For what would be presumably one of their final nights in the camp, Chris had forced Trent and Cody to room together. A rusty padlock now kept the girls' side of the cabin shut tight, and Gwen certainly wasn't allowed to have a sleepover with one of the remaining boys over in the Gopher's former cabin (then again, nobody asked Chris if that was allowed). That's how Cody found himself sitting on a bunk across from a glaring Trent.

The two had been silent since the arrangement was made. There wasn't much in the way of conversation outside the cabin, since Gwen had been shut up in her's for the past couple hours. The mood around the campground was quite somber in all honesty, like everyone knew the game would be concluding soon.

The sole person not feeling the weight of that eventual closure in such a way was Cody. In fact, he was quite giddy, and it annoyed Trent to no end. Small smiles would reach his lips, he'd clench and unclench the edge of his bunk, occasionally his feet would kick out… It was like watching a kid excited to go to an arcade or a movie. A mood unbefitting the 'antagonist' of this game.

"How can you act like that?" Trent asked, more annoyed than curious. Seeing Cody so happy, hell, seeing him at all usually put Trent in a bad mood. Cody glanced at Trent, a curious look in his eyes. "You're just so… happy. What do you think is going to happen once this is over? Even if you get the money, everyone has seen you for what you really are, or were you just always like this?"

A glimmer of despair crossed Cody's eyes, but he brightened again- though the feeling was hollow. His grin as he began to speak was more of a front than anything genuine.

"I already told you." Cody leaned forward, his eyes digging deep into Trent's own despite the distance between them. "I want to escape. Escape and change."

"You still haven't explained what any of that means!" Trent was frustrated. If Cody just wanted money, that would at least be easy to comprehend, but what the heck did escape even mean? "If you wanted to escape, you could've gotten yourself kicked out on the first day, or just never shown up at all! We'd be better off for it too!"

Cody frowned briefly, but brightened again. "Maybe Gwen was right about his head being messed up."

"You don't get it, Trent." Cody threw himself back, slouching against the wall of the cabin with his arms behind his head. It was this type of cocky pose Trent really couldn't stand, but he had better things to do than fight a guy who probably weighed one hundred pounds less than him. "I don't want to leave. I want to escape. "

"Those mean the same thing." Trent deadpanned, staring at the boy in disbelief. "Maybe he is mental."

Cody just clicked his tongue and pushed himself off of the bunk. Trent didn't even spare him a glance as Cody left the cabin and wandered into the main grounds.

"Hey Chef!" Cody cheered as he pressed himself against the serving counter, looking into the kitchen. Chef was just mopping the floors, which is what he usually did whenever he didn't want to entertain Chris. "How's it going?"

"Now aren't you in a good mood, shorty." Chef chuckled, streaking some dirty water down the floor. He was certainly more interested in having a distraction rather than actually doing his supposed job. "Sorry, kitchen is closed for the night. If you want something, youse gotta make it yourself- fridge is off limits though."

"Nah." Cody waved Chef off, placing a fist under his cheek. "I just came by for some conversation. You and Chris got any plans cooked up for tomorrow's challenge?"

"'Course we do, not that I will be telling you any of them." Chef mopped away the dirty water to reveal the floor was actually pretty clean. One had to wonder how he did it. "It's sure to be a surprise, but you haven't really been surprised by any of our challenges."

Cody blew some hair out of his face. "Trust me, there are far more surprising things around here than disgusting food and stunt racing. Not that I don't appreciate the effort you and the crew put into everything, I appreciate it."

"I'm sure you do, kid. Makes all those rotten plans of yours far easier to carry out." Chef hummed as he continued his mopping, not turning to face Cody. "What do you plan to do once this is all over? You do realize this show is insanely popular, right? Otherwise Chris and I wouldn't be on it."

Cody let out a hollow laugh at the question. "What do you mean? Once this is over, I'll do whatever I want! I'll be free to do anything!" Cody wasn't talking about the money, but Chef didn't need to know that.

"That's not all there is to life, kid." Chef turned to give Cody a soft look, which was a bit alien on the typically mean looking man. "Even Chris and I have things we value more than some paycheck. We got people who care about us, just like we care about them… Well, I think Chris cares about someone. Some cousin down in Newfoundland."

Cody shook his head, dismissive of Chef's concerns. "I have people who care about me too. They're all waiting for me to finish this… and once it's over, I can go see them again."

"Kid, I gotta question the kind of company you keep that'd welcome you back. No offense, but all the other campers hate you for a reason." Chef turned away from Cody once again, resuming his mopping with a soft splash of water.

Cody wanted to respond, but bit back what he was going to say. He truly only had Dawn, but once he was free from the island he could reconcile all of these lost relationships, right? Everyone had somewhat forgiven Heather down the road, so why should he be any different?

Cody just bit down on the inside of his cheek, and pushed away from the counter, vacating the dining hall.

