"Ah yes, I understand your issue." Dawn nodded in understanding as the incredibly tall girl walked off. "You were- oh, you don't want me to say?" Cody was always like this in some of their more long winded discussions. His aura would shut her down just when she got to the heart of someone's aura. Dawn blew an exasperated breath from between her lips and wheeled him forward, Chris giving Dawn what could be described as a 'weird look'. "You're no fun."

Most of the cast chose to keep their distance from Cody, and you know, fair's fair. Cody was a bit rude the past hundred loops, and while they didn't know about most of those, they were all aware of the most recent one- he was particularly rude there. But, he'd changed! They'd just have to see how nice he is when he's able to, you know, talk.

The introductions and tour of the ship went on as usual- she'd caught most of this season before it got canceled in her timeline, so nothing too new. Learning that there was an actual washroom was nice though, it'd be awkward getting Cody into a confessional one.

Eventually, the pair eventually finally got to sit down, and Dawn could give Cody his lunch. The boy was well on his way to developing cavities, so she decided to pack him a nice carrot soup for the road, and sure, he hated carrots, but his teeth were bad enough already.

"You should really get braces. That tooth gap isn't going to impress any girls, and your aura still reeks of that. " Dawn said as she slipped a spoon into Cody's mouth, the boy's aura turning a pink. Dawn giggled at that.

"So, what's going on with the twerp." Heather sat down in front of the pair, her recently regrown hair catching Dawn's attention. She didn't keep up with Action, but she thought it was funny that Heather was still fated to lose her hair in that timeline.

"Cody is just resting. He can't wait to rejoin all of his friends." Dawn smiled, sharing Cody's genuine thoughts with the queen bee. Heather only rolled her eyes, clearly a little bit freaked out.

"Well, I was hoping that you two wouldn't mind if I made an alliance with you. With our three votes combined, we could crush this game." Heather said, desperation clear in her voice. No Cody meant Action had been her time to shine as a villain, and it had left her with basically no friends. "Oh, and if Cody wakes up, he'll need all the help he can get, otherwise he'll be out the door instantly." She quickly added.

Dawn looked over to Cody, some of the soup dripping down his chin. "How does that sound Cody?"

A yellow aura. An odd look from Heather. Dawn wiped Cody's chin.

"He said maybe!" Dawn chirped at the girl, who looked at the pair like they were insane.

"Sounds… great!" Heather quickly shuffled off after some parting words of 'Just listen to me!' and 'Don't listen to pasty!'

The next special guest was a new contestant, Alejandro. His time on the first season was only known to those who watched it, and even then they never showed his face (thanks to the fencing mask), so the odds of people connecting the dots that Alejandro had time traveled to sword fight Cody were pretty low.

"Ah, it's so unfortunate to see such a feisty competitor reduced to this! I extend my deepest condolences!" Faux impassioned sympathy was a good strategy for a comatose boy and his caretaker, Dawn supposed. "Is there any way I could relieve the stress he surely causes you?"

"Oh, there's no stress."

"Ah yes, I can- come again?"

"Cody's really sweet to me!" Dawn cheered, wrapping an arm around the unresponsive boy's neck. Red aura. "Right now he's saying he just wants to eat his soup."

"Ah, but surely I can help with that! I used to assist my grandparents with their meals when they entered hospice, I understand how this goes." Alejandro returned to a suave smile, reaching to grab the bowl and spoon. Dawn pulled them away.

"I'm sure you have plenty experience, your brother must've forced quite a bit onto you." Dawn nodded confidently, reading through Alejandro's aura like an open book.

"Come again?" His voice came dry, disbelieving.

"Growing up in the shadow of an older brother must be exhausting, always having to one up him, but also always having to listen to him. I can only imagine how much you want to use this show as a way to finally break out from that overpowering shadow!" Dawn raised a fist in the air, acting out a dramatic part that would surely drive the boy away.

"How did- you- ah, I need to go assist Bridgette! Sorry I couldn't be more help, amigo! " He ran off before the facade could crumble completely.

The relief from his leaving was shortlived, as a long line of people had come to interrogate the pair.

"Cody doesn't hate me right?" Owen asked, a bit awkward given their last conversation.

Green aura.

"He doesn't hate any of you." Dawn replied.

"So, what's his deal?" Lindsey asked obliviously.

"He's just resting." Dawn smiled.

"Is Cody's body just an empty shell, with his eternal spirit seeking revenge on all of us for allowing this to happen?" Harold's question was a bit more odd than expected.

Dawn looked to Cody. "Are you?" A very flustered red aura that flicked to pink occasionally. "No, he's all there."

This continued until eventually, most contestants had come by to ask Cody and Dawn a question or two. The final one to stop by was Gwen, who caused Cody's aura to shrink back, a tinge of pink to it.

She looked at the boy, sadness dancing in her eyes. "So, he's been like this since he got airlifted off the island?"

"Yes, but he's been getting better." Dawn tried to cool off Gwen's encroaching aura, but that did little to help.

"Augh! It's my fault!" She shouted, clenching her head in her hands. "I was the one who left him out by the pool, heck, I'm the reason he got mauled in the first place!" She looked up, anguish crossing her features. "There has to be something I can do to help him, even if he was a jerk."

Dawn's face softened, and she looked at Cody. Purple.

