NOTE: So, I just wanna apologize for how long this took; Delta and I don't really wanna get into it, but we took a bit of a hiatus from anything writing-related due to a lot of family and school-related issues. After this week we'll be in full gear, and thankfully we were able to get this thing out in spite of some initial worries. We hope you enjoy it!
Fuzz: To be honest, I don't have anything to add here since Delta went to bed, and I sorta don't do these notes without him all that often. So...Let's just move on, shall we?
USER RESPONSES:
- WhatTheHeck23: Something we're really trying to get a handle on for this first episode as a whole is the pacing; making sure we don't introduce too much too fast, while also ensuring the reader never stops being engaged with the narrative we're presenting. Right now, how well we're doing that is up in the air, but I'm proud of what we have done right now. But no need to worry, we definitely aren't gonna turn this into a killing game! We're going for a bit softer of a tone compared to most TD sequel season stories, while at the same time trying to dive into some deeper and possibly darker subject matter at various points; make it our own thing without deviating too hard from what came before.
Team A: Alfred, Benson, Edward, Jiao, Nikki, Oskar, Sage, Sylvia.
Team B: Alia, Alyosha, Droog, Jerome, Kate, Lori, Tempest, Xavier.
The cameras cut to a beachside, where a familiar white and blue-colored boat could be seen crashing against the sandy beach. From the ship, Oskar breathed in the air, before hopping off the railing, proclaiming, "Last one off the boat is a rotten egg!" Hopping off the railing, he flipped in the air and landed perfectly on his feet...Only to stumble and faceplant against the sand.
Meanwhile, the rest of the players slowly descended the ship from a small set of stairs, as Sage stated, "You could have just used the stairs, dumbass."
Lifting his head up, he wheezed. "I still win!"
"So...This is it?" Sylvia questioned, looking around the beach they were currently at.
"Yeah," Benson grumbled from behind her, scratching the top of his head as the last remnants of a headache faded away, "about as miserable as I was expecting...But whatever." Looking over the group, he said, "With only eight of us, not like we'll be here long anyway."
"You really think it's only us?" Alfred asked.
"Sorry, did you see anybody else on that boat?" Benson snapped, the geek not even flinching as he got into his face, before huffing and turning away. "We'll be here a week or two max."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Nikki commented, pointing a finger towards the opposite side of the beach.
All eyes turned, watching as a much older, and more rusted boat sailed toward them. The sound of voices arguing and panicked screams could be heard clearly from where they stood, as some of the players flinched to themselves. Chuckling lowly, Edward nudged Sage in the side and said, "Looks like they didn't get off on the right foot compared to us."
"Don't touch me," Sage muttered darkly, which only caused the Aussie to smirk.
As the other ship began to dock, a single body flew out of it, landing directly in the sand across from the group. The body moved for a moment, until Jerome lifted his head out from the side, gasping for air, before immediately shaking. "O-Oh God...S-She's a monster...A bloody monster!"
"You can't escape the Tempest, fool!" Releasing a high-pitched scream, the greaser promptly slammed his head back into the sand in an attempt to hide.
Moments later, the group had all led themselves out onto the beach, and in an instant, the groups were staring each other down. They looked so...Different from each other. As if two warring clans had come to meet at sunrise...
Sensing the tension between everyone, Kate cleared her throat. "Hello-"
"Who the Hell are these losers?" Lori asked out loud.
"Our competition," Droog stated simply, "why else would they have separated us?"
"Bold of you people to assume these are your teams."
The two opposing groups turned toward the shoreline, where they saw before them a titanic yacht, easily twenty times the size of either of the boats the teams had been staying in. An escalator descended from the nose of the ship, and descending down from above was none other than Chris McLean, the host of Total Drama. "...I mean...You guys are right, but still, I'm rarely so predictable."
"No!" Jerome exclaimed, lifting his head up from the sand to give him a look of pure terror. "I will die if that little girl with the spear is anywhere near me, please put me somewhere else! I'm begging-" Noticing the strange looks he was receiving, he ducked down with a weak chuckle. "I-I mean...Pfft, whatever."
"Anyways...Welcome players," Chris started once more, walking toward the groups with a smirk, "to Boney Island; your home for the rest of the Summer."
"Two months?" Xavier questioned with a scowl. "Applications claimed this would take less than a month. I have a life to get back to."
"Yeah, sure you do," Chris remarked with his typical nonchalant sarcasm, "but too bad; you guys are stuck out here now. Unless you wanna swim back to the mainland of course."
"The Hell do you mean? The boats are still here-" Sage started, only to immediately flinch when the booming sound of explosives rang off nearby. Lifting her head, she took notice of both boats being completely decimated...Before deadpanning, "...Yeah, should have seen that coming."
"Now, with that said, let's get to explaining how this shin-ding is gonna be working," Chris started, as the castaways groaned to themselves, "as you all know, this is a game of survival; every week both teams will compete against each other in a challenge. The winners of said challenge get a guaranteed few days of safety, while the losers have to get rid of one of their own. The last dude or dudette left standing wins the grand prize...One million dollars!"
