(A/N: Wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute wait a minute. Season five of Total Drama already debuted? In AMERICA? How did I manage to miss that? Sigh, oh well. I just wish Cody was competing this time around. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who voted in the poll- I think you'll be pleased by the events of this episode.)
Eva was sunning herself on the beach when Vevo stormed over to her, a look of absolute fury on his face.
"I KNEW you were going to pull something like this!" Vevo shouted, "Where the hell is it then, huh? The hell did you put it?"
Eva looked up, a scowl on her face.
"What are you talking about?" she demanded.
"The chest," Vevo hissed, "after the challenge the other day, you showed me a hollowed out tree stump, and said you were going to stash it there. Well, I went to go check on it today, and it's gone. Where did you put it?"
"What makes you think I took it?" Eva snapped.
"Because it was in the middle of the wilds," Vevo said, "no one else knew it was there!"
"And it never occurred to you someone might have gone looking for one of the chests, and maybe they HAPPENED to find ours?" Eva scoffed, "Just because it's gone doesn't mean I stole it!"
"Okay, I'll humor you for a minute," Vevo muttered, "if someone else has it, that'd be WORSE."
"Exactly," Eva hissed, "so instead of standing here yelling at me, GO LOOK INTO IT!"
Ezekiel watched from a distance, a smile forming on his face.
CONFESSIONAL: Ezekiel
Ezekiel: Ha! Looks like part one of my super-secret master plan has come to fruition! While they're busy thinking that someone ELSE stole that chest, I'll use it to get further in the game-
Eva: ...Ezekiel?
\
Ezekiel: *turns, seeing Eva and Vevo standing a few yards away, looking pissed* Uh, um... GAH!
END CONFESSIONAL
Ezekiel ran away from the confessional camera, Eva and Vevo following after. After a few seconds, however, Eva stopped.
"Wait," she said, "there's no point. He can't hide from us forever."
"That son of a- I'll kill him," Vevo growled, "he thinks he can double cross me? ME? I am the goddamn KING-"
"Woah woah woah," Eva snapped, "that was my schtick before you even came on to the show! Get your own!"
"WHATEVER!" Vevo shouted, "What's important now is that Ezekiel PAYS! The next time you guys lose- and I'll see to it personally that happens soon- he goes home!"
"Look, as much as I'd also like to see him booted off early yet again," Eva nodded, "we have no idea what he did with the chest. After what happened here, he'll KNOW we planned to eliminate him, anyway. We need to find out where he put the chest, then take it for ourselves and give him the boot."
"Fine," Vevo sighed, "yeah, you're right."
"Oh, and I think you owe me an apology for earlier," Eva snapped.
"Bite me," Vevo muttered under his breath.
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"Sorry, sorry," Vevo said, rolling his eyes, "look, you keep doing... whatever it is you think you're doing. I'M going to go back to camp and sort this out."
"You do that," Eva yawned.
Vevo shook his head, scowled slightly, and began his trek back to camp.
~o.0.o~
Lucky and Sunny were at camp, sitting around the fire that had been made that morning.
"How's your arm?" Sunny asked.
Lucky glanced down at his arm, which was still in a sling.
"Fine, I guess," he shrugged, "I'm surprised you guys didn't give me the ax. I'll be useless the next time a challenge rolls around-"
"Just do your best," Sunny smiled, "I looked at it, and to be honest I don't think its anywhere near as bad as it initially looked."
"Really?" Lucky asked, "Because it looked- and felt- pretty bad."
"Well, Quinn's 'help' certainly didn't do you any favors," Sunny admitted, "but as long as you don't use it too much, it should heal up fairly well within five or so days."
"Cool," Lucky smiled, "now I just gotta make sure I don't get kicked off before then."
"So, I have a question," Sunny asked, "um, unless you think it's too private-""Baby, we're on national television," Lucky shrugged, "nothing's private."
"Fair enough. I just- that comment you made the other day... the one about cleaning blood out of suits. That... was a joke, right?" Sunny asked.
Lucky sighed, and shook his head.
"Listen," Lucky sighed, "when I was a kid, I... did things I probably shouldn't have done. Made mistakes. A lot of people got hurt because of me. Because of my choices. Then everything changed, and I've been trying to make sense of things ever since."
"What happened?" Sunny asked, "You mentioned before you moved away after a while, right?"
"What, are you writing a book?" Lucky snapped.
