"My name is Cody Anderson, Private detective. I've handled more than a few cases in my day, but the one I'm handling now is beyond anything I've ever solved. It started with Chris, the host- one day, the big blue showed up and put him away. Next thing you know, the blonde dame comes in. She seems innocent enough, until you try her sugar cookies. But it doesn't add up-
"Cody , for the love of god, I'M TRYING TO GET SOME SLEEP!" Justin shouted.
Cody blinked, and looked around at the trailer.
"Oh, was I talking out loud?" Cody asked.
"Yes," Trent groaned, "shut up and go to bed."
"Sorry, I'll just go back to thinking my self-narrations," Cody whispered.
Cody looked around to make sure everyone had gone back to bed, then started up again.
"I already knew something was up, but then two pretty dames approach me at my favorite bar and present the case to me on a professional level. They were lookers, for sure, but how they got involved in this in the first place seems a little too coincidental for my liking. I took the case anyway-"
"Dweeb," Duncan hissed, "you have five seconds to shut up before I come over there and make you!"
"FINE!" Cody shouted, "I'll just leave, then!"
With that, Cody stormed out of the trailer, still dressed in his detective gear.
"Finally," Trent yawned.
Cody made his way into the crafts and services tent, where he poured himself a shot of apple juice.
"So I was left with two options," Cody said, "confront Blaineley directly, or search around for clues. If I confronted the dame, I could get put away like Chris. I had to take the smarter route, but the harder one as well."
Cody downed his shot glass.
"Detective Anderson?" a deep voice asked.
Cody spun around, and saw a figure sitting on one of the tables nearby. The figure was wearing the same detective gear, except they were covering their face with a newspaper.
"That's me," Cody said, pouring himself another drink, "but who're you?"
"I am the shadow," the figure replied, "I see and know all. I have a present that might help you on your case, detective."
The Shadow put one hand into his jacket, and pulled out a folder, which he slid across the table. Cody made his way over, and picked up the folder.
"I found some interesting stuff," The Shadow said, "stuff you might need. Maybe you won't. I can't give you all the answers, detective."
Cody opened up the folder. Inside was Blaineley birth certificate.
"Wait a second," Cody gasped, "her real name is Mildred?"
"That's not all," The Shadow said, "keep looking."
Cody put the certificate aside, and looked at a photo that had also been inside.
It was a bit blurry, but Cody could clearly see Blaineley handing a police officer an envelope. The next photo showed the officer opening the envelope- inside was a stack of money.
"Blaineley PAID the police to take Chris away?" Cody gasped.
"Not Blaineley," The Shadow yawned, "keep looking."
The final thing in the folder was Blaineley's cell phone history. It was a few random numbers at first, then there were several calls to an office building in Toronto. After that, the day before Chris' arrest, there was a call to a local police station. Then, once again, the office building in Toronto.
"Wait," Cody said, "this means… someone gave the order that Chris was to be arrested?"
"Bingo," The Shadow said, "we know what happened and how it happened, but we don't know who or why. It's up to you, Cody."
"M- me?" Cody asked.
"Don't worry," The Shadow said, getting up from their seat, "you can handle it."
"Wait!" Cody called, "But- who are you?"
The Shadow sighed, the lowered the newspaper from their face, revealing-
"DARTH VADER?" Cody gasped.
"NO, jackass!" The Shadow snapped, "It's a mask so that neither my face nor voice can be recognized. And you call yourself a detective! You know Darth Vader isn't real, right?"
"La la la la!" Cody chanted, holding his hands over his ears.
"Whatever," The Shadow sighed, "I'm getting out of here."
The Shadow turned to leave.
"Wait!" Cody called again, "Aren't you going to stay and help me with the case?"
"No," The Shadow sighed, "I'll be working on it by myself. But don't worry, Cody- I'll always be watching you."
"That's… borderline creepy," Cody muttered, "but I'm guessing you mean like a guardian angel, or something?"
"No, you idiot! I mean you're on national television!" The Shadow snapped, "Of COURSE I'll be watching! Nearly everyone in Canada is, too! Seriously, what kind of detective are you?"
"A damn good one," Cody said, "I'll solve this case- but when I do, you have to reveal yourself."
"Fine, whatever," The Shadow said.
"Besides, I think I already know who you are- CHRIS," Cody smirked.
"What?" The Shadow asked, "Seriously, where are you getting this stuff? I'm not Chris. Although it would make sense, considering he's gone missing."
