Total Shuffled Action Chapter 1 - Monster Cash, a total drama series fanfic

Author's Note

At long last, it has arrived! The second season of the surprising hit 'Total Shuffled' is here, and right on schedule to! For those of you don't already know, THIS IS THE DIRECT SEQUEL TO 'TOTAL SHUFFLED ISLAND.' PLEASE READ THAT STORY IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, AS THIS ONE WON'T MAKE SENSE OTHERWISE. From here on out, I'm going to assume you are familiar with the events of the first season and the premise of the series as a whole, as I'd rather not have to explain it again.

For this season in particular, I'm going into it with a few things I definitely want to handle differently than in canon. Action was never exactly the most popular seasons, even nowadays, but I'm hoping the plans I have for this story will make it at least as popular as its predecessor. I won't go into much detail, obviously, but I will admit that several of the finer points were only thought up while I was writing this chapter, including the majority of the elimination order. They've given me a great idea of how to go about the various subplots and arcs, and hopefully I'll be able to pull everything off successfully.

Now, this is normally where I would answer the reviews I've gotten since the last chapter was posted, but as this is the first episode and I don't want to answer reviews from season one here, this will have to be empty. I will, however, put in the reminder of who's currently competing as of the beginning of the chapter.

Girls - Beth, Bridgette, Dawn, Jo, Sammy, Scarlett, Sierra

Boys - Alejandro, B, Beardo, DJ, Geoff, Lightning, Shawn, Topher

The pairings will continue on from what was established in the previous season, with the possibility of others developing.

That aside, I hope you're all as excited as I am for season two!

- Fangren

Episode 1 – Monster Cash

The scene faded into a long-distance shot of Wawanakwa Island's southern shore, the sun in the western portion of the sky. "Last season, on Total Drama Island!" a familiar voice began along with the familiar reverent music used to mark important moments in the series.

The beginning of the final race was shown, the last two campers shown at the starting line wearing their embarrassing cow and chicken hats, flanked by Chris McLean and Chef Hatchet while the losing contestants watched from the stands. "Shawn and Bridgette battled it out for one-hundred thousand dollars." The two were shown crossing the gorge with eagle eggs in hand, then Bridgette was shown standing around confused while Shawn raced ahead in a panic.

"In the end, Shawn, a guy with a gigantic zombie obsession," the survivalist was shown getting informed he had won the challenge, "won the gigantic check," the shot of the second oversized check at the pool from the special was shown, "but then gave it all up for the chance to win One. Million. Big ones!" The host winked at Chef who ripped up the original check, Shawn was shown chewing his fingernails nervously, and Chef was shown raising the new prize high above his head. "With the million smackeroos stuffed into a briefcase," Chris' arrival at the Playa with the briefcase in hand was replayed, "our twenty-two campers set off on the Race for the Case!" Nineteen of the campers were shown stampeding past Chris and Chef, and the case itself was shown hanging from it's starting tree.

"Until the case was eaten by an alligator," the host said bluntly over the clip of the suitcase getting snapped up out of Scarlett's hands by the aquatic reptile in question. "Then a shark." Likewise, the final scene of the much fought-over suitcase getting swallowed whole by a freshwater shark at the end of the episode was replayed. "I bet you they didn't see that one comin'!" Chris laughed over shots of Jo, Dawn, Sammy, and DJ treading water in the lake as well as Chris' arrival on the scene by helicopter. The case was shown falling out of the wrecked hot air balloon, picked up by Scarlett, then tumbling all the way down the Dock of Shame and into the lake. "Now the fifteen who were the closest to winning have been given the chance to win another million dollars! Actually," Chris added with a chuckle as the recap ended, "it's the same money..."

"They've been instructed to report to an old film lot," Chris continued as he walked down a small road running between a large stage light and a single small trailer, with several fake building fronts in the background, before a flash took him to the front of a few numbered studios in front of a what looked like a large fake hill,"for a whole new set of challenges."

"Forty-two days," he said over a graphic of a stopwatch with the hands spinning around, a wall calendar with the days getting crossed off, and a desk calendar with the date shown as '42' all flying across the screen in front of an alternating pattern of yellowish sun- and moon-shapes on a darker background. "Fifteen castmates," a strip of film appeared in the center of the screen with portraits of each contestant in the frames – The Arch Villain; The Strong Silent Genius; The Human Soundboard; The Wannabe; The Surfer Girl; The Moonchild; The Brickhouse With Heart; The Funnest Guy Around; The Take-No-Prisoners Jock-ette; The Athletic Overachiever; The Nice Twin; The Brainiac; The Zombie Conspiracy Nut; The Obsessive Uber-Fan; and The Junior Chris – before ending with frames showing an open treasure chest filled with gold and jewels. "One heck of a lot of cash!"

The film strip melted into another close-up shot of the smiling host, the camera pulling back with each word to show another pair of trailers, a large tent, trees, film equipment, a large amphitheater flanked by golden statues, and the rest of the film lot in front of what appeared to be a canal. "Welcome to, Total! Drama! Action!"

A pair of pale-skinned hands holding a film slate appeared inches in front of the camera. The stick was clapped, and the intro began.

xxx

(Fade to Opening Theme)

Dear Mom and Dad, I'm doin' fine;

You guys are on my mind!

Ya asked me what I wanted to be,

And now I think the answer is plain to see!

I wanna be...famous!

I wanna live close to the sun!

Well pack your bags, 'cause I've already won!

Everythin' to prove, nothin' in my way;

I'll get there one day.

'Cause I wanna be...famous!

(Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

I wanna be! I wanna be! I wanna be famous! (Na-na nanananaa, nanana-nanaa, na-nananananaa)

(Fade to Episode)

xxx

The episode began on a close-up of a round sewer grate with steam billowing out of it before the camera panned out and up to show the decrepit entrance of the film lot – an opening in a high concrete wall marked by an ornate-yet-broken bronze arch, outer chain-link gates that had already been swung open, and an unattended guardhouse with the boom barriers lowered. A dirty bus drove into the scene and squealed to a halt in front of the entrance, the rear fender falling off just before the camera focused on the opening doors.

"Sha-zam!" exclaimed the first person to come into view, an exuberant young black man in a blue #1 sports jersey with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "Lightning is first to arrive, and he's gonna be the last to leave!"

