Chris Recap
"Last time, on Total Drama Crios Cath, At Carol's New Mergeville, the busiest player was Frag running around doing damage control after his catastrophic misplay. Although, perhaps not nearly as catastrophic as it would be on any other season, because even though his allies were upset with him, they agreed to, at least tentatively, keep working together to deal with larger threats. Speaking of threats, Arianna made use of the looming threat of Shameterranean returns to plant paranoia in the head of Axel, her personal biggest obstacle. Turns out her reasoning was so effective it made him spend the entire challenge weighing options in his head until he publically volunteered to be sent down at Tine Noafa! While most of the cast voted for him, and Arianna finally earned her victory against her long-time rival, she couldn't take any joy from it, because Axel stole all the credit for the idea. Now Angelo, fresh off an immunity, has moved the camp right next to the Tine Naofa bonfire pit, and elimination is at the forefront of everyone's mind! Things are getting tense up above ground!"
Chef Recap
"Last time, underground! A lotta the contestants decided that no one was gonna find nothing. When Axel was sent down, he started wrecking shit, and is worrying the hell outta our lawyers."
Chris poked his head back in. "We're at 8 above ground and 6 below…soon something or someone has to give! Who will keep pace as we begin the endgame and who is about to stumble into the underground? Find out right here on Total! Drama! Crios Cath!"
Survivor's: Ancient Voices starts playing
As the music begins, various shots of Crios Cath from above are time-lapsed and shown through the screen, notably the highlands, the forest, the bog, the lower fields, the desert, and underground.
Mergeville
The camera shows four figures of red, blue, green, yellow, and gray, all warring at each other, carrying symbols of flags. It then pans over the location of the acres Mergeville controls, showing the border of the Glas Woods and Cloc Mountain Range.
Angelo is hauling sandstone in one shot, and harmoniously playing a violin in a second shot.
Arianna is seen placing the DA on its True Resting Place in one shot, and slamming her fists down on the sand in the second shot.
Carol is facing off against a giant scorpion while holding a makeshift spear in one shot, and is energetically cheering her team on as she sidesteps with them in a second shot.
Frag is putting in effort to freehand climb up a cliff in one shot, and drumming on a large rock while smiling in a second shot.
Jeremy is seen placing the DA on its True Resting Place in one shot, and staring intently at the Tine Naofa Bonfire, aware of what elimination means in this game, in a second shot.
Maggie is busy dusting off her stone slab bed in one shot, and organizing various makeshift tools in a second shot.
Michael is seen placing the DA on its True Resting Place in one shot, and is leaping through treetops in a second shot.
Setsuna is shown curiously looking at a trap in the ground in one shot, and calmly firing an arrow from a bow in a second shot.
Shameterranean
A white figure, holding a druidic artifact, is seen falling down into what appears to be some kind of underworld, before the camera zooms in so only the underworld image is on the top half of the screen. Meanwhile, the bottom half of the screen pans over the Shameterranean caverns, before showing the remaining players trapped there, in alphabetical order, at the moment of their elimination and doing various tasks.
Axel is getting his torch snuffed in one shot, and knocking down the tunnels in a second shot.
Jarri is getting her torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and rushing through a tunnel in a second shot.
King is being scolded by Tiberius in one shot, and calling up to Setsuna in another.
Kalyssa is getting her torch snuffed in one shot, and is waving semi-flirtatiously into the camera amongst the drippy caves in a second shot.
Rose is getting her torch snuffed in one shot, and stands up from a muddy puddle in a second shot.
Tiberius is getting his torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and pacing around the first True Resting Place in another shot.
The camera zooms out to reveal that all the figures and underworld were part of the same picture, the season logo connecting them like a belt.
Total Drama Crios Cath
Location: Ionad Desert
Contestants: Angelo, Arianna, Carol, Frag, Jeremy, Maggie, Michael, Setsuna
"Anything?" Angelo asked Setsuna as the pair looked through a shallow but long crevice.
"Nothing at this spot." Setsuna shook her head. "I'll head west, you head east."
"Right." Angelo nodded. "Call if you find anything and I'll do the same."
Confessional: Angelo
"Setsuna and I are presently engaged in a search for the Alltud medal. It does not quite matter which one of us finds it, as long as its one of us. I hope it will be me, of course, because it makes my game easier, but if it can land in the hands of my ally and not say an enemy, or worse an acquaintance, then all the better."
End Confessional
"Nothing where I am right now!" Setsuna called out. "You?"
Angelo peered into his designated area. "I see an out of place rock, I'm moving right now!" His hand gripped the edge of the stone and pried it from its resting place. In its spot a brilliant medal glistened in the desert sun. "I found it!" He called.
Setsuna returned and the two players high-fived. "I'll head back then." She shrugged.
"I'll stay out for a bit longer." Angelo nodded. "Don't want to draw too much attention."
Confessional: Setsuna
"I know that I can also use the Alltud medal technically, since you don't have to be a member of the clan to play the medal, but right now I don't think it matters much whether Angelo holds it or I do. Angelo is my ally, so it's in my best interest that he is powerful. I guess power isn't so bad as long as it's used responsibly, and Angelo seems to understand how to use it responsibly the most."
End Confessional
As Setsuna left, Angelo looked around for a sinkhole. He'd remembered one in the area, a little off the acres that comprised the Merge of Shame, luckily he could leave the land as he was currently immune. Soon enough, he came upon the hole in the ground and looked down into what little he could see of the Shameterranean.
"Rose?" He asked. He asked a couple times. Soon he had an answer.
"Angelo!" Rose exclaimed from below. "Angelo, it's not safe down here!"
