It was a beautiful day on the planet Reach. It was at the training facilities the Spartan-IIs were trained at that they were gathered. The whole place was filled with cameras. It was time for a new challenge for these genetically altered supersoldiers. That challenge is a reality TV show to entertain the people after the war. Sargent Major Avery Johnson was the host.

"Alright, everyone! Listen up! I'm Sargent Major Avery Junior Johnson, and I'm here to host the hottest new reality show of the 26th century!" he exclaimed. "We're here on Reach, where the Spartan supersoldiers were trained. To help get them acclimated to civilian life, we're bringing them all here to compete in a game show for one million dollars. We have 22 of them coming here to compete for the prize. Every day, we will have a different challenge for our contestants to compete in. The team that wins the challenge will be safe, and the losing team will vote someone off at the bonfire. The last Spartan standing will win!" Just then, a troop transport warthog arrived at the camp.

"Our first contestant has arrived. James, Spartan-005." Johnson said. James shook his hand.

"Pleasure to be here. Looking forward to the challenge. Can't be as hard as fighting genocidal aliens"

"I'll second that notion" Then, the next Spartans arrived. They jumped out of the Pelican and landed via parachute.

"James! It's been so long since I've seen you!" called out Arthur, one of the Spartans arriving, along with Jai and Solomon.

"Likewise, Arthur! Can't wait to get started!"

Another troop transport Warthog brought the next eight competitors. They were Sam, Fred, Linda, Cal, Malcolm, Naomi, and Leon.

"So, we're here? Where we were tortured, uh, I mean, trained as kids?" Naomi asked out loud. Johnson replied with a nod. They were soon followed by Jerome and Alice, arriving via Hornet. Johnson pulled them aside.

"Look, I know the two of you were floating in space for over 20 years, and I know you're willing to get back out there and prove you still got it, so just don't say or do anything that will get you kicked off early"

"We got it, sir" Alice replied.

"Please, you can call me Johnson. War's over" Another troop transport Warthog arrived, bringing along Keiichi, Margaret, Kurt, Vinh, Carris, Adriana, and Robert.

"Aren't there supposed to be 22 of us?" Leon asked.

"Yes. We're short one" Malcolm answered.

"I think I know who it is" Kurt chimed in. Just then, a Pelican appeared over the horizon.

"He's here!" Robert exclaimed. The Pelican made a hard landing, prompting everyone to dive away. The back popped open, and out walked Master Chief. However, for the sake of the show, he's going to be referred to by his real name, John.

"I knew you'd try and make an entrance, man" Sam greeted him. John shrugged it off.

"I decided to come here in style" Everyone chuckled at that. Johnson pulled out a camera.

"Everyone! Gather over there with the mountains in the background for a photo. We need one for the promotional materials!" he called out. The promo photo was taken, and he had everyone gather by the bonfire pit in the middle.

"Now, let's go over the rules. You will be split into two teams of 11. Every day, starting today, there will be a challenge. The team that wins will gain invincibility. The losing team will come here to this bonfire pit and vote one of their members off. Eventually, we'll merge teams and have individual challenges where similar rules apply. Now, let's split up the teams" Johnson pulled out a piece of paper and had two unrolled banners at his feet.

"First team, stand over there. Isaac, Arthur, John, Linda, Keiichi, Solomon, Naomi, Fred, Alice, Sam, and Kurt. You are Blue Team, represented by the Stingray" He tossed over the banner and it was caught by Sam.

"I can live with being a stingray. I think they're pretty cool" he said.

"Now, the second team, please gather over there. Leon, Jai, Carris, Jerome, Adriana, James, Margaret, Malcolm, Cal, and Vinh. You are red team, represented by the shark" He tossed the banner over, where it was caught by James.

"Shark attack" he muttered. Johnson then pointed to the Operations building.

"Get suited up in your team's gear, and meet me in the court yard for your first challenge" It was an action of intensity. Jerome put war paint on his face, and did the same for Margaret and Leon. The teams would be outfitted in MJOLNIR power armor, albeit in their team's primary colors. James was pumped to get things going. John was ready for whatever was going to be thrown at him. He was only on the show because of Cortana's insistence. Jerome and Alice wished Douglas was there to experience the show with them. Hopefully there's a second season, Alice thought. He can join us then, her though continued.

"I say we're going to kick their asses. They don't have a defined leader. We have two!" Naomi was saying. Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know. They have Jai. He's quite the renegade. Remember all the escape attempts with Adriana?" John asked back. Solomon laughed in agreement while slipping his helmet on.

"I also remember when Mike stole that Pelican and crashed it to cover his tracks. Man, I wish he was here to experience this!"

