(Uporstvo Tribe)
The nine people went back to camp with mixed reactions on how the vote went.
"Thanks, Ronald." Bill said sighing in relief.
"No problem." The rat said putting his hands behind his back.
"I literally dodged a bullet tonight. I thought all we had to do to get rid of Richard is get Aurum on our side but then he played his Idol." Bill said in relief. "You don't know how scared I was when I seen that Idol. Or how relieved I was when I saw Mortimer's name come up."
Richard had pulled Aurum to the side clearly not pleased by the outcomes and tonight.
"And what… May I ask… Was that?" The scientist asked with a growl.
"Tonight went horribly. I knew that Ronald was untrusting of me so I used my Idol but instead, Mortimer ended up taking the fall instead." Richard growled. "I know that it could had gone either way but I want to know exactly is just so… "untrustworthy"."
Ronald merely shrugged. "Be reasonable, Richard. We trusted Bill's side more and we knew you had the Idol so that is why we voted off Mortimer. We knew you had it."
"But WHY you didn't trust me?" Richard asked. "You were less than subtle about your suspicions over me."
"I just answered that question." Ronald pointed out. "You had the Idol."
"After that more-than-rocky start, I had finally getting into the groove. I knew that we had to get rid of Richard's Idol AND I knew that Richard may predict my suspicions." Ronald said proudly. "So everyone was expecting for us to vote for Richard, we voted for Mortimer getting rid of his Idol AND his only ally."
Richard blinked twice. "That's it? I had the Idol. Even if I was going to use against you later, I would had at least voted off a couple of Plata members!"
Ronald merely shrugged. "How can we be so sure? All we know about you is how unpleasant you were at Plata's Tribal Council on the night of the double one."
Richard glared at Janet who immediately held up her hands in protest.
"Don't look at me." The woman said. "All I said is what I heard about the negative feedback to you."
"Ronald practically shoved me aside for this round and took the wheel of the ship. And you know what? I am actually glad he did." Janet said crossing her arms. "When Foa Foa reached merge, Russell was the bigger target over their leader, Mick due to Russell making more moves. If he wants to lead on now, go ahead. Smaller target on my back."
"Well, now what?" Richard asked crossing his arms.
Ronald paused. "Well, how confident are you at Immunity Challenges?"
Richard's eyes bugged out in disbelief. "You are STILL siding with Bill?"
"We trust him more." Ronald said simply.
"I call blasphemy!" Richard roared. "If Bill had the Idol, you would had never had trusted him! You are possibly deciding the fate of your tribe over one detail!"
Ronald merely shrugged. "Like you said, we don't know that we can trust you just like we can trust Bill. Besides, we were all stumped."
Richard shook his head before storming off. "You just made a grand mistake, my friend."
"Bold words from the guy who is now in a 8-1 minority." Catherine called out.
"Who said that I would be the one will be the cause of your consequences?" Richard asked looking back.
Aurum seemed confused by this before looking at each other.
(Day 25)
Everyone but Richard was gathered around to talk.
"Well, THAT could have gone better." Bill said. "But the point is that we got rid of Richard's Idol."
"I am just upset that Mortimer had to take the fall for him." Kao lamented.
"Yeah, he didn't seem like a bad guy." Catherine frowned. "He just befriended the wrong person."
Oscar was about to say something until he felt Janet elbow his arm. Looking down, he saw the woman sternly shaking her head.
"I felt so sorry for Mortimer. He didn't do anything bad except befriend someone who had saved him earlier on." Kao frowned. "And now he was an Idol goat even though that is what we had been AVOIDING at the start."
Bill shook his head. "I am just upset that we lost Mortimer when he STILL thinks that Richard is a good guy."
"Do you really think Richard was manipulating him?" Kao asked.
"I KNOW so." Bill said sternly.
However at the same time, Richard was walking past. However, he overheard what Bill said.
Janet noticed this. "Um, Bill?"
The cop just continued. "That is why Mortimer voted for me, he must had been manipulated into being a spy for that creep."
Richard's eyebrow twitched. "OH, COME ON!"
Everyone jumped at the dark-haired man stormed over.
"Normally I wouldn't go into shouting matches but after losing my Idol, my only ally AND being stuck in a huge minority, the last thing I need is a hypocritical comments out of Bill's mouth." Richard said holding his head. "So when I heard him saying that I was MANIPULATING Mortimer, I just lost it!"
"You are without a doubt one of the biggest hypocrites I had ever met!" The bespectacled man said walking up into Bill's face.
"Excuse me, WHO are you for literally getting into my face and WHO are you to tell me that I am a hypocrite?" Bill roared.
"For starters, you accused me of manipulating Mortimer!" Richard accused.
"You HAD to! He had voted against me!" Bill snapped.
"He voted against you on his own free will! Especially when he saw how self-righteous you were!" Richard shot back.
"Oh, and do tell. How come I am SO self-righteous?" Bill asked crossing his arms.
"Because you made your daughter-substitute lie to me!" Richard snapped.
The rest of Plata jumped at this as Coco looked to the side.
"Uh-oh…" Coco muttered.
"What…" Bill said before narrowing his eyes. "What was that?"
"You heard me!" Richard snapped. "Coco came to three days ago and told me you had forgiven me and was willing to work with me. Not only was that a lie but she said that Mortimer was on the plan as well!"
Kao looked down at Coco. "Is this true?"
"N-no, I don't know what Richard is talking about." The young girl said.
"That is another lie! Mortimer was behind a tree when it happened and he heard the same thing!" Richard snapped.
Janet frowned. "Um, sorry, Richard but you can't really play the witness card when said witness had literally just gone last night."
"Besides, why would Coco lie?" Sally said sternly.
"Why else? Because Bill told her too!" Richard said.
"You're the liar!" Coco said walking off to the side holding her face.
"Coco!" Kao said rushing over to comfort the girl.
"Now look what you done!" Bill snapped. "Why did you have to drag Coco into this?"
"Because by the time I called her out, YOU had already dragged her into this mess!" Richard roared.
"Why would I let a little girl do my dirty work?" Bill asked.
"I don't know. Isn't that the nature of a dirty cop?" Richard asked.
Bill's eyes bugged out as all thoughts of mercy left his mind.
Everyone gasped as he grabbed Richard by his lab-coat and lifted him off the ground glaring into his eyes.
"Take… It… Back." Bill said slowly.
Richard returned the glare. "No. It is what you are being."