"Is it really a million?" Oskar asked, raising a hand in the process. "I heard a rumor that shows like this take out taxes and stuff-" He shut up upon getting a nasty glare from the host. "Sorry."
"That sounds too simple," Nikki commented, looking up from her comic to give the host a look, "I feel like you're hiding something."
"Ah, you're one of the smart ones," Chris pointed out with a low laugh, "but you're right! You see, perhaps the thing Boney Island is most well known for was Beth's colossal mistake in taking something off the island, effectively cursing her team and causing them to go on a serious losing streak." The host couldn't help but let out a short laugh. "Easily one of the most hilarious mistakes in Total Drama history."
As the host laughed to himself, the contestants couldn't help but feel slightly disturbed, as Alia started, "Uh...I don't think-"
"Wait...What does that even have to do with anything?" Alfred asked as he rubbed at the side of his head.
"You see, in the absence of our past players, this season is all about what most people remember them for; their biggest failures. Failures that were ultimately responsible in some way, shape, or form, for their own eliminations!" Seeing the confused expressions among the cast, he smirked. "Specifically, how we've hidden some handy objects all over the island that give you a way out of those situations. A chance to not make the same mistakes they did."
As he explained this, Alyosha's eyes widened in realization, "Wait...Are you claiming-"
"Yep!" Chris interrupted, a knowing smirk on his face. "Idols are back, baby!" The cast seemed to have mixed reactions of interest and shock, and as Kate went to open her mouth, he quickly said, "And yes, the plural is important. You see, hidden all around the island are dozens of those little things...Only, they aren't so simple this time."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Nikki questioned, staring skeptically at Chris.
"Well, every idol has an entirely different purpose from the last," he started, "sure, one of them functionally has the exact same purpose; the ability to completely negate every vote cast against you. But then, there are some very different idols out there."
The contestants stared on in minor confusion, until Jiao asked, "Care to give an example?"
"You see, I could...But where'd be the fun in that?" Chris chuckled, as Jiao winced, before relaxing into her natural smile. "Regardless, those things are everywhere; you gotta figure out where they are yourselves. And hey, if you do find one, it's all yours, and whatever effect it grants you in this game, you may use to your benefit when you see fit."
The campers glanced at each other warily, before Edward asked, "So...Anything else we should know about how 'different' this season is, mate?"
"Nah, for the moment, you're all caught up!" The host simply stated, before looking between the teams. With a smile, he then began to walk away, gesturing the cast to follow him. "Now...It's time for-"
"Wait," Alia abruptly interrupted.
Groaning, Chris grumbled, "...Yes?"
She adjusted the guitar strap around herself, before asking, "Why were we separated into teams before we even got on the island?"
"Yeah, and how'd I get stuck with these people?" Nikki spat, not paying any mind to the annoyed looks on her team's faces.
Smirking at the questions, Chris let out a low laugh, before explaining, "Well, when we got the greenlight from the producers for the season, we needed a simple, relatable gimmick to draw in the old viewers again. And so this season, we're doing..." He abruptly declared, "Heroes vs villains!"
However, in response to this, the cast looked...Less than amused, more confused than interested in his words. "Didn't you do this gimmick before?" Droog asked dully.
"Yeah, and how'd you even determine the teams," Sage asked, quirking a brow, "this isn't an all-stars season, and you don't even know any of us."
"On the contrary, we know plenty about all of you, thanks to those handy dandy audition tape, application forms, and personalized interviews you all gave," he explained, a knowing smirk rising on his face as the cast slowly grew more uncomfortable, "and let me just say, we got plenty to work with."
"Oh boy..." Alfred muttered with an insecure frown.
"On the heroes team, we have," Chris started, before gesturing over to the geek in question, "the relatable nerd." Alfred flinched at the label, before tapping his chin...Then shrugging, seemingly content.
"An actor," Benson let out a vocal groan.
"A private detective," Edward tipped his hat at the host.
"An honest shop owner," Jiao giggled to herself.
"An artistic free spirit," Nikki raised a single finger up at the host, only for it to be immediately pushed down by Alfred.
"An enthusiastic all-star athlete," Oskar flexed a single muscle at this.
"A hardworking fisherwoman," Sage gave the host a questionable look.
"And of course, a police cadet in training," Sylvia straightened her posture and gave him a salute.
"All of which are admirable, respectable occupations that have helped define them as heroes to the everyday person," The players glanced at each other as he said this, some happier than others. Chris shifted his gaze to the other team, his expression narrowing into a scowl, "but meanwhile, there are these guys."
"A rebellious, punk rockstar," Alia shrugged, stuffing her hands in her pockets.
"An intimidating, aggressive illegal immigrant," Alyosha's gaze narrowed into a hard scowl as he folded his arms.
"A gambling man and regular con artist," Droog shifted in place as he stared up at the rest of the team.
