After showering at the waterfall, I returned to camp just in time to see Geoff come out of the Arts and Crafts with his infamous moneybox. I approached since DJ was no longer around to instil advice on him. "Morning, Geoff,"

"Oh, morning, Cody, big bro. What's up?"

"I was wondering what you had in your hand," Geoff smiled and showed it to me. "It's for Bridgette," like before, it was a heart with macaroni glued to the side, with a picture of Geoff and DJ with another photo of Bridgette torn and tapped on top, making it look like a picture of Geoff and Bridgette standing next to each other, with DJ still visible on Geoff's side of the photo especially the Jamaican's hand draped over Geoff's shoulder.

I cringed at the shoddy cheapness of the thing.

The Surfer Bro turned it around. "And check out the message,"

I read out the crudely etched words under my breath. "I hope you think of me every time you drop loose change into this," even though I knew it was coming, I still naturally baulked. "Pooh, Cor!" I uttered. "I've never dated a girl, and yet I know that's terrible,"

Geoff blinked. "What'd you mean? It's not good?"

"Geoff," I said sternly. "That is so desperate and embarrassing there's no way to properly describe it,"

This made Geoff slump. I put a hand on his shoulder. "Geoff, you can't force love," I shuddered. "That's what Sierra tried the other day. It has to happen organically. I bet you've noticed on my team that Gwen, Trent, Dave, and Ella are developing feelings for each other in their respective pairs. Not that I disapprove of polygamous relationships."

"Yeah," Geoff nodded. "You and Dawn too,"

I blushed. "Perhaps, I'm not sure myself; like I said, I haven't dated a girl." I cleared my throat. "My mom advised me on the subject once girls started noticing me during my growth spurt, and she's a certified psychologist. Love can be so subtle you don't notice. Just be casual with Bridgette; get to know her. A girl wants someone who understands, respects and cares for her feelings. Big, dumb, and desperate romantic gestures like that are pretty much the opposite,"

"Really?"

I nodded. "Mom told me girls are always insecure and nervous, even if they don't show it. And they worry about finding the right guy. A girl needs to feel like she has a choice. If a girl feels like she is being pressured, she'll run."

"So, what?" Geoff asked. I imagined the wheels slowly turning as he tried to get exactly what I said. "I should, like, just try and take things slow with Bridgette before I try anything big to show I like her?"

"That's how it works," I replied.

"So, in other words," Geoff pointed to the money box. "This would have totally backfired?"

I crossed my arms. "Given how Bridgette's picture has been torn, it would have exploded. I'd ditch it if I were you,"

Geoff sighed. "Oh man, and I ruined two awesome photos to make this too," and he tossed it into a trashcan by the side of the main lodge. When it landed inside the receptacle on the first go, the Surfer Dude cheered. "Score!" he held his hand up high, and I met his high five.

During breakfast, I noticed Anne Maria no longer wore her fake tan, nor did she slap on as much makeup. Lindsay managed to do what Dawn's analysis during the Awake-A-Thon failed to, as she spent the last couple of days trying to fully convince the Jerseyite to ditch her past vanity project. Though Anne Maria still insisted on endlessly spraying her hair.

After breakfast, we were ordered by Chris to assemble just before the steps to the beach. I ensured we were all present to prevent a repeat of the tiki statue. Chris introduced the challenge, and like before, Geoff needed to be told what portage meant and to be fair, in the old timeline, I hadn't heard that word either.

I raised a hand when Chris explained the rescue fire and the race home.

"Yes, Cody?" Chris asked, unhappy. "What else do you want to interfere in?"

"I just want to ask what the point of the signal fire is? Does the team you pick get a head start back here?" the host shrugged. "Sure, might as well make it more interesting. Now move campers! Move!"

Just before we dropped onto the beach, Chris warned us about getting cursed forever.

The cursed forever thing must have been a lie. Beth took the idol, stood up to Heather and won the million in Total Drama Action. Blowing it and getting arrested in Paris might seem part of the curse. Yet, nothing catastrophic happened to the Wannabe other than not qualifying for the World Tour and fading into obscurity after the brief cameo at the start of the Revenge season. That wasn't a curse, just the whims of Chris McLean, which are diabolical but not the same as ever-present misfortune.