"Quit blocking the way, Blockhead!" a voice behind him demanded angrily, kicking him forward and revealing itself as a masculine young white woman in a gray sweatsuit. "And save the boasting for when you've actually won," Jo added before stepping onto the pavement.

She was followed by the large, trench coat-wearing black boy known only as 'B', who in turn was proceeded by two people who tried to squeeze through the opening at the same time. On the right was an attractive and well-dressed young white man whose color scheme matched the host's, and on the left was a tall brown-skinned young woman with a long braid of dark hair streaked with purple highlights.

"Sierra...," the boy growled.

"Topher...," the girl hissed back. The two pushed against each other in their bid to exit the bus first, and eventually managed to force themselves through at the same time – they slammed into B in the process, nearly knocking him over and causing him to cast a silent glare behind him.

The doors of the bus closed and it zoomed off, leaving a cloud of dust and exhaust in its wake. When the cloud settled, the shot had pulled out to show all fifteen castmates sitting in front of the entrance with their luggage – the blonde in the red cheerleader's uniform; the petite and pale girl in the green sweater; the tall and muscular black boy with the olive shirt and white skullcap; the bespectacled young white woman with the vivid red bun; the laid-back-looking white boy with the unbuttoned pink shirt, cowboy hat, and conspicuous cast on his left foot; the white girl with the blonde ponytail and baby blue hoodie; the white boy with an orange vest, olive toque, and no visible hair outside his chin; the young black man in the overalls with more than enough hair to spare; the pudgy young white woman with the side ponytail and glasses; the tall, brown-skinned, long-haired, and handsome young man with the half-opened red shirt; and of course the five that had already been shown on-camera.

"And where exactly is McLean?" Jo asked impatiently.

"He's probably just running late," Topher suggested with a hint of nervousness.

"Assuming he's coming at all," the other handsome boy said, a hint of gold in his mouth.

"He'd better be coming," the vest-wearer added, "'cause I'd rather not stay out here in the open waiting for him."

"Even with a million dollars on the line?" Alejandro asked.

"...I never said I was gonna leave," Shawn replied after a moment.

"Face it," the girl with the side ponytail said cheerfully, showing off her unblemished smile, "the money's the reason we all put up with Chris!"

"Oh, Beth!" the cheerleader spoke up, "you got your braces off! Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Beth answered, flashing the other girl a sparkling smile.

"Magnificent!" Alejandro told her with a smile of his own. "You look much better without those things on your teeth."

The girl swooned and nodded, then raised her eyebrows in realization. "Oh! You got your teeth fixed too, Alejandro!"

The charmer chuckled, then examined his reflection in a hand mirror. "Well, it was only one tooth," he said, "and this gold replacement is a tad tacky for my liking. However, it was all I could get on such short notice," he explained after stowing away the mirror. "At any rate, it is nothing compared to what you've had done."

"Yeah," the girl in the hoodie added, "you look really great!"

"With a smile like that," the hairy boy said, "girl, I bet you could be on a magazine cover!"

"My mom said," Beth told them excitedly, "my world would totally open up when I got my braces off! She was right! I'm gonna be on a magazine!" She began to jump up in down and squeal with joy, only stopping when she and the others heard a pair of honks and an approaching engine.

The camera zoomed out to show Chris arriving behind the wheel of a covered white tram with a single long passenger carriage behind the driver's cart.

"Finally," Jo grunted as the host came to a stop in front of the entrance.

"Hop on, everyone!" he called out as Jo, Lightning, and Sierra were shown grabbing their luggage and heading towards the passenger carriage. "Come on, people," he added jovially as Beth and Beardo were also shown preparing to board, "sheesh! We haven't got all day, this cart's rented by the hour!"

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Bridgette asked her boyfriend with concern as she helped him stand with his crutch. "I mean, with your ankle still broken and all...," she added as the camera focused on the party boy's cast, the surfer's signature barely legible on its side.

"Like I told you before, babe," Geoff answered with a grin and a soothing tone, "I'll be fine! I might have a bit of a disadvantage, but I won't let it get in the way! And besides," his voice became more exuberant, "I gotta have everyone sign my cast!"

Bridgette chuckled and smirked, then planted a kiss on the party lover's lips. "As long as you're sure," she told him. "But I don't want you doing anything risky, got it mister?" she told him with a pout.

"Sh'yeah!" Geoff responded with a flick of his hat and a smirk. "Don't worry Bridge, I'll be extra careful." He put his arm around her waist and they kissed again before finally get onboard the tram.

Chris rolled his eyes at them before turning back forward and getting the tram moving again. "Welcome to the set of Total Drama Action!" he announced to a drumroll, pointing at the camera with both hands as they passed by several sets and trailers. The footage skipped forward to when they were traveling through the numbered studios, and Chris continued his narration. "This season's hottest reality show will be shot here, on an abandoned film lot!"

"Please tell me you had this place was inspected for structural issues before you decided to use it," Scarlett asked dryly from the front row of the cart.

"That's none of your business!" Chris told her, adjusting his rearview mirror to get a better look at the brainiac. "And don't interrupt me!" he demanded, leaning back to point at the girl's face. "Ev-er!"

"Of course..," Scarlett muttered under her breath.

"You'll be spending the next six weeks here," the host continued as they drove through the set of a western, complete with cacti and tumbleweeds along the sandy street, "competing against each other in challenges and for rewards, all for the chance to win some mooonster cash!"

"And that's gonna be me," Lightning announced enthusiastically from his seat near the middle next to Shawn, giving each of his biceps a quick kiss. Chris shushed him, and the jock snorted and looked away.

"Like last season," the host continued, "one team will win, and the other team will watch one of their own make their way down the dreaded Walk of Shame, to the Lame-o-sine." He pressed a large red button on his dashboard, and the windows of his section of the tram rolled up just as they passed through the cloud of exhaust fumes produced by a sputtering, run-down limousine, with bull horns on the hood, that was idling at the end of a red carpet.

The fifteen castmates began to hack and cough as they were taken through the smog, leading Dawn to moan "We don't really have to take that horrible thing, do we?"

