Cody knew what day it was. How could he not? It was the day he'd been dreaded since the moment he arrived on the island for the second time. A day that would change his life forever. Today was the day he was meant to be mauled by a bear.

Cody couldn't bring himself to get out of bed. His legs tried and failed to swing over the edge of his bed, not moving an inch. The sheet that laid on top of him weighed tons, as if each little fiber was a dumbbell only Eva could carry. There was no point in fighting it. He couldn't even get out of bed.

"Attention campers! Please meet me behind the cabins for your next challenge!" Chris announced, Cody remaining in his bed. His heart began to beat rapidly. He dug his nails into his palm once he let go of the sheet. The whole world seemed like it was coming down on him.

"It'll happen again. You're gonna get mauled, maybe even killed. You can't do this. Not again!" a voice from within him said, taunting him with each word.

Cody's hands began to tremble. He closed his eyes, hoping to escape this feeling. He heard a muffled voice at the door, but couldn't make it out. He didn't care to see who it was. His world was crumbling in front of him.

"Breathe, Cody. Five seconds through your nose, five seconds out of your mouth." Cody could hear the voice more clearly this time but chose to ignore it. He couldn't focus on whatever they were saying, it couldn't be important right now.

"Cody, listen to me. It's going to be alright. Just breathe," the voice persisted. Instead of ignoring it, Cody decided to follow its command. Breathe in… Breathe out… Breathe in… Breathe out… Following along with the voice, Cody continued to meditate, his heart rate slowly falling.

Forcing his eyes open, he saw Ezekiel sitting at the end of his bunk. "E-Ezekiel? T-thank you."

Ezekiel just stared at him. "No problem, eh. I don't know what it's called, but my mom used to do that every once in a while. Dad was too busy with the work, so I learned how to help her."

Tears welled in Cody's eyes, though he fought them down. He reached over and pulled his friend into a tight hug that lasted a full minute. "I don't know what I'd do without you, buddy," he whispered. Ezekiel remained silent, just hugging Cody back.

As the hug came to a close, Ezekiel stood up. "By the way, Chris sent me in here to fetch you for the challenge, eh. He's probably tired of waiting."

Cody nodded, and the two went outside. As they exited, the other campers turned to look at them. Most quickly went back to ignoring them, though a few eyes remained. Cody joined the group, as Chris began to explain the challenge.

"There's always something up with you." Cody turned to find the owner of the voice, finding Heather right next to him.

"Hm?" Cody responded.

"I mean, you randomly jump off the cliff first, you have some crazy aim in dodgeball, you run off into the woods, you have some unexplained trauma with bears, and you're able to both notice quicksand and light a fire with nothing. And now you look like you had a fit in your cabin. Why do you act so… weird?"

Cody sighed. "I don't know, Heather. What do you want from me? Should I not be helpful?"

"It's not that…" he heard her mumble, though the two were silenced by Duncan's cry of outrage due to being a deer. As Cody looked at the other team, he took note of their composition. Duncan, Tyler, and DJ were deer, whilst Geoff, Bridgette, and Harold were given their paintball guns.

"As for the Gophers… Gwen, Leshawna, Trent, Heather, and Ezekiel! You're the deer. Lindsay, Beth, Cody, and Owen are the hunters!"

"..?"

"I'm… a hunter?" Cody asked, holding the green paintball gun in his hands as if it were the cash prize itself.

"Yeah, dude. I know you're used to being the deer in high school, but things are gonna be different here." Chris joked. Cody stared at his gun in wonder. He wasn't free yet, as being a deer had nothing to do with the bear encounter. But still… things were different.

The Gopher deer began to complain about their role, though were quickly silenced by Chris. "Deer, get ready to frolic into the forest. Hunters are gonna be staying behind for a minute. Got to give them a head start." As Chris finished his announcement, he snatched Harold's paintball gun, to which Harold let out a "Gosh!", and shot into the air. The game was now live, as the deer quickly ran off, leaving the hunters to stand there, watching their retreating figures disappear into the dark forest.

Cody watched the deer run away, trying to make a mental note of what direction they went. As the sound of leaves rustling faded, the hunters split up into their respective teams to discuss strategy.

