"Last time on Total Drama Action! We had scares galore as the campers attempted to do some chores as their fellow campers scared them senseless in our great horror challenge, thanks to the help of B and Jackson as our guests! Our campers did not have stomachs of steel as their screams could be heard for miles! Although Angelo seemed to find some sort of clue during the challenge, he did not put that to good use as he was instantly on the chopping block to go home, following the creation of a veterans alliance between Jaiden, Carson, Carmen, and Tem. However due to Hilde's position as the swing vote, she pushed for Ella to take the Lame-O-Sine out of here, fearing a veteran takeover and not exactly taking their time on the Mixers together all that well. Fifteen are left, who will go home on this episode of TOTAL DRAMA ACTION!"
Theme Song
"I get why you didn't want to vote with us, but you could have at least given me a heads up you know. Now I'm probably the next target on the block with some scissors to my beautiful hair!" Beardo exclaimed, as he and Jaiden sat across from each other in the Craft Services Tent, the pair arrived much earlier compared to everyone else, the sun still rising to begin the day.
"I know I know, and I am sorry. I promise, it will not be you next. I regret not telling you, but I thought if I did, then maybe one of you would pull an idol and then someone else I care about would go home," Jaiden replied, her voice cracking, clearly emotional.
Beardo gave a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry Jaiden, I know it's a game. But I feel like if we want to be allies we have to have far more open communication you know?"
"I know and I understand, I'll be better about that. We just need to win the challenge today, even our numbers out a bit."
"You're not worried for Carrie if they go?"
"She'll be fine, she has Devin, besides we all saw the Grips the other night," Jaiden and Beardo chuckled at the thought. "I don't think anyone other than those three really need to be worried."
"I guess you're right. Just please keep me safe is all I ask."
"I will. I promise."
Confessional, Jaiden
Now is not the time to be pissing people off. I like Beardo, genuinely. But he has this habit of picking the absolute worst allies. Ella, Izzy, Zee, Angelo, Cameron, Zoey…. Not a list that inspires confidence. Great friends, being honest with you, I'd speak the world for them, but I want to get further.
Confessional, Beardo
I'm not mad at Jaiden for not voting with us, or even telling me that Ella was going, it's a.. (he swallows) game, I learned that on Island. But I would at least expect her to give me some sort of heads up going in you know? I just feel like my mood is (divebomb airplane explosion sound effect)
"I'm going to be okay right?" Angelo asked the punk girl as they got ready in their trailer. Hilde was touching up her hair and jewelry in the mirror, while Angelo did his skin care routine.
"I don't know why you're asking me," Hilde gruffed. "I'm not exactly a beacon of emotional support."
"I know…. But with Ella gone… you're the only one left that I've even remotely connected with you know?"
"Sure… the soundboard is your friend isn't he?" Hilde said, getting her necklace on.
"I've only known him for like a day… you know how hard it is for me to really talk with people," Angelo replied, placing his things back into his bag.
"I know… I'm going to go get some food," Hilde said, shuffling her way out the door, leaving a stressed Angelo behind.
Confessional, Angelo
Might as well drop the trapdoor underneath e dire 'ci vediamo mai'
Confessional, Hilde
Of all people he asks ME!? ME!? For reassurance… like what about me gives off comforting vibes (She gestures to herself)
The camera switched to back inside the Craft Services Tent as it began to fill up a bit from earlier in the morning. The camera started zoomed in on Raj stuffing scrambled eggs into his mouth like they were going out of style, to his right sat Devin, and across from them sat Sky. Devin and Sky stared at Raj in awe or perhaps in disgust at the scene in front of them.
"You act like those eggs are going to disappear if you don't eat them fast enough!" Devin exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Sky who took a bite out of a piece of bacon.
"Well yeah! They're going to disappear into my belly!" Raj said in between bites, bits of egg showing in his teeth.
"How are you holding up with Wayne gone?" Sky asked, a hint of worry on her face.
"I'm fine, ol' Wayner wants me to win this thing, so that's what I'm going to do, besides I've got friends like you guys here!" Raj exclaimed with a fist pump, earning a smile from Devin and Sky.
"Speaking of, you think they'll get to a sports movie at some point? That's a genre I know we'll dominate!" Devin stated.
"You're telling me," Sky replied. "It'd be nice to have something more in my wheelhouse for once."
"Hey now, gymnastics are incredibly useful in most challenges," Devin chuckled.
"All I know is that if there is a hockey challenge, I'm going to put the team on my back and destroy the opposition!" Raj yelled, earning a few stares from some of the other campers.
"I'm sure," Sky giggled, giving a playful roll of her eyes. "But between all of those wack job Island challenges, and the whack genre switching, I'm just ready for something that's easy for me to understand."
"How many challenges have you competed in on this show?" Devin asked, Raj perked up too interested in the answer.
Counting on her fingers Sky mumbled to herself before answering, "Nineteen I think, so today will be my twentieth."
"That's wild," Devin said. "I remember when I watched this show with Carrie before coming out here, that the Island premerge was insanely long."
"What's insanely long?' Raj asked.
"Like fifteen episodes, which to put into perspective, the whole of Season Two was about sixteen episodes," Sky replied with a shrug, taking another bite of bacon.
"Wow…" Raj sat there dumbfounded as he finally stopped shoveling eggs into his mouth.
Confessional, Sky
I am so glad this team is all around fairly athletic, and Devin is a sports junkie. Who knew?
Confessional, Devin
It's nice to connect to Raj a bit, especially since I lost his bro Wayne. Should make for an easy connection and an easy friendship! And learning more about Sky's time on this series makes me feel even more confident in our strength as a team.
"Ugh I hate bacon!" Justin exclaimed, as he tossed the bacon he received from Chef into the trash.
"What's wrong with bacon? It's like the best food ever!" Emma replied, walking up next to Justin.
"It messes with my body. It's incredibly unhealthy as well, it's one of the many things I am not allowed to eat due to my diet," Justin replied, with a flip of his hair leaving Emma in awe of him. The pair walked over to Courtney who was sitting alone at their respective table.
"Hey guys," Courtney greeted. "You already ate your bacon Justin?"
"No he tossed it!" Emma exclaimed. "I mean I get it, he can't eat it to stay hot, but still."
"You flatter me Emma, but yes. For my abs modeling contract I can't have it since it'll make me fat."
"How did you even start modeling? This seems all so rigorous for a teenager," Courtney inquired taking a bite out of a pancake.
"I was just naturally very good looking, so my parents got me into modeling and into some commercials, and then it turned into diets and workouts. I enjoy it personally, it's fairly lucrative and you meet some incredibly influential people. Helps that my family is protective regardless."
"I could imagine!" Emma exclaimed. "When I was still with Chase, we met a lot of famous Youtubers at conventions and stuff."
"Right…." Justin replied with a bit of an eye roll. "It's a lot, but I enjoy it. My manager suggested I do this show to get some exposure to more audiences… It did work out since I was a massive hit with some fans, but my manager said I should do this again in order to try and get a bigger boost."
"So this is more so for publicity?" Courtney asked.
"Publicity, pride, and of course the money could launch my career into super stardom. I'm sure you understand that."
"It makes sense, I know I need the money for law school. I love Duncan, but his talents… are not exactly the studious kind."
Confessional, Courtney
It took me until now to realize why Heather wanted Justin out so bad. The man is stunning, career oriented, and such a smooth talker. I swear I was almost swooning…. Key word being almost, Duncan I love you!