"Chris has gone missing?" Cody asked.
"Yeah," The Shadow said, "no one has any idea where he is, although there are theories. Some say he packed his stuff and moved to Mexico, some say he 'opted out'. But you can solve that once you bring Blaineley down."
"PROVE you aren't Chris," Cody taunted.
"If I was Chris," The Shadow said, "do you really think I would be wearing a helmet that could mess up my hair?"
"Oh my god," Cody gasped, "WHO ARE YOU?"
"Exactly," the Shadow said, turning to leave again.
"WAIT!" Cody shouted.
"For the love of god, WHAT?" The Shadow demanded.
"You said, and I quote, 'I know and see all'," Cody pointed out.
"Yeah, what of it?" The Shadow asked.
"So, if you know everything, then just tell me who's behind all this!"
Ths Shadow stood there for a moment, glaring at Cody.
"Goodbye, Detective."
"WAIT!" Cody called, but The Shadow was already gone.
Cody sighed, and tucked the folder away into his coat.
"Well," he said, "looks like this case is bigger than I first thought."
The next morning, when everyone was eating their breakfast, Cody turned to Justin and Trent.
"Hey guys," Cody said, "is it true Darth Vader isn't real?"
"Um, what?" Trent asked.
"Nevermind," Cody said, pulling out a notepad.
The notepad was labeled: Cases to Solve. Cody had a small list going already:
Top cases-
-Find out who's behind Chris' arrest
-Find out who keeps taking all the chocolate milk cartons at breakfast time
-Find out who keeps stealing my underpants at three thirty in the morning
Cody added to the list:
-Find out whether or not Darth Vader is real (NUMBER ONE PRIORITY!)
"He didn't know it at the time," Cody said, "but Detective Anderson was about to embark on the journey of a lifetime."
"Dude, will you shut up with that already?" Justin asked, "You haven't taken off your detective outfit either- you're starting to scare me."
"And me," Sadie put in.
Justin glared at Sadie, who retreated to another table.
"Hey, didn't you mention some guy in a Darth Vader mask last night?" Trent asked.
"Huh?" Cody asked, "Uh… no! Of course not, that would be totally crazy! Like, Tyler level crazy!"
"I used to think I was crazy too," Tyler said, stroking his beard, "but then- GAH! LINDSAY!"
"Dude, how the hell did he grow a beard overnight?" Justin asked.
"Give the dude a break," Trent said, "he's going through a hard time."
"Did you see ME freaking out when Bridgette got eliminated last season?" Justin asked, "No! I was sad, yeah, but not freaking crazy!"
"Come on, Tyler isn't THAT bad," Trent shrugged.
At that moment, Tyler jumped up on the table, and started doing the chicken dance.
"Derp de herp!" He cried.
"I take that back," Trent said, "he's completely lost it."
"I'll be right back," Cody said, "I have to use the bathroom."
With that, Cody leapt out of his seat, and charged out of the tent.
Minutes later, when Cody was coming back from the bathroom, he heard Blaineley talking with one of the interns.
"Yeah, ingenious isn't it?" Blaineley asked, "I've been spiking Tyler's drinks with various drugs, so that it looks like he's totally lost it. In reality, he's just doped up. Meanwhile, the ratings are slowly dropping because Tyler is annoying so many people- it's brilliant!"
"Oh my gosh!" Cody cried.
"I just heard someone!" Blaineley gasped.
"Super getaway!" Cody cried, then rushed back to the crafts and services tent.
"Guys!" Cody shouted at Cody and Justin.
"Dude, you missed the rest of breakfast," Justin said, "where were you?"
"You're not going to believe this," Cody whispered, "Blaineley is drugging Tyler so that people will think he's crazy and stop watching the show!"
Justin and Trent looked at each other, then started laughing.
"Wow," Trent said, "okay man, whatever you say."
"I'm not making it up!" Cody insisted, "I'm serious!"
"Okay," Justin said, "I totally believe you."
"Really?" Cody asked.
"Definitely," Justin smirked, "so that must mean Darth Vader is real, too."
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" Cody shouted.
"No," Trent said, "it actually kind of is."
"Damnit, guys!" Cody said, "Fine, I'll handle things myself!"
Before Cody could storm out of the tent, however, Blaineley stormed in, glaring at everyone suspiciously.