"Blossom! What are you talking about?" Angelo's voice softened.
"Axel is ruining everything! There isn't a single cavern that is safe anymore! How are things up there?"
"I won immunity, Setsuna is fine, and I recently found the Alltud medal. I'm okay." Angelo relayed. "But what's Axel doing?"
"He's tearing down the tunnels we've been using to avoid Tiberius and Kalyssa. Soon the whole Shameterranean will be wide open caverns, and I'm starting to worry about the structural integrity of it all! No island can survive being as hollow as Crios Cath will become if Axel is left unchecked!"
"Okay, that is a huge problem." Angelo gritted his teeth. "Just…fuck, I don't know. Look for the DA and try to get up as fast as possible. If things get really bad, like…really bad, then prioritize your life over returning, jump down a pit of peril, please. That lower level should still have structural integrity, and it has to funnel out to somewhere if production is including it as an elimination method. Until then though, just focus on staying away from conflict."
"I understand." Rose nodded. "And will you be alright? Are you integrating back into camp finally?"
"Yeah, the group's all together now." Angelo said as he rubbed his new medal. "Actually, that gives me an idea. Stay safe, Rose!"
"You too!" Rose shouted back.
Confessional: Angelo
"So it appears my Alltud medal functions as a counter-medal to the others. That's not quite immediately useful to me, but it can function as a good counterplay should any of the others try something. I'll be sure to use it as soon as I can too, because anyone making big plays as this stage of the game is doing so with the intent of taking control of it, and that means taking control from my alliance. Yeah, no thanks to that."
End Confessional
"Arianna." Angelo pulled Arianna aside as he returned to camp.
"Hm?" Arianna wondered who was talking to her before she frowned. "Oh. It's the asshole that moved us back to the desert. What do you want?"
"It's not what I want, Arianna, it's what you need." Angelo grinned. "You need allies. I can be one."
Confessional: Angelo
"Under normal circumstances, I'd take this offer to Jeremy, but I'm not a fool, I know I've used up too much good will for Jeremy to entertain aligning with me. While I know where he stands, it does me no good to muddy our relationship. Arianna, on the other hand, is a wildcard. Free floating with no allies and nothing to lose. I do not particularly enjoy having wildcards in play, especially ones that don't belong to any particular side of the game. Although, I will say that I think I've underestimated the benefit Axel provided by taking up most of her focus. Now that he's gone, it's the rest of us that have to deal with her."
End Confessional
"You can be an ally? You can eat the sand you've stuck us on." Arianna crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "You aren't going to convince me to work with you."
"Yeah, I figured." Angelo sighed. "Oh well, it wasn't a risk for me to ask. Certainly not as much of a risk as it is for you to flat out refuse an offer made in good faith."
"Good faith, huh?" Arianna huffed. "Then can I assume you have no intention of targeting me?"
"Not any immediate intention, currently." Angelo clarified. "Though if you continue to display open hostility, that could very easily change."
"Whatever." Arianna sighed and walked away. "Our talk is over and done now."
Confessional: Arianna
"And the reason it's over and done now is because during the tag challenge, back when I was on my fucking own because of shitty teammates, I took the liberty of detouring to the Lower Ceol Fields where I found this beauty." Arianna held up a shimmering medal to the camera. "I didn't say or do anything with it because I'd already put my chips on Axel eliminating himself, which he thankfully did, even if he robbed me of any satisfaction of his own downfall. Now though? Now I'm definitely going to be using this medal. It's perfect for me too. All I need is just a single person to vote how I want them to, but Angelo is not that person. There's only one person I can go to for this particular plan."
End Confessional
Arianna kept a bucket by her, while she reinforced the walls of the shelter with sandstone like how she was taught back in Alltud. While humming to herself, Michael had came up. "You can't really sing either."
"Excuse me!" She scoffed. "Whatever, you're probably tone deaf. Anyways, I need a word with you."
"Ooh, can I pick?"
"The fuck? No, we're going to have a conversation. Jesus, you're hopeless!"
"You don't even believe in the Lord Savior. And I know you don't because you were put on Alltud before Ffydd!"
"Ffydd was dissolved. That might be why. Anywho, maybe you should ask production for a healthy dose of Adderall! Seriously!"
"Is this what you wanted to talk about?"
"NO! You're batshit crazy."
"So are you, girlfailure! Is this what you wanted to talk about?"
"I'm just gonna fucking say it. I can guarantee both of our safety for this round if you stir up some more shit. Like you did with Angelo. That shook things apart. I liked that. We need more of that."
"Why can't you do it?"
"Because I'm not you, and if you don't, then why should I guarantee your safety."
"You can guarantee it?"
Arianna nodded.
"How?"
"I acquired the Cyfrwys medal last challenge."
"No! That's not possible! We were all in the bog!"
Arianna shrugged. "Chris never said we had bounds. I was alone on the villain team for a while, so I used that opportunity to hop over to my old campsite. Found the troublesome nest of snakes, and it was right there. Now, if I don't see that there's enough shit going on, you're gone."
Michael scratched his head. "I think all we really have to do is eliminate the right person."
Arianna washed up her hands in the bucket. "And we can do that, so long as you do something dirty."
Confessional: Arianna
"Michael has to do what I say because he just does. I'm presenting him his best move. Let me put it this way. I can easily vote out Michael with the others. Or he stirs shit. I eliminate someone else with my medal, and camp is even more messy. People will still be gunning for Michael because people will still be overtly mad at him. That means they'll vote him off before me. If I can lesser evil my way to the end, I can win. I'm confident."