"Yes," Chris told her bluntly as they cleared the cloud of fumes and he rolled his windows back down. "Now since we don't have the outhouse to dump your deepest, darkest secrets in," his comment caused DJ, B, Geoff, Bridgette, and Shawn to look forward worriedly, "you'll dish the dirt in our new make-up confessional!" As he made the announcement, they passed by the small trailer that Chris had been standing near in the beginning of the episode.

xxx

"Hey hey!" Topher said excitedly as he looked around the new confessional. The camera seemed to be positioned behind a one-way mirror set up above a dressing table. There were several bits of make-up and associated tools scattered around the table itself, while in the background were a costume rack and a few shelves of hats and helmets. "This isn't too shabby! Not up to the standards of a real star, of course," he told the camera with a wink, "but it'll do for these guys." He rolled his eyes and smirked, pointing over his shoulder with his left thumb.

xxx

"To your left," Chris continued as the tram was shown passing by the tent seen earlier in the episode, "is the craft services tent. Catered, by Chef." He idled in front of the tent just as a crash was heard from inside it and the hulking man ran out with a cleaver in his hand, chasing after a raccoon. While most of the castmates looked shocked or horrified, Geoff took the opportunity to stand-up, pull out a camera, and snap a photograph.

Chris grinned and stomped on the gas pedal, causing the still-standing party boy to fall back into his seat with a yelp. "If you survive Chef," the host said with a sly grin as the background music began to build, "you'll have to make it through our dramatic Award Ceremony!" A triumphant tune unheard of before yet befitting a ceremony played as the tram passed by the large amphitheater flanked by large golden statues of the host himself. "Where all but one loser will receive," the camera focused on one of the statues, which gleamed and glittered in the light, "a Gilded Chris Award!"

xxx

"Ooh, the Gilded Chris Award," Sierra said in sincerest awe. "I am sooo going to collect as many as I can and send them back to my mom and grandma back home." She perked up and waved energetically at the camera. "I hope you can find a place for them in the Chris Shrine!"

xxx

"Are we done yet?" Jo asked grumpily in her seat next to Sierra.

""I have an eject button," Chris said matter-of-factly, "and I'll use it!"

The jock-ette rolled her eyes. "Then by all means, keep going!" she said with a fake smile.

Chris smirked at the camera as he took the tram through a new set, revealed to be a moon set complete with a UFO set up by a crater when the camera zoomed out.

"Quite the variety you've got here," Alejandro said as he looked around with mild curiosity. "Why exactly was this lot abandoned anyway?"

"I'm you asked, that Al!" Chris answered, the camera briefly lingering on the charmer's scowling face before cutting to the host's close-up. "You see, a few months ago, this lot was home to a high-budget monster movie, until the star began experiencing some...ahh...uhhh...difficulties?" he finally said after struggling to find the words.

"She had mental breakdown, no doubt," Topher said with a knowing nod. "Happens all the time in the movie business."

"Actually," Chris corrected slowly, "the star wasn't a her. It was an animatronic monster!" He turned around suddenly with his hands raised into claws as the background music took a few dramatic beats and a few shots of large bite marks in the fake buildings and trees around the lot were shown.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow and donned a thoughtful look as she rubbed her chin.

"Ooh," Sierra asked excitedly, "what happened to it? Did it go on a rampage?"

Just then an earth-shaking roar filled the area, forcing Beth, Beardo, and Sammy at the back of the carriage to cringe and cover their ears. Dramatic music rapidly began to build as the cheerleader nervously stammered "M-maybe that was just a recording?"

Chris just smiled silently, looking back forward as the camera cut to a shot of a radio tower, distinctly mechanical footsteps preceding a scaly green tail with orange-ish spikes that whipped into the building and knocked it over. The host quickly slammed the brakes, and a cry of "Sha-whoa!" from Lightning was followed by a "Dude!" from Geoff and a high-pitched scream from DJ as the tram started to skid to a halt and a cloud of dust enveloped the scene.

When everything settled, the camera showed the radio tower sticking upside-down out of the road in front of the tram. The castmates leaned out from either side to look at it nervously as the host continued.

"Since we're on a film lot," he explained as they teens leaned back into the cart, "this season's challenges will be based on movie genres. Today's genre?" he said with a smile as the monster roared in the distance. "The Monster Movie!" He chuckled before adding a mocking "Duh!" The animatronic beast was shown walking in front of the camera; its body was as green and scaly as its tail, and a pair of short, clawed arms suggested it had a classic 'bipedal dinosaur' build.

The castmates gasped, and the camera focused in on DJ, Dawn, and Sammy. "O-oh my," the petite girl stammered while the gentle giant began to tremble, "th-that was quite large..." Both of them began to sway in their seats, and their eyes lost focus.

"There there," Sammy said quickly, grabbing them by their shoulders and helping them lean back into their seats, "I'll, umm, protect you from the monster," she told them while looking scared and uncertain herself.

"Good luck with that!" Chris told her happily as he got out of the tram. "For your first challenge," he said to the worried castmates, "everyone must get from here to the cast trailers while our state-of-the-art monster prevents your every move. Chef has kindly offered to control the beast," he added with a laugh, pointing behind him. The camera quick-panned over to show the hulking man inside a dark tent, dressed in a motion capture suit and stomping around in front of a few monitors with his hands in the air and a scowl on his face.

"Aaaaand, Action!" the host dramatically announced, only to be met by blank stares and a cricket's chirp from the teens. "Uh, that means go," he told them, and the passenger cart became a flurry of activity as the castmates raced towards the exit.

"Outta my way!" Jo growled, shoving Topher to the side.

"Lightning's comin' through!" the overachiever followed, grabbing the jock-ette by the arm and tossing her behind him.

"Excuse me!" Shawn said as he side-stepped Lightning and dove out the open side of the cart.

"Sorry!" Bridgette added as she barged past the uber-jock with Geoff on his crutch.

The camera cut back to Chris as the party lover banged his broken foot on something and yelped in pain. "This," he winced, "is gonna be a long season!"

The shot moved to a long-distance view of two isolated trailers between the Craft Services Tent and amphitheater, the camera zooming in on them before cutting to a beach set complete with a palm trees, a large umbrella, and even a sand castle in the foreground. The castmates were shown running and screaming in a group, chased shortly after by the lime green monster. It was shown from another perspective, stomping down on another sand castle near a few surfboards and leaving a large, three-clawed footprint in the sand.

