Chapter Text
“Have you ever been watching a reality TV show and start thinking to yourself, ‘yeah, I can do that’?” A voice called out from afar, while a camera panned closer.
“Well you all are in for a treat, ‘cause today, we’re putting fifteen of you to the test.” A man walked into frame, sporting a wide grin as the camera focused on him.
“I’m your host, Chris McLean, coming to you all live from island number 3!” he held out three fingers, gesturing towards the background, revealing a lush green island.
“The last two times we hosted on an island didn’t go so well.” Chris chuckled, mentally forcing himself to ignore the financial torture it was to recover from each instance. “But you know me folks, I’m nothing but resilient. And handsome. And smart, funny, courageous…”
*bzzt* “They get the point man.” *bzzt*, Chris’ walkie buzzed in, bringing him back to reality.
“Okay, fine, whatever. Don’t let a host have his fun. It's only the guy who can decide your paycheck.” Chris grumbled, quickly getting back in character.
“But we have more precautions this time, and this is actually a real island, not one of those fake ones. This season of Total Drama will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before! With a new island, a higher risk for infectious diseases, and several new faces from fans like you throughout the world, it’s time to start a new era of Total Drama!”.
"Over the past few years I've hosted six seasons worth of television, which was oh so enjoyed by you people at home." Chris grinned. "But that's not to say everything went so smoothly. Several players made big mistakes, while many more got to escape more sticky situations than they deserved to. And that's where you all come in." Chris pointed at the camera. "You fans have seen the show. You know inside and out how this game works, and I've seen those webpages, I know that a lot of you think you're smarter than my campers. So now's the time to prove it." Chris extended his hands, basking in the sun’s warmth from the docks. The camera lingered on his face for a few moments, while he stood still.
“Oh, don’t mind me.” He chuckled to the camera. “I’m just getting a whiff of that new island smell before the campers ruin it.” he explained, taking one last deep breath.
“Alright, let the game begin.” The host muttered, adjusted his shirt as he picked up his walkie.
“Send the first boat over.” he relayed, walking towards the edge of the dock.
“Being a season fans from across the world play highly dangerous games, we made sure to be very selective, only picking the people who looked the most capable for a show of our nature.” he informed the camera, as the first boat pulled to the dock.
“I’m just kidding, I literally accepted the first fifteen requests I saw, but hey, maybe they're up for it. Let’s find out by meeting our first fan, Ellie!” Chris waved, gesturing to the new arrival to his location.
The new arrival, as the camera closed in on her, looked to be a young woman in her early 20’s, with a light blue undershirt and a gray button-up shirt overlapping it. She looked around the docks skeptically, her strawberry-blonde hair fighting the wind as she did so.
“Oh wow.” Ellie’s voice fell. “This is worse than I thought.” she sighed, as a bird dropped its dung right next to her.
“Great to meet you too Ellie.” Chris greeted, his smile growing more forced. “When did you become a fan of the show?” he inquired, signaling for the camera to focus on her.
“When I found out the prize was one million dollars.” Ellie deadpanned, making Chris’ face fall, as she scooted away from the bird dropping.
“Go to the end of the dock, I’ll deal with you later.”
“Whatever.” Ellie scoffed, annoyed yet complicit of Chris’ demand.
“Sorry about that folks.” Chris looked back at the camera sheepishly. “Hopefully our next fan will have more enthusiasm for the cultural phenomenon they’re a part of.
As Chris finished speaking, the first ship left, soon being replaced by the second one, as a frighteningly young girl exited from it, carrying a ridiculously oversized backpack.
The girl walked down the ship’s ramp, allowing the camera to fully capture her. She was clearly a little girl, no older than ten. She sported a vibrant yellow sweater, as well as a white and blue cap, covering her long brown hair.
“What the?! You’re a child.” Chris blankly stared, rubbing his eyes.
“Hi Mr. McLean.” the girl sweetly greeted, smiling widely at the gaping man.
“How old are you?” Chris picked up his composure, as the girl placed her backpack on the ground, clearly exhausted.
“I’m six, why?” the girl asked, looking scared.
“Fiore, your bio said you were eighteen!” Chris looked down at the girl, clearly panicking about the legal ramifications.
“It’s not my fault!” Fiore exclaimed, tears threatening to leave her eyes. “My parents made me do it, they signed a waiver and everything!”
“Wait, your parents signed for you to be here?” the egocentric man’s eyes glimmered.
“Of course! They made sure to do that when they realized I would be away for months!” the girl–Fiore’s frown deepened.
“...Ignoring the blatant red flags your parents are giving off, that is great news!” Chris beamed.
“It is?” Fiore’s tears disappeared.
“You bet! It means I can’t be held liable for what happens to you! Welcome to the island!”
“Yippee!” Fiore cheered, walking down the dock.
“..This isn’t Wawanakwa.” Fiore quickly noticed, staring around.
“Well, both my islands kinda went kablooey.” Chris mimicked an explosion noise.
“Wait, there were two?”
“Watch Pahkitew island, but anyway, I had to buy another island.” Chris sighed.
“Ooh, what's this one's name?” Fiore looked interested.
“I dunno, I’ll name it later.” the host offered, getting bored.
“Why not now?”
“Because I have to introduce the rest of the fans.” Chris' eye twitched.
“Maybe you could name it the Super Island.” Fiore offered.
“GO TO THE END OF THE DOCK!” Chris snapped, making the girl cry and scurry away.
Fiore soon saw the other inhabitant, who was watching her interaction with the host with confusion.
“What’s a young girl doing here?” Ellie wondered, making Fiore giggle.
“Trying to win money silly.”
“...Makes sense.” Ellie let the thought leave her mind.
“Hey, Cameraman, eyes on me!” Chris yelled from across the docks, making the camera refocus on him.
“Good, now let’s meet our third fan.” he said, as the third ship docked. A lone figure walked down the ramp, dressed in an eye-catching shade of purple. His sweater and beanie combo complimented each other nicely, as his more subtle purple shoes added onto his figure.
“Dan the man!” Chris threw up finger guns at the approaching figure, who simply stared. Chris awkwardly held out his finger hands for a moment, before putting them back to his side.
“Hello Chris.” Dan greeted neutrally, as his eyes soon began to observe the surrounding area.
“I’m over here dude.” Chris snapped his fingers, drawing Dan’s attention back.
“Oh, sorry, I’m just trying to scope out the competition.” Dan replied. “It seems that I’m an early arrival, good. That gives me time to plan.” the nerd began to mutter.
“You must be fun at parties.” Chris said dryly.
“I will be once I win that million.” was Dan’s sly response, as he walked away.
“Oh god it’s another Harold.” Chris groaned under his breath, before looking at the camera.
“Okay folks, I know it looks like a bit of a dry season, but they’ll probably be early boots.” he rationalized. "Hopefully." he added under his breath.
“Anyways, I think the real fans are gonna be here any moment now.” he winced, waiting until the next ship came into view.
“Well would you look at that, here’s the fourth contestant.” Chris sighed in relief, watching the fourth ship dock.
The next person to enter the island was a young man with dual-colored hair, with one half pure gray and the other platinum. He wore striped sleeves, with a vibrant red shirt on top. The man enthusiastically ran down the ramp, before shaking Chris’ hand with fervor.
“Oh my god! CHRIS MCLEAN! YOU'RE HERE! I'M HERE!" The man fanboyed. "This is a dream come true!” he gushed, making Chris’ authentic smile return.
“Aiden everybody!” Chris gestured to the fanboy, who just noticed the camera.
“I’M ON TV?!” Aiden squealed, scrambling to find a cool looking pose.
He failed.
...Very badly.
“Are you seriously asking that?” Chris deadpanned.
“Sorry, sorry, I’m just super excited to be on my favorite show!” Aiden rambled, beginning to tire Chris out.
“Just don’t be like Sierra and walk down to the end of the docks.” Chris sighed.
“On it!” Aiden cheerfully walked to greet the other fans. Ellie gave him a blank stare, before disassociating once again, while Fiore gave a wave, making the fanboy do a double take.
“Why is a child here?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Fiore huffed.
“We’ve been over this already camera guy, eyes on me!” Chris glared, making the camera jump back to the docks, catching the arrival of the fifth boat.
The person who descended the ramp was a light-skinned Korean male, wearing a black crop-top, highlighting his abs, much to Chris’ disgust.
