As she sat alone in her padded cell Dawn found herself thinking, inexplicably, about one of the first people she'd met on Total Drama. That person was Staci Plummer, whom Dawn rarely thought about. Dawn had never been all that close to Staci, so it was a little strange that her recollections would begin with the compulsive liar. But Dawn had long since given up pretending that she had any control over the way the universe worked and chose to accept these memories for what they were.
She had first met Staci at Camp Wawanakwa at the start of Total Drama's fourth season, more commonly known as Revenge of the Island. Like the other TDRI contestants Dawn had found Staci's constant jabbering about the supposedly great things her ancestors had done to be rather annoying. As such she hadn't been overly upset when Staci had been the first one eliminated. But as time had gone on she had learned to deal with Staci's claims, even going so far as to believe some of them, if only to get Staci to shut up.
But, in the end, everything Staci had said turned out to be a lie. No one had been surprised by that, but Dawn had felt sorry for Staci and perhaps it was because of that sympathy that Staci had joined Dawn's side in the war. There were other explanations as well, of course, but Dawn liked to think that it had been her kindness that had swayed Staci and so many of the others. Still, she had to consider the possibilities, no matter how painful they were to examine.
Staci's life hadn't been easy before Total Drama and it had gotten even worse after the shows cancellation. She was overweight and obnoxious and she had known it, but it had been the betrayal of her fellow contestants that had sealed her fate. Dawn had seen that coming, of course, but she had been too late to stop it.
Not that you really tried, she thought, bitterly. No, you just watched them do it when you should have stopped them. But you didn't, because you're a coward, a fucking weak, pathetic coward who was too afraid to stand up to assholes like Scott.
Dawn took a deep breath to calm herself and let her mind wander back to Staci. In truth there hadn't really been anything she could have done. Staci had made too many enemies and they were going to take her no matter what Dawn did. Still, she should have at least tried to help, but she hadn't and now it was too late.
"Too fucking late." she muttered, savagely punching the floor of her cell. "I was always too fucking late."
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. It was so hard to focus now, but she had to. She had to learn the truth, had to know where and why it had all gone so wrong. Staci's fate wasn't the key, she knew, but it was a place to start and that was something.
Staci had become a social pariah after the end of Total Drama. That was the real reason she had joined Dawn's side. Her constant jabbering had driven everyone else to the brink of insanity and her only solace, her only chance to keep them in her life had been backing Dawn. But she had become a product of the fame, a drunken, slobbering mess who was only in the way. Dawn had kept her around, though it had been painful to watch her tragic descent into madness, and ultimately that madness had been her undoing.
Staci had finally gotten on the bad side of the wrong people and Dawn had been powerless to stop what happened next. She had seen it coming for months, but Staci had refused to listen and without her cooperation Dawn had had no chance of saving her.
The end had come swiftly then, taking no one by surprise. Scott, Alejandro, and Lightning had come for Staci in the night, taking her without much effort or resistance. Dawn and B had found her the next morning, savagely beaten, hanging from a tree by her neck. And though she had been horrified, some part of Dawn had also been relieved.
You were a liar and a drunk and you deserved this, she had thought then. You deserved this, but I could have saved you. I wanted to save you.
The memory of that day brought fresh tears to Dawn's eyes, but she wiped them away with the back of her hand. She did not want to cry, not anymore. But she couldn't help it, because the truth was Staci hadn't deserved to die like that. None of them had deserved it. Yet they had died and there was nothing Dawn could do about it now.
"If only they'd listened to me." she muttered, choking back more tears. "If only we'd all known then that Staci was only the first."
A/N: And that's chapter 1. All of the chapters will be like this, though many of them will be about multiple characters (usually the couples). Also, just to clarify, yes, Dawn is in a mental hospital. You can probably guess why. This won't be a major point of emphasis, but it will crop up on occasion. Additionally, other chapters will delve deeper into what the characters lives were like in the wake of Total Drama's end and will reveal more on this "war" that happened. Staci's isn't as detailed because I felt like only giving a vague picture of what happened to her. Finally, just in case you're wondering, the chapters will be titled for the character about whom Dawn is reminiscing at that moment. Next up is Anne Maria.