The sun beat down on Cody as he woke up, only the faint cool breeze comforting him. The sounds of rustling leaves surrounded him, his agitated eyes forcing themselves to open despite the bright light. Wait, what?

He was outside, that much was for certain. He was fully clothed, including his sneakers, and standing in the middle of the woods. Suddenly being thrust into the forest of Wawanakwa did nothing to help his eyesight, which struggled to keep itself from painting the nature around him as a blurry mess. The only sounds that filled the air were the leaves, a bird's chirp, and the light tapping of a foot in front of him.

"Are you gonna just stand there forever or are you going to follow me?" The voice was familiar, but couldn't be real. Squinting from the sun, Cody could just barely make out that the owner of the voice was Noah.

"Oh, I guess I'm dreaming, huh?" Cody said. With a confused look, Noah approached to Cody and flicked him on the forehead. He then grabbed his arm and began to drag him along. "Woah! Wait, why did that hurt?"

"If that hurt you, I might have to rethink my proposition. You can't be that weak," Noah said, arms crossed. Cody gave a bewildered look, still lost both mentally and physically.

As they continued further into the woods, Cody relented that it had to be a very elaborate dream. He just couldn't believe what was going on. Noah shouldn't be on the island, so why was he? Cody chewed on his lip as he mulled over the situation. He couldn't have time-traveled again, could he? No, as weird as things were, he'd never experienced this before. It had to be a dream, and if it wasn't, Cody would just have to accept that he was crazy.

As the pair arrived in a small clearing, they found someone else. However, Cody couldn't tell who this was. Where there would normally be skin and clothes, it was replaced by static in the shape of a person.

"Took you long enough," the static tapped its foot. "Now why did you two ask me to meet out here? I would've preferred a bit of relaxation after having to get my key out of that alligator pit."

The voice of the static didn't give any clues. It wasn't human, whatever it was. It was distorted, awful. Cody flinched just at the sound but was thankfully ignored by the other two. Things were just getting weirder.

Cody looked at the shape in confusion, both at its voice and its comment, as Noah took a step forward. "To clarify, the note was specifically from me, and Cody received one as well."

"Well? What've you called us out here for then?"

"I came today with a bit of a proposition. An alliance, specifically."

The static shadow snorted. "An alliance? With you two? Please. I've come back to the show r to actually make something of myself here. No offense, but I can't imagine teaming with the two outcasts will get me far."

Cody barely registered the insult before Noah spoke up. "That's where you're wrong. I believe that the three of us actually make quite the team, if you'll hear me out."

Cody's mind wandered as Noah began to drone on. He could barely hear his friend as his mind spun. He was in the woods with both an eliminated contestant and some static-like figure. Had he time-traveled again? It felt oddly real, unlike some of his other dreams. And who was the weird… thing in front of him?

"So what about you, Cody?" Noah suddenly asked. As he looked around, he found that he was not with them anymore. "Cody? What the hell?" he groaned, pinching his nose.

Cody had taken off running, unsure of where he was trying to go. He flew past the trees in a desperate attempt to escape… something. He had no idea what he was running from, but wasn't that worse? Cody suddenly wakes up somewhere new, Noah's on the island, some mysterious being unlike anything he'd ever seen being there. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real, because if it was, then he had no idea where, or when, he was.

He continued running, a sense of urgency and dread he'd never felt rising into his chest. Was he short of breath because he was running, or something else? Just like everything else about this horrible situation, Cody didn't know. The world spun around him as his legs continued swinging, yet with no floor below him. The bright sun that lit up the sky began to dim into an unnatural darkness, one that engulfed the already melting world in front of him. There was nothing.

His heart receiving a horrible jumpstart, Cody nearly leaped out of bed when he woke up. His staggered breaths blasted in his ears, somehow not waking the others. He could feel his pillow dripping with sweat, unfortunately not the first time he's woken up to the uncomfortable feeling. He pushed himself out of bed and fumbled through his bag until he found clean clothes. No light poured into the cabin, leaving him in a shadowy room, Trent and Owen's hazy figures still fast asleep. It must be early morning, Cody concluded. The nightmare must have woken him up far earlier than he usually would. For once, he might actually be able to beat Ezekiel out the door.