Confessional, Emma
I want to win today because I don't even want to think about voting out that incredible Hawaiian roll.
"So.. about last night…" Tem started, as she tapped Sky's shoulder in the Craft Services Tent. Sky turned around and greeted Tem with a smile, and motioned for her to sit down next to her as no one else was at the table at that moment.
"Yeah I heard it was five to three against Ella, what happened?" Sky asked the city girl.
"We initially pushed for Angelo to go. But Hilde basically strong-armed it onto Ella, since Jaiden refused to vote for Beardo. It was just crummy all around."
"I could imagine. If you voted with Ella, then it'd have only tied then?"
"Pretty much. Hilde was still mad at Ella and Angelo for voting her, so unless the challenge was singing or dancing, I don't think Ella was winning it."
"I don't blame you, it was just a bad situation… and needless to say Ella wasn't exactly the strongest player out there either."
"Yeah. But I just wanted to tell you what happened, because you deserved to know, you know."
"It's okay, I totally get it!"
Confessional, Sky
These last two rounds have been great as far as winning goes… but as far as allies go… they're dropping like flies, I swear if Carmen or Tem go home next I'll lose it.
Confessional, Tem
New season new me, which means I am not above lightly lying a little bit, so I am absolutely not taking any blame for Ella going home, that's for sure. Sucks she had to be the one that bit it..
"Is she just… a pariah now?" Carmen asked Carson as the pair sat off in a section of grass, watching Sugar practice her pageantry walk through the film lot.
"I hardly even see Justin spend time with her, I don't think anyone necessarily wants to deal with her at this point," Carson replied. "I think since all of the returnees have dealt with a 'Sugar' like player, our patience with it is thin."
"I guess that makes sense. You think she'd go if they lose?" Carmen asked, as Sugar was still strutting around causing the pair to wince.
"Who knows. But watching last season, keeping Sugar around wouldn't be a bad idea if you wanted a free vote at the merge you know."
"Who knows. We still gotta get to the merge in the first place."
"Oh I know. But we should be fine, I like our alliance right now, it feels good."
"I couldn't agree more."
Confessional, Carson
Sugar one hundred percent has some country motivational rap going on in her head right now thinking she is the main character…. What? I do the same with anime theme songs.
Confessional, Carmen
I've tied my placement from Revenge! I am so excited! One more round and I'll have beaten it! Hopefully my alliance holds firm and I can do it! Un paso mas cerca to see myself, mis padres, Olivia, back in the lap of luxury! Y Don estará rogando a mis pies. ROGANDO!
"Carrie, just ask the boy out, he is definitely into you!" Jaiden exclaimed, as she and Carrie strolled through the film lot side by side.
"We've just been friends for so long…" Carrie started, grabbing ahold of her left arm and looking down to the ground.
"I've seen the way he looks at you, he's into you Carrie. Just shoot your shot!"
"But I don't want to lose the friendship if he says no."
"And then you'll forever wonder what would have happened if you had asked him. Just do it before you guys get sent home, because the moment you guys watch this back, he'll see you're into him."
"Ugh you're right. Thanks Jaiden… but still…"
"No buts!"
Confessional, Jaiden
The hardest thing about your current OTP being such a slow burn is that THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING! And there's no guarantee that when they're eliminated they'll see each other again, like me and Lightning. Oh Lightning…
Confessional, Carrie
Jaiden is so right… but also… I am so not ready for the possibility that he says no
The campers congregated in the Craft Services Tent once again as they realized that one of the interns zipped up the tent. Set up on the two tables were fifteen books divided into eight on the Grips' table and seven on the Gaffers'. Chef wheeled up the window where he leaned through, wearing a salmon pink mask and a microphone attached to it. "Alright campers, today you're students. You have two hours before the test. Get studying, because it will be important later!"
"But what about lunch?" Raj asked.
"Lunch will be provided thirty minutes into your study session, once and only once," Chef explained. "It will consist of one protein, one fruit, and one carb with a drink supplemented by two vitamins of your choice."
"That actually sounds a lot better than what it is normally," Hilde commented, unaware that the others were listening. Chef slammed the window shut and without much to do the group started to study.
"Chapter one, the skin," Sky read aloud. "Also known as the epidermis. The skin is the largest organ in the body as part of the integumentaly-"
"Integumentary," Courtney corrected.
"Thanks," Sky flashed a small side eye.
"Do we all need to start at the beginning?" Carson looked through the rather hefty textbook. "It'd be better if we start with different chapters, right?"
"No, that does make a lot of sense, come preparare una festa di compleanno," Angelo mused. "Chapter six, purifying crystals for-"
"Crystals?" Jaiden suddenly flipped to the sixth chapter. "What kind of book is this?"
Confessional, Tem
I want to be a millionaire, girlboss, architect. Outside of this challenge, when am I going to need to use information like 'What incense best prevents contraction from diseases associated with mosquitos?" or 'which passage connects the nose and mouth to the esophagus?'
Confessional, Devin
Some of these things remind me a lot of these old wives tales that my grandparents would use to tell me, so that I'd grow big, strong, and find someone. Yeah, find someone so that I can relax on the porch, her blond hair fluttering in the wind as the sun basks her in a golden glow-
Did I say blond hair specifically? I mean I don't necessarily know if…
Maybe it is Carrie…
Confessional, Raj
The only thing I know about my body is that if it hurts when I'm lifting weights then that's the proteins in my muscles tearing so that way they can be repaired in a way that's bigger and more accommodating to strength and that you need to put ice on other pains.
After two hours, true to what Chef said, the tent zipped open again and the campers were ushered into what looked like a pair of hospital shuttle buses. One for the Grips and one for the Gaffers. An overhead shot showed the shuttle buses traveling around the lot before pulling into one of the soundstages dressed up with a large quarantine symbol in unsettling fluorescent coloring.
The doors opened and the teams moved into what looked like an operating theater with an open concept set of offices. "Welcome to the Wywynykwy hospital, so named in tribute to a radioactive-"
"WERE WE POISONED?!" Carmen shouted. "Is that why the tent got zipped up? What did we eat?"
"Calm down," Chris chided. "It's just set dressing."
"Then why'd you name it after the island?" Jaiden wondered.
"A lovely tribute to a past season," Chris explained. "Today is going to be the medical genre,."
"Are we gonna turn into zombies? Bad time to eliminate Shawn," Courtney mentioned.
"None of that," Chris said. Dakota pushed in two tables full of green scrubs and red scrubs.
On either side, two smartly dressed cameos dressed in the whites of a doctor's uniform appeared. As the group got a closer look at the two of them it was clear that the short one, almost the same height as Sky and probably a little shorter, was a little more unkempt. Her platinum blond hair seemed to gleam with the harsh lighting of the room. "Greetings," she greeted with a perky smile. "Today I greet you as Dr. Dawn Aurbloom."
The other cameo let out a small snort. He had a clipboard in his hands covering his relatively lanky body and his rather large forehead was the most prominent feature of his. He let out a condescending exhale while he tapped the back of the clipboard with his fingers. "Yeah I'm here too. My name is Dr. Noah Kahlon. We're here today because we're hosting the challenge."
"You're giving the questions," Chris corrected.
"And that's the main part of the challenge, is it not?" Noah retorted. "First you have to dress up in scrubs. If you're not in scrubs how are we supposed to take you seriously as residents?"
