Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Suppose Cody was given the choice of rejoining Total Drama or being forced into a marriage with the show-proclaimed Nov.1 fangirl, Sierra. Forced marriage would sound okay.

But life liked to screw him over just at the worst times.

With salty seawater crashing along the side of a party boat, The tiny geeky teen leaned across the rail, their teal eyes fixed upon the water in the lake.

It felt like only yesterday that he finished his final year of high school and began University, broke the network chains that hindered the short brunette's future, and finally got the restraining order against his purple-headed stalker. However, it was also around that time when letters and phone calls began to arrive. Eventually, it led to Chef at his front door, like a folder so stuffed that adding one more piece of paper would explode. It was at that moment that Cody realized how persistent the Show was that he finally gave in to their ‘needs’ for the older contestants' participation.

“ Welcoming back a returning favorite: Cody!”

As on cue, the ship came to a very rough halt, flinging him over the rail and onto the dock.

“ Nice to see you again, man! You ready to try to impress the ladies again, eh~” Chris said, in a more prevented way, from patting him on the back.

“He-he… puberty, you know? Also, I’m done with trying to find a relationship—got to focus on the companion,”

“Sure—whatever….” Not thrilled with the responses, the sadistic host grumbled in frustration while the brunette walked away, seemingly ignoring him as well.

“Long time no see weirdo looks like you were purposely chosen this time,”

“ Nice to see you too, Heather,” Cody huffed. Along the lines of style changes, the geek also had gotten closer and hung out with a few former contestants, like coffee talk with Heather and Lindsay, D&D sessions with Team Escope( +Owen), and occasionally Harold and Lashawna. It was those times when the gap-tooth teen felt free when school or home life got too hard—not standing on the dock where a Total Drama outlandish accident could happen.

But despite what could happen, the ‘geek’ stood on the other end of the wood platform, talking to the Queen Bee, not bothered by most of the young adults arriving. Until an all too familiar shout of enthusiasm and groan full of enough sarcasm to fill a canoe coming from the now docking boat.

“ Here comes Big O and Noah!”

“Woo! It’s good to be back with all my friends — am I right, little buddy?”

“ Yaayy, stuck with people voted me off early multiple times,”

“While I’m happy to be back,” soon after that comment, Owen, with Noah and luggage under his arm. Using the other to wrap Cody in a one-arm bear hug and missed Heather, who scooted out of the way at the last second.

“Cody! How have you been,”

“ I’ve been doing good— but you are kind of crushing me, man,”

“Oh, sorry— I just can’t wait to hang out with all my friends, eating snacks, Oh! And win this season. Woo! It’s going to be awesome!”

“Not for long,” Heather scoffed, flipping her hair. “ If the news and blogs are right, the Network made enough money to up the antics Along with evading lawsuits and court cases, which means Stalkerzila will be looking for you, there she is!”

“What! Where!” snapping his head around, he quickly ducked behind Owen for a layer of defense. It wasn’t until he heard Heather’s light giggle that Cody realized the purple-haired stalker wasn’t there. (yet)

“ Really Heather! That wasn’t funny!” He scowled, still behind his big blonde friend in case she did not arrive. All Heather did was roll her eyes and fold her arm, walking toward the more cleared-out space on the dock.

⊂ ⛃ * * * ⛃⊃

As the boat dropped off the last contestant on the dock– Chris turned towards the camera, signaling the person behind to face him.

“Welcome back our OGs of OG somewhere on Heard Island in British Columbia! The antics upped, and the drama is more troublesome than ever! Not to mention newer generation contestants and co-hosts,”

“Hold up!” Heads turned towards the loud outcry within the group of teens. Courtney shoved through everyone, stepping on people's feet too * cough* Cameron's’.

“Why the hell does the show need another co-host? What do you mean, you up the antics, weren’t the old challenges bad enough? On no such account, mentioned while talking to my lawyers, Chris!” The C.I.T. said, pulling out her phone to most likely get a hold of the supposed lawyers. 

Contestants were confused as much as frustrated about another Co-host, while others were concerned about the brunette's noticeable short temper. Nobody realized a more proper boat arrived near the dock.

“It was mentioned to them, Courtney. For five seconds at least; now, stop interrupting me. It’s rude, now Meet our co-host B–.”

“BLAINELEY!”

“Again, rude.”

The camera fades back from black and has a full view of the island before it crosses over to the campers, all still in different states of shock till the realization sunk in.

“What–how–why are you here?!”

“ Oh please, you think after losing so many employees and the number of lawsuits The NetWork faced they would be able to get rid of me?” Blainely sneered, flipping her hair before standing in front of Chris. who, like everybody else didn't seem at all pleased by the middle-aged blonde's 'surprise' appearance.   

"Okay! Back to what I was saying,” Chirs said, glaring while slightly shoving back the blond woman, much to her distaste. “ You’ll be divided into two teams, one team will head with Blaineley and one of our interns, and the other team will be with yours truly ~ And Chef if I toss you a shell head towards the shoreline. If I throw you a seaweed rope, stay on the dock.”;
Just when the sadistic host finished up, another intern handed him two grocery-sized bags. He reached in, grabbed a plastic, blue shell, and began to toss it.

“Tyler, Beth, Leshawna, Cody, Owen, Eva, Bridgette, Duncan, Courtney, Harold, Scott, Katie, and Heather,”

“Your team is called the Poisonous Shells,”

“Trent, Geoff, Sadie, Noah, Izzy, Alejandro, Zoey, D.J, Justin, Camoren, Gwen, Sierra, Lindsay,”

“Your team name is called the Seaweed Wranglers.”

“ Seaweed Wranglers?” Noah scoffed, rolling his eye, “Really clever, can’t wait to wrangle up some edible algae,”

“ It was either something along the line of Sea Bunnies or Screaming Crabs,”

“Surprisingly, those are just as bad.” once the bookworm finished, with a slight smile, giggles, and the quiet sounds of laughter coming from everyone on the dock.