“Oh god, is this where we’re staying?” The man’s voice screeched, making Chris chuckle.
“You betcha.” He grinned, before looking at the camera. “Meet Yul!”
“I can introduce myself thank you.” Yul scoffed, before grinning at the camera. “Yul. Very famous dancer on social media, with thirty thousand followers and counting.” he boasted.
“Thirty thousand?!” Chris mocked. “That’s what you think is famous?”
“That’s why I’m here–to get exposure.” Yul rolled his eyes. “Too bad the scenery is so barbaric.” he blanched.
“Oh, I’m gonna have fun watching you play.” Chris chuckled, before shooing him away. Yul ignored the other contestants as he stayed in a corner to himself.
“Definitely not an intellectual threat.” Dan quietly murmured to himself, before looking away when Yul caught him staring.
“Moving on.” Chris redirected, “Let’s meet competitor number..” Chris quickly counted his fingers. “Six! Say hello to Ally!” Chris introduced, as the next ship docked.
The camera watched as a young woman, presumably Ally, stepped onto the dock. She wore a white tank top with an animated ghost on it, as well as a light blue short-sleeved jacket. She eagerly ran to the host, not caring about how her long hair began to mess itself up.
“Chris! It’s so awesome to meet you!” Ally quickly started to shake Chris’ hand, making the man uncomfortable. Ally paid no mind to him as she let go.
“I can’t wait to beat all these noobs and level up in this competition!”
“Care to run that by me again?” Chris blinked.
“Oh, sorry, that’s gamer lingo, I’m just hyped to play!” Ally clarified.
“I’ve had gamers on this show before. That was not ‘gamer lingo’.” Chris cringed.
“Well maybe they just weren’t on my level.” Ally smirked.
“Sure, whatever gets you out of my face the fastest.” Chris shrugged. Ally took the cue to leave, eagerly greeting the fellow campers on the end of the dock.
“Good morning everybody.” she smiled, only receiving a similar welcome by Aiden, who looked happy to see a friendly looking player. Fiore gave a polite wave, but her boredom took out most of its authenticity.
“Yeah yeah, it’s good to meet each other, now come on, we’re not even halfway done yet!” Chris whined.
“You know what, you.” Chris called an intern nearby. “Get another camera, that way SOMEONE doesn’t have to keep moving it around.” He glared at the cameraman, who winced, making the camera shake.
“Yes sir.” the intern replied, rushing to complete his request.
“Finally.” Chris sighed. “Now let’s give a warm welcome to our next contestant, Anastasia.” he said, as the camera caught a young woman walking down the ship’s ramp with a clearly learned confidence.
The woman wore a white and pink tank top over a rose gold long sleeved tank top, complimenting her long blonde hair.
Some of the favorites were openly staring at her, which she opted to ignore.
“So this is where the games will happen, да?” she asked, her Russian accent thick yet clear. Chris nodded his head.
“Good. This will make for an interesting background to test my skills.” Anastasia smirked, walking to the other contestants.
“Why hello beautiful.” Yul quickly walked over to the woman, putting his arm around her shoulder.
“I’m Yul, but you can call me Yours.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And you are?”
“A Model.” Anastasia soured, forcing his arm off her. “And out of your league. Leave me alone and maybe I won’t get you voted out first.”
“..I-Whatever.” Yul scoffed. “You'll regret this when I become a multimillionaire.” he gave the woman the finger, storming away, as the contestants all silently watched.
“That.” Ally’s eyes glistened. “Was so COOL!” she ran to Anastasia’s side, making the girl take a sidestep.
“That was pretty impressive.” Ellie agreed, giving the model a nod of respect, which Anastasia appreciated much more than having her space invaded.
“Good. I plan to have everyone know early on that I have no tolerance for disrespect.” Anastasia explained, before she decided she was done talking, as she sat on the floor.
“I’m back!” Chris’ intern wheezed, out of breath, but holding a spare camera.
“Good, now you can stop turning the camera away from me every five seconds.” Chris stared at the cameraman, enjoying his panic.
“Why are you being so rude to your cameraman?” a feminine voice asked from behind the host, making him turn around.
In front of him stood a woman with long brown hair and overalls, looking concerned on the cameraman’s behalf.
“Why hello Hannah.” Chris mustered a smile. “No need to worry about those lesser thans." Chris waved off the interns. "You’ll soon have your own set of problems to focus on anyway."
“What do you mean?” Hannah asked, looking genuinely confused.
“I-It’s Total Drama." Chris squeaked.
"Yeah, it said that on the sign-up sheet." Hannah raised her eyebrow. "What about it?"
"WHAT ABOUT IT?!" Chris cried. "Your life is going to be living hell.” he raised his arms, feeling offended over Hannah’s lack of care.
“Oh please, how bad could this be? It’s just a summer camp.” Hannah laughed.
“Have you seen this show at all?” Chris asked with incredulity.
“Well not exactly, but that million dollars did more than enough talking to get me here.”
“I–” Chris paused. “You do realize that this is a fans-centric season, right? As in, fans of the show.”
“Oh, oopsies.” Hannah giggled. “If it makes you feel better, I’m a fan of your haircut.” She weakly offered.
“Oddly enough, that does make me feel better.” Chris suddenly smiled. “You can stay in the game, now go say hi to the others.” he demanded, as Hannah approached the rest of the fans.
“Hey everyone!” Hannah awkwardly greeted, moving to a spot on her own.
“Seriously, that's it? Gosh you are so uninteresting.” Chris sighed in disappointment. The next ship arrived quickly enough for him to discard his annoyance.
“Here’s Benji!” Chris announced, as the man in question stumbled down the ramp in a panic. He wore a white buttoned-up shirt, which was covered by his fuzzy orange sweater.
“I’m okay!” Benji assured, picking himself up.
“Wasn’t going to ask, but sure.” Chris said apathetically. “Welcome to the show, now go over there." He instructed, lazily pointing towards the fans.
“Wait, there’s not going to be an interview or something?” Benji asked, slightly pouting.
“Why would there be an interview?”
“Because we’re fans of Total Drama! Wouldn’t you want to test us on our knowledge to know you picked the best of the best?” Benji's eyes sparkled.
“Yeah, having the best fans would’ve been nice.” Chris seethed, glaring at Hannah from across the dock. “Fine, whatever, I’ll ask you a question.”
“Bring it on!” Benji cheered, leaning closer to the host.
“What was the fourteenth person to ever cast their vote on this show?” Chris asked, making Benji falter.
“I–What?”
“Oh I’m sorry, we never had a contestant named What. It was Katie.” Chris shrugged. “Guess you aren’t a real fan after all.” he mocked, giving an exaggerated frown.
“Aw man.” Benji sighed, walking across the docks, visibly disappointed in himself.
“Okay, just between me and you, that was kind of fun to do.” Chris quietly admitted to the camera, watching the man leave. “But we have just a few more left, so let’s rapid fire these.” he snapped a few times in quick succession.
“Next up, Ren.” Chris called as the next ship docked. He waited for the person to walk down the ramp for a few moments, growing more annoyed by the lack of a figure.
“Oh come on.” Chris sighed, seeing Ren on top of the ship’s flag.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!”
“ENJOYING LIFE!” Ren cheekily replied. “WATCH THIS!” they said, backflipping off of the flag to the dock, landing feet-first right next to Chris.
“Huh, you actually did it.” the host noted, masking how impressed he actually was.
“Why thank you Christopher.” Ren took a dramatic bow.
“Never say that again.” Chris glared, as the camera got to get a full view of Ren.
Their highly energetic nature clearly inspired their fashion sense, as they wore a white long-sleeved crop tops paired with green trousers, held up by two green suspenders.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Ren joked to the camera.
“You look like a great addition to the cast.” Chris beamed earnestly.
“Wait, really?!”
“Yeah, everyone else is just so lame.”
“Oh yeah, well don’t worry Chris, I’ll go and spice things up.” Ren smirked, walking towards the others, before stopping at the halfway mark.
“HEY EVERYBODY!” Ren cupped their hands. “MY NAME IS REN MORAGA! AND I WILL BE THE WINNER OF TOTAL DRAMA, SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL GIVE UP NOW!” they challenged enthusiastically, turning around to face Chris as an onslaught of verbal insults and challenges followed.