"Well, I think Heather said she wanted us to protect her…" Lindsay said meekly.

Cody looked at her blankly. "Lindsay, we don't have time to protect the deer. We have to focus on getting the Bass out." The blonde shared a look with Beth, who returned it. The geek realized that it didn't matter what he would say, that they would follow Heather's command.

"Don't worry, guys! I'm a master hunter! You remember when I killed that bear with my grandfather, right?" The other three all looked at each other in confusion. "Oh, that's right! I haven't told you guys! You're gonna love this. Back when I was but a wee lad-" Before Owen could start his story, Chris blew the air horn, signaling the start of the challenge.

All the hunters charged into the woods headstrong, determined to win. Cody, however, carefully walked up to the edge of the forest and stayed still. "Uh, dude, are you okay?" Cody turned to see the host approach him. "You know that air horn meant you could go, right? Like, go and shoot the others?"

Cody remained stuck, tapping his fingers together. "Are… are there any bears in there?"

"Bears? Dude, it's a forest. Of course there are bears. Why do you care?" he asked, staring at the teen. After a moment, Chris' eyes lit up as he began laughing both at himself and at Cody. "Oh, oh yeah! Hahaha! Whatever, dude. If you don't participate, you're off the island. Got it?" Cody nodded, forcing himself into the woods.

Cody trudged forward, keenly aware of his surroundings. He refused to be caught by surprise. If saw either Beth or Heather, he planned to run for the hills. As he continued on, he couldn't help but notice the eerie silence. The only thing he heard was the ground beneath him, his breath, and his heartbeat. That is until he heard a twig snap, and when he looked down, there was no twig underneath him.

Pulling the gun close to him, Cody made sure to sneak as quietly as possible towards the sound. He was worried about the bear, but still wanted to be useful in the challenge. As he hid in a bush, he heard the sound get closer. He paused, waiting for the right moment, and as he heard the sound get even closer, he pounced.

"GOTCHA!" he yelled, pulling out his gun. Before shooting it; however, he noticed that his target was a shocked goth.

"Cody, what the hell?!" she huffed, putting her hand to her chest. She sat down on a nearby tree stump, hoping to calm herself.

"Oh, crap. I'm so sorry Gwen. What are you doing out here alone?"

After catching her breath, she recounted how she had gotten there. "Well, the four of us got into the woods, and naturally Heather split off towards the left immediately. Leshawna tried to help me by leaving me and Trent alone, but almost as soon as she left, so did Trent. He reasoned that we were better off alone, but I don't think he knows I noticed what direction he went." After Cody raised an eyebrow, Gwen elaborated. "I swear, it was exactly where Heather went. Am I being paranoid? There's no way he can even tolerate her, right?" Cody sighed. He wanted her to be wrong. Surely, Trent wouldn't have gone after Heather. After everything she's done, Cody's surprised he's willing to even be around her.

"He… was probably trying to be rational. If you guys got caught, it was two of you getting shot. I'm sure he was just trying to prevent that." Gwen nodded sullenly, buying Cody's feeble attempt at a lie. Well, either that or she refused to believe the other potential reason. After a few moments of mulling over the new information, Cody decided it was time to go. "Well, I can't afford to sit around protecting deer. That's Lindsay and Beth's job apparently." Gwen looked confused, but Cody didn't stick around to explain the joke.

Continuing on, Cody eventually found Tyler, who was talking to a tree. "Linds… you're like, the most beautifulest! No, no, that's stupid. The most hottest! Yeah, she'd like that one!" he practiced, a fist bump accompanying the latter compliment.

The time-traveler rolled his eyes, aiming his gun at the back of the jock's torso. "Yeah, that's a good one, Tyler." Tyler spun around just in time to be shot in the chest.

"Aw, man. Really?" Tyler pouted. Cody shrugged with a grin.

"Now you've got plenty of time to practice in front of the tree, right?" Tyler's shoulders slumped as he trudged out of the small clearing he was in.

Barely containing his laughter, Cody continued on in his trek. He continued to walk until he heard a suspicious sound. He froze, hoping to hear the sound again. A growl.