“ Wait! Katie’ is on the other team! We can not be separated again!” The BFF said, running into Katie’s arms’, till Sierra shot her hands in the air, bouncing up and down.

“ I can switch with her!” From the other team, its tech-geek groaned, Trent patting his shoulder as a way of comfort.

“ I’m not dealing with this again,” Chris grumbled “ Lindsay switched with Kadie,”

“ What about me Chris!? Why can’t I be with my Codykins!”

“ Because you blew up my plane remember?”

The stalker only whined. The BFFs squealed and giggled on the way back to the Wranglers team. Keeping up his false upbeat attitude, he turned on his heels, heading up toward land, and began waving a travel-size flag that Chris pulled out in the air. “ If you don’t want to get lost, I suggest you follow me. To the Wranglers Campsite!”
With that, both teams went separate ways, and the camera zoomed out, landing a full shot of the island.

Fifty minutes have passed since then. The group of young adults, some straggling along, some chatting, some complaining about the show and their brutal setups. Mostly from Lindsay. “Are we there yet~ My feet are starting to hurt,”

“ Maybe you should’ve switched out your heels,”

“But like, how was I supposed to know Churt and Betty were going to make us walk for like a long time, Beth,”

“ Uhmm Lindsay, do you mean Chris and Blaineley?”

“ Yeah, Chad and Brittny.”

Beth sighed in response, as they continued walking along the trail. Eva, Owen, and Cody walk behind the rest of the team along the dirt trail, talking and laughing. The familiar nostalgia from the season floated around them, like a warm blanket only for a moment.

“ sooo–how's both of yours love life going? Got a special someone waiting at home,”
Owen said quickly, slinging his arms around both their shoulder. 

“ Nah, the ladies can’t handle all the codesters' charms. Besides, I gave up on relationships a while ago after going to university,”

“ Dated a few people– but they were too weak and simple-minded for my liking,”

“ Well… at least you guys don’t have to worry about what someone is doing back home– and hey! We could have a bachelor/bachelorette party back home!”

“ Thanks, Owen,”

“Sure, whatever– just don't make me regret it.”
 The topic of dating shouldn't have been a surprise, especially between teenagers. But, as it bounced around from details about Eva’s date to Owen’s past partners and lovers, Cody, simply only listened. His heart stung hearing how easy it was for his friends to find love, while it always seemed like he was chasing after people who didn't even know him. Just like he did with Gwen the few seasons they were on, Right before he learned how to get over her, just like any girl, he asked out in his town before getting laughed at or turned down more gently.

Yet a voice in his head told him to be happy for them, happy that they at least found some type of happiness, tho another persisted in digging deeper. How many times was he going to try to find love? Did he even deserve it after the way he acted toward Gwen? Should he give up? Should he have listened to his parents? All these questions began to Spiral through his mind as the world became a blur.

Strong hands grip his shoulders, shaking him roughly, breaking him out of the daze, "Hey, Cody! Are you good? We can't have you spacing out on us," Eva said, her hands still having a tight grip on him.

"Huh? Uhm yeah, I’m good.” focus on the present, he came to a halt along with Codys' talker friends. the campsite wasn’t different from the one they grew to know,  the only difference was the cabin's more lively green and brown colors. Similar to the smaller inground fire pit.

“Welcome to your campsite Poisonous Shell, girls' cabin on the right. The guys' cabin is on the left. Meet back in front of the Mishall,” Blainely said, heading back down the trail.
While others stood, talking and catching up.
Despite the outside of the cabin looking new, when Cody went inside. That nostalgic feeling from before washed over him as he looked around.

The cabin came off as almost identical to the ones during season one, with similar feeling and designs, and the same colors as the outside.
-you would think with the money from last season, they at least could’ve spiced the decore-
He hoisted his duffle bag on one of the top bunks, simultaneously as the show’s former delinquent threw his.

“You gonna move your bag or not,” Duncan said, sounding more like a demand than a question. But Cody, feeling like pushing further, didn't move.

“Come on, you see that I was here, and I’m not moving,”

“ Does it look like I care? Move. Before your bunk becomes your grave” he glared down at Cody just scoffed but reluctantly followed through after realizing it wasn't worth the time he placed his bag on the lower bunk before mumbling “ Stupid jerk,”

“Got something to say, dweeb!” A swift turn on the punks’ feet, fist at a ready-to-fly. Not willing to take his chances, Cody dashed out of the cabin. -He may have grown, but he’s still a nerd who could get hammered- Duncan didn’t care what happened to 'geek' as long as he minded his business and stayed in their place. Yet he couldn't help but be intrigued by his reaction. Just then, The speakers Blared a horrendous noise.

“ATTENTION CAMPERS! PLEASE HEAD TO THE MESS HALL PRONTO!”

Extremely loud, dramatic groans were heard from inside and outside the cabin throughout both campsites before the speakers went off again.

“ QUIT COMPLAINING AND GET TO WALKING; UNLESS YOU GUYS WANT TO BE STUCK HELPING CHEIF PREPARE TODAY’S MEAL!”
Memories from episodes run by the big ex-soldier caused a shiver to travel through Duncan’s spine.

Not wanting to relive such horror, Duncan rushed out the door and back down the path, along with the other. Anything is better than dealing with that manic.

⊂ ⛃ * * * ⛃⊃

“ You have got to be kidding me,” The show Queen Bee said, arms dangling at her side in defeat, the other restrained to Courtney who only looked at their restrained hands in disgust.

“ In today's challenge, you and your bunkmate have to find a golden head, which will either feature my handsome head and face or Blaineleys’,” He said right before the blonde harshly shoved Chris to the side to continue with the explanation in addition to ignoring the quiet, non-PG13 comments.

