"And the winner of Total Drama Action is…"
"What an exciting year it has been!" The male host of the show, Josh, announced. Next to him sat the co-host, Blainely. The pair were on the pulse of all the latest drama around, and the clip they just played had given them a lot to work with. "Our studio's own Total Drama has finally seen the one year anniversary of the conclusion of its first season, and the anniversary of Total Drama Action's conclusion is just around the corner." He turned to his co host, a plastered grin across his face. "Blainely, what have our viewers been saying about the show since it concluded?"
Blainely gave a soft laugh, clearly manufactured to increase audience engagement, before smiling at the camera. "Well Josh, the show has been trending even this long after its conclusion, and all of the contestants have managed to scrape by some fame from their time on it- well, almost all of them that is!"
A series of photographs flashed up on the screen, showing the original press photos they took before the start of Island. Not much about any of them had changed in the year since, but it was still refreshing to see them all pure in a sense. The bug of fame had yet to latch onto them so harshly.
"Let's start with some of our more out there contestants." Blainely began, shuffling the papers in front of her. "To start, a surprise combination occurred after the conclusion of Action , with Justin, Harold, and Trent forming the now world famous pop trio, The Drama Brothers !" An image flashed next to Blainely, showing the three together in their new getup- it was like looking at some discount Backstreet Boys, but the getup tugged at some nostalgia. Blainley proceeded to talk about their popular single and decline in fame, but controversies were notably absent. Who knew Cody was the party animal of the group originally?
"Still together, they've been hinting at a new album release on the horizon. Josh, would you like to share what you learned from your recent interview with H-Bomb? " It was a redundant question- of course they'd share it.
"Of course!" The screen then cut to footage of Josh talking to Harold about the new album, and nothing of interest was mentioned. Talk about the "Girls that broke their hearts" and everything, despite losing a member the band was still awfully cheesy. It's no wonder someone like Cody stuck to them like glue.
The program continued in much the same fashion, until eventually…
"But, when it comes to two Total Drama teens, there was no dirty laundry!"
"Or any sign of them! Cody, Noah, where are you?" Two pictures came up, the same one of Noah walking out of one of Chris' limos, and another of a blonde girl walking into Cody's summer home.
"While this pathetic telephoto is all we could get of Noah, we haven't seen anything of Cody! But, who could this girl be, entering the home he's rumored to be staying at!"
"Perhaps a potential lover ." It was hard not to gag when the near middle aged woman purred at the idea. "We've tried to figure out who this girl is, and came up with nothing!"
Dawn sighed and finally turned off the TV. It was necessary to do stuff like this, make sure Cody didn't get any unnecessary drama while he was still vulnerable. There was one bigger issue though.
Glancing down, next to the various tabloids she had mailed in, was a laptop with an email from the producers of Total Drama, written by Chris, on the screen . Cody had been a ratings magnet, and viewership declined in Action, so they were using a small clause in the contract to get at him.
In short, anyone who appeared in over half the episodes of the first season could be contractually obligated to appear in another season. The idea was that all the people who made it there in Island would compete again in Action, but Cody had to be medically evacuated and his… condition made it impossible for him to commit to a mid-season return. His condition still made appearing in the inevitable World Tour almost impossible, but…
Dawn cringed. The only way he could compete was if she was there, and the potential benefit of doing so was anywhere from invaluable to completely nebulous. She rubbed her forehead and sighed in aggravation. She finally decided to send in a reply she'd typed up but was fretting over for a week now.
Nothing could ever be easy, huh?
"What next time?" Noah asked, annoyed.
"On the next-!" Chris was cut off as his PDA buzzed. He pulled it out, ignoring the aggravated stares of the teens around him, and smiled at what he saw. "Just on the next season of Total Drama, a no holds barred race around the world! In a jet!"
He quickly settled the shouting with the mention of a million dollars, but had something to add afterwards. "Also, in addition to Alejandro and Sierra, we'll be welcoming in two more contestants!"
"And who might they be?" Gwen asked, unenthused. She had her head propped up by her hand, as if anticipating she'd fall asleep from her own lack of desire to be here.
Chris laughed heartily. "Well, I've just gotten word that we'll be seeing a new competitor and a returning competitor! I'm sure some of you can guess who that last one might be."
There was a brief silence, followed by nearly every person in the room launching into outraged shouts- even the fangirl seemed angry despite never having met the person in question. Gwen could only briefly reel back, remembering the boy she'd last seen half-dead, being dragged in by some girl she'd never seen before.
"Cody." She hummed in thought, adjusting her posture so both hands could support her jaw. "I figured he wouldn't want to come back, Chris. Was he that desperate for money?" "That was never what he wanted."
"Nope!" Chris smiled, pulling out a familiar stack of papers from seemingly out of nowhere. "You see, there's a small clause in your contracts that we never ended up using, until today. Anyone who polled in the top fifty percent of competitors on the site charts, or was in eighty percent of the episodes was contractually obligated to return in a following season. Due to Cody's unfortunate injuries, he was unable to compete with you all in the Island special and Total Drama Action. However!" Chris laughed darkly, giving Gwen reason to glare at the man- not that she ever didn't have a reason. "Because he's recovered according to his 'caretaker', he will be returning this season!"
"It'll be a waste, McLean." Duncan jeered from his table. "We're just gonna vote him out first chance we get anyways."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that!" Chris laughed. A few questioning stares were sent his way, but he just responded with a soft, "You'll see."
"On the next season of Total! Drama! Something!"