"I- sorry," Sunny said, "you don't-"
"No, it's fine," Lucky sighed, "I'm sorry for- look, it's not easy for me to talk about."
A moment of silence fell between the two, until at last Lucky spoke.
"My father... left," Lucky sighed, "and I moved down south to stay with some extended family."
"Are you happier with them?" Sunny asked.
"Well," Lucky began, "I-"
"Hey, Lucky," Quinn called, "you might want to go talk to your boyfriend- apparently he's causing a bit of a fuss."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lucky asked.
Quinn smirked, gestured to the boy's cabin, and walked off.
"I better go see what's going on," Lucky said, getting to his feet.
"Yeah," Sunny agreed, "we can talk about this later."
Lucky quickly made his way to the boy's cabin, and upon opening the door he was greeted by a nasty sight. Two beds were overturned and thrown on the floor, clothes were strewn everywhere, and Lance was frantically pacing around as Cody, Harold, and Alejandro watched nervously.
"Lance?" Lucky asked, "Lance! What the hell is going on-"
"I can't- I can't take it, man!" Lance snapped, "We keep losing, and I KNOW what everyone's been saying about me!"
"Saying about you- the hell are you talking about?"
"It's not easy," Lance exclaimed, "I've done my best for this team! I have! Since day one I've had to step up and be the leader- but now they're looking to get rid of me!"
Lucky glanced over to Lance's bed, and saw the empty pill bottles.
"Oh, shit," Lucky groaned, piecing together what had been going on.
"Lance, why don't you calm down," Lucky suggested, "take a breath, you dig?"
"Don't talk down to me, Lucky," Lance warned, "I'm not in the mood to-"
"I know what's going on," Lucky said, "don't worry, we can sort this out, okay? You just gotta take a breath, and calm down."
"Damn it!" Lance shouted, "you think this is easy for me-"
"Never said it was," Lucky shrugged, "just try to calm down, alright?"
Lance stood there for a moment, taking deep breaths.
"Okay," he said after a while, "alright... alright, I'm alright."
"You sure?" Lucky asked.
"Yeah," Lance nodded, "I just need to... keep my head on straight."
"Okay," Lucky agreed, "good, yeah. Listen, let's clean up this cabin, and we'll talk to Chris about this later, okay?"
"Yeah," Lance sighed, "yeah. Look, I'm sorry guys-"
"It... happens?" Cody frowned, "I guess?"
"Of course it does," Alejandro chuckled, "even the greatest of competitors have their weaknesses. Well, we should let you two talk this out, hm? None of our business. Vamos, mi amigos."
Alejandro led Cody and Harold out of the cabin, and Lance sat on a nearby bed, running his hands through his hair.
"I'm a mess, man," Lance said, "now they know I'm crazy."
"Hey," Lucky said, taking a seat next to him, "it'll be fine. Just keep a handle on this as long as you can. We'll get it taken care of soon enough."
"You think so?" Lance asked.
"Yeah," Lucky said, "and if not, hell with it. This place seems to thrive on crazy anyway."
"Shut up," Lance chuckled.
~o.0.o~
Duncan, Tyler and DJ were out by the beach, attempting to catch fish for the rest of the Ronin.
"So, Duncan," Tyler started, "a youth outreach program, huh? How'd you get into that?"
"It's kind of a long story," Duncan shrugged, "besides, aren't you worried your teammates will get angry at you for helping us?"
"Nah, it's cool," Tyler said, "they didn't seem to mind the idea of me helping you get food."
"They aren't worried about you helping us?"
"I guess not," Tyler shrugged, "it'd be too obvious if I did, and they could just vote me off afterwards."
"Fair enough," Duncan agreed, "okay, I guess I can talk about it. I mean, it's not too interesting, but-"
"Go on, man," DJ encouraged, "I'm curious too."
"Well," Duncan sighed, "I guess... I was kind of screw-up when I was younger. I mean, you guys saw what I acted like in the first two seasons. Things were just rough for me. And, here's the thing, every kid has to get their frustration out somehow. They have to vent. I just got my anger out in the worst ways. Acting out, vandalism, very petty shoplifting."
"You were just a kid, man," DJ frowned, "you don't gotta worry about that stuff anymore. You've changed now, haven't you?"
"Exactly," Duncan nodded, "but I'm only one person. I joined up with the program to help other kids like me change. See that there's more than one way to go about life. I mean, sometimes I stay up late at night worried about where I might have ended up if I kept going like that."
"What changed?" Tyler asked.
