Candy For Your Thoughts?

by Strix Moonwing

After discovering Duncan and Gwen kissing, Courtney vents out her anger and grief alone in the cargo hold. However, when one particular teammate comes visiting her, she realizes that she's not the only one who's been hurt by the kiss...

10. A Dramatic Final: Love Goes On

Author's Notes: Okay, fellows, we're up to Part 2 of the totally Dramatic Final! Yes, very creative chapter title, I know. Before I get the story rolling, I'd just like say THANK YOU ALL FOR THE 200 REVIEWS! It took my other Total Drama story "The Princess and the Spider" over 18 chapters to get that much! I'd never have believed this story would be as popular as it is and after reading all the reviews left for Part 1...well, I was speechless after reading a lot of them.

As this is the final chapter before the Epilogue, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who had taken a moment to read this story and stay with it since its days as an oneshot. As I stated many times before, it's always been a wonder to me how popular this story has gotten. I want to thank every person who has read, favorited, alerted, and left a review for "Candy for Your Thoughts". At the very beginning, I wrote this oneshot only as a relief to help sooth the wound left by the horrible writing and plot work of the whole CxDxG fiasco. I had no idea it would evolve into momentous story that so many Total Drama fans would support. The feedback all of you have given were what kept my beloved story going and I can never express how thankful I am for every single one of you and your support.

I sincerely hope that, in one way or another, "Candy for Your Thoughts" has left an impact on all who has read it. A story whether it be written or animated serves a purpose to teach lessons, provide inspiration, and preserve morals to its audience. It is the gift that every storyteller offers to those willing to listen.

So, my beloved loyal readers, this chapter is the gift I offer to you….

---

"There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want leave behind. But keep in mind that letting go isn't the end of the world, it's the beginning of a new life."

~Unknown

---

Atop the famous volcano of Kīlauea, the remaining former Total Drama contestants were gathered around the rim of the volcano crater. Despite the incredible heat that rose up in waves from the molten lava below, the teens were huddled close to one another, trying their best to stay as far away from the treacherous crater edge as possible. One false step would send them over the edge to a fiery death. Many shot irritated glares in Chris' direction. The host was sitting a distance away in a fold up lawn chair next to a giant fan, sipping on ice-cold lemonade. The smug bastard was the only one that looked comfortable.

Mohawk, who had been left behind in the care of DJ and Geoff, seemed undaunted by the dangers of the location. The jolly, orange-hued canine padded from contestant to contestant, memorizing the unique scents of each one. The dog sniffed at the dark volcanic soil- such a new smell- and peered curiously over the edge of the crater, his furry face lit a rosy red by the lava below. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Mohawk's tail and yanked him backwards, causing the mutt to yelp in surprise.

"No you don't." Bridgette chided with a gentle smile, stroking Mohawk's head. "Duncan wouldn't be too pleased if you got your muzzled burned off, would he Geoff?" Bridgette shot her boyfriend a sharp glance.

Geoff, who had been fanning his sweating face with his cowboy hat, instantly jammed the hat back onto his head, perhaps with more force than quite necessary, and, with blue eyes shifting around in embarrassment, spluttered out a fluttered reply, "Er…um…right of course! I'll…er…keep an eye on Mohawk…yeah." The poor partier was obviously remembering another pet that he had, so long ago, promised to look after. The memories weren't very pleasant. Geoff glanced nervously in DJ's direction, but, to his relief, saw that his large friend's mind was wandering elsewhere.

DJ stared off into the distance, looking down at the tropical forest below with a brooding frown and concern clouding his eyes. In the far off distance, dark clouds gathered over the ocean with bolts of white-hot lightening flash every minute or two.

"Do not worry- if the winds stay the same the storm will not travel this far inland." DJ did not notice Lono move up beside him. The native's eyes blinked knowingly. "But something tells me that the storm does not bother you."

"Just wondering when the teams are going to make it." DJ admitted. "I'm hoping Cody's team's alright." The black teen knew that he had a right to be concerned. As a competitor for all three seasons, he had personally witnessed the extremes that Chris would pull in order to make the final challenge as difficult and life-threatening as possible. DJ was very worried for the well-being of his three friends.

"Dude, Cody's got the challenge in the bag." Geoff reassured his friend. "Duncan and Court are totally some of the best players in the show. And Cody's like a genius. They'll be fine."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch." LeShawna warned sensibly. "Those three are good, but I don't trust Alejandro and Heather on making this a fair fight. Those two are as crafty and slippery as they come- especially that Alejandro."

No one could disagree with LeShawna on that. They had all seen how cunning and black-hearted the handsome, manipulative teen could be. Even if he wasn't in the final two, Alejandro would still work endlessly to make sure that Heather ends whether it be out of love for the beautiful Asian girl or out of revenge on Cody, Duncan, and Courtney, the trio that had caused so many of his schemes to backfire this season. No one knew for sure.

"I hope Alejandro gets what's coming to him." Bridgette murmured quietly, her green eyes darkening. He would learn that hearts should never be tampered with so cruelly.

There were moments of silence that stretched for a good length; everyone fidgeted restlessly as uncomfortable thoughts of the race flitted through their minds like gnats.

"Well," Harold spoke loudly and with forced lightness to break the tenseness in the smoldering atmosphere. "It sucks that poor Owen has to be with Heather and Alejandro. Gosh, imagine having to work against one of your friends?"

"I'd say that's the best thing that could have ever happened for Cody!"

Baffled eyes turned to stare over at Noah who seemed to be holding down a fit of laughter. "I'd feel more sorry for Heather than for Cody!"

Katie stared curiously at the know-it-all, tilting her head to one side. "What are you talking about?"

"Please! It's so obvious that it hurts! Heather and Alejandro have Owen on their team! Owen! Our Owen! The Owen that nearly got everyone killed in Niagara Falls trying to help Cody. Do you really see him being able to help Heather in any way without completely screwing everything up?"

Sierra smiled, dark eyes shining with laughter as realization sunk in. "Sabotage on inside! Brilliant!"

Noah actually returned her smile with a smug grin. "Trust me, as a guy who's teamed up with that loveable ball of fat for more times than I care to recall, Owen will bring nothing but pain, doom, and utter disaster to anyone he's partnered up with. And thank god that for once it isn't going to be me!"

---

Heather strode through the lush tropical forest with all the aggression and sleek confidence of a jungle cat. It had been several minutes since she as well as her team of Alejandro and Owen, had left her enemy and rival Cody stranded on the other side of the shark and alligator infested river. Since then, neither she nor her team members had seen head or hair of the rival team. If her team kept up this pace to the top of the volcano then they would undeniably defeat Cody. Heather's grey eyes gleamed with triumph in the half-light.

Alejandro moved ahead of Owen and set his pace to match Heather's. Heather eyed the handsome Latino with great caution as he walked side by side with her. Though she was grateful that he was helping her, that didn't mean she wasn't still suspicious of him.

Why is he helping me anyway? Our alliance is over! Heather thought curiously. An angrily scowl lit her face. Was it possible that Alejandro was only helping her in hopes that she'd split the reward money with him? The very thought made the Asian girl want to spit in his arrogant face. The very nerve of him!

I will not be used like those idiots Bridgette and LeShawna! Heather innerly snarled. With grey eyes flashing, Heather spun her head to face Alejandro and hissed, "I'm not going give you any of the reward money for helping me, you know!"

Alejandro's jaded eyes stretched a fraction at the abrupt allegation. He recovered with a moment and coolly replied, "I honestly never expected you to, senorita."

Heather was deeply irked by Alejandro's calm composition and hearing the slightest hint of amusement curl the tip of his tongue. "Then why the hell are you helping me? I know you- you're like me. You don't do anything unless you can get something out of it in return! I'm not like those losers you've tricked all season!" Heather hissed with cold indignation, grey eyes narrowed. "I'm warning you, if you dark double cross me, I'll make your life a living hell!"

Heather fully expected Alejandro to defend himself, telling her honey-coated lies just as he'd told half the contestants this season. But all he did was fall into a thoughtful silence. It almost seemed as if he were nervous about something.

"There are other victories besides that of money, Heather." Alejandro finally told her. "For example, gaining revenge on your enemies who allowed your downfall. Making them pay in the most painful ways for your embarrassment!" Power and rage burned in Alejandro's eyes like green fire. Heather could practically see the images of Cody, Courtney, and Duncan flitting through his vision like flickering flames. Heather felt herself tingle with excitement at his furious passion- this was a guy that had true ambition and ruthlessness to go after it. It was something Heather couldn't help but admire greatly.

"There is no greater victory than that! Except…" Alejandro's voice trailed off.

"Except…?" Heather whispered. She suddenly felt her heart beat faster as Alejandro's intense green gaze fell on hers. His rage transformed into a different type of passion entirely. Heather found that she forgot all about the challenge and the money…all that mattered right now was Alejandro's answer.

"Except being with you, Heather." Alejandro murmured, locking his gaze with hers.

Heather stopped walking in shock and stared deeply into Alejandro's face, searching for a hint of trickery or deceit, but all she saw was love and honesty in his gaze as he stared at her. An unfamiliar, but wonderful, warmth spread throughout Heather's body as she leaned close to Alejandro.

"Well, at least I know you have good taste." She said, smiling with delight as Alejandro laced his hand together with hers.

"HEATHER!"

Both Heather and Alejandro jumped apart at the sound of Owen's voice. Simultaneously, the couple whirled to face their other teammate with masks of utmost rage on their faces.

"What is it?" Heather snapped, livid that her perfect moment with Alejandro had been cut short. She was secretly pleased to see that Alejandro looked just as angry as she did.

Owen instinctively drew back at Heather's harsh tone, but nervously began to speak. "Er…I just wanted to say that I…um…saw Chris through the trees. He was going up a different path." The large, chubby teen shuffled his feet in the dirt, looking fluttered. "Maybe…um…it was a shortcut to the volcano?"

As much as Heather loathed Owen, the idea of a shortcut to victory immediately caught her interest. She shared a glance with Alejandro.

The handsome, tan teen shrugged his shoulders. "It is worth a shot." He admitted after a moment of thinking. "Besides, Chris never said that we had to stay on the path." Even if it were against the rules, Alejandro would have no qualms about breaking it.

The temptation of an early victory was too much for Heather. She stared hard at Owen and sharply ordered, "Which way?"

Owen broke off the path and stumbled through the woods with Heather and Alejandro behind him. After a minute or two of prodding through prickly brush, a well-worn dirt trail revealed itself.

"There it is." Owen gestured towards the trail. For some odd reason, his blue eyes flickered nervously from the path to his teammates and back again.

Heather wasted no time and leapt from the tangled foliage onto the dirt trail….

…and immediately felt her feet sink into the ground as if it were water. Panic seized the raven-haired girl by the throat as she started to sink lower and lower into the ground with every second.

"Stop struggling!" Alejandro called out. There was an urgency in his voice that came from worry. "It's quicksand!"

"I thought it was mud." mumbled Owen.

Heather immediately froze. She had already sunk all the way to her thighs. The only movement the girl made was to turn her head up towards Owen and snarl hatefully at him.

"OWEN YOU BLEEPING IDIOT! YOU BETTER GET ME OUT OF HERE THIS INSTANT OR SO HELP ME INSTEAD OF THAT CODY DOLL, I'LL BE FLINGING YOU INTO THE VOLCANO!"

"Go find a long, sturdy branch." Alejandro ordered to Owen. Turning to Heather, he soothed, "Don't worry, we'll get you out in a second."

"What if Cody and his loser friends catch up?" Heather asked.

Alejandro chuckled darkly. "Then I'll just have to slow them down again, won't I?"

A few feet away, Owen had heard Alejandro's threat while searching through the brush for a tree branch. The large teen shuddered. Owen had hoped that his little trick would buy Cody's team enough time to catch up. The chubby, good-hearted boy felt a tingle of guilt in the pit of his stomach at being so deceitful towards Heather and Alejandro. But Owen really did want Cody to win…and those two were really mean. He just prayed that Cody, Duncan, and Courtney would be ready to face the dangers the other side of the river had to offer, particularly Alejandro. His ex-teammate scared him terribly.

Owen sent a whispered prayer to his friends, "Oh, come on little buddy, hurry up and get here already! You don't have much time!"

---

On the other side of the river, a fair length from where Cody, Duncan, and Courtney had been previously gathered, the riverbank sloped upwards into the forest from the shore. Growing on top of the slope, almost teetering along the edge was a tree. During the course of its long, ancient life, the tree had been almost blown out of the ground, probably during one of the many tropical storms that plagued the Hawaiian isles. It was a dead tree now, with a thick coating of green moss covering its withered trunk. The only thing keeping the tree standing upright and not toppling into the river were a few strong strands of roots still devotedly attached to the soil. Another tree beside it offered some support, allowing it to lean on its healthy, sturdy branches. If left alone, the elderly tree would probably have stayed in its fixed position- hanging between earth, air, and water- for many years to come.