"A wannabe gangster with an attitude problem," Jerome scoffed, spitting at the ground.
"A girl who refuses to get over somebody who doesn't want her in their life," Kate visibly flinched, before looking off to the side.
"A psychotic, violent anarchist," Lori simply giggled in amusement.
"A feral weirdo who went off the grid," Tempest didn't bear this any mind, instead inspecting her spear for damage from Jerome's moment earlier.
"And a college dropout with a nasty ego," Xavier simply scoffed.
"All of which are things which I think we can all agree are less than favorably seen in today's modern world," Chris explained, as the eight players in question all stared the host down with looks of frustration.
"Now, does that answer your questions?" Chris asked as the players stayed quiet. "Good."
The scene cut away to a new sight; a sort of confessional booth. The wood was faded and pale, resembling a sort of violet color, and seemed to barely be holding itself up. It looked to be a sort of bathroom stall, though it had clearly never been used before. Sitting on the wooden toilet seat was Sylvia, who was shaking in place with an excited grin plastered on her face.
"The season's theme is heroes vs villains!" She squealed, nearly jumping up in glee. "It's perfect, I already hunt down and fight against the villains of society as a career, so it shouldn't be too hard doing it in the game...Right?"
Folding her arms over her chest, she grinned. "This is my calling; I have to win now," Sylvia breathed out, looking up at the camera in determination. "As a defender of justice, I will ensure my team succeeds," narrowing her eyes, she added, "I can't allow anyone who considers themselves villainous to succeed. I will take them down and bring them to justice!" After a moment, she looked off to the side and mumbled under her breath, "That...That sounded better in my head- Can we delete that last part-"
"I don't understand, why am I a villain?" Kate questioned, a confused expression set on her face. "I-I don't think missing someone who I felt was important in my life is a bad thing...Right?" Shrinking back, she rubbed at her arm, nervously. "It even feels weird just being around so many people who are classified as 'villains'...But they don't seem to be criminals, or even really that bad either?"
"Besides maybe that one girl with the spear," she quickly added, before sighing, "other than her, someone who wants to be a gangster or even someone who likes punk music, that doesn't seem villainous to me...Oh dear, what have I gotten myself into..."
"Okay, now that you're done analyzing our self-worth through snippets of our lives," Droog stated bluntly, before asking, "how about you tell us what our first challenge is already? We all know the formula."
"I actually agree with the guy," Sage added, "let's get this over with already."
"Chill, dudes," Chris started, "for once, I don't got a challenge for you guys today, cause somebody didn't finish building them," he growled, looking off toward seemingly nothing, "today you guys just gotta head to the campgrounds and get acquainted for tomorrow."
"Campgrounds?" Alfred questioned, scratching his chin in confusion, "Doesn't Boney Island not have those?"
"Nah, it does, we just never allowed the campers enough time to go near 'em," he explained with a chuckle, "they're on the opposite side of the island. Been abandoned even longer than Wawanakwa was, though I sent a scout team of teenage interns to make sure it was alright. Now, with that said-"
"Wait!" Jiao interrupted, before saying, "You never gave our team names."
Blinking, the host muttered, "Huh...Guess I didn't...Well, we can change that now then!" Turning to the heroes, he signaled, "From here on out, you guys will be...The Ravenous Raccoons."
A blue logo popped up in the top-left corner of the screen, the face of a snarling raccoon on it that was glaring at the camera. The players didn't seem too interested in this, aside from Oskar, who lit up at the mention of the name.
"And you guys," Chris began once more while turning to the villains, "will be the Barbaric Beavers!"
A purple logo then popped up in the top-right of the screen, revealing a roaring beaver with sharp buck teeth and claws at the ready. Kate began to quickly clap… Only to stop when she realized no one else was going along with it, as she looked down at her shoes.
"Sounds like you spent so much time coming up with those names," Sage commented, rolling her eyes in the process.
"I think they're kind of cute," Sylvia whispered, earning a weird look from the other girl.
"Okay, so now that you guys know what to call yourselves, we can move onto the next major twist of the game," Chris announced, before holding up his hand with a smirk and snapping his fingers.
For a moment, it seemed like nothing happened...Only for the cast to flinch at the sounds of something off in the distance; the sounds of metal tearing through the air. Looking off over the horizon, they made out the appearance of a small helicopter, not big enough to host more than four people at a time, including the pilots.
"Remember how I said I wasn't so predictable?" Chris mocked, letting out a low laugh as he gestured up, "Well, here comes the examples!"
Just as he said this, the helicopter landed on the edge of the beach, and the doors opened up. Stepping out on both sides, a pair of people, both around the same age as the players, looked over the competition with smiles, one a boy, and one a girl.