"Not to mention they have Jerome and Margaret, two of the top leaders in the program. So, Naomi, I have no idea where you got the no leaders idea from" Kurt said. The two teams, now suited up, headed out to the court yard for their first challenge.

"This first challenge is a basic game of capture the flag, but with a twist. You're all going to be armed with paintball guns. If you are shot, you are out. Blue team shoots blue paint, red team shoots red paint. If the flag is lost, the team that loses it is out. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes!" All 22 Spartans replied in unison.

"Mmhmm. Now, go to your bases with your flags. When I sound the bell, the challenge begins"

"You guys ready?" Arthur asked Blue Team as they headed to the base.

"You bet" John replied. Red Team was a bit of a mess. They were constantly bickering in the base.

"Look, we need a strategy. I say we sacrifice Cyclops here" Leon said, pointing at Margaret.

"She's a total badass, dude! We can't get rid of her!" called out Malcolm.

"We're all badasses, though. We're genetically enhanced supersoldiers, for God's sake!"

"Point taken" Red Team had no leader, and Carris immediately began butting heads with Malcolm over leadership.

"You aren't cut out for this!" Malcolm insisted.

"And neither are you!" Carris shot back. Jerome stepped in.

"I'll take control here, since you can't figure it out" He looked around the room. "Margaret. Stay back and look after the flag with Leon, Cal, and Vinh. The rest of us will hunt Blue Team's flag" Then the bell rang. Blue Team sent out six, leaving five back to watch the flag. Kurt was leading the charge out to capture Red Team's flag. John stayed back to fortify the defenses.

"The least we could do is try to get to a stalemate" Keiichi was saying to Sam as they were walking through the woods.

"Yes, but this challenge isn't timed. We either capture the flag or…" But Sam was cut off as he and Sam got blasted by Carris, who was sitting in a tree. Kurt spun around and took her out, only to be taken out by Adriana with a shot to the crotch.

"Right in the kiwis" he squeaked out as he fell to the ground. She laughed. The eliminated Spartans headed back to the main lodge.

"Wow. That didn't take long" Johnson said, watching from the main lodge. Arthur looked over at Solomon and Isaac.

"Here, we have an easy job. Prevent them from stealing the flag, and recover it when they drop it" he said.

"It really isn't that easy" Isaac replied.

Johnson confessional: "Here in the port-o-john outside the main lodge, you can tell everyone how you're really feeling in total confidentiality. Unless you want to throw everyone's dirty laundry out in the open, that is"

John Confessional: "I have to say, the idea of being on a TV show is growing on me"

Leon Confessional: "I already hate my team. Can I switch someone on my team with someone on Blue? Preferably Kurt. He used to beat John and his crew all the time when we were kids"

John decided to head out into the woods after it had been awhile since he heard from the others. He headed out there with Linda, the best sniper on the team.

"I'm going to find a tree to hide in"

"Good. Go do that"

"Come on, you're too tight. Loosen up a bit. We're on TV" Sam said to the two over the radio. John groaned. Red Team was trying stealth. Jai was leading Jerome, Adriana, and James.

"Hold on. Let them pass" Jai said.

Adriana Confessional: "I thought Jai was crazy. Plus, Jerome is antsy to get back out there and prove he's still got it after spending twenty years in cryo AND he's one of the best leaders the program produced"

Jerome Confessional: "Yeah, I got carried away there"

Jerome was walking around in active camo.

"I love being invisible. Because I can do this!"

"Jerome! Stop grabbing my butt!" Adriana yelled.

"Who said it was me?"

"Just stop it!"

"Fine" Jerome revealed himself crouched in the woods. "Red Team! Charge!" He led Red Team on a charge at the Blue Base. Jai was jumping up and down and waving his arms, exasperated at what he was seeing.

"Try and stop me!" he cried as he began using his SMG-shaped paintball gun to metaphorically mow down Blue Team. He grabbed the flag, then let out an ear piercing shriek before running. James was sniped by Linda, and was out.

James confessional: "You know, I kept thinking he was going to do it. But, Jerome proved me wrong. Like that trust fall when we were 10. That made me realize he was perfect for Douglas and Alice on that team. And not just because they're former washouts"

Jerome was running through the woods, flag being waved like a madman. Red Team was backing him, struggling to not be eliminated by Blue Team. He was screaming unintelligible gibberish while dodging John's paintballs. Jerome needed to jump over the river. He started jumping over the rocks. He almost made it. Then, he slipped. Plop! He fell in the river, cracking his crotch and his head on a couple rocks. The fast moving current swept him away. Jerome grabbed onto a tree branch and pulled himself out. Red Team began running towards him.

"Wicked wipeout, man!" Jai told him. Jerome gave a thumbs up. Vinh began looking around.

"Jerome, where's the flag?"