"Whoa, that was awesome!" Geoff cheered as he limped along at the end of the pack with Bridgette at his side. "I gotta take a picture of it." He paused to hold up his camera, snapping a single photograph before his impatient girlfriend grabbed him by the arm.

"We don't have time for that, Geoff!" she scolded as they started to run again.

A touching tune played as the focus moved back onto DJ as he and Dawn were led forward by their hands by Sammy. "I can almost hear your sweet lullabies, Momma!" the brickhouse sobbed as Dawn looked back and whimpered next to him.

"Just keep moving," Sammy said in an almost soothing voice, "and I promise we'll be alright!"

The frantic music that had been used since the monster appeared began again as Geoff and Bridgette became the focus once more, still hustling along together with the animatronic monster approaching behind them.

"I think...," the party boy panted, "you might have to leave me behind again, Bridge!"

"No!" the surfer exclaimed. "You did that enough last season, I don't want you to keep sacrificing yourself for me!"

Geoff opened his mouth to reply, then noticed a claw-shaped shadow falling on him and looked back in horror. "I don't think we have much choice!" he said, quickly shoving his girlfriend forward when she stopped to look back, getting her just out of the way of the monster's hand. "I LOVE YOU!" he cried as the monster roared and grabbed him up.

"GEOFF!" Bridgette cried up in anguish as her lover was taken away.

The footage flashed to an inflatable castle set up next to a trailer as the monster, its head just out of shot, arrived with the injured party-lover. It roared again and dropped him, the boy clutching his hat to his head and yelling "Not the foot, dude!" He managed to land on his hands and knees and bounced back up into the air, wiping the sweat from his brow but in doing so accidentally caused himself to land on the feet the next time around.

He gave another pained yelp, and the footage cut to static.

xxx

"Oh, I hope the monster doesn't find me in here...," Bridgette began her confessional, looking around the room worriedly. She sighed, then looked straight at the camera. "I really love how laid-back Geoff is, and how sweet he is to keep supporting me in challenges, but..." She paused and rubbed her arm awkwardly. "I don't know, it's just that with us being in the game again I wish he would start taking things a little more seriously. I know he's looking out for me, but I wanna look out for him too!"

xxx

The camera followed Scarlett as she ducked behind a small shack on the beach set with a few surfboards leaning against it as Jo and Sierra raced past in front. The monster's tail was shown between a few dunes as it stalked through the area, and the two young women were shown spotting it and skidding to a halt.

"This isn't working!" Jo grumbled. "How the heck are we supposed to find the actor's trailers anyway?"

"Hmm," Sierra tapped her chin in thought, "since it's Chris, he'd probably make it somewhere obvious. Ooh, maybe we saw them on the tour!"

"Well, that's a load of help," the jock-ette said sarcastically. "That tour took us all over the place!"

"Yeah, but-" the uber-fan began to reply, only to get cut off when Topher ran past.

"Don't bother trusting her to figure it out," he taunted, jogging in place in front of them for a moment before dashing off. "Why would you need to, when I have the instincts of a true professional! I'll find those trailers in no time!"

"You'd best be right about that, amigo," Alejandro added as he ran past the scowling girls as well.

xxx

"Uggh, I can't stand that guy!" Sierra said in the make-up confessional, slumped in the seat with her arms folded across her chest. "Topher thinks he's sooo hot, that he's the next big thing, but y'know what?" She leaned towards the camera suddenly, slamming her hand on the table. "He's not! He's not even the next next big thing! He isn't even a fan!" she threw her hands up into the air. "He's just a poser," she finished matter-of-factly, leaning back, closing her eyes, and folding her arms again, "and nothing more."

xxx

"Hey, no point moping around here and leaving yourself open to attack," Shawn told Bridgette as he met up with the sad-faced girl behind a row of surfboards. He grabbed her by the arm and they started to run, the footage skipping ahead to show them at an even pace next to each other as they crossed into a city set filled with storefronts and other buildings.

"You're right," the surfer said, "I have to keep my head in the game. We made it all the way through one season, so running from a giant monster through an abandoned film lot should be a piece of cake!"

"Yeah," Shawn added, "especially since it's just the monster we're up against. Knowing Chris, I'm surprised half of this place hasn't exploded, caught on fire, or been filled with out-of-place fauna yet!"

The sound of a sudden fire being lit caught their attention, and a few dramatic notes played as the camera cut to a house exploding, another burning to a crisp, and the now-seared bear that had been inside it roaring and charging at them.

"Well, at least I didn't say anything about zombies," Shawn quipped as he and Bridgette ran screaming from the bear. The shot pulled out and transitioned to the feed on a television screen, the host laughing just out of sight. "I thought the bear was tranquilized and returned to its handler," Chris asked Chef, who was still in the motion-capture suit.

"Had one day left on its contract," the hulking man explained.

"Nice!" the host said with a smile.

The footage cut back to the surfer and the survivalist as a sudden mechanical footstep shook them to a halt. "Oh no," Bridgette said with a point off-camera, "it's the monster!" They quickly turned as the animatronic beast grabbed for them with one hand, but ended up heading straight into its other.

"I can't believe we lost like this!" Shawn said from the monster's hands as it carried its two captives through the air. "I think I gotta get my head in the game too!"

The hand finally stopped and released them, the surfer looking down and smiling. "I'm coming, Geoff!" she exclaimed as she and Shawn were shown landing in the bouncy castle, the shadow of the party lover visible in the center window. She landed on top of him and he cried out in pain, and on the second bounce she cried out "Sorry!"

The focus moved back to Sierra and Jo, the jock-ette looking impatiently at the other girl as she thought. Lightning suddenly ran past to the right with a confident smirk on his face, prompting Jo to mutter "Ahh, enough of this!" and run after him.

"You're kiddin' yourself if you think you can outrun sha-Lightning!" the uber-jock taunted as the athletic young woman came up alongside him.

"And you're kidding yourself if you think you can beat me!" Jo shot back. "The only person who's gonna get to those trailers first is me!"

