WARNING: English isn't my first language, but I'm going to do my best to write as grammatically correct as possible.
First of all, thank you for all the support guys, really.
Well, I'm going to say the same thing that I mentioned while writing this chapter in the spanish version, this one is the first chapter that I ever got serious doubts to publish because of something you will find out, it turned out great in the end because my spanish speaking readers liked it and seemed quite curious to see how I'll develop it in the future, but let's see if you like it, enjoy the chapter.
"Speaking" character speaking
'[Language] Speaking' character speaking in another language
'Speaking' character thinking
~Speaking~ song or character singing
(Scene change)
TDI. Chapter 13: Yes, Master Chef, sir!
Curious enough, we now have Chef in the middle of the dock with some cards of what he has to say in his hands, apparently Chris didn't even have time to be there. "Last time on Total Drama Island" we can now see the two groups of campers taking their respective paths to get to the dock as quickly as possible. "The wimpy maggots finally decided to do something productive in their lives by running, rowing, climbing, and even fighting to not end up last and get their asses not kicked out of here" he mentions as the different images of the events continue.
Now we can see everyone questioning Duncan and then switch to the almost kiss between Katie and Cody. "Other things are also happening like the romances of the maggots in denial and the most fearful ones that are at least making progress with their own." We switch to Bridgette turning her back on Geoff and giving him the cold shoulder. "On the other hand, the party maggot has to get his head out of the clouds or he won't even manage to get a kiss on the cheek."
The camera changes to show Katie and Cody saying goodbye at the dock. "In the end, the fearful maggots went from being the united maggots to separated maggots when one of them was eliminated for arriving last, so long, soldier." The losers' boat speeds away with Cody hanging on as best he can.
Finally, we're back with Chef on the dock, who somehow is now dressed in his old military uniform. "Now I have to deal with 13 fragile and scrawny brats who can't even eat without complaining once" the Chef growls at the reminder, but his mood lifts with a cruel smile. "But that's going to change today. They're going to sweat, cry, and possibly barf. Don't miss how I straighten out these crybaby brats right here on TOTAL ... DRAMA ... ISLAND!" the chef finishes to have the usual zoom of the island "HEY CHRIS, I BETTER GET MY RAISE AFTER THIS!".
(Opening, if you are curious, see the chapter "Not so Happy Campers - Part 1")
(Bass Cabin)
"... and then I told the guy, 'You'll pay for your sin, you damned bastard!' before blasting him with my dodgeball cannon" Naruto finishes telling Geoff and Duncan, who were watching the Japanese's prank memories scrapbook with quite some amusement, and they couldn't help but laugh at the photo where you can see a guy with torn clothes and some scratches, courtesy of Kurama, his boxers stretched to the point that they reached his head, basically using them as a hat due to being a victim of an atomic wedgie while being hit with dodgeballs at high speeds, in the photo next to it, a satisfied Naruto is seen maintaining the weapon he mentioned, proving that he wasn't lying about having something like that.
"T-t-that's awesome, dude" Geoff tries to regain control of himself as he wipes a tear from his eye, undoubtedly he's going to hear more stories of this guy's pranks.
"And where did you get the cannon, Whiskers?" Duncan asks curiously and interested, he's already inspired for a new world of pranks he can pull off.
"I made it myself, Duncan" the guy admits with a lot of pride to the punk who gives him a knowing smile while putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You and I have to hang out more often, Whiskers" Duncan clarifies, it seems he found someone quite similar to him in some aspects.
"Don't you think you went a little overboard, Naruto?" DJ asks, who is playing cards with Owen a few steps above them.
"Nope, nobody messes with my ramen, DJ, nobody" the Japanese concludes in a cold tone, something Owen agrees with.
"Agreed, food is sacred and nobody messes with it" the oaf crosses his arms and gives Naruto a proud look for what he did to defend his favorite food.
Speaking of food, it seems someone is coming to comment on something related to it. "Okay! Who made smores out of my underwear?!" Harold comes out for a moment from the cabin to complain about the prank, the proof being the said smore that had Harold's undies and honey, it's worth mentioning that the others laughed at seeing that.
"So, that's what you wanted my honey for" Naruto points at a smiling Duncan, something Harold immediately catches onto.
"I already stopped throwing my dirty laundry everywhere, Duncan, what's wrong with you?" the nerd reproaches him.
"Sorry, man, you're just such an easy target," the punk 'justifies' himself, something that didn't please Harold, who threw the smore out of the cabin out of frustration, although that almost hit Courtney who was passing by and the girl couldn't help but yelp with a disgusted face at seeing what was near her.
"Eewww!" Courtney turns to glare at the nerd "Harold, you're so totally gross!" she reprimands him before walking away annoyed.
"No wait, it wasn't me!" Harold defends himself as best as he can but it didn't work, the last thing he could do was glare at Duncan "Idiot!" he yells at him before slamming the door closed.
"As I said, too easy" Duncan laughs to himself until everyone surprisingly heard Chef through the speakers.
"Listen up you little cockroaches!" well, it seems that Chef sounds like a sergeant "I want all campers to report to the Dock of Shame at 0900 hours!"
The guys couldn't help but look at each other, confused at not catching the last part of the order, but at least Chef cleared things up for them "That means now, soldiers, NOW!" the former military man's roar makes everyone run straight to the dock.
(Dock of Shame)
"Line up and stand at attention!" Chef orders everyone to obey instantly, too bad the line up leaves much to be desired in his opinion. "Is that what you call proper formation?" Chef asks as he walks in front of them with a wooden pointer stick at hand to correct them by hitting them with it. "Feet together, arms down, eyes forward, head up" the chef corrects everyone, with Harold taking the most hits for continuing making mistakes in his formation.
"Oh, this is going to be a fun day" Gwen sarcastically whispers to Naruto, who is beside her.
"What did you say to me, soldier?!" Chef roars in her face with the megaphone.
"N-n-nothing" the girl stutters completely intimidated by the chef.
