I. Am. Alive~!

It's true; I've returned, and I don't plan on leaving again until this story is done! Expect no more than a week and a half between updates from now on. Don't thank me though, thank my 'Idea Guy', Kenju, who has renewed my faith (and interest) in this story. Thank you dearly, Kenju. I owe you a heck of a lot!

This chapter would've been longer, but I didn't have internet last week, and I wanted to watch 'The Am-Ah-Zon Race' while I wrote about the episode, so I could analyze it and add Kenju's brilliant ideas without screwing up the canon. Since I couldn't find the episode on TV, I'm going to have to watch it online. Thus: you can probably expect an update later on in the week!

This is not my best chapter, but it IS an important chapter in the plot line, and it's fairly lighthearted and funny. Please read, even if you don't review, and enjoy.

PLEASE REREAD THE EARLIER CHAPTERS! I've edited each one, and completely re-written a good deal of each chapter. If you don't reread, you WILL be lost.

And, without further adu, I present: 'Stop', chapter five.

"You've got to help, Noah! Please?" Cody grasped his hands together and pleaded, looking very much like a puppy begging for a treat. He and Noah were alone in the confessional, and Cody'd made sure to shut off the video recorder before presenting his proposition to the cynic.

Noah rolled his eyes and sighed. "And just WHY would I help you and Nutsy 2.0?"

Cody scratched the back of his neck and grinned nervously. "Well, I guess I should start with the beginning, huh?"

Earlier that day...

Sierra was desperate for help. Just when she thought Heather was safe from Alejandro, she caught the two of them kissing outside the confessional in the middle of the night. Alejandro had managed to corner Sierra's (kinda) girlfriend, and Sierra did NOT like it one bit. It wasn't that Sierra was jealous (even if she was) or that she hated Alejandro (even if she did), it was that she didn't want Alejandro to turn Heather back into 'Old Heather'. 'Mean Heather'. Alejandro was not good for Heather, no matter how well the two seemed to fit together. Alejandro wanted Old Heather, and didn't want Heather to turn into the new, nicer person she was trying so hard to become. Sierra hated him for that.

Sierra needed backup to keep Alejandro from Heather, and she knew just where to go, remembering how the person she now stood before had given her such good advice before.

"So, you want to get Alejandro eliminated?"

Sierra giggled, grinning from ear-to-ear now that she had help in getting rid of Alejandro. "No. I just want to keep him away from Heather. He's been picking off all of the girls on this show." Cody raised a brow, obviously confused, and Sierra continued. "Didn't you notice that LeShawna just HAPPENED to get voted off when she beat up Heather; something which all her team members were CHEERING about? And what about Bridgette? You heard the song; you know how she got stuck to that pole. Alejandro is going to get rid of all the competition, and that includes Heather."

"And what does that have to do with you and Heather?"

Sierra sighed, her smile melting away. "I... I like Heather. She's changing, you know. She's so much nicer now, and getting nicer every day. I LIKE Nice Heather, and Nice Heather is Happy Heather. Some of the death threats and hate mail might even stop if she keeps this up. Do you really want Alejandro to turn her back into Old Heather, 'cause that's he's doing!"

At this, Cody finally began to understand. "Heather IS changing, and she's changing for the better. We can't let Alejandro turn Heather back into Old Heather... Old Heather was far from evil, but she was even further from a good person. I just want her to be happy, and it's obvious that being Old Heather was NOT making her happy." He paused, carefully choosing his next words, not wanting to offend Sierra. "And if you LIKE Heather, like 'like' her, then I guess I want you to be happy, too."

Sierra's grin returned. "Really? OMG, Cody, ILY!" She completely tackled Cody in a hug, even wrapping her legs around him. Cody tried to hold her, but his lack of muscles caused the two of them to fall back onto the camera in the confessional, crushing the tape which had recorded their exchange and leaving Cody with a rather large lump on the back of his head.

Noah's face held a bemused smirk and Cody pouted a little, adjusting the ice pack he was holding to his head. "It's not funny, dude; that really hurt!"

"Do you want my help or not?"

Cody was a little shocked at the sudden offering, but, nonetheless, he grinned and nodded (which only served to cause him pain, as the lump gave him a near-constant headache). "Yeah! Thanks, man!"

