Random Drama Pahkitew Island Chapter 13: Lies, Cries, and One Big Prize, a total drama series fanfic

Author's Note: Here we are, at the last episode of season six. It's been a fun ride, but now it's time to see who'll win the million.

Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, the shuffled concept or the (most of) the characters.

And to answer some reviews:

Guest1138: Minor mistake, Katie's the one who was eliminated just then. Sadie got the boot back in episode three. Though I'm a bit surprised to hear you were expecting her to make the finale. Honestly, I love writing finales where people are okay with whoever wins. So I'm glad you like both characters.

Derick Lindsey: Katie's elimination was meant to be ironic. And Katie and Sadie made the deal about voting for themselves before the season, as shown in Sadie's confessional. I guess you could say Katie got screwed over by Chris. I'm glad you liked the trivia challenge, I was the most worried about that. No one's going to be chewing Katie out right now. I decided against it. Sorry to say it, but I'm glad you think finding someone to root for is tough. I'm glad you like Chef's chat with Katie. He was talking about Chris, but the funny thing is I've been trying to add subtle hints that the old Chris is still in there somewhere. He's still apathetic to the players safety most of the time, but he has his minor moments of worry.

Jubilee Jigsaw: The premier of Random Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race is up next, followed by the premier of Random Drama Danger Island. I'm alternating.

Guest #1: I'm glad you liked it, but man. How odd is it that Katie wound up on the list of best villain defeats. I think Dawn and Brick are everyone's favorite Revenge of the Island contestants. Now now, the All-Stars finale was bad, but at least we got some humor out of Aleheather. This finale was nothing but total derailment of characters for no reason whatsoever.

Gucci Mane LaFlare: Heh. It almost seems like the finale is an afterthought for you.

StarHeart Specials: Thanks! I don't know why the last chapter didn't flow right to me, but I'm glad it's in my head. I can definitely say her actions this season will be a part of her character in future appearances. Isn't it always great when you're okay with either finalist winning? I'm glad you liked the trivia questions, and the fourth wall leaning. Also, I'd love another top ten moments. The last one was so much fun to read.

Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: I'm so confused why everyone thought Katie was making the finale. I've only seen one fic where Dawn makes the finals, and I can't even remember the name of it. Katie's elimination in my mind is definite Alas, Poor Villain territory. Will she get out of her funk before All-Stars 2? Who knows? True, I don't think anyone's as bad as Chris. Except maybe Matthew.

lordkalel: Thanks! I think I may have the most radically different Katie in competition fics.

That British Guy: Interesting predictions... But only one way to find out.

Guest #2: To paraphrase Legends of Tomorrow. 'She's gay, not blind.'

Tempokeep: Yeah, I don't make a habit of villains making the finale. The deck does seem rather stacked against Dawn doesn't it? I don't see Dawn or B returning for RR. Sorry. I'll be alternating posting chapters of the two stories. Starting with the Race.

Knight: I'd say they both deserve the money equally. Which is why this was such a hard decision.

And in case you've forgotten, the finale is Dawn vs. Brick.

It's time for Chris to get lazy, and decide the Final Two...

Episode 13: Lies, Cries, and One Big Prize

"Previously, on Total Drama," Chris opened alongside the capstone theme and the usual long-distance shot of the island. "Brick, Katie, and Dawn created their own challenges!" the host explained, the recap montage beginning with the Final Three starting their run through the obstacle course, followed by a shot of the curtain opening on the trivia contest stage.

"Brick gave us a military-themed obstacle course," Chris said over a shot of Brick crawling under the barbed and/or electrified wires with relative ease. "Which gave Dawn a bit of a snag," the moonchild was shown getting her sweater stuck on some barbed wire, "and blew Katie away," the host finished with a laugh as the girl was thrown across the finish line in an explosion.

"Dawn's treetop race was more entertaining than a sawing monkey," Chris continued, the montage flashing ahead to Dawn and Brick racing through the trees, then Brick holding on to a branch that a monkey was sawing at. "Unsurpisingly, Dawn won the challenge," the moonchild was shown at the finish line, "and poor Katie fell from grace," the girl was shown falling after her first jump, "and the trees," he second fall was shown.

"So, it all came down to Katie's challenge: a trivia challenge about the former competitors," Chris said over a shot of the Final Three on the stage. "Brick didn't have too good a start," he said over a clip the scores early on in the challenge, "but quickly earned himself a spot in the finale," after a clip of him answering, the shot cut to his score being 08 and the others at 07.

"It all came down to a final question," Chris was shown at his podium with his notecards, "a Sadie-themed one that Katie ironically got wrong." Katie got shocked, Dawn's counter changed to 08, and Katie fell to her knees. "Bye-bye!" Chris said with an audible smile over one final clip of Katie getting shot into the night by the Cannon of Shame.

The montage ended with a flash, showing a close-up of Chris in front of a bare rock wall. "Down to two from three," he said, holding up three fingers but lowering one of them, "cause now we're Katie-free. But," he lowered another finger, "it'll still be neat to see who gets beat," he punched his open palm. "So! Grab a seat. There's one million bucks on the line," the shot cut to a robotic arm lifting up the open suitcase full of prize money against a radiant orange-and-gold background. "Iiiiiit's finale time!" Chris said as the shot cut back to him, spreading his arms then leaning back and pointing both at the camera.

"On Total! Drama! Paaaaaahkitew Island!"

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[Though the sequence remained short, it opened much the same as it had in previous seasons – a shift into letterbox format for a shot of a rocky forest waterfall, a stagelight rotating up from behind some rocks and turning on. Then a shiny spotlight swings down from the unseen branches of some mossy, mushroom-ridden tree. The shot moves to a pond where a brown bear wearing a scuba mask sits in the water glaring at a frog on a lily pad, both animals looking surprised as the lily pad is suddenly lifted into the air by a security camera rising up from below it. A seagull perched on a rock on the beach is flattened by a panel in the rock slamming down on it, another camera emerging from within, and a pair of white-skinned hands clap a film slate in front of the main camera.

As the film slate is pulled away the scene transitions to a rocky stream, and the camera flies forward to see Anne Maria, spraying her hair in front of a coughing and annoyed Chris. He shoves her out of the way just as the camera passes and the lyrics start.]

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

[The camera quickly flies through the pine trees, landing on Katie and Sadie eagerly picking berries from a bush and eating them. They look to the right to see Justin smiling with his hands on his hips, and the girls squeal in delight. Then they run over and hug him to Justin's shock and discomfort, and the camera quick-pans away.

It lands on Dawn and Courtney standing on top of a cliff. Dawn says something with a calm and serious expression, prompting Courtney to angrily turn around and cross her arms. Suddenly, Izzy runs past the two girls and jumps off the cliff and they gasp in shock. Izzy raises her arms and falls with a cackle.]

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

[The camera quick-pans downward to show Izzy falling past Britney and Brick, the two scaling the side of the cliff. They look back over their shoulders to watch the girl fall with blank and confused looks.

Another quick-pan takes the camera to Dave sitting on a rock, his fingers in his ears and an irritated look on his face. To the left is Jaxon, a book in one hand and his other arm outstretched dramatically as he spoke. And on the right is Geoff, pumping his fist excitedly.

The camera moves to the left to show B and Cameron standing next to a large robot that looked like it was made out of old appliances and electronics. B presses a button on a remote with a smirk, that turns in to a look of shock when the robot grabs Cameron by the hoodie and tosses him off-screen.

The lyrics end there, and the camera suddenly flies forward through the shrubs behind B to emerge at the roaring campfire. The usual whistling finishes begins as Britney and Dave are shown sitting together by the fire. Britney looks giddy as Dave leans forward expectantly, only for Courtney to suddenly step forward with an angry glare and make Dave stop and sag in disappointment.

