Owen stood behind Leshawna nervously, unsure about the girl's… assertive plan of action.

"That's it!" She yelled, "You both have thirty seconds before I go in there and make you come out myself!"

Both cabin doors remained shut.

Owen had tried to get Cody out of bed for a good hour or so before breakfast began, knowing how sad the guy was over Trent's unfortunate exit.

He was sad about it too! Trent was an awesome dude, and he really made Owen feel at home here. But moping around and staying sad never worked out, so Owen had tried to dedicate these two days between challenges to cheering Cody up as much as possible.

Key word being 'tried'. Dude was inconsolable.

When Owen had walked into the main lodge, hungry and defeated, he had noticed that Gwen wasn't there either - and according to Leshawna, it was for the same reasons as Cody.

Leshawna had heard him out, and decided that the best way to tackle the issue was the same way Owen had thought - directly and compassionately.

Owen was pretty sure that he and Leshawna had very different opinions on what 'compassion' meant.

"I mean it!" Leshawna called out, "I'm coming in there in five… four… three…"

"Wait!" One of them shouted from inside the cabin, "I'm not decent!"

"Well you shoulda thought of that before you decided to mope around in bed all day!" She shot back, "Owen, go grab Cody. I'll get Gwen."

Owen nodded, unsure. He didn't really want to do this to Cody, what with him being his friend and also being the only other remaining guy on the team, but Leshawna was scary.

Actually, most of the girls here were pretty scary!

"Sorry, buddy," Owen said apologetically, "But I'm coming in!"

Thankfully, Cody was in fact fully clothed (albeit in his pajamas) as Owen pulled him out of the cabin, putting up no resistance as he did so. He was limp in Owen's grasp, and Owen was pretty worried that he'd just fall to the ground once he put Cody down, as if he were a puppet with his strings cut.

Cody and Owen just stared at each other awkwardly as they heard a lot of noise emanating from the girl's side. Leshawna certainly wasn't pulling any punches trying to get Gwen out of bed.

Eventually, after a lot of shouting (and what sounded like hitting), Leshawna was able to wrestle a half dressed Gwen out of the cabin, wearing a baggy t-shirt that went down to her knees. It was certainly not the most flattering thing Cody had ever seen her in (the old him would have found her hot in anything), but it made do.

Leshawna stood in front of the cabin door, arms crossed as Gwen tried to claw her way back inside to no avail.

It took a few moments for Gwen to give up, but she eventually calmed down, allowing Leshawna to dust herself off with a huff.

"Alright, you two better listen up, cuz I am not going through this again!" Leshawna was like a drill sergeant, pointing accusatory fingers at Cody and Gwen who flinched away, "Look. Losing Trent sucks. What happened to him really sucks - boy didn't deserve that, not one bit. But how is that either of your faults? How are you gonna let yourselves get so messed up over something that didn't even happen to you?"

Cody didn't really think he could justify himself to Leshawna without sounding like a psycho - 'I'm a time traveler and originally I was the one who got mauled' likely wouldn't work out for several reasons - but she wasn't wrong.

Cody was having a hard time differentiating the old timeline from this new one. His memories were muddled at times, especially regarding events regarding himself, and his emotions even moreso. He knew that this time around, he had nothing to do with Trent's injury. He knew that there was nothing he could be blamed for, and nothing that he could have done to prevent Trent from getting hurt. Hell, he still didn't even know the full story of how Trent had gotten hurt!

He stared at the ground, sighing, knowing Leshawna was right. He nodded at her in understanding, but Cody still felt upset over what had happened, despite not being able to do anything about it.

Not being able to do anything about it. That really was a summary of his second chance here, huh?

Cody could have laughed. Or cried. His emotions were all over the place right now.

Gwen, for her part, looked significantly less understanding than Cody. She stared silently at the ground, almost as if she were asking it to swallow her up and get her out of this horrible place.

"Leshawna, can we not do this?" She whispered desperately, "I just can't right now."