"Why you insufferable…" Bill growled.
Then, Sally and Kao ran over pulling Bill away from Richard.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Bill roared.
"Bill, please!" Kao begged.
"Yeah, he is not worth it! Let's just vote him out like normal!" Sally agreed.
Bill struggled to break out of his friends' grip but soon slowly calm down and took a deep breath.
"Fine. You're right. Immunity is the only way for Richard to survive." Bill said.
Richard growled. "Enjoy your fun while you can, Plata because you are not going to have a grand time out here!"
He then glared at Aurum.
"And you four!" Richard said. "You are just as bad as them!"
With that, he stormed off looking furious everyone glaring at him.
"And that guy was wondering why you guys were after you?" Catherine asked in disgust.
"I know, right?" Sally asked rolling her eyes.
Meanwhile, Bill made his way over to Coco who was still covering his face.
"Are you all right, Coco?" Bill asked concerned.
"I-I didn't lie to Richard. In fact, I made sure that I avoid speaking with him!" The dark-skinned girl pleaded.
"I believe you." Bill said hugging the girl.
"…How does that man sleep at night?" Sally asked.
Ronald sat in front of the camera for a moment. He then slapped his forehead in hopelessness. "Wasn't you accusing me of being less than subtle last night, Richard?"
Coco sat in front of the camera twiddling her thumbs. "Well… At least I more or less finally made a move that made some drama and mistrust. Ah ha…"
"Richard has to go. There is no two cents about it." Bill said sternly. "Between accusing Coco of a liar and calling me a dirty cop was the straw that broke my back."
Richard stormed off into the jungle. However as he did, he slowly stopped and he collapsed against the tree covering his face.
"I blew it…" He said.
"I messed up. I let my rage get the better than me and gave Aurum more reason to prove that I am untrustworthy." Richard said holding his face. "Normally, I would try to compare this to a chessboard situation but most of my pieces are gone with the other side's pieces literally going whatever they want."
(Day 26)
Sally and Kao made their way to the treemail box. They were completely silent on the way there.
Sally finally broke the ice. "Man, what a mess we had yesterday, didn't?"
"I'll say." Kao sighed.
"Yesterday was just… Ugly. Richard literally walked up to Bill's face and accused him of manipulating Coco into lying to his face and called him a dirty cop." Sally winced. "I knew that man was bad news to accuse such a young girl."
"I mean what he has to gain by pinning it on poor broken-down Coco?" Sally asked.
"I don't know. I don't believe Coco would do something like that." Kao mused. "I wonder where he got the idea."
"He probably did it just to try to get Bill to hit him." Sally said sternly.
Kao's eyes widened. "Do you really think THAT was the reason?"
"It has to!" Sally said. "There is no other reason for Richard to accuse Coco other than to be a jerk!"
Kao shook his head before taking a letter out of the treemail box. "I just want to get these next few days over with. This is getting out of hand even for Survivor standards."
"Agreed." Sally nodded. "Let's just focus our energy on keeping Richard from winning Challenges. Speaking of which, let's go see the others."
Kao nodded as the two returned.
"Okay. Challenge time!" Sally sang.
Everyone made their way over.
"What does it say?" Bill and Richard asked at the same time.
The two then realized that they said the same thing at the same time and stared at each other in surprise. They then scowled before looking away from each other while crossing his arms.
"Right…" Sally said.
Kao gave an unseen frown before shaking his head and reading the letter. "It'd been three days. How well you know your whole tribe?"
"Um, didn't we have a Challenge similar to that?" Janet asked.
As she said this, everyone looked around.
"I strongly doubt that this is a coincidence." Ronald said flatly.
"What are the chances of having two Challenges and focused on knowing people to win? And right when both sides are having major conflict." Coco noted. "I think Tiny is doing this on purpose for the lulz. Wouldn't be the first time he did something like that."
(Reward Challenge)
The nine castaways made their way onto the tribe mat.
"Hey, guys!" Tiny grinned. "Take a look for your next Challenge."
Everyone looked to see a large pyramid-like grid with nine spots at the bottom with two spots decreasing as they advance up.
"Here is another simple Challenge. You will be doing a questionnaire on each other. When you are done, I will take the results and count them up." Tiny said before holding a writing board in each hand. "Then, I will ask a few questions and you will either answer yes or no. If you answer yes, you will advance forward. However, you will be all standing the line of nine going onto another line of nine and seven people could advance on the line of seven and so on. In the end, whoever makes it to the top spot wins Reward. Want to know what you are playing for?"
Everyone nodded.
"A nice trip to a seaside outdoor spring where you would relax in a nice hot springs to help you relax." Tiny said. "Now let's hand out the questionnaires."
(Later)
It didn't take long for everyone to full out their questionnaires and hand them back to Tiny. After the hosts had calculated the results, he handed out the boards.
"All right. This Challenge has officially began." Tiny said. "Who is more likely to win in a fight? A. Kao or B. Oscar?"
It took a few people to think about it but soon everyone chose their answers.
"Ronald and Catherine held up Kao while the others held up Oscar." Tiny said. "The correct answer is Oscar."
Despite being the right answer, Oscar was unhappy. "They actually thought KAO could beat me…?"
"Everyone but Ronald and Catherine step forward." Tiny said. Everyone obliged. "Okay, next question. Who did the most lying? A. Bill or B. Richard?"
Almost everyone had raised their signs. Everyone had Richard while Richard had Bill.
"The correct answer is Richard. Ironically enough, the scientist is the only one to get it wrong." Tiny said.
Richard merely growled while Bill smirked.
"Everyone but Richard step forward. Ronald, Richard and Catherine. You have to get this next question right to stay in the game." Tiny said. "Next question is who would waste the prize faster? A. Oscar or B. Richard?"
This time, the results are more divided. Bill, Janet, Catherine, Oscar and Sally said Richard while the rest said Oscar.
"The correct answer is Richard." Tiny said. "Everyone advance forward. Richard and Ronald, you are out."
Richard paused. "Oscar, what will you spend the prize money on?"
The whale then grinned. "A beach party!"
Richard blinked twice. "How in the world would I waste the prize money faster than that?"
"I am sure you think of something." Ronald joked.
"Okkkkayyyyy. Next question." Tiny said. "Who is harder to sleep with? A. Bill or B. Ronald."
Again, the results varied. Janet, Oscar, Catherine had up Bill while Bill, Kao, Coco and Sally held up Ronald.