"And you'll continue to say nothing until I tell you that you can say something" Chef said as he walks to the center and looked at all the remaining campers. "Today's challenge won't be easy. In fact, I don't expect any of you to come out alive" Chef announces to intimidate them.
In Owen's case, he just chuckles at that, too bad that earned him a hit from the pointer on the butt. "D'oh, that hurts!" Chef just ignores him to take his megaphone.
"The instructions are simple, the last person to remain in my camp gives immunity for their team" the former military man announces.
"Um … ¿what happened Chris?" Heather asks but she is ignored.
"Rule number 1, you will address me as Master Chef, ¿have you got that?" asks Chef.
(Confession)
"Does that count as copyright infringement?" DJ asks confused.
(Dock of Shame)
"Yes, Master Chef, sir!" the campers respond in unison.
"You will sleep when I tell you to sleep, and only eat when I tell you to eat," Chef pauses for a moment to look at the campers with a challenging gaze. "Is that clear?" he questions again.
"Yes, Master Chef, sir!" the campers this time sounded like new cadets, to Chef's satisfaction.
"Rule number 2, there are two ways to leave the camp. If you want to quit, just walk to the end of this dock and ring the bell" Chef points to the mentioned bell for the campers to look at.
"And the other way is for me to remove you from the unit myself when I see that you can't even move a single muscle of your bodies anymore, and even if you're discharged, you'll be relocated to another area to fulfill your services, and believe me, you don't want to be relocated" the former military man threatens making some gulp.
"Which brings me to rule number 3, we will have a quitter before the end of the day, and believe me, we won't stop until someone drops out" Chef gives them a smile that makes the physically weaker ones have a shiver down their spines. "Now I want your butts on the beach, recruits, now, now, NOW!"
(Confession)
"Okay, whoever's sick twisted idea this was to put him in charge of this challenge, I have to say... I'm a little bit impressed," Gwen admits honestly.
(Beach)
"Listen up, maggots!" the Chef captures their attention and points to two canoes with their respective flag colors. "Each team will take a canoe and hold it over your heads. If I see your hands not holding the canoe, you'll be out of the unit immediately" then he glares at them. "And you won't eat lunch until someone drops out."
"What?" Owen asks worriedly, but Chef roars in his face with his megaphone.
"CANOES UP!" the ex-military man orders them to do so immediately.
"Pff, this isn't so hard" Owen, who was at the front, relaxes a bit not seeing the problem, but Naruto and Eva had grimaces knowing how problematic this will get as the hours pass by.
(Confessional)
"This will get ugly" Eva comments resignedly, but Naruto, who is beside her, gives her a flat look.
"You'll have it easier. I'm going to suffer with fewer members on my team" the Japanese guy reproaches his friend and training partner still with his flat look.
(Sometime later)
"Ahh, my arms are burning" the oaf complains as he feels the stress not only in his arms but in his whole body from having to maintain a fixed position all this time.
"What's wrong, sissies? Giving up already? It's only been three hours" Chef mocks them by placing a thick board between both canoes to sit on and give them more weight to work with, he then looks at his watch. "Oh, it seems none of you were hungry, breakfast time has passed" Owen's stomach couldn't help but demand food upon hearing that.
"Don't even think about it, Owen" Gwen warns the oaf, they can't afford to lose more challenges; they're almost at a non returning point.
While all this is happening, nobody notices how Geoff, using a fishing rod from who knows where, hooks Harold's undies to Duncan's amusement.
"Time to land that fish" the punk whispers so the party guy pulls the underwear until they end up tearing.
"Ow!" Harold screams in pain, then turns to look at Geoff and Duncan, who are trying to hold back their laughter. "Idiots!" he curses them, but he had to react quickly to get back into position just before Chef caught him.
"Is there a problem down here, recruit?" the ex-military man asks authoritatively, causing nervousness in the nerd.
"N-no" he defends himself intimidated by the chef's gaze and annoyed with his teammates.
(Night)
At this moment, the campers were listening to one of the Chef's stories from when he was in the army in front of a campfire that the former military man lit.
"... twenty-five of us entered the jungle that night" he narrates while staring fixedly at the campfire. "Only five of us came back out."
The others might not notice because he's wearing his aviator glasses, but his eyes reflected a mixture of sadness, regret, helplessness, and some acceptance of what happened years ago, although Eva managed to notice his emotional state due to his slight body movements; a life dedicated to sports taught her to read people through body language. Naruto would have noticed too, if it weren't for the fact that he's currently struggling so that the rest of his team has a lighter load to keep the canoe up if his trembling arms are any indication.
"What war were you in, anyway?" Gwen asks, not entirely convinced by Chef's stories, which made him angry at the lack of interest and respect for what he was telling.
"Permission to speak, sir" Eva requests.
"Granted" Chef allows.
"I don't recommend dismissing something like war, Gwen" the athletic girl advises the goth in her usual sharp tone.
"Well said, recruit" Chef thanks that at least there are people with common sense here and gives Gwen a dirty look. "As for you, did I ask you to speak? Because I don't remember asking you to speak" he reprimands her annoyed.
"Nor did you order Eva to speak" the goth girl defends herself.
"Because she requested permission" he explains as if it were the most common thing in the world. "A good soldier always asks for permission."
This made the goth girl roll her eyes. "Whatever" she replies before murmuring something that only her team heard. "He so wasn't in a war."
"Guys" Lindsay, on her part, lowers her arms to the horror of her team. "I can't do this anymore, I'm so sorry" she apologizes full of shame as she is the first one to leave, and worse, leaving her team in such conditions where teamwork was more than necessary.
"Oh, crap" Naruto curses worriedly. How the heck are they going to win when the other team is twice their size?
"I have no more feeling in my arms" the girl speaks tiredly as she reaches the bell. She didn't even bother using her arms; she just moved her head enough to make the bell ring, which relieved everyone else who put the canoes aside.