"Honestly?" Duncan asked, "Celebrity Manhunt."
DJ and Tyler gave him an inquisitive look, and he smiled.
"I was channeling surfing shortly after season two ended," Duncan explained, "and the channel landed on Celebrity Manhunt. Since the season had just ended, they wanted hype up Camp TV. They showed a few interviews with fans, contestants, and even Chris."
"I remember that," Tyler said, "I think I was interviewed for that program!"
"You were, yeah," Duncan nodded, "so was Noah, Geoff, and a few others. Anyway, after interviews, they showed an outtake reel. Just random clips from the show. When I saw the ones of me... I realized that wasn't how I wanted to be seen anymore. I didn't want to act that way anymore. I was ashamed with myself."
"I know how you feel," DJ sighed, "after season one ended, I was so happy to get back home. Most of my family didn't care, and they were just glad I didn't get booted off first. Momma especially was glad to have me back. But my dad... he always treated me differently. He said I didn't do my best, and I just acted like a coward the entire time. I mean, I was somewhat of an athlete before the show, so he had high hopes. After that... well, after that he did his best to give me the cold shoulder. And when he was introducing my family to someone... he'd never introduce me as his own son."
"Dude," Tyler frowned, "harsh."
"He never even came to my highschool graduation," DJ muttered, "after that, nothing I did was ever good enough, you know. Every time I messed up, even a little bit, he'd hold it over me."
"Is that why you came back?" Tyler asked.
"Part of it," DJ said, "I mean, I kind of need the money too. That pet shelter I told you I was working at? It fills up real quick, and people in my city just don't seem to want to adopt anymore. And I can't take care of EVERY animal myself."
"Have you taken any home?" Tyler asked, "You know, as your own pet?"
"Yeah," DJ nodded, "two cats and a dog. And... I had a turtle too. I found him on the side of the road, his shell cracked. I brought him home and did my best to help him heal up. I called him Paul. I loved that little guy- he actually used to play with my cats, you know."
"Really?" Tyler smiled.
"Yeah," DJ grinned, "he used to hide in his shell, and that cats would spin him around with their paws. It was really cute- I miss that little guy."
"Well, what about you, Tyler?" Duncan asked, "Since it's sharing and caring time- why'd you come back?"
"Nothing like you guys," Tyler shrugged, "I mean, it's always bothered me that I could never beat my record from the first season. And season two... I don't even like to think about season two."
"No one does," DJ agreed.
"Season three, I got tricked by Alejandro," Tyler muttered, "so I made a pact to myself. A pact that I wasn't going to get eliminated because of any sort of manipulation or tricks. I'm going to do my best, and if I go down this time, it's going to be because someone beat me fair and square. I'm going to prove that I'm not that easily fooled anymore!"
"Good for you," DJ smiled, "I- you know what? Why don't we make a pact, the three of us? No matter what happens, we're going to work as hard as we can and get into the merge- and maybe even the finals! What do you say, guys?"
"I say we've probably jinxed ourselves already, but what the hell," Duncan shrugged, "alright, I'm in."
"Me too," Tyler smirked, "say hello to the new power trio!"
~o.0.o~
A few hours later, Chris called everyone over to the beach, where he had a boat waiting.
"Okay guys," Chris said, "I've got a special surprise for all of you! We just received word from the studio that the ratings are in, and we're blowing other shows clear out of the water! As a result, they've set up a party for you guys back at the mainland. And- wait for it- it's in a castle! Eh? Eh? Coolest show ever, am I right? In fact, it's the SAME castle some of you visited two years ago! Go continuity! So get piled on to the boat, and we'll get started!"
~o.0.o~
The cast arrived at the castle soon enough, and began making their way inside.
"This brings back memories,"Courtney smiled.
"Yeah, like how much this place sucked," Eva scoffed, "i swear, if I see a catapult anywhere near here I'll-"
"Relax," Chris sighed, "like I said, the studio was paying for all this. No challenge for you guys today."
At this, a few of the contestants let out a small cheer of celebration.
"I know, I know," Chris said, "I'm amazing. Now shut up and get inside- let's get this started!"
Courtney pushed open the door, and gasped. The castle interior was decorated very lavishly, and any damage that remained from their last visit had been repaired. There were banquet tables full of food, and music played from unseen speakers. But what stood out most to Courtney was the fact that her boyfriend was standing in the middle of everything, a smile on his face.
"GEOFF!" Courtney cheered, rushing inside to give him a hug.