"And the correct is Bill!" Tiny said. "Janet, Oscar and Catherine come forward."
Everyone obliged as Bill blinked twice.
"How the hang am I difficult to sleep with?" Bill asked.
"You snore." Janet said flatly.
"A lot." Catherine added.
"Hey, still better than having Ronald sleep-talk some kind of incantation." Sally said.
"Next question." Tiny said. "Who would you like to introduce to your friends and family back at home? A. Coco or B. Kao?"
Everyone wasted no time holding up their answers. Bill, Kao and Oscar held up Coco and Janet, Sally, Catherine and Coco held up Kao.
"The correct answer is Kao." Tiny said. "Everyone said that take a step forward."
"Oh, wow…" Kao said with a small blush. "Thanks…"
Oscar on the other hand stared at Catherine for some reason.
"Bill, Coco, Kao, you have to step it up." Tiny said. "Who do you think is in charge of the game at the moment? A. Bill or B. Ronald?"
Everyone had risen up Ronald while Coco and Janet raised Bill.
"The correct answer is Ronald." Tiny said. "Coco and Kao. You are out."
"I am surprised that you didn't get put up there." Sally whispered to Janet. "Sure, Ronald was the one who made that big move but you are the leader."
The mercenary chuckled nervously. "Hey, give credit is where credit is due."
"Bill, you had managed to survive but you are still on the fence." Tiny said. "Who do you think spends more time in the mirror? A. Catherine or B. Oscar?"
Everyone had risen up Oscar while the orca whale raised up Catherine.
"The correct answer is Oscar." Tiny said. "Bill, you may had gotten it right but it is too little too late. You are out. So are you Oscar."
"Wait. Am I REALLY that narcissistic?" Oscar asked.
"I'll be honest." Bill said with a shrug. "If I had a bod like yours, I would probably do the same thing."
Oscar chuckled with a small smile.
"All right, girls." Tiny said to Janet, Sally and Catherine. "I will ask a question and whoever gets it right wins Reward."
The three women looked at each other knowing how close it was.
"For Reward, tell me by the end of the season, who will get the most votes against them?"
The three were quick to write down their answers. Janet had held up "Bill", Sally held up "Richard" and Catherine "Ronald."
"And the correct answer is…" Tiny said.
Everyone looked on.
"Ronald. Which means…" Tiny said. "CATHERINE WINS REWARD!"
The pink-haired girl jumped up in joy upon hearing this.
(Later)
"Congratulations, Catherine. You had won a trip to some nice hot springs." Tiny smiled to Catherine. "But going only would be boring so you can have one person join you so choose wise…"
"Ronald."
Tiny paused before sighing. "Never mind…"
The rat walked over. However, he has a mixed reaction on his face.
"Well, you two will have a nice place at some hot springs." Tiny said. "However, you also have to choose something to send to Exile Island."
Unlike with Ronald, Catherine actually had to think before nodding.
"Janet." Catherine said.
The mercenary nodded her head with a small smile.
"Janet, you will be at Exile Island for the day where you will get a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol." Tiny said. "As for the rest of you, I got nothing for you. You may head back to camp."
(Uporstvo Tribe)
When everyone had returned back to camp, everyone saw Richard stomping off.
"Looks like he is even more angrier than before thanks to the results of the questionnaire." Kao frowned.
Bill just smirked. "You slither around in the grass, better expect to be called a snake."
"The normally calm and smart-mouthed is stomping around in circles in frustration knowing fully well that he is the next victim." Bill said before smirking. "And I am loving every minute of it! Serves him right for being so smug for most of the game."
Oscar sat on a log looking like he was in deep thought about something. Bill who was walking by noticed this.
"Hey, big guy." Bill said walking over. "Are you all right?"
"Huh?" Oscar said looking up. "Oh, it's you, Bill. I am just a bit lonely seeing that my fellow Aurum members are gone."
"Well, you can talk to US if you are feeling lonely." The cop said. "We are more or less all on the same side so far."
Oscar merely smirked. "Yeah, the anti-Richard side."
Bill chuckled a bit. "So true."
"Speaking of which, I have a question to ask." Oscar said.
"Hm?" Bill asked looking up.
"What is with your beef with Richard, anyway?" Oscar asked. "I mean I know he is a jerk but still, you are the most hostile towards him."
Bill merely shrugged. "I guess it just comes from my job."
"As a cop?" Oscar asked.
"Yep. It is my duty to stop crooks and protect the innocent." Bill grinned.
"Oh, I see." Oscar said. "So you felt like it is your duty to stop Richard because he reminds you of said slimeballs?"
Bill narrowed his eyes. "Dang straight!"
"Wow, you are definitely a breath of fresh air from those two corrupt cops, Bryan and Bertha." Oscar said.
Bill put his hands on his hips. "That is my main goal for coming here. To show not all people played like those two punks. That is why I made it to get rid of any schemers. So far, I am doing decently with getting rid of Nina and Prick."
Oscar nodded. Suddenly, his eyes widened in horror.
"Wait. You mean you will do whatever it takes to take down any and all villains?" Oscar asked.
"Of course!" Bill said sternly. "Those crooks aren't going to slip through MY fingers."
"By any means necessary?" Oscar quizzed.
"Yeah." Bill nodded.
Oscar sat in his place for a moment. He then got up.
"Bill, thank you so much for the talk." Oscar said. "It really helped out with my loneliness."
"Hey, no problem." The cop reassured. "I try to be friendly when I can."
"I don't see why that Catherine kid dislikes Oscar so much. Sure, he is very clumsy in the mouth but he is genuinely a good guy." Bill said with a small smile. "He is friendly, he is loyal and you can tell he won't do anything on purpose to upset you."
Meanwhile, Oscar walked down to the shore thinking.
"Hmm… Bill seems so fired up to take down anyone who seems like a villain…" Oscar said. "That means…"
He then grinned.
"I don't think I have to work hard to gain Catherine's respect anymore." Oscar said before smirking. "In fact, if this works, she will literally leap into my arms in joy!"
(Hot Springs Spa)
Catherine and Ronald made their way into a building where someone was waiting for them.
"Hi. We are with the game." Catherine said.
"Yes. I had been told." The woman said. "Please feel free to come with me."
"Thank you." Catherine smiled following them.
"I had won Reward today and I get to go to a nice trip with Ronnie!" Catherine said with a squeal. "We both so needed this after all the stress the game had put us through with the fights and the blindsides."