“Not bad Ren, not bad.” Chris smiled approvingly. “You might just belong with the greats.”
“A-thank you.” Ren smiled, meeting up with the other contestants, choosing not to succumb to their ragebait.
"I'll kick your ass!" Yul scowled
"I'd like to see you try." Ren smirked.
“Up next, Dunia.” Chris smiled, watching the next ship arrive, as yet another high-energy individual entered the docks, thankfully walking down the ramp this time.
“Hey there Mr McLean, I’m Dunia, nice to make your acquaintance.” The woman greeted joyfully.
“Wow.” Chris said in shock. “You have a lot going on there.” he gestured towards her clothes.
The woman was decked out in clothing, with a vibrant yellow cardigan, a blue skirt, and delicately braided locks, all matched by a numerous amount of jewelry from necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.
“Of course I do.” Dunia smiled. “You see Mr. McLean, clothes tell stories, and I want my story to be seen by the world.” she spread her arms out, almost as if she was hugging the wind.
“And what exactly is your story?” Chris questioned.
“Well, don’t be too scared now, but I’m a witch.” Dunia whispered conspiratorially, giggling. “But don’t fear, I won’t use that to win, just to have some fun and whimsy."
“..Right.” Chris eventually forced out.
He was really starting to regret the minimal background checks.
“Alright now, Imma wish my opponents some luck with this sage I brought, have fun hosting now.” The witch(?) smiled, excusing herself.
“Is that..a girl Leonard.” Chris stared into the camera, looking deeply unnerved. “L-let’s just meet the next fan.” he said hollowly, losing most of his gusto.
Chris watched with bated breath as the next ship reached the dock.
“Please be normal, please be normal” Chris prayed, crossing his fingers.
At first glance, the person who stepped out of the ship appeared to be normal, simply looking like a man dressed in a white and blue tropical shirt and tan shorts.
Chris almost sighed with relief, but elected to wait a bit to get information.
“Sam, good to see you man.” he greeted.
Sam flashed an easygoing smile as he tried to fix his messy tuft of hair.
“Hey there Chris.” Sam greeted, taking note of the look of panic on his face. “Is something wrong?”
“Are you secretly a witch or something?” Chris blurted, making Sam blink.
“I can’t say I am.” Sam chuckled. “But that sounds like there’s a story behind it.”
“Oh there is, but we don’t have time to get into that.” Chris stated, his shoulders releasing some tension.
“But anyways, Sam, how does it feel to be the second Sam to play this game? You have a lot riding on your performance here.” Chris interrogated the man, who looked at him playfully.
“Well, I hope I can get a beautiful girlfriend here too, but otherwise I’m not too worried.” he calmly joked.
“Fair enough, I guess.” The host had no remark.
“It looks like the next person’s already here.” Sam noted. “But hey, I hope you find your witch.” Sam joked, leaving to meet his fellow campers.
“A bit boring, but at least he isn’t crazy.” Chris shrugged, watching him leave, before switching his focus to the next arrival.
The new person to enter the island wore a fuzzy dark brown coat and stylish sunglasses, which sat on top of the man’s head.
“Finn! Welcome aboard!” Chris said, before wincing at Finn’s look of adoration.
“Oh my god!” Finn squealed, running down the ramp. “I’m actually on Total Drama! Oh my god this is going to be so much fu–UCK!” he cursed, the sun’s harsh rays quickly taking its effect on the man.
“God, is this what it’s like to be here?” Finn cringed in disgust, making Chris overjoyed.
“You betcha!”
“No money is worth this, I’m outta here.” Finn declared, walking back to his boat, just to see it depart.
“NO!” He cried.
“Oh yes!” Chris brightened. “Seriously though, you need to make way, the next person’s about to get here."
“Cool, maybe I can get on their boat.” Finn perked up, running to the edge of the dock in anticipation.
As the next ship stopped, the new arrival barely had any time to react as Finn ran up the ramp, pushing the girl out of the way.
“Hey! Watch it dickhead!” the woman glared, as Finn looked at her with shock.
“Make me you preppy priss.” he retorted, quickly taking note of her appearance, a collared shirt under a pink sweater vest, and a green skirt.
“You asked for it.” The woman snarled, scratching the man, making him hiss in pain. The two began to fight, which led to them slowly leaving the ship to reach the docks, with the rest of the fans watching the two with interest.
“WHY DID YOU START THIS ANYWAY?!” The woman shrieked, as Finn pulled her hair.
“BECAUSE YOU..You..I–I uh.” Finn stammered, momentarily pausing his beatdown.
“Honestly, it wasn’t really anything about you.” He chuckled sheepishly. “I just hated this damn heat.”
“I see what you mean.” Finn’s rival agreed, just now noticing the sheer heat of the sun. “Goddamn it is this what we have to deal with from now on?!”
“That’s what I said!” Finn smiled. The woman smiled back.
“You aren’t that bad.” She smirked, offering him a fist bump, which he gladly returned.
“Same to you.”
“Dang Ara! That was some entrance.!” Chris cheered as the woman’s dusted off her clothes.
“Thanks, I’ve been taking defense classes.” Ara replied, trying to block the heat.
“I can tell, you really had me fighting for my life.” Finn praised, making the woman shrug.
“Good. I’d hate to lose my touch.”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Chris cut the conversation. “Finn, I trust that you won’t try to run away again?” he asked sweetly.
“Yeah, fine, whatever.” Finn groaned.
“Excellent, now go with the others.” Chris demanded.
“Well prep school, let’s go meet the others.” Finn sighed.
“Please get better insults.” Ara deflated, walking alongside Finn to the end of the docks. As they got there, they saw a large group of contestants openly staring at them.
“What?” Ara rudely asked, crossing her arms. Finn mimicked the motion.
“You have a black eye.” Ally pointed out, pointing to Ara’s face. The woman felt around her face to find out that she did in fact have a black eye.
“Looks like you can punch well yourself.” Ara commented lightly to Finn, who openly laughed.
“I was waiting for you to find out.”
“Alright everyone, we just have one fan left, then we can move on to the fun part!” Chris called the attention of the fans, who all looked at the last ship with curiosity.
The last fan could threaten to change the entire nature of the show. They could be an athletic titan, a master manipulator, or have some combination of the two.
“Hey.” said a disinterested voice, as the woman on the last ship lazily descended the ramp. She had long multicolored dreadlocks, several piercings, and a dark greenish blue jacket.
“Nura!” Chris greeted enthusiastically, hoping some of it would transfer to her.
It didn’t.
“So, this is where we’re staying, huh?” Nura asked, looking bored, before noticing everyone’s open stares.
“Oh, um. Hi.” She weakly offered, barely raising her hand, making Chris loudly sigh.
“Are you not even the slightest bit excited to be here?” The host brooded, clearly disappointed.
“Why would I be? All this show has been for the past few years is a glorified torture fest.” Nura huffed.
"Then why are you here?!"
"Why do you care?" Nura glared, making Chris back off.
"Okay, okay, don't tell me your life story. Just go over there." He marked the fans, as Nura thankfully followed his order.
“Way to end with a whimper.” Chris muttered to himself, as the rest of the fans watched Nura approach.
“Hey there!” Aiden greeted, moving to the front to offer a friendly smile. “I’m Aiden.”
“Nura.” The new arrival coldly replied, turning to face away from everyone.
“Oh-kay.” Aiden frowned, moving his hand to his side awkwardly. “Nice meeting you too.”
“What a jerk, huh.” Benji whispered from Aiden’s side.
“I know, right?” Hannah agreed, nodding her head.
“It’s okay, we all have our off days, I guess.” Aiden replied, shrugging his shoulders with an energy that didn’t match his previous passion.
“Ugh, I’m getting bored.” Ara whined, standing up from her spot in the corner.
“You’re getting bored?” Ellie glared, hands on her hips. “You just got here. If anyone has the right to be bored, it’s me.”
“And are you?” Ara challenged.
“..Whatever.” Ellie rolled her eyes, leaving the conversation.
“Nice one.” Finn smirked, nudging Ara.
“Thanks. But seriously though, I’m bored as fuck.” She maintained, grabbing Chris’ attention.
“Welp, looks like the introductions are done!” Chris looked at the camera, as he began walking off the pier. “If you all would please follow me for a moment, we can begin the fun part.”