Cody paused as his hand grazed the door handle. He didn't have to turn around to see that Ezekiel's bed was empty. He knew. He knew that Ezekiel was gone, mauled by that damn bear. He knew the pain Ezekiel was feeling, each part of his skin burning like liquid fire poured directly on him. He knew that Ezekiel couldn't yell in pain, as the gauze covering his face wouldn't allow anything other than a barely audible moan escape its grasp. He knew that the others at Playa des Losers couldn't care less about Ezekiel's misery. He knew far too well how it felt to be Ezekiel right now.

Part of him wanted to leave. He could march right up to Chris, wherever he stayed on the island, and demand that he be eliminated. Cody knew that when he was going through his recovery, as selfish a request as it was, he would've given anything for Gwen, or even Trent to be eliminated right after him. A helping hand to guide him through the painful road to normalcy. It was a tempting thought, one Cody couldn't stop himself from considering.

Cody sat down on the steps leading to the cabin, putting his head in his hand. "And what the hell was that dream? Why was Noah on the island? And who was that static person?" The thoughts, swirling into a dark storm, continued to flood in. Said storm was loud enough for him not to notice the person sitting next to him.

"What's wrong with you?" Cody leaped off the stairs in fear, spinning around to face the cabin. Sitting there, now laughing hysterically, was Gwen.

Cody panted, his hand over his heart as he fruitlessly tried to calm himself down. His strained face only made Gwen laugh even harder. As the goth girl wiped tears away from her eyes, Cody was able to calm down. It was a rare sight to see Gwen in such a bright mood, even if it was at his own expense. Cody's crush on Gwen was long gone, yet her laugh still brought butterflies to his stomach.

"I… had a bad dream," Cody said, already anticipating her next response.

Gwen, whose laugh was finally fading, fought back another chuckle. "A dream? What kinda dream makes you run outta your cabin in the middle of the night?"

Cody opened his mouth before closing it again. How could he explain? "Do you ever… feel like nothing you do matters? Like, no matter how hard you try, things are just going to get worse again?"

Gwen remained silent, taking in his question. "Are… you okay?"

Cody shot her a glare, though he didn't know if he pulled it off or if he looked like a pouting child. Cody sighed, closing his eyes. "Of course not," he said softly. "I got tricked into doing this reality show that puts my life on the line every other day, I was framed and shunned from the rest of my friends, and now the one person that stuck with me the entire time just got attacked by a bear and is in so much pain." Tears formed in the corners of Cody's eyes, unable to be blinked away.

"I spent a lot of time with Ezekiel. I doubt you talked to him much, and I don't blame you for that. But he's gotten to be such a better person since he got here. His dad poisoned him with these outdated ideals and I had to work hard to help him, well, be normal. I spent hours looking out for him, making sure he didn't get himself in a bad position. And now he's just been eliminated. All because I wasn't there. I feel like no matter what I do, bad things are always going to tear down what I've created."

"I…" Gwen said, trying to verbalize her thoughts, "You're right. I didn't really talk to Ezekiel. The soul patch didn't do anything for me," she chuckled. "But to me, he seemed… normal. Not somebody I'd go out of my way to talk to, but he never came off as a bad person. And if what you're saying is true, then that's a pretty remarkable turnaround. And it's not like he died, right? We asked what happened to Ezekiel and Chef told us. If you hadn't been there, I doubt Ezekiel would be lucky enough to have made it out in just a wheelchair."

"But I still didn't save him!" Cody shouted, suddenly standing up. He didn't mean to, but it was as if the anger in his voice shot him up. "He's gone, I can't make sure he's okay, and now he's been mauled!"

Gwen stood up, her sympathetic look fighting against the annoyance rising at Cody's stubbornness. "Yes, he's gone, and no, you can't save him anymore. But you've done enough. You tried your hardest. Now he can recover, far away from McLean or Heather."

