her gun while her teammates gasped.
"How's that for a dramatic twist?" Chris said as he suddenly popped up in front of the camera with a grin on his face. "And a pleasant surprise for Anne Maria," he said with an glance at the overexcited Jersey girl. "Total Drama Action will be right back!"
(Commercial Break)
The scene faded back in to a shot of a relatively isolated studio located near some cityscape backdrops before cutting inside the bank.
"Teams," Chris announced with a smug look of his own as the camera focused on him, "I am happy to announce that Topher is back for the duration of the game," he looked at the boy as he winked suavely at Anne Maria.
"Hey, he didn't even qualify for this season!" MK said in protest.
"No I didn't, MK," Topher admitted, "but my mother is a lawyer and was able to threaten to sue the producers if I didn't compete."
"That's exactly what happened," the camera briefly cut to Chris as he nodded in agreement. "I don't want to deal with another Scott situation."
Confessional: Chris
"Yeah," Chris told the confessional camera, "that lawsuit threat wasn't the full reason. I brought Topher back because I figured the remaining episodes could use an extra player, and who else could I have chosen but the one who worships me?" he said cockily. "And the best part is that he was willing to do anything for a shot to come back on the show!"
Confessional Ends
"So, Topher," Chris said as the challenge footage resumed, "since you were our bank teller in the challenge, you get to decide which team deserves to win first prize: your bag of loot!" He tossed a small bag into the fanboy's hands, and it made a distinct metallic clink when he caught it.
"Well," Topher said slowly, "the Grips did have a cooler entrance, and Anne Maria is on their team." Anne Maria was shown with a flattered expression. "But… the Gaffers did technically arrive first, and I don't want to play favorites, so first prize goes to them." He gave the loot bag to Izzy.
"Awesome!" Chase cheered.
"So, this means the Killer Grips win second prize!" Chris told the team.
"What's second prize?" Justin asked.
"Topher!" Chris said ecstatically. "For the rest of the game! Or, until he's eliminated!"
"Works for me," Topher said with a grin and moved over to his designated team. "Hey Anne Maria!"
"Baby, it is so good to see you!" Anne Maria gushed and gave him a hug that he reciprocated.
"So, Grips, Gaffers," Chris addressed the two teams, "your getaway cars are waiting! Better get a move on before the cops arrive!"
The contestants gave him unimpressed looks.
"That means GO!" Chris exclaimed with less amusement, and the two teams finally began to run out the door – first the Grips, who were closer, then the Gaffers.
The scene cut outside as the teens sprinted down the road and a more dramatic melody began to play.
"Getaway cars are always cool!" Izzy spoke first. "That's the undeniable rule of heist movies!"
"Aston Martins maybe?" Justin wondered.
"Or those Mini Coopers!" Millie guessed.
"I'm hoping for a Porsche!" Jasmine said next.
The fake hill was shown in the distance, a few faint dots visible running up along its path. The camera flashed closer, panning up past MK and Chase, Jasmine and Anne Maria, and Millie and Justin as they ran up the hill. Another flash centered the shot on a pile of what looked like spare vehicle parts, including a wide red double-seat.
"What's all this junk?" Topher asked with a frown, the camera pulling back to show the other Grips with him and the Gaffers at a pile nearby that, despite having green instead of red, was otherwise identical.
A somewhat musical horn preceded Chris driving up in his red sports car, attracting immediate attention from the cast. "These are your getaway cars," he told them. "Just waiting to be assembled."
Ripper shrugged. "I should have seen this coming."
"If the vehicles were ready to go," Chris told the others with a broad smile, "it wouldn't be much of a challenge, now would it?" Most of the cast sighed or groaned in disappointment, and Chris sped off with a cloud of exhaust.
He crashed almost immediately after going off-screen, and once the exhaust dispersed a single wheel bounced and rolled back across the screen. "Aww, crap!"
The footage flashed ahead, focusing on the Gaffers as they stood around their pile of parts. "We should start by sorting out what we have," MK told the others. "I want to see what I have to work with in order to build our car."
"I think it's a go-kart," Izzy guessed.
"Whatever it is, I'm building it," MK said uncaringly. "Izzy, you can help me as well."
"And what about us?" Ripper addressed himself and Chase.
"You can drive the vehicle when we're done," MK told them.
Confessional: MK
"I know I'm the biggest target on the team and will be eliminated if we lose," MK told the camera. "I figured that applying my skills in engineering would keep us out of the loser circle."
Confessional Ends
The camera panned away from the Gaffers and focused on the Grips. Jasmine and Millie were wrenching the seats to the frame as Anne Maria and Topher held them in place.