The fans looked amongst themselves, finally starting to feel the weight of the competition. They soon began to nervously walk, with Anastasia and Sam leading the charge.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘fun part’?” Anastasia put up air quotes.
“You’ll see.” Chris ominously replied, making Benji shiver.
“He’s probably going to assign us to the teams.” Ren spoke up from their spot in the middle of the group.
“How many would be on each team?” Dunia wondered aloud.
“Let’s see, there are one, two…” Dan began to count quietly. “Wait, this doesn’t make sense. There are fifteen people.” he said with confusion.
“Wait, how are we going to have two even teams?” Aiden panicked. “I don’t want to start at a disadvantage.”
“Oh relax.” Chris mediated. “Don’t worry, there will be an even number of players on each team.”
“How?” Sam questioned, putting his hand to his chin. “There are only fifteen of us.”
“There aren’t only fifteen of you.” Chris stated casually, smiling maniacally.
“What do you mean? I counted; there are fifteen of us.” Dan raised his eyebrow.
“I said, there aren’t only fifteen of you.” Chris smirked, suddenly stopping in front of a large clearing.
“I’m sorry, what?” Finn paused.
“Oh, did I not tell you?” Chris asked in a way that clearly showed he purposefully withheld this information. “This isn’t a fans-only season.” He chuckled, pulling out his walkie-talkie.
“This is a fans versus favorites season. HIT IT CHEF!” He blurted in his device.
“WHAT?!” The fans screamed with varying levels of incredulity.
A large helicopter soon swerved into the fan’s views, as it slowly began to descend to land. Chris looked ecstatic as it came to a stop, as Chris approached the side entrance.
“In case it wasn’t obvious already, you all are the fans team.” Chris announced, making the team look at one another.
“Oh shit.” Nura gasped.
“There’s fifteen of you, so there’s fifteen favorites as well, five across each generation.” Chris relayed, as Chef exited the helicopter.
“Never make me fly that again.” He demanded to Chris, who shrugged.
“I mean I could try to fly it if you want.”
“Nevermind.” Chef immediately took it back, hiding the key in his pocket.
“As I was saying, these favorites have all been blindfolded and forced to wear earmuffs, so they’ll be meeting each other for the first time as well.”
“Is that really necessary?” Hannah winced.
“Hannah, I really need you to understand that you are my least favorite person here.” Chris said with genuine seriousness. “For your sake, don’t test me.”
“Yes sir.” Hannah looked away.
"But to answer your question, yes, it is incredibly necessary. Most people in that chopper hate at least one person's guts. I'm saving lives by keeping them to themselves."
"But you're also putting them on the same team." Ally pointed out.
"Exactly! It makes for great television!"
“Alrighty, now, from our very first season! Please welcome……..
.
..
...
....
.....
Owen!” Chris clapped, as he opened the helicopter door. As he did so, Owen’s large body quickly began to poke out, making the man fall outside the helicopter to the ground, which caused his blindfold and muffler to fall off.
“Oof!” he grunted, picking himself up. He rubbed his eyes casually and began to look around the scenery, before he noticed the several pairs of eyes on him.
“Oh hi everyone, what’s going on?”
“New season, you’re in it.” Chris said simply.
“Wait, really?!” Owen cheered, sparkles in his eyes.
“You bet dude! Now just wait on the side while I go inside and grab your teammates.” Chris instructed.
“Awesome!” Owen cheered, walking to the fans.
“OH MY GOD! IT’S OWEN!” Finn and Aiden cheered, before looking at each other with a grin.
“Oh hi, nice to meet you. You guys in the game too?” Owen asked.
“You know it! But we are kind of your enemies, being on the other team and all.” Aiden answered sheepishly.
“Oh please, none of that. We can be friends without being teammates.” Owen replied, making the two boys smile.
“Ahem.” Chris cleared his throat, making Owen shriek.
“Sorry.”
“Now, we can’t have Owen on without his best buddy now, can we?” Chris asked rhetorically.
“Wait, you really brought back..” Owen’s eyes widened expectantly.
“Noah!” Chris dragged the skinny teen to the helicopter doors, throwing him off.
“AAA–” The bookworm shrieked, scrambling to take off his blindfold.
“Oh thank god.” He sighed in relief as he could now see and hear the world again, only to dreadfully realize where he was.
“I retract my previous statement.” he picked himself up. “I am not going back to hell.”
“Buddy!” Owen flung himself across the open to wrap Noah in a hug, quickly suffocating him.
“I missed you so much!”
“Same here, but we could have met up literally anywhere else but here.” Noah wheezed.
“Out of all the original players, they chose Noah?” Ellie said in sheer disbelief.
“I mean, he is kind of funny.” Ally offered.
“He’s also really smart!” Fiore mentioned.
“Literally anyone would look smart to you elf on the shelf.” Yul sassed.
“Hey!” Fiore glared. “Jerk!”
“I like him.” Nura commented from her isolated area. “He’s pragmatic.”
“Gee, thanks.” Noah sarcastically replied. “Who are you all again?”
“I don’t know, but they’re not on our team.” Owen answered Noah’s rhetorical question, letting go of him.
“Fair enough.” Noah conceded.
“We got our footage, let’s go to the next one.” Chris said to the cameraman, before he went inside the helicopter again.
“Fans and favorites, say hello to our next favorite–LeShawna!” Chris announced, as he gently led the woman down the helicopter.
...Not because he was worried she would kick his ass if he dropped her, no.
That’s a ridiculous thought.
“Good morning LeShawna.” Chris cackled, removing the objects on her head.
“Wha–” The woman muttered, gathering a sense of her surroundings.
“Oh HELL NO!” she cried, turning around to see a joyful Chris beside her.
“Welcome baackk~” he sang.
“WE ARE NOT DOING THIS AGAIN!” LeShawna ran, only to dive face-first into Owen’s belly.
“Oh hey LeShawna!” Owen greeted. “Wow, this is like a Screaming Gophers reunion huh?” He giggled.
“Guess we’re doing this then.” The powerhouse sighed deeply, before standing up.
“What’s the deal short stack?” she asked Noah, who rolled his eyes at the nickname.
“Apparently it’s an old gen versus new thing.” he said, pointing to the favorites, who were watching the three with quiet admiration.
“Okay, we can work with that.” LeShawna grinned. “Home field advantage after all.”
"As long as Heather isn't here you mean." Noah joked, making LeShawna sour.
"Please tell me she's not coming back."
"Literally how would I know?" Noah asked, making the two go silent.
“LeShawna.” Anastasia walked towards the woman, looking considerably more nervous than earlier.
“Can I help you?” LeShawna stared at the model expectantly.
“You were my biggest inspiration when I first began to diversify my modeling talents.” Anastasia said earnestly, keeping a respectful distance between the two.
“Thank you for being unapologetically yourself. You taught me to do the same.” She whispered, making LeShawna’s eyes start to widen.
“Well shit, thank you girl.” The woman softly smiled, bringing the model into a hug.
Surprisingly, Anastasia didn’t protest.
“Regardless, I will also issue a warning.” Anastasia noted, clearing her throat.
“My team will dominate every challenge, and you will be eliminated. I just hope it doesn’t happen soon.” The model whispered the last part.
“Oh you’re on.” LeShawna grinned, breaking the hug. Anastasia said her goodbyes and went back to her team, ignoring their questions.
“Aw, they’re getting along.” Chris mocked, wiping a fake tear from his eye. “I’ll introduce the next two together because I think it’ll be really funny.” He announced, grabbing the next two favorites and throwing them over despite their protests.
“Welcome back Duncan and Courtney!” Chris cheered, as the campground became eerily silent.
"What's happening, do they not like each other or something?" Hannah wondered, being quickly shushed by Ally.
Duncan and Courtney struggled to take their blindfolds and mufflers off, but were angry enough to get it done.
The contestants held their breath as the two soon stared at their surroundings–and each other.
“FUCK!” They both screamed simultaneously, before entering a loud argument.
“Not you again!” Duncan groaned.
"Oh please, like you're a sight for sore eyes." Courtney held back a vomit.
"Apparently I am if I'm back on the show!"
“How are you even here?” Courtney sneered. “Weren’t you supposed to be in jail?”