"Oh shoot"

Solomon confessional: "When he surfaced without the flag, I was glad for two reasons. The first being he was okay. The second meaning we won the challenge"

Margaret confessional: "When I heard Jerome dropped the flag into the river, I was fuming. I know who I'm voting off tonight!"

The Spartans returned to the lodge. Johnson greeted them.

"I saw everything on the cameras we have all over the place. Jerome, I'm glad you're okay, but you cost your team the challenge. Blue Team wins!" he called out. Blue Team began celebrating.

"What do we win?" Alice asked.

"You get a hot tub party!" Blue Team cheered, while Red Team looked dejected.

"Red Team, vote one of your own off, and meet me at the bonfire pit after dinner"

Dinner was very awkward. The team began looking awkwardly at each other. Jerome has washed off his war paint, and was slipping on his hoodie as they had all removed their MJOLNIR armor. Leon and Margaret were keeping their war paint on until after the elimination ceremony.

"So. Who do we vote off first?" Adriana asked. Robert shrugged.

"I say we either vote off Cyclops or Flagpole Sitta" he said, motioning to Margaret and Jerome. James shook his head.

"We can't vote off either one of our strongest players. It's poor strategy!" he proclaimed.

"It's a calculated risk" Malcolm responded.

"How about one of the two asshats who kept claiming they were the leader?" Leon proposed. Jerome appeared to agree.

"I one hundred percent agree with you there" he said. Carris and Malcolm seemed annoyed.

"Supposedly, you're one of our leaders, but your bonehead move cost us the challenge" Malcolm said through gritted teeth, poking Jerome in the chest. Red Team was stuck with a decision, but most had made up their minds. Jerome was leaning against a wall in the mess hall after dinner, sipping on a cup of fruit punch. Johnson handed him a broom.

"If you got time to lean around the camp, you got time to clean around the camp" he told him. Jerome reluctantly began sweeping the floors while Carris was wiping the tables.

. . .

It was late at night. All 11 members of Red Team sat around the bonfire. Sergeant Johnson stood before them. Malcolm looked over at Jerome and laughed.

"Dude, you had quite the wipeout today. Really made my day. But, you have a long way to go before you're ready to be a leader again after being frozen for 20 years" he told him. Johnson held up a plate of s'mores.

"Here is a plate of s'mores. A delectable civilian camp treat that you've unfortunately never had. However, tonight, they mean life or death. When I call your name, come up and claim one. The contestant that does not receive a s'more is eliminated, and must take the Walk Of Shame to the Loser Pelican and be taken to their post-war civilian home" he began. He looked over the Spartans.

"Leon" he called first.

"Alright!"

"Malcolm"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Cal. Adrianna. Margaret. Vinh. Robert" he continued calling. He swept the remaining Spartans with his gaze.

"Jai" When he heard his name, Jai breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, we have two left. The next contestant who is going to stay is James" James walked up and grabbed his s'more. None of them ever had one before, and they were looking forward to this treat. Jerome and Carris were the final two. Jerome broke out in a cold sweat. Carris began shaking. Jerome began biting his nails. Carris had her eyes closed tight and fingers crossed. Johnson was rubbing his chin. He stuck is right index finger out, between the two Spartans. They've been through hell and back since they were six years old, yet this is what makes them squirm, Johnson thought. He began wagging his extended finger side to side, the two watching, hypnotized. He then settled on a contestant.

"Carris" She breathed a sigh of relief. Jerome was disappointed. He slouched down on the seat, which was a log bench.

"Great wipeout, horrible recovery" Johnson told him. Jerome stood up, and walked towards the Pelican, hands in the pockets of his hoodie, that would take him to the human colony of Minister, his home world. He took one look back, and everyone was waving bye to him. He sighed, boarded the Pelican, and left the show.

"Rest of you are safe. Have a good night's sleep, and I'll see you in the morning" Johnson said. Adriana took a bite of the s'more. She wolfed the rest of it down, finding it enjoyable.

Adriana confessional: "The simple pleasures we've been denied for so long feel so great. I'm actually kind of depressed now"

Meanwhile, Blue Team was living it up in the hot tub. Sam stood in the tub, hoisting a bottle of hard pink lemonade.

"A toast to victory!" he cried. His other teammates cheered in response. But, one teammate was missing. John was sitting alone in his room in the Blue Team base. He didn't go because he didn't have a swimsuit, nor does he know how to be in "normal" situations. All he ever knew was war, and he didn't know how to do anything else. He felt left out because his comrades have adapted, but not him. Maybe he'll get a swimsuit. He liked Kurt's skull and crossbones patterned trunks. He also thought Linda looked good in hers, a zebra print bikini, though he didn't know how to tell her. Maybe, he thought, maybe I'll come out of shell during this show.