The immense and unbelievable conclusion to Fish's time on the show was still very much fresh. Not much had been said in the time that had transpired. With nothing left to do, no one to vote for for the night, the cast lingered in their same spots in the moments they'd been loitering during the unrelenting beatdown Mercutio dealt Fish, all for daring to raise his voice at him. Cody had been taken away to the infirmary, while separately, Athena, Stephen, Damien, and Zee had wandered away on their own.

Watching after an ambulance had pulled up by the Bus of Shame, Damien sat under a tree on the other side of campus with his eyes vacant and disillusioned. The soft sound of feet crunching against grass sounded beside him, then the sound of a soda cracking.

"Hey, man," Zee gently greeted him, coming to sit beside him and hold out a can. "Soda?"

Damien snapped to, only slightly. "Sure. Th-thanks."

"Drink up, bro. You could use some carbonation at a time like this."

The two Grads sat together with their eyes on a stretcher coming down, two medics latching Fish to it.

"I saw such horrific shit today..." Damien murmured, his voice barely over a whisper.

"It was really bad, wasn't it?"

"A man split in half... I don't know if I can take it... I... I don't know if I have it in me..."

Zee nodded, setting his chill gaze on his friend for a moment, replying. "You do. It's chillin' to feel that way, but you do."

Back to the group gathered by Fish, loaded up onto the stretcher, Tracy approached Londyn from behind, gently gesturing her to follow.

"That leg needs to be looked at. Go ahead and come with me."

"No... not yet." The beautiful brunette limped through the group around her, budging by Queen and Holden to approach the stretcher that the medics pushed up the walkway towards the road. "Stop! Let me talk to him."

The medics halted momentarily. Londyn made her way to stand beside Fish, and he was a disgusting mess to look at. The teen's facial structure looked like it had been deformed from the massive beating he received. Blood continued to drip off several cuts, formed from bruises so bad that they'd broken the skin and led to bleeding. Fish's hair and the top of his hoodie was stained in his own blood, with droplets pooling around his face. Barely croaking out a breath, he turned to meet eyes with the girl that once desired him so terribly.

"Londyn..." he rasped.

"Fish."

"I... I guess I... de- de- deserved this," he croaked out, each word a struggle.

Londyn pushed a finger to his lips, causing him to wince. "Don't speak. Just listen. Before you go, I want you to know one thing."

His eyes swollen almost completely shut with his nose a dark shade of purple, he obeyed.

Instead of saying a word, Londyn balled the hand she'd touched him with to form a fist, then rose it up and smashed it as hard as she could into his groin. He let out a yelp and a groan of agony, then the paramedics continued getting him away, one of them muttering, "Jesus".

Londyn turned to yell at him as he went, "You're damn right you deserved it! You deserved that too! No one fucks me and treats me like shit! Not anymore! I'm not gonna take it anymore! Go get an infection and die, you piece of shit!"

Startling the others, Londyn unballed her fist to lick the blood from Fish's lips that she had on her finger. The tattooed brunette turned to see multiple sets of eyes on her.

"What? What, think it's weird I fucked him? I think it's weird, too!"

"We didn't even know about that," Bowie admitted.

"From now on, you're all gonna be seeing a very different side of Londyn! Don't fuck with me! I'm here to stay and I'm here to win! That's all!" The girl proceeded to limp past Tracy, muttering, "I don't need you to take me to the infirmary, I'll go by myself."

Meek, Tracy let her go, then he let his eyes drift over the eight contestants around him: Matcha, Kobe, Bowie, Jayshawn, Queen, Brook, Iko, and Holden. "You guys should... you should get some rest. You'll need it. Just... just take it easy for a little while, all right? You need anything, I'll fix you guys whatever you want to eat."

"Did you," Matcha started, but her voice broke. "Did you know any of this was going to happen?"

The chef eyed her with what looked like sympathy. Hesitating, he finally replied, "Go ahead and get some shut eye."

Elsewhere on the campus, Athena sat by a fence on one of the furthest ends near the surrounding forests, her knees in front of her as she hyperventilated. The frustration, gaspy breaths, and mixture of sadness and anger seemed to suggest real feelings, also considering she was alone, though one could never be certain.

