Disclaimer: I do not own the Total Drama series. However, if anyone would like to hire me to write any future seasons, I would not hesitate to accept the job.
A/N: Set some odd years after season 3, when the contestants from 1-3 are in their 20s. Some are married. I will mostly exclude sex from this, since I'm aiming for a younger audience; however, I might make reference to it since – ya know – married people do it. Keeping with tradition of the series, the curse-words will be bleeped out. Enjoy this psychotic use of my time!
"I don't know why we're going to this," said Noah as he sulked in the passenger seat of his small, blue car. "No one even liked me. I'll just end up sitting in the corner by myself like I always did."
"Some people liked you."
"Like who?"
"I liked you."
That brought a small smile to the man's lips. "Yeah, but you were the only one."
"What about Izzy? She seemed to like you just fine."
"Izzy doesn't count. No one ever knew what was going on with her – not even her boyfriend."
The driver stared straight ahead at the road, allowing a pause in the conversation before continuing. "You think she'll be there?"
Noah shrugged. "Who knows? After the military reclaimed her when the volcano forced us off the island, I've not heard a word about her."
"Me neither."
"You're not getting cold feet, are you? Because if you are, we can turn back now."
The driver chuckled. "Are you worried about her coming between us?"
Noah elbowed him. "Owen, I trust you. I know you're not in love with her anymore."
"I was never really in love with her," he replied, "I just thought I was. I was a kid, you know. Kids don't know enough about love to decide if they've found it so soon."
"And yet here we are," Noah said, receiving an affectionate smile from the big guy.
They drove on in silence for a while. Then Owen finally asked, "Noah, are you as afraid as I am that they're not gonna accept us?"
Noah pondered that. "Maybe not me, but everyone liked you. They will accept you because you were the friendliest, sincerest person on the show. You don't have to worry, O."
Owen brushed his fingers across Noah's cheek. "Then you don't either. I might not be able to convince you that they'll be happy to see you, but at least I can say that as long as you stick with me, you'll have a good time."
When Sadie and Katie arrived in their bright-pink Volkswagen Beetle, they counted at least 5 other cars in the main parking lot.
"Omigosh, Sadie! I can't believe we're actually at a reunion for Total Drama Island!"
"I know, Katie! It was, like, so long ago. I'm so glad we're still BFFLs!"
"Omigosh, me too!" And then the girls squealed in unison and trampled in through the main entrance.
The great hall had been decorated with paraphernalia from each of the first three seasons: flags from every country that had been visited on the World Tour hung from the ceiling like tapestry; costumes and cue-cards outlined the perimeter; and the centerpiece of the whole room – a vivacious bonfire – crackled at the guests, a welcoming reminder of the warmth they'd once felt when last they'd been together.
"Beth!" Sadie shouted, waving at the curvy brunette.
"Hey guys!" she cried back, rushing to meet them at one corner of the hall. A man calmly followed her.
"Omigosh, you got so pretty!" Katie gushed, lingering on Beth's bracket-less teeth. And it was true – Beth had grown nearly a foot since the show, and although she retained her wide hips and busty chest, they were now evenly proportioned on her tall, straight body.
"Oh, thanks. You guys look good, too. I don't think you've aged a day." The man from before wrapped an arm around her waist, and she gladly introduced him, "This is my husband, Brady. Brady, this is Katie and Sadie."
"Sup," he replied.
"Oh, like the Brady you were dating during Total Drama Action?"
"Uh huh. He and I got married after we finished high school. He's a model for the same company I work at."
"Beth does the marketing," he explained, kissing her on the nose, "Which means she gets to boss me around all day. But that's okay, because I like it." He kissed her again, and she giggled.
"Katie and I work as tour guides for the national parks. Right now, we're working at Niagara Falls, but the boss gave us both time off because he's trying to train his granddaughter to be a tour guide, and Niagara Falls is the best place to learn."
On the other side of the room, Leshawna, Gwen, Duncan, Bridgette, Geoff, and Harold stood in a group and talked.
"DJ, baby," Leshawna called to him as he walked through the front doors, "Come over here and tell us how you been."
"Not so great," he replied, accepting her hug as he stopped beside her. "Mama passed away a few months ago, and I haven't really gotten out of the rut I been in. I mean, business is great – I started my own bakery, and we've really taken off – but I haven't had time to recover yet."
"My condolences," Geoff said, and Bridgette gave DJ a supportive hug.
"Ooh! I see a wedding ring!" DJ exclaimed, holding up Bridgette's hand.
The blonde blushed. "Yeah, Geoff and I have been married for three years."
"What about you, DJ? Do you have a special someone back home?"