"Well well, if it isn't mister popular!" Chris cheered as Cody made his way to the craft services tent. "Normally I'd tell you to leave, but I'm in a pretty good mood today!"

"What do you mean popular?" Cody asked, hand on his hip. "If you hadn't noticed, I'd say I'm the least liked person here. I'd go so far as to say everyone hates me at this point."

"Well yeah, sure, you're really hated here, but you haven't seen the online circles!" Chris laughed, which caused Cody to notice some papers in Chris' hands. Chris handed them over to Cody, the offer clear, and Cody swiped them from his hand.

Total Drama Community Poll

1st: Cody (45.8%)

Comments:

"He's so fun to watch! It's like he's a living drama machine!"

"I hope he doesn't win… but he is a riot!"

"I hope he loses for what he did to Noah!"

It seemed like the comments were a mix of reactions, but number one on the polls? Cody was used to scoring high, but doing this well, with nearly 50% of the poll being for him.

"No, that's not for you. That's for Cody, the 'antagonist'."

He gulped shakily at the thought. His Codemeister persona had scored him consistent Top Five placements, and this new one had shot him right to the top. He'd never tried to just be… well, Cody. He wondered how long he'd stay in the limelight if he went to being boring Cody, the kid who needed to be dragged to the finale, the kid who died when everyone was rooting for him.

"Dude, you okay?" Chris' voice dragged Cody back to reality, and made him remember the facts of the situation. This was necessary, and it wouldn't matter so long as he escaped. Let the vultures of the internet have this Cody, and once he was out of here he would change. He'd finally be himself.

He honestly wished he could believe that.

"What do you want?" Gwen seemed nonplussed at the appearance of the boy who had targeted her from day one. Cody for his part looked relatively sheepish, though that was more to cover his own confusion over why he was even here .

"Could we talk? Just casually, nobody else here is that good for conversation." Cody hastily said, still unsure of his own intentions. Typically he'd prefer to avoid Gwen, but he needed someone here, and he didn't know why.

Gwen sighed. "Fine. I wasn't getting much inspiration here anyways." She opened the door wider for Cody. "Enjoy your first and only time in a girls' bedroom."

Cody ignored the snipe and walked in, sitting on one of the bunks that looked unoccupied. Gwen sat on her own, which was opposite to Cody.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Cody chuckled a bit. "I, uh… don't know."

Gwen just sighed. "Well, I do actually have a question for you. Back when we all became castaways for a bit, you got injured. You said a lot in your sleep, but the first thing you said was that you were sorry. To me. "

Cody shivered at that. Noah's intrusions were on a whole other level, but he still hated people knowing this much about him, even if it was some delirious sleep mumblings.

"It was nothing. Just some bad dream."

Gwen didn't look very impressed. "And what was that dream about? Hopefully not something depraved , though I wouldn't put that past a freak like you."

"It was…" Cody didn't know what to say. What could he say, really? His dreams had just been his own memories for so long, that he had forgotten just what a dream should be! "I had stolen your bra, and was apologizing for it… yeah."

"Yeah?" Gwen mocked. "I guess you'd be the type of guy to fantasize about apologizing for a stolen bra." Her eyes softened slightly. "But, that wasn't the truth, was it?"

"Can we talk about something else?"

"Whenever you have something to ask Cody." Gwen blew off his attempt to shift the subject. "What were you sorry for? Or how about this, who is Dawn?"

Gwen's shocked face was enough to tell Cody that he may have overreacted. He felt his face scrunch up, his chest tighten, and his body rocket back against the cabin wall. "How do you know Dawn!?"

"I, uh, don't." Gwen said lamely, slowly cooling off from Cody's reaction. "She was one of the names you mumbled while you were asleep. I figured she was a sister or your girlfriend, but based on that reaction, I think you may have a less than favourable relationship."

"No, no, she's a great…" "Friend?" "Friend! Far better than I deserve at least." Cody couldn't help but make the self-deprecating comment. "She's the reason I made it this far in the first place."

"You dont think she'd be disappointed by how you've been acting?" Gwen asked, looking at Cody expectantly. "I can't imagine anyone wanting you to do what you've done."

"She…" Cody trailed off. The worst part was that Dawn was always disappointed by what he did, but she always came back to help him. Whenever he fell apart, she'd be there to put him back together, to help him carry his burden… She was so much better than he ever deserved. "She would be. She is."

"Then don't pin this on her." Gwen said softly. Cody hadn't noticed her move, but now Gwen was next to him, gripping his shoulder. "All the bad things you've done in this game aren't on her or anyone else. They're on you. I don't know why you've done all this, but I can't imagine it was just for the money and fame, but even then, you have to consider whether this is all worth it."

"It is." Cody responded instantly, shoving himself away from Gwen. "If I can win… it will all be worth it."

He left the cabin before he could be questioned any further.