The boy was a peculiar sight, almost a miss mash of concepts. He has short hair with slightly longer edges, that almost looked messy in spite of the obvious comb marks and the gel desperately hanging on to try and keep it down, as if it felt uncomfortable with this sort of look, and his facial hair in the form of a stubble looked a little off. He had bright blue eyes and seemed to be desperately trying to not let his look relax for even a second for some reason. He was on the taller side, with plenty of lean muscle in spite of how lanky he was. His clothing was a sort of navy blue military jacket, with a gray, featureless shirt underneath that stuck to his chest like glue, as a pair of loose dog tags hung from his neck. Rounding out the look was some uniform, navy blue jeans, that sorta looked a bit short, stopping just low enough for his socks to peek out a bit from his black boots. He was sort of an awkward sight; appealing to be sure, but...Sorta uncomfortable to look at.
Meanwhile, the girl was near polar-opposite, her confidence shining through in every aspect of her appearance. She had long, gorgeous blonde hair, going all the way down to her waist, yet every strand looked deliberate in its placement. Her hazelnut-colored eyes contrasted well against her slightly tanned skin, her defined lips showing her maturity, while her button nose shined through with a sort of innocence that relaxed the soul. She was tall with a mature body she had no issue showing off with her tight though comfortable clothing made up of a golden, v-neck wrapped shirt, a black blazer just over it, alongside black tights and long high heels. She looked and felt like someone who was born to show off in front of others, and yet, in a strange way, nothing came off as pompous or exaggerated.
"Welcoming our last two contestants to the competition," Chris continued, before gesturing to the pair, "Gareth," the boy's eyes went wide for a moment, looking around, before he noticed the camera and gave it a sorta goofy looking wave, "and Isabel," meanwhile, the girl looked prepared, flashing a smirk at the camera and placing a hand on her hip.
The players stared at the two, mixed reactions settled in each of their eyes as no one dared to speak a word...Until Oskar broke the silence with a brimming smile. "Welcome!" He walked over to the two and excitedly shook their hands. "I'm Oskar! What an honor to have you both join us!"
"Same to you," Isabel greeted back, "but can I have my hand back?" Letting out an awkward chuckle, Oskar let go of her and Gareth's hands.
Panning back to the Raccoons, Sage narrowed her eyes at Isabel, muttering under her breath, "Ugh...We're getting one of those girls..."
Standing beside her, Sylvia stared at Isabel with wide eyes, before looking down at her shoes with a look of confusion and folding her arms awkwardly. "She does seem rather...Confident."
"And rich," Sage added in, earning a small giggle from the girl, only for her to quickly clamp her mouth shut.
Meanwhile, on the Bears' side, Jerome clicked his tongue in annoyance at the sight of Gareth, grumbling, "This guy has a punchable face. It's annoying and I don't like it."
Grunting, Alyosha stated, "Simple-minded approach to a first impression, isn't it?"
"What's that supposed ta' mean-" Jerome started, looking towards him...Only to stop when he noticed the height difference between them. "...N-Nevermind."
"Anyways, these two will be joining your teams immediately," Chris explained, before saying, "Gareth, you're on the Bears," he mildly twitched in place, but nodded stiffly and walked over towards the team, "and Isabel, you're on the Raccoons," nodding along to this, Isabel promptly walked over the team, giving them a smile as she walked between a bored Nikki and smirking Edward, who tipped his hat at the new arrival while she cringed a bit in reaction.
"Now, as some of you might have noticed though, the helicopter hasn't left yet, and there's a reason for that," Chris continued, his smirk growing larger by the moment, "while you may not have a traditional challenge today, you do have a goal; make it to the campground before nightfall. Gareth and Isabel have already been given maps on how to get there."
The pair in question held out their maps, having pulled them from their pockets and displaying them proudly.
"However, one of you won't have to make the trek," he explained further, "because both teams can decide one player to get sent to camp early to check out the area. On one hand, this is a lot easier than an entire day of walking, but do keep in mind, whoever is sent ahead loses valuable time with their team. Time they could use to form bonds," Alfred gave an expecting smile to Nikki, who didn't bother to look up from her book, "make alliances," Lori gave Xavier a knowing nudge at this, chuckling at his annoyed expression, "and if nothing else, realize who you definitely want going first." All eyes looked at each other, each player unsure of how to take this, "And in the case of that last one...Something tells me leaving ahead of everyone else may put you on that chopping block."
The contestants stood in silence, thinking amongst themselves, however, Jerome, in particular, hummed to himself in thought.
"It's a free trip 'ta camp," Jerome stated, a carefree grin already plastered on his face, "sounds like an easy way to do less work."
"I volunteer as tribute!" Jerome exclaimed, hurriedly, as he stepped out of the comforts of his team. "I mean, someone has to do it, so I don't mind taking one for the team."
Similarly, with the Raccoons, Nikki looked on in dull boredom, and was about to step forward herself-
"I'll do it as well," Benson grumbled, pushing past his teammates and stating, "these shoes aren't made for long, perilous hikes of any sort."
"Sweetness," Chris commented, walking over to the helicopter and motioning the pair over while calling out, "remember campers, make sure to make it to camp before nightfall. Trust me, you do not wanna be caught out there without something to help you see." The host couldn't help but allow another laugh to escape him.