“Funny you mention that.” Chris chimed in. “I’m a mature person, and we have all grown from our experiences, so I believe that Duncy-boy over here deserves one more chance. He won’t do anything to make me mad, right Duncan?” Chris gave a death glare to the criminal.
“After all, I could always give a statement to the courts and extend your sentence. You’ve done a lot more than destroy my condo you know.” The host reminded.
“...Fine, I’ll behave.” Duncan sighed in defeat.
“HA!” Courtney scoffed.
“Really masculine of you Duncy-boy.” Noah sassed, making Duncan walk over to him and grab his shirt.
“CHRIS! HE’S DOING SOMETHING!” the bookworm cried out, as Duncan lifted him off the ground, making some of the fans laugh.
“Not to me.” Chris innocently replied, as Noah was flung across the field into Owen’s arms.
“Duncan!” Owen greeted, gently lowering Noah and giving the delinquent a fist bump. “Nice to see you here!”
“Glad to see someone who doesn’t hate my guts.” Duncan greeted back, giving a look to LeShawna.
“Like I care enough about you to hate you.” The woman rolled her eyes. "You ain't the main character."
“Ahem, do you want to say hello to anyone else perchance?” Courtney asked sweetly.
Owen stayed silent, awkwardly staring at his fingernails.
“Whatever.” The CIT rolled her eyes, walking to the side.
“And with that, we have our first generation of favorites.” Chris declared, making some fans start to sweat.
“They have a lot of Pros.” Ally bit her nails, eyeing Courtney, Duncan, and LeShawna.
“Don’t worry about that.” Sam reassured, putting his arm around her shoulder. “They may have experience, but everyone here has their own talents and strengths. We just have to find them.”
“You’re right.” Ally said nervously, something that Sam took note of.
“Sam’s right.” Aiden agreed. “We can beat them if we try hard enough.” he said determinedly
“Ohhhhh that's Sam” Ara's eyes widened in realization.
“Not the point, but yes.” Aiden sighed.
“Cool.” She said, looking away, making Aiden slump.
“Moving on to our next generation of campers–please welcome our Revenge of The Island players!” Chris cheered, throwing another person off the helicopter.
“OUCH!” A feminine voice groaned, quickly taking off her blindfold and muffler.
“It’s Zoey everybody!” Chris said, as the girl looked around.
“Oh, hi everyone!” Zoey offered an easygoing smile. Owen audibly gasped.
“You’re that one girl from All Stars!” Owen jumped, making Zoey grin.
“Owen! I loved you in your seasons!”
“ME TOO!” He said, pulling the girl in for a hug, which she eagerly accepted.
“GUESS WHAT? WE’RE ON THE SAME TEAM!” Owen informed, making Zoey grin.
“REALLY?!”
“Yeah, it’s this season’s gimmick, new players versus previous ones.” The original winner relayed, as Zoey noticed the other veteran players.
“Hey girl.” LeShawna offered a wave. Noah and Courtney looked disinterested in her, while Duncan looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t.
“Excuse me.” She said to Owen, who respectfully let go.
“Hey Duncan!” Zoey called to the delinquent, who reluctantly turned around.
“It’s good to see you again.” She sweetly said, catching him off guard.
“I–What?”
“I’m glad you’re out of prison. Mike and I missed you.” She continued, pulling him into a hug.
“We’re..still friends?” He asked hesitantly.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” she asked, genuinely confused.
“..I made a lot of mistakes last season.” He whispered, lowering his head with shame.
“So what? Now’s our chance to make up for them, starting with me.” She said, pulling out a notepad and pencil from her pocket. She quickly scribbled something onto it, before pushing it in Duncan’s hands.
“My number. Mike and I live together, but I’m sure he’d love to have you over for dinner with us.” She offered, before excusing herself to say hi to LeShawna, a woman she has openly loved since season one.
Their words of greeting echoed hollowly to Duncan, who stopped paying attention to the outside world, stuck looking at the note.
“Wow, that was way too heartwarming. Let’s ruin that.” Chris smirked, grabbing a pair of contestants from the helicopter. “Same deal as Courtney and Duncan, these two are way too funny to not reveal together.” he said, throwing the pair down.
“Why would you bring them back?!” Courtney sighed in annoyance, watching as Jo and Lightning freed themselves from their binds.
“The Lightning’s back on the island?” Lightning said to himself, noticing the fans. “With an audience? Well then, might as well give ‘em a show.” he grinned, beginning to flex his muscles.
The fans looked unimpressed.
Well, most of them anyway.
“You seriously can’t be falling for that.” Ara said to Finn, who began fanning himself.
“You can’t seriously tell me that isn’t hot.” He replied.
“I don’t see it.” Ren chimed, shrugging their shoulders.
“I didn’t ask you.” Finn snarled.
“I don’t either.” Benji raised his hand. “But to be fair, I am straight.”
“Then why did you answer when it didn’t apply to you?!” Finn yelled, making Benji take a step back.
“Hey!” Hannah got his attention, going in front of Benji. “I’m bisexual, so I can have an opinion. Whoever that guy is.” she said, pointing at Lightning. “He’s not all that.” she shrugged, making Benji smile.
She noticed that and winked playfully.
“Seriously?! Please, I can’t be the only one who sees it, right?” Finn desperately asked the fans, who all looked away awkwardly.
“Okay fine, I see it.” Aiden admitted ashamedly, lowering his head. “But I wouldn’t ask him out or anything.”
“THANK YOU!” Finn grinned at the same time as Ara’s “Don’t encourage him.”
“Oh no, it’s you.” the second newcomer said from behind Lightning.
“Please, you should be happy to see me Jo.” Lightning scoffed. “Considering how you went home right after getting rid a’ the Lightning.”
“And I’ll gladly do it again if it means never seeing you for the rest of my life.” Jo replied, looking over. “Who are these clowns?” She asked, watching as the fans looked weirded out by Finn’s obsession.
“Doesn’t matter, cause the Lightning’s right here. Sha-bam!” he called, flexing his arms once again.
“Welcome back to hell.” Noah called out to Jo, making her look at him.
“I guess you would know what it is, huh string bean?”
“Yep, you’ll fit right in.” he dryly responded. “Tell you what, I’ll help you get rid of stereotypical jock number one over there if we work together.”
“The game just started and you’re already making deals?” Jo laughed. “I’d think about it if it looked like you could pull your weight.” She rolled her eyes, walking away from the bookworm.
“Welp, I tried.” Noah shrugged, fishing for a book he was certain he hid in his sweater vest.
As soon as he found it, he immediately dropped it, due to the thump of the next arrival.
“Did you have to drop me?!” Scott howled, feeling the soreness on his butt.
“Of course I did, be thankful I didn’t sedate all of you like I was originally going to.”
“Yeesh.” Scott rubbed his arm, looking at the rest of the players.
“So which team am I on?” He looked around expectantly, hands on his hips.
“Ours.” Courtney called from across the field, drawing the farm boy’s attention.
“Oh, it’s you.” Scott leered, making Courtney groan.
“WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY THAT?!”
“OH I DON’T KNOW, BECAUSE YOU’RE AN EGOTISTIC MANIPULATOR WHO DRAWS THEIR BOYFRIEND AS A RAT!” Scott seethed.
"ARE YOU STILL HUNG UP ABOUT THAT?! GROW UP!"
“She did what now?” Hannah asked her team.
“Oh yeah, she made this like chart thing and drew him as a rat.” Ally added. “It was a whole thing."
“..This show is weird.” Hannah concluded. The rest of the fans quietly agreed.
“One more from this gen people.” Chris said, going back inside the helicopter. He stayed inside, returning moments later empty-handed.
“Chef, where is she?!” Chris loudly asked.
“I swear, I put her in the chopper!” The burly man replied angrily.
“WELL SHE’S NOT–”
“Hello everyone.” Dawn greeted from the ground.
“Wha–why aren’t you in the helicopter?” Chris asked.
“Good question.” Dawn acknowledged.
“...”
“...”
“..Just go away.” Chris sighed.
“Greetings fellow contestants, I am overjoyed to return to the game.” Dawn introduced herself to the campers.
“Oh hey Dawn!” Zoey greeted, while Owen gave a greeting of his own. Everyone else stayed reserved around the girl.
“Not you again.” Scott soured at the sight of the nature lover, making Courtney grin.