"Listen here" surprisingly, the Chef puts a hand on her shoulder and looks at her empathetically. "You have nothing to be ashamed of" this was even weirder; is the psychopath chef consoling Lindsay? But that ended when he roared in her face with the megaphone. "EXCEPT FOR THE FACT OF BEING THE LITTLE BABY WHO LEFT HER TEAM AT A GREAT DISADVANTAGE!" yep, same old Chef is back.
After that, Chef looks at the campers. "All of you to the Mess Hall, dinner is served" he announces to everyone's relief.
"Sweet Marie, thank you!" Owen rejoices at being able to eat.
(Main Lodge)
"All right, maggots, open your ears, you've got ten minutes to eat before night training begins, so get to it" Chef instructs, ignoring the campers' numerous complaints.
"Oh, darn it" Geoff complains, thinking about what's coming.
"Um... excuse me, Master Chef" Gwen draws attention to a specific place. "Where's the food?" she asks, hoping it's not what she thinks the Chef is going to say.
"You're looking at it" he indicates while pointing to the trash bins next to him, just for Owen to approach and remove one of the lids.
"This is the leftover garbage from last night's dinner" the oaf doesn't hesitate to point out as he takes a half-eaten apple from the bin.
"Darn right, when you're at war, you take what you can get" the former military man affirms without any problem, making the guy shrug and eat it. "And if you'll excuse me, I'll go to craft services," Chef announces before leaving.
Some campers were seeing what could be salvaged before Owen took everything, others didn't seem so interested.
"Oh, I'm not eating this" Heather refuses immediately, going to sit down.
"Me neither" Courtney agrees.
Meanwhile, Duncan passes by with a glass of something. "Don't care for today's specials, Princess?" the delinquent asks mockingly, which annoys her a bit.
"I am going to be running for office one day, and no one is going to pull up a file of me eating garbage" she replies, arms crossed.
Meanwhile, Duncan approaches Harold with Geoff for something. "Hey, Harold, we feel really bad about our underwear fishing day, so I brought you this apple juice" he offers to the nerd's delight.
"Thanks" Harold thanks him, taking a sip, but spits it out instantly amidst the laughter of the two boys.
"Oh? Sorry, dude, we must have mistaken it for kitchen grease" he confesses before they both high-five.
"Ugh, you guys are so immature" Courtney complains, going to them to scold them, which brought someone else into the discussion.
"Why so serious all the time? Life becomes boring that way" Naruto comments as he arrives to add his two cents.
"See, even Whiskers can understand it's not good to have a stick up your ass 24/7" the Duncan points out as he high-fives Naruto, much to the annoyance of the polite girl.
"Right, very true" Naruto goes along with it, catching Heather's attention.
"And since when do you hang out with them, Moron?" an annoyed queen bee points out, not finding it funny that her personal nightmare has more connections on the island, something dangerous for her.
"I told you before, Dweeb, socializing is important, in fact, even Gwen is more sociable than you" the boy points to Gwen and Katie who are talking in a corner, which caught the attention of both.
"Hey, I have to share a room with her and Lindsay, who else am I going to talk to?" the goth girl defends herself, raising her hands in defense, although her recent interactions with Katie are more because she's her new alliance partner, that, and Gwen really needed to talk to someone other than the other two girls on her team.
"Right" Naruto agrees. "The Dweeb can also be quite stuck-up when I'm with anybody else" he comments without any problem, causing Duncan to laugh.
"So, she just wants you to pay attention only to her, eh, Whiskers?" he teases mockingly, to the surprised and disgusted look of the Japanese guy and the queen bee as they understand what the punk means.
"No way in hell!" they both deny at the same time before looking at each other annoyed.
"Yeah ... I don't think that's gonna to happen," Gwen comments with a slightly strained voice, something Katie notices.
"But you both act like a married couple sometimes" Geoff points out, causing him to take a few steps back intimidated as the mentioned 'couple' now directs their annoyed gazes at him.
"Smooth, dude, smooth" Harold gives a flat look to the party guy for that screw up, although well, he'll take this as instant karma.
"Speaking of couples" Duncan turns to look at Courtney. "We all know you like me, stop denying it" he mentions to the more than annoyed look of Courtney, but Duncan continued, "And hey, if you want, I wouldn't mind kissing you" he suggests, making the girl look disappointed, and it wasn't her usual disappointed look that she gives to others, this time there was a little sadness in that look.
"I came to think that this attitude of yours was just a facade hiding the great person you are in the inside" the girl admits as she remembers how he saved her in the theater, how he carried her in the forest due to her exhaustion from escaping the bear, and their subsequent chat just before she fell asleep, although she doesn't know if that last one was recorded by the camera.
Well, this cut Duncan's mood, and he got a little nervous. "Me? A great person? Yeah, right," he comments, stepping back a bit.
Courtney noticed that reaction, but didn't care much at the moment. "But I guess you'll always be that delinquent who doesn't care what happens to others" she walks away, leaving an uncomfortable Duncan who for once, didn't know what to say or do, all this in front of the others who watched the spectacle.
"Eva?" DJ asks the athletic girl who is next to him.
"Yes, DJ?" the athlete girl asks.
"What has this show become?" the Jamaican asks, still confused.
"No freaking idea" she replies back.
(Outside)
The thriller music was playing from a recorder with Chef dancing on a wooden pedestal, then the camera changes to show the still standing campers copying every dancing move, it wasn't until the ex-military man started doing some hip thrusts that Duncan decided to turn off the recorder, getting several gasps from the others.
"Duncan, what are you doing?" Courtney asks worriedly.
"I'm quitting, so I'm out" Duncan comments as if it were the most casual thing in the world, but the Chef stops him.
"You're doing this on purpose, maggot, you're going to stay in this challenge until the bitter end, now drop and give me twenty for interrupting the coordination session!" he orders the punk, who couldn't do more than obey.
After that, Chef looks at the others. "Anyone else have anything to say?" he challenges them to say something just for Gwen to raise her hand.
"Um... yeah... can I go to the bathroom?" the goth girl asks.
(Communal Bathrooms)
The girl can be seen with a bucket of water, a mop, and gloves in her hands. "Not exactly what I had in mind" she admits disgusted.