“Each one has a key that will, open someone's cuff, along with the winning prize. But— not all of them fit, and there is no way to tell if it belongs to a fellow teammate or your competing one”

"So the only way to when is to find the winning key OR have the most un-cuff teammates by the end." He said, rocking on his heels like a child waiting for the present which would be the drama from certain pairs. Which annoyed the unfortunate teens to some end, especially a certain punk

Now, competing in a new season already sucked from the start. Being stuck on a team with his crazy exs was probably one of the worst things to happen to him. Being stuck with a self-proclaimed ladies-man and sharing a bunk was a nightmare he never wanted to live in.
Duncan faced Cody and met with eyes full of outrange and irritation, eyebrows scrunched up in a weird way indicating his anger. However, despite their differences, they had similar thoughts about the situation, along with at least 4 3rds of the contestants.

This is one of the stupidest challenges yet.

Chapter Text

Previously…

~“ You have got to be kidding me,” The stereotype punk said, arms dangling at his side.~

~“ In the challenge, you and your bunkmate have to find a golden head, which will either feature my handsome head and face or Blaineleys’,” He said right before the blonde harshly shoved Chris to the side to continue with the explanation in addition to ignoring the quiet, non-PG 13 comments.

~“Each one has a key that will be upon someone's cuff along with the winner’s prize. But— not all of them fit, and there is no way to tell if it belongs to a fellow teammate or your competing one”~

~Duncan faced Cody and met with eyes full of outrage and irritation, eyebrows scrunched up in a hastily indicating his anger. However, despite their differences, they had similar thoughts about the situation. ~

-This is one of the stupidest challenges yet.-

________________________________________________________

The camera zoomed in on the self-centered and sadistic hosts as they both stood there and listened to the complaints and shouts of frustration.

“This has got to be one of the dumbest challenges ever,” Heather said, waving around dramatically, pulling on the cuff and yanking the person connected to it, “You don’t expect me to be stuck with her do you!”

“Hey!” C.I.T. shouted, pulling back with enough force to make the ex-Queen Bee fall to the ground, all the while, a small smile formed upon her face. The two glared at each other before anything else could happen, Zoey interrupted, “Uhm Chris, why don't Al and Leshawnda have cuffs?”

“That’s because they will be our hunters!” The young adults look  confusion. Chris tossed the two uncuffed ‘kids’ a tote bag full of random items. 

“Leshawna and Alejandro will be given a map and a bag full of supplies, which can be used to help or sabotage teams.” The girl with the attitude pulled out a rubber chicken and a small bucket of yellow paint. 

“ Man~ Chris got no chill when coming up with these challenges,” Leshawna groaned in frustration 

* In the confessional *

Heather: “There is no way I’m going to win while stuck with miss control freak all day,”

Sierra:“ This challenge would have been so much better if I had my Codykins’,” 

* End of confession *

They pulled out an ancient-looking map, random household items, and more.“ Now with that taken care of, Get to searching!” 

The teens scatter around the island, with the odder pairs straggling behind, the punk and geek being the one of them. Duncan felt only two of those feelings, neither good. While Cody stood there, too uncomfortable to make the first move. They both just stood there, processing everything.

“ Come on, Dweeb, I would rather not stand here and listen to those two,” the shorter of the two turned to see Courtney and Heather fight over leadership, a common pattern each season. 

Cody didn’t want to go anywhere with the scary teen, let alone in the forest, yet being the first one voted out sounded like the worst option, especially with the amount of money on the line. He reluctantly allowed himself to be led through the trees and rocky landscape.

Somewhere north in the woods, the first-generation resident goth and the friendly redhead were looking through bushes. “Did you find anything?” “No, not yet.”

Gwen groaned in response before giving up on looking in the bush, “There’s nothing in here, this is so stupid! Urg, I swear Chris’s challenges get dumber and dumber,” 

“Well, at least it's not a deadly one like a fighting killer bear while on a 15-foot-tall pole,” They laughed, but were cut short. A soft sound close to the ground, revealing a rabbit. “ Aawww~” both teens reacted until the more social one noticed something off about the creature.

“Look! It has a Golden Chris head!” the rabbit did indeed have a gold figure in his mouth, noticing how close the teen was getting, the rabbit began quickly hopping away.

“Hey! Come on, we got to catch it before the other team finds it!”  Zoey said, running after it, dragging the irritated goth behind her.

Near the murky shores across the island, the local know-it-all can be seen looking under, over, and around only to find nothing that bothered him, though he was more annoyed with his bunkmate than the challenge.  “Hey pretty boy, are you just going to sit over there and wait till your paparazzi shows up.”

“Noah, after Action, I can’t afford to damage my body anymore on the show, I have too many shoots to attend after this is all over,” Justin said, filling his nails resting in the shade of a tree 

“You act like you're dodging bullets and rocks being thrown at you, I’m sure shifting sticks and leaves around won’t ruin your manicure.” the bookworm bluntly stated, continuing to dig through the bushes only to pick up another pine cone chucking it at behind him. Nearly, hitting the model in the face. “ Watch it! This face is what keeps me in the model industry,”

“Un-huh, a model for dog food commercials and acne ads,” he chucked another one harder, hitting the tree Justin sat under, only for a golden Blainely head to fall and hit the model on the head.

“Would you look at that, violence is sometimes the answer.” the Hawaiian boy only glared at Noah, simply ignoring him as he opened the golden head. Only to be met with disappointment when the key inside didn’t fit.

“Duncan, can you slow down?! At this rate, you're going to rip my hand off!”

“Maybe if you weren’t so slow, I probably wouldn't have to drag your ass,” Cody rolled his eyes and yelped as another hard yank at his wrist. Instead of giving up internally, the ‘geek’ just sat on the ground, almost fully going limp altogether. 