End Confessional
Michael placed the water bottles down after filling each of them with hot water. Good for metabolisms. When he twisted all the caps on, he jolted… he was supposed to do something devious again. How could he forget? He took the bottles over to the shelter and placed them by everyone's stuff.
Everyone's stuff, eh? Michael mused. This should be a piece of cake. He looked over one shoulder, and he looked over the other. He peeked in Carol's bag. Nothing. Maggie's bag… he snickered and placed it back. Arianna's bag, probably the first one he should've checked, confirmed that Arianna told him the truth earlier. If he was caught, at least it was worth it. Frag's bag… maybe some bags were better left untouched. Setsuna didn't have a bag. Angelo's bag was absent. Jeremy's bag, Michael opened.
Inside… he couldn't believe his eyes. The Cumhachtach medal. How dare Jeremy get to own such a medal. He didn't deserve it. Michael held it behind his back. All that shit Jeremy gave Frag for playing a medal without asking… gone? No, not gone. Just ironic.
Michael came over to where Carol, Frag, Maggie, and Jeremy were circled. "Yo!" Michael greeted.
"Hey, Michael?" Carol giggled. "What's new?"
"Y'know, chores, the good ol' thang."
"Cool." Frag nodded, not making much eye contact with Michael.
A couple of moments of silence came by. Maggie coughed. "So Michael, what brings you here?"
"Is it so much that a bro can't hang with his alliance?"
Confessional: Carol
"He's still falling for that?"
End Confessional
Frag rubbed his hands together. "So who should we eliminate then? Arianna?"
Confessional: Frag
"I am only talking about this because we have ample time before the challenge to mention that this conversation is fake. Michael is one of the most gullible people I've ever met. How can a fool fall for the same trick twice?"
"..."
"... or is he playing us?"
End Confessional
"Actually," Michael shook his head. "I don't want to be a part of this alliance anymore."
"Really?" Carol did her best to act offended. "But we saved you! We are the biggest alliance in the merge! You can't possibly be thinking of kicking us away!"
"You see." Michael pointed. "That's the thing! This alliance is too big. There are too many secrets! First, Frag doesn't mention the medal, and now Jeremy doesn't mention how he can use his to the alliance's benefit?" Michael held out the medal for everyone to see. "I just don't vibe."
"Jeremy's medal!" Carol squeaked.
Maggie gasped, picking up how the others' reactions had been exaggerated. "Oh, Jeremy?"
"Jeremy?" Frag said, actually somewhat seriously.
They chorused. "THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!"
Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "It is, but you went through my things? That's low. I know you're desperate, Michael, but causing more chaos for literally no reason is just fucking sad."
Carol fell onto her knees. "Jeremy, you could not be hiding these powers whilst belittling my courtier!"
Frag's ears turned red.
Michael shrugged. "Well, peace!" He walked out.
Carol, Maggie, and Frag held their breath until Michael was out of ear shot before they spilled out laughing. Jeremy giggled a bit too, due to the contagion of the laughter.
The fit ended with a few deep breaths. "Oh, my sides!" Carol panted. "What the fuck is he thinking?"
"No," Frag shook his head, "Jeremy, you're fine. Seriously. If Michael wants me to be mad at you, then I'm not gonna be mad at you."
"Cool," Jeremy shrugged, "expect I don't have a fucking medal anymore. I'm sure Michael came over here mainly to tell me that he's stealing my medal. That little shit."
Confessional: Jeremy
"Even if I think I have the numbers on my side, there is no way to be safe forever with all these medals running loose. No one has even mentioned anything about the Cyfrwys medal or the Alltud medal!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Michael
"Man, I didn't even have to stir shit up! I just had a golden opportunity." Michael held up the Cumhachtach medal. "It came with a golden item!"
End Confessional
Location: Nialasach Ruins
Contestants: Angelo, Arianna, Carol, Frag, Jeremy, Maggie, Michael, Setsuna
"Welcome, eight above-grounders, to your next immunity challenge!" Chris grinned as the players all gathered among the stone arches and pillars of the Nialasach Ruins. "As you can see…" He motioned to a 5 legged obstacle course that to some looked very…familiar. "We had to make a few adjustments due to the landlocked nature of the challenge this season, but welcome to the same challenge that kicked off the Total Drama Renaissance! Stumble or Sprint!"
"I thought that challenge was named 'Sink or Swim'." Maggie tilted her head.
"Yeah, but this one is on land, as is a little different because of it." Chris mentioned. "Your first leg is just a dead sprint, the simplest to complete. Your second leg will see you jumping over and ducking under felled pillars. Third leg will be a 3x3 sliding puzzle. The fourth leg is a mossy stone balance beam. The fifth and final leg will be rolling a giant boulder through a slippery field of mud. If you leave your lane at any point, you have to start the leg that you were on all over again. Any questions?"
"Yeah, can we just skip this and say I won immunity?" Michael asked. "I just think it's a little unfair that I keep being targeted and I should get a break."
"You keep being targeted because of all the nonsense you force us to put up with." Carol rolled her eyes.
"Eh, worth a shot anyways."
"And with that," Chris grinned. "It's time to take your places!"
Challenge: Obstacle Course
Rules: Contestants must finish each obstacle leg as quickly as they possibly can. The first contestant to get through the obstacles wins the challenge. If a contestant leaves their lane, they must start that leg of the challenge over again. CHALLENGE COMMENCE!
"Alright, welcome to the Rainbow Ruin!" Chris announced. "In the Red lane is Angelo, in the Orange lane, Arianna! Carol is in the Yellow lane, and beside her in the Green lane is Frag! Jeremy is in the Cyan lane. Maggie is in Blue! Michael in the Violet Lane! And finally Setsuna in the Pink lane! Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!" All the players shouted back.