Later, the two had gone into the hot springs. They were gender-specific hot springs so Catherine and Ronald were on opposite sides of the bath.
Catherine sighed in comfort before rubbing her skin. "How are you doing over there, Ronnie?"
The rat looked up. "Huh? Your voice can reach over here."
"Yeah. The walls aren't as thick as they look." Catherine said. "Well, they are when fending off perverts."
"I see…" Ronald said with a pause. "Catherine, there is something that I need to express."
"Hm?" The teenager asked confused.
"Catherine took me on a great Reward. Normally I would be elated but I am too concerned about something else." Ronald paused. "Janet is on Exile Island looking for the hidden Immunity Idol. And even though she is the best person I could trust besides Catherine, I don't think she would tell me if she has the Idol."
"Not that I don't appreciate some hot springs bath but I think I would had felt better if I was searching for the Idol instead of Janet." Ronald said.
"Why? You don't trust her?" Catherine asked wiping her face.
"That's not the case. For now, anyway." Ronald said shaking his head. "But if she does find it, I wonder if she would tell us. Sure, we are aligned but less out of friendship and more than we don't wanna be Pagonged."
Catherine continued wiping her face before giving a big sigh.
"Honestly, I wanted to make it the other way around with Janet going with me on the trip and you going on Exile Island." She said. "But there is one thing stopping me."
Ronald raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
"It is the first visit! At least for the second Idol." Catherine said. "It is very rare for someone, no matter how good are their treasure-hunting skills to find an Idol on the first go."
"So you sent Janet instead because it would had been a lost cause." Ronald said a bit surprised.
"No… If I thought that, I would have sent Richard instead." Catherine said. "But while it is rare, it is not impossible to find that Idol. But like I said, there is a chance for Janet to be wandering around the island in circles."
Ronald paused. "So you sent Janet because you trust her the most besides me to find and tell us about the Idol but you don't mind that there are going around a wild goose chase?"
"Pretty much." Catherine shrugged.
Ronald blinked twice. He then laughed heartily.
"Okay. I admit it. I feel a LOT better about Janet going to Exile now." The rodent grinned.
Catherine giggled. "Thanks. Besides, I always wanted to go with regardless."
"Yeah, I figured." Ronald chuckled.
"Catherine had been the most helpful to me for this entire game. I am not known for my gratitude but it is no secret if it wasn't for her, I would be the first boot of my tribe." Ronald said.
Catherine sighed. "You don't know how excited I was to befriend a real animal."
"Yeah, I noticed…" Ronald shuddered remember the first few days. He then realized something. "Wait. You mean a real anthro right?"
"Well, yes and no." Catherine said. "You see. I live alone. My father is always going away on business trips."
Ronald paused for a moment. "Wait. How about your mother?"
"I don't have a mother." Catherine said flatly.
Ronald shrank in his place realizing the grim and awkward situation he had gotten himself into. Catherine thankfully didn't seem fazed by this and continued.
"Anyway, the reason he is always going on trips is to make enough money to support my education." Catherine said. "Though because of this, I would be lucky if I get to spend time with him for at least a week. So you know what he does to make it up to me?"
Ronald shook his head. "No."
"He brings me a stuffed animal from each of his trips from around the world." Catherine said. "Every time is only one but by the time I reached fifteen, my entire room was full with stuffed animals."
"So your love of animals came from most of your friends being stuffed toys?" Ronald asked.
"Yeah." Catherine said.
Ronald then smirked. "So I assume there was never an insect or fish one."
Catherine's eyes brightened up. "No, actually. So that is why I didn't go crazy over Oscar and Queenmon."
"At one point, I actually forgotten what sparked my love in animals in the first place but I just remembered why that is." Catherine said. "You see, I think this is dead obvious but I am not known for my… communication skills so I spend most of my time talking to my stuffed animals at home with exception of a few human friends. Not that I don't mind. Sometimes I prefer them to humans anyway."
Ronald was about to say something until he noticed his hand. "Ah!"
Catherine looked up. "What is it?"
"My hand! It is grey again!" Ronald said in relief.
"Really? Well, I am not surprised." Catherine said. "It had stayed on for a while."
"A bit too long for MY taste." Ronald said throwing a bucket of water over himself.
(Exile Island)
Janet got off the boat and looked around with her hands on her hips.
"So this is Exile Island." Janet said slapping her hands together. "Okay, let's get to work."
"Now that Richard had used the first one, I could finally worry about only one of two Idols of this season." Janet said. "Now that Catherine had sent me to Exile Island I could find it for myself so I don't have to worry about it later on."
She looked at the first clue. She then blinked twice at it.
"I have absolutely no idea what the heck this means." She said flatly.
The Ikari Warrior shook her head before thinking what the clue means and went to search.
"Serves me right for thinking I could find the Idol with just one clue. Still, as an Ikari Warrior, I am ashamed and embarrassed." Janet lamented. "I guess I have to tell the others that I was unable to find it."
After a bit of searching, the mercenary gave up and made her way to the shelter.
She then sat down. "Thankfully, I don't think we need the Idol. At least not at the moment. Though it WOULD help a lot in the next tiebreaker."
"If we successfully vote off Richard, we will have to face Plata in a tiebreaker. A part of me wants to regroup with Richard but after what happened, he may want nothing to with us." Janet said shaking her head. "Besides, if we do that, we would had backstabbed every Plata member that made the merge."
(Day 26; Uporstvo Tribe)
Richard sat on the shore clearly still frustrated while drawing a diagram in the sand with a twig.
"Hmm… Bill obviously has it in for me and so does Sally. Kao is just a sheep and Coco is worse. She is Bill's puppet." Richard mused. "Ronald cannot be trusted and Catherine is another sheep with Oscar being an idiot and I don't know much about Janet."
He then took a deep breath before starting to think.
"Maybe I could use Ronald's untrustworthy nature to my advantage. Maybe I could convince somebody that he is cannot be trusted by anyone. Or have Ronald want to backstab someone." Richard mused. "But… If I know the latter, how could he convince three people to side with him? And how do I convince another when Bill had planted in everyone's minds that I am the "villain"?"
The scientist continued to think for a moment. After a minute, he growled angrily before swiping the sand drawing with his hand.
"Normally I would be so calm and collected when thinking but I am literally out of ideas right now because I believe everyone doesn't trust me enough to even listen." Richard said before crossing his arms. "What I wouldn't give for Mortimer's company right now? You never know what you lost until it is gone."