"Are you just going to stand there, Justin?" Topher told the handsome model, who was standing a few feet away.
"Is there something I can do where I won't get grease on my epidermis?" Justin questioned in disgust.
"You're kidding, right?" Topher asked in disbelief.
"Hand modeling is one of the things that put me on the map," Justin smiled as he posed.
"How are you two so good at this stuff?" Anne Maria conversed with Millie and Jasmine.
"I have a father who's a car mechanic," Jasmine answered. "He'd usually bring me over to his workplace so he can teach me a thing or two."
"I own a book about vehicles, and it taught me how to repair or attach parts together," Millie responded.
"With those skills, we're obviously guaranteed to win," Anne Maria gloated. "Just make our vehicle faster than the other team's."
Confessional: Anne Maria
"I never knew when Topher would debut into the game," Anne Maria told the confessional camera as she sprayed her hair. "I know he told me he would plan the details out, but I didn't know that he would join this episode." She put her spray can into her hair. "But I'm not complainin'. Now I get to spend time with my boyfriend!"
Confessional Ends
A hard rock tune played as several close-ups of the Grips' red go-kart were shown in quick succession – the left front wheel, a seat, the right front wheel, a flag on the bag bearing their team symbol, and the steering wheel as Jasmine tightened one final nut in it and Millie hopped into the driver's seat.
"Alright," she told her teammates while revving the engine, "let's see what this go-kart can do!"
"I'm calling shotgun!" Anne Maria immediately declared as she and the others smiled and piled into the kart.
Anne Maria and Topher got in the front seat next to Millie with Jasmine and Justin in the back. Millie grinned cockily, shifted the kart into gear, and looked back over her shoulder. "See you at the finish line!" she called to the Gaffers before speeding off.
The camera panned back to the green kart, which had just been completed as well. "Get in, now!" Izzy commanded.
"I'll be driving this puppy!" Chase took the driver's seat for himself as Izzy jumped into the seat next to him.
"And we'll be in the back!" MK said. Chase revved the engine and put on the gas while Ripper and MK scrambled onto the back.
The music turned hectic as the race began, the camera pulling back to show the trail down the fake hill. Though the Grips were in the lead, Chase furrowed his eyebrows and turned the steering wheel sharply, causing his kart to cut off the beaten track. The uneven terrain jostled the vehicle, but none of the four fell off.
Panning back to the Grips, Jasmine's eyes went wide when she looked back and saw the competition closing the gap. "They're gaining on us!" she cried, causing Millie to briefly look back to see for herself.
"Let me accelerate our speed!" Millie exclaimed, pressing down harder on the gas before she even put her eyes back on the road.
"Look out!" Topher shouted in panic as Millie looked forward again just in time to see a clothing rack in the middle of the road. She was unable to swerve in time and they crashed through it, the viewpoint shifting to a side shot to show the Gaffers passing them by.
A close-up of Millie groaning in frustration was shown before the camera panned out to show that the Grips were now wearing various costume pieces – Justin in a top hat and monocle; Jasmine with a feather boa around her neck; Topher with a bra on his chest, Anne Maria wearing a horned helmet; and Millie herself with a flowery sun hat.
Confessional: Millie
"That was humiliating, but I'm going to keep the hat," Millie eagerly pointed to the flowery sun hat still on her head.
Confessional Ends
Now at the base of the fake hill, the Gaffers sped onto the pavement with the Grips hot on their tail. Three of the four screamed while Chase steeled himself, the viewpoint shifting to show them rapidly approaching a wide truck carrying a load of logs – until the camera moved back to the side, revealing it as nothing more than a backdrop set-up in the middle of the road. The Gaffers crashed through it, and the Grips used the opportunity to regain the lead.
And then it was their turn to scream as they approached what seemed to be the abrupt end of a broken dock that had been cordoned off, but it too was merely a backdrop that was soon crashed through. It was the Gaffers' turn to get ahead.
The pattern repeated itself two more times, with the Gaffers crashing through a fake police barricade, followed by the Grips destroying a backdrop painted to look like Saturn and a handful of its moons. Then the Gaffers came upon a creepy old white man standing in the middle of a curve in the road, dressed in a yellow rain coat and holding a hook in his left hand. He, however, turned out not to be a prop – the Gaffers ran into him, sending him flying up into the air.
He landed soon enough, and the camera pulled back to show that he was now on the Grips' kart next to Justin. The eye candy screamed and so did the creepy old white man with the hook, and a sharp turn courtesy of Millie caused the uninvited passenger to fall off the go-kart. As they sped away, the camera caught the old man standing back up and looking at them angrily.