"Geoff, this isn't Total Drama Aftermath," Bridgette scolded him.
"It's cool," DJ said, "Actually, there was a girl a couple years ago – Tiffany – and we got really serious. But then Mama's health started to fail, so I moved in with her to take care of her. Tiffany didn't like that, though; she said that she couldn't be with a man who loved his mama more than her, so we broke off the engagement and haven't spoken since." He sighed.
"Baby, you deserve better than her," Leshawna said, patting him on the back. "That kind a girl is no good."
"Well, what about you, Leshawna? Are you and Harold…?"
Leshawna chuckled. "Not yet."
"She keeps playing hard to get," Harold added, "I've been wooing her with my mad skills since Total Drama Island, but my woman is wickedly stubborn. She refuses to marry me until I make enough money to buy her a mansion."
Leshawna kissed Harold on the cheek. "Keep working, baby. You'll get there eventually."
"So you two have been dating for years, and you plan on getting married, but you're not even engaged yet?" Bridgette asked.
"Not officially," Leshawna began.
"She wants an expensive diamond ring," Harold continued, "I'm still saving up for that."
"But I'm off the market, and we're going to get married," Leshawna concluded, "Just, not yet."
"Better than what I have," Gwen said, shuffling her feet awkwardly. "I've been focusing on my art – I published a few novels – but writing fulltime is a lot of work, and I haven't had time for a serious relationship."
"Who needs a serious relationship?" Duncan replied, "The sooner you get tied down, the sooner your life is over."
"Yeah? And how's that logic treated you?" Gwen asked.
Duncan plucked a knife from his pocket and began cleaning the grime from under his nails. "No one to nag me about my clothes or my hygiene or the number of times I've had brushes with the law? Sounds pretty great to me. Of course, I've had my share of girlfriends, but I never keep any for long. I consider myself a nomad, and girls these days just don't like to move that much."
"Charming," Gwen replied. "Is that why Courtney never gave you a second chance?"
"Courtney has her own issues. She was too demanding - kept trying to get me to become a model citizen, and you know me. She gave up after a few months, and I only see her whenever I happen to run into her."
"Speak of the devil," Gwen said, for right at that moment, Courtney walked through the door, followed immediately by Lindsay, Tyler, Justin, and Trent.
"Hey, your ex and mine," Duncan remarked, receiving an elbow to the ribs as the new arrivals joined them, accompanied by the former group of four that had been conversing across the room.
Beth and Lindsay joined hands and jumped joyfully as their men shook hands on the side.
"I'm Brady, Beth's husband."
"I'm Tyler, Lindsay's fiancé."
"I remember seeing you on the show. Beth likes to tell stories about her time there."
"Let me see the ring!" Beth demanded, and Lindsay appeased her by displaying her left hand. The ladies squealed as they examined each other's rings.
"Hey, Gwen," Trent smiled warmly as he greeted the woman with an awkward side-hug.
"Hey, Trent. How's it been?"
"Not much," he said, then amended, "I mean, good. It's been good. How about you?"
Gwen tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Pretty good. I'm a published author now."
"I know. I've read your books. I'm in the movie business, playing guitar for the scores."
"I know. I've listened to your songs."
"Hello DJ," Courtney said, giving the much-taller man a hug. "How's your bakery doing?"
"Pretty good, thanks to you." He turned to the rest of the cast, "Courtney helped me sort out the finances when I got started. She comes by for a check-up every month."
"I should visit more often. Your cupcakes are the best I've ever had. If only I could get that recipe from you," she teased.
"But then how would I make sure you came back?" he laughed.
"So what do you do now, Courtney?" Geoff asked.
"I'm a financial advisor. I help people realize their dreams of owning small businesses and making lots of money. Usually I stick to the big bucks, but DJ's a close friend, and he hasn't let me down yet. Plus he lets me bring potential clients to his bakery to show off how well I do my job."
"So you two have stayed in touch. That's… unexpected," Geoff said.
Courtney shrugged. "It was completely by accident – I followed the job to where the money was, and it just so happened to be in the same city DJ lives in. Justin also lives there, but we never see him because he goes on business trips so often."
"Especially since that no-good, rotten, piece-of-trash ex-wife of mine and I got divorced," Justin added. He smoothed back his hair, calming himself, and told DJ in a softer tone, "Sorry about not visiting so much anymore. But you know how things are. I've got a lot on my plate."
"I understand," DJ replied sincerely. "I had my own bad luck with women."
A loud ruckus from the main entrance dropped silence onto the room, and everyone turned as a chorus of laughter ruptured the atmosphere. In walked Cody, Sierra, Alejandro and Heather.