“If Scott hates you, then you’re my new best friend!” she wrapped her arm around Dawn, making her giggle.
“If it means your aura will lighten, then I would be delighted to be your friend. You need as many as you can get.” Dawn proclaimed.
“What, I have friends!” The CIT scoffed.
“Are you sure? Your aura is surging with signs of loneliness.” Dawn wondered, making Courtney shove the girl to the floor.
“Dang creepy girl, that was cold.” Lightning voiced, shaking his head.
“I did not intend to offend.” Dawn insisted, but Courtney paid no mind, walking to the fans.
“H-hey Courtney.” Aiden stammered, waving rapidly. Courtney examined the man, before glossing over the rest of the fans.
“Looks like easy targets. We should be fine.” The CIT smiled to herself.
“Excuse me?” Anastasia trudged in front of Courtney, followed by Nura and Ellie.
“You’re talking about easy targets, yet you’re hated by your entire team. How far do you realistically expect to go with an attitude like that?” Nura scolded, making Anastasia scoff.
“Exactly. Go back to your team, lest you be viewed even more negatively than you already are.” The model challenged, making Courtney match her glare.
“You’re going down.” She seethed, slowly walking back to the favorites.
“Yeah! You tell her!” Duncan cheered on from the side, making the three girls glare at him.
“You aren’t much better.” Ellie hissed.
“So you’re saying I am better?” Duncan winked, making Ellie blush.
“Not by any means.” Anastasia recoiled in disgust. That got Duncan to back off, as he went back to ragebaiting Jo.
“Oh my gosh.” Ren breathed. “That was so scary.”
“I know, right?” Dunia agreed. “I don’t know why all the veterans have so much malice in their hearts.”
“It’s because this game corrupts people.” Nura responded, waving her hair out of her sight.
“Well then, it’s a great thing that I’m here.” Dunia smiled, digging into her pocket to take out a glass bottle.
“I can bless our team to ward off negative vibes.”
“..I’m going to leave now.” Nura said, walking off, causing Dunia to frown.
“Aw, don’t worry about her.” Ren sighed, touching Dunia’s glass bottle. “I’ll gladly take any of the luck you were going to give her.”
“If you say so.” Dunia’s mood recovered, as she giggled. “Just don’t take too much, or else you’ll become tainted by it."
“I’ll try my best, but we’ll see.” Ren giggled as well, as Nura watched the two with confusion from afar.
“Five favorites left, then we can get this show on the road.” Chris said from the helicopter, redirecting everyone’s attention.
“These last five are from our most recent season, Pahkitew Island.” he continued, as few of the fans nodded their heads.
“What the hell is a Pahkitew?” Yul asked.
“I don’t remember that season.” Ara agreed. Sam quietly nodded his head, not trying to offend the host.
“Me neither.” Fiore added.
“..Looks like this season doesn’t have many ‘real fans’.” Chris glared, using air quotes.
“I saw that season!” Zoey raised her hand, lowering it when the cast stared at her blankly.
“What, it was fun.” She murmured sheepishly.
“How are the favorites bigger fans than you guys?!” Chris asked incredulously.
“I saw it.” Aiden piped up, as Finn and Benji nodded their heads in agreement.
“It wasn’t really my favorite, but it was alright.” Benji claimed.
“Where did you get that cast? It was full of lunatics.” Finn shivered.
“Same place I got you guys, an online forum.” Chris replied, as he shoved the next favorite off the copter.
“AAH!” the person shrieked, quickly taking off their blindfold and darting away in a sprint.
“YOU WON’T CATCH ME ZOMBIESSS!” the person screamed, soon running face first into Owen’s stomach.
“Ow!” he said, before taking more notice into where he was.
“Oh.” The man sighed in relief. “Okay, good. I’m just on the show.”
“Shawn everybody!” Chris laughed through his introduction, as the fans and favorites alike stared at him with confusion.
“Did you say zombies?” LeShawna asked, openly staring at the jittery man.
“Yeah, they’re a genuine threat.” Shawn responded, prying himself off Owen, who gave a quick hello. “But since we’re on an island, we have a good few months of extra prep.” he smiled.
“Right.” LeShawna hollowly agreed, backing up.
“But hey, I needed some time away from my home anyway, now Jas and I can hang out again.” Shawn declared, looking around.
“Uh, where’s Jasmine?”
“You’re the first one here from your season dingus.” Jo ‘helpfully’ replied.
“Oh, okay.” Shawn ignored the jibe, settling down next to a tree. “How many people from my season are coming back?”
“Four more.” Chris shouted, picking up another body with great difficulty, hastily throwing it to the ground.
“JASMINE!” Shawn yelled, sprinting across the field to catch the falling woman, somehow doing so before she hit the ground.
“That... isn’t possible.” Dan said in disbelief, taking off his glasses to wipe them.
“He must’ve maxed out his speed stat.” Ally proposed, eyes glistening with envy.
“Paranoia must be good for your reflexes.” Ellie mused, making Fiore laugh.
“He’s fast.” The little girl said simply.
“I–what?” Jasmine murmured, slowly waking up.
“Oh yeah, since she’s claustrophobic and everything, we used a small sedative to make her more comfortable.” Chris informed.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to do that?” Scott glared.
“She needed it, so if anything, you should thank me.” Chris laughed.
“I hate everything right now.” Jasmine groaned. Shawn helped her stand, which she was thankful for.
“Except you Shawn. At least you’re here.” She smiled, making him less nervous.
“But why are there so many people here?” Jasmine looked around, feeling everyone’s eyes on her.
“Fans vs Favorites season.” Owen said with a smile.
“I’m sorry, what does that mean exactly?” Jasmine asked, making Owen stutter.
“Think of it like the best of the best on one team, our super team, against a bunch of people who watched the show!” The energetic teen tried to clarify, making Jasmine raise an eyebrow.
“So our team is what, those chumps?” She asked again, pointing to the favorites.
“Who you calling a chump?” Scott glared, midway through sharpening a stick he found on the ground.
“Well it was a general statement, but you do seem to fit the bill.” The Australian glared.
“Who do you think you are, picking fights when we don’t even know who you are?” Jo challenged, making Jasmine walk in front of her, towering over the jock with her sheer height.
“Guess introductions are in order then.” Jasmine sighed. “I’m Jasmine, and I placed fourth. That right there is my boyfriend Shawn, who won this game before. Can you say you’ve done either of those before?” She smirked knowingly, laughing as Jo faltered.
“Ladies, don’t fight until I’m done.” Chris begged from inside the helicopter. “I really want to see it firsthand.”
“Screw you.” Jo stuck her tongue at the host, making Jasmine snicker.
“Good. Now, our third-to-last contestant iiiiiis…” Chris paused for dramatic effect, throwing the next person out.
“Samey!” He laughed, as the woman coughed, dirt entering her lungs.
“IT’S *ugh* SAMMY!” The twin weakly replied, as Jasmine rushed to help her out.
“Good to see you again mate.” The Australian smiled.
“Jasmine!” Sammy went to give her friend a hug, which was gladly returned. “What’s up with this whole, everything?"
“Looks like we’re in for another season.” Jasmine sighed.
“Darn. We on a team?”
“Us, Shawn, and a few others.” Jasmine supplied.
“Hey.” Shawn waved from afar.
“Looks like we have our work cut out for us.” Sammy huffed, watching how the fans and favorites alike watched over them.
“Nothing we can’t handle.” Jasmine clasped Sammy’s back, as the two walked to Shawn.
“Woow, three people who are friends with each other. Way to go for variety McLean.” Ara grimaced, making the three glare at her.
“I’m on the other team, you can’t get me.” She smirked.
“Great timing Ara, it’s almost as if you knew who these next two were.” Chris matched her smirk, dropping the next two at once. “Might as well introduce them both at once.”
The contestants watched in anticipation as the last two campers fell face first into the ground, with the three Pahkitew campers paling as they saw them.
“Oh god, not her again!” Jasmine cried.
“How is she not in jail?!” Shawn screamed.
“When did he go bald?” Sammy asked, questioning the presence of the other person.
“What hit me?” The girl contestant asked, holding her head as she looked around.
“Hey there Scarlett, Dave.” Chris waved.
“What am I doing back here? I have an appointment with my psychiatrist in an hour.” Scarlett scowled, adjusting her glasses.