"Stop it," she snapped, but her shuddery breaths and tears wouldn't stop falling. "Stop it. Stop it, right now, bitch." She slapped herself across the face, only causing her to sob more. She growled, thrusting her face in her knees as she tugged at her orangey-blonde hair. "Get a grip already. Goddammit. Fuck."

After a prolonged period of this, Athena fanned her eyes and took breaths to calm herself. She paused, then put on a face of distress, squeaking, "I just- I've never seen anything so awful. It was the most- no, dumb bitch." She smacked herself, then repeated herself in the same voice. "I just- I've never seen anything so awful. It was-" She growled. "Not like that. God, you really are worthless, aren't you? I just- I've never- god, you're fucking pathetic."

The camera zoomed out on the girl left verbally assaulting herself, going back and forth between her natural, deeper voice, and her chirpy, outward shown voice, eventually fading to black.

Rome's POV

I'd never had any idea how tiring it could be to scour the internet. There have been plenty of instances of me doing so for a plethora of different reasons. AMP decided to discontinue their cherry flavor, but before I came to terms with accepting that, I ventured all over the internet to see if they were still sold, maybe in bulk someplace.

So, you can imagine trying to locate Chef Hatchet in an entire city, the city with the highest population density in all of Canada-look it up, it's true-was a slight bit of a resolve tester. Hanging around Zoey's house scouring far and wide, it made me feel like the Scooby gang from Buffy doing research in the library or the Magic Box-depending on what era of the show you're watching. [1]

I entered Zoey's kitchen and opened up the fridge, blankly staring at the options that resided within it. The stress and pressure I was beginning to feel had me caring little to not at all about the funny sight of a tangerine wedged in a bowl of Oreo fluff. Kali, appearing beside me, commented on it.

"Ooh, they make Oreo fluff here? Score!" She reached in to take it, only to pick up on the way I was feeling, I'd wager. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know. I feel so pressured."

She leaned on the fridge's door after I closed it, patiently listening as she always did as I started venting.

"The past two years, I've felt pressure to make it to the end of the game and win, pressure to help the people around me, to stop Axel, to make sure Zoey doesn't lose her mind. Saving Wallace from an alternate dimension comes to mind, too. I've just never really felt anything like this before. My gut is really telling me that Chris isn't sadistic enough to spend one of his few opportunities to call me just to prank me. Twice, he called me. It doesn't make sense. So, now I feel like if I don't find Chef, all those new cast members on the show could die. That blood would be on my hands. Plus, I've always wanted to meet Cody! Are you kidding me? I can't let Cody die!"

"Babe, babe, breathe," she urged. "You've got to understand that these are pressures you've put on yourself. Shay didn't need your help to beat Axel, Zoey ultimately won All Stars and stopped Mal, and it wasn't your responsibility to pull Wallace out of the portal either."

"But if it hadn't been for me helping-"

"Things may have played out differently. I know. I also know how much heart you have, and we're all grateful for what you've done. Thing is though? These things don't all rest on your shoulders. Chris may have called you, but you've got help now. We're gonna help get you through this, and if the fate of the cast really rests on us, then we're gonna get them out of this together."

I smiled at her. "Thank you."

"No problem, lover. You ready to go back upstairs? We still have more surfing the net to do."

"Think I'm gonna get a little OJ first. I'll meet you up there."

After we kissed, I watched Kali go for a moment, then I turned around to get the juice. On my way out of the kitchen, I hadn't even noticed Zoey's dad appear from a doorway. The two of us bumped shoulders, nearly knocking each other off balance.

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry, sir."

"Pardon me."

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" I questioned.

Once settled, the man chuckled. He was wearing slacks with a dark blue, checkered dress shirt tucked into his pants. I figured Zoey's red hair might not be real on account of this fellow's absence of red in his graying, dark brown hair. Something about him and his average Joe-ness put me at ease.

"I don't look that old, do I?" he responded.

"W-what?"

"Ah, I'm just joking. I just hope I don't look so frail that a single bump would put me in the ER."

"Oh," I chuckled politely. "No, you're fine."

"Say." Her father leaned on one wall of the kitchen, a mug in his hand, presumably with tea in it at this hour of the night. "Your name is Rome, right?"

"You got it, sir."