Leshawna's eyes softened a tad.

"Owen, can you take Cody and get him dressed, maybe go get lunch while you're at it?" She asked (ordered), "Me and white girl here have some things to talk about."

Owen nodded frantically, dragging Cody back into the cabin to dress him without hesitation.

Cody was starting to think Leshawna genuinely scared Owen. Now he just needed the big guy to not try and clothe Cody himself.

"Wow, Cody, those sandwiches look great!"

Cody nodded absentmindedly at Owen's comments, but he wasn't really that hungry. Lunch today was mini-sandwiches, courtesy Chef as per usual, and Cody's food was a notably higher quality than the rest of the cast, as per usual. Cody barely touched it.

"Um, so Cody," Owen began hesitantly, "If you're not going to finish those, could I maybe have them?"

Cody raised an eyebrow at him, causing Owen to put his hands up and backtrack. "I mean, only if you don't want it! It's cool if you're still hungry!"

Cody's confusion wasn't really with Owen wanting his food - he understood that. But Owen had already eaten three plates of mini-sandwiches, did he really want to eat more?

Well, he was the same guy who ate an entire feast of styrofoam food…

Cody shrugged, sliding his plate over to the right. "Knock yourself out."

Owen looked like a kid on Christmas as he happily devoured the meal in the span of a second.

Heather, Lindsay, and Beth all recoiled in disgust as crumbs flew, but Cody was too close to do anything about it. He just sighed and began wiping his face off with his napkin, resigned to his fate.

Owen burped loudly. "That really hit the spot," he groaned, "Thanks, Cody!"

"Don't worry about it."

Owen suddenly recognized the stares he was getting from the girls at the table, and began to fidget uncomfortably.

"Uh, sorry about that, guys!" He said, rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed, "The food here is just so good, you know?"

When the stares continued (and Heather's intensified), Owen broke under the pressure.

"I'm, uh, I…" He stammered out, causing Cody to glance at him in concern, "I-I'm going to go water my fish! I'll see you guys later!"

He rushed out of the lodge, leaving a confused Cody, Heather, Lindsay, and Beth to watch as he ran away awkwardly.

"Anyone know what that was about?" Lindsay asked curiously, oblivious to all the tension floating around between the three other teens at the table, "Omar looked really nervous for some reason. His fish must be really thirsty!"

Heather facepalmed.

"I think I'm gonna go check on him," Cody said, eager for a chance to get away from the awkward tension that was forming at the table, "He seems a bit hung up on something."

Lindsay waved him away with a smile. "Good luck Colton! I hope it goes well, Oscar is such a nice guy, it sucks to see him sad!"

Heather looked like she wanted to scream.

Cody just smiled.

Cody found his large friend, as he expected, in the Gopher's cabin. He was pacing back and forth nervously, each step causing the cabin to shake a little.

"Uh, Owen?" He called out, to no avail, "Owen?"

Again, Owen didn't respond, too busy with his nervous sweats and Earth-shaking steps to notice Cody.

He sighed. "Chef made pizza!"

That certainly got Owen's attention.

"Pizza?!" Owen's head shot up like a rocket. "I'm coming, Chef!"

He nearly bowled Cody over with his mad dash to the door, the gap-toothed geek having to throw himself against the wall to dodge Owen's charge.

"Wait!" Cody shouted, "I lied! Chef didn't make pizza!"

Owen stopped running just as fast as he started, turning on a time towards Cody with a fire in his eyes, before closing them and taking a deep breath, sniffing the air.

"Hmm… doughy, yet meaty…" Owen began airily, causing Cody to stare at him in concern, "A hint of butter - no, lard! And a rich, creamy dairy option…"

Owen sagged. "Dang it, Chef is making sloppy joes again! Why'd you lie?"

"Sorry, dude," Cody apologized, "But you were really out of it there, is something wrong?"

