Happy One Year Anniversary to the Total Drama Writers Forum! I may have only been around for two months now but I've really loved it there. So as a token of my appreciation I decided to write this fic. So I hope you enjoy.
Reminiscent
Courtney Black always expected to win Total Drama. It was a silly game and Courtney could easily handle it. She wasn't only intelligent but she was also quite the athlete, so she knew that she was the obvious choice to win.
When she hadn't managed to win a season, it really surprised her who the true victors were. They ended up being Owen Helpman, Heather Chang, Cameron Jaycox, Mike Day and Duncan Binegar.
She can at least understand how Heather won, she was strategic and was even able to outsmart Courtney at times, but of course she'd never admit to that.
It was the other four that were a complete mystery to her.
Owen was a buffoon and a literal living tub of lard. How he managed to even make it past the fifth episode was beyond Courtney's mind, the only thing he was good for was moral support in challenges.
Then there was Cameron, sure he was smart and all but the kid was too sheltered, almost like Ezekiel really, and had no physical prowess. He was lucky that his finalist was a complete dunderhead or the kid wouldn't have won.
Mike's win in All-Stars always pissed her off when she thought about it (though because she was friends with Zoey she decided not to mention it.) Mike was only really there for like a week and then that Mal character took over and tried to take over the season. Not to mention that the fact that it was Mal who got her kicked off. It really bugged her that Mike was trapped inside his head for most of the season and then came out in the very end and got fame, fortune, respect and a girlfriend. Talk about unfair! That was all supposed to be Courtney's. Not Mike's. He could have his girlfriend but as the cast began to water down it became clear that Courtney was the true All Star.
Finally there was Duncan, lucky for her that they were dating when he had won, otherwise she wouldn't get what she worked so hard for in Total Drama Action, and it was all ruined because Chris got fed up with her. Now when she thinks about it she hates Duncan for winning Total Drama Action, he was a lazy, good for nothing jerk that didn't really do anything that season, at least the other four –well maybe not Owen and Mike who coursed their ways through the competition- worked hard to win, she hated him for that.
Where did it all go wrong for Courtney?
Season 1 she started out as the good girl that didn't mess with anyone all that much and cared for her other competitors on Total Drama Island. She was a leader where she saw fit and managed to stay on most of the competitors good sides. That didn't mean she didn't try to win. No, she just stayed under the radar, then she started dating Duncan and out of nowhere she got cheated out of the island because of a pissed off Harold. The worst part was that he wasn't even mad at her; it was Duncan he was mad at.
Needless to say being unfairly kicked off hardened the CIT and because of that she learned not to take shit from anyone. When season 2 was announced and she didn't get in she wasn't going to sit on the sidelines and let everyone else play while she waited. No, she needed to handle things herself if she wanted to get into the game and win and that's exactly what she did.
When she finally got into Total Drama Action, she was making a mad dash to the finale and would've easily been able to defeat Duncan or Bet if it weren't for Chris. She made sure that she got the upmost respect and got special treatment so she was more prepared for the game than everyone else. It worked and to add to it she tried her hardest not to let anyone in. If she were to do so then she'd get kicked off because of that person, the only effort she really made was rekindling her relationship with Duncan but even that didn't end well. The only real friend she had that season was her raccoon Brittany.
The fighting over Celebrity Manhunt wasn't fun. When it came to Gwen, she really was terrified that the girl would take Duncan away from her and all the gossip shows seemed to know that. At least E! News was a little nicer about it than Blainely and Josh were. What people didn't know is that sometimes Celebrity Manhunt would set things up for the two of them to fight just to be the first to get the 'Duncney' gossip, that's at least what she thought, they were always there at just the right time to take a picture when a scene started. Needless to say it broke them up, again. Then they were nominated for a Gemmy Award and she couldn't pass up that opportunity. When they weren't even allowed into the ceremony and lost to Golden Oldies in Their Undies she didn't take it well. She was furious, how could she lose to meritocracy? Again? It was bad enough with Owen and Duncan and now this? It's a good thing she went along with Sierra's crazy plan, that's why she volunteered to drive the bus as she was the most determined to be famous again. Don't ask her how she ended up hooking back up with Duncan? She was blind to think that he was the love of his life.
