(Author's Note: There's a plot twist at the end that will surprise you. If you're familiar with the episode, you'll know what it is, but it might still shock you...)

Tara and Mindy walked into the lounge and were surprised to see Calliope instead of Mortimer.

"Calliope, where's Mortimer?" Mindy asked as they approached her.

"I don't know, he left in fright after you guys did. Something spooked him. I haven't seen him since," Calliope said, leaving confusion on the girl's face. They sat down on the couch and put the two light bulbs on with the wheel.

"Okay, that's done. Now we need to make the hard decision," Tara said as she lay back on the couch.

"Okay, we can't vote Sam. Maybe she can still help us, and she's my sister. I want to protect her," Tara explained.

"Same with Chad, and even though he's a knucklehead, he's my brother. He's been trying his best, along with his 'dead but alive' boyfriend, but Ethan has proved himself a lot in the past," Mindy defended her brother's case and supported Ethan's position.

"It kind of seems unfair but also fair to put him back into another death challenge, but then there's Quinn who helped a lot no matter what. This is so hard," Tara said, expressing her conflicting feelings about the situation.

"Let's just go pick one and get this over with," Mindy said as she went over and picked Quinn's card, while Tara went over and picked Ethan's before sitting back on the couch.

"Well, what do we do then?" Tara asked, looking down at her lap. 

"I guess we wait and see," Mindy replied, looking at the wall with a hint of guilt. Despite the difficulty of their decision, she knew they had no other option at the moment. 

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

While waiting at the cage, Sam lay back against its bars, finding a comfortable spot. Ethan laid his head on Chad's shoulder, and Chad, in turn, rested his head on Ethan's head. Meanwhile, Quinn laid on Ethan's other shoulder, forming a somewhat cozy yet tense group as they awaited the next challenge. 

But the moment was ruined when Willie started spraying something on them, causing them to back up and away from him to the back of the cage. The noxious substance stung their senses, and they huddled close, hugging each other tightly for what might be the last time. They couldn't help but realize that the girls had likely made their decision.

"Your friends that made it out safe chose you two in the middle to enter the funhouse one last time," Willie said, pointing at Ethan and Quinn. The two friends exchanged worried glances, uncertainty spreading across their faces. 

"You and you, SCRAM!" Willie yelled, urging Ethan and Quinn to leave the cage for the final challenge. Chad gave Ethan one last hug and kiss, expressing his love and support for him for maybe his last time, while Sam and Chad wished Quinn luck as well. The siblings hugged each other tightly, watching with apprehension as Chad and Sam stepped out of the cage.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

"I understand what you guys did, although I think neither of them deserves to be put in the challenge. I'm thankful it's not me, even though Ethan is still in there," Chad expressed, walking up to hug Mindy. Sam did the same, embracing Tara. The group shared a mix of gratitude and concern, knowing that the decision wasn't easy for the girls.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Ethan and Quinn held each other's hands tightly as they slowly walked back into the funhouse, making their way to the elevator. Their hearts were heavy with nerves and uncertainty, but they found comfort in each other's presence. As the elevator began to ascend, they mumbled soft words of encouragement and good luck to each other, trying to stay strong and brave in the face of the impending challenge. The spinning elevator symbolized the whirlwind of emotions they were experiencing, but together, they faced it with determination and hope.

They finally land in the candy room, help each other out, and then they stop to talk to each other.

"Hey, whatever happens, I still love you. You're my best friend and brother, and if we somehow make it out of this, we will prove them wrong, just like we have before, no matter what." Quinn says, facing Ethan while pulling away.

"We sure are, big little sis," Ethan says, laughing with a voice crack, and Quinn does the same. They hug each other tightly, holding back tears in their eyes before they pull away to face the challenge ahead.

They walk over to the designated spot and find a note that reads, "Once you complete the challenge, jump into the elevator, and it'll take you to the next room. The first one through all three challenges will have defeated the funhouse. Step inside to begin." After reading the note, they prepare themselves for the first challenge, which involves matching the right taste to the correct lollipop.

They begin trying the disgusting lollipops, and Ethan almost gags at the taste of each one. On the other hand, Quinn finds them gross but remains unfazed, as she has experienced weirder and more unconventional things in her mouth before, both food and non-food related. So, it comes as no surprise when she places the lollipops in the correct order and wins the first challenge.

"Omg! Good luck, E," Quinn says cheerfully as she heads to the next room. Ethan reciprocates, "Thanks, Q! You got this!" with a determined smile on his face.

After stepping into the elevator, Quinn finds herself in the lava room. She quickly runs over to see what her challenge entails.

She finds a note attached to a bucket that reads, "Toss one beanbag in each of the five holes from behind the red line. Step in the lava, and you have to start back over. And no cheating. You can only take one beanbag at a time," Quinn reads as she prepares to start tossing the beanbags. Meanwhile, Ethan is still struggling with the taste challenge in the previous room.

As Quinn focuses on tossing the beanbags into the holes, Ethan manages to complete his part of the challenge. Excited and determined to move forward, he jumps and runs to the elevator that leads to the next room. He arrives just in time to see Quinn with only a few beanbags left to throw. They exchange smiles of encouragement before she continues with her task.

He quickly reads the instructions for his challenge before joining Quinn in tossing the beanbags into the holes. However, Quinn proves to be swift once again, finishing before Ethan. She wastes no time and rushes towards the elevator, ready to proceed to the sideways room. 