I'm not saying Boney Island was not supernatural; I am convinced it was because how else could such illogical creatures as woolly beavers and Stymphalian Canadian geese exist? I'm sure whatever black magic hung out on that rock corrupted regular beavers and Canadian geese into the monstered that terrorised us and chowed down on those poor workmen later.

The breakdown of people to canoes went differently from before. Ella took Dave's hands. "I'll be your partner, my prince," before Dave could reply, she dragged him to the first canoe.

Heather watched and growled. "It's like she's completely forgotten about our alliance," Lindsay waved to Tyler behind her. The clumsy Jock waved back as he and Harold clambered into a boat, and Tyler fell in the stern end head first. The Queen Bee noticed the exchange and slapped Lindsay's hand away. "What do I keep saying about you and him?"

"No franchising with the enemy?"

"The word is fraternising," Heather replied, shoving an oar into Bombshell's belly. "You row upfront; that way, I can keep an eye on you,"

"Aw," Lindsay groaned. "But I wanted to work on my tan,"

"Rule number twenty-six," Heather announced. "No tanning when there's a challenge," Lindsay sighed.

Gwen and Trent coupled together. Which left me, Dawn, and Leshawna. "I'd better sit in the middle," I said while loosening the clips on the oversized life jacket provided; pretty sure it was the one Owen wore the first time, so it would fit on my chest. "Otherwise, I might tip the front or back under the water,"

Leshawna frowned. "Well, be my eyes on which way I should paddle. Cause I ain't going to see beyond your back," she gave a flirty grin. "Not a bad view, though,"

I smirked while rolling my eyes. Unlike my struggle to pull the boat into the water like last time, I dug my hands into the sand on either side of the canoe and dragged us into the water.

Without the blunder of the coinbox, Geoff and Bridgette paired up. Leaving Courtney and Duncan sharing with Anne Maria. I couldn't decide which of the three would have it the worst.

Soon we were all lined up, waiting for the start signal. Chris stood on the beach and aimed a gun into the air. "On your marks," Chris counted down as he put his thumb on the trigger. "Get set,"

The gun fired.

"Paddle!" I quickly started paddling the canoe in the direction Chris instructed and began outpacing the others, so I slowed down. Just then, a cawing shriek sounded. Dawn flinched, jumped to her feet and leapt onto my shoulder. Having experienced two girls climbing on me, I could easily say Dawn's touch was far more pleasant; my skin tingled wherever her hands went.

The moonchild's gasp pulled me out of my gooiness, followed closely by Ella's cry, "Mr Burgundy!"

Leshawna glanced back. "What's upset Aurora White?"

"Chris shot down a hawk with his starter pistol," Dawn explained.

I turned my hand back and shouted to Chris, "You could've used a blank, McLean!"

The paddling to Boney Island took about an hour and twenty minutes. During this, I first explained to Leshawna what Sierra subjected me to.

"Man!" the sassy sister replied. "I knew that girl was messed up, but ignoring you like that, then trying to pull a shotgun wedding on ya?" she shook her head. "I got no words,"

'And that's not even the worst,' I thought. I deemed the Chinese love tea the worst since it poisoned me, and the intent was basically to brainwash me into loving Sierra.

After that debacle, I cut loose and began making humour anecdotes. The one I made just before we entered the mists made Dawn giggle profusely. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Hey, you're the one laughing at it," I replied with a grin. "Didn't take you for an easy laugher."

"Oh, shush you," Dawn lightly poked me with her oar, making us laugh together.

But as soon as the mist passed her face, Dawn's breath hitched, and her eyes widened.

Leshawna spoke, "Who turned on the smoke machine?"

"That island is completely covered in darkness," Dawn squeaked grimly as she pointed forward. Once more, I gazed upon Boney Island, which remained the horror location. The giant skull rock formation glared down at us as we reached the beach. I couldn't sense things as Dawn could; however, I could safely say something never felt right about this island, and Dawn's words confirmed it.

"Not an ideal vacation spot," I said, partly to lighten the mood and persuade Chris against trying to develop it. Not that I thought it would work; if McLean ignored warnings by Health Canada, he would disregard my comments.