When Total Drama World Tour came around, she knew she was going to win it. Despite her last run going well, she knew that she'd just end up being eliminated quickly if she used the same tactics as last time. So she decided to play nice again and in the mean time became close with Gwen. She thought it was going to be her favorite season with all the singing, dancing and seeing the world. Of course that was ruined again by Duncan when he came back and cheated on her with Gwen. This ruined her game as the only thing on her mind was getting revenge on the two people she had believed ruined her life. She succeeded with getting Gwen eliminated but of course was unfairly eliminated by Chris, again. It should've been a damn tie breaker, but no! Chris enjoyed kicking her off again.
She actually had tried to get into Total Drama Revenge of the Island but after World Tour, Chris had found a way into tricking everyone into renewing their contracts so that "someone couldn't pull another Courtney" as he said. She decided to play nice and sit on the sidelines that time but knew that the next season was her's.
When she was shoved on that plane only to be kicked off of it, she landed in Total Drama All Stars. It definitely wasn't something she saw coming. But she was pleased to know that she had reached All Star status. She loved it when she was put on the Heroic Hamsters and Gwen and were put on the Villainous Vultures; she thought that with that fresh start things would finally turn out her way. Then she used Sam as a human shield and switched teams, she hadn't meant to do it, it was just her instincts kicking in. That was enough to get her put on the Vultures and Duncan on the Hamsters. Seeing as she was on a new team with people who had all gotten better rankings on Total Drama than her, with the exception of Scott who tied her, she knew she needed someone on the team for an alliance. Scott ended up being the perfect pawn and although it was strategic at first somewhere along the line she couldn't help but fall for the farm boy. She was also able to rekindle her friendship with Gwen and start a new one with Zoey. At this point all seemed right in the world. She was going strong and was probably gonna win again but hadn't noticed the wildcard in the game: Mal. As soon as Revenge of the Island came out she did research on each of the new contestants in case she would have to compete with them some day. Everyone came up well in her search but for whatever reason Mike always came up on several restricted access sites. She assumed it was just Vito being stupid like Duncan. This mistake ended up being her downfall as she wasn't prepared for Mal to reveal her plans to everyone. In the end she was happy that at least she finally got to beat Duncan.
It was terrible. Season 1 she was cheated out of the game because Harold rigged the votes against her; Season 2 she was cheated out of the game by being booted by the host; Season 3 she ended up being cheated out of the game again by not even being given the chance to do a tie breaker and season 5 she ended up being eliminated by an evil personality who had taken over one of the most unpredictable people to end up in the Total Drama Winners Circle and by a fluke too.
~Reminiscent~
Now it was all over. Courtney Black had finally broken her Total Drama contract and she now leaving. She promised herself at the beginning of Allstars if she didn't come out with the million then she would go back home and never come back.
To be honest she was quite glad to be leaving this place. Total Drama was the worst thing that had ever happened to her and she didn't ever want to turn back to it. She was now carrying her suitcase out of Playa Des Losers and everyone watched in shock as she was leaving.
They couldn't possibly believe that Courtney of all people was leaving. She would do anything to be on a season of Total Drama and to see her leave was something they would've never, ever expected.
Two of Courtney's best friends: Gwen Stonerook and Zoey Gligora ran over to the girl, they were the ones most taken aback by Courtney's departure.
"Courtney, this is crazy!" Gwen shouted. "You can't leave!"
"Yeah Courtney," Zoey agreed. "You've put two years of your life into this show? Is this how you want it to end? Because you didn't win?"