"Well, Rome, would you mind if I asked you a question?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Is, uhm..." He hesitated, looking down into his mug before returning his friendly gaze to my eyes. "Is Zoey happy?" He spoke quieter now, though I doubted anyone up in Zoey's room was gonna hear us talking. "Is she doing all right, I mean?"

I wasn't expecting a question like this right off the bat. "Well... What do you mean?"

He scoffed lightheartedly. "I apologize, that was a loaded- I guess I'm trying to say that, well, Zoey's been through a lot in this past year. She was manipulated and traumatized by that terrible alter of Mike's, and to watch it all unfold on television... It's taken a great deal of mental fortitude to see her boyfriend the same way after that. It's a horrible feeling, but I know he's better now."

I felt for him. I was always sympathetic for Zoey as it was all going down over the course of last year's season. It felt like she and I really formed a team near the end, before I was eliminated by Mal after the final five ice cream challenge. I couldn't even imagine watching Zoey's struggle as her father, with no ability whatsoever to communicate with her.

Zoey's father held his mouth to his hand, his eyes focused on the tile floor below. It seemed he was reliving some rough times.

"I'm sorry about everything that happened to her."

He looked back up at me. "You did what you could. Which was a lot, by the way. I've been meaning to thank you. So, thank you. Thank you so much for what you did for her. After Cam, I imagine you'd have to be the second most important friend in her life."

I smiled. "That means a lot."

"But anyway, before I lose my train of thought-you know how it is. She endured a lot on that show, and then she won the prize money, which was great, but it, uh... that's a lot to drop on someone at once. Going from humble beginnings to millionairess status is, well... overwhelming. In case you're curious, I'm not all that wealthy. This house we're standing in was inherited. I felt like a very lucky man, just having a daughter pop into the world followed by a home like this."

"I see."

"I-I imagine if I had a million dollars... I wouldn't know what to do with myself." He paused. "And my Zoey's always been such a giver... There was no surprise when she gave half over to Mike. She was willing to give it all up to get him through all the therapy if she needed to. I'm sorry, I must be talking your ear off."

"No, no, no, it's okay. And to answer your question, I think she's doing okay. I really do. I was pretty scared that, you know, despite that happy ending last year had, everything that Mal was able to do would turn Mike and Zoey's relationship irreparable."

"Oh, yeah," he nodded grimly.

"Yeah. I don't know if I'd have ever been able to look Mike in the eyes the same way again if I were her..."

I don't know that I can now.

"But there must be something in her," I continued. "I guess she and Mike are really, really in love. I feel like you'd have to be to make that work. Ultimately, to answer your question, I really think she's all right now. The dust has settled, and we're all just hanging out."

"Okay," he nodded again. "All right, that's great to hear. I don't always know how to ask her myself without... without inviting those memories back into her mind, and I don't want to do that." He scoffed. "I'd rather walk over hot coals than make her feel that way again."

"You sound like a really good dad to her."

"Oh, well, I do my best. My Zoey deserves it. I couldn't be more proud of her. You know, she doesn't really like me talking about it," he softened his voice again. "She didn't really have a lot of friends before Mike and Cam came along. Then you and... the flashy girl with the pointed ears is named... Shawna?"

"Shay, and the others," I answered.

"Right. Sorry. Names," he chuckled. "Anyway, she has grown into such a remarkable young woman, hasn't she? I mean, she's in love, she's got good friends, she's got success and she's made a name for herself. She's talented and sweet, and... gosh, I didn't really have to teach her any of this. That's what fascinates me about it, Rome. I didn't teach her a thing. She just... developed. I mean, sure, I helped with her algebra homework and all that stuff but... becoming a grown woman, maturing, socializing... She did all that for herself. I hope that she knows that."

"I bet she'd love it if you told her all of these things."

Then the sound of footsteps pounding down the stairs alerted me. Zoey's father and I turned around to watch Zoey, Kali, Masi, Shay, and based on the hunched back, scrunched face, and stiff movements, presumably Chester coming down the stairs.

"We made a breakthrough!" Zoey cheered.

"We did? You guys found Chef?"

"Not quite, but we've got some leads," Masi added.

