A/N Great chapter for character development…

Zooming over the beautiful landscape of The Island, the camera comes to behold the campers and Chris. The storm, not giving any sign of ending soon, continues to rain misery down on the campers. While many of their moods turn as grey as the clouds, Lily seems to actually be enjoying the storm.

Our host flashes the camera one of his cheesy plastic smile. Gesturing around himself, to the camp and campers, he announces to the camera.

"Hello and welcome back to Total Drama Backfire!"

Hodder, quick to ruin his planned monologue, states. "Dude, it's only been like ten minutes…"

Irritated from the interruption, Chris snaps back. "Yeah, well it's now another episode, deal with it. Can I continue?"

"I don't know. Can you?"

"Oh, just shut it! Anyway, we met the new campers' last episode. Alister, Kaila, Hodder… you know what? If you want to know who's all here, either continue watching, or wait for a re-run of last episode. Now, however, we have the first challenge for the show…"

Interrupting this time is Drake. "Don't we need to be put into teams first?"

"Nope."

Pushing himself to the front of the group, Duncan questions. "Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about?"

Chris, laughing, replies. "Well… instead of having teams, and having a liquidation latter, the Head Honcho's decided for it to be a free-for-all."

"Free-for-all?"

"Yes, every man for himself survival of the fittest, only the strong survive, you know."

The camper's look at each other, possibly deciding whose ass is getting booted off first, or for possible alliances.

Chris, looking quiet pleased with the reaction, continues. "Yes, but for some challenges, such as this one…"

"Which we still don't know what it is." Comes Alister's irritated voice.

"Let me finish," Chris responds "For this challenge, you will be paired up."

"Okay… but we still don't know what the challenge is."

Chris sighs with impatience. "Look, just… follow me."

Walking away from the campers, they look at each other before shrugging their shoulders and following Chris. Walking slightly passed an outhouse; Chris abruptly turns around and begins to speak.

"Oh yeah, almost forgot. This here is the con-"

He stops short as Owen walks up the outhouse, hugging it.

"Ahhhhhh, the confession can. My old friend."

Chris seems less than freaked by this, considering he saw Owen talk to a 'Mr. Coconut' in the previous season.

"Yeah," he drawls "This is the confession can." Adopting a very sage-like voice he continues, "A place of solitude, where you can confess your thoughts, relax, gossip in peace… in front of the entire viewing world."

"Oh-so private." Comes Gwen's sarcastic voice.

"I know, eh. Just like the one from last year, 'cept we had it cleaned."

Owen opens the door to reveal an insanely well cleaned toilet. Who knew cleaning it was possible.

"Great Scott! It's still here! Ha-ha!" Owen says with great excitement. He turns around holding the lid of the seat… which has a bite in it.

Gwen sighs, "Right, all you can eat pancakes…"

Now Chris seems a little freaked. "I was trying to forget that confessional video." He involuntarily shudders.

"!"

Everyone turns around at Kaila's exasperated shout.

Up ahead is Kaila pointing around a bend in the road leading into the trees. As the campers approach her, what she's pointing at comes into focus. Up ahead is a triplet of old Willy's Jeeps, all painted the same drab green, outfitted with a small roll-cage and extended personnel space, except the last one, which only has the roll-cage.

"Do those things even start?" Wyatt ponders.

Chris laughs, "Oh, yes they run. We had them completely restored. They run like a dream."

Just as Chris finished speaking, Alister jumps into the driver's seat of the front jeep.

"I guess that means the 'Dreambreaker' himself gets to drive."

"I guess," Chris says "Less we have to use the interns, the more money we save. Who else can drive?"

Steve raises his hand, "I can."

"Good. Veteran camper's you're with me!"

The vets follow Chris to the middle vehicle, as they hop in Courtney asks.

"Why do we have to ride with you?" Putting much venom into the final world.

Chris mutters quietly, so not too be heard by the other campers. "Because frankly, you annoy me a whole lot less than those guys."

As Chris' jeep rolls on up the newly formed road, everyone races to get a seat in a jeep.

Jumping in beside Alister, Kaila yells. "Shotgun!"

Only Wyatt and Katie manage to jump into Alister's jeep before he peels out, gunning around the corner.

Steve looks around at the remaining five campers. "Are we all gonna fit in here?"

Hodder jumps in the shotgun seat. "Dunno."

In the small personnel space behind the seats, sit Dana and Lily with Piper on the floor in the middle, looking at Sparrow, who now has no-where to sit.

He mumbles something about 'the short end of the stick', before jumping onto the rear bumper and holding onto the roll-bar.

"You gonna be okay back there?" Comes Steve's slightly worried voice.

"Just drive." Drake replies.

Steve looks over to Hodder, who just shrugs his shoulders, making motions for him to just go. Steve puts the jeep into gear and hits the gas, propelling the jeep forward at a high speed, nearly causing Drake to fall. Drifting around the muddy corner they head off down the road, into the woods.

A blurry picture of a police car with its light on is in the background, while the COPS logo comes into view, playing the iconic theme song.

'Bad boys, Bad boys…'

"Next on COPS," the narrator begin, "We cover a drug-bust in Colorado, and the hunt for an ex-game show contestant."

'Whatcha goin' do, Watcha goin' do when we come for you…'

A SWAT member kicks open the door of an average looking home. The camera fades into the next shot, showing a very familiar red-headed woman riding a motorcycle down the free-way into incoming traffic, yelling at the top of her lungs.

"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME!!!"

It fades back into COPS screen shot.

'Bad boys, Bad boys…"

"On FOX."

Confessional: Drake sitting down, looking a little worst for wear, talks to the camera. "Next time…" he points to his chest, "I drive."

"WATCH THE CLIFF!" Drake yells, as he is nearly thrown off the back of the jeep, as Steve turns sharply, so they don't plummet over the edge of the fast approaching cliff side. Back tires sliding just around the edge, Steve guns the engine, pulling the steering wheel into a hard turn in an attempt to straighten out. Gaining a little control, he straightens out the wheel, getting back onto the cliff side path.

Confessional: Hodder's leaning back into the seat. He pops out a thumb, pointing to himself. "Yeah… I'm driving next time."

Everyone in the jeep, which just so happens to be five, releases a collective sigh of relief. Hodder turns around in his seat.

"Hey, you guys okay back there?"

Dana and Lily look at each other, before turning to Hodder, nodding. Piper just gives a shaky thumbs-up. Looking past them, he pats Steve on the shoulder.

"You might want to pullover…"

Steve averts his gaze from the road. "Why?" He asks as he slows down,

Hodder simply points back the way they came. Stopping, Steve turns around in his seat. Lily and Dana also follow to where his finger is pointing.

"That's gotta hurt…"

Lying in the middle of the road is a green and blue lump, Sparrow. He sits up, covered in scrapes and dirt, and raises his left arm.

"I'm okay…" Before promptly passing out and falling back.

Let's check in on our other jeep full of newbies shall we…

"I WANNA ROCK!" The duo of Alister and Kaila yell.

"ROCK!" Screams Katie.

Sitting beside Katie, Wyatt just chuckles while shaking his head. He starts drumming on his legs, giving them a beat. After a good minute, Alister starts to laugh.

"Guys, guys!" Alister tries to say through his fit of laughter, "Look we need to get serious now."

"Awww," Kaila whines, "Why so serious?"

"Look, after this challenge we're goin' to be voting someone off, and I want call a meeting of the new guys together."

Leaning closer to Alister, Wyatt asks. "What are ya thinkin'?"

Alister gives a cocky grin, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "I think I may have plan, my cowboy friend of mine."

Confessional: Dana is sitting loosely over the seat. "Hmmm," she drawls, "My gossip-senses are tingling." She releases a quiet giggle.

At the top of the thousand-foot cliff, stand Chris and the vets, looking extremely impatient.

"What's taking them so long?"

As if on cue, Alister's jeep comes to a sliding halt, spraying a load of mud into the host's face. Looking even more pissed off he wipes the mud from his face. Laughing as the campers jump out of the jeep, Alister apologizes.

"Sorry man, but I couldn't pass up that opportunity."

Red in the face, Chris points to the vets. "Just stand over there…"

Pulling up and stopping slowly, the passengers of the final jeep jump out. The girls walk over to stand next to the rest of the campers, as Hodder and Steve help Sparrow out of the back of the jeep.

"What happened to him, brah?" Geoff asks Lily.

"He took a tumble off the back of the jeep."

"Harsh…"

Chris looks around at all the campers. "We all here? Good. It is now time for your first challenge."

Bridgette interrupts. "This isn't going to be a repeat of last year is it?"

Chris looks appalled. "Do you have no confidence in our writing staff? Like we would use the same challenge twice, repetition is bad for ratings, you know. No, in this challenge you and a partner will bungee jump off the cliff. At the bottom, you will find multiple items floating in the water. Each Item is worth a set amount of points."

"You gonna tell us what there worth?" Drake mumbles, still a little tipsy from the fall.

"Not until the end of the game, when each pair has an item. You must grab an item before you rebound back up. They are hollow balls, inside is a slip of paper telling us what each one is worth. Hopefully, you would have grabbed a high point item."

"So, this challenge is all about luck then?" Courtney asks.

"That and trust. Only one of the partners is going to jump, while the other has the other end attached to themselves, acting as support. Speaking of partners…" He pulls a piece of paper out of his back pocket. "The partners are…

Lily and Piper…"

Lily looks over at Piper and smiles. Piper blushes a little.

Confessional: Piper has her head buried in her hands. "Just had to be her."

"Duncan and Steve…"

Duncan raises an eyebrow while Steve just shrugs.

"Sparrow and Hodder…"

Sparrow swaying a little, mutters a 'Cool', while Hodder gulps.

"Katie and Owen…"

Katie has a 'what?' look on her face, and Owen yells. "Bring it on!"

"Gwen and Dana…"

Dana waves at Gwen, who rolls her eyes.

Confessional: Gwen looks moody as usual. "Paired with the prep? Nice…" She scoffs.

"Wyatt and Bridgette…"

Wyatt tips his hat at her, while she smiles.

"Alister and Kaila…"

They high-five each other.

"And finally Geoff and Courtney."

They look at each other, and just shrug their shoulders.

As they shuffle to stand next to their partners, Chris begins to talk again.

"Oh, and by the way, I get to choose who jumps."

They all turn to him, giving him looks that range from nasty to 'you are an evil host'. Chris smiles, quite pleased with the reaction.

"Owen, Katie your up first. And guess what… Owen is jumping!"

Confessional: Katie looks straight into the camera. "You sick, son of a *Beep*!"

Just as Katie finishes tying the end of the cord to herself, Owen quickly dives off the cliff screaming at the top of his lungs. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she closes her eyes and braces for the inevitable. Instead of being pulled forward, she is pulled back by a pair of strong arms. She opens her eyes and turns her head to see Steve holding her.

"What are you doing?"

Steve smiles. "I may want to win, but I don't want to someone get killed 'cause of some stupid stunt."

Confessional: "She may not be my usual type," Steve casually says to the camera. "But she's pretty damn cute."

She smiles, closes her eyes and pulls back against the rope as Owen starts pulling her forward. Pulling her back as well, Steve digs his feet into the ground. They are pulled a good few feet across the muddy ground, before Owen comes shooting back up onto the cliff. He lands with as much grace as a man his size can possibly have, holding not one but two balls.

"Go Owen!" Katie exclaims as Steve lets her go.

Chris looks pretty upset. He mutters. "I was hoping she would fall."

He speaks a little louder as to be heard. "I don't know if I should count that, considering you had help, but I'll let it slide as it is the first challenge. Next up is Steve and Duncan, with the latter jumping."

Quickly harnessing up, they bump fists before Duncan leaps off. Quickly stopping above the water, Duncan grabs a ball before ricocheting back up. Landing roughly on the ground, he slips backwards, nearly losing the ball.

"Far too close for my taste." Steve says as he helps Duncan up.

"No kidding."

"Very… boring. Hopefully Bridgette and Wyatt are more interesting than that. By the way, farm boy's jumping."

Wyatt just shakes his head as he pulls on the harness. He takes off his hat, revealing the white streak in his hair, and throws it on a seat in a jeep. Walking over to the edge, he turns around giving a choppy salute, before leaning back and diving off. Effortlessly gliding through the air, he manages to snag two balls before coming back up.

As he lands, he stumbles forward before getting his footing back.

"Here." Bridgette says as she throws him his hat back.

Catching it and easily flipping it back onto his head, he replies. "Much obliged."

Chris' mood drops another notch. "We need some serious action. Alister, Kaila better make this good. You're jumping dude."

Harness quickly being pulled on, he whispers something to Kaila. Eyes lighting up, she nods furiously. Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Alister swiftly performs a front flip of the side of the cliff, flying closer to the water below. Easily swiping a ball, he quickly rises back up. But before he lands, Kaila does a swan dive off the cliff side. Now with her gliding to waves below, Alister braces for the incoming pull. Kaila grabs a ball with ease before rocketing back up. Coming back to ground level, she lands in a dramatic pose yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Ta-da!"

A round of applause bellows from the campers. Now Chris seems real cheery. "Dude! That was totally AWESOME!"

Alister puffs his chest out. "I do what can."

"Unfortunately…" Chris drawls, "I said only one of you could jump. So you gotta decide which ball you're using for the point count."

Alister and Kaila glance at each other, shrugging their shoulders, before he tosses his ball back over the edge,

"It's goin' to be hard to top that. Dana and Gwen, time to jump. Dana you're takin' the plunge."

As Dana pulls on the harness, Gwen ties the cord around her waist. Dana walks to the edge, looking down at the rough waters below. Being impatient, Gwen roughly pushes her off.

Confessional: Gwen looks a little ashamed. "I know that was mean… I-I guess I was just a little peeved about the weather."

Screaming as she falls, Dana barely manages to grab a ball, before flying back up. Landing hard on the ground, the ball rolls out of her hands and back down to the waters below.

"Tsk. Tsk." Chris scolds. "Poor performance indeed."

Dana, looking a little dazed, tries to stand but slips on the mud. Walking up to her, Drake grabs her arm and helps her up.

"Thanks." She mumbles.

"Come on, cheer up." He says as he lifts her chin, smiling down at her.

Chris coughs to clear his throat, getting Drakes attention as well. "Since you're already up, you can support Hodder as he jumps."

Dana ducks her head and moves away as Hodder waltzes up to Drake. Already having tied the cord around his waist, Drake watches as Hodder nervously pulls on the harness.

"Come on, you aren't scared are you?"

Hodder gives him a killing-look. "I'm not exactly a 'fan' of heights."

"I kinda figured. Look… if you're not goin' to do it for me, for the challenge, do it for a lily." He nods his head, in the direction of a certain flower girl. Hodder looks at her, just as she raises her gaze, and smiles at him.

Sighing Hodder walks to the cliff edge, with Drake on his right.

"Heh, knew that'd work."

With a small chuckle he replies. "Screw you Sundance."

Chuckling along, Drake responds. "After you, Butch."

Hodder gives one final sigh. "See you in hell, kid." He than leaps off the cliff side.

Digging his heels into the muddy earth, Drake pulls hard on the cord just as it grows taught. Skimming the waves of the water below, Hodder manages to snag one of the balls. Zipping back up, he stumbles slightly as he lands.

"Never. Again." He says as he hands the ball to Sparrow.

"By the way," Sparrow says, "I'm older than you." He chuckles. "Kid."

Hodder walks away, chuckling and shaking his head.

"Alright," Chris speaks, "Almost done here. Courtney, you're jumping."

"I refuse." She states simply,

"Awww," Duncan drawls. "Is princess scared?"

Gaining furious fires in her eyes, she quickly pulls the harness on and jumps boldly off the cliff side. Not having time to tie the cord to his waist, Geoff just hopes for the best and holds it snug in his grip. Swiftly rising and landing, Courtney pelts Duncan in the head with the ball she just brought up.

"Who's scared again?" She asks with attitude.

"Let's just wrap this up. Lily, you're jumpin'."

Lily sighs, walking towards Sparrow. She gently removes his jacket, which she was still wearing, and hands it back to him.

"Thanks for the loan, Mr. Drake."

He laughs lightly, taking the jacket. "Please, just Sparrow."

She smiles as she walks away, putting on the harness. Piper, already having the cord tied to herself, give Lily a thumbs up. Lily smiles at her, before swan diving elegantly off the edge. Coming down fast, she swiftly grabs a ball. Rising fast, she lands gingerly.

"Everyone went? Finally, open the orbs!"

Opening their orbs, Owen and Katie are greatly disappointed.

"You grabbed two. And they both turn out to be worth one!" Katie yells.

"Heh-heh, Sorry…"

Steve and Duncan open theirs.

"Well, at least we didn't get the lowest." Steve says, being optimistic.

Duncan scoffs. "Well five just ain't going to cut it."

Wyatt opens one while Bridgette opens another.

"Yahoo! Got ten here!" Wyatt exclaims,

"And Five here!" replies Bridgette.

Opening theirs, Alister and Kaila smile.

"Sweet we got ten!"

Dana glares at Gwen, who likewise does the same. Chris laughs. "Guess who gets to clean the communal washrooms tonight?"

"WHAT!!!" They both scream.

"Must've forgotten to mention that." He continues to laugh.

Side-by-side Confessional: Gwen glares into the camera. "He is so dead…"
: Dana stares daggers into the camera. "Chris Mclean must die…" She then smiles cheerfully.

Drake opens the orb in his hand.

"Yeah! Got ten buddy!" He says as he and Hodder high-five.

Courtney opens the orb, which now has a dint in it.

"Five!?! That's it!?!"

Geoff, always the peace keeper, tries to calm her down. "Chill out, Courtney. Least we don't have to clean the stalls."

Lily gives Piper the orb she grabbed.

"You do the honours."

Piper smiles brightly as she pops open the orb. "Oh. My. God. We got twenty. We got twenty!"

She grabs Lily in a hug, as they jump up and down. After realizing what she just did, Piper stops and let's go.

"S-sorry."

Lily gently pats her on the back. "Hey… quit being so shy."

Chris is giggling to himself. "Finally we have a winner."

He hands both Lily and Piper a bright crimson bandana. "These represent immunity."

He turns to the rest of the campers. "I'll see you losers at the campfire ceremony tonight."

Looking at Gwen and Dana he continues. "And as for you two, talk to Chef when we get back down to camp."

Back at Camp…

The rain having finally quit, leaves the world fresh and new. All this is appreciated by the campers, all except two unfortunates, holding mops and assorted cleaning supplies.

"You maggots better get to it!" Chef barks to the two unfortunate campers.

"Ugh…" Gwen moans. "Better get it over with." She reluctantly enters the washrooms as Chef walks away.

Sighing, Dana starts to walk towards the door when she is tapped on the shoulder. Startled, she spins around to see Drake smirking down at her.

"Little jumpy are we?"

Receiving a quick slap to the arm, he laughs as she yells at him. "Don't scare me like that!"

He chuckles softly. "And miss the look on your face? Not a chance."

"Well, what do want?"

He wraps his arm gently around her shoulders. "You aren't actually thinking about going in there are you?"

She sighs. "I don't really have a choice do I?"

He grabs the mop out of her hands and leans it against the wall. "You always have a choice."

"But Chris sai-"

"Who cares what Chris said? All you have to do…" He takes the rest of the supplies and sets them down. "Is walk… away."

"But…"

"But nothing! Look, Alister called all the new campers together to talk."

"Is that the only reason you came?"

"Yeah."

She looks straight into his eyes. "Oh, really?"

He ducks his head. "Okay… maybe I'd just miss your pretty face."

Her cheeks turn a rosy colour. "What does Alister want, anyway?"

"I don't know. He just said he wants all the new guys there." He grabs her hand pulling her along. "Well? Come on."

"Bu-"

He laughs, pulling her closer. "Just come on."

Sighing in reluctance, she gives in and goes with Sparrow.

"So why is your name Sparrow?"

"Not telling you, dear Heart."

"Why not?"

He chuckles softly. "Because I am a mystery. And a mystery I shall remain."

She snorts. "Drama king…"

"Oh, hush."

After a half-hour of cleaning, Glen is hit with realization. "Wait… where's the prep?"

She glances out of the stall she's cleaning, hearing and seeing nothing.

"That little-"

Gathered down at the dock are all the new campers, still wearing their jackets to protect them from the night chill.

Clearing his throat, Alister begins to speak. "I have gathered you here to discuss who is getting booted tonight."

The crowd formed starts to murmur to themselves,

"Quiet! Quiet!" He yells. "None of you are the ones that should be afraid of being voted off."

Steve leans forward a little. "What're you talking 'bout?"

Alister smirks. "I'm talking about the 'predicament' the vets are in…"

"Jesus Alister, while we're young." Drake chuckles, whose arm is wrapped around Dana's shoulders.

"Okay, my impatient friend. I'm talking about how we outnumber the vets."

Lily speaks up. "Wait… you aren't talking about-"

"Yes." He interrupts. "I'm talking about getting rid of the vets."

At the campfire ceremony…

Standing at his podium is Chris, while the campers sit on the stumps across from him. Newly placed for this season is a table with a jar and pen, sitting close to his podium.

"Welcome to the first campfire ceremony of the season. Those of you, who are voted off, will never return."

"Just like last year…" Gwen scoffs.

"Nope. The producers made it really clear there were to be no comebacks. Tonight Lily and Piper have immunity, so everyone else is free game. Now, you each will walk up and write your vote on a piece of parchment." He gestures to the table. "And put it into the jar. Chop-chop!"

One by one the new campers go up, each writing out the same name, all except one of them.

Confessional: Lily is looking quiet nervous. "It just didn't feel right… you know? She's my friend but…" She sighs. "I'm sorry, Dana."

Duncan casually walks up. Writing a name down, he holds it up for the camera.

"You seem like the biggest threat. And besides, you're way too cocky."

He sits down as Courtney walks up. Writing a name down in very sophisticated letters, she holds it up to the camera.

"You played the worst. And I like Gwen more than you. You are the weakest link, goodbye."

Sliding on up and writing a name down is Bridgette.

"As much as like her, she didn't have to push the newbie like that. Sorry."

Up next is Owen.

"I really don't know them that well, but you did play the worst. Sorry."

Coming up is Geoff, who casually writes down a name.

"No getting close to my girl. And I'm the only one that wears a cowboy hat on this here island."

Storming up to the table next is Gwen.

"You bailed on cleaning. What the hell? Goodbye."

Storming back to her seat, Chris stands to collect the jar.

"Okay… let's see here."

He pulls out a sheet of parchment. "Gwen…"

"Gwen…"

"Gwen…"

"Sparrow…"

"Gwen…"

"Dana…"

"Gwen…"

"Dana…"

"Wyatt…"

"Dana…"

"Dana…"

"Gwen…"

"Gwen…"

"Gwen…"

"Gwen…"

"Gwen."

Gwen looks dumbfounded as Chris continues. "Wow. That was unexpected. I mean why'd you guys have to vote off one of the most popular campers. Not good for ratings."

"But why me?" Gwen yells.

Alister clears his throat. "Well you did push Dana." He says, easily avoiding the true reason.

"But, but, but-"

"No buts," Chris interrupts. "You may go now."

Before she can object, Chef grabs her and drags her down the Dock of Shame to the Boat of Losers.

Chris turns to the camera. "And there we have it. The first episode of the greatest reality show on TV! Or soon to be. Maybe." He shrugs. "In a shocking twist of events Gwen was booted off. Who woulda thought. What will happen next time? Who knows? I'm your host, Chris Mclean, and I'll see you next time on Total! Drama! Backfire!"

A/N

I have two things to say:

1) Go to My Forums and give me ideas!

And

2) Holy shit that was long! Not sure if the next chapters will be this long, or if I'll divide them up into two-part episodes. Who knows?

Sorry to PhantomOfTheCarolinaOpry, your character wasn't submitted in time.

I'll see you around.

K.C.