"Hey Codester! I see you're back, but you don't seem to be packing… anything really." Of course Chris was waiting at the plane. "I'd suggest going back out, you know. I might be more inclined to keep you around should voting not go your-"
Cody quickly brushed past Chris- was he wearing a bald cap?
He paused mid shove, and stared at this man. What was he, thirty? Forty? In Africa with a bunch of teens dressed up in a costume and making them play games for him. Cody involuntarily shuddered at the thought.
"Man, hope I don't turn out like you." He sighed before continuing into the plane, leaving a somewhat confused, somewhat infuriated Chris behind. It came out all on its own, but it was part of a singular realization Cody had, one he had not too long ago. Well, relatively speaking.
That time loop made him pretty sick of reality shows. Back when he was sixteen, he'd made an embarrassing video about how cool it'd be to go on a reality show, meet girls, win some money, then spend the next few years partying…
"I've had enough of that for a lifetime." Cody made his way to first class, crashing in one of the seats, before brushing a thumb against his lips. "Ehhh… maybe a year actually. A lifetime seems way too long." He thought about it further, sinking deeper into the plush seat. "Or a month. I guess a week off would be nice…"
It was ironic to think that after being mentally out of it for a few weeks, he'd felt pretty tired. He was definitely gonna get some therapy after this, but he might also have to schedule in some doctors. Preferably hot ones, not the seventy-something family doctor he currently had. Maybe one with some nice long blonde hair, or… do they hire goth doctors?
"Do goths become doctors, or do goths just stay as goths…" Cody hummed aloud, leaning even further back in the seat. "Well, not like it matters. Better question, what the heck do I do now?"
"Wouldn't say that's good, but it probably is better." Cody tilted his head at the familiar voice, and saw the goth he had been fantasizing about. "Can't believe I kissed you." Gwen looked pretty beat up, probably spent way too much time wrestling about with whatever they were told to catch out there. Surely it couldn't be Ezekiel again, right? If it is, then fate must have a real hard on for him.
"I can't believe it either. Most of the time I had to trick you into doing-" Cody cut himself off as he realized he was about to say something so absurdly insane that he'd probably never be allowed within a hundred feet of Gwen should he finish the statement. Turns out, his statement wouldn't have been the craziest thing to be said here.
"Don't worry Cody. I know." Cody had to admit that stumbling out of his chair, somehow flailing his body over the armrest, and crashing on the floor of the plane probably wasn't the best reaction to have, but could you blame him?
Cody groaned from his spot on the floor, staring up at Gwen, and considered her words. Rolling them around in his head for a bit and considered them, before choosing the best response he could think of.
"Only the good parts, right?" He hoped his smirk came off at suave, and her small smile was encouraging. He had to admit, even after so long… even after having them right on his own lips, those dark black lips of Gwen's were a sight to behold.
"One hundred and seven tries to get me, huh? You must be dumber than I thought."
The one saving grace in the endless loop situation is that Cody could do pretty much anything and nobody would be able to call him on it. Well, Dawn could, but… she didn't seem like the kind of person who'd do that to him. Now though, Cody kind of just wanted to curl up into a ball and wait for the end to take him, right after he got his body back no less!
"I'm sorry?" Cody breathed out a huff of air. Come on, he was sorry about the whole thing, but he didn't expect to be called on it! He was thinking more about how the heck did she know!
"Don't bother- different me, doesn't matter, I heard you learned your lesson." She mimicked a hand puppet, dismissing every trauma and horrifying moment he'd created just like that. Cody wasn't sure if he could call this down to Earth behaviour, or Izzy type behaviour. "What matters is who you are now, so, why don't you stand up and talk to me."
Cody had to admit, his position on the floor wasn't the most comfortable. Picking himself up, he faced Gwen and had one other thing to lament. Why the heck did he have to be so short? It doesn't help that mentally, he feels like he's gone half a decade without growing an inch at all, give it enough time and his brain will forget to tell his body to grow any more.
"You've gotten taller." Gwen contradicted his thoughts, almost as if she could read them. "Or maybe you're standing up taller. Either way, you look better than usual."
"Hey Gwen… two questions! A big one, and a little one." Cody interrupted her words, because honestly, he needed to know. "How do you know? "
"I've known the whole time Cody. Well, at least since this season." She leaned against a chair, still looking at him like he wasn't the worst person in the world. "Dawn filled in the details, but I'd known about you, what you went through, and what happened to you the past couple weeks."
"Really?" Cody paused, and he swore he could feel a heat in his cheeks. God, this was embarrassing, but not nearly as much as what would come next. "So, uh, what happened to me those past few weeks?" He tried his best to smile, but knew it came off as forced.
"Honestly, I didn't expect you to start going around calling yourself the antagonist or getting moody all the time-" Gwen began but Cody quickly squealed and started shushing her.