"Wait, we're living here now?" Sugar wondered.
"Sugar, it's just a role," Justin said. He stripped off his shirt and grabbed a scrub from the table, keenly aware of most of the girls, Angelo, and Raj staring at him. "What? Noah said to put it on."
"Yeah…" Carmen sighed. Tem handed her a green scrub.
The other campers quickly changed into their scrubs. It wasn't necessarily the most flattering of outfits but most of them seemed to make it work. A camera pan suddenly showed everyone divided into their teams a small distance away from the main set where the challenge objectives were.
A detailed look over the set pieces, identical except for their mirrored positions, showed a strange operating table in the center. Beyond that was a standard office desk, not unique except for the wood paneling and rather large size. Behind that office desk were two large bookshelves. On either side of the strange operating table, reflecting the lights of the soundstage, were two metallic tables, atop them were medical instruments, some of which were probably outdated and of torture.
"So the challenge today," Dawn started. "Is a game of trivia. I can tell that a lot of you were not studying. It's in your-"
"Faces," Noah interrupted. "If you want to have a good medical background then you need to study. Why am I here again?"
"In the IQ tests that you took before the season you were ranked just below Scarlett and Izzy and your interests in archaeology mean you have at least some knowledge in the study of humans," Dawn mentioned.
"H-how'd you know that about Scarlett and Izzy?" Noah backpedaled.
"That's not important, it's over your aura and your face," Dawn explained. "Today's trivia will focus on holistic and scientific methods of the medical scene. It was all in your book so hopefully you exchanged information and know what the answers to these questions are."
"When you get a right question you'll be allowed to ransack this hospital set piece in pursuit of the objectives," Noah started. "Your goal today is to find sixteen pieces of the Chris-daver and put it together."
"Chris made that pun," Dawn said. "We'll ask questions more or less randomly and the person who was asked that question will have to give the correct answer. If they get the wrong question everyone running on their team will have to freeze. If there's ever a point where everyone on a team gets a question correct they will have three minutes to tear up the set."
"Because the green team has less people they are starting with one of the sixteen pieces already placed. Green team, make your choice," Noah elaborated.
The Gaffers huddled up in a quick circle before pointing to the section devoted to one of the hands. "The right hand please," Carson spoke up.
"Let the game begin," Dawn said as the lights in the hospital shifted to harsher lighting.
Confessional, Justin
Apart from looking good, one of the reasons why I try my best to remain healthy is that I don't spend a lot of time in hospital lighting. It is a horrible strain on my eyes. Not to the point of phobia, no, no, I'm rational, and fluorescent lights are nothing like bleeding, blistery, burning, (he shudders). I skipped that chapter, hopefully it doesn't bite me.
Confessional, Beardo
My half sister is a dentist, so hopefully some of the knowledge she knows comes down to me. (he imitates the sound of a drill)
"First question goes to the Grips!" Dawn started. "Sugar, which food has historically been used as a treatment for scabies?"
"Ain't scabies the thing on the- that's gross! And I dunno, Hops?" Sugar stammered under what looked like a focused beam of light centered on her.
"No, garlic," Dawn corrected.
"To the Gaffers, Hilde," Noah interjected. "What's the cause of scabies?"
"Why me?" Hilde stammered. "If I say…. Mite, is that okay?"
"Meh, good enough," Noah said. "You're free to go."
Hilde dashed off as the light suddenly appeared over Justin who seemed to recoil a bit at the sudden lightning change. "Which protein is found on epithelial cells?"
"Epi…" Justin stammered. "Like skin cells… K-rateen?"
Noah and Dawn glanced at each other. "We'll accept it, but it's pronounced keratin," Noah said.
The spotlight changed to Carmen. "Carmen, name a food that has been proven to improve insulin sensitivity."
Carmen scratched her forehead. "Chocolate, si?"
"En Ingles por favor?" Dawn requested.
"Chocolate," Carmen deadpanned.
"Go," Dawn said bluntly.
The camera followed Carmen as Noah asked another question in the background. She slid on the tile floor of the set piece before stopping in front of the large desk. She strained to pry it open one of the drawers as he backside rubbed against one of the chairs. "FREEZE!" Dawn's voice seemed to run through the large set piece. Carmen let go of the desk and flew back into the chair.
"That's incorrect," Noah said. "And you can thank Angelo for that."
Confessional, Angelo
Off by one… thirty-three not thirty-four vertebra…
"Sugar, which type of diabetes is exclusive to pregnant people?"
"Shoot, that's the one my mama got when she had me…. Now she just has type two… is it justin-ational diabetes?" Sugar hesitated.
"Repeat that please."
"Just-ational," Sugar repeated.
"Sure," Noah agreed. "We'll accept that. It's pronounced Gestational but we can't be too strict on pronunciation."
Sugar barrelled off as Dawn turned her attention to the Gaffers. "Tem, what herb is commonly used to heal muscle and cramping pain in women?"
Tem seemed to wrack her brain to find a response to the question Dawn placed on her. "Actaea Racemosa?"
"Correct! I would have accepted the common name, Black Cohosh."
"Do you even use these herbs on yourself?" Noah asked Dawn with a side glance.
"My ancestors survived on a lot of herbs, so of course I still use them."
"Is that why you're so short?" Noah asked derisively.
"That's genetic," Dawn countered.
"HEY! THERE'S STILL A CHALLENGE!" Devin shouted.
"Sorry," Dawn apologized. "What medicinal herb is legal in all of Canada and is not legal in all of the United States?"
"Cocaine!" Devin shouted excitedly. Nearby, Carrie stifled laughter. She suddenly guffawed as a nearby Raj doubled over in laughter.
"Nope, Marijuana," Dawn said. "If you must try it, go for low doses before higher ones, made that mistake too many times before."
"Courtney, name one of the main elements that is the building blocks of life," Noah asked.
"CHNOPS…. Sulfur?"
"Correct!" Courtney jumped over the designated start section and started running off. Her eyes locked on a rather tall shelf in the back of the set and she-
CLANG
Courtney fell to her knees, grabbing her foot.
Confessional, Courtney
(She's holding her foot still) How much does a steel boot cost? And how heavy would it be?
"Sky, if someone uses convex glasses does that indicate that they're nearsighted or farsighted?"
"Umm," Sky stammered. "Far?"
"Correct."
Sky leapt into action. She sprinted the distance and started her way to the decorated hospital office set piece. She jumped over a small stool and landed on the other side in a three point landing. The camera caught her admittedly cool pose just as she realized Sugar's butt was next to her. Surprised, she tumbled onto her own butt just as Sugar farted. "Sky, didn't your mommy tell you not to put your face next to someone's butt?" Sugar replied.
Sky opened her mouth to retort but Sugar farted again.
Confessional, Sugar
I'm slightly nervous of doctor's offices and hospitals, brings back bad memories and makes me fart for some reason. Maybe it was when I kept eating tuna when I learned my daddy needed eye surgery…. Those tiny knives…. Tiny tiny knives…
The camera feed shifted to several rapid fire corrects, freezes, and incorrects before Carson's face suddenly appeared in the middle of the screen. "Carson, what does the M in MRI stand for?"
"Magnetic," Carson said as he bounced on the balls of his feet.
"Correct." Once Noah said it Carson sprinted off. "Gaffers won't get asked questions for three minutes!"