All of a sudden, Owen's nervousness returned in full. "I, uh, I don't know what you're talking about?" At Cody's deadpan stare, he broke. "I'm just worried about being voted out next when we lose, ya know?"

Cody blinked. To be honest, he wasn't too worried about it himself, what with Heather being there to shield pretty much any heat he got from the rest of his team, but Owen was saying it as if he was guaranteed to be the next boot.

"What makes you so sure you'd be going next?" He asked, genuinely confused, "There's plenty of people on the team who have it out for someone else right now, I think you're pretty safe."

Owen groaned. "Yeah, but the only people to get voted off so far have been guys! First it was Noah, then Justin… Trent… It'll be me next! I'm sure of it!"

Cody raised an eyebrow. "You do remember Izzy getting the boot two challenges ago, right?"

"Yeah, but she didn't get voted out!" Owen reminded him, "The RCMP got her, she wasn't going to get voted out!"

The only people in that bottom three that night were Izzy, Lindsay, and himself. Did that mean…?

"Owen," Cody asked quietly, "Did you think I was gonna be voted out instead of Izzy?"

Owen froze like a deer in headlights. "I… uh…"

Realization hit Cody faster than a freight train. "You voted for me, didn't you?"

"I-I didn't mean it!" Owen cried, "Izzy just said that we had to because otherwise she'd go home and I couldn't bear to see her go and -"

Cody put up a hand to stop him.

This was… something, for sure.

"Owen," he breathed out, "It's fine. God knows I've done dumb things for girls before."

A collage of all the times he was around Gwen previously flew through his mind.

"No hard feelings. But I'm pretty sure Izzy was going to be voted off anyway, so -"

Owen cut him off by wrapping him up in a massive bear hug, squeezing the life out of Cody.

"Oh, buddy, thank you!" Owen cheered, "Thank you!"

After a few more moments where Owen continued to shed tears (and crush Cody's spine), he finally released the smaller boy, allowing him to finally take in a few desperately needed gulps of air.

"But, um, Cody," Owen began again after a few sniffles, tapping his fingers together nervously, "I still think I'm probably going to get voted out no matter what next challenge! These chicks are ruthless!"

Based on Cody's memory (which was pretty good due to all the reruns he's watched and the homework he's done on the show), he was rather confident in saying that Owen could literally do anything this challenge and he wouldn't be in the bottom two.

But still…

"Look, Owen," he said confidently, an idea forming in his mind, "I don't think you're in any risk of going home next challenge. But if you're that worried about it, I think I can make sure you're safe."

A beat.

"You just need to vote with me."

Owen nodded rapidly in agreement, sagging in relief before wrapping Cody up in another bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, thank you!" He praised, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're an angel, Cody!"

Cody would've responded, but he was too busy being crushed in a hug strong enough that it was rivaling Sierra's.

And wasn't that a scary thought?

Owen had seemingly latched onto Cody, for the lack of a better term, for the better part of the next two days. Even now, as Chris explained the challenge, the big guy stood a tad too close to Cody for comfort.

He wondered if anyone else noticed it yet. Heather might have, Bridgette probably did too - whenever she tried to talk to him yesterday, Owen had been shadowing him.

"Today's challenge will test your minds," Chris began with his usual cheery smile, "Your teamwork, and your skills in the kitchen! You will be serving a three course meal and serving it to me for tasting! Same deal as every other challenge - the winners will receive a reward, and the losers will send somebody home! Each team will appoint a head chef to create the theme of the meal and to oversee the cooking."

Chris gestured to the truck on his side, the tacky fruit logo faded and peeling.

"Every morning a truck brings us food!" He lied (Cody knew they stocked up for weeks at a time), "Today's task starts there!"

Most of the Gophers (and all of the Bass, for that matter) were in awe at the sheer amount of fresh, normal food that had all of their stomachs rumbling.

Of course, Cody had been an exception to that rule, but all that fresh fruit and prime cut meat was still rather appealing.

"Head chef! Called it!"