"Well," Blaineley smirked, "I have quite the challenge for you today. A very, VERY dangerous challenge. It's the horror movie Descent. So you guys will be rock climbing down a hole, and then you'll have to race the other team to the finish line while defending yourself against cave monsters. Questions?"
No one said anything, although Cody continued to glare at Blaineley.
"Right," the hostess said, "follow me."
Soon, the eleven campers were standing around a hole near the cast trailers.
"That's it?" Duncan asked, "THAT'S our challenge?"
"Don't worry, honey," Blaineley smirked, "you haven't seen anything yet."
"Wait, shouldn't we get rock climbing equipment or something?" Gwen asked, looking down the hole, "It seems a little steep-"
"Of course not," Blaineley laughed, "just jump right in. It's not too deep."
Gwen shrugged, then jumped down the hole.
One by one, all of the campers followed suit- only to discover that Blaineley had completely lied, and that the drop had been at least two dozen feet.
"That BITCH!" Duncan groaned.
"Oh, and you'll need these!" Blaineley called, throwing two maps down at the teens, "It'll show you where you need to go!"
Gwen and Bridgette each grabbed one of the maps.
"Wow," Bridgette said, "did you know if we followed this tunnel long enough, it would lead us to where the Gemmie awards are being set up?"
"The Gemmie awards?" Cody asked.
"Yeah," Bridgette said, "it'll happen in a month or two, but they need to make sure everything is set up perfectly for it."
Huh, Cody thought, so Chris got ousted right before an awards show?
"Detective Cody is on the case!" the boy yelled.
"There's no case, Cody," Justin sighed, "we just need to find a way out of this cave."
"Shouldn't be too hard," Bridgette shrugged, "we'll just follow this map, shouldn't take too long."
"You hear that, guys?" Gwen asked, "We REALLY need a win here, so pull your stuff together. Duncan, Tyler, I'm looking at you especially. And Izzy?"
"Boom?"
"Just…. Be a little…. LESS Izzy today, alright?"
"Sure thing," Izzy smiled, saluting Gwen, "let's go win! Although victory here would be somewhat ironic, since the name Team Isaak has become synonymous with failure!"
"Right," Gwen sighed, "let's go. And watch out for those weird cave creatures Blaineley mentioned. IF you get dragged off, we're not coming back to find you."
"I would go back to find Lin…" Tyler began, but he quickly went into a bout of uncontrollable sobbing.
"Oh god," Duncan groaned, "give it a freaking rest, man!"
"Whatever, let's just go," Gwen said, "the other team already left!"
Team Bowie made it's way down the cave.
"I can't believe our luck," Bridgette smiled, "we haven't lost a single challenge yet!"
"Don't get cocky," Noah warned.
"You're one to talk," Heather scoffed.
"Whatever," Noah said, rolling his eyes.
All of a sudden, a loud crash was heard.
"Great," Trent moaned, "cave creatures."
The group came to a halt, and everyone began looking around frantically.
"I say we offer them Sadie," Justin said, "maybe they'll let us go."
"HEY!" Sadie exclaimed, "You jerk! Besides, no one else would go for that idea!"
"I would," Heather said.
"For once I agree with Justin," Noah shrugged.
"Sometimes you just need to take one for the team," Bridgette sighed.
"Totally," Trent nodded.
"You guys are unbelievable!" Sadie scoffed, "Fine, when I win this season and throw the biggest party ever, none of you are invited!"
"No one would come anyway," Noah said.
With that, Sadie took off running in the opposite direction. Fortunately, she was heard screaming a few moments later.
"Yes, finally!" Justin exclaimed, "Let's run while they're distracted!"
The six teammates took off down the tunnel, not bothering to look back or try and help.
In the meantime, Gwen was having a hard time navigating the cave, mainly due to her teammates.
"You sure you're reading that thing right?" Duncan asked.
"For the eighteenth time, yes," Gwen sighed, "just shut up, already."
"Then why haven't we won yet?" Duncan sighed, "This is taking too long!"
"Be patient for a frigging minute!" Gwen snapped.
"Fine," Duncan huffed.
"Oh, did you guys hear that?" Izzy asked.
"Hear what?" Duncan asked.
"Don't get her started," Gwen warned.
"I think it was coming from the roof!" Izzy said, "Hold on, let me look- oh, hi guys!"
Alarmed, Gwen looked up to see what Izzy was talking about.
What Gwen saw was what looked like a large version of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
"Uh, guys," Gwen gasped, "now might be a good time to RUN!"
With that, the goth girl took off.
