Brain's a little scrambled. Hope this doesn't suck

All characters belong to Tom McGillis and Jen Pertsch

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The five teenagers were at a local burger joint as they waited for their food. The orange and white plastic décor was a little offsetting, especially the mascot of a cup of fries smiling at whomever crossed its eyesight. "I just don't feel right about the entire thing." Sierra said, "We've all grown to hate him in five years. And now come to find out that it's basically a big lie."

"How do you think I feel?" Gwen asked, "I hated him with a burning passion! And now…I don't know. Is this what's it like to have that burning desire for revenge suddenly snuffed out?"

"Maybe," The fan said, "I kinda feel the same way."

"I hate to admit it," The goth said, "But I kinda feel…sorry."

"You ain't alone," Leshawna admitted, "Compared to the asshole that made our lives a living hell for three years, what Chris is now...he's a broken man."

"Not entirely broken," Cody said, "Just lost."

"I think he actually has a heart," Gwen admitted, "He had said something along the lines that we were good kids; that he didn't want anyone of us to get involved."

"Chris caring for someone other than himself," Leshawna sighed out, "That is a phrase I've never expected to say."

"So," Owen said as he scratched the table top with a finger nail, "With that improvised proto-what's-it…you think we could change his personality? Or maybe have him learn things that he doesn't know about?"

"Don't even think about it." Gwen said.

"I was just curious!" The big guy insisted, "Besides, it could probably help him out a bit!"

"We're not fiddling with his personality," The goth said firmly "Case closed."

"You've gotten a little defensive around him," Sierra pointed out, "Are you falling for him?"

"He's old enough to be my dad, maybe older." Gwen pointed out, "I'm just doing it because he's…pretty much defenseless."

"Still, he is older, and probably have some ways to defend himself." LeShawna said, "Don't need to act like he's your big bro or something. But you're right; fiddling with a man's brain is just plain wrong."

"When it comes to morals," Cody said, "Duh. But maybe this kind of stuff can be useful for people with memory problems."

"Didn't expect that from you." Gwen pointed out.

"I have dreams too, ya know." The smallest teen said.

"He wants to work in the medical field," Sierra reported, "Wants to help people with mental problems."

"Thank you for reporting that, Sierra." Cody flatly uttered.

"Sorry," The fan girl said, "I am working on that."

"Yeah…" The group said as they eyed her.

"Order number 10!" A person called.

"I'll get it." Owen offered.

"No, I got it." Gwen said as she stood up. As she walked towards the pick-up counter, she saw a pimple-covered teenager placed a full plastic tray of bags and drinks on the counter.

"Order 10?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"That's me." She said as she held the receipt as proof.

"Here you are; ketchup, mustard and silly sauce are in the bags." He said, "Anything else?"

"Nah, that's good." Gwen said as she picked up the weighty tray.

"Aren't you Gwen?" The zitty teenager asked, "Like, 'Total Drama' Gwen?"

"So what if I am?" She asked, "Are you going to spit in my face?"

"No, I kinda was hoping for an autograph." He asked shyly, "My sis and me are huge fans of yours."

"Oh, okay." She said, a little surprised, "Sure, I'll sign something." The ecstatic teen quickly produced a small note pad and a pen, and Gwen quickly scribbled out a signature.

"Thanks!" He said with a big smile.

"No prob…" She said, feeling a little hopeful and a little sad. In her head, she was screaming, 'Total Drama is a murder plot! I was almost killed!' But her mouth was shut as she made her way back to the table. "Sorry, someone wanted an autograph." She said.

"I'm surprised he didn't spit on you." LeShawna admitted.

"I think my status as a villain is starting to fade." The goth said.

"It is," Sierra said as she claimed her bag, "Ever since Courtney being exposed and you getting close to the good guys of the second generation. But that's just my two cents; it might be because people learn to forgive and forget."

"I don't care how," Gwen said, "I'm just glad that I'm considered good again."

"You were always good," Owen said, "It's that your heart didn't know where to go."

"But now it doesn't have to go anywhere for now," Cody admitted as he dumped some ketchup on his fries, "So, all that's left is to try and figure out the future."

"We really have changed, didn't we?" Leshawna asked.

"Kinda." Everyone admitted.

/

"We're home!" Gwen called as the five entered her house, "We got you a burger, but Owen ate your fries!"

"Sorry!" Owen called. But there was no response; barely a noise squeaked out in the eerily quiet home.

"He didn't leave, did he?" Sierra said as he closed the door.

"Spread out." Gwen ordered, and the five split up, Gwen heading towards the living room to find it surprisingly tidy; Chris' sheets folded up on the couch with the pillow placed on top.

"He's not in the kitchen!" Cody reported. Gwen raced towards her room, by passing Leshawna as she closed a closet door. She opened the door and found her bed had been made and her pajamas were folded up on top.

"He's been in my room." She muttered as a shiver raced up her spine. But Gwen shook it off and headed towards the next room, finding the door slightly opened. She swung it open and caused Owen to yelp out and drop a t-shirt. "Owen!" She scolded.