But, alas, fate had a different idea.

A lasso of green vine was thrown up at the tree and looped around one of its branches. The lasso tightened and held firm to the branch as Cody tugged on it experimentally. He stood at the bottom of the slope, staring upward at the dead tree.

Duncan stood beside him, his teal eyes following Cody's gaze. A frown was set on his face and he scratched his small goatee thoughtfully. "Are you sure this is going to work?" the delinquent asked.

No, Cody thought. "Of course it will!" The techno geek said, forcing confidence into his voice as he spoke to teammate. "It's simple! Look, we've just transformed the tree into a leverage system with the slope itself being the pivot point. The entire point of plan is to get the tree to fall down the slope into the river thus making a bridge." Cody explained. "All we have to do is add the necessary weight to bring the tree down. You and I will be down here, pulling the tree with the vine; and Courtney will be up in the tree, pushing down from another tree and gravity will do the rest. Don't worry- it all has to do with the principle of moments…" Cody was silenced when Duncan slapped a hand over the shorter boy's yammering mouth.

"Okay, okay, I asked if it would work, not for a science lecture!" Duncan growled, shaking off the headache that was forming.

Cody removed Duncan's hand and muttered, "Well, technically, it's a physics lecture."

Duncan didn't look amused. His teal eyes narrowed crossly. "Want to see a Physical Ed. Lecture, egghead? Lesson one- we'll see how far I can punch you!"

A voice yelled down at them from the tree branches.

"CAN WE HURRY THIS THING UP?" Courtney yowled. The CIT had chambered up the dead tree and was positioned in a small nook where the dead tree's branches were snugly intertwined with that of its neighboring tree; her back was pressed up against the moss-covered trunk and her knees and legs were bend up to her chest, feet planted firmly against the most sturdy-looking branch of the neighboring tree. She was looking very agitated at being stuck in such an awkward and uncomfortable position. "HEAVEN FORBID THAT I'M INTERRUPTING YOU TWO FLIRTING BUT DON'T WE HAVE A RACE TO WIN!"

Duncan and Cody glanced back down and pasted on their game faces. Cody grabbed one section of the vine while Duncan, who stood behind Cody, grabbed another section of the vine.

"Ready?" Cody asked Duncan as he gripped the vine tightly.

Duncan wrapped the vine rope around his palm before curling his hand into a fist. He nodded at Cody. "Ready!" he confirmed.

"READY?" Cody yelled up to the tree branches.

The branches shook, letting loose a few rotten leaves, as a feminine voice shouted down. "READY!"

Cody took a deep breath to ready himself and furrowed his eyebrows together in concentration as he told his friends, "Okay, then, on the count of three!"

"One…"

Duncan rolled his broad shoulders in preparation and fixed his intense teal gaze up ahead.

"Two…"

Courtney fidgeted in the tree, shuffling her bottom until she was in the perfect position and then waited, her dark eyes glaring at the tree opposite to hers.

"….THREE!" Cody yelled, "PULL!"

The vine rope instantly started to stretch and strain as both Duncan and Cody, each holding the vine, lunged forward and started to pull, trying their hardest to force the dead tree out of the ground. Up inside the tree itself, Courtney shot her legs out like a spring against the opposite tree's branches in an effort to help push the dead tree away from the support. The long-dead tree made no movement despite the trio's efforts. After a few moments, the teens stopped, muscles aching and panting at the efforts.

"So much for that." Duncan huffed.

"We can do this!" Cody wheezed, bent over as he tried to regain his breath. He grabbed hold of the vine again. "We'll try it one more time. This time, give it everything you have! PULL!"

Duncan charged forward like a bull, dragging the vine with all his might. The delinquent's teal eyes were squeezed shut as he pulled, every muscle and tendon in his bulging with the effort. Despite not being the most physically fit contestant, Cody put all his strength into the task, not losing hope that he and his friends could make it across the river. In the tree branches, Courtney's teeth gritted together and her nails dug into tree bark as the CIT continued to push against the tree branch with her legs, her valiant determination as unwavering as always.

For many moments, it seemed as though the trio's combined efforts would prove futile once again. But then a low, terrible groan filled the air. Courtney felt a tremor vibrate through the trunk of the long dead tree and shouted down at her comrade, excitement filling her voice. "THE TREE'S MOVING!"

"Keep going then!" Duncan yelled, urging everyone forward as his own sinew figure trembled from the tremendous trial.

SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!

Roots holding the dying tree in place started to tear and snap, flinging clumps of dirt and grass into the air. Courtney continued to stretched her long legs out, but found that her shoes were touching nothing but air now. She opened her eyes and saw to her complete amazement that the branch was now out of her reach- the tree that Courtney was pressed against was slowly descending backwards. Courtney hastily stared down the length of the trunk and saw the roots snapping down below. She looked over the side of the trunk and saw that Duncan and Cody were still pulling the vine, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Move out of the way!" Courtney shouted down in panic. "It's coming dow-" Her voice was cut off by a loud, ear-splitting creak that lashed the air like a whip. Courtney's pupils shrunk to tiny black pinpoints in shock as the tree started to go crashing to the ground with her still clinging to the trunk.

"TIMBER!" Cody yelled as he and Duncan threw themselves to the sides as the dead tree hit the ground with an earth-shaking crash, sending a fine layer of dirt into the air. The moment the tree touched the ground, it started to slide down the slope, gaining speed with every second.

Cody poked his head out of a bush that he had thrown himself into, leafs and twigs sticking out of his chestnut hair. A second later, Duncan's head popped up as well with a bird's nest (as well as the mother bird and chirping chicks) stuck to his green mohawk. The two boys gazed around anxiously as Cody asked, "Where's Courtney?"

At that moment, the tree went sliding past the twosome at a rapid speed with Courtney screaming at the top of her lungs as she clung on the trunk.

"AAAARRRGHHHHHHH!"

SPLASH!

Both Duncan and Cody winced at the sound of the fallen tree finally sliding into the river and scrambled down the slope to make sure that Courtney was okay. Cody was the first to reach the tree. He pushed his way through the tangle of roots and jumped atop the trunk with Duncan right behind him.

The two boys found Courtney on her belly, clinging tightly to the tree trunk with both her arms and legs like a terrified cat. Her face looked as if it was permanently frozen in a terrified expression complete with wide, staring eyes and brunette hair looking tangled and windswept. Every second or so, her left eye would give a spasm-like twitch.

"Are you okay, Court?" Cody asked, blue eyes shining with concern. Duncan had found a stick and was now lightly poking the CIT with it which, of course, seemed like the most perfectly naturally thing to do in said situation.

The delinquent's annoying prodding seemed to snap Courtney out of her shocked stupor. She sat up and shook her head like a dog, allowing her short hair to fall flat and in place again. She still looked a bit out of sorts, swaying in place dizzily as she spoke, "Hehe, I'm feeling just peachy, Noah! Whoo, what a rush!" The CIT narrowed her eyes and stared intensely at Duncan."….Has your mohawk always been pink?"

"Just walk it off, Princess." Duncan said, trying to hold down a chuckle. Cody sighed with relief. Courtney may have suffered a small shock, but she'd be fine in a moment or two.

A low snarl drew their attentions back to reality. Three sets of eyes turned to stare in horror as the water started to come alive with alligators and sharks once more. The aquatic predators swam close to the makeshift bridge, eyeing the three humans upon it with savage hunger. A couple of alligators were starting to drag their long, scaly bodies on top of the tree trunk that crossed the length of their domain.

"Kinda makes you miss seeing Chef in a troll suit, doesn't it?" Duncan commented in light, but fearful tones, recalling back in season two when Chef had played roll of a nasty troll guarding a bridge for the fairy tale challenge.

"Don't worry. We're right behind you, Cody." Courtney told Cody encouragingly.

Cody did not doubt it. He took a short glance over his shoulder and allowed his blue gaze to sweep over the two people behind him: Courtney, the beautiful, determined girl that captured his heart and Duncan, the wayward, but true-hearted delinquent who had turned from enemy to teammate. All three of them have had their ups and downs this season. Cody recalled all the strenuous events of this season that had occurred and felt it an odd twist of fate that the season would end with the three of them like this as a team. But it felt right. Cody's heart swelled with pride and resolution to win for them, his friends, and for himself.

"Let's go!" Cody said and ran across the tree trunk towards the other side of the river with Duncan and Courtney right behind him. The sides of the tree bridge were covered with persistent alligators, chambering up the bark to reach the teenage morsels. One tried to snap its long jaws at Cody's sneakers. The lanky teen unleashed a surprised gasp as the alligator narrowly missed biting off a foot. Cody jumped on top of the alligator's snout, clamping the reptile's jaws shut to allow Courtney and Duncan to pass by unharmed.

Courtney ran ahead in the lead, but suddenly slipped off a wet patch on the trunk. She gave a small cry as she began to fall backwards. But before Courtney could completely fall into the river, a strong hand clamped her wrist.

"Careful, Princess." Duncan said, helping her upright.

Courtney gave her former boyfriend a long look. Finally, she offered the delinquent a tiny smile. "Thanks." She then scowled. "But don't call me Princess." The brunette turned her back to him and murmured in slightly teasing tones. "Stupid ogre."

A pleased grin spread across Duncan's face.

One of the alligators roared and lunged forward towards the trio. Courtney expertly karate chopped the reptile in the side of its flat head, flinging it over the edge into the river. Duncan took on another approaching gator by punching it right in the snout. The poor reptile placed a claw over its bruised snout and whimpered pitifully before jumping back into the river with a loud splash.

Not really being a fighter, Cody just walked behind Duncan and Courtney and carefully avoided any snapping jaws that came near him.

In the lead now, Duncan saw that the rest of the trunk only had a few alligators left. The large, savage reptiles bared their sharp teeth in wide, malevolent grins. Gluttonous bellows rumbled from deep within the alligators' throats accompanied by hisses as the reptiles slowly lumbered closer to the warm-blooded meals. Duncan decided it was time to end this. The delinquent grabbed the tail of the one alligator and, in an incredible act of strength, swung the captured gator by the tail at the other reptiles; several of the snapping gators were knocked back into the river.

"Go get shot by some hillbillies in the bayou, you scaly losers!" Duncan yelled triumphantly as Cody kicked the last alligator in the tail, sending it over the side of the trunk.

It was a clear dash to the other side of the river from that point. However, just as the trio were about to each the end of the floating tree, a giant shark leapt out of the river towards Duncan and Cody, its wide, gaping jaws opened wide to chomp down on the unfortunate duo.

Then a vicious cry filled the air.

"HEE-YAH!" Courtney leapt up in the air and performed a flawless spinning, round kick right in the giant shark's snout. The powerful karate kick sent the whimpering shark flying back into the water. The brunette gracefully landed on her feet before Duncan and Cody who were both gaping at her with dropped jaws.

"That was...that was amazing, Courtney!" Cody gushed in admiration. Duncan just continued to stare in slack-jawed speechlessness.

Courtney merely tossed her hair back and shot the boys a proud smirk as she strode onto the shore, saying in smug tones, "Oh please, that was nothing. That stupid shark had it coming since season two!" She neatly hopped off the tree and, with her nose in the air, started to confidently follow the path into the forest. Courtney called back to the Cody. "You still have the mini Heather?"

Cody pulled the Heather doll out of his pocket and inspected it for any damage. It was safe. "Got it!"

"Then hurry up and let's go! The three of us have a lot of catching up to do!" Courtney cried, running gracefully down the path.

"She's something else." Cody said with a large smile stretched across his face, still staring after where Courtney had walked off. It was a complete, marvelous mystery how he had ever gotten so close to a woman like her.

A soft sigh came from Duncan's end. "Don't I know…"

Cody frowned and looked towards Duncan in concern. There had been no mistaking the wistfulness and sadness in the delinquent's voice. Duncan did not glance Cody's way as he jumped off the fallen tree and started down the path. "Come on. We need to catch you up with Heather."

Cody stood alone on the bridge for a few rapid heartbeats, simply staring at Duncan's retreating backside, wondering whether there were any words that could be said or actions to be done. But nothing came to mind that could heal the invisible wound that Duncan carried.

Then, with a rueful blink, Cody wordlessly followed his two friends in a mad dash into the forest.