"Wait for me!" Izzy called.
Even Tyler managed to realize the danger of the situation, and began running as well.
"Pft," Duncan smirked, "I can take it."
After a few minutes of running, Gwen, Izzy, and Tyler heard Duncan's screams from far behind.
"Oh GOD!" Tyler said, "They're gonna kill us! Where are we, Gwen?"
"I don't know!" Gwen said, "I lost track of where we were when we were running, and I- oh no, I dropped the map!"
"Uh oh," Izzy laughed.
"This isn't funny," Gwen snapped, "we'll lose the challenge for sure!"
"Unless we go back and fight," Izzy pointed out, "trust me, I can handle this."
"I'm sure you could," Gwen said, "but I think we should just take our chances and go that way."
"Suit yourself," Izzy smiled, "but keep in mind, I have a black belt in five different kinds of martial arts, and my hands are registered weapons in Korea."
"Right," Gwen nodded, "well, um, I'm going this way."
Once again, the three set off.
A little while later, Team Bowie finally managed to reach the finish line- a ladder that lead them back up to the crafts and services tent.
"We won!" Trent cheered.
"That's right," Blaineley frowned, "but where's the annoying girl?"
"Monsters got her," Justin shrugged.
Blaineley smiled evilly.
Well, at least I got one of them, she thought.
"Okay," Blaineley said, "I guess I'll send down a couple of interns to get the other five competitiors-"
"NO!" Everyone shouted.
"Well, just not Sadie," Bridgette shrugged.
"Whatevs," Blaineley said, "you guys enjoy the rest of your evening, and not to mention immunity."
A few hours later, Team Isaak was gathered at the award ceremony.
"Back again, are we?" Blaineley sighed, "Well, I'll make it quick. Four of you left, three will remain, yadda yadda yadda, Gwen and Izzy both get awards."
The two girls caught their awards and smiled.
CONFESSIONAL: Gwen
"Goodbye, Duncan!"
(End Confessional)
"And the last award goes to….
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"…Duncan!" Blaineley exclaimed, looking alarmed.
"Sweet," Duncan smirked.
"Sorry Tyler," Izzy said, "but you're like, toooooooooooootally bonkers!"
"Yeah brah," Duncan agreed, "maybe getting out of here will do you some good."
"I know," Tyler said, "that's why I voted for myself."
"Wait, what?" Blaineley asked, "Actually, I just remembered, Tyler doesn't have to go home today since he's…. wearing…. Pants!"
"We're all wearing pants," Gwen pointed out.
"Right," Blaineley nodded, "so no one goes home!"
"Nah," Tyler said sadly, "it's all good. I kind of want to go- the truth is, guys, I'm the one who had Lindsay voted off."
"What?" Gwen asked, "Why?"
"I… can't tell you," Tyler said, "I'm sorry. But something weird has been going on lately- I feel like someone's been drugging my drinks at the crafts and services tent, or something…"
"Uh," Blaineley said, looking frightened, "what would give you that idea?"
"I don't know," Tyler shrugged, "but look at me- it's clear I need to go and at least apologize to Lindsay. Well, good luck guys- maybe you'll pull your losing streak around without me."
And then Tyler turned and took the Lame-o-suine out of the game.
"You know what?" Blaineley said, "just… get out of here, all of you. I have a headache."
Later on that night, in her trailer, Blaineley's phone rang.
"OH no," she groaned.
The hostess sighed, and answered.
"Hello?" she asked.
"BLAINELEY!" the voice on the other end shouted, "Explain to me RIGHT NOW why ratings started to pick up! You told me with Tyler acting annoying and stupid people would stop watching the show!"
"Yeah, about that," Blaineley sighed, "he got voted off- he's not on the show anymore. But it's okay! We still have Sadie to annoy people!"
"I don't want another mistake like this again," the voice growled," the ratings need to start going DOWN, not UP. Otherwise your career is what's going to be down. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Blaineley gulped.
The blonde heard the other line go dead.
"Fine," she sighed, "time to kick things up a notch!"
(A/N: Well, this episode should leave you with multiple unanswered questions. Who's Blaineley's boss, and why do they want Chris gone so bad? Who is The Shadow? How did Tyler grow a beard overnight? And will the jock be able to fix things with Lindsay? Well, at least that last bit should be answered next time- because the next chapter is going to be an aftermath. Make sure you read it, it's going to be pretty frickin' awesome. I'll try to update soon- this is where things start to get interesting.)