Cody made a move to hug Noah, but the IQ held up his hands defensively, disgust obvious in his expression. "Woah there, cowboy. I said I'd help, not that we'd be buddies." Once Cody had moved as far away as the tiny confessional would allow, Noah clicked off the camera and proceeded to tell Cody his plan.

"I KNEW Alejandro was up to no good, but I just wasn't sure what he was doing. Now, if he's picking off the girls, that means he's also throwing all the guys-and Sierra-off their game. All Al's doing is trying to distract everyone from the game so he can win. If he's taking such a blatant interest in Heather, that means he must like her, and I'm guessing that it's driving him crazy. The guy's obviously a control freak; you can see it in the way he orders all of us in his team around during challenges. If he's not in control, he gets mad. If Al is having trouble controlling his feelings for Heather, then we can use Heather to throw him off HIS game!"

"How?"

"How?" Noah slapped a hand to his face, sighing and muttering. "Oy! I don't know why I even PRETEND to think you guys have half a brain." Noah looked straight at Cody and continued explaining. "You told me that Sierra told you Heather kissed her. Twice. Sierra isn't the type to lie, so that means some small part of Heather must have a thing for Sierra. Some small part of Heather also has a thing for Alejandro, which ole Al is using to his advantage. Al expects Heather to fall completely head-over-heels for him, but he isn't expecting Sierra to clear out Heather's head and win his girl. If Sierra DOES 'win the girl', that will throw Al completely off, and we'll be able to get rid of him before he can screw Heather up and turn her back into Old Heather. What Heather needs is to be surrounded by people who can convince her she has options other than Alejandro and being evil. Since only you and Sierra are the only ones warped enough to want to spend time with her, you guys are gonna have to work. NOW do you get it?"

Cody grinned. "Yeah! I get it! That's AWESOME, man. Thanks." Cody, ignoring Noah's defensive motions, finally hugged the cynic before leaving. Noah smirked, fixed the camera, and followed Cody out the door.

Sierra and Heather were sitting next to each other in Winner Class seats, their hands just lightly brushing up against each other with every breath they took. Luckily, Courtney and Gwen were too busy arguing over where they thought Chris was sending them to notice. Courtney and Gwen had taken to guessing the show's next destination, and placing bets on it. Not only did this give them both a chance at short-lived victory over the other, but it gave them both an excuse to argue. Cody was gone, off to converse with Noah. Heather was thinking about Alejandro, and lusting for the chance to see him again. Sierra, convinced that Cody would help her, was gleefully watching the scenery from her window seat and waiting for Cody to brief her on their plan to take down Alejandro.

When Cody DID finally arrive, Alejandro was not far behind. As soon as Sierra rose from her seat to go discuss the plan with Cody, Alejandro took her seat and grasped Heather's hand. Sierra glared at him, and led Cody toward the confessional. Once shutting the door, and after being reminded by Cody to shut off the camera, she begged to know what Noah had planned. Cody sat and repeated everything Noah had told him. Sierra rebounded by asking: "So WHAT I am supposed to do? It's not like I can just tell Heather to stay away from Alejandro; I already tried that and it didn't work AT ALL!"

"Hm..." Cody put a hand to his chin, as if he were stroking a nonexistent beard, and thought aloud. "Well, we need to keep Heather away from Alejandro so she doesn't get too into him. She's OBVIOUSLY got a little thing for you, so all YOU'VE gotta do is keep Heather away from Al by making her like you instead. Between the two of us, Heather won't have any time alone, and Al won't be able to mess up her head."

Sierra bit her lip, avoiding Cody's eyes, and said, almost in a whisper. "I don't know how to do that, Cody."

"Do what?"

"I dunno how to make Heather like me."

Cody blinked twice, then chuckled proudly. "Well, lucky for you, the Codemeister know QUITE a lot about romancing the ladies." He smiled a geeky smile and puffed out his chest, obviously very pleased that the hours of reading girl magazines in attempts to learn how the female mind works had finally paid off. Sierra, let out a loud 'squee', then listened in open-mouthed awe as Cody spewed out every scrap of girl knowlage known to Geek.