Ella stepped out of her canoe first with a worried expression. "That terrifying skull. I fear this place is haunting and foreboding,"

Heather pushed her boat onto the sand. "This is no time to start making your Snow White impression, Ella,"

"Yeah," Gwen said as she and Trent lifted their canoe over their heads. " Let's just get this over with," the pair ran into the woods. I grabbed the canoe and held it under one arm, just low enough for Dawn and Leshawna to grab hold like the others. "Wait for us!" I bellowed.

The macabre decor of spiked skulls inside the forest unnerved me as much as before. I counted the number of seconds before the tree would fall, and right on the dot, I heard the creaking. "Stop!" I yelled, and everyone put on the brakes just before the tree collapsed.

Around us, the bushes shook, and I knew what would come.

Dave flinched and indeed took my place this time, and he whispered, "I think I saw something,"

The shaking bushes got more violent. The woolly beavers, giant rodents the size of bears with tusks, appeared.

"Monster beavers!" Dave yelled.

A helicopter noise came from above, followed by Chris's voice on a megaphone. "I forgot to mention the woolly beavers too. A remnant of the Pleistocene Era, the woolly beaver is a day-active rodent indigenous to Boney Island. Oh yeah, and they're meat eaters!" the host quickly flew his aircraft away.

Several Gophers, namely Dave, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Leshawna, and Trent, started making scared sounds. I noticed Dawn and Ella didn't seem scared; indeed, Dawn pouted with an angry scowl, thankfully not directed at me.

"Everyone, remain calm and quiet," the moonchild ordered, hushing the others up. "Let me speak to them."

I gulped, as I didn't know if these creatures would respond to her. But didn't say anything to try and stop Dawn. I knew not to doubt her. So instead, I merely said, "Be careful."

Dawn nodded at my words and slowly approached the beavers, who seemed to go on guard as she stepped forward. "Hey, it's okay. We're not here to invade your land, honest,"

Everyone watched in amazement as Dawn's words seemed to calm the woolly beavers down a bit as they all went from looking at Dawn like food to looking at her with a curious look. "We're just trying to reach the southern end of the island. We're deeply sorry for disturbing such beautiful creatures like yourselves."

Everyone smiled and then gasped as the beaver in front of Dawn stood up on its two hind legs and showed off its full height. Everyone, especially me and Ella, feared we'd watch Dawn get eaten alive.

My heart rate beat like a motor. Ella covered her eyes, letting go of the canoe, which toppled down on Dave.

Then the beaver started licking Dawn like a happy dog.

"Uh, I'm not the only one seeing this, right?" Gwen asked in a shocked tone as they watched all the beavers previously keen on eating them crowd around Dawn and act like a bunch of dogs whose owner just returned home.

"That tickles!" Dawn laughed as multiple woolly beavers happily licked Dawn to show their affection. She gave as many beavers as she could head scratches. She cooed, "You're all just a bunch of softies, aren't you?"

Ella smiled and started singing to them. Some woolly beavers moved from Dawn and nuzzled the Fairy Tale Princess.

Eventually, all the woolly beavers stopped crowding around them. They simply sat before them, their large tails pounding on the ground. "Thank you so much for that. It felt really nice," Dawn thanked the prehistoric beavers, making them all make some happy-sounding grunts. "Excuse me, if it's not too much trouble, do you think you can lead us to the beach at the end of the island?"

The woolly beavers all nodded as they gestured their heads for the Gophers to follow them before taking off into the jungle. "All right, everyone, let's go!" Dawn said as she rejoined me in holding their canoe.

"We're seriously going follow a bunch of dino-beavers?" Heather asked in a bit of a fearful tone.

"You got any better ideas?" Leshawna asked as everyone else decided to follow the beavers and not voice any complaints. Heather looked to Lindsay, who simply shrugged, making the Queen Bee sigh before they also decided to follow.

"Have I ever told you how awesome you are, Dawn?" I asked Dawn with an impressed smirk, with Dawn blushing in response. "Because you are a miracle worker."

"Why thank you," Dawn said with a giggle as we continued to follow the prehistoric beavers to their destination. And thanks to the beavers, the journey went far smooth for us than it did the first time. Any other creatures, such as bears, were scared off by the woolly beavers but were soon calmed by Ella's melodic tones. When we reached the fork in the path, the beavers guided us onto the right pathway.