“What are you doing? Get up.”

“Not until you stop being a grump and act like a decent team player,”

“This, coming from the guy lying on the ground,” the punk said and waited for his excuse of a teammate to get up. Only he didn’t, for a good 2–4 minutes, Cody laid there and even dared to ‘fake’ sleep. Throwing his head back, the punk let out a groan before bending down to Cody's’ level. 

“Alright, I’m not losing because of you,” Duncan lifted him, putting him on his shoulder, ignoring the ‘geeks’ shouts and complaints. 

“Fine! I give in, just put me down.” “See pipsqueak, actually moving your noodle legs does things for ya,”

“Don’t call me pipsqueak, jerk,” Cody grumbled, kicking the dirt.

“I’ll stop calling you a pipsqueak when you stop being a baby,”

“that’s rich coming from the dude who acted like a grumpy toddler ever since we got here,” Both boys stayed quiet after that, looking near the dock and in the water. To their luck, a gold Chris shined between the boards of it. “ I got this short stack,” He used his pocket knife to loosen it enough to take the board out by hand.

They tried to use the key, similar to Noah and Justin, but it didn’t fit.

“This is so stupid! How in the hell, are we going to find our key out of 20 campers!” Duncan yelled, sitting on the dock, and bringing Cody down with him.

“Well, technically we only have to find 13 keys but maybe we’ll get lucky and find our key if we keep looking.” The ‘geek’ stated, swinging his feet once properly seated. “Be real, man, there’s no such thing as lucky when it comes to total drama.” 

“Then why did you still join?”  

“It was joined or, go to a federal penitentiary, and I think the penitentiary would have been safer.” Both men remained quiet, for different reasons. Cody repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, words dying on his tongue.

“So why did you come back? Thought getting a stalker girlfriend and being fed to Fang would’ve been a dealbreaker,”

“Heh, Just like you, I didn’t have a choice. After not responding, I guess Chris got tired and sent Chef to my house, with the contract to prove a point, I quest.” Cody said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Duncan grumbled what could’ve been a response, just then the ruffle of bushes and the snapping of twigs, caught the boys' attention.

“ God dam-*t Courtney! I told you to let me lead!” the voice yelled, Heather struggled out of the bush covered in leaves and dirt, followed by the C.I.T. who came out next, no different from the Queen Bee. “If I were to let you lead, we would probably be eaten by that wolf!” Courtney barked back, accidentally making eye contact with Duncan, her ex.

“Cody, Cheater.” 

“Sup Princess,” 

the former lovers sent glares shaper then daggers to one another. Their partners stood on the sidelines. Heather fake coughed attention now on her. “Did you guys find one of those stupid heads,” 

“Yep! Though the key doesn’t fit, maybe it fits your–” The golden figure was snatched from his hand by the same girl. “Give me that! Is already hard enough being stuck with her, let alone both of you,”

“Hey!” they shouted, but Courtney ignored the threes’ complaints and comments to focus more on the cuffs, throwing them down when they didn’t work. “Argh!”

Cody placed his free hand on her shoulder, in an attempt of comfort, “Calm down Courtney, maybe someone else on the team has our key,” the girl in question harshly slapped his hand away “Like any one of those guys could find anything, you probably did something dumb and accidentally found it, while the Oger sat on his butt being the lazy bum he is.”

“Sure, like yelling and threatening others is any better, maybe if you didn’t have a pole up your butt someone would care about the garbage that comes out your mouth,” 

“Sure, as if you have any good leadership skills that don’t involve nearly beating people,” The two then started a screaming match that was full of very colorful language that caused Cody visibly stressed next to Heather, who rolled her eyes and filled her nails.

The camera cut to somewhere around the Wranglers' campsite, and two ginger-haired boys were spotted searching around the cabins.  “Did you know that the moss on the Island is part of a group of land plants called Bryophyte and consists of 20,000 different species, Harold said, adjusting his glasses and messing with the plant that he found under one of the porches. 

“Mhm, that’s so interesting,” Scott snarkily said, sticking his hand into the darkness underneath the porch and trying to feel for anything while the other continued talking.

 “Yeah, it is, Bryophyte also lives and prefers to live in moist habitats but can also survive in drier environments, which explains why there's so much of it on the island. I have a few notebooks about moss that could lend you so you could see for yourself.” 

“Shut up for a moment! I think I found one of those heads Chris was talking about!” Scott scouted farther into the hole, his fingers touching the assumed Golden head before fully grasping it. 

“Ha! I got it! wait why does it feel… soft?” the fuzzy thing then presumably bit down on his, making Scott fall back, screaming.

“AHHHH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!” The farm boy walled around the gray creature still connected to his hand. In a state of panic, Harold started throwing things at the creature, missing or hitting the other boy.

“ DON'T HIT ME YOU A**HOLE, HIT THE DANG ANIMAL!”

“ I'm trying gosh! If you stayed still, it would be so much easier!" In a last-ditch effort, Harold picked up a loose piece of wood before smacking the animal enough for it to loosen its grip.

But he also ended up knocking the boy out as well.

“Oops,” He said sheepishly but was soon distracted as Gwen and Zoey ran through the bushes. “Hey did you see a bunny hopping around here… Why is Scott knocked out?”

“Uhmm that's not important, why are you both covered in mud?”

“That’s also not important,” a chirping-like noise filled the air, the same noise heard from the gray fuzzy creature.

Not far away, posted on the trunk was the gray rabbit, shaking the small gold object, once it was spotted, the animal started to run again with the girls right behind it, leaving the skinny redhead to his teammate.

Cameron and Trent looked around the kitchen in the Mess Hall, pots clanking together and ingredients neatly set on the ground. “Hey man, did you find anything yet!” the musician asked, digging through the high shelves and cabinet, with Cameron looking through the bottom ones. “Uhm, not yet, perhaps It's somewhere in the freezer?” 