The cast watched in minor unease as the helicopter slowly began to rise off the ground, the three new passengers taking off into the air, before disappearing amongst the trees of the massive, terrifying island...
While they watched in awkward silence, Oskar broke it by suddenly saying, "Last one there is a rotten eggplant!"
Without warning, the young gold-medalist broke off in a sprint, leaving his team members behind, his voice falling faint as he disappeared amongst the brush. Looking on with looks of utter befuddlement, Raccoons held their expressions with dull frustration, as Isabel held up her map once more. "I think he forgot he needs this to get there."
"I've been training my entire life for this very moment!" Oskar exclaimed, but after a moment he let out a sheepish laugh. "Okay, maybe not my entire life, but after watching this show a few years ago and my ability to be a fast runner, I really think I have what it takes to do well and even win this leg!"
Furrowing his brows in thought, he mumbled to himself, "I'm kind of curious when we'll get assigned our partners though..."
The sounds of soft footsteps radiated throughout the forest, as the Ravenous Raccoons and Barbaric Bears followed behind their newly elected guides. The groups weren't even a few feet apart from each other in terms of distance, their occasional glancing glares staring through each other, as if neither team was willing to completely allow the other out of their sight.
It was very, very uncomfortable.
Regardless, near the front of the Raccoons, Sylvia and Edward were making small talk, the former's face lighting up at his words, "No way! You watch old cop films too?!"
"Watch 'em, I basically live 'em!" Edward bragged, chuckling to himself while flashing a smirk, "Half the reason I became a detective."
Her eyes widened, as she let out a low squeal, only stopping when she noticed the nearby irritable looks she received, as she sent them a quick apology. Turning back to Edward, she said, "That's so crazy! I'm a cop too!" Her expression fell slightly, as she cleared her throat. "Well...Cop in training at least. I'm hoping to graduate from the academy by next year."
"Yeah, I know, the host told us," Edward stated, her face flushing a bright red in embarrassment at the little mental slip-up. However, just as quickly, he gave her a smile, "Still, I ain't gonna complain I got someone out here I can actually talk to." He looked her over for a moment, before smirking, "Especially one whose such a beauty."
Sylvia's face somehow turned an even darker shade of red, as she instantly slapped her hands over her face...Only to flinch from the pain. "Ow..." However, Edward letting out a low laugh at her reaction managed to bring a smile back to her face.
Just behind them, Alfred looked on with a raised brow, tapping his chip, before glancing back at Nikki, who had a comic in her hands. Blinking for a moment, he threw on a smile and leaned back slightly, "So uh...You like comics too."
"Yep," Nikki said without a hint of emotion while not even bothering to look up.
"You know, I actually own a comic shop back home," Alfred admitted gleefully, "maybe we can talk later about our favorite stories-" As he was saying this though, Nikki seemed to speed up, walking right past him without acknowledging any of what he just said.
He walked in silence for a moment, before muttering dully, "Well, that could have gone better."
"I'm not great with people," Alfred started, "never have been. I'm not completely incompetent at it, but I'm not really great at carrying a conversation. Or starting one. Or ending one...Where was I going with this?"
Meanwhile, near the back of the Barbaric Bears, Alia walked at a slower pace, not paying much mind to where she was going as her focus was set solely on the guitar in her hands. Strumming it, she twitched at the sound, as she began to repeatedly strum and re-tune the instrument. "Almost got it..."
Only a few feet behind the wannabe punk, though, Tempest was trying to stare forward in utter concentration, though each failed note only caused her to twitch and cringe longer than the last, as she bared her teeth and glared daggers into the back of her head. "Stop."
The girl didn't seem to hear her over the strumming, as she continued to probe at her guitar strings, smiling when the chords released a harmful tune. "Oh heck yeah, this is way better!" Without a second to waste, she immediately ran her fingers through the chords of her guitar-
"Stop!" Tempest screeched right into Alia's ears, causing the rocker to yelp and fall over. With a huff, she proceeded to walk right over the fallen girl.
Flinching to herself, she sat up from her spot, watching the smaller girl walk off while furrowing her brows in confusion. "Wow...Rude much." Wiping the dirt from her clothes, she quickly followed after the others, guitar in hand.
Meanwhile, ahead, and looking back with a snicker, Lori nudged Xavier's side. "Look at that, it's only been five minutes and these losers are already starting to hate each other!" However, the boy didn't bother looking back, as she nudged him again. "I said look. I'm pretty sure that small girl has shark teeth or something-"
"Lorraine, stop acting inane," Xavier grumbled.
"It's Lori," she complained, "and how does someone forget how to say insane?"
"That isn't even what the word means," he growled, "we aren't in high school anymore, Lorraine. We're in a competition; like it or not, we're at least gonna have to tolerate our teammates if we don't want to get eliminated immediately."
Yawning out loud, Lori rolled her eyes, "Yap, yap, yap, that's all that comes outta your mouth anymore. Stop thinking about big words and not getting eliminated, we're not even in a challenge yet! Loosen up, smile, stop being a stiff forty-year-old hermit and live a little!"