Courtney shook her head. "Sorry girls, but I think it's time for me to go. It's nothing personal, it's just that I've decided that my run in Total Drama will end with All Stars."
Gwen shook her head. "Is that what you really want Courtney?"
"Of course it's what I want!" Courtney shouted. "This show has been hell for me and now that I can leave I'm never coming back."
"Not even for us?" Zoey asked. "Come on we're your best friends Courtney."
Courtney shook her head. She continued walking out of the Playa but was stopped by her boyfriend, Scott Chesser.
"Come on Courtney, you can't leave." The redhead pouted.
Courtney's heart seemed to have plummeted to the bottom of her stomach at the boy's plea. She avoided the boy's gaze; she couldn't bear to look into those pleading blue eyes.
"I'm sorry Scott, but I have to go." Courtney sighed, still avoiding her boyfriend's pleading eyes.
Scott shook his head. "What about me, Courtney? What about us."
"We'll still be together." Courtney insisted as she grabbed the farm boy's hands. "I'll call and text you all the time and Skype you every night."
"You know it won't be the same, Courtney." Scott sighed, wrenching his hands away from her.
"We could make it work!" Courtney pleaded trying to reach for the boy's hands only for him to shake his head in disapproval. "Please, Scott. I don't want to lose you…"
"I'll think about it." Scott sighed.
Courtney lowered her head in sadness. She didn't want to lose Scott. She really cared for him and didn't want to lose another guy to this show.
She finally walked out of the Playa and waited for her boat.
She waited and waited for the boat to arrive that would take her home.
"So the princess finally decided to run away?" A voice asked from behind her.
"What do you want, Duncan?" Courtney sighed, not willing to get into an argument with the delinquent.
I turn to see my ex-boyfriend smirking at me. "So I'm not allowed to asks questions now?"
I roll my eyes at him. "What would it matter you wouldn't follow that rule anyways. You never follow any of the rules!"
"True." He chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day when you'd quit Total Drama."
I turn away from him, that old charm he had slightly coming back. "People change, Duncan. I changed."
"And look where that got you," Duncan laughed. "You're going out with Scott, you still haven't won a season and now you're #BFFL's with Gwen. Talk about pathetic."
"So?" I snap back at him. "What about you? You may have won a season but at least I'm not loved all over the world for doing stupid things like going to juvie for only God knows what; winning a season against a weakling that even Ezekiel could've beat; blowing up not only Mount Chrismore but also his damn "cottage" and let's not forget getting arrested and cheating on your girlfriend on national TV!"
"International!" The redhead shouted from within the playa. "I said that in a song back in season 3 idiots!"
Duncan smirked. "Touché."
"What do you care?" Courtney asked. "Shouldn't you be rotting in a jail cell somewhere in Toronto right now?"
"Actually no," Duncan laughed. "Chris bailed me out if I promised to make a couple guest appearances in season 6 after so many fans asked for me."
"So you're going to that island?" Courtney asked him.
"Yep," Duncan grinned. "Guess people love me too much to keep me locked up."
"Seriously, the guy that puts you in jail is the one to bail you out." Courtney grumbled.
Duncan laughed. "You know it."
"Great, now that you've finished gloating can you leave?" Courtney asked before adding. "I've got a boat to catch."
"Actually, no." Duncan shook his head. "I'm trying to talk you out of this."
"Got a pretty funny way of showing it." Courtney commented.
"I'm serious, princess!" Duncan insisted. "You can't leave."
Courtney let a dark chuckle escape from her lips. "Funny, the person who pushed me away the most is asking me to stay."
"I'm sorry for all of that, really I am Courtney!" Duncan begged.
"You're sorry?" Courtney turned and glared at him.
Duncan flinched at that, he'd never seen her so angry.
"You're sorry?" Courtney repeated before breaking out into a fit of laughter. "It's a little late for sorry, after all the shit you put me through."
"Really I am." Duncan insisted.