“Maybe, you want to take a break?” “Sure, my arms are getting tired.” they began heading back to the dining table, snacks in hand.  

“How's life been treating you, man? Your life after total drama and living in a bubble,”

“Eh it’s been going how I expected, although I would have preferred to not be stalked by Sierra or put on the same team as her,” Trent sent the boy a look of sympathy, having heard a similar story.  

“Oof Cody had the same problem, I could ask him if he could find you the lawyer that helped him get a restraining order,” he stated, taking a long sip of his drink and watching the former bubble boy relax.

“That would be nice, thanks! Speaking of Cody, how is your relationship with him? I heard from some blogs and a few interviews that both of you still make music together after the Drama Brother breakup.”

“Yeah, we still do, hang out a bunch when we're not making music. It sucked that we weren’t able to stay a band, but at least we kept in touch, but it is nice one of us try to stay on good terms with everyone,” his words slipping to a light hum. Trent enjoyed spending time with his ex-bandmate and appreciated that Cody kept in touch with him, since every time they were together, a strange feeling would always appear when they talked. Which made sense seeing how the musician was the closest to him.

Cameron sat there and watched as Trent spaced out while he talked about the other boy, a longing look in his eyes. One of Cameroeyebrowsbrow rose at this strange behavior. Maybe something happened during their boy band day. 

He opens his mouth only to quickly shut it when the door is swung open and almost taken off its hinges.

“Where my Cody!”

The bubble boy yelped as he hid behind Trent, who let it happen while he watched the purple-haired girl. “Hi, Trent! Have you seen Cody?”

“No, but I don’t think it's a good idea to look for him,” he calmly said, Sierra only looked at him in disbelief. “What! Why? My Codykins needs me and I need him, it's unfair that Chris trying to keep us apart!” She said stomping her foot, simultaneously starting to cry.

“ Sierras’ been like this all day, Izzy didn’t have an opportunity to feed to Sniper!”

“Whose Sniper?” Izzy smiled before pulling something out of her hair.

 “This is Sniper,” a large, brown snake was now wrapped around her shoulders, everyone started to scream and ran out the door once it lept off her and began slithering on the ground,  much to Cameron’s misfortune the snake latched around Cameron. They didn’t even realize Leshawna as they ran past or the Golden Blainely head they knocked out from on top of the roof.  

“Looks like Izzy’s antics can be useful,” 

Far in the center of the island, two seasons 1 contestants were scouring in the wet mudding wilderness, the show air-head hosting Beth, cautiously searched above a high rock. “I think I almost got it, Lindsay!” 

“Can you please hurry one of my heels is sinking into the mud,” not even a minute later, her heel fully sunk in, making both of them and the golden head fall to the ground. Covered in mud and leaves head-to-toe. Soon after an ear-piercing sound then began to blur through the air, scaring some contestants in the process.

An ear-piercing sound then began to blur through the air, scaring some contestants in the process.

“ACTIONED CAMPERS DUE TO SOME “MINOR” TECH PROBLEMS, TODAY’S CHALLENGE IS CUT SHORT! HEAD BACK TO THE MAIN CAMPFIRE!”

 Lindsay dramatically threw her head back and sighed before she began to speak.“Ugh, finally, I think I chipped a nail when we fell.” While they struggled to get up, neither of them didn’t seem to notice the silhouette emerging from the woods.

“Hola, mis amigos need some assistance!” the heart to reach a hand out to them. Beth only hesitantly grabbed his hand, while her friend grabbed it without hesitation. A smile full of trust and joy to see the teen.

“Thanks, Albert! Hey, aren’t you on the other team,”

“Yes, but I heard screaming and thought to come over,” Now that wasn’t a real lie, due to him truly not caring about their well-being more so the object that he thought he stashed high enough. 

The short brunette stepped farther from Al and aggressively cleared her throat after making sure both, looking into the man's green eyes, Beth felt a familiar sense with a side of awareness. All stemming back to watching season three, in her eyes, Al was just a male version of Heather in season 1. “Yeah, thanks for the help, but we should go before the others start to worry,”

With their backs trend, they didn’t even realize the lack of a Golden Head on either of them.

*Confessional* 

Alejandro: Chris never said we couldn’t just steal or make statues,” 

He said smirking, at the camera before he pulled out a bag full of Golden Blaineley and Chris's head all looking identical to the next.

*End of Confessional*

 “Alright, campers! Now that everybody's here will the Poisonous  Shell place all your statues on the in your box.”

The Poisonous Shells then placed all their statues in a box with their logo, some statues were covered in dirt or clean, while the campers themselves either looked a complete mess, tired, or both. “Alright, the Shell has a total of ten statues with one pair unlocked, earning them twelve points now Seaweed Wranglers you up next,”

Only 3 out of 5 paired bunkmates walked up, one with a bunny in hand, and the other pair had a bunkmate with an icepack on their head. “Bummer dudes, the score is 3-12 which means the Poisonous Shells win!” Chris exclaimed causing the team to erupt in cheers while the others sulked at their first loss. It only seemed to last for a bit till someone from a certain Party animal realized the full bag in Alejandros' hand.

“Al, whatcha got in the bag, seems pretty full for being some old props

“Worry not my friend, with this, we’ll win,”

Across from them Heather rolled her eyes and laughed at his display of cockiness “What that? A bunch of Chris expensive hair gel.” a few suppress their laughs at the Queens bees display. However, Al's smirk only grew just as he made his way up to his team's box dumped the bag, and filled it to the top. And to add extra drama he pulls out a mud-covered one before tossing it in the box and says “Thank you for the extra statue Beth, really helped a friend out!”