---

The Hawaiian sun had reached its peak in the cloudless, cerulean sky hours ago; the golden, burning orb was now starting to dip towards the western skies. The sky was starting to melt away from its blue hue and take on a reddish haze. Long, jumbled shadows raced ahead of Cody, Duncan, and Courtney as the trio ran through the humid, thick jungle. Pure exhilaration drove the trio onward despite the great amount of energy spent trying to cross the river. Cody was grateful that at least Duncan and Courtney weren't wasting any more energy arguing with each other.

Cody's heart pounded with a mixture of anxiety and excitement as the trees started to thin out and the terrain became more open and airy. The ground began to move up into an ascending slope with boulders cropping up every so often among the scattered trees and bushes. A strong breeze brushed through their hair.

"How far ahead do you think Heather and them are?" Cody asked out loud as they began to pace the gradually upward sloping path. The volcano loomed over them like a dark, nightmarish tower up ahead.

"Can't be too much farther. I'm sure they've ran into some of Chris' traps." Courtney said with her usual assertive air. However, Cody could hear the slightest hint of worry behind the veil of confidence. Truth to be told, Courtney was just as worried as Cody that Heather and her team might have already beaten them to the top.

"You two worry too much." Duncan grunted in his usual devil-may-care manner. He lifted his head up and spotted something that made blood boil. "Well, speak of the devil." He growled, lips curled back to bare his clenched teeth.

Cody and Courtney followed his gaze and saw Heather, Alejandro, and Owen staring down at the approaching group from higher up the sloped path.

"You mean devils." Courtney hissed, glaring at Alejandro and Heather with a scornful scowl.

The villainous duo looked shocked to see that Cody's group had managed to catch up so fast. Both Ale and Heather's expression were dark and stormy, but Owen looked extremely happy to see them. The jolly, chubby teen waved a friendly arm at Cody and only stopped when Alejandro shot Owen a terrifying glare.

A knot of nervousness grew and tightened painfully in the pit of Cody's stomach when he saw Heather lean close to whisper something to Alejandro. As Cody watched, Alejandro gave Heather a brisk nod. The Asian girl then turned and swiftly ran out of sight.

Cody felt Courtney push him forward impatiently. "Let's go! She's getting ahead!"

The chestnut-haired boy had no choice but to rush ahead with Courtney trailing right behind him. In the back of Cody's mind, there was a humming sensation, a primitive instinct of caution but apprehension and Courtney's excited urgings pushed such feelings to the wind. However, Cody's sense of wariness proved accurate.

At the top of the sloping path Alejandro gave an evil smirk and, after a moment's struggle, picked up a rather shocked Owen. The tan skinned Spaniard held up his fat teammate above his head (which was quite an astounding feat for obvious reasons) and unleashed a dark cackle. "This is where you finally pull your weight on the team, amigo!" With that cruel jest, Alejandro tossed Owen down the slope right towards Cody and Courtney.

"FORGIVE ME CODY! FORGIVE MEEEEEEEEE!" Owen yelled as his round, chubby self rolled down the hill towards the pair.

Cody and Courtney came to a screeching halt and were fixed in place as they stared in bewilderment at the odd sight of their friend rolled closer and closer.

"MOVE!"

Duncan ran forward and roughly pushed both Courtney and Cody away. For the second time this season, Duncan saw Owen's giant shadow fall over him. Duncan glanced up and his eyes stretched with panic.

"Aw, fuc…"

SPLAT!

Owen landed right on top of Duncan before he could finish. The poor delinquent's arms and legs, the only body parts visible underneath Owen's large bulk, gave occasional twitches of pain.

Courtney was the first to reach Duncan and Owen. A worried expression was on her face as she knelt down and cried, "Duncan! Are you alright?"

Cody couldn't help but feel a slight irrational twinge of jealousy hearing the deep concern Courtney's voice. He stopped beside her and looked up the slope to see that Alejandro had run off, probably to join Heather. Cody turned back to his friends just in time to hear Duncan start speaking. However, since he was underneath Owen, Duncan's words were muffled and unrecognizable.

"I think he said he's alright." Owen said, interpreting the mumbles as closely as he could.

Duncan did a waving gesture with on of his hands, mumbling out more inaudible words. Cody listened closely and managed to get the gist of it.

"He says that we should go on and he'll catch up." Cody told Courtney.

The girl frowned but, after a moment, nodded. "Fine." She said, turning to address Owen and Duncan. "But don't be long!"

Cody and Courtney swiftly left to follow after Alejandro up the path, leaving Duncan alone with Owen still on top of him.

Owen sniffled pitifully and apologized to the boy beneath him. "I'm really sorry, Duncan."

Duncan unleashed a few, muffled words from under Owen and made his hand into a thumbs up to show that he was perfectly okay and held no hard feelings towards his chubby friend.

Then there came the fart.

The muffled words instantly became angry, muted screams. Duncan's visible arms and legs started to jerk around and twitch in pure, torturous agony as the teen boy frantically tried to escape the horrid smell. Finally, Duncan managed to pull his head free from the rolls of fat. He gasped and sucked in as much fresh air as he could.

"WHAT THE 'BLEEP' IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Duncan yelled, twisting his head around to glare at Owen. "ARE YOUTRYING TO KILL ME!" He coughed, "FULL IN THE MOUTH, MAN! FULL. IN. THE. MOUTH!"

"Sorry, I don't handle stressful situations well." Owen whimpered sheepishly. "Well…my gut doesn't at least."

Duncan rolled his eyes. "Forget it." He muttered as he wiggled around and tried to pull the rest of his body free from Owen. "Come on, buddy! I need a bit of weigh pulled from your end! A lot actually…" he grumbled.

"Need a bit oof' elp', eh?" a reedy voice asked.

Owen's jaw was agape. "Is that…?"

Duncan blinked in amazement. "No…way…"

Both Owen and Duncan's eyes grew round and wide with shock as a very familiar person stepped out of the jungle and into the light.

---

As the path progressed, it sloped downwards onto flat, even ground, offering some relief to Cody and Courtney. But around the trail, the environment started to drastically change as the two traveled on. The ground was growing hard and rocky with less and less vegetation sprouting about. Rocks and towering boulders and cliff walls took over most of the view.

Empty of much color or greenery, the atmosphere seemed cold and bleak. Cody couldn't help but miss the jungle and the beach. Besides him, Courtney shivered, not liking the scenery any more than Cody did. Still, she pushed onwards and urged Cody to do the same.

"Heather and Ale have to be just up ahead." Courtney reassured. They duo followed the path into a small, clear space of ground that was surrounded by numerous, looming boulders. "If we keep at the pace we're going, we'll be sure to catch up."

"I think not." A voice coolly stated.

Alejandro stepped out from behind one of the boulders with an arrogant smirk stretch upon his handsome face. Gripped in his hand was Duncan's knife.

Cody stared at it and felt a chill travel up his spine. "What's that?"

"Oh you mean this?" Alejandro asked in relaxed, causal tones, holding up the knife. His emerald eyes gleamed wickedly. "Just a little something I picked up to keep you two from getting any funny ideas"

Courtney bristled with outrage. "Move aside!" she spat at the arrogant villain. "Cody has a challenge to win!"

Alejandro swept his cool gaze over to Cody, his eyebrows raised in amusement. "Does he now?" Ale tossed the stolen knife in the air and expertly caught it by the handle. "Well, you'll have to get through me then, won't he?"

Both Courtney and Cody got into fighting stances; Cody had both fists raised before him and Courtney slipped into a martial arts defense form. Their eyes were narrowed and faces set with readiness.

"Fine, we can take you on!" Cody yelled out, putting on an air of confidence. A moment later, his eyes darted towards Courtney and he asked in a nervous whisper, "Er…we can take him on, right?"

Courtney's burning gaze never left Alejandro's vile, smirking face as she whispered a quick reply to Cody. "I can. You're going to go finish the challenge as soon as Ale's distracted."

"WHAT?" Cody twisted his head to stare at Courtney in disbelief. "I'm not leaving you alone with him! You go and I'll stay to fight him!"

The freckled girl shot Cody an irritated scowl. Honestly, were all boys so completely dense? "Excuse me, but you're the one who actually has to finish the race, not me. Plus, I can handle this playboy with one hand tied behind my back and a PDA in the other!"

"But…but…Court, he has a knife!" Cody pleaded, desperation creeping into his voice. The last thing he ever wanted was Courtney to get hurt trying to help him. He knew that she was a great fighter, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

"Good!" She snarled fearlessly, glaring straight ahead at Alejandro. "He's going to need it!"

Cody opened his mouth but knew that he could speak no words to ever make Courtney leave. She could be as unmovable as a mountain and twice as furious as a wildfire.

"Well, I'm still not leaving you." Cody persisted stubbornly. If Courtney stayed then he would too.

Courtney glanced over at Cody. Though her expression was one of deep exasperation, a small smile graced her lips. Though the CIT wished that he would continue on with the challenge, she was still deeply touched by his loyalty.

"Neither of you are going anywhere." Alejandro said, taking a step towards them. "Not until Heather wins."

"Touch either one of them and you're dead!" growled a voice, low and dangerous.

Three faces turned and stared down the path to see Duncan come up the path. His green mohawk looked disheveled, but otherwise the delinquent looked alright from his ordeal with Owen. Duncan sent a hateful glare Alejandro's way before addressing his two teammates. "Everyone huddle!"

Duncan, Cody, and Courtney moved across the clearing from Alejandro, out of earshot, and hastily huddled together.

Courtney was the first to speak. "We don't have time for this!" she whispered in annoyed tones. "I say we just jump him all at once!"

"And then we steal his boots?" Cody asked. His suggestion earned him odd stares from Duncan and Courtney. "What? I told you before I'm not used to this stuff!"

Duncan rolled his eyes and said, "Don't worry, I've ran into a friend that'll buy us some time." He turned to a puzzled Cody and added, "Oh, and when you win, you owe said friend about twenty thousand dollars."

Courtney narrowed her eyes curiously. "Everyone is at the finish line. Who in the world did you find?"

---

Heather descended down the trail with a confident smirk across her fine face. There was a happy spring in her step as she delicately wove through the narrow passages between the towering boulders. Heather knew that she was in the lead and though the volcano was still a fair ways off, she knew that her beloved Alejandro would keep the pathetic team of losers out of her way.

"As your ex-teammate, I will admit that you put up an almost decent fight this season." Heather told the Cody ragdoll in her hand. "But, I always knew I'd ultimately be the winner. Someone with as much such cunning and beauty as me is always destined to come out on top in life! Don't you agree?"

She squeezed the Cody doll until the button eyes almost popped out. It was a very enjoyable sight in Heather's opinion. The raven-haired girl chuckled darkly. "I knew you'd understand."

"AAAAAeeeeAAAAeeeAAAAAHHHH!"

Heather's slanted grey eyes grew wide as a loud, wild Tarzan-like yell echoed through the air. Suddenly there was a hissing sound and an arrow made out of a sharpened twig shot right at Heather. The ponytailed girl winced in fear and squeezed her eyes shut. However, the arrow missed her completely. Instead, it went right through the Cody doll's chest and sent it flying out of her hand. The doll and the arrow hit and stuck into a withered tree stump.

Heather's eyes shot open. At first she looked relieved that she had been missed by the arrow, but then felt that her hand was now empty. Heather frantically looked left and right, searching for the Cody doll. "Where'd it go?"

There came a sound of some figure leaping from rock to rock as nimbly as any hare or antelope. Heather raised her head and tried to catch a full glimpse of the mysterious stranger, but it wasn't until the stranger leapt atop of the tree stump and pulled up the arrow and Cody doll did he become fully recognizable.

Heather took on a wide-eyed look of surprise. "Ezekiel?"

Indeed it was the former prairie boy, though now feral teen. It could be called a miracle that he had survived the plane explosion back in badlands of Drumheller, not to mention made it all the way from Canada to the island of Hawaii. But like most creeping scavengers, persistency was above all Ezekiel's biggest strength. He hadn't changed too much during his long journey. The scraggy boy was still filthy from head to foot with only his tattered pants and wool hat on as clothing. His brown hair was matted with dirt and grime and quite unkempt. Zekey also smelled as if he hadn't been near water since his trip down the Nile River. In fact, the only thing differently about him was that now Zekey had made himself a bow and several arrows out of leaves and twigs.

Seeing the Cody doll in Zekey's dirty hands, Heather narrowed her eyes and scowled. "You have exactly three seconds to drop that doll." She warned, holding up three fingers. "One…"

Zekey started to hum a little ditty as he pulled the arrow out of the doll.

"Two…" Heather hissed through clenched teeth.