"On your marks…" Chris grinned.
"Get set…"
HOOOOONNNNK* Chris blew an airhorn and the contestants all took off down their lanes.
The dead sprint was incredibly close for most of the cast. Arianna just barely took the early lead, with Setsuna and Carol both right behind her. Angelo and Michael were neck and neck in 4th place, leaving Jeremy and Frag to trade off 6th and 7th, while Maggie brought up the rear, pacing herself in this leg of the race where there was no extra hardship.
As the legs changed, however, so too did fortunes. While Arianna had maintained a small lead up to this point, she had trouble jumping over the pillars.
"Arianna getting stuck on the pillars." Chris announced. "Keeps having to start the leg over!"
"Don't tell them that!" Arianna shouted.
"And Frag having trouble ducking under!" Chris moved on.
"Ah crap." Frag sighed as he failed to duck under another pillar and moved back to the start of the leg.
"Angelo meanwhile, making it look easy, taking a big lead!" Chris announced. "But Jeremy isn't far behind him, and Maggie and Michael are now battling it out for third…and with so many legs of the race still to go this could be anybody's challenge. It's not over until it's over."
Confessional: Angelo
"And as soon as he said that…I got to that puzzle."
End Confessional
"Angelo now stuck flat on that puzzle, but it's not just him!" Chris announced. "Jeremy and Michael are also having trouble!"
Confessional: Jeremy
"I just…how does this work?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Michael
Michael is doing mental math in a confessional and seemingly not arriving at the answers he wants.
End Confessional
"Carol, however, coming in from a once 7th place to take a lead!" Chris announced as Carol zipped through the puzzle with a blinding speed.
"Angelo finally gets through his puzzle right behind her, and oh it looks like Arianna has caught up to the pack in 3rd! Meanwhile Frag is lagging far behind the group, still stuck on the pillars!"
Confessional: Frag
"At this point, I might as well resign myself to the fact I'm not winning this challenge, but like…I'm not gonna give up. Maybe I'll get lucky and they all get stuck with that final leg. I know I can do that one really well."
End Confessional
"Hey Carol!" Angelo called as they both struggled on their balance beams covered in moss. "I heard from Rose this morning! Axel's basically tearing the whole Shameterranean apart!"
"He's doing what?!" Arianna asked as she caught up with Carol and Angelo fell a bit behind.
"And Jeremy is finally done with his puzzle just as Frag reaches his!" Chris called out.
"He's destroying the passages in the Shameterranean!" Angelo relayed the information. "His little crusade against the 'villains' might get our friends seriously injured or worse!"
Confessional: Arianna
"Oh. my. Fucking. God. And I was trying to take credit for sending him down there? Now I'm glad he lied about it to these people. I mean, imagine how bad that would be for me to be blamed for that. Whew, I'm so glad I'm safe up here where that lunatic can't do any damage to me."
End Confessional
Confessional: Carol
"Freaking great." Carol groans. "Looks like the camp is realizing too late that Axel and Arianna were basically running defense on each other the entire time, and now they're both everyone's problem again. Agh, but then there's still Michael around to deal with too! Shit, whoever was voting Michael before had the right idea, separating the hate birds was a mistake, because now all the rest of us have too many problems to adequately address all of them! I guess we'll start with Michael though, he's the easiest to get rid of and the most physically threatening to us above ground."
End Confessional
"Jeremy is balancing like a pro and making up a lot of lost time!" Chris announced. "And is he…He is! He's pulled into the lead and is the first to the boulder, but Arianna, Carol, and Angelo are all right behind him! Meanwhile Frag is finally done with the puzzle and onto the balance beams, but both Maggie and Setsuna are about halfway across them, with Michael nearing the end of his! Still, the boulders and mud tend to be a great equalizer! This is still anyone's challenge to win!"
Arianna's boulder was the first to slip and roll off lane.
"Wait…" Arianna realized. "I have to roll it back to the starting point?"
"And Arianna learns the price of failure so close to the finish the hard way!"
"Gah!" A cry from Michael's lane could be heard.
"And so does Michael!" Chris shouted. "Meanwhile, Frag has finally caught up with the group, he, Setsuna, and now Arianna are neck and neck. Maggie and Michael are in the middle of the pack, and leading the charge, with almost flawless boulder rolling, are Carol, Angelo, and Jeremy!"
The three of them kept trading first place with each other, no one dared let the boulder slip out of their grasp.
They all inched their way closer.
And closer.
And closer to the finish.
Until.
At the very end.
There was a victory.
"We have a winner!" Chris announced. "Everyone stop where you are!"
In eighth place was…Setsuna, having recently lost control of her boulder.
In seventh place was… Frag, having only made slight headway on this final leg.
In sixth place was… Arianna, who had never recovered from that first fatal boulder loss.
In 5th place was… Michael who had a decent showing save for getting stuck on that puzzle.
In 4th place was… Maggie, who had been doing a great job rolling her own boulder along its path, but was disadvantaged by arriving later than the other three.
In 3rd place was…
…
…
…
Carol, who was only just barely behind the 2nd place finisher. The winner, however, was unquestionable.
"The winner of immunity is…" Chris proclaimed.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
"JEREMY!"
Jeremy noticed that Chris didn't make note of any clues to be handed out. He wasn't the only one who noticed either. Carol, Angelo, Maggie, Setsuna, and Frag all exchanged glances along with him, but seemed to decide to keep quiet about it.
"Jeremy." Chris draped a hand around Jeremy's shoulder. "King again after so long without being one! You have a decision to make my dude. Will you add to Angelo's Merge of Shame or will you-"
"I'm moving it." Jeremy didn't need Chris to finish. "I think I have a good grasp on why Angelo moved it over here, so allow me some turnabout. We're going to the Lower Ceol Fields and a brief section of the Cailleach Bog, for shade and supply procurement purposes."