The scene flashed to the finish line, where Chef stood with a flag and Chris stood watching the contestants through a pair of binoculars. "It looks like the teams are neck and neck," he said as the view through his binoculars was shown, showing the two karts continuously exchanging the lead.
"We have to do something!" Topher declared as the focus moved to the Grips still wearing their costume pieces, though he took the bra off immediately.
"I'm driving as fast as I can!" Millie told him, clenching the steering wheel and staring intensely at the road.
"I know what I have to do," Justin said, standing up and grabbing the costume pieces that they were still wearing. "Sorry, but I want to win!" he told the Gaffers before tossing the boa and helmet at the green-colored kart.
The helmet bounced off the front and the boa was quickly caught in the front right wheel, causing the go-kart to swerve and fall behind while Chase struggled to regain control. Too focused on the steering wheel, he was left unable to duck in time when Justin threw the flower hat too, and it landed on his face.
The monocle was thrown as well, and it struck Izzy on her forehead. "My forehead!" she cried in pain as the Gaffers' kart veered out of control.
Justin smiled and sat back down, greeted by the cheers of his teammates as they sped uncontested towards the finish line.
It was then that their engine spat and sputtered, and to their collective horror the kart began to slow down. "We're out of gas already?!" Anne Maria exclaimed.
"And it gets worse," Topher groaned as the Gaffers, now free of excess clothing, passed them by once again.
Jasmine pursed her lips and jumped out of the kart. "We have no other choice but to push!" she ordered, her four teammates jumping out and joining in.
The scene moved back to the Gaffers as they raced forward with mostly confident looks on their faces. "And the Gaffers are taking the lead!" Chase whooped.
"I'll give thanks to their broken kart after we win this," Ripper barked out a laugh.
Chase's enthusiasm was broken when the engine began to sputter and stall as well. "This cannot be happening," he muttered as the kart rolled to a stop about a foot away from the finish line.
"Oh, heck no!" MK gritted her teeth.
"Ooh, so close!" Chris told them as the Grips ran up from behind, pushing their kart across the finish line as fast as they could, and Chef waved his flag.
"Hey, we were robbed!!" Izzy yelled and threw the monocle to the ground.
"First off," Chris said, "I'd like to congratulate both teams for choosing to go green! But in the end, the Grips are the winners!"
The Grips started cheering. "That means, I'll be seeing the Gaffers at tonight's Gilded Chris Ceremony," Chris told the sulking and disappointed losers. "And Grips, even though you committed the anything-but-perfect crime," he addressed the winners again, the money sack shown in Anne Maria's hands, "you get to enjoy victory, and your bag of loot."
The scene flashed to the interior of one of the cast trailers as money was dumped onto a table. "Now that is a lot of cash," Topher exclaimed excitedly.
"Wait a minute," Justin said as he and Jasmine each picked up one of the notes and examined them closely, "this is fake!"
"Non-negotiable 'Chris Cash'," Millie read as Topher and Anne Maria also took a closer look at the loot. "Accepted only in the Total Drama Action craft services tent towards the purchase of water from the tap?"
"Pfft," Anne Maria sniffed. "You can never trust that smile of his."
The camera moved in for a close-up of the note in her hands, showing a smiling portrait of Chris McLean in the center. The shot lingered there for a moment, then faded into a scene of the dressed-up host standing at the amphitheater podium as the Gilded Chris theme began to play.
"The time has come," Chris announced, three statuettes already on a pedestal beside him. "Like always, Screaming Gaffers," he said as the camera panned across the seats, showing Izzy and MK together in the upper right-hand corner and Chase and Ripper in the lower-left, "one member of your team will not be receiving a coveted Gilded Chris, made of the finest Belgian Chocolate." He demonstrated the awards, but none of the contestants seemed too interested in what he'd said. "Had Topher been on your team," the host continued with an impish smile, "you guys would've not been able to vote him out today."
"And why do you say that?" Ripper asked attentively.
"It wouldn't be good television to have him get voted off the same episode he got here!" Chris explained. "Now cast your votes!"
Smiling satisfactorily, MK casted her vote. The camera panned down and to the left as Izzy, Ripper, and Chase did as well, the amphitheater was shown from a distance briefly, and the scene cut back to the stage. Chef descended from off-screen on a rope harness, handed Chris an envelope, and ascended just as quickly.
"The Gilded Chris Awards go to," Chris announced as the shot changed to the stands and the music turned tenser and more dramatic, "Chase! Ripper!" One by one the campers caught their prizes, leaving only Izzy and MK.