"He says to not worry, and that it wasn't your fault. Though I suppose it would be better to hear that directly from him, right?"

Her assumption was correct as Gwen briefly flitted around, opening and closing her mouth, before deciding to cut the conversation short. Dawn looked to Cody as she left, the boy stewing in his purple aura.

"You've really gotten over her, huh?"

Pink.

"A race challenge huh. Which way do you think we should go, Cody? Over or under?" Dawn's question was answered with an option she hadn't posited, but it was best to let Cody do what he felt was best. "An odd choice, but an interesting one at least. Your aura firmly believes it to be the right one as well."

With that, the pair rushed at a delinquent boy, deep in a one sided conversation with a certain CIT. Her screams as Cody once again came rushing in to ruin her first challenge were something else.

"H-hey!" Duncan shouted, his body splayed across the front of Cody's wheelchair. "What the heck do you think you guys are doing!"

"Cody wanted to save you from an uncomfortable situation. I didn't question it." Dawn said as she finally came to a stop inside the pyramid, throwing Duncan off the wheelchair. Duncan's aura had taken an odd shade, a dark green to signify thankfulness, though it was mixed with a deep red of annoyance.

"Well, the twerp should know better than that. So, he can talk now?" Duncan looked over to the pair, as if expecting Cody to speak up.

"No, I just read his aura, and his aura told me to rescue you."

Duncan stared at Dawn, disbelieving, before sighing in an exaggerated motion. "You know what, fine. Won't even question it. Courtney has been getting on my nerves again lately, so thank you. Just give me a bit of warning next time."

Dawn smiled. "No problem!"

"And you three get to join out team three!" Chris shouted as the pair turned trio exited the pyramid. It had been a mostly silent affair, given that one of them couldn't even speak, but it was far better compared to the alternative. Speaking of…

"Ugh! If Duncan was here, he'd agree with me!" Courtney's loud voice could be heard all the way from the top of the pyramid.

"No! He! Wouldn't!" Gwen shouted back. "We need to untie, otherwise we're going to plant face first like Tyler!"

"How long have those two been arguing?" Duncan asked Heather, who stood next to Sierra- seems the exit order changed a tiny bit.

"Longer than the challenge has actually been going on for." Heather sighed, shaking her head. "And it looks like both of those nutjobs will be joining their team."

Duncan gave a wolfish grin. "A team of babes, and the only other guy isn't around in the head? Nice."

"Drop dead." Heather spat.

Sierra just fumed silently, her deep red aura extending to Cody's circle of pink. Dawn had to wonder what caused such a drastic change in the fangirl, but her thoughts were shortlived.

"Hey girls! I think it's time for a musical reprieve! " Chris shouted through a megaphone at the two girls stuck at the top of the pyramid. The slight arguing still occurred, but it seemed both preferred a million dollars to a small amount of embarrassment.

Come fly with us!

Come fly with us!

The pair continued the first song as they finally settled on jumping down the pyramid in perfect sync.

It's a horror, an annoyance, and a bust!

Come fly with us!

Come fly with us!

The lyrics weren't that inspired, but Dawn appreciated the addition of a new line. Eventually, the two made it to the finish line, and were welcomed onto team three.

"Hey!" Alejandro shouted from team two. "How come they get an extra member!" It was true. Teams 1 and 3 both had six members (Ezekiel having arrived earlier than anticipated), so the split up was odd.

"One of their players is currently wheelchair bound, so the extra player is to balance out the handicap." Chris smiled. "If it means anything, at least you got Izzy!" Alejandro's desperate attempts to ignore Izzy's out of place snickering were quite the sight.

The challenge continued to progress as expected- this was a show after all. Dawn was able to encourage the camel to walk, and thankfully Duncan volunteered to hold onto Cody while they rode the camel while the wheelchair was tied to the camel's body, dragging behind the group.

Sierra made them a boat, and Amazon still came in first place, with only one major change, and how could Dawn deny Cody this one?

When the crocodiles attacked, Dawn tried to send a small message to them, to avoid biting any sticks… maybe a certain homeschool wouldn't go too crazy this time, huh?

"I could get used to this!" Heather sighed as she reclined in her first class seat, the other girls all mentally agreeing with her. Duncan was sitting by the big meeting table installed in the section of the plane, clearly preferring to stick close to Dawn and Cody right now, who were currently sharing a meal.

"So, you've been taking care of him for what, a year?" Duncan asked, hand propping up his chin. "Don't you ever feel tired? Exhausted?"

"No, it's quite nice taking care of Cody." Dawn said, sticking a drinking straw in his mouth so he could have some of the chocolate milk offered in first class. "I can read his aura all the time, so I never have to worry if I'm doing something wrong."

"So what, he tells you when he needs to go or whatever?"

"Of course."

"...You help him do that?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Duncan had his mouth open, his eyes half closed in his preferred way of showing shock. "You know what, I won't question it."

Cody's aura had been pink for a while at that point, but he didn't seem to mind the comments.

"So Cody," Dawn asked, looking at the boy intently, "Did you enjoy the challenge?"

A resounding green aura told her all she needed to know. They made it through Egypt and kept everyone on good terms, and while they still had a lot ahead of them, Cody was satisfied by what he was able to do here. Even in such a limited state, he could help two people he considered… sort of friends. Acquaintances? They at least weren't people he hated.

Wasn't that nice?