I glanced back and saw Courtney point to the left path, and the Bass went opposite us. They must not have noticed the woolly beaver guiding.

I wondered if they'd stumble into the quicksand trap like Trent and Lindsay did initially. If so, who? And would anyone on our team get that pathetically tiny thorn in their leg like Geoff did? Even if it did happen to someone, I doubted Heather would make a mountain from a molehill about it like DJ and Bridgette did.

Of course, it seemed thinking it caused it to happen. This time to Ella. The Fairy Tale Princess suddenly lost her footing and fell to the ground, unable to keep the canoe aloft by himself; Dave fell over too. She started touching her leg. "My leg's gone to sleep! It won't move!" she winced, tears welling in her eyes. "The pain! Why did this have to befall us, now of all times!"

Everyone but Heather crowded around Ella. The Queen Bee stood by her canoe, unimpressed, with her arms crossed. "Oh, please. Quit whining. We have this challenge to complete,"

Ella again winced. "Please, Heather, I'm not faking. I never pretend,"

Dave and I glanced at the irony of a Disney Princess cosplayer saying she doesn't pretend.

Dawn knelt beside Ella. "Please, stop moving! Let me look at it," she gently took her leg. Ella winced but tried to keep still as Dawn looked over his leg; she started making a few songs to calm herself. The aura reader squinted her eyes as she reached out to Ella's legs and pulled a small splinter out of it.

I and a few like Leshawna, Gwen and Heather deadpanned at Ella until Dawn raised a hand to stop any of us from saying something. The nature lover hummed before pointing at some nearby plants. "There!"

"What?" Heather questioned. "They're just a bunch of plants."

"Specifically, Giant Hogweed," Dawn explained as she threw the splinter away into the Hogweeds. "It's a plant with poison sap, and that thorn in Ella's leg must have been coated in some of its poisonous sap."

Suddenly I felt sorry for mocking Geoff; that was what happened to him.

Ella grimly sighed before looking at Dawn. "How long am I for this world?"

"Oh no, it's not fatal," Dawn reassured her. A few of us, Dave significantly, sighed in relief. "Don't worry; it was just a small thorn that couldn't have contained much sap. Your leg should just be numb for about half an hour. But even after that, you shouldn't strain yourself for the rest of the day. Maybe a little longer just to be safe."

Ella sighed again before shaking her head. "No, please leave without me," she told us. "I'll only slow you down."

Heather nodded to Lindsay; they grabbed their canoe and began walking, only for a growling prehistoric beaver to stop them.

Dave scowled at Heather. "We're not leaving Ella behind! I won't allow it!" she struggled to pick Ella up and carried her bridal style to the woolly beavers. "Any of you mind carrying her?" One of the beavers nodded as it lowered itself, allowing Dave to put Ella on the prehistoric beaver's back.

Ella smiled adoringly at Dave. "Ever the chivalrous gentleman," she commented. David grinned, nodded and returned to his canoe. "Leshawna? Can you help me carry this?" the sassy sister nodded and lifted the front end.

"Forward," Dawn called.

As we continued, we witnessed some raptor geese fly overhead and roost on the ground. Ella frowned. "This land is an unearthly wilderness," she stroked the woolly beaver's back. "I hope you have a safe and fulfilling life, Miss Maple Grinder. For you and your friends," the beaver snorted.

Thankfully we weren't delayed much and arrived before the Killer Bass. Dawn thanked the beavers, and I managed to pat one on the head as my own thanks before the pack retreated back into the undergrowth.

Dave placed Ella in their canoe before joining us in gathering wood for the signal fire. Like before, Chris came flying over in the helicopter.

We made good progress on starting the fire when the Killer Bass finally arrived. Tyler and Anne Maria had sand on them.

Lindsay gasped and asked, "Oh my gosh! Tyler, Marina, what happened to you?"

The Jerseyite smiled and rolled her eyes. "Court Order's wrong turn led to the Jock and me stepping in some quicksand," she pointed to Harold with her nail file. "Stringbean got us out by throwing us a vine to grab hold,"

Harold grinned. "It was an attempt at rope swinging, one of my wicked skills. But I kind of misjudged,"

Duncan chuckled. "Went wiener first into a tree," the punk laughed hard until Courtney jabbed him hard in the ribs. "Harold still managed to save their lives. Now quit laughing, and let's get that fire started."

