DISCLAIMER:
Welcome, chapter 32 released. The Black Unicorn is in the semi-finals, but before playing, they need to resolve some issues. What will happen between Trent and Cody? Find out next here on War of the Bands.
And remember, if you're enjoying the story, mark it as a favorite or leave a review with your thoughts. That way, I can know what you,the reader, like/hate about it and also motivates me :D. Now Let me answer the past chapter reviews before getting started.
Danicus Green: Yes, it was a harsh decision when to take out Princess' Court, but I hope it was the right decision. And yes, uh-oh.
And lastly, an announcement (same as past weeks). A friend is organizing the 2020 Gwent Week, from October 18 to 24 (next week). Any person interested can participate. The information is on withjust-a-bite tumblr com . You can write stories, or make art, or just spread the word about it. Remember, supporting a ship doesn't mean hating others ;) . Let's be positive.
Total Drama belongs to Fresh TV, Corus Corporation, their creators, and associates companies. Any song used on this fic belongs to their original creators.
I don't want to miss a thing
Cody looked at his friend in a mix of surprise and anger. "C'mon Trent, you can't do this to me, not again," his worst fear was becoming a reality, the band could break for their feelings for Ella, but right now, he didn't care.
"Sorry. I just couldn't help it," said Trent looking at the floor.
"How can this happen AGAIN? It's exactly what happened with Gwen. Why is that you always fall for the same girls I'm in love with?" asked Cody, throwing his hands to the air.
Trent sighed and shrugged, "We have been best friends since forever. Maybe that's why we like the same type of women," he answered. It was hard to tell if he was being serious or joking.
"Are you mocking me?" asked Cody raising an eyebrow.
"No, of course not. It's only that, well. I really don't know what to tell you. But I can't lie to myself about my feelings," replied Trent sighing.
"Well, if you also like her, there is nothing we can do. Let's do both of us our best, and I hope she chooses me this time," said Cody, letting out a deep sigh.
"You are not angry?" asked the guitarist, expecting a fiery argument with his friend.
"Of course, I'm angry. After all, you didn't tell me you also liked Ella, so to be even, I will invite her for a date this week," said Cody folding his arms.
"Fair enough," said Trent, happy for having a good friend like Cody.
"And, we will talk together with Duncan about this. I love Ella but also love you guys, and I don't want our band to end for some jealousy or misunderstanding," said Cody looking at the moon out of the window.
Trent rubbed his neck. "That's so much like you, ok, I agree. You can ask her out next time and we will talk with Duncan together."
Cody fist bumped him, "thanks, man, you are the best."
The guitarist smiled, "no man, YOU are the best, now let's go back to the party before B eats all the food."
The friends laughed and went back to the living room. Both took a burden off their shoulders. Cody was still a little mad about all this situation, but he didn't want to make the problem bigger. While he was thinking about this, his phone began ringing.
"Go ahead, Trent, it's Emma," said Cody taking the call. He felt bad for her after Princess's court lost in today's challenge, but Cody didn't know what to say to cheer her up, so he played safe, "hello Emma, how are you?"
"Hello, Cody. I am calling because Noah is awake and is not sedated anymore, and he wants to talk with you. It's about Nuevo Mundo," said Emma, trying to hide her excitement.
Cody smiled. Not only his good friend was ok, but he also had a clue about the mysterious record label. Maybe his luck was really improving.
The next day Duncan was riding on his bike doing some errands for the animal shelter. Not because he was a good person or anything, but because they let him crash there when he is drunk. Also, it was great for him because these errands distracted him from thinking about yesterday's show.
But just as he was driving back to the shelter, he met with an unexpected person.
The guy was tall, with spiky black hair, and wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. He was looking concerned at a piece of paper in his hand.
The delinquent thought twice before talking to him. After all, he's not the kind to help others. But it would be ok if he did it out of curiosity, right?.
"Hey, you! Aren't you 'The Circumstance'?" said Duncan stoping his bike.
The tanned guy faced him and made a sheepishly smile, showing a gap between his teeth.
"Hehe, that's right, but right now I'm just Mike. Do you want an autograph?" replied Mike. He had a kind gaze, in contrast with his smug expression when he is on the stage.