Britney frowns and sags as well, and then to the camera as it pulls back to reveal the full cast – Cameron, B, Katie, Sadie, Geoff, and Dawn on the left next to Courtney and Britney with Chris standing nearby; Justin, Izzy, Brick, Anne Maria, and Jaxon next to Dave, with Chef standing behind them.

The misshapen signpost on the gateway to the elimination area read 'Total Drama Pahkitew Island' in big block letter over three lines.]

XXXXX

A deep note played as the episode opened on the treefort, the sky dark and the crickets chirping. A deep sigh issued forth from it, and the camera soon cut inside to show Dawn tossing and turning in her bed. She got up and grabbed a pillow from the bed above her and closed her eyes with a smile, only to open them and sigh again.

XXX

"It's no use," Dawn sighed in the confessional. "I just can't get to sleep. I'm too nervous about tomorrow. Hopefully Brick is having the same trouble I am..."

XXX

The static cut away to show Dawn turning her back to the camera with another sigh, then the shot panned to the left through the dividing wall to show Brick sleeping peacefully and snoring rather loudly.

XXX

"One of the key abilities for a cadet is being able to get rest in high stress situations," Brick explained. "And I can't think of anything more stressful than a million dollar competition."

He paused. "Well, aside form war."

XXX

An angelic sound played as the shot returned to a close-up of Dawn, her eyes blinking blearily to sleep as the light of dawn streamed in through a window high on the wall above her.

Just as she and the music seemed to reach a peaceful rest, the wail of an airhorn pierced the walls and forced Dawn back into wakefulness, her eyes snapping open wide and bloodshot. "Dawn and Brick," Chris announced over the camp loudspeakers, the screen splitting in two with a shot of the cadet blearily waking up sliding in on the left. "Meeting area, now!"

The scene flashed to Dawn and Brick standing before Chris in the open meeting area. "Yes! Today, I fire one of you from a cannon," he greeted excitedly. "And then start my vacation."

"Plus you'll hand one of us a million dollars," Brick added with a grin.

"I haven't forgotten, dude," Chris said in annoyance, "I'm just focusing on the parts that bring me the most joy. Okay?"

"What's the challenge?" Dawn asked. "Is it physical or have you decided on something else?"

Brick snorted. "Total Drama finales are always physical," he said. "And while you have been a formidable opponent, I'm afraid I just outclass you in that area."

"Don't get overconfident," Dawn warned. "I can think of more than one occasion where the less athletic finalist won the money."

"If I may continue?" Chris interrupted, his annoyed expression soon dropping. "Your final challenge is so demanding, the lawyers insisted each of you get a helper. Ehh," he shrugged, "it's not a horrible idea. I mean," the shot cut to the finalists as they watched him, "maybe they'll be able to help us find your bodies!" Dawn and Brick shared a brief but wary look. "So, which of the past contestants would you like as a helper?" Chris asked, stepping over to them.

XXX

"I'd prefer B," Dawn told the outhouse camera. "He's smart and athletic, and we work well together. But I wouldn't be too upset over having Britney as a helper."

XXX

"It's no surprise that I'd prefer Courtney over anyone else," Brick confessed. "She's smart, athletic, driven...and objectively speaking, the most physically attractive girl this season." He paused, then hung his head in shame. "Hopefully she never finds out about me voting for her..."

XXX

"I choose B," Dawn said with a calm smile as the static cut away and a triumphant tune played...for a few brief moments.

Chris chuckled. "'Choose'?" he repeated, laughing again. "Nooo, no no no no no no no...," he told the finalists with a wag of his finger.

"But you just asked us-," Brick pointed out in confusion.

"I know," Chris conceded, "I asked you who you wanted, I did that to be mean." He laughed again as the sound of squeaky wheels approached. "Your helpers-" the camera pulled back to show Chef pushing a large widescreen monitor up to the host on a cart- "will be selected thusly!" He motioned to the TV. "When you press this button," he held up a remote control with a single red button on it, "the possible helpers will flash across the screen." A game show jingle played as the shot cut to the monitor, now showing the portraits of the eliminated contestants rolling down across the screen as if on a reel. "Whoever's face it stops on, is your helper."

The reel stopped on an image of Katie with quivering lips and tears in her eyes, causing Dawn and Brick – now holding remotes - to wince. "What happens if we land on someone whose help we don't want?" Dawn asked.

"You each get one chance to pass and spin again," Chris answered with a wide grin as the sound of a helicopter grew louder. "And just to make things even more interesting," he added, growing more and more giddy with each moment, "I've brought all the helpers out to watch!"

"THIS IS HIGHLY ILLOGICAL!" shouted a familiar voice.

Dawn and Brick gasped as the music spiked, and the shot cut to the same dual-rotor military helicopter that Chris and Chef had taken shelter in during the island's malfunctioning as it flew in overhead.

Then the camera panned downward to show the twelve eliminated campers dangling under it tied up in ropes – Katie on the far left, then Sadie, Anne Maria, Geoff, B, Courtney, Justin, Britney, Dave, Cameron, Jaxon, and finally Izzy on the far right.

"What's the big idea, Chris?!" Izzy shouted, the shot cutting in close to her and Cameron. "Huh?!"

"Yes," Jaxon chimed in, "he was under the impression that she," he nodded his head toward the wildcard, "was in police custody."

"I think we might have bigger issues right now..." Cameron said, the camera panning onto him.

"Oh, what difference does it make?" Dave replied in a dreamy tone, the camera pulling back to show him and Britney gazing at each other. "The world's just to beautiful to care about a little pain."

"I'm just glad I'm next to the hottest guy on the island," Britney said in a dreamy tone of her own.

"You're welcome," Justin remarked as the camera panned past a blushing Britney and onto him. "By the way, Chris, these ropes might cause some bruising. Can we get them loosened a bit?"

Courtney shook her head, then gave Justin an incredulous look. "You do realize that if the ropes are loosened, you'll fall?"

"Hey, I can't control my modelling contracts," Justin told her. "They're very strict," he added with a knowing nod.

"If the contracts are so strict," Courtney asked in exasperation, "then why would you sign up for a reality competition?!" Justin opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Don't answer that." She looked downward. "Brick! You'd better win this!"

The shot cut to Brick, blushing furiously.

The camera cut back to B. It lingered on him for a few moments as he awkwardly looked from side to side, then directly at the camera. He cut his eyes to his hat-less head, and smiled.

The camera panned onto Geoff. "I just wanna say that I'm fine with both of you dudes winning," he said with a happy smile, "so don't force me to take sides." He gave a short but satisfied nod. "Also, I actually don't mind being tied up like this!"

Another pan to the left showed Anne Maria watching him. "Ehh, I can't blame ya," she said, shrugging. "This is only like the third worst seat I've had for a show myself."

"Really?" Geoff asked, raising a eyebrow in disbelief. "Are the shows in Jersey really that terrible to watch?"

"They are if ya don't have tickets!" Anne Maria answered happily.

Yet another pan put the focus on Katie and Sadie. "Ohmygosh, Sadie, I'm so sorry for how I acted this season!" Katie told her friend.

"I know..." Sadie replied in slight irritation.

"I was just so lost after you were sent home," Katie explained.

"So you've told me," Sadie said.

"And I just got so caught up on winning that I-" Katie started before Sadie cut he off.

"SHUT UP!" Sadie finally yelled, causing Katie to start sniffling. "We'll talk about it once we get home." Sadie added after sighing.