Courtney's boat finally arrived at the dock and Courtney wordlessly climbed aboard.
"Come on princess, come back!" Duncan cried as the boat sailed away.
Courtney continued to ignore him.
"I know you'll come back!" Duncan shouted "We all know you will!"
Courtney didn't look back as the boy shouted at her, until finally it stopped.
She turned back and looked at Playa Des Losers one last time before looking away and never turning back.
~Reminiscent~
Courtney had been back in school for three months now. She was getting good grades, had gotten her old friends back and her life had fallen back into its original path.
Total Drama was still a part of her life though; she had to deal with crazy fans and reporters as well as the occasional "what was it like?" that seemed to make its way into a conversation. There was also the occasional text, call or email from Duncan telling her how she would come back and he'd be the first one to laugh at her. Not only that but she still texted some people from the show Zoey, Gwen, Bridgette, Leshawna, Brick, DJ, Mike and occasionally Noah checked up on her through that social medium. She was also able to restore her relationship with Scott, it may have taken an entire month but the two of them were able to reconnect and sent at least one call, text, email or Skype to each other every day.
As much as she hated to admit it though, she did miss Total Drama. Her life had fallen into to a routine. Before she'd left for Total Drama she had enjoyed having everything in a tight schedule for her to follow. Now, it just felt boring. At the Playa there was always something new or interesting to do but here, nothing. It was same thing every single day.
Back at Playa Des Losers everyone was always wanting to know what everyone was doing; Cody would ask people if they'd rather do this or that every once in a while; Mike and Beth, who wanted to be author's were always telling people different story ideas that they had that others would critique; everyone was also giving presents to people on their birthdays and they had a Secret Santa program running since TDA thanks to DJ and Bridgette; sometimes she'd watch Dakota, Sam, Cody and Zoey talk about Mario or Pokémon; Harold would go around spouting random facts that would ruin people's childhoods, she remembered once that he said Samurai Jack took place in a post apocalyptic Townsville and that the Powerpuff Girls would fail when Katie, Sadie, Lindsay, Dakota, Beth and surprisingly Eva were watching the latter children's show for nostalgia's sake after getting kicked out of watching Samurai Jack with Mike, Geoff, Bridgette, Gwen, Zoey, Sam, Cody and a reluctant Courtney after the three girls invited her to join them; and of course all the other random things that happened. She may not have been into all of it but it still presented something new and interesting to the table each day.
It was hard to say that she wasn't homesick. Yes, homesick. She'd been trapped with those people for a whole two years, as much as she hated the island, the film lot, the plane and the playa she learned to love some of the people and locations. She learned to love Playa Des Losers.
She absentmindedly picked up the mail (another part of her routine) and sighed as she walked back into her house, she also would love to have Bridgette, Gwen, Zoey and Scott around, but none of them could visit her because of their contracts forbidding them from leaving the Playa. That didn't stop Scott from trying every once in a while, though. Courtney smirked to herself as she thought back to the emails her boyfriend and other's would send to her about Scott's failed attempts to go and see her.
Courtney then shuffled through the mail, only bothering to read the senders names.
Fine Waters. The water bill, let dad handle that.
Elderly Gardens. Probably a letter from Grandma to mom.
Quality Electric. The Electric Bill, let dad handle that.
Chris McLean and the Producers of Total Drama. Some stupid Total Drama thing.
Junk Mail.
Junk Mail.
Wait… Did that say Chris McLean? Courtney asked herself as she shuffled back through the letters to see that it was in fact the host himself.
"What could he possibly want?" Courtney wondered aloud. She then tore open the letter.
The typed letter read;
Dear Courtney,
Due to your performance in previous seasons of Total Drama, you have been invited to return for Season 7: Total Drama the Matrix. Join us and twenty-three other contestants from all three generations of Total Drama for a spectacular adventure in a virtual world created by Chris McLean for a chance to win C$1,000,000.