"Please, please, be my stomach."

When the growl happened a third time, Cody's worst fear was confirmed. The sound he had heard was not from his stomach. It sounded eerily familiar. Similar to what he faced in the Phobia Factor challenge. No… exactly. And even worse? It was the exact growl from eight years prior. This had to be the same bear. Cody silently backed away, refusing to face his enemy. That is until he heard something else.

"Nice bear, you want to leave me alone, eh?"

Cody's eyes bulged. He could recognize that accent anywhere. But both the bear and Ezekiel sounded far away.

A/N: This is the first and last author's note in the middle of a chapter, but I'd feel bad not having this here. This next part is about to get dark. I'll try to avoid talking about any grotesque imagery, but still. I normally wouldn't make a scene dark, but Cody's original mauling was played for laughs, and while it works for a show, in real life this would be a tragedy. Anyways, back to it.

Cody began to hear Ezekiel whimper. Once again, Cody's hands began to tremble. He can't do it. He can't face his fear again. He knows what happened the last two times. There's no way he can- "AHHHH!" A bloodcurdling scream rang out, followed by a vicious roar. Cody's eyes steeled.

"No. I won't let this happen! Not to him! Not again!"

Despite his body screaming at him to stop, his mind overrode the command, sprinting towards the sound of his friend. It was another ten seconds before he could reach them, ten seconds of pure determination and fear, but he eventually did. Emerging from a bush, Cody looked to find his friend on the ground, blood seeping out of his chest. His shirt was torn to shreds, and judging by both his position under the tree and the blood on his head, Cody deduced that he had been slammed into a tree. Things were bad. Ezekiel's injuries immediately reminded Cody of his own.

The two's eyes met. Both of them were full of tears but for different reasons. Ezekiel began to mouth something before being cut off by the bear's ferocious roar. Cody's eyes swiveled to it. An unspeakable anger rose in Cody's body.

For eight years, Cody had endured the suffering of this bear, the legacy it brought him. No friends, no family, no legacy, nothing but a shitty job and an even shittier apartment. He'd lost contact with everyone from the show, he had nothing. He wouldn't let it happen again.

Every negative emotion Cody had ever felt poured back into him, fueling him. He took off, sprinting at the unsuspecting bear and taking a leap. He aimed his paintball gun straight at its eye, which had just turned to notice the geek. Cody took his shot, blinding one of the bear's eyes. As the bear recoiled, Cody took his chance. He began to strike the bear over and over, his emotions carrying a weight he never thought he had. Punch after punch, Cody only saw red. Eventually, the bear was able to throw the small teen off before making a hasty retreat.

Cody took a moment to stare at its retreating figure, his ragged breath slowly returning to normal. Behind him, he heard a wince followed by a groan.

Only now did Cody get a good look at his friend. Blood covered his entire torso, even more pouring from the back of his head. His hoodie was completely shredded, his jeans having newfound holes. Tears streamed down the boy's face, swirling with the blood to make a sickening concoction. Cody shook his head, tossing the hunter gear aside. He gently scooped up Ezekiel before racing off into the woods. He'd never been good at navigating these woods, but he had to try now. As Cody ran, he continuously looked down at the homeschooled kid, making sure he was still conscious.

"C-Cody…" he muttered.

Cody looked at him and shook his head. "Don't speak, Zeke. It'll only hurt more. I'm gonna get you help." he said, ducking under a branch.

Cody thought of Zeke's time on the island. Cody's confusion when he was announced as a Screaming Gopher. His talk outside the dining hall to stop his sexist remark. Him saving Cody in the sleeping challenge. His crush on Bridgette. Him helping Cody with his panic attack. Revealing the truth behind Heather's deceit, being the only one who stood by Cody during that time. The countless hours the two spent outside of challenge time just being friends.

He couldn't even picture feral Ezekiel in his mind anymore, being completely replaced by his new best friend. Cody refused to let him die, refused to let him suffer Cody's fate.

He finally made it out of the woods, luckily ending up right outside the medical tent. Unfortunately, Chef was not around. "CHEF! CHEEEF!" Cody called as loud as he could, hoping for the de facto nurse to hear him. In the distance, Chef was able to both hear and spot the two, beginning to sprint towards them.

