The following morning both teams met in the mess hall, where they were greeted with Greg and the counselors. The girls on the Grizzlies were standing a few feet away from Griff, the invisible teen wondering why. Did he stink? He just washed his suit last night.
"Alright campers, today you guys are testing your skills in the kitchen." Greg told them.
"Ooooo, a cooking challenge!" Maybelle squealed.
"Okay so what are we making? Pizza, ribs, Chinese?" Orion questioned.
"No idea." Greg said, confusing the campers. He then explained, "You see, last night the kitchen was visited by an unknown figure. That mystery person baked a super secret dish, and your challenge is to recreate that dish using whatever clues they left at the scene of the crime."
"You will be judged based on presentation, taste, and how close you get to the mystery dessert." DJ explained, "The winner of this challenge will not just win immunity, but will also win a full dessert buffet baked exclusively by the person behind the mystery dish."
The host and counselors showed the campers a long table with various cakes, cookies, crumbles, pies, and other baked goods. The sight of which brought some drools from the campers, the only ones not marveling was Rose because she's blind and Uma.
(BZZT)
Uma: Ugh, sweets. Gross. My twin sister Ursula is obsessed with that stuff, who wants all those calories?
(BZZT)
Greg then announced, "Alright, you kids have 10 minutes to look for whatever clues you think was used in the making of the mystery dish, then you 'll head over to your station to try and recreate the dish you think was made. Panthers for winning the last challenge you guys go first."
The Panthers headed into the kitchen.
The Panthers searched the crime scene, "Okay, I say we- Ryo where are you going?" Orion asked as he was about to lay out a game plan.
"To get started on the dessert." Ryo said as he went over to the Panthers' station, which had pink colored kitchen utensils and appliances.
"But dude, shouldn't we see what the mystery dude left?" Brian asked.
"Don't need to." Ryo said, "But you guys can feel free to look."
(BZZT)
Orion: I just realized that Ryo's a professional detective, just one look and he can deduce what was made.
Brian: Its totally sweet we got the Sherlock Holmes Hermit on our team. He's got such detuctiveness he can correctly guess the number of jelly beans in a jar.
Maybelle: From a different room.
Rose: (points to her eyes) Blindfolded.
Krystal: And without even being prompted, he just knows.
(BZZT)
Maybelle checked the sink, where the drying rack sat "Found 5 cake pans."
Rose sniffed around the trashcan, before opening it up and pulling out a few parchment sheets. After letting out a big sniff, "Banana." she concluded, without her sight her other sense are greatly heightened.
Orion then opened a drawer and found a drawing of two big squares sandwiching a small rectangle, in the center wrote 'Thanksgiving', and on top wrote 'Summer'. After analyzing the sheet he looked to the corner and saw what looked like a birthstone chart.
Krystal showed him some plastic molds and sugar crystals, the two silently concluding 'Rock candy'.
At the end of ten minutes, the team brought what they found to Ryo and he told them what to do to get started. Soon the Grizzlies took their turn to search, during which Uma leaned into Grace's ear "So are we gonna boot, you know who next?" she pointed to Griff, who was searching the fridge.
"We'll worry about that later, just look for what could be useful." Grace responded, as Uma left Grace thought to herself as she searched the drawers. 'Sneaky and sex hungry, or weird and invisible?'
(BZZT)
Grace: Look I didn't like spying on the guys, but Uma kept pushing to see them. Pretty soon we overheard things we weren't suppose to hear.
Griff: (with his hood down, showing his translucent head) I'm starting to think my partners are onto my secret. Or they already know, if so either two things. 1, the guys betrayed my trust. Or 2, they were spying on us.
Uma: (From outside) No we weren't!
Grace: (from outside, smacks Uma's head) Uma, quit it!
Griff: Hmmmmmm.
(BZZT)
After their ten minutes are up, Greg then announced "Alright, now that each team has their clues. You got 3 hours to create what you think was made in the kitchen, starting... now!"
Both teams began baking, while the Panthers worked in the pink kitchen section, the Grizzlies were in the grey section. On the Panthers' side Rose handed Ryo stuff to make cake batter, Maybelle and Brian were working on frosting, and the team's resident couple were focusing on making candy crystals.
(BZZT)
Orion: After reconvening with Ryo, he decided we make a fault line cake based on the clues we gave him.
(Scenes of the team were shown working as Orion explained the plan)
Orion: Using the banana parchment paper found in the trash can, we decided the cake is gonna be banana flavored. Brian found some leftover chocolate frosting in a bowl, so that's what the cake will be coated in. With the rock candy portion me and my girlfriend are making, we used the diagram and chart we found to determine what colored rocks to use.