Like before, thanks to Duncan's lighter, the Bass got ahead.

Looking around the beach, I tried to find the tiki statue before someone else did. I ensured we heard the warning; however, I could not put it past anyone, assuming the talk about curses was just for show and take something off the Boney Island to prove it. Or Lindsay being absentminded.

I heard Dawn gasp and quickly came over as the aura whisperer picked up the statue. She huffed. "So, Chris and Producers think they're being funny,"

"What do you mean?" I asked. Dawn glanced up at me. "This item is of faux Polynesian design, completely inaccurate to the First Nation aesthetics,"

"Okay, I see what you mean," I agreed. The thing looked more Hawaiian than Canadian. "But I'd put it back and leave it,"

Just then, I overheard Courtney complain about the inadequacy of the Bass fire. And Harold, like he did in the old timeline, hastily grabbed the paddles and chucked them into the brazier.

"I have a better idea," the moonchild announced. Dawn walked over to the fire. "I recommend everyone stand back. If what my aura reading and tea leaves have told me, this could be massively powerful,"

I quickly constructed a shield from our canoes and held it up as everyone hid behind it. From my position, I saw Dawn's actions.

Dawn first made a circle in the sand enclosing the fire. She then took from her skirt pockets what looked like a saltshaker, dried sage, and dried dandelion flowers. The aura whisperer threw the dandelion heads into the fire, followed by a large handful of salt. She held out the tiki in her right hand, and with her left, she set the herb alight and wafted the fumes into the statue.

Finally, Dawn threw the statue up high, and it arched before dropping into the fire. The aura whisperer took off sprinting, and to my eyes, she matched my top running speed before she leapt and made a front handspring vault over the canoes to hunker down with us.

The statue fell into the flames, seemingly grasping it in burning talons. Seconds later, the fire exploded with an unholy roar; it reached the levels of Izzy's Firestarter. The smoke was black with added firework-like bursts that flew everywhere. The force pushed me and the canoes back a couple inches.

After opening my eyes, I saw fire as extensive and high as Izzy's, only this one burned blue.

"We have our fire-building winner!" Chris announced from the copter. "Point for the Gophers!"

Heather spoke first, "How did you do that? What was that thing?"

I nodded. "What was all that with the sage and the salt?"

"That object was a fake carved effigy, which was likely a plant by Chris and the Producers to see if we would tempt the curse. However, the real dark magics of Boney Island saw an opportunity in the kitsch curiosity and possessed it. I gave it an exorcism by fire. The haunting energies of Boney Island have now been purged,"

The bushes stirred.

Lindsay hid behind Heather. Dave shielded Ella. Leshawna stepped back. Trent stood in front of Gwen.

A bunch of regular beavers and ordinary Canadian geese were out of the bushes. They crowded around Dawn and, from their behaviour, cheered and applauded her.

Ella gasped happily. "Yay! Those poor creatures are back to normal!" a couple of beavers rushed to the Fairy Tales Princess. She picked a beaver up, "Hello again, Maple Grinder," she nuzzled its cheek. "You're safe from harm now,"

Dave's wide eyes blinked. "So, wait. Those monster beavers and pterosaur geese weren't prehistoric?"

"Obviously not," Harold said. "The closest equivalent to the so-called woolly beavers were the Castoroides that went extinct over ten thousand years ago. While they were roughly the size of those things, they lacked tusks and were still herbivores, feeding on subaquatic plants," he pushed up his glasses. "Also, it's impossible for a species of animal that size to thrive isolated on an island this small,"

Dawn nodded. "The evil spiritual forces on this island corrupted these beavers and geese into monstrous predators. It may also account for why the bears of Lake Wawanakwa are more aggressive. Hopefully, my purification has returned them to their natural habits,"

Courtney scoffed. "That's fascinating and all. However," she slammed Harold back. "That doesn't answer how we get back to camp!"

Heather smirked as she and Lindsay got into their boat. "I guess we'll leave your team to think of something," she waved. "See you at the campfire. Oh, wait, now we won't,"

Heather did have reason to gloat. Without Izzy to blurt out the solution, it would be unlikely the Bass would make it back to Camp Wawanakwa before us. I could see them figuring out the plan, either Geoff and Tyler taking DJ's place as the swimmer or both. But it all depended on when they figured it out.