"And this advice is coming from someone who acts like a mental patient," Xavier said, a small smirk rising on his face from the glare she shot at him.
"For your information, I'm at least a fun person who acts like a mental patient," Lori affirmed, folding her arms over her chest with a huff. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to get that boring normie to loosen up. He'll be just like how he was back in grade school!"
Looking up at the camera, she groaned, "Which is, you know, someone who knows how to have fun! I'm going to get that Xavier back, and what better way to do that than on one of the most dangerous shows of all time?!"
The two teams continued to walk through the path they set out on, each player pacing themselves behind their given guides, who seemed more concerned with the maps in their hands, especially Gareth, who seemed to be focusing really hard on his own map. In the midst of the groups, Kate stared down at her feet, twiddling with her fingers with a slight awkward aura surrounding her.
Breathing in, she looked between both groups, which both seemed to have less than friendly-looking players within them. Clearing her throat, she forced a smile and lifted her head. "How about we all play a game together?" Seeing the confused expressions sent her way, she quickly added, "You know, like I Spy, or maybe we can do something else like-"
"Not to be that person, but read the room," Sage spoke-
"We're in a forest, not a room," Alfred pointed out.
"Zip it," she growled, immediately silencing the boy, "the point is, we just sorta met, we don't care enough to play games and act like friends when we're not."
"But we can grow to be friends!" Kate argued. "If we just took the time to get to know each other..."
"This is competition, girl," Alyosha stated, snorting before continuing, "a game designed to make us hate each other. No reason to force kindness to our opposition."
"Yeah, and why would I wanna be friends with a bunch of creeps, anyway," Edward said, his eyes narrowing, "based on what Chris described, you lot ain't exactly a good crowd."
"Oh, and you're all such angels, clearly," Droog sniped back, smirking as the Aussie cringed, "besides, at least we were able to keep our team together five minutes into a walk. Aren't you missing someone?"
Jogging through the forest, Oskar held his head up high, a wide smile overtaking his face as he continued at a fast pace through the woods. He was already ahead of his competition and he was pretty sure he was on the right track!
...Wait a minute.
Oskar's eyes widened, as he skidded to a sudden halt. Looking around the dark, humid area he was within he finally realized he was all alone. "Oh no..." His eyes wandered around, searching for any kind of sign of where he was at but to no avail. "Did I make a wrong turn?"
Thinking to himself for a moment, a minor look of concern flashed through, before it quickly changed to a stupid grin, as he shrugged to himself. "Eh, I'll figure it out along the way!" With a hearty whistle, he began to jog forward once more, without a care in the world. Unknowing to him, the several pairs of red, glowing eyes watching him from within the treetop leaves above.
Pattering footsteps could be heard from within the forest, as the two teams continued their trek through the open trail in front of them. At the front of the pack, the two guides were looking down at their maps, though in comparison to his female counterpart, Gareth seemed to be far more "engaged" with the text, his face squished up against it, his eyes narrowed, and his body tense...
"You good, Gareth?" The voice beside him asked, as he instantly lifted his face up to turn to her. Isabel was smiling down at him with a coy look, the grin growing as the look of confusion on his face.
"Yeah, I'm good!" Gareth chirped, though he cleared his throat, turning his attention back to his map. "I'm just making sure that I'm leading them in the right direction, you know? I don't want to make a mistake."
"I get that, but that's no reason to look so on edge," Isabel added on, letting out a soft chuckle before nudging him with her free arm, "don't wanna freak out the others by looking tense, right? Especially when we're the ones leading them."
Flinching from the nudge, he let out a small chuckle, though kept his eyes set on his map. "Yeah, I guess I should try and relax..." Stuffing his face back against the map, he added in a muffled voice, "After we get to camp at least!"
Isabel couldn't help but throw on a sympathetic look, but before she could say anything, a voice called from behind-
"Hey, everybody else see that, or did I go crazy already?" Droog asked with a raised brow, coming to a stop and pointing ahead lazily.
The cast stopped alongside him, as they looked on to see something through the woods; a thick, white mist, slowly encroaching across the trees and toward the two teams.
"Did we just enter a horror movie?" Alfred asked to nobody in particular.
"Oh no..." Gareth whispered, clutching the paper in his hands as he stared at the approaching fog. "How was I supposed to know there'd be a giant monster made of fog-"
Tempest's eyes peeked up the word of a monster. Twitching, Tempest suddenly screeched, "Hellfire!" Her spear at the ready, Tempest attempted to run toward the fog. "Fight me!" However, a quick Alyosha was quickly able to scoop her up in his arms, pinning her to his chest and not allowing her to escape. "Unhand me!"
"Guys, calm down. It's just fog." Isabel commented on with a smile, which while having cracked slightly, was still composed enough not to feel too intimidated by the change in scenery. "It's not a big deal." With that, she continued forward, a wary Gareth following.