(Back to Orion in the confessional)
Orion: I think this challenge is gonna be breeze for us, since more than half of our team are investigators and/or have knowledge of baking I feel pretty confident in our chances.
Ryo: When I'm not solving high end murder cases, I work at a bake shop. So yeah I know my way around desserts, I also cracked a case with poisoned muffins and I freed the poor kid that was wrongfully convicted of the crime.
(BZZT)
With the Grizzlies, they were going with a different plan.
"Do any of you know how to bake?" Uma asked her teammates, to which they shrugged. Uma groaned, "Great, so now what?"
"From what we found a cake was definitely made. I've seen a few of them get made before." Linka said.
"Okay, you guys make the cake while I go see what the Panthers are doing." Uma said as she was about to head to her opponents' side of the kitchen before being pulled back by Grace.
"No." the chillaxer said, "We're down two teammates, we need all hands on deck if we hope to avoid another elimination. And I'm pretty sure you won't survive if we go back there."
Uma growled, Linka then said. "Lets just focus on what the dessert might be."
(BZZT)
Grace: Things with our team have not really gotten off to a good start today, our teamwork has been steadily diminishing has the weeks go by. But we were gonna try and make our dessert the best we can make it.
(BZZT)
Linka mixed the ingredients as Grace watched, the chillaxer watched as the seemingly bland betty baked away. "Dude, where'd you learn how to bake?"
"I might have had to help with the kitchen in the orphanage I grew up in." Linka answered.
"Oof, you're an orphan? That sucks." Grace frowned.
"Yeah, I never really knew my mother, and my father disappeared when I was just a toddler." Linka sighed as she poured some batter into a cake pan and put it in the over. "I don't have much to remember my parents by, all I got was some dumb old hockey mask. Not sure what its for anyway." she shrugged.
"Well sorry to hear that Linka." Grace said.
"Its fine, no need to worry." Linka replied.
"If you're sure, I mean growing up without a family must be hard. Though I grew up with a lumberjack for a father with 5 younger smelly brothers, I can't live without them." Grace said.
"Its alright, I try not to dwell on my upbringing. Takes time away from worrying about the future and what I want to be."
"Ah, I can respect that. I never thought too much on my future, but I was hoping to become a school teacher. After living in a log cabin with all dudes, it should be a piece of cake."
"At least you know what you want, honestly I'm still trying to figure out who I really am." Linka said.
Listening in to their conversation, Uma popped in. "Well it must be really nice, a nice family." she says to Grace, "A nice shelter that provides warmth and food." she wrap an arm around Linka.
"Shouldn't you be working on the frosting?" Linka questioned.
"Eh, Griff's taking care of it." Uma waved it off. "Anyway, you guys continue on the cake. I gotta hit the little bitch's room." Uma then walked away.
"What is she up to this time?" Linka asked.
"Knowing her, probably to go f(bleep) an intern." Grace answered, "Or either my or Krystal's boyfriend. Anyway I also gotta use the john, watch the cake for me." she told Linka before following Uma.
The Grizzlies and the Panthers worked on opposite sides of the kitchen, as Uma walked towards the door to the main dining area she noticed the panthers were halfway done with their dessert with only an hour left before the teams had to present. Even though sweets aren't her thing, she'd devour that thing in an instant like her sister. She also looked back and saw Grace following her.
(BZZT)
Uma: Since we have no idea what the cake would look like, and the head kitty chef is mother(bleep)ing Sherlock Holmes, we're screwed in the worse way possible. Looks like I'll have to use my special skills again, but first I gotta make sure Grace doesn't see me.
(BZZT)
After exiting the door she hid as Grace exited, making her way out of the mess hall and to the communal bathrooms. She then saw Greg and the counselors chatting up so they didn't see her head back in and moving towards the Panthers' side. She surveyed the layout, so far the only one alone was Brian looking over the oven. But he should be easy to distract.
She hid and pulled out a laser pointer from her cleavage, and with a Cheshire cat grin she shined a red dot on the over door.
Brian saw the dot, "Yeah right, like I'm falling for that again." he then turned around before instantly making a grab for the dot, but it moved and he went for it again. Soon the dot went towards the door and he followed after it out of the kitchen, Uma quickly made her way to the cake over and set it to 3 hours.
Uma then went over to where Orion was leaning over the counter, Krystal having left earlier to get some rock candy out of her hair gave Uma enough time to do what she has planned.
Orion was currently playing some games on a handheld game system, his portion was already done with the candy rocks all in neatly organized piles so he figured he'd kill some time. Just then he let out an eep as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him, causing him to lose a life.