Confessional: Jeremy
"I'm almost completely certain Angelo moved the campsite to the desert for a climate advantage. Well, then I'll do the same for myself. Even better, it gets us out of the arid heat, which means I'm not going to earn any anger beyond making us move again, but I think even that's going to be ignored in favor of just not having sand everywhere."
End Confessional
Location: Lower Ceol Fields and Cailleach Bog Border (Peaceful Merge City)
Contestants: Angelo, Arianna, Carol, Frag, Jeremy, Maggie, Michael, Setsuna
Chef drove away on his ATV as the contestants were left to sort themselves out. Jeremy put his hands on his hips. "Okay, I think most of us want to wash up first-"
"Nah, I'm fine." Michael stretched.
Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "Okay, Michael. The girls can go wash up first then. The rest of us, gentlemen, will get the shelter ready. Arianna, you remember where the river is?"
"I do." Arianna walked in the direction of the river. Carol, Maggie, and Setsuna followed.
Confessional: Angelo
"I would be upset at Jeremy for deeming the girls to wash up first, but lately, it seems doing anything against Michael is just so liberating. It would take a fool to not realize where the votes are headed tonight."
End Confessional
The girls jumped into the water and waded through. Setsuna floated as if she was in a lazy river. "Ah, this is how we should all live. Away from society and back to basics."
"You might not want to do that, Setsuna." Maggie spoke up. "If we're out of the boundaries, you'll be eliminated!"
"Oh," Setsuna stood up.
Arianna pulled her twin tails out and her hair flow out. "Relax! We're far from the border Jeremy marked."
"Respectfully," Maggie remarked, "I don't know you much outside the actions of your game, and because of that, I'm not inclined to trust you."
"Well, I'm not sure you know much about Setsuna outside her moves."
"Actually, it's the opposite." Maggie thought about it. "I know the kind of person Setsuna is, but I'm not sure I know much about her in the context of the game."
"Yeah," Setsuna nodded, "I used to vote with a box."
"Where does that put you, Maggie?" Arianna asked. "I don't think I know much about you in the context of the game or even personally."
Carol rolled her eyes as she scrubbed her head. "Just back off of her, Arianna. Her position in this game is much better than yours."
Arianna scoffed. "We'll see about that."
"Give it your best shot." Carol fired back undaunted. "You'll be back with Axel in no time."
Location: Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
Contestants: Angelo, Arianna, Carol, Frag, Jeremy, Maggie, Michael, Setsuna
"Above-ground contestants, welcome to another elimination ceremony." The contestants took a seat, and Chris smiled. "What's gonna happen tonight? Are we cooking up another blindside? Will it go to rocks? Oh! How about another five-way tie?"
"Honestly, Chris," Angelo spoke up, "the vote is decided tonight. I doubt anyone had to run any counsel with their alliances."
"Jeremy," Chris asked, "do you agree with Angelo on the aspect that you did not heed counsel with your alliance?"
"We actually did, Chris." Jeremy nodded. "We suffered a while ago because of a miscommunication. We do not want that again."
Michael shook his head. "I don't think it was much of a suffering, Chris, because I was a part of the alliance at the time, so Frag's move made perfect sense." Michael's words bewildered much of the cast. "I think I'm on the chopping block for the third time in a row. Crazy, right?"
"It sure is, Michael." Chris said, half-seriously. "What do you think your chances of survival are tonight?"
"Well, Chris, I'm going to disappoint you with not really answering your question, but I will say this. Anything is possible. I made a deal with the devil tonight. Lemme tell you this: the devil doesn't always deliver. I'm not going to do that ever again. But even if the devil doesn't deliver, who's to say that it's not someone else that gets blindsided when it seems obvious I'm being targeted?"
"Who is this devil you speak of, Michael?" Chris asked. "It better not be Chef." He shot Chef a quick glare.
"Hey man, I haven't done that since the renaissance started, you know this." Chef held his hands up.
"No, no, no. It was someone who has been sent to the Shameterranean."
Chris stood satisfied at the podium. "I see, we have clear targets, and those targets are looking in unfathomable places to find a little source of security. Perhaps as an already sent down player, Michael could rise up again. The answer to who is eliminated tonight may not be as clear cut as we think it will be. And now that you have some healthy paranoia in your systems, it's time to cast your votes."
One by one, everyone casted their votes. As the last time, there was no speaking, no in-fighting, save for a few confessionals. Otherwise, the crackling of the fire accompanied the looming silence.
Chris returned with the votes in his hands. "The votes have been tallied. Before I read them out, if there is anyone who would like to play a medal, now would be the time to do so."
Michael didn't hesitate. "Me!" He held up the Cumhachtach medal. "I want to play this!"
Chris inspected the medal. "This is, in fact, the Cumhachtach medal! Who would you like to play it on?"
"Jeremy!" Michael said in glee.
"I have absolutely had it with you! You steal my medal and then you play it on me!" Jeremy stood up ready to sock Michael, but he knew that was a bad idea, so he kept it in. "There aren't enough words in my lexicon to describe how much I want to utterly sock your jawbone into your nose!"
Arianna smirked. "What does it do?"
Michael ignored Jeremy. "It makes it so that the votes are nulled, and there is an automatic tiebreaker of my choosing between me and a contestant of my choice!" Michael made a pitching motion. "We're throwing rocks into targets!"
Angelo stood up. "No, you're not." Angelo showed off the Alltud medal. "This is the Alltud medal, and it is to be played when there is another medal played to null the effects of said medal. A counter-medal, if you will."