"No! Nonononono! Don't go on, I get it!" Cody could definitely feel a strong heat in his cheeks at the idea, and he could figure out the rest. Heck, he swore he could hear the bastard in question laughing in his head, one last little jab of revenge- you now have to live with the knowledge that you acted like a drama queen on international TV. Cody groaned in frustration and sank next to Gwen, who simply patted his head.
"So, what's the plan now. I take it you probably wanna go home?"
"Yeah, you hit the nail right on the head. I don't really care about this whole thing any more. It's been like four years since I started Clannad and I still haven't seen the ending- oh, and Code Geass got a new season! Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out this year! So much to do! "
"Yeah, it sounds like you're ready to go home. You got my vote at least." Gwen laughed, patting Cody's head a few more times.
"That's a bit harsh, right? Voting me out just because I like a couple anime."
"I'm voting you out because you don't belong here anymore." Cody looked up at the girl in surprise. "You belong in the real world."
Cody looked at her, and then turned away, looking towards the room where someone would inevitably face elimination.
"The real world huh."
"So, you're finally back."
"Yeah. I'm back."
Cody sheepishly scratched the back of his head as Dawn stared at him. At first, he thought she'd do her typical blank stare before chiding him, He thought that, until he saw Dawn's eyes, her cute blue eyes, with her cute eyebags… well, he thought they were cute. But, he saw the redness around those eyes, and soon tears fell from them.
"Cody… you're back." The two looked at each other, a wordless narrative constructing between them. How Cody had changed, how he'd repressed himself, how he'd resented himself, and how he'd… taken it all back. How he had changed and…
"I'm back!" Cody smiled, tears of his own falling, before wrapping his arms around Dawn, smiles adorning their faces. "I'm back, but… I guess I'm gonna have to leave huh?"
"It'd be pretty sad if you had to leave on your own again." A knowing smile was shared between the two. A wordless exchange occurred, and the pair were left breathless.
Cody had one more person to talk to. One last thing to atone for.
"You wanna be able to have kids, or were you hoping for a vasectomy at 17?" Not the best way to enter a civil discussion, Cody had to admit.
"Sierra." He didn't know how to continue. Here was Sierra- angry, angry at him, angry at him for reasons he completely got. He was a pathetic, worthless, no good human being, someone who disappointed and brought down not just people he knew, not just himself , but people who saw him, people who were inspired by him. It was silly to think someone would be inspired by him, but he and Sierra… he could see it in her eyes. They shared more than both of them had realized the first time.
Sierra wasn't happy. Cody just had gone and made her realize that.
"I'm sorry." Cody collapsed onto his hands and knees in front of the taller girl, who remained impassive. "What I did on the island was awful. The way I acted, I did it purely because I was a selfish, weak person. I'm sorry for not being able to help you."
By not even trying to be his best self, he'd let more than just Dawn down, more than just Gwen down, more than Owen, Noah, Beth, and all the others. He'd affected people he'd never considered, people not even in his periphery, all because he was selfish and couldn't see straight.
Cody didn't bother waiting for Sierra's response, instead picking himself up and strutting back to the elimination room. Someone would be going home soon.
"Alright." Chris' glare at Cody was the one thing everyone noticed immediately, though nobody actually cared. Alejandro was gleeful at it, Sierra seemed to be preoccupied with her own thoughts, and Gwen, Dawn, and Cody… they knew how this would go down.
"There's five of you left here today. Four lucky campers, and one very, very unlucky one. Alejandro, Gwen, Dawn, you're all safe." Three bags of peanuts were thrown their way, and Cody quirked an eyebrow. Maybe he was doing it to be dramatic, but Sierra…
He looked at the girl, who quickly looked away from him. Did she..?
"With one vote for Sierra, that leaves four votes for a certain unlucky bad boy." Chris snorted, throwing the last bag Sierra's way, who didn't bother catching it. "Cody, looks like your big comeback tour ends here. Any last words before the drop of shame?" Honestly, the guy seemed way too excited about dropping kids out of a plane.
Cody stood, and brushed his pants off. Looking at Sierra one last time, he said the only thing he could.
"Win this. Not for us, or anyone else, but for you." That sounded cool, right? Sierra at least looked at him in surprise instead of several other far more negative emotions, which was a step up.
Grabbing the parachute, Cody made one last look towards Dawn.
"Hey Dawn, you free this weekend?" Cody put on his best 'seductive' smile, causing Gwen to laugh from behind Dawn. The nature girl smiled, and before Chris could do anything, she leaped at Cody and two fell from the plane in each other's arms.
No more challenges. No more drama. No more Chris breathing down their necks.
But… no more fame. No more really really seductive money, even for a trustfund kid like Cody. No more explosive romance, no more meeting new people…
Who knows where everyone would end up after this was over. He never got to see it that first time, being dead and all, but Alejandro only had Heather. Looking down at Dawn in his arms, Cody wondered what'd happen to him, who he'd be able to lean on after this.
Staring up at the sky, he saw a familiar object, and knew without a doubt.
No matter what happens, the moon will always be there.