"Hey, Ory."
The tone made him blush, but the voice he recognized as not his girlfriend, but as "Wh-what are you doing Uma?"
"Oh I was just passing by, say how are things with you and Krystal?" she said as she leaned over him.
"Um... good. Pretty... pretty serious." he let out.
Uma hummed at his response, "Oh really? Well have you two completed the final step?" she asked as she reached for the piles of rock candy and dumping them in a nearby trashcan, Orion as to distracted by her behavior to notice.
"What final step?"
"Oh you know, staking your claim on her." she whispered into his ear, making him shiver. "She probably gets all the boys attention, guys that want nothing more than to make her their bitch. Guys that are much bigger, richer, and much smarter than you. How can you compete?" she questioned as she stepped from behind him and got on the opposite side of the counter.
"By... being there for her?"
"Is that all?" Uma inquired, "Trust me kid, in this world nobody cares about that loyalty shit. Getting a lover is the easy part, but now you have to keep them. And there's only one to way to truly seal the deal."
The way she spoke gave him an idea, "You mean..."
"Hmhmm, only if she wants it. And if she does, you give it to her. Give it to her so much she won't want to look for another partner. Can you do that?"
"Um... I don't know... I never been in a relationship before." he admitted.
Uma rested a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, this stuff can be scary at first. But if you truly love her as much as she loves you, then you'll know what to do. But if not, then you'll know where to find me and I'll show you two how to get it done." she then turned to leave.
"Should I be worried about what you're planning?" he asked.
"No, although I act like it at times. I don't wreck relationships, you wouldn't believe how many couples come to me with sex advice. As long as I get a good kick out of it, then I don't care." she shrugged before leaving him.
Orion watched her go, contemplating what she said.
(BZZT)
Orion: I know she was trying to mess with me, but she kind of has a point. Krystal is a first draft pick, girls like her have boys like me doing all their chemistry homework. We've been at odds for as long as we've liked each other, can we really make our relationship work? Oh what I am saying, of course we can. I should take my own advice and not let her words get to me, though what if Krystal does ask for... that? (he scratches his head, but then stops) Wait, something's not right.
(BZZT)
Uma returned to her team as Linka pulled the cake out of the oven, "Where were you?" she asked as she set it down and started applying the frosting. "That was a long trip to the bathroom."
"Oh, just had a lot of juice for breakfast this morning." Uma let out an excuse. She snickers and thinks back to her acts of sabotage.
"Ok, just help Grace spread the rock candy." she told her. Uma did as she was told.
Soon it came down to judging, "Utensils down, everyone in the dining area." Greg called, soon the campers all left the kitchen. They stood in front of Greg, Katie, and DJ as they sat at a table. "Alright guys, you had 3 hours to bake whatever dessert was made last night. Let see how you guys did, Grizzlies you're up first."
As Linka went to fetch their cake, Brian leaned into Ryo's ear. "Yeah so, little hiccup with the cake and it may have gotten burnt. Also, Orion said the rocks were missing."
"I wouldn't worry." Ryo whispered back as Linka brought out a simple 1 layered cake sprinkled with orange, white, red, and green candy rocks.
"Okay, what we have is a simple 1 layered cake topped with rock candy." Linka presented, the judges each took a piece before biting into them.
"Its delicious, very well baked." DJ gave his opinion.
"Agreed, though I wish it had a little more pizzazz." Katie stated.
"But if you guy's guessed right, you're safe." Greg said.
(BZZT)
Grace: Well some of us didn't know what we were doing, I'm just glad we had Linka to make it edible.
Uma: Heehee, our cake might be basic. But after what I did to the panthers', my team's pretty much going to episode 9.
(BZZT)
"Now, the Panthers." Ryo went to pick up his team's dessert, his teammates looked worried. Somehow their dessert went horribly wrong and they don't know how.
But to the surprise of everyone, including Uma, the cake Ryo brought out was a double decker with a stream of orange candy rocks between two sections of chocolate frosted cake atop with white, red, and green crystals. "How did?" Uma questioned as Ryo gave each of the judges a piece.
"What I bring is a devil's food fault line cake." Ryo presented. When Greg bit into it, his eyes widened as fireworks appeared in his corneas. Same as DJ and Katie, Ryo then joined his team before looking to a flabbergasted Uma adn whispered "Good thing you didn't find my back up cake."
(BZZT)
Ryo: I had a feeling Uma would try something, so I went and baked a second cake before the challenge started just in case.
Uma: Grrrrr, should have known.