Michael realized. "You're counter-medaling my medal."
"Precisely." Angelo nodded. "Consider this an apology for how ruthlessly I forced your hand in the early merge, Jeremy."
Jeremy sat back down on his stump with his hand pressed into his chest. He took a deep breath.
"Have a seat, contestants." Chris said formally, as a teacher trying to control a classroom, but with a giant grin on his face.
Once Michael and Angelo sat down, Arianna stood up and yawned. "Well, since the Alltud medal's been played, I suppose I shall play mine."
Carol's eyebrows rose. "What does that do?"
Arianna handed the medal to Chris. "This is, in fact, the Cyfrwys Medal."
Arianna smiled. "The person I voted for is eliminated so long as another contestant votes for them as well."
"With that being said…" Chris put his hand on the lid.
"WAIT!" Maggie stood, a medal in her hand too. "I want to play this on Carol! A regular immunity medal!"
"What is this?" Chris took the medal. "A medal from the beginning? Is someone finally playing it?"
"Jarri got it at the beginning of the merge." Maggie explained. "She gave it to me from the Shameterranean."
"Then that must mean…" Michael grinned.
Chris took a good look at the medal. "No McLean brand seal of approval. This medal is fake."
"What?" Maggie looked down and towards her alliance.
Confessional: Maggie
"Arianna is a mess, but that doesn't mean she isn't smart. She knows that someone else voted for her target, and that's who's going to go home. We. Got. Played. Again!"
End Confessional
Maggie took a seat. Chris waited an extra second. "Okay," he took the lid of the jar, "medal playing time is officially over." Chef brought out a TV and handed Chris the remote. "Why don't we all see who Arianna voted for?"
Confessional: Arianna
As Arianna wrote down the name of the person she wanted to eliminate, she spoke. "You've performed well in this game. It's time to see your fall." Arianna held up the slip of paper…
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End Confessional
"Shit." Carol held her hands together.
Maggie held Carol's arm. "I'm so sorry! I thought that medal was real!"
Carol offered Maggie a smile. "No, this wasn't your fault, Maggie. You don't have to apologize. I'm so super touched you'd even think to play it for me!"
Chris took the votes out. "A vote for Michael." He tossed into the fire. "Arianna's vote for Carol… that one. A vote for Michael, doesn't count. Another vote for Michael, doesn't count. Another vote for Michael. Another doesn't count. Another vote for Michael. It also doesn't count. And here, we have a vote, and it isn't for Michael…
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… Carol. That's two. That's enough. Bring me your torch." Carol placed her torch on the stand. "Carol, Arianna has spoken." Chris snuffed her flame.
Carol approached Arianna. "I don't think you realize what you just did."
"I don't play this game the way you do, Carol." Arianna sneered. "The moves I play may make no logical sense to you, but I find it's the path to my victory."
"Yes, the logic of a messy selfish girl does tend to feel alien to a well adjusted one. Then so be it. This won't be the last you'll see of me." Carol smiled. "After all, I don't fear danger. I welcome it."
"Then welcome it already and leave the rest of us non-Shame players to ourselves." Arianna snapped.
Confessional: Arianna
"Michael may be devious, but he doesn't know how to get the job done. He'd been breaking Carol and Maggie up, but it just took a conversation for them to get back together. Carol was the de facto head of the biggest alliance numerically, and got along well with the others enough that they'd probably keep her around as long as they could. That kind of person is dangerous for me as a free-floater. That alliance had to be broken, and now that it is, I'm all the more safe. Carol insinuated that her allies will gun for me, but they won't be unified without her. All there is is Frag and Jeremy, who Frag just betrayed, lowkey, and Maggie who is too timid to make up some of her own big moves. Carol was the most powerful player in this game. She was basically everyone's ideal finale opponent, or at least finale third. That's why I brought Michael, the least powerful with literally less social capital than me in on this play. This move symbolizes the power shift. This is no longer their merge. This is my end-game."
End Confessional
"Well, contestants, you've had many, many blindsides, but this one was by far the most shocking. With no more clan medals, a conclusion like this is far from likely to happen again. But you somehow keep amazing me. With alliances continuing to crumble, I suggest re-evaluating who you work with. With that being said, I have nothing more for you. Grab your torches and get out."
*Carol's Elimination Confessional:
"Arianna thinks this is a victory for her. And she's right. It is. It was well played. Arianna also thinks, however, that she can keep the power she's gained tonight. She's wrong. Even if she makes it to the finale…who among us that have had to deal with her would want her to win? The eliminated always play a role in Total Drama finales. Now then…as I head down into this crumbling cavern, courtesy of the mindless beast that is Axel Exonerium, I have one goal in mind. Find that DA and get someone, anyone, out of here before he collapses the entire island on top of us. Time is a factor now. First, establish contact with allies, hopefully they're all still here. Second, try and get Axel to not crush us under the island's own weight. Then, grab the DA. I know where it is. Finally, the hard part, get past Kalyssa, and Tiberius and get someone surface-side. Preferably me, obviously, but in the worst case scenario, imminent structural collapse because Axel doesn't listen, I can't rule out tossing the artefact down the Pit of Peril as a solution."
End Confessional*
Location: Shameterranean
Contestants: Axel, Carol, Jarri, Kalyssa, King, Rose, Tiberius
Carol crept down the steps of the Shameterranean, but as she was going to make a turn…
"Carol!" Jarri came up to hug her.
"Jarri!" Carol returned the hug. King and Rose came up with Jarri. "You're all still here! How has it been?"