The wild teen primly dusted off mini Cody and straightened its straw bangs.

"THREE!"

Ezekiel smiled and made the Cody doll wave its tiny, floppy arm at Heather. "Bye!" Cackling madly like one crazed, Ezekiel leapt off the stump and dashed like baboon off the rocky path and into the rainforest terrain.

Heather unleashed a screech of pure rage toward the heavens and threw her balled fists up in the hair. Practically spitting with rage, the ill-tempered girl jumped off the path began a heated chase after Ezekiel following the sound of his feral yells.

---

"But just in case Zekey isn't enough, I'll stay and take care of Ale while you two go ahead." Duncan told his two teammates. Both of looked at their delinquent friend in shock at the idea.

"Are you sure about this?" Cody asked.

Duncan scoffed irritably. "What? Think I can't handle that snake? Trust me, Alejandro's the one that needs be worried!"

Cody opened his mouth to argue but the solid resolution on Duncan's face drained any words of argument. It was clear that Duncan would not be swayed from evening a score with Alejandro. Cody had a sneaking suspicion that the delinquent had planned this early on in the challenge.

"Just…just try not to go overboard." Cody said, holding back a resigned sigh. He offered his former enemy a small smile. "But, other than that, kick his ass."

For the first time, Duncan offered Cody a genuine smile. Then he turned to Courtney. The brunette hadn't spoken a word since hearing Duncan's plan; she had only looked shocked. Now Duncan studied her beautiful, dignified face and stared into her dark eyes. Where there was once shock and anger, a different emotion lurked within the pool-like depths. The spray of freckles on Courtney's face caught in the red evening light. Duncan felt his heart ache with a terrible longing.

"Princess…Courtney…" Duncan took a step closer to the girl. Courtney did not move, but a veil of wariness stole over her face. The delinquent was dimly aware of Cody respectfully moving away and blocked out Alejandro completely who was leering over at the trio from across the clearing. There were only a few precious seconds left for Duncan to say what needed to be said to his former love.

"Look…I know this is season has been rough." Duncan said, holding Courtney's gaze. "And I've made terrible…terrible mistakes. I probably would have made even more if not for Cody. After everything that's happened, I know you don't trust me and I honestly don't blame you." Sorrow and regret flooded Duncan's teal eyes as he said, "But even if you doubt everything else I've ever told you, believe this- I'd take back everything if I could, Courtney. Every mistake and choice I've made this season. Honestly, I would."

"But you can't." Courtney said in hard tones. A heartbeat later, her face softened and, to both Duncan and Cody's surprise, she rushed forward and pressed against Duncan, wrapping her arms around his chest. "Neither of us can."

Duncan blinked in shock and confusion clouded his expression. As she embraced him, Courtney spoke. Her voice was gentle and free of any anger. "It's not just your fault Duncan, it was mine too. We both made mistakes in the past, but now it's time to move on."

Duncan wrapped his arms around Courtney's slender waist and hugged her tightly, almost lifting the girl off her feet. His throat was too tight with love and heartache to speak. But a certain warmth filled his heart, a warm glow that could only come from the divine light of forgiveness. The couple drew back and stared into each other eyes- a thousand words passed between the gazes of teal and black, but one word surfaced above all others….

Good-bye.

"Get ready to go on my signal." Duncan said, his voice sounding brisk and gruff. It took great effort to hide the barrage of emotions overwhelming him.

Courtney nodded and drew back, taking her place by Cody's side. Duncan saw sadness, but not regret glistening in her eyes. As much as the sight pained him, Duncan knew that Courtney and Cody truly belonged together now.

Duncan then turned toward Alejandro and his teal eyes grew hard. A slight, almost unnoticeable shudder went through Duncan as if the delinquent was physically shaking off his emotions. There would be time to grief for his lost later. Right now, Duncan had a mission to complete. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Courtney whisper a quick instruction to Cody and saw the couple tense up, readying themselves for Duncan's signal…

"Well, amigos," Alejandro purred, shooting the pathetic team before him a sinister smile. He reminded Duncan of a jaguar stalking dangerously close to its prey. The knife in his hand was as dangerous as any set of claws. "I'm waiting."

Duncan glared at his rival but made no reply. Instead he shot a quick glance at Cody and murmured quietly, "Remember what you told me earlier after crossing the river? Well, don't forget to let her know that as well."

Cody stared at Duncan, blinked his light blue eyes in confusion. "What are you…?" The chestnut-haired boy got further as Duncan's drowned his voice out with a furious yell.

"GO!"

Courtney instantly ran forward and Cody, remembering his instructions, pushed his curiosity and puzzlement aside and followed her lead. The couple raced like a wildfire past Alejandro, each running on either side of the knife-bearing teen. Alejandro's surprise lasted on a mere second. With a snarl, Alejandro started to go after Cody. But before he could take more than a couple long strides, a powerful body rammed into him with a deep-throated growl. The force of the charge was enough to throw Ale unto his stomach on the ground, the wind completely knocked out of him. The knife flew from his hands and skidded a few feet away.

Cody and Courtney disappeared as the path wove around a large cluster of shrubs and boulders.

Alejandro raised his head from the ground, spat out dirt, and whirled around; it was Duncan that had tackled him and was gripping his waist tightly to weigh him down and restrain him from chasing after Cody and Courtney. Alejandro bared his teeth into an enraged snarl and drew his leg back to kick Duncan in the face with his snake-skinned boots.

Duncan leapt back with a pained yelp, holding his one side of his face as dots of white light filled his vision. Alejandro took that moment to jump to his feet and rush over to retrieve the flip-knife. Duncan shook his head back and forth to shake away the pain and blurriness and ran forward, hoping to reach his knife before Ale did. But the tan-skinned villain had too much of a head start. Duncan was only a few steps behind when Alejandro snatched up the blade and slashed it towards Duncan with reckless viciousness that shocked the delinquent to the core. Duncan's instincts and reflexes kicked into high gear; the mohawked boy jumped back with a surprised hiss, saving himself from having the tip of his nose cut clean off.

The two boys faced each other, chests heaving and hearts pounding with restless energy. Tension crackled the air like electricity as Duncan and Alejandro circled each other, their gazes scorched with hatred.

"Move." The one word came out as a growl from Alejandro's lips.

Duncan remained firmly across from Ale, blocking his enemy's path. "Fat chance. I'm not letting you go near those two."

In the far distance, black storm clouds darkened the blood-tinted sky. The roar of thunder rolled towards the feuding teens.

Alejandro allowed a sinister chuckle to ripple the air. "Oh, bromigo, you act as if I'm giving you a choice."

"Bring it on, Ale. I'm not afraid of a snake like you!" Duncan growled, balling his hands into fists.

Alejandro's green eyes narrowed and gleamed with a dangerous light "Well, I'd be careful if I were you because this snake has one sharp bite!" A bolt of lightning flashed in the distance, momentarily lighting the sky as Alejandro lunged forward, swinging his arm towards Duncan.

Duncan heard the hiss of the knife cut the air in front of him as he stumbled backwards. Alejandro swung the knife again, which Duncan avoided by nimbly jumping back. The horrid ritual continued with Alejandro lashing out and Duncan doing his best to keep out of the blade's sharp sting.

In moments that seemed like hours, Duncan realized that Alejandro wasn't trying to hit him. Alejandro was just toying with him, trying to scare Duncan away so he could pursue after Courtney and Cody. He was like a cat tormenting a mother bird before going after the chicks in the nest. The thought of a knife-wielding Alejandro going anywhere near those two made Duncan's blood boil with fury. All nine circles of hell would freeze over before Duncan abandoned his friends to this evil bastard!

This delinquent isn't a coward! Duncan clenched his teeth together and, ignoring the blade that jabbed and nicked towards, rushed forward with growl and sent a powerful punch to Alejandro's chest.

Alejandro unleashed a loud, pained gasp at Duncan's blow, but recovered almost instantly; he slipped to one side and then rammed into Duncan's side, his shoulder blades crashing into the delinquent's ribcage.

Duncan was almost overborne by the powerful collision, but rebounded by flinging himself at the other boy, fists flying in a mad frenzy, bowling Alejandro over. Every thought of the competition was swept away in the wind like dead leaves as the two enemies rolled around in the dirt, punching and kicking at each other with savage aggression. The hostility between the two, dominate teen boys had cultivated throughout the season, festering until now their visions misted red with pure hatred at each other.

At first, Duncan and Alejandro seemed to be evenly matched. One second Duncan would roll on top and then the next Ale. However, as the seconds rolled agonizingly by, it was clear that Ale was slowly but surely starting to gain the upper hand. Duncan was a strong and well experienced with winning a good brawl, but Alejandro was larger and more muscular and just as skilled as Duncan in fighting- not to mention he carried a weapon as well. It was only due to his die-hard determination that Duncan continued the struggle, ignoring the aches and pains of his tiring body.

Then, as they fought, the two boys heard a familiar voice.

"DUNCAN! DUNCAN! HE'S OUR PUNK! HE CAN'T WIN THEN THE RATINGS GO TO JUNK!" Owen cheered for Duncan along the sidelines. Somehow, the jolly fat boy had found two red cheerleader pom-poms and was shaking them enthusiastically. "GOOOOOOO DUNCAN! WHOOOOOOOOO!

Alejandro paused from fight and glared hatefully at his fat teammate. "You're supposed to be cheering for me!"

Owen gave a sad sigh. With the excitement of a prisoner about to be executed, Owen shook a pom-pom and cheered in a flat voice. "Roll it, shake it, come on Ale, you can take it…"

Duncan managed to punch Alejandro in the eye.

"YAY! YOU TOOK IT!" Owen cheered. "TAKE ANOTHER ONE!" –Punch!- "AND ANOTHER ONE!"-Punch!- " AND AN…."

"GO STOP CODY AND COURTNEY!" Alejandro roared angrily at dimwitted simpleton. One of his eyes was black and wincing terribly.

Owen let out a frightful squeak and speedily scampered away to go catch up with the opposite team.

While Alejandro was momentarily distracted, Duncan kneed his opponent in the gut and rolled over so that it was him that was on top. The delinquent had one hand wrapped around Alejandro's throat and the other holding down one of his arms while one of his feet was planted on top of Alejandro's chest. For a miraculous moment, Duncan managed to pin down Alejandro. The delinquent's chest was heaving with exhaustion and numerous cuts and bruises covered his body but there was victory shining in his teal eyes.

"Give it up now!" Duncan commanded. "And I'll go easy on you!"

"Well, I won't!" Alejandro spat. Without warning, the tan-skinned boy wrenched his knife-welding arms free and lunged forward, the blade catching light as it arched through the air.

A cold slice of pain stung Duncan's chest and the delinquent jerked backward with a yowl of surprise and agony. Duncan gritted his teeth and placed a hand over his chest, on top of a long, jagged tear in his black shirt, right where the pale yellow skull was. Blood swelled between Duncan's fingers from where his own knife had cut him. The wound was long and stung painfully, but luckily it was shallow and hardly life-threatening. Duncan was more shocked than anything.

Duncan numbly looked away from the scarlet stain spreading across his shirt and stared with wide eyes at Alejandro who stood a mere few feet across from him. Alejandro was frozen in place, staring at the knife in his hand with green eyes stretched with shock. The tip of the blade was tipped with blood. A single ruby-red drop dripped to the ground.

"Duncan…" Alejandro voice was questioning. Duncan briefly wondered if his enemy was actually feeling guilty for his actions. Did Ale realize that he'd crossed the line?

Then Alejandro raised his face to look across at Duncan. Duncan felt a horrifying chill grip his heart at the look of wicked glee burning within his rival's eyes. Not a trace of remorse kindled within the green depths, only savage excitement.

"How clumsy of you- cutting yourself on your own knife! Torpe, torpe!" Mocking laughter filled Alejandro's voice. It was an evil and frightening sound. The deep rumble of thunder could be heard from a distance as Alejandro started to move closer toward Duncan, casually tossing the knife from one hand to the next. Duncan took a wary step back.

"If I were you, bromigo," Alejandro said with a cruel smirk. His green eyes were alight with a sadistic joy at seeing his most hated enemy backing away in fear before him. "I'd be more careful before there are any more accidents. Comprender?"

Duncan stood up straight and bravely faced the maddened teen. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He yelled, glaring. "You're not even winning any of the money!" Why on earth would anyone go through such ruthlessness with so little to gain?

"There are sweeter victories than that of money, you fool!" Alejandro said, slowly circling Duncan. "Getting back at your enemies is my favorite by far. You, that bitch, and the pathetic geek were thorns in my side all season long! I would be in the final two instead of being thrown into the ocean with a damn octopus on my face! Beaten by a scrawny, pitiful weakling!" The handsome teen's face was twisted with rage at the embarrassing memory.