"It's never that easy," Chester grumbled. "Never was. Never got to frolic through the tulips without a hard day's work..."

"Come upstairs, we'll talk."

"I better go get with them," I mentioned to Zoey's dad.

"Of course, go ahead."

"This was a nice talk, sir."

"Yeah, sure, thanks for hanging around." I turned away, then he said, "And, Rome. You can call me Brian. You've earned that."

Piled up in Zoey's room with everyone again, Shay pulled out her phone and showed me what was onscreen. "'Hatchet, 50, of Vancouver was involved in a series of illegal drug interactions, multiple of which have taken place off the corner of Del Villa and Waincliffe St.' This is a lead!" she squeaked.

"I totally thought Chef was older," Kali mentioned, then pointed her thumb at Chester, "I thought he was even older than this sack of maraca bones."

"Eighty-seven is a perfectly fine age! I'm in the peak of my youth!"

"What's the date on that article?" I asked Shay.

She scrolled down the page, then replied, "It's three months old. Wow, it looks like Chef has made a change since Total Drama."

"Guess it took a toll on him," Zoey murmured. "Oh... I wonder what we're walking into..."

"Whatever it is, I guess we've got to go check it out," Masi replied.

"How do we know that Chef is even gonna be anywhere near that particular point?" I threw in. "That's just where he's been doing drug deals or whatever, right? What if he's based clear on the other side of Vancouver? 'Don't shit where you eat' kind of situation?"

"That's a good question," Zoey agreed.

"All I heard was 'what if he's based', and to that I say, yes, he definitely is," Masi responded. "Secondly, what other route is there? That's literally the only lead we have."

"I love that the article implies that Chef's real last name is 'Hatchet'," Kali commented.

"What if it's the, like, rough side of town?" Zoey wondered, nervousness creeping into her tone.

Chester sighed. "If you kids insist on going on yet another exhausting quest, it's possible the other alters could be persuaded into helping if need be."

"We might need it," I replied. "Who knows what we're gonna find there?"

"Well, when are we headed out?" Kali asked.

"Sounds like there's no time to lose," Shay peeped. "I say we go right now."

"Right now, baby?" Masi retorted. "I appreciate the nightlife as much as anyone else, but shouldn't we wait until it's less, like, 'things that go bump in the dark' hours?"

"Chef may have been brutal on Total Drama, but he has a heart. If we find him, he wouldn't let us get hurt. Right?" she squeaked. "Right, guys?"

Momentary silence. Zoey headed towards her door. "I'll go see about borrowing the car."

I'm not sure what Zoey told her father. "Hey, Dad, we're gonna go risk our lives finding the cook from Total Drama for something that we know frighteningly little about. Bye!" Or, perhaps she said we were getting ice cream.

We clown car'd into Zoey's father's car then set off. Apprehension and anticipation mixed within us as we neared closer to the city and its neon lights, traveling the long distance it took us to get from the little town Zoey lived in to Vancouver. Zoey drove with Mike in the front seat, while I sat in the middle between Kali and Masi with Shay illegally residing on her boyfriend's lap.

Entering the city at night, at first it looked like a regular city. Memories of the fun night we'd had prior to the first phone call from Chris while we skied entered my brain, then I remembered the pressure of our mission. With Mike leading her via google maps, Zoey drove us towards the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Similar to the rest of Vancouver and another city I was familiar with, Portland, there were many buildings and trees. However, the deeper into the DTES, as it was called, that we drove, the more unsettling sights we had to see. [2]

I stared out my window to see prostitutes hovering outside city corners as homeless and drug addled people wandered the sidewalks, as well as the streets in some cases. Zoey gently swerved aside as a man with a bottle limped into the street in front of us.

"Excuse me," she peeped.

"He can't hear you, babe," Mike murmured.

There were clouds in the sky, surprisingly no rain though, and most of this side of the city was black and gray. Some neon lights flickered on and off, but I suspected this portion of Vancouver was largely left alone. Distant, we heard a gunshot. All of us jolted.

"Sheesus Christ," Kali gasped. "This is where Chef is?"

Tensely gripping the steering wheel as she drove through the darklit, murky side of the city, Zoey murmured, "M-M-Maybe we'll drive through it. How far until Del Villa and Waincliffe, Mike?"