Cody looked down at Ezekiel, who looked back up at him. "T-thanks…" he muttered, before falling unconscious. Tears began to pour down Cody's face. Chef had finally made it to them and softly took Zeke out of his hands after a grimace.

"Kid, he can't have visitors right now. Sorry, but you gotta get your butt back in the game." Chef said before a loud air horn was blasted through the speakers. "Or I guess you get your butt to wherever Chris is." He turned around, beginning to work on helping Zeke. "Damn loud ass air horn…"

Cody slowly made his way back to the other teenagers. He hadn't done much during the challenge, other than catch an unsuspecting Tyler off-guard, but he couldn't care less. Tears streamed down his face, the other's luckily not asking about them.

"Before I announce the results, I'd like you all to accompany me on a little field trip," Chris said, waving the contestants over to where he was walking. After a minute of walking, they arrived at the medical tent. "So… today was not your day, Gophers. Beth, Leshawna, Heather, all soaked. And yet not a single Bass came even close to you." Lindsay turned around to point at her paint-covered back. "And, uh, you too, Lindsay. So you have four people covered in paint, two of which aren't even deer, and one of you has been mauled by a bear!" Shock rang out through the other contestants. As they counted themselves, they quickly noticed that Ezekiel was not among them.

"Yep, Zekey boy in there got too personal with a bear and suffered the consequences." As he received very angry glares, Chris sighed. "He's fine guys. Well, maybe not fine, but alive. So don't worry, I can make these jokes!" As the death glares continued, he stopped. "So with only one Bass painted, I announce the Bass as the winners!"

The Bass remained silent. Their victory had come, but only at the cost of Ezekiel's safety. There was nothing to celebrate. "Gophers, meet me by the campfire tonight. You guys are eliminating someone for the first time in a while!"

As the host walked away, most of the teens dispersed, whispering to each other. Cody remained stuck, staring at the tent, where mere feet away his friend was near death.

"I'm so sorry, Cody."

He turned to see Bridgette being the one to console him. "I know he meant- means a lot to you, and I hate to see you go through this." Cody wanted to say something, thank her. But he couldn't. Tears continued to slide down his face as he crumpled to his knees exhausted. Cody remained there for another five minutes, silently weeping.

Bridgette remained next to him the entire time. She hated seeing someone go through so much pain but hated it even more that she couldn't help. As his eyes began to dry, Cody stood up and nodded to Bridgette. "Thank you," he whispered, before walking off.

Cody headed straight for the girl's cabin. He knocked on the door to find Beth being the one to answer.

"Oh, h-hey Cody. How're you holding up?" she asked.

Cody stared at her with dead eyes. "Do you know what happened to Ezekiel?"

Beth looked confused. "W-what? Do you mean the bear attack? Obviouthly I know that."

Cody shook his head. "But, why did the bear attack him? There had to be a reason, right?"

Beth looked even more confused. "The only time I thaw Ethekiel thith entire challenge wath when I wath angry at Heather. Thhe had athked me to get her thome chipth. Apparently, I got her the wrong kind, tho I left to think about what the thaid. Then, Ethekiel thowed up and wath wondering how BBQ chipth tathted. I gave him the bag, and that wath the latht time I thaw him."

Cody ignored the constant spit coming out of her mouth and focused on what she had said. Ezekiel really had taken Cody's place, even down to the chips. "It was the chips, Beth. The chips you gave him must have lured in that stupid bear. How could you be so careless?" Cody whispered.

Beth looked at him in horror, realizing her actions. "C-Cody, I'm thorry…"

With a shake of his head, Cody stomped away from the girl, leaving her teary-eyed. He didn't know what to do with himself for the rest of the day. He paced around camp, including the medical tent. That was until sundown when Chris beckoned the team to vote.

As the Screaming Gophers sat on their stumps, Chef rolled over a wheelchair that held a completely bandaged Ezekiel. Chef was able to fix him up enough to get him conscious and able to vote, although anything else seemed out of the range of possibility for now.