"Hey, what about us?" Katie demanded, "don't we matter?"
As the cast entered, they were surprised to see that Geoff, Owen, Katie, Trent, and Heather were waiting patiently inside.
"What are THEY doing here?" Eva demanded.
"Nice to see you too,"Heather scoffed, "been keeping yourself busy, you little wannabe?
"More busy than you, wash up." Eva snapped.
"Seriously though," Harold frowned, "what are they doing here?"
"They've come here to celebrate with you guys," Chris shrugged, "not my idea. The studio wanted to cater to the fans a little, I guess. So for one night only, you get to mingle with all of your old friends! Except for Trent. Because no one likes Trent."
"Hey!" Trent exclaimed.
"So get to mingling," Chris said, "and remember, make me some RATINGS!"
The contestants talked among thereselves for a minute, then quickly dispersed. Some went to get food, some danced, and some just sat around talking. Lucky, true to his word, took Lance to go talk to Chris.
"Hey, Chris," Lance muttered, "I... can I talk to you?"
"Make it quick," Chris said, "time is money."
"You... you know about my condition," Lance said, "and.. I'm out. My meds are gone, I don't know what happened-"
"So, you need more, eh?" Chris nodded, "Well, I suppose I can give you some... IF you can find me one of those treasure chests!"
"What?" Lance exclaimed.
"You heard me," Chris smirked, "I'll help you with your problem as SOON as you find me one of those treasure chests."
"You can't do this!" Lance cried, "I need those to-"
"Can and did," Chris smirked, "if you need them so much, you better get busy, huh?"
Lance and Lucky walked away, fuming.
"That son of a bitch," Lance muttered, "son of a BITCH!"
"Hey, it'll be cool," Lucky said, "we'll figure something out."
Just then, they overheard a conversation from the corner of the room.
"I'm telling you, Zeke," Vevo threatened, "you have exactly three seconds to tell me where you put the chest, or things are going to get violent."
Lucky and Lane looked over, and spotted Ezekiel being threatened by Vevo and Eva.
"Yeah right," Ezekiel smirked, "you wouldn't-"
"EZEKIEL!" Eva shouted.
"Okay okay!" Ezekiel whined, "Under the boys cabin! I put it under the boys cabin!"
"Under the boys- you idiot!" Vevo scoffed, "Do you know how easy it would be for someone to-"
Lucky and Lance looked at each other, smiling.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Lucky asked.
"Oh, hell yeah," Lance nodded.
~o.0.o~
Meanwhile, Geoff, Courtney and Owen were seated together, having dinner. More accurately, Owen scarfed down plate after plate of food while Courtney and Owen talked.
"I missed you," Courtney smiled, "how are things going with the show?"
"Just ended production of season two," Geoff smiled, "so I get some off time for a while. How have things been with you?"
"Same old same old," Courtney shrugged, "I've been doing alright for myself I guess. That island still creeps me out, though."
"I'm sorry," Geoff frowned, "I'd be there for you if I could, but-"
All of a sudden, the light's went out, and the music was cut.
"What's going on?" Courtney asked.
"No idea," Geoff frowned, "stay seated, alright? I'll be back in a-"
Before Geoff could get up, however, a loud scream was heard.
"WHO WAS THAT?" Owen screamed, terrified.
There was commotion all around the room as the contestants tried to navigate their way through the darkness.
Cody and Gwen were busy trying to find a light switch, when Gwen let out a soft whimper.
"Are you okay?" Cody asked.
"I... I don't like the dark," Gwen stuttered.
"Since when?" Cody asked, amazed, "I thought you loved the dark!"
In response, Gwen just shut her eyes and curled up on the ground.
"Hey, it'll be okay!" Cody said, "Just give us a minute, someone will-"
A second later, the lights flicked back on.
"Got 'em!" Trent called.
"That was weird,"Cody muttered, "Its okay, Gwen. The lights are back on."
Gwen was still sitting on the ground quietly. Cody sighed, and sat down next to her.
"Seriously, Gwen," Cody asked, "what's wrong? You haven't been yourself at all lately."
"I don't want to talk about it," Gwen said.
"Gwen, you need to talk to somebody," Cody said, "even if it isn't me-"
"DEAD!" Katie shrieked, "CHRIS IS DEAD!"
Cody and Gwen both looked up, shocked.
A small crowd was gathering in the next room, and Cody rose to join them.
"You coming?" he asked Gwen, who shook her head.