Carson jumped onto the surgical table and looked at one of the suddenly low lying ceiling lights. Nearby, Tem tapped on the tiles one after the other in order to find a loose one. Angelo threw down book after book. Beardo and Hilde lifted up a heavy skull replica to look underneath. "There's an arm!" Beardo pointed. "Someone- get it!"
Jaiden rushed in and grabbed the arm from underneath the skull. She ran back to the start section where the Chris cadaver had the left hand waiting in its section. "And the Gaffers are up by two! Can they get more?"
Confessional, Beardo
Hilde saw me point that out, hopefully she takes that into consideration… she would… right?
"Raj, name a symptom of a concussion."
"Oh, what happened the last time I got one?" Raj wondered aloud. "I vomited into one of my teammate's bags. Vomiting has to be one of them."
"Gross but correct," Noah obliged. "And the Grips get three minutes without any questions!"
Raj slid through the tiled floor towards the office. "Raj, can you slide back?" Justin asked. "I found this leg on this chair and we need to minimize running back and forth."
"Gotcha," Raj replied, out of breath. "Was it really on a chair?"
"Yeah, it was literally a chair leg," Justin quickly explained. "Better hurry back!"
Raj dashed off as Sky and Sugar tried unscrewing the top off of a small bottle. Once it was fully open Sky immediately retched at the stench. "Smells like formaldehilde," Sugar sniffed. "I don't think there's anything there."
"No," Sky sighed
Confessional, Sky
Formalde-Hilde. Never thought to pronounce it like that.
"Oh homie!" Devin shouted. He quickly dove under the table to cautiously guard against the blinding lights and bad smells. "We've got a part of an arm down here! It's the forearm!"
Carrie ducked under the table with Devin. The two of them pried the forearm from under the table leg. They smiled together as Devin took the forearm and stood up. A small smile appeared on her lips as she watched Devin dash off towards the start to deposit the forearm. "You should say something," Sky poked Carrie.
"You think so?"
"I know," Sky reiterated.
"Devin, what mineral is commonly associated with amplification?"
"Oh I know this one… Green Aventurine?" Devin suddenly screeched.
"GRIPS FREEZE!" Dawn's voice traveled through the soundstage.
"Quartz…" sighed Devin as he froze, ten feet away from depositing the forearm.
The scene shifted as Tem impulsively opened a book. She placed it on the table when she found nothing of use. The camera angle shifted to the side of the book where on the pages distorted letters were barely visible. Tem moved to another book and from behind found the upper half of the torso. "Nice!"
She threw the rest of the books out of the way and put both her hands on the torso. "FREEZE!"
Confessional, Tem
After a season and change with Chris… I don't get his appeal for the middle aged female audience..
With Noah yelling freeze that seemed to start a montage of the campers starting and stopping as they tried to gain the upper hand over each other. No pun intended.
"FREEZE GAFFERS!" Dawn shouted. Carson tumbled onto the ground and the lower leg, the calf muscle that he was holding, flew out of his hands.
"CORRECT ON SKY! YOU CAN MOVE!" Sky opened up a bottle of ipecac. The smell wafted into her nostrils and she doubled over, throwing up.
"FREEZE GRIPS!" The camera focused on Courtney as she was squatting at an awkward angle. She looked helplessly to the camera with her eyes shifting back and forth. A small toot was heard.
"YOU CAN MOVE HILDE!" Dawn shouted. The punk fighter leapt over Carson and grabbed the leg that he threw away. She ran to the station and dropped it off.
"CARRIE YOU CAN MOVE!" Carrie grabbed a small hand from a closed jar. Her eyes locked with Justin as he made a gesture to catch it. "FREEZE GRIPS!" The hand hit Justin in the face.
Jaiden tore open a box of KN95s. She started rifling through them, horrified to see that most were used. "FREEZE GAFFERS!"
"JUSTIN CORRECT!" Noah shouted. Justin grabbed the hand that he failed to catch and sprinted over to the start place. Running next to him was Carson, who was holding Chris' head.
Justin backed up and counted all the pieces his team had. It looked like there were ten more pieces they had to find. Before he started to dash back to the Grip station he glanced behind his back to see that Carson and the Gaffers only had nine pieces left.
Confessional, Justin
Sweating during a medical challenge… that's not a good look for me
Confessional, Carson
So this challenge is more like hurdles than a four-hundred meter or a relay, maybe I have to use the relay as best as I can do.
"Carmen, what light on the electromagnetic spectrum has been linked to increased rates of skin cancer?"
"UV?" Carmen hesitated.
"We'll accept that," Noah said.
Carmen's hands found a switch next to a sink. Curious, she looked into the sink as her hands flicked the switch. There was a hesitant whir and all of a sudden a horrendous whir came from the sink. She barely had time to duck as she opened the cabinet under the sink. "PINCHE CABRON!"
Staring directly at her was the fake Chris head. It had a light green, horrible pallor to it, and when Carmen placed her hand on it she recoiled at the strange rubbery feel to it. As she winced she grabbed the head and started running off.
Confessional, Carmen
Never, never, never let me go into un edificio medico. Vomitaré en los circustancias tipicales… casi vomite durante este concurso. I will get back to my rich life soon, but I won't be touching blood, I'll be drawing blood.
Angelo climbed onto Beardo's shoulders. "There it is!" Angelo called out. He leaned over to the top of a shelf and found Chris' right bicep. "It's soft."
"Chris probably works out, not by much, but he probably does, so that's not accurate," Beardo punctuated his offhand musing with a losing trumpet.
"ANGELO! How many lobes are there in the brain?"
Angelo let go of the bicep, dropping it into Beardo's hair, as his hands touched both sides of his head. "Uno due… tre.. Quattro…cinque…sei… sette" he mumbled. "SEVEN!"
"FREEZE GAFFERS! There are six lobes in the brain," Noah said.
"Beardo," Dawn started. "Which vegetable when chewed has been used to help a toothache?"
"Garlic?" Beardo hesitantly answered.
"Correct, you can move but Angelo cannot," Dawn elaborated.
Beardo looked up at Angelo. A small alarm came from his mouth.
Confessional, Beardo
I don't think it was necessarily a mistake, just a dumb impulse… and my shoulder (He imitates a cabinet creak) hates me now.
"Sky, which blood vessels are susceptible to rupture upon impact?"
"Capillaries?" Sky precariously balanced off of a giant pot.
"GRIPS CAN ALL MOVE for three minutes!" Noah announced. The camera panned to the Grips' set piece as they pushed over a whiteboard. Sky scattered a lot of pieces of stationary as her eyes landed on one of the cadaver's thighs. She placed her hands on it and started moving.
"Carrie, where did you look?" Emma asked.
"Found one!" Carrie shouted, excited. The camera suddenly jolted to show Carrie trying to wrestle a foot from underneath a shelf full of referential textbooks and medical oddities. She heaved and strained as she got the foot out, kicking and pulling and pushing against the shelf itself, when she lost her balance and fell in front of the shelf.
The shelf teetered for a moment before it was held back by several bands that kept it from really falling over. Carrie barely let out a sigh of relief as a glass ornament fell on her foot and shattered. She howled in pain as another book fell on her face.
"CARRIE!" Devin shouted, rooted to his spot above the table.
"Devin, name an herb that is used to alleviate toothaches," Dawn asked.
"I don't know we need Dakota-"
"Correct, you can move," Dawn said.
"The textbook says that Prairie was the right answer," Noah turned to look at Dawn.
"Yes, it's also known as Dakota sage," Dawn bluntly explained.