"How am I going to get myself out of this mess?" The Russian man grumbled.
"Um, Richard?"
The dark-haired man jerked his head up and turned around to see Oscar making his way forward.
"What…?" Richard spat.
Oscar crossed his arms not impressed. "Richard, with manners like THOSE, you are really surprised why you are in the minority."
Richard growled before rubbing his forehead. "I am in a very bad mood right. What is it, Oscar?"
"Well, I just wanted to know what you meant by not siding with you is a mistake and that we will suffer consequences for it. Just not by you." Oscar said.
This caught Richard's attention. "Oh? Is that why you are here?"
"Of course! Why else would I risk being seen talking to you?" Oscar asked.
Richard growled at the comment but decided to ignore it.
"Well, I know I am just repeating myself but Bill is very self-righteous." Richard explained.
Oscar raised an eyebrow. "Is it due to his desire to make sure that not all cops are like Bryan and Bertha?"
"Obviously." Richard said rolling his eyes.
"What… Had you done to tick off your tribe?" Oscar asked.
Richard took in a deep breath. "Remember the lacrosse Challenge where Prick snapped at Mortimer? Well, I wanted to save him because I felt that he wouldn't go home letting Prick walk all over him. Then, I found Sally lamented of how the whole thing was HER fault."
Oscar's eyes widened. "How did THAT happen?"
Richard shook his head. "She seemed very unconfident with her skills. Anyway, I told her, and these are my exact words, mind you. I don't think that she deserves to go and will side with her."
"Side with her?" Oscar asked.
"Yeah. I told her to vote for someone else and I won't vote for her." Richard said.
Oscar paused in confusion before realizing. "Oh, I get it! You lied to her!"
"No!" Richard said. "I said that I wouldn't vote for her! And I didn't! We voted off Amber instead!"
Oscar raised an eyebrow. "So you told the truth but rather hid the whole of it from her."
Richard nodded his head. "Indeed."
Oscar paused. "Um, isn't that the same as lying though? Sure, you told the truth but you knew that she was thinking she was going instead of Mortimer and you took advantage of her situation. Say what you want but that is what used car salesman do."
Richard was about to say something. But then he paused in thought.
"All right. I admit it." The dark-haired man said. "Now that I heard it from somebody who DIDN'T shout in my face, their logic makes a lot more sense."
Oscar smirked. "Betcha feel bad about saying that you never lied, huh?"
Richard crossed his arms with a huff. "I definitely would. BEFORE Bill sent Coco after me to "teach me a lesson"."
"I assumed that lying simply means saying things that are untrue to people's faces…" Richard muttered. "But now I see that my way isn't that much different to Bill and Coco's, just with the use of a loophole."
"You really think they were lying?" Oscar asked.
"I KNOW so!" Richard snapped. "I know I have no evidence but Coco DID walked right up to my face and lied straight to it."
"And you think Bill will do the same to us?" Oscar asked.
"I know so." Richard said narrowing his eyes.
The whale shook his head. "Well, I still don't know that I could trust your words."
"I know but…" Richard started.
"Treemail!"
"Oh, never mind!" Oscar said rushing off. "Sorry but I have to go on ahead before they see us walking with each other!"
With that, he ran forward leaving a confused Richard slowly following.
Soon, everyone gathered around Bill with a letter.
"What does it say, Bill?" Sally asked.
"Did you go to camp and did obstacle courses?" The bearded man read.
Sally blinked twice. "Um, what the heck?"
Oscar just smirked. "So cares what the camp part means? An obstacle course is always fun."
"Speak for yourself…" Coco muttered under her breath.
"I never went to camp so I don't know what a normal camp obstacle course looks like. However, knowing Tiny, it is probably more than normal." Sally said looking to the side. "Thankfully, I had been getting a little more confident recently."
(Immunity Challenge)
The six people waited on the mat.
"We now bring in Catherine and Ronald from the Reward." Tiny said as the two walked in.
"Miss us?" Ronald asked. Richard immediately looked away.
"And we also bring Janet from Exile Island." Tiny said as the Ikari Warrior came in.
"Hey, guys." She greeted.
"We now have our next Challenge." Tiny said. "Take a look."
Everyone looked to see a rather complex obstabcle course.
"Here is your next Challenge." Tiny said. "Taking a page from one of Mario Party's many mini-games. First, you have to navigate through a bunch of logs in the ground trying to reach the water. Once you do, you have to jump on some platforms over the water sending to a checkpoint. Once you reach it, you have to climb up a log ladder and ride a rope to another checkpoint where you have to run up and down a long flight of steps. Finally, you have a choice. Go over a steep ramp or jump over some more platforms. If you fall in the water at any kind, you have to go back and swim from the last checkpoint. When you raise the flag, you win Immunity guaranteeing an 1-in-8 chance of winning."
Everyone nodded.
"First things first." Tiny said. "Oscar, I need the Immunity Headdress back."
The orca whale nodded before walking over and handing the Headdress to Tiny.
"Now let's draw for positions."
(Later)
Soon, everyone got on their marks.
"All right. For Immunity!" Tiny said. "Survivors, ready? Go!"
Everyone ran straight at the log forest trying to squeeze their way first. However, Kao and Oscar brought up the rear by far due to having large frames. Coco on the other hand was the first one out of it due to her small stature.
Coco then ran over to the first platform on the water and leaped on. However, she only got half-way and had to climb up using the very little upper-body strength she had.
Janet, Sally and Bill then made their way out of the log forest and soon making short work across the platforms leaving Coco behind. The young girl saw this and growled.
"I hate obstacle courses." Coco whined.
Janet was the first across with Bill and Sally not too far behind. Meanwhile, Richard and Catherine got out of the log forest. Richard resorted to using the frog style while Catherine was making her way across by jumping.
After Bill, Janet and Sally had grabbed their ropes and swung their way across. However, Sally dropped her rope too early and fell into the water with a big splash.
"No!" Sally said putting her head out of the water with a horrified look on her face realizing how much of a lead she lost.
Kao and Oscar had finally left the log forest and made their way to the platforms. However, Kao had slipped and fell into the water making a big splash which went far enough to splash Coco knocking her off her platforms.
"Are you freaking serious?" Coco growled poking her head out of the water.
Meanwhile, Bill and Janet made good work over the steps easily. It was clear that the Challenge was going to go to one of them. Soon, they were at the pathways.
