I jolted awake when a loud bang echoed from outside the bedroom. Scrambling out of bed and fumbling to get my glasses on, I ran out of the room with Majima, Zomboss and Marco right behind me. The girl's bedroom door was wide open, and I could see most of the girls rummaging around as if looking for something. Before I could even ask what was happening, Star came barreling down the hallway, and immediately gripped my arms.
"Caleb!" She shrieked. "My wand is gone! And so is The Doctor's sonic screwdriver! I woke up and found it gone, so I woke everyone up to help search."
"I'm on it Star!" Marco said in determination, giving a quick salute before dashing away.
I shook my head as I processed everything. "So the wand and screwdriver are gone?" The princess nodded. "Okay, well, are you sure you didn't misplace them outside or something?"
She shook her head. "I remember bringing it in with me, and leaving it on my nightstand. It's not there!"
I suddenly gained a determined look. "EVERYONE MEET UP IN THE CENTRAL ROOM!" I roared, freeing myself from the frantic Mewman and storming off towards the main console. Gladius dashed out of the bedroom and remained glued to my side, Maple scurrying over and planting himself on my shoulder.
With an irritated scowl, I stomped up the steps of the raised metal platform and looked over at the door as everyone rushed into the room. Based on their dishevelled appearances, they rushed to get ready for the day. I silently looked over the whole group, Star near tears as she clung to her best friend, and The Doctor looked frazzled as he stood between Amy and Rory.
I squinted, trying to force out a confession, but suddenly noticed something was amiss.
"Has anyone seen Izzy?" I asked in confusion.
Each and everyone of my friends looked around, trying to find the missing Psycho Hose Beast. After a few moments, they all looked back at me and shrugged.
With a tired sigh, I looked up towards the ceiling. "IZZY, GET YOUR BUTT HERE NOW!"
I was met with dead silence.
"Where the heck is Izzy?" Jenny mentioned. "I haven't seen her since after dinner yesterday."
Subconsciously, everyone looked over at Merida, who shrunk under the attention.
"If you're hoping I know where she is…" The Dun Broch princess said meekly. She then cleared her throat and straightened out. "I don't. She had a box with her last night, but just laughed and walked outside."
"That's the best we've got", Steve muttered. He turned around, walked out the door…
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
We all jumped and dashed outside, and immediately we all gaped.
There was a whole island in the middle of the lake, one that definitely wasn't there before. It had a small summer camp on it just outside the forest, and on the right side had a massive hill and cliff. A sign on the wooden dock that was on our side said 'Wawanaka' clear as day.
"What the heck is going on?!" McGee cried out as he and the other campers ran outside in their pyjamas. The counsellors ran out of their cabins moments later, and all six of them joined in with looking at the newly formed island in complete dumbfounded silence.
"What… is… going… on…?" Zomboss asked slowly.
"Hey guys!!!"
We all jumped and spun around, seeing our Psycho Hose Beast grinning down at us maniacally as she stood proudly on top of the TARDIS. In either hand was the missing wand and screwdriver, which earned a gasp from the object's respective owners.
"Izzy!" Ralph cried angrily. "Why did you take Star's wand and The Doc's screwdriver?!"
"Well, for my project of course!" She pointed at the island. "Being at a summer camp reminded me of my time on Total Drama's first season, so I thought why not a bit of a creative day…" she giggled evilly and flipped off the Time Machine. "I needed these to build up everything." She tossed the objects back to their owners.
"And what is this plan?" I asked, concern welling up in my heart and course through my veins.
"We're going to do the challenges I had to do!" She cheered. "I've been planning all of this for a while, so don't keep me waiting! First challenge is in an hour!" She did a series of flips into a boat.
"Where are you going?" Dave asked.
"I gotta pick up two more for my plan, so I'll be busy for a bit!" She started up the boat's engine and began to race across the water. "Don't take too long!"
We all watched silently as the wild redhead raced around the island and disappeared from view, leaving all of us in completely baffled silence. We all just stared ahead at the island, blinking occasionally as the wind brushed past us.
"Soooooooo…" Vanellope began after a few more moments of silence. "We're not gonna be able to say no to this, are we?"
Amy's eye twitched, and Rory let out an exhausted sigh. "This is Izzy we're talking about."
"So no", Barranco muttered bluntly. "Great, this'll be sooooo fun." His tone had a sarcastic edge.
Dry Bowser grumbled under his breath and crossed his boney arms. "I was looking forward to just relaxing…"
"Ah, I'm sure whatever Izzy has in store won't be so bad", Flowey said dismissively. "Like, she was on a reality show. How dangerous could it get?"
"Considering the first challenge of the second season we crashed", Maria said in worry, "With Chris sending a ten story tall robot monster after everyone, nothing good."
The Powerpuffs paled, with the Grojband half sharing a horrified look.
"You're kidding, right?" Blossom asked frantically.
Manolo shook his head, which made Bubbles squeak fearfully and duck behind Majima. The yakuza himself looked livid, mainly because a distressed Hilda and Twig were latched onto either of his legs.
Alfur hopped onto Gladius' hilt and sighed. "I suppose we all just have to roll with this. If things go too far, we'll tell Izzy to stop."
"After she stole my sonic without telling me", The Doctor muttered darkly, "Most definitely."
I winced, then looked out back to the island again. "This is gonna be a long day…"
"Agreed", Gladius said flatly.
~X~
We all spent the grace period Izzy gave us to finish getting ready, with fresh clothes, brushed hair, and clean teeth. Internally, as I headed back outside of the TARDIS with Maple on my shoulder and Gladius by my side, I was not looking forward to a day of chaos. And it was all because of the stories.
During some grace periods during our journey since Izzy joined, she would tell me about her time on Total Drama, and a lot of what I heard seemed… extreme, to put it lightly. From rabid animals, to barrels of leeches, and staying awake for four days straight, I was horrified at what we could be forced into. But I didn't let that show as I walked past Lakebottom's flag and made my way to the dock. There was a second boat waiting, with most of the others already waiting at Wawanaka's dock.
Ralph was the first one still at Lakebottom's dock who noticed me first. "Ready for chaos, kid?"
I shrugged, Maple repositioning himself after the movement. "Honestly, split 50/50. On one hand, this is a fun way for all of us to bond. On the other hand, from what Izzy told me, this'll hurt. A lot."
"Yeah, I'm not looking forward to this…" Amy groaned as the boat made another trip over to pick us up. "But, whatever, let's get this over with."
I boarded with the Ponds and Zomboss, with Ralph waiting to go on his own (so as to not risk sinking the boat), and it only took a few seconds till I stepped onto the wood of the recreated island of Total Drama's past.
The wood of the dock creaked and I stepped onto it, looking around at the camp. It was only looking a bit more put together than Lakebottom, but still had this vibe of cheapness to it. There were four buildings: two cabins, a mess hall, and public washrooms. That was it. It was… exactly what a summer camp should be.
Looking off to the left, I saw everyone had started to group up around the bonfire. With nothing else to do, I headed over and took a seat on the stump that Manolo was standing next to. Everyone was quietly talking between each other, unsure what to really do. There was this sense of unease, which only became deeper when Ralph finally joined us.
"So what are you expecting, Glasses?" Vanellope asked.
I shrugged, Gladius carefully watching the camp. "Not sure. With Izzy, anything could happen."
"I'm still curious who she needed to pick up…" Hilda mused.
"Probably crazy stuff", Iris said in excitement. "I know Iz, and she is great with this sort of thing."
"Which is why most of us aren't excited for this", Flowey spat. "I mean, we've been through so much, especially Caleb! We don't need this…"
Everyone looked at me, and I sighed. "Let's just wait and see, gang. If things go too far, we'll tell Izzy to knock it off."
All conversation ended there when the Psycho Hose Beast finally pulled up to the dock, tossing a tied up Buttsquat and blonde girl with pink dress onto the dock. They were complaining and whining, with McGee, Gretchen and Squirt in particular looking on in shock.
"Susie, Buttsquat?!" The blue-shirt boy cried. "What the heck are you doing here?!"
"Ask your lunatic friend that!" The blonde girl roared as she tried to free herself. "She just showed up and started chasing me and Jordan around like a wild animal, then tied us up."
"She said it was for a fun competition", Buttsquat whined. Izzy dragged the two of them over to the rest of us, and tossed them on the ground.
"Hey, I asked nicely at first", Izzy defended, "But then you started getting snippy at me, so I knew I had to take drastic measures."
The wild child pulled out a machete and cut the two roped up kids free, much to their horror at being so close to such a sharp blade.
"Okay!" Izzy began, tossing the blade away and clapping her hands together. "Ever since we showed up here at Lakebottom, I've wanted to do this, so here we are! We're gonna be doing three of the challenges I took part in during Total Drama Island, which means I'm gonna be splitting you guys into two teams…" She pulled out a remote with a single button and pressed it. Two flags emerged from the ground, one depicting an angry gopher in green, the other an aggressive red fish.
"The Screaming Gophers and Killer Bass! When I call your name, walk to the side." She pulled out a list and some fake reading glasses. "For the gophers… Caleb & Gladius, Steve, Hilda, The Doctor, Barranco, McGee, Majima, Susie, Amy, Zomboss and Manolo."
We all shared unsure looks, and us 'Screaming Gophers' walked over to the green flag.
"For the Killer Bass… Merida, Ralph, Vanellope, Ruby, Iris, Rory, Buttsquat, Dave, Squirt, Gretchen and finally Corey."
The newly formed 'Killer Bass' walked under the red flag.
"Wait, what about the rest of us?" Maria asked.
"Yeah, see, TDI only had 22 of us", Izzy explained, "So some of you had to miss the call. But most of you have a reason! It's either because you're too overpowered…", she shot a look at Jenny, Dry Bowser and Galacta, "…Counsellors, so I need your help with stuff, or just lucked out."
"Ah, well, that's cool!" Flowey cheered, flashing a goofy grin. "Good luck, guys! Try not to die!"
Most of us scoffed or growled at the flower, but were silenced when Izzy cleared her voice. "So! Let's get this started! Meet me at the 1000 foot high cliff ASAP, guys!" She hopped onto a unicycle that seemingly came from nowhere, and wheeled it off to the towering hill.
"Wait, it's HOW HIGH?!" Steve roared in terror.
"IZZY, THIS IS INSANE!" The Doctor called out at the departing redhead.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, LOSER!" Buttsquat cried out, shaking his fist.
But all of our complaints fell on deaf ears, and we all sighed in defeat. Maria walked up and gave her husband a kiss for good luck, and with nothing better to do, we all followed after our hostess in frustration and annoyance.
We were all quiet as both teams climbed up the steep hill, with those not participating sticking at the bottom at the beach where a couple of bleachers were set up. A boat was also waiting just off the shore, resting peacefully.
"Armand!" Izzy's voice called down from the top of the hill. "You're on boat duty!"
I shared a look with Steve, and picked up the pace. Soon enough, we reached the top of the hill, and at the rather small peak, Izzy was standing proud with a box filled with chicken hats next to her.
"Alright, so here's the first challenge!" The Psycho Hose Beast started. "Each of you will try and jump off this cliff into the water below, where there's a marked safe zone."
Most of us looked over the edge as she continued. "Outside of the safe zone are rabid man-eating sharks, but if anything they're just for show."
"Sh-Sharks?" Hilda stuttered fearfully. I looked down wide-eyed, and saw the razor sharp dorsal fins sticking out in the water in an elegant dance.
"Once you dive, Armand will pick you up and take you to shore. Whichever team has the most divers, they'll get carts to help them carry supplies back to camp so you can build a hot tub!"
"At least that sounds nice…" Majima grumbled. "But even I think sharks is crossing a fucking line."
Izzy shrugged. "This was my first challenge. And we've fought all manner of stuff, so a few sharks are nothing."
"Suuuure…" Rory groaned.
"This is gonna end horribly…" Manolo whispered out fearfully.
"I shouldn't have to do this!" Susie whined, stomping her foot. "Especially is I have to be stuck on a team with me lame-o brother!"
"Gee, thanks…" McGee spat with an eye roll.
Izzy pursed her lips, and as discreetly as she could, kicked Susie off the cliff edge. The blonde girl was screaming all the way down, weakly splashing into the safe zone.
"That means the Screaming Gophers are up first!"
My teammates all paled, and shared nervous glances between each other.
"Soooooo… who's next?" Zomboss squeaked out.
Amy huffed. "I'll go."
"Amelia, wait-" The Doctor began, but was cut off when Mrs.Pond jumped off the cliff with no hesitation, screaming as she fell. All of us gasped and looked over the edge, sighing in relief when she landed in the safe zone. Armand was there in the boat, picking up Susie who we could hear was complaining loudly.
Majima barked out a laugh. "Alright, this doesn't seem so bad!" He ran up and jumped off, laughing maniacally as he fell. McGee followed shortly after him, and then Barranco, Steve, and The Doctor (who hesitated a bit before just doing it).
Zomboss looked very unsure. "Yeah, I don't think I'm gonna do this…" he muttered.
"Well then you'll be a chicken", Izzy interjected cheekily, "And you'll have to wear this for the rest of the day." She fished out a chicken hat from the crate.
Buttsquat looked at the hat in comical terror, while the zombie overlord sighed. "Fine…" He took the hat, placed it on his massive noggin, and sulked off. "Wait, there was an escalator?!"
"For chickens only!"
The scientist grumbled and let the automatic stairs carry him down, a dejected look on his face.
After that, the rest of our team handled things fairly well. Manolo let me and Hilda jump with him, Gladius diving after us. Thanks to his wooden body, he floated in the safe zone with ease as Armand brought the boat over. Gladius helped us on board, and we were brought back to the beach where the rest of our team were.
"That's ten jumpers and one chicken for the Screaming Gophers!" Izzy announced at the top of the hill. "That means the Killer Bass really needs to ace this, otherwise no carts!"
"Cowabunga!!!" Dave cheered as he jumped off the cliff. Only thing was… he was a tad bit too close to the rock face, meaning he hit every rock on the way down.
All of us at the bottom winced as each painful blow forced very colourful language out of the Minion, such language that would make Majima proud if he wasn't wincing like the rest of us.
After a minute of watching the painful fall, Dave crashed onto one of the sharks, which glared at him and flicked him away. He was launched past us and smashed into a tree, leaving a noticeable mark in the bark.
"Are you okay, Dave?" Barranco asked in worry.
The Minion fell into a bush, and weakly held up a thumbs up.
"He's okay!" The Rabbid called out.
After that, the rest of the Killer Bass took their turns jumping. Corey, Iris, Gretchen and Vanellope jumped with no hesitation, Rory chickened out and came down the escalator with a chicken hat (earning him plenty of teasing from his wife), and Ruby and Squirt needed to jump with Ralph.
That left Buttsquat all on his own.
"Final jumper everyone!" Izzy announced. "Will Buttsquat be able to jump and tie both teams, or will he take the chicken hat like we all expect him to do?"
"Excuse me?!" The egotistical boy shrieked in induignant rage. "I am not a chicken! And I'll prove it to that group of lame-os at camp Loserbottom."
"The group that didn't hesitate to jump?" Majima snarked back.
There was no noise for a good while, leaving us wondering what was happening. Then, to our shock, a screaming Buttsquat was kicked off the cliff with a chicken hat strapped to his head. With a painful crash, he left a him-shaped hole in the sand.
"Jordan!" Susie cried in horror.
"What the heck was that about?!" Ralph yelled in shock.
"NEW RULE!" Izzy roared angrily from the top of the hill. "IF YOU EVER INSULT ME BECAUSE OF WHO I AM, I GET TO KICK YOUR BUTT! SCREAMING GOPHERS WIN!"
We all winced at the volume of her voice, the rage still hanging in the air as a dazed Buttsquat was helped out of the hole and to his feet. With… that… all done, my team quickly got our boxes of hot tub supplies into the carts that were off to the side, and began to make our way back to camp. We all had quiet conversations as we walked, with those not roped up in Izzy's little game walking ahead.
When we made it back to the main campgrounds, my team got to work quickly cracking the crates open and getting all the supplies out. From materials, to tools, to the instructions for hooking up the water filter, we had it all. And we worked quickly and diligently. Even if Susie wasn't much help, with The Doctor and Zomboss both on our side, we finished the tub in no time.
We were already finished the hot tub by the time the Killer Bass showed up with Izzy on her unicycle, and they all gave Buttsquat a murderous glare at how much time they've lost. I quietly snickered as Izzy wheeled off elsewhere, but not before she shot me a knowing look. I cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing as she disappeared.
For the next hour, I watched as the Killer Bass struggled and failed to build their hot tub. Only Rory, Dave, and Gretchen really did anything, with Buttsquat's whining and complaining throwing the others off too much to stay focused.
By the time they finished, it was just a pile of wood, nails, screws and an unfinished water filter.
Izzy frowned at the sight before her. 'Yeah, this is just sad. Even back home, the Killer Bass built theirs. It fell apart when Chris looked at it funny, but it was better than literally nothing." She spun around and smiled at my team. "Which means the Screaming Gophers win! I'll give ya' guys half an hour, then come meet me at the beach. Rosebud, Sawyer, I need your help with this."
The two counsellors shared a look, then followed the redhead as she walked down the beach opposite the massive hill.
When she was gone, I sighed. "Okay, I'll be honest, this isn't that bad."
"It is pretty fun, I'll admit", Gretchen said as she and McGee joined me, sitting on the stairs to one of the cabins. "But the fact she had to deal with this just because some TV hotshot said so? That's crazy."
"From what I know about Total Drama", I said, "It's a reality show where reality doesn't matter. Izzy said after she was eliminated, one of the challenges was a trust exercise one, and one of the mini parts had pairs. One person had to make edible pufferfish, the other had to eat it."
McGee's eyes widened. "Oh no, I see where this is going…"
"Yep. Someone ate poisoned pufferfish. But, somehow, he was walking just fine a day later." I paused and brought a finger to my lips. "At least that's what Izzy told me."
"Considering we just survived a volcano", Gretchen said, "I'm not surprised."
McGee let out a quiet laugh. "Yeah. I'll be honest, I envy you guys. You all obviously got to go on this crazy adventure, and we've been here."
"You two can join us, if you want", I mentioned offhandedly.
They both gave me a surprised look, and Gladius let out a hearty laugh. "If you two do tag along, we'll be able to get you back before anyone can realise you're gone."
"That'd be awesome!" McGee cheered.
"I'd be down for that", Gretchen said with a smile and shrug.
"All of you get your butts down to the beach right now!" Izzy's voice called out through the intercoms.
I stood up and began to make my way to where Izzy wanted us. I was feeling good about this.
~X~
Never mind, I was terrified. Why? Because the next chosen challenge was dodgeball. Dodgeball. In a court that was in a glass box. I was seated at the bleachers watching the game play out in horror as the five from my team out to play; Majima, Barranco, Amy, Manolo and Steve; stared at the enemy team in horror as Iris, Corey, Gretchen, Vanellope and Ralph walked onto the court.
Just seeing the wrecker flex his arms was enough to freeze the blood in my body. I gulped, joining the other Screaming Gophers with supportive cheers of my own. Izzy had a manic grin on her face as she watched everything from her referee's chair, and blew her whistle when she felt we were ready.
"C'mon guys!" I called out. "You got this!"
"Trying our best here, mijo!" Manolo cried out, nearly dodging a ball thrown by Iris.
"Single out Ralph!" Amy barked. "He's a big target, so don't give him a second to breathe!"
"I'm trying!!!" Majima snarled. He really was, but it seems Ralph being grouped with the kids was all part of their strategy. With Vanellope and Gretchen much too fast to hit with balls, Iris using her gymnastic skills and Corey simply being a good dodger, they were able to act as shields or bait so Ralph could arm himself.
With a powerful throw, the wrecker slammed Majima in the chest hard, sending the yakuza flying into the sturdy glass wall behind him. My team all winced as Izzy blew her whistle, pointing at Majima to get off the court.
And this just knocked over the dominoes of my team's downfall. One by one, everyone was knocked down in defeat, with no chance to actually recover. It was horrid. Even if the whole thing was a best two-out-of-three, it didn't matter.
Next game, it was me & Gladius, The Doctor, Amy (again), McGee and Zomboss. We lost so instantaneously I could barely register Izzy's whistle.
Third game, it was Amy (she looked like an absolute disaster), Barranco, Hilda, a threatened Susie and Steve. Once again, they were obliterated before I could even blink.
As the Killer Bass silently celebrated (Except a loud Buttsquat who made his victory over McGee and his worry for Susie known), Izzy hopped off the referee chair and walked past my team, giving them a confident and cocky gaze.
"Okay, Izzy", I started, following her out of the court. "I get you were excited about this. "Just just kept walking as I spoke, keeping pace. "But maybe you could tone it back a bit? That challenge was horribly lopsided."
"I Know! Wasn't it great?"
I rolled my eyes. "Considering we were just pelted with rubber balls, no, it wasn't."
The Psycho Hose Beast looked over her shoulder, giving me a hard look. "I just felt like doing something different. You guys didn't really participate in the challenges when we were at the movie lot, so I thought I should give you a taste of what I went through."
I slumped my shoulders. "Fine. But the next challenge better be a lot more fair."
"It will be, don't worry."
When I felt a presence behind me, I turned to see Gladius hovering with his wings crossed. "Susie and Buttsquat ran for it as soon as you left. We tried to stop them, but they just ran."
"Ah, they're probably going back to their stuffy, artificial camp", Izzy said dismissively. "Besides, each team lost a challenge, so them leaving is fine."
I snorted. "Good. I honestly wanted to strangle Susie after she refused to leave the bench."
"And Buttsquat had too much of an ego for someone that young", Gladius added.
The three of us shared a laugh, quickly calming back down. Izzy gave me a more genuine smile, a sweet comfort in her eyes. "Okay, but go back and tell the others to head back to camp. The final challenge will be a treasure hunt. That's all I'll say."
I nodded, and I ran back towards the dodgeball court.
Only to freeze when the boat piloted by Buttsquat crashed into the side of the beach a few feet ahead from.
"You!" Susie called out, jumping off the boat and running up to me. She had tears in her eyes.
"What?" I looked behind me, giving Izzy a confused look. She was watching from afar with an equally confused face.
"You seem capable, right?"
"Yeah…"
"Everyone is gone."
I shook my head and shot her a baffled look. "What?"
"Everyone at SunnySmiles is missing!" Buttsquat wailed. "We showed up, and all the camper cabins had their doors ripped off. The ground was carved up, and the lodge was on full lockdown!"
Izzy rushed to my side as I knelt down, the seriousness suddenly hitting me. "Okay, you two, did you see anything wrong?"
"I saw something through one of the windows", Susie sobbed out. "And when I did, it suddenly disappeared, and ran outside to us. Jordan quickly got us back on the boat and we drove back here."
"What did this think look like?" Gladius asked.
"It was orange and white", Buttsquat explained, eyes wide with fear. "Had roller skates, weird hair in pigtails, and had this giant metal claw on its right arm. Oh! And glowing green eyes."
Everything came crashing down as I began to paint the image in my head. It couldn't be.
"Then, as we were leaving", Susie added, calming down. "One of the campers ran out. But that thing rushed over and dragged her back inside."
"We need to tell the others", Izzy said.
I nodded. "We'll head back to Lakebottom." I faced the two survivors of this attack. "You two are coming with us, and staying with us till it's safe, okay?"
They both nodded without hesitation.
With that, we all ran back to the court, the air suddenly becoming so much more tense.
And it didn't help that I had an idea who this kidnapper could be.
Metal claw, pigtails, orange and white with roller skates and piercing green eyes.
Sounds like something you'd encounter in a scrapyard…
And with that single though, I knew who it was.
As my heart clenched in fear, I raced ahead as fast as I could.
~X~
Oh boy, this arc ended on a tense note, huh? Looks like the stowaway finally decided to do something outside of brooding in the distance and leaving empty threats on the shell of the TARDIS. This time, they're taking action.
Action that puts a lot of kids in danger.
I'll be honest, this next arc will be the last one that is structured like this. Starting with Wreck-It Ralph and ending with this, chapter 75 onward is the ending.
But that's all I'll say for now.
Up next: Caleb and friends try to free Camp SunnySmiles from this mysterious psychopath who's taken all the kids hostage. But they run into a snag when the whole camp fights back…
~Caleb~