"Gophers, not your best performance, and now you'll face the consequences. As you know, a marshmallow signifies immunity, and if you were to not receive one…"

"You'd be sent to the Dock of Shame never to return, and lose out on the million dollars, yeah yeah we know, Chris," Gwen repeated off of her memory. Giving her the side eye, Chris threw marshmallows to Gwen, Cody, Leshawna, Owen, Trent, and Lindsay.

"With two votes against them, Beth is safe!" Beth breathed out a sigh of relief, though she was confused as to how she got two votes. She first looked at Heather, who slit her throat with a finger. Then she looked at Cody, who refused to return her eye contact.

"With another two votes… Heather is safe." Her marshmallow is thrown to her as Leshawna snapped her finger in annoyance.

"God damn it…" Cody mumbled to himself, no marshmallows left on the plate.

"Sorry, dude. Zeke, you're out." Ezekiel closed his eyes in acceptance. "Please head to the Dock of Shame." Chris announced, though quickly realized what he just said. "Oh, whoops! Silly me, your legs aren't doing so hot right now, huh, Zeke?"

The host's laughing was cut off by the sharp pain of a slap stinging his cheek. "Hey! Oww," he complained, rubbing his cheek in pain. Cody glared at the man for another moment before swallowing his anger and returning his focus to Ezekiel. Cody slowly walked him down to the dock, barely registering each step.

"Zeke, I'm so sorry. You don't deserve this. I wish it could be Heather, or even Beth going home." After Zeke responded in a muffled voice, Cody pushed his bandage down.

"Don't worry about it, eh. I need to leave, Cody. You know I can't stay here like this."

"I-I know, but, I'm really gonna miss you, dude."

"I'll see you again at the finale though, right? I'll be rooting for you." Cody chuckled lightly at his friend's optimism. Truth was, Cody had no idea how he was going to fare without his closest ally.

"Yeah, you're right." Cody lifted the wheelchair slightly to lower it down into the boat. "Get well soon, dude." Ezekiel barely nodded, before the boat began to drive off. Cody stood at the end of the dock for a solid minute, not moving an inch.

"C-Cody?" He spun around to see the farm girl nervously tapping her fingers behind him. "I jutht want to thay that I'm tho-"

"Don't… don't apologize, Beth. You didn't do anything wrong. Nobody did. You couldn't have known what would happen to him. I'm sorry about my outburst" Cody apologized, Beth nodding along. She hugged him by his waist, before departing to her cabin. After waiting a moment, Cody followed.

Cody entered the cabin to find it full. Both Trent and Owen were asleep, leaving just Cody awake. He stumbled to his bed and sat on it. His eyes remained glued to Ezekiel's now-empty bunk. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

A/N: That was certainly an interesting chapter. Let's start with Ezekiel.

Ezekiel has been an extremely fun character to write for, and I really do feel bad about ending his story here. But if I have all of Cody's friends outlast anybody neutral, it's just going to be Cody's friends in the merge, meaning Cody is basically guaranteed a finale without having to write around that. So some characters are going to need to go early, and unfortunately, it was Zeke's time.

Fun fact, he was originally going to win. Not in the draft of the story that you guys saw the first time, but when I first created a full elimination order around when I wrote the original "Phobia Factor", it was him versus Geoff in the finale. Obviously, plans have changed. Ezekiel will be missed and won't be forgotten in this story, trust me.

So Cody finally got his triumphant revenge against the bear, even if it was under sad circumstances. Like I mentioned in "Phobia Factor", I didn't want Cody to resolve his bear fear anywhere else except for in this episode. The mauling was played for laughs in the show, but this is a deeply traumatic event, and I wanted to give it the weight it deserved. That may have made it seem a bit melodramatic, but it was important to me.

Bridgette comforting Cody was a last minute addition that I really like. She doesn't have much to do with Cody during this part of the story, so this scene made her feel somewhat important. Plus, I found it ironic she was the one to comfort him over Zeke's attack given the victim's crush.

Beth has been a pretty unimportant character up until this point, so this chapter gave her something to do. It also showed Cody in a different light, as someone who could feel real anger at someone that didn't truly deserve it.