A sudden roar from behind them knocked both athletes face-first into a sand dune, landing so deep in it that only their flailing legs stuck out. The monster's hand swiped past, picking them up by their legs so that they dangled upside-down while being carried.

"Aww, man!" Lightning griped. "This is all your fault!"

"Are you kidding me?" Jo replied just as they were dropped into the castle. "You would've been caught anyway!" she added on the bounce back up.

Sierra was shown running through the beach by herself only to be met by Beth, Beardo, and B running in from the opposite direction with panicked expressions on their faces. She paused to watch them run past, then turned her head back forward and gasped.

She barely rolled away from the monster's tail as it slammed down onto the sand, and hastily ran away from it.

The camera cut to a close-up of Topher as he ran through the city, eyes closed and rubbing his temples with a single finger each. "Okay," he said, "my instincts are telling me to go...this way!" he popped his eyes open excitedly and pointed at a storefront, which he quickly ducked into. The shot zoomed out to show Alejandro watching with a skeptical look, then changed angles to show him leaning over to get a side view of the building – it was only a facade.

Alejandro rolled his eyes and looked around the street, noticing Scarlett darting across a side street and putting herself flush with a 'building' on the other side. "What is she doing...?" he mumbled as he watched the brainiac crack open a door and tiptoe inside.

A sudden crashing footstep caused his eyes to widen as he turned around, spotting the scaly arm just before it grabbed him. "You are surprisingly stealthy for your size," he told the monster calmly as it held him up to its large red eye. "Just make sure you put me down gently. After all, I haven't forgotten what you did to me last season, Chef." He grinned dryly, the camera focusing on the gold tooth in his upper jaw as it gleamed in the sunlight.

The eye went wide as the scene cut to Chris in Chef in the control tent, a trio of monitors showing the captured charmer from in front, behind, and up close. "Dang kid's gotta let that go," the cook muttered to the host.

xxx

Alejandro began his confessional by examining his smile in the large one-way mirror set between him and the camera. "I'll admit that I've put my plan to take legal action for my elimination last season on hold for this competition," he finally said, "but I'm not about to forgive Chef Hatchet for tarnishing my face so easily. He's got a lot to make up for, and although I'd prefer a cash settlement, I'm open to other offers."

xxx

The charmer was shown being lowered gently into the castle by the giant animatronic hand, and he took a quick glance at those around him – Bridgette and Geoff were making out in a corner; Jo and Lightning were sulking on the other side; and Shawn had removed his knit cap and begun to scratch his bald head.

"Well," Alejandro said with a small smile, "it's good to know that at least I wasn't the first to lose this challenge." The others all glared at him.

"Al?" Topher called as he ran through the deserted streets of the urban set. "Where are you, buddy?"

"I bet your crush already got caught," Sierra snickered as she appeared from behind him. "Either that, or he ditched you."

"Hey, you take that back!" Topher yelled. "All of it!"

Sierra giggled into her hands. "No!" she said, just before the monster roared.

"Uh oh," the handsome boy said just before a clawed hand appeared and grabbed them both. "Hey! Why'd you have to get us together?!" he protested as the mechanical monster carried them away.

"Yeah," the tall girl added, "you could've at least used different hands!"

The monster, of course, gave them no reply except a sudden drop into the bouncy castle. They blew each other raspberries on the way down.

The six already in the castle gave the duo odd looks when they finally landed. "Oh, there you are Al!" Topher smiled, crawling over to the charmer without noticing his eye twitch.

"Told you he was captured," Sierra told him in a snotty tone, earning another raspberry from Topher.

The scene cut to Sammy leading Dawn and DJ down the streets, all three screaming as the monster stomped along close behind them. It caught up to the three at an intersection, and the largest and smallest of the group seemed to be paralyzed with fear.

"G-giant m-monster...," DJ whimpered.

"G-giant r-robot...," Dawn trembled.

"Yes, I know," Sammy told them with a mix of exasperation and panic, "and we should really try to hide right now!" She grabbed them each by the wrist and pulled them out of the way of a swipe from the monster.

xxx

"Who would have guessed that I'd be the brave one?" the nice twin told the confessional camera sheepishly. "I mean, even if it's only for this challenge..."

xxx

Sammy forcibly got them moving towards one of the storefronts, quickly opening the door and pulling them through. Unfortunately, it was another facade leading to nowhere – there was even a noticeboard and water cooler on the opposite side of the wall, and what appeared to be an alarm of some sort above the door.

"Oh...," the cheerleader said in disappointment as she realized where she'd led them.

xxx

"Although I guess I'm still not very good at it...," Sammy continued sadly in the confessional.

xxx

The facade's door slammed shut behind them, revealing Scarlett rubbing a mark on her forehead. "In retrospect," she muttered, "that was the wrong place to stand."

A roar from the monster alerted all four of the castmates, DJ and Dawn clinging to each other shortly before they all were scooped up into the monster's claws. "For the record," the brainiac said dryly as she and the others were taken away, "I blame the three of you for leading the animatronic robot to that location."

"Sorry!" Sammy said as the four fell into the castle, DJ and Dawn still holding each other in terror even after bouncing.

The scene cut back to the intersection near the previous capture, showing Beth, Beardo, and B sticking their heads out from behind one of the fake storefronts.

"I think it's safe," Beth whispered, and the three tiptoed out into the street. An eerie tune began to build in the background as they crossed to the very same doorway that Sammy's group had used before them, the lone remaining young woman staying back to keep watch as the silent genius and beatboxer made their way to the other side of the storefront facade. Despite the mechanical footsteps growing louder, Beth looked away from the streets once her friends had passed the door and began to step through herself.

She only managed to get one foot to the other side before a large claw tapped her on the shoulder. She nervously turned around, and the background music peaked as the camera shifted to show the monster crouching down behind her. Its face was shown for the first time, with fin-like crests on the top and either side; a nose that was little more than a pair of vertical slits, and a mouth full of sharp yellowed teeth.

Beth looked like she was trying to scream, but nothing came out. The monster roared, and Beardo and B were shown looking back in fear before ducking behind a cardboard cutout of a small red car. Beth was grabbed, and the shot moved back to the last two uncaptured castmates.