"Okay," Chris said, the music turning slow and plodding as the camera cut back to him, Dawn and Brick. "Now that the Peanut Gallery has had a chance to reintroduce themselves, let's move on."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a minute," Brick held up a hand to interrupt – before motioning with both to the side and flatly asking "Why? How? When?"

"Uh, you're gonna have to be a little more specific there," Chris told him, raising an eyebrow.

"He means why are they all tied up?" Dawn translated.

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long, irritated sigh. "Fine," he said. "I'm keeping them tied up and in plain sight so we don't repeat the fiasco from last season's finale, okay? Last thing I need is another psycho with a grudge against me. All clear?"

"Yes," Dawn said bluntly.

"Not really," Brick replied.

"Whatever," Chris told them, his brow creased in annoyance. His expression then changed into a smile. "Who goes first will be decided by a coin toss," he explained, taking out a coin and flipping it towards the campers.

It hit Brick in the eye. He yelped in pain, rubbing where he'd been hit.

"Brick wins!" Chris happily announced. "Let's see who you get," he said, motioning back to the monitor as the game show jingled played again.

The shot cut to a close-up of the monitor as the portraits began to scroll past, Brick uttering a series of grunts as she watched off-screen – some hopeful, some annoyed. "Okay, stop," he said after a few seconds, the camera moving to him as he pressed the button on his remote.

The simulated reel stopped on Courtney. "Good, just who I was hoping for," Brick said confidently as a triumphant jingle played. "There's no one I'd rather face uncertain doom with."

"Thanks Brick," Courtney said, the shot cutting to show her blushing. "That was oddly touching."

"Dawn," Chris said, the camera moving back to the finalists as the moonchild pursed her lips, "you're up."

The game show jingle played, and the portraits started flashing across the monitor again – until they stopped on Justin. "No..." Dawn groaned.

XXX

"I knew the odds of getting B were slim," Dawn confessed. "But I at least wanted a helper who would actually... help."

XXX

An odd note played as the shot cut back to Brick, Dawn, and Chris, the latter two sharing a look. "I'd like to spin again," Dawn said.

"Have at it," Chris replied, the shot briefly cutting to the pictures flashing across the monitor again.

Dawn pressed the button, and sagged in defeat – and the camera cut to the monitor to show that it had landed on Justin again. The camera moved in front of Chris as he gave her a mischievous look. "Justin again?" he asked in fake shock. "What are the odds?"

The camera pulled back as Chris turned to the right and nodded at Chef, who returned the gesture and walked away. "Okay, looks like Brick gets Courtney and Dawn gets Justin," Chris said, nodding toward the helicopter. The ropes tied around the two chosen helpers abruptly came lose causing both to fall, but while Justin landed in an awkward flop Courtney simply tucked her legs in and rolled as a light but triumphant tune played.

She got back onto her feet just as Brick jogged up to her, and the two hugged. "I missed you! I'm so glad I get to help you win this," Courtney said.

"Me too," Brick replied. "I couldn't have asked for a better partner."

XXX

"I'm not in the game any more," Courtney explained. "So I have no problems going after Brick now. Besides, if I can't be a millionaire, I can at least be the girlfriend of a millionaire."

She widened her eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still gonna go out with him even if he loses. But with me and him against Dawn and Justin that's probably not gonna happen," she finished with a smug grin.

XXX

The camera panned to the right as Justin gasped and stood up. My face," he said, the shot cutting in close as he pulled out a mirror and looked in it "Did I get any scratches? Bruises?" He gasped. "Cuts?!"

Dawn groaned in annoyance and palmed her face.

XXX

Chris laughed. "Best. Idea. EV-ER!"

XXX

"Eh-hem," Chris interrupted, the static cutting away to show him walking towards the two pairs. "Reunion's over? Good! It's time for your final challenge. I have endearingly titled it, 'The Double Duo of Deadly Dying Death'!" A dramatic spike in the music, reverberated voice, and zoomed-in and angled shot all combined to make the revealing of the title particularly dramatic.

"That sounds dangerous...," Justin said worryingly.

Chris sighed. "'The Double Duo of Dangerous Deadly Dying Death'!" he reiterated, the same effect playing as before.

"It's dangerous," Justin conceded, causing Dawn to groan again.

XXX

"I'm confused as to how he was able to trick people for so long," Dawn confessed.

XXX

"Now since Matthew snuck back onto the island and changed it completely by wreaking havoc in the secret underground control room..." Chris began to explain.

"Umm, hold on," came the voice of Dave, the camera panning back up to the still-loitering helicopter. "What did you just say?" he asked in confusion.

"Wait you guys didn't know about that?" Izzy asked. "It's like the only reason I was able to get away from the RCMP!"

"RCMP?!" Dave asked incredulously. "Can someone please explain what happened after I quit?"

"No," Chris replied in a deadpan tone. "As I was saying," he continued, putting his bland smile back on as the background music became deep and tense, "we've yet to explore all the wonderful and bizarre new dangers the island's new landscape has to offer. Until now. Brick and Dawn," the shot cut back to the two pairs, "with assistance from your helpers-" Courtney and Brick shared a smile while Dawn sagged and Justin sent her a smile- "you will race across the island. First one to cross the finish line will receive," Chris turned to the side and grabbed the prized suitcase from Chef, the music building up grandly as he opened it to reveal it's glowing contents, "One! Millions! Dol-lars!"

All four teens started cheering.

"All you have to do is survive a 2000-foot plummet from an ice cliff," Chris joyously explained, the camera cutting to the slender peak of a snowy mountain before quick-panning away, "successfully learn to breathe while submerged in mud," the camera panned across a bubbling lake of mud before quick-panning away again, "and then sprint two miles across a wide-open field where," the shot now panned across a seemingly ordinary and empty field, "I'm absolutely sure no harm will come to you."

The shot cut back to the cast as Chris began to laugh raucously for an extended period of time, Chef joining in a second later. "The point I'm making," Chris said once they'd finally finished, "is that there's a decent chance you may not survive this."

Both finalists and helpers groaned warily. Then they were each tossed an orange helmet.

"For the first part of the challenge," Chris explained, "the lawyers insisted you wear helmets to protect your brains." The shot cut to him and Chef. "I mean who knows. Someday, you may start using them." The roar of the nearby helicopter suddenly increased, the added wind whipping up a cloud of dust around the men. "When you get to the top of the mountain, it'd be a good idea to build a bobsled," Chris instructed, "or, it'll be a very rough ride down!"

The show's smaller red helicopter was shown flying over, the larger military one flying away with the rest of the former campers still attached. "Grab a rope!" Chris said, the camera panning down the four ropes hanging from the helicopter to show them dangling just above the finalists and helpers. "Your challenge begins...NOW!"

The four grabbed the ropes in front of them, and to a sudden bit of challenge music and a blast of the host's airhorn, the helicopter flew off dragging the startled teens along with it.

"Good luck! Stay safe!" Chris called out after them. "Are things I'd say, if I cared!"

The footage flashed ahead to the top of the snowy peak, several boxes and barrels of various junk – including what looked like several sets of skis – already waiting at the top. The small helicopter arrived momentarily, and the shot cut to its four passengers landing in the show – Brick and Courtney on the left, Dawn and Justin on the right.

"We're supposed to build a bobsled out of this junk?" Courtney asked in disbelief.

"No ma'am," Brick corrected as he grabbed a pair of skis, "Chris just said it would be a good idea." He tossed the skis onto the ground and stepped on them, a tense challenge tune playing in the background. "I happen to have a different one, so hop on."

The shot cut to a close-up of Courtney smiling, then to her jumping onto the skis behind Brick. "Woo hoo! Let's do this!" she cheered as they began to slide forward down the slope.

