The next day Gwen awoke expecting to find Trent lying next to her to prove it had all been a horrible dream, but he wasn't there. It was then that Gwen realized it had really been real, Trent had cheated on her with Courtney and they had left, presumably for good. As this cold reality washed over her, fresh tears sprang to Gwen's eyes. She had fought crying all night and her body ached from the effort, but the physical pain no longer seemed to matter. All that was left was the emotional damage, stinging like salt in a gaping wound. Gwen could not think of a time when she had felt worse. True she had felt this pain before, but this time it appeared to be permanent. Trent had been her whole life, her reason for being, and now there was nothing.
The others had no idea how to help Gwen through her ordeal. None of them had felt pain like this before, none of them had been betrayed by the person they loved. Besides, they had the looming confrontation with Drevis and Verizzano to look forward to, again. Noah's words from the previous day seemed to be becoming truth incarnate, the road was most certainly growing darker. The entire situation was unfavorable, Gwen was dealing with her fractured emotions, Drevis and Verizzano were breathing down their necks, and they were now down four soldiers. Duncan and Aneka had come back, but after the split of Gwen and Trent it seemed unlikely that Duncan would be willing to return again. And Trent and Courtney were now gone, and no one knew if they would return.
"God this sucks!" Tyler said at breakfast. "This whole situation blows. What the fuck are we supposed to do now?"
"We have to keep moving forward." said Noah, with a sigh.
"And how are we supposed to that, eh?" asked Ezekiel. "How are we supposed to just ignore all that has happened and move on?"
"Look, I realize this is painful for everyone." said Noah. "I know Gwen is suffering, I know we need Duncan, Trent, Courtney, and Aneka, but what choice do we have? If we sit and wallow in our sorrow, we'll never have a chance of defeating Drevis and Verizzano."
"Noah, do you really think we're gonna win?" Sadie asked, looking at him skeptically.
"Yes, I do." Noah replied. "But only if we push past this and rise above our sorrow."
"But, don't you think we should give Gwen a chance to recover first?" LeShawna asked.
"No." Gwen said, as she entered the room. "Noah is right, we have to push forward."
"Gwen!" Bridgette cried. "How are you doing?"
Gwen looked at Bridgette with a sorrowful expression on her face. Her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying, and she was paler than usual. "I'm fine." she replied.
"Are you sure?" Bridgette asked. "You look horrible, like you didn't get any sleep last night." She cocked any eyebrow as she stared at Gwen.
"Yes, I'm fine." Gwen said again. "We have a battle to prepare for, so lets get to it."
The others could see that Gwen was hiding how she truly felt. It was obvious that she was anything but fine, but she seemed determined to ignore the situation so none of them pressed the issue. They got to work on the plans for the next battle, putting all their energy into it.
Meanwhile, Trent and Courtney found themselves in the park. They had not spoken to each other since they had left the hotel, though it was obvious they both wanted to. The events of the previous day had left deep scars on their souls as well, and they were both trying to figure out a way to work through the pain. Courtney had gotten the worse end of the stick, as she had truly never intended to ruin Trent's marriage to Gwen. She had only wanted someone to rely on to help her through the pain of her split from Duncan, and now she had caused another rift. She looked at Trent and opened her mouth to speak, finally breaking their silence.
"Trent?" she said. "I'm sorry. I never meant to pull you away from Gwen."
Trent looked at her. "I know Courtney." he replied. "I wish this could have worked out differently, but it didn't and we can't change it now."
"Well, isn't that sentimental?" said Duncan, as he and Aneka walked up.
"What the fuck do you want?" Trent snapped, glaring at Duncan.
"Hey, don't get all pissy with me." Duncan shot back. "We're all outcasts now."
"No, we're not." said Aneka. "The others still need us and whether they want us or not, we will help them. And whether you three want to or not you will get over your ill feelings for one another and join me. Remember, I can force you."
The other three nodded in agreement. They would go back, but no matter what Aneka said, Duncan remained convinced that they were no longer welcome among the others.
Back at the hotel, the rest of the group were still in the midst of their planning. Izzy, Chef, and Abigail had come up with a complex battle strategy, one they were sure would work. The others were on board with the plan, but many of them were not as sure it would be successful. Still, it would be their working strategy for the time being.
After concluding their meeting the campers broke for the evening. They would get back to planning the following day, but now it was time for a break. Gwen went back upstairs to her room to try and get some sleep, but the others went about with other activities. Geoff and Bridgette went to their room to watch a movie, and were joined by Izzy, Owen, Noah, and Eva. Tyler and Lindsey, did the same, and were joined by Beth, Cody, Justin, and Heather. Katie and Sadie went to the hotel pool for a swim. Harold, LeShawna, and D.J. would join them and Ezekiel, Chris, and Chef headed to the hotel bar. Abigail went up to her room to go over the battle plan and make sure it was solid. Brendan, unnoticed by anyone, slipped out of the hotel and headed for the park, which was now deserted.
Brendan headed for the clump of trees the campers had hidden in the night they first met Verizzano. It seemed like he was looking for something, and after a few moments of searching, his face lit up in a sadistic smile. He held a small metallic device which he spoke into. "They have plans for the next battle." Brendan said. "You will be able to easily defeat it however."
"Good." a deep, cold voice said right behind him. Brendan spun around and found himself face to face with Drevis and Verizzano.
"Ah, Drevis you scared me." Brendan breathed.
Drevis laughed and then spoke. "So, the great Brendan DuVall is afraid of something after all. That is highly amusing. Regardless, you have done well DuVall. With this information, we can finally bring an end to this war. In three days, we unleash hell."
A/N: Well there's chapter 25. Just so you're all aware we're about to get into the really intense part of this fic so buckle up for safety cuz it's gonna be one wild ride!