"The final four from the last season," Beth explained to Brady.
"Why are they all laughing?" Courtney whispered to the group around her, receiving several bewildered shrugs.
"Hey guys!" Sierra called out cheerily. "Why so quiet? Did something happen?"
"I think everyone's shocked that you four are getting along so well," Bridgette answered. "I mean, you were at each other's throats the entire World Tour."
"Plus you all had a chance to win the money, and none of you got it," Geoff added. "Don't you blame each other for that?"
"All water under the bridge now," Cody replied, waving his hand as if in dismissal. He leaned over and kissed Sierra on the forehead.
"Whoa, are you two together now?" Gwen asked. "I thought you found her creepy. No offense."
Cody nuzzled his wife. "At first, I did. But then I got used to how abrasive my little snuggle-bear was, and now I find it endearing."
"I love you, Cody-bear."
"I love you too, Mrs. Cody-bear." They rubbed their noses together and then promptly began making out.
Duncan covered his mouth. "I think I'm gonna hurl."
"My thoughts exactly," Gwen muttered.
"But that still doesn't explain why Cody and Sierra were laughing with you two," Geoff said to Alejandro and Heather.
"Allow me to explain," Alejandro said, "After the show, Heather and I continued to see each other. We started dating and eventually got married. Then when we decided to buy a house, we went looking for a real-estate agent."
"I'm a real-estate agent," Cody explained. "They ended up calling me, and I showed them to a house in our neighborhood."
"We liked it so much that we bought it," Alejandro continued. "Since we were neighbors and had known each other before, we went on double dates and became best friends. It's not that complicated."
"Not yet, at least," Heather said, freeing her arm from Alejandro's and standing erect. Only then did the others see the rest of her body.
"Omigosh! Are you pregnant?!" Sadie squealed.
Heather and Alejandro exchanged radiant smiles before replying, "Yes."
The room plunged into silence, the only noise the crackling of the flames as they licked the air. But the silence was short-lived, for at that moment another batch of guests arrived.
"Is anyone here?" Owen called into the vacuum.
"Owen!" the room yelled back at him, and the entire gang rushed to greet him.
"Oh hey, Noah. You're here too," Tyler said, shaking his clammy hand.
"Yeah, hi. How have you been?" Noah said, separating himself from the tide of old teammates threatening to crush him.
Tyler followed him to an open part of the floor. "Pretty good. I'm engaged to Lindsay now, so there's that."
"Oh, good. I'm glad it worked out. I was always rooting for you two."
"Thanks, man," Tyler said, then looked down at his feet awkwardly. "I see a wedding ring. Where's the lucky girl?"
Sweat beaded on Noah's brow. "Well…"
"So where's Izzy?" Gwen asked Owen. "I mean, I see your ring, so I know you're married, but I don't see Izzy."
"Well, ya see, I didn't marry Izzy. I haven't even seen her since we left Hawaii."
"So who did you marry?"
Owen averted his gaze and caught Noah's eye. He knew that look, knew how terrified Noah was of being judged. "Gotta be strong for him," he chanted under his breath, a mantra of sorts. Owen pushed through the group of friends and made his way to his partner. Noah met his eyes with an unstable mixture of relief and fear. Owen offered him a smile before taking his hand in front of the entire group. Turning to them, he announce, "Guys, this is my husband. Noah and I are married."
Shock and awe set in, but was quickly shattered when Duncan said, "Wow. That's even more juicy than Heather being pregnant."
Courtney swiftly kicked him in the shin. "Shut up, Duncan. Gah, you are the biggest bleep on the face of the planet." She strutted to Owen's side. "Guys, I'm really happy for you. It takes a lot of guts to come out to your friends, let alone people you haven't seen in years. I just want you to know that I accept you both."
Gwen followed her lead. "Me too. If you're happy, I'm happy for you."
Trent joined her at their side. Slowly, the rest of the group migrated to that section of the room, and soon conversation was flowing easily again.
"I'm so relieved you guys don't think we're messed up," Owen laughed, "Noah and I were pretty nervous."
"It's certainly unexpected, but nothing we can't handle," Bridgette smiled reassuringly.
"So Heather. You're pregnant," Owen said, "And Al's the father. Nice."
"Heather's pregnant?" Izzy asked as she suddenly appeared in the center of the crowd, causing everyone to jump back in alarm. "Neat."
"Hey, there's Izzy!" Owen said, stretching his arms out to her. "It's been forever since I've seen you."
"Hey, Big O. That's because I joined Interpol and became a super-secret agent. I work all over the world, blowing things up and shooting people, just like James Bond." She then proceeded to make a gun with her fingers and go pew pew at random decorations around the room.