(Outside)
"Yeah... well..." now it was Naruto who had a question. "What happened to Lindsay?" he asks, not seeing his teammate ever since dinner.
"She's helping with the preparations for one of the night training sessions" Chef answars, causing some confused faces, he had told them that they wouldn't want to be relocated if they left their boot camp, but that sounds simple.
(Forest)
"I ... can't ... go on anymore" Lindsay spoke in between gasps as she lay on the ground, exhausted from working tirelessly to quickly build a training circuit ordered by Chef. Unfortunately, some interns picked her up by the arms and dragged her back to continue helping with the construction.
"Whyyyyyy?" the bombshell l complained weakly as she was dragged back to that hell called construction work.
(Main Lodge)
"It seems that several of you don't know how to respect your superiors, so this time you will complete a three hundred-word essay about how much you love me. Anyone who falls asleep or fails to complete it will be out of my camp!" Chef instructs everyone once Gwen returns from mopping the bathroom.
(Time passes)
Time has just run out, and everyone is exhausted from the day, with some on the verge of sleep like Bridgette and Courtney, who have been pinching themselves to stay awake. Another case is Owen, who seems to be in a trance and drooling quite a bit, but there are others who have fallen asleep, like DJ and Katie, who couldn't finish their essays. All this happens while Chef collects the mentioned papers.
When Chef took Duncan's essay, he was curious to see what he had written, so he started reading it aloud. "I love Master Chef Hatchet because he is very, very, very, very..." The more he read, the more he realized that it just said, "This is just one sentence with five pages of 'verys' in between." The former military man scolds the smiling punk.
"It's 300 words exactly, you can count them if you want" Duncan defends himself, and Chef couldn't reproach him this time since the rebellious maggot found a loophole in his rules. With that, Chef walks reading the other letters, but slips on Owen's drool puddle. "Wipe that drool you little baby" the former military man orders a barely conscious Owen and also pounds the table with his fist, surprising Owen, Katie, and DJ who wake up. "And you two slackers" he points to the two Bass members who fell asleep, "You're out, you'll be relocated to the same area as the wimpy blonde" he indicates for two interns to guide them to where Lindsay is.
With that, Chef looks at the remaining 10. "The rest of you, get to bed and report to the playing field at 0500 hours" but something caught his attention, and he turned to see Duncan offering him a napkin.
"I think you should clean up, General" the punk recommends, which would have been seen as a good gesture if he didn't have a mocking expression on his face.
"What are you playing at, recruit? Do you want to run 50 laps around this camp right now?" Chef threatens, but before Duncan digs himself a deeper grave, Courtney intervenes in time.
"No thanks, he's just tired, sir, we're going to bed now" the girl tries to appease Chef, which worked as he left. With that, the girl gives Duncan a stern look. "What are you trying to do? Get eliminated?" she reproaches, but the boy just gives her a triumphant look.
"Aww, I knew you cared about me" he 'affectionately' replies, but Courtney was not happy at all.
"I don't, I just don't want to lose this challenge, so stop being such a screw-up and do what you are told for once in your life, ok?" she scolds before going to bed.
Although Duncan just turns to Geoff with a smile. "She wants me" the punk affirms, which the party guy agrees with.
"Do doubt" Geoff replies, fist-bumping Duncan.
(Forest - 0500 hours)
"Seriously, how the heck do they build these things so fast?" Bridgette questions impressed as she sees a training circuit in the place, consisting of a wooden wall seconded by a small pit with ropes to swing on, the third obstacle being two walls with tires a bit above the center to jump in the tire hole, and finally, an area with two axes swinging, all this in a muddy terrain to make the course more challenging.
Although without them noticing, some exhausted interns, Lindsay, DJ, and Katie, are doing their best to catch their breath on the forest floor in some trees away from them.
"You will all run this course until you can all complete it in under one minute" the Chef instructs, looking straight at Duncan's face. "Am I making myself clear?" he asks, growling a bit, but the guy didn't seem intimidated.
"Crystal," the punk confirms, although on the other hand, Naruto doesn't seem so impressed by what he sees.
"I don't see it so complicated" he thinks out loud, catching everyone's attention, which didn't please Chef.
"Really? Then show us how easy it can be" Chef orders the Japanese guy, which the guy immediately accepts by running at full speed to jump over the wall without any problems, hanging onto the wall with his hands and kicking it hard enough for his lower body to be propelled up and over to the other side without problems. After he lands, he runs again and jumps over the pit without needing to use the ropes to land rolling on the other ramp and standing up instantly, already with the momentum of the movement, he takes advantage to reach the third obstacle to jump over it without problems to land rolling again, only this time he didn't stop and let the mud do its thing to slide lying down on his back under the swinging axes at a good speed and cross the finish line without any more complications.
Standing up now, the guy cleans himself a bit before looking at the others, and he couldn't help but smile amusedly as he saw their jaws dropped open, even Chef couldn't believe what he was seeing as his glasses fell to the ground unnoticed, the sergeant just looked at other interns who indicated that his time was 31.4 seconds, just over half a minute.
…
…
…
"... Well done, recruit, you've earned the time to rest" Chef finally comments, although his facial expression didn't change at all.
(Confession)
"Holy shit, I knew the guy was agile, I train with him all the time, but that surpasses everything he's shown so far" Eva admits completely surprised. She'll have to ask him for advice on how to improve her agility to get closer to that even a little.
*Static*
"DAMN!" Chef, on the other hand, holds his head still not believing what he saw. "Even the soldiers in my old unit couldn't perform this same circuit so quickly!"
*Static*
"What can I say? I have to thank Ero-sensei for his training," Naruto admits to the audience at home, but shortly after, he shivers as if something shook him to the core.
"Although I think Kaa-Chan's punishments helped me more than anything" he murmurs, terrified, but loud enough for the camera to record it
(Flashback - Off-camera)
"Someone save me!" shouted a 15-year-old Naruto as he ran through the streets of his city, escaping from a pack of about sixteen dogs. The reason? He was wearing a meat vest along with a scarf made of linked sausages around his neck. This was one of the punishments his mother imposed on him every time he did something really foolish. Let's just say destroying the roof of the house didn't sit well with her.