"Campers! Welcome to the semi-finals!" It was odd that Chris was recycling a dare challenge idea, but at least this one was dares from former players. As he ran down the rules, Cody mentally grinned. If it was a battle of wills, he could be here all day- you have your body irreparably damaged several times over and consume the worst food you've ever had for over a year, you eventually get used to pain and suffering.

It was all just a question of how long Gwen and Trent could hold.

"Okay, who's ready to humiliate themselves first?"

Cody instantly stood up. "Let's get this over with." He walked over, past the surprised Gwen and Trent, and gripped the oversized soda bottle. He had no idea what the dares could be, so he just spun randomly and let luck decide his fate. As it landed on Heather, it turned out that it hadn't even mattered.

"Alright!" Chris said excitedly as he pulled out a flashcard with the dare written on it. "Now, I told the guys over at the Playa that they should make general dares, but a few insisted one special dares should Cody receive them. So, from Heather, she requests that Cody take a nice shower using the communal washroom's toilet water." Chris chuckled haughtily. "A real tough one to start. Now Cody, will you take the dare or-"

"Do it Chris, I'm ready." Cody resigned himself to suffering, and the wide eyes of Gwen and Trent only spurred him to go all the way. "They're just gonna pin their dares on me anyways. I'll take it all."

"Wow. You've got some kiwis dude." Chris hollered behind him. "Alright Chef, bring it over!"

A few moments later, a drenched and absolutely putrid to smell Cody made his way to the stands. Next up was Trent, who put his dare of 'Chew Harold's used wad of gum' on Cody. It was going to be a long day.

"You know, I certainly wasn't expecting this." Chris said, a bit green in the face. "I figured Cody would be targeted but… dude, you know you can hit them with a dare, right?"

The game had been going for well over three hours now and Cody certainly could've looked better. His taste buds were fried, he smelled like Chef's dirty laundry, the worst of Owen's farts, and the confessional all at the same time, and he was beginning to suspect he'd contracted some debilitating disease in the process of rubbing Ezekiel's special 'Anti Acne Remedy' on his body.

Despite all of the dares being on Cody though, Trent and Gwen seemed to be the most worn out. Watching Cody, they saw not the begrudging steps of someone hateful of their current social standing, but the confident steps of someone who knew they couldn't lose. It was as if Cody was saying he could not just do this all day, but every day until the finale. It was this that led Trent to his decision.

"Chris… I'm out. Cody and Gwen are in the final two."

There was a mix of shouts from Gwen and Chris, Gwen desperately telling him to reconsider, while Chris was doing his standard surprised act.

"What are you doing Trent!? We just have to keep piling on dares, he'll break eventually!" Gwen pleaded, looking over to her last ally in the game. Trent just shook his head.

"He's determined. If it's a battle of wills, he'll probably never lose, even if it means nobody wins." Trent huffed, crossing his arms and looking at Cody, who just smirked slightly at the backhanded praise. "The next challenge will be one on one, and I've already lost to Cody. He manipulated me and trapped me, but I know one thing that can stop him."

Trent pointed a finger to the goth girl, Cody's eyes briefly widening at his words. "He's scared of you Gwen. That's why he got you eliminated first, he's terrified of you, and I don't know why. But, it'll let you stop him from winning."

As Trent took his leave, he said one last thing to Cody.

"You know, just being determined isn't enough. Gwen has something you lack, Cody."

"What's that?" Cody asked from beneath all the filth covering him, glaring over at Trent.

"Friends. People to rely on. A real human heart with love inside it. You'll lose." Trent walked off, not bothering to listen to any planned retort from Cody.

"Well, that was certainly anticlimactic…" Chris said dumbly, looking at the final two he'd been given. "I'm sure the audiences will love it! Gwen vs Cody, a battle from the start of the show finally reaching its conclusion! Man, our numbers are going to be through the roof for the finale, I can see it now!"

As Chris raved, Gwen could only smile bitterly at Trent's words, while Cody just stared at the place where Trent had stood, his anger dissipating into a somber gaze.

Loop 0083

"What are you scared of Cody?" Gwen asked, sitting alone with the boy by the fire pit. They'd just voted off Noah since the guy had been absolutely drenched in paint. "You said it wasn't just bears or stalkers, so… what?"

"I'm afraid of everything I guess." Cody laughed at the self-depricating joke, but Gwen knew it was just a hollow lie. "I'm scared of what people would think of me, you know? If they knew what I was really like."

"So, are you saying this isn't you?" Gwen asked nonchalantly, throwing a couple twigs into the still burning fire. "If it isn't, then who are you?"

"That's a good question." Cody smiled at the fire. "I honestly don't know."

It was a complete non-answer, but Gwen let Cody have it. She knew it was better to prod at these things, and if one day, Cody felt like telling her, he would. She couldn't help but feel bad for the quiet boy though, and how skittish he was. As if terrified of his own shadow.

Gently rubbing his back, she pushed away from him, leaving Cody to stew in his own melancholy.