Cody rolled his eyes at Heather's proclamation, but didn't say anything. It would just be a waste of time anyways.

Confessional: Heather

"I had to take the leadership role," Heather explained calmly, "I mean, hello, we're on a losing streak! And half the team isn't even trying to win challenges anymore."

"Leshawna, mangoes! Beth, pineapples! Lindsay, macadamias! Cody, molasses! Gwen, tomatoes!" Heather barked out to her team.

No one said anything, but Cody could feel the glares being directed at Heather from half the team. Owen and Cody were more or less indifferent to the situation, and Lindsay seemed alright with it, but Beth, Leshawna, and Gwen were all united in disdain of the queen bee.

You know… with Owen's vote, maybe he could…

Cody shook his head. Now wasn't the time for that.

You know… maybe they could actually win this challenge this time around?

"Cody! Get back to work!"

Heather's bossy tone snapped him back to reality, and Cody sighed.

Maybe it was a mistake to let her be head chef.

"Gwen, Lindsay, you're on the citrus macadamia upside down cake flambé." Heather instructed, writing down notes on a clipboard she acquired from who knows where.

Lindsay just blinked, confused, before turning to Gwen with a desperate look that caused the goth girl to roll her eyes.

"Cody, Owe- hrk!"

Heather grunted in surprise as Owen bumped into her from behind, before stumbling and dropping the bag of oranges he held. Somehow he managed to slip on the oranges he had dropped, crushing them once he finally toppled over. Heather could only watch in mild disdain as Owen continued to make a fool of himself.

"Go back to the truck," she hissed, "And get more oranges!"

She put a hand to her head, rubbing her temple in frustration.

"Cody, you and Owen are on ribs. Leshawna and Beth! You're on pineapple skewers and mango dip."

"Girl, let me handle the appetizers!" Leshawna gave Heather a wild smirk, but it wasn't malicious - rather, it portrayed the confidence she held in that moment. "I know how to make a pineapple chutney that would melt the socks off the devil!"

"Oh really?" Heather asked, "That's so great! But since I'm head chef, we're going to stick to my plan. And my plan is pineapples with sticks through them. Got it?"

Confessional: Beth

"I don't know how people let themselves get bossed around by Heather anymore!" Beth shouted, no longer letting her fear of Heather hold her back, "Heck, Leshawna and Gwen probably hate her more than I do, and they still take orders from her!"

Beth pouted, kicking the side of the confessional in frustration, before a realization hit her.

"Wait a minute," she began, a smile slowly forming on her face, "No one likes her on the team anymore! If we lose today, she's so going home!"

She giggled to herself.

"So… what is a flambé, exactly?"

Gwen groaned for what must have been the hundredth time. "We make the cake, and then we light it on fire."

Lindsay gasped. "But won't that ruin it?"

"It's only burnt in moderation," Gwen responded through gritted teeth, "We aren't completely torching it."

Lindsay looked like she was about to ask another question, and Gwen resigned herself to her fate -

"Hey Lindsay! Can I borrow Gwen for a sec? I need some help with the ribs while Owen's grabbing more oranges."

Gwen turned to her savior, pleasantly surprised to see Cody behind her.

"Sure!" Lindsay nodded happily.

Cody smiled, before quickly grabbing Gwen's arm and ushering her over to his rib station.

"Thanks for that." Gwen smiled at him. "I owe you one."

Cody waved her off. "Don't mention it!"

They stood in silence for a while, Gwen using the brief respite to the best of her ability while Cody worked on the ribs. It was nice, at least until Cody started talking again.

"Gwen," he started, voice low, "What happened last challenge withTrent?"

She froze.

Gwen opened her mouth, but not a sound came out. Anything she tried to say got stuck in her throat, and she could feel the wetness building up in her eyes.

"Gwen?" Cody asked softly, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. How could she be okay after what had happened?

After what had happened to Trent?

"I…" She tried, "T-trent and I w-were together. I-in the woods, and…"

Gwen trailed off, unable to continue as her emotions got the better of her. Cody put a hand on her shoulder, but she simply shrugged it off.