Devin rushed over to his lifelong best friend. "Are you alright?" he started picking out the shards of glass from her jeans. He removed the book from Carrie's face and brushed away her hair. "Homie? Carrie? You okay?"
Carrie blinked as she held her hand up, lightly caressing Devin's face. "I think it's just bruised," Carrie said in a voice far more confident than she normally had in such a small setting. "Help me up?" Devin hoisted Carrie onto his shoulder and she tried putting weight on her feet. "I think I can move, but it's going to hurt," Carrie said.
"Then I've got you," Devin tenderly held Carrie's other hand., the one holding the cadaver foot.
"FREEZE GRIPS!" Noah shouted. Devin and Carrie had barely made it ten feet away from the shelf when Noah shouted.
Confessional, Sky
Adenine, cynine, guanine, and thymine! Those are the ones, right?!
Confessional, Emma
SKY WE STUDIED THIS! IT'S NOT CYNINE IT'S CYTOSINE!
"Emma, what food is commonly used to treat an accidental skunk spray?"
"Tomatoes," Emma said matter of factly. When she heard Dawn say correct she moved around Sugar, bumping into her backside slightly, as she carried one of Chris' thighs high above her head. Her head tilted as she briefly examined the bookshelf before she again started running. "I need to get back into running shape."
"Angelo, what finger injury is the most common in climbers' fingers?"
"Pulleys? Rupturing? The A2 pulley rupturing?" Noah replied positively and Beardo put down Angelo, screaming as he did so. "Do you think you can deliver that piece?"
Beardo let out a bell of affirmation before he strained to get up, pushing Angelo down as he propped himself up, and Angelo squirmed. Beardo and Angelo gave each other two thumbs up as Beardo put his hand in his hair. He pulled out the piece and walked off, leaving Angelo to continue looking around the small room.
Nearby, Carson and Jaiden tried pushing against a shelf. It rocked back and forth momentarily before it collapsed downward. The two of them cringed as they heard the horrid cacophony. Carson walked up to one of the large pieces before kicking it away. "Hey there's one here!" Jaiden pointed out.
Jaiden picked up the right thigh and handed it to Carson. "Didn't think this is how I'd be using my track experience," Carson joked.
Carson again ran back to the start where the cadaver was being assembled. He took a brief look over to see that there were six pieces that his team still needed to find. He turned around to see the set was still in the process of being destroyed. With a resigned sigh, he lifted one foot in the air and- "FREEZE GAFFERS!"
Confessional, Carson
(A bruise is on his cheek) Better than falling in front of a track meet in front of the entire cheer team. And one of the wooly beavers that showed up. Seriously Chris, control your wards!
"Sugar, what type of tea reduces period pain and muscle spasms?"
"That's nasty," Sugar put her hands on her hips as she pursed her lips. "Chem-o-mile."
"Acceptable, you're free to move," Sugar let out a sigh of relief as a fart released from her.
"SUGAR!" Justin shouted.
"Sorry sweet cheeks," Sugar genuinely apologized. She whipped around and looked up at the swinging light. Her attention obtained, she made a jump up and hung from the light. "Just like hanging from a rogue-"
Before her metaphor could finish the added weight caused her, the light, and the cord holding it up to fall onto the ground. Devin winced as Sugar crawled out, her hand meekly pointing to a small hand. Devin grabbed the hand. "Thank you Sugar," Devin thanked.
Sugar held her arm up and she fell down.
Confessional, Sugar
Always gotta be a hot guy to take the work. Leonard's the only cutie who lets me get the credit I so deserve. That makes him sweeter than a sugar packet at the local grocery store!
As Sugar's confessional ended the sound effects of an EKG machine triggered the start of another montage, this time showing everyone falling and failing throughout the set.
"Correct," Dawn said in response to Courtney's correct answer about the aloe vera plant. Courtney threw a bundle of paper onto the ground to look closer at a small shelf. As she rifled through the shelf behind her Sky took a spectacular tumble.
"FREEZE GAFFERS!" Dawn shouted. "Rhinos were hunted for Ivory, not calcium." Jaiden snapped her fingers as she was forced to stop plunging her hand in a small grate.
"FREEZE GRIPS!" Noah shouted. "The answer was placebo, not nocebo." Sugar suddenly tumbled backwards onto a replica skull. As she sat up a fart echoed in the giant skull.
"You can move Carmen!" Noah shouted. Carmen cheered as she ran head first into a low lying lamp, knocking herself down from the impact. She mumbled a Spanish curse word as her hand found another piece. She jumped up and started to run only to trip over her own feet.
"You can move Justin!" Noah called out. Justin tightly grabbed the body piece he was holding onto and collided into Carmen. The two shared a friendly glance and bolted away.
"You're good to go Carrie!" Dawn shouted. Carrie grabbed another body piece out from a rather small jar and started to sprint, almost running into the shower where a steady stream of hot water was pouring out.
"Good Beardo," Noah mentioned. Beardo let out a small sound of triumph before his hair got caught in a low lying light. He struggled to free it as he twisted and turned.
Dawn and Noah's sounds of confirmation and reprimands faded in the background as a brief shot showed several pairs of feet flitting about the sets. The camera panned up to show Courtney, Devin, Hilde, Jaiden, and Tem running forward. Courtney held two pieces in her hands while the others each carried one.
"Correct!" Dawn shouted, signaling the end of the montage. A brief glance at the two Chris-davers showed that both teams were down to their final two pieces. The grips needed Chris' left upper arm and a foot. The Gaffers needed a calf and a thigh on separate legs.
The camera started to focus on Angelo as he started to hop between several tables in search of one of the leg pieces. He brought over a small cardboard box and started to jump atop it in order to look inside as many of the vats that he could.
He looked through one of the vats and rummaged through what was inside, only recoiling when he suddenly felt something squishy in the middle. The small boy lost his balance and tumbled off of the cardboard box. In an effort to regain his balance he grabbed onto another vat.
That vat fell onto one of the medical tables and covered Angelo in what looked like white/green dust. "Che schifo…"
He wiped the dust from his eyes as he noticed that the underside of that vat wasn't flat like the other ones. Curious, he investigated the underside, peeling away the smaller layer. Before anything else could happen he faked another fall out of sight in front of the rest of the competitors, screaming as he did so. Frantically he pulled the underside where a familiar image of Chris was staring up at him. His hands quaking, he moved the idol straight to his socks and covered it with his jeans.
Confessional, Angelo
R-E-D-N-U-E-H-T-T-A-V…
UNDER THE VAT! Who knew something like this would happen?
"Come on, come on, come on," Sky frantically hopped her two feet. "Ask me a question…."
She looked to her left as Carrie turned on a valve. It released some kind of gas and Carrie started coughing. "PLEASE ASK ME A QUESTION!" Sky shouted.
"Fine," sighed Noah. "An MCL injury refers to a tear on which part of the body?"
"Oh…" Sky winced. "That's the… oww… it happened to my sister when she was younger. It was her knee."
"Long winded, but correct," Noah confirmed.
Sky bolted from her position and made her way to a relatively locked small filing cabinet. She cracked open the drawer just enough to put her hand in the topmost drawer and her hand locked around something unfamiliar. Her finger twitched and the unmistakable whir of a drill started up. "DRILL!"
The gymnast lept backwards as Emma propped her up. "I thought you got over that fear," Emma asked.