"Looks like it's down to us," Beardo said, still trembling. B nodded vigorously, but neither stepped out from behind the prop. They stood their for a few moments of terrified silence before Beardo continued. "We just gotta find those cast trailers that monster comes back. Any ideas?" B shook his head, eyes still wide with fear, and the beatboxer made a 'sad trombone' sound.

Slowly, the two young men began to creep out of their hiding spot. They stuck their heads out of the door they'd last come through and looked around. Seeing nothing, they jogged back out into the open, following the sidewalk to the nearest intersection and turning to their left.

They only got about a yard before the shadow of the monster fell on them. They gasped and turned around, Beardo letting out an air raid siren as he and B started running again. The monster caught up quickly, and grabbed them in one hand. However, something unusual happened when he went to lift them up – a surge of electricity ran along its arm, and it froze in place.

xxx

"Huh," Beardo said in the confessional, rubbing the back of his neck, "guess bein' kinda fat finally came in handy. Although if I'm honest it's probably more B than me. Good thing we stuck together! Uh," he added quickly, "not that I only care about the dude for bein' good in challenges or anything, he's a great guy. Kinda cute, too." He realized what he said and blushed, looking at the camera with wide eyes.

xxx

B was shown in the confessional next, smirking as he gave his belly a few pats and a quick jiggle. He looked up at the camera and shrugged impishly.

xxx

"Come on," Chef grunted in the control tent as he tried to lift the arm corresponding to the one Beardo and B had been caught by, "come on!" Another stream of electricity surged up his body, and the scene cut back to the two boys in the animatronic monster's grip. The mechanical arm shorted out again and the claw opened, dropping the last two castmates to the ground.

"Huh," Beardo said in surprise, "guess we were too heavy for it. Looks like we won, brother!" B smirked, and the two fat young men high-fived then bumped chests in celebration.

"Not yet, dudes," Chris interrupted, walking up to the pair with his hand behind his back and an impish grin on his face. "You still have to find the trailers, and only one of you gets to actually win."

Beardo and B exchanged a confused look. "Hold up," the beatboxer asked, "there any place we haven't looked yet?"

The silent genius tapped his chin in thought, then raised his brow and snapped his fingers. He turned and dashed off in the opposite direction, leaving Beardo behind to watch with a clueless expression. The hairy bow lingered less than a second before jumping into the air with the sound of an alarm bell, then mimicked squealing tires and a roaring engine as he chased after his former partner.

Tense and fast-paced music began again as the camera followed the two boys running through the streets. Neither had a clear lead in any of the clips that were shown, and eventually the footage skipped ahead to show them approaching the bouncy castle from the stand of trees and shrubs to the left. They hadn't lost their even pace and both seemed to be breathing heavily, but as the camera zoomed in on them it was B who suddenly fell behind.

The camera panned down to show that his voluminous coat had gotten snagged on a bush, allowing Beardo to unwittingly take the lead while B tugged himself free. The music reached a triumphant end as the hairy beatboxer finally arrived, slowing down as he walked past the inflatable prison, unaware that he was being watched.

"It's about time, man!" Lightning berated him through the dark window. "You kept us waitin'!"

"Don't listen to him, Beardo!" Beth said. "You did great!"

"Thanks," the boy replied as he sat down on the corner of the castle and wiped the sweat off his brow. "That's gotta be the longest three city blocks I've ever run."

The camera cut over to B as he finally sauntered into the scene, his coat undamaged. "Now that we're all here," Alejandro said, "I don't suppose either one of you could help us get out of here, could you?"

B shrugged and opened his coat, then took out a long pin. He poked a hole in the corner of the castle and it quickly began to deflate, with everyone still inside it.

"That's not quite what I meant," the charmer said, his voice muffled by the plastic around him as he and the other castmates struggled to get free.

"Huh," Chris said as he opened the door of the nearest trailer and looked around. "That didn't take as long as I expected. Also," he added after walking over to the collapsed castle to reveal that most of the teens had already gotten out safely, "looks like you all made it! Guess I lose the bet."

The camera panned across the campers as the host continued to speak – Beardo, Beth, Lightning, Jo, Bridgette, Topher, Dawn, DJ, Sammy, Sierra, Shawn, Geoff, Scarlett, Alejandro, and B.

"That was just a warm-up," Chris told them. "Good news is, your next challenge is a reward!" The sounds of cheering teens filled the air, although the three on the end merely smiled. "It will be the boys against the girls," the host continued, "with the winner getting first pick of the trailers, where you'll be living for the next forty-two days!"

It was then that the foot of the monster came crashing down on the trailer furthest away from the group, prompting a collective gasp from the contestants and a brief cringe from Chris. "Well, looks like Chef's got the monster working again," he said quickly, resuming his grin. "And as I was saying, you will have your choice of Trailer A," he motioned to the trailer he was standing in front of, which had an orange awning on one side, "or Trailer...Beeesh...," he motioned to the one that had just been crushed, cringing as the foot stepped off it to show it and its pinkish awning nearly flattened.

"Off to the craft services tent!" Chris said, recovering quickly as the camera moved back to him and the castmates.

xxx

"It's times like this," Shawn told the confessional camera, "that make sleeping in a tree regardless of what happens really worth it. And it wasn't even zombie-related this time!"

xxx

A reverent tune played as the footage came back from static, focusing in on the craft services tent before cutting inside and panning across a buffet table loaded with all sorts of picturesque food.

"Ooh," Sierra gushed as she and a few of the other castmates were shown in admiration along with Chef Hatchet, "this is such a good-looking meal. It really goes to show how great Chris is for setting this up for us."

"Totally," Geoff added. "This chow looks like something out of a commercial!"

"That makes sense," the host told them with a broad grin, "considering that all of this food, is fake." The camera lingered on his close-up as astonished groans and whines were heard from the castmates. "Yup, just a bunch of props made from foam core, silicone, sawdust, and wax," he explained as the camera panned over to Chef, standing in front of a few bags and boxes of supplies, holding a saw and a jar of what looked like paste.

"Your challenge," Chris explained as the focus snapped back to him, "is to find the key hidden somewhere in this magnificent-looking fake buffet. Boys get one side of the table," he continued as the frowning teens filed into the positions he motioned to, "girls get the other, whoever wins gets to pick their team's trailer."