"Over here, dude, escape route 54!" Devin supported him by showing him a dead-end alley. Naruto understood the escape number and climbed onto a trash can, bouncing off a wall to climb to the other side. Unfortunately, half of the dogs positioned themselves to serve as support for the other half to jump, so there were still eight dogs chasing him.
"Naruto, this way!" Carrie yelled as she saw him approaching. When he did, she threw him a rope and stepped aside to avoid being run over by the dogs.
The boy ran a few more blocks, pushing his way through the people in his path, which surprised some but was nothing new for the majority. Living for two years in the same city as the personified chaos known as the Namikaze family had got them used to seeing certain strange things. Moving on from that, the boy finally reached his destination. Looking up, he saw some stairs next to a wall, but they were quite high up. That's why he used his rope to catch onto one of the posts, swinging with enough force to turn 180 degrees and climb up. He glanced down for a moment and saw that somehow the remaining dogs were climbing the rope.
"Oh, come on" the boy complained, climbing up as fast as he could. When he reached the roof, he saw Emma, who had just finished assembling a glider. "'Em-Chan, is it ready?" the Japanese guy asked, worried and in a hurry, knowing those dogs would arrive at any moment.
"How on earth do you manage to destroy the roof of your own house?" his best friend in Canada ignored him and asked the question that everyone in the neighborhood wanted to know. She had been checking the requirements to work in British Columbia and looking for the possibility of learning to surf when she heard an explosion that startled her out of bed.
"I'll tell you later" the boy couldn't wait any longer. He put on his goggles to keep the wind from obstructing his vision and used the glider to head towards his house. "I owe you one!" Naruto shouted as he flew away.
"You owe me plenty already!" the girl retorted before flinching up as she heard a growl. She turned around just to see the dogs searching for their prey, which worried her. "Um... sorry, guys, he's already gone" she explained, pointing to where Naruto had gone. That only made the dogs lose interest and return, much to Emma's relief as she wasn't attacked.
Back with Naruto, he managed to land near his house without any problem. "Oh yeah, take that you mutts, nobody can mess with Naruto Namika-AAAH!" But his celebration was interrupted when Kurama, out of nowhere, tackled his younger owner to feast on him. "KURAMA, YOU TRAITOR, AHH, HELP, CALL THE POLICE, I'M GETTING KILLED HERE!"
All this spectacle was happening under the proud gaze of Kushina, who watched her son being punished, and the incredulous Detective Lilly, who was also watching. The woman was dressed in the typical Canadian police uniform, with fair skin, short black hair tied in a low ponytail, and black eyes.
"Where do you get the imagination for these punishments, Kushina?" Lilly couldn't help but ask as she watched her friend's son trying and failing to escape from the family's pet. She had met this curious family when they first moved to the city, investigating a series of robberies in the neighborhood. It turned out it was the family pet who was responsible so that Naruto could build a luxury jacuzzi for the family next door, who paid him to build one. Although it was a nice gesture, it didn't save him from a good scolding. That also led her to meet his parents, and let's just say that from that moment on, her life was never the same. It was so much so that a year later, the commissary created Code N for every crazy thing that family did, or rather the mother, son, and pet who had a natural talent for getting into trouble. How Minato put up with it all the time was a mystery to her.
"It's my gift, Lilly, one I'm proud to have" the woman shamelessly admitted. Although seeing the punishment reminded her of something. "Hey, didn't you say your brother had trouble with a boy? What if we bring him here next summer vacation? A change of scenery would do him some good" proposed the Namikaze family mother, only to see the detective's terrified expression. The Namikaze family was chaotic enough on its own, and she didn't want to involve more madness in her life. That, and she wasn't sure if the boy could survive Kushina's punishments.
"I'll think about it. Thanks for the offer, Kushina" Lilly 'thanked' with a nervous smile, which her friend didn't seem to notice.
(End of flashback - Off-camera)
"Damn traitorous fox" Naruto muttered still in the confessional, with a glassy look as he remembered how Kurama assaulted him that day.
(Later)
The other campers were doing their best to complete the circuit, with interns monitoring each one's time to see how long they took.
Naruto couldn't help but whistle in surprise. "Man, I didn't think it would be so hard for them," he muttered, sitting next to Chef.
"Bah, they're just maggots who've never experienced a real workout in their lives" the sergeant replied, having heard him, then turned to look at the boy. "At least there are a couple of you who are doing well in these moments" he admitted, noticing that Naruto was active and could see that Eva was getting faster with each attempt as she got used to being more agile. That was a work ethic and lifestyle that everyone should have.
"Yeah" Naruto liked by most of the campers he had met, but he had to agree with Chef; they were somewhat more sedentary than everyone he knows when he lived in Japan. He had nothing against that; everyone chooses how to live their life. But it was a cultural shock when he used to go out early to train in the park with his family every day, only to see no one there. He got used to it, but he still felt that people could be somewhat more active.
But their small conversation was interrupted when Duncan called the chef; apparently, Harold couldn't continue anymore.
"Ring the bell and report to the infirmary, your tour of duty is finished" the former military man instructed the nerd, though luckily he was taken out right after having to work on something he was asked to do.
(Later)
"Well done, Eva," Naruto congratulated his training partner as she managed to complete the circuit after a few more attempts.
"You're going to have to teach me some agility exercises, Naruto. It took me longer than I'd like to admit," the athletic girl requested as she sat down with the Japanese boy and Chef.
"I don't think so. We're on different teams; I don't want to lose another challenge, you know" he replied, causing her to sigh unsatisfied.
"Then let's do this: I'll teach you how to increase your strength while you teach me to be more agile," she proposed, catching the japanese guy's interest.
"I'll think about it, but I won't be making any promises" Naruto replied, all under the approving gaze of the Chef. This was the work ethic and self-improvement he liked to see, although he had to get up to go scold Duncan, again.