As soon as the two walked inside, the rest of the cast followed, their vision getting clouded by the mist.
A few moments went by...
...
...
...
"See? Nothing to worry about." Isabel called out, just as the mist began to fade. With a smile, she looked back, saying, "There was no reason to-"
However, her eyes went wide upon realizing...There were only two people behind her; Alfred and Kate, who themselves were looking around in silent shock.
"Wait...What happened to everyone else?" Isabel asked, looking around in mild worry. Tapping her chin, she asked, "Did you two see where they went?"
"Nope!" Kate exclaimed, looking back in worry.
"Nada," Alfred responded back as well, before adding on, "maybe we got separated in the fog?"
"We were in there for less than a minute!" Isabel responded back. Narrowing her eyes, she muttered, "Something weird is going on..."
"Me and Gareth arriving a little later on the scene than the others has placed us at a bit of a disadvantage, admittedly," Isabel muttered, before regaining her prior confident composure, "but it's fine. Sure, things could be better, but if we just get on our team's good sides, or at least point them toward more untrustworthy members of our teams, we should be fine. Though this diversion has put that plan on hold for the moment.."
"I can only hope everyone finds their way to camp before it gets too dark; if the older seasons are anything to go off of, there are some dangerous monsters out there." Isabel noted, before adding on, "I can only hope Gareth sticks to the plan too...But knowing him, he might be panicking right now."
"Oh my gosh," Gareth whispered, staring at the people, or lack of people, in front of him. Standing before him was only Nikki and Tempest, one looking nonchalant and the other looked paranoid at her very surroundings. "Did the fog monster eat everyone?!"
"There is no fog monster," Nikki stated.
Tempest scoffed, holding up her spear and tilting her head, "Then what would you call that beast from before, eh?" Nikki was about to respond, only to shut up as soon as the girl pointed the weapon in her direction with a knowing smirk.
"Please no violence!" Gareth exclaimed, quickly getting in between the two and pushing the weapon aside. "We need to save our energy in case we come face to face with the fog monster again..."
Nikki physically facepalmed.
"Being stuck with a bunch of complete strangers was already bad enough, but at least I could just ignore them," Nikki started, giving the camera a bored expression, "but now I'm basically trapped with these two morons with no way to get away from them!"
The sound of knocking could be heard from outside the confessional, as Gareth's voice could be heard, "Are you okay in there Nikki? Please tell me there isn't a toilet monster in there too!"
Gesturing to the door near her, she stated, "As I said. Morons."
Alia looked around, confused when she saw...Literally no one near her. "Where'd everyone go?" Rustling surged from nearby, causing the punk to flinch, instinctively holding her guitar up. "Uh...Hey, one of you dudes out there?" The sound of a twig snapping sounded off, as she shrank back. "Come on, man, not cool!" It went silent for a moment...Until the shrubs ahead began to rustle, causing her to ready her guitar in a swinging motion-
"Hello there!"
Alia couldn't help but scream for a moment, jumping back a few feet...Only to be met by the appearance of Jiao, her Cheshire grin on full display as she looked over her fellow player in bemused delight. "My my, jumpy are we? And I took you for some sort of tough punk girl...Then again, perhaps I should have assumed you weren't so bad when you so easily let that wild child push you over."
Placing a hand over her chest, Alia let out a low sigh. "Dude, you totally freaked me..." She couldn't help but let out a chuckle while giving her a toothy grin. "Not bad though! Good job!"
"I'm glad to have amused you," Jiao said, her voice sultry though undeniably discomforting, as Alia seemingly laughed it off to herself.
"This competition is off to quite the strange start," Jiao purred, a low giggle erupting from her as she gave the camera a mischievous smile, "but I must say, it may have been to my benefit. That girl is so...Quaint. Clearly not the brightest bulb in the box, if you understand me. Which gives me the perfect chance to not only learn some of her weaknesses to exploit in the coming future, but to also..."
"Sell off some merchandise!" Pulling off her backpack and settling it on the floor of the confessional, Jiao began pulling out items of all sorts, "Swiss army knives, trail mix, a water purifier, beach balls, and more, all at Jiao's Jacks and Goods!" With a laugh, she rubbed her hands together fiendishly, "Mark my words, by the end of the day, that girl will be buying something. I'll just need to find something to catch her fancy first...With that said," pulling up a snowglobe from the bag, she looked into it with a smirk, "let the sales games begin!"
Crouched down in front of a single bush, Sylvia looked into it while narrowing her eyes. "Nothing here...Where is everyone?"
"Probably not in a bush," Sage pointed out with a roll of her eyes.
"At least she's trying to figure out where the bloody hell we are," Edward defended, looking around their leg of the woods in confusion, before groaning, "well, looks like the three of us are on our own-"
"Four," a fourth voice pointed out, as Droog sat against a nearby tree with folded arms, "I get I'm not on your team or anything but no need to consider me a non-entity."
Snorting, Edward glared at him and sniped, "Yeah, well just don't slow us down, creepazoid."