Bill went for the steep ramp while Janet took the short platforms. It all came down to this.
Then, Bill slipped and fell down the ramp leaving Janet to make her way to the goal on the platforms. She wasted no time raising her flag.
"Janet has raised her flag." Tiny said. "JANET WINS IMMUNITY!"
The woman jumped up in joy hearing this.
(Later)
"Congratulations, Janet. You had won Immunity granting you a 1-in-8 chance of winning." Tiny said putting the headdress on her.
"Thank you." The brunette smirked.
"As for the rest of you, you will go to Tribal Council where one of you will leave this game." Tiny said. "You have all day to figure out who. You may head back to camp."
(Uporstvo Tribe)
Everyone except Richard had gathered around to talk.
"Richard?" Janet asked.
"Duh." Bill said with a smirk.
"Yeah, he had lasted a little long for my taste." Coco said.
Everyone slowly agreed. Except for Oscar who was in deep thought.
"Tonight, we are finally getting rid of that creep, Richard. Seriously, I hated him more than ever after he called me a dirty cop and accused poor little Coco of being a liar." Bill said crossing his arms. "The only redeeming factor about that outburst is it shows how unlikable Richard is to Aurum."
Later, Aurum was talking.
"So, any luck?" Ronald asked.
"Hm. You mean with the Idol?" Janet asked before looking down. "No, sorry."
Ronald just shrugged. "Ah, well. We just have to worry about the Idol when the next Reward Challenge comes."
Oscar stood in his place for a moment before speaking up.
"I think we should vote off Bill." The whale said confusing the others.
"Yeah. We know. Bill is the leader of Plata so after we get rid of Richard, we…" Ronald started.
Oscar shook his head. "No. I meant tonight."
This startled the others.
"What!? Why!?" Janet exclaimed.
Oscar narrowed his eyes. "I don't trust him."
"I am not usually into strategy but I had realized something. Assuming Richard IS telling the truth this time, then Bill may do anything to take down anyone that seems like a villain." Oscar said crossing his arms. "Case and point… Oh, I don't know. Ronald."
"He told me that he would do anything to get rid of a villain." The strongman explained.
"So?" Catherine asked. "That means he is voting off Richard tonight."
"Yeah but if he DOES vote him off tonight, the only way to get rid of Ronald is by a tiebreaker and nobody should risk their game like that." Oscar said.
Catherine's eyes widened before narrowing them. "Ronald isn't a villain!"
"No but he DOES look like one." Oscar added.
Ronald growled. "You never shut up, do you?"
Oscar crossed his arms sternly. "I'm serious, Ronald."
"Oh? And what makes you think that Bill thinks Ronald will be a villain?" Catherine asked raising an eyebrow.
"Why not?" Oscar asked. "Everyone else had thought so at the start."
Catherine was about to snap back until she froze in her spot with her mouth wide open. She and Ronald then looked at each other with horrified looks.
"He's doomed!" Catherine exclaimed.
"I can't believe I am saying this and I REALLY hate to but Oscar is more than sound! Bill is a cop! Those killjoys are always giving me a hard time back at home!" Ronald said holding his head. "Crap! Crap! Crap! Why didn't I think about it sooner?"
"Now hold on!" Janet said stepping forward. "How do you know that Bill will be like the others?"
"Because he wants to do whatever it takes to bring a good name to cops!" Oscar said. "Starting by getting rid of schemers. Or in this case, people who look like them."
"So THAT'S why Richard told us that siding with Bill will have consequences." Catherine exclaimed with a growl. "You knew that before or after, Ronald would be next! Even with he saved his sorry butt!"
Janet looked around not liking where this was going. "So… What now?"
Ronald narrowed his eyes. "What else? Backstab him before he backstab us!"
"But how do we even know that he is going to backstab us?" Janet asked.
"If he didn't, then he has to do it in a tiebreaker." Catherine said. "That is too risky for him! He HAD to backstab us tonight!"
"Yeah but assuming we go with the plan, we have to reunite with… Richard." Janet said. "And after what happened, I thought he would be that thrilled to go back to us."
The others looked at each other not liking where this was going.
"We do what we must." Ronald said finally.
"Ugh! I hate this! Either we keep a creep like Richard OR we let ourselves to blindsided Bill. How did this happen?" Catherine asked in disbelief before shaking her head. "Sigh… But if it is for Ronald's sake, I'll do it. Heck, I am strategizing with Oscar, aren't I?"
Later, Aurum went to see Richard about the plan.
"You want to what?" Richard asked in disbelief.
"You heard me." Ronald said. "I want to reunite with you to vote off Bill."
Richard let out a mirthless laugh. "Ha! If that's the case, why didn't you do so at the last Tribal Council?"
"Now, Richard. Be reasonable." Ronald said. "We already told you that you couldn't afford to be trusted with that Idol."
The scientist shook his head. "Ronald, why should I believe you?"
Ronald blinked twice in disbelief. "What's there to gain? You have no allies OR Idols. You actually think I am about to do this for the lulz?"
"Stinky did it to Karen." Richard said flatly.
"Come on, man!" Oscar begged. "We had finally realized what you meant by siding with Bill will have consequences!"
"Oh?" Richard asked raising an eyebrow.
"You may not know this but from the start, everyone judged Ronald based on his looks." Catherine said. "They say that he looks like a schemer."
Richard eyed Ronald from head to tie. "I could see why. He could easily fit as a Darkstalker."
Ronald and Catherine growl.
"Anywayyyyyy, we have reason to believe that Bill may go back on his word and vote off Ronald based on his appearance." Catherine said.
"Yeah, that sounds like something Bill will do." Richard said rolling his eyes.
"See? That is why we came to you!" Oscar said. "We need to save Ronald!"
Richard paused. "I admit the whole thing is making a bit of sense now. But how could I trust you?"
Catherine narrowed her eyes while crossing her arms. "Well, don't blame us for doing things to lose your trust because you don't really do anything to gain our trust either."
"Catherine!" Janet scolded.
"No, it's true!" The pink-haired girl said. "Whether the story about Coco lying was true or not, I don't know. But I DO know is if it wasn't for that outburst, we would have a bit more doubt in our actions!"
Richard groaned remembering that event. "I know but still… Bill rubs me the wrong way."
"So vote him out with us." Oscar said.
Richard paused for a moment.