The farmer girl stood their shock before shrinking down when most of her team glared at her with anger in their eyes.

“With such a turn of events, it seems the Wranglers came on top and won a night at our five-star log cabin! Which means Chris and I’ll be seeing the poisonous shell for elimination.”

The winning team cheered and followed the intern to their prize, happy that their first night wouldn’t be in a broken, old cabin. The losing team stayed back and sat around the campfire dreadfully waiting. 

“ For our newest season, we decided to do eliminations a bit differently, next to you will be a piece of wood and a carving knife where you’ll have to carve the person's name and then place give them to our inter who’ll shuffle them before handing them off to me! And instead of marshmallow, we decided to give you chocolate, since it does go on smores too, So get to it and eliminate one of your close friends or rivals”

The teens then started to carve in their wood, some struggling worse than others, Cody being the one struggling worse. He pushed too hard or too lightly, making his words jagged, and almost unreadable. Almost cutting his hand twice now. 

Nobody paid much attention. Besides Duncan, only because watching the ‘geek’ attempt to carve chipped away at his soul till every time his knife slipped from the wood. Once Duncan finished, all he could do was watch until he suddenly grabbed the boy’s wrist. Putting a stop to Cody's sad attempt a person would call carving. 

“Let me do it before you stab yourself or something,” hesitating, Cody slowly nodded, both loosening their grips, Duncan took his piece and started where he left off. All the while, he tried to ignore how Cody kept staring at him carve the name. Once done, he tossed the wood back to the other just as the intern came around to collect them. Not facing the ‘geek’ for the rest of the ceremony.

“Okay! Let’s see who is safe and who’s not, the first chocolate goes to…”

“Owen,”

“Tyler,”

“Leshawna,”

“Cody,”

“Courtney,”

“Harold,”

“Scott,” 

“Eva,”

“Bridgette,”

“Duncan,”

“Heather,”

“And the last piece of chocolate goes to …”

…

“Lindsay!”

Lindsay happily took her piece and handed it to her boyfriend while Beth looked at the ground. “ It seems you this season's first elimination, time to head to the dock on shame where your luggage is waiting,”

Beth slowly got up and began to walk but was stopped when someone's arms wrapped tightly around her. “I’m going to miss you so much, Beth!”

“I’ll miss you too Lindsay– but at least I probably won’t have to eat some weird, nasty food later on,” the only best friends laughed till the boat docked. As the farm girl hopped on the boat simply gave a small wave goodbye before being taken farther away from the island.

Chapter Text

With the sun rising overhead, birds and animals chattering and roaming the forest or campground. Most campers still sleep while others quietly attend to their own business. If that business counts as a business, carefully move a heavy sleeper who snores too loudly into a storage shed so everyone else can get some sleep. Then Duncan, Scott, and Tyler were out doing business. 

Scott and Tyler headed back inside a while ago, still wanting some form of sleep, leaving Duncan alone on the porch, carving away at a piece of wood in silence as drowsiness hadn't taken over. Besides, why go back to sleep just to be woken by Chris? Even though Duncan wouldn't admit it out loud, he wasn’t ready for the horrors Chris and Blaineley had planned. 

“ Morning, Duncan,” Still in pajama clothes and slippers, Cody stood there, leaning on the rails. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were half-lidded to match his half-asleep state.

The ex-juvenile only gives Cody a sideways glance before continuing his work, waiting for the other to disappear to the showers or head off to bother someone else. Duncan continues to curve as the morning is filled only with the rustling of the wind. Unfortunately, the creaky sound of wood got louder, only stopping when Cody just sat down on the step above him, watching as he worked. 

“Is that a snake?”

“What do you think?”

The ‘geek’ tried to look over his shoulder, getting a glimpse of the thing Duncan was making, which was indeed a snake. Fine details etched into it, half-finished scales close to identical, perfectly following its body's structure, and the eyes are almost accurate to a real snake. “That looks good, man,” Cody said, still looking over the wood, unaware of how his comment sent a feeling of pride through Duncan as he worked, who, unintentionally, moved to give Cody a better view.

“Do you think you can teach me how to carve?”  Duncan's shoulders visibly tensed before whipping his head around, locking eyes with the ‘geek’. The question was absurd and weird, and it only seemed ridiculous when it clicked in his mind that Cody was genuinely asking. 

Duncan mentally shook off feelings that began to flourish before gaining his composure and his bad-boy facade back up. “I could, but I am not.”

 With little to no hesitation, the other teen let out a dramatic groan before throwing himself against the porch rail.

“Come on! Please, I need to learn the basics so it won’t be hard to carve into the elimination wood.”

“Go get someone else to teach you. I'm pretty sure Doris or Elvis could get the job done.”

“Yeah, but Trent’s on the other team, and Harold isn’t in his bed; either way, he’s also always talking about Leshawna or his mad skills.”

“ Dang, that's too bad. Now leave me alone."

Cody pouted and sat on a higher porch step next to Duncan in silence. If he wasn’t going to teach him, he’d just watch and observe. 

They continued to stay like that for some time, with Duncan occasionally looking over to see if Cody was still there. By the time the show's punk completed the wooden snake, scales and all. The speaker blared throughout the island, and people slowly emerged from the cabin, much to his pleasure and dismay.

He watched as Cody left with Owen and Tyler down towards the mess hall, finally getting rid of that feeling of eyes on him, and simultaneously missing the attention at the same time. Duncan didn’t linger on it for long, as from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of his friends, both ready for the day. 

Breakfast was like Noah remembers, cold, gross, and probably alive. He poked it with his fork, watching the ‘food’ consume the plastic utensil in disgust before pushing his plate towards Owen, who happily ate the mutated slop. 

