Thanks for reviewing, Elizabeth Fire Ice Heart, Bloodylilcorpse, queenoftrouble, and worthless brat. Okay, so Zoey...

I didn't hear any more about Mal for the next few days. I was too busy trying to get back into my old routine. I felt as if Mal was going to jump out at any minute, and my nightmares came back. Like the first night after I got back home. I'd told Duncan everything, and he'd actually listened, then we'd spent the whole night getting...um...reaquainted. But it seemed as if that had been for nothing, because the nightmare that followed was a violation of everything I'd run from...

"Looks like you got away again, doll face." Mal's expression was serious. "But no one is ever going to find this place. Now, maybe this isn't the real thing, but you can take my orders here, anyway. Scissor with her." He stepped aside to reveal Zoey lying in that same double bed, tears running down her face.

I didn't want to do it, but my control in this dream was limited. I saw myself walking over and obeying his orders.

"I'm so sorry, Bailey." Zoey whimpered. "I...I hope that I'm out of here soon, too."

"I hope so." I whispered.

I had no problem with lesbianism, but only when it came from actual lesbians and not people like Zoey and I, who only liked boys.

But after four days of nothing, I got a call from the police. They'd found the house and had Mal in a holding cell. Zoey was at the station, and had asked what was happening with me.

"I'll be down there." I promised, although it was a school day. After I put down the phone, I turned to Duncan. "I'm cutting school because Zoey wants to see me. Can I borrow your motorbike?"

"You think I'd risk you driving that thing?" Duncan teased. "No way. I'll give you a ride down there, but I can't get back there this evening, so you'll have to catch the bus back. There's one every half-hour."

I shrugged and accepted the ride there.

The minute the police let me see Zoey, I saw her eyes light up. I was a little hesitant, remembering what we'd done when I last saw her, but she had no such problems, running over and giving me a big hug. Eventually, I wrapped my arms around her too.

"It's been such a hard four days." Zoey murmured. "After he found out you were gone, he got so much harder on me."

I pulled back for a moment, and noticed for the first time that Zoey was still wearing one of her costumes. This one was a French maid outfit. Zoey saw me look at it and blushed. "You know the drill." she muttered.

"Hey, at least black and white goes with red hair." I tried to joke. Zoey managed a smile.

"Nothing's set in stone yet, but they've told me what will most likely happen." she admitted. "All I can get out of the police is that Mal will probably be charged with kidnapping and rape, but he'll probably just end up in a top-security mental hospital. I'm still going to visit, but only when they tell me that Mike is making progress."

I smiled weakly. "I guess the only thing to do now is to make sure he doesn't get to me again. That'll make it harder to get Mike back. Anyone else who can help?"

Zoey hesitated. Then she said "I thought about it. Actually, I thought of one of the others from my season that wasn't on All-Stars – Dawn. She knew about Mike's personalities before anyone else – I know because she mentioned his aura and that only part of it was Mike. That means she might have some idea of what's making it so easy for Mal to keep control, and how to get Mike back in control."

I paused, trying to remember who Dawn was. "Wait...was she that girl Scott framed for stealing?" I asked. "The one that talks about auras and acts like Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series?"

Zoey chuckled. "That's a perfect description of her! She even looks sort of similar to Evanna Lynch in the movies. Yeah – I think her aura-reading abilities might explain what's going on with him at the moment. And if she can tell us that, we might be able to figure out how to get Mike back and in control."

"And until then," I added, "I should probably keep away from him." I gave a sigh. "I want to get to know the real Mike." I admitted. "I've met him before, but not properly. And I've seen the fourth season of Total Drama, but..." I looked up at my friend. "What's he like most of the time?"

Zoey's eyes became dreamy. "He's...I guess...well, sort of like me, I guess. The reason we get along so well is because we like most of the same things for most of the same reasons."

A memory surfaced from one of the episodes. Something Mike had said to Zoey: "You like action movies? If you're into ultimate kickboxing, I may have to marry you."

I couldn't help smiling as Zoey continued "And he's, like, the sweetest guy I've ever known! Whenever we hung out, he'd always look out for me before himself. I mean, I'd sacrifice myself for him, too, but...well, I guess I've always thought it was too good to be true, that a guy like him would be interested in me. When I was with him, I felt like the luckiest person in the world." Her eyes became teary, and I put my arm around her.

"He's still in there, Zoey." I said sincerely. "Just stay strong for him."

But in the days that followed, I was far too busy to hear about Mike's progress. I had to catch up on schoolwork, work on weekends, squeeze in some free time...and on Duncan's request, I was keeping up-to-date with Total Drama Pahkitew Island, which was just airing. Chris wanted to take a break from the usual island, and chose this one instead.

What? Just because we didn't like the crazy challenges on reality shows didn't mean we hated watching other people do them. So watch them we did, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

The first day we were watching the premiere was when I saw it. Some guy on the zeppelin was running around calling for Chris, and another girl threated to throw him out the window. When she said he'd be squished in two minutes, a new voice cut in, and I stared at the speaker.

"Actually, in the first fourteen seconds he would fall..." I didn't listen to the rest. I hadn't heard that voice in three years, and it sounded older and more intellectual than ever before, but I knew that voice. And as a matter of fact, that red hair tied up in a bun was a dead giveaway.

I looked up at Duncan. "Recognize her?" I whispered.

Duncan shrugged. "Should I?"

I gave him a shove. "Did you lose long-term memory or something? That's Scarlett! She was my cellmate, remember?"

Naturally, just knowing Scarlett gave me the motivation to root for her. And watching her on Total Drama gave me a whole new respect for her. Before now, she was just an annoying cellmate who was way too smart and asked far too many questions. Now, she seemed like a better person – smart, quiet, sweet. Maybe a bit weird, but no weirder than most of the cast. Even Jasmine, a badass Aborigine girl on the same team, described Scarlett as "a little weird, but harmless."

As a matter of fact, Duncan and I spent most of the episodes laughing at the cast. Most of them were too weird to take seriously. We were particularly mean about Max, who tried so hard to be a villain and failed so badly, and Ella, who looked like she'd stepped out of a Disney movie and couldn't stop singing. On the other hand, we were kind of in awe of Shawn, who'd developed crazy survival skills due to his constant preparations for the zombie apocalypse.

But three weeks after Zoey was found and Mal apprehended, after a week of episodes (and five eliminations – a beatboxer, a LARPer, a weird creeper, and a pair of twins), I got a call from her.

"I figured you'd want to know how things are going to happen." Zoey said. "Mike's being sent back to the psychiatric hospital, but he's on higher security. I've contacted Dawn. She said she has some meditation methods that could help Mike keep a stronger hold on his mind, and that she'd visit once I've talked to her properly."

"Can I speak to her too?" I asked. "After all, you know Mike better than anyone, but I know Mal better. And I think we need an understanding of both."

"Sure." Zoey said. "I'll let you know when soon."

Okay, so I've been able to get eight of my top ten characters into Bailey's story. All we need is Jasmine and Bridgette, and we'd be golden. I mean, Courtney still counts, right – and Scarlett was in the first story. Now Dawn's in there, too.