“I-I-what’s going on?!” Dave panicked, hyperventilating rapidly.
“About that Scarlett, you’re still under our contract, so I just cancelled all of your appointments for the foreseeable future.” Chris smiled. “Although what you did last season was awful, the audience loved it, so as long as you don’t do it again, we can overlook it.”
“That sounds agreeable.” the psychoanalyst agreed, dusting off her shirt.
“WHY AM I BACK HERE?!” Dave cried, bringing his hands to his head. “THIS PLACE-NO, YOU RUINED MY LIFE!”
“Hey!” Chris shouted. “I didn’t ruin your life, Sky did. And she’s not in this season. Plus, this isn’t even the same island. So what are you whining about?”
“Hey,” Zoey approached Dave with concern. “Are you okay.”
“N-not really.” Dave crouched, trying to escape the stares towards him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll help if you need me too.” Zoey politely offered, making Dave step back.
“Why, so you can betray me and break my heart too?!” He hissed, making Zoey do a double take.
“What?! No!”
“Oh save it! I’ve seen what you women are really like! I meant it when I said I’m a lone wolf!” Dave suddenly stood up, angrily pacing to the other side of the field.
“Wow, what an introduction from Dave.” Chris chuckled. “Not so much from Scarlett though, but that’s fine.”
“What did you expect me to do? Make a scene like 'alpha male' over there?” Scarlett inquired, rolling her eyes.
“Ideally, yes.”
“Go to hell.”
“But congratulations campers! We have our cast!” Chris brought his arms up, as two cannons fired confetti in the background.
“Now, if you both could just organize yourselves in your teams, I can start explaining this season.” Chris commanded, waiting as the favorites formed on his left, while the fans went to his right.
“Perfect.” Chris smiled. “Now, in case you haven’t noticed, this season will be our largest season yet, with fifteen fans facing off against fifteen favorites.” He clasped his hands.
“How big were the original seasons?” Hannah asked, before Benji forced his hand over her mouth.
“Never interrupt Chris while he’s talking.” He said ominously.
“Thank you Benji.” Chris smiled. “Because of that, I’ll forgive you Hannah, but you should really listen next time.” He chided, not noticing Hannah’s left eye twitching.
“But besides the large cast and team sizes, this season will be working a little differently.” Chris informed, taking out two maps from his pocket, as well as two compasses.
“Here.” He said, throwing one map and compass to each team. Courtney caught the map and compass for the favorites, while Sam caught the fans’.
“There won’t be a mess hall or cabins this season, since we couldn’t afford to build them in time. So you’ll have to make them and feed yourselves.” The host shrugged noncommittally.
“Hey, we have a child on our team! That’s child neglect!” Dunia shouted, holding Fiore protectively. The girl had a face of disgust, but didn’t move out of it.
“Sounds like you better feed her then.” Chris casually suggested.
“But hey, some of the rewards could be food, so all you have to do is win every challenge!” Chris gave a false cheer. “Shouldn’t be too hard, right?”
“Screw you.” Jo snarled.
“Oh Jo, how I’ve missed your hatred.” Chris mocked. “I’ll give you all one hour to find your campground and settle in before the challenge starts. Take this time to meet your team and make some new enemies!” Chris declared.
“Off you go.” he shooed, waiting a few moments for both teams to start walking away.
“Oh yeah,” The host added, making both teams pause.
“There may or may not be an immunity idol at each camp.” He winked, as both teams immediately started running to the camp.
“Oh, we are so back.” Chris smiled.
The fans quickly ran as fast as they could to their campground, before having to pause to let some of their team rest.
“I’m *agh* sorry.” Fiore huffed. “I was going too fast.” she held her stomach intensely.
“Don’t worry about it hon.” Dunia kneeled to her level, giving her head a pat. “I needed a good rest too.”
“Yeah kid, we all get tired.” Ren said softly, sitting on Fiore’s other side.
“Same.” Benji agreed, collapsing on the floor. Hannah and Nura followed suit.
“We should make this quick, the favorites could have already settled in by now.” Dan tapped his feet anxiously.
“Please, they’re good, but they can’t be that good.” Ellie scoffed, finding a log to sit on.
“I dunno..." Finn said nervously. “Did you see how quickly that Shawn guy ran to his girlfriend? That’s scary fast.”
“Perhaps, but he’s just one of that large team, and few look capable of replicating such a feat.” Anastasia argued, stretching her muscles.
“The girl’s got a point.” Yul smirked, stopping in front of Anastasia to slowly stretch muscles of his own.
“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Anastasia asked, staring blankly at Yul’s lackluster flexes.
"WHY YOU-"
“Hold on now, we’re supposed to be a team.” Sam stood in between the two, staring directly into Yul’s angered face, making the Korean back off.
“I think we should take five to rest, and then get back on the move.” He offered. “Sound good?”
The team nodded their heads.
“Alright then, five minutes on the clock.” Sam announced.
“Thank you five.” Aiden and Finn said instinctually, before gasping at each other.
“You do theatre?!” They asked each other excitedly.
“Tell me everything!” Finn demanded. “Are you cast or crew?”
“Cast, but I’ve dabbled in crew from time to time. What about you?”
“Same here, what shows have you performed in?”
“Dammit Finn, I thought you were cool.” Ara whined, taking shade beneath a tree.
“Come on, let them have fun.” Ren insisted, sitting next to the woman.
“Fine.” Ara sighed, letting Finn and Aiden talk while the team rested.
“Come on now, we gotta make it to the campsite so Lightning can get that sha-idol!” Lighting demanded, leading the favorites on their trip to their home for the foreseeable future.
“And who put you in charge?” LeShawna protested, stopping to take deep breaths.
“Seriously dude, you’re a walking tank.” Noah wheezed.
“‘Walking tank’, seriously?” Jo looked unimpressed at Noah.
“I have been running nonstop for almost twenty minutes, so please forgive me if I can’t form coherent thoughts.” The bookworm huffed.
“WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG?!” Owen groaned, struggling to keep up with the others. He managed to maintain the same pace as Sammy, Scott, and Zoey, but they quickly moved away to avoid his workout stench.
“Oh come on guys, it’s not that bad.” Jasmine said ignorantly, looking at Sammy. “Right?”
“Nope.” Sammy panted. “It really is that bad.” She hurled. Jasmine stopped running to hold her as she did so.
“I can’t do this anymore.” Dave cried, before slapping himself. “But I must. I can’t be the weak link.” he said, slapping himself again.
“..Okay.” LeShawna acknowledged, sidestepping away from Dave. “Look y’all, I think I see the campground.” She yelled, pointing ahead.
“That’s fortunate.” Dawn sighed, wiping away built-up sweat. “I was starting to sense discontent within all of your auras.”
“Just say you’re happy.” Noah sighed. “It’s literally the simplest possible way to say that.”
“Shut it shrimp, we can’t waste anymore time.” Jo stated, picking the bookworm up by his legs.
“Woahwoahwoah, what are you doINGAAHHHH” Noah screamed, as Jo ran forwards, carrying him loosely.
“Good idea Jo!” Lightning praised, looking for the skinniest looking favorite. He quickly decided it was Sammy, picking her up and carrying her in the same way as Jo. “Let’s Sha-do this!” he shouted, following the other jock.
“JASMINEEE!” Sammy shrieked in horror.
“LET GO OF HER!” Jasmine shouted, following the girl. Shawn quickly took after his girlfriend.
“LET GO OF MY GIRL’S BEST FRIEND!”
“I just want one moment of peace.” Courtney sighed, before matching the speed of the jocks.
“Race you to the camp Red.” Duncan challenged, making Zoey grin.
“You’re on.” She accepted, as the two raced forwards.
“Well what are you waiting for, an invitation? GET MOVING!” LeShawna yelled, making the rest of the favorites start running faster.
“This is going to be a long season.” Scarlett sighed, as she began to sprint.
After thirty more minutes of running and occasional rests, the fans managed to reach their campground.
“Finally!” Ren shouted, jumping down to kiss the dirt.
“Gross.” Ara sneered.
“Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it.”
“Yeah I’m not doing that.” Ara affirmed.
“Honestly, that’s for the best, Mother Earth doesn’t make for the best makeout partner.”
“Is this really it?” Hannah asked, observing the campsite. “There’s nothing here.”