"Since the start, I had been playing this game like a chessboard even going as well as comparing the castaways to chess pieces." Richard explained. "But here is the main difference. Chess pieces have no emotion. I just assumed that they nobody would upset with my loophole with Sally but even Mortimer at one point doubted me. Even I have feelings that are hard to control at a certain point."
(Tribal Council)
The nine people made their way to Tribal Council where Tiny was waiting.
"Welcome, Uporstvo." Tiny said. "Take a seat."
Everyone obliged.
"We now bring in the jury." Tiny said. "Mortimer voted out at the last Tribal Council."
Everyone watched as the duck walked in. He was now dressed nicely in a black-tie tuxedo with a classy top hat as if he was going to see the opera or a similar cultured event.
"Remember, you cannot communicate with the jury. They are just here to observe." Tiny said. "Ronald, I have to ask. What happened?"
"Richard had the Idol so we wanted to get rid of it." The rat said. "However, he was paying it that night so we are forced to vote off his ally, Mortimer instead."
"Richard, what do you feel about it?" Tiny asked.
"Furious, really. I mean I could see why Aurum was intimidated but they were a bunch of strangers. Of course I didn't show them the Idol." The scientist said.
"It is not about showing us the Idol." Ronald said. "But it is about showing us… to take us down."
"Nice to know that I was an Idol goat." Mortimer sighed.
"Bill, how do you feel about Mortimer leaving?" Tiny quizzed.
"Terrible. I mean sure he was following Richard but only because he was manipulating him." The cop said sadly.
Mortimer's eyes widened. "Say what!?"
"This again?" Richard asked in disbelief.
"And this again. I KNOW you were manipulating Mortimer just like you manipulated Sally." Bill snapped.
Richard shook his head in disbelief. "I did it to save Mortimer! Even though you know fully well what Prick had done was wrong, you were tried to keep him!"
"I am not going to vote off an ally over one tantrum!" Bill said. "Besides, most of the tribe wanted Mortimer gone and you went against our wishes!"
"Went against your…" Richard started. "Oh, I am sorry for not playing the game, YOUR way!"
"This isn't MY way! It is EVERYONE'S way!" Bill said.
"And I thought Nina had a big ego." Mortimer said rolling his eyes.
"Guys, guys, calm down!" Tiny pleaded. "Anyway, Coco, how was the aftermath of the blindside?"
The child winced. "Mean-spirited?"
"Why?" Tiny asked.
"Richard started yelling at Bill and me saying that I lied to him." Coco said looking down. "But I never did anything of the sort!"
Richard rolled his eyes.
"Richard doesn't seem to agree." Tiny said flatly.
"I know all I got was my words and Mortimer's but it is the truth." The dark-haired man said. "Bill told Coco to lie to me into thinking we are on the same side."
"This again?" Sally asked in disbelief. "Richard, get off that one-trick pony and leave Coco alone!"
"I would if Bill wouldn't bring her into the argument." The man said.
"Hey!" Bill roared.
"Sheesh, I am actually glad I wasn't there to see it." Mortimer winced.
"Calm down!" Tiny snapped. "Catherine, do you trust Richard's story?"
The teenager shook her head. "Not really. I mean, if he WAS telling the truth, he did a horrible job of trying to show that he is the victim."
Bill and Sally nodded.
"So that means you trust Plata?" Tiny said.
Catherine paused. "Um, I didn't say that. I trust the rest of Plata a little less than I trust Richard. Mainly due to we are still trying to know them."
"Oscar, is trust an issue?" Tiny asked.
The whale nodded. "Yes. We need to make sure that nobody stabs us in the back later on because that would suck if we went with the wrong people."
"Sally, do you think you are the right people?" Tiny asked.
"I like to think so." The blonde said. "I mean we are full with a bunch of trustworthy people. Especially Bill."
The cop grinned as Ronald frowned.
"All right. It is time to vote." Tiny said. "Janet, do you want to give up Immunity?"
"Nope." The mercenary said flatly.
"Okay, then. Time to vote." Tiny said. "Sally, you're up."
The Street Fighter wasted no time getting up and rushing towards the voting table grabbing the pen. "Accusing a nine-year-old is the biggest and last nail of your coffin." Sally said holding up "Richard".
Ronald narrowed his pupil-less eyes before stomping over and taking the pen. "I refuse to be backstabbed by a white knight." He said holding up "Bill".
Catherine walked over looking just as determined as Ronald. Wasting no time writing a name, she put it in the urn and ran back.
Bill glared down before making his way over. He then grabbed the pen with a snarl. "I got you now, Mr. Four-Eyed Snake." He said holding up "Richard".
Oscar smirked before stomping over. He skilfully grabbed the pen taking off the cap. "This is going to be an epic blindside. I know it!" He said holding up "Bill".
Janet sighed before making her way over shaking her head. She then wrote down a name and made her way back despite wanting to look back.
Richard adjusted his glasses before making his way over. With a deep breath, he took his pen. "I sure hope I don't become another Karen."
Coco walked over not looking concerned about the vote at all. She just stepped on her stool and wrote a name.
Kao made his way over stepping up to the table. With a deep breath, he wrote down a name and made his way back.
Once he returned, Tiny got up.
"I'll get the votes."
Everyone waited patiently for Tiny to return.
"I'll read them out."
"First vote, Bill."
All Bill did was roll his eyes.
"Second vote, Richard. One vote, Bill. One vote, Richard."
This surprises Aurum a bit.
"Third vote, Richard. Two votes, Richard. One vote, Bill."
Richard took in a deep breath.
"Fourth vote, Richard. Three votes, Richard. One vote, Bill."
Aurum looked at each other not liking where this was going.
"Fifth vote, Richard. Four votes, Richard. One vote, Bill."
Bill smirked crossing his arms.
"Sixth vote, Bill. Four votes, Richard. Two votes, Bill."
Bill's smirk immediately vanished.
"Seventh vote, Bill. Four votes, Richard. Three votes, Bill."
Bill along with his allies looked around at the Aurum members in horror.
"Eighth vote, Bill. Four votes, Richard. Four votes, Bill. One vote left."
Oscar shrank in his seat realizing that he made Aurum like fools.
"Tenth person voted out of Survivor and second member of our jury…"
Everyone looked on.
"…Is Bill."
"Yes!" Mortimer cheered.
Bill, Sally, Coco and Kao looked absolutely horrified. Richard sighed in relief while Aurum looked sheepish.
"Bill, you have to bring me your torch."