"Haha, I know, wasn't it hilarious?" Duncan asked, chuckling rudely. He instantly stopped when Alejandro lunged at him, arm raised to slash at Duncan, his face a nasty mask of rage. The mohawked teen managed to catch Ale's knife-welding arm in midair, but was roughly forced against the surface of a large, grey boulder. The back of Duncan's head throbbed painfully as it collided with rock and his arms trembled with the effort to keep the knife and Alejandro at a distance.

"MY WHOLE FAMILY IS GOING TO SEE THAT! MY OLDER BROTHERS!" Alejandro snarled in Duncan's face, his emerald eyes set in a burning glare.

"And everyone thinks I'm the one with family issues." Duncan mumbled under his breath. Raising his voice, he growled at Ale. "You're completely insane!"

"INSANE? I'm the one insane?" Alejandro's voice rose into a crazed cackle. He wrenched one arm free from Duncan's restraint and punched Duncan in the side of the head.

The powerful blow made Duncan see an explosion of stars. The delinquent was knocked down a few feet away, landing heavily on his side. Over the sound of blood pounding in his ears, Duncan was groggily aware of Alejandro speaking.

"What about you? At least my actions will be rewarded by satisfaction of seeing my enemies defeated...not to mention gaining the affections of the lovely Heather."

Despite throbbing pain, Duncan forced himself to sit up and managed to pull a cocky smirk as he taunted, "Well, I guess parasites have to find ways to repopulate too."

His chuckle turned into a cry of pain when Alejandro sent a powerful kick into Duncan's side. The impact caused him to stumble several feet away, landing heavily on his back. Duncan could have sworn he head a small crack, but hoped that it was a twig and not one of his ribs. Perhaps now wasn't the moment for making jokes at his rival.

"But you…" Alejandro went on, his voice insulting and his lips curling into a sneer. "You have nothing! What will you gain by doing this? The money? You gave up on it! Courtney? You lost her to a weakling! Your reputation? Gone the moment you voted yourself off!"

Duncan struggled to stand, his teal eyes glaring defiantly at his hated enemy. Even though his battered and tired body screamed in protest, the mohawked boy refused to let up. Alejandro stared at him with a look of deepest scorn and disgust.

"I thought you and I could be partners this season, but now I see that you and I aren't as similar as I once imagined." Alejandro said as he circled closer to his fallen opponent. "You're weak…you give up when things get too difficult…too wrong…"

Duncan was on his feet, but he was breathing hard and looked unsteady. He tried his hardest to keep his mind focused on the approaching Alejandro, but pain from his injuries clouded his mind. His thoughts were jumbled and his vision blurred as he watched Alejandro. Trying to stay conscious was proving to be difficult.

Only Alejandro's voice remained clear.

"But I'm not like that. I know that there is no right or wrong, only power and those strong enough to pursue it! Heather and I will be the most powerful couple the world has ever seen!"

As Duncan watched Alejandro slowly approach, his vision became distorted. It almost looked as if Ale was transforming in front of his very eyes. Were the pupils in Alejandro's green eyes becoming slit-like? Did tan skin suddenly look scaly? Where on earth was that rattling sound coming from? Duncan's eyes stretched with fear as the nightmares from the darkest corners of his mind seemed to become reality. In Duncan's weakened mind, he could practically see a towering, horrible rattlesnake looming before him, ready to strike. Alejandro's voice came out as an evil hiss from the serpent's fanged maw.

"And you…Duncan…you will always be NOTHING!"

Duncan squeezed his eyes shut to block out the terrifying vision. Why was he doing this? What would he gain by letting Cody win? Sure, Courtney would be happy, but it was clear that she would still never come back to Duncan. When all this was over, he'd still be alone. Was Alejandro truly right? After everything Duncan had gone through this season and was he truly destined to gain nothing at all in the end? What was the point?

Then, like a beacon of light, a memory surfaced through Duncan's dark and muddled mind. It was of the Chinese challenge…right at the very end when he was confronted by the stupid, old monk…the one in the dress…

"Remember what I told you Duncan. Some may be made to follow a path of action, but may not be able to understand it."

As soon as the monk's words, full of wisdom and kindness, echoed through Duncan's head the self-doubt and confusion caused by his pain and Alejandro's poisonous words vanished like wisps of mist broken by sunlight. Duncan's choice on helping Courtney and Cody may or may not lead him to happiness in the future. He didn't know. Even so, Duncan knew in his heart that this was path he was destined to follow and he would not let fear or doubt keep him from moving forward on it.

It was his choice and Duncan would never let anyone, not Alejandro or Heather, ever sway him from it again!

Duncan opened his eyes. The teal orbs were clear and shone with new-found resolve. Alejandro was charging for him- not as a monstrous nightmare but as human of flesh and blood- knife and fist raised and ready to stop Duncan from resisting any longer.

Duncan had to think quickly. Suddenly, memories from his African fight with Cody came to mind. He remembered a surprise move that Cody had pulled on him right at the beginning of the feud. Could it work now?

There was no time for doubt as Alejandro was almost upon him, his tan face lit to a hellish red by the setting sun. Duncan repositioned himself and his muscles tensed with readiness until Alejandro's fist was right about to collide. Then, Duncan lunge forward and, sucking in his stomach, arched his back so that Alejandro missed him completely. The bloodthirsty look on Alejandro's face instant shifted into shock as Duncan whirled around and, with a deep growl, rammed into Alejandro's exposed backside with all his strength.

A sickening crack exploded the air as Alejandro was thrown forward by the clever, powerful attack and collided face-first into the stone surface of a boulder. Duncan's knife was torn from Ale's grip and flew through the air, the blade glistening, before falling and disappearing into the jungle.

Alejandro pulled his face free from the rock-hard surface, which now had an inch-deep indentation of the Latino's face imprinted upon it, and spat out a nasty mixture of blood, spit, and a tooth upon the ground.

"Get a nice gold one and you and Heather can match!" Duncan said with a snort. Now that Alejandro was weapon-less and the fight was now fair, Duncan felt some of his strength returning. He stood up tall and straight and powerful, injuries forgotten, and glared defiantly at his enemy.

Alejandro, at the moment, realized that his hand was empty of the blade. The tan teen's green eyes desperately searched the ground for the weapon, but saw not a sign of it.

"That was my favorite knife." Duncan said in a low growl.

Looking up to see Duncan's angry glare fixed at him, Alejandro's over-confident demeanor fell. There was not a trace of mercy in the delinquent's eyes.

"Now, now, Duncan, let's not make any rash decisions!" Alejandro said fearfully, trying to put on his charming airs to swindle his way out of a severe beating. He attempted to slink away, but Duncan took a step to block the deceiver's path. Alejandro gulped and backed away. "Come now, bromigo, is this really necessary? I know you may be a bit upset and angry at me for our tussle and the little white-fibs me and Heather told this season. But really, if you think about it reasonably, I'm not to blame! I mean, you didn't have to believe our little fibs, did you?"

At this Duncan paused in what seemed like hesitation. "You're right…" the delinquent slowly said. "I didn't have to believe you and Heather."

Alejandro almost smirked. Perhaps his cunning smooth-talking would save him after all…

Then Duncan's teal eyes grew hard. "Just like you didn't have to tell the lies in the first place!" He resumed moving towards Alejandro, his voice growing in volume and fury with each step. "Or how you didn't have to convince Harold to vote himself off in Japan! And you didn't have to trick both Bridgette and LeShawna into falling for you! Of course, you didn't haveto lie and trick others throughout the entire season just like I don'thave to pound your pretty face in for trying to turn me into just as big of scumbag as you!"

Alejandro had been slowly backing away from the approaching Duncan, but was now backed up against the boulder. He lashed his head left to right, looking for a chance to escape, but he was as trapped as a snake cornered in a crevice by a lion. There was no place for vile teen to slither off to.

"But you know what, Ale?" Duncan snarled.

Duncan grabbed hold of Alejandro by the collar of his jacket, and hosted his enemy up off his feet. Alejandro had no choice to stare into Duncan's face. The liar and villain felt his black-heart quail with fear at the merciless fury burning like fire within Duncan's teal eyes. His own green eyes flooded with terror as Duncan roared.

"I JUST WANT TO!"

Those were the last words Alejandro heard before Duncan drew his fist back and then all went black.

---

As they made their way down the bare, rocky trail, Cody and Courtney remained silent, keeping their gazes fixed straight ahead as they hurriedly focused on putting as much distance between them and Alejandro as possible. Several minutes passed until the couple felt it safe to slow their pace down to a walk. The path before them was bare of any sign of life except for the dark edges of the rainforest that lied a fair distance away.

Courtney came to a complete halt in the middle of the petrous path and glanced wistfully over her shoulder, back where they had come. Only a light breeze broke the stillness and nothing else.

"Worried about Duncan?" Cody asked, stopping to stand beside her.

After a long moment, Courtney answered with a sigh. "Yes…yes I am." There was no point in denying that.

There was a pause. Then Cody looked away and said in overly cheerful tones. "Don't worry, Court. He'll be fine. Duncan's a tough fighter. Trust me- I had to go head to head with him back in Africa. Still have the bruises!" Cody added with a light laugh. However, Courtney could hear a tight strain in his voice behind the cheer and humor.

Is he jealous? Courtney wondered. There was no point in Cody to be jealous of Duncan. It was over between her and Duncan and there was no going back, even if a part of her still cared deeply for the handsome delinquent. Today Courtney had finally seen the return of beloved ogre she had fallen in love with long ago. But that was the past. There had been too many mistakes on both Duncan's part as well as her own…too many to forget or fix. Even if the end had hurt, Courtney hoped it would mark a happier beginning for them both.

A warm smile lit Courtney's freckled face as she took Cody's hand and said brightly, "You're right. Duncan will be fine. Now let's go get you to the finish line."

Cody looked surprised for a moment, but quickly returned Courtney's smile with a wide grin. "Right, let's go!"

Suddenly a booming voice roared out at the couple.

"YOU TWO AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE!"

The ground shook beneath the shocked couple's feet, bouncing tiny pebbles around, as a large figure came running towards them.

"Owen?" Cody asked, tilting his head and staring at his giant friend in surprise. What on earth was the chubby teen doing?

Owen had a wild, terrifying look upon his usually friendly face. His vast chest heaved up and down as he growled in a deep, threatening voice at the two brunettes before him.

"I, OWEN, MEMBER OF TEAM HEATHER, AM HERE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU SHALL NOT MAKE IT TO THE FINISH LINE!"

"He's kidding, right?" Courtney mumbled out of the side of her mouth to Cody while giving Owen a weirded out stare.

"TRY AND PASS ME, IF YOU DARE!" Owen roared, looming over Courtney and Cody like a vicious grizzly bear.

Cody cautiously approached his large friend. "Owen, come on. I thought you were on our side…" He barely touched Owen when suddenly the large boy let out a howl of agony. Cody and Courtney watched with wide eyes as Owen clutched his chest as if having a heart attack.

"AAAAHHH! OW! THE PAIN!" Owen wailed, stumbling back dramatically, still clutching his chest as if in pain. "THE A-GON-Y! You two were too much! My heart! My liver! My kidney! My stomach! My other kidney! IT FEELS LIKE THEY'RE ON FIRE! OW!"

Sad violin music could be heard playing as Owen fell to his knees and cried mournfully, "I don't…think I can…make it…" The chubby boy crawled on his hands and knees towards Cody and pulled on the lanky boy's sweater. "Tell…Ale...and Heather…I…tried…" he coughed to a bewildered Cody. "….especially Ale…"

Owen let go of Cody's sweater and howled, "GOOD BYE SWEET WORLD!" With a final gasp and splutter, Owen fell on his back, hung his tongue out, held a small flower to his chest, closed his eyes, and 'died'.

A moment or two of shocked silence passed. Owen opened one of his eyes and peeked over at Cody and Courtney. The couple was still just standing there, staring at Owen in astonishment.

"Pssstt! Didn't you hear me?" Owen mumbled out of the side if his mouth. "I'm dead…You can pass me…And beat Heather….!"

"Oh…Oh right!" Cody snapped back to his senses and turned to lead himself and Courtney back down the path. He called back to the supposedly dead Owen. "We'll tell Ale that Courtney beat you up!"

Owen waved his flower in farewell at the departing couple.

"I hope you don't mind me saying so," Courtney said to Cody as they walked out of earshot, "But you have the weirdest friends."