In other circumstances, the know-it-all would’ve at least tried to eat whatever Chef ‘cooked’. However, this time he plans to go far, at least to the final five, and knock the Eel down a peg or five. So accidentally getting food poisoned wasn’t how he wanted to go. That also meant ‘connecting’ with other contestants. And what better way to start with the show's wise guitarist?  

From what Noah saw, before Trent went crazy during Action, Trent kept a calm, level head and seemed to be the person everyone went to for advice. And from what he heard from Cody, Trent got himself together over the years. So when he excused himself, the usual, and moved further down the table across from Trent. It felt unnatural.   

Sure, they only ever talked during Total Drama Action and have almost nothing in common besides shared friends, but it didn’t mean Noah's chance of an alliance was gone. That just meant they could start clean, with no history together and no real chance of tension.

So if anything, his chance for an alliance is 50/50, rather than 25/75 if he could get past the awkward stage.

“Hey, Noah..?”

“Hi, Trent.”

“...”

“...”

That 25/75 seemed more accurate.

“So~ how have you been? I haven’t talked to anyone since the World Tour. Other than Cody, Harold, Leshawna, and Lindsay.” Trent said, probably due to the silence or the fact that he didn’t have anyone else right now. Either way, the Book-Worm was glad not to have to start the conversation.

“Well, I’m working on my major in librarian science and education, got an apartment with Owen, Izzy, and Eva, and am working at a local cafe near my classes. Life has been going pretty smoothly since I left the Network.”  Noah said with the faintest smile. 

“That great man! Seems like your life is planned out!” 

“Yeah, I totally planned to spend a portion of my rent money baling Izzy out of jail and refilling the fridge every morning,” Trent rolled his eyes at Noah’s remark. A normal response, so it was going well. The two held steady conversations until more of their team had collected their food and settled around them. Owen eventually moved closer. Before the opposing team walked through. Most are still tired and agitated. 

It was then that the Eel finally spoke, much to his misfortune. “Aww, did Harold’s snoring  keep you guys up?” 

“Shut it, Al!” Eva barked back from her seat. “Be thankful that I’m too tired to go over there and beat your ass!” In now-dented areas, her grip on the table loosened to reveal small cracks and chipped pieces of wood, spooking off a few campers.

“Don’t let him get to you, girl. We all know he’s still salty about losing 1 million dollars. Twice!” Leshawna said, with the posture to match her sass. 

“ Nonsense, I’m simply worried about my component's well-being. After all, I’ve turned a new leaf after All-Stars,”

“Uh-huh, and the Network said they’ll pay our hospital bills.” Noah jumped in, taking an annoying, big sip of his coffee, getting a few laughs out of some of them. Good reactions, better reputation.

The stragglers started to show up. One grabs Trent’s attention. It didn’t take rocket science to know he was staring at something. And it didn’t take Noah and a few nosier teammates too long to notice as well. Noah began to look around in the general direction Trent faced. It was only when the guitarist had to look away, just to go back to stare in that general direction, that he figured it out.

Standing in line, bouncing on their heels, Cody waited, trying (failing) to stay awake while Harold spoke for both of them. There's nothing special going on, but with the way the musician looked at him so intensely, you’d think he found paradise.

“Earth to Trent, stop ogling Cody before his dog starts to bark at you.” They sit at the end, the bookworm gesturing to Sierra from the other end, recreating the boys’ faces in her food. 

However, he was only met with silence, with Trent still staring at the boy, well, until Noah nudged him out of his daze.“What? Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Hmm, nothing important, just space-case being obsessed with Cody–You know the usual.” The guitarist let out a humming sound, turning back towards the nerdy duo. Not noticing other prying eyes. 

Confessional  

“Seems like we might have our first couple of the season.” Heather said, flying her nails with less interest.“And my first alliance.”

~

“ hmph” now in the camera, Noah sat on the seat, book in hand. “Didn’t know Trent was Bisexual,”

Finally looked up from his book, “Good for him, I guess.”   

End of Confessional

On the other side of the dining hall, the Poisonous Shells were not having a good time. Ever since they lost the first challenge, Courtney, Heather, and Leshawna have been nonstop arguing, and Harold's ‘medical condition’ has kept them up all night. It wouldn’t be long before they started to target each other. And Bridgette wasn’t going to go through that pain again.

Like a few contestants(Owen), Bridgette was somewhat glad to be back. After all, she met her boyfriend and closest friends on the show and got an early start on a stable career as a TV host. Bridgette and Geoff were only there because, like everyone else, both were required by their contracts. Although she would’ve probably gone back for nostalgia’s sake if a certain someone wasn't here.

She couldn’t speak for the rest; from what she gathered from the camera crew, more of the rougher competitions came back kicking and screaming, and few came back willingly, most trying to win after being cheated one too many times. But most of the time of their recruitment, they were too scared or tired to fight back against the TV network. 

But she did NOT come back just to watch them tear each other apart. “Come on, people! We'll never get anywhere mopping and fighting like this.” She exclaimed, getting the reactions from the wrong people.

“Hellooo, did you forget where we’re at? Or better yet, who we’re with!?” Courtney shouted, eyes that could kill a man, sent to the same man who broke her heart. She watched as Duncan rolled his eyes, pretending to be bored. Seems to only make her madder. 

 “I’ll be surprised if some of us make it without literally killing each other,” Scott said, shoveling supposed “food” in his mouth.  Mummers of agreement filled the table, which was not going to help with the motivation. “Well, besides that… It's only the first challenge! Plus, we have more contestants that made it to at least the top 5, which means a better chance of winning!”  

“Oh, you mean, I know cheaters and schemers that would trade me for 50 dollars, please!” Leshawna said, attention on her, and the disbelief etched in those words seeped from her mouth. Only showing a hint of embarrassment when looking over to her friends before quickly adding, “No offense to you guys though.” 

“Eh its fine,”

“Can’t blame you.”