"It's alright," Cody said gently, "You don't have to talk about it."

Gwen tried to respond, but again, she couldn't make a sound.

Cody was trying to help her, he really was, but he was honestly struggling at the moment. Between trying to figure out what happened to Trent, working on the ribs, maintaining the peace between Heather and the rest of the team, and comforting Owen, his brain was working overtime. Hell, he hadn't even made it this far last time. He was treading new ground for himself.

He pushed the thoughts of why he was here instead of Trent out of his mind to the best of his ability.

In fact, he was so preoccupied with all these things, that Cody forgot a key part of this challenge.

"It's okay everyone!" Owen announced, covered in bee stings, "I'm back! Cody, heads up!"

Cody didn't have time to move out of the way of the flying crate of oranges that Owen had launched at his head, but he did have enough cognizance to at least push Gwen out of the way.

The last thought Cody allowed himself to have was a moment of self-beration for allowing himself to forget that Owen single-handedly took himself, Trent, and the ribs the Gophers made out of commission for the challenge, costing the team far more than Beth or Heather ever did.

Cody was out before he hit the ground.

Confessional: Heather

"Things are going perfectly!" Heather said, a smile on her face, "Except for Owen's hornet stings and Cody's concussion which means he's out of today's challenge, but still! This challenge is totally ours!"

She facepalmed, allowing a small amount of worry to slip into her features.

The Killer Bass (Duncan, DJ, and Geoff) applauded Harold as he walked back into the kitchen, forced to wear his pajamas for the duration of the challenge.

"Nice jammies!" Duncan called mockingly.

Harold sighed. "This is all I've got left. So if you sickos want to see me butt naked, hit me with your best shot."

"Well stop leaving your butt bags all over the cabin and we'll back off!" Duncan responded.

"I told you it wasn't me!"

Duncan shrugged. "Well, I tried!"

Tyler watched as Harold proceeded to take a bite of a sandwich Geoff had made out of his own underwear with no small amount of discomfort. Sure, it was pretty gross of Harold to leave all his dirty drawers around the cabin - and he certainly deserved to be taught a lesson after denying it so much - but this was getting sad.

"Harold, please," Tyler said, speaking up for the first time, "This is just disgusting. Are you seriously willing to take more and more abuse just to try and prove a point we all know is untrue? This all stops when you just man up and take responsibility. None of us are gonna knock you for it, we want it to end just as bad."

Harold and the guys looked at him in shock - apparently nobody on the team took him for a big speaker. To be fair, he really wasn't, but he felt a special level of pity for Harold at that moment.

There was an awkward silence that followed, but it was clear that between the pranks, Tyler's speech, and the fact that he was being stared down by four dudes who could all easily twist him into a pretzel if they wanted, something finally broke Harold.

"Okay," Harold sighed, "I'll stop. It's my underwear. I won't leave it out anymore. I'm sorry."

Geoff gave him a pat on the back. "Now was that so hard, dude?"

Harold didn't respond.

"You'll find all your shorts and underwear back in the cabin," Geoff continued, unperturbed, "Now go and change. But please wash those things dude, stuff's nasty."

Harold could only nod in shame as he walked back out of the kitchen, head down, eyes locked onto his feet.

Tyler felt a hand on his shoulder, turning around to see DJ giving him a bright smile.

"Dude, that was great!" He complimented, "I can't believe you actually got him to admit it!"

Tyler just shrugged. "I just didn't wanna make the guy have to go through what the next step would have been."

DJ shuddered at the thought. "Me and you both, man. Duncan's pranks are killer."

A moment passed.

"It would have been pretty funny, though."

"Oh, absolutely."

Cody squinted as the harsh sunlight assaulted his eyes, putting a hand up to block the worst of the pain as he adjusted from the darkness of the medical tent to the brightness of the outside world. Even nearing dusk, the light was far too bright for Cody to handle.