The paddle back was uneventful; even the mist had vanished.

As I expected, they didn't return until after all of us Gophers were offloaded. So, once again, the Bass sat around the bonfire waiting for marshmallows. At this rate of change, the merge would consist of only Screaming Gophers.

In the late afternoon, I joined Dawn down on the beach. "Can that black magic return to Boney Island? Or something even worse?"

Dawn shrugged. "Something might if there aren't protection wards placed on it. Don't worry though, my tea leaves tell me this won't be the only time we go to Boney Island,"

I frowned my eyebrows. "That second time the guys went there in the old timeline was because Beth failed to return the statue. This time you outright destroyed it,"

"McLean has something lined up for us, I'm sure,"

"So," I asked. "You keep mentioning magic. Is that different from qi?"

"No, qi energy is magic; I merely used that term for the others to understand,"

"How does it work then?"

"Magic is tricky. You could describe it as God's echo when he created the universe. Or big bang run-off energy. So powerful it alters reality to fit its needs, yet subtle enough to not rouse too much suspicion. If it emerged to too many that magic is real, well, some things in the world are best left alone,"

"Wouldn't your actions count as showcasing its real?"

"I've already demonstrated I am different to most,"

"Unique," I corrected, making Dawn blush.

"Yes," she continued. "Most everyone assumes there's something odd about me that allows these powers. And I manage to unnerve them enough that people don't wish to be like me," she sighed. "I don't do it intentionally; I want to be understanding and compassionate."

"I think it's because they don't like what you say or that you know their secrets."

"I only tell them those things to help them improve," Dawn huffed.

I decided to change the subject slightly. "So, just out of curiosity, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

Dawn's eyes widened before she rubbed her arm. "Um, not actually. I don't really have that many friends back home other than animals. As I said, most people think I'm creepy and weird. And every boy who has tried to get my attention has been some kind of jerk. Especially those who thought they could," she pouted. "Amorously remove my weirdness. Thankfully, my aura reading allows me to see their emotions when they approach me,"

"What about physical attraction? There must have been some good-looking guys,"

Dawn shrugged. "I really don't understand people's obsession with appearance," she trailed a finger up my bicep. "I understand the ancient biological reasoning that more strength in a partner means better protection; I feel that as well. However, I look beyond that, but no one I've approached is willing to try,"

I frowned. Sure, Dawn might have a mysterious vibe, but in the end, it made her so charming and cool to be around. That was even back when we initially met at the Playa Des Losers. I placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "Well, it's there lost," I told her with a smile. "You're a fantastic person; I always thought that, both now and back in the old timeline. Anyone who doesn't realize that is an idiot. You're the one person on this island who fully understands me. I can't talk to anyone else about the truth; you accepted it without question, which means so much to me.

Dawn blushed hard and smiled radiantly into my eyes. Her teal eyes twinkled a message to me. You understand me too, and you respect me, thank you.

I merely grinned and hoped I could say something just as heartwarming. This felt better than any sliver of attention I ever got from Gwen. And astronomically preferable to Sierra's harassment. Dawn paid attention to me; she found me interesting beyond my eye-catching eye candy.

Steady and unregistered, we inched closer to each other. We didn't kiss, are foreheads touched as we continued gazing into each other, smiling, and Dawn's fingers threaded into mine.

Somehow, this felt far more romantic than any kiss. No bold action or declaration like bang, but a meaningful whimper.

I had to leave Dawn to watch the elimination from the tree again. It came down to Courtney and Harold. Courtney for picking the wrong direction, which wasted time with both the quicksand and searching for a new direction. I don't know if they would have died since it was set up by Chris, and this was before he went total sadist. Harold sat in the bottom two for burning the oars and thus costing the race back.

Unsurprisingly, Harold was voted out. And this changed how things carried on for the rest of the show. Courtney became embittered because Harold rigged the votes to eliminate her and likely turbocharged her control freak nature. This might mean she and Duncan would not come to blows. Indeed, the juvie punk could loosen her a bit more.

My dad once told me a guy marries a girl in the hopes she never changes, and a woman marries a guy to change him. And they're both wrong.