Cody thought of Harold, Sierra, Noah, and Owen and smiled. "Don't worry, they'll grow on you."

"If you say so." Courtney said with a playful roll of the eyes, lightly butting shoulders with Cody as she past. She missed the bright blush that lit up Cody's face. "Does it feel a little warmer here to you?" she suddenly asked in thoughtful tones.

Cody blushed even more and nervously tugged at his sweater collar. "Oh, I dunno, maybe just a little…"

Courtney paused and sniffed. "I smell burning." Her eyes lit up with excitement. "We must be getting close to Kīlauea! The volcano has to be up ahead!"

Cody hurried after Courtney as the girl leapt away to run up the path. "Hey! Wait for me Court!" The rocky trail started to climb upwards. As he ran, Cody notice that Courtney was right- the air was starting to feel warmer. On a tropical island that was always hot and humid that was saying something!

Beads of sweat were already starting to form on Cody's forehead as the boy made it up the short slope to where Courtney was standing. Cody exhaled a breath and wiped away sweat as spoke to Courtney, "You were right, Court! It's burning out here! Hope Chris has some drinks for us at the top." Cody joked.

"It's going to get a lot hotter, Cody." Courtney said in a flat voice. Cody could hear the slightest tremor of fear hidden in it.

Cody blinked at her. "Can't get too much warmer. I mean…" His voice trailed off as he followed Courtney's gaze and saw, for the first time, the destination that the path led them to.

The Kīlauea volcano was right up ahead. It stood like a dark mountain, stretching up to touch the blood-red evening sky, staining it with a stream of black smoke steaming from its crater. Surrounding the looming fire-mountain was a terrifying kingdom of flame and rock. Slow moving rivers of gold-red molten rock flowed in a curving path that circumscribed the rocky borders of the volcano. Rivulets of red lava trickled down the volcano into dangerous pools at the bottom. Every second or so, there could be a violent hiss and a jet of burning-hot liquid would shoot up from deep crevices in the earth.

This was the domain of Pele and a pure, terrible image of the goddess' most feared fury and passion.

"Chris…Chris is really trying to kill us, isn't he?" Cody gulped. Courtney couldn't find any evidence to disagree.

---

Almost every Total Drama contestant could say from experience that the final stretch of a challenge is usually the most dangerous and, especially the stakes were high, the most life-threatening. With that small piece of wisdom in mind, Cody and Courtney treaded onward with careful steps along the path, taking frequent glances around to spot any dangers close at hand even if there were countless. Even the path the couple walked upon proved to be treacherous. The deeper they went into volcano territory, the more unstable the ground became due to the intense heat and pressure coming from below the earth's crusty surface.

But the worst part was the heat. Being so close to the lava, the temperature had risen to a smoldering level. The steam and smoke only made the atmosphere even more unbearable. A sheen of sweat covered both Courtney's and Cody's faces, dripping as they doggedly continued to their hustle through the perilous land.

At long last, the path narrowed, becoming a ledge and gradually started to slope upwards, ascending up towards the volcano itself. A few scraggly palm-like trees clung bravely to the walls of the volcano- the only signs of life amidst a world of rock and fire.

"Be careful not to slip." Cody warned Courtney as the path became ledge-like the higher it went. Below them flowed a large river of burning-hot lava. Smoke rose from the fiery river up to where Courtney and Cody traveled causing visibility to be poor. The two were careful to cling closely to each other and the walls of the volcano.

As he traveled up the treacherous path, Cody thought back to his final words with Duncan before the team had separated. The delinquent had told Cody to not let forget to let Courtney know something. But tell her what?

Cody brushed his long chestnut bangs away from his sweaty face and recalled Duncan's statement as well as the earlier conversation he and the delinquent had had right after crossing the river. It was then that Cody realized something very important and something so obvious that he wanted to kick himself for not thinking of it sooner….

…After all this time being with Courtney this season, Cody had never actually told Courtney how he truly felt about her.

Looking back on his memories of the season, Cody only recalled only telling Courtney that he liked her and wanted to be her boyfriend back in Niagara Falls. But what guy wouldn't want to be her boyfriend? His feelings for her ran much deeper than that. Perhaps that was what Duncan had been trying to tell Cody to do.

I'll have to tell her. Cody told himself firmly. He'd made it through an entire season of deadly challenges. Revealing his inner feelings should be a piece of a cake. "Courtney…" he began but was cut off.

"This is ridiculous!" Courtney grumbled. "Endangering contestants like this in deadly environments. Hmph! As soon as this is over, Chris won't be able to buy a bottle of cheap hair-gel by the time I'm done suing him!" Courtney moodily blew away a strand of hair from her sticky forehead and turned to Cody. "Oh, I'm sorry, Cody. Were you saying something?"

"Er…no…nothing important at least…" Cody mumbled, looking away to hide an embarrassed blush. "Um…Don't worry, Court. We're half way to the top of Kīlauea already."

"Almost to the winner's circle…" Courtney murmured with a faint smile tugging at her lips.

"Yeah," Cody agreed. He then frowned and nervously muttered, "Er…I mean…if Heather hasn't already made it yet."

"Don't say that!" Courtney snapped. "To be a winner you have to think confidently!"

"Think confidently…" Cody repeated, his face cheering a bit. "You're right, Court! I mean, we haven't seen head or ponytail of Heather in ages!"

"Cody…" Courtney called.

"Maybe Zekey's still keeping her busy…"

"Cody!" Courtney's voice was becoming urgent.

"So maybe we are in the lead!" Cody loudly proclaimed, excitement building in his voice as he walked onward. "That means we can win this! I can win!"

"CODY!" Courtney yelled, her features full of distress. "MOVE!"

At last, Cody had her full attention. The moment Cody turned to give Courtney a questioning look, a loud cracking sound came up from below him. Cody looked down and, to his horror, saw ground beneath him begin to crack and crumble. Terror seized the boy to the core, rendering him helpless and immobile.

The very moment the earth began to crumble and slip from below Cody, Courtney lunged forward with a cry and pushed him out of harm's way. There was a grisly, grating roar and both the ground that Cody had previously been standing on and Courtney fell, disappearing from sight amidst a black cloud of smoke that rose from the red-hot river of death far below.

A terrible, heart-wrenching wail filled the air.

"COURTNEY!"

---

In the rainforest right outside the border of Pele's domain, a vicious chase was taking place between Heather and the feral teen formerly known as Ezekiel. Zekey was swinging from vine to vine among the tree tops. The Cody doll was safely tucked in under the wild boy's wool hat with only its plushy head peeking out. Trailing after Zekey on the forest floor below was Heather.

"Get back here you, mangy, diseased-ridden loser!" Heather screeched, shaking her fists at the scrawny, disgusting teen. Rage flash in her pale gray eyes.

"Heheh!" Ezekiel leapt atop of a tree branch like a monkey and gleefully blew a loud, wet raspberry down at Heather.

Heather gave an infuriated growl, but then spotted a small rock on the ground. She grabbed it and threw it up at the taunting Zekey.

Zekey saw it coming and hastily jumped to one side to let the rock fly past him. However, Ezekiel had stepped too close to the edge of the tree branch and began to slip. The feral boy made several animalistic cries as he flung his arms around, trying to rebalance himself. But the effort was futile; the feral teen fell to the ground with a loud "oomph!"

Zekey's tattered wool hat, along with the doll, flew off his head as he fell, and landed a few feet away from the dizzy and bruised boy.

With a cry of victory, Heather snatched both the hat and doll up and ran back through the forest. Ezekiel shook his dirty head to recover his sense and, with an animal-like snarl, swiftly ran after Heather. He ran on all fours, a manner he'd grown quite accustomed to these last couple weeks. Zekey rushed through the forest brush with all the determination of a blood-hound going after a vixen. Duncan had promised Zekey that Cody would give him twenty-thousand dollars if he helped distract Heather. The former-prairie boy was not going to let that much money slip out of his grimy hands. But, also, Zekey found that he simply just wanted to help Cody and Courtney especially. Plus he wanted his favorite hat back. Very badly.

With a grunt and a growl, Ezekiel pounced through a bush. To his amazement, Zekey saw both his wool hat and the Cody doll just lying on the ground alone. Heather was nowhere to be seen. For a moment, Zekey hung back with caution, his grey eyes wide with puzzlement at the sudden twist in events. But excitement overwhelmed him and he rushed forward, ready to grab the hat and doll and dash off.

WHACK!

A pulled back tree branch had suddenly swung forward and heavily slammed Ezekiel right in the face. The gangly, wild teen could only let out a pained yelp before he was slung backward through the air. He collided head-first into the trunk of a tree. A low groan came from the feral teen before he slipped into unconsciousness.

From the shadows, the dark and ravishing Heather slinked forward, grey eyes gleaming. Without even taking a glance at Ezekiel, she smoothly picked up the Cody doll and held it up. Heather's pale face was lit up by the blood-red evening light as she looked at the fallen wild boy and evilly sneered, "Let that teach you never to stand in my way of winning!"

One of the Cody doll's buttons popped off as Heather's tightened fist threatened to squeeze the entire life out of it.

---

Gwen furiously paced back and forth in front of her fellow ex-contestants as they stood along the stone sides of Kīlauea, doing nothing but wait for any sign of the two finalists and their teammates. It was obvious that the pale Goth girl was in a very foul mood. Not only was she deeply worried for her three friends, but the blazing heat from the volcano was severely irritating her sunburn. An aggravated scowl was on the Goth girl's face as she growled out loud. "What's taking them so long? They should have been here by now!"

Many hours had gone by and now most of rosy-red evening sky was transforming into the purple and blues tinges of twilight. Every contestant was growing edgy with anticipation on what was taking Cody, Heather, and their teams so long to reach the finish line.

"Gwen's right." Bridgette said, "What if the teams are in trouble?"

Still lounging in his fold up chair by the fan, Chris airily waved away the teenagers' concerns. "Oh relax! I'm sure they're all fine. I bet they're just taking bathroom breaks or something." Chris chuckled. "I mean, I didn't put up that many traps to cause too much of a hassle."

Trent raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then what kind of traps did you put up?"

"Oh, you know, filled the river with some fresh-water sharks…about a dozen or so alligators shipped from Louisiana, put up some quicksand pits…I wanted to let loose a pack of rabid, man-eating mongooses but for some odd reason the Hawaiian government wouldn't let me." Chris shrugged and resumed sunbathing. "You know…the traditional stuff. Other than that, I figured that I'd let nature itself slow the teams down."

Gwen and Bridgette glared at the host for his indifferent tone.

Sierra looked as if she was on the verge of tears. She sniffled loudly and pulled Noah into a spine-crushing hug, crying out loud. "Oh I hope my beloved Best Friend Forever and Ever Cody is alright! Don't you, Noah?"

"Can't…breath…through…cleavage…" Noah mumbled as his face was smothered by Sierra's breasts.

"Wow, when did the uptight know-it-all start getting any action?"

Everyone jumped in surprise at the familiar voice and spun their heads around to stare. Mohawk let out a joyful bark and struggled to get out of DJ's arms, his curled tail wagging with excitement.

"Duncan!" DJ shouted happily.

"And Owen!" Harold added, equally as happy to see his largest friend walk up to the crater.

The gasps of joy, however, quickly shifted into hushed murmured of shock and confusion as the contestants noticed Owen had Duncan thrown over his shoulder. Their shock grew into horror when they saw the condition Duncan was in. His face was battered and bruised with traced of blood, sweat and dirt remaining. His black shirt was torn to reveal a large, bloody gash across his chest. He also looked drained and completely exhausted.

"Boy, what in the world happened to you?" LeShawna asked. "Looks like you got your butt whooped by Pele herself!"

Duncan gave a rusty chuckle from Owen's shoulder. "Trust me…it's not as bad as it looks." He moved a little and then grimaced in pain. "Ow…At least, I hope not."

"I bet Ale looks a lot worse!" Owen piped up excitedly. "He and Duncan had a show down!"

A smug smile spread across Duncan's battered face. "Yeah, that creep won't be pulling anymore tricks for a long time. I made sure of that."

Astounded gasps went up at the news. Then Sierra called out, "What about Cody and Courtney? What happened to them?"

Duncan's teal eyes grew wide. "You mean they're not here yet? I fought with Alejandro to stop him from holding those two back…."

"And then he found me!" Owen interrupted in bubbly tones. "And since I couldn't go back to Ale or find Heather, I helped carry my pal here on the shortcut I found."

"He wouldn't let me walk." Duncan grumbled in slightly annoyed tones. He glanced down at his blonde friend and said irritably, "Speaking of which, you can let me down now! I'm not going to keel over, you know."