"We're on Waincliffe St," Mike responded gently. "Del Villa is up a few blocks."

"Oh..."

Watching the unnerving sights out Kali's window, seeing as I couldn't see past Masi and Shay peering out together, Kali squeezed my hand, and Zoey finally pulled up to a street corner; rather, the street corner.

"Here we are."

A rat wandered across the streetlight, currently red, while newspapers and trash flew around from a breeze. "Shut your fucking mouth!" screamed a pedestrian several blocks down.

"Looks about the same as everything else," she pointed out.

"Okay... now what?" Mike asked.

"Drive around a little?" Masi suggested.

"That's the plan?"

"Hey, man, what else can we do?"

"We're gonna get shot..." Kali murmured.

"Or mugged," Shay peeped.

"No, no, we're not," I tried to argue with their anxieties. "We're gonna be fine so long as we stay in the car until we see Chef."

"Slightly wishful thinking, baby," Kali murmured. "I just don't think Chef's gonna randomly stand around out here."

"But we've got to keep looking. We've got to, or the Total Drama cast could be killed."

The grievousness of my statement silenced the car, allowing us to hear the car's hum as Zoey kept driving.

"Do you really think it's that serious?" Mike asked.

"It... it could be. I don't know, man. Crazier things have happened. If he's truly worse than Axel and... you know... then maybe."

Much to all of our dismay, Zoey kept driving us around through this edgy stretch of Vancouver. It was better than the alternative we'd face if we did find Chef: getting out of the car. Sewer drains had rats coming in and out of them, and I couldn't shake the discomfort I felt seeing how gray this part of Vancouver was. So much of the other places we'd visited were lit up with neon lights and the vibrancy of a flourishing city. Here? No such atmosphere.

That was, until something somewhat unexpected appeared in the distance.

"Hey, do you see that?" Mike asked his girlfriend.

"What?"

"Lights."

"Here we are in a city," Masi started, "as excited about seeing actual lights as cavemen looking at a fire."

"He's right, something's lit up up there," Zoey mentioned.

I peered my eyes to make it out. It was several blocks down, with the lights reflecting off windows and the rest of the dark city from down a turn to the right. There was flashing pink, yellow, and purple. Whatever it was was about the only vibrant thing around these parts.

"Do we wanna go check it out?" Shay asked.

"Can we trust it?" Kali countered.

"Do we have a choice?" I threw in.

Mike turned around in his seat to exchange glances with us backseat folk. "If something happens, I can keep us safe. Me, Vito, Manitoba- it doesn't matter. I won't let anything hurt you guys."

"That's kind of you, Mike," Shay murmured.

"Well, sticking by my side even after Mal, I owe you guys." He turned back around, nodding to his girlfriend. "Let's go see what it's about."

We cruised down the road, ignoring the unsightly things happening around the car, such as a drug deal going down, a man receiving a blowjob beside a couple of people nodding off at a bus stop, and a woman that might not have even been alive lying face down in a gutter. I guess I wasn't ignoring the sights after all.

Turning the corner where the neon lights were blazing and shifting, a bright and brazenly lit building on the corner of an intersection was revealed to us. The overwhelming light of this place's exterior made the rest of the city blocks seem even darker by comparison. Zoey parked across the street and read the label of this building.

"'Illustrious Wiggles'?"

Masi chortled. It was one of those buildings with a whole roof structure over the street in front, with pillars holding it up across the street from the building itself. Based on the funky lettering of 'Illustrious' and 'Wiggles', the flashy pink and purple, plus more neon signs of scantily clad women dancing, we could confirm what sort of place we were looking at.

"It's a strip club," Shay declared.

"A booby bar," Masi uttered.

"A breastaurant," I added.

"Is now the time for jokes, guys?" Mike protested.

Zoey shifted from park to drive, but Shay stopped her.

"Wait. Before we go, what if this place is relevant somehow?"

"Not sure I'm following, beautiful," Masi responded.

"This is the only place with any amount of vibrance in this whole area. I mean, it's possible that if this is the neighborhood where Chef was spotted, someone in this club might know of him, might have seen him around maybe? He's a huge, scary-looking mountain of a man; you see someone like him, you notice."