Sky's face grew bug eyed just as she opened her mouth. She covered her mouth but it didn't stop the burp from escaping. "I'm so sorry… can you check the filing cabinet?"
Emma wafted the air in front of her as she hesitantly wobbled the cabinet. The drawers fell out and on the underside of one of them was the foot taped to it. "Good though," Emma complimented.
Confessional, Sky
Don't let me touch a drill. Just don't. (her stomach rumbles) the thought of it makes me feel uneasy.
"Hilde, what sperm and egg combination will result in a baby assigned male at birth?" Noah carefully read.
"X….YY?"
"I have to give that to you, but the answer I was looking for was XY," Noah explained. "XYY syndrome comes from a male zygote with two y chromosomes."
Hilde brushed off the last portion of Noah's explanation as she put her hand into a nearby table. She rummaged around and discarded a couple of DNA models. PApers scattered on the ground as she tried to look at the bottom of the drawer. As she rummaged around in the drawers she- "Found one!"
She held up the calf with a triumphant smile before starting to run. Just as she broke into her shoe caught on one of the stray pieces of paper. Tile soon met Hilde's face.
Confessional, Hilde
You saw nothing.
"Hey, this is it!" Carrie cheered. She pulled down a conspicuously diploma frame. On the front read Dr. Chef the MixMaster. The other side revealed Chris' left upper arm. She held it high over her head only to fall backwards anticlimactically.
Devin caught her and righted her up. "You're saving me a lot this time around," Carrie smiled.
"I'll always be here for you homie, you'd do the same," Devin smiled.
"Well we better run with this! We can win this-"
"Justin, what minimum sun protection factor is recommended to protect from ultraviolet rays?"
"FIFTY!" Justin shouted.
"Run," Devin and Carrie looked at each other They ran as far as they could before-
"FREEZE GRIPS! The correct value was thirty!" Noah explained.
"Oh no," Carrie sighed, halfway between the hospital set and the starting position. Hilde slid past her with a smug look on her face.
Confessional, Justin
I need to check with my doctor on that… because I've been using fifty all of my life… (He pulls out a mirror and inspects himself) AH I THINK I SEE A WRINKLE!
"Tem, what animal has been used to determine pregnancy in a woman?"
"That was a thing?!" Tem replied, aghast. "Oh god I remember…. Rabbits?"
"Yeah," Dawn curtly replied, none too pleased.
Tem continued rifling through a stack of books and knocked it over. She followed the fallen stack of books to a grate that wasn't turned over. She made her way over the grate and pried it open. Within the basin underneath was the thigh. "GOT IT!" she screeched. The metal grate fell with a clank to her side and grabbed the thigh.
"Toss it here!" Carson called out. "I can run it!"
Tem knelt and tried to launch the thigh towards the tack star. Carson barely caught the thigh and started to run like the wind.
"Raj, what animal feature has been used to strengthen bones and muscles while promoting blood flow?"
"Well umm, dear… deer! DEER ANTLER!" Raj shouted excitedly, bouncing on his feet.
"Correct!"
The hockey player locked eyes on Carrie and ran into her full tackle. The foot flew out of her hands a remarkable distance. "Oww…"
"Sorry about the side check but look at the distance the bicep puck went!," Raj scrambled to his feet, skidding as Carson started to run beside him.
The lanky track star started to try to out muscle Raj but he was sent back several feet as Raj made a dive towards the bicep.
"Courtney, the bubonic plague was spread by what animal?" Noah interrupted.
"Fleas," Courtney said quickly. "RUN RAJ RUN!"
"Beardo, which disease has been eradicated thanks to usage of vacc-"
"Smallpox!" Beardo shouted.
"Correct!" Noah pointed out.
"RUN CARSON!" Beardo shouted just as Raj started into a full sprint.
Ignoring Raj several strides ahead of him, Carson ran full sprint ahead as his head tilted backward. Raj started to slide forward with the bicep outstretched, eyes closed, and aimed for the empty Chris-daver spot. By a stroke of luck, the bicep locked in, and the spots for the cadaver lit up.
"And the Grips win immunity again!" The voice of Chris came from the cadaver. "Your reward will be a year's supply of bandages! Gaffers, I'll see you at the ceremony."
Dejected, Carson put the last piece in the Gaffer's Chris-daver. It whirred to life for a moment before the completed fixture suddenly turned off. "Sorry…"
Confessional, Carson
As a track athlete this stings. I mean, my team put me in the position to use my strengths and I still failed. Ugh! I'll just have to move past it and get my head back in the game.
Confessional, Raj
Wayne would be so proud of me! I totally clutched that win out today! I'm still the same Raj Striker that I came here as, and I'm still scoring goals from all over the ice!
Post Challenge
Following the challenge, the alliance of five of Jaiden, Carson, Carmen, Tem, and Hilde. They sat at a picnic table bunched up together. Jaiden sat between Carson and Carmen on one side of the table, while Tem and Hilde sat on the other side, a noticeable space between them.
"We have to just vote Angelo at this point," Carmen exclaimed. "Lo adoro pero no es el más fuerte." She folded her arms as she leaned forward on the table, showing off her chest.
"I enjoy Angelo's company, but I have to agree. We can't keep losing these challenges, or else we'll all be sent packing before the merge," Jaiden said, as Carson nodded in agreement. Her eyes briefly flitted to Carmen's cleavage before she shook herself again.
"Is Angelo that much of a liability? I mean he was on the winning team with me for a while," Hilde said, leaning forward on the table.
"Didn't you say he was the weakest one the other day?" Carmen asked the golfer. Her eyebrow raised.
"I did… but he hasn't explicitly cost us a challenge. Maybe we could use this opportunity to take a shot at a better player…. Like Beardo?" Jaiden and Carson's eyes seemed to widen a bit before settling back down.
"I'm not opposed to that honestly. He's gotten better at being more gifted at reading people," Tem added, crossing her arms, leaning back a bit.
"No, I think Angelo is the right move." Jaiden countered, "Beardo is a far greater asset in challenges."
"I have to agree. If we do lose for a third time, then well… this conversation doesn't exactly mean a whole lot," Carson added. "But we need to put out the best six that have a chance at actually beating Grips."
"Then let's just vote Angelo. We can check in later and see who they're voting for and if we need to switch things up," Carmen decided, standing up from the table as the others seemed to nod in agreement, Hilde however appeared grumpier than the rest.
Confessional, Jaiden
I am not voting for Beardo, even if we're not working together, I am not going to do it. I want to play the game more strategically, but I still want to have integrity towards my friends.
Confessional, Hilde
Looks like I am the thumb of this alliance, the finger that some people don't even count as a finger.
Confessional, Tem
Jaiden and Carson obviously like and want to keep Beardo, sure Carmen, Hilde, and I could just vote Beardo out ourselves, but then everyone hates us…. Sometimes I wish I was Scarlett and could be ruthless…. Only sometimes.
As the group of five separated, Jaiden and Carson stayed at the table. Carson had his hands folded together, nervously shifting, while Jaiden had hers shoved into her pockets.
"Do you think they'd just vote for Beardo anyways?" Jaiden asked.
"I doubt Carmen or Tem would do us like that…." Carson started. "I mean we could work with Angelo and Beardo here and take out Hilde if you're that paranoid."
"No no… Angelo is the right move, but Hilde and even Tem worry me a bit that they'd push Beardo's name out."
"Push my name out?" Beardo asked, as the camera shot over to him walking over to the duo.