Owen rather reluctantly helped Duncan to the ground. The delinquent almost did keel over, but Geoff and Bridgette were there to help steady their exhausted and injured friend.

"I thought for sure that Princess and Pipsqueak would have made it here by now." Duncan said, looking around.

"Heather hasn't made it here either." Gwen said. "And that's the only good news."

Duncan turned from the others and stared out into the distance, worry clouding his features. "I hope those two are okay…"

---

Back in the frightening, flame-brimmed world, Cody was on his hands and knees, leaning down on the ledge where solid ground had once been. His hands gripped the edge until his knuckle turned white as he yelled down hoarsely. "COURTNEY!"

The black, acidy smoke the rose up from the lava river below, blocked Cody's vision and stung his eyes. Again, he cried out, desperation and panic cracking his voice.

"COURTNEY!"

Cody waited for an answer, praying with all his heart that there'd be one, that he'd hear a familiar voice. A chilling numbness crept over Cody, deadening his heart when moments of silence past. A low moan of agony came from deep within Cody's throat and tears sprang into his reddened eyes. "Oh…Oh Courtney…"

It's my fault…It's all my fault…Cody squeezed his blue eyes shut and hung his head.

"CODY!"

Cody's eyes shot open.

"CODY!"

The lanky boy leaned over the edge and peered through the smoke, craning his neck and felt his heart leap to his throat. What that…could it be….?

A cool breeze blew by and lifted some of the smoke, clearing Cody's vision. Cody felt weak with relief and joy the moment he caught the familiar sight of Courtney's lovely, freckled face staring up at his. During the fall, she had landed upon a ledge of rock that jutted out from the walls of the volcano. It was a small ledge and a good height below where Cody's ledge was.

"Are you alright?" Cody yelled down.

"Besides the location I'm in, I'm perfectly fine!" Courtney called back up. The ledge the girl sat on was so close to the river of lava that her body seemed to glow with a reddish-gold hue. The fear in her large eyes shone clearly in the brightness.

"Don't worry!" Cody called. "I'll find a way to get you back up!" The chestnut-haired teen jumped when Courtney loudly cried out.

"NO! Keep going!" Courtney shouted, her voice demanding. "Go finish the race!"

Shock and dismay stretched upon Cody's round face at the order. What was Courtney saying? Had she hit her head during the fall? What she was suggesting was pure madness! "Are you crazy? I didn't leave you to face Alejandro and I'm not leaving you stuck above a river of lava! What kind of person do you think I am?"

"The kind of person that has a once in a lifetime opportunity to win something great!" Courtney yelled back. She lifted her head and her dark eyes burned up at Cody, wide and pleading. "Cody, you have a chance to win a million dollars! Don't pass it up!"

Cody blinked down at her, struggling to understand what Courtney was telling him to do. "But…I wanted to win with you…"

Courtney looked down at her feet. "Cody, I had my chance…I had my chance more times than anyone else in the entire show." She quietly admitted. "But I lost every single one of them." She sighed and looked back up. "Don't make me be the one responsible for losing yours too."

"But…But I only got as far as I did because of you, Courtney." Cody told her, leaning down enough for Courtney to see the anguish in his face.

Courtney raised her voice to be heard over the hisses and bubbling of the lava. "Then don't let my efforts go to waste!" Amidst the broiling heat Courtney attempted to show Cody a small, reassuring smile. "I promise…I'll be okay. I'm a CIT, remember? We can take the heat. Now go win and come back with help when you're done."

Cody stared down at Courtney one last time, his throat tight and pain shining in his blue eyes. Then he turned and left. The moment her beloved friend was out of sight, Courtney's brave face fell and she hung her head, brunette hair falling and shielding the sides of her tan face. She had not wanted Cody to see how terrified she truly was.

"I'm not afraid…I'm not afraid…" Courtney whispered to herself, closing her eyes to hide the sight of the scorching, red-gold lava that flowed below her. A large, red bubble popped at the lava's surface and splashed little burning droplets close to Courtney's feet. The CIT just hoped the ledge she was on would hold until Cody won and brought help.

"CCCCCOOOOOUUUUURRRTTTNNEEYY!"

Courtney perked her head up, onyx eyes wide at the sound of her name being screamed.

"I'MMM COMMMMIIIINNNNGGGG!"

The girl stood up and lifted her head skywards. Courtney's jaw fell open and an expression of complete astonishment formed on her tan face as she watched Cody, who had taken a running start, leap down from the ledge and fall down towards her, flipping threw the air as he fell. Terror seized Courtney's heart as she thought he would come crashing down head-first. But right before Cody could splatter on the ground, he stopped in midair, hanging upside down right in front of Courtney's stricken face.

It was then that Courtney noticed that a long strand of vine was holding Cody up. One end was tied around Cody's waist while the other end was tied to an object up above on the higher ledge and out of sight. All the flips and somersaults that Cody had did while falling had tangled the strand of vine all around his body, binding Cody tightly so that he could hardly move as he hung. However, Cody hardly seemed to notice. His beaming face was too busy focusing on Courtney.

Courtney looked furious. "What on earth is the matter with you?" She shrieked in Cody's face. "Why didn't you go? If you don't go now, you might lose all the money!"

"I don't care about the money!" Cody told her, wiggling a bit against the binding of vine. Perhaps he shouldn't have tried to make such a dramatic entrance... "I didn't come on the show to win the money!"

"Then why did you?" Courtney asked, tilting her head to one side.

"To pick up girls!" Cody blurted out.

Courtney scowled.

"Er…well...I mean not a lot of girls…mostly just Gwen…"

Courtney's scowl deepened and her eyes narrowed dangerously.

Sensing an approaching lava-related doom, Cody gulped and hastily continued on, "But that all changed once you and I became friends! You're…You're different from any girl I've ever met, Courtney." Cody stared deeply into Courtney's dark, beautiful eyes. His heart pounded inside his chest and Cody knew it was time to tell her the truth. "You're tough and brave and the strongest person I've ever met. No matter how badly things have gone, you still keep on going. And…And when you're around me, I feel as if I can do anything as long as you're right there beside me." Cody looked at Courtney with deep affection gleaming in his blue eyes and murmured, "I don't care about the money because you're my reward, Courtney. And I love you."

At first, only shock could be seen on Courtney's face. Then, the lovely brunette's face softened and a warm glow lit up her onyx eyes. Courtney took a step forward and tenderly pressed her forehead against Cody's, lightly nuzzling him. Only love flowed from her voice as she sincerely whispered, "I love you too, Cody."

Cody felt as though his heart would burst as happiness swelled up inside. She loved him! She really loved him! He wanted to yowl out his joy for all the world to hear, but right now, all he could do was hang upside down and close his eyes blissfully as Courtney pressed close to him.

For a few precious seconds, even in the dangerous, frightening world of fire and lava, Courtney and Cody felt happier and safer than they'd ever been in their entire life.

A violent hiss from the lava below broke the peaceful spell that had fallen over the couple. Droplets of red-hot lava whizzed by and one landed right on Cody's pants, creating a tiny flame.

"OW!" Cody yelped, swinging backwards from Courtney. He twisted his neck around to rather comically try and blow out the flame burning on his pants.

Courtney laughed and patted the tiny fire out. "How about we finish this discussion after we climb out of here and finish the challenge?" she suggested.

Cody chuckled. "Hehe...yeah, going anywhere but here sounds pretty good."

Courtney chambered up the vine first, accidentally kicking Cody in the chin in the process, and once at the top, she pulled Cody up since, quite frankly, the poor boy was just too tangled up in the vine to do much of anything. When they were up on the ledge again and Cody was detangled, Courtney asked, "So where exactly did you find those vines?"

"I kept some from earlier in my pockets." Cody answered.

Courtney fought to keep from rolling her eyes. She was unsuccessful. "Is there anything you don't keep in your pockets?"

"You…and my house." Cody joked. He then frowned and stared intensely at Courtney. "Court, did you…did you really mean what you said? You don't still like Duncan?"

"I'll never forget Duncan." Courtney truthfully said. She then took Cody's hand. "But it's you I love, Cody. Back in the cargo hold in Greece, you brought me back when I was completely lost." She closed her eyes and leaned against Cody's shoulder. "You saved me in a way that no one, not even Duncan, ever could and I'll always love you for it."

Warmth flooded through Cody at Courtney's words. Smiling, he turned his head towards Courtney and saw her draw back, eyes lighting up. Slowly, the two brunettes leaned their faces towards each other, eyes closing and lips puckered…

Then there came the most hated sound in the world- Chris' chime.

Courtney and Cody instantly jerked back, eyes narrowed in annoyance at the interruption. However, their irritation did not last for too long as a lovely melody began to flow in the breeze. Courtney started to continue down the path to the finish line and, after the beautiful girl glanced back and sent him a sensual smile, Cody hurried after her.

"Once in every lifetime," Courtney sweetly sang, watching Cody run to catch up with her. "When heartache and joy join hand to hand. There comes a time when we all must choose between feelings old and new."

The freckled girl looked up at the beautiful, purple sky and sang as the first stars of the night twinkled down. "But beneath the stars of twilight and beat of the land, I can't deny this steady heartbeat, the one love is you!"

Cody walked beside Courtney sang at her with a content smile upon his face. "Every song has a finish," sung Cody, low and sincere, "Once the words are all sung. And in the silence, there is born a whole new rhyme."

Cody took Courtney's hand in his own as he continued to sing, "Can never foretell the future, or know what twists may come. But every fear I have disappears, the moment your eyes meet mine!"

As the two lovebirds sang, their fear of the fiery surroundings slowly diminished and Pele's domain began to actually take on a beautiful image. Against the dark, purple sky, the small streamlets of lava took on a lovely golden glow. Embers of gold and red were caught in the breeze and flowed above Courtney and Cody's head like shining fireflies. Under the glow of the first evening stars, Cody and Courtney sang together in harmony as they journeyed higher and higher up the volcano.

"Stay and be right here with me,

Until the night breaks the dawn,

A heart may break a thousand times,

And still beat through.

You have to stay strong,

Love doesn't die, it goes on."

The upward sloping path was finally coming to an end. The top of Kīlauea was right up ahead. Both Courtney and Cody could see the brilliant red-gold light of the crater and soon their friends came into view, huddled in a group across the crater from where they were approaching. Holding each other's hand and leaning against one another, Cody and Courtney's voices rang out, loud and full of joy, for all to hear as they finished the final stretch of the challenge.

"Stay and be right here with me

This is where we belong."

By now, all the contestants had sighted the couple coming up the path. Instead of cheering, they stood back and listened with sniffling noses and watery eyes as the lovebirds wove together a beautiful, romantic melody. Owen was already starting to put on the waterworks.

"A heart may break a thousand times,

But still beats though…"

"My heart beats on through!" Courtney's lovely voice trilled.

"You have to stay strong…"

"I'll stay strong!" Cody sang loudly to the night sky.

"Love doesn't die,

It goes on."

The couple faced each and sang together with heads leaned in and eyes shining with love.

"Love doesn't die, it goes on…toooo….youuuuu…."

Their friends, the challenge, and entire the worlds seemed to melt away from Courtney and Cody's vision as the last, soft notes melted into the twilight sky. All that mattered were each other and the sound of their heartbeats joining together as the two leaned in to finally share a kiss…

"Oh how sweet…" A scathing voice called out. "I think you two may have just given me diabetes."

At the sound of numerous surprised gasps, Courtney and Cody drew back before their lips could touch and whirled around to see that Heather had come up the path, the battered Cody doll in her vice-like grip.

From the sidelines, Duncan nudged Harold and LeShawna out of the way and shouted out across the circular crater towards Cody. "THROW THE DOLL IN!"

"Oh! The doll! Yeah..." Cody reached into his pocket, but only felt empty air. He looked down and, to his utmost horror, a hole had been burned into the bottom of the pocket, most likely from when he had been rescuing Courtney. "IT'S GONE!"

"NO!" Courtney cried out in anger and shock.

"YES!" Heather screeched, her narrowed grey eyes gleaming in triumph. Seeing that victory was pretty much guaranteed, the slick, raven-haired girl strolled past Cody and Courtney at a slow pace. Heather wanted to enjoy every second of seeing the expressions of dismay pasted on every contestants' face.

"Oh, how disappointing," Heather gloated, head held high. She glanced towards Cody and Courtney and smirked, "But I guess, after three seasons, we all finally know who the best competitor is."

Courtney kept a dignified silence, glaring hatefully at the pony-tailed villainess.

"You're no winner, Heather." Cody coldly said. "Neither you or Ale are."