The footage cut away from the handsome man's close-up to show the fifteen campers all lined up, the guys on the far side and the girls with their backs to the camera. "Aaaaanndd...," Chris said slowly, "Action!"

At his word, a wordless rock tune reminiscent of the song used for the original food-based challenge in the previous season began, and the table became a flurry of movement as fake food was grabbed and ripped apart. The camera panned across the faces of the guys from left to right, showing Beardo tearing through a pie, B contemplating a pineapple, Alejandro lifting a steak up to his eye, Shawn and Geoff looking through some sandwiches, DJ looking at the food uncertainly, Topher looking squeamish at the bits of fake food flying around, and Lightning eagerly putting his hands in a large prop cake.

The perspective switched to the other side of the table, and the camera panned back to the right across the faces of the girls, also hard at work. Sammy dumped out a bowl of salad, Dawn pursed her lips and looked back and forth across the table, Scarlett methodically pulled apart a pile of fake sticky buns, Bridgette held up a pitcher of ice water with an uncertain expression, Jo shoved her left arm up to the elbow into a fake roast turkey, Sierra sculpted a bowl of fake mashed potatoes into something resembling a head, and Beth started scooping out a prop watermelon with her hand.

"So how long do you think it'll take 'em to find the key?" Chef whispered as he and the host were shown again just as the rock music faded out.

"A few more minutes, give or take," Chris replied knowingly, as the camera cut to Dawn who appeared to have not yet touched the fake food. "I mean, there's only so much food they can look through." The mystic finally made a grab for a single dinner roll just as Lightning leaned over and grabbed the basket it was in, then calmly poked her thumb into it.

"I found it!" she announced over a shot of the host and cook raising their eyebrows in surprise. The camera cut back to Dawn, who was holding the key above her head and receiving surprised looks from those around her, the guys especially.

xxx

"It was just a matter figuring out which piece of prop food contained the most positive energy," Dawn explained with a smile and a small giggle in the confessional trailer. "It wasn't that hard."

xxx

"Hah!" Jo barked a laugh. "Looks like Nature Girl's mystic mumbo jumbo finally came in handy! That, or she got lucky, but hey! We still won, and that's what matters most."

xxx

"Okay, I know it doesn't seem like much," Sammy said, "but finding that key in the first place she looked was actually kinda cool. I do feel a little bad that the guys are gonna be stuck with the trailer that was crushed though..."

xxx

"Man, Lightning was sha-robbed," the overachiever sulked. "He's the one who got those rolls first, that creepy girl just got lucky skimmin' off the top!"

xxx

Sierra began her confessional admiring the fake mashed potato bust of Chris McLean she had brought with her. "Dawn may have won the challenge," she said offhandedly without looking at the camera, "but I think I'm the real winner here. It's not every day you get to make one of these bad boys," she held the potato sculpture up to the camera and waggled her eyebrows.

xxx

"Well, uh, okay then!" Chris said quickly. "Looks like Dawn is the winner!" The girls began to cheer and Sammy gave her friend a hug, but they blushed and broke it quickly.

"Looks like once again," Jo gloated, "the girls beat the guys! Have fun trying to sleep in that pancake!"

The seven boys looked glum at the prospect. "You-you're not really gonna make us sleep in there, are you Chris?" Topher asked in a panic.

Chris chuckled. "Well, that's really up to Dawn," he answered. "She found the key, so it's up to her who gets which trailer. Now let's go get this over with, shall we?" the host finished with a gleeful smile.

The scene cut to the cats standing in front of the trailers, the one on the right still flattened. The guys stood on the right, Dawn was in the middle, and the remaining girls were to her left.

"Ummm," she said as she looked from one trailer to the other, then to the boys, "sorry friends, but I'm afraid I must pick Trailer A." She pointed to her choice before continuing. "But I do hope you will be able to make peace with your new, um, living arrangements."

"Don't worry about it," DJ said with a hint of sadness, "any of us woulda done the same thing if we'd won, right guys?" He turned his head to the six other boys, and they hemmed and hawed but eventually nodded or murmured in agreement.

The girls cheered again, but their celebration rapidly turned to disappointment when the monster's foot suddenly stomped down on their own trailer, crushing it just as much as the guys'.

Chris chuckled as he watched the scene in the control tent, Chef Hatchet beside him in the motion capture suit with a foot in the air and a grin on his face.

xxx

Scarlett sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That was unfortunately predictable. I mean, since when has Chris McLean made things easy?"

xxx

It was now night, and Chef was shown hammering away on top of a rebuilt trailer. "Okay everyone," Chris announced as the camera zoomed out to show him driving past the girls in the main tram cart, "get a good night's sleep because you've got a seriously early wake-up call." He crossed over to the guys standing outside their own rebuilt trailer, saying "Call time is, 6 a.m.! Hah hah, sleep quickly!" before driving off.

The camera cut to the inside of the guys' trailer, a set of bunk beds visible on the left edge of the screen with a sink, cabinets, and sofa further right; the eight guys were standing in the middle of the shot. Both the sheets on the beds and the other seats were colored a dark orange.

"I call top bunk," DJ said as he moved to the left.

"I got bottom," Geoff, following behind.

"Callin' this one," Beardo said with a point to the top bunk nearest them. "You want bottom, bro?" he asked B, getting a nod and a fist bump in reply before the two walked over to their new beds.

"I take it you'll be sleeping...elsewhere again this season?" Alejandro asked the bald survivalist as he stuffed a bag into one of the overhead cabinets.

"Yup," Shawn said. "The other beds are all yours."

The charmer shrugged as the conspiracy theorist turned and left. "Then if there are no objections, I'll take the top bunk over here," he said, walking past Beardo and B to an empty set of bunks in the corner, an orange rug being shown on the floor between the beds.

"And naturally, I'll take the bottom," Topher said right behind him.

"Sha-score!" Lightning said happily. "Two beds all for these babies!" He kissed his biceps, then jumped onto the last remaining top bunk on the wall opposite the beatboxer and silent genius. The roof of the trailer was included in the shot; it included an emergency hatch at the top, and the whole thing had visibly been patched together.