Duncan took off his helmet and smirked, "Of course not, I'm-"
But before he could end his sentence, Mike interrupted him, "You're Duncan from Black Unicorn, WOW man, I love your guitar."
Duncan beamed, pointing at himself with his thumb, "Of course you know me. There are few people as good looking as me on the show."
"Hehe, right," replied Mike. He recognized him because of that green lime mohawk, but maybe it was for the best not mentioning it.
"Hey, I met your girl Zoey the other day, nice catch," said Duncan, expecting some kind of explosive reaction from Mike.
And to the delinquent surprise, Mike's expression darkened, looking sad at the floor, "Oh, you know Zoey? What a coincidence, hehe."
Duncan didn't know why he was doing this. It was not his style, but the image of the sad redhead appeared on his mind. So he took a decision, he had nothing better to do anyway.
"And where are you going? You look like a child lost in a mall," said the delinquent, smirking.
"Hehe, it's so obvious?" replied Mike rubbing his arm, "I was looking for a comic store they said was around here, but I have been looking for half an hour without any luck."
Duncan sighed, toothpick arms was lucky he waked up whimsical today, "I know where it is, c'mon, I will get you there."
"Oh, really? Thanks, but-" Mike hesitated, but before he could continue, Duncan interrupted him in a loud voice.
"Man, I don't care about any of your problems, if you are on a rival band, or if you think you are bothering, whatever you have in mind, I do this because I want to do it, ok? So you wanna go to the damn store or not?" Duncan asked as he put his helmet and take another one. This second helmet was Green.
"Thank you, man, you're a real live saver," said Mike. Duncan replied by throwing the extra helmet to the tanned guy, and then they drove together to the Comic Store.
The delinquent spent some time with Mike. He was nothing like he thought. The Circumstance persona on the stage and the awkward but smarter guy were worlds apart, even if he liked superheroes comics. After they finished, Duncan took him back to his home.
"So you and your girl are from Calgary, that's far from here. How the hell did you end on H-tonics?" Said Duncan after Mike went down the bike.
"Well, there were some circumstances and-" but before Mike could explain himself, he was interrupted.
"The Circumstance? Why did you leave without saying anything? We were worried. Dr. E-vil and B-rdo are looking for you right now," said Heather. The singer was wearing silver mirrored sunglasses to hide her identity.
"I wanted to buy some comics. I'm bored being in the house all day," replied Mike, frowning at the Queen Bee, "also I'm not a kid. I will be fine, Heather, you worry too much."
"Don't gimme that, you should think more about going out in your circumstances. What would happen if another one took control and you get lost in the city? If you are not a kid, stop acting like one," replied Heather, tossing her hair- She then looked at Duncan, "and tell me who is he?"
Mike panicked at the thought that she discovered Duncan's identity, "He is a friend that helped me around the city, but he is in a hurry, so he is leaving, right pal?"
"Of course, see ya later, Mike. Bye gorgeous," said Duncan saluting before driving away.
"Wait a minute, you idiot, who are you calling gorgeous?" yelled Heather as he speeded up and went away.
The Asian girl stomped her feet and went into the house with Mike, who tried to not laugh at the incident.
Meanwhile, Cody went to visit Noah at the hospital. After talking last night with Emma, it seemed like his snarky friend was alright. He felt guilty about Noah's ordeal because he wanted to investigate the record label.
The brunette guy walked to the room with a fruit basket as a gift. He heard giggles from the room before knocking, and as nobody answered, he entered the room.
Inside, he saw Emma, sitting next to the bed peeling and apple. She was not as skillful as one could think and struggled a little. Noah was sitting on his bed, smiling and talking to her. The sun entering the room gave a cozy and heart-warming feeling to the scene.
Cody coughed to draw their attention and greeted them, "Hello, Noah, I hear you were feeling better, man, so I bring you some fruit. Hello Emma, fancy meeting."
Noah smiled and faced him, "Hello Cody, and thanks for the gift. I was thinking of opening a fruit cart, and thanks to all of you, I'm a step closer to my dream," he said in a snarky tone.