A small chuckle escaped Cody's mouth. Gwen was right. He'd been trying so hard to save Ezekiel that he didn't realize that his friend was already in a much better place. Ezekiel was this project, one that he planned to work on for as long as he was on the island, but Cody never took a step back to see that Ezekiel had joined the project himself and had begun helping himself. Cody nodded, the small shaking that had begun to wrap itself around Cody disappearing.

The leaves behind the cabins began to rustle, and for a split second, Cody was certain that the bear was back for round two. Instead, a couple walked out, the girl heavily leaning on the boy's arm.

"Uh, Tyler? I think you're headband's skewed," Gwen called out.

The jock jumped out of fright, Lindsay happily waving to Gwen and Cody. Gwen returned the wave with a much more awkward and forced one of her own, while Cody smiled at them. The two quickly passed Cody and Gwen, Tyler unable to make eye contact.

Gwen contained her returning laughter with a cough. "I overheard Heather the other day. She was complaining to Lindsay about how she snuck off with Tyler thanks to that nerd. That was you, right? You're the only nerd that she hates with such ferocity."

Cody nodded. "Yeah, I distracted Heather for a bit so that Tyler could, uh, try his moves on Lindsay." Gwen raised an eyebrow. "It sounds grosser than it was. Well, not really. Me and Heather walked in on them making out."

"Yeah, didn't need to hear that," Gwen said. "The point is, you helped those two get together, right? For better or for worse, their relationship exists. See what I mean? Your actions aren't useless."

Cody took in a deep breath. "...You're right. I'm sorry."

Gwen punched him in the arm. "Don't apologize, moron. I'm the one who slapped you, and you still helped me out of the ground. I don't entirely get you, but all I've seen you do is try to help. Helping you back is the least I could do."

"T-thanks," Cody stuttered. Silence overtook them, save for the waves crashing against the beach. "Why are you up, Gwen?"

"It's only like, one, dude. I usually stay up this late."

"Oh," Cody chuckled. "Yeah, I sleep early just so I live on this island for a bit less.

Gwen's smirk grew into a smile. "That idea isn't half-bad. Anyway, it's getting too late, even for me. I may not need beauty sleep like Queen B-I-T-C-H in there, but we've probably got a challenge tomorrow, knowing Chris. Are you going to be alright?" she asked, yawning.

Cody smiled faintly, his eyes remaining fixed on the water in front of him. "Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Whatever, have a good night."

"You too."

Cody stayed on the steps for another hour. Whether it was the nightmare, his thoughts of Ezekiel, or maybe the small hope burning inside of him, he just couldn't get his eyes to close. Nobody else came from inside the cabin, nor did anybody else emerge from the trees. Cody remained alone with his thoughts, as the water put him into a hypnotic trance.

Eventually, Cody grew tired enough to break his gaze and head inside. He was surprised to find that Trent was now awake. He was sitting off the edge of his top bunk, just dangling his legs.

"What are you doing up?" both Trent and Cody asked at the same time. After a brief pause, Cody spoke first. "I had a bad dream, so I went outside to cool down. Then I talked with Gwen for a bit."

"Oh?" Trent asked, slight anger in his voice.

"...Yeah?"

"It's nothing, man! Don't want to get in the way of you and your girlfriend." Trent said with a surprising amount of venom.

"What's your problem? I'm not trying to get with her, trust me."

"You better not be," Trent said, rolling over in his bed so that Cody couldn't continue talking to him.

Cody stood still for a moment, staring at Trent's back. Utter confusion fell over Cody. Was Trent… jealous? Of Cody? What he would've given for that to happen in the original timeline. He shook the thought out of his mind. Yesterday had been a stressful day, even for those that hadn't been mauled. And it was now nearing two am. Trent was probably delirious.

"Yeah," Cody mumbled, sinking into his pillow, "that has to be it."

A/N: Oooh, what does this chapter mean? I'll let you interpret the dream.

Gwen comforting Cody after his bad day and nightmare kind of cements her as his best friend currently on the island. With Zeke gone, he needs someone to bounce off of now, and Gwen fits the bill. I just needed them to be a bit closer than they have been. Plus, it'll be fun to see a more sarcastic and dry deuteragonist from this point on, rather than a naive and fun one.