Yep, he had a concussion alright. Not even the ice pack on his head could dull the throb of his migraine.

The dizziness that accompanied his every step slowly faded away as he made his way back to the cabin, only to be replaced with a different form of mental anguish.

Heather stood in front of him, arms crossed as she blocked his way.

Cody held back a groan. Did he seriously have to deal with this now, right in the middle of a concussion?

"Uh, can I help you?" He tried.

"Beth brought back a cursed totem from Boney Island," Heather said simply, "She cursed us. She's gotta go tonight."

Cody wasn't impressed. Chef had given him the gist of what had happened while caring for Cody's injury, with Owen being taken out by bees and eating the ribs, and the girls locking Heather in the freezer.

And with Heather trying to talk to him, that meant only one thing.

The Gophers had lost.

Again.

"I think your skin is still a bit blue from your time in the freezer," Cody pointed out, "You might want to go deal with that first."

Heather scowled, but held her tongue.

It seemed she knew Cody was her only hope to survive the vote.

"Beth has been a drag on our team since day one," Heather said matter-of-factly, "What has she done since she got here? She wouldn't have even done the cliff dive on the first day if it weren't for you sweet-talking her."

"You wouldn't have jumped either if Leshawna didn't throw you," Cody reminded, "Don't act like you're such an asset to the team. Most of them hate you."

Heather scoffed, but Cody could tell her facade was starting to crack. "Whatever. At least I try to win challenges! All Beth has done is screw up, lay low, fail, and sabotage us!"

"Sabotage?"

"Um, hello?" Heather rolled her eyes. "She and Leshawna locked me in the freezer! She shot me in the paintball challenge! She literally cursed us!"

"Assuming the curse thing is even true," Cody interjected, unamused, "It's not like she did it on purpose. Besides, Beth is my friend. Can I say the same about you?"

Heather looked like she had swallowed a lemon.

"I… ugh…" It was like every word genuinely caused her pain. "I… have more respect for you than the rest of the losers in this game."

She looked at him expectantly, but Cody just scoffed. It was almost like she was trying to sound as bitchy as possible.

"Yeah. Nice try."

Heather threw her arms into the air in frustration. "Is this a joke to you?" She asked sarcastically, "What's it gonna take for you to vote with me? If you're going to vote me off, stop acting like I have a chance to convince you."

Cody didn't respond at first, mulling over the implications of what Heather said. He could get her eliminated now, couldn't he? He had Owen's vote - that plus Beth and probably Gwen and Leshawna's certainly would have meant curtains for Heather.

But…

If Heather got the ax now, so much would change immediately. So much knowledge of the future would immediately be lost, along with any chance of Heather having her future comeuppance and redemption arc during World Tour.

After all, there was a good person deep inside of her, right?

Plus, this did offer Cody an… interesting opportunity…

"I'll vote with you," Cody offered, putting a hand up before Heather could say anything, "On one condition."

Heather looked unbelievably suspicious of Cody in that moment - it almost reminded him of the looks she used to give Alejandro.

That comparison nearly made him nauseous.

She almost looked like she was going to tell Cody to stuff it and get lost, but thought better of it at the last moment and sighed.

"Fine, Cody," Heather said quietly, "What's your price?"

Cody smiled before whispering low, quiet enough that he was sure not even the viewing audience at home could have heard it.

Heather certainly did.

She recoiled, looking at Cody as though he had grown a second head.

"Are you serious!?" She hissed in disgust, "There is no way you just said that to me! No chance!"

Cody shrugged. "Then I'll see you at the campfire ceremony."

He turned and started to walk away, but before he could get far, he felt Heather's hand on his shoulder. She spun him around to face her, and she looked… queasy.

"I do this," she said slowly, "And you vote with me? We're even?"

Cody nodded. "Even-Steven."

Heather glanced away for a moment, unable to meet his eyes, before she finally came to her decision.

"Fine!" She spat, "Just make sure Owen votes with us!"