Heather took her place at the edge of the crater. The light from the boiling lava below cast a blood-red glow upon her face as she turned to Cody and sneered, "Not yet..."

With a malicious smirk on her alluring face, Heather held the poor Cody doll up in the air and, amidst a crowd of horrified onlookers, was about to throw it in to ensure victory.

Then….

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The world seemed to slow down as suddenly, from behind the huddled group of former contestants, a scrawny, grimy figure pushed his way through and took a flying leap off of a befuddled Owen's shoulders. Every wide eye was raised upwards to stare in disbelief at the figure soaring through the air.

"Ezekiel?" Chris spluttered, spitting out a mouthful of lemonade.

It was indeed, the determined, disgusting wild teen known as Ezekiel or, in his own opinion, Zekey. The tangled-haired, and dirt covered feral boy soared in slow motion through the air towards Heather, his growl face a mask of fury.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Zekey roared, still in slow-mo. While still leaping through the air, he pulled out his bow and arrow from behind his back, took aim, and let a twig arrow fly. In a world slowed down, the arrow flew straight and true, right towards Heather. Heather's mouth fell open, ready to unleash a scream.

Time sped back up as the arrow hit its true target- the Cody doll that Heather had raised up. The speeding arrow went right through the rag doll and, without stopping, flew onwards taking the doll with it. The arrow and doll soared on until it was a mere dot in the distance and then disappearing from sight for good.

Heather stared off into the far-off distance while the arrow had been shot to, eyes round and twitching. "My…doll…" she gasped in a quiet, shocked voice. "My…million…dollars….all…." Heather fell to her knees and unleashed a scream of pure rage out into the heavens above.

"GOOOONNNEEEEEEEE!"

As Zekey landed back on the ground, the feral teen gave a smug smile and reached into his wool hat and pulled out an item to raise into the air for all to see.

It was the Heather doll.

Overjoyed cries and gasps rippled through the crowd of onlookers, including Cody and Courtney.

"The doll!" Cody gasped, smiling with delight. "You found it Zekey!" The doll looked slightly charred, but otherwise it was in perfect condition. Ezekiel must have found it on his way up the volcano.

"That means if you throw it in then you win, Cody!" Courtney told her boyfriend.

Heather wailed even harder at her former teammate's words and banged her fists on the ground in fury.

Leshawna smirked at the sight. "Well, what are you waiting for, Zekey? Bring it to him!"

Ezekiel gave a pleased snort and happily stared to make his way over where Cody and Courtney stood, practically skipping with self-satisfaction. As he passed the defeated Heather, he childishly stuck his tongue out at her.

And then something that no one had ever expected happened, far too quickly for anyone to stop or even begin to comprehend. What happened was living and breathing proof that Murphy's Law was indeed a real thing to be respected and feared to the highest degree.

While Zekey was immaturely sticking his tongue out at Heather, his eyes were closed and he did not see a large rock on the ground in his path. The feral teen struck the rock and promptly tripped over it, landing face-first on the ground and accidentally dropping the Heather doll…..

…..right into the volcano's boiling hot crater.

The poor ragdoll disappeared into the magma with a splash and a hiss.

Every single person stood frozen, shocked into a speechless stupor.

Ezekiel was the first one to move. Realizing his actions, the poor, scraggly boy let out a loud, horrified squeak and rushed to the very edge of the crater. He leaned forward on his hands and knees and looked down into the hot interior of the volcano, hoping to see to a tiny glimpse of the Heather doll. But alas, it was burned to mere ashes under the pool of boiling lava.

Gulping, Zekey turned to the large crowd of contestants glaring his way and unleashed a small, nervous chuckle.

"Hehe…oops…eh?"

Duncan exploded. "I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!" The delinquent then winced as a spasm of pain went through him. "Ow…change of plans…" He groaned. "Geoff, go kick his ass!"

Zekey whimpered and scampered off to hide behind Lono.

Bridgette shot the two boys a sharp look. "Stop scaring him! It was an accident!"

"So…who wins?" Sierra asked, loudly voicing what everyone was thinking. Neither of the two finalists had personally thrown the dolls into the volcano.

Chris gave a sadistic chuckle as he held the suitcase of money to his chest. "NOBODY!" He gave the contestants a sly, evil glance, "Guess that means we'll just have to do another season…."

At this, Zekey began to wail loudly and pitifully, unleashing a shower of big, fat tears. The poor feral boy couldn't imagine having to spend another season living in dark, cramped spaces and feeding off scraps.

During the conversation Courtney had been strangely quiet with eyebrows knitted together in a expression of deep concentration as if remembering a vague memory. Now, suddenly, she spoke up.

"Actually…" Courtney said, eyes brightening. "I do believe we have a winner!" The CIT turned and beamed towards bawling feral boy. "EZEKIEL!"

Zekey instantly stopped howling and cocked his head in confusion at Courtney. "Huh?"

Everyone, including Chris, turned to stare at Courtney as if she had grown an extra head.

"She's lost her mind!" Heather spat.

"Uhh…Court…are you feeling alright?" Cody asked, concern reflecting in his blue eyes.

"I'm fine!" Courtney said, still grinning as if she'd won a law case. "I'm telling you, Ezekiel is the winner!"

"Impossible!" Chris snapped, glaring at the prissy know-it-all. "The little stowaway's been eliminated since the first episode!"

"True..." Courtney smoothly said, striding confidently over to Chris. "But in London, you promised Ezekiel that if he could avoid being captured by the winning team, then he could come back on the show as a competitor." She smirked at the arrogant host, "Don't you remember?"

"But…But…he was captured!" Chris spluttered, his handsome face starting to turn red with annoyance.

Cody's eye lit up with realization. "But not by the winning team!" A wide grin stretched across his face. "Our team captured Duncan! And the losing team caught Ezekiel!"

Owen beamed and excitedly waved his hand, as well as Noah's arm, up in the air. "YEAH! US! WE'RE THE LOSING TEAM!"

"Owen…they know…they all know." Noah muttered, slapping a hand over his face in embarrassment.

"So that means…" Duncan said, catching on.

"…that this whole time…" continued Harold.

"…Egbert was still in the game?" finished Lindsay.

"Which means…" Cody said, grinning as he watched his girlfriend snatch the suitcase of money away from a thwarted Chris.

"Which means…" Courtney said, kneeling down before the crouched Ezekiel and holding out the suitcase towards him. She smiled kindly at the feral stowaway who had been so supportive to herself and Cody and continued, "…You're the winner of Total Drama World Tour, Ezekiel. Congratulations!"

Zekey blinked in utter bafflement as he held the award money. "Zekey…win?"

Cody walked over to stand besides Courtney and grinned at his friend. "That's right, you win, Zekey."

Every other contestant, besides Heather who was still beating the ground in frustration, nodded in agreement at the stowaway.

For a second, Ezekiel just stared at the couple. Then, as the words finally sunk in, a wide, elated smile spread across the feral boy's face. Zekey jumped up and, raising the suitcase above his head, let out a loud, jubilant scream. The wild teen gave a one armed hug to Cody and Courtney and began to bounce all around the volcano crater like a mad hare, letting loose shrieks of pure joy and excitement.

"ZEKEY WON!" Ezekiel screamed, popping up between a smirking Duncan and laughing Geoff.

"ZEKEY WON!" He yelled around, this time scrambling on top of Owen's blonde head.

"ZEKEY WON!" Ezekiel cried out right besides a stone-faced Eva. Without warning, the former prairie boy pulled the muscular, and now flabbergasted, girl into a kiss. He leapt away crowing insanely while Eva was still blinking and spitting in disgust.

Cody and Courtney watched their odd friend celebrate his well-rewarded victory with content looks upon their faces. Cody took a glance at Courtney and, pasting on a smooth smirk, leaned towards her and said, "Well, I guess now that you and I are officially boyfriend and girlfriend, we can start taking things to next level, huh Court?"

Courtney spotted Cody trying to place an arm around her shoulders. With a sly smile, she slid out of his reach. "Oh no! Remember what we talked about back at Niagara Falls? We're going 'tortoise' slow!"

Cody looked as if he were about to choke. "Tortoise…slow?" he spluttered.

Courtney nodded, seductively circling the poor boy. "Tortoise slow." She repeated with much glee. The beautiful girl was practically torturing him.

Cody stared at her in horror. "So…no making out?"

"Nope." Courtney teased, tossing her short hair.

"No hugging?"

"No."

"No holding hands?" Cody was beginning to sound desperate.

Courtney lightly laughed and said, "How about this?" She grabbed Cody by the sweater collar and pulled him into a short, sweet kiss.

Many hushed, "Ooohh" and "Awwws" rippled among the contestants at the romantic sight. When Courtney pulled back, Cody had a rather drunken look upon his face along with a dopey, lovestruck smile.

"How was that?" the CIT asked, smiling at her new beau.

Once Cody regained his senses, he turned to Courtney and said, with a happy, gap-toothed grin, "I think we need to take it a little bit slower."

Courtney's dark eyes sparkled. "I think so too."

With that, Cody cupped the sides of Courtney's beautiful, freckled face and pulled her into a slow, love-filled kiss that both melted into. Loud, happy cheers erupted from the sidelines where every single contestant clapped, yelled, and stomped their feet in celebration for the couple that had suffered through so much heartache in the past had, at last, discovered where their hearts truly belonged.

Geoff was up on his feet, waving his cowboy hat in jubilation while Trent, Justin, and Harold cheered their very loudest. Both Owen and Sierra were bawling their eyes out and hugging a very squished and suffocated Noah in between them. Katie, Sadie, and Beth were hugging each other while jumping up and down with joy. Mohawk jumped around everyone's feet, letting out happy barks.

Duncan alone wasn't cheering, but had on a bittersweet smile. The delinquent felt a light hand touch his shoulder.

"You okay?" Bridgette asked.

Duncan stared over at Courtney wrapped in Cody's arms. He had never seen her look happier.

"As long as she's okay," Duncan said with a small smile. "I will be too."

There was suddenly a loud boom and from the pit of the volcano and, to the awe and wonder of the gathered crowd, a large, flaming ball of ember shot into the sky like a burning rocket, whizzing and crackling. Up in the air, at its highest point, it exploded like a firework, spreading brilliant sparks of gold, red, and orange across the night sky as if Pele the volcano goddess herself was celebrating the love and friendship that chose to blossom upon her kingdom.

---

Yep, Zekey won the show! Yeah, all those on Team Cody probably hate me, but, hey, what story is any good without an unexpected twist? :P

Why are the second to last chapters always so hard to write? I had this problem while writing "The Princess and the Spider" as well. Hopefully, the Epilogue will be much easier. I really…REALLY…hope this chapter was everything you guys were looking for. I tried my best to get it up before I have to leave to go back to SCAD on Thursday. Once I start my animation classes, don't expect too much writing from me. "Free Time" is a rare, precious thing for animation

This chapter would have been up a lot sooner if I didn't have to rewrite several scenes. The river crossing scene had to be re-written about six times and the fight between Duncan and Ale had to be edited down since I just had too much fun writing it. It went on and on and on. Speaking of the Duncan/Ale fight, it was guilty pleasure of mine to write mainly because, since Total Drama World Tour first started, the one thing I wanted above everything else was to see Alejandro and Duncan fight each other. As the manliest, most dominate men in the entire show I just felt it right that they should have a throw down. And when that didn't happen, I started shipping them. I either want those two hating each other or making out…so

Well, the song in this chapter is call "Love Goes On" and its one I wrote very early on in the story, though I had to revise it several times before putting the final cut into the chapter. It's hugely inspired by "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from the Lion King mainly because, in my honest opinion, it's the best love song Disney or any movie has ever made.

For those who wanted some Alien Cody. Well, he WAS supposed to have a scene at the end of the chapter, but when I wrote it down, even though I found it hilarious and loved it, I felt that it was just dragging the ending along and had to cut it. Sorry guys. But do not worry! Alien Cody will be seen one last time in the Epilogue chapter.

Just like I did with the "Princess and the Spider", everything will be all wrapped up in a big Epilogue chapter. The Epilogue WILL include a brand new song since, as Owen said in an earlier chapter, every good musical has to end in a song. Speaking of song, I'm curious to know which songs were the favorites of the readers. Personally, the song I enjoyed writing most of all was "Gotta Tell the Girl" simply because it was such fun to write especially with hilarious characters such as Owen and Noah singing it.

Anywhoo, I hope every single fan of "Candy for Your Thoughts" has enjoyed the last challenge. As hard as it was to write, I'm proud of it and I hope to have the Epilogue up as soon as I have free time though it might have wait until Thanksgiving and Christmas break.

But until then, read and review!