"Yeah!" Brick chimed as just before they left the scene.

The camera panned onto Dawn, holding a pair of skis of her own. "We have to move now!"

"Not without a bobsled." Justin told her. "I'm not risking losing my contracts."

"I'm skiing down this mountain with or without you," Dawn told him irritably. "And we both know Chris won't rescue you," She tossed the skis on the ground and pointed at them. "So get on and steer. NOW!"

"Okay okay," Justin said in a panic, running over to the skis and jumping on. The challenge music rose up again as Dawn wrapped her arms around his back, and they started to slide.

The shot cut to Brick and Courtney looking back over their shoulders with grins on their faces. "Awesome," Courtney said, "with this lead there's no way they'll catch up to us!"

They promptly skied through a tall mogul, slowing them down a little and covering Brick's eyes in snow. "I can't see!" he shouted, clawing at the packed snow as they began to swerve.

"Quick, to the left!" Courtney shouted, one hand around Brick's waist and one point ahead of them as they swerved away from the camera around another mound of snow. "Now right!" Courtney directed, the two swerving back towards the foreground. "Left!" She shouted, but they just sped through another mogul earning a scream from Courtney.

XXX

"That could have gone b-b-b-b-b-b-better," Brick confessed, blue from the cold and shivering heavily.

XXX

"Hahahaha!" Justin laughed as the scene cut back to the him and Dawn. "Look at them, it's hilarious!"

"They're slowing down," Dawn pointed out as they began to swerve around the moguls as well. "We may have a chance if we go around the moguls."

Justin grinned. "Leave it to me," he said as he continued to lean with Dawn as they dodged the moguls.

XXX

"That doesn't fill me with confidence," Dawn said.

XXX

The music ramped up dangerously as the static cut away, showing the model and moonchild sliding towards another mogul. "Left!" Dawn shouted.

"No, right!" Justin replied, the two leaning to opposite direction, swerving nowhere, and plowing right through the mound. "Aagh!"

"Justin!" Dawn growled as they started swerving wildly, snow covering both their eyes. They clipped the side of another mogul, sending themselves into a screaming spin, hit a third mogul, and came out tumbling end over end.

The shot cut to the bottom of the slope, the music leveling off as what looked like a mogul on skis slid down. The camera zoomed in as two patches of snow fell away to reveal Brick and Courtney inside, the two moaning and blue in the face. "Brick, we need move," Courtney weakly told her partner, "before-"

A massive snowball suddenly ran them over, breaking the snow but leaving the couple lying in a puddle of melting snow. A crash was heard off-screen, but the camera lingered in place as Brick and Courtney groaned and stood up. "Let's go," Courtney told her partner. "You're still in this..."

"...yeah," Brick said as he caught her breath. "Yeah!" he said, more energetically this time, standing up and raising her arms. "I've got this!" he declared before charging forward, the shot cutting to Courtney as she smirked softly then raced after her partner.

The camera followed them along for a few seconds until they reached a heap of snow, skis, and dazed-looking teens, which the shot immediately focused on. "What happened?" Dawn shot at hers partner, the moonchild lying upside-down half-trapped in the snow. "I told you to go left!"

"And I told you to go right!" Justin countered, his head sticking out the right way up but his legs sticking out over it.

"Yes, but I'm the one in charge!" Dawn replied. "You're supposed to be helping me!"

"I was steering!" Justin said before the snow holding him up crumbled away, causing him to fall over with a startled gasp.

Dawn sighed in aggravation before a small pile of melting snow collapsed onto her face.

The scene cut away to show Chris and Chef sitting in lawn chairs eating popcorn as they watched the challenge feed, the host promptly pausing it with a beep and looking at the camera. "This finale's out of control!" he said excitedly as the capstone theme began to play. "Brick and Courtney got run over! Dawn raised her voice! And Justin's completely useless!"

"Stay tuned, "he continued, the shot moving away but the host quickly popping back up in front of it. "Someone is leaving here a millionaire. It's the finale of Total! Drama! Paaaaaahkitew Island!"

(Commercial Break)

The episode resumed on a shot of Brick and Courtney, their skin tones back to normal, running up to a smiling Chris. "Welcome back," he told the camera as the background music rolled into a low and slow expository tune. "Brick and helper Courtney are the first to arrive, here," he turned and motioned to the right, "at the world's largest mud puddle!" The camera pulled back, revealing that the trio was standing near the edge of a large lake of burbling mud, a measuring stick rising out of it at the nearest edge.

"It's eight feet deep," Chris explained over a close-up of the measuring stick showing the mud reaching up very nearly to the 8' mark, "and 200 yards across. And," the camera quick-panned to the far right side of the 'puddle', "since it's too thick to swim through," the shot cut back to the couple and Chris, "the only way to the other side is with one of you piggybacking the other."

"Umm...," Brick said hesitantly, sharing a wary look with Brick, "doesn't that mean the person on the bottom..."

"Will drown?" Chris finished. "Yes."

"What?!" Courtney said in wide-eyed shock.

"Unless they use this garden hose!" Chris added, a light chime playing as he held up a length of green hose.

Brick let out a breath. "Okay then. Guess I'm on the bottom, then."

Courtney's eyes widened a bit in a brief bit of surprise, and she looked at her partner. "No no, I'm supposed to be the one helping you, I should be the one doing the hard stuff."

Brick nervously grabbed at his collar. "I really think this is better."

XXX

"Courtney's really smart," Brick told the confessional. "And not to sound sexist, but I'm just stronger than she is."

XXX

"I know you're stronger than me," Courtney said, "not by much but still. I'm here to help you and I feel bad that I haven't been doing that."

"I think helping me breathe is a pretty big help," Brick replied, pointing a thumb back at Chris and his section of hose. "I know that you like being more active in challenges, but somebody has to be on top and it makes sense for it to be me. After all, I'm the finalist here."

Chris suddenly stepped between the couple. "Yeah he is," the host said impishly. "Because you got the boot. I wonder how that happened? Brick?" he asked with a sly gaze at the cadet.

"Who knows?" Brick replied nervously. He pushed Chris out of frame and grabbed Courtney's hands. "My point is, you being here and supporting me. That's all the help I need."

A touching tune started to play as the camera cut from a close-up of Courtney's face, a surprisingly soft look in her eyes, to Brick smiling in return.

XXX

"Okay," Courtney said with a sigh and a clap of her hands. "That whole thing with Chris was a little weird, but Brick makes me feel thing I never really thought were possible. He trusts me, and no one has ever done that. Or given me reason to trust them..."

She ducked her head and looked up shyly. "I think I'm in love with him..."

XXX

Brick groaned and palmed his face. "Courtney's gonna kill me if she finds out I voted for her.

XXX

A low, trumpeting challenge theme began to play as the scene cut to Brick and Courtney jumping into the mud, the former disappearing below its depths while the latter, on his shoulders, held up the length of hose. They started moving forward, and the camera panned back to the left to show Dawn, Justin, and Chris holding up another length of hose.

"Yeah, I'll be on bottom," Justin stated.

"Really?" Dawn countered, raising her eyebrows in surprise.

"Mud's really good for the skin," Justin explained. "I don't really get it. But-" he paused. "This is actual mud this time right?" he asked Chris. "Because the last time we were under an outhouse and the mud was actually-"

Dawn took the hose from Chris and shoved it into Justin's chest. "Hurry up."

"Fine," Justin sighed, crouching down so Dawn could jump onto his shoulders. He stood back up and put the end of the hose in his mouth, and jumped into the mud.