Cody then put his fruit basket on a table with another 8.
"Wow, it seems that all your friends think about the same gift," said Cody, taking a chair and sitting across Emma at the other side of his Noah's bed.
"Not All, Emma brought me a hand exerciser, and Dave bring me this book, 'The windfall' from Diksha Baru. I personally prefer the works of Ankush Saikia, but it's not boring," said Noah nonchalantly, as Cody raised an eyebrow, not knowing anything about Indian authors.
"Saikia thrillers are good, but I prefer Victor Methos if we are talking about modern thriller authors," said Emma as she finished peeling the apple.
"We should discuss more literature once I get discharged from the hospital. I'm sure there must be at least one of my favorite books that you hadn't read," said Noah with a flirtatious smile.
"Really, who are you, and what you did to Noah?" said Cody, chuckling.
The Indian guy cleared his throat and looked to his old friend, "I don't know what you mean. Anyway, I'm glad you are here. I discover something about our friends in Nuevo Mundo Records."
Cody looked at the floor, ashamed, "Yes, I know, those bastards attacked you because you knew too much. Sorry, Noah, it was my fault."
Noah shook his head, "Stop there, Cody. I don't think what happened had any connection with our investigation."
"No? What do you mean?" asked Cody, looking at him with wide eyes.
"I was waiting for Dave when this dark-skinned hulk with white hair shouted, Come with me! So I did what any sane person would when a 100 kg musclehead calls you, I ran for dear life. But as I'm pretty athletic, I slipped and fell from the building. But he didn't push me. He was many meters away." said Noah. He ate a slice of Emma's apple as he finished talking.
"And what does he wanted?" said the brunette guy, putting a hand under his chin.
"I don't know, maybe he thought I was somebody else, or he wanted to mug me. Either way, I doubt he was one of the Nuevo Mundo guys. If any, they will go after you," said Noah with a sinister expression on his face.
Cody gulped, "What do you mean?"
"As you know, Nuevo Mundo is trying to enter the Canadian market. Well, I find that the manager responsible for the Canadian branch is a guy named Jose Burromuerto," Noah said in a dread tone.
Cody crooked his head, he didn't know what does that mean, but before he could ask, Emma gasped.
"Then he's related with Devil's Muse Alejandro Burromuerto," said the Chinese girl with wide eyes.
"His older brother, if we want to be precise," replied Noah, smirking.
"Then the band which was behind the blogs was Devil's Muse? But why? They are so talented. They didn't need to do something like this," said Cody clenching his fists. He was so angry about all this situation, and now, at last, he knew against who focus it.
Noah frowned and folded his arms. "But we don't have evidence. We know Sierra payments come from Nuevo Mundo and that Jose Burromuerto works there. I'm sure those eel brothers are behind this, but nobody will believe us without evidence."
"We will think of something, and even if we can't find proofs, we only need to beat them on the show," said Cody hitting his palm with his fist, and then wincing from the pain.
"Anyway, be careful. They may try to pull another trick," said Emma. She was not as sure as Noah that the guy that chased him was not in cahoots with the Burromuertos.
"If a pretty lady asks for it, I must compel," said Cody winking and making finger guns at Emma.
"Hey, stop there, casanova, yo have Ella, remember?" said Noah in a more stern tone than his usual snarky one.
The three laughed at this, and they keep talking about the show. When Cody and Emma departed, the brunette guy already knew what he should do next.
That afternoon, the Black Unicorn was again in Cody's basement to discuss the song they will play in the next challenge.
"Maybe we could perform some delightful and romantic song like 'My heart will go on' by Celine Dion," said Ella, joining her hands together.
"NO! Choose any other singer, even Justin Bieber if you want. But NOT CELINE DION," shouted Duncan, the piercing on his eyebrow pulsing with his temple.
"Ok, there is no need to be so passionate, Duncan, don't worry, we will choose another singer," said Trent, putting himself between Ella and Duncan.
The singer was pouting, scared at Duncan's sudden outburst. B and Cody were glaring at him.
"Sorry Fairy Princess, I just have some issues with Celine Dion. I didn't want to shout at you," said Duncan, running his hand across his mohawk.