"Aye aye, captain," Droog gave a mock salute, eliciting a growl from the Australian, who quickly turned to a tree and started to climb up it, using his belt for support.
"Keep an eye on this bloke while I check out where we are," he muttered, already a few feet up and climbing further.
Sage grumbled something under her breath, while Sylvia simply gave him a salute...Before leaning to the other girl and whispering, "What's a bloke?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Trust me, I'm not exactly happy with the fact I'm the only member of my team who got stuck with these guys, but hey, maybe that'll work out for me," Droog started, "after all, while they may not trust me, I don't exactly need their trust to mess with them a little. Enough prodding and poking at what bothers them and I might be able to get something out of this mess, whether it be learning how to get under their skin, or something else if need be."
Pulling out a pair of dice from his pocket, Droog began to look over them while saying, "I'm a pragmatist; I don't just roll with whatever hand I'm given, I make it work. Sure, I'm at a disadvantage, but underneath every crack in a stone," he smirked at the camera, "is a diamond waiting to be unearthed."
He rolled the dice...Only to instantly glare, "Snake eyes?! You f-"
"I'm telling you it's some paranormal stuff, Squishy!" Lori exclaimed, loudly as she walked alongside Xavier through the woods. "How else would everyone disappear after some weird creepy fog came in? I'm telling you it's ghostly stuff!"
"Impossible, and I will hear nothing else on it!" Xavier demanded, shaking his head as he leaned down to inspect his surroundings, "But it's no matter; with or without that imbecile and his stupid map, we'll find a way out of this forest. I refuse to sleep in mud and leaves without so much as a blanket."
She raised a brow, before giving him a wide smirk and wrapping her arms around him, "What if I was your blank-" She was interrupted by the genius suddenly smacking her arms away, causing to let go and nearly fall over. Pouting, she spat, "You're no fun!"
"And you're no good at your pathetic mind games, what's your point?" Xavier asked. With a shake of his head, he began to walk away. "Now, let's be off."
With a haughty huff, she begrudgingly followed after him, all while pointing a thumb behind her. "What about that big, weird guy that's been following us?" Looking back and locking eyes with the large man behind them in the form of Alyosha. The brutish man snorted, wiping his nose with his sleeve as he stared forward with a vacant expression. Blinking, Lori asked again, "Should we adopt him?"
"I must admit, being paired with that devious pair was not very lucky," Alyosha grunted, before smiling, "but is fine. I have carried far larger burdens in my time. Will simply need to keep the eye on them, as you say. And if either try something I don't like, then they shall feel the might of a Russian."
The sound of friendly whistles radiated through the forest, as Oskar happily jogged forward, though his expression looked nothing less than excited, he couldn't help but wonder if he's made any sort of progress. Looking to the side, he noticed a familiar berry bush, that had the same amount of berries as the last five he passed.
Stopping in his steps, he ran a hand through his hair and furrowed his brows. "Am I going the wrong way?" He questioned, looking around...Before stopping his gaze at the back of a snow-white owl. Oskar looked on for a moment, his jaw going slack as he approached with a smile. "Cool..."
However, the owl turned its head, revealing its face to be, of all things, a mutated, shark-like expression, with shark teeth, narrow yellow eyes, and fins. Oskar's eyes widened in fear, as he let out a terrified scream, before immediately turning and sprinting in the opposite direction of the mutated animal as it let out a horrible roar. "Oh God, not an owl! Not an owl!"
Watching the monitors with infectious delight, Chris turned to the camera with a smirk, the light from the camera being the only thing to illuminate his face in the dark, atmospheric room. "And just like that, the first curveball of Boney Island has been thrown! With the campers spread out to who knows where, with most of them having no idea how to get to camp at all, this is heating up something fierce!"
"So, who will survive the journey across Boney Island? Who are Gareth and Isabel, the mysterious new contestants? And will somebody get me on line with the producers, now!" Chris screamed out to nobody in particular offscreen, before letting out a heavy breath, "Find out when we come back...On Total...Drama...Boney Island!"
Fuzz: And the second chapter is over; apologies on this taking as long as it did. This time of year is pretty busy for the two of us, and we were sorta figuring some emotional stuff out, which kinda elongated the production process and made this take way longer than either of us were planning. To be honest, we only really got the time to work on this these last couple days.
Delta: After taking care of our business, talking with each other, and watching Bridezilla, we have finally come to the conclusion that we're both cool college guys who like to eat pizza. Oh, and uh, we'll get more time to work on this so that's another plus.
Fuzz: Oh, and there's two new contestants; Gareth and Isabel! Why were they introduced THIS chapter and not the last chapter? Well...You'll have to wait and see, next time!
Delta: Wait a second, we didn't even get to talk about the shark bird-
Fuzz: NEXT TIME!
The Expanded Cast of Total Drama Boney Island
Gareth Wagner, the Discomforted Simpleton
Isabella "Isabel" Vázquez, the Confident Firecracker