"I just don't know how comfortable I feel in a place like this," Zoey murmured. "They look so scary."

"And, hello, demeaning?" Kali reiterated. "But I think Shay has a point. Chef is definitely a sore thumb in a crowd. If we all stick together, keep track of each other, we should be safe."

"Right," I agreed. "We could get in, ask for Chef, and get out. Simple as that. They could narrow it down. Good thinking, Shay."

"Can I stay in the car?" Zoey peeped.

"Wouldn't you feel safer with all of us to protect you?" Mike mentioned.

"I mean, yes, I'd like that, but someone should stay with the car. My dad would kill me if it got stolen."

"That's a fair point, but only if you're sure."

Zoey nodded, then gave him a kiss. "I'll be fine. You won't be gone long anyway, right?"

"Right. Keep the doors locked until we come back."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"All right, let's go, everyone."

Following Mike, who seemed to take a paternal, protective role among the group, we closed Zoey's father's car doors behind us and stepped across the street, heading towards the blindingly vibrant club entrance. I held Kali's hand, a gesture I suspect she appreciated, while Masi and Shay had the same plan.

I was proud of Mike for leading the way into this extremely sketchy situation, and I was appreciative, too. I knew what potential he had for hurting someone if someone tried to hurt us first. He, or arguably Zoey, was the most dangerous member of our group by far. I just prayed no situation of any caliber could ever conjure Mal back into being, no matter how much it might appear we'd need his help...

Mike and the rest of us approached a bouncer outside. The man, heavily built and wearing shades despite no reason to be doing so, lowered his shades to greet us without an ounce of friendliness.

"Hi," Mike murmured, clearing his throat.

"Can I help you?"

"We were looking to get in."

The bouncer took a prying look at Kali and Shay. Neither girl appeared very comforted by it. "These two the, uh, new talent?"

"Hey, my Shay is talented at many things," Masi started, "liking giving my back scratches, but taking her clothes off for other men isn't one of them!"

"Yeah, and I'm actually an expert at showing very little skin to other guys," Kali added.

"I'm just doing my job, kids," the bouncer muttered.

Out from the entrance appeared a couple of suited men, each appearing in their early 50's or so.

"Thank you!" one of them shouted to someone inside.

"Of course! Hope to see you again soon!"

That voice was familiar. It reminded me of sleeping in a cabin, of competing in sadistic challenges, though it was a feminine voice.

"Was that?" Kali wondered, then the figure stepped out of the club's entrance.

Shocking us all, it was June, the very same June that we'd all competed with together on Total Drama World Tour and or All Stars. She eyed us all with the same level of surprise. I noticed the outfit she was wearing was high-quality-a sleek, sparkly, black dress, and she had a heavy level of makeup on her face, with glittery sparkle action by her eyes.

Kali's jaw gaped. "June?"

She scoffed. "Kali? What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, excuse me," the bouncer turned to face her, "are these your guests, Ms. Barrett?"

"Uh, yeah, now they are."

"What the fuck?" Masi uttered under his breath.

Within moments, the bouncer unlatched the divisionary red rope, allowing us entry. None of us could really believe what we were seeing as June gestured us to follow her in.

"Come on already. Stand around all night and someone's gonna mug you." Another impatient gesture, jerking her head towards the entrance. "Get in here."

[1] - Any Buffy fans here?

[2] - I can't actually confirm that the DTES that Rome and the gang explore is accurate to how it actually is, but I'm just playing things up for entertainment value

Dropouts: Athena, Holden, Iko, Kobe, Matcha, Queen, Brook

Grads: Cody, Bowie, Zee, Jayshawn, Londyn, Stephen, Damien

Some quick OC descriptions:

Athena: orangey-blonde, orange contacts, black and white dress

Holden: long, scraggly hair, heavyset, short, leather jacket

Iko: slim-fat, short, stylish overcoat and vest

Kobe: tall, big afro

Matcha: brunette, business casual

Queen: purple hair

Jayshawn: fit, muscular, dreads, gym tank/shorts

Londyn: brunette, face tattoos, gorgeous features

Stephen: early 2000s emo look

Mercutio: chiseled face, suit, wide-framed

Tracy: slim, suspenders/bowler hat

Brook: silver hair, oversized cardigan