The tense music faded away as the camera moved onto Chris, the host sighing as Chef walked up. "You think the mud was a bad idea?" Chris asked. "It's a little quiet..."

"Ya could just bring the Peanut Gallery back to watch," Chef suggested.

"Oh yeah," Chris said as if in sudden realization, "almost forgot about them. Bring 'em back in!" he said into a walkie talkie he only then pulled out.

Moments later the wind kicked up around them, and the camera zoomed out to show the large helicopter flying in with the former contestants still hanging – and screaming as they swayed ominously – below it. "For pete's sake, would you let us down already?!" Anne Maria shouted angrily. "It's freezin' up here!"

"Yeah, I wanna cheer for Dawn!" Cameron chimed in.

A snort of contempt drew the camera's focus to Jaxon. "He hopes you realize she's hopelessly outmatched. It's a metaphor for the futility of the working class man to get a fair deal..."

"For crying out loud," Dave growled, drawing the camera back to him and Britney. "Will you please SHUT UP?! This isn't English class! Not everything is a metaphor!"

"Life imitates art," Jaxon huffed. "And vice versa. Do not blame him because he is in tune with that fact."

"Maybe you could brighten up a little?" Britney suggested calmly.

"The phrase is 'lighten up," Jaxon said. "But he'd expect nothing more from a satellite love interest."

"Hey," Dave shot as Britney gasped, "don't talk to her like that!"

"This is still a free country," Jaxon said, "for the time being. You cannot dictate his method of speech and he is well within his rights to act rudely to those who try. He is an artist. And art cannot be censored."

"You ain't an artist, you're just annoyin'!" Anne Maria shouted at him, the camera zooming out. "Heck, if I wasn't tied up right now I'd have half a mind to pound ya!"

Jaxon gasped dramatically. "No artist is beloved in his lifetime..."

The camera panned to the right onto Geoff. "Yo, Chris?" he looked forward and asked loudly. "Can we come down now? Things are getting way too heavy up here."

"No, and I don't care," Chris answered with a calm smile.

"Actually, we probably should," Chef told him. "Helicopter can't keep flyin' forever, and we gotta save enough fuel for the ride home!"

A flat note played over a close-up of Chris staring blankly at him. "Huh...good point," he admitted, rubbing his chin in thought. "Ooh!" he said with a suddenly grin and snap of his fingers. "I just had an idea!"

A flash took the scene to Brick and Courtney, the tense challenge music resuming at a low volume and slow pace in the background. They were still slogging through the mud, Brick out of sight but Courtney only submerged up to her stomach. She looked back over her shoulder, smiled, then said "Keep going, you're doing great!" into the piece of hose she was holding. "They're way far behind!"

XXX

"So as it turns out," Brick said calmly. "Being submerged in the mud is kinda like being trapped in the d-d-d-d-dark!"

XXX

The music ramped up as Courtney suddenly stopped moving, then seemed to turn around and start moving back towards the start. "Uh, Brick?" she asked into the hose. "We're going the wrong way!"

The camera cut to Dawn, looking somewhat bored as she held the hose atop Justin's shoulders, before noticing the other team and frowning. "Why are they coming this way?"

"Brick stop!" Courtney cried. "We were in the lead!"

"Ugh! They're too nice to sabotage each other!" came the sudden voice of Chris McLean, the camera cutting to him standing in the show's jeep with Chef at the wheel, speaking into the microphone of the jeep's loudspeaker. "Deploy the 2.0 model!"

The shot cut back to Courtney and Dawn as they looked around with strange expressions, the sound of something like a rocket taking off coming from somewhere in the distance. They looked up and to the left, and the camera shifted to their viewpoint to show a large object shooting up through the sky overhead...

...then abruptly diving towards them, revealing itself as a red-eyed robotic bear with small jet engines coming out of its back. Dawn and Courtney screamed as their respective partners continued in their previous directions, getting out of the way as the Bear landed in the mud. It hit with enough force to cause a wave of mud, which shot all the way across the puddle carrying the finalists and their helpers along for the ride. All four immediately began to cough upon landing in a muddy heap.

XXX

"At least I have a better shot," Dawn said. "We're tied."

XXX

"The sudden loss of the lead is worrisome," Brick confessed. "Who knows what other tricks Chris has up his sleeves."

XXX

A close-up of the nozzle of a fire hose in Chef's hands preceded him blasting the muddy finalists and helpers with water, all four screaming where they'd landed on the shore of the 'puddle'. Moments later the water was shut off, leaving them drenched but clean.

"We're all tied up," Chris announced with a smile, "perfect time for a little break. First, let's bring in the Peanut Gallery again." He took out his remote and pointed it at a patch of ground nearby, a hole opening up in it and a rather shoddy-looking set of stadium seats shooting up out of it with the ten former contestants seated – and still tied-up – in it.

"Finally," Izzy said, the shot cutting to her sitting in the bottom row. "Are we gonna get to watch the rest of the challenge now?"

"Yup!" Chris answered with a happy smile, pressing the button on his remote again so that a large widescreen television emerged from another hole in the ground near him and the finalists.

"Will you untie us, too?" Cameron chimed in.

Chris huffed. "Whine, whine, whine," he said in annoyance. "Don't I do enough for you kids as it is?"

"No," thirteen of the season's cast members replied at the same time.

A flat note played over a close-up of the host pursing his lips, then glancing to the side at Chef. "Told ya they'd still be mad."

"Yeah, I owe you twenty bucks," Chris said, the camera zooming back out again to show the finalists and helpers. "Everyone, grab a seat," he instructed, and the four reluctantly sat down on the logs lying behind them. "I'm gonna show you some of my favorite clips from the show..." He pointed his remote at the TV, and the shot focused in as it switched on and started to play footage of a confessional...

XXX

"Katie told me everything," Brick confessed. "Courtney knocked me out and left me there so she'd win. I'd probably be going home if it wasn't for Katie dragging me out of the way."

XXX

"This is insane," Brick confessed in a panic, "I'm freaking out a little bit! I really wish I hadn't voted off Courtney," he admitted pitifully before turning serious again, "but I have to focus! I'm large and in charge, and Courtney only threw me off my game."

XXX

"Now that I've time to think," Brick told the outhouse. "I'm glad Courtney's not here anymore."

XXX

"Courtney's really smart," Brick told the confessional. "And not to sound sexist, but I'm just stronger than she is."

XXX

The footage paused, and Chris leaned out in front of the television with a wide and mischievous grin. "So that's how Courtney got eliminated..." he said impishly.

"It was you..." Courtney said as the camera moved to her and Brick, her eyes wide with shock. "Does this mean that...," she turned and asked Brick with an uncertain but hurt expression, "you were the fourth vote against me that night?!"

"Wait, Courtney, I can explain," Brick frantically replied. "Every one of those clips were edited, they don't show how awful I felt about it! And Katie lied to me!"

"But you believed her!" Courtney said, growing angrier and more accusatory. "I can't believe this! All this time I thought you trusted me. That you liked me!"

"I do-" Brick tried to say.

"I don't wanna hear it," Courtney cut him off, putting a hand in Brick's face. "You were the one person who looked past my mistakes and saw who I really am. But even you thought I was a monster..."

A derisive snort drew the camera's attention to Geoff, sitting in the back row of the Peanut Gallery with the rest of the boys. "You lied to Brick? Not cool Katie..." he said bitterly. The former villainess, hung her head in shame.

"I'm just worried what Chris is gonna show from Dawn," Britney said nervously, the camera panning down. "It looks like he wants to mess up both of the finalists..."

"Maybe he won't show anything?" Izzy suggested. "I mean, it's not like Dawn and Justin were that close to begin with."