The speakers blared, still not used to the hardly bearable sound, they covered their ears till the voice of the ever-hated and less bearable Host’s voice was heard.

“GOOD MORNING CAMPERS! TODAY THERE WILL BE NO CHALLENGE DUE TO SET UP!”

“But, don’t get comfortable! Cameras will continue to roll at all times, and a confessional will still be required! So get cozy, because the next challenge is going to be a real catch! HA! CATCH!”

The loud click came soon after, and everything seemed to be after that. But the atmosphere around Cody’s team still was filled with tension. Something he was not going to stay and fester in.

“Welp, I’m going back to the cabin,”  he said suddenly, quickly leaving the table to clear his plate. When he looked back, others followed suit, saying their goodbyes or excuses and leaving.  However, he only started to sprint when he saw Sierra pack up, her eyes laser-focused on him.

Not again!

The day went by slowly for Trent, and it was only noon when he was left to himself, sitting near the dock playing his guitar.

He never thought he would be brought back on the show, and wasn't pressed about it either way. The show never did anything good for him (Besides bringing him a new friend). The musician thought he was home free until this season. A season full of people who saw the worst in him.

As he sat on the dock, he closed his eyes, taking a breath as he was strumming his guitar, as the cool breeze hit him, silencing his last thought. The feeling of the smooth wood and rough bronze strings grounds Trent in reality. 

“Hey, Trent!”

Coming up the dock, hand n’ hand, Sadie and Katie rotated towards him,  at first when Trent saw the inseparable duo, he thought the two were unfortunate new comers, till he got a closer look at them, gone with the pigtails, replaced with straight and curly hair, outfits best for the early 2000s stay in that era, change out for pastel tops and jewelry. 

Confessional

“ I didn't really mind being on the show again; this could be my chance to patch things up after my last elimination in Action.” Trent's face scrunched up at the memory, and the strumming of his cherished instrument slowed to a stop as he stared into the camera. “ I haven’t been able to hang out with the guys since we split, or anyone's, for a while, maybe with the time between episodes, I can talk to them, possibly make it to the top five.”

End of Confession

"Hey, girls,uhn how are you doing?" He smiled, polite, if not. Despite their time together at the resort and the after-show, they weren't close enough to warrant anything more than a casual comment on post or big-group meet-ups. 

Even then, the three only achieved small talk, if not awkward glances. Even so, could you really blame him for not recognizing them at first glance? 

“You know, here and there!” Sadie, to Trent's memory, said, "being influencers– "and cosmetology school!" "Has been a lot."

The guitarist looked between the pair talking, their matching earrings swinging back-n-forth as he tried to keep up with what they could be talking about. It was like whiplash to why talking to them was so weird back in the day.

He sat there more than half an hour before, silently excusing himself to neither attention, walking along the rocky shore, cherished instrument on his back. The faraway sounds of woodland animals chattering alongside the crashing of water against nature brought a sense of calm over his overwhelmed nerves; from getting lawyers and Chef at his door, to hopping off the small yacht onto the docks, Trent could never get the tense feeling only Total Drama could give ya. Especially after what could be classified as public humiliation on the Aftermath show with Geoff. 

Just thinking about it again had him itching for something to distract himself; the need to count something was there, too, if not for comments about his "habit" coming back full force.

Snap

It was a distant sound, but one that nonetheless had Trent loosen his grip on his guitar strap. Him backing away on instinct.

Snap!

 Words were about to leave the young man's mouth if the impact hadn't had him stumbling to keep his step.

"Shoot! Sorry, Trent!"

A small smile morphed on his lips before he could even decide on how to react, but once the person finally registered and they pulled back from his chest, a smile would have been the best reaction to seeing one of his best friends.

"Your good man, just be glad it was me and not Duncan." Without thinking, he reach out and ruffled his hands through the other mans hair, not putting to much thought into why he'd was so focused on soft it felt when touching it.

"Or Sierra," Cody groaned, not before quickly looking behind him, as if she was about to pop up any minute, "she's been looking for me ever since Breakfast, talking about getting back together!"

The two started walking while the shorting boy continued, the other rapidly paying attention to how he seemed to switch from panic, tired, and annoyed in the span of seconds.

"But you weren't even together?"

"Exactly!" He shouted, to both their shock, Cody stopped once the camp was in sight, throwing his hand over his eyes."Why couldn't they just leave her out? They have so many other constances, and they had to bring her…"

They already knew why they brought her back and lifted the restraining order, ratings, from what Trent could get from the internet over the years. Despite the girl's annoyance and dangerous habits, she brought a lot more to the show than any of the newer contestants. Even if it was to the detriment of one ofthe show's favorite contestants. 

" The network sucks like that, I'll tell you that," Trent said, pausing for a second before pulling the other closer, an idea crossing his mind, "But." 

Cody's fingers pecked at his eyes, big blue eyes looking up at him. Something did something to his chest; it was probably nothing. 

"I know that if you need someone to cover you when she comes, I'm your guy, she can't get to you if she doesn't now were you are." He offered a smile when those eyes seemed to grow wider in surprise. Despite how much it upset him to see that he was surprised, he was glad when Cody, despite himself, threw himself back into Trent's chest, wrapping him in a very nice and very strong hug.

"Thank You! So, so, so Much! You don't know how difficult it is to stay away from her." By the time he pulled away, Trent already missed the warmth and pressure of the other, but would be more than happy to lose it if Cody kept looking happy like that.

No problem,man, just give me the word, and I'll distract her." By the time they made it back to come, the rest of the day went by quickly. 

With Sierra constantly whining about Cody and him hiding, the closs calls with her and a hidden Cody, Trent could say he hasn't felt that tired since after season one, the time when stalking wasn't okay. But if  Cody trusted him enough to keep the crazy girl off his tail, He could last until the next challenge.