Cody whistled innocently. "That's on you, I don't have any sway over him."

Heather burned a hole into his forehead with the glare she gave him. "Don't even try that," she warned, "He's been following you around like a lost puppy for the last three days. I don't want to know what you did to him or what dirt you have on him, but don't act like he isn't going to vote for exactly who you tell him to."

Cody offered Heather a sheepish smile.

"Touché. Now can you please let me go?"

Heather finally let go of his shoulder, causing Cody to stumble and fall to the ground, quickly turning on a dime and stomping away to (presumably) go and bother Lindsay.

Cody dusted himself off, frowning slightly as he pulled himself up.

They'd have to work on that.

"I've got seven Gophers sitting in front of me tonight, but only six fluffy bits of sweet safety in my hands, so good luck!" Chris sat the plate of marshmallows down on the stump in front of him, placing his arms behind his back nonchalantly. "When I call your name, come up and get your marshmallow."

Cody could see a lot from his spot in the back of the team at the moment. He could see Beth's nervous glancing across the team, no doubt unsure about her chances of surviving elimination tonight. He could see the death glare Leshawna and Gwen were giving Heather and Owen, even if Leshawna's was marred with some disparaging looks over to Beth.

He could even see the poker face Heather was holding, as though she had zero concerns over how tonight's vote would go. Cody knew better though - he could see the fear on her face. Whether it be fear from being locked in the freezer earlier, fear of Cody going back on his word, or something else, it didn't matter.

Her facade was cracked.

"Leshawna."

"Owen."

"Gwen."

"Cody."

"Lindsay."

With every name that was called, Heather's mask slipped more and more. It was subtle, enough so that Cody doubted that anyone else had even noticed, but judging by the sleazy grin Chris bore he had likely seen it as well.

"Heather, Beth, it's down to you," Chris said simply, "Whoever doesn't get this last marshmallow must immediately walk the Dock of Shame and leave on the Boat of Losers. Forever!"

Beth crossed her fingers, shaking.

Heather glared.

"The final marshmallow goes to…"

"..."

"..."

"Heather."

"What?!" Beth looked shocked, glancing around the remaining campers in distress.

Everyone looked surprised at the result. Even Heather. She quickly smirked to cover it up, and offered Beth an insincere wave.

"You heard him!" Heather taunted, jerking her thumb in the direction of the Dock of Shame, "Boat of Losers, that a-way! That really was stupid of you to take that doll from the island!"

Cody shook his head.

Leshawna and Gwen both looked shocked, glancing at the other teens in confusion.

Lindsay seemed sort of sad, watching as Beth got up and started walking, resigned to the outcome.

Owen just looked relieved.

"See ya girl!" Leshawna called, her and Gwen offering the farm girl a wave as she took her exit.

Once Beth was gone, Chris shrugged. "That's it for tonight!" He narrated, "And you might want to burn some sage to get rid of any lingering curse vibes."

"Cool, will Chef give us some sage?" Leshawna asked, eager to put the whole curse debacle behind them.

"Nope! So… good luck with that!" Chris laughed, before giving Cody a sideways glance, "You know, maybe if Cody was the one who asked he would, Chef seems to like talking about a certain scrawny-boy who 'actually knows the meaning of respect'."

Chris finally walked away, leaving the remaining six Gophers alone as they took in the results of Beth's elimination.

Cody sighed as Leshawna and Gwen glared at him.

It seemed like he had some explaining to do.

Cody gulped. He hoped he at least made the right decision.

A haunting voice in the back of his mind made him question that.

A/N: Damn, been a week already? Time flies.

What did Cody request of Heather to make them even in his eyes? Why did we see the Bass for that brief moment? Will we see more of them? What happened to get Trent mauled? Will Cody become incapacitated two challenges in a row? Am I forgetting to put anything in the Author's Note this time around?

Some of these questions will be answered next time (and more! And less!)!

A big shift is coming up… what will it mean?

Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!