"Terrible." Rose shook her head. "The decision to eliminate Axel has led to his knocking this place over. We haven't made any progress because of Axel terraforming the place, and now we're probably never going to find anything, especially if the rate of his destruction continues as it is."
Carol held a determined look on her face. "We need to find Axel. I need something from him. Have a few things to say to him too."
"You won't get to him." Kalyssa apparated like a fey monster of folklore from behind Carol. "He's a behemoth who will only try to knock you down if you get in his way."
Kalyssa grabbed her by the waist and pushed her towards the edge of the nearest Pit of Peril.
The suddenness of this attack caused Carol to lose her balance, rolling over into the pit almost immediately, but managing to cling onto the edges, and Kalyssa knelt down and began to pry Carol's fingers off one by one. "Can't have someone like you around making trouble, oh no." Kalyssa chided.
Almost as suddenly as her attack had been, King grappled Kalyssa back from Carol, allowing her to regain a grip with the fingers that remained while an open hand failed for assistance.
Jarri quickly came to help Carol out of the ledge, but Kalyssa had already managed to break free of King's grapple and pushed Jarri straight in right in front of a recently recovered Carol's eyes. The heroes' hands just barely missed each other as Jarri fell down the hole.
King ambushed Kalyssa from behind once more and rolled her away from that pit towards another one on the far side of the cavern.
Rose came to help Carol to her feet. "She's bold today, Kalyssa." She warned. "She must see a way out for her to be so keen to reveal herself."
King and Kalyssa rolled across the floors towards the edge of the Pit of Peril. With Kalyssa currently on top of him, King did his best to roll the pair in.
"Nuh-uh-uh" Kalyssa taunted as she resisted his force "Knock me in, and you're going down with me!"
"A sacrifice I'm willing to make." King grunted as he summoned his strength. "To save one of your targets and to avenge the other!" And with that he managed to roll over, and the pair, together, fell down the Pit of Peril.
Rose looked over the edge after pulling Carol up. "King, Jarri, are you okay?"
"Ja, I'm okay." King looked up from the bottom.
Jarri brushed herself off as she joined King from where his pit opened up. "We took care of this pesky one." She pointed to Kalyssa who was clearly unhappy. "You just have the two men. Rose, Tiberius is into you, or at least your appearance, so maybe you can use that to your advantage. Carol, I think that you're the only one who can talk to Axel. Be safe."
King waved. "Good luck, girls."
Shift Camera Focus
Tiberius walked through the tunnels bravely. No more pesky walls. No more need for pesky Kalyssa. Sound could travel easier, he could very easily hear Kalyssa fall, among others. He knew where those failed heroes were.
Time to make them all fall.
Shift Camera Focus
Carol and Rose made their way to where the ambushing of dust and debris came upon them. "Axel, back off of Tiberius!" Carol shouted as Axel and Tiberius tumbled out of the cloud of violent dirt.
Tiberius easily shook off Axel and gave Carol a very confused look, as though he barely even registered who she was.
Axel, on the other hand, was furious.
"Who the fuck do you think you are? I'm here for Tiberius. It's up to me that that dolt goes down. No one else has been able to do it! That makes my way the only way!"
"No, I don't fucking think so!" Carol shot back. "What is the point of going against these people this way?" She motioned to the unstable cavern walls and the violent scuffle between the two men. "All you are doing is feeding into animosity and hate, fueling them even, creating a never ending cycle! Even if you do succeed, you aren't succeeding in a vacuum! The whole world is watching, possibly some of those people even looking up to you, rooting for you! They might come on this show one day and play exactly the way you do, which is not what you want! And what about the ones that hate you? They might come onto this show and play even more villainous games than the ones you fought against out of petty spite! You are creating the very villains that you are so against! Imagine how many heroes are tainted in a season for villains. How many heroes have you tainted? Angelo never would have had to go the devious route with Jeremy, but he did, because that was what he was pushed to do."
"Angelo has always been devious, but I suppose I did make a good player resort to deceit, yes. But that is precisely why I stood by Arianna, someone already rotten, all the time. I gravitated towards the other villains because it is better for my game to deal with those already corrupted so as not to corrupt others."
"You played your game above ground carefully enough, I guess, but here? You are sacrificing the safety of everyone. What's to stop me or Rose from turning into playing a villainous game because of you? And it's not villainous to us. It might as well be purely a survival instinct!"
Tiberius and Axel stood in silence. Rose put a proud hand on Carol's shoulder and smiled.
Tiberius came up to Carol. "You see, that would apply to me too," An almost genuine smile marked his face "If I didn't have goals!" He picked Carol up by her waist.
She struggled. "Wait! You can't push me down! You can't! You can't! Axel will cause a cave in and kill you all before you find the Druidic Artefact!"
Tiberius stared at Carol, looking her right in the eyes.
Carol looked back, undaunted even now.
Tiberius put her down, in the middle of the remaining Shameterranean players. "What do you mean? Speak plainly or be yeeted."
Carol held a determined look into the eyes of her competition. "I know where the Druidic Artefact is. And you," she pointed to all of them, "are never going to find it!"
Tiberius' mouth went agape.
Axel's brow furrowed.
Rose gasped.
Carol kept turning her head to see how they would act. Would one push her? Would one use her? Would one destroy her?
Then, Rose backed off.
Then, Tiberius backed off.
Axel stared Carol down…and backed off.
"Fine. You know where it is. You don't want me tearing down the Shameterranean."
"You don't want me to yeet you." Tiberius added. "So…lead the way."
11/36 Remain. 7 Above Ground.