The shot cut back to a smiling Chris. "Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of leaving Dawn out of all this fun," he said happily.

"I don't see how," Dawn said. "I've never said anything bad about Justin in a confessional... before today that is."

"Wait," Justin said seriously. "What'd you say about me?"

Chris laughed. "No worries, dude, I think you'll find this particularly interesting. Seems you guys forgot that the cameras are always on. So here's a little convo Dawn took part in the day you were eliminated."

XXX

The screen on the TV went from Static to the girls' side of the Salmon bunker. Izzy and Dawn were looking at the entrance before the wildcard looked at Dawn. "So Katie doesn't really like Justin all that much."

"I can see that," the moonchild said warily. "But it shouldn't be a problem if we lose right?"

"Wrong," Izzy told her bluntly. "He's got some kinda superpower. He starts talking to you and suddenly you're agreeing to whatever it is he wants. Just because he's hot!"

Dawn giggled into her hand. "Then we definitely won't have a problem," she said mirthfully.

"Why's that?" Izzy asked.

"Because I don't find Justin attractive," Dawn answered with a smile.

XXX

A deep, dramatic note was struck over a shot of Justin shrugging. "Hey, I get it," he said calmly. "Not every girl in the world has to think I'm hot. You're like that surfer girl back in season four right?"

Dawn's face was utterly unamused. "I am not a lesbian if that's what you're asking."

"You have to be," Justin said with a hint of panic. "You don't think I'm hot."

"You just said not every girl has to find you attractive!" Dawn yelled in exasperation.

"Yeah, and those girls like other girls," Justin defended. "I mean to not think I'm hot is ridiculous. Look at me!"

An ominous riff played as the camera panned away from them and onto Courtney and Brick. "Courtney, please, I'd give up the money right now if it meant we'd get to be together! You have to believe me!" Brick pleaded.

"You didn't believe me," Courtney shot back. "Why should I believe you?!" Her lips began to quiver, and the music suddenly turned sad as she burred her face in her hands and started crying.

"Okay," Chris said happily as the shot moved onto him, "I'm sensing some major hostility and I'm liking it. I'm out of popcorn, though, so we should probably get back to the challenge."

"Seriously?!" the finalists and helpers alike exclaimed.

"Obviously, the helpers aren't gonna be very helpful anymore," Chris replied. "So, instead of helpers, Courtney and Justin will now be hinderers." As he spoke Chef walked back into view with a pair of video game controllers, tossing one each to Courtney and Justin. "The island is now back online," Chris continued, "and, with these controllers, they will be able to throw up obstacles to throw you down, or, completely crush you."

The shot cut to Justin as he looked at his controller and grinned.

"Looking forward to it," Courtney said venomously.

Dawn and Brick gulped, and Chris laughed. "That was the good part," he said. "Let me tell you the bad part. You have ten minutes to finish this challenge," he told Brick and Dawn. "If neither of you do, Justin and Courtney get to split the money."

"What?" Dawn said in shock.

"That's not fair!" Brick protested.

Chris laughed. "Yeah, well, neither is life. And since Dawn's the one that insulted Justin's looks and Brick's the one who betrayed Courtney-"

"Hey!" Brick barked in outrage. "That was-"

Chris raised a hand to silence him. "You only have yourselves to blame for creating your own hinderers." Dawn and Brick groaned, and Chris resumed laughing.

"GO!" Chris announced, blowing his airhorn right in Chef's face earning an annoyed sigh from the man. Brick and Dawn immediately ran off, but the camera cut to a close-up of a thoughtful Courtney.

"I'm really mad at Brick," Courtney said to herself, a finger on her lower lip. "But...won't I just be proving him right if I stop him from winning the money?"

"Do what you want," Justin said, the camera panning over to show him grinning darkly with his controller in hand. "We've already got our villain labels. Might as well use 'em."

XXX

"I don't wanna be a villain," Courtney protested. "People like Matthew and Heather are villains. Then again..." she added thoughtfully. "If I give up a chance to win some of the money over a guy my parents will never let me hear the end of it."

XXX

A few quick drum taps opened up a deep and dangerous challenge theme, the scene returning to Dawn and Brick sprinting across the open field only to gape in shock as the pine trees in the background starting launching like rockets.

"What the heck?" Brick said. "Rocket trees?"

One landed right behind them, forcing both finalists to roll forward out of the way. "This island is an abomination!" Dawn cried as the two continued running, more and more trees landing behind them like massive spears.

The two were shown together in a brief close-up, raising their eyebrows in surprise. A quick-pan ahead revealed the landscape changing, trees and rock formations rising up out of the artificial ground to form a large, dense barrier.

XXX

"This almost makes up for being voted off," Justin confessed with a smirk.

XXX

"Okay, I may not want Brick to win," Courtney confessed. "But I don't want him to get hurt either."

She darted her eyes to the side and added "Well, not too badly at least."

XXX

The dangerous music resumed in full as Dawn jumped ahead of Brick as they climbed over the first big rock formation.

Brick vaulted downward and dashing forward along a lower 'path' among the rocks. Just as he was about to jump down onto grass, however, a boulder shot upward – and he landed on it groin-first. A close-up showed him letting out a high-pitched squeal of pain.

Dawn's wince drew the camera's attention back upward to show her leaping from a boulder and grabbing onto the branch of a tree, only for the tree to suddenly shoot back down into the ground – causing her to yell as it dragged her down and slammed her back-first onto a fallen log.

Brick gave her a quick concerned glance as he jumped onto the same log, then upwards onto a rock formation before climbing onward and to the right and out of sight.

The scene cut back to the hinderers, both still working their controllers with Justin still looking considerably happier about it. "No need to change what works," Courtney said uncertainly.

"C'mon, where's that cutthroat attitude I saw back before the merge?" Justin scolded. "Brick hurt you remember? And lower some of those trees, they're giving them too much cover from this storm I'm whipping up."

The camera panned onto the monitor to show Dawn and Brick struggling against a powerful wind as they walked through what looked like a dense forest as leaves, dust, branches, and various small woodland animals blew past them.

A focus on the monitor's screen transitioned the scene back to the challenge. "I think...I can see the finish line in the distance," Dawn said, pausing for a moment as she struggled against the intense gale.

"They're not making this easy on us," Brick commented.

The pair briefly passed behind a thick and mossy pine tree, the camera zooming in slightly as they reappeared. "Would you?"

"...I guess not," Brick answered after a moment.

The shot cut back to the Peanut Gallery to show them watching with worry and anticipation. "C'mon, Brick," Izzy said softly, "you can do it...just hang in there."

A pan to the left showed Britney closing her eyes. "I know you can win this, Dawn," the globetrotter said, "you deserve it after everything."

Then the camera cut back to the hinderers, Chris standing next to their monitor with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. "Ooh! They're getting close!" he said excitedly, prompting Justin to scowl and Courtney to frown uncomfortably.

Once more the scene moved back to the finalists, their arms raised to buffer themselves against the winds – snow beginning to fall and lightning beginning to crack in the background - with Dawn in the lead. "Two minutes left!" Chris called out over the island's loudspeaker. "Two minutes!"

"I...," Dawn said with glee. "I think I can make it!"

"Not if I can help it!" Brick shouted, speeding up as the dense trees around him and Dawn began to recede into the ground – and the tense and dangerous challenge music resumed. "If I win then maybe Courtney and I still have a shot!"

"You're really deadest on making it up to her?" Dawn asked him seriously.

"Yes!" Brick declared, the camera cutting to show Courtney paying more attention to the screen than her controller. "It may have taken me a while to realize it, but I care about her. She's the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm not giving up on her!" The prep looked down at her controller with a guilty expression.