“This season really is different then.” Dan concluded. “Before the campers just slept in cabins."
“Goddamnit, why did I have to get selected for this season then?” Yul complained, stomping his foot.
“Well, since we’re all here, and there isn’t anything to do, why don’t we have a little icebreaker?” Sam suggested, dropping his luggage. “Get to know each other a little better.”
“What, like little kids?” Nura asked rudely. “We aren’t in middle school.”
“Can you stop with that tough girl act?” Ally stood up for Sam. “He just wants us to get acquainted with one another. What’s so wrong with that?”
“..Fine, I’ll play along.” Nura mumbled, not wanting to escalate a conflict.
“Would you like to go first?” Sam asked.
“If I must. What do you want me to say?”
“Anything you would like to share. How about your name and a cool fact about yourself to start?”
“This is so embarrassing.” Nura held her eyes shut, before taking a breath.
“Hey everyone, my name is Nura, and I’m a lesbian. I also, more importantly, work as a retail cashier”
“Nice to meet you.” Benji waved politely. Nura ignored him, moving to face Sam.
“That good?” She asked bluntly.
“As good as it needs to be, thank you.” Sam smiled.
“Great! I’ll be over there, so don’t call me.” Nura informed, walking away to a nearby log.
“Anyone want to go next?” Sam quickly recovered from Nura’s departure.
“I’ll go.” Aiden offered, standing up and clearing his throat.
“Hey everyone, I’m Aiden, and I’m a huge theatre enjoyer.” Aiden introduced, as the team said their hellos to him.
“I thought we were supposed to say facts that people didn’t know.” Ara joked, as Finn elbowed her.
“I’ll go next.” Finn stood up. “Hey y’all, I’m Finn, and I’m gay as fuck.” he said simply, sitting back down.
“See, now that’s a good introduction.” Ara smirked at Aiden, who looked at her with annoyance.
“What do you mean?! Just look at him, of course he’s gay! That isn’t new information!” Aiden scoffed, before getting a look of realization. “No offense Finn!” he quickly added.
“None taken, given that you look gay too!”
“HEY!” Aiden shouted, noticeably not denying the accusation.
“Might as well get this over with.” Ellie decided, standing up. “I’m Ellie, I’m bisexual, I'm a fast food worker, and I’m broke.” She listed, sitting back down.
“Real.” Hannah joked, not noticing Ellie’s soft smile.
“Well, I’m Hannah.” The woman stood up, flashing a sincere smile in front of her team. “I’m a bartender, and I haven’t watched this show before, but I want to pull my weight and help the team. So if you guys can fill me in, then I’ll do what I can.” She said sweetly, returning to her spot on the floor.
“Remind me to fill you in on the lore.” Ally whispered to her.
“I’ll join you two, I’m a huge Total Drama nerd.” Benji supplied with a grin.
“Aw, thanks you two.” Hanah grinned, causing Ally to pull her and Benji into a hug.
“Anytime.” Benji smiled.
“Who wants to go next?” Hannah asked, as the fans stared at one another.
“Might as well.” Ally shrugged, standing up. “Hey guys, I’m Ally, and I’m a streamer. I came on this show to try to increase my following, and make some new friends.” She announced.
“Oooh cool, what do you stream?” Benji asked.
“Anything gaming related. Just before I got here I was midway through this first person RPG.” Ally said excitedly.
“Booooring.” Ara groaned. “But don’t worry, I’ll spice things up.” She promised, standing up.
“I’m Ara, I’m a business student, and I’m going to win the million.” The woman smirked.
“Nuh uh.” Benji stood up. “Not if I, Benji, have anything to say about that.” He declared. “Oh, yeah, a fact about myself. I’m a twenty-one-year-old law student.”
“Business is better.” Ara grumbled, sitting back down.
“Not really.” Ally argued, giving Benji a fist bump. “I am so hiring you if I get into legal trouble.”
“I’ll take you up on that.”
“Please, both of you are so boring.” Yul drawled, standing up. “But if I have to do this stupid Icebreaker thing then I might as well show off. Hey, my name is Yul, and I’m a very successful celebrity dancer.”
“If you’re so famous, why are you here?” Ellie asked, making Yul groan.
“Same reason as the streamer girl, this show has an international following. I want more money.”
“I’m here to make friends too you know.” Ally mentioned.
“Yeah, and that’s disgusting.”
“You have no right to call anything disgusting.” Anastasia stated, staring at Yul with a disgust of her own.
“Oh please, just because you aren’t normal doesn’t mean I’m unattractive.” Yul scoffed. “The ladies are all over me.”
“Funny, considering none of us here are.” Ellie mocked. Ally, Hannah, and Anastasia smiled at that.
“Ugh, whatever. I did your dumb icebreaker thing, leave me alone.” Yul cried, walking away.
“..Well that was awkward.” Ren commented. “But I’ll lighten the mood. Like I said before, I’m Ren Moraga, and I am genderfluid.” He boasted, putting his hand to his hips.
“What does that mean?” Fiore asked aloud.
“Means that depending on my mood, I can identify as whatever gender fits me at that moment.” Ren smiled.
“Thank you for telling us Ren, I’ll be sure to remember that.” Sam smiled, making Ren smile back.
“And what about you?” Ren teased. “What’s so special about you Sam?"
“Oh nothing much, I’m a bit boring in all honesty.” Sam insisted. “But I can make some good food. Maybe I can make something after the challenge.” he offered.
“PLEASE!” Hannah and Ally insisted, putting their hands together in a begging motion.
“I was planning to, no need for that.” Sam softly smiled.
“Okay, so we have just a few people left I think.” Ren redirected the topic to the icebreaker. “Who hasn’t gone yet?”
“I don’t think you have yet.” Ally pointed to Dan, who was clearly in the middle of a thought.
“What? Oh, uh, sure.” Dan stammered, standing up with reluctance. “I’m Dan. I’m nineteen, and I like solving puzzles.” He coughed, before sitting back down, losing himself to his thoughts again.
“He’s a bit weird.” Aiden whispered, trying not to be offensive.
“You don’t say.” Finn agreed.
“What about you little girl?” Dunia asked, making Fiore’s eyes widen. “What’s a kid like you doing in a place like this?”
“Oh, I’m Fiore.” The girl shyly introduced herself. “I’m here because my parents thought it would be fun if I wasn’t ruining their life for a few months.” The girl explained, as her eyes started to water. “I hope I don’t ruin your lives either.”
“Fiore, you could never ruin our lives.” Dunia cooed, holding Fiore tightly. Ren quickly maneuvered their way across to the two and held Fiore in their arms as well.
“How awful of a parent can you be to do something like that to your daughter?!” Hannah shouted, clearly angered.
“It’s fine, I’m used to it.” Fiore sniffled.
“You shouldn’t be.” Benji said, enraged.
“T-thank you.” The girl cried, making Dunia hold her tighter.
“You’ll be alright hon.” The witch insisted.
“I’m Dunia.” The woman explained, slowly standing up, Fiore in her arms. “I’m a practicing witch and enjoyer of the mystic side of life. Play with me and I’ll curse you for life!” She giggled. “I’m kidding, I wouldn’t do that for such a petty reason.”
“Good to know.” Ellie drawled, looking at the witch strangely.
“I’m the last person to go, so I’ll make this swift.” Anastasia stood regally. “My name is Anastasia Sizova. I have been a model since I was a child, but I pride myself in being more than just my good looks. I hope we all bond enough for you to feel the same.” She bowed, making Ally and Hannah clap loudly.
“Pop off queen.” Ally cheered.
“That was very interesting. I feel like we all know each other better.” Sam smiled.
“Speak for yourself.” Yul returned, holding a stick. “I marked the part of camp that belongs to me, so you guys better fucking respect that.”
“That isn’t a bad idea.” Dunia murmured. “We should scout out the campsite for anything interest–”
“HEY CAMPERS! IIIIIIIIIIIIITS CHALLENGE TIME!”
“Doesn’t look like that’s a possibility.” Dan said, looking around nervously.
“Has it been an hour already?” Ellie groaned.
“Don’t worry guys, it’s just our first challenge, how bad can it be?” Hannah chuckled, as the fans all turned to glare at her.
Ally quickly went to whisper something in Hannah’s ear.
“Oh god.” The bartender brought her hands to her mouth.
To be continued...