"So who does that leave that hasn't shown up yet?" Geoff asked Bridgette.
"Um, Eva and Ezekiel."
"Oh, Eva can't make it," Izzy said. "She called me from work – said she has a major assignment and can't get out of it."
"Oh, is she a hit man, too?" Bridgette asked with a disbelieving smile.
"No, of course not! She's a personal trainer – got a big game coming up Monday, and she has to get the team ready. Eva's not subtle enough to be a spy. Not like me," Izzy concluded.
"Right. So I guess that leaves Ezekiel. Has anyone heard from him since the show ended?"
A wave of mumbled 'no's washed over the crowd, surprising no one. Then Geoff asked, "So, are we waiting for him to show up, or…?"
"Forget Ezekiel," Heather said, "Where's Chris? Shouldn't he be here to – I don't know – host, or something?"
"Who even arranged this reunion, for that matter?" Gwen began, "The invitation was suspiciously vague. I don't think it mentioned a host."
"It didn't," Courtney spoke up, pulling an invitation from her purse and scrutinizing it. "All it says is that there is a reunion, where it is, and the date/time it takes place. It doesn't even mention a dress code."
"The dress code I understand," Duncan said, "But this doesn't even have Chris's face on it. When has Chris ever neglected to put his face on everything?"
"Duncan has a point, for once," Courtney said, "This doesn't look like Chris's work. I mean, it's vague enough to be a setup, but it lacks the characteristics of his schemes."
"Does anyone have Chris's phone number?" Gwen asked, "Maybe we can call him."
"Ooh, I have it!" Sierra volunteered, fishing her mobile out of her pocket. "I hope he hasn't changed it again. I just found this one, and I haven't called it yet." She pressed the Call button and put it on speaker so everyone could hear.
Three rings went by before the answering machine picked up. "Hi, you've reach Chris McLain. I'm currently busy being awesome and making lots of money, so leave a message and I'll get back to you. Unless you're Sierra, in which case my number has changed to 1-800-784-2433. Heheh."
"Well that was a big help," Heather said, crossing her arms in irritation.
"Maybe he didn't answer on purpose," Noah suggested, "Maybe he's watching us from some hidden camera room like he did when we were in the show."
"What if this isn't a reunion, but a ploy to trick us into another season of Total Drama?" Alejandro suggested.
"What? No way! I didn't sign up for that," Duncan complained.
"We all have jobs now," Courtney said, "We can't just ditch them for a few weeks or months to be on a reality show. It was fine when we were kids, in the summer when we had no responsibilities. But life's not so easy now."
A sudden deafening alarm blared throughout the room, causing the guests to tightly grasp their ears. Overhead, a screen descended from the shadows, tuned to the local news station. The anchor on set was reporting on a fleet of missiles that was quickly approaching the entire continent of North America.
"Citizens are advised to find the nearest fallout shelters and lock themselves up until the country is reported as safe. For further information, please tune your radios to channel 98.6 FM."
Then the outside alarms began to sound, and the group knew they were in serious danger.
"What do we do?" Justin demanded, looking freaked out of his mind. "Where's the nearest fallout shelter?"
A bright, red arrow flashed along one wall, the first in a long procession of similar arrows that pointed down a dimly lit hallway.
Nobody moved for a moment. Then Izzy sprang into action. "Come on, let's follow them. Arrows always know the way!" She took off down the hallway.
The rest of the gang, not having any better options, followed her. The dark corridor continued further into the belly of the building, twisting and turning and sloping downward until the entire cast knew they were headed underground.
"This seems a bit suspicious, doesn't it?" Duncan asked Gwen. "I mean, what kind of party hall has a built-in fallout shelter in the middle of Canada? It's a little too convenient."
Gwen jogged along beside him. "I was thinking the same thing, but I'd rather play it safe and this be a joke than refuse to play along and actually be in danger. So I'll wait and see what this is all about."
The further down they went, the colder it became. Still the red arrows persisted. At long last they came to the end of the tunnel. A vault-type steel door hung open before them. They had to shield their eyes from the sudden brightness of the fluorescents within.
"Come on, guys," Izzy coaxed, swinging from the frame, "There are enough bunks for all of us, not to mention cubbies I've yet to explore."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Owen said, dragging Noah inside. The rest of his friends followed him. Izzy closed the door behind them.
They stood idly in the middle of the floor, unsure of what to do next. Then the earth began to shake, and they knew with sickening clarity that this wasn't a game.
A/N: That's the first chapter. I'm not sure how long the chapters are going to be on average, but I'd guess about this length, give or take.