"You just bought yourself 20 more push-ups, maggot" the ex-military man admonished him, but well, the delinquent was still getting Chef to the edge.
"Thank you" the boy 'gratefully accepted' before pecking his nose, which made Chef so angry that some veins started to show, which worried those present.
"I think you may have pushed him over the edge, bro" Geoff told the punk, concerned.
"I think you're right" Duncan admitted this time that he had crossed the line.
"One night of solitary confinement in the boathouse" Chef decreed, eliciting several worried gasps, but Duncan seemed unfazed.
"Whatever" the boy didn't seem to think it was a big deal.
(Boathouse)
You could see what the place was like, all covered in sharp things, so with one wrong step, you could cut or prick yourself quite easily.
"I should've kept my big mouth shut" Duncan admitted as the door closed, leaving him in darkness while the howl of a wolf could be heard in the background.
(Main Lodge)
Courtney was looking out the window while the rest of the campers were eating after the exhausting day they had just had, even Lindsay, Katie, DJ, and Harold had their break to be with everyone.
"I'm going to check on Duncan," the rules girl excused herself to leave, but someone else had something to say.
"You really like him, don't you?" Bridgette asked with a mischievous smile, it seems she still had the energy to tease her friend.
"I think it's more than that" Katie added with her own smile, which made the polite girl blush a little.
"I don't like him, he's rude, rebellious, and totally annoying" the girl unloaded a bit with what she 'didn't like' about him. "But I can't let him go hungry" she defended herself, taking a bowl of dough and heading towards the boathouse.
(Confession)
"She likes him" Katie affirmed with a giggle.
(Boathouse)
Courtney had to grab a flashlight so she could see properly. When she finally arrived, she saw the boy who, to kill his boredom, had been willing to sweep the place. How he hadn't cut or pricked himself was a mystery.
"Princess?" the boy asked, surprised to see her, but that didn't mean he didn't like her company.
"Please don't call me that anymore, it's embarrassing" the girl asked him before offering him the bowl. "Here, even you have to eat" the girl offered the bowl to dispel any doubts the boy might have.
"Umm, I think I'll stick with the bait" the boy pointed to a bucket full of worms.
"I don't blame you" the girl sat on a box while the delinquent took a bucket. "But what's going on with you? Why are you more rebellious than usual?" she asked, and the punk rolled his eyes.
"The better question would be, why do you care?" Duncan asked, and before the girl could answer, the boy interrupted her. "And tell me the real reason, I know damn well that not losing the challenge is the only reason." With that, the girl fell silent, he realized it, so without further ado, she responded.
"You're more than what you show others. I want to get to know you Duncan, the real you" the girl admitted, and for the second time, the punk had no idea what to do or say.
"What makes you think I'm not showing who I really am?" he asked slowly, and now it was the girl who rolled her eyes.
"Because I've noticed it, Duncan. I see how even though you try to hide it, you care about others and you're every time you ..." the girl couldn't continue when the boy gave her a nasty look.
"I'm not soft, Courtney, don't direct your head to imaginary land" he mentioned roughly, but for once, the girl had enough. She had reached her limit, so for once in her life, she threw all her anger management lessons out of the window and snapped at him.
"COULD YOU EVEN LISTEN TO OTHERS ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIFE?!" she roared in his face, which shocked the punk so much that he fell to the ground in surprise. He had never seen Courtney like this, the closest thing to that was when Sadie accidentally broke her violin, but this was a whole new level.
"DAY AFTER DAY IN THIS DAMN SHITTY CAMP IS THE SAME DAMN THING, YOU DAMNED CRAWLIE, ALWAYS SHUTTING YOURSELF OFF, ALWAYS SHOWING ANOTHER FACE, FOR WHAT, TO MAINTAIN THAT SHITTY BAD BOY IMAGE, TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE YOU'RE NOT, WHY?!" the girl let out everything she had inside, and although Duncan was shocked by this facet of the polite girl, he regained some of his confidence.
"Why the hell do you care about that? It's my life, I do what I want with it!" he replied, but Courtney gave him a dangerous look.
"BECAUSE I DON'T EVEN THINK YOU'RE DOING WHAT YOU WANT!" she roared, causing the delinquent to widen his eyes, but still, he had one last question to ask.
"And how the hell can you tell?!" he asked wanting to know how the hell she can figure out certain things.
"BECAUSE YOU REMIND ME OF MYSEEELF!" she admitted, letting herself be carried away by her emotions, although she stopped instantly when she realized what she said and saw the shocked look on the boy in front of her. Quickly, she acquired a frightened look. "This was a bad idea" and with that, she tries to escape, but Duncan just takes her hand, stopping her immediately. It wasn't a strong grip, but a gentle one, and that was enough to stop her.
"Please let me go" the girl asked in a weak tone, a tone that Duncan had never heard from her.
"Let's just... take things slowly... okay?" the punk offered, and seeing how she nodded affirmatively for her to turn around, they both looked into each other's eyes, the flashlight fell down but it still could illuminate the place. But still, they just remained silent without knowing who would speak first, and well, Courtney was the one who started by answering the question left hanging in the air.
"Ever since I was little, I've always had high expectations on my shoulders because of my advanced academic skills despite my age" the girl began. "At first, it was bearable, but the more achievements I obtained, the higher the expectations rose, and I had less and less time to be myself, I was always lucked up in my house studying. It didn't help that everyone saw me as just the academically perfect girl, something that also happened in the academic clubs I was in, I even came to believe that was my true self. But in reality it became a mask to hide how lonely I felt. In fact, it's only now that I really feel I've truly got some real friends" she admitted in a slightly broken voice, recalling her cabin mates. She even considers Eva her friend despite how cold her personality is at times.
"..." Duncan didn't say anything, he just let her continue.
"Meeting you … was an experience. The typical delinquent with no future, that's what I thought when I first saw you. But then came the dodgeball game, the talent show challenge, and many more things that I noticed as the days went by. I noticed something more that I always see in myself: a mask. So I tried to get closer to help you break yours, but I guess you were the one who broke mine" she finished with a bitter laugh.