As promised we are giving you an option to accept or decline the offer. Please RSVP at the following number: 314-8372-626.
Signed Todd Kauffman and Christian Potenza: The Executive Producers of Total Drama.
She was glad that the producers were able to keep their end of the bargain. She was about to put the letter away when she noticed the irritably recognizable hand writing scrawled along the bottom of the letter.
Hey Courtney! It's the host with the most: Chris McLean here! So, I hear the producers want you back for another season? Well guess what Zoey, Scott, Gwen and Bridgette are being brought in for this season too! So yeah. Oh and Duncan will be back too and a lot of people hate him because they think it was his fault you left meaning you'll probably be able to get farther than him in the game again!
Mmmkay. Thanks, bye!
That definitely made it all the more tempting to come back, especially the parts about Scott coming back and beating Duncan but still she had to think about it.
It would be nice to see Zoey, Gwen and Bridgette again. She would also love to see Scott again. Those were her best friends and her boyfriend. They were better than anyone she had at home and it was annoying when some of the guys would come onto her thinking that she and Scott were broken up.
But still the fact that she'd have to put up with Duncan and knowing the producers they'd probably end up on the same team. She really didn't want to deal with him again, especially if he decided that he wanted her back.
But still, she'd be back in the game and Courtney could win this time! It would be so easy; she'd been at the game for years and felt she'd figured it out well enough to take it on again. Surely she could win this time.
But she promised herself she'd never come back.
Not only did she promise that she'd never come back but she'd only seen the first five episodes of season 6. That's all that had aired on tv so far. She didn't know enough about the new cast yet to decide if she wanted to compete against any of them yet. But she did feel like she could guess who would be competing.
She knew half the cast would probably be her and the originals so that meant if she went she'd be with Duncan, Gwen and Bridgette for sure. If she had to guess then she figured Heather, Alejandro, Owen, Lindsay, Leshawna, DJ, Harold and Izzy would probably join her.
Then from the second generation she knew there was Zoey and Scott so that would probably mean four others would show up. That probably means Lightning, Jo, Brick and Dawn would come back as well.
Based on what she'd seen of the new cast she had to guess that six of them would get in. So probably that creepy Max guy, that Jasmine girl, those twins Samey and Amy and probably Shawn would get in but she had no idea who the others could be. It could be any of those new guys. Would she be prepared to face them, without properly preparing for them?
Of course I can! She thought to herself. I'm Courtney Black! The daughter of Ethan and Mellissa Black! I can do anything!
And like that she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number printed on the letter.
"Hello?" The man on the other end asked.
"Hi, this is Courtney Black: contestant of Total Drama and participant in seasons 1, 2, 3 and 5." Courtney answered, despite how eager she was she needed to be polite and courteous.
"Former contestant." The man answered. "She managed to end her contract and left shortly after season 5."
Courtney hesitated. He was right, she could still walk away if she really wanted. She shook her head. She was going back no matter what. "Well now, Courtney's back. I'll be joining you for season 7."
"Great!" The man beamed. "Listen for the following information and we'll renew you're contract."
"Very well." Courtney nodded.
The man then told her a certain address at a certain date and she nodded.
"Thank you." Courtney smiled before hanging up the phone.
~Reminiscent~
"And sign here." The agent stated. Courtney nodded and signed the final line on the contract. She was all alone, no lawyers backing her up at all. But that didn't matter she really wanted this no matter what.
The Total Drama scouting agent smiled at her. "That's all Courtney, welcome back to the game."
"Great." Courtney grinned. "So when do we start?"
The man grinned. "In a few hours."
The girl was confused by this. "Wha-?"
That was all she was able to get in before the burlap sack came over her head and she could hear the familiarly dark chuckle of Chef Hatchet. Then there was chloroform and everything went black.
~Reminiscent~
"And our last contestant is…" Chris paused for dramatic effect. All the contestants were gathered around him on the virtual island that they'd all been rudely brought into.