The Votes:
Angelo voted for… Michael (doesn't count)
Arianna voted for… Carol
Carol voted for… Michael (doesn't count)
Frag voted for… Michael (doesn't count)
Jeremy voted for… Michael (doesn't count)
Maggie voted for… Michael (doesn't count)
Michael voted for… Carol
Setsuna voted for… Michael (doesn't count)
AN1:
Carol: And Carol replaces not one, not two, but three people as a member of the Shameterranean, and she is already in a precarious situation, but if anyone can navigate a precarious situation well, it's our resident thrill-seeker! She knows where the DA is and she has a plan to follow, a much harder plan now that she only has Rose as an ally and is surrounded on two sides by people she does not want to hand the DA off to.
Man, Carol is so much fun to write. It really kind of sucked that she didn't get to shine much during the team phase of the game, but boy is she bossin' during the merge. I don't think she's done bossin' yet either.
Jarri: And Jarri's been eliminated for real this time, Kalyssa's final victim. Jarri was probably one of my favorite Mealltach members to write, just because of how positive of a player she was on a season absolutely packed with neutral to negative characters. I'm glad she was able to last as long as she did.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Jarri earns the title of: Hero
Like, obviously the person whose label was 'The Cute Hero' was going to play a heroic game, and Jarri absolutely delivered. She wasn't able to yeet Tiberius, but she yeeted his sword and saved Carol, on top of all her above-ground stuff too, she absolutely checks the 'Hero' box.
Jarri's best moment: I'd say it was her elimination confessional. Short, to the point, and a perfect encapsulation of her positive heroic energy.
Kalyssa: Where do I even begin? Kalyssa is perhaps the best thing that could have possibly happened to this season. She single handedly turned it from a season about people struggling against Crios Cath's wilderness into a fucking Total Drama flavored Game of Thrones season and now that we've come this far I cannot even fathom the narrative going any other way. Kalyssa has been the greatest delight in the world to write and I'm so bummed that I have to stop. I will never forget you, Kalyssa.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Kalyssa earns the title of: Villain
Fuck, maybe even Supervillain. Have you seen the manipulative shit she got up to? She created Laura's slide into villainy. She took over Arianna's AARM campaign and went hard on the political persecution of Angelo. She somehow managed to eliminate Jarri of all people, she actively worked with Tiberius to terrorize the non-villains of this iteration of the Shameterranean, like, holy shit, y'know? Kalyssa is the most important villain this season had. She set up all the dominoes and even knocked the first few over. Kalyssa is undoubtedly a villain.
Kalyssa's Best Moment: Yes. They all are. Pick one. I'll pick this one, when she is talking with Laura and urging her to use the Queen powers to her advantage.
That one conversation singlehandedly set the tone for the remainder of the season. The long season, with 36 contestants, who in any other fic would've been able to shift the tone back at any time, but it's too late for them now. Thanks to Kalyssa, even they believe they're in a Total Drama Game of Thrones.
King: King had such a wild ride. He goes from feeling like one of the only normal people on his clan, to feeling like the only normal person on his clan, to not having a clan anymore, to suddenly having Setsuna join him on a clan that was supposed to be male only, to then somehow outlasting the people of that clan until only Frag is left as the king and he and Setsuna are just still there somehow, and then the players merge and it looks like things are looking up for him and the ally he can't really rely on because she votes with a box, but THEN Tiberius just decides to keep him down in the Shameterranean just because, and then he vicariously sees his ally starting to play a better and better game through his little conversations with her through holes in the ground, all the while he's busy avoiding Tiberius, sword fighting Kalyssa using a stick, and trying to bring all the heroic players together. This man deserves some kind of freaking award for putting up with literally all of that.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, King earns the title of: Hero
If you yeet Kalyssa down a pit of peril by using yourself as a bodyweight in defense of a heroic player like Carol and to avenge a heroic player like Jarri, yeah, you're a Hero. Let's not also forget his role in helping Setsuna finally…play the game too.
King's Best Moment: I think I like when he rolled Kalyssa into the Pit of Peril the best. I think it's a good encapsulation of what I guess became his arc of going from feeling like everyone around him was some kind of freak of nature to really liking a lot of these people and ultimately being willing to sacrifice his own game if it ensured the safety of the games of his allies.
EN1: Carol has been one of my faves for a while, so it's great to see her be a boss queen in the Shameterranean! Things are super tense down there! Above ground too, but down there… Arianna is onto something. It's endgame bitches.
Jarri: My favorite moment of Jarri's is her first moment with Frag. I only find it funny that the Discord started shipping them, when…. it's Carol and Frag guys. That was probably a cool plot twist for you guys.
King: King was good. I liked seeing him go to different clans, and he had one heck of a ride. My favorite moment from him was honestly when Michael and Stan were fighting over his name if King were to become King. It was such a change of pace from Ffydd, and probably a bit of culture shock for King.
Kalyssa: Kalyssa, Kalyssa. I will never spell her name correctly on the first try. Clearly, Doobop and I, undoubtedly, think the most important character in this season is Kalyssa, period. But I'm open to hear your opinions too. Really cool seeing her incredibly lucky rise to power, but luck is easily taken away, and Kalyssa did not factor that into her game. My favorite moment of hers is probably the one Doobop brought up. The conversation with Laura. But to be different, I'll do the conversation with Arianna during the Hand on a Hard Idol challenge. The way Kalyssa breaks and outwits another cunning player like her is wild.
Those are my hopinions. Looking forward to yours~
AN2: We have a discord, the link is on my profile!
EN2: More fun outline quotes
"Michael shows everyone the medal and they all like JEREMY, THIS ISN'T TRUE!"
"Arianna rejects his alliance offer because she is a proud, stupid bitch, and leaves camp."
AN3: And as always, thanks for reading!