"... Have you ever tried talking to your parents?" the boy asked, setting aside his mask for this occasion too.
"I-I'm terrified to tell them how I feel. I don't know how they'll react" the girl admitted, somewhat resigned.
"Do they listen to you?" he asked again.
"Yes" she immediately replied. "They're a bit strict, but they're great people."
"I see" Duncan realized that the girl had simply locked herself into the facade of the perfect girl to not disappoint anyone, especially her parents. She had burdened herself all this time without realizing it.
"Talk to them. I know they'll understand" Duncan advised, trying to reassure the worried girl.
"How do you know they'll understand?" she asked a bit tense, realizing something. She had just confessed something very personal on national television; her parents must be watching this too, she just wants to hide under a rock for the rest of her life.
"Because you're their daughter, and so far, I've only seen an amazing person" he admitted to her, causing the girl to blush and look away with a small smile.
"Do you want to get some ice cream?" he asked, surprising the girl.
"How are we going to get ice cream here?" Courtney asked, only for Duncan to give a smile.
(Craft Services)
We see a Chef snoring while Duncan and Courtney crawl on a table with tablecloths in their hands that they use as bags.
"Duncan, this is a terrible idea" the polite girl whispers worriedly.
"Relax, Princess, everything will be fine" the punk reassures her as they reach the food table. They take everything they can and then crawl to the fridge to see a good amount of packaged desserts. With that, they take what they need, crawl outside and walk in silence far enough to start running.
Courtney couldn't understand what just happened. How did she end up like this? What even crossed her mind for her to follow this plan? She doesn't know, but for once in her life, she feels free, free of all worries, free of fears, free of everything. As she ran, she just laughed, and in a few seconds, that laughter turned into a loud laughter, the loudest laughter she had ever had in her life to the point where tears of happiness came out of her eyes. Why the hell is she laughing? She doesn't know, but this feeling, these emotions she feels at this moment that came from the freedom of doing what she wanted, she doesn't want to let them go, she will NEVER let them go.
(Killer Bass Cabin - boys' room)
"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug, chug, chug!" everyone cheered as Geoff and Owen were in a competition to chug jumbo sodas, and as you can see, the oaf won with honors.
"WHOOOOOO!" Owen celebrates his victory to the cheers of the others.
"That's what you get for challenging the undisputed champion Geoff" Bridgette teases a bit when she sees the party guy give Owen ten dollars.
"I admit, it wasn't one of my best ideas" the boy scratches his head embarrassedly, which makes the surfer girl laugh at his face.
"... that's why I don't believe him" Gwen was talking to Katie and Courtney.
"Good point," Katie agrees, although then she rubs her sore arms. "If I wanted to join the army, I would have done it long ago. This challenge is torture" she complains with her two friends agreeing.
"Gross!" Harold complains, and most can see that his bed has a happy face made of peanut butter.
"That's what I call a waste" Duncan comments as he high fives Geoff.
"Wassup, peasants, your king has returned" Naruto announces his arrival with Chef's stereo.
"Any reason why you took so long?" DJ asks confused. Did the Chef wake up or what?
"I had to take care of something" the Japanese guy clarifies for everyone's doubts, but that didn't mean much when he started playing music to lift up the mood.
"Umm, Charlotte, you should stop" Lindsay advises from a bed to Courtney, who was eating ice cream sandwiches non-stop.
"J-just one more," the polite girl clarifies before eating it, bad idea, she ended up going outside to barf.
"She was warned" Gwen mentions with a smile while Katie laughs a little.
(Outside the cabin)
"Bad idea," the girl mumbles after barfing.
"Yeah, I guess there are some rules that are better to follow" Duncan advises her as he goes out give her company.
"That's funny coming from you" the girl mocks.
"True" the punk concedes. "Better?" he asks.
"Much better," Courtney replies with a huge smile.
"I'll be waiting for my payment, Princess" Duncan tells her with a playful smile, but that fun turns into astonishment when the girl not only hugged him by the neck but also gave him a kiss on the lips that lasted about fifteen seconds.
After separating, the girl just went to the bathroom. "Keep doing me tons of favors, and you'll get a lot more payments like that" Courtney flirts as she winks playfully before continuing on her way to the bathroom.
"Dude!" Duncan is surprised when Geoff, DJ, and Naruto appear behind him.
"Looks like someone had a great day today" DJ congratulates.
"I just hope the tension eased up" Naruto says with a teasing smile.
"Like you have room to talk, Whiskers, you and Heather are the same" a smiling Duncan replies with a smug smile.
"No, thanks, that's never going to happen" the Japanese adamantly refuses, while the four argue, Harold was watching everything from the window with a furious look.
"LISTEN UP, YOU DAMN VERMIN!" the Chef roars, cutting through the atmosphere so that everyone leans out the door or windows. "I EXPECT YOU ALL TOMORROW MORNING AT 0700 HOURS FOR YOUR PUNISHMENT FOR THE DAMN OFFENSE AND INSOLENCE YOU COMMITTED! AND TO THE SUCKER WHO THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY TO PAINT MY FACE WHILE I WAS SLEEPING, ONCE I FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE, YOUR FUCKING ASS IS MINE!" Everyone immediately turns to look at Naruto, who was laughing nervously.
"Hey, it could have been anyone" he lamely defends himself.
"You're the next one going home if we lose," Heather sentences without hesitation.
"But what awaits us tomorrow?" Gwen asks worriedly, the Chef's voice was so loud that he didn't even need a megaphone or speakers.
(Forest - 0710 hours)
Currently, the remaining campers are hanging from the tree branches upside down while a Chef with his face painted like a clown walks among them. It turns out that the paint is difficult to remove, so in two more days, it should completely fade away.
Currently, only Eva, Courtney, and Duncan remain for the Bass, while Naruto, Gwen, and Heather remain for the Gophers.
"What you're experiencing, is an ancient form of torture" the Chef explains. "Among the things this can cause are your blood rushing to your heads, experiencing nausea, and dizziness" he continues to explain, only for Heather and Duncan to show said symptoms and fall, Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the queen bee falling on her face.