Ella smiled at him, "do not worry, Duncan, if you are sorry, then I forgive you.".
"Guys, before we start discussing the song we'll be performing, I wanted to tell you something," said Cody. All the eyes of the band were upon him.
Then he began to tell all that happened. How Sam helped him to find Sierra, and how Noah hacked into her computer and tracked the payments to Nuevo Mundo records, and that the Executive Manager of the Canadian branch was Devil Muse's Alejandro's brother.
All were startled at the loud sound of cymbal's crashing against the ground when B accidentally knocks down the drums.
"Wow, Bumblebee, you seem pretty shocked by the news. Did you know the guy?" Said Duncan, B blushed and shook his head, but his expression was of concern.
"But why would they do something so cruel? Even if they need the money, I cannot believe someone can be so mean and ruin relationships and friendships like that," said Ella, almost crying.
Duncan cracked his knuckles. "Well, then let's go and question that bastard directly. That Devil's guy has a lot to answer."
"Stop Duncan, you can't do that," said Cody, blocking the stairs.
"Shut up Codester, nobody messes with me. I will teach him about what happens when you play with the feelings of the wrong people," said the delinquent, his gaze full of hate.
Trent jumped next to Cody, also blocking Duncan's path, "Cody's right. We will defeat them on the show. There is no need for you to dirty your hands."
"Also, if you attack him, they will disqualify us from the competition. Is that what you want?" said Cody, looking the delinquent in the eyes.
Duncan felt the strong grip of B on his shoulder. He looked back and saw B with a worried expression and Ella pouting. At that moment, he knew what he should do.
"All right, we'll do it in your way," said Duncan, going back to the basement and taking his guitar.
The rehearsal then was a little tense, but they choose the song to play the next Friday. Duncan and B left quickly. The delinquent promised not to look for Alejandro.
Cody was gazing at Ella with a sheepishly smile, Trent knowing what was happening decided to give him some space.
"Ella, I have to make a phone call before taking you home. Can you please wait a minute?" said Trent smiling.
"Of course, Trent, you are kind enough to take me to my home. The less I can do is wait. Also, I am with Cody, so I will not get bored," said Ella, with her usual tender smile.
Cody thanked Trent in his heart and decided to take the chance, talking with her as the guitarist went out.
"Ella, I was thinking, do you want to go to the movies this Thursday? My father got me two free tickets," said Cody trying to sound casual.
"Cody, I do not know-," Ella said, blushing. She only went to the movies with her grandma, so she was too shy to accept, but after watching the sad expression on Cody's eyes after her words, she had a change of heart.
"I will be delighted to go with you if you are fine with me," said Ella, red as a tomato.
Cody was jumping for joy, but after a moment, he recovered his composure, "Thanks Ella, I promise you it will be fun."
Ella's heart warmed. She was still full of doubts in her heart about Duncan and Trent, but there was also something in Cody that make her feel happy. She needed to talk with her grandma about this.
Trent was looking at them from afar, he still felt a little guilty about not telling Cody about his date with Ella, so this was his way to make amends with his best friend.
"We are on even ground, Cody, now it's on her. I wonder who will she choose?"
Just then, Trent's phone began to ring, "What a coincidence, I had a call after all."
"Hello …, Oh, it's you, how unusual that you are calling me …, tell me how can I help you?" said Trent as he answered the call.
Trent's expression changed from a smile to a stern expression, "I understand what you are saying. … Ok, I will go. … Yes, I will keep it a secret, don't worry, send me the details later."
Trent ended the call and then looked at Cody and Ella. It was time to interrupt them and take Ella home, then he would need to think about his meeting next week. He didn't know all the details, but his gut feeling told him it will be important.
Cody has a date with Ella, The Black Unicorn find out which band is behind the blogs, and Trent has a mysterious meeting, all before the semi-finals. What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter of War of the Bands.
The story keeps developing, and I hope you enjoyed the drama at the beginning. I was not sure how Trent and Cody would react, especially after living something similar to this with Gwen. So I decided to go for the more mature. I hope you liked it. The next chapter will also have some surprises. So stay tuned
And as always, thanks for reading and I hope you like it