The scene cut back outside, the lights now out in the trailer as sounds of rest and relaxation came from within. Shawn was shown as well, yawning and stretching his arms as he walked around the trailer to the trees behind it. The camera then panned over to the girls' trailer, the lights still on inside.

"There are eight bunks," Scarlett was heard saying just before the shot cut inside the girls' trailer, "and seven of us. One of us will have two beds to themselves, so it's best we decide who gets that privilege in an orderly fashion."

As with the guys, the seven girls were standing in the middle of the room. The layout was nearly identical to the guys' trailer, save the use of green in place of orange. "Well," Sammy spoke up, "I'm fine sharing a bunk. Dawn, you wanna take the top like that season?"

"Sure!" the petite girl said happily. The blondes started to scurry off, but were stopped after only a few steps when Scarlett cleared her throat.

"While I appreciate you enthusiasm," she told them, "I would prefer it if you waited to claim your beds until the rest of us are at a similar stage."

"Oh, sorry...," Sammy said.

Jo rolled her eyes. "What's the big deal if they pick their beds already? They're all the same."

"Umm, no," Scarlett said plainly. "While superficially similar in multiple aspects, their relative positioning in the room alters their distance to the door and therefore other amenities, as well as changes the angle at which sunlight will hit them. There are likely to be other meaningful variations between them which we may discover later on, but at present those two should be sufficient to warrant consideration of individual preferences in choice of bed."

The jock-ette stared at her for a moment, then crossed her arms. "Okay, I barely understood what you just said. But fine, be pointlessly annoying, no skin of my back."

"Thank you," Scarlett said dryly before turning to the other three girls. "Now, would any of you like to volunteer to share a bunk with someone."

"Sure!" Beth said, raising her hand.

Bridgette looked at her and shrugged. "Yeah, I'll bunk with you," she told the shorter girl. They shared a smile, then walked over to stand near Sammy and Dawn.

"Sierra?" the brainiac asked the taller girl, who was rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Hmmm...it's not that I don't want to share a bunk," Sierra said, "I'm just not sure I really wanna share it with either of you."

"Same," Jo grunted.

"I feel similarly," Scarlett told them. "Fortunately, this situation is easily resolved. Samey, could you please get out three make-up brushes, two of a similar length and one shorter?"

Sammy blinked. "Oh, uh, sure, I guess...," she said as she quickly dug through her bag and produced what she was asked for.

"Thank you," the redhead told her without taking the brushes out of the girl's outstretched hand. "We'll draw lots for it," she said to Jo and Sierra. "The longer two will bunk together, the shortest bunks alone. Agreed?"

The jock-ette and uber-fan nodded, and the three young women drew their lots. The camera focused on their hands as they opened them together, revealing that Scarlett had drawn the shortest brush.

"Well then," she said with a cocky smirk, "it seems that's been settled."

Jo frowned at the object resting on her palm. "Fine, but I get the top," she told Sierra, who shrugged in acceptance.

"Now then," Scarlett continued, "do any of you have any preferences towards one of the four bunks?" The three pairs of girls gave her blank stares, and she shrugged calmly. "Suit yourselves. In that event, there should be no objections if I take the bed in the southern corner." The camera rotated to show all eight beds as she walked past the other groups and claimed the bottom bunk in the back-left corner. Sammy and Dawn took the front-right, Bridgette and Beth took up a similar position across from them, and Jo and Sierra were left with the back-right set of beds. As with the guys, their roof had both an emergency hatch as well as the obvious signs of being rebuilt.

The camera cut back outside as the girls were heard getting to sleep, and Chris poked his head out from behind their trailer. "Shhh," he put a finger to his lips as the shot came in for a close-up, "they're sleeping!" He immediately took out a red megaphone-air horn combo and switched it on with a high-pitched whine.

"THIS IS YOUR 5 A.M. WAKE-UP CALL!" he yelled, startling the girls awake. He jumped out into the open and laughed a bit before adding in his normal voice "I'm only kidding, you can sleep...," he took his megaphone back out and pointed it at the guys' trailer, "for now!" The guys inside groaned and he sound the horn, prompting a sudden, startled scream from the trees in the background, followed by a thud that made the host wince.

"That's a wrap on Day One," he said, turning to face the camera with a grin and a single finger in the air. "How will Shawn fare now that he's back in civilization? What will tomorrow hold for Geoff and Bridgette?" A deep and dramatic tune began to build in the background as the host continued his monologue. "Who knows what drama is in store for our cast? Well I do," he put his hand behind his back and let his face fall into a scowl, "but I ain't tellin'." He smiled again, and stuck his finger back up. "See you next time, for another thrilling episode," he spread his arms as the camera started pulling out, "of Total! Drama! Ac-tion! McLean, out," he finished, putting his hands behind his back as the scene faded to black.

He laughed, and the animatronic monster roared. "Can someone please put a wrap on that monster?!" he exclaimed angrily.

(Fade to Credits)

Author's Note - Post Script

I hope you all liked it! Despite expecting most of the readers to have already read the first story in the series, I wanted to give a good and thorough reintroduction to the cast, and I think I succeeded in that respect. Not everything relevant was mentioned, of course, but a lot of what was missed here was included in the second episode.

Regarding the challenge, I kept the progression largely the same as in canon, including the monster's rampage eventually stopping due to trying to pick up more than it could handle. Also of note is that I actually got to write out the second part of the challenge, as unlike canon I don't have any big eaters in the cast to just plow through it. The music used for that scene, incidentally, is an instrumental version of the song 'Eat to Win' that was used during 'Brunch of Disgustingness' last season (in my head, at least.)

Hopefully both parts of the competition were handled as well as I feel they were. And, of course, that this was a fine beginning to what will be an excellent season.

I just have a few last things to note. First, I will be covering the post-elimination bonus videos for this season. Second, I've decided to change my writing schedule: Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday will be my main days for working on this fic, with chapters usually coming out at some point on Fridays, or possibly Saturday/Sunday if I'm running late. For those interested, Monday-Wednesday-Friday will be spent largely working on my other fic, Total Drama Rebirth, and Saturdays will be used for whatever I want - plotting out future events for either story, working on Total Shuffled World Tour songs, and possibly even working on one-shots. Or just relaxing, if I feel the need for a break.

Anyway, thanks for reading!

- Fangren