Chris took another look at his envelope. "And the final Gilded Chris goes to… MK."
The music took a sudden, loud twist as everyone gasped while MK caught her prize with an expected smirk.
Izzy stood up from her seat. "Uh, can you repeat that again?"
"Sorry Iz," Chris said with an unapologetic smile, "but you're out."
"But...but why?" Ripper stammered.
"Yeah, I know me, Ripper, and Izzy would vote for MK together!" Chase said.
"I'm right here you know," MK said, annoyed.
"Sorry, guys," Chris shrugged, "but our voting machines just don't lie! Only one person voted for MK, the other for Ripper, and the other two for Izzy."
Izzy gasped and looked over at Chase. "Did you and MK vote for me?!"
"Chase, what the heck?" Ripper asked in fury. "Izzy didn't do anything to you! Are you asking for me to hate you?!"
"I swear, I didn't vote for Izzy!" Chase said defensively.
"Actually," Chris interrupted, gaining the attention of all four of the teens, "it turns out we have a little footage showing just who voted for who." He looked towards the camera, which cut to static.
The earlier clip of the Gaffers voting was replayed without the sound. The viewpoint rotated to an over-the-shoulder camera which showed the screens of Izzy, Ripper, Chase, and MK's voting devices in a four-screen split. As usual, pictures of the four were scrolling across the screen alongside checkboxes, and all but MK's fingers were shown hovering over a picture of MK while MK's finger hovered over a picture of Izzy.
However, the screens seemed to go blank for a second just as the fingers pressed down on where the designated checkboxes had just been. When the pictures came back, the footage paused to show that instead, MK voted for Izzy, Chase voted for Izzy, Ripper voted for MK, and Izzy voted for Ripper.
The camera cut to static again and back to the shocked reactions of the contestants.
"Whoa!" MK gaped.
"No no no. I am so sorry," Chase said, looking up at Izzy. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to vote for you!"
"You think you're the hurt one?!" Ripper said in disbelief and hurt. "How could you vote for me, Izzy? I've treated you like a queen!"
"Do you think I wanted to kick you off the game?!" Izzy argued back. "You're my friend!"
"The only thing that's not surprising is that Ripper voted for me," MK said.
"Votes are votes!" Chris emphasized. "And Izzy, with you receiving the majority, I'd suggest walking down the red carpet, or I'll have you be dragged again."
Izzy moaned. "I don't want to go through that again." The crazy girl gave one last look at Ripper. "Ripper, I-"
"Leave me alone!" Ripper snarled, looking away from Izzy before she turned and walked down the bleachers towards the Walk of Shame, sadness apparent on her face.
Confessional: MK
"Drama, tension, and betrayal," MK listed off. "Three key elements to today's elimination." The techno girl made a look of regret. "I do somewhat feel sorry for Izzy and Ripper, but I have to do whatever it takes to win!"
Confessional Ends
"And that's the end of another totally dramatic episode," Chris told the camera while leaning on his podium. "We lost an exciting contestant, but gained one just as enjoyable. What surprises will Topher bring to the game? Find out next time, on Total Drama Action!" He shot a wink and finger pistol at the camera, then hopped into his red sports car which was idling just below the stage.
He sped off recklessly again, and immediately crashed into one of the large stage lights that surrounded the amphitheater. For the third time that day, he shouted "Aww, crap!" from the wreckage.
(Roll the Credits)
(Bonus Clip)
"Yeah, getting voted off feels like it happened weeks ago. I guess 'cause it did happen weeks ago," Izzy brought up inside the limo. "I know I'm not into Ripper, but I'd never even think about voting him off. I obviously voted for MK, and Chase surprisingly voted for me. The only way these events would have conspired is if…" she thought deeply and widened her eyes, "somebody rigged the votes!!!"
Eva - 15th
Geoff - 15th
Izzy - RETURNED
Trent - 13th
Sky - 12th
Brick - 11th
Scott - 10th
Izzy - 9th
Killer Grips: Anne Maria, Jasmine, Justin, Millie, Topher
Screaming Gaffers: Chase, MK, Ripper
Author's Note: Oh the despair and anguish of today's chapter. Don't you love it? I certainly do, for story reasons of course, I don't actually wish anyone to suffer this type of fate. Now do you see why I had to boot out Scott before Izzy, so I could introduce this plotline. Rigging the votes has been showed to be allowed for some reason so why not use it to our advantage? Sorry Izzy, but you had to go.
On the bright side, Topher's back and I hope the explanation we gave made sense for his return. I do have plans for him.