(BZZT)
"After tasting both your cake, now its time to see who got it right. Or, was closest to the dessert." Greg said as an intern wheeled out a cart with a red curtain concealing the dessert. Which was...
(Drum roll)
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... a double decker chocolate fault line cake, with the fault line made of orange rock candy, topped with white, red, and green candy crystals.
The Panthers cheered as Ryo softly smiled, proud that he correctly guessed the dessert. The Grizzlies sighed in defeat.
"Sandra, explain how they were supposed to get a fault line cake." Greg told the intern that brought out the dessert.
Sandra pulled out a few cue cards, "The mystery baker wrote that the cake pans suggested a cake, and the chocolate icing residue gave a sign what to use. The sugar crystals and the plastic molding meant the added rock candy, the diagram left in the drawer depicted a fault line cake. To determine what color crystals to use, the diagram and birthstone chart should have clued you in."
"Thanks Sandra." Greg turned to the contestants, "And since Ryo and Panthers got the dessert down to the microscopic level, they win immunity and the dessert buffet." His announcement brought more cheers from the Panthers. "Grizzlies, we'll be seeing you at tonight's elimination."
An hour before the elimination, Grace and Linka brought Griff out to the pier.
"Ladies, I do ask why you brought me out here?" He questioned.
Grace and Linka nodded to each other. "We know your secret." They both admitted.
Griff gasped, "You know about my childhood disco album!" They raised an eyebrow at that, "I swore I was done with Dr. Funkenstein!"
"We meant your other secret." Linka clarified.
Grace then added, "That you're... invisible."
"What?" He questioned, "How do you know that?"
Grace sighed, "We and the girls were spying on you and the boys, we heard all your secrets. Including yours."
"We're sorry, it was all Uma's idea to go visit your cabin. We didn't mean to listen in on your private boy party." Linka apologized.
"Well, I appreciate your honesty. But next time, don't go snooping on other people's private conversations." Griff told them.
"We won't." Grace said.
Griff then said, "Well, guess I won't be needing this anymore since everyone apparently knows." Griff then took off his before ripping off the mask concealing his invisible head.
"Is that what you were working on?" Linka asked, "Trying to reverse it?"
"Why yes, after I ingested a mixture of chemicals I got from a questionable doctor, I've been trying to make a cure for this for years."
"Alright, are we all in agreement on who to vote tonight?" Grace inquiries.
"Uma?" They checked.
"Uma."
At the elimination, the 4 Grizzlies all sat down with Greg at the podium. "Wow, you guys just can't catch a break. We're 8 eps in and you guys only won 2 challenges."
"Hopefully our luck turns around after this." Grace said.
"It better Grace, and you get the first marshmallow." Greg said as he tossed it to her. "Linka you're also safe."
The girl with the least amount of character caught her marshmallow and sighed in relief.
All that remained were Griff and Uma, the former without his mask. Showing off his lack of visible features.
"Griff, Uma. One of you is out of the running, the person staying is...
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... Griff!"
"HUZZAH!" Griff said as he caught his marshmallow.
But just as he was about to pop it in his mouth, "I don't think so." Everyone turned to Uma, who in dramatic fashion pulled out...
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... an immunity idol!
"WHAT!!!" The girls and Griff exclaimed.
"I do believe that means all votes against me are null and void." She tossed it to Greg, who inspects it and sighs.
"It's real. Sorry Griff, but now Uma's is the only vote that counts." The host of explains.
Griff sadly murrs as Uma ate the marshmallow out of his hand. "Crap. Oh well, it is what it is." He then faced Linka and Grace, "Good luck you two." He then went to pack his things.
Later, as Uma exited the shower, towel wrapped around her midsection she ran into Ryo staring her down. "What? You want a quickie? I mean all you had to-"
"That idol you used didn't belong to you."
Uma blinked as she flash-backed to her convo with Orion, where she not only sabotaged the rocks but also stole his idol with a slight of hand. She feigned ignorance as she was brought back to the present "Whatever do you mean?" Ryo just gave her a deadpanned look.
"Don't bother denying it to me."
"Fine," she slouched "Besides it makes no difference either way. That thing is long gone."
"It seems there's more to this Vegas wh*%# than just a hot bod."
She glared at him, "You'll see, I'm taking that 5 million dollars. And I'll have them all at my feet, just you wait... Nerrick."
"... How do you know my real name?" He asks before she saunters past him, he watched her go thinking to himself 'This girl is dangerous. I can't take her lightly anymore.'
16th: Johnny
15: Deena
14th: Paige
13: Post
On the bubble: Roman, Andrius, and Griff