She rushes out of the elevator without pausing to read the note in the new room. The note says, "Riddle me this. Twist to begin." Quinn twists a table or mechanism, and a bunch of keys fall to the ground. Meanwhile, Ethan is nearing completion of his challenge. As Quinn quickly searches through the keys, she manages to find the right one and unlocks another compartment or door. Ethan, having finished his task, heads towards the elevator leading to the sideways room.

"Solve the riddle and find the object, then place it in its appropriate spot to win the duel. When I am young, I am tall. When I am old, I am short. Sweat makes my age, and breath is my foe," Quinn reads the riddle aloud as soon as he enters the room.

"What would that be?" Quinn questions herself.

"A candle. Look for a candle. I'm already too late to win," Ethan helps his sister as they both look for a candle, and he finds it before handing it to her. She slams it in the right spot, jumps for joy, and hugs her brother.

"But she stops jumping for joy and pulls away, realizing what she had done. 'Oh, my Ethan...Why did you do that for me? You could have won...' Quinn trails away as the tears from earlier slowly start to build up again for both her and Ethan.

"No, I won't have, and besides, I just gave you a little push to the finish line. It's better if you won anyway. You proved yourself over and over, and you deserve to come out of this alive," Ethan says with a smile. Quinn just frowns at her brother before he pulls her back into a hug.

"Let's get out of here. And whatever happens, just let it happen," Ethan says, pulling Quinn with himself into the elevator as she cries by his side, feeling bad that she was going to kill her brother.

When they get out of the elevator, Ethan pulls Quinn up and helps her walk to her prize. However, all he sees is a box with a note attached to it. Confused, he pulls off the note and starts reading it, and his jaw drops in astonishment as he reads its contents.

"Holy Shit...." Ethan says, which makes Quinn look back up at him as he starts to read the note. "The sad news is you both get to live," Ethan reads out, and Quinn's jaw drops as she processes what he read before hugging him tightly again. He hugs her back, feeling relieved that both of them get to leave together.

Ethan reads the rest, and he continues to hug his sister tightly, both of them processing the shocking revelation. (Author's note: I'm not showing the rest because it's a surprise right now. :) )

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Chad then pulls out the note from the candy room earlier and shows the group the note, revealing the carnival master's corruption of one of them. "Okay, so we found this in the candy room," Chad says, drawing everyone's attention to the disturbing discovery.

"Maybe it's your dead but alive lover," Mindy jokes, nudging Chad, who rolls his eyes in response.

"And if he's dead again, you're dead too," Chad jokes back, and Mindy puts her hand up in mock defense, pretending to be offended by the playful banter.

Willie then comes slowly into the room, making the group gasp and try to back away from him. Chad instinctively grabs Mindy and holds her close, while Tara and Sam do the same, all of them freaking out at the sight of Willie's appearance.

"Stay the fuck back, Dude!" Chad yells, trying to throw stuff to stop Willie and protect the girls. The group is in a state of panic, doing their best to defend themselves and keep Willie at a distance.

"Why are you even here? We aren't in the challenge. What happened to them?" Tara questions, her voice trembling, as Sam holds her back, trying to keep her safe from Willie's unsettling presence. 

"Where are Quinn and Ethan?!" Chad questions, just before Willie pulls Mindy away from him. As Chad tries to grab her, Willie guts her in front of him while he attempts to help her. The girls hold him back.

"MINDY, NO! MINDY, NO! LET HER GO!" Chad yells, almost breaking free from the girls' grip on his arms as he cries out to help his sister. Her blood shows through her shirt before he pulls the hook out of her, and she drops dead to the ground. Their jaws all drop in shock as Chad stares at his now lifeless sister's body, consumed with rage, wanting to exact revenge on Willie for this heinous act.

Willie then walks into the middle of the room before changing his expression, "Thanks for playing the funhouse. See you," Willie says with a sinister grin before walking away. Chad is the first to run up and check on his sister, with the others following closely behind.

"What happened? Why is Mindy dead? Why did he do this?!" Chad yells, tears streaming down his face, as Quinn and Ethan rush in with the bulb in their hands.

"Guys, what happened? Why is she dead? And how are you both here?" Sam questions quickly, as everybody freezes, shocked by everything that has happened.

"They told us that the winner of the challenge, whoever voted the winner in... would die. Quinn won," Ethan says slowly, looking at Chad and then at Mindy's lifeless body, feeling bad for him. The room remains filled with a heavy silence as everyone tries to process the shocking revelation.

"So they tricked us..." Tara says, her voice filled with disbelief and anger. Quinn and Ethan go over to hug Chad, understanding the immense pain he must be feeling in this situation, and wanting to offer comfort. Quinn pats his shoulder before putting the last light bulb on the artifact and placing it on the shelf. Meanwhile, Ethan embraces Chad, who just continues to stare at Mindy's lifeless body, trying to come to terms with the devastating loss.

"Mindy was the cost... The Carnival master and Willie tricked us. He's catching on, guys. We're a part of his little games now, but now he's also playing with our minds... What do we do?" Sam questions, his voice filled with fear and uncertainty. The group remains silent as they all look back at Mindy's body.

(Author's Note: So um... feedback and rant in the comments for POOR MINDY, GUYS :( SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THIS!)