"I can't believe I was so stupid that I let my anger take me over," Courtney groaned. "I thought I was better than that!"

"Turns out you weren't," Justin mocked, still looking at his controller.

"No one asked you!" Courtney shot at him angrily. "Yeah, Brick's not perfect, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person! Cause you know what, I'm not perfect either!" Courtney told him. "I make kneejerk reactions to things and I forget that other people have feelings too!"

"You think those are your flaws?" Chris asked incredulously, now leaning against the monitor. "Cause I think-"

"I don't care what you think, McLean!" Courtney yelled at him. "Because I don't have to be perfect, and I never would've realized that without Brick! Who knows what sort of sociopathic monster I would've been this season without him."

"One that would've made further in the game," Chris pointed out. "What's your point anyway?"

"My point is I'm not gonna hinder them anymore," Courtney said defiantly, looking back at her controller. "I'm done playing your sick twisted game!"

Justin's brow shot up in surprise, and the shot cut back to Brick and Dawn still struggling through the snowbank. To their shock the storm suddenly and abruptly let up and they began to sprint forward excitedly, only for lightning to strike the ground in front of them. Hail started to fall moments later, pelting both finalists and causing them to grunt and yelp in pain as they tried to move onward in another strong wind...that promptly stopped, causing them to lose balance and fall over.

The shot cut back to Justin furiously inputting commands into his controller. "Hah!" Justin laughed as the scene moved to the monitor to show the finalists struggling to run forward through a field of constantly-moving scenery only for sudden strong gusts of wind and poorly-placed objects to send them tumbling back to the left. "This is even better than before! I'm guaranteed the million now! But I need to make double sure that half the hinderers won't hinder me. I think..."

"No you don't!" Courtney said defiantly furiously inputting commands in her controller again. "This is their challenge and their prize."

"Uh guys," Chris said warily. "Ya might wanna-"

The shot cut back to the monitor to show Dawn and Brick still struggling against constantly-shifting weather and terrain, now including falling trees "Hey! These controllers aren't doing anything!" Justin cried in frustration.

"Yeah," came the annoyed voice of Chris, drawing the attention of the helpers and camera. "I was trying to tell you not put in so many commands. But you overloaded the system and it needs time to work 'em all out. Sure was a lucky 'accident' you happened to create despite Courtney allegedly not wanting to win anymore."

"I didn't plan this and you know it," Courtney told him angrily.

Chris shrugged. "Considering what's on the line, and your past performance, I'm having trouble believing you. But hey," he laughed, "even if you aren't lying, it's kinda ironic that despite not wanting to you might just win anyway."

The camera moved back in on the monitor, the challenge footage once more taking over the scene as the snowy ground below Dawn and Brick's feet began to crack. A hollow sound played, then all at once the ground shot up under them earning startled yells from both. The shot soon cut to the new peak they were standing on rising up into the sky, then stopping.

"Ah no..." Brick muttered, both finalists looking down with wide eyes. his final word echoed as the camera zoomed out, revealing the snowy mountain they were now at the top of.

The Peanut Gallery was shown gasping, as was Courtney. "Twenty seconds left...!" Chris said as the camera moved on to him looking at his watch.

The shot cut back to Dawn as she sighed in resignation. "I guess it's over..." she said as she sat down on the plateau.

Brick's eye twitched, and with a primal growl of rage he punched the ground at his feet. Their eyes widened as the mountain begin to crumble under them, and he let out a meek 'uh-oh,' as the ground imploded in on itself.

"BRICK!" Courtney yelled in shock and concern as the shot briefly cut to her.

"Six! Five!" Chris began to count off, the music cutting out save for a single plodding note to highlight each number. "Four!" The camera panned onto the television, showing both finalists tumbling through the snow and rock. "Three! Two! One!" The shot cut to the finish banner, then zoomed out to show the avalanche stopping just under it – with neither finalist in sight. "GAME OVER!" he announced, blowing on his airhorn as a subdued but triumphant riff played.

Courtney stood up in shock, and Justin started cheering.

"Is Brick okay?" Courtney asked worriedly.

"Operation Incredibly Handsome Millionaire was a success!" Justin cried, pumping his fist in victory.

"Congratulations Justin and Courtney," Chris said with his usual smile, ignoring them as a victorious theme began to play. "Revenge is sweetest-" he glanced at the monitor- "ohhhhh, what have we here?" he said with a sudden look of shock, the music cutting out as he pointed at the television screen.

A sharp note played as a familiar hand stuck out of the snow lying just past the finish line, and saluted. Justin's jaw dropped in shock, then Courtney ran off to the right.

The scene cut to the finish line, the camera pulling back a little ways as Chef walked up with a stretcher, dressed as a female nurse. Courtney ran onscreen and pushed him out of the way. Chef flew off frame with a shout, and Courtney grabbed the arm and pulled, freeing a shocked and snowy Brick from the aftermath of the avalanche. "Oh," he groaned, looking around as Courtney dropped him on the stretcher, "what happened?" he asked as the victorious music began to play again with much more enthusiasm.

"You won!" Courtney answered with huge smile, the camera pulling out even more to show Brick looking back at the finish banner.

"I did it!" Brick said excitedly. "Ahh-haha, yeah-heah!" he raised his arms and cheered, the shot cutting away to show all of the Peanut Gallery save cheering, with Izzy the loudest by far.

The focus returned to Brick and Courtney. "Courtney I'm really sorry I-"

He was cut off by Courtney grabbing his head and kissing him full on the lips. "You made a mistake. I did too. But nobody's perfect," she said with a smile as she broke the kiss, leaving Brick looking dopey.

The capstone theme began to play as the footage skipped ahead to a shot of the open sky, the double-rotored helicopter soon flying up into view. "That's it for this very, very off season," Chris began, standing in the open doorway with Brick and Courtney sitting on the edge letting their legs dangle freely with her leaning into him, the suitcase full of money in his lap; Dawn and Justin standing on either side of Chris, the latter scowling; and the rest of the cast, crouching down and peering over in the gaps between and behind the rest, constantly jockeying for position as they tried to get one last shot of themselves on camera.

"This is Chris McLean, saying if you can't stand the pain-" the handsome host continued, the shot cutting in closer- "stay off the Total! Drama! Paaaahkitew Island!"

He accidentally hit Justin while raising his arms, and the model screamed and pinwheeled his arms for a moment or two before finally falling out of the helicopter

The camera lingered on the dumbfounded looks of Chris and the other ex-campers, all of them staring out the doorway in shock. "Uh-oh," he said, "Maybe we should go back and get him?"

The ex-campers burst out laughing, and a fun and energetic tune started to play. The camera panned over to the windshield to show Chef laughing along with the rest of the cast from the pilot's seat, and the helicopter flew away...

The music soon faded away, though, and the scene quick-panned down to show a screaming Justin landing in the giant mud puddle. He quickly surfaced with a shocked splutter, and pulled himself out onto dry land.

A few ominous notes were struck, and a ferocious growl caught Justin's attention. He looked up, and the camera zoomed out to show Scuba Bear 2.0 standing over him, eyes red. "Heheh," the model laughed nervously, "c'mon, you're not gonna hurt me are you?"

The scene abruptly cut outward to the full long-distance shot of the island, the ominous music ending as Justin's scream and Scuba Bear's snarl echoed across the lake.

(Roll the credits)

(AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT ENDING WAS BRICK'S)

(BUT HERE'S THE REAL ENDING TO SEASON SIX)

"Ah no..." Brick muttered, both finalists looking down with wide eyes. his final word echoed as the camera zoomed out, revealing the snowy mountain they were now at the top of.