"Get on with it!" Leshawna shouted.
"Fine." Chris huffed. "You kids really don't appreciate pausing for dramatic effect."
"I'll give you something to appreciate!" Both Duncan and Scott held out their fists threateningly to the host, only to end up glaring at each other for 'copying' one another.
"It's Courtney!" The host shouted.
"What?!" Nearly all the cast members shouted except for Noah who merely shrugged.
And out of the sky Courtney appeared in a few particles of light. She fell to the ground screaming and landed with a loud thud.
"Oww…" The girl groaned as she clutched her head in pain and sighed. "That was so… not in the contract…"
"Courtney!" Three extatic people shouted.
They ran and helped her up.
Courtney looked up into the eyes of her three best friends Zoey Gligora, Gwen Stonerook and Bridgette Gardner. Courtney smiled at them as the three girls helped her up.
"I knew you couldn't stay away!" Zoey happily exclaimed.
Bridgette laughed. "I'm so happy you're back!"
"Me too, with you gone I only had Leshawna, Zoey, DJ and Bridgette to keep me sane." Gwen patted the girl on the back.
Courtney smiled at them. "Thanks, it's good to be back."
"I know someone who's really excited to see you." Bridgette smiled, before he gestured to the farm boy who walked over to her.
"Scott." She smiled.
The farm boy started running to her, the happiest anyone had ever actually seen him. "Courtney!"
Upon meeting his girlfriend he grabbed her and spun her around causing the CIT to laugh.
Scott was bringing her in for their first kiss in four months. And all of a sudden twin lasers zipped between their faces. This caused Scott to jump back only after Courtney yelped and jumped out of his arms.
"No!" Chris shouted, his eyes still steaming from the lasers that shot out of them. "No virtual kisses on my reality show!"
"Lasers?!" Cody gaped.
"Tha was not part o' yo damn contract!" Anne Maria shouted.
Chris grinned "Actually it was, as the moderator and administrator of this virtual world I can do what I see fit. So if I wanna shoot lasers from my eyes then I'll shoot lasers from my eyes."
"You're out of your mind if you think I'm stay here, Mclean!" Jo shouted and then began to walk around, looking for some kind of exit only to find nothing. She then turned to the others, "How do I get out of here?"
"It's a virtual controlled by Chris," Noah explained, sounding a little on edge by this horrible truth as well. "We can't get out unless he wants us to."
"We're screwed." Heather sighed.
"Yes but we're screwed together, Mi amour." Alejandro cooed.
Duncan stalked over to Courtney who was standing next to Gwen, Zoey and Bridgette who were listening intently. "So the princess decided to leave her so called castle?"
Courtney smirked. "Yeah, what about it?"
"Oh nothing," Duncan smirked. "Just means that I'm right and that you're weak."
"Hey, you better watch it!" Scott threatened the delinquent.
"Relax, I'm just welcoming her back." Duncan raised his arms in defense.
"It doesn't matter," Courtney smirked. "You're right Duncan, I am back and I'm going to destroy you this season."
"We'll see about that princess." Duncan laughed before walking away.
"Yes we definitely will see, Duncan darling." Courtney smiled.
Courtney was finally back at Total Drama and she was definitely gonna win this time.
I really enjoyed this oneshot even if the ending was a little cheesy. Happy anniversary to the Total Drama Writers Forum and thanks so much to YouandMeForeverBaby who decided to create the forum a year ago today. I may have only been there for two months now but I've really enjoyed myself and made some awesome friends on the forum and feel right at home there. By the way, did anyone catch how I incorporated the forum topics into the story along with my other little references and easter eggs? Bonus! Oh and about the cast of that season with the inclusion of characters Courtney didn't guess she was obviously wrong and there were some she guessed that didn't make it. Of course it doesn't really matter for this fic. So yeah, I hope you enjoyed Reminiscent, and remember to R&R! And happy anniversary guys!