The bearded man shot to his feet absolutely furious. "What the heck!? Why did you backstab me?"
"We couldn't trust you." Ronald said flatly.
"Couldn't trust me? Couldn't trust me?" Bill asked in disbelief. "You backstabbed every Plata member in the game and you had the gall to talk to me about trust!"
"Bill, wait! It is more complicated than that!" Janet pleaded.
"What in the heaven's name is so complicated that made me more untrustworthy than RICHARD?" The cop said.
Richard couldn't help but smirk at Bill's reaction. Seeing that there was no use arguing, he gave Coco, Kao and Sally one last hug.
"Hang in there, guys." Bill said before taking the torch and going over to Tiny putting it in front of him.
"Bill, the tribe has spoken." Tiny said putting his snuffer over the torch extinguishing it. "You may now go."
"I still can't believe that happened…" He said walking off shaking his head in sadness.
Tiny watched him leave before turning to the others. "I noticed something in the reaction tonight. Despite a majority had sent Bill home, most of you looked unhappy about the vote. That is not a good sign this late in the game. Hopefully the next time you vote somebody off, it would be a majority mentally. You may head back to camp."
The eight contestants gathered their torches and made their way back. Sally brought up the rear looking like she was about to have a nervous breakdown. She counted on Bill because he was so much confident in his skills than she was and now she was alone to fend for herself, Kao and Coco. All because some random reason.
"I don't know what the heck happened. I don't know what I could possibly say or do that makes Richard more trustworthy than me. Now he outlasted me." Bill said before growling. "Coco, Sally, Kao. I taught as much as I know. Don't let those backstabbers win this game. Because I sure as hell don't want to vote for them."
RESULTS
Bill: Catherine, Janet, Oscar, Richard, Ronald.
Richard: Bill, Coco, Kao, Sally.
If you see any major mistakes in this episode, it is because I am trying to send this in quickly and I am sending in the early morning.
So Bill is the next one gone. I wanted to have a "Hero Antagonist" and Bill was it. He wanted to prove that cops don't act like Bryan and Bertha but ended up going overboard with his good guy mantra and ending up being self-righteous and believing only into Black and White Mortality.
NOTE: Prick was originally going to be a cop as well but I didn't want to have two cops on the season.
(Ponderosa)
Bill sat in the limo muttering under his breath still upset by the blindside. Soon, he had reached Ponderosa.
"Hey, we are here." Touil said.
Bill let out a rough sigh. "Thanks, bud."
Touil watched as the cop got out of the car. "Hey, bud. Cheer up. It can't be bad."
Bill shook his head. "You have no idea…"
With that, he walked towards the Juror House without looking back.
"Tonight was absolutely horrific. I thought for sure we got the snake, Richard but for some reason, Aurum didn't trust us and thanks to them, the tail snapped in my hands." Bill said slowly. "I know I sound bitter but I hope Coco, Sally and Kao make it because I am NOT looking forward to voting for anyone else."
Bill made his way into the house to see Mortimer on the couch drinking a hot cup of coffee.
"Welcome to the updated Loser's Lodge." Mortimer greeted without turning his head.
"Yeah, hey." Bill said with a sigh. "As much as I hated being eliminated like this, I want to ask you something."
Mortimer raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Tell me straight up." Bill said sitting down next to Mortimer. "Did Coco go to lie to Richard?"
Mortimer paused for a moment before sighing. "Yes, yes, she did."
Bill sat in his place for a moment pausing for a moment.
"He has got a hold on you."
Mortimer blinked twice. "…What?"
"Even now, you still think he is a good person even though he was manipulating you." Bill said shaking his head.
"What?" Mortimer said before narrowing his eyes. "Are you serious? Richard…"
Bill suddenly grabbed Mortimer by the shoulders and shook him a bit.
"Look, I know that Richard had helped you before and I know that all I got was my word but he is a schemer." Bill said looking straight into Mortimer's eyes.
The movie dome owner shifted his eyes around nervously. "Um, Bill? You are making me feel no good."
"Look, just give me the benefit of the doubt." The cop said. "Watch for what Richard says at the next Tribal Council and see any difference from the same man you befriended."
Mortimer blinked twice. "Um, all right?"
Bill sighed in relief before letting go of Mortimer. "Thank you…"
"Even though he was Richard's biggest ally, I am not going to hold it against him. In fact, I am going to try to show him that Richard is no good and he could do better." Bill explained. "He just needs time to realize that."
Mortimer blinked twice. "What in the world was that? Bill just had my shoulders and stared into my eyes as if I was a drug addict or something! Bill had taken this whole "super-cop" to ridiculous levels! I wanted to scold him off but then I realized something."
"Hey, Bill. Can I ask a favour?" The white-feathered man said.
The bearded man raised his eyebrow. "Um, sure. Name it."
"Seeing that you are an expert on criminals, why don't you keep an eye out as well at the following Tribal Councils?" Mortimer asked.
Bill narrowed his eyes. "Ha! You don't even have to ask! I am going to do that! Don't blink! You may miss something very important!"
"I think I already had." Mortimer said. "And you would tell me right?"
"Of course. Unlike some people who don't deserve to be named, I am not a dirty cop." Bill said narrowing his eyes.
Mortimer nodded his head. "All right."
"The only reason I went along with Bill's act is because there was something that had been bugging me. Coco said that Bill had agreed as a whole that everyone agreed on it." Mortimer said. "Does that mean Sally and Kao were in on it as well or Bill left them out of the loop just like me? Ugh! The more I think about it, the more the lie made zero sense!"
"Anyway, where is the kitchen?" Bill asked. "I seriously need a coffee."
Mortimer pointed to the right. Bill nodded before headed in. However once he did so, he made sure that Mortimer wasn't in hearing range. He then sighed in relief before working the coffee machine.
"Richard has to be lying. He got to. He had gone too far with Coco to believe his story." The cop said.
"Richard claimed that Coco lied to him and said that I told her to do so and I wouldn't do that to that kid. Which means the only options is that Richard made it up or the whole thing was…" Bill said shaking his head. "No, no, NO! It can't be! I refuse to believe it!"
The night thankfully went a lot more quieter and friendly. However, it all ends when the two went to sleep.
"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!"
Mortimer tossed and turned in his bed looking annoyed. He sat up and glared at the sleeping Bill on his bed snoring like a freight train. With a groan, he got out of bed.
"I am sitting in the pool! It is the farthest place away from this bedroom!"