The Peanut Gallery was shown gasping, as was Courtney. "Twenty seconds left...!" Chris said as the camera moved on to him looking at his watch.

The shot cut back to Dawn as she sighed in resignation. "I guess it's over..." she said as she sat down on the plateau.

"BRICK!" Courtney yelled in shock and concern as the shot briefly cut to her.

Courtney stood up in shock, and Justin started cheering.

"Is Brick okay?" Courtney asked worriedly.

"Operation Incredibly Handsome Millionaire was a success!" Justin cried, pumping his fist in victory.

A sharp note played as a familiar hand stuck out of the snow lying just past the finish line, and started waving. Justin's jaw dropped in shock, then Courtney ran off to the right.

The scene cut to the finish line, the camera pulling back a little ways as Chef walked up with a stretcher, dressed as a female nurse. He grabbed the arm and pulled, freeing a shocked and snowy Dawn from the aftermath of the avalanche. "Wha...," she muttered, looking around as Chef dropped her on the stretcher. "Wait, really? I won?" she asked as the victorious music began to play again with much more enthusiasm.

"Uhh-huh," Chef answered with a nod and a small smile, the camera pulling out even more to show Dawn looking back at the finish banner.

A close-up showed her gaping in shock, and a smile quickly replacing it. "I won. I won! I WON!" she repeated over and over, growing more excited each time. "YEAH!" she raised her arms and roared in triumph, the shot cutting away to show all of the Peanut Gallery cheering, with Britney the loudest by far.

The camera promptly panned to the left to show Courtney frantically pulling a dazed and half-conscious Brick from the rest of the avalanche, and picking him up onto her back. "It's okay, I'm here for you," she said with desperation in her voice.

"Courtney," Brick said weakly, "I'm sorry that I-"

"Quiet," Courtney said with a weak smile as she carried her crush over to the stretcher and set him down next to Dawn. "You need to rest."

"But-" the cadet tried to say.

The capstone theme began to play as the footage skipped ahead to a shot of the open sky, the double-rotored helicopter soon flying up into view. "That's it for this very, very off season," Chris began, standing in the open doorway with Brick and Courtney sitting on the edge letting their legs dangle freely with her leaning into him; Dawn and Justin standing on either side of Chris, the latter scowling the former grinning while holding the suitcase full of money to her chest; and the rest of the cast, crouching down and peering over in the gaps between and behind the rest, constantly jockeying for position as they tried to get one last shot of themselves on camera.

"This is Chris McLean, saying if you can't stand the pain-" the handsome host continued, the shot cutting in closer- "stay off the Total! Drama! Paaaahkitew Island!"

He accidentally hit Justin while raising his arms, and the model screamed and pinwheeled his arms for a moment or two before finally falling out of the helicopter

The camera lingered on the dumbfounded looks of Chris and the other ex-campers, all of them staring out the doorway in shock. "Uh-oh," he said, "Maybe we should go back and get him?"

The scene abruptly cut outward to the full long-distance shot of the island, the ominous music ending as Justin's scream and Scuba Bear's snarl echoed across the lake.

(Roll the Credits)

Author's Note Post Script: Wow. Here we are. I've got a bunch of stuff I wanna try to talk about right now...I think I'll start with the finale, then move on to some stuff about the season.

So. As I'm sure most of you have realized by now, I'm considering Dawn to be the canon winner of Random Drama Pahkitew Island. Why? Well, partly because I really really like her, but also partly because she's now the third girl to officially win in this series, giving us an even split between girls and boys in that regard. But even then Dawn's a clear favorite of mine and just an awesome character. And honestly, I had such a hard time deciding who would win that I tried flipping a coin, before realizing I'd be way more disappointed by Dawn losing than Brick. So I indulged my favoritism. And I'm really sorry to all the people who wanted Brick to win..

I'm also looking forward to seeing all your reactions to the big surprise - that of Justin being used as a helper in place of B. Sometimes the obvious choice is the one to make, and sometimes it's one to subvert, and in this instance it was definitely the latter. For while B being Dawn's helper could certainly make things interesting, it would make creating drama via Chris far more difficult for me. After all, I hadn't exactly set up Dawn for any sort of perceived betrayal; it was hard enough as it is to do that with Brick.

Thus, I decided to bring back arrogant hot guy Justin to act as Dawn's helper, both to squeeze a little bit more use from him, and also to make an interesting dynamic with Dawn. And since I love giving vague hints. There is a line in this chapter that will set up a major plot point in a future season.

Oh! Almost forgot about the Peanut Gallery. Well, it was something I always hated about the canon finale, and it would make things easier for me...I figured, why not? It was admittedly a tad difficult to keep making use of them, but in the end I think it all worked out pretty well.

So, expanding the scope a bit, let's talk about why I wanted an Brick-Dawn finale in the first place. Basically, these two are the most shafted from canon season four as well as the two most popular. Brick I wanted because he was the obvious finale choice from day one.

And as for Dawn's role in this...well, after seeing that the only potential antagonists I had weren't really the type to keep themselves hidden, I knew she could go far. Then I remembered the fake animals and that gave her some plot, B being in the season gave her a close friend though it absolutely could've been Britney if he weren't here. And suddenly what was a quirky foreshadower in canon became an intelligent young woman who wants the best for all those around her but no idea how to do that. It made for an interesting character.

I will say there was a bit of time where I planned on Britney being a finalist, but she's not really the kind of person who would betray a friend or love interest, even accidentally.

Let's see...I've talked about the finalists, so I guess the pairings are next. To be honest, going into the season I was WAY more enthusiastic about Dawn and B's friendship more than any of the couples, but because their dynamic mirrors that of me and my best friend. She's the more talkative one who always seems to just get me even if I don't say that much and I'm the quiet guy who knows how to cheer her up when she needs it. Brickney came about from a fan theory I read that Courtney was originally a neutral character but Duncan's influence turned her evil. I didn't buy it, but it was interesting to see what happened if her love interest was a decent guy and didn't mind showing it. And I really like it. I feel like I got the full range of Courtney's canon attitude's during their romance arc and gave you guys a complex and likable person. Brave as I said before was a what if scenario, and honestly what I feel like Skave could have been if they'd talked to each other instead of their friends (both of which were in some pretty rocky romantic waters. Which was like going to a vegan for advice on how to cook a steak.). And lastly, Geoff/Katie. Sadly, I was unable to make their relationship work this season. But it is going to happen in the future. Now that I don't have Katie's villain plot in the way, I'm sure I can work the two of them together.

Hmm...what other seasonal things can I talk about...oh! Right! Yeah, so, Justin. So, as much as I like Justin, I just don't see him giving a Heel-Face Turn like Courtney did and Katie's still emotionally distraught from her heel realization. And I do like giving my villains comeuppance. Thus the his final fate where Chris accidentally pushes him out of the helicopter, stranding him on the island and immediately put into danger. Though, of course, he should be considered to be alive. Probably in the hospital, but alive.

My god, this is the longest non special chapter I've written yet.

And I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

I hope you all enjoyed the episode, or some part of it.

With that I'm signing off

-TotalDramaFan14

RDPI ELIMINATION TABLE:

14th Place: Anne Maria

13th Place: Jaxon

12th Place: Sadie

11th Place: Cameron

10th Place: Dave

9th Place: Britney

8th Place: Justin

7th Place: Courtney

6th Place: Geoff

5th Place: Izzy

4th Place: B

3rd Place: Katie

2nd Place: Brick (ALTERNATE WINNER)

1st Place: Dawn (ALTERNATE RUNNER-UP)