Cody sighed, and joined everyone in the next room. They were gathered around Chris' body- a bloody dagger stuck out of his chest, and blood dripped down from his shirt and on to the floor.
"No!" Courtney gasped, "Chris!"
"...Does that mean we can go home now?" Eva asked, only to receive a glare from everyone else, "What? I was just-"
"Everyone stand back!" a voice called, "Detective Cody Anderson is on the case!"
Everyone turned to see Cody in his detective uniform, smiling widely.
"Oh no," Trent groaned, "not this again!"
CONFESSIONAL: Cody
It didn't take me long to figure out it was just another challenge. I mean, Chris specifically TOLD us there wasn't going to be one of any kind today- and everyone knows he lies like a rug! I thought about the setting, the fact that several old players were brought back- and it all made sense. It's just a big game of Clue!
END CONFESSIONAL
"Okay," Cody said, "I'm going to need Trent, Owen, Geoff, Katie, and Heather front and center."
"Hold it right there, dweeb," Heather snapped, "no one gives me orders, you got that?"
"Oh-ho!" Cody exclaimed, "Don't like taking orders, eh? Well, Chris seemed to give you an awful lot of them!"
"Well, duh!" Heather scoffed, "That guy was a- wait, are you saying you think I-"
"You're a pretty dame," Cody said, "but you've got a heart colder than a snowman with freezer-burn."
"...What?"Heather started, "That doesn't-"
"Same goes for you, Katie," Cody continued, "everybody here knows you can't be trusted either."
"Look," Katie snapped, "this isn't the time to go flinging accusations around! Chris is-"
"A dummy," Johnny stated, "this ain't Chris."
Johnny kicked the body in front of them, which fell over limply.
"Good imitation, though," Johnny shrugged.
"Damn it!" Chris shouted, "You ruined the challenge!"
Everyone turned, and saw Chris emerge from a corner, exasperated.
"You guys ruin everything, you know that?" Chris snapped.
"Sorry," Veronica frowned.
"Sorry," Chris mocked, "shut up! And I had this elaborate- GOD! You know what, fine! I don't even care anymore! The Legion wins today's awesome prize!"
"Prize?" Quinn asked.
"Yup," Chris said, "since you guys won- in the loosest definition of the word- today's challenge, you get to pick one of these five returning competitors to join your team! That's right- you can pick between Trent, Heather, Katie, Geoff, or Owen to join your team! I'll give you a minute to decide!"
The Legion gathered in a group, and began talking amongst themselves. After a while, Sunny spoke.
"We pick Geoff," she announced.
"Thank you!" Courtney cheered, hugging her boyfriend.
"Aw," Owen frowned, "I'll miss you, buddy."
"It's cool, dude," Geoff smiled, "I'm sure this season will be over before you know it."
"Unfortunately for the Ronin, this means you'll have to vote off two people tonight," Chris smirked.
"what?" Eva moaned.
"Sorry," Chris shrugged, "we had too many people to begin with, we have to make up for the addition of Geoff. Say goodbye to everyone, and we'll head back to the island!"
The campers said their goodbyes, and then boarded the boat back to Specter Islands. Once there, Vevo, Ezekiel and Eva headed straight for the boys cabin- only to find the chest wasn't there.
"You said the chest was here!" Eva shouted.
"It was, I swear!" Ezekiel moaned.
"it doesn't matter now," Vevo shrugged, "you have elimination in a little bit. You go convince everyone to vote him off, I'll make sure he doesn't pull anything funny."
Eva nodded, and walked off.
"I just wanted to do good this time," Ezekiel pouted, "I just wantEd my parents to be proud."
"You should have thought of that before you tried to screw us," Vevo said, "suck it up."
Neither two had noticed Lance slip away quietly, large object in tow...
~o.0.o~
"Okay," Chris said once everyone was gathered for the elimination ceremony, "you all know the drill. First marshmallow goes to...
Cody.
Gwen.
DJ.
Duncan.
Harold.
Courtney.
Eva.
Alejandro, Bridgette, and Ezekiel, it's down to you three. And the last marshmallow of the night goes to...
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ALEJANDRO!"
Alejandro caught his last marshmallow, and grinned.
"Bridgette, if its any consolation, you received less votes than Ezekiel," Chris said, "and as a result, score one place higher."
"Gee, great," Bridgette murmured.
"Ezekiel, Bridgette, time to take the boat off the island and out of our lives! This is Chris McLean saying tune in next time or another exciting episode of CAMP TV!"