"Yeah…" Carson started, shooting a glance at Jaiden. "The vote should be Angelo, but we're worried Hilde might push for you to go."
"Oh… well, would you guys be willing to vote for her then?" Beardo asked, sitting down at the table.
"Not really… we really want to win challenges, and Hilde has been a fairly strong competitor," Jaiden said, nervously glancing at Beardo.
"Right… then what do I need to do?"
"Probably just vote for Angelo. Us three, plus one is enough to counter whatever Hilde does," Carson replied. "And if she does try something, we can vote her out at a following ceremony," He added with a shrug.
"Alright then," Beardo said, giving the duo a disappointed nod.
Confessional, Beardo
Yeah they're not turning on each other… I think I just have to hope and pray Carson and Jaiden push for me to stay, because I need them to make a flip happen… they're the only ones I even kind of trust aside from Angelo.
Confessional, Carson
I like Beardo and want to keep him close if I can. If I had my way, I'd preferably vote Hilde out after Angelo, but I doubt I'll get my way, since in this madhouse I tend to get thrown around by my pony tail.
As Jaiden and Carson stood up and left Beardo to his own devices, their presence was quickly replaced by Angelo's as he plopped down next to the beatboxer.
"Oh hey Angelo, I hardly even heard you approach!" Beardo exclaimed, scooting over to make room for the theater nerd.
"Sorry… I tend to have that effect sometimes. I'm just really nervous about the vote is all," Angelo replied, twiddling his thumbs.
"Yeah, I was just talking to Jaiden and Carson, and they were very dodgy about what was going on," Beardo lied, his gaze steadying on the top of Angelo's head.
"Well in that case, I wanted to show you something," Angelo whispered, pulling out a hidden immunity idol from inside his pants pocket, keeping it hidden by holding it under the table so only Beardo could see it.
"Woah dude! No way you got one of those!" Beardo whisper-shouted, his voice clearly excited.
"Shhh, keep it down. I don't want anyone knowing about it. As long as I idol the right person, we can send home whoever." Angelo quickly hid the idol back into his pocket, eyeing the area around him to make sure no one saw.
"When I was talking to Jaiden and Carson, they were reassuring me that it for sure wasn't me, but I couldn't know the target."
"Then that means, they're targeting me. Let me do the work, I'll do a whole theater performance, and everything will work out," Angelo said, as Beardo gave him a raised eyebrow in concern.
Confessional, Angelo
Knowing it's me is a bit reassuring given my idol. I don't want it to go to waste, so if I can use it to the fullest and put on a performance, I will. I need to have blind confidence!
Confessional, Beardo
If you had told me that Angelo would find an idol… I would not have believed you, yet here we are. This head of hair still has life in it yet!
As Angelo left Beardo behind at the picnic table, he walked into the Gaffer trailer only to find Hilde inside who was seemingly messing with her jewelry at the mirror.
"Oh hey Hilde," Angelo exclaimed, causing Hilde to jump a bit.
"Sorry, I just didn't hear you enter," Hilde replied, regaining her composure. "What's up?"
"Nothing really, I just came in here to collect my thoughts for a bit, but since you're here…. I know I'm on the block today."
"Aren't we all," Hilde gruffed.
"You know what I mean Hilde, just give me a name, I'll tell Beardo to vote there, and then if you get one more person, your target goes," Angelo pleaded, taking a seat on one of the bunk beds.
"You promise that Beardo will go along with whatever?"
"We have no choice here."
"Then vote for Jaiden, she's the ring leader of this whole thing."
"Done. Just please get someone else."
Confessional, Hilde
After that last conversation, I want to freak Jaiden out a little bit, she's a bit too comfortable. But it doesn't hurt to at least see if something could happen. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want her out.
The camera switched to the outside deep into the film lot Tem and Carmen were strolling around, talking amongst themselves.
"This vote feels oddly quiet," Carmen muttered.
"I know. I remember when I got voted off of Island, only my alliance really talked to me. This feels vaguely similar," Tem responded, her hands shoved into her back jean pockets.
"We're not in trouble right?"
"We shouldn't be. I can't imagine a blindside being against either of us, it makes no sense."
"You say that now…."
"Don't be so paranoid Carmen. You watched Carson spiral out of control during your season because of that, take some deep breaths, you'll be fine."
Carmen took a long breath and paused as the two girls continued walking. "Alright. We'll be fine, we'll make the merge, everything will be fine."
"That's the spirit!"
Confessional, Tem
I swear if I go out on my fourth ceremony again I will actually go insane.
Confessional, Carmen
PUTO INFIERNO CHINGADA TU MADRE CABRON! This game… IT does things! My mind is racing and… PINCHE CABRON!
As the two girls' conversation seemed to come to a stop, Hilde came jogging over to them, she was a bit out of breath, her hands on her knees for a second before recovering and standing up straight again.
"I know it's almost time for the ceremony, but would you guys be willing to flip the vote?" Hilde asked. Tem and Carmen glanced at each other, their faces clearly confused.
"Uh… against who?" Tem asked.
"Beardo… or maybe Jaiden?"
"What would be the point? And how would that even work?" Tem asked. "It'd only piss off half the team after."
"If we vote Jaiden, we'd be voting with Angelo, and he said Beardo too, so only Carson is on the outs. If we just vote for Beardo, then we break apart that old Gaffer team for good, I'm sure you've noticed how close those four are," Hilde explained, standing up straight.
"We've all noticed it, but doesn't that make them easy votes later?' Carmen asked.
"Not always. But if you guys don't want to, that's fine, I just wanted to see what was up." Hilde shrugged.
"That's all well and good Hilde. It's just a bit late, and at this point, Angelo going is what's best for the team," Tem said, earning a nod of agreement from Carmen. As Hilde walked away, Carmen turned to Tem.
"Well, sounds like we should be safe then."
"Should be…" Tem replied.
Confessional, Hilde
Although I still hold a grudge against Angelo for voting me, I would still rather a returnee take that dumb limousine out of here. It's still nine to six in their favor.
Confessional, Angelo
(He takes a deep breath) It's time I put on a show.
Elimination Ceremony
"Welcome back in Gaffers, it would appear voting off your songbird did yourselves no good, as once again you all are seated here," Chris exclaimed. Several of them looked downtrodden, while Angelo stood straight with a newfound confidence. His eyes clearly electrified and probably indicated that he was about to have the performance of his life. As the campers filed in and sat down, Chef, clad in a beautiful pink dress, walked over with the tray of devices. He handed one each first to Jaiden and Beardo. He moved down the line to Tem when Angelo suddenly stood up.
"Gaffers, Hosts, Interns, Countrymen, I implore you today to listen to a boy with a song that must be sung. Today shall be the day that I refuse to throw away my shot." as Angelo said the last portion he dug into his pocket and pulled out a familiar statuette.
Gasps echoed around. "Look inside yourself, listen to your heart, listen to the beat, find the rhythm, and truly ask yourself if you want to aim your votes to the sky and vote for the boy once known as Angelito. For he is safe. Veni, Vidi, Vici."
"What?!" Hilde shouted.
Carson glanced at Tem as she gulped. Hilde leaned over to Carmen as Beardo smiled proudly at Angelo.
"We change, right?" Carmen hesitantly asked, Hilde nodded confidently, shifting herself towards Carson's ear.
"Vote Beardo," Hilde whispered to Carson and Tem. Both nodded, before word made its way to Jaiden who looked as though she would rather be anywhere else.
Chef handed Carmen at the end of the line the last voting device. There was a small shuffle among the line as Beardo and Angelo looked at each other. "Are you sure you want to vote for them?" Beardo whispered.
"Them," Angelo confirmed.
"Them of all people..." Beardo sighed, slightly sad as he clicked an image on the device.
"Just vote for Beardo!" Hilde then whispered to Jaiden who had still not placed her vote.
"It's either Angelo idols one of us out, or Beardo Jaiden," Carson said, as Tem nodded in agreement. Jaiden's body shrunk in defeat and nodded, as she clicked a picture on her device.
"Do you think they're switching?" Beardo asked the theater kid.
"Just let me do my thing." Angelo whispered back. "As long as you voted them, it will be fine, trust me." Beardo looked incredibly nervous, as his eyes darted over to the whispering alliance. His eyes locked with Jaiden's as if pleading with each other for help.
"If anyone has an immunity idol, and would like to play it now would be the time to do so!" Chris exclaimed, staring intently at Angelo as the alliance silenced themselves and looked over to Angelo who still held the idol. Angelo standing back up again strolled over to Chris.
"I know this evening the plan was me. However, in theater and performance, there are times where one must change as the winds and waters around us to deliver the final show stopping monologue. And here I would like to do the same. Beardo come get the idol," Angelo exclaimed, motioning for the musician to stand up and walk over. Beardo did as such, his walk slow and unsure as he approached Angelo and Chris. Angelo handed Beardo the idol, and patted him on the back.
"Play it on yourself big guy," Angelo said, walking back to his seat.
Beardo shrugged, his face of nervousness now turned to a mix of glee and dismay as he handed the idol to Chris. "I'll play it on myself," Beardo stated, walking back to his seat. Carson facepalmed, Tem seemed to groan. Hilde grumbled curses to herself, Carmen looked incredibly nervous, and Jaiden just sighed.
"Alright. This IS a real Chris Immunity Idol, any votes for Beardo will not count, let's get to reading the votes!" Chris exclaimed, as he pulled the first vote out. The Gaffers all primed with anticipation and nervousness as Chris began to read the votes.
"FIRST VOTE… Beardo… DOES NOT COUNT!"
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"SECOND VOTE… Beardo… DOES NOT COUNT!"
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"THIRD VOTE… Beardo… DOES NOT COUNT!"
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"FOURTH VOTE… Beardo… DOES NOT COUNT!" Angelo had a confident grin on his face, as Beardo looked rather indifferent, despite being saved he did not seem that happy with the outcome. The other five campers looked incredibly nervous all looking between each other knowing one of them was for sure going home.
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"FIFTH VOTE… Jaiden., this vote does count!". Everyone's eyes shot to Jaiden who looked on the verge of tears, and then over to Angelo and Beardo, two very different expressions plagued their faces.
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"SIXTH VOTE…. Angelo!" Angelo looked taken aback as he shot a glance at Beardo. Jaiden was also staring at Beardo as if pleading with him, everyone else's faces remained in their shocked positions as they looked between Angelo, Jaiden, and Beardo.
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"SEVENTH VOTE…. And the tenth person voted out of Total Drama Action… Jaiden. It's time for you to go."
Jaiden sighed as she stood up from her seat. "Well played I guess. I don't exactly have much to say…. Angelo I guess good job. To all of you good luck, I wish I could have made it further, but I guess my journey has come to an end."
Jaiden gave each camper a tearful hug eventually getting to Beardo. "I'm sorry," He whispered.
"It's okay, it's a game. I can still be sad about it, but we can still be friends," Jaiden replied, through a tearful frown.
Carmen and Jaiden hugged last, having a long embrace with each other.
"I know we couldn't finish what we started together in Revenge," Jaiden started, "But go out there and win this thing, for us and your family."
"I will mi amigo. Thank you for being a good friend," Carmen replied, letting her friend go. Jaiden walked away from the group, giving one final wave to the remaining Gaffers as she entered the Lame-O-Sine.
"We're now down to fourteen remaining campers, as the game is heating up. With a massive idol play taking out one of the biggest players in the game, the drama is incredibly thick as we inch ever so close to the merge. Who will go home next? Will another idol be found? Will the Grips ever go to a ceremony? Or will the Gaffers go to yet another one. Find out next time on Total Drama ACTION!
Final Confessional, Jaiden
I'm still just in shock… I have no idea how that all happened, or what led me here. But just wow. I felt really confident that I was lined up to do really well this time, but then Angelo and Beardo just sniped me out of the game. I don't think I'm angry, I think I'm more just distraught that I went out this way rather than something else. I guess I can accept that I played better than last time, but it still sucks to go out in the swap again. I'm rooting for Carson and Carrie mostly, I hope they manage to do well. But man that was rough.
Votes
Angelo: You're a great person, but I want to come out of my shell, and this will be the start of my theater performance. Jaiden
Beardo: I'm sorry. Jaiden
Carmen: Yippee another returnee is going home… Of course Angelo had to have a stupid idol.. Beardo
Carson: Honestly, if Angelo plays the idol on Beardo… that would be the cherry on top to this madhouse of a team. Beardo
Hilde: Thanks Angelo, I get my way now. Toodles! Beardo
Jaiden: Strategically this is probably terrible, but I'd rather stick to my word than not. Angelo.
Tem: I have absolutely no words. Beardo
Trygve A/N: We've noticed a few errors in prior chapters. Like Carson being at the Lauren vote instead of Carmen, or the bear still being in the story instead of a wolverine as intended in the final draft last chapter, we've gone back and edited those just so you all know. Also apologies for the delay in upload, just some IRL stuff that needed to take priority, we'll try and get back to every 2 weeks. Thank you! Also to those that are interested Blended Island is also being rewritten as well, we're making our way through that
Reviews
SuperSonicHeroes: (Trygve): Yeah Ella was eliminated mostly just due to Hilde wanting to strong arm a returnee out, and yep the double eliminations are now over, glad you enjoyed.
(Rj): Glad you're enjoying the dynamic so far. Hope you enjoy this idol dynamic we have going.
LordGemini: (Trygve): I already messaged you on Discord about the bear thing that was just a small error from the first draft that snuck through. With the Carmen confessional, it was meant to imply that they were still undecided going in since Hilde's status was up in the air, mostly for mystery and intrigue than anything. And yeah obviously we can't make every elimination some mystery down the last votes, only so many Eva/Laine/Shawn votes you can do, but we mainly wanted to hide Hilde's intentions going in to at least keep the intrigue, but I'll be a little surprised if you expected Jaiden to go, it seems some more drama may very well be afoot.
(Rj): Hopefully the chaos continues through. I hope you enjoy this idol blindside and thanks again for your spanish critiques. We wanted to keep the names simple again and Grips and Gaffers just had more staying power. Sorry about the bear mixup, it was supposed to be a full wolverine.
24th: Lauren: 5-1
23rd: Anne Maria: 4-2
22nd: Chase: 4-1
21st: Zee: 4-2
20th: Devante: 4-1
19th: Raihan: 4-1
18th: Shawn: 3-2-1
17th: Wayne: 2-2 Lost Tiebreaker
16th: Ella: 5-3
15th: Jaiden: 4-2-1
Teams
Screaming Gaffers: Angelo, Beardo, Carmen, Carson, Hilde, Tem
Killer Grips: Carrie, Courtney, Devin, Emma, Justin, Raj, Sky, Sugar