Meanwhile, it seems that Courtney starts laughing, so much so that she ends up falling too.
"I expected more out of you, recruit" Chef admits, a little disappointed.
"M-master Chef" the polite girl calls his attention, calming her laughter.
"What?" the former military man asks.
"You really need to take a chill pill" the girl 'advises,' making everyone look at her incredulously. What the hell had happened to Courtney?
"I didn't expect that" Gwen admits incredulously, Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't hold back anymore and just fell, now it was Heather's turn to laugh.
"You're the only one left, Gwen" Owen, on his part, supports his teammate.
"Don't fall, Eva" DJ supports his teammate.
"Oh yeah, I can stay here all day" Gwen replies confidently.
"We'll see about that" Eva replies.
A couple of hours passed, surprisingly, but after that, Eva couldn't take it anymore and fell unconscious, making the Gophers celebrate, finally a victory after a really bad losing streak.
"Let go, Gwen" Naruto advices with his arms extended, and the girl, not wanting to miss the chance, obeys instantly for the Japanese guy to catch her bridal style, the momentum making her hug his neck in reflex, to her slight embarrassment but great satisfaction, don't judge her.
"Gwen congratulations, soldier. I'd go to war with you anytime," the Chef congratulates, giving his military salute.
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind when choosing my career" Gwen replies as she gets off Naruto to walk back to the cabin with the others, all without noticing the expression on the Chef's face.
"You do that, soldier" the former military man remains firm, but a betraying tear runs down his cheek "You do that".
(Campfire ceremony)
"It's been a while since your last elimination ceremony, little fishes" Chef tells them with a tray of seven marshmallows. "You know the rules, so let's see who's getting their sorry ass out of here" he announces as everyone looks at the marshmallows.
"Slacker, Surfer, Big Guy," he throws the marshmallows to Geoff, Bridgette, and DJ, who had flat faces when they heard how he called them.
"Crybaby, The only one who knows how to use her time wisely, and the damn rebel, you three are safe too" he announces as he throws his marshmallows to Katie, Eva, and Duncan, Katie in particular feeling very offended about how he called her.
This leaves only Harold and Courtney. "Well, you pair of maggots, only one of you will get out of here, and the one safe is ..."
...
...
...
Harold, on the other hand, looks anxiously at the marshmallow.
...
...
...
Courtney is just calm and somewhat smiling.
...
...
...
"Skinny Nerd, you're staying" Chef declares for the nerd to receive his marshmallow cheerfully, Courtney, on the other hand...
"Whaaat?! You guys voted for Harold over me?!" the girl asks incredulously and hurt to the rest of her team, and she wasn't the only one, as DJ, Duncan, and Geoff looked incredulous too, although Eva, Katie, and Bridgette looked confused.
"I demand a recount!" the girl exclaims, and Duncan goes to support her.
"Seriously, dude, I know for a fact there were three of us who didn't vote her off," Duncan mentions, but Chef doesn't care.
"I don't care about your whining, maggots, I counted right, so don't go all crybaby over me" Chef sentences before dragging the girl to the Boat of Losers.
"Oh, man, this sucks" Duncan grumbles disappointed, angry, and sad.
"I do not concede, I do not concede, I was your only hope, I was a CIT!" the polite girl protests, although, well, the truth is, the Bass still has a good advantage over the Gophers.
"Let me go!" the girl demanded, which the Chef eagerly accepted. He let her go, right into the Boat of Losers, so without wasting any more time, he hopped on and drove off, not giving her a chance to come back.
"Courtney, wait!" Duncan calls out as best he can, and the girl loses her breath for a second when she sees him. "Courtney, I ...!" he tries to say, but he couldn't find the words he wanted to say.
The girl knew she didn't have much time before the boy couldn't hear her anymore, so she went straight to the edge and shouted as loud as she could, "Duncan!" The girl's voice silenced him for a moment. "THANK YOU, FOR EVERYTHING!" she shouted once more, although due to the distance, it could barely be heard. So they just raised their hands and waved to say goodbye.
Campers:
Screaming Gophers: Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Naruto, Owen.
Killer Bass: Bridgette, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Geoff, Harold, Katie.
Eliminated: Justin, Noah, Sadie, Trent, Tyler, Izzy, Leshawna, Beth, Cody, Courtney.
Another chapter done, as you could see, I started to put some new elements such as backstories for the characters, Courtney being the most notable one.
Some of you may not know, but before starting this story, I searched every possible bit of background of each TD character, and I still do it from time to time to refresh my mind or to find something new, the point of this is that I really tried my best to find everything about Courtney and her reason to have such a drastic change from season 1 to what we have nowadays, but there's nothing about it, only the producers decision to create the famous Duncan-Gwen-Courtney love triangle, so I had to find a way to make her change into that Courtney that we met in season 2. Will it work? Only my future self will be able to answer that.
And well, that's it for now from the not so much of a reader now.
I will be reading the reviews, accepting constructive criticism and interesting ideas.
Until next time.
(In-camera post-credit scene)
After everyone left, Harold decided to stay behind to roast his marshmallow in the campfire pit, but not without recalling everything: the wedgies, being stripped naked, making a fool of himself at every possible turn. And his thoughts didn't stop there. Heather, the cursed woman who took advantage of him during his time with the Gophers, he was done with it. He tried to have a good relationship with everyone, but there will always be those who want to take advantage of him.
(Confession)
"Let's see how it feels when someone messes with you" a furious Harold mentions. Still feeling some remorse, he forced open the lockbox of votes. Once he did that, he switched the votes so that Courtney would be eliminated.
(Campfire)
Now we can see a conflicted Harold. He didn't want to eliminate Courtney; he would have been happy if he had been voted out instead. But he's tired of being the butt of jokes, so a little revenge isn't so bad. As the saying goes, 'Eye for an eye'.
"Boo-yaa!" the nerd celebrates with a satisfied look, then blows on his marshmallow to extinguish the flame.