"Sorry," He said, "Your bro has some interesting shirts." The goth rolled her eyes as Sierra skipped up to her, shaking her head.

"Not in your mom's room, the bathroom, or the garage." She reported.

"One more place, then." Gwen said. The goth headed towards a door next to her room and opened it, revealing a staircase that lead to the basement.

"We can come with, if you want." Owen offered as he and Sierra joined her.

"No," Gwen said, "The stairs are old and they'll probably break. I…I got this." She reached over and flicked the light switch, but the light bulb burned out with a quick flash. With a quick swallow, she carefully walked down the wooden stairs, loud creaks were heard under her boots as she winced at the volume. As she got closer to the ground, she could barely see a faint glow of her laptop in the distance, causing her to sigh. But when she put weight on the next stair, it gave out and she fell down with a scream, landing face first on the cold floor.

"Gwen?" A familiar voice asked as something softly paddled across the cold ground, "Are you okay?" Gwen looked up to barely depict a shambling form approaching her, the glow of the laptop slowly swallowed as it got closer. She tried to scoot to the wall, her heart starting to pound as quiet gasps squeaked out of her throat. "Gwen, it's Chris," He said as two hands clasped gently on her shoulders, "You're okay. Breathe."

"Chris," Gwen realized, "Wha-what the heck are you doing here?!"

"I was trying to find a way to unlock those memories," Chris said, "Or at least try and explore my own mind a little."

"But why in the basement?" She asked.

"Well," The older man said, "If one of your nosy neighbors peered in and see me, they might call the cops and…well, the rest explains itself."

"Let's just go upstairs," Gwen said, "We got you some food."

"In a minute," Chris said as he returned to the laptop, "I think I'm close."

"But what if its something you don't want to see?" Gwen asked, "I mean, sometimes there's a good reason why those memories are locked away!"

"Just go back upstairs and tell everyone I'm down here," The older man said as he re-hooked himself to Gwen's laptop, "I'll put your laptop back once I'm done." Gwen was going to argue, but the man was already tapping away at the computer. She ended up taking a seat next to Chris, huddling close to his body. "Aren't you scared of the underground?" He asked.

"I'll put up with it." She said firmly. The older man shrugged as he continued typing, lines of numbers, letters and symbols growing longer and longer with each keystroke. "Are you naturally good with computers, or is this another part of the host protocol?" She asked.

"Don't know to be honest," Chris replied, "It feels like it's a talent I shouldn't actually have, but it's almost second nature to me. But I don't know if this is actually doing anything, or if it's just a waste of time. I could've just been typing long lines of crap for no reason other than to make myself look like a jackass."

"Doesn't seem like that to me." Gwen admitted, "But I don't know jack about computers."

"I don't think anyone knows…" He said. With another line typed out, he pressed enter and the screen went black. "Oops…" He quietly said.

"What did you do?!" The teen asked.

"I don't know!" He replied. The screen lit up again and a window popped up, revealing it to be a video clip. It took place in a long, dark green corridor, a set of double doors perched at the end.

"What is this?" Gwen asked.

"I remember now…" Chris said as fear tainted his voice.

"What, what is it?" She asked. He only pointed at the screen as she turned to see Chris had reached the double doors and gingerly pushed the doors open. He looked through the door and saw body bags hanging off of meat hooks, several bags stained with dried blood. The footage continued as Chris gingerly walked through the stone room, staring at certain bags as quiet whimpers drifted from the speakers. "Holy crap…" Gwen said, "The hell is this?"

"It gets worse." Chris whimpered. The feed continued as Chris reached the other side of the room and opened the door, revealing more bodies in plastic bags as they hung from the ceiling, lifelessly staring as the plastic glistened with a faint frost. Chris flinched as he came face to face with a corpse of a tan man with no eyes, face frozen mid-scream. The feed continued as he quickly pulled away and move through the maze of plastic and frozen flesh, staring at the floor more than the victims as his breathing became uneven and shaky. Suddenly, Chris tripped as the feed focused on the floor, a groan escaping from the speakers as he tried to stand up again.

"I don't wanna look at this anymore." Gwen said quietly as she covered her eyes.

"You don't have to," He answered quietly, "I need to." A loud scream erupted from the speakers as Chris let out a whimper. Gwen peered through her fingers and let out a scream as she was staring at a frozen corpse of another McClain as the jaw and tongue ripped out, the carnage trailing down as from the neck down trailed a long cut, bone and organ exposed to any passing audience. Gwen buried her face into his side as the screams died down on the computer. Chris quickly closed the window and threw an arm around the scared teen, his own heart pounding as his memory kept playing in his head. Carefully, he slipped his other arm under her legs and stood up, holding her bridal style as she let out a squeak. "I got you," He whispered, "I'm just going to take you upstairs. Don't worry, I got you."

"What were those rooms?" She asked quietly, "Why were there dead bodies? And…why was there another you?"